Digital Commons Network^™

Fostering The First Amendment: Analyzing The Constitutionality Of The Safe & Appropriate Foster Care And Designated Placement Federal Rules Through Religious Discrimination, Hailey Donovan

Liberty University Research Week

Examining the Biden Administration's implementation of the Safe & Appropriate Foster Care and Designated Placement Federal Rules, this commentary seeks to address the conflict presented in this execution under the constitutionality of the First Amendment. The comment will analyze notable regulations over the years regarding foster and adoptive systems and compare amongst these recent federal rules and case law. This will pinpoint the purpose of such child welfare programs and the government's role in regulating true protection over these and the rights of those involved. Addressing the unconstitutionality and conflict, emphasis on awareness and change for future generations of the …

A Crown In Death: A Dramaturgical Approach To The Trojan Women Of Euripides, Stephanie Lester

Liberty University Research Week

In the action-packed, visually-oriented market for modern media, some may assume a 2,400-year-old classical play to be slightly past its expiration date, especially if that play features little to no action on stage like in Euripides’ The Trojan Women. However, it is important to remember that literature is lost when the world fails to cherish it, so if a text survives that long, it may be worth another cursory glance. In this case, that glance involved a full dramaturgical study featuring qualitative script analysis of multiple translations of The Trojan Women with related texts to explore context, themes, common literary …

Population Characteristics Of Freshwater Turtles At Lake Hydaway, Joshua Sorenson, Ariana Cardenas, Tate Gardner

Liberty University Research Week

Freshwater turtles are an important part of the ecological systems in central Virginia. They are found throughout the state wherever there is a suitable body of water, often in large numbers. At Lake Hydaway, there are several turtle species for which their population characteristics were unknown after the lake’s area was expanded. These included the typically prolific Eastern Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta picta) and Red-bellied Cooter (Pseudemys rubriventris). For five weeks, a section of the lake was surveyed for turtles using hoop nets baited with sardines and vegetables, and the turtles were marked and measured and released back into the …

Challenges Of A Changing Environment: Urban Development Impacts A Population Of Eastern Box Turtles, Valerie Bell, Nathan Wilkins

Liberty University Research Week

The Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) is a terrestrial turtle, which lives in woodlands. Populations of these turtles are threatened by drastic changes to their environment, such as development projects. This is what happened to a population of box turtles in downtown Lynchburg, VA. We have been researching this population since 1999 using a capture-mark-recapture method. The population was undisturbed until 2020 when a large portion of the study site was timbered for urban development, reducing the size of the habitat from 11 to 2.2 ha. We hypothesize that if the population of box turtles in the post-development forest …

Synthesis And Ftir Analysis Of Caffeine And Quinine In Sodium Chloride Powder, Breanna Barstow

Liberty University Research Week

Adulterants are over-the-counter medications that are added to illicit drugs to increase quantity but decreases the purity. Caffeine is a popular additive in illicit drugs like methamphetamines, amphetamine, and cocaine. It is found in many products and regularly consumed throughout the world due to its psychostimulant properties. Sodium chloride was chosen due to the minimal absorbance peaks shown in an IR spectrograph so that the peaks of caffeine are shown clearer. Grinding the mixture of caffeine and sodium chloride allows for even mixture and similar physical nature as an evidentiary sample that is collected from a crime scene. Analysis through …

Evaluation Of Human Cadaver Tissue For Undergraduate Medical Histology Education, Levon Shukrian, Brooke Chapple, Shanice Rerrie

Liberty University Research Week

Histology is a foundational component of medical education, providing critical insights into tissue structure and function. While undergraduate biomedical sciences students traditionally use animal tissues for histological studies at Liberty University, this research explores the feasibility of using human cadaveric tissue to enhance undergraduate medical histology education. The research question guiding this study is: “Can human cadaver tissue serve as a viable and educationally valuable alternative to animal tissue in undergraduate histology education?” We hypothesize that cadaveric tissue will display preserved histological structures comparable to live tissue references, making it a useful educational tool. To test this hypothesis, testicular and …

Differences In Anterior Knee Laxity And Genu Recurvatum Between Dominant And Non-Dominant Legs In Healthy College Students, Adam Ellett

Liberty University Research Week

Background: The non-dominant leg has been associated with higher risk of knee injury due to biomechanical and sensorimotor asymmetry compared to the dominant leg. Anterior knee laxity (AKL) and genu recurvatum have been identified as a leading risk factors for serious knee injuries. However, the difference in AKL and GR between the dominant and non-dominant knees remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the leg dominance difference in AKL and GR (knee hyperextension). It was hypothesized that the dominant leg would have lower AKL and genu recurvatum values than non-dominant leg. Methods: Thirty-two healthy and physically active …

Dna Extraction From Ancient Conehead Mummy Teeth, Abigail Mcdowell

Liberty University Research Week

Between 1880-1947, ancient burial sites in the Paracas peninsula of Peru were found and excavated by archaeologists. Several mummified remains were procured from these expeditions (Jones, K, 2018). These mummies presented apparent cranial deformations, which is what gave rise to the popular name "Conehead mummy". Their unusually elongated skulls and enlarged eye sockets sparked a wide range of speculative theories regarding their genetic origins. Some archaeologists and geneticists attributed the deformation to the cultural practice of cranial binding, which uses pressure to morph the skull – often a societal symbol of wealth or importance. Others believed the Conehead mummies were …

Civil War Field Hospital: Str Analysis Of Samples Collected From A Bloody Surgical Table, Nadia Walter

Liberty University Research Week

During the last battle of the Civil War, the Hillsman House was used as a field hospital to treat hundreds of soldiers. In 2018, Jones and McClintock demonstrated the ability to profile aged bloodstains, by traveling to the Hillsman House and analyzing bloodstains found on the floorboards5. During their study, marks observed on the floor were presumed to be from the surgical table, however, the original table was no longer at the house. Since then, the original wooden surgical table was acquired and presumed bloodstains were visualized using an alternate light source (ALS) and collected via swabbing and scraping. The …

Single-Step Fingerprint Fumigation With Common Dyes, Jared Filegar, Abigail Proffitt, Jonathan Pelletier

Liberty University Research Week

The goal of this research project is to develop a fingerprint fumigation method that effectively visualizes latent fingerprints in a single fumigation step, making a secondary visualization method (like dusting) unnecessary. This will be done by dyeing the cotton balls used during the fumigation process with common dyes found in permanent markers (Sharpie), washable markers (Crayola), and other name brand markers. As cyanoacrylate glue reacts with the dyed cotton balls (treated with baking soda), the colored vapors will adhere to the latent prints. This will color the latent prints to increase the contrast between the print and the surface. Other …

Analyzing Decomposition Levels In Cadaveric Tissue Using Gc/Ms, Lydia Buxa

Liberty University Research Week

Human decomposition is associated with qualitative changes to the body, which causes some ambiguity when determining the time since death, or postmortem index (PMI). There has been a recent push in the field of forensic science to quantify decomposition with reliable scientific or analytical methods. During decomposition, bacteria perform putrefactive processes to break down the macromolecules of the body, including amino acids. Two of these amino acids, lysine and ornithine, get decarboxylated to produce diamines known as cadaverine (CAD) and putrescine (PUT). Another biogenic amine produced in a variety of reactions during decomposition is methylamine (MEA). Recent research has indicated …

Analyzing The Impact Of Adulterants On Marquis Presumptive Drug Tests, Rachel Byrum, Noelle Murray

Liberty University Research Week

Presumptive Color testing is used in order to identify the potential presence or absence of a drug or drug class. This technique is especially useful for law enforcement to detect illicit substances during field tests due to their ease of use and portability (1). The Marquis color test is commonly used to identify opium derivatives, amphetamines, and other alkaloids, including fentanyl. Fentanyl is a rising threat in the US (2). For example, its presence in illicit drugs has contributed to 62.9% of 2024 overdose deaths in one US county (3). Drugs such as fentanyl are often cut with adulterants. These …

The Effects Of Type 1 Diabetes On Anti-Müllerian Hormone Gene Expression In Mouse Gonads, Audrey Lach, Abigail Hurley

Liberty University Research Week

Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), a disorder that destroys insulin producing cells in the pancreas, manifests in youth and negatively effects metabolism. Reproductive health of individuals with T1D is of growing concern, specifically in relation to Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH). In males, AMH is secreted by the Sertoli cells in postnatal testes and is known to be valuable in assessing testicular development and function. In females, AMH is secreted by granulosa cells of the preantral and small antral follicles. AMH production decreases as antral follicles grow, allowing the follicles to mature for ovulation. This research aims to study the effects of T1D …

Vaccine-Based Immunotherapy Delays Murine Tumor Growth And Prevents Metastasis, Andrew Brola, Cade Wycoff, Sarah Light, Tatfiq Ahmed Fahmi, William Wycoff

Liberty University Research Week

Cancer persists as a leading cause of death globally, and metastatic disease contributes to a large proportion of cancer deaths. Tumor-specific vaccines may be viable immunotherapeutic options for eliminating malignant cells. Since endogenous retrovirus reactivation has been demonstrably linked to tumor metastasis, we propose a novel method to exploit these viral particles in murine tumor models. Methods: Two experiments were conducted. The first experiment included thirty C57BL/6 mice inoculated with MC38 tumor cells. When tumors were palpable, five mice were vaccinated with MC38 infected cells (infect-10), 4T1 cells, BT-20 cells, or 4T1 supernatant (MMTV), while ten mice served as unvaccinated …

Developing Improved Procedures For Lipstick Chromatography, Madison Smith

Liberty University Research Week

Background: Lipstick chromatography can be used by law enforcement and crime labs to identify if lipstick samples collected as part of an investigation are or are not from the same type of source.3 This method is studied in Liberty University’s Trace Evidence course as the focus of the final lab assignment.3 Problems with the lab surfaced when it was performed during the fall 2024 semester, with most students having no visible transfer of lipstick pigments on their chromatography paper. The purpose of this study was to identify why the students in the lab did not have successful results, and to …

Fluoxetine Reveals Nuances To Memory Task Interpretation In An Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Mouse Model, Maximiliano Pino, Rohaam Ooi

Liberty University Research Week

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a disease characterized by poor blood-glucose regulation. DM patients are 2x more likely to develop cognitive decline, depression, and anxiety. While research reliably reports cognitive dysfunction, preclinical studies have noted heightened freezing behavior in the fear conditioning test (FCT),which is traditionally indicative of improved memory. It is suggested that this is mediated by a depressive-like phenotype, whereby animals are expressing heightened reactivity to the negative stimuli, not improved memory. ​ Based off prior research, this study tested depression-mediated sensitivity to aversive stimuli using an antidepressant, fluoxetine (FLX), to modulate the relationship between FCT results and depressive-like …

Formalin-Induced Neuropathic Pain In Mice, David Mendes

Liberty University Research Week

Neuropathic pain is a chronic condition of the nervous system often associated with inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and chemotherapy-induced damage. Current therapies are ineffective, highlighting the need for improved preclinical models. Neuropathic pain in mice has been modeled using invasive procedures such as spinal nerve ligation (SNL) and chronic constriction injury (CCI), which require survival surgery. In contrast, this study investigates the use of subcutaneous formalin injection as a non-surgical, reproducible alternative for modeling chronic pain in mice. Formalin is known to produce a biphasic pain response and has been used to model nociceptive pain. Recent studies …

Pcr Mapping Of Leu2 In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae To Identify Deleterious Mutations, Emily Bayliss

Liberty University Research Week

The LEU2 gene, a 1095 bp sequence, encodes 3-isopropylmalate dehydrogenase, an enzyme which plays a critical role in the leucine biosynthetic pathway.1 In the context of a three-part undergraduate genetics lab, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, baker’s yeast, was used as the model system on which the students performed genetic recombination because of the model’s high efficiency and simplicity. The yeast strain (EAY 235), which contained a deleterious mutation, was given to the students. The students were tasked with integrating the LEU2 gene as a linear fragment into the yeast genome through homologous recombination, and the results were scored for 235 LDO transformants. …

Characterization Of Endogenous Sas3 In C. Neoformans Via Co-Immunoprecipitation, Kayla Riggleman

Liberty University Research Week

The predicted amino acid sequence of Something About Silencing 3 (SAS3) gene in Cryptococcus neoformans suggests that it contains a putative Histone Acetyltransferase (HAT) domain. Its role as a response/transcriptional modulator is further implied by its upregulation that is associated with Cryptococcal meningitis. Thus, there is a possible etiological correlation between SAS3 activity and cryptococcosis infection. To date, it has been determined that recombinant SAS3 does not display HAT activity on recombinant histones in vitro. Current experimentation is seeking to ascertain its endogenous role. This may point to the idea that endogenous SAS3 requires post-translational modifications before it is active, …

The Expression Of Insr-β, Insr-α, And P300 In Palmitic Acid And Glucose Treated Hepg2 Cells, Grace Mutesa, Caroline Wethington

Liberty University Research Week

Type II diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder that affects 500 million people across the world and is characterized by persistent hyperglycemia and insulin resistance. Complications associated with diabetes include cardiovascular disease, eye damage and kidney disease. Insulin resistance occurs due to defects in the insulin signaling pathway. Here we explore different modalities of inducing insulin resistance in HepG2 cells, as part of a larger study to develop treatments to reverse insulin resistance. We used a dose response to find out what concentration of glucose, palmitic acid (PA), and insulin each treatment is required to induce insulin resistance. We used …

George Van Brugh Brown To Susan Niemcewicz, February 26, 1806, George Van Brugh Brown

Liberty Hall Collection 1800s

George Van Brugh Brown wrote Exmouth, Devonshire, England to Susan Niemcewicz in Elizabethtown, New Jersey. Susan would likely be surprised when seeing the address of George’s letter. He and his wife, Elizabeth, left Bath in January. Elizabeth’s complaints have continued nearly the same. When she thinks about the distance between herself and all of her friends, it falls naturally upon her spirits, which have kept up most wonderfully when considering the long and tedious illness she endured. The physicians would not allow her to see people, and the room was kept quiet so that their friends were prevented from being …

No One Likes A Mad Woman: The 'Big Reputation' Of Rebekah Harkness, Kimberly Weaner

Liberty University Research Week

This paper examines the complex legacy of American socialite Rebekah Harkness (1915-1982), exploring how her reputation was shaped by both public scrutiny and her philanthropic contributions to the arts. While Harkness is often remembered for her scandalous personal life and extravagant behavior, this research argues that her cultural impact, particularly through the establishment of the Harkness Ballet and Harkness House for Ballet Arts, deserves deeper scholarly attention. This study reveals how Harkness navigated high society expectations while pursuing artistic ambitions that, despite her tumultuous personal life and controversial public image, led to significant contributions to American dance culture through her …

How Much Is Too Much?, Ellie Shoemaker

Liberty University Research Week

This paper examines the question of whether or not the court has a right to intervene on a prosecutor’s decision that was made within their discretion and analyze it to ensure it was made in “good faith.” This issue comes from a circuit split in the 10th circuit regarding plea agreements, United States v. Doe. The defendant appealed the first verdict and one of the grounds on which Doe appealed was that the prosecutor acted in bad faith when they refused to file a substantial assistance motion. While this decision was within the prosecutor’s discretion, the court is still faced …

Continuity In Colonization: A Comparative Study Between Hampton And Jamestown, Virginia, Regarding Their Occupation And Its Impact, Chandler Lilley

Liberty University Research Week

It has been widely circulated that Jamestown, Virginia, is the oldest permanent continuous English settlement in the New World. Not all parts of that statement are true. Locals of a place no more than half an hour down the road would contest that claim, saying that the city of Hampton better fits the criteria. What do those qualifiers mean, and which settlement deserves the title? Based on an examination of primary and secondary sources, both settlements will be compared with the qualifiers oldest, permanent, continuous, and English. To be oldest, the founding of the current location of the settlement must …

From A Certain Point Of View: The Portrayal Of Autism In Mark Haddon's "The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time", Lillian Mcsweeney

Liberty University Research Week

This paper investigates the development of Mark Haddon’s novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, a contemporary murder mystery novel featuring an autistic central character. The novel was well received; in 2003 it earned several awards including the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize and Whitbread Book of the Year, and in 2004 it placed top ten in YALSA Best Books for Young Adults. Critics attribute the book’s success to Haddon’s insightful portrayal of an autistic central character, while Haddon himself has stated that he wishes the book wasn’t held up as an example of an autistic narrative, and …

Shaping Wartime Illinois: Dwight H. Green’S Re-Election Campaign Of 1944, Cole Klicker

Liberty University Research Week

The 1944 Illinois gubernatorial election was a pivotal moment in the state’s political history, taking place amidst the broader context of World War II. Despite Illinois voters supporting Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fourth presidential term and electing a Democratic senator, they diverged at the state level by re-electing Republican Governor Dwight H. Green. This raises the central research question: What factors contributed to Dwight H. Green’s successful re-election campaign in 1944, and how did his political strategies, governance, and alignment with 1940s Republican values shape the outcome of the election? This study explores Green’s ability to navigate the complex political environment …

Julian Niemcewicz To Susan Niemcewicz, February 7, 1806, Julian U. Niemcewicz

Liberty Hall Collection 1800s

Julian Niemcewicz wrote from New York, New York to Susan Niemcewicz in Elizabethtown, New Jersey. Julian had yet to receive Susan’s answer to his letter and feared he would not get it until after the mail departure. Julian's trinkets on board the vessel were causing him a world of trouble. The day before was spent obtaining the permit to bring them to the public store. Two vessels were going to Hamburg and by then Julian planned to have already sent a dozen bottles of liquor and the trinkets. Julian saw Mr. Rutherford and was informed that he had no apprehensions …

Research Week 2025, Michael Schueth

Research Week

Welcome to Undergraduate Research Week at Collin College!

This week celebrates the innovative research and scholarly work of our undergraduate students across all disciplines. From our informative webinars to Cultivating Scholars, our student poster presentation, the week offers opportunities to explore new ideas, share discoveries, and connect with fellow researchers and faculty mentors.

We invite all students, faculty, and staff to participate in these events designed to highlight the importance of undergraduate research in academic and professional development. Whether you're presenting your work or simply curious about your peers' projects, your engagement helps foster our college's culture of inquiry and …

Cultivating Scholars 2025, Elizabeth Hamner

Research Week

Cultivating Scholars is an interdisciplinary event promoting undergraduate students and their special interest topics. It is a research-based setting meant to imitate a professional conference. Students work with Faculty Mentors to conduct a high-quality project and present it to the community.

Date: April 24, 2025, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Place: Collin College, Frisco Campus Conference Center

So Much More Than Summer Camp: The Importance Of Environmental Education At Nature Centers, Olivia P. Upton

Student Scholar Showcase

In conjunction with my Westover Honors Thesis, my Bonner Legacy Project focused on the development of environmental education curriculum and programming at Camp Kum-Ba-Yah Nature Center [CKBY]. Informed by a review of current climate education, lesson plans and activities were modified in collaboration with CKBY staff to be more climate-focused and aid in the development of systems thinking skills. Activities were compiled and edited to teach concepts, such as food webs, feedback loops, and the greenhouse effect, while also promoting team-building and critical thinking. Educational kits for each activity were created, which include all materials needed as well as a …