Life Sciences Commons^™

Hot Spot Analysis Of Potential Sanitary Sewer Exfiltration In Crystal Creek Watershed, Adam Schumacher, Michael Reisner, Kevin Geedey

Independent Research Projects

Crystal Creek in Davenport Iowa drains suburban and park areas before draining into Duck Creek, a tributary of the Mississippi River. Contact recreation is a designated use for all the streams. As a pilot project with the city of Davenport, Augustana College’s Upper Mississippi Center assessed this stream in the summer of 2021 to determine if relatively inexpensive monitoring tools could be used to assess possible sewage contamination in that stream. Running through multiple residential areas, sewer lines follow the studied region of the creek, leading to the hotspot focus that was conducted by student researchers. Fecal coliform, optical brighteners, …

Climate Change And Management Impacts On Soybean N Fixation, Soil N Mineralization, N2o Emissions, And Seed Yield, Elvis F. Elli, Ignacio A. Ciampitti, Michael J. Castellano, Larry C. Purcell, Seth Naeve, Patricio Grassini, Nicolas C. La Menza, Luiz Moro Rosso, Andre F. De Borja Reis, Peter Kovacs, Sotirios V. Archontoulis

Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science Faculty Publications

Limited knowledge about how nitrogen (N) dynamics are affected by climate change, weather variability, and crop management is a major barrier to improving the productivity and environmental performance of soybean-based cropping systems. To fill this knowledge gap, we created a systems understanding of agroecosystem N dynamics and quantified the impact of controllable (management) and uncontrollable (weather, climate) factors on N fluxes and soybean yields. We performed a simulation experiment across 10 soybean production environments in the United States using the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) model and future climate projections from five global circulation models. Climate change (2020–2080) increased N …

A Pathway To Solving The Structure Of Cl-Par-4 Tumor Suppressor Protein: Challenges & Findings, Krishna Raut, Samjhana Pandey, Andrea M. Clark, Komala Ponniah, Steven M. Pascal

College of Sciences Posters

Prostate apoptosis response-4 (Par-4) is a pro-apoptotic tumor suppressor protein. Down-regulation of this protein has been reported in a myriad of cancers. Conversely, up-regulation of Par-4 is found to be associated with several neurodegenerative disorders. Par-4 is unique in the sense it can selectively induce apoptosis in cancer cells. For this, caspase-dependent intracellular cleavage of Par-4 is essential to produce the functionally active fragment, cl-Par-4 (caspase-cleaved Par-4). The cl-Par-4 protein inhibits the NF-κB-mediated cell survival pathway and causes selective apoptosis in various tumor cells.

Our laboratory is interested in determining the structure of cl-Par-4 and understanding it’s interaction with various …

Investigation Of Magnesium Cation-Proton Exchange With Transmembrane Electrostatically Localized Protons (Telp) At A Liquid-Membrane Interface: Fundamental To Bioenergetics, Gyanendra Kharel, Andrew J. Evans, Christopher M. Russo, Michael Eason, James W. Lee

College of Sciences Posters

The Lee transmembrane electrostatic proton localization (TELP) theory is a revolutionary scientific theory that has successfully explained decades long-standing quandary in the field of bioenergetics in regards to ATP synthesis in biological systems, specifically alkalophilic bacteria. This study provides experimental support for the TELP theory by further demonstrating evidence of a localized proton layer existing at the liquid-membrane interface in a simulated biological membrane apparatus. Whilst monovalent cations have been studied extensively, divalent cation exchange has not been studied experimentally.

A previous study determined equilibrium constant for Na⁺ and K⁺ to exchange with localized H⁺ layer to …

Telomerase Activity Enhancement In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Mackenzie Neal, Hailey Rietz, Melissa Mefford

2022 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

Telomeres are located at the ends of eukaryotic linear chromosomes and are composed of repeated nucleotide sequences. One of their main functions is to protect chromosomal ends from being damaged. Telomeres cannot be completely copied during DNA replication so they gradually shorten during each replication cycle in what is known as the “end replication problem”. To counteract this problem, the RNA dependent enzyme complex telomerase works to extend telomeres and help protect the ends of chromosomes. Telomeres and the telomerase enzyme are heavily involved in the aging process and cancer progression. Telomeres gradually shorten with age and eventually become so …

Development Of Anti-Cancer Small Molecules To Inhibit The Base Excision Repair (Ber) Pathway By Binding Apyrimidinic/Apurinic (Ap) Sites In Dna, Ellen S. Ledford, Robert M. Tackett, Elizabeth M. Thomas

2022 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

Two of the main treatments available to patients with cancer are radiation and chemotherapy which both rely on the ability to induce DNA damage. One reason cancer deaths perpetrate is due to cancer resistance towards current cancer therapies. The Base Excision Repair (BER) pathway is involved in therapeutic resistance by utilizing DNA glycosylases that recognize and remove the damaged DNA base to leave the aldehyde. Apyrimidinic/Apurinic (AP) enzyme 1, APE1, then recognizes the aldehyde to trigger DNA repair. Alkoxyamines function to competitively covalently bind the aldehyde generated from the AP site. Once the aldehyde is covalently bonded with the alkoxyamine, …

Seasonal Abundance And Sex Ratio Of Earwigflies (Merope Tuber) In Eastern Kentucky, Abigal Fagan, Sean O'Keefe

2022 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

The earwigfly is a rarely seen insect in the family of scorpionflies. There are three species total, one in Brazil, one in Australia, and the third (Merope tuber), widespread throughout the eastern United states. In a 1984 study, Chris Maier collected 69 earwigflies between 1977 and 1982 from New England. Most of these were collected in July using sticky traps. He collected 43 females and 26 males (sex ratio 2.4:1). In a 2014 study, Skvarla, Hartshorn, and Dowling collected 77 earwigflies from Arkansas, mostly in August using malaise traps, pan traps, Lindgren funnels, and pitfall traps. They collected 58 females …

Pressure Injuries In A Clinical Setting: A Quality Improvement Project, Colby Pugh, Kayla Blain, Chloe Patrick, Clarissa Baker, Mackenzie Hopkins, Jarrett Elam, Suzi White

2022 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

The purpose of this quality improvement project is to develop a teaching tool aimed at decreasing the incidence rate of pressure injuries in the clinical setting specifically those in intensive care settings. Pressure injuries are a common preventable hospitalacquired complication. The occurrence of pressure injuries is higher in an ICU setting than in a non-ICU setting with 30% and 27.6% respectively during a one-year time period. The development of a teaching tool to be distributed to nurses' stations, staff workrooms, and nurse managers seeks to improve ICU staff nurses' education on the topic of pressure injures at a large urban …

What Majors Are Chosen By Undergraduate Students Leaving Accounting? A Review Of The Literature, Sarah E. Lager, Kimberly Fatten

2022 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

Undergraduate accounting retention research has focused primarily on why students choose an accounting major, but less is known about what programs students go to when they exit an accounting major.

Data Quality Analysis Of 200 Gev Center Of Mass Energy P-Au Collisions From Star, Keaghan Knight, Kevin Adkins

2022 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

In proton collisions, fragmentation functions describe the probability that a given parton in the initial state creates a particular hadron in the final state. Understanding fragmentation is essential for a theoretical description of measured asymmetries that provide a glimpse of the proton's spin structure. Proton-gold collisions from the STAR detector at Brookhaven National Laboratory will provide a complementary result, using reconstructed jets, to the global data which comes mostly from electron-positron annihilation experiments. A first step in extracting fragmentation functions is to perform a quality analysis (QA) of the data. This poster shows a look at the data and our …

Funding Achievement In Kentucky, Brett Blair, James Masterson

2022 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

It is no surprise that the proper education of a population ranks high on the list of important accomplishments within a society. After all, a population’s education can affect its ability to perform at a high capacity. The education of Kentucky’s children is no different. Recent years have seen large disparities in the resources available to each school in Kentucky, which could have effects on the educational output of regions in the state. Though research has been conducted on concepts such as school funding, educational quality, and education reform, this research tends to be lacking in specificity and consistency. (DeYoung, …

Quantifying Ant Populations To Measure Biodiversity In Morehead, Ky, Alyssa Turner, Jude Hall, Tayla Lee, Charles Lydeard, Sean O'Keefe

2022 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

To effectively conduct conservation efforts, we can use biodiversity to assess the condition of our environment. Biodiversity has been commonly defined as the variety and variability among living organisms within an area. When our ecosystems are at their best, they clean water, purify air, maintain soil, regulate climate, recycle nutrients, and provide food. Everything within an ecosystem is interdependent, so biodiversity is an important factor and indicator of environmental health. Indicators help us to measure and monitor pressures or threats in land and water use, habitat loss or invasive species, the state of species and ecosystems, the conservation response, and …

Economic Feasibility Of Rainwater Harvesting:A Case Study At Morehead State University, Riley Q. Williams, Vijay Subramaniam

2022 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) was primarily considered as a source for freshwater supply or a conservation practice for over coming water shortages in drought prone areas. By retaining storm-water run-off for on site use, harvesting systems reduce the runoff volumes and pollutant masses entering waterways. Consequently, using roof-top RWH as a best management practice has been encouraged by many state and local governments. Some of the most interesting aspects of RWH are the methods of capture, storage, and the use of this natural resource at the place it occurs.

Combating Nursing Burnout: A Quality Improvement Project, Heather Randolph, Maddy Mcelfresh, Addie Short, Cailey Dahlquist, Jenna Bartley, Suzi White

2022 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

Nursing burnout costs the health care industry roughly 14 billion dollars a year. The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically increased burnout rates. Many nurses feel overworked and underappreciated; this has caused a negative impact as it is influencing the rates of burnout among hospital staffing globally. Over half a million registered nurses have already left their profession nationwide due to stress and workload (Bruyneel, Smith, Tack, & Pirson, 2021). Burnout has diminished staff, depleted resources, and decreased quality of care.

Predicting Cryptocurrency Price Change Direction From Supply-Side Factors Via Machine Learning Methods, David Mayo, Heba Elgazzar

2022 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

Cryptocurrency prices are highly variable. Predicting changes in cryptocurrency price is a hugely important topic to investors and researchers, with much existing research on demand-side factors. The goal of this research project is to design and implement machine learning models to predict future cryptocurrency price change direction based primarily on supply-side factors. Different unsupervised machine learning techniques are used to build the predictive models. These techniques include K Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Support Vector Machines (SVM), Naïve Bayesian Classifier, and Random Forest Classifier. A dataset of 10 daily supply-side metrics for three prominent cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, and …

Genes Repressed After Dna Damage In Acinetobacter Baumannii Are Co-Regulated By Umudab And Ddrr, Mollee Flannigan, Xiaohong Li, Eric Rouchka, Deborah Cook, Janeele Hare

2022 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

UmuDAb and DdrR coregulate error-prone polymerases in the multi-drug resistant opportunistic pathogen, Acinetobacter baumannii, by repressing polymerase expression until after DNA damage. New evidence indicates that these proteins may also regulate other genes that are repressed following DNA damage. We performed an in silico analysis of RNA-Seq data from wild-type, ddrR, and umuDAb mutant strains to examine the expression levels of genes repressed after DNA damage. We used two different algorithms to analyze Cuffnorm- and HTSeq normalized gene counts. This analysis revealed nineteen (CuffDiff) or twenty-nine (DESeq2) genes repressed in wild-type cells that were derepressed after DNA damage in either …

Comfort Women: The Climax That Exposed Japanese Culture, Olivia Dale, James Masterson

2022 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

When a nation attempts to erase the history of a marginalized group, the preservation of such narratives becomes critical. The genuine culture of a nation is exposed when that which officials attempted to hide is analyzed. The comfort women scheme conducted by the Imperial Japanese Government serves as an example of this phenomenon. The comfort women system was more than sex trafficking; it was the climax of a sexist society. Japan had a long history of organized prostitution before the Second World War, but during the conflict, the demeaning actions committed against women extended beyond the nation. The Japanese government …

Analytical Method Development For The Analysis Of E-Liquids, Calista Dean, Charlotte Gabbard, Emma Schmittzehe

2022 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

Electronic cigarettes are one of the most commonly used methods of nicotine delivery, especially among the adolescent population. Due to the lack of regulation in manufacturer labeling of refillable nicotine solutions (e-liquids), the actual concentration of nicotine and other additives is variable as compared to the reported values. Misreporting of nicotine content is a contributor in the development of nicotine dependency and potentially tobacco product dependency. The objective of this research is to develop reliable analytical methods to study the variations in nicotine levels in e-liquids, and to identify and quantify other potentially harmful additives in e-liquids. In this research …

Taking The Bull By The Horns: Gender Analysis In A Cattle Project In Indonesia, Febrina Prameswari

Sustainability and Social Justice

Women play a crucial role in agriculture, especially in cattle farming. However, gender inequality in livestock production remains a critical issue, as women usually have less engagement with livestock production, less control over finances, and less access to markets. The IndoBeef program in Indonesia was one of the first livestock projects to incorporate gender-specific activities in its implementation. The project used women-only focus groups, utilizing the Women’s Empowerment in Livestock Index (WELI) combined with farm production data to address women’s needs in the cattle industry. I conducted a gender analysis of one of IndoBeef’s subsidiary projects, CropCow. The project did …

South-West Estuarine And Nearshore Finfish Resource Part 1: Sea Mullet And Yellowfin Whiting, Rodney Duffy Dr., David Harris, Emily Fisher, Kim Smith, Danielle Johnston, Ainslie Denham, Alex Hesp, Blaine Hodgson, Amber Quinn, Marcus Newman

Fisheries Research Reports

This report focuses on one of the primary target species for which biomass-based stock assessments are periodically undertaken - sea mullet (Mugil cephalus). The report also includes a recent stock assessment for yellowfin whiting (Sillago schomburgkii) due to concerns regarding substantial increases in catch relative to historic levels.

Status of stock(s)

Sea mullet

The current stock level is considered to be acceptable, and the current level of fishing mortality is unlikely to deplete the stock to a level at which recruitment could be impaired. On the basis of the evidence provided, the sea mullet stock in …

Investigating The Role Of The Basolateral Amygdala Plays In The Incubation Of Cue-Induced Cocaine Seeking Behavior, Claire Marie Corbett

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Theses and Dissertations

Cocaine use disorder is a chronic, relapsing brain disease. Sex and ovarian hormones are known to influence cocaine addiction liability and relapse vulnerability. However, little is known regarding the cellular and synaptic mechanisms contributing to sex differences in relapse vulnerability, including how these measures are influenced by hormonal fluctuations. To investigate sex differences in relapse vulnerability we use a rodent model of cocaine craving and relapse called the incubation model in which cue-induced seeking progressively increases or “incubates” during the first month of withdrawal from extended-access cocaine self-administration. Using this model, we have recently shown that females in the estrus …

The Validity Of Perceptual Recovery Status On Monitoring Recovery During A High-Intensity Back Squat Session, Nicholas Buoncristiani

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Adaptations to resistance training and subsequent performance can be undermined by inadequate inter-set recovery. This time between sets is often uniformly prescribed based on desired training outcomes; however, there is demonstrative evidence that recovery is highly individualized. Methods typically used to monitor recovery were developed for longitudinal use, making them cost- or time -inefficient within a bout of exercise. If valid, the perceptual recovery status (PRS) scale may be used as an efficient and inexpensive recovery assessment tool to monitor individual recovery as well as appropriately modify rest periods. Purpose: The aim of the current study was to assess the …

Changes In Health Behaviors By Gender During A Global Pandemic, Anthony Costarella

Celebration of Scholarship 2022

As we emerge from Covid-19 pandemic, many people struggle to return to normal, leading us to ask what changes have occurred as a result of the virus and social distancing. We have observed 471 million people suffer with Covid-19, lost 6.08 million lives to the virus, and learned how the virus works as well as how to fight it, yet very little is known about the impact of the virus and its countermeasures on our health habits. PURPOSE: To examine the effect of gender on changes in health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Eight hundred and sixty-six subjects (70.8% …

Growing Up Healthy: A Study On Young Adults And Their Readiness To Transition To Independent Healthcare, Annabelle Heddell

2022 Awards for Excellence in Student Research and Creative Activity - Documents

Healthcare is a lifelong journey that involves changes, decision making, and awareness of health needs and concerns. As children grow up and age out of the pediatric system, transitioning occurs. Healthcare transitioning (HCT) is a process that assists individuals with the different stages of their health journey. Transition readiness is derived from the concept of health care transitioning, which is generally defined as “the process of shifting from pediatric to adultfocused care” (Kelemen et al., 2014, p. 1062). A more in-depth definition describes health care transitioning as the “process of purposeful, planned movement of adolescents with chronic medical conditions from …

Making Forests, Making Communities: An Ethnography Of Reforestation In Monteverde, Costa Rica, Megan Brown

Anthropology Theses and Dissertations

Reforestation is not just planting trees in the ground. More than net increase in forest cover, reforestation is a complex political endeavor undertaken by both humans and non-humans and a popular climate change mitigation tactic. However, little research has examined the dynamics between selection of specific reforestation strategies, health, and community resilience, particularly with attention to entanglements between the lives of both human and non-human forest dwellers. This ethnographic work, based on six months of in-person fieldwork and six months of digital ethnography, examines reforestation and forest relations in Costa Rica’s Monte Verde zone, a region which experienced widespread deforestation, …

Leaf Phenology Of Callery Pear: Frost Damage, Margaret E. Maloney, Abby Hay, Eric B. Borth, Ryan W. Mcewan

Five Rivers MetroParks Collaboration Data Archive

This dataset is one of three affiliated with the paper "Leaf phenology and freeze tolerance of the invasive tree Pyrus calleryana Roseaceae) and potential native competitors."

The other two datasets are:

• Leaf Phenology of Callery Pear: Spring
• Leaf Phenology of Callery Pear: Fall

Leaf Phenology Of Callery Pear: Spring, Margaret E. Maloney, Abby Hay, Eric B. Borth, Ryan W. Mcewan

Five Rivers MetroParks Collaboration Data Archive

This dataset is one of three affiliated with the paper "Leaf phenology and freeze tolerance of the invasive tree Pyrus calleryana Roseaceae) and potential native competitors."

The other two datasets are:

• Leaf Phenology of Callery Pear: Fall
• Leaf Phenology of Callery Pear: Frost Damage

Considerations For Establishing Silvopastures On Wooded Sites, Brett Chedzoy, Ashley Conway, John Fike, Kate Macfarland

Agroforestry Notes (USDA-NAC)

Like other conservation and production practices, silvopasture management is not the right fit for every site or every land manager. High quality woodlands with high native species diversity are generally not a good starting point for silvopasture establishment. However, silvopasture provides an opportunity for active forest management on other sites that have been neglected or poorly managed with undesirable species composition, invasive species concerns, and other challenges. In some situations, silvopasture management can be used to aid in ecosystem restoration or fuels mitigation. The land manager and others in the silvopasture team should consider natural resource issues highlighted in this …

Smokejumper Magazine, April 2022, National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper and Static Line Magazines

This issue of the National Smokejumper Association (NSA) Smokejumper Magazine contains the following articles: Message from the President; Standing Tall-Making a Difference: Merv George, Supervisor Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest; Oakus of the Doakus on the Gobi; Odds and Ends; The Homecoming; Recording Smokejumper History; 1944 Rookies-The Civilian Public Service Years; NSA's Most Successful Membership Drive; Sounding Off from the Editor; That First Season-An Almost Love Affair; Siskiyou Rappellers-A Force That Does the Job; Ring of Fire; The Silent Mountain; Gates of the Arctic National Park-Alaska; The Jump List; Travel Air NC8182 Is Flying Again; Pick Your Own Tree; Touching All …

Exploring Amaranth’S Color Palette: Linking Phenotype, Plant Adaptation, And Human Health, Sarah Redman, Chance Riggins Ph.D.

PRECS student projects

Amaranthus is a genus containing species that are highly desirable, yet underutilized crops and species that are highly despised pernicious agricultural weeds.

• Cultivated species are primarily grown as nutritious pseudograins, colorful ornamentals, or leafy greens and are recognized for tolerance to heat, drought, and salinity.
• Weedy amaranths possess similar adaptive traits, in addition to evolved resistance to numerous herbicides, and pose severe challenges to global agriculture.
• Plant pigments (i.e., betalains, carotenoids) are central to understanding this impressive diversity of phenotypes and adaptive traits.