Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Summer 2024 Research Proposal: Swanberg Sanctuary Prairie Plant Community Characterization And Management Testing, Jillian Becksfort

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Prairie management is an involved process that is focused on maintaining existing grassland plant and animal communities. Invasive species and the spread of woody shrubs and trees presents a real threat to the existing prairie. Woody stems can affect resources such as water access and nutrient availability, which may cause changes to the prairie’s unique plant communities. Management techniques like burning and mowing are commonly used to prevent woody stems from causing changes to the prairie ecosystem. The Sanctuary was restored to natural prairie habitat in 2008 and a list of planted species is available. However, no plant surveys have …

Adapt And Studio: Building The Textbook Of The Future With Next Generation Oer Homework System, Delmar S. Larsen, Josh Halpern

All Things Open

One of the principal limiting factors in large scale adoption of OER is the absence of comparable free or low-cost homework platforms to complement existing and developing OER textbooks. This presentation addresses the LibreTexts efforts to remove this barrier by building and expanding the open-source ADAPT homework system - a central component of the "LibreVerse" ecosystem of courseware technologies - to supplant existing for-profit commercial systems. ADAPT is designed as a centralized OER question bank (>150 k questions) that combines adaptive learning incorporating learning trees with culturally responsive pedagogy for advanced use. We will demonstrate how instructors can use …

Determining The Ideal Concentrations Of Ethanol And Propylene Glycol In Ethosomes For Transdermal Delivery Of Vitamin D3, Rebecca Conner

Harrisburg University Research Symposium: Highlighting Research, Innovation, & Creativity

Vitamin D₃ is an important chemical in the human body, however, many Americans have low levels of this vitamin. There are plenty of oral supplementations for Vitamin D₃ deficiency, but those of older age and busy schedules may struggle to meet the minimum requirement. A recently developed ethosomal transmembrane delivery system (Touitou, 2000), similar to liposomes but also containing ethanol, allows users to apply a gel dermally and have the desired drug or active ingredient reach the bloodstream faster. However, there is considerable variation in the concentration of ethanol and permeation enhancers used. Using an affordable method to …

Survey Of The Performance Of Gold Nanoparticles Within An Ssdna-Stabilized Biosensor For The Detection Of Hg2+, Madalyn Zagajowski

Pence-Boyce STEM Student Scholarship

Methods

5 nm AuNPs were synthesized by combining solutions of HAuCl4 and sodium citrate, followed by dropwise addition of NaBH4 solution and aging for 24 hours. Additionally, Hg-bound poly(30)T ssDNA oligos were prepared by incubating with HgCl2 solution, with exonuclease I being added to denature unbound DNA. Aliquots of the AuNP solution were then treated with the ssDNA, either Hg-bound or non-Hg bound, and UV-vis and fluorescence spectra were taken of the samples with a Shimadzu UV-1280 spectrophotometer and a Hitachi F-2500 fluorescence spectrophotometer.

Results & Discussion

The UV-vis spectral data of the non-Hg bound AuNP/ssDNA complex samples did not …

Environmental Factors Affecting Coleoptera Biomass In The Ozark Mountain Range In Arkansas, Hayley J. Springsteen

ATU Research Symposium

Abstract:

Terrestrial invertebrates including species of Coleoptera (beetles) play an important role in many ecosystem services including soil formation and fertility, pollination, decomposition and nutrient turnover, population regulation of other organisms through predation. Coleoptera are often vital in determining biodiversity and conservation techniques. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the knowledge of how environmental factors and different management practices are affecting Coleoptera populations and further assist ecologists in improving management techniques in the future. The insect data in this study was collected over the course of two weeks in the Arkansas portion of the Boston Mountain range. …

Study Of Protein Extraction Techniques For M. Foliorum Phages, Lola Sibaud, Anna Elgersma

Student Academic Conference

Characterizing phages is becoming increasingly important in biochemistry and biotechnology due to their potential to treat bacterial infections without need for antibiotics. Last year, students attempted to isolate proteins from Microbacterium foliorum infecting phages Babydotz and Rosadiaz. Proteins were successfully extracted; however, after further analysis it was shown that the obtained proteins belonged to the host bacteria and not the phages. The purpose of this study was to find a method to separate phage from host bacterial debris to successfully isolate phage proteins and analyze them later. Isolating phage proteins could help us characterize more phages and know more about …

Soil Properties Associated With Land Management Practices In Western Kentucky, Ava Isaacs, Gracey Moffitt

Scholars Week

Soil Properties Associated with Land Management Practices in Western Kentucky

1. A. Isaacs, G. Moffitt, W. Sides, and Corey Hale

Mentor: Dr. I.P. Handayani

Hutson School of Agriculture, Murray State University, Kentucky, USA

Abstract

One of the most important factors regarding soil and plant health is nutrient availability and fertility. Of these two factors that were mentioned available potassium is a key component. With that being said we decided that it would be beneficial to see how potassium can be traced within the soil in various locations after fertilizer is applied. There were two parts to this experiment. Part one was …

Body Dimension And Length-Weigh Relationships Of Invasive Exotic Earthworm Species In Huron Mountains Forests, Paula Arroyo, Xiaoyong Chen, Timothy Gsell, John A. Yunger, Mary E. Carrington

Research Days

Invasive exotic earthworms have undesired ecological effects on structure, function, and biodiversity of forest ecosystems in the Great Lakes region. Biological parameters including body length, weight, growth rate, and regeneration patterns of earthworms are necessary to understand their life cycle and impacts on ecological processes such as nutrient biogeochemistry cycling and carbon sequestration in the forests, as well as for forest management practices. In this work, earthworms were surveyed in main forest types of the Huron Mountains Preserve of Michigan, Upper Peninsula during the period of May 2021 to October 2022. Earthworms were captured from established sampling quadrates using a …

Investigating Respiratory Simplification Caused By Prenatal Rage Upregulation, Paul Reynolds

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Potential Role For Rage In The Development Of Secondhand Smoke-Induced Chronic Sinusitis, Paul Reynolds

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Rage Inhibition Reduces Timp And Decreases Cell Invasion In Cigarette Smoke Extract (Cse) Treated Oral Squamous Carcinoma Cells, Paul Reynolds

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Rage Availability Lessens The Degree Of Dysfunctional Mitochondrial Bioenergetics Following Chronic Secondhand Smoke Exposure, Paul Reynolds

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Gestational Dependent Responses To Second Hand Smoke (Shs) In Mouse Pregnancies, Paul Reynolds

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Climate Assemblies: Lessons Learned And Results From Around The World And Washington State, Laura Berry, John Cambalik, Ed Chadd, Michael Chang, Derek Hoshiko, Brandon Letsinger

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Citizens’ assemblies are an increasingly widespread form of democratic engagement and solution-finding. Assemblies convened specifically to address the climate crisis have taken place around the world, including in Australia, Great Britain, Belgium, Poland, and France. France’s recent “Convention Citoyenne Pour Le Climat,” focused on reducing carbon emissions, led President Macron to pledge to adopt and fund 146 out of 149 policy recommendations. The Washington Climate Assembly (WA Climate Assembly) was initiated and funded by a group of volunteers, organized as People’s Voice on Climate. The nation’s first citizens’ assembly on this critical issue, the WA Climate Assembly brought together 77 …

Opening Plenary, Scott Redman, Ginny Broadhurst, Cecilia Gobin, Patti Gobin, Christianne Wilhelmson, Dr. Kathryn L. Sobocinski, Dr. Isobel Pearsall

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Welcome from Conference Organizers Scott Redman, Executive Chair Cecilia Gobin, Program Co-Chair Julie Watson, Program Co-Chair Fran Wilshusen, Program Co-Chair Christianne Wilhelmson, Program Co-Chair Ginny Broadhurst, Salish Sea Institute Coast Salish Welcome Cecilia Gobin, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission Coast Salish Perspectives on the Last 150 years Patti Gobin, Tulalip Tribes Patti Gobin has over 25 years of Community Development experience with the Tulalip Tribes. Presently, she is with the Natural Resource Treaty Rights office working with state, local and federal agencies regarding those issues that impact the life ways of the Tulalip Tribes. In addition to her years of experience, …

Casein Kinases Are Required For The Stability Of The Glucose Sensing Receptor Rgt2 In Yeast, Danny Bloor

Liberty University Research Week

Undergraduate

Basic

Ingredient Classification Using Food Ontology, Ricky Flores

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

A food label provides some of the most crucial information for a food product. The food label is a key resource for many health-conscious consumers for understanding ingredients. It is also vital for individuals to avoid food allergens or help patients follow dietary recommendations. While the food labels in the United States are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) many labels contain additional information or statements that are not regulated. Moreover, the food label may be complex or contain terminology that the layperson may not understand. Evidence has indicated that consumers often find nutrition labels confusing, especially when …

Seizure Prediction In Epilepsy Patients, Gary Dean Cravens

NSU REACH and IPE Day

Purpose/Objective: Characterize rigorously the preictal period in epilepsy patients to improve the development of seizure prediction techniques. Background/Rationale: 30% of epilepsy patients are not well-controlled on medications and would benefit immensely from reliable seizure prediction. Methods/Methodology: Computational model consisting of in-silico Hodgkin-Huxley neurons arranged in a small-world topology using the Watts-Strogatz algorithm is used to generate synthetic electrocorticographic (ECoG) signals. ECoG data from 18 epilepsy patients is used to validate the model. Unsupervised machine learning is used with both patient and synthetic data to identify potential electrophysiologic biomarkers of the preictal period. Results/Findings: The model has shown states corresponding to …

Analysis Of Botulinum Toxin A And Interacting Proteins In Skeletal Muscle Cells: An Investigation Into The Mechanisms Of Botulinum Toxin A As A Treatment For Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome, Lauren Kee

Pence-Boyce STEM Student Scholarship

Background: Chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS) is a condition in which muscle tissue expands against the surrounding fascia during activity and is compressed along with the nerves and blood vessels within the muscle compartment, leading to abnormally high intracompartmental pressure (ICP) and debilitating pain. Treatment typically includes fasciotomy, which results in significant levels of CECS recurrence; however, botulinum toxin A (BoNT-A) injection has recently been seen to decrease both ICP and pain through an unknown mechanism with little to no recurrence.

Methods: In this study, cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), prostaglandin E₂ receptor 4 (EP4), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), …

Binder Cover Garden Ecology, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

No abstract provided.

Powerpoint - Educator And Student Instructions, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

No abstract provided.

Powerpoint - Maintaining The Garden, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

No abstract provided.

Binder Cover, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 13: Birds in the Urban Landscape

No abstract provided.

Urban Birds, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 13: Birds in the Urban Landscape

No abstract provided.

Hummingbird Pictures For Picture Walk, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 13: Birds in the Urban Landscape

No abstract provided.

2017 Student Hummingbird Poster, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 13: Birds in the Urban Landscape

No abstract provided.

Picture Walk Cards, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 12: Urban Wildlife

No abstract provided.

Powerpoint - Coyote Ecology & Resilience, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 12: Urban Wildlife

No abstract provided.

Powerpoint - Preparing The Garden Site, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

No abstract provided.

Powerpoint - Instructional, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

No abstract provided.