Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Why Your Clothes Could Be Killing You: The Detection Of Bpa In Clothing Using Fluorescence Spectrophotometry, Bella Bevel

Scholars Day Conference

Bisphenol-A, better known as BPA, is a carcinogenic compound found in many plastic-containing products due to its ability to add rigidity and strength to the plastic. However, BPA has been found in a wide variety of products not traditionally thought of as “plastic” including feminine hygiene products, printer receipts, and even clothing. Clothing containing a polyester/spandex blend, common in athletic wear, contains BPA, whereas traditional cotton clothing does not. Using flourospectroscopy, the presence of BPA in these types of clothing was confirmed, as well as measured over time. Strips of clothing containing polyester and spandex blends were submerged in a …

The Mental Health And Developmental Effects Of Bisphenol-A, Maryann Rettig

Scholars Day Conference

My directed study focuses on the mental health and developmental effects of bisphenol-A (BPA) on individuals in close contact with the chemical product. BPA is an organic chemical produced in large quantities that is used in the production of many polycarbonate plastics, feminine hygiene products, and epoxy resins that coat some metal food cans. Because of it being everywhere, BPA often leaches dermally and orally into the human body. The physical effects of BPA have been known and observed for years. However, its mental health effects specifically are not as commonly known. Therefore, in my directed study I would be …

Scholars Day 2024 Program Of Events, Carl Goodson Honors Program

Scholars Day

This is the program of events for the 2023 Scholars Day Conference, where undergraduates across disciplines present their scholarly and creative works.

Scholars Day 2023 Program Of Events, Carl Goodson Honors Program

Scholars Day

This is the program of events for the 2023 Scholars Day Conference, where undergraduates across disciplines present their scholarly and creative works.

Scholars Day Program Of Events 2022, Carl Goodson Honors Program

Scholars Day

This is the program of events for the 2022 Scholars Day Conference, where undergraduates across disciplines present their scholarly and creative works.

Combination Chemo-Pdt Ionic Nanomedicines As Enhanced Therapeutics For Cancer, Samantha Macchi

Arkansas Women in STEM Conference

Cancer remains as one of the leading causes of death in humans worldwide. Nanotechnology has made great strides in improving treatment for the disease. This work describes a simplistic approach to design self-assembled combination nanomedicines. A facile one-step ion exchange reaction is utilized to combine a chemotherapeutic (phosphonium) cation and photodynamic therapeutic (porphyrin) anion. An aqueous nanomedicine is prepared from the hydrophobic ionic combination drug via a single-step reprecipitation method. Upon conversion to ionic combination drug, improved photophysical properties of porphyrin were observed. These characteristics subsequently led to increased photodynamic therapeutic activity of nanomedicines—explained by greater singlet oxygen quantum yield. …

Defying The Darkness: Countering Cancer With Light, Travis Hankins

Honors Theses

Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) accounts for upwards of 15% of reported breast cancer cases. This subtype of breast cancer poses a greater threat to those diagnosed as compared to other types of breast cancer due to the lack of treatment options available. Additionally, TNBC grows and spreads faster, tends to be more aggressive, and has a greater chance of recurrence than its counterparts. Altogether, TNBC cases generally have a worse prognosis over other types of breast cancer. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is currently being researched as a way to treat TNBC. Photodynamic therapy agents are light-activated materials used for localized disease …

Scholars Day Program Of Events 2021, Carl Goodson Honors Program

Scholars Day

This is the program of events for the 2021 Scholars Day Conference, where undergraduates across disciplines present their scholarly and creative works.

Carrier-Free Chemo-Ptt/Pdt Ionic Nanomaterials For Combination Cancer Therapy, Samantha Macchi

Arkansas Women in STEM Conference

Herein, we describe a carrier-free combination nanodrug for treatment of cancer. In this work, we combined a photothermal compound and a chemotherapeutic drug using ionic liquid chemistry. We utilized a facile, one-step metathesis approach to replace the counter cation of a near infra-red (NIR) dye (photothermal agent) with a chemotherapeutic cation to synthesize an ionic material-based combination cancer therapy drug to deliver multiple mechanisms simultaneously. The nanodrugs were developed by using a reprecipitation method. The detailed photophysical properties of this new combination therapy molecule was investigated in ethanol solution as well as in nanoparticles forms in aqueous media. The singlet …

Determining The Presence Of Bpa In Vaping Mouthpieces, Jessica Cook-Snelgrove

Honors Theses

As more and more teenagers and young adults begin to vape, whether it be to quit smoking or to look cool, there is a potential for them to be exposed to bisphenol-A (BPA) through the plastic mouthpieces on the vapes. BPA is a molecule that is added in many plastics to make the plastic harder (Houlihan, Lunder, & Jacob, 2008). Unfortunately, BPA is structurally similar to estrogen as can be seen in Figure 1. The closeness of the structures can cause issues in humans such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and reproductive problems (Houlihan, Lunder, & Jacob, 2008). In recent years, …

Killing Breast Cancer One Porphyrin At A Time, Taylor C. Lymburner

Honors Theses

New treatments for cancer are continuously being developed and improved. One such treatment is Photodynamic Therapy, more commonly referred to as PDT. PDT is quickly becoming more popular due to its relative lack of side effects that are present in other treatments. In PDT, light-sensitive agents are required and are activated by light in the targeted cells. There are many types of PDT agents but the one focused on in this research is a four-pyrrole ring structure known as a porphyrin. The combination of H2 TPPC with 3- amino-oxetane-3-yl-methanol created the final product ofH2TPP-Oxo-MeOH. Once the porphyrin was formed, it …

Treating Breast Cancer With Light: The Creation Of Two Photodynamic Therapy Agents, Victoria Lackey

Honors Theses

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a treatment for a wide display of diseases, including cancer, that has become gradually widespread. The procedure requires the usage of photosynthesizing agents, which are activated in the presence of light. One quite successful photodynamic therapy agent is an aromatic structure made up of four pyrrole rings called a porphyrin. This research focused on producing the water-soluble porphyrins, H2TPP-3-PEG-OH and H2TPP-PiperMe-OH, through the attachment of the starting porphyrin, H2TPPC, with 3-polyethyleneglycol and 3-piperidinemethanol, respectively. The novel, water-soluble agent was purified and characterized by infrared spectroscopy (IR), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), and UV-vis spectroscopy. Purity was …

Scholars Day Program Of Events 2018, Carl Goodson Honors Program

Scholars Day

No abstract provided.

Scholars Day Program Of Events 2017, Carl Goodson Honors Program

Scholars Day

No abstract provided.

Does Gendered Language Have An Effect On You?, Andrew John Stambolie, Angella Valencia, Olivia Allbright

Scholars Day

Our study tested the effects of gender exclusive and gender inclusive language on males’ and females’ feelings of ostracism, motivation, identification, and their emotions.

Research has shown that being rejected or ignored can have negative psychological effects. (Stout & Dasgupta, 2011).

Ostracism is both the act being ignored and excluded. It includes directly differing with the individual, indicating his or her failings, as well as actively denying being associated with this individual. (Cheung & Choi, 2000).

Discrimination can be understood as a larger sociological component that includes ostracism. (Cheung & Choi, 2000).

Research Question: Does the use of gender-inclusive and …

Physical And Psychological Balancing Act: Is Stability Desirable?, Abby Huggins, Marley Zochert, Nate Shrader

Scholars Day

Recent studies have conveyed that the physical instability of a person would alter the way they thought about other people’s relationships and the traits people seek in romantic partners. These studies also show that cordial physical experiences can impact people’s views of relationship stability (Kille, Forest, & Wood, 2013).

Confessing love for a significant other while seated in an unstable condition can alter how they truly feel if they were to be sitting in a stable condition (Forest, Kille, Wood, & Stehouwer, 2015).

Similarly, one study showed that being in a position that makes someone feel uncomfortable can influence what …

The Role Of Gender And Emotions On Moral Hypocrisy, Jordan K. Raglin, Tye G. Boudra-Bland, Tristan B. Benzon

Scholars Day

Recent studies have shown that the emotions of anger and guilt have interesting effects on an individual’s moral hypocrisy. Anger increasing the likelihood that one will be hypocritical and guilt effectively neutralizes any hypocritical tendencies. (Polman & Ruttan, 2012)

We were keenly interested to see if we could duplicate these results at Ouachita and were also curious as to whether or not gender plays a role in how hypocritical a person will be.

We wanted to know if emotion or gender could negatively impact logical reasoning because if they do, we could keep this in mind while making judgments in …

Scholars Day Program Of Events 2016, Carl Goodson Honors Program

Scholars Day

No abstract provided.

Porphyrin Derivatives And Photodynamic Therapy Effects On Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Sarah Rogers, Joseph E. Bradshaw, Timothy E. Hayes

Scholars Day

There are limited effective options for treatment of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) due to its lack of the three receptors typically used to target breast cancer. The use of photodynamic therapy (PDT) to kill cells that take up light-absorbing compounds (PDT agents) may be an effective option to treat TNBC. We tested the efficacy of modified porphyrins as PDT agents against cells from TNBC. We compared these to Foscan, which is similar in structure to porphyrins and has been approved for use in Europe. Our 1st goal was to measure which porphyrins were taken up best by TNBC cells. …

Scholars Day Program Of Events 2015, Carl Goodson Honors Program

Scholars Day

No abstract provided.

Scholars Day Program Of Events 2014, Carl Goodson Honors Program

Scholars Day

No abstract provided.

My Experience Exploring The Effects Of Lead (Pb +2) Toxicity In Drosophila Melanogaster Using Sociability Interaction Testing And Microarrays At The University Of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras In San Juan, Puerto Rico, Charlton Diaz

Honors Theses

Lead is an environmental contaminant widely dispersed throughout the world. Exposure to lead causes neurological damage in humans and may be linked to neurodevelopmental pathologies such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, antisocial behavior, and autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies) have been used to understand the behavioral, synaptic, and molecular changes that occur after developmental exposure to lead and to study ASD-associated pathology. Flies were exposed through the mother and until eclosion to either a lead-laced medium or a control corn-based medium and were isolated until the beginning for the behavioral studies. Sociability testing was done using a …

Scholars Day Program Of Events 2013, Carl Goodson Honors Program

Scholars Day

No abstract provided.

Scholars Day Program Of Events 2012, Carl Goodson Honors Program

Scholars Day

The 2012 Scholars Day Program of Events lists the presenters and their papers, posters, recitals, theatre scenes, art shows, or theses.

Scholars Day Program Of Events 2011, Carl Goodson Honors Program

Scholars Day

No abstract provided.

Scholars Day Program Of Events 2010, Carl Goodson Honors Program

Scholars Day

No abstract provided.

Solid Phase Peptide Synthesis, John Gibson

Honors Theses

Solid phase peptide synthesis is a relatively new biochemical process for polymerization of amino acids. It involves the selection of amino acids, blocking groups, and resins. This procedure was first investigated by R. B. Merrifield in an attempt to simplify previous methods of peptide synthesis. Since other methods involved amino acids, peptide esters, and diketopiperazines, peptide synthesis had been limited by amino acid selection and a host of technical problems. Solid phase synthesis alleviates many of these difficulties and limitations by supplying a faster and simpler stepwise addition of a wide variety of naturally occurring and synthetically prepared amino acids …