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 …

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 …

Survey Of The Performance Of 5 Nm Gold Nanoparticles Within An Ssdna-Stabilized Biosensor For The Detection Of Hg2+, Madalyn Zagajowski

Scholar Week 2016 - present

The formation of a fluorescent biosensor complex consisting of 5 nm diameter gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) was conducted using a low-cost, efficient binding method. Furthermore, we assessed the analytical potential for the complex to detect mercury ions (Hg²⁺) in an aqueous solution upon collection of UV-vis and fluorescence spectrometry data for the AuNP-ssDNA complex. We aimed to investigate this potential due to the possibility that the nanoparticles formed utilizing this method would produce nanoparticles of too small a size to result in detectable fluorescence, thus the complex synthesized from this specific method was qualitatively evaluated …

Generation Z Cybersecurity Learners: The Identification Of Cybersecurity Instructor Strategies And Attributes That Maximize Student Engagement, Jeffrey Rice

Scholar Week 2016 - present

There exists a significant shortage of cybersecurity specialists in the workforce. Universities should endeavor to keep cybersecurity students engaged if they desire to be competitive and contribute graduates to the remediation efforts of this cybersecurity deficit. Instructors significantly contribute to student engagement and there is a correlation between student engagement and student retention. The purpose of this regional qualitative exploratory study was to identify attributes that Generation Z collegiate cybersecurity learners felt kept them engaged in their cybersecurity courses. The sample comprised 10 individuals identified as GenZ and used purposeful and snowball sampling to select participants. A semi-structured interview strategy …

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), …

An Investigation Of The Relationship Between Math Curricula And Students' College Readiness, Nancy A. Deluca

Scholar Week 2016 - present

State learning standards with increased rigor have required higher levels of achievement from students on standardized tests, high-school grades, and national percentile ranks which are used for collegiate acceptance and course placement. As a result, preparation of students for standardized tests such as the ACT and SAT have become increasingly more challenging. The current quantitative, quasi-experimental study examined the relationship between the tangible math curricula used for instruction and students’ readiness for collegiate coursework. From sample sizes of 128 and 169 high-school students in two consecutive school years, there were several statistically significant relationship differences. Analysis of test results indicated …

Synthesis Of Cyclopropyl Analogs Of Stereochemically Rigid Probes Of Certain Pharmacological Receptors, Douglas Armstrong, Zachary Emptage, Anderson Verhoeven

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Douglas Armstrong, lead ONU faculty researcher, and his two research students, Zachary Emptage and Anderson Verhoeven, expanded their previous research (centered around acetylcholine and cholinergic activity), to include other types of pharmacological receptors, but again, aiming at the same type of compounds (cyclopropyl) to confer conformational (stereochemical) rigidity. The focus now is on compounds which, like acetylcholine, also contain an oxygen atom and a nitrogen atom separated by two carbon atoms, but which have pharmacological activity other than cholinergic. Several pharmacological categories have this pattern as known medicinal agents (“drugs”), including certain antidepressants, antihistamines, anti-anxiety drugs, etc. For some, there …

Computational Chemistry - Ulk 101, Michaela Montpas

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Autophagy is a process that generates the necessary building components for cells by cytoplasmic breakdown of unnecessary materials (Martin, Celano, Solitro, Gunaydin, Scott, et. al., 2018). This is a survival technique for cells in times of stress, especially during periods of nutrient starvation. Cancer cells, unfortunately, benefit from this process due to their ability to flourish in nutrient-starved environments, becoming resistant to therapy. The primary protein in mammals responsible for this process is a serine/threonine kinase called ULK 1 (unc-51 like autophagy initiating kinase 1). As such, inhibitors of ULK 1 can be used in cancer therapies in order to …

Evaluating The Scalability Of Graphene Synthesis, Evan Dexter

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Graphene is a new material, first isolated in 2004, consisting of one to a few atomic layers of carbon in a lattice sheet structure. Graphene has high tensile strength, high surface area, very low electrical resistance, and various other special properties that make it an excellent material for use in emerging technologies in the categories of electrical components, energy systems, and high strength applications. The production scale of graphene sheets and its variations is currently limited to laboratory use, with a great amount of current research going into the development of manufacturing techniques of the material. I conducted experiments to …

Generating Spectra Using Pca-Based Spectral Mixture Models, Joseph S. Makarewicz, Heather D. Makarewicz

Scholar Week 2016 - present

PCA-based spectra mixture models have been created for several laboratory mixture data sets. This presentation provides examples of spectra that were generated using PCA-based spectra mixture models.

Synthesis Of Cyclopropyl Analogs Of Acetylcholine, Douglas Armstrong, Zachary Emptage

Scholar Week 2016 - present

The Ph.D. research by Douglas Armstrong was highly successful for the synthesis of the trans cyclopropyl analog of acetylcholine, but only marginally successful for the cis isomer. In recent years he has developed novel ideas as to how the synthesis of the cis isomer may be improved upon, in ways using more current methods. He has done experiments using some of those methods, and the results, although preliminary, look good.