Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

"In The Beginning, God Created Atoms", Samiya L. Henry

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Genesis 1:1 states “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” This is the defining statement in the Bible and acts as the foundation of creation and God’s power in the Christian faith. On the other hand, many scientists believe the Big Bang Theory and the discoveries made in other fields of science solely define the creation of the universe and explain life as we know it, also disproving the Christian creation story and the overall existence of God. However, the exact opposite is true; God is science.

Alone, neither of these concepts (faith and science) fully solve …

Impact Of Treatment Length On Individuals With Substance Use Disorders In Allegheny County, Cassie Dibenedetti, Kate Rosello

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Auberle social services is opening the Family Healing Center (FHC), a level 3.5 treatment program in Pittsburgh, PA that provides housing and 24-hour support for families struggling with opioid addiction. We partnered with Auberle to study characteristics of individuals receiving level 3.5 treatment and to determine whether longer treatment lengths correlate with fewer adverse outcomes. We obtained data from the Allegheny County Department of Human Services on 2,016 individuals admitted to level 3.5 treatment in 2019. The data included birth year, race, gender, admittance date, discharge date, and Children Youth and Family (CYF) incidents before and after treatment. We categorized …

The Next Small Step, Samiya Henry

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

As of right now, NASA and other space programs are estimating that by 2026, there will be people living in Space. Whether it be the Moon or Mars, one cannot have a functional society without a proper source of laws, especially since no one country has ownership over space. "One Small Step" will produce this source of laws, called the “Space Bill of Rights,” that will outline important matters like the trade of resources, medical care, government officials, and will ensure the preservation of our physical and figurative footsteps in space. This Space Bill of Rights is made up of …

Understanding The Effect Of Adaptive Mutations On The Three-Dimensional Structure Of Rna, Justin Cook

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are variations in the genome where one base pair can differ between individuals.¹ SNPs occur throughout the genome and can correlate to a disease-state if they occur in a functional region of DNA.¹According to the central dogma of molecular biology, any variation in the DNA sequence will have a direct effect on the RNA sequence and will potentially alter the identity or conformation of a protein product. A single RNA molecule, due to intramolecular base pairing, can acquire a plethora of 3-D conformations that are described by its structural ensemble. One SNP, rs12477830, which …

Squaramide Structure And Interactions With Benzene, Serina Tressler

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

The chemical industry’s continued reliance on expensive and toxic metal catalysts has driven the search for greener and more sustainable alternatives. One such option is hydrogen bonding organocatalysts, a group of inexpensive compounds made from renewable feedstocks. However, the interactions of these compounds with aryl groups is not currently understood, limiting their overall effectiveness. Dual hydrogen bond donors such as squaramide and thiourea have been a focus of study for some time, but the structure and interactions of unsubstituted squaramide have not been thoroughly reported and present an unknown in catalyst design. This study seeks to understand the structure of …

Development Of A Rapid Drug Detection Method For Insects Using Paper Spray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (Psi-Ms), Alexandria Plyler

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Insects have the ability to reflect the chemical environment that they have developed in. Thus, necrogenous insects can reflect the chemical environment of cadavers they have fed on. Forensic scientists can potentially utilize insect larvae as an alternate biological matrix to detect drugs in cadavers that are skeletonized, burned, or otherwise badly damaged. Analysis of insects using paper spray ionization mass spectrometry (PSI-MS), an analytical method requiring little to no sample preparation, could prove a rapid, cost-effective, and non-destructive alternative form of toxicological analysis. Traditional tissue analysis via GC and LC-MS often require lengthy sample preparation, use expensive reagents, and …

Modeling The Effects Of Fentanyl And Narcan On The Opioid Epidemic In Allegheny County Using Mathematics, Lindsay Moskal, Lauren Sines, Rachael Neilan Ph.D.

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Starting in the 1990s, physicians across the United States have increasingly prescribed opioid pain relievers, which has given rise to the current opioid epidemic. As a result, there has been a drastic increase in the number of overdose fatalities. In 2017, the number of opioid overdose deaths peaked and the U.S. declared the crisis as a public health emergency. One state that has contributed significantly to this epidemic is Pennsylvania, which ranks first for the greatest number of overdose deaths and third for the highest death rate. In fact, Allegheny County has witnessed an overdose death rate that is three …

Modeling The Effects Of Fentanyl And Narcan On The Opioid Epidemic In Allegheny County Using Mathematics, Lindsay Moskal, Lauren Sines, Rachael Neilan Ph.D.

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Starting in the 1990s, physicians across the United States have increasingly prescribed opioid pain relievers, which has given rise to the current opioid epidemic. As a result, there has been a drastic increase in the number of overdose fatalities. In 2017, the number of opioid overdose deaths peaked and the U.S. declared the crisis as a public health emergency. One state that has contributed significantly to this epidemic is Pennsylvania, which ranks first for the greatest number of overdose deaths and third for the highest death rate. In fact, Allegheny County has witnessed an overdose death rate that is three …

Fluoride Removal From Water Using A 3d Printed Calcium Carbonate Filter, Sophia Bakar, David Kahler, Benjamin S. Goldschmidt

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Groundwater containing high concentrations of fluoride is the most common source of drinking water in rural areas in parts of east Africa, India, and China. The elevated levels of fluoride cause skeletal and dental fluorosis, which is the weakening and decay of bone structures due to the leeching of calcium from the body as calcium and fluoride bond by the process of adsorption. Over 150 million people are suffering from some form of fluorosis due to the consumption of groundwater. Calcium carbonate has been demonstrated to influence fluoride removal in several forms. To make fluoride removal a cost-effective and user-friendly …

Quantifying Iron Overload Using Mri, Active Contours, And Convolutional Neural Networks, Andrea Sajewski, Stacey Levine

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Iron overload, a complication of repeated blood transfusions, can cause tissue damage and organ failure. The body has no regulatory mechanism to excrete excess iron, so iron overload must be closely monitored to guide therapy and measure treatment response. The concentration of iron in the liver is a reliable marker for total body iron content and is now measured noninvasively with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI produces a diagnostic image by measuring the signals emitted from the body in the presence of a constant magnetic field and radiofrequency pulses. At each pixel, the signal decay constant, T2*, can be calculated, …

Modification Of An Implant Material, Emily Leung, Nina A. Reger, Ashley Blystone, Ellen S. Gawalt Phd

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Titanium metal is a commonly used implant material which can be colonized by bacteria. Biofilms are formed when bacteria colonizes, attaches to a surface, and immobilizes. Bacterial infections or biofilms are hard to treat once formed on the surface of a metal implant. Coating the material may minimize bacteria attachment. Self-assembled monolayers are comprised of molecules that contain both a head and tail group, and can be used to coat metal to prevent biofilm formation and bacteria growth. 12-mercaptododecylphosphonic acid self-assembled monolayers have a phosphonic acid head group and a thiol tail group. A solution of
12-mercaptododecylphosphonic acid in tetrahydrofuran …

Combating Human Trafficking Using Mathematics, Alfred (Aj) Vogt

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Human trafficking is the modern-day form of slavery. Human trafficking occurs on a daily basis throughout the United States with the majority of victims being women and children. Existing programs to reduce human trafficking are primarily focused on either the prevention of first-time victims or the aid of previously victimized individuals. In this study, we propose a mathematical model describing human trafficking of underage females and the use of prevention and short and long-term aid programs to reduce victimization. The model is a system of differential equations describing the movement of underage females between susceptible, victimized, and aided classes within …

Macromolecular Crowding Effects Of Ldh, Sadiq Ali Shaik

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

No abstract provided.

Non-Traditional Hydrogen Bond Explanation Of Asymmetric Catalysis Of Mukaiyama Aldol Reactions By Dinuclear Zinc Semi-Crown Ligands, Ayan N. Ahmed, Brandon Vernier, Jeffrey Rohde, Jeffrey D. Evanseck

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Semi-crown ligands have been utilized in the asymmetric Mukaiyama aldol reactions involving enol silyl ethers; however, the factors that influence the stereoselectivity are not understood. Our previous work suggests that competition between the formyl and alpha hydrogen bonds between a chiral catalyst and the formyl or alpha hydrogen of the aldehyde play a critical role in the overall stereoselectivity. To understand the Mukaiyama aldol reaction, we investigate the Trost dinuclear zinc-based semi-crown ligand and its role in the reaction using the M06-2X functional paired with Dunning basis sets. Our discussion centers upon our energetic findings and consequences of the alpha …

Effects Of Macromolecular Crowding On Ferredoxin And Ferredoxin-Nadp+ Reductase Kinetics, Danielle Bautista, David W. Seybert Ph.D.

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Macromolecular crowding refers to the intrinsic occurrence of high concentrations of macromolecules found within cells, which may alter biomolecular properties of other macromolecules. Simulating these environments in vitro should enable a more accurate understanding of these modifications. We have employed in vitro studies to specifically examine the effects of macromolecular crowding on biological redox reactions. The iron-sulfur protein ferredoxin (Fdx) and the FAD-containing flavoprotein ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase (FNR), from Spinacea oleracea, were utilized as a model electron transfer system. Utilizing NADPH as a reductant, the Fdx-FNR complex reduces mammalian cytochrome c as a surrogate electron acceptor. Reduction of the heme moiety …