Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 11 of 11
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Isolating And Sequencing Genes Coding For Metal-Reducing Enzymes In Shewanella Algae, Bry, Diana Stutzman, Thaomy Nguyen, Emily Brennan
Isolating And Sequencing Genes Coding For Metal-Reducing Enzymes In Shewanella Algae, Bry, Diana Stutzman, Thaomy Nguyen, Emily Brennan
Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE)
The Natural and Accelerated Bioremediation Research (NABIR) Program focuses on efficiently managing and reducing contamination of soil and groundwater by heavy metals and nuclear materials at Department of Energy (DOE) sites across the United States. In an effort to learn how to use microbes to accomplish this goal, four genes that code for metal-reducing enzymes expressed by the soil bacterium Shewanella algae, strain BrY are being sequenced. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is used to amplify the genes of interest, and the PCR products are purified by cloning and sent to the University of Chicago for sequencing. So far, partial …
Testing The Potential Of Using Fungi To Convert Human Waste Into Protein, Alex Zapata, Elizabeth Phillippi, Blair Mitchell, Jon Schoer, Michael Watters
Testing The Potential Of Using Fungi To Convert Human Waste Into Protein, Alex Zapata, Elizabeth Phillippi, Blair Mitchell, Jon Schoer, Michael Watters
Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE)
We report on the results of a pilot experiment designed to test the potential of filamentous fungi (mold) to reduce solid waste (feces) while converting it into a consumable, high protein food product. Feces represent an untapped resource. Filamentous fungi are natural decomposers with the ability to use this resource. Many filamentous fungi are safe to eat. We examined growth in order to determine the conditions which maximized the rate of conversion of solid waste into fungal biomass. For this pilot, we compared the effect of different lengths of incubation, different methods of aeration, and different available surface area. The …
Impacts Of The Species Elaeagnus Umbellate On The Soil And Water Quality Of The Pierce Cedar Creek Institute Ecosystem, Yacoub Aljobeh, Kristin Engerer
Impacts Of The Species Elaeagnus Umbellate On The Soil And Water Quality Of The Pierce Cedar Creek Institute Ecosystem, Yacoub Aljobeh, Kristin Engerer
Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE)
The species Elaeagnus umbellate, more commonly known as autumn olive, is a shrub that is invasive to the United States and indigenous to East Asia. Even though the autumn olive is not native to North America, it was able to thrive and adapt to the new environment by using its ability to fix nitrogen. Nitrogen-fixing is a process where plants intake molecular nitrogen from the atmosphere and convert it into other forms of nitrogen that can be used by the plants. One of the nitrogen-fixing by-products is nitrate. Excessive amounts of nitrate can easily leach from the plant’s root …
Converting Cooa From A Carbon Monoxide To An Oxygen-Sensing Heme Protein Transcription Factor: Investigations Into The Structure And Mechanism Of Gas Binding, Amanda Sedoris, Josh Wagoner
Converting Cooa From A Carbon Monoxide To An Oxygen-Sensing Heme Protein Transcription Factor: Investigations Into The Structure And Mechanism Of Gas Binding, Amanda Sedoris, Josh Wagoner
Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE)
CooA is a carbon monoxide-sensing (CO-sensing) heme protein transcription factor that regulates gene activation in several bacteria and, importantly, is a convenient model for studying analogous proteins in the human body. In the present study, the specificity and mechanism of gas-binding of CooA have been investigated by efforts to convert CooA from a CO to an oxygen (O2) sensor through site directed mutagenesis of residues in the gas binding pocket of the heme group. The resulting mutated proteins were then isolated and characterized with spectroscopy. The results of this research project will provide further insight into the current …
Water Quality Of Restored Wetlands: A Study Of The Great Marsh Complex In The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Wendy Marth, Diandra Obermeyer, Kandace Spera, Pitchaya Patana-Anake, Adam Conner
Water Quality Of Restored Wetlands: A Study Of The Great Marsh Complex In The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Wendy Marth, Diandra Obermeyer, Kandace Spera, Pitchaya Patana-Anake, Adam Conner
Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE)
Historic wetlands are increasingly being restored for multiple purposes, including improving water quality (WQ). The Great Marsh of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (IDNL) serves as an excellent example of a restored wetland that affects WQ. Fifteen different WQ parameters have been monitored at sites throughout the Great Marsh to assess how the restored wetland is functioning. Data collected thus far indicate WQ in the restored Great Marsh is typical of a northwest Indiana wetland and that the Great Marsh is functioning like a typical wetland in this region. For example, total phosphorus analyses indicate substantial phosphorus uptake by the …
Water Quality Monitoring Of The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Great Marsh Complex, Evan Beyers, Jacob Yablonowski, Jonathan Schoer
Water Quality Monitoring Of The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Great Marsh Complex, Evan Beyers, Jacob Yablonowski, Jonathan Schoer
Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE)
The Great Marsh complex of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore was drained extensively by humans, beginning in the late 1800’s to provide land for farming and residences. Since 1998, 500 acres of the Great Marsh complex have been undergoing restoration in an attempt to return them to their pre-developed conditions. To assess the success of the ongoing restoration on water quality, 15 different parameters used to assess water quality are being measured. Data collected from June 2007 through July 2011 indicates that the water quality is typical of that for a wetlands in this region, and that the Great Marsh …
Evidence For The Impact Of Reactive Oxygen Species On The Control Of Branching In Neurospora Crassa, Jacob Yablonowski, Alex Zapata, Michael Watters
Evidence For The Impact Of Reactive Oxygen Species On The Control Of Branching In Neurospora Crassa, Jacob Yablonowski, Alex Zapata, Michael Watters
Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE)
In preliminary screens, several functions, most notably, genes involved in the control of reactive oxygen species (ROS), were identified as playing a role in the process of growth rate compensation of branch density. The maintenance of branch density under growth at various temperatures was examined in a selection of mutants in genes known to be important in the control of ROS. In all ROS control mutants tested, growth was shown to branch tighter when grown at higher temperatures (which result in faster growth rates) and looser when grown at lower temperatures (which results in slower growth rates). This can be …
Highly Functionalized Pd(0)-Catalyzed Trimethylenemethane (Tmm) Cycloadditions, Samantha Cassell
Highly Functionalized Pd(0)-Catalyzed Trimethylenemethane (Tmm) Cycloadditions, Samantha Cassell
Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE)
Trimethylenemethane (TMM) cycloaddition is a palladium(0)-catalyzed process by which five-membered carbon rings are formed. This process, though very useful, results in the loss of a reactive functional group, making further synthetic steps more difficult. In order to maintain the functional group, a new, highly-functionalized TMM cycloaddition was attempted with an epoxide precursor rather than the typical acetoxy group. This precursor, trimethyl(2-oxiranyl-2-propenyl)silane, was successfully synthesized in three steps from propargyl alcohol. The epoxide was then used in a palladium(0)-catalyzed TMM cycloaddition to result in the desired cyclopentane molecule, which retained the useful oxygen and trimethylsilyl group.
Testing The Potential Of Using The Fungus Neurospora Crassa To Convert Human Waste Into Edible Protein., Alex Zapata, Jacob Yablonowski, Michael Watters, Jon Schoer
Testing The Potential Of Using The Fungus Neurospora Crassa To Convert Human Waste Into Edible Protein., Alex Zapata, Jacob Yablonowski, Michael Watters, Jon Schoer
Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE)
We report on the results of an experiment designed to test the potential of filamentous fungi (mold) to reduce solid waste (feces) while converting it into a consumable, high protein food product. Feces represent an untapped resource. Filamentous fungi are natural decomposers with the ability to use this resource. Many filamentous fungi are safe to eat. Initial studies resulted in rates of conversion which varied considerably with growth conditions. Fungal growth also appears to reduce odor, but we have been unable to confirm this observation via GCMS. The protein content of the resulting fungal biomass was examined using the Kjeldahl …
Gas-Binding Studies Of The Carbon Monoxide Sensor, Cooa, Joshua A. Wagoner, Lindsey L. Dillingham, Robert W. Clark
Gas-Binding Studies Of The Carbon Monoxide Sensor, Cooa, Joshua A. Wagoner, Lindsey L. Dillingham, Robert W. Clark
Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE)
CooA is a carbon monoxide-sensing (CO-sensing) heme protein transcription factor that regulates gene activation in several bacteria and is a convenient model for studying analogous proteins in the human body. The goal of this study is to understand the specificity and mechanism of gas binding of CooA. To accomplish this, wild type CooA and selected protein variants were purified and then reacted with different diatomic gas molecules. The resulting species were characterized by UV-Visible and fluorescence spectroscopy.
Baseline Data Analysis Of The Throgren Basin Retrofit, Erin Argyilan, Jennifer Birchfield, Tom Goyne, Nicole Grabos, Caitlin Soley, Jennifer Wunsch
Baseline Data Analysis Of The Throgren Basin Retrofit, Erin Argyilan, Jennifer Birchfield, Tom Goyne, Nicole Grabos, Caitlin Soley, Jennifer Wunsch
Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE)
The Thorgren Basin, located in Valparaiso, IN, was created as a component of the stormwater management system for the city. The basin’s primary function is to collect stormwater from two separate regions of the Salt Creek Watershed after large storm events, that is then discharged through a single outlet. In its current state the basin has limited infiltration capabilities due to a lack of vegetation and pervious surfaces. The Save the Dunes Conservation Fund, a local non-profit group, provided a cost share opportunity to naturalize Thorngren basin. The goal of the summer 2011 project was to create a monitoring strategy …