Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Nutrient Recycling From Aqueous For Nitrogen Supplementation In Algae Growth, Alyssa Young

ELAIA

Algae-derived biofuels have the potential to become a source of renewable liquid fuel via hydrothermal liquefaction. However, for algal biofuels to be economically and environmentally feasible, sustainable nutrient recycling must be achieved. Desmodesmus armatus is a microalga to be used in hydrothermal liquefaction, but it is not yet known if the aqueous product waste from the biofuel production process can be recycled as a nitrogen source to support the growth of subsequent cultures of D. armatus. Here, aqueous product was treated with a Dowex 50WX8 resin for twenty-four hours. Growth media was prepared with treated and untreated aqueous product …

Elaia 2020/2021, Stephen Case

ELAIA

Volumes 3/4, 2020/2021

Harmony Amid Chaos, Drew Schaffner

Pence-Boyce STEM Student Scholarship

We provide a brief but intuitive study on the subjects from which Galois Fields have emerged and split our study up into two categories: harmony and chaos. Specifically, we study finite fields with elements where is prime. Such a finite field can be defined through a logarithm table. The Harmony Section is where we provide three proofs about the overall symmetry and structure of the Galois Field as well as several observations about the order within a given table. In the Chaos Section we make two attempts to analyze the tables, the first by methods used by Vladimir Arnold as …

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 …

Measuring The Decrement Times Of Volatile Anesthetics In Drosophila Melanogaster Using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Jason Tolley

Pence-Boyce STEM Student Scholarship

Background

Model organisms are widely used in research, especially in the context of complex situations. One model organism that has been widely used is the common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster (D. mel). D. mel are most commonly used in the context of genetics, but they have also been widely used in research focusing on general anesthetics. One value that has not been measured in D. mel, however, as it relates to general anesthetics, is the decrement times. This is what was the present research set out to determine.

Methods

The anesthetics studied in this research were isoflurane …