Identification Of Lipid Species: Potential Biomarkers For Early Detection Of Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Kit Yee Leung, Kaylee Freitas

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of liver cancer. HCC is associated with cirrhosis. Poor survival rate of HCC is due to diagnosis of HCC at late stage.

The Synthesis And Purification Methodology Of An Intermolecular Pyrophosphate Sensor: Applications For The Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction, Ethan Gevedon

Honors Projects

The optimized synthesis and purification methodology for an intermolecular pyrophosphate sensor scaffold molecule was performed: high performance liquid chromatography afforded the scaffold in excellent purity and yield. The applications of the sensor assembly in the quantitative polymerase chain reaction were discussed, and preliminary results show that

Targeting Platelets Using Ionic Liquid Coated Nanoparticles, Karen Mun Wong

Honors Theses

Platelets are key players in our body’s inflammatory processes upon activation, which can create physiological problems. Researchers are actively seeking solutions by targeting platelets with therapeutics. The objective of the research in this thesis was to investigate a new and potentially less invasive drug delivery platform using nanoparticles. The topic of the project was to explore the world of ionic liquids and their abilities, when coated on nanoparticles, to bind to platelets. A library of choline carboxylic acid-based ionic liquids (ILs) was first synthesized via salt metathesis while PLGA-based nanoparticles were simultaneously being synthesized via the nanoprecipitation method. The ionic …

Fast Photochemical Oxidation And Footprinting Of Proteins Via Trifluoromethyl Radical Chemistry, Elaine Morrow

Honors Theses

Fast photochemical oxidation of proteins (FPOP) is a useful tool in proteomics because of the ability for modifications to occur on the scale of microseconds which reduces the modifications to tertiary and quaternary structure allowing for more accurate labeling of the protein. Labels for FPOP are generated from various radicals in our experiments which include hydroxyl radicals and trifluoromethyl radicals. Hydroxyl radicals are easily generated by using an excimer laser (KrF laser, 248 nm) or a UV flash lamp (as a part of the Fox™ System) by the photolysis of hydrogen peroxide. Trifluoromethyl radicals, however, need hydroxyl radicals to be …

The Effects Of Paclitaxel On Cellular Migration And The Cytoskeleton, Ashley Salguero-Gonzalez

Thinking Matters Symposium

In a clinical setting, some patients are exposed to an anti-cancer chemotherapy agent, paclitaxel. Cancerous cells undergo rapid, continuous cell division without control. Chemotherapy treatments try to slow and stop the uncontrollable cell division cycles and eliminate cancerous cells in the process. Paclitaxel serves as a treatment for some types of cancers, including lung, melanoma, bladder, and esophageal. Because it targets the cytoskeleton, paclitaxel can also influence cell migration. This project utilizes a cellular migration assay and an immunohistochemistry assay to analyze the effects of paclitaxel on the movement of cells and on the cytoskeleton of neuroglia rat cells with …

Volume 13, Payton Davenport, Audrey Lemons, Jacob Shope, Haley Smith, Cassandra Poole, Rachel Cannon, Rachel Boch, Suzanne Stetson

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Introduction Dr. Roger A. Byrne, Dean

From the Editor Dr. Larissa “Kat” Tracy

From the Designers Rachel English, Rachel Hanson

The Effect of Compliment Type on the Estimated Value of the Compliment by Payton Davenport, Audrey Lemons, and Jacob Shope

The Imperial Japanese Military: A New Identity in the Twentieth Century, 1853–1922 by Haley Smith

Longwood University’s campus: Human-cultivated Soil has Higher Microbial Diversity than Soil Collected from Wild Sites by Cassandra Poole

Reminiscent Modernism: Poetry Magazine’s Modernist Nostalgia for the Past by Rachel Cannon

Challenges Faced by Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Preliminary Study of Age and …

Synthesis And Characterization Of A Novel Reaction-Based Azaborine Fluorescent Probe Capable Of Selectively Detect Carbon Monoxide Based On Palladium-Mediated Carbonylation Chemistry, Samuel Moore, Carl Jacky Saint-Louis

Symposium of Student Scholars

Azaborines are fascinating compounds because they possess valuable properties such as photochemical stability, have high molar absorption coefficient and high fluorescent quantum yields, as well as large Stokes shifts and tunable absorption/emission spectra. Here, we designed, synthesized, and will examine a novel reaction-based azaborine fluorescent probe capable of selectively detect carbon monoxide (CO) based on palladium-mediated carbonylation chemistry. This novel azaborine fluorescent probe will exhibit high selectivity for CO and display a robust turn-on fluorescent response in the presence of CO in aqueous buffer solution.

Ketal-Azaborine Versus Ketal-Azaborine With A Spacer: Structural Effects On The Photophysical Properties Of Tunable Heteroaromatic Polycyclic Chromophores, Albert Campbell, Janiyah Riley, Samuel Moore, Albert Campbell

Symposium of Student Scholars

Flat-structured heteroaromatic polycyclic compounds with extended conjugated π-systems such as azaborines are in high demand in the material and imaging technology markets because of their unique features such as simultaneous tunability of fluorescence color and intensity. We have designed, synthesized, and investigated a series of novel conjugated thermally stable ketal-azaborine chromophores that contain a phenyl ring as a spacer between electronic moieties and the ketal-azaborine core as easily tunable high-luminescent organic materials. We investigated the impact of the phenyl spacer on the ketal-azaborine unit. We examined the structural effects on their photophysical properties by incorporating electron –donating and –withdrawing substituents …

Azaborine Versus Azaborine With A Spacer: Structural Effects On The Photophysical Properties Of Tunable Azaborine Chromophores, Kaia Ellis, Janiyah Riley, Lyric Gordon, Janiyah Riley

Symposium of Student Scholars

Azaborines are fascinating compounds because of their valuable and interesting optical properties making them suitable to be utilized in many optoelectronic devices. We have designed, synthesized, and investigated a series of novel conjugated thermally stable azaborine chromophores by incorporating a phenyl ring as a spacer linking the chromophore to different electronic moieties as easily tunable high-luminescent organic materials. We investigated the effect of the phenyl spacer on the azaborine unit. The substituent effects of different electronic moieties were investigated by the insertion of electron –withdrawing and –donating moieties to the phenyl spacer. We examined the role of the electron –donating …

Organic Chemistry Through Dance, Holly Gibson

Undergraduate Research Conference

This research project explores representing organic chemistry mechanisms using dance. Dancers represent molecules, electrons, and atoms in demonstrating the movement of electrons and bonds created and broken by the movement. It was concluded that some organic mechanisms and ideas can be easily transferred to a dance concept, while others take more time and exploration. Additionally, dancers representing the atoms and electrons were able to have a better grasp of what was occurring, regardless of chemical education background. This leads to the conclusion of a new way to implement kinesthetic learning into the chemistry classroom. The purpose of the videos are …

Bomb Calorimetry: A New Method Of Cec Determination, Trace Washburn

Undergraduate Research Conference

A new method of determining the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of clay minerals was examined. This method involved exchanging the smectite clay with organic cations and using bomb calorimetry to measure the energy of combustion of the material. Because the clay is noncombustible, the energy is completely dependent on the amount of organic present, which is dependent on the CEC of the clay. Two organic cations, tetrapentylammonium and octadecyltrimethylammonium , with similar size but much different shape were used. For clays with lower CECs, using the more symmetric ion yielded better accuracy (4.24%), while for clays with higher CEC, using …

Casein Kinases Are Required For The Stability Of The Glucose Sensing Receptor Rgt2 In Yeast, Danny Bloor

Liberty University Research Week

Undergraduate

Basic

Faster Intercalation Pseudocapacitance Enabled By Adjustable Amorphous Titania Where Tunable Isomorphic Architectures Reveal Accelerated Lithium Diffusivity, Wessel Van Den Bergh, Taylor Larison, Maximilliano Jesus Jara Fornerod, Prof. Stefan Guldin, Morgan Stefik

Faculty Publications

Intercalation pseudocapacitance is a faradaic electrochemical phenomenon with high power and energy densities, combining the attractive features of capacitors and batteries, respectively. Intercalation pseudocapacitive responses exhibit surface-limited kinetics by definition, without restriction from the collective of diffusion-based processes. The surface-limited threshold (SLT) corresponds to the maximum voltage sweep rate (vSLT) exhibiting a predominantly surface-limited current response prior to the onset of diffusion-limitations. Prior studies showed increased lithium diffusivity for amorphous titania compared to anatase. Going beyond prior binary comparisons, here a continuum of amorphous titania configurations were prepared using a series of calcination temperatures to tailor both amorphous …

In Situ Recording Of Mars Soundscape, S. Maurice, B. Chide, N. Murdoch, R. D. Lorenz, D. Mimoun, R. C. Wiens, A. Stott, X. Jacob, T. Bertrand, F. Montmessin, N. L. Lanza, C. Alvarez-Llamas, Stanley M. Angel, M. Aung, J. Balaram, O. Beyssac, A. Cousin, G. Delory, O. Forni, T. Fouchet, Et. Al.

Faculty Publications

Before the Perseverance rover landing, the acoustic environment of Mars was unknown. Models predicted that: (1) atmospheric turbulence changes at centimetre scales or smaller at the point where molecular viscosity converts kinetic energy into heat1, (2) the speed of sound varies at the surface with frequency^2,3 and (3) high-frequency waves are strongly attenuated with distance in CO₂ (refs.^2,3,4). However, theoretical models were uncertain because of a lack of experimental data at low pressure and the difficulty to characterize turbulence or attenuation in a closed environment. Here, using Perseverance …

College Of Natural Sciences Newsletter, March & April 2022, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Volume 3, Issue 3

Page 1 Dean's Message
Page 2-3 Awards and Recognition
Page 4 2022 URSCAD - CNS Snaps
Page 5 Geography Convention Recap
Page 6 Attention Students!
Page 7-8 Media Coverage of CNS
Page 9 Spring Break Outreach, Adopt the Pantry,
Page 10 Discovery on Tap Event
Page 11 CNS Students Visit State Capital
Page 12 Celebrating 50 Years of Sally
Page 13 Open PRAIRIE Data
Page 14 Grants Awarded and Bio-Micro Day of Scholars
Page 15 -17 2022 Geography Convention Snaps
Page 18 Sally Krueger's 50th Work Anniversary

1st Place Contest Entry: Designing Hollow Nanogels For Drug Delivery Applications, Mo Hijazi

Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize

This is Mo Hijazi's submission for the 2022 Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize, which won first place. It contains their essay on using library resources, their bibliography, and a summary of their research project on hollow-core nanogels.

Mo is a second-year student at Chapman University, majoring in Biological Sciences. Their faculty mentor is Dr. Molla Islam.

Prefusion Spike Protein Conformational Changes Are Slower In Sars-Cov-2 Than In Sars-Cov-1, Vivek Govind Kumar, Dylan S. Ogden, Ugochi H. Isu, Adithya Polasa, James Losey, Mahmoud Moradi

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Within the last 2 decades, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronaviruses 1 and 2 (SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2) have caused two major outbreaks; yet, for reasons not fully understood, the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has been significantly more widespread than the 2003 SARS epidemic caused by SARS-CoV-1, despite striking similarities between these two viruses. The SARS-CoV-1 and SARSCoV-2 spike proteins, both of which bind to host cell angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, have been implied to be a potential source of their differential transmissibility. However, the mechanistic details of prefusion spike protein binding to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 remain elusive at the …

Observing Reactive Events At The Aqueous Graphene Oxide Interface Using Deep Neural Network Potentials, Lukas Kim

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Datadescription-Detection Of Sulfur Dioxide By Broadband Cavity-Enhanced Absorption Spectroscopy (Bbceas), Ryan Thalman, Nitish Bhardwaj, Callum Flowerday, Jaron C. Hansen

ScholarsArchive Data

Files archived include the following:

Figure1.txt This file contains all the data used to make Figure 1 in the paper.

Figure4.txt This file contains all the data used to make Figure 4 in the paper.

Figure5.txt This file contains all the data used to make Figure 5 in the paper.

Figure6.txt This file contains all the data used to make Figure 6 in the paper.

Figure7.txt This file contains the code, written in Igor, that was used to generate this figure.

Figure8.txt This file contains all the data used to make Figure 8 in the paper.

Figure9.txt This file contains …

The Development Of Inhibitors For Sars-Cov-2 Orf8, My Thanh Thao Nguyen

CSB and SJU Distinguished Thesis

An unexpected outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 caused a worldwide pandemic in 2020. Many repurposed drugs were tested, but there are currently only three FDA approved antivirals (Merck’s antiviral Molnupiravir, Pfizer’s antiviral Paxlovid, and Remdisivir).1 Most of the antiviral drugs tested SARS-CoV-2 main protease and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. However, it is important to explore different drug targets of SARS-CoV-2 to prepare for the virus mutations of the future. This research looks at an alternative approach in which SARSCoV- 2 Open Reading Frame 8 (ORF8), which has been shown to be a rapidly evolving hypervariable gene, was chosen to be the protein of …

Sars-Cov-2 Main Protease Inhibitors Repurposed For Hiv-1 Protease Binding, Jacob Minkkinen

CSB and SJU Distinguished Thesis

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) led to the COVID-19 global pandemic, with over 460 million cases of infection and over 6 million deaths since the start of the pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 is a retrovirus that utilizes a main protease (Mpro). Mpro is a catalytic cys/his protease. Several treatments were proposed to stop the pandemic including repurposing drugs to inhibit the Mpro. Another retrovirus that uses a protease is human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) which has been a global epidemic for 40 years and is a devastating disease that attacks the immune system. HIV-1 has infected 79.5 million people and has killed an …

Geochemistry Of Mafic-Intermediate Intrusive Rocks From The Twangiza-Namoya Gold Belt, Eastern Democratic Republic Of Congo: Trace Element Constraints On Their Origin, Petrogenesis And Tectonic Setting, Gerald L. Chuwa, Charles H. Kasanzu

Tanzania Journal of Science

Bulk geochemical data for the Twangiza-Namoya Gold Belt, Democratic Republic of Congo, are presented in order to classify the rock assemblages, elucidate their petrogenesis and tectonic settings. Nb/Yb and Zr/Ti constraints reveal two suites for the rocks: sub-alkaline to andesitic basalts (Suite-1); and alkaline basalts (Suite-2).  Ratios of Ti/Zr = 22–70; Zr/Hf = 35–42; Nb/Ta = 12–13; Nb/Th = 1–2 and La/Nb = 2.4–3.8 suggest arc-generated mantle melts with crustal inputs and arc-fluids metasomatism for Suite-1. The samples have positive LILE and negative Nb, Ta, Ti anomalies, enrichments in the LREE over middle and HREE (La/Yb)CN = 3.6–8.9 with negative …

Attempted Synthesis & Antibacterial Properties Of Apt-6k Against Ndm-1 K. Pneumoniae, Alec Bofetiado

Honors Theses

NDM-1 K. pneumoniae is a highly resistant bacterial organism that is capable of causing debilitating nosocomial infections in immunocompromised patients. Only "last-resort" antibiotics--such as colistin--work against this organism. Therefore, new antibiotics are needed to help fight against these types of infections. APT-6K is a novel compound that was demonstrated to be effective against MRSA with nanomolar concentrations in a prior study. Novel methods of APT-6K synthesis and its testing for antibiotic effects against NDM-1 K. pneumoniae were attempted in this research. APT-6K synthesis was unsuccessful. Commercially-prepared APT-6K also did not demonstrate growth inhibition against NDM-1 K. pneumoniae nor against a …

Trends In The Development Of Industrial Sector Of Uzbekistan, Bakhtiyar Kalmuratov, Aydos Bekbosinov

Karakalpak Scientific Journal

The article presents the main directions of industrial transformation at the new stage of economic reforms in 2016-2020. The key achievements during this period in the development of manufacturing industry production and exports, the development of industrial and territorial structures, and the improvement of market mechanisms for the development of commodity markets are highlighted.

Socio-Economic Factors Of Environmental Problems, Manzura Kamalova, D. Shakenov

Karakalpak Scientific Journal

People consciously and intensively rebuild their nature according to their own needs, creating rural and urban areas in which they live. People care about the quality of life in the context of the unity of nature and culture. Social is a relatively new discipline that deals with urban space and environmental issues. One way to imagine what is beneficial to people is to find out what is economically best for the person. The article examines the economic factors that form the attitude towards social ecology in Kazakhstan. The article concludes that society should cooperate to achieve common things, both for …

Synthesis Of Thiol-Acrylate Hydrogels For 3d Cell Culture And Microfluidic Applications, Anowar Hossain Khan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Globally cell culture is an $18.98 billion industry as of 2020, with an 11.6 percent annual growth rate. Drug discovery has an estimated worth of $69.8 billion in 2020 and is predicted to grow to $110.4 billion by 2025. Three-dimensional (3D) cell culture of cancer cells is one of the rapidly growing felids since it better recapitulates in vivo conditions compared to two-dimensional (2D) models. However, it is challenging to grow 3D tumor spheroids outside the body, and some of the existing technology can generate these spheroids outside the human body but poorly mimic in vivo tumor models. Therefore, there …

Application Of Gellan Gum Biopolymer In Biomedical Applications: A Review, Norsyakirah Izzati Hishamuddin, Mohd Hasmizam Razali, Khairul Anuar Mat Amin

Makara Journal of Science

Gellan gum (GG) has gained considerable attention in the food, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries due to its functional characteristics. It has versatile properties, such as water solubility, easy bio-fabrication, good film/hydrogel-formation, biodegradability, and biocompatibility. These properties render GG a promising material in biomedical applications, specifically in the development of wound dressing materials. In this review, the use of GG biopolymer as a wound dressing material was discussed. Various fillers, such as titanium dioxides, clay, drug, and honey, have been incorporated in GG to produce film, hydrogel, or scaffold materials. The effects of filler on the mechanical performance, physical properties, antibacterial …

A Quantitative Analysis Of The Efficacy Of Various Essential Oils Against The Sars Cov-2 Virus, Elizabeth Wagstaff, Chandrelyn Kraczek, Jack Brandon Lopez

Annual Research Symposium

A poster presentation and abstract for the Roseman Symposium. The project focuses on testing 3 essential oil blends and two disinfectants containing an essential oil blend against SARS CoV-2 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project procedure involves plaque assays, disinfection, and neutralization techniques.

Effects Of Dibutyltin Exposures On Translation Regulatory Factor S6 In Human Immune Cells, Meaghan Lewis, Amanda Ruff, Margaret Whalen

Student Research

Dibutyltin is an organotin contaminating the environment through its use as a stabilizer in polyvinylchloride, PVC plastics. DBT has been found in drinking water and beverages, such as beer and wine, due to leaching from the PVC plastics used during the distribution of these drinks. Along with PVC plastics, DBT has been used as a deworming agent in poultry, infiltrating additional food products and increasing the exposure of the toxin to humans. Due to its multiple uses, it has entered the food chain and has been detected in human blood at levels as high as 0.3μM. Inflammatory cytokines are important …

Antibacterial Activity, Structure-Activity Relationships, And Scale-Up Reaction Of 1,3,4-Oxadiazoles, Olivia Marie Smith

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Oxadiazoles are compounds in the field of organic chemistry that have been gathering interest in the medicinal chemistry and microbiology communities for their biological properties, which range from anti-inflammatory agents, to chemotherapy drugs, to antibiotics. The synthesis of oxadiazoles can be difficult due to the expensive and complex nature of the techniques used as well as the volatile reagents and elevated temperatures that are often required in organic synthesis. The Grote lab has recently developed a new method for the synthesis of 1,3,4-oxadiazoles under mild conditions. The goals of this thesis were thus twofold: to develop a viable scale-up procedure …