2022 Undergraduate Exhibition

Penn State New Kensington offered second-year students an on-campus program designed to increase a sense of community and improve campus engagement through a peer mentorship program. The underlying goal of the program was to connect second-year students with academic concerns to campus resources and to their peers. Our intended outcome was for 75% of student participants to stay out of academic warning.

This paper develops a preliminary framework for modeling human migration flows where climate change (mean annual temperature) impacts state carrying capacity and movement is constrained by finite migration rates. Experimentation with model parameters indicates a potentially catastrophic inability of human populations to adapt quickly enough to changing carrying capacities as climate change stresses existing population regions such as the Sahara and the Sahel.

We aim to determine if isobutyric anhydride (IA) can be added to lignin via an acylation reaction catalyzed by hafnium triflate. Lignin, IA, and Hf(OTf)4 were dissolved in 1,4-dioxane, which was allowed to react and subsequently centrifuged to recover modified lignin. It was then dried and prepped for 31P-NMR spectroscopy. The 31P-NMR spectrum shows there were no aliphatic hydroxyl groups which indicates some of the hydroxyl groups on lignin were acylated.

I tested the hypothesis that parental care is related to whole brain or brain region size by utilizing hybrid fish generated from a population that provides care (with large brains) and one that does not (with small brains). I used FIJI image software to measure whole brain and brain region volume of 78 male brains. I will present my analysis of the association between parental care and whole brain and brain region sizes. 

We are developing a method of chemical modifications in living cells which will detect non-canonical DNA structures, such as those associated with GAA repeats, responsible for Friedreich’s ataxia, and GATA repeats, known to be unstable in colon cancer cells and a FoxE1 region, which was hypothesized to be involved in evolution. This research will shed light on the mechanism of their instability, which may be important for treatment development and understanding of disease evolution.

Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) is recommended to mitigate the effects of maternal malnutrition in Madagascar and Bangladesh. Data collected from focus groups, community workshops, and interviews elucidated the multilevel determinants of pregnant women’s potential MMS acceptability and compliance. Findings suggest that the most salient determinants at the community, institutional, interpersonal, and individual levels are similar across settings yet culturally and contextually bound, providing insights into tailored implementation strategies for introducing MMS within antenatal care services.

Older adults are typically underrepresented in psycholinguistic research. This motivated survey research to see to if the judgment of word concreteness (i.e., degree to which a word evokes the senses) is changed in aging populations. Older adult respondents in my study rated words as being less concrete than respondents in previous surveys with predominantly younger respondents. This knowledge can be leveraged in speech therapy serving predominantly elder patient populations (e.g., persons with post-stroke aphasia).

Urban heat islands are urbanized areas that experience higher temperatures than outlying areas and are becoming increasingly dangerous in dense cities, like Bogota, Colombia. Latin America has the highest urbanization rate, but lacks data and research. This research quantifies the urban heat islands in different neighborhoods in Bogota from 2021 and analyses their causes. Mitigation strategies to minimize the trapped heat are assessed to find possible solutions.

Trait dissociation is the measurable degree to which an individual may experience interruption of conscious flow which temporarily alters their perceptive reality on a recurring basis. Predominate literature thus far focuses only on the negative aspects/disease model of dissociation as those with elevated dispositional dissociation scores are predisposed to develop related disorders. My proposed research seeks to uncover a potential beneficent link between higher trait dissociation and positive affect by way of absorptive (imaginative) assimilation.

Biofilm is a viscous film formed by bacteria composed of an extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) that attaches to surfaces. Bacteria communicate through quorum sensing, which creates adaptability. EPS contains enzymes that allow biofilm to be used in bioremediation. Atrazine is a harmful herbicide that was used nationally in the 1980’s. Pseudomas sp. strain ADP has been discovered to degrade atrazine. Studying biofilm behavior in changing conditions is important to furthering research on it’s bioremediation use.

Lady Beetles (Harmonia axyridis) are natural enemies to the aphids (Myzus persicae) and affect the reproduction of aphids. These reproductive responses can be seen when there are consumptive and non-consumptive presence of the H. axyridis. In this study, we want to take our previous knowledge about non-consumptive effects of the H. axyridis on the M. persicae with the addition of fertilized and non-fertilized collards (Brassica oleracea).

Purine metabolism disorders are genetic disorders that cause severe neurological symptoms. These disorders arise from mutations in DNA that encode specific enzymes responsible for creating intermediates of the purine metabolism pathway. Deficiencies or mutations in these enzymes cause a build-up of intermediates which express neurological phenotypes observed in affected individuals. We want to use the model system Caenorhabditis elegans, to further investigate the role these specific enzymes play in neurological health.

The eastern box turtle is a species of special concern in Pennsylvania where population numbers have declined considerably. There is an urgent need to understand where populations occur and to characterize critical demographic parameters such as age structure and reproductive success. I conducted surveys in Rothrock State Forest to assess population status and to determine the effectiveness of new ultra-high-frequency radio transmitters for individual tracking purposes. 

The CD36 scavenger receptor is overexpressed in some cancers, but how this impacts tumor cell functions is not well understood. This project aims to explore how CD36 influences epithelial to mesenchymal transition and associated metastasis markers. Using a doxycycline-inducible system for overexpression of CD36 and examination of multiple markers of the epithelial to mesenchymal transition, we show that CD36 increases key markers of a mesenchymal phenotype.

Cell Division Cycle Associated 7 (CDCA7) is a transcription factor containing a 4CXXC-type zinc finger domain mediated by c-Myc. In vivo, CDCA7 will first associate with chromatin; then, it will recruit LSH-1 and forms a complex. Mutations in CDCA7 or LSH-1 can result in DNA methylation defection, which is one of the main causes of ICF and many cancers. In my research, I'll be presenting CDCA7L purification research process and determining structure through electron microscopy. 

The symbiosis between the Hawaiian bobtail squid and the bacterium Vibrio fischeri can be used as a model to study growth inhibition of coisolated symbionts. One interaction that results in inhibition is the activity of bacterial encoded type six secretion systems (T6SSs). Using fluorescence spotting assays and squid colonization assays, the growth inhibition phenotypes and colonization abilities of strains were determined. Coisolated strains encoding T6SSs exhibited growth inhibition in vitro, but colonized the same animal.

Our lab is focusing on the anticancer activities of the following flavonoids: naringenin, quercetin, apigenin, eriodictyol, fisetin, and chrysin against oral cancer. We have found that their cytotoxic effects on oral cancer cells are different. To understand the mechanisms behind these differences, we obtained quantitative cell uptake of each flavonoid by SCC-25 cells and compared them via One-way ANOVA. The results showed that the cell uptake does not predict cytotoxicity of these flavonoids.

Gold nanoparticles possess unique optical and magnetic properties compared to bulk gold, allowing for various significant applications.Previous nanoscience work reveals a significant discovery by Burgi et al, that the ligand exchanges with free thiols and nanocluster Au25(SR)18 is done in a manner that isn’t governed by probability. This project is meant to quantify the ligand exchange of thiolate-protected gold nanoparticles and compare with that of Au25(SR)18 model clusters and determine whether similar ligand preferences exist. 

My research proposal proposes a study from the cognitive appraisal perspective to determine whether contentment truly is an emotion. The study I propose examines participants' cognitive appraisals after recalling an event that elicits contentment, amusement, and a neutral emotional state. My hypothesis is that contentment is an emotion and will lead to less approach behaviors, low external attribution, and a greater appreciation of the present. Further contentment will show distinct and unique cognitive appraisals. 

A method of dead reckoning utilizing an average path is proposed and compared to traditional methods. The effective wheel radius of each wheel is estimated and used to determine distance traveled along the average path when GPS signal is lost. This is demonstrated using data collected with a small-scale test vehicle instrumented with high-resolution wheel encoders and a GPS receiver.  

  Mental well-being is crucial for college students to succeed, especially for international students. In this research, I reviewed articles on the causes of depression and non-suicidal self-injury, and how art and psychotherapy are beneficial. Based on my research, I created a poster that portrays depression and non-suicidal self-injury for international student at Penn State, Harrisburg. The project was done to bring awareness to the topic and encourage students to seek help, and rediscover themselves.

This study examined whether there would be students who differ in frequency of media multitasking between preferred and non-preferred classes, and if any of these students differed in levels of trait impulsiveness and delay discounting. Students were compared on their freuqencies of media multitasking in preferred and non-preferred classes, delay discounting tasks, and trait impulsivity measures. Results suggests devaluation of future rewards is an underlying mechanism for resisting media multitasking in the classroom.

Heparin is a widely accepted blood thinner used in several therapeutic settings. Typically, heparin is administered as an intravenous infusion, and due to its short serum half-life (approx. 60-90 minutes) must be administered frequently, resulting in patient’s discomforts, risk of infection and overdosing. Herein, we develop an injectable material that sustainably releases heparin to allow for less frequent dosing of patients and reduce the incidence of overdose complications.

Modern medical technology such as pacemakers have the ever-growing need of efficient charging within apt limits for patients.Developing, testing, and analyzing a wireless system that transmits energy across a short distance of non-conductive media such as air is key. Further modifications to transmit audio signals from any digital source wirelessly across similar non-conductive media which proves useful in blue-tooth or radio transmitting technology, where there can be multiple branches of applications for wireless data transfer.