Only second to rice, swine production accounts for a large portion of Filipino agriculture. Despite its potential benefits, one drawback of swine agriculture is that pig waste contributes to groundwater contamination through a process called leaching. Leaching occurs when contaminants are carried through particles of soil by water. This poster will use a systems thinking lens to review literature exploring the economic, social, and ecological impacts of leaching in Filipino swine agriculture.

In the event of a global catastrophe (supervolcano eruption, nuclear winter), the world’s food production systems will encounter challenging environmental changes. Duckweed, a high protein aquatic plant, can grow in a variety of conditions including various light intensities, temperatures, and nutrient concentrations. This experiment will expand existing duckweed growth models under low temperature (<15 oC) and low light (<350 umol/m2/sec) conditions. Duckweed grown under these conditions will be evaluated as a resilient food source.

A numerical semigroup S is a subset of the natural numbers (with 0) that satisfy two properties: there are a finite number of natural numbers that aren't in S, and the sum of any two numbers in S is in S. The set of all numerical semigroups can be organized in a tree structure based on their fundamental properties. We study the tree structure of numerical semigroups that have 6 as the smallest non-zero element.

Mitochondrial DNA heteroplasmic variants can be detected in MPS data down to a frequency of 2%, although they can be confused with NUMTs. It’s especially a problem when there is more noise in MPS data, as it's harder to distinguish between minor variants and NUMT sequences. 

This study used qPCR methods to assess the ratio of mtDNA to nDNA to explain noise observed in MPS data within buccal versus blood samples, collected with varying methods.

Introduce the background of Alzheimer's disease. Then, introduce the mathematical model we developed, and the process of validating the model on the AD patient dataset. Based on the validated model, we can perform AD personalized therapeutic studies. And finally, the conclusion. 

Within a supply chain, it is important to understand the vulnerabilities of a vendor. Open-source intelligence (OSINT), or publicly available information, was used to evaluate the suppliers of a defense contractor for weaknesses in security and create a cyber hygiene score. By developing a cyber hygiene score based on the results of OSINT searches, companies are able to better evaluate the security of their distributors and decrease the chance of a supply chain attack. 

We present numerical solutions of the forced soliton equation which describe a
kink soliton in two-dimensional φ4 theory undergoing acceleration. The accel-
eration is caused by an arbitrarily specifiable driving force that couples directly
to the soliton’s collective coordinate.

Petunia inflata utilizes a genetic mechanism, self-incompatibility (SI), to avoid self-fertilization and prevent inbreeding. A family of S-Locus F-box (SLF) proteins control pollen function in SI. Our lab hypothesizes that a HECT-type E3 ubiquitin ligase, PiUPL1, mediates degradation of SLF proteins when they are not needed. To test this hypothesis, I will express GFP-fused SLF proteins in PiUPL1 knockout mutants and use biochemical assays to examine their amounts in pollen.

In Central Pennsylvania, there are areas conserved for specific species of animals. While they help said animals they may also help a non-target species which in this case was the eastern box turtle. The summer was spent tracking and marking turtles to measure their movement, social patterns, and egg-laying behaviors within three protected areas. Radio transmitter strength was also tested in three different areas and circumstances to help set a standard for tracking different species.

We constrain the mass and lifetime of metastable very heavy dark matter particles (VHDM) using blazar emissions and the extragalactic gamma-ray background (EGB) as observed using the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. We calculate J factors along lines of sight and gamma-ray spectra from dark matter decay channels. Our results suggest that if VHDM particles contribute to the EGB, they must have lifetimes in excess of 10^25 seconds.

Microtubules are used to direct the transport of cargo within a cell. In Drosophila dendrites, most microtubules are minus end out and play a role in its stability. Nup358 and mTOR are proteins that are involved in the inhibition of microtubule nucleation, and act similarly to kinetochore proteins. Asp and ninein are proteins that localize at the minus end of microtubules that have been found to assist in nucleation from the centrosome.

This thesis evaluates different epigenetic mechanisms’ contribution to health-related outcomes arising from child abuse exposure and the management of subsequent diseases linked to child abuse. Results from a semi-structured interview show that evolutionary perspectives can help understand epigenetic modifications, and increased telomere erosion rates worsen the outcomes for child abuse. Accurate screening tests can help improve abuse-related trauma management. This study shares insights on why epigenetics matters when managing patients that have survived childhood maltreatment.

Salmonella Heidelberg and Dublin isolates in the Penn State Animal Diagnostic Laboratory Culture Repository were selected and subjected to whole-genome sequence analysis to reveal the unique and shared antimicrobial resistance genes and mobile genetic elements in Heidelberg and Dublin isolates from veal calf operations. Based on the observations, it can be speculated that sharing the same environment could facilitate sharing of plasmids that assist in the dissemination of antimicrobial-resistant genes.

Sigma 54 dependent transcription and transcription factors are important to study in the squid vibrio system because they play a vital role in symbiosis of the Hawaiian Bobtail Squid, Euprymna scolopes. Sigma 54 dependent transcription is important to study outside of the squid vibrio system because it controls important bacterial stress response genes in pathogenicity and in agriculture5. Here we show that sigma54 dependent transcription is not necessary for growth and bioluminescence in rich media.

This study seeks to understand what factors drive extremity on social media using over 500,000 tweets from members of the 117th Congress. I predict that Congress members who are not confident in their ability to be reelected will appeal to the electorate through moderate tweeting and those who are secure have the option to be extreme in their tweeting. I implement a dictionary method to construct extremity scores and regress this on various potential influences.

Reducing health disparities and increasing support among Black mothers is the focus of a start-up company, MOMLogics. This study aimed to provide evidence that would be used to design new mobile health applications. Qualitative data from empathic inquiries and focus groups gave more insight into the unique challenges Black mothers face. A survey was created and fielded to explore how specific biopsychosocial factors are associated with Black mothers’ health. Implications for applications will be presented.

Streptomyces is a genus of Gram-positive bacteria, an important attribute of Streptomyces is its ability to produce secondary metabolites with different bioactive properties including antibacterial compounds. Whole genomic sequencing has identified silent gene clusters encoding for secondary metabolites of unknown biological activity. The goal of this research is to explore a method of activation of silent gene clusters, through tying secondary metabolite synthesis to primary metabolite production and thus necessary for growth and development.

The Archtiectural Engineering Dept. aimed to create an environment within an Architectural Engineering (AE) program that championed a closed-knit peer to peer learning community. AE TEAM was created to promote this type of engaged learning support and development of self-efficacy through a low-stress extra-curricular academic environment. AE TEAM is student run and managed by a group of senior Architectural Engineering undergraduate students, recruited from across the four sub-disciplines within Architectural Engineering.

Heart rate variability (HRV) reflects autonomic nervous system activity and has been linked to human performance under stress. Few studies have examined HRV and performance in virtual reality (VR), which simulates naturalistic stress conditions. In the current study, HRV and performance were measured in a VR shooting task under low and high stress. Results indicate correlations between HRV and shooting false alarm rates that are consistent with prior studies and neurocognitive theories of HRV.

Throughout the last century, mathematicians have proposed several definitions for what makes an infinite sequence of binary bits random. Some classical definitions have become standard, but other newer ones which are based on structures in different areas of mathematics are constantly being created. This project develops the relationship between classical notions of randomness and a new number theoretic definition due to Avigad which is based on the distribution of sequences of real numbers.

Genetic variation dopamine transporter gene (SLC6A3) is associated with multiple neuropsychiatric disorders. Two tandem repeats that are GC rich were identified. These sequences can form G-Quadruplexes (G4s), which can interfere with normal genomic function. QGRS Mapper software predicted that these tandem repeats could form G4s, which was confirmed with circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. This finding could have implications for gene expression, splicing, or disease phenotypes, but studies must be done to confirm their role.

Developing strategies to prevent metastatic disease is key to reducing mortality from breast cancer. Gene expression and immunohistochemistry were used to quantify hypoxia and vessel normalization within the tumors of physically active and energy restricted mice. Only the combination of physical activity and energy restriction significantly reduced gene expression of HIF-1α in the tumor microenvironment of this metastatic breast cancer model. Quantification of vessel normalization is in progress.

As private and public sectors seek to expand upon their efficacy, the commercialization of space has skyrocketed. However, this revolution has been met with serious perils. Akin to other critical infrastructures, space-based assets are increasingly facing cyberattacks. The escalation in the deployment of CubeSats will exacerbate this plight, due to poor encryption in conjunction with rudimentary payloads and busses. This study evaluates the applications of FHSS & OFDM 802.11 frequency modulation to secure CubeSat technology. 

Limited research has investigated the effects of bilingualism on cognitive control (i.e., resolving inhibition) in persons with aphasia (PWA). Aphasia is an acquired language disorder from brain injury (i.e., stroke). This study examined reaction times and accuracy in a cognitive control task in mono- and bi-lingual healthy older adults and mono- and bi-lingual PWA. A significant effect of bilingualism was found for reaction time. This knowledge can guide treatment practices for bilingual PWA.