2023 Undergraduate Exhibition

Spindle matrix proteins (e.g. Skeletor, Megator, and Chromator) and kinetochore proteins (e.g. Mad1), which are known to interact with microtubules during mitosis, are suspected to regulate microtubules in postmitotic neurons. Previous work from the Rolls Lab shows that knockdown of both SM and KT proteins results in increased microtubule dynamics in dendrites. Using RNAi, colocalization, live imaging, and injury assays, we intend to uncover any interactions between SM proteins, KT proteins, and neuronal microtubules.

The current project aims to demonstrate the possibility of the IoT-based driving environment with custom-built software and components. The current sponsor 'oneM2M' creates and maintains the standards related to the IoT industry and the current project will show the importance of the sponsor and also provides a visible example of such technology implementation. From project wise perspective, the current work uses Raspberry Pi 4 to control the components and also extends the connectivity by the broadband network to show the possible outcome of integration between IoT and embedded systems. Also by providing a good example of computer vision, it is expected to present the possible application of integration of 'Machine Learning', '5G network' and 'IoT implementation'. 

Genentech has developed a monomeric degrader of PI3K, GDC-0077, that has recently entered clinical trials as a treatment for metastatic breast cancer. Here, I show that treatment of HCC1954 cells with GDC-0077 activates chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA), a process by which proteins are recruited to the lysosome for degradation. This study aims to determine if the efficacy of GDC-0077 arises strictly from PI3K degradation, or the activation of CMA and degradation of other key survival proteins. 

The efficiency of sonoporation, a phenomenon where acoustic-responsive nanomaterials create transient pore on cell membrane to deliver therapeutic cargoes to cell cytosol, remains difficult to predict. As a result, many clinical applications involving sonoporation faces critical issue in reliability. Herein, we hypothesized that sonoporation efficiency is depending on viscoelasticity of surrounding microenvironment. By using experimental methods, such as flow cytometry, fluorescent microscopy, we established relationship between membrane elasticity and sonoporation efficiency for the first time.

In a collapsing gas cloud, gravity and outward pressure, created by compressional heating and its internal chemistry, determine the overall evolution of the gas. If gravity overcomes the internal pressure, the gas will continue collapsing and can fragment and form compact objects at a mass scale set by the Jean’s Mass. In this project, we apply this to dark halos in the Atomic Dark Matter Model to explore possible small-scale structure formation in them.

Extracellular signals and other cargo are required for cell survival. Mechanisms of cargo internalization are needed to uptake these materials. Events upstream and downstream of cargo intake in axons and the cell body of neurons are known, but these events are not fully understood in dendrites. Using genetic manipulation in Drosophila and confocal microscopy, we find that endocytosis concentrates at dendritic branch points perhaps because of their membrane curvature and likely acts upstream of microtubule nucleation.

Relocation and resettlement, often involuntary resettlement, have become key strategies in post-2000 China. Through summer 2022 field research of 45 former residents of a village in Yunnan, China that involuntarily relocated 11 years ago, we investigated their economic status and overall satisfaction after relocation using semi-structured interviews. We found that gender, age and social capital played essential roles in involuntary relocation outcomes.

The current study investigates the nano and microplastic content in Pennsylvania’s largest watershed, the Susquehanna River. Water samples were collected at four different sites located just downstream from urban centers with varying populations. Samples were size fractioned in situ using a sieve stack with mesh sizes of 1 mm, 500 ð

Variations in the lipid transporter gene, APOE 4, is a genetic risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s Disease, where amyloid beta proteins aggregate and cause neurodegeneration. Neprilysin is an enzyme that breaks down amyloid beta, and is regulated by somatostatin, thus here we seek to characterize how these proteins change in concentration and location across APOE 3 (non-disease) and 4 (disease) models. Immunohistochemical staining and imaging can help identify differences in somatostatin and neprilysin expression.

At the tip of the new regenerating axon in Drosophila neurons, there is an increase in ER concentration. A 96-hour axon regeneration assay was performed in Drosophila ddaE neurons and it showed that Ryanodine Receptor is necessary for axon regeneration. This suggests that the release of Ca2+ by the ER is critical for regeneration. Understanding the mechanism and the role of the ER proteins in the pathway is crucial to potentially design treatments for diseases.

To establish a correlation between short and long-term stress, we will examine behavioral reactions in pet dogs towards temporary stimuli, comparing this to chronic stress behaviors. Suddenly opening an umbrella and testing dogs’ reactions are analyzed and compared to owner assessments on their dog’s personality traits that indicate chronic stress such as being fearful, nervous, or restless. Hypothesis: If dogs exhibit increased temporary stress, their owner assessments will indicate increased chronic stress.

Previous studies have shown that recall accuracy improves when words are repeatedly spoken by a “known voiceâ€

States are progressively using their power to increase minimum wages causing variation across the US. The common factors that contribute to this variation are inflation, median household income, unions, and state party control. Understanding the economic and political factors that cause these disparities is essential when studying the variation in minimum wages. My analysis illustrates that both economic and political factors influence increases in minimum wages and that economic factors are mediated through political institutions.

College students have faced a rollercoaster of change in their academic and personal life post-pandemic. Biobehavioral effects of chronic stress associated with the aftermath of the pandemic were examined in four-year U.S. college students in a confidential, online survey. Students reported shifts in their academic priorities following the pandemic as well as more academic stress. Chronic stress was associated with poor mental and physical health outcomes. Implications of the findings will be discussed. 

During 2017, a free-ranging, 3-year-old female, elk (Cervus elaphus), with suspect piebaldism, was found emaciated and unable to stand. The cow was euthanized and upon necropsy had a large, multilobular, dark red mass in the oral cavity extending from the caudal soft palate and a smaller dark red mass in the right caudal lung lobe. Cytologic and histopathologic examination of the masses diagnosed malignant melanoma, which was confirmed with immunohistochemistry.

The farnesoid X-receptor (FXR), a nuclear receptor, controls bile acid, and glucose metabolism. When ligands bind to the ligand-binding domain, structural changes occur in the DNA-binding domain and alter the DNA binding preferences of the DNA-binding domain. Studies have crystallized the structure of FXR; however, there is debate as to which specific amino acids are responsible for differential binding, which this project aims to investigate through MD simulations, site-directed mutagenesis, and dual-luciferase assays. 

Direct care workers, such as nurses, are subjected to such low-intensity, harmful behavior from multiple sources including nursing supervisors and trainers, co-workers, as well as patients and their families (Kaiser, 2017). This study attempts to examine the nature of incivilities experienced by a convenience sample of 10 nursing assistants. Throughout the course of the interviews, we found results that direct care workers are experiencing microaggressions directed to their race, gender, and age.

In searching for dark matter, liquid xenon detectors have unparalleled sensitivity. This project estimates detection rates for light dark matter particles scattering off electrons in xenon. It implements models in Python to calculate event rates both as a function of the recoiling electron’s energy and of the number of electrons detected. The generated signal model can then be compared to real detector data to verify a detection or set an exclusion limit.

This poster discusses the zoonotic origin of most human infectious diseases and how SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, is also believed to have originated from animals. The virus uses the ACE-2 receptor to enter cells, which is well conserved in mammals. There is evidence of infection or exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in 35 non-human animals to date. The virus circulating in largely unmonitored animal species presents an opportunity for viral evolution that could lead to the emergence of novel variants that may spill back to humans. Multiple lines of evidence suggest the Omicron variant may have evolved in rodent populations. The hypotheses we test here are that the most abundant rodent species in the North East of the United States, the White-Footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) has been exposed, and/or infected with SARS-Cov-2. We used a commercially available species generic virus neutralization assay (sVNT) to test for exposure and a PCR to determine if there was evidence of active infection of the nasal cavity of P. leucopus. Mice were live captured in the Fall of 2022 at various locations in Central Pa and euthanized in the field to collect blood and the nasal pharyngeal bones were dissected, collected, and preserved in universal transport media under IACUC #46246. All 78 mice were found negative via the sVNT and PCR assays indicating that our sample was not actively infected and had no indication of exposure. However, the emergence of the Omicron variant occurred during our sampling and it has been subsequently determined that the sVNT test would yield false negatives for animals exposed to this new variant due to issues with the Rosetta binding domain utilized in the test. Coupling that P. Leucopus typically only live a few months in the wild and the evidence that wildlife infections mirror those circulating in humans, we suspect our samples would have been exposed to Omicron rather than previous variants. Considering this, our results indicate no exposure to prior variants, but we cannot rule out exposure to Omicron; further testing is needed to determine if this is the case. Surveillance in other common synanthropic wildlife is warranted as the occurrence of spillback from non-human animals has already been demonstrated for four species. Further, the evolution of this type could result in variants for which our current diagnostics and vaccine are ill-prepared. Indeed, the Omicron variant is an N-dropout in standard PCR assays, meaning one of the three targets (the nucleocapsid region) of PCR has already evolved sufficiently to evade current diagnostics.

Antibiotic resistance is due to the misuse and overuse of antibiotics. New methods of creating antibiotics are needed. Trans-translation is a bacteria-specific process allowing the release of stalled ribosomes and is a potential antibiotic target. New trans-translation inhibitors have been found to alter the conformation of the ribosomal protein L27. Deletions made at the N-terminus of L27 determine the protein and inhibitor interaction. Findings suggest changes in inhibitory concentrations among inhibitors, indicating different L27 interactions.

The importance of nitrogen-containing heteroaromatic compounds is highlighted by their essential structural roles in pharmaceutical compounds. As a result, the need for rapid access to functionalized heteroaromatics plays a critical role in the drug discovery process. This project aims to leverage the Radical Smiles-Truce photocatalysis cascade to establish yields for two categories of starting materials with a sustainable approach: an externally and internally tethered olefin to an heteroaryl sulfone.

Inserting exogenous DNA into the genome of a cell using CRISPR/Cas-9 is highly inefficient. I hypothesize that the efficiency of this process can be improved by perturbing the cell cycle or reducing nonhomologous end joining activity. I designed and used a knock-in reporter that generates a fluorescent protein capable of detecting DNA insertion events. This system will allow us to identify those conditions that increase incorporation efficiency and assist in developing knock-in cell lines.

This study, in two parts, aims to evaluate how partisanship influences social perceptions. Research supports that we view political out-group members as “worseâ€

The LaunchBox and Innovation Network was designed to provide business support for students, faculty, and entrepreneurs and de-risk and accelerate business ideas with the goal of growing jobs and revitalizing the community through student entrepreneurial experiences. While it is still a work in progress, each LaunchBox has tried to focus on the uniqueness of their community and tie together the central services the LaunchBox has to offer and what the community needs.