2023 Undergraduate Exhibition

Infection with the helminth parasite Schistosoma mansoni causes morbidity and mortality via a pathogenic host CD4 T cell-mediated immune response directed against parasite egg antigens. Additionally, CBA mice tend to have a severe form of liver granulomatous inflammation. Since CBA bone marrow-derived dendritic cells have lower expression of STING, we hypothesized that STING agonists such as diABZI-3 and DMXAA would control pro-inflammatory cytokine production and inflammation by activating STING expression and activation. Both diABZI-3 and DMXAA induced robust interferon (IFN) production, while IL-1ð

In the case of a natural or man-made global catastrophe such as an asteroid strike, supervolcano eruption, or nuclear winter, agricultural disruption in the aftermath of the disaster could have as large of a global human cost as the event itself. In this project, we attempt to find creative ways to address global food scarcity by exploring the use of a universally acquirable material: inedible lignocellulosic plant material. We tap into the nutritional potential of a complex carbosaccharide-rich plant substrate, willow (Salix sp), using a pretreatment of a renewable source of lignocellulytic enzymes from two white-rot fungi strains, Pleurotus ostreatus and Lentinula edodes, and an enzymatic hydrolysis treatment. Our goal is to suggest a lignocellulosic pretreatment strategy in order to maximize nutritional content and to evaluate biomass as a potential source of emergency human consumption.

Bilingualism research employs verbal fluency to understand how memory retrieval works (Zemla et al., 2020). Here we investigated L2 English semantic verbal fluency performance. Twenty-three Spanish-English bilinguals completed 4 verbal fluency trials: tools, clothing, animals, and musical instruments. Analysis examines verbal fluency performance, specific category performance, and cognate use. This may give insight into participants’ reliance on cognates and ability to use them in verbal fluency. Predictors investigated include picture naming, lexical decision, English age of acquisition, and verbal memory.ReferencesZemla, J.C., Cao, K., Mueller, K.D., & Austerweil, J.L. (2020).  SNAFU:  The semantic network and fluency utility.  Behavior Research Methods, 52, 1681-1699.

HIV/AIDs stigma leads to barriers when seeking care. A case study and a literature review were conducted to determine best practices and barriers to providing compassionate care to this population. Best practices and barriers identified include providing appropriate symptom management and communication while recognizing discrimination. Understanding barriers and using best practices enables nurses to provide quality care. Nurses can help persons experiencing HIV/AIDS feel more comfortable, allowing them to receive quality end-of-life care.

Tidal disruption events (TDEs) are observationally classified into two classes – optical TDEs mainly radiate in the optical/UV bands while X-ray TDEs mainly radiate in X-rays. The unified model of TDEs proposes that these optical and X-ray TDEs are intrinsically the same, and the different TDE types are caused by different view angles with respect to optically thick outflows. Therefore, this model predicts that optical and X-ray TDEs should reside in similar galaxies. We investigate this prediction by measuring the star-formation histories (SFHs) of TDE host galaxies for representative samples of optical and X-ray TDEs. We compiled their multi-wavelength data and fit their UV-to-IR (infrared) spectral energy distributions (SEDs). Our SED fitting is based on Prospector, which provides highly flexible, nonparametric SFH models to reliably constrain the recent SFHs of our sources. We found that the typical resulting SFH of optical TDE hosts is consistent with post-starburst ones with recent (< 1 Gyr) rapid, strong quenching, but SFHs of X-ray TDE hosts tend to show less strong-quenching features. This may indicate that more physics linking the TDE type and TDE hosts, which are not considered in the TDE unified model, are still in a veil, and we briefly discuss more scientific implications of our results.

The dysfunction and destabilization of microtubules has been linked to the development of neurodegenerative diseases. Microtubules are polymers of tubulin that form the cytoskeleton of cells and provide cell structure and integrity. Microtubules are required throughout the life of a neuron to maintain shape and to facilitate the transport of substances across axons and dendrites. The molecular mechanisms behind the stability of microtubules in neurons is not well understood.

A literature search was conducted to determine the effects of adolescent stress on ethanol drinking behavior in rodents. According to the literature, rodents that are stressed sometime in the adolescent stage (PND 21-60) tend to consume significantly more ethanol in late adolescence or adulthood than the non-stressed controls. The following poster presents trends in ethanol drinking behavior by comparing sex, strain, age of ethanol exposure, and duration of exposure to ethanol.

In predator-prey interactions, predators can significantly influence prey population size and growth via consumptive effects and through changes in prey behavior associated with predation risk, which we consider non-consumptive effects. Our research investigates these non-consumptive effects using aphid parasitic wasps (Aphidius colemani) and green peach aphids (Myzus persicae). Our results demonstrate that wasp presence significantly reduces aphid fecundity and population growth beyond wasp consumptive capacity, and that these effects on aphids are long lasting.

Asthma and anxiety are linked; adults with asthma have an anxiety prevalence rate of 34% (Weiser, 2007). To address if sleep could be the mediating factor that links these two diseases, we identified 132 papers from multiple databases that address this link. Based on the results and conclusions for each paper we were able to posit a directional link from asthma, through sleep disordered breathing (SDB), and finally leading to an increased risk of anxiety.

Analyzing the kinetics of RNA folding can facilitate an understanding of the differences between thermodynamically predicted structures and those formed within the cell. Therefore, it is relevant to study the kinetics of RNA folding and the influencing factors. Consequently, a stopped-flow was used to record fluorescence of RNA duplex formation over millisecond intervals of time as a function of concentration and sequence in different solutions, allowing values of kobs to be obtained and analyzed.   

Biobehavioral outcomes for 624 18-23 year old college student childhood cancer survivors (CCS) and their peers were examined using a confidential online survey. CCS participants reported less resilience, grit, academic performance, more self-compassion, better sleep quality, lower BMI compared to their counterparts. CCS participants reported more anxiety, depression, perceived stress, and increased binge alcohol drinking compared to their peers. Results fill an important gap in literature regarding biobehavioral outcomes of CCS college students.

Through a survey of health providers, this thesis aims to better understand the level of provider awareness about the benefits of diet and exercise in one Pennsylvania healthcare system (Penn State Health). This thesis analyzes possible correlations between healthcare providers' awareness of the National Diabetes Prevention Program and their informing patients about the benefits of physical activity and a healthy diet. In doing so, this thesis strives to discover gaps in the healthcare system concerning diabetes prevention. 

Maize Zmufo1-1 is a spontaneous dominant mutation that causes high flavonoid pigment, sucrose, and glucose accumulation in reproductive and vegetative tissues. Flavonoids protect plants from damage by UV radiation and reactive oxygen species. This makes Zmufo1 an ideal model to study interactions between sugar, ROS, and flavonoids. We are investigating sugar treatments in leaf and seed tissues to elucidate the mechanism underlying flavonoid induction which is critical to crop improvement to combat climate change. Funding Source: USDS-NIFA

The goal of this research is determining how increased temperatures impact the number of bat calls recorded in Copenhagen, Denmark. In July 2022, Denmark experienced a record-breaking heat wave. I hypothesized that there would be more bat calls in July 2022 than in 2021. I analyzed July 2021 and 2022 calls recorded from a bat detector in a suburban garden and found that there were significantly more calls in 2022 after the heat wave started. 

Antimicrobial additives were incorporated into the monomer system used in the restorative process of dental fillings that have the potential to reduce secondary cavities. Untreated resins lacked an inhibitory effect towards the bacteria, Streptococcus mutans. Ampicillin was added as a positive control, with methacrylic acid and copper(II)-methacrylate being the compounds of interest. After an initial antimicrobial effect, it was observed that the resins displayed a gradual decline with soak time.

Twister ribozymes are a class of small self-cleaving RNA with unknown biological functions that are conserved across many organisms. I identified two examples at a splice junction where they can influence transcript maturation and their adjacent nucleotides can provide regulation for self-cleavage activity. Analysis of the self-cleavage rates of eight constructs with differing amounts of flanking sequences suggests a difference in activity between the spliced and unspliced versions.

The goal of this study was to compare between high and low population periods, the ability of the Penn State Water Reclamation Facility to remove microplastics from treated wastewater. It is hypothesized that periods of higher population will result in more microplastics in treated wastewater. Samples were collected on November 17 and 29, 2022. These dates were selected based on their proximity to football games and the Thanksgiving break from November 20-26, 2022.

PURPOSE: This thesis aims to evaluate the influence of key indicators of healthcare access, socioeconomic factors, and population demographics on COVID-19 vaccination rates among U.S. counties. Moreover, this thesis also serves to examine COVID-19 vaccination rates across the rural-urban continuum. Additionally, we provide insights that illuminate the indicators and behaviors that may be strategically utilized to assist policymakers on COVID-19 vaccination and mitigation strategies. METHODS: We use a three-pronged multivariate linear regression model to analyze the association of health-related factors with COVID-19 vaccination uptake at important phases during the COVID-19 vaccine distribution process. Time 1 signifies the initial phases of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution period when vaccines were moderately accessible; Time 2 signifies one month after the FDA approval of the first COVID-19 vaccine; and Time 3 signifies the end of the vaccination rollout period when the vaccine was widely available to most. To examine the leading research questions, we employ two prominent datasets: 1] the 2021 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (CHR&R) national dataset from the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, and 2] the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) national database for COVID-19 vaccinations at the county level. RESULTS: The notable findings throughout all three time periods show statistically significant associations among uninsurance rates, the prevalence of primary care providers per 100,000 population, and the proportion of American Indian and Alaska Native individuals on COVID-19 vaccination coverage.

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) harms a growing fetus, triggering a condition known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). FASD causes learning disabilities and attention deficiencies, however research also suggests physiological symptoms such as hypertension. We analyzed the cardiovascular effects of PAE through blood pressure within mice models. Sex differences for blood pressures between male and female mice in models of FASD were significant, and choline has effects on blood pressure at week 12 and 24.   

This study seeks to better understand how minority-related stressors influence racially and ethnically diverse college students’ alcohol use. First-year racially and ethnically diverse college students were examined (N=37; M(SD)age= 18.1 (0.21); 68% female; 16% Asian, 30% Black, 41% Multiracial; and 27% Hispanic/Latinx). Significant positive correlations were detected between minority-related stress, coping motives and alcohol use (r’s = .51-.59, all p’s < .01). These results will inform culturally-tailored drinking intervention programs for college students.

Asthma is the most common chronic condition among developing youth in the United States, however, little is known about how asthma-induced inflammation affects the brain. One of the major biological pathways that may be altered by allergic asthma is 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) signaling. To test this hypothesis, I used an animal model to determine how experimentally induced asthma during development affects gene expression related to microglial activity and serotonin (5-HT) receptors.

Haptics, the interaction between people and their surrounding environment through touch, has allowed for various possibilities of information processing. Different forms of haptics include vibration (such as in phones to signal a notification), pressure change, and resistance. However, it is unclear how people utilize haptic feedback with other senses such as vision. This experiment compares the ability to distinguish and respond to haptic and visual movement cues to determine their accuracy to communicate a motion.

An individual's media consumption can vary across formats and political biases. This project is intended to analyze how the differences in media consumption across individuals influence an individual's policy preferences. My policies of interest are abortion, gun control, and campaign spending. Based on the differences between an individual's media environment and the intensity of their media consumption, I hypothesis that individuals who consume the most media content, will have the most extreme policy positions. 

Climate change will likely alter surface wind speeds across the world. Here, we tested how surface wind speeds influenced the behavior and predator-prey interactions of aquatic species. We exposed aquatic invertebrates to varying wind speeds in the presence or absence of a predator. We found that as wind speeds increased, prey species spent more time close to the wind source. These species also swam faster and moved greater distances, unless a predator was present.