All Abstracts

Dynamical friction is a physical mechanism thought to be responsible for pairing of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in the aftermath of galactic mergers. It arises when a massive perturber traveling through a background medium (either gas or stars) creates in it a density wake. The wake, which trai...

Flagella are ‘whip-like’ extensions of the cell membrane with an inner core of microtubules arranged in a specific 9+2 configuration. Majority of Eukaryotic use flagella for movement. Flagella have several components: radial spokes, transition zone, centriole, membrane, central pair apparatus, i...

A self-driving car, also known as a robot car, autonomous car, or driverless car, is a vehicle that is capable of sensing the environment it’s in and moving with little or no human assistance. Currently, there are issues occurring with Tesla’s Auto Pilot that are causing many people to have cras...

Microgels are hydrogel micron-sized particles, that are used in a variety of biologically-related applications. Microgels are hydrogels in particulate form and can be synthesized to be environmentally-responsive. Microgels are most often observed in colloidal suspensions, however in this research, t...

Zero-length crosslinkers are used in reagent systems for bioconjugation.In this project, copolymerized poly-n-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) – co – acrylic acid (AAc) [90/10] microgels are the targeted reagent systems for bioconjugation, because of their unique ability to change in size, in direct ...

Salmonella enterica is a Gram-negative, anaerobic pathogen that is one of the most common species of Salmonella found in the United States. Salmonella enterica account for ~99% of Salmonella infections in humans and other mammals. Antibiotic resistance spread can be facilitated by the use of antibio...

The purpose of this project was to observe the ex ovo early development of chick embryos. Our goals were to be able to routinely maintain normal development up to embryonic day 10, and to be able to analyze the normality of development by using a skeletal staining technique to observe both cartilage...

  Genomics is the study of the structure, function, evolution, and mapping of genomes. Genomics underwent a major period of transition and progress with the start of the Human Genome Project in 1990. This research spawned several new analysis methods that revolutionized genomics research. This allo...

Hinduism is often a victim of cultural appropriation and stereotypical portrayals in American media and markets. This research identifies the effect of these flawed depictions on the perception of Hinduism in the United States by American college students. In this research project, relevant lit...

Microgels, soft hydrogel particles, are of interest for applying in the development of new biological, chemical and technologies, including promoting bacterial adhesion inhibition and organic coatings. The objective of this research project is to analyze the interfacial properties between poly n-iso...

Death feigning or thanatosis is a well-known anti-predator defense seen in the animal kingdom including in the confused flour beetles (Tribolium confusum). We hypothesize that red flour beetles(T. castaneum)like confused flour beetles will feign death in the presence of predators. Adults and larvae ...

The built environment includes all of the physical parts of where we live and work. This not only includes homes and buildings, but also infrastructure including sidewalks, parks, open space, and green space. The built environment influences physical health to combat obesity and other chronic diseas...

Secondary data analyses were conducted using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to determine if there were gender differences in job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and depressive symptoms. The sample was comprised of 4,482 men and women, ages 18-26. The majority of the p...

The City of Atlanta is susceptible to flooding from Chattahoochee River. The magnitude of damages caused by past floods has motivated re-assessment of current flood infrastructure and policies for emergency preparedness and response. Therefore, it is important to provide flood hazard information to ...

Amoebozoa includes unicellular eukaryotic microbes that use pseudopodia to move and to feed. They are diverse, occupying many habitats including freshwater and marine environments as well as parasites affecting humans and other livestock. The biodiversity of Amoebozoa is mostly studied at a molecula...

    Neisseria gonorrhoeae is the etiological agent of the STI, gonorrhea. Resistance to ceftriaxone and azithromycin, the currently recommended treatment for gonococcal infections, is increasing world-wide. Strains resistant to ceftriaxone contain a mosaic penA gene that encodes a highly mutated p...

Childhood lead exposure occurs when a child is exposed to excess amounts of lead and tests confirm elevated blood lead levels (at or above 5 mcg/dL). Children under the age of 6 are particularly at high risk for lead poisoning and other adverse effects due to hand-to-mouth activity. With sources of ...

Nationally, African American women only represent 156 of the current 22,000 Ph.D.s in physics and astrophysics earned between 2016 and 1972 [1]. As a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) field, physics lags behind all other fields in the representation of Hispanic and Black stude...

Absence is the notion that one is nonexistent or has departed from person or place for an extended period of time. In today’s society, the divorce rate has climbed to nearly 50 percent, often resulting in single-parent households led by mothers. In some of these single-parent homes, the relat...

In order to determine the localization and function of these C. burnetti proteins with the host cell, we constructed fusion proteins of each open reading frame(ORF) with mCherry, GFP, and FLAG peptides and expressed them in either eukaryotic cells or C. burnetti. We found the post infection CBU-1636...

Diabetes is a major source of morbidity and mortality in South Africa. Epidemiologic studies estimate that 7% of adults aged 21 to 79 (3.85 million people) have diabetes. Economic support for diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV are significant in the region; however, what is not known is whether b...

The interpolation of curves and surfaces is commonly used in Computer Aided Geometric Design (CAGD). Historically, these methods have applications in automotive, aerospace, and shipbuilding industries. More recently, their uses have expanded to computer animation. Various methods of interpolation in...

Economic prosperity, better quality of life, and a hopeful future are key aspects that migrant individuals seek when coming to America. Migrants who find work in the U.S. often times send money and resources back to their native countries in hopes of improving the lives of their families. Indeed, re...

 This research examines the economic activities of China and Africa by contextualizing the nature of this association and interrogating the ramifications of this deepening relationship. Despite much hysteria in recent works, formulated on the claim that China’s presence on the African continent i...

In the small flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana, IREG1 (Iron Regulated Transporter 1) is involved in iron transport. This study is focusing on the characterization of IREG1 mutants to ultimately assess how iron transport is affected by citrate and kanamycin. Insertional mutants from the Salk Colle...

In a normal human eye, light coalesces to a central point on the retina, which is responsible for capturing all of the light rays and processing them to be sent to the optic nerve. Infrared light with a wavelength >700 nm is known to cause damage to the retina and the frontal eye, creating a physiol...

  Coherent three-dimensional spectroscopy is a new technique under development. In spectroscopy, experiments are usually carried out in the first dimension. Adding a second dimension offers a variety of advantages such as decreased spectral congestion, allowing one to observe the resolution of the ...

Bacteria that break down red blood cells (hemolysis) are usually pathogenic to humans. Some soil bacteria can display hemolytic activity. In this experiment, we sought to isolate soil bacteria with hemolytic activity and study their impact on yeast growth, as a model for eukaryotic cells. The bacter...

De Casteljau’s Algorithm for Constructing Bézier Curves & Surfaces Abstract   The curves and surfaces of Computer-Aided Geometric Design (CAGD) are used in numerous industries and technologies. From the cups people drink from to the transportation they use to commute, people are surrounded by cu...

Preterm infants in the NICU often require supplemental O2 (ie. Hyperoxia) to ensure healthy oxygen intake. One consequence of supplemental O2 therapy can manifest as airway (AW) hyperreactivity, which is an underlying feature of lung disease (ie. bronchopulmonary dysplasia) and various wheezing diso...