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, inner dynein, outer dynein, and intraflagellar transport. This study investigates the nature of membrane structure in flagellated and non flagellated eukaryotes. Genome and transcriptome data were used to inventory genes associated with membranes of flagellum using a reference genome as a query. The goal of this study is to see if non-flagellated amoebae retain similar membrane gene composition as as flagellated eukaryotes. A python custom scripted based on Blast was used to conduct the gene inventory. Results showed that flagellated species had an average of 36% membrane gene detections, while the non-flagellated species had an average around 38%. This finding suggests that the genetic composition membranes in non-flagellated amoebae and flagellated eukaryotes is evolutionarily conserved. Furthermore, the identification of pairs of closely related species where these structures were maintained in one organism and lost from the other may provide additional insights into how cellular structures and genes are lost during evolution.

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 include: Newton Interpolation, Lagrange Interpolation, and Bezier and Hermite approaches. The use of geometry matrices unifies these methods.
We utilize Maple software to plot and manipulate these curves and surfaces. Geometry matrices can be scaled, multiplied, and added. We examine how these operations affect the resulting plots.

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 crashes while on the highway and busy intersections. Although Automatous vehicles are currently not on the road right now, there is heavy research being conducted that will determine our future with self-driving vehicles. In the near future, there will be driverless vehicles on the road and manufacturers are steadily revolutionizing to the point where customers soon may not be speaking to an Uber driver, but instead an agent (for example, “Siri” or “Alexa”). It is significantly important in the urban community (specifically for people of color) that we start thinking about how this will affect people in different environments and the nation as a whole. We are exploring this issue by examining how a person’s behavior can change in an in-cabin experience based on the type of agent they encounter and our hypothesis suggests that people behave differently with a disembodied agent.

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, research has shown that migrant remittances can bring prosperity to developing countries by increasing overall income and boosting key outcomes such as health, entrepreneurship, and education. This study examines migrant remittances and its welfare implications by conducting eye-tracking experiments and surveys with a sample of almost 400 Central American migrants. In pursuance of further understanding these migrants’ remittance decisions, I primarily aided in (1) the construction of surveys to collect demographics, typical remittance patterns, and preferences and (2) the cleaning, merging, and analysis of survey and eye-tracking data. This research presentation will focus on (a) the lessons learned through this research experience to date, (b) how these fit with my future career goals, and (c) preliminary results from the research. 
 
 

 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 is hazardous and parasitic in nature, Sino-African relations must be understood as a long-term partnership and through an economic growth perspective that was first presented by W. W. Rostow. No different from other relationships, Sino-African relations also possess opportunities and threats. Based on empirical analysis presented in this research, the results indicate the bond between these states is mutually beneficial for African countries due to the balance of trade, dissipation of technological and material resources, the creation of infrastructure and increased strategic agreement with China. However, this relationship ought to be explored with caution because of the increased influence of China, while that of the West decreases, signifying increased dependency of African states which has existed in previous years during the colonial, imperial, and early modern era.

After-school and community programs provide a significant amount of insight into both
the effective and ineffective practices that can be used to promote youth development. According to research, for students who are considered at risk (i.e., coming from impoverished backgrounds, violent neighborhoods), participation in after-school and community programs can benefit students socially, academically, or emotionally (Larson & Eccles, 2005). Larson and Eccles (2005) study found that students showed less risk and higher rates of positive development after participating in a quality after school program. This study examines the types of organized activities and instructional methods that may promote positive youth development, within an after-school program for low SES, urban youth. The method of data collection for this study will include participant observations within the designated after school setting and parent and child surveys to better understand experiences within the program. It is the intent of this study to provide insight on how to effectively promote youth development outside the classroom, within a supplementary environment.

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 Collection were grown along with WT plants for DNA extraction. A PCR strategy that makes use of three primers: forward, reverse and one that anneals to the T-DNA insertion was used such that homozygous IREG1 mutant lines will produce a fragment ~ 400 bp. The heterozygous lines will exhibit one fragment ~ 400 bp and another at ~900 bp. PCR was performed on template DNA and homozygous mutants were identified. The phenotype of plants was then examined when plants were grown in the presence of kanamycin and indicated that the IREG1 mutants we highly sensitive to the antibiotic.

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 antibiotics in animal feed and overuse in healthcare settings. Preventative measures such as food and water sanitation and vaccines have significantly decreased the incidence of Salmonella infections. However, increasing incidences of antibiotic resistance in Salmonella has raised concern. In order to analyze the antibiotic resistant markers that confer resistance, we bioinformatically screened environmental Salmonella enterica genomes from isolates acquired from southeastern Georgia farmland using the Resistance Gene Identifier (RGI) of the Comprehensive Antibiotic Resistance Database (CARD) to identify the presence of single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with antibiotic resistance in these bacteria. Using RGI, 5 SNPs were identified that confer resistance Nitrofurantoin, Pulvomycin, Fosfomycin, and Beta-lactam antibiotics. Two out of five of the SNPs confer resistance to Fosfomycin. Continued analysis will identify the epistatic effects of these SNPs and other resistance genes in Salmonella enterica isolates. We plan to follow up on the bioinformatic results using biochemical testing of antibiotic resistance and susceptibility in the laboratory.

 
 
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 penicillin-binding protein 2. The mutated PBP2 imparts a fitness deficit, but strains have likely acquired compensatory mutations that alleviate this deficit. The goals of the lab are to identify compensatory mutations that increase the fitness of mosaic penA-containing strains. The lab has characterized an AcnB mutation, G348D, obtained in the mouse model that increases fitness. AcnB is the aconitase enzyme that converts citrate to isocitrate in the TCA cycle, but it also plays a role in post-transcriptional regulation of many other proteins. Our collaborators identified Q371K in clinical isolates that was associated with ceftriaxone resistance. We hypothesized the Q371K mutation found in AcnB will cause an increase in the fitness of resistant gonococcal strains. My project is to characterize the expression of AcnB to determine if it’s similarly regulated and if the mutation alters growth in a manner similar to that caused by the G348D mutation. If AcnB-Q371K increases fitness, this will be the first compensatory mutation identified in human isolates.

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 physiological threat to anyone that comes into contact with IR emitting lasers. Studies show that near infrared red (NIR) light can induce resistance to apoptosis in human retinal cells. In normal cells, under ambient light, protection against apoptosis is mediated by nitric oxide (NO) induced elevations in cGMP, which activate cGMP-dependent protein kinase I (PKGI) isozymes. PKGI phosphorylates BAD, preventing it from binding BCL-XL, leading to decreased apoptosis. To verify that an increase of NO-stimulated apoptosis is caused by exposure to red light, intracellular NO was measured using DAF-FM in exposed and unexposed cells immediate, 1, 2, and 3 hr post-exposure to red light (632 nm, 2.88 J/cm2). Preliminary data shows that immediately after exposure to NIR light, there is a marginally significant increase in NO levels in comparison to unexposed cells (p=0.03). These data will be verified. Future directions include determining if external sources of NO can also inhibit apoptosis.

 

 
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 peaks more clearly. Expansion to a third dimension should provide additional advantages such as selectivity, where spectra are generated for just one selected species in samples that are mixtures. This project is uniquely based on non-parametric four wave mixing, as opposed to the previously used parametric four wave mixing processes, and is being used for the first time to select a single isotopologue from mixtures.

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 students [2]. Creating an environment where these students can foster an interest in physics and learn the foundational skills that support science are critical to changing their perception of physics as a topic and as a career path. The research question to address is the following; “Does PBL pedagogy have a statistically significant effect on content knowledge, scientist identity, or self-motivation, as indicated by the selected surveys?”  A student creating her own code in Python to analyze the data addresses this question. The Python macros created by the student will run automatically at regular intervals to include newly created data each semester. If this analysis does not fully answer the research question, the faculty member and student will work together to create a relational database to probe the dataset more thoroughly. The resulting analysis will determine if the course pedagogy has any effect on identity, self-efficacy, and course content. 

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 curves and surfaces. The mathematical concepts studied include Bézier and Lagrange interpolation, and the resulting curves and surfaces can be viewed graphically usingMaple software. These shapes are key to the design of airplanes and cars. We study De Casteljau’s algorithm to construct curves and surfaces of interest in the auto industry.
 
Presenters: Shelby Pauling, Wrayzene Willoughby
 
Advisor: Jeffrey Ehme, Professor of Mathematics
Colm Mulcahy, Professor of Mathematics

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 localized in the nucleus, CBU-1566 was more cytosolic and nuclear CBU-122 localized inside the CCV, and CBU-0885 was punctate nuclear and weak cytosolic. In order to prove that rach protein was a bona fide dot/icm effector, we constructed wildtype and icmL C. burnetti strains expressing effectors fused to andeylated cyclase. These strains will be assayed for cya-secretion into the cytosol. In conclusion, we observed noticeable differences in CBU-0122 and CBU-0885 post infection. In future studies, we hope to fix and stain the living image infected cells as a mean sof better comparison to the fixed and strained uninfected cells. We also hope to do the cya-assay to determine if these effector proteins are secreted by the dot/icm secretion system. 

According to studies made in USA, children of both sexes and races start school with roughly similar potential to learn. Their scores on IQ tests are approximately equivalent when gender difference was controlled. Yet, test scores of female students decrease over time until when children move up the ladder in the education arena. However in the recent years the male domination in the education sector has slightly dropped leading to gender disparity. Education disparities can be seen in different areas in the education sector such as the enrollment rates, dropout rates, and success rates among the sexes. Our research was focused on one main objective; to study the trend in the enrollment rate and the disparities along the racial and gender lines. The research we conducted, explored the racial and gender disparities of college enrollment in the USA across all states, and collected our data from the National Center for Educational Statistics.
Regression analysis was used and results revealed that both gender and ethnicity variables are more likely to predict college enrollment rates. This quantitative research study will allow us to further understand the plausible predictors of the difference in college enrollment, which will be useful to eradicate the issue at hand.

 
The soil is an environment inhabited by a large/diverse population of bacteria, many of which can produce antibiotics that can be harmful to plants. Plants have evolved genes that confer antibiotic resistance. In Arabidopsis WBC19 confers resistance to the aminoglycoside kanamycin. We assessed the prevalence and diversity of bacterial antibiotic resistance genes in metagenomics samples derived from Arabidopsis roots. Thirty metagenomics samples collected from old or young plants representing 3 different Arabidopsis ecotypes were analyzed. Reads were mapped on the 26,253 antibiotic resistance genes from the FARME Database. Our results show that the profile of antibiotic resistance genes remained constant across genotypes and plant age with no antibiotic resistance gene showing significant changes. There was an under-representation of folate synthesis inhibitor genes in the microbiome relative to the FARME DB while there was an increase of aminoglycoside resistance genes. Several were bacterial ABC transporters which are typically found in aminoglycoside-producing bacteria but can also be found among non-producers. In conclusion, our results indicate that the Arabidopsis microbiome is stable with regards to the antibiotic resistance genes it harbors and is dominated by B-lactam resistance genes. In our next steps, we are co-assembling and annotating scaffolds to capture additional aminoglycoside resistance genes.
 

 
 
Both male and female red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, have a high mating rate. Male beetles demonstrate clear pre-copulatory mate choice. We hypothesized that male choice is affected by the environment and test if male mate preference varies when the males' environment is changed. In the first experiment, the male environment was manipulated by changing food availability and keeping males in starvation or optimal nutrition environments. In the second experiment, the male environment is manipulated by changing its social nature and keeping males in isolation or group (mixed sexes) environments. After both experiments, two tests were performed: an egg production test and a mating choice test. Choosiness can be inferred by how quickly males’ mate, how long they investigate the female and the frequency and duration of copulations. We predicted that the males that are malnourished and isolated will be less choosy than the males that are nourished and not isolated. Our results support the hypothesis that environments do indeed have an effect on male mating behavior and potential choosiness. 

 
This presentation offers research on the degradation of the environment through noise pollution. Noise pollution from human created noise activities impacts biodiversity and quality of life for all elements in and of the ecosystem. Our research will include observations and effects that noise pollution has on different wildlife (both terrestrial and aquatic) and humans.

Amoeboid movement is the crawling like technique that amoebas use to move from place to place. Amoeboid movement in eukaryotes is primarily driven by cytoskeletons including actin and myosin. The debate regarding whether or not microtubules are involved in amoeboid movement among scientists is widely known. Microtubules are mostly associated with intracellular transportation besides their other roles for structural support. But, their role in amoeboid movement is not well understood. In this study the role of microtubules in amoeboid movement is investigated in two amoebae including Cochliopodium sp. and Ameoba proteus. In order to investigate the role of microtubules in amoeboid movement, amoebae were treated with microtubule assembly inhibitor drug (colchicine) and the movement of amoebae were recorded before and after the application of the drug. Measurements of amoeba movement after the application of colchicine showed mixed results in Cochliopodium, where the shape of the amoeba changed and their movement slowed down within the first 4 hours of the application of the drug. But, their movement was restored to normal after 24 hrs. This is likely due to metabolization of the drug by the amoebae.In Ameoba proteus, the impact of colchicine was clear. Cells of Amoeba proteus halted movement and their shaped dramatically changed into a ball shape. These results demonstrate that microtubules play a role in amoeboid movement 

The purpose of this research is to gain a comprehensive understanding of how the immersive teaching method used in foreign country education systems is implemented in immersion schools in the United States. The goal of this research is to gain insight on how the immersive methods may be beneficial for foreign language learning systems in the United States, in order to produce higher rates in fluent foreign language speakers. The current research study was conducted in a charter elementary school that focuses on innovative teaching styles as well as international studies. The elementary school serves students in preschool through the fifth grade which includes approximately 200 students, who represent varying ethnicities. The sample included three adult females as they were the population available at the school for the purpose of this research. Data was collected through observation techniques. Aspects such as the amount of time spent using the method and activities used during the lessons were observed. Preliminary results of the study indicate that starting language studies at an early age as well as a fully immersive learning environment has proven to be more beneficial in aiding the United States in creating more fluent foreign language speakers. 

This EPA Campus Rainworks Challenge project centers on implementing an extensive green roof on the Facilities Management Services (FMS) building of Spelman College as a way to help manage stormwater runoff. The green roof will be implemented using trays filled with vegetation that will capture precipitation. The green roof will aide in storm water management on campus by reducing storm water runoff by 2,177 gallons per rain event. The 3,110 ft2 green roof will be covered in sedum plants and irrigated by rainwater and condensate produced by an HVAC unit located on the FMS building. Although the projected installation cost of the roof is $180,329.58, the FMS building will save $715 annually in energy. In addition, the green roof will offer numerous other benefits including contributing to an overall more pleasant green aesthetic on campus for all to enjoy. Spelman College’s implementation of a green roof will serve as another LEED initiative for green building on campus. Our findings suggest that the green roof will benefit both the physical campus and its community.

Horizontally transferred genes (HGTs) are a result of transferred genetic material across species and is not a result of direct descent. HGTs are common in prokaryotes but typically rare in multi-cellular eukaryotes. However, rapid accumulation of genomic information has recently identified increased amounts of exogenous DNA inserts within insect genomes. The majority of the horizontally transferred material is non-functional however evidence shows some genes are expressed and functional in some eukaryotes. In this study we used publically available sequence data and a newly designed bioinformatics pipeline to identify expressed HGTs in the genome of the kissing bug Rhodnius prolixus. We were particularly interested in identifying HGTs that were functional and associated with blood-feeding in arthropods. Therefore, our pipeline was designed to specifically target HGTs that are shared with other blood-feeding arthropods such as the bedbug Cimex lectularisand the mosquito Aedes aegytpti, but are absent in more closely related non-blood-feeding arthropods such as the pea aphid. We will discuss several of the candidate HGTs identified using this methodology in this poster. 

The purpose of this study is to explore the early specialized school experiences of young children who have cochlear implants, hearing aids, and varying degrees of deafness. This study explores how aspects such as speech, technology, curriculum, and behavior play a part in the child's development in preparation for general elementary school settings, whether it be mainstream or a specialized school. The participants in this study include teachers, a speech pathologist, a curriculum specialist, and an audiologist. Data will be collected through classroom observation forms, interviews, and an assessment. Results from the study will be analyzed based upon comparisons in the curriculums, assessment as well as observation outcomes, and information from interviews to examine the process. This study seeks to answer the following questions; “How does speech therapy aid in the development of social skills in Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) students?”, “Which curriculums and resources are found to be most beneficial for students with assistive listening devices?” and “What are some improvements that can be made to enhance pre-k programs for students with hearing exceptionalities?” The goal of this research is to understand the overall experiences of young students who are DHH within a specialized school setting.

High-resolution coherent 2-dimensional spectroscopy (HRC2DS) is a powerful tool for analyzing chemical systems. However, the technique is not well-suited for general application for a number of reasons. First, it uses electronic enhancements that can span over a wide region of the visible and UV regions of the spectrum. Second, the spectra are difficult to interpret without additional information obtained from other techniques. Third, the spectra are relatively complicated, even for very small molecules. This project involves the exploration and development of a new HRC2DS technique that works in the mid-infrared region. Instead of using electronic enhancements, this new technique would employ rovibrational resonances. The use of rovibrational resonances should simplify the resulting spectra, thereby making it easier to analyze samples containing larger molecules and mixtures.

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 trails the perturber on its trajectory, causes it to slow down by gravitational interaction. Despite an important role played by this process in theoretical models, its impact still remains to be tested through observations, and will require detection of SMBH pairs with orbital separations < 1kpc. We model orbital evolution of a pair of SMBHs at these separations under the influence of gaseous dynamical friction for a range of physically motivated scenarios, encountered in merging galaxies. Based on it we calculate the probability of discovering a SMBH pair as a function of pair separation and make predictions for observations, which can be used to verify the impact of dynamical friction.

Why is the healthcare system failing for mothers and young children in Lao People’s Democratic Republic? This research will analyze the socio-political effects of Lao PDR to better understand why the infant mortality rate and the maternal mortality rate are drastically high. The main argument of this research is that political instability and unstable infrastructure are the factors that have affected the affordability for the country to be able to provide adequate medical resources. Lao PDR is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and comparatively the rest of the ASEAN nations differ in maternal and infant healthcare substantially. Lao PDR’s critical health issues reflect that the country is not assimilated as the rest of the ASEAN community. In order to better understand the reasons of a failing healthcare system, qualitative analysis will be the primary method of performing research. Mishandling finances and political instability amongst politicians and stakeholders are inevitably the downfall for Lao PDR’s healthcare. 

The purpose of this study is to understand the role of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in eukaryote evolution. HGT is known to be widespread in prokaryotes and allows for the rapid acquisition of phenotypic traits. HGT can explain how genes are independently transferred to multiple unrelated species. More recently, it has been found that HGT has allowed for the independent acquisition of traits in multiple distantly unrelated species in a variety of multicellular eukaryotes. In this study,we will identify candidate HGTs, specifically genes that have been transferred to multiple niche-sharing eukaryotic species. The study aims to discover if HGTs are shared by related niche-sharing species and absent from more closely related, but non-niche sharing species. We hypothesize that HGTs May provide ecologically relevant traits to their host species. We used a newly designed bioinformatic pipeline to identify shared HGTs in the genome of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum and other phloem-feeding arthropods. This will test the prediction that shared HGTs are more likely to be found in distantly related, niche sharing species than in closely related, non-niche sharing species. This research will aid in understanding how genome evolution can affect an organism’s ecology.

Urbanization is an increase in the number of people that live in relatively small areas and can cause drastic changes in land use. For example, more cement and concrete may be used to accommodate the growing population of people moving to a city. This research analyzes how urbanization affects bird biodiversity in the southeast U.S. Biodiversity is the variety and diversity of plants and animals in an environment. Publicly available citizen science bird sighting data in Alabama, Tennessee, Florida and Georgia is used to evaluate bird biodiversity by pinpointing localities that were sampled at the beginning and end of a 10-year time span. Urbanization within these sites will be analyzed using QGIS and USGS LandSat data from 2001 and 2011 to calculate the percentage of impervious cover. We predicted that areas with increased urbanization over the 10 year time span would have a decrease in bird biodiversity.

Invasive species are nonnative species that become established in a new ecosystem. In this new area, they can significantly influence the biodiversity and impact populations of native species and their ecosystem-serving niches. Invasive plant species can cause ecological stress to the area through competition with the native plants which can be detrimental to biodiversity by introducing new diseases, causing extinctions, and endangering native species. Privet is one example of a small, aggressive invasive, and very resistant tree that has thrived in Georgia since the 1860s producing berries that have little to no nutritional value. The goal is to determine if invasive and native species can coexist. Migration patterns and competition for certain terrain can be portrayed by using mapping technology that collects data on the location of species overtime. Lifemapper is a modelling program that uses factors, such as global climate change to predict changes in distribution of of wild species. In this study, we will model the degrees of migration of Privet in several regions in the southeastern US as well as several native species. The research hypothesis that there is a trend in the distribution pattern of Privet and native species throughout the southeast and this can be linked to environmental changes and influences.

 
 
Seasonal influenza is an annual public health problem worldwide, as it is one of the deadliest airborne and upper-respiratory infections. On average, 22,000 deaths and over 3 million hospitalizations in United States are attributed to influenza each year. In the U.S., influenza activity began increasing in the beginning of November of 2017, with Influenza A being the most commonly identified virus. Consequently, the 2017-2018 flu season has seen a significant increase in hospitalizations due to influenza-like illness. Despite many studies, the role of weather on influenza spread is not yet fully understood. In the present study, we investigate the association between peak flu activity and climatic factors such as precipitation and temperature in the states of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama and Virginia. In addition, we also explore the relationship between El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the seasonality, timing of peak, and severity of influenza for the study region.
 

According to research, data demonstrates that white students fare better in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)courses in k-12 than their black counterparts by almost twice as much (Bacharach, 2003). In determining different success rates based upon race, the factor of accessibility plays an essential role. Besides access to quality tools and materials, socioeconomic status and the instructional strategies utilized within classroomsplay a vital role in academic achievement disparities within science courses. This can be seen as a negative chain reaction due to the finding that the quality of instruction is lower in math and science classes than in English and social studies classes in urban schools (Lee, 2012). With these thoughts in mind, this study aims to explore the academic progress and engagement of black students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds, in their science classrooms by observing the different instructional strategies that are employed. Participants in the study will include middle school students and a teacher in an afterschool program focused on STEM. The participants academic progress and engagement will be assessed through the evaluation of work samples. Data will be analyzed by comparing students work samples to the instructional method utilized within the particular learning segments. 

The flagellum is a lash-like appendage that protrudes from the cell body. The Flagellum functions as a rotary device for cells. In the analysis of the flagella there are many different proteins that make up the flagellar structure. The focus of this study is to see how the inner and outer dynein arms are present throughout each eukaryotic species. The prediction was that even though these species do not possess the physical structure of flagella, they still will show the presence of inner and outer dynein arms. A series of bioinformatics techniques such as Blast, python, Clustal, and NCBI were used to analyze to see what was the percentage of inner and outer dynein genes were present in each flagellated and non-flagellated species. The results indicated that 99% of non-flagellated species showed the presence of at least 60% or higher of inner and outer dynein arm genes. Further that the highest presence of species that is non-flagellated showed a presence of 86% of the presence of inner and outer flagellated genes. These findings are significant because it suggests that although cells that do not show flagellated structures on the cell, it still can possess the presence flagellum genes.

The nucleoside analog, 3’-azido-3’-deoxythymidine (Zidovudine, AZT), is a major component in the first-line therapy for HIV-1 infection worldwide. HIV-1 infected patients treated long-term with AZT often become resistant, and different mechanisms have been proposed. Two possible mechanisms are silencing/reducing activity of the thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) enzyme, the first step in metabolism of AZT, by: (1) an increase in 5-methyl-cytosine (5-meC) methylation, or by
(2) TK1 dimerization.
Human T lymphoblast MOLT-3 cells, cultured for several passages in AZT (P3-P5), developed drug resistance via TK1 activity. Resistance was accompanied by TK1 dimerization (1,2). However, MOLT-3 cells had very high baseline 5-meC levels and therefore could not be evaluated for changes due to AZT exposure. Here, human ovarian cancer BT-20 cells, exposed to 100 μM AZT, were examined for TK1 resistance by 5-meC methylation in the promoter of the TK1 gene, and by Western Blot of the TK1 protein, at passages 0, 3 and 5.  
Our study indicates that dimerization of TK1 may be responsible for the observed resistance to AZT.

Amylin is a fibrillogenic protein co-secreted with insulin from pancreatic beta cells. Amylin has been shown to function in metabolism through its influence on glucose homeostasis. It has also been proposed to have an impact on amyloid beta, a major component of the amyloid plaques found in Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease brains have been shown to have amyloid plaque formation and decreased expression of Uncoupling Protein 2 (UCP2). Knowing that UCP2 is expressed in pancreatic beta cells and has been shown to have diminished levels in Alzheimer’s disease brains the focus of this study was to examine the influence of UCP2 on the presence and expression of amylin in both RIN-5F cells (a pancreatic beta cell line) and SH-SY5Y cells (a neuroblastoma cell line). Immunocytochemistry experiments and ELISA assays were conducted with Genipin, a molecule that knockdowns the presence of UCP2, to examine both the presence of amylin and the activity level of amylin, respectively.
 

Research on primates, both human and non-human, indicates that social systems are structured by a hierarchal model. This means that the members of each system are assigned a social rank that determines their level of opportunity in terms of benefits such as food and mating for non-human primates and education and housing for human primates. Focusing on the Barbados green monkey, studies suggest that due to factors such as its matriarchal system, the social rank of the mothers in a troop can influence their infant’s social behavior. This study sought to analyze the differences among infant behaviors such as independent, interactive, agonistic and stress behaviors in relation to their mother’s rank. A naturalistic observation was conducted, followed by a Pearson’s correlation test to analyze trends. Results showed that there was a significant relationship between maternal rank and sitting alone, an independent behavior, as higher ranked infants appeared to sit alone more frequently. There were also trends towards significance for solitary play and agonistic behavior. Higher ranked infants were observed to participate in solitary play more frequently, as well as display agonistic behavior. The results of this study indicate that maternal rank can influence subsequent behaviors in green monkey infants.

Can a conversational agent assist children of the diaspora in learning and retaining their families ethnic mother-tongue?  In much of the world, native languages are at risk of extinction due to displacement by national language appropriation. Much of the world’s indigenous knowledge, traditions and historical memories are transmitted through their mother tongue and their extinction puts our world at risk of losing such valuable cultural artifacts.  Through this research, A story based application is being developed for children ages 5-10 to help hear and learn their mother tongue. For this first iteration, the application will be developed using Igbo, a Nigerian language. Through engaging with the application, the children will be able to hear, retain and demonstrate their understanding of basic Igbo greetings and vocabulary.  The application is developed for the Alexa Echo Spot, a voice and touch screen home assistive device. Two interactive applications are being developed; one to introduce and implement basic vocabulary and the other to teach a traditional Igbo story. The plan is to implement user testing of this application with youth of Atlanta who are novice language speakers to determine the efficacy of language retention, the quality of interaction and the impact of cultural identity.

 
 
Nitrocyclopropanes (NCPs), a class of cyclopropanes that contains a three-carbon ring with a nitrogen dioxide substituent, are important building blocks for designing organic molecules. Their reactivity allows them to participate in many reactions that involve ring opening of the NCP. The purpose of this study was to research reactions with NCP and phenol under microwave irradiation. Reactions with NCP and phenol have been completed previously, but the reaction required heating in an oil bath for 12 hours. The microwave was used to aid in speeding up these reactions and accomplished this task in 1 hour. Once it was determined that the reactions could be done faster, the focus was switched to exploring the scope of the reaction. The base, solvent, and equivalents of the reagents were optimized to ensure complete consumption of the NCP. Other reactions involving NCP and substituted phenols demonstrated the scope of the reaction with electron-donating, electron withdrawing, and sterically hindered structures. Currently, we are obtaining yields for the successful reactions in this project.

Lipotoxicity, intracellular lipid metabolites accumulation, has been proposed as an important pathogenic mechanism contributing to kidney dysfunction and disease. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of palmitic acid, the dominant saturated fatty acid, on apoptosis and exosome release by renal tubular epithelial cells. A rat proximal-tubule epithelial cell line, NRK-52E, was incubated with 1% bovine serum albumin (BSA), BSA-conjugated palmitic acid (PA, 250 µM), or BSA-conjugated oleic acid (OA, 250 µM) for 24-48 hours. Lipotoxicity was determined by fluorescence microscopy after staining with BODIPY 493/503. Cell proliferation and viability were examined via cell cycle analysis using Cellometer imaging cytometry, Annexin-V, and MTT-assays. Western blot analysis of apoptotic proteins and exosome-marker proteins was performed to evaluate the effects of PA. Confocal microscopy confirmed an increase in lipid accumulation in both treatments. Incubation of NRK-52E cells with PA resulted in a timed-dose-dependent increase in cell apoptosis, whereas OA had a stimulatory effect on cell proliferation. Compared to BSA control, PA treatment significantly increased cleaved caspase-3 in cell-lysates and Alix and TSG101 proteins in exosomes of NRK-52E cells. Our results indicate that saturated palmitic acid stimulates apoptosis and exosome release from cultured tubular epithelial cells. To conclude, the results suggest evaluating signaling pathways contributing to nephropathy-progression.

Semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (s-SWNTs) fluoresce in the near-infrared, a spectral window where tissue is transparent, making them ideal for biosensing applications. Prior studies demonstrated that s-SWNTs can be used as fluorophores and can also be made sensitive to single molecules by polymer encapsulation. Metallic SWNTs (m-SWNTS), on the other hand, do not fluoresce, which has caused them to be overlooked in biological applications. However, m-SWNTs surprisingly still host strong optical transitions, which are ideal for use in photoacoustic microscopy. This technique uses a light pulse that is absorbed in a medium and converts it into sound waves that are then recorded using an ultrasound transducer. The positioning of the laser in the tissue affects the intensity of the signal detected by the ultrasound and is highest at the wavelength where peak absorption occurs. In this study, we demonstrate for the first time that m-SWNTs can indeed give a photoacoustic response. When combining this data with measurements of the optical absorbance spectra of bare m-SWNTs and polymer encapsulated m-SWNTs before and after the addition of dopamine, we mapped the absorbance spectrum of m-SWNTs. This is just the beginning step to measuring the brain’s chemical interactions using the conversion of light into sound. Future work includes measuring the optical absorbance of equal diameter m-SWNTs and measuring the dopamine-induced photoacoustic response of polymer encapsulated m-SWNTs.

Protoplanetary disks are important astronomical structures that are believed to form planets. Protoplanetery disks contain dust that scatters and emits light that comes from a star(s) that lie in the center of the disk. The objective of my research is to use a computer code to run numerical simulations to understand how dust scatters the polarized light in these disks. The question of how to handle dust scattering of polarized light in coding language was explored and answered. Since this project is a part of an ongoing project, a previous electron scattering code was used to first understand how the light scattering worked and functioned in the code. A function was added to the existing code to develop the dust scattering aspect in a protoplanetary disk. The difference between electron scattering and dust scattering is that an electron is so small it is treated as point particle; in contrast, dust particle’s size can be comparable to wavelength of the polarized light, therefore the scattering angle is dependent upon the frequency of the light. The example of a binary star system was used to simulate because this one of the celestial objects a protoplanetary disk forms around.

 
 
Microgel particles are soft polymer hydrogels, in particulate form. These materials are studied as colloidal suspensions, where their physical interactions provide a pathway for developing new biomaterials for biologically related applications, including tissue regeneration and drug delivery. Microgels are micron-sized particles made mostly of water, polymer chains and crosslinks. In this project, microgel particles have been synthesized with different crosslinking densities, which correspond to having different mechanical stiffnesses. In this work, the microgels were synthesized via precipitation co-polymerization from n-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) monomer and acrylic acid (AAc) [90/10]. The stiffness was varied by adjusting the addition of N,N’methylenebisacrylamide (BIS) crosslinking agent, ranging between 0 – 2%. Ammonium persulfate was used as the initiator and the solvent used in the synthesis was deionized water. Precipitation polymerization's the ideal technique for creating homogeneous NIPAM microgel particles, and their homogeneity was verified using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and optical microscopy. Finally, FTIR and 1H NMR were used to verify the chemistry of the functional groups present in the polymer microgel particles. The successful synthesis of these microgel particles will allow for our lab to investigate their thermo-reversible behavior, while immobilized to flat substrates, with the future goal of developing these microgels into biosensors.

Amylin is a protein that is co-secreted from pancreatic beta cells alongside insulin and has been shown to cross the blood-brain barrier and impact the formation of amyloid plaques. The normal function of amylin in the brain is directly correlated to metabolism because amylin is considered a satiety protein. The output involved in the metabolic process involves oxidative phosphorylation and includes a set of proteins known as uncoupling proteins (UCPs), which are proteins that directly impact oxidative phosphorylation. Traditionally, UCPs are known to impact the ATP levels that occur in oxidative phosphorylation. However, recently it has been postulated that UCPs may have an additional role that involves cell signaling. In fact, UCP2 has been shown to be present in pancreatic beta cells and to have diminished protein levels in Alzheimer’s disease brains. The experiments conducted in this study analyzed the relationship between UCP2 and amylin. Specifically, immunohistochemistry experiments that examine both the presence of amylin and UCP2 in Alzheimer’s disease brains were conducted. Western Blot analysis experiments were also conducted to compare the findings from the immunohistochemistry experiments.
 
 

Georgia has the lowest kidney transplant rates in the United States, and racial disparities in access to early steps in the kidney transplant process exist in the Southeast. The Southeastern Kidney Transplant Coalition developed the randomized, dialysis facility-level Reducing Disparities In Access to kidNey Transplantation (RaDIANT) Community Study to address racial disparities and low rates of kidney transplantation (KTx) in Georgia.  The RaDIANT Community Study was a randomized, dialysis facility–based, controlled trial involving more than 9,000 patients receiving dialysis treatment from 134 dialysis facilities in Georgia. Dialysis facilities with either low transplant referral, or an African-American (AA) vs. white racial disparity in referral, were selected in December 2013 to participate in this End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Network–led study. The multicomponent intervention consisted of transplant education and engagement activities targeting dialysis facility leadership, staff, and patients from January through December 2014. The primary outcome was the proportion of prevalent ESRD patients in a facility referred for transplantation within one year, and  AA vs. white racial disparity was examined as a secondary outcome. For this project, we aim to evaluate the effectiveness, feasibility, and sustainability of the RaDIANT intervention activities.

 

 
Our research project is centered on observing how soil moisture at Spelman College changes over different seasons and different weather conditions. We plan to quantify the effects of changes in local weather conditions on soil hydrological processes and parameters. We hypothesize that extreme weather conditions will have an impact on soil moisture conditions and ultimately flooding potential. If there is more soil moisture, then there is an increased potential of flooding due to short and long term weather conditions. Daily local weather data will be collected using a weather station, and soil moisture data will be collected using a Lysimeter. Both of these instruments are housed in the Environmental Science lab at Spelman College. Furthermore, we will utilize several statistical methods as well as visualization tools like ArcGIS to analyze data and present results.

In this project, the reaction between nitrocyclopropane (NCP) and various amines are explored under microwave heating conditions. The previously reported reaction of aniline and NCP included 17 hours of traditional heating using acetonitrile as the solvent. By altering both solvent and microwave irradiation conditions, we were able to reduce the reaction time to 3 hours using acetonitrile as the solvent and 2 hours using water as a solvent. Both processes are more efficient and exhibit concepts of green chemistry. The conditions derived for aniline were then used to probe the scope of this reaction with electron withdrawing, electron donating, and sterically hindered aniline derivatives. Electron donating and alkyl amines work well, however electron withdrawing and sterically hindered amines have not been as successful. Current efforts are aimed at promoting these reactions by increasing reaction times, reaction temperature, and equivalents of base. We are also obtaining yields for successful reactions.

Over the past decade, education technology has become increasingly available in elementary schools. Ideally, its purpose is to improve the learning environment and enhance a students ability to succeed. This research hopes to further the innovation of education technology and education based on technological theory. Based on behaviorism, anchored instruction, and retention will the research be constructed and analyzed. This investigation analyzes if 2nd-grade students will retain information from a story delivered by a robot, through pre-programmed voice variability and motions, better than a story delivered by a human. Through an independent test group that receives the interactive story from a human and a dependent test group that receives the interactive story from a robot, retention of materials and problems solved can be measured quantitatively. By administering a quantifiable test to both groups, rates of retention are gathered and analyzed with the expectation of higher levels from the dependent test group.

Climate change is a significant area of study for ecologists. Of particular interest are the relationships between organisms and their environments. This is due to the substantial influence that climate often has on a species’ living environment, behaviors and it’s ability to coexist with other species in different environments. This research will evaluate the impact that climate change, specifically rainfall have on a plant’s fitness by analyzing data of plant phenology. Phenology is the study of the timing of the biological events in plants and animals. This includes flowering, leafing, hibernation, reproduction, and migration. Using phenology data, you can see the timing of such biological events in relation to changes in season and climate. The USA National Phenology Network available for public access, will be analyzed for documentation of various phenophases including initial growth, leaves and budding in multiple locations. Analyzing the phenophases, a pattern will then be established for the impact of rainfall has on the process of initial growth and budding for three annual plants within the United States over a span of ten years. This data will show trends of growth rate for certain rain levels and in different locations.

 
Computer Aided Geometric Design (CAGD) studies the construction and manipulation of curves and surfaces using polynomials or piecewise polynomials, and their rational function counterparts. Such geometric modeling is used in industrial design, such as aircraft and cars.
 
Spline functions are smooth continuous piecewise polynomials through a given set of points. They are used in the computer assisted design of tools and instruments in manufacturing, and in the design of boats, planes and automobiles. Splines allow a much greater degree of shape control than traditional interpolation methods. We explore the use of splines in CAGD with the help of Maple software.
 

Donor-acceptor cyclopropanes are generally used to produce five and six membered
cyclic rings. This project investigated the possibility of forming novel seven-membered
benzoxepines. This scaffold can be found in antibacterial, antioxidant, anticancer, anti-diabetic,
and a host of other medicinal compounds and natural products. One example is the antimalarial
drug Artemisinin. Nitrocyclopropane was reacted with salicylaldehyde under microwave
irradiation to yield a product following nucleophilic attack and ring opening of the cyclopropane
ring. The base, solvent, and equivalents of each reagent were optimized to promote full
conversion of the nitrocyclopropane. Proton and carbon nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)
analysis provided insight into the formation of a dihydrobenzoxepine, a derivative of the desired
7-membered ring. Current efforts focus on identifying the proper purification method to isolate
the novel product from excess salicylaldehyde, obtaining a yield for this transformation, and
exploring the scope of the reaction with other salicylaldehyde derivatives. If the reaction can be
generally applied to other salicylaldehyde analogues, a new family of benzoxepines can be
prepared and analyzed for any biological activity.

Disinfectants are characterized as chemical liquids that kill or inhibit bacteria. They are used on everyday surfaces in order to lower potential infections of humans and cattle. Here, we seek to identify disinfectants and their respective concentrations that inhibit growth of several relatives of ESKAPE bacteria (Acinetobacter baylyi, Enterobacter aerogenes, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas putida), Bacillus subtilis, and an unknown bacterium. We hypothesized that applying a disinfectant will result in inhibition of growth of the microorganisms. We harvested isolated bacteria, performed 10-fold serial dilutions of the microorganisms, and measured growth after overnight incubation on agar containing different disinfectants. Our results showed that the application of 50% antibacterial soap used in Spelman College restrooms inhibited bacterial  growth, with the exception of Pseudomonas putida. Neither 50% bleach nor 20% sodium chloride (NaCl) were able to inhibit bacterial growth. The 50% antibacterial soap contains 0.5% Triclosan, an antibacterial and antifungal agent present in certain cleaning products. It is possible that bleach and NaCl require a higher concentration to kill or inhibit bacteria. This research can help find proper concentrations of disinfectants to inhibit bacterial growth in common locations like health buildings, workplaces, schools, and homes.

Since the industrial revolution in the 19th century, humans have released a steadily increasing amount of greenhouse gases. This increase was accelerated due to the development of the petrochemical industry in World War 2. Greenhouse gases trap heat within the atmosphere, causing an overall warming of the planet. According to the Australian Department of the Environment and Energy, changes such as an increase in global air and ocean temperature have been observed. Due to the changing climate, many animals have had to adapt by altering their life cycles or confining their habitats, this is known as habitat fragmentation. When these species become confined to smaller areas within their previous ranges, it results in reduced genetic variability. By studying a location’s change in temperature and its biodiversity over the past decade, the direct correlation between temperature and biodiversity can be determined. Using multiple locations in California, we gathered a list of birds in urban regions over a 20 year time period in 5 year increments, and calculated the Shannon’s Index to determine the biodiversity. Then, we studied each region’s temperature to find any temperature changes. We predict that if a location has a significant increase in temperature, the diversity of birds found in that region will decrease.

 
 
Kanamycin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic derived from the bacterium Streptomyces kanamyceticus. Previous research indicated that when plants are exposed to kanamycin, their iron uptake is reduced. In addition, when the antibiotic resistance gene WBC19 is mutated, they reduce zinc uptake. This relationship between antibiotics and metal uptake appear to only hold true when there is citrate added to the media. We developed a model that takes into account the presence of citrate to explain these very different outcomes. We further test the model by examining the effect of kanamycin on Arabidopsis plants when no citrate is added to the media. Control and WBC19 mutants seedlings were grown on normal MS media containing 1Fe and 1Zn with no citrate added, and compared to seedlings grown with kanamycin present at 50 mg/l. Plant growth was monitored at days 7, 10, and 13 prior to harvesting them for metal uptake analysis. Our results show that with no added citrate, iron uptake in control plants was not severely reduced. In addition, in the WBC19 mutant plants zinc uptake was not significantly reduced. These results highlight the importance of citrate in modulating metal uptake and support our proposed model.

 
The redistricting of congressional lines can negatively affect Black voter participation in the U.S. House elections. Danny Hayes and Seth C. McKee authors of "The Participatory Effects of Redistricting" find that the drawing of congressional district lines can significantly reduce political participation in U.S. House elections (Hayes, and McKee 2009). However, the research found in Hayes and Mckee’s article doesn’t take into consideration if Black voters are redrawn into a Black incumbent’s district. How does political participation in the Black community vary when congressional districts are redrawn? The data found in this research shows an important empirical regularity and can provide insight on how redistricting can affect a specific community’s political participation.

The structure of eukaryotic flagellum is significant to its ability to function properly and allow movement for the cell. The transition zone is an intermediate structure found between the basal body and axoneme that is responsible for managing flagellar traffic. Mutations within genes that code for the transition zone proteins cause genetic disorders called ciliopathies. In this study, an inventory of 7 genomes and 13 transcriptome sequences for both flagellated and non-flagellated eukaryotes was conducted for 121 genes that are specific to the transition zone. A python custom script for gene inventory was used to these genes using a query genome. The goal of the study was to investigate if non-flagellated amoebae retained most of the genes required for transition zone. Results show that the average percentage of transition zone genes in the flagellated organisms is 65, while the average percentage of non-flagellated organisms is 53. The high number of detection of these genes in non-flagellated amoeba likely indicates that amoebae were ancestrally flagellated. During evolution these genes likely switched function to serve other purposes. The findings of this study demonstrates that non-flagellates can be used as model to study for disorders related to flagellum such as ciliopathies.

 
In a culture that expressly values female virginity, to not be a virgin at the time of marriage is grounds for divorce, shame or even violence. This paper offers a critical review of what is known about the expression of sexuality in Morocco by bringing together several domains of research-studies of Islamic doctrine, anthropological research on sexuality, ethnographies of Muslim countries, as well as recent studies of sexual behaviors and attitudes in Morocco. The traditional context of sexual behavior in Morocco was shaped by the dynamic interplay among several forces: a relatively permissive religious tradition, a system restricting women's autonomy and privileging male satisfaction, and a keen awareness among women of the connections between sexual exchange and power relationships. This situation is rapidly changing as a result of momentous demographic and socio-economic transformations that radically altered the frequency and quality of interactions between men and women and the realities of the marriage market and contributed to the emergence of youth culture attuned to global trends but rooted in local sensitivities. The case of Morocco illustrates the ways in which the domain of sexuality is contested as a result of discrepancies between the Islamic religion and its application by its followers.