Research poster for Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium 2019. Research was conducted with CURE funding in the Perez lab studying cellular senescence in the PS19 mouse model.
This study examines issues related to prescription drug abuse among 12 – 17 year olds in the United States; namely, the physiological effects of prescription medications, current treatments, and prevention methods. The following research questions are addressed: 1) What factors influence and promote the growing prevalence of prescription drug abuse...
Self-regulation, or an individual’s ability to control their emotions, behaviors, and cognitions, is one important factor of cognitive development during early childhood. The behavioral aspects of self-regulation have the potential to impact children’s success in formal education settings. Breastfeeding also has been shown to increase overall cognitive development at a...
The present study examined if having an older sibling was significantly related to stronger selfregulation and achievement, in a sample of 74 preschool children participating in a selfregulation intervention. It was hypothesized that children with an older sibling in the fall would have higher self-regulation and achievement scores than children...
Cytoplasmic dynein is a motor protein complex found in eukaryotes that is essential to many cellular processes. With dynein being involved in mitosis, axonal transport and organelle transport, disruption of dynein function can lead to neurodegeneration and other diseases. The main function of dynein is transportation of cargo through the...
A deep neural network was developed and trained to identify the sounds of pomacentrids (damselfishes) in the National Park of American Samoa. Four years of continuous, passive acoustic data were recorded by a single stationary hydrophone. Deep neural networks enable the full utilization of such large datasets by automating laborious...
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) is a Knowledge-belief-practice system acquired through intergenerational direct and indirect observations representing past and current understandings of environments and integrates Indigenous value systems. TEK has become a popular topic recently as Indigenous stewarded lands contain more biodiversity and are more adaptable. It is critical for Indigenous...
Seeds are an essential component of plant life histories, and seed endophytes have the potential to influence germination, seedling establishment and development. That said, seed endophytes are a relatively new area of study, both in the factors that influence which taxa are present and how these microbes alter plant function....
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) play an integral role in climate change and as a carbon source for organisms living in a marine environment. These compounds have many sources, but the impacts of biogenically produced VOCs is not fully known. Phaeodactylum tricornutum was studied under axenic ideal growth conditions to determine...
The purpose of this essay is to explore the dynamics of social movements, and better understand why some populations succeed when others fail. This topic was motivated by travels across the United States and Europe. In these journeys, minority groups and their unequal treatment by society were a constant feature,...
Background: Chronic heavy alcohol consumption is a risk factor for bone fracture.
Using a non-human primate model of voluntary alcohol self-administration, we have recently shown that alcohol consumption suppresses intracortical bone remodeling. The current study extends this investigation to asses the effect of alcohol consumption on cancellous bone mass, architecture,...
Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF α) and interferon gamma (IFN γ) were initially recognized as inflammatory mediators produced by immune cells in response to infectious agents or foreign material. (1,5) However, over the past decade much research in mammalian species has indicated that these proteins also play key roles in...
As the world’s population continues to increase every year, a greater proportion of people are living in urban environments. This process of global urbanization has been previously shown to affect evolution of plants and animals by restricting gene flow, increasing genetic drift, and causing divergent selection between rural and urban...
Knowledge of the pore solution composition and pore solution resistivity can be helpful for determining the durability of concrete structures. Most notably, pore solution resistivity can be used in the calculation of the formation factor of concrete, which is a ratio of the electrical resistivities of concrete and its pore...
The Chlamydiaceae are a family of obligate intracellular bacteria with a unique biphasic developmental cycle. The replicating, metabolically active, intracellular phase bacteria (RBs) grow within a cellular vacuole know as the inclusion. Since the proteins the Chlamydiaceae secrete into this membrane are the means of host/parasite interaction, they have long...
Moral elevation refers to the distinct state of warmth and expansion that some individuals experience after witnessing or learning about the altruistic acts of others. Elevation is a particularly interesting positive emotion for its capacity to promote various altruistic behaviors, as well as motivate witnesses to improve their character. The...
Antibiotic resistance is an increasing problem in many species of bacteria today, with pathogens an important focus. Fecal contamination of shellfish is already a concern due to potential pathogens. This report examines the possibility of resistance gene transfer between microbes, due to fecal bacteria, within the oyster. In this study,...
Exertional rhabdomyolysis (ER), or the occurrence of muscle damage with exercise, is prevalent among Arabian horses, the most common breed participating in endurance racing. The cause and pathogenesis of this disease has yet to be determined, and due to the potential for significant morbidity and even mortality associated with ER...
The purpose of this study was to determine the viability of a mobile socially assistive robot (SAR) in a children’s free play environment. The researchers hypothesized that the SAR would prompt more movement among the participants. In order to test this, the researchers utilized a matched pair study in which...
Plant litter decomposition plays an important role in the global carbon cycle, and contributes large amounts of carbon to soils, which store more carbon than any other terrestrial pool of organic matter. Decomposition plays a fundamental role in nutrient cycling and alters soil properties that shape plant community composition and...
Coastal blue carbon ecosystems offer a variety of important ecosystem services, including exceptional rates of carbon sequestration and long-term carbon storage. Because these ecosystems disproportionately influence global carbon cycling, understanding their soil characteristics may help guide long-term climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. Recently, Kauffman et al. (2020) observed the...
It is well known that in-stream large wood affects river channel shape, sediment deposits, stream flow, and available habitat for aquatic species. However, less is known about how wildlife interact with this large wood. Previous research has shown that small mammals and birds utilize woody debris in river channels for...
BCL11B, also known as CTIP2, is a transcription factor which plays a critical role in the regulation and development of many tissues and organ systems, including the skin. A 2019 study by Goos et. al. uncovered a novel point mutation in BCL11B gene that converted the Arginine(R)-3 residue to a...
The Hawaiian Archipelago is a biologically diverse environment with dynamic interactions between human and biological populations. Political, social, and scientific communities are placing importance on sustainable management of fisheries resources throughout the islands. Many economically important bottomfish in Hawaii have declined in population size due to anthropogenic and environmental pressures....
Hispanics in Hood River County, Oregon account for roughly 25% of the population, with many employed in agriculture. A community health survey was carried out in Hood River County during the winter months of 2001 with the purpose of evaluating the health conditions, needs, and barriers to access of needed...
According to The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS report of regional
statistics for HIV/AIDS from 2001-2008, Latin America has the third highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS
among children and adults in the world with about 2 million infected in 2008. Among all of these
countries, Mexico has the...
The proliferation of light emitting diodes (LEDs) are increasing human light exposure, yet the long-term effects of such exposure remains unknown. The current study aims to address this by measuring the longevity of Drosophila melanogaster kept in several light conditions. Initial longevity testing determined that flies kept in daily light-dark...
Non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), commonly known as type 2 or
delayed onset diabetes, is a recognized growing global epidemic, which is connected to cultural and behavioral factors, such as diet, exercise, obesity, and genetics. In a recent survey of both men and women in Mexico City, the prevalence of...
Water availability is a controlling factor in stream ecosystems with direct influences on habitat and aquatic ecosystem process, but little work has been done evaluating how biota respond to natural variations in low flow conditions during summer, and which biotic or abiotic features in the system may link most closely...
Wildfires can affect soil physical properties, resulting in changes in infiltration, hillslope runoff, groundwater recharge, and sediment and dissolved nutrients to streams. In November 2016, the Chimney Tops 2 Fire burned 4,617 ha of Appalachian hardwood forest in eastern Tennessee. A portion of the fire burned through a National Ecological...
Electroanalytical techniques allow scientists and engineers to characterize bulk solutions as well as interfaces. Potentiostats are commonly used by researchers in a variety of disciplines to analyze the chemistry which occurs at a working electrode surface. Advancements in microelectronics and the proliferation of open-source designs have allowed researchers to construct...
Artificial collectives are useful for accomplishing tasks that require teamwork from multiple simple robots. Multiple robot and collective testbeds have been developed, yet none stay committed to leverage the local interactions, group size, and imperfect information assumptions that strengthen biological collectives. A review of the collective and multiple robot literature,...
Although U.S. Latin@s are more affected by major depressive disorder than non-Latin@ whites, they are less likely to utilize mental health services. The purpose of this project is to create a children’s book that promotes the utilization of mental health services among U.S. Latin@s with major depressive disorder. This book...
Transcriptome gene expression studies of sperm RNA have been utilized in a variety of different species to investigate causes of male infertility. Previous research investigators have optimized cell separation and RNA isolation techniques for each species of interest. To date, no study has been completed for dogs. The objective of...
The purpose of this thesis is to examine and compare sustainable design methods used in the United States and Chile, focusing on sustainable materials and certification programs, to see if sustainable design methods used in the United States can be implemented in Chile to further its sustainable development. Through literature...
Coastal communities rely on the abundant ecosystem services derived from robust conservation areas in offshore marine waters (Campbell, 2019). United Nations member states support the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) framework, wherein the 14th guideline asserts the importance of life under water. Protected marine environments are critical to the survival of...
Many people around the world suffer from a mental illness, and too few receive the help they need. Mental illness is especially prevalent among the homeless. Homelessness is represented in all ages, ethnicities, and genders, and is especially represented among first world countries such as the United States and Spain....