Aluminum alloys are popular in aerospace and automotive industries because of their relatively high strength-to-weight ratio. The study of enhancing aluminum’s mechanical properties through grain refinement is especially important. One such technique is High-Pressure Torsion processing (HPT), which leads to significant grain size refinement and enhances mechanical properties like ductility...
Plastic pollution is an ever-increasing environmental threat. As large-scale plastics break down to form nanoscale plastics, it is essential to investigate their effects on freshwater ecosystems. With many plastic nanoparticle (NP) studies favoring the effects of common polystyrene (PS) plastics, a gap is formed for other common plastic types like...
Pre-med attrition is the loss of students participating in academic pre-medical programs over time. Attrition in medical school has been the subject of many studies, but pre-med attrition is less researched, despite its relevance to the emergence and performance of future medical professionals. Interviewing former pre-med students who chose other...
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...
The S-domain subfamily of receptor-like kinases (SD-RLKs) in plants is poorly characterized and the majority of genes have unknown functions. The goal of this study was to study the expansion of rice (Oryza sativa) SD-RLK subfamily, and characterize gene and protein structure and expression of its members using publicly available...
About one third of Americans have metabolic syndrome, which is characterized by five risk factors related to blood pressure and triglyceride levels and could lead to diabetes and heart disease if left untreated. Watermelon has been shown to exhibit cardioprotective effects due to its high phytochemical content and may act...
From my personal experiences, I’ve noticed that Latinx students and families are most receptive to college-related information communicated as anecdotes. Latinx students are among the most poorly represented demographic at universities nationwide, which I believe can be mitigated through calculated efforts to increase collegiate literacy and understanding. This project is...
Tooth decay in the form of dental caries and cavities is estimated to be among the most common health conditions globally, with treatment of these oral diseases resulting in a massive, world-wide economic burden. The cause of this demineralization of teeth is rooted in the action of complex microbial biofilms...
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...
Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has potential applications as a low-cost catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Defects on MoS2, such as edge sites and sulfur vacancies, are known to be the major active sites for HER. Controlling the formation of these defects allows for the enhancement in reactivity of MoS2...