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Presenters & Abstracts: College of Natural Resources & Sciences
Controlled Fires
- Owen JamesNatural ResourcesUndergraduate Student
- Steve NavarreteNatural ResourcesUndergraduate Student
For our creative project we decided to create a poster explaining the relationionships between controled fires and forests. While participating in our Native American Studies class, we spoke breifly about how Native Americans used controlled fires to better the vegagtaion within their land. As biology (the study of life) and botnay (the study of plants) majors, the idea of controlled fires helping forests become more suitable for the life surronding it was an increcribly intresting topic for our research poster. Throughout our presentation we will be taking a closer look at how exactly controlled fires are able to help plants grow back stronger and healthier in the years after the fire.
Correlations between the X-ray and UV spectrum in PG1126
- Michael GibbonsPhysicsUndergraduate Student
- Marcus BenavidesPhysicsUndergraduate Student
- William GriederPhysicsUndergraduate Student
- Paola Rodriguez HidalgoPhysicsFaculty
- Margherita GiustiniSRON - Netherlands Institute for Space ResearchFaculty
- George ChartasCollege of CharlestonFaculty
- Pat HallYork UniversityFaculty
PG 1126-041 is a closeby luminous active galactic nuclei (AGN) with a low redshift that displays complex and variable UV and X-ray absorption, which identifies winds expelled from the black hole environment. The data in this paper, collected by the Hubble Space Telescope, was normalized by polynomial fits applied using our own developed Python code. We analyzed the absorption by several ions (OVI, PV, NV, SiIV, CIV and the Lyman series) at 4 different epochs. Our goal is to study a potential correlation between the X-ray and UV absorption to understand their driving mechanism. Discoveries in this project will be compared to AGN much farther than the relatively close PG 1126-041.
Cost-Efficient Methods for Scottish Fishing Industries Affected by Rising Ocean
- Jahaira ValenciaPhysicsUndergraduate Student
- Griffin KowashPhysicsUndergraduate Student
- Berlin Del AguilaPhysicsUndergraduate Student
In our paper, we hope to find solutions to the Scottish fishing industries affected by the migration of Herring and Mackerel fish. We acquired pre-existing data from the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) and used it to develop a Python program that manipulates the temperature of water in the North Sea. We identified the range of temperatures preferred by both species and used it in the simulation of our model. Finally, we calculated the cost of fishing trips as these species steered father away from the original possible fishers modeled through our Python program and a threshold for cost impracticality.
COVID-19 anthropause significantly altered community science participation
- Jane OlshefskyDepartment of WildlifeUndergraduate Student
My research project was on the effects of the COVID-19 anthropause on community science activity in California.
COVID-19 anthropause significantly altered community science participation in California
- Jane OlshefskyDepartment of WildlifeUndergraduate Student
My research project is on the effects of the COVID-19 Anthropause on community science participation in California.
CRISPR-Induced Overexpression of Huntingtin as a Cellular Model of Huntington's Disease
- Dixie BlumenshineBiological SciencesUndergraduate Student
Huntington’s disease (HD) is associated with CAG trinucleotide repeats in the HTT gene, which encodes the huntingtin protein. Our central hypothesis is that overexpression of normal huntingtin, with the eventual inhibition of cells’ autophagy pathway or other route of clearance, will lead to a disease-like state. In order to address this hypothesis, we are developing a novel human cell model that will allow us to assess how excess huntingtin is managed and/or cleared by cells, and precisely how cell death occurs upon buildup of huntingtin protein. Using this model as a starting point, it is possible to study the response of human cells to huntingtin overexpression.
CSF1R Inhibition Restores Cognition Following Immunotherapy
- Selena DuttonCIRM ScholarGraduate Student
Patients that undergo CAR T-cell therapy often experience significant side effects, including cognitive decline. We have found that CAR T-cell therapy increases microglial activation and disrupts the myelin sheath that is necessary for saltatory conduction. We seek to understand the long term neurological effects of CAR T-cell therapy and ways to restore cognition in patients undergoing immunotherapy.
Cultural Fire Behavior and Effects on Hazel Shrubs
Thomas Paulson, Forestry, Fire & Rangeland Management Undergraduate Student
- JeffreyKaneForestry, Fire & Rangeland ManagementFaculty
Prescribed fire is a widely used land management technique that accomplishes many important cultural and ecological benefits to people and wildlife. Since 1935, wildfires have been suppressed and prescribed fires have been largely removed from the landscape. This has led to the loss of important cultural practices conducted by tribes in the Klamath Mountains. Prescribed fire is particularly useful for producing hazel plants that are optimal for basket weaving material used by the Karuk tribe. The goal of this study is to develop an allometric equation to quantify the relationship between hazel height and basal diameter and look into fire effects interactions with hazel.
Current Technology for Vaccine Development in Coronaviruses and Potential Strategies for COVID-19 Drug Discovery
- Sintra StewartChemistryUndergraduate Student
- Jenny A. Cappuccio, PhDChemistryFaculty
In late 2019 a novel coronavirus was identified in China, and over the next 2 months, had spread to over 20 countries; it was declared a global pandemic by the WHO on Feb. 11th. With over 3.2 million cases worldwide, there is tremendous need for a vaccine. This is a daunting task since there are still none commercially available for SARS or MERS. In this review, we analyze the current challenges facing researchers, the technologies for vaccine development which are emerging and promising, and the progress thus far. We found recombinant MHC assays based on SARS epitopes promising for drug development, and anticipate that nanoparticle technology will be the most efficient delivery system.
Deciphering the Crosstalk within Human Coronary Atherosclerotic Plaque
- Annie JensenBiological SciencesUndergraduate Student
Our project investigates the cross-talk between cells contained within the human coronary atherosclerotic plaque using single-cell technologies. We mapped the transcriptome of the plaque using 10x transcriptomics and validated our findings with immunohistochemistry and in vitro assays. We found a predominance of memory T cells suggesting T cells were recruited by antigen engagement with their cognate peptide presented by myeloid cells. Using in vitro assays, we also found activation of pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic pathways in smooth muscle cells after exposure to T cell cytokines. Our analysis suggests that T cells communicate with myeloid and smooth muscle cells within the plaque