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Presenters & Abstracts: College of Natural Resources & Sciences
Analytical comparisons of American-European High School Life Science Education Systems and Methodology to Increase effective teaching and Intercultural Competence
- Juita Martinez, Juan Lupian, Anne O'SheaEducation & BiologyUndergraduate Student
In collaboration with HSU's P.E.E.R.S program and Lausanne, Swizterland's HEP school of education. Three HSU students collaborated with three Swiss students in order to create a lesson for highschool aged students from scratch as well as teach the lesson in in the United States and Switzerland. Our goal was to increase learning retention of the subject through research of effective methods and pedagogical strategies which we then utilize to regularly change and improve our lesson. Another goal included intercultural awareness and creating relevance for the students in a collaborative way with our peers that would translate into the individual classrooms in relation to the specific class.
Analyzing Landslide Susceptibility in Monterey County, California Using MaxEnt
- Robert BeckerEnviornmental Science and ManagmentUndergraduate Student
- David GwenziEnviornmental Science and ManagmentFaculty
Landslides are a destructive geological process that can destroy infrastructure, homes, and cause human fatalities. Over recent years there have been many damaging landslides along the California coast. Analyzing areas of high landslide risk potential can allow for preventative measures before the economic hardship of a massive repair or worst case scenario loss of life. This study aims to address the need of accurate predictive maps of landslide vulnerability in the Monterey County, CA. Weight of evidence based on prior landslides and selected triggering factors will be modeled within the MaxEnt software package to create landslide susceptibility maps.
Analyzing Resistance in Carbon Nanotube Networks
- Tanner HoovenPhysicsUndergraduate Student
- Joshua MaldanadoPhysicsUndergraduate Student
- Gynell HigbyPhysicsUndergraduate Student
- Benjamin KafinPhysics & ChemistryUndergraduate Student
- Carla QuinteroPhysicsGraduate Student
- Ruth SaundersPhysicsFaculty
To inform the applicability of carbon nanotube networks for use as field-effect transistors or as biosensors, we have run computer simulations in order to characterize the electrical properties of these networks, and specifically, how the resistance of these networks changes with the metallicity, or the percentage of metallic to semiconducting carbon nanotubes. When running simulations over networks with varying metallicities, we find a trend where the resistance increases to a peak value then decreases.
Analyzing Trace Levels of Iron in Seawater: Expanding the Measurable Concentration Range
Brooke Stafford, Geology Undergraduate Student
- ElijahVestalGeologyUndergraduate Student
- ClaireTillChemistryFaculty
Seawater samples are to be measured for the iron concentration content. We measured standard samples to better understand what concentration ranges we could measure. We are currently working on optimizing the method to measure higher concentrations.
Anthropogenic feeding of California ground squirrels in an urban state park
Vanessa Ramirez, Wildlife Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & SciencesCalifornia ground squirrels are an abundant wildlife species at Candlestick Point State Recreation Area in San Francisco, where they are regularly fed by park visitors. The goal of this study was to provide the park with useful information about the ecology of their resident ground squirrel population including their activity patterns, the types of human foods in their diets, and potential impacts of access to anthropogenic food sources. Understanding how these squirrels interact with visitors and how these interactions influence their behavior and body condition is important for management of both park visitors and wildlife.
Aquaponics in the classroom, a students' perspective
- Alicia KeeFisheriesUndergraduate Student
- Cacy SlyvesterFisheriesUndergraduate Student
Aquaponic systems are a combination of hydroponic gardening and a recirculating aquaculture system, which is a very efficient way to produce marketable products for growers. Humboldt State University’s (HSU) aquaculture class had the opportunity to assemble an aquaponics system (Nelson and Pade, Inc.) for the first time. Our class was provided with the equipment that allowed us to demonstrate our abilities in constructing a fully functional aquaponics system. From the knowledge acquired in the academic setting, we were able to create a hands-on, tangible system. White Sturgeon were grown in the system along with a wide variety of vegetables with great success.
Around the Bay in 80 Days: Investigating the Relationship between Bird Diversity and Plants
Quinlan House, Wildlife Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & SciencesThe goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between plant species richness and bird diversity within the area of Humboldt Bay situated in north-western California. Humboldt Bay hosts a unique array of natural areas such as redwood forests, coastal dune forests, and wetlands. We examined the effect of plant species richness and diversity on bird diversity in these three habitats around Humboldt Bay by conducting point counts, plant species censusing, and plant density sampling across 10 plots at each habitat.
ASR Membrane Protein and ApoA1 Detection in Nanodisc via Western Blot Analysis
- Leila AmraniBiochemistryUndergraduate Student
- Elsa BalfeBiochemistryUndergraduate Student
Anabaena sensory rhodopsin (ASR) is a prokaryotic photoactive transmembrane G protein coupled receptor extracted from the cyanobacterium Nostoc. The potential for ASR and its transducer, ASRT, to transcribe/translate prokaryotic genes into products by light signals is an extremely attractive possibility for future membrane research. Nanodiscs are a useful tool for studying membrane proteins because they serve to create a stable amphipathic environment. In the present study, 6x-His ASR has been extracted, isolated, purified, and inserted into a MSP nanodisc with ApoA1 and DMPC. We examine ApoA1 insertion into the nanodisc via SDS-PAGE and chemiluminescent western blot analysis.
Assaying the Substrate Activities and Enantioselectivities of Recombinant Flavin-Dependent Monooxygenases toward Aryl Sulfides
- Paige JeffordChemistryUndergraduate Student
- Georgia KaufmanChemistryUndergraduate Student
- Brian KyteChemistryFaculty
Certain Flavin Monooxygenases (FMO) are enzymes with the potential to catalyze single-enantiomer oxidation of aryl sulfides to chiral sulfoxides. Aryl sulfoxides have a wide array of pharmaceutical and agricultural applications, but many of these enantiomers have yet to be selectively and efficiently synthesized. The enzymes examined in this study are FMOs from Mus musculus, Xenopus tropicalis, Homo sapiens, and BVMO4 and BVMO24 from Rhodococcus jostii RHA1. The genes were cloned into a vector for expression in Escherichia coli and whole-cell mediated reactions with various aryl sulfides were performed to determine their activity toward the substrates and to determine the enantioselectivity.
Assessing and mitigating metabolic response of HEK293 cells to cytotoxic metals using ascorbic acid
Elizabeth Kowalski, Biological Sciences Undergraduate Student
- AmarTojagaBiological SciencesUndergraduate Student
- BrizeidaMejia EspinozaBiological SciencesUndergraduate Student
We examined how HEK293 kidney cells responded metabolically to heavy metal poisoning by cadmium chloride (CdCl2), aluminum chloride (AlCl3), and cesium chloride (CsCl) using two fluorometric assays (resazurin and MitoTracker). We then attempted to mitigate adverse effects by treating these cells with ascorbic acid (vitamin C).