Oral Presentations Session 3

Mercury (Hg), released into the environment primarily by the combustion of fossil fuels, is a global pollutant that travels through the atmosphere before depositing into surface waters. When internalized by anaerobic bacteria living in aquatic ecosystems, Hg can be converted into monomethylmercury (MeHg), a potent neurotoxin. The Free Ion Activity Model (FIAM), which predicts trace-metal bioavailability, assumes that the free ... Read More

The underlying cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by the selective death of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, is unclear. Scientists believe that approximately 20% of familial ALS is affected by the mutated copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1); however, how SOD1 causes ALS remains unknown. To gain a better understanding of the enzyme, ... Read More

So-called “serious” video games, focused on political, social, or cultural topics, have the ability to change a player's attitude towards a subject and even contribute to social change. Game developers have created serious games, such as Depression Quest, Third World Farmer, and The Migrant Trail that seek to accomplish these tasks. However, these games struggle to balance learning objectives, attitudinal ... Read More

Diffusion tensor imaging allows for visualization of white matter tracts by tractography. Methodology in this new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) varies to match the desired use. In this study, methods of creating three-dimensional (3D) tracts were tested to analyze the corticospinal tract (CST) and somatosensory tract in post-stroke patients both before and after neurorehabilitation. Using an imaging software called FSL, ... Read More

Huntington’s Disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disease that belongs to a class of hyperkinetic disorders which affect the basal ganglia. The role of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) in HD progression is relatively uncharacterized although prior experiments have shown that STN neuron firing is disrupted during HD. In other brain areas, mitochondrial oxidative stress has been shown to have a role ... Read More

In 2012, the 125 GeV Higgs boson was detected using high-energy (√s = 7 TeV) collisions at the ATLAS and CMS detectors. However in the lower- energy collisions of the Tevatron collider, the evidence of Higgs particles was shown at 3 sigma, but not discovery. We present a search for such a Higgs boson in proton-antiproton collisions (√s = 1.96 ... Read More

The purpose of our investigation was to conduct a literature review of available studies that look at leukocyte telomere length and compare it to overall risk mortality. Leukocyte telomere length has been connected to aging and age related diseases. Our study compiled data from many studies to see if there were significant results to report. The different studies we chose ... Read More

A new iron oxide magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) probe has been developed to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease (AD) earlier. It does this by using a NU4 antibody which binds to oligomers in the brain. Currently, many AD probes use antibodies that target amyloid plaques. However, there is evidence that oligomers occur earlier, making them a better target for diagnosis. My investigation ... Read More

Monogenic diabetes is a rare, genetic form of diabetes with a low prevalence rate. Research in monogenic diabetes has established that most of this population has deficits in areas of neurological functioning, but there is a wide range of presentations depending on the specific mutation. Neuropsychological research is important, as the population is small and medications may not treat all ... Read More

Little is known about the effects of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease on the astrocytes in the hippocampal and basal ganglian regions of the brain. In order to understand how astrocytes are affected in these parts of a diseased brain, images of astrocytes in diseased and non-diseased mouse brains were collected. Preliminary results, found using a sholl analysis, have shown that ... Read More

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program is a worldwide program that certifies buildings for their incorporation of energy-efficient design strategies and practices to improve the energy use and waste of buildings. In this investigation, we focus on the LEED certification process for residential homes, and the cost implications to meet this certification. We looked at the requirements ... Read More

In patients with fibrosis, the imbalance of the manifestation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the body’s detoxifying abilities results in oxidative stress in the cytoplasm and mitochondria. Increased production of ROS can stimulate extracellular matrix synthesis, leading to persistent fibrosis. To determine how the addition of TGF-β affects mitochondria ROS production, RNA was isolated from human foreskin fibroblasts and ... Read More

When using financial instruments, traders look for the best possible methods for maximizing the risk they undertake. Many different strategies have been developed to accomplish this goal. This project focuses on a single strategy, the calendar spread, analyzing which types of calendar spreads maximize risk and reward for over 500 contracts on a three year period. Financial tools such as ... Read More

Antibiotics are widely used to treat infectious diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria in many disease states. While eliminating pathogens, antibiotics also affect gut commensal bacteria composition, leading to long-lasting gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms associated with GI motility problems. In this study, the mechanism by which the broad-spectrum antibiotic cefoperazone, gram-positive specific antibiotic vancomycin, and gram-negative specific antibiotic neomycin affect GI motility ... Read More

Many baseball and softball players suffer from shoulder injuries due to overuse. Often times this happens in youth or high school age because of the lack of restrictions and preventative care provided for the players. This research project analyzed the effectiveness of different exercise programs to prevent shoulder injuries or soreness in the shoulder of baseball and softball players. We ... Read More

Taoism, an ancient Chinese philosophy, involves the idea of the Tao, or "the Way," and the belief that humans are inherently flawed and so, must look towards nature to find order. Taoism is founded on several principles including the concepts of Yin Yang, the Five Element Theory, the trigrams and hexagrams of the I Ching, and Qi. In order to ... Read More

DNA methylation, a mechanism that regulates gene expression, is associated with various cancers including glioblastoma (GBM). The purpose of this investigation was to investigate the role of DNA methylation in GBM stem cell (GSC) subtypes including mainly proneural (PN) and mesenchymal (MES). We carried out 450K methylation array on the GSCs to obtain levels of methylation and used gene expression ... Read More

The purpose of this investigation was to apply the techniques and strategies developed on simulated data over the course of the summer on actual data from the Dark Energy Survey. Bayesian techniques were developed to measure the stellar masses of galaxy clusters through the use simulated data from the Blind Cosmology Challenge (BCC) using models derived from Simha et al ... Read More

Proprioception is the body's ability to know the relative position of its parts in space and the force applied to them. The set of receptors in the body that provide proprioceptive information are well-understood. However, the specific computations that are performed by proprioceptive cortex are still unclear. Moreover, a clear functional distinction between motor and proprioceptive neurons in cortex has ... Read More

Silurian (Wenlock) fossil reefs from the Racine Formation in Illinois measure over 100 meters tall and draping flanks beds extend over a mile. Biodiversity studies of reefs in Southeastern Wisconsin reveal complex, diverse communities with over 191 species. We hypothesized that the larger reefs reflect a more optimal environment and may have had higher diversity than reefs in Wisconsin. We ... Read More

Many present day research facilities use data acquisition systems to collect data for experiments. However, data acquisition systems are difficult to find and get outdated frequently, resulting into high expenses. Our objective is to design a website for these systems to make them more readily available to the public. We used many different programming languages including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and ... Read More

Historically, most lung cancers were detected at late stages (30% are stage III and 40% are stage IV). Trials were conducted testing the viability of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening for nodule detection. The US Preventive Services Task Force identified guidelines for advising LDCT screening based on the National Lung Screening Trial. It was determined that those with a 30 ... Read More

Microplastics, pieces of plastic between 5mm and 0.3mm, have been found in oceans and freshwater systems and can carry bacteria that the usual suspended solids do not. They also have a high potential for bioaccumulation, as even the smallest organisms can ingest them because of their small size. Because the research on microplastics in freshwater is limited, I wanted to ... Read More

Vestibular receptors (hair cells) transduce head motions and transmit their signals to primary afferent neurons, but it is not known how death, and regeneration of the hair cells affects the signals of afferent neurons. To answer these questions, we compared the electrical signals of afferent neurons from control mice and mice treated with a toxin that selectively kills hair cells. ... Read More

The “ICE-101/SACCON” unmanned aerial vehicle was developed by David Williams as an unmanned flying wing aircraft that uses an innovative aileron called a circulation control wing. The wing uses air blown over a rounded surface to maintain control without flaps. The 1 to 37 scale three dimensionally printed model used in this investigation has also been tested at the Air ... Read More

The Higgs boson is a particle that ultimately justifies the present, best explanation for mass. In the following investigation at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, data from the DØ detector was used in an attempt to find the real Higgs event. The particular form of multivariate analysis used in this investigation is called the Matrix Element method. By manipulating the probabilities ... Read More

The purpose of this investigation was to compare leukocyte telomere length with cotinine, cadmium, and lead exposure in the US population. Telomere length has been shown to negatively correlate with biological aging and it has been shown as a marker for many age related disease. Leukocyte telomere length has been connected with many dietary conditions, including the exposure of different ... Read More

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a progressive nervous system disorder that causes the dysfunction and the gradual death of vital nerve cells. The pathology in the nerve cells can cause various motor dysfunctions, such as tremors, rigidity, postural instability etc. Glial cells, like astrocytes, are the most abundant cell type in the brain and ensure the proper function of surrounding neurons ... Read More

Throughout the twentieth and into the twenty first century the threat of nuclear warfare has been the preeminent danger in geopolitical relations. The most notable contributors to the nuclear threat were the United States and the Soviet Union. In the intervening years between the creation of the atomic bomb and the end of the Cold War these two states developed ... Read More

In my study I examined whether taking on the perspective of someone with an opposing viewpoint on the issue of abortion can backfire. Usually, perspective taking is helpful to blur the line between two sides and help people to sympathize with the other side of the issue. However, we hypothesized that in the case of high moral and religious conviction, ... Read More

Prenatal exposure to ethanol has been known to cause irreversible neurobehavioral abnormalities, developmental delay, and hindrances in growth. Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is known to be the primary cause of mental retardation in the United States. Drosophila, the fruit fly, show comparable signs of intoxication and behavioral stimulation to that of mammals and has been used as a model organism. ... Read More

Parents’ attitudes, behaviors and beliefs play an important role in the development of their children. Therefore, it is important to understand how parents can influence their children during early childhood, the time when children are the most susceptible to influence. In this study, I investigated how parents’ math anxiety and theories of intelligence can impact parental feedback and praise, and ... Read More

One major hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the accumulation of toxic amyloid-β oligomers (AβOs), but scientists do not fully understand why this increase occurs. Most researchers currently use the transgenic mice model to understand the AD pathways, but some studies have shown that the chicken embryo may be a more suitable and less costly alternative because chickens and humans ... Read More

Shiftgig, Inc., a technology company founded in 2012, has created a mobile platform to remedy the high turnover experienced in the service industry by acquiring a workforce that is deployable at moment’s notice. The platform acts as a medium between the workforce and the employer. The greatest challenge Shiftgig experiences is achieving a balance between these two users. This case ... Read More

Hearing loss (ototoxicity) is a global phenomenon. Noise induced hearing loss is one of the most common causes. Chemotherapeutic agents such as cisplatin, used in the treatment of solid tumors, also contribute to ototoxicity. We hypothesized that both cisplatin and noise trauma initiate similar stress signaling cascades in the cochlea. The goal of this study was to analyze high throughput ... Read More

Sergei Rachmaninoff is considered by many to have been the last great Romantic era composer. His works are characterized by virtuosity, the use and recurrence of motive thematic material, and sweeping melodies. Early in his career, Rachmaninoff composed two string quartets but never finished either; this study sought to reconstruct the second of these by composing its third movement based ... Read More

The eukaryotic green algae strain Chlorella NC64A and its corresponding Chlorella virus PBCV-1 are both commonly found in North American freshwater bodies. In this investigation, we tested the abundance of the PBCV-1 virus within the freshwater lake "No-Pond" located behind IMSA's campus. For this investigation, we collected water from "No-Pond" and filtered it so that only virus particles would remain. ... Read More

The formation of ice on man-made surfaces, such as roads or airplanes, is problematic and costly, leading to hundreds of thousands of dollars spent each year. To circumvent this, many industries often utilize special chemicals that lower the freezing temperature of water on these surfaces. However, these chemicals are expensive and harmful to the environment. Recently, superhydrophobic (SH) surfaces, which ... Read More

There currently exist no methods to diagnose Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), which is the most common neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive mental deterioration. The molecular focus on AD is shifting away from amyloid plaques and towards their peptide form- the amyloid-β oligomer (AβO). The pathology of AβOs and downstream tau more closely correlate with neuronal loss in comparison to amyloid plaques ... Read More

Breast cancer pervades society, so its cell lines are studied to find therapies. Hormones and enhancer regions play a central role in messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) levels of genes, so observing them can help develop new therapies. We use a luminal A breast cancer cell line model, MCF-7, to determine the effect of different hormones on gene expression. Hormone effect ... Read More

Previous studies has shown that stimuli during certain sleep stages could potentially affect decision making skills in people. Our goal was to find what specific factors would affect our subjects during a sleeping state. To do so, we used a meditation device called MUSE headband to track the brain activity while subjects were asleep. The MUSE headband contains 7 brain ... Read More

An increase in computer science careers will require workers to solve problems with advanced technology; even jobs outside this domain will depend on basic understanding of computer power. However, teaching the skills needed for proficiency has proved difficult. To combat this, we designed and implemented a Scratch-based computational thinking program that culminated in a group problem solving activity. We then ... Read More

The current research explores the factors that may affect drug encapsulation and subsequent release rates in toroidal-spiral particles and we hope to ultimately apply our findings to create particles capable of delivering and controlling the release rates of a myriad of drugs. The particles are created by entrapment of a drug- containing drop within a polymeric drop, and upon toroidal-spiral ... Read More

The cerebral cortex can be separated in a number of ways, including macro- anatomically and microanatomically. This paper compares anatomical gyri to cytoarchitectonic Brodmann areas. Gyri are typically more useful in a live patient, as they are easily identifiable ridges on the brain; meanwhile, Brodmann’s areas are only examined postmortem, but can provide more details about neural organization. Since both ... Read More

Subglacial sediment transport under Whillans Ice Stream in West Antarctica is inferred using samples collected from Subglacial Lake Whillans (SLW) and two sites at a location called “UpB”. The surface features on quartz grains between 125 and 1000 micrometers were described using a Scanning Electron Microscope. Mahaney’s Atlas of Sand Grain Surface Textures and Applications (2002) was used to uniformly ... Read More

The pediatric brainstem glioma is one of the most deadly malignancies throughout the human body. Such pediatric central nervous system tumors are found to compose of approximately ten percent of all central nervous system malignancies in children. Thus, in attempts to inhibit this neoplastic growth, it was found that a protein complex associated with an epigenetic factor known as PRC2 ... Read More

Women have continually been underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, even with all the advances made in the world today. In this investigation, I examined how Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy students and parents perceive math and science gender stereotypes, and how these perceptions affect the students. Students filled out surveys that assessed their self-perceptions of ... Read More

Lower-level languages perform computations much faster than higher- level languages, because they use code closer to machine code, whereas the latter abstracts away that convoluted code for read- and writeability. Novice programmers with small data can take this for granted, but trading firms that analyze huge amounts and know that speed is money can not. The goal of this project ... Read More

Infrared radiation can be utilized to stimulate the nervous system. Its ability to travel through different media must be tested to ensure its safe use in living tissue. In this study, we analyzed the heat distribution patterns of infrared light in different media. Theoretical equations for heat distribution were employed as a basis for the experiment. Saline was used to ... Read More

The current study will determine whether exercise improves short term linguistic memory in students. Students of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) who do not speak Russian were tested in this investigation. The same list of twenty Russian words and their English translations was read to the participants, and the participants then exercised or watched appropriate YouTube videos, each ... Read More

Every year millions of people suffer concussions and need hospital care. Many patients are healed, but several are later diagnosed with what is known as Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS), an adequate treatment for this condition is yet to be developed. This investigation was to determine whether neurofeedback could be used to treat PCS successfully. After conducting a preliminary electroencephalogram test followed ... Read More

Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, which includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (UC), are at a significantly higher risk than the general population for development of colon cancer. In preliminary studies, we identified down regulation of microRNA (miRNA), 4728-3p, in non-dysplastic mucosa from UC patients harboring a neoplastic lesion. Bioinformatics analysis suggests that this miRNA regulates three proteins also increased ... Read More

Gamma activation in the motor cortex is often observed during language processing tasks in the human brain. Conventional neurology considers this phenomenon to be irrelevant in language comprehension and processing. In 2010, however, Pulvermüller theorized that gamma activity in the motor cortex during the processing of language nouns and verbs. In order to test this, epilepsy patients were tested using ... Read More

Neutrinos are the most mysterious of the elementary particles that make up all matter in the universe. Nearly massless and rarely interacting with other matter, they are extremely difficult to detect. The NOvA experiment seeks to observe and place bounds on factors relating to their oscillation properties. This knowledge could provide insight into the formation of the universe and the ... Read More

The specter of Artificial Intelligence (AI) looms before us, continuously growing in power, soon to match, and then exceed human capabilities. To explore this, we read and discussed books by experts, and learned about the exponential nature of technological progress and the difficulties of halting or even slowing it. Technological improvements trend towards an autonomous AI capable of replicating, if ... Read More

People differ both within and between cultures. This study was designed to examine similarities and differences in personality between different ethnic identities within the United States and ultimately with the country of origin. Using a large data set (n=191,893) collected over the web by the Synthetic Aperture Personality Assessment Project (SAPA) and the R statistical data analytic package, descriptive graphics ... Read More

Quantum computing provides significantly more efficient methods than classical computers for doing rigorous calculations such as encryption, search algorithms, and physical simulations. This is accomplished through the use of qubits which exist in a superposition of multiple states at once allowing for both complex and fast calculations. Environmental fluctuations interfere with these states and resulting in decoherence and dephasing and ... Read More

Identifying factors that affect the price movements of a stock comprises the core of strategy development. Earnings surprise, price to earnings to growth, and return on equity are some of the more common factors. Dividend change, however, has had mixed results. Some researchers have concluded that dividends have no influence on prices while others have identified a direct causation. This ... Read More

Micro and macro relationships are found at every ecological, biological, and social level. Understanding these relationships is imperative not only in science, affecting how hypotheses and solutions are made, but also in everyday life. This investigation determined if using Agent-Based Modeling (ABM), a computer modeling style that focuses on the individual, affected comprehension of the macro and micro levels. By ... Read More

Colorectal neoplasia is the abnormal growth of tissue in the colon, encompassing dysplasia as well as colorectal cancer cancer. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease have chronic inflammation in their colon. It is thought that the chronic inflammation places them at increased risk for colorectal neoplasia, whereby the colonic lining changes from at risk mucosa with chronic inflammation to dysplasia and ... Read More

Yeast, or Saccaromyces cerevisiae, can exist as MATa haploid cells, which secretes the mating pheromone a-factor, MATα haploid cells, which secretes the mating pheromone α-factor, or MATa/MATα diploid cells. MAT represents a locus that determines mating type. Several studies have shown that the mating pheromones a- factor and α-factor are functionally interchangeable. This investigation sought to determine whether MATa could ... Read More

In the field of neurobiology, there is great discussion about which particular species of amyloid-beta oligomers (AβOs) contributes to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a progressive neurodegenerative disease. Previously, our group has found, using molecular weight cutoff filters (MWCO), that AβOs are primarily 100-300 kilodaltons (kDa). The goal of this project is to verify this finding using size exclusion ... Read More

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth deadliest cancer in America and it continues to take more lives every year. However, there are not many viable options to treat this pernicious cancer. We tested for levels of Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGFB) and Programmed Cell Death 1 (PD-1) using Western blots. TGFB is used to suppress T cells which are responsible for ... Read More

Celiac disease is a complex autoimmune disorder induced by the ingestion of gluten that causes inflammation and mucosal damage in the small intestine due to a loss of tolerance to gluten. Past studies have suggested that virus infections play a role in the development of celiac disease. In this investigation, we aimed to study how infection by reovirus T1L affects ... Read More

For some time, it has been known tumors exhibit morphological and functional heterogeneity. Multiple theories have been proposed to address the cause of this, the most accepted of which is the hierarchy model, which states that biologically distinct cell classes compose tumors and only one has the ability to initiate tumor growth: the cancer stem cell (CSC) class. Today, however, ... Read More

MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, is a recreational drug that has been shown to increase sociability in its users. Acute prosocial and drug effects are explored in relation to individual differences in social and general anxiety. A three session, double-blind, within subject study design was deployed in which 60 subjects received placebo, a low dose of MDMA, and a high ... Read More