Session 3

Bison are a keystone species to grasslands, meaning they modulate the species in and functioning of grasslands. There is a wealth of knowledge on how bison impact remnant prairies - those never converted to farmland. However, their exact effects in restored grassland ecosystems are unclear, which is a critical knowledge gap considering that managers are reintroducing bison to restored prairies ... Read More

The gut bacterial community (GBC) plays a vital role in contributing to host health and is sensitive to changes in diet. Previous research in wild caught woodrats found that the GBC of dietary specialists was susceptible to change after introduction to captivity. Although wild caught woodrats brought into captivity lost diversity in their GBC, a significant portion was retained, suggesting ... Read More

It has become increasingly well-known that osteosarcoma is not only a genetic disease, but also a differentiation one that results from an osteoblast differentiation and proliferation imbalance. This study investigated how certain 19-base short regulatory RNAs may disrupt BMP9-induced osteoblast differentiation in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). We are interested in determining these effects because they may further explain the development ... Read More

Since the famous discovery of the higgs boson, physicists around the world have been trying to create a new standard model of particle physics.The discovery of the higgs boson revealed flaws in the current standard model, and a new model would revolutionize particle physics. The search for particles predicted by the Supersymmetric (SUSY) model may yield results that prove the ... Read More

The idea that Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) constitute the majority of dark matter has been revived by LIGO’s detection of 30 solar mass merging black holes. We can search for PBHs via microlensing, a phenomena which occurs when a PBH passes in front of a star, forming an Einstein ring and increasing the apparent brightness of the star. We are ... Read More

By 2017, the eighteenth year of Vladimir Putin’s rule, the Russia is trapped in a highly inefficient, yet highly stable status-quo. The need for modernizing, forward-looking reforms is well recognized, yet attempts of such reform often end up with disappointing results. The drive to increase the country’s standing in winter sports that has accompanied the preparations to 2014 Olympic Winters ... Read More

Simulating the Soviet Great Terror explores the creation and use of an online multiplayer simulation game of the Soviet Great Terror and the Soviet political purges from 1934-1938 in order to test the traditionalist and revisionist interpretations of the Great Terror and explore the use of classroom simulations. To this end, a multiplayer simulation game was used to determine the ... Read More

High resolution tactile sensors have many relevant applications in the field of biomedical engineering. Tactile sensing technology has already been applied to the Davinci robotic surgical assistant units, whichallow surgeons to perform minimally invasive surgeries remotely. Tactile sensors can potentially be applied to prosthetics research, giving the possibility of restoring cutaneous sense along with motor function. Current piezoelectric tactile sensors ... Read More

We have researched the potential of a sustainable alternative to drywall using methylcellulose and wood flour. It is already known how to make a sponge out of whipped methylcellulose, but we added wood flour to create a stronger material that would replace the gypsum in traditional drywall. After weighing and qualitatively observing different solutions of methylcellulose and water, with and ... Read More

Deep sky surveys have the potential to reveal more information about dark matter and dark energy. While sorting through the abundance of data from these surveys can be cumbersome, machine learning algorithms present a more efficient method of doing so. In this project, we aim to develop a computerized method of detecting phenomena, specifically Einstein Rings, in sky surveys.

We ... Read More

Consider a set of three orthogonal (perpendicular) vectors in the finite field of order p, where p is an odd prime, such that the volume of the parallelepiped enclosed by these vectors is one. We investigate the set of all of these vectors which can be considered as 3x3 matrices, in a group called SO(3,p). The size of SO(3,p) is ... Read More

Compelling evidence suggests the movement symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) share a causal relationship with pathological activity of the external globus pallidus (GPe), a central nucleus in the basal ganglia. While the cellular makeup of the GPe and its heterogeneity have not been fully-investigated, two novel classes of GPe neurons have recently been identified by our lab. These two distinct ... Read More

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive brain tumor with no cure. GBM is characterized by its invasiveness, rapid growth, and therapeutic resistance. IL13Rα2 receptor is overexpressed in GBM, and its high expression inversely correlates with patient survival. However, the functional role of IL13Rα2 is not known. Our data demonstrated that the partial knockdown of IL13Rα2 with two shRNAs alters the ... Read More

Skin is a stratified epithelium consisting of several layers of cells in various stages of differentiation. EphA2 receptor tyrosine kinase, a signaling molecule known to facilitate cellular communication and prompt keratinocyte differentiation, has a distinct expression pattern in these different cell layers. Our data show that EphA2 protein has a diffuse, pan-cellular expression pattern in the proliferative layer of epidermis. ... Read More

The linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex (LUBAC), consists of three proteins; HOIP, the catalytic unit whose E3-ligase activity is necessary for the formation of “head-to-tail” linear ubiquitin chains, and SHARPIN and HOIL, which provide stability to the complex (Tokunaga et al. 2009). Downstream of inflammatory stimuli, LUBAC is required for the robust activation of NF-κB and subsequent upregulation of NF-kB-regulated ... Read More

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) may develop increased levels of CO₂ in their blood, also known as hypercapnia. Many of these patients also suffer from muscle dysfunction, which decreases their quality of life. We have previously found that there is a direct correlation between hypercapnia and muscle atrophy. The current study focuses ... Read More

Hypercholesterolemia is a common health condition where there is an excess and often dangerously high amount of LDL-cholesterol in the blood that can be diet-related or genetic. When an injury occurs, the body starts the process of wound healing through closure of the wound by the formation of new tissue, which includes fresh extracellular matrix, skin cells, and blood vessels. ... Read More

The Mixed Lineage Leukemia (MLL) gene is a methyltransferase that aids in the chromatin modification of developmental genes in humans. The presence of the mutated MLL gene has been associated with the development of cancer. Previous research indicates that in every cancer associated with the mutated MLL gene, there is one normal functioning copy of the MLL gene. Our goal ... Read More

Mixed Lineage Leukemia (MLL) is a gene that is frequently mutated in many forms of childhood leukemias and solid tumors. MLL is a histone methyltransferase and plays an important role in gene expression of downstream targets by modulating chromatin structure. When MLL is mutated, it results in excessive growth and the formation of cancer. Previous research suggests that at least ... Read More

A solar chimney comprises two main parts: a solar collector and a largely vertical component. The solar collector absorbs solar energy, converting it to heat, and transfers it to air contained therein. Because the air becomes buoyant, it rises and exits out of the vertical component. As the air leaves the solar chimney, it tends to draw new air into ... Read More