Category: 2022

The Impact of Hyaluronic Acid Molecular Weight on Hydrogel Properties for Bone Regeneration

Presenter: Esther Aurelie Mozipo – Biochemistry

Faculty Mentor(s): Veronica Spaulding, Marian Hettiaratchi

Session: (In-Person) Poster Presentation

Large bone defects have difficulty healing without intervention, leading to nonunion fractures.1 Hydrogels are a promising solution to this problem due to their biocompatibility and potential as a drug delivery vehicle. Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a naturally-occurring polymer that can be functionalized to create a hydrogel. HA exists in our bodies in different molecular weights, which are involved in different biological processes.2 I investigated whether varying the molecular weight of the HA could have an effect on the properties of the HA hydrogel and cellular responses. HA hydrogels were synthesized via a hydrazone click reaction of aldehyde-modified HA(HA-Ox) and carbohydrazide-modified HA (CH-HA). The degree of modification (DOM) of the HA was determined using 1H NMR spectroscopy. The effect of HA on osteogenesis was determined by measuring alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity of C1C12 skeletal myoblasts in HA solutions. The DOM of CH-HA at 40 kDa, 100 kDa, 700 kDa, and 1500 kDa was 25.4, 20.4, 7.8, and 0%, respectively while the DOM of HA-Ox at the same molecular weights was 13.7%, 12.6%, 7.0%, and 3.6%, respectively. C2C12 cells grown in unmodified 40 kDa, 100kDa, 700kDa, and 1500 kDa HA exhibited ALP activity comparable to C2C12 cells cultured in media only. However, in the presence of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2), an osteoinductive protein, the 700 and 1500kDa HA inhibited BMP-2 induced ALP activity when compared to the 40 and 100kDa HA.

Breathing based meditation to decrease stress and improve symptoms in persons with COPD

Presenter: Autumn Mosley – Communication Disorders and Sciences

Faculty Mentor(s): Dr. Samantha Shune

Session: (Virtual) Oral Panel—Health and Social Science, Poster Presentation

Individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), struggle with dyspnea and dysphagia which can increase their stress and anxiety levels having a quality-of-life impact. The aim of this study was to explore the impact that breathwork meditation has on anxiety and perceived stress levels in persons with COPD. It was hypothesized that participation in a Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) meditation program would lower stress and anxiety resulting in a decrease in the severity of symptoms associated with COPD. 9 participants diagnosed with COPD were recruited from across the United States. Participants engaged in a 3-day group SKY meditation program together through zoom. Data were collected from each participant through open-ended zoom interviews where they discussed their experiences during and after the SKY meditation program. Results indicated that participants had decreased severity in their symptoms and in overall stress and anxiety levels. Some participants reported a significant improvement in their quality of life and personal outlook. The SKY program improved stress and anxiety through several avenues. Improved sleep, emotional regulation, and feelings of social connectedness led to improved symptoms. Improved symptoms led to additional improved mental states. SKY intervention served to reverse the feedback loop exacerbating symptoms and negative emotions. Findings hold promise for future research into meditation as a holistic treatment option for this population.

Stopping Gun Violence Starts With Analyzing the Link Between Victims and Perpetrators

Presenter: Emmi Morton – Marine Biology

Faculty Mentor(s): Corbett Upton

Session: (In-Person) Oral Panel—The More You Know (in depth looks and prevention)

In this paper, I analyze how different childhood traumas will affect children as they grow older, and how this can affect their relationship with guns and the community around them. After secondary exposure to the trauma that gun violence can have, I became curious as to how it will affect those who did experience it firsthand. Throughout this essay, I explore how traumatic events(specifically those relating to gun violence) in childhood during the formative years of one’s psyche, affect the way that they interact with society as they age and gain independence. I decided to go even deeper, to explore how whether being a victim of violence firsthand or just exposed to it, impacted the chances for these people to become either a victim or a perpetrator when it comes to violent crimes such as gun violence. In a world with increasing gun violence and rapidly declining mental health, the risk for tragedies of this nature is higher than ever.

Research done by C.S. Widom in 1989 regarding the cycle of violence was absolutely crucial and remains a central root in the research that I’ve conducted. This cycle of violence reveals the keys to at least implementing some sort of intervention or crisis outreach programs to really make a difference. In this paper I argue that gun violence, which is usually done by mentally disturbed individuals with relations to childhood trauma, passes it on to the next generation of children which in turn creates a loop of violence that must be stopped.

Fatal Flight: A Survey of Bird Window Collisions at Lane Community College

Presenter: Shandi Morris  

Co-Presenter(s): Andrea Vandermolen

Session: (In-Person) Poster Presentation

Window collisions kill a high number of birds each year in the United States, but different architectural and landscape characteristics can make certain buildings deadlier than others. From October 20th to November 19th, we surveyed five campus buildings at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon to see which ones experienced the most bird window collisions. We walked the perimeter of each building three times per week and recorded the number of birds, partial remains or feather piles found within a 1.5 meter border of each building. The highest count was on our first day of surveying, likely because it included birds that had died over the summer. Over the course of our survey we mostly found partial remains, but were able to identify two Hermit Thrushes and one of each of the following: Dark Eyed Junco, Anna’s Hummingbird, American Robin, Lesser Goldfinch and European Starling. The two buildings with the most remains collected were Building 30 and the Center Building. This was the first fall survey of window collisions on campus and surveys were continued through the winter. The results from our survey will be used to locate collision hotspots and will inform the college’s future mitigation efforts.

Detaining Democracy: Totalitarian Implications of United States Immigrant Detention Centers

Presenter: Lauren Monkewicz – Sociology

Faculty Mentor(s): Matthew Norton

Session: (In-Person) Poster Presentation

This study examines healthcare violations in ICE detention centers through the critical sociological lens of statemaking. It aims to answer: do the violations that occur within these centers have an effect on the United States’ state making process? Are there any intersects between the way ICE treats detainees and the actions of a totalitarian government? To assess the nature of the state through this lens, this paper examines government reports, third party investigations, and various accounts of life as a detainee, relying on previous scholarship on typologies of the state to guide its definitions. Ultimately, this research suggests that there are totalitarian implications behind the egregious healthcare transgressions that occur in ICE detention centers. The nature of the abuse towards detainees has inherent connections to fundamental totalitarian traits, demonstrating that these actions leave a stain on the United States’ democracy.

Keywords: Totalitarianism, democratic regime, detention centers, state, healthcare

Spatial Location and Memory Integration

Presenter: Dahlia Mohd Razif – Business Administration, Human Physiology, Neuroscience, Psychology

Faculty Mentor(s): Lea Frank, Dasa Zeithamova

Session: (In-Person) Poster Presentation

Memory is flexible and can be influenced by other items or events that we have encountered. Memory integration refers to the concept that related memories are stored in the brain as overlapping representations which form a memory link that allow us to make new inferences or extract related information. Studies have shown that memory integration is enhanced by time proximity when items or events occur within a close time frame but not much is known regarding how spatial positioning affects memory integration. 160 participants will be split into a spatial overlapping condition and a no spatial overlapping condition. This experiment consists of a study trial, an associative inference test and an associative memory test. During the study trial, participants will be presented with object images positioned relative to base object images. For the associative inference test and memory test, object images will be presented as cues to evaluate the extent that participants can integrate the associations that share the common element of the base object as well as remember presented pairs during the study trial. As the date of submission of this abstract is prior to data collection, conclusions have not been realized. We hypothesize that spatial overlapping of items will result in diminished memory integration due to interference. This research can help deepen our understanding of how the brain encodes separate items and creates an integrated representation of the shared information.

From Pushkin to Pravda: Russia and the Caucasus Through Popular Media

Presenter: Maryam Moghaddami – Cinema Studies

Faculty Mentor(s): Susanna Lim

Session: (In-Person) Poster Presentation

On October 4, 2021, somewhere between Izmailovskaya station and Pervomayskaya station, a fight occurred and resulted in the severe beating and consequent hospitalization of a man by his three adversaries. This story might have been entirely overlooked had it not been for the ethnicity of the men involved which turned into a nationwide sensation. The three men, Dagestanis, severely injured an ethnic Russian male whose only provocation turned out to be his defense of a woman who the three men were harassing.

This paper seeks to examine the depiction of this incident in Russian mass media and discuss its relation to perceptions of identity and nation. In order to do so, this paper will begin by closely reading the depiction of the Circassian male, arguably the 19th century’s de facto “Caucasian male” or “kavkazets” in Alexander Pushkin’s “A Prisoner in the Caucasus.” Pushkin’s work is also notable in its formulation of the Russian identity through its designation of the “kavkazets” as being the “Other.”

This paper will look at the descriptions of this incident and contrast the characteristics assigned by Pushkin and those touched upon by the media covering the incident. Additionally, the paper will emphasize the idea of the “Russian” and the “other” and show how this distinction is emphasized through geography. With the current high in Russian nationalism, the impact of this incident will also be discussed in relation to Russian identity.

Content Overload And Its Effects On Learning

Presenter: Erika Moe – Human Physiology

Faculty Mentor(s): Sarah DuBrow, Lindsay Rait

Session: (In-Person) Poster Presentation

The asynchronous nature of remote classes brought by COVID-19 provides students greater control over their daily studies and has proven to be a double-edged sword. To better understand the effect of a growing asynchronous workload, subjects completed two scenarios: one with a condensed, structured workload (2-topic condition) and another with a larger workload (8-topic condition). It was hypothesized that increasing workload (creating a “content overload”) would be detrimental for all students. Furthermore, individuals who preferred remote learning would perform best with larger presented workloads. Individuals who preferred in-person learning would perform best with a structured, condensed presented workload. Subjects read passages on a variety of academic topics and were tested the next day in an SAT-like format. Additionally, pre- and post-test questionnaires were completed for correlations between learning preference and differences between conditions. Data analysis is ongoing. A paired t-test for within-subject analysis will compare the average test results of the 2-topic and 8-topic conditions. The results of this study will provide insight into how COVID online classes have affected the comprehension of the student population. With a better understanding of the content overload effect, educational workers will have the opportunity to better tailor their remote lesson plans for a diverse body of students with different attentional, memory, and cognitive abilities.

Zanzibari Perceptions of Acquired Immunity and Rebound Malaria

Presenter: Ava Minu-Sepehr – Anthropology

Faculty Mentor(s): Melissa Graboyes, Karl Reasoner

Session: (In-Person) Oral Panel—HURF

This work-in-progress talk presents initial findings from 38 Swahili-English interviews conducted with Zanzibaris about the history of malaria and their understandings of rebound malaria and the biomedical concept of acquired immunity. Over the past century, periods of intense malarial interventions in Zanzibar reduced malaria tremendously, while subsequent withdrawals led to dangerous rebound epidemics. This project weaves together contemporary interview data and historical context to present “vernacular knowledge” about malaria. “Vernacular knowledge” captures different and fluid forms of thinking, knowing, and meaning-making using local language, recognizing the impact of foreign. I will report initial findings from this research, as we complete coding of the interview transcripts using a modified grounded theory approach. Salient themes across oral interviews include danger, education, and responsibility, as well as the role of the environment and foreign funding in discussions about malaria. Our research demonstrates that Zanzibari’s don’t share the same biomedical framings of “rebound malaria” and “acquired immunity,” but that their understandings vary based on age, gender, and expertise with malaria. This research challenges what types of knowledge are valued and disseminated, and allows us to ask how the work of decolonizing diverse knowledge can be performed. This project is part of a larger NSF grant led by Professor Graboyes on the history of malaria in Africa.

The Pine Mountain Observatory Deep Field

Presenter: Ellis Mimms – Physics

Faculty Mentor(s): Scott Fisher

Session: (In-Person) Oral Panel—Uniquely Their Own, Poster Presentation

The Hubble Space Telescope is a telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit as part of international cooperation between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA). Weighing over 10,886 kilograms and containing a 2.4 diameter meter mirror, it is one of the largest, most versatile space telescopes in the world and one of the most renowned. While Hubble has been used to observe many different celestial objects and phenomena, one of the most famous pieces of data to come from it is known as the Hubble Deep Field Image. For 10 straight days in 1995, Hubble stared at a tiny, nearly empty patch of sky near the Big Dipper. The telescope gathered all the light it could, slowly building the picture that would come to be known as the Hubble Deep Field Image. This image, showing a sliver of our early universe, contains over 3,000 galaxies, large and small, shapely and amorphous, burning in the depths of space. With the Pine Mountain Observatory Deep Field (PMODF), we have created our own deep field image, instead imaging the central region of the Coma Cluster to determine how many galaxies we can detect within it. With our data, we have been able to determine to what magnitude the telescopes at Pine Mountain can see into space. Collecting around 10 hours of data, The Pine Mountain Observatory Deep Field represents some of the deepest imagery taken at Pine Mountain Observatory to date.