Collegiate emergency medical service (EMS) agencies provide valuable services to college and university campuses across the United States through quick response times and peer-to-peer assistance. However, the unique layout and road network of a college campus can provide unique challenges, such as limited vehicle access to inner campus and indirect routes to high volume call areas. Geospatial analysis of the St. Lawrence University campus in Canton, NY was used to gain a better understanding of the impact of these factors on the response time of St. Lawrence University Emergency Medical Services (SLU EMS).

GPS points were acquired at every entrance to buildings on the main campus, using an EOS Arrow 100 mobile GPS unit and the Esri Field Maps app on an iPhone 13. This data collection was performed in a feature layer designed in ArcGIS Online. Other feature layer datasets, used to account for the designated parking locations of the SLU EMS response vehicle, were created within ArcGIS Online. All datasets were migrated into ArcGIS Pro for spatial analysis. Data will be combined with pre-existing roadway feature layers to analyze routes through the campus with the lowest travel times.

The entrances dataset contains 406 collected GPS points. Within the two feature layers for vehicle locations, 62 points were created. High call volume areas of campus were determined by assessment of SLU EMS call records (2,126 calls) in the period between August 2014 and May 2023. The data was entered into Excel and transferred into ArcGIS Pro. Spatial analysis was then performed to determine areas of high volume.

Preliminary results suggest that the fixed gates on the north end of campus may increase response times. Further data processing will provide more insight as to the extent of this effect. Future work may consider additional factors such as travel on foot as well as by vehicle when delineating the most efficient response routes.

On March 14th, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals became the first and only FDA approved nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) drug. NASH is a liver disease that effects 1.5 million Americans and no previous treatments could improve fibrosis to resolve NASH. My research analyzes Madrigal’s drug resmetirom from discovery to early commercialization rollout. This is done through examining the biochemistry, chemistry, clinical outcomes, safety profile, market response, and financials of the drug and Madrigal. The goal of this research is to better understand how each of these factors helped and/or hindered resmetirom’s success. This allows the potential to better understand and predict future trends within the NASH drug space and in the broader pharmaceutical industry.

The Baryonic Tully-Fisher Relation (BTFR, McGaugh et al. 2000) describes a proportional relationship between the stellar and total gas mass of a galaxy and its rotational velocity. Since 2021, the Undergraduate ALFALFA Team (UAT) has been working to derive a minimal scatter BTFR from neutral hydrogen (HI) observations of galaxies with known distances using automated determinations of the required spectral parameters of redshift, rotational velocity, and HI mass. Our observing project, GBT 22A-430, is providing spectra from 220 target galaxies hosting supernovae widely distributed across the sky, rather than confined to particular clusters or superclusters. In a parallel effort, another group associated with the UAT has developed an automated, Python-based method of constructing the BTFR, using curve-of-growth statistics to improve our understanding of galaxies in the ALFALFA survey (Haynes et al. 2018) presented in Ball et al. 2023. A properly constructed BTFR provides refined estimations of parameters such as mass, rotational velocity, and, indirectly, galaxy distance, by applying the BTFR to a large sample size. This work has the additional potential to be adapted for use with other HI-rich galaxy samples in the local universe e.g., the Arecibo Pisces-Perseus Supercluster Survey (APPSS, O'Donoghue et al. 2019). In this project we aim to adapt Ball et al. 2023’s analysis methodology for use with the 220-galaxy sample observed by GBT 22A-430, utilizing GBTIDL, a Green Bank proprietary IDL-based data reduction software, and UAT-developed, pyAPPSS, a Python-based data reduction script for use with APPSS galaxies.

Metamorphosis is a post-embryonic developmental process in which a tadpole matures into a frog. This process relies on three mechanisms: cell apoptosis (ex: tail absorption), cell proliferation (ex: limb growth), and organ remodeling (ex: thickening of the brain). Thyroid hormone (TH) in frogs is responsible for the initiation and rate of metamorphosis. In fact, if the thyroid rudiments of a tadpole were to be destroyed, it would never develop into a frog and simply grow into a much larger tadpole. During metamorphosis, TH levels increase significantly, and it is accompanied by a second hormone: corticosterone (CORT). CORT is a stress hormone hypothesized to wield synergistic effects with TH, meaning TH and CORT might be able to accelerate the rate of metamorphosis significantly when interacting with each other. To explore this hypothesis, our lab treated 120 Xenopus laevis tadpoles with 5nM triiodothyronine (T3) and/or 2um dexamethasone (DEX) for 3 days. A photo was taken of each tadpole before and after receiving treatment. Fiji was used to conduct 9 measurements, and Excel was used to obtain the individual percent change for each tadpole. Using 1-factor ANOVA analysis, we discovered that compared to T3 treatment alone, DEX+T3 significantly accelerated tail and gill reabsorption, remodeling of the skull and immune system, shortening of the olfactory nerve, and leg growth. Our findings suggest that stress hormones synergize with TH to accelerate all three mechanisms of metamorphosis!

The scoring system in tennis allows for abrupt changes of momentum in short amounts of time. We are interested in exploring the probability of tennis players winning a match by combining data from prior matches with points played in the current match of interest. The probability of winning a match is a function of the probability of winning a point on serve and the current point, game, and set score in the match. A Bayesian model can combine points played by a player in previous matches with points played in the current match. As case studies, we explore (1) the 2022 US Open Men's Quarterfinal match between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, where Alcaraz won in 5 sets and (2) the 2023 US Open Women's Final between Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka, where Gauff won in 3 sets.

This research project analyzes college students' consumption practices and their attitudes toward sustainability. Gen Z has grown up with more access to information about the climate crisis than any previous generation. Simultaneously, the generation has been influenced by online shopping and micro-trends the most. This research uses mixed methods, both qualitative and quantitative data, to understand how this dichotomy plays a role in students' purchasing decisions. The study draws from three data sources: the St. Lawrence University Student Mail Center database, a campus-wide student survey, and selected students' in-depth interviews. Over six years of incoming package data reveal consumption patterns among the student body impacted by seasons and events. Approximately eighty surveys were returned indicating more details about students' shopping habits, including shopping preferences, such as online or second-hand. Twelve in-depth interviews were conducted to understand perceived sustainability by examining individuals' history with the student mail center. Initial results show that shopping habits are influenced by geography, social groups, class year, seasons, and disruptors (COVID).

This study investigated the influence of early life adversity (ELA) and environmental enrichment (EE) on time perception in Sprague Dawley rats. Characterized by stressors such as maltreatment and neglect, ELA has been shown to induce negative psychological and neurobiological changes, potentially impacting cognitive function, including time perception. To model ELA, the Limited Bedding and Nesting (LBN) paradigm was utilized from postnatal day 2 to 9, inducing chronic stress in rat pups by modifying maternal care quality (controls rat pups not exposed to stress). Subsequently, half of the rats were exposed to EE from postnatal day 22 to 66 (control rats not exposed to EE). The study used a temporal bisection task to evaluate time perception of the rats at three months of age. We found that neither LBN exposure or EE exposure impacted time perception.

Taylor Swift is an American singer-songwriter widely recognized for her heartfelt lyrics, melodies, and intimate storytelling connected to her personal experiences and emotions. The current exploratory study investigated the linguistic dimensions of Taylor Swift’s song lyrics by using various linguistic tools such as the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count platform (LIWC) and a topic modeling approach known as the Meaning Extraction Method (MEM). A corpus of 199 songs spanning Taylor Swift’s 10 main albums was used to conduct a thematic analysis to draw insights into Taylor Swift’s songwriting prowess. This analysis was then compared with Swift’s self-descriptions of her albums. Additionally, a sentiment analysis was conducted to track how Swift’s songwriting changed throughout her teens, twenties, and thirties. Further studies are needed to understand the evolution of Taylor Swift’s songwriting and its reflection of her personal growth and experiences across different stages of her life.

This semester I had the opportunity to direct John Cariani's Almost, Maine under the supervision of the PCA department. The show ran for two performances and played in Noble Center 109. I would like to showcase a scene titled "They Fell" from act two of the show at the Festival of Science, with student actors James Walker and Elijah White.

The beginning of the 20th century witnessed the rising of feminist movements across the world, which is particularly evident in Spain. This study, conducted in Spanish and dealing with Spanish sources, investigates how women expressed agency from the 1920s to the 1940s, specifically examining two distinct historical events: the Second Republic and the Civil War. This period of Spanish history saw significant shifts in political participation, individual rights, and inclusion of women in the workforce and intellectual life, so it provides an interesting backdrop to study the expression of women’s agency. Within the framework of the Second Republic, I highlight the activism and agency of women in education, as well as in the realms of art, literature, and politics through the analysis of key figures in the women’s rights movement such as Clara Campoamor, Victoria Kent, and many more. During the Civil War, Spanish women demonstrated notable agency from participation in art, literature, politics, and even active participation in militias that made significant contributions to women’s liberation and the war effort. I highlight this activism through the study of notable participants such as María Teresa León and Dolores Ibarruri. Findings indicate that Spanish women expressed agency in a variety of ways throughout this decade in Spanish history and analysis of key figures provides an ample background on the myriad of ways one can analyze the expression of agency. The significance of this research reveals the need to further feminist historiography and analysis on how Spanish women’s agency contributed to the fight for a more inclusive and equitable society.

On May 8, 1942, 17 members of my family were killed in the Holocaust. They were forced from their homes, stripped naked, and shot. My project focused on identifying the people who pulled the trigger. I wanted to find my family’s killers. No one was ever held responsible for this specific event, so I was embarking on trying to solve an 82-year-old cold case.

I chased this story around the world searching for the killers and trying to understand their motivations. I have interviewed survivors, heroes, and their descendants. I have walked in the forests where a hundred thousand people were ruthlessly murdered and incinerated. I have conducted archival research in seven languages and worked with multiple government agencies across three countries.

Throughout my research, I have wrestled with the morality of studying the perpetrators. Is trying to understand why they pulled the trigger the same as forgiving them? Is their story one worth telling? Regardless, one thing was clear: this was a story for posterity.

During World War II (1939-1945), Japan, as did the other Axis powers, committed war atrocities including but not limited to mass killings, biological warfare, and torture of prisoners of war. While much of these wartime events is known in the Western world due to the postwar Tokyo trials of Japanese military officials, a less widely known event that occurred before World War II was the 1937 Nanjing Massacre. In six weeks, Japanese forces brutally killed hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians and soldiers and sexually assaulted tens of thousands of women and children, before killing them. This thesis analyzes how both past and current academia have attempted to determine the root causes of this event and its relation to future isolated war crimes committed by Japan during World War II. In pursuit of these objectives, I conducted a descriptive and detailed literature review of historians who have made their own assumptions. Additionally, I have been studying primary documents, photos, and propaganda leaflets to answer the question: “Was the Nanjing Massacre an isolated event or the beginning of a trend of Japanese militarism and racism?” Further analysis of post-World War II official court documents and public opinion offers insights into how current day Japan has understood its own history. My preliminary finding is that conflicting cultural beliefs and situational opportunities fueled the extreme brutality that resulted in the Nanjing massacre. This study serves as a steppingstone toward creating and understanding the linearity of Japanese war atrocities.

This project aims to enhance the music listening experience on Spotify platform by developing a personalized recommender system. Utilizing hierarchical cluster analysis techniques, we analyze and categorize songs based on various musical features such as danceability, valence, energy, liveness, speechiness, acousticness, and instrumentalness. The results of our cluster analysis allow users to discover songs that resonate with their preferences of music. Through a Shiny app interface, users can select a song of their choice, and the recommender system will generate a list of songs that share similar musical attributes.

Shiny is a package in R that allows for the creation of interactive web pages for users to view data, interact with visualizations or dashboards, and other sorts of web applications. The best way to learn how to make shiny apps is to start small and basic and slowly build up and improve skills throughout different projects. The first iteration of my app started by exploring the expenditures and revenues of collegiate sports and displaying the results using interactive graphs that users could alter the input to. The shiny app takes the altered user input and automatically changes the output the user sees. Once basic skills are established, making progress on the technical level of an app is easily achievable. I moved from collegiate sports data to National Park data to create an app with an interactive map and table that elevates the complexity of my app. This app will allow the user to click on the area that represents a park or reserve in the US and be presented with a link to its website and accompanying information about it. This project will display what shiny is and how achievable it is to quickly make large improvements using shiny and R.

This project aims to analyze a large dataset on Evening Grosbeaks, a species within the finch family native to North America. The data comes from Motus, a network of radio receivers that are able to pick up transmissions from tagged birds. Motus has many large datasets of all types of bird species and through data cleaning in R, this project hones in on the data captured for evening grosbeaks. The main objective for this project was to develop a platform enabling users to observe and understand trends in their migration patterns. The R shiny app created for this showcases many features: an interactive map of deployment sites, individual bird tracking, group bird tracking (by winter roosting location and deployment location), all evening grosbeak data used, and all evening grosbeak data used from the Adirondack region. The app is available at:

https://stlawu.shinyapps.io/evening_grosbeak_tracker/

This project involved web scraping football data from the football-reference website. Scraping data from the web is an essential practice for gathering information in data analytics. Good web scraping involves error handling and data cleaning. This project in particular involves transforming the scraped data into a Shiny web application, a user-friendly interface that allows for interactive exploration and visualization of the scraped data. Users can use the Shiny app to analyze football statistics and trends and compare quarterback data.

Starting in 1979, the EIA published an Annual Energy Outlook report in which they forecast energy production for most major energy resources. This academic year, several faculty and students across the St. Lawrence Environmental Science and MSCS Departments, including myself, have come together to conduct research on the accuracy of these forecasts. This project has been guided by the following questions: Does the EIA NEMS model make accurate forecasts? Has the NEMS model improved in accuracy over time? Does the size of the resource influence accuracy? Which resources are predicted with the most/least accuracy? And finally, is there any difference in prediction accuracy for production, consumption, and renewable energy generation?

My role in the project has been to create an interactive Shiny App website that analyzes and visualizes the forecast data. This site builds multiple plots, according to certain criteria that are determined by a user’s inputs, that help visualize forecast accuracy over time for different resources.

The SCORE Network is a national organization that focuses on developing and distributing Sports Content for Outreach, Research, and Education (SCORE) in data science and statistics. The St. Lawrence chapter of SCORE focuses on the use of non-traditional sports data, like ESports, Motorsports, Golf, and Running to develop introductory level statistics resources to be used by educators. Modules include topics like summary statistics, hypothesis testing, linear regression, and data manipulation to fully cover a variety of courses. SCORE as a whole seeks to implement educational framework based real-world problems and applications students are likely to be interested in to engage them in the classroom. This presentation will focus on the development process and the educational framework of modules produced by our chapter of SCORE, which is offered as a semester-long independent study in Statistics. In addition, it will highlight the contributions made to the broader SCORE network, by emphasizing our innovative approach to statistics education through non-traditional sports data.

There are a myriad of methods to manage stress ranging from physical activity to therapy. One method to physiologically relieve symptoms of stress is breathing techniques. Breathing techniques are a simple, easy, and efficient way to conquer the physiological and psychological effects of stress. In this study, we are focusing on exploring the physiological and psychological benefits of the cyclic sigh breathing technique (composed of a double nasal inhalation and a longer exhalation through the mouth) by investigating changes in brain wave activity, specifically alpha and beta wave activity in addition to changes in emotional state after completing the cyclic sigh. We recruited Intro to Psychology students from St. Lawrence University to participate in this study. Participants were exposed to a compilation of high-pitched and annoying sounds to induce stress. Some were instructed to breathe using the cyclic sigh during this exposure while others were instructed to maintain natural breath. Participants responded to questions pertaining to feelings of distress, calmness, alertness, and irritation directly after the exposure to the stressor and rated the pleasantness and perceived intensity of the compilation. We expected to have an increase in alpha wave activity and a decrease in beta wave activity for those who utilized the cyclic sigh technique. While the results did not support our hypothesis and we did not find any significant results, there was a trend in an increase in both alpha and beta waves during the stressor phase for those performing the cyclic sigh.

Deer grazing is widely known to impact vegetation dynamics, with several recent studies considering the relative impacts on native versus non-native plants, often in a successional context. Less is known about the effects of deer in more mature forests, especially those not impacted by non-native plant species. In this study, we assess the impacts of deer grazing on herbaceous and woody vegetation in a relatively unimpacted north-facing mixed forest in Tompkins County, NY (USA). Nearly 30 years ago, four deer exclusion plots were established, each with four permanent subplots established in each corner. In 2008, we planted Trillium grandiflorum into each subplot. Exclusion of deer enhanced percent cover, species richness, and diversity of both herbaceous and woody vegetation. T. grandiflorum has increased survival and flowering when protected from deer browse. Thus, the long-term impact of deer on mature forests indicate significant vegetation shifts and the alteration of overall community structure, studies indicate keeping deer at the thresholds between 5-8 deer/km² to allow recovery for browse sensitive species and halt further population decline.

My research project examines traditional local understandings of human-nature relationships in Salento, Italy which originated prior to what Gramsci calls advanced capitalism but have persisted in various forms into the contemporary era. Each Italian region has its own very distinct culture and history, but all have been subject to the imposition of legal, cultural, and linguistic homogeneity by the centralized Italian state and by the environmental transformation and destruction that comes along with capitalism, including the ongoing threat of climate change. This paper focuses on one region, Salento, and looks at folk culture–specifically oral literature, material culture, and songs–to re-examine nature-human relationships and understandings and to recenter voices of nature and cultural voices that have been marginalized by Italian politics in the last hundred years.

This research project aims to compare the buffering algorithms of YouTube and Netflix, focusing on the impact of network conditions on streaming quality. This research stems from the researcher's frequent travel across regions with diverse internet conditions, resulting in varying streaming experiences and the need to describe buffering encounters. YouTube utilizes Adaptive Bitrate Streaming (ABR), while Netflix employs Dynamic Optimization for buffering. The investigation will qualitatively assess how these algorithms are affected by bandwidth and jitter simulating different network conditions. Quality of experience metrics include mean overall score (1-5), interruption frequency, and its impact on video navigation. This research aims to provide insights into the performance of buffering algorithms under different network conditions, aiding users in understanding their streaming experiences and the effect of bandwidth and jitter.

Amino-carbon dots are a type of quantum dot made of carbon nanomaterial and have been an effective way to detect harmful heavy metals and explosives such as 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene (TNT). Through fluorescence quenching, these dots help detect TNT in contaminated sources. While the carbon dots are promising, selectivity is an area of ongoing research because they are non-specific and false positives are possible due to decay products of target molecules. Mesoporous molecularly imprinted polymers (M-MIPs) are a new approach to improving selectivity. M-MIPs are polymers that have been synthesized and cast around a template molecule, leaving cavities and space where only targeted molecules can bind. If a sample contained TNT, it would bind to the M-MIP modified amino-carbon dot and change the fluorescence. The exact procedure and mechanism of the amino-carbon dot reactions have not been determined; there is variation in reports about the effects of reaction time, temperature and dialysis on the chemical structure and associated sensitivity to TNT. We will use Raman and infrared spectroscopy to understand how different synthetic protocols impact chemical structures of the M-MIPs. Once the synthesis is optimized, fluorescent titrations will be used to investigate sensitivity and selectivity of M-MIPs to trinitrotoluenes.

In Alaska, indigenous hunters and gatherers have long observed the alignment of grass and plants after the growing season as indicative of prevailing wind directions and shifts. Due to the remote and harsh conditions, traditional weather stations are absent to measure shifts in historically predominant wind directions. In a previous study Dr. Jon Rosales (Environmental Studies) and his team collected images of grass lay from St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, and manually attempted to measure grass lay angles. This project investigated the Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG) algorithm to automate this process. We applied the algorithm to various images of grass fields sampled from the internet to test its viability. This poster describes the HOG algorithm and shows how it can apply to grass images and other applications.

While studying abroad in London during the Spring 2023 semester, I traveled to Ireland to visit EPIC, The Irish Emigration Museum. At EPIC, I attended their exhibition on borders that “explores the causes of human displacements on all continents…aim[ing] to acknowledge the invisibility of some people, to highlight border “practices,” and to analyze what is at stake today along borders.” (EPIC Border Exhibition 2023). This poster reflects my experience at the exhibition on borders and its impact in my study abroad experience more broadly.

Investigating and improving the negative effects of azo dyes is extremely important in refining the overall health of humans and the well-being of the environment. Decreasing the amount of dye found in an isolated system and degrading it will allow pathways for similar experiments in larger bodies of water. In this investigation, we initially synthesized a metal-organic framework (MOF) through the addition of zirconyl chloride octahydrate and tetra(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrin, making MOF-525. Using Lewis acid/base chemistry, we were able to facilely synthesize a MOF with a catalytic center integrated within its framework. Activation of the MOF was then completed to ensure its large pore sizes were not occupied with another chemical. The MOF acts as a sponge to adsorb dye thereby decreasing its concentration in water. MOF-525 was then used for sequestration of the azo dye, methyl orange, from distilled water. The concentration of a methyl orange stock solution was varied as well as the amount of MOF used in order to observe any sequestration changes. Greater amounts of MOF in solution will cause a more significant decrease in the absorbance of a methyl orange stock solution.

Experimental drug treatments for neurodegenerative disease often struggle with effectively crossing the blood brain barrier, which has created a need for better delivery methods (Henna et al., 2020). Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), among other carbonaceous nanomaterials, have been increasingly studied in biomedical applications due to their electrical and chemical properties. These properties allow for a high degree of functionalization through surface coatings like single-stranded DNA (Hendler-Neumark & Bisker 2019; Henna et al., 2020; Zheng et al., 2003). While CNTs have been shown to elicit neuroprotective properties (Henna et al., 2020; Pirbhai et al., 2019; Soligo et al., 2021) and have drug delivery potential (Gravely et al., 2022; Harvey et al., 2012; John et al., 2015), their applications are nuanced as CNT aggregation, chirality, and impurities have been linked to various forms of toxicity in many cases (Czarnecka et al. 2020; Kobayashi et al., 2017; Vijayalakshmi et al., 2022). The current study aimed to broadly identify diachronic morphological changes in HT22 cells exposed to a low concentration of single-stranded DNA-wrapped single-walled carbon nanotubes (DNA-SWCNTs). Many studies have identified the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which CNTs can be toxic, however, the current study attempted to provide both qualitative and quantitative morphological observations behind the potentially toxic effects of DNA-SWCNTs in vitro. We hypothesized that observed cytoskeletal change visualized using confocal imaging would be indicative of DNA-SWCNT effects at a high concentration. We imaged fixed cells at immediate, 24-hour, and 48-hour time points after exposure to 0 and 50 ng / mL DNA-SWCNTs for 4 or 8 hours. We are currently analyzing data by quantifying fluorescence in ImageJ.

The Giltz, DeLauder & McCullough International Travel fund supported my visit to Iguazu Falls, Argentina to study biological and cultural facets of this breathtaking wonder. The Iguazu Falls is one of the seven wonders of the natural world and home to an immense and diverse ecosystem. At Iguazu I went to both the Brazilian and Argentinian sides of the waterfalls. I learned a lot about the impacts of recent climate extremes, which have been deleterious to the Falls.

CAUTION MAY LEAD TO DEATH

Chase Smith

FYS- Molecules that Changed History

Lead is a dangerous and toxic metal that infiltrates our lives on a daily basis and slowly accumulates in our bodies and environments. The purpose of this research was to discover what mechanisms cause lead to be so harmful and how lead’s properties have influenced societies over the years. Lead is highly resistant to corrosion which leads to its accumulation in our bodies and environments. Lead’s slow mechanisms of action have led to the metal being overlooked as a dangerous toxin. Many people worldwide unknowingly suffer from dangerously high lead levels. Lead’s accumulative properties have allowed civilizations in the past to thrive by using lead in various beneficial ways. These civilizations often ignored the harm brought onto them by lead because of their dependence of lead products. Lead was behind many more recent advancements as well, like the invention of leaded fuel for high-combustion engines, but not without a cost. The industrialized and commercialized use of lead has caused there to be high lead levels in most American adults due to the increased exposure.

Perpetrators of violent extremist acts, and people who carry the BRCA gene at increased risk for breast or ovarian cancer, often make decisions based on assessment of risk to personal health, safety, or way of life from a potential future threat. Many perpetrators of violent extremist acts make the decision to do so based on negative past experience, or grievance, and a perceived future threat to their wellbeing or way of life. Similarly, those who discover they carry BRCA gene mutations frequently take actions to avoid suffering from the diseases, often based on a family history with cancer and the threat of contracting the disease in the future. In both situations, negative past experiences can relocate a potential future threat into imminency, causing extreme reactions to avoid this future threat seem both necessary and reasonable. I argue that by understanding the perceptions of time and risk that influence significant health decisions of BRCA carriers, such as mastectomies or oophorectomies, we may better understand how temporality of perceived risk factors into radicalization towards violent extremism and enhance discussions of how to “off-ramp” or de-radicalize extremists.

Japanese and Black American musical cultures have been linked through cultural exchange spurred on by the American military presence in Japan. To create a more enriching experience for me as a student studying abroad I took part in sampling the various cross-cultural genres of pop and Jazz through visits to renowned musical venues.

Despite their large geographic range, wood turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) are classified as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in all states where they reside, including Rhode Island where little is known about their distribution and populations. Understanding the demographics of these populations can provide insights into the long-term sustainability of the populations and what efforts can be taken to conserve them. However, wood turtles are difficult to survey due to the variability of distance and duration spent from the streams they inhabit and attempts to survey Rhode Island with traditional methods have resulted in few captures despite high sampling effort. The use of detection dogs may be a solution to some problems faced during wood turtle surveys. Over the course of two years, we surveyed for wood turtles at two sites utilizing a detector dog, K9 Newt, to improve the efficacy of the searches. We rotated surveying a 1-km stretch of River A and two 1-km stretches of River B, with a total of 3 reps per stretch in 2022 and 6 reps expected in 2023. During 2022 we found 4 turtles at site A (including 1 that were recaptured that same year) and 5 turtles at site B (including 2 that were recaptures). The dog appears to have improved between years with 25 captures in the four weeks of surveying weeks, though other variables such as weather may also explain this variation. We have found 10 adults (6 males, 4 females), and 5 juveniles (ages 3 to 5) at Site A and 5 adults (2 males and 3 females) and no juveniles at Site B. The presence of young adults and juveniles in the population at site A bodes well for future generations and suggests that both populations have adequate nesting, hibernacula, and foraging sites.

The analysis of microbiota of ancient skeletal material is a rapidly developing interdisciplinary research focus, combining aspects of molecular biology and biological anthropology to study human-associated microbial communities throughout the archaeological record. We sought to identify microbes inhabiting the bone matrices of skeletal fragments recovered from two Bronze Age grave sites in Tell Leilan, Syria, dating to approximately 2500-1900 B.C. Organisms were isolated from soils and associated bone fragments from grave sites using R2A and GYE agar medium. Pikovskaya’s agar was used to visualize the phosphate-solubilizing activity of 18 colonies, which revealed positive results primarily in the soil and bone of burial sites L91 Op 6c and L89 76 E20, respectively. DNA was extracted from 8 select colonies using the FastDNA® Spin Kit for Soil, and PCR was used to amplify the V3-V4 region of 16S rRNA. This sequence data was inputted into the NIH’s BLAST program for taxonomic classification. We found bacterial species residing within bone matrices to be reflective of their surrounding soil bacteria, which consisted entirely of spore-forming organisms of the order Bacillales. In future research, alternative highly variable regions may be utilized to identify individual species of Bacillales. However, metagenomic sequencing of genetic material may suit our interests better for sample-wide characterizations of microbial taxonomy.

Effect of Insular Lesions on Feeding-Related Motivation in the Rat

Although a widely understudied area of the brain, the insula is a hub for integrating a multitude of cortical and subcortical inputs. The diversity of afferents the insula connects play a key role in interoception, or the perception of the body states based on external and internal stimuli which has been studied to be the neural integration site to explicit motivation behavior. In addition, the insula houses the primary gustatory cortex, encoding hunger signals using interoceptive cues like oral chemosensory and anticipatory signals to control feeding decisions and motivation of feeding. Previous studies have shown that unilateral insular damage can affect interoceptive processing and suppress motivation to act on salient stimuli. This study investigated how anterior right-sided insular lesions affected motivation of feeding behavior in rats. We sought to investigate if insular damage in the rats would disrupt interoceptive signals related to hunger and salience. We used a pre and post surgery design using 11 rats tested on a progressive ratio (PR3) schedule in operant chambers. We analyzed post reinforcement pause and breakpoint as measures for motivation, looking at how quickly the rats engaged in lever pressing after a reward was given and what trial they stopped lever pressing for a reward at. Rats in both control and toxin lesioned groups showed an increase in lever pressing behavior post surgery, however, control rats breakpoint measures were higher. The results of this study do not directly correlate with previous literature, which may suggest a more complex relationship between the insular cortex and motivation.

In rural areas of the United States, pre-hospital emergency medical care is primarily the responsibility of small, underfunded volunteer agencies, with each township having a separate agency run by separate sets of policies. In the rural New York State county of St. Lawrence (like much of the rest of the country), each agency has an area within which it is responsible for responding to emergency calls for service, referred to as the agency's “district.” These districts are somewhat arbitrarily defined by town(s) lines instead of the demonstrated service capability of the agency, which varies dramatically amongst the 19 transporting agencies within the county. The combination of policy failure at multiple levels, large geographic distances, a decline in volunteerism, and a variety of other factors means patients regularly have to wait in excess of 25 minutes to receive an ambulance. This research examines 4 medical conditions identified by emergency medical dispatchers when 911 is called: unconscious and not breathing, stroke, major trauma, and chest pain. It determines the importance of response time to the outcome of the patient at multiple time intervals using clinical research consistent with the author's level of medical training. It uses GIS technology to create response area maps to determine the distance at which an agency can respond within certain time intervals. This map is then modified by the use of a gamma distribution modeling the amount of time it takes for an agency to begin moving an ambulance to the patient (“out of service” time). Using this new response area map, areas where the model predicts that an “out of district” ambulance would respond sooner are then annexed into its district. This new district map is then tested using computer simulation.

The insula is a hub for sensory inputs, emotional functions, motivation, reward, defensive systems, interoception, cognitive systems, and neuromodulation; however, its exact role pertaining to anxiety remains unknown. It is thought that the insula plays a role in anxiety due to its input from fear and emotional centers such as the amygdala and frontal cortex areas. Anxiety is defined as avoidance behavior and fear in response to circumstances that do not possess real danger. The purpose of the present study is to investigate anxiety behaviors in Sprague Dawley rats with and without insular lesions through an open-field test and elevated plus maze. The open field test is a commonly used paradigm for studying emotion, especially exploratory and fear behaviors in rat models. In addition to the open field test, an elevated plus maze was performed to measure anxiety. The independent variable for both tests was whether the rat had a lesion or no lesion. For the open field test, the dependent variables were time spent grooming and time spent moving in the inside portion of the box. For the elevated plus maze, the dependent variable was time spent on open arms compared to enclosed areas of the maze. Eleven Sprague Dawley rats were anesthetized and received either quinolinic acid dissolved in saline (n=6) or saline (n=5) at specific coordinates in the insular cortex with the intent of lesioning relevant neurons (AP +1.4; ML +5.2; DV -6.8 from bregma). Fear and anxiety in the rats were measured using the open field test and elevated plus maze during two 300-second testing periods per rat, with the two sessions conducted 24 hours apart for each test. It was hypothesized that rats with lesions would exhibit more exploratory behavior in the open field test and spend more time on open arms, as damage to the insula will decrease its activation, and over-activation of the insula is thought to occur in anxiogenic conditions. Results are pending, but preliminary investigation shows that rats with neurotoxic lesions have increased anxiety behavior compared to vehicle animals.

The Bechdel Test is a simple measurement designed to analyze the representation of women in film. To pass, a movie must have two female characters who have a conversation that is not about a man. The present research aims to use genre, release year, movie budget, user ratings, and critics rating scores to predict the probability a movie will pass the test. Logistic regression analysis reveals more recent movies are predicted to have a higher probability of passing the test. For most years, genres such as Romance and Comedy are predicted to have a higher probability of passing, while genres such as Action, Sport, War, and Western are predicted to have a lower probability of passing the test. Although the Bechdel Test has its flaws, the test is a useful metric to bring attention to the roles women hold in film.

What I am testing:

I will be testing how well a 3rd person shooter (Fortnite) and a real time strategy game will work while having loss, jitter, delay, etc and rate them to see how far i can go before each game becomes unplayable as well as finding a middle ground of how for each game can go before I personally can’t stand the interrupts. I will also get a group of people who will try the games while having the internet being interupted.

For my enrichment experience, I travelled to Munich, Germany to explore German art and architecture from my own perspective as a Mathematics major. Exploring German art had been a great interest of mine since I have an interest in learning German, plus, having taken a History of Mathematics course with Dr. Duncan Melville, the contents of that class also inspired an interest in European art and its interstection with mathematics. From Munich, I visited the Neuschwanstein Castle, a site I believe to be a pinnacle of 19th century German art and architecture all together in one site. Here, I learned about the many French influences that King Ludwig II had been inspired by during the construction of his dream castle, while also making my own mathematic observations of symmetry, perspective, and golden ratios.

Albuterol sulfate is one of the most frequently prescribed drugs for the treatment of chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma. Though an extremely common prescription, albuterol sulfate still faces challenges regarding health, environment, and development. Factors such as adverse effects, carbon emissions, and cost dampen the image of what is generally a remarkable drug. Research into these topics, accompanied by broad chemical background information and general history, reveals the causes of many shortcomings and lights the path to measures that can be taken to lessen the undesirable aspects of albuterol sulfate.

The stretch of villages in the Mae Tha River Valley (northern Thailand) has garnered national and international recognition for their successes in re-establishing organic agriculture. For decades, the small community has grappled with the forces of market modernization, including the lingering health and ecological impacts industrial agriculture. In order to protect their well-being, lifeways and land, farmers recognized that collaboration was essential to create the infrastructure and networks needed to safeguard the community.

Drawing inspiration from decolonial theorists and feminist frameworks, I examine how Mae Tha navigates the complexities of colonial legacies, modernity, and environmental degradation. I explore the community's transition from industrialized agriculture to regenerative farming practices through a lens of resilience, tied to the practices of cultural preservation and community well-being. Despite the challenges of land tenure disputes and external economic pressures, locals in Mae Tha embody resilience and persist through collective culture and sustainable stewardship of the land. While they have prospered through periods of instability such as COVID-19, there are apprehensions regarding the community's future once their community land grant expires. I have chosen to focus on Mae Tha's process of regaining local sovereignty to offer insights into long-term and effective grassroots solutions within marginalized communities.

Mindfulness occurs when individuals focus on the present while also accepting current thoughts and feelings that arise. Past research has linked general mindfulness practices to a host of positive health outcomes like stress reduction and improved emotional regulation. Along with the more general individual mental health benefits associated with practicing mindfulness, research shows that being more mindful is associated with better social relationships and behaviors that are more likely to consider the well-being of others (pro-social behavior).

However, the effect that mindfulness has on athletes is less well known. Previous research at St. Lawrence University by Brackett et al. (2018) demonstrated that higher levels of trait mindfulness in athletes was associated with higher sportspersonship toward teammates and officials, but was not associated with sportspersonship toward opponents. Brackett et al. also did not examine the possible mechanisms regarding why these effects occurred or look in depth at how athletes respond to situations involving people they are close to (teammates) and those they see as rivals (opponents). This current study expands on the previous work of Brackett et al. by (1) using a multifaceted measure of athlete trait mindfulness (instead of the unidimensional scale used by Brackett et al.), (2) more closely examining the differences between antisocial and prosocial behaviors towards both teammates and opponents, and (3) examining compassion as a possible mechanism explaining the link between mindfulness and moral outcomes and how this mechanism may differ for teammates and opponents.

Research was conducted via a Qualtrics survey to St. Lawrence University athletes. The survey assessed mindfulness, compassion, prosocial and antisocial behavior in sport, and social mindfulness. Data analysis is ongoing. This study will help us better understand the role mindfulness plays when examining sportspersonship. More importantly, this study aims to identify and quantify the more nuanced aspects of mindfulness and its influences on relationships athletes have with teammates and with opponents.

In the digital age, music streaming services have become a central part of daily life, offering vast libraries of music at our fingertips. As these services grow in popularity, understanding their network performance becomes crucial for improving user experience. This research aims to conduct a comprehensive comparison of three leading music streaming services—Apple Music, SoundCloud, and Spotify—focusing on critical network performance metrics: bandwidth, delay, jitter, and loss. By utilizing a Raspberry Pi as a network traffic manipulator, this study seeks to explore how these platforms manage and optimise the delivery of audio content under varying network conditions.

With the support of a travel enrichment grant, immersive fieldwork was conducted, allowing for firsthand experiences within Zen temples and engagement with Zen practices.

Through this exploration, the project aims to offer a comprehensive understanding of Zen Buddhism within its cultural context, giving insight into its significance in shaping Japanese society and culture. Additionally, the research aims to uncover the intricate practices and philosophical foundations of Zen Buddhism, providing insights into its transformative power and relevance in contemporary Japan.

1)What are the key elements of Zen practice in Japan, and how do individuals engage with and incorporate Zen principles into their daily lives?

2) How have modern developments and societal changes influenced the role and function of Zen temples in contemporary Japan?

Climate change is affecting wind directions on St. Lawrence Island, resulting in ice forming on the south side of the island. This project focuses on using deep learning to train a convolutional neural network on images of dead grass taken along the northern coast of the island. The images used for the dataset were taken by Dr. Rosales using a drone and hand labeled with an arrow to show the grass lay direction. The network is trained on the image angle pairs and will be able to predict a wind direction on any more images that are taken in the future.

Dopamine is a powerful and versatile molecule with impacts on human life needs and natural urges like fueling our bodies, learning, motivation and pleasure. Unraveling effects of dopamine is vital in being able to treat various health issues and understand human reward systems. Dopamine’s structure as a neurotransmitter and hormone is key to finding its various areas of health impact. Its social presence can be used to find reason behind urges, emotions and addictions. Through dopamine’s concentration or lack thereof in human bodies, it can impair motor functions in patients with Parkinson’s disease, and cognitive function with its role in conditions of Alzheimer’s, ADHD, schizophrenia and depression. Within society it feeds addiction, impairing natural reward systems. Recent research shows that music can activate the dopamine reward system and can be used to have medicinal benefits influencing emotion, arousal and memory.

Opioid molecules, naturally derived from the poppy plant, are responsible for physiological effects that have grabbed the attention of many scientists. These molecules are prescribed for pain relief and are associated with a “high” feeling as well as total relaxation. Some of these drugs include morphine, codeine, and oxycodone. While they minimize pain, they also threaten addiction. The Diels-Alder reaction, discovered in 1928 by Otto Diels and Kurt Alder, was recognized for its ability to combine simple molecules into complex molecules related to natural products, like opioids. Theodor Wagner-Jauregg discovered the Wagner-Jauregg reaction, which involves a double Diels-Alder reaction, two years later, although limited work has been published on this reaction. The purpose of my research is to synthesize a library of polycyclic molecules resembling the morphine core structure using the Wagner-Jauregg reaction. Although further research and reaction optimization is necessary first, it is predicted that the Wagner-Jauregg reaction can be used to make morphine analogues, with different biological properties and the possibility of less harmful side-effects. My research focused on tri-substituted aryl dienes, and their use in the Wagner-Jauregg reaction.

I constructed a coilgun for the purpose of testing the efficiency of the transfer of electrical energy to kinetic energy. A coilgun, at the basic level, is a circuit consisting of a power supply and a coil as a launching system where the projectile is a magnet. When a current passes through the coil, it creates a magnetic field inside the coil that acts on a magnetic projectile. The projectile is initially pulled into the coil. For the projectile to continue out the other side of the coil, the direction of the current must be switched when the projectile passes through the halfway point. The timing of the direction switch is critical, and it can affect the efficiency of the gun. Efficiency is measured as a ratio of the projectile’s final kinetic energy to the electrical energy used during the firing process.

The textile industry has become an instrumental part of the day-to-day activities of many people, especially when it comes to clothing. Around 60% of the synthetic dyes used in the industry are part of the azo dye organic family, characterized by the azo bond (nitrogen – nitrogen double bond). One such example is methyl orange, with its orange color apparent when dissolved in water. Given the heavy usage of these synthetic dyes, they are now ubiquitous in the environment, such as in bodies of water, which poses a significant issue due to the protoxicant nature of the dye. Upon degradation, the azo bond is reduced to create two planar aryl amines, which can slide in between the base pairs of DNA, acting as an intercalator. It is imperative to discover a degradation pathway that eliminates toxic by-products that are detrimental to aquatic life. Using a porphyrin metal-organic framework (MOF), the methyl orange can be sequestered from various bodies of water, as well as oxidized. To determine whether the MOF is responsible for the degradation of the dye, there were control experiments done with cyclic voltammetry in neutral pH water, where there were irreversible oxidation events occurring at around 0.80 V vs. the Ag/AgCl reference electrode with an ITO working electrode. Additionally, bulk electrolysis control experiments were also performed, where the absorbance of the methyl orange solution decreased over time.

Climate change affects all ecosystems and changes environmental conditions which can impact migration phenology. Data was collected from the Hawk Count database (www.HawkCount.org), a large database that compiles hawk migration data from banding and counting projects across North America. This study aims to explore changes in Red-Tailed Hawk (RTHA), Coopers Hawk (COHA), Sharp-shinned Hawk (SSHA), Peregrine Falcon (PEFA), and American Kestrel (AMKE) fall migration patterns over time in three of the four main North American flyways: Pacific, Mississippi, and Atlantic. These data are analyzed using R. Analysis of Variance was used to assess shifts in bird migration patterns over time. These results can help us better understand how animal behaviors are changing over time as a potential response to climate change.

Organic synthesis gives medicinal chemists the ability to create complex molecules from cheap and readily available chemical compounds. Many of these complex organic compounds are bioactive molecules that can function as DNA intercalators— molecules that bind to DNA in a variety of modes, causing a change in the DNA conformation. This change often results in a halt in cell function or cell death, making intercalating molecules valuable chemotherapeutic agents. This project centers around creating derivatives from a known intercalating molecule, proflavine, in order to create DNA intercalators that are more soluble in water and more electrophilic, allowing for these analogue-molecules to more effectively bind to DNA. While utilizing literature and known reactions, a small library of proflavine derivatives is being created based on the condensation of functional groups onto proflavine’s unsubstituted amines, as well as rebuilding the core acridine structure of proflavine to include reactive groups on the aromatic rings. The goal of this project is the creation of both known and novel proflavine derivatives for use in DNA-binding and kinetics studies.

Abstract

Our essay explores the controversial ways in which women athletes challenge or reinforce gender norms and gender-related policies in sport. Because sports is a microcosm of society and a male preserve still exists in sports, shining a light on how gender is being negotiated and constructed in competitive spaces is more relevant today than ever. We choose to focus on how female athletes interrogate the sociological construct that women’s sports are inferior to men’s. In this rhetorical analysis, we use a feminist criticism approach to examine how these athletes use media to position their audiences to challenge heteronormative societal values. We highlight performances of identity that make use of specific rhetorical strategies, such as, reframing narratives, managing impressions, and enacting empowerment.

Keywords: women’s sports, rhetorical criticism, performativity, gender norms

In the realm of Data Science, proficiency in data visualization is paramount. By employing visualizations, data scientists can effectively communicate their findings to an audience, enabling informed decision-making and driving success. Furthermore, in an era where data volumes are escalating exponentially, the ability to communicate insights through compelling visualizations has become a valuable skill for data scientists. Understanding the principles of rhetoric and communication equips Data Science majors with the tools to critically evaluate visualizations, discerning between informative visualizations and misleading representations of data.

Through this project I am going to explore to connection between Math, Statistics, and Computer Science majors and the amount of Communications courses they take. I used data from the registrars office to analyze patterns within the population of St. Lawrence. Communication courses provide a unique set of skills that complement those of Math, Statistics, and Computer Science majors. I want to observe how St. Lawrence students within these quantitative departments choose their extra curricular courses. This project will shed light on the connection between the Communications department and analyzing and manipulating data.

The purpose of this poster is to present a rare case of bilateral non-osseous calcaneonavicular coalition in a subadult individual from 19th century Heuvelton, New York. The congenital condition was documented in a 15 ± 30 month-year-old subadult discovered during the replacement of the village water tower at the site of the Old Burial Ground. A macroscopic assessment of the individual’s skeletal remains was performed, where bilateral bony changes on the calcanei, naviculars, cuboids, and tali were observed, including trabecular exposure and porosity indicating inflammation. The differential diagnosis, following established paleopathological protocols, not only revealed the case of tarsal coalition but also that the individual may have been experiencing symptoms such as pain, tenderness, and stiffness. This case is important as it is one of the few recognized from an archeological context and offers a glimpse at conditions affecting the life of a young settler in 19th-century rural upstate New York.

Some eleven million people reside in Kenya’s informal settlements, constituting a considerable proportion of the country’s total population. Despite their prevalence, these vulnerable communities have been profoundly overlooked and underrepresented in global research, while their experiences remain marginalized within academic inquiry. This research aims to unveil the intricate dynamics of how public health and its administration are shaped within these informal settlements, illuminating the connections and disconnects between public health policy and the lived realities of informal settlement residents. During my time on the Kenya Semester Program last spring, I completed an internship at a grassroots public health clinic in Mathare, Kenya’s second-largest informal settlement, where I was exposed to the harsh realities and the profound resilience of Kenya’s most marginalized communities. My research analyzes various national public health policy documents and juxtaposes my findings with ethnographic observations from my time in Mathare. This SYE employs theories of global political economy and cultural studies by eminent scholars such as Karl Marx, Michel Foucault, Aimé Cesaire, Friedrich List, and others. These theoretical frameworks help to illuminate the complex interplay between power structures, economic systems, and sociocultural dynamics within national public health administration and informal settlements in Kenya.

Static transcranial magnetic stimulation is emerging as a promising tool in nerve regeneration. While its effectiveness in promoting nerve function recovery is being explored, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In our study, we investigate the effects of manipulating the orientation of a 1mT static magnetic field on HT22 neural cells. We explore how factors like field orientation and exposure duration affect cell proliferation. By delving into these interactions, our study aims to lay the groundwork for a more comprehensive understanding of the potential role of static magnetic fields in nerve regeneration.

How are issues such as finding cheap and long-lasting blue dyes, environmental pollution, and radioactive waste related? One of the most effective weapons against these issues has a surprising origin as a painter’s pigment. Invented on accident by painter Johann Jacob Diesbach in 1706, Prussian Blue (Fe₄[FE(CN)₆]₃) was the first modern synthetic pigment and a cheap alternative to expensive and poor-quality blue paints. In the modern era, its uses have expanded to other areas such as environmental remediation. Wastewater treatment facilities are not equipped to filter out microscopic plastic particles. But new research using Prussian Blue can aggregate nano plastics to a removable size, cheaply, using sunlight. As for the cleanup of radioactive waste such as cesium, it can be difficult to remove from the environment. Clay will absorb cesium in mammals, but it stays in the body and absorbs essential nutrients. Prussian Blue solves these issues. Prussian Blue sold as Radiogardase safely and effectively captures and removes cesium in the human body without causing harm. It sequesters cesium similarly in the soil and ocean and can be optimized for its specific uses with a few modifications. Overall, Prussian Blue solves issues from myriad sources effectively and at low cost.

Plastics are all around us in materials that are used daily. Due to their usefulness, plastics are widely produced, but estimates suggest that only 9% of plastic has been successfully recycled. Much of the rest of the plastic end up in landfills and oceans where it can release toxic substances. Even for plastics that can be recycled, it is usually cheaper to make new plastic than to recycle used plastic. A more sustainable plastics economy would use closed-loop recycling, but few materials are amenable to this type of process.

This research aimed at measuring thermodynamic parameters of self-immolative poly(glyoxylamides), which represent a class of materials that can be readily depolymerized and potentially recycled. Understanding these parameters will aid in designing new recyclable materials.

The research started with synthesizing the monomer 2-oxo-2-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)acetaldehyde. This aldehyde was prepared through a sequence of three reactions. While we were able to successfully prepare the target monomer, we found that the compound was extremely hygroscopic: it rapidly reacts with water, to form a hydrate that is unable to undergo the target polymerization reaction. We examined a number of different strategies to remove water and found that using a Dean–Stark reaction could afford the aldehyde monomer in approximately 90% purity. However, even the small amount of water remaining was enough to impede successful polymerization. Future studies could explore more methods for purifying the target monomer or alternate strategies to access the target polymer via post-polymerization modification to enable measuring the thermodynamic properties.

Despite the challenges we encountered, I was able to learn a lot of new skills such as running organic reactions under inert atmosphere, performing 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy, and analyzing spectral data. I was also glad to be able to put to practice my Organic Chemistry knowledge from my classes.

Metamorphosis is a post-embryonic developmental process in which a tadpole matures into a frog. This process relies on three mechanisms: cell apoptosis (ex: tail absorption), cell proliferation (ex: limb growth), and organ remodeling (ex: thickening of the brain). Thyroid hormone (TH) in frogs is responsible for the initiation and rate of metamorphosis. In fact, if the thyroid rudiments of a tadpole were to be destroyed, it would never develop into a frog and simply grow into a much larger tadpole. During metamorphosis, TH levels increase significantly, and it is accompanied by a second hormone: corticosterone (CORT). CORT is a stress hormone hypothesized to wield synergistic effects with TH, meaning TH and CORT might be able to accelerate the rate of metamorphosis significantly when interacting with each other. To explore this hypothesis, our lab treated 120 Xenopus laevis tadpoles with 5nM triiodothyronine (T3) and/or 2um dexamethasone (DEX) for 3 days. A photo was taken of each tadpole before and after receiving treatment. Fiji was used to conduct 9 measurements, and Excel was used to obtain the individual percent change for each tadpole. Using 1-factor ANOVA analysis, we discovered that compared to T3 treatment alone, DEX+T3 significantly accelerated tail and gill reabsorption, remodeling of the skull and immune system, shortening of the olfactory nerve, and leg growth. Our findings suggest that stress hormones synergize with TH to accelerate all three mechanisms of metamorphosis!

Forests are complex ecosystems that provide humans with numerous resources, from timber and clean air to maple syrup. A decline in forest health could result in the loss of these and other resources. Not only are forests integral to human wellbeing and the economy, but they provide critical habitat for numerous species. It is widely recognized that forests are facing multiple threats, stemming from occurrences such as the introduction of foreign pests, climate change, encroaching diseases, and fragmentation. In this study, we gathered data from five forests in St. Lawrence County to establish a baseline understanding of forest health, created models to predict forest health, and tested specific relationships within and between the forests. By looking at relationships between different aspects of the forest, such as deer abundance and regeneration density, we can gain insight into how these forests function. As changes to the landscape occur, they can be monitored and understood through comparisons to the comprehensive dataset built in this project.

Never Age Again: Retinol

Paul Starliper

The Molecules That Changed History

Retinol, also known as Vitamin A, is an essential molecule that impacts our society today. Retinols benefits of health, along with anti-aging effects, have changed how society views beauty standards as well as offers availability for one to increase their self-confidence. Researching retinol provides knowledge on the specific health benefits that it can offer to its users. Understanding the history of the molecules synthesis plays a crucial part in understanding why retinol may improve one’s life. After research it is evident that the historical discovery of retinol and the synthesis of retinol has fulfilled an individuals want for a method to anti-age by reshaping societal beauty standards and enhancing the confidence of its users. Retinol has also played a role in acne treatment, cancer treatment, as well as growth and development throughout adolescence. Retinol has also raised environmental concerns due to its intense packaging that may harm the environment. Further research will be needed to find new ways to package the molecule.

Through this Travel Enrichment Grant, I received funding to explore different hiking huts around New Zealand. ​Within a time of climate anxiety, the need to connect with ourselves and nature is more apparent. I explored Homer Hut, Fern Burn Hut, and Mueller Hut which allowed for an enhancement of hiking culture, connection to the land and the people. My experience in New Zealand led me to lead the Cranberry 50 hike/walk which is 50 miles around Cranberry Lake in Hamlet, New York. I also assisted in the planning of a climate anxiety film on campus in the fall.

Agroecology has shown promising potential for resource-poor farmers to combat pests without the use of expensive and unhealthy pesticides. However, the impact of entire regions adopting agroecological practices on pest control is unknown. Across 96 farms in 16 villages, we assessed the impact of individual farm and village-wide adoption of agroecological practices on pest damage from the fall armyworm in Northern Malawi. We recorded pest damage on farms employing agroecological principles, such as intercropping, and farms that did not receive agroecological training. The results of this study show that intercropping maize with pumpkin and beans, but not cowpea, effectively reduces pest pressure on main crops compared to farms that did not adopt agroecological practices. Importantly, we found that as the percentage farms using agroecological practices in a village increased, the probability of damage to crops decreased. This finding highlights the importance of considering landscape ecology when addressing pest management and suggests that supporting a matrix of agroecological landscapes could have a compounding effect in reducing pest pressure through creating habitat for natural enemies, deterring pests, and/or avoiding biocides.

I examine how the decision to donate to religious institutions differs from non-religious charitable giving. Due to laws that allow charitable giving to be tax deductible, tax rates and the true cost of giving to charity are inversely related. Previous research has demonstrated that charitable giving in general is highly responsive to changes in the true price of giving. In this paper, I use a two-stage hurdle approach to model the decision process of first, whether to give anything to charity at all, and second, the amount to give if non-zero. I examine giving to religious causes separately from secular giving. The empirical findings show that activities like attending religious services and volunteering for religious causes have a significant, positive impact on one’s decision of whether to donate to any type of charity. For those who choose to give to charity, donations to non-religious causes are roughly twice as responsive to price as religious donations, suggesting that changes in tax rates play a much smaller role in the decision to give to religious institutions than other types of charity.

Although “chaos” is typically thought of as “random,” systems that are mathematically chaotic are deterministic, yet appear random due to sensitive dependence on initial conditions. It has been observed that systems in the human body, such as the nervous system, cardiovascular system, and human gait, exhibit properties of mathematical chaos. Furthermore, it has been hypothesized that there is a relationship between the chaotic nature of a system and the health of that system with research suggesting that a decrease in chaos indicates a degradation of proper function. Our research investigates this phenomenon in human gait, examining the gaits of healthy individuals and those with Parkinson’s to determine if there is a difference in chaotic properties. Additionally, we repeat this process to evaluate differences in chaotic properties of individuals before and after doing Thai Chi regimes.

The decline of bird populations in North America, particularly within the finch family Fringillidae, necessitates careful monitoring of winter finch species. This study focuses on refining citizen science methods for monitoring tree seed crops crucial for these birds' survival. Surveys were conducted in the Northwest portion of the Adirondack Park in the fall of 2023, targeting key tree species, including Balsam fir, Scotch pine, red pine, white pine, and red spruce. Results revealed poor to below-average cone crops across the surveyed area, consistent with broader trends in the boreal forest. Long-term studies are essential to understand the variability in cone production and its implications for finch populations. This research contributes to a better understanding of the ecological dynamics influencing winter finch populations and underscores the importance of sustained monitoring efforts.

Learning how quantum attacks work is crucial to understanding the threats that they pose to our current encryption techniques. Shor’s algorithm is groundbreaking for factoring large numbers quickly, which when implemented, will be able to break RSA, the standard encryption protocol used to secure over 90% of our internet connections (Kee, 2021). This project provides an explanation of Shor’s Algorithm and outlines the major components of a Quantum Fourier Transform, period finding, and reducing period finding to factoring.

While abroad in Denmark, I continued my interest in intentional communities by visiting Ananda Gaorii Ashram. During my Thanksgiving break, I took a few trains and buses to rural Denmark to stay in this community run by Hindu Dadas with roughly 10 other members living on their farm. The major questions I was interested in seeking during my stay were: What are the stated and unstated power dynamics that structure the community? How are peoples’ visions of life’s meaning different within the community compared to the mainstream life that they left? Why have these people decided to live their lives in this specific way? I spent 3 days at Ananda Gaorii engaged in how the community members answered these questions. I spent most of my time meditating, attending yoga classes, going on walks with other guests, and having interesting conversations at the dinner table with all the people who were open to chatting. I came away from this experience with a strong skepticism of Dadas and “enlightenment-giving” authority figures. Aside from the strong power dynamics, however, I learned more about silent meditation, mantra chanting, the power of practicing yoga, and what it means to live in an intentional community.

Ambergris Caye is a 25-mile-long and ~1-mile-wide island off the coast of mainland Belize. The island separates the low-energy, southern end of the Chetumal Bay to the west from the Caribbean Sea. On the opposite, eastern side of the island has a narrow, high-energy lagoon that is protected by the Great Mesoamerican Reef, the second-largest reef system in the world. Here, we focus on the comparison of the shallow-marine habitats and carbonate sediments deposited in these two contrasting settings, i.e., high vs. low-energy lagoons. The fieldwork included shallow-marine benthic fauna description and habitat identification along six transects (3 at South Ambergris, and 3 at Secret Beach (lagoonal side)) A total of 18 lagoon-floor sand samples were collected for sedimentary-petrographic analysis. Bathymetric and habitat distribution maps were constructed based on combined field data, available satellite imagery, and laboratory analysis. Preliminary results show a significant difference between the two settings. South Ambergris (reef-facing) lagoon is covered by dense seagrass meadows (turtle and manatee grasses) and large numbers of calcareous green algae (Halimeda sp.). Sediment is dominantly coarse sand, and sedimentary structures include abundant shrimp mounds that are covered with fecal pellets. Further reef-ward, a large variety of marine organisms includes abundant nurse sharks, stingrays, sea turtles, various fish, and corals (including acroporid populations); brown algae are also common, and they carpet dead reefs. Secret Beach shows much less diversity with abundant gastropods, occasional green algae (Neomeris annulata), and rare seagrass patches in fine rippled sand. Overall, the high energy, reef-facing South Ambergris lagoon is dominated by coarse carbonate sand and dense seagrass meadows hosting a rich association of benthic organisms, fish, and sea turtles. On the contrary, the leeward, isolated setting of the Secret Beach on the southern end of the Chetumal Bay has led to a poorly diversified habitat with fine sand and restricted benthic biota.

This project delves into how delay, jitter, and loss influence web browsing. Through empirical measurement and user feedback, we analyze their effects on browsing performance. Controlled experiments simulate real-world conditions, measuring metrics like page load times and user opinion score. This will show how different websites prioritize being resistant to different network problems based on the data the they provide.

The punter may be the most overlooked position in football, but they can have a large impact on game outcomes. This project aims to better quantify the value of each punter using data from the 2022 Big Data Bowl and nflweather.com. Both traditional data, such as yard line, snap quality, and weather, among others, as well as tracking data were used. With this data, we created a multiple regression model for predicting punt distance and a neural network to predict expected return lengths to compute an expected net punt yardage. This allows us to better understand how many additional yards of field position each punter gains compared to the others. Enabling us to better rank and compare punters, and to determine both quality and value more accurately.

MKT-077 is a water-soluble lipophilic cation rhodacyanine dye that is known for exhibiting anticarcinoma activity. Researchers have found that MKT-077 is more selective to cancer cells than other chemotherapy drugs resulting in less damage to healthy cells. MKT-077 accumulates in the mitochondria and works through mechanisms that inhibit chaperone proteins (Hsp70) in cancer cells. Chaperone proteins are found in all animal cell types, they are involved in protein localization, protein folding, and calcium regulation. Previously, we looked at the effects of MKT-077 on immortalized mouse hippocampal neuronal cells, HT-22. The data showed no significant decrease in cell viability across a range of concentrations (10 nM -10 M). While Immortalized cell lines are not transformed to the extent of cancer cell lines, they also have significant genetic differences from native tissue. In this study, we will determine if the MKT-077 at various concentrations (1 M, 5 M ,10 M, and 300 M) will alter the viability of organotypic hippocampal brain slices prepared from mice. Unlike cell culture, this tissue is healthy, contains multiple cell types, and retains some level of cellular connectivity in the section. We anticipated that there would be a significant decrease in cell viability due to MKT-077’s ability to bind to Hsp70, causing dysfunction and apoptosis. This experiment shows a significant dose-dependent decline in viability on the primary brain slices.

Single-stranded single-walled carbon nanotubes (ssSWCNTs) have been investigated for their potential use in neurodegenerative diseases as therapeutic, diagnostic and imaging agents. Previous studies have implicated a role for nanotubes in inducing the expansion and differentiation of neural stem cell populations. Our ongoing studies utilizing an immortalized murine neural progenitor cell line (C17.2), have shown dose-dependent effects of ssSWCNTs on cell proliferation. The cellular mechanisms for this increase in cell cycling remain elusive and the effects of this material on fully differentiated cells types are not currently known.

Our next step involves examining the effects of nanotubes in primary tissue in mouse hippocampal brain sections. Although immortalized cell lines are an excellent tool for evaluating nanotubes in stem cells, it does not allow us to answer questions regarding the effects of nanotubes in tissue that contains both pluripotent cells and fully differentiated neurons and glia. In this study, we will examine the effects of nanotubes on cell viability in the dentate gyrus and surrounding cell layers using live, murine brain sections. Examining the impact of nanotubes in this region of the brain is of particular interest since the dentate gyrus is one of the few regions of the brain where neurogenesis, the process of generating new neurons, occurs throughout life. These newly formed cells, mature and then integrate into functional circuits in the hippocampus. This study serves as a starting point in understanding the biological impact of these nanomaterials in different cell types and maturational levels in the semi-intact, living brain.

Neurodegenerative diseases result in the gradual and progressive loss of neural cells, affecting millions of people worldwide. In the brain, the process by which new neurons form, is called neurogenesis. This process is associated with the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells (nSCs). The goal of this research is to harness neurogenesis and stimulate differentiation in C17.2 cells, a murine neural progenitor cell line, using ssDNA functionalized single walled carbon nanotubes (ssSWCNTs). Such nanotubes have shown promise in the area of biomedicine for their potential therapeutic effects. In this study, we investigated the effects of different concentrations of ssSWCNTs on cell viability and proliferation in-vitro using fluorescence microscopy. In addition, we measured cellular levels of reactive oxygen species to correlate the accumulation of these molecules with cell viability and proliferation.

Understanding and forecasting rainfall patterns in coastal states is crucial for various sectors, including agriculture, water resource management, and disaster preparedness. The purpose of this project was to model monthly Rainfall (mm) in 5 states on the west coast of India using a multivariate Vector Autoregressive (VAR) time series model. VAR time series models incorporate past values of all the variables involved by treating them as endogenous (Lütkepohl, 2013). Monthly Rainfall for 5 states (Kerala, Lakshadweep, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra) was obtained from “Open government data (OGD) platform India”. The optimal lag was chosen using Alkaline Information Criterion (AIC) and Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) after which the model was fit using historical monthly rainfall (mm) from 1970 to 2016. It was determined that the VAR (2) model was most promising. Moreover, the model was utilized to predict rainfall values in each state for the year 2017, with actual rainfall observations compared against forecasted values. A R shiny web app was also created to supplement the project with monthly and annual rainfall visualizations for different Indian States.

The Mandelbrot Set is the set of points on the complex plane that do not advance to infinity when inputted into a specific iterative function. The different speeds the points outside of this set take to reach infinity have previously been modeled with color or animation; We used 3D printing to produce a novel format. Creating a 3D model allows for these speeds to be studied using methods of 3D geometry, such as slope fields.

Currently, the NCAA uses a metric called Rating Percentage Index (RPI) to rate teams in women’s soccer. RPI takes into account a team’s strength of schedule in addition to their number of wins and losses. Is this metric the most effective way to rate a team in soccer? This project aims to find the best rating method for ranking Division III women’s soccer teams. The rating methods used in this project were: Elo (originally developed for chess), total points, goal differential, points per game and a model based on Poisson scoring rates. An interactive Shiny App, either sorted by region or league, was created to display the ratings generated by each method for the respective teams. We then used simulation in R to compare how each rating method performed on the data.

In this project, I explored various web-scraping methods to extract data from websites for statistical analysis. I manually web-scraped Ski to Sea data for the Score Network using the rvest package. Further web-scraping was done with quantmod, a R package with a built-in web-scraper for live financial data. I Imbedded quantmod’s web-scraping capabilities in a Shiny app to generate downloadable investment pitches.

This project explores the creative intersection of mathematics and art through combining the fascination of fractal geometry with the art of building an instrument. The use of fractal formations and intentional designs, fabricates a scope in which we investigate the intricacies of preserving fractals as holes in wood as well as the subtleties of sound quality and appearance of a small guitar. Experimental procedures involve the fabrication of laser-cut fractal-based holes and constructed body, followed by measurements of their resonance properties after the guitar is assembled. As a trial-and-error process, this work provides a unique and innovative outlet to investigate the notion of applying mathematics to art and diving deeper into their relation.

From Monopoly to Dungeons & Dragons, gamers encounter decision-making challenges that often revolve around rolling various types and quantities of dice. For instance, does a player obtain a higher value, on average, by rolling two 20-sided dice and keeping the highest or rolling a single 20-sided die and adding 5? As the complexity of dice combinations and special rules increases, manual probability calculations become impractical. To address this, we've created an intuitive Graphical User Interface (GUI) that simulates dice rolls for various scenarios, aiding players in decision-making. Instead of storing probability formulae, our tool utilizes simulation methods to assess outcomes, enabling players to identify the most successful combinations quickly. This GUI not only identifies optimal actions but also allows for swift customization of dice rolls to suit the mechanics of different tabletop games.

Old-growth forests are incredibly biodiverse, resource rich ecosystems that store significant amounts of carbon. In an era of rapidly decreasing biodiversity and climate warming, they serve as a unique solution for our planet. Our project focused on conducting an old-growth evaluations of the Muddy Needle Stand on St. Lawrence's Kip Track. Using GIS mapping, we sectioned out a portion of land to conduct our evaluation on. We chose a nearby stand, about 27 acres in size, and used specific criteria to gauge if it was a remanent old-growth stand. After our scoring, we found that the well-mixed cedar, white pine, hemlock stand was in fact an old-growth forest. For future management of this space, we also researched forest management practices for preserving the space as a known carbon sink, migration corridor and biodiversity-rich area. The Muddy Needle stand is now apart of the North Country Old Growth Program's data, which will be used to further the local communities and St. Lawrence campus's environmental conservation and carbon sequestration efforts.

It is anticipated that most individuals, when deciding between two alternative choices, will choose to delay task completion and procrastinate. Previous research has found that, contrary to procrastination, some individuals have the tendency to pre-crastinate. Pre-crastination is defined as the hastening of subgoal completion, even at the expense of extra physical or cognitive effort and has been found to take place as a result of individuals' attempt to reduce their cognitive load. In other words, this phenomenon can be described as individuals' tendency to make sub-optimal decisions. The goal of the current study was to further investigate the mechanisms of pre-crastination, specifically the role of effort in individuals' tendency to pre-crastinate as the weight and the distance the bucket had to be carried were increased. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three different distance treatment conditions Data collection is ongoing. Given the lack of literature on this topic, the results add to the growing evidence for the generality of pre-crastination and are useful in understanding the mechanism behind this phenomenon and why people make sub-optimal choices.

Keywords: Pre-crastinaiton, hastening of subgoal completion, sub-optimal choices, and cognitive load

Sporting mega-events, such as the Olympic Games or World Cup, draw global attention and considerable investment into local infrastructure to facilitate the event. This can impact the residential real estate market in the host city in the time leading up to, and during, the event. If these changes impact the willingness of residents to reside in a host city long-term, impacts to the real estate market may persist. In this paper, I perform an analysis of housing prices (as measured by the Housing Price Index, HPI) from 1990 to 2008 for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City using synthetic control method (SCM) to create a hypothetical Salt Lake City that did not host the 2002 Olympics. Due to challenges of fitting the pre-event data, I employ additional methods of synthetic controls, including Augmented Synthetic Control Method with Ridge Regression (Ridge ASCM) and estimating the predictive confidence intervals using Jackknife+ methods. The results suggest a transitory increase in housing prices following the 1995 announcement until the 2002 Olympics, with a decrease in housing prices following the Games until the end of 2005. With Salt Lake City being named the preferred host for the 2034 Olympic Games, understanding how the housing market reacted to the 2002 Games provides valuable insight for future decisions.

Evidence from human epidemiology studies shows that individuals with a history of early-life stress (ELS) are at increased risk for addiction and addition-like behaviors. Previous work with animal models of ELS has shown opposite effects on impulsive-like behavior, which led to the current research. Maternal separation (MS) is a common rodent model for early-life stress (ELS) where pups are separated from the dam each day for a period of time during the sensitive period of development (postnatal day 0-23). The mean difference and standard deviation between groups (maternally separated vs. control) for the amount of ethanol consumed at each time-point measured was used to fit a Bayesian model. Using a Bayesian approach allowed for us to ignore the assumption for independence between time-points, in addition to moderate for if ethanol concentration increased or stayed steady overtime. Results showed that when ethanol consumption is kept the same over time, MS rats consume more ethanol compared to controls during weeks 2 to 5 but drink the same amount of ethanol, or less, after. When ethanol consumption increased over time, there was some evidence suggesting that ethanol consumption increased during week 6 but decreases after that to not differ with controls. This research shows limited evidence of increased impulsive-like ethanol consumption behavior for rats with a history of ELS.

Putting Netflix and Hulu head to head against bad network conditions. By testing four different degradations on the network, it will show the strengths and weaknesses of the two applications. The variables being tested will be jitter, loss, delay, and bandwidth. I will put a different amount of each of these variables to test the thresholds of user interactions. This experiment will be tested on ethernet to minimize any delay/interference that happens through a wireless network.

Data samples will be collected from three of my peers (and my own data) by playing the same show with the different degradation intervals. One sample will be played on Netflix then we will watch the same sample from the same show with the same degradation on Hulu. The peers will not be told what the experiment is beforehand, nor what is being affected in order to minimize bias. Each peer will score the degradation for each variable according to each show, on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the best experience, 1 being the lowest). The data will also have a short sentence on why they rated the experience the score they did. This is to show how the difference variables affect the user quality experience.

The goal of this experiment is to find out which application is better without network degradation. Which application is better in bad network applications? As well as to find the threshold for user experience of bad network conditions when it comes to video streaming using two of the most popular video streaming services.

Stress is becoming an increasingly large problem for college students that could lead to serious psychological, social, and physiological effects. Some of these effects include anxiety, depression, decreased academic performance, decreased immune system functioning, and even alterations in brain structure. Coping strategies such as exercise, therapy, and consumption of drugs and alcohol have been used, with varying degrees of success, by college students to deal with stressors. Previous studies have also found success at mitigating psychological and physiological stress by using various breathwork techniques. The current study aims to understand the stress reduction effects of two breathwork techniques, the cyclic sigh and a paced breath, verses a control condition with no instructed breathwork pattern, on acute measures of psychological and physiological stress. Cyclic sighing is a breathwork technique characterized by a double nasal inhalation with a prolonged exhalation from the mouth. Whereas, paced breathing encompasses a slow inhale through the nose and a slow exhale through the mouth, both of which were at equal duration (1:1 ratio) measured to a pace of 6 breaths per minute. In a within subjects study design, participants completed a series of strenuous mental arithmetic problems, followed by an instructed breathwork condition, while heart rate and rhythm, respiration, and electrodermal skin conductance response was measured. No significant differences were found between conditions regarding negative affect, perceived difficulty of the math task, and perceived pleasantness of the math task. Scores of positive affect decreased from the baseline measurement after each breathwork technique, with individuals feeling the least positive after the paced breathing condition. In terms of physiological stress measures, heart rate variability (low and high frequency) increased during the paced and cyclic breathing conditions. This indicates autonomic nervous system activity that has been linked to beneficial adaptation during stressful events. However, when looking at the sympathetic to vagal ratio of autonomic nervous system activation, the sympathetic nervous system predominated during the paced and cyclic breathwork conditions. This could indicate increased arousal during the breathwork instead of higher parasympathetic calming effects as predicted. Further research should be done to understand the relationship between breathwork, heart rate variability, and autonomic nervous system functioning.

Mass incarceration in the United States relies upon hidden social, structural, and epistemological systems of oppression. These systems act as strategies of containment, in which criminalized populations are both spatially and socially sequestered throughout the course of their lives. Through this containment, racial capitalism is institutionalized as tangible stratification restricts access to social safety nets. By applying critical frameworks emerging out of settler colonial studies and the concept of racial capitalism to mass incarceration in the United States, I connect acts of sequestration developed through the ‘elimination of the native’ to the disposability of imprisoned people. With the background of spatial sequestration outlined by Patrick Wolfe, I connect spatial sequestration and social sequestration to mass incarceration in the United States. Spatial and social sequestration parallel the strategies of containment applied to Indigenous people and the treatment of incarcerated people. Thus, I develop an analysis of mass incarceration in Indiana rooted in the recognition that cultural landscapes and the distribution of public goods influence peoples’ perceptions and experiences within the system of mass incarceration.

EPINEPHRINE: THE ULTIMATE BODYGUARD

Cecelia Gardner

FYS-Molecules that Changed History

The molecule epinephrine acts within the body as a hormone and neurotransmitter. Apart from these roles, epinephrine can also save lives, as it is widely used to combat severe allergic reactions resulting in anaphylactic shock. Unfortunately, epinephrine auto-injectors, which are prescribed to at risk individuals, are not widely accessible due to their high cost and rare coverage by insurance plans. This prevents many lower-income individuals from getting the life-saving medication they need, ultimately leading to increased fatalities and hospitalizations as a result of anaphylactic shock. Studies have shown that as prices of epinephrine auto-injectors rise, the percentage of people purchasing the medication regularly is decreasing, meaning that there is a fairly large group of people living without the preventative medication that their condition requires. To fix this issue, producers of epinephrine auto-injectors must lower the prices of their products to make them more accessible to consumers. Insurance companies must also reconsider their standards for covered medications in a way that includes epinephrine. Although the issues are apparent, epinephrine is a miracle molecule that can save lives. It is truly amazing what one small molecule can do.

Parkinson’s Disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder in the United States (NIH, 2015). Pathology implicated in the disease is the presence of alpha-synuclein and their formation into Lewy Body oligomers (Giráldez-Pérez, 2014). Shaltiel-Karyo et al., 2013 utilized mannitol, an osmolyte, to demonstrate the reduction in Parkinson’s Disease motor deficits in a Drosophila Parkinson’s Disease model. C. elegans are a nematode roundworm and an excellent model organism for Parkinson's Disease (Apfeld & Scott, 2018). The present study aims to determine whether mannitol reduces alpha-synuclein aggregation in a C. elegans model. This study utilized the NL5901strain of C. elegans as they have been genetically engineered to express the human alpha-synuclein gene, containing a mutation found in human familial Parkinson’s Disease that causes alpha-synuclein aggregate pathology. Prior research in our lab demonstrated that mannitol decreased age-related motor deficits in the NL5901strain. In the present study we utilized confocal imaging to visualize alpha-synuclein aggregates and FIJI, a form of ImageJ image processing software, to quantify the number and size of alpha-synuclein aggregations across treatment groups. We hypothesized NL5901 C. elegans treated with mannitol would exhibit a decrease in the number and size of alpha-synuclein aggregates and a more diffuse rather than punctated appearance compared to those without mannitol treatment. We are still in the process of gathering data and analyzing our results. If our hypothesis is supported, the mannitol treatment group will demonstrate a decrease in aggregate size and number compared to the control group.

College students use various coping mechanisms to combat chronic stress and anxiety, from the more maladaptive methods of self-medication through drugs and alcohol to more productive methods such as exercise, counseling services, yoga, and meditation. Both yoga and meditation have long used the concept of the breath to reduce the physiological response to stress. More recently, different breathwork techniques, ranging from the box breath to paced breathing, have been utilized in clinical mental health practices. This study looked at the effects of a new type of breathwork technique, the cyclic sigh, on stress, depression, anxiety, and sleep in college students. The cyclic sigh consisted of a double inhale and a prolonged exhale. Participants were asked to complete a baseline session in the laboratory to collect baseline behavioral measures. Participants were either in a control group or an intervention group that learned the cyclic sigh technique. Over the next four weeks participants in the intervention group practiced the cyclic sigh for five minutes a day and all completed a brief daily survey. During a follow up session in the lab participants listened to a stress inducing sound compilation while we collected heart rate variability and electrodermal skin conductance. We predicted that those in the cyclic sigh condition would experience lower levels of stress, trait levels of anxiety and depression, and improved sleep quality. We expected these changes to be mediated by the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system and an increase in the overall sense of control created by doing the breathing technique. Results indicated no significant differences between intervention and control conditions from the baseline to second session. However, there was a significant correlation between total time spent cyclic sighing and a reduction in DASS anxiety scores. Also, there were no appreciable differences in any of the daily outcomes and no change between participants over the four weeks. The daily surveys did reveal significant positive correlations between total minutes spent breathing and several behavioral outcomes such as sleep quality and feelings of control.

Menthol, the molecule responsible for the cool sensation from eating a peppermint, is best known for its use as an additive to gum, toothpaste and candy. However, menthol has an impressive range of biological uses as well: it has anticancer, antibacterial and anti-itch properties, combats memory loss from Alzheimer’s disease, and is effective as an insect repellent. Menthol may become an important medicinal compound as researchers learn more about how it functions in these roles. It also has played a major role in public health as an additive to cigarettes. Menthol makes smoking less unpleasant by soothing the throat, and more addictive by boosting dopamine release in the brain. Since mentholated cigarettes are highly popular among youth smokers and Black smokers, the recent ban on mentholated cigarettes in the United States is expected to decrease the total number of smokers, as youth smokers often become addicted with menthol cigarettes, and help combat racial public health disparity.

The SCORE Network, funded by the National Science Foundation, acquires, cleans, manipulates, and documents sports data to create educational resources aimed at advancing data science learning, particularly among underrepresented populations and minorities. It focuses on developing and disseminating educational resources and frameworks, with a specific emphasis on sports analytics. This project focuses on data from the Professional Bull Riding (PBR) and the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia. The PBR dataset investigates a collection of professional bull riders and the bulls, along with their statistics from the 2023 season for the Touring Pro Division. This dataset’s analysis encompasses linear regression, identification of influential points, hypothesis testing, and variable transformation. For context, the Dakar Rally is an annual off-road endurance event known for its challenging terrain and extreme conditions, where participants race motorbikes, cars, trucks, and other vehicles over thousands of kilometers across various landscapes, testing their skills and endurance. The Dakar Rally dataset investigates the 2024 Saudi Arabia Dakar Rally biker rankings and times throughout all 12 stages, including driver information and rankings. This dataset’s analysis will exemplify data visualization, uncovering patterns and insights within the race dynamics.

This research aimed to synthesize degradable polymers based on the azulene framework. Azulene is an aromatic hydrocarbon with a unique structure consisting of fused five- and seven-membered rings that leads to surprising chemical properties such as a relatively large dipole moment, pH-responsive behavior, and vibrant colors. While a number of azulene-containing polymers are known, previous work has not focused on degradable materials. Our approach was to functionalize azulene derivatives with the aldehyde functional group, which we hypothesized could be polymerized to form acid-degradable polyacetals. We were successful in synthesizing both monoaldehyde- and dialdehyde-substituted azulene derivatives, but to date have been unable to demonstrate polymerization of these materials. Further research should be done to assess whether the lack of polymerization arises from low reactivity of the aldehyde monomers, catalyst inhibition by the monomers or some impurity, or another reason. Continued investigation of these reactions could be beneficial in helping to increase sustainability by generating new plastics that are easily degradable, helping to reduce the environmental impact of these materials.

The objective of my project is to create a better understanding of the inequalities students experience while they are studying abroad. To fulfill my objective, I will focus my research on analyzing how do students experiences within these programs differ by social characteristics, such as race, class, or gender. St. Lawrence University sends 61% of its students to study off campus at least once during their college experience which means that of those students there will be or have been students who have had to face inequalities based on their gender, race, or class. For instance, some students might not be able to travel during the weekends to nearby countries to educate themselves on the culture, traditions, and ways of life like their peers because of their social economic status. They might have just the right amount of money to get through the semester. Another inequality we will probably encounter is racial microaggressions in a classroom setting or a public space. For instance, someone born in the U.S but from Mexican ethnicity might be asked “Where are you from?” or “where were you born?” The goal of this project is to document what those inequalities are and then propose solutions of things that programs, and universities can do to address some of these issues. It’s important to acknowledge that as an institution St. Lawrence university must do a better job of preparing its students for their time abroad. It is clear that students can’t avoid facing inequalities, but they should be able to have a support system in the countries where they are studying. They should also be able to find spaces on campus where they can speak up about their experiences without feeling like they must hold back some of the negative experiences they felt. This project will hopefully be the start of a wider conversation at SLU about this topic in order to help progress happen.

In the modern era, video calling platforms like Zoom and Google Meet have become a part of many's daily lives. We have begun to rely on these platforms for consistent and important communications personally and professionally. To evaluate the networking functionality of both applications I conducted various experiments entailing the use of a Rasberry Pi to effectively simulate loss, jitter, and delay. Utilizing audience experience scores as a measure of quality we can effectively examine the effects of such simulations on the various application layer networking settings on both web applications. As expected, the audience scores were on average lesser for those with more degraded conditions but in varying severity for Google Meet and Zoom.

For many children in the US, school is the first time that they are away from their families for an extended period of time. Everything from the curriculum and course materials to interactions with peers and teachers impact their development and perception of the world. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 77% of English Language Learners in the US education system identify as Hispanic, leading us to conclude that a large percent identify as Latino (2015). Rather than the historic labels of “English as a Second Language” and “English Language Learner,” there is a push for a widespread adoption of the term multilingual because it takes English off its centralized pedestal and replaces the deficit mindset with showcasing the great strength of being able to speak multiple languages. It is imperative to recognize the history of cultural assimilation present in ESL/ELL programs in the US. Language is a carrier of culture and by prioritizing English above all else, it simultaneously serves as a form of cultural erasure and pressure to assimilate into the historically dominant (white/English monolingual) culture in the US. One of the core values taught in the US education system is independence: maximize every opportunity for your own personal gain. On the other hand, interdependence, a value at the core of Latino culture, promotes valuing the interconnected world we all live in. What if we taught children how to better empathize with one another rather than compete with them? Reconstructing the US elementary education system with interdependence, multilingualism, the problem-posing model, and radical love at its core will help foster empathy and better serve students of all backgrounds.

Mayan Archaeology, as a discipline steeped in colonialism and imperialism, has long been at odds with itself. Joyce Marcus introduced this idea in 1983 in her paper “Lowland Maya Archaeology at the Crossroads,” and since then, Mayan archaeologists have wrestled with the nature of their responsibility to contemporary Mayan communities. This is part of a larger call for decolonization in academia.  The aim of this paper is to examine this critical juncture as it relates to archaeologists investigating the Mayan past. Building on research from the early part of the twenty-first century, this paper traces the history of Mayan Archaeology from its inception to the present to discuss how larger changes in archaeology and anthropology have directly impacted studies of the Mayan past. This paper argues that, despite best intentions, representations of Mayan identities and the participation of Mayan communities, is an ongoing struggle. Most recently, I argue that recent scientific advances, which get popular attention, tend to overshadow parallel efforts to incorporate Mayan perspectives.

The present study investigated the relationship between delay discounting and the use of ChatGPT in academic settings. It was hypothesized that students who discount delays more steeply (i.e. are more impulsive) would be more accepting of using ChatGPT for academic work. A pilot study suggested that SLU students who agree that ChatGPT should be used within academic settings were more likely to discount at a steeper rate. The current research expanded those results by recruiting a broader sample of college students from the US and Canada. This work contributes to ongoing discourse surrounding the use of AI technology in the classroom.

Through this Travel Grant, I received funding to visit Dunedin, New Zealand, and study environmental—economics, specifically how ecotourism spaces are managed sustainably and stimulate the economy while conserving ecological integrity.

How is ecotourism managed, specifically hiking and skiing areas, to create opportunities for all visitors to enjoy nature while protecting the environment and adapting to climate change to maintain use for future generations?

How are such large numbers of tourists managed in NZ while maintaining some of the world's cleanest and most successful trail systems?

PEGASUS – A Hybrid Genome Assembly Software Using Nextflow Pipelines

James Lubkowitz¹, Julie Dragon^2,3, Emily Guswa²

Faculty Advisor: Ed Harcourt¹

1 St. Lawrence University, NY, USA

2 Vermont Biomedical Research Network, University of Vermont, VT, USA

3 Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, University of Vermont, VT, USA

Abstract

It is difficult to understand an organism’s genetic composition and biology without a reference genome. For this reason, genome assembly is a critical step in enhancing our grasp of biological systems. This knowledge is pivotal in deciphering how complex phenotypes, including those associated with conditions such as cancer, vary across populations. Identifying genetic markers associated with diseases or distinct populations has the potential for early identification and treatment as well as enhancing our understanding of genetic variation and diversity across species.

Recent advances in sequencing technology, particularly the ability to generate longer fragments of DNA, have allowed for improved analysis and more effective bioinformatic workflows. Integrating both short-read and long-read sequencing approaches presents an exciting opportunity to achieve superior genome quality and coverage in a short time while maintaining cost-efficiency.

We present a comprehensive bioinformatics pipeline developed using Nextflow, a programming language designed for containerized and paralleled software tools, to assemble genomes using next generation sequencing results.

With the massive computational power required, this pipeline is developed for implementation on a high-performance computing cluster. Furthermore, it is parallelized for accelerated processing and containerized in Singularity to ensure the reproducibility of results across varying environments and machines. Nextflow's modular design enables independent containerization of each process, enhancing pipeline flexibility and adaptability for diverse genomics research.

We developed and tested our pipeline using short- and long- read sequences of the South American Wandering Spider and Brown Bullhead Catfish from the Vermont Biomedical Research Network at the UVM Larner College of Medicine. Using these systems as models, we describe the first reference genomes for Cupiennius salei (South American Wandering Spider) and Ameiurus nebulosus (Brown Bullhead Catfish) which highlights PEGASUS’s potential to advance genomic research in any system.

As emotionally aware AI capable of recognizing, understanding, expressing, and responding to human emotion develops, one must consider its potential to offset the effects of the loneliness epidemic in Japan. To investigate this idea further, I received funding to attend Tech Summit’s Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Conference in Tokyo, a place where this technology is already being implemented.

1. Why is loneliness so prevalent in Japan?

2. What can be done to rectify Japan’s loneliness epidemic? Can it be done through connections with artificial intelligence? Can artificial intelligence be used as a tool to develop social confidence? Is either case ethical?

Healthcare crises, including workforce shortages and medical errors, are attributed to gender-based wage disparities and suboptimal working conditions. This study investigates interventions addressing these disparities and their impact on patient safety, mitigation of malpractice cost, and the provision of global public goods. Utilizing a multifaceted methodology integrating descriptive statistics and qualitative analysis, the research examines key factors influencing healthcare outcomes. Quantitative data on burnout rates, workforce shortages, and medical malpractice claims are analyzed alongside qualitative insights from surveys of healthcare professionals. Key findings reveal high rates of nurse burnout and workforce shortages contributing to medical malpractice claims, particularly among immigrant and female-dominated occupations, leading to market failures. Urgent collective action is needed to reform the healthcare system, focusing on ongoing training, supervision, and reallocating resources to address systemic inefficiencies. By addressing gender disparities and underinvestment in lower-paying jobs, systemic reforms can optimize the healthcare workforce, enhance patient safety, ensure equitable access to quality care, and contribute to the provision of global public goods.

Pseudoephedrine is an alkaloid molecule that has been used as the active ingredient in many behind-the-counter cold and flu medications. It is one of the best molecules on the market for relieving decongestion, but in recent years it has been used in more illicit activities, like the production of methamphetamines. Pseudoephedrine works in the body as a bronchodilator, which relieves the symptoms of decongestion for those who have a cold or the flu. Additionally, pseudoephedrine is very similar structurally to amphetamines, which allows it to be used as a starting material in the production of methamphetamines. While many laws have been put into place in order to regulate the selling of medications using pseudoephedrine, this molecule still proves to be the most effective at relieving congestion. The benefits and consequences of marketing and production of pseudoephedrine have impacted many different aspects of American laws, environmental regulation, and public health.

This project explored a process for model selection and statistical inference that arises when conventional methods, such as ordinary least squares, are inadequate for addressing the data at hand. More specifically, we explored generalized linear models (GLMs) as a solution that allows for the analysis of responses that may not conform to the assumption of normality. We applied GLMs to a count dataset on army-ant following bird species in Peru collected by Dr. Susan Willson (Biology). The analysis strived to understand how behavioral interactions between five syntopic obligate army-ant following bird species influenced their individual mean foraging successes. By employing negative binomial and logistic regression models, we aimed to understand how aggressive interactions within conspecifics and heterospecifics compare across these five species. The analysis evaluated different GLM candidates and walked through the process of identifying optimal models. Pairwise comparisons were conducted on the final models using the emmeans package from R with emphasis on interpreting behavioral interactions between species.

This paper seeks to quantify the intricate relationship between exports and research and development spending. It has been previously shown that export totals and R&D spending are correlated, but this paper quantifies this relationship at the country level. Using extensive data across forty country-sector level, this research shows the effects of spending on research and development for each sector based on countries’ factors, such as export share and terms of trade, and provides a broader look into the relationship than other papers on the subject. This is applicable as governments can often try to use subsidies for research and development to expand industries in their nation, and this paper serves to provide better insight into the direct effect this causes. This paper allows for better forecasting of the results of this practice.

Survival Analysis is a type of statistical analysis that is used for modeling time-to-event data, or data that summarizes how long it will take for a certain event to occur. Depending on the data and the goal of the analysis, survival analysis can be used in various ways including Kaplan Meier Curves, Log Rank tests, Cox Proportional Hazards analysis, and more. One of the most common applications of survival analysis is comparing groups of patients in medical research. In this presentation, I will demonstrate examples of survival analysis with medical case study data sets, looking at the difference in survival probabilities and hazard ratios for patients with liver disease and heart failure patients. I will also demonstrate how different R packages were used to make the computation easier for fitting models, running statistical tests, and plotting the data.

Vitamin D deficiency is a common global issue. In the past, it has caused an epidemic of diseases and health related problems. Although the spread of vitamin D deficiency related diseases have been mitigated, millions of people are still affected by the deficiency today. It’s important to be aware of and to understand the research of the chemical background and impacts that this molecule has on the body in order to prevent and treat vitamin D deficiency. Research has shown the molecule improves muscle strength, prevents cancer metastasis, and decreases the occurrence of infections. However, research has also shown that excessive supplementation can have vastly negative effects. There is still controversy around the benefits and harm of this molecule. More research is needed to determine a common conclusion. Through the involvement that the molecule has in immune support and cellular regulation, vitamin D serves a key role for various processes in the body.

Acridine dyes are commonly used for DNA-drug interaction studies because their polycyclic, planar, and aromatic structures can intercalate between adjacent DNA bases, stopping transcription and serving as potential chemotherapeutic agents. In my research, I have prepared a number of acridine derivatives to better understand DNA-ligand interactions and structure-activity relationships. These derivatives were prepared using two approaches: (1) by directly modifying proflavine with various reactions (e.g., amine acylation and aromatic substitution) and (2) by using the Ullman-Goldberg cross-coupling reaction to build up the acridine core, which allows for the introduction of more substituents via later nucleophilic substitution of the resultant 9-chloroacridines. I have also investigated the methylation of the aromatic acridine nitrogen to render the resulting products water-soluble and facilitate binding studies with DNA via a range of techniques, including melting point, viscosity, circular dichroism (CD), and kinetics. These studies will provide insight into how various functional groups affect the binding modes and intercalation properties of acridine derivatives.

Today, a large component of network data transfer comes from online video games. This project focuses on the first person-shooter game, Overwatch 2, and motor vehicle soccer game, Rocket League, and studies the effects of delay and jitter over the network while playing the game. The Mean Opinion Score (MOS), which varies from person to person, is a ranking between 1-5 that gives an idea of how well an application is performing over the network. MOS, along with qualitative data, is taken during gameplay when the ethernet connection to the network is tampered with using a Raspberry Pi. Data analysis reveals the levels where game quality is substantially affected by network degradation and gives an idea of how these games try to combat degradations during fast-paced, action-packed gameplay.

The USDA defines food insecurity as a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food. In this project we are interested in exploring food insecurity throughout counties in the U.S. and contributing factors. Using linear regression we found that a higher cost per meal is associated with a lower food insecurity rate, perhaps because areas with a higher meal cost are more affluent. We also find that counties with a higher proportion of white residents have a lower food insecurity rate on average, even after accounting for other predictor effects.

According to Herek (2000), sexuality is comprised of five distinct components: sexual identity, sexual behaviors, sexual attraction, romantic attraction, and community membership. Importantly, these components do not always perfectly align. For some these diverging constructs may represent sexual fluidity, for others this incongruity may be more reflective of ongoing identity development or context specific factors (e.g., opportunity, restricted access to preferred sexual partners; Diamond, 2022). The present study investigated the ways in which sexual identities, sexual histories, and sexual and romantic attraction are distinct constructs that often diverge.

Data for this survey was collected as part of a longitudinal study on ovulation and changes in sexual attraction. Participants were recruited from the SLU student body between February and November 2023. All participants were assigned the sex of female at birth, over the age of 18, and were not currently taking hormonal medications (i.e., hormonal birth control). Out of the 68 participants who completed this survey, 59 identified as cisgender women (86.76%), 36 identified as either completely or mostly straight (52.94%), 49 identified as white (72.06%). The average age was 19.53 (SD = 1.34). Participants completed a confidential survey which included demographic questions (age, gender, sexuality), an adapted version of the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire (Trotter & Alderson, 2007) and two questions about the degree to which they typically experience romantic and sexual attraction toward members of different gender identity groups (e.g., “On a day-to-day basis, what percentage (0-100%) do you currently feel romantically attracted to certain genders compared to others?”). Participants were offered research participation credit for their introductory psychology course or $5 for completing this first stage of the larger longitudinal study.

The results of this study indicated that eight (11.8%) participants engaged in sexual behaviors that did not strictly align with their current sexual identity (e.g., heavy petting with women while identifying as completely straight). Furthermore, 37 (54.41%) of participants reported experiencing sexual attraction that diverged from their romantic attraction. Queer participants were significantly more likely to report a divergence in these attractions than straight participants. Data on prevalence of sexual behaviors will be reported in the poster.

These findings further illustrate that sexual identity, romantic and sexual attraction, and sexual behavior are distinct constructs that sometimes diverge. Of particular significance was the incongruity between feelings of romantic and sexual attraction. These results emphasize the importance of taking a more holistic, multi-domain approach to studying human sexuality.

Studies have shown that melatonin can be used for the treatment of sleep disorders and other neurological disorders that affect the circadian rhythm. Research on melatonin has shown that it is one way to help treat sleep disorders, as synthetic supplementation of the molecule can help humans become drowsy faster. However, its use in other neurological disorders like ADHD has not been as prevalent, even though it is effective in the studies found. Future research is needed to explore the impacts of melatonin on individuals with these neurological disorders. However, those who took the melatonin treatment were able to fall asleep relatively faster than those who didn’t.

UVB rays have been proven to be harmful to zooplankton copepods, and in nature will cause them to vertically migrate to deeper waters. While these copepods have body pigmentation that can protect them from UV rays, this is not enough. Kettle bogs are the typical habitat for these copepods, which have higher natural levels of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) which has been proven to reduce UV penetration into the water, potentially acting as a “sunscreen” in the water. The two main goals of my experiments were to determine the impacts of a) different types of light, and b) different levels of DOC (or “sunscreen”) on behavioral responses of copepods. This research tests copepods’ ability to sense and respond to different levels of light. Light treatments included UVB light, visible grow [LED] lights, and complete darkness. The water treatments included their natural habitat of Sevey’s bog water (high DOC), diluted Cranberry Lake water (medium DOC), and spring water (low/no DOC). As predicted, copepods felt the harsher conditions of the UVB light compared to other light treatments and ran for shelter underneath the plexiglass covering (which has been shown to filter out UVB light). Additionally, they were less affected by the UVB light and ran for shelter less often in waters with higher DOC compared to other water treatments, which acts as a sunscreen to filter out some level of UV light.

Drinking water fountains and water bottle filling stations can be a breeding ground for bacteria that originate either from the environment or from the people that use these stations. The ability of bacteria to survive on surfaces depends on their capability to become attached to the surface of the bottle filling stations and form biofilms. Biofilms are communities of bacteria that are surrounded by an extracellular matrix which renders them resistant to disinfecting agents. This extracellular matrix can be composed of a mixture of macromolecules such as polysaccharides, proteoglycans, and amyloid proteins. The purpose of this study was to understand the kinetics of the formation of biofilms and attachment of amyloid proteins. Three bacterial strains (Acidovorax, Deinococcus, Rhizobium rosettiformans) previously isolated from water bottle filling stations were selected for analysis. The bacteria were grown in R2A solid media and isolated colonies were used to inoculate R2A liquid media. The absorbance at 600 nm was monitored every 24 hours for 6 days in order to construct growth curves for each of the four strains. For determining biofilm formation, the crystal violet biofilm assay was utilized. Amyloid production was detected using the thioflavin-T assay at different time points during growth. It was determined that Rhizobium rosettiformans had the highest ability to form biofilm and amyloid protein production. However, Deinococcus had the highest growth.

The purpose of this poster is to present an analysis of St. Lawrence University academic building classroom use each semester over the past ten years. Data was collected between the years 2013 and 2023 on classroom use via the EMS registration system and analyzed using ESRI ArcGIS Applications. The data was imported into ArcGIS Pro to utilize the Space-Time Cube geoprocessing tool in order to visualize changes in academic classroom use over time. Based on the generated Space-Time Cube, displaying space in two dimensions and time in the third dimensions, patterns of classroom use were detected, with a higher percentage recorded during the fall semesters when compared to the spring semesters, and a shift in primary use over the ten years of study data collected. This research demonstrates that classroom use is building-dependent across campus, with a few classrooms heavily used or many classrooms used very little. Because of the multiple reservation systems used by St. Lawrence, unofficial room use, varied semester dates, and a lack of transparency in what goes into the utilization calculations, there is a degree of error in the data represented numerically when looking at the entirety of campus. This analysis of classroom use is important as it can be used to restructure building utility in order to create a more energy-efficient campus, ease the workload of maintenance workers, and cut back on fuel use during the winter months.

Carbon nanotubes have unique physio-chemical properties making them ideal and effective cylindrical nanostructures capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier (Henna et al. 2020). Their ability to do this has opened new routes of neuroscientific research to explore their multiple applications both in vivo and in vitro such as neuronal differentiation, neural stimulation, neurooncology, neuro regeneration, neuroprotection, functional neurosurgery, stroke, and drug addiction (Xiang et al. 2020). Although CNTs exhibit extensive potential applications, they also present potential toxic side effects that have yet to be fully understood.

In the present study, a fluorescence-based CyQUANT Direct Cell Proliferation Assay was performed to assess the viability of mouse hippocampal neuronal cells (HT22) under different DNA-wrapped single-walled CNT (SWCNT) concentrations (0 ng/mL, 1 ng/mL, 5 ng/mL, 50 ng/mL) at two different exposure times (4 and 8 hours) and three recovery periods (0, 24, and 48 hours). The main objective was to understand how DNA-wrapped single-walled carbon nanotubes affect HT22 cell viability to deepen our understanding of their cytotoxic nature. We hypothesized that at high concentrations (50 ng/mL), longer exposure times (8 hours), and longer recovery periods (48 hours) cell viability would decrease.

For the 0-hour recovery period group, cell viability was measured immediately after both exposure times (4 and 8 hours) concluded. After a 4-hour CNT exposure, there weren’t any significant differences between any of the treatment groups (0, 1, 5, 50 ng/mL) (one-way ANOVA: F= 1.77, df=3, p>0.05). After an 8-hour CNT exposure, the 0 ng/mL treatment group had a significantly higher HT22 cell viability than the 1 ng/mL and 5 ng/mL groups by 22% based on the one-way ANOVA with post-hoc Tukey HSD test results (F= 3.85, df=3, p= 0.025). However, cell viability did not decrease in a dose-dependent manner as CNT concentration increased.

For the long-term recovery periods (24 and 48 hours) both CNT exposure groups (4 and 8 hours) showed no significant differences in cell viability between any of their respective treatment groups (0, 1, 5, 50 ng/mL) (one-way ANOVA, p>0.05). These findings reveal that CNTs do not exhibit any major in vitro cytotoxicity when used at low concentrations (0-50 ng/mL) considering cell viability didn’t significantly change across groups regardless of increasing CNT concentration, exposure time, and recovery period. By establishing that CNTs are not toxic at the concentrations used in this study, future studies can determine whether they exhibit neuroprotective effects in an in vitro stroke model.

In the fall of 2023, I received a $900 grant from the Center of International and Intercultural Studies, allowing me to explore Vienna, Austria. Thanks to my project titled “Vienna’s Historic Venues and the Timeless Beauty of Classical Music” I was able to immerse myself into Viennas rich musical heritage. This trip allowed me to learn from some of the greatest classical musicians of the world, and deepened my understanding of pieces of music that have been part of my life for years. Since this trip I have gained a much deeper understanding and appreciation for classical music that I have been able to utilize in music ensembles I am a part of. I plan on outlining this insight in my presentation at the festival of sciences. I arrived in Vienna the night of November 2nd, 2023 and stayed there until November 5th. I spent my time in Vienna attending Classical music concerts, including choirs and string quartets. I attended a string quartet concert at St. Peter’s Catholic Church which played songs by composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and Vivaldi. Standout locations I got the chance to visit include the Vienna Opera House and the Mozart House. At the festival of sciences I plan on creating a poster that outlines all I did during my time in Vienna. My presentation will focus on the history of classical music in Vienna, the music I listened to at concerts I attended and their composers' relation with the city and the history of Mozart, someone who I spent a lot of time listening to and learning about in the city.

Our research explores how STEM study abroad opportunities perpetuate inequality among pre-health professions students, especially pre-medicine students. Studying abroad is a rapidly growing component of higher education. However, not all students have equal opportunities to study abroad: wealthier, white students study abroad at much higher rates than their lower-income, student-of-color peers. Additionally, STEM students study abroad at much lower rates than social science and humanities students. Prior research has explored the highly competitive pre-medicine track and the ways in which inequality pushes some students off the track, such as the chilly climate that students of color and women experience. However, little research has explored how academic experiences outside the traditional college classroom impact inequality in medical school and other pre-health professions trajectories. Our research questions are: how do health-related study abroad programs benefit pre-health professions students? And, due to access problems, how do these programs perpetuate inequality in the medical field? Additionally, our questions are: What pathways lead students into participating in a STEM study abroad program? What barriers made attending the program easier or harder for some students than others?

France has witnessed the rise of many great scientists that have widely impacted all fields of science, from Blaise Pascal in Physics to Antoine-Augustin Parmentier in Biology. As you look at the history of French scientists, you cannot forget to mention Marie Curie: “Mother of modern Physics” (Lewis) and Louis Pasteur: “Father of Modern Microbiology” (Micropia).

I will be presenting on the enrichment grant I got from (CIIS) during my study abroad semester in Toulouse,France, to travel to the museums of these two scientists namely, Musée Curie located in 5th arrondissement at 1, rue Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris; Pasteur Museum 25 rue du Docteur Roux - 75015 Paris and Louis Pasteur’s family home – 43 Rue Pasteur, 39100 Dole; to learn more about the findings and their journey that led them to their discoveries. The laboratories contain first hand equipment that were used in their discoveries, personal and laboratory journals where they documented steps towards their findings and the obstacles, they faced to reach their goals (EU Touring). This research ties in well with the ideas of liberal arts education that I have learnt at St Lawrence. St Lawrence encourages its students to take what they learn in their classes into the real world and gain hand on experience.

Through the Travel Enrichment Grant, I gained financial support to visit London, UK, and delve into the vibrant tapestry of Indian history and culture. Being of Indian descent, I've been distanced from my Indian heritage since childhood and eagerly anticipated reconnecting through this immersive experience.​

Are there culinary tours or experiences in London that focus specifically on exploring Indian food and its cultural significance?​

How did the Indian community establish itself in London historically, and what were the pivotal moments in its development?

Sumak Kawsay, otherwise known as Buen Vivir, can be roughly translated to good living. This anti-Cartesian philosophy primarily follows the teachings of Juan de Velasco who believed humans are one with nature. Seeing as humans and nature are one, he advocated for the protection of the environment because how are we supposed to have dignity if we are harming a piece of us? If we do not have dignity, how can we be happy? In other words, Buen Vivir challenges the modernity model which teaches society that happiness can only be achieved when seeking a better life through industrialization and indulging in consumer culture. Whereas the Cartesians have instilled the notion of using mechanisms of minoritization (a system in which there will always be an exploiter and an exploitee) to achieve a better life, followers of Buen Vivir believe in uplifting their community to achieve a satisfactory life. But how does a biocentric philosophy like Buen Vivir improve the quality of one’s life? In this presentation, we’ll explore how incorporating Buen Vivir into the Ecuadorian constitution has impacted the lives of thousands of Ecuadorians on a political, economic, and social level.

Oncoids are coated, sand- to pebble-size carbonate grains that form in shallow-marine, lacustrine, and fluvial temperate and tropical settings. A cortex of commonly partially overlapping laminae forms by the precipitation of calcium carbonate and the adhesion of fine particles onto a microbially-coated nucleus. Fluvial oncoids are poorly documented and not well understood compared to their marine and lacustrine counterparts. This research aims to gain a better understanding of their fabric and origin by analyzing modern fluvial oncoids from the Dunn’s River near Ocho Rios, Jamaica, a modern tufa depositional system comprised of cascading falls and pools on top of the Miocene and Pliocene limestones. A total of 2.8 kg of oncoid-bearing sediment was randomly hand-collected from the bottom of seven different pools located below the cascading falls. Collected oncoids were granulometrically and petrographically analyzed for their size, shape, and the internal fabric. Selected specimens were microdrilled and powdered for radiocarbon dating, stable isotope analysis, and x-ray diffraction. Oncoids are spherical or ellipsoidal, with their shape being controlled by the shape and number of their nuclei, the latter mostly being carbonate and less commonly igneous particles. Mineralogy is dominated by low-Mg calcite, and internal fabric exhibits an alternation light and dark lamina sets around the nucleus. The sets are often underdeveloped, discontinuous, vary in width, and contain thinner, indiscriminate laminae within. The more irregularly shaped oncoids contain fewer lamina sets and indicate effective mechanical abrasion in the shallow-water pools. Radiocarbon dating yields conventional ages of oncoids between 3095 and 3225 BP, with the outermost lamina sets 55 to 80 years older than the innermost sets. This indicates that the oncoid ¹⁴C age has been affected by the freshwater reservoir effect by incorporating older ¹⁴C from water rich in dissolved older tufa deposits. This further suggests that Jamaican tufa is at least 3225 years old. The study has broader implications as it challenges the importance of fluvial oncoids as paleoclimatic indicators.

Peter Diorio FYS Molecules That Change History

Carbon dioxide emissions from cars are an ongoing issue and one of the leading causes of climate change. Ethanol that is mixed with fuel has been shown to reduce the number of emissions that come from the exhaust of cars. The car you drive every day has ethanol in it whether it is a small amount or almost 90% there is some amount of ethanol most gas. What researchers are still trying to figure out is how they can use more ethanol to create a 100% renewable fuel. Formula 1 which is the most prestigious racing league in the world is trying to make a 100% Renewable fuel by 2030. More than 90% of the gas stations in the United States use ethanol in their fuel yet people are still trying to find a fully renewable ethanol-based gas. Ethanol has been used to reduce the number of emissions but there is still more research and development too great a fully renewable ethanol-based gas.

This research delves into the multifaceted experiences of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) students at predominantly white institutions, asking them to reflect on their journeys as they are progressing through their academic careers with the ultimate goal of successfully graduating. College is a difficult experience for any student, but it’s especially difficult for students of color attending a predominantly white institution (PWI) such as St Lawrence. By conducting in-depth interviews, I aimed to gain a nuanced understanding of the unique challenges, barriers, and triumphs that BIPOC students encounter throughout their academic tenure here. I also reflected on my own experiences at SLU and how they have shaped my own educational tenure, especially as a senior now.

Through this research, I am seeking to shed light on the various socio-cultural, academic and systematic factors that impact the educational trajectories of BIPOC students at SLU. By intentionally amplifying their voices, validating their narratives and contributing to the ongoing dialogue surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion, I aim to change the discourse and writing around our experiences. I am in the process of producing an ethnographic paper which examines the motivations and expectations BIPOC students had before they arrived, the challenges and achievements they have experienced here on campus, and their hopes and fears for SLU’s future as an inclusive community for BIPOC students. I hope my work will serve as a catalyst for introspection, dialogue, and action among students, faculty, and staff at the university, members of the local community, and future students. The goal at the end of the day is to foster a more inclusive and equitable educational environment.

Riley Crosby

FYS: Molecules That Changed History

The Mastermind Behind Your Racing Heart

Fun, or potentially scary depending on your perspective, activities like skydiving, bungee jumping, and white-water rafting all have one thing in common. An intense, exciting rush caused by adrenaline. Since the beginning of time, adrenaline has been drastically improving the lives of almost every animal to ever exist. It is the main contributor to the fight or flight response, triggered when encountering danger or uncertainty, providing the energy needed to survive in life-threatening situations. In more recent years, autoinjectors filled with adrenaline have been used to combat severe anaphylaxis. Some modern research shows that an excess of adrenaline in the body can increase the longevity and productivity of immune cells, paving a new path for cancer research. Not only does adrenaline affect physiology, but it also affects psychology. Adrenaline, while natural, can become addictive in the same way opioids become addictive, chasing a high that is unattainable after the original high. This poses health risks for individuals who are caught pursuing this adrenaline rush. Overall, the impact adrenaline has had on human history has been biologically, economically, and socially beneficial for everyone.

Road expansion likely exacerbates barriers to species movement. Within British Columbia’s south Okanagan valley there is particular concern that amphibian species are vulnerable to road effects in their annual movements from upland overwintering habitat to lowland breeding areas. A before after control (BACA) impact approach to assess amphibian movement along Highway 97 and the implementation of a three kilometer four-lane highway expansion project was constructed through 2010 and open to traffic use in 2011. Amphibian surveys were conducted to determine the location (2010) of mitigation fencing and culverts (2011-2012). To evaluate long term impact of mitigation three culverts were setup with camera traps from 23 May to 1 Sept. 2023. The total number of trapped camera images was 21,771 and took 75 hours to manually assess; 1,481 animal detection's were made ,with cats being the most common species and only 12 frogs. Camera trapping devices though very useful in data collection and monitoring of mitigation effectiveness, do so through producing enormous amounts of data. Data management and analysis is both time-consuming and difficult. Recent technological developments in Artificial Intelligence offer a promising solution for mammals, but have yet to be feasible for cold blooded species. Future research should examine before and after mitigation impact studies with a particular focus on biological response variables, such as broader population effects of mitigation.

The study of the psychosocial can be better understood as an intersection between psychological and sociological study, interweaving the psychological and social aspects of human behavior. “Psychosocial studies holds that conventional distinctions found in many areas of sociology and psychology between the 'psychological' and the 'social' are untenable and that our 'inner' and 'outer' worlds are empirically and theoretically inseparable” (Department of Psychosocial Studies, Birkbeck University of London). With a directed focus on psychosocial studies, this application to this research aims to develop a deeper relationship with a multidisciplinary understanding of the connections between our personal perceptions of identity as it relates to social structures in a foreign setting. The objective of this investigation is to distinctly explore the relationship between the development and self-established understanding of cultural identity and geographic displacement in order to complete studies in higher education. The distinction between a western country and any other potential foreign space is with the intention to study what manifests with such a stark contrast between Middle Eastern and Western spaces. With differences in familial and religious values, geographic placement, and languages spoken (among many other factors), the interest is focused in understanding how these changes aide shifts in the development of cultural identity. Considering that identity is fluid and presents itself in an innumerable quantity of ways, it should be made clear that the representations of identity in this study will be personally identified- meaning that in each case, a respondent will describe their personal experience with their identity and how they experienced conflict, confusion, or inconsistencies that lead to the development of their perceived identity. By touching upon this aspect of personal identity and leaving responses open-ended, the study accesses a level of personal authenticity and personality that is deeply connected to each person and their own experiences within the parameters set by the study. The study’s development alongside advising faculty Dr. Mahrou Zhaf aims to allow for a greater understanding of how personal perceived cultural identity is affected by factors such as studying in a Western foreign country to complete a level of higher education, for any reason.

The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) has transformed as a movement in the last decade across Canada and the United States in response to the ongoing violence against Indigenous women and girls. This crisis grows by the day, and Native women and girls’ safety, livelihood, and well-being deserve to be a priority in the U.S. This qualitative study observes the historical and contemporary relationship between Indigenous women and girls, law enforcement, and state officials in the MMIWG crisis through a decolonial lens. The study conducted a series of brief interviews with non-Native and Native American women in three states: Alaska, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. All participants in this study work directly in aid of the crisis and have dedicated their lives to MMIWG. The study hopes to provide a cohesive narrative of what has been done in the last decade and make further suggestions for implementation on local, state, and federal scales.

Unsurprisingly, chronic stress in college students results in decreased mental and physiological health, and lowers academic performance. One risk factor for negative mental and physiological health is greater exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which are events related to mental and physical abuse, neglect, divorce, family violence, parental mental health issues, and other factors that contribute to toxic stress under the age of 18. Research has shown that college students who have experienced more ACEs are at risk for greater levels of anxiety, depression, and loneliness. To support their students, institutions of higher education have initiated a variety of wellness programs designed to enhance student mental health. For example, animal-assisted de-stress programs have become popular, and their effectiveness in decreasing anxiety and depression in college students demonstrated in previous research. This study investigated how interacting with pets during a de-stress event influences physiological, cognitive, and emotional measures, and to what extent ACEs may mediate these effects, a relationship that, to this author’s knowledge, has not yet been explored. In this study, before and after a 30-minute pet de-stress session (with dogs or a cat), St. Lawrence University students (N = 26) provided physiological measures (heart rate, blood pressure) and completed a series of questionnaires assessing a variety of measures, including personality, anxiety, depression, perceived social support, resilience and ACEs. Demographic measures were also recorded. The results of this study support evidence that interacting with pets can provide psychological and physiological benefits and promote wellness. It may also provide some insight into how ACEs influence stress-related perceptions, and the potential efficacy of pet-assisted activities designed to promote well-being.

With increased incidence of mental distress following the COVID-19 pandemic, academic institutions have prioritized supporting student mental health. In 2021, along with other initiatives, St. Lawrence University began a pet de-stress program to promote wellness among its students. This program provides students with on-campus access to dogs and/or cats (owned by faculty, staff, and community members) in an informal setting on Friday afternoons. The purpose of this study was to conduct a preliminary evaluation of SLU’s pet de-stress program. Willing student attendees (N = 30), immediately following their time in the de-stress session, completed a brief questionnaire in which they rated their experiences and perceptions on several factors, including stress level and mood. They also provided recommendations for program improvements. Findings showed that 100% of participants evaluated the experience favorably in terms of their enjoyment. 87% of participants reported reduced stress, and 90% reported improved mood. This self-selected sample consisted primarily of women-identifying (70%), white/Caucasian (83%), and first-year (37%) students. Of those students, 83% had attended a de-stress session in the past, and 93% had pets at home, mostly dogs and cats. Their reasons for attending the session included loving animals and missing pets at home. Suggestions for improvement included increasing the number of animals at the sessions and providing a more suitable location and comfortable environment. Results of this study will be provided to St. Lawrence University’s Director of Wellness Education.

Psychedelic drugs have a questionable place in history and often induce negative feelings in the general public. Due to societal divides and long-standing stigma, the full potential benefits of the entire psychedelic drug class remain unknown or not yet fully explored. Despite the barriers against psychedelic research, some molecules such as psilocybin and psilocin have shown possible potential in acting as healing agents for addiction, medical depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, Alzheimer's, and more medical and social issues that society has faced and continues to face today. With further research being allowed and a more open-minded exploration of this class of drugs medical professionals and researchers may be able to combat various mental health issues which plague modern society.

Designated in 2012, the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve is the first area in the southern hemisphere to be protected from light pollution and remains the largest such area in the world to this day, comprised of approximately 4,367 sq. km. As a result, it offers increasingly rare and unparalleled opportunities for astronomy due to the regulation of artificial lighting throughout the reserve, and remains the premier location for unhindered stargazing, described as, “a global flagship for promoting dark skies and astro-tourism.” Conducted by Tekapo Adventures, the Cass Valley Backcountry Tour is an educational, 3-hour, offroad tour of the Cass Valley, including opportunities to see Glenmore Station, New Zealand’s famous Merino Wool Station, fauna such as Merino High-Country sheep, Red Deer, and the endangered Black Silt, as well as private lookouts surrounding Lake Tekapo, Lake Alexandrina, Glaciers, and the apline environments of the renown, and remote, Cass Valley. Visiting the Mt. John Observatory has furthered my interest in the astronomical sciences and has provided invaluable insight into applying for graduate school, as I intend to progress into an Astrophysics Ph.D. program following my undergraduate education. Being able to visit a professional research institution will expand my perspective as a graduate student and completing hands-on observations of the southern hemisphere’s sky is incomparable to what can be taught in a classroom in Canton, NY. Having the opportunity to observe one of Earth’s rarest environments on the Cass Valley Backcountry Tour has offered powerful reinforcement of the planet’s stunning importance and power. As a Physics major, I study the natural phenomenons of the world around us, which means I have a unique appreciation for the workings of the universe, both natural and physical. In visiting the Mackenzie High Country and Cass Valley with this outing, I have once again felt at peace with my role in the environment, positively impacting my philosophy and mindset as I approach the next stages of both my academic and personal lives.

This is going to be a presentation that takes a competitive video game like rainbow six siege and looks into how different internet connectivity options like wifi and ethernet effect the gaming experience.

Our world today relies heavily on plastics (polymers) that are hazardous for the environment in both the unsustainable production of these materials from petroleum feedstocks and the negative impacts of plastic waste. While most commercial polymers cannot be efficiently degraded back to their monomers, developing polymers that can be depolymerized could facilitate recycling, increasing the sustainability of polymers. Self-immolative polymers have the ability to address these challenges because they readily fragment back into the monomer if an appropriate catalyst or initiator is introduced above a threshold known as the ceiling temperature. In this project we looked at the reactivity of phenylglyoxal as a comonomer in polymerization with o-phthalaldehyde (OPA). The OPA monomer is known to polymerize at temperatures below -38 ºC under cationic and anionic polymerizations conditions. In our studies, we observed incorporation of both monomers to form a copolymer, though homopolymerizaiton of phenylglyoxal was unsuccessful. Future research will focus on quantifying the monomer ratio in the copolymer and analyzing the thermal and thermodynamic of these novel copolymers.

Anyone who has played video games has experienced "lag" at some point, and has likely been frustrated by their inability to perform under "laggy" conditions. For users of games, lag appears to be one universal attribute which is either present or not, and is caused by bad internet, but this could not be further from the truth. In reality online gaming involves a complex network of computers, and there are many different network conditions which could cause apparent “lag”. In this presentation I will test different types of network degradation across two games: League of Legends, a top-down arena battle game, and Valorant, a fast-paced first person shooter. To simulate “lag” I will be testing four types of network degradation: increased delay, increased jitter, increased loss, and decreased bandwidth. User experience will be measured using a Quality of Experience (QoE) survey, and from these results I will determine which types of network conditions have the greatest impact on each type of game, in order to better understand how to maintain the best user experience under sub-optimal network conditions.