Undergraduate Research Posters 2012

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  Benefits of and Limitations to Public Transit in American Cities

  Sabina Eva Able-Thomas and Scott Carson

  This project examines if public transit generates spillovers on private employment and if population density is a limitation to the viability of public transit in American cities.

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  Characterization of Heterogeneous Reaction Systems by Thermal Analysis and Mathematical Modeling

  Shreya Adhikari and Chuck Tillie

  It is anticipated that this research will lead to scale-up parameters that can be used to model a laboratory-scale deposition furnace, and guide further experimentation to advance technologies for protective and conversion coatings.

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  A Study on How Creative Geography Affects Spatial Presence :FR:AMES (Film Research: Advanced Methods for Empirical Study)

  Jeffrey Allen, Kara Rader, Matt Egizii, Alex Farmer, and Seth Kopchu

  Reality TV viewers expect a naturalistic environment in which relatively ordinary people interact with each other. However, much of reality TV is contrived by producers, and the extent to which they manipulate it can shape viewer responses. Findings will inform scholarship on reality TV, creative geography, and spatial presence.

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  Role of Histone Modifications in Meiosis

  Mason Allen and Neeraj Joshi

  Meiosis I is characterized by events taking place between homologous chromosomes called crossing over in which double stand breaks (DSB) are formed and repaired using the homologous chromosome as a template. To see if Gene A shared the same role as Gene B, double mutants were created to test chromosome segregation and DSB repair as compared with Gene B deletions. The spore viability of double mutants and their potential implications will be discussed.

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  A Secure Medical Communication System for Android Smartphones

  Ben Andow

  The use of smartphones within the medical field can be beneficial in numerous ways. Communication protocols and access controls ensure that the application prototype is compliant with HIPPA regulations.

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  Status of the State-endangered Mussel, Ligumia Nasuta, in the Upper Cuyahoga River

  Rachel E. Andrikanich and Stephanie A. Sredniawa

  The primary objective of our research was to assess population size and range of Ligumia nasuta, the Eastern Pond mussel in the Cuyahoga River watershed. We conclude that the Eastern Pond mussel may be all but gone from the East Branch and West Branch Cuyahoga Rivers, but may persist in better numbers in Portage County. Further studies are required before the sustainability of this species can be fully assessed.

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  Structure-Function of U11 snRNA in the Minor Splicing Pathway

  Mark P. Biro and Jagjit Singh

  In human, the majority of protein coding genes are interrupted by dispensable intervening sequences (introns). These introns are removed by nuclear precursor (pre) mRNA splicing process to produce a mature mRNA needed for productive protein production in the cell. We are studying the splicing of minor class or U12-type introns which are spliced by U11, U12, U4atac, U5 and U6atac snRNAs. U11 snRNA binds to the 5’ end or splice site of the intron by RNA-RNA base-pairing to initiate the splicing process. Our results show the functionality of the genetic mutation suppressor assay in establishing the role of U11 snRNA in nuclear pre-mRNA splicing.

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  Curating and Commemorating the City: Research, Oral History, and Mobile Publishing

  David Braunlich, Gabriella Halligan-Taylor, and Kelsey Smith

  Our research team recorded, analyzed, processed, and extracted digital clips from more than 50 oral history interviews in support of two major centennials--those of Shaker Heights and the West Side Market. They learned important historical skills while working in a dynamic team and contributing to a major public and digital history project.

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  Normalizing for Noise Removal from Electrocardiogram Signals

  Dominique Diamond Brooks and Daniel J. Simon

  Electrocardiography (ECG) measures the electrical impulse of the heart over time using electrodes that attached to the body. Designing a computational program using a synthetic ECG to test Normalized Least Mean Square (NLMS) filter serves as a basis to remove noise from the signal.

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  Task Difficulty and the Spatial Structure of Movement in Young Adults

  Patrick Byrne

  Studies using a variety of experimental tasks have established that when humans repeatedly produce an action, the amount of variability in system output is distributed across a range of time scales or frequencies. A finding of particular interest is that fluctuations in the output of cognitive systems are the highest at the lowest frequencies with fluctuation magnitude (power) systematically declining as frequency increases (e.g., for a review see Gilden, 2001).

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  A Low Cost Motion Analysis System Based on Kinect

  Jonathan Michael Cardinale, Tracy N. Jennemann, Vitaliy Sinyuk, and Sam Kenji Yokoyama

  The project focused on the validation of using the Kinect sensor to build a low cost motion analysis system for physical therapy and rehabilitation, and the identification of the types of the motions that cannot be captured well by the Kinect sensor and are in need of inertial sensors.

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  Reconstructing Ohio's Ancient Past One Pot Sherd at a Time

  Mack Cline, Caitlin Jones, and Anthony Magnone

  The primary focus of our research was to analyze, conserve, and reconstruct ancient prehistoric pottery from the Cramer Village Site, a Fort Ancient-era (AD 900-1200) site located on the west bank of the Scioto River in Union Township, Ross County, Ohio.

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  Light Scattering Study of Elongated Particles: From Inorganic Nanorice to Polypeptide Micelles

  Philip Dee

  Utilizing the powerful experimental technique of Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) for size characterization of anisotropic particles can be extremely misleading. Unfortunately, this point is often not realized by researchers who strive for particle sizing of nanoparticles in suspensions. We present a consistent analysis of DDLS results on FeOOH nanorice and outline the potential difficulties and challenges of DDLS application for polypeptide micelles.

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  Investigating Axonal Biology Using Microfluidic Devices

  James Deyling and Brittany Kastan

  During nervous system development, various diffusing biomolecules play a critical role in neurite outgrowth and guidance, resulting in the formation of a complex circuitry. However, the precise mechanism by which these molecules are spatio-temporally delivered to the growing tip of the neurites is unclear. Overall, the results suggest to the utility of this device for studying neurobiology, tissue engineering and cell migration.

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  Kinetics of running on arboreal versus terrestrial substrates in Siberian chipmunks

  Eliza J. Dorsey

  Many mammals travel on both tree branches and flat ground in their natural habitat. Forelimbs were found to have the dominant role in braking on both substrates, while hindlimbs had the dominant role in propulsion on both substrates. However, the forelimb aided in propulsion more so than the hindlimbs contributed to braking on both substrates.

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  Are conscious perception and action guidance dissociable in whole-body movement?

  Laura J. Elias and Jessica Lin Willesch

  Conscious recognition of an object (“what”) and guidance of action toward it (“how”) have been identified as two dissociable processes of perception in visual, auditory, and somatosensory systems. The current study investigated whether the two dissociable processes of perception can also be observed in whole-body movements that encompass not only somatosensory (proprioceptive) inputs but also vestibular inputs.

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  Functional Morphology of Rat Hands and Feet: Correlation with the Ability to Grip Tree Branches During Locomotion

  Jessica Elaine Fonce

  Anatomy and function are usually closely related. Since locomotion on tree branches is common among mammals, we expect to find that the anatomy is well adapted for gripping narrow cylindrical branch-like substrates. Based on the anatomy alone, rats are built for locomotion across cylindrical branches as well as terrestrial substrates.

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  The Study of Bone Diffusion in Canine Tibia

  Mariela Gonzalez-Nieves

  The provision of nutrients is imperative in order to maintain healthy bone structure. Bones are composed of dense connective tissues that are consistently reforming making it difficult for simple diffusion of large signaling molecules to occur. Fully understanding the rate at which nutrients, minerals, and waste travel throughout bone could lead to solutions to problems such as bone illnesses, breaks, and integration of prosthetics in the human body. Enhanced targeted medication delivery can be established as well.

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  Characteristics Indicative of the Likelihood of Leaving Open-Ended Comments on an Organizational Survey

  Astrid Jennifer Hernandez and Michael Horvath

  It has been suggested that individuals who take surveys solely answer questions to obtain the incentive offered. However, people who answer surveys also tend to do so because they want to give their genuine feedback. Ultimately, the results of Chi-Square and Logistic Regression did not support the hypotheses.

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  Differential Protein Expression in Polystichum Acrostichoides Due to Metal Exposure

  Paul Alexander Ilkanich and Pratheek C. Koneru

  Plants are considered the most cost effective and environmentally sound way to clean up the soils and water contaminated with toxic metals. We focused our studies on the fern species Polystichum acrostichoides. A total of 17 protein spots were up regulated and 3 proteins were down regulated upon various metal exposures, and are arranged to be subjected to liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for further identification.

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  Adhesion and Proliferation of Red Fluorescent U87 Cells in a Mirco-Incubator

  Rebecca L. Jensen

  Availability of bone forming osteoblast cells from genetically modified green fluorescing protein (GFP) expressing mouse opens up the possibility of carrying out live cell imaging of the cells as they adhere, migrate and proliferate on nano-texture modified opaque metallic surfaces. Cells inoculated at a density of 200 cells/mm2 proliferated 131% over a one week period.

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  Urban Lake Shoreline Characteristic Assessment in Cuyahoga County

  Kathryn E. Johncock

  More than 100 mid-size inland lakes and reservoirs (greater than 2.5 acres) are located in highly urbanized Cuyahoga County. We assessed shoreline characteristics, macrophyte cover, and algal presence for 35 inland lakes within Cuyahoga County to determine whether there is a correlation between shoreline characteristics and the presence and abundance of algae and submerged plants.

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  Derivatization of Free Glycans for Glycan Sensor and Glyco-Functionalization Applications

  Rhonda D. Jones

  Glycans, especially, cell surface glycans acting as receptors, are involved in a wide range of biological processes. Analysis of the cell surface glycans provides a basis for understanding the molecular mechanism of glycan-mediated biological process. The present method can be applied in derivatizing sugars from natural sources for glycan sensor and glyco-functionalization applications.

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  Energy Analysis of Bio-ethanol Dehydration Using Pervaporative Processes

  Michel Elia Kahwaji Janho

  Environmental effects and health hazards posed by fossil-fuel based technologies complemented by changes in the global economy have increased the demand for “cleaner” and more efficient technologies. Developments in technologies that rely on renewable or synthetic resources have therefore become more relevant in today’s economy and current industrial outlook. This study focuses on a critical assessment of pervaporation as a dehydration technique in the production of ethanol from sugar-cane. Energy demands of various separation schemes using this technique are evaluated.

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  Your Future Depends on It! Exploring Youth Engagement in Inquiry and Action toward Educational Change

  Jacqueline J. Lamb

  The purpose of our research was to explore how youth involved in participatory action research (PAR) understood PAR and their role in the research. This work promises to offer new insights within education and psychology concerning youth engagement in school change, research methods that are participatory and action oriented, and understanding lived experience in relation to historical and structural conditions.