Undergraduate Research Posters 2015

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  Fun versus Practical: Physiological Responses and Preference of Exercise Equipment

  David Ryland, Alanna Shamrock, and Shana Strunk

  Until the invention of the rowing machine, rowing was only attainable on water. The Champiot Ultra Rowing Bike allows athletes to row on land and remains mobile. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine whether the Rowing Bike is more efficient and enjoyable than a traditional rowing machine. METHODS: Energy expenditure, heart rate, and rate perceived exertion (Borg Scale) were evaluated on 20 males (aged 23.75 ± 2.613) and 20 females' (23.05 ± 3.605) while riding the rowing bike and the traditional rowing machine for 20 minutes at ... Read More

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  Regulation of Sister Chromatid Cohesion by ECO-1 and WAPL-1 during meiosis and mitosis

  Kyle T. Schroeder

  Cohesin is a widely conserved, tetrameric protein complex that tethers replicated sister chromatids during meiosis and mitosis. Two cohesin subunits, SMC-1 and SMC-3, and a third subunit, the α-kleisin, form a ring proposed to encircle sister chromatids. Different kleisins associate with cohesin during mitosis and meiosis. SCC-1 is the mitotic kleisin. Meiotic cohesin can associate with either REC-8 or COH-3/4. REC-8 and COH-3/4 cohesins differ greatly in their functional properties, indicating that the kleisin determines meiotic cohesin function. Early in meiosis, REC-8 and COH-3/4 cohesins are triggered to become cohesive ... Read More

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  Designing Tuftsin Conjugate for Directing Antimicrobial Ionophores to Macrophages

  Sokhna Seck and Zeenat Razvi

  For all microorganisms, acquisition of metal ions is essential for survival in the environment or their infected host. Metal ions are required in many biological processes as cofactors for proteins or structural elements for enzymes. These ions play a role in chemotaxis, phosphorylation, transport of sugars and proteins, and initiation of DNA replication, among other things. It is critical for bacteria to ensure that metal uptake and availability meet its physiological needs; too little can impede these important biological processes, while too much can be toxic leading to radical formation ... Read More

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  Laboratory and Field Testing of High Performance Repair Materials

  Michelle Seitz, Jennifer Woods, and Larisa Suskinsas

  The Ohio Department of Transportation has identified the need to specify durable, more permanent high performing pavement and bridge deck patching materials that allow for expediting pavement and bridge deck wearing surface repair for worker and user safety. Currently, either temporary or generally specified in-kind or like materials are being used to perform pavement patching. There is a current research project underway examining the performance of various high performance repair materials both in the laboratory and the field. The goals and objectives of this research project are: • Identify/determine acceptable ... Read More

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  Creating miniaturized tissue constructs on a micropillar/microwell chip via 3D bioprinting technology

  Yana Sickhar, Pranav Joshi, and Akshata Datar

  Liver tumor tissues in the human body consist of different layers of hepatic cells including hepatoma cells and surrounding normal cells. To mimic in vivo tumor tissues, three-dimensional (3D) microarray bioprinting was demonstrated on a microwell chip via layer-by-layer printing of Hep3B human hepatoma cell line. The 3D microarray printing coupled with high-content imaging (HCI) of cell layers on the chip might open new opportunities for predictive drug screening for patients. Our goal is to demonstrate high-throughput cell printing in hydrogel layers and establish HCI of cell layers from the ... Read More

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  Nitrosylation of S100A8/ A9 protein complex by inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase

  Kia Smith

  How does the body fight infection? What causes inflammation? These are only a few questions that have been asked by many doctors across the globe. One thing that is known for certain about infection is that there is a particular sub-group of enzymes called NOS’s (eNOS, nNOS and iNOS) that produce Nitric Oxide (NO), a molecule radical capable of oxidizing proteins and alter their function. In our study we focus on inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase (iNOS). NOS’s are comprised of oxidase and reductase domains liked by Camodulin (CAM), a polypeptide ... Read More

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  Effect of Solidification through Cross-Section Change on Dendritic Array in Single Crystal Castings

  Christopher Stacey and Masood Ghods

  Dendritic single crystal turbine blades are the most critical component in a gas turbine engine. These are made by directional solidification in ceramic molds having many cross-section changes. Abrupt cross-section changes during casting are the source of casting defects, such as, freckles and spurious grains. Purpose of this study was to examine the role of convection associated with cross-section changes in producing microstructural defects. Al-7%Si alloy was directionally solidified at 11, 29 and 73 μm s-1 in graphite crucibles having abrupt cross-section decrease and cross-section increase to simulate solidification of ... Read More

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  Community perceptions on substance abuse by underage

  Wyatt Suntala and Navid Changizi

  In the spring of 2015, the Community Awareness and Prevention Association (C.A.P.A.), and westshore young leaders network (WYLN) developed and conducted a Community Perception Survey (CPS) of adult residents in the suburbs of Lakewood, Rocky River, Fairview Park, Bay Village, Westlake, and North Olmsted. The purpose of the survey was to assess attitudes and opinions about substance abuse and prevention efforts of WYLN. The survey was both anonymous and confidential. The CPS resulted in 955 usable data which were analyzed and visualized at CSU. The results showed a strong perception ... Read More

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  Ciliary Mechanosensation in MDCK cells

  Muhammad Tayeh

  Cilia are microscopic structures that extend from the surface of mammalian cells. Cilia can be categorized into two groups, primary cilia (non-motile) and motile cilia. Cilia are composed of tubulin subunits (microtubules) and covered by a plasma membrane. The physiological role of motile cilia has been very well documented, but the function of primary cilia remains largely unknown. It has been shown that primary cilia allow cells to sense and respond to mechanical stimuli. The ability for a cell to respond to mechanical stimuli is crucial for maintaining processes such ... Read More

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  Developing affordable wet-sample electron microscopy integrated with a temperature controlled sample holder

  Dan Terrano

  Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is widely used to analyze the size, shape and composition of material systems. However, using this tool for analyzing systems such as particles suspended in solution, requires drastic sample alterations, such as precipitation and fixation. Besides altering their environment, this exposes the particles to the harsh conditions within an electron microscope, such as high vacuum and electron beam exposure. To this end, the first goal of this study was to develop methodologies for imaging wet samples using electron microscopy. This is realized by creating a sandwich ... Read More

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  Acoustic Objective and Subjective Measurements of Noise Levels in Various Places of Worship and the Potential Consequences on the Auditory System

  Celeste Thomas

  The purpose of this study is to record the objective and subjective measurements of noise levels in ten religious institutions of various faiths: Apostolic/Pentecostal, Baptist, Catholic, Muslim, Non-Denominational, and Seven-Day Adventist places of worship within the greater Cleveland area; in conjunction with the assessing the hearing sensitivity of the ministerial staff members who are most susceptible to prolonged noise exposure. The objective is to generate a statistical analysis of the objective acoustical measurements of primary church services of all participating religious institutions determine if the noise levels are loud enough ... Read More

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  Deducing Shape of Anisotropic Particles in Solution from Light Scattering: Spindles and Nanorods

  Ilona Tsuper and Dan Terrano

  Depolarized Dynamic light scattering (DDLS) enables to measure in situ rotational and translational diffusion of nanoparticles suspended in solution. Their size, shape, diffusion, and intermolecular interactions can be interred then from DDLS data using various models of diffusion. Incorporating DDLS to analyze the dimensions of easily imaged elongated particles, such as Iron (III) oxyhydroxide Spindles (FeOOH) and gold coated Nanorods, will allow a deeper understanding between rotational/translational diffusion and size distribution of hard-to-image anisotropic wet systems such as micelles, microgels, and protein complexes. The emphasis of this study was to ... Read More

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  Cell Surface Sialylation Status of Monocytes and Macrophages

  Henry Wang and Dan Wang

  Sialic acids (SAs), a family of 9-carbon containing acidic monosaccharides, often terminate the glycan structures of cell surface glycoconjugates such as glycoproteins and glycolipids. The levels and linkages of sialic acids named as sialylation status vary as cell environment changes related to both physiological and pathological processes. Changes in sialylation of cell surface modulate cellular activity. SAs are highly involved in the immune system, however, the sialylation status related to individual immune cells and their activation state and functions are still unknown. In this study, we used a newly developed ... Read More

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  Characterization of Rotor Aerodynamics of the Laboratory-scale Miniature Wind Turbines

  Jason Wolf and Jordan Thomas

  Wind energy has become a major contributor to energy production from renewable sources and is expected to increase its portion to the overall energy supply. Wind-tunnel testing of miniature wind turbine models plays an important role in understanding the turbine wake effects and interactions of wind farms with the incoming flow. However, previous research has often not carefully quantified the rotor aerodynamic characteristics of the mini wind turbines, i.e., how the power and thrust coefficients vary with respect to the tip speed ratio, and to what extent they represent the ... Read More