Cataracts and Na,K-ATPase

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Ryan Earp and Dr. Steven Graves, Chemistry and Biochemistry Nearly 20.5 million Americans above the age of 40 suffer impaired vision caused by cataracts. By the age of 80, the percentage of Americans suffering from cataracts increases to 50%. According to the World Health Organization cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in the world. […]

Thermodynamics of Titanium Oxide Nanoparticles

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Marcus Donaldson and Dr. Juliana Boerio-Goates, Chemistry I studied the thermodynamics of titanium oxide nanoparticles using adiabatic and semi-adiabatic calorimetry. I helped collect specific heat data from T = 0.3 K to T = 300 K. Unfortunately, I was not able to reach any solid conclusions because of complications encountered during and after measurements. More […]

A CCD Photometric Search for Variable Stars in the Open Cluster NGC 188

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Andrew Davis and Dr. Eric Hintz, Physics and Astronomy The old open cluster NGC 188 is unique because of its large number of W UMa type contact binaries. This allows astronomers to use these stars to refine models of the origin and evolution of these systems. Also because of its age, NGC 188 may display […]

A2E-DNA Interaction: A Possible Mechanism for DNA Damage

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Sierra Evelyn Dabell and Dr. Heidi R. Vollmer-Snarr, Chemistry and Biochemistry Introduction A2E, a common fluorophore found in the retinal pigment epithelial cells of the eye has been shown to have phototoxic properties. For this reason A2E has been implicated in the progressive etiology of Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD). If the mechanism of cell death […]

Probable Frames: Using a Probability Task to Explore Fraction Multiplication

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Joseph G. Curtis and Dr. Robert Speiser, Mathematics Education When you toss a coin at the start of a football game and call “Heads!” the probability the coin will land “heads-up” is one-half. If the referee does not hear your prediction, he must toss again. The probability the second toss will land heads is again […]

The Growth of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes on Atomic Force Microscope Tips

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Michael Clemens and Dr. Robert Davis, Physics and Astronomy The Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) is a powerful instrument that has many applications in various fields of scientific research. It has the ability to image surfaces without requiring a high vacuum and has the ability to image samples that are in a fluid. It also is […]

Direct Measurement of Absorption Rates for Laser High-order Harmonics Generated in Helium and Neon

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Eric Christensen and Dr. Justin Peatross, Physics and Astronomy Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light can be generated through the interaction of a high-intensity laser beam with atoms. When an intense laser pulse hits an atom, its outer electron is pulled away from the atom. The electric field of the laser may then pull the electron back […]

Preferential Infection of Germinal Center T Cells by X4 Tropic HIV

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Christopher M. Cherry and Dr. Gregory F. Burton, Chemistry and Biochemistry HIV infects CD4 T cells through binding to CD4 and an appropriate co-receptor. Two co-receptors of concern in HIV biology are CXCR4 and CCR5 because of their affect on disease progression. The majority of transmittable HIV strains use CCR5 as a co-receptor. However, during […]

The Localization of Cationic Steroid Antibiotics in Escherichia coli through Transmission Electron Microscopy

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Matthew Chadwell and Dr. Paul Savage, Chemistry The growing numbers of antibiotic resistant bacteria has caused concern in the health community. To combat this enemy, our lab has developed an arsenal of new compounds called cationic steroid antibiotics (CSAs). To date, many of these compounds have successfully killed bacteria resistant to common antibiotics. Although we […]

The Role of A2E in AMD and Chemotherapy

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D. Joshua Cameron and Dr. Heidi Vollmer-Snarr, Chemistry and Biochemistry A2E is implicated in the etiology of AMD. We have found significant concentrations of A2E present in both lipofuscin and melanolipofuscin of human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, meaning that A2E is likely more involved in AMD than originally thought. Evidence shows that A2E, in […]