An important step in the nitrogen cycle is the process called nitrification, which is performed by ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms (AOM): ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), and complete ammonia oxidizers (comammox). The question being researched was “when AOA and comammox are placed in direct competition for ammonium, who outcompetes who?” Comammox were only discovered in 2015, […]
C02-P: Comparing the Gene Expression Profiles of Retinal Regeneration Induced by Various Factors in the Embryonic Chicken
The retina is one of the most important tissues in the human body. As the neural tissue responsible for sight, injury to the retina can lead to irreparable visual loss. Therefore, studying the process of retinal regeneration in vertebrates that are capable of doing so is important for understanding how the retina can be healed, […]
C05-P: Metagenomic Analysis of Ammonia Oxidizer and Heterotrophic Bacteria Co-Cultures
Microbial ecology seeks to understand and characterize microbial community structure. Around 99% of microbes have yet to be cultured in the lab, as they require conditions we are unable to imitate. To circumvent this problem, researchers have developed a method to sequence all the genetic material of an environmental sample. This method, called metagenomic sequencing, […]
C01-P: C3a Induced Retinal Pigment Epithelium (RPE) Reprogramming in the Embryonic Chick
Nearly 4.2 million Americans age 40 and older are visually impaired due to retina diseases such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and retinitis pigmentosa. When the human retina is injured, an inflammatory response is invoked leading to scar tissue and a permanent vision loss. On the other hand, the embryonic chick is able to regenerate its […]
C11-P: Improving the Earthquake Catalog in the Eastern Arkoma Basin to Look for Relationships to Hydraulic Fracturing
Our goal was to further investigate the relationship between oil and gas operations and earthquakes. A relationship between the two has already been established in a number of locations, including Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Canada, England, and China. This study looks at Arkansas, which has not been the focus of prior research. This project analyzed a […]
C10-P: Micellar and Sub-Micellar Chromatography with a Cocamidopropyl Betaine Surfactant
In the past two decades, green analytical chemistry has started to become a more prominent subarea of green chemistry, particularly in the area of sample preparation such as extraction. In typical reversed phase liquid chromatography (LC) methods, organic solvents such as acetonitrile (MeCN) or methanol are used as mobile phase modifiers due to their low […]
C08-P: Qualitative Identification of Transition Metals at the ppm Level using Precipitation Chemistry and Digital Microscopy
In this qualitative experiment the researchers bring back classic precipitation chemistry on various transition metal ion solutions (Ni2+, Pb2+, Co2+) at very low concentrations. Nickel can be precipitated as a red dimethylglyoxime complex, cobalt as a reddish-brown 2-nitroso-1-naphthol complex, and lead as a yellow iodide compound. As this is a qualitative experiment color will be […]
C07-P: Hcf106 and cpTatC Fusion Overexpression and Purification Using Liquid Chromatography
The twin-arginine protein translocation system (Tat) is a membrane-bound protein complex that transports folded proteins across the thylakoid membranes in plants and cytoplasmic membranes in bacteria. It is predicted that about 50% of the thylakoid lumen proteins use the cpTat pathway. For a precursor to pass the thylakoid membrane under this system, involves the association […]
C06-P: MBLinhibitors.com, a Website Resource Offering Information and Expertise for the Continued Development of Metallo-β-Lactamase Inhibitors
Metallo-β-Lactamases are enzymes that bacteria produce to protect themselves from various β-Lactam antibiotics. As a result of the growing antibiotic resistance crisis, new compounds have been developed to try to inhibit these enzymes and slow the spread of antibiotic resistance. In an effort to facilitate the discovery of new, improved inhibitors of the metallo-β-lactamases, a […]
C03-P: Studying Student Attitudes Towards Science and Astronomy in Introductory Astronomy Courses
Many college students whose majors do not pertain to a STEM sub-discipline (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) may only end up taking one science course in their entire undergraduate career. For many of these students, introductory astronomy is an interesting and popular choice. Professors of these courses often have the intention of improving their student’s […]