This project is in the area of biochemistry and addresses research into prevention of protein aggregation-based diseases such as Alzheimer’s. In cells, molecular chaperones assist with correcting protein folding to prevent diseases caused by misfolded protein aggregation. Cochaperones stimulate and enhance chaperone activity by facilitating client protein presentation and ATP hydrolysis. Heat shock proteins (Hsps) […]
C35-P: The Impact of COVID-19 on Respiratory Illness Mortality and Health Disparities in the US: An Analysis of Time Series
According to the CDC, COVID-19 has caused nearly 570K deaths in the US as of early April 2020. COVID-19 can cause numerous complications including blood clots, nerve damage, and pneumonia. The impact of COVID-19 can be observed through potential changes in pneumonia and influenza deaths in 2020 compared to previous years. The impact of COVID-19 […]
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 […]
A54-P: Effects of Acute Early Life Stress and Maternal Buffering on Corticosterone Secretion and Adult Anxiety
In this study, we explore the effects of acute early life stress (ELS) on adult anxiety behaviors and anxiety-induced corticosterone (stress hormone) release in mice. Specifically, we are looking into the potential stress-mitigating effects of social buffering (interactions between the mouse pup and mother/littermates that can reduce negative effects of stressors). We used footshocks to […]
B53-P: Crosslinking to Enhance the Mechanical Properties of 3D-Plotted Collagen-Based Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering
This research generally focuses on tissue engineering, specifically scaffold-based bone tissue engineering. Bone complications are increasingly prevalent, presenting serious issues to patient quality of life. Nonunion bone fractures, fractures that require surgery to heal, are clinically important because of their morbidity and economic burden. Bone grafts or rod implants are the standard remedy, but they […]
A07-P: Using a Machine Learning Approach to Identify Potential Metallo-β-Lactamase Inhibitors
This project combines the fields of biochemistry and data science by applying a machine learning approach to the identification of potential metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) inhibitors. MBLs are enzymes expressed by antibiotic-resistant bacteria and are becoming more clinically prevalent, leading to an increasing number of severe cases of once easily-treatable infections. In recent years, there has been […]
A04-P: Evaluating How Adenovirus Proteins Regulate DNA-PK
Adenovirus (Ad) infection can lead to the activation of DNA damage response (DDR) pathways such as non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) if unchecked. To avert DDR interference, Ad encodes several proteins in early region 4 (E4) that regulate the DDR to promote viral replication. Specifically, E4 11kDa and 34kDa have been shown to interact with DNA-dependent […]
C05-T: Challenges and Strategies in Remote Design Collaboration during a Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic forced college education to shift from face-to-face to online instruction. This effort is particularly challenging for freshmen and sophomore students, in engineering design projects where collaboration is needed. The study aims to qualitatively understand challenges and possible strategies in remote design collaboration through the lens of an undergraduate-level engineering design introduction class. […]
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 […]
A36-P: Oblivious Neighbor Discovery in Direction Multi-Transceiver Networks
In a network of multiple devices, neighbor discovery is the process in which the individual devices make their existence known to other devices in the network in order to begin communicating with one another. The neighbor discovery protocol is an essential part of wireless networks used for communication between devices. In our design, we are […]