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Welcome to the Keys to the World Showcase and the 14th Annual Research & Creativity Forum!

The Learning Opportunities Center and Office of Student Research and Innovation are happy to once again provide Austin Peay students the avenue to present on their participation in high impact experiences. We are excited for you to learn more about these students and their experiences in research, service-learning, study abroad and internships. As an APSU student, there are over 100 organizations to be involved in across campus. However, we want your time at APSU to be filled with rich and fulfilling experiences that you can discuss with friends, colleagues and potential employers. We want your experiences to add high impact and value to your college experience. We hope the showcase will allow you to meet fellow Governors and learn about how they were able to capitalize on these experiences. This year’s event showcases how APSU is Leading through Excellence. Being excellent takes multiple stakeholders - faculty who mentor students, students who work with each other, and organizations that support programs. We hope you continue to make a difference on campus and find the keys to your success around the world. Sincerely, Dr. Ashlee Spearman Dr. Raj Dakshinamurthy QEP Director Professor, Department of Chemistry Interim Director, Office of Student Research & Innovation

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KEYS TO THE WORLD SHOWCASE AND 14TH ANNUAL RESEARCH & CREATIVITY FORUM AGENDA Thursday, April 11, 2019

Time Function Location 8:30a.m. Registration Opens UC Ballroom Lobby 9-10a.m. Poster Exhibit and Display 1 UC Ballroom

10:15-11:15a.m. Oral Presentation Sessions 1 & 2 Various 11:30a.m.-12:30p.m. Poster Exhibit and Display 2 UC Ballroom

12:45-1:45p.m. Oral Presentation Sessions 3 & 4 Various 2-3p.m. Poster Exhibit and Display 3 UC Ballroom

3:15-3:45p.m. Oral Presentation Session 5 Various

4p.m. Awards Ceremony and Keys Medal of Distinction Presentation UC Ballroom A

POSTER EXHIBIT AND DISPLAY SESSION 1

MUC BALLROOM 9:00-10:00A.M.

Poster #1 | Case Study: Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Infection from Cryptococcus neoformans in an

immunocompetent Patient Victoria Huynh – Senior, Medical Laboratory Science

A ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt is a medical apparatus that alleviates pressure on the brain due to fluid accumulation, such as the condition hydrocephalus. Cryptococcus neoformans, although uncommon, is a dimorphic fungus that can infect and cause sickness to humans. Most of the population encounter and inhale C. neoformans, but never suffer from related complications. Life-threatening infections usually occur in people who are immunocompromised such as having had an organ transplant or development of advanced stages of HIV/AIDs. This case study focuses on a immunocompetent patient that had a Cryptococcal VP shunt infection, which is very rare. Lab tests used to identify the organism, difficulties that sometimes come with the process, and potential sources of the infection are discussed. Early diagnosis is crucial for patient recovery, and fortunately for this patient, the outlook on recovery was positive.

Poster #2 | Diagnosing Adenocarcinoma: A Case Study Kaylee Conner – Senior, Medical Laboratory Science

Adenocarcinoma is a type of cancer that originates in secretory cells. Due to the locations of these cells being widely distributed throughout the body, more than 70% of these cases are diagnosed with unknown origin. A patient was presented to the hospital for edema of the lower leg and shortness of breath. She was then evaluated by the laboratory. Through the collective effort of laboratorians, the patient is diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of unidentified origin. Initially, the hematology section indicated cancer after finding cancerous cells in the patient’s pericardial fluid that had been extracted. From there the case study highlights the diagnostic features throughout the lab, which ended in the diagnosis.

Poster #3 | Septic Streptococcus Pyogenes in a Severely Leukopenic Patient Lauren Tippit – Senior, Medical Laboratory Science

Streptococcus pyogenes is a pathogenic bacterium that can cause sepsis when it enters the bloodstream. This sepsis can cause severe damage to multiple body organ systems. In order to diagnose and study the effects on the body system caused by this pathogen, a hospital patient’s condition was assessed. This study included the procedures used to identify

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the presence of Streptococcus pyogenes in the patient’s bloodstream as well as the patient’s negatively impacted corresponding body systems. The results showed that leukopenia was present in the patient. This was researched due to sepsis usually causing leukocytosis. The patient also showed increase in lactic acid accumulation at the time of sepsis, which correlates with the septic condition. She as well displayed decreased eGFR with her condition. This patient’s state was monitored for a few days to see the effectiveness of her treatment after diagnosis. In this monitoring it was observed that the patient’s body system function improved as the sepsis cleared.

Poster #4 | With New and Upcoming Technology, the Medical Laboratory Scientist still plays a vital role in

Patient Diagnostics Sarah Stensland – Senior, Medical Laboratory Science

The Film Array Biofire uses molecular diagnostics to rapidly identify bacteria or viruses in blood, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and even stool. For the purpose of this study, we are going to focus on the Biofire use with blood cultures. Due to the high sensitivity of the Biofire, it does pick up interfering substances. In this laboratory, Proteus has been detected as a false positive. The objective of this study was to assess whether molecular diagnostic equipment like the Film Array Biofire can replace the need for a Medical Laboratory Scientist in the Microbiology department. It is hypothesized that the Biofire’s high sensitivity and limited panel targets can interfere with the analytical phase of patient diagnostics. The results from the patient demonstrated that the role of the medical laboratory scientist was necessary to rule out Proteus as a false positive. New technology is very helpful in the diagnostic setting; however, it can never replace the important skills and knowledge of the Medical Technologist.

Poster #5 | Alpha-gal Syndrome: A Case Study

Casey Hudson – Senior, Medical Laboratory Science

Alpha-gal syndrome is the result of sensitization to galactose alpha-1,3-galactose; a carbohydrate molecule. The alpha-gal carbohydrate can be found in some medications and red meats. The delayed allergic reaction can cause the physician to suspect other conditions resulting in delayed treatment. This case describes the difficulty in diagnosing a patient with Alpha-gal Syndrome, including symptoms, testing, and treatment. The delayed diagnosis and treatment may have been a result of a disconnection of the patients delayed symptoms post consuming red meat. For educational purposes the explanation of symptoms, testing, and prevention will also be discussed. The purpose of this research is to assist with educating and research for this condition.

Poster #6 | A Case Study on Kostmann’s Syndrome Kristin Maness – Senior, Medical Laboratory Science

Kostmann’s Syndrome is a rare genetic form of Severe Congenital Neutropenia. It is characterized by a neutrophil count of <0.2x109/L, thrombocytopenia, and severe bacterial infections starting shortly after birth. A lack of neutrophils can lead to sepsis which can be deadly for an infant. This case study looks at a four-month-old infant who is admitted to a hospital with a neutrophil count of 0.09x109/L, a platelet count of 43,000x109/L, and positive blood cultures for gram negative rods. It was found that the patient had Kostmann’s Syndrome and was septic with Pseudomonas aeruginosa that had stemmed from an ear infection. She was given daily injections of rHuG-CSF for a few months and blood count went back to normal. Eventually, the patient started producing cells on her own and now lives a normal life.

Poster #7 | Brucellosis

Alissa Swan – Senior, Medical Laboratory Science

Brucella has many different names; Malta fever, undulant fever, Rock of Gibraltar fever and Bang’s disease. It is a zoonotic disease transmitted from animals. There are three classes of people who are at a greater risk of exposer to the bacteria; people who work with animals, those who ingest unpasteurized products contaminated with brucella, and laboratory personnel. Laboratory personnel are at risk from exposure to cultures. Two percent of all reported cases are acquired from laboratory exposure. There are about 80-100 cases in the United States each year. Brucellosis is the most commonly reported laboratory associated bacterial infection. The everyday protocol in the laboratory is not enough to

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keep technicians safe from brucella. Is there a way to reduce the number of exposures? By carefully looking at daily standard operating procedures and tracing back exposure incidences, what changes can be made? One hospital faced with this exact dilemma took it upon their selves to change the protocol of the laboratory to limit any further exposures to the technicians. The case study, laboratory detection of brucella, and the changes made to the laboratory are all laid out in the poster presentation.

Poster #8 | Renal Function in Type II Diabetics Nicole Minster – Senior, Medical Laboratory Science

In patients who have Type II Diabetes, their pancreas can make insulin, but their body does not use it correctly, this is called insulin resistance. This causes increased blood glucose levels that will slowly cause damage throughout the body. One of the major organs effected are the kidneys. Over time, the kidneys will become damaged and will only get worse. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is a test used to determine kidney function. HgB A1C values are used to determine the blood glucose levels over a 2 to 3-month period. GFR, and HgB A1C values were plotted against each other to determine if a higher A1C value correlates with a decrease in GFR. The results from these patients have shown that there is not always an immediate correlation between Hgb A1C values and GFR. Although Hgb A1C values are correlated with GFR, it takes several years for kidney damage to occur in order to see these results.

Poster #9 | The <1%: An O negative, Kp(a+b-) patient with anti-Kpb

Caitlin Toothman – Senior, Medical Laboratory Science

In the blood bank section of a laboratory, blood is received, processed, stored and prepared for transfusion. It is extremely critical for a patient in need of blood to receive blood that is compatible with their type. If not, serious outcomes can occur, like a hemolytic transfusion reaction. In order to determine compatibility with a donor blood unit, certain steps are taken to identify antibodies that can cause serious or fatal transfusion reactions. In this case, a patient has developed an antibody against a very prevalent antigen that is present on most of the population’s red blood cells. Therefore, finding compatible blood for this patient is difficult, but not impossible. There are options available like autologous donation or programs like the American Rare Donor Program (ARDP).

Poster #10 | Case Study: Low-Incidence Antibody Identification in clinical blood banks

Yong Gibbardo – Senior, Medical Laboratory Science

Low-incidence antigens can be defined as those which are known to occur in less than 1% of individuals in most populations. The red cells of almost all blood recipients or prenatal patients lack these rare antigens, meaning a chance exposure to blood which does carry a low-incidence antigen almost always results in potential alloimmunization. This case study shows how to verify an approach to identify the low-incidence antibody of the patient who has a low-incidence antibody, anti-V. The low incidence antibody identification requires the extra effort and skill to verify the antibodies or antibody of the patient. Most clinical blood banks have the major high-incidence antibody reagents to confirm the antibody identity by donor cell panels assay. So, blood banks should identify the rare antibodies specifically to order the antibody reagent to confirm and to prepare the special blood units for the patient as soon as possible.

Poster #11 | Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Developed after Antibiotic Treatment Aisha Solano – Senior, Medical Laboratory Science

Antibiotic resistance occurs when a bacterial organism is capable of evading destruction by either intrinsic or acquired mechanisms. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a gram-negative rod known by its ability to easily adapt to many antibiotic treatments. It is a common nosocomial infection often seen in hospitalized patients receiving broad-spectrum antibiotics, patients with mechanical ventilators, respiratory equipment, and those receiving chemotherapy treatments. Common antibiotic therapies are often inadequate because cultures from initial specimens become resistant and difficult to treat. A NorthCrest Medical Center patient arrived with a Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) exacerbation and P. aeruginosa-related pneumonia. Results upon admission demonstrated organism was susceptible to

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all tested antibiotics. After antibiotic treatment, follow-up bronchial wash cultures showed increased in minimum inhibitory concentrations and finally resistance to multiple beta lactam antibiotics. Patient symptoms worsened resulting in an extended hospital stay. A different course of treatment using the advantages of antibiotic synergy was necessary to improve patient’s health and effectively eliminate the respiratory infection.

Poster #12 | Activating MTP Due to Surgical Bleeding Christina Geraci – Senior, Medical Laboratory Science

Kylie Porter – Senior, Medical Laboratory Science

A Massive Transfusion Protocol (MTP) is activated when a patient’s blood loss is exceeding their total blood volume in 24 hours. The MTP is a schedule of blood products that are prepared and administered for as long as the MTP is in progress. The goal is to keep all medical personnel organized and enables them to work together in harmony. A chart outlines the contents of each blood product shipment, this breakdown of blood products allows the lab to be able to prepare the products needed in a timely fashion throughout the MTP. This case study is an example of how such protocol is used. In this presentation, lab values are used to show the positive effects the transfusion had on the patient’s outcome.

Poster #13 | Acute effects of warm-up protocols in NCAA Division I Women Soccer and Softball players on

vertical jump performance. Cody Bascom – Graduate student, Health and Human Performance Mycah Milton – Graduate student, Health and Human Performance

The purpose of this study was to determine what the acute effects different warm-up protocols had on vertical jump performance, in NCAA Division I women soccer and softball players. Thirty-seven (19 soccer, 18 softballs) participants ages 18-22 (19.84 ± 1.28) completed four separate warm-up protocols (control, dynamic, static, RPR) on four consecutive weeks (Monday or Tuesday), and were tested on their vertical jump performance following those warm-up protocols. Height (65.32 ± 2.81), weight (143.81 ± 18.34), and BMI (23.60 ± 1.88) were also measured. At pre-intervention, data was analyzed using a Shapiro Wilks test to check for normality. The significance level was set at a = 0.05. At post-intervention, repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare the warm-ups to look for significance. Repeated measures t-tests were used as the post-hoc to look for significant differences between warm-ups. Soccer showed a substantial difference between dynamic and RPR (p=0.01) and dynamic and control (p=0.04); while softball showed no significant difference in the ANOVA, so no post-hoc was conducted for softball. This indicated that dynamic warm-ups and RPR could be used to increase vertical jump performance, but more research is needed.

Poster #14 | A Study of Cryptococcal Meningitis Treatment in a HIV Patient

Auriel Griffith – Senior, Medical Laboratory Science

For decades now HIV has been thoroughly studied and all of the most common illnesses stemming from HIV can be deadly. The second leading cause of death among HIV patients is Cryptococcal meningitis. This case follows a young, HIV positive male who has not been treated for the disease. This patient presented with seizures and a headache, which eventually lead to a spinal tap. There was a lab culture done on the specimen and it was found that the patient had a cryptococcal infection of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The patient began treatment and showed improvement, the drugs used to treat this patient have been used in a previous study. This gives me a basis on which to compare the patient from Centennial Medical Center, and how quickly and thoroughly he recovered.

Poster #15 | The Effects of Darzalex in Blood Banking

David Priko – Senior, Medical Laboratory Science

Darzalex is a monoclonal antibody drug used to treat multiple myeloma. Complications in antibody identification become apparent with patients who are prescribed this drug. For this reason, knowledge of patient history and good communication between hospital personnel are essential in the treatment process. The patient sample in this case study

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was examined for unexpected antibodies to provide a record for future transfusions. During the process, panagglutination was observed with all test cells and the sample was referred to a reference laboratory for further testing. Results indicated that patients who are prescribed Darzalex should be given least incompatible blood units.

Poster #16 | A Probable Cold-Weather Induced Hemolytic Event Due to Cold Agglutinin Syndrome Angela Gregorio – Senior, Medical Laboratory Science

Cold Agglutinin Syndrome (CAS) is a hemolytic autoimmune anemia that is characterized by the ability of autoantibodies to agglutinate red blood cells in colder physiological body temperatures and subsequently cause a hemolytic process. The hemolysis can be measured by an intracellular enzyme, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Theoretically, because of this temperature-dependent activation, evidence of hemolysis should be more evident in colder months. There is limited research to corroborate this hypothesis. Retrospective analysis of LDH levels in a patient with known cold agglutinin syndrome was conducted. For the span of fourteen months, the patient’s LDH was plotted against the monthly mean temperature to observe if a trend existed. Although data was limited and other pathological conditions were present in this patient, there appeared to be a pattern that coincided with the hypothesis that CAS patients can exhibit a greater amount of hemolysis in colder temperatures of the year.

Poster #17 | Invasive Pneumonia

Sandhani Chowdhury – Senior, Medical Laboratory Science

Invasive pneumonia causes severe damage to the patient, even death. Therefore, treating them as soon as possible is very important. There may be some medical condition which plays a role to make the patient a target for sepsis and makes their symptoms complicated. In this case, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) condition makes patient pneumonia complicated. Patient ended up in acute respiratory failure. Due to her preexisting condition, diagnosis was complicated, and she was released prior to treatment since it was thought her problems were from RA. After releasing of patient blood culture result, it was confirmed that the patient had sepsis caused by streptococcus pneumonia. Even though patient was treated with antibiotics after lab results, it did not change the patient’s condition. Therefore, the patient had to put on other kinds of antibiotics to get better. Some studies show that some of the antibiotics and vaccination do not work well for the rheumatoid arthritis patient.

Poster #18 | Pseudo hyperkalemia due to severe leukocytosis

Colleen Sappington – Senior, Medical Laboratory Science

Pseudo hyperkalemia is the presentation of high Potassium on tests when there is no actual increase within the body. Hemolysis of red blood cells is the normal suspect but occasionally patients who have Chronic Lymphoid Leukemia (CLL) may also present with this phenomenon. The elevated levels are due to the small amounts of Potassium contained in the cells that are released when the cells lyse. This would only be noteworthy if a patient had enough white cells present that were lysed to cause a significant increase, such as with CLL. In this case study the CLL patient had elevated levels of Potassium when the serum was tested in the lab due to centrifuging causing the white cells to lyse and the patient to have normal levels on the iSTAT where the sample is whole blood.

Poster #19 | Differences in Two Training Protocols on H: Q Ratio

Kevin Peyton Phillips – Graduate Student, Health and Human Performance Laura Faciane – Graduate Student, Health and Human Performance

Hamstring: Quadriceps (H:Q) ratios are often used to predict injury by assessing imbalances in strength of the knee joint. The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of two different lower body training protocols on an individual’s H:Q ratio. Twenty- four individuals (age: 22.20 ± 2.15 mass: 125.79 ± 24.06 pounds, height: 61.88 ± 3.57 inches) from the Austin Peay State University Cheer and Dance teams were assigned to two groups; eccentric based training (EBT) or concentric based training (CBT). Each group participated in a four-week training protocol that only differed in three exercises. H: Q ratio was tested using an isokinetic dynamometer pre and post- intervention. A Shapiro- Wilk test for

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normality was used to determine if data was equally distributed at pre- intervention, and an independent samples t- test was used to compare H: Q ratios at post- intervention. Results concluded that eccentric based training had a great impact on improving H: Q ratios. The mean ratio for the EBT group at pre- intervention was 51.75 ± 8.41and increased to 55.75 ± 7.57 following the four- week protocol. While the H: Q ratio for the CBT group only saw a slight increase from 51.83 ± 6.72 to 52.06 ± 4.22 following their four- week protocol.

Poster #20 | VITA Program Kenneth Crowley – Junior, Accounting

Brandon Patterson – Junior, Accounting

Over the course of the Spring semester at Austin Peay, the College of Business offers a class called Accounting 4900, also known as The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program. VITA is a service-learning class. The course is considered a three-hour upper division elective. This helps fulfill academic requirements in the College of Business program at APSU. Over the semester the students will take qualifying tests to be certified with the IRS to file tax returns. Along with obtaining credit hours and a certification, students also learn the proper way to file taxes which will look good on a resume and help land a job in the future, due to the tax prep experience. This presentation will be in the order of Introduction, Methodology and Conclusion. The introduction will include the basic information about VITA and how to get involved. Next, the methodology will include how the taxes are prepped by students along with a picture or pictures of the site where students will be prepping taxes. Finally, the conclusion will include the thoughts of the students that were involved in VITA, along with a group picture.

Poster #21 | Black Issues

Darrion Wiley-Hunt – Junior, Communication Arts Malik Smith – Junior, Health and Human Performance

Black issues are overall issues that African Americans face day to day throughout life. Most problems are ignored either by other ethnic groups or African Americans themselves, or the problems are ones most people are not willing to step up and take action on. Education around the United States is not equally dispersed. Some people have means to more access to education than others due to financial means. Higher poverty areas have less educational resources along with higher crime rates. This can be seen in many parts of the United States. Without equal education in today’s time and with an ever-growing competition for jobs that can set individuals behind everyone else. This is a problem that needs to be addressed. If wealth and education are not dispersed equally some will never have a fighting chance to better themselves, others, or their community.

Poster #22 | The Relationship between Grit, Optimism, and Intrinsic Motivation in a Physical Performance

Task Andrea Argueta – Graduate Student, Health and Human Performance

Jesse Hillner – Graduate Student, Health and Human Performance

When it comes to performance in a physical task, there are numerous psychological traits that researchers choose to study. This study observed the relationship between grit, optimism, and intrinsic motivation and their effect on a physical task after induced failure. The participants completed three surveys measuring the three traits and completed a physical task. The participants were told that on the physical task they needed to achieve an individual score to receive their reward; however, despite their score, they were told they did not score high enough. This was done to induce failure. They would then receive the opportunity to complete the task again. The hypothesis was that those who scored higher in the three psychological traits would score higher on their second attempt. Once the data was collected and analyzed, it was found that there was no significant correlation to scores on the surveys and scores on the task.

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Poster #23 | Inside the World of VITA Davisha Scott – Senior, Accounting

D’Shonda Taylor – Senior, Accounting Francisco Velasco – Senior, General Business

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) is a program that offers free tax preparation to anyone in the community with annual income of 55, 000 or less. This program gives individuals with limited resources the opportunity to get their taxes done in a friendly environment. Austin Peay College of Business students are proud to be a part of the program. Students of Austin Peay has the opportunity to complete hands on training, including 32 modules preparing them for the VITA program. Everyone in the program met the qualifications by passing the Certification Exam with a score of 80% or higher. Austin Peay students are proud to say that this is the second year College of Business has offered VITA and hope to continue for future business students. This program has helped students prepare themselves and obtain valuable experience that potential employers are looking for in college graduates. Students are taught how to communicate with individuals, while keeping smiles on their faces. The VITA program is truly one of the best experiences offered to Business students.

Poster #24 | The VITA Program Michael Dove – Junior, Accounting

John Austin Peay – Junior, Accounting

In the presentation to follow, Michael Griffin Dove and John Austin Peay will elaborate on what Austin Peay State University’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program is while also providing information relating to their experience. The presentation will be separated into three distinct sections: Introduction, Methods, and Conclusion. The Introduction will provide background information of the program as well as the steps students had to take in order to become a member of it. For the methods section, a list will be provided including the ways in which volunteers prepared others’ tax returns accompanied by the variety of resources they used in order to do so. To conclude the presentation, the presenters will provide their own reflections on the experiences they had along with details regarding the lasting friendships they made during their time with the program. Pictures will also be provided on the poster to help visualize the information given in each section.

Poster #25 | Plyometric Justin Posthuma – Graduate Student, Health and Human Performance

Vertical jump performance is an important element of a football player’s skill set. To perform at the highest level, athletes must be able to explode vertically and reach the ball at its highest point as the game continues to move faster. The purpose of this study was to determine if an 8-week plyometric program affected on the vertical jump performance of college football players when added to a traditional resistance training program. Participants performed both broad and vertical jump variations in 3 phases with escalating difficulty. Subjects were divided into two groups (plyometric training (PT) and control), where PT was given a short plyometric routine post-workout and control went through normal offseason training. After analysis, results indicated that the 8-week program did not significantly increase vertical jump (p> 0.05) as both groups made jump improvements attributed to the traditional offseason program. Researchers found that subjects in PT did improve vertical jump abilities but not in a way that separated them from control. Improving vertical jump remains a quintessential component to modern sports and the science behind optimal training needs continued scrutiny.

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ORAL PRESENTATIONS SESSION 1

10:15-10:45A.M.

Prenatal Care to Delivery in the UK vs the US Location: Morgan University Center Room 308

Lauren Crews – Junior, Nursing Sarah Fitzgerald – Junior, Nursing

The topic of this presentation is exploring the similarities and differences between prepartum to delivery care in the United Kingdom versus prepartum to delivery care in the United States. Both the United Kingdom and the United States have similar prenatal care. The difference is United Kingdom’s prenatal care is free. In the United States, people with insurance still have to pay money out of pocket. In England, mothers have the option to have their prenatal appointments done at home instead of going to a clinic or a hospital. There is a higher percentage of natural vaginal births in the United Kingdom than the United States. The United Kingdom uses midwives in every birth setting. The United Kingdom uses more natural methods for pain relief, whereas the United States uses more medications. The cost of giving birth is significantly higher in the United States than if someone were to have a private birth in England. England focuses on holistic care for the mother and the baby instead of treating them like a regular hospital patient.

Brexit 101

Location: Morgan University Center Room 312 Olivia Miller – Senior, Nursing

The purpose of this PowerPoint presentation is to further examine the upcoming political phenomenon of Brexit. First, the European Union and Brexit are defined and explained so that the context of this phenomenon can be better understood. Then, the factors contributing to this occurrence are examined, and a timeline of past, current, and anticipated events is established. Afterward, the implications of Brexit for Europe and the world at large are discussed. Finally, the demographics and reasonings of individuals and groups of British citizens who voted for and against the political move are explored.

When it comes to healthcare which country does it better? US vs. United Kingdom Location: Morgan University Center Room 310

Regan Sandefur – Senior, Nursing

In 2017, 29.3 million people in the United States were without health insurance, which is 9.1% of the country’s population. Due to the high uninsured rate, there has been a long-term debate about whether the United States would benefit from the type of Universal Healthcare that is currently offered in the United Kingdom, where 100% of the population is insured. Those that are in favor of Universal Healthcare believe that no one should be without healthcare and there are many benefits that result from it. However, those who oppose Universal Healthcare argue that it is a form of socialism and that it is up to each individual, not the government, to obtain access to healthcare. After conducting a comparison of the two healthcare systems, the United Kingdom appears to provide the most cost-efficient and quality healthcare to their citizens (Cohen, R., Zammitti, E., Martinez. M. 2018).

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ORAL PRESENTATION SESSION 2 10:45-11:15A.M.

A Look Inside Universal Healthcare

Location: Morgan University Center Room 308 Chaz Authement – Junior, Nursing

This presentation will elaborate on what it is like to live in a country that offers Universal Health Care. Nursing students at Austin Peay State University took a trip to England to see Universal Health Care in practice, experience it, and grasp what it really is. As a result, students were able to experience a once-in-a-lifetime journey to visit hospitals and gain knowledge on England’s health care system. This presentation will include the history of Universal Healthcare in England, specifically the National Health Service (NHS), with specifics on how it is paid for, showing first-hand how a single payer healthcare system works along with the advantages and disadvantages of that system.

Unbelizable

Location: Morgan University Center Room 312 Brittany Turner – Senior, Biology

A ten-day excursion led to a lifelong journey. Belize offered more than a warm sun and stewed chicken. Two days were spent travelling, a total of six days were spent underwater, one day exploring the island and one day was spent on Mayan ruins, this offered a new view of life. The knowledge gained on and off the land is one that will be treasured and applied. This trip offered much more than just a class without four walls, lecture was bubbly and filled with fish delight. Most of the day was spent with hands on activity, observing and occasionally holding marine life. TREC and Dr. Markov ensured that this was more than a ten day to trip to a beautiful country, it was a lifelong learning experience, one that can be practiced outside of Belize.

Ana-Carlin Krueger in London

Location: Morgan University Center Room 310 Ana-Carlin Krueger – Junior, Communication Arts

Studying abroad made me redefine my view on life and what it means to live in the United States of America. Experiencing a different culture for the very first time is a big change from your home country that everyone else should have the opportunity to experience. Austin Peay State University prepares students to venture off into the real world and get themselves immersed into different cultures. I can now say that I view myself, my country, and my university in a more positive and diverse way after studying abroad with Austin Peay.

POSTER EXHIBIT AND DISPLAY #2 MUC BALLROOM

11:30A.M.-12:30P.M.

Poster #1 | VITA is Vital Conner Northrop – Senior, General Business

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) gives College students who specialize in the type of studies the College of Business offers a more hands-on experience than most internships and service-learning courses can offer. The student is tasked with doing the client’s taxes through the use of the TaxSlayerPro program and uses each client’s unique set of tax documents to learn about how taxes are done in various situations. This makes the student more knowledgeable in both getting a future job opportunity and doing taxes themselves. It also lets the student become more acclimated with

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the social aspect of the employee-client relationship, in which the student will learn how to act socially in this situation. This would help them universally, as this skill is applicable anywhere, not just in a work environment. This will be presented on a poster board which explains these aspects of VITA and how it will help any student who decided to give it a go. Poster #2 | Comparison of the Acute Effects of Static and Dynamic Stretching Warm-up on Spring Performance

in Young Adults Shelby Mullikin – Graduate Student, Health and Human Performance Katelynn Cedillo – Graduate Student, Health and Human Performance

The controversy regarding which stretching warm-up protocol best enhances sprint performance has been on the rise. More research studies are needed to determine the extent to which method is valid for improving 40-meter sprint performance. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a static or dynamic stretching warm-up enhanced sprint performance in young adults. Twenty-three undergraduate college students at Austin Peay State University participated in the study. Each participant a one-time weekly testing period for two weeks. The participants were randomly assigned either static stretching or dynamic stretching at the first session and during the second session, they completed the opposite. Time of the 40-meter sprint was compared between the two stretching protocols using a one-way repeated measures ANOVA with p<0.05. Results showed that no significant difference existed between stretching protocols (p=0.53). In conclusion, further research on the acute effects of stretching on sprint performance should be performed.

Poster #3 | Phylogeography of a small-stream adapted crayfish, Cambarus pristinus, from the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee

Brooke Grubb – Graduate, Biology

Many North American crayfishes are considered imperiled due to habitat loss and fragmentation. Despite this, few phylogeographic studies have been conducted to aid conservation management decisions by assessing the impact of habitat fragmentation, delineating evolutionary significant management units, and identifying dispersal barriers, historical vicariance, and other factors that contribute to geographic structure. Cambarus pristinus (Pristine Crayfish) is an imperiled crayfish endemic to the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee where it occurs at low densities in headwater tributaries and lower order (4th order) mainstem reaches of the Caney Fork and Sequatchie Rivers. Currently, two forms are recognized based on morphology: the nominate form (C. pristinus), restricted to the Caney Fork River system and the Sequatchie form (Cambarus cf. pristinus), found in the Sequatchie River system and one tributary to Cane Creek (Caney Fork River System). We examined phylogeographic relationships of C. pristinus populations to identify if any long-standing isolation among populations or between the forms had occurred by sequencing the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (COI) of five individuals from eight localities. Haplotype networks of sequences were constructed in TCS. (V. 1.21) and a phylogeographic tree was created using MEGA7. A total of 10 haplotypes were detected. C. pristinus exhibited low haplotype diversity (1-2 mutations), with at least one haplotype shared among all populations, suggesting that no long-standing isolation among examined populations occurred despite potential barriers to gene flow such as intervening large river habitats and elevational changes associated with the Cumberland Plateau. Cambarus cf. pristinus had two unique haplotypes recovered in a separate haplotype network that differed from C. pristinus by 14-15 mutational steps. The two forms were recovered as separate well-supported clades suggesting that Cambarus. cf. pristinus has experienced long-standing isolation from C. pristinus, supporting its recognition as a distinct taxon.

Poster #4 | Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program Andrea Ayala – Junior, Accounting

Juan Fernandez – Freshman, Liberal Arts

Austin Peay State University offers the ability for students to enroll in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program as volunteers, and the students are responsible for preparing Federal Income Tax Returns for the community. The program

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allows for people within the community to have their federal income tax return prepared by certified young professionals for free. As for the students, this program allows for students to enhance their communication and professional skills with everyone who comes in.

Poster #5 | VITA Program Stephanie Huettner-Welch – Senior, Accounting

The VITA program is an IRS sponsored program designed to give back to the community. It allows low to middle income people or families to prepare and e-file their taxes for free with the assistance of certified volunteers. Each volunteer must go through detailed training and pass their certification test before they are able to become a volunteer. While giving back to the community, the volunteers gain hands on experience with different tax fillings. They also gain experience through their social and communicative skills with dealing with such a diverse group of clients. The VITA site at the service-learning center is only on its second year, but so far, we have had a good number of clients come in to have their taxes prepared and filed. In my experience, I have gotten the chance to become more familiar with the tax software and the process for filing income taxes. It has also given me the opportunity to work on my social and communication skills with a diverse group of people.

Poster #6 | Voluntary Income Tax Assistance Kani Sunil – Senior, Accounting

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) is a program initiated and envisioned by IRS to support free tax preparation service for all individuals who have their annual income of $55000 or less, Persons with disabilities and limited English-speaking taxpayers who need assistance in preparing their own taxes. IRS designed the program to help states by bringing in more tax revenue, tax compliance across the state and save income for low income families. VITA program also benefits and supports local community and civic engagements. IRS supports states through VITA program by, direct funding, trainings, books, and materials for all individuals who wish to participate in tax services. To qualify as a tax preparer, individuals were required to pass several exams to become certified. After successfully passing the examinations, free tax preparation was performed by the students of college of business at 322 Home Avenue, Clarksville.

Poster #7 | Leading as a Minority Dacorian Lockhart – Sophomore, Health and Human Performance

Lamarkus Day – Senior, Criminal Justice

This is an analysis of two African American college students participating in a service-learning project. This analysis will discuss the overall experience, as well as the leadership skills gained from this service-learning course. This course is vital to the success of these young men because minority students often face different experiences in leadership rather than non-minority students. The service-learning project allowed the young men to understand that their presence in pre-school class rooms as a minority is very important. At the beginning of this course, the leadership skills of each individual student were explored using the Strengths Based Leadership Test. This course was able to help develop and enhance the leadership skills that the young men acquired, also the young men were able to utilize these skills by volunteering at Head Start. Stacy Abrams’ book on minority leadership also instilled theoretical techniques that the young men integrated into their service-learning project. Through hands on experiences at the Head Start, the young men gained practical skills to utilize in their everyday life.

Poster #8 | A Look into Our Service Jatavious Dotson – Sophomore, Biology

Jeffrey Henderson – Senior, Criminal Justice

This is an audit of the encounters of two African American college male understudies engaged with a service-learning project. Often African American males are stereotyped as “thugs, gangsters, uneducated, and worthless individuals who

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will never amount to anything.” Given this, two African American male students made it their goal to defy stereotypes that others have portrayed them as by enrolling in a leadership course that teaches minorities their worth. While being enrolled in the leadership course the individuals completed service-learning hours at a local preschool center. Using their own encounters, the marvel of authority gave thick and rich information to the member's experience which is imperative in seeing how they see Leadership. The academic essentialness is that this investigation adds to the group of writing and gives a potential future model administration. The accompanying subjects rose up out of the meetings shared advantages and challenges. Also, the members demonstrated that there should have been more assets and direness for African American men to be incorporated into the lives of preschoolers.

Poster #9 | Demographic Studies in VITA Clarksville Elijah Rawle – Senior, Accounting

Interviews will be done with users of the VITA Program, with their written consent and anonymity of their stories, to find out about themselves, their lives, and how the program has helped them. The interviewer will find people of different ages, sexes, work groups, and other diversifications such as disability, military service, or dependency situations to discover how the VITA Program helps those in various situations and backgrounds gain access to tax services and IRS advice. Interviews will contain information about how users discovered the VITA Program and their transport to our location, and if they have used other sites previously. If applicable, it will contain information about their experience with our site versus sites in other locations such as the Clarksville Public Library and the Nashville locations. It will request additional opportunities for changes the site can make in availability, timing, and services.

Poster #10 | Effectiveness of Self-Talk on Exit Velocity in Collegiate Baseball Players Zachary Anderson – Graduate Student, Health and Human Performance

Nick Walker – Graduate Student, Health and Human Performance

The purpose of this study was to determine whether motivational or instructional self-talk was more effective in exit velocity in collegiate baseball players. More specifically, the research was done to examine if self-talk was a clear indicator of performance on college athletes. Twenty collegiate baseball players (average age of 20 years old +/- 1.32, average height of 72.41 inches +/- 1.32, average weight of 191.64 pounds +/- 26.62, and average body fat percentage of 17.15% +/- 6.62) completed a week-long study that included baseline testing, an intervention, and a post-test. The results were found by using a one-way ANOVA with a post hoc t-test with an alpha level equal to .05.

Poster #11 | Volunteering with VITA Eliot Fordham – Junior, Accounting

Since 1971 the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program or VITA has aimed to provide low to moderate income taxpayers free assistance with filing their tax returns. The volunteers at VITA learn tax software and recent tax laws in order to better serve clients and raise taxpayer awareness. In providing this service, the volunteers at VITA learn effective communication skills, gain a sense of fulfillment from serving their community, and become familiar with what work as a tax preparer would be like.

Poster #12 | VITA Joshua DeRosa – Sophomore, Finance

The Volunteer Tax Assistance (VITA) program gives people who meet the prerequisites to have their taxes prepared for free by IRS-certified volunteers and are filed by qualified members in the program. The volunteers consist of APSU students that spent winter break and a few weeks in the beginning of the semester to become IRS-certified and to practice with the program that is used to file taxes. To ensure that information is accurate, a certified accountant and students who had participated in this program previously are always on site to double check the volunteers work before it gets sent to the IRS.

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Poster #13 | VITA Experience Danyul Pulley – Freshman, Accounting

Tax season can be a real burden on the community, and everyone could use a helping hand. The college of business at APSU has continued its program to aid the community during tax season. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program enables people to have their taxes done as long as they are under the $54,000 salary requirement by trained tax preparers. This is a free program to the community so everyone can get their taxes filed. All tax preparers must complete several training activities as well as successfully pass a certification exam to be certified. After certification, the students are then able to complete simple tax returns. This presentation will provide an overview of this course from the perspective of a freshman student, highlighting their ability to get familiar with taxes in preparation for future tax classes and their career, as well as assisting those who need help with their taxes.

Poster #14 | London Lines Claire Layne – Junior, Studio Art

The Communication in Organizations Service-Learning Study Abroad London Spring Break with Dr. Tracy Nichols teamed up with the British Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, and Salvation Army. Throughout spring break, the course allowed students to volunteer with Habitat at the Charlie Chaplin playground, tour the Salvation Army International Headquarters, and volunteer at the British Red Cross in Chelsea. It provided the opportunity to learn about the cultural differences between the UK and US, experience life in the capital of England, and explore the United Kingdom’s megacity. During the trip, students also had free time to visit historical locations such as Stonehenge, Salisbury Cathedral, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and Windsor Castle, as well as tourist locations like the London Eye, Chinatown, Sky Garden, and Piccadilly Circus. The class was also able to explore famous artistic locations like the British Museum, Tate Britain Gallery, and watch a performance at the Queen’s Theater. The international experience assisted in reinforcing the class’s study in communication within organizations while learning to recognize the unspoken communication among Londoners.

Poster #15 | Minority Leadership and Success Lavontre Douglass – Freshman, Engineering Technology

Arthur Coefield – Junior, Leadership & Organizational Administration

Minority Leadership is a class designed to inform African American males on how minorities face obstacles in society and how those obstacles can be overcome on the path to success. Students are assigned supplementary readings from Stacy Abrams and Don Clifton throughout the semester. While enrolled in this course the students must choose a local head start program and complete a minimum of 10 service hours. The goal of the placement is for the African American males to create a minority presence in the classroom that not only benefits the head start students, but the student as well. The course also requires the students to attend leadership conferences at The University of Tennessee-Knoxville and The University of Illinois, where they will learn from keynote speakers such as Andrew Gillum and Stacy Abrams. At the end of the course each student will be equipped with the tools to be a successful minority leader.

Poster #16 | Minority Leadership and Success Elyse Bellamy – Senior, Accounting Colleen Gould – Senior, Accounting

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance is a program certified through the Internal Revenue Service. We, as volunteers, were excited to use the knowledge we gained from our classroom experience last semester in a meaningful manner to help the community navigate through the new tax laws and be able to file their taxes for free. According to 2017 Clarksville demographics, more than 44% of households have a median income less than the cap to use the VITA service and we were proud to one of two sites servicing our community this tax season. As a new site our toughest hurdle was being able to make the community aware of our availability. Through the use of social media, increased presence of flyers on campus, and reaching out to the library site, we were able to start reaching more people in the community.

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Poster #17 | London Adventures Through the Eyes of Sisterhood J. Michelle Jones – Senior, Criminal Justice

Cheryl Jones – Freshman, Psychological Science

The Comparative Criminal Justice London Spring Break Study Abroad Program supplied historical knowledge of the United Kingdom’s court system, private tours of the courthouses, and live court session viewings. Additionally, this program allows participants to experience London’s modern culture through tube transportation, English cuisine, modern art, and Royal ceremonies. Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace and Changing the Queen’s Lifeguard at the Household Calvary provide observations of modern customs built on foundations of strong traditional customs. Participants are also provided class scheduled and individual opportunities to explore London’s rich historical culture through exquisitely maintained museums and cathedrals. Traveling abroad as sisters presented an opportunity to grasp an understanding of the family lifestyles, routines, and customs of London residents. This poster delivers visual glimpses of these life changing observations and experiences.

Poster #18 | Travel Differences in the U.S. vs. U.K. Julianna Allen – Junior, Nursing Seth Martin – Senior, Nursing

This presentation is to describe the differences between the transportation systems in the United Kingdom and the United States. For example, on a normal day in Clarksville or Nashville, Tennessee, everyone gets their car started and drives to work. On the other hand, in London, the locals use their strategic tube system to get from one location to another.

Poster #19 | Differentiation of E. Coli, E. faecalis and P. mirabilis by MacConkey and Phenylethyl Alcohol

Wei Zhang – Senior, Medical Laboratory Science

MacConkey agar is a selective and differential culture media commonly used for the isolation of most gram-negative enteric rods, allowing differentiation of lactose fermenting and non-fermenting gram-negative bacteria. Phenylethyl alcohol agar is a selective medium that permits the growth of gram-positive bacteria while inhibiting most gram-negative organisms. To compare these two agars, E. coli, Enterococcus. faecalis, and Proteus. mirabilis were cultured on both MacConkey and Phenylethyl alcohol agars. Gram-positive E. faecalis grew well, Gram-negative Proteus mirabilis was markedly suppressed without swarming, and gram-negative E. coli did not grow on PEA. Gram positive E. faecalis did not grow on MacConkey agar. In contrast, gram-negative E. coli and P. mirabilis both grew well on MacConkey. Furthermore, Lactose fermenter E. coli was pink while non-lactose fermenter P. mirabilis colorless. Taken together, MacConkey and PEA selectively differentiates E. Coli, E. faecalis and P. mirabilis through characteristics of growth and morphologies of the colonies.

ORAL PRESENTATIONS SESSION 3

12:45-1:15P.M.

Giving Birth in the US vs. Across the Pond Location: Morgan University Center Room 308

Hannah Richardson – Senior, Nursing Maura Cauley – Senior, Nursing

This PowerPoint will compare and contrast the processes and pathways from giving birth to discharge in the United States versus the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom, midwives are the main caregivers before, during, and after childbirth for women who have little to no risks. Obstetricians will be seeing future moms who have had complications

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in previous births, have comorbidities, risks with childbirth, or older women. Births in the United Kingdom tend to be more natural vaginal births without the use of medications. Cesareans are left for emergencies and for women who cannot give birth vaginally. Moms and dads-to-be are usually not given an option when deciding on cesarean versus vaginal birth. In the United States, it is more likely for a mother-to-be to see an obstetrician than a midwife. Midwifery is not a common career in the United States. Moms and dads-to-be in the United States are given the option when deciding which pathway to give birth, but the trend is typically towards vaginal birth with medication.

Voltage-gated Sodium Channels in MDA-MB 231 Breast Cancer Cells

Location: Morgan University Center Room 310 Dillon Nall – Graduate Student, Biology

Voltage-gated sodium channels carry the action potential in excitable cells, and the channel type and distribution are well established. In non-excitable cancer cells voltage-gated sodium channels are thought to play a role in metastatic behavior and invasiveness. MDA-MB 231 human epithelial breast cancer cells tend to be highly aggressive, invasive, and poorly differentiated. They have an endothelial-like morphology with satellite projections that can bridge neighboring cell colonies. It has previously been established that MDA-MB 231 cells have NaV 1.5 sodium channels, which are also found in embryonic tissue. In the current study, NaV 1.4 sodium channels, normally found in skeletal muscle are expressed in MDA-MB 231 cells associated with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), whereas other sodium channel types are distributed both at the ER and within the cell membrane. Future studies will evaluate the role that these channels play in cell migration.

Twinings: Old Roots to New Leaves Location: Morgan University Center Room 306

Chase Gibson – Senior, Nursing

The purpose of this PowerPoint is to inform about a business local to London, England, Twinings Tea Co. The information that will be covered is the development of the company from its beginning to present along with its current altruistic healthcare-oriented initiatives in impoverished areas around the world. Twinings’s contributions around the world include health promotion and education for women, sanitation and homing programs, and access to information that will improve opportunities for financial stability.

ORAL PRESENTATION SESSION 4 1:15-1:45P.M.

The Pregnancy Process: US vs. UK Location: Morgan University Center Room 308

Mykalah Dailey – Junior, Nursing Ashlynn Almon – Junior, Nursing

The difference in healthcare seems to be the biggest factor that impacts all the differences in pregnancy and giving birth between the United States and the United Kingdom (Bosley, D. 2017). This presentation will outline the comparisons and contrasts of the pregnancy process from Prenatal/Antenatal Care to Labor/Delivery and Postpartum/Postnatal care between the two countries. It will also demonstrate how the difference in healthcare can be responsible for those discrepancies. This presentation was inspired by a recent primary encounter to London’s own Homerton Hospital in Homerton, London, United Kingdom, where the difference in experience was noted. In this presentation the Homerton University Hospital NHS foundation trust is compared to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

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Pilot Location: Morgan University Center Room 312

Kelsey Rogers – Junior, Management Kaitlin Albert – Junior, Accounting

Trenton Schewe – Sophomore, Accounting Fallon Richards – Sophomore, Accounting

The Austin Peay State University Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program was implemented in 2019. The goal is to provide quality tax preparation services to citizens of Clarksville, Tennessee who made under $54,000 per year. The volunteers train for three weeks and learn about the world of tax preparation and are ultimately tested to get certified to prepare taxes. When a member from the community comes to have their taxes prepared, they are greeted with a smile by one of the dedicated coordinators and meet with a preparer who will complete each of their tax documents. After a volunteer has entered the information, the return is sent for review and approval by a coordinator and filed accordingly. Throughout the process, volunteers, customers, and coordinators share experience, stories, jokes and a workspace fit for a perfect mock episode of TV’s American version of “The Office.” This presentation includes a mock episode of “The Office” written to show the daily life in APSU’s VITA site and then a verbal speech by each member of the group about their personal experiences this year.

History in Words vs. History in Action Location: Morgan University Center Room 310

Calie Benke – Junior, English

As citizens of such a young nation, American students tend to limit their attention to current events of the United States and its immediate history. This mentality often conflicts with students’ abilities to understand the importance of learning about other countries’ history, being so far removed both geographically and culturally from the homes of the oldest civilizations. Contrary to learning from secondary accounts, students who immerse themselves into foreign cultures and their history are able to form their own observations and conclusions, which can revitalize their passions and solidify their knowledge. It also increases self-awareness of their relationships with different cultures and peoples and promotes a higher understanding of life and human interconnections. In this oral presentation, Calie Benke details her experiences and observations on the distinct differences between studying textbooks and studying abroad, using photographs to support her points.

Impact of Minority Leaders in Early Childhood Development Location: Morgan University Center Room 306 Nicholas Gunter – Sophomore, Criminal Justice

This study explores how to bridge the gap between the youth and black male stereotypes. The study was conducted to see how children viewed black males initially and if after their interaction they felt differently or were more comfortable with black males. Stereotype stigmas are hard to break, such as media portrayals associated black males with being “thugs and gangsters.” Children are at an essential point in development within this period, it is key that caretakers don’t impart toxic ideals onto children. The only way for humanity to be united is to shed negative stereotypes. Working to undo damage that has been done throughout generations is a slow and tedious process but starting now can save generations to come.

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POSTER EXHIBIT AND DISPLAY #2 MUC BALLROOM

2-3P.M.

Poster #1 | Use of dead mussel shells by madtom catfishes in the Green River Jacob Brumley – Graduate Student, Biology

The Green River in Kentucky has high fish and macroinvertebrate diversity. As both fish and macroinvertebrates have evolved together in this system, symbiotic relationships have developed between species. One type of relationship that has been observed is between madtom catfish (Noturus spp.) and mussels in the Green River, where madtoms use dead mussel shells as cover when not actively hunting. In the fall of 2016 and 2017, surveys were conducted to determine if madtom catfish prefer hiding under dead mussel shells or rocks of similar size. Three 12-meter by 12-meter plots were sampled at four separate sites along the Green River, once per year, by snorkeling in an upstream direction and searching for madtoms in dead mussel shells and under the rock substrate. An equal amount of effort was used searching for madtoms under rocks and in mussel shells. Significantly more madtoms were found under mussel shells than under rocks of similar size. These results support the hypothesis tested in this study that madtoms prefer the cover of mussel shells rather than rocks. The decline of mussel populations and resulting decline in available mussel shells in rivers and streams, may have negative effects on madtom populations in the future.

Poster #2 | Are neighbors pillaging nests: detecting spatial complexity of allopaternal care in the imperiled

Egg-mimic Darter (Etheostoma pseudovulatum) Nastasia Disotell – Graduate Student, Biology

Alloparental care behavior has been documented in several clades of animals, including fishes. Despite the increased energy cost of caring for more offspring, this behavior of raising non-descendent young also has potential benefits, including attraction of mates or reduced egg predation by dilution effects. The Egg-mimic Darter, Etheostoma pseudovulatum, is an imperiled darter species restricted to only five tributaries of the Duck river where they occur in rocky pools of small to medium-sized streams. Male Egg-mimic Darters and those of other species of clade Goneaperca construct nests under rocks and guard eggs until hatched. Two species from this clade, E. virgatum and E. olmstedi, exhibit allopaternal care; whether this is a common strategy to all members of the clade is not known. Furthermore, the potential benefits of kin-selection and how nest density or male size influences such behaviors have not been tested. We will use microsatellite loci to obtain genotypes from the eggs in 15 nests from two localities, the guarding males of each nest, and other non-guarding males and females from each site to identify the following: (1) if allopaternal care occurs in this species, (2) if kin-selection is one benefit of allopaternal care, (3) if male size correlates to the proportion of non-descendant eggs in a nest, and (4) if distance between nests influences allopaternal care frequency. To date, eggs from 17 nests, the guarding male for each, and 15 other non-guarding males have been collected from one locality. DNA was extracted from non-target individuals from a second location and used as a template to optimize 14 microsatellite locus primers that were variable within the focal taxon. The resulting loci will be used to generate genotypic data for all focal individuals from both localities, which will be subjected to parentage analyses using COLONY (V2.0) to address our objectives.

Poster #3 | Image Compression with Singular Value Decomposition

Ryan Cain – Senior, Math Benjamin Meadows – Junior, Computer Science

Taylor Brentari – Senior, Math

Image compression (IC) refers to the compression of images via computer algorithms. Many of these algorithms can be written using matrix equations. Thus, the study of linear algebra becomes imperative. In this project, we will be using Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) in the field of IC. SVD reduces a large matrix into three small factored matrices.

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With this, we will be using the programming language Matlab to utilize SVD for image compression. Knowing from literature we know images will be compressed by these algorithms and this project will be our test and examination of this process. In the future, we can apply these techniques to examine facial recognition software.

Poster #4 | Matrices in Portfolio Projections Zachary Marlow – Junior, Math

The multiple dimensions of Linear Algebra are very prevalent in the Mathematical Finance field, particularly in its applications of matrix algebra. Using matrix algebra, portfolios of stocks can be assessed under differing economic times. Matrix techniques aid to see the correlation between economic conditions and stock prices. Looking at stock prices on Yahoo Finance or Bloomberg, current stock prices will be analyzed, and predictions will be made to determine future stock prices given economic atmospheres. Finally, probability matrices may be used to weigh the chances of certain economic conditions that a market may face. In this research, R will be used in making these predictions utilizing matrix algebra capabilities. In the future, market models will also be studied in conjunction with portfolio theory.

Poster #5 | The Stability in Hydraulic Geometry in Tennessee Mark Lees – Senior, Geosciences

Hydraulic Geometry is the relationship between the geometry (width and depth) and the flow (velocity and discharge) of a river cross section. The determination if hydraulic geometry in Tennessee is significantly different spatially, by comparing watersheds in the mountains versus the non-mountain watersheds, and temporally, by using one watershed in each area over time, will allow the variability of hydraulic geometry over space and time to be tested. Ternary plots and line graphs will be used to compare and show hydraulic exponents temporally at each watershed and a pooled variance and F-test will be used to compare the hydraulic exponents spatially. The results will indicate whether the hydraulic geometry will be significantly different temporally and spatially. The data used for this project was acquired from a data mining program made by Dr. Leong Lee from the Department of Computer Science which mined data from the United States Geological Survey website.

Poster #6 | Microsatellite Primer Development for the Federally Threatened Apios priceana (Fabaceae) Annie Lindsey – Graduate Student, Biology

Lydia Deason – Junior, Biology

Apios priceana is a federally threatened species found in four southeastern states (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee). Conservation and management of a rare species is aided by understanding its population genetic structure and diversity levels. Here, we identify some microsatellite primers developed for an A. priceana population genetics study, including those that might transfer to A. americana, a widespread congener found throughout eastern North America, in a comparative analysis. From an initial survey of 12-25 A. priceana individuals from 7-9 populations, 23 primers pairs were amplified under test conditions. Nine were resolved after fragment analysis, yielding two monomorphic and seven polymorphic loci for A. priceana. Five of the loci amplified for A. americana, which will be beneficial for future population genetics studies of Apios. The levels of allelic polymorphism seen in the A. priceana populations are promising and may suggest this rare species has relatively high genetic diversity levels.

Poster #7 | GC-MS, LC-MS, and Raman Analysis of Carotenoids Marea Blake – Senior, Biology

β-carotene and other similar carotenoids are important to quantitate in order to observe the mating behaviors in the Southern Redbelly Dace (Chrosomus erythrogaster). This study utilizes Raman spectroscopy, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to quantitate β-carotene. A preliminary calibration curve to quantitate β-carotene was created with Raman spectroscopy. Further analysis using GC-MS has been conducted. Carotenoids are difficult to analyze with GC as they have low volatility and tend to decompose in

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response to heat. Degassing the carotenoids in acetone solutions with nitrogen has helped to reduce degradation, but β-apo-8-carotenal and β-carotene are still co-eluting. The use of hypochlorite derivatization with GC-MS will be explored to overcome these challenges. Additionally, LC-MS analysis will be examined. Once quantitation of carotenoids has been achieved, future studies will examine fish scales to help understand the importance of carotenoids in fish reproductive behavior.

Poster #8 | Spectroscopic analysis of cannabis using Spartan Molecular Modeling Program Autumn Maczko – Senior, Chemistry

Kaylan Beaty – Junior, Biology

A common topic of discussion and debate, cannabis is a complex plant with various chemical compounds that function in many different capacities within the body. A common product on the commercial market is CBD (cannabidiol) oil from the cannabis plant, which binds to cannabinoid receptors in the body to block pain signals resulting in an altered pain sensitivity. Another chemical compound found in the cannabis plant is the frequently debated compound, THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). The purpose of this experiment is to educate students on the use of spectrometric analysis to visualize chemical structures on computational programs and evaluate nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data to identify each atom in the molecular structure. Students will evaluate a compound found in the cannabis plant with Spartan computer program which will allow students to visualize the structure of the compound. This will allow students to identify structural differences in each compound and to determine how the difference in functional groups leads to different biological functions. The Spartan program will also provide students with 13C NMR and 1H NMR data to identifying carbon and hydrogen framework in a molecule. Students will also learn how the polarity of chemical compounds affect the biological function of the molecule.

Poster #9 | 1D and 2D-NMR Studies for the Structural Determination of 3-Hexyl Acetate Noah Wheeler – Junior, Chemistry

Fischer esterification is an established synthetic method for producing esters and is a prevalent experiment in many organic laboratory manuals. Tentative identification of the ester, 3-hexyl acetate, has been determined using various physical (microboiling point, refractive index, gas-liquid chromatography (GLC)), infrared (IR) spectroscopy, and gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS). Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, however, is required for specific structural identification of the ester. The NMR spectra of 3-hexyl acetate have been thoroughly studied using both 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopy experiments. The 1D-NMR experiments utilized for structure determination were 1H-NMR (PMR), 13C-NMR (CMR), gated-decoupled CMR, DEPT45, DEPT90, DEPT135, and DEPTQ135. The 2D-NMR experiments utilized were 1H/1H-NMR experiments (COSY and TOCSY) and 1H/13C-NMR experiments (HSQC, HMBC, and HMQC). The NMR experiments were first performed as individual NMR experiments followed by the use of ICONNMR.

Poster #10 | Utilizing Screen-Printed Electrodes to Improve Carbon Paste Electrode Fabrication Brianna Richardson – Junior, Chemistry

Electrodes such as carbon paste and screen-printed electrodes are used to measure electrochemical reactions by detecting the current flowing through a substance. In this study, nicotine was analyzed electrochemically using a carbon paste electrode to determine the consistency of electronic cigarette liquid manufacturing. While the results met expectations, carbon paste electrodes are difficult to manufacture consistently. An improved method of electrode fabrication was desired. Therefore, carbon paste was added to screen-printed electrodes, which are easily manufactured and cost-efficient, to determine if the combination could be used to develop more consistent and sensitive electrodes. Potassium ferricyanide was used as a control to determine the amount of current successfully flowing through these new electrodes. The reversibility of the redox reaction occurring at the electrode surface was also determined. This new electrode manufacturing process can be utilized for additional applications such as in microfluidic devices or in quality control testing.

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Poster #11 | Quantitation of Gluten for Analysis of Denaturing Processes in Beer Danh Steven Doan – Senior, Chemistry

Celiac disease causes those with the disease to have an immune response upon consumption of the protein gluten. Currently the best treatment for people with celiac disease is to avoid consuming products that contain gluten, such as beer. Many steps in the brewing process could possibly denature the gluten from the barley, such as heat, acid, and alcohol. Preliminary research is being conducted to determine if any of these steps could be modified to make true gluten-free beer. UV-Vis spectroscopy is being utilized to detect and quantify gluten. Gluten-free beers made from rice and gluten-containing beers are compared to the calibration curve made with known standard concentrations of gluten. Additional work is being conducted to lay the groundwork for future tryptic digest and ESI-MS analysis of the gluten. Once the controls are completed, the chemistry in the brewing process will be altered to attempt to denature the gluten.

Poster #12 | Creation of a Set of Procedures for Undergraduate Toxicology Classes Christina Cagle – Junior, Chemistry

There is an apparent lack of literature regarding undergraduate collegiate opportunities for toxicology laboratory experiments. The purpose of this research is to develop a laboratory procedure for toxicology students to learn and understand LD50 calculations. The lab will be tested using bacteria on minimal media, which will be treated with the common herbicide glyphosate during their log phase of growth. Glyphosate is added to arrest the shikimate pathway of amino acid synthesis, leading to cell death. The concentration of cells present in the solution is measured at an optical density of 600 nm. Further research will help to optimize the experiment for cost-effectiveness and time constraints for a standard three-hour lab period.

Poster #13 | Electrochemical comparison of the Benzyl-β-Carotene Derivative to 8’- Apo-β-carotenal Duncan Sullivan – Senior, Chemistry

Carotenoids are a class of colorful pigments that are known to absorb light well due to their structure. Having conjugated double bonds throughout their structure, carotenoids are heavily stabilized by resonance and are able to absorb light on the UV and visible light spectrum. Absorbing light is used within multiple biochemical processes with the most important being photosynthesis, but light absorption can also be used for commercial purposes. Carotenoids and their derivatives can be investigated to help improve solar panels and electronic ink displays. Carotenoids with multiple conjugated double bonds and aromatic rings will require less energy to excite electrons and will provide better electrochemical readings. Using a commercial grade 8’- Apo-β-carotenal as a base, a benzene ring, an aromatic ring, was synthesized onto It using a Wittig reaction. The resulting product was purified using column chromatography with silica being the stationary phase. The product is being tested for its electrochemical properties and compared to the initial 8’- Apo-β-carotenal.

Poster #14 | GCMS Analyses of Isomeric Hexyl Alcohols and Their Corresponding Acetate Esters Cassandra Gonzalez – Senior, Chemistry

Fischer esterification is an established synthetic method for producing esters and is a prevalent experiment in many organic laboratory manuals. Previous studies involved fractional distillation of eight isomeric hexyl acetates synthesized over the past several years, which were analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC), microboiling point, refractive index, and infrared (IR) spectroscopy. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic studies, using both 1D- and 2D-NMR experiments, provided additional information necessary to determine the structures for each of the isomeric hexyl acetates. This study utilizes electron-impact gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry (EI-GCMS) data to further elucidate the structures of both the starting alcohols and their corresponding acetate esters. Fragmentation patterns observed in the mass spectra of the eight isomeric alcohols and their acetate esters, including both bond fissions and rearrangements, provide additional support of the structural determinations previously determined using physical and spectroscopic analyses.

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Poster #15 | Representation of symmetrical operations in molecular systems by matrices Darby Del Duca – Senior, Math Courtney Frazier, Senior, Math

Symmetry plays a vital role in the study of molecules. Molecular symmetry helps us to understand the structure, classification of molecules, and prediction of a chiral or polar molecular property. In this research, different symmetries in molecules will be described in the relation to algebra of matrices. Specifically, the focus will be on performing symmetry operations via transformations in matrices. Matrices will represent symmetry operations such as rotation and reflections. These symmetries will be applied to the ammonia molecule. The results from the research will be used to look at other fields such as stock movements in finance.

Poster #16 | Detection and Separation of Opiates by HPLC Marriah Gonzalez – Senior, Chemistry

Deaths caused by drug overdose are at an all-time high and are commonly due to the illegal use of prescribed opioids. Once opioids are prescribed clinics are required to drug test patients to ensure proper use of the prescribed medication. False-positive and false-negative results may lead to termination of the prescribed drug and the patient’s ability to control their pain. Because opiates are similar in structure with their metabolites, false-positives and false-negatives may be impossible to prevent using GC-MS, a common method for detection. Liquid chromatography is becoming more useful in the clinical lab setting due to its increased sensitivity. LC can be used alongside common drug tests in order to ensure there are no false-positive or false-negative results. Due to its sensitivity HPLC was used for the detection and separation of four opioids, hydrocodone, oxycodone, codeine, and morphine. Solutions of 2 ng/mL and 4 ng/mL of opiates were used in the development of the method for detection. Individual samples were injected into the HPLC under reversed-phase chromatography using two mobiles phase 0.1% formic acid in water (A) and 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile (B). GC-MS was used to validate the method ran on the HPLC.

Poster #17 | Practical Applications of Organic Chemistry: Improving Student Knowledge of GC-MS through Analysis of Electronic Cigarettes

Parth Patel – Junior, Biology

Due to student familiarity with electronic cigarettes, this lab incorporates e-cigs to teach students about gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). By utilizing a lab with a realistic application, engagement and retention can be measured. The students will utilize a smoking apparatus in order to collect nicotine vapors on a glass fiber filter. The contents of the filter will be mixed with methanol and then syringe filtered prior to GC-MS analysis. Research and experimental design have already been conducted to optimize lab protocols and procedures. The students will be surveyed and quizzed to determine knowledge gains and proficiency increases after a practical lab experiment. In particular, student’s understanding of mass spectrometry will be measured. Optimization of this study could lead to a more refined laboratory experiment that provides students with a realistic connection between lecture and lab material.

Poster #18 | Synthesis and Characterization of Zirconium Tungstate Ruben Torres – Senior, Chemistry

Zirconium tungstate (ZrW2O8) is a unique ceramic material that has a negative coefficient of thermal expansion, and when heated the crystal structure of ZrW2O8 contracts isotropically. Polymers, such as epoxy and polyurethane, have positive coefficients of thermal expansion and exhibit normal expansion upon heating. Composites containing ZrW2O8

imbedded in a polymer matrix could yield a material with zero expansion upon heating. These composites would be desirable in high temperature and thermal cycling applications. Synthesis and characterization of spherical particles of ZrW2O8 is presented.

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Poster #19 | Fischer Esterification using 2-methyl-1-pentanol Tarryn Trick – Senior, Chemistry

Fischer esterification is an established synthetic method for producing esters and is a prevalent experiment in many organic laboratory manuals. This study involves the acid catalyzed reaction of acetic acid with 2-methyl-1-pentanol. The reaction was performed using various reflux time periods to produce the ester, 2-methyl-1-pentyl acetate. The product was separated from the reaction mixture by a series of extractions and dried using anhydrous sodium sulfate. The product mixtures were analyzed using gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) to determine the purity and percent yield of the ester for each reflux time period. Selected product mixtures were combined, purified by fractional distillation, and reanalyzed using GLC. The purest fraction was further analyzed by microboiling point and refractive index, the experimental values compared to the theoretical values. Spectroscopic techniques, including infrared spectroscopy and both 1D- and 2D- nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic experiments, as well as mass spectrometry, are to be utilized to confirm the identity of the product ester.

Poster #20 | Disaster and crisis: Implementing a simulation-based Psychological First Aid training activity Jordan Minchew – Graduate Student, Counseling

As potential first responders to both natural and man-made disasters, it is important for counselors to be educated and prepared in the administration of disaster mental health services, especially given the current sociopolitical climate in the United States. The purpose of this qualitative study is to determine counseling student perceptions of participating in a simulation-based Psychological First Aid (PFA) training activity by addressing two research questions: (1) How did students experience/perceive a simulation-based method of training on the core principles of PFA? (2) What are the perceived professional outcomes counseling students reported based on PFA training? Participants included masters level counseling students from two cohorts who participated in a simulation-based training activity about providing PFA to disaster survivors and completed reflection papers on the activity. Data analysis consisted of reviewing these reflection papers and identifying major themes that emerged. Data analysis is currently in progress, but preliminary findings indicate that participants perceived the PFA simulation-based training activity positively and gained valuable experience with the PFA skills. As disasters continue to impact large numbers of individuals in the country and internationally, training counselors who are confident in their use of PFA is imperative for providing quality mental health services in the aftermath of these events.

Poster #21 | Antibacterial Activity of Membrane Spanning Peptides Ahrang Yee – Senior, Chemistry

Alexis Ayala – Sophomore, Biology

The structure, stability, and interaction of antimicrobial peptides with bacteria have been studied in order to discover bio-friendly antibiotics for pathogenic bacteria for the last decade. Most of these peptides inhibit the growth of bacteria via membrane damage. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of (RW)4-NH2 presented massive aggregates in the membrane mimetic vesicles during interaction with E.Coli. Aurein 1.2 and Litoria raniformis is one of the active antibacterial peptides secreted by from Australian bell frogs Litoria aurea and Litoria raniformis. As a short membrane-active peptide with only 13 amino acids in sequence, it has been found to be residing on the surface of lipid bilayer but it permeabilizes bacterial membranes at high concentrations. Two different types of antimicrobial peptides, Aurein 1.2 and (RW)4-NH2 were utilized to determine MICs for two Gram-negative bacteria and two Gram-positive bacteria. The amount of light absorbed by each bacterium culture with a different concentration of a peptide was measured by a spectrophotometer every hour for 6 hours. For Aurein 1.2, Gram-negative bacteria, E.coli showed lower MIC. Gram-positive bacteria, B.subtilis and S.aureus and the other Gram-negative bacterium, E.aerogenes showed higher MIC. For RW4-NH2, Gram-negative bacteria E.coli and E.aerogenes also showed lower MIC. Gram-positive bacteria, B.subtilis and S.aureus showed higher MIC. Since the higher concentration was required for Aurein 1.2 than (RW)4-NH2, (RW)4-NH2 would be more effective than Aurein 1.2 for antibacterial activity on these four bacteria.

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Poster #22 | Bio-Friendly Gold Nano-particles Conjugated with Antibiotic for Antibacterial Applications Purva Patel – Senior, Health and Human Performance/Chemistry

Juan Soto – Junior, Chemistry

With the increasing demand of new agents against multi-drug resistant bacteria, we propose a single-step, eco-friendly synthesis of modifying currently available commercial antibiotics to overcome the evolved characteristics of resistant bacteria. Oxytetracycline (OxyT) belongs to a well-studied class of antibiotics and gold nanoparticles independently possess antibiotic qualities which have shown to be successful for antimicrobial applications. OxyT can be used not only as a reducing agent, but also a capping agent to synthesize AuNPs. The synthesized oxytetracycline gold nanoparticles were characterized using UV-Visible spectroscopy, and TEM, allowing for the size, shape, dispersity, and ligand presence to be confirmed. Four different bacterial strains were used to study antibacterial activity of OxyT-AuNPs: Escherichia coli (gram negative), Enterobacter aerogenes (gram negative), Bacillus subtilis (gram positive), and Staphylococcus aureus (gram positive). Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) testing of OxyT-AuNP against all the four bacterial strains was performed. For both gram-negative bacteria like Escherichia coli and Enterobacter aerogenes and gram-positive bacteria like Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus MIC for OxyT-AuNP was lower than OxyT only. Future studies including mechanism of OxyT-AuNPs will be evaluated against bacterial strains using several assays.

Poster #23 | Effect of Ligand Size on Catalytic Efficiency of Saccharide Encapsulated Gold Nanoparticles Allison Schmittou – Senior, Chemistry William Keeton – Freshman, Nursing

Abbelyn Thompson – Sophomore, Chemistry

The combined reducing/capping ability of naturally available saccharides like fructose (Fru), maltose (Mal), and raffinose (Raf) were utilized to synthesize saccharide conjugated gold nanoparticles (Sac-AuNP) through a single-step, green process. The catalytic properties of Sac-AuNPs (including Fru-AuNPs, Mal-AuNPs and Raf-AuNPs) were evaluated and compared using a model reaction system based on the reduction of p-nitrophenol (PNP) to p-aminophenol (PAP) in the presence of excess sodium borohydride (NaBH4). Nitrophenols are among the most common byproducts of industries such as plastics and explosives while PAP is non-toxic and applicable in fertilizer and pharmaceutical industries. The reduction of PNP is a prime candidate for studying the catalytic differences of AuNPs capped with varying ligands because it is easily characterizable; nitrophenolate ions show a strong absorbance at 400 nm and PAP exhibits a strong absorbance at 315 nm. The average rate constant values were found to be in descending order as, Fru-AuNPs, Mal-AuNPs, and Raf-AuNPs.

Poster #24 | Synthesis of the N719 Dye from 4,4’-dimethyl-2,2’bipyridine Dennis Miller – Junior, Chemistry

The dye, [Bu4N]2 cis-[Ru(4-carboxy-4’-carboxylate-2,2’-bipyridine)2(NCS)2] or simply (N719), was synthesized from 4,4’-dimethyl-2,2’-bipyridine through four reactions. Using potassium dichromate and sulfuric acid, the first reaction was an oxidation of the methyl groups to carboxylic acids (H2dcbpy). In the second reaction isobutyl alcohol was added to the carboxylic acids to produce the corresponding ester (i-Bu2dcbpy) in order to protect them from reaction with ruthenium in the next step. The ligands, i-Bu2dcbpy and thiocyanate, were added to ruthenium in the third reaction. Finally, the carboxylic acids were deprotected by de-esterification with tetrabutylammonium hydroxide which also added the tetrabutylammonium counterions that were needed to balance the charges in the product. The product was dissolved in water and the pH was adjusted to 3.8, so two of the carboxylic acids were protonated and two were in the carboxylate form. N719 yielded to about half a gram. Some purification has already been done, however more purification is still needed before the dye can be used in dye-sensitized solar cells.

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Poster #25 | Observations on the Variable Star IN Lib Molly Elrod – Freshman, Physics

Justin Prevatte – Freshman, Physics

The southern hemisphere star BD-09° 4112 was noted to be variable by Olsen & Perry (1984). The star was observed by the Hipparcos spacecraft (= HIP 74825) during its mission (1989-1993), which helped confirm the variable nature but not the type of variable star. It has since been designated with the variable star name: IN Lib. Recent observations by the GAIA spacecraft have revealed that this star is a gamma Doradus (γ Dor) type variable, which is a relatively new classification of typically young, early main sequence stars marked by non-radial surface pulsations. However, the full GAIA data set will not be made public until 2024-2025 at the end of that mission. This project is actively observing this star as part of an international astronomy education research project using robotic telescopes that are located around the world provided by the Las Cumbres Observatory. The research project is concentrating on imaging observations in four photometric filters (Johnson-BV, SDSS-iz). The project will present the results that have been collected to date and the historical data for this star, which show a pulsation period of about 0.76 days and brightness variation of about 0.1 magnitudes. Detailed studies of γ Dor stars are important to establish the underlying physical cause of the pulsation.

Poster #26 | Introducing Quality Control and Spike Recovery to Undergraduates Kyle Swanberg – Junior, Chemistry

Many students obtain jobs in industry upon graduation yet may not be familiar with the practices used in analytical laboratories. Development of undergraduate laboratory experiences exposing students to quality analysis/quality control (QA/QC) procedures is needed to make students more marketable. Spike recovery and control samples are used in industry to ensure analytical methods are reliably reproducible. In this work, an undergraduate laboratory incorporating spike recovery of calcium in antacid tablets is being developed using atomic absorption (AAS) analysis to verify the reliability of the method. Unaltered and calcium-spiked antacid solutions were prepared and at least 10 replicate analyses of each solution were performed. This data will be used to determine the accepted statistical parameters of the method. Finally, a student handout will be developed.

Poster #27 | Optimization of Atomic Absorption for the Characterization of Gold Nanoparticles Kaitlyn Baxter – Junior, Chemistry

Andrew Tadsen – Junior, Chemistry Alexander O’Donnell – Senior, Chemistry

Atomic absorption spectroscopy is used to measure metal content in a sample at parts-per-million concentrations. AA spectroscopy determines concentration by comparing signal (quantity of precise-wavelength light absorbed) to signal produced by calibration standards, interpolating to find analyte content in the sample. Flame atomic absorption spectroscopy was optimized for the study of reaction kinetics of gold nanoparticles produced in aqueous media. Modification of instrument parameters provided selective detection of the Au3+ ion, eliminating signal from Au nanoparticle formed; discrimination between Au3+ and Au0 allowed determination of reaction completion as Au3+ was reduced.

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ORAL PRESENTATIONS SESSION 5 ABSTRACTS

3:15-3:45P.M.

Psychedelic Avenues: An Exploration of the Disorders and Populations Being Treated with Psychedelic Therapies

Location: Morgan University Center Room 308 Roxanne Hallisey – Senior, Psychology

A psychedelic renaissance has found its way to scientific communities, where these popular, recreational drugs are now being assessed as a possible treatment in populations with depression, terminal illness, and PTSD. Psychedelic medicines, in present-day studies, have provided robust data concerning their use among those with treatment-resistant illnesses and disorders. Ongoing research at Austin Peay is assessing the perceptions of these substances in veteran and military members, specifically, a population that faces unique needs and barriers to care. Preliminary data on these perceptions may help shape the future of military mental health care and the use of psychedelics in the mental health field.

VITA Location: Morgan University Center Room 310

Cassidy Bartley – Senior, Accounting Jessi Howell – Sophomore, Liberal Arts

Taylor Duncan – Sophomore, Management Caitlin Iem – Senior, Accounting

This oral presentation will be focused on the groups Service-Learning experiences for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance or VITA. The presentation will feature visual aids including a power point, tax forms, and pictures. Visual aids will be used to help the audience gain a better understanding of what will be presented. The group will first start with discussing what Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program does and the requirements to be able to participate in the program including the forms and documents needed. Also, the group will go over the changes in the current tax code, what credit the volunteer program counts towards, where the VITA center is located, and daily activities. Each member will discuss their experience while participating in the program, and what skills were acquired that can be used in the future. A few short stories may be shared as well. Lastly, the group will conclude the presentation and answer any questions that the audience may have.

The Great London Transportation Location: Morgan University Center Room 312

Graceshous Shearon – Senior, Nursing

London has one of the best public transportation systems in the world, with underground/over ground rails systems, buses, riverboats, and much more. This PowerPoint presentation explores the rich history, organization, and services that make up the London transportation system. The findings of the London transportation were different ways to pay for a journey, the vastly wide range of services offered beyond a regular bus ride or subway, and the rich history that is London transportation. The presentation will also explore new initiatives being developed to make transportation in London greener, safer, and more accessible for many that live in or visit London.

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Conservation Through Interpretive Learning Location: Morgan University Center Room 306

Samantha Melber – Senior, Biology

Interpretive learning is an encompassing term for the many different interactions and learning experiences that an educator must use to engage the general public and build lasting ties that are meaningful and informed. The purpose of an interpreter is to build that emotional connection to a cause, resource, or environment with the goal of facilitating future involvement from the public. During her oral presentation, Sam Melber will expound on her experiences within the Hol Chan Marine Reserve in Belize and its surrounding waters. She will also describe how facilitating sensory engagement as well as cultural relationships can greatly increase the likelihood of patronage to an area and in turn, further public education and interest. Lastly, she will explain that with renewed awareness and an involved public the goal of conservation and preservation of the natural world is not only possible but easily attainable.

Designing and synthesis of cyclopropyl peptidomimetics as potential HIV-1 protease inhibitors Location: Morgan University Center Room 305

Monica Pan – Senior, Biology Macy Osborne – Senior, Biology

The fast-emerging resistance to the available HIV-1 protease inhibitors has been a considerable and continuing problem in the treatment of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, AIDS. The main goal of this study is the design, synthesis and molecular modeling of series of selective HIV-1 protease inhibitors using a previously synthesized cyclopropyl peptidomimetic core. Varying the side chains of the cyclopropyl peptidimimetic core with moieties from FDA approved drugs would lead to several potential HIV-1 protease inhibitors. Molecular modeling enabled us to study binding interactions of cyclopropyl peptidomimetics with the HIV-1 protease active site. Binding interactions for some novel compounds were also evaluated using free energy and inhibitory constant values and some of our designed potential compounds showed higher binding properties than currently available HIV-1 protease drugs. Specific aims of this project include design and molecular modeling of cyclopropyl peptidomimetics, synthesis of target cyclopropyl peptidomimetics and testing the synthesized cyclopropyl peptidomimetics with HIV-1 protease.

Breast Cancer Cell Death in Response to Brown Recluse Whole Venom Treatment Location: Morgan University Center Room 307

Gerald Reed – Graduate Student, Biology

Breast cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. Although traditional cancer therapies can be effective, venoms of snakes, scorpions, and spiders have potential as cancer treatments because of their anti-cancer properties. Loxosceles reclusa (brown recluse) spider venom contains a cocktail of biologically active compounds that may be useful in killing cancer cells. In the current study, brown recluse venom is shown to have cytotoxic properties in the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line. MDA-MB-231 cells were treated with Loxosceles reclusa venom and then analyzed for specific characteristics of programmed cell death (apoptosis) and traumatic cell death (necrosis). Using fluorescent staining, the cells show membrane blebbing and DNA fragmentation, which is typical of apoptotic cell death. Additionally, both apoptosis and necrosis are observed using differential staining. This work demonstrates that Loxosceles reclusa venom induces cell death in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and may hold potential as a cancer treatment.

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Mark your calendars for the Fall Keys to the World Showcase

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Austin Peay State University (APSU) does not discriminate against students, employees, or applicants for admission or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, disability, age, status as a protected veteran, genetic information, or any other legally protected class with

respect to all employment, programs and activities sponsored by APSU. Inquiries or complaints regarding the non-discrimination policies, including Title IX complaints, should be directed to the Director of Equal Opportunity and

Affirmative Action and Title IX Coordinator, Sheila Bryant, 601 College Street, Browning Building/Rm 6A, Clarksville, TN 37044, bryantsm@apsu.edu, 931-221-7178. Title IX complaints may also be directed to the Deputy Title IX

Coordinator, Greg Singleton, Associate Vice President and Dean of Students, 601 College Street, Morgan University Center/Rm 206D, Clarksville, TN 37044, singletong@apsu.edu 931-221-7005. The Austin Peay State University policy on

nondiscrimination can be found at http://www.apsu.edu/policy. Policy 6:003 AP300/4-19/75