Summer Research Colloquium

Alex Ramirez 
Mentor: Gregory Severn
A New Plasma Discharge Device for Fundamental Research with ’Electronegative’ Plasmas
Two main species of plasma, the 4th state of matter, exist, ‘electropositive’ (consisting of electrons and positive ions) and ‘electronegative’ (consisting of negative ions, electrons and positive ions). Since its discovery as a new state of matter in the 1920’s, research in plasma physics has driven the creation of advanced technology (e.g., discharge fluorescent lighting, Large scale (VL and UL) integrated circuit fabrication, and magnetic confinement fusion) and has deepened our understanding of the universe. Where plasma encounters material boundaries, a thin region near the edge usually forms to isolate the plasma from the boundary, permitting the plasma overall to remain charge neutral. This thin region is called the sheath. Understanding sheaths and associated phenomena is fundamental to understanding all bounded plasma. Many properties of the sheath are still not well understood or experimentally verified, especially in electronegative plasma. Experiments to be performed in a new plasma discharge device being built at the University of San Diego (USD) will answer questions such as whether internal double sheaths form near the boundaries for sufficiently electronegative plasma, and whether Bohm’s criterion for sheath formation is satisfied there for the first time. We describe here a new device (Pyrex vacuum chamber, 6” tubing) and diagnostics (emissive probes for plasma potential measurements and tunable diode laser-based laser-induced fluorescence for ion velocity measurements) designed and built to test these questions. We report on the progress of fabrication and the first plasma potential measurements in the new device, initiated with nitrogen discharges.

Alexandra Unapanta
Mentor: Rachel Blaser
Analyzing Alzheimer Model Rats through the Traveling Salesman Problem
The traveling salesman problem--a task that requires a solver to find the shortest route possible between a series of targets -- has been used to study spatial cognition and memory in both human and non-human subjects. Alzheimer’s Disease is a form of dementia that negatively affects cognitive abilities and can worsen over time. Because of the neurological similarities between rats and humans, our research uses transgenic Alzheimer model rats and control rats in order to 1) characterize the change in control rats' TSP performance with age and 2) determine if their trajectory differs from that of Alzheimer’s rats. We first familiarized and pre-trained a cohort of rats to the TSP procedure. After pre-training, each rat was tested in a series of configurations which varied in solution difficulty. Their behavior was video-recorded and later coded for various behavioral measures such as latency, contacts, and memory span. When comparing across age, younger rats showed better overall task performance than older rats. Females also showed better task performance than males in general. Ultimately, the goal is to be able to establish these cognitive differences between Alzheimer’s and control rats in order to test possible drug treatments that could improve the cognitive deficits that occur with Alzheimer's disease.

Alexee Silva
Mentor: Victoria Rodriguez
Race: Perceptions From and Towards People with Albinism
Albinism is a genetic mutation that strips those affected of the pigment in their skin, hair, and eyes. This alters the appearance of the affected and at times, subjects them to ostracism when interacting with their ethnic group(s.) Albinism affects less than 1%of the population and it is for this reason that understanding their attitudes and opinions on their identity is important. The goal of this study is not only to gather these attitudes on ethnicity and race, but to spread awareness of the mutation once the data has been collected. This will be done by surveys and interviews based on the survey responses. Although the findings have yet to be made, they will prove to be one of the few psychological studies on Albinism. This study’s findings also aim to provide information to families of those with Albinism to better care for an individual who has it.

Amanda Ezell
Mentor: Jeffrey Malecki/James Fabionar
The Musician's Muse: A Review of Motivation and its Implications for Percussion Pedagogy
In order to best advocate for music in schools, educators must understand what motivates students to become involved in music and continue pursuing it so that pedagogy will best meet the needs of their students. To this end, I set about conducting a literature review to assess the current body of knowledge as it pertains to the relationship between motivation and student music engagement. The results of this study highlight important correlations and trends that can aid educators in improving the quality of music education, as well as providing suggestions for areas of research that can deepen our understanding of the key role motivation plays in music education. One area in particular is the experiences of percussion students, which can differ significantly from those of their peers who chose other instruments, leading to differences in motivation and musical development. I propose that further exploration of this subject will improve the quality of music education for percussion students and the musicians with whom they interact.

Antonio Rojas
Mentor: David De Haan
Determination of Aerosol Deliquescent Point and Hygroscopic Growth Factor
We know that models assume Secondary Organic Aerosols (SOA) particles to be amorphous, semi-solid mixtures. As relative humidity (%RH) increases these aerosol particles begin to take up water. The hygroscopic growth of SOA’s changes its size, morphology, phase, chemical composition and reactivity. Here we demonstrate how we measure the hygroscopic growth factor and deliquescence point of various SOA’s. We measure this by developing a system to send wet aerosol through Nafion tubes to control the RH of aerosol particles over a large range of humidifies. We Atomize solutions into wet aerosol particles and send through a RH controlled Nafion tube, and send RH adjusted aerosol particles to Condensation Particle Counters (CPC’s). A Microorifice Uniform Deposit Impactor (MOUDI) measures the bounce factor of these aerosols determine at what %RH these SOA’s are deliquescing. We have tested Ammonium Sulfate ((NH4)2SO4) and Sodium Chloride (NaCl) as Primary Organic Aerosols (POA) to standardize the system. We will report on the hygroscopic growth and deliquescent point of various SOA’s in the future.

Brandon Kennedy
Mentor: Rico Monge
The Light in the Abyss of Technology
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) are subjects that hold great promise but fail to actualize solutions to humanity’s most pressing problems. While the world’s population could have been fully fed, clothed, and housed since the 19th century thanks to the technological advancements of that era, the gap between the rich and poor has increased, aided in large part by STEM fields. These fields have been rigorously and blindly pushed for in the American education system; rigorous for profit and blind because critical thinking is not part of the process anymore. Students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are the ones most affected by this due to the need of breaking the cycle of poverty in their families: there is more money to be made in STEM related fields of work. Technology is made on command by students entering the workforce without understanding the implications of their work as they are stuck in a calculative way of thinking; the answer to their lack of wealth is doing blind science. In a world full of deadly weapons, the technology behind them will not be the cause of human destruction but the increasing inability for people to think in a meditative way. Technology can be a catalyst for positive change, but the one unique characteristic of people to think must first be brought back to the front lines of anything STEM related.

Brendan Qiu
Mentor: Nathalie Reyns
Defensive morphologies in the barnacle Chthamalus fissus
The barnacle Chthamalus fissus, commonly found in the upper intertidal of southern California, is known to exhibit three different morphologies: an oval operculum, a narrow operculum, and a bent operculum opening on the side. The narrow and bent morphs are for defensive purposes, likely against the predatory snail Mexicanthina lugubris lugubris, which have begun to be more prevalent at higher latitudes then they were originally acclimated to. The goal of my research was to determine if the barnacle C. fissus can develop certain adaptive morphologies during early juvenile development or during the adult stage. I also wanted to expand on earlier studies of barnacle and snail surveys done in La Jolla, California by repeating the surveys and comparing data to see if the how the frequency of certain morphologies in barnacles has changed over the years. I also examined if the predatory M. lugubris population in La Jolla has increased or decreased compared to the earlier study. In lab, I had four experimental groups containing three replicate barnacle groups. For three groups, I exposed barnacles to snails once at different stages in their development (at settlement, two weeks after settlement, and four weeks after settlement). I also had one control group that was not exposed to snails. All groups were photographed and measured weekly. My preliminary results indicate that barnacle mortality is higher the earlier the barnacles are exposed to snails after settlement, but my research is still ongoing.

Caroline Riedstra
Mentor: Ryan McGorty
Characterizing Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation
Recent work has shown that the intracellular environment is organized not only through membrane-bound organelles but also through fluid droplets that have phase separated from the cytosol. Intracellular liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) has attracted more attention recently because fluid droplets within the cell may play roles in cells’ responses to stress, gene regulation and in neurodegenerative diseases. Our understanding of intracellular liquid-liquid phase separation has advanced through multiple quantitative biophysical techniques. Here, we describe an undergraduate lab module that highlights some of these biophysical techniques. Using various optical microscopy techniques and quantitative image analysis, we characterize liquid-liquid phase separated samples in terms of their viscosity and surface tension. We use different phase imaging techniques, differential interference contrast and phase contrast, and fluorescence microscopy to observe droplets coalescing, beads diffusing in the different liquid phases and photobleaching. We compliment experimental work by computationally investigating the Flory-Huggins model to understand phase separation.

Catherine Shorb
Mentor: Divya Sitaraman
Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Neural Circuits Underlying Decision-Making in Drosophila melanogaster
The goal of my research project is to identify and characterize the effects of sleep deprivation on neural circuits underlying decision-making. In order to study these processes, the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) is widely used, as this genetic model organism has the ability to make simple decisions in light of competing choices. Preliminary experiments show that sleep-deprivation in male flies leads to a reduction in courtship behavior, and can be mapped to P1 neurons (courtship command neurons) which are present only in male flies. Alterations in decision-making processes in sleep-deprived female flies remain largely unexplored.
For my project, I observed and compared the courtship behavior of both sleep deprived and sleep replete male flies. In order to determine whether behavioral modification occurs in response to sleep deprivation in females, oviposition preferences were assayed. The decision to lay eggs in specific locations depends on many factors, including nutritive value of the substrates and is crucial to ensure the success of the progeny. Pregnant sleep-deprived females were given a binary choice between yeast and sucrose/yeast agarose media on which to lay eggs, and their preference was compared to sleep-replete flies.
Sleep deprivation was achieved by utilizing genetic alterations to sleep circuits, as well as mechanical techniques. In addition to behavioral analysis, two key regions of the brain (mushroom body and central complex) in sleep-deprived and replete animals will be imaged and compared to test whether the circuits involved in decision-making undergo changes that support the behavioral results.

Christelle Matsuda
Mentor: Ryan McGorty
Diffusion in Cytoskeletal Networks Using Light Sheet Microscopy
The purpose of this project is to study diffusion in crowded cell-like environments of cytoskeletal protein networks. We create networks of actin, microtubules and composites of both actin and microtubules. Measuring the movements and conformations of particles and of macromolecules in such environments will further our understanding of transport phenomena in within cells. We add 1 micron fluorescent beads to the various networks and record videos of the samples using light sheet microscopy. The dynamics of the beads in the different networks are then analyzed using two techniques: particle tracking and differential dynamic microscopy. These two techniques produce complementary data and allow for comparing transport of particles in the different networks. We find that the diffusion in these networks is anomalous to varying degrees. We also find that there is a significant difference in the heterogeneity of bead dynamics between the actin and the microtubule environments. We are currently using this data of bead dynamics to interpret similar data of DNA molecules diffusing in these environments.

Daniel Rodriguez
Mentor: Daniel Lopez-Perez
Investigating Tensegrity: Experiments in Light-Construction
In their lightness, tensegrity structures help create something enormous of such light weight and very limited material, and they enclose the maximum amount of space with the minimum amount of means. Given the environmental challenges today, there is an urgent need for the world to start to become environmentally highly conscious of the actions made and how they affect the built and natural environment at a global scale. This study examines multiple case studies, from as early as the 1940’s to the present, and how they are constructed. The study includes a variety of 3D and 2D models from radial, to linear, and nonlinear. It compares 40 models and categorizes them into families that make it easy to understand the relationships within each of them and the possibilities for construction. Through this study, researchers are able to further understand the complexity of these tensile structures and imagine ways to integrate them into architecture.

Daniela Abouchedid
Mentor: Jena Hales
Histological processing procedures following stereotaxic hippocampal lesion surgery in the rat
Animal models in neuroscience research are invaluable for better understanding how our nervous system functions. Using a combination of behavioral testing and stereotaxic surgical procedures to lesion site-specific regions of the brain, we can better determine how individual brain areas are involved in certain cognitive processes and behaviors. A critical component of this research is performing brain tissue histology, in which we examine the lesioned brain tissue and thoroughly characterize the damage. Histology is a multi-step procedure that is essential for the validation of data throughout research. After transcardial perfusion with paraformaldehyde, the rat brain is extracted. The fixed brain is then placed on a freezing platform of a sliding microtome so that it can be sectioned coronally at 40 µm thickness. These sections are then placed into sodium azide, which allows safe refrigerated storage of the tissue. After preparing mounting solution, the sliced coronal sections is mounted onto glass microscope slides. Once the slides and sections are dry, the tissue is stained using cresyl violet so that the cells in the tissue can be easily viewed under the microscope, and the hippocampus can be viewed clearly. Comparing lesion tissue to control tissue, we can characterize and quantify the extent of the lesions and use this information to inform our interpretation of the behavioral data.

Danielle Velazquez
Mentor: Lukasz Pruski
Web Visualizations of Cube Unfolding in 3D and 4D
Mathematics has many qualities that allow for real-world problems to be studied and solved theoretically with multiple algorithms. The purpose of my research was to use the power of abstraction in mathematics in order to create web visualizations of unfolding 3-dimensional cubes and 4-dimensional hypercubes. The term ‘unfolding’ means representing an n-dimensional object in (n-1)-dimensional space. The ability to create visuals of the 4-dimensional object is important because such an object cannot be seen in the real world. One of the complications that was encountered in the program was obtaining the layout of how to properly unfold the cube while maintaining the legal possibilities of different moves and unfolded shapes. An algorithm was created in order to assist with the proper placing of squares in the 3-dimensional and 4-dimensional cases. Javascript, HTML and CSS were used to develop the program that can be accessed by anyone in the world. Our research allowed us to solve the problem of visualization in an innovative way which uses the concept of associated cube graph.

Dominic Trento
Mentor: Greg Prieto
The Price of Justice: An Investigation of the Exploitation of the For-Profit Bail Bond Industry by Global Insurance Companies
As the prison industrial complex continues to grow, money bail has become a centerpiece in debates surrounding prison reform efforts. According to the report conducted by the ACLU and Color of Change, money bail’s use has increased from thirty-seven to sixty one percent in between 1990 and 2009 (ACLU, 12). The broad guiding question for this research is why and what effect has this transformation had on low income families who are disproportionately affected by the money bail system?

This increase is the result of attempts by global insurance companies and major corporations to profit from restricting freedoms of the accused. One particular group, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), has channeled corporate funds to conservative politicians and legislators to advance a variety of conservative policy positions that benefit their corporate sponsors, including the obstruction of bail reform. As a result of the growing influence of high finance in the bail bonds industry, today thirty global insurance companies underwrite millions of bonds written per year, yielding industry profits of more than two billion dollars annually (ACLU, 5).

This ethnographic project traces this legislative effort by lobbying groups to pass legislation designed to increase the use of money bail within courts and to restrict services, including prohibiting contact by PTS (Pre-Trial Services) within fourty-eight hours of the arrest. The project includes analysis of the language of bail within local courts compared to congressional record and testimony. The final component is building upon the existing literature around bail through inclusion of excerpts of interviews with those in the bail community.

Elena Beckhaus
Mentor: Jennifer Prairie
The effect of marine snow particle distribution on copepod behavior
The biological pump is a process by which particles of high carbon content descend from the surface layers of the ocean to the deep ocean, which is known to be the largest carbon sink on Earth. A major component of the biological pump is marine snow (aggregates of phytoplankton and other organic matter). These marine snow aggregates can often form layers, which have been hypothesized to be hotspots for zooplankton foraging. When the copepods feed on the marine snow aggregates, they cause the aggregates to break up and remain in the surface ocean, which would prevent as much carbon from being exported to the deep. Although it is known that copepods feed on marine snow, no study has looked at how the presence of a marine snow layer could affect copepod foraging behavior. This study examined the effect of marine snow thin layers on copepod swimming properties. Three different treatments were used in the experiment: a tank with a thin marine snow layer, a tank with a homogenous mixture of marine snow particles, and a tank with no marine snow (for the control). Two cameras were set up to obtain 3D images of copepod behavior. Preliminary results have shown that the copepods are more active in the treatment with the homogenous marine snow distribution. This finding indicates that marine snow thin layers may not represent enhanced regions of foraging as previously thought.

Elisenda Guerra-Delgado
Mentor: Bradley Bond
LGBT and POC: Media Effects on Youth at the Intersection of Sexuality and Race
Previous research has demonstrated that the emotional well being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth can be positively influenced by exposure to LGBT individuals in the media. However, little empirical research has examined the influence of media on the emotional well being of LGBT youth at the intersection of race. Previous studies examining media effects on LGBT individuals primarily have White participants and do not account for the different cultural upbringings that can influence overall identity development for racial minority youth. The present study intends to examine the intersection between LGBT sexual identities and racial identities as they relate to youth and youth media exposure through a quantitative survey of LGBT youth. Researchers anticipate that the data analysis will support previous research that focuses on the importance of media representation for youth with a minority status. However, researchers expect there to be a significant difference between White LGBT youth and racial minority LGBT youth.

Elizabeth Bushnell 
Mentor: Nathalie Reyns
Growth and Mortality of Chthalamus fissus in the Context of Climate Change
This research examines the impact of temperature increase due to anthropogenic climate change on California barnacle species, Chthalamus fissus. Given the prominence of the species in southern California, impacts to the species could translate to environmental impacts to intertidal ecosystems. I tested the hypothesis that different temperatures will have an effect on mortality and growth. To evaluate the effect of temperature on Chthalamus fissus, I cultivated barnacles in the lab at average temperatures of 14.23°C, 21.57 °C and 28.31°C. Daily mortality and weekly growth of the barnacles was tracked. Preliminary results show increased mortality with elevated temperature. My results also suggest that barnacles have a short-term tolerance to extreme temperatures, as mortality in the 28.31°C treatment was comparable to the other treatments for the first 3 weeks, but those barnacles had all died by the end of week 6. It appears that barnacles are at increased risk of mortality as sea surface temperatures increase due to global warming.

Elizabeth Petty
Mentor: Jena Hales
The role of the Hippocampus in the Traveling Salesman Problem
The Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) is a spatial navigational task that differs from many other laboratory-based behavioral tasks in that it only requires natural foraging behavior. The goal of the task is not to verify if an animal can do a certain behavior, but to record how the animal behaves. Performing this task can involve a variety of cognitive functions, such as spatial processing, memory, attention, route planning, and decision making. Given the established role of the hippocampus in both spatial processing and spatial memory, we examined how hippocampal damage affects rats’ performance in the TSP. The rats were trained on the TSP, which involved learning to retrieve bait from targets in a variety of spatial configurations. Rats were then matched for performance and divided into two groups; one group received bilateral excitotoxic hippocampal lesions and the other group received a control sham surgery. After recovering from surgery, the rats were tested on eight new configurations. A variety of behavioral measures were recorded, including distance traveled, number of revisits, span, and latency. The results showed that the sham group outperformed the lesion group on most of these measures. These results will be discussed in terms of hippocampal involvement in various cognitive functions related to performance on the TSP.

Emma Heflin
Mentor: Maura Giles-Watson
Race and Representation in Four Plays by Shakespeare
Racial thought which emerged during the sixteenth century still affects how race is perceived today. In this project, I contextualized representations of marginalized characters found in Shakespeare’s Othello, Titus Andronicus, The Merchant of Venice, and The Tempest. I analyzed Shakespeare’s representations and how they reflect the racial thought of the early modern period, as well as how he complicates notions of race at that time through these figures. Using W. E. B. Du Bois’ theory of double consciousness as a guide, I analyzed how these marginalized characters reflect the opinions of society and dialectical tensions relating to identity. This project will ultimately assert what developments of the early modern period shaped the creation of these characters and the impact of racial representation in these plays on the world today.

Francisco Aguilar
Mentor: Imane Khalil
Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability
The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability is a fluid dynamics phenomenon which has been an area of active research for decades. The instability occurs at the interface of two fluids, with different densities, which are undergoing a shearing motion. The instability can be seen in many different fields of study across many orders of magnitude from interstellar gases to micron-scale films. 

Although the mathematical theory of this phenomenon has been previously reported, there is opportunity to perform a novel quantitative comparison between theory, computational modeling, and experiment. Through modern techniques of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and digital image processing, we will analyze the Kelvin-Helmholtz (K-H) instability from a new perspective.

The Goal of this research is to compare experimental data gathered from the ‘Tilt-Tube’ digital images with a CFD model matching the properties of the experimental results. We hope to see strong correlation between the computationally synthesized experimental data, and the CFD model.

Gequesha Collins
Mentor: Jena Hales
The role of memory in solving the TSP and the effect of hippocampal lesion in rats
Without episodic memories, we would constantly forget where we are or how we got there and we would be unable to remember what to do next. The hippocampus is critically involved in the formation and maintenance of episodic memory, which has both spatial and temporal components (Squire, 2004). The Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) is a spatial navigational task that has been used in both human and animal research. However, the contribution that brain regions involved in learning and memory have on performance in the TSP has not been thoroughly examined. Given the important role of the hippocampus in learning and memory, we wanted to directly examine the role of the hippocampus in TSP performance in rats. Sixteen rats were trained on the TSP for 10 days. Following training, rats were matched for performance and assigned to receive bilateral excitotoxic hippocampal lesions or sham lesions. After two weeks of recovery, rats were tested on the TSP and given a modified testing protocol that was designed to place greater demands on memory. This memory test involved 10 days of testing during which the same configuration of 10 target locations was always used for all rats. For the first five days of testing, four of the targets were baited each day and the locations of these four selected baited targets remained the same for days one through five. For the last five days, the location of the four baited targets switched to different target locations, and these baited target locations remained consistent for days six through ten. Once testing was complete, all rats were perfused and their brains fixed for histological processing. Results from this study will be discussed in terms of hippocampal involvement in this modified version of the TSP.

Hannah Rouret-Valencia
Mentor: Cid Martinez
Motivations for Gun Related Homicides in San Diego in 2015
Since there is limited research on motivations for homicide with firearms, San Diego can provide a critical view into the wider problem of gun violence in California and the nation. The following study focuses on the personal motivations people have when acting out gun violence. Looking at people living in San Diego’s neighborhoods that suffer from concentrated disadvantage, we can see how they are disproportionately affected by gun-violence. Working with the Gang Division of the San Diego District Attorney and community organizations, homicide files are coded to create a trace analysis of where these incidents occur, while officers and victims of gun-violence are interviewed in order to draw a narrative. Our preliminary findings from Southeast San Diego and Escondido indicate that a significant number of guns carried and used in homicides are stolen and imported out of state from Arizona. Findings from the study have major local, state and Federal policy implications regarding gun availability and violence. Drawing on the homicide files and supplementing them with news coverage and press release from law enforcement agencies, the policy brief will also sketch the context, motivations and meanings for firearm possession as it relates to firearms used in homicides.

Ilana Rivera-Larrea
Mentor: Drew Talley
Fundulus parvipinnis in Mission Bay: Understanding Patterns of Fecundity and Reproduction
The California killifish (Fundulus parvipinnis) is a ubiquitous species to the Southern California marsh habitats, yet there is limited knowledge of their ecology, specifically their reproductive biology. Due to this limited knowledge, our current understanding into the reproductive habits of F. parvipinnis is derived from a few natural history notes and studies of congeners of the species found along the Atlantic coast. This study examined the reproductive patterns of F. parvipinnis, and their fecundity, measured in terms of gonadal weight and oocyte density. To assess fecundity, gonadal tissue of female F. parvipinnis individuals was extracted, weighed, and oocytes counted. Additionally, the diameter of a subset of oocytes from each individuals was measured to determine their stage. Reproductive patterns of F. parvipinnis were assessed by measuring and weighing individuals collected in the field and then calculating changes in length/weight ratio through time as an indication of reproductive activity. In doing so, potential correlations between reproduction and lunar cycles were determined. Preliminary results show the average fish was 72 mm (TL) and 6.95 g. Of the females collected and examined, the average ovary wet weight was 0.16 g, with an average of 144 oocytes per ovary, and an average oocyte diameter of 1.85 mm. Furthermore, preliminary analysis suggests that F. parvipinnis individuals prepare for spawning during the cycle of the full moon. This was determined by an average decrease of 0.50 g in total weight after the occurrence of the full moon.

Isabel Gonzalez 
Mentor: Victoria Fu
Looking For America
Looking for America is a short film about the everyday struggles and triumphs young people in the United States face in 2018. It touches on the social, environmental, political, cultural, and racial issues present in America. It follows characters of various backgrounds and ethnicities to show the viewer different perspectives on life in America in 2018. Through character development, the viewer will be able to empathize with the character no matter how different they are. It will show specific experiences the characters have faced, whether it be in the present or the past through the use of flashbacks. The film will not only show the textures and dynamics of the country and its land, but its people and the experiences they go through.

Jasmyn Sosa-Houston
Mentor: Perla Myers
Math Moves
Compared to many other dance forms, hip-hop dancing has a relatively short history. People with a desire and instinct to move, but no technical or professional dance training, brought dance to the streets. Now hip-hop is widely used in the media, and those who choreograph exceptional hip-hop dance routines are sought-after to create pieces for commercials, concerts, TV shows, movies, etc. But what is considered exceptional hip-hop? A limited number of studies have quantitatively evaluated the movement of professional dancers compared to those considered amateurs to identify what makes one a better hip-hop dancer than the other. However, there is very little research that does this with choreography. In our project Math Moves, we are evaluating the choreography of the most popular and sought after choreographers of today to identify what commonalities makes their creations the best in the business. We have created graphical representations by hand and examined video. We have also learned and performed certain routines, and are working on capturing, quantifying and evaluating data to examine patterns and similarities using an Xbox One Kinect Sensor. Once complete, the results of this study can provide aspiring choreographers with the knowledge of what to keep in mind during their choreographing process and what to incorporate into their pieces to better their choreography.

Jordan Castro
Mentor: Peter Iovine
Iodine Release Kinetics from Novel Starch Biomaterials as Environmentally Friendly Biocides
The release kinetics of molecular iodine (I₂) from a small guest inclusion complex in amylose helices of Hylon-7 have been elucidated across different solvent sink conditions and chemical modifications. Iodine-loaded native granules were spun in distilled water before analysis with UV-Vis spectroscopy and titration with sodium thiosulfate to evaluate the released iodine species. The supernatant was also tested for its biocidal effect through inoculation with E. coli. When phosphate buffered saline 1x (PBS) and 0.3M NaCl were used as the solvent matrix, no quantifiable amount of iodine was released into solution. For chemical modification, starch granules were “swelled” via lyophilization after a soaking process with H₂O at 1 atm and 50 °C. These lyophilized starch granules exhibited both a higher I₂ content by weight percent and a heightened release profile over time. Thus far in the research, a method for increasing and decreasing the rate of release of iodine have been investigated.

Jorge Saavedra
Mentor: Sarah Gray
Sediment Texture and Dissolved Oxygen in the California Continental Borderland Offshore of Southern California
The aim of this study is too evaluate sediment texture, sediment organic matter, and dissolved oxygen off shore of Southern California. This region consist of a series of northwest trending basins and ridges which were created in association with the San Andreas fault system that extends offshore of Southern California. The relationship between foraminifera abundance, bottom water oxygen, and sediment composition and texture is poorly understood in this area. From June 1st to June 4th 2018, the RV Sally Ride was used to collect sediment and water samples from various locations and depths (200m-1000m) along the flanks of basins the California Continental Borderland. A CTD and dissolved oxygen meter where used to measure water column and sea floor dissolved oxygen concentrations. Bulk sediments and cores to 40cm depth where collected using a Van Veen Grab sampler and an Ocean Instruments Multicorer. The samples were analyzed in a lab using a Cilas Particle Size Analyzer for texture and loss on ignition (LOI) for percent organic matter. Foraminifera were counted and sorted. Mean grain size offshore ranged from 16 to 98 microns. Generally, findings show sediment texture tends to be finer at greater depths and distance from shore. There does not appear to be a relationship between dissolved oxygen and sediment grain size. The relationship between sediment texture, abundance and diversity of foraminifera, and bottom water oxygen will be presented. Understanding the relationship between these variables can offer insight into benthic habitats because organic matter provides nourishment for organisms while sediment texture denotes habitat accessibility. Organic matter and sediment texture is also sensitive to ocean oxygen concentrations which vary with climate, currents, and upwelling.

Julia Norman
Mentor: Can Bilsel
Building the Model from the Broken City: Ideals, Instabilities, and Reconstructing Identity in West Berlin’s International Building Exhibitions 1957-1987
This research examines West Berlin in the Cold War period to understand how the city’s housing initiatives shaped its physical character into a manifestation of its visions and limitations. The goal is to develop a relationship between the sociopolitical climate of divided Berlin and the architecture commissioned in response to extensive housing shortages, using the International Building Exhibitions of 1957 and 1987 as models. Sponsored by the Berlin Senate, the International Building Exhibitions invited architects from around the world to develop alternative models to meet the city’s housing shortage and give direction to urban architecture. The outcomes were publicised extensively as a result of their promotion by famed architects that sparked international interest. Through maps, plans, and diagrams of housing projects produced by the building exhibitions, this research exhibits the physical traces of this relationship as it develops throughout the city’s period of division. What emerges from these approaches to reconstruction is a series of themes: the latent insecurities in ideals, the destabilization of methods and roles, and the interplay between historical and physical continuity and discontinuity. This project studies how the two exhibitions responded to these themes while parading the concepts of “living in the city of tomorrow” (1957) and “the inner city as a living space” (1987), ultimately producing a chronology of architecture that defines the instabilities of West Berlin’s place in Germany and the Western World.

Justin Olivares-Vermillion
Mentor: Matt Zwolinski
A Literature Review on Empowerment Based Youth Development Programs in Underserved Communities
The contemporary discussion regarding underclass education, is part of a much larger and older discussion concerned with inequalities between socioeconomic classes. Previous research illustrates a strong inverse relationship between education, and the many vicious cycles concentrated within underserved communities (e.g. cyclical poverty, incarceration, violence). The following literature review focuses on empowerment based programs in underserved communities who aspire to evoke social change through empowering youth. Furthermore, this work will not only identify and discuss elements that prove to be accurate and effective in delivering program philosophies to youth, but this review will also serve as a guide for implementers to better understand the underlying principles of what makes an accurate and effective empowerment based program.

Kathryn Querner
Mentor: Jeanie Grant Moore
A Literary Inquiry into Class Discrimination and the Law
Literary, legal, and historical texts from the fourteenth to early nineteenth centuries have provided a strong basis for me to explore the role of the British legal system in enforcing class inequalities and marginalizing the lower classes. I have focused particularly on literary presentations and implications of penal codes, vagrancy and begging laws, and the Old and New Poor Laws. These laws are directly and indirectly referenced in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, Sir Thomas More’s Utopia, Shakespeare’s King Lear, Daniel Defoe’s Moll Flanders, and Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist. In these works, among various others, the results of class-related laws are shown to include a legally reinforced wealth disparity, negative perceptions of charity, a belief in the inherent immorality of the lower classes, and a bias against the lower classes in the court system. The inhumanity and ineffectiveness of these laws is demonstrated as authors satirize laws and legal proceedings, demonstrate appalling conditions and treatment of the poor, present alternative legal solutions to poverty and crime, and challenge common perceptions of the lower classes. Tracing the development of laws and social perceptions through a literary frame of reference has illuminated the function, effectiveness, and development of class-related laws in Britain, and, indirectly, America.

Kerri Wong
Mentor: Can Bilsel
California’s Affordable Housing Crisis:  The Housing‐Element Law, Noncompliance, and its Effects on the Local Community 
In 1969 the state of California passed the Housing-Element Law in an effort to subside the growing unaffordability of housing. This Housing-Element Law mandated that all local communities to reach a certain quota of affordable housing units; however, despite this state mandate, California’s increasing affordable housing crisis has not been resolved. This project examines the changes in the Housing-Element to identify patterns and changes since 1969, as well as the process of the state institutions in allocating the number of affordable units through the Regional Housing Needs Assessment. In addition, in order to determine how the current system has failed to provide adequate housing for several communities, this project examines the results of the mandate in the form of completed units to demonstrate how the continuation of developing market rate units has failed to meet the state’s housing law. Then, I will study the city of Encinitas where the city’s lack of compliance has perpetuated the ongoing crisis of affordable housing to ultimately identify the social and urban conditions the Housing-Element Law creates.

Larissa Olivas
Mentor: Jena Hales
Analyzing the Role of the Hippocampus in Temporal Memory in Rats
The hippocampus is necessary for the formation and retrieval of long-term declarative memories. A critical component of most long term memories is the feature of time and place. Besides its role in memory, the hippocampus also has neurons that fire with spatial specificity, known as place cells (O’Keefe and Dostrovsky, 1971), and with temporal specificity, recently termed time cells (MacDonald et al., 2011). While the role of hippocampal place cells in spatial memory has been an ongoing area of study, the behavioral relevance of the temporally-selective hippocampal time cells remains unclear. Our research investigates the function of the hippocampus in temporal aspects of memory. We have designed a novel time duration object discrimination task to explore the ability of rats to learn elapsed time in order to make an object discrimination judgements. During the task, rats are exposed to either a 10-second or 20-second tone and learn to make a decision to displace an object, A or B, depending on the associated preceding delay duration. Choosing to displace the correct object indicates that the rats learned a specific response based on a certain amount of elapsed time. After rats reach criterion performance of 90% correct object discrimination, they receive complete bilateral excitotoxic hippocampal lesions or sham lesions and are retested on this discrimination. Results will eventually be discussed in terms of hippocampal involvement in learning object discriminations based on elapsed time duration.

Madison Francis
Mentor: Rae Anderson
Determining how crosslinker protiens influence the mechanics of the cytoskeleton
The strength, architecture and motility of cells is dependent upon the interactions between two protein filaments that comprise the cell cytoskeleton: actin and microtubules. Studies on wound healing suggest microtubule and actin filaments are interconnected with one another as actin flowing towards the wound borders transports microtubules with them. This research focuses on how varying the concentrations of crosslinkers in networks of actin and microtubules influences their viscoelastic properties, response to stress and strain, and their relaxation after release from stress. We created co-polymerized, fluorescent-labeled networks of actin and microtubules with varying concentrations of crosslinkers that crosslink only actin, only microtubules, or both filaments. We use optical tweezers to apply microscale strains to these networks by trapping embedded microspheres and oscillating them at various frequencies or dragging them various distances at different speeds. We measure the force the networks exert to resist these strains. Results indicate that increasing the concentration of crosslinkers surprisingly yields a decreased resistive force as well as lower viscoelasticity of the system.

Matthew Lucas
Mentor: Joan Schellinger
Microwave Assisted Solid-Phase Peptide Synthesis: Applications for the Origins of Life
In the RNA World Hypothesis, ribonucleic acid (RNA) was the source of genetic information as well as having catalytic activity (ribozymes). However, in all conditions that allow for the prebiotic synthesis of nucleotides, amino acids are also generated. This current study addresses the question whether the presence of peptides could improve the function of ribozymes in a prebiotically plausible scenario. To answer this, we are collaborating with Dr. Uli Müller’s lab (UCSD) where the function of ribozymes will be compared in the presence and absence of prebiotically plausible peptides. Our lab focuses on the synthesis and characterization of peptides which were generated from a chiral mixture of amino acids in order to represent early Earth. The syntheses were completed using solid-phase peptide synthesis techniques, while the characterization was performed with reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The peptides will be co-incubated with ribozymes to determine if they enhance their function. The results of this investigation may lead to new insights about the chemical interactions between macromolecules that ultimately led to the origins of life.

Maya Young
Mentor: Jennifer Prairie
The effect of distribution on copepod ingestion of marine snow particles
The biological pump is one of the most important pathways within Earth’s carbon cycle, by which carbon is transported through biological processes to the deep ocean. Sinking marine snow aggregates are one of the primary contributors to this process, because as these particles sink out of surface waters they carry with them particulate organic carbon. Because marine snow aggregates are a known food source for copepods, it is important to study the way in which these organisms feed in order to gain a better understanding of how they may be affecting the ocean carbon cycle as a whole.

We conducted experiments investigating differences in copepod ingestion of marine snow between different feeding environments: one tank was formed with a thin layer of marine snow aggregates, one tank was formed to have a homogenous distribution of marine snow throughout, and the third tank served as a control with no marine snow. Copepods were collected for the experiments off the coast of San Diego, and were then placed in these various feeding environments. Gut pigment analysis was used to estimate ingestion by the copepods for each feeding environment. Preliminary results indicate that a homogenous distribution of marine snow aggregates may result in increased copepod ingestion compared to a layered distribution. These results suggest that in regions where aggregates are distributed homogenously, less carbon may be exported to the deep ocean through the biological pump, having important potential implications for marine carbon cycling on larger scales.

Meredith Amspoker
Mentor: Joel Gruber
The Guru/Student Relationship of Vajrayana Buddhism and its Transferal to the West
This paper is an ethnography-based study comparing the experiences of Tibetans and Judeo-Christian converts practicing an Americanized version of Tibetan Buddhism in the United States. The project is focused on Buddhists of Boulder, CO, a community with a significant population of both Tibetan and convert Buddhists. Though much has been written on the increasing popularity of Buddhism in the United States, the research has almost exclusively addressed the religiosity of converts, often ignoring the experience of lay Tibetan Buddhists. While recent movement towards the globalization of Buddhism have been religiously and politically beneficial for Americans, as well as Tibetans, the speed with which the traditions of two very different cultures have become entangled has created a problematic situation. The Vajrayana practices of Tibet are hierarchically and ritualistically complex, and require an in-depth understanding of a Tibetan culture with different values and social mores. Most notably, the relationship between guru and student, particular to Tibetan Vajrayana, has traditionally required absolute trust and absolute obedience from the student for the guru (lama) to properly train the student. On the one hand, Americans are not accustomed to this type of hierarchy, and on the other there have been several clear instances of abuse on the part of Tibetan lamas involving their convert students. Without disregarding or dismissing the experiences of abuse reported by members of the American Buddhist community, an understanding of the operative and religious complexities of this guru/student relationship is necessary to an authentic and positive Western adoption of Tibetan Buddhism

Mia Godoy
Mentor: Adam Haberman
Amyloid-B in Fly Eyes
Alzheimer’s is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by the presence of amyloid-ß, which are created from the amyloid precursor protein (APP). High levels of the naturally occurring amyloid-ß clump together, forming a plaque that can disrupt cell function, allowing the disease to progress. We will the fruit fly (drosophila melanogaster) to study the cellular aspects of neurodegenerative diseases, due to the fly’s expression of specific genes and quick aging. A fruit fly of two weeks has characteristics of old age, providing neuronal aging and disease conditions needed to simulate Alzheimer’s. We will analyze the affect of amyloid-ß on lysosomes, one of the structures in the neurons that degrade unwanted protein. The presence of amyloid plaques has been shown to reduce lysosome function in fly eye neurons in our previous experiments. Instead of expressing amyloid beta, we will be expressing APP which simulates the natural disease conditions. We are expecting to see the same kind of degeneration caused by amyloid-ß, in APP.

Michael Sween 
Mentor: Gordon Hoople
The Shape of The Universe
One theory on the shape of the universe is that it has a dodecahedral shape. This theory is supported by astronomer Edwin Hubble who discovered that the universe is expanding leading us to believe that the universe may be negatively (hyperbolically) curved. The conclusion that the universe is a Poincare Dodecahedral Sphere comes from the fact that pentagons are capable of completely tilting a hyperbolic space, and a dodecahedron has spherical symmetry. To explore and communicate this fascinating concept through interactive art, we created a large-scale kinetic sculpture which will evoke the sensation of standing at the center of a dodecahedral universe. The sculpture is a 13 foot tall dodecahedron with mirrored internal faces. The interior is illuminated by LED lights to represent stars and galaxies. In the spring semester concepts and ideas of how to make the kinetics of this structure function were brainstormed and developed. In the beginning of the summer Computer Animated Drawings (CAD) of all the parts of this structure were created and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was conducted on the structure for certain wind conditions and safety factors. Components were fabricated and assembled into the structure. Throughout the summer issues developed within the kinematic systems of the structure, using the engineering process the devices were redesigned and implemented into the sculpture.

Morgan McLaughlin
Mentor: Divya Sitaraman
Drosophila melanogaster, dopamine regulation, and Fmr1 expression
The goal of this project is to build on the ongoing studies in the lab and utilize the amenability of the Drosophila system to genetically manipulate dopamine receptors in neurons of the MB in addition to identifying the mode connectivity between sleep-regulating DANs and the MB. This study includes measuring neural activity of dopamine neurons as a function of sleep and wake states. I used Drosophila Activity Monitors (DAMs) which record movement of individual flies. In addition to using the DAM system, we measured Ca++ (reporter of neural activity) in identified sleep regulating DANs in sleep-deprived and sleep-replete flies by using a Drosophila shaker and GFP fixing. This will allow us to see if activity of these neurons is directly correlated with sleep and arousal. In addition to collecting data for this project, I have begun a new project involving Fragile X syndrome. Intellectual disability and sleep dysfunction is present in humans with Fragile X. In Drosophila melanogaster, there is one gene associated with the disease, dFmr1, while there are three analogs in humans. The amenability of Drosophila allows researchers to see direct effects of gene mutations. The goal of this project is to see if/how over and under expression of dFmr1 affects dopamine and therefore affects sleep.

Natalie North-Cole
Mentor: Divya Sitaraman
The Neural Circuitry Behind Simple Decision Making in Drosophila Melanogaster
This research uses genetic manipulations of Drosophila Melanogaster to outline the neural circuitry of output neurons within the mushroom body of the brain. The mushroom body is known to host the neural processes of simple decision making in the fruit fly brain. Oviposition is the vital choice of where to lay eggs. This behavior is essential to the survival of a species and serves as an excellent model of simple decision behavior. Preference assays using various concentrations of sucrose and yeast in agarose were tested using wildtype to establish a repeatable finding to be used throughout future assays. UAS Shibire flies were crossed so that it was possible to manipulate specific ion channels within single output neurons. By effectively shutting off one neuron at a time and testing the effect on oviposition behavior, it was possible to begin screening output neurons. In addition to oviposition, this project delves into the effects of food deprivation on simple decision behavior. Male flies were tested in courtship assays and females were tested in oviposition assays to determine the effect of various nutritional deficits on simple decision making.

Natalie Chuang
Mentor: Timothy Clark
Mechanistic Study of Iridium-Catalyzed Ortho C–H Borylation of Benzylic Amines
The installation of boron atoms in organic molecules is of interest in chemistry for its synthetic utility, enabling reactions to take place at otherwise unreactive positions to yield many diverse products. The Clark group has previously reported an iridium-catalyzed C–H borylation reaction of the ortho position in benzylic amines. This current work examines the mechanism of the reaction. From preliminary data, a rate law has been proposed indicating a first order dependence with respect to all reagents. The electronic nature of the rate-determining step, which appears to be C–H bond cleavage, is also discussed in the context of kinetic isotope effect and Hammett equation methods.

Nicholas Bail
Mentor: Satyan Devadoss
Unfolding Regular Polytopes with Simplicial Facets
Last summer, a group of students working with Professor Satyan L. Devadoss established that in arbitrary dimensions, any cube unfolding guarantees a net. Motivated by them, our work is an investigation into the unfolding of n-dimensional regular polytopes with simplicial facets. By combining combinatorial and geometric properties to create an unfolding algorithm constructed using simplices, we are able to establish a novel proof that any unfolding of an n-simplex yields a guaranteed net and significant progress in proving that the same property is true for the n-orthoplex as well.

Nina Montejano
Mentor: John Halaka
Made You Look
Realists such as Edward Hopper, Lois Dodd, and Philip Pearlstein focused on the real and the ordinary, often depicting the human figure within its surroundings. However, these artists also included subtle details within their paintings that never offered complete answers to the narratives they created. My project, Made You Look, is a series of large-scale graphite drawings that construct the ordinary, yet force viewers to question it. The drawings included are detailed scenes based on real environments, each containing peculiarities within those details. Dramatic lighting and careful placement of objects and figures work together to create a quiet tension between the familiar and unfamiliar. The work ultimately causes viewers to question the accuracy of their own perception.

Nina Tabrizi
Mentor: Jena Hales
Effect of Hippocampal Lesions on Time Discrimination Learning in Rats
A central feature of long-term memory is that it is grounded in time and space. It is well established that brain structures, such as the hippocampus, are required for forming and retrieving these memories. In addition, the involvement of the hippocampus in spatial processing was first described following the discovery of neurons, known as place cells, which fire with spatial-specificity (O’Keefe and Dostrovsky, 1971). More recently, hippocampal neurons, known as time cells, have been discovered which show time-dependent firing, even when the rat remains positioned in a fixed spatial location (MacDonald et al., 2011). Although these cells fire in a time-dependent manner, the behavioral relevance of their firing is unclear. In order to directly study the behavioral relevance of hippocampal time cells, and the hippocampus in general, in learning elapsed time, we created a novel time duration discrimination task. Twelve rats were tested on a figure 8 maze and experienced a 10- or 20-second time delay in the center arm. During this delay, a 2000Hz tone played for the 10- or 20-second duration. Rats learned to make a decision to turn left or right out of the delay box depending on the associated tone duration (10 seconds = left turn; 20 seconds = right turn). Once the rats reach criterion performance of 90% correct on two out of three consecutive days, they receive either an excitotoxic hippocampal lesion or a sham lesion surgery. After recovery, rats will be tested to determine hippocampal involvement in discriminating time duration. Results from the time discrimination task will be discussed in terms of hippocampal involvement in making right or left turn decisions based on the processing of elapsed time.

Peter Walhout
Mentor: Can Bilsel
Otay Mesa: Surfacing of the Social Order
This research project concerns the border town of Otay Mesa in East San Diego County, which contains a catalogue of biopolitical structures and effects. In an area visually defined by binaries (the U.S. and Mexico), I conduct an analysis which draws from philosopher Michel Foucault and which uncovers the much more nuanced relationships and discourses of power which take place along this stretch of the border. The goal is not simply to prescribe a Foucauldian language to describe phenomena in this space, rather it is to subject the structures in this location to an analysis to see the ways in which they are connected and discover new arrangements of space and power. Through researching building regulations, zoning, and planned developments I find the degree to which the seemingly distinct sides of the border possess a much more surreptitious relationship. The Maquiladora factories and mental institutions lining the Mexican side, the detention centers and corporate offices lining the American side, and between them, the new commercial point of entry slated for construction early in the next decade, are all subjects of my investigation.

Raechel Hill
Mentor: Drew Talley
Otolith Increment Validation of the California Killifish
California’s wetlands are greatly endangered as 95% of marsh area has been destroyed or developed. Understanding the health of southern and northern Baja California wetlands requires clear knowledge of the natural history of organisms in these marshes. This study therefore focused on Fundulus parvipinnis, a key mesopredator in the Mission Bay wetland of San Diego, CA, in an effort to better understand its life history. This work validated otolith increment formation for F. parvipinnis, which will help to determine growth patterns and population dynamics of this species. Weekly samples of a continuously growing population of F. parvipinnis were dissected and the otoliths analyzed to determine the increment formation of one ring in the otolith. A second method of using a biological dye to stain live fish and the currently forming otolith ring was used to corroborate the results of the first method. The expected validation time of formation of a single ring is approximately one day. This finding allows for accurate age determination of any F. parvipinnis caught, which can be used for future population and ecosystem dynamics study.

Ramon Solis
Mentor: Arietta Fleming-Davies
Density Dependence of Nucleopolyhedrosis Virus in Agraulis vanillae Larvae
Nucleopolyhedrosis virus (NPV) is a pathogen that causes deadly disease in the larvae of Agraulis vanillae, the Gulf Fritillary. Larvae use and consume the host plant Passiflora spp., passionflower. When infected larvae die on the host plant, the host plant becomes contaminated with the virus. Healthy larvae then consume the contaminated host plant and become infected with the virus. This research project aims to determine if NPV is density dependent.

Diseases that are density dependent spread faster and become more prevalent in high host density populations, compared to low host density populations. Field experiments were conducted to test the effect of high and low plant host density on the transmission rate of NPV in the larvae. Mathematical models will be created and used to simulate the behavior of NPV in insect populations.

Rebekah Furr
Mentor: Juliana Maxim
Wooden Architecture of Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, and Russia
My research objective is to expand the neglected study of wood architecture. Through bibliographic research, I will examine the history of a marginalized medium, typically associated with low-level buildings of the countryside rather than the monumental stone architecture the cities. I will focus my research on Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, and Russia, regions where wood construction was omnipresent and technologically elaborate.

Renee Lawrence
Mentor: Jessica Bell
Characterizing the cellular location of Wound Inducible Transcript 3.0 and suppressor of IKK epsilon
Wounds created in the oral cavity heal at a rapid rate and leave minimal scarring. Wound Inducible Transcript 3.0 (WIT3) has been shown to be responsible for this process. Initial studies implicate an interaction between WIT3 and the cytoskeleton in this mechanism. WIT3 shares 51% sequence identity with an innate immune protein of unknown function, suppressor of IKK epsilon (SIKE). SIKE has also been shown to interact with cytoskeletal proteins. The primary goal of this work was to determine the location of WIT3, and if it colocalizes with SIKE in five cell lines: epithelial ovarian cancer (DOV13), leukemia cells (HAP1), HAP1 with SIKE knocked-out (SIKE-CR), HAP1 with WIT3 knocked-out (WIT-CR), and astrocytoma (CCF-STTG1). Immunofluorescence assays for SIKE and WIT3 were conducted using rabbit-α-SIKE, rabbit-α-WIT3, and mouse-α-WIT3. SIKE was found to be located in puncta throughout the cytoplasm. The mouse-α-WIT3 antibody showed WIT3 spread out evenly in the cytoplasm in all cell lines. The rabbit-α-WIT3 antibody indicated that WIT3 is in puncta surrounding the nucleus and throughout the cytoplasm in the three HAP1 cell lines. In DOV13 cells, WIT3 is spread evenly throughout the cytoplasm with small clusters of puncta. Immunofluorescence studies do not demonstrate colocalization between the two proteins. An immunoblot conducted to examine if there was any cross-reactivity between the antibodies showed that the two WIT3 antibodies may react with SIKE. These studies show that both SIKE and WIT3 do not occupy the same location in the cytoplasm however this finding could be due to the cross-reactivity of the antibodies.

Sara Desalegne 
Mentor: Joseph Provost
The Generation of CHP - Fluorescent Fusion Proteins for Evaluation of NHE Regulation in Cancer Cells
The integral membrane protein Sodium Hydrogen Exchanger 1 (NHE1) plays a critical role in pH regulation. NHE exchanges an intracellular hydrogen ion for an extracellular sodium ion to prevent cells from becoming too acidic and is therefore a pH regulator essential for a cell’s survival. Calcineurin Homologous Protein 1 and 2 (CHP1 and CHP2) are G proteins that are key regulators of NHE, but little is known about what this entails. To better understand NHE regulation I have cloned the gene for a fluorescent protein (either GFP or RFP) into a pAAVS1-CHP plasmid into to create a fused protein (either CHP1-RFP or CHP2-GFP). This summer we have learned how to purify and detect plasmid DNA, conduct a restriction digest, and we have been working on restriction enzyme subcloning and Gibson cloning to create these products. By creating the one fused protein to code for two genes, we will have beneficial insight as to CHP’s function in a cell while interacting with NHE.

Shermee Randolph
Mentor: Cory Gooding, Suzanne Walther
What's For Dinner? A Look at Housing Segregation and Food Deserts in Chicago
Housing segregation has been an ongoing issue for major cities in the United States. From the 1930s- 1970s, federal and state legislations were put in place to keep blacks and whites in different housing areas, as well as unintegrate neighborhoods where blacks and whites once lived together. These laws created urban slums or ghettos that are still present in big cities today. Many of these slums were, and still are, populated by African American. In these living conditions, it is very easy to discover many forms of environmental racism. One injustice that sticks out is the creation of food deserts. The lack of access to quality and fresh foods can cause varies issue for the people that live in those neighborhoods. Using Chicago as a study area, this project looks at the relationship between housing segregation and food deserts through maps created in ArcMap. The objective is to see if there is a correlation between housing segregation and food deserts as well as the affect food deserts have on neighborhoods specifically in education and health. Lastly, this project will present possible solutions to food deserts.

Stanley Ryan 
Mentor: Brianna Rigg
Crash
My summer research project, Crash, will be an immersive installation that fills the Visual Arts Center Gallery space with a large armature for a steel track in which balls descend to create a chaotic and overpowering soundscape. Crash is intended to create an embodied experience for the viewer who will explore the work as they follow the path of the balls through the track and notice how the soundscape shifts relative to their movement.
I plan on the piece having multiple tracks and several balls running continuously. With the tracks filling the space the viewer will need to spend time moving within the work to begin to understand each path and its intricacies. The viewer will be bombarded by constant, loud noises. The sounds will move as the balls collide with materials along the tracks; the viewer will also move to create an awareness of the interdependency of space and sound.
I have been creating this work in raw steel to fill the Visual Arts Center Gallery with the large armature. I am building this armature by fabricating modular components in the metal shop facilities on campus. Modular construction will allow me to quickly install and uninstall the piece in the gallery.
With Crash I hope to create a dichotomy between the viewer's intrigue and the anxiety caused by the barrage of sound and the works sharp, protruding forms.

Sydney Platt
Mentor: Diane Hoffoss
The Shape of the Universe
One theory on the shape of the universe is that it has a dodecahedral shape. This theory is supported by astronomer Edwin Hubble who discovered that the universe is expanding leading us to believe that the universe may be negatively (hyperbolically) curved. The conclusion that the universe is a Poincare Dodecahedral Sphere comes from the fact that pentagons are capable of completely tilting a hyperbolic space, and a dodecahedron has spherical symmetry. To explore and communicate this fascinating concept through interactive art, we created a large-scale kinetic sculpture which will evoke the sensation of standing at the center of a dodecahedral universe. The sculpture is a 13 foot tall dodecahedron with mirrored internal faces. The interior is illuminated by LED lights to represent stars and galaxies. In the spring semester concepts and ideas of how to make the kinetics of this structure function were brainstormed and developed. In the beginning of the summer Computer Animated Drawings (CAD) of all the parts of this structure were created and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was conducted on the structure for certain wind conditions and safety factors. Components were fabricated and assembled into the structure. Throughout the summer issues developed within the kinematic systems of the structure, using the engineering process the devices were redesigned and implemented into the sculpture.

Sylas Anderson 
Mentor: Rae Anderson
Dynamics of Microbeads Diffusing Through Cytoskeletal Protein Networks
The cytoskeleton of cells, which is comprised of varying concentrations of semi-flexible protein filaments known as actin and stiff rodlike proteins known as microtubules, is key to the structure and motility of cells. These proteins also act to hinder the diffusion of biological molecules through the cell. Here we study the diffusion of microbeads through networks of actin and microtubules to characterize the impact of these networks on intracellular transport. We do this by using in fluorescence microscopy to track single one micron polymer beads diffusing through actin networks, microtubule networks, and equimolar composite networks of both proteins. Using custom-written software, we track the center-of-mass of each microbead and determine the corresponding mean-squared-displacements and diffusion coefficients. We show that microbead diffusion is most restricted in actin, while microtubules have the least impact on suppressing diffusion.

Tatiana Zamora
Mentor: Brandon Carlisle
The relationship between self-concept and self-handicapping behaviors among ethnic minority college students
The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationships between self-concept and self-handicapping among Hispanic/Latino college students. Self-handicapping involves actions or inactions that inhibit performance and provides an individual with an external explanation for potential failure. Four hundred sixty-nine undergraduate students from a diverse southern California university completed survey instruments measuring academic self-handicapping, ethnic identity, imposter feelings, and self-esteem. Academic self-handicapping was positively associated with experiencing impostor feelings and negatively associated with self-esteem and ethnic identity development. These relationships are further examined by exploring gender differences and other participant demographic information such as grade point average. The current research contributes to literature that aims to understand maladaptive cognition and behavior in academic settings as well as how they may relate to the psychological experiences of ethnic minority students. Implications for potential intervention are discussed.

Yessica Green Rosas
Mentor: Kristen McCabe
Creating Reliable Guidelines to Code Parental Imitation
The Dyadic Parent-child Interaction Coding System (DPICS; Eyberg, et al., 2013) is an observational coding system used by therapists to measure progress in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT; Eyberg, 1988). However, the DPICS does not currently include guidelines for coding parent-child imitation, one of the key skills taught during PCIT to promote prosocial child behaviors (Carpenter, Uebel, & Tomasello, 2013), and enhance the parent-child relationships (Meltzoff & Gopnik). This is likely to lead therapists to spend less time coaching parents to imitate their child’s behavior and also makes it impossible to answer research questions about the effects of parental imitation on child behavior. The current study aims to address this issue by developing a reliable set of guidelines to code imitation in similar language to the DPICS. We are currently using 10 pre-and-post-treatment DPICS videos in order to develop and refine imitation guidelines. We will then apply these guidelines to 40 session videos obtained from a subsample of 40 Mexican-American families with a young child with clinically significant behavior problems obtained from a previous PCIT clinical trial (McCabe et. Al. 2012) which will be coded by two lab members. We will determine interrater reliability by calculating the kappa reliability of the code. Furthermore, we will be examining the relationship between imitation and outcomes by comparing the frequency of imitative acts during pre-and-post-treatment. A reliable method of coding imitation would give therapists the tools needed to effectively track parental imitation progress, and better engage parents to facilitate the development of this beneficial skill.

Zachary Schaaf
Mentor: Kate Boersma
A Biodiversity Survey of Aquatic Invertebrates in Anza Borrego Desert State Park
In deserts, seasonal changes such as flooding and drought affect aquatic ecosystems. Water bodies are categorized as either lotic (flowing) or lentic (non-flowing), and these two habitats respond differently during seasonal changes. Aquatic invertebrates reside in these fluctuating habitats, and their community composition can be indicative of ecosystem health. However, there is little research about how aquatic invertebrates respond to seasonal changes in Southern California. Anza Borrego Desert State Park (ABDSP), located 2 hours east of San Diego, provides a diversity of aquatic habitats. I chose ABDSP as my study site because little is known about its aquatic invertebrate community composition. My overall research question is, which aquatic invertebrates are present in ABDSP? Additionally, how does aquatic invertebrate community composition in these habitats change seasonally? To address these questions, we collected aquatic invertebrates from three lotic and two lentic sites over 2 years. The aquatic invertebrates were then identified to the taxonomic family level. To date we have identified 34 families and calculated diversity indices on samples from one lotic and two lentic sites. Preliminary analysis shows high levels of diversity in the lotic site and one of the lentic sites, but low diversity in the other lentic site, possibly due to low water flow, small/fragmented habitat, and high temperature. Once my analysis is complete, I predict that there will be differences in community composition both spatially, between sites, and temporally, within sites. My research will help ABDSP prioritize conservation for its fragile aquatic ecosystems.

Zani Moore
Mentor: Divya Sitaraman
Neural circuitry behind simple decision making in Drosophila melanogaster
One of the commonly studied choice behaviors in Drosophila melanogaster is oviposition, the crucial decision females make about the environment in which they place of their eggs. After encountering conflicting published results, we designed our own binary-choice experiment to test D.melanogaster preference for egg-laying substrates. At 25℃, flies show strong aversion to laying eggs on agar containing both sucrose and yeast and prefer the plain agar instead, but prefer to lay eggs on agar containing yeast over plain agar. Using this data, we investigated dopamine neurons involved in oviposition behavior. Using Shibirie, a temperature sensitive neuron inhibitor, we inhibited certain dopamine neurons and measured outcomes of individual knockdowns. With this technique, conclusions can be drawn about the role of each neuron in this preference. The results indicate that TDC2 inhibition affects oviposition, because the mutation causes D.melanogaster to reverse their typical preference, laying eggs on sucrose and yeast substrates over plain. Further investigation through repeated testing and confocal imaging is required to confirm these results. In combination with results from output neuron experiments, we will be able to map the dopamine neural circuit underlying ovipositional preference in D.melanogaster.

Alessandra Pingol
Mentor Farrah Karapetian
Am I?
This series of photograms places an emphasis on the body and its various spatial relationships to highlight form, orientation, and placement to describe a search for meaning in the body itself. The work elides a documentary posture in search of a broader truth that can be experienced in the body of the viewer, building on the mid-20thcentury thinking of Richard Serra, Robert Rauschenberg, and Sigmar Polke. If Serra’s “Verb List” detailed actions that he could perform with a material, the verb list that corresponds to this work is decidedly bodily. If Rauschenberg’s work combined materials, spatial relationships, orientations, and associations in order to arrive at new cultural dynamics, the individual elements of this series does too, but with more specificity of subject. If Sigmar Polke found junction between multiple mediums and his experience of wartime immigration, this work too makes meaning of its constituent parts in wry pursuit of larger social questions. The negatives used are made up of various materials such as transparent paper, edited digital images of the artist and another, and text which relate to the image and experiences of the body (and the person by extension). From these negatives, the project takes on the path of self-portraiture, double-portraiture, and cultural portraiture all at once. The resulting images show motion, stillness, intimacy, and violence working along with minimal geometric forms like the column and the cube to make sense of the convoluted subject.  

Alexandra Unapanta
Mentor Rachel Blaser
Pharmaceutical Effects of Ketamine on Rat Performance in the Traveling Salesperson Task
The traveling salesman problem--a naturalistic task that involves selecting the shortest possible route possible between a series of targets-- has been used recently to study spatial cognition and memory in both human and non-human subjects. Ketamine, a non-competitive antagonist of NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) channels, is a drug that has been used to induce dissociative anaesthesia. However, recently low-concentration doses of ketamine have been shown to suppress feelings of anxiety, fear, and depression in both human and non-human animal subjects, and is being considered as a potential pharmaceutical treatment for severe major depressive disorder (MDD). In order to better understand the effects sub-anesthetic levels of ketamine have on cognitive performance, our study examined the effects of ketamine on rat performance on the TSP. We first familiarized and pre-trained a cohort of 16 rats--8 females and 8 males--to human handling as well as the TSP apparatus. Prior to testing, rats were administered a subcutaneous injection of either saline or ketamine hydrochloride (5mg/kg). During testing, each rat was placed in a series of spatial configurations with a varying number of baited targets. Their performance was video- recorded and later coded for various behavioral measures such as latency, target contacts, and memory span. Preliminary results indicate differences in performance between ketamine-dosed and control rats. Our goal is to determine what factors influence TSP performance as well as pinpoint which aspects of cognition are impacted by ketamine administration.

Alexee Silva
Mentor Victoria Rodriguez
Albinism Through a Racial/Ethnic Lens
Albinism is defined as a genetic mutation that leaves those affected without the ability to produce melanin. This inability strips a person of any pigment in their hair, skin, and eyes. This makes anyone with Albinism have a much higher probability of developing skin cancer due to hyperpigmentation. Another key side effect of having Albinism is various visual impairments. Although countless studies have been done on the biological aspects of Albinism, there have been very few on the psychological perspectives of having Albinism, and even less on the attitudes towards it. This study aims to better understand the perceptions of Albinism from those who do not have it, specifically whether they perceive people with Albinism to have strong racial-ethnic identities. A survey was administered to gather baseline data on people’s perceptions of Albinism. Once this data were collected, participants received an informative intervention in the form of a presentation on Albinism and the misconceptions surrounding it. After the intervention, participants were given a post-test on the racial/ethnic perceptions of Albinism. This study is ongoing and results are soon to be expected. However, we expect this study shine light on the attitudes and misconceptions surrounding Albinism. Most importantly we expect this study to spread awareness of this rare genetic mutation. 

Alison Oliver
Mentor Christopher Carter
Virtue and Animal Ethics: An Interdisciplinary Study
Through the analysis of important components from the sciences, philosophy, and theology, it is apparent that nonhuman animals require moral consideration beyond what they typically receive in Western culture. Humans are in the habit of inaccurately justifying harmful treatment of animals without any proper evaluation of ethical behavior; the current standards of morality regarding nonhuman species are insufficient. For instance, in the context of the latest scientific advancements in animal behavior and cognition, many aspects of the partition between human and animal intelligence have become ambiguous. However, the typical human mindset stubbornly maintains the notion that humans are ultimately superior, and nonhuman animals’ perceived lack of intellect (a premise that has yet to be empirically defined) is still employed as reason enough to dominate these other species. Furthermore, scripture emphasizes the importance of peace and consideration while simultaneously denouncing violence and viciousness; thus, a Christian theology premised on love, justice, and care for “the least of these” (Mathew 25), is in favor of an ethical reevaluation rather than the continuation of current animal maltreatment. Upon the examination of virtue across multiple significant fields, it is clear that a principle moral norm is ignored once extended beyond human interactions, that unwarranted cruelty is wrong. Nonetheless, the current standards of animal treatment are highly characteristic of unwarranted cruelty—humans have exploited the presence of nonhuman species to a point that is definitively unethical.

Amanda Ezell
Mentor Jeffrey Malecki
The Percussionist’s Guide to Conducting: A Comparative Analysis of the Physical Movements Involved in Playing Percussion and Conducting
One of the many aims of conducting is for the conductor to facilitate proper playing technique among the musicians in the ensemble by carrying out the physical movements involved in producing the desired sounds, such as by breathing with the wind players or conducting in a way that demonstrates appropriate bowings for string players. However, despite the wide acceptance of this aspect of conducting, very little has been said about its potential applications for developing percussionists who are often already at somewhat of a disadvantage to their peers in terms of musical and technical development because of the unique nature of playing percussion. To explore the potential benefit to percussion students, I set about conducting a comparative visual analysis of the physical movements involved in both playing percussion and conducting in order to highlight similarities between the two activities which can potentially be manipulated by the conductor in order to demonstrate and reinforce proper playing technique for developing percussionists.

Anna Colman
Mentor Saturnino Garcia
The Percussionist’s Guide to Conducting: A Comparative Analysis of the Physical Movements Involved in Playing Percussion and Conducting
Assembly languages are a critical component of computing curricula, often showing up in introductory computer systems courses. Students largely struggle to learn assembly languages, which require an understanding of new, lower-level computing abstractions and lack the structure of higher-level languages. x86-64 is widely used in introductory-level computing courses and introduces students to important computing concepts. The scarcity of software tools that exist to support novice assembly language learners is one of the main obstacles to managing the complexity of an x86-64 program for educational purposes.

The Below C Level (BCL) simulator is oriented towards students, allowing for the visualization of x86-64 program execution. Designed with introductory-level students in mind, BCL offers an intuitive GUI for visualizing program state, allowing them to quickly trace through their program and gain deeper comprehension of x86-64 code during simulation. BCL conceals non-essential details, placing emphasis on providing additional help on issues that its authors have identified through years of teaching experience.

The goal of this project is to provide an easily accessible, educational online tool for students learning x86-64 code by implementing BCL as a web application. This will be done using the Vaadin framework, which provides a platform for building web applications in Java. Once completed, we will conduct research with human subjects among the target demographic to make additional improvements. We ultimately hope to create a tool for instructors teaching x86-64 that facilitates the management of its complexity and aids student learning by providing a stronger foundation for important computing concepts.

Annette Vo
Mentor Divya Sitaraman
The Percussionist’s Guide to Conducting: A Comparative Analysis of the Physical Movements Involved in Playing Percussion and Conducting
Sleep is a universal behavior, exhibited in all species. Although the biological function of sleep is not fully understood, sleep is known to be integral for memory consolidation, learning, decision-making, and overall health. Sleep-deprivation produces sleep-need, which interferes with decision-making circuits, but the precise relationship between sleep-need and decision-making remains elusive.

An important decision made by Drosophila melanogaster is courtship, the choice to court a female or not. To measure decision-making, we observed frequency of courtship behavior in male flies.

One approach to manipulate sleep-need in flies is through pharmacological exposure. Males were exposed to four different types of drugs: carbamazepine, caffeine, L-Dopa, and gaboxadol.  Carbamazepine and caffeine are drugs known to promote wakefulness. Flies given carbamazepine had more courtship attempts, while flies given caffeine had similar amounts of number of courtships as control flies. L-Dopa promotes alertness by increasing dopamine levels. Flies given L-Dopa had fewer courtship attempts than flies in the control group. Gaboxadol is known to decrease sleep latency and intermittent wakefulness, allowing flies to sleep more. Flies given Gaboxadol also had similar amount of courtship attempts as the flies in the control.

A second method of sleep deprivation is through social isolation. Socially-isolated flies have been found to have higher stress, leading to sleep deprivation (Brown et al, 2017).

Through various mechanisms of sleep-deprivation, we hope to further investigate the neural relationships between sleep-need and decision-making.

Antonio Rojas
Mentor Alexander Gingras
The Percussionist’s Guide to Conducting: A Comparative Analysis of the Physical Movements Involved in Playing Percussion and Conducting
Endothelial cells (EC) line the entire circulatory system and control the passage of materials into and out of the bloodstream. EC dysfunction or damage to EC impairs the function of the endothelium, which plays a central role in the development of vascular disease states such as atherosclerosis and thrombosis. Kruppel-like Factors 4 and 2 (KLF4 and KLF2, KLF4/2) are transcription factors with major implications on endothelial phenotypic and vascular homeostasis. Increased levels of endothelial KLF4/2 serve vasoprotective functions therefore we used genetic/pharmacologic strategies to increase endothelial KLF4/2 expression.. Previous studies demonstrated that KRIT1 (Krev interaction trapped protein1) FERM domain directly interacts with the cytoplasmic tail of HEG1 (Heart of Glass 1) transmembrane protein. The endothelial HEG1-KRIT1 protein complex negatively modulates KLF4/2 gene expression and target genes. A fragment-like inhibitor (HKi002) binds in the HEG1 binding pocket, thus competing with HEG1-KRIT1 protein-protein interaction. Our results demonstrate that HKi002 upregulates KLF4/2 gene expression in endothelial cells in order to increase vasoprotective function. We hypothesize that pharmacological inhibition of a protein complex using small molecules could elevate the expression of protective sheer stress genes, thereby mimicking laminar blood-flow, and its anti-inflammatory and anti-thrombotic effects.

Bibi Renssen
Mentor Sarah Gray
The Percussionist’s Guide to Conducting: A Comparative Analysis of the Physical Movements Involved in Playing Percussion and Conducting
Foraminifera (single celled protists with tests primarily of Calcium Carbonate) are directly influenced by ocean warming and hydrographic changes such as expansion of the low oxygen areas associated with anthropogenic climate change. Benthic and planktonic foraminifera communities are good indicators of hydrographic conditions at the sea-floor and sea surface, respectively. Though previous studies have demonstrated that there has been overall ocean surface warming in Southern California and that the oxygen minimum zone has expanded, the relationship between water temperature, dissolved oxygen and foraminifera abundance in the area offshore San Diego has not been extensively examined. Cored sediment samples along with hydrographic data collected during annual research cruises (2001-2012, 2018) on the RV Sproul at three stations (water depth 100 m, 200m 300 m) due west from San Diego, CA provide an opportunity to evaluate how benthic and planktonic foraminiferal communities have changed over the past 19 years. The objective of this research was to identify the foraminifera in these sediments and compare patterns between years to temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO). Sediment samples from the upper 1 cm of the seafloor using a multicore were sieved and the foraminifera were picked and examined under a Leica S9i microscope for identification to genus.   Sea surface and bottom water temperature and DO concentrations were measured using a CTD.   Analyses of the variation over time will indicate whether benthic and planktonic community changes track environmental changes in temperature and dissolved oxygen, providing valuable data to assess whether climate change is impacting marine communities.

Brandon Kennedy
Mentor Rico Monge
The Percussionist’s Guide to Conducting: A Comparative Analysis of the Physical Movements Involved in Playing Percussion and Conducting
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) are subjects that hold great promise but fail to actualize solutions to humanity’s most pressing problems. While the world’s population could have been fully fed, clothed, and housed since the 19th century thanks to the technological advancements of that era, the gap between the rich and poor has increased, aided in large part by STEM fields. These fields have been rigorously and blindly pushed for in the American education system; rigorous for profit and blind because critical thinking is not part of the process anymore. Students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are the ones most affected by this due to the need of breaking the cycle of poverty in their families: there is more money to be made in STEM related fields of work. Technology is made on command by students entering the workforce without understanding the implications of their work as they are stuck in a calculative way of thinking; the answer to their lack of wealth is doing blind science. In a world full of deadly weapons, the technology behind them will not be the cause of human destruction but the increasing inability for people to think in a meditative way. Technology can be a catalyst for positive change, but the one unique characteristic of people to think must first be brought back to the front lines of anything STEM related.

Carlos De La Rosa
Mentor Bryan Cornwall
The Percussionist’s Guide to Conducting: A Comparative Analysis of the Physical Movements Involved in Playing Percussion and Conducting
This research study is being conducted to determine the correlation between human movement and running shoes. Running shoes are designed to minimize stress in the foot while running in order to allow the runner to reach his/her full potential. In order to achieve that task, the shoe must be engineered to spread the load of the pressure on the plantar surface which can be determined by running tests using pressure measurements and 3D motion capture. However, it is crucial to obtain precise results to prevent any flaws and inadequate products which may negatively impact the runner. There are many factors that play a role in finding out what’s best such as the material of the mid sole, shape of the foot (flat or arch) and the preciseness of the technology being used. Also, an aim of this study is to get all the mechanical test equipment operating by assisting in the process of setting up the lab to run preliminary testing. In addition, through the use of Solid Works, I will begin to create custom fixtures necessary for the lab equipment such as a fatigue testing machine which requires a fixture to fit the running shoe that will be tested.

Chelsea Nelson
Mentor Sarah Gray
The Percussionist’s Guide to Conducting: A Comparative Analysis of the Physical Movements Involved in Playing Percussion and Conducting
Sources of marine sedimentary organic matter (SOM) include marine plants and animals and runoff from land, which includes terrestrial plants and animals, and anthropogenic input. The relationship between SOM concentration, oxygen, and distance from the San Diego shore have not been extensively investigated. Our objective was to see if SOM concentration and source vary with distance from urban centers and with levels of dissolved oxygen. Sediment samples were collected on three research cruises using mulitcores and grabs in water depths of 10-800m and up to 150 km from San Diego. Dissolved oxygen at the seafloor was measured with a DO meter. In the lab, loss on ignition (LOI) (5 hours, 550°C) was used to determine the % SOM. In order to determine the source of organic matter, samples were dissolved in HCl to remove carbonates and sent to UC Davis for δ13C and C/N analysis. Though we are awaiting isotope results, in general, sample sites with lower dissolved oxygen have higher SOM % but there is not a clear relationship between organic matter and distance from shore. Human activities and climate change may be affecting the input and preservation of SOM due to changes in the dissolved oxygen concentrations in the oceans. In addition, low levels of oxygen make it difficult for some organisms to survive.

Christian Yee-Yanagishita
Mentor Melissa Gibbons, PhD
The Percussionist’s Guide to Conducting: A Comparative Analysis of the Physical Movements Involved in Playing Percussion and Conducting
In nature we see rigid biological structures that have adapted to withstand impacts without fracture.  Analyses of these structural adaptations reveal thin seams, referred to as sutures, that give these biological frameworks their ability to absorb high impacts and stresses.  While current research and developments in suture mechanics have revealed the tensile properties of sutures, this research explored the strength of various suture geometries under three-point bending and impact.  Testable models were created with Polylactide plastic (PLA) via fused deposition modeling (FDM) by varying the geometry and the specific variables within those geometries in SolidWorks.  The primary geometry tested was the dovetail design, which blended the tensile rigidity of jigsaw tabs with the bending strength of triangular saw-teeth.  Multiple structures with various combinations of the critical variables (tab radius, tangent length ratio, and contact angle) of the dovetail design were 3D printed using FDM and tested using an analog three-point bending test apparatus.  Results of three-point bending tests on the models and analyses of critical variable influence will be presented.

Delaney Casten
Mentor Cassondra Williams
The Percussionist’s Guide to Conducting: A Comparative Analysis of the Physical Movements Involved in Playing Percussion and Conducting
It is widely known that humans have some degree of impact on marine wildlife behavior, however many physiological effects are unknown.  Sea turtles spend most of their time at sea submerged, making oxygen conservation an essential adaptation. One way to conserve oxygen and maximize time underwater is to lower heart rate. Therefore, any disturbance that causes a change in heart rate may greatly impact dive duration or surface recovery time.  This study compared the heart rates of loggerhead sea turtles during undisturbed routine activity and while people were present.  In 2013 and 2015, a total of 8 loggerheads were monitored in tanks using a self-contained ECG logger.  This study observed the effect of humans present near the tank determined by changes in heart rate.   We further compared different levels of disturbance: (1) people just talking at the tanks (2) researchers feeding the turtles, and (3) researchers draining the tanks.  During these three conditions, the turtles continued their routine activities, however the presence of people may have had an impact on the physiological responses, including heart rate.  After processing ECG data into heart rate, using mixed-modelling statistics, the three disturbances were compared to undisturbed routine activity and to each other to determine effects on the cardiovascular response.  Understanding how people impact the physiological responses in sea turtles may help provide insight into future conservation efforts.

Devin Villalpando
Mentor Lukasz Pruski
Simultaneous Collisions in Various Numbers of Dimensions
The project is a continuation of research conducted by students in the summers of 2017 and 2018, which dealt with systems of collisions of many balls. However the current project focuses on simultaneous collisions of balls, i.e., situations where more than two balls collide, each with each other, at the same time. The simultaneity condition requires much more complicated mathematical treatment to ensure the physical principles of conservation of momentum and energy are satisfied. We study the collisions in 2D, 3D, and 4D. We have developed several web-based, interactive computer programs that determine the balls’ behavior during simultaneous collisions and visualize their motion. The programs are written in Javascript, with CSS and HTML components and use the Three.js  API (application programming interface) and library of 3D routines.

Edgar Ramirez-Villa
Mentor Saturnino Garcia
Boxing++
Athletes frequently dedicate their success to a coach for their ability to see things in ways the athlete might not. For example, a coach watching a baseball player swing a bat would know exactly what to look for to ensure their athlete’s success. That knowledge opens up the possibility for athletes to use technology to mimic a coach’s eyes. Unfortunately, expensive devices and low availability across different sports has made using technology in training a luxury available to few athletes. However, technology to help improve performance may be much more accessible to the everyday person through the use of computer vision.

In boxing, it is easy for new boxers without a skilled trainer to form bad habits out of an error in their technique. Since boxing is very fast paced, there are also plenty of errors that go unnoticed due to pure speed. However, computer vision allows for the user to get feedback on every movement and build the proper foundation for boxing through the use of their personal virtual boxing coach. This research project, Boxing++, uses advancements in computer vision to provide feedback to anyone who is looking to learn or advance their skills in the sport of boxing. Using OpenCV with the C++ language, Boxing++ analyzes a video of a boxer during a workout and can detect common mistakes such as dropping your hands after a punch, punching too low, and many others.

Eleanor Vanden Busch
Mentor Matt Rich
Imma come get cha
The works in this series are material experiments in mixed media: oils, acrylics, charcoal, graphite, and pastel on paper, panel, linen, and canvas. I'm compelled by my surroundings during mundane moments of daily life: driving into the parking lot at Ross Dress for Less, noticing a banner advertisement for Coors Light, or noticing how the traffic lights illuminate the inside of a Lyft. The subject matter is based on my first summer living in San Diego: the loneliness of being estranged from loved ones, the holidays spent at the beach, the nights out on the town after turning 21, the natural rock formations of Southern California, and evening errands accompanied by bright purple skies. Each subject is an opportunity to utilize unique technical skills in rendering imagery with paint.

Elizabeth Bushnell
Mentor Nathalie Reyns
Impacts of Climate Change on Intertidal Communities: Effects of Elevated Temperature and Predator Exposure on Chthamalus fissus
There is increasing concern that climate change might negatively impact foundation species such as barnacles that create important habitats in the rocky intertidal. In southern California, as sea surface temperature has increased, the predatory snail, Mexacanthina lugubris lugubris has expanded its range northward into the San Diego region where it preys on the barnacle Chthamalus fissus. In addition to higher predatory pressure, barnacles might also be experiencing thermal stress due to increased warming. We evaluated the impacts of temperature and M. lugubris snails on growth and mortality of the barnacle C. fissus. Newly-settled barnacle metamorphs were collected in the field on plates, and were reared under lab conditions using two experimental protocols. First, to examine the effects of temperature, replicate barnacles were reared at 14°C, 22°C and 28°C for eight weeks. Barnacles were counted daily to track mortality, and photographed weekly to measure growth. Secondly, we examined the effects of snail predation on barnacle morphology by rearing replicate barnacles in direct and indirect contact with snails for 8 weeks. The operculum length and width were measured near the end of the experiment to determine if barnacle morphology changed in response to snail exposure. Expected results of the snail experiments are that barnacles raised in contact with snails will have narrower operculums than those without. Results from our temperature experiments indicate that C. fissus would not tolerate the projected 4°C warming by 2100 due to climate change. Thus, increased sea surface temperature can have ecological consequences on rocky intertidal communities.

Emily Andrade
Mentor Drew Talley
Daily otolith growth ring validation in the California killifish, Fundulus parvipinnis
Otoliths are very useful when attempting to understand the ecology of a species. For example, they can be used to identify the location, diet, and temperature conditions the vertebrate lived in (Torstensen et al., 2004). This study is focused on validating the otolith increment formation in the California Killifish (Fundulus parvipinnis). By determining the amount of time it takes for F. parvipinnis to deposit a ring on their otolith, the age of any field-captured California Killifish can be calculated. We collected 30 individual F. parvipinnis in the field and raised them for 3 months in the lab. After exhibiting substantial signs of growth, individuals were sacrificed at three-week intervals to compare the number of days raised in the lab and the number of rings deposited onto the otolith of the fish. We determined that California Killifish follow a daily pattern of otolith ring deposition, and thus have a built-in method of age determination.

Gequasha Collins
Mentor Rebekah Wanic
The Experience of College Age Black Women in Spain
Many universities encourage, and may even require, students to study abroad. Interestingly, research indicates that study abroad participation is lower in Black students but few studies have explored potential reasons for this difference. Study abroad requires participants to adjust to new customs and surroundings, along with potentially confronting language barriers, all of which may be burdens that lessen the desire to participate for Black students - many of whom already encounter adjustment obstacles in the traditional college transition not experienced by their non minority counterparts (White, 2005). In addition, considerations associated with the experience of racism and discrimination may play a role.  The aim of the present study is to explore this variable in more detail and to expand the literature on racism abroad.  While research has strongly established these negative social experiences for African Americans in America, there is a lack of literature exploring the racism and discrimination experienced by Blacks in Spain, especially for women. The experience of 40 college-age Black women, including both those who have experience studying abroad and those who are native to Spain, will be evaluated using both interview and scaled responses to explore their perceptions of racism in Spain. It is expected that study abroad participants will perceive less discrimination abroad than in their home country and less than those growing up and living in Spain and that both groups will report that men experience more discrimination than women. Additionally, perceived discrimination is expected to vary based on participant identification with their black identities.

Greer Marshall
Mentor Jena Hales
Hippocampal infused DREADDS in rats on the Traveling Salesman Problem
The hippocampus is a brain region critically involved in memory formation and retrieval. Until recently, the functions of the hippocampus have primarily been studied utilizing traditional laboratory tests and lesion methods. These unnatural and often oversimplified laboratory tests can limit our understanding of the nature of brain regional involvement in cognition and behavior (Paré and Quirk, 2017). Our research study examined the role of the hippocampus in the performance of the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) in rats. This naturalistic foraging task can be used to measure processes such as memory, spatial processing, and decision making. A previous study in our lab used a conventional lesion technique for examining the role of the hippocampus in the TSP task. Our current study explored a new method for disrupting hippocampal function that leaves brain tissue intact and allows for more temporal control over this disruption using DREADDs. DREADDS utilize adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) for targeted mutagenesis to express designer G protein-coupled receptors. Micro-infused clozapine N-oxide (CNO) was then used to locally suppress neural activity by binding to the synthetic DREADD receptor. Twelve rats received virus infusions via stereotaxic surgery targeting the entire hippocampus. After a two-week recovery period, the rats were pretrained on the TSP task. After pretraining, when the virus was expected to be fully expressed, rats were tested on each of four configurations, once after a CNO infusion and once after a vehicle (control) infusion. After being tested on each configuration with both infusion types, the rats were perfused and their brains fixed for sectioning. Results will be compared to prior data obtained following traditional hippocampal lesions.

Ilana Rivera Larrea
Mentor Drew Talley
Assessment of Ferocactus gatesii populations in Bahia de los Angeles using Manual Collection and UAVs
Bahia de los Angeles is an archipelago consisting of 16 islands with diverse cactus populations (West 2002). Restricted to a subset of these small islands is an endemic cactus, the Bahía de los Ángeles biznaga (Ferocactus gatesii). Despite its rarity, and loss of individuals due to illegal harvesting, there have been no quantitative surveys of this population, and little is known about their recruitment or ecology (West 2002). The goal of this study is to assess the F. gatesii populations in Bahia de los Angeles using both terrestrial and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) methodologies, to assess the accuracy and effectiveness of UAV census for this species. From a total of 16 islands in Bahia de los Angeles, a subset of three islands were selected for this study. Dronedeploy was used to capture images, stitch them together, and form a high-resolution image of the island. These images were used to identify individual F. gatesii, and each was measured (“trunk” diameter) and assessed for reproductive status (flowers). The same parameters were collected on the ground. Surveyors walked the entirety of the islands and identified individual cactus. All parameters collected through field work were compared to those collected using UAVs. Preliminary analysis shows the UAV can correctly identify 100% of F. gatesii greater than 18 cm in diameter, while also identifying reproductive status. This suggests that, for monitoring adult populations of this threatened endemic, UAV surveys provide a rapid and effective method, but that there may be limitations in identifying newly-recruited individuals.

Ivonne Salas
Mentor Kristin Moran
Chicanx Episodic Television and Representation
In the era of streaming platforms as a source of movies and television shows, film is being slowly pushed out of the way and there is more demand for binge watching episodic television. With this rise of binge watching television programming on streaming platforms, the issue of representation becomes a concern that is surfacing. . Just like in film, stereotypes of people and culture are present in episodic television shows. Even with the shows that aim to be inclusive and represent diversity, I question how diverse are they really? Do these shows make an attempt to reach out to the audience they aim to represent and can they connect with these characters? Do these shows have an accurate representation of marginalized communities? This research will focus on one such community, the Chicanx community, made up of people who are of Mexican descent who and are born and raised in the United States and investigate the
the importance of representation for the Chicanx community.
Film and television have a history of not effectively representing marginalized communities, or not representing them at all. In terms of representing the Chicanx community, there are few television shows and films that depict the intersectional Chicanx community; which is a failure to represent these communities effectively.
The focus of this research are two shows that intend to be represent Chicanx culture: Netflix’s On My Block (2018), and Hulu’s East Los High (2013). Both shows are supposed to be focused on representing Chicanx youth culture in high school. The methodology will include a survey of Chicanx youth and adults after exposure to clips of the programs. Audiences will be asked questions about whether or not they see themselves in these television shows. Also, surveying adult Chicanx folks to see whether these shows are supposed to cater to Chicanx youth or cater to Chicanx adults. Both shows revolve around different Chicanx issues, but my research question is to find out who these shows are meant for and their potential impact.

Jacqueline Puga
Mentor Bryan Cornwall
Evaluation of Cervical Total Disc Replacement (CTDR) measured through wear rates: A Literature Review
Wear testing and retrieval analysis have been important activities to reconcile the clinical performance of total hip (THR) and total knee replacements (TKR). The purposes of the literature review are to evaluate the biomechanical performance of cervical total disc replacements (CTDR) with a focus on wear rates for devices that are being actively commercialized around the world. In addition, to summarize and make the information accessible for doctors and patients involved with cervical total disc replacements. The research will be conducted by finding information in articles and medical trials on the wear rates and biomechanics of each device. Currently, 22 devices form part of the analysis and they differ in shape, structure, and material components. Most devices use water or serum as a lubricant for mobility. Other information that is taken into consideration when evaluating the disc are the two main standards, and variations of them, used for testing the wear rates. Finding the information needed to conduct the analysis is scattered and can be found in the websites of medical companies, articles in databases such as Pubmed, or clinical reports in clinicaltrials.gov. The metal-on-metal disc are no longer marketed and the most actively commercialized implants are the metal-on-plastic disc. A fairly new device called the M6-C has an innovative design and may have promising results in comparison to others. Once the evaluation is complete doctors may change their preference of which cervical disc replacements they use on patients.

Jesse Magaña
Mentor Greg Prieto
Stories of Transitions: Refugee Children and Their Transition into U.S. K-12 Education
This study  will look at the education system and how it serves refugee students who have been identified as English Language Learners in the local San Diego area and understand where resources are lacking in assisting refugee students as they aim to both integrate and build social capital.As of the fiscal year 2017 there were 25.9 million displaced peoples who have to forcibly leave their countries (2018). According to the United Nations Refugee Agency the U.S. receives less than one percent of the refugee population per year. Studies indicate that schooling experiences are important for integration generally because they are the first places where refugee children will Upon their arrival these families must find a way to assimilate to the new home they have found themselves in. (2008, Pg 390) One of the most difficult parts for refugee families is the transition into an entirely new education system for their children for this purpose educational integration is critical because it shapes longer term social mobility (2018). The feeling of being displaced then comes with the struggles of possibly having to learn a new language, make new friends, and learn an entirely new culture.  Through the sociological lens we will be able to look at the at the attainability of social capital for refugee youth through one on one interviews with students, parents, and administrators from San Diego schools, as well as ethnographic observation at refugee advocacy agencies. Ultimately, how well these students transition into the K-12 education system will determine how well they transition in the k-12 education system.  students Current educational practices require any student who marks that another language is spoken in the household be tested and placed into ESL classes. ESL programs place students into separate classrooms and spaces where they are ostracized from their peers in order for them to learn a language they may not even need to learn because of their proficiency. ESL program ultimately cause the transitional stage for refugee students to be delayed in a way that separates them from native born students and inhibits their ability to gain social mobility.

Jessica Shi
Mentor Satyan Devadoss
Combinatorics of Full Flat Folding Thick Paper
Origami, or more generally, folding, is an extensively researched field of mathematics. Largely, this field depends on axioms used to render the methods and tools employed in origami into analogous mathematics, making asking, and answering questions regarding folding mathematically possible. One of these principal assumptions is a traditional origamist’s medium, paper, is infinitely thin. Our work offers a method for folding 1 or 2-D mediums, without the assumption of zero thickness.
The goal of this paper is to provide insight into how the assumption of some finite thickness changes the nature of objects undergoing folds. The allowance for thick mediums loosens current notions of “possible” folds and lends itself to surprising generalities regarding not only the deformation of a thick folded object but also the geometry, shapes (topology), and combinatorial characteristics of thick folded objects.

Jing (Michelle) Wang
Mentor Ryan McGorty
Measuring the dispersion relation of capillary fluctuations using Differential Dynamic Microscopy
We present a new method to characterize the interfacial dynamics of the interface of two fluids. Here we used colloid-polymer mixture that separates into colloid-rich and colloid-poor fluid phases with an ultra-low surface tension and capillary velocities on the order of a micron per second. We use differential dynamic microscopy (DDM) to measure the two-dimensional dispersion relation of capillary waves at spatial frequencies spanning over an order of magnitude.

Jordan Matuszewski
Mentor Satyan Devadoss
Combinatorics  of  Flat  Folding  Thick  Paper
Origami, or more generally, folding, is an extensively researched field of mathematics. Largely, this field depends on axioms used to render the methods and tools employed in origami into analogous mathematics, making asking, and answering questions regarding folding mathematically possible. One of these principal assumptions is a traditional origamist’s medium, paper, is infinitely thin. Our work offers a method for folding 1 or 2-D mediums, without the assumption of zero thickness.

The goal of this paper is to provide insight into how the assumption of some finite thickness changes the nature of objects undergoing folds. The allowance for thick mediums loosens current notions of “possible” folds and lends itself to surprising generalities regarding not only the deformation of a thick folded object but also the geometry, shapes (topology), and combinatorial characteristics of thick folded objects.

Jorge Saavedra
Mentor Eric Cathcart
Research in De Anza Cove, Mission Bay, San Diego CA
The aim of this project was to develop a GIS accessible database incorporating biological, chemical, geological, and other physical data collected in Mission Bay, San Diego California, from Fall 2015 through Spring 2019 by the University of San Diego Department of Environmental and Ocean Sciences.  This collection of spatial and temporal variability within Mission Bay may be used for collaborative research with other institutions, government agencies and interested organizations.  For this study, the database was used to provide background conditions and data for the ReWild Mission Bay project by proposed by the San Diego Chapter of the National Audubon Society. Here we present the results of benthic sediment and water quality data from over 15 sampling locations along the northeast side of Mission Bay collected between Fall 2015 and Spring 2019.  Trends in sediment metals concentrations, overall grain size distribution, additional sediment characteristics, and the variability in meiofauna and macrofauna populations are discussed.

Kelli Kufta
Mentor Diane Hoffoss
Project Halo
The goal of our summer research project was to determine sound source location based upon time delay. Additionally, through utilizing mathematics and computer science, display our data in an artistic and creative manner. We utilized a six microphone array to determine time delay by sending data to a raspberry pi, a small single board computer. Through the computer language python, we created a program to determine the time delay between the microphones. By treating each set of data as vectors, we were able to analyze the similarity between the data, giving us the time delay between a pair of microphones. This time delay was used to divide a 2-dimensional space into 24 sections. These sections were set through triangulating an approximate sound source location with two opposing microphones. We are still conducting research, but our preliminary results show us that sound source location can be achieved through the raw data from a microphone array. However, the results can be further improved by adding additional microphones and spacing them out further to give greater level of accuracy in determining location.

Larissa Olivas
Mentor Jena Hales
Effects of Medial Entorhinal Cortex Lesions in Rats on the Traveling Salesman Problem
Some of the most widely used behavioral paradigms rely on constrained measures that are advantageous for isolating and targeting specific processes; however, such tasks can limit our understanding of behaviors in natural settings. The Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) is a spatial navigational task that differs from various other behavioral tasks because rather than examining an animal’s ability to perform a particular behavior, it explores foraging behaviors in a naturalistic setting. Although foraging is a spontaneous behavior, it is also complex, such that it involves decision-making, attention, spatial processing and navigation, course planning, and memory. Our study examined the role of the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) in the TSP task. Previous research from our lab found that rats with hippocampal lesions were impaired on certain TSP measures, including making increased errors by revisiting targets, taking longer to complete the task, and using less optimal routes compared to the control rats. Previous studies utilizing controlled and simplified laboratory conditions have shown that the MEC plays a significant role in spatial processing and spatial memory in ways that are similar to, and yet distinct from, those of the hippocampus. Comparing the effects of MEC lesions to those of hippocampal lesions in rats who performed the TSP task can shed light on the relative contributions of these different anatomical brain areas to naturalistic foraging behavior.

Lwendo Mwansa
Mentor Ted Dezen
Effects of Strong Photospheric Dissipation on the Spectra and Structure of Accretion Disks with Non-zero Inner Torque
Stellar mass black holes may be surrounded by an accretion disk of ionized and radiating gas that draws material from a companion star. The accreting matter radiates away much of the gravitational potential energy it loses as high-energy (X-ray and gamma ray) light. Such systems are known as black hole X-ray binaries (BHB). These BHBs exhibit two extraordinary and related features that have yet to be explained despite tons of data. First, these systems may dim and brighten at almost regular intervals, with a frequency range from about 40 Hz to 450 Hz, in a phenomenon called high frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (HFQPO). Second, many systems regularly radiate highly energetic emission extending into the gamma ray regime. This so-called steep power law (SPL) spectral state is inconsistent with the widely accepted standard disk model. To make things worse, the HFQPOs have only been observed when BHBs are in the SPL state. In this work, we construct numerical accretion disk models in an attempt to better understand the physics that may underly these observations. We found that increasing the fraction of accretion power dissipated near the photospheres together including with magnetic stresses at the inner disk edge may simultaneously explain both the SPL state and HFQPOs.

Maria Lee
Mentor Arietta Fleming-Davies
Temperature Dependency of Disease Transmission and Severity
Temperature may affect disease transmission but this correlation is highly debated. Some strains show an increase in transmission and severity with higher temperatures. Global temperatures are increasing; therefore it is important to understand this interaction within the host-pathogen system. We are examining a viral strain (AgMNPV) that infects caterpillars (Gulf fritillary) by contaminating the host plant (passion flower or Passiflora spp). When an infected gulf fritillary consumes and dies on the plant, other caterpillars on the plant ingest the infected plant, causing their larvae to become infected with the virus. To test the effect of AgMNPV on gulf fritillary, we conducted an experiment where we incubated gulf fritillary in two different temperatures after infecting them with the virus. Once the gulf fritillary died of the virus, viral DNA was extracted to test whether the different incubation temperatures would display genetic differences in transmission and severity. We hypothesize that temperatures will increase transmission rates and severity. This is important because gradual progress of global warming has detrimental ramifications such as crop failure, elevated sea levels, famine, and changes in global rainfall. All of these factors impact infections disease because of its dependency with the interactions between the existing local climate and populations.

Megan Bailey
Mentor Saturnino Garcia
Elucidate: A Data Management Web Application & Data Model
Democracies around the world are beginning to pass data protection and information privacy legislation. These legislations serve to protect citizen privacy against extensive and invasive data collection practices in today's data-oriented world. One legislation in particular, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), surpassed prior data protection regulation, granting a number of rights to the data subject [citizen]. These so-called ‘data-rights’ give rise to a question - how can we assist data subjects in understanding their data?
Elucidate is a research project focused on creating a user-friendly web application to assist users in understanding data and data collection practices. The goal of the Elucidate is to help data subjects in understanding the amassed data thereby guiding data subjects to think about the data controllers they trust and reflect on the terms and conditions. Elucidate takes advantage of the Right to Access and builds upon the Right to Data Portability given to data subjects by European Union's GDPR, and it presents user personal data, such as geolocation and media, in a depictive way. Data protection laws are the future, and Elucidate contributes towards a larger conversation of data privacy and collection.

Michael Apostol
Mentor Rebekah Wanic
Impact of Religiosity on Prosocial Behavior
Historically, many religious traditions have been partly grounded in an ethic of care, leading to the creation of many hospitals, homeless shelters, and charities (Hardy, 2013). An individual’s acceptance of religious doctrine, their practice and experiences contribute to religiosity, the centrality or salience of religion in an individual’s life (Huber and Huber, 2012). Past research on religion and prosocial behavior is plagued by two main issues: vague measures of religiosity and a lack of ecological validity. The current set of studies seeks to address these shortcomings and more fully explore the potential connection between religiosity and prosocial behavior. Study 1 utilizes a more comprehensive measure of religiosity, the Centrality of Religiosity Scale (CRS; Huber and Huber, 2012) and evaluates the relationship between CRS scores, donation likelihood, and framing effects. In Study 2, the CRS is integrated with a replication of Grossman and Parrett’s (2011) field experiment assessing the impact of religiosity on restaurant tipping. We expect high CRS scores to predict a greater donation likelihood and more generous tipping behavior (Galen, 2012; Regnerus, Smith, & Sikkink, 1998). Results and future directions will be discussed.

Michayla Mabourakh
Mentor Arietta Fleming-Davies
UV light exposure effect on Baculovirus
Regulation of herbivorous insects, through the use of pesticides, in plant-insect interactions are important for maintaining crop production output in agriculture. An absence of these pesticides would cause a marked reduction in agricultural products available to the public. Microbial insecticides can be used to regulate herbivorous pests. However, a concern is that UV light can inactivate or reduce insecticide virulence. Baculoviruses, a microbial insecticide specific to caterpillars, can reduce herbivory of crop plants by caterpillars, acting as an alternative to pesticides. We are examining the effects of increasing exposure to UV light on the virulence of baculovirus strains. The first generation of lab infected cabbage loopers killed by baculovirus were exposed to UV light for increasing increments of time. The exposed baculovirus strains were then transmitted to the second generation of cabbage loopers. We hypothesize that the virus with the most exposure to UV light will have reduced virulence in the second generation of cabbage loopers compared to those with less UV light exposure. If UV light does inactivate microbial insecticides, our current means of controlling herbivory may be ineffective. This lack of adequate crop protection could reduce plant density and production capacity in agriculture, thus decreasing food availability worldwide.

Michelle Velesrubio
Mentor Arietta Fleming-Davies
The effects of phenotypic coloration of Agraulis vanillae larvae on their susceptibility to nucleopolyhedroviral infection
Viral infections are common across many species and often require mechanisms for resistance in order to survive. Like many others of its kind, Agraulis vanillae, or the Gulf fritillary butterfly, is parasitized by a species-specific virus known as the nucleopolyhedrovirus, or NPV. Its resistance to this virus is exhibited in a number of different ways, and can vary between plastic and fixed behaviors. This project combines field research and lab experimentation in order to determine the relationship between phenotypic coloration of larvae to susceptibility to infection. By photographing each individual larva taken from the field and using various programs to obtain L*, a*, and b* coloration values, we can determine the survivability based on color. In a follow up experiment in the laboratory, we can breed the survivors by color and infect them with doses of NPV to supplement the information obtained from the field-collected larvae. Based on other cases of coloration effects on virus susceptibility, I hypothesize that the darker, orange colored larvae will be more susceptible to viral infection and will have a higher larval mortality rate. The results of this project will allow us to not only outline the relationship between phenotypic coloration and susceptibility to NPV infection, but will also allow us to determine whether or not coloration is a plastic response to virus, or a genetically determined trait.

Mina de Guia
Mentor Ivan Ortiz
Queer Expression, the Closet, and the Dream Space Within Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Gothic Literature
In the Gothic setting, desire often manifests itself alongside fear—of madness, shame, and supernatural consequence. The inextricable connection between fear and desire resonates with the fraught existences of queer people within historically homophobic societies, naturally lending the Gothic a distinct queer presence. The complexities of queer desire and longing are consistently explored within the Gothic realm and are colored by the simultaneous anxieties of queer experience and homophobic perceptions of queer existence, as well as the widespread tendency to pathologize the queer psyche. This study examines the intersections between queer expression, the closeted existence, and cultural understandings of the psyche within eighteenth and nineteenth century Gothic fiction; specifically, how the subconscious, dreaming minds of Gothic heroines interact with understandings of the closet. This project centers itself upon the dream space because it acts as a crossroads for binaries such as reality and fancy, safety and danger, peace and unrest, and the mortal and supernatural. Gothic fiction is a compelling setting for this analysis due to its nature as a genre whose conventions include monstrosity, perversion, gender play, and horror, while also being a progressive vehicle of cultural transgression and an outlet for the expression of marginalized people.

Mishika Manchada
Mentor Joseph Provost
NHE1 is required for the progression of lung fibrosis.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a form of progressive lung disease of unknown origin primarily in older adults. Fibrosis is an aberrant wound healing process which causes an overgrowth of tissue, hardening, and scarring; consequently, the patient finds it increasingly difficult to breathe. Many factors contribute to the worsening of fibrosis, such as the deposition of collagen and fibronectin into the extracellular matrix (ECM), the formation of actin stress fibers, and the transdifferentiation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts. To purpose of this study was to understand the effects that sodium hydrogen exchanger isoform 1 (NHE1), an ion transporter protein, has on the progression of the disease. Actin stress fibers increase stiffness in the ECM, so a stress fiber formation determination assay was performed in the absence and presence of multiple agonists known to stimulate stress fiber formation: lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), serotonin, and transforming growth factor – β (TGF- β). This assay was performed on cells that expressed NHE1 and on cells that had NHE1 inhibited. The results showed that cells that were stimulated with either agonist with NHE1 present had the highest percentage of stress fiber formation, and cells that had NHE1 inhibited had a lower percentage of stress fiber formation, even with an agonist present. This shows that NHE1 is required for the progression of strong stress fiber formation, and therefore could be involved in the progression of fibrosis. Determining the role of NHE1 in IPF could eventually introduce curative options for this disease.

Nadia Mohebati
Mentor Arietta Fleming-Davies
Baculovirus coinfections
Pathogens that infect insects, such as baculoviruses, can be used as host-specific insecticides for crop pest control. There is evidence indicating that ultraviolet radiation from sunlight may inactivate the virulence of baculoviruses by degrading the protective protein coat surrounding the virus, making them ineffective at infecting caterpillars. UV inactivation is a reason why baculoviruses have not yet been widely used as pesticides in the field of agriculture. The baculovirus being studied was obtained from different sources and show phenotypic differences between the two strains. Coinfections of the two stains of virus alter the phenotypic expression of the baculoviruses and cause them to respond differently to UV radiation. We are examining the virulence of different ratios of two strains of baculovirus (A and B) by comparing the number of virus-killed caterpillars in each group, as well as how they these different coinfections respond to UV radiation. Based on pilot data, we predict that the coinfection strain with higher ratio of A strain baculovirus will have a higher virulence without UV exposure, whereas the coinfection with higher ratio of B strain will have a higher virulence in the presence of UV. This research will add to information regarding baculovirus usage as pesticides in the field and contribute to the understanding on how baculovirus coinfections function.

Nicholas Cohn
Mentor Ivan Ortiz
Reconciling with the Final ‘Frontier:’ Refractions of Imperialism in Space Fiction and Space Policy
This undertaking traces the centuries-long formation of the outer space imaginary—the popular, often Utopian or fatalistic narratives of outer space exploration—as a means to contextualize the private sector’s rapidly growing interest in the exploration and exploitation of outer space in the twenty-first century. Crafting a multi-national timeline of both outer space policy and outer space fiction, this project elaborates on how fiction and policy have simultaneously informed one another’s trajectories and coalesced to shape national and international perceptions. Centered around a literary analysis of Stanislaw Lem’s novel Solaris (1961) and a comparison of the source work with its Russian and U.S. film adaptations in subsequent decades (1972, 2002), this project juxtaposes the mutation of one reiterated story—as well as other key examples of outer space fiction, such as the Alien franchise—with the changing intention and legal language of political documents discussed and drafted by the United Nations, the United States of America, and the U.S.S.R. in corresponding periods of time.

Phoebe Woofter
Mentor Emilie Amrein
Transgression of the Choral Space and Practice
I seek to research methods of transgressing the choral space and practice in order to move beyond inclusivity and foster a liberating environment for expression, education, and activism. I pose the question, how does one engender one’s voice amidst a musical culture of oppression and repression? I conducted my research through a decolonial queer black feminist lens and explored how to transgress the ways in which marginalized identities manifest or are erased within the traditional choral space and practice. Because I espouse Kimberle Crenshaw’s 1989 concept of intersectionality, it is impossible and ultimately exclusive to discuss certain aspects of the human identity in a vacuum. Therefore, though my primarily focus is gender and sexuality, I by no means exclude race, class, disability, etc. from my analysis. Additionally, I draw on Michel Foucault’s concept of pouvoir-savoir in order to deconstruct the methods by which dominant paradigms of choral tradition are circulated and reproduced. Throughout my case studies, interviews, and readings, I considered various avenues of how choirs embody a culture of coloniality, but ultimately I felt my thesis was best examined through the lens movement. My primary questions are how do choral singers and groups relate to and use space in ways that perpetuate colonial traditions or decolonize choral traditions, and in what ways does choral pedagogy police the singer’s body and how can one begin to liberate the singer’s body from such pervasive paradigms of power?

Rachel Sarner
Mentor Sarah Gray
The Presence of Microplastics Offshore of Southern California
Every year, at least eight million tons of plastic enters the ocean with some sinking to the sea-floor. Micro-sized fibers, granules, plastic films and spherules of plastics (microplastics) are a large part of this pollution. The objective of this research was to develop a methodology to determine how the abundance of microplastics in ocean sediments varied with distance from shore/population and with water depth offshore of San Diego. Samples were collected on the RV Sally Ride and RV Sproul research vessels in 2018 using a multicorer, which was deployed at water depths ranging from 100 to 960 meters. In addition, sediments were collected in San Diego Bay for comparison. To extract microplastics from the samples, approximately 100mL of sediment from the upper layer (0-1 cm) of the cores was processed by density floatation in Zinc Chloride (density 1.5 g/cm³). Floating microplastics were transferred onto a gridded filter and systematically categorized and counted under a microscope. Microplastic fibers were found as deep as 960 meters suggesting that plastic pollution is accumulating in the deep basins of the Southern California continental margin. Ongoing analyses of sediments (and analytical blanks) will determine whether microplastic abundance varies with distance offshore or water depth. A better understanding of the microplastic distributions in offshore sediments will help us better predict the impact of plastics on marine life which inhabit the deep sea.

Sami Zaia
Mentor Ryan Ratcliff
FDI and Portfolio Flow Drivers
International capital flows are of major concern to policymakers due to their fluctuating nature and how that can impact domestic markets and interest rates. This research project attempts to discern what are the main drivers of international capital flows and elaborates on the current literature modeling the cross-sectional variation. It aims to decompose these capital flows into those that are foreign direct investment (FDI) and portfolio investment driven by the same economic factors, and to identify new factors that drive one flow but not the other. Our approach uses international economic theory to describe these flows, distinguishing itself from other literature that uses gravity model variables—such as distance and the financial markets level of development—to do so.

Savannah Shields
Mentor Arietta Fleming-Davies
Identifying local adaptation in the host/pathogen relationship between Agraulis vanilla and nucleopolyhedrovirus
Disease-causing viruses can adapt to their host, ultimately becoming more specialized and therefore increasingly deadly. The disease, or the pathogen, interacts with a host in the same area. The area-specific interaction drives the most fit hosts and pathogens to be selected for, that may differ from from the same species interaction in a different area. This concept of local adaptation allows for co-evolution of species. Specifically studied will be the host/pathogen relationship of Agraulis vanillae, commonly known as the Gulf fritillary butterfly, and nucleopolyhedrovirus (NPV), which persists on passionflower vines. We are conducting an experiment in which we collect, raise, and infect caterpillars from two locations (San Diego and Los Angeles) with NPV strains from both locations. We believe that we will observe local adaptation, meaning each virus will infect caterpillars of the same location with higher virulence than of the opposing location. In addition, viral DNA will be extracted and sequenced— we predict local adaptation will be observed on a genotypic level. Host/pathogen relationships exist all around us, including within us. Our study aims to reveal the importance of the host and pathogen as a pair rather than as individuals. The nature of infection, even in humans, can be better understood: treatments against pathogens can be developed on a species-specific, case-by-case basis.

Simren Kaur
Mentor Ryan McGorty
Imaging Live Drosophila Neurons
Transgenic flies expressing fluorescent probes can indicate neuronal activity based on voltage or calcium flow. Research has shown that the Mushroom Body (MB) in fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) is implicit in the sleep-wake cycle. The MB is a cluster of neurons that form a network that is involved in sleep regulation by innervating dopaminergic neurons. Live neurons in the MB are imaged using light-sheet microscopy in flies expressing either a voltage or calcium indicating fluorescent probe. A systematic analysis of the type of probe is done by subjecting the live neurons to stimulated and control conditions. Neuronal activity is induced via a caffeine wash in the stimulated condition which should be correlated with increased fluorescence intensity.

Sophie Abber
Mentor Rebekah Wanic
College Student Familiarity with Eating Disorder Diagnoses, Symptomatology, and Severity
Numerous studies have evaluated stereotypes attributed to individuals with eating disorders (EDs), most doing so by asking participants to read a vignette describing someone with an ED and answering opinion-based questions about their impressions of the individual.  Little research, however, has examined public knowledge about ED symptoms and severity.  To fill this gap, the present study: 1) explores reported knowledge of and opinions about EDs, prompting participants to respond to questions using a diagnostic category rather than responding to a vignette, and 2) compares participants’ objective knowledge with their subjective ratings of how knowledgeable they believe themselves to be.  Familiarity with diagnostic label, knowledge of symptoms, and perceptions of severity were assessed for anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), binge eating disorder (BED), and other specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED) using an online survey.  It was hypothesized that participants would have the most knowledge about AN and the least knowledge about OSFED.  Consistent with hypotheses, participants were significantly better at correctly identifying core symptoms of AN versus BN.  Additionally, participants rated themselves as significantly less familiar with OSFED, despite reporting knowing someone with OSFED at similar rates as other EDs, and participants also considered OSFED to be less severe than the other DSM-5 EDs.

Stephanie Misko
Mentor Stephen Pearlberg
Exploring the Relationship Between Instagram Usage and Social Appearance Anxiety
Adolescents and young adults use social media to connect and communicate more than ever. Nearly three quarters of American teenagers utilize Instagram, which recently surpassed Snapchat and Facebook to become the most popular photo sharing platform (Roesler, 2018). Users post pictures and videos that often suggest an idealized lifestyle, with performance commonly indexed by the number of viewings, “likes,” and positive comments the posts receive. However, Sherlock and Wagstaff (2018) reported that Instagram users are more likely to struggle with depressive symptoms, self-esteem, general and physical appearance anxiety, and body dissatisfaction. Perhaps to reduce users’ comparison processes, the platform recently announced a trial program to refocus users on the shared content itself—rather than the content’s performance—by hiding the total number of likes and video views users can access (Instagram, 2019). Current research involves a two-phase program to investigate the relationship between female undergraduates’ patterns of Instagram usage and self-reported levels of social appearance anxiety. First, an exploratory survey instrument was designed to assess how frequency and depth of Instagram usage may affect participants’ self-esteem, social anxiety, and social appearance anxiety. Inter-relationships between all variables were considered. Second, to allow for causal attributions to be made, findings from the survey will guide an experimental design to manipulate photographic content and perceived liking.

Sydney Mikulec
Mentor Joan G Schellinger
Microwave-Assisted RAFT Polymerization of Cationic Monomers
Cationic polymers are versatile and their properties can be used for various biomedical purposes including gene delivery and  antimicrobials. In this project, we utilized microwave-assisted reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization to prepare cationic polymers composed of N-(3-aminopropyl)methacrylamide hydrochloride (APMA) and N-[3-(Dimethylamnio)propyl]methacrylamide (DMAPMA) monomers. The monomer conversion rates of DMAPMA were 380 times higher than those polymerized under conventional heating conditions. Polymerization kinetics were controlled and maintained over various monomer feed ratios under the same polymerization conditions. In all cases, agreement between theoretical and experimental molecular weights were observed and controlled. Moreover, end group retention of the dithiocarbonate moiety during homopolymerization was observed during the extension experiment and all polymers showed narrow molecular weight distribution. Ultimately these methods will be utilized to prepare complex polymers containing amino acids, such as lysine and arginine, which provide cationic character similar to that of DMAPMA and APMA. This will allow us to synthesize biocompatible peptide-based polymers for various biomedical applications.

Sydney Smyer
Mentor Arietta Fleming-Davies
The Effects of Baculovirus on Trichoplusia ni.
Baculovirus is a host-specific virus that devastates caterpillar communities and can be used as a tool against pests. Research suggests that the effects of this virus are mitigated by direct sunlight. We examined this hypothesis in our system by analyzing the variation in virulence of two strains of virus, strains A and B, infecting Trichoplusia ni., commonly known as the cabbage looper moth, after exposing the virus to UV radiation for different periods of time. After the first set of caterpillars died from infection, ensuring the virus is viable, we exposed them to UV, extracted the virus, and then infected another set of caterpillars with the same virus to determine how the UV-affected virus impacts the host. We predict that the longer the virus is exposed to UV radiation, the longer the infected host caterpillar will survive and the more likely it will resist infection. Next, we did a separate experiment where we co-infected the caterpillars using a mixture of strains A and B, to determine the optimal ratio, 70:30, 50:50, or 30:70, for resisting UV radiation. We predict that the combination of virus will resist the effects of UV and lead to greater caterpillar mortality than those infected with a single strain. Our results are consistent with our prediction. The conclusions drawn from this small system shed light on the benefits of the use of controlled infection, and therefore have implications on larger pest control efforts, such as outbreaks, in agriculture.

Sydney Bennett
Mentor Cassondra Williams
Examining the cardiac responses between Weddell seals and California sea lions: How different are they?
Both pinniped species, Weddell seals and California sea lions, have displayed incredible diving capabilities. Although it is believed that California sea lions are not as well adapted to diving as Weddell seals, recent studies have shown California sea lions have the ability to perform deep and prolonged dives (McDonald and Ponganis, 2013). To investigate whether Weddell seals are physiologically better adapted to intermediate dives than California sea lions, this study compared their cardiac responses during similar dive depths and durations. Electrocardiogram (ECG) data collected from Weddell seals diving in Antarctica and California sea lions diving in Santa Cruz were analyzed to determine mean heart rates for each dive and each animal. We compared dives based on three categories: shallow dives (25-50 meters, 2-4 minutes), medium dives (75-175 meters, 4-6 minutes), deep dives (200-350 meters, 8-10 minutes) using data from a time depth recorder (TDR). Results were analyzed to determine a relationship between dive depth, duration, heart rate and a comparison between the two pinniped species. This is significant because most attention surrounding diving physiology has been focused on dives at extreme depths and durations and there have been no studies comparing dives between species. By comparing their cardiac responses, we can expand our current knowledge on the extent of these species physiological adaptations by determining just how different their cardiac responses are when analyzing similar dives.

Tanya Al Saleh
Mentor Daniel Lopez-Perez
Concentric Radical Urbanism
Holy sites around the world experience an enormous increase of visitors every year. This enormous increase occurs in the city of Mecca each year where the Kaaba is located, the sacred building where all Muslims pray towards every day and visit for pilgrimage and umrah annually. Mecca is also a location where historical and Islamic culture sits today. Around the periphery of the Kaaba is where various skyscrapers at extremely tall heights sit, most functioning as luxurious hotels that cast a shadow over the 43 ft cuboid stone structure. Much of Mecca's ancient history was demolished to make room for these modern structures. Mecca’s development begins with bulldozing before planning; if this approach continues, the city’s sanctity will soon disappear. This unique concentricity, with everything determined by its orientation towards the hallowed center, has spawned a strangely diagrammatic radical urbanism. Many of Mecca’s Islamic historical sites have been destroyed for the sake of expansions that accommodate the influx of visitors to the Grand Mosque. The physicality of such sites is crucial for pilgrims to foster an understanding of the unseen events that are described in the holy text, where it enhances the pilgrim’s understanding as they stand by such monuments. For my research, I would like to develop an alternative architectural model that accommodates the city’s large influx of visitors, Islam’s egalitarian nature, while simultaneously respecting the periphery of the Kaaba. Using vernacular Saudi Arabian architecture from Mecca, I aim to redevelop and incorporate historical elements into the dwelling units in both form and decoration.

Tatiana Zamora
Mentor Victoria Rodriguez
Committing to college readiness from middle school and beyond: A case study of a college preparatory middle school
College readiness has many components that include different academic, cognitive, and social skills as well as transitional and content knowledge. College readiness has typically been a focus within high school curriculum, however, recent research are emphasizing the need for college preparation to begin even earlier than a student’s first year of high school. This case study examines St. Olive Academy, a college-preparatory middle school that serves students who identify as members of underrepresented ethnic groups, aspiring first-generation college-going students, and come from low-income families. By utilizing classroom observations and interviews, this study examines what St. Olive Academy is doing to prepare students for college while identifying its effectiveness. This study expands the current definition of college readiness by incorporating cultural factors and school culture along with the other previously defined components.

Thanh Trinh
Mentor Anthony Bell
The use of fluorescence-based thermal shift assays to measure HMGB1 binding interactions.
The objective of my research project is to use a fluorescence-based thermal shift assay (FTS) to evaluate binding interactions between High Mobility Group B1 (HMGB1) and cell clearance molecules. HMGB1 is a DNA-binding cytokine that binds to the surface of immune cells to start reactions that lead to the removal of harmful stimuli such as bacteria and viruses. Research shows that HMGB1 may also be linked with autoimmune diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In these diseases, HMGB1 promotes unintended immune reactions that lead to tissue damage. There is new evidence that HMGB1 worsens lupus and RA by blocking important binding interactions that control the removal or clearance of cells. Each day millions of cell are “cleared”. Cells are cleared to recycle the interior biological components for new cells. In lupus, cell clearance is severely inhibited. Improper cell clearance leads to the interior biological components leaking out to become “self” or auto-antigens. In lupus, host immune cells inadvertently attack auto-antigens to cause chronic inflammation. New research shows that HMGB1 prevents cell clearance by blocking a small number of binding interactions between immune cells and cells that must be cleared. We hypothesize that HMGB1 binds to many more biological components to block cell clearance. My studies focus on using FTS to investigate these suspected binding interactions. My current experiments focus on optimizing FTS binding conditions using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a (+) control. My later studies will shift to investigate HMGB1 binding to different biological molecules.

Thomas Drake
Mentor Jennifer Prairie
Microscale Direct Interactions between Copepods and Marine Snow
Aggregations of sinking phytoplankton and other organic matter in the ocean are often referred to as marine snow. These marine snow particles are extremely prevalent and are therefore a very crucial part of the biological pump which transports carbon from the surface ocean to the seafloor where it can be removed from the carbon cycle for thousands of years or more. Often these marine snow particles do not sink uninterrupted through the water column due to interactions with organisms such as copepods. Previous studies have demonstrated that one species of copepod, Calanus pacificus, likely ingests marine snow. This ingestion may result in fragmenting marine snow particles, which can alter the rate of carbon transport throughout the ocean. However, little research has been focused on the microscale direct interactions between copepods and the particles they fragment. In this study, we used high-resolution imaging to directly observe interactions between copepods and sinking marine snow particles. Through the analysis of these images, we were able to quantify the reaction of copepods in relation to the location of the sinking particle. In addition, we measured gut content as a proxy for ingestion rate, which allowed us to determine how much of the marine snow each copepod consumed.

Future work will allow us to track the size and speed of particles before and after fragmentation to further explore the impact of these interactions on the transport of carbon in the ocean.

Thomas Walker
Mentor Jena Hales
Temporal Aspects of Object Discrimination Memory in Rats
It is widely agreed that the hippocampus is necessary for the formation and retrieval of long-term declarative memories. Time and place also play key roles in long-term memory. Various studies regarding spatial processing in memory have shown that place cells fire in the hippocampus when a species is in a specific location. Similarly, recent research has suggested that time cells, neurons that fire during time-related experiences, also exist in the hippocampus. Our research investigates the function of the hippocampus in temporal aspects of memory. We have designed a novel time duration object discrimination task to explore the ability of rats to learn elapsed time in order to make an object discrimination. During the task, rats are exposed to either a 10-second or 20-second tone and learn to make a decision to displace an object, A or B, depending on the associated delay. Choosing to displace the correct object will indicate that the rats learned a specific response based on a certain amount of elapsed time. After rats reach criterion performance of 90% correct object discrimination, they receive complete bilateral excitotoxic hippocampal lesions or sham lesions and are retested on this discrimination. Results will be discussed in terms of hippocampal involvement in learning object discriminations based on elapsed time duration.

Valeria Reyes
Mentor Chris Daley
Synthesis of a Ligand for use in Enantioselective Catalysis
Many chemical reactions yield enantiomer products, which are compounds that have the same type and number of bonds but are non-superimposable mirror images of each other, similar to one’s right and left hands. The enantiomers’ different spatial arrangements make them react differently with other enantiomer compounds. For example, enzymes in our bodies are chiral (single enantiomers), so they interact with each of the enantiomer forms of another chiral molecule differently. If a drug is administered as a racemic mixture (50:50 mixture of its enantiomer forms), each enantiomer can be metabolized differently; one producing the desired effect while the other may produce severe side effects. Enantioselective catalysis is one method for controlling which enantiomer is produced. Our focus is on preparing organic molecules (ligands) that can be used with a metal to form catalysts; the catalysts will be used for numerous reactions to determine its effectiveness in driving the reaction to form only one enantiomer form. Currently, our ligand is prepared in a 2-step process; an in-situ metal-bound ligand complex synthesis followed by a thiol-based substitution reaction to isolate the ligand. This methodology is successful for the cadmium systems but as cadmium and thiols are less environmentally friendly, we are exploring the use of zinc and amines, respectively, as replacements in the hopes to reduce the method's toxicity. Our progress on the optimization of the synthesis of our metal-ligand complexes (zinc and cadmium) and the isolation of the ligand from the complexes will be presented along with preliminary catalysis investigations.

Vicenta Martinez Govea
Mentor Daniel Lopez-Perez
Urban Identities: How ADU's are transforming San Diego
This research focuses on finding possible solutions to the housing shortage in San Diego by analyzing its different neighborhoods in order to pinpoint the problem. To analyze San Diego, site analyses were created that include information about a site’s residential and commercial locations, zoning policies, and ability to develop. Comparing and contrasting cost of living versus income and home size across different neighborhoods in San Diego proved to be a huge factor in the housing crisis. It was discovered that the housing industry was producing more homes for the top 5% of the population than for low-income residents. The need for low income homes is vital given that only 30% of people can afford to own a house. A solution to this housing shortage is the construction of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU's). An ADU is a dwelling less than 1,200 sq-ft and no more than 30 feet tall and can be used as a separate and rentable dwelling unit that typically sits above a standard garage. An ADU is compared to Tetris where different sized rooms can be arranged within a confined space to create open spaces. ADU Tetris blocks were created and applied to the real world by studying how they easily adapt to neighborhoods across San Diego. ADU’s provide eligible homeowners with the opportunity to provide those in need with an affordable housing option while also making a profit. San Diego could construct 115,731 ADU’s within the next year and provide a diverse stock of affordable, low-cost units.

Victoria Cendejas
Mentor Jena Hales
Hippocampal Involvement in the Traveling Salesman Problem
Our lab uses rats as a model system to investigate human memory formation and retrieval, as well as the role of different brain regions in these functions. One area of focus in our research, which has been in collaboration with Dr. Rachel Blaser’s lab, is the study of naturalistic cognitive behaviors using the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP). The TSP is a cognitively rich task, which requires working and long-term memory, spatial orientation, decision-making, and planning. In this task, subjects are required to visit and find the most efficient path between each of several targets arranged in an arena. The TSP has the advantage of representing a natural behavior for both humans and rodent models. For example, humans might have to decide the best route through a grocery store to pick up multiple items on their list, while foraging rats will leave their nests and collect food items before returning back to their home nest. A critical component of our research is investigating how particular brain regions are involved in solving this task. Specifically, we are examining the function of the hippocampus and other brain regions within the medial temporal lobes known to be involved in learning and memory in the performance of the TSP. Our recent data suggests that the hippocampus is involved in rats’ performance in the TSP, particularly in regards to components of the task involving memory.

Yarissa Valdez
Mentor Jonathan Bowman
Parent-student Relationships and Academic Success
Studies show that self-perception is linked to academic achievement and the prominent impact of external influences on individuals, making it interesting to ponder the authority of interpersonal interactions on overall academic performance. This study measures correlations between the quality of student’s relationship with their parents and their perception of academic self-efficacy. In particular, this project examines differences in demographics and their correlation to student success rates. The purpose is to provide insight on cultural practices that could influence overall interactions with students. To do this, we distributed a 15 minute survey intended to measure the quality of familial relationships and their academic self-perception. The survey begins with demographic questions like: What is your ethnic background? These questions are followed by statements corresponding to a Likert Scale about the relationship between the student and their parent(s). (e.g. My relationship with my parent(s) is close). The last part of the survey also includes Likert Scale statements about the students’ academic perception. (e.g. I am confident in my ability to be successful in school). We chose to distribute an online survey because it allows the rapid collection of personal experiences and it facilitates overall data analysis. We hypothesize that students in Hispanic households will exhibit higher levels of academic success than non-Hispanic students because of the tight-knit household environments prevalent in Hispanic families. The results from this study can be used by post-secondary institutions to better understand how student demographics affect graduation/success rates and what groups of students require specialized resources.