Posters from the annual student research session where DePauw students can demonstrate their collaborative work with faculty or internship experiences.
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A Comparative Analysis of Urea vs. Acetamide in AOT reverse micelles
Kate Walsh '26, Bridget Gourley, and Nancy E. Levinger
In our exploration of the interactions between water and amide osmolytes, we focused on the effects of urea and acetamide on the stability of reverse micelles (RMs) formed with Sodium Bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT) in isooctane. Water, with its unique polarity and its ability to facilitate hydrogen and proton transfer, played a crucial role in our study, as we aimed to uncover how these amides would influence micellar behaviour. Our results revealed a compelling contrast between urea and acetamide. Acetamide, with its lower polarity due to a methyl group substitution, demonstrated superior solubility and significantly reduced precipitate formation compared to urea. This enhanced stability suggests that acetamide's structural properties allow for a more harmonious integration within the micellar system. Employing dynamic light scattering (DLS) and fluorescence spectroscopy, we found that increasing the water-to-surfactant ratio (w0) led to a marked rise in the fluorescence intensity of the coumarin dye (C343). This indicated greater accommodation of dye molecules in the core of the RMs, enhancing our understanding of micellar dynamics. In contrast, varying the concentration at a constant w0 resulted in inconsistent fluorescence trends, underscoring the complexities inherent in micellar behaviour. Ultimately, our study highlights the pivotal role of amide polarity in determining micellar stability, paving the way for future research into the implications of these interactions in biological and chemical contexts. We set the stage for novel applications and further investigations into micellar systems by deepening our insights into osmolyte behaviour.
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Investigating Neurite Outgrowth Influenced by Breast Cancer Progression Using In Vitro Models of Collagen I Hydrogels
Emma Waskom '27, Nikolas Ala-Kokko, and Younghye Song
Through the use of vitro modeling of tumor progression, using collagen I hydrogels and progressing cell lines, a demonstration of the interactions between breast cancer cells and nerve cells can be investigated. With these models, our goal is to compare the measurement of outgrowth of nerve cells through the use of supplemented NGF and co cultures of breast cancer cells. Human MCF-CA1a.cl1, -AneoT, and -10A, adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs), and rat PC-12 cells, were all passaged from 2D cultures and cultured in a collagen I hydrogen at a cell density of 250,000 cells/ml of media. Collagen hydrogels were then made from a warm mammalian cell procedure. PC-12 cells were seeded on top for four hours after gels were made then media was added. NGF for NGF supplemented cultures was added on day 0 and after 72 hours was removed through a media change. Gels were fixed after 8 days of culture. Immunofluorescence staining was used with neurofilament and beta III tubulin being used to identify perineural invasion. DAPI was used as a nuclear counterstain. Immunofluorescence imaging showed that there was zero outgrowth when no NGF was added. However, outgrowth did appear when NGF was added as well as in all MCF media cultures. Nonetheless, there was no significant difference in the percentage of PC-12s with outgrowth per field of view. The AneoT media had the highest average percentage of PC-12s with outgrowth (51.5%), as well as the highest average length of outgrowth (37.04 µm). Measuring the neurite length, all PC-12 cultures treated with MCF media only were significantly higher than no NGF treatment. By comparing the length of outgrowth and the percentage of outgrowth, we found that AneoT cells had a significant influence on the length of outgrowth.
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Communicating Sustainability Effectively Online
Alexandra Zarek '25
How my Summer 2024 Marketing Internship at Valent BioSciences changed my thinking about what to post online.
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Understanding Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Neurodegenerative Diseases Using Novel Neuron Cell Models
Amy Apfelbaum, Anthony Grillo PhD, Raghav Dutta PhD, and Alaa Hassan
This past summer I worked Dr. Anthony Grillo’s lab under my mentors Raghav Dutta and Alaa Hassan at the University of Cincinnati. The Grillo Lab is focused on understanding the mechanisms of mitochondrial complex 1 dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases. It has been shown that an early feature of neurodegeneration is complex 1 dysfunction; we were trying to determine if this is a cause or an effect of these diseases. This summer, we focused on identifying different types of neuron subtypes in brain tissue samples, isolating primary neurons by first identifying and visualizing the types of brain cells present in brain tissue samples, and imaging protein aggregates that are thought to be a major cause of aging diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson’s Disease. We worked with complex 1 knockout mice because they give insight into how mitochondrial failure affects cellular physiology, giving us a better understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms that induce these genetic, aging, and environmental diseases. We used two common techniques of western blot and immunofluorescence to accomplish these tasks. Through this experience in an interdisciplinary research lab that combined biochemistry, neuroscience, and physiology, I was able to expand on my prior knowledge both in and out of the lab and collaborate with graduate and post-doctorate students.
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Analysis of the Crab Nebula and Pulsar
Alexander Bittle, Ian Kuhl, Jingze (Justin) Zhou, and Avery Archer
Although the Crab Nebula is well understood, the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) still regularly observes the Crab's highest energy emissions. These emissions are used to calibrate the telescopes, further, document the system, and investigate the validity of physical models. Our research this summer is geared to analyze data from 2018-2022 to add to an ongoing research project investigating the long term variability of the Crab Nebula’s emission.
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An Introduction to the VERITAS Observatory
Alexander Bittle, Ian Kuhl, Jingze (Justin) Zhou, and Avery Archer
Located at the base of Mount Hopkins, Arizona, at an elevation of approximately 4200 feet, the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) is a ground-based gamma ray observatory containing four Cherenkov telescopes designed to detect very high energy gamma rays with energies ranging from 100GeV to 10TeV using the Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Technique. In April 2007, VERITAS began successful operations with all four telescopes. As of today, over 15 years of data has been taken by the VERITAS array, stored in an archive of data, and used for a wide variety of research, publications, PhD theses, and conventions examining some of the most violent and energetic processes in our universe.
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Investigating Sucrose and D-trehalose in AOT Reverse Micelles
Delaney Collier and Bridget L. Gourley
Reverse micelles are nanosized structures that encapsulate small water pools and allow us to investigate the fundamental interactions of small organic molecules in nanoconfinement. The behavior of small organic molecules, sometimes referred to as osmolytes, differs in bulk solution and confinement. Because reverse micelles are a good model for biological nanoconfinement, investigating osmolytes in reverse micelle systems can help us to better understand the role they play in biological systems. Optical spectroscopy such as UV-Vis, Fluorescence, and Red Edge Excitation (REES) was used to probe the environment of the reverse micelles. Three small organic molecules were studied: a monosaccharide, d-glucose, and two disaccharides, d-trehalose and sucrose. Spectroscopy results indicate that nanoconfinement affects the interactions had by the osmolytes. Dynamic Light Scattering was used to determine the size of the reverse micelles. Size data results suggest that size increases as w0 increases, and as the concentration of saccharide added decreases, the variability of size increases.
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Investigating rare genetic variants of unknown significance in LDHA
Animesh Dali, Brennan Jensen, Olivia Lockette, and Duyen Nguyen
The exponential expansion and advancement of genetic sequencing has revealed the molecular basis of many genetic diseases. However, many genetic mutations are still classified as variants of unknown significance (VUS). Our lab focused on eleven missense variants in Lactate Dehydrogenase A (LDHA), an enzyme vital in anaerobic respiration. The intent with our research is to produce data on the kinetic functionality of wild type LDHA and compare this to its mutants of unknown significance. This data, supplemented with the structural information of the mutants can help reduce the ambiguity in the diagnosis of genetic disorders involving the LDHA enzyme. Currently, we have recorded the baseline kinetic function of the wild type LDHA based on its ability to convert the coenzyme NADH to NAD+. While we have a general understanding of the kinetic function of our mutant variants, A320T, T309P, L190F, E55K, D46V, P139L, G282R, K119R, T95M, G103E, and I94F, further tests need to be conducted to reduce variability.
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Had Grass, Water and Wood: Scanning and Transcribing the 1864 Travel Diary of John Heinen
Elizabeth Dugan and Caroline Gilson
This collaborative project included scanning and transcribing a diary owned by Caroline Gilson passed down from her mother. The diary is from May-September 1864, kept by Ernst John Heinen, recording his trip from Nebraska to California on the Overland Trail. Heinen is Caroline’s great-great grandfather, born in Germany in 1836. Elizabeth Dugan worked hands-on with the diary, scanning the work and transcribing the work. Elizabeth and Caroline developed a manuscript transcription guide, based on established best practices. A reading list Caroline created guided the exploration of the diary, including emigrant migration and native American encounters and perspectives of the time, and westward expansion in the 1860s.
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Stressed, but doing fine. An Investigation of Apocynum Canabinum Patches and Individuals
Lauren Kyburz, Lily Monnett, Quincie Simmons, and Dana Dudle
Apocynum cannabinum (hemp dogbane) is a native Indiana plant that is abundant in the DePauw University Nature Park’s quarry, a heterogeneous site that contains stretches of dry, rocky terrain in addition to many temporary ponds. In 2023, I mapped the distribution of A. cannabinum in the quarry to see if its habitats are associated with elevation and/or the presence of temporary ponds. I also conducted a study of diurnal pollinator visitation, and an examination of damage caused by the dogbane saucrobotys moth (Saucrobotys futilalis).
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Differential Equations in Stock Prediction Analysis
Alan Tuan Le, Mai Le, and Sutthirut Charoenphon
Stock price prediction plays a vital role in financial decision-making and has been an area of extensive research. In this research, we explore the effectiveness of the differential equation of Brownian motion as a method for stock price prediction and compare its performance with two established techniques, ARIMA and XGBoost. Using historical data from Yahoo Finance, we assess the predictive capabilities of these models and analyze their strengths and weaknesses. The findings of this study will shed light on the potential of Brownian motion as a viable approach in financial forecasting and provide valuable insights for investors and researchers in applying mathematics in social sciences. We also researched the application of this technique in option pricing and combined this with more complicated mathematical models.
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Spatial Narratives in the Bronze Age
Linh Le
This research paper explores the relationship between culture and architecture in the Late Bronze Age through the analysis of the Minoan and Mycenaean communities, with the focus on the latter. Drawing on the theories of “The Production of Space” by Henri Lefebvre and “Space and Place” by Yi-Fu Tuan, the study examines how these communities utilized space to construct their own unique sense of place. By analyzing most archaeological evidence from palaces and burial customs presented in Eric H. Cline’s The Oxford Handbook of The Bronze Age Aegean and Cynthia W. Shelmerdine’s The Cambridge Companion to the Aegean Bronze Age, the paper investigates how cultural values, beliefs, and practices shaped the architectural expressions of these societies. In particular, the Minoan and Mycenaean incorporated religious, economic, and political meanings to build their own places. The Minoan embodied the manifestation of utopian ideals in their palaces, simultaneously fostering a sense of attachment to their homeland among the populace. Similarly, the Mycenaean megarons reflected a deliberate construction of social hierarchies, where exclusive banqueting areas underscored the privileged access of the elite to opulent spaces. As seen in the spatial layout of the palaces, spaces were not just physical entities but carriers of narratives, narrating stories of governance, social strata, and communal beliefs. This interplay of architecture, archaeological evidence, and literary works like the Odyssey unveils the rich and intricate spatial narratives of ancient civilizations, casting light on the human experience that contributed to the creation of their unique places. Through the interdisciplinary analysis of archaeological evidence, theoretical frameworks, and literary sources, this research paper contributes to a better understanding of the intricate relationship between culture, architecture, and space. It highlights the significance of spatial experiences in shaping identity, belonging, and the construction of a sense of place within Late Bronze Age societies.
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Longboard classification using Machine Learning
Tuan (Kevin) Le, Evans Sajtar, and McKenzie Lamb
There are several techniques a rider can choose from that they can perform being distributed along the long-board ride. This research aims to create a machine-learning model that can efficiently classify these techniques at different periods of time using raw acceleration data. This paper presents the complete workflow of the application. This application involves analytical geometry, multidimensional calculus, and linear algebra and can be used to visualize and normalize time-invariant object paths. This model focuses on displacement data calculated from raw acceleration data and gyro sensor data from a smartphone application called "Physics Toolbox Sensor Suite". We extracted features from each dynamic window of time in the displacement data and then fed them into machine learning algorithms with various statistical features, including supervised learning classifiers and Long short-term memory. We found that the Decision Tree with post-pruning produces a performance 93.4%, and the Random Forest produces a performance 96.8%. Although Decision Tree works faster than Random Forest, we ultimately used Random Forest classifier in our application, since the application does not perform prediction and classification in real-time.
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Livening Beyond Homeless Inc. Outdoor Space
Olivia Lockette
I served at Beyond Homeless Inc. womens' and childrens' shelter as my volunteer placement for the Bonner scholarship, and found a canvas for environmental impact for my practicum. While Beyond Homeless is far more than an assignment to me, this project is an effort to uncover the many underlying environmental challenges Putnam County faces as well as the community outside of DePauw University. While serving the homeless shelter, I attended our private University just two blocks away and straddled two vastly different worlds weekly. I found myself facing the complications between different socioeconomic statuses, privileges, experiences and aspirations. Beyond Homeless supplemented my DePauw education with real life -- outside of my classroom, away from my greek house, and off campus. I learned and lived pieces of these womens' life and found a place I could work to improve the community: by building garden beds to produce fresh produce without needing transportation, money or time. This project includes the construction of two garden beds as well as a complimentary mural on the side of the shed that stands in the shelter's green space. By giving these women and their children a little more accessibility, the project aims to address food desserts, the price of nutrition and the populations that are most affected surrounding the Greencastle community.
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Modeling Light for Platanus Occidentalis (American Sycamore) Trees in the DePauw Quarry
Grace Lucchesi, Beth Wilkerson, Quincie Simmons, and Dana Dudle
Platanus Occidentalis, characterized by shedding bark and ball-shaped seed pods, is native to much of the mid-southeastern US, and is commonly used as an ornamental tree. Individuals growing in the quarry of DePauw’s Nature Park are often small, discolored, or even dying. We used devices to measure the UV and Photosynthetically Active Radiation present at the locations of 70 random trees. We then used known sun path equations and GIS to start to develop a way to estimate the maximum amount of time a plant experiences full sun in different locations in the quarry relative to the quarry walls.
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Reshaping Global Supply Chain: The US-China Trade War, China’s Zero Covid Policy, and Vietnam’s Trade Boom
Karan Mahato and Guangjun Qu
The escalating tensions between the United States and China, together with the stringent Zero Covid policy enforced by the Chinese government, have been actively reshaping global supply chains in the past several years. Our project is positioned to examine these two effects on Vietnam's trade engagement. To facilitate our investigation, we compiled export and import data of Vietnam's top 20 trading partners, spanning monthly and yearly intervals. We then explore potential correlations between the US-China trade war, China's lockdown policy, and the trade surge witnessed in Vietnam. Our empirical findings indicate: [a] Both the US-China trade war and China's Zero Covid policy enhance Vietnam's trade with the rest of the world if the two effects are tested separately; [b] If tested simultaneously, the US-China trade war remains statistically significant whereas China's Zero Covid policy does not, which suggests that the former has a more persistent, larger effect than the latter. Scholars and policymakers will discern the relevance of our project in terms of its capacity to elucidate the forces reshaping global supply chains and the dynamics affecting export-led economies, such as China and Vietnam, throughout their enduring evolution.
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Characterizing the Effects of Benzyl-Amino Alcohol on Cell Growth, Viability, and Migration
Ryan Miller, Jeff Hansen, and Sarah Mordan-McCombs
The research we are performing investigates a new compound classified as benzyl-amino alcohol and begins a new endeavor into the effects of this class of compound. This compound would work well in chemotherapies because affecting healthy cells can lead to a patient’s health decline.
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Life on the Quarry Wall Vs the Quarry Floor: Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Lily Monnett, Quincie Simmons, and Lauren Kyburz
Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Virginia creeper, is found in two parts of the DePauw Nature Park quarry: vertically along the quarry wall and on large rock piles on the quarry floor. I looked into how these different habitats influenced the growth form, stress responses, and fitness of the P. quinquefolia growing in them. P. quinquefolia on the wall has higher chlorophyll a content and higher water content. There was also a higher percentage of flowering individuals on the quarry wall than on the floor. Lastly, the two habitats had vastly different morphological growth forms, with those on the wall having very long internodes compared to those on the floor. The data shows that P. quinquefolia on the quarry floor was more water and light stressed and had lower fitness; this suggests the quarry wall is a more suitable habitat for P. quinquefolia than the floor.
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Cultivating Green: Learning How to Farm Sustainably
Duyen Nguyen and Christina Holmes
In the summer of 2022 and throughout the following 2022-2023 academic year, I worked as a farm intern at Ullem Campus Farm. This experience provided a fantastic opportunity for me to learn about sustainable farming practices, gain hands-on experience with organic farming techniques, and explore the hydroponics field. I also had the chance to visit other eco-friendly farms during field trips, where I learned from experienced farmers and heard their inspiring stories.
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Corruption Perceptions During the Pandemic
Linh Phuong Thao Nguyen and Guangjun Qu
This study delves into the response of corruption perception indices to the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigate whether a global shift in corruption indices occurred post-pandemic compared to pre-pandemic levels. Additionally, we assess changes in standard errors of these indices before and after the pandemic to gauge shifts in consensus among people regarding corruption levels of a country. Given the WGI-CC's lack of year-to-year comparability across countries, we recalculated WGI-CC standard errors using methods akin to TI-CPI score calculations. Subsequently, we employ regression analysis, incorporating independent variables such as population, GDP, education, and political regime to explore whether changes in standard errors of corruption indices are statistically significantly influenced by COVID-19 data, including confirmed cases and deaths.
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Avoidance behavior ecotoxicity testing of Oppia nitens in conventional microplastic and bioplastic spiked soils.
Catarina Zabot Pasini, Kaija Carr, Nina Shaffer, and Philips Akinwole
Environment and Climate Change Canada recently completed a standardized protocol of ecotoxicity testing for Oppia nitens, a soil oribatid mite that performs crucial functions to support ecosystem services. Consequently, O. nitens is now recommended among the class of soil invertebrates for ecotoxicity testing, however, its applicability is limited by the paucity of data on its avoidance behavior to contaminants in soils. In this study, we examined the avoidance behavior of O. nitens to three different conventional microplastics (polyvinyl chloride/PVC, polyethylene/PE, polystyrene/PS) and two bioplastics (poly vinyl alcohol/PVA and sodium polyacrylate/NaPa) at five different concentrations following standardized guidelines. PVC and PE concentrations ranged from 857-9000 mg/kg. PS concentrations ranged from 92.59-972 mg/kg. For PVA and NaPa, concentrations ranged from 1543-16200 mg/kg. The O. nitens were exposed to the concentrations for 48 hours using a two-chamber test, to permit the choice between clean artificial and contaminated soil. Our results showed that O. nitens had an attraction to PVC at the two lowest concentrations, but no significant difference in response to the other concentrations. PE indicated an attraction to the lowest three concentrations, but an avoidance to the highest two concentrations (5000 and 9000 mg/kg). PS showed an approximate 75% avoidance at 300 mg/kg, but did not show avoidance at the other higher concentrations, which indicated immobilization or death. PVA indicated avoidance at the two highest concentrations (9000 and 162000 mg/kg) but no significant difference in response at the other concentrations. NaPa showed significant attraction at 9000 mg/kg, but significant avoidance at 162000 mg/kg. Attraction to low levels of contaminants has been termed hormesis, which can be seen especially if they are minutely required for normal metabolism. However, the hormesis-like pattern observed for the PVC, PE, and PS in this study could not be explained since microplastics are not a requirement for metabolic activities in mites compared to copper and zinc, where other studies have shown attraction to low concentrations of these metals. These results indicate that PS was the most toxic contaminant (LC50 = 172.7 mg/kg), and that bioplastics were not as lethal in comparison to the conventional microplastics (PVA LC50 = 8050.012 mg/kg and NaPa LC50 =14553.74 mg/kg). Therefore, bioplastics could potentially be a better alternative to conventional microplastics. The O. nitens is a promising species for avoidance testing in soil ecotoxicology and of great ecological relevance for assessing soils contaminated with pollutants. Since this is the first study investigating O. nitens avoidance to microplastic spiked soils, more studies are needed to evaluate its net responses to varying chemical classes in laboratory tests and applicability in contaminated ecosystems.
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Podcasts as a Form of Social Support for Individuals with Chronic Illness
Kate Pederson and Melanie Finney
Chronic illness frequently decreases individuals’ abilities to receive social support. 105 listeners of health-related podcasts completed online closed and open-ended surveys. Results indicate 97% of respondents experience social isolation because of their illness, and 90% report listening to podcasts help them feel less isolated. Additionally, condition-specific podcasts allow people to gain relevant information about managing health challenges, as well as feel part of a community of people who understand them. Finally, results suggest parasocial relationships with hosts of the podcasts correlate positively with informational support, which subsequently is correlated positively with perceived emotional support.
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Pyrrolidine Derivative Targets Actin Cytoskeleton in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells
An Pham, Jeff Hansen, and Sarah Mordan-McCombs
Recent research has brought pyrrolidine derivatives into consideration for the development of anticancer drugs with high efficacy and low toxicity. Dr. Hansen’s lab at DePauw has synthesized a pyrrolidine derivative that demonstrated anticancer activity. However, there are many ways a compound can affect cancer cells. In this research, we decided to investigate the mechanism of action of this new compound, specifically on MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. Based on the results, we believe that there is a great likelihood that the pyrrolidine derivative can induce apoptosis (cell death) and disrupt cell movement in MCF-7 cells. In other words, these are strong indicators that this compound can inhibit both early and late-stage cancer cells.
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Gene Editing in Zebrafish for Modeling Nicotine Dependence
Sophia Porter, Thanh Ngoc, Thien Nguyen, and Avery Fagan
Three genes for nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, the alpha 3 (chrna3), the alpha 5 (chrna5) and the beta 4 (chrnb4) gene have been linked to heavy smoking and smoking onset in humans. Mutations of these genes could increase the risk for developing lifelong nicotine dependence. To explore these potential risk factors we use zebrafish and apply molecular tools including CRISPR/Cas9 for generating gene-knockout mutations and CRISPR/BE4max for generating gene-editing mutations. These tools will allow us to determine if the chrna3, chrna5 and chrnb4 gene mutations are associated with changed nicotine sensitivity, nicotine seeking or nicotine avoidance behavior in zebrafish. Overall, one specific goal of the project is to develop zebrafish lines (or strains) without functional chrna3, chrna5 and chrnb4 genes (gene-knockout mutants). We successfully identified potential gene-knockout founder fish (F0) generated with the CRISPR/Cas9 method for the chrna3, chrna5 and chrnb4 genes. In addition, we were able to generate the first homozygous and heterozygous chrna3 gene knockout mutants and the first heterozygous chrna5 gene knockout mutants that we obtained through the Zebrafish Sanger Mutation project. In summary, we made significant progress towards establishing stable zebrafish homozygous and heterozygous gene knockout mutant lines for three nicotinic acetylcholine receptor genes that will be used for behavioral testing of zebrafish nicotine-seeking and avoidance behavior.
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Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Youth Tree Team 2023
Lydia Stullken
Keep Indianapolis Beautiful is a non-profit focused on connecting people to the environment and people to people. During my time at KIB, I worked on their youth tree team as a leader. Myself, along with 9 other college students worked in pairs with a group of roughly 10 high schoolers per group. In our days together, we would water, mulch, and care for trees throughout Indianapolis. While working together, the youth created bonds amongst each other and found deeper connection to the nature around them. As a leader, I loved being able to see their relationships with each other blossom. I also created close friendships with the nine other college students and thought that it was amazing how simply taking care of trees and being outside can bring people together who may have otherwise never met. Overall, this position was able to tie my two biggest passions, people and nature, together.
