Annual Student Research Poster Session

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  Effects of Peripheral Sympathetic Denervation on Phytohemagglutinin (PHA) Induced Cutaneous Swelling in the Hock and Tail of Mice

  Ayusha Pokharel '27 and Masyn Naegele '26

  The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) carries stress signals directly to the site of injury and activates the immune system via direct neuronal innervation or release of systemic hormones. 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) is a neurotoxin that causes denervation of the SNS by eliminating the peripheral nerve terminals, which are responsible for sending the stress signals. The effect of sympathetic denervation on the localized immune response is unexplored in the literature. Therefore, our study aims to investigate the effect of 6-OHDA-induced sympathetic denervation on local inflammation following phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-induced swelling. Even under resting circumstances, some baseline level of stress is communicated to the site of mimicked injury, affecting inflammation. Collectively, our study investigates the nuanced interaction between the SNS and the immune system.

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  Digitizing Land Records for a More Inclusive Future

  Md Sharif Hasan Rafi '30

  This project supported the Land Data Digitization for Inclusive Growth Project in Bangladesh by transforming paper-based land records into structured and accessible digital information. The work involved data entry, verification, quality control, standardization, and metadata management using a web-based system. More than 12,500 land records were processed, with 98% passing quality checks. The experience demonstrates how accurate and standardized digital land data can improve transparency, accessibility, government planning, and inclusive land administration while reducing errors and disputes.

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  Investigating Factors of Tree Mortality

  Charlie Shivers IV '28

  In recent decades, there has been a global decline in tree populations, and in this large-scale forest dynamics plot, we observed a change from accruing biomass(the organic material that trees store) to losing it. Many studies suggest that this trend may become more common, but few look for the mechanisms behind it. This study explores how much two factors, trees growing to their maximum size and non-indigenous pests and pathogens, contribute to the observed mortality and loss of biomass. We conducted an annual mortality census of all trees over ten centimeters wide on the plot using ArcGIS fieldmaps to add to a growing dataset of over eighteen years of censuses. For the analysis, twelve censuses were used to estimate how much mortality was due to each of the factors individually, combined with ForestGEO’s allodb package in Rstudio and building on past ForestGEO work. The results showed that the majority of trees were not wide enough to have size as the leading cause of their mortality, and that much of the mortality over the past twelve years has been due to non-indigenous pests and pathogens, such as Beech Leaf Disease, Emerald Ash Borer, and Oak Decline. After ruling out size and quantifying pests and pathogens as factors, further research will be conducted into other factors leading to tree mortality, such as global change drivers like CO2 or Nitrogen oxides, or ecological factors including competition.

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  Chemistry in the Corner: Investigating the Composition and Origin of Pigments Within Nineteenth Century Swiss Stamps

  Kennedy Starcevich '29 and Kenneth L. Brown

  Often tucked into the corner of an envelope and easily overlooked, stamps are significant cultural artifacts. They reflect the cultural and emotional values, technological capacity, and economic conditions of the societies that produce them. While previous studies have focused on analyzing the chemical composition of Italian, English, and Portuguese stamps, this study examines eleven Helvetia Swiss stamps (six red and five yellow stamps) purported to be produced in the late nineteenth century. Through this analysis we seek to (1) determine the compositions of the pigments used in these stamps, and (2) establish whether these pigments are organic or inorganic. Using this information, we hope to constrain printing dates and the materials used in their production. By employing non-destructive techniques such as Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy-Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), we determined that the majority of the pigments in the stamps are inorganic. Specifically, in the red stamps, lead chromate (PbCrO₄), vermillion (HgS), and red lead (Pb₃O₄) are the most common pigment compounds. In the yellow stamps, lead chromate (PbCrO₄) is the most predominant pigment. These results are consistent with recent studies of Swiss stamps that were printed between 1880 and 1900. Characterizing the composition of historical postage stamps provides valuable insight into the materials and technologies used during their production, as well as the origins of artistic pigments. It also offers a window into the everyday exposure of past populations to hazardous chemical compounds. More broadly, these findings demonstrate how seemingly ordinary objects can preserve important information about the technological, environmental, and cultural history of a society.

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  Characterizing Interactions between the RNA exosome and MYCN/NEXT complex

  J. Rafael Tolentino '27

  MYCN is canonically a transcription factor that is also involved in other cellular processes, including ribosome biogenesis and cell cycle control. Amplification of the MYCN gene can lead to high-risk neuroblastoma, as it inhibits cell differentiation and apoptosis while activating transcriptional and metabolic pathways that support tumor growth and survival. However, direct inhibition of MYCN has been difficult because the protein is intrinsically disordered in its monomeric state. To overcome this difficulty, an alternative strategy was proposed to target MYCN while it is in complex with its protein partners. Our lab and collaborators have identified several proteins and protein complexes essential for MYCN-driven tumor growth, including the RNA exosome and one of its adaptors, the Nuclear Exosome Targeting (NEXT) complex. The goal of this project was to verify and characterize the interactions between MYCN and the RNA exosome, as well as between the RNA exosome and the NEXT complex, to better understand how MYCN can associate with these protein complexes. To identify direct interactions of the RNA exosome with MYCN and the NEXT complex, we individually purified each RNA exosome subunit and performed pull-down assays. We then used size exclusion chromatography to reconstitute the full complex. We found that both EXOSC2, the RNA exosome ‘cap’ subunit, and the EXOSC10-C1D pair, an enzymatic component of the exosome, interact with MYCN, with EXOSC2 associating with multiple domains of MYCN. Both subunits also interact with the NEXT complex, with EXOSC2 interacting with ZCCHC8 and RBM7 subunits, and EXOSC10-C1D interacting with MTR4.

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  KinetiScan: Evaluating a Browser-Based Monocular System for 3D Gait Analysis

  Thu Tran '29, Stephen Agyemang '28, and Rueben Addison

  Gait analysis is a useful tool for early detection, diagnosis of neurological and orthopedic conditions, and rehabilitation support. The gold standard for assessment of gait requires laboratory motion capture systems. The system requires calibrated cameras, reflective markers, specialist software, and professionals to operate. For these reasons, gait analysis is expensive and inaccessible in some clinics, schools, and home settings where continuous or early monitoring would have a significant impact. KinetiScan addresses this gap with just a single ordinary camera. This browser-based system uses transformer architecture to perform 2D-to-3D mapping. When provided with distance and height entries, KinetiScan outputs the 3D positions of 20 main body joints and clinical gait metrics. The model was fed deliberately noisy distance measurements while still being supervised against the true values to prevent it from echoing the input. The system’s components were validated separately. We used ground-truth-derived rays for the transformer-based model and laboratory motion capture data (30 healthy adult participants, 474 walking trials) for the kinematics engine. The pose model achieved 46.8 mm MPJPE and 29.0 mm PA-MPJPE. Root-depth RMSE was 249.1 mm with per-frame ground-truth distance and 262.7 mm with four ground-truth-derived camera-group means. The kinematics engine achieved 0.89-1.00 correlation and 1.2–6.6° range-of-motion difference. End-to-end validation remains untested, and the system is not yet ready for clinical use.

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  Developing a Cell-Based High-Throughput Screening (HTS) Assay for Antibody-Mediated Amyloid-Beta Clearance

  Tran Vo '27, Lucille Whyman, and June Javens-Wolfe

  Antibody therapeutics targeting amyloid-beta (Aβ), such as Aducanumab and Lecanemab, are among the first Alzheimer's disease treatments to show clinical potential, with efficacy thought to depend partly on Fc receptor-mediated immune clearance of Aβ plaques. Testing new antibody variants in mouse models is slow and expensive, so TREAT-AD's ADHTS core develops cell-based assays to screen candidates earlier. This project lays the groundwork for a scalable, cell-based high-throughput screening assay of antibody-mediated Aβ clearance. We purified Fc-competent and Fc-silenced Aducanumab, confirmed its specificity for full-length Aβ, and established a live-imaging assay of Aβ uptake in microglia. Assay optimization is ongoing.

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  High Tution, High Aid and Institutional Competitiveness

  Sihao Wang '28 and Naima Shifa

  This study examines how entry into a high-tuition, high-aid (HTHA) pricing regime relates to institutional competitiveness among U.S. private nonprofit four-year colleges. Using IPEDS data from 2003–2022 and a cohort-stacked event-study difference-in-differences design, the analysis finds that HTHA entry is associated with a 1.66-percentage-point increase in full-time admission yield. Admission rates and ACT/SAT profiles show no comparably clear average changes. The findings suggest that HTHA operates primarily through admitted-student conversion and enrollment management, although the estimates remain sensitive to institution-specific trends and should be interpreted as conditional associations.

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  Energetic Particle Detection in the Pfotzer Maximum

  Scott Anderson, Jason Benyousky, Walae Dahmany, Tri Dong, and Minh Mai

  The Balloon Assisted Stratospheric Experiments (BASE) is an ongoing project aiming to measure atmospheric muons using equipment supported by high-altitude balloons. The Regener-Pfotzer Maximum (Pfotzer Maximum), which spans altitudes of roughly 15-25 km, is characterized by being the atmospheric region with the highest intensity of secondary particles from cosmic ray showers. The effects of the cosmic ray induced ionization that comprises the Pfotzer Maximum are relatively unknown and may include cloud formation, precipitation, cyclogenesis, aerosol formation, atmospheric transparency, and more. Our experiments seek to use low-cost solutions to better understand the behavior of cosmic ray-induced particles in a region of the stratosphere that is not frequently probed. Geiger counters were used to measure the secondary particle counts produced by atmospheric cascades. In 2025, we aimed to maximize the time spent in this region compared to the total flight duration by cutting one balloon away from a two-balloon system. There were eight flights in total. We also tested and successfully employed long-range (LoRa) radio communication for data transmission in real time.

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  Longitudinal Monitoring of Particle Counts in the Pfotzer Maximum (2017-2025)

  Scott Anderson, Jason Benyousky, Walae Dahmany, and Tri Duong

  The Balloon Assisted Stratospheric Experiments (BASE) measures atmospheric muons using an array of instruments carried by weather balloons. We seek to spend extended time in the region of highest intensity, the Regener-Pfotzer Maximum (Pfotzer Maximum). The effects of the cosmic ray- induced ionization that comprises the Pfotzer Maximum are relatively unknown and may include cloud formation, precipitation, cyclogenesis, aerosol formation, atmospheric transparency, and more. With Geiger counters, we can measure the secondary particles produced by atmospheric cascades in order to better understand the Pfotzer Maximum and how it changes over time.

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  Energetic Particle Detection in the Pfotzer Maximum Methods and Equipments

  Scott Anderson, Jason Benyousky, Walae Dahmany, Tri Duong, and Minh Mai

  The Balloon Assisted Stratospheric Experiments (BASE) measures atmospheric muons using an array of instruments carried by weather balloons. We seek to spend extended time in the region of highest intensity, the Regener-Pfotzer Maximum (Pfotzer Maximum) at 20 kilometers high. Using a set of Geiger Counters attached to a balloon, we can measure the secondary particles produced by atmospheric cascades at high altitudes. With risk of losing the balloon and the need to collect more data, we improved our payload with data-collecting components and experimented with a long-range data sender and receiver.

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  Chasing Storms & Career Goals: My Summer REU Experience at The National Weather Center

  Miranda Bognar

  This past summer, I had the incredible opportunity to participate in a 10-week research experience at the National Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma. As part of the program, I was assigned a research topic assessing how wildfire risk has evolved over the past 40 years, with particular attention to meteorological factors influencing fire potential and severity. This experience allowed me to engage with leading atmospheric scientists, collaborate with peers from across the country, and immerse myself in the unique culture of Oklahoma’s storm-chasing community.

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  Navigating Permitting Reform: A Comparative U.S. Analysis with Illustrative Evidence from Indiana

  Toan Minh Bui

  This study examines the effects of permitting reform on infrastructure performance in the United States, highlighting the trade-offs between regulatory efficiency and environmental oversight. Using a comparative multi-case design, we analyze twelve transportation, energy, and public facility projects across six states—two each representing high, moderate, and low reform intensities. The analysis combines quantitative performance indicators (cost overruns, schedule delays, environmental oversight scores) with qualitative assessments of legal frameworks, administrative capacity, and political context. Findings show that moderate-intensity reforms—those that streamline procedural steps while retaining environmental safeguards—deliver the most consistent balance of timely delivery, cost control, and regulatory integrity. High-intensity reforms often accelerate timelines but create fiscal volatility and oversight risks, while low-reform states preserve strong procedural protections yet frequently face significant delays. To complement these national findings, the poster also includes an illustrative case from Indiana, where two infrastructure projects were examined using the same methodological framework. The Indiana results provide an additional point of reference, situating the state within broader national patterns. Overall, the study suggests that “smart permitting” approaches offer the most sustainable pathway for reconciling speed and accountability in infrastructure governance.

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  The Grape Cries Out!: Revising and Updating an Anthology of Contemporary Wine Poetry

  Sarah Cecil, David Alvarez, and Elly McCausland

  This project aimed to update an anthology of poetry about wine to make “winespeak” more accessible to the general public. While professional wine critics have a nuanced palette and experience with wine, casual readers of wine poetry can unlock the sensations of wine that may escape them otherwise. In total, over 140 contemporary poetry books were read, primarily focusing on a list of 56 contemporary poets. This project was advised by DePauw Professor of English David Alvarez, as well as Elly McCausland, a professor of English Literature at the University of Ghent and published author of books on Taylor Swift.

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  Forecasting Nuclear Energy Consumption in the U.S. and France: An Optimized Grey Model Approach

  Alae Chahid

  This study investigates nuclear energy consumption trends in the United States, and France by applying advanced time-series modeling and computational optimization techniques. Using annual consumption data from 2005 to 2023, the research compares the predictive accuracy under data scarcity of the AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), Grey Model (1,1,t), Grey Model(1,1,t²), and an Optimized Structure-Adaptive Grey Model (OSGM). This OSGM (1,1,t) extends the traditional Grey Model (1,1) by introducing time-dependent terms and parameter tuning through particle swarm optimization and Monte Carlo simulations. Models are trained and tested using an in-sample and out-of-sample period framework. Then, forecast accuracies are compared using Mean Absolute Percentage Error, and the Root Mean Squared Error. The results show that the new Optimized Structured Grey Model and the ARIMA models surpass the other models in achieving accuracy forecasts. While ARIMA performs well with sufficient data, the OSGM (1,1,t) , however, offers greater adaptability to nonlinear patterns and structural shifts, adapting to country-specific dynamics. The integration of informatics-driven optimization into grey system modeling presents a viable approach for energy forecasting in data-constrained environments. These results validate the model's suitability for situations with limited data and offer a useful tool for climate-aligned decision-making and sustainable energy planning.

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  Preliminary Microbial Community Analysis of Non-Native and Native Plants in the DePauw Nature Park Quarry Bottom

  Madeleine Cruz and Dana Dudle

  The DePauw Nature Park Quarry Bottom is a former limestone quarry that was mined for decades and then lay dormant. Through the years, it has developed from being uninhabited to being populated by a diversity of organisms at every scale of life. All organisms in the Quarry Bottom must withstand the changing conditions of the quarry, including the proliferation of invasive plants that are well-adapted to stress. In particular, two invasive wetland grasses, Phragmites and Typha have observed competitive interactions, increased spatial distributions, and possible influence on native species. We have studied these species at our scale of life, but seldom at a microbiological level. Although microorganisms are indicators of change, we have little understanding of their relationship to the Quarry Bottom or its plants. The microbial communities of different plant species might have distinct metabolic footprints from each other. To ascertain this, we conducted preliminary microbial community analysis using rhizosphere samples. A total of eighteen samples were collected from three species: the invasive Phragmites and Typha and a native sedge, Scirpus. From these, rhizosphere fractions were produced and inoculated onto corresponding EcoPlates. The EcoPlate contains 31 carbon sources that turn purple if metabolized. Absorbance (OD at 590 nm) was measured for a week and the average well color development calculated. Subsequent principal component analysis determined a strong correlation between PC 1 and species. PC 1 is associated with positive metabolic activity, i.e., carbon source utilization. We observed Scirpus to have a stronger relationship to PC 1 than Phragmites or Typha. One-way ANOVA confirmed this. Analysis of species metabolic activity by location revealed a species-location interaction. While this work is preliminary, it provides a basis for us to further explore the relationships between plants, rhizospheres, microbiomes, and the Quarry Bottom.

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  Congresswoman Pat Schroeder and the Pursuit for Women’s Health and Economic Equity

  Kalina Dickinson

  Pat Schroeder was the first congresswoman ever elected in Colorado, serving twenty-four years in the House of Representatives from her initial election in 1972 until 1997 when she retired. This timeline takes viewers through several legislative bills Schroeder introduced that attempted to secure economic independence for “displaced homemakers,” improve women’s health and reproductive access, and ensure economic equity for all women.

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  Ullem Campus Farm Internship Experience

  Kalina Dickinson

  Over the summer, I worked on DePauw's Ullem Campus Farm and practiced sustainable agriculture. Throughout my story map, I highlight memorable and humorous experiences of my time working on the farm, such as my never-ending relationship with growing tomatoes, concocting compost tea to improve nutrient- poor soil, setting tarps down to prohibit pesky weed growth, building tools for the farm in woodshop, and making new beds for the next generation of produce.

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  The Heart of the Crab: Analyzing the VHE Emission from the Crab Pulsar

  Adi Empie, Thao Nguyen, and Avery Archer

  The Crab Nebula is one of the most studied astrophysical objects at very-high-energies (VHE) and is one of the brightest sources of VHE gamma-rays. The Crab Nebula is a pulsar wind nebula with the Crab pulsar providing the energy and particles to power the nebula. The gamma-ray emission from the nebula and pulsar are understood to come from relativistic particles but the processes that are responsible for accelerating these particles is not well understood. Studying the highest energy emission from the Crab Nebula can provide valuable insight into the underlying emission mechanisms at work. This project was intended to examine an additional 2 years of Crab Nebula data taken by the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) to be added to previous dataset. Due to some issues with our computational resources at NERSC, we shifted from analyzing the data with a focus on the nebula to analyzing the pulsed-emission from the pulsar. The central engine of the Crab nebula is the Crab pulsar. Timing studies of the pulsed emission from the pulsar can improve understanding of the physics at work near the pulsar. To date only two pulsars have been observed to emit VHE photons, so our current understanding of the VHE emission mechanisms is in its infancy.

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  Low Vitamin D diet effects on RNA Expression in Kidney and Mammary tissue of mus musculus (mice)

  Ibilola Fasogbon, Graham Read, Adriana Duraki, and Larisa Nonn

  Vitamin D is a steroid hormone whose active form binds to Vitamin D Receptors (VDR), triggering cancer-associated pathways involved in inducing apoptosis, inhibiting inflammation, improving immunity, and regulating cell proliferation. Ongoing studies have shown a significant correlation between Vitamin D deficiency and the development of aggressive prostate cancer. African American men are more likely to experience vitamin D deficiency, develop prostate cancer at a high rate, and have a higher mortality rate than their non-Hispanic white counterparts. African American women are also disproportionately burdened with aggressive breast cancer and have higher rates of vitamin D deficiency. Understanding how a low vitamin D diet alters gene expression in the mammary and kidney tissue of mus musculus (mice) subjects bred from Vitamin D-deficient dams would help in diagnosing and treating breast cancer patients. We hypothesized that mice fed a low vitamin D diet would show significantly altered vitamin D-related gene expression in the benign kidney and mammary tissue compared to mice fed a controlled diet. We evaluated gene expression in tissue samples using Reverse Transcription quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). Kidney tissue, the primary site for active Vitamin D synthesis, was used as a positive control for the effect of the diet. We probed for GAPDH and the Vitamin D metabolism genes in kidney samples. Mammary tissues were probed for Vitamin D metabolism genes, some VDR target genes, and breast cancer-related genes. Kidney tissue from the experimental group showed significantly lower expressions of Vitamin D metabolism genes, namely VDR, Lrp2, and CYP24a1, and significantly higher expressions of CYP27B1 compared to the control group. For the mammary tissue, the change in expression of the probed genes between our control and experimental groups were not statistically significant, except for VDR, which was higher in the low vitamin D diet group compared to the control group. In addition to this, we saw a trend in the expression of VEGF, which was lower in our experimental group compared to the control group. These findings indicate that a low vitamin D diet significantly alters expression of vitamin metabolism-related transcripts in kidney tissue, but it does not show a significant effect on VDR target genes in Mammary tissue. From this, we can infer that the intake of vitamin D does not affect gene expression and thus the overall health of benign mammary tissue. We can build on this knowledge with future experiments looking into how a low vitamin D diet changes gene expression in cancerous mammary tissue.

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  Comparing Family-level Insect Diversity Between Habitats at the DePauw Nature Park

  Samantha Floyd, Sahit Liyanage, Thomas Manning, and Madison Stillabower

  The DePauw Nature Park hosts a broad diversity of life and insects represent a significant portion of that diversity. However, the insect diversity in the park has never been formally studied. We sought to document species composition across two habitat-types at the DePauw Nature Park. We sampled and identified insects in two woodland and two prairie habitats in the park using both active sampling (e.g., insect nets) and passive sampling (e.g., insect traps) methods. All specimens were mounted, labeled, and databased. Preliminary data suggests that the woodland habitat has higher family-level diversity than the prairie habitat. About half of the families were found in only one habitat-type, suggesting that the habitat diversity found in the park supports higher overall insect diversity. Future work includes assessing species level diversity in the two habitats and creating a checklist of species found in the nature park.

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  Examining Pro-Arrhythmic Changes in Heart Rate Under Augmented Parasympathetic Stimulation

  Cora Gilbert, Isabel Stumpf, Tanya Seward, and Abhilash Prabhat

  Brugada syndrome is a congenital heart disease characterized by an increased susceptibility to potentially fatal arrhythmias when people are resting or sleeping, suggesting a potential link between arrhythmia risk and parasympathetic signaling. To investigate the role of autonomic signaling in Brugada syndrome, we utilized a mouse model of Brugada syndrome (Scn5a+/- mice). We measured the electrocardiographic (ECG) properties of wild-type (WT) and Scn5a+/- mice under conditions that augment parasympathetic signaling to the heart. We initially studied the electrocardiographic (ECG) properties of WT and Scn5a+/- mice housed at room temperature (25 °C) and thermoneutrality (30 °C), as switching mice to thermoneutral housing decreases sympathetic signaling (Swoap et al., 2008). Because the daily rhythm in the heart rate reflects changes in autonomic regulation of the heart in response to feeding behavior, we studied the ECG properties of WT and Scn5a+/- after inverting their feeding rhythms by restricting food access to the light cycle (Ono et al., 2024).

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  AOT in isooctane Reverse Micelles Varying Size and Phase Stability with Amides: Comparison of Urea Formamide and Acetamide

  Josh Heitert, Bridget Gourley, Nancy Levinger, and Yayo Virgen

  Acetamide, Formamide, and Urea are all polar, highly water-soluble molecules; this makes them useful as osmolytes in model systems for nanoconfinement. These model systems form from Aresol-OT (AOT) in isooctane reverse micelles with the osmolyte present at the interface, forming an AOT/isooctane/polar phase system. The systems are characterized by their Wo,which is a measurement that can impact the size of the reverse micelles and is defined as Wo = [Polar phase]/[Surfactant]. Here, we measure the impact of these various osmolytes on the size of the reverse micelles at different concentrations and at different Wo using dynamic light scattering (DLS). The size of the reverse micelles, as quantified by hydrodynamic diameter using DLS, follows an observable trend, with size increasing following the addition of osmolytes. Additionally, by adding a high concentration of these osmolytes, we see the partitioning of the sample into multiple reverse micelle groups. Along with measuring size using the DLS, we measured phase stability by creating ternary phase diagrams based on the formation of reverse micelles at various concentrations and Wo. This data shows an observable trend regarding the stability levels of each osmolyte’s system; systems with formamide are the most stable, followed by those with acetamide, and then those with urea. Furthermore, the diagrams show that the addition of any of the three osmolytes shrinks the single-phase microemulsion, indicating that stability is reduced as a result of the osmolytes having a destabilizing impact.

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  Breaking Up or Bound Together? Unraveling US-China Economic Interdependence

  Vinh Huynh and Guangjun Qu

  This study investigates the extent to which the U.S.-China trade war has altered bilateral trade flows and economic interdependence between the two largest economies in the world. The question at the heart of this research is whether the two countries have truly begun to “decouple” or whether they remain deeply interconnected despite political and economic tensions. Drawing on U.S. and Chinese trade data from multiple official sources, we examine both the scale and persistence of trade disruptions over time. Our analysis extends beyond the pre-pandemic years to include 2020 through 2024, allowing us to distinguish between the trade war’s temporary and persistent effects. Preliminary findings suggest that the trade war’s effects have been both persistent and profound, with total bilateral trade in 2024 falling to less than half of the level predicted by the gravity model. While economic ties remain significant, evidence of sustained decoupling is clear, especially the U.S. import from China.

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  Dimension of subalgebras of Fomin-Kirillov algebras

  Taro Ikeda and Sirous Homayouni

  One of the central open problems concerning the Fomin-Kirillov algebras was whether their dimension is finite or infinite. This question was recently resolved in one research by C. Barligea, where it was shown that FK(n) is infinite-dimensional for all n ≥ 6. In our work, we investigate the dimension of a certain subalgebra of FK(6).