FYR 2021 Undergraduate RISE Impact Report- Research & Innovation- Prairie View A&M University

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Table of Contents

2020 Fall Undergraduate Research Research Report ............................................................... 4 College of Agriculture and Humans Sciences ................................................................................ 5 Camille Pierre ............................................................................................................................. 6 Armondo D. Waters ................................................................................................................... 8 Jayla Laday ............................................................................................................................... 15 College of Arts and Sciences ........................................................................................................ 17 Ibrahim Arogundade................................................................................................................. 18 Brandon Bernäl......................................................................................................................... 29 Raven Blaylock ........................................................................................................................ 31 Edgar R. Mendoza .................................................................................................................... 33 Elizabeth Roque ....................................................................................................................... 35 Paris Semien ............................................................................................................................. 36 Aijalon Shantavia Bettis ........................................................................................................... 38 Kendall Lemons ....................................................................................................................... 40 Jalen Ball .................................................................................................................................. 41 Kalyse Houston ........................................................................................................................ 42 Amorae Times .......................................................................................................................... 44 Louisa Oze................................................................................................................................ 46 Adaeze Eze ............................................................................................................................... 48 Ines Frazier ............................................................................................................................... 50 Princess Pinamang .................................................................................................................... 52 College of Education .................................................................................................................... 56 Laura Ekezie ............................................................................................................................. 57 Renae Lawrence ....................................................................................................................... 59 Celine Okwosogu ..................................................................................................................... 61 Kpehe Isam ............................................................................................................................... 62 College of Engineering ................................................................................................................. 64 Sheikh Tareq Ahmed ................................................................................................................ 65 Viet Nguyen ............................................................................................................................. 67 Abidemi Awojuyigbe ............................................................................................................... 69

Aminata Diagne ........................................................................................................................ 71 Ariel Taylor .............................................................................................................................. 73 Prevailer Mba ........................................................................................................................... 75 Indira Ribeiro ........................................................................................................................... 80 Utomwen D. Irabor................................................................................................................... 83 Samuel Bolufemi ...................................................................................................................... 85 Caleb Riggins ........................................................................................................................... 87 College of Juvenile Justice ........................................................................................................... 89 Leslie Lively ............................................................................................................................. 90 Kimaja Clay.............................................................................................................................. 92 Dominique Ellis ........................................................................................................................ 93 School of Architecture.................................................................................................................. 94 Alexis Adjorlolo ....................................................................................................................... 95 Jose Rosales.............................................................................................................................. 97 Enrique Brown-Spence ............................................................................................................. 99 2021 Spring Undergraduate Research Report ....................................................................... 100 College of Agriculture and Human Sciences.............................................................................. 101 Hannah Adams ....................................................................................................................... 102 Camille Pierre ......................................................................................................................... 106 Armondo D. Waters ............................................................................................................... 108 College of Arts and Sciences ...................................................................................................... 110 Ibrahim Arogundade............................................................................................................... 111 Jay Gonzalez .......................................................................................................................... 113 Roland Tristan ........................................................................................................................ 115 Brandon Bernal....................................................................................................................... 117 Raven Blaylock ...................................................................................................................... 119 Edgar R. Mendoza .................................................................................................................. 123 Aijalon Shantavia Bettis ......................................................................................................... 125 Kendall Lemons ..................................................................................................................... 127 Kalyse Houston ...................................................................................................................... 129 Adaeze Eze ............................................................................................................................. 131

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Louisa Oze.............................................................................................................................. 133 Ines Frazier ............................................................................................................................. 135 Princess Pinamang .................................................................................................................. 137 Daija Bullock-Marable ........................................................................................................... 139 Jocelyn Mejia ......................................................................................................................... 141 Ana Coronado......................................................................................................................... 144 College of Engineering ............................................................................................................... 146 Ibrahim Arogundade............................................................................................................... 147 Abidemi Awojuyigbe ............................................................................................................. 150 Aminata Diagne ...................................................................................................................... 151 Prevailer Mba ......................................................................................................................... 153 Constantino Mansogo ............................................................................................................. 155 Diamy B Camara .................................................................................................................... 157 Indira S. Ribeiro ..................................................................................................................... 159 Arash Karimbakhsh Asli ........................................................................................................ 163 Sultan Khalid .......................................................................................................................... 166 Caleb Riggins ......................................................................................................................... 168

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2020 Fall Undergraduate Research Research Report

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College of Agriculture and Humans Sciences

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Stem Anatomy of Hemp Strains and Physical Properties of Their Extracted Fibers

Camille Pierre Mentors: Prabha Amarasinghe and Aruna Weerasooriya College of Agriculture and Human Sciences and Cooperative Agriculture Research Center

Introduction: Texas recently legalized Hemp (Cannabis sativa). Hemp contains bast and hurd fibers, and they differ in types of cells, chemistry, physical properties, and end-usage1. Retting is a process used to extract fibers, and it can be a chemical or microbial, or enzymatic approach to dissolve specific cells and pectin surrounding the fiber bundles2. The anatomy of the hemp stem is connected to fiber quality and quantity3. This project aims to 1) test anatomical parameters of stems of hemp strains, 2) investigate mechanical properties of fibers, including thermal degradation and shear strength, and 3) determine the best method of retting. The outcomes of this research will contribute to identifying the best fiber strain of hemp for Texas and select the best fiber extraction method.

Materials and methods: Strains of hemp (Bialobrzeskie, Portland, and BlueCross) were selected based on some branches and plant heights, and voucher specimens were prepared. Cell distribution of each strain was determined using cross-sections of stems stained with methyl green-Congo red4. Samples were chemically retted with 7% NaOH5. Stems were laid on grasses for dew retting3. Stems were digested with a microbial liquor from rotten vegetables and treated with commercial enzymes for enzymatic retting.

Three replicates were used for each treatment. Dry weights of hurd and bast fibers of strains and methods were compared. The fiber strength and tensile stress will be measured using Instron and analyzed with ANOVA on R package6.

Results: Bialobrzeskie showed the highest diameter of the cellular layer that formed bast fibers, whereas Portland showed the highest diameter of the lignified hurd fibers. The highest dry weight of bast fibers was recorded for Bialobrzeskie with the enzymatic approach, whereas the highest dry weight of hurd fibers was recorded for Portland digested using enzymes. Chemical retting was the fastest method of extracting fibers for all strains. Results of mechanical strength and heat resistance are still in progress.

Conclusions: Both stem cross-sections and dry weights consistently showed that Bialobrzeskie is the best strain for bast fibers, and Portland is best for hurd fibers. Enzymatic retting can be employed if the fiber quantity is the main interest. Future studies include completing physical property testing, using more fiber strains, and identifying microbes in the microbial retting liquor.

References: [1] van den Broeck, H. C., C. Maliepaard, M. J. M. Ebskamp, M. A. J. Toonen, and A. J. Koops. 2008. Differential expression of genes involved in C1 metabolism and lignin biosynthesis in wooden core and bast tissues of fiber hemp (Cannabis sativa L.). Plant Science 174: 205–220.

[2] Liu, S., L. Ge, S. Gao, L. Zhuang, Z. Zhu, and H. Wang. 2017. Activated carbon derived from biowaste hemp hurd and retted hemp hurd for CO2 adsorption. Composites Communications 5: 27–30.

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[3] Booth, I., A. M. Goodman, S. A. Grishanov, and R. J. Harwood. 2004. A mechanical investigation of the retting process in dew-retted hemp (Cannabis sativa). Annals of Applied Biology 145: 51–58.

[4] Bonatti, P. M., C. Ferrari, B. Focher, C. Grippo, G. Torri, and C. Cosentino. 2004. Histochemical and supramolecular studies in determining the quality of hemp fibers for textile applications. Euphytica 140: 55–64.

[5] Sankari, H. S. 2000. Comparison of bast fiber yield and mechanical fiber properties of hemp (Cannabis sati6a L.) cultivars. 25.

[6] Jankauskienė, Z., B. Butkutė, E. Gruzdevienė, J. Cesevičienė, and A. L. Fernando. 2015. Chemical composition and physical properties of dew- and water-retted hemp fibers. Industrial Crops and Products 75: 206–211.Dr. Awardee and Student: Aruna Weerasooriya is a Professor and research leader in Plant Systems with research interests in plant systematics and medicinal plants. Dr. Prabha Amarasinghe is a postdoctoral researcher with research interests in plant genomics, systematics, and bioinformatics.

Camille Pierre is a junior majoring in Agriculture: Plant and soil sciences.

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Soil Health Status Baseline Development Using Soil pH Monitoring on Three Hilltop Soil Map Units at Prairie View A&M University Armondo D. Waters Mentor: Dr. Richard W. Griffin, Ph.D. Cooperative Agricultural Research Center Agriculture, Nutrition, and Human Ecology Department College of Agriculture and Human Science Introduction: Soil pH, also known as soil reaction, measures the sample’s acidity or alkalinity (basicity).

The results can provide some indication of the potential availability of nutrients to plants if the soil nutrient level is adequate for plant growth (Shoeneberger et al., 2012). Soil pH is a primary indicator for soil health as well as soil quality since it reflects growth potential for beneficial plants such as row crops (annual), pasture (grazing or hay), shrubs, and trees (permaculture).

Objectives: This project provided an opportunity for an agriculture student to gain practical, technical, and “hands-on” knowledge about an important chemical indicator (pH) of soil and water conditions.

Information collected can also infer additional knowledge about soil health status and the growth potential for beneficial plant and weed species.

Methodology: Soil pH was measured using the 1:1 soil to deionized water method described in the USDA NSSL methods manual (USDA NRCS, 2004). The Water pH was measured using a portable probe that was calibrated using the 3-point standardization method. The soil samples were collected from 7 locations in the Hockley, Kenney, Mentz, and Mockley soil units at the following depths (inches): a) 04, in soil pits with water and at 72 inches in soil pits that were dry, in order to access the pH conditions in the following locations: topsoil and subsoil. Triplicate (3) samples of soil and water were used to produce the mean and standard deviation values for the statistical analyses from each Soil Pit. Results: Soil pH data from the 6 Soil Pits and 1 Pond Dam samples within the individual soil units provided spatial variability information that assists the overall project goals of baseline assessment with the aim of providing higher quality land management in future agricultural operations. Water pH data from 3 Soil Pits and 1 Pond adjacent to the property were monitored to compare with the same sites’ soil pH values. In addition, data from a previous study by UGRA student, Zulfa Eisa, was used as an additional comparison to determine spatial variability by landscape position, soil type, and elevation on the property.

Note: Legend for the data in the Tables and Figures: 1-6 represent the Soil Pit numbers; Pa – Pond adjacent to the 90-acre property; Pd – Pond dam on 90-Acre property; Pe – Pond East sampling site from ZEisa study; Pn – Pond North sampling site from ZEisa study; Ps – Pond South sampling site from ZEisa study; and Pw – Pond West sampling site from ZEisa study.

A statistical comparison of Soil Pit Soil and Water pH Values indicated that at Soil Pits 1, 3, and 5, the Soil pH values (7.55, 6.49, and 7.96, respectively) were significantly lower (p<0.05) than the Water pH values (8.88, 7.15, and 9.34, respectively) [Table 1; Figure 1]. In addition, at the Pond Dam and Pond Adjacent to the 90-acre property, the Soil pH value (6.20) was significantly lower (p<0.05) than the Water pH value (7.56).

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Table 1. 90-Acre Soil Pit Soil and Water pH Values by Elevation Water Soil Elevation Site pH pH (feet) 1 8.88 7.55 280 2 Dry 6.43 284 3 7.15 6.49 270 4 Dry 6.40 272 5 9.34 7.96 289 6 Dry 5.99 282 Pa 7.56 na 284 Pd Dry 6.20 287 Pe 7.59 5.41 265 Pn 8.98 5.74 265 Ps 7.78 5.54 265 Pw 8.57 6.00 265

A comparison of Soil Pit Soil and Water pH Values by Elevation (Ordered) indicated that the elevations ranged from 265 to 289 feet above mean sea level.

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Table 2. 90-Acre Soil Pit Soil and Water pH Values by Elevation (ordered) Water Soil Elevation Rank Site pH pH (feet) Order Pe 7.59 5.41 265 1 Pn 8.98 5.74 265 2 Ps 7.78 5.54 265 3 Pw 8.57 6.00 265 4 3 7.15 6.49 270 5 4 Dry 6.40 272 6 1 8.88 7.55 280 7 6 Dry 5.99 282 8 2 Dry 6.43 284 9 Pa 7.56 na 284 10 Pd Dry 6.20 287 11 5 9.34 7.96 289 12

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A comparison of Soil Pit Soil and Water pH Values (Ordered) by elevation indicated that the highest Water pH value (9.34) occurred at Soil Pit 5 at the highest elevation (289).

Table 3. 90-Acre Soil Pit Soil and Water pH Values by Elevation (ordered) Water Soil Elevation Rank Site pH pH (feet) Order 2 Dry 6.43 284 0 4 Dry 6.40 272 0 6 Dry 5.99 282 0 Pd Dry 6.20 287 0 3 7.15 6.49 270 1 Pa 7.56 na 284 2 Pe 7.59 5.41 265 3 Ps 7.78 5.54 265 4 Pw 8.57 6.00 265 5 1 8.88 7.55 280 6 Pn 8.98 5.74 265 7 5 9.34 7.96 289 8

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A comparison of Soil Pit Soil (Ordered) and Water pH Values by Elevation indicated that the highest Soil pH value (7.96) occurred at Soil Pit 5 at the highest elevation (289).

Table 4. 90-Acre Soil Pit Soil and Water pH Values by Elevation (ordered) Water Soil Elevation Rank Site pH pH (feet) Order Pa 7.56 na 284 0 Pe 7.59 5.41 265 1 Ps 7.78 5.54 265 2 Pn 8.98 5.74 265 3 6 Dry 5.99 282 4 Pw 8.57 6.00 265 5 Pd Dry 6.20 287 6 4 Dry 6.40 272 7 2 Dry 6.43 284 8 3 7.15 6.49 270 9 1 8.88 7.55 280 10 5 9.34 7.96 289 11 12

Conclusions: The most important conclusions at this point within the research project include: 1) Soil pH values at Soil Pits 1, 3, and 5 were significantly lower (p<0.05) than the Water pH values as well as at the Pond Dam compared to the Pond Adjacent to the 90-acre property; 2) This observation indicated that the acidity of the soil is not significantly lowering the pH of the water in the ponds either on or adjacent to the property; 3)

The highest Water pH value (9.34) occurred at Soil Pit 5 at the highest elevation (289); and

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The highest Soil pH value (7.96) occurred at Soil Pit 5 at the highest elevation (289).

Future Research Project Work: The project will continue in the Spring 2021 semester with additional sampling of the Soil Pits, the surrounding surface soils, and ephemeral surface water that may be present during the winter and early spring periods. The additional data will be analyzed statistically and compared to the previously collected and analyzed dataset.

Key References:

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Schoeneberger, P.J., D.A. Wysocki, E.C. Benham, and Soil Survey Staff. 2012. Field book for describing and sampling soils, Version 3.0. Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln, NE. United States Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2004. Soil Survey Laboratory Methods Manual. Soil Survey Investigations Report No. 42, Version 4.0. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. Awardee and Student: Dr. Richard W. Griffin is a Professor with research interests in soils, soil health, ecological-based agricultural production systems, and environmental quality.

Armondo D. Waters is a freshman majoring in Agriculture with a concentration in Plant and Soil Sciences.

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Lactic acid and citric acid-based meat marinade effect on the survival of Shiga Toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) on brisket pieces.

Jayla Laday Mentor: Tamra N. Tolen, Ph.D. Department of Agriculture, Food and Animal Science College of Agriculture and Human Sciences Introduction: Shiga Toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is considered an adulterant in non-intact beef products. Through grinding or tenderizing of intact beef products, these microorganisms, that can contaminate beef surfaces can be transplanted to the inner spaces of the product and elude inactivation without proper cooking. Without cooking beef to the proper recommended internal temperature to kill the bacteria, there is a risk for the consumer to become sick.

Food safety relies on a multi-hurdled approach, setting up a variety of “roadblocks” that a pathogen would have to overcome to survive. One hurdle may employ the regulation of temperature to impede the growth of the pathogen, while another may manipulate the atmosphere the product is packaged in to make the environment not suitable for pathogen survival. Another popular food safety tool is the use of organic acids to lower the pH, which is not favorable to many foodborne pathogens of concern. Organic acids like lactic acid and citric acid are an ingredient in many different products as they provide a distinct organoleptic attribute to the products they are contained in. Many acid-based meat marinades contain organic acids that help to impart flavor and even tenderize meat. The aim of this project is to evaluate the ability of meat marinades containing organic acids to lower the pH of the product and reduce STEC numbers on the surface of intact beef pieces. It is our thought that the marinade will reduce pathogen numbers on artificially contaminated beef pieces, thus improving food safety.

Dr. Tolen has worked with Shiga Toxin-producing Escherichia coli through the evaluation of the usefulness of bacteriophages and lactic acid to eliminate STEC on brisket pieces and beef cattle hides.

Materials and Methods: Marinade application on beef pieces: The fatty surface of beef brisket will be inoculated with STEC organisms and allowed to sit for 30 minutes to allow STEC organisms to attach to the brisket surface. Once STEC organisms are attached, five 10 cm2 pieces of brisket will be excised, weighed, and laid in a marinade of commercial lactic and citric acid solutions at varying concentrations at a ratio of 1:4 (meat: liquid) for 15h at 4°C. Following the marinating time, the excised pieces will be removed from the marinade and allowed to drip dry. The excised pieces will be stomached for one minute, serially diluted, and plated on selective agar for E. coli species. The agar plates will be incubated overnight at 37°C for 24 hours. After incubation, colonies will be counted and numbers transformed to CFU/cm2 of beef to represent surviving E. coli organisms. To evaluate the efficacy of the marinade, different concentrations will be mixed and tested against the inoculated beef pieces. The STEC organisms will be exposed to rifampicin (RIF) prior to use to produce RIF mutants that will easily plate on agar containing the antibiotic while at the same time inhibiting any background microorganisms that may be present on the meat. To determine if the marinade was effective at reducing STEC counts, statistical analysis will be used.

Results and Discussion: Data collection still in progress Conclusion(s) or Summary: Conclusions have yet to be made References: Cite full references according to a standard journal in your field.

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Awardee and Student: Dr. Tamra N. Tolen is an Assistant Professor with research interests in the safety and bacteriology of foods.

Jayla Laday is a senior majoring in Agriculture (Food and Animal Science)

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College of Arts and Sciences

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Analysis of a Biased Coin Design Model

Ibrahim Arogundade Mentor: Aliakbar Montazer Haghighi Mathematics Department

Goal Using simulation, this project analyzes the prescription of dose levels to a patient whose disease requires a period of repeated use of the same medicine with different dose levels, such as an oncology patient.

Basic Terminologies A patient (or a subject) is to go under repeated treatments for a disease that requires possible repeated use of medicine with different dose levels. Prescribing each dose level needs a period to act. We refer to this period as a unit of time. The subject is to return to the physician after each treatment for assessment.

Dose levels are under certain restrictions.

We suppose there are ten possible dose levels 1, 2, L ,10 , level 1 being the weakest and level 10 being the strongest. Usually, levels 3 or lower may not be much effective but safe. On the other hand, levels 8 or higher are highly toxic and dangerous, yet needed to take a chance on emergency cases.

Hence, based upon the first assessment, if the disease is very mild, level 3 or lower is prescribed.

However, if the disease has progressed too much, level 8 or higher may be specified. Thus, we assume that there are three different options to determine the first dose level. (i) If the features of the patient show a mild case, dose level k is assigned. The level k = 1, 2, or 3, is randomly selected. (ii) If the subject shows a progressed case, dose level K is assigned. The level K = 8, 9, or 10 is randomly determined. (iii) If the first assessment is not indicative of too weak or highly progressed, dose level d is assigned.

The level d = 4, 5, 6, and 7 is randomly selected.

After a unit of time, the patient returns for a follow-up visit. Required tests will be done to assess the result of the dose level prescribed previously. There are two possible cases: (i) The dose was not effective but harmful because it negatively affected the patient's health. This case is referred to as toxicity, and the subject is referred to as toxic. (ii) The dose was not harmful; that is, it either positively affected the patient's health, or it did not affect it at all. Either case is referred to as non-toxicity, and the subject is referred to as non-toxic.

At this point, the physician has to decide about a new dose level based on the two cases of toxicity and non-toxicity cases. There are three possible cases to prescribe the next dose level: (i)

move down one level,

(ii)

stay put or

(iii)

move up one level.

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Now, the question is how to determine the dose level in each of the three cases. The process of determining the next dose level is referred to as the up-and-down method.

Before choosing the dose level, the physician will have to include features of the patient such as age, gender, some health conditions such as diabetes, being overweight, asthma, allergies to some medicine, etc.

We choose the so-called bias coin design (BCD), see Anastasia et al. (2003) among the variations of upand-down methods. For our case, the method is as follows: A patient was assigned a dosage level dj, j=1, 2,...., K, at the previous visit. At the next visit, the subject will be assigned (i) dose level dj-1, the dosage level was toxic, (ii) dose level dj+1, if the dosage level was non-toxic and the coin toss results in ahead, or (iii) otherwise, the dosage level dj will be assigned.

We are continuing the assignments at successive visits until we find a repeated dose level is assigned to the patient. This dosage's repetitive assignment suggests that we have reached a stable dosage level for the patient when taking the stability level to assign the dose level for the next patient.

Now, if we have a group of patients and follow that method, we will reach a stability lever for each group member. The average of these stability levels can be used as the level for the first visit of a patient rather than the random selection discussed above.

The Algorithm To right the necessary simulation programming, we are to develop a code that uses a biased coin design to assign and distribute the dose levels among the oncology patients, takes the proportion of trials for each dose level, and visualizes this data with a histogram. A select number of patients are introduced for the initial trial and overtime. A new group of this select number of patients undergoes the same trial until the number of trials is reached while using the bias coin design based on distribution. The biased coin design is a system where you use the toxicity and result of a coin toss to determine the next dose level to assign to the next patient. This can be demonstrated with the following scenario if a patient is assigned dose level 3, a coin is tossed, and the toxicity is determined; from this demonstration, three events are likely to occur. In the first event, the coin toss resulted in head and dose level 3 is not toxic, so the next patient is assigned the next dose level, which is 4. In the second one the dose level 3 is toxic so the next patient is assigned a dose level that is a level before the assigned one, in this case it is dose level 2. In the third event the same dose level is assigned to the next patient as a result of the dose level being non-toxic and the coin toss resulting in tails.

Step 1 The first step of the code starts with assigning a number to the patients or subjects, dose levels and trials.

Finally, we create a menu which asks us to select the design that will be used which will ultimately be the bias coin design

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Step 2 The second step is the initiation of the trial due to the selection of the bias coin design.A dose level is randomly selected from dose 1 to 3 for the first patient, a coin toss is simulated and the toxicity is determined. The biased coin design conditions are then applied and the dose level that was generated is then assigned to the next patient or subject. Two arrays are created, the first stores the dose level for every subject in a group and the second stores all the dose levels that were assigned to all the subjects in all the groups. The flowchart, Figure 1, below displays the methods taken to execute this step.

Assign a Subject with a dose level from dose level 1 to 3

Is the subject Y

H

Assign the next subject with the next dose level dj+1.

What is the result of the coin toss?

N

T

Assign the next subject with the dose level dj-1.

Assign the next subject with the same dose level dj-1.

Figure 1. Code Algorithm Flowchart Step 3 The next step is calculating the proportion of trials of each dose level and plot them on a histogram Graphs The following graphs are illustration of the simulations. Program is found in the Appendix.

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Figure 2: Γ=0.3, Subjects/Patients=10, Trials=1,000

Figure 3: Γ=0.2, Subjects/Patients=5, Trials=1,000 The graphs show that the distribution is skewed towards the lower dose level particularly to dose level 1.

The reason for this result is because that the doses assigned are likely to be toxic due to the probabilities, as there are two conditions that determine if a higher dose level is assigned compared to only one condition in which a lower dose level is assigned. In addition, the probability of a dose level being toxic is initially divided evenly. A dose level that is toxic leads to a lower dose level; but this is likely not the case for a non-toxic dose as it has to go through the coin toss test before a higher dose level can be assigned, all of these effectively lowers the probability of non-toxic doses and higher dose levels being assigned or distributed. These reasons effectively lead to a higher proportion of distribution of lower dose level regardless of the Γ, the number of patients and trials.

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REFERENCES Anastasia Ivanova, Aliakbar Montazer Haghighi, Sri Gopal Mohanty, Stephen D. Durham 92003).

Improved up-and-down designs for phase 1 trials. Statistics in medicine; 22:69-82.

APPENDIX %% Research Project- Design %---------------------------------------------------% STEP 1 % Assign the number of trials, subjects and dosage levels, also select the dosage level that will be used to start the trial. Select % the design that is to be used. %---------------------------------------------------no_subject=10; % The number of subjects dose_lvl=[1:10]; % The dosage levels Design_select= menu('Which design do you want', 'BCD','K in a row','average up and down','Narayana','CRM','Start-up'); if Design_select strcmp(Design_select,'BCD') trials=0;% The trials are being initiated,we are using it to control the while loop last_trial=1000; dosage_group=[]; % stores the overall dosage trials dosage_array=[]; %-------------------------------------------------------------%STEP 2(I) % TRIAL HAS STARTED AND BIAS COIN DESIGN HAS BEEN SELECTED % Proceed with the trial of each dosage level for each patient in a % group of a certain number(in this case 10) and do this trial 1,000 times % for different groups. If a dosage is toxic asssign the next patient the % dosage level before the assigned one, if a dosage level is not toxic and % the while trials < last_trial % dosage trials for 1,000 groups of 10 individuals=0; %the pateint has just walked in dosages=[]; % stores the dosages that was tried for each group

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if trials==0 dj=randi(dose_lvl(3)); % Randomly selects the dosage level, random selection dj is only for the first group of % the initial trial. end while individuals < no_subject % dosage trials for each indvidual in the group gamma=0.3; % this is gamma bias= gamma/(1-gamma); % line 19-26 simulates the cointoss results, % CORRECT COINTOSS_PI TO BIAS pi= rand(1); % Randomly selects a value between 0 and 1 toss_result=['']; if pi <= bias toss_result=['head']; elseif pi > bias toss_result=['tail']; end Toxicity=randi([0,1]); % randomly determines the toxicity

%STEP 2(II) % If a dosage is toxic asssign the next patient the % dosage level before the assigned one, if a dosage level is not toxic and % the coin lands on head, assing the next patient the next dosage.If the dosage level is not toxic and the coin lands on tails, assign the next patient the same dosage level % Store all the dosage level in an array.

if Toxicity== 1 dj= dj-1; % if toxic the next dosage assigned is a dosage lower elseif Toxicity==0 && strcmp(toss_result,'head') dj=dj+1; % if non toxic the next dosage assign is a dosage lower else dj=dj;

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end if dj < 1 % line 47-50, makes sure the dosage level doesnt go lower than 1 or higher than 10 dj=1; elseif dj > 10 dj=10; end dosages=[dosages,dj]; % stores the dosages that was tried for each group individuals=individuals+1; %responsible for the iteration of dosage assigned for each person in the group end dosage_group=[dosage_group,dosages];% stores the overall dosage trials trials=trials+1; %responsible for the iteration of dosage trials, used to control the while loop end end % STEP 3

%The next step is claculating the proportion of trials for each dosage %level and plot them on a histogram % Calculation of the proportion of trials for dosage level 1, calculate dosage1=sum(dosage_group==dose_lvl(1)); pro_dos1= dosage1/(no_subject*trials); % Calculation of the proportion of trials for dosage level 2, calculate dosage2=sum(dosage_group==dose_lvl(2)); pro_dos2= dosage2/(no_subject*trials); % Calculation of the proportion of trials for dosage level 3, calculate dosage3=sum(dosage_group==dose_lvl(3)); pro_dos3= dosage3/(no_subject*trials); % Calculation of the proportion of trials for dosage level 4, calculate dosage4=sum(dosage_group==dose_lvl(4)); pro_dos4= dosage4/(no_subject*trials);

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% Calculation of the proportion of trials for dosage level 5, calculate dosage5=sum(dosage_group==dose_lvl(5)); pro_dos5= dosage5/(no_subject*trials); % Calculation of the proportion of trials for dosage level 6, dosage6=sum(dosage_group==dose_lvl(6)); pro_dos6= dosage6/(no_subject*trials); % Calculation of the proportion of trials for dosage level 7, calculate dosage7=sum(dosage_group==dose_lvl(7)); pro_dos7= dosage7/(no_subject*trials); % Calculation of the proportion of trials for dosage level 8, calculate dosage8=sum(dosage_group==dose_lvl(8)); pro_dos8= dosage8/(no_subject*trials); % Calculation of the probability of trials for dosage level 9, calculate dosage9=sum(dosage_group==dose_lvl(9)); pro_dos9= dosage9/(no_subject*trials); % Calculation of the probability of trials for dosage level 10, calculate dosage10=sum(dosage_group==dose_lvl(10)); pro_dos10= dosage10/(no_subject*trials); probabilities=[pro_dos1,pro_dos2,pro_dos3,pro_dos4,pro_dos5,pro_dos6,pro_dos7,pro_dos8,pro_dos9,pr o_dos10]; x=[1,2,3,5]; % %histogram(x) %histogram(probabilities) bar(dose_lvl,probabilities,'hist') ylim([0.0 1]) ylabel('Proportion of trials') xlabel('dosage level')

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Vanadium Toxicology in Crustaceans

Tristan Roland Mentor: Andrea Ashley-Oyewole, Ph.D. Chemistry Department Introduction: Crabs are eatable arthropods in the subphylum Crustacea and the order Decapoda (Ruethers et al., 2018). They and other shellfish are rich in dietary Vanadium (Jakimska, Konieczka, & Namieśnik, 2011). Research shows that the edible portion and internal organs of crustaceans bioaccumulate trace metals, and very little research is available on crustaceans' vanadium behavior (Shalini et al., 2020 (Miramand, Guary, & Fowler, 1981)). The research hypothesis is that there is a strong correlation between Shellfish poisoning/allergies and dangerous vanadium concentrations. There is a likelihood that shellfish allergies and shellfish poisoning may result from Vanadium stored in shellfish muscles (Miramand et al., 1981; Ruethers et al., 2018).

Shellfish Allergy and Vanadium toxicity Background: According to the Cleveland clinic shellfish allergies are more common in places where fish consumption is high Invalid source specified.. 60% of Shellfish allergies occur in adulthood (Orford & Wilson, 1985); Ruethers et al., 2018). The symptoms for shellfish allergies include: Hives, itching, or eczema (atopic dermatitis), swelling of the lips, face, tongue, and throat, or other parts of the body, wheezing, nasal congestion, or trouble breathing, abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting, dizziness, lightheadedness, or fainting. Many studies and report on Vanadium used in implants have failed due to Vanadium ionic species may be released and people being allergic to them (Costa et al., 2019). So, the Vanadium in the implant causes erythematous eczema around the incision site, widespread systemic skin manifestations, persistent synovitis leading to prolonged pain, and aseptic loosening.

The connection between shellfish allergies and vanadium allergies in metal implants is that they both cause eczema. The thought process here is that if Vanadium is high in shellfish and one primary allergic symptom of shellfish is the same major allergic symptom of Vanadium. Subsequently, humans may not be allergic to shellfish, but they are allergic to Vanadium in shellfish. We are investigating the amount of Vanadium stored in crabs so that once we find that out, we can begin to see how this has affected human allergies in the long run.

Materials and Methods: The research plan involves obtaining the live crab from a commercial vendor and weighed after the acquisition. Then we will treat the specimens with a vanadium-rich diet of algae for approximately two weeks. For comparison, two control crabs fed with a diet consisting of naturally occurring concentrations containing Vanadium. We will record the specimens' weight after an interval of three weeks based on previous exposure experiments (Miramand et al., 1981). We will prepare triplicate samples of the muscle tissue for direct analysis. Representative samples must be thoroughly dried to remove all traces of water. X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) has become a gradually more accessible and powerful tool for characterizing different surfaces, including biological samples. XPS and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) instruments are used in metals analysis and can only operate effectively under ultra-high vacuum conditions. For this reason, all samples must be dehydrated. XPS and SEM analysis will be necessary to detect and quantify Vanadium levels in the dried muscle tissue without destroying the samples (Baer & Engelhard, 2010). Little or no sample preparation is needed for these techniques. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is a another very quick and usually non-destructive analytical technique for measuring the levels of elements in samples (Byers, McHenry, & Grundl, 2019). Upon completion, data should provide information on an estimate of vanadium concentration available. We will 26

attempt to make inferences about whether those concentrations may contribute to shellfish allergies after comparing established contractions in the literature.

Conclusion(s) or Summary: The hypothesis of my research so far is that there is a strong correlation between Shellfish poisoning/allergies and dangerous vanadium concentrations. This project should provide more clarity on the amounts of Vanadium that may be ingested by consumers. After comparing with National Health standards and recommendations for safe levels of ingestible Vanadium, we will make further inferences. Since there is no concentration limit set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, or we did not find any available information. The Food and Drug Administration has a Toxic Elements Working Group (TEWG) which intends to decrease contact with to toxic metals in food, cosmetics, and dietary supplements. The 2006-2013 Toxic and Nutritional Elements study did not include Vanadium content of food Invalid source specified.. This information will help fill some gaps in the knowledge about total vanadium levels ingested by the public and Vanadium concentrations in drinking water.

References: Baer, D. R., & Engelhard, M. H. (2010). XPS analysis of nanostructured materials and biological surfaces. Journal of Electron Spectroscopy and Related Phenomena, 178-179, 415-432. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elspec.2009.09.003 Byers, H. L., McHenry, L. J., & Grundl, T. J. (2019). XRF techniques to quantify heavy metals in vegetables at low detection limits. Food Chemistry: X, 1, 100001. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fochx.2018.100001 Costa, B. C., Tokuhara, C. K., Rocha, L. A., Oliveira, R. C., Lisboa-Filho, P. N., & Costa Pessoa, J. (2019). Vanadium ionic species from degradation of ti-6Al-4V metallic implants: In vitro cytotoxicity and speciation evaluation. Materials Science and Engineering: C, 96, 730-739. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msec.2018.11.090 Jakimska, A., Konieczka, P. S., & Namieśnik, N. (2011). Bioaccumulation of Metals in Tissues of Marine Animals, Part I: the Role and Impact of Heavy Metals on Organisms. Polish Journal of Environmental Studies, 20(5), 1117-1125. Retrieved December 29, 2020 Kurowski, K., & Boxer, R. W. (2008). Food Allergies: Detection and Management. American Family Physician, 77(12), 1678–1686. Retrieved from MayoClinic.org Miramand, P., Guary, J. C., & Fowler, S. W. (1981). Uptake, assimilation, and excretion of vanadium in the shrimp, lysmata seticaudata (risso), and the crab, carcinus maenas (L.). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 49(2), 267-287. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-0981(81)90076-9 Orford, R. R., & Wilson, J. T. (1985). Epidemiologic and immunologic studies in processors of the king crab. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 7(2), 155-169. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.4700070207 Ruethers, T., Taki, A. C., Johnston, E. B., Nugraha, R., Le, T. T. K., Kalic, T., . . . Lopata, A. L. (2018).

Seafood allergy: A comprehensive review of fish and shellfish allergens. Molecular Immunology, 100, 28-57. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molimm.2018.04.008 United States Food and Drug Ad,omostratopm. (2020, November 10). Analytoca; Results of the Total Diet Study. Retrieved December 30, 2020, from USFDA Science & Research (Food): https://www.fda.gov/food/total-diet-study/analytical-results-total-diet study.

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Awardee and Student: Dr. Andrea Ashley-Oyewole is an Assistant Professor with research interests in Trace metal Toxicity, Drinking water pollution, and Hazardous waste management Tristan Roland is a Freshman majoring in Biology with a minor in Chemistry

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Cultural Identity in Music: A Modern Electronic Composition Celebrating Cultural Heritage

Brandon Bernäl Daniel A. Pardo, Ph.D. Department of Music and Theatre Introduction: The healing power of music for society is needed more than ever. With the uprising of music technology and social media, the outlets for music publishing and the means to reach a wide audience are at a peak moment. The objective of this research project is to compose a program (45 mins of music) that merges contemporary electronic compositional techniques with traditional elements of Hispanic folklore. This work will feature 2 soloist (Professor-Student) and an array of electronic components. Prior to the creative development of the composition and electronic design, the professor and student will engage in research of composers and compositions of international notoriety in order to understand the current state of research and programming availability.

Methodology: The methodology to develop music content will be based on the use of a Suite as means to join a collection of dances from different regions. To do this, we are analyzing 2 of our primary repertoire works: J.S. Bach's Suite in B Minor and Telemann's Suite in A minor. As we progress through the study of these master works, we proceed to study composers of major impact in Latin American music such as Jobim and Pixinguiña, who exemplify the styles of Brazilian Bossa Nova and Chorinho respectively, Astor Piazzolla; Jose Macias in Bambuco, and Lucho Bermudez in Cumbia. We are also getting adept with music notation software (Dorico SE), music sequencing DAWs (Garage Band & Cubase), and Sample Libraries (Kontakt & Spitfire) in order to start the composition/production process in January 2021.

Aside from the music composition at the center of this research project, a presentation about the Instrumental Suite will be part of the Prairie View International Flute Festival program.

References 1. Caterina, Rafael. "What Is It?" Wolf Default RSS. Accessed December 28, 2020. https:// www.choromusic.com/o-que-e-o-choro/o-que-e.html.

2. Cayan, Ruben. "An Analysis of Six Original Latin Jazz Compositions and Arrangements."

Florida International University, July 3, 2011. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/ viewcontent.cgi?article=3159&context=etd.

3. Neder, Alvaro. "Pixinguinha: Biography & History." AllMusic. Accessed December 31, 2020. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/pixinguinha-mn0000352294/biography.

4. Pease, Andy. “Huapango by Jose Pablo Moncayo.” Wind Band Literature, October 2, 2018. https://windliterature.org/2012/01/23/huapango-by-jose-pablo-moncayo/.

5. Walker, Gary, and Simon Rentner. "The Birth of Bossa Nova," June 2, 2008. https:// www.npr.org/2008/06/02/91087907/the-birth-of-bossa-nova.

6. Scaruffi, Piero. "A Brief Summary of Latin-American Popular Music." A History of LatinAmerican Popular Music, 2002. https://www.scaruffi.com/history/latin.html.

7. Petrov, Peter. "Fascinating History and Origins of Latin Music." CultureOwl. Accessed December 31, 2020. https://www.cultureowl.com/miami/blogs/music/fascinating-history- andorigins-of-latin-music-26.

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8. Woodaman, Ranald. "Exhibiting Music History: U.S. Exhibits on Latin American and Latino Musicians and Their Traditions." Smithsonian Music, October 18, 2018. https:// music.si.edu/story/exhibiting-music-history-us-exhibits-latin-american-and-latino- musiciansand-their-traditions.

9. Colón, Dr. Cynthia. "History of Latin Music." The Latino Author, 2020. http:// thelatinoauthor.com/songs/history/.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Daniel A. Pardo is Assistant Professor of Flute with research interest in jazz, world music, recording technology and flute pedagogy.

Brandon Bernäl is a sophomore, majoring in Flute Performance.

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Racial Discrimination In Music: A Guide to Overcome Trials and Tribulations in the Arts

Raven Blaylock Mentor: Daniel A. Pardo Department of Music and Theatre Brailsford College of Arts and Sciences Introduction: In recent months, the classical music world has unveiled a series of untold truths regarding discrimination for people of color in orchestras and large institutions. Nevertheless, there are artists who have endured and successfully negotiated obstacles, thus proving that is possible to design a system where achievement and fulfillment in the arts is possible.

Our project consists of a series of interviews with trailblazer artists who hold national and international profiles in key positions in orchestras and universities. These interviews will be transcribed for further analysis of the common traits in either personality, work ethic, uprising, or any new factors we find as a result of this research. The findings of this research will be used to write an article for submission to the following outlets: The Flute Quarterly (National Flute Association publication), the TMEA (Regional Conference), as well as our own Prairie View Music Department Seminar Series and a segment in the upcoming Prairie View International Flute Festival 2021.

Methodology: The method we will be using for this project will be broken up into the two semesters. For the first semester, we have focused on collecting and reviewing current research regarding racial issues in the arts and finding minority flutists and conductors who have successfully navigated through racial injustices. We are searching through various universities, orchestras, and chamber groups for interviewees. We have also focused on building an appropriate assortment of interview questions that will help us get the right answers throughout the interview process.

Expected Results: Our writing based on experiences by our artists roster will show that achieving success in the arts is not only an open channel for the privileged few, but rather the result of consistent work based on self-accountability, resilience and perseverance. This publication will also indicate PVAMU's concern and focus on making viable paths to success for the next generations.

Our current list of artists for interviews includes: Judy Dines, Dr. Meghan Bennett, Roderick Cox, Michael Morgan, Hubert Laws, Valerie Coleman, Jennifer Grim, Thomas Wilkins, Demarre McGill, Sherry Winston, and Damien Sneed.

References 1. Grieving, T. (2019, September 11). Few black conductors lead orchestras. For Anthony Parnther, it's time to represent. Retrieved from LATimes.

2. Mancini, J. (2017, August 1). The Young Conductor Paving the Way for Black Musicians in Orchestra. Retrieved from NBCBLK. 3. NBC News. (2015, May 20). Young, Gifted and Black : Conductor Damien Sneed. Retrieved from NBCBLK. 4. Raganwhiteside.com. (2020, 08 24). Bio. Retrieved from Raganwhiteside.com : http://www.raganwhiteside.com/bio/ 5. UK Librairies. (2020, December 18). African American Women Play Musical Instruments: Flute.

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6. VAColeman Music. (2020, 08 24). Biography. Retrieved from Valerie Coleman Flutist and Composer: https://www.vcolemanmusic.com/about.html Awardee and Student: Dr. Daniel A. Pardo is Assistant Professor of Flute with research interest in jazz, world music, recording technology and flute pedagogy.

Raven A. Blaylock is second-year senior, majoring in Music All-Level Certification with a concentration in Flute.

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Dynamic Algorithms for Time-to-Event Processes

Edgar R. Mendoza Mentor: Emmanuel Appiah Department of Mathematics and Department of Chemical Engineering Introduction: In the survival and reliability data analysis, parametric and nonparametric methods are applied to estimate the hazard/risk rate and survival functions [4, 6]. A parametric approach assumes that the underlying survival distribution belongs to some specific family of distributions (e.g., normal, Weibull, exponential). On the other hand, a nonparametric approach is centered around the best-fitting member of a class of survival distribution functions [5]. Moreover, Kaplan-Meier (KME) [5] and NelsonAalen [1, 8] type nonparametric approach does not assume neither distribution class, nor closed-form distributions. In fact, it just depends on a data. The Kaplan-Meier and Nelson-Aalen type nonparametric estimation approaches are systematically analyzed by the totally discrete-time hybrid dynamic modeling process in [2].

In the existing literature [4, 6], the closed-form expression for a survival function is based on probabilistic analysis. The closed-form representation of the survival function coupled with the mathematical statistics method (parametric approach) is used to estimate survival and hazard/risk rate functions. In fact, the parametric approach/model has advantages of simplicity, the availability of likelihood-based inference procedures and the ease of use for a description, comparison, prediction, or decision [6]. The goal of this research project is to develop new mathematical models and computational tools for time-to-event dynamic processes in biological, engineering, epidemiological, financial, medical, military, and social sciences.

Materials and Methods: Algorithms developed will be validated by applying them to real-world data sets.

Conclusion(s) or Summary: In this work, we hope to attempt the following: 1. develop an innovative alternative dynamic modeling approach for time-to-event processes.

2. Introduce time-dependent covariates (external and internal) in the developed models and consider more complex time-to-event dynamic studies.

3. introduction of discrete-time dynamic intervention process 4. formulation of continuous and discrete-time interconnected dynamic system 5. introduction of conceptual and computational state and parameter estimation procedures References: 1. Odd Aalen. Nonparametric inference for a family of counting processes. The Annals of Statistics, pages 701–726, 1978.

2. EA Appiah and GS Ladde. Linear hybrid deterministic dynamic modeling for time-to-event processes: State and parameter estimations. International Journal of Statistics and Probability, 5(6):32, 2016.

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3. David W Hosmer, Stanley Lemeshow, and Susanne May. Applied survival analysis. 2011.John D Kalbfleisch and Ross L Prentice. The statistical analysis of failure time data, volume 360. John Wiley & Sons, New Jersey, 2011.

4. Edward L Kaplan and Paul Meier. Nonparametric estimation from incomplete observations.

Journal of the American statistical association, 53(282):457–481, 1958.

5. Jerald F Lawless. Statistical models and methods for lifetime data, volume 362. John Wiley & Sons, New Jersey, 2011.

6. Ganesh Malla and Hari Mukerjee. A new piecewise exponential estimator of a survival function.

Statistics & probability letters, 80(23):1911–1917, 2010.

7. Wayne Nelson. Hazard plotting for incomplete failure data. Journal of Quality Technology, 1(1), 1969.

8. Olusegun M Otunuga, Gangaram S Ladde, and Nathan G Ladde. Local lagged adapted generalized method of moments and applications. Stochastic Analysis and Applications, pages 1– 34, 2016.

9. Josef Schmee and Wayne Nelson. Estimates and approximate confidence limits for (log) normal life distributions from singly censored samples by maximum likelihood. Technical report, DTIC Document, 1977.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Emmanuel Appiah is an Assistant Professor with research interests in differential equations, time-to-event processes, mathematical statistics, and integrable systems.

Edgar R. Mendoza is a sophomore majoring in chemical engineering.

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Synthesis, characterization, and photothermal effect of CuS nanoparticles deposited over graphene oxide nanosheets

Elizabeth Roque Mentor: Gururaj Neelgund Department of Chemistry Introduction: Cancer is one of the current major causes of morbidity and mortality of humans [1]. So, advanced therapies with high efficiency and precision are a critical need for the effective treatment of cancer. Over this passion, a promising therapy is a photothermal therapy (PTT), in which cancer cells are selectively targeted and destroyed by exposure to near-infrared (NIR) mediated high temperatures. PTT is an innovative technique in cancer therapy, and it relies on the conversion efficiency of photon energy into heat through a photosensitizer, called a photothermal agent under illumination to NIR laser. In consideration of the importance of photothermal agents in PTT, herein we designed an NIR active agent, GO-CuS, by depositing CuS nanoparticles over graphene oxide (G.O.) nanosheets.

Materials and Methods: Preparation of GO-CuS: G.O. was prepared from graphite powder according to the Hummers and Offerman method with slight modifications [2,3]. In a typical procedure, 1 g of graphite powder (<20 μm, Aldrich) was added to 40 mL concentrated H2SO4 and stirred for 1 h under icecooling conditions. Then, 15 mL fuming HNO3 was slowly added and stirred the mixture for 30 min. To this, 5 g of KMnO4 was gradually added with stirring and cooling, and the resulting mixture was stirred at room temperature for 12 h followed by addition of 150 mL DI water. After stirring the mixture for 30 mins, 30 mL of H2O2 (30%) was slowly added, which turned the color of the reaction mixture to bright yellow. The resulted mixture was centrifuged and washed with 1:10 HCl in water solution in order to remove metal ions. Further, the mixture was washed with DI water until complete removal of the acids and thus obtained dark-yellow colored G.O. was dried under vacuum at 40 °C for 12 h. The drying process of G.O. was carried out at lower temperature in order to avoid its deoxygenation. Subsequently, 100 mg G.O. nanosheets was dispersed in 50 mL DI water by sonication and 20 mL aqueous solutions of CuCl2 (0.01 mol) and Na2S (0.01 mol) was added to it. The resulting mixture was allowed to stir for 4 hr at room temperature to yield GO-CuS. Results and Discussion: The prepared GO-CuS will be characterized using various instrumentation viz., IR, UV-vis-NIR, XRD, SEM, TEM, Raman, EDX and XPS. The photothermal effect of GO-CuS will be estimated by exposing its aqueous dispersion to 980 nm laser system and monitored its rise in temperature.

Conclusion(s) or Summary: The robust NIR active agent, GO-CuS has been successfully prepared. The characterization of GO-CuS will be performed using different instruments and its photothermal effect will be estimated.

References: [1] J.H. Lim, D.E. Kim, E.J Kim, C.D. Ahrberg, B.G. Chung, Macromol. Res. 26 (2018) 557-565; [2] W.S. Hummers, R.E. Offeman, J. Am. Chem. Soc.80 (1958) 1339; [3] G. M. Neelgund, V. N. Bliznyuk, A. Oki, Appl. Catal. B 187 (2016) 357–366.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Gururaj Neelgund is an Assistant Professor with research interests in nanoscience and nanotechnology.

Elizabeth Roque is a freshman majoring in nursing

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Synthesis, characterization, and photothermal effect of CuS nanoparticles deposited over graphene nanosheets

Paris Semien Mentor: Gururaj Neelgund Department of Chemistry Introduction: The employment of near-infrared (NIR) radiations in photothermal therapy (PTT) to treat cancer is a current high-pitched interest aside from its classical applications such as telecommunication, sensing ablation, etc. [1]. The reason is that the NIR region (700-1100 nm) is an ideal clinical phototherapeutic window for PTT as attenuation of NIR radiations by skin, blood, and tissues is low, and it allows for the treatment of deep-seated tumors. [2]. The application of PTT in the treatment of tumors has been identified as a minimally invasive alternative to conventional hyperthermia treatment owing to its remote controllability, low systemic toxicity, and minor side effects [3]. While the implementation of PTT relies on the development of suitable photothermal coupling agents. On account of the importance of photothermal agents in PTT, herein, we designed the robust NIR active agent, GR-CuS, by deposition of CuS nanoparticles over graphene (G.R.) nanosheets.

Materials and Methods: Preparation of GR-CuS: Graphene oxide (G.O.) needed to produce G.R. nanosheets was obtained by the Hummers and Offerman method with slight modifications [4,5]. Then G.O. (50 mg) was dispersed in EtOH (50 mL) by sonication for 5 mins, subjected to centrifugation, and EtOH was removed. Then G.O. was re-dispersed in ethylenediamine (EDA) to yield the yellow-brown suspension, which was subjected to refluxing for 1 hr at 80 °C. The resulting black suspension of G.R. nanosheets was then centrifuged, subsequently washed with EtOH and DI water, and dried under vacuum at 40 °C for five h. Subsequently, 100 mg G.R. nanosheets were dispersed in 50 mL DI water by sonication, and 20 mL aqueous solutions of CuCl2 (0.01 mol) and Na2S (0.01 mol) were added to it. The resulting mixture was allowed to stir for 4 hr at room temperature to yield GR-CuS. Results and Discussion: The prepared GR-CuS will be characterized using various instrumentation viz., IR, UV-vis-NIR, XRD, SEM, TEM, Raman, EDX, and XPS. The photothermal effect of GR-CuS will be estimated by exposing its aqueous dispersion to a 980 nm laser system and monitored its rise in temperature.

Conclusion(s) or Summary: The robust NIR active agent GR-CuS has been successfully prepared. The characterization of GR-CuS will be performed using different instruments, and its photothermal effect will be estimated.

References: 1. Q. Tian, F. Jiang, R. Zou, Q. Liu, Z. Chen, M. Zhu, S. Yang, J. Wang, J.Wang, J. Hu, ACS Nano 5 (2011) 9761–9771 2. R.A. Weissleder, Nat. Biotechnol. 19 (2001) 316-317 3. D. Lane, Nature Biotechnol. 24 (2006) 163-164 4. W.S. Hummers, R.E. Offeman, J. Am. Chem. Soc.80 (1958) 1339 5. G. M. Neelgund, V. N. Bliznyuk, A. Oki, Appl. Catal. B 187 (2016) 357–366.

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Awardee: Dr. Gururaj Neelgund is an Assistant Professor with research interests in nanoscience and nanotechnology.

Paris Semien is a sophomore majoring in biology with a minor in chemistry.

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Monitoring DNA Interactions with Small Ring Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, their Alkylated Analogs

Aijalon Shantavia Bettis Mentor: Harshica Fernando Department of Chemistry

Introduction: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of more than 100 chemicals, also called polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons. PAHs are environmental pollutants and can easily be added to food, water, and air. They are commonly found in coal, hydrocarbon fuel, and crude oil. When oil, gas, wood, and various other items are burned, PAHs can be produced and become airborne. In addition, PAHs can be found in cigarette smoke as well as meat cook at high temperatures. You can be exposed to PAHs by 1) ingesting or swallowing food that contains them, 2) inhaling or breathing fumes or smoke, or 3) touching food that contains PAHs. Exposure to some PAHs can cause less serious issues such as irritation of the eyes and or breathing passages as well as more serious issues, such as cancer.

Environmental Protection Agency has identified sixteen hazardous parents PAHs based on their potential to human and ecological health effects, and many studies are carried out with some of these parent PAHs. However, new evidence suggests that alkylated PAHs are more potent and toxic than the parent PAHs. In oil, there exist a high amount of alkylated analogs of the PAHs than the parent hydrocarbons. In the past, studies have focused on higher ring PAH's (5-6) as they were found to be carcinogenic. Recently more attention is given to small ring PAH's as they are found to be toxic and present in large amounts.

Monitoring interactions of the small ring PAHs and their alkylated analogs with DNA is important, as human health effects from exposure to lower ring PAHs are not clearly defined. In this work, DNA and PAH interactions are monitored using a UV-Visible and a fluorescence approach.

Materials and Methods: Calf thymus-DNA was purchased from Worthington Biomedical Corp, NJ. 9, 10 bis-phenylethynylanthracene was obtained from Sigma Chemical Company. All other chemicals and solvents were of analytical grade. DNA solution was prepared in Tris-HCl buffer at pH = 7.4. The purity of the DNA was measured by observing the absorbance ratio at 260 and 280. A ratio of 1.80 confirmed purity of the DNA. The stock solution of the PAH's was prepared in ethanol. The interaction of DNA with the fluorophore 9, 10 bisphenylethnylanthracene was monitored using both spectroscopic methods. The DNA concentration were calculated based on !!"# = 6600 &$% '($% . A Shimatzu UV-Vis spectrometer was used to scan the spectra from 200 to 600 nm and the interactions observed with the fluorescence aspect was monitored using images being taken with an image app, and ImageJ, a program used for analyzing fluorescence intensity, in turn analyzed these images.

Results and Discussion: In the images, DNA interaction is being compared with the blank experiment with the well containing the added DNA on the bottom left at 4 seconds of exposure.

Both wells with added aliquots show an interaction that is represented with the darker green color at the rim of the wells.

Conclusion: Our results show that 9, 10 bisphenylethnylanthracene exhibit interaction with DNA. The nature of the interaction still needs to be identified. Future work will include kinetics, continued use of

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ImageJ, and compare the intensity using a fluorimeter, and have more alkylated PAH's to compare the binding kinetics and the nature of binding.

References 1. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs): Your Environment, Your Health | National Library of Medicine. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/chemicals-andcontaminants/polycyclic-aromatic-hydrocarbons-pahs#what-happens-when-i-am-exposed-topolycyclic-aromatic-hydrocarbons-(pahs) 2. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/ 3. Shi, J.-H., Lou, Y.-Y., Zhou, K.-L., & Pan, D.-Q. Exploration of intermolecular interaction of calf thymus DNA with sulfosulfuron using multi-spectroscopic and molecular docking techniques. Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, 204, 209– 216, 2018. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2018.06.054 4. Fernando, H., Ju, H., Kakumanu, R., Bhopale, K.K., Croisant, S., Elferink, C., Kaphalia, B.S., and Ansari, G.A.S. Distribution of petrogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in seafood following Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 145, 200-207, 2019.

5. Fernando, H., Halpert, J.R. and Davydov, D.R., Two substrate binding sites for pyrene derivatives demonstrated by FRET and absorbance spectroscopy. Biochemistry 45:4199-4209, 2006.

6. Fernando, H., Huang, C.R., Shu, L., Milliman, A. and LeBreton, P.R., Influence of Na+ on DNA reactions with aromatic epoxides and diol epoxides: Evidence that DNA catalyzes the formation of benzo[a]pyrene and benz[a]anthracene adducts at intercalation sites, J Chem Res In Toxicol 9:1391-1402, 1996.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Harshica Fernando is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry with research interests in lipidomics, toxicology, DNA interactions, and computational chemistry.

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Aijalon Shantavia Bettis is a senior double majoring in chemistry and criminal justice with minors in Spanish and finance.

Bayesian Deep Learning Approach for the Inference of Genetic Regulatory Networks

Kendall Lemons Mentor: Indika Rathnathungalage Department of Mathematics

Introduction: The major objective of this project is to construct a novel computational framework.

Successfully modeling genetic regulatory networks can lead to the targeting of specific genes underlying complex diseases. Additionally, the intersection of statistics and genetics is a growing field, the development of these models is increasing, and most are cell/tissue-specific. Lastly, most models focus on specific mutations that lead to a particular disease. We aim to take a holistic approach, looking at all possible pathways that lead to disease and disorders.

Materials and Methods: We use Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Deep Neural Networks in this study. These procedures are implemented using Python/R language.

Results and Discussion: At this stage, we have completed literature about the underline problem. In addition, skills for programming in Python/R were improved to construct the Neural Network.

Conclusion(s) or Summary: According to the information gathered so far, the Bayesian approach for the Deep Neural Network is advantageous than the Deep Neural Network. It is expected to prove this experimentally in the future.

•

Awardee and Student:

•

Dr. Indika Rathnathungalage is an Assistant Professor with research interests in Statistics, Data Analytics, and Machine Learning.

Kendall Lemons is a senior majoring in Mathematics & Mechanical Engineering

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The taxicab radian and investigations into taxicab geometry

Jalen Ball Mentor: Manouchehr Misaghian Department of Mathematics Introduction: I was tasked with investigating two topics and writing the results as a paper with the help of my professor. The two topics are: the taxicab radian and investigations into taxicab geometry Materials and Methods; The entirety of the materials used have been scholarly articles related to Euclidian and taxicab geometry and trigonometry. Although our research is related to Taxicab geometry, comparisons to Euclidian geometry is where much of our progress is made and finding new questions to answer. The established methods for researching mathematics used in this project are straightforward. I have referenced a paper published by the University of Hawaii titled "How does one do mathematical research" by E. Lee Lady. He notes that there are two types of questions to answer: Open-ended and closed-ended. During this project, we have broken the open-ended questions down into closed-ended questions. For instance, before we can write an introduction into the Taxicab radian (open-ended), we must first confirm previously theorized concepts of the taxicab angle, asking ourselves and proving if they are true (closed-ended).

Results and Discussion: At this point in our research, we are focusing on confirmation of previously theorized concepts in the area of Taxicab trigonometry to write an introduction, such as confirming that and understanding why the taxicab unit circle has a circumference of 8 units, that the value of pi in taxicab trigonometry is 4, and the value of cosine and sine.

Summary: After confirming previously theorized concepts related to the taxicab radian, we will use the information from which we have confirmed the validity to write an introduction into taxicab radian (typically denoted t-radian) and investigate related theories to taxicab trigonometry such as Taxicab Butterfly Theory.

Dr. Manouchehr Misaghian is an Associate Professor of Mathematics with research interests in algebraic number theory, geometry, and topology.

Jalen Ball is a junior majoring in mechanical engineering with a minor in mathematics.

References: 1. Goland, L. (1990) "Karl Menger and Taxicab Geometry", Mathematics Magazine, 63 (5), pp 326327.

2. Greenberg, Marvin Jay, (2008) "Euclidean and Non-Euclidean Geometries", 4th, edition, Freeman and Company, New York.

3. Krause, E.F. (1986), "Taxicab Geometry, An adventure in Non-Euclidean Geometry", Dover Publications, New York.

4. Graham R., Yao F.; A Whirlwind of Computational Geometry, The American Mathematical Monthly, Vol. 97, No. 8, Oct (1990), pp. 687-702.

The COVID- 19 Pandemic and Rural Communities of Color: Examining the Impact of Race, Healthcare Accessibility, and Health Literacy in Waller County, Texas 41

Kalyse Houston Mentor: Marco Robinson Division of Social Work, Behavioral and Political Sciences Introduction: This study brings light to the impact of the Covid-19 Epidemic and Racial disparities related to the health of black residents of Waller County. The project leaders will engage in conducting interviews and gathering survey data to document the resident's story and, in turn, provide the community with an outlet to solicit resources to help alleviate their current situation. More importantly, through illuminating these persistent issues and bringing awareness to Waller County's African American resident's plight, policy makers, community stakeholders, and leaders will gain insight into ways to address these problems.

Methods: There is limited research documenting the impact of COVID-19 on African Americans in Texas's rural counties. Husserl's (1962) phenomenological approach will be utilized to explore the lived experiences of African American church members in Waller County, Texas, in the face of COVID19 using semistructured open-ended interview questions. Survey tools with known validity will also be incorporated to obtain quantitative pieces of measurement regarding the quality of life and health literacy. Health literacy is an important component of implementing health behavior, outcomes, and understanding the treatment regimens recommended (Weekes, 2012). The instrument for this study will be adopted from the "Healthy People 2010-2030" and the short-form Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2019).

Results and Discussion: Currently, our research team is working with the pastor and several parishioners at St. Francis Assisi Episcopal Church located in Waller County. To date, we have been able to obtain survey data from three of the church members. During the Spring Semester, we plan to survey additional members and conduct zoom interviews with all of these individuals. The data we have obtained has revealed much about the health literacy and impact of Covid-19 on members of the church. As revealed by survey data, one church family impacted by Covid-19 was left defenseless at home until they could get help from the larger community. Also, this family had difficulty getting medical attention due to the lack of facilities in Waller County. This information gives much insight to correlate with the rest of the church members experiences and the member's health literacy juxtaposed to the impact of Covid-19. Due to the escalating Covid-19 numbers impacting members and the community, we had to halt our efforts several times. Many members were not feeling well or receiving medical attention when we contacted them.

Conclusions: There is much work to be done in collecting more survey data and starting the interviews. At this point, we need to collect more data to draw any solid conclusions regarding the church members which we are studying. We have concluded the lack of an immediate hospital facility in the area has presented challenges to church members. Our further collection of data will allow us to meet our project aims of accessing the congregants' level of health literacy and determining the impact Covid-19 is having on them.

References: 1. Flood, Anne. "Understanding phenomenology: Anne Flood looks at the theory and methods involved in phenomenological research." Nurse Researcher, vol. 17, no. 2, 2010, p. 7+. Gale OneFile: Health and Medicine, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A219831360/HRCA?u=txshracd2540&sid=HRCA&xid=f7e85d4. Accessed 4 Jan. 2021.

2. Weekes, Carmon V. 2012. "African Americans and Health Literacy: A Systematic Review." ABNF Journal 23 (4): 76–80. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,cpid&custid=s1088435&db=a9h &AN=83368843&site=ehost-live.

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3. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2019 "Healthy People 2010-2030". https://health.gov/healthypeople.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Marco Robinson is an Assistant Professor of History specializing in qualitative methods, archival research, and community studies.

Kalyse Houston is a sophomore majoring in History.

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WWKD: What Would Krishna Do? Just War Doctrine and the Ethics of War in the Mahabharata

Amorae Times Mentor: Michael J. Nojeim Division of Social Work, Behavioral and Political Sciences Introduction: This project addresses this question: what are the similarities and differences between traditional western/Christian Just War Doctrine principles and those found in the Mahabharata? Just War Doctrine was developed in the Middle Ages by Christian theologians and offers a sophisticated outline for the conduct of war. There are three components for comparison: justice of war, justice in war, and justice after war. This project compares and contrasts the elements of Just War Doctrine found in western/Christian contexts with those found in the ancient Hindu holy text, the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita, which is found in the Mahabharata Materials and Methods: This project uses a textual, content-analysis approach in comparing Augustinian Just War Doctrine with ethics in war principles found and practiced in the Bhagavad Gita and the epic text in which it is found, the Mahabharata. It begins with an extensive literature review of Augustinian Just War Doctrine and then moves to an examination of war-fighting ethics and principles found in Hindu philosophical traditions. Then, it performs a content analysis of key action sequences found in the Mahabharata using several different translations in order to apply ethics in war-fighting principles to the text.

Results and Discussion: We are still in the literature review phase of this project. This literature review serves as a foundation of holistically understanding the Just War Doctrine. Additionally, the literature review features scholarly work comparing the Just War Doctrine to other Eastern ideals and teachings.

Conclusion(s) or Summary: Preliminary findings show a consistent set of similarities and themes between war-fighting ethics in both religious traditions, including violations thereof in practice.

References: 1. Balkaran, Raj and A. Walter Dorn. 2012. "Violence in the Vālmı̄ki Rāmāyaṇa: 2. Just War Criteria in an Ancient Indian Epic." Journal of the American Academy of Religion 80, iss.

3 (September): 659–690. https://doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lfs036.

3. Barua, Ananya. 2016. "Re-Visiting the Ethics of War in the Philosophy of St. 4. Augustine, Mahatma Gandhi And The Dala Llama." Prajñā Vihāra 17, no. 2 (July-December): 121144. https://core.ac.uk/reader/270165080.

5. Brekke, Torkel. 2005. "The Ethics of War and the Concept of War in India and Europe." Religion and Violence 52, no. 1: 59-86. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3270443.

6. Davis, Richard H. (n.d.). "Reflections on War and Dharma in Classical Hinduism." Paper presented to the National War College, Washington, D.C. 7. Gandhi, Mahatma. 2009. The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.

8. Matilal, Rudraprasad. 2009. "Just War Theory." Philosophy of Peace Blog.

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9. https://sites.google.com/site/philosophyofrita/philosophy-of-peace/just-war-theory.

10. Miller, Barbara Stoler., trans. 1986. The Bhagavad Gita. New York, NY: Bantam Dell.

11. Narasimhan, Chakravarthi V., trans. 1998. The Mahabharata. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.

12. Orend, Brian. 2002. "Justice after War." Ethics and International Affairs 16, iss. 1 (March): 43-56. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7093.2002.tb00374.x.

13. Roy, Kaushik. 2007. "Just and Unjust War in Hindu Philosophy." Journal of Military Ethics 6, no. 3 (October 19): 232-245. https://doi.org/10.1080/15027570701539636.

14. Satyamurti, Carole. 2015. Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.

15. Subedi, Surya. 2003. "The Concept in Hinduism of Just War." Journal of Conflict and Security Law 8, no. 2 (October): 339-361. https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/oxford-university-press/the-concept-inhinduism-of-just-war-GOLJ3YHlGE. 16. Walzer, Michael. 2015. Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations, 5th ed. New York, Basic Books.

Awardee and Student: Michael Nojeim is a Professor and Program Coordinator of Political Science with research interests in international relations and nonviolence.

Amorae Times is a senior majoring in Political Science. Her research interests focus primarily on electoral politics.

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Water Uptake Properties of Pectin/Chitosan Thin Films Naznin Sultana and Louisa OzeTexas Undergraduate Medical Academy, College of Arts and Sciences

Louisa Oze Mentor: Naznin Sultana Chemistry Department Introduction: The water absorption properties of biodegradable polymers are of importance as the primary mechanism of the polymer degradation is hydrolysis. The ingress of water into polymer-based substance can have both adverse and beneficial effects on their properties. Hydrolysis and microcrack can be formed due to water exposure [1,2]. On the other hand, breakdown of polymer substrates can occur due to excessive water uptake. The water uptake and diffusion characteristics of polymeric composite substrates have been rarely assessed and reported. The hypothesis of the specific research is that the classical diffusion theories can be applied to solvent-cast Chitosan and pectin-based substrates [3,4].

Objectives/Goals (1) To produce solvent cast thin films based on biodegradable and natural polymer chitosan.

(2) To add another natural product Pectin at different compositions.

(3) To determine the water uptake and diffusion characteristics.

(4) To investigate the effect of incorporation of pectin, porosity, and microstructures of the thin films on the diffusion coefficient, equilibrium uptake, and temperature dependence.

Materials and Methods: Initially, an aqua acidic solution of 2% (w/v) acetic acid will be prepared as a solvent of which 20 ml will be added to each specimen in a Schott bottle, for making a solution with the desired concentration of chitosan (C.S.). In this case, chitosan powder will be weighed and dissolved in 20 ml acetic acid 2%, at variable concentrations of 1.5% (w/v) (0.3 g CS), 2.0% (w/v) (0.4 g CS), 2.5% (w/v) (0.5 g CS) and 3.0% (w/v) (0.6 g CS). The solution will be stirred in a 25 ml Schott bottle with a magnetic stirrer until completely dissolved. Pectin at different compositions will be added to the solution. Then the solutions will be transferred in glass petri dishes and left at the fume hood until the solvent evaporates completely. The initial weight of the specimens will be taken and then placed into 100mL of distilled water at 37∘C. During the first day of immersion, the specimens will be removed at intervals of 2, 5, 10, 15min, and so forth, blotted dry on filter paper to remove excess water, weighed, and returned to the water.

Following the first day, the samples will be weighed daily, until the uptake slowed. Until there was no significant change in weight, the uptake of water was recorded.

Results and Discussion: Figure 1 shows the thin films prepared from different compositions of pectin and Chitosan using solvent casting method. It took approximately 7days for the complete evaporation of solvents under a chemical fume hood. The films were transparent, and the dispersion of pectin was clearly observable in pectin/chitosan thin films. Incorporation of higher content of pectin made the film unstable.

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Figure 1: Fabrication of pectin/chitosan thin films Conclusion(s) or Summary: A thorough literature review was conducted. The first 2 aims of this project were successfully achieved. Further study on diffusion properties is needed to confirm the cytotoxicity of chitosan-pectin composite scaffolds to achieve the second aim.

References: 1. Sultana, N. and Khan, T.H. Water absorption and diffusion characteristics of nanohydroxyapatite (nHA) and poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate-) based composite tissue engineering scaffolds and nonporous thin films, Journal of Nanomaterials, vol. 2013, Article ID 479109, 8 pages, 2013.

2.

Crank, J., and Park, G.S., Eds., Diffusion in Polymers, Academic Press, New York, NY, USA, 1977.

3. Di Martino, A., Sittinger, M. and Risbud, M.V. (2005). Chitosan: a versatile biopolymer for orthopaedic tissue-engineering. Biomaterials. 26 (30): 5983-5990.

4. De Souza, B., Carla, F., Francielle, R., Bernard, D., Mantovani, D., Moraes, A. M. 2019.

Comparative study on complexes formed by chitosan and different polyanions: Potential of chitosan-pectin biomaterials as scaffolds in tissue engineering. Int. J. Biomacromol. 132:178-189 Awardee and Student: Dr. Naznin Sultana is a Research Scientist with research interests in Biomaterials, Tissue Engineering, and Drug Delivery Louisa Oze is a Junior majoring in Chemistry

Fabrication and In Vitro Characterization of Pectin/Chitosan Tissue Engineering Scaffolds

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Adaeze Eze Naznin Sultana Texas Undergraduate Medical Academy Introduction: Tissue engineering or tissue regeneration associates living cells with biodegradable materials and/or bioactive components. Composite scaffolds containing biodegradable polymers with suitable properties are promising for controlled release drug delivery and tissue regeneration. Chitosan is a natural polysaccharide that is non-toxic, biocompatible and biodegradable and hence is promising to use as scaffold material in bone tissue engineering. On the other hand, Pectin gels are extensively used in biomedical applications due to their easily tunable physical properties, high water association capacity and ability to act as carrier of proteins, drugs or cells. There are several techniques to fabricate membranes or scaffolds from polymer solutions. Thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) and freeze-drying technique is another promising technique to produce 3-D scaffolds (Sultana and Wang, 2008; Sultana and Wang, 2012). The need for synthetic tissue with similar biological and chemical properties to natural tissue has increased due to the limited availability of natural tissue grafts. This limitation is the main motivation for developing artificial composite materials. Tissue engineering has provided a new approach for treating various tissue ailments. Therefore, recent research has focused on biodegradable natural polymers based composite scaffolds as an alternative strategy to remediate skin regeneration. The hypothesis of this research is that the Chitosan/pectin- based scaffold can be successfully applied to regenerate skin tissue. The specific aims of the project is: (1) To fabricate Chitosan/Pectin scaffolds. We will use the TIPS and freeze-drying technique to prepare a nanofibrous scaffold with Chitosan/Pectin.

(2) To characterize the physical, chemical and biological properties of scaffolds. We will evaluate morphopholy, porosity, and cytotoxicity using human skin fibroblasts.

Materials and Methods: Chitosan with medium molecular weight and pectin from a citrus peel (Pc, galacturonic acid content of 80.2%, methoxylation degree of 7.6% and M, of 45kDa) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich. The fabrication technique was described previously (Eze et al., 2020). The amount of pectin added was 0.05g and 0.1 g, respectively. The morphology of a small section of each sample is examined by SEM (Hitachi TM3000, Japan) at an accelerating voltage of 15 kV (Chung, 2016) to confirm the morphology.

Results and Discussion: Recent studies have placed a focus on the polymer, pectin, due to its inexpensive cost combined with its biological properties that enables it to be used in various applications such as pharmacological and food applications. Pectins make up an essential part that is needed for the development of plants. The polymer helps to provide intercellular adhesion, rigidity, turgidity, and mechanical resistance for the cell walls of plants. The multifunctional component of pectin has allowed it to provide numerous target sites for chemical modifications (Pereira et al., 2018). The properties of pectin such as its non-toxicity, emulsion behavior, diverse chemical composition, biocompatibility, and high stability, enables it to be a commonly used polymer. Industrially, pectin is used for various types of applications such as food manufacturing, drug delivery, and tissue engineering. Porous pectin and Chitosan based tissue scaffolds were successfully fabricated using a freeze-drying technique and evaluated for different required properties (Figure 1).

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Figure 1: In-lab activities of preparation of pectin/chitosan scaffolds and characterization Conclusion(s) or Summary: A thorough literature review was documented and will be submitted to publish as a review article which proved that pectin can act as a non-toxic constituent, gelling agent, and insoluble substance that can be used as tissue regeneration and drug delivery applications. The first aim of this project was successfully achieved. Further study on cell culture is needed to confirm the cytotoxicity of chitosan-pectin composite scaffolds to achieve the second aim.

References: Sultana N, Wang M. 2008. Fabrication of HA/PHBV composite scaffolds through the emulsion freezing/freeze-drying process and characterisation of the scaffolds. J Mater Sci Mater Med 19: 2555-2561.

Sultana N, Wang M. 2012. PHBV/PLLA-based composite scaffolds fabricated using an emulsion freezing/freeze-drying technique for bone tissue engineering: surface modification and in vitro biological evaluation. Biofabrication. 2012;4:015003 Pereira, F. R., Barrias C. C., Bartolo, J. P., & Granja L. P. (2018). Cell-instructive pectin hydrogels crosslinked via thiol-norbornene photo-click chemistry for skin tissue engineering. Acta Biomaterialia, 282293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2017.11.016 Awardee and Student: Dr. Naznin Sultana is a Research Scientist with research interests in Biomaterials, Tissue Engineering, and Drug Delivery.

Adaeze Eze is a Senior majoring in Biology

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The Evaluation of the PVAMU Soil Microbiome: Evaluation of the Essential Components for Plant Productivity

Ines Frazier Mentor: Quincy C. Moore College of Agriculture and Human Sciences | Department of Biology Introduction: The PVAMU Microbiome project will focus on characterizing the microorganisms that comprise the campus soil microflora and the diversity present. The focus evaluates the microbiome that exists in the environment to determine the causal relationship that the soil microflora has on all life (Berg et al. 2014, Berg et al. 2014, Jansson et al. 2013). This project involves the use of soil samples from a variety of sites on the campus to determine the microorganisms that make up the Microbiome at Prairie View A & M University. Successful agriculture is often relying on the fertility of the soil and the nutrients that it holds.

Many nutrients develop in soil due to the biological transformation by the action of microorganisms (Zhang et al. 2002). Thus, the quantity and quality of soil microbes are what can help farmers and those alike increase productivity yields. The species of microorganisms depend on the physical and chemical nature of the soil, as these facts can impact the activity level of soil microbes (Hendrix et al. 1986).

Materials and Methods: Soil samples at a depth of 3 inches will be gathered from several sites on the Prairie View A&M University farm throughout different farming seasons (from seeding to harvest). The DNA from the samples will then be isolated using the Fisher Bioreagents SurePrepTM Soil DNA Isolation Kit or a similar kit.

Results and Discussion: Based on the literature review, soil health is based on soil fertility and the activity of soil microbes. Being that soil is a finite resource, preservation is a top priority and done via reducing erosion and adding any mineral amendments to fix deficiencies. One study found that the correlation of soil microbes and soil fertility was significant between the number of bacteria and contents of the organic matter (Sun et al. 2004). Within our study, we can hypothesize that if the soil on the PVAMU farm has a high fertility rating, then the diversity of soil microbes will be greater, thus causing a higher quality yield crop.

Conclusion(s) or Summary: Based on the plant and soil feedback (PSF), we will be able to decipher which areas on the farm are the best to utilize for production based on their plant and soil microbe relationship (Miller et al. 2019). To gain the most significant advantage of potential fertility, we must remember that soil is biologically alive and that colloidal clays have a cation exchange property with organic matter that governs the release of plant food. Identifying which areas on the farm can grow plants with more biomass will be used to create a comprehensive microbiome map of the PVAMU farm that can target specific areas with a higher potential to yield organisms that promote substantial seed growth. This will be an ongoing project as fertilizers, temperature, pore space, harvesting season, plant choice, and farm management practices all impacted soil health.

(1) References: (2) Berg, G., M. Grube, M. Schloter, and K. Smalla, The plant microbiome and its importance for plant and human health. Frontiers in Microbiology, 2014. 5(491): p. 1-2.

(3) Berg, G., A. Mahnert, and C. Moissl-Eichinger, Beneficial effects of plant-associated microbes on indoor microbiomes and human health? Frontiers in Microbiology, 2014. 5: p. 1-5.

(4) Hendrix PF, Parmelee RW, Crossley DA, Coleman DC, Odum EP, et al. (1986) Detritus food webs in conventional and no-tillage agroecosystems. Bioscience 36(6): 374-380.

(5) Jansson, J.K., and J.I. Prosser, Microbiology: The life beneath our feet. Nature, 2013. 494(7435): p.

40-41.

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(6) Miller, EC, Perron, GG, Collins, CD. Plant‐driven changes in soil microbial communities influence seed germination through negative feedback. Ecol Evol. 2019; 9: 9298– 9311. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5476 (7) Safi U R Q, Haroon, Arfa S. An Overview on Microorganisms Contribute in Increasing Soil Fertility. Biomed J Sci & Tech Res 2(1)- 2018. BJSTR. MS.ID.000641. DOI : 10.26717/BJSTR.2018.02.000641 (8) Sun R, Zhu L, Zhao B, Zhou Q, Xu J, Zhang F. [Effects of long-term fertilization on soil microorganism and its role in adjusting and controlling soil fertility]. Ying Yong Sheng Tai Xue Bao. 2004 Oct;15(10):1907-10. Chinese. PMID: 15624833.

(9) Zhang JE, Liu WG, Hu G (2002) The relationship between quantity index of soil microorganisms and soil fertility of different land-use systems. Soil and Environmental Science 11(2): 140-143.

Awardee and Students: Dr. Quincy Moore is an Associate Professor & Director with research interests in Environmental Microbiology, Host-Pathogen Interactions, and Novel Therapies.

Ines Frazier is a senior majoring in Agriculture with a minor in Chemistry

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The Evaluation of the PVAMU Soil Microbiome

Princess Pinamang Mentor: Quincy C. Moore Department of Biology Introduction: Soil-borne microbes mediate essential ecosystem services that sustain life, yet just 1% of the 106 distinct taxa present in 1g of soil have been cultivated under laboratory conditions (Hirsch et al., 2010) .

This study aims to assess the diversity and richness of soil microorganisms on the campus of Prairie View Agricultural and Mechanical University in an effort to generate a soil microbial population survey. Soil samples will be sourced from a range of campus locations; however, the Gov. Bill and Vara Daniel Farm & Ranch is geared to become the primary focus.

Materials and Methods: Literature used to investigate microbes and their associated molecules most abundant in soil was sourced from peer-reviewed articles and journals. The literature was cross-referenced to ensure thoroughness and garner deeper understanding. Search parameters have included rhizosphere microbiomes, agricultural soil microbiomes, metagenomic soil analysis, metatranscriptomic soil analysis, and soil microbial biogeography as well as notable soil-associated species such as Pseudomonas, Bacillius, Arthrobacter and Streptomyces. Journals used include Nature Communications, Science, American Chemical Society, Frontiers in Plant Science, American Society for Microbiology, eLife, Microbes and Environment and Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

Results and Discussion: A recent global analysis of soil bacteria found that a mere 2% of the 25,224 phylotypes identified accounted for nearly half of the 16S sequences around the world (Delgado-Baquerizo et al., 2018). Across global, regional, and local scale studies, Proteobacteria (specifically Alphaproteobacteria) has been pinpointed as the most abundant phylotype (Delgado-Baquerizo et al., 2018; Crovadore et al., 2017; Janssen, 2006; Okazaki et al.,2014). Gram staining the smears of our collected samples will allow a gross verification of that consensus since cell walls are a characteristic the phylum lacks. Upon transition into the 16S sequencing of our samples we will have to consider the impact of soil pH, mineral content, heavy metal presence, irrigation source, DNA isolation kit bias and season on diversity.

Soil is often regarded as the final frontier of the biosphere since our understanding of its microbial ecology is limited, and we are not yet capable of quantifying the scale to measure what is undiscovered (Curtis and Sloan, 2005). Therefore, an important decision in this study will be whether or not to include the Eukarya and Archaea domains where there is significant gray area.

Conclusion and Summary: Conducting an extensive literature review has assisted in the creation of a strong baseline for the upcoming field collection and data analysis. Additionally, it has refined the parameters of this preliminary study and highlighted future trajectories the team can pursue. In our upcoming work we will focus on intersite variability at the species level which is thought to be greater than the overall intrasite variability. Further studies could include a transcriptomic or proteomic analysis, diversity across a gradient like pH, influence of plant growth on diversity, influence of the soil microbiome on plant growth, and isolating new species.

References: (1) Curtis, T., Sloan, W. Exploring microbial diversity--a vast below. Science, 2005. 309(5739): p.

1331-1333.

(2) Crovadore, J., Asaff Torres, A., Rodriguez Heredia, R., Cochard, B., Chablais, R., Lefort, F. Metagenomes of soils samples from an established perennial cropping system of asparagus treated 52

with biostimulants in southern France. American Society for Microbiology, 2017. 5 (24): e0051117.

(3) Delgado-Baquerizo, M., Oliverio, A., Brewer, T., Benavent-Gonzalez, A., Eldridge, D., Bardgett, R., Maestre, F., Singh, B., Fierer, N. A global atlas of the dominant bacteria found in soil. Science, 2018. 359(6373): p. 320-325.

(4) Hirsch, P., Mauchline, T. & Clark, I. Culture-independent molecular techniques for soil microbial ecology. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 2010. 42(6): p. 878-887.

(5) Janssen, P. Identifying the dominant soil bacterial taxa in libraries of 16S rRNA and 16S rRNA genes. Appl Environ Microbiol, 2006. 72(3): p. 1719-1728 (6) Okazaki, K., Iino, T., Koruda, Y., Taguchi, K., Takahasi, H., Ohwada, T., Tsurumaru, H., Okubo, T., Minamisawa, K., Ikeda, S. An assessment of the diversity of culturable bacteria from main root of sugar beet. Microbes Environ, 2014. 29(2): p. 220-223 Awardee and Student: Dr. Quincy Moore is an Associate Professor & Director with research interests in Environmental Microbiology, Host Pathogen Interactions and Novel Therapies.

Princess Pinamang is a junior majoring in Biology.

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Development of Plant Natural Products having Antidiabetic Potential and Antihypertensive Therapy and Chronic Diseases

Daija Bullock-Marable Mentor: Sameh Abdelwahed Chemistry Department Introduction: Since the medieval ages, herbs were used for the treatment of different diseases. Since then, the use of herbs has given rise to the treatment of various modern diseases as well. Most of the modern.

FDA approved drugs can be sourced back to the plants. Hibiscus sabdariffa is one plant known as roselle for the management of high blood pressure, fever, and other diseases are well known. The use of different parts of this plant as drinks, food products, or lotions to treat different diseases can be found in the folk uses in China and India. Various parts of the roselle plant have been used in traditional medicine to treat colds, toothaches, urinary tract infections, and hangovers. In the case of our research, we are using a simple and efficient method that has been developed for selective single vanillin condensation. We hypothesize that we could help aid in the cure of viruses such as Covid-19 through the use of plants and their healing properties.

Moreover, these natural products will act as antidiabetic and antihypertensive agents1-3.

Materials and Methods: Extraction is the first step to separate the desired plant's natural products from the raw materials, solvent extraction, distillation, sublimation, and pressing according to the extraction principle.

We use another method for selective single aldol condensation between acetone and various aromatic/ heterocyclic aldehydes using aqueous hydroxide at 5-10 degrees Celsius and neutralization. Materials used were beakers, funnels, graduated cylinders, flask, rotavapor, stirrer, fume hood, and columns. Vanillin, chloroform, ethyl acetate, ethanol, hydrochloric acid, acetone, sodium hydroxide, litmus paper, silica gel, sand, and a centrifuge.

Results and Discussion: A general synthetic strategy4 will be carried out for preparation of the most promised compounds; for example, A possible synthesis of 6-Gingerol starts with a claisen condensation of vanillin and acetone to yield dehydrozingerone, which could be reduced and react with hexanal via Witting reaction and then hydrolyzed to 6-Gingerol.

Me O HO

O H

Me O

O

+

Base

Me O

.

HO

O

HO

O

Me O Reduction

HO

Me O

OH

6-Gingerol

Hydrolysis

O

Witting Reaction O

O

HO

Scheme 1: Possible synthesis of 6-Gingerol starting from vanillin

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NMR

PPM

10.0

Me O HO

PPM

10.0

8.0

6.0

O H

Me O

O

+

NaOH

8.0

4.0

2.0

4.0

2.0

O

HO

6.0

Fig. 1: NMR spectra for some products that were prepared Summary: We have successfully synthesized the first two compounds that were mentioned in Scheme 1, in which the purity of these compounds was confirmed by NMR spectroscopy. Our future plan experiments on this current project are to finish the preparation of 6-Gingerol.

References: 1. Ali, Badreldin H., Naser Al Wabel, and Gerald Blunden. "Phytochemical, pharmacological and toxicological aspects of Hibiscus sabdariffa L.: a review." Phytotherapy Research: An International Journal Devoted to Pharmacological and Toxicological Evaluation of Natural Product Derivatives 19.5 (2005): 369-375.

2. Riaz, Ghazala, and Rajni Chopra. "A review on phytochemistry and therapeutic uses of Hibiscus sabdariffa L." Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy 102 (2018): 575-586.

3. Ahmad, Abdul, et al. "Effect of Hibiscus sabdariffa and Zingiber officinale on the antihypertensive activity and pharmacokinetics of losartan in hypertensive rats." Xenobiotica 50.7 (2020): 847-857.

4. Satya Paul, and Monika Gupa "A simple and efficient method for selective single aldol condensation between aryladehydes and acetone" Synthetic communication, vol. 35:213-222, 2005.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Sameh Abdelwahed is an Assistant Professor with research interests in Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Medicinal Chemistry (key phrases)Daija Bullock-Marable is a sophomore majoring in Chemistry with a minor in Biology.

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College of Education

56

Measuring the Impact of Coronavirus among Students at a Historically Black College University (HBCU) in a Rural Area

Laura Ekezie Mentor: Andrea McDonald Department of Health and Kinesiology Introduction: Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on students and the educational system. According to United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), more than 150 countries have closed their schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the United States, all schools, colleges, and universities were closed to allow for social distancing. This has caused a significant disruption among college and universities' ability to deliver teaching materials to the students. Many institutions had to cancel their in-person classes and moved them to online-only instruction.

This unexpected event has placed some challenges on the students and institutions to accommodate the effective delivery of teaching materials. Most instructors are forced to communicate with their students via an online learning management system. The project's overall goal is to understand the impact of COVID-19 on academic achievement among students attending a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) located in rural Texas.

Materials and Methods: This proposed study will be conducted at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU), located in Waller County, Texas. The research team will recruit male and female college students through a combination of flyers, social media (Twitter, Instagram), and purposeful sampling. To be eligible, participants must meet the following criteria: 1) be a registered student at a Prairie View A&M University and attending before COVID-19, and 2) be at least 18 years old and pursuing a degree in any major. Then eligible participants will be asked to create a video with their reflections of COVID-19. The participants also will be invited afterward to participate in a one-hour one-on-one interview session via an online platform (WebEx or Zoom). We anticipate analyzing the qualitative data (interview) using ATLAS TI and guided by Grounded theory and the phenomenological approach.

Results and Discussion: The study is still ongoing, and results will be available soon.

References: 1. Higher education retrieved May 30, 2020. https://www.ncsl.org/research/education/highereducation-responses-to-coronavirus- covid-19.aspx.

2. Krug EG, Mercy JA, Dahlberg LL, Zwi AB. The world report on violence and health. The lancet.

2002;360(9339):1083-1088.

3. Pink, G.H. (2018). Statement by George H. Pink before the Committee on Finance U.S. Senate.

N.C. Rural Health Research Program. Retrieved from https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/24MAY2018PinkSTMNT.pdf Awardee and Student: Dr. Andrea McDonald is an Assistant professor at Prairie View A&M University in the Department of Health and Kinesiology. Her research focused on food preparation literacy, health disparities, school health and Nutrition in the Caribbean, COVID-19, and the Digital divide in schools.

Laura Ekezie is a Junior undergraduate student majoring in Nutrition and minor in Health Education. She plans to pursue a master's degree and become a Registered Dietitian in the future.

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58

Mapping and Conducting Restaurants Audits for Healthy Food Options During COVID-19 Pandemic

Renae Lawrence Andrea McDonald Department of Health and Kinesiology Introduction: In March 2019, coronavirus or COVID-19 was declared as a global pandemic. According to the Center for disease control, there are approximately 4.2 million total positive cases in a total of 147,672 confirmed deaths in the United States 1. This 2019 novel coronavirus affects individuals of all ages, significantly older adults, and persons with medical conditions. Therefore, there is a national mandate for social distancing. Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest more healthful foods such as fruits, vegetables, low-fat milk products, and whole-grain products. Although consumption of these foods is recommended to promote health and prevent chronic diseases, COVID- 19 pandemic and social distancing can challenge obtaining healthy foods. Previous studies have also suggested that understanding the community nutrition environment could provide insight into barriers that may influence dietary behavior. The overall goal is to examine the availability of healthful foods by store type.

Materials and Methods: We reviewed the internet for restaurants' location, types of food served, and opening in Waller and Harris county sections. A list was compiled with varieties of foods served, restaurants opening hours, service options (pickup, dining only, or delivery), and COVID-19 messages to customers.

Results and Discussion: Sixty-two (N=62) restaurants were identified in total (Waller n=18; Montgomery n=18, and Sunnyside Harris county n=26). Some food items served in the establishments were Pizza, Taco, Burgers, and French fries. Seventeen restaurants had COVID-19 messages on their websites. All messages are located on large chain restaurants like McDonald and Taco Bell. Family-owned restaurants had no message related to COVID-19. Most of the restaurants indicated operating on a reduced schedule, and three stated closed due to COVD-19.

Conclusion: More research is needed to understand factors preventing family-owned restaurants from promoting COVID-19 messages. For the future, this study is to conduct a mapping of these communities and seek external findings for more extensive research. Currently, we have two abstracts accepted for the Texas Public health conference coming up in May 2021.

References: 1. Covid C, Team R. Severe outcomes among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)— United States, February 12–March 16, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(12):343346.

2. Nord M. Household food security in the United States, 2003: US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service; 2004.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Andrea McDonald is an Assistant professor at Prairie View A&M University in the Department of Health and Kinesiology. Her research focused on food preparation literacy, health disparities, school health and Nutrition in the Caribbean, COVID-19, and the Digital divide in schools.

Renae Lawrence is a Junior undergraduate student majoring in Interdisciplinary studies. Her research interests include food access in rural communities and COVID-19 impact on the school's rural population and the digital divide. She plans to attend graduate school after graduation.

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60

The Quantitative Comparative Research Analyses’ Differences between Black Women Maternity Outcomes’ Complications and Expansion Versus Lack of Expansions to ACA

Celine Okwosogu Mentor: Catherine Kisavi-Atatah Department of Health and Kinesiology Introduction: Pregnancy is a time when women are particularly vulnerable and need extra care during this period and after delivery. While women of all races should have relatively similar health outcomes during pregnancy and similar maternal mortality rates, this is not the case. Black women often have poor health outcomes and high maternal mortality rates when compared to Caucasian women. Several studies have been conducted to address the negative health implications associated with child delivery and maternal mortality rates in African American women (Galvin, 2019; Heimberger et al., 2020). Studies have been conducted over the years to address and find interventions that can improve the health outcomes in African American women. While there have been several recommendations, African American women continue to lag in poor health outcomes during delivery as compared to their counterparts. Many factors have been attributed to the high infant mortality rate in this population ((Tara, 2018; SyndiGate Media inc., 2020). Additionally, lack of access has also been blamed for poor health outcome in pregnant women in the African American community (Tara, 2018; Heimberger et al., 2020). The focus of this study is to investigate the relationships between the weights of complications associated with black women maternities with states that expanded into ACA versus states that failed to expand since 2010.

Materials and Methods: This study with use (multiple case study California vs. Texas) quantitative research methodology using the already available secondary data analyses to quantify the relationships between expansion into ACA such as the state of California and lack of expansion into ACA such as the state of Texas on the overall maternities’ outcomes’ complications with black women.

Results and Discussion: In progress Conclusion(s) or Summary: In Progress References: Heimberger, S. et. al., (2020). Effect of Blood Pressure Control in Early Pregnancy and Clinical Outcomes in African American Women with Chronic Hypertension. An international Journal of women’s Cardiovascular Health 20:102-107 Tara, W. (2018). Medicaid Approaches to Addressing Maternal Mortality In The District of Columbia.

Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law VOL.20 Issue 1, p215-25 p.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Catherine Kisavi-Atatah / Assistant / Professor with research interests in Globalization, Minority studies, and Minority Health (inequalities, accessibilities etc. (key phrases) Celine Okwusogu Graduated December/ 2020 Senior, majoring in Health

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Revisiting the Effects of Underlying Health Conditions among Minorities Children in Southwest Houston, Texas and the roles Children and Parents Play to its Inabilities to Control Them with the Spread of COVID-19 (Underlying Health Conditions Three)

Kpehe Isam Mentor: Park E. Atatah Health and Kinesiology Department/Research Coordinator Introduction: The purpose of the quasi-experiment quantitative research study is to investigate the effects of underlying health conditions among minority children in Southwest Houston, Texas, and the roles the children and their parents play in the abilities and inabilities to control them and the outcomes of the spreads of COVID-19. Studies upon studies have shown that the abilities or inabilities to control underlying health conditions effectively, efficiently, or even proficiently in any races or areas are always detrimental to the short-, medium-, or long-term health effects in the long run (American Heart Association, 2017; Collins, 2016, for more). Overweight issues related to overeating among minorities’ children across the board are overwhelming, and the abilities or inabilities to take a proactive stand through their involvements are somehow limited (see Bonnie et al., 2016; Bocca, 2012; Berge et al., 2018 Birch et al., 2018 for more). As such, overeating among minority children leads to obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar levels or diabetics H1C, and many more, just to mention a few. The long-term effects of these out of controls eating behaviors as well and inabilities lead to the inabilities to control the spreads of COVID-19 in minorities overall, especially among the children in Southwest Houston, Texas. Therefore, the focus of this quasiexperiment quantitative research study is to investigate the confronting factors of these conditions and to find way to get both children and parents involved in systematically eliminating these critical underlying health conditions among minorities in Southwest Houston, Texas, and possibly beyond.

This study hypothesized two major research alternative hypotheses as shown below; Alternative Hypothesis 1: There is a relationship between children overeating, in-activities, and the overall outcomes of their weight gains and Body Mass Index (BMI) blood sugar A1C levels.

Alternative Hypothesis 2: There is a relationship between lack of parental supports and inactivates their children overeating, in-activities, and the overall outcomes of their weight gains and Body Mass Index (BMI) blood sugar A1C levels.

Materials and Methods: This study will use a “singular case study” quasi-experimental quantitative research methodology, which should allow the primary investigator to invite willing participates from a confidential clinic in Southwest Houston, Texas. Since any health conditions are considered confidential issues, the personal demographics of all participants as well as the participating clinic and the multidiscipline medical entities will be dimmed confidential as to protect their interests. Participants/parents were assessed on obesity knowledge, nutritional lifestyle, and physical activity with Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ) developed by Birch et al. (2007). The Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ) is a selfreport measure to assess parental beliefs, attitudes, and practices regarding child feeding, with a focus on obesity proneness in children, which will be used before and after the introduction of participants to the intervention scorecards. Thereafter, pretests and posttests will be recorded and analyzed. The data collection card will involve population, intervention indicator, comparator and control, outcomes, and time known as (PICOT). The picot question has been presented as: “Among parents of obese or overweight children or adolescent from 6 to 18-year-old in a primary care pediatric setting (P), how does the implementation of a multidisciplinary pediatric obesity educational program (I) versus no pediatric obesity educational program (C) impact the dietary habits (O) over a period 4 weeks in 4 ½ months (T)?”

P - Population/ Patient = how does the implementation of a multidisciplinary pediatric obesity educational program 62

I - Intervention/ Indicator = versus no pediatric obesity educational program C - Comparator/control = no pediatric obesity educational program •

O - Outcome = impact the dietary habits

•

T – Time = over a period of 4 weeks measurements for 4 ½ months from August 24, 2020 to December 31, 2020.

Results and Discussion: Pending Conclusion(s) or Summary: Pending References: American Heart Association. (2017). Overweight in children. Retrieved from http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyKids/ChildhoodObesity/Overwe inChildren_UCM_304054_Article.jsp Birch, L., Fisher, J., Grimm-Thomas, K., Markey, C., Sawyer, R. and Johnson, S. (2018). Confirmatory factor analysis of the Child Feeding Questionnaire: a measure of parental attitudes, beliefs and practices about child feeding and obesity proneness.

Bonnie J, Ronsen R, Roth S, Luke C, Nida S, Coombs L et al. (2016). The Fit Family Challenge: A Primary Care Childhood Obesity Pilot Intervention. Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. 29(4), 434-443.

Bocca, G., Corpeleijin, E., Stolk, R. & Sauer, P. (2012). Results of a multidisciplinary treatment program in 3-year-old to 5-year-old overweight or obese children: a randomized controlled clinical trial. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med., 166(12), 1109-1115. doi:10.1001/archpediatrics.2012.1638 Berge, J. M., Jin, S., Hanson-Bradley, C., Doty, J., Jagaraj, K., Braaten, K. & Doherty, W. J. (2016). Play it Forward! A Community-Based Participatory Research Approach to Childhood Obesity Prevention.

Fam Syst Health, 34(1), 15-30. doi: 10.1037/fsh0000116 Collins, C. E., Warren, J., Neve. M., & Stokes, B. J. (2016). Measuring Effectiveness of Dietetic Interventions in Child Obesity. Article Review. Available at file:///C:/Users/owner/AppData/Local/Temp/pra60002_906_922.pdf Awardee and Student: Dr. Park E. Atatah (Ph.D.). is an Assistant Professor with research interests in Globalization’s Public Health Issues, Races’ Inequalities, Health Accessibilities Issues, Criminal Justice Issues, Environmental Issues, Minorities’ Incarcerations, and Minorities Issues with Communities’ Policing (key phrases) Sam Kpehe graduated in December 2020, majoring in Health with no minor(s) in (NA) (if minors are applicable)

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College of Engineering

64

An AI-Powered Car Towing Management System using Automatic Number Plate Recognition

Sheikh Tareq Ahmed Mentor: Ahmed Ahmed Department of Computer Science Introduction: Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) is a technology that can recognize vehicle number plates automatically using high-speed cameras. It involves detecting the plat's position in the vehicle, identifying the characters and digits in the plat, and converting the captured image to text. There are many ANPR applications in different domains, such as car park management, traffic management, tolling, and intelligent transport systems. Despite this technology's importance, the existing ANPR approaches suffer from the accurate identification of number plats due to their different size, orientation, and shapes across other regions worldwide. In this project, we tried to study these challenges by implementing an empirical case study for smart car towing management using machine learning models. The developed mobile-based system uses different approaches and techniques to enhance the accuracy of recognizing number plates.

Materials and Methods: First, we developed an algorithm to accurately detect the number plate's location on the car body. Then, the bounding box of the plate is extracted and converted into a grayscale image.

Second, we applied a series of filters to detect the alphanumeric characters' contours within the grayscale image. Third, the detected the alphanumeric characters' contours are fed into a K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) model to detect the actual number plat.

Results and Discussion: Our model achieves a classification accuracy of 95% in recognizing number plates across different regions worldwide. The GUI has been developed as a form of Android mobile app, allowing law-enforcement personnel to capture a photo of the towed car, which is then recorded in the car towing management system automatically. The app also allows owners to search for their cars, check the case status, and pay fines. Finally, we evaluated our proposed module and the system using various performance metrics such as accuracy, processing time, etc.

Conclusion(s): In this project, we developed an ML-powered car towing management system using automatic number plate recognition. We believe that the proposed system would create a better opportunity for law-enforcement personnel to automate car towing. The proposed ANPR model approach comprises three phases: plate detection, character segmentation, and character recognition. We tested our system with an image dataset of various shaped and sized number plates, where crowded backgrounds, low contrast, and diverse illumination condition images are taken into consideration. We carried out several sets of experiments for evaluating the performance and classification accuracy of our system, paying particular attention to the classification and processing time. Our model could most notably process several images per second more than triple the commercial fps. This proves that our ANPR model is suitable for real-time inference at the edge with high prediction accuracy and response time, which could be used for various applications such as tolling, traffic management, security surveillance, etc. Moreover, we found that our model outperforms some state-of-the-art ANPR approaches in terms of the overall processing time.

References: [1] M. Y. Arafat, A. S. M. Khairuddin, and R. Paramesran, "Connected component analysis integrated edge based technique for automatic vehicular license plate recognition framework," IET Intelligent Transport Systems, vol. 14, pp. 712–723, 2020.

[2] P. Shivakumara, D. Tang, M. Asadzadehkaljahi, T. Lu, U. Pal, and M. Hossein Anisi, "Cnn-rnn based method for license plate recognition," CAAI Transactions on Intelligence Technology, vol. 3, no. 3, pp.

169–175, 2018.

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[3] W. Huang and J. Liu, "Robust seismic image interpolation with mathematical morphological constraint," IEEE Transactions on Image Processing, vol. 29, pp. 819–829, 2019.

[4] S. Zhang, X. Li, M. Zong, X. Zhu, and R. Wang, "Efficient knn classification with different numbers of nearest neighbors," IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems, vol. 29, no. 5, pp.

1774–1785, 2018.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Ahmed Ahmed is an Assistant Professor with research interests in IoT, Machine Learning and Distributed Computing Sheikh Tareq Ahmed is a graduate student majoring in Computer Science.

66

Immune Subtypes as Biomarkers for Therapy Response in Glioblastoma

Viet Nguyen Mentor: Anna Joy Biology Department and Engineering Introduction: Modifications to the scope of work Due to COVID 19 restrictions, the original proposal will not be performed since it requires in-person lab work. The student will now contribute to a bioinformatics project that can be performed remotely—immunotherapy for Glioblastoma (GB) patients. Despite hundreds of clinical trials over the last 40 years, little impact has been made on the median survival of GB patients.

There is an urgent need for new approaches to treating these patients. Results from the GB phase 1 clinical trial of various new immunotherapy approaches, including checkpoint inhibitors delivered prior to surgery, oncolytic viruses, and tumor lysate pulsed dendritic cells have shown promise, but further trials are required to confirm activity. These studies indicate important obstacles remain since, in some cases, only a subset of patients responded, and for others, resistance limited a durable response. This highlights the need for a better understanding of GB-induced immune escape mechanisms, mechanisms of resistance to immunotherapies, and biomarkers of response. GB immune subtypes have distinct clinical outcomes: We used public single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) data from GB patient tumors to find genes expressed only in immune cells. We reasoned that these immune-specific genes can be used as a proxy for sequencing just the immune component of resected tumor tissue that contains tumor, blood vessel, immune, and normal brain cells. If true, then the immune-specific genes can be used on sequenced whole GBM tumors to discover information on its immune environment. We used clustering programs and immune-specific genes to find GB immune subtypes having distinct clinical outcomes. The data indicate that GB has distinct “types” of immune environments that have a significant impact on the clinical course of the tumor.

Questions remain concerning: (1) the utility of immune subtypes as biomarkers of immunotherapy response (2) which GB genomic alterations contribute to immune suppression and therapy resistance, and (3) the immune composition of each subtype. We ultimately hope to develop and patent an algorithm that uses immune-specific genes as biomarkers for selecting effective immunotherapeutics. Our specific aims are: Specific Aim 1: Expand list of immune-specific genes. We will use additional public scRNAseq datasets of GB patient tumors to supplement the list of immune-specific genes.

Specific Aim 2: Find GB genomic alterations associated with immune subtypes. We will use TCGA GB datasets containing mutations, epigenetic alterations, copy number variations, and gene expression of GB driver genes for > 200 GB tumors. We will find statistically significant enrichment of these genomic alterations in subtypes.

Methods Overview: On the first stage of this project, the main focus is to familiarize with the software that is used to in biomedical data processing. RStudio is used widely for three reasons. First, the chosen program was RStudio as it was deemed as an open-source software for scientific research with a reasonable learning curve for beginners. Furthermore, because it is a free tool and an open-source program, the software has a large number of community users that will constantly check and fix errors. Finally, RStudio is an appropriate tool to deal with a large set of data as it does not require the most advanced computing hardware and still provides detailed, high-quality graphics.

Materials and methods: The program was obtained for free online and installed into a personal laptop for use. To assist the process of learning how to operate RStudio, Swirl, an interactive teaching program in R was employed to guide the initial process. There were two options to choose when swirl is activated within 67

RStudio. The first option was to learn basic commands and functions in R programming, which includes 16 modules that instruct students to effectively navigate and work with the program. Each module took approximately 20-30 minutes to complete, which includes both basic introduction and practice problems to help acclimating learners to the software. The topics of these modules range from basic building blocks, sequence of numbers to logic and base graphics. After completing all of the introductory modules, the program would allow students to progress to the second option, which leads to the swirl course repository.

This option provided a wide range of other programs that teach users how to apply the acquired knowledge in various scenarios. The courses that I completed were data analysis, getting and cleaning data, and statistical inference.

Results and Discussion: The decision to utilize swirl to guide new learners is appropriate as it was professionally structured and adjusted to novice users. Each module in the first part in swirl was built on the foundation of previously completed lessons and allow students to apply the newly acquired skills constantly.

The integrated practice problems provide good repetition, which is crucial in learning a new skill. Finally, the lessons provided in the swirl repository were helpful in helping students to understand how to apply the skill in a research-related context.

Conclusion: The result, which is the learning outcome, in this case, was satisfactory as I was able to understand the basics of data sciences and can move on to the next steps of the research project. Even though some time is still needed to become completely proficient with RStudio, the training did provide all of the necessary information for me to progress.

Awardee and Student: Anna Joy, Ph.D., is a Research Associate Professor with interests in the pathobiology of brain tumors focusing on tumor-tumor microenvironment interactions. The ultimate goal is to develop biomarkers, improve current immunotherapies and develop novel treatments that target the tumor microenvironment.

Viet Nguyen is a Senior majoring in Biology with a minor in Chemistry.

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The Prospect of Artificial Intelligence in Chemical Process Industries

Abidemi Awojuyigbe Mentor: Emmanuel A. Dada Department of Chemical Engineering Introduction: Artificial intelligence is a subpart of computer science that focuses on developing programs to enable computers to perform tasks that usually require human intelligence. In this project, we shall explain AI in general, analyze the logic behind AI, and identify promising current and future AI application opportunities in chemical industries, where AI can be implemented to enhance chemical industries' operations. In this project, we shall focus on the implementation of artificial intelligence on a distillation column.

Materials and Methods: For this study, we carried out an extensive literature review on AI applications in the chemical industries. We researched machine-learning applications to increase the efficiency of catalyst formation processes. This research focused on the significant impact and values of Artificial Intelligence in chemical industries over natural human intelligence. Deep learning was applied to solve high-level functions like modeling, simulation, and optimization of chemical processes.

Results and Discussion: Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions. There are two kinds of AI: Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI), with example, in a smart speaker, self-driving car, and Artificial General Intelligence that can do anything humans can do.

Machine Learning: It is the concept that gives a computer program able to learn and adapt to new data without human intervention or without being explicit. Machine learning is a field of artificial intelligence (AI) that keeps a computer's built-in algorithms current regardless of changes in the worldwide economy.

Artificial Intelligence is beginning to make its way into the chemical industry; it is now being used to reduce chemical companies' carbon footprint. The chemical industry is now starting to adopt artificial intelligence to improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and cut down greenhouse gas emissions.

Application of AI in chemical process modeling: An AI-based approach to chemical modeling encompasses processes such as catalyst deactivation in reactors. The most common methods of artificial intelligence in chemical modeling are ANN and fuzzy logic.

Application of AI in optimization in chemical processes: Chemical process optimization generally refers to finding the best solution from various operating variables' alternatives to maximize or minimize the desired objective.

Application of AI in fault detection: The utilization of neural networks to identify faults is becoming increasingly sought in the chemical industry. Neural networks have a high potential for capturing non-linear relationships.

Conclusions: We are currently researching ways to apply artificial intelligence, specifically on a distillation column in the chemical industry. We are working on using artificial intelligence to increase the efficiency of chemical processes in the chemical industry. This research would examine possible applications of artificial intelligence on a distillation column. We aim to analyze the logic behind artificial intelligence and identify potential applications in the chemical industries.

References:

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1. Dimitrov, Tanja; Kreisbeck, Christoph; Becker, Jill S.; Aspuru-Guzik, Alan; Saikin, Semion K., "Autonomous Molecular Design: Then and Now," ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (2019),11(28), 24825-24836 2. Haijar, Zeinab; Tayyebi, Shokokfe; Ahamadi, Mohammad H., "Application of AI in Chemical Engineering," Chapter 20, 2018 Awardee and Student: Dr. Emmanuel Dada is an Assistant Professor in the Chemical Engineering Department with research interests in artificial intelligence and clean energy.

Abidemi Awojuyigbe is a senior majoring in Chemical Engineering

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Modeling the Synthesis of Peracetic Acid to Produce Maximum Peracetic Acid Concentration Using Optimum Hydrogen Peroxide Concentration

Aminata Diagne Mentor: Emmanuel A. Dada Department of Chemical Engineering Introduction: Peracetic acid (PAA) is a powerful oxidizing agent with broad applications in the food, paper, medical, and textiles process industries and a sanitizing, sterilizing, and cleaning solution. The acid is used for environmental remediation, water treatment, beverage packaging, and antimicrobial solutions for agricultural purposes [1, 2]. The use of peracetic acid as a disinfectant has become more important as a chemical agent used for the sterilization of medical devices like the re-use of N95 masks and related N95 devices that were initially designed for single use. PAA exists as equilibrium solutions of its constituent's components raw materials of water, hydrogen peroxide, and acetic acid with commercial grades of PAA concentration ranging from 0.3 wt % to 40 wt %. The commercial use of peracetic acid and its efficacy depends on the concentration of peracetic acid. Therefore, there is a need for optimum PAA concentration to be synthesized to yield high profitability by using the minimum amount of hydrogen peroxide concentration.

Materials and Methods: We plan to use the available literature data on the equilibrium constants and kinetics rate to determine the optimum synthesis of peracetic acid (PAA) at different hydrogen peroxide concentrations. Also, develop a realistic predictive model to estimate the equilibrium constants for the peracetic acid solutions to calculate the optimum concentration of PAA. These results and the market base analysis on the cost of raw materials of hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid and the PAA product's selling price show that the optimum PAA concentration is very profitable.

Results and Discussion: The synthesis and hydrolysis reaction of peracetic acid, which leads to the development of a homogenous kinetic model, is *+& *,,+ (.) + +! ,! (1)

'! ()" ,+# +!

= *+& *,,,+(*) + +! ,(2)

(1)

The development of a kinetic model can be formed by using the synthesis and hydrolysis reaction concentration from the above equation. ,-$ ,. ,-% ,.

= 3!/01 *- *2 − 3%/01 *3 *4

(2)

= 3%/01 *3 *4 − 3!/01 *- *2

(3)

Keq = k1obs/k2obs

(4)

Where 3%/01 and 3!/01 are observed rate constant for both forward and reverse reactions and are also the function of H+ concentration due to the acid-catalyzed reactions of the changed reactions [1]. Equations (2) and (3) further show that peracetic acid is first-order concerning acetic acid concentration, hydrogen peroxide concentration, and acid concentration by the reaction of hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid. We are currently developing an empirical method to predict the Keq equilibrium constant that will be used to optimize the concentration of hydrogen peroxide that will give maximum peracetic acid (PAA) product.

Conclusion: Available literature data on the equilibrium constants and kinetics rate to determine the optimum synthesis of peracetic acid (PAA) at different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide have been analyzed. The data will be used to develop a realistic predictive model to estimate the equilibrium constants for the peracetic acid solutions to be used to estimate the optimum concentration of PAA. 71

References: 1. European Center for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals (ECETOC); "Peracetic Acid (CAS No 79-21-0) and its Equilibrium Solutions (2001) JACC No 40.

2. Zhao, Xue-bing; Zhang, Ting; Zhou, Yu-jie; Liu, De-hua; "Preparation of Peracetic Acid from Acetic Acid and Hydrogen Peroxide: Experimentation and Modeling." The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering, 2008, Vol 8(1), pp 35-41 3. Zhao, Xue-bing; Zhang, Ting; Zhou, Yu-jie; Liu, De-hua; "Preparation of Peracetic Acid from Hydrogen Peroxide Part I: Kinetics for peracetic acid synthesis and hydrolysis.", Journal of Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical 271; 246-252 4. Zhao, Xue-bing; Cheng, Keke; Hao, Junbin; Liu, De-hua; "Preparation of Peracetic Acid from Hydrogen Peroxide, part II: Kinetics for the spontaneous decomposition of peracetic acid in the liquid phase." Journal of Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical (2008) 284, 58-68 Awardee and Student: Dr. Emmanuel Dada is an Assistant Professor in the Chemical Engineering Department with research interests in artificial intelligence and clean energy.

Aminata Diagne is a senior majoring in Chemical Engineering

72

Thermodynamics and the Origin of Life

Ariel Taylor Mentor: Irvin Osborne-Lee Department of Chemical Engineering Introduction: Thermodynamics is an area of engineering science with wide-ranging applicability and power to provide insight to real-life situations and analytical capacity for solving problems of contemporary importance, such as climate change,1 weather,2 and biology.3 Yet, there remain unanswered questions about the nature of life, how it began, and its future trajectory. This project aims to leverage the tool of thermodynamics to address some of the crucial questions to develop an effective strategy for teaching the next and future generations of engineers and scientists to comprehend enough about thermodynamics to think more clearly about life on the planet going forward. The research team is as follows: Dr. Osborne-Lee is a professor of chemical engineering with research interests in thermodynamics, energy sustainability, and environmental processes; Ms. Ariel Taylor is a graduating senior in chemical engineering; Mr. Ozoemena Anyaegbu is a graduate student in chemical engineering.

Materials and Methods: This project combines research primarily through training, literature study, and analysis in two lines of study with the development of teaching strategies and materials to lead students at the undergraduate and graduate levels to understand the origin of life through the lens of thermodynamics principles. The two lines of study follow [1] the history of the cosmos from its beginning to the origin of life events and through present-day and [2] thermodynamic principles going beyond the concepts traditionally taught in typical science and engineering programs. The work in Fall 2020 focused on item [2] entailing academic inquiry on the part of the undergraduate research assistant (URA, Ms. Taylor), with a graduate research assistant (GRA, O. Anyaegbu, not funded by RISE) focused on item [1], both led by a Professor Osborne-Lee as a faculty research mentor and the principal investigator (PI). Work products expected are conference presentations, publications, and course curriculum materials, including syllabi, lesson plans, and teaching modules such as screencasts.

Results and Discussion: The URA and GRA each met with the PI remotely via Zoom to receive orientation, instruction, and direction. URA project activities are included in the summary of projected activities, as follow: •

Taylor learned to conduct an investigation by searching the literature using keywords and indexed databases such as E. I. Compendex Web and Science Direct. She located and shared important new references that advanced the project.4

•

Taylor completed training and gained certification in research with human subjects to qualify for studies using survey instruments and/or interviews with people.

•

Ms. Taylor learned to do a formal article review and used this skill to complete a written article review for key articles found by literature search.

References: Lucarini, V., K. Fraedrich and F. Lunkeit, “Thermodynamics of Climate Change: Generalized Sensitivities,” Atmos.

Chem. Phys., 10, 9729-9737, 2010.

Nugent, A., D. DeCou, S. Russel and C. Karamperidou, “Chapter 3: Thermodynamics” in Atmospheric Processes and Phenomenon, Open Educational Resource http://pressbooks-dev.oer.hawaii.edu/atmo/ (last accessed December 31, 2020).

Haynie, D., Biological Thermodynamics, 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press, 2013.

4 Schneider, E. and J. Kay, “Life as a Manifestation of the Second Law of Thermodynamics,” Mathl. Comput.

Modelling,” 19, No. 6-8, pp. 25-48, 1994.

73

•

The GRA co-authored a poster paper with the PI and presented it at a national conference.5

•

A journal paper reporting findings to date, including information gathered by Ms. Taylor, is in progress.6

Summary: A comprehensible narrative has been assembled based on finding the origin of life and where it fits in the timeline for the evolution of the cosmos. It has been articulated initially in a poster paper presented at the NOBCChE 2020 conference this past September. Important progress extending our understanding of the role of thermodynamics in the origin of life process was made with the help of the URA funded by RISE and the GRA, both working with the PI. These additional findings are helping to reshape the paper in progress for publication (in an important journal or conference proceedings) and will be used in the development of course materials for teaching thermodynamics and the origin of life. The development of instructional materials is planned to start in the Spring 2021 semester.

5

Anyaegbu, O. and I. Osborne-Lee, “Thermodynamics and the Origin of Life,” Proc. NOBCChE 2020 Annual Meeting, Virtual Conference held September 24-25, 2020.

6 Anyaegbu, O. and I. Osborne-Lee, “Origins of Life from a Teachable Thermodynamics Perspective,” in progress.

74

Geometric Stiffness Control Techniques for Metal-based Implants

Prevailer Mba Mentor: Jaejong Park Mechanical Engineering Introduction: Bone defects can develop from various situations such as trauma, infections, tumor, surgery, etc. In some cases where the defect is large, making bone not being able to regenerate itself, the defect site needs to be replaced for functional requirements and aesthetic reasons. Bone grafting is one of such methods available for such purposes. This method includes repurposing another bone in the body (or using a substitute) by modifying it to fit into the affected area. Metal-based bone implants are another option.

Titanium and its alloys are widely used in reconstruction surgeries. Since the design and fabrication are done using virtually Ex vivo, metal-based bone implants have geometric freedom compared to bone grafts.

However, one of the main shortcomings of metal-based bone implants is their inherent strong mechanical properties. A substantial mismatch in mechanical properties between the metal implant and the bone may lead to a failure in the long run. The property gap between the metal implant and neighboring bone needs to be closed to avoid stress shielding. This study aims to focus on various techniques for stiffness control by changing the geometry of the overall structure confined in a design domain. We are studying how to make the structures ‘porous’ to control the stiffness of the structures. While making structures porous intuitively reduces the stiffness of the structure, the study explicitly pursues algorithms where the stiffness can be systematically controlled. Various internal structuring techniques, such as lattice structures with different geometric configurations, architectural materials, and auxetics, are being investigated.

Methods and Materials: In our review of published manuscripts, different methods were identified for stiffness control. This summer, we decided to focus our efforts on understanding two of these methods. They include creating pores on implants and creating lattice structures. To be able to effectively control the creation of the pores, software was needed that supported the creation of designs from an algorithm. This ensured creativity and flexibility in design. We utilized the combination of Rhino and Grasshopper to learn the basics of creating new designs from an algorithm. For the lattice structures, Crystallon was considered an excellent choice for the work. It was to be used as a plug-in to Rhino for the creation of the lattice structures.

Results and Discussion: As mentioned in the last progress report, the ability to edit imported implant designs is crucial to this work. However, we have been having some issues in this regard. We have not been able to edit imported designs such as .stl files of previously optimized bone-implant geometries in Rhino. It is crucial that we are able to do this as not all implant models will be created in Rhino. It is essential that imported models can be edited. Some solutions that we found include converting the files to a surface and working with them from there. Another option is to use the local code import plug-in to import the .obj files directly into a grasshopper.

We started testing out these possible solutions; however, we haven’t been able to completely solve the problem. In the case of the file conversion, the conversion was successful; however, the file was converted into an indefinite list of surfaces, which makes it difficult to work with. The image in figure 2 above shows this obstacle. The Rhino program has to be able to recognize the model as a single surface for effective use.

This issue is currently being mitigated.

The local code import was successfully implemented to a grasshopper. The plug-in is still being explored, and as such, it has not yet been used on implant models.

75

Fig 1: Bone Implant .obj file from earlier work [1]. Fig 2: Bone Implant .obj file showing surface list.

Conclusion The issue encountered with Rhino is currently being mitigated, and more practice is being put in to understand the local code import and how to implement it properly. Upon successful completion, this will provide a simpler way of creating controlled porosity in any target object for stiffness control. Partial findings of this research have been included in a recently submitted manuscript [2].

References 1. Sutradhar, A., et al., Experimental validation of 3D printed patient-specific implants using digital image correlation and finite element analysis. Computers in Biology and Medicine, 2014. 52: p. 817.

2. Park, J., et al., A two-scale multiresolution topologically optimized multi-material design of 3D printed craniofacial bone implants. Micromachines, Biology and Biomedicine B, 2020, in review.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Jaejong Park is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering with research interests in structural optimization, mechanical design, and advanced manufacturing.

Prevailer Mba is a Senior majoring in Mechanical Engineering.

76

Numerical Experimentation of Bio-physicochemical Interaction of Airborne Species in the Pulmonary Circulation

Diamy Bekale Camara Mentor: Dr. Kazeem Olanrewaju Chemical Engineering Introduction: Cardiovascular system comprises the complex fluid (blood), the heart, and all the blood vessels embedded within the vascular tree, which include the arteries, arterioles, capillaries, venules, and veins[1], [3]. As earlier depicted, the cardiovascular system essentially covers the operation of the circulatory system and other auxiliary activities such as the myocytes' innervation to enhance heart rate effectiveness and cardiac output [4]. The cardiovascular/Circulatory system mainly addresses the systemic, portal, and pulmonary circulations of blood to organs of the body and the lungs, respectively [5]. Vital species needed for proper physiological functioning and homeostatic stability of the body systems are received at various sites, transported, and delivered via the bloodstream to the site of utilization (mostly cells) and disposal[6]. These physiological species, which are products of macromolecular (liquid and solid) monomerization and gaseous molecule, access the human physiological system via the respiratory, digestive, and integumentary tracts [7], [8]. Life-supporting gaseous molecules (O2 and CO2) and other airborne species (antigen) or gases access the physiological system through the respiratory tracts and are transported downstream to the alveoli, where exchange via diffusion into the bloodstream occurs. The oxygenated blood is subsequently conveyed through the pulmonary vein and received into the cardiac unit (heart) via the left atrium [3], [5]. Preceding description succinctly delineates pulmonary circulation. This project will systematically explore various mechanisms associated with physiological and pathophysiological implications of bio-physicochemical interaction of airborne species in the cardiopulmonary circulation system.

Materials and Methods: Highlighting Species Transport and Transformation in the Pulmonary Circulation Loop. A schematic flow process of species in the pulmonary circulation loop will be developed to have a clear perspective of species transport and transformation from one Stage to another. Species transport began at the respiratory system entrance, traverses and transformed through the various organs, tissues, and cells germane to the cardiopulmonary systems, and afterward disperse to all other body systems via the systemic and portal circulation flow vessel for metabolisms and other physiological functions.

Defining Transport and Transformation Mechanism at each Stage of the flow process. The transport mechanism at each stage of the process was defined, and the transformational mechanism was equally elucidated as the flow progresses within the pulmonary circulation loop. The specific mechanism was allotted to each Stage in the flow process.

Results and Discussion: A flow chart portraying step-by-step processes involve in the pulmonary circulation loop within the cardiovascular and respiratory systems was developed. The flow chart further stretches out species transport and transformation within the loop. The flow chart's essence is to lucidly depict the different stages where transport and change of species occur within the pulmonary circulation.

Organs within the loop are arranged in sequential order in the red borderline rectangular block flow diagram.

Simultaneously, the transport and transformation of species at different stages in the pulmonary circulation are highlighted in a blue marginal rectangular block. The red arrow connects organs in the flow chart. In contrast, the black hand connecting the red arrow and the red borderline rectangular block respectively depict the corresponding species transport occurring from organ to organ and transformation of species within the organ. The flow chart's rationale is developing a platform that will explicitly express the various physiological mechanisms accentuating the different species transport and transformation processes involved in the pulmonary circulation. The next step is to expound qualitatively on these mechanisms and 77

develop/adapt the various numerical model to describe and characterize these physiological processes quantitatively.

Conclusion(s) or Summary: The schematic flow chart development advanced the research task a significant step forward and set a plausible platform for a qualitative depiction of the physiological mechanisms needed to clearly understand species transport and transformation within the pulmonary circulation loop. A clear view of where species transport and change apply within the pulmonary blood circulation circuit is evident. Numerical quantification of species transport and transformation processes characterized by detailed physiological mechanisms will be subsequently explored through modeling. The insight gained will help understand the range of pathophysiological conditions associated with cardiopulmonary circulation and the appropriate diagnostic procedures and therapeutic measures needed to remedy the disease of interest.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Kazeem Olanrewaju is an Assistant Professor with research interests in Fluid-Structure in Human Systems, Bio-renewable, and Supercritical Fluid Reactions, Energy and Environmental Systems Sustainability.

Diamy Bekale Camara is a senior majoring in Chemical Engineering.

78

Flow Chart of Pulmonary Circulation Loop (Transport and Transformation) Ambient Environment

Transport Ventilation (influx and efflux of oxygen and carbon dioxide) • •

Respiratory Tract 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Bulk flow (Convection) Diffusion

Transport Cellular Respiration •

Exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in and out of the alveolar membrane via diffusion

Nasal cavity Pharynx Larynx Trachea Primary Bronchi Bronchioles

Alveolar

Transformation •

• • •

Alveolar duct Alveolar sac Alveolar membrane

Oxygen reacting with hemoglobin to form oxyhemoglobin

Blood vessels Transport • •

Perfusion of oxygenated blood in the capillary to pulmonary vein Bulk flow of oxygenated blood into LA via pulmonary vein

Transport

• •

Capillary Pulmonary vein

Systemic and Portal Heart Circulation (all(LA) body • Left Atrium systems except • Left Ventriclesrespiratory (LV) system)

•

Bulk flow of oxygenated blood to other body systems from LV through Aorta Transformation • Bulk flow of deoxygenated blood from body into RV via Vena acid Cavato release • systems Dissociation of carbonic carbon dioxide from the deoxygenated Transportblood • •

Bulk flow of deoxygenated blood via pulmonary trunk to pulmonary artery Perfusion of deoxygenated blood in the pulmonary artery into Capillary

Heart • •

Right Atrium (RA) Right Ventricles (RV)

Blood vessels • •

Pulmonary artery Capillary

79

Computational Analysis of Fluid-Structure Interaction of Species in the Systemic and Portal Circulation Circuit

Indira Ribeiro Mentor: Kazeem Olanrewaju Chemical Engineering Introduction: Alteration of species transport needed for metabolism by all the body cells and disruption of the metabolic pathway is the major causative mechanism to most systemic body diseases [1]-[3]. However, the major gateway of nutritional and enervating non-gaseous species accessing the cardiovascular system's systemic and portal circulation is through the digestive system. Moreover, dietary species transported via the vascular stream are products of enzymatic and mechanical monomerization of life-supporting macromolecular compounds (polysaccharides, protein, and lipid) within the digestive system into simple molecules like glucose amino acids and fatty acids [4], [5]. These mechanisms are made possible by a group of specialized organs grouped under the digestive system [6]. These organs are responsible for diminishing the nutritious macromolecular compound into various forms absorbed and transported alongside other nonvital species through the portal (liver) circulatory system for screening before finally conveying to the heart [7]. Nutritionally rich deoxygenated blood got oxygenated through pulmonary circulation and ejected by the heart via the vascular channel to different cells within the systemic and portal circulatory circuit for metabolism [7]. A detailed qualitative description of these processes will unequivocally create an opportunity to numerically assess the mechanisms associated with fluid-structure interaction of species transported within the systemic and portal circulatory system. Much work has been done to elucidate the qualitative description of these mechanisms, but studies on numerical quantification of these mechanisms are still relatively sparse. Therefore, significant effort will be spent analyzing these mechanisms computationally while quantifying in tandem the corresponding physiological and pathophysiological implications of organs under this cardiovascular system coverage.

Materials and Methods: Highlighting Species Transport and Transformation in the Systemic and Portal Circulation loop. A schematic flow process of species in the systemic and portal circulation loop will be developed to have a clear perspective of species transport and transformation from one Stage to another.

Species transport began at the respiratory, digestive, and integumentary entrance, traverse. It transformed through several organs, tissues, and cells applicable to the systems mentioned above and afterward disperse to all other body systems via the systemic and portal circulation flow ducts for metabolisms and various physiological functionalities.

Defining Transport and Transformation Mechanism at each Stage of flow process The transport mechanism at each Stage of the process was defined, and the transformational mechanism was equally elucidated as the flow progresses within the systemic and portal circulation loop. A specific mechanism was allotted to each Stage in the flow process.

80

Results and Discussion: A flow chart depicting stepwise processes involved in the systemic and portal circulation within the cardiovascular system was developed. The flow chart further unfolds species transport and transformation within the loop. The flow chart's essence is to vividly delineate the different stages of transport and change of species within the system and portal circulation. Various organs within the loop are arranged in sequential order in the red borderline rectangular blocks flow diagram. Simultaneously, the transport and transformation of species at different systemic circulation stages are highlighted in a blue borderline rectangular block. The red arrows connect organs in the flow chart. In contrast, the black arrows connecting the red arrows and the red borderline rectangular blocks respectively depict the corresponding species transport occurring from organ to organ and transformation of species within the organ. The rationale behind the flow chart is creating a platform that will help in the detailing of the various physiological mechanisms underlining the different specie transport and transformation processes involved in the systemic and portal circulation. The next task is to qualitatively explain these mechanisms and develop/adopt various numerical models to characterize these physiological processes quantitatively.

Conclusion(s) or Summary: The creation of the schematic flow chart advanced the research task with a significant step forward and set a realistic platform for a qualitative representation of the physiological mechanisms required to clearly understand the transport and transformation of species inside the systemic and portal circulation loop. A vivid perspective of where species transport and the change applies within systemic and portal blood circulation loop is evident. Numerical quantification of species transport and transformation processes describe by detail physiological mechanisms will be subsequently examined through modeling. Understanding acquired will be utilized to gain insight into a range of pathophysiological conditions associated with systemic and portal circulation and the relevant diagnostic procedures and therapeutic measures needed to ameliorate the disease in question.

References [1] Wootton, David M., Ku, David N, "Fluid Mechanics of Vascular Systems, Diseases, and Thrombosis," Annual Rev Biomed Eng, vol. 01, pp. 299-329, 1999.

[2] L. Byoung-Kwon, "Computational Fluid Dynamics in Cardiovascular Disease," The Korean Society of Cardiology, vol. 41, (8), pp. 423-430, 2011.

[3] D. M. Wootton et al., "A mechanistic model of acute platelet accumulation in thrombogenic stenoses," Ann. Biomed. Eng., vol. 29, (4), pp. 321-329, 2001.

[4] N. Kitadai and S. Maruyama, "Origins of building blocks of life: A review," Geoscience Frontiers, vol.

9, (4), pp. 1117-1153, 2018.

[5] B. Rubik, "The biofield hypothesis: Its biophysical basis and role in medicine," The Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, vol. 8, (6), pp. 703-717, 2002.

[6] B. O. Schneeman, "Gastrointestinal physiology and functions," Br. J. Nutr., vol. 88, (S2), pp. S159-S163, 2002.

[7] P. K. JANGHU. (July 3). Systemic, Pulmonary and Portal Circulation, Anatomy QA. Available: https://anatomyqa.com/systemic-pulmonary-portal-circulation/.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Kazeem Olanrewaju is an Assistant Professor with research interests in Fluid-Structure in Human Systems, Bio-renewable, and Supercritical Fluid Reactions, Energy and Environmental Systems Sustainability Indira Ribeiro is a senior majoring in Chemical Engineering 81

Flow Chart of Pulmonary Circulation Loop (Transport and Transformation) Ambient Environment

Transport Ventilation (influx and efflux of oxygen and carbon dioxide) • •

Respiratory Tract 9. Nasal cavity 10. Pharynx 11. Larynx 12. Trachea 13. Primary Bronchi 14. Bronchioles 15.

16.

Bulk flow (Convection) Diffusion

Transport Cellular Respiration •

Exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in and out of the alveolar membrane via diffusion

Alveolar

Transformation •

• • •

Alveolar duct Alveolar sac Alveolar membrane

Oxygen reacting with hemoglobin to form oxyhemoglobin

Blood vessels Transport • •

Perfusion of oxygenated blood in the capillary to pulmonary vein Bulk flow of oxygenated blood into LA via pulmonary vein

• •

Capillary Pulmonary vein

Heart • •

Left Atrium (LA) Left Ventricles (LV)

Transport • •

Bulk flow of oxygenated blood to other body systems from LV through Aorta Bulk flow of deoxygenated blood from body systems into RV via Vena Cava

Transport • •

Bulk flow of deoxygenated blood via pulmonary trunk to pulmonary artery Perfusion of deoxygenated blood in the pulmonary artery into Capillary

Heart • •

Right Atrium (RA) Right Ventricles (RV)

Blood vessels • •

Pulmonary artery Capillary 82

Thermal Changes on the body due to face masks & The implementation of Nanofibers in Masks to Decrease Facial Heat

Utomwen D. Irabor Mentor: Nabila Shamim Chemical Engineering Department

Introduction: The purpose of this project is to develop a Coronavirus (COVID-19) related research that studies the thermal properties of face masks and different materials that reduces heat buildup in these masks.

Knowing how these thermal properties vary is essential to accomplishing the project’s goal. First, we needed to select the masks to work with. We aim at using materials made from nanofibers to properly distribute the heat buildup in masks. The heat from prolonged wearing of masks causes fatigue, skin rash, and discomfort to individuals. We took into consideration research others have performed in the past that were COVID-19 related. Using COVID-19 related research is key in this project because of the indisputable and widespread of the virus causing a pandemic from the late months of 2019 till date. Research information combined with our own experiments will help determine facemasks that are efficient at handling heat and how to effectively improve masks by the implementation of nanofibers and similar materials to control temperature rise.

Materials and Methods: Materials used in this research includes three kinds of masks, two individuals to mimic the real-life scenario, thermal gauges, EM151/EM201B electronic manometer, and a FLIR ONE thermal camera, including its designated app called the FLIR ONE app. As mentioned earlier, we used three different kinds of face masks. The first is a Badger Smith Cloth mask, a KN95 protective face mask, and a Salon World non-medical safety disposable facemask. The disposable face mask comes in three layers. It has a premium PP non-woven fabric, a micro-filtration meltdown cloth, and another layer of premium PP non-woven fabric. The thermal camera helped us learn how heat is generated in masks, considering we breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide.

Results and Discussion: For a significant amount of our research, we spent time studying other scientists work to find what has been done by others. The intention is to be able to build on other’s work or to avoid making the hypothesis that others have discovered in time past. Articles include, Nanofiber Technology, Protective Facemask’s Impact on Human Thermoregulation, Thermal Management in Nanofiber-Based face mask, How Textile Engineering can help Public Health during the Pandemic, and Thermal Image Analysis using Infrared. While studying other’s research, we discovered that nanofibers had taken new heights in science in the healthcare sector, in water distribution, and in energy supply. We can harness nanofiber by electrospinning, multi-needling, and co-electrospinning or co-axial electrospinning. Below we took the temperature ranges in the participant’s facemasks using the FLIR One thermal camera. The results were taken after these participants have performed light tasks that would generally cause a temperature rise in the mask. This was done to mimic a real-life scenario.

83

Table 1: Table showing Heat Generation from Two Participants. Temperature changes were tracked within a time span of 30 minutes. The Room Temperature was 58.5°F Name

Time

Mask Type

Temperature Ranges on the Mask

Body Temperature

David Irabor

11:30am

Disposable Mask

Min: 63.3°F

69.5°F

Max: 66.7°F Dr. Shamim

11:30am

K95

Min: 60.0°F

69.6°F

Max: 63.6°F David Irabor

Dr. Shamim

01:00pm

01:00pm

Disposable

Min: 53.9°F

Mask

Max: 56.6°F

K95

Min:56.5°F

67.3F

69.7°F

Max: 57.9°F

The first set was taken in a laboratory that has a room temperature of 58.5°F. The second round of data was taken collected after David had being nearly idle with little to no energy exerted. Dr. Shamim took a stroll outside. Outside temperature was low because of weather conditions. By the second collecting of data, we had been wearing our masks for two hours. According to our experiment, there are no distinct differences in heat changes inside the masks under different conditions. Under high body temperature, the N95 does an ideal job at handling heat generated inside the mask. Regardless of this fact, implementing ecofriendly nanofibers into the mask can help improve the heat generated inside the face masks to reduce unnecessary health risks like fatigue, skin rash and more.

Conclusion: We understand from our experiments that the N95 masks are superior in managing heat. The aim to study the thermal properties and thermal efficiency of these masks were met. Implementing nanofibers into masks will be taken care of in the nearest future.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Nabila Shamim is an Assistant Professor with research interests in Polymer, Thin Films and Nanomaterials.

Utomwen D. Irabor is a Junior, Majoring in Chemical Engineering

84

The Technical and Economic Analysis of Vapor Compression Systems in Refrigeration

Samuel Bolufemi Mentor: Shahin Shafiee Department of Mechanical Engineering Introduction: Vapor-compression systems transport heat through a closed-loop cycle by compressing, condensing, expanding, and evaporating a working fluid (refrigerant). While vapor-compression equipment can use many working fluids, most systems use several conventional fluorocarbon refrigerants explicitly designed for HVAC applications. Unfortunately, these traditional refrigerants used in vapor-compression systems have detrimental environmental impacts when released into the atmosphere through leaks and other losses during installation, repair, and removal. Addressing the issues with conventional refrigeration will require significant action within the HVAC industry to balance high-GWP refrigerants' phase-down with the rising consumer demand for HVAC and other refrigeration systems. Researchers have identified several low-GWP alternatives; however, many of these systems suffer from undesirable characteristics, which poses significant concerns.

Although work is underway to develop alternative refrigerants and improve refrigerant management strategies, HFCs' phase-down will impose constraints on vapor-compression equipment that will require trade-offs among cost, efficiency, and safety. These constraints could present market opportunities for alternative space-conditioning technologies. Some alternative technologies are impractical for spaceconditioning applications due to low efficiencies and capacities (e.g., pulse-tube and vortex-tube cycles).

Some are too early in their development cycle to be fully evaluated (e.g., Bernoulli heat pump, critical-flow cycle, and electrocaloric heat pump). Solid-state, electro-mechanical, and thermally driven technologies.

The work will show the advantages and disadvantages of conventional and non-conventional refrigeration systems with an aim for them to be applicable in air conditioning. This knowledge helps better understand potential development and research directions in this field. The idea will help address excessive energy consumption, carbon footprint, and environmental hazards with conventional refrigeration.

Materials and Methods: An extensive literature review was conducted to gather information for the research topic. This literature review focused primarily on two cases; Conventional refrigeration systems used in industry and Refrigeration systems currently in the research and development phase. For each refrigeration system discussed, a complete study of its working principle, advantages, and disadvantages, as well as challenges, were documented and collected in an organized report. Information was gotten from a large variety of sources; journals, websites, technical papers, e.t.c. All sources identified and used were properly cited using ASME format.

Results and Discussion: This project's primary aim was to research an alternative form of refrigeration that would be less energy extensive and more efficient than the commonly used systems available in today's market. After studying a good number of systems, it was found that magnetic refrigeration, despite its limitations, had a lot of potentials and could be a very efficient alternative. As of today, vapor compression is the most common and efficient form of refrigeration, but its refrigerants are very harmful to the environment when exposed. It also uses up a lot of energy. On the other hand, magnetic refrigeration does not require any refrigerant to operate; it works using the magnetocaloric effect – applying an electromagnetic field to a particular solid to change its temperature. Although magnetic refrigeration has its challenges with cost and availability, a fully operational system can yield a higher COP ( Coefficient of Performance ) than other systems, and it's a much more environmentally friendly alternative. Research on magnetic refrigeration has barely scratched the surface, so it is an up-and-coming prospect.

Conclusion(s) or Summary: This project did not require experiments of any sort; it was purely a literature review of different refrigeration systems. As it stands, the research project is not complete. Due to 85

graduation, I will be handing over my work to another student on our research team to continue next semester. From my findings, the conclusion is that there is a lot of potential with the refrigeration systems in research and development because they can significantly lower energy consumption while being more efficient. The main challenge is enabling these systems to compete in the market and become an affordable option for household/ conventional use. This is where the next phase of this research project, the economic analysis, becomes very critical.

References: The references for this project are all listed in the actual report.

Dr. Shahin Shafiee Assistant Professor with research interests in HVAC, Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer Samuel J Bolufemi is a senior majoring in Mechanical Engineering

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Soot Volume Fraction Measurements from Droplet Combustion Experiments of Sooty Fuels

Caleb Riggins Mentor: Yuhao Xu Department of Mechanical Engineering Introduction: Kerosene (Jet A, Jet A1, JP-8, TR0) is a complex mixture widely used in aircraft engines.

With the motivation to improve fuel efficiency, the aerospace industry strives to gain a better understanding of the combustion process of Kerosene and its components. For this purpose, free-floating droplet combustion experiments were conducted in the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) onboard the International Space Station (ISS) as part of NASA’s Flame Extinguishment Experiment (FLEX) and the subsequent FLEX-2 programs [1]. During the FLEX-2 experiments, a free-floating fuel droplet was ignited using energized Kanthal coils. The droplet burning history was recorded by a back-lit black and white (BW) camera, and the recorded images can be used to measure the droplet (D) and soot shell (Ds) diameters to obtain combustion properties such as the droplet burning rate (K) and soot stand-off ratio (SSR). In the past, various ways of extracting the droplet diameters from images were developed by researchers, and these methods can be summarized as either a rule-based computer algorithm or manual measurements performed by researchers [2]. However, none of these efforts focused on quantitatively extracting the soot volume fraction (SVF) from the experimental data, which reveals essential information on sooting dynamics and thus provides insights into potential solutions to reduce soot emissions during combustion. The objectives of this work include: (1) Access the experimental images of n-heptane combustion, as part of the FLEX program, in the NASA Physical Science Informatics (PSI) System (https://psi.nasa.gov/); (2) Develop an open-source program to extracting SVF from these experimental images; and (3) Examine the effects of the initial droplet diameter on the maximum SVF during the n-heptane droplet combustion processes.

Materials and Methods: Soot volume fraction measurements provide essential information for studying soot growth, radiant transport, and post-flame particulates. Laser-induced incandescence (LII) and full-field light extinction method are favorably considered two nonintrusive approaches for SVF measurements. One major disadvantage of LII is that it does not provide absolute SVF as a relative measurement method, and thus it must be calibrated against other techniques [3]. Therefore, this study concerns the FFLEM technique to quantify soot emissions. FFLEM is based on the attenuation of light when a laser beam passes through the soot-containing region [4]. This project will develop a program to extract a light intensity profile and then perform the calculations to obtain SVF.

Results and Discussion: In this reporting period, the work has been focusing on performing relevant literature searches on the proposed topic to develop an understanding of the subject matter. The efforts also include obtaining relevant combustion images for obtaining SVF. Figure 1 shows typical images obtained for n-octane droplet combustion during ISS experiments.

Figure 1: Typical combustion BW image series from ISS combustion experiments [1].

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Conclusion(s) or Summary: This project concerns an image analysis approach using an automated program to analyze the sooting images of n-heptane droplet combustion to quantitatively extract soot volume fraction (SVF) measurements. A summary of the current progress includes performing a literature search on the topic, obtaining relevant combustion images for data analysis, and getting familiar with the program platform (here being MATLAB) for the proposed calculation work.

References: [1] Y.C. Liu, Y. Xu, M.C. Hicks, C.T. Avedisian, Comprehensive study of initial diameter effects and other observations on convection-free droplet combustion in the standard atmosphere for n-heptane, noctane, and n-decane, Combust. Flame 171 (2016) 27-41.

[2] C.L. Dembia, Y.C. Liu, C.T. Avedisian, Automated data analysis for consecutive images from droplet combustion experiments, Image Anal. Stereology 31 (2012) 137-148.

[3] R.L. Vander Wal, D.L. Dietrich, Laser-induced incandescence applied to droplet combustion, Appl.

Opt. 34 (1995) 1103-1107.

[4] K.-O. Lee, S.L. Manzello, M.Y. Choi, The Effects of Initial Diameter on Sooting and Burning Behavior of Isolated Droplets under Microgravity Conditions, Combust. Sci. Technol. 132 (1998) 139-156.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Yuhao Xu is an Assistant Professor with research interests in Droplet Combustion, Multiphase Heat Transfer, Microfluidics, and Biosensors Caleb Riggins is a senior majoring in Mechanical Engineering.

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College of Juvenile Justice

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Identifying “Bad Apples” and “Bad Barrels”: A Profile of Law Enforcement who have been Decertified for Misconduct and the Departments most likely to Harbor Them

Leslie Lively Mentor: Camille Gibson Justice Studies Department Introduction: It has long been commonly said that most persons who work in law enforcement are “good” and that the problem of police misconduct involves a few “bad apples.” This study explores who those deemed to be “bad apples” or bad officers are and their misdeeds. It also describes former departments or agencies’ context, operations, atmosphere, and community dynamics that may impact the existence of misconduct. While some officers begin their career with an unidentified predisposition for misconduct, others may develop negative behaviors given power in the midst of inadequate positive supervision on the job. These may include perceptions of unfairness from those in the agency and or the public that manifests as misconduct (Reynolds & Helfers, 2019). Indeed, work-related stress may have a greater influence on officer misconduct than direct community dynamics (Eitle, D’Alessio & Stolzenberg, 2014), whereby organizational treatment translates into retributive behavior toward the community (Wolfe &Nix, 2016).

Another area of concern includes training and supervision deficiencies and racist department practices, such as is often evident in how officers speak of particular races or ethnic groups (D’Souza, Weitzer & Brunson, 2018). While this effort will capture instances of police brutality, the focus on police misconduct is broader, in that a variety of law enforcement misconduct serves to undermine citizen-police relations. These relations are nevertheless vital to maintaining a safe society, given that law enforcement needs the assistance of citizens to keep communities safe and to feel safe themselves in the venues where they work. This study seeks to describe police officers whose misconduct in law enforcement led to their decertification to work in the field. The aim is to produce a profile of these officers, offer an understanding of how the potential for misconduct may have been missed, and describe contexts and dynamics that seem to facilitate the misconduct. This includes describing the law enforcement organizations where there has been some concentration of officers engaged in misconduct.

Materials and Methods: Utilizing a mixed-method approach, descriptive, correlative, and predictive statistics is being done on quantitative data available online through USA Today to produce a profile of decertified officers in recent decades. The locations of the cases are to be displayed via mapping. Qualitative descriptive content analysis is being done of a sample of 50 recent cases over the past five years of negative police and victim interactions for insights on the nature of the engagement. Cases will be selected that occurred in the United States and which have sufficient details in news media, court, and other public reports on the officer and the behavior that resulted in the decertification. Descriptions of officer dynamics and relationships with the community will also be included.

Results and Discussion: To date, we have analyzed the 200 decertified officers in 2015 and 2016 in Texas.

After identifying the cases in the USA Today dataset of law enforcement de-certifications, we then located news reports for the misconduct details. The officers include low rank and those in leadership, such as peace officers, jailers, commanders, detectives, marshals, and rangers. The reasons for decertification included dishonesty in the line of duty, sex offenses, property/economic offenses, substance abuse, and official oppression. The mean age is 37, which suggests that persons are likely on the job for some time before becoming de-certified. While it appears there is room for more thorough screening of potential hires, this is especially important for larger police departments.

Conclusion(s) or Summary: 90

The impact of the study is that it should offer subtle insights that could inform future research and policies on screening, monitoring, and responding to misconduct toward greater public safety and community trust in law enforcement. A peer-reviewed journal article, a practitioner essay, and at least one conference or symposium presentation will constitute the study dissemination.

References: D’Souza, A., Weitzer, R., & Brunson, R. K. (2019). Federal investigations of police misconduct: A multiciti comparison. Crime, Law and Social Change, 71, 461-482.

Eitle, S., D'Alessio, S. J., & Stolzenberg, L. (2014). The effects of organizational and environmental factors on police misconduct. Police Quarterly, 17(2), 103-126.

Reynolds, P. & Helfers, R. C. (2019). Organizational injustice and police misconduct: Predicting organizational defiance among police officers. Criminology, Criminal Justice Law and Society 20, 53-70.

Wolfe, S. E., & Nix, J. (2016). The alleged "Ferguson Effect" and police willingness to engage in community partnership. Law and Human Behavior, 40(1), 1-10.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Camille Gibson is a Justice Studies Professor with research interests in law enforcement and juvenile justice.

Leslie Lively is a sophomore majoring in Criminal Justice with Criminalistics Concentration at the Rellis campus

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Youth Perceptions of Police Trustworthiness, Court Procedural Fairness and the Relationship to Political and Justice System Engagement

Kimaja Clay Mentor: Nabil Ouassini Department of Justice Studies Introduction: The events of 2020 have generated a strong interest in youth behavior when it comes to voting. Recent studies have examined how youth experiences with law enforcement and perceptions of how the justice system might impact certain subgroups' willingness to engage in justice system processes and voting. This survey study was conducted with African American students from PVAMU, and the community has struggled for voting rights and access even to the Supreme Court. The collaborative project will assess perceptions, attitudes, and the willingness to engage in political and justice processes amongst students at PVAMU. Materials and Methods: Kimaja and I will work on analyzing our survey and writing a peer-reviewed paper. We will examine the demographic questions and perceptions of police. We will also analyze the data on questions about perceptions of the court systems, and we will finally analyze the last section on their perceptions of the 2020 elections. We have not determined which quantitative analysis we will utilize at this time; however, Kimaja and I will complete the Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results, and Discussion/Conclusion in the upcoming semester.

Results and Discussion: We have not analyzed our data at this time, but we will during the Spring semester.

Conclusion(s) or Summary: We have not concluded the study at this time but will complete the project in the Spring Semester.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Nabil Ouassini is an Assistant Professor with research interests in juvenile justice systems, legitimation and legitimacy, and international/comparative criminology.

Kimaja Clay is a sophomore majoring in criminal justice.

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Parole Boards, Mental Health, and Punitive Legislation: An Exploratory Analysis

Dominique Ellis Mentor: Logan A. Yelderman Psychology Department Introduction: Our project, “Parole Boards, Mental Health, and Punitive Legislation: An Exploratory Analysis,” has been underway since Fall 2020. I hired Dominique Ellis as the undergraduate student researcher to aid in this project. She has been an absolute asset and joy to work with. Below, I outline the aims and address our progress on each.

Materials and Methods: So far, we have conducted a content analysis of over 30 parole board websites and collected data on parole board composition, term length, and commissioner details. We have also begun to pull down parole decision reports from parole boards and download pdfs of the available reports. We are currently submitting an IRB form to request further data from the parole boards and will begin looking up state statutes in the Spring of 2021. Dominique has developed several databases to organize this information so we can categorize this information efficiently.

Results and Discussion: We have not yet finished data collection and do not have any results to present at this time. We should have this by the end of the semester.

Conclusions: Data collection in this project has gone smoothly, and we are anticipating a very novel and needed contribution to the literature. Dominique has worked very hard and has been an excellent resource and help. I look forward to finishing up the project and the results we obtain.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Logan Yelderman is an assistant professor of psychology and is a social/legal psychologist. His research interests lie at the intersection of social psychology, religion, and law, emphasizing legal decision-making. Recent additional interests include water conservation and energy management.

Dominique Ellis is a senior majoring in psychology. She has taken several of Dr. Yelderman’s classes, including forensic psychology.

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School of Architecture

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Self-adjusting Machine Learning Artificial Neural Network to Automate and Speed up Lighting Simulations

Alexis Adjorlolo Mentor: Rania Labib School of Architecture Introduction: Building energy consumption accounts for 30% of global energy consumption [1]. In order to support the development of energy-efficient built environments and cities, architects, urban planners, and engineers have begun to utilize Building performance simulation (BPS). Supporting decision-making and steering the Design towards high performance is crucial in the early design phase, where decisions have the highest impact on the final building’s energy consumption and costs [2–4]. However, BPS tasks are usually time-consuming. Therefore, there is a need for a framework that would speed up the BPS process. This paper aims to develop a Machine Learning algorithm, specifically Artificial Neural Networks (NN), that can potentially speed up the process of Building Performance simulations (BPS) by executing only a small subset of the simulations to predict the performance of daylighting of thousands of design configuration.

Furthermore, the paper will investigate the use of an evolutionary algorithm to automatically adjust the parameter of the ANN without the interference of the user, thus allowing easy access for non-technical users.

Materials and Methods: To allow access to the ANN algorithm, the PI will integrate the ANN models with popular parametric modeling tools using Python. This will facilitate the application of ML on the datasets that result from executing BPS that is created in the parametric modeling environments. Because the ANN algorithm will be automatically executed, it is necessary to apply an evolutionary algorithm to the ANN model to find the optimized parameters of the model for accurate prediction. A multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA) is an algorithm used to search for a set of pareto-optimal solutions in a single run. In multi-objective models, a set of pareto-optimal solutions are obtained instead of a single solution that optimizes various objectives. A popular MOEA algorithm is NSGA-II, which was developed in 2002 by Deb et al. [1]. NSGA-II evaluates a set of solutions in a multi-directional search space, step by step. In each step, some of the solutions are chosen to initialize the optimization process; the chosen solutions are called the parent population. To make a new set of solutions, genetic operators that are observed in nature, such as crossovers and mutations, are applied to the parent population to develop a child population. In the next step, new members are selected among the parent and child populations to act as the new parent population. In 2019, Rahimipour et al. used the NSGA- Figure 1. Self-adjusting ANN model using NSGA-II II algorithm to design an ANN that can self-adjust to predict traffic patterns [2]. For this research, the PI will examine the use of NSGA-II and other evolutionary algorithms to design an ANN model that self-adjusts without user intervention. The evolutionary algorithm will be used to find the optimal set of multiple ANN parameters, such as the number of epochs, number of layers, number of units per layer, optimizer type, etc. The proposed workflow is shown in Figure 11.

Results and Discussion: The first semester was to train the students in the tools being used for this research.

No Results and discussion yet!

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Conclusion(s) or Summary: Research study still in progress References: [1] K. Deb, A. Pratap, S. Agarwal, T. Meyarivan, A fast and elitist multiobjective genetic algorithm: NSGAII, IEEE Trans. Evol. Comput. 6 (2002) 182–197.

[2] S. Rahimipour, R. Moeinfar, S.M. Hashemi, Traffic prediction using a self-adjusted evolutionary neural network, J. Mod. Transp. 27 (2019) 306–316. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40534-018-0179-5.

Dr. Rania Labib is an Assistant with research interests in High-Performance Building Design, Data Science in the field of architecture, building energy, and deep learning for the construction and building design fields.

Alexis Adjorlolo is a senior majoring in Architecture

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Developing an alternative method to formulate an efficient set of Students’ Learning Outcomes for Architectural Design Studio

Jose Rosales Mentor: Tareef Khan School of Architecture Introduction: Creativity is arguably one of the most significant contributors to Architectural Design. Most researchers agree that the skill of creativity is learned rather than a gift. Whether this skill develops through the academic progression or not, the perception of lack of gift appears to have an impact on their confidence level while designing, especially during the early academic years. The aim of the study is to derive an alternative method to formulate an efficient set of Student Learning Outcomes leading to a set of rubrics that can evaluate the students irrespective of their perception towards Design, giving an edge to all kinds of learners, not only who has the apparent giftedness. The first objective is thus to measure different kinds of perspectives the students can have towards Design. The second objective is to analyze the current set of Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) on the basis of those four different learning styles. The third objective is to correlate them to check if the current sets of SLOs respond logically with those different learning styles.The first hypothesis is that architecture students come from different learning styles. The second hypothesis is that different perceptions of the students are linked with Kolb’s different Learning Styles. The third hypothesis is that there is a significant difference in their perception at different academic levels.

Kolb’s questionnaire will be used to achieve the first objective. Open-ended interviews will be conducted, followed by qualitative analysis in order to investigate students’ perceptions of creativity. Another qualitative analysis will be conducted to relate the existing SLOs with Kolb’s different learning styles in order to achieve the second objective. Finally, a statistical regression analysis will be conducted to find whether the current set of SLOs with responds to all the diverse group of students with different learning styles, and that is how objective three will be achieved.

The null hypothesis states that they might not respond well to all four learning styles. If this null hypothesis is not void, then the study will suggest how to improve the efficiency of the SLOs. By developing a measurable alternate method to evaluate the SLOs, this study will give the Studio instructors to revisit their SLOs and make them more efficient. That will also help to address students of all four different learning styles through the improved set of SLOs and restore much important confidence to all or most of them, especially during the initial years of study.

Methods / Materials: This research will use Kolb’s questionnaire to measure the students’ learning styles (Diverger, Accommodator, Converger, Assimilator). It will then categorize the SLOs (and their rubrics, if available) at different design studios according to Kolb’s four learning styles. A regression analysis will then check whether the students at various levels are significantly distributed according to their learning styles, followed by correlation analysis to check whether the SLOs are responding to all the students with various learning styles. The grades achieved by them will be used to verify how the students from different learning styles are responding (positively or negatively) to the corresponding SLOs. A low or negative correlation will indicate the need to revisit a particular set of SLO. This method can be used to improve not only the SLOs but also the design assessment rubrics in a way that each student, irrespective of which dominant learning style they belong to, can still be optimally benefitted through their studio projects that have a balanced set of SLOs. The initial sample will be chosen from the students of Architecture through stratified sampling. A protocol has been approved by IRB.

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Results and Discussion: The survey on Kolb’s questionnaire is currently underway. SLOs are being collected. The analysis will start right after these two sets of data are collected. Because of the pandemic, newer online survey methods are being explored in order to speed up the data collection process.

Conclusion: This research still in the initial process of data collection. Once the data is collected and analysis is under way, results will start to emerge, and that will help to test the hypothesis.

Bibliography/References Cowan, J. (2006). How should I assess creativity? In Jackson, N., Oliver, M., Shaw, M., and Wisdom, J. (Eds.), Developing Creativity in Higher Education: An Imaginative Curriculum, Taylor and Francis.

Cowdroy, R., and Graaff, E. D. (2005). Assessing highly‐creative ability, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 30(5): 507-518, https://doi.org/ 10.1080/02602930500187113 Kolb, A. Y. and Kolb, D. A. (2009). On becoming a learner: The concept of learning identity. In Bamford Rees et. al. (Eds.), Learning never ends: Essays on adult learning inspired by the life and work of David O. Justice Chicago, IL: CAEL Forum and News Kolb, D. A. (2007). The Kolb learning style inventory—version 3.1: LSI workbook. Boston, MA: Hay Learning Transformations Kuh, G. D., Jankowski, N., Ikenberry, S. O., and Kinzie, J. (2014). Knowing What Students Know and Can Do: Current State of Student Learning Outcomes Assessment in U.S. Colleges and Universities, National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment, January 2014 Volkwein, J.F., Lattuca, L.R., Harper, B.J., Domingo, R.J. (2007). Res High Educ, 48(2): 251-282, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-006-9039-y Awardee and Student: Dr. Tareef Khan is an Assistant Professor with research interests in Design Studio Pedagogy, Morality, Housing, and Research Methodology.

Jose Rosales is a Sophomore, double majoring in Architecture and Construction Science.

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Rediscovering and Sustaining Heritage: Merging Graphic Design and Ethnographic Principles for Preservation of Historic African-American Settlements, Landmarks, and Cultural Heritage in the age of a Pandemic

Enrique Brown-Spence Mentor: Tracey L. Moore MFA and Digital Media Arts Program Introduction: As a recent appointee to the Harris County African-American Cultural Heritage Commission, I am seeking to develop a standard protocol for using Design and digital media as mechanisms to capture, record, preserve and display the history of African-American Settlements, Culture, and Heritage in Texas that can be duplicated and modified to suit the needs of other Texas communities outside of Harris County.

Additional requests from other Commissions and the onset of the Coronavirus Pandemic Quarantine has necessitated a change in our approach as it relates to conducting in-person oral interviews, visiting historical sites, and interacting with other historical societies and gatekeeper groups. As a participant designer who engages in cultural experiences to better understand the community for which I am designing, I have to modify how I engage with communities that I cannot readily access. These modifications will be embedded into the standard protocol we are seeking to develop.

Materials and Methods: PVAMU Digital Media Arts Creative Thinking Process (empirical approach): Involves using a 5-step empirical approach to solving design problems, which in this case is creating and designing digital spaces for historic preservation. The 5-steps are 1. Define the Problem, 2. Research, 3.

Ideation, 4. Prototype, and 5. Implement.

Directed Storytelling (ethnographic approach): Involves a process where designers can conduct research on an experience so they can experience it without having to do long-term ethnographic research.

Participatory Design (commonly referred to as a User-Centered Design): Involves the end-user(s) to be engaged in the Creative Thinking Process in an effort to produce the digital space that is most appropriate to the culture and concerns of the intended audience.

Results and Discussion: We are still in the process of developing the instrument. The particular site that we are documenting, George Washington Carver Community Center in Navasota, TX, has been closed due to the pandemic. The collection of data and ethnographic research has to take a different turn since we are unable to document actual events and meetings that would occur at the space. We are currently developing a new brand for the Community Center to separate the center as a separate identity from its original usage as a school for African-Americans.

References: Bennett, A., Eglash, R., Krishnamoorthy, M., Rarieya, M. Audience as Co-designer: Participatory Design of HIV/AIDS Awareness and Prevention Posters in Kenya. Design Studies: Theory and Research in Graphic Design, A Reader. Princeton Architectural Press, 2006. Pgs 179–197 Evenson, Shelley. Directed Storytelling: Interpreting Experience for Design. Design Studies: Theory and Research in Graphic Design, A Reader. Princeton Architectural Press, 2006. Pgs 231–240.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Tracey L Moore is an Assistant Professor with research interests in Design for historic preservation, UI Design for VR, Design as Cultural Production/Continuance.

Enrique Brown-Spence is a senior majoring in Digital Media Arts.

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2021 Spring Undergraduate Research Report

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College of Agriculture and Human Sciences

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Effects of Mycotoxins and Coccidiosis in Turkey Poults

Hannah Adams Mentor: Milton Daley College of Agriculture and Human Sciences Introduction: Mycotoxins and coccidia are reported to induce immunological stress and damage to the gut that may predispose a bird to the more severe clinical presentation of either or both diseases. Fusarium mycotoxins and coccidia irritate and damage the intestinal epithelial cells resulting in reduced production of these protective agents. The interaction between Fusarium mycotoxins and coccidia may be potentiating, additive or synergistic in nature resulting in increased adverse effects in turkeys. Many studies have shown that the adverse effects of mycotoxicosis and coccidiosis can be reduced with the use of physical, chemical, nutritional, and biological interventions/ adsorbents. One of the most effective of this adsorbent is the polymeric glucomannan mycotoxin adsorbent (GMA) derived from the cell wall of Saccharomyces cerevisiae1026(Carrington, C., A du Plessis, V. Naidoo, 2007). The objective of the study was to investigate the effects of feeding grains naturally contaminated with Fusarium mycotoxins and supplemented with GMA on the performance and health parameters of turkey poults when challenged with Eimeria species.

Materials and Methods: Experimental birds, diets, and design: 144-day-old male hybrid turkey poults were used in the study for 24days, consisting of 3 experimental diets (Control, Control + 0.2% GMA, Contaminated grains + 0.2% GMA (with and without coccidiosis). Poults were initially maintained at 29˚C, and the temperature was lowered by 1˚C per week. Twenty-four birds per treatment group (6 birds in a pen, 4 replications per treatment). On day 14 of the trial, half the birds were inoculated with a mixed culture of Eimeria, with a dosage of approximately 43,000 oocysts per bird. Also, on day 19 and day 24, twenty birds per diet were randomly selected and killed humanely by cervical dislocation. Finally, representative feed samples were taken at the beginning of the experiment and were analyzed for enumeration of variable mycotoxins according to the association of the official Analytical Chemist.

Experimental Parameters measured: Oocyst count: Turkeys’ fecal samples were collected from birds from Days 21-24 and were determined using the technique of Kaufmann. Excreta were weighed and placed in a beaker. Water and saturated sodium chloride were added to the excreta in a 7:13 ratio, with volumes depending on the amount of excreta collected (average 2 L of final volume). Measurement of tissue lesions and gut histology: At Day 20 and at Day 24, 2 birds per pen were randomly selected by wing band number and killed humanely by cervical dislocation. Lesions in the small intestine were scored (0 to + 4 scale).

Intestinal samples (2.5 cm) for histology were fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin from the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum Analysis of Dietary Mycotoxins: The dietary contents of Fusarium mycotoxins such as DON, 3 acetylDON, T-2 toxin, iso T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin, zearalenone, zeranol, and aflatoxin, were analyses by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry

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Statistical analyses: Data were analyzed by analysis of covariance or variance using a PROC MIXED model of SAS. Tukey’s test was used for multiple comparison among each treatment. Day-old BW was used as a covariate for analysis of BW, and 4-wk BW was used as covariate for organ weights analysis. Data representing percentages or ratios were transformed before statistical analysis and were based on P. Results and Discussion Table 2. The efficacy of GMA on Fusarium mycotoxin contaminated diet and coccidiosis challenged on body weight (g), feed intake(g) and feed conversion

Table 1. Mycotoxin concentrations(mg/kg) in experimental diet

A

*Birds were fed grains contaminated with Mycotoxin

B

*In the infection stage, birds on the GMA diet had a significantly higher body weight, feed intake and better feed conversation ratio with and without coccidiosis when compared to the control.

* In the pre infection phase, birds on the GMA diet had a significantly higher body weight gain when compared to the control. Additionally, they had significant feed intake and feed

C

*In the recovery phase, birds on the GMA diet had a significantly higher body weight, feed intake and better feed conversation ratio with and without coccidiosis when compared to the control.

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Table 3. The efficacy of GMA on Fusarium mycotoxin contaminated diet and coccidiosischallenged turkey poults on relative organ weight (g).

Table 4. The efficacy of GMA on Fusarium mycotoxin contaminated diet and coccidiosischallenged turkey poults on Hematology

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*Diets significantly affected the relative weight of liver (P≤0.01), but had no effects on spleen, bursa of Fabricio’sor pancreas (P>0.05).

*Diet significantly (P≤0.01) affected white blood cell levels, but not hemoglobin, hematocrit or mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentrations.

Conclusion: With low dietary mycotoxin (5.7 mg DON/kg of feed) inclusion and moderately mild mixed cocktail of Emeria infection it appeared that GMA supplementation did not prevent or minimize most of the adverse effects brought on by these challenges in turkey poults.

Reference: Carrington, C., A du Plessis, V. Naidoo, 2007. Index of Veterinary Specialities. Johncom publishers, Johannesburg, pp. 38– 40.

Awardee and Student: Dr Milton Daley is an Assistant professor in the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences. He is very interested in research that deals with animal pathology.

Hannah Adam is a Junior student at the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences. She majors in Agriculture with a concentration in Animal Science. She is aspiring to be a future veterinarian.

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Stem Anatomy of Hemp Strains and Physical Properties of Their Extracted Fibers

Camille Pierre Mentors: Prabha Amarasinghe, and Aruna Weerasooriya College of Agriculture and Human Sciences Introduction: Hemp (Cannabis sativa) is identified as a leading fiber crop1 and has recently been legalized in Texas, however, the research to identify the suitable fiber strains in Texas and methods of fiber extraction are still at infancy. Hemp stem contains bast and hurd fibers, and they differ in types of cells, chemistry, physical properties, and end-usage. Retting is a process that is used to extract fibers and it can be a chemical or microbial or enzymatic approach to dissolve certain cells and pectin surrounding the fibers2. Genotype of hemp is an important factor which determines fiber quality3. Therefore, we used ten hemp fiber strains to achieve three aims: 1) test their anatomical and yield parameters linked to fiber quality and quantity, 2) investigate their mechanical properties, and 3) determine the best retting approach. Here, our hypotheses are that all fiber strains are equally suitable and all retting methods are equally efficient. This investigation provides further insights into fiber cell distribution patterns in various strains, and pros and cons of retting approaches.

Materials and Methods: Hemp strains cultivated in the Prairie View A&M greenhouse were used for this research. Ten accessions were selected based on number of branches and plant heights, and their voucher specimens were prepared. In anatomical studies, cell distribution of each strain was determined using cross-sections of stems stained with methyl greenCongo red4.Cell layers responsible for bast and hurd fibers were microscopically measured. To test the retting approaches, three replicates from each strain were used for each treatment. Fresh weights of samples were measured. As the negative control, stems were disinfected with 70% ethanol and immersed in distilled water at 4 °C. Samples were chemically retted pretreating with 0.3% HCl, treated with 7% NaOH at 100 ℃ for one hour and post treated with 1% acetic acid5. Enzymatic retting was performed using a mixture of enzymes (pectinase, cellulase, xylanase, and laccase)6. In microbial retting, three approaches of dew retting, soil retting7 and rotted vegetable liquor retting were applied. All extracted samples of bast and hurd fibers were tested with toluidine blue staining for the purity and retting evenness. Hurd and bast fibers were dried at 80°C for 6 hours and the dry weight was measured. The tensile strength of the bast fibers was measured8. Statistical analyses of the data were conducted using ANOVA on R v3.5 to determine significant differences between accessions for all the traits and to detect differences between strains. p<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

Results and discussion: We obtained different bast : hurd ratio in cross sections of hemp stems. Białobrzeskie and US031 showed the highest diameter of the cell layer that formed bast fiber. We found distinct bast : hurd fibers. This ratio can vary due to distances between plants, nutrient supply to plants, etc.9. Fibers obtained from chemical, enzymatic, and rotten vegetables were even, pure and bast fibers were easily separable. Soil and rotten vegetable retting are novel retting approaches for hemp. Dew and soil retted samples showed the highest impurities and lowest evenness which also prevented the downstream testing. Chemical retting resulted in the highest bast fiber yield. Therefore, if affordable, chemical retting is the best in terms of yield and extraction time. Retting approach with rotten vegetables showed moderate fiber yield and this is a cheap method. The strain, US031 showed the highest bast fiber yield from all retting methods. Blue genius showed the best strain for hurd fiber yield from all methods. Tensile stress evaluation and counting of the number of bast fibers used for tensile stress testing is still in progress. With this data, thus far, Białobrzeskie showed the highest applied load and Blue genius showed the lowest applied load.

Conclusions: Our results showed differential suitability of fiber strains and different efficacy of retting methods. Hemp strains can be recommended based on bast and hurd fiber utility in industry. If the fiber of interest is bast, US031 is suitable and if the fiber of interest is hurd, Blue genius is suitable. If tensile stress is important, Białobrzeskie is suitable based on results thus far. In the future, fiber properties will be chemically enhanced and the microbial retting will be improved.

References: [1] Aliferis, K. A., and D. Bernard-Perron. 2020. Cannabinomics: Application of Metabolomics in Cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) Research and Development. Frontiers in Plant Science 11: 554.

[2] Liu, S., L. Ge, S. Gao, L. Zhuang, Z. Zhu, and H. Wang. 2017. Activated carbon derived from bio-waste hemp hurd and Page 106 retted hemp hurd for CO2 adsorption. Composites Communications 5: 27–30. of 3

[3] Petit, J., A. Gulisano, A. Dechesne, and L. M. Trindade. 2019. Phenotypic Variation of Cell Wall Composition and Stem Morphology in Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.): Optimization of Methods. Frontiers in Plant Science 10: 959.

[4] Bonatti, P. M., C. Ferrari, B. Focher, C. Grippo, G. Torri, and C. Cosentino. 2004. Histochemical and supramolecular studies in determining quality of hemp fibres for textile applications. Euphytica 140: 55–64.

[5] Sankari, H. S. 2000. Comparison of bast fibre yield and mechanical fibre properties of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) cultivars.

Industrial Crops and Products: 12.

[6] George, M., P. G. Mussone, and D. C. Bressler. 2014. Surface and thermal characterization of natural fibres treated with enzymes. Industrial Crops and Products 53: 365–373.

[7] Booth, I., A. M. Goodman, S. A. Grishanov, and R. J. Harwood. 2004. A mechanical investigation of the retting process in dew-retted hemp (Cannabis sativa). Annals of Applied Biology 145: 51–58.

[8] Fan, M. 2010. Characterization and performance of elementary hemp fibres: Factors influencing tensile strength.

BioResources 5: 2307–2322.

[9] Amaducci, S., F. Pelatti, and P. M. Bonatti. 2005. Fibre Development in Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) as Affected by Agrotechnique: Preliminary Results of a Microscopic Study. Journal of Industrial Hemp 10: 31–48.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Aruna Weerasooriya is a Professor and research leader in Plant Systems with research interests in plant systematics and medicinal plants.

Dr. Prabha Amarasinghe is a postdoctoral researcher with research interests in plant genomics, systematics, and bioinformatics.

Ms. Camille Pierre is a junior, majoring in Agriculture: Plant and soil sciences.

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Soil Health Status Baseline Development Using Soil pH Monitoring on Three Hilltop Soil Map Units at Prairie View A&M University

Armondo D. Waters Mentor: Dr. Richard W. Griffin Cooperative Agricultural Research Center Agriculture, Nutrition, and Human Ecology Department Introduction: Soil pH, also known as soil reaction, is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity (basicity) of the sample. The results can provide some indication of the potential availability of nutrients to plants, if the soil nutrient level is adequate for plant growth (Shoeneberger et al., 2012). Soil pH is a primary indicator for soil health as well as soil quality, since it provides a reflection of growth potential for beneficial plants such as row crops (annual), pasture (grazing or hay), shrubs and trees (permaculture). This project provided an opportunity for an agriculture student to gain practical, technical, and “hands on” knowledge about an important chemical indicator (pH) of soil and water conditions that can also be used to infer additional knowledge about soil health status and the growth potential for beneficial plant and weed species.

Materials and Methods: Soil pH was measured using the 1:1 soil to deionized water method described in the USDA NSSL methods manual (USDA NRCS, 2004). The Water pH was measured using a portable probe that was calibrated using the 3point standardization method. The soil samples were collected from 7 locations in the Hockley, Kenney, Mentz, and Mockley soil units at the following depths (inches): a) 0-4, in soil pits with water and at 72 inches in soil pits that were dry, in order to access the pH conditions in the following locations: topsoil and subsoil. Triplicate (3) samples of soil and water, from each Soil Pit, were used to produce the mean and standard deviation values for the statistical analyses.

Results and Discussion: Soil pH data from the 6 Soil Pits and 1 Pond Dam samples within the individual soil units provided spatial variability information that assists the overall project goals of baseline assessment with an aim of providing higher quality land management in future agricultural operations. Water pH data from 3 Soil Pits and 1 Pond adjacent to the property were monitored to compare with the soil pH values surrounding the same sites. In addition, data from a previous study by UGRA student, Zulfa Eisa, was used as an additional comparison to determine spatial variability by landscape position, soil type, and elevation on the property. Note: The following discussion will use these abbreviations: 1-6 represent the Soil Pit numbers; Pa – Pond adjacent to the 90-acre property; Pd – Pond dam on 90-Acre property; Pe – Pond East sampling site from ZEisa study; Pn – Pond North sampling site from ZEisa study; Ps – Pond South sampling site from ZEisa study; and Pw – Pond West sampling site from ZEisa study.

A statistical comparison of Soil Pit Soil and Water pH Values indicated that at Soil Pits 1, 3, and 5, the Soil pH values (7.55, 6.49, and 7.96, respectively) were significantly lower (p<0.05) than the Water pH values (8.88, 7.15, and 9.34, respectively).

In addition, at the Pond Dam and Pond Adjacent to the 90-acre property, the Soil pH value (6.20) was significantly lower (p<0.05) than the Water pH value (7.56). A comparison of Soil Pit Soil and Water pH Values by Elevation (Ordered) indicated that the elevations ranged from 265 to 289 feet above mean sea level. A comparison of Soil Pit Soil and Water pH Values (Ordered) by Elevation indicated that the highest Water pH value (9.34) occurred at Soil Pit 5 at the highest elevation (289). A comparison of Soil Pit Soil (Ordered) and Water pH Values by Elevation indicated that the highest Soil pH value (7.96) occurred at Soil Pit 5 at the highest elevation (289).

Conclusions: The most important conclusions at this point within the research project include: 1) Soil pH values at Soil Pits 1, 3, and 5 were significantly lower (p<0.05) than the Water pH values as well as at the Pond Dam compared to the Pond Adjacent to the 90acre property; 2) This observation indicated that the acidity of the soil is not significantly lowering the pH of the water in the ponds either on or adjacent to the property; 3) The highest Water pH value (9.34) occurred at Soil Pit 5 at the highest elevation (289); and 4) The highest Soil pH value (7.96) occurred at Soil Pit 5 at the highest elevation (289).

Future Research Project Work: The project was continued in the Spring 2021 semester with additional sampling of the Soil Pits, the surrounding surface soils, and ephemeral surface water that may be present during the winter and early spring periods. The additional data was analyzed Page 108 statistically and compared to the previously collected and analyzed dataset. of 3

Final Report for Armondo Waters’ Project – Submitted by RWGriffin on May 4, 2021 Armondo initially enrolled in the Spring 2021 semester, but he was not able to secure financial aid in order to continue his studies, so he chose to return to active duty with the U.S. Army. His project work was presented by Edward Timms, senior in Agriculture with a concentration in Plant and Soil Sciences during the CISR and UGR Research Symposia in April 2021. In addition, I will present the project work at the NCSS National Meeting in June 2021. This project has received very favorable comments based on its importance to soils and environmental quality in Texas.

Key References: Schoeneberger, P.J., D.A. Wysocki, E.C. Benham, and Soil Survey Staff. 2012. Field book for describing and sampling soils, Version 3.0. Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln, NE. United States Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2004. Soil Survey Laboratory Methods Manual. Soil Survey Investigations Report No. 42, Version 4.0. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. Awardee and Student: Dr. Richard W. Griffin is a Professor with research interests in soils, soil health, ecological based agricultural production systems, and environmental quality.

Armondo D. Waters is a freshman, majoring in Agriculture with a concentration in Plant and Soil Sciences.

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College of Arts and Sciences

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Models for the assignment of dosages to Oncology patients: Bias coin design model and Dosage Stability Model

Ibrahim Arogundade Aliakbar Montazer Haghighi Department of Chemical Engineering and Department of Mathematics Introduction: Our study in this project is based on Ivanova et al. (2003) with some revisions. This project aims to determine if the bias coin design with all the factors we put into consideration is an effective model for the distribution of dosage levels; this will lead us to find the optimal dosage level that is best suitable for the patient. It should be noted that Dixon and Mood (1948) started the idea of biased coin design. Durham and Flournoy (1994) begun elaborating on biased coin design based on the up and down design. The theory of exact treatment was done the following year by Durham et al. (1993 and 1995).

A patient (or a subject) is to go under repeated treatments for a disease that requires possible repeated use of medicine with different dose levels. Prescribing each dose level needs a period of time to act. We refer to this period as a unit of time. The subject is to return to the physician after each treatment for reassessment. Dose levels are under certain restrictions. We suppose there are ten possible dose levels, from 1 to 10, level 1 being the weakest and level 10 the strongest. Typically, levels three or lower may not be much effective but safe. On the other hand, levels eight or higher are highly toxic and dangerous, yet needed sometimes to take a chance. Hence, based upon the first assessment, if the disease is very mild, level 3 or lower is prescribed. However, if the disease has progressed too much, the level 8 or higher may be prescribed. Thus, we assume that there are three different options to determine the first dose level. (i) If the features show a mild case, dose level k is assigned. The level k = 1, 2, or 3 will be selected randomly. (ii) If the subject shows a high progress case, dose level K is assigned. The level K = 8, 9, or 10 will be selected randomly. (iii) If the first assessment is not indicative as too weak or highly progressive, a dose level d is chosen randomly, where d = 4, 5, 6, 7.

Now, the patient returns, after a unit of time, for the next visit. Required tests will be applied to assess the result of the dose level prescribed previously. There are two cases for the result: (i) The dose was influential in the sense that it affected the patient’s health negatively. This case is referred to as toxicity, and the subject’s case is called toxic. (ii) The dose was effective in the sense that it affected the patient’s health positively. This case is referred to as non-toxicity, and the subject’s case is called non-toxic. At this point, the physician has to decide about a new dose level based on the two cases of toxicity and nontoxicity. There are three possible cases to prescribe the next dose level: (i) Move down one level, (ii) stay put, or (iii) move up one level. The process of determining the next dose level is referred to as the up-and-down method. A factor to take into consideration before determining the dosage level is the probability Γ of toxicity which is used to determine the probability of heads π = Γ / (1- Γ) in the toss of a coin. Now, the question is how to determine the dose level in each of the three cases.

Before selecting the next dose level, the physician will have to include features of the patient such as age, gender, some health conditions such as diabetes, being overweight, having asthma, being allergic to some medicine, etc. That is, several additional factors are being considered before the next dose level is prescribed.

Methods and Materials: Among methods to choose the next dose level is the so-called bias coin design, see Ivanova et al.

(2003). The method is represented as follows: A patient is assigned a dosage level, dj, j =1, 2, ..., K. The next subject will be assigned as followed: (i) Dose level dj-1, if the dosage level was toxic; and (ii) Dose level dj+1, if the dose level was non-toxic and the coin toss results in a head. Otherwise, dosage level dj will be assigned. We will continue to do this over time until we find a dosage level repeatedly being assigned to the patient; the repetitive assignment of this dosage proves that it is the stable dosage level for the patient. When we have found this stable dosage level for the patient, we will use it to assign a dosage level to the next patient, which will continue to happen for every patient in the group. This model aims to find a dosage level that is stable for the patient and use this dosage level to establish a basis for assigning a dosage level for the next patient. We will use the lines of code from the programming language MATLAB to simulate the bias coin design.

The code directly follows the methods for the biased coin design. The steps for the code and the algorithm are outlined as follows: (i) The first step of the code starts with assigning a number to the patients or subjects, dose levels, and trials. Finally, we create a menu that asks us to select the design used, which will ultimately be the bias coin design. (ii) The second step is the initiation of the trial due to the selection of the bias coin design. A dose level is randomly selected from dose 1 to 3 for the first patient, a coin toss is simulated, and the toxicity is determined. The biased coin design conditions are then applied, and Page 111 the dose level that was generated is then assigned to the next patient or subject. Two arrays are created; the first stores the dose of 3

level for every subject in a group, and the second stores all the dose levels that were assigned to all the subjects in all the groups. The flowchart displays the methods taken to execute this step. The next step is calculating the proportion of trials of each dose level and plot them on a histogram.

Results and Discussion: The simulation resulted the following: (i) Dosage level 1 being the dose level that was most distributed. (ii) Higher dosage levels were less likely to be distributed with the highest dosage level not even assigned at all. (iii) This was the result of the simulation regardless of the change in number of patients, trials and Γ. The results show that the distribution is skewed towards the lower dosage levels, particularly to dosage level 1. This result is because the doses assigned are likely to be toxic due to the probabilities, as two conditions determine if a higher dose level is assigned compared to only one condition in which a lower dose level is assigned. All these effectively lowers the probability of nontoxicdoses and higher dose levels being assigned or distributed. These reasons effectively lead to a higher proportion of lower dose levels regardless of the Γ, the number of patients, and trials. MATLAB simulation has been used and is available.

Conclusion: This version of bias coin design is a much simpler one as it is devoid of several factors and given several assumptions. In this version, we assumed that toxicity does not change with the dosage level. Therefore, in the future, we will consider several factors and assumptions we omitted, such as: (i) A function Q(dj ) that determines the toxicity of each dosage level. (ii) Eliminate the assumption the probability of toxicity is constant with each dosage level.

References: Ivanova, Anastasia, Haghighi, Aliakbar Montazer, Mohanty, Sri Gopal and Durham, Stephen D. (2003). Improved up-anddown designs for phase 1 trials. Statistics in medicine; 22:69-82.

Dixon W. J., and Mood, A.M. (1948). A method for obtaining and analyzing sensi- tivity data. Journal of the American Statistical Association 43, 109-126.

Durham, S.D. and Flournoy, N. (1994). Considered two biased coin designs, which are improvements of Dermans (1957) design.

Durham, S.D. and Flournoy, N., and Haghighi, A.M. (1993). Up-and-Down Designs.

Computing and Statistics: Interface, Vol. 25, pp. 375-384.

Durham, Stephen D., Flournoy, Nancy and Haghighi, Ali A. Montazer (1995). Up- and-Down Designs II.: Exact Treatment Moments. Adaptive De- signs (South Hadley, MA, 1992), Institute of Mathematical Statistics Lecture Notes Monograph Series, 25, pp. 158-178.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Aliakbar Montazer Haghighi is a Professor and Department Head of the Department of Mathematics. His research interest are: probability, statistics, stochastic processes, queueing theory, and operations research.

Mr. Ibrahim Arogundade is a junior student at PVAMU, majoring in Chemical Engineering.

We are thankful for the award by Faculty-RISE Research Program and of the staff.

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Figure 1. Γ = 0.2, Subjects/Patients=5, Trials=1,000

Renewable Carbon-based Citric acid-polyol- Cellulose composite materials

Jay Gonzalez Mentor: Ananda S. Amarasekara Department of Chemistry Introduction: The current interest in the use of renewable resources based monomers and feedstocks for the preparation of polymeric materials is due to depleting fossil resources as well as climate change concerns. There are two basic approaches in this area; the first is the development of synthetic methods for the preparation of current monomers from renewable carbon and the second is the synthesis of new generation polymers based on renewable monomers. The second route is more attractive as it avoids the complex synthetic steps required in the conversion of biomass based compounds to current monomers [1]. As a continuation of our research in development of novel renewable polymeric and composite materials we have studied poly esterification of citric acid (CA) with erythritol (ER). Polycarboxylic alcohol CA can react with ER in several reaction modes, where the -OH and -CO2H groups can undergo inter and intra molecular esterifications [2] [3].

We have used the CA : ER 2 : 1 stoichiometric ratio in these experiments expecting complete reactions of all hydroxyl and carboxylic functional groups. The polymerizations were studied by heating with zinc(II)acetate as a catalyst at 120-160 °C. During these attempts in cross linking carboxylic acid groups with hydroxyl groups from citric acid and erythritol it was found that there were incomplete polymerizations. In an attempt to complete the esterification process, we have added 10-20% (w/w) Sigmacell cellulose (DP ~ 100) as a second hydroxyl group source, as shown in figure 1. FT-IR analysis of cellulose added samples showed a decrease in carboxylic acid peaks and improved esterification type cross linking reactions, producing hard composite materials.

OH HO

O OH

HO C

Zn(OAc)2

O

CO2H CO H HO

OH

HO

OCOO O

O=C -O2C

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O OCOCO2

OCO-

Figure 1. Synthesis of citric acid-erythritol-cellulose composite Materials and Methods: A mixture of citric acid (8.00 mmol), erythritol (4.00 mmol), Sigmacell cellulose (DP ~ 100) 1020% (w/w relative to citric acid) and zinc(II)acetate catalyst (0.025 - 0.10 mol % relative to citric acid) was gradually heated from room temperature (23 °C) to 160 °C in 1 h, and then at 160 °C for 24-48 h. The reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature, washed with methylene chloride (3 x 5 mL), water (3 x 5 mL) to remove any unreacted staring material, catalyst and dried in an oven at 90 °C for 24 hr to give citric acid-polyol- cellulose as a hard pale yellow composite. The new composite material was characterized by FT-IR and thermogravimetric analysis.

Results and Discussion: The experiments using Zn(II) acetate as the catalyst and cellulose as a cross-linker for unreacted carboxylic groups produced a hard, pale yellow poly(citric acid-erythritol)-cellulose composite material. It was also found that even without a water medium as a solvent, the reaction still works and instead produces water as a by-product which needs to be removed by evaporation during cross-linking. FT-IR analysis showed that the addition of Sigmacell cellulose (DP ~ 100) 10-20% (w/w relative to citric acid) as a polyol cross-linker reduced the unreacted carboxylic acid group content in the polymer. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that new composites are thermally stable up to about 260 °C. Conclusions: We have shown that Zn(II) acetate catalyzed condensations with the additional cross-linker cellulose with citric acid and erythritol gives poly(citric acid-erythritol)-cellulose. This method provides a simple process for the production of a new all renewable carbon-based, cross-linked, thermo-plastic composite from inexpensive biomass-derived monomers with potential applications in the fabrication of packaging materials and household items.

Reference [1] F.D. Pileidis, M.M. Titirici, Levulinic Acid Biorefineries: New Challenges for Efficient Utilization of Biomass, ChemSusChem, (2016).

[2] A.S. Amarasekara, M.A. Animashaun, Acid-Catalyzed Competitive Esterification and Ketalization of Levulinic Acid with 1,2 and 1,3-Diols: The Effect of Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Catalysts, Catalysis Letters, (2016) 1-6.

[3] A.S. Amarasekara, S.A. Hawkins, Synthesis of levulinic acid–glycerol ketal–ester oligomers and structural characterization using NMR spectroscopy, European Polymer Journal, 47 (2011) 2451-2457.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Ananda Amarasekara is a Professor of Chemistry with research interests in renewable energy and renewable polymers.

Jay Gonzalez is a senior majoring in chemistry

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Sustainable Vanadium Removal from Wastewater

Roland Tristan Mentor: Andrea Ashley-Oyewole Chemistry Department Introduction: Vanadium pollution can cause potentially harmful effects on ecological systems and lead to animal poisoning and human disease. There is no current regulation for Vanadium in drinking water (Teng, et al., 2006). The global population is estimated to increase to nine billion by 2050 will put a strain on already inadequate water supplies. Water is needed for many activities, including residential, agricultural, and industrial activities. Although current water treatment can remove many organic pollutants from wastewater, growing drought, demand for supplies, and climate change have caused researchers to look for more sustainable ways to remove potentially toxic trace metals like Vanadium wastewater (American Chemical Society, 2021). Green chemistry is the design of chemical products that reduce the use of hazardous substances used in chemistry, and sustainable chemistry uses a resource in a way that does not permanently exhaust it (American Chemical Society, 2021; United Nations (UN), 2021; ACS Green Chemistry Institute® (ACS GCI), 2021). Therefore, we propose a green and sustainable method to treat wastewater by using spent coffee grounds, sustainable and inexpensive feedstock (Campos-Vega, Loarca-Piña, Vergara-Castañeda, & Oomah, 2015; Aparecida de Marco, Saú Rechelo, Gandolpho Tótoli, & Carolina Kogawa, 2019).

Materials and methods: Chemicals and equipment: Analytical reagent grade sodium orthovanadate 99.8% trace metal basis and CAS number 1372139-6, Molecular weight 183.91 g/mol, was purchased from Aldrich Chemistry. Ultra-pure deionized water was obtained using the Millipore system throughout the experimental process.

Biomass Preparation: The sorbent spent coffee grounds were collected from various sources and dried in ambient air over several months under a fume hood. There was no washing or Preparation of the sorbent before application to the solution. The sorbent was sifted briefly to remove extra-large pieces of the material and to remove other extraneous materials. Particle sizes ranged between 10 - 50 micrometers. A batch of 6 portions of the dried samples was weighed in 0.100 g portions before the solution.

Solution Preparation: A stock solution with a concentration of 1000 parts per million (ppm) vanadate was prepared. A sample of sodium orthovanadate, Na3(VO4) weighing 0.2622 g, was used to 250 mL at the required concentration. The volumetric flask was filled with Millipore ultrapure deionized water after adding the salt. No further dilution of the solution since the experiment focused on only the 1000 ppm concentration.

Batch sorption experiment: All the batch experiments were carried out at room temperature, and no pH adjustment was needed. First, a volume of 5 ml of the vanadate solution was measured with a mechanical micropipette and added to the highdensity plastic vial (HDPE), followed by the pre-weighed coffee grounds. After, the sorbent–sorbate mixtures were taken in a 25 ml high-density HDP vial and agitated by hand; no shaker was used at this time. Next, sample vials were caped and left for 7-10 days under the vent hood at room temperature. At the end of the treatment, samples were filtered using inexpensive mini store-bought coffee filters. A mechanical micropipette was used to obtain 0.01 microliter amounts of the filtrate and pipetted directly to the foil. After air-drying for 3-5 days, the same were mounted on the SEM stage for analysis. The amount of adsorbed vanadate per unit mass of adsorbent was not calculated at this time.

SEM and EDS analysis: Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) analyses were performed using a JEOL JSM-6010LA using In TouchScope software. The backscattered electron images were collected Page 115 using an accelerating voltage of 10kV and a load current ~ 90 µA with a working distance of 9 mm. EDS spectra were of 3

gathered at a magnification of 500X, and the analyzed area was 0.15 mm2 (125 µm x 185 µm) at a vacuum of 25 bars.

Qualitative and quantification elemental composition was performed with the characteristic x-ray using a silicon-drift detector.

Only the presence or absence of the sorbed analyte was monitored by surface analysis (Physical Electronics, Inc. (PHI), 2020).

Results and Discussion 001

002

7 0 .0 6 0 .0 6 0 .0 Na

5 0 .0

O

4 0 .0

C o u n t s [x 1 . E +3 ]

C o u n t s [x 1 . E +3 ]

5 0 .0

Na

3 0 .0

Al

O 4 0 .0

3 0 .0

2 0 .0

2 0 .0

C

V

1 0 .0

Al

C V

V

1 0 .0

0 .0

V

0 .0 0 .0 0

1 .0 0

2 .0 0

3 .0 0

4 .0 0

5 .0 0

6 .0 0

0 .0 0

1 .0 0

2 .0 0

keV

5 0 .0

3 .0 0

4 .0 0

5 .0 0

6 .0 0

keV

003

004

4 5 .0

4 0 .0

4 0 .0 Na

2 0 .0

Al 16.71 8.82 8.88 8.53 10.74 0.86

V 11.96 16.38 16.27 15.21 14.96 1.10

0.13

Chemical formula mass%

Atom%

Sigma

Net

K ratio

Al

100.00 K 100.00

100.00

0.12

2310911 1.6585966

Atom% 87.01

Sigma 0.01

Net K ratio Line 3333765 0.8023055

12.86

0.02

376067

0.2662042

0.06

0.01

7449

0.0047495

0.07

0.01

11035

0.0079203

2 5 .0

2 0 .0

Al

1 0 .0 C

Na 22.60 33.49 30.07 26.43 28.15 0.40

Na

3 0 .0

1 5 .0

Al

1 0 .0

C 5.17 4.80 4.94 6.03 5.24 1.44

O

3 5 .0 C o u n t s [x 1 . E +3 ]

C o u n t s [x 1 . E +3 ]

O

3 0 .0

O 001 43.56 002 36.50 003 39.83 004 43.80 Average 40.92 Standard deviation

C

V

V

V

V 5 .0

0 .0

0 .0 0 .0 0

1 .0 0

2 .0 0

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4 .0 0

5 .0 0

6 .0 0

keV

Figure 1 1000 ppm vanadium solution blank (four-point analysis)

Total

100.00

Figure 2 Aluminum blank

Figure 3 Coffee residue no vanadium

Chemical formula mass% C 83.33 K O 16.41 K Na* 0.11 K Al* 0.15 K Total 100.00

100.00

O 001 28.60 002 25.84 003 28.08 004 29.61 Average 28.03 Standard deviation

C 38.40 35.85 33.34 34.68 35.57 0.79

Na 26.25 23.64 19.03 26.48 23.85 0.44

V 6.76 14.66 19.55 9.23 12.55 1.32

1.66

Figure 4 Dried treated spent coffee grounds (four-point analysis)

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Line

Chemical formula C O Na Al V Total

mass% 7.73 44.99 17.92 25.07 4.29 100.00

Atom% 12.26 53.58 14.85 17.71 1.60 100.00

Sigma 0.01 0.04 0.04 0.05 0.07

Net 61336 1084558 682387 893458 23285

K ratio Line 0.0147612 0.7677198 0.4350592 0.6412567 0.1138249

K K K K K

Figure 5 Dried After treatment, filtrate on Aluminium foil The results indicate a drastic decrease in the mass percentage vanadium loading in the recovered filtrate. The corresponding values highlighted in red show vanadium loading in the untreated solution (Figure 1) and the after-treatment filtrate (Figure 5).

Analysis indicates Vanadium sorbed to coffee surface in Figure 4 and none in Figure 3.

Conclusion(s) or Summary: The results indicate the strong potential for spent coffee grounds to act as an inexpensive sorbent to remove Vanadium from wastewater with no pH adjustment. Thus, sustainable feedstock could be the solution to an imminent global water scarcity problem.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Andrea Ashley-Oyewole is an Assistant Professor with research interests in Trace metal toxicology, green and sustainable chemistry.

Tristan Roland is a freshman majoring in biology with a minor in chemistry.

Latin America's Musical origins and its Influence on "Suite Suramericana," an Original Composition

Brandon Bernal Mentor: Daniel Pardo Department of Music Abstract Latin-American music is a manifestation of the cultural merge of European forms, along with harmonic development, with the richness of African and Middle Eastern rhythms. This mixture of cultures resulted in the creation of new sounds and traditions in different geographical regions. This consideration goes beyond boundaries set by countries. In some instances, music styles are shared, as seen in Venezuela and Colombia's plains with Joropo and Musica Llanera, or the Andean music covering the mountain range from Chile and Bolivia, through Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. There are other cases where geographical divisions kept the development of music styles within a specific country, but with branches so distinct that they become recognizable to the trained ear. That is the case of music from Brazil, where within its large territory, Samba and Choro have evolved differently throughout the country. This composition aims to create a work for two instrumental voices, inspired by the joining of musical genres from several regions and countries in Latin America with a modern approach to harmony and sound design. To accomplish this, we use traditional composition and forms and electronic composition Page practices 117 such as of 3

granular synthesis and sampling. This electronic Suite (collection of instrumental pieces) in seven movements (I. Overture, II. En Los Llanos, III. En Las Montañas, IV. En la Selva, V. En Las Islas, VI. En Un Mundo) represents our vision of cultural identity beyond geographical and political boundaries, which constitutes a global artistic oneness approach.

Final Report: Latin-American music is the manifestation of cultural diversity. With the many styles that Latin American music offers, acquiring the knowledge of cultures that have influenced it creates a much deeper understanding and appreciation for music.

Furthermore, an idea was proposed to create a musical composition employing the aspects that formulate Latin American music. This musical piece entails the essence of each region within Latin America. With this information, musical forms along with traditional harmonic figures are used in such a way to create a unique musical suite for two Flutes, accompanied by background music. Slightly before the arrival of European Influence, there existed and still exists the traditions of Aboriginal cultures. "Before the arrival of Columbus at the Americas, the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas who inhabited the lands now known as Central and South America, expressed themselves through music, specifically with flutes." (Petrov, 1) Many of these traditions have carried on throughout the evolution of Latin American music. Additionally, during the start of the "New War," the Spanish and Portuguese brought their languages, cultures, traditions, and music, much like the other cultures that have influenced Latin American music. Specifically, the Spanish carried traditions from both Middle East and Europe. "As their culture was tightly entwined with the one of the Moors, who were Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb." (Petrov, 1) Since percussion is a highly vital part of Latin American music, acknowledging the diaspora of its origin makes creating a composition much more straightforward. The origin of many rhythmic figures within Latin America comes from the African diaspora. Specifically through "Drum Circles." The musical traditions that come from Africa are mainly oral and taught by rote; this means that older generations passed down customs, values, and the intent to play music. Collective experiences have played a large part in African music, sharing aspects like rhythm and dance. "Drum Circles," being that they are a collective experience, are based on improvisation.

One individual would start with a simple idea (beat) and repeat it until all individuals reached a general state of mind regarding a given drum sequence. For example, a "polyrhythm" is the "simultaneous use of two or more contrasting rhythms in a musical texture. A crucial feature of polyrhythm is that each constituent part is subject to extensive repetition. "a multirhythmic texture as one in which several repeating patterns are superimposed" (Agawu, 176). Whether it would be celebration, introspection, or a general release of tension, drum circles were an integral part of African culture. These very beats inspired many of the modern styles of Latin American music. These family and communal experiences carried on throughout the slave trade that occurred within multiple countries.

Once in South America, the slaves would be able to practice their cultural freedom with drumming. One of the few rights that was not taken away from African Slaves at the time. All over the Americas and the Caribbean, slaves and natives mingled and exchanged their unique takes on different rhythms, dances, and melodies, giving birth to innovative musical creations. The melodies have a richness that is enveloped by the percussive syncopation influenced by the drums. These melodic motifs seem very much like expressions, very spiritual and personal toward the given cultures. Therefore, storytelling was a fundamental part of "drum circles." Lead drum narratives refer to "telling stories on the drum using a variety of patterns. The stories are sometimes highly elaborate and original, sometimes conventional, and often framed in liaison with the other musicians' patterns"(Agawu, 184).

Considering that harmony is another fundamental part of most musical styles within Latin American music, recognizing the instruments that commonly play a prominent role in the given musical genres creates an in-depth analysis of how to formulate each style. For instance, to create, or in this case, formulate what is known as the Choro style, one must consider the origin of this stylistic sub-genre. Choro, also known as chorinho, is originally from Brazil. Furthermore, "Choro," translated into English, means to lament or cry. Despite the name that's connected with despair, the music often has a fast and happy rhythm.

In the mid-19th century, the instrumental ensemble generally included the "flute, clarinet, ophicleide, trombone, cavaquinho (a type of ukulele), guitar, and a few percussion instruments (particularly the tambourine)" (Béhague, 1) The art of composing music is a very personal but intellectual process. In this case, not only does the stylistic context matter, the historical context is just as important. "There is no right or wrong way to gather these ideas, but rather to use surroundings that inspire. Sometimes the results can be extremely rewarding if done correctly." (Colón, 1) Therefore, it is crucial to have a thorough foundation in the study of music, both historically and theoretically. The original composition titled Page 118 "Suite Suramericana" is being formulated through careful consideration regarding stylistic choices in terms of of the 3 theoretical side of

things. The possibilities are essentially endless when choosing what is known as a "chord progression" in music. This premise is why it is beneficial to understand the formula of certain Latin American styles, whereas some do not use harmony at all.

"Suite Suramericana," being that it is a suite, consists of what is known as several "movements" in music. A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. Each movement represents a specific region within Latin America. Here is an in-depth look into the Suite and its movements — I. Overture: The introduction to an idea within a musical suite. This part of the Suite gives a general outlook on how the overall piece feels musically. II. En Los Llanos: Los Llanos translates to 'The Plains.' This part of the Suite explores regions of Latin America like Western Venezuela and NorthEastern Colombia. III. En Las Montañas: The Andes played a significant role in creating simple melodies and flutes. The Andes culture can be traced back to Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, and all other parts of Latin America with Mountains and grasslands. Las Montañas translates to, 'The Mountains.' IV. En la Selva: 'En La Selva' roughly translates to 'In the Jungle.' Throughout Latin America, there exist many jungles and tropical rainforests. The ambient undertones of tropical weather and vivid nature with plants and animals play a large role in this movement in terms of inspiration. V. En Las Islas: Translating to 'In the Islands,' this movement will explore the more tropical regions of Latin America. Some Islands include the Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Trinidad, and Tobago. However, some of the mainland countries contain small islands that have contributed to this Influence of music. VI. En Un Mundo: The final movement recaptures the entire Suite's essence, emphasizing the modern take on how these geographical locations have influenced this modern-day composition.

Creating an authentic modern-day composition like "Suite Suramericana," using composition software and creating soundtracks, is crucial to giving this composition the modern flair it yerns upon existing. "Dorico," a musical composition software that has been used to create this piece, "helps you to write music notation, automatically producing printed results of exceptional quality — and plays it back with breathtaking realism. It is easy enough for anyone to learn, yet it has hundreds of advanced notations, features, options, and sounds to satisfy even the most demanding professionals." (Dorico SE, 1) Therefore software like Dorico will play a role in modernizing composing this musical piece, making the workload slightly less strenuous.

In conclusion, this piece aims to highlight the cultural variety that Latin American music has to offer. In creating a piece like "Suite Suramericana," it is always important to be aware of the historical context involved in the Latin subgenres. Considering the aspects of music and its study of theoretical concepts, every note put into a composition has thought put into it. "Suite Suramericana" aims to showcase the capabilities of joining academic and artistic ideas while giving the music of Latin America time to shine.

References: Agawu, Kofi. "The African Imagination in Music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press." (2016).

Steinberg. "Music Notation Software - Write Scores with Dorico." Steinberg, 2019. https:// new.steinberg.net/dorico/.

Scaruffi, Piero. "A Brief Summary of Latin-American Popular Music." A History of Latin- American Popular Music, 2002. https://www.scaruffi.com/history/latin.html.

Colón, Dr. Cynthia. "History of Latin Music." The Latino Author, 2019. http:// thelatinoauthor.com/songs/history/.

Colón, Dr. Cynthia. "Developing Ideas for Songs." The Latino Author, 2019. http:// thelatinoauthor.com/songs/ideas/.

Gomes, Laurentino: “1808” - 2. edição - São Paulo - Editora Planeta do Brasil - 2007.

Racial Discrimination in Music: A Guide to Overcome Trails and Tribulations in the Arts

Raven Blaylock Mentor: Daniel Pardo, Ph.D. Department of Music and Theatre

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Abstract During the recent events of 2020, the world has been called to consider the many issues that have been covered up overtime.

Racism and sexism have been two important issues for the United States. They have been protested and demonstrated against, yet change has not been significant. However, with recent events, such as the murder of George Floyd and many riots that broke out around the country in 2020, people from all types of professions have been forced to take a look at the part that they play in making a change. That includes artists, composers, music professors, music theorists, etc. In our research, the many issues that minority musicians had to endure over the years are highlighted. This includes the strict policy with cabaret cards, lack of diversity on concert programming, record labels using malpractices to trick and trap colored musicians, music theorists using white racial framing, etc. We have contacted many different minority musicians in hopes that they will participate in an extensive interview. During this interview, they discussed the skills and attitudes needed to overcome racial and sexual discrimination in the arts. Musicians such as Jennifer Grim (Professor of flute at the University of Miami and Flutist in the Zephyros Winds), Trudy Kane (Flutist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra), Adah Jones (principal flutist for the Austin Opera and Professor of Flute at Texas State university), and others, explain the challenges they faced when striving to success.

Minority musicians will gain insight into the potential problems they may encounter within the business. Along with those, the reader will have access to the processe’s artists have gone through in order to build successful careers.

Final Report: Historically, minorities have been fighting inequality for over 200 years. The fight continues as events unfold around the world. These events have exposed the past, present, and future problems that have been hidden for so long. It has brought about social movements such as Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Stop AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) Hate. Now the question that all minorities have is, “How is this going to affect my life?” As a musician, we are told that “Music is a universal language.” If that holds true, music can deliver hope and compassion to the hearts of many and bring the world together one note at a time. With that being said, what skills should a minority musician possess to surpass these same challenges and express to the people what they truly need to hear?

Referring to “Music Theory and the White Racial Frame”, an article published for music theorists, Philip A. Ewell argues that the representation in music theory is a core problem due to the lack of minorities within the profession. The Society of Music Theory (SMT) set a goal in 1996 to diversify their membership due to the total number of minorities involved in the society being less than 2%. However, by 2018, the total number of people of color (POC) had only increased to 2.9%. “Despite good intentions, and whatever intrinsic benefit these initiatives might have had, if their goal was to increase the numbers of POC in SMT, they have clearly failed.” (Ewell, 2019) It is statistically proven that people are more likely to do activities when they see others who look like them involved. This means that SMT would have had to publicly create an environment where all races can be seen coming together for one common goal. It’s this lack of representation that causes minorities to have a disconnect with the subject and makes the career path seem unachievable.

Representation for minority groups within the music career has been neglected for a long time. When researching for this project, I found that I could barely get minority music professors to interview. I found even fewer minority conductors and professional musicians in orchestras and chamber groups. This is not to say that they don’t exist. This is merely to mention that they are not represented to the same extent that other ethnic groups are. When people envision classical music, they envision composers like Mozart, Haydn, Bach, or Beethoven. And in the modern performance hall, most programs consist mainly of those composers. Organizations usually only receive small rewards when programs are more diverse. Then it is blamed on lack of rehearsal or unclear composer instructions. This is why minority conductors fear playing pieces by minority composers. They risk being labeled as “racial” or second-rate in the eyes of their contemporaries. “Simply put, lack of diversity on concert programs is built into the institutional structure of American classical music organizations, leading to systemic discrimination against women, people of color, and other historically underrepresented musicians.” (Shadle, 2018) For those unaware, systemic discrimination, which can also be referred to as institutionalized discrimination, is a method used by organizations and companies to create a disadvantage for people of a certain race, sex, or disability. These disadvantages are usually subtle and occur for long periods of time, which makes it easier to reject individual responsibility and almost deniable.

An example of institutionalized discrimination within the United States would be the use of Cabaret cards.

New York used Page 120 cabaret cards to control who performed and who did not. Musicians were required to have cabaret cards of 3if they wanted to play

at any establishments that served alcohol. This was just about every nightclub or lounge in New York. Cabaret cards were issued to musicians in the 1940’s by the State and were required from that point to 1967. Most famous jazz musicians’ cards were revoked eventually for a variety of different reasons. Musicians like Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Chet Baker, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, and many more were not able to perform in the State of New York because of this law. This resulted in having to perform in states away from their families and falling into a deep depression. One saxophonist, Charlie Parker, had his card revoked on a drug charge in 1951. He was then left without work for more than a year. The only way to regain possession of these cards was to go through a lengthy process that took many months. In an attempt to systematically keep Black performers oppressed, New York also created a 3 AM curfew and forbade dancing in clubs that did not have a special cabaret license. Police were then given control over licensing authority, and they required everyone who wanted to work in nightclubs to carry a personal cabaret card. If the musician had any prior charges, their application for a card was almost always denied. Another musician whose card was revoked was Billie Holiday. She had performed at many clubs, and after the release of her song about the lynching of African Americans, “Strange Fruit”, the police were said to have been looking for any reason to revoke her cabaret card. After serving a year in jail, the police still refused to give Holiday her card back. She didn’t perform in New York for over a decade. Some of these musicians were forced to perform under different names so that they could make a livelihood. Starting in 1960, musicians began to protest these cards after the death of comedian Richard Buckley, whose card was revoked and consequently fell into a deep depression causing him to take his own life. Frank Sinatra refused to apply for the card as a part of this protest and was still allowed to perform at a popular club in the state. This resulted in a police investigation where they discovered over 100 cabaret card violators. Yet even after this train of events, Robert Wagner concluded that there was no evidence of corrupt dealings, and the cabaret card law remained in effect for six more years.

There were some record labels that also had a part of the issue when it came to systemic discrimination. There are many different record labels all around the states. These labels specialize in many different music genres and styles. However, black executives remain concentrated on the “urban” areas of music, which focus mainly on R&B and hip-hop. Meanwhile, white executives are able to move between whichever genres produce the most for them in that moment. There are music unions built for collective action, none of which are geared towards inherent racial inequities in the business. No one fights for minority musicians out of fear of ruining their reputation. There’s only so much that can be done due to most major labels being run by the same white executives. Aside from predatory executives and agents, breaking into show business often involves "signing one's life away" through unethical contract agreements. It's common for musicians to sign an unrealistic first contract. Unknown musicians will inadvertently sign one-sided contracts in the hopes of achieving success. The first contract is the foundation for all future contract negotiations. Many labels started a practice that induced or enhanced musicians’ drug use in order to further exploit them and trap them into signing these adhesion contracts. These can be thought of as “take it or leave it” contracts and ultimately gives one party more power over the terms than the other. According to a survey conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, more than half of Americans believe blacks are less intelligent than whites. More than 62% of people believe that black people are lazier than white people. Furthermore, 78% of those polled claimed that black people chose to live on welfare. When minority musicians hire personal agents or managers, they are less likely to get a reasonable deal if the agent is white and thinks the black artist is less intelligent. The music they were allowed to perform evolved from dancing music to listening music due to increasing tensions within integrated clubs.

The public feared the crowds getting too rowdy and dancing over the gender line, specifically black men and white women.

Post 1945, some musicians tried to make their own record label to avoid the malpractices. Unfortunately, they faced contradictions which stopped them from succeeding. Not to mention, they had unprincipled competitors who were not above trying to invoke the power of state to drive them out.

Going back to Music Theories White Racial Frame, white classical musicians struggle to break away from the Eurocentric power structures in music. Therefore, they fail to realize that classical music is culturally specific. We should also be careful not to get cultural inspiration confused with cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation can be defined as the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of other and typically more dominant people or society. Alfredo Casella, an Italian composer, was inspired by venetian gondoliers when he composed his barcaroles. That is an example of cultural inspiration. In 2019, Carolyn Shaw and Roomful of Teeth won a Pulitzer for their piece Partita for 8 Voices. However, this piece features Inuit throat singing, which Shaw did not mention until the group came under scrutiny for it that same year. That is an example of cultural appropriation. This is not to Page 121 of 3

say that classical music shouldn’t be inspired by other forms of art, but to note that the inspiration should be acknowledged and accredited to those deserving of it.

Many composers and performers find themselves in settings where they question their talent and the credibility of their own skills. Cultural appropriation and lack of representation are a major cause of the phenomenon known as Imposter Syndrome.

Impostor syndrome (IS) refers to a psychological condition of feeling that you are not as capable as others consider you to be.

Although this concept is typically loosely linked to ability and success, it has ties to perfectionism and the social context. As a minority musician, having the same abilities as another performer still doesn’t feel like quite enough in order to achieve the same result. It is hard for minorities to believe that they actually deserve something if there are organizations such as SMT, whose aim is to increase the diversity within the society. Simply put, these theorists don’t know if their work is truly deserving or if they were simply put there as a means to make the society look desirable to the public eye. This same thing can be said for performing, as well as administration work.

All of these issues didn’t come at once. These have all been compiled throughout American history. However, minority musicians continue to face the same trials today. This is why I have interviewed various minority performers and composers who have been through many of the same experiences. It is imperative for future generations and current students to see the representation and success that they can achieve one day. Furthermore, it is even more important so that they may know how to get through the inevitable. A student hoping to study music should be prepared for anything that may happen. Each of the participants had much in common. However, the things that helped them succeed most were being better than the majority, having a narrow path for what they want, being curious, and having a network of mentors they can count on whenever they need to. One of the participants, a talented flutist who teaches at a renowned university, believes that it is imperative for the students to be prepared more than anything. When she was starting out her music career, she received many rejections from most auditions she did and even started working at a coffee shop to make ends meet. Though at the time, she stated that she was not one of the best players, but her ability to be prepared is what helped her obtain an opportunity to study where she did not think she would get in. The studio had few spots left, and her chances were slim. However, she prepared as best she could, and they saw a potential in her that earned her the spot in the studio. Along with two other participants, they also urge students to use their rejections as inspirations. One of the participants had dreamt of being a part of one of the most popular philharmonics. She was rejected by the organization two times before being selected on her third attempt.

Bibliography Agbai, Bailey. 2020. Institutionalized racism in the music industry. June 25. Accessed January 16, 2021.

Brodeur, Michael Andor. 2020. The Washington Post. July 16. Accessed January 16, 2021.

Davis, Brent Michael. 2019. CULTURAL APPROPRIATION IN CLASSICAL MUSIC? November 21.

Dozier, Eric. 2017. How the Power of Music Heals Racism. Performed by Eric Dozier. Bahaiteachings. February 27.

Ewell, P. A. (2019). Music Theory and the White Racial Frame. Music Theory Online Greiving, Tim. 2019. Few black conductors lead orchestras. For Anthony Parnther, it’s time to represent. September 11.

Accessed December 23, 2020.

Harpaz, Beth. 2020. A Black Professor Pulls Back the Curtain on Racism in Music Theory. Hunter College, The Graduate Center, August 18.

Horne, G. (2020). Jazz and Social Justice with Gerald Horne. (B. Johnson, Interviewer).

Laws, Hubert, interview by Dr. David Shroeder. 2016. Conversations with Hubert Laws (December 3).

Laws, Hubert, interview by National Endowment for the Arts. 2011. NEA Jazz Masters: Tribute to Hubert Laws (January 11).

Leight, Elias. 2020. The Music Industry Was Built on Racism. Changing It Will Take More Than Donations. June 5. Accessed January 6, 2021.

Mancini, John. 2017. The Young Conductor Paving the Way for Black Musicians in Orchestra. August 1. Accessed December 23, 2020.

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McBride, Christia. 2020. Cabaret Cards: The Law Police Used To Keep Musicians Of Color Off Stage | JAZZ NIGHT IN AMERICA. June 3.

NBCBLK. 2015. Young, Gifted and Black : Conductor Damien Sneed. May 20. Accessed December 23, 2020.

O'Dell, Adam. 2020. "Racism and Privilege in Music, Part 1: Gatekeeping and Appropriation." Youtube. June 11.

Russ, interview by Genius. 2020. Russ Talks Fear of Death & Racism In The Music Industry (January 31).

Shadle, Douglas. 2018. Systemic Discrimination: the Burden of Sameness in American Orchestras. February 8.

Tcioulcas, Anastasia. 2020. Classical Music Tries To Reckon With Racism — On Social Media. July 29. Accessed January 4, 2021.

UK Libraries. 2017. African American Women Play Musical Instruments: Flute. April 4. Accessed December 23, 2020.

VICE Staff. 2020. How To Fix Racism in the Music Industry, By People in the Music Industry. October 21. Accessed January 6, 2021.

Dynamic Algorithms for Time-to-Event Processes

Edgar R. Mendoza Mentor: Emmanuel Appiah Department of Chemical Engineering and Department of Mathematics Introduction: In the survival and reliability data analysis, parametric and nonparametric methods are applied to estimate the hazard/risk rate and survival functions [4, 6]. A parametric approach is based on the assumption that the underlying survival Pageother 123 hand, a distribution belongs to some specific family of distributions (e.g., normal, Weibull, exponential). On the of 3

nonparametric approach is centered around the best-fitting member of a class of survival distribution functions [5]. Moreover, Kaplan-Meier(KME)[5] and Nelson-Aalen [1, 8] type nonparametric approach do not assume either distribution class or closed-form distributions. In fact, it just depends on the data. The Kaplan-Meier and Nelson-Aalen type nonparametric estimation approaches are systematically analyzed by the totally discrete-time hybrid dynamic modeling process in [2]. In the existing literature [4, 6], the closed-form expression for a survival function is based on the usage of the probabilistic analysis approach. The closed-form representation of the survival function coupled with the mathematical statistics method (parametric approach) is used to estimate both survival and hazard/risk rate functions. In fact, the parametric approach/model has advantages of simplicity, the availability of likelihood-based inference procedures, and the ease of use for a description, comparison, prediction, or decision [6]. The goal of this research project is to develop new mathematical models and computational tools for time-to-event dynamic processes in biological, engineering, financial, medical, economical, and social sciences.

Materials and Methods: Algorithms developed will be validated by applying them to real-world data sets.

Conclusion(s) or Summary: In this work, we hope to attempt the following: (a) develop an innovative alternative dynamic modeling approach for time-to-event processes. (b) introduce time-dependent covariates (external and internal) in the developed models and consider more complex timeto-event dynamic studies (c) introduction of the discrete-time dynamic intervention process (d) formulation of continuous and discrete-time interconnected dynamic system (e) introduction of conceptual and computational state and parameter estimation procedures (f) exhibit well-known results are exhibited as special cases in a systematic and unified manner.

References: [1] 1978.

Odd Aalen. Nonparametric inference for a family of counting processes. The Annals of Statistics, pages 701–726,

[2] EA Appiah and GS Ladde. Linear hybrid deterministic dynamic modeling for time-to-event processes: State and parameter estimations. International Journal of Statistics and Probability, 5(6):32, 2016.

[3]

David W Hosmer, Stanley Lemeshow, and Susanne May. Applied survival analysis. 2011.

[4] John D Kalbfleisch and Ross L Prentice. The statistical analysis of failure time data, volume 360. John Wiley & Sons, New Jersey, 2011.

[5] Edward L Kaplan and Paul Meier. Nonparametric estimation from incomplete observations. Journal of the American statistical association, 53(282):457–481, 1958.

[6] Jerald F Lawless. Statistical models and methods for lifetime data, volume 362. John Wiley & Sons, New Jersey, 2011.

[7] Ganesh Malla and Hari Mukerjee. A new piecewise exponential estimator of a survival function. Statistics & probability letters, 80(23):1911–1917, 2010.

[8]

Wayne Nelson. Hazard plotting for incomplete failure data. Journal of Quality Technology, 1(1), 1969.

[9] Olusegun M Otunuga, Gangaram S Ladde, and Nathan G Ladde. Local lagged adapted generalized method of moments and applications. Stochastic Analysis and Applications, pages 1–34, 2016.

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[10] Josef Schmee and Wayne Nelson. Estimates and approximate confidence limits for (log) normal life distributions from singly censored samples by maximum likelihood. Technical report, DTIC Document, 1977.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Emmanuel Appiah is an Assistant Professor with research interests in differential equations, time-to-event processes, mathematical statistics, integrable system, data science and mathematics education Edgar R. Mendoza is a sophomore, majoring in chemical engineering.

Monitoring DNA Interactions with Small Ring Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Aijalon Shantavia Bettis Mentor: Harshica Fernando Chemistry Department, College of Arts and Sciences Introduction Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of more than 100 chemicals, also called polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons. You can be exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by 1) ingesting or swallowing food that contains them, 2) inhaling or breathing fumes or smoke, or 3) touching food that contains PAHs. Exposure to some PAHs can cause less serious issues such as irritation of the eyes and or breathing passages as well as more serious issues, such as cancer.

Consumers, cigarette smokers, and infants are at high risk of being exposed to PAHs. Materials and Methods The Ct-DNA was purchased from Worthington Biomedical Corp, NJ. 9, 10 bis-phenyl ethynyl anthracene was obtained from Sigma Chemical Company. All other chemicals and solvents such as TCPO and hydrogen peroxide were of analytical grade.

Initially, Tris-HCl buffer at pH = 7.4 was prepared. Ct-DNA was dissolved in Tris-HCl buffer by stirring overnight at 40C. The purity of the DNA was measured by observing the absorbance ratio at 260 and 280. A ratio of 1.80 confirmed the purity of the DNA. The stock solution of anthracene was prepared by weighing 0.0035 g of the solid and dissolving in 2.0 ml of ethanol. The interaction of Ct-DNA with the fluorophore 9, 10 bisphenylethnylanthracene was monitored by small additions of 5.0 microliters of the Ct-DNA to a prepared mixture of TCPO, H2O2, and the fluorophore. The interaction of the Ct-DNA with the fluorophore was also compared to those interactions of the Ct-DNA with graphene oxide. The DNA concentration was calculated based on !!"# = 6600 &$% '($% . The interactions were monitored using a Shimatzu UV-Vis spectrometer. In the UV experiments, the wavelength was scanned from 200 to 600 nm, and in the fluorescence experiments, excitation and Page 125 emission wave lengths were set to 350 and 425 nm. Blank experiments were carried out using the Tris-HCl buffer solution. of 3

Results and Discussion: Fluorescence results - From each fluorescence analysis we observed that the absorbance and the intensity changed with small additions of 5.0 microliters of the PAH solution. The first figure is an overlay graph of the addition of 9,10 diphenyl anthracene to the Ct-DNA. The second figure is the overlay graph of the addition of phenanthrene to the Ct-DNA. The last image is a plot of all five fluorophores with concentration plotted with the intensity.

Figure 1. Addition of 9, 10 diphenyl anthracene.

Figure 6. Additions of phenanthrene.

Figure 7. All five fluorophores.

Conclusion: Our results show that 9, 10 bisphenylethnylanthracene and the other fluorophores indeed exhibit an interaction with Ct-DNA. The nature of the interaction still needs to be identified. Future work will include kinetics and continued use of the fluorimeter.

References Nishi, K., Isobe, S., Zhu, Y., & Kiyama, R. (2015). Fluorescence-Based Bioassays for the detection and evaluation of FOOD MATERIALS. Sensors, 15(10), 25831-25867. doi:10.3390/s151025831 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs): Your Environment, Your Health | National Library of Medicine. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/chemicals-and-contaminants/polycyclic-aromatic-hydrocarbons-pahs#what-happens-when-iam-exposed-to-polycyclic-aromatic-hydrocarbons-(pahs) Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/ Shi, J.-H., Lou, Y.-Y., Zhou, K.-L., & Pan, D.-Q. (2018). Exploration of intermolecular interaction of calf thymus DNA with sulfosulfuron using multi-spectroscopic and molecular docking techniques. Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectros copy, 204, 209–216. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2018.06.054 Awardee and Student: Dr. Harshica Fernando is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry with research interests in lipid analysis, toxicology, and DNA interactions.

Aijalon Shantavia Bettis is a senior double majoring in chemistry and criminal justice with minors in Spanish and finance.

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Comparison of Artificial Intelligence Approaches to Diagnose Breast Cancer of 3

Kendall Lemons Mentor: Indika Rathnathungalage Department of Mathematics Introduction: Breast cancer is considered the most common type of cancer among women (World cancer report, 2008). It estimates that 23 out of 124 women will die due to breast cancer annually (Cancer Statistics Review, 2012). Therefore, early diagnose of breast cancer is critically important. Mammography, Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA), and Surgical biopsy are considered as some of the main techniques to diagnose breast cancer. Out of these techniques, the FNA is considered the essential diagnostic technique to detect breast cancer in the early stages (Fiuzy et al., 2012). Fiuzy et al. (2012) introduced a novel algorithm that can detect breast cancer using an artificial intelligence system and Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA). They tested 212 patient samples (malignant) and 357 healthy samples (benign) and used Evolutionary Algorithm (EA) with the Genetic Algorithm (GA) to separate malignant from benign samples. Daoud and Mayo (2019) discussed the use of machine learning techniques practical issues related to cancer prediction. Lemons (2020) use machine learning approaches to diagnose breast cancer. Further information related to FNA and breast cancer can be found. Fiuzy et al. (2012) and Saxena and Burse (2012). A breast cancer diagnosis can be seen as a classical binary data classification problem. In this study, we aim to use three artificial intelligence techniques to classify breast cancer patients based on the characteristics of their biopsies taken from the FNA technique. We use Neural Networks, Naïve Bayes algorithm, and Random Forest algorithms to construct classification models to classify breast cancer data and compare each algorithm's accuracy.

Methodology: The construction of the classification model comprises several stages. At the first stage, the raw data is preprocessed and converted to structured data before constructing the learning algorithm. In this study, we use Neural Networks, Naïve Bayes algorithm, and Random Forest techniques. These algorithms are considered as three widely known artificial intelligence approaches with successes in other classification problems.

In the next stage, a candidate model is constructed with the use of the algorithms mentioned above. Finally, this candidate model is modified until we obtain the final data classification model.

In this study, we use Breast Cancer Wisconsin dataset, which was obtained from a publicly available source. There are details of biopsies of the breast taken from 569 patients comprising of 31 features and labeled classes [Benign, Malignant]. Some of the biopsies' features include radius, texture, perimeter, area, smoothness, compactness, etc.

Results and Discussions: According to the experimental outcomes, the Neural Network classifier outperforms its counterparts, while Naïve Bayes and Random Forest follow closely after that. The classification algorithm's accuracy can be improved by the proper selection of the involved parameters.

The following figures compare the accuracy of diagnosis for each selected algorithm.

Conclusion The impact of artificial intelligence on healthcare decision-making has the chance to change the industry dramatically.

Healthcare is an industry with a lot of inefficiencies; perhaps one of the most pronounced is the issue of misdiagnosis. With AI approaches, healthcare can begin to make strides in the areas of misdiagnosis, as there are between 30,000 – 60,000 deaths Page 127 of 3

annually due to misdiagnosis of diseases and disorders. When using AI techniques, it is essential to select appropriate algorithms and properly select parameters to optimize the classification accuracy.

References: Daoud M., Mayo M. (2019). A survey of neural network-based cancer prediction models from microarray data, Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, Volume 97, Pages 204-214.

IARC. World cancer report: International agency for research on cancer. Lyon, 2008 Lemons, K., 2020. A Comparison Between Naïve Bayes and Random Forest to Predict Breast Cancer. International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities, 12(1), pp.1–5.

Shimizu, H., & Nakayama, K. I. (2020). Artificial intelligence in oncology. Cancer Science, 111(5), 1452–1460. Shweta Saxena, Kavita Burse: A Survey on Neural Net-work Techniques for Classification of Breast Cancer Data. International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology, 2012 Awardee and Student: Dr. Indika Rathnathungalage is an Assistant Professor with research interests in applied probability and statistics.

Kendall Lemons is a senior majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics.

Page 128 of 3

The COVID- 19 Pandemic and Rural Communities of Color: Examining the Impact of Race, Healthcare Accessibility, and Health Literacy in Waller County, Texas

Kalyse Houston Mentor: Marco Robinson Division of Social Sciences Introduction: The looming Covid-19 Pandemic exposed a myriad of lingering issues associated with racial inequality, health literacy, and access to healthcare in urban and rural communities across the United States. In the wake of Coronavirus transmission in Texas, Houston/Harris County has been accounting for the majority of the state’s escalating cases. With the focus being placed on the larger metropolitan areas of Texas, the circumstances around the impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on African American residents living in many of the state’s rural enclaves are currently being overlooked.

One of the key geographical areas of oversight is rural Waller County, Texas. This pilot study examines the experiences of black residents of Waller County during the pandemic through collecting quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data was a survey collected through Survey Monkey. The survey covered health literacy, knowledge of COVID-19, and the impact of race on their medical care. The qualitative data was collected via zoom interviews included detailed discussions of the impact of COVID-19 on their individual lives. This mixed methods approach will extrapolate rich quantitative and qualitative information that provide unique insights and show a rare in depth perspective to their individual situations.

Recruiting participants from a local black church (St. Francis Assisi Episcopal Church), this study explores black residents’ health literacy related to Covid-19, the socio-economic factors influencing their quality of life, and the availability of healthcare in the immediate area. By triangulating these three variables, this project analyzes the impact of Covid-19 and race on Waller County’s African American resident’s health status. The data collected will serve as baseline information to give the investigators insights for expanding the study to other area churches and seeking funding to support a project long-term.

Ultimately, the data and findings from this study can be used by local community leaders, along with state and federal policy makers, to inform their decisions regarding allocating resources and providing services to residents of rural areas during future pandemics.

Methodology: For this pilot study, interviews are being conducted via zoom. The survey was administered via survey monkey in order to maintain safety. Purposive sampling is being employed to obtain participants via St. Francis Assisi Episcopal Church in Waller County, Texas. A selected liaison at the church initiates permission to contact these individuals and connects the research team to church members. Inclusion criteria will be men and women 18 years of age or older who are African American, members of the church, and residents of Waller County, Texas. Dr. Marco Robinson, PI and Dr. Andrea Brooks, Co-PI, conducted the interviews. My role as research assistant entailed transcribing and editing interviews, data analysis of survey submissions and exploring the impact of COVID-19 through secondary literature. The team is in the data gatherings stage where we are still administering surveys and conducting interviews. We have 12 completed oral interviews and surveys from participants. There were four male and eight female participants between the ages of 18 and 99. Majority of the participants were between the ages of 55 and 64. All questioning surrounds determining the impact of COVID-19 and race on congregants health. The data collected reveals that 25% of the participants have someone in their immediate family who contracted COVID-19. Additionally,the data also reveals that 25% of the participants were negatively impacted by the virus.

Around 50% of participants said that they did have treatment facilities in their immediate area. Many respondents were not available to reply due to COVID-19 exposure. The team is continuing to collect data through the summer of 2021 from other congregants at St. Francis Assisi and applying for additional funding to expand the study.

References: Andrulis DP, & Brach C. (2007). Integrating literacy, culture, and language to improve health care quality for diverse populations. American Journal of Health Behavior, 31, S122-33.

Bavel, J.J.V., Baicker, K., Boggio, P.S. et al. Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response.

Nat Hum Behav 4, 460–471 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0884-z.

Bibbins-Domingo, K. (2020). This time must be different: Disparities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Annals of Internal Page 129 Medicine, doi:10.7326/M20-2247. of 3

Bowleg L. (2020). We're Not All in This Together: On COVID-19, Intersectionality, and Structural Inequality. American journal of public health, 110(7), 917. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305766.

Chin, T., Kahn, R., Li, R., Chen, J. T., Krieger, N., Buckee, C. O., Balsari, S., & Kiang, M. V. (2020). U.S. county-level characteristics to inform equitable COVID-19 response. medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences, 2020.04.08.20058248. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.08.20058248 Chowkwanyun M, Reed AL. Racial health disparities and covid-19 — caution and context. N Engl J Med. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp2012910. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp2012910.

Dorn, A. V., Cooney, R. E., & Sabin, M. L. (2020). COVID-19 exacerbating inequalities in the US. Lancet (London, England), 395(10232), 1243–1244. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30893-X. Awardee and Student: Marco Robinson is an Assistant Professor of History and Project Leader in Ruth J. Simmons Center for Race and Justice Kalyse Houston is a Junior History Major and Second Year Rise Grant Awardee

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Fabrication and In Vitro Characterization of Pectin/Chitosan Tissue Engineering Scaffolds

Adaeze Eze Mentor: Naznin Sultana Texas Undergraduate Medical Academy Introduction: Recent studies have placed a focus on the polymer pectin due to its inexpensive cost combined with its diverse biological properties. Commercially, pectins are extracted from plant materials such as citrus peel, apple pomace, and sugar beets. The functions of pectin are determined by the source that the polymer is derived or extracted and their distinct chemical structures. Properties of pectin, such as its non-toxicity, emulsion behavior, diverse chemical composition, biocompatibility, and high stability, antibacterial activity, make it a desired polymer for use in various applications. The multifunctional component of pectin has allowed it to provide numerous target sites for chemical modifications with compounds and other biopolymers. Chitosan is a natural polysaccharide that is non-toxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable and hence is promising to use as a scaffold material in bone tissue engineering. Tissue engineering or tissue regeneration associates living cells with biodegradable materials and/or bioactive components. There are several techniques to fabricate membranes or scaffolds from polymer solutions.

Thermally-induced phase separation (TIPS) and freeze-drying technique is another promising technique to produce 3-D scaffolds (Sultana and Wang, 2008; Sultana and Wang, 2012). The need for synthetic tissue with similar biological and chemical properties to natural tissue has increased due to the limited availability of natural tissue grafts. This limitation is the main motivation for developing artificial composite materials. Tissue engineering has provided a new approach for treating various tissue ailments. Therefore, recent research has focused on biodegradable natural polymers-based composite scaffolds as an alternative strategy to remediate skin regeneration. The hypothesis of this research is that the Chitosan/pectin-based scaffold can be successfully applied to regenerate skin tissue. The specific aims of the project were to fabricate Chitosan/Pectin scaffolds using TIPS and freeze-drying techniques and to characterize the morphology, porosity, and cytotoxicity using human skin fibroblasts (HSF).

Materials and Methods: Chitosan with medium molecular weight and pectin from a citrus peel (Pc, galacturonic acid content of 80.2%, methoxylation degree of 7.6%, and M, of 45kDa) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich. The fabrication technique was described previously (Eze et al., 2020). The amount of pectin added was 0.05g and 0.1 g, respectively. The morphology of a small section of each sample is examined by SEM (Hitachi TM3000, Japan) at an accelerating voltage of 15 kV (Chung, 2016) to confirm the morphology. Cytotoxicity testing was evaluated by using HSF cells in vitro.

Results and Discussion: Recent studies have placed a focus on the polymer pectin due to its inexpensive cost combined with its biological properties that enables it to be used in various applications such as pharmacological and food applications.

Pectins make up an essential part that is needed for the development of plants. The polymer helps to provide intercellular adhesion, rigidity, turgidity, and mechanical resistance for the cell walls of plants. The multifunctional component of pectin has allowed it to provide numerous target sites for chemical modifications (Pereira et al., 2018). The properties of pectin, such as its non-toxicity, emulsion behavior, diverse chemical composition, biocompatibility, and high stability, enable it to be a commonly used polymer. Industrially, pectin is used for various types of applications such as food manufacturing, drug delivery, and tissue engineering. Porous pectin and Chitosan-based tissue scaffolds were successfully fabricated using a freeze-drying technique and evaluated for different required properties. In-vitro cell culture studies using Human Skin Fibroblasts suggest that the scaffolds are non-toxic to human cells and could potentially be used in skin regeneration (Figure 1).

Figure 1: In vitro HSF cell culture on the Pectin based scaffolds

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Conclusion(s) or Summary: Anti-cytotoxic effects of the pectin in the pectin-chitosan composite were beneficial to the overall health and survival rate of human skin fibroblast cells. Pectin has the ability to reduce the cellular cytotoxicity levels to support the immune response when using the chitosan-pectin composite for tissue engineering scaffolds.

References: Sultana N, Wang M. 2008. Fabrication of HA/PHBV composite scaffolds through the emulsion freezing/freeze-drying process and characterization of the scaffolds. J Mater Sci Mater Med 19: 2555-2561.

Sultana N, Wang M. 2012. PHBV/PLLA-based composite scaffolds fabricated using an emulsion freezing/freeze-drying technique for bone tissue engineering: surface modification and in vitro biological evaluation. Biofabrication. 2012;4:015003 Pereira, F. R., Barrias C. C., Bartolo, J. P., & Granja L. P. (2018). Cell-instructive pectin hydrogels crosslinked via thiolnorbornene photo-click chemistry for skin tissue engineering. Acta Biomaterialia, 282-293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2017.11.016 Awardee and Student: Dr. Naznin Sultana is a Research Scientist with research interests in Biomaterials, Tissue Engineering, and Drug Delivery Adaeze Eze is a Senior, majoring in Biology

Page 132 of 3

Water Uptake Properties of Pectin/Chitosan Thin Films

Louisa Oze Mentor: Naznin Sultana Texas Undergraduate Medical Academy Introduction: Water uptake is a crucial characteristic of biodegradable polymers because this process can be detrimental or advantageous for the material’s properties by graceful degradation or damage in the case of excessive absorption. There is little understanding of the relationship between water uptake and the properties of polymeric composite substrates. Chitosan is a natural biodegradable polymer, and Pectin is a natural product, which has antibacterial properties; together they make great materials for water uptake analysis for biomedical applications. The ingress of water into polymer-based substances can have both adverse and beneficial effects on their properties. Hydrolysis and microcrack can be formed due to water exposure [1,2].

On the other hand, the breakdown of polymer substrates can occur due to excessive water uptake. The water uptake and diffusion characteristics of polymeric composite substrates have been rarely assessed and reported. The specific research hypothesizes that the classical diffusion theories can be applied to solvent-cast Chitosan and pectin-based substrates [3,4].

Objectives/Goals: The objectives of the study were to produce thin films using solvent casting and evaporation techniques and to analyze its water uptake and its diffusion properties with pectin and chitosan.

Materials and Methods: Pectin and chitosan were obtained from Sigma- Aldrich, and the acetic acid was the analytical grade.

0.25g of chitosan was weighed and placed in beaker 1, 0.25g chitosan plus 0.05g of pectin was weighed and put in beaker 2, and 0.25g chitosan plus 0.1g pectin was weighed and placed in beaker 3. Then, 2ml of acetic acid and 98 ml of distilled water were combined to create a solvent. 20 ml of solvent was added to each beaker. Afterward, the samples were mixed thoroughly.

The mixtures were placed in Petri dishes for molding to occur. The new films were weighed and placed in centrifuge tubes, and 20ml of water was added to each of them. The tubes were placed in a water bath at 37 degrees Celsius and observed.

Results and Discussion: Figure 1a shows the thin films prepared from different compositions of pectin and Chitosan using the solvent casting method. It took approximately 7days for the complete evaporation of solvents under a chemical fume hood.

The films were transparent, and the dispersion of pectin was observable in pectin/chitosan thin films. The incorporation of higher content of pectin made the film unstable. An increase of pectin concentration in the mixture reduced the mixture's solubility and WATER UPTAKE IN 28 resulted in more solid clumps. There was an apparent 0.1 300.00% DAYS relationship between water uptake and the composition of the films. Water uptake increased with time in all three samples but 0.08 with a significant amount of uptake in samples with 200.00% pectin. In an 0.06 examination of the samples with pectin, the one containing the 0.04 highest composition of pectin had the greatest water uptake (Figure 100.00% 1b).

0.02 0

0.00% SAMPLE 1

SAMPLE 2

SAMPLE 3

(a)

(b) Figure 1: (a) Fabrication of pectin/chitosan thin films; (b) Water uptake properties Conclusion(s) or Summary: Pectin and chitosan-based solvent cast thin films were successfully fabricated. Water uptake properties were evaluated. Further study on diffusion properties and the cytotoxicity of chitosan-pectin composite films are needed.

References: 5. Sultana, N. and Khan, T.H. Water absorption and diffusion characteristics of nanohydroxyapatite (nHA) and poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxy valerate-) based composite tissue engineering scaffolds and nonporous thin Page 133 films, Journal of Nanomaterials, vol. 2013, Article ID 479109, 8 pages, 2013. of 3

6.

Crank, J., and Park, G.S., Eds., Diffusion in Polymers, Academic Press, New York, NY, USA, 1977.

7. Di Martino, A., Sittinger, M. and Risbud, M.V. (2005). Chitosan: a versatile biopolymer for orthopedic tissue engineering. Biomaterials. 26 (30): 5983-5990.

8. De Souza, B., Carla, F., Francielle, R., Bernard, D., Mantovani, D., Moraes, A. M. 2019. Comparative study on complexes formed by chitosan and different polyanions: Potential of chitosan-pectin biomaterials as scaffolds in tissue engineering. Int. J. Biomacromol. 132:178-189 Awardee and Student: Dr. Naznin Sultana is a Research Scientist with research interests in Biomaterials, Tissue Engineering, and Drug Delivery.

Louisa Oze is a Junior, majoring in Chemistry.

Page 134 of 3

The Evaluation of the PVAMU Soil Microbiome: Evaluation of the Essential Components for Plant Productivity

Ines Frazier Mentor: Quincy C. Moore Agriculture and Human Sciences Department and Department of Biology Introduction: The PVAMU Microbiome project will focus on characterizing the microorganisms that comprise the campus soil microflora and the diversity present. The focus evaluates the microbiome that exists in the environment to determine the causal relationship that the soil microflora has on all life (Berg et al. 2014, Berg et al. 2014, Jansson et al. 2013). This project involves the use of soil samples from a variety of sites on the campus to determine the microorganisms that make up the Microbiome at Prairie View A & M University. Successful agriculture is often relying on the fertility of the soil and the nutrients that it holds. Many nutrients develop in soil due to the biological transformation by the action of microorganisms (Zhang et al. 2002). Thus, the quantity and quality of soil microbes are what can help farmers and those alike increase productivity yields. The species of microorganisms depend on the physical and chemical nature of the soil, as these facts can impact the activity level of soil microbes (Hendrix et al. 1986).

Materials and Methods: Soil samples at a depth of 3 inches will be gathered from several sites on the Prairie View A&M University farm throughout different farming seasons (from seeding to harvest). The DNA from the samples will then be isolated using the Fisher Bioreagents SurePrepTM Soil DNA Isolation Kit or a similar kit.

Results and Discussion: Based on the literature review, soil health is based on soil fertility and the activity of soil microbes.

Being that soil is a finite resource, preservation is a top priority and done via reducing erosion and adding any mineral amendments to fix deficiencies. One study found that the correlation of soil microbes and soil fertility was significant between the amount of bacteria and contents of the organic matter (Sun et al. 2004). Within our study, we can hypothesize that if the soil on the PVAMU farm has a high fertility rating, then the diversity of soil microbes will be greater, thus causing a higher quality yield crop.

Conclusion(s) or Summary: Based off the plant and soil feedback (PSF), we will be able to decipher which areas on the farm are the best to utilize for production-based off their plant and soil microbe relationship (Miller et al. 2019). To gain the greatest advantage of potential fertility, we must remember that soil is biologically alive and that colloidal clays have a cation exchange property with organic matter that governs the release of plant food. By identifying which areas on the farm can grow plants with more biomass will be used to create a comprehensive microbiome map of the PVAMU farm that can be used to target specific areas with the higher potential to yield organisms that promote substantial seed growth. This will be an ongoing project as fertilizers, temperature, pore space, harvesting season, plant choice, and farm management practices all impacted soil health.

References: Berg, G., M. Grube, M. Schloter, and K. Smalla, The plant microbiome and its importance for plant and human health.

Frontiers in Microbiology, 2014. 5(491): p. 1-2.

Berg, G., A. Mahnert, and C. Moissl-Eichinger, Beneficial effects of plant-associated microbes on indoor microbiomes and human health? Frontiers in Microbiology, 2014. 5: p. 1-5.

Hendrix PF, Parmelee RW, Crossley DA, Coleman DC, Odum EP, et al. (1986) Detritus food webs in conventional and notillage agro ecosystems. Bioscience 36(6): 374-380.

Jansson, J.K. and J.I. Prosser, Microbiology: The life beneath our feet. Nature, 2013. 494(7435): p. 40-41.

Miller, EC, Perron, GG, Collins, CD. Plant‐driven changes in soil microbial communities influence seed germination through negative feedbacks. Ecol Evol. 2019; 9: 9298– 9311. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5476

Safi U R Q, Haroon, Arfa S. An Overview on Microorganisms Contribute in Increasing Soil Fertility. Biomed J Sci & Tech Res 2(1)- 2018. BJSTR. MS.ID.000641. DOI : 10.26717/BJSTR.2018.02.000641 Page 135 of 3

Sun R, Zhu L, Zhao B, Zhou Q, Xu J, Zhang F. [Effects of long-term fertilization on soil microorganism and its role in adjusting and controlling soil fertility]. Ying Yong Sheng Tai Xue Bao. 2004 Oct;15(10):1907-10. Chinese. PMID: 15624833.

Zhang JE, Liu WG, Hu G (2002) The relationship between quantity index of soil microorganisms and soil fertility of different land-use systems. Soil and Environmental Science 11(2): 140-143.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Quincy Moore is an Associate Professor & Director with research interests in Environmental Microbiology, HostPathogen Interactions, and Novel Therapies.

Ines Frazier is a senior majoring in Agriculture with a minor in Chemistry.

Page 136 of 3

The Evaluation of the PVAMU Soil Microbiome

Princess Pinamang Mentor: Quincy C. Moore Department of Biology Introduction: Soil-borne microbes mediate essential ecosystem services that sustain life, yet just 1% of the 106 distinct taxa present in 1g of soil have been cultivated under laboratory conditions (Hirsch et al., 2010). This study aims to assess the diversity and richness of soil microorganisms on the campus of Prairie View Agricultural and Mechanical University in an effort to generate a soil microbial population survey. Soil samples will be sourced from a range of campus locations; however, Gov. Bill and Vara Daniel Farm & Ranch are geared to become the primary focus.

Materials and Methods: Literature used to investigate microbes and their associated molecules most abundant in soil was sourced from peer-reviewed articles and journals. The literature was cross-referenced to ensure thoroughness and garner deeper understanding. Search parameters have included rhizosphere microbiomes, agricultural soil microbiomes, metagenomic soil analysis, metatranscriptomic soil analysis, and soil microbial biogeography, as well as notable soil-associated species such as Pseudomonas, Bacillius, Arthrobacter, and Streptomyces. Journals used include Nature Communications, Science, American Chemical Society, Frontiers in Plant Science, American Society for Microbiology, eLife, Microbes, and Environment and Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

Results and Discussion: A recent global analysis of soil bacteria found that a mere 2% of the 25,224 phylotypes identified accounted for nearly half of the 16S sequences around the world (Delgado-Baquerizo et al., 2018). Across global, regional, and local scale studies, Proteobacteria (specifically Alphaproteobacteria) has been pinpointed as the most abundant phylotype (Delgado-Baquerizo et al., 2018; Crovadore et al., 2017; Janssen, 2006; Okazaki et al.,2014). Gram staining the smears of our collected samples will allow a gross verification of that consensus since cell walls are a characteristic the phylum lacks. Upon transition into the 16S sequencing of our samples, we will have to consider the impact of soil pH, mineral content, heavy metal presence, irrigation source, DNA isolation kit bias, and season on diversity. Soil is often regarded as the final frontier of the biosphere since our understanding of its microbial ecology is limited, and we are not yet capable of quantifying the scale to measure what is undiscovered (Curtis and Sloan, 2005). Therefore, an important decision in this study will be whether or not to include the Eukarya and Archaea domains where there is a significant gray area.

Conclusion and Summary: Conducting an extensive literature review has assisted in the creation of a strong baseline for the upcoming field collection and data analysis. Additionally, it has refined the parameters of this preliminary study and highlighted future trajectories the team can pursue. In our upcoming work, we will focus on intersite variability at the species level, which is thought to be greater than the overall intrasite variability. Further studies could include a transcriptomic or proteomic analysis, diversity across a gradient-like pH, the influence of plant growth on diversity, the influence of the soil microbiome on plant growth, and isolating new species.

References: Curtis, T., Sloan, W. Exploring microbial diversity--a vast below. Science, 2005. 309(5739): p. 1331-1333.

Crovadore, J., Asaff Torres, A., Rodriguez Heredia, R., Cochard, B., Chablais, R., Lefort, F. Metagenomes of soils samples from an established perennial cropping system of asparagus treated with biostimulants in southern France. American Society for Microbiology, 2017. 5 (24): e00511-17.

Delgado-Baquerizo, M., Oliverio, A., Brewer, T., Benavent-Gonzalez, A., Eldridge, D., Bardgett, R., Maestre, F., Singh, B., Fierer, N. A global atlas of the dominant bacteria found in soil. Science, 2018. 359(6373): p. 320-325.

Hirsch, P., Mauchline, T. & Clark, I. Culture-independent molecular techniques for soil microbial ecology. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 2010. 42(6): p. 878-887.

Janssen, P. Identifying the dominant soil bacterial taxa in libraries of 16S rRNA and 16S rRNA genes. Appl Environ Microbiol, 2006. 72(3): p. 1719-1728 Page 137 of 3

Okazaki, K., Iino, T., Koruda, Y., Taguchi, K., Takahasi, H., Ohwada, T., Tsurumaru, H., Okubo, T., Minamisawa, K., Ikeda, S. An assessment of the diversity of culturable bacteria from the main root of sugar beet. Microbes Environ, 2014. 29(2): p.

220-223 Awardee and Student: Dr. Quincy Moore is an Associate Professor & Director with research interests in Environmental Microbiology, HostPathogen Interactions, and Novel Therapies.

Princess Pinamang is a junior majoring in Biology.

Page 138 of 3

Development of Plant Natural Products having Antidiabetic Potential and Antihypertensive Therapy and Chronic Diseases

Daija Bullock-Marable Mentor: Sameh Abdelwahed Chemistry Department Introduction: Since the medieval ages, herbs were used for the treatment of different diseases. Since then, the use of herbs has given rise to the treatment of various modern diseases as well. Due to that fact, most of the modern FDA-approved drugs can be sourced back to plants. Hibiscus sabdariffa and Ginger are used as common for the management of high blood pressure, fever, and other diseases like diabetes1. Our research is focusing on the synthesis of Gingerol, the bioactive compound that’s found in ginger, by using a simple and efficient synthetic route starting from commercially available vanillin. Gingerol could be used also as an antibiotic agent, which encourages us to synthesize this compound in our lab. Based on our computational study, our hypothesis is that Gingerol could be used as a drug for antidiabetic and antihypertensive properties. Previous studies have shown that some medications for diabetes cause high blood pressure and lower blood sugar, which is not good for someone suffering from a lack of insulin. Several exciting advances in the understanding of pain relief have recently been published that relate to this class of compounds. Our study is worthy of investigation because gingerol is natural and has so many beneficial effects to aid in diabetes. Gingerol is one of the medicinally active components of the ginger root is from the class of compounds called vanilloids.

Methodology: Vanillin (1mmol) and acetone (4mmol) in a beaker (100ml) containing 15 ml of 10 percent aqueous sodium hydroxide solution. The beaker containing the mixture was covered with a watch glass and stirred for 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Did a neutralization procedure to separate the water layer from the product. Flited, washed and crystallized from ethyl acetate.

Me O HO

O H

Me O

O

+

Base

Me O HO

O

HO

O

Me O Reduction

Me O

OH

6-Gingerol

HO

Hydrolysis

O

Witting Reaction O

O

HO

Use of Tetrahydrofuran, n-butyllithium, and Lithium diisopropyl amide. Flame dry a flask, then added 1.0 equivalent of zingerone and dry THF. The solution was cooled to zero degrees, and 1.0 equivalent of n-BuLi in hexane was added. The resulting mixture was stirred for half an hour at zero degrees. Then LDA was added dropwise, which was prepared from one equivalent diisopropyl and one equivalent of n-BuLi in THF at zero degrees. The reaction was stirred at low temperature for 3 hours, then 1.0 equivalent of the appropriate aldehyde, hexanal in THF at zero degrees was added. After stirring for 3 hours at zero degrees, the reaction was quenched with methanol. The crude oil was chromatographed (added EtOAc) to yield pure gingerol The second gingerol method to a stirred solution of Zingerone (3.1941 mg, 10 mmol) and tBuOK (2805 mg, 25 mmol) in THF (100 mL) was added hexanal (1.48 mL, 12 mmol) at 78 C (zero degrees). After 1.5 h, the reaction was quenched by the addition of saturated aqueous NH4Cl(ammonium chloride). The mixture was extracted with ethyl acetate. The combined organic layer was washed with brine, dried over MgSO4 (magnesium sulfate), filtered, and evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure. The crude product was purified by flash column chromatography.

Took gingerol form 3 weeks of stirring and work up the reaction, and tested the tlc.

Used solution of 4-acetyalminobenzesulfonyl chloride 2.34grams, in 20 ml of methanol, added S=thiomorphline 2.00 ml (in room temperature). Let reflux for 3 ½ hours (suppose to be 4 hours). Precipitation formed while mixing.

Took out from heat Page 139 and water but let it stir for 4 days room temp (30 minutes in room temp). Vacuum filtered, washed with of 3cold distilled water,

and waited till completely dry. Added 50% ethanol under heat to crystalize by compound (dissolve in the smallest amount of solvent, place under heat, Scratch to make crystals form faster).

Analysis and findings: Through the nmr of the zingerone or 4,(4 hydroxyphenyl 3-methoxy) 3-butane 2-one shows that there is a trace amount of the starting material and an equal amount of a new compound, which is our zigerone. So, this compound

will have to be purified again, As shown in the top nmr, it shows the peaks for vanillin. In the zingerone nmr below it is evident that the staring material in there as stated in the previous slide.

In the nmr for the thiomorpholine, there is a large amount of starting material shown in peaks on 5.0 and not much of a new compound 4.0-2.0 Conclusion: Gingerol is a multifaceted natural or synthetic-based compound that could be used as a drug for antidiabetic and antihypertensive properties. Throughout our research, we have found this to be a drug that is effective in the studies of diabetic medicines. Upon completion of the gingerols, which were found using two different methods, we found that our compound wasn’t pure enough; it still contained fairly high amounts of the starting material. So, the process will have to be done over.

When done, we will seek collaboration to test the effects of gingerol as an antidiabetic agent.

References: Monika Gupa “A simple and efficient method for selective single aldol condensation between aryladehydes and acetone” Synthetic communication, vol. 35:213-222, 2005, University of Jammu, Jammu India Chemistry dept.

Nafiseh Khandouzia , Farzad Shidfarb*, Asadollah Rajabc , Tayebeh Rahidehd , Payam Hosseinie, and Mohsen Mir Taheri “The Effects of Ginger on Fasting Blood Sugar, Hemoglobin A1c, Apolipoprotein B, Apolipoprotein A-I and Malondialdehyde in Type 2 Diabetic Patients” Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research (2015), 14 (1): 131-140 Satya Paul, and Monika Gupa “A simple and efficient method for selective single aldol condensation between aryladehydes and acetone” Synthetic communication, vol. 35:213-222, 2005, University of Jammu, Jammu India Chemistry dept.

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Observing variable effects of Microbial Treatments in Different Cervical Cancer Cells

Jocelyn Mejia Mentor: Victoria Mgbemena Department if Biology Introduction: The American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) is a repository for different cell lines which are derived from primary tumors or metastatic sites. Each cell line is cataloged based on individual cell line characteristics, culture methods, and specifications. A comprehensive report detailing how each of the existing cervical cancer cell lines responds to the cervical commensal microbe, Lactobacillus acidophilus (BSL1), has yet to be compiled. Further, there is not a comprehensive profile of immune factors secreted by the cells under different conditions. ‘Lactobacillus Acidophilus is one of the more populous bacteria species found in the vaginal tract, comprising about 90% of the vaginal microbiome. This bacterium is important for maintaining the vaginal pH in an acidic range, thereby limiting the growth of other strains of bacteria. The cell lines C33-A, SiHa, DoTc2-4510, and Ca-Ski will be profiled in the presence and the absence of Lactobacillus. Our laboratory aims to study the growth requirements for each of the cell lines and assess the impact on gene expression. Cervical cancer is among one of the fourth most common cancers among women with approximately 570,000 cases worldwide and 311,000 deaths reported in 2018. [1]. Symptoms in the early stages are undetectable unless getting proper screening, leading to a misdiagnosis such as premenstrual symptoms. However, many gynecologists have help increase early detection of cervical cancer with persistent recommendations of pap-test exams during regular checkups. [2] The screening of cells from a pap-test is examined by a pathologist and is checked for abnormalities. Other test is done for further examination for the cervical cells, including colposcopy, loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) and cone biopsy to determine the stage and aggression of the carcinoma. [3] Early detection and proper diagnosis and treatment help reduce the risk of cancer-related death.

The vaginal microbiome is made of many different types of cells and bacteria, including Lactobacillus acidophilus (BSL1).

Research has shown that changes in the vaginal microbiome contribute to the formation of cervical cancer. In a healthy vagina, the balance of the microbiome is an important factor that allows for protection against sexually transmitted illnesses, such as Human papillomavirus (HPV) and multiple gynecological diseases, including cervical carcinomas. [4] A disturbance in the vaginal pH in an acidic range can lower one chance of fighting an infection such as HPV, which contributes to 70% of cervical cancer. [5] BSL1 is a major influence in Cell lines used to further understand the change and development in cervical cancer cells in our study will include C33-A, SiHa, DoTc2-4510, and Ca-Ski obtained from ATCC repository.

Hypothesis: We hypothesize that we will observe cytokine expression changes in cells treated with Lactobacillus Acidophilus.

Specific Aim 1: Investigate the effect of Lactobacillus Acidophilus on gene expression in cervical cancer cell lines.

Specific Aim 2: Investigate the effect of Lactobacillus Acidophilus in the presence of different germline and somatic PALB2 mutations in cervical cell lines and cervical cancer cell lines.

Specific Aim 3: Assess expression changes in a cell co-culture model of the microbiome for HPV positive and HPV negative cancer cell lines.

Materials and methods: Cervical cancer lines will be grown in-vitro using cell growth medium and factors. Cells will be transfected stably with plasmid vectors made to encode various PALB2 mutations. Cells will be transfected with factors Sox2, Oct-4 and Nanog and supplemented with growth medium. Cells will then be treated with: 10ng/mL of Lactobacillus Acidophilus, then incubated for 24 hours in 37-degree Celsius incubator. Cell lysates will be collected and analyzed using microarray (Affymetrix Gene Chip). Later, PALB2 mutations will be expressed in cell lines and cells will be assayed for changes in gene expression. Finally, different cell lines will be co-cultured in a 2D model in the presence of an array of BSL-1 level microbes. We began by culturing Dotc2 4510, which do not heavily secrete the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 [6], yet is modulated by STAT3, a transcription factor responsible for the production of cytokines and interferons.

Results/Expected Results: Changes in the microbiome will yield observable effects on cell expression profiles and function.

We observe differences in the expression level of PALB2 in treated, DMSO treated DoTC2 4510 and HeLa lysates.

We also observed a difference in the secretion of factors including G-CSF, Serpin E1 and IL-1Ra. More G-CSF and Serpin E1 was secreted from DMSO, control treated cells than treated cells, and less IL1Ra was secreted from DMSO, control treated cells than treated cells. We later assayed for surface glycoprotein ICAM-1, which produces pro- inflammatory Page 141 factors. ICAM1 seemed to have increased expression in treated cells. of 3

Summary Our research will study the transcriptomic profiles of treated cervical cells. Environmental conditions such as media composition and temperature will be modified to assess the impact on gene expression. We will look at both transcriptomic and protein expression levels from the treated cells to determine the effect of the microbiome on the cervical niche.

Figure 1. Palb2 expression from whole-cell lysates of DoTC2 4510 cells.

DMSO Treated ICAM-1

Figure 2. ICAM expression from whole-cell lysates of DoTC2 4510 cells.

Figure 3. Cytokine secretion from control and treated DoTC2-4510 cells.

Secretion of Cytokines from DoTC2 4510 Supernatants

Mean Pixel Density

25000

20000

DMSO

15000

Treated 5000

0

G-CSF

Serpin E1

IL1Ra

Measured Cytokines

Future Directions: Other research has shown that the pro-inflammatory cytokines offset by HPV also leads to cancer cell development. Implications of IL-6, IL-23, and IL-17 inflammatory pathways have shown to play a role in the proliferation of cervical cancer cells. This could lead to possible the implication of BSL-1 bacteria triggering this immune response; however, Page 142 future studies must be conducted [7] [8]. Detection of HPV is usually done with pap-smears, in whichofa 3sample of cells is

collected from the cervix and tested. Currently, molecular assays are the gold standard for HPV detection and are placed in three categories based on the detection of HPV DNA. These include non-amplified hybridization assays, amplified hybridization assays, and target amplification assays. These assays can detect the presence of different surface molecules. It has been shown that the microbiome of HPV+ cancers has a broader array of bacteria compared to the microbiome of HPVcancers. However, these tests still lack the specificity to test for biomarkers in cervical cancer or pre-cancerous cells. [9] A future direction is to find biomarkers in inflammatory signaling pathways to help detect pre-cancerous cells. Citations:

[1] Arbyn, Marc, et al. “Estimates of Incidence and Mortality of Cervical Cancer in 2018: a Worldwide Analysis.” The Lancet Global Health, vol. 8, no. 2, 2020, doi:10.1016/s2214-109x(19)30482-6.

[2] “Cervical Cancer - Symptoms and Signs.” Cancer.Net, 10 June 2019, www.cancer.net/cancer-types/cervicalcancer/symptoms-and-signs.

[3] “Cervical Cancer.” Dana, www.dana-farber.org/cervical-cancer/diagnosis/.

[4] Yang, Xi, et al. “Role of Lactobacillus in Cervical Cancer.” Cancer Management and Research, Dove Medical Press, 16 May 2018, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5962305/#b13-cmar-10-1219.

[5] “Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and Cervical Cancer.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/human- papillomavirus-(hpv)-and-cervical-cancer.

[6] Morgan EL, Macdonald A (2019) Autocrine STAT3 activation in HPV positive cervical cancer through a virus-driven Rac1—NFκB—IL-6 signalling axis. PLoS Pathog 15(6): e1007835. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1007835

[7] Morgan EL, Macdonald A. Autocrine STAT3 activation in HPV positive cervical cancer through a virus-driven Rac1NFκB-IL-6 signalling axis. PLoS Pathog. 2019 Jun 21;15(6):e1007835. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007835. PMID: 31226168; PMCID: PMC6608985.

[8] Curty G, de Carvalho PS, Soares MA. The Role of the Cervicovaginal Microbiome on the Genesis and as a Biomarker of Premalignant Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia and Invasive Cervical Cancer. Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Dec 28;21(1):222. doi: 10.3390/ijms21010222. PMID: 31905652; PMCID: PMC6981542.

[9] Zaravinos A, Mammas IN, Sourvinos G, Spandidos DA. Molecular detection methods of human papillomavirus (HPV). Int J Biol Markers. 2009 Oct- Dec;24(4):215-22. doi: 10.5301/jbm.2010.754. PMID: 20108214.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Victoria Mgbemena is an Assistant Professor with research interests in cancer immunology.

Jocelyn Mejia is a senior, majoring in Biology with minor(s) in Chemistry.

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Disaster Apprenticeship Program

Ana Coronado Mentor: Larry Hill Department of Social Work Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 emerged from Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, and spread to more than 170 countries in 6 months since it was first detected7. As of May 4, 2021, there are more than 153.6 million confirmed cases and over 3.2 million deaths related to this coronavirus8. Millions of patients recovered as health professionals continue to work on the frontlines.

Although the media focuses on stories told by doctors and registered nurses, medical teams are supported by skilled professionals, including medical social workers, certified nursing assistants, and medical technicians. This secondary support system is essential to health and human services. Our proposal aims to support the health and human service industry by recruiting, educating, training, and supporting a workforce with certifications in occupations that support this disaster response. Social Work is the profession that will support communities as we respond to emerging COVID-19 needs that are common during and after disasters, such as accessing health care9, accurate public health information10, and addressing increases in alcohol and substance use11. The Disaster Apprenticeship Program (DAP) aims to meet critical shortages of credentialed health care and human service workers who will support clients and agencies as they cope with COVID19 related issues. DAP has two concrete goals: 1) Prepare youth to enter the post-COVID-19 workforce with marketable skills and certifications to serve in medical and/or human service settings and 2) Expand the Registered Apprenticeship Programs in Qualified Opportunity Zones to bridge the labor market gap between rural and metropolitan areas. PVAMU RISE funding supported a pilot study to determine the local need and community readiness to successfully execute the proposal.

Materials and Methods: According to Harris County Texas Nonprofits, there are 30,521 non-profits in the Harris County area; with a combined revenue of over $44.2 billion. PVAMU Department of Social Work has partnerships with over 150 nonprofit agencies, schools, hospitals, and community health clinics. These partnerships emerge from the Social Work Office of Field Education which is charged with connecting senior-level social work students with internships. Our pilot study utilizes a convenience sampling strategy within its 150 field placement sites. Over 95% are based within the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Five percent are in rural areas and 1% in Dallas/Fort Worth.

Sample Size: Based on the population of 30,521 agencies; a confidence level of 95%, a standard confidence interval of 3%, an optimal sample size needed is 1030 agencies. Based on the sub-population of our 150 field placement sites, a confidence level of 95%, a standard confidence interval of 3%, a sample of 132 is needed to conduct polling and comparative analyses.

Instrument: The COVID-19 Agency Needs Assessment Survey was developed by the research team. The following subjects were covered in the survey: agency profile, current workforce needs, current educational/certification needs, funding, and university-community engagement linkages. The following study procedures were approved by the PVAMU IRB (#2021043). 1) A list of agencies and emails were created by the research team. 2) The research team sent an email invitation to complete the COVID-19 Agency Needs Assessment. 3) Participants click on the survey link. The IRB Information Sheet is launched. If they click "yes," then they are launched into the survey. If they click no, they are sent to a thank you page. 4) Participants open the survey link and complete the survey. 5) After 1-3 days, the research team began follow-up calls to increase the response rate. Each agency received one follow-up call. 6) Respondents completed the online survey and received a thank you message.

Results and Discussion: Our preliminary results from agenies (n=14) revealed that a majority served more than 1000 people in 2020. Standard services were provided, yet we also found a lack of immigration services, domestic violence counseling, and telehealth. The results also suggest that over 60% “somewhat agree,” “agree,” or “strongly agree” that PVAMU can help support their agency missions during the COVID-19 response with the following services: partnership building, internships, community service, collaborations, staff training, co-written grants, new ideas, and external program evaluations. Over 80% agencies indicated that the following skills would be necessary for social workers to better support their mission website development, budgeting/finance, fundraising, marketing, report writing/note-taking, and telecommunications. Results also showed a strong interest in dual degrees in BSW+CNA (70%) or MSW+CNA (60%).

7

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html Note: this is more double the amount of cases and deaths since the RISE proposal was submitted in September) Watson, J. T., Gayer, M., & Connolly, M. A. (2007). Epidemics after natural disasters. Emerging infectious diseases, 13(1), 1. doi: 10.3201/eid1301.060779 10 Lowrey, W., Evans, W., Gower, K.K. et al. Effective media communication of disasters: Pressing problems and recommendations. BMC Public Health 7, 97 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-7-97 11 Cepeda, A., Valdez, A., Kaplan, C., & Hill, L. E. (2010). Patterns of substance use among hurricane Katrina evacuees in Houston, Texas. Disasters, 34(2), 426-446. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-7717.2009.01136.x 8 9

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Summary: This pilot study and preliminary analysis examines the emerging workforce needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data collection and analysis will continue until July 2021. This data will help develop future proposals with the Department of Labor to meet the needs of our community partners amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This research will also help the PVAMU Department of Social Work remain relevant to the needs of its community partners as it produces productive people during the pandemic. Continued support from PVAMU RISE will help this data collection effort and subsequent multivariate analysis.

References: 1. https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html 2. Note: this is more than double the amount of cases and deaths since the RISE proposal was submitted in September) 3. Watson, J. T., Gayer, M., & Connolly, M. A. (2007). Epidemics after natural disasters. Emerging infectious diseases, 13(1), 1. doi: 10.3201/eid1301.060779 4. Lowrey, W., Evans, W., Gower, K.K. et al. Effective media communication of disasters: Pressing problems and recommendations. BMC Public Health 7, 97 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-7-97 5. Cepeda, A., Valdez, A., Kaplan, C., & Hill, L. E. (2010). Patterns of substance use among hurricane Katrina evacuees in Houston, Texas. Disasters, 34(2), 426-446. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-7717.2009.01136.x Awardee and Student: Dr. Larry Hill is an Assistant Professor of Social Work with research interests in disaster research, medical and behavioral health, behavioral health technology, health care access, and workforce development Ana Coronado is a senior majoring in social work.

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College of Engineering

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Models for the assignment of dosages to Oncology patients: Bias coin design model and Dosage Stability Model

Ibrahim Arogundade Mentor: Aliakbar Montazer Haghighi Department of Chemical Engineering and Department of Mathematics Introduction: Our study in this project is based on Ivanova et al. (2003) with some revisions. This project aims to determine if the bias coin design with all the factors we put into consideration is an effective model for the distribution of dosage levels; this will lead us to find the optimal dosage level that is best suitable for the patient. It should be noted that Dixon and Mood (1948) started the idea of biased coin design. Durham and Flournoy (1994) begun elaborating on biased coin design based on the up and down design. The theory of exact treatment was done the following year by Durham et al. (1993 and 1995).

A patient (or a subject) is to go under repeated treatments for a disease that requires possible repeated use of medicine with different dose levels. Prescribing each dose level needs a period of time to act. We refer to this period as a unit of time. The subject is to return to the physician after each treatment for reassessment. Dose levels are under certain restrictions. We suppose there are ten possible dose levels, from 1 to 10, level 1 being the weakest and level 10 the strongest. Typically, levels three or lower may not be much effective but safe. On the other hand, levels eight or higher are highly toxic and dangerous, yet needed sometimes to take a chance. Hence, based upon the first assessment, if the disease is very mild, level 3 or lower is prescribed. However, if the disease has progressed too much, the level 8 or higher may be prescribed. Thus, we assume that there are three different options to determine the first dose level. (iv) If the features show a mild case, dose level k is assigned. The level k = 1, 2, or 3 will be selected randomly. (ii) If the subject shows a high progress case, dose level K is assigned. The level K = 8, 9, or 10 will be selected randomly. (iii) If the first assessment is not indicative as too weak or highly progressive, a dose level d is chosen randomly, where d = 4, 5, 6, 7.

Now, the patient returns, after a unit of time, for the next visit. Required tests will be applied to assess the result of the dose level prescribed previously. There are two cases for the result: (i) The dose was influential in the sense that it affected the patient’s health negatively. This case is referred to as toxicity, and the subject’s case is called toxic. (ii) The dose was effective in the sense that it affected the patient’s health positively. This case is referred to as non-toxicity, and the subject’s case is called non-toxic. At this point, the physician has to decide about a new dose level based on the two cases of toxicity and nontoxicity. There are three possible cases to prescribe the next dose level: (i) Move down one level, (ii) stay put, or (iii) move up one level. The process of determining the next dose level is referred to as the up-and-down method. A factor to take into consideration before determining the dosage level is the probability Γ of toxicity which is used to determine the probability of heads π = Γ / (1- Γ) in the toss of a coin. Now, the question is how to determine the dose level in each of the three cases. Before selecting the next dose level, the physician will have to include features of the patient such as age, gender, some health conditions such as diabetes, being overweight, having asthma, being allergic to some medicine, etc. That is, several additional factors are being considered before the next dose level is prescribed.

Methods and Materials: Among methods to choose the next dose level is the so-called bias coin design, see Ivanova et al.

(2003). The method is represented as follows: A patient is assigned a dosage level, dj, j =1, 2, ..., K. The next subject will be assigned as followed: (i) Dose level dj-1, if the dosage level was toxic; and (v) Dose level dj+1, if the dose level was non-toxic and the coin toss results in a head. Otherwise, dosage level dj will be assigned. We will continue to do this over time until we find a dosage level repeatedly being assigned to the patient; the repetitive assignment of this dosage proves that it is the stable dosage level for the patient. When we have found this stable dosage level for the patient, we will use it to assign a dosage level to the next patient, which will continue to happen for every patient in the group. This model aims to find a dosage level that is stable for the patient and use this dosage level to establish a basis for assigning a dosage level for the next patient. We will use the lines of code from the programming language MATLAB to simulate the bias coin design.

The code directly follows the methods for the biased coin design. The steps for the code and the algorithm are outlined as follows: (i) The first step of the code starts with assigning a number to the patients or subjects, dose levels, and trials. Finally, we create a menu that asks us to select the design used, which will ultimately be the bias coin design. Page (ii) The 147 second step is the initiation of the trial due to the selection of the bias coin design. A dose level is randomly selectedoffrom 3 dose 1 to 3 for the

first patient, a coin toss is simulated, and the toxicity is determined. The biased coin design conditions are then applied, and the dose level that was generated is then assigned to the next patient or subject. Two arrays are created; the first stores the dose level for every subject in a group, and the second stores all the dose levels that were assigned to all the subjects in all the groups. The flowchart displays the methods taken to execute this step. The next step is calculating the proportion of trials of each dose level and plot them on a histogram.

Results and Discussion: The simulation resulted the following: (i) Dosage level 1 being the dose level that was most distributed. (ii) Higher dosage levels were less likely to be distributed, with the highest dosage level not even assigned at all. (vi) This was the result of the simulation regardless of the change in number of patients, trials, and Γ. The results show that the distribution is skewed towards the lower dosage levels, particularly to dosage level 1. This result is because the doses assigned are likely to be toxic due to the probabilities, as two conditions determine if a higher dose level is assigned compared to only one condition in which a lower dose level is assigned. All these effectively lowers the probability of nontoxicdoses and higher dose levels being assigned or distributed. These reasons effectively lead to a higher proportion of lower dose levels regardless of the Γ, the number of patients, and trials. MATLAB simulation has been used and is available.

Conclusion: This version of bias coin design is a much simpler one as it is devoid of several factors and given several assumptions. In this version, we assumed that toxicity does not change with the dosage level. Therefore, in the future, we will consider several factors and assumptions we omitted, such as: (i) A function Q(dj ) that determines the toxicity of each dosage level. (ii) Eliminate the assumption the probability of toxicity is constant with each dosage level.

References: Ivanova, Anastasia, Haghighi, Aliakbar Montazer, Mohanty, Sri Gopal, and Durham, Stephen D. (2003). Improved up-anddown designs for phase 1 trials. Statistics in medicine; 22:69-82.

Dixon W. J., and Mood, A.M. (1948). A method for obtaining and analyzing sensitivity data. Journal of the American Statistical Association 43, 109-126.

Durham, S.D. and Flournoy, N. (1994). Considered two biased coin designs, which are improvements of Dermans (1957) design.

Durham, S.D. and Flournoy, N., and Haghighi, A.M. (1993). Up-and-Down Designs.

Computing and Statistics: Interface, Vol. 25, pp. 375-384.

Durham, Stephen D., Flournoy, Nancy, and Haghighi, Ali A. Montazer (1995). Up- and-Down Designs II.: Exact Treatment Moments. Adaptive Designs (South Hadley, MA, 1992), Institute of Mathematical Statistics Lecture Notes Monograph Series, 25, pp. 158-178.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Aliakbar Montazer Haghighi is a Professor and Department Head of the Department of Mathematics. His research interest is: probability, statistics, stochastic processes, queueing theory, and operations research.

Mr. Ibrahim Arogundade is a junior student at PVAMU, majoring in Chemical Engineering.

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Figure 1. Γ = 0.2, Subjects/Patients=5, Trials=1,000

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The Prospect of Artificial Intelligence in Chemical Process Industries

Abidemi Awojuyigbe Mentor: Emmanuel A. Dada Department of Chemical Engineering Introduction: Artificial intelligence is a subpart of computer science that focuses on the development of programs to enable computers to perform tasks that usually require human intelligence. In this project, we shall explain AI in general, analyze the logic behind AI, and identify promising current and future opportunities of AI Application in chemical industries, where AI can be implemented to enhance operations in chemical industries. In this project, we shall focus on the implementation of artificial intelligence on a distillation column.

Materials and Methods: For this study, we carried out extensive literature review on applications of AI in the chemical industries. We researched machine-learning applications to increase efficiency of catalyst formation processes. This research focused on the significant impact and values of Artificial Intelligence in chemical industries over natural human intelligence.

Deep learning was applied to solve high-level functions like modeling, simulation, and optimization of chemical processes.

Results and Discussion: Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions. There are two kinds of AI: Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI), for example in smart speaker, self-driving cars, and Artificial General Intelligence that can do anything humans can do.

Machine Learning: It is the concept that gives a computer program ability to learn andadapt to new data without human intervention or without being explicitly. Machine learning is a field of artificial intelligence (AI) that keeps a computer's builtin algorithms current regardless of changes in the worldwide economy.

Artificial Intelligence is beginning to make its way into the chemical industry; it is now being used to reduce carbon footprint by chemical companies. The chemical industry is now beginning to adopt artificial intelligence in order to improve operational efficiency, reduce costs and help cut down on greenhouse gas emissions.

Application of AI in chemical process modeling: An AI-based approach to chemical modeling encompasses processes such as catalyst deactivation in reactors. The most common methods of artificial intelligence in chemical modeling are ANN and fuzzy logic.

Application of AI in optimization in chemical processes: Chemical process optimization generally refers to finding the best solution from various alternatives of operating variables in order to maximize or minimize a desired objective.

Application of AI in fault detection: The utilization of neural networks to identify faults is becoming increasingly sought after in the chemical industry. Neural networks have a high potential for capturing non-linear relationships.

Conclusions: We are currently researching ways to apply artificial intelligence, specifically on a distillation column in the chemical industry. We are working to use artificial intelligence to increase the efficiency of chemical processes in the chemical industry. This research would examine possible applications of artificial intelligence on a distillation column. We aim to analyze the logic behind artificial intelligence and identify possible applications in the chemical industries.

References: 1. Dimitrov, Tanja; Kreisbeck, Christoph; Becker, Jill S.; Aspuru-Guzik, Alan; Saikin, Semion K.,“Autonomous Molecular Design: Then and Now”, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (2019),11(28), 24825-24836 2. Haijar, Zeinab; Tayyebi, Shokokfe; Ahamadi, Mohammad H., “ Application of AI in Chemical Engineering”, Chapter 20 , 2018 Awardee and Atudent: Dr. Emmanuel Dada is an Assistant Professor in the Chemical Engineering Department with research interests in artificial intelligence and clean energy.

Abidemi Awojuyigbe is a senior, majoring in Chemical Engineering Page 150 of 3

Modeling the Synthesis of Peracetic Acid to Produce Maximum Peracetic Acid Concentration Using Optimum Hydrogen Peroxide Concentration

Aminata Diagne Mentor: Emmanuel A. Dada Department of Chemical Engineering Introduction: Peracetic acid (PAA) is a very strong oxidizing agent with wide applications in the food, paper, medical, and textiles process industries, as well as a sanitizing, sterilizing, and cleaning solution used for environmental remediation, water treatment, beverage packaging and as antimicrobial solutions for agricultural purposes [1, 2]. The use of peracetic acid as a disinfectant has become more important as a chemical agent used for the sterilization of medical devices like the re-use of N95 masks and related N95 devices that were originally designed for single use. PAA exists as equilibrium solutions of its constituent’s components raw materials of water, hydrogen peroxide, and acetic acid with commercial grades of concentration of PAA ranging from 0.3 wt % to 40 wt %. The commercial use of peracetic acid and its efficacy depends on the concentration of peracetic acid. Therefore, there is a need for optimum concentration of PAA to be synthesized that will yield high profitability by using minimum amount of hydrogen peroxide concentration.

Materials and Methods: We plan to use the available literature data on the equilibrium constants and kinetics rate to determine the optimum synthesis of peracetic acid (PAA) at different concentration of hydrogen peroxide. In addition, develop realistic predictive model to estimate the equilibrium constants for the peracetic acid solutions to be use to estimate the optimum concentration of PAA. From these results and the market base analysis on the cost of raw materials of hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid and the selling price of the PAA product to show that the optimum PAA concentration is very profitable.

Results and Discussion: The synthesis and hydrolysis reaction of peracetic acid, which leads to development of a homogenous kinetic model is *+& *,,+ (.) + +! ,! (1)

'! ()" ,+# +!

= *+& *,,,+(*) + +! ,(2)

(1)

The development of a kinetic model can be formed by using the concentration of the synthesis and hydrolysis reaction from the above equation. ,-$ ,. ,-% ,.

= 3!/01 *- *2 − 3%/01 *3 *4

(2)

= 3%/01 *3 *4 − 3!/01 *- *2

(3)

Keq = k1obs/k2obs

(4)

Where 3%/01 and 3!/01 are observed rate constant for both forward and reverse reactions and are also the function of H+ concentration due to the acid-catalyzed reactions of the reversed reactions [1]. Equations (2) and (3) further show that peracetic acid is first order with respect to acetic acid concentration, hydrogen peroxide concentration, and acid concentration by the reaction of hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid. We are currently developing an empirical method to predict the Keq, equilibrium constant that will be used to optimize the concentration of hydrogen peroxide that will give maximum peracetic acid (PAA) product.

Conclusion: Available literature data on the equilibrium constants and kinetics rate to determine the optimum synthesis of peracetic acid (PAA) at different concentration of hydrogen peroxide have been analyzed. The data will be used to develop realistic predictive model to estimate the equilibrium constants for the peracetic acid solutions to be used to estimate the optimum concentration of PAA. References: 1. European Center for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals (ECETOC); “Peracetic Acid (CAS No 79-21-0) and its Equilibrium Solutions (2001) JACC No 40.

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2. Zhao, Xue-bing; Zhang, Ting; Zhou, Yu-jie; Liu, De-hua; “Preparation of Peracetic Acid from Acetic Acid and Hydrogen Peroxide: Experimentation and Modeling.” The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering, 2008, Vol 8(1), pp 35-41 3. Zhao, Xue-bing; Zhang, Ting; Zhou, Yu-jie; Liu, De-hua; “ Preparation of Peracetic Acid from Hydrogen Peroxide Part I:Kinetics for peracetic acid synthesis and hydrolysis.”, Journal of Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical 271; 246-252 4. Zhao, Xue-bing; Cheng, Keke; Hao, Junbin; Liu, De-hua; “Preparation of Peracetic Acid from Hydrogen Peroxide, part II: Kinetics for spontaneous decomposition of peracetic acid in the liquid phase.” Journal of Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical (2008) 284, 58-68 Awardee and Student: Dr. Emmanuel Dada is an Assistant Professor in the Chemical Engineering Department with research interests in artificial intelligence and clean energy.

Aminata Diagne is a senior, majoring in Chemical Engineering

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Geometric Stiffness Control Techniques for Metal-based Implants

Prevailer Mba Mentor: Jaejong Park Mechanical Engineering Introduction: Bone defects can develop from various situations such as trauma, infections, tumor, surgery, etc. In some cases where the defect is large, making bone not being able to regenerate itself, the defect site needs to be replaced for functional requirements and aesthetic reasons. Bone grafting is one of such methods available for such purposes. This method includes repurposing another bone in the body (or using a substitute) by modifying it to fit into the affected area. Metal-based bone implants are another option. Titanium and its alloys are widely used in reconstruction surgeries. Since the design and fabrication are done using virtually Ex vivo, metal-based bone implants have geometric freedom compared to bone grafts.

However, one of the main shortcomings of metal-based bone implants is their inherent strong mechanical properties. A substantial mismatch in mechanical properties between the metal implant and the bone may lead to a failure in the long run.

The property gap between the metal implant and neighboring bone needs to be closed to avoid stress shielding. This study aims to focus on various techniques for stiffness control by changing the geometry of the overall structure confined in a design domain. We are studying how to make the structures ‘porous’ to control the stiffness of the structures. While making structures porous intuitively reduces the stiffness of the structure, the study explicitly pursues algorithms where the stiffness can be systematically controlled. Various internal structuring techniques, such as lattice structures with different geometric configurations, architectural materials, and auxetics, are being investigated.

Methods and Materials: In our review of published manuscripts, we identified different methods for stiffness control. This summer, we decided to focus our efforts on understanding two of these methods. They include creating pores on implants and creating lattice structures. To effectively control the creation of the pores, software was needed that could create designs from an algorithm. Using this software ensured creativity and flexibility in design. We utilized the combination of Rhino and Grasshopper to learn the basics of creating new designs from an algorithm. For the lattice structures, Crystallon was considered as an excellent choice for the work. It was to be used as a plug-in to Rhino for the creation of the lattice structures.

Results and Discussion: In the last progress document, we reported some technical issues that hampered us from editing imported designs, such as .stl files of previously optimized bone-implant geometries in Rhino. We have partially addressed this issue, and now we can create porous structures with geometric primitives such as squares and cylinders. This was completed using a combination of Tecplot, Paraview, etc., without having control over creating functionally graded porosity.

The technique is being taught to a student. We are currently looking into this capability using various avenues as this would provide greater flexibility in controlling stiffness, as shown in Figure 1.

Fig 1. Left: Different internal structures leading to different macroscopic properties, right: generated multiscale structure using simple mesoscale structure [1].

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Conclusion: The issue encountered with Rhino is currently being mitigated and more practice is being put in to understand the local code import and how to implement it properly. Upon successful completion, this will provide a simpler way of creating controlled porosity in any target object for stiffness control. Partial findings of this research have been included in a recent publication [1].

References Park, J., et al., A two-scale multiresolution topologically optimized multi-material design of 3D printed craniofacial bone implants. Micromachines, Biology and Biomedicine B, 2020.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Jaejong Park is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering with research interests in structural optimization, mechanical design, and advanced manufacturing.

Prevailer Mba is a recent PVAMU Mechanical Engineering graduate.

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A Process to Capture Carbon Dioxide by using Amino Acid Solutions and Guanidine Solids in Slurry Bubble Column Reactors

Constantino Mansogo Mentor: Jorge Gabitto Chemical Engineering Department Introduction: The absorption of CO2 into aqueous amine solutions is among the most effective technologies for CO2 capture from coal- or natural gas-fired power plants. However, CO2 absorption by pure amines and mixtures of amines still face numerous challenges, such as high energy consumption for solvent regeneration, low capacity to absorb CO2, poor thermal stability, and high corrosivity of materials [1]. Amino acid salt solutions have been proposed as chemical absorbents for CO2 capture. Compared to amine solutions, the amino acid salt solutions are less toxic, cause less corrosion to equipment materials, and show very little degradation by oxidation [1]. Berthromè et al. [2] reported a process for CO2 absorption directly from the air using environmentally friendly aqueous amino acid solutions. The process is completed by the reaction of the CO2-loaded solutions with a simple bis-iminoguanidine chemical compound, which crystallizes as an insoluble carbonate salt and regenerates the amino acid sorbent. This process has great potential for reducing energy demand because the energy required in the regeneration step is used to heat a solid compound and not a liquid solution [3]. Gabitto et al. [4] discussed the application of this process using two-phase batch and bubble column reactors. The amino acid regeneration step is carried out in a separate batch step [2].

Slurry

Flue Gas

CO2 Absorption + Amino-Acid Regeneration Three-Phase Slurry Column Reactor

Liquid Solid/Liquid Separation

Recovered Amino-Acid

Solid GBIG Regeneration

CO2

Solid GBIG

Figure 1. Proposed cyclic process for continuous CO2 absorption.

Objectives/Goals: The goal of this project is to develop a novel process, which combines the CO2 absorption and the amino acid regeneration steps into a single step to be carried out in a slurry bubble column. The energy required for regenerating the solvent will be significantly reduced. The combined process will also reduce the number of steps and thus the operating cost, compared to a process using independent steps. Other important goals of this project are training undergraduate students and dissemination of knowledge through publications and presentations.

Methodology: The proposed single-step project comprises the following sub-steps, see Figure 1: First, a solid guanidine compound is mixed with an alkaline amino acid solution. Second, the solid-liquid mixture (slurry) is pumped from the top of the absorption column, and the exit liquid is recycled using a diaphragm pump. The gas-phase containing the CO2 is injected from the bottom of the column. Once the cycle is finished, the remaining slurry phase is filtered, and the amino acid solution is recovered. The filtered solid is heated up to release the captured CO2 for disposal, and regenerate the guanidine compound for reuse. A reactor operating in this mode will significantly increase the amount of CO2 captured compared to a similar operation using independent steps.

Results and Discussion: We have developed a theoretical model to represent the novel single-step process. The theoretical model was implemented by modifying the software codes developed by Gabitto et al. [4] to simulate the CO2 absorption process. The modified computer codes are currently being validated against literature data [2]. The validated codes will be used to optimize operating conditions for the process.

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Conclusions: The theoretical model has been developed, and a custom-made computer code has been written to simulate the process. There are no simulation data available at this moment, but significant progress has been accomplished. Once the validation process is completed, the theoretical model will be evaluated by comparison with other literature models under similar specific conditions.

Evaluation and Dissemination plan: A publication will be submitted to the special issue on ‘Novel CO2 Sequestration Technologies’ from the Energies scientific journal. An abstract has already been submitted, and the guest editor, Dr. Jorge Gabitto, has solicited a full article for peer-reviewing. The results collected in this project will be used to support preparation of bigger proposals to external agencies such as Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, and others.

References 1) Liang, Z., Fu, K., Idem, R., and Tontiwachwuthikul, P. “Review on Current Advances, Future Challenges, and Consideration Issues for Post-Combustion CO2 Capture using Amine-Based Absorbents,” Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 24, 278–288, 2016.

2) Brethomè, F. M., Williams, N. J., Seip, Ch. A., Kidder, M., and Custelcean, R., “Direct Air Capture of CO2 via Aqueous-Phase Absorption and Crystalline-Phase Release using Concentrated Solar Power,” Nature Energy, 3, 553559, 2018.

3) Garrabrant, K. A.; Williams, N. J.; Holguin, E., Brethome, F. M., Tsouris, C., and Custelcean, R. “Energy-Efficient CO2 Capture from Flue Gas by Absorption with Amino Acids and Crystallization with a Bis-Iminoguanidine,” ChemRxiv, 2019. doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv.7663289.v1.

4) Gabitto, J., Custelcean, R., and Tsouris, C. “Simulation of Carbon Dioxide Absorption by Amino Acids in Two-Phase Batch and Bubble Column Reactors,” Sep. Sci. & Tech., DOI: 10.1080/01496395.2019.1609030, 2019.

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Numerical Experimentation of Bio-physicochemical Interaction of Airborne Species in the Pulmonary Circulation

Diamy B Camara Mentor: Kazeem Olanrewaju Chemical Engineering Department Introduction: The human physiology is a complex network of systems and units meticulously design to function in unison and perpetuate innumerable operations needed to maintain body systems homeostasis[1-5]. These physiological operations are initiated and sustained by proper functioning of the delivery system (circulatory) system.The deliverables include nutrients, electrolytes, gaseous species, hormones, cells, wastes are transported by blood, a complex fluid, and transformed by interacting with one another and various organs, tissues, and cells of interest along the pathway of flow[6-8].

Cardiovascular/Circulatory system mainly addresses the systemic, portal, and pulmonary circulations of blood to organs of the body and the lungs respectively[7, 9] . Vital species needed for proper physiological functioning and homeostatically stability of the body systems are received at various sites, transported, and deliver via the bloodstream to the site of utilization (mostly cells) and disposal. Life-supporting gaseous molecules (O2 and CO2) and other airborne species (antigen) or gases access the physiological system through the respiratory tracts and are transported downstream to the alveoli where exchange via diffusion into the bloodstream occur[10-13]. The oxygenated blood is subsequently convey through the pulmonary vein and received into the cardiac unit (heart) via the left atrium. Preceding description succinctly delineate pulmonary circulation. This project will systematically explore various mechanisms associated with physiological and pathophysiological implications of biophysicochemical interaction of airborne species in the cardiopulmonary circulation system.

Materials and Methods: Highlighting Species Transport and Transformation in the Pulmonary Circulation LoopA schematic flow process of species in the pulmonary circulation loop will be developed to have a clear perspective of species transport and transformation from one stage to another. Species transport begins at the respiratory system entrance, traverses and transformed through the various organs, tissues, and cells germane to the cardiopulmonary systems, and afterwards disperse to all other systems of the body via the systemic and portal circulation flow vessel for metabolisms and other physiological functionality.

Defining Transport and Transformation Mechanism at each Stage of flow process Transport mechanism at each stage of the process was defined, and transformational mechanism was equally elucidated as the flow progresses within the pulmonary circulation loop. Specific mechanism was allotted to each stage in the flow process.

Numerical Experimentation: Numerical experimentation involve the use computer and modeling software to perform experiments. This study will adopt two computational modelling platforms to conduct the numerical experimentation of biophysicochemical interaction of species delivery and disposal at the various sites in the pulmonary circulation system. The two computational platforms, which include Simpleware (Synopsys) and Comsol Multiphysics softwares, will be utilized sequentially for complex geometry development[14, 15].

Results and Discussion: The flow chart portraying step-by-step processes involve in the pulmonary circulation loop within the cardiovascular and respiratory systems was developed. The essence of the flow chart is to lucidly depict the different stages where transport and transformation of species occur within the pulmonary circulation. Organs within the loop are arranged in sequential order in the red borderline rectangular block flow diagram, while transport and transformation of species at different stages in the pulmonary circulation are highlighted in blue borderline rectangular block. The rationale behind the flow chart is the development of a platform that will assist in expressing explicitly the various physiological mechanisms underscoring the different specie transport and transformation processes involve in the pulmonary circulation.

The next step is to expound qualitatively these mechanisms and develop/adopt various numerical model to quantitatively describe and characterize these physiological processes.

Conclusion(s) or Summary: Development of the schematic flow chart advanced the research task a significant step forward and set a plausible platform for a qualitative depiction of the physiological mechanisms needed to clearly understand species transport and transformation within the pulmonary circulation loop. A clear view of where species transport and transformation apply within the pulmonary blood circulation circuit are made evident. Numerical quantification of species transport and transformation processes characterize by detail physiological mechanisms will be subsequently explored through modeling. Insight gained will be utilized to understand range of pathophysiological conditions associated with cardiopulmonary circulation and the pertinent diagnostic procedures and therapeutic measures neededPage to remedy the disease of 157 interest. The next step is to expound qualitatively these mechanisms and develop/adopt various numerical model to of 3

quantitatively describe and characterize these physiological processes.Numerical experimentation involving the use of computer and modeling software to perform experiments will be conducted. A systematic study of both the vascular transportation and cellular transformation mechanisms will be numerically explored to quantify concentration of airborne species and the three canonical variables (pressure, temperature, and volume) consider as measurable physiological status predictors of the human system at any given time. Others derived variables such as resistance, flow velocity and viscosity will be equally assess to better understand mechanism of pathogenesis of disease such as pulmonary embolism and thromboembolism. Major challenges are software acquisition bureaucracy and bottleneck with remote software accessibility cause by the recent cyber attack.

References [1] D. Ramsay and S. Woods, "Clarifying the Roles of Homeostasis and Allostasis in Physiological Regulation," Psychol.

Rev., vol. 121, pp. 225-47, 2014. . DOI: 10.1037/a0035942.

[2] C. Ekmekcioglu, "A physiological approach for preparing and conducting intestinal bioavailability studies using experimental systems," Food Chem., vol. 76, (2), pp. 225-230, 2002. Available: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814601002916. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0308-8146(01)002916.

[3] (July 6). Study Guide to the Systems of the Body. Available: https://www.acls.net/study-guide-body-systems.htm.

[4] B. Rubik, "The biofield hypothesis: Its biophysical basis and role in medicine," The Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, vol. 8, (6), pp. 703-717, 2002.

[5] O. Kilgour and P. D. Riley, "Homeostasis—the steady state," in Mastering BiologyAnonymous Springer, 1999, pp. 163189.

[6] Anna Kucaba-Pietal, "Blood as complex fluid, flow of suspensions," in Blood Flow Modelling and Diagnostics, Tomasz A. Kowalewski., Tomasz Lekszycki., Andrej Nowicki, Ed. Warsaw, Poland: Institute of Fundamental Technology Research, 2005, pp. 9-30.

[7] P. K. JANGHU. (July 3,). Systemic, Pulmonary and Portal Circulation , Anatomy QA. Available: https://anatomyqa.com/systemic-pulmonary-portal-circulation/.

[8] D. N. Ku, "Blood Flow in Arteries," Annual Rev Fluid Mech, vol. 29, pp. 399-434, 1997.

[9] Rispoli, Vinicius C., Nielsen Jon F., Nayak, Krishna S., Carvalho, Joao L.A, "Computational fluid dynamics simulations of blood flow regularized by 3D phase contrast MRI," BioMedical Engineering Online, vol. 14, (110), pp. 1-23, 2015.

[10] R. Gaur, L. Mishra and S. K. S. Gupta, "Diffusion and transport of molecules in living cells," in Modelling and Simulation of Diffusive ProcessesAnonymous Springer, 2014, pp. 27-49.

[11] V. A. Kalion, I. V. Kazachkov and Y. I. Shmakov, "Rheology of Complex Fluids and Blood Flows," .

[12] C. Peel, "The Cardiopulmonary System and Movement Dysfunction," Phys. Ther., vol. 76, (5), pp. 448-455, 1996.

Available: https://doi.org/10.1093/ptj/76.5.448. DOI: 10.1093/ptj/76.5.448.

[13] P. A. Vasquez and M. G. Forest, "Complex fluids and soft structures in the human body," in Complex Fluids in Biological SystemsAnonymous Springer, 2015, pp. 53-110.

[14] COMSOL Inc., "Simulate real-world designs, devices, and processes with multiphysics software." .

[15] Synopsys, "Simpleware ScanIP," 2020.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Kazeem Olanrewaju is an Assistant Professor with research interests in Fluid-Structure in Human Systems, Biorenewable and Supercritical Fluid Reactions, Energy and Environmental Systems Sustainability Diamy Bekale Camara is a senior majoring in Chemical

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Computational Analysis of Fluid-Structure Interaction of Species in the Systemic and Portal Circulation Circuit

Indira S. Ribeiro Mentor: Kazeem Olanrewaju Chemical Engineering Department Introduction: Cardiovascular system, amidst the list of body systems, is critical to the survival of organs of itself and other systems[1, 2]. The physiological operation of other systems, including the nervous system, owes its functionality to the cardiovascular system[3, 4]. The major gateway of nutritional and enervating non-gaseous species accessing the systemic and portal circulation of the cardiovascular system is through the digestive system. Moreover, nutritional species transported via the vascular stream are products of enzymatic and mechanical monomerization of life-supporting macromolecular compound (polysaccharides, protein, and lipid) within the digestive system into simple molecules like glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids[5-7]. Nutritionally rich deoxygenated blood get oxygenated through pulmonary circulation and ejected by the heart via vascular channel to different cells within the systemic and portal circulatory circuit for metabolism. A careful qualitative description of these processes will unequivocally create opportunity to numerically assess the mechanisms associated with fluid-structure interaction of species transported within the systemic and portal circulatory system. Much work has been done to elucidate the qualitative description of these mechanisms, but studies on numerical quantification of these mechanisms are still relatively sparse[8-11]. Therefore, significant effort will be spent analyzing these mechanisms computationally while quantifying in tandem the corresponding physiological and pathophysiological implications of organs under this cardiovascular system coverage.

Material and Methods: Highlighting Species Transport and Transformation in the Pulmonary Circulation Loop: A schematic flow process of species in the systemic and portal circulation loop will be developed to have a clear perspective of species transport and transformation from one stage to another. Species transport begins at the respiratory, digestive, and integumentary entrance, traverse and transformed through several organs, tissues, and cells applicatory to the aforementioned systems, and afterwards disperse to all other systems of the body via the systemic and portal circulation flow ducts for metabolisms and various physiological functionalities.

Defining Transport and Transformation Mechanism at each Stage of flow process: Transport mechanism at each stage of the process was defined, and transformational mechanism was equally elucidated as the flow progresses within the systemic and portal circulation loop. Specific mechanism was allotted to each stage in the flow process.

Numerical Experimentation: This study will adopt two computational modelling platforms to numerical assess fluid-structure interaction of species with systems and organ within the systemic and portal circulatory unit of the cardiovascular system. The two computational platforms, which include Simpleware (Synopsys) and Comsol Multiphysics softwares, will be utilized sequentially for complex geometry development, meshing of complex human physiological structures, and simulation of the physics (modelling equations) of interest[12, 13].

Results and Discussion: The chart depicting the flow processes involve in the systemic and portal circulation within the cardiovascular system was developed. The flow chart further unfold species transport and transformation within the loop. The essence of the flow chart is to vividly delineate the different stages where transport and transformation of species occur within the system and portal circulation. Various organs within the loop are arranged in sequential order in the red blocks, while transport and transformation of species at different stages in the systemic circulation are highlighted in blue blocks. The rationale behind the flow chart is the creation of a platform that will help in the detailing of the various physiological mechanisms underlining the different specie transport and transformation processes involve in the systemic and portal circulation. The flow chart portray a visual qualitative description of the species transport and transformation mechanism within the systemic and portal circulation.

Conclusion/Summary: The creation of the schematic flow chart advanced the research task with a major step forward by setting a realistic platform for a qualitative representation of the physiological mechanisms required to clearly understand the transport and transformation of species inside the systemic and portal circulation loop. A vivid description of where species transport and transformation apply within systemic and portal blood circulation loop are made evident. Modelling and quantification of species transport and transformation processes describe by detail physiological mechanisms will be subsequently examined through computational simulation. Understanding acquired from modeling will be utilized to gain insight into a range of pathophysiological conditions associated with systemic and portal circulation and relevant Pagethe 159 diagnostic procedures and therapeutic measures needed to ameliorate the disease in question. The nextoftask is to adopt these 3

qualitative description and develop/adopt various numerical model to quantitatively describe and characterize the physiological processes. Quantification of species transport and transformation within the systemic and portal circulation will be conducted through numerical experimentation by the use of computer modeling software. Development of a modeling simulation platform to study range of pathophysiological conditions associated with systemic and portal circulation loop.Major challenges faced during this research work are software acquisition bureaucracy and bottleneck with remote software accessibility cause by the recent cyber attack.

References [1] (July 6). Study Guide to the Systems of the Body. Available: https://www.acls.net/study-guide-body-systems.htm.

[2] N. Kitadai and S. Maruyama, "Origins of building blocks of life: A review," Geoscience Frontiers, vol. 9, (4), pp. 11171153, 2018.

[3] P. K. JANGHU. (July 3,). Systemic, Pulmonary and Portal Circulation , Anatomy QA. Available: https://anatomyqa.com/systemic-pulmonary-portal-circulation/.

[4] D. N. Ku, "Blood Flow in Arteries," Annual Rev Fluid Mech, vol. 29, pp. 399-434, 1997.

[5] B. O. Schneeman, "Gastrointestinal physiology and functions," Br. J. Nutr., vol. 88, (S2), pp. S159-S163, 2002.

[6] B. Greenwood-Van Meerveld, A. C. Johnson and D. Grundy, "Gastrointestinal physiology and function," in Gastrointestinal PharmacologyAnonymous Springer, 2017, pp. 1-16.

[7] H. Singh, A. Ye and D. Horne, "Structuring food emulsions in the gastrointestinal tract to modify lipid digestion," Prog.

Lipid Res., vol. 48, (2), pp. 92-100, 2009.

[8] B. Rubik, "The biofield hypothesis: Its biophysical basis and role in medicine," The Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, vol. 8, (6), pp. 703-717, 2002.

[9] J. G. Weers, "A physicochemical evaluation of perfluorochemicals for oxygen transport applications," J. Fluorine Chem., vol. 64, (1-2), pp. 73-93, 1993.

[10] D. Ramsay and S. Woods, "Clarifying the Roles of Homeostasis and Allostasis in Physiological Regulation," Psychol.

Rev., vol. 121, pp. 225-47, 2014. . DOI: 10.1037/a0035942.

[11] Anna Kucaba-Pietal, "Blood as complex fluid, flow of suspensions," in Blood Flow Modelling and Diagnostics, Tomasz A. Kowalewski., Tomasz Lekszycki., Andrej Nowicki, Ed. Warsaw, Poland: Institute of Fundamental Technology Research, 2005, pp. 9-30.

[12] COMSOL Inc., "Simulate real-world designs, devices, and processes with multiphysics software." .

[13] Synopsys, "Simpleware ScanIP," 2020.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Kazeem Olanrewaju is an Assistant Professor with research interests in Fluid-Structure in Human Systems, Biorenewable and Supercritical Fluid Reactions, Energy and Environmental Systems Sustainability Indira Ribeiro is a senior, majoring in Chemical

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A Study of Thermal Management in Commercial Face Masks

Utomwen Irabor Mentor: Nabila Shamim Chemical Engineering Department Introduction: From the end of 2019 till date, Coronavirus has invaded our personal and professional lives. To prevent Coronavirus infection and its spread, individuals must put on facemasks, maintain social distances, and continue adequate hygiene practices. This project’s objective is to study the thermal changes and properties of face masks using Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR). This research also aims to identify masks that performs best after an extensive period of usage to reduce heat on the face that causes rash, discomfort, and fatigue.

Materials and Methods: Masks used in this experiment include a Badger Smith Cloth Mask, a KN95 Protective facemask, and a non-surgical disposable mask (NSM). The equipment used in this project are a Dino-lite premier camera, a FLIR One Thermal Camera, and an infrared spectrometer to find the Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR). A healthy young man volunteered to wear the masks and conduct the study on himself. The volunteer wore each mask for 15 minutes, and the thermal images were continuously captured using the FLIR One camera five feet apart. The breathing temperature in the masks was recorded as a function of time. The Heat Flow Rate equation was used to find the heat transfer through each mask’s membranes. The Dino-lite camera was used to capture magnified photographer of each mask’s membrane.

Results and Discussion: To calculate the rate of heat transfer between each mask layer or membrane, the equation of heat flow through a multilayer wall was used. The equation states that, 6% − 65

∆83 ∆84 ∆8+ + 93 . 34 . 3- .

6% − 65 = :3 + :4 + :5=

Where the resistance is :3 = ∆83 /(3- .) and so on. 6% − 65 is the difference in temperature from the first membrane to the last membrane of the mask. q is the rate of heat flow in joules per second, x is the thickness of the mask in meters, k is the thermal conductivity in <=>?@A/A@' (°*, and A is the surface area in (! . Only conduction in heat transfer was considered in this experiment.

As shown in table 1, the rate of heat flow in the non-surgical mask is the highest. This is because the non-surgical mask (NSM) does a better job at releasing the heat generated from the wearer into the atmosphere faster. Figure 1 also supports this claim. Figure 1 shows the temperature profile as a function of time for three different masks. The non-surgical mask has better thermal management largely because these types of masks have fewer layers. The non-surgical disposable mask only has three layers. It has two layers of polypropylene in a middle layer of micro-filtration melt-blown cloth.

Table 1: Showing the Mask’s Rate of Heat Flow in Watts or J/s

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Figure 1: Showing the Temperature Management of all 3 masks and 3 average trial runs for 15 minutes obtained using the FLIR camera.

Mask’s layers were captured by Dino-Lite Premier Camera

A Thermal Image of the Cloth Mask Been Worn

1st Layer of Polypropylene in NSM

Mid Layer of micro-filtration melt-blown cloth

Final Layer of Polypropylene in NSM

Conclusion: Face masks with better thermal management will be helpful for prolonged use and enhance comfort. The KN95 is the best option for protection against the Coronavirus but, the Non-surgical mask has a better thermal management. In the future, the plan is to improve the efficiency on health/virus protection of the non-surgical masks using nanofibers. Improve the efficiency on health/virus protection of the non-surgical masks using nanofibers and study the effects of stimuli-responsive polymer to advance thermal management of the non-surgical mask.

References Geankoplis, Christie John. “Introduction to Heat Transfer.” Transport Processes and Separation Process Principles, edited by A. Allen Hersel, 5th ed., Pearson Education, 2018, pp. 413–452.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Nabila Shamim is an Assistant Professor with research interests in Polymer, Thin Films, and Nanomaterials.

Utomwen D. Irabor is a Junior student majoring in Chemical Engineering

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Effect of magnetic fields on nanoscale heat transfer mechanisms

Arash Karimbakhsh Asli Mentor: Shahin Shafiee Department of Mechanical Engineering Introduction: With measuring the effects on scattering rates before and after applying the magnetic field, the thermal control and improvement in thermal performance in solid materials is anticipated to disclosure interesting data. In this work, it will be considered to utilize either traditional or new materials or magnetite (Fe3O4) and iron filings (random composition of iron oxides). Four phases and procedures can be considered for measurement and evaluation which are included to be in natural conditions of scattering of our solid and without exposing in heat elements as phase one. As a second phase, heat will be released, and the scattering rate of phonons in nanoscale measurement will be recorded. By exposing the sample to a magnetic field, nanoscale magnetic sensing will be applied with electron spin of magnetic material under ambient conditions, which would be the third phase of measurements.

Electromagnetic field is a manifestation of changes, and the electron has a charge or its own magnetic field changes in one directly influence the other to scatter the phones and this rate of scattering will be measured. In the final step, heat will be directed to the solid and data will be collected. The conclusion can be reached by determination of constant boundary conditions, sample, insulation, room temperature and recording the heat flux in each step. In a broad view the nanoscale measurements of heat transfer are considered to be the next generation of heat transfer study and the result of this paper aim to develop the nanoscale study to monitor the thermal management strategies with comparison conditions.

Model Equation The start of our work began with understanding basics of thermal energy concepts. In order to find the heat flow, various models can be utilized, such as Debye model using the Callaway method for calculating the thermal conductivity with a combined scattering time constant. One of the model equation is Qph = C ∞ (D)ħD6(D)[E0i(T1)- E 0i(T2)]dω. This model illustrates that heat flow can be

∫

0 measured by having transmission function as T when energy is transposing for the carrier ħD in differential of carrier contribution functions at two different temperatures known as function of the Fermi energy or chemical potential, D represents surrogate of energy.

In this study, we analyzed the harmonic approximation of lattice vibration that normally doesn’t have very large displacement.

Then, we studied electronic bonding; which two main factors of this study are the strength of the bonds and interest in the electronic contribution to thermal energy transport. Further, we categorized the potential atomic amount and the knowledge of quantization of electronic states according to a set of four quantum numbers as 1- Principal (Energy) 2- Magnetic (Zcomponent of orbital angular momentum) 3- Angular momentum (Magnitude of angular momentum) 3- Spin (Up or down).

This study gave us the excellence knowledge about the strength of each bonding in terms of atomic phase.

By looking forward to the mathematical description of the lattice, we considered the one-dimensional atomic chain lattice for our evaluation. We made a comparison of simplest shape of bonding with spring to simulate the classic physic energy equation with this bonding in order to simplifying the bonding model.

In 2-dimensional lattice, we chose graphene due to have good thermal and electrical properties for more study concerns.

Graphene comprised of all carbon atoms, so every atoms you see in carbon lattice is carbon, and it’s arranged in honeycomb pattern, group of hexagons that are linked together in two dimensional arrays.

In order to finding the best model, we studied the crystal structure lattice to simplifying 3D modeling and crystallography. We chose just one cubic lattice, and we pulled that out of entire crystal lattice.

Cubic lattice including Body centered (bcc), Face centered (fcc) and, Diamond (dia).

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In terms of lattice study, we found out that materials can be categorized in different classes. One of the most common material is Polycrystalline. Each crystal gain has a repeated lattice structure. The gains are important cause influence mechanical strength and thermal transport properties.

We acknowledged that a crystal can be constructed by essentially mapping a bunch of points in a systematic way throughout whatever dimensionality of space that is interested, and it called Bravais lattice.

Basically, Bravais lattice is an infinite array of distance points whose position vectors can be describes as :⃑ =n1 G 1 + n2 G 2 + n3 G 3 In this equation, ai and ni represent primitive translation vectors and integer respectively, and i can be varies from zero to infinity.

We enhanced our study by covering primitive unit cell. Privative unite cell is a volume of space that, when translated through all possible R, just fits all space, without overlap or voids. This cell contains one lattice point.

As we talked about graphene, we studied that graphene is an example of monatomic lattice that still requires a basis atom, a 2D crystal lattice, strong and with tight bond ã=1.42 angstroms. Graphene requires two atoms per point. The Translation vectors can be written as: G1=3 H ̃ ̂ + √3 G̃Î ; G 2 = 3 G̃Ĥ - √3 G̃Î. Each primary atoms are connected by translation vectors a1 and 2

2

2

2

a2.

In infinity lattice, we continued with heavy mathematical summation and integrals. So, to avoid that it is going to transform the lattice from real space to reciprocal space. We onsidered the mass density J(x) of a 1D atomic lattice, lattice periodicity dictates to J(x + ma) = J(x) in Chain of atoms. The Fourier series form of density is: J(x) =∑" Jn exp{iGnx} = J(x + ma) = ∑" Jn exp{iGn(x+ma)} =∑" Jn exp {iGnx} exp {iGnma} exp {iGnma} = 1 Gnma = 2π * integer. By Generalizing to 3D: Gn . Rm = 2π * integer Which vector G is in reciprocal space vector and R is represented in real space.

In terms of Reciprocal Lattice, it is more convenient to express spatial dependencies in terms of wave-vectors instead of wavelength. Reciprocal lattice (RL) is like the inverse of a Bravais lattice G is the wave vector and satisfies K =k1 L⃑ 1 + k2 L⃑ 2 + k3 L⃑ 3. Ki represent integers as: L⃑ i = 2π G⃑ j × G⃑ k

In this equation, b is translation in reciprocal space in reciprocal space and wave-vector

G⃑ 1 .( G⃑ 2 × G⃑ 3)

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instead of Wavelength # wave-vector (inversely proportional) and “a” is represented in translation in M real space.

Summary Our intention of this study is to find the best possible way of understanding thermal energy at nanoscale regards to fulfill the abstract that was written before by us. We are going to continue this study in order to perform either simulation model equation or academic lab work. The completion of this study will enlighten the chosen way, and it aimed to be worked on an article paper in order to be submitted in form of conference or journal.

Refrences:

[1] Jin, H., Restrepo, O., Antolin, N. et al. Phonon-induced diamagnetic force and its effect on the lattice thermal conductivity. Nature Mater 14, 601–606 (2015).

[2] Fundamentals of Nanotransistors, By (author): Mark Lundstrom (Purdue University, USA), ISBN: 978981-121-298-7

[3] Applied Thermal Measurements at the Nanoscale: A Beginner's Guide to Electrothermal Methods, By (author): Zhen Chen (Southeast University, China) and Chris Dames (University of California, Berkeley, USA), ISBN: 978-981-3271-10-4

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A Review and Comparison of Technical and Economic Aspects of the Current and Alternative Refrigeration Systems

Sultan Khalid Mentor: Shahin Shafiee Department of Mechanical Engineering Introduction: We initially reviewed the efforts that are being directed to identify, analyze, and assess technologies, which could serve as alternatives to vapor-compression for refrigeration and could save up to 35% of the total residential energy consumption in the U.S. per year. Next, we identified and described several alternative refrigeration systems such as thermoelectric refrigeration, thermoacoustic refrigeration, magnetic refrigeration, pulse tube refrigeration, absorption cooling, and solid sorption refrigeration, based on the concept behind their technology, their thermodynamic properties, and their state-of-the-art status.

A technical assessment of these alternative technologies was conducted and involve the evaluation of two fundamental criteria - environmental acceptability and economic analysis. Environmental acceptability considerations encompasses ozone depletion potential, global warming potential, toxicity of the working material, flammability, and noise. Economic analysis includes the cost-related technology assessment considering the state of the art, size and weight, system complexity, useful life, maintenance, and efficiency.

Furthermore, we plan to provide a comparison of different types of alternative refrigeration technologies in terms of their cycle efficiency, coefficient of performance (COP), environmental friendliness, advantages and disadvantages on their potential domestic and commercial use. The work will conclude with the most promising alternative refrigeration technology to vapor compression systems.

Hypothesis: Switching to alternative refrigeration technologies can not only help fight global warming but also could save up to 2.8 Quads per year of the U.S. energy Materials and Methods: After identifying alternatives to vapor-compression technology in residential and commercial HVAC applications, we characterized these technologies based on their technical energy savings potential, development status, non-energy benefits, and other factors affecting end-user acceptance and their ability to compete with conventional vapor-compression systems. In order to identify the most promising areas for potential further RD&D, a scorecard analysis was performed to evaluate each technology option based on the following criteria: technical energy savings potential, non-energy benefits, and cost/complexity. Each criterion was assigned a weighting factor to reflect its overall importance and ranked the list of technology options by their final scores. Figure 1 presents their overall final scores. These scores reflect the current understanding of the technology options based on available information and judgment.

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Figure 1 Comparision of technical energy savings potentials (Quads/year)

Results and Discussion: Several alternative technologies like thermoelastic and magnetic refrigeration are showing great results with high coefficient of performance, low operating costs and significant amount of energy savings. For example, Table 1 sumarrizes non vapor compressions technologies and their total technical energy savings results.

Technical energy

Table 1 saving results

Conclusion: We have several alternative technologies which have great potential to accomplish refrigeration.

Technologies that can save us huge amount of energy, that can be cost effective and efficient, that can help us cope up with the increased demand for refrigeration and most importantly, technologies that can be environmentally friendly. Therefore, the research on such alternatives must go on.

References: “Energy Savings Potential and RD&D Opportunities for Non-Vapor-Compression HVAC Technologies”. www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/03/f12/NonVapor%20Compression%20HVAC%20 Report.pdf.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Shahin Shafiee is an Assistant / Associate / Professor Sultan Khalid is a senior, majoring in Mechanical Engineering

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Soot Volume Fraction Measurements from Droplet Combustion Experiments of Sooty Fuels

Caleb Riggins Mentor: Yuhao Xu Department of Mechanical Engineering Introduction: Observations on sooting dynamics during the combustion of liquid fuel have been an area of interest for aerospace industries due to the growth and motivation to increase fuel efficiency. Earlier experiments conducted in the 1990s were performed to analyze sooting behaviors under microgravity, under validations of one-dimensional theory analysis. The pioneering results of microgravity experimentation provided crucial insights regarding steady-state burning behaviors for calculating theoretical predictions. Still, they did not take into consideration transient states, and often they are not quantitative [1]. With the motivation to improve fuel efficiency, the aerospace industry strives to gain a better understanding of the combustion process of Kerosene. Therefore, free-floating droplet combustion experiments were conducted in the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) onboard the International Space Station (ISS) as part of NASA’s Flame Extinguishment Experiment (FLEX) and the subsequent FLEX-2 programs [2]. During the FLEX-2 experiments, a free-floating fuel droplet was ignited using energized Kanthal coils. This study aims to develop and evaluate independent methods of quantitatively extracting soot volume fraction (SVF) from FLEX-2 experimental data.

Materials and Methods: The main method includes burning n-heptane droplets under microgravity with different droplet diameters using the full-field light extinction method (FFLEM) apparatus to quantitively extract SVF measurements. Soot volume fraction measurements provide essential information for studying soot growth, radiant transport, and post-flame particulates [3]. Laser-induced incandescence (LII) and full-field light extinction method [1] are favorably considered two nonintrusive approaches for SVF measurements. A disadvantage of LII is that it does not provide absolute SVF, and thus it must be calibrated against other techniques [4]. Therefore, this study concerns the FFLEM technique to quantify soot emissions, which is based on the attenuation of light when a laser beam passes through the sootcontaining region [5].

Results and Discussion: Results for this study were attempted using a mathematical simulation programmed in MATLAB. The code was written to ultimately be able to quantify soot emissions more effectively. Unfortunately, there were some setbacks due to technical complexities within the code data versions and the COVID-19 pandemic. Efforts were furthermore made to obtain more knowledge and understand sooting behaviors through extensive literature review for future project work in improving fuel efficiencies. Some results acquired from the literature review reflect the results we are generating within this project. Results show that as you move away from the droplet, SVF increases and then decreases. Figures 1 and 2 show this observation.

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Figure 1: Time sequence of a 1.75 mm n-heptane droplet burning in atmospheric pressure air from .2 to .5 seconds [1].

Figure 2: Corresponding results for Figure 1. Here, SVF is plotted against a nondimensional radius. For all times, soot production was constant and increased as the diameter increased [1].

Summary: This current project is aiming to quantify soot emissions more effectively to improve overall fuel efficiency while ultimately saving the environment as well as improving economic and technological advances in the aerospace industry. Older experiments were able to develop qualitative results but not quantitative. The goal of this project is to develop more effective ways to quantify SVF. Due to COVID19, some efforts were delayed in being able to quantify SVF effectively using MATLAB. Fortunately, there were still efforts made to evaluate qualitative data to ensure a progressive move towards successful work within this project in the future.

References: [1] M.Y. Choi, L. Kyeong-Okk, Investigation of sooting in microgravity droplet combustion, Symp.

(Int.) Combust., 1996, Elsevier, pp. 1243-1249.

[2] D.L. Dietrich, V. Nayagam, M.C. Hicks, et al., Droplet Combustion Experiments Aboard the International Space Station, Microgravity Sci. Technol. 26 (2014) 65-76.

[3] M. Choi, G.W. Mulholland, A. Hamins, T. Kashiwagi, Comparisons of the soot volume fraction using gravimetric and light extinction techniques, Combust. Flame 102 (1995) 161-169.

[4] D.R. Snelling, K.A. Thomson, G.J. Smallwood, Ö.L. Gülder, Two-dimensional imaging of soot volume fraction in laminar diffusion flames, Appl. Opt. 38 (1999) 2478-2485.

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[5] K.-O. Lee, S.L. Manzello, M.Y. Choi, The Effects of Initial Diameter on Sooting and Burning Behavior of Isolated Droplets under Microgravity Conditions, Combust. Sci. Technol. 132 (1998) 139156.

Awardee and Student: Dr. Yuhao Xu is an Assistant Professor with research interests in Droplet Combustion, Multiphase Heat Transfer, Microfluidics, and Biosensors.

Caleb Riggins a senior, majoring in Mechanical Engineering.

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THANK OU RESEARCH PVAMU EDU PVAMU EDU RESEARCH