PCR - Fall 2023 by The Pingry School

PC R. Fall 2023 Edition.

Showcasing the next generation of scientific researchers. PINGRY COMMUNITY RESEARCH

Contents. Reporter Articles Night Owls Beware: Late Bedtimes Linked to Increased Diabetes Risk and Unhealthy Lifestyles 7 Computing a Lower Carbon Footprint 9 Exercise Rehabilitation and Chronic Respiratory Diseases: Effects, Mechanisms, and Therapeutic Benefits 11 Exploring Obese Asthma: An Insight into Clinical Characteristics and Cytokine Profiles 12 On the Disproof of the Telescope Conjecture 13

Summer Research Cdc14 Phosphatase Characterization and Inhibitor Design in Rhynchosporium commune 17 Effects of Stimulant Medication on Social Behavior for Three Children with ADHD 18 Internship at Make Us Visible 21 The Effects of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates on Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis Zoospore Abundance 22

Machine Learning-Based Classification and Fusion of Satellite Precipitation Products 22 Study of Formation and Stability of Bulk Argon Nanobubbles 23

AP Biology Growth of Lemna minor in Various Nitrate Concentrations 28 The Effect of Decreasing pH on Artemia franciscana Survivability 29 The Effect of SPF on the Mutation Rate of UV Mutated Saccharomyces cerevisiae 32

Editor’s Note. Welcome to the 2023 Fall edition of the Pingry Community Research (PCR)

Journal. We are excited to showcase Pingry’s top scientific talent, both in terms of research skills and knowledge of scientific concepts and discoveries. The PCR journal provides students the opportunity to publish novel research. Through a written medium, students demonstrate their in-depth understanding of complex, collegiate-level scientific topics, and their applications in research at Pingry. The fall edition of PCR highlights work in three categories. Reporter articles are written by students on a recent scientific advancement of their choosing. Summer research articles communicate the findings of novel research conducted by students outside of school in myriad fields. AP Biology articles present the novel research undertaken by students in the AP Biology course from the previous school year. Through the PCR journal, we hope to spark intellectual curiosity and promote scientific inquiry amongst the next generation of Pingry researchers. Dive into the wonders of Pingry Research through this edition of PCR: Pingry’s foremost journal of scientific research. Evan Xie (VI), Editor-in-Chief Annabelle Shilling (VI), Editor-in-Chief

Editorial Staff. Editors-in-Chief: Evan Xie (VI) Annabelle Shilling (VI) Head Copy Editor: Leon Zhou (VI) Head Layout Editor: Sarah Gu (VI) Head Cartoon Editor: Kain Wang (VI) Faculty Advisor: Mr. Maxwell

Copy Editors: Alexander Recce (V) Carolyn Zhou (V) Christian Zhou-Zheng (IV) Edward Huang (IV) Elbert Ho (V) Jingjing Luo (V) Katia Krishtopa (VI) Melinda Xu (V) Sofia Wood (V) Vinav Shah (V) Layout Editors: Carolyn Zhou (V) Christian Zhou-Zheng (IV) Jingjing Luo (V) Melinda Xu (V) Sophia Lanao (IV) Sriya Tallapragada (V) Julia Ronnen (IV) Cartoon Editor: Sophia Lanao (IV)

Reporter Articles. Night Owls Beware: Late Bedtimes Linked to Increased Diabetes Risk and Unhealthy Lifestyles by Leila Souayah (V) Being a night owl isn’t just about staying up late for leisure; it’s rooted in an individual’s circadian preference, which is partly genetically determined. Night owls possess a natural body clock that inclines them to stay awake during the late hours, while “early birds” naturally wake up early and go to bed earlier. This intrinsic difference in sleep-wake patterns highlights the unique biology of night owls. Tianyi Huang, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and an associate epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, emphasized the importance of recognizing these natural preferences as the study’s senior author, “People who think they are night owls may need to pay more attention to their lifestyle because their evening chronotype may add increased risk for Type 2 diabetes.” The studies’ research uncovered several key differences between night owls and early birds among the female nurses surveyed. First was unhealthy diets: night owls were more likely to consume unhealthy diets, indicating a preference for less nutritious food choices. Another was reduced physical activity: night owls exercised less, suggesting a lower level of physical activity compared to their early bird counterparts. A higher body mass index (BMI) was also accounted for: individuals with an evening chronotype had a higher BMI, indicating a greater risk of obesity.

Night owls also reported fewer hours of sleep per night, potentially contributing to their increased health risks. Lastly was smoking: night owls were more likely to smoke cigarettes, a well-established risk factor for numerous health issues.

Photo Credits: Harvard Health Publishing One of the most significant findings was the

increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes among night owls. After adjusting for the impact of unhealthy habits associated with being a night owl, there remained a substantial 19% higher risk. Dr. Huang emphasized the significance of this risk, stating, “A 19% increased risk, after adjusting for other factors, is a strong risk factor.” However, the study also highlighted a noteworthy observation. Among individuals with evening chronotypes who worked night shifts, there was no association with an increased risk of diabetes. This suggests that the trouble might be primarily linked to a misalignment between a person’s natural circadian preference and their work schedule. Marie-Pierre St-Onge, director of the Center of Excellence for Sleep and Circadian Research at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, advised that individuals with late-night body clocks should be cautious about their lifestyle choices, emphasizing the importance of healthy eating, adequate sleep, and physical activity. While the study provides valuable insights into the potential risks of being a night owl, it is important to note that it does not establish causation. Further research, particularly in more diverse populations, is needed to confirm these findings. In conclusion, the study underscores the importance of considering one’s natural sleep-wake patterns and lifestyle choices in understanding health risks. It offers valuable guidance for individuals with evening chronotypes, highlighting the potential benefits of aligning their lifestyles with circadian preferences to mitigate health risks, particularly diabetes. Night owls, in particular, may need to pay closer attention to their lifestyles to reduce their risk of Type 2 diabetes.

References [1] Brigham and Women’s Communications. “The night owl’s disease problem.” The Harvard Gazette, 15 Sept. 2023, news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/09/how-do-sleep-habits-affectdisease-risk-diabetes-. Accessed 15 Nov. 2023. Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “’Night owls’ more likely than ‘early birds’ to develop diabetes.” Science Daily, ScienceDaily, 11 Sept. 2023, www.sciencedail y. c o m / r e l e a s e s / 2 0 2 3 / 0 9 / 2 3 0 9 1 1 1 9 1 0 0 4 . htm. Accessed 15 Nov. 2023. [2] Carroll, Linda. “Night owls may be at greater risk of diabetes than early birds.” NBC News, 11 Sept. 2023, www.nbcnews.com/health/healthnews/diabetes-risk-higher-late-night-early-risers-rcna104343. Accessed 15 Nov. 2023. [3] Epstein, Lawrence, and Syed Moin Hassan. “Why your sleep and wake cycles affect your mood.” Harvard Health Publishing, 13 May 2020, www.health.harvard. e d u / b l o g / w hy - yo u r- s l e e p - a n d - wa ke - c y c l e s - a f f e c t - y o u r- m o o d - 2 0 2 0 0 5 1 3 1 9 7 9 2 .

Computing a Lower Carbon Footprint by Alexander Recce (V) Are you reading this on your phone or laptop? The exponential growth of electronic media has an environmental cost. By the end of the decade, data centers and electronic devices are predicted to account for more than 20% of worldwide energy demand, a four-fold increase from 2020 [1]. Modern integrated circuits or chips consume an enormous amount of energy, and this consumption increases dramatically as processor speed and transistor densities increase. Much of this energy is lost in the form of heat as the computers run, which requires additional energy to cool. However, there is hope on the horizon, as a new type of computer requires far less power.

much more power being consumed by computers. Over 30 years ago, Professor Carver Mead at the California Institute of Technology proposed building neuromorphic computers, based on the brain, that required much less power [6]. However, the lack of progress in this field begs a question: If neuromorphic computing, or computer design based on biological neurons, is so advantageous, why hasn’t it been widely adopted? The answer stems from Intel’s founder Gordon Moore’s renowned Moore’s Law which predicted that the calculation speed of computers and the number of transistors per computer chip would double every two years [7]. These predictions have held true for more than 50 years. Any alternative computer architectures or designs were unable to keep up with this exponential expansion as they would be swiftly outpaced by the newer, faster devices that were released every few years. Recently, however, this rapid progress in computing power has slowed down, mostly from limits set by the laws of physics [8]. The fundamental design principles of the computing devices that we use have largely remained the same over the past 50 years; chips are simply getting smaller and quicker. Yet increased speed comes at a cost: better chips mean additional energy consumption. Soon, the power consumption of these improved chips will be unsustainable. It is necessary to find lower-power devices, like with neuromorphic computing.

Biological computers, or brains, are living proof that more energy-efficient computing devices are possible. The human brain only uses about 20 Watts of energy, which is a million times less than a supercomputer [2-3]. Supercomputers also have fewer computing components (transistors) than the roughly equivalent computing components, called synapses, in a brain. About half of the transistors in a supercomputer are active at any given time, while the majority of neurons, or brain cells, are inactive [4]. Additionally, in a brain cell, the transition from off to on is a change of only a few thousandths of a volt (millivolt), while in a computer, this change is five volts [2, 5]. The power used by an electronic device increases with the voltage, so each off-on transition in a computer uses a thousand times more power than a brain cell [5]. These differences result in Computer designers, materials scientists, and electronic engineers have made great progress in recent years in advancing neuromorphic computing. Google Trends has shown a continuous increase in neuromorphic computing searches since 2010 and Google Scholar shows that 89% of all scientific papers on neuromorphic computing were published after 2010 [9]. Additionally, more papers on neuromorphic computing were published in 2022 than in the 20 years after the field was started. In 2015, the World Economic Forum Cartoon by Sophia Lanao (IV)

identified neuromorphic engineering as one of the top ten emerging technologies and suggested that the industry would grow to $1.8B by 2025 [10]. The first neuromorphic computers will be very different from the computers that we are familiar with. During the rapid growth of computing, all the computers were designed to be general purpose such that they could be programmed to solve any problem. However, most problems that we solve using computers do not need general-purpose computers, and the tasks could be performed more efficiently and faster using a special-purpose computer that is designed to perform only one type of task. As the advance of general-purpose computers slows, with the ending of Moore’s Law, there will be an increase in the diversity of special-purpose computing devices that trade generality for lower power and better performance in the task they are designed to perform. In addition to reducing power consumption, interest in neuromorphic computing has been driven by the rapid growth in machine learning algorithms, like ChatGPT from openAI, AlphaFold from DeepMind, and autonomous driving for cars. All of these problems are based on neural networks and are an ideal match for neuromorphic computing hardware. Many of these tasks are currently run on Graphical Processing Units (GPUs), which consume more power than traditional computer processors. In addition, our devices and our cars are increasingly run on batteries, and reducing power requirements using neuromorphic computing provides benefits, such as increasing the range of an electronic vehicle. One of the key components of neuromorphic computers is called a memristor (memory + resistor) [11]. General-purpose computers that we use are based on binary arithmetic, or ones and zeros, while in biological neurons and neuromorphic computers, a synapse or brain cell has a wider range of values than just off or on. A memristor can store more information in each device, and it has an added advantage that the changes in its value persist after the power is turned off.

Several companies are developing experimental neuromorphic computers, including the Truenorth computer at IBM and the Intel Labs Loihi 2 chip. Universities are using these systems to develop a wide range of applications and are developing new neuromorphic computers including the Neurogrid at Stanford and the BrainScaleS system at the University of Heidelberg. Also, new memristors and components are being developed at a large number of universities, and these devices are based on different materials than those used in traditional computer chips. Progress towards commercial neuromorphic computing devices has started, but more attention and funding from governments and companies would stimulate faster growth. The level of innovation in low-power computers is exciting, but real progress is necessary to reduce the demand for more and more energy to support computing devices. References [1] Jones, N. (2018). How to stop data centres from gobbling up the world’s electricity. Nature, 561(7722), 163-166. [2] Brown, G. C. (1999). The energy of life: The science of what makes our minds and bodies work. New York: Free Press. [3] Halper, M. (2015). Supercomputing’s super energy needs, and what to do about them. Communications of the ACM. [4] Lennie, P. (2003). The cost of cortical computation. Current biology, 13(6), 493-497. [5] Alexander, C. K. (2013). Fundamentals of electric circuits. McGraw-Hill. [6] Mead, C., & Ismail, M. (Eds.). (1989). Analog VLSI implementation of neural systems (Vol. 80). Springer Science & Business Media. [7] Schaller, R. R. (1997). Moore’s law: past, present and future. IEEE spectrum, 34(6), 52-59. [8] Huang, A. (2015). Moore’s Law is Dying (and that could be good). IEEE Spectrum, 52(4), 43-47. [9] Soman, S., Jayadeva & Suri, M. Recent trends in neuromorphic engineering. Big Data Anal 1, 15 (2016) [10] Schwab, K. (2015). World economic forum. Global Competitiveness Report (2014-2015). [11] Li, Y., Wang, Z., Midya, R., Xia, Q., & Yang, J. J. (2018). Review of memristor devices in neuromorphic computing: materials sciences and device challenges. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 51(50), 503002.

Exercise Rehabilitation and Chronic Respiratory Diseases: Effects, Mechanisms, and Therapeutic Benefits by Krish Patel (V) Chronic respiratory diseases (CRD) like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma are often associated with acute exacerbations and various additional health problems, reducing quality of life and limiting exercise. Exercise training can increase pulmonary rehabilitation, alleviate respiratory issues, enhance gas exchange, and improve cardiovascular function. Aerobic, resistance, high-intensity intermittent exercises, as well as newer approaches like aquatic exercise and Tai Chi, effectively better physical fitness and pulmonary function in CRD patients. For COPD patients, the article highlights how regular exercise can enhance immune response and control inflammation, crucial for reducing susceptibility to airway infections and severe exacerbations. The study shows that aerobic exercise reduces immune cells that are associated with COPD, such as macrophages and eosinophils. Furthermore, exercise can increase CD4+ T-cells, which activate cells of the innate immune system, thus improving immune response, which in turn decreases exacerbations and hospitalizations. The emphasis on aerobic exercise’s ability to modulate immune cells and inflammatory markers offers a promising non-pharmacological intervention. However, regular exercise is not an all-encompassing remedy for COPD—it is essential to consider the practicality and adherence to regular exercise among COPD patients. Overall, exercise training is considered an effective approach to reduce inflammation, alleviate symptoms, and slow down disease progression in COPD patients.

as it suggests that aerobic exercise may help in enhancing lung function, asthma control, and overall quality of life. In addition, the study addresses other CRDs, including bronchiectasis, and it concludes with a comprehensive summary that reiterates the benefits of various forms of exercise across different CRDs. The inclusion of a detailed table summarizing relevant studies adds empirical weight to the discussion. However, a more in-depth exploration into the types and intensity of exercise that are most beneficial and least likely to induce symptoms in asthmatics would add value. The text could benefit from a more critical analysis of the existing literature. It should address potential limitations and gaps in the current understanding of exercise interventions in CRDs, offering a more balanced and nuanced perspective. For instance, discussing the variability in exercise response, the heterogeneity of respiratory diseases such as asthma, and the need for personalized exercise prescription could provide a more holistic view. In conclusion, while the text offers a robust overview of the role of exercise in managing various CRDs, it could be enhanced with a critical analysis that provides a more comprehensive perspective. Addressing potential barriers to exercise adherence, exploring the role of personalized exercise prescription, and analyzing the existing literature will contribute to a more in-depth and nuanced understanding, aiding in the effective integration of exercise interventions in the management of CRDs.

The study emphasizes the need for an individualized approach to exercise prescription for asthmatics,

Exploring Obese Asthma: An Insight into Clinical Characteristics and Cytokine Profiles by Parth Patel (V) Masako To’s “Clinical characteristics and cytokine profiles of adult obese asthma with type 2 inflammation” significantly advances the understanding of clinical characteristics and cytokine profiles of adult obese asthma with type 2 inflammation [1]. The paper concludes that there are substantial links between type 2 inflammation and adult obese asthma. Additionally, there is a greater-than-ever need for specific interventions and management strategies to help those who suffer from this disorder. While this research may prove globally important, it is important to evaluate the study’s shortcomings. For example, a closer look at the study’s group division, which is based entirely on eosinophil counts and RAST scores, reveals a potential oversight of other significant factors influencing the outcomes. Additionally, the study exclusively enrolling Japanese individuals potentially limits the global applicability of the findings: the definition of obesity, tailored for Japanese individuals (BMI of 25 kg/m2 or higher), could influence the categorization and outcomes, differing from the global standard set by the World Health Organization (BMI of 30 kg/m2 or higher). Despite these limitations, the research concludes a distinct phenotype within patients with obese asthma and positive type-2 inflammation markers. These individuals have experienced persistent and severe asthma since childhood, underscoring the need for targeted interventions and management strategies for this demographic. The study’s approach, while restricted by available data, provides a platform for understanding group dynamics. Specifically, the use of multivariable logistic regression analysis on variables such as age, sex, and duration offers a broad perspective

on the demographic factors influencing the results and enhances the clarity of the findings, as does the thorough presentation of data, including extensive demographic information. In addition, the use of Mann–Whitney U tests and Fisher’s Exact Tests for p-value calculation reinforces the credibility of the study’s statistical analysis. Although the study’s focus is specificits global relevance is enhanced due to the correlation of its findings with global obesity definitions and standards. As the potential impacts of the study’s limitations on the research findings is openly acknowledged, the study provides a balanced and honest view of the research process and findings. The study’s findings hold significant implications for future clinical practice, aiding in the development of targeted and effective interventions for patients with obese asthma and positive type-2 inflammation markers. The research also paves the way for future studies to further explore the nuances of this specific demographic, enhancing collective understanding of obese asthma. Ultimately, the paper by Masako To provides valuable insights into the clinical characteristics and cytokine profiles of adult obese asthma with type 2 inflammation. The research’s contributions to the field underscore the importance of continued exploration to pave the path for enhanced patient care in obese asthma. References [1] To, M., Arimoto, Y., Honda, N., Kurosawa, Y., Haruki, K., & To, Y. (2023). “Clinical characteristics and cytokine profiles of adult obese asthma with type2 inflammation.” Scientific Reports, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-41889-6

On the Disproof of the Telescope Conjecture by Christian Zhou-Zheng (IV) Introduction Originally an offshoot of algebraic topology, homotopy theory and its stable and chromatic branches have been a topic of active mathematical research in recent decades. A 1984 seminal work in the field by Douglas Ravenel introduced seven key conjectures, collectively known as Ravenel’s conjectures, that have received substantial attention; six have so far been proven, and the only remaining conjecture is known as the telescope conjecture [1]. An elementary special case for n = 1 was proved in the 1980s, but the general case for n ≥ 2 remained an open problem until the announcement in June that a team of four mathematicians— Robert Burklund, Jeremy Hahn, Ishan Levy, and Tomer Schlank—had disproved the conjecture [1]. This novel proof makes the telescope conjecture the only one of Ravenel’s original seven conjectures to be proven false. Although the proof itself is yet to be fully revealed, its motivation and general approach are sufficient to state its significance. This article is intended to be readable for anyone with a basic understanding of algebra. Motivation To understand the telescope conjecture, it is imperative to have a fundamental understanding of stable homotopy theory. To begin, we define a homotopy as a “continuous deformation” of one continuous function into another continuous function (where each continuous function goes between two topological spaces); these two functions are homotopic to each other. For example, on the two-dimensional plane, imagine a line being continually distorted into a curve. However, homotopies are equally valid between objects of different dimensions and properties, such as from a 2D circle onto a 3D torus (donut). Homotopies are additionally equivalence relations on maps, under which two maps are considered equivalent if they are homotopic, and every equivalence class of ho-

motopies from X to Y is contained within a set [X,Y]. We extend this to a fundamental problem in homotopy theory through the question of determining homotopy groups of spheres; that is, the group of homotopy equivalence classes of mappings between spheres of (usually) differing dimensions. A unit sphere in m dimensions is given by the locus of points an equal distance from the origin, formally:

Using this, the mth homotopy group of a topological space Y is defined by (i.e. all homotopies that send an m-dimensional sphere to the topological space Y). To restate the fundamental problem of homotopy theory more rigorously, we aim to comprehensively determine the homotopy group between m-dimensional spheres and n-dimensional spheres for m, n > 0, which we will denote as . This has been extended to stable homotopy theory through the study of stable homotopy groups, or stable stems, of the form and simply denoted as ( for arbitrary *). These have been proven to be independent of n for n > k + 1, so notation omits the n, as shown in this example: . In other words, once the dimension of S is high enough, different homotopy groups are isomorphic up to the difference in dimensions; they stabilize, hence the name. The fundamental problem of stable homotopy theory is then to characterize these stable homotopy groups for k > 0 by expressing them in terms of other finite abelian groups. A table of the first ten stable homotopy groups is given in Table 1; there is no yet known pattern to their progression! The telescope conjecture attempts to understand the structure of

stable homotopy groups through relations to mathematical telescopes, as we will now describe. TABLE 1. represents the cyclic group of order n. represents the direct product of with itself k times. 0 represents the trivial group.

We now introduce the namesake idea of a mathematical telescope. Suppose one has a sequence of topological spaces and continuous maps between them, denoted as and respectively, indexed by n. Taking the Cartesian product of each with the unit interval [0, 1] produces “cylinders,” which can be “glued” together on each end by the maps . This produces a continuous telescope of topological spaces, in the same way a physical telescope looks like a sequence of cylinders glued together on the ends. For our purposes, we only need one topological space X and a stable map f (meaning it induces a stable homotopy equivalence) that is also an endomorphism on X, meaning f maps X back to X every iteration. This map then can be applied repeatedly using the procedure detailed above to produce the telescope in question, denoted and representative of the direct limit of this sequence of repeated mappings. Since f is a homotopy (due to being a stable map) and is an endomorphism on X, it means that is an endomorphism as well; with a slight abuse of notation in denoting this endomorphism also by f, is then a module over the ring , and the correlation of to is as follows: . Using this, the computation of would then permit the computation of ; one form of the telescope conjecture, which will be mentioned later, would have given a more tractable method to calculate . When X is a sphere in any dimension, this would significantly reduce the computational complexity

of for greater values of k and carry consequences for the overall structure of stable homotopy groups as they relate to each other. Having introduced telescopes in our context, we would finally turn to the formal statement of the telescope conjecture; however, most of the mathematical background of the conjecture statement is incredibly dense, so an explanation of the specifics will be skipped. The casual reader may now skip to the end of the section, though we will make note of two of the major formulations of the telescope conjecture for the more intrepid reader. The main formulation of the conjecture states that the telescope of X, , when X is a primelocal finite complex of type n (n the smallest integer for which is nontrivial), is Bousfield equivalent to the nth Morava K-theory. Key concepts to understand this statement are localization, algebraic (and specifically Morava) K-theory, and Bousfield equivalence, along with the elementary concept of spectra. The formulation that would allow the tractable calculation of is that the Adams-Novikov spectral sequence for converges to , which can be shown to be an equivalent statement to that aforementioned. Useful concepts

Cartoon by Kain Wang (VI)

here are homology and cohomology groups, general spectral sequences, and of course the Adams spectral sequence itself. If the previous paragraph made no sense, that is expected. The motivation for the conjecture in stable homotopy groups of spheres as listed above should suffice for the casual reader, though the intrepid reader is encouraged to examine the listed concepts and some of the works cited for further reading [2, 7-9]. History of the Proof The conjecture was originally postulated by Ravenel [7] in 1984, along with six other conjectures that have since been proven true [1]. At the time, the statement was known to be true for a specific case, but the general conjecture remained unproven. The telescope conjecture evaded an attempt at proof in 1989 by Ravenel [9], using an approach involving the triple loop space. We will briefly examine that paper; as in the formal statement of the telescope conjecture, the technicalities are far beyond the scope of this paper and would take a long time to explain. The overall result of that paper was that the telescope conjecture, as simple as it originally appeared, was in fact needlessly complicated; the paper proves that only a very specific, seemingly arbitrary set of differentials makes the result of a specific spectral sequence (a computational tool for homotopies) agree with the predicted answer over the same spectrum. The paper [9] is hosted on Ravenel’s personal website, and the reader interested in the details of the attempted proof is encouraged to read through it themselves. While the proof ultimately failed, Ravenel et al. managed to prove some other intermediate lemmas along the way, and showed that the inner machinations of the telescope conjecture were so convoluted that Occam’s razor all but guaranteed its falsity [8, 9]. The conjecture laid dormant for several years until recently, when Ishan Levy, a graduate student at MIT in algebraic topology, and his team picked up work on it. Ultimately, the June proof

announced by Levy et al. discovered a concrete counterexample to the telescope conjecture, disproving it for the general case; they proved that the K-theory of the K(1)-local sphere serves as a counterexample to the telescope conjecture at height 2. However, as the proof is not yet published, more details are forthcoming. Despite this, the general idea—that this is a crucial result in the study of stable homotopy groups of spheres—is hopefully still conveyed to the reader. The particularly devoted reader may wish to view the lectures given by Levy et al., particularly [6], to attempt to glean some knowledge from those. Consequences Levy et al. detail some consequences of their disproof in lectures for which videos are provided in [3], [5], [6], and [10]; however, most of the consequences are far beyond the scope of this article. The most understandable consequence, and that which this expository article is concerned with, is simply the widening of the world of stable homotopy groups of spheres; specifically, each stable stem is larger than was previously assumed. This does not invalidate the existing calculations for stable stems up to k = 90, but rather disqualifies a potential method for calculating the size of higher k stems more tractably as mentioned in part I. Further research in the area of facilitating the calculations of such stems will need to be directed in other directions, and toward other ways of understanding the underlying structure of stable homotopy groups. One insight from the triple loop space approach mentioned in the previous section is that the telescope conjecture could not fail partially; it had to either be correct or fail violently. Assuming violent failure, Burklund [4] calculates new bounds on the size of stable homotopy groups of spheres and telescopes. Though the specifics of his work are outside the scope of this expository article, we again provide the full math for the intrepid reader: a new upper bound on the size of stable stems is given as , where is a particular function that gives upper and lower bounds on growth; this can largely be

reduced to . He also provides a lower bound on the size of telescopes such tha t , assuming localization at a prime p and with being a function measuring the size of telescopic homotopy groups with a complicated definition elaborated on in [4]. In this way, the fall of the telescope conjecture is not a total loss: it provides useful information through the knowledge of its falsity. The disproof of the telescope conjecture dispels an optimistic assumption of the size of and intractability of calculating stable homotopy groups of spheres; though the field of stable homotopy theory has come a long way since Ravenel’s original 1984 formulation of the conjecture, this fundamental problem may still not see a general solution in our lifetimes. References [1] Aspel, D., Freiberger, M., Schlank, T., & Hahn, J. (Hosts). (2023, July 7). Disproving Ravenel’s “telescope conjecture”: an interview with Tomer Schlank and Jeremy Hahn (No. 53) [Audio podcast episode]. In Living Proof: the Isaac Newton Institute podcast. Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences. https://www. newton.ac.uk/media/podcasts/post/53-disproving-ravenels-telescope-conjecture-an-interview-with-tomer-schlank-and-jeremy-hahn/ [2] Barnes, D., & Roitzheim, C. (2020). Foundations of stable homotopy theory. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108636575 [3] Burklund, R. (Presenter). (2023, June 9). Beyond Z_p extensions.Speech presented atA Panorama of Homotopy - A Conference in Honour of Mike Hopkins, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom. [4] Burklund, R., & Senger, A. (2022, March 2). How Big are the Stable Homotopy Groups of Spheres? [Unpublished working paper]. https://doi.org/10.48550/ARXIV.2203.00670 [5] Hahn, J. (Presenter). (2023, June 8). Quillen-Lichtenbaum, Ausoni-Rognes, and Doug Ravenel. Speech presented at A Panorama of Homotopy - A Conference in Honour of Mike Hopkins, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom. [6] Levy, I. (Presenter). (2023, June 6). Applications of algebraic K-theory to a problem in topol-

ogy. Speech presented at A Panorama of Homotopy - A Conference in Honour of Mike Hopkins, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom. [7] Ravenel, D. C. (1984). Localization with respect to certain periodic homology theories. American Journal of Mathematics, 106(2), 351. https://doi.org/10.2307/2374308 [8] Ravenel, D. C. (2022, May 24). What is the telescope conjecture? A walking tour of modern homotopy theory [Speech video]. Echo360. https://echo360.org.uk/media/ f650fa39-d562-4555-af9f-9c496269489c/public [9] Ravenel, D. C., Mahowald, M., & Shick, P. (2001). The triple loop space approach to the telescope conjecture. In J. P. C. Greenless, R. R. Bruner, & N. Kuhn (Eds.), Contemporary Mathematics: Vol. 271. Homotopy Methods in Algebraic Topology. American Mathematical Society. https://doi.org/10.1090/conm/271 [10] Schlank, T. (Presenter). (2023, June 7). Cyclotomic Redshift. Speech presented at A Panorama of Homotopy - A Conference in Honour of Mike Hopkins, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom. [11] The Transatlantic Transchromatic Homotopy Theory Conference II - Andy Baker 70. (2023, July 31). Higher Invariants: Interactions between Arithmetic Geometry and Global Analysis. Retrieved September 24, 2023, from https://sfb-higher-invariants.app.uni-regensburg.de/index.php/SFB_transchromatic_2020

Summer Research. Cdc14 Phosphatase Characterization and Inhibitor Design in Rhynchosporium commune by Brian Austin-Handy1, Maria Grau1, Leon Zhou1 (VI) 1

Summer Science Program in Biochemistry at Indiana University - Bloomington

Food insecurity is a critical issue for humanity. Fungal pathogens are one of the biggest contributors to food insecurity and world hunger, as they damage millions of dollars worth of crops every year. A particular fungal pathogen of interest is Rhynchosporium commune, the fungi which causes leaf blotch in barley (Hordeum vulgare). Leaf blotch results in lower quality grain and up to 45% yield loss. Therefore, the development of a compound to prevent R. commune infection is of considerable importance for mitigating world hunger. The Cdc14 dual-specificity phosphatase has been discovered to be a potential target. Cdc14 has been found to be critical to mitosis and the cell cycle; in the absence of Cdc14, yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) cells cannot divide or exit mitosis. Furthermore, Cdc14 is well conserved across all fungi, absent in plants,

and non-essential in mammals. Cdc14 therefore not only serves as a target for inhibition in R. commune, but also potentially a target for a broadacting, novel fungicide and thus warrants further characterization and inhibitor development. R. commune Cdc14 was studied both in vitro and in silico to determine kinetic parameters, active-site specificity, and the effect of candidate inhibitors. Our results support the conclusions that Cdc14 is well-conserved across many fungal species and that Cdc14 is a promising target for fungicide development. We also propose aurintricarboxylic acid (ATA) as a promising candidate inhibitor for RcCdc14 and other fungal Cdc14 homologs. Further improvements to ATA were made in silico, but have not yet been tested in vitro. Future steps include improved inhibitor synthesis and testing of this improved inhibitor in vitro and in vivo evaluation.

Figure 1: IC50 graph of RcCdc14 treated with I1 (aurintricarboxylic acid)

Effects of Stimulant Medication on Social Behavior for Three Children with ADHD by Carolyn Zhou (V), Alex Pauls, MA, Matthew J. O’Brien, PhD Introduction ADHD is one of the most diagnosed neurodevelopmental disorders in children [1]. The condition is characterized by inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, which can often contribute to lower self-esteem and trouble socializing with peers [2]. Ninety percent of diagnosed children are treated with stimulant medication [3]. Stimulants increase dopamine and norepinephrine levels to improve focus and reduce executive dysfunction in individuals with ADHD [2]. While the efficacy of these medications in reducing the symptoms of ADHD and treating challenging behavior is well documented, little is known about the collateral effects on other behaviors, including social behaviors [3]. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of stimulant medication on social behavior for three children with ADHD. Research Objectives Based on previous research that suggests stimulant medications may impact social behavior, we hypothesized that stimulant medication would decrease various social behaviors during play opportunities [3]. The research objectives included identifying participants who met the criteria of the study, defining social behaviors of interest, coding videos of free play sessions on and off stimulant medications, analyzing the data, and drawing conclusions. Method Three boys (Ross, Chandler, and Joey), aged 7, 7, and 12 years respectively, who were diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed stimulant medication, participated in this study. They were part of a larger study evaluating the effects of stimulant medication on disruptive behavior and delayed discounting. As part of the larger study, each participant attended between 6 and 8 study visits in a clinical setting. The participants alternated

between taking stimulant medication and not taking medication across the visits. During each visit, 5-minute free play and preference assessment sessions were conducted with each participant in the same manner. For each session, toys, activities, and adult attention were available and no demands were placed on the participants. Videos of these visits were coded by primary and reliability data coders for the variables of interest, which included both frequency and duration codes related to social behavior. Frequency data were collected on types of social initiation (i.e., unprompted acts intended to start a new social interaction), and purposeful reciprocation (i.e., behavior intended to continue social interaction). Both social initiation and reciprocation were further categorized as verbal, gestural, or physical behaviors. Additionally, data on therapist initiation/reciprocation were collected. Verbalizations were identified as either simple or complex based on the length of the statement. More specifically, verbalizations of three words or less were classified as simple, and verbalizations of more than three words were classified as complex. Duration data were collected on social play, which included interactive play (i.e., engagement in play activities expected to be done with another person) and solitary play (i.e., engagement in activities expected to be played alone). Two types of physical orientation were coded: purposeful orientation of the body, head, and/or eyes towards the therapist, and orientation away from the therapist. Results Ross showed a clear increase in his initiation (83.33%) and reciprocation (33.19%) off medication (Figure 1). He also spent a higher percentage of the session participating in interactive play (19.78%) and less time on solitary play (-14.39%) when off stimulants and demonstrated more orienting toward the therapist (9.33%) (Figure 2).

Chandler exhibited significantly higher rates of initiation (87.5%) and reciprocation (66.66%) off stimulants (Figure 3); however, he rarely engaged in interactive play on or off medications, with a slight increase in solitary play when off stimulants. Similarly, he demonstrated little

change in orientation toward the therapist off medication (Figure 4). Joey displayed a difference in initiation (26.09%), but little change in reciprocation on or off stimulants (Figure 5). He exhibited similar levels of interactive and solitary play regardless of medication status.

Figure 1: Ross Rates of Initiation and Reciprocation

Figure 2: Ross % Engagement

Figure 3: Chandler Rates of Initiation and Reciprocation

Figure 4: Chandler % Engagement

Figure 5: Joey Rates of Initiation and Reciprocation

Figure 6: Joey % Engagement

Figure 7: Overall Rates of Initiation and Reciprocation

Figure 8: Overall % Engagement

However, Joey spent a higher percentage of the session orienting toward the therapist (24.28%) off stimulants than on (Figure 6). When data from all participants was aggregated, there was a substantial increase in both rates of initiation and reciprocation off stimulants compared to on. The percent session spent on interactive play and orientation toward the therapist also increased, while solitary play and orientation away decreased (Figures 7 & 8).

be found. A deeper understanding of the side effects of stimulants is critical to helping improve the treatment of kids with ADHD and informing doctors, patients, and their families of a fuller picture of the medications that are being consumed. Studies such as this one allow us to look beyond the intended usage of stimulants to evaluate the collateral effects, such as social play, and how these elements can further impact quality of life.

Conclusions/Implications The results provide possible support for the hypothesis that stimulant medication would decrease various social behaviors during play opportunities. Nevertheless, the findings were nuanced and indicate that there are some individualized responses to stimulant medication. For example, with Chandler’s data, he showed a substantial increase in both initiation and reciprocation off medication, but no changes in choice of play. Likewise, Joey demonstrated consistent levels of reciprocation and no difference in play type, but increased levels of initiation and orientation towards when off stimulants. This could be due to several factors, including little social behavior at baseline, novelty of the setting and therapist, and lack of interest in the items and activities available for play. Future directions we’d like to take with this project include recruiting more participants and further analyzing the individual forms of initiation and reciprocation to see if additional nuances can

References [1] Scandurra, V., Emberti Gialloreti, L., Barbanera, F., Scordo, M. R., Pierini, A., & Canitano, R. (2019). Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Adaptive Functions: A Study of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and/or Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Frontiers in psychiatry, 10, 673. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00673 [2] Barbaresi, W. J., Colligan, R. C., Weaver, A. L., Voigt, R. G., Killian, J. M., & Katusic, S. K. (2013). Mortality, ADHD, and psychosocial adversity in adults with childhood ADHD: A prospective study. Pediatrics, 131(4), 637-644. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2012-2354 [3] Larue, R. H., Northup, J., Baumeister, A. A., Hawkins, M. F., Seale, L., Williams, T., & Ridgway, A. (2008). An evaluation of stimulant medication on the reinforcing effects of play. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 41(1), 143-147. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.2008.41-143

Internship at Make Us Visible by Alex Terpstra (IV) Over the summer, I interned with “Make Us Visible,” an organization dedicated to preventing Anti-Asian violence through education and integrating Asian American & Pacific Islander history into K-12 education. The organization advocates for the passage of legislation requiring AAPI history be included in K-12 education and also works to develop history curricula. Its efforts have led to the adoption of legislation in Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Florida. My role this summer centered around the development of AAPI history curricula. As part of my internship, I explored the life of George Dupont, who, despite his English-sounding name, was the only Thai soldier to fight in the U.S. Civil War. Dupont fought in some of the war’s most memorable battles, including Gettysburg, Antietam and Chancellorsville, and was part of General Sherman’s March to the Sea. While in Georgia, Dupont was injured in combat twice. Originally from Thailand, which was called Siam at that time, Dupont arrived in New Jersey as a minor and enlisted with the 13th NJ Volunteers in 1862. After the war’s end, Dupont moved to Philadelphia and worked in a type foundry (companies that distributed typefaces for use in the printing press). He became a US citizen in 1869 and before returning to Thailand where he worked with the Siamese army. He later became a timber dealer and, in 1889, was wounded in an attack by bandits. The bandit attack left Dupont with injuries preventing him from working. Later, he was able to secure his military pension by proving both the extent of his injuries and his US citizenship to the US Consular in Bangkok. Dupont’s story reminds us of the diversity of those who fought in the Civil War. While the war was American, many of the soldiers were not. About 25% of Union army soldiers were immigrants. Many were from Europe, but some were from China, India, and the Philippines among other Asian countries.

Learning this and having the confidence to create a reliable historical record was far more complicated than a simple Google search on “George Dupont”. As any good historian knows, there is a flood of misinformation on the internet. For example, several sources claimed that George Dupont had a Thai name “Yod”, yet there is no evidence for this. During my research, I found several articles about Dupont before and contacted the authors for their sources. Fortunately, all the authors I contacted were happy to collaborate with me, providing their sources as well as additional contacts for me to reach out to. Furthermore, I reviewed both George Dupont’s Military Service Record and his Pension File, which were provided by the National Archives. Through these documents, I learned about the battles he fought in with the NJ 13th, as well as the circumstances of his injuries. I also saw his citizenship application, his passport, and his application for his pension. Moreover, I read about how he needed to prove both the extent of his injuries and his US citizenship from the other side of the world. Finally, I created a timeline from my research that followed Dupont’s life, and I believe I have compiled the most accurate information on Dupont. Toward the end of my summer, due to my thorough research, I was asked to create a manual to help guide other interns in how to engage in their own research. I will be continuing my work with Make Us Visible through the school year both continuing to do research as well as managing the other interns in their research projects.

The Effects of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates on Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis Zoospore Abundance by Maya Daly, Ellis Fertig, Siraj Gandhi, Wenya Huan, Hannah Malko, Melinda Mo, Alexander Nuckols, Nosamudiana Omoigui, Brian Shi, Krishav Singla, Advika Vuppala, Alan Zhong (VI) Advisor: Dr. Jessica McQuigg, Ph.D Assistant: Harris Naqvi Wildlife disease dynamics are governed by com- disease dynamics in this system. Specifically, we plex interactions between hosts, pathogens, and focused on two macroinvertebrate species from the environment in which they live. The am- Long Pond in Drew University’s Zuck Arborephibian chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendro- tum: non-biting midges (chironomidae) and glassbatidis (Bd), is one of the most devastating wildlife worms (chaoborus). To test if these species reduce pathogens to date, decreasing frog populations Bd levels, non-biting midges and glassworms were in vast regions around the world. Understanding exposed to Bd-treated pond water for 18 hours. Bd why disease dynamics vary among species, pop- ribosomal DNA was then isolated, and a qPCR was ulations, and regions is critical to formulating an used to measure the effects of the macroinverteevidence-based management response to wildlife brate presence on Bd abundance. We found that disease outbreaks. Bd and its hosts have all been in Bd-infested environments, non-biting midge examined in depth in past studies; however, the larvae introduce volatility into the Bd population, ecosystemic interaction of the fungus has yet to be while glassworms decrease the Bd population. fully explored. The present study strives to deter- Furthermore, the manipulation of these species mine if community interactions between Bd and within Bd-infested ponds may be used as a soluaquatic macroinvertebrates may be moderating tion to combat future chytridiomycosis outbreaks.

Machine Learning-Based Classification and Fusion of Satellite Precipitation Products by Alan Zhong1 (VI), Ryan Solgi2,3

The Pingry School Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara 3 Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara 1

Accurately estimating precipitation quantities and tracking water flow has important applications in areas such as disaster forecasting and agriculture. Prior research has explored several models to fuse data from near real-time satellite measurements to improve the accuracy of precipitation estimates. These models are accurate under certain conditions, but often work only for specific precipitation levels and require large sets of ground-based data, which may not exist in certain areas. A novel deep learning method was introduced that performs pixel-wise classification of precipitation categories, to select a model that

works well for a precipitation level, accounting for variation and inaccuracies in data. The study area was defined as the center area of Nigeria, to demonstrate the applicability of our model in areas with a lack of easily-accessible data. Our classification model was combined with a fusion model, evaluated the combined performance on data obtained from Nigeria, and compared the combined model with a standalone fusion model. Our test results demonstrate that our proposed method has the potential to improve fusion models in data-scarce regions significantly.

Study of Formation and Stability of Bulk Argon Nanobubbles by Katia Krishtopa (VI), Elias Trejo¹, Jay N. Meegoda¹ ¹Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology

Abstract Nanobubbles represent a promising advancement for water treatment processes, including the removal of organic contaminants to improve water quality. Their unique properties, such as small size, high surface area, and extended lifespan, make them highly useful for this type of application. The stability of nanobubbles in argon gas is a complex coaction of factors, including gas type, surrounding medium, temperature, and more. In this study, the stability of nanobubbles produced from argon in water was explored under varying pH conditions and different generation time. The stability was demonstrated by direct measurements of the zeta potential of water samples. Introduction Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) [1] have attracted significant attention in recent years due to their widespread presence in the environment and potential health risks. These chemicals, often called “forever chemicals,” due to their stability and resistance to degradation in nature, are challenging to remove using conventional water treatment methods. However, emerging technologies like sonication [2-5], nanobubbles treatment [6,7], etc. hold promise as innovative tools for PFAS degradation and remediation. Our current research is focused on studying nanobubbles. Nanobubbles, as the name suggests, are tiny gas bubbles with diameters typically less than 200 nanometers. It has been observed that, once, generated, nanobubbles can exist in water for an extended period, often several weeks [8]. One of the key advantages of nanobubbles is their large

surface area relative to size. This high surface area allows for enhanced mass transfer of gasses and dissolved oxygen, making nanobubbles highly effective at delivering oxygen to PFAS contaminated water. They can also enhance the reactivity of water by increasing the generation of hydroxyl radicals, which play a major role in breaking down PFAS compounds into less harmful byproducts through oxidation. Therefore, the stability of nanobubbles combined with their unique properties, make them a promising candidate for use in PFAS degradation. While nanobubbles show promise in PFAS degradation, several challenges need to be addressed, including the optimization of nanobubble generation methods (such as the choice of gas used for generation, water pH, temperatures, etc.). The stability of nanobubbles was extensively studied before using four different gasses: atmospheric air, oxygen, nitrogen, and ozone [9,10]. It was observed that bubble size and stability, among other factors, depend on the gas’s solubility in water. The use of argon in sonication was debated as a potential, superior alternative to air and oxygen due to its ability to generate higher temperatures during bubble implosion [11], even though argon is less soluble than air [12, 13] and lacks the formation of reactive oxygen species. Because of limited clarity in understanding the mechanism [14-18], the subject remains controversial as to whether argon contributes to PFAS degradation via sonication or not [3, 19]. The primary goal of this research project was to determine the feasibility of using argon gas for nanobubble generation, with the hypothesis that it could lead to more efficient degrada-

tion of organic compounds, including PFAS. The study focused on investigating the stability of nanobubbles generated using argon gas. Materials and Methods Milli-Q water (18.2 MΩ·cm) was used in all experiments and analyses. Various pH levels of water were achieved by the controlled addition of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and hydrochloric acid (HCl). In this study, nanobubbles were systematically generated at ambient temperatures (25±2°C) by introducing argon gas through nanobubble-generating nozzles (BT-50FR) into plastic 25 L chambers filled with water with durations from 3 min to 1 hour (Fig.1). Water was continuously pumped through with the flow rate of ~20 L/min. Argon was supplied from a compressed gas cylinder equipped with a regulator, which was set at 5 psi. The experimental setup is also described in further reading [6, 9,10]. The experiments were performed as follows: the desired pH solutions were prepared in Milli-Q water. The pH values were measured using a Fisher pH/Ion 510 bench meter. For testing, 15 Liters of the above prepared solution were placed in the chamber for the following nanobubbles generation. The typical generation run was 3 minutes. For further analyses, duplicate 20 mL samples were collected before and after the experiment. Additional experiments were performed with the different bubble generation time, lasting up to 60 minutes. These samples were further analyzed for zeta potential values. All zeta potential measurements were done using Malvern Zetasizer Nano ZS Analyzer [20]. For each sample, twenty repeated runs with three measurements each were taken at 25°C, with an equilibration time of 120 seconds between measurements. Statistical analysis was performed to calculate the standard deviation and confidence interval. Results and Discussion It is known that zeta potential directly impacts the stability of nanobubbles in water. In simple terms, zeta potential measures the value of electrostatic

Figure 1: Experimental setup for nanobubbles generation. charge repulsion or attraction between bubbles, particles, etc. Nanobubbles with a higher zeta potential (either positive or negative) tend to repel each other more strongly, preventing coalescence and ensuring their suspension in water, and thus their stability. Prior research showed that the gas chosen to generate nanobubbles can dramatically influence their zeta potential [21]. The rationale behind this is that gasses likeargon, nitrogen, oxygen, ozone and carbon dioxide have different solubilities in water, which affects the composition and charge distribution on the nanobubble’s surface. For example, oxygen nanobubbles may have different surface charges compared to argon nanobubbles due to differences in gas interactions with water molecules. Additionally, changes in pH can affect the concentration of dissolved gasses in the water surrounding the bubbles because solubility of gasses in water is pH-dependent. Consequently, fluctuations in gas solubility can impact the rate at which gas diffuses in and out of bubbles, thereby affecting their size and stability. Zeta potential values were measured for solutions within a pH range of 4 to 10, both before (designated as BT, or “before treatment”) and after (designated as AT, or “after treatment”) the generation of nanobubbles. Figures 2-4 show results for aqueous solutions of pH 4.0, 5.6 (Milli-water) and 10.8, respectively. As the pH level

increased, the zeta potential decreased, reaching its highest absolute value in basic solution. When comparing the results to those obtained previously for oxygen [9], it appears that argon exhibits a higher zeta potential magnitude. This implies that there are higher negative charges on the surface of the bubbles generated with argon, contributing to greater bubble stability. The positive correlation between greater zeta potential and basic pH is depicted in Figure 5. A similar trend had been previously observed for nanobubbles generated using oxygen [9]. For practical applications in industry, the longterm stability of nanobubbles is an ongoing concern. Due to their small size, nanobubbles are susceptible to environmental factors that can affect their stability over time. They have a tendency to coalesce, dissolve, or undergo changes in surface properties. Therefore, to assess bubble stability, water sampling was conducted with zeta potential measurements taken at intervals of a few hours following the initial bubble generation for a total duration of a few days. During the monitoring period, it was observed that the amount of time that elapsed from the bubble generation did not affect the stability of the nanobubbles. Another aspect addressed in this study was the effect of bubbled generation time on bubble stability. Figure 6 illustrates the outcomes of these experiments, demonstrating the relationship between zeta potential and generation time for solution of pH=6. Conclusions The objective of this study was to assess the stability of nanobubbles produced from argon in water under varying pH conditions by analyzing the zeta potential values of water samples. Our findings revealed a clear trend: as the pH level increased, there was a corresponding decrease in zeta potential. This indicates that nanobubbles exhibit greater stability in basic solutions. This also aligns with the established knowledge that a higher zeta potential, regardless of whether it is positive or negative, signifies the stability of nanobubbles in suspension. Additionally, our

Figure 2: Zeta Potential response before and after nanbubbles generation (argon, 25oC, pH = 4)

Figure 3: Zeta Potential response before and after nanbubbles generation (argon,

Figure 4: Zeta Potential response before and after nanbubbles generation (argon, 25oC, pH = 10.8)

for providing me the unique opportunity to join and work with their wonderful research group. I would also like to thank the whole research team and my fellow HSSRI students for creating a friendly lab atmosphere and for all the help.

Figure 5: Zeta Potential as a function of pH

Figure 6: Zeta Potential as a function of nanobubbles generation time (pH = 6) experiments revealed that the duration of bubble generation did not have any visible effect on the stability of argon nanobubbles. However, in order to fully understand the system stability, it is necessary to measure the size of generated nanobubbles as a function of pH and establish correlations. This will be the subject of future study. Acknowledgements I would like to thank New Jersey Institute of Technology and its High School Summer Research Internship Program (HSSRI) for the opportunity to perform research over the summer. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor Professor Jay Meegoda and my laboratory mentors, master degree student Elias Trejo and doctoral candidate Bruno Bezerra de Souza

References [1] R.C. Buck, J.Franklin, U. Berger, J. M. Conder, I. T. Cousins, P. de Voogt, A. A. Jensen, K. Kannan, S.A. Mabury, S. PJ. Van Leeuwen, “Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in the environment: terminology, classification, and Origin, Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management,” 7 (2011) number 4, 513-541. [2] H. Moriwaki,Y.Takagi, M.Tanaka, K.Tsuruho, K. Okitsu, Y. Maeda, “Sonochemical Decomposition of perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid,” Environ. Sci.Technol. 39 (2005) 3388-3392. [3] T. Shende, G. Andalri, R. Suri, “Frequency-dependent sonochemical degradation of perfluoroalkyl substances and numerical analysis of cavity dynamics,” Separation and Purification Technology, 261 (2021) 118250. [4] J. A. Kewalramani, B. Wang, R.W. Marsh, J. N. Meegoda, L. Rodriguez, Coupled high and low-frequency ultrasound remediation of PFAS-contaminated soils”, Ultrasonic Sonochemistry 88 2022, 106063. [5] J. A. Kewalramani, R.W. Marsh, D. Prajapati, J. N. Meegoda, “Sonochemical degradation of PFAS and PFOA in Concentrated Waste: Impact of Power Density and Initial Concentration” submitted to Environ. Sci. Technol., 2022 [6] S. A. Hewage, J.H. Batagoda, J. N. Meegoda, “Remediation of contaminated sediments containing both organic and inorganic chemicals using ultrasound and ozone nanobubbles”, Environ. Pollution, 274 (2021) 116538. [7] A.W. Foudas, R. I. Kosheleva, E.P. Favva, M. Kostoglou, A. C. Mitropoulos, G.Z. Kyzas, “Fundamentals and applications of nanobubbles: a review,” Chemical Engineering and Design, 189 (2023 64-86. [8] N. Nirmalkar, A.W. Pacek, M. Barigou, “On the existance and stability of bulk nanobubbles,” Langmur, 34 (2018) 10964-10973. [9] J. N. Meegoda, S. A. Hewage, J.H. Batagoda, “Stability of nanobubbles”, En-

viron. Eng. Science, 274 (2021) 116538. [10], S. A. Hewage, J. Kewalramani, J. N. Meegoda, “Stability of nanobubbles in different salts solutions”, Colloids and Surface A, 609 (2021) 125669. [11] M.A. Beckett, I. Hua, “Impact of Ultrasonic Frequency on Aqueous Sonoluminescence and Sonochemistry,” The Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 105 (20010 3796-3802. [12] R. C. Hamme, S.R. Emerson, “The solubility of neon, nitrogen and argon in distilled water and seawater,” Deep-Sea Research I, 51 (2004) 1517-1528. [13] S. Emerson, C. Stump, D. Wilbur, P. Quay, “Accurate measurements of O2, N2, and Ar gases in water and the solubility of N2,’’ Marine Chemistry, 64 (1999) 337-347. [14] K. Yasui, T. Tuziuti, T. Kozuka, A. Towata, Y. Iida, Relationship between the bubble temperature and main oxidant created inside an air bubble under ultrasound, J. Chem. Phys., 127 (2007) 154502. [15] M. Takahashi, K. Chiba, P. Li, Free-radical generation from collapsing microbubbles in the absence of dynamic stimulus, J. Phys. Chem. B 111 (2007) 1343-1347. [16] S. Liu, S. Oshita, S. Kawabata, Y. Makino, T. Yoshimoto, Identification of ROS produced by nanobubbles and their positive and negative effects on vegetable seed germination, Langmuir, 32 (2016) 11295-11302. [17] K.Yasui, T. Tuziuti, W. Kanematsu Mysteries of bulk nanobubbles (ultrafine bubbles); stability and radical formation, Ulytasonics – Sonochemistry, 48 (2018) 259-266. [18] K. Tada, M. Maeda, Y. Nishiuchi, J, Nagahara, T. Hata, Z. Zhuowei, Y. Yoshida, S. Watanabe, M. Ohmori, ESR Measurement of Hydroxyl Radicals in Micro-nanobubble Water, Chem. Lett. 43 (2014) 1907-1908. [19] H. Moriwaki,Y.Takagi, M.Tanaka, K.Tsuruho, K. Okitsu,Y. Maeda, Sonochemical Decomposition of perfluorooctane Sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid, Environ. Sci. Technol, 39 (2005) 3388-3392. [20] “Zeta Potential – An Introduction in 30 minutes”, Malvern Instruments, Technical Note, 2015. [21] Y.Ushikubo, M. Enari, T. Furukawa, R. Nakagawa, Y. Makino,Y. Kawagoe,S. Oshita, “Zeta-potential of Micro- and/or Nano-bubbles in Water Produced by Some Kinds of Gases,”

IFAC Proceedings, vol 43, 26 (2010) 283-288.

AP Biology. Growth of Lemna minor in Various Nitrate Concentrations by Jules Amorosi (VI) and Anika Sinha (VI) Lemna minor, a small flowering aquatic plant, has garnered attention for its ability to absorb pollutants in polluted fresh or brackish water. In this study, we investigated the capacity of L. minor to absorb nitrate in four different concentrations (0ppm, 5ppm, 10ppm, and 20ppm), and monitored the growth of twenty-four single L. minor plants over a period of fourteen or twenty-one days. Nitrate absorption was assessed using a nitrate

electrode, while plant size was quantified using ImageJ. Our results reveal that L. minor does not have an ideal concentration for nitrate absorption but does take in more nitrate over time, underscoring its potential as a potent tool in mitigating water pollution. Our findings are significant in their implications for mitigating environmental pollution and improving water management.

The Effect of Decreasing pH on Artemia franciscana Survivability by Max Naseef (VI) and Leon Zhou (VI) Abstract Ocean acidification, the decrease in pH of the world’s oceans due to the absorption of CO2, is one of the foremost threats to marine ecosystems and, by extension, humans. It is therefore imperative to better understand the effects of ocean acidification on the survivability and response on a marine model organism like Artemia franciscana, brine shrimp. From this experiment, survivability thresholds can be determined and characterized before permanent damage is done to Earth’s marine ecosystems. 24 hour old A. franciscana was placed into three seawater solutions with varying pH (a control of 8 pH, and treatment groups of 7 pH and 6 pH). The lethality of each solution at both 24 and 48 hours was then observed. Our 6 pH treatment yields a statistically significant difference in survivability, meaning that sufficiently low pH affects the survivability of brine shrimp. This result provides insight into the potential effects and sustainability of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems and therefore human life. Introduction Recently, the total human population of Earth reached eight billion. To feed so many people, the planet has begun diversifying its methods of nourishing people, one such method being fishing. More and more people are depending upon fish as their primary food source, but the world’s fish supply is far from secure. In fact, marine life as a whole is severely threatened by the acidification of the Earth’s oceans, subsequently damaging food supplies of humans ([1], [2]. Ocean acidification eats away at the exoskeletons of shelled marine species, like oysters, clams, shrimp, and lobsters [1]. It threatens the growth of primary producers, like zooplankton or phytoplankton, in turn threatening the entire marine ecosystem

[2]. Ocean acidification is also associated with an increase in algal blooms, where high densities of noxious algae accumulate and exhaust the ocean of nutrients [2]. Acidification threatens ocean-related jobs and economic systems, such as the tourism of coral reefs or coastal areas [1]. As human and marine life are often intertwined, and with ocean acidification showing no signs of slowing down, it is crucial to attempt to measure the effect of ocean acidification on marine life. A. franciscana is a proven model organism for testing marine toxicity. It has already been discovered that a decline in pH negatively affects Artemia sinica cyst hatch rate, growth, and survival rate at both 24 hours and two weeks elapsed [3]. In addition, ocean acidification affects protein expression and causes mutations in A. sinica, and causes oxidative and metabolic stress in A.franciscana [4], [5]. To gauge the severity of ocean acidification, we measured the survivability of marine life in three different simulated environments using A. franciscana as a model. The first environment simulated the current ocean pH of around 8, the second environment simulated a more acidic ocean with a pH of 7, and the final environment simulated an extremely acidic ocean with a pH of 6. All solutions consisted of 35 ppt salt water with 30 A. franciscana. Each treatment was urther divided into three equal test tubes, containing 10 Artemia each and differing only in pH. The sample size was three for each treatment, with six total experiments conducted. These results helped us better understand the effect that the acidification of the oceans has on marine life and therefore on human life. Materials and Methods Artemia hatching. A. franciscana cysts were obtained from Bulk Reef Supply Company and

subsequently hatched inside a hatching apparatus in 35 g/L salt solution for 24 hours. Hatching apparatus was consistently aerated using oxygen gas and placed under a light source for optimal hatch rates. Once hatched, Artemia were removed from hatching solution using a coffee filter and were ready for use in experimentation.

a 76% survival rate after one day and a 72.1% survival rate after two days, enough to result in a statistically significant result at the 95% confidence level. The 6 pH group resulted in a much lower percent survival rate of 42.6% after one day and 21.8% after two days, also enough to be significant at the 95% confidence level.

Preparation of solutions. Simulated seawater/salt solution was made by mixing 35 grams of Instant Ocean Salt with a liter of deionized water. pH buffer pills purchased from Carolina Biological were then used according to instructions in order to create salt solutions with a specific pH of 7 and 6. Experimental set up. Artemia specimens were added to nine separate 15 mL test tubes, 10 Artemia per test tube, via Pasteur pipettes. Respective solutions (control of regular salt solution, treatment of 7 pH, treatment of 6 pH) were added until total volume of liquid was 5 mL. This process was repeated three times for each solution. Each treatment group now had three test tubes, containing at least 10 Artemia per tube, resulting in a total amount of at least thirty Artemia per treatment group. Test tubes were then placed under a light source, and the total number of dead and alive Artemia were recorded at 24 and 48 hours elapsed using a magnifying glass or a microscope. Data Analysis. Statistical analysis was conducted by using a t-test comparing proportions of cumulative alive brine shrimp in a control group of typical ocean water (~8 pH seawater) versus increasingly acidic treatment groups (7 pH seawater, 6 pH seawater). Significance was determined at the commonly used confidence levels of 0.05/95% confidence interval and 0.01/99% confidence interval. Results Brine shrimp subjected to the 6 pH and 7 pH treatments had a statistically significant decrease in survival rate compared to our control group. Our control group, as expected, survived well, with a 91.9% survival rate after one day and a 87.8% survival rate after two days. The brine shrimp subjected to the 7 pH treatment had

Figure 1: Artemia franciscana hatching in hatching apparatus Discussion and Future Directions Our study provides insight into the future of marine ecosystems as the oceans continue to acidify due to CO2 emissions. We showed that decreasing pH has a statistically significant and meaningful impact on A. franciscana survivability, an incredibly hardy and resilient model organism used for testing marine toxicity. We observed a consistently lower A. franciscana survival rate in our treatment groups of 6 and 7 pH compared to our control group of 8 pH seawater. This conclusion helps establish a preliminary understanding of the effect of ocean acidification on the Earth’s marine life and thus on humans, but as ocean acidification continues to become more and more of a threat to marine ecosystems and human health, further experiments are needed

Figure 2: Graph displaying proportion of total A. franciscana alive after 1 and 2 days in respective pH solutions. Both the 6 pH treatment (p < 0.00001) and the 7pH treatment (p = 0.00144) resulted in statistically significant outcomes. to fully study its effects. Further directions of this project include studying the effects of ocean acidification on A. franciscana cysts/eggs or other eukaryotic marine organisms. Reproduction is an important aspect in the life cycle of marine organisms and often requires very specific conditions, so the effect of changing pH conditions would be interesting. Investigating the effect of ocean acidification on other organisms could provide a more holistic understanding of the effects of ocean acidification on ecosystems. Additionally, ocean acidification has been linked with an increase in toxic algal blooms, which would be interesting to investigate in a laboratory setting [2]. Conducting an experiment using real-life seawater could also be of use, providing more insight and seeing if those results align with this study. References [1] NOAA Fisheries. “Understanding Ocean Acidification.” NOAA Fisheries, www. f i s h e r i e s. n o a a . g o v / i n s i g h t / u n d e r s t a n d ing-ocean-acidification#are-people-contributing-to-ocean-acidification? Accessed 29 Mar. 2023. [2] Landrigan, P.J., Stegeman, J.J., Fleming, L.E., Allemand, D., Anderson, D.M., Backer, L.C., Brucker-Davis, F., Chevalier, N., Corra, L., Czerucka, D., Bottein, M.-Y.D., Demeneix, B., Depledge, M., Deheyn, D.D., Dorman, C.J., Fénichel, P.,

Fisher, S., Gaill, F., Galgani, F., Gaze, W.H., Giuliano, L., Grandjean, P., Hahn, M.E., Hamdoun, A., Hess, P., Judson, B., Laborde, A., McGlade, J., Mu, J., Mustapha, A., Neira, M., Noble, R.T., Pedrotti, M.L., Reddy, C., Rocklöv, J., Scharler, U.M., Shanmugam, H., Taghian, G., van de Water, J.A.J.M., Vezzulli, L., Weihe, P., Zeka, A., Raps, H. and Rampal, P., 2020. Human Health and Ocean Pollution. Annals of Global Health, 86(1), p.151. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/aogh.2831 [3] Zheng, Chao-qun et al. “Detrimental effect of CO2-driven seawater acidification on a crustacean brine shrimp, Artemia sinica.” Fish & shellfish immunology vol. 43,1 (2015): 181-90. doi:10.1016/j.fsi.2014.12.027 [4] TY - JOURAU - Zheng, Chao-QunAU - Joseph, JeswinAU - Shen, Kai-LiAU - Lablche, MeghanAU - Wang, Ke-JianAU - Liu, HaipengPY - 2014/12/30SP -T1 - Detrimental effect of CO2-driven seawater acidification on a crustacean brine shrimp, Artemia sinicaVL - 43DO - 10.1016/j. fsi.2014.12.027JO - Fish & shellfish immunologyER [5] Tan, Jiabo, and Thomas H MacRae. “Stress tolerance in diapausing embryos of Artemia franciscana is dependent on heat shock factor 1 (Hsf1).” PloS one vol. 13,7 e0200153. 6 Jul. 2018, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0200153

The Effect of SPF on the Mutation Rate of UV Mutated Saccharomyces cerevisiae by Sophia Deeney (VI), Noor Elassir (VI), Siyara Kilcoyne (VI) Abstract The lethal consequences of exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light in Saccharomyces cerevisiae may be prevented by treating S. cerevisiae with Sun Protection Factors (SPF). Evaluating the effect of SPF on the mutation rate of S. cerevisiae can support the genetic improvement of SPF to prevent skin cancer in humans due to genetic similarities between humans and S. cerevisiae. In this study, S. cerevisiae was grown in a YED growth medium and the mutation rate of S. cerevisiae at different concentrations of SPF with or without exposure to UV light was measured. A mathematical proportion was then utilized to compare the number of HA2 S. cerevisiae colonies mutated in each of the test plates after the experiment to the initial number of HA2 S. cerevisiae colonies in the control plate. This ratio was employed to calculate the overall mutation rate of each of the different colonies exposed to different concentrations of SPF with or without exposure to UV light and was plotted on a scatter plot. In the absence of SPF, S. cerevisiae exposed to UV light exhibited a greater mutation rate than those in the presence of SPF. It is evident that SPF not only protects the health of S. cerevisiae by preventing lethal UV light mutations but also can be beneficial in prohibiting the development of skin cancer in humans. Introduction S. cerevisiae, otherwise known as yeast, is a single-celled eukaryotic organism in the plant kingdom that contains DNA as its genetic material [2, 3]. S. cerevisiae is a common model organism in many experiments involving UV light as its DNA is relatively easy to manipulate, it has a short lifespan, and it can grow overnight [2]. It has been previously established that UV light can cause mutations in the DNA of eukaryotic organisms that result in a gain or loss of function in certain proteins [2]. UV light causes two pyrimidines, or

nitrogenous bases within the DNA, to dimerize, or combine together [5]. The pyrimidine dimers prevent cells from replicating UV-damaged DNA, which results in cell death [1]. Sun Protection Factors (SPF) protect living organisms from UV radiation and DNA damage. In the human genome, which is similar to that of S. cerevisiae, SPF protects the DNA from mutations caused by UV light [4]. This study focuses on the efficacy of SPF at preventing potentially harmful S. cerevisiae mutations under UV light, which allows us to draw further conclusions as to how SPF products can be improved to more effectively prevent skin cancer in humans. Previous research has explored the impact of UV light exposure on the color of S. cerevisiae (HA2 strain). A particular study determined that after three days of exposure to UV light on a growth medium, the S. cerevisiae turned from a white to burgundy pigment [4]. This color change indicates mutations present in S. cerevisiae’s genes that alter the protein that blocks the production of a red pigment [4]. It was concluded that exposure to the UV light causes mutations in a number of genes within S. cerevisiae, specifically in the protein responsible for preventing the development of a natural red pigment (4). To determine the effectiveness of SPF in preventing the death of S. cerevisiae prone to lethal radiation sensitive mutations, the growth of S. cerevisiae under different conditions including those with and without UV along with those with and without SPF will be tested. Materials and Methods In order to test the effect of SPF on the growth of UV mutated S. cerevisiae, S. cerevisiae was grown in YED growth medium, and the survivability of the S. cerevisiae was tested at different concentrations of SPF with or without exposure to UV light. To prepare to grow the HA2 S. cerevisiae strain, a YED growth medium was creat-

ed by mixing 200 ml of water, two grams of Yeast Extract, four grams anhydrous dextrose (glucose), and four grams Agar (agar-agar; gum agar) in a 400 ml flask (1). This mixture was autoclaved and then microwaved in four one minute intervals to ensure sterility. The plates were poured and left to rest for 48 hours afterward. The HA2 S. cerevisiae strain was streaked with an inoculation loop across the solidified growth medium in the plates and the plate cover was placed back on the dishes. After allowing the S. cerevisiae to grow for seven days, a UV light chamber and SPF were obtained. The cover of each petri plate was removed and cling film was spread over each plate. The cling film of two petri plates was sprayed with SPF 100 and placed in the UV light chamber at intervals of 45 seconds, 2 minutes, and 5 minutes. The cling film of another two petri plates were sprayed with SPF 0 and placed in the UV light chamber at the same intervals. The cling film of another two petri plates were sprayed with SPF 100 and were not placed in the UV light chamber. The final petri plate was sprayed with SPF 0 and was not placed in the UV light chamber. All of the plates were stored at room temperature and returned 48 hours later. ImageJ analysis software was utilized to determine the total number, area, average size, percent area, and mean of the S. cerevisiae cells in each of the petri plates (Table 1). ImageJ is an effective program as the user is able to colorize specific regions of importance, which allows target areas to be highlighted (Figure 1). The percent area data was used to graph the percent area of mutated S. cerevisiae cells after UV exposure (Figure 3). Photographical evidence was also used to depict the mutagenic effects on S. cerevisiae sprayed with SPF 50 before and after UV exposure (Figure 2). Results The S. cerevisiae cells that were sprayed with SPF 0 and exposed to UV light for 5 minutes in trial 3 saw the highest percent area of mutation (Figure 3). All the plates that were sprayed with SPF 0 in trials 1-4 experienced higher percent area of mutation than the plates sprayed with SPF 50 (Figure 3). In particular, trial 3 showed the greatest difference between plates sprayed with SPF 0

and plates sprayed with SPF 50 at 32% (Figure 3).

Figure 1: ImageJ analysis of the number of S. cerevisiae cells in two petri plates.

Table 1: Sample numerical ImageJ Analysis showing the total number of S. cerevisiae cells after exposure to UV light sprayed with SPF 50, as well as the total area, average size, percent area, and mean of the cells.

Figure 2: S. cerevisiae before exposure to UV light and sprayed with SPF 50 versus S. cerevisiae after exposure to UV light and sprayed with SPF 50. Larger mutated cells found after trials were performed compared to before trials were performed.

Figure 3: Percent area of UV mutated S. cerevisiae cells after UV exposure.

Discussion This study establishes the potency of SPF in preventing UV mutations and protecting the longevity of S. cerevisiae. By inhibiting DNA dimerization caused by exposure to UV light, SPF was able to block mutations in the genes that encode for the burgundy pigment in S. cerevisiae. The mechanism of action of SPF in S. cerevisiae can be used to further the development of SPF in preventing skin cancer in humans. The fabrication of sun protection factors that are able to impede DNA dimerization caused by exposure to UV light can be effective in targeting genes that encode for dark brown spots on the human body to ultimately prohibit the development of skin cancer in humans.

dra, A. S., & Hatziloukas, E. (2020). Saccharomyces cerevisiae and its industrial applications. AIMS microbiology, 6(1), 1–31. https://doi.org/10.3934/microbiol.2020001 [3] Stewart,G.(2014).SACCHAROMYCES | Saccharomyces cerevisiae (2nd ed.). Encyclopedia of Food Microbiology. https://www.sciencedirect.com/ topics/neuroscience/saccharomyces-cerevisiae [4] Al-Sowayan, N. S., & Alhamdy, T. (2020). The Effect of Sunscreens on Yeast to Prevent Ultraviolet Damage. Advances in Bioscience and Biotechnology, 11(4). https://doi.org/10.4236/abb.2020.114009 [5] LibreTexts (n.d.). Nucleotides. Retrieved October 25, 2016, from https://chem.lib r e t e x t s. o r g / C o u r s e s / S a c r a m e n t o _ C i t y _ C o l l e g e / S C C % 3 A _ C h e m _ 3 0 9 _ - _ G e n e ral_Organic_and_Biochemistry_(Bennett)/ Text/17%3A_Nucleic_Acids/17.1%3A_Nucleotides

Acknowledgements We thank the Pingry School for providing laboratory facilities, equipment, and resources to conduct this study. We thank the Pingry School and the Upper School Science Department and Mr. Maxwell for fostering our team’s passion for science and curiosity for learning. Finally, we thank Mr. Maxwell for his thoughtful suggestions in the editorial process of this study. References [1] PHYS (1997).Part C:UV Experiments - Ultraviolet Lethality and Mutations in Yeast. Retrieved July 11, 1997,from https://www.phys.ksu.edu/gene/d4.html [2] Parapouli, M., Vasileiadis, A., Afen-

PINGRY COMMUNITY RESEARCH

Develop your scientific literacy while learning about current research at Pingry. Email: Evan Xie (VI): exie2024@pingry.org Annabelle Shilling (VI): ashilling2024@pingry.org Mr. Maxwell: dmaxwell@pingry.org

The Pingry School 131 Martinsville Road Basking Ridge, NJ 07920 908-647-5555