View All Currently Funded Student Research Projects (total=371)

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1. Small Scale Anaerobic Digestion for Rural Restaurants: A Case Study in Trade, Tennessee
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Zachary Dowell	Appropriate Technology	Marie Hoepfl	Fine and Applied Arts	Technology	Oct 28, 2009
Project Description: I am building a small anaerobic digester that will be tested with the intention of determining if methane yields would be sufficient enough to create methane for cooking and space heating fuel. Small Scale digesters are not commonly used in Developed Countries. The developing countries where small digesters are used are generally in warm environments. I plan to construct this digester in Trade, Tennessee at a local restaurant called Sharpies. This colder environment is an unusual place to implement a small scale digester. In some circumstances heating requirements of a digester for adequate methane harvesting can sometimes outweigh the benefits of the methane recovered. My design implements the use of a solar thermal panel to generate heat to keep the digester contents at the appropriate 95 degree temperature for high methane yields. Locating the panel lower than the digester will enable the system to thermosyphon, eliminating the need for an expensive solar thermal pump. The digester tank will be buried so that the external temperature is not a variable. Food waste from restaurants is known to yield three times more methane than manure. Manure and sewage sludge are the most common feedstocks for anaerobic digestion. Utilizing the daily foodwaste output of 50 lbs. could potentially yield enough methane for cooking and water heating for this small restaurant. Perhaps we will discover that space heating may be an option, as well. Many of the materials needed for the research are being donated by the restaurant owner, however there is a still a great need for finances to implement the solar thermal aspect of the project. An old solar thermal that needs refurbishing is being donated, but I am still in need of piping for the solar thermal system and the digester's heat exchanger. I am also measuring the methane yields with an instrument that is being donated.

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2. PotD1 Complementation
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Alex Rutkovsky	Chemistry	Ece Karatan	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Oct 28, 2009
Project Description: Biofilms are three-dimensional structures made by bacteria that are characterized by pillars of bacteria interspersed with water channels. Biofilm formation is thought to play an important role in the survival of many bacteria including the aquatic pathogen Vibrio cholerae, which is the causative agent of the diarrheal disease cholera. Biofilm formation is an important feature of the survival of V. cholerae within the human host as well as its natural aquatic environments. Formation of biofilms are regulated by many different chemical signals in the environment. One of these signals is a group of small molecules called polyamines. The amount of various polyamines present within the cell as well as the external environment of the cell influences the formation of these biofilms. Polyamines are important for cell survival and are essential to biofilm formation. In V. cholerae, multiple pathways involving transport and signaling networks affect the formation of biofilms. It has recently been found that the polyamine spermidine regulates biofilm through two different pathways. Spermidine can decrease biofilm formation through a signaling complex made up of the proteins NspS and MbaA without being transported into the cell. In addition spermidine is thought to be transported into the cell by the PotD1 protein. In this case a decrease in biofilms is also observed and this may be due to an intracellular interaction. We have previously shown that when V. cholerae is grown in Luria-Bertani culture medium, which contains large amounts of spermidine, there are significant amounts of spermidine inside the cell. Because V. cholerae does not synthesize its own spermidine, all of the spermidine in the cell is transported from the external environment. We have also shown that the deletion of the PotD1 protein results in a complete loss of spermidine inside the cell. These results have suggested that PotD1 protein is correlated with the transport of spermidine into the cell. However, they are not sufficient to determine whether the deletion of the PotD1 protein directly diminishes the uptake of the polyamine spermidine or if there is a secondary indirect effect responsible for this observation. In order to confirm that PotD1 is directly responsible for spermidine transport a complementation experiment must be performed. The purpose of the proposed study is to perform this complementation experiment to confirm the role of PotD1 in spermidine import. To do this, first a plasmid containing the potD1 gene will be first constructed. Then this plasmid will be inserted into back into the V. cholerae potD1 mutant which is missing the chromosomal copy of the potD1 gene. . Finally, this new strain will be grown in Luria-Bertani medium and the cellular polyamines will be quantified using high performance liquid chromatography. If the complemented strain regains the ability to import spermidine into the cell, this will suggest that PotD1 is directly responsible for spermidine transport. This study will further elucidate the functions of the PotD1 protein.

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3. Locus of Control’s effect on feelings of regret in real situations
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Stephanie Smith	Psychology	Todd McElroy	Arts and Sciences	Psychology	Oct 28, 2009
Project Description: In this study we are examining whether an individual’s internal versus external locus of control, self Esteem, optimism, and Big 5 are related to reported feelings of regret over an action or inaction. Each participant will first be given a consent form and then he/she will be given a stimulus to determine their locus of control, self-esteem, optimism and Big 5. They will then take part in a computer-simulated game of Black Jack. Subjects will be told the study has to do with gambling. They will be encouraged to speak their thoughts aloud into a recorder as they play. The game will be set up (without the subjects’ knowledge) so that they will all tie the dealer and end up with $5. The subjects will have started with $0, $5 or $20 to evoke feelings of winning, neutral and losing. Also, some subjects will be told they can play more than once and others will be told they have only one shot. When the cards are dealt, there are 4 cards set to the side. These are the cards the subject can chose from if they choose to hit on their hand. After the hand of black jack, the cards remaining on the side will be flipped over so the subjects can see what the other possible outcomes would be. There will be 2 cards that would have won the hand and 2 that would have lost the hand. After subjects have completed the study they will be debriefed about the actual nature of the experiment. The procedure should take about 30 minutes to complete. There will be no relationship between the researcher(s) and the participants, and if a participant is selected that knows the researcher, another person in the research group will administer the tests.

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4. Effectiveness of Eisenia fetida densities on pathogen stabilization of human biosolids.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Andrew Spees	Appropriate Technology	Marie Hoepfl	Arts and Sciences	Technology	Oct 28, 2009
Project Description: Human waste management has become an increasingly apparent problem as world populations grow and migration to densely populated area concentrates waste products. Increasingly, questions have been raised about the effectiveness and cleanliness of large heavily concentrated treatment facilities. Recently, natural alternatives to how we process biowaste has become an area of focus for industry and waste management, now seen as a viable source of nutrients and potential useful asset. Small-scale solid waste treatment has stigmas concerning pathogen transmittance, cross-contamination of food, and water source safety; however, research into alternative methods of treatment are emerging as a way to locally process human waste and in turn produce a viable soil amendment. Vermicomposting has been found to treat human waste quickly and economically in many developing countries, while producing compost that enriches soils and enhances plant growth. I intend to test the optimal processing time and appropriate population densities of Eisenia foetida, to produce fully composted earthworms exerta (castings). I will expose a premixed slurry of waste to various densities of worms, which will be maintained at optimal temperatures and moisture levels. I will then intermittently test the mixtures for E. coli to determine when they are stabilized (pathogen free). Testing will indicate the optimal density and ratio of waste to worms.

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5. Effect of nspC gene expression on V. cholerae biofilm formation
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Samuel Pendergraft	Biology, Pre-professional	Ece Karatan	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Oct 28, 2009
Project Description: In the environment bacteria often coordinate into enchained communities, immured within self-excreted exopolysaccharide matrices known as biofilms. Biofilms confer a marked survival advantage in hostile environments versus free-range planktonic bacteria by providing fortification and enhanced preservation from damaging sources. Biofilms provide a buffer against UV irradiation and acidic conditions, and serve as camouflage against antimicrobial agents and host munitions. This protection is highly regulated by a multitude of both metabolic and environmental signals. Of these cues, polyamines are one of the most prevalent, and are extensively available in all organisms. Polyamines are small organic cations that function in the formation of biofilms in an array of microbial species. V. cholerae utilizes an enzyme known as carboxynorspermidine decarboxylase (NspC) in order to synthesize the polyamine norspermidine. A recent link has been established connecting norspermidine synthesis to an increased biofilm phenotype within the microbial species Vibrio cholerae. In addition, work performed by Karatan et al. has revealed a causal increase in V. cholerae biofilm formation with the binding of the polyamine sensor NspS by the polyamine norspermidine. Previous experiments in the Karatan lab have established that there is a link between NspS and NspC regulation of biofilm formation by norspermidine and explored the NspC, NspS, and norspermidine relationship in biofilm production by developing mutant deletion and overexpression genes for NspS and NspC and observing changes in biofilm and polyamine synthesis. In understanding how polyamines affect biofilm formation in V. cholerae, this project will further explore the role of nspC gene expression in V. cholerae biofilm phenotype. Specifically the mainstay of the project will be to quantify nspC gene expression under various conditions by applying an analytical technique known as western blotting. Western blot analysis will allow for quantification of protein content by utilizing gel-electrophoresis to separate polypeptides by size. -80ºC frozen V. cholerae cell stocks will be used to create appropriate cultures from which to obtain quantifiable protein. A Protein Assay Kit will be utilized in order to standardize polypeptide concentrations. An SDS-PAGE gel will be used as a medium for analysis and 1-5 micrograms of protein from each cell culture grown under different conditions. The gel will be run at 175 V for 45 minutes to allow all resolvable protein bands to move through the medium. Proteins in the gel will be blotted onto a separate membrane, incubated and washed. Specific antibodies will be added to the membrane and washed several more times in following western blotting procedures. The membrane will then be visualized in order to determine expression. Results of the experiment will allow for a definitive correlation between nspC expression and biofilm formation in V. cholerae. We expect that the information gained from this project will help to decipher the overall role polyamines have in regulation of biofilms in V. cholerae and other microbial species.

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6. An exploration of chicken litter-induced trace metal phytotoxicity in agronomic species of plants
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Michele Brower	Biology	Shea Tuberty	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Oct 28, 2009
Project Description: The current trend in industrial farming (confined animal feeding operations) may be having a potentially huge economic and environmental impact on the future of our local farming community and a growing number of communities nationwide. Wilkes County, NC is the top producer of chickens in the state with an annual production of ~90 million chickens which produce >250,000 tons of litter. Because the animals are fed a commercial feed containing trace metals (As, Cu, Zn) to enhance growth and reduce gut parasites, the litter has elevated levels of these phytotoxic elements too. The goal of this study is to determine the adverse impacts of phytotoxic trace metals from long-term chicken litter application to corn and fescue as a means of assessing farmland sustainability. This project will address the inherent complexities of balancing management of sustainable rural economic growth and conservation of natural resources like fertile farming soils for generations to come. A 2007 NC Division of Water Quality report on a one year pilot project showed significant levels of metals and nutrients in soils and ground water on a farm amended long-term (3-5 tons/acre, twice a year for ~30 yrs) with chicken litter. Soil samples were near or above the alert levels for several metals including copper (40 ppm) and zinc (80 ppm). I recently analyzed soils from two farms where average soil metal levels exceeded alert values by nine times for copper (389 ppm) and six times for zinc (482 ppm). I plan to evaluate the long-term impacts of current poultry litter disposal management on farmland sustainability using assessment of biomarkers of metal exposure in agricultural crops. I will test several hypotheses: (1) trace metals from poultry litter bioaccumulate in agricultural crops receiving these effluents; (2) crop plants exposed to supplemented levels of metals (meant to represent 40-80 years into the future) will exhibit phytotoxic biomarkers of exposure, and (3) with continued application of trace metals to farm soils, productivity will be unsustainable in the near future. The first aim of my thesis is to determine the current concentrations of trace metals in the soil and plant tissues of fields amended long-term (30-40 years) with chicken litter. Metals will be determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry following preparation of samples by microwave digestion (EPA, Method 3051). The second aim will involve using the metal concentrations as guidance in setting up greenhouse experiments using these metals singly and in combination to establish a dose-response curve for phytotoxicity in corn and fescue. Both acute and chronic endpoints, such as seedling germination and emergence, plant and fruit biomass, leaf condition, as well as quantification of bioaccumulation of metals, will be determined. If the hypotheses are borne out, this research will determine if adverse effects of the spreading of chicken litter on agricultural communities. This study will provide farmland soil and water conservationists with new information to educate farmers in best management practices regarding chicken litter usage and create a more sustainable farming culture.

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7. How do polyamines regulate motility in Vibrio cholerae?
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Corianne Rogers	Biology, Pre-professional	Ece Karatan	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Oct 28, 2009
Project Description: The bacterium Vibrio cholerae is a highly motile organism that can cause cholera, an infection of the small intestine. Bacteria such as V. cholerae incur a multitude of environmental factors during growth in a human host. These stresses can influence motility in V. cholerae and affect its virulence. One possible factor is the presence of polyamines which are one of the most abundant molecules in the small intestine. Polyamines are molecules with a hydrocarbon backbone and multiple amino groups. It has been shown that increased concentrations of the polyamine norspermidine cause activation of biofilm formation in V. cholerae. Most signals that affect biofilm formation will usually have an inverse effect on motility. The goal of this experiment is to determine if polyamines or polyamine related signaling, synthesis or transport pathways affect motility. The effects of different polyamines, such as norspermidine, spermidine, and putrescine, on motility of V. cholerae will be explored under a multitude of conditions. V. cholerae mutants, which are defective in transport, synthesis, and sensing of polyamines will also be tested to observe any differences in motility. The bacteria will be inoculated on semi-solid Agar plates and incubated at 37?C. Swarm diameter indicating motility will be measured. This experiment will provide insight into how motility is regulated by environmental factors such as polyamines. This will also give insights into host-pathogen interactions to better understand the disease cholera.

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8. Effects of Leucine Supplementation on Indices of Muscle Damage, Recovery, and Muscle Function Following Resistance Exercise
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Tyler Kirby	Exercise Science	Travis Triplett	Fine and Applied Arts	Health, Leisure and Exercise Science	Oct 28, 2009
Project Description: Previous investigations have shown that nutritional interventions, particularly protein ingestion, during intense training may decrease skeletal tissue breakdown. This may be of particular benefit to athletes that require increased recovery between training sessions or athletes participating in numerous competitive bouts within a short time frame. Investigations of isolated animal tissues have shown that leucine is the most important of the branched-chain amino acids needed to stimulate protein synthesis. Amino acid mixtures containing high levels of leucine have also be shown to attenuate exercise-induced muscle damage. Leucine also provides substrate for cholesterol synthesis, which may aid in recovery as exercise-induced muscle damage has been shown to decrease plasma cholesterol concentrations. Exercise-induced muscle damage may cause a decrement in muscle function which would influence force-generating capability. Decreases in force-generating capability may then limit subsequent muscular performance capability. However, no investigations in the human body have examined leucine alone and how it affects indices of muscle damage and cholesterol concentrations after intense resistance exercise. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation is to examine the effects of leucine supplementation on indices of muscle damage, plasma cholesterol concentrations and muscle function after a bout of resistance exercise. The goal of this investigation is to determine whether leucine supplementation is effective at attenuating excessive muscle damage caused from resistance exercise. These results may also have implications for other populations that may experience severe muscle damage or muscle wasting such as in a clinical setting or HIV/AIDS patients. It is expected that high doses of leucine will reduce the amount of muscle damage observed following resistance exercise and facilitate an increased rate of recovery back to baseline levels. This recovery is though to be mediated through increased synthesis of plasma cholesterol, so supplementation is expected to reduce the decrement in plasma cholesterol following exercise-induced muscle damage. The student will serve as the primary investigator which will include all aspects of data collection and data analysis. The student will also be responsible for preparing and submitting the results in manuscript form for publication.

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9. Examining the Complicated Community Response to Water Pollution in Letcher County Kentucky
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Kelly Jo Drey-Houck	Appalachian Studies	David Sutton	Arts and Sciences	Government and Justice Studies	Oct 28, 2009
Project Description: How do the residents of one community in the rural coalfields of eastern Kentucky view the “trade off” between jobs and the environment? How does control of economic resources influence power relations in a community to the extent that one individual or family can shape residents’ public stance when environmental catastrophe threatens public health? This project uses interviews with community members and local activists, news media accounts of the events, and public records from the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection to examine the complicated community response to two recent petroleum spills in Letcher County, Kentucky. In November 2008 and again in February 2009 petroleum-based pollutants contaminated the North Fork of the Kentucky River in Letcher County. These spills adversely impacted the environment and temporarily contaminated the drinking water of the community of Whitesburg. Property owned by Childers Oil, a Letcher County-based business that owns 45 gas stations and employs 900 people in southeast Kentucky, was the source of the petroleum. Don Childers, a hard-working, self-made entrepreneur, is now facing legal action from Kentucky’s Energy and Environment Cabinet and local residents. This project examines both sides of the issue. The interviews are the most important source of data for this project. 3-5 interviews will be conducted with Letcher County residents. The review of news media sources, in conjunction with input from local colleagues, will be used to identify key stakeholders for interview. Ms. Drey-Houck will strive to maximize diversity based on the interviewees’ social and economic standing in the community, stakeholder or interest group they represent and demographic characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity, etc.). Interviews will be semi-structured; interviewees will be questioned on the causes and impacts of the petroleum spills as well as the opportunities for and challenges to civic engagement and community participation in Letcher County. (Ms. Drey-Houck has received preliminary project planning and logistical support from Appalshop, a non-profit community arts/media organization in Whitesburg. “Local colleagues” refers primarily to Appalshop staff.) This project will be written up as the final research paper for PS 5130 Appalachian Political Perspectives. An abstract has also been submitted for presentation at the 33rd annual Appalachian Studies Association Conference, March 19-21, 2010 at North Georgia College and State University in Dahlonega, GA.

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10. Women's Relationship With Clothing Choice. Creative Research on the Empowering and Restrictive Qualities of Clothing Choice in the Lives of Modern Women.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Erin Dobbins	Art	Jeana Klein	Arts and Sciences	Art	Oct 28, 2009
Project Description: Women’s relationship to clothing is a longstanding personal interest. As a female student of art and psychology this relationship is a natural topic for the senior honors thesis portion BFA Studio Art Degree. My current artwork focuses on clothing, the female form, and creating clothing in a fine art context. The work I will produce for senior studio show will consist of eight full-size dresses presented on hand-made forms. Eight different women of various ages and backgrounds will be interviewed concerning their individual connection to clothing and their story will be told by a dress/dress form pair. Dresses and forms will both be made from re-claimed sheets, curtains, and clothing purchased at second-hand stores. My preference for working with re-claimed fabrics is ecologically sound and enriches the product with layers of history from the individual pieces of fabric. Each dress form will be made from hand dyed fabric to become its own stiffened self-sustaining form. Dress construction begins with a found dress significant to the woman represented by the piece. This article of clothing will then undergo a process of deconstruction and alteration. Emersion dye processes and hand embroidery, in combination with clothing construction methods such as draping become the “words” with which each woman’s story is told. The product consists of eight sculptures (dress/dress form) that will be hung as an installation. Though the artwork outlined above fulfills requirements for senior studio, I will reach beyond to connect with women, at ASU and in the greater community of Boone. This requires additional time and much needed resources. I will present my work in a solo show off campus, instead of the group location at the Catherine Smyth Gallery. The venues under consideration are currently vacant. Their state of disrepair is both aesthetically pleasing and relevant to my work. A finished venue already poses a history, while the women and their dresses create a history that is reflected best in a freshly created space. The endeavor of fabricating a gallery is costly and time consuming. The effort and expense affords unique learning experiences. By presenting a solo show knowledge is gained in creating advertising (posters/post cards), and in the hanging and reclamation processes as the show is put up and taken down. The final phase will be the compilation of a catalog; a DVD of the interviews, photographs of the garments, and document the installation. This will be submitted to the library’s collection of undergraduate honors theses. Additional resources will allow me the artistic freedom to complete the investigation and documentation of the personal and professional characteristics of the women that have influenced their choice in clothing. As an artist I could then translate those unique traits of the women into pieces of art; create a space; and show the garments in a distinctive setting befitting the women and their contributions to society.

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11. Synthesis and Characterization of a New Class of Potential Nonlinear Optical Materials – Novel Heterobimetallic Compounds Containing a Planar Vinylferrocene Template
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Louis Martin	Biology	Dale Wheeler	Arts and Sciences	Chemistry	Oct 28, 2009
Project Description: This project is a continuation of the project started in fall semester of 2008. the original proposal attached. Introduction My project will investigate new compounds as potential nonlinear optical (NLO) materials. Recent reports of organometallic NLO materials exhibiting large polarizabilities have shown potential uses in telecommunications, optical information processing and storage, and for the development of photonic devices. I propose to study the first compounds having a transition metal coordinated to aryl-substituted vinylferrocenes. The critical feature of these products is the planar configuration of the vinylferrocene that allows for greater electron delocalization and polarization. Coordinating ruthenium will further enhance the NLO properties by acting as an electron withdrawing group producing greater molecular polarization. Proposed Synthesis This project will directly extend the recent findings of new NLO materials in Wheeler’s research lab. The success of both the synthesis of planar salicylidene (Inorg Chim Acta 2002) and ferrocene benzylidene complexes (Inorg Chim Acta to be submitted 2008) leads to this proposal. I propose three synthetic procedures leading to various planar vinylferrocenes, although it will be unnecessary to perform additional procedures once the desired vinylferrocene products are isolated. All synthetic techniques required for my project have been previously employed in Wheeler’s lab. Synthesis I. In this phase-transfer Wittig reaction (New J Chem 2001), an aldehyde reacts with a phosphorus ylide to produce an olefin, in this case, a vinylferrocene. Ferrocenecarboxaldehyde would react with a phosphorus ylide, ie. a p-benzyltriphenylphosphonium halide. If needed, these ylides can be produced from the reaction of a p-benzyl halide and triphenylphosphine. Column chromatography will purify each vinylferrocene. Synthesis II. Similar to Synthesis I except the aldehyde would be a p-benzaldehyde (Inorg Chim Acta 1998). The ylide must be (ferrocenylmethyl)triphenylphosphonium halide prepared by the reaction of (ferrocenylmethyl)dimethyl amine and triphenylphosphine (J Org Chem 1992). The ferrocene ylide then reacts with potassium t-butoxide prior to reaction with the p-benzaldehyde. Extraction and column chromatography will purify each vinylferrocene. Synthesis III – a 2-step alternative synthesis. First, various oxiranes will be synthesized using a modified Simmons-Smith reaction (J Org Chem 1997). Substituted p-benzaldehydes will react with diethyl zinc, chloroiodomethane, and tetrahydrothiophene creating the desired oxiranes. Second, these oxiranes will react with ferrocene to produce various aryl-substituted vinylferrocenes (J Organomet Chem 2006), purified by column chromatography. Ruthenium Addition. Lastly, the various vinylferrocenes will react with the coordinating ruthenium reagent under dry nitrogen. The products will precipitate with ether and are predicted to be air-stable, thermally-stable salts. Characterization will involve 1H and 13C NMR spectrometry and IR and visible spectrophotometry.

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12. Selenium Effects on Invertebrates Following Massive Coal Fly Ash Release In Kingston, TN.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Daniel Jackson	Biology	Shea Tuberty	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Oct 28, 2009
Project Description: On December 23, 2008 a retention pond containing 4.5 million cubic meters of coal fly ash at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) power plant at Kingston TN, broke releasing its contents into the adjacent Emory and Clinch rivers. Our initial results taken 18 days after the spill showed: 1) the total recoverable toxic elements; arsenic, barium, cadmium, lead, and selenium were dangerously elevated; 2) fish body burdens of selenium were beyond the toxic thresholds for reproduction and growth; and 3) fish exposed to water suspended ash showed several gill histological alterations indicative of toxic element stress. The initial results suggested that the high selenium concentrations in fish tissue samples was the result of legacy selenium from decades of coal combustion, and therefore fish selenium levels should be expected to increase over the next year due to bioaccumulation of the water dissolved fraction of selenium from the ash. Selenium is a required mineral but has a very narrow range of safety, and if exceeded, can replace sulfur in amino acids resulting in disruption of protein structure and function. Increased selenium can be deposited in eggs is known to cause developmental toxicity and reproductive failure1. Invertebrates are important in diets of many aquatic organisms, therefore the goal of this project is to evaluate invertebrates to accurately model the bioaccumulation of selenium in the aquatic food web. This project will test the following hypotheses: 1) Invertebrates living in areas with large deposits of ash will have higher levels of selenium than organisms from the sites unaffected by the spill; 2) animals occupying higher places in the food web (e.g. predators vs algae grazers) have higher selenium body burdens than those at lower trophic levels. Aquatic macroinvertebrates will be collected quarterly from 6 sites using multiple methods in an attempt to ensure good sample size and consistent collection of a diversity of known species occurring is the area. Plankton will be collected using a water pump and separated into three size classes by the use of Nitex filters (200, 64, and 20µm mesh) that will be used as composite samples for trace metal analyses2. Baited traps (crayfish), Hester-Dendy samplers (larval aquatic insects), and Ponar or Ekman dredges (oligochaetes, burrowing ephemeroptera, mussels, and snails) will be used for collection of macroinvertebrates for determination of individual total body burdens. Samples will be freeze-dried, weighed, and homogenized into a fine powder before microwave assisted acid digestion. Water and sediment samples will be taken quarterly to track changes in the environmental levels of toxic elements. Samples will be analyzed using ICP-AES (inductively coupled plasma – atomic emission spectrometry) following EPA Standard Protocols 3051 (solids) and 3015 (water). Tissue selenium concentrations will be measured against known thresholds3. Many coal ash retention pond failures have occurred resulting in large scale releases of toxic elements into the environment. With these types of exposures occurring so frequently, it is important to understand completely the ecological effects and costs in the assessment of current coal fly ash storage practices.

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13. Race, Class, and Power Structures in Post Katrina New Orleans.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Beata Kozlowski	Interdisciplinary Studies	Derek Stanovsky	University College	Interdisciplinary Studies	Oct 28, 2009
Project Description: The purpose of this film is to examine race, class, and power structures from the position of the African American population most affected by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana. In order to reframe the means in which racism is conceived though present day power structures, I intend to utilize the outside perspective as a necessity in surveying social constructions of race, geographic concentrations of poverty, and racialized historical oppression specific to New Orleans. In order to portray race, class and power in post Katrina New Orleans, I intend to weave various forms of footage together to tell the story of the lives of individuals affected, relating social and economic circumstances to the situation, and providing the viewer with historical archival footage to put the situation in context. Scores of interviews with individuals and organizations are possible, along with media footage of the events as they unfolded. Archival film, along with regular filming will work together to grant the audience of the film a fair and balanced point of reference as to what occurred in the wake of the storm. Most importantly, my intentions remain to voice the voices of those whose stories have gone silenced.

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14. Relationship Between Squat Strength and Knee Position During Vertical Jumping
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Tracie Haines	Exercise Science	Jeffrey McBride	Fine and Applied Arts	Health, Leisure and Exercise Science	Sep 29, 2009
Project Description: The reason for the presence of valgus knee angles (knees collapsing inwards) during jumping in certain individuals is unclear. It appears to be more prevalent in females, but has been observed in male subjects as well. Possible reasons may be musculoskeletal design flaws, lack of strength in specific muscles, muscle strength imbalances or deficiency in general lower body strength relative to body mass. The concern placed upon valgus knee angle during jumping is because of the possible relationship of this phenomenon to anterior cruciate ligament injury. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation is to determine the possible relationship between the level of general lower body strength relative to body mass and the prevalence of valgus knee angles during jumping. Subjects will consist of thirty males and females between the ages of 18-25years. Subjects will report to the Neuromuscular Lab for a 90 minute testing session. The first portion of the session will consist of performing single-leg jumps, double leg jumps, and drop jumps from various heights, all while holding a weightless bar across the back. After a 20 minute rest, the second portion will consist of subjects performing a one-repetition maximum back squat. A 3-dimensional videography system will be utilized to analyze the subjects’ knee angles during all trials. Data will be analyzed to determine if a relationship exists between the level of general lower body strength relative to body mass and knee angles during jumping.

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15. Managing Workplace Sexual Harassment: The Role of Training Diversity, Density, and Recency
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Grant Buckner	Psychology	Hugh Hindman	Business	Management	Sep 29, 2009
Project Description: Sexual harassment remains a persistent problem in today's business organizations. Case law, especially that emanating from the Supreme Court, makes it management's responsibility to implement programs reasonably calculated to prevent harassment, or else face heightened liability. Harassment training is at the heart of these prevention programs. Indeed, several states have gone so far as to mandate sexual harassment training. The largely untested assumption underlying these legal developments is that training is an effective preventive measure. There is little empirical evidence to support the law's reliance on training as an effective anti-dote to sexual harassment. What is known is that training effectively sensitizes employees and managers in recognizing harassment; and that training increases sensitivity more among men than women (who, presumably, need less training to recognize harassment). It is not known whether training increases managers' effectiveness in responding to incidents of sexual harassment. That is what this research aims to assess. Participants will be approximately 120 practicing managers enrolled in leadership development programs at the Center for Creative Leadership (headquartered in Greensboro, NC) who voluntarily complete the survey instrument. One part of the instrument asks for the participant's history of sexual harassment training. These will be coded for Training Density (total amount of training in hours), Training Diversity (variety of methods used in training), and Training Recency (time since training). Another part of the survey instrument asks managers to respond to a series of brief vignettes describing supervisor to subordinate and co-worker to co-worker interactions. First, managers are asked, "Is this sexual harassment?" Second, mangers are asked how they would respond. Manager responses to the vignettes are scored relative to responses supplied by a panel of subject matter experts (officials responsible for dealing with sexual harassment at various North Carolina universities). Data from subject matter experts has already been collected (IRB Study # 09-0213). Hypothesis testing will assess the relationship between training (density, diversity, and recency) and appropriateness of managerial responses to incidents of sexual harassment.

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16. Radical Roots in the Southern Appalachians
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Taylor Kirkland	Appalachian Studies	Jeff Boyer	Arts and Sciences	Anthropology	Sep 29, 2009
Project Description: For two semesters I seek to explore the narratives of authors, activists, farmers, and crafters throughout the Southern Appalachian region. For these individuals, life, work, imagination and place are imperceptibly connected, and the work of their hands poignantly illustrates these connections. Though from a variety of backgrounds and diverse locales, each conveys that the health of ecosystems, family traditions, and community ties are essential to thriving local livelihoods. These traditions, perhaps most importantly, have been worth taking a stand for. For Wendell Berry, it is by protesting the National Animal Identification System where he articulates his dissatisfaction with modern industrial agriculture. For Judy Bonds, it is through community organizing and acts of civil disobedience that she speaks out against the destruction of West Virginia mountaintops. And for Max Woody, it is by crafting rocking chairs in his Marion, NC woodshop where he expresses disdain for global thinking and speaks of the necessity of local economies. Though varied in approach, each individual has a unique story that articulates the significance of place and the willingness to take a stand for it. Through participant observation, personal interview, and individual research, I will meet with ten authors, poets, farmers, furniture makers, homesteaders, storytellers, and activists from Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. This project will culminate into a final portfolio, a collection of stories, interviews, and original black and white photographs that will highlight some of Appalachia’s most beloved authors, agrarians, and activists. With the help of undergraduate photography student David Lezette, the project will evolve into a multimedia exhibit of black and white photographs, written interview excerpts, and audio recordings from my interviews. Other than presenting at the Appalachian Studies Association Conference in March 2010, we would like the exhibit to be displayed locally in Boone and on ASU's campus.

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17. Collaborative Musical Analysis: The Integration of the Tablet PC into the Theory Classroom
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Jeffrey Lazenby	Music Education	Jennifer Snodgrass	School of Music	Music	Sep 29, 2009
Project Description: Over the past two years, the music faculty at Appalachian State University has integrated the Tablet PC into the music theory classroom. Undergraduate music students now have the ability to create musical analysis files using the Tablet PC. This study examined the benefits of the Tablet PC in regards to collaboration and cognitive learning. A secondary goal of this study was to create an awareness regarding the benefits of the Tablet PC through an open-source website highlighting student musical analysis. The presentation and poster will focus on the results of this study, including the qualitative analysis from student learners and external evaluators. Several topics will be presented in regards to the efficacy of the tablet PC in the music classroom including: collaborative analysis, dictation exercises, personalized and immediate feedback, music theory lecture, and interactions among students. The second goal for this study was to create an open-source Web site highlighting the uses of the Tablet PC in music. The site currently offers other music students and instructors the ability to view sample analyses and to listen to high-quality musical recordings. The presentation will include screen-shots of this website for demonstrative purposes.

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18. Riceville: Past, Present, Future
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Anne Chesky	Appalachian Studies	Sandra Ballard	University College	Appalachian Studies	Sep 29, 2009
Project Description: For my MA thesis, I will be collecting the oral histories of around 30 members of the Riceville community in Western North Carolina. This community has a wealth of cultural and natural resources–buildings, farmland, forest, wildlife, and people–that have not been preserved in any way and are quickly being destroyed by encroaching development. As part of my thesis, I will compile a booklet about the history of the Riceville community, which will contain portions of interviews, newspaper clippings, and photographs as well as resident’s visions of Riceville’s future. This booklet will be distributed to 100 residents in Riceville. Participants that receive a booklet will be asked to complete a survey that will determine the success of recent community efforts (along with the efforts of the provided booklet) at establishing a community desire to preserve physical aspects of Riceville's history.

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19. Pond Water Research for the Qualitative Analysis of Pesticides Using Solid Phase Extraction and GC-MS
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Sumer Bottoms	Chemistry	Carol Babyak	Arts and Sciences	Chemistry	Sep 29, 2009
Project Description: In August, the Chemistry department was contacted by Dr. Mike Douglas, who lives twenty minutes from ASU in Tennessee. He had built a small pond and had put coy and trout in it at the beginning of the summer. The trout he placed in the pond died by June. He wanted us to conduct research to see if there were any pesticides or other organic material that might have caused the trout to die. The site was visited and initial tests for phosphate, dissolved oxygen, pH, and nitrate have already been conducted. The next step in the research is to analyze samples of the pond water by Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) and then using Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). By using SPE, we can separate the water and other materials from our sample that are not of interest to us from the organic material. We can then characterize the organic material using GC-MS. Our utmost goal is to provide Dr. Mike Douglas an answer as to why his pond is an inadequate habitat for the fish he placed in it, but in the process we can accumulate more knowledge of possible pesticides that might be in the area that could continue to be researched in other water samples from around Watauga County and the surrounding counties. This project is a part of a research project for an Honors Contract with Dr. Carol Babyak.

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20. Maternal effects of eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) on offspring fitness
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Alexandra Bentz	Biology	Lynn Siefferman	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Sep 29, 2009
Project Description: An individual’s phenotype is determined not only by genes and environment, but also by those of its mother, called the maternal effect. In bird species, the embryo develops externally and egg hormonal provisioning, or yolking, is an important time in which the mother can exert this maternal effect. During yolking, the female produces androgens that are transferred to the egg yolk by steroidogenic cells in the follicle wall of the ovary. Mothers directly influence offspring fitness by depositing varying amounts of androgens in the eggs. A study of eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) during egg laying demonstrated that females who encountered more aggressive conspecific interactions deposited more androgens in yolk than control females. Also, females in high-density environments often transfer more androgens into their egg yolks, which may be an adaptation to the environment. A female may transfer more androgens to the egg to regulate the amount of circulating plasma androgens in her body during this period in her reproductive cycle. However, the effect of increased androgens on offspring varies. In many species, elevated yolk androgens increase nestling growth rates, but they may experience reduced immunocompetence. Although many studies have artificially increased yolk androgens by injecting hormones into eggs, to date no study has manipulated yolk hormones by increasing female aggression and then measuring offspring fitness in a wild-breeding bird species. To elucidate the effect of increased yolk androgens on offspring phenotype I experimentally manipulated female aggression to raise yolk androgen levels naturally and measured the fitness of the offspring in the spring of 2009. Offspring fitness measures included growth rate, begging rate, and immunocompentence assays. Moreover, I collected spatial and habitat quality data to quantify how natural variations in female aggression and territory environment covary with offspring fitness. In the laboratory this fall, I will quantify testosterone concentration of nestlings from blood collected when they were 10 days old. The testosterone (EIA) kit (900-065, Assay Designs) will be used to measure testosterone. Approximately 2,000 counts per minute of tritiated testosterone will be added to each sample to calculate recoveries after two extractions with diethyl ether. Extracts will be resuspended in 50 mL ethanol and diluted to 350 mL with assay buffer from the kit. From each reconstituted sample, 100 mL will be used to determine recoveries, and duplicate 100-mL quantities will be used in the EIA. Testosterone concentrations will be determined with a four-parameter, logistic curve-fitting program (Microplate Manager; BioRad) and corrected for incomplete recoveries. We expect to observe a greater amout of testosterone in chicks from females that were subjected to a same-sex territorial intursion while yolking. We will compare nestling testosterone concentrations to measures of nestling fitness.

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21. Improving Snowfall Forecasts in the Southern Appalachian Mountains
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Ginger Kelly	Geography	Baker Perry	Arts and Sciences	Geography and Planning	Sep 29, 2009
Project Description: Northwest flow snow (NWFS) events are common at higher elevations with northwest exposure in the southern Appalachian Mountains. These events are responsible for roughly 50% of average annual snowfall. Forecasting of NWFS events is challenging due to the limited performance of forecast models and the complex patterns of snowfall associated with these events. In addition to other societal impacts, unpredictable snowfall patterns can put a burden on city snow removal operations or have potential economic impacts in the ski industry in the area. A better understanding of the atmospheric flow associated with NWFS events will lead to better forecast models. The proposed interdisciplinary and inter-institutional project will take place throughout the upcoming snow season (October 2009 – May 2010), during which time an El Niño episode is predicted to occur. In conjunction with UNCA faculty and students, weather balloons will be deployed from Poga Mountain during NWFS events in order to capture vertical cloud profiles, including the variables of temperature, moisture, and winds. Observations of snow density and snowfall accumulation will also be made during events. Other meteorological instrumentation to be used in this study includes two fully-equipped Campbell Scientific research-quality meteorological stations (measuring temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, pressure, precipitation, soil moisture, soil temperature, and precipitation sensors) located in Boone and on Poga Mountain, as well as meteorological stations (measuring temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, and pressure) at Grandfather Mountain and Beech Mountain. These observations will provide an opportunity to compare the upcoming El Niño winter and previous winters, including the strong El Niño event of 1997/1998, which resulted in record snowfall on Mt. Mitchell (177 inches). These comparisons could specifically highlight links to seasonal differences in background atmospheric flow during El Niño winters versus non-El Niño winters. This information will be essential in the ongoing assessment of model forecasts of NWFS and synoptic climatological analyses.

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22. Sequential Extraction of River Sediments Impacted by a Recent Coal Fly Ash Slide
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Amanda Gibbs	Chemistry	Carol Babyak	Arts and Sciences	Chemistry	Sep 29, 2009
Project Description: Early in the morning around 1:00 AM on December 22, 2008, an ash dike burst at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) Kingston Fossil Plant. This spill resulted in approximately 1 billion gallons of coal fly ash slurry being released into the Clinch, Tennessee, and Emory Rivers located near Harriman, TN. Fly ash is known to contain some toxic trace elements such as: arsenic, beryllium, boron, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, lead, manganese, mercury, selenium, strontium, thallium, and vanadium depending on the type of coal being burned. My research advisor, Dr. Carol M. Babyak of the A.R. Department of Chemistry, and Dr. Shea R. Tuberty of the Department of Biology, along with many other scientists have taken many different types of samples from these rivers to see how this coal fly ash spill has affected the surrounding areas. My goal is to use sequential extraction to investigate the mobility and bioavailability of these trace elements is ash and sediment samples. This summer I worked with Dr. Babyak and analyzed fish, water, and sediment samples from the affected sites using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). This instrument, the ICP, needs argon to light the plasma and with this grant we would be able to ensure more of the samples will be analyzed. I also performed sequential extraction on a standard reference material and determined that better reproducibility can be obtained for a well-blended sample. This knowledge will be useful to us as we extract actual sediments from the impacted sites.

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23. Characterization of Genetic Variation Among Populations of Spiraea virginiana Britton
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Sarah Pate	Biology	Zack Murrell	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Sep 29, 2009
Project Description: Often when small populations of a species are isolated, they become less genetically diverse, which can deplete the health of the population. Species with small, fragmented populations are very susceptible to genetic depletion, which can pose a threat to their survival. It is expected that small and geographically isolated populations show an increased likelihood of losing their genetic variation. Spiraea virginiana, a plant species in the Rose family, occupies a very specific niche and may be doubly limited by low genetic diversity. A study of its phylogeography may be able to provide answers concerning microevolution in the southern Appalachians and life history details with which to manage this threatened species. Listed as Threatened by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) since 1990, Spiraea virginiana is confined to secondary and tertiary streams in the Ohio, Tennessee, and Cumberland River drainages. It is also considered endangered by the states of North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia. Sexual reproduction has not been observed in the wild, although when populations from different drainages were placed together in a common garden at Virginia Highlands Community College (VHCC), the plants produced seed. A previous study showed variance in leaf morphology within the species, correlating with the drainage in which the plants are found. Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis of the total genome showed greater diversity in the Cumberland and Tennessee River drainages than in the Ohio River drainage, but this study had limited resolution and did not include the headwaters of the Ohio in the New River of Ashe and Watauga Counties in North Carolina. Understanding the genetic variation among populations is critical in order to practice effective and efficient conservation plans for rare plants. Molecular markers can be particularly useful in determining the amount of genetic diversity within species. The Murrell lab has conducted two previous molecular studies of S. virginiana, the first using Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPDs) and the second using Inter Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSRs). These studies have been informative, but because of the lack of reproducibility of RAPDs and the need to test the conclusions of these previous studies, more research was required. Microsatellites, small regions of non-coding repeating DNA, have become highly valued in population genetics. Using these molecular markers, we have identified differences in DNA sequences in Ohio, Georgia, and Cumberland Plateau populations. In order to complete our research and potentially publish our findings, we will need to amplify and sequence two more regions showing genetic diversity. Funding would allow the completion of this study and inform the conservation of this rare species.

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24. Amino Acid Role and Structure Prediction in the High Affinity Nitrate Transporter NrtA
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Andrew Bridges	Chemistry	Jennifer Cecile	Arts and Sciences	Chemistry	Sep 29, 2009
Project Description: The nitrate anion is an important molecule used by a wide range of organisms for growth and development. Its presence is abundant in the agricultural industry for use as a fertilizer. Because of its negative charge, nitrate cannot diffuse freely into cells. NrtA is the transport protein whose primary function is to carry nitrate across the cell membrane where the anion can be of use. NrtA is classified as a part of the Major Facilitator Superfamily (MFS), which is the second largest group of transport proteins, consisting of over 1000 members. The structures of multiple proteins in the MFS have been determined and are now used as templates in the mapping of previously unanalyzed proteins belonging to the same family. In this project, this method of sequence alignment and comparison will be used to determine the structure and functional purpose of signature residues in NrtA. Information of the functionality of specific signature amino acids in NrtA has been determined by our collaborators at St. Andrew’s University in Scotland. The signature amino acids in the protein are experimentially mutated, one by one, and replaced with different residues. The expression of nitrate being transported by each mutant is then compared to the control, and the essentiality of each residue determined. A theoretical structural model of NrtA in the cell facing conformation has been generated in our lab. Using this model, spatial and interactive properties between residues can be analyzed and measured to better understand the nitrate transport process. In the current project, goals have been set as a guide for the research process. First, using scientific search engines such as Pubmed by NCBI and Web of Science, literary searches will be conducted to find proteins in the MFS whose structural consequences are known. Using this method, the NrtA essential amino acid structure has been compared to other proteins and patterns of significance found. Second, a model of NrtA opening to the outside of the cell will be generated via modification of x, y, and z coordinates. Finally, these conformations will be morphed together using a morph server at www.molmovdb.org to gain a perspective on the active movement of trans-membrane domains necessary for the functional transport of nitrate. I have requested funds for memory to install Fedora Core II on a laptop in the lab in order to carry out these programming techniques. These various forms of data will be examined together to begin hypothesizing on the functional purpose of particular amino acids in NrtA. The combined results of all methods will be presented at the Undergrad Research Day in the spring of 2010. Funds have been requested for the poster that these results will be displayed on.

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25. Role of Phospholipid Synthesis in Oil Production
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Ashley Greeson	Biology, Pre-professional	Mark Venable	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Sep 29, 2009
Project Description: In order to make marketable algae based biofuels, effectively harnessing oils produced as algae energy reserves is necessary. My advisor, Dr. Mark Venable, and I are studying two pathways governing green algae production of oils called triacylglycerols (TAG), in effort to maximize oil production via manipulation of the enzymes involved. TAG is produced from the substrate diacylglycerol (DAG) by the enzyme diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT). DAG can also be converted into phosphatidylcholine (PC), a phospholipid, by phosphocholine transferase (PCT). While both products can be formed from DAG, the former is of interest regarding energy reserves whereas the latter is important for construction of new membranes for growth and reproduction in algal cells. It has been discussed in several published journals that stress affects the lipid content in various organisms, notably increasing TAG production. Based on this information, we hypothesize that this stress-induced regulation must be the result of increased DGAT expression in addition to reduced PCT expression, with the desired outcome of amplified TAG production. Testing this hypothesis requires use of fluorescently-labeled DAG and algal microsomes, which will contain the DGAT and PCT enzymes, in order to determine algal lipid distribution in response to stress. The labeled DAG, which we synthesized from labeled PC, permits us to resolve the conversion to either TAG or PC. We can establish the activity of both enzymes, as this is directly correlated to the concentration of either TAG or PC containing the fluorescent label. The algal microsomes will be prepared through homogenization and differential centrifugation. The labeled DAG will be introduced to the microsomes, then the lipids are extracted followed by product separation using thin layer chromatography in order to observe the conversion of DAG into either TAG or PC. A Typhoon Fluorescence Plate Reader will be used to verify the relative fluorescence of the products, indicating increase in product with increase in determined fluorescence. To determine whether changes in enzyme activity are due to increased amounts of enzyme a Western Blot will be performed. Taken together our results will show us the mechanism by which stress increases oil production in algae. Our current project centers around the analysis of PCT which will be studied using both for enzyme activity using a new fluorescent enzyme analysis. The enzyme assay will require the purchase of cytidine diphosphate-choline (CDP choline), which is combined with DAG by action of PCT to produce PC. The many other items needed are already in Dr. Venable's or other faculty labs.

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26. Phylogeography of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.): implications for its conservation and international trade regulation.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Ciara Lockstadt	Biology	Eva Gonzales	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Sep 29, 2009
Project Description: As one of the most heavily trafficked native medicinal plants in North America, American ginseng, (Panax quinquefolius), hereafter referred to as ginseng, presents ecosystem managers with a challenge to maintain a delicate balance between species preservation and economic stability. The volume of harvested plants rose in recent decades causing sharp decline and extirpations of ginseng populations in the plant’s eastern North American range. Federal and international protection of ginseng became necessary in 1975 as it was listed in Appendix II of the Committee on International Trade on Threatened and Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES). The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) assess the biological status of ginseng populations to determine conservation policies based on harvest rates to measure population trends. Effective regulation must include recognition of distinct groups of populations as sub-species taxonomic units. However, lack of distinguishing morphological characters impairs plant identification and requires use of other techniques, including genetic identification. Past genetic studies found that cultivated and over-harvested populations of ginseng have lower genetic diversity than native wild populations. These studies did not identify intra-specific lineages, which represent independent evolutionary units that follow their own trajectories and presumably evolve unique adaptive traits and genetic characteristics. By using maternally inherited markers, such as chloroplast DNA (cpDNA), regional lineages can be distinguished. The overarching purpose of this research is to infer ginseng's recent evolutionary history (since the Last Glacial Maximum) and apply this knowledge to effective management and conservation. Further, this study investigates the extent of anthropogenic introduction of plants from different lineages into nonnative ranges.Specifically, I will i) analyze cpDNA variation to infer the number of evolutionary lineages and their geographic distribution; ii) address the controversy between FWS and ginseng growers on whether introduced populations were established from seeds that originated in non-native ranges (and thus do not warrant protection); iii) launch an investigation into morphological adaptations and reproductive success between native and introduced plants. Goals of this project include classifying native and cultivated populations of ginseng and determining hotspots of genetic diversity by comparing our results with past studies. This study will aid the FWS in making management priorities and clarifying suitable seed sources for restoration of wild populations and re-introduction. The time sensitive nature of this project is due to ginseng’s high harvest rate and that growers are planting non-native populations without knowing all of the consequences. Due to the high levels of involvement of federal and international government groups, this study presents a rare opportunity to conserve ginseng’s evolutionary potential. There is potential to restructure how the FWS advises federal CITES lawmakers in ginseng conservation. This study will aid in the persistence of an industry that supports harvesters throughout ginseng’s range, including North Carolina. Determining the effects of selection pressure on native populations is dire if the US population is going to sustain future generations of plants and harvesters.

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27. Characterization of Manganese Oxide Deposits in Appalachian Caves
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Leigh Anne Roble	Geology	Sarah Carmichael	Arts and Sciences	Geology	Sep 29, 2009
Project Description: Manganese oxide coatings and deposits are very common in caves and karst environments, but at present very little is known about the precise mineralogy or chemistry of these deposits. These deposits play an important role in cave ecology, as they are associated with unusual microbial communities that utilize the available Mn for chemosynthesis. There are still many unanswered questions about how these microbes interact with the mineral substrates on which they live – are the Mn oxides a biomineralization product or are the associated microbes simply exploiting existing mineral deposits? This question could not be asked at a better time, as discoveries from the Mars Rovers have caused many scientists to wonder if microbial life analogous to the Mn-oxidizing bacteria found in extreme environments such as caves may currently exist within the subsurface of Mars. Although some research on Mn oxide and microbial interactions has been done in caves in the western United States, essentially nothing is known about the nature of these deposits in Appalachian cave and karst systems. Differences in regional geology, climate, and microbial communities may yield very different results from cave systems in more arid environments. Samples of Mn oxides and the underlying rock will be collected from Carter Salt Peter Cave and Worley’s Cave in eastern Tennessee, both of which are located in the Upper Cambrian to Ordovician Knox Dolomite. Preliminary fieldwork indicates that the Mn oxides are present in three distinct morphologies on the macroscopic scale: fine-grained black sediment coatings, black flowstone nodules, and black “popcorn” shaped wall coatings. The specific mineralogy of these samples will be determined via powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) in the Department of Geology, and imaging and major element chemical analysis will be done with scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) in the William C. and Ruth Ann Dewel Microscopy Facility. A sample of the underlying rock will also be analyzed for Mn content and mineralogy on the SEM and with cathodoluminescence microscopy in the Department of Geology. As this research is exploratory rather than experimental, results cannot be accurately predicted at this time. Existing research on Mn oxide mineralogy in caves is limited, and there have been no studies done on Appalachian cave systems in the Knox Dolomite. This research will be the first study of Mn oxide mineralogy in Appalachian caves and will be a useful resource for scientists in both the geosciences and the biological sciences.

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28. Indirect Determination of Enzyme Kinetics Using Capillary Electrophoresis with Chemiluminescence Detection
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Bryan Morse	Chemistry	Libby Puckett	Arts and Sciences	Chemistry	Sep 29, 2009
Project Description: Electrophorectically mediated microanalysis (EMMA) will be used in this research as a method of studying enzyme kinetics in conjunction with chemiluminescence detection. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) has many advantages over related separation methods, some of these being high separation power, selectivity, and versatility in the types of compounds that can be analyzed. Chemiluminescence will be used instead of other methods because it has little or no background signal, gives high sensitivity and high quantum yield, and requires no excitation source. The chemiluminescent reaction that will be utilized involves luminol, which reacts with oxidants to produce an excited state molecule that emits light upon relaxation. An instrument that interfaces CE with chemiluminescence detection was constructed to carry out these experiments. The system will first be validated by injecting aliquots of luminol directly onto the column and allowing it to react with hydrogen peroxide in the detection cell. This system will also be used for on-column mixing of enzyme and substrate in order to study the kinetics of physiologically significant enzymes that produce hydrogen peroxide. Glucose oxidase will be used as the model enzyme in this study, and luminol will be used to detect the production of hydrogen peroxide and indirectly measure the enzyme’s activity. The reaction produces a flash of light that is measured by a photon counter in a post-column reactor. The electropherograms produced from the enzyme injection will have a plateau shape that is indicative of the rate of the reaction. The results of this study will ultimately lead to a faster approach for determining enzyme kinetics.

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29. Reconstructing an Intraspecific Evolutionary History of Sea Oats (Uniola paniculata)
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Richard Hodel	Biology	Eva Gonzales	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Sep 29, 2009
Project Description: Disturbances such as hurricanes have always posed a threat to coastal ecosystems. Recently, anthropogenic factors have added stress to coastal ecosystems. These factors include overdevelopment, rising sea level, and warmer sea temperatures, which can lead to more intense disturbances. Fortunately, there is relief available: sand dunes provide coastal ecosystems with a natural defense and recovery mechanism. Coastal vegetation traps sand to build dunes and provide stability. In the Southeastern United States, sea oats (Uniola paniculata) are an abundant coastal grass that help stabilize dunes. Sea oats are quite hardy; they are salt- and drought-tolerant and are a good colonizing species. Their rhizome growth habit and root structure helps prevent dune erosion. By stabilizing sand dunes, sea oats provide a habitat for many animal species. Sea oats are valuable for preventing and repairing damage caused by disturbances. Coastal restoration projects frequently use sea oats to restore native habitats and human-occupied areas. Often, sea oats are introduced without regard to the origin of the individual plants. The populations of sea oats in North Carolina can have different life histories than populations native to Florida. For example, northern populations often require a period of cold weather to germinate their seeds, whereas the Florida populations do not need a temperature change for germination. The goal of this project is to construct an evolutionary history of sea oats using a phylogeographic approach, and to apply this knowledge to inform management practices. Chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) is maternally inherited, making it useful for establishing evolutionary histories and identifying independent lineages. Presumably, these lineages (Evolutionary Significant Units, ESUs) have accumulated unique genetic variation and morphologically adaptive traits. However, the correlation between evolutionary history and adaptive traits remains unclear and controversial. I will use cpDNA variations to divide the geographic range of sea oats into ESUs. Then I will compare genetic data with published morphological variations to examine how sea oats’ adaptive traits differ among ESUs, and whether they are correlated. Coastal protection and restoration projects would benefit from using propagules that are well-adapted to the particular region. Additionally, I will also combine the cpDNA data with other published studies to identify genetic hotspots. Improved knowledge of the genetic variation of sea oats will contribute to sustainable management of coastal ecosystems, identification of appropriate propagules and protection of genetic diversity in sea oats. This research will enable the optimal use of sea oats to protect sand dunes, both in natural coastal ecosystems and in human-inhabited areas. Finally, it will promote maintenance of the evolutionary potential of sea oats to adapt to new challenges in a continuously changing environment.

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30. The interaction between Protein Kinase C Zeta and Organic Anion Transporter 3 Splice Variant
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Joo Lee	Chemistry	Jennifer Cecile	Fine and Applied Arts	Chemistry	Sep 29, 2009
Project Description: Organic anion transporters (OATs) assist with the clearance of small anionic drugs and xenobiotics in kidney, liver, brain and other epithelia tissues. Protein kinases regulate membrane proteins through phosphorylation. This modification helps direct membrane proteins to the lipid membrane in cells. Previous data shows the atypical protein kinase zeta (PKC?) interacts with the OAT3 isoform as a protein partner. This interaction was previously confirmed by physiological transport experiments with rat kidney tissue and an inhibitor of PKC? and studies suggest the C-terminal of OAT3 is responsible for the interaction. An immunoprecipitation assay exists to show biochemically the two proteins interact. Specifically, we hope to repeat this experiment with an OAT3 splice variant. The OAT3 splice variant is 13 amino acids shorter than wild-type or normal OAT3 at the C-terminal of the protein. As such, it may interact differently with PKC? than wild-type OAT3. Since the OAT3 splice variant is present along with wild type OAT3, so there must be a purpose of why the truncated variant exists. We hypothesize that the lack of interaction between the OAT3 splice variant and PKC? may impact signaling and regulation of the protein, hence the need for a splice variant. Other research has shown increases in interaction between PKC? and OAT3 occur when insulin was present. This lack of interaction with PKC? could imply that OAT3 splice variant has the insulin-independent pathway. We need to develop experimental conditions to detect the OAT3 splice variant protein with antibodies. A combination of gel electrophoresis, Western blotting, and antibody detection will be used to detect OAT3. There are three ways to find the right conditions to detect OAT3 splice variant: changing the concentration of protein on gel, enriching membrane fraction of protein, and changing OAT3 splice variant antibody concentration. When the protein is separated, the antibody detection of the protein is necessary to see if the protein is indeed present. We have obtained cell lysates with OAT3 splice variant over-expressed from our collaborator at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. We plan to vary each condition and detect the presence of the OAT3 in these cell lysate samples. We will use the Typhoon Imager within the Biology department on campus to visualize OAT3 splice variant protein bands on our Western Blots. We have most of the equipment required for this analysis, but we request supplies for Western Blotting and for antibody detection within this proposal. We hope to present this research at Celebration of Student Research and Creative Endeavors On-Campus Research Day in Spring 2010.

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31. Detection of Rat Organic Anion Transporters in Soluble and Insoluble Cell Membrane Fractions
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Ming Wai Fan	Chemistry	Jennifer Cecile	Arts and Sciences	Chemistry	Sep 29, 2009
Project Description: Organic anion transporters (OATs) 1 and 3 mediate the secretion of exogenous and endogenous anions such as penicillin in human and rodents. They are located in the basolateral or blood side of membranes in kidney cells and in other epithelia tissues. Due to this similarity of the human and rat OATs, homogenized rat kidney tissue is a practical model in examining these transporters. Recent research has shown that membrane location may play a role in the functionality of OATs. We understand that caveolin 1, flotillin and myosin are thought to be involved in protein sorting, trafficking and cell signaling cascades. We hypothesize that these proteins and their location in the cell membrane are important to OAT functionality. Our lab has homogenized rat kidney tissue samples that were collected by research collaborators at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). These samples have been previously fractionated into insoluble and soluble fractions that contain the membrane only or a cytosolic fraction of the kidney. My research goal is to characterize these samples using antibodies of proteins that are markers of each region. These markers include myosin found in insoluble and cytosolic membrane, caveolin 1 and ?-actin found only in insoluble membrane and flotillin 1 found in all insoluble, soluble and cytosolic membrane. After characterization of each fraction, the fractions will be probed for rOAT3. We will employ gel electrophoresis, which acts to separate a mixture of proteins into bands based on their molecular weights. Then we will use Western Blotting and antibody detection to recognize each protein found in the various fractions. We will detect all proteins by antibody and chemiluminescence with a Typhoon Imager that is found on campus in Biology Department. We will correlate these results with experimental data in which the lipid membrane is disrupted by various modulators from our NIEHS collaborators. Experimental functional data results to-date suggest that rOAT1 is in insoluble portions of the membrane. Therefore we hope to detect rOAT1 primarily in the insoluble membrane fraction. In this proposal we have recognized additional supplies for Western Blotting and gel electrophoresis that one needed to complete these experiments. A summary will be presented at the Celebration of Student Research and Creative Endeavors On-Campus Research Day in Spring 2010.

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32. In the Footprints of our Ancestors, from Appalachian to Africa: Geological investigations into the origin and preservation of early human footprints in Tanzania
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Katelyn McGinnis	Geology	Cynthia Liutkus	Arts and Sciences	Geology	Jul 06, 2009
Project Description: [The information contained here is, at the moment, extremely confidential due to the delicate nature of the site and its preservation of early human presence.] Known hominid trackway sites in Africa are extremely rare and range widely in age from 3.5 Myr (Tanzania) to 117,000 yrs old (South Africa). These sites provide an important glimpse into the evolution of the human lineage including morphologic features (e.g., the nature of bipedalism) and behavior of our early ancestors. In March of this year, a group of conservationists discovered an additional hominid footprint site in Tanzania. Since that time, my advisor (Dr. Cynthia M. Liutkus) has been named one of the Senior Scientific Collaborators charged with documenting the geologic and paleoanthropologic history of the site. The footprints are pressed into an ash layer, presumably from nearby Oldoinyo L’engai (an active carbonatite volcano). Samples of the ash have already been collected for Ar40/Ar39 date analysis; however, results will not be available until late October or November. The geochronologists, have described the unit as “significantly old” due to the deteriorated nature of the volcanic minerals. Several scientific collaborators are planning a 3-week field season at the site in mid-July 2009, prior to publicly announcing the discovery of the site at the East African Association of Paleoanthropology and Paleontology meeting in August in Arusha, Tanzania. This proposal requests money to offset the costs of immunizations, a travel visa, research permit, and residency permit (>$665). Without these items, I would not be able to be involved in this research project. Specifically, I will be involved in the geologic research of the area immediately surrounding the site, as well as the local region. Samples of the ash layer and local volcanic material will be collected and geochemically analyzed by laser-ablation optical emission spectroscopy (housed in the Chemistry Dept.) in order to “fingerprint” them for minor and trace elements (i.e., to determine which nearby volcano produced the material). This will involve careful sampling near the footprints, as well as traveling to each nearby volcano to sample their extrusive volcanic material. Thin sections will also be made for petrographic analysis and the Arts & Sciences scanning electron microscope facility will be used to collect data on major elemental chemistry using energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (a procedure that I am already proficient in). Dr. Sarah Carmichael (petrologist, Geology Dept.) has agreed to assist with the geochemical and thin-section analysis of these samples. Furthermore, the stratigraphy above and below the ash layer needs to be characterized in order to reconstruct the paleolandscape and place the ash unit in stratigraphic context. The rock units surrounding the ash will be stratigraphically measured, photographed, and documented. Samples of the sediments above and below the ash unit will be analyzed for grain size, thin section microscopy, clay mineralogy, and bulk chemical composition (at Appalachian) in order to determine their depositional environment. In working with Dr. Liutkus for the past year, I have become skilled at each of these analytical techniques.

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33. Psychological Characteristics of College Students-2
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Kelsey Toomey	Psychology	Joshua Broman-Fulks	Arts and Sciences	Psychology	Mar 25, 2009
Project Description: Although there has been a dramatic increase in scientific knowledge in the past half century, the prevalence of pseudoscientific beliefs is still on the rise in our society. Pseudoscientific beliefs not only could cause a direct threat to the physical or psychological integrity of the ones self or others, it can also be harmful through the loss of money, time and productivity spent on ineffective treatments. Pseudoscientific thinking can also decrease one’s ability to understand and evaluate the findings and implications of scientific discoveries. Because pseudoscientific beliefs can be harmful to believers and society in several ways, research surrounding pseudoscientific beliefs has gained increased attention among scientists and educators. Although there are validated measures of paranormal beliefs, currently there are not any validated measures of pseudoscientific beliefs. The purpose of the present study is to validate a new measure of pseudoscientific beliefs, and to examine how such beliefs correlate to measures of mental health. Measures of paranormal beliefs, anxiety, avoidance, and our new measure of pseudoscientific beliefs will be administered to participants in groups and should take approximately 30 minutes to complete. Measures will be administered in a classroom. Participants will only be asked to complete a single questionnaire session. No identifying information will be collected from participants.

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34. Mill dam effects on mussel growth rates in Alabama streams
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Erin Singer	Biology	Michael Gangloff	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Mar 25, 2009
Project Description: Small dams are commonplace in the watersheds of the Eastern US; however, the lack of science-based management demands an understanding of small dam effects on aquatic biota. Freshwater pearly mussels (Bivalvia: Unioniformes) are among the most highly imperiled aquatic organisms globally. Worldwide mussel declines are believed to be linked to anthropogenic changes to physical and chemical habitat conditions of aquatic environments. Additionally, mussels are indicators of climate change, and continuously record environmental conditions in their growing shells. Because freshwater mussels are long-lived, with age records nearing two centuries, they are important sentinels of changes to aquatic ecosystems. I am investigating why freshwater mussel populations directly below mill dams are larger (both in terms of densities and body size) than nearby populations occurring up- and downstream of the mill dam. I am attempting to determine 1) are mussels growing faster or living longer near mill dams and 2) are size differences attributable to increased mussel food availability in the mill reach compared to other environments. I am using shell thin-sections of the mussel, Elliptio arca, to examine differences in growth rates and I am collecting and filtering water samples to measure suspended material (mussel food) associated with the mill dam. Additionally, I am conducting a study to test whether mussels in these populations produce annular growth rings. To get a reliable estimate of mussel age, I will thin-section shell valves in a geological preparation lab. Shells will be cut, slide-mounted and then ground and polished until translucent. Specimens will then be dyed with Mutvei’s solution to increase shell ring visibility. Shell growth rings will be counted using a compound microscope to get a reliable estimate of age. I will test the assumption that mussels are producing an annular ring with a field experiment. I will collect, tag, and cage 30 mussels at each of my three study sites (immediately downstream of the dam, >2km downstream of the dam, and in a free-flowing reach upstream from the impoundment) in Sandy Creek, AL. Caged mussels will be measured at the end of one year and a sub-set will be thin-sectioned to determine if a growth ring is being produced annually. To relate growth to environmental factors, I will seasonally (4x per year) quantify available food for mussels (seston) and analyze water chemistry at each site. I will collect 4 L of water at each of the three study sites and from the impoundment to estimate suspended material (a proxy for available mussel food). I will filter, dry, and ash the samples to get a ratio of inorganic to organic particles. Water samples from these same sites are collected for water chemistry analyses.

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35. Indirect Determination of Enzyme Kinetics using Capillary Electrophoresis with Chemiluminescence Detection
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Ryan Sturdivant	Chemistry	Libby Puckett	Arts and Sciences	Chemistry	Mar 24, 2009
Project Description: Electrophorectically mediated microanalysis (EMMA) is used in this research as a method of studying enzyme kinetics in conjunction with chemiluminescence detection. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) has many advantages over related separation methods, some of these being high separation power, selectivity, and versatility in the types of compounds that can be analyzed. Chemiluminescence will be used instead of other methods because it contains little or no background signal, gives high sensitivity, high quantum yield, and requires no excitation source. The chemiluminescent reaction that will be used involves luminol, which reacts with oxidants to produce an excited state molecule that emits light on relaxation. An instrument that interfaces CE with chemiluminescence detection has been constructed to carry out these experiments. The system was validated by injecting aliquots of luminol directly onto the column. CE is used for on-column mixing of enzyme and substrate in order to study the kinetics of physiologically significant enzymes that produce hydrogen peroxide. Glucose oxidase will be used as the model enzyme in this study and luminol will be used to detect the production of hydrogen peroxide and indirectly measure the enzyme’s activity. The reaction will produce a flash of light that will be measured by a photon counter in a post-column reactor. The electropherograms produced from the enzyme injection will have a plateau shape that is indicative of the rate of the reaction. The results of this study will ultimately lead to a faster approach for determining enzyme kinetics.

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36. Development of a Protein-Based System for the Detection of Organophosphates using the pH-Dependence of Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Clare Adams	Biology, Pre-professional	Libby Puckett	Arts and Sciences	Chemistry	Mar 24, 2009
Project Description: This project is designed to address a need for the detection of organophosphates, which are commonly found in pesticides and chemical warfare agents. Organophosphates are harmful neurotoxins that inhibit nerve impulse transmission. Even low-level exposure to these compounds can be detrimental to the environment and to human and animal health. Organophosphorus hydrolase, OPH, was discovered in the late 1980’s after scientists found a species of bacteria, Pseudomonas diminuta, which was thriving in pesticide-contaminated soil. The OPH produced by the bacteria essentially detoxified the organophosphates and allowed the bacteria to survive. OPH has a broad specificity for a wide variety of organophosphates, thus making it a very popular enzyme for remediation of organophosphates that are found in pesticides and chemical warfare agents. Recombinant DNA technology (PCR, cloning, in vitro translation, etc.) has been used to create a unique plasmid, containing a gene that encodes for the production of the fusion protein between the enzyme, OPH, and a reporter protein. We have been using enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP), which is one of the most widely exploited reporter proteins in biochemistry today. This OPH-EGFP protein, when expressed and purified, can be utilized to develop a method for the detection and quantification of organophosphates by monitoring local pH changes that accompany the remediation reaction of OPH with an organophosphate substrate. The main objective of this research is interdisciplinary in nature. By using analytical methods to study biological phenomena, we can cross the boundaries of each individual discipline and begin to understand complex systems in greater detail. We hope to study and detect a wide array of organophosphates that are found in pesticides and chemical warfare agents. This project could have far reaching implications in that the results could have an impact on environmental monitoring as well as Homeland Security.

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37. Determining the identity of highly conserved regions upstream of the Meis2 gene using zebrafish.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Anna Cochrane	Biology	Ted Zerucha	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Mar 24, 2009
Project Description: Our lab studies the Meis family of homoebox genes. Meis genes (myeloid ectopic leukemia virus integration site) were first identified by a group studying the genetic basis of leukemia. The protein products of Meis genes bind to specific DNA sequences and turn on various other genes during embryonic development. Their expression patterns have also been shown to be highly conserved among all vertebrates. While a great deal is known about the function of the Meis genes themselves, there is relatively little known about how Meis genes are turned on and off during embryonic development according to their necessary function. Our lab has identified 4 conserved sequences of non-coding DNA associated with Meis2, in all animals examined to date, including humans, except for zebrafish in which we have found the first element, m2de1 ( Meis2 downstream element 1). We are working on locating the other three. Since these regions are consistently found in all animals in such a highly conserved manner, we think that they are functioning as regulatory regions for the Meis2 gene. Thus far, we have each element isolated from genomic DNA, and we are currently attaching these regulatory elements to a reporter gene called green fluorescent protein, or GFP. Once we have assembled these GFP constructs, we can inject them into transgenic zebrafish embryos (of the species Danio rerio) and watch the activity of GFP during embryonic development. If the GFP is directed to and expressed in the regions that Meis2 is normally active, then we know that these regions do, in fact, serve as the regulatory elements for the Meis2 gene. The OSR grant for which I am applying will be very useful in providing the necessary supplies to safely and successfully generate these fish and help us perform the micro-injections, which begins the final step in my project.

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38. Focused Ion Beam/Scanning Electron Microscope Methods for Fabrication of Metallic Nanostructures for Optical Sensors and Plasmonic Waveguides
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Andrew Madison	Physics	Donovan Leonard	Arts and Sciences	Physics and Astronomy	Mar 24, 2009
Project Description: Focused Ion Beam (FIB) fabrication has been demonstrated as a useful tool for the development of active optical components such as sensors and waveguides. The detection mechanism in these fiber optic sensors is based on shifts in localized plasmon resonances (LSPRs) of metallic nanostructures and surface plasmon resonances (SPR) associated with nanoholes in optically thick metallic films, that occur when the refractive index of the medium surrounding the metallic nanostructures and nanoholes is changed.[1,2,3] These sensors can be employed for the detection of chemical agents in air as well as liquid media surrounding the sensors. A combination of deposition and etching methods for fabrication of optical sensors on multi-mode fibers has been demonstrated in the literature. Employing FIB has allowed formation of nanostructures such that the plasmon resonances associated with the nanostructures could be engineered and precisely controlled by controlling the nanostructure size and shape. Multi-step FIB fabrication procedures have been developed by Dhawan et al to form the nanostructures of complex geometries on planar substrates. We explore an alternative method for the fabrication of metallic nanodot structures involving FIB and Electron Beam-Induced Deposition. Here, we demonstrate direct deposition of metal nanostructures created when an electron beam (e-beam) is used to dissociate metal from an organometallic precursor gas in a predefined reaction region. Ionization energy required for decomposition of the Au precursor, i.e. Dimethyl Au (III) Fluoro Actylacetonate, is matched with that of the secondary electrons (between 5-50 eV) that are generated by exposing the substrate to a focused electron beam. A Hitachi FB2100 Focused Ion Beam system coupled with the Omni Gas Injection System are together being used to fabricate the arrays of nanoapertures in addition to other nanostructures such as nanopillars, nanorods, and nanoparticles. We also explore the use of the FEI Nova 600 SEM/FIB in the Nanofabrication Research Laboratory at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Beam currents and accelerating voltage ranges of 0.01 nA and 5-40 keV have typically been used with these instruments. In addition to device fabrication methods, we are interested in several characterization methods including TUNA (Tunneling Atomic Force Microscopy), EDS (Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy) and EELS (Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy) for analysis of the gold deposits. To this end, large (10?m x 10?m) gold deposits have been fabricated for interrogation of bulk electrical and compositional properties via TUNA and EDS. Preliminary results indicate the deposits to be conductive, but contain moderately low percentages (~10%) of gold.

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39. Maternal effects of eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) on offspring fitness
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Alex Bentz	Biology, Pre-professional	Lynn Siefferman	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Mar 24, 2009
Project Description: The phenotype of an individual is determined not only by its genes and environment, but also by those of its mother; called the maternal effect. In bird species, the embryo develops outside of the mother, meaning that egg hormonal provisioning, or yolking, is an important time in which the mother can exert this maternal effect. During the phase of yolking, the female produces androgens that are transferred to the egg yolk by steroidogenic cells in the follicle wall of the ovary. Mothers deposit varying amounts of androgens in eggs and such maternal effects can directly influence offspring fitness. Recently, a study of eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) during egg yolking demonstrated that females that have been stimulated to aggressive behavior by the simulation of a same-sex territorial intruder deposit more androgens in yolk than do control females. Also, females breeding in high-density environments often transfer more androgens into their egg yolks, and this may be an adaptation to the high-density environment. The effect of increased androgens on offspring varies. In many species, elevated yolk androgens increase nestling growth rates, but nestlings may experience reduced immunocompetence. Although many studies have artificially increased yolk androgens by injecting hormones into eggs, to date no study has manipulated yolk hormones by increasing female aggression and then measuring offspring fitness in a wild-breeding bird species. I will elucidate the effect of increased yolk androgens on eastern bluebird offspring phenotype by experimentally manipulating female aggression to raise yolk androgen levels naturally, and measure the fitness of the offspring. Offspring fitness measures will include growth rate, begging rate, and immunocompentence assays. Moreover, I seek to gain a better understanding of how natural variations in female aggression and territory environment covary with offspring fitness. The testosterone (EIA) kit (900-065, Assay Designs) will be used to measure the chicks' testosterone 10 days post-hatch. Plasma collected from GnRH challenges will be analyzed for testosterone. Approximately 2,000 counts per minute of tritiated testosterone will be added to each sample in order to calculate recoveries after two extractions with diethyl ether. Extracts will be resuspended in 50 mL ethanol and diluted to 350 mL with assay buffer from the kit. From each reconstituted sample, 100 mL will be used to determine recoveries, and duplicate 100 mL quantities will be used in the EIA. Testosterone concentrations will be determined with a four-parameter, logistic curve-fitting program (Microplate Manager; BioRad) and corrected for incomplete recoveries. The expected observation is a greater amount of testosterone in chicks from females that had been subjected to a same-sex territorial intrusion while yolking.

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40. Assessment of Heavy Metals and Ecological Damage Produced by TVA Coal Fly Ash Spill
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Daniel Jackson	Biology, Pre-professional	Shea Tuberty	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Mar 24, 2009
Project Description: On December 22, 2008, a retention pond containing coal fly ash slurry broke releasing more than 4.5 million cubic meters of ash into the adjacent Emory and Clinch Rivers. The pond was located on the property of the TVA coal power plant located in the town of Kingston, TN. The fly ash is the byproduct produced in the burning of coal for electricity. Once released that coal ash slurry consumed that surrounding area completely drowning 300 acres of land and water. The coal ash spill is the largest of its kind in US history and is topped in size of ecological disasters only by the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989. Coal ash contains many of the world’s most toxic metal including arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, selenium and thallium as well as many others. These dangerous contaminates were found at high concentrations in the water of the surrounding area following the spill. This massive release of toxic chemicals can have devastating effects on the ecosystem. Initial estimates indicated that over 1000 tons of toxic metals had been released into the aquatic ecosystem. At the time of the spill great concern about human health was developed, but upon sampling of drinking water, the purification process of the water treatment plant seemed to be sufficient to meet water standards. My research proposal is to characterize and quantify heavy metals concentration found in the Emory and Clinch Rivers water and sediment deposits. These samples will then later be compared to a control site located upstream of the affected area. The samples collected will be digested in 70% nitric acid solution. The samples will then undergo a microwave digestion using the Mars microwave digester located in Dr. Tuberty’s lab. The post-microwave solutions will be examined using an ICP-OES located in the spectrophotometry lab in the chemistry department (under the supervision of Dr. Carol Babyak). These results will be used to determine the extent of heavy metal bioavailability (possible real exposure of living organisms at the specific sites in the river) and changes in availability over the next few months following the spill. The ICP-OES process will both characterize and quantify the heavy metals contained in the samples. The supplies used for this process are expended to avoid contamination and are consumed at a rapid rate. It would be impossible to complete my research without adequate supplies.

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41. We Are Tied Together- A Series of Paintings for my BFA Senior Studio art show
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Stephanie Sims	Studio Art	Ali Raza	Fine and Applied Arts	Art	Mar 24, 2009
Project Description: For my Senior BFA art exhibit on May 8th I will be showing 8 large scale water color and mixed media paintings. I am interested in portraying what we have in common as humans, and what makes us human- emotionally and physically. I think that it is important for people to realize that we are not all that different, and that we are essentially made up of the same things. I will be using a variety of media and processes including but not limited to watercolor paint, acrylic paint, screen printing and embroidery. Imagery will include symbols that are significant to me that will evoke familiar responses in the viewer like bones, birds and portraits of people I love. My paintings will be on archival watercolor paper so they must be framed to hang in the gallery.

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42. Particulate matter source apportionment using non-negative matrix factorization on data collected via AppalAIR (Boone, NC).
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
David Bowman	Chemistry	Brett Taubman	Arts and Sciences	Chemistry	Mar 24, 2009
Project Description: Concentrations of multiple analytes (particulate matter) will be determined through SPME, IC, and ESI-MS in order to determine relative particulate matter concentrations over time. Following data collection and concentration analysis a non-negative matrix factorization method will be performed in order to determine a likely source apportionment model describing individual source contributions. Data will be collected locally and thus represents air that we all breath everyday at the ASU campus and in Boone in general.

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43. Weekly Blogging Increases Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in College-Aged Males and Females
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Alyssa Burnell	Foods and Nutrition	Marty (new advisor spring 2009) Root	Fine and Applied Arts	Family and Consumer Science	Mar 24, 2009
Project Description: I will be presenting at Appalachian for the Celebration of Student Research and Creative Endeavors on April 23, 2009. This is a requirement for my graduate degree. I greatly appreciate anything you can help me with.

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44. Effect of Antioxidant Vitamin - Mineral Supplement on Antioxidant and Oxidative Status After Strenuous Exercise
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Mary (Masha) Fox-Rabinovich	Foods and Nutrition	Lisa McAnulty	Fine and Applied Arts	Family and Consumer Science	Mar 03, 2009
Project Description: Oxidative stress derives from metabolic processes and can cause damage to DNA, lipids, and proteins. Supplementation with antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E, and the mineral selenium, has been suggested to counteract oxidative stress; however, existing literature has not produced definitive outcomes. This project investigated the effects of daily supplementation with a vitamin-mineral complex, emphasizing vitamins C (2000 mg), E (800 IU), A (3000 IU) and selenium (200 ug), for 6-wks on the antioxidant and oxidative damage markers of athletes prior to and after strenuous exercise. Twenty-four trained cyclists were randomized into vitamin-mineral (VM) (n=12) or placebo (P) (n=12) groups. Blood samples were collected at baseline (E1), immediately pre (E2), and post (E3) exercise, and 12-h post (E4) exercise and examined for indicators of antioxidant status (Oxygen Radical Antioxidant Capacity (ORAC) (ng/mL trolox equivalents)) and Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Potential (FRAP) (uM/L ascorbate equivalents)), and oxidative damage (F2-isoprostanes (pg/mL)). The study design allowed examination of supplementation effects during chronic, exercise, and exercise recovery phases. A 2 (treatment) x 4 (times) repeated measures ANOVA was performed. Statistical significance was set at P<0.05. F2-isoprostanes and FRAP were not significantly affected during any phase of supplementation or by group, but increased from E2 to E3 in P and VM. ORAC declined significantly in both groups from E2 to E3 (P<0.001) in P and VM, but no group effects existed. The results do not support use of an antioxidant vitamin-mineral supplement to augment antioxidant status or suppress exercise-induced oxidative damage. This research will be presented in research poster format at the North Carolina Dietetic Association on March 8, 2009.

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45. Heavy metals released from the Tennessee Valley Authority coal fly ash spill may affect aquatic life and ecosystem health
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Yosuke Sakamachi	Biology	Shea Tuberty	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Feb 26, 2009
Project Description: On December 22nd, 2008, a section of the fly ash-containing waste retention dam of the Kingston Fossil Plant of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) collapsed. Half a century’s worth of coal fly ash was released into the immediate proximity; TVA suggests from aerial studies that 1.1 billion gallons of this slurry (a mixture of the coal fly ash and water) was lost into the environment. The slurry washed over 300 acres of rural land, homes, roadways, and into the Tennessee River tributaries, the Emory River and Clinch Rivers. This is the largest coal related spill in United States history, towering over the Exxon Valdez spill by 50 times in volume. Coal fly ashes are considered toxic due to its profound concentration of heavy metals such as arsenic and lead, and are known to cause harm to life forms and disrupt ecosystems. Preliminary estimates indicate that >1000 tons of arsenic, lead, mercury, selenium and other toxic heavy metals were released during the Kingston spill into the Emory River. My research proposal involves characterization and quantification of heavy metals from fish and invertebrate samples for the affected areas of the Emory River and Clinch River sites and comparing them to those of unaffected upstream control sites. Samples from the fish and the invertebrates include muscle, liver, spleen, gastric caecum, stomach, and testes tissues. These samples will be digested into a solution using 70% nitric acid and the MarsX microwave digester in Dr. Tuberty’s lab. The solutions will be taken to the chemistry spectrophotometry lab for an ICP-OES analysis which will both characterize and quantify the metals contained in the sample tissue. Majority of the supplies we use are expended and are being consumed at an immense rate. These items are essential to my research and must be replaced in order to meet my goals.

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46. Passive Solar-Solar Thermal Heated, Rainwater Catchment System Greenhouse for extending the growing system for small farmers.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Matt Arrington	Technology Education	Dennis Scanlin	Fine and Applied Arts	Technology	Feb 26, 2009
Project Description: The Local food movement is gaining popularity with every major food recall provided by our current conventional agriculture system. The local food movement is based on local economies, preserving small farms and public land, local culture, and sustainable environmental practices. Local agriculture's main setback is a limited growing season, especially in Appalachia . Hoop Houses are used by small farms today to grow crops strait in the soil with a hoop style green house erected over them. The project will consist of a rain water catchment system designed onto the green house to supply the green house's water needs. The frame of most hoop green houses are made of PVC piping, in this project I will use the same design as most hoop houses but design the PVC frame as an actual solar thermal collector that will transfer heat from the ambient air in side the green house to the insulated thermal mass-which will be the beds in which the crops are grown; therefore hoping to create a heat source from the actual frame itself with out fossil fuels or expensive alternative technologies. The photovoltaic panel will provide the energy to pump the heat transfer fluid through the system, as the sun is shining heating up the heat transfer fluid . The photovoltaic panel and the solar thermal design will both work at the same time due to the fact that both are powered by the sun's energy. The main goal of this project is to simply and at low cost extend the growing season for small farmers and provide high quality, safe, local produce.

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47. The Research, Design, and Development of a Photovoltaic System.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
William Kipar	Appropriate Technology	Dennis Scanlin	Fine and Applied Arts	Technology	Feb 26, 2009
Project Description: This project will entail designing and building a Photovoltaic System for harnessing energy from the sun. The entire system will consist of one or more solar panels, a gel cell battery, an inverter, a charge controller, and other electrical wiring components. As opposed to purchasing the solar panels from a retailer, I will construct them myself. This means I will have to purchase individual solar cells, tab and solder them in series, and build the cell housing. This project will allow an opportunity to perform adequate research on different panel materials. For example, I will test different panel backing materials for their heat conduction and resistance properties. I will perform tests correlated with the battery and the charge controller to find the maximum charging efficiencies. It will also allow testing of different design and construction methods, and different panel-cover material efficiencies. When the solar system is complete it will be used to offset my energy consumption from the grid, thus reducing my carbon footprint. The solar system will be designed in a transportable fashion to allow the system to be displayed at certain functions. The system will be used to educate and show others how photovoltaics work, and the steps taken to design and build a photovoltaic system.

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48. Economical biodiesel processor
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Zachary Dowell	Appropriate Technology	Marie Hoepfl	Fine and Applied Arts	Technology	Feb 26, 2009
Project Description: Standard home biodiesel kits are readily available from online vendors for $1,500 to more than $5,000. These kits are complete and require assembly upon arrival. One fault that is often cited for these home kits is that they are poor quality and overpriced. It has also been discovered that some of the provided parts are not made for longevity. The purpose of applying for this grant is to fund this project for the TEC 5700 biodiesel technology class which will demonstrate that a home biodiesel facility can be built from readily available parts from anyone's local hardware store and for less money. We will build a biodiesel processor and use waste vegetable oil from local restaurants as a feedstock to make biodiesel, then demonstrate by using the fuel in a vehicle. In TEC 5700 we have studied biodiesel technology and visited the campus facility and the Foothills biofuels commercial facility in Lenore. Jeremy Ferrell and Dr. Brian Raichle support us and are willing to offer support during the course this project, when necessary. The funds we are requesting will not meet our complete needs. We are, however, dedicated in our endeavor, and are willing to pay the surplus needed funds out of pocket. We appreciate you considering our request.

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49. Retrofitting an Electric Water Heater to Act as a Small Scale Biodiesel Reactor
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Eric Schneider	Appropriate Technology	Dennis Scanlin	Fine and Applied Arts	Technology	Feb 26, 2009
Project Description: Transesterification is the reaction of a fat or oil with an ester (an acid and alcohol) to form glycerin and fatty acid alkyl esters, or Biodiesel. Biodiesel is a petroleum diesel fuel alternative that doesn’t require major mechanical retrofits on a diesel motor for its use. An electric water heater will be used as the transesterification reactor vessel for this project. An electric water heater is ideal because it meets the demand for an electrically heated and sealed vessel that can integrate a circulation system necessary for a complete reaction of the feedstock oil and ester. I currently have a 50-gallon electric water heater and vegetable oil for the first batch reaction. The ester is Sodium Methoxide, which will be contained in an HDPE container modified to allow its introduction into the circulation system via a brass ball valve. A series of corrosion resistant black iron pipes and brass ball valves will be configured around a small 120V centrifugal pump to act as the circulation system. When transesterification is complete, the settling of the reacted materials separate into two predominant constituents, Biodiesel and glycerin. After settling, the glycerin is drained into a bucket. It is necessary to wash the Biodiesel in order to remove any remaining impurities, and this will be done with a custom water wash system. The system involves a 55-gallon drum fitted with water misters and drainage lines. The misted water captures impurities and washes the Biodiesel as it slowly percolates to the bottom of the drum. This wash water will be drained, and the wash process repeats until the resulting water satisfies my visual inspection. After washing the Biodiesel, it is submitted to a series of tests in order to analyze certain characteristics and quality of the fuel. I will conduct a flash point test to determine its remaining methanol content by heating the fuel to discover at which temperature the gases above the fuel ignite. ASTM D6751-07b certified Biodiesel has a flash point of 130 degrees Celsius; any flashpoint lower than such indicates an unacceptably high methanol content for ASTM certifications. Next, a copper corrosion test will determine the corrosion ratio of Biodiesel to nonferrous metals. The test involves submerging a strip of cleaned copper in a container of Biodiesel heated to 50°C for a period of three hours. In addition, I will measure the density of the fuel with a hydrometer. This test determines if the Biodiesel has a high water content or if it contains too much methanol. A free-glycerin test determines the levels of free-glycerin remaining in the Biodiesel and if the Biodiesel needs to be washed more thoroughly. I will perform a bonded and total glycerin test to assess the completeness of the original reaction. The final test will be the field test, where I will observe the Biodiesel’s performance while operating a small 4-cylinder diesel vehicle to uncover any problems under normal operation with the fuel.

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50. Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Biodiesel Using Recyclable Catalysts
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Kornelia Galior	Chemistry	Nicole Bennett	Arts and Sciences	Chemistry	Feb 24, 2009
Project Description: Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Biodiesel Using Recyclable Catalysts Kornelia Galior and Nicole Bennett (Advisor) As interest in making biodiesel more efficiently on the industrial scale has grown so has interest in replacing conventional heating methods with microwave irradiation because solutions are heated more effectively in the microwave. The Bennett research group has investigated the microwave-assisted synthesis of methyl/ethyl ester biodiesel blends made from a variety of oils and animal fats and done an extensive comparison of the lubricity (the ability of the fuel to prevent engine-wear) of blends with similarly prepared esters.1,2 I propose to continue this work by exploring the use of organic bases mounted on solid supports as recyclable catalysts for the microwave-assisted biodiesel reaction. The solid support will be magnetic so that after the reaction the catalyst can easily be removed and re-used. This method will follow the Principles of Green Chemistry listed below:3 • Prevent waste: Design chemical syntheses to prevent waste, leaving no waste to treat or clean up. • Use renewable feedstocks: Use raw materials and feedstocks that are renewable rather than depleting. Renewable feedstocks are often made from agricultural products or are the wastes of other processes; depleting feedstocks are made from fossil fuels (petroleum, natural gas, or coal) or are mined. • Use catalysts, not stoichiometric reagents: Minimize waste by using catalytic reactions. Catalysts are used in small amounts and can carry out a single reaction many times. They are preferable to stoichiometric reagents, which are used in excess and work only once. • Increase energy efficiency: Run chemical reactions at ambient temperature and pressure whenever possible. 1. Jeff Ramsdell and Nicole Bennett, Optimization of NC Biodiesel Production Through Data Regulated Processing of Variable Alternative Feedstocks, Report to the NC Research Competitiveness Fund, March 10, 2008. 2. (a) Manuscript in progress: Bennett, N. S.; Wilson, I. T.; Marsh, J. S., “Microwave Synthesis of Biodiesel: Yield and Lubricity of Fatty Acid Methyl/Ethyl Ester Blends.” To be submitted to Energy and Fuels. (b) Bennett, N. S.; Wilson, I. T.; Marsh, J. S. “Probing the Influence of the Microwave Effect on Competing Trans-esterifications: An Application to the Synthesis of Biodiesel.” Abstracts, 6th International Microwaves in Chemistry Conference, Boston, MA, United States, May 13-16 (2008). 3. http://www.epa.gov/greenchemistry/pubs/principles.html, accessed on January 15, 2009.

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51. REFINEMENT of OILS for USE in the SYTHESIS OF BIODIESEL
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Sarah Keasey	Chemistry	Nicole Bennett	Arts and Sciences	Chemistry	Feb 24, 2009
Project Description: Degumming is a process of refining oils that removes phospholipids. Oils used to make biodiesel must be degummed because the phosphorous compounds interfere with the work of catalytic converters. Nasirullah has recently reported an environmentally-friendly method for degumming that uses extraction with water followed by electrolyte (KCl and NaCl) solutions.1 This process decreases phosphorous content to ~0.03%, and is more scalable to an industrial level than other methods. In order to meet the ASTM standard (0.001% phosphorous) we will explore optimization of this process by varying time, temperature and method of separation (centrifugation vs. sonication). These results will be compared to those of Nasirullah and standard phosphoric acid procedures.1,2 The ASTM D 4951 method will be performed on oils before and after refinement in order to quantify phosphorous content. This project follows the following Principles of Green Chemistry3: - Design safer chemicals and products: Design chemical products to be fully effective, yet have little or no toxicity. - Use renewable feedstocks: Use raw materials and feedstocks that are renewable rather than depleting. Renewable feedstocks are often made from agricultural products or are the wastes of other processes; depleting feedstocks are made from fossil fuels (petroleum, natural gas, or coal) or are mined. - Use safer solvents and reaction conditions: Avoid using solvents, separation agents, or other auxiliary chemicals. If these chemicals are necessary, use innocuous chemicals. 1. Nasirulluh. “Physical Refining: Electrolyte Degumming of Nonhydratable Gums from Selected Vegetable Oils.” Journal of Food Lipids 12, 103-111 (2004). 2. Djikstra, A. J.; Mortin, V. O. “The Total Degumming Process.” J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 66, 1002-1009 (1989). 3. http://www.epa.gov/greenchemistry/pubs/principles.html, accessed January 15, 2009.

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52. Latino Communities in the High Country
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Marianne Rupp	Spanish	Cameron Lippard	Arts and Sciences	Sociology	Feb 24, 2009
Project Description: I will be interviewing Latino farmworkers in the High Country about their sense of community. I am working with the Farmworker Health Program in order to use the information to construct programs that will better serve the Latino community under study. I will interview about 20 people, including H2A workers and families. I am writing this thesis to graduate with honors.

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53. Lightweight, Custom EV Design and Fabrication
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Daniel Rhyne	Building Sciences	David Domermuth	Fine and Applied Arts	Technology	Feb 24, 2009
Project Description: ****I'm interested in presenting at the annual student research fair. Introduction: Sustainable transportation is becoming more prevalent as our ever-growing carbon footprint continues to affect our world. Our place in this technologically advanced society is conducive to the innovation and creation of sustainable transportation. Because many Americans are commuting in their cars, trucks and SUV’s, we, as a nation, consume approximately 390 million gallons of gasoline per day (1). The necessity for alternative modes of transportation is ever present; however, buying efficient vehicles is expensive. For these reasons, building a light weight, long-range electric bicycle could shape commuting into a more sustainable process which also provides exercise. Research Component: The novelty of this work is experimentation and implementation of cutting edge battery technology coupled with a high performance, model helicopter motor. The technological advances of today’s batteries and electric motors create great potential in production of small scale electric vehicles. Electric motor kits are currently sold to retrofit old bicycles, but they use outdated technology. The batteries used for these kits are typically lead acid batteries, which use the same chemistry as a car battery. For this, the batteries are generally very heavy, and make the bicycle less efficient and significantly raise the center of gravity, making the bike unstable at low speeds. Using the cutting edge technology in batteries and electric motors, the capabilities of making more efficient, lighter and safer EVs are increasing. There has been very little research on these lightweight EVs except for the few individuals that have built their own personal EV. The extent of the research includes a network of people with similar interests who post their projects on an online forum in order to ask for and offer advice. Research in this area could lead to the production of lightweight, personal EVs that are affordable and appealing for environmentally-conscious consumers. Research Method: Our research will be based on a 1996 Trek 830 that will be transformed into an electric bicycle using cutting edge equipment. The components of the EV are the HXT 80 – 100b 130kV motor, four Lithium Polymer (Li-Poly) batteries, and an RC controller. The motor is capable of producing about 8hp at about 6500 watts. Comparable motors generally weigh around 20lbs. more than this 3.5lb motor. The complication of this powerful motor is that it spins at a very high rpm. For this, we will have to calculate the proper reduction, followed by the fabrication of the reduction drive assembly. Since chains do not typically handle a high rpm very well, we have decided that a belt drive will be necessary for the 1st reduction and chain drive for the second reduction. RC motors are typically used on remote control applications, so we have to research a way to trick the controller into thinking that the motor is being operated via remote control. We have potentially found a way around this problem by incorporating a servo tester into the design. A servo tester allows for bench testing by sending out the same signal that the RC gear receives, without having a transmitter. Because servo testers generally have a built in potentiometer, the dial knob will not be acceptable for the bicycle application. A different potentiometer will have to be purchased and wired into the existing one, offering more ease of use and increasing the safety. Benefits: The current retail price on a factory electric bike starts around $2,000 and can go as high as $12,000. The higher priced bicycle is more of a trail bicycle, but the lower priced ones are designed more for the commuter. Also, There are electric bike conversion kits sold anywhere from $400 to $2000. The production of the “PowerPack” that we are fabricating could, if produced on a small scale, have a production cost of about $1,000. This could be advantageous for many people that are looking to commute affordably and efficiently. This vehicle will be outfitted with the Li-Poly batteries that are expected to last for over 1000 charging cycles, so this could theoretically account for the transportation to and from work for roughly 30,000 miles (30 miles per charge). Carbon dioxide is currently the leading anthropogenic (created by human activity) greenhouse gas, which is predominantly created by burning fossil fuels. Transportation is the second largest contributor of greenhouse gases, behind the industries. One method of conservation is offsetting the individual’s carbon footprint by using more efficient vehicles or alternate modes of transportation. By using the mileage of an EV and a few other factors, we can calculate how many pounds of CO2 would have been released into the atmosphere of the vehicle (3). Next Step: The primary goal of this research is to create a vehicle that doesn’t only appeal to EV enthusiasts, but more specifically appeals to today’s youth and the masses. This project is in attempt to redefine the stigma that electric vehicles must be slow and impractical. It is now possible to create modern EV’s effectively and very affordably through the use of innovative, yet readily available, RC components. If the research proves to be a success, production of the “PowerPack” can efficiently be scaled up to meet the needs of the public. Sources: (1) http://www.eia.doe.gov/basics/quickoil.html (2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas (3) http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/carboncalculator/howitwascalculated.html

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54. Quantifying Effectiveness of Homeowner-Performed Air Sealing Measures in Residential Structures
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Andrew Windham	Appropriate Technology	Jeff Ramsdell	Fine and Applied Arts	Technology	Feb 24, 2009
Project Description: Simple air sealing methods are often held up as something a homeowner can do on their own home to improve energy savings, comfort, and indoor air quality. The purpose of this project is to determine how effective home owners actually are at rudimentary, do-it-yourself air sealing measures. An initial diagnostic examination by a professional building scientist will aid the homeowners in identifying air leakage points. A range of air sealing methods and tools will then be utilized by homeowners on their own homes after either (A) No instruction other than what is on the product packaging or (B) A short tutorial from a professional building scientist. These homeowners will not have had any prior air-sealing experience. A standard blower door test will be performed before and after the air sealing measures are implemented to determine the impact of basic air sealing on the home's air leakage profile.

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55. Research in Natural Building Systems
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Doug Sharkey	Appalachian Studies	Dennis Scanlin	Fine and Applied Arts	Technology	Feb 24, 2009
Project Description: The built environment in the United States accounts for over one-third of total energy consumed per year. The need for sustainable and environmentally sound building systems is apparent now more than ever. It should also be considered that these building alternatives may have the capacity to build community through collective design and construction. This is at the heart of this research project. The goal of this project is to construct a structure using sustainably harvested wood and cob (earth, sand and straw) walls. Cob is a sustainable building material that utilizes readily available clay and sand as its main components. Cob is structurally sound and acts as thermal mass that can retain heat in cold weather and keep interiors cool in the summer. This structure will house a wood fired earth oven. By constructing a small structure, the techniques of building with cob can be demonstrated and the durability and thermal properties of the material tested. The lumber will be supplied by Mountain Works Sustainable Development, a restorative forestry company that logs using draft horses. This project will be undertaken with the assistance of the Sustainable Building and Design class so that interested students can learn about a unique building medium in a hands on setting. It is my hope that by involving students in this work, the knowledge of natural building can be passed on and spread throughout the community and we can start to look for alternatives to the conventional building systems that have drained our resource base and degraded our environment.

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56. Isolation and characterization of a novel zebrafish gene
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Nicholas Vaughn	Biology, Pre-professional	Ted Zerucha	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Feb 24, 2009
Project Description: Our lab studies the Meis2 homeobox-containing gene which is known to play an important role in the embryonic development of all animals and is also known to lead to Leukemia when mutated. We have recently discovered a previously unidentified gene adjacent to the Meis2 homeobox-containing gene which we have temporarily named M2lg1 (for Meis 2 linked gene number 1). This gene is remarkably well conserved amongst all animals examined including mammals, birds, fish and even insects. Recently we have identified a second M2lg gene which appears to be unique to zebrafish (zebrafish appear to have two versions of this gene while mammals, birds and insects have one). Interestingly this M2lg2 gene is actually more similar to the insect M2lg gene than any of the vertebrate M2lg genes. We hope that by taking advantage of the unique situation of zebrafish having two copies of this gene, with one being similar to other vertebrate versions and the other being similar to the invertebrate versions we will be able to study how genes evolve. Our lab has already obtained the zebrafish M2lg1 gene and my project will involve attempting to isolate the M2lg2 gene. I will isolate this gene by making use of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), a technique used to isolate a specific DNA sequence. I will prepare RNA, the expressed genes of an organism, from zebrafish embryos. We have evidence to believe that this gene is active during development which means that a RNA copy of it should be present in total RNA from embryos. I will then use PCR to preferentially amplify the M2lg2 gene from this RNA. To maintain this gene for future experiments I will place it into the TOPO cloning vector and will send this clone of the gene to be sequenced to confirm its identity.

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57. Hydrogen Booster Modification, to find out if injected Hydrogen will increase fuel economy and reduce pollution.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Charles Elrod	Appropriate Technology	Jack Martin	Fine and Applied Arts	Technology	Feb 24, 2009
Project Description: The purpose of this project is to determine if the proposed modification will increase fuel economy and reduce pollutant emissions by more completely burning the fuel at a higher temperature using the Hydrogen input. This project will also be good first hand experience for me as I plan to work in the Sustainable Transportation field. I plan to open a company that will perform modifications and conversions on existing vehicles to make them more efficent and Sustainable I also plan to build efficient electric cars. This project will also include an economic feasibility study of the proposed modification to determine if the cost of the modification is justifiable. I looked into buying the suggested parts on my own to assemble the the modification but the components would cost more and be difficult to find then what I can purchase the kit for.

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58. The characterization and quantification of organic species in atmospheric aerosol
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Sofia Eriksson	Chemistry	Brett Taubman	Arts and Sciences	Chemistry	Feb 24, 2009
Project Description: With the increasing awareness of air pollution and its effect on the environment, there is also an increased need for research in the field. Atmospheric aerosols scatter and absorb radiation in the ultraviolet and visible regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, and overall they have a net cooling effect as opposed to the green house gases. The impact of aerosols on the future climate is one of the greater uncertainties in the area of atmospheric research. The focus of my research is to characterize and quantify organic species in atmospheric aerosols; there is not much data available concerning the concentration of organic compounds in atmospheric aerosols in this region. Air samples are collected over 24-hour periods, and the filters are extracted using solid phase microextraction, and analyzed with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. After identifying whatever species that can be found, I will apportion sources to them. Air pollution can be traced to its source with the help of “marker compounds” which are specific to their sources. Some compounds are more source specific than others, and therefore serve as better marker compounds. Organic compounds are in general more source specific than inorganic compounds.

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59. Using Visuals During Music Therapy with School Aged Students (Presentation at Southeastern Region of the American Music Therapy Association Conference)
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Laura Brown	Music Therapy	Cathy McKinney	School of Music	Music	Feb 24, 2009
Project Description: Visuals provide clients with an opportunity to increase their communication with peers and therapist, while providing them with a better understanding of concepts presented during music therapy sessions. Visuals can facilitate added structure to music therapy sessions and increase client independence. Using appropriate visuals for each client can increase accuracy of assessment data and documentation. This presentation will address specific techniques for developing and using visuals that provide clients with greater opportunities for success. These techniques will utilize the object-picture-symbol approach for clients who need more assistance. Visual aids will be demonstrated that facilitate communication of directions, emotions, and appropriate behaviors during music therapy. Using visual aides to increase client success for more challenging tasks, such as essay writing and answering reading comprehension questions will also be shown. This presentation will also demonstrate the use of accessible technology such as Powerpoint® and Boardmaker® for creating independent centers for clients in classroom settings. Creating notebooks, song books, and worksheets for clients who receive music therapy on a consult basis will also be addressed. Organizational techniques for managing visuals will also be provided. Participants will be provided with materials to make visual aides relevant to their practice.

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60. Aerobic Exercise Intervention for High Anxiety Sensitivity
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Chelsea Price	Psychology	Joshua Broman-Fulks	Arts and Sciences	Psychology	Feb 20, 2009
Project Description: The proposed project will involve the creation and evaluation of an exercise intervention designed to reduce anxiety sensitivity. Anxiety sensitivity is the fear of anxiety and anxiety-related sensations, arising from the belief that those sensations can have harmful physical, psychological, or social consequences. High anxiety sensitivity has been shown to be a significant risk factor for: the development of panic among individuals who have no history of panic, the maintenance of panic disorder among untreated patients, and the re-occurrence of future panic attacks among infrequent panickers. Aerobic exercise has been used effectively in treating panic disorder and reducing general anxiety levels, but its effects on anxiety sensitivity have yet to be thoroughly evaluated. If aerobic exercise can be shown to decrease anxiety sensitivity, as it does with anxiety, clinicians could potentially treat individuals who have high anxiety sensitivity to prevent the development of panic or the reoccurrence of future panic attacks. To date, only three studies have researched the relation between anxiety sensitivity and aerobic exercise. The results of these studies suggested that aerobic exercise may be an effective treatment for reducing anxiety sensitivity. However, further evaluation is required. Thus, the PI is proposing to conduct a more thorough evaluation of the effects of exercise on anxiety sensitivity using both cognitive recognition of bodily sensations and a distracter task to determine if it is necessary to focus on physical symptoms during aerobic exercise to reduce anxiety sensitivity. Approximately 100 ASU students who: (1) have high anxiety sensitivity, (2) are in good physical health, and (2) are not currently involved in an aerobic exercise program will be recruited to participate in this study. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (1) aerobic exercise, (2) aerobic exercise plus cognitive distracter task, (3) aerobic exercise plus cognitive appraisal group that focus on bodily sensations, or 4) a no treatment control condition. All participants will be administered measures of anxiety sensitivity, health anxiety, positive/negative affect, physical appearance, and panic symptoms at: pre-treatment, post-treatment, and a one-week follow-up appointment. Participants in the exercise group will complete an aerobic exercise protocol designed to expose them to bodily sensations presumably associated with anxiety. Specifically, exercise participants will: stretch for two minutes, walk slowly on the treadmill for two minutes (warm-up), and then walk/jog on the treadmill for a period of 20-minutes during which they will maintain a heart rate between 60 and 85 percent of their maximum estimated heart rate. Each participant in one of the exercise groups will complete one exercise sessions over a one-week period. In addition to completing the exercise protocol, participants in the exercise plus cognitive appraisal group will focus on bodily sensations and will be provided with information regarding the physiology of panic attacks. Participants in this group will also be reminded by an examiner every 5 minutes during the exercise session to focus on their bodily sensations. Cognitive Appraisal sessions will last approximately 15 minutes and will occur prior to the exercise session. Previous research has indicated that psychoeducation can reduce anxiety sensitivity, and psychoeducation is often used as a component of many treatments for panic disorder. The purpose of including the exercise plus psychoeducation condition is to: (1) compare exercise to an existing anxiety sensitivity treatment with proven efficacy, and (2) to determine whether exercise plus psychoeducation is superior to exercise alone or exercise while cognitively being distracted. Participants in the Exercise plus cognitive distracter group will complete the exercise protocol as well as engage in a cognitive distracter task will exercising. This distracter task consists of hearing a series of numbers and adding each number to the previous number presented for a set of 10 numbers. This cognitive distracter task will last for the duration of the exercise session and keep participants in this group from focusing on their bodily sensations during the exercise session. The exercise plus cognitive distracter group will help to determine if it is necessary to focus on bodily sensations in order to reduce anxiety sensitivity during an aerobic exercise treatment protocol. Particiapnts in the control group will also complete the cognitive distracter task, but will not engage in the aerobic exercise protocol. After the exercise session, all participants will take a carbon dioxide inhalation in order to induce panic-like symptoms. Participants will be told before the inhalation task the potential effects of breathing in CO2 and will be taught vital capacity breathing. After participants receive this information, they will inhale a mixture of 35 percent carbon dioxide and 65 percent room air. After inhalation, participants will fill out the Acute Panic Inventory which is a measure of panic symptoms. Based on the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy and similarities between CBT and aerobic exercise interventions, reductions in anxiety sensitivity from aerobic exercise should remain during the CO2 inhalation procedure.

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61. Patterns of native and exotic plant richness along a sea level to summit macro-transect, Appalachian Mountains, U.S.A.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Michael Denslow	Biology	Zack Murrell	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Jan 27, 2009
Project Description: Please accept my application for the Office of Student Research (OSR) award. I have recently received an OSR travel award to attend the International Biogeography Society (IBS) biennial meeting in Merida, Mexico in January, 2009. I am applying for additional funds to further offset the cost of this meeting and research expenses and sincerely appreciate your consideration. I am a graduate student in the department of Biology conducting research on plant biodiversity and biogeography. My research combines spatial analysis with floristic studies to examine broad scale patterns in plant diversity. I plan to complete my Master’s degree this spring and the IBS meeting is wonderful opportunity for me to present part of my thesis research as a poster. (I have submitted a poster abstract to IBS, and it has been accepted). This is a unique opportunity for me to interact with biogeography researchers from around the world. In addition, I have the opportunity to attend a pre-conference workshop on spatial statistics. This workshop will be taught by a group of researchers who are at the cutting edge of spatial analysis. I have already applied for a student travel grant through the IBS. This grant was highly competitive and I received funds from IBS to cover my airfare to Mexico. Considering the IBS and OSR travel grants, I am still left with meeting expenses that I will need to pay out of pocket. I am therefore requesting an additional $500 through an Appalachian State University, OSR grant.

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62. Concentrating Solar Energy to Fire Ceramic Filters
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Joshua Beck	Appropriate Technology	Dennis Scanlin	Fine and Applied Arts	Technology	Jan 27, 2009
Project Description: Ceramic water filters are a low-cost and highly effective technology in improving health and living conditions in the developing world. This project is being pursued in the context of the senior seminar class, "Contemporary Problems In Appropriate Technology," with a series of goals in mind: The main goal is to attempt to bring ceramic ware to maturity using concentrated solar energy, as described by Zeljko Kujundzic (Ceramics Monthly, 23(7), 51), using a large Fresnel lens. The second is to design a compact, portable, and inexpensive solar kiln from common materials. Such a kiln could then be utilized for producing ceramic ware without using carbon-based energy. The appropriate technology application for which this kiln is being created is in fact the production of ceramic water filters in the developing world, where clean water and energy sources are both scarce. The design criteria are that the kiln's lens should be capable of two degrees of freedom to track the sun's altitude and azimuth at all seasons and latitudes. The kiln should be efficient in the transfer and capturing of solar energy, easily reproducible as a complete production system for the sake of easily disseminating the technology, relatively inexpensive, and above all should be safe. The kiln's construction will be divided into three parts: Lens frame, ware chamber, and tracking apparatus. The lens frame will be of mitered wood construction, and will include a lens blind to block the light source and remove heat if necessary. The tracking apparatus will be constructed to provide fluid adjustment vertically and horizontally, to accommodate for seasonal and latitude adjustments as well as the 15 degree per hour horizontal movement of the sun. The apparatus must also distribute the weight of the lens to the base of the apparatus in a fundamentally stable manner. The ware chamber must be large enough to fire a vessel as large as 2 gallons. It will be insulated with refractory material to prevent heat loss, and shield the rest of the structure from the intense heat of the focal point. An envelope will encase the ware chamber and extend to the lens frame to eliminate excessive cooling through air infiltration. Upon completion, the project documentation will be formatted as a freely available reference for aid organizations and individuals seeking to utilize it.

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63. Using blood lactate and pH parameters to predict performance during treadmill running
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Rebecca Shafer	Exercise Science	David Morris	Fine and Applied Arts	Health, Leisure and Exercise Science	Dec 17, 2008
Project Description: The objective of a competitive running event is to cover a specified distance in the shortest period of time. Acidosis is suspected as a contributor to fatigue and a limiter of performance in sustained or repeated high-intensity exercise events. Traditionally, lactate production has been seen as the primary source of metabolic acidosis and, thus, lactate responses during progressive treadmill tests are commonly used to predict athlete capacity and competitive performance. However, direct evidence demonstrating that lactate production results in the release of protons is lacking; and a growing body of research is calling into question the traditional belief that lactate production contributes to metabolic acidosis. Thus, we wish to compare the running paces that elicit blood lactate inflection point and metabolic acidosis to average pace during a simulated 7 Km running event; all determined on a motor-driven treadmill. Project Outline: Fifteen to 20 competitive male and female runners, age 18 to 45 years, will be recruited from the Boone area to serve as subjects in this study. Subjects must be actively training at least 4 days per week and must have competitive experience running at distances from 5 to 10 Km. Prior to participation, each subject will be screened for cardiac and metabolic risk factors. Exhibition of any symptoms in these areas will result in the exclusion of the subject. All testing will be performed in the Exercise Physiology Lab, Room 54, at the Holmes Convocation Center at Appalachian State University. The subjects will perform 3 tests over the course of 2 visits to the lab. During the first visit, the subjects will perform a progressive submaximal test to determine blood lactate and pH inflection points, followed by a maximal test to determine VO2max. During the return visit, subjects will perform a 7 Km running test to determine maximum sustainable running pace. Goals: This study will be conducted to determine relationships between running paces that elicit blood lactate inflection point and blood pH inflection point. A secondary issue will be to assess the efficacy of these measured variables to predict pace during a simulated 7 Km performance trial, all assessed on a motor-driven treadmill. Expected outcomes include: 1) There will be a positive correlation between pace at lactate inflection point and average running pace during a 7-km time trial; 2) There will be a positive correlation between pace at pH inflection point and average running pace during a 7-km time trial; 3) Pace at pH inflection point will more closely reflect average running pace during the time trial than will pace at lactate inflection point. Student role in the project: The student will be involved in all aspects including study design, subject recruitment, data collection and analyses and preparation of the results for publication.

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64. A pilot study examining the pull factors of Exergaming
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Crystal Sain	Recreation Management	Erik Rabinowitz	Fine and Applied Arts	Health, Leisure and Exercise Science	Dec 17, 2008
Project Description: Purpose. To examine the benefits of a new video physical activity (exergaming) arcades on a sample of 4th and 5th grade students from a lower income rural community and to examine the technological pull factors of these games. Research Objectives: Gain a better understanding of alternative recreation and leisure activities, and possible solutions of how to make recreation and leisure more accessible and appealing to a diverse technological generation. Identify psychosocial motivations behind the participation of virtual sports, which in turn would possibly shed light on reasons for non-participation in real outdoor/athletic pursuits of children, a potential factor in obesity

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65. Analysis of College Student Drinking Discussions
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Matthew Barker	Psychology	Lisa Curtin	Arts and Sciences	Psychology	Dec 17, 2008
Project Description: The college environment is perceived as tolerant of heavy drinking (Ham & Hope, 2003), and students generally believe their peers drink more heavily than they actually do (Perkins, Meilman, Leichliter, Cashin, & Presley, 1999). Conversations about alcohol between college students may add to the perception of heavy drinking as normative. Undergraduate students (N = 149; average age = 18.2 years; 88% Caucasian; 50.3% female), served as voluntary participants. Participants were asked to read three scenarios portraying a conversation between two people discussing a recent drinking experience highlighting drinking and consequences in a 1) negative, 2) positive, or 3) neutral manner. Participants were asked to choose from seven responses to each vignette: 1) how they would respond? 2) how the “typical college student” would respond?. Possible responses were based upon findings of a previous qualitative study and included giving of advice (e.g., maybe you should not drink as much next time), expressions of concern (e.g., are you and your friends OK?), normalizing drinking the experience portrayed (e.g., that sounds like a lot of fun), or “you should have done something crazier”. Our college student participants reported they were more likely than the typical student to express concern about drinking, particularly in the discussion featuring negative consequences (93% of participants expressed concern vs. 56% for the “typical college student”). The “typical college student” was perceived as most likely to normalize drinking in a fictitious discussion depicting consequences in a positive/playful manner (94% perceived “typical college student” to normalize drinking experience vs. 60%). Finally, 26% of participants reported that the “typical college student” (vs. 2% for personal responses) would respond with “you should have done something crazier” to a discussion of moderate drinking with no consequences. These findings are nearly identical to those from a previous investigation that used an open-ended response compared to the current forced-choice response methodology. Further investigation of the potential role of college student discussions about alcohol relative to maintaining perceptions of college as a heavy drinking environment are warranted.

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66. Convergence: Paradigm Shift & Transformation, B.F.A. Senior Exhibition by Jackson Campbell. How can painting be employed to address the convergence of science, art, and spirituality in relation to our rapidly evolving consciousness?
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Jackson Campbell	Art	Ali Raza	Fine and Applied Arts	Art	Dec 17, 2008
Project Description: I have been conducting research into the fields of physics, sacred geometry, mandalas, and eastern philosophies, and the different roles art has played in respect to the development of the concepts held by these traditions throughout time. I have also been researching artists such as Paul Laffoley and Alfred Jensen, whose work deals with similar questions. The research into these topics is a result of my personal interest in the so-called “shift-in-consciousness” or paradigm shift, which is believed to be a process currently taking place. This paradigm shift correlates with the climate change, the heating of our solar system, and the possible magnetic pole shift, as well as the ideas behind the Mayan calendars and the year 2012. There is a great deal of literature, both scientific and philosophical, that expounds on the nature of this paradigm shift and there is much speculation around the concepts held between various schools of thought. However, it is well documented that the Earth, in both nature and civilization, is undergoing drastic changes and that humanity is experiencing an awakening of consciousness (a spiritual resurgence). I believe, like the study of physics and the practices of eastern mysticism (i.e. Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Tantra) paint can be (and has been) an equally important tool for the investigation into the nature of reality. I want to explore the possibilities of combining these three paths; hence my work will be about transformation. Along with the transformation as a result of a paradigm shift, I am interested in basic shape and the transformation of these forms, such as the circle, square, and triangle, in relation to written language, geometry, and symbolism. I have been working with the grid in my paintings and as of late the concepts behind mandalas. In the book Creating Mandalas: For Insight, Healing, and Self-Expression the author Susanne F. Fincher explains that, “Mandalas contain and organize archetypal energies from the unconscious in a form that can be assimilated by consciousness”(24). In Carl Jung’s Man and His Symbols a Tibetan abbot is further explains, “The mandala serves a conservative purpose- namely, to restore a previously existing order. But it also serves the creative purpose of giving expression and form to something that does not yet exist, something new and unique” (225). The belief behind the creation and purpose a mandala serves resonates deeply with my own ideas. The application of this format, the mandala, lends itself to the exploration of such ideas as the paradigm shift and the convergence of science, art, and spirituality. I will use paint to articulate, that which eludes the languages of science and religion. My personal spiritual practice and scientific understanding will inform my aesthetic decisions. The work will be a documentation of the explorations and experiments in attempts to assimilate a new perspective. In painting, through a personal synthesis of these ideas and experiences, highlighting the parallels and perpendiculars between scientific, spiritual, and artistic views and understandings of this paradigm shift, I intend to gain/provide insight into the future and the interconnectedness of our universe. I will construct 10 to 12 masonite panels. The majority of the panels will be 46x46 inches in size, however I plan to experiment with some panels that are 23x23 inches in size, as well. The square format will be consistent throughout the series. I will approach this work as a scientist and an artist. As a scientist my research into physics, scared geometry, the different spiritual philosophies, and the “shift-in-consciousness” will be connected through intelligent/rational observation. As an artist I will allow the ideas, as images and symbology, to assimilate in an unfiltered manner, with the belief that intuitive thought has the ability to make more profound/subliminal connections. This process will involve ritual spiritual practice, as well. I will be practicing meditation before each studio session, beginning with 10-15 minute meditations. I am also exploring techniques for remote viewing and lucid dreaming and I am going to be keeping a dream journal. The practice of meditation will be used to clear the mind, center the self, and heighten awareness in order to strengthen my psychic or intuitive powers. This process will be about personal transformation as much as it is about a collective paradigm shift. I will be working in my studio at least 40 hours a week. My materials include acrylics, enamels, spray paint, gel medium, gesso, sand, and paper. I will have three major critiques, where I will be getting feedback from a panel of three professors. As a final body of work, I will have eight paintings to choose from for the Senior B.F.A. exhibition.

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67. National Association of Homebuilders International Builders' Show in Las Vegas Jan. 18-24, 2009. Competing in the NAHB Residential Construction Management Competition
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Timothy Bayless	Technology Education	James Strueber	Fine and Applied Arts	Technology	Dec 17, 2008
Project Description: Our 12 person team is competing in NAHB Residential Construction Management Competition at the International Builders' Show. There are 40 teams competing from across the US. Our project consists of marketing, scheduling, managing, and estimating a 150 townhome development in Texas. We must present at the show and give the judges 6 of our booklets to review, containing all of our work. The 7th booklet we will use in our presentation.

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68. National Association of Homebuilder's International Builders Show Residential Construction Management Competition
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Travis McKenzie	Technology Education	James Strueber	Fine and Applied Arts	Technology	Dec 17, 2008
Project Description: We will be competiting in a Residential Construction Management Competition that is hosted by the National Association of Home Builder's in January, 2009 at the International Builders Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. We currently have committed over 1000 hours of work to theoretically estimate, schedule, manage, market, and finance a housing development that Centex Homes is currently building in San Antonio, Texas. We are competing against 40 schools across the nation, and will be judged on how close our proposal comes to Centex's actual proposal. We plan to take Appalachian pride with us and hope to represent our school well with the aid of these requests.

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69. Preferences, alertness and decision options
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Katie Lambert	Psychology	Todd McElroy	Arts and Sciences	Psychology	Dec 17, 2008
Project Description: My senior honors thesis is a cross departmental research study involving both the psychology and economics departments. I am studying the possible effects that circadian rhythm has on a person's cognition and decision making processes. I have sessions that run at 8AM and at 10PM. Participants are either matched, such as a morning person coming at 8AM, or mis-matched as with an evening person coming at 8AM. My experiment includes a computer administered test, psychological framing exercises and a probability assessment activity. This probability assessment yields a pay-out to each of my participants based on their achievement in the activity. Each participant is promised a base reward of $15 and can earn up to $23 based on their performance in the probability activity. During the Fall of 2008 my research was funded by a grant received by Dr. David Dickinson who is collaborating with Dr. McElroy and I on this study. Because my study will take longer in the data collection phase, we are in need of more funding.

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70. Implementing General Purpose GPU Technologies in Solving Astrophysical and Cosmological Problems
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Leander Hutton	Physics	Dr Chris Thaxton	Arts and Sciences	Physics and Astronomy	Dec 04, 2008
Project Description: Graphics processing units (GPU) have grown in processing power at more than twice the rate of CPUs. Today, with a commodity graphics card, one can get the processing power that rivals $10,000 specialty hardware. The latest graphics processing units available today are much more capable at handling thread intensive applications as compared to the latest CPUs. Astrophysical modeling problems are prime candidates for this GPU computation technique. Given the multiple threads and long computation times involved in these problems a heavy hitting computational solution is needed. Solutions such as nVidia?s CUDA provide the massive computational power needed. Along with a commodity PC, the nVidia CUDA SDK will be implemented in order to run these models on the graphics card. The SDK uses the C programming language. These simulations will produce data that can the used to further analyze and visualize the scenario.

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71. Music in the Reconstruction of South Africa
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Natalie Wolfe	Music Education	Susan Mills	School of Music	Music	Dec 04, 2008
Project Description: This project is to learn about South African traditional music and about the powerful role of music in the reconstruction of South Africa. We will be there for three weeks steeped in musical rehearsals, performances, presentations and lectures with traditional and contemporary South African performance ensembles. We will explore the role of music in the struggle for South African social justice. There will also be a service project that has yet to be determined by Dr. Mills.

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72. Characterization of Genetic Variation and Reproduction among Populations of Spiraea virginiana
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Sarah Pate	Biology	Zack Murrell	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Nov 25, 2008
Project Description: Understanding the genetic variation among populations is critical before establishing effective and efficient conservation practices for rare plants. Molecular markers can be particularly useful in determining the amount of genetic diversity within species. The Murrell lab has conducted two previous molecular studies of S. virginiana, a riparian shrub listed as threatened by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). This species is confined to secondary and tertiary streams in the Ohio, Tennessee, and Cumberland River drainages. It is also considered endangered by the states of North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia. A previous study showed variance in leaf morphology within the species, correlating with the drainage in which the plants are found. Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis of the total genome showed greater diversity in the Cumberland and Tennessee River drainages than in the Ohio River drainage, but this study had limited resolution and did not include the headwaters of the Ohio in the New River of Ashe and Watauga Counties in North Carolina. Even though the plant is restricted to riverine systems, gene flow across drainages may be possible in several areas, such as the Northern Peaks area of northeast North Carolina, Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga, and the Cumberland-Tennessee divide in Tennessee. In order to test the conclusions of these previous studies, more research is required. Our hypothesis is that southern populations of S. virginiana have more ancestral characteristics, and that the species migrated south during the Pleistocene glaciation. To test this, I will employ molecular methods, utilizing two low-copy nuclear genes. Nuclear genes are thought to evolve much faster than chloroplast and mitochondrial genes ? genes more typically used in molecular studies. A comparison between nuclear genes is more likely to show variation, if it exists. After amplifying and cloning, PCR products will be sequenced and aligned to create a phylogeny of the species. This process is part of a larger project to promote conservation of the species by studying its history, geography, and reproductive biology, as well as offering recommendations for its management.

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73. Chicken Litter-Induced Heavy Metal Phytotoxicity in Plants
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Michele Brower	Biology	Shea Tuberty	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Nov 25, 2008
Project Description: The goal of this study is to assess the adverse impacts of trace heavy metals from chicken litter amended fields on crop plants as a biomarker for farmland sustainability. Confined animal feeding operations (CAFO’s) are having a potentially huge impact on our local community and a growing number of communities nationwide. Although there has been much attention paid to understanding the environmental impact of hog CAFOs, less attention has been given to similar poultry operations or the adverse environmental effects or the metal feed additives. Specifically interesting are the adverse effects of spreading massive amounts of nutrient rich litter containing trace metals on agricultural soil productivity as well as air and water quality. The focus of this study will be the phytotoxic effects of heavy metals on important regional agricultural crops (specifically corn and fescue). This project will address the inherent complexities of balancing management of sustainable rural economic growth (by way of new methodologies of chicken farming) and conservation of important natural resources such as sustainable farmland.

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74. Production of vitellogenin in male fish exposed to estrogens in wastewater effluents.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Maegan Canha	Biology	Shea Tuberty	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Nov 25, 2008
Project Description: Purpose/Hypothesis: The contaminants broken down by municipal waste water treatment plants do not include xenobiotics such as birth control. When the treated water is discharged into the waters of rivers, these compounds are released with it, causing a negative impact on the inhabitants of the fish and other biota downstream. The organisms of the streams and rivers are exposed to contaminants over long periods. It has been found that male fish that are exposed to these estrogenic compounds causing them to produce the precursor egg protein (vitellogenin). Effects of these estrogens have been found at the cellular and organ level of various fish species. We are continuing to detect vitellogenins in all of the species of fish found in the New River to determine if there are differential responses in each population. We are focusing on the species of suckers, carp, and related groups of fish. Experimental: Our fish samples will be collected upstream and downstream of the effluent on the New South Fork River. We will be using electro-shocking equipment to obtain our fish subjects. Once the fish are in the lab blood samples will be taken from each individual subject. Using the blood samples, we will then use gel electrophoresis to spread out the several proteins present in the blood. In order to detect the presence of vitellogenin, western blotting will then be done. The antibody listed above will be used for the blotting. It will bind to the specific egg protein so that we can visually see the absence or presence of the protein itself in the male and female fish.

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75. Methanol Recovery for ASU Biodiesel Research Lab
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Daniel Law	Appropriate Technology	Marie Hoepfl	Fine and Applied Arts	Technology	Nov 25, 2008
Project Description: Key Terms: Methanol Recovery, Energy Balance, Environmental Sustainability, Closed Loop. Goal: The goal of this project is to build a methanol recovery system at the ASU Biodiesel Research Lab. The Problem: Methanol is the most expensive ingredient used while converting vegetable oil to Biodiesel. Due to the chemistry of the conversion process half of the methanol remains in the byproducts and is lost. The good news is that a portion, if not all, of this methanol can be recovered. Because methanol is expensive, recovery and reuse of methanol could displace the recovery system costs and make a significant financial reduction in production cost of fuel. Furthermore, whatever we intercept from the present waste stream increases the Research Lab’s environmental sustainability. And finally, the Biodiesel Research Lab is working to demonstrate the energy balance of a closed loop energy system and methanol recovery is an integral step toward that goal. The Solution: Methanol is an alcohol and can be extracted by distillation. Essentially the biodiesel and byproducts can be heated to 148 degrees Fahrenheit at which point methanol evaporates off the rest of the material. The methanol vapor then runs through tubing to a chiller. There it condenses back into a liquid, which can be collected and stored for reuse. An old ice cream freezer has been acquired to cool the fluid that will run through the chiller. The remaining materials needed include: tubing for the methanol condenser, tubing for heat exchange and to circulate the chilling fluid, valves to control the flow of fluids and gasses, a pressure valve, fittings for both sets of tubing, a collection container, exterior rated plywood to build a lid for the converted freezer, insulation for that lid, and various fasteners.

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76. Eye development in the cubomedusan Carybdea marsupialis
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Jenna Valley	Biology	Vicki Martin	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Nov 25, 2008
Project Description: Cnidarians (jellyfish, sea anemones and corals) are the most primitive invertebrates alive today to possess eyes. Called ocelli, these eyes are structurally complex and have some similarities to vertebrate eyes such as a cornea, lens and retina of ciliated photoreceptors. It is these similarities that make understanding the evolution and development of eyes in organisms such as the box jellyfish Carybdea marsupialis important, as it may lead to the understanding of how the eye arose in higher animals. My project involves investigating the development of photoreceptors, eye-associated neurons and the lens in box jellyfish. To examine these structures, antibodies directed against opsin proteins (photoreceptors), crystalline proteins (lens development) and neuropeptides (FMRFamide for neurons) will be used for immunofluorescent labeling and confocal imaging of selected stages of eye formation in Carybdea. Cnidarians exhibit two adult body forms: a polyp and a medusa (jellyfish). The polyp looks like a tiny hydra with a mouth and tentacles at one end and a foot attached to a substrate at the other end. The medusa looks like a jellyfish and is free-swimming. The polyps, which lacks eyes, of C. marsupialis can be induced to transform into the medusa stage (the eye-bearing stage) by cessation of feeding and an increase in water temperature. Starting with a steady-state polyp, the main features of transformation include recession of polyp tentacles, a change of symmetry from radial to tetraradial, eye development, emergence of medusa tentacles and detachment. Multiple stages of animals transforming from polyps to medusa will be analyzed for the formation of eye-associated neurons, opsin-positive photoreceptors and crystalline proteins of the lens. The fixation and preparation of animals for immunofluorescent labeling is as follows: whole animals are relaxed in MgCl2 for 20 minutes before being fixed in Zamboni’s fixative overnight at 0°C. After being progressively rinsed in PBS (phosphate buffered saline)-Tween, glycine and PBS-triton for a total of 3 hours, the organisms are placed in blocking serum (fetal calf serum, PBS and sodium azide) overnight at 0°C. Next, the primary antibody (FMRFamide for neurons, anti-crystallin protein for the lens and anti-opsin protein for photoreceptors) is added and left overnight at 0°C. After rinsing for an hour in PBS-triton, the secondary antibody (a FITC-tagged antibody which will cause the fluorescence of the target antigen) is added for an hour followed by another rinse in PBS-triton. After a final rinse in PBS, the samples will be mounted in PBS/glycerine/n-propyl gallate on microscope slides and observed using a confocal microscope. The goal of my study is to detect at what time in development the eye-associated neurons, photoreceptors, and lens first appear and how these structures arrange and interact to form a functional eye.

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77. Weekly Blogging Increases Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among College-Aged Males and Females
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Natalie Sherman	Family and Consumer Science	Mary Dean Coleman-Kelly	Fine and Applied Arts	Family and Consumer Science	Nov 25, 2008
Project Description: I will be presenting at the annual North Carolina Dietetic Association Conference, which is required to complete my Master's degree at ASU and also fulfill one of my competencies for my Dietetic Internship. This is important for my experience at ASU because it is an opportunity for me to participate in and practice the research process by presenting the findings of my research at a professional level. It will also allow me to represent research from ASU at the NCDA conference, where it will receive a great deal of exposure.

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78. "Getting Back to our Elements, the Human Connection to Nature."
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Kristin Foley	Art	Lisa Stinson	Fine and Applied Arts	Art	Nov 25, 2008
Project Description: This installation is being created for my senior project to complete a BFA in Studio Ceramics and Printmaking. This body of work will be an installation with pieces of five life-size figures that combine clay and print with text and image. Each figure will represent one of the earth elements associated with Traditional Chinese Medicine; fire, wood, earth, metal and water. As humans, we have a natural connection to nature and I am going to create a body of work that represents the way our body connects and reacts to our natural environment. When presented with life altering health problems of my own, I was forced to seek alternative methods for my healing. By using my knowledge of printmaking, illustration, ceramics and Traditional Chinese Medicine, I plan to create this installation in response to what I have learned about myself and my health. The ceramic pieces with be installed on a background constructed of reinforced plywood. These plywood pieces will vary in size with the largest being 2’x4’ and the smallest being 1’x1’. The five life size figures will be broken up into sections, two sections per figure. Mounted to the plywood backgrounds will be the ceramic pieces, mimicking the third dimension of the figure. The ceramic pieces will be mounted using a bolting system attached to the clay and through the wood. The human figure will be drawn on behind the clay pieces on the plywood using acrylic and watercolor paint with drawing pencils and charcoal. As well as painting on the plywood, there will also be image transfers created by a specific method using wintergreen oil and Xerox photocopies. This imagery will be of the internal organs and musculoskeletal systems of the human body, specifically the ones affected by my illnesses. I will also use a process called chin colle to attach this imagery in the forms of prints on rice paper to the plywood to give another element to the pieces. The clay pieces will be created by using hump molds. These molds are made by using a shurform to carve the desired shape into 2’ blue foam and then draping slabs of clay over the molds. This allows me to make multiples of the same form in case of breaking, shrinking or warping of the clay in the firings. The surfaces will be decorated using underglazes and glaze pencils with imagery of the body systems, relevant imagery to the earth element and text describing the characteristics each element possesses. This project will require extra materials in investigating the options to display the installation. Multiple clay forms and experimentation with surface will require clay, glaze pencils and under glazes not offered in the clay department. Creating sturdy enough reinforced wooden backgrounds for the clay to be installed on will also be an added expense. These expenses are not only for the final presentation but for investigations into the best approach in making the final product.

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79. Presenting and Preserving the Southwest Through Art, Literature, and Deliberate Living
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Jenna Wilson	English	David Huntley	University College	Watauga Global Community	Oct 29, 2008
Project Description: In 1959 artist John DePuy and writer Edward Abbey made a pact to paint and write the Southwest, to introduce the world to its fragile beauty and lead the voices speaking against destructive industrialism. At his death in 1989 Abbey had published 23 works of both fiction and nonfiction, countless essays and travelogues in magazines and journals ranging from the obscure to the international, and had given fiery and controversial talks to varied groups around the country. John DePuy, still painting at age 80, has produced over 4000 oils of the Southwest, capturing what is really there, not the world we think we see. As part of a semester-long research project on deliberate living, culminating with a focus on Edward Abbey, I will spend a day at the home of John DePuy in Ojo Caliente, NM, interviewing him about his long association with Abbey, his commitment to his art (and viewing hundreds of his paintings), and his determination to live in step with his natural environment. In Moab, UT, at the Moab Confluence, a celebration of Abbey on the 40th anniversary of the publication of Desert Solitaire, I will interview Abbey?s widow, Clarke Abbey, and long-time friends Douglas Peacock (author, naturalist, and Grizzly Bear expert), Jack Loeffler (author and film maker), and Ken Sleight. These people have been interviewed before about their association with Abbey, focusing primarily on Abbey as a character whose outrageous voice and extreme opinions created a larger than life figure. My interviews will focus on him as an artist who chose to spend his life writing honestly about the human, environmental, cultural, and political conditions of 20th century America regardless of the financial uncertainty, misunderstandings, and verbal attacks he endured. I will examine the deliberate life of Edward Abbey in the context of other deliberate lives as well as within the broad context of philosophical, economic, theological, cultural, environmental, and artistic perspectives. Dr. Jay Cranston has determined that this project doesn?t require IRB approval. The reading list for this project: The Last American Man, Elizabeth Gilbert Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer Desert Solitaire, The Monkey Wrench Gang, Down the River and selected essays, Edward Abbey Grizzly Years: In Search of American Wilderness and Walking it Off: A Veteran's Chronicle of War And Wilderness, Douglas Peacock Abstract Impressionism, David Anfam Listening to the Land, Derrick Jensen Small is Beautiful: Economics As If People Mattered, E.F. Schumacher Given the advanced age of Abbey?s closest friends and the presence of them and others together in Moab, it?s crucial to work with them at this time. Presentations of the completed project include a unit on Abbey in Investigations: Local, the Watauga Global Community core class with a focus on deliberate living, and a session at Appalachian?s Celebration of Student Research and Creative Endeavors in April. The project will result in an edited DVD documentary of the collection of filmed interviews and travel through the Arches, personal recollections, photographs, and other relevant information. The model for my product is an available DVD, A Voice the Wilderness, that focuses on Abbey?s life from the perspective of many acquaintances and family. The one I plan to help produce will look at his life (and to an extent the lives of his closest friends) as one guided by deliberate choices and basic convictions.

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80. Development of a Protein-Based System for the Detection of Organophosphates Using the pH-Dependence of Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Brandon Hounshell	Chemistry	Libby Puckett	Arts and Sciences	Chemistry	Oct 29, 2008
Project Description: This project is intended to address the need for the detection of a general classification of organic molecules, namely organophosphates, which are found in pesticides, insecticides, and chemical warfare agents. These substances are dangerous neurotoxins that inhibit nerve impulse transmission. Organophosphorus hydrolase, OPH, an enzyme used for organophosphate remediation, has a broad specificity for a wide variety of organophosphates. OPH, in conjunction with the reporter protein enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP), will be used to create a sensing system for a wide range of organophosphates. In the proposed assay, the OPH domain of the fusion protein will catalyze the cleavage of organophosphates, which causes a decrease in the local pH environment due to the production of protons. This, in turn, will alter the spectral properties of the attached pH-dependent EGFP and allow kinetic measurements to be performed since the fluorescence output can be correlated to the enzyme activity. Recombinant DNA technologies have been employed to create a unique plasmid containing a gene that encodes for the production of the OPH-EGFP fusion protein. Upon protein expression and purification, this fusion protein was used to quantify organophosphates and perform kinetic studies. Two plasmids have also been created that contain OPH and EGFP separately in order to verify the local pH change. In a future direction, this protein will be utilized for the determination of organophosphate bioavailability via whole-cell sensing.

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81. Identification and characterization of meis2-linked gene sense vs. antisense expression in zebrafish
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Brandon Carpenter	Biology	Ted Zerucha	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Oct 29, 2008
Project Description: Our lab is studying the Meis gene family. Meis genes code for proteins which have the ability to bind and regulate DNA transcription, or the activation and/or inactivation of other sets of genes. The Meis genes are thought to play vital roles in controlling gene expression during embryonic development for all vertebrate animals. Furthermore, research has consistently shown disrupting Meis gene sequences results in development of leukemia in mice. Our lab is studying the second Meis gene family member, Meis2; and has found a new putative gene sequence located directly adjacent to the gene. We have named this potential gene M2lg (Meis2 linked gene) and have found it to be highly conserved in all vertebrate species examined. We have isolated M2lg and performed in situ hybridizations to determine where and when the gene is expressed in Danio rerio (zebrafish). Recent in situ data has shown that both the direct strand (sense) and the complimentary strand (antisense) are being expressed during embryonic development. This is not a common phenomenon and we will now further investigate this double strand expression by performing a northern blot, a process which involves hybridizing an RNA probe to a membrane containing total RNA in order to detect mRNA expression at a specific point in embryonic development, to further determine if both strands are being expressed and if there are differences between them. Our discovery is important because M2lg has yet to be characterized and may be playing an important role in gene regulation during embryonic development.

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82. Reamplification of Tentative Differentially Expressed Genes for Initial Screening of False-Positives by Reverse Southern Blotting
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Adam Miller	Biology	Mary Connell	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Oct 29, 2008
Project Description: Scytosiphon lomentaria is a species of brown algae (Phylum Phaeophyta) that lives in the rocky sub-tidal zone of the world?s cold-climate oceans. It belongs to the Stramenopile Kingdom, as do the giant Pacific Ocean kelps, which contribute to a multibillion dollar worldwide industry. The species displays a heteromorphic life cycle that is dependent upon seasonal fluctuations in photoperiod, reproducing asexually in the short-day (SD) winter months and persisting as a basal system in the long-day (LD) summer months. Blue light (BL) is well known to be the dominant external cue for brown algae, as it best penetrates the water column. The question naturally arises as to which genes are being specifically transduced downstream of BL photoreceptors to drive the initiation of asexual reproduction. To address this question, isolated cultures of S. lomentaria were incubated in growth chambers under conditions which imitated both SD and LD photoperiods. Tissue samples from each growth condition were then flash-frozen with liquid N2 and stored at -80ºC. Upon removal, tissue was homogenized and total mRNA was isolated through a series of phenol/chloroform extractions and GenHunter?s MessageClean protocol. The mRNA populations were then amplified and tagged with various Fluorescein primer sets (GenHunter SpectraRed protocol). These fluorescent SD and LD mRNA populations were electrophoresed on a 1.6% polyacrylamide gel using an OWL S3S T-Rex Aluminum-Backed Sequencer. Gels were placed on a GE Typhoon Trio imager, which excited the Fluorescein molecules with a blue laser (488nm), generating highly sensitive (20 micron pixel) images of the banding patterns. Tentative differentially expressed bands were excised and eluted, cleaned, and resuspended in 10uL of ultra-pure dH2O. Each of the 445 tubes, now containing individual expression products, need to be reamplified and screened for conformation of differential gene expression. This will be done by setting up PCR reactions (SpectraRed protocol) as follows: 37.86uL dH2O 6.5uL 10X PCR Buffer 0.49uL dNTP Mix 6.5uL H-AP Primer 6.5uL H-T11M Primer 6.5uL cDNA template *0.65uL Taq DNA polymerase* (x 445 tubes = 289.25uL) 65.0uL total vol. per tube The products of these PCR reamplifications will be examined by reverse Southern Blots to screen for false-positive results. Specifically, the products from each PCR tube will be electrophoresed on a 1% agarose gel, blotted to a nylon membrane, and then probed with cDNA that will be generated using the same fluorescent primer sets that originally generated the excised bands. It is expected that some specific transcription factors will be discovered to up- or down-regulate various reproductive genes. Molecular elucidation of asexual reproduction in S. lomentaria could contribute to more efficient farming of sea kelp and other important agricultural algae that are critical to many aspects of our global food and hygiene requirements.

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83. The Expression Pattern of a Meis 2 linked gene in Zebrafish Embryos
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Brantley Graham	Biology	Theodore Zerucha	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Oct 29, 2008
Project Description: The Meis2 gene is a member of the homeobox gene family that play important roles in the embryonic development of all multicellular animals. We have identified a new gene adjacent to Meis2 which we have named Meis2 linked gene 1 (M2lg1). We have identified this gene in every animal that we have been able to examine and ranging from invertebrates to vertebrates, including humans. Interestingly teleost fish, a group that includes zebrafish which is studied in our lab, appear to have two versions of this gene (we have named the second one m2lg2) as opposed to the single copy observed in other animals. Nothing is known of either of these genes and to begin to study them, I plan to compare the expression pattern of both genes in zebrafish. The expression data will represent the first step in helping to identify their function and to perhaps contrast m2lg1 and m2lg2. I plan to use quantitative real time PCR to quantify expression of m2lg1 and m2lg2. This technique allows the accurate quantification of gene expression. I am in the process of collecting total RNA from zebrafish at each stage of development from zero hours post fertilization to 5 days of development. I will convert this total RNA into cDNA and use primers and Florescent TaqMan probes to quantify the expression of both genes using this cDNA in the zebrafish genome at each stage of development. If funded, I will use the money requested to help defray the cost of the TaqMan probes and primers used to quantify m2lg1 and m2lg2 in the total RNA samples already extracted.

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84. Genetic variation underlying variation in courtship behavior of female Drosophila melanogaster vestigial mutants
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Bonnie McMillion	Biology	Michael Windelspecht	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Oct 29, 2008
Project Description: I am investigating the genetic basis of female mate preference in Drosophila melanogaster vestigial mutants. Regular D. melanogaster males court females by making a song with their wings. Vestigial mutants have abnormal wings so the males cannot produce a song, but some vestigial females still prefer them to normal males. It has previously been shown that this preference has a genetic basis. I am using a molecular approach to determine which genes might be contributing to the preference. Briefly, I am performing an amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) approach to visualize genetic variation between females that prefer vestigial males and females that prefer normal males. I will then use certain target genes to probe the AFLP results to determine if these genes show variation between the two types of females. Not much is known about how genes code for a behavior, so the results of this study could be the first step toward creating a model of how a gene leads to a certain behavior.

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85. Characterization of VEGF-Regulated Angiogenic Factors in the Cervix of Mice using Real Time PCR.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Vonteena Knotts	Exercise Science	Chishimba N. Mowa	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Oct 29, 2008
Project Description: Previous research in our lab screened 30,000 genes using DNA microarray to identify genes that are regulated by VEGF. Out of 30,000 genes, 600 genes, including angiogenic factors, were identified. Because DNA microarray technique is a screening technique, data generated from this technique requires validation using techniques that are more sensitive, such as Real Time PCR. Therefore, my project will validate data generated by DNA microarray analysis for angiogenic factors, including endothelin, angiopoeitin and fibroblast growth factor using realtime PCR.

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86. Characterization of matrix proteins in the cervix of mice treated with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Bryan Howarth	Biology, Pre-professional	Nathan Mowa	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Oct 29, 2008
Project Description: This project entails a performance of a number of experiments. My colleague, Hunter Boone, and I are interested in finding out what the effect of VEGF is on the gene expression of different matrix proteins in the cervix of mice. A previous study in our lab involving DNA microarray analysis was performed to determine which genes, if any, VEGF was r regulating in the cervix of rodents (mice and rats). The data showed that 600 of the 30,000 genes were affected by VEGF, including a number of matrix proteins, such as decorin, hyaluronan, collagen (type 1 and 2) and heparin sulfate. Because DNA microarray technique has limited sensitivity, data generated using this technique require validation. Standard scientific technique for verifying these data is Real Time PCR. My main interest is in finding out what role VEGF has with matrix protein collagen type-1 and collagen type-2. These two proteins provide the rigidity to the cervix during early to mid-pregnancy and during non-pregnancy. During early and mid pregnancy, the rigidity provided by these proteins help to prevent preterm delivery of the baby. This study will shed light on the role of VEGF on cervical remodeling by investigating its effect on matrix proteins.

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87. Characterization of Matrix Proteins in Cervical Tissues of Mice Treated with VEGF Using Realtime PCR
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Thomas Boone	Biology, Pre-professional	Chishimba Mowa	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Oct 29, 2008
Project Description: The extent of VEGF regulation on matrix proteins will be determined using real time PCR. Specifically, the Fibronectin and Hyaturonan genes will be characterized. They have been previously identified as genes under VEGF regulation using DNA microarray.

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88. Implementing a Model for Assessment of Student Performance in Cognitive and Non-Cognitive College Readiness Variables in Concurrent Enrollment Programs at a North Carolina Community College
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Todd Martin	Ed.D Leadership General	Barbara Bonham	Education	Leadership and Educational Studies	Sep 23, 2008
Project Description: This project will examine the cognitive and non-cognitive college readiness of concurrently enrolled high school students at Mitchell Community College, which is located in Iredell County, North Carolina. Comparisons will be made between three types of concurrently enrolled high school students: Huskins dual credit students, non-Huskins dually enrolled students, and early college high school students at the Collaborative College of Technology and Leadership (located on the campus of Mitchell Community College). The college readiness variables that will be compared between these three groups include (1) average ACCUPLACER college placement test scores, (2)percentages of transferable grades (C or better) in college transfer classes, (3) pre-test and post-test scores on the College Survival and Success Scale (NOTE: THIS INSTRUMENT IS A MEASURE OF NON-COGNITIVE COLLEGE READINESS), and (4) admission rates to two- and four-year colleges. Comparisons will also be made between the three types of concurrently enrolled high school students at Mitchell and a control group of non-concurrently enrolled Iredell County high school students participating in the college/university course track with G.P.A.s of at least 2.50. In this case, the two college readiness variables that will be compared are (1) pre-test and post-test scores on the College Survival and Success Scale, and (2)admission rates to two- and four-year colleges. I will also include some comparisons between the three types of concurrently enrolled high school students and their older college classroom peers. The two college readiness variables that will be compared in this case will include (1) average ACCUPLACER college placement test scores, (2)percentages of transferable grades (C or better) in college transfer classes. Finally, I will obtain some qualitative data on the opinions and impressions of concurrently enrolled students of their concurrent enrollment programs through focus group or mini focus group sessions. I anticipate using perhaps five students from each of the three concurrent enrollment groups for this purpose. I am confident that the data obtained from this dissertation project will contribute to the understanding of the extent to which the Huskins program, the non-Huskins dual enrollment program, and the early college high school experience prepare Iredell County high school students for college. Furthermore, I believe that this research may lead to a richer understanding of what the concurrent enrollment experience means to the high school participants.

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89. The effects of plumage coloration, aggression, and testosterone levels on reproductive success in Male Eastern Bluebirds
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Katherine Pittman	Biology	Lynn Siefferman	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Sep 23, 2008
Project Description: Dr. Lynn Siefferman has been studying a population of breeding Eastern Bluebirds for ten years in Alabama. Eastern Bluebirds are socially monogamous and both parents defend the territory and feed the young. The brighter males tend to produce and raise more and healthier young than the duller males. For the past year, I have been working with Dr. Siefferman to determine the influences of behavior (parental care and aggression), plumage coloration, and testosterone levels on the reproductive success of males in the population. In 2007, I watched and scored videotapes of parents feeding their offspring to quantify parental care of each bird. We also quantified territorial behavior by scoring tapes of aggression to various outsiders. We found that plumage coloration was a good predictor of aggression and parental care, and that brighter males had higher testosterone levels. Interestingly, duller males were more aggressive but fed nestlings more often. In this population, thirty percent of the young have found to be the product of extra-pair copulations. Past measures of reproductive success probably do not reflect true reproductive success, because they do not include extra-pair offspring. The goals for this year?s research are to genotype families and determine the paternity of all nestlings. This research will reveal the reproductive successes of different personality types of eastern bluebirds. I hypothesize that while the brighter males produce more offspring, the duller, more aggressive males are able to compensate for the differences in reproductive success through extra-pair copulations. Therefore the differences in true reproductive success may not be so different between the two types of males. I am writing my honors thesis on this research, using mainly the relationship between behavior, plumage coloration and reproductive success (as measured by DNA paternity analysis). Last semester, I began extracting DNA from blood samples collected from all males, females and nestlings. We have begun molecular paternity analysis (genotyping at five microsatellite loci) to assign paternity to all nestlings. To date, 130 animals are finished and I have 260 to extract and genotype. This semester I will finish extracting DNA and genotyping the remaining samples. During fall and spring semesters, I will assign paternity, analyze the collected data, and write my Honor?s thesis for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

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90. The Community Land Trust: A Report for the United Nations Human Settlements Program
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Caroline Poteat	Geography	Jana Carp	Arts and Sciences	Geography and Planning	Sep 23, 2008
Project Description: The United Nations Human Settlements Program, UN-HABITAT, is charged with the promotion of socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities, with the ultimate goal of providing adequate shelter for all people worldwide. Land in Common, a North Carolina-based nonprofit organization, was recently commissioned by UN-HABITAT to create a report on the Community Land Trust, a strategy for creating affordable housing in the developing world. Community Land Trusts are organizations that acquire, hold and steward land for community development purposes. I have been selected by Land in Common to serve as the research assistant (unpaid) for this project. The CLT report will summarize the CLT movement in the United States. It will also weigh the applicability of the CLT model to the creation of affordable housing in developing countries. As a research assistant for this project, I have two primary responsibilities. The first is to research the CLT model, its history, and the expanding roles of CLTs across the country and to contribute my findings to the report. The second responsibility is to produce case studies of the premier CLTs in the U.S. The specific experiences of these CLTs will then be used to anticipate the opportunities and challenges that may be faced by adoption of the CLT model in the developing world. The outcome of this project will be a 70-page report to UN-HABITAT that is expected to lead to the involvement of Land in Common in UN-HABITAT?s future promotion of CLTs in the developing world. UN-HABITAT has provided no travel funds for the completion of this report. I am applying for a research grant to support this project by traveling to meet with CLT staff. Because CLTS are increasingly broadening their focus to include community-supported agriculture, community forestry, and other economic and community development services, the annual conference of the nationwide umbrella organization for land trusts, the Land Trust Alliance, to be held September 17-21 in Pittsburgh, PA, will provide me with the opportunity to attend seminars to learn about the current status of the CLT movement and to meet with members of the CLT community.

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91. Bacterial Assessment of High Altitude Wetland Disturbed by Iron and Manganese
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Kristin Walls	Biology	Ece Karatan	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Sep 23, 2008
Project Description: Wetlands play a vital role in the ecosystems of the western Appalachian Mountains. In addition to providing a habitat for flora, fauna, and microorganisms, they act as buffer zones between urbanized areas and natural settings, often filtering out harmful pollutants, controlling surface runoff allowing for penetration of water into soil, and keeping groundwater aquifers supplied with a steady flow of water. Increased anthropogenic activity in the form of road building, coal mining, and urban development has placed stress on these wetland ecosystems, threatening their health. My study focuses on one such high altitude wetland, shown previously to be disturbed due to iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) seeps located upstream. These seeps are the result of development in the local area several years prior. A previous study has shown that these seeps raise the metal concentration of the water several fold and are linked to a decrease in the diversity of macroinvertebrates. Our preliminary studies have identified masses of thick orange biofilm on the submerged rocks, thin oily sheens on the surface of water and sediment that fragment upon touch, and thick wooly flocs of brownish orange growth, all indicative of Leptothrix bacteria growth. Leptothrix is a gram negative rod bacterium, capable of oxidizing Fe and Mn and is often found at the soil-water interface in wetlands. None of these characteristics are present at reference sites upstream of the Fe and Mn seeps. Our hypothesis is that Leptothrix bacteria is contributing biologically to the presence of biofilm growth. I plan on using a combination of cultivation and molecular protocols established in our lab to ask if Leptothrix is biologically contributing to biofilm growth. This work will be part of a larger study assessing the overall bacterial diversity of the wetland. I will sample sediment and any floc growth both at the site of the seeps, upstream reference sites, and downstream within the wetland itself and attempt to cultivate any iron- and manganese-oxidizing microorganisms present. I will use Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization (FISH) to determine if Leptothrix bacteria is present and contributing biologically to iron and manganese oxidation and biofilm growth. These results will assist in providing baseline data describing spatial fluctuations in wetland bacterial diversity that could then be used to develop a bacterial bioindicator of wetland health.

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92. Super-Insulated Design for a Wood-Fired Earth Oven
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Doug Sharkey	Appalachian Studies	Christof den Biggelaar	University College	Sustainable Development	Sep 23, 2008
Project Description: Introduction Earth is the world?s oldest and most abundant building material. For millennia, humans have used clay, sand, and rock to build shelters but also to construct wood-fired ovens for a variety of baking and cooking applications. An earthen oven and its manufactured counterpart--the brick oven--are widely accepted as producing the best breads and pizzas. Statement of Problem Standard brick ovens tend to be expensive (up to several thousand dollars) and as such many people with an interest in baking in such an oven cannot justify the cost of buying one. Purchasing an oven from a manufacturer also includes the transportation costs of delivery and installation labor. These ovens are commonly constructed using pre-fired bricks held together with mortar containing Portland cement, one of the most energy-intensive building products in the world today. In addition, many modern ovens are heated with gas, electric heat, and other non-renewable resources. Research Objectives The main objective of this project is to construct an earthen oven that is both cost effective and resource efficient and can be built by anyone with the desire to do so. The bulk of the raw materials for this oven--earth and rock--will be free of cost and procured on-site, reducing the monetary and environmental costs of material manufacture and transportation. The use of these materials also eliminates the need (and cost) of unsustainable building products such as concrete (used for foundation slabs) or brick mortar, both of which contain Portland cement. Two ovens will be constructed for this project. The first will be a small and simple design useful for small applications that do not require heat for extended durations. The second will be a larger, super-insulated oven capable of retaining heat up to 24 hours for a variety of cooking and baking applications. By constructing an oven that is super-insulated, the increase in heat retention will hopefully result in less fuel being needed to match the performance of a standard brick oven. The performance of the two ovens will be compared to assess the appropriateness and efficiency of each design for a series of baking/cooking applications. Comparison will also include the amount of fuel used to create similar performances between the ovens for a specified application. The larger oven will be built in a workshop-type setting in order to raise community awareness of earth as a building material and to stimulate and nurture the artistic visions of all those involved in the building process. A technical manual and instructional booklet/video will also be made for this project and will be made available to the public. Long-Term Research Benefits The small oven will be built in Sugar Grove and tested for heat retention and performance quality. The larger oven will be built at Maverick Farms, a non-profit educational farm in Valle Crucis, NC. Maverick regularly hosts farm dinners which highlight gourmet menus prepared with local foods and hopefully the oven will become an integral part to these food celebrations, as well as a way to reduce the amount of fossil fuels used in preparing such dinners. Research will be conducted on using the oven in a variety of ways, as the slowly decreasing temperature of the oven lends itself to a variety of cooking options with a small amount of fuel. Further research may also find that these inexpensive ovens may be an integral part of a micro-enterprise application in many parts of the world.

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93. Affordable, Homemade Flat Plate Collector Solar Thermal System.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Jonathan Pierson	Industrial Technology	Dennis Scanlin	Fine and Applied Arts	Technology	Sep 23, 2008
Project Description: Solar thermal water heating systems are environmentally friendly alternatives to heating water with electricity. Although solar thermal technology is one of the most affordable renewable energy technologies, the initial price is still too high for low-income individuals or in developing countries. The purpose of this research project is to construct a relatively inexpensive solar thermal water heating system out of readily available materials. By maximizing the efficiency of the system and minimizing the cost, the researcher will demonstrate that it is possible to design and construct a small-scale solar thermal system for showering or washing dishes for a fraction of the price of conventional systems (4?x 6.5? collector is approximately $900 and does not include the rest of the system components). By measuring the beginning temperature of the water and the temperature after the water has passed through the collector, the researcher will be able to determine the efficiency of the system. This system will rely on thermosyphoning and will not require electricity to move the water throughout the system, thus lowering the price of the system even further. By keeping the design simple and the costs as low as possible, the goal of this project will be able to teach and instruct others on how to easily design and build their own small-scale flat plate, solar thermal system.

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94. Build a Hydraulic Ram Press to make Terracotta Pot Water Filters to Demonstrate Effective Water Filtration In the Developing World and Local Emergency Situations
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Stacy Gloss	Appalachian Studies	Dennis Scanlin	Fine and Applied Arts	Technology	Sep 23, 2008
Project Description: The World Health Organization states that about 1.8 million people die each year from diarrhoeal diseases. Most of these deaths occur to children under the age of 5. Diarrhoeal diseases are most often the result of poor sanitation and a contaminated or unsafe water supply. It has been shown that water bourn diarrhoeal diseases can be reduced by up to 45% by drinking water treatment. Potters for Peace, an international non-profit has developed a simple technology for filtering drinking water which is currently working in several developing countries. Though the design is used in the developing world, the clay pot water filter may be especially useful in the United States following weather related disasters when local water supplies may be un-safe to drink. Terracotta or earthenware clay pots are effectively used to filter water into tank such as a sanitary plastic bucket with plastic spout. The terracotta pots are modified through the use of coffee grinds, or saw dust (local resources) to increase porosity. Once fired, water is filtered through the pot at a rate of 1 ? 2 litres per hour effectively filtering out bacteria and pathogens including e-coli up to 95%. The pots are typically hand-made on a wheel or with a hydraulic press through cottage pottery industries. Potters for Peace provides a detailed hydraulic ram press design in Spanish on its website. This grant will provide funds to me build the manual hydraulic ram press in order to create terracotta pots for water filtration. After completing the press, I will attempt to build and fire a set of four water filters. Taking careful notes and calculations of the amounts of Lizella clay and organic mixture used, I will contact the biology department to test the water filter against pathogens such as e-coli. Results will be presented to the technology department at the end of the semester. Detailed plans to build a low cost hydraulic ram press will be made available on-line in English. The press will also continue to be used in demonstrations on making the clay pot water filter, but also discuss how the press can be altered to use multiple molds as low cost addition to local clay arts studios.

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95. Improving the Efficiency of a Wood Fired Charcoal Retort
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Matthew Fedorko	Appropriate Technology	Dennis Scanlin	Fine and Applied Arts	Technology	Sep 23, 2008
Project Description: This project will aim to improve on Richard Buxton?s design for a wood fired charcoal retort. Charcoal is the black, lightweight, flammable material left after heating organic matter in the absence of oxygen, a process called pyrolysis or ?destructive distillation.? Charcoal is an ancient technology, but one that still has application today. In developing countries, charcoal can be attractive alternative to firewood because it emits less smoke, weighs less, and gives more heat per unit mass. While charcoal is most often known for outdoor barbeques today, a number of useful chemicals were originally derived from the charcoaling process, including methyl alcohol?so called ?wood alcohol??turpentine, and wood gas, a burnable fuel. These chemicals are typically manufactured from fossil fuels today, but as fossil fuels become higher priced, a return to wood gasification and charcoaling may be economically feasible for small and large scale producers. Charcoal can be created with a pile of wood covered in dirt, but the retort method is more efficient, cleaner, and, in many ways, simpler. A charcoal retort is designed to raise wood to the coaling temperature without exposing the wood to fire, resulting in a clean burning charcoal, suitable for a variety of uses. There are a number of designs for charcoal retorts, most of them very large in size and able to distill multiple tons of wood. One smaller design for a charcoal retort, created by a Mr. Richard Buxton, uses a tall, heavy brick hearth in which a sizeable fire is built. A retort made of steel pipe is placed inside the chimney of this hearth design. This project will attempt to integrate Mr. Buxton?s retort into the structure of a rocket stove, a very efficient style of wood burning stove. A large rocket stove will be built inside a salvaged 55 gallon steel drum. A charcoal retort will be placed in the middle of the rocket stove?s chimney such that the bottom of the retort will be right above the flame inside the stove. Owing to the efficient nature of the stove design and the smaller relative size of the fuel (smaller fuel burns faster and hotter than an equivalent mass with less surface area), I hope to decrease the amount of wood needed by 50% or more while maintaining the quality of charcoal from the initial design.

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96. Low cost custom built wind turbines for use in schools and community programs.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Michael Uchal	Appropriate Technology	Dennis Scanlin	Fine and Applied Arts	Technology	Sep 23, 2008
Project Description: Problem: With the demand for wind power and the work force to design, build, install and maintain the systems, the need to introduce wind power principle to middle and high school students through hands on experience has made itself valuable, especially in western North Carolina. Proposal: This project will attempt to determine the simplest, lowest cost and most appropriate design for a small wind turbine that can be constructed by middle/high school technology/science classes for hands on experience with renewable energy and electrical systems. The system will include a custom built wind turbine, tip-up tower, charge controller, battery, battery monitor and inverter. The portable system will be designed to be safely erected and disassembled quickly by classes or at community events to reduce liability issues and to maximize class time. The working system will demonstrate to students first hand, the value of wind power and it applications. Research: Research will first include an inventory of tools and resources that local middle/high school technology/science classes have access to for fabricating the proper parts of the wind turbine system. Interviews with local teachers will be conducted to determine possible learning activities that could be integrated into a renewable energy curriculum that will be complimented by the wind turbine system. Once these tasks are completed, different designs of wind turbine and systems will be constructed and tested using tools and materials that local schools have access to. The best design for the wind turbine system will be determined and full construction plans and a list of materials as well as costs and suppliers will be developed and offered to school science/technology programs at no cost. With the plans provided, schools will be able to build their own systems for future learning activities and hand on experience.

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97. Differences in soil temperature among differing landscapes and ?implications for CO2 budgets
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
harley morgan	Marketing	ryan emanuel	Arts and Sciences	Geology	Sep 23, 2008
Project Description: Christmas tree farms are a significant part of the landscape in northwestern NC, comprising more than 25,000 acres of land in NC alone, with more than 50 million trees. These trees are shipped around the world to places like Japan, the Carribean, Mexico, and Canada, and even the White House In Washington DC, and they are an important part of the regional economy. We will to gather data so that we can know something about the Christmas Trees, or of the Frasier Firs, ability to remove CO2 from the atmosphere in the Southern Appalachians. We do have data from forests and plantations at lower altitudes and with different climates. The factors that most greatly differentiate our site from these others are climate, topography, and soils, and specifically, differences in elevation, temperature, thin soils, and steep slopes. Christmas tree farms may sequester less atmospheric CO2 than other silviculture operations or unmanaged forests, and they may take up more CO2 than fields or pastures. This can impact many factors, including calculations of regional carbon budgets. Such information is beginning to be utilized by law and policy makers at state levels, and is also beginning to impact policy and can be assumed to influence laws eventually as well. With the growing concern surrounding our environment and carbon emissions, especially in relation to atmospheric CO2 levels and global warming, this information will help us to understand our environment and therefore better protect it. Policymakers are showing more and more concern for atmospheric CO2 levels, reflecting an increased concern nationally and globally. By furthering our knowledge of the CO2 sequestration by Christmas Trees in this area we can better understand the role of WNC in the regional carbon balance. One reason for this CO2 flux difference among various landscapes may be differences in soil temperature. Due to lack of a closed canopy, soil temperatures may be higher on Christmas tree farms than in natural forests but lower than open fields, which could lead to different rates of soil respiration. Comparing soil temperature differences between the soils in tree farms and the soils in surrounding areas will help future efforts to comprehend CO2 fluxes in these ecosystems. I will measure soil temperature in a tree farm, forest, and field to determine differences in temperatures that may influence soil respiration rates. I will use Thermochron dataloggers, which are small temperature probes with integrated loggers. Five Thermochrons will be deployed in the soils of each of the three environments, recording temperatures hourly for several months. Temperatures will be compared between sites to determine whether tree farm soils have significantly different temperatures than soils of surrounding landscapes. Understanding temperature differences can help understand differences in CO2 fluxes between sites.

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98. Synthesis and Characterization of a New Class of Potential Nonlinear Optical Materials ? Novel Heterobimetallic Compounds Containing a Planar Vinylferrocene Template
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Louis Martin	Biology	Dale Wheeler	Arts and Sciences	Chemistry	Aug 20, 2008
Project Description: Introduction My project will investigate new compounds as potential nonlinear optical (NLO) materials. Recent reports of organometallic NLO materials exhibiting large polarizabilities have shown potential uses in telecommunications, optical information processing and storage, and for the development of photonic devices. I propose to study the first compounds having a transition metal coordinated to aryl-substituted vinylferrocenes. The critical feature of these products is the planar configuration of the vinylferrocene that allows for greater electron delocalization and polarization. Coordinating ruthenium will further enhance the NLO properties by acting as an electron withdrawing group producing greater molecular polarization. Proposed Synthesis This project will directly extend the recent findings of new NLO materials in Wheeler?s research lab. The success of both the synthesis of planar salicylidene (Inorg Chim Acta 2002) and ferrocene benzylidene complexes (Inorg Chim Acta to be submitted 2008) leads to this proposal. I propose three synthetic procedures leading to various planar vinylferrocenes, although it will be unnecessary to perform additional procedures once the desired vinylferrocene products are isolated. All synthetic techniques required for my project have been previously employed in Wheeler?s lab. Synthesis I. In this phase-transfer Wittig reaction (New J Chem 2001), an aldehyde reacts with a phosphorus ylide to produce an olefin, in this case, a vinylferrocene. Ferrocenecarboxaldehyde would react with a phosphorus ylide, ie. a p-benzyltriphenylphosphonium halide. If needed, these ylides can be produced from the reaction of a p-benzyl halide and triphenylphosphine. Column chromatography will purify each vinylferrocene. Synthesis II. Similar to Synthesis I except the aldehyde would be a p-benzaldehyde (Inorg Chim Acta 1998). The ylide must be (ferrocenylmethyl)triphenylphosphonium halide prepared by the reaction of (ferrocenylmethyl)dimethyl amine and triphenylphosphine (J Org Chem 1992). The ferrocene ylide then reacts with potassium t-butoxide prior to reaction with the p-benzaldehyde. Extraction and column chromatography will purify each vinylferrocene. Synthesis III ? a 2-step alternative synthesis. First, various oxiranes will be synthesized using a modified Simmons-Smith reaction (J Org Chem 1997). Substituted p-benzaldehydes will react with diethyl zinc, chloroiodomethane, and tetrahydrothiophene creating the desired oxiranes. Second, these oxiranes will react with ferrocene to produce various aryl-substituted vinylferrocenes (J Organomet Chem 2006), purified by column chromatography. Ruthenium Addition. Lastly, the various vinylferrocenes will react with the coordinating ruthenium reagent under dry nitrogen. The products will precipitate with ether and are predicted to be air-stable, thermally-stable salts. Characterization will involve 1H and 13C NMR spectrometry and IR and visible spectrophotometry.

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99. An exploration and dedication to women through the medium of clay and alternative firings.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Meghan Seehorn	Art	William Struss	Fine and Applied Arts	Art	Aug 20, 2008
Project Description: This project is the creation of my senior ceramics show which will be presented at the Catherine Smith Gallery in December 2008. My work explores issues central to women through the use of life-castings and hand-built free standing sculptures. One series of sculptures investigates the layers created in a woman's psyche by her society. These pieces are abstracted "architectural" female torsos that "house" symbolic objects. Another series documents the experience of a pregnancy through nine life castings: one each month of the pregnancy. These pieces act as a three-dimensional journal chronicling the memories, emotions, and experiences of several different women during their pregnancies. I use a wide variety of surface treatments and firing techniques for my work. I will be using combinations of engobes, underglazes, overglazes, and terra sigillata to create paintings and patterning on my pieces. My pieces are subjected to a wide range of firing techniques such as raku, pit, barrel, and saggar firings. In order for my pieces to survive the thermal shock of these firings Icreate my own mix of clay containing grog, nylon fibers and ingredients such as pyrotol 2253 (pyrex). This mix also has a low shrinkage rate enabling my cast pieces to remain as close to life size as possible. I aim to improve my skills and add valuable information to my repertoire, while finding the best ways for achieving the structures I desire as well as the varied, subtle surfaces that I feel best complete my work. I hope my pieces provoke thought, bring forth memories, and spark emotion for my viewers.

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100. Memories of Patterns and Expanses
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Elizabeth Kohler	Art	Lynn Duryea	Fine and Applied Arts	Art	Jul 25, 2008
Project Description: This project includes the creation and gallery display of a body of work that will be completed in order to fulfill requirements of senior studio. It will be completed in December 2008 and will be displayed on campus in either the Catherine Smith Gallery or the Looking Glass Gallery. I will be using several clay hand building techniques that include slab construction, mold draping and mold pressing. I will be using Matte underglazes and felt backing to cover the pieces. I feel that the content of my work is relevant to current issues including environmental protection, conservation, and a general respect for nature. My work is meant to allow the viewer to feel reconnected to nature, which I believe is the first step towards caring for and respecting it. By reminding the viewer of pleasant past experiences with nature, my work will give them a window into memories of the magnificent natural world. Artist?s Statement: This body of work is based on my belief that all humans feel an inevitable connection to and fascination with nature. Many of us have fond childhood memories of swimming in oceans or lying in soft grass. Others discovered a love of nature later in life, finding refuge in nature walks or boating. While exploring this work I was inspired by numerous images and memories of nature?s patterns and expanses. Intricate flowers, gentle curves of waves, brightly colored fungi, a field of tall grass on a windy day, and forests covered in kudzu are just a few of my sources of inspiration. The pieces are intended to represent the vast expanses and intricate patterns that exist in nature. They pay homage to the astonishing artistry of nature?s plants, and waters without attempting to accurately depict them. Creating this work has ignited memories of my childhood experiences with nature and reminded me of the inherently pure and magnificent qualities of the natural world. I hope each viewer can somehow relate to this feeling and be reminded of their own connection to nature.

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101. Quantification of potD1 and potD2 gene expression in Vibrio cholerae using Real-Time PCR
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Marcus McGinnis	Biology	Ece Karatan	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Jul 25, 2008
Project Description: Vibrio cholerae is the bacterium responsible for the acute human intestinal disease cholera. V. cholerae is a natural inhabitant of costal regions worldwide where it has an ability to form biofilms. Biofilms are highly structured, interdependent communities of microorganisms encased in an exopolysaccharide matrix that provide a bacterium protection from both environmental stresses and host defense mechanisms. The transition from the free-swimming state to the biofilm state for Vibrio cholerae is highly regulated by environmental cues, including polyamines that initiate a signaling cascade. Intracellular levels of polyamines, such as norspermidine and spermidine are maintained by adjusting the rate of biosynthesis, degradation and extracellular uptake. Norspermidine, a major polyamine constituent of V. cholerae, has been shown to enhance V. cholerae biofilm formation in the presence of NspS, a norspermidine sensor. Given the observed effects of norspermidine on biofilm development, we hypothesized that polyamine biosynthesis and/or transport would have an effect on V. cholerae biofilm formation by altering cellular polyamine levels. Although neither polyamine biosynthesis nor transport have been well studied within V. cholerae, an operon encoding an ABC transport system for polyamines has been identified. This operon encodes two potD genes, orthologs of which encode periplasmic binding proteins for spermidine-a polyamine very similar to norspermidine. Additionally, in V. cholerae, the final reaction of a novel biosynthetic pathway for norspermidine is thought to be catalyzed by the enzyme carboxynorspermidine decarboxylase, which is encoded by the gene nspC. To elucidate the role of the seemingly redundant PotD proteins in V. cholerae biofilm formation, potD1, potD2, and potD1potD2 mutants were constructed by homologous recombination using SacB counter-selectable mutagenesis. In our current project, we have demonstrated a time-dependent enhanced biofilm in both the potD1potD2 double and potD1 single mutants in comparison to the wildtype while the potD2 mutant biofilm did not demonstrate a significant difference from the wildtype indicating differing functions of the two PotD proteins. We have also shown that over expressing the nspC gene leads to a 4-fold increase in biofilm formation in relation to the wildtype but overexpression of the nspC gene in a strain lacking NspS, does not lead to an enhanced biofilm leading us to propose a system in which V. cholerae produces then secretes norspermidine into the environment where it may ultimately interact with NspS. Although these results indicate a connection between polyamine levels, several polyamine-related proteins and V. cholerae biofilm formation, they do not illuminate the cellular changes causing our observed effects. In my current project, to gain further insight into the function of the PotD proteins and to elucidate the cellular changes driving the increase in biofilm observed with the potD1 mutant, I will first determine, using Real-Time PCR, at what levels the potD1 and potD2 genes are expressed under our experimental conditions in wildtype cells. Then I will assess the effect of adding norspermidine to the culture medium as well as nspC overexpression on potD1 and potD2 gene expression. Results from these experiments will help us elucidate how these proteins affect biofilm formation and whether transport and biosynthesis of polyamines are inversely regulated at the level of gene expression.

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102. Regulation of norspermidine uptake via the PotD proteins in Vibrio Cholerae
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Nicholas Walter	Biology, Pre-professional	Ece Karatan	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Jul 25, 2008
Project Description: Vibrio cholerae is a human intestinal pathogen known for causing the disease cholera. The disease causes dehydration through acute diarrhea and vomiting. Cholera is transmitted through contaminated water and undercooked contaminated shellfish, and is a problem in impoverished countries where there are not adequate water treatment facilities. The disease can easily spread and has caused several pandemics throughout history which have claimed many lives. This demonstrates the importance of understanding the mechanisms that allow V. cholerae to survive in a human host. Polyamines are small aliphatic molecules composed of hydrocarbon chains with interspaced amino groups. They are involved in various cell functions in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. These functions include regulation of DNA, RNA, and protein structure, regulation of bacterial porins, free radical scavenging, and biofilm formation in gram negative bacteria. Polyamines, in particular norspermidine, have been shown to be important in the regulation of biofilm formation in V. cholerae. Biofilm formation is an important survival mechanism of bacteria, which involves the grouping of free living cells. The bacteria secrete an extracellular matrix which protects them from environmental toxins and facilitates infection. Our lab has found that norspermidine interacts with several putative membrane proteins and is synthesized de novo by the NspC enzyme. This system sends signals to the cell which can control biofilm formation. In E. coli the periplasmic protein PotD is involved in the uptake of spermidine, a polyamine very similar in structure to norspermidine. In V. cholerae there are two forms of the PotD protein named PotD1 and PotD2 which both might be involved in biofilm formation through interaction with spermidine or norspermidine. Using mutations that delete the genes of the PotD1 and PotD2 proteins it has been demonstrated that these uptake systems can be involved in inhibiting biofilm formation. It is not known how these two proteins are functioning and their specific involvement with spermidine and norspermidine. In this experiment we will use mutant strains that have deleted genes for PotD1, PotD2, and both proteins. Each mutant strain as well as the wildtype will be grown with our without exogenous norspermidine or spermidine added to the culture media. Polyamines will then be extracted from the cells and quantified. By comparing the cellular amounts of norspermidine and spermidine in the three polyamine transport mutants to that of the wild-type bacteria, we will determine whether either of these PotD proteins is involved in uptake of these polyamines. This will hopefully help us gain insight to how polyamine uptake affects the mechanisms of biofilm formation.

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103. Quantification of the Effects of Polyamines on Vibrio cholerae Biofilm Formation
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Zachary Parker	Biology	Ece Karatan	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Jul 25, 2008
Project Description: The disease cholera is caused by the pathogenic Gram-negative proteobacterium Vibrio cholerae. The survival of V. cholerae depends greatly on its ability to create biofilms. Recent findings have shown that the polyamine norspermidine acts as an extracellular signal for V. cholerae to activate biofilm synthesis (Karatan et al., 2005). Also, in the gram negative bacteria Yersinia pestis the reduction of the intracellular amounts of the polyamine putrescine causes a reduction in biofilm (Patel et al., 2006). These two studies suggest that the polyamine synthesis and transport could play a crucial role in the regulation of biofilms in V. cholerae. My research will be focused on elucidation of the effect of norspermidine synthesis and transport on biofilm formation in V. cholerae. To do this I will be quantifying intracellular levels of polyamines and nspC (a gene encoding a norspermidine synthesis enzyme) expression in V. cholerae under various conditions. I will be achieving these results using real time PCR which allows for the quantification of transcript amounts within a cell. Specifically I will be quantifying the transcript level of the gene nspC which encodes a key enzyme in norspermidine synthesis. The real time PCR method is both cutting-edge and somewhat expensive, but it gives quantitative results where previously only qualitative and semi-quantitative results could be engendered. The V. cholerae cells will be grown in media either containing polyamines or without polyamines added and transcript levels of the cells will be quantified using real time PCR. If the polyamines are transported into the cells we should see a decrease in polyamine synthesis gene transcription to equilibrate intracellular polyamine levels. This experiment will also be supported by research conducted using HPLC to quantify levels of intracellular polyamines in V. cholerae under the same growth media conditions. These experiments will allow us to determine the effect of polyamine synthesis and transport, specifically that of norspermidine, in the formation of biofilms in V. cholerae.

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104. Mutations in the highly conserved EAL domain of MbaA and their effect on biofilm formation
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Lindsay Porter	Biology	Ece Karatan	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Jul 25, 2008
Project Description: Vibrio cholerae is the gram negative bacteria that is the causative agent for the historically pestilent diarrheal disease Cholera. The toxin that is made by the bacterium can cause death by colonizing the small intestine, causing an ionic shift that will eventually lead to serious dehydration and, if left untreated, death. V. cholerae has the ability to produce an exopolysaccharide matrix termed, which along with other components is termed a biofilm. A biofilm has been shown to impart many survival advantages including, desiccation resistance, salinity protection, and antibiotic tolerance. V. cholerae?s ability to persist and have pandemic capabilities are enhanced by the biofilm. Understanding the complex signaling pathways utilized by the bacterium can give us insight into controlling biofilm, as well as applying the knowledge to other similar bacteria that have the ability to produce biofilm. My research aims to manipulate and mutate an important protein in the pathway involved in biofilm synthesis in order to further solidify its function. An important protein, MbaA, has been shown experimentally to have the ability to negatively influence biofilm formation. When MbaA is deleted, there is a marked increase in biofilm formation. This is a reasonable candidate for further study because MbaA also has two highly conserved domains, GGDEF and EAL. GGDEF domains have been shown to function as a diguanylate cyclases that synthesize the increasingly important secondary messenger c-di-GMP from GTP. The messenger c-di-GMP has the ability to regulate important cellular functions, including biofilm formation and emerging evidence shows it to be increasingly important in cellular function and processes. Conversely, EAL domains have been shown to have phosphodiesterase activity and break down c-di-GMP. A relationship between low c-di-GMP levels and low biofilm formation has also been seen. It is therefore a reasonable hypothesis that the EAL domain of the protein MbaA is enzymatically active and responsible for the high levels of biofilm formation when deleted. In order to elucidate the function of the EAL domain my research plans to mutate the individual amino acids E and L to see if there is a difference in biofilm formation as compared to wild type. In other similar enzymes, the E and L amino acids of this highly conserved domain have been shown to be vital for enzymatic function. Buy mutating these two individually, I expect to see arrested enzymatic function which will translate to an increase in biofilm formation, given the prediction that this domain is responsible for the breakdown of c-di-GMP. I will overexpress the gene mbaA using an expression vector and make subsequent mutants. By utilizing molecular biology techniques I hope to further understand how MbaA effects biofilm formation.

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105. Polyamines Interactions with Vibrio Cholerae
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Alexandria Rutkovsky	Chemistry	Cluadia Cartaya-Marin	Arts and Sciences	Chemistry	Jul 25, 2008
Project Description: Polyamines are small aliphatic hydrocarbon molecules that have amine groups located throughout the molecule. Polyamines are found within prokaryotes and eukaryotes and serve multiple functions throughout the cell. For example, they have a net positive charge at physiological pH that helps to maintain favorable conformation of negatively charged polymers such as nucleic acids. Intracellular polyamines help to facilitate enhancement of translation of messenger RNA. These polyamines also play a crucial role in outer membrane functions, especially the production and function of porins (trans-membrane channels that allow hydrophilic compounds across the outer membrane of gram negative bacteria). They also play a vital role in protecting cells from the toxic effects of reactive oxygen species. Polyamines not only play a role in basic functions of a cell but, are also essential to biofilm formation for some bacteria. Biofilm formation (a three-dimensional structure of cell surface and cell-cell contacts that are characterized by pillars of bacteria interspersed with water channels) is an important feature of the survival of many bacteria within a human host and the environment. Biofilm formation is thought to be influenced by the amount of various polyamines present within the cell as well as in the external environment of the cell. Vibrio cholerae, a human intestinal pathogen, is an environmental bacterium that is customary to aquatic environments. Vibrio cholerae is a prime example of a bacteria that utilizes biofilm formation. It has been shown that addition of the polyamine, norspermidine, into the culture medium increases biofilm formation by this bacterium. In order to understand the effects of polyamines on biofilm formation of V. cholerae, we need to determine which polyamines V. cholerae makes, how these molecules interact with each other and with the cell, and whether they get imported or exported by the bacterium. We have already shown for the first time that V. cholerae contains the polyamines: 1,3-diaminopropane, putrescine, cadaverine, norspermidine, and spermidine. The polyamines cadaverine, putrescine and 1,3-diaminopropane have two amine groups located at opposite ends of the molecule. Cadaverine has five carbons, putrescine has four carbons, and 1,3-diaminopropane has three carbons. The polyamines norspermidine and spermidine are also very similar molecules that differ by only one carbon. They also have three amine groups located throughout the molecule. In this project, we will determine if norspermidine and 1,3-diaminopropane, as well as other significant polyamines, get transported into the cell. We will also determine if the addition of 1,3-diaminopropane, a precursor of norspermidine, increases the cellular concentration of norspermidine. This will be done by use of biological and chemical techniques that include extraction, benzoylation, and liquid chromatography, to monitor the varying amounts of polyamines present under the different environmental conditions each cell culture is grown under. The polyamines will be extracted from the grown cell cultures, benzoylated to be made visible under the conditions used, and identified using high performance liquid chromatography. This method, HPLC, separates molecules based on their molecular structure. This will be the first study of Vibrio cholerae that looks at a polyamine synthesis and transport systems within this organism.

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106. Effects of Estrogenic Compounds in Waste Water Treatment Plant Effluent on Fish Vitellogenesis
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
bethany carter	Chemistry	carol babyak	Arts and Sciences	Chemistry	Jul 25, 2008
Project Description: Endocrine disruption is a widely studied environmental problem that primarily affects aquatic species. In this project, the effect of estrogenic compounds in waste water treatment plant effluent on vitellogenesis will be addressed. Sampling of the following fish species: Catostomus commersoni, Hypentelium nigricans, Nocomis micropogon, Onchorhynchus mykiss, Salmo trutta, were collected from the South Fork of the New River and the Watauga River, both located in Boone, North Carolina. Water and sediment samples were collected from these locations as well. Blood serum samples were taken for analysis by PAGE gel electrophoresis and Western Blotting. Water and sediment samples were collected for analysis by liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS). Water and sediment samples were extracted by solid phase extraction , and Soxhlet extraction, respectively. Passive sampling of water samples using the Polar Organic Integrative Sampler (POCIS) will be incorporated into this project in the future. , Method development for LC/ESI-MS, was done using both isocratic and gradient HPLC. The current use of pharmaceutical hormones such those used in contraceptive birth control and menopausal treatment has caused increasing concern for the introduction of endocrine disruptive compounds into the environment. Many other compounds are also considered endocrine disrupting compounds such as phthalate plasticizers. These compounds are introduced into the environment through waste water treatment effluent. Many of these estrogenic pharmaceutical compounds are biosequestered in many aquatic animals such as rainbow trout. This effect on fish will be studied by collection of grab water, grab sediment and fish samples in the South Fork New River and in the Watauga River. Water samples will be extracted using solid-phase extraction in order to elute of the wanted estrogen analytes, while washing unwanted pollutants off. Sediment samples will be extracted using Soxhlet extraction. The extracts of both samples will be analyzed using LC/ESI-MS

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107. "Swamplands, Rodeos and Hurricanes...Oh My: A Case Study of the Louisiana State Penitentiary (?The Farm?)"
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Wilson Kennerly	Criminal Justice	Barbara Zaitzow	Arts and Sciences	Political Science/Criminal Justice	Jul 18, 2008
Project Description: Prisons do not reduce crime yet we continue to remove individuals from their communities and place them in one of our many "correctional" institutions where we expect them to be rehabilitated and returned to their communities to live in harmony with their neighbors. Unlike most prisons, however, the Louisiana State Penitentiary (LSP) is the largest prison in the United States. At 18,000 acres, the rich farmland within those borders are home to 5,000 state prisoners, 1,800 prison staff, and a legendary warden, Burl Cain. While Warden Cain runs a tight prison, he also believes in rehabilitation even though close to 90 percent of the prisoners have little hope of eventual release. He provides literacy classes for inmates who will die there, and he allows death row prisoners to have family visits. The prison hosts a rodeo every April and October, and its inmates produce the award-winning magazine The Angolite, available to the general public and relatively uncensored. Angola Prison is also home to the country's only inmate-operated radio station. While Angola was once known as "the bloodiest prison in America," it has made a tremendous turnaround, much of which has been attributed to the influence of faith-based programming. The opportunity to learn more about "what works" at LSP is important for the development of policy recommendations for positive change in prisons throughout the nation. The purpose of the present investigation is to assess existing literature on the history of Angola prison and compare the historical analysis with a more contemporary inside glimpse of the management, operation, and treatment of both the prisoners and staff of LSP based on personal observations and discussions with representatives from both domains (prisoners and staff) who our group may be able to communicate with during an 8-hour visit to the prison. The short duration of the prison visit is viewed as a starting point for the further investigation of the carceral experiences of those who live and work in such settings. Ultimately, the goal of this and future projects will be the understanding of the incarceration experience in the United States. I hope to present my observations at Appalachian State University?s Celebration of Student Research and Creative Endeavors in April 2009.

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108. Development of a Protein-Based System for the Detection of Organophosphates Using the pH-Dependence of Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Clare Adams	Biology, Pre-professional	Libby Puckett	Arts and Sciences	Chemistry	Jul 11, 2008
Project Description: This project is intended to address the need for the detection of a general classification of organic molecules, namely organophosphates, which are found in pesticides and chemical warfare agents. Organophosphorous hydrolase (OPH) and enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) will be used to create a sensing system for a wide range of organophosphates. In the assay, the OPH domain of the fusion protein catalyzes the cleavage of organophosphates, which causes a drop in the local pH environment. This in turn will alter the spectral properties of the attached EGFP and allow kinetic measurements to be performed. Currently, recombinant DNA technology (PCR, cloning, in vitro translation, etc.) is being utilized to create a unique plasmid containing a gene that encodes for the production of this fusion protein between OPH and the reporter protein EGFP. The results of our progress will be presented. Future plans include creating a whole-cell sensor with this plasmid in order to determine bioavailability of these toxic substrates.

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109. Bacterial degradation of various colored feathers of the eastern screech owl
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
evan pannkuk	Biology	jeffrey butts	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Jul 11, 2008
Project Description: Feathers that are differently pigmented will be subjected to an inoculation of Bacillus licheniformis and the amount of degradation will be measured by visible light spectrophotometry. This study will add to our current knowledge on the strength and ecological applications of the relationship between microflora and avian plumage.

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110. The Acute Hormonal Effect of Aquatic Resistance Exercise
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Rebecca Porter	Exercise Science	N. Travis Triplett	Fine and Applied Arts	Health, Leisure and Exercise Science	Jul 10, 2008
Project Description: Chronic resistance training (RT) results in increases in strength and size of the muscle. Both muscular and neural systems adapt to RT but the extent that different RT protocols influence each system is unknown. High intensity lower body RT has been observed to elicit an acute increase in anabolic hormone status. It has been speculated that the acute increases in anabolic hormones may contribute to the skeletal muscle hypertrophy that occurs in response to chronic RT. However, variations in the acute protocol variables (intensity, volume, rest period length, frequency, and exercise type) have been observed to influence the magnitude of the acute hormone response to RT. A new training method is the use of resistance devices in the water, which is common for injured athletes and the elderly. Very little is known about the physiological responses to this type of exercise. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to classify the acute endocrine response to an aquatic resistance exercise workout compared to a regular (in the weight room) resistance exercise workout, and then compare both workouts to a control condition.

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111. A History of Strength in the Midst of Loss and Despair: The Orphaned Child's perspective on AIDS and Orphanhood in South Africa
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Erica Adelman	History	Jeremiah Kitunda	Arts and Sciences	History	Jul 09, 2008
Project Description: The goal of this historical research project is to gain an understanding of the South African orphan crisis from the orphaned child's perspective. The number of orphans in South Africa has been rising since 1998. The sharpest increase has been in maternal orphans (children who have lost their mother) which rose from 2.8% to 5.1% of the total population aged 0-14 between 1995 and 2005. Because mothers generally have the primary care of their children, the death of a mother is of more immediate impact on a child's life. AIDS is largely responsible for this explosion of orphans. In 1990, there were 436,352 orphans. Only 86 of this total were AIDS orphans. By 2004, the total number of orphans jumped to 1,125,884. AIDS orphans numbered 626,458, easily surpassing the 499,425 non-AIDS orphans. The AIDS epidemic and the government's failure to respond to this epidemic in a timely manner contributed to the rise of orphans, which in turn put extreme strain on South African communities. Orphans who were previously absorbed easily into the families of relatives are becoming increasingly difficult for communities to care for. In the majority of cases, grandmothers take care of these orphans when their parents are dead or too ill to care for the children. The child-headed household is also becoming increasingly common. This project will outline the development of the orphan crisis from 1990-2005 while also examining government and community response, and, most importantly, the child's perspective on these responses and the crisis itself. In order to gain the child's perspective on this crisis and see its effects first-hand, I will travel to South Africa this summer from May 26 to August 4. While in South Africa, I will interview orphaned children, their care-takers, and those involved in non-governmental organizations responding to this crisis. I will arrive in Johannesburg and visit Bethesda Outreach Ministries of Hamaanskraal, a small community located outside of Pretoria. At Bethesda, I will work as a teacher's aide in Jabulane School with the orphaned children living in Bethesda homes. During this time, I will build a relationship with the children and conduct interviews to learn their individual stories. I will also interview the South African houseparents of Bethesda to discover their perspective on the orphan crisis and its effect on the children in their care. For two weeks in July, I will spend time in Pietermaritzburg. While there, I will interview professor Philippe Denis of Kwa-Zulu Natal University, who is involved in aiding orphaned children. I will also visit an SOS Children's Village and God's Golden Acre, interviewing children and caretakers at these non-governmental organizations. Finally, I will visit a South African elementary school and observe and interview children and teachers. I will use these interviews to explore the view-point of the orphaned child and to further understand how this crisis has affected South African communities.

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112. Women and Status in Colonial Peru
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Alexander Wisnoski	History	Rene Horst	Arts and Sciences	History	Jul 09, 2008
Project Description: When the First Spanish conquistadors subdued the Inca Empire, Spanish society began replacing Andean tradition. As anthropologist Irene Silverblatt has argued gender relationships in pre-Columbian Peru were far more equal than under the patriarchal Spanish system. My research will examine the way women responded differently to the changing gender roles. I will use divorce cases and other legal documents to observe how women accepted and rejected Spanish attempts to make them second class citizens. The majority of my research will take place at the Archivo Arzobispal de Peru in Lima, with whom I have already been in contact.

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113. Indentification and Characterization of Ammonia Transporters in the Atlantic Hagfish - Myxine glutinosa.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Salvatore Blair	Biology, Pre-professional	Ted Zerucha	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Jul 08, 2008
Project Description: In higher vertebrates ammonia is a nitrogenous waste produced by amino acid metabolism and in mammals is detoxified in the liver to urea. In boney fishes such as trout ammonia is excreted directly into the surrounding water. Recent studies have identified members of the Rh glycoprotein family in the gills of a number of teleost species as potential transport mechanisms for the excretion of ammonia. Members of the ammonia transporter / methylammoinum / Rhesus (Rh) glycoprotein family are implicated in ammonia transport in abroad range of organisms1,2,3. The Rh-associated glycoprotein (RhAG) is a member of the Rhesus family, typically associated with the major blood group of antigens on the membrane of human blood cells4. Rh type B and Rh type C glycoproteins have been localized to the basolateral and apical membrane of the collecting duct of the mammalian kidney a site that is associated with epithelial ammonia transport5. The function of the fish gill is analogous to the mammalian kidney, leading to the hypothesis that Rh glycoproteins homologous to fish are involved in ammonia excretion . A recent teleost study utilized the fugu genome to clone full-length cDNAs of 4 Rh homologues (Rhag, Rhbg, Rhc1 and Rhc2) and used immunohistochemistry to localize them to the branchial epithelium. The localization studies suggested that the fugu Rhag, Rhbg and Rhc2 immunoreactive cells would be well positioned to facilitate ammonia excretion across the branchial epithelium 3. The aim of this study is to utilize molecular and protein biochemistry techniques to identify and characterize the expression of members of the Rh glycoprotein family as possible mechanism for branchial ammonia excretion in one of the most primitive extant vertebrate the Atlantic hagfish Myxine glutinosa. IACUC approval through the Mt Desert Island Biological Laboratory #08-01

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114. TheraSIP Oral Assessment Protocol: Norms for Healthy Adults
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Caroline Chandler	Communication Disorders	Heather Clark	Education	Language, Reading, and Exceptionalities	Jul 07, 2008
Project Description: The proposed study will provide normative data for a clinical assessment protocol and examine a number of physiologic variables associated with straw drinking. The findings of this study have both scientific and clinical relevance. First, no investigations to date have described the physiologic features proposed, thus this study will be the first to report, in detail, the physiology of straw drinking. This information has direct clinical relevance because a) many individuals with compromised health experience physical limitations that render straw drinking more feasible than drinking from a cup and b) it is a general assumption that straw drinking is a dangerous practice for individuals with dysphagia (swallowing difficulties). The current study will provide normative data to which the performance of dysphagic participants can be compared to determine if straw drinking is significantly impaired and, if so, identify the nature of the contributing physiologic compromise. The experiment requires participants to drink water from a cup, a standard straw, and six TheraSIP ? straws with varying levels of resistance. Each participant will complete three trials under each condition. Under each condition, the participant will be asked to take ?one drink? of water from the cup or straw. For each trial, the amount of liquid swallowed and the number of swallows required to clear the liquid will be recorded. During all swallowing trials, peak lingual pressures generated during the swallow will be measured via a pressure transducer positioned on the palate. Additional physiologic data will be collected from participants who complete the experiment at the Speech and Swallowing Physiology Laboratory in Edwin Duncan Hall (the physiologic equipment is not portable). During all swallowing trials, muscle activity of the tongue and throat will be measured using surface EMG. Additionally, respiratory patterns will be monitored via a nasal cannula. These additional measures will be collected, digitized, and synchronized by a computerized analysis system. The following research questions will be addressed by the proposed experiment: 1.What is the standard volume of liquid swallowed during a single suck/drink across the various swallowing conditions? 2.What is the mean number of swallows required to clear the volume of liquid obtained during a single suck/drink across various swallowing conditions? 3.What suck/swallow/breathe (SSB) pattern(s) is/are typical during a single suck/drink across various swallowing conditions? 4.Do lingual pressures produced during a single suck/drink vary across swallowing conditions? 5.Does lingual and external laryngeal muscle activity during a single suck/drink vary across swallowing conditions? 6.What is the relationship among the dependent measures of liquid volume swallowed, number of swallows, lingual pressures and muscle activity during the swallow? 7.Do any of the dependent measures listed in question 6 predict SSB patterns? (IRB submitted on 6/12/08)

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115. Orofacial Physiology Supporting Straw Drinking
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Fletcher Hietpas	Communication Disorders	Heather Clark	Education	Language, Reading, and Exceptionalities	Jul 07, 2008
Project Description: The relationship between orofacial strength and overall swallowing function is well-established. How orofacial strength contributes to specific eating and swallowing functions has yet to be systematically studied. The proposed project will examine the relationship between several orofacial strength measures and straw-drinking performance. The proposed project will be conducted in concert with a larger experiment examining the physiology of straw drinking. The assessment of orofacial strength will include eight tasks. These include having the participant perform maximum contractions during movements involving (1) tongue protrusion, (2) tongue blade (anterior) elevation, (3) tongue dorsum (posterior) elevation, (4) tongue right lateralization, (5) tongue left lateralization, (6) right cheek compression, (7) left cheek compression, and (8) interlabial compression. Strength is measured as peak pressure generated against the air-filled tongue bulb coupled to the Iowa Oral Performance Instrument (IOPI). The maximum pressure from three trials will be used for analysis. For anterior tongue elevation, the tongue bulb is placed along the hard palate with the connecting tubing protruding between the central incisors and coupled to the battery-powered IOPI unit. The central incisors rest gently on the tubing. For interlabial compression, the bulb is positioned between two tongue depressors at one end. This procedure ensures that the bulb is more uniformly compressed than if the lips alone compress the bulb. For the remaining actions (tongue lateralization and cheek compression), an IOPI bulb is taped with double-sided surgical tape to an IOPI lateral tongue-bulb holder (aka IOPI adapter). The IOPI adapter provides a smooth, firm surface to which the bulb is attached. It also includes a cushioned bite surface, made from medical-grade silicone rubber, for the teeth to contact. For tongue lateralization, the IOPI bulb is placed towards the tongue, while the teeth stabilize the holder. For cheek compression, the position of the tongue-bulb holder is reversed, so that the IOPI bulb faces the cheek. When used for the tongue-strength assessments, the bulb and its holder will be wrapped in a piece of sterile gauze to prevent the tongue from slipping off the bulb. Individual strength measures will be correlated with the following straw-drinking physiologic measures obtained in the parallel experiment: volume of liquid swallowed and peak lingual swallowing pressures under 8 different conditions (cup, standard straw, 6 straws of varying resistances). It is hypothesized that lingual strength will be the best predictor of straw-drinking performance, and that lip and cheek strength will show moderate correlations with the straw-drinking measures. (IRB submitted 6/12/08)

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116. Residential and commercial scale adsorption air conditioner designed to use waste heat from solar thermal or cogenerated heat and power systems
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Andrew Windham	Industrial Technology	Brian Raichle	Fine and Applied Arts	Technology	May 16, 2008
Project Description: Air conditioning is a key factor in the price of electricity. Peak summer time air conditioning loads force utility companies to beef up power distribution capabilities, and in turn, costs are translated to the customer. Using heat as apposed to electricity to drive air conditioning would allow utilities to lower their rates, and thus, technologies such as adsorption chillers must be evaluated. This project seeks to construct a novel adsorption chiller which is specifically designed for use in residential and small commercial buildings. There is currently a distinct void in such technologies but demand may be plentiful. The items requested will be used to construct a prototype chiller that will be used to test the efficiency under varying conditions of driving temperature, surface area for heat transfer, fluid flow rates, and pressure variance. The information gained may aid in the utilization of adsorption chillers as air conditioning technologies.

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117. Floristic education in North Carolina 1930-2007: where do we go from here?
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Chad Mitchell	Biology	Murrell Zack	Arts and Sciences	Biology	May 01, 2008
Project Description: Starting as an independent study with Dr. Murrell titled: "Bioinformatics Floristics", I compiled a database of all floristic studies done by honors, masters, and doctorate students in the UNC system. We saw a trend of decline which corresponds with those observed by Prather et al.(2004). In his paper and its corresponding commentary the importance of continued floristic research and education in these methods are emphasized. Our data shows a strong declining trend in floristic research since its original inception into common practice. From this research, I am making a poster to present at the Annual Association of Southeastern Biologists meeting held in Spartanburg, South Carolina April 16th ? 19th. A few of us, including my Faculty and Graduate student research advisor, Zack Murrell and Michael Denslow will also be attending the meeting. Michael will be presenting his research - a similar but further encompassing project for the entire United States of which my data is a subset. To attend I must register to be a member as register for the meeting itself. The pre-registration is a discounted fee, due before March 15th. I included one-quarter portion of the hotel room which are reserved and the major events taking place, but no other activities were included in the budget. Link to presentation titles and dates: http://www.asb.appstate.edu/documents/ ASB_2008_Attendee_Information_Forms.pdf

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118. Influence of trichomes on the spectral characteristics of leaves on the purple velvet plant (Gynura aurantiaca) in the visible and near-IR wavelengths
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
David DeViney	Biology	Howie Neufeld	Arts and Sciences	Biology	May 01, 2008
Project Description: Trichomes can reflect and scatter light, and reduce the amount of radiation absorbed by a leaf. Lower absorptances can allow a leaf to maintain a lower leaf temperature, and to better avoid photoinhibition. Trichomes can also reduce transpirational water loss by their ability to increase the thickness of the boundary layer. Most studies of the spectral qualities of trichomes have focused on plants with silver to white trichomes, which do effectively reduce leaf radiation loads. We studied the purple velvetleaf plant (Gynura aurantiaca), which has deeply purple trichomes, and asked the question, do these purple trichomes function similarly to silver/white trichomes? We addressed this problem by comparing spectral curves obtained with a spectroradiometer on intact leaves, and on leaves where we shaved off the trichomes. Contrary to our expectations, trichome removal increased leaf reflectance and transmittance in the visible and nearâ??IR wavelengths, resulting in decreased absorptance. This suggests that the pigmented trichomes in this species do not function to reduce light stress, but more likely contribute to high water use efficiency by increasing boundary layer resistances and lowering water loss from the leaf or function as a deterent to insect herbivores. Further research is needed to fully understand the ecological significance of these cloroed trichomes.

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119. Characterization of Genetic Variation and Reproduction within Populations of Spiraea virginiana (Rosaceae)
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Sarah Pate	Biology	Zack Murrell	Arts and Sciences	Biology	May 01, 2008
Project Description: Spiraea virginiana is a perennial riparian shrub confined to secondary and tertiary streams in the Ohio, Tennessee, and Cumberland drainages and has been listed as Threatened by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) since 1990. At last count, as few as 21 communities may exist, so tools for management are critically important. While sexual reproduction has not been observed in the wild, when populations from different locales were placed together in a common garden at Virginia Highlands Community College (VHCC), plants produced seed. Reproduction in wild populations depends on scouring by floodwaters transporting broken rhizomes downstream. Even though the plant is restricted to riverine systems, gene flow across drainages may be possible in several areas, such as the Northern Peaks area of northeast North Carolina, Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga, TN, and the Cumberland-Tennessee divide in Tennessee. My hypothesis is that S. virginiana is self-incompatible and largely clonal within locales. I propose to test this with two methods. First, I will screen 10 individuals of Spiraea virginiana and two individuals from related species, S. corymbosa and S. tomentosa, for two low copy genes. These low copy genes (waxy and leafy) have been implicated as possible high-variation genes that could elucidate intraspecific variation. Both waxy and leafy genes need four to five clones per individual to ensure that there are only one or two copies per genome. I will analyze multiple clones from 3-5 individuals. If these show no variation, I will sequence from a single clone for the remaining individuals. Twelve individuals will be amplified and cloned using the waxy gene. Four of these will be sequenced from five clones each and the remainder will be sequenced from one clone, resulting in twenty-eight total sequenced (one direction only). Those twelve individuals will also be amplified and cloned using the leafy gene, with the same methods. Analysis using parsimony methods will then be used to provide preliminary data to elucidate genetic structure. The results from this proposed analysis can be used to determine the most effective means to conduct a full analysis of variation within this imperiled species. The second approach will begin in May 2008 in three New River populations of S. virginiana and the specimens within the common garden at Virginia Highlands Community College (VHCC). Ten specimens within the VHCC population will receive five treatments: A) a bagged inflorescence: B) a hand-selfed treatment; C) cross-pollinated by another plant in the population; D) cross-pollinated by a plant in a different population; and E) open pollinated control. After seed set (if fertilization is successful), I will collect the seeds and place them in cold stratification (2°C for three months). Cold-stratified seeds will then be germinated uncovered at the Appalachian State University Greenhouse in Boone, NC. Successful reproduction will be recorded and statistically analyzed. Funding from the Office of Student Research would be very valuable in providing reimbursement for travel expenses between these sites and the Appalachian State campus. Because the plants at VHCC have been recruited from many drainage basins and several genotypes are present, conducting the study there may prove more rewarding. By creating a greater understanding of this imperiled species, we may be able to manage it more effectively and thus ensure its continued presence in the Appalachians.

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120. Effectiveness of the Western North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign in Watauga County
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Sara Kim	Family and Consumer Science	Lisa McAnulty	Fine and Applied Arts	Family and Consumer Science	May 01, 2008
Project Description: Folate is a crucial vitamin necessary in the process of cell division, and a deficiency of this nutrient has been implicated in the etiology of a number of diseases including heart disease, colon cancer, and pre-eclampsia. Additionally, low dietary intake of this nutrient prior to and during pregnancy has been associated with increased risk for neural tube defects (NTDs). North Carolina has been identified as having one of the highest incidence rates of NTDs in the U.S. Furthermore, NTDs were three times more common in the western part of the state than in the rest of the world. NTD is a condition that manifests itself during fetal development and results in either anencephaly or spina bifida. It has been estimated that approximately 50-70% of NTDs can be prevented by adequate folate intake. While many sources of folate are available in the diet, most women of child-bearing age do not consume the recommended amount of 400 mcg/day. Results from a recent study reported the average daily intake of dietary folate among 14-19 y.o. females was 123 mcg. Because intakes routinely fall below recommended levels, it is recommended that women take a daily supplement containing 400 mcg folic acid (folic acid is the synthetic form of folate found in fortified foods and supplements that is actually better absorbed by the body). The Western NC Folic Acid Campaign educates women of childbearing age on the importance of folic acid to decrease the incidence of NTDs. Efforts of the campaign have been successful in lowering the incidence rates of NTDs (decreased 75% between 1995 and 2002), but there is lack of information regarding the effectiveness of the program. Specifically, it is not known if increased intakes of dietary folate and/or folic acid supplements are occurring as a direct result of the education. Female subjects were recruited for the present study and were randomized into either the Folate (F) or control (C) group. Three-day diet records were collected at baseline and six weeks post intervention for assessment of dietary folate/folic acid intake. Additionally, anthropometric measurements (height, weight, and waist circumference) were taken at these two time points. Both groups underwent a pre-test, post-test for determination of knowledge of folic acid. Between the pre- and post-test, the F group received education regarding the importance of folic acid in the prevention of NTDs based on materials developed by the Western North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign. Results of this study greatly contribute to the existing body of knowledge concerning this campaign by providing actual evidence with respect to ability of the education to effect positive change in existing dietary folate intake/supplemental use of folic acid during child-bearing years.

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121. Genes Underlying Female Mating Behavior in Drosophila Melanogaster vestigial mutants
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Bonnie McMillion	Biology	Michael Windelspecht	Arts and Sciences	Biology	May 01, 2008
Project Description: Previous work in our laboratory has focused on Drosophila melanogaster with the vestigial-winged mutation (vg). Males with this mutation show altered courtship behavior; they cannot produce a normal courtship song, which is made with the wings, because of the nature of their mutation and they approach females from a different angle than wild type flies. Females from vg laboratory stocks choose vg males to mate with 50% of the time, but their preference for vg males can be artificially selected to create true-breeding lines of flies in which vg females always mate with vg males over wt males, thus female choice has a genetic basis. The purpose of my experiment is to search for molecular markers that segregate with female behavior (choosing wt males or choosing vg males). To search for these markers, I have chosen 5 candidate genes on which I will perform an AFLP analysis (amplified fragment length polymorphism).

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122. Algae propagation in a photobioreactor: Working toward a cleaner, renewable fuel
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Brian Witmer	Appropriate Technology	Jeremy Ferrell	Fine and Applied Arts	Technology	May 01, 2008
Project Description: Algae has garnered much attention recently as a renewable biofuel feedstock, with uses ranging from biobutanol and biogasoline, to methane and biodiesel. Estimates of the potential output range from 5,000 to 20,000 or more gallons(UNH, 2004) of oil per acre. Other benefits of algae fuel include the ability to produce it on land unsuitable for farmland, and decreased tailpipe emissions. Algae is usually produced in closed systems known as photobioreactors, or in outdoor open ponds or raceways. With more research in production methods algae could become a major player in the worldwide push to find a renewable replacement to petroleum. At Appalachian State small-scale, algae research has been conducted in both the Biology and Appropriate Technology departments. I'm looking to work with the current effort to expand the body of knowledge. Up to this point, the algae research has been conducted in aquariums and bottles. For algae to be a viable fuel stock it must be grown on a larger scale. The funds from this grant will be applied toward building a small-scale photobioreactor to research algal growth in a larger system. The photobioreactor will be a closed, circulating system incorporating a transparent tubing material and CO2 injection, and will be housed in the Biology greenhouse. A low-impact diaphragm pump will be used to circulate the algae between the light and dark cycles. I will work with other members of the Biology and Appropriate Technology departments to grow, monitor, and test algae produced in the photobioreactor. This will yield valuable data on algae production methods, and will be another facet of the excellent biofuels research project currently in place at Appalchian State.

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123. Needs Assessment for a Post-Abortion Group Therapy Program on ASU's Campus
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Julia Fondren	Psychology	Joshua Broman-Fulks	Arts and Sciences	Psychology	May 01, 2008
Project Description: This research was completed through the Public Service Research Program and designed in collaboration with Boone Hope Pregnancy Resource Center. It plans to address the possible need for a free group therapy program dealing with post-abortion issues and run through the campus counseling center. This question will be explored through an online questionnaire ASU students will complete.

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124. Isolation of Meis Regulatory Elements
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Caroline Cochrane	Biology	Ted Zerucha	Arts and Sciences	Biology	May 01, 2008
Project Description: Our project is designed as a study of how a specific family of genes, the Meis family, is regulated during embryonic development, using zebrafish as our model. The function of the Meis genes is largely conserved across all organisms, so the research conducted on zebrafish embryos can be applied to other organisms including humans. The Meis genes are active in specific cells and tissues at specific times during embryonic development and are considered to be important factors in the proper development of the organism. Defects in these genes can cause defects in birth and have also been connected with the disease leukemia. Since most genes are not active all the time in every cell, something must be present that regulates in which part of the body and at what time the gene is turned on. The regulatory elements controlling Meis gene expression have not been researched, however, so it is not known exactly how Meis expression is directed. My project involves isolating and studying the pieces of DNA, the regulatory elements, which control the expression of the Meis genes. Our lab has identified four putative regulatory elements associated with the Meis2 gene. It is likely that each of these elements serves a specific purpose and directs the expression of the gene to a different area of the body. My project is focused on isolating and studying one of these elements (named m2de3, for Meis2 downstream element 3). I will isolate m2de3 using polymerase chain reaction (pcr) and will then examine its ability to direct gene expression in developing zebrafish embryos consistent with endogenous Meis2 expression. The information gained from this study could be used to learn more about the effects of mutations in the gene sequences and the detrimental effects they cause. This could be used to an advantage in the medical field for the prevention of the diseases related to the Meis genes.

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125. The Expression Pattern of a Meis 2 linked gene in Zebrafish Embryos
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Brantley Graham	Biology	Ted Zerucha	Arts and Sciences	Biology	May 01, 2008
Project Description: The Meis2 gene is a member of the homeobox gene family that play important roles in the embryonic development of all multicellular animals. We have identified a new gene adjacent to Meis2 which we have named Meis2 linked gene 1 (M2lg1). Nothing is known of this gene and to begin to study it, I plan to determine its expression pattern in zebrafish embryos. The expression data will represent the first step in helping to identify its function. After we have expression data, I plan to inactivate the gene using a technique called a morpholino knock down to gain further insights into its function. I have already preserved zebrafish embryos from four to twenty four hours post fertilization using paraformaldehyde and methanol and if funded will use the money I am requesting to help defray the costs of synthesizing the probe that will be used to examine the expression of m2lg1 in the already prepared zebrafish embryos.

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126. A Healthy Start: The Relationship between Controlling Maternal Feeding Practices and Child Health Status among Siblings
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Emily Steinbaugh	Psychology	Amy Galloway	Arts and Sciences	Psychology	May 01, 2008
Project Description: Previous research suggests that parents tend to control their children?s feeding practices differently if their children are different in areas such as weight, pickiness, and temperament. Further, research indicates that controlling feeding practices are related to a child?s diet and weight status later in life. This study was conducted to investigate whether mothers control their children?s feeding practices differently in relation to children?s health status. It is unknown whether early health problems are related to differential parental controlling feeding practices. We collected data from mothers of two children to determine whether mothers restrict, pressure, monitor, and/or feel more responsibility toward their child?s eating behavior as the child?s health problems increase. Seventy-seven primarily non-Hispanic Caucasian families with 2 biological children between 6 and 12 years old were recruited for this study. Mothers were given the Child Feeding Questionnaire and the Early Health Questionnaire. One-tailed Pearson correlations and t-tests were used to examine the relationships between the presence of prior health conditions among children and maternal controlling feeding practices. Results showed that there was no correlation between child health status and maternal pressure, monitoring, or responsibility. A negative correlation was found between health problems and maternal restriction. A negative correlation was found between the difference of overall early health problems among siblings and the differences of maternal responsibility. These results suggest that mothers restrict food less when their children have more health problems and control their children more equally when there are greater health disparities between them.

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127. Thou Shall Not Work: Religious Accommodation and Labor Resistance in Colonial Sonora
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Alexander Wisnoski	History	Rene Horst	Arts and Sciences	History	May 01, 2008
Project Description: I have already written an essay entitled "Thou Shall Not Work: Religious Accommodation and Labor Resistance in Colonial Sonora" which I presented at the Southeastern Conference on Latin American Studies in Tampa, FL. In this paper I argue that what the Jesuits perceived as laziness on the part of the Indians was, in fact, a tactful resistance. However, the limited sources I had to work with leaves my argument open for criticism. Thus, I hope to analyze the numerous other Jesuit letters and journals housed in Mexico City's Archivo General de la Nacíon to strengthen the depth of my primary sources, which will hopefully contribute more evidence to my initial analysis.

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128. Chemical Monitoring of the Pigeon River Above and Below Paper Mill Effluent in Western North Carolina.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Stephanie Hughes	Chemistry	Carol Babyak	Arts and Sciences	Chemistry	May 01, 2008
Project Description: The many advances of industry and technology have revolutionized the way products are manufactured, drastically benefited communities economically and raised the standard of living. However, despite the advantage of the advances in industry and technology there has forever been a mindset of maximize production and minimize the cost. As economically beneficial as this ideal has been it has also led to the severe and in some cases irreversible damage and degradation of the environment. Opened in 1908, the Canton Paper Mill or Blue Ridge Paper Products (formally Champion Paper International) has been the source of much controversy in the town of Canton, North Carolina and surrounding areas of Haywood County as well as many towns in Tennessee located downstream of the Pigeon River.3 Since its opening the effluent from the paper mill has been discharged into the Pigeon River leading to its severely polluted condition. Historically, the Pigeon has been noted for its brown color and odor resembling rotten eggs, which is the result of toxic effluent continuously flowing through the river. Rafters along the Pigeon River report skin rashes and eye irritation after being exposed to the waters.2 Until a few weeks ago, there was a fishing ban on the Pigeon River a result of the high levels of toxins found in the fish that could potentially be harmful to humans.1 Various native species of animals are no longer present along the river because harmful chemicals that have been dumped into the river. Although Blue Ride Paper Products has reduced the contamination of its effluent concerns still exist regarding the contamination in the water and sediment along the river. The purpose of this research is to assess and monitor the chemical composition above and below the paper mill effluent in Canton, North Carolina. The parameters listed below will be monitored on a monthly basis using standard methods. 1.Parameters: pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), temperature. Method:Portable Field Meter. 2. Parameter:Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD). Method:5-day Incubation. Reference:Method 5210 Ba 3. Parameter: dissolved chlorine. Method:Iodometric titration. Reference:Method 4500-C1 Ba 4. Parameter:chloride. Method:Ion Chromatography. 5. Parameter: Heavy Metals. Method:ICP-OES (Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy).Reference:Method 6010 Cb. 6.Parameter: 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. Method: Solid phase extraction (SPE)GC/MS. Reference:Methods 2525 Ab and 8280 Bb. a. "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater" b. EPA publication SW-846, "Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods". It is likely that some of the parameters in Table 1 (heavy metals and dioxin) may be found in sediment samples. Therefore, sediment samples will also be collected from above and below the paper mill. Metals will be extracted using EPA Method 3050 (acid digestion) and chlorinated organics will be extracted using EPA Method 3545A (accelerated solvent extraction). Conclusions based upon this research can make a difference in the manner of operation of the paper mill. If further evidence of a significant problem regarding the Pigeon River is found, steps can be taken to prevent further contamination and degradation of the river. References: 1. http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200880301075;Citizen- Times.com, Morrison, Clarke, accessed March, 2008. 2. Hygon, Ryan, personal communication, February 2008. 3. http://www.charlotte.com/204/story/553320.html, Charlotte.com The Charlotte Observer, The Associated Press, accessed March, 2008.

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129. Closing the Carbon Loop: Sustainable Algaculture
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Crystal Simmons	Appropriate Technology	Jeremy Ferrell	Fine and Applied Arts	Technology	May 01, 2008
Project Description: I am working on this project with a grad student. The goal of the project is to research the feasibility of growing micro algae with high oil content for making biodiesel, a cleaner burning, renewable, and biodegradable vehicle fuel. The system design will have sustainable features to minimize fossil fuel use and net CO2 output to the atmosphere, something not done today as start-up companies continue to conduct algae research using coal flue gas to feed the algae CO2. This research for me is part of my semester project for my Biofuels class.

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130. A phylogeography of Sibbaldiopsis tridentata
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Gerald Bresowar	Biology	Gary Walker	Arts and Sciences	Biology	May 01, 2008
Project Description: This thesis will determine the levels of genetic variation within and among populations of the plant species Sibbaldiopsis tridentata (Rosaceae) found inhabiting the high-elevation grassy balds and rock outcrops of the Appalachian Mountains. Populations will be sampled from the grassy balds of North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, as well as from rock-outcrop populations ranging from Tennessee to Maine. Two genes will be sequenced and intra-populational variation will be assessed. These genetic data will be coupled with the geographic data in order to provide a model of historical movement of populations of this species. This thesis will determine whether populations of S. tridentata display patterns indicative of the post-glaciation range withdraw and subsequently, the population refugia hypothesis. Questions of inter-populational gene flow and recent colonization of habitats will be addressed. My hypotheses are: H0: All populations are genetically homogenous with no difference in variation between outcrop/bald habitat populations, or between regionally distinct populations. H1: There are differing levels of variation between populations from balds and from outcrops. H2: There are differing levels of variation throughout the range both within and among bald and outcrop populations. Determination of the varying levels of genetic depth among populations of this species will allow us to identify probable interglacial refugia. These populations represent the greatest regional gene pools. From the phylogeographic analysis of this species we can begin to propose how other rare and endemic northern species populations are patterned. A phylogeographic model for S. tridentata thus has implications for other plant species found in similar habitats, and subsequently implications for the management of the most genetically-diverse populations.

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131. Maternal Reports of Early Child Feeding Practices in Siblings
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Danae Olson	Family and Consumer Science	Lisa McAnulty	Fine and Applied Arts	Family and Consumer Science	May 01, 2008
Project Description: Abstract: The prevalence of obesity and disordered eating is increasing. Examining parental feeding practices of pressure and restriction may result in a better understanding of interventions for obesity and disordered eating. Breastfeeding may allow infants to regulate energy intake and limit parental control in feeding. The purpose of this study was to examine relationships among duration of breastfeeding, maternal perceptions of feeding on demand, and early child feeding practices. Specifically, sibling differences and similarities between these three variables were investigated. Participants included 77 families, and data were collected from mothers and two siblings between the ages of six and twelve years of age. Mothers completed questionnaires about early feeding with each sibling including: breastfeeding duration, introduction of solid foods, and whether the child or the mother determined feeding schedules with the child in the first year of life. Data analyses included the use of parametric statistics to analyze differences in both duration of breastfeeding and introduction of solid foods between older and younger siblings. Pearson Product correlations were used to determine the relationship between breastfeeding duration with feeding on demand. It was hypothesized that the duration in the number of months breastfed would be positively correlated with feeding the child on demand. Results indicate that younger siblings breastfed for a significantly longer number of months compared to the older siblings (t = -2.07, p < 0.04). No significant differences between siblings were observed with respect to introduction of solid foods. The duration of the number of months breastfed was not positively correlated with feeding the child on demand. The finding of sibling differences in the duration of breastfeeding demonstrates that children in the same family can have unique experiences with regard to early feeding. Future research is needed to understand whether theses differences are influential in the development of eating behavior.

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132. Effects of Resveratrol and Catechins with Exhaustive Exercise on Oxidative Stress and Inflammatory Markers
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Lindsey Schreiber	Exercise Science	Steven McAnulty	Arts and Sciences	Health, Leisure and Exercise Science	May 01, 2008
Project Description: The effects of the polyphenolic compounds resveratrol and catechins were examined on oxidative stress and inflammatory markers during strenuous exercise. Fourteen endurance athletes were randomly assigned into three treatment groups to receive either placebo, resveratrol, or catechin, supplements. Subjects were tested once each week in a double blind crossover design over three consecutive weeks. Testing included intense treadmill running for one hour.Blood samples were taken at baseline, pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and one hour - post exercise. Samples were analyzed for F2-isoprostanes, ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP), C-reactive protein (CRP), cytokine IL-8, protein carbonyls, HO-1, and total nitrite. Prelimionary data lends support that resveratrol may be a potentially effective counter measure to exercise induced oxidative stress and inflammation.

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133. Fighting Domestic Violence in Watauga County
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Alaina Borget	Sociology	Jammie Price	Arts and Sciences	Sociology and Social Work	Apr 01, 2008
Project Description: The purpose of this project is to create a link between the citizens of our community and local domestic violence services that are already established. We will be gathering information and statistics which will be formatted onto a flyer. Along with this information, the logos and contact information of several local organizations concerning domestic violence which appear. These flyers will be distributed in and around Watauga County's restaurants, bars, grocery stores, etc.

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134. The Transcription of Ethiopian Political Interviews for Research Purposes
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Patrick Lineberry	Political Science	E. Ike Udogu	Arts and Sciences	Political Science/Criminal Justice	Apr 01, 2008
Project Description: Recently I interviewed eighteen Ethiopians about various political issues and opinions. To complete my research project, "Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa: A case study of its role in the Somalia conflict," in a timely manner the transcription of these interviews is necessary. There is approximately fifteen hours of IRB-approved interview material that will be professionally transcribed for the purpose of adding needed weight and insight into such a complex topic as Ethiopian politics.

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135. Impact of sustainability reports on US and European Consumers.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
David Gora	Accounting	Joseph Cazier	Business	Computer Information Systems	Apr 01, 2008
Project Description: Our plan is to research the impact of sustainability reports on US and European consumers. A sustainability report is a report a company files, voluntarily, with their annual report that shows what a company is doing for environmental and social issues and is an accountants measure of a companies social responsibility. Included in the report would be a companies accounting of their impact on the environment, levels of pollution, donations to charitable causes, efforts for diversity, etc. These reports have been gaining in popularity in Europe and are now spreading to the US. We want to measure the impact that these types of reports have in terms of consumer response to these socially responsible statements in terms of its impact on consumers willingness to do business with companies and the prices they are willing to pay for products of these companies. In order to do this, we plan to collect data in both the US and Spain, a representative European country dealing with these issues as it integrates its economy into the modern world. We will first begin collecting data here, and plan to travel to Spain this summer to collect data. We plan to submit this research for publication in a peer reviewed journal.

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136. Cross-Cultural Preschool Feeding Practices: A Comparative Study Between the United Kingdom and the United States
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Lucinda Payne	Psychology	Amy Galloway	Arts and Sciences	Psychology	Apr 01, 2008
Project Description: As rates of childhood obesity continue to rise worldwide, it is necessary to understand why children in some societies are more overweight than children in other societies. This study aims to better understand why children in the United States have higher rates of childhood obesity (25%) than children in the United Kingdom (18%, Janssen et al., 2005). Mothers are important to the study of child feeding because mothers make most of the feeding choices for their children (Birch, 1998). Recent research indicates that mothers may be unable or unwilling to classify their children as overweight (Keller et al., 2006). Increased maternal concern for child weight has been correlated with child total fat mass (Spruijt-Metz et al., 2002) and decreased maternal perception of girls? intellectual and physical aptitudes (Davison & Birch, 2001). This research suggests a bidirectional relationship between mothers and children regarding concern for child weight, perception of child weight, and actual body weight of both mothers and children (Birch & Fisher, 2000; Faith et al., 2004). The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between maternal concern for and perception of child weight and maternal and child weight status in the United States in order to replicate earlier work conducted by Lucinda Payne in the United Kingdom during the Fall 2007. To date, there has been no cross-cultural research examining this concern or perception in mothers of preschoolers. Our subjects will be preschool children living in the United States between the ages of 4 and 6 years old and their mothers. All children in the desired age range are invited to participate regardless of gender, ethnicity, or religion and will be selected based on their enrolment in the target preschool programs. Mothers will be asked to complete a questionnaire designed to assess their feeding beliefs, practices, and concern for and perception of child weight. The questionnaire was developed using components from several published and validated surveys (Child Feeding Questionnaire, Birch et al., 2001; the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire, Musher-Eizenman & Holub, 2007; the Eating Disorders Inventory, Garner, Olmstead, & Polivy, 1983; the Musher-Eizenman Figure Rating Scale for Children and Adults, Musher-Eizenman et al., 2003; and the US Household Food Security Survey, USDA, 2002). Child height and weight will be collected following the protocol developed by the World Health Organization (2007) using the portable stadiometer purchased with this grant. Because fewer children in the UK are overweight, we expect that British mothers will provide more accurate reports of child weight when compared to American mothers. This research is likely to have applied benefits in that we expect this cross-cultural comparison will help to elucidate some of the important differences between these two countries, suggesting new ways to help US families reduce their rates of childhood obesity.

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137. Chicken Litter-Induced Endocrine Disruption and Trace Metal Toxicity in Wilkes County, North Carolina Headwater Streams
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Jessica Pack	Biology	Shea Tuberty	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Apr 01, 2008
Project Description: Confined animal feeding operations (CAFO?s) are potentially having a huge impact on our local community as well as a growing number of communities nation wide due to the growth in chicken demands. Wilkes County (the study site) is in the top 20th in the country for chicken production. Over 91.7 million broiler chickens were produced in 2006, with an estimated 350,000 tons of chicken litter produced annually. Chicken litter is spread onto fields as a source of cheap fertilizer. The problem with spreading the litter is that metals and estrogens are introduced into the environment. Metals are fed to the chickens as an anti-coccidial treatment and growth supplement. Estrogens are released naturally from female chickens. Although significant nutrient effluence from chicken litter has been shown in past research, the biological impacts of metals and natural estrogens present in chicken litter have not been extensively researched in surface waters. Recent research has found that Poultry Litter-Associated Contaminants (PLACs) include not only nutrients but also metal feed additives such as copper, zinc, and arsenic (1) and natural hormones (e.g. 17?-estradiol) that are present at levels toxic to aquatic organisms (2). My proposed research involves collecting timely baseline biological measurements from streams sites that do not have a long history of chicken litter amendment and comparing them with similar stream sites within the heart of the nearby agricultural region. I hope to evaluate the long-term impacts of current poultry waste disposal management on local surface water quality using assessment of biomarkers of metal and estrogen exposure in local fish populations. I hypothesize that chicken manure estrogens will feminize male fish populations (induction of vitellogenesis = major yolk proteins) in streams receiving effluents from chicken litter amended fields and that trace metals from chicken manure bioaccumulate in fish populations in streams receiving effluents from chicken litter amended fields. Also, I hypothesize that fish exposed to high levels of metals will exhibit biomarkers of exposure (metallothionein) and oxidative stress (S-transferase and superoxide dismutase). I will be working directly with the Wilkes County Soil and Water Conservation District. I will collect soil from riparian areas near pastures receiving litter amendments, stream sediment, and stream water samples (during low flow and following rainfall events) from ten sites in the Bugaboo Creek watershed in central Wilkes County. Metals will be determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), following microwave assisted digestion using EPA standard protocol 3051. Water sampling for estrogens will be conducted using passive collection devices (Polar Organic Chemical Integrative Sampler) (POCIS). From this, a time weighted average of estrogen concentrations may be determined for a stram. Fish samples (northern hogsuckers and smallmouth bass) will be collected by backpack electroshockers and samples of gill, liver, kidney, and muscle will be prepared for ICP-OES analysis by acid digestion. Body burdens of metals known to exist in chicken litter will be quantified (e.g. zinc, arsenic, copper, manganese, iron) and compared to results of biomarker induction. To determine the physiological effects of metals and estrogen levels on the fish, I will collect serum samples from each of the fish by cardiac puncture followed by centrifugation. The serum will be used to determine the presence of vitellogenin, the yolk protein precursor, in males and metallothionein in both sexes by protein separation by electrophoresis followed by Western blot (3). Vitellogenin will be quantified by enzyme immunoassay following the protocol of Specker and Anderson (1994) using a universal monoclonal antibody for this protein (Kyle Selcer, Duquesne Univ.). I will also remove gonads, section them and observe them for presence of intersex, stage of testis maturity, gonad development and sexual differentiation. Determinations of the adverse impacts of litter effluents on fish will serve as a proxy for aquatic ecosystem health and demonstrate the environmental impact of current litter management strategies. In addition, data from my study would be important in the future development and/or management plans for chicken litter application in our area and other southeastern areas. Works Cited (1) Jackson, B.P., Bertsch, P.M., Cabrera, M. L., Camberato, J. J., Seaman, J. C. and Wood, C. W. (2003) Trace element speciation in poultry litter. Journal of Environmental Quality 32:535-540. (2) Yonkos, L., Fisher, D. and Van Veld, P. (2006) Endocrine disruption in fish and frogs field collected from poultry litter-influenced watersheds. Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Montreal, Canada, SETAC North America 27th Annual Meeting Abstract Book, SETAC Press, Pensacola, pp. 196-197. (3) Towbin, H., T. Staehelin, and J. Gordon. (1979) Electrophoretic transfer of proteins from polyacrylamide gels to nitrocellulose sheets: Procedure and some applications. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 76:4350-4354.

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138. A comparison of anemometers and techniques for measuring atmosphere stability in the assessment of a site for wind power.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
William Beuttell	Physics	Ryan Emanuel	Arts and Sciences	Geology	Apr 01, 2008
Project Description: The atmospheric boundary layer is heterogeneous with respect to temporal and spatial variables, including pressure, temperature, and turbulence. The importance of this heterogeneity maybe second only to topography when locating sites for potential wind power generation particularly in mountainous terrain. Research grade instruments are capable of collecting these measurements. However, the use of these instruments is hindered by the financial cost and the difficulty of transportation between sites. Our goal is to develop a portable, low-cost system capable of characterizing the heterogeneity of the atmospheric boundary layer, particularly as it pertains to assessing sites for producing wind power. The apparatus will accomplish this goal by measuring wind speed, direction, and temperature at multiple heights. Traditional (cup and propeller) measurements at a single height do not allow characterization of atmospheric stability, which is necessary for understanding the variability of wind speed with height. Measurements at multiple heights allow calculations of stability and vertical wind speed gradients. These quantities are important for determining the optimal height as well as the best location for installing wind turbines. The apparatus will consist of two cup anemometers with wind vanes and temperature sensors (Ultimeter 100, Peet Bros. Company Inc., St. Cloud, FL) installed at two heights (5m and 10m) on a guyed, metal pole that can be disassembled. Data from the apparatus will be logged using an existing data logger. We will compare measurements from our apparatus to measurements from a research grade triaxial sonic anemometer installed over near-mature Fraser fir trees on a farm in Mitchell County, NC. Specifically, atmospheric stability and vertical wind speed gradients will be calculated using measurements from the low-cost apparatus and from the research grade sonic anemometer. Results from our experiment during the spring of 2008 will be compared using statistical tests to determine the relative accuracy of the low-cost system. We expect the low-cost system to provide a reasonable alternative for quantifying atmospheric stability and vertical wind gradients. This stands to be an improvement over other techniques that rely on a single anemometer to assess sites for wind power generation, but without the expense of research grade instruments.

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139. Small Scale Recirculation Aquaculture Systems for Southern Appalachia
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
John Rinehart	Appropriate Technology	John Martin	Fine and Applied Arts	Technology	Apr 01, 2008
Project Description: Introduction Aquaculture, the growing of fish, is an important part of sustainable agriculture. Fish can provide an important, low cost, low input source of protein, fertilizer and a significant source of income to farmers. Fish can either be grown in ponds in the open, or in closed systems called Recirculation Aquaculture Systems (RAS). Ponds are traditionally lower in cost to set up but have the drawbacks of limited choice in species that can be produced (Tilapia, one of the most common species in aquaculture require a year round 60 degree water temperature) and an extremely high demand for water (as much as 100 gallons per pound of fish). RAS systems are often higher in cost but use less water and are capable of producing year round in a green house setting. Statement of Problem Traditionally in Southern Appalachia aquaculture?s application has been limited due to several factors including lack of market, global competition, high start up costs and, increasingly, high water demand. With the growth of local farmers markets and an increased awareness of ?food miles? the first two of these barriers are increasingly being lowered. Research Objectives My research project aims to help in the lowering of the third and fourth of these barriers. This projects hopes to develop out of locally available materials a low cost alternative to ?mini-fish farms? that costs less than 50% of the lowest cost model currently available ($1,700) without requiring excessive labor and to test its effectiveness by raising several species in it. After completing this system (mid-April) I will test the growth rates of various fish species (Tilapia, Carp, Catfish) in the designed system over the summer and compare to published growth rates of commercially available systems. Using this data along with data on the amount of labor put into the system I will then be able to compare the cost effectiveness of a self-manufactured system to the commercially available one. Additionally I will keep track of the amount of waste created by the system and determine its value as a fertilizer by analyzing its nitrogen content. Long Term Research Benefits In the long term this system will be used by the Sustainable Water and Wastewater Technology course (TEC-5606) as well as being used by the ASU Biodiesel project for algae growth. ? Resource List o This project will be conducted in conjunction with Brian Witmer, a graduate student in the Technology Department as well as an undergraduate student. o This project is part of the Sustainable Water and Wastewater Technology course (TEC-5606) o Southern Regional Aquaculture Center o Dr. Jack Martin, Technology Dept. o North Carolina State University Aquaculture Extension o The Energy Xchange Aquaponics Project o Small Scale Aquaculture (Paperback)by Steven D. Van Gorder o Aquatic Eco Systems Supply www.aquaticeco.com o Aquacave Supply www.aquacave.com ? Funding Sources o Office Of Student Research o Student Funds o Donations

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140. Perceived definition of Breakfast by college students and the relationship of their breakfast habits with BMI.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Kati Morrison	Family and Consumer Science	Mary Dean Coleman-Kelly	Arts and Sciences	Family and Consumer Science	Apr 01, 2008
Project Description: We will recruit students from four sections of the foods and nutrition introductory course, one section of the psychology introductory course, one section of the community nutrition course, and one section of the introductory course in family and child development. Students will be asked to record their food intake for 3-days and fill out a brief questionnaire that targets their demographic information, breakfast habits, and sleep habits. Students participating in the foods and nutrition course and community nutrition course currently have an in-class assignment that requires they fill out their intake for 3-days. Students in these classes will be asked for permission (via the informed consent form) to use their recorded food intake for this project. If they agree to let us use their information, they will be asked to fill out the breakfast questionnaire. Because they have already completed a major part of this research project, they will not be compensated for their time. Students participating in the psychology and family and child development course will be given instructions for filling out a 3-day food record, give a copy of the template, and asked to fill it out and return it to their class by a given date. When the researchers pick up the 3-day food records, they will briefly review their records to clarify any missed information and provide the students with the breakfast questionnaire. Students in these classes will be given extra credit and their names will be put in a drawing to win $50. Ten students will be eligible to win $50 if they complete all parts of the study. Students in these classes will be given the option to have their dietary analysis with general recommendations sent to them. Kati Morrison, a graduate student in Foods and Nutrition will do the analysis and send the information to those students who wish to receive it.

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141. Bacterial community structure analysis through FISH in a high altitude wetland in response to increased Fe and Mn
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Kristin Walls	Biology	Ece Karatan	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Apr 01, 2008
Project Description: Wetlands play a vital role in the ecosystems of the western Appalachian Mountains. In addition to providing a habitat for flora, fauna, and microorganisms, they act as buffer zones between urbanized areas and natural settings, often filtering out harmful pollutants, controlling surface runoff allowing for penetration of water into soil, and keeping groundwater aquifers supplied with a steady flow of water. Increased anthropogenic activity in the form of road building, coal mining, and urban development has placed stress on these wetland ecosystems, threatening their health. My study focuses on one such high altitude wetland, shown previously to be disturbed due to iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) seeps located upstream. These seeps are the result of development in the local area several years prior. A previous study has shown that these seeps raise the metal concentration of the water several fold and are linked to a decrease in the diversity of macroinvertebrates. Our preliminary studies have identified masses of thick orange biofilm on the submerged rocks, thin oily sheens on the surface of water and sediment that fragment upon touch, and thick wooly flocs of brownish orange growth, all indicative of Leptothrix bacteria growth. Leptothrix is a gram negative rod bacterium, capable of oxidizing Fe and Mn and is often found at the soil-water interface in wetlands. None of these characteristics are present at reference sites upstream of the Fe and Mn seeps. Our hypothesis is that the increased levels of Fe and Mn are causing a shift in the dominant microorganisms within the community, leading to an influx of Leptothrix bacteria growth. I plan on using a combination of cultivation and molecular protocols established in our lab to ask if the increase in Fe and Mn levels is causing shift in the dominant bacteria to Leptothrix. This work will be part of a larger study looking at the overall microbial diversity of the wetland. I will sample a broad range of rocks submerged in the stream, as well as sediment and any floc growth both at the site of the seeps and at upstream reference sites and attempt to cultivate any microorganisms present. I will use Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization (FISH) to determine if Leptothrix bacteria is present. These results will assist in providing baseline data describing seasonal and spatial fluctuations in wetland microbial diversity that could then be used to develop a microbial bioindicator of wetland health.

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142. Extraction and Analysis of Apistan in Honey using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Zachary Horton	Chemistry	Carol Babyak	Arts and Sciences	Chemistry	Apr 01, 2008
Project Description: The research that I am proposing to do is very important to the apiculture industry, especially with the use of pesticides. In apiculture the varrora mite is a pest that lives on honey bees and is spread from one to the other. The varrora mite devastates bee populations that don?t have a pesticide called apistan. Apistan is a pesticide designed to kill the varrora mite and help control this pest. It is applied to a cardboard strip and placed inside the middle comb in each of the beehives. As the bees rub against the strip the apistan it coats the bee and as that bee goes around the population of other bees and rubs against the other one the apistan is transferred to the other bees thus helping them ward off varrora mites. This pesticide may or may not be found in the honey or the bees wax. We need to see if apistan gets into the bee?s honey and bees wax and in what concentrations this pesticide is found in the honey and bees wax. I am going to develop a method to attempt to extract apistan from the honey and bees wax. I am going to try to extract apistan using methylene chloride and acetonitrile and by the process of gas chromatography and mass spectromety. Initially I will optimize on the GC-MS method insuring no money is wasted on chemicals that are used in a less correct way to give me the best possible extractions.

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143. Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Affect in Anxiety Sensitive Individuals
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Anna Price	Exercise Science	Josh Broman-Fulks	Arts and Sciences	Psychology	Feb 26, 2008
Project Description: Anxiety sensitivity, or the fear of anxiety-related sensations, has been shown to play a role in the development and maintenance of panic disorder and other anxiety disorders. Recent research has suggested that repeatedly exposing anxiety sensitivity associated with physical exercise are accompanied by concomitant changes in mood and affect. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of repeated exposure to exercise-induced feared sensations among anxiety sensitive individuals on positive and negative affect. The results suggest the repeated exposure to feared psychological sensations, in the context of aerobic exercise, can not only reduce anxiety sensitivity among individuals with high anxiety sensitivity, but can also increase their desire to engage in arousal-inducing activites. Additional research will be required to determine whether longer participation in an aerobic exercise program (i.e., more than 2 weeks) will confer additional benefits, and to what degree these effects endure.

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144. Nutritional comparison of locally grown versus commercially shipped tomatoes
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Kasmira Adkins	Biology	Nicole Bennett	Arts and Sciences	Chemistry	Feb 26, 2008
Project Description: In collaboration with Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture, a support organization for farmers in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, a nutritional analysis comparing several species of locally grown tomatoes from farms in or near Boone, North Carolina with produce purchased from local grocery stores will be performed. Assays of commercial and local produce were extracted and analyzed using gas chromatography, focusing on flavonoids, carotenoids, and Vitamin C. All of which, naturally occur in tomatoes and are important in nutrition. Growing methods, post-harvest handling, and dates of harvest will be gathered and compared to address other possible sources of variability. Five species of tomatoes will be analyzed including tomatoes grown organically and conventionally. Results of this data will provide local farmers with a basis for comparison with distant commercial growers. This data may be used by BRWA to gain more support for local farmers in local restaurants and the university food services if nutritional values are equal or better than those shipped. Having equal nutritional values places local produce in a higher position of preference because expenses from shipping long distances will not have to be considered. If data shows that nutritional values of local farm produce are less than commercial produce, recommendations will be made on how to increase those values. Few nutritional comparisons of local versus shipped tomatoes has been performed using gas chromatography, therefore, this research may be beneficial in modifying the past methods of extraction and analysis.

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145. Snow-related Flood Hydroclimatology of the Southern Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Justin Arnold	Biology	L. Baker Perry	Arts and Sciences	Geography and Planning	Feb 26, 2008
Project Description: During the winter season snowfall may persist on the ground forming a snowpack that stores water within a watershed. New snowfall may continually contribute to the depth and water content of the snowpack. Physical processes, such as diurnal melt-freeze cycles, causing snowpack metamorphosis, continually modify snowpack evolution. Significant snow water equivalents (SWE) may accrue within a snowpack and may be released gradually by slow melting process or very rapidly in the presence of warm temperatures and/or liquid precipitation. In the Southern Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee rain events occurring in areas with significant snowpacks presents an enhanced risk of flooding due to the rapid release of stored snowpack water in addition to immediate rainfall. A January 8, 1998 rainfall caused the rapid melting of an extremely deep snowpack that was only persistent at high elevations on Roan Mountain. The input of snow melt-water in addition to rainfall caused enhanced streamflow and flooding, resulting in 7 deaths in Carter County, TN. The lack of published material regarding the topic of snow-related flooding in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of NC and TN poses a question of its significance within the region. This study serves to provide analysis of historical hydrological and meteorological data to assess the potential role of snow in past flooding events and establish the context of snow-related flooding with the hydrologic regimes of select Southern Appalachian watersheds. The spatial extent of meteorological data is sparse within this region, with a great under-representation of the highest elevations where the deepest snowpacks are likely to form and persist to enhance streamflow and flooding during rain events. Thus, there is a need to spatially distribute data to areas where no historical data is available. This necessitates the observation of current snowpacks to aid in the formation of models to spatially interpolate meteorological data within GIS environments. As development rapidly increases social and economic investment within this region, snow hydroclimatology becomes a topic very important to planning and forecasting for the serious natural hazard of snow-related flooding.

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146. Predictors of Implicit Associations
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Caroline Oxford	Psychology	Courtney Rocheleau	Arts and Sciences	Psychology	Feb 26, 2008
Project Description: This study will examine religious orientation and personal need for structure as possible predictors of implicit attitudes toward heterosexual versus homosexual individuals. Religious orientation and personal need for structure will be assessed using self-report questionnaires, and implicit associations will be measured using the Implicit Association Test (IAT). The IAT is an online program that measures, in this case, participants' reaction times when categorizing words and images associated with gay or straight and words that have a positive or negative valence. (For example, if a participant more quickly associates ?gay? with ?bad? and ?straight? with ?good,? they are said to have an implicit preference for heterosexuals.)

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147. "Scholars, Skeptics and Saints: The Evolution of Mormon History, 1945-2000." Master's Thesis in History.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Peter Kalajian	History	James Goff	Arts and Sciences	History	Feb 26, 2008
Project Description: My research, as it is fairly specific and requires in-depth examination of primary sources, must be conducted where those sources are available to scholars, namely western states like Utah, Idaho and Missouri. This particular trip will focus on the LDS and BYU archives housed in Salt Lake City and Provo, Utah, respectively. My thesis will document twentieth century (primary focus)developments in Mormon historiography, as well as the conflicts and disagreements among Mormon and non-Mormon historical writers and the LDS General Authorities. The overarching purpose of this research stems from my personal fascination with the topic, but also will illuminate an often invoked but rarely examined aspect of the LDS historical canon.I will include in my study interview with current and former employees of Brigham Young University, Church leaders, and students of Mormon history. To my knowledge, no comprehensive studies of this particular subject matter have yet been undertaken, and and this lack of professional investigation stands as a considerable hole in the existing scholarship. In terms of relevance, the subject holds a great deal of interest, for historians and non-historians alike, especially considering the presidential candidacy of Mitt Romney and the ongoing national debate about the role of religion in government. The LDS Church's resistance to scholarly history, written from more than one religious perspective, has always been a sensitive subject in Church and historical circles, and as a result is of significant current interest.

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148. Substituted Hexaphenylbenzenes via a Diels-Alder Route
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Kristyn Jackson	Chemistry	Michael Ramey	Arts and Sciences	Chemistry	Feb 26, 2008
Project Description: The purpose of the research will be to synthesize substituted hexaphenylbenzenes via a Diels Alder cycloaddition reaction between different tolane and tetraphenylcyclopentadienone molecules. The substituted hexaphenylbenzenes are multifunctional compounds with many possible applications. One such application is the use of substituted hexaphenylbenzenes as proton exchange membranes (PEMs) in fuels cells. Current PEMs have operating temperature limitations. Fuel cell technology investigations are presently pursuing the synthesis of materials that avoid the limitations of the current membranes. Substituted hexphenylbenzenes are potential candidates for such a PEM material. Many aspects of the Diels Alder synthesis of substituted hexaphenylbenzenes will be examined in research. The product?s properties associated with the respective substituent will be examined and characterized to determine the functionality of the product. The optimum reaction conditions will also be determined to yield the most efficient and cost effective synthesis. This work will complement existing research at ASU that is approaching the synthesis of these materials via a different route. Funding awarded will be devoted to purchasing the chemicals and materials needed to successfully endeavor this project.

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149. Group Music Therapy to Increase Social and Coping Skills in Elementary Students with Behavior and Emotional Disorders.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Marie-Louise Gainsford	Music Therapy	Cathy McKinney	School of Music	Music	Feb 26, 2008
Project Description: The project is to research the effects on social and coping skills in elementary students with behavior and emotional disorders. The group meets for thirty minutes twice a week. Interventions will include active music making, song discussion, and song writing.

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150. Anaerobic Digestion of Biodiesel Waste Products
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Matthew Fedorko	Appropriate Technology	Jeff Ramsdell	Arts and Sciences	Technology	Feb 26, 2008
Project Description: This project will attempt to examine whether biodiesel waste products -- glycerine and waste wash water, in this case -- are suitable candidates for input into anaerobic digesters. The funds provided by this grant will be used to build three small anaerobic digesters and gas storage units. Tests will be carried out to qualify the composition of all influents, effluents, and gas production to determine the value of all three for other uses, including fertilizers and process energy. This research is being conducted in partnership with an undergraduate as part of his class project.

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151. Fuel Efficiency and Emissions of Gasoline vs. Ethanol in Two Stroke Moped Engines for Urban Transportation
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Patrick Heavner	Community and Regional Planning	John Martin	Fine and Applied Arts	Technology	Feb 26, 2008
Project Description: The purpose of this project is to test the feasibility of ethanol in two stroke moped engines used for urban transportation. Because of an increase in traffic congestion, carbon emissions, and rising fuel cost, the research gained from this project is ideal for urban communities who are looking for ideas and solutions in sustainable urban transportation. Mopeds can be one solution to these problems in urban transportation. Because of their compact size, they will help reduce traffic congestion in urban areas. They can also alleviate parking problems because of their ability to be stored in bike racks, which are far less expensive than parking spaces. As a result of mopeds being able to keep up with the flow of traffic in town, they are safer than bicycles which are often passed by drivers without any regard for safety. Mopeds are also useful to those who are not physically able to ride bicycles. Emissions from mopeds are minimal and their fuel economy is excellent. Two stroke engines, which are commonly used on chain saws and mopeds, have a tendency to emit more pollutants compared to other gas powered engines. The advantage of using a two stroke engine compared to a four stroke engine or other gas powered motors is its simple design, cheapness, and ability to be easily repaired. Using a mixture of ethanol and biodiesel has been proven to work in two stroke engines. I plan to compare gasoline to ethanol in this moped kit to see which one performs better in fuel economy, power, and emissions. I have several resources in the Appropriate Technology lab to help me with the testing. To test fuel economy, I will map out a route of several miles to see which fuel gets me the furthest on the least amount. I can then compare the price of the two fuels and factor that into the mileage. I will need to buy a bicycle odometer/speedometer in order to set my rout and test the mileage. To test the power of the engine I will set a route on a steep incline and compare my speed at given points along the hill. In order to test my emissions, I will us a carbon monoxide meter which will be hooked to the exhaust system and tested at idol for a given amount of time. It is highly recommended that these kits be attached on beach cruiser bikes because of their solid frame build and single speed peddle break system. I plan to buy one with an aluminum frame, which will give me the best results in fuel economy because of its light weight. I have experience with these moped kits, having put one together before. I plan to start this project as soon as I get funding and have the testing complete by the end of this semester. It will take me two weeks to get the parts, one day to build the moped, one week to break in the engine, and another two to three weeks for testing. I will also allow for another week or so for reflection, write up and preparation for presenting at research day. I can easily complete the project in less then two months My goal for this project is to further my knowledge on alternative transportation and hopefully share my experience with others who are trying to use their personal vehicles less. In my opinion, this moped kit is the perfect solution for people who are looking for a cheap, quick, and easy way to get around town without a car and without having to rely on pubic transportation. I will be buying a 50cc two stroke moped engine kit which is legal to drive in NC without insurance or a license. Also, the legal speed of the moped cannot exceed 25mph on state maintained roads. I hope to share my experience with the Boone Bicycle Initiative and possibly get them started in an ethanol powered feet of mopeds. As gasoline becomes more expensive day by day, I predict bicycles and mopeds to be used more in urban settings. With this project I am preparing for the future when cars go out of style in urban transportation. I feel something has to be done sooner then later to avoid an almost inevitable energy crisis. Ethanol powered mopeds, with your help, can assist in avoiding this crises and make the transportation of Boone, and other urban areas a sustainable reality.

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152. Group Music Therapy with Preschool Students
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Kathryn Yeager	Music Therapy	Cathy McKinney	School of Music	Music	Feb 26, 2008
Project Description: This presentation will describe group music therapy to address pre-academic and social goals with preschool children at risk for school failure. The group met twice a week and was comprised of six 4-year olds identified by their teacher as at risk and one client who has cerebral palsy. Interventions with this group included active music making, movement to music, and group singing. The poster will also discuss strategies for including a child with cerebral palsy into a group of with children with typical motor skills.

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153. Bottle Sampling for Shrews and Other Small Mammals Focusing on Morphological Characteristics Useful in Identification
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Drew Scott	Biology	Wayne Van Devender	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Feb 26, 2008
Project Description: Shrews (Order Soricomorpha) and other small mammals such as Rodents often become trapped inside glass bottles that have been discarded along roadsides and in other woodland areas. They go into the bottles seeking water (from collected rain) or food (from already trapped organisms) and often can not get back out. They then drown or die from starvation and lack of water, and their bodies decompose leaving only their skeletons. By surveying these discarded bottles, the skeletons of these unfortunate animals can be recovered. In this way, bottle sampling can provide lots of valuable data on the distributions and habitats of these organisms, as well as morphological data. My project will consist of surveying discarded bottles for mammal remains in a transect from the Boone area eastward to Stokes County, North Carolina. This transect lies within the range of seven different species of shrew and six species of rodents. From the remains I collect I will be able to determine where a particular species is most common in this area. I will also be able to formulate concrete identification data from the skeletons in order to create a detailed identification key to shrews of the southeastern US. This key will include information on the lower jaws of shrews which seems to be lacking in the popular literature. The data I collect will be used along with data from the ASU mammal collection to formulate my results. The results of this project will be compared with that from a similar project ranging from the Boone area towards Charlotte, North Carolina. This project will also be in collaboration with the Highlands Biological Station in Highlands, North Carolina. I also plan to present my project at the Student Research Day Celebration.

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154. The Fates in Figurative Sculpture A senior BFA Exhibition installation incorporating concepts of mythology and philosophy into figurative sculptures
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Erin Souther	Art	Lynn Duryea	Fine and Applied Arts	Art	Jan 22, 2008
Project Description: CONCEPT My interest in the role of fate in our lives began in the emotional aftermath of the Virginia Tech tragedy. I started to question my beliefs of human fate; those questions led to the discovery of different beliefs regarding fate in religious myth and philosophy. The idea of fate is common knowledge. Such plaintive questions as ?Why me,? ?Why of all people,? ?Why now,? can be addressed by fate and fatalism. Fatalism, simply put, is the idea that what will happen, or has happened, in some sense had to happen. I find that it is human nature to personify what we don?t understand. Greek mythology personifies the concepts of war, love and fate in representational images of man. In Greek mythology, the Fates symbolize the idea of spinning, measuring, and cutting a thread whose length corresponds to a mortal?s lifespan. Thus they embody the idea of the ?other hands? that decide human fate. Making a series of sculptures will allow me to continue investigating my own beliefs. Through my research, I will introduce the concepts of ?other hands? and fate into my figurative sculpture. My goal is to contrast the realm of the world we believe we control to a world that unknown to us, where ?hands? seem to reach out and make our daily choices for us. I want to provide viewers with narratives that lead them to questioning their own beliefs. EXHIBITION INSTALLATION The body of work will consist of four narrative figurative sculptures, coil constructed from a low fire, white earthenware sculpture clay body. Steel will be used as armatures for the figures, which will range from one to two feet in height. Mixed media will be included in selected figures such as thread and scissors to represent the ideas of a ?thread of life.? The thread will be clear as a metaphor for fate. · The first figure will be a women sitting and suggesting the motion of spinning her thread of life. · The second sculpture will represent Virginia Tech by having thirty-two small-scaled chairs sitting empty, while a chair off to the side will have a figure representing the shooter. He will signify the battle between what we choose for ourselves and what fated for us. · The idea of a couple fated to meet is shown by sculpting a small crowd of approximately seven people including the couple, to signify that fated couples are led to each one another through others such as friends, family etc. Therefore the couple will not be standing together, but apart and their thread will not connect directly, but weaves from each person in the crowd ending with one end of the thread at the male and female. · The final sculpture will be a wall piece of three pairs of hands. This wall piece shows fate literally as an idea of ?other hands? and more importantly the three fates showing the idea of spinning, measuring or cutting. The sculptures will be installed in the Catherine Smith Gallery in April 2008 as my BFA Senior Exhibition required for graduation. They will be displayed on large pedestals within the gallery except for the hands that will be installed on the wall. Since there are four pieces they will be installed as a square or crossroad. The hands will be set across the figure spinning her thread, while the other sculptures will make up the other sides of the square which suggest being between hands of fate and their own.

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155. BFA Exhibition in the Preservation of Memories
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Pamela Raimo	Art	Lynn Duryea	Fine and Applied Arts	Art	Jan 22, 2008
Project Description: The basis of my BFA Exhibition stems from the lose of my grandfather, with whom I was very close and who had been the one to initially encouraged me to pursue a career in art. I?m a very family oriented person and keeping the moments I share with the people I love with me is important to me. Since I?m a visually adept person, I tend to collect objects that for me have come to represent important people and events that have happened within my life such as a petrified clam shell I found on my last summer vacation with my grandfather before he passed away in 2005. Therefore my BFA Exhibition will concentrate on the preservation of memories through various objects that I have collected at important times in my life along with the more traditional photographs and words associated with specific memories for me. These objects, totaling in 22 which will represent the age at which I will graduate, will be placed within boxes complete with lids set within ceramic faces. The 22 faces, which will be a copy of my own, will represent different members of my family while the boxes will symbolize the treasure chest I use to keep my objects safe. The ceramic faces will be individually set within a wooden frame with plaster and mounted on the wall like a family portrait. Each face will also have photographic decals applied to their surfaces while words will be inscribed along the frame. I plan to arrange each face according to specific relationships between different members of my family the faces will represent. The installation will start with my grandparents and their relationship to each other mounted on the wall, followed by my parents and their relationship to one another. The next faces will be those of my parents, sister and me with our relationship as a family. Following will be my parents with their relationships with their siblings along with me and my sister and our relationship as siblings. My grandfather and I will follow with our relationship to each other while a single face that will represent myself and the person my family with the memories I have of them has helped to become will be placed last in the composition.

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156. A Phylogeography of Sibbaldiopsis tridentata
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Gerald Bresowar	Biology	Gary Walker	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Jan 22, 2008
Project Description: This thesis will determine the levels of genetic variation within and among populations of the plant species Sibbaldiopsis tridentata (Rosaceae) found inhabiting the high-elevation grassy balds and rock outcrops of the Appalachian Mountains. Populations will be sampled from the grassy balds of North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, as well as from rock-outcrop populations ranging from Tennessee to New Hampshire. The chloroplast intergenic spacer region rpl-trnL32F will be sequenced and intra-populational variation will be assessed. This genetic data will be coupled with the geographic data in order to provide a model of historical movement of populations of this species. I expect to determine whether populations of S. tridentata display patterns indicative of the post-glaciation range withdraw and subsequently, the population refugia hypothesis. Questions of inter-populational gene flow and recent colonization of habitats will be addressed. My hypotheses are: H0: All populations are genetically homogenous with no difference in variation between outcrop/bald habitat populations, or between regionally distinct populations. H1: There are differing levels of variation between populations from balds and from outcrops. H2: There are differing levels of variation throughout the range both within and among bald and outcrop populations. Determination of the varying levels of genetic depth among populations of this species will allow us to identify probable interglacial refugia. These populations represent the greatest regional gene pools. From the phylogeographic analysis of this species we can begin to propose how other rare and endemic northern species populations are patterned. A phylogeographic model for S. tridentata thus has implications for other plant species found in similar habitats, and subsequently implications for the management of the most genetically-diverse populations.

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157. The Omni-Toum
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Henry Finch	English	Lynn Doyle	Arts and Sciences	English	Jan 08, 2008
Project Description: FACULTY SUPPORT LETTER FROM: Lynn Doyle, Department of English (Arts and Sciences) I am writing in support of funding Henry Finch?s research project. He began it as an offshoot of one of the assignments in last fall?s advanced poetry class. As a poet, I am interested in his project because it explores and perhaps exhausts the possibilities of the pantoum form and because he is producing a poem that is visual, not readable, a poem that loses language. The visual aspect of the poem harkens back to Dada and the Futurists. But I also see it as begin in sync with ?new media? poetry, digital poetry that is highly experimental?something algorithmic, sometimes multimedia and often visual. But computer poetry is about the only medium Henry hasn?t tried to examine with his ?omni-toum? form. Last May Henry realized that his omni-toum might be able to be understood mathematically, and he met with a graduating math major who encouraged him. Since then he has recruited a faculty advisor in the Math Department. He has also recruited faculty advisors in Art and Music (Even though he?s a professional pianist and composer, he still felt he needed the guidance of a music professor). All of these professors are encouraged and delighted and willing to help him translate his poem into paintings, mathematical structures, and musical score. Gary Nemcosky, from the Art Department, wrote me a letter praising the project and said he would like to see Henry present his project to the upper level painters at some point. He even has a professor of Creative Writing at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design who is not only wanting to help him with the project, but also wanting him to attend graduate school there as a result of the project. Henry is one the most gifted, talented, and intellectually curious students I have ever met. He?s truly finding the universe in the university. He?s great at making connections not just with people, but also between disciplines and within disciplines.

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158. Hospital Security
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Daniel Foulk	Computer Information Systems	Dawn Medlin	Business	Computer Information Systems	Dec 19, 2007
Project Description: Testing the Network Security of hospitals by taking surveys

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159. Nutrient Intakes of Prepared Meals from Food Assistance Programs in Watauga and Wilkes COunty
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Kayce Boggs	Family and Consumer Science	Sarah Jordan	Fine and Applied Arts	Family and Consumer Science	Dec 19, 2007
Project Description: Graduate Research Project in Foods and Nutrition: Hypothesis- Individuals receiving one prepared meal per day from food assistance programs will not meet 1/3 of the Recommended Dietary Allowance of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins A, C, E, B6, zinc, calcium, iron, magnesium, and folate. I have measured one prepared meal from three different food assistance programs for five different weeks and analyzed the nutritional content using computer software. I obtained the sex and age of the meal recipients. I will compare the nutritional content of prepared meals between food assistance programs and between the prepared meals over the five weeks using student t-test. By conducting this assessment, information regarding nutrient value of foods being consumed by people of low socioeconomic status will be used to prioritize needs at local food assistance programs.

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160. Project Title Lenoir: Former Furniture Capitol of the South An installation project that serves as a reflection on the community and the furniture industry through the eyes of former furniture workers.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Jennifer Livingston	Art	Lynn Duryea	Fine and Applied Arts	Art	Dec 19, 2007
Project Description: Concept Growing up in Lenoir, NC, I watched my hometown slowly dry up as factory after factory closed and thousands of furniture workers lost their jobs. To address this issue, I recently conducted an interview with my uncle who worked in the furniture industry in Lenoir for almost twenty years. After the interview, I realized that I want to give the working class citizens of Lenoir a chance to tell their stories. Aside from talking with these individuals, the most immediate and captivating way to go about presenting their stories is to record their dialogue with video. By conducting interviews with individuals who once were part of a thriving industry and community and displaying this footage publicly, it is my hope that others will gain a better understanding of how the community has changed since the factories have closed. Installation To present the collective narrative of former furniture workers in Lenoir, I plan to create an artistic installation that will consist of three main components: video projection, furniture and décor, and artificial fog. The video projection will display the footage of the interviews, the furniture arrangements will provide an environment into which the interviewees will be projected, and the fog (as dispensed from a fog machine) will serve as a means to physically connect the video projection and the furniture arrangements. I plan to create three different set-ups of projection, video, and fog in the installation space. I plan to interview 20 ? 25 individuals who have worked in the furniture industry in Lenoir, NC and record the interviews using digital video. Each interview will be conducted in the home of the participant. During the interview, I will ask each participant a series of questions relating to their experiences working in the furniture industry and how they feel that both their lives and the community have changed after the factories have closed. After the interviews, I will review and edit the footage. I plan to produce three videos. Each individual video will last approximately ten minutes; all three videos combined should last about half an hour. The furniture and other décor that I collect for my three arrangements will be determined by the furniture and décor in the homes of each participant. The furniture I select will be similar to the furniture in the participant?s home and will be set up in the same arrangement that it exists in the participant?s home. The fog will serve as way to physically place the projections of the interviewees into the furniture arrangements. The video projection and the fog will be directed at the arrangement of furniture so that the projection of the participant appears to be three-dimensional and physically existing within the furniture arrangement. This installation will take place in Lenoir in April 2008 as part of my senior exhibition required for graduation.

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161. GABA receptors in the inferior colliculus of Seizure-Prone Rats
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Margaret Adams	Psychology	Mark Adams	Arts and Sciences	Psychology	Dec 19, 2007
Project Description: Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by a combination of over-excitation and under-inhibition in brain tissue, resulting in seizure behavior. To investigate the neuroanatomical and behavioral effects of seizure activity, our lab utilizes an audiogenic seizure (AGS) rat model which allows us to manipulate the number and severity of the seizure. AGS model uses specific sound events to make the rats susceptible to seizures. These sound induced seizures are propagated from auditory sensory neurons to a region of the brain known as the inferior colliculus (IC), were many auditory pathways converge. From the IC, the seizure can be propagated to other regions of the brain resulting in generalized seizure activity. The dorsal nucleus of the lateral lemniscus (DNLL) has been implicated as the extrinsic source for the inhibitory neurotransmitters gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) for the IC and may function in attenuation of seizure activity. The GABA-A receptor is composed for 5 transmembrane subunits, with the alpha-1 subunit being the ubiquitous across the GABA-A receptor in the auditory midbrain. Variation in the number of GABA-A receptors in the IC could also lead to attenuation or propagation of seizure activity. Previous research from our lab has indicated specific schedules of seizure activity are associated with variation in the number neurons expressing the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA in the DNLL, suggesting reflexive plasticity in this structure as a result of seizure sound events. In order to further investigate the variation of GABA systems seizure prone animals, we would like to examine the GABA-A receptor distribution in the IC. Tissue samples will be taken from AGS model seizure prone rats, with age matched controls available. After slicing the neuronal tissue samples, indirect immunohistochemistry techniques will be used to detect the alpha-1 subunit of the GABA-A receptor in the tissue. In indirect immunohistochemistry, the tissue is first incubated with a primary antibody specific for the protein of interest, alpha-1 (Millipore). Then a secondary antibody is introduced to the tissue and binds to the primary antibody. An enzyme attached to the secondary antibody undergoes a colorimetric change to stain the tissue at the sites where the antibody is bound to glycine. To locate the cellular expression of the alpha-1 subunit as indicated by immunostaining, the tissue slices will be examined using a light microscope and Pixelink camera, and the cells stained for the GABA-A receptor subunit in the tissue region of the IC will be counted. By quantifying GABA-A receptors in the IC, we hope to add to the understanding of the role of this important inhibitory system in seizure behavior.

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162. Creative Connections: Using Expressive Arts Therapy to Help Children Suffering from RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder) by Encouraging Connection, Empowerment, Empathy and Self-Worth.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Ellen Robertson	Human Development and Psychological Counseling	Sally Atkins	Arts and Sciences	Human Development and Psychological Counseling	Dec 04, 2007
Project Description: The goal of my presentation is to increase awareness about Reaction Attachment Disorder and offer creative interventions. I will first explain some of the possible reasons children develop RAD and identify symptoms associated with this disorder. The focus of this poster will concentrate on ways to empower children with RAD and help them to move forward in the healing process. I will identify some of the prominent symptoms and offer creative interventions using a variety of modalities. These will include the use of art, music, movement, play and ritual. A compilation of group activities will be displayed detailing creative interventions. In addition, there will be handouts that outline my poster and offer resources for further exploration. I will engage in discussion with people interested in my topic. Also, I will share my experience implementing my compilation of creative group activities at my internship.

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163. Identification and characterization of highly conserved M2lg gene
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Brandon Carpenter	Biology	Ted Zerucha	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Nov 28, 2007
Project Description: Our lab is studying the Meis gene family. Meis genes code for proteins which have the ability to bind and regulate DNA transcription. In addition, Meis genes play vital roles in controlling embryonic development for all vertebrate animals. Furthermore, research has consistently shown disrupting Meis gene sequences results in development of leukemia in mice. More specifically, our lab is studying the second Meis gene family member, Meis2; and have discovered a new putative gene sequence located directly adjacent to the gene. We have named this potential gene M2lg (Meis2 linked gene) and have found that the gene is highly conserved in all vertebrate species. We will obtain the M2lg gene from a company associated with the zebrafish genome project (Open Biosystems) and will perform in situ hybridizations to study the gene?s expression in Danio rerio (zebrafish. Our discovery is important because M2lg has yet to be characterized. The fact that it is found in all animals examined, however, strongly suggests M2lg is playing some important and as of yet undetermined role in all animals. The OSR grant will pay for animals and supplies to examine this gene?s expression pattern in zebrafish embryos and will also pay for printing costs of a poster I will be presenting, based on my preliminary data from this project, at the 47th annual American Society of Cell Biology Conference from December 1-5, 2007 in Washington D.C.

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164. Microbial Diversity in a High Altitude Wetland Disturbed by Iron and Manganese
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Kristin Walls	Biology	Ece Karatan	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Nov 28, 2007
Project Description: Wetlands play a vital role in the ecosystems of the western Appalachian Mountains. In addition to providing a habitat for flora, fauna, and microorganisms, they act as buffer zones between urbanized areas and natural settings, often filtering out harmful pollutants, controlling surface runoff allowing for penetration of water into soil, and keeping groundwater aquifers supplied with a steady flow of water. Increased anthropogenic activity in the form of road building, coal mining, and urban development has placed stress on these wetland ecosystems, threatening their health. My study focuses on one such high altitude wetland, shown previously to be disturbed due to iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) seeps located upstream. These seeps are the result of development in the local area several years prior. A previous study has shown that these seeps raise the metal concentration of the water several fold and are linked to a decrease in the diversity of macroinvertebrates. Our preliminary studies looking at our wetland have identified masses of thick orange biofilm on the submerged rocks at the site of the Fe and Mn seeps. These biofilms are indicative of an abundance of Fe and Mn oxidizing bacteria. These thick orange biofilms are not present at a reference site upstream of the seeps. Our hypothesis is that the increased levels of Fe and Mn are causing a decrease in the diversity of the microorganisms and shifting the dominant microorganisms within the community. I plan on using protocols established in our lab to ask the question of how microbial diversity is affected by increased Fe and Mn levels. My sampling will span the course of 2 years to take into account any seasonal changes that might influence microbial diversity. I will also sample a broad range of rocks submerged in the stream in relation to the seeps to take into account any spatial fluctuations that might influence microbial diversity. I will use molecular techniques worked out in previous studies and in recent months in our lab to determine if microbial diversity does decrease with an increase in metal concentrations. These results could pose the idea of a bottom?s up effect occurring in the wetland ecosystem, whereby changes in lower order organisms, such as microorganisms, cause changes in higher order organisms such as macroinvertebrates. My study will also provide baseline data describing seasonal and spatial fluctuations in wetland microbial diversity that could then be used to develop a microbial bioindicator of wetland health.

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165. North Carolina 4-H: 100 Years of Growing
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Rebecca Jones	Communication	Steve Smith	Fine and Applied Arts	Communication	Nov 28, 2007
Project Description: I am producing a 10 minute audio documentary about 4-H in North Carolina, its history, the current program, the 100th anniversary celebration in 2009, and the importance of 4-H in today's society. I will interview past and present NC 4-Hers and how 4-H affected their lives. I am also interviewing the state 4-H leader Dr. Marshall Stewart, author of Clover All Over Jim Clark, and NC Secretary of State Elaine Marshall.

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166. Effects of Plastic Deformation on the Bursting Pressure of Cross-Linked Polyethylene (PEX) Tubing
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Raymond Sinclair	Technology Education	Marie Hoepfl	Fine and Applied Arts	Technology	Nov 28, 2007
Project Description: The purpose of this research will be to test the actual burst pressure of PEX tubing at temperatures up to, but not exceeding, the boiling point of water (212 degrees F). In comparison, samples of PEX will be plastically deformed with and intentional kink and submitted to the same test parameters as the normal samples in order to ascertain the effects such defects have on the intergrity of the tubing. In order to perform the temperature/pressure tests on PEX tubing, an apparatus with a high pressure pump, hot water heater, and measuring equipment will be built. Samples (both regular and kinked) will be filled with water at various temperatures and pressurized until failure. Measurments of temperature and pressure will be recorded for analysis.

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167. Meis Gene Regulation
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Kyle Nelson	Biology, Pre-professional	Ted Zerucha	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Nov 28, 2007
Project Description: Our lab is studying the Meis family of homeobox-containing genes. Homeobox genes, including the Meis genes are known to play important roles in the embryonic development of all animals. In addition, and is often the case with important developmentally expressed genes, mutations associated with the Meis genes are known to lead to cancer. In fact, Meis is an acronym for myeloid ecotropic leukemia viral integration site based on the observation that a viral insertion within the first member of the Meis family identified leads to myeloid leukemia in mice. While the Meis genes are known to be a developmentally important whose expression is well conserved across all vertebrate species, the regulatory mechanisms that direct the expression of the Meis genes are not well understood. We have discovered 4 highly conserved non-coding sequences of DNA downstream from Meis2 which have been named M2de 1-4 (Meis2 downstream element) which appear to be putative regulatory elements that may be directing Meis gene expression. Using genomic / phylogenetic footprinting all 4 elements have been shown to be highly conserved across numerous species including human, mouse, chicken, and recently one has been found in zebrafish and the pufferfish Takifugu rubripes indicating some functional, although unknown, aspect to these non-coding sequences. The OSR grant will pay for supplies to isolate and study the functional nature of these putative regulatory elements in relation to their associated gene Meis2 during embryonic development as well as pay for the printing costs of a poster, based on the preliminary results to date, that will be presented at the 47th annual American Society of Cell Biology conference from December 1 -5, 2007 in Washington D.C.

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168. Effects of Expectancy on the Physiological and Psychological Experience of Exercise
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Carmen Bondy	Psychology	Joshua Broman-Fulks	Arts and Sciences	Psychology	Nov 28, 2007
Project Description: The purpose of the present study is to further examine the effects of expectations on the physiological and psychological experience of aerobic exercise. Approximately 75 ASU undergraduate students will be recruited to participate in this study. Upon arrival to the session, participants will be asked to read and sign the informed consent document. The researcher will explain that the purpose of the experiment is to examine the effects of exercise on college students. Once consent has been documented, each participant will then complete the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q). The PAR-Q is a questionnaire that functions as a screening tool for those that will potentially be increasing the intensity of a personal or group exercise program. Participants will then be randomly assigned to one of 3 conditions: (1) positive expectation, (2) negative expectation, and (3) no expectation. Each participant will be required to provide their height and weight, as well as insight concerning their current physical condition and fitness level using the Physical Activity Rating questionnaire (PAR) and the Physical Functional Ability questionnaire (PFA). The subsequent scores of these two measures will then be used along with each participant?s age, sex, weight, and height to determine a treadmill pace that they will start exercising at according to 75% of their predicted VO2 max. Each participant will also be asked to complete a series of questionnaires prior to exercise, including a demographic questionnaire, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, Anxiety Sensitivity Index - 3, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, Body Vigilance Scale, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, Short Health Anxiety Inventory, and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Participants will also be asked to complete a decision making task. Work output (treadmill speed), heart rate, and Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) will also be assessed during and post exercise. To ensure confidentiality of information, each participant will be given a code number that will be used to identify them throughout the study. After necessary baseline measures have been obtained, a Polar heart rate monitor will be attached to each participant to measure heart rate during the exercise session. As a safety precaution, an age predicted maximum heart rate will also be determined for each participant to use as test termination criteria during the exercise session. Each participant will be required to complete a 20 minute submaximal exercise session at an intensity of 70-80% of their predicted maximum heart rate. Prior to exercise, the positive expectation condition will be primed with information regarding the positive benefits of exercise and will listen to audio commentary giving more of the same information. Similarly, participants in the negative expectation condition will be presented with information regarding the negative effects of exercise and will also listen to audio commentary. Participants in the no expectation condition will not be primed with any information and will exercise with no audio commentary. At the conclusion of the exercise session, participants will be allowed a 5 minute cool down period. They will then be re-administered all of the pre-exercise measures (except the demographic questionnaire and the MC-SDS) as well we a measures of Perceived Enjoyment of Exercise. At the conclusion of the study, participants will be debriefed as to the purpose of the study.

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169. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA levels in the cervix are up regulated by lipopolyssacharide (LPS) in pregnant mice
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Allison Newell	Chemistry	Chishimba Mowa	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Nov 28, 2007
Project Description: Cervical remodeling (CR) is one of the few biological processes that entails physiological inflammation, and can be significantly enhanced by inflammation-inducing agents, such as lipopolyssacharide (LPS), a component of bacteria cell wall. Infection is one of the leading causes of preterm labor, and CR and inflammation are both closely associated with microvascular alterations. Of note, we recently identified and characterized expression of a potent regulator of the vasculature, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and VEGF signaling molecules in the cervix of pregnant and parturient rats. Our long term goal is to investigate whether the mechanism(s) underlying LPS-enhanced CR involve VEGF and alters microvasculature. Here, we sought to characterize the pattern of VEGF mRNA expression in LPS-treated pregnant mice using PCR. LPS dissolved in normal saline was administered intra-cervically in a dose-dependent manner to three groups of mice at day 12 of pregnancy (n=3 per group), namely vehicle only, 250ng and 300ng. The cervix was harvested 6 hrs later and levels of VEGF mRNA were analyzed by PCR. Our preliminary data revealed that LPS up regulated levels of VEGF mRNA in a dose-dependent manner. These studies show that LPS-induced preterm labor involves enhanced VEGF synthesis, which may lead to abnormal microvascular remodeling and mobilization and infiltration of vascular-derived CR mediators.

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170. Understanding Vibrio cholerae biofilm formation to help prevent cholera epidemics in third world countries
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Josiah Zayner	Biology	Ece Karatan	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Nov 28, 2007
Project Description: Vibrio cholerae is a gram negative bacterium and the pathogenic agent of the human disease cholera. V. cholerae colonizes the small intestines of humans, releasing a toxin and causing extensive fluid loss through diarrhea and vomiting. If left untreated cholera can kill a person in less than 24 hours. In the past 185 years V. cholerae has spread nearly the whole world seven times in a pandemic nature (Sack et al., 2004). In spring 2002, 30,000 cases of cholera caused by a single strain were reported in Dhaka, Bangladesh and as recently as September 2007, an outbreak in Iraq occurred with over 1500 cases reported. Many species of bacteria including V. cholerae can create a biofilm, which is a surface attached community embedded in an exopolysaccharide matrix that surrounds the bacteria. . Biofilms created by V. cholerae provide persistence in the host and in the environment leading to its pandemic nature (Hung et al., 2006). The focus of my research is the regulation of V. cholerae biofilm by two proteins NspS and MbaA. The protein NspS resides in the periplasm, a space between the inner and outer membranes, characteristic of gram negative bacteria like V. cholerae. Norspermidine is a small polyamine that is found naturally occurring in bacteria, plants and algae. Biofilms in V. cholerae have been shown to form in an NspS and norspermidine dependent manner (Karatan et al., 2005). Previous to my research, the exact mechanism of NspS binding norspermidine was unknown. My first goal was to elucidate what amino acids in NspS were responsible for norspermidine binding. The protein MbaA is an integral membrane protein that resides on the inner membrane of V. cholerae. Deletion of the mbaA gene has shown to increase biofilm, indicating that MbaA is a possible negative regulator of biofilm in V. cholerae (Bomchil et al., 2003; Karatan et al., 2005). Biofilm has been shown to be regulated by levels of the cytoplasmic nucleotide c-diGMP, with increased levels of c-diGMP causing increased biofilm formation (Tischler & Camilli, 2004). MbaA contains an EAL domain which is a putative c-diGMP phosphodiesterase. EAL domains cause the breakdown of c-diGMP to a linear pGpG nucleotide. This phosphodiesterase activity is hypothesized as the mechanism in which MbaA negatively regulates biofilm (Karatan et al., 2005). Both NspS and MbaA, in norspermidine addition experiments show a norspermidine dependent change in biofilm formation indicating a possible signaling pathway between norspermidine, NspS and MbaA (Karatan et al. 2005). The second goal of my research was to understand he interaction between NspS and MbaA, if it actually occurs and if norspermidine does indeed contribute to this interaction. First, using the computer programs SWISS-Model and GROMACS, I developed a putative structure for NspS based on the solved structure of a similar protein, PotF from Escherichia coli. Then, I set about the task of elucidating the NspS binding site by mutating residues in a biophysically and biochemically predicted binding site. I performed biofilm assays to see how these mutations affected biofilm formation. If a mutation affected biofilm formation it would indicate that some mechanism in the proposed biofilm formation pathway was not functioning properly with the most likely deficiency being in norspermidine binding. My results have shown that mutating the NspS residues W41, D70, D90, D170, W261 and D263 to alanine, show significantly reduced biofilm as compared to the unmutated wildtype. The only residue that did not show reduced biofilm was E173 indicating that it is most likely not involved in norspermidine binding. A steady state western blot shows similar levels of NspS expression in the mutants indicating that the reduction in biofilm is not caused by lack of protein expression. These results have given me evidence that the structural prediction is accurate and that the norspermidine binding site of NspS is composed mainly of residues W41, D70, D90, D170, W261 and D263. Next, I wanted to see if NspS actually interacts with MbaA. I devised a way to do a cell fractionation to separate the contents of a normal V. cholerae cell into three parts, the cytoplasm, the periplasm and the membrane fractions. I hypothesized that if NspS, which is normally found in the periplasm, was found in membrane fraction then it must be binding to something in the membrane. Further, if NspS was only found in the membrane fraction when MbaA was present then NspS must be binding to MbaA. Western blots performed shows that NspS was present only in membrane fractions in which MbaA was present, clearly indicating an interaction. Further, I wanted to see if adding increasing amounts of norspermidine to our V. cholerae cell cultures would increase the amount of NspS located in the membrane fraction. I fractionated the cells into three components as previously described, while adding 0, 10?M, 50?M and 100?M of norspermidine to different cultures. A fluorescent western blot was used to quantify the amount of NspS located in each membrane fraction. The western blots show that as norspermidine concentration increases from 0 to 100?M, the amount of NspS located in the membrane fraction also increases. During my research so far I have discovered that there is a norspermidine binding site in NspS and that the amino acids in NspS responsible for this binding are W41, D70, D90, D170, W261 and D263. These amino acids participate in hydrogen bonding as well as aromatic-pi binding to norspermidine. It has also been shown that NspS interacts with MbaA and that the amount of norspermidine in a solution culture increases the chances of this interaction occurring. Though my research has progressed, there is still much to do before I graduate in May 2008. I need to purify NspS and NspS mutants so I can test the ability of these proteins to bind MbaA. I also wish to perform further mutations in NspS to find out exactly what amino acids are involved in binding MbaA. To finish my research I need money to purchase the materials needed to purify both NspS and MbaA. DNA sequencing will be used to verify proper mutations and tagging. Ni-NTA beads will be used to purify the proteins using affinity chromatography. The anti-His antibody will be used to verify presence of the protein using western blot analysis. With these materials I should be able to finish my research and publish my results in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. Bomchil, N., Watnick, P. & R. Kolter. (2003) Identification and characterization of a Vibrio cholerae gene, mbaA, involved in maintenance of biofilm architecture. Journal of Bacteriology 185:1384-1390. Faruque, S.M., Chowdhury. N., Karuzzaman, M., Ahmad, Q.S., Faruque, A.S.G., Salam, M.A., Ramamurthy, T., Nair, G.B., Weintraub, A. & D.A. Sack. (2003) Reemergence of epidemic Virbio cholerae O139, Bangladesh. Emerging Infectous Diseases 9:1116- 1122. Hung, D. T., J. Zhu, D. Sturtevant & J. J. Mekalanos, (2006) Bile acids stimulate biofilm formation in Vibrio cholerae. Molecular Microbiology 59: 193-201. Karatan, E., Duncan, T.R. & P.I. Watnick. (2005) NspS a predicted polyamine sensor, mediates activation of Vibrio cholerae biolfilm formation by norpsermidine. Journal of Bacteriology 187:7434-7443. Sack, D.A., Sack, R.B., Nair, G.B. & A.K. Siddique. (2004) Cholera. The Lancet 363:223-233. Tischler, A.D., & A. Camilli (2004) Cyclic diguanylate (c-diGMP) regulates Vibrio cholerae biofilm formation. Molecular Microbiology 53: 857-869.

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171. The Role of Polyamine Biosynthesis in Vibrio cholerae Biofilm Formation
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Marcus Mcginnis	Biology	Ece Karatan	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Nov 28, 2007
Project Description: Vibrio cholerae is the bacterium responsible for the acute human intestinal disease cholera. Cholera is characterized by watery diarrhea that may lead to severe and rapid dehydration and possibly death if not treated promptly. Infection normally occurs following the ingestion of contaminated drinking water or undercooked shellfish. V. cholerae is a natural inhabitant of costal regions worldwide where it has an ability to form sessile protective communities known as biofilms on many aquatic surfaces. Biofilms have been proposed to aid in the persistence of V. cholerae in the environment by reducing osmotic stress as well as increasing the infectivity of V. cholerae by providing protection from the body?s natural defense mechanisms and a high dose of the pathogen. The transition from the free-swimming state to the biofilm state is highly regulated through a variety of environmental signals, including quorum sensing and levels of nutrients such as polyamines and sugars that initiate a signaling cascade. Polyamines, including norspermidine, putrescine and spermidine, are organic molecules pervasive in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. Their involvement in numerous cellular processes such as growth, DNA synthesis and biofilm formation has been demonstrated. More specifically, it has been shown that in the presence of norspermidine, V. cholerae biofilm formation is enhanced. Cellular polyamine levels are highly regulated through a cycle of biosynthesis, degradation and environmental uptake. The importance of maintaining proper intracellular polyamine levels for normal cellular function is emphasized by the fact that Escherichia coli mutants lacking the ability to either synthesize polyamines or extract them from the environment demonstrate a reduced growth rate. In most bacteria, polyamine biosynthesis is initiated by the decarboxylation of the amino acid ornithine by ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) or through the formation of agmatine by arginine decarboxylase (ADC) ultimately leading to putrescine, the precursor to both spermidine and spermine. Through the construction of ADC mutants, ODC mutants and ADC-ODC double mutants, putrescine has been shown to be essential for proper biofilm formation within Yersinia pestis, the bacterium responsible for the plague. Although polyamine biosynthesis has not been well studied in V.cholerae, a novel biosynthetic pathway for norspermidine has been elucidated in several members of Vibrio. In V. cholerae, the final reaction of this biosynthetic pathway is thought to be catalyzed by the enzyme carboxynorspermidine decarboxylase. Even though direct enzymatic proof is lacking, the gene nspC that encodes carboxynorspermidine decarboxylase has been identified. Although most cholerae outbreaks occur in third-world countries where sanitation practices are often inadequate, man-made and natural disasters can lead to contaminated water supplies and consequently sudden outbreaks in developed countries. This fact along with the established link between polyamine biosynthesis and Y. pestis biofilm formation and the enhanced V. cholerae biofilm associated with norspermidine emphasizes the global importance of understanding the role of polyamines in various cellular functions of V. cholerae. In this project, we will overexpress the nspC gene using molecular techniques. The resulting strains will then be used to determine the role of polyamine biosynthesis in V. cholerae cellular functions such as biofilm formation.

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172. Pilates for Mind-Body Wellness
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Kiesha Congelosi	Finance and Banking	Marianne Adams	Fine and Applied Arts	Theatre and Dance	Nov 14, 2007
Project Description: We will be conducting an 8-week study to see how Pilates affects both the mental and physical fitness of our participants. Initially, we will allow one hour for the participants to fill out all necessary paperwork needed for safety purposes and to evaluate the participants starting mental and physical fitness. To complete the study, each participant will be required to attend 2- 4 Pilates lessons per week. Twenty to thirty participants will receive eight to sixteen lessons on the Pilates equipment over the research period. These lessons may be individual or in a small groups of 2-3. The participants will also attend 1-3 group mat classes per week. We will solicit student volunteers from the general student population. We week. We will solicit student volunteers from the general student population. We (Congelosi, Brown and Payne) will be teaching approximately three hours a week for the research period, and will be in charge of the initial and final evaluations of the participants. After the research period, there will be an exit interview to evaluate the results of the study. This will be a qualitative interview to assess mental and/or physical effects to due to the participation in Pilates program. The total teacher participation, for each of the 3 primary researchers, will be approximately thirty hours. We have completed a comprehensive 600+ hour training program in Classical Pilates. Included in this program were safety and modifications for hundreds of authentic Pilates exercises on both the equipment and mat work. Through this training program we were required to physically participate in Pilates multiple times a week to fulfill a part of our training. This led to several mental and physical improvements in our own bodies. These changes have inspired us to research how other people our age would benefit from doing Pilates on a weekly basis, and to see the changes they experience. We feel Pilates has changed our lives in wonderful ways and we are hoping to change some lives by offering this study. IRB Approval is in process.

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173. Fluid Dynamics in the cervix and role of VEGF
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Mary Scott	Biology, Pre-professional	Chishimba Mowa	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Oct 30, 2007
Project Description: During early pregnancy the cervix serves two different purposes: 1) It acts as a sphincter to keep bacteria from entering the uterus and 2)to keep the baby from coming out prematurely. In late pregnancy the cervix remodels itself, including softening, which involves increase in water. We hypothesize that VEGF plays a role in causing the increase of water in the cervix to help soften it for labor. After the cervix softens, it then ripens, dilates, and then repairs itself. We will test our hypothesis by injecting VEGF blocker (antibody) into the cervix of pregnant mice to see if it can stop the flow of water into the cervix. We will also inject VEGF recombinant into the cervix of pregnant mice to see if it increases the waterflow into the cervix.

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174. VEGF and its role in the Fluid Dynamics of the Cervix during Pregnancy and at Parturition.
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Scott Rhyne	Biology	Nathan Mowa	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Oct 30, 2007
Project Description: By using VEGF inhibitors and VEGF promoters, we wil try and determine if VEGF plays a role in the fluid dynamic of cervical ripening. Current research shows that VEGF is a potent factor during pregnancy in the processes that occur during cervical ripening. It is our hypothesis that VEGF plays a role in the fluid dynamic because of it role in vasodilation. It has been shown that VEGF is elevated at the time that fluid dynamics change in the cervix during pregnancy, and we wish to find a functional link between the two.

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175. The role of VEGF in cervical ripening of an inflammed cervix
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Morgan Thompson	Biology	Nathan Mowa	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Oct 30, 2007
Project Description: Inflammation is the primary cause for pre-term births worldwide. There is great evidence for stating that cervical ripening (the process of labor and delivery) is physiological state of inflammation. Thus if infection is induced in the cervix of pregnant mice the vascualr changes that occur in the cervix during that time can be studied. Pre-term birth due to infection can be better understood by examing the cervix in a state od induced inflammation. VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) is likely to have a role in pre-term birth due to infection since it is the key coordinator of blood vessel changes and angiogenesis. We hypothesize that VEGF will be upregulated in the cervix in a state of inflammation and is therefore a primary player in the process of pre-term birth. If VEGF is found to function in causing early parturition caused by infection, it could possible be prevented by controlling the amounts of VEGF.

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176. Verfication of DNA Microarray Data by Real-Time PCR Analysis
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Fallon Jones	Biology, Pre-professional	Chishimba Mowa	Arts and Sciences	Biology	Oct 30, 2007
Project Description: The cervix undergoes significant changes during and after parturition. Cervial remodeling is when the cervix becomes soft and thin with a high stretch capacity. Hypothesis: VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) is a substance made by cells that stimulates new blood vessel formation. We believe that this factor sends signals to specific genes that allow for cervical remodeling. We have previously screened 30,000 genes associated with VEGF-action, using a screening technique known as DNA microarray. From this, we were left with 600 genes that may have an association with VEGF due to their increased amount from it's presence. In this project, I will verify the earlier data using a more sensitive technique known as Real-Time PCR which will be used to test 2-3 genes.

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177. Negotiating the Limits of Form: The Omni-toum
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Henry Finch	English	Lynn Doyle	Arts and Sciences	English	Oct 30, 2007
Project Description: My proposed project will create a new poetic form, steeped in tradition of the pantoum, a 15th century Malaysian form of poetry. A pantoum is constructed following a formula of repeated lines. My goal is to raise awareness of the possibilities and drawbacks of poetic form by organizing these formulae into mathematical systems and assigning various pitches and corresponding colors to illustrate the progression of the poem. This interdisciplinary research project will help interpret and present poetry in a way making it more accessible for a large scale audience. My new form, what I call an omni-toum, consists of 1200 stanzas ? 4800 lines. This variant of the pantoum uses a series of mathematical numerical systems gleaned from its original form. For this project, I considered presenting the poem in manuscript form alone. Since the lines in the poem repeat thousands of times, its content becomes obsolete, thus alienating the reader. The first step to engaging the reader is to use a 4?/8? visual grid to substitute the repetitive lines with said corresponding colors. This will allow the audience to see a visual representation of the form. Secondly, by assigning the repeated lines a musical tone, a musical supplement will provide an aural progression of the poem. Lastly, a full manuscript copy of approximately 350 pages will be provided for those who wish to view the poem at its simplest ? lines on a page arranged according to set rules. Following the project?s completion, I will present the piece and my findings to the Department of Art, the Department of English, the Department of Mathematical Sciences, and the Hayes School of Music. It is my hope this interdisciplinary work will encourage students and faculty to collaborate across departments.

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178. A Forest Reborn: Habitat Restoration in Modern India
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Daniel Brookshire	Interdisciplinary Studies	Chuck Smith	Arts and Sciences	Interdisciplinary Studies	Oct 30, 2007
Project Description: During my study abroad in spring semester 2008, to the ecovillage of Auroville, I plan to document the history and current practice of habitat restoration at Auroville, India. I have chosen Auroville as the sight of investigation because it was created as an ecovillage for the purpose of habitat restoration and to foster sustainable living techniques. This project will investigate the sources of inspiration for habitat restoration in a developing nation; sources of funding for restoring the surrounding environment of Auroville; techniques used to bring about habitat restoration; What is the final goal of this habitat restoration or has this already been achieved?; What defines a habitat as ?restored??; Can this been seen as a process with some fundamental place-independent techniques?; What level of importance is this for India and other developing nations? Methods of Research: I will conduct the stated research investigation through photo documentation of what Auroville once looked like before habitat restoration began and photos I will take of what the area looks like today. I will also conduct interviews with long time Auroville residents or current officials to discuss their experiences with, opinions of, and future visions of habitat restoration at Auroville. I will also conduct research through on site access to Auroville records regarding the history of the ecovillage. Furthermore I will also be involved in an internship throughout the semester abroad that deals with regeneration work and sustainable development during the semester abroad. This research project needs support from the Office of Student Research in order to research a topic that is very important to Appalachian State University?s sustainable development and environmental studies programs. This project needs specifically as much financial support as possible for traveling to and in Auroville, India in addition to the camera equipment I have requested. By investigating habitat restoration in a developing nation I will be able to better understand the need for habitat restoration world wide and how it can be conducted in all nations and not just developed ones. I plan on recording and documenting all of my research in an academic paper which I also plan on presenting on the next University Research Day following my return to the United States. I have discussed the outline of this project with Greg Orifici, Director of Admissions for the Living Routes Program I am doing this study abroad program with and he has stated that the faculty of the program will also be willing to assist me with this project.

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179. Correlation of Music and Culture in Western Argentina
Student	Major	Faculty Advisor	College	Department	Award Date
Douglas Peach	Music Industry Studies	Laurie Semmes	School of Music	Music	Oct 30, 2007
Project Description: This past summer I had the chance to live in Mendoza, Argentina, located on the western end of the country near the Andes Mountains. While in Mendoza, I recorded music with Argentine musicians, learned Spanish and volunteered with children, and these experiences gave me an appreciati