Samantha Kauffman and Marchelle Smucker, winners of the upperclass division of the STEM poster show, discuss their research with Professor Esther Tian. The duo explored high salt and high fructose diets. Thirty-nine research projects were showcased at the annual event. (Photo by Dylan Buchanan)

Research projects on diet and phytoremediation win annual STEM contest

Thirty-nine research projects in biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematical sciences psychology were showcased in the 2017 STEM Celebration poster show. Professors Greta Ann Herin and Daniel King coordinated the judging and hosting of the poster show, while Matthew Siderhurst hosted the quiz show. Faculty attended wearing t-shirts designed by Professor Abigail Berkey, featuring an EMU wearing safety goggles (see below right; not all faculty are shown).

Upperclass Division

1st place: Samantha Kauffman and Marchelle Smucker

Professors show off their shirts before the annual Spring STEM celebration. From left: Matthew Siderhurst, Abigail Berkey, Owen Byer, Laurie Yoder and Tara Kishbaugh. (Photo by Andrew Strack)

NFAT5 is Differentially Expressed in Sprague-Dawley Rat Tissues in Response to High Salt and High Fructose Diets

In the current diet of an average American, there is an increasing amount of both salt and high fructose corn syrup. Individuals with a higher sensitivity to salt or fructose can develop hypertension and metabolic syndrome. In this study, we aimed to determine how consumption of a high salt or a high fructose diet alters tissue-specific expression of the NFAT5 gene. Fifty rats were put on a control, 4% NaCl, 8% NaCl, or 64% fructose diet over the course of 8 weeks. Sixteen tissue samples were then harvested from the rats. RNA was isolated and purified from the samples, and reverse transcription was used to convert purified RNA into cDNA. RT-PCR was used to measure expression of the NFAT5 gene. An increase in NFAT5 expression was found in the kidney medulla on the 4% NaCl diet, in the kidney cortex on the 64% fructose diet, in the adipose tissue with the 4% and 8% NaCl diets, in the liver with the 8% NaCl diet, and in the brain with the 4% NaCl diet. A decrease in NFAT5 expression was found in the bladder with the 8% NaCl and 64% fructose diets, and in the spleen with the 64% fructose diet. There was no significant difference in NFAT5 expression in the pancreas, lungs, skin, small intestine, blood, aorta, heart, stomach, or skeletal muscle. Based on these results we can conclude that NFAT5 is differentially expressed in different tissues in response to various diets.

2nd place: Eli Wenger
Investigating Cation Exchange with Copper Nitride and Copper Palladium Nitride to Access Other Colloidal Nitrides

Metal nitride nanoparticles have attracted great interest as materials for a variety of applications. Their potential as catalysts for organic transformations exceeds that of similar bulk materials. Additionally, their refractory and optoelectronic properties suggest future uses in semiconductors, photovoltaics, and structural applications. These particles pose various synthetic challenges, however. Common metal nitride synthesis requires the use of ammonia gas at high temperatures (>400 oC). These type of conditions produce bulk particles, which precludes the access of material properties unique to nanoparticles. Currently, only Cu3N and Cu3PdN can be prepared colloidally under 200 oC in sizes smaller than 15 nm. Therefore, it is of interest to develop colloidal strategies for the synthesis of metal nitrides. Our specific goal is to utilize well-established cation exchange procedures to access other metal nitrides starting from the easily-accessible Cu3N and Cu3PdN systems. The cation exchange of Co for Cu has been demonstrated for the sulfides; we will test the viability of this approach for the nitride systems.

3rd place: Diego Barahona
Syntheses and Behavioral Evaluations of Analogs of Raspberry Ketone as Attractants for the Melon Fly, Zeugodacus cucurbitae

The melon fly, Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett), is a serious pest of tropical crops capable of infesting and damaging up to 81 different host species and causing direct losses to the agriculture of Hawai’i of up to approximately 15 million USD per year. Several studies have been conducted to develop potent attractants by increasing the volatility of the naturally occurring attractant raspberry ketone achieving relative success evidenced by the production of attractants such as cuelure, melolure, and raspberry ketone trifluoroacetate. In this study, we synthesized a series of raspberry ketone analogs and conducted attraction bioassays with melon flies to investigate the effect of systematic changes to both the hydroxyl and carbonyl functional groups.

Honorable Mention: Tyler Brenneman

Brianna Stanard presents research to Professor Julia Halterman. She explored performance anxiety with biomarkers of cortisol and DEA among EMU track athletes. (Photo by Dylan Buchanan)

Bergton Stream Restoration: Water Quality and Macroinvertebrate Stream Health Assessment

The purpose of this poster is to look the macroinvertebrate and water quality data that has been gathered in the Crab Run and German River watersheds over the last two and a half years. Up to this point the water quality data taken from bi-monthly grab samples has generally shown that the streams in this area are in good health, with the exception of nitrate levels, which can reach severely impaired levels, especially during times of low flow. Macroinvertebrate VSCI indices show that macroinvertebrate population scores tend to be higher in the fall, due to low flows caused by drought. While these nitrate values are of some concern, it is most likely that there are other factors influencing the macroinvertebrate populations in the Bergton area that have yet to be studied.

Honorable Mention: Kyle Johnson and David Nester
Object Tracking in Video for Physics Labs

We have created an application that takes slow motion videos of different situations in physics labs and tracks the motion of the different objects based on either shape (circles) or color. Our application allows for multiple methods of viewing the data as well as converting the data so that it is in standard units (seconds and centimeters) rather than video units (frames and pixels). This is a continuation of a project that was presented in the fall that now has more calibration, an improved user interface, and greater functionality.

Honorable Mention: Aron Harder, Austin Engle, Dylan Grove, James Paetkau, Ben Zook, Andrew Troyer, and Collin Longenecker
An Analysis of Planar Kinematics for a Crank-Slider

Haner Lim​ talks about his advanced microbiology research in growth characteristics of Enterobacter aerogenes between tetracycline resistant and sensitive strains with Professor Greta Ann Herin. (Photo by Dylan Buchanan)

Our goal was to design a crank-slider linkage about a fixed axis that had a slider along a fixed track. This project was used as an application of the planar kinematics problems that we were doing in class. We were tasked to take two measurements of the angular velocity of the crank and the linear velocity of the slider.​

Underclass Division

1st place: Leah Lapp and Melissa Kinkaid
The Phytoremediation Capacity of Anethum graeolens

High levels of copper are detrimental to ecosystems. The copper must be removed in such a way that will not further harm the environment. In this lab, phytoremediation was used to removed copper from soil by Anethum graveolens. It was determined that A. graveolens is not the most efficient plant for the phytoremediation of copper in soil. To draw an accurate conclusion, more trials and a real world setting should be employed to obtain more exact data.

2nd place: Seth Weaver and Jared Bergman
Phytoremediation of Cu2+ in Cattails

This experiment was conducted to examine how concentrations of chlorophyll in cattails are affected in the presence of soluble Cu2+. It also examined the concentrations of Cu2+ present in cattail leaves. The concentrations of chlorophyll were not significantly different from the treatment group and control group (p = 0.18). The average concentration of Cu2+ in treated plants was significantly higher than the average concentration of Cu2+ in the control group (p = 0.019).

3rd place: Linda Ouedraogo and Caroline Lehman

​Mauricio Triminio discusses identification and growth of Aspergillus with Professor Stephen Cessna. (Photo by Dylan Buchanan)

Copper Concentrations within the Roots, Stems and Leaves of Several Edible Plants

This study aimed to determine if it is safe to grow edible plants in highly copper-contaminated soils. The roots, leaves, and stems of several phytoremediating plants were analyzed to inform inferences of what types of plants (root-consumed or leaf-consumed) would be the safest to eat after copper uptake. The results confirmed the hypothesis that roots would carry the highest concentrations of recovered copper contamination, which indicates that root-consumed plants like radishes are less practical to cultivate in heavily copper-contaminated soils.

STEM Games Quiz Show

The team of Seth Weaver, Grayson Mast, R.J. Ocampo and Marcy Smucker prevailed in this year’s STEM Games quiz show.