10:00-10:20 Room 004

"CDtrodes" vs. Traditional Gold Film Electrodes in Determination of a Soil Pollutant

Elena M Davila and Dr. Charles Smith
Sigma Chapter, Our Lady of the Lake University

San Antonio has several of the oldest coal burning power plants in the nation. These plants are "grandfathered" with respect to environmental laws because they were built before more stringent environmental laws that govern what these plants may emit into the air. Literature has suggested a link between rates of autism and the locality of a these plants. It has been argued that the increased rates of autism are due to mercury in the environment. Stripping voltammetry from gold electrodes has proven to be a sensitive technique for mercury analyses. A CDtrode is a term coined in the literature for gold electrodes literally cut from commercial gold compact disks. Traditional gold electrodes are prepared by depositing a gold film onto a carbon electrode. The advantages and disadvantages of CDtrodes will be presented along with the results of the search for mercury in the soil in the San Antonio region.

Audio Podcast (mp3)

10:00-10:20 Room 005

Lewis Acid-Mediated Copolymerization of Acrylamides and 1-Hexene

Rachel Gaulke and Dr. Megan Nagel
Beta Iota Chapter, Bethel University

Controlled radical copolymerization of acrylamides and 1-hexene using the Lewis acids, Al2O3 and Sc(OTf)3, is expected to give copolymers with macroscopic properties that are unique when compared to the homopolymers. This research studies the effect of the Lewis acid, Lewis acid concentration, and temperature on copolymer conversion and composition of each comonomer. Characterization of the copolymers is achieved using 1H NMR to determine copolymer composition, and GPC is used to analyze molecular weights and molecular weight distribution. It was found that temperature affects acrylamide copolymer conversion while the use of Al2O3 as a Lewis acid did not. However, Sc(OTf)3 was shown to increase copolymer conversion and significantly increase molecular weight of copolymers. The use of Sc(OTf)3 also showed an increase of 1-hexene incorporation while simultaneously affecting the tacticity of the copolymer.

Audio Podcast (mp3)

10:20-10:40 Room 004

The Effect of Vitamin E Phosphates on Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase

Melissa Parks
Rho Chapter, University of Indianapolis

Atherosclerosis, the process in which fatty materials collect along the arterial walls, is commonly associated with reduced bioactivity of nitric oxide and is synonymous with endothelial dysfunction. Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is a low output enzyme found in endothelial cells responsible for the synthesis of nitric oxide. A new form of vitamin E, known as tocopheryl phosphate, has been hypothesized to reverse endothelial dysfunction, thereby reducing the risk of atherosclerosis. Using human aortic endothelial cells, 50% of eNOS activity was inhibited using 10 ng/mL of TNF _ inducing endothelial dysfunction. 50 _M and 100 _M doses of _-tocopheryl phosphate and _-tocopheryl phosphate were used to treat the endothelial cells. Using 100 _M of tocopheryl phosphate significantly improved endothelial dysfunction more than the 50 _M dose of tocopheryl phosphate. Furthermore, _-tocopheryl phosphate was more potent in improving endothelial dysfunction than _-tocopheryl phosphate.

Audio Podcast (mp3)

10:20-10:40 Room 005

Title: Method development of a sensitive and inexpensive lead sensing wipe

Dr. Charles Smith and Elizabeth Walther
Sigma Chapter, Our Lady of the Lake University

Of the overexposures to harmful materials in industry, lead is one of the most common and is a leading cause of workplace illness. There are many ways in which humans are exposed to lead: air, drinking water, food contaminated soil, deteriorating paint, and dust. Old lead-based paint is the most significant source of lead exposure in the U.S. today. In August 2004, the San Antonio Express News published an article that stated a five-year-old living in the Alazan-Apache apartments had high amounts of lead in his blood. The objective of our project was to develop a lead sensing pad that would change color in the presence of lead. It was planned that his pad would allow simple and direct tests for the current residents of Alazan-Apache apartments. A lead sensing pad was prepared that can detect concentrations of lead arguably below 10ppm.

Audio Podcast (mp3)

11:10-11:30 Room 004

DNA Detection Using Gold Nanoparticles

Andrew Dunn and Dr. Anne Rammelsberg
Pi Chapter, Millikin University

In this study we examined gold nanoparticle stability in the presence of biological molecules. To test this we used dilute solutions of the amino acids L-leucine, L-aspartic acid, L-glutamic acid, L-proline, L-histidine and L-glycine. We also used two proteins: bovine serum albumin and trypsin. Our results show that L-leucine, L-proline, L-glycine, L-histidine, bovine serum albumin and trypsin do not cause gold nanoparticle aggregation. L-aspartic acid and L-glutamic acid did interact with gold nanoparticles causing aggregation. Despite the aggregation in the absence of DNA, L-aspartic did not interfere with the gold nanoparticles ability to detect ssDNA. These results provide a foundation for continued research in this area. This technique can be used in small undergraduate universities and high schools.

Audio Podcast (mp3)

11:10-11:30 Room 005

Seven-Week Science Program for Local Home Schooled Children

Kristin Wesseling, Laura Boltz, Benjamin Randel, Rebekah Petter, Bonnie Sorensen, Eddie Desko, Scott Carr, Chad Wallace
Upsilon Chapter, Anderson University

A seven-week program covering fundamental concepts and experiences in biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics for local home schooled children has been developed and implemented for the past two years by Anderson University's Upsilon chapter. This talk will discuss the start up process, advertising, lesson plans, group involvement and financial aspects. Over the course of seven weeks, up to 40 home schooled children utilized the university's laboratory space for a day and were instructed by Sigma Zeta members and other volunteers. The students were divided into two groups based on grade level and would spend either one or two weeks/sessions on a particular subject. For example, on any given week one group may be doing chemistry and the other group could be working on biology. During that session, student-generated lab experiments or exercises would be performed lasting up to an hour. This has proven to be rewarding experience for both the university and home schooled students and an effective means to excite elementary students about science.

Audio Podcast (mp3)

11:30-11:50 Room 004

Investigating Potential Control Genes for Standardization of Quantitative Real-Time PCR

Kara Benjamin and Dr. Bynthia Anose
Beta Iota Chapter, Bethel University

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) has previously been used as a positive control gene for assessing the regulation of human Zinc finger E-box Binding Protein-1 (ZEB-1) expression. ZEB-1 is associated with the progression of prostate cancer, and is a putative biomarker for metastasis of the disease. However, in order to demonstrate conclusively the relationship between ZEB-1 expression and its various regulatory elements, it is critical that a negative control gene be identified to standardize the quantitative techniques. We have identified ribosomal protein L4 as an appropriate negative control gene for such purposes. Additionally, we have shown that beta-glucosidase and beta-tubulin are unacceptable for use as negative control genes. This study focuses on the quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), a technique commonly employed in the molecular diagnosis of disease such as malignant neoplasm. Through amplification of cDNA products and subsequent quantification via fluorescent spectroscopy, RT-PCR determines relative gene expression levels. Ribosomal protein L4 will be indispensable as an internal reference in future investigation of the regulation of ZEB-1 expression via quantitative RT-PCR.

Audio Podcast (mp3)

11:30-11:50 Room 005

Ryan Sanderson
Rho Chapter, University of Indianapolis

Inspiring Third Grade Students in Science Through An After School Club
This Honors project consisted of a community service project taking place at the Honor student's elementary school. A science club was created for twenty third graders, which met twenty times over the course of a school year. The three main goals were to get the students more excited about science, to help the students improve their student skills, and lastly, to improve the students' knowledge in science at a level greater than would be expected of third graders. Lessons were designed based on the Piagetian theory of cognitive development. Third grade students, mostly eight and nine years old, are in the heart of the concrete operational stage. Students at this age are not very proficient at grasping abstract ideas. Much of science deals with abstract concepts, so lessons had to be designed in a way that these abstract ideas become more hands-on. Children are often ÒpushedÓ into the next stage of development, the formal operational stage, at the age of eleven or twelve, by instances in which their understanding of the world is challenged. This may occur in science experiments, especially for young students. Experiments were also designed to challenge students' beliefs about the world. To evaluate the students' perceived progress in the area of science, the students, parents and teachers completed surveys both before the beginning of the science club and after the first semester. It was found that there were perceived gains in all sets of questions but one, which remained neutral.

Audio Podcast (mp3)