2021 Symposium for Student Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

Considered a pandemic impacting 3.65 million people, 14.7% of individuals over 70 have dementia in the United States (Hurd, Martarell, Delavande, Mullen, Langa, 2013). Older adults with dementia may manifest symptoms such as apathy, withdrawal, and aggressive actions (NIA, 2019). Even surrounded by people in LTC, residents with dementia may lack social engagement. Non-pharmacologic approaches are promising (Brodaty & Arasaratnam, 2012) and are reflected in the newer CMS F-tag guidelines (CMS, 2017), but there remains a gap in research about the most effective approaches for LTC residents. Limited research exists on animal-assisted interventions (AAI) as a non-pharmacological approach to increase engagement in people with dementia (Friedman, Thomas, Chung, 2015; Huff-Mercer, 2015) and no known research compares equine- and canine-assisted therapy protocols. This study employed a within-subject alternating-treatments design for three single subjects. Completing the similar tasks of grooming, walking, and interaction, the independent variables are two conditions: 1) Condition A: Equine-assisted activity 2) Condition B: Canine-assisted activity. Using the Dementia Interview Rating (Strauss & Sperry, 2002), apathy was measured before and after each phase. During each session, three outcomes were measured: 1) Engagement in Preferred Activities Scale (Nelson et al., 2014) was used to measure the level of engagement in the interaction; 2) Heart rate variability, a measure of coherence, was measured using the Emwave pro (Heart Math Institute, 2018), and 3) targeted observed social responsiveness (initiation, verbal response, non-verbal response, motor response to one-step instructions) using a smart tablet application. Preliminary results suggest past experience/preference impact the individual client's response to differing protocols. Effective non-pharmacological interventions for older adults with dementia are an essential alternative to current practice.

In today's world as the demand for energy increases, many petroleum companies have introduced more and more use of enhanced oil recovery techniques. The techniques range from low salinity water injection to foam to carbon dioxide gas in the form of huff and puff and flooding, and they are especially useful in shale gas and shale oil reservoirs. Shale reservoirs typically have a low primary recovery due to low permeability and porosity values. EOR methods can significantly increase microscopic and macroscopic efficiencies in shale reservoirs, which can improve oil/gas recovery. EOR methods are generally fit into three separate categories gas injection, chemical injection, and thermal methods. The main type of EOR involving gas is the CO2 injection method, this involves introducing carbon dioxide into the reservoir to change the properties of the oil or gas. Because of low minimum miscible pressure(MMP), CO2 relatively easily combines with oil and gas in reservoirs and is a substance that will lower the interfacial tension and viscosity of hydrocarbons allowing more of them to flow towards the wellbore, hence more recovery. As a solvent, CO2 can also combine with oil and remove some lighter hydrocarbons to escape from the Shale reservoir. The chemical side of EOR primarily in shale reservoirs focuses on surfactant injection. These surfactants can change the overall wettability of a rock, which can increase overall recovery. Most of the time, this is used in “oil-wet” reservoirs, or reservoirs consisting of rocks that will have a higher interfacial tension will hydrocarbons than water. Surfactants can change the oil-wet reservoirs to more of water-wet or intermediate-wet reservoirs, doing this will allow for a lower residual oil, which in turn will mean less oil is trapped inside. Finally, thermal methods are typically used in the case of huff and puff and in some cases the injection of hot water or steam. All these methods can improve overall recovery of oil or gas.In this study, we analyze all the published studies of EOR methods in shale reservoirs to summarize the the applicability of enhanced oil recovery methods in different reservoir conditions. These studies included field applications, lab experiments, and some numerical simulations, which we can analyze the results to determine which methods work better for certain shale reservoirs. Overall the idea is to create a system to base future shale reservoirs EOR strategy design.

The objective of this study was to determine how active transporters, located at the plasma membrane of a cell, are regulated. This study had a specific focus on regulated endocytosis in the model system Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast). Endocytosis in S. cerevisiae is initiated once membrane proteins are ubiquitinated. This ubiquitin tag allows the cell to properly select membrane transporters and place them into endocytic vesicles. Ubiquitination is determined by ubiquitin ligase, Rsp5 in yeast, and its adaptors. The adaptors involved in this research include arrestins, Art4, Bul1, and Bul2, and are believed to make a molecular interaction with signals on the transporter that form a lock and key interaction. The overall goal of this study is to use random mutants and genetic screens to identify critical amino acids used on both the transporter and arrestin-adaptor pairs that contribute to this lock and key model. This study focused on the use of the CRISPR-Cas9 genetic engineering system which allowed the preparation of yeast strains for genetic screens by deletion of the endogenous pump JEN1 and adaptors ART4, BUL1, and BUL2. Two parts of the CRISPR strategy consisted of first generation of a guide RNA plasmid by in vitro phosphorylation and ligation of a DNA oligonucleotide, followed by transformation of guide RNA and CAS9 genes into yeast cells. Second a repair template for homology directed repair was generated by overlap PCR. Upon cutting of the genome by Cas9 + guide RNA cellular homologous repair pathways will repair the double strand break. Our repair template will cause the repaired DNA region to have a targeted deletion. Only repairs that incorporate this deletion will escape further Cas9 cutting and survive. Future directions include sequencing and validation of the mutants, which will then enable genetic screens to detect the arrestin-transporter interaction mechanism.

Developmental psychologists are interested in how children learn in a variety of social contexts. Museum exhibits are designed to promote interaction with materials and prompt conversations to support learning. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether there was a relationship between guardian characteristics and how children interacted with the Sun, Earth, and Moon museum exhibit at the Carnegie Science Center. More specifically, the present study examined whether (1) there was a relationship between the guardian's gender and the child's on task or off task behavior and (2) if there was a relationship between the guardian's estimated age and quality of the child's interactions. To test these hypotheses, we conducted naturalistic observation of 149 children. We coded characteristics of the child (perceived gender, estimated age), characteristics of the guardian (perceived gender, estimated age), and the type of interaction the child used to engage with the exhibit (appropriate physical interaction, sustained attention, interactions with others in relation to the exhibit.) Chi Square analyses were used to determine whether there was a relationship between the guardian's gender and the child's on task or off task behavior. Results indicated that there was no significant relationship between guardian's gender and whether the child was on task (X squared (2, N=116)= 2.44 ns) or off task (X squared (2, N=116)= 4.443 ns). We conducted three separate One-Way ANOVAs to test whether the estimated age of the adult was associated with whether the child exhibited each of three types of educational interactions (appropriate physical interaction, sustained attention, interactions with others in relation to the exhibit.) The results of these analyses were non-significant. These results will be discussed in terms of limitations in the present study and a need for further research

The purpose of the present study is to examine the relationship between student-expressed motivations and participation in College of Business (CoB) student organizations from a functional perspective on attitudes (Katz, 1960) utilizing the Participation Function Index (PFI), an instrument measuring motivations for volunteering. The PFI separates motives for volunteering into the 6 constructs, values, understanding, enhancement, social, career, and protective. The present study will also utilize measures of satisfaction with donated time, a factor correlated with continued volunteering and the number of hours donated to an organization (Nicholls, 2012; Nicholls, Kalamas, Schimmel, 2015). In alignment with previous research, we predict students who express high satisfaction in their specified CoB student organization will have higher levels of organizational retention, as well as a positive correlational relationship between high academic performance between 3.5 and 4.0 cumulative grade point averages and involvement in CoB student organizations. Additionally, in descending order, we predict the most common motivational constructs for participation, as measured by the PFI, will be career, understanding, social, enhancement, values, then protective. A minimum of 50 participants are required to validate findings with a desired enrollment of 200 participants. Participants must be or currently enrolled or have been enrolled in the CoB within one year. This study has implications to better understand the wants and needs of Slippery Rock University College of Business students and the motivations that drive involvement in student organizations. This information has high applicability in aiding CoB student organizations in providing programming in alignment with student desires that best reflect motivational factors for volunteering. At the time of presenting, the study may remain ongoing, however, descriptive statistics, analysis of significant motivational factors, factor structures, and Cronbach's Alpha scale evaluations will be presented utilizing most recent data available at the time.

Amy Orville and Paige Bucha were selected to be on a virtual educational panel and presented at the Eastern Educational Research Conference in Orlando, Florida. The educational panel discussed their distance learning experience during the COVID-19 outbreak. Panelists included participants from the United States and Turkey in which they described the similarities and differences of their educational roles and work within varying ages in the classroom. Presenters included perspectives from elementary, middle school, high school, and college educators as well as college student perspective within two different countries and three states. The discussion was based around dynamic questions which discussed the opinions of students and parents adjusting to online learning and if this platform of learning has been beneficial or detrimental to overall academic achievement. Panel Topics for Discussion included: What are some of the experiences of teachers at various grade levels and countries teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic? How has the rapid changes in the profession affected teachers emotionally and professionally as the 2020-2021 school year has progressed? What disparities and challenges have educators observed for themselves, students, and families transitioning from brick-and-mortar schools to online and hybrid educational models? What challenges and limitations has distance learning created in providing an equitable education between students? With diverse populations of students facing unique challenges such as disabilities, access to the internet, and social-economic disparities, how are teachers overcoming these challenges? What support can leadership provide to educators as they attempt to adjust their teaching practices? How can they help teachers with designing/delivering lessons, supporting students, and student engagement?

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of Kinesiotaping on pain levels, symptom severity, and function for those with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). DESIGN Intervention systematic review. LITERATURE SEARCH Cochrane Database, CINAHL, MEDLINE, PEDro and TRIP were searched for studies evaluating the effect of Kinesiotape on CTS. STUDY SELECTION CRITERIA One reviewer independently assessed studies for inclusion and quality. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included where at least 1 group received Kinesiotaping for an intervention. Studies beyond 10 years of publication were excluded. DATA SYNTHESIS The quality review was completed using the PEDro scoring scale. At least 2 raters scored each of the 5 articles and were blinded to the other's PEDro scores. Any disagreements between raters were to be resolved by a third rater's score, but no disagreements were found. Articles with PEDro scale scores of at least 7 out of 10 were included. Results of the articles passing the quality assessment were analyzed, weighted average standardized effect size (SES) was calculated for the control and intervention groups, and forest plots were generated by Evidence Partners' forest plot generator. Independent t-tests comparing the control and Kinesiotape groups were conducted for each dependent variable investigated.RESULTSFive RCTs were identified that demonstrated acceptable quality with a PEDro score of at least 7. For the pain, function and symptom severity dependent variables being measured, both the treatment and control groups demonstrated marked improvement. The Kinesiotaping group was favorable when comparing group improvements to published Minimally Clinically Important Difference scores and standard effect sizes. However, independent t-test results showed no statistically significant findings between the groups. CONCLUSION Health-professionals may consider using Kinesiotape when treating patients with CTS, but Kinesiotape may not be more superior than other conservative interventions.

Attention is an important academic skill that allows students to thrive throughout their educational journey. With increasing academic standards, students are expected to use higher-level cognitive skills and engage with schoolwork in more challenging ways (Miller, Simmering, 2018). Due to this advancing academic rigor, maintaining attention may be challenging for younger students, affecting their developmental ability (Fisher et al., 2014).Students often exhibit these difficulties when asked to attend with relevant stimuli or engage in activities, which can make staying seated and participating in academic tasks challenging (Krombach, Miltenberger, 2019). Introducing children to sensory intervention strategies, such as dynamic seating, at a young age is beneficial because it forms the foundation of learning and perception (Bodison, Parham, 2017). Published literature suggests a positive relationship between attention and physical stimulation that helps promote sensory integration (Merritt, 2014). Many academic skills are important for success, as intervening with students who display academic difficulties early is critical to avoid academic failure (Fedewa, Erwin, 2011).Although there is evidence that states the benefits of dynamic seating for attention in young students, there is a gap in the literature regarding what form of seating is most effective (Cefai et al., 2013; Fedewa, Erwin, 2011; Gaston et al., 2016; Krombach, Miltenberger, 2019; Seifert & Metz, 2016). Due to the limited evidence, this ongoing capstone project plans to evaluate the effects different dynamic seating has during classroom activities in young students through the use of movement and sensory strategies. Advantages and disadvantages of various dynamic seating will be discussed, while the most beneficial in maintaining attention of students will be determined.

Birds are established descendants of therapod dinosaurs and, like them, contain hands with 3 fingers. The structure of their hand consists of three phalanges, supported by a series of metacarpals and 2 carpals, which differs from the 6 carpals in their dinosaur ancestors. The homologies of the phalanges and carpals have been an area of debate amongst therapod paleontologists, who believe they correlate with the first three fingers of dinosaurs, and a radiale and ulnare, and bird embryologists, who believe it is instead the middle three fingers, and a pisiform and scapholunare. The Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) and its long developmental period displays temporary primitive characteristics which can provide an insight into adaptations made throughout evolution. In this study, histologically sectioned forelimbs of Laysan albatrosses that were stained with Masson' trichrome throughout stages of ontogeny ranging from embryonic stages 29 to 37 were analyzed using 3D reconstructive methods. In stages 31 to 37, The presence of a 5th metacarpal supports claims that dinosaurs' middle three fingers evolutionarily developed into the fingers of birds, and the reduction of a cartilage condensation medially to the outside carpal closest to the ulna upholds evidence that the ulnare is actually a pisiform and that the ulnare degenerates in development just as bird embryologists believe. The radiale developed normally as believed by paleontologists in stages 31 to 37. 2 cartilage condensations in stage 32 formed a semilunate carpal (a feature in dinosaurs) by stage 36, which fuses with two metacarpals before hatching, a feature developed in birds. While primitive features in the developing albatross exist, the hand isn't quite as primitive as was thought. Further developmental evidence could be collected via fluorescent immunohistochemistry for developmental signals to search for additional primitive characteristics in early embryogenesis.

PURPOSE/HYPOTHESIS: Physical therapy (PT) students at Slippery Rock University (SRU) complete didactic and clinical education coursework. Generally, the didactic portion does not afford students the opportunity to apply knowledge and skills with individuals who present with authentic impairments. Through a collaborative relationship, second year PT students were mentored by 2 graduate assistants in examining and treating Molly, a 26-year-old female with cerebral palsy, for 4 hours over 2-semesters as part of the neuromuscular curriculum. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the students' perspective of the effectiveness of this experiential learning opportunity in academic preparation for clinical education and work. SUBJECTS Invitation to participate in this research study was sent to SRU PT students in the classes of 2020, 2021, and 2022. A total of 140 students were invited with 63 participating in the study. Graduate assistants who performed the peer mentoring and investigators of this study were excluded from participation. METHODS: A mixed methods study was employed using a convenience sample. A peer reviewed, 26 question survey was developed by investigators using keywords from the domains of learning, a Likert scale, and open-ended questions. Students were invited to complete the survey via the Qualtrics platform. Survey data was analyzed by frequency and themes, collectively and by 4 subgroupings of respondents .RESULTS: The Molly Experience was perceived as valuable by 62 of the 63 students quantitatively based on closed-ended responses. Qualitatively, 27 participants expressed positive comments on the value of the Molly experience with many of them stating that it prepared them for clinical education and future careers.CONCLUSION: This experiential learning activity was perceived as a valuable learning experience that incorporates facets of numerous courses in the PT curriculum. The investigators recommend this activity continue for future classes.