2021 Symposium for Student Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

Penn Dixie Fossil Quarry and Nature Reserve is an educational center located in Erie County, New York. It provides an opportunity for individuals to explore the geology and paleontology of Western New York. The Reserve allows visitors to collect fossils to study and to dig for simple fascination. The diverse fossil assemblage preserved in the rocks provide researchers with a unique opportunity to learn about life in the past. The fossil faunas collected at this location were used to reconstruct the Middle Devonian (393-382 million years ago) paleoenvironment. The Devonian was a pivotal period in the history of life on Earth as plants were beginning to populate land and early tetrapods were experimenting with life out of the water. Marine invertebrates were also thriving in newly formed tropical marine environments. Intense tectonism was occurring as island arcs began to accrete to the eastern margin of North America. This resulted in a mountain range along the east coast with extensive, deltaic river systems draining toward the west into an interior marine basin. Life thrived along the edge of the delta, and diverse organisms interacted forming unique ecosystems. The rocks deposited at this location belong to the Middle Devonian Hamilton Group, specifically the Windom Shale of the Moscow Formation. This soft, fissile, medium-grey shale contains abundant fossil brachiopods, corals, trilobites, echinoderms, and bryozoans. The bryozoan and solitary rugose corals formed thickets that provided habitats for the trilobites, echinoderms, and brachiopods to flourish. The faunal assemblage collected from Penn Dixie Fossil Quarry represents this unique ecosystem thriving along the edge of a well oxygenated marine basin during the Middle Devonian.

Machine Learning has high potential and can be applied to predict and optimize various processes. It has many applications for complex tasks and those that people do every day. Machine Learning is a subfield of Artificial Intelligence. Machine Learning can be used to find and analyze data, recognize patterns, and extract materials from internet. There are many forms of Machine Learning; supervised, unsupervised, semi-supervised, and reinforcement. The model is composed of a dataset and a model is set up to train the known data. Then the model trains and learns more in order to predict unknown outcomes. It is consistently tuned to reevaluate known outcomes to make predictions as accurate as possible.In the petroleum industry it can be applied in many forms such as geological studies, maintenance of petroleum equipment, and production engineering. This research is developed around modeling well-log data to optimize and make predictions for the future using stratigraphic correlation techniques. Common type of well-log data is resistivity versus depth. Normally, the higher the resistivity the less water saturation. Water at deeper depths contains a lot of salt so it is highly conductive, which means less hydrocarbons are present. However, higher resistivity generally correlates to more hydrocarbons being present. We are currently working on the model that should recognize the well-log patterns. It is intended to (1) be used to interpret well data, (2) being trained on added datasets, (3) make predictions for oil and gas production optimization from new or existing wells.

Veterans Courts aim to address the growing number of Veterans in the criminal justice system and prevent reoffending among this group by treating the combat-related traumas they have experienced. Previous research finds that these courts are effective; however, less attention has been devoted to how the court's team members perceive and experience the collaboration required of them to successfully implement these courts. This presentation will discuss findings from in-depth interviews that focused on the collaboration efforts among team members at one Veterans Court located in Western Pennsylvania. The interviews also focused on how well the court is implementing the 10 key points for effective specialty court practice.

Over time, dance has evolved choreographically and aesthetically to best fit the audience's expectations. Through close examination of my topic, I discovered that there are quite a few choreographers who are challenging themselves and their dancers by incorporating architectural structures into their choreographic works. In 1970, Trisha Brown was one of the first choreographers to test these waters with her piece, Man Walking Down the Side of a Building. In this controversial piece, she demonstrates that bodies and architectural structures create new and exciting meanings and trigger surprise and imagination in the spectators (Loos). Her work served as a strong foundation for contemporary choreographers such as, Elizabeth Streb and Jacque Heim, who further developed Brown's explorations of gravity defiance and the use of architectural structures. In the world today, some creators still fear the use of interactive structures and choreography that defies gravity, as it may take away from the essence and primary motive of the dance. After extensive research, I argue that the incorporation of gravity defiance and architectural structures should be considered by choreographers since these will add complexity and significant layers to a dance.

Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) has been a recent focus in mental health research. AAT has been supported by several theoretical perspectives, such as attachment theory. The human animal relationship can have numerous therapeutic effects. Canines has been shown to reduceheart rate, blood pressure, and increase levels of oxytocin. AAT can assist in developing the therapeutic alliance, has been shown to increase motivation, socialization, and enhance quality of life (Fine, 2010). Previous research has identified specific demographic, disability, andpsychological risk factors in children who are victims of sexual abuse (Miller-Perrin, Perrin, Renzetti, 2021). Child sexual abuse has been shown to have both a physiological and psychological effect (Krause-Parello, Gulick, 2015). Research has supported the use of equine-facilitated therapy and canine-assisted therapy for children who have experienced sexual abuse. The results of the studies found that equine-facilitated therapy produced a therapeutic effect and reduced reported depressive symptoms (Signal, Taylor, Botros, Prentice, Lazarus, 2013; Kemp, Signal, Botros, Taylor, Prentice, 2014). Canine- assisted therapy was shown to produce a more calming environment for the children in a forensic interview. Physiological reactions were recorded in the forensic interviews and showed that the AAT group had lower blood pressure and heart rate (Krause-Parello, Gulick, 2015). AAT has also been shown to beeffective in treating children with a history of sexual abuse and have been diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Avoidance, intrusion, arousal, and dissociation symptoms were reduced in the AAT intervention (Signal, Taylor, Prentice, McDade, Burke, 2017). There are several welfare considerations when using AAT (Fine, 2010). AAT is an upcoming approachto treating child sexual abuse that requires more research to promote and test the effectiveness of the intervention.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects over 5 million Americans. The disease is characterized by the formation of senile plaques of the amyloid beta and neurofibrillary tangles within the brain that can impair the patient's memory and behavior. These symptoms of AD develop slowly and worsen over time. Currently there is no known cause or cure for AD, therefore treatment is restricted to alleviating symptoms. A new approach to AD focuses on mitochondrial dysfunction, which is when the mitochondria release reactive oxidative species that cause damage and changes to the expression of tissues, proteins, and genes. MitoNEET is a newly discovered mitochondrial protein that is thought to regulate bioenergetics in cells. The focus of our research is to help resolve the mechanism of AD by identifying potential targets for treatment. Fluorescence microscopy is used to evaluate changes in protein expression. This was used to assess changes in protein expression when exposed to current AD therapeutics. One treatment is isoproterenol, which is a bronchodilator that has been shown to upregulate mitoNEET. Our preliminary studies use fluorescence microscopy to verify that isoproterenol upregulated the expression of mitoNEET in N2a cells after a 24-hour exposure. The results showed a two-fold increase in the relative integrated density when exposed to 1, 10, 100 uM of isoproterenol. Further studies will investigate mitoNEET regulation n response AD therapeutics.

Amphibian populations are declining globally and one third of all amphibian species are threatened with extinction. Numerous studies suggest that chemical contaminants and disease present immediate threats to amphibian populations worldwide. In this study, African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) were exposed to four environmentally relevant concentrations of the commonly used neonicotinoid insecticide, imidacloprid, throughout their development from hatching through metamorphosis. Toxicity, length of time to complete metamorphosis, and morphology were measured at metamorphosis. A subset of the animals was maintained through maturity in the appropriate imidacloprid dose following metamorphosis. The purpose of our current study is to analyze the health of these animals as adults after developmental exposure. We will analyze endocrine stress physiology and nutrient metabolism in these animals. Specifically, we will examine the impact of developmental imidacloprid exposure on blood glucose regulation in adult African clawed frogs. Through this study, we may be able to protect amphibian health by generating awareness around the safety of certain noenicitinoid insecticides in the natural environment. 

Located beyond left field at Jack Critchfield Park, lies a rock outcrop of the Pennsylvanian-aged Vanport Limestone that provides evidence of a paleoenvironment that existed over 300 million years ago. The Vanport Limestone is an extensive geological unit that can be found regionally across western Pennsylvanian and into Ohio. It is commonly mined in the area and used as an aggregate for construction projects and as a component in cement. Investigation of this rock outcrop at Slippery Rock University has provided a detailed picture of the life that existed within a unique marine environment during this time. Detailed examination of the rock outcrop as a whole, hand samples, and thin sections has allowed us to understand the sedimentary processes that existed hundreds of millions of years ago. We began our research by examining the 2.5 meters tall outcrop and collecting hand samples from every 0.25 meters. The rock samples were cut with a rock saw into 30 x 20 mm rectangular blocks that were polished and cut further into thin sections. The thin sections were analyzed for their lithologic and fossil content. The results of our study indicate that the outcrop varies from packstones to wackestones, changing from rocks that contain a high percentage of carbonate mud to an abundance of fossil constituents. Carbonate rocks such as limestones are formed in tropical marine environments and commonly capture a snapshot of the life that existed during that time. A shark tooth, genus petalodus, that lays atop the outcrop as well as microscopic organisms present in the rock such as, echinoderms, brachiopods, and gastropods disclose the fact that the there was a shallow marine environment present in this area when the rock was formed. The most significant finding was the identification of the foraminifera, Fusilinida, allowing us to assign a date of deposition of 323-252 million years old. This study has allowed us to reconstruct the paleoenvironment and understand Slippery Rock's geological past.

The purpose of this study is to explore sources of health disparities within the United States healthcare system impacting the LGBTQ+ older adult community. Its primary focus is the role of Certified Nurse Assistants (CNAs) in mitigating these disparities. First, this study examines the ways in which LGBTQ+ persons experience health disparities in Long-Term Care settings. Next, the role of the CNA is clarified, particularly in terms of certification requirements and role in long term caregiving. A gap analysis is then performed, which examines training versus potential areas for improvement in knowledge and preparedness to care for LGBTQ+ residents in long term care. Finally, this study will outline areas for future the research, including a research study design to measure CNA perceptions and preparedness to adequately care for LGBTQ+ long term care residents.

The last three decades show successively warmer temperatures at Earth's surface while the Northern Hemisphere has experienced its warmest 30-year period in the past 1400 years. Air and ocean warming results in greater induced stress on Arctic sea ice which has continued to decrease in recent years. In this study we analyzed and interpreted Arctic region air and sea surface temperatures (SST) and ice data to see if we can verify and quantify a warming trend. We used the datasets COBE-SST2 and Sea-Ice as well as NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis 1 from 1948 to 2018, both provided by the NOAA/OAR/ESRL PSL. The COBE-SST2 and Sea Ice dataset was regridded to match the spatial resolution of NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis at 2.5°. In ArcMap, eight raster sea-ice concentration layers were created using North Pole orthographic projection to display changes over time. After widely observing changes, one cell experiencing significant change was chosen to further analyze the grid cell centered on 72.5° North and 22.5° West. For this grid cell, time series of air temperature, SST, and ice concentration were extracted and then analyzed in Excel. Average monthly air temperature and SST showed an increase throughout the timeframe with the strongest trend occurring in winter months between 1979 and 2018. During this period December air temperature has increased by 0.8°C/10 years and January SST has increased by 0.5°C/10 years. Sea-ice concentration decreased between 1948 and 1980 and since 1980 there has been no ice existent in this grid cell. As temperatures continue to rise, the consequences are countless. Melting sea-ice contributes to rising sea levels and alters ocean currents, acidity, ecosystems, among others with extensive effects on the environment and ourselves. By changing our behaviors contributing towards global warming we need to mitigate this situation.

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.

The purpose of this study was to examine participants' emotional and neurological responses when listening to stimulative and sedative music through electroencephalography (EEG) using the MUSE 2 headset. Brain waves were monitored using the MUSE 2 headset while participants listened to 7 musical excerpts (3 stimulative, 3 sedative, and 1 control). Data from these recordings were analyzed using the MATLAB EEGLAB toolbox. Following each musical selection, participants also provided self-reported mood assessment using a 5-point Likert-scale between pairs of bipolar adjectives (i.e., happy/sad, restless/calm, joyous/gloomy, whimsical/serious, vigorous/quiet, majestic/soothing, playful/dignified, and exhilarated/dreamy). Data analysis was aimed at identifying brain wave activity patterns associated with each category of music as well as assessing correlations between brain wave activity and self-reported mood ratings. Given the constraints of participant recruitment and data collection due to COVID-19, preliminary results from this pilot study will be presented. Additional discussion will include study modifications and limitations resulting from the need to incorporate COVID-19 precautions for all portions of the study. Perspectives on conducting collaborative student-faculty research using human subjects during a global pandemic will be addressed, along with suggestions for future research given the constraints of COVID-19.

3-manifold is a topological space that locally looks like Euclidean 3-dimensional space. Finding a global understanding of a 3-manifold, however, is much more difficult. Here we describe the face pairing identification which provides a combinatorial characterization of a 3-manifold and go on to consider how small changes in a given pairing results in significant changes to the manifold.

This creative project investigated the process behind choreography and dance training, and what is required to produce choreography based on specific research. From January 5th-January 11th, 2020, I traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to complete a Creative Research Dance Intensive with the contemporary dance company, New Dialect, under the artistic direction of Banning Bouldin, who led the research process. In this dance intensive, we focused on methods to create movement in nonconventional ways, such as creating a sensory environment, an imaginary setting, and a character. These movement studies were generated with writing prompts that allowed me to explore different departure points and motivations for creating movement. Throughout the spring 2020 semester I have integrated these creative techniques in a solo that I have performed in both classroom and stage venues.

Gaia is an ESA astrometric mission to compile an 3d space catalog over a billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy. The Gaia mission will allow the understanding of the universe to deepen by determining the position of celestial bodies accurately. In this research project, I will be reading papers published by scientists associated with ESA to focus on the importance of Gaia. It is expected to discover hundreds of thousands of new celestial objects, such as Extra-Solar planets, brown dwarfs, and asteroids within our own Solar System. The mission will also study about 500,000 distant quasars and will provide stringent new tests of Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. Over the centuries astrometry has greatly contributed to the advance of the knowledge of the Universe. I will be assessing some of the outstanding contributions that Gaia will provide to our knowledge in the field of astrophysics.

The role of dance in the Musical Theatre genre has evolved throughout time. In the beginning years of Musical Theatre, dance's function was merely that of entertaining the audience during a hiatus in the storyline. A quick change of costume or set design, or a pause in between scenes, was an opportunity to send the dancers on stage to liven up the mood with dances that didn't have much to do with the theatrical plot. Agnes de Mille's work as the choreographer of Oklahoma in 1943 changed the function of dance in Musical Theatre substantially. Through my research, I argue that de Mille was able to successfully incorporate dance into the storyline of Oklahoma. Through her choreography and its relationship to music, set design, costume and stage lighting, she was able to enrich the narrative and enhance the emotional content of the story being told. She proved that dance as a non-verbal form of communication has the capability of contributing to a narration, even if in an abstract manner. The presence of dance in Musical Theatre was never the same after de Mille's work in Oklahoma. Dance became an integral partof the storyline and the choreographer became an essential part of the artistic team. Her contribution to Musical Theatre has been so valuable and appreciated that younger generations of choreographers have based their reconstructive works on the original versions of her choreography. I based my research on historic documentation by scholars such as Scott Miller,Jennifer Homans, and Erick Neher. I additionally examined various video recordings of the many different versions and reconstructions of the dances in Oklahoma.