2022 Symposium for Student Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

Tastebuds are small individual structures found in the mouths of animals with backbones. The description and distribution of tastebuds is well documented in mammals, however less so in reptiles more specifically in lizards. The distribution of tastebuds in lizards has been documented in the tongue and lower jaw in several specimens of different lineages. The purpose of this study is to examine the upper jaws of Christinus marmoratus, an Australian gecko. This study utilized preprepared histological slides of the upper jaw of 6 specimens of Christinus marmoratus. Taste buds were found within 3 specimens a total of 7 tastebuds, with 3 having no tastebuds. Previous studies have shown the absence of tastebuds on the tongue of Gekkonid lizards, but not in other lizards. This absence may be due to the fact that geckos utilize their tongue to clean the scale covering found on their eyeballs. Geckos have been found to have many tastebuds on the lining of the lower jaw, and the absence of tastebuds on the top jaw may indicate that their sense of taste is focused in the lining of the lower jaw.

Dance programs across the United States offer an array of dance genres as part of their curriculum. It is common knowledge that Ballet, a highly codified European system of movement and dance, is a genre that is presented to the dance community as a foundation for dance training. Many programs require Ballet because it supposedly assists a dancer's success in the development of other dance techniques and, therefore, is at the forefront of dance curriculums. As a result, the Ballet technique and aesthetics have influenced the course of Jazz dance's natural development, straying it from the elements that could very well further train a dancer towards versatility: juxtaposition, improvisation, ephebism, embrace the conflict, aesthetic of the cool, and according to some scholars, polyrhythm and polycentrism. In a field that hires versatile dancers, I question why a genre that was born and developed in the United States is not considered a foundational technique in its own country? Through this research, I will discuss Jazz dance's history up until the 1950s, what influenced the trajectory of Jazz dance's evolution, how did its trajectory changed Jazz dance's original form and the components of an authentic Jazz aesthetic, and discuss its significance to a dancer's foundational training. As a result of my research, I would like to see dance programs consider Jazz dance as an equal in foundational training while making more authentic choices of this aesthetic.

Stimuli (e.g., beer bottle) related to alcohol have been shown to elicit relapse in persons with substance use disorders. Therefore, it is important to understand the relationship between these stimuli and their ability to elicit alcohol consumption. Conditioned place preference (CPP) is a behavioral procedure that can be used to gauge the rewarding and aversive components of alcohol using visual cues. In the current experiment quail were administered ethanol (alcohol) (1 g/kg [ethanol=5; water=6]) and confined to a chamber with one colored light and on alternative days quail were paired with another light and administered water. Following conditioning the quail were given free access to both chambers and lights.Orientation to the light was measured manually. A one-way between subject's ANOVA was conducted to compare the effect of treatment (ethanol, water) on time spent orientating to the light paired with treatment. There was no significant difference between the subjects that received ethanol versus those that received water, F (1,10) = 1.478, p = 2.55. However, this was not surprising as we had a small sample size. Therefore, we looked at only the 5 subjects that received ethanol. We ran a paired sample t-test with the subjects that received ethanol and found a significant difference between the time they spent orientating to the ethanol paired light from the pre-test (M=3.41, SEM=1.77) and the post-test (M=0.04, SEM 0.01), indicating a possible aversion to ethanol, t (4) = -3.183) = p = 0.03.This is one of the first (pilot) studies to investigate discrete cues (light) in a visual model (avian) of CPP. Because cues in the environment have been shown to increase the probability of relapse, this model may be important for future research in behavioral and pharmacological treatments for cue induced relapse of alcohol treatment seeking users.

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 evaluating mitoNEET as a potential target for treatment. Fluorescence microscopy is used to evaluate changes in protein expression. This was used to assess changes in mitoNEET-GFP when exposed to current AD therapeutics. One treatment is isoproterenol, which is a bronchodilator that has been shown to upregulate mitoNEET. Our preliminary studies verify that isoproterenol upregulates the expression of mitoNEET in N2a cells after a 24-hour exposure. The results show a two-fold increase in the relative integrated density when exposed to 1, 10, and 100 uM of isoproterenol. We did not detect a significant difference in relative integrated density of mitoNEET-GFP when exposed to donepezil hydrochloride (5, 50, or 500 μM), rivastigmine L-tartrate (0.5, 5, 50, 500 μM), or galantamine hydrobromide (0.1, 1, 10, 100 μM). Further studies will investigate mitoNEET regulation in response to oxidative stress.

In this talk, we consider certain combinatorial and geometric aspects of 3-dimensional manifolds. A 3-dimensional manifold is a space that locally looks like Euclidean space, but globally the object can be much more complicated, and it exists in a higher dimension which cannot be directly visualized. Here we investigate the geometries that can arise, and we begin by explaining the 2-dimensional case of hyperbolic surfaces. In the 3-dimensional case, we explore several classical examples using the method of face pairings for construction. Our approach is to analyze this construction combinatorically, and then visualize the manifold using a computer program. We go on to investigate a new family of 3-manifolds introduced in 2022. Our research provides an amazing world of thought behind how our universe could be designed. The universe takes on the shape of a 3-dimensional manifold and depending on its shape it could be possible to look into the night sky and see another Earth!

The goal of this study is to measure the attitudes towards and training about the health needs of non-heterosexual and non-cisgender individuals among Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) and other medical professionals. This topic is difficult to study because the methods for asking questions regarding the LGBTQIA+ population are still under development, and because negative attitudes toward the LGBTQIA+ population are still prevalent in American society. This presentation will discuss parts of the questionnaire design process, along with how the sample was drawn, the importance of the cognitive interviewing process, and further steps in the research process.

In recent years, the use of technology has been on the rise in the dance world as society as a whole increasingly has become digitized. One of these technologies popular among dance artists today is the camera. Dance created specifically for the screen can be better defined as screendance. In the realm of screendance, artists can choreograph a collaboration between camera and dancer that allows for the ability to express narrative in ways unique to film. In this research, I will argue that with the intentional use of framing, location, and editing in screendance, choreographers can tell if a narrative differs in ways from standard live performance. In the first section of this research, the idea of screendance and narrative, as well as dance filmmaking pioneer Maya Deren will be introduced. Next, the importance of framing, location, and editing choices to express an intended narrative to an audience, will be supported through research findings and screendance examples. Lastly, this research uncovers the possibility of screendance without narrative being questioned and explored through the structure of meta-narrative. Through this research process I have learned that the use of framing, location, and editing greatly affects and alters the outcome of narrative in screendance.

For years, strength training has been proven to improve the overall performance of an individual. The idea of implementing such training into a dancer's pedagogy is one that hasn't been investigated as deeply due to the ongoing fear within the dance world of being 'bulky' and body dysmorphia. This fear is centralized around the idea that strength training elicits bodily changes where muscle is gained and one's appearance is categorized as bulky or overweight. A dancer's fear of looking too bulky stems from the idealizing image of a dancer being petite. Through my exploration of the biomechanics of a dancer, in connection with strength training, I was able to determine how beneficial it is for dancers to include this type of discipline into their practices. With my findings, I implemented a 14-week strength training program into my own studies as a dancer, tracking my progress overtime. The idea of being too bulky, was proven to be inaccurate and my overall performance as a dancer had improved substantially.

Through close research, I have investigated Ohad Naharin's choreographic and creative processes for both Israel's Batsheva Dance Company and the Gaga Movement Language. Originated by Naharin in 1990, Gaga remains unparalleled and has challenged other forms of modern and contemporary dance genres in the past few decades. Creative processes, such as Gaga, are significant because they can provide young choreographers with alternative methods of creating and assembling a choreographic piece. I approached my research subject historically through bibliographic sources, interviews, and video analysis. I also engaged in ethnographic research and participant-observer methods to further examine specific choreographic methodologies utilized by the Gaga technique. In my narrative, I weave in the voices of Gaga specialists, such as Deborah Galili, who has spent many years studying the complex and layered aesthetics and creative methodologies that Ohad Naharin has contributed to contemporary dance. In this research, I demonstrate how Ohad Naharin's creative methodologies can generate innovative vocabulary and transformative choreographic narrative.

As a former recipient of gifted education services, I was interested in the laws surrounding gifted programs and the requirements to teach them. The Pennsylvania Department of Education does not have enough requirements in place for gifted program structure, the qualifications necessary to teach gifted classes, and the specific support services needed for gifted children to meet their potential. Dr. Katie Leckenby and I created a survey which was administered to members of the Pennsylvania Association of Gifted Education. The project is ongoing, with 27 responses thus far. I will also be observing middle school gifted programs at some of the participating schools.