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  You Never Walk Alone: How BTS Supports ARMY Mental Health and Well-Being

  Melissa Le

  BTS is a seven-membered South Korean boyband with a fandom named "ARMY." Music is generally associated with increased mental health, but not all types of music genres have been studied yet. With the current rise of Korean popular music (K-pop), it is important to understand what makes this genre popular and why fans claim it has improved their mental health. As BTS is currently the most popular K-pop group globally, they provide a unique look at how their music can help fans with depression and anxiety.

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  Biochar Hydrophilicity Characterization by a Smartphone-Based Apparatus: Design, Construction, and Measurement Calibration

  Emma Letourneau and Suraj Pochampally

  Water contact angles are used to determine hydrophilicity, which is a material's attraction to water. A water contact angle of greater than 90 degrees indicates a hydrophobic material that repels water, whereas a contact angle of less than 90 degrees indicates a hydrophilic material [Fig. 1]. Water contact angles are measured through a goniometer, which can cost between $2000 to $10,000.

  Biochar is a porous carbon material created from biological waste products, that is pyrolyzed (i.e. burned) in a low-oxygen, high heat environment. Biochar can be used to remove contaminants from water and remediate soil while reusing waste, making it an excellent environmentally-friendly material. The biochar feedstock type and pyrolysis temperature impacts the resulting biochar's material properties, including hydrophilicity.

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  Identification of lipid species: potential biomarkers for early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma

  Kit Yee Leung and KayLee Freitas

  Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of liver cancer. HCC is associated with cirrhosis. Poor survival rate of HCC is due to diagnosis of HCC at late stage.

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  Are They Satisfied Enough to Go Above and Beyond?

  Alexandra Lungu

  Drawing on self-determination theory, this study examines the relationship between paradoxical leadership and service employees' work behaviors.

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  Palm Oil and Exported Deforestation

  Anja Marcusiu and Alexis Osorio

  Palm oil is used in our everyday lives through: Beautify/hygiene products; Bioenergy; Food. Indonesia and Malaysia account for 85% of the world's palm oil production, making them the largest exporters. Because palm oil is a highly productive crop and is in high demand, how do companies integrate sustainability to limit deforestation and preserve biodiversity?

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  Forgetting in Item Recognition and Pattern Separation

  Mateo Marquez and Rhiannon Soriano Smith

  Forgetting is commonly defined as the inability to access information that was once successfully encoded and could be retrieved with a cue, but now leads to memory failure (Frankland et al. 2013).

  Memory representations based in the hippocampus engage in pattern separation and are more prone to decay than interference (Sadeh & Pertrzov, 2020).

  Extra-hippocampal representations are more prone to interference than decay (Hardt et al. 2013).

  Pattern Separation refers to keeping memory representations distinct from one another.

  Is there more decay in pattern separation and more interference in item recognition?

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  School Standard

  Adrian Montenegro

  Neglecting the importance of student education only serves to decrease the morale amongst students. These new implementations are only reminders of the danger present in today’s schools. Unfortunately, communities are never the same after a tragedy, impacting generations to come. Why are students still being punished after the tragedies.

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  Nuclear Power Plant in Las Vegas

  Ryan W. Murray

  This research focuses on the impact of a “Nuclear Power Plant in Las Vegas” or ‘NPP in LV’ for short. Nuclear power is clean, has no greenhouse gas emissions, and has a moderate cost of kilowatt hours. Las Vegas, or more specifically Clark County uses Gas power plants to produce a majority of their electricity. My project will show what a nuclear plant could do if built in the city of Las Vegas. What is a Nuclear power plant? The EIA’s definition is “A nuclear power plant uses the heat that a nuclear reactor produces to turn water into steam, which then drives turbine generators that generate electricity” (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2020). Currently the U.S. uses two types of nuclear reactors, either Boiling-water or Pressurized-water nuclear reactors. The most used currently is the Pressurized-water reactor. EIA explains “A steam generator is a giant cylinder filled with non radioactive water (or clean water). Inside the giant water-filled cylinder are thousands of tubes filled with the hot radioactive water from the reactor core that eventually bring the clean water to a boil and turn it into steam. The radioactive water flows back to the reactor core to be reheated, and once reheated, returns to the steam generator” (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2020). The main advantage of the pressurized water reactor is that it will only contaminate a fixed amount of water which is constantly reused inside the system.

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  Malice Within Meanness in Psychopathy Predicts Unrestricted Sociosexuality

  Michal Newhouse-Van Vlerin

  This study examines the relationship between the Meanness in Psychopathy-Self Report Short Form (MiP-SR-SF) and the Sociosexuality Orientation Inventory-Revised (SOI-R). It links the fields of personality and sexual functioning.

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  U.S./Russia Export Relationship

  Adam Nishino, Mohammad Saad Bin Shahzad, Yonathan Assefa, and Trel Lakindanum

  Russia and the United States have a long history of trading as early as 1913. Over the years, Russia has become a notable player in US imports. By using the United States Census database and the Office of the United States Trade Representative database. In short, our research will discuss the trade relationship between Russia and the United States over the last century, through history and data analytics, and its effects on trade and politics to the rest of the world.

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  Climate Change Hope Scale: Factor Analysis in an Adult Sample

  Gemma Ortega, Steven J. Glover, Jesse Tabaczynksi, and Orei Z. Odents

  Willpower - how much individuals believe that set goals can be met. Waypower - the extent to which individuals can think of strategies for accomplishing those goals.

  The Climate Change Hope Scale (CCHS; Li & Monroe, 2017) was designed to measure three aspects of hope: 1. Personal sphere willpower and waypower (WP) 2. Collective sphere willpower and waypower (CW) 3. Lack of willpower and waypower (LW).

  A three-factor model fits the CCHS among adolescents. The purpose of our study was to determine if the three-factor model fits the CCHS in adults.

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  The Effect of Sleep and Emotion on Pattern Separation

  Alanna N. Osmanski and Laisha Sanchez Espitia

  Slow wave sleep has been considered an important aspect of memory consolidation, most commonly through a model known as active systems consolidation. Newly encoded memories are repeatedly activated, driven by slow oscillations that occur in the neocortex. A widely accepted view is that emotional memories are preferentially consolidated during sleep making them easily obtainable for retrieval. However, recent meta-analyses of sleep, emotion, and memory have suggested that this effect may not be as robust as we once thought. A relatively new way to investigate sleep and emotional effects on memory is with a pattern separation task called the Mnemonic Similarity Task (MST). The current study examined pattern separation and item recognition using an emotional variation of the MST consisting of negative and neutral images.

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  Antibiotic Production of Facultative Anaerobic Bacteria from Soil Isolates

  Cierra Paaaina-Daquioag and Debra Kerr

  In nature, antibiotics are produced by organisms to deter and possibly communicate with other organisms. The use of antibiotics to treat infections revolutionized medicine, but bacteria and fungal pathogens become resistant due to the overuse of these medications. A potential solution is to search for novel antibiotics produced by soil bacteria. Bacteria gene expression patterns, including antibiotic production, are different under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The objective of this research project was to identify soil bacteria that produce antibiotics that inhibit the growth of benign relatives of the ESKAPE pathogens under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. A secondary objective was to adapt the results for a microbiology course-based research experience in the School of Life Sciences.

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  Synthesis of Modified Walnut Shell Biochar and Material Characterization in Ground Water Treatment

  Maaike Parajes and Suraj Pochampally

  Biochar (BC) is a carbon-rich material synthesized from the pyrolysis of biomasses and developed to remove soil and wastewater contaminants. The pyrolysis process involves thermally decomposing the organic materials in the absence of oxygen. Biochar has the potential to be an eco-friendly and effective adsorbent for heavy metals and toxic organic compounds. An adsorbent is a material that attracts other substances on its surface, chemically and physically. Walnut shells were chosen for the biochar modification to improve the surface morphology, pore structure, and adsorption capability.

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  Exporting U.S. Cosmetics to China's Lower-Tier Cities

  Kaitlynn Quach and Audrey Stephanie

  What is the cosmetics market like in China's lower-tier cities for U.S. brands? In order to create market entry strategies, China has city-tier classifications that are commonly used in business. Classifications are based on GDP, political administration, and population. In 2020, Chinese consumers spent more than ¥340.0 Billion RMB ($53.46 Billion) on cosmetic products. This number increases from year to year and is especially affected by globalization. The United States is one of the top exporters of cosmetics brands.

  Although popular, United States cosmetics brands face strong competition in China's first-tier cities. First-tier cities are considered the largest and wealthiest cities in China. Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong are some of the most well known first-tier cities.

  On the other side, China's lower-tier cities are less populated and have a smaller GDP. With the growth of lower-tier cities in China such as Guilin and Hulin, there may be more opportunities to gain awareness, market share, and loyal customers long-term.

  This research explores the benefits of exporting U.S. cosmetics brands to lower-tier cities in China. All personal care products are referred to as cosmetics.

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  The Meta-Mood Experience: Exploring the One-, Three-, and Four-Factor Models of the Trait Meta-Mood Scale

  Zain N. Raja, Jerald J. Novero, Susan E. Gutierrez, Orei Z. Odents, and Fitsum A. Ayele

  The meta-mood experience involves "thinking about mood, examining the relation between mood and thoughts, maintaining good moods, and altering bad moods" (Mayer & Gaschke, 1988). Meta-mood can help individuals have a better grasp of what they are feeling at different times.

  The 30-item Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS; Salovey et al., 1995) measures the extent to which people attend to, distinguish among, and regulate their mood and emotions.

  Salovey et al. (1995) found three factors (Emotional Attention, Clarity, and Repair), while Palmer et al. (2003) found evidence for a fourth but left it unnamed.

  We named the fourth factor in our study Emotional Susceptibility because this factor looks at how easily influenced the participants are in regard to their mood and emotions.

  Censoring occurs when the value of a variable is only partially known (Gijbels, 2010). If there are a significant number of people that are scoring 1 on an item, there could be left-censoring. This is because low scores on the item fail to reflect low levels of the dimension that is being measured.

  Our study aimed to determine whether the one-factor, three-factor, or four-factor models fits the data the best when we assumed that participants may have censored values on some of the TMMS items.

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  Musicality, Misophonia Sensitivity, and Responsiveness to Misophonia Videos

  Alexis Rice, Jennifer Hsu, Kaela Omengan, and Sivan Barashy

  Misophonia sensitivity as measured by the A-MISO-S predicts emotional responses to misophonia trigger videos, but musical sophistication (Gold MSI scores) did not. A measure of real-time responses to videos can capture a meaningful aspect of misophonic experience in the general population. Future research should investigate whether more direct measures of musicality such as perceptual tasks will show a relationship between musicality and misophonic reactions.

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  Misophonia Sensitivity is Related to Enhanced Responsiveness to Misophonia, ASMR and Musical Frisson

  Alexis Rice, Kiara O'Keefe, Kacey Chang, Sivan Barashy, Solena Mednicoff, and Destiny Gonzales

  Misophonia: a condition in which specific everyday sounds (e.g., chewing, breathing) trigger an atypical, negative emotional response.

  ASMR: a sensory phenomenon triggered by stimuli that induce a state of relaxation, positive feelings, and tinging sensations that spread from the head to the rest of the body.

  Musical frisson: typically characterized by positive affect and strong physiological reactions, such as shivering, goosebumps, and teary-eyes in response to highly pleasurable music.

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  Powering a Sustainable Electric Vehicle Future

  Harmony Ruth and Jordan Brickman

  Electric vehicle sales account for roughly 20% of total sales world wide and are projected to be 80% by 2050. China's electric vehicle market holds a 13.3% market share. China exported 550,000 electric vehicles in 2021. China represents a 54% share of the world's coal consumption as of 2020. Why study China on this issue? China is a major player in the World Economy.

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  Localization of IPMK

  Braden Sio

  Inositol Polyphosphate Multikinase (IPMK) is a relatively new gene found in mammalian cells. To determine where I should further conduct our research, I localized this gene within HEK-293 cells. For this study, HEK-293 cells are used. These cells are easily cultured and transfected, both of which are needed for this study. IPMK tagged with Green Fluorescent Protein is transfected into our test group. The control group is transfected with only Green Fluorescent Protein. After transfecting the HEK-293 cells, the cells are put under a fluorescent microscope under the GFP setting. In the HEK-293 cells that were transfected with IPMK GFP, the visible green fluorescence appeared within the nucleus of the cell. In the HEK-293 cells that were transfected with only GFP, the whole cell was seen with green fluorescence. With this information, I conclude that IPMK is localized within the nucleus of the cell, thus giving the information on where I should begin my research on this gene.

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  "We Could and Should be Doing More": Domestic Violence Advocates' Perceptions of Agency Training

  Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio and Shon M. Reed

  Domestic violence advocates are an under-represented part of the criminal justice system. Because of the role that advocates play in supporting diverse populations of victims/survivors, it is important that they be given the opportunity to express their needs regarding onboarding and supplemental trainings. The current study gathers qualitative data from domestic violence advocates around the United States and explores advocates' recommendations for future trainings. Participants generally expressed the need for increased training regarding various victim sub-populations (e.g., LGBTQ+). Future policy implications and avenues of research will be presented.

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  The Influence of Unitization on Recognition Memory

  Ting Tong, Amaya D. Bolling-McDevitt Hernandez, Audrey Kirsch, and Alanna N. Osmanski

  Previous research on recognition memory assumes that associative recognition relies on recollection, whereas item recognition relies on a combination of recollection and familiarity. Unitization refers to the encoding strategy where two separate items are perceived as a single coherent entity or object. Research has demonstrated that unitization can facilitate familiarity-based recognition by generating representations of the stimulus and integrating it into a unified whole. To investigate this issue, we examined the effect of unitization on memory for word-pairs through two types of tests:

  Associative Recognition: judge whether word pairs occurred together

  Item Recognition: judge whether single words are old or new.

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  Characterization of the thermophilic xlanase Fsa272 from Candidatus Fervidibacter sacchari belonging to glycoside hydrolase family GH10

  Nicole Torosian, Jonathan K. Covington, Allison M. Cook, Nancy O. Nou, and Jan-Fang Cheng

  Candidatus Fervidibacter sacchari is a novel, facultatively anaerobic, hyperthermophilic bacterium found in terrestrial geothermal springs globally. Its genome encodes 115 putative glycoside hydrolase enzymes that are predicted to hydrolyze glycosidic bonds between carbohydrates. Fsa272, a member of the glycoside hydrolase family 10, was synthesized and cloned into Escherichia coli strain T7 Express. The transformed E. coli was grown with LB broth and ampicillin at 37°C. Fsa272 expression was induced with isopropylthio-beta-galactoside (IPTG), and the lysate was heat purified for 15 minutes at 80° C. The 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid assay identified xylanase activity with a pH range of 4.5 to 10.5 (pHopt 5.5) and a temperature range of 60 to 90°C (Topt 80-90°C). The para-nitrophenol assay was used to determine the Michaelis-Menten kinetic parameters of Fsa272, resulting in KM of 1.8 mM and V max of 232.6 μM/min. The characterization of Fsa272 provides critical information on Ca. F. sacchari and its potential application in converting polysaccharide waste to biofuels.

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  Groundwater Remediation Using Modified Biochar

  Kers Ung-Watson, Ismail Abdulraheem, Nikki Tibayan, and Suraj Pochampally

  Biochar, a lightweight black residue made of carbon, has proved to be an effective adsorbent to remove TCE from groundwater. Not only is it an economical substitute for conventional adsorbents but it can be created by using a variety of organic materials. For this project, it will rely on walnut shell feedstock to create biochar as this had the best ability to adsorb TCE.

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  Low-Cost Adsorbent for Disinfection Byproduct Removal from Drinking Water

  Savanna Vacek and Suraj Pochampally

  Disinfection byproducts (DBPs) are harmful contaminants that are unintentionally created in disinfected water after chlorination. Activated carbon, often expensive and difficult to acquire in low-income and rural areas, has previously been used to remove DBPs from drinking water. Biochar is made from agricultural waste (i.e. feedstock) and has been identified as a low-cost yet effective adsorbent to remote contaminants from drinking water. This work focuses on the efficacy of biochar and activated carbon to remove DBPs from drinking water for the purpose of treating drinking water after emergency chlorination. This study has the potential to help water distributors and disadvantaged communities improve water quality and prevent unintentional harm caused by DBPs.