The 19th Annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day Wednesday, April 22, 2015 Occurrence and Distribution of Quinolone Resistance Genes in Baltimore Wastewater

not available for publication. This investigation was sponsored by NIH/NIGMS MARC U*STAR T3408663 National Research Service Award to UMBC. Quantitative Analysis of Purine Nucleotide Pools Involved in an AMPK Regulatory Loop Gabriella Balaa, Danielle Schmitt Songon An, Assistant Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry The purpose of this project is to quantitatively analyze purine nucleotide pools from whole cell lysates using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Human de novo purine biosynthesis is a ten-step pathway catalyzed by six cytoplasmic enzymes that coalesce to form the “purinosome,” which converts phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate to inosine monophosphate under purine-depletion. An intermediate of purine biosynthesis, AICAR (5aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-β-D-ribofuranosyl 5 ́-monophosphate), is a wellcharacterized allosteric activator of AMP activated protein kinase (AMPK). Preliminary studies revealed that when HeLa cells expressing a purinosome marker were treated with small-molecular AMPK activators, purinosome formation was observed. We hypothesize that AMPK leads to formation of purinosomes that are deficient of the enzyme that catalyzes the last two steps of purine biosynthesis, leading to increased AICAR levels. To assess our hypothesis, we developed a HPLC method to quantify purine nucleotides in whole cell lysates. Currently, we are treating lawns of HeLa cells with the AMPK activators, and characterizing their effects on the purine nucleotide pools. Collectively, our work in understanding a regulatory loop between AMPK and de novo purine biosynthesis will lead to a greater understanding of the highly interconnected nature of the cell and potentially lead to improvements in cancer chemotherapeutics. This was funded, in part, by the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Do Couples Experience Disparities in Subjective Well-being based on SES or Ethnicity and are they Buffered by Support? Eileen Barden Robin Barry, Assistant Professor, Psychology The present study examined the associations among socioeconomic status (SES), race/ethnicity, and social support adequacy (e.g., receiving the support one wants) from one’s spouse on subjective well-being (SWB) in 114 heterosexual newlywed couples using actor-partner interdependence modeling. Previous research has demonstrated disparities in experience of socioeconomic disadvantage and stress between African-Americans (i.e., Blacks) compared to Caucasians/non-Hispanics (i.e., Whites). Given these disparities, Blacks may be expected to experience lower SWB than Whites. However, previous research has found inconsistent evidence of this hypothesis. This study examines whether Blacks and Whites have different levels of SWB; whether differences depend upon SES and whether support adequacy buffers these possible disparities on SWB. For race, only Black (e.g. 39.9 percent) and White (e.g. 46.1 percent) participant data was used for the scope of this study. Demographic characteristics of participants were not equivalent. Selfreport measures with demonstrated evidence of validity and reliability were used to assess SWB and support adequacy. Results suggested SES, support adequacy but not race were associated with SWB. Unexpectedly, support adequacy buffered the link between lower SES and lower SWB for Whites, but not Blacks. In addition, interactions with gender and actor-partner effects of support adequacy types were found associated with SWB. This work was funded, in part, through a travel award from the UMBC Office of Undergraduate Education. The Representation of Clytemnestra and Hecuba in Fifth-Century Ancient Athenian Tragedy and Pottery Amber Barnett David Rosenbloom, Associate Professor, Ancient Studies I wanted to examine the hypothesis that Clytemnestra in Aeschylus’ Oresteia and Hecuba in Euripides’ Hecubaare more than monsters created out of fifth-century Athenian misogyny. I chose these two tragic female characters because they are often considered transgressive or degraded for inflicting violence on men. Scholars have traditionally seen them as figures of misogyny: Clytemnestra is the masculine, domineering murderess, and Hecuba the terrifying mater dolorosa (“grieving mother”), whose anguish warps her into a bloodthirsty avenger. I compared the portrayals of these women in tragedy with their depictions in contemporary Athenian pottery in order to gain a broader understanding of them in the cultural context. I found the explanatory power of misogyny and female helplessness adequate for a rudimentary understanding of the images on vase painting, but insufficient as an explanation the women’s depiction in tragedy. Aeschylus and Euripides construct these two women as justified (at least partially) in their acts because of violence done to them by men—Clytemnestra avenges her sacrificed daughter and Hecuba her children lost at impious hands. Both women are defenders of fundamental moral and religious laws broken by male aggression. This work was funded, in part, through an Undergraduate Research Award from the UMBC Office of Undergraduate Education. Healthcare Mediation by a Community-based Organization for Gender and Sexual Minorities in Udupi, India Robert Barrett Sarah Chard, Associate Professor, Sociology and Anthropology This qualitative study investigated the health care system experiences of sexual and gender minority individuals within Udupi, India. Previous studies have revealed information on how sexual and gender minorities struggle against poverty and a politicized healthcare system heavily reliant on non-governmental organization (NGO) participation. Data were collected through conversations with staff members of Ashraya, a local community-based organization (CBO), document analysis, and 12 semi-structured interviews with selfidentified non-heterosexual individuals. This study analyzed the role that a CBO has in moderating the relationships between MTH (men-who-have-sex-with-men, transgender, and hijra) communities, healthcare providers, and objective-oriented NGOs (focused on achieving specific targets for an issue such as HIV prevention). It explored individuals' experiences with stigma and healthcare access through stories about denial of treatment, current services rendered by the CBO, and legal barriers. Results show the powerful role that the CBO plays in improving access to care and addressing larger healthcare system inequities. Findings support increasing involvement of CBOs in defining approaches to improve the health of sexual and gender minorities at national and international levels, and demonstrate the pitfalls of non-contextualized funding guidelines. Dance and Movement Therapy Techniques as a Mode of Choreographic Exploration Rebecca Behnke Doug Hamby, Associate Professor, Dance This project considers dance and movement therapy (DMT) and movement analysis techniques as modes for choreographic exploration. This work is the result of information gathered at the 2014 Dance and Movement Therapy Summer Intensive at Antioch University. Specifically, this piece focuses on Kestenburg Movement Profiles (KMP), a form of movement analysis, and other DMT techniques, to create movement and choreographic structure. KMP Movement Analysis is the comprehensive system for identifying psychological, developmental, emotional, and cognitive imbalances through movement observation, notation and interpretation. These techniques were used to create a new choreographic work. This work investigates the connection between mind and body and the effect of past experiences on current movement patterns. In a collaborate process, new movement was created using the dancers’ personal experiences and movement patterns. This work was funded by the Dance Department Summer Study award. A Study in the Visual Culture of Cosplay Lucinda Bennett Preminda Jacob, Associate Professor, Visual Arts Cosplay, a shortened term for “costume-play,” the practice of dressing as characters from anime, video-games and comic books at international, national and regional conventions, has been a growing phenomenon in the United States since the first cosplay event held in New York City in 1939. I studied cosplayers as talented and skilled artists who translate two-dimensional figures into three-dimensional costumes. As artists of imitation, they take their own unique place in the world of performance artistry by using their skills in the mediums of painting, sculpture, sewing and acting to faithfully duplicate and even improve upon existing designs. In August 2014 and February 2015 I attended two major anime conventions, Otakon and Katsucon, in the Baltimore-Washington D.C. area. At these conventions I interviewed and photographed a total of eighteen cosplayers among whom I found a wide range of ages, professions, skill levels and motivations. Combining these interviews with research on the history and theory of subcultures, I propose viewing cosplay as a legitimate and important visual art subculture of the twenty-first century. This work was funded, in part, through an Undergraduate Research Award from the UMBC Office of Undergraduate Education. Fragments of the Past: Pagan Iconography in Synagogues Sierra Benson-Brown Esther Doyle Read, Adjunct Professor, Ancient Studies In the ancient world, mosaics were not only revered for their aesthetics but also for the meaning they were made to convey. The mosaic fragments donated to the University and housed in the Spiro Collection lacked provenience in all but location which prompted research using only the given aesthetic value and possible time periods. Originally, the research focused on the composition of mosaics and was expanded to include cultural, social, and religious interpretations. By comparing motifs, composition, and style found in the mosaics, conclusions can be drawn in regard their purpose, time periods, and significance. The location was confirmed as Caesarea Maritima, Israel and the motif shown in the fragments fit the suspected time periods of fifth and sixth centuries. After verifying that the depiction was of Gemini through comparative analysis, the remaining question was why pagan iconography would be found during the Christian era of Roman rule in a field with multiple synagogues superimposed. The fragments may be a unique example of Roman and Jewish syncretism of the fifth and sixth centuries that may point to a mystical Jewish tradition. Determination of Essential Xylanases in Cellvibrio japonicus Nina Beri, Hadassa Guttman Jeffrey Gardner, Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences This project seeks to understand the mechanisms and regulation of lignocellulose degradation by bacteria. Lignocellulose, the material that makes up plant cell walls, is composed of a mixture of polysaccharides including cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin. Cellulose degradation has been an active area of research, but less attention has been directed towards the degradation of other cell wall components. Xylan, a type of hemicellulose, is comprised of β-1,4-linked xylopyranose residues with substituted side chains of other sugars. The importance of lignocellulose degradation is three-fold. First, in nature, bacterial degradation of plant matter is an integral part of the carbon cycle. Second, in the human gut, bacterial digestion of plant matter contributes 10 percent of total daily caloric intake. Finally, lignocellulosic biomass provides a valuable alternative source of renewable energy. Currently, little is known about how bacteria sense these polysaccharides in the environment and degrade them into component sugars. In our laboratory, the saprophytic bacterium Cellvibrio japonicus is used to investigate lignocellulose degradation. Using heterologous gene expression and mutational analysis, our work has uncovered several genes required for the degradation of xylan. Overall, our work will enhance the current model for hemicellulose degradation by environmental bacteria. This work was funded, in part, through an Undergraduate Research Award from the UMBC Office of Undergraduate Education. Analytic Thermal Design of Bitter-Type Solenoids William Birmingham Carlos Romero-Talamàs, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering The objective of my research was to derive an analytic method for designing the cooling system of water-cooled Bitter-type electromagnets. Bitter magnets are solenoids composed of helically stacked conducting disks that are perforated with cooling holes. My research focused on defining the geometry and placement of these cooling holes such that a manageable temperature is maintained within the magnet as electrical current flows through the disks. The analytic expressions I derived approximate the volumetric joule heating profile in the stacked disks with a smooth, continuous profile. The required heat removal rate at each cooling hole can be found by integrating this profile over the volume of the solenoid. The heating profile predictions as well as the heat removal rate determination have both been verified with Finite Element Analysis and will be used to design a 10 T Bitter magnet at the Dusty Plasma Laboratory. Bitter magnets are capable of generating sustained magnetic fields of up to 37 Tesla, and consequently provide a unique tool for studying phenomena in plasma physics, fundamental properties of matter, and nuclear energy. This work was funded, in part, by the the Special Research Assistantship/Initiative Support. A Program that Illuminates the Mathematical Foundations of Neuron Resting and Action Potentials Tiana Boardley Mauricio Bustos, Professor, Biological Sciences Cognitive functions depend on neurons communicating with one another via action potential--propagating waves of membrane depolarization and repolarization--that involve electrochemical gradients of sodium (Na), potassium (K) and chloride (Cl) ions, and opening and closing of voltage-gated Na and K channels. A deficiency in the K channels is harmful to the body and can lead to diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and even sudden death. Questions such as why different types of neurons have different action potentials, or what happens when the concentrations of K or Na change arise. A mathematical model was designed to help shed light on these unanswered questions. The model calculates and visually demonstrates how ionic conductance and capacitive currents give rise to neural resting and action potentials. The model was implemented in a MATLAB program that displays graphs and visual representations of the mathematical expression and its implications. This tool will be valuable to illustrate the physical meaning of classical equations such as the Nernst and the Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz equations. Students will benefit from visual representations of key ideas (e.g., equilibrium and rate of change) about the mathematical foundations of neuron resting and action potentials, which hopefully, will enhance understanding of basic neurotransmission. This investigation was sponsored by NIH/NIGMS MARC U*STAR T3408663 National Research Service Award to UMBC. Student Learning Objective Regarding Graph Interpretation Jeffrey Bowman Jonathan Singer, Associate Professor, Education The ability to interpret data presented in graphical form is a valuable skill necessary for a student’s achievement in college and his or her career. Interpreting graphs is also a skill required for successful completion on the required Maryland biology high school assessment (HSA). The objective of this study was to increase students’ ability to attain and understand information presented in the form of graphs, tables, and charts. The study population was selected through various baseline measures that identified 15 students who struggled with interpretation of scientific concepts presented in tables, graphs, and charts. Methods used to improve student’s ability included direct instruction, warm-ups, quizzes, review of labs, HSA-style questions, and regular practice problems. Students were assessed on their ability to identify independent and dependent variables, use of appropriate titles, and their ability to analyze the graphs to detect trends. Post-test data will be compared to baseline data and the target for improvement includes every student demonstrating at least a 25 percent score increase. Subcellular Localization of Glucose-6-Phosphatase and Phosphofructokinase in Glucose Metabolism Syrena Bracey, Casey Kohnhorst, Danielle Schmitt Songon An, Assistant Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry Spatiotemporal co-localization of metabolic enzymes has been proposed to increase metabolic flux through cluster-mediated channeling. We hypothesized that co-localization of the enzymes in glucose metabolism may indicate a functional multi-enzyme compartment that regulates the direction and magnitude of glucose-derived carbon flux in a cell. We have aimed to investigate every enzyme involved in glucose metabolism to gather enough evidence to support our hypothesis. Glucose metabolism involves two reciprocal processes: glycolysis, which converts glucose into pyruvate within ten steps and gluconeogenesis, which converts pyruvate to glucose in eleven steps. To date, we have focused on glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase), which catalyzes the last step of gluconeogenesis, and phosphofructokinase (PFK), which catalyzes the third step of glycolysis. Each enzyme was tagged with a green fluorescent protein via molecular cloning, transfected into cancer cells, and studied under fluorescence live-cell microscopy. PFK formed cytoplasmic clusters in various cancer cells, whereas G6Pase was localized in the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum, as we expected based on its subcellular function. Functional relevance of PFK-mediated co-localization events with the other enzymes are under investigation. Collectively, successful execution of this project will bring the scientific community closer to understanding the regulation of glucose metabolism and its link to metabolic diseases. This work was funded, in part, by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Undergraduate Scholars Program at UMBC, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Acknowledgement as a Literary Trope in the African American Literary Canon Nina Burgess Lindsay DiCuirci, Assistant Professor, English My research centers on the uses of the term “acknowledgement” in African American literature and the uneven acknowledgement of the African American literary canon by its critics throughout the 20 century. Acknowledgement, in the selected literature I study, refers to the legitimization of the identity of black characters created by African American authors as well as the recognition of the black author within the literary canon. This research also evaluates two overlapping spheres of acknowledgement: how the act of acknowledging has developed into a literary trope in African American literature and how black authors who recognize race in their writing are acknowledged by literary critics. My research focuses on works from the late 19 century’s Realist movement into the Black Arts Movement in the 1960s with emphasis on the work of Charles Chesnutt, Zora Neale Hurston, and Alice Walker. These selected authors investigate forms of acknowledgement in their work both as a way to address and expose social inequities and white privilege and to explore the literary market’s biases. The writers I’ve selected all wrote about their own literary aesthetic and goals, contributing to the discourse of African American literature before it was conceived as a field of study. This work was funded, in part, by the UMBC Department of English Honors Program. A Meta-cognitive Approach to Cultivating Writing in Context Nina Burgess Cheryl North, Assistant Professor, Education Students in this 12th grade English honors classroom in a highly populated urban community struggled to write arguments that supported claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence. To improve their writing skills, the researcher employed a metacognitive instructional approach. This approach was intended to facilitate students to better evaluate their personal needs as writers and builds interest in writing by allowing them to monitor their progress. During the intervention phase students completed multiple essay drafts on a self-selected topic that focused on one particular weakness such as using too many simple sentences and writing without an intended audience or purpose in mind. Each draft iteration was completed weekly until the end of the marking period when they published their work. The researcher assessed student growth on the specific identified weakness on a weekly basis by ensuring that students were aware of the specific weakness, and that they would focus on its improvement for the week. The researcher used the end product of this workshop, the portfolio, to measure students’ growth as writers. This research will evaluate what techniques helped students become better writers. True Greens: Creating a Community-based Food System Andres Camacho, Jack Neumeier, Thomas Eliason, Lydia Russell, Erik Schwarzenberg, Nusrat Zaman Jill Wrigley, Adjunct Professor, Interdisciplinary Studies “How can students shape the food system on the UMBC campus?”. True Greens represents a civic and entrepreneurial response to this question.We have analyzed to models of urban agriculture in Baltimore, such as Big City Farms, and determined that the construction of hoop houses on UMBC’s campus would allow for the greatest impact on the campus food system. Hoop houses are a lynchpin of urban agriculture, and could provide substantial amounts of leafy greens to dining services year-round. To reach this goal, True Greens has borrowed from the methodologies of technology entrepreneurship, and during the Spring of 2015, True Greens has worked on the execution of a minimum viable product (MVP) to test underlying questions and address challenges behind creating an on campus enterprise that sells produce to dining services. As a project based learning module in INDS 430: Creating Food System Justice course, students have been growing microgreens in the UMBC Biology Greenhouse in order to legitimize an on campus business model, and build the professional relationships required to put campus grown produce on the menu at Wild Greens. The data collected from the microgreens MVP (costs, profits, etc.) will illustrate the financial feasibility of growing produce on campus. This work was funded, in part, by the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship Idea Competition. The Economics and Politics of Non-Contributory Pensions in Argentina Mbalou Camara T.H. (Tim) Gindling, Professor, Economics; Cynthia Hody, Associate Professor, Political Science After rising for nearly three decades, recent studies suggest that income inequality in Argentina has fallen since the 2002 economic depression and that greater coverage of noncontributory pensions (NCPs) played a significant role in this trend. NCPs offer monetary transfers to poor elderly, disabled, and mothers of seven or more children who do not qualify for Social Security pensions because they did not contribute to Social Security schemes while working. Last summer, I explored the literature that suggests a negative effect of NCPs on Argentina’s economic growth by reducing labor force participation and discouraging formality in the labor market. The purpose of this study is to build upon existing literature by illuminating the economic and political interaction of NCPs in Argentina, and to demonstrate why its implementation has produced a favorable and sustainable trade-off. During the fall of 2014, I studied abroad in Cordoba, Argentina and observed that many political newspapers framed NCPs positively and as socially imperative. The results of an in-depth literature review and content analyses bring to light the importance of tackling income inequality in Argentina through NCPs and reveal how the “political economy” of the program suggests that it is likely to expand in the future. Joyce Jeffries: A Female Moneylender in 17-Century England Audra Campbell Amy Froide, Associate Professor, History This research project examined the life of Joyce Jeffreys (Jeffries) (c. 1570-1650) who was a single female moneylender in seventeenth-century England. Her life illustrates how a woman who never married could support herself in early modern England. She is relevant to the public because she gives them a glimpse into the realities of women’s lives in the past. Unlike many jobs in that time, which were very gender specific, moneylending was a job that was gender neutral and both men and women could engage in the occupation. She gained a lot of her clientele through various family connections. Jeffreys was a wealthy woman and maintained a household of several servants and maids as well as owning multiple properties and commissioning someone to build her a house. For a spinster to become wealthy by her own means was not common in seventeenth-century England. Both primary and secondary historical sources were used to research this topic and provide a clear understanding of Jeffrey’s life. In fact, one of her account books has survived and this gives us direct insight into her moneylending and consumer practices. It shows that she was meticulous and vigilant about her book keeping for her moneylending business. Documentation of Female Song in a Newly Recognized Species, the Puerto Rican Oriole (Icterus portoricensis) Susanna Campbell Kevin Omland, Professor, Biological Sciences Evolutionary biologists often assume that male competition for females is the root of the evolution of elaborate coloration and song. However, recent findings show that likely both males and females sang in the ancestor of all song birds; but no data exists on female song which suggest that both males and females sang in the ancestor of many species of song birds. We investigated whether Puerto Rican Oriole (Icterus portoricensis), a tropical songbird, exhibits both male and female song. For this project, we initially determined sex using size dimorphism and marked individuals with sex-specific color bands. We later confirmed sex using a universal genetic sexing protocol for birds. We repeatedly recorded both male and female Puerto Rican Oriole song. We are the first to document female and male song of this species. Furthermore, female Puerto Rican Oriole song appears to be similar to male song, with no obvious differences in structure. Our study provides further evidence of the ubiquity of female song in tropical songbirds. Finally, our findings provide additional support that female song is ancestral in orioles, and that song dimorphism in temperate breeding species is a result of a loss of female song. This work was funded, in part, by The Explorers Club Youth Activity Fund, Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid of research, an Undergraduate Research Award from the UMBC Office of Undergraduate Education, an NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates, and NIH/NIGMS MARC U*STAR T34 08663 National Service Award to UMBC. Advances in Training of Video Game Development Teams Eliot Carney-Seim, Austin Pagano, Michael Leung, Andrea Wozniak, Zach Holtzman Marc Olano, Associate Professor, Computer Science and Electrical Engineering The Game Developer's Club has created five projects, started several weeks into last semester, which will be reaching completion by the end of the spring semester. Revolve Online is a 3D online multi-player shooter where the winner can make a change to any aspect of the game, forever! Rolling Thunder is a 3D tactical flight simulator, where big guns and reckless commands win the day, that's where you come in. Fly tactically, protect the bombers and command your wing men to victory. Are you up for the challenge, pilot? Hue Bots is a 2D top-down puzzle game where you can build and control little multicolored robots, which you must use to solve increasingly complicated puzzles. The goal of each level is to get your special white robot to the finish. Second Hand is a 2D puzzle horror game where a disease is unleashed upon a derelict cruise ship. When the vessel's mechanical servants begin a fatal quarantining, it's up to Henrietta, the ship's mechanic to save whoever she can.Inheritance is a 2D dungeon crawler where you can level up your parent characters to make a strong new class child who receives the inheritance of the past characters you controlled.