HelenaAbad FridayHendrixCollege 4:15PMBiology(BI) CCCS207UndergraduateStudentJudge:Yes

EcosystemservicesoftheBigBendregionoftheChihuahuanDesertNathanTaylor,DavisKendall,AbadHelena,MaureenR.McClung,MatthewD.Moran

Ecosystemservicesestimateshavenotbeenpublishedforsomebiomes,notablydesertecosystems.TheChihuahuanbioregionisthelargestdesertinNorthAmerica,hashighbiodiversity,isrelativelyintact,andhasconsiderableculturalsignificanceforpartsofMexicoandtheUnitedStates.WecalculatedtheecosystemservicesvaluesfortheBigBendregionoftheChihuahuanDesertinsouthwestTexas,USA.BigBendhaslowlevelsofdevelopmentandisarelativelyunmodifiedandfunctioningecosystem,makingitagoodrepresentativelandscapetostudydesertecosystemservices.Wefoundthatthisregionhas$550(2015USD)ofannualvalueperhectarewithrawmaterials,climateregulation,andculturalservicescontributingthemostmonetaryvalue.Thisvaluewasmarkedlylowerthanotherterrestrialbiomes,whichwasnotnecessarilysurprisingconsideringdesertsarelowproductivityenvironments.However,giventhesizeoftheChihuahuanDesert,theoverallecosystemservicesvaluefortheentirebioregionwouldbesizeable.TheChihuahuanDesertisfacingnumerousthreats,mostnotablyenergydevelopmentandoveruseofnaturalresources,whichisprobablynegativelyimpactingecosystemservicestoday.Projectedgrowthinoilandgasdrillingandwindenergycouldfurtherdegradethevitalservicesprovidedbythisregion.Thelowecosystemservicesvaluealsoindicatesthatthewidespreaddesertificationoccurringgloballyiscausinglargedecreasesinecosystemservicesacrossmanylandscapes

MahbubAhmed Saturday SouthernArkansasUniversity 8:00AMEngineering(EN) CCCS115Faculty/ResearcherJudge:No

DevelopingaLowCost3DPrintingLabandtheUseof3DPrintinginaFreshmanEngineeringLabCourse

MahbubAhmed,MdIslam

3Dprintinghastakenmodernmanufacturingtoanelevatedlevel.Astheaveragepriceofa3Dprinterisbecomingmoreaffordable,scientistsandengineersarecontinuouslytakingadvantageofthistechnology,includingthestudentsandtheprofessorsofSouthernArkansasUniversity.Inthepresentstudythedevelopmentofalowcost3DprintinglaboratoryfortheengineeringprogramofSouthernArkansasisdescribed.Theuseof3Dprintingtechnologyforafreshmanlabcourseforengineeringstudentswaspartofthisstudyaswell.Thestudentsenjoyedtheentiredesignprocessandanenhancedengagementwasobservedamongthestudents.

IsmaeelAl-Baidhany FridayAl-MustansaryahUniversity 2:15PMPhysics(PH) CCCS101Faculty/ResearcherJudge:No

ANewRelationbetweenSpiralArmPitchAngles(p)andtheBulgeLuminosityIsmaeelAl-Baidhany,HayfaGhaziDaway,NadirFadhilHabubi,NidhalNissanJandow,

SamiSalmanChiad,WasmaaAbdulsattarJabbar

Inthisstudy,wehavefoundanewrelationbetweenspiralarmpitchangles(p)andthebulgeluminosity(P-L).Inthisstudy,wemeasuredthespiralarmpitchangle(P)forasampleofSpitzer/IRAC3.6-µmimagesof40spiralgalaxies,estimatedbyusinga2DFastFourierTransformdecompositiontechnique(2DFFT).Weselectedasampleofnearlyface-onspiralgalaxiesandusedIRAFellipsetodeterminetheellipticityandmajor-axispositionangleinordertodeprojecttheimagestoface-on,andusinga2DFastFourierTransformdecompositiontechnique,wedeterminedthespiralarmpitchangles.Themeasurementofthebulgeluminosityisbasedonatwo-dimensional(bulge-bar-disk)decompositionprogramtomodelSpitzer/IRAC3.6umimages.Thebulgeluminositywasdeterminedforasampleof40spiralgalaxiesbyapplyingthetwo-dimensionalmulticomponentdecompositionmethod.

CallaBassett FridaySouthernArkansasUniversity 1:00PMPhysics(PH) CCCS101UndergraduateStudentJudge:YesSuppressionofRadiation-InducedChromosomeDamagebyGT3andtheRoleofMicrogravity

CallaBassett,AbdelBachri,RupakPathak

Ionizingradiation,suchasouterspaceradiation,generatesreactiveoxygenspecies(ROS),whichcauseDNAdouble-strandbreaks(DSBs)thatareresponsibleforcytogeneticalterationsoriginatingfromChromosomedamage.BecauseantioxidantsarepotentROSscavengers,weinvestigatedwhetherthevitaminEy-tocotrienol(GT3),aradio-protectivemultifunctionaldietaryantioxidant,cansuppressradiation-inducedcytogeneticdamage.WemeasuredDSBformationinirradiatedprimaryhumanumbilicalveinendothelialcells(HUVECs)byquantifyingtheformationofy-H2AXfoci.Chromosomalaberrations(CAs)wereanalyzedinirradiatedHUVECsandinthebonemarrowcellsofirradiatedmicebyconventionalandfluorescence-basedchromosomepaintingtechniques.WefoundthatGT3pretreatmentreducedDSBformationinHUVECS,anddecreasedchromosomeaberrationinHUVECsandmousebonemarrowcellsafterirradiation.Moreover,GT3increasedexpressionoftheDNA-repairgeneRAD50andattenuatedradiation-inducedRAD50suppression.WeconcludethatGT3attenuatesradiation-inducedcytogeneticdamage,possiblybyaffectingRAD50expression.GT3shouldbeexploredasatherapeuticsupplementtoreducetheriskofdevelopinggeneticdiseasesafterradiationexposure.Finally,theeffectofouterspaceradiationexposureandnear-zerospacegravityenvironmentonDNAdamageisnotwelldocumented,andisaprimaryconcerntoNASAinfurtheringitsgoalfordeepspaceexploration.Weillustratetechnicsofsubjectingthecellstomicrogravityanddiscussourpreliminaryfindingsontheroleofmicrogravity.

ElvisBello FridayUniversityofArkansas 4:30PMGeosciences(GS) CCCS101GraduateStudentJudge:YesTectono-StratigraphicAndSequenceStratigraphicSuccessions,OzarkShelf,Tri-StateRegion,

SouthernMidcontinentElvisBello,ThomasA.McGilvery,WalterL.Manger

ThesouthernOzarkregion,Arkansas,Missouri,andOklahoma,occupiesthesouthernborderoftheNorthAmericancraton.ItssedimentarysuccessionreflectsacompleteWilsonCyclewithriftingofRodiniaintotheLaurussiaandGondwananlandmasses(LatePrecambrian-Cambrian)eventuallyopeningtheIapetusOcean basin (Late Cambrian-Middle Mississippian), that was closed (Late Mississippian-MiddlePennsylvanian) by the collision of Laurussia with Gondwana. During this Late Cambrian through theMiddle Pennsylvanian history, the Ozark Shelf, comprising the gently sloping, Northern ArkansasStructuralPlatform(NASP)and itsadjacent rampexperienced transgressionand regressionbyepeiricseasproducingarecorddivisibleintofiveTectono-stratigraphicSuccessions(TS)andcorrelatedreadilytotheSlossCratonicSequences.TheTSlithostratigraphicrecordcomprisesatleast33formationsandapotentialthickness>9600feet.However,sea-levelriseandfallproducedregionalsurfacesoferosionthatpunctuateddeposition.Consequently,thepreservedthicknessontheNASPissignificantlyless.Basedonsandstone development, five distinct, but related, Tectono-stratigraphic Successions (TS1-TS5) can berecognized in the Paleozoic record: Late Precambrian-Middle Cambrian (TS1),Late Cambrian-earliestOrdovician (TS2), Lower Ordovician-Middle Mississippian(TS3), Middle-Late Mississippian (TS4), andLower-Middle Pennsylvanian (TS5). TS1, pre-Late Sauk Sequence, is the least known succession,consistingofemplaced igneousand low-rankedmetasedimentarybodiesandpre-Lamottesedimentaryrocks. TS2, Late Sauk Sequence, is potentially >3075 feet of dolomites, sandstones from arkoses toorthoquartzites,andminorshales.TS3,Tippecanoe-KaskaskiaSequence,isthethickestinterval,possibly>5932feetofdolomites,chertylimestones,shales,andthelastorthoquartziticsandstone.TS4,spanningthe Kaskaskia-Absaroka boundary, is at least 1458 feet of limestones, shales, and sporadic first cyclesandstones . The final TS5, Late Absaroka Sequence, is the penultimate thickest interval on the NASP>4160feetoffirstcyclesandstonesandshalesthatmayexceed25,000feetintheadjacentArkomaBasin.

DavidBowles Saturday USNationalParkServices 9:00AMBiology(BI) CCCS101Faculty/ResearcherJudge:No

Long-termaquaticinvertebratemonitoringatBuffaloNationalRiver,ArkansasDavidE.Bowles,JaniceA.Hinsey,J.TylerCribbs,FaronD.Usrey,LloydW.Morrison

Aquaticinvertebratecommunitystructurewasusedtoassesslong-termwaterqualityintegrityinthemainstemoftheBuffaloNationalRiver,Arkansasfrom2005to2013.Humandisturbancetotributaries,includingbacterialcontamination,threatenwaterqualityandaquaticlifeintheBuffaloRiver.NinebenthicinvertebratesampleswerecollectedfromeachofsixsamplingsitesusingaSlack-Surbersampler.TheStreamConditionIndex(SCI)developedforOzarkstreamswasusedtoassessintegrityoftheinvertebratecommunities.Thisindexiscalculatedusingtaxarichness,EPT(Ephemeroptera,Plecoptera,Trichoptera)Richness,Shannon’sDiversityIndex,andHilsenhoffBioticIndex(HBI).Sørenson’ssimilarityindexwasusedtoassesscommunitysimilarityamongsites,andscoreswerethenanalyzedusingascendanthierarchicalclusteranalysis.Thebenthicinvertebratefaunawasdiversewith167distincttaxaidentifiedfromamongallsites,withsimilaritiesrangingfrom70%to83%.Clusteranalysisshowedsiteswereclusteredinadownstreamprogression.Generally,thosesitesclosestoneanotherinlineardistanceweremostcloselyrelated.Overall,theinvertebratetaxaoftheBuffaloRiverarelargelyintolerant(meantolerancevalue=4.38).Taxarichnesswastypicallygreaterthan20amongsamples,andEPTrichnessvaluesconsistentlyweregreaterthan12forallsitesinmostyears.Shannon’sdiversityindexvaluesgenerallyrangedfrom2.0to2.5amongsitesandyears.MetricvaluestendedtodecreaseinadownstreamdirectiontoSite4,andthenincreasetolevelsobservedupstream.TheexceptionwasforHBI,whichdidnotshowthisresponseandvaluesforthismetricgenerallywerebelow5.SCIscoresamongsamplingsiteswerevariablebutnotgenerallyimpairedandwerefullybiologically-supporting.Waterquality(temperature,dissolvedoxygen,specificconductance,pH,turbidity)metstatestandardsinallinstances.

AimeeBowman FridayArkansasTechUniversity 2:00PMBiology(BI) CCCS207UndergraduateStudentJudge:YesRelativeGeneExpressionStudyonCentruroidesvittatusInvestigatingSodiumToxinGeneActivity

AimeeBowman,TaylorBishop,ChloeFitzgerald

Scorpionsreleasevenomwhencapturingpreyorfightingoffpredators,andalargeportionofthisvenomconsistsofneurotoxins.Theareainthetailwherethevenomisproducedandhousediscalledthetelsongland.Theneurotoxinsproducedaremostlycomposedofacocktailofdifferentsodiumtoxinswhichalterthekineticsofsodiumchannelgatinginthenervoussystemcellswheretheyhavebeeninjected.Thisexploratorystudyonthesodiumβtoxingeneactivityforstripedbarkscorpion,Centruroidesvittatus,specificallyfocusedongatheringrelativequantificationdataforfiveneurotoxinvariantsinparticular:Na668,Na667,Na1210,CsBeta,andCvAlpha.Thiswasaccomplishedbyquantitativereal-timepolymerasechainreaction,orqRT-PCR.PreliminaryexperimentshavebeenconductedonbothmaleandfemaleorganismsandthethresholdvaluesyieldedfromthesehavebeenstatisticallyanalyzedwithinbiologicalreplicatesaswellascomputationallyanalyzedthroughtheΔΔCtmethodwhichhasgeneratedatentativeratioofactivityforthesegenevariants.Thegoalofthisstudywastodeterminethelevelofexpressionforthedifferentsodiumβtoxingenesinthetelsonglandrelativetobodytissuesothatwearebetterabletounderstandthemoderatelytoxiceffectsofthestripedbarkscorpioncomparativetosimilarscorpions.Thisinformationmayonedaybeusedtohelpdevelopanti-toxinsformedicaluse.

AmandaBrooks FridayOuachitaBaptistUniversity 4:30PMBiology(BI) CCCS207UndergraduateStudentJudge:Yes

BiodiversityinBiocubesAmandaBrooks,RuthPlymale,JessKelly

Biodiversityisthescopeofalllifeinagivenarea;yetworkingdefinitionsareoftenlimitedtoplantsandanimals.Havingamorecompleteunderstandingofbiodiversityandpotentialhumanimpactsonitisofparticularrelevanceforundergraduatestudents,astheyaredevelopingtheirownwaysofinteractingwiththeworld.Tothatend,Ihavepilotedabiodiversity-themedundergraduatelabbasedonaone-cubic-footBiocube.IsurveyedtenuniqueonecubicfootareasacrossvariousecosystemssurroundingOuachitaBaptistUniversity.IneachBiocube,Iassessedinvertebrateanimals,plantspecies,andsoilmicrobes.Isurveyedinvertebratesusingstickytrapsandpitfalltrapsandusedmorphologicalcharacteristicstoidentifythemtoorder.Icollectedandpressedasubsampleoftheplantsineachbiocube;Icountedthecollectedplantsandidentifiedthemtofamily.Icountedthesoilbacteriabyplatingserialdilutionsontrypticsoyagar.Iwillpresentmyfindingsabouteachofthetenlocationssampled.

AaronBurgad FridayUniversityofCentralArkansas 1:00PMBiology(BI) CCCS105GraduateStudentJudge:Yes

Spatio-TemporalDynamicsofFishAssemblageStructureAfterWatershedAlterationintheSalineRiver,Arkansas

AaronBurgad,GinnyAdams,ReidAdams

Long-termdatasetsareimportanttounderstandhowfishcommunitiesrespondtowatershedalteration.TheSalineRiverisoneofthelongestunregulatedriversinArkansas(325km),butanthropogenicactivities(e.g.,development,logging,andgravelmining)continuetoinfluencefishcommunities,consequentlydrivingcommunitydivergence.Wequantifiedtemporalchangesinfishcommunitystructureatmultiplespatialscalesduringthreeperiods(periodI[1969-1971],periodII[1980-1982],andperiodIII[2016]).Atthebroadestspatio-temporalscale,fishcommunitycompositionsignificantlyshifted(PERMANOVA:P<0.01)throughtime,butbetadiversitywasnotdifferentamongperiods(PERMDISP:P>0.05).However,partitioningofbetadiversityintopurespatialturnoverandnestednesscomponentsrevealednestednessrosemarkedlyovertimeintheupperSalineRiverbasin.Atthespecieslevel,NoturusmiurusandEtheostomastigmaeumwerestronglyassociatedwithperiodI,whereasFundulusolivaceus,Gambusiaaffinis,Lepomismegalotis,andMicropteruspunctulatuswerestronglyassociatedwithperiodIIandperiodIII.Inconclusion,wefoundseveralbenthicspeciesintolerantofsiltationweremorewidelydistributedandabundantduringperiodI.Incontrast,generalistspeciesincreasedinabundanceandweremorewidelydistributedduringperiodIIandperiodIII.Thesefindingsprovideinsightintopatternsofchangeinfishcommunitystructureovermultipledecadesinanunregulatedriver.

JonathanChick FridayUniversityofArkansas-Fayetteville 4:00PMGeosciences(GS) CCCS101GraduateStudentJudge:Yes

LowerMississippian,TripoliticChertFormedFromHydrothermallyEmplacedSilica,AndItsPossibleRelationshipToTheTri-StateLead-ZincMiningDistrict

JonathanChick,SydneyMcKim,JulieCains,ForrestMcFarlin,AdrianaPotra

AcrossthesouthernOzarkRegion,northArkansas,southwesternMissouri,andnortheasternOklahoma,exposuresoftheLowerMississippianBooneFormationanditsequivalentsexhibitwell-developedtripoliticchertthathasbeenmined,moreorlesscontinuously,foratleast80years.ThetripoliticchertisareplacementofanintervalwithinthemiddleBooneFormationinArkansasandOklahoma,andequivalenttotheElseyFormationinMissouri.Themovementofsilica-rich,hydrothermalfluidsappearstohavebeenconfinedtotheintervalbetweenthetopoftheLowerBoone=ReedsSpringFormationinMissouricomprisingcalcisiltitesandblack,penecontemporaneouschert,andthebaseoftheUpperBoone=Burlington-KeokukFormationinMissouricomprisingcrinoidalpackstonesandgrainstonesreplacedbylaterdiageneticchertalongtheirbeddingplacesbygroundwater,muchasaconfinedaquiferisboundbyimpermeableintervals.ThishydrothermaleventmayhaveproducedtheMVTlead-zincdepositsinnortheastOklahomaandsouthwesternMissouri.ThefamousdepositsatPicher,OklahomaandJoplin,Missouriappeartobepositionedintheapparentpathofthehydrothermalfluidmigration.Whiletimingofthehydrothermaleventisunclear,itmayreflectlateralsecretionproducedbytheOuachitaOrogenyintheLatePennsylvanian.

RajibChoudhury Saturday ArkansasTechUniversity 9:00AMChemistry(CH) CCCS115Faculty/ResearcherJudge:No

DesignandSynthesisofNIRDonor-AcceptorFluorophoresRajibChoudhury

Long-wavelength(λex/em,redornear-infrared)fluorophoreshavesignificantadvantagesovertheconventionalblueandgreenlightexcitablefluorophoresbecauselong-wavelengthlightsscatterless,canpenetratedeeperintotissues,disturbedminimallybytheautofluorescenceofendogenouschromophoresinbiologicalsystems,andcauselessdisturbanceandphotodamagetocellsandlivingorganisms.1,2Todate,severallong-wavelengthfluorophoreshavebeendesigned,published,aswellascommercializedforvariousapplications.Whereaseachfluorophorehasadvantagesoveroneanother,generallimitationsofmanyfluorophoresare,theyareminimallywatersolubleandthusaggregateextensivelyinwater.Moreover,tailoringafluorophoretolong-wavelengthabsorptionandemissionregimeandmaintainingsufficientwatersolubilityforbiologicalapplicationsrequiremanychallengingsynthesissteps.Inthisprojectwehavedesigned,synthesizedandcharacterizedtwolong-wavelengthfluorophores.Wehavestudiedphotophysicalpropertiesandassessedtheefficacyofthesefluorophoresforpotentialapplicationsinaqueousenvironment.Wehavefoundfluorophorewithonehydroxyl(-OH)groupremainswatersolubleatmicromolarconcentration,leadingtoamodestfluorescencequantumyieldatpH7.4.Withinarigidproteinenvironmentthequantumyieldincreasesasignificantamount,suggestingapotentialbioimagingcandidate.

MitchellCollins FridayArkansasTechUniversity 4:45PMEngineering(EN) CCCS115UndergraduateStudentJudge:Yes

AnAcoustic-BasedApproachForConditionMonitoringOfPipesMitchellCollins,GeoffreyBirkemeier,EmadAli

ThemunicipalsewersystemintheUnitedStatescontainspipesthatarebetween30and100yearsold.Traditionally,utilitycompaniesusearobot-mountedclosedcircuittelevisionsystemtovisuallyobserveandrecordcracksinpipes.Amajordisadvantageofclosedcircuittelevisionsystemisthattherobotmayhavedifficultiesaccessingtheentiretyofthepipeduetostructuraldefectsandblockages.Thetechnologyusedinthesystemisalsoveryexpensive,causingthemethodtobeverycostly.Therefore,itisneededtodevelopamoreeconomicalsystemtoaddresstheshortcomingsoftheexistingtechnology.Onesuchsystemwouldbethemethodofpropagatingacousticsignalthroughthepipeandanalyzingthefrequencyresponseofthepipe.Thepipebehavesasawaveguidetoacousticexcitationandcanbemodeledinamannersimilartotransmissionlinesinelectriccircuits.Acousticwavescanpropagatethroughapipe,andanycracksinthepipewillactasimpedancemismatchcausingattenuationanddistortioninthepropagatingsignal.Theaimofthisresearchistocorrelateattenuationanddistortionintheacousticsignaltotheconditionofapipesample.Preliminaryexperimentshavebeenperformedusinganacousticsignalcomprisingmultipletonesatone-thirdoctavebandfrequenciesbetween50to10kHz.Theanalysisofacquireddataduringpreliminarytrialsindicatesthatacousticfrequenciesbetween800to1500Hzareseverelyattenuatedduetosignallossfromcracksinapipe.Furtheranalysisontheacquireddataisinprogresstopinpointeffectsofcracksonthefrequencyresponseofthepipe.Basedonthefindingsfromanalysisofthedata,differentexperimentswillbeconductedbyvaryingthetypeofacousticexcitation(suchasusinglinearfrequencysweepanddirectsequencespreadspectrum)andusingadvancedsignalanalysistechniques(suchaswavelettransforms).

ObioraDalu FridayUniversityofArkansas-Fayetteville 4:45PMGeosciences(GS) CCCS101GraduateStudentJudge:No

SignificanceOfTheMiddleMississippianPaleokarstSurface,WesternOzarkUplift,Arkansas,KansasAndOklahoma

ObioraDalu,WilliamCoffey,WalterManger

AcrossmuchofthesouthernOzarks,particularlynorthwesternArkansasandnortheasternOklahoma,thereisasignificantregionaldisconformityatthetopfortheOsageanBooneFormation.Commonly,thiserosionalsurfaceseparatesthechert-bearingBoonefromtheChesterianHindsvilleLimestone.Thiscontactismarkedfrequentlybyclastsofangular,light-colored,laterdiageneticchertderivedfromtheupperBooneFormationredepositedasabasalbrecciaintheHindsville.NearthetypeareafortheHindsvilleLimestone,MadisonCounty,Arkansas,aremarkablesinkholehasdevelopedintheupperBoone.ThispaleokarstfeaturewasfilledbytheHindsvilleLimestone,withitscharacteristicbasalchertbreccia.Subsequently,theHindsvilleexperiencederosionbysolution,probablyofPleistoceneage,thatproducedasuperimposed,secondactivesinkholeexposedtothepresentlandsurface.Movingwestwardalongtheoutcropbelt,thedurationoftheerosionalcontactbecomesreducedbydepositionandpreservationofpresumedMeramecianlimestoneswiththinshalesseparatingOsagean-Chesterianstrata,andbasedon3Dseismic,thisburiedpaleokarstintervalappearswidelydistributedinthesubsurfaceacrosseasternOklahomaandnorthwardintosoutheasternKansas.Yet,developmentofaburiedpaleokarstsurfaceishardtoreconcilewithmostsequencestratigraphicinterpretationsofthemidcontinentthatindicateathird-order,maximumfloodingintervaltowardthetopoftheMeramecianSeriesandregardtheupperMeramecianandalltheChesterianintervalasregressiveatthethirdorder.TheanomalyofthisrelationshipmightindicatemovementontheOzarkDome,orperhapsNemahaRidge,thatinterruptedthecratonicdepositionalpatternsuggestedbysequencestratigraphy.

JamesDalySr. Saturday UniversityofArkansasforMedicalSciences 8:00AMBiology(BI) CCCS101Faculty/ResearcherJudge:NoGeographicDistributionOfYellowGrubInSmallmouthBassPopulationsOfCrookedCreekAs

DeterminedByMetacercarialCystCountsInTheGill-Mouth(Orobranchial)SitesJamesDalySr,KennethWagner,RandalKeller

Metacercarialnumbersofinthegill-mouthareacanbeusedtoestimatetotalpopulationparametersofyellowgrubinsmallmouthbasspopulations(Dalyetal.,2007).In1991,558smallmouthbass(Micropterusdolomieui)fromCrookedCreekinNorthCentralArkansaswereexaminedforyellowgrub(Clinostomummarginatum)infectionbycountingonlythenumberofmetacercarialcystsinthegill-mouth(orobranchial)anatomicalsite.BasswerecapturedbyanglingfromaboveHuzzahCreektothestream’sconfluencewiththeWhiteRiver.Basswerecollectedinalinearspatialfashionbymovingdownriverbycanoeandreleasingfishafterexamination.Datafromthegill-mouthareaonlywascomparedtodatafromastudyin1988-90donewithnecropsy,toseeifthedistributionofyellowgrubalongthestreamwassimilar.The1988-90study,unliketheoneherein,wasdonebycollectingfishatselectedlocalesalongthestream.Bothstudiesshowedthatupstreamtheinfectionwaslight,andthenbecameheavy,andthendroppedtoamoderateintensity,andfinallyattheWhiteRiverthereisasuper-heavyinfestedarea.Useofgill-mouthcountsandcollect-and-releaseforsmallmouthbassconservesavaluableandimportantgamefish,savestimeandeffortfromnecropsy,butstillprovidesadetailedprofileofyellowgrubinfectioninasmallmouthbassstreampopulation.

JamesDalySr. Saturday UniversityofArkansasforMedicalSciences(retired) 8:30AMBiology(BI) CCCS101Faculty/ResearcherJudge:No

AnatomicalDistributionOfClinostomummetacercariaeInTheTissuesOfPond-RaisedChannelCatfish

JeurelSingleton,JamesDalySr.,KennethWagner

PreviouslyDalyetal.2007;J.Ark.Acad.Sci.61:43foundthatthedistributionofClinostomummarginatum(“yellowgrub”)metacercariaeinthemouthandgills(orobranchialcavity)ofsmallmouthbass(Micropterusdolomeiu)washighlyproportionaltothetotalbodymetacerariae.OnecouldusethisrelationshiptoestimatetheClinostomumlarvalabundanceinasmallmouthpopulationbycountingonlythenumberinthemouthandgillswithoutlethalnecropsy.Aninfectionofyellowgrubincatfish(Ictaluruspunctatus)inapondinNorthwestArkansasofferedtheopportunitytoseeifasimilartissuedistributionofproportionalityexistedwithanotherfishhost.54catfishofsimilarageandsize(35±3.9cmSL;range28-45;weight326±169gm;range190-1215)werenecropsied.Therecoveredyellowgrubweredividedintogroupingsofmouth,gill,fin,sidemuscles,internalsitesandcounted.Resultswere(mean±sd,%oftotalgrubs)gills5.7±5.5,18%;mouth13±8.7,41%;fins5.8±5.6,18%;muscles3.9±5.6,12%;internal3.3±3.6,10%:Regressionanalysisofvisiblegill+mouthgrubsvstotalgrubsshowedhighcorrelationwithr²=0.74,p=1.02E-16.Thisdata(gill+mouth=59%)somewhatagreedwiththatofVianaetal;2005,withC.complanatuminRhamdeaquellan(aBraziliancatfish)whichshowed42.3±6.3%ofmetacercariaeintheheadregionofthehostbutdifferedfrom16differentOuachitaandOzarksmallmouthinfections(Dalyetal.2007)wherelessgrubswerefoundintheheadregion(14±3.6%,range5-16).Conclusion:Countinggrubsintheheadregionofinfectedcatfishwithoutnecropsygivesagoodestimateofthetotalyellowgrubburdenandmaybeausefultoolforcatfishfarmerswithouthavingtosacrificeeconomicallyvaluablestock.

DogaDemirel FridayUniversityofArkansasatLittleRock 3:30PMComputerScience(CS) CCCS115GraduateStudentJudge:Yes

GenerativeAnatomyModellingLanguage(GAML)DogaDemirel,AlexanderYu,SethBaer-Cooper,TanselHalic,CoskunBayrak

ThisstudypresentstheGenerativeAnatomyModelingLanguage(GAML)forgeneratingvariationof3Dvirtualhumananatomyinreal-time.Theprocessofdesign,creation,andrefinementofa3Danatomyisaniterativeandlaborioustask,whichbecomesinevitableinthedevelopmentofvirtualsimulators.Thisprocesscanbearduouswhenthesimulatorsneedtosupportsurgicalscenariosbasedonthevariationofanatomy.TheGAMLframeworkontheotherhandsimplifiesthisdesignprocesswithasetofoperatorsformodificationofareferencebase3Danatomy.GAMLsupportsboththelowlevel(translate,scale,rotate,etc.)andthehighlevelgeometrymodificationcommands(irradiationandscarring,adjust,etc.).Theperturbationofthe3Dmodelsissatisfiedwithnonlineargeometryconstraintstocreateanauthentichumananatomy.Thenonlinearconstraintssupportarangeofconstraintssuchasabsolutedistance,flexibilityandangleconstraints.GAMLwasusedtocreate3DdifficultanatomicalscenariosforvirtualsimulatorofairwaymanagementtechniquessuchasEndotrachealIntubation(ETI)andCricothyroidotomy(CCT).WedefinedthedifficultyscenariosforeachtechniqueandprocedurallycreatedthemodelvariationswithGAML.

PatrickDesrochers Saturday UniversityofCentralArkansas 8:45AMChemistry(CH) CCCS115Faculty/ResearcherJudge:No

SweeterscorpionatesincorporatecarbohydratesintofunctionalmetalchelatesPatrickDesrochers,TristonClements,AlekFortner

Scorpionatechelateshaveincorporatedawidevarietyofcyclicdonors.Missingfromthislistarecarbohydrates,heterocycleswithimportantbiologicalandenvironmentalroles.Herewereportthefirstincorporationofasaccharideringintoaheteroscorpionate.Thisnewligandclassresultsfrompyrazole-for-saccharideringmetathesiswithKTp*,previouslydescribedbyourlabforbenzotriazole(Inorg.Chem.2011).MicrowaveheatinginDMFyieldedthepotassiumcarbo-scorpionates,K[HB(pz*)2(sacch)],wherepz*=3,5-dimethylpyrazoleandsacch=sucrose,maltose,andcellulose.Thesenewchelatesreactwithmetal(II)ionsources,givingwell-definedpseudo-tetrahedralLMClsystems.Unliketheparentchelate,Tp*-,thesecarbo-scorpionatesformonlyhalf-sandwichmetalcomplexes,presumablyowingtostericcontrolimposedbythesacchariderings.Thesecarbo-scorpionatesofferaroutetostarch-supportedmetal-scorpionates,suitableforthedevelopmentofmagnetic,catalytic,andsensorypaper-baseddevices.

RileyDickson FridayUniversityofArkansas-Fayetteville 3:30PMGeosciences(GS) CCCS101GraduateStudentJudge:YesLateMississippian(Chesterian)Shallowing-Upward,EustaticCyclicityReflectedByTaphonomyOf

PreservedAmmonoidCephalopods,NorthernArkansasRileyDickson,WalterManger

AbundantammonoidcephalopodsarepreservedintheblackshalesoftheFayettevilleShaleandtheyoungertheImoMember,PitkinFormation,thoseintervalsrepresentingrespectivelymaximumflooding-highstandandregressionoftheLateMississippian,ChesterianSeries,third-order,eustaticcycleexposedacrossnorthernArkansas.Shellsthatdidnotexperiencepost-mortemcrushingtypicallyhavelivingchambersfilledwithpelleted,sideriticconcretionarymaterial,whilethephragmoconeshavebeenfilledwithavarietyofcarbonateminerals.InFayettevilleShalespecimens,theseptaareusuallyimplodedandthecarbonatemineralizationincludesbothferroanandnon-ferroancalciteanddolomite,particularlywheretherehasbeensomeaccesstoinnerwhorlsthroughcrushingofthephragmocone.Fluorapatitepartiallyreplacesthepresumablyinvertedcarbonateoftheconchandsepta.UncrushedspecimensfromshalesoftheImoMember,PitkinFormation,alsohavesideriteconcretionsfillingtheirlivingchambers,butthephragmoconeslackimplodedsepta.UnliketheFayettevillespecimens,manyImoammonoidinteriorsexhibitpseudomorphsofcalciteafteraragonite.TheserelationshipsconfirmsequencecyclicityindicatingthatthespecimensfromthelowerFayettevillearepreservedinthedeep,maximumfloodingintervaloftheUpperChesteriancycleatadepththatimplodedtheirsepta,whiletheImospecimenswerelikelywind-drivenshorewardafterdeathintoshallower,warmerwater,duringtheregressiveportionoftheUpperChesteriancycleandaccumulatedontheseaflooratadepthabovethepressuregradientthatwouldimplodetheirsepta,andwhereinitialcarbonateprecipitationwaspenecontemporaneousaragonite,latertobereplacedbynon-ferroancalcite,whichalsofilledtheremainingemptyareasofthechambers.

KyleDineen FridayArkansasStateUniversity 1:30PMBiology(BI) CCCS105GraduateStudentJudge:Yes

GeneticStructureandDiversityofDisjunctPopulationsofRainbowDarters(Etheostomacaeruleum)andSouthernRedbellyDace(Chrosomuserythrogaster)ThroughouttheMississippi

Corridor.KyleDineen,BrookFluker

ConservationstudiesofNorthAmerica’sfreshwaterfishfaunafrequentlyfocusonrecentlyfragmentedspeciesorspecieswithnaturallysmallranges.Ourgraspofhowrecent,naturalisolationaffectsthemigrationandgeneticdiversityofcommonandwidespreadfreshwaterfishesislimited.EtheostomacaeruleumandChrosomuserythrogasterarewidespread,abundant,andhaveoverlappingdistributionswithcomparablepatternsofnaturallydisjunctpopulationsontheirrangemargins.BothspecieshavepotentiallyisolatedpopulationsintributariesonCrowley’sRidge,ArkansasandtheBluffHills,Mississippi.Theseregionsarerelativelyrecentgeologicalformationsthatwouldhavebeencolonizedbythesespecieswithinthelast10,000yearsmakingthesespeciesexcellentsubjectsforstudyingtheimpactsofrecent,naturalgeneticisolation.Inthisstudy,weanalyzemicrosatelliteDNAlocifrombothspeciestoevaluategeneticdiversityandconnectivityamongpopulationsonCrowley’sRidge,theBluffHills,andlargercorepopulations.UsingDNAsequencedata,wealsotesthypothesesaboutthepatternandtimingofcolonizationofCrowley’sRidgeandtheBluffHills.TheresultsofthisstudywillprovidevaluableinformationaboutthebiogeographicanddemographichistoryaswellastheconservationstatusofthesepotentiallydisjunctpopulationsofE.caeruleumandC.erythrogaster.

KatieDobbins FridayHendrixCollege 4:15PMBiology(BI) CCCS211UndergraduateStudentJudge:Yes

DeterminingrecenthybridizationofpinyonpinesinazoneofsympatryinnorthernArizonaKatieDobbins,DavidS.Gernandt,AnnWillyard

WeinvestigatedwhetherpinyonpineswithamosaicofmorphologicaltraitsontheMogollonRiminnorthernArizonaarerecenthybridsoradifferentspecies.Thisiscomplicatedbyuncertaintyregardingoneoftheputativeparents.Recentstudieshavedemonstratedthatthesingle-leafpinyoninArizona(currentlytreatedasPinusmonophyllassp.fallax)ismorecloselyrelatedtoP.edulisthanitistoP.monophylla(thesingle-leafpinyonsofNevadaandCalifornia).InArizona,wesampledmultipleindividualthatrepresentP.monophyllassp.fallax,multipleindividualsthatrepresentP.edulis,andputativehybridsofthesetwospecies.WecomparedthesetomultipleindividualsofP.monophyllafromCalifornia.Weusedbiotinylatedprobestoenrichfor700low-copynuclearlocipriortoIlluminasequencingwith100bppairedendreads.Wearealsorecoveringplastome,high-copynuclearribosomal,andmitochondrialsequences.Weareusingdenovoandreference-guidedassemblytoarrangetherawreads,andtofilteroutputativeparalogsusingmulti-sequencealignments.Themostreliablyalignedgeneswillbeusedtocreategenetrees,whichwillinturnbeusedtobuildaspeciestree.Asafinalstep,wewilluseaparametricapproachtoexplorethepowerofthesedatatodistinguishhybridizationfromincompletelineagesorting.

DamasoDominguez FridayUniversityofArkansas 3:45PMEngineering(EN) CCCS115GraduateStudentJudge:Yes

ComputingwindfieldclosetothegroundusingCFDinatornadochamber.DamasoDominguez,PanneerSelvam

Tornadoforcesonabuildingaremeasuredorsimulatedinavortexchamberorusinganalyticaltornadomodels.Thepressureorforcecoefficientonabuildingreportedintheliteratureareonlyforfewswirlratiosinavortexchamber.Mostofthetime,theanalyticalmodelusesRankineCombinedVortexModel(RCVM)andhencetheprofileisthesameatvariousheights,whileinthevortexchamberthewindfieldvariesatdifferentheightsfromthegroundfordifferentswirlratios.Inthiswork,thedetailedwindfieldatvariousheightsfordifferentswirlratiosarecomputedusingCFD.Theinvestigationshowsthatatvariousheightsclosetotheground,thewindfieldisdifferent,anditimpliesthatfordifferentbuildingheights,differentwindfieldsareinteractingduetoatornado.Forlowerswirlratiossuchas0.2,thetornadodoesnottouchthegroundandforswirlratiossuchas0.35orhigher,thetornadotouchesthegroundandbecomesmultiplecelltornadoafterreachingswirlratioof0.95.Thevariationofvelocitywithrespecttoradiusisclearlyseen.Inadditiontotheeffectofswirlratios,theeffectofheightoftheinletflow(Ho)andradius(Ro)oftheoutletflowarealsoconsidered.Thedetailsofwindfieldforotherheights,theeffectofHo,Ro,andcomputationaldomainwillbereportedinthefullpaper.Forthecomputermodeling,anaxisymmetricmodelisusedforinvestigation.Thecontrolvolumeprocedureisused.Largeeddysimulation(LES)isusedtomodeltheturbulence.Theeffectofgridresolutionatdifferentpartsofthechamberonwindfieldareconsidered.Thecomputedtangentialwindfieldatvariousheightsandvectorplotsarepresentedinordertoprovidemoredetailsofthewindfieldforvariousswirlratios,HoandRo.Forvariousbuildingheightandwidth,differentwindfieldareinteracting,andhencetheforcecoefficientswillbedifferent.

BrookFluker Saturday ArkansasStateUniversity 9:15AMBiology(BI) CCCS101Faculty/ResearcherJudge:No

DevelopmentoftheArkansasCenterforBiodiversityCollections(ACBC)atArkansasStateUniversity

BrookL.Fluker,TravisD.Marsico,StanleyE.Trauth,JohnL.Harris,KariHarris

ThenaturalhistorycollectionsatArkansasStateUniversity(A-State)startedwithasmallcollectionofplantspecimensin1946andhavesincegrowntoeightcollectionsand>500,000specimens.ThecollectionsrepresentasignificantrecordofbiodiversityfortheStateofArkansas,buthavesufferedinrecentdecadesfromovercrowdingandneglect,resultingininefficientandlimiteduseandspecimendegradationinsomecases.ArecentlyfundedNSFgrantwillassistwiththedevelopmentoftheArkansasCenterforBiodiversityCollections(ACBC)ontheA-Statecampus.Thegoalsofthisprojectareasfollows:(1)alleviateovercrowdingandincreaseroomforgrowththroughinstallationofhigh-densitystoragesystemsandnewcabinetry;(2)securecollectionsthroughimprovedstoragemediaandlabeling;(3)completethedigitizationofspecimendataandprovidepublicaccesstoallcollectiondata;and(4)developasignificantoutreachprogrambyprovidingcollections-basedworkshopsandtoursofACBCdisplaysandcollections.Thelong-termgoaloftheACBCistoserveasaunified,accessiblespecimenrepositoryandresearchcenterfortheStateofArkansas,includingtheInteriorHighlands,UpperMississippiAlluvialPlain,andCrowley’sRidgeecoregions.

MichelleFurr FridayUniveristyofCentralArkansas 1:45PMBiology(BI) CCCS105GraduateStudentJudge:Yes

HistoricChangesinFishAssemblagePatternsintheLittleMissouriRiver,ArkansasMichelleFurr,GinnyAdams,ReidAdams

Long-termdatasetsarerequiredtounderstandlinksbetweenlandusechangeandpersistenceandstabilityoffishassemblages.Fishsurveysconductedinthe1970sand1980sbystudentsfromUniversityofLouisianaatMonroewereavailabletobeginexaminingchangesinfishassemblagesintheLittleMissouriRiverwatershed.JaccardIndex,Morisita-HornIndex,andBray-CurtisIndexwereusedtodeterminesimilaritybetweenhistoricandcurrentfishassemblages.Fishassemblagesbetweentimeperiodshadlowtomoderatesimilaritybasedonthreeindices(Jaccard’s:0.44,Morisita-Horn:0.51,Bray-Curtis:0.43).Micropteruspunctulatusincreasedinfrequencyofoccurrenceacrosssitesby75%intheLittleMissouriRiverfromearly1970sto2016.Similarly,Lepomismegalotisincreasedby42%,Etheostomablennioides25%,Lepomiscyanellus33%,andHybognathusnuchalis17%.Etheostomacolletteidecreasedinfrequencyofoccurrenceby33%andEtheostomachlorosomaby25%.Therewasanapparentincreaseinlowland,pool-adaptedspeciesacrossthe12studysites.Fishassemblagesimilaritywasnegativelycorrelatedwithdevelopmentandagriculturallanduse(rho=-0.57and-0.25,p>0.05)andpositivelycorrelatedwithforestedlanduse(rho=0.34,p>0.05).Movingforward,wewilluseenvironmentalvariablestoevaluatechangesinfishassemblagepatternsintheLittleMissouriRiver.

FranklinHardcastle FridayArkansasTechUniveristy 2:30PMChemistry(CH) CCCS115Faculty/ResearcherJudge:No

Carbon-Carbon,Carbon-Oxygen,Carbon-Nitrogen,andCarbon-HydrogenBondValence-LengthRelationships

FranklinHardcastle

Bondvalence-lengthempiricalrelationsprovideawayofcalculatingbondvalences,orbondorders,directlyfrombondlengths.LinusPauling(1947)wasthefirsttosuggestthe“empirical”logarithmicdependenceofbondorderorvalence,s,tobondlength,R,ass=exp[(Ro-R)/b],whereRoisanaveragebondlengthorbondlengthofunitvalence,and“b”isanempiricalfittingparameterthathasrecently(anderroneously)beensettoauniversalconstantof0.37Å.Atheoreticalexpressionisderivedforthe“b”parameterintermsofatomicorbitalexponents.PublishedcrystallographicbondlengthdataisusedalongwiththeprincipleofconservationofvalencetoestablishtherespectivevaluesofRo(bondlengthofunitvalence)forC-C,C-O,C-N,andC-Hchemicalbondsaswellasrelationshipsfordeterminingtheirbondordersorbondvalences.Theserelationshipsareapplicableregardlessofphysicaloroxidationstate.

NewtonHilliard Saturday ArkansasTechUniversity 10:00AMBiology(BI) CCCS105Faculty/ResearcherJudge:NoSulfuroxidationgenomicsintheaerobicpurplesulfurbacteriumHalothiobacillusneapolitanus

NewtonHilliard

Halothiobacillusneapolitanusisanobligateaerobicchemolithoautotrophcapableofutilizingavarietyofreducedandpartiallyreducedinorganicsulfurcompoundsasitssolesourceofmetabolicenergy.Genomicanalysisindicatesthelackofasinglesulfuroxidationoperonasisfoundinmanyothersulfuroxidizingspecies.Instead,Ht.neapolitanusappearstopossessgenesforavarietyofsulfuroxidationactivitieswidelydistributedthroughoutitsgenome.Theseactivitiesrangefromasulfuroxygenase-reductase(sor)relatedtothatfoundinarchaea,aheterodimericthiosulfatedehydrogenase(thdAB)relatedtothatfoundinphotosyntheticpurplesulfurbacteria(PSB)andasecondthiosulfateoxidationsystem(soxAX,soxYZ,soxCD)relatedtothatfoundinthenon-photosyntheticproteobacteria.Thiswidedistributionofactivities,alongwiththelackofasingleoperon,hasledtothesuggestionthatHt.neapolitanusmayrepresentacompilo-species.Inaddition,thisuniquecollectionofsulfuroxidizinggenes,alongwiththelackofasingleoperon,maybepartiallyresponsibleforitsabilitytogrowinawidevarietyofenvironments.AnalysisofpHdependenceofsubstrateinducedoxygenconsumptionindicatesthepossibleexistenceoftwoseparatepathwaysforoxidationofelementalsulfur,sulfideandthiosulfate.ObservedpHoptimaforthesesubstratesisnear7.0witha2ndpeaknear5.5.Surprisingly,thereisnochangeinpHoptimawhentetrathionateisusedassubstrate.

BrandonHogland FridayHardingUniversity 3:30PMBiology(BI) CCCS105UndergraduateStudentJudge:YesADescriptionofvariationinfecunditybetweentwopopulationsofwolfspiderRabidosarabidain

SearcyArkansasusingbroodsizeMeasurementsBrandonHogland,RyanStork

Fecundity,averyimportantpopulationvariable,canbeestimatedbymeasuringthenumberofjuvenileshatchingoutofindividualeggsacks.RabidosarabidaisalargewolfspiderthatiscommoninArkansasandmuchoftheeasternportionofNorthAmerica.ThisstudyattemptstoexpandpreviousestimatesofvariationinfecunditymadeforthisspeciesbyReedandNicholasinMississippi.WehypothesizedthatasignificantvariationwouldbefoundinfecundityestimatesbetweentwopopulationsinArkansas.WealsohypothesizedthatthisvariationwouldbesimilartothevariationreportedinMississippi.TwopopulationsofR.rabidawerecollectedinlateAugustandearlySeptember.Theeggsackswereallowedtohatchwhileboththemothersandjuvenileswereplacedinalcohol,withtheexceptionoftwentywhichwerephotographicallymeasured.AcomparisonwasmadebetweenthetwopopulationsandbetweenvariationmeasuredbyReedandNicholas.WefoundsignificantvariationbetweenbroodsizeofthetwopopulationsinArkansassimilarinmagnitudetowhatwasfoundinMississippi.WedidnotfindanysignificantdifferenceinsizeofjuvenilesbetweenthetwolocationssimilartowhatwasfoundinMississippi.Observingpatternsinthesetraitsprovideastartingpointforcomparisontofuturemeasurementswhichmayaidinquantifyingdifferencesinpopulationscausedbyclimatechange.Thishasbeenafrequentchallengeinrecentecologicalandconservationstudiesofinvertebrates.

MdRashedulIslam Saturday SouthernArkansasUniversity 8:15AMEngineering(EN) CCCS115Faculty/ResearcherJudge:NoRestrainedshrinkageofflyashbasedgeopolymerconcreteandanalysisoflongtermshrinkage

predictionmodelsMdRashedulIslam,ErezAllouche,MahbubAhmed

Inthisstudyatestingandanalysisprocedureisoutlinedtoquantifythebehaviorofgeopolymerconcrete(GPC)underrestrainedshrinkageusingringspecimen.Massiveconcretestructuresaresusceptibletoshrinkageandthermalcracking.Thiscrackingcanincreaseconcretepermeabilityanddecreasestrengthanddesignlife.Thistestiscomprisedofevaluatinggeopolymerconcreteofsixdifferentmixdesignsincludingdifferentactivatorsolutiontoflyashratioandsubjectedtobothrestrainedandfreeshrinkage.TestresultsobtainedfromthisexperimentalsetupwasplottedalongwiththeavailableempiricalequationtopredicttheshrinkagestrainofOPCandanumericalmodelwassuggestedtopredicttheshrinkagestrainofGPC.ItwasobservedfromthistestthatalongwithactivatorsolutiontoflyashratiothefinalcompressivestrengthofGPCplaysanimportantroleonshrinkagestrain.

AlanJackson FridayArkansasTechUniversity 1:00PMChemistry(CH) CCCS115UndergraduateStudentJudge:Yes

FluorescentInhibitorOfSystemXc-MariuszGajewski

SystemXc-isanobligateexchangeproteinoftheaminoacidscysteineandglutamicacid.Itimportsanoxidizedformofcysteine(acysteineS-Sdimer,knownascystine)witha1:1counter-transportofglutamate.Insidethecell,thecystineisenzymaticallyconvertedinseveralsteps,eventuallyleadingtotheantioxidantglutathione.SystemXc-proteinisoverexpressedbycancerouscells.Duetotheirrapidmetabolism,thecellsrequireabundanceoftheantioxidantglutathione.Researchwasconductedoverthesyntheticdesignandproductionoftheinhibitormoleculeswithfluorescentprobecapabilities.Previously,3,5-dibromotyrosine(3,5-DBT)wasindicatedasapotentinhibitoroftheXc-antiporterprotein.TheproposedfluorescentmoleculewassynthesizedviatheSchotten-Baumannreactionof3,5-DBTwithdansylchloride.Themolecularprobewillbeusedinalargerprojectfordetection,both:quantificationandlocalization,ofXc-transportsysteminseveralgliomacancercelllinesinordertotargetthesecancerswithnovelmolecularinhibitors.

DouglasJames Saturday UniversityofArkansas 9:45AMBiology(BI) CCCS105Faculty/ResearcherJudge:No

Resultsoftrappingsmallmammalpopulationsinagrasslandandforestareaatthe

LakeFayettevilleEnvironmentalCenter.DouglasJames,SethBartholomew,AnantDeshwal

Trappinginforestandfieldhabitatsemployedrat-sizedShermanlivetrapslaidoutinagridthatequaledaroundtwoacresinsize(8rowsoftraps,15trapsperrow,30feetbetweentraps).Thetrapswerecheckedoneachof3morningsbystudentsinthemammalogyclassundersupervisionbytheinstructor.6speciesofmammalsweretrappedintheprairie-grassland,3specieswerecaughtintheforest.Trapsettingwasinterruptedbyaheavyrainin2014causingthestudentstoseekcoversothatonly1.5acresofthegridwasset.AhurricaneforcewindpassedthroughnorthwesternArkansasthatblewdownsomanylimbsandtreesinyear2008thatitwasimpossibletoestablishthetrappinggridthereafter.Sotherewereonly6yearsoftrappinginthewoodscomparedto9yearsintheprairie-grasslandhabitat.Allmammalscaughtwereweighed,sexdetermined,andreproductiveconditionrecordedandear-taggedwithanidentifyingnumberthenreleased.Trapswerebaitedwithcombinedoatsandpeanutbutterandcottonwassuppliedfornestingmaterial.Resultswereasfollows:(theformulaforestimatingtotalpopulationswasN=mn/xinwhichNisthetotalpopulation,n=isthetotalcatch,m=numberpreviouslymarked,x=markedonestrappedonthenightinquestion).Notethatnoneofthecomputerprogramsforestimatingtotalpopulationswereusedbecausenoneofthesewereavailableintheyearswhentrappingbegan.Intheforest,thewhite-footedmouse(Peromuscusleucopus)peakedin1998andin2006.InthegrasslandCottonRats(Sigmodonhispidus)peakedin2004,2008,2010and2014.The3rdmorningin2014onlycottonratswerecaughtandnearlyeverytraphadcaughtarat.Whentrappingbeganinthefieldin1983itwasmainlyabroomsedge(Andropognviginicus)fieldbutastimeprogressedmoreandmoreprairiegassesinvadedhelpedbycontrolledburnsandremovaloftheinvadingEasternRedCedars(Juniperusviginiana).

JesseGriffiths FridayArkansasTechUniversity 1:30PMPhysics(PH) CCCS101UndergraduateStudentJudge:Yes

IonizationRateforBreakdownWaveswithaSignificantCurrentbehindtheWaveFrontJesseGriffiths,MostafaHemmati,MichaelBowman

Foranalyticalsolutionofbreakdownwaveswithalargecurrentbehindthewavefront,weemployaone-dimensional,steady-state,three-component(electrons,ions,andneutralparticles)fluidmodel.Thisprojectinvolvesbreakdownwavespropagatingintheoppositedirectionoftheelectricfieldforceonelectrons,anti-forcewaves(returnstrokeinlightning);andtheelectrongaspartialpressureisconsideredtoprovidethedrivingforceforthepropagationofthewave.Thebasicsetofequationsconsistsoftheequationofconservationofmassflux,equationofconservationofmomentum,equationofconservationofenergy,plusPoison’sequation.Thewavesareconsideredtohaveashockfront.Weintendtolookintothepossibilityandvalidityoflargecurrentsmeasuredandreportedbyfewinvestigators.Thisinvestigationinvolvesbreakdownwavesforwhichalargecurrentexistsinthevicinityofthewavefront.ExistenceofalargecurrentbehindthewavefrontalterstheequationofconservationofenergyandPoison’sequation,aswellastheshockboundaryconditiononelectrontemperature.Consideringacurrentbehindtheshockfront,wehavemadeappropriatemodificationsinoursetofelectronfluiddynamicalequations.Usingthemodifiedsetofequationsandtheshockconditiononelectrontemperature,wehavebeenabletointegratethesetofelectronfluiddynamicalequationsforcurrentbearinganti-forcewaves.Forarangeofwavespeedsandwiththelargestcurrentpossibleforaspecificwavespeed,wewillpresentthewaveprofileforelectricfield,electronvelocity,temperatureandnumberdensity,aswellastheionizationratewithinthedynamicaltransitionregionofthewaveforanti-forcewaves.

MohammadhosseinKashefizadeh FridayUniversityofArkansas 4:15PMEngineering(EN) CCCS115GraduateStudentJudge:Yes

CalculationofthewidthandperiodoftornadosfromGoogleEarthdataandtherelationshipbetweenthetornado’speriodandthewindspeed

MohammadhosseinKashefizadeh,RathinamPanneerSelvam

Thewidthoftornado(W)isdefinedbyNOAAasthemaximumdamagewidthofaparticulartornado.Basedonthisdefinition,Wbecomesmuchwide,especiallyinthenon-engineeredhousingareas.Wisanimportantparameterincalculatingtheperiodofthetornados(T),asitiscalculatedasthewidthdividedbytranslationalvelocityofthetornado.TheconceptofperiodoftornadoisrecentlyintroducedbyStrasseretal.(2016)fromourresearchgroup.CalculationofThelpstoevaluatetheextentofthedynamiceffectonstructures,sincethewidthcanvarydependingupontakingthegrassdamagewidth,treedamagewidthandbuildingdamagewidth.Analysisofthedamageindicatesthatthatthereisasignificanteffectofhillsontornadodamage,andthedamagerateonwindwardofthehillishigherthantheleeward.Inaddition,thereisaconsiderableeffectfromtheplansizeofthebuildings;whereforthesametornado,thelargerbuildinghaslessdamagecomparedtothesmallerone.AnalysisoftherelationbetweentheEFdamagescalewiththetornadoperiodunveilsthatlargerperiodisassociatedwithlargerdamagescale(EF4andEF5),whilethesmallerperiodsareassociatedwithEF0toEF2.Usingengineeringprinciples,thedamagepathisinvestigatedfromGoogleEarthdatainordertoarriveamoremeaningfultornadowidth.Forthispurpose,8tornadoesareconsidered,differentproceduresofwidthcalculationarepresented,andtheireffectonTareillustratedusingaerialphotographsofGoogleEarthdatafromthefield.ResultsshowthattheTofthetornadoescalculatedfromNOAAdatavaryfrom9secto262sec;whereasthecurrentprocedureusinggrassdamagewidthyieldsTbetween1.5secto5sec.Sincetheperiodofthinpolepowerlinestructuresandtrafficsignalpostvarywithin1to5sec,therefore,thepossibilityofthestressincreasesmorethan2timesduetothedynamiceffect.Detailsofthefindingswillbereportedinthepresentation.

SophieKatz FridayHendrixCollege 4:45PMBiology(BI) CCCS211UndergraduateStudentJudge:Yes

SeeddispersalinOsageOrange(Maclurapomifera)bysquirrels(Sciurusspp.)SophieKatz,JessicaBonumwezi,MatthewMoran,JenniferL.Penner

TheOsageorange(Maclurapomifera)hasbeendescribedasanachronisticbecauseitdoesnothaveamodernseeddisperser.Ithasanunusualmorphology,includingalargesize,numerousseeds,anddefenses(i.e.,latex),thatmakesitdifficultformodernanimalstodisperse.Anecdotalobservationssuggestthatsquirrels(Sciurusspp.)feedontheseedswithinthefruitandmaypossiblydispersesomeseedsthroughtheprolongedhandlingtimerequiredtoaccessthem.OurpreliminaryresearchindicatedthatsquirrelsreadilyconsumeOsageorangeseedsand,intheprocess,movefruitsanunknowndistancefromparentplants.Wepresentedtwopopulationsofsquirrels,oneurbanandonerural,withwholeOsageorangefruitsandmeasuredthenumberoffruitsmoved,thedistancetheyweremoved,andtheproportionofseedsconsumed.Intheruralexperimentwealsomeasuredanimalvisitationratesusingwildlifecameras.Wefoundthat12%offruitsintheurbanexperimentweremoved.However,theywerenotmovedfar,andaverysmallproportionoftheseedswasconsumed.Intheruralexperiment,only2%offruitsweremoved,andwedetectednoconsumption.Eventhoughfewfruitsintheruralexperimentweremovedorconsumed,squirrelscomprisedabout40%ofallanimaldetections,while11speciesofothermammalsvisitedthefruits.OurresultssuggestthatsquirrelsarenoteffectivedispersersofOsageorangeseeds,andthatobservationsofsquirrelsfeedingontheseedsofthisspeciesrepresentrelativelyrareevents.Furthermore,noneoftheanimalsweobservedwereeffectiveseeddispersers,supportingthehypothesisthattheOsageorangeisindeedanachronistic

JordanLabrecque FridayArkansasTechUniveristy 2:00PMChemistry(CH) CCCS115UndergraduateStudentJudge:Yes

BondLengthandBondValenceRelationshipofChromiumOxides,ChromiumSulfides,MolybdenumOxides,andMolybdenumSulfides

JordanLabrecque,FranklinHardcastle

Paulingputforthasimplerelationshipthatthetotalatomvalenceisequaltothesumoftheindividualvalences.Theseindividualvalencevaluesareelectronssharedthroughbondingandwhensummed,shouldcorrespondtotheoxidationstateoftheatom.Paulingdeterminedanempiricallogarithmicdependenceofbondorder(bondvalence)s,tobondlength,R,s=exp[(Ro-R)/b]whereR0isunitbondlengthandbisafittingparameter.Recently,anexpressionwasderivedtocalculatethebfittingparametermakingitmorespecifictosystemsunderstudy.Thederivationledtobequalingtheaverageoforbitalexponentsforthebondingatomsb=a0/ξavewherea0istheBohrradiusandξistheorbitalexponent.Withamethodtocalculateb,R0andorbitalexponentscanbeexperimentallydeterminedthroughoptimizedfittingforCr-O,Cr-S,Mo-O,andMo-SallinaccordancetoPauling’sempiricalvalence-bondrelationship.Thisrelationshipisusableforsystemsofanyoxidationstate,phase,andchemicalbondingtype.

SilasLankford FridayUniversityofArkansas 4:00PMComputerScience(CS) CCCS115UndergraduateStudentJudge:Yes

SimulatingFoodbornePathogensinPoultryProductionandProcessingtoDefendAgainstIntentionalContamination

SilasLankford,DaleThompson,StevenRicke

Thereisalackofdatainrecenthistoryoffoodterrorismattacks,andassuch,itisdifficulttopredictitsimpact.ThefoodsupplyindustryisoneofthemostvulnerableindustriesforterroristthreatswhilethepoultryindustryisoneofthelargestfoodindustriesintheUnitedStates.Asmallfoodterrorismattackagainstjustasinglepoultryprocessingcenterhasthepotentialtoaffectamuchlargerpopulationthanitsimmediateconsumers.Inthiswork,thespreadoffoodbornepathogensissimulatedinapoultryproductionandprocessingsystemtodefendagainstintentionalcontamination.Anagent-basedsimulatedenvironmentthatrepresentsthefarm,processingplant,homes,andrestaurantsisdeveloped,whichcontainsbothpoultryagentsandhumanagentsthatmovethroughthesystemandpossiblyinfecteachother.Thesimulationisrunvaryingseveralparametersthatincludeprobabilityofinfectionifexposedforbothpoultryandhumans.Thesimulationpredictsthenumberofinfectedpoultryandhumansovertime.

TaylorLee FridayArkansasStateUniversity 1:15PMBiology(BI) CCCS105GraduateStudentJudge:Yes

EnvironmentalDNAvs.TraditionalSampling:aCaseStudyUsingtheFederallyThreatenedLeopardDarter,Percinapantherina

TaylorLee,BrookFluker

Traditionalmethodsmaynotalwaysbereliablewhensearchingforrarespecies.However,therecentdevelopmentofenvironmental(e)DNAtechniquesrepresentsavaluabletooltohelpcounteractinefficiencyassociatedwithtraditionalsampling.OneexampleforwhicheDNAmaybevaluableinthedetectionofararespeciesoffishistheLeopardDarter,Percinapantherina.Thisfederallythreatenedfish,endemictotheLittleRiversysteminArkansasandOklahoma,isexperiencingadecreaseingeneticvariationduetodrasticpopulationdecline.TraditionalsamplinghasfailedtodetectP.pantherinaintheRobinsonForksince2006andintheCossatotRiversince2011.Theobjectivesofthisprojectareasfollows:1.comparetheeffectivenessofeDNAwaterandsubstratesamplingtechniques;2.comparepotentialdifferencesindetectabilityofP.pantherinabetweeneDNA,andtraditionalmethods;and3.determineifthereareextantpopulationsofP.pantherinaintheCossatotRiverandRobinsonFork.Species-specificprimersthatamplifyafragmentofthecytochromebgeneweredesignedandrevealedahighdegreeofspecificityforP.pantherina.UsingPCR,theseprimerswereusedtotestdetectabilityofP.pantherinafromeDNAsamples.Traditionalsamplingduring2016resultedinzerodetectionofP.pantherinawithinourfocalsystems.PreliminaryeDNAresultssuggestedpossiblepositivehitsforP.pantherinainallfourseasonsfrom2016.

SamuelLockhart FridayHendrixCollege 4:00PMBiology(BI) CCCS211UndergraduateStudentJudge:Yes

DeterminingtheValidityoftheSpeciesPinuswashoenisintheWesternUnitedStatesLockhartSamuel,AnnWillyard

TheclassificationofPinuswashoenisMasonandStockwellhasbeenatopicofheateddebatesinceitwasfirstpublishedin1945.Manybotanistsincludethe“species”withinP.ponderosa,citingthatmorphologicaldifferencesarisefrompopulationadaptationstohighaltitudeenvironments.Othersarguethatitisavarietyofthisspecies,basedonmorphologicalcomparisonsbetweenP.ponderosavar.washoenisandsympatricP.jeffreyiwithP.ponderosavar.ponderosaandP.ponderosavar.pacifica.PreviouslypublishedplastidDNAdatahaseithersuggestedthatthespeciesisnotdistinctfromP.ponderosaorthatitissistertoP.jeffreyi.Nouniquemitochondrialhaplotypehasbeenidentified.InordertofinalizetheclassificationofWashoePine,wetargeted700nucleargenesequencesforenrichmentwithsolution-basedbiotinylatedprobesusingHighThroughputSequencingandalsorecoveredplastomesequences.Weanalyzedhundredsoflow-copynucleargenesandcreatedphylogeneticspeciestreesfrommultiplesamplesofmultiplepopulationsofP.ponderosa,P.washoenis,andP.jeffreyi.Thisallowedustorigorouslyexaminetheuniqueness,thephylogeneticplacement,andthepossibleroleofhybridizationinshapingthemorphologicaldifferencesthatfirstattractedMasonandStockwell’sattentiontoWashoepine.

RuthLykins FridayArkansasTechUniveristy 1:15PMChemistry(CH) CCCS115UndergraduateStudentJudge:Yes

BondLengthandBondValenceforTungsten-OxygenandTungsten-SulfurBondsRuthLykins,FranklinHardcastle

Pauling(1947)wasthefirsttodeterminean“empirical”dependenceofbondvalence(s,alsoreferredtoasbondorder)andbondlengthRs=exp((R-R0)/b)whereR0isbondlengthofunitvalenceand“b”isafittingparameter.Sincethen“b”parameterswereexperimentallyfoundtorangefrom0.32-0.42formanybonds,butsome“b”valueswereashighas0.9betweenhardandsoftions.Theconvention,however,istouse0.37asauniversalconstantfor“b”.Hardcastle(2016)derivedanexpressionforthe“b”parameterb=a0/ξavewherea0istheBohr’sradiusandξaveistheaverageoftheorbitalexponentsofeachbondingelement.Thisallowsthebondlengthofunitvalence(Ro)tobecalculatedusingexperimentallydeterminedbondlengths.Inthepresentstudy,experimentallydeterminedW-S,W-O,andW-Wbondlengthswereusedtooptimizetheorbitalexponentsoftungsten,oxygen,andsulfur.

ChrisMcAllister FridayEasternOklahomaStateCollege 4:30PMBiology(BI) CCCS105Faculty/ResearcherJudge:NoDistribution,Habitat,andLifeHistoryAspectsoftheShrimpCrayfish,Faxoniuslancifer(Hagen)

(Decapoda:Cambaridae)inArkansasHenryRobison,ChrisMcAllister,RennTumlison

Theshrimpcrayfish,Faxonius(syn.Orconectes)lancifer(Hagen)isanuncommon,althoughwidespread,crayfishinArkansas.Thiscrayfishishereindocumentedfrom19countiesinthestate.Between1974and2015,wemade343collectionsthroughoutthe75countiesofArkansasofwhich21yielded162specimensofF.lancifer.Thus,fromthesecollections,plus12unpublishedcollectionsofReimer(1963),andonecollectionfromGeorgeL.Harp,atotalof32collectionsofF.lanciferarenowknownfromthestate.Faxoniuslanciferrangedfromuncommon(1specimen)tolocallyabundant(39specimens)atthesecollectinglocalities.TheshrimpcrayfishoccupiestheCoastalPlainprovinceinArkansasbecominglessabundantinnortheasternArkansasandextremesouthwesternArkansas.Withregardtoconservationstatus,F.lancifershouldbeconsideredas"CurrentlyStable"duetoitswidespreaddistributionandgeneralabundanceinArkansas.

ChrisMcAllister Saturday EasternOklahomaStateCollege 8:15AMBiology(BI) CCCS101Faculty/ResearcherJudge:No

TheFishesofChadronCreek,DawesCounty,NebraskaChrisMcAllister,MichaelLeite,RennTumlison

ThisfirstcomprehensivesurveyoffishescollectedfromChadronCreek,DawesCounty,Nebraska,documentscollectionsmadewithasmallseineandbackpackelectroshockerduringNovember2007andFebruaryandMarch2008.ChadronCreek’sfishcommunityisoflowdiversity.Thetotalof3collectionsateachof9stationsalongthelengthofChadronCreekresultedin254individualfishes,whichrepresentedonly6specieswithin4families.Waterqualityparameters,includingdissolvedoxygen,pH,conductivity,totaldissolvedsolids,temperatureandfecalcoliformcountsindicatethatChadronCreekisahealthystreamcapableofsupportingagreaterdiversityoffishes.Landmanagementpracticesmayberesponsibleforelevatedfecalcoliformlevelsatonelocalityonthecreek.Thepresenceofbrowntrout(Salmotrutta)indicatesthatthewatershedisingoodhealth,sincethisspeciesisintolerantofpoorwaterquality.Comparisonsoffishescollectedhereinaremadewithhistoricalrecordsoffishcollectedbetween1893and2000,andshowthatthereare50%fewerspeciespresentthanthoseknownfromhistoricalaccounts.

ChrisMcAllister Saturday EasternOklahomaStateCollege 8:45AMBiology(BI) CCCS105Faculty/ResearcherJudge:No

CoccidianParasites(Apicomplexa:Eimeriidae)ofArkansasHerpetofauna:ASummarywithTwoNewStateRecords

ChrisMcAllister,DagmaraMotriuk-Smith,RobertSeville,MatthewConnior,StanleyTrauth,HenryRobinson

Coccidianparasites(Protista:Apicomplexa:Eimeriidae)commonlyinfectreptiles,andtoalesserdegree,amphibians.ThefamilyEimeriidaeincludes6generaand3ofthem,Caryospora,Eimeria,andIsosporahavebeenreportedpreviouslyfromvariousArkansasherpetofauna.Overthepast3decades,ourcommunitycollaborativeefforthasprovidedagreatdealofinformationontheseparasitesfoundinamphibiansandreptilesofArkansas.Here,weprovideasummaryofallcoccidiansreportedfromherptilesofthestateaswellasprovide2newstaterecordsforcoccidiansfromnon-nativeMediterraneangeckos,Hemidactylusturcicus.

BrittanyMcCall FridayArkansasStateUniversity 2:00PMBiology(BI) CCCS105GraduateStudentJudge:Yes

SpatiotemporalPopulationDynamicsoftheCaddoMadtom(Noturustaylori)BrittanyMcCall,BrookFluker

TheCaddoMadtom(Noturustaylori),anendemictotheOuachitaMountainEcoregion,wasoneof404speciespetitionedforlistingontheEndangeredSpeciesActbytheCenterforBiologicalDiversity.Aprevioussurveystressedconcernsofapopulationdeclinewithevidenceofsmalleffectivepopulationsizes,historicalbetween-drainagedifferentiation,andrecentreservoir-inducedwithindrainagedifferentiation.WithmicrosatelliteDNAloci,mitochondrial(mt)cytochromebDNAsequencedata,andintensiveseasonalsamplingwetestmultiplehypothesesinvolvingpatternsofwithinandamongdrainageconnectivity,spatiotemporalpopulationdynamics,andhabitatpreferences.Preliminarily,BayesianphylogeneticanalysisofmtDNAusingcoalescentmodelsresolvetheCaddoandOuachitariverdrainagesasreciprocallymonophyleticwithrecentdivergenceinthelatePleistocene(aprrox.125,000yearsago).Themicrosatellitedatasuggestasimilarpatternofsignificantbetweendrainagedifferentiation(Fst=0.20).Of15historicallocalities,11havebeenthoroughlysampledforpresence/absence,withpresenceat8ofthe11localities.Forthefivelocalitiesincludedintheseasonalsurvey,anincreaseinmeanrelativeabundancewasobservedfromspringtosummerintheCaddoriver(0.29to9.05CPUE,respectively)andintheOuachitariver(0.09to4.75CPUE,respectively).PreliminaryanalysesofhabitatpreferenceusingnonmetricmultidimensionalscalingsuggestdifferencesbetweentheCaddoandOuachitadrainages.ResultsfromthisstudywillaidinfuturelistingdecisionsbyU.SFishandWildlife,andstaterankingsbytheArkansasGameandFishCommission.

SydneyMcKim FridayUniversityofArkansas-Fayetteville 3:45PMGeosciences(GS) CCCS101UndergraduateStudentJudge:YesLithologicCharacter,SequenceAndDiageneticHistoryOfLowerMississippianTripolitiicChert,

NorthernArkansasAndSouthernMissouriSydneyMcKim,JonathanChick,JulieCains,ForrestMcFarlin,AdrianaPotra

Tripoliticchert,orTripoli,isalight-colored,friable,porous,siliceous(typicallychalcedonic)sedimentaryrockreflectingtheincompletereplacementoffine-grainedcarbonates,commonlycalcisiltites,bysilica,latertoexperienceleachingofmostoftheremainingcarbonatethatproducesitscharacteristicporosity.TripoliticchertdevelopmentinthesouthernOzarkregionisassociatedwithathird-order,transgressive-regressivecyclecomprisingSt.Joetransgressivepackstones,succeededbylowerBoonecalcisiltites,withblack,penecontemporaneous,nodularchertdepositedduringmaximumflooding,overlainbyanupperBoonecalcisiltite,lackingblack,penecontemporaneouschertnodulesdepositedduringhighstand.TheonsetofregressionproducedupperBoonepackstonesandgrainstoneswithwhite-gray,laterdiageneticchertreflectinggroundwaterreplacementalongbeddingplanes.TripoliticchertisareplacementofthehighstandcalcisiltitesatthebaseoftheupperBooneFormationofArkansas,anditsequivalenttheElseyFormationofMissouri.ThistripoliticchertappearstoreflectahydrothermaleventlikelyoccurringaftertheemplacementprocessesofbothBoonechertsthathadendedbyChesteriantime.Afterhydrothermalsilicification,theintervalexperiencedgroundwaterremovalofmostoftheremainingcarbonateleavingopenporositycharacteristicoftripoliticchert.Asecondhydrothermaleventprecipitatedterminatedanddoublyterminatedquartzcrystalsaswellasquartzdruseinthecavitiesproducedbytheearliercarbonateleachingofthetripoliticchert.Timingofthehydrothermaleventsisnotclear,buttheymayreflectlateralsecretionproducedbytheOuachitaOrogenyintheLatePennsylvanian.

AliN.Mohammed Saturday Al-MustansaryahUniversity 8:30AMPhysics(PH) CCCS115Faculty/ResearcherJudge:No

OpticalpropertiesofIrradiatedSnO2thinfilmspreparedbychemicalspraypyrolysisAliN.Mohammed,LumaY.Abbas,IbraheemMousaMohammed

TinOxidethinfilmshavebeenpreparedbychemicalspraypyrolysismethod.OpticalpropertieswerestudiedatvariousirradiationtimeviamixtureofbetaandgammaraysusingCs137withactivity0.499µCiandgammaenergyis662keV.Opticalpropertieswerecalculatedfromrecordingtheabsorbancespectrainthewavelengthrange300-900nm.Theabsorbance,absorptioncoefficientaredecreasedwiththeincreasingofirradiationtime,whiletheenergygapincreased.Theskindepthincreasedwiththeincreasingofirradiationtimeatwavelengthmorethan700nm.

ZacharyNickell FridayHendrixCollege 3:30PMBiology(BI) CCCS207UndergraduateStudentJudge:Yes

DiseaseIntroductionbyAboriginalHumansinNorthAmericaandthePleistoceneExtinctionZacharyNickell,MatthewMoran

Whileoverhuntingandclimatechangehavebeenthemajorhypothesestoexplainthelate-PleistoceneNewWorldextinctions,theroleofintroduceddiseasehasonlyreceivedbriefattention.Here,wereviewpre-ColumbiandiseasesendemictoaboriginalAmericansandevaluatetheirpotentialtocauselarge-scalemortalityinPleistocenemammals.Oftheprobablecommunicablediseasespresentinpre-Columbiantimes,weregardanthraxandtuberculosisasviablecandidates.Thesetwodemonstratecharacteristicsthatcouldmakethemdeadlytoimmunologicallynaivepopulations.Thesediseases,asaprimarycauseorinteractingwithoverhuntingandclimatechange,couldhavecontributedtothedeclineandextirpationofmegafauna.

KaraO'Neal FridaySouthernArkansasUniversity 2:30PMBiology(BI) CCCS105UndergraduateStudentJudge:Yes

TheanalysisofcoliformbacteriainLakeColumbia,AR.KaraO'Neal,GijaGeme

ColiformbacteriaareGramnegative,rod-shapedbacteriathatarecapableoffermentinglactose.Thesebacteriaarenaturalindicatorsofpollutioninfreshwatersourcessuchaslakes,ponds,andstreams.InordertodeterminethespecificgeneraofbacteriathatconstitutethecoliformpopulationwithinLakeColumbiainMagnolia,ARsampleswerecollectedfromthreelandingsitesandplatedonEosinMethyleneBlueagar,MacConkeyagar,andMacConkeySorbitolagar.Typesofcoliformbacteriathatwereidentifiedinclude:Escherichiacoli,Klebsiella,andEnterobacter.Non-coliformbacteriathatwerepresentincludedPseudomonasaeruginosa.TheMacConkeySorbitolagardifferentiatedbetweenpathogenicandnon-pathogenicE.coli.PathogenicE.coliwasfoundtobepresentatallthreelandingsites.Environmentalfactorsthathadthepotentialtoaffectcoliformgrowthwerealsomonitoredweeklyinordertodeterminewhethertherewasadirectcorrelationbetweenthetwo.Theseparametersincluded:conductivity,dissolvedoxygen,pH,andtemperature.Analysisofthecollecteddatarevealedthattherewerecorrelationsbetweenenvironmentalfactorsandcoliformgrowth.

BrookOlsen Saturday HendersonStateUniversity 9:45AMBiology(BI) CCCS101UndergraduateStudentJudge:No

NewandNoteworthyVascularPlantRecordsfromArkansasBrettServiss,BrookOlsen,MeganStone,KeenanServiss,JamesPeck

In2016,atotalof18speciesofnon-nativevascularplantsweredocumentedforafirstorsecondoccurrenceintheArkansasflora.Fifteenspecies:CamelliasasanquaThunb.,CrocusflavusWest.,FicuscaricaL.,HostalancifoliaEngl.,Hydrangeamacrophylla(Thunb.)Ser.,IlexcrenataThunb.,Kerriajaponica(L.)DC.,Liriopegraminifolia(L.)Baker,Liriopemuscari(Dcne.)L.H.Bailey,NarcissuspapyraceusKer-Gawl.,NarcissusXtenuiorCurt.,Ophiopogonjaponicus(Thunb.)Ker-Gawl.,Podocarpusmacrophyllus(Thunb.)Sweet,SyringavulgarisL.,andUlmusparvifoliaJacq.,arereportedhereasnewtothefloraofArkansas.Theserecordsrepresentthefirstvoucherspecimen-baseddocumentationofthesespeciesoutsideofcultivationinthestate.Camellia,Crocus,Ficus,Hosta,Kerria,Ophiopogon,Podocarpus,andSyringaarethefirstdocumentedoccurrencesofthesegenerainthestate’sfloraoutsideofcultivation.ThePodocarpusmacrophyllusrecordrepresentsthefirstdocumentationofthePodocarpaceaefamilyinthestate’sflora.CannaindicaL.,Forsythiasuspensa(Thunb.)Vahl,andPyracanthakoidzumii(Hayata)Rehd.aredocumentedforonlytheirsecondoccurrencesinthestate.Twoadditionalspecies,NeriumoleanderL.andPunicagranatumL.,arere-affirmedascomponentsoftheflora.

JacobPinkerton FridayArkansasTechUniversity 2:15PMBiology(BI) CCCS207UndergraduateStudentJudge:YesUsingEscherichiaColiToGenerateScorpionΒ-Toxins,AsSeenInCentruroidesvittatus,ToAllow

ForFurtherStructuralAndPhysiologicalAnalysisJacobPinkerton,SaraWarrick

ThenervoussystemistheprimarytargetforthevenomproducedbyCentruroidesvittatus,thestripedbarkscorpion.Thisorganismproducesasodiumβ-toxinthataffectstheproperfunctioningofvoltage-gatedsodiumchannelsofitsvictimsinitiatingactionpotentialsinexcitablecells.ThetoxinproteinsinhibittheflowofNa+,thereforecausinganelectrochemicalimbalanceofthecell.Thedefinitivegoalofthisresearchistoisolateandproduceascorpionβ-toxinviaproteinoverexpression,thusunderstandinghowsodiumchanneltoxinvariants,labeledNa654,Na667,Na681,andNa682,interactwithspecificsodiumchannels.Researchincludesproducingrecombinantplasmidsencompassingthegenecodingfortheβ-toxin.Inordertodevelopdistinctandspecializedvector-compatibleoverhangs,apurifiedPCRproductwastreated.TheEk/LICvectorwasthenannealedandtheinsert,alongwiththeannealedvector,wastransformedintocompetentE.colicells.Oncethetoxinsequencewasanalyzed,theplasmid/vectorwasremovedfromthecompetentcellsandplacedintoexpressioncells-Origami,Rosetta,andBL21.Selectedcolonieswerethenamplifiedandanalyzedtodetermineproperplacementofthetoxinsequence.Wewillthenassessthecelllinestodetermineover-expressionintensities.Oncetheβ-toxinissuccessfullyisolated,futureresearchwillincludefurtheranalysisonsubstantialsamplesandevaluationofproteintodetermineproteomic3Dstructureandspecificfunction.Assodiumchannelshavemedicinalimportance,thisprojectcanprovidefurthermoleculardetailsregardingsodiumchannelfunctionandtheirinteractionswithtoxins.

PristinePittman FridayUniversityofCentralArkansas 2:45PMBiology(BI) CCCS207UndergraduateStudentJudge:No

ObservingFsz-B’sFunctioninDictyosteliumdiscoideumMitochondrialdynamicsPristinePittman,KariNaylor

Mitochondriaplayacentralroleinthefunctionofnormal,healthycells.Inordertocarryoutphysiologicalprocesses,mitochondriamustfunctionproperly.Mitochondrialfunctionisdependentonmitochondrialstructure,whichinturnisdependentuponmitochondrialdynamicsincludingfission,fusion,andmotility.Forthisproject,wequantifiedthedynamicsandmorphologyofmitochondriaexpressingFszB-GFP.FszBispredictedtobedirectlyinvolvedinmitochondrialfissionandfusion,functioningasadynamicproteinfilamentthatdrivestheseprocesses.ThisanalysiswillprovideabetterunderstandingoftheroleofFszBinmitochondrialdynamicsandwillcontributetoagreaterunderstandingofmitochondrialdynamicsacrossevolutionarylineages.WehavedeterminedthatfissionandfusionremainbalancedinFszB-GFPexpressingcells,butoccursatsignificantlylowerratesthaninwild-type(AX4)cells.FszB-GFPmitochondriamovedfasterincomparisontoAX4mitochondriathoughtherewasnotachangeinthepercentoforganellesmovingbetweenthesetwostrains.OurmostrecentanalysisindicatesthattheaveragedistancetraveledatonetimebythemitochondriainFszB-GFPexpressingcellsis20%lessthanAX4cells.Thusthesemitochondriamovefasterandchangedirectionsmoreoftenthaninwild-type.ThemorphologyofFszB-GFPmitochondriawasassessedbasedondispersion(clustered,even,randomandoverexpressed)andsize.WefoundthatFszB-GFPmitochondriaaremoreclusteredandlargerthanAX4mitochondria.Finally,FszB-GFPispresentatalmostallfissionandfusioneventsthattakeplace.Inconclusion,FszB-GFPisdirectlyinvolvedinmitochondrialdynamics.Weproposethatitmaycommunicatebetweentheorganelleandthemicrotubules.Wehavedemonstratedthatlossofmicrotubulesalsodecreasesfissionandfusion.InfutureexperimentsweplantoanalyzethedynamicsofFszB-GFPexpressingmitochondriawhenthemicrotubulesaredisrupted.

ConnorPurvis FridayHardingUniversity 1:30PMChemistry(CH) CCCS115UndergraduateStudentJudge:Yes

AtmosphericPhotochemistryStudiesRelatedtoSaturn’sMoonTitanConnorPurvis,EdmondWilson

Saturn’smoonTitanisthesecondlargestmoonintheSolarSystem,evenlargerthanEarth’sMoon.ItistheonlymoonintheSolarSystemwithadense,planet-likeatmosphere.Somebelieveitisagoodmodelforapre-bioticEarthbecauseofitsatmospherewhichis98.4percentnitrogenand1.4percentmethane.Sincetheoxygencontentoftheatmosphereisextremelylow,oxygenatedcompoundsarerareanduniquehydrocarboncompoundshavebeenobserved.ThisstudyisfocusedonphotochemistryatlowtemperatureofTitan-likegasmixturesinordertolearnmoreaboutwhattypesofcompoundsmightbeformedundertheseconditions.Ofparticularinterestarethosemoleculesthatmightbeclassifiedaspre-biotic.

DennisRichardson Saturday QuinnipiacUniversity 10:00AMBiology(BI) CCCS101Faculty/ResearcherJudge:No

LeechParasitismoftheGulfCoastBoxTurtle,Terrapenecarolinamajor(Agassiz,1857)(Testudines:Emydidae)

DennisJ.Richardson,AndrewJ.Heaton,ChrisT.McAllister,CharlotteI.Hammond,WilliamE.Moser

Reportsofleechesparasitizingboxturtles(Terrapenespp.)areexceedinglyrare.AGulfCoastboxturtle,TerrapenecarolinamajorcollectedinGulfport,HarrisonCounty,Mississippiwasparasitizedby10leeches.EightoftheleechesofthegenusPlacobdellawereheavilyengorgedandtwooftheleechesrepresentedthespeciesHelobdellapapillata.ThisconstitutesthesecondvoucheredreportofidentifiedleechesfromaboxturtleandthefirstreportofaleechofthegenusHelobdellafromaboxturtle.

PatriciaRivera FridayHardingUniversity 4:00PMBiology(BI) CCCS105UndergraduateStudentJudge:Yes

AFirstLookintothemicrobiomeofRabidosarabida,aWolfSpiderinSearcy,ArkansasPatriciaRivera,RyanStork

Themicrobiome,thecollectionofmicroorganismslivinginandonahosthavebeenthefocusofrecentbiomedicalresearchusingvertebrateandinvertebratemodels.Inafirststudylookingatspiders,wecollectedexcretaandbodyswabsamplesfromRabidosarabidaalargewolfspider.Samplesweretestedusinggramstain,catalaseandcoagulasetestswhileusingaseptictechnique.Staphylococcusaureus,Staphylococcussp.,andgramstainpositivebacilliwerefoundontheexcretasampleswhileStaphylococcussp.,gramnegativebacilli,andgramnegativecocciwerefoundonthebodyswabs.Themajorityoftheexcretasampleshadnogrowthandthosethatdidhadonlyonetype.Thebodyswabsamplesgrewmultipletypesofmicroorganismsthatwerelimitedtobodylocationrevealingspatialvariation.Ourstudydescribespotentialhost-microbiomeinteractionsusinganewmodelwitharelativelysimplegutanduniquecharacteristicssuchasextraoraldigestionandpotentialantibioticproteinsinthevenomanddigestivefluids.Abetterunderstandingofthefactorsaffectingmicrobial-hostinteractionsallowustounderstandmorecomplexrelationshipssuchasthosefoundinthehuman.

EmilyRoberts FridayUniversityofCentralArkansas 4:15PMGeosciences(GS) CCCS101UndergraduateStudentJudge:No

EstablishingaTrailVisitationSurveyMethodfortheNationalOuachitaRecreationTrailEmilyRoberts

Itisdifficultforlandmanagementorganizationstosecurefundingforongoingtrailmaintenance,butcollectingdataontrailvisitationmayhelpsupportgrantproposalsformaintenanceprojects.ThisprojectisanattempttoestablishatrailvisitationsurveyingmethodfortheOuachitaNationalRecreationTrailinordertoassistthenonprofitorganization,FriendsoftheOuachitaTrail(FoOT),withmanagementobjectivesandfundingrequests.Tocreateareliablesurveyinstrument,visitorsweresurveyedatPinnacleStatePark,wherevisitationisremarkablyhigherthanontheOuachitaTrail.SurveyswerecompletedontheOuachitaTrailoverSpringBreak(March18thtoMarch25th)whenvisitationwasexpectedtobehigher.SurveyresultswerecompiledintoadatasheetthatwassharedwithFoOT,alongwiththesurveyinstrument,forfuturedatacollectionbyFoOTvolunteers.

ChristopherRobinson FridayUniversityofCentralArkansas 3:45PMBiology(BI) CCCS207GraduateStudentJudge:Yes

Theuseofcolorasastatussignalintheprairielizard,SceloporusconsobrinusChristopherRobinson,MatthewGifford

Inmanytaxa,colorfulmorphologicalfeaturesareusedtoadvertiseindividualqualitytoconspecifics.Variationinthesetraitscanleadtovariationinreproductivesuccess,resultingindirectionalselectiononthissignal.Intheprairielizard,Sceloporusconsobrinus,malesexhibitbrightbluebadgesontheirabdomensandthroats,whichdevelopastestosteronelevelsincreaseatsexualmaturity.Badgesizeandcolorisvariablebetweenindividuals,butitiscurrentlyunknownifvariationinsizeandcolorisrelatedtovariationintestosteronelevelsorreproductivesuccess.Sincemanytraitsthatsignalindividualquality,andthereforeinfluencereproductivesuccess,arerelatedtotestosterone(e.g.performance),itwouldseemthatthesebadgesshouldserveasanhonestindicatorofquality.Here,weuseapopulationofprairielizardsinSherwood,Arkansastoaddressthisquestion.Wequantifiedbadgecolor(brightness,saturation,andhue)andsize,testosterone,andendurancefor45malelizards.Interestingly,wefoundthatendurancewaspositivelycorrelatedtothroatbadgesize,butwasnegativelycorrelatedtotestosteroneconcentrations.Testosterone,though,wasnotasignificantpredictorofbadgesize.Surprisingly,testosteronewasnotlinearlyrelatedtobadgecolormetrics;instead,testosteronecurvilinearlypredictedcolor,suchthatindividualswithintermediatetestosteronelevelshadthebrightest,mostsaturatedbadges.Thiscouldhaveinterestingfitnessandselectionconsequencesiffemalesusebadgecolortochoosemates.Individualswithintermediatetestosteronelevelswouldbeselectedfor,resultinginstabilizingandsexualselectionontestosterone.Currentlyweareassessingpaternityforeachjuvenilelizardinthispopulationstotesthowbadgemorphology,testosterone,andperformanceinfluencereproductivesuccessinmalesandhowselectionactsonthesetraits.

VirginieRolland Saturday ArkansasStateUniversity 9:30AMBiology(BI) CCCS105Faculty/ResearcherJudge:No

BatOccupancyEstimatesandSpeciesRichnessatCacheRiverNationalWildlifeRefugeSamSchratz,VirginieRolland,JasonPhillips,RichardCrossett,DavidRichardson,T.Risch

Sixbatspeciesofspecialconcern,threatenedorendangeredmayoccurinoneofArkansas’largestbottomlandhardwoodforests,theCacheRiverNationalWildlifeRefuge(CRNWR).However,inventoryofbatspeciesthroughouttherefugehasbeenlackingandmanagementplansmaynotbeadequateinpromotingbatconservation.TheobjectivesofthisstudyweretoinventorybatspeciespresentintheCRNWR,anddeterminebat-habitatassociationsviaoccupancyestimates.FromMay–August2014and2015,wemist-nettedfromsunsetfor5hoursanddeployedbioacousticdevicesthroughout5habitattypes(cypress-tupelo,emergentwetland,matureforest,reforestation,andmanagedhardwood).Mist-nettingyielded460batcaptureswithRafinesque’sbig-earedbats(Corynorhinusrafinesquii;n=156)beingthemostcommoncapture,followedbyeasternredbats(Lasiurusborealis;n=104),southeasternmyotis(Myotisaustroriparius;n=91),eveningbats(Nycticeiushumeralis;n=58),tri-coloredbats(Perimyotissubflavus;n=54),andabig-brownbat(Eptesicusfuscus;n=1).Basedon3,896callsidentifiedwith85%certainty,eveningbatsandbig-brownbatstendedtooccupymanagedhardwoodforestsmorethananyotherhabitat(occupancyprobabilitiesΨ=0.81±0.17and0.58±0.50,respectively).Tri-coloredbatstendedtobemorepresentinmatureforesthabitats(Ψ=0.90±0.09),andMyotisspeciestendedtohavehighestoccupancyratesincypress-tupelostands(Ψ=0.59±0.15).Notallspeciesweredetectedwithbothmethods.Thus,weencouragefuturestudiestocombinemist-nettingandacousticsurveyingmethodstominimizebiasinspeciespresenceestimate.Thiswouldensuremanagementpracticesthatwouldbenefitallpresentspecies.

SamiSalmanChiad FridayAl-MustansaryahUniversity 1:45PMPhysics(PH) CCCS101Faculty/ResearcherJudge:No

OpticalandDispersionParametersofPMMADopedbyIndiumSaltSamiSalmanChiad,NadirFadhilHabubi,KhalidHaneenAbass,NidhalNissanJandow,IsmaeelA.Al-

Baidhany,WasmaaAbdulsattarJabbarPoly(methylmethacrylate)(PMMA)dopedbyInCl3hasbeenpreparedutilizingdropcastingtechnique.Transmittanceandabsorbancespectrawerecalculatedinthewavelengthrange(300-900)nm.Thetransmittancewasdecreasedbyincreasingthesaltconcentration,whilethereflectancewasincreasedwiththeincreaseindopingconcentration.Thevalueofrefractiveindexandextinctioncoefficientwereincreasedupondoping.ThedispersionparametersintroducedbyWemple-Didomenicowerealsoinvestigated.Theresultshowsthatallthedispersionparameterswereaffectedbyindiumsalt.ThevaluesoftheUrbachenergywereincreasedwiththeincreasingindopingratios.

SelenaSasser Saturday SouthernIllinoisUniversity 9:00AMBiology(BI) CCCS105Faculty/ResearcherJudge:No

EcologyofBlanchardSpringsCaverns,OzarkNationalForest,Arkansas,42YearsLaterChrisMidden,SelenaSasser,JimGrove

Interrelationshipsbetweensubterraneanandepigeanenvironmentsaffectdispersionanddistributionofcaveorganismsamongthemacroandmicrohabitats.Thisstudyexaminestheenvironmentalimpactof42yearsoftourismonBlanchardSpringsCaverns,foundinStoneCounty,Arkansas;andcontributestoabetterunderstandingoftheseasonalfluctuationsoftheabioticandbioticparameters.Researcherscollecteddataontemperature,waterquality,andfauna.Theapproximately12,500visitorstotheDiscoveryandWildtourshadnoeffectoncaverntemperatures.WaterqualitymeasurementswerethesameascomparedtoGrove’s1974study,withtheexceptionofpH,whichchangedfrompH8.2topH7.Graybat,Myotisgrisescens,populationsanddistributionsincreasedfromanestimatedmaximumof5000(Grove1974)to372,726reportedbyU.S.ForestService(2016).Thisstudyreportedfiveobligatespeciesallrecordedinpreviousstudies.

HunterScharbor FridayUniversityofCentralArkansas 2:30PMBiology(BI) CCCS207UndergraduateStudentJudge:No

MitochondriaMorphologyandrotenoneHunterScharbor

MitochondriaarerodshapedorganellesthatproduceATP.ATP,isusedbycellsastheirsourceofenergythereforeallowingthecellsinourbodytofunctionappropriately.WithoutproperproductionofATP,ourcellshavetroubleproducinganeurotransmitter,dopamine.Dopamineallowsnervecellsinourbraintocommunicateandfunction.AnexampleoflowdopamineproductioninParkinson’sdisease(PD).AninducerofParkinson’sdiseaseisthedrugrotenone.Rotenonethatinhibitstheelectrontransportchaininmitochondria.ItinterfereswiththeproductionofATPbyinhibitingcomplexIactivity.AlreadyinthelabweareusingthePDinducertodeterminetheeffectonATPsynthesis,ROSconcentrations,andoxygenconsumptiontodetermineifourcellsbehavesimilarlytoPDcellsWeuseDictyosteliumdiscoideumtostudymitochondrialmorphologyandtheeffectofrotenoneonthecells.Inpreviousexperiments,welookedatthemorphologyofthemitochondriaandthemicrotubulesofthecellsafterbeingtreatedwithrotenone.Currentlyweareassessingtheeffectofrotenoneonactin.Ourresultsshowthatrotenonedrivesthenormallydispersedmitochondriatowardslooseclustersandpartiallydisruptthemicrotubules.Ourpreliminarydatasuggeststhatrotenonehasnoeffectontheactinstructure.Thisanalysisofstructureandmorphologywillbecombinedwithworkstudyingthedynamicsofmitochondriainthepresenceofrotenonetodetermineifrotenone,inadditiontoalteringATPsuppliesalsoaltersmitochondrialdynamicsandstructure.Byunderstandingtheeffectofrotenoneonmitochondria,wewillbetterunderstandtherolemitochondriaplayinPDprogression.

AshleySchulz FridayArkansasStateUniversity 4:00PMBiology(BI) CCCS207GraduateStudentJudge:Yes

WhoCitesWhom?CommunicationInsightsfromaBibliometricAnalysisofInvasionandBiologicalControlLiterature

AshleySchulz,RimaLucardi,TravisMarsico

Invasivespeciesareoneofthemostpronouncedforcesalteringtheecologyofourplanettoday.Biologicalcontrolagentsareintroducedtoinvadedecosystemsinanefforttocontrolsomeofthemostimpactfulnon-native,invasivespecies.Often,theseintroducedbiologicalcontrolagentsarealsonon-native,sotheirimpactsarevariablewithrespecttoefficacyandnon-targeteffects,suggestiveof“fightingfirewithfire.”Theaimsofthisstudywereto:1)determinewhetherinvasionecologistsandbiologicalcontrolscientistsciteeachother,orarecitingotherswithintheirownfields,2)assessthesimilaritiesinmechanismsandstagesofinvasionofinvasivepestsandbiologicalcontrolagents,and3)identifyareasofoverlapbetweenthetwodisciplines.Toevaluatecommunicationbetweenthetwodisciplines,wereviewedinsectinvasionandbiologicalcontrolliteraturefromthelasttenyears(2006-2015),categorizedtheliterature,andassessedthecategoriesofresearchpublicationsthatbiologicalcontrolscientistsandinvasionecologiststypicallycite.Wealsotabulatedavailable,generalinvasionecologyandbiologicalcontrolliteraturetoassessdocumentedmechanismsandstagesofinvasion,andidentifyareasforoverlapbetweenthetwodisciplines.Throughbibliometricanalyses,weshowthatbiologicalcontrolliteraturelargelycitesotherbiologicalcontrolstudies,whileinvasionliteraturemainlycitesotherinvasionstudies,suggestingasignificantareawherecross-talkmaybefacilitated.Further,weproposeanewframeworkthatincorporatesthestagesofinvasionofinvasivespeciesandbiologicalcontrolagentstodemonstratethepotentialfornovelutilizationofdiscoveriesacrossbiologicalcontrolandinvasionresearch.Duetosharedcharacteristicswithnon-native,invasivespecies,biologicalcontrolagentscanprovideresearcherswithanunconventionalmodelbywhichtostudymechanismsofinvasion.

AnnaSharabura FridayHendrixCollege 1:00PMBiology(BI) CCCS207UndergraduateStudentJudge:Yes

CollagenIncreasesTumorigenicityofPapillaryThyroidCancerCellsHarboringBRAFV600EMutations

AnnaSharabura,MackenzieGearin,LauraMacDonald

Thyroidcanceristhemostcommonendocrinecancer,andincidenceisincreasingworldwide.Thyroidcancercanbeclassifiedaseitherwell-differentiatedorpoorlydifferentiated.Ofwell-differentiatedthyroidcancers,papillaryandfollicularthyroidcancersaremostcommon,butareassociatedwithdifferentgeneticmutationsanddisplaydifferentpathologiesandsitesofmetastasis.ActivatingBRAFmutationsareprevalentinpapillarycarcinoma,whichmetastasizestolymphnodesintheneck,whileactivatingHRASmutationsaremostprevalentinfollicularcarcinoma,whichmetastasizestothelungsandbones.Whileourunderstandingofthegeneticbasisforthyroidcancercontinuestoexpand,lessisknownabouthowthetumormicroenvironmentalterstumorigeniccharacteristicsofthyroidtumorcells.Recently,Jollyetal.reportedthatpapillarythyroidtumorsderivedfromcellsharboringactivatingBRAFV600EmutationsandPTENdeletionsareenrichedwithfibrillarcollagenwhichisassociatedwithdecreasedsurvival.Inthisstudy,weinvestigatedwhethergrowthoncollagenenhancedtumorigeniccharacteristicsofpapillarythyroidcancercelllineswithBRAFV600Emutations.Threedistinctcelllinesweregrownoncollagenandassessedformorphology,proliferation,alteredactivationofsignalingpathways,andcellularsecretionorreceptionevents.Interestingly,ourresultssuggestthatgrowthoncollagenincreasescontributestoamoremesenchymalmorphology,increasedproliferation,alteredmetabolism,andincreasedsmallvesiclesecretionbytumorcells,whichmaybeimportantforsignalingrequiredformetastasis.Theseandotherresultsimplicateanimportantroleforcollagenintheprogressionofthyroidcancer.

ChelseySherwood FridayUniversityofCentralArkansas 2:15PMBiology(BI) CCCS105GraduateStudentJudge:Yes

Fish-HabitatAssociationsInTheKingsRiver,ArkansasChelseySherwood,GinnyAdams,ReidAdams

TheKingsRiverisafree-flowingriverthatishometoseveralspeciesoffishendemictotheOzarkMountainsandthreeSpeciesofGreatestConservationNeed,Notropisozarcanus,Erimystaxharryi,andEtheostomaautumnale.Despitebeingrecognizedasaregionallyimportantaquaticresource;nobasinwidestudiesoffisheshavebeenconducted.Wecollectedatotalof13,928individualsencompassing43speciesacross21sitesviaseines.Totalabundancerangedfrom187to1189andspeciesrichnessrangedfrom3to29speciesatagivensite.Weclassified27ofthe43speciescollectedasintolerant.Percentintolerantrangedfrom12%to96%atagivensite.Usingnon-metricmultidimensionalscaling,wefoundageneralgroupingofsitesfromupstreamtodownstreamandatthemesohabitatlevel(riffle,run,andpool).Fishassemblagestructurewasmostsimilarwithinhabitatswithrifflefishassemblagestructurebeingsignificantlydifferentthanrunandpool(MRPP).Noturusalbater,Etheostomacaeruleum,andEtheostomajuliaewerehighlycorrelatedwithrifflesandCyprinellagalacturawashighlycorrelatedwithpoolsandruns.Wealsofoundthatwithinthemesohabitatsinstreamhabitatalsodeterminesfishassemblagestructure.Fishspeciescompositionwasdifferentatourdegradedsitesandourmoredegradedriffleshadhighervelocitiesandsmallersubstrateandourmostdegradedrunswerewiderandshallower.Baselinedatawillbeusedinfutureassessmentsoffish-habitatrelationships.

AlaaH.Shneishil FridayAl-MustansaryahUniversity 2:00PMPhysics(PH) CCCS101Faculty/ResearcherJudge:No

DesignofcentralreceiversolarthermalconcentratorAlaaH.Shneishil

Theuseofsolarthermalconcentratorshassignificantlyimportanceforenergysavinginrecentyears.ThispaperpresentstheoreticalstudyofcentralreceiversolarthermalconcentratorlocatedatBaghdad(33°latitude,44°longitude)inordertoanalyzetypicalenergyoutputatanytimeduringtheyear.Inpowertowers,incidentsunraysaretrackedbylargemirroredcollectors(heliostats),whichconcentratetheenergyfluxontoradiative/convectiveheatexchangerscalledsolarreceivers,whereenergyistransferredtoathermalfluid.Afterenergycollectionbythesolarsubsystem,thethermalenergyconversiontoelectricityisquitesimilartofossil-fueledthermalpowerplantsandtheabove-describedparabolictroughsystempowerblock.Thesimulationprogramofthedesignhasbeenbuiltbyusing(MATLAP)inordertodeterminingthesolarenergycollectedbythesystem.

MasonSifford FridayHendrixCollege 3:45PMBiology(BI) CCCS211UndergraduateStudentJudge:Yes

MitochondriallineagesofPinussubsectionPonderosaetoresolvetherelationshipofspeciesnamedintheUnitedStatesandMexico

MasonSifford,HassanKaremera,DavidS.Gernandt,AnnWillyard

PinussubsectionPonderosae(Pinus,subgenusPinus,sectionTrifoliae)includesaboutseventeentreespeciesdistributedfromCanadatoNicaragua.Thisresearchextendedapreviousstudythatusedhaplotypesbasedonavariablelengthintroninthemitochondrialgenenad1toidentifypatternswithinPinusponderosa.IntheU.S.A.,P.ponderosaisdistributedoveravastgeographicrangeandisthoughttocompriseatleasttwodivergentlineages.WecomparedpublishedmitochondrialhaplotypesfromacrosstherangeofP.ponderosaintheU.S.A.tohaplotypesthatweidentifiedinrelatedspeciesofPinusinMexicoandCentralAmerica.Alignmentswereperformedonnucleotidesequencesandrelativerelationshipsweredeterminedamongthenewlyidentifiedhaplotypes.Thesemitochondriallineages,whichmoveonlythroughseeddispersal,provideinformationfordetectingcentersofdiversificationandglacialrefugiaforthePonderosaethatcanbecomparedtophylogeographicpatternsthatareobservedinpine’spollen-dispersedplastidlineages.

GeoffrySpooner FridayUniversityofCentralArkansas 4:15PMBiology(BI) CCCS105GraduateStudentJudge:Yes

MigrationDynamicsofOhioShrimp,Macrobrachiumohione,inArkansasGeoffrySpooner,ReidAdams,LindseyLewis

TheOhioshrimp(Macrobrachiumohione)isamphidromous,requiringamarineenvironmentforearlyjuveniledevelopment,butotherlifestagesarecompletedinfreshwater.OhioshrimpserveasatrophiclinkbetweentheGulfofMexicoandinlandreachesofcoastalplainrivers.ThehistoricalrangeofOhioshrimpincludedtheOhioRiverandUpperMississippiRiver,butabundanceupriverofLouisianahasreportedlydeclined.Currentdistribution,abundance,andlifehistoryofOhioshrimparerelativelyunknownupriverofLouisiana.Wire-meshedtrapsweredeployedatthreesitesalongthemainstemMississippiRiverandatsitesintheLowerArkansas,White,andSt.FrancisriversfromMarch-November2016.TotalcatchincreasedinMay(20.9oC),peakedinJune(29.5oC),anddeclinedfromJulytoNovember(29.5-14.0oC).Wecapturedamale-skewedpopulationinMay,slightlymale-skewedinJune,andinJulythepopulationwasfemale-skewed.PreliminaryexaminationofshrimpcollectedfromMay-Julysuggestssexratiosofmigrantsvariedwithsize/ageclass.Age-0migrants(TLrange21.8-43.3mm)werefemale-skewed(522females:278males),whereasoldershrimp,presumablycontinuingupstreammigration,weremale-skewed(48females:235males).Age-0shrimpmigratefurtherthan600riverkilometersfromtheGulfofMexico,andpreliminarydatasuggestanumberofolderOhioshrimp,primarilymales,alsocontinueuprivermigration.Despitehistoricdensitydecline,OhioshrimplikelyremainimportantcomponentsoffoodwebsinthelowerMississippiRiveranditstributaries.

MeganStone Saturday HendersonStateUniversity 9:30AMBiology(BI) CCCS101UndergraduateStudentJudge:NoLiriopeandOphiopogon:overview