2009

8:30 am - 9:15 am
9:15 am -11:30 am
9:15 am - 11:30 am
Welcome and Keynote Address by Dr. Patrick Hickey:
Russell House Theatre
Creative Presentations :
Russell House Theatre
Oral Presentations :
Russell House Rooms 201, 203, 205, 302, 303, 305
11:30 am - 12:30 pm Media Presentations :
Russell House Theatre
12:00 pm - 3:00 pm Poster Session :
Russell House Ballroom
3:00 pm - 3:30 pm
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Reception :
Russell House Ballroom
Awards Ceremony :
Russell House Theatre
Oral & Creative Presentations :
Creative Presentations ...................................................... page 2
Humanities ....................................................................... page 5
Public Health & Biomedical Sciences ................................. page 8
The Roosevelt Institution: Public Policy Roundtable .......... page 11
Science, Engineering, & Computing .................................. page 12
Social Sciences 1 ............................................................... page 15
Social Sciences 2……………………………………………………….page 18
Poster Presentations :
Arts & Music ..................................................................... page 22
Biology & Environmental Sciences .................................... page 24
Biomedical Sciences 1 ....................................................... page 30
Biomedical Sciences 2 ....................................................... page 34
Chemistry & Physics ......................................................... page 38
Computer Science & Engineering ...................................... page 41
Engineering & Math .......................................................... page 44
Health Sciences ................................................................ page 48
Humanities ....................................................................... page 51
Neuroscience 1 ................................................................. page 54
Neuroscience 2 ................................................................. page 58
Psychology, General…………………………………………………..page 62
Social Sciences & Business…………………………………………..page 68
Social Sciences & Education…………………………………………page 73

DISCOVER YOUR POTENTIAL
Climbing Your Own Everest: The Seven Summits of Your Life
By Dr. Patrick Hickey
The term Everest has always been used to describe something gigantic, unobtainable or unassailable. Dr. Hickey’s Mt. Everest was a 29,035 ft. mountain that for most fits these descriptions. However, he maintains that his Everest was just a rock, of which with proper planning, training, and support he was able to successfully summit. His
7 Summits of Life (balance, wellness, goals, attitude, potential, success and legacy) will explore how those challenged by much more frightening Everest’s, such as health, financial, and social issues, can find the resources, skills, and support needed to help them deal with those obstacles along the way.
Patrick Hickey RN,BSN,MS,MSN,Dr.P.H.,CNOR
Clinical Assistant Professor
College of Nursing / University of South Carolina
Patrick Hickey has been a Clinical Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing at the
University of South Carolina for the past four years and just this year assumed an additional role as Principal of the Capstone Scholars program. Patrick epitomizes the motto for the Capstone Program, “Dream Big”, as he has proven through his successful completion of the 7 Summits of the World (highest mountains on the 7 continents) that dreams can become a reality. In addition to spending the past 7 years climbing mountains Patrick has circumnavigated the globe with his wife Carol as they have backpacked through 57 countries around the world. A native Canadian
Patrick enjoys adventure travel, camping, backpacking, sunsets and on a rare occasion sunrises.

Climbing Movement for the Beginner
Derek DeBruin, Computer Science - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Patrick Hickey, Nursing
This project addresses the needs of the beginning rock climber for a resource to learn basic climbing movement. While there are numerous instructive texts regarding the technical and safety issues involved in rock climbing, there are significantly fewer resources addressing climbing movement itself. In the same way that there is a specific technique to throw a baseball, there are specific techniques in rock climbing. The climber who understands these techniques typically performs better.
Video was chosen as the format for this project as it enables the learner to visualize an entire movement or movement sequence, instead of reading a potentially confusing text description accompanied by a photograph that may not effectively convey the entire movement. The video produced has two major parts: a description of various techniques employed in climbing and several examples of the described techniques being used on actual rock climbing routes.
The final result is a video that describes the absolute basics of rock climbing movement to beginners in a format that focuses on real-world application. This allows them to be informed practitioners, able to communicate ideas about climbing movement in a sport-specific vocabulary and practice movement they may not have considered possible or useful prior to viewing the video.
Researching an Opera Character to Enhance its Portrayal
Michelle Fegeas, Music - Junior
Mentors: Dr. Tina Stallard, Music
Dr. Helen Tintes-Schuermann, Music
This summer, I participated in Operafestival di Roma, a program for young American opera singers in Rome. I played the role of the First Spirit in Mozart's The Magic
Flute. Before I went to Rome, I researched the opera, and my character specifically, by analyzing the music and libretto, as well as reading sources for the opera and scholarly works on the opera.
Physical Approaches to Acting and Their Impact on Performance
Mallory Morris, Theatre - Senior
Mentor: Prof. Robyn Hunt, Theatre and Dance
To study theatre, you have to experience theatre first hand: in the classroom or studio, the rehearsal room, onstage, backstage, and as an audience member. Throughout my undergraduate studies, I have found a special interest in physical approaches to acting that cultivate and connect heightened physical and psychological awareness in the actor. In Spring 2008, I received a Journeyman Exploration Scholars grant from the University of South Carolina Honors College to continue my physical acting training. For the entirety of May 2008, I trained five days a week, four hours a day with my mentor, Robyn Hunt, and Director Steve Pearson in Columbia, SC. In June
2008, I flew to New York City and continued my training with Robyn, Steve, and

Modern Dancer Peter Kyle at Marymount Manhattan College for three hours, three days a week. When I wasn’t in class, I saw theatre throughout the city to educate myself about Broadway, Off Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway performances. Bringing this research and knowledge back with me, I have recently finished directing my own production of Jordan Harrison’s Kid Simple: A Radio Play in the Flesh, exploring the entire process of bringing a play from the script to the stage and letting my experiences inform my work. My training with Robyn has helped me become a stronger, more confident performer, while transferring what I have studied into practical performance has enabled me to better articulate my ideas and discover my own aesthetic.
Studying the Origins of Oboe Reed Cane and Creating an International Music
Network in France
Melanie Pozdol, Music - Junior
Mentor: Dr. Rebecca Nagel, Music
Hoping to pursue a future in oboe performance, I travelled to the south of France during the summer of 2008 to gain a broader perspective of my instrument. The
Var region in Southern France is the world’s main sources of oboe cane, which is used to make oboe reeds. In the town of Cogolin, I visited two cane growers to learn all about the cane growing and manufacturing process. The cane grown on these farms is shipped out to oboists throughout the world who follow a detailed process to turn it into reeds. Making oboe reeds is a crucial skill to have since it is not only cheaper than buying ready-made reeds, but also because it is a more reliable method of having reeds that play well consistently. Thus, being able to see and experience the growing and harvesting process of the cane firsthand has allowed me to gain a stronger insight into the overall reed making process. I also attended the Nice International Summer Academy of Music, where, after a series of unexpected events, I studied with Vincent Lucas, the flute professor from the Paris Conservatory. Despite having to study with a flutist, I was able to learn and incorporate different practice techniques and exercises into my own playing. I also met and formed contacts musicians from around the world. The information and experiences that I gleaned during this trip have not only helped me understand my instrument better, but also my role as a musician in the world.
The Yellow Wallpaper: An Original Stage Adaptation
Mary Tilden, Theatre - Freshman
Lauren Koch, Theatre - Freshman
Savannah Kruzner, Theatre - Freshman
Hannah Lathan, Public Relations - Freshman
Theater is often held to the same technological standards as film, despite the differing components of space and time in each. While adapting the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” to the stage collaboratively among four actor/directors, it was discovered that the physical and technological limitations of the theater can cultivate imaginative use of space and body. The text used was chosen because the story itself deals with limitations and boundaries set on a woman in her own society. In creating the environment of the story, the participants faced limitations themselves, as they did not have a set or a budget. This lack of materials gave the actors more opportu-

nity to focus the immediate resources of their own physical instruments and the space around them. When working with these two components, it is possible to endow the space of the theater through using the bodies of the actors in order to tell a story imaginatively in a way that film cannot. While the lack of an authority figure for the participants was another limitation, this also freed the participants to explore the ideas of four artists, instead of one. Overall, the limitations of the theater became advantages in creating a work that could not be captured similarly on film.

Campesinos or Mestizos: The Formation of Indigenous Identity in Peru’s La
Convencion Province
Christopher Ballard, Latin American Studies - Senior
Mentor: Dr. E. Gabrielle Kuenzli, History
This project consisted primarily of field research in Peru´s La Convencion province with regard to the formation of indigenous identity of the inhabitants of the same.
Prior to leaving the United States, I began the research process by consulting several works related to the topic. As there were almost no works specifically dealing with
La Convencion, I would certainly have to travel and conduct a good portion of my research in the field, conversing with locals and making passive observations to gain a better understanding of the Convenciano reality. The purpose of this project was two-fold. The first and most practical purpose was that the findings were to be compiled in a senior thesis for LASP. The second purpose was to contribute to the field of cultural anthropology with research of a region and people that have up to now received little attention in American academia. As a result of inquiries made in
La Convencion, along with review of relevant publications at libraries in Cusco, I was led to this initial conclusion: Like much of the rest of Peru, race and identity in La
Convencion are not primarily founded upon phenotypic expression, but rather on one´s degree of economic, academic, or social success. However, in La Convencion, a slight twist to that paradigm exists. The primary foundation for identity remains one´s social or economic standing, but the imposed corresponding racial hierarchy is abandoned. Thus, there is little concept of a racial continuum that serves as an analog to socio-economic standing.
The Slide Rule’s Impact on Numeracy
Drake Culbreth, Physics - Freshman
Mentor: Dr. Ann Johnson, History
The research I have been doing has been aimed at the discovery and use of the slide rule. This research is being conducted under Dr. Ann Johnson, for the greater project of math literacy (aka numeracy). I have found the places at which the introduction of the slide rule had the most impact on its acceptance into the American Schooling system. The origin of the slide rule, along with its progression though history has been found.
Condemned: African American Neighborhoods in Downtown Columbia, South
Carolina
Paige Fennell, History - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Bobby Donaldson, History and African-American Studies
This project explores the unique and strained history that developed between the
University of South Carolina and African American residents whose homes, schools, and community institutions were destroyed in the face of urban renewal. Through the use of oral history and archival research, I will recover and document the memories and experiences of people who once resided in displaced communities

near the University. I will chronicle the steps taken to acquire property and analyze the ensuing regret, animosity, and sense of injustice that emerged among former residents. Additionally, my research seeks to build bridges between community members and the University by showing how a critical analysis of urban renewal campaigns might set the stage for reconciliation. In my preliminary interviews and meetings with former residents, it is clear that they eagerly want the stories and memories of their neighborhoods recorded and preserved. As a History major, this project affords me the opportunity to connect specific events in history with the lives of African Americans and analyze how federal and University policies shaped their experiences.
Senator B. F. Randolph: Reconstruction for all South Carolinians
Gale Lyons, History, African American Studies, and Criminal Justice - Senior
Mentors: Dr. Valinda Littlefield, History and African-American Studies
Dr. Bobby Donaldson, History and African-American Studies
Dr. William Darity, Public Policy Studies, African and African American
Studies, and Economics; Duke University
Dr. Reginald Hildebrand, History & African American Studies; UNC Chapel Hill
This research involves discovering how Senator B. F. Randolph, an educated northern free-born mulatto, should be remembered from his political involvement in reconstructing South Carolina from slavery to freedom. Senator Randolph, a Civil
War Chaplain, became a high ranked politician in South Carolina Legislative
Government during the Reconstruction era. The goal is to show that Senator
Randolph was memorialized in South Carolina for his radical egalitarian ideas in an attempt to incorporate social equality to benefit all South Carolinians. This has been done by examining Senator Randolph’s political preparation in the North prior to his engagement in southern politics, and includes an extensive analysis of his participation in the Proceedings of the 1868 Constitutional Convention, in which he was elected and appointed to prominent leadership roles (Delegate and Senator of
Orangeburg; Chairman of the Miscellaneous Provisions of the Constitution;
Presidential Elector). Upon examination of the Constitutional Convention, it becomes clear that Senator Randolph-a Radical Republican Black Majority Leader-attempted to constitutionalize “perfect social equality,” without the disparities in race, color, class or gender to benefit all South Carolinians. However, his democracy became a menace to white superiority, and ultimately led to his political assassination.
Through showing that Randolph Cemetery- located on Elmwood Avenue in
Columbia-was established in honor of Senator Randolph’s importance to South
Carolinians, this research highlights the magnitude of his radically framing a new
Constitution for the People of South Carolina.
Rotary Cultural Ambassadorial Scholar
Kimberly Vinci, Exercise Science - Junior
Mentor: Ms. Margaret Perkins, Office of Fellowships and Scholar Programs
My initial interest and involvement in the Rotary organization began with my
Carolina community at USC. After learning about Rotary International, I attended an interest meeting for prospective Rotary Scholars sponsored by the Office of
Fellowships and Scholars. As soon as I discovered the peaceful focus and service based priorities that Rotary is founded on, I knew that I wanted to apply for the

scholarship. My goal in applying for the Rotary Cultural Ambassadorial Scholarship was to gain further knowledge of the East African region of the world through study of the language, Swahili, and the culture. Being a Public Health based major at USC, I am drawn to that area of the world because I know of the severe suffering taking place, and I feel that I have been called to help.
Throughout the entire application process I discovered a great deal about myself and my personal aspirations in life. When I participated in the interview stage of the application process, I walked into that weekend being comfortable with not receiving the scholarship because I had already learned so much about my personal goals for my future.
After the exciting news of receiving the scholarship, I had to wait approximately a year before traveling to Tanzania. But it was well worth the wait. My experience abroad encompassed everything that Rotary International prides itself on. I partook in an immersion into a culture so unique and beautiful where I learned something new at every turn. My Rotary involvement surpassed anything that I could have imagined, and I would highly encourage any student interested in a service based, study abroad experience to discover what Rotary has to offer.
The Cotemporary Russian Orthodox Church Through the Eyes of Russian
Believers
Alicia White, Russian - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Alexander Ogden, Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
The purpose of this research is to analyze the post-Soviet state of the Russian
Orthodox Church (ROC) through a series of interviews with both self-identified
Russian believers and non-believers conducted in Russia and through a study of the
Church’s past. The analysis focused primarily on the position of the church in contemporary Russian society and politics. The ROC is currently at an important stage of development; before the rise of the Bolsheviks in the early 1900s, the
Church enjoyed a respected yet controlled position under the rule of the Russian
Tzars. After the fall of the autocratic system, the followers of the Soviet ideology of
Scientific Atheism were militant in their efforts to reclaim and demolish Church buildings, murder priests, convert followers and destroy the widespread belief in
God. When the Soviet Union fell the ROC was able to reclaim a small amount of its former prestigious position. The Church is becoming more and more visible and is becoming inextricably tied to the Russian national identity. However, due to the many years of repression under the Soviet system, Orthodoxy in Russia has become more of a cultural identity than a religious belief system. This has caused many problems for the contemporary ROC, most importantly the predicament of teaching four generations of Russians how to be Orthodox, while simultaneously defending their constituency from the influx of Western religions. The interviews with believers provided a more intimate look at the contemporary ROC.

The Truman Scholarship
Jeet Guram, Baccalaureus Artium et Scientiae - Junior
Mentor: Ms. Novella Beskid, Office of Fellowships and Scholar Programs
In the spring of 2008 I decided to apply for a Truman Scholarship, a $30,000 award for graduate study designed “to find and recognize college juniors with exceptional leadership potential who are committed to careers in government, the nonprofit or advocacy sectors, education or elsewhere in the public serve.” About 65 scholarships are awarded annually, usually with at least one from each state. Thus began a yearlong process that was demanding and sometimes frustrating, but in the end, deeply rewarding. Knowing I wanted a career in health care policy that combined medical practice with policy research and advocacy, I felt the scholarship was a good fit. I began by drafting a copy of the application and submitting it to the USC Truman
Committee in October; they then interviewed me. My first step was to receive their endorsement—the school can endorse up to four candidates. After receiving their endorsement, I revised my application in consultation with them. I submitted my application to the national competition in early February and soon found out that I was a finalist and would be interviewing on the national level! Progressing through the competition has been incredibly exciting, but for me, the greatest value of the process has been the opportunity for introspection and self-discovery. I have had to look at my interests and career plans in a critical way and have emerged with a much better understanding of where I am now, what I believe, and where I want to be in the future.
CenteringPregnancy®: The Answer to Modern Health Care’s Call to Reform
Traditional Prenatal Care
Jessica Mahney, Nursing - Senior
Mentors: Dr. Patrick Hickey, Nursing
Dr. Debra Woda, Nursing
Pregnancy is a time of transition in a woman's life, both an emotional and physical rollercoaster of change. Despite the vast spectrum of change women experience during pregnancy, it is also a time of general health. Traditional prenatal care has changed little over the past century and consists of only a few scheduled visits with a healthcare provider over the span of the pregnancy. The traditional model, as much of traditional healthcare, focuses on medicine and illness, and lacks much of the education and support pregnant women and their families are seeking. CenteringPregnancy® is a model of prenatal care that takes women out of examination rooms and places them into groups with other women based on gestational age. The Centering-
Pregnancy® model provides risk assessment, education, as well as support in a group milieu and has proven to promote better pregnancy outcomes for its participants. CenteringPregnancy® groups are constantly expanding, with several studies have been conducted to evaluate its efficiency. This literature review collects and reviews current relevant literature on the subject, presenting support for implementation of the model based on evidence of its success.

Clean Hands: Take Action - A Service-Learning Project
Toby Shuler, Nursing - Sophomore
Mentor: Dr. Pearl Fernandes, Biology
USC Sumter
“Take Action: Clean Hands,” a campaign of the American Society for Microbiology, was implemented as a service learning project in an Allied Health Class at USC Sumter. Students learned the importance of hand washing and its relation to global diseases. Class research projects and reports were designed along this theme. Students learned the proper hand-washing technique during a laboratory session conducted by a community outreach personnel involved in this campaign. A brochure on the proper hand washing technique and its importance was designed to be distributed at the "Clean Hands Campaign Day" on campus. Students from the entire campus will be invited to learn why hand washing is important and the proper hand washing technique. Stickers on hand washing will be posted in restrooms on the USC Sumter campus. A pre- and post- test was designed to study the efficacy of the modules related to hand washing. The results indicate that the students greatly benefited from the modules and the projects. Additionally, the importance of hand washing was disseminated among families and friends.
Inadequate Spanish Language Cancer Educational Materials: Insights for Adaptation of the Cancer Education Guide
Anna Walton, Biological Sciences, Junior
Mentors: Dr. Heather Brandt, Health Promotion Education and Behavior
Dr. DeAnne Messias, Nursing
The national standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services
(CLAS) are guidelines for the provision of quality health care services to limited English proficient patients, a necessary step in reducing health disparities. The CLAS standards mandate the availability of easy to understand, culturally competent, health educational materials in the language of commonly encountered groups within service areas. The increasing Spanish-speaking population in South Carolina means that health information and educational materials need to be available in
Spanish. This study evaluated the cultural and linguistic adequacy of 21 nationally developed, currently distributed, Spanish language cancer educational materials using the Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM) instrument. Seventeen materials received an adequate SAM score, while only one scored superior and three were considered not suitable (Mean = 56%, Range = 29% – 70%). Overall low scores were due to the absence of a clearly stated purpose, poor organization, limited reader interaction, and difficult language (Mean SOL score = 7.5; Range = 5.6 – 10).
These findings guided the formative evaluation and adaptation of what was originally a verbatim Spanish translation of the South Carolina Cancer Alliance Cancer
Education Guide (CEG). Adaptations to the Spanish language CEG included: focusing on breast and cervical cancer; reorganizing; increasing audience interaction; including testimonies from community members; and using simpler language. The Spanish language CEG is currently being implemented in the community by lay health workers and evaluated for its ability to effect positive knowledge and behavior change related to breast and cervical cancer screening in the Hispanic community.

A Drug Dosage Trial in MDX (Muscular Dystrophy) Mice to Decrease Macrophages in Skeletal Muscle
Patti Weed, Exercise Science - Sophomore
Mentor: Dr. Matthew Kostek, Exercise Science
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disease that occurs in one of 3,500 live male births, it is characterized with symptoms of progressive muscle degeneration and premature death. The muscle degeneration is caused by the lack of a vital muscle protein called dystrophin. Without this protein, muscle cells cannot repair themselves properly after damage. Another factor that inhibits muscle repair is the chronic inflammation that coincides with the disease. One method to diminish the chronic inflammation is to decrease the excess number of inflammatory cells (i.e. macrophages) that accumulate in the dystrophic muscle. Our previous findings have shown that macrophage depletion is 62% in response to a 200µl injection of Liposome Clodronate (LC), a pharmaceutical drug commonly used in the depletion of phagocytic cells. Yet, LC dosages have not been tested in mdx mice; therefore, we are currently injecting dosages of 50µl, 100µl, 200µl, 300µl, and 100µl of saline (as a control) into the mdx mice with the purpose of identifying an optimal dose for macrophage depletion. Tissue and blood are being analyzed by immunohistochemistry and real-time PCR in order to quantify the protein and gene expression of two primary types of macrophages in mdx muscle. A one-way ANOVA is being used to identify a treatment effect with a tukey post-hoc test to identify specific differences between groups (P 0.05). Completion of this study will identify an optimal dosage of
LC needed to reduce the two types of macrophages in mdx. Ultimately, an understanding of the role of inflammation in DMD will lead to optimized treatment strategies.
Elucidating the in vivo Effects of Itch Using Apcmin/+ Mice
Margeaux Wetendorf, Biological Sciences - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Lydia Matesic, Biological Sciences
Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are two common autoimmune-mediated inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). After 10 years of chronic inflammation, IBD patients display elevated rates of colorectal cancer. Itchy mice are homozygous for a loss of function allele of Itch, an E3 ubiquitin ligase. On a C57BL/6J background, these animals develop a systemic and progressive autoimmune disease that proves lethal at six to eight months of age. Notably, itchy mice display chronic inflammation in the lamina propria of the gastrointestinal tract beginning at 12 weeks of age.
Therefore, we hypothesize that the itchy mutation could exacerbate the development of tumorigenesis in the intestinal epithelium. Apcmin/+ mice have a mutation in the Apc tumor suppressor gene that causes a predisposition for tumor growth in the intestines. Itch-/- mice were crossed with Apcmin/+ mice in order to create Itch-
/-; Apcmin/+ mice, which lack Itch and carry the min mutation. The Itch-/-; Apcmin/
+ mice were compared to the single mutants and to wild type animals to assess tumor number, size, and location. Mice were euthanized at 9 weeks of age, the intestines were harvested, and the number of tumors was recorded. Statistical analysis of the data indicated no significant difference in tumor formation at the 9 week time point. Studies are in progress to asses the effects of chronic inflammation on tumor burden and/or latency at later time points (e.g., 15 and 20 weeks of age). These results will strengthen the connection between chronic inflammation and the development of colorectal cancer.

Effecting Change Through Public Policy: A Collaborative Classroom Experience
The Roosevelt Institution, A Student Public Policy Group
Kyle Mallinak , International Studies, Sophomore
Stacey Burgin , Anthropology, Senior
Samir Panvelker , Anthropology, Junior
Christina Lopez , Finance/Marketing, Junior
Roxy Tangen , International Studies, Senior
Jeet Guram , Baccalaureus Artium et Scientiae, Junior
Mentor: Dr. Charles Finocchiaro, Political Science
This panel will discuss the process and results of an experimental class offered during the Spring 2009 semester. The class, Effecting Change Through Public Policy, was developed by the Roosevelt Institution in collaboration with the South Carolina Honors College and the Political Science department as an alternative way to teach students about public policy development. Drawing on the ideas and experiences of similar classes at other universities, the Public Policy class invited a series of professors to deliver policy area lectures as a way to generate discussion and provide a foundation for the students’ own policy ideas. Throughout the semester, students were required to write their own policy proposals and submit them for peer review, discussion, and submission to student public policy journals. The experiences of this class yielded important information that may help future classes effectively integrate collaborative learning models into a traditional lecture-based system of instruction.

Creating a Database for Identifying Two Subspecies of Largemouth Bass
( Micropterus salmoides )
Max Bangs, Biological Sciences - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Joseph Quattro, Biological Sciences
Two subspecies of largemouth bass, the northern largemouth bass ( Micropterus salmoides salmoides ) and the Florida bass ( Micropterus salmoides floridanus ) occur commonly throughout the southeastern United States. Prior to 1949 the Florida bass was known only from peninsular Florida; unfortunately, due to greater maximum size and longevity the Florida subspecies has been introduced into lakes and other impoundments throughout the east coast and southern United States. This expansion of Florida bass into the habitat of northern largemouth bass could result in hybridization of the two subspecies and thus may affect the fitness of the northern largemouth bass populations in these areas. We characterized genetic diversity at one mitochondrial locus (ND2) and four single copy nuclear loci (ITS2, Actin, S7, and
Calmodulin). The resulting DNA sequences were used to create a genetic database useful for differentiating these two subspecies.
Phylogeographic Analysis of P. glauca in the Atlantic Ocean
Zach Friedell, Biological Sciences - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Joseph Quattro, Biological Sciences
The blue shark, Prionace glauca , is currently considered Near Threatened (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).
Despite growing conservation concerns, little is known about its population structure. Blue sharks are highly migratory and are known to travel great distances, but the effect of these factors on geographic connectedness is uncertain. Here we present an analysis of genetic data for blue sharks collected throughout the North Atlantic Ocean. Sequence data for the d-loop region of mitochondrial DNA is used to test for population genetic structure among geographic regions. Understanding population structure allows for the identification of Management Units (MUs), and therefore provides the baseline for informed management decisions. This study presents the first data of this kind for blue sharks and represents an important first step in elucidating geographical connectedness in these highly mobile animals.
Characterization of the Biodegradation Products of Aircraft Anti-Icing Fluids and Their Estrogenic Effects
Katherine Hyland, Chemistry - Senior
Mentor: Dr. P. Lee Ferguson, Chemistry and Biochemistry
The biodegradation of a model anti-icing fluid by a mixed culture of bacteria isolated from airport stormwater drains in Milwaukee, WI was tracked at 10°C. HPLC-MS as well as reverse- phase HPLC methods were employed to quantify the change in ocylphenol polyethoxylate (OPEO) surfactant concentrations in the degradation liquor over time. GC-MS analysis showed that the propylene glycol freezing-point depressant in the fluid was entirely consumed after 150 hours. Also, OPEO was quantitatively converted to its corresponding carboxylate metabolite series (OPEC) after 150

hours. The resulting degradation liquors were then tested using mammalian cellbased reporter-gene assays to determine the relative estrogenicity of the degraded anti- icing fluid versus the original, undegraded formulation. A transient transfection assay using an ERE-luciferase construct in MCF-7 cells showed a five- fold increase in estrogenicity of the degraded anti-icer (containing oxidized OPECs) relative to the original anti- icer formulation (containing OPEO surfactants).
An Assessment of Ground Resilience to Projectiles Generated During Extreme
Weather Events
Jonathan Jenkins, Civil Engineering - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Charles Pierce, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Extreme weather events occur more frequently and are causing more damage than ever before. Hurricanes have seen an increase in ferocity, mainly along the coastal regions, while the number of tornadoes has risen over the last decade. The damage is largely attributed to high wind speeds, with an increasing amount due to projectiles that are lifted and ejected at high velocities. While structural damage has been well documented, the impact that these projectiles have on the ground has not been thoroughly explored.
To get a better understanding of these effects, a literature review was conducted to determine the breadth of research available concerning ground penetration, crater formation, and projectile generation. Then, the properties of several large objects that were reported as being transported by tornado events were documented. Using empirical formulas and derived equations from previous research, penetration and crater depths have been projected for multiple objects in different soil conditions.
A small-scale experiment was conducted using small objects, such as bowling balls, steel plates, and concrete cylinders in freefall to determine crater depths. This info was compared with empirical equations found in literature. Additional experiments involved using a pneumatic air cannon to launch small objects, like plywood, at high velocities to determine the depth of penetration in various soil types. This experimental data will hopefully provide us with a greater understanding of potential threats tornado and hurricane missiles could pose to underground pipelines and other utilities.
Titanium Silicate Based Nanostructured Materials: The Quest for Selective and
High Adsorption Capacity Flexible Frameworks
Kendall Williamson, Chemical Engineering - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Chris Williams, Chemical Engineering
As synthetic zeolites have shown properties that can be used in adsorption-based separations, there is an ongoing effort to discover nanoporous crystalline materials to be tailored as highly selective and high capacity sorbents. These synthetic zeolites have proven to be useful in many applications, such as adsorption, molecular sieving, ion exchange, and catalysis. An adsorption application of particular interest is that of the separation of mixtures of molecules of similar sizes, such as methane and nitrogen. The separation of nitrogen and carbon dioxide from methane is becoming increasingly important for natural gas recovery. Titanium silicates (TS) with octahedral coordination transition metal centers are materials with characteristics that allow for the alteration of the effective pore size, thus permitting passage of only

molecules with specific dimensions and facilitating size exclusion based separations.
The current investigation focuses on the synthesis of new TS nanostructured sorbent materials with the flexible characteristics of TS materials, but also involving a templated synthesis. The addition of an organic template to the TS synthesis solution results in the formation of cage-like structures with increased volume for adsorption. In addition to creating this new material, the most effective method of template removal must also be studied. It is important to be able to completely remove the template, in order to maximize the adsorption volume, while still maintaining the crystallinity of the structure.

The Iditarod of Application Processes: Chasing Down the Fulbright
Emilie Duck, English - Senior
Mentor: Ms. Margaret Perkins, Office of Fellowships and Scholar Programs
As an English and German major, I jumped at the chance to teach English in former
East-Germany with the Checkpoint Charlie Stiftung. After this five week international teaching experience in the summer of 2008, I was filled with purpose—I needed to go back to Germany. Thus I began the Fulbright process. The Fulbright
Grant is a national fellowship that enables students to research, study, or teach English worldwide. I am interested in their English Teaching Assistant position for teaching English and American Studies. While teaching, I would have the chance to help other students learn a foreign language, practice my German, learn more about
German culture, and begin a writing project about the generational differences between parents that grew up in the GDR and their children, who are growing up in a reunified Germany. From August to October, 2009, I spent countless hours filling out the application, while simultaneously writing a Statement of Purpose and a Personal Statement. After several revisions, I interviewed with a committee of USC professors in October, secured their feedback on my application, and began making more revisions—the final one taking place mere moments before submission. In
February, 2009, I was informed that I was a finalist—an honor that also included another round of applications for the German government. Regardless of the final outcome, this process has been both revelatory and extremely enjoyable. It has forced me to examine what I really want from life—career-wise and personally— which is a true gift.
Animal Care and Training Internship
Nicole Hembree-Caldwell, Marine Science - Senior
Mentor: Dr. James Pinckney, Biological Sciences
In the spring of 2008, I participated in an internship at the Navy Marine Mammal
Program (NMMP) in San Diego, CA. During this 16 week internship, I gained handson experience in marine mammal training and care. Many of my responsibilities included diet preparation, sanitation, and maintenance. I was also allowed to assist in husbandry, health physicals, research, and open water training. Throughout the internship, I attended several lectures about the program as well as other research being conducted to stress the dynamics of the marine mammal field. The dolphins and sea lions at NMMP are trained in skills to benefit the United States Navy and for
Homeland Security. The NMMP is also responsible for over 800 publications allowing for the advancement in naval technology and has allowed scientists to acquire a better understanding of these animals. This internship gave me a great opportunity to experience an area of the marine science field that is unavailable in an academic setting.

Salience Matters: An fMRI Study of the Repeated Name Penalty
Jeremy May, Experimental Psychology - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Amit Almor, Psychology
Discourse often involves repeated references to previously mentioned entities. One important finding about reference comprehension is the slower reading of repeated names compared to pronouns when referencing the most salient entity in a discourse. This “repeated name penalty” (RNP) has been studied extensively in behavioral studies, but only one study (Almor et al., 2007) so far has investigated the underlying neural circuits by using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI).
Almor et al. found that the RNP recruits parietal brain regions that are known to be involved in spatial processing. This result is potentially important but could merely reflect baseline differences between pronouns and repeated names, independent of their referential function. The current study aimed to replicate Almor et al. and also add a control condition in which repeated name reference was made to a less salient entity. In an fMRI experiment with sentence by sentence stimuli presentation, we found that the RNP is associated with activation in the Middle Frontal Gyrus, the
Intraparietal Sulcus, multiple temporal regions, and the Precuneus. These results replicate the findings of Almor et al. concerning the involvement of parietal regions in the RNP and extend them by showing the involvement of the prefrontal cortex.
This suggests that regions often seen activated in working memory tasks, are key in the processing of reference.
Social Exclusion in Education
Theresa Williams, Sociology - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Mathieu Deflem, Sociology
Within the educational system we find a whole range of opportunities presented to us, our curiosity is shaped or culled; our enthusiasm is encouraged or thralled; our concept of self is enriched or faded. The power of education is its ability to predetermine the social value and career placement of its citizens to the framework of its social structure.
The purpose of this project is to determine what factors contribute to marginalization through the social institution of education. Aside from our family groups and the initial introduction into long standing social institutions such as religion and media, our first encounter with long term socialization patterns begin and end with our experiences shaped by the educational system.
This project targeted programs that are purposely designed to encourage marginalized people to obtaining a higher education. Through the interviewing process of these program directors and their staff, this project hopes to procure information that can be researched, tested and re-evaluated so that it maybe implemented into social policies that empower marginalized groups so that they can successfully emerge to participate within a prosperous community, and allow them the opportunity to acquire the skills necessary for fulfilling the role of responsible citizens.
The social and mental impact of marginalization, alienation and exclusion are not
‘imagined realities’ of displaced people, these are unavoidable social realities that will effect all generations of Americans as we compete in a world economy.

Olympia High
Justin Wolfe, History - Junior
Mentor: Dr. Valinda Littlefield, History and African-American Studies
I will present findings about the no longer existing Olympia High School based on research and interviews with former students.

William Pierce, Junior v. The State of South Carolina
Edward Goodley, History - Senior
Mentor: Dr. David Snyder, History
In 1973 the guilty verdict of a Sumter County murder case, William Pierce, Jr., v. The
State of South Carolina, divided the community over whether William Pierce was actually guilty of the offense. Moreover, aspects of the trial convinced many of systemic evidentiary concerns and allegations of corruption and cover-up within the
Sumter County judicial and law enforcement divisions.
Areas of concern involving the case includes but are not limited to the following: an alleged confession made by the defendant that was never recorded or written down by law enforcement officers, perjured statements made by law enforcement officers at trial, suppressed sexual assault evidence of the victim, illegal distribution of official court pathology and autopsy reports of the victim by a Sumter County government official, and a recorded confession presented in open court by a second suspect.
This investigative research determines whether substantial evidence actually exists that may either exonerate Pierce of guilt or provide for a second trial.
After conducting several interviews of those involved and reviewing the court transcripts, police records, witness affidavits, issues of corruption charges, and newspaper articles, the outcome demonstrates that William Pierce did not obtain a fair trial.
Thus, the evidence uncovered can now be used to encourage prosecutors and solicitors into re-examining or reopening the William Pierce case.
Implicit Racial Attitudes and Support for Barack Obama in the 2008 Election
Hakeem Jefferson, Political Science - Sophomore
Courtney Edwards, Political Science - December graduate
Mentor: Dr. Todd Shaw, Political Science
Barack Obama’s success in the 2008 presidential election seems to contrast with a substantial body of research detecting persistent anti-Black bias at the nonconscious
(implicit) level (e.g., Greenwald, McGhee and Schwarz 1998). According to Wilson,
Lindsey, and Schooler’s (2000) Dual Attitudes Model, time spent in the voting booth may be sufficient to consciously correct implicit anti-Black attitudes, thus explaining this outcome. We test an alternative neural model of racial attitude formation
(Craemer 2007)which holds that people may rely on different implicit racial attitudes when interpreting language(culturally shared attitudes) and when they make political decisions (personally idiosyncratic attitudes).
This study utilizes a pre-election survey based on an online non-probability general population sample (n=1,177). A subliminal priming procedure (Fazio et al. 1995) similar to the Implicit Association Test (Greenwald, McGhee and Schwarz 1998) measures culturally shared implicit word associations. An implicit closeness measure (Craemer 2008) assesses personally idiosyncratic racial attitudes based on cognitive ‘self-other overlap’ (Aron et al. 1991). To investigate possible self-selection effects explicit survey questions in the online study are compared to identical items

in a representative random digit dialing (RDD) telephone survey (n=1,200).
The results suggest that implicit closeness toward Blacks predicts voter preferences for Barack Obama even when non-Black Republicans are considered alone. In contrast, implicit word associations display a powerful pro-White and anti-Black bias across all racial and ethnic groups. The differential functioning of the two implicit measures suggests a psychological mechanism at the nonconsicous level that allows people to defy culturally ingrained racial biases.
Abroad as an African-American: Dispelling Myths and Dealing with Questions of Identity and Discrimination in China
Shayron Rice, International Studies - Senior
During spring semester 2008, I studied abroad in Chengdu, China through USAC a non-USC program provider. After hearing the sounds of reggae at a young age I became interested in exploring other cultures. Once I heard about the study abroad opportunities available in college, I knew I had found a way to experience another country and culture firsthand. After pondering over other locations such as Brazil,
South Africa, Japan, India, and the United Arab Emirates I finally decided on China.
Since I had never been out of the country before or even stepped foot on a plane I had some difficulty getting my family and friends to accept or take seriously my plans to go abroad. I knew that I should study abroad not only to gain a different perspective, but to also encourage other minorities and those that that have never considered leaving the country to travel abroad. While most of my experience was fun and exciting there were times when issues about race and identity surfaced.
While abroad I began to see how people from various backgrounds defined blackness and what it means to be American. There were also moments when I felt as if I had been treated differently due to my skin color. My memorable experience in
China has allowed me to dispel myths about America and about general misconceptions my family, friends, and community may have had about China, but most importantly it has helped me develop a more sound sense of identity and self.
An Analysis of the Azerbaijani Business Environment and Discussion of Opportunities for Private and Public Sector-Led Economic Development
Andrew Schwark, International Business - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Gregory Niehaus, International Business
Following decades of rigid Soviet rule and outdated commercial practices, Azerbaijan has found itself in dire need of major reforms and developmental initiatives.
While a strong energy sector and rising oil revenues contribute to government coffers, many regional experts worry about progress in non-oil sectors and the all-tooreal threat of “Dutch disease.”
This report seeks to provide information to link American consultants, universities, and business contacts to organizations in Azerbaijan to ensure further development of non-oil sectors and Azerbaijan’s attainment of its developmental goals. It reveals characteristics of Azerbaijani business, with emphasis on expatriate firms and the challenges they face; legal processes for business operations; issues confronting development in rural Azerbaijan; the best sectors for foreign investment; and potential local partners for future intercultural endeavors.
Information in this report stems from interviews with both private and public-sector

sources, supplemental guides and materials, and general observations made by the author during a seven-week stay in summer 2008.
Findings suggest that challenges of varying degrees occur at every stage of the business operations process and that obstacles range from high-level corruption and monopolistic practices to lower-level bribes and bureaucracy. Non-traditional requirements regarding business processes exist in the areas of visa and permit obtainment, business registration, corporate taxation, and business closure. Rural
Azerbaijan poses unique challenges ranging from relative cultural isolation to blatant corrupt practices, while offering greater growth opportunities and high government investment incentives. Potential areas of investment for American interests run the gamut, ranging from the agricultural to the financial services sectors. Consequently, a wide array of market entry strategies is necessary for project integration.
Jamm Rekk: A Year as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to the Republic of Senegal
Andrew Schwark, International Business - Senior
Mentor: Ms. Novella Beskid, Office of Fellowships and Scholar Programs
As an international business major and one who understands the increasing importance of the developing world in an ever-globalizing society, I wanted to enhance my personal knowledge of the current interface between the modernized West and developing countries. To do this and further develop fluency in French while fulfilling a life-long dream of visiting Sub-Saharan Africa, I sought to embark on a Rotary Academic-Year Ambassadorial Scholarship to the Universite Gaston Berger in the culturally-rich Western African nation of Senegal. Little did I know that, not only would my travels acquaint me with African business style and tradition, but they would also transform my world view and help me define career ambitions in the realm of economic development. What's more, unique to the Rotary experience, I was able to join my host club in engaging in community outreach and truly give back to a country that gave so much to me. From taking on the initial application process with the
Office of Fellowships and Scholar Programs and the Lake Murray-Irmo Rotary Club to studying with my African peers to fully gauging the need for economic development, participating in the Rotary experience changed my life.
Nanomedicine and the Future: The Role of Roadmaps in Science and
Technology
Jared Stone, History - Junior
Mentor: Dr. Ann Johnson, History
What if you could see what the future holds? Policy makers have made their predictions for the future of medicine and continue to publish new ideas through roadmaps. Nanomedical roadmaps are used to define and achieve specific innovations in science and technology as it pertains to medicine on the nanoscale. By examining these often overlooked documents from both the U.S. and Europe, it has become evident that policy makers play a critical role in the research process, determining both the appropriation of funding and the work a researcher can perform. Government overseers set a time-limited goal for the development of new concepts and technologies through roadmaps, a process that is well structured yet limited by its presumptive nature.

Musical Passion
Marquis Lewis, Media Arts - Senior
Mentors: Prof. Walter Clissen, Theatre & Dance
Prof. Jeff Salter, Art
This project is creative and artistic expression of an appreciation of traditional and modern music of some of my favorite peer artists (both musicians and vocalists), as well as their musical instruments. Musical Passion, which I envision to be the first of a series, is a collection of photographic portraits exclaiming musical ambition, drive, passion, love, dreams and creativity among many other things. The idea was inspired by my first and only Professor of Photography, Jeff Salter, who understood my interest in music and photography and suggested pursuing an internship study that involved them both. Accompanied to the slideshow of photographic images is a jazzinspired musical recording that was not only composed specifically for this project, but it also supports the theme of the project as well. The purpose in creating this project was to display my talents and ideas and combine them together in such a way that it would inspire others to follow their dreams as well.
A Golden Jubilee Initiative Program Presents: Ali to Karim: A Tribute to the
Shia Ismaili Imams
Noren Panjwani , Biological Sciences - Freshman
During the summer of 2007, the commemoration of Golden Jubilee for the Shia
Imami Ismaili Imam took place. It unleashed waves of creativity as part of the celebrations for a whole year. I was honored to be one of 4 national actors chosen to partake in a prestigious tour of “Ali to Karim.” This was the first time that 1400 years of Ismaili history was to be presented in a three-hour epic play. To capture the story of 49 Imams in such a short amount of time to such a wide range of ages was a challenge for sure, but turned out to be a success, by using English, Guajarati, and Urdu, we were able to grasp the audience and take them back in time. I was given a chance to work with six professional non-Muslim international actors, from whom I learn a lot of great skills. Every time I performed this play throughout the tour (seven cities around America, 21 times); I gained more knowledge of my historical past. Spending over two months of my summer educating the Muslim and non-Muslim community of historical Islamic history couldn’t have been more invigorating to my mind spiritually. The four national actors kept and on-going blog, “off-Script” of our experience to keep the community informed of our journey thru “Ali to Karim.”
Music, Performance, and Interactive Parallel Computing Networks
Alex Wroten , Music - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Reginald Bain, Music
The laptop computer has opened a new universe of musical exploration by allowing musicians endless flexibility and portability for performance. However, due to the technical proficiency required to plan and execute music for an ensemble of laptop performers, such an ensemble is open territory for artistic exploration. Composers and performers alike shy away from this territory because frequently the joys of

collaborative computer music are masked by the mires of technical errors. This research investigates ways to bypass these repellent concerns and provide a foundation for successful and easy execution of laptop ensemble music. A few basic considerations were determined early in the stages of research. Because musicians share information in live performance, the computers should operate in a networked environment. Also, a variety of interface devices should be employed to allow a variety of methods for expression. Many software packages were evaluated to determine their efficacy in removing the technical overhead from these considerations. The confusing terminology, highly-specific requirements, and lack of easy-to-understand documentation in these packages indicated that new software must be programmed to satisfy the goals of the research. After months of research and programming, an easy-to-use modular musical networking interface emerged, allowing almost endless freedom for musical expression while ridding the technical grievances from those who would otherwise shy away from laptop ensemble music. This research gives
The USC School of Music the groundwork for developing a standing laptop ensemble, allowing composers and performers alike to participate in creating groundbreaking computer music with ease.

Depth Localization of Seismicity on Strike-Slip Faults in California
Christiann Boutwell, Geology - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Tom Owens, Geological Sciences
Gaining a greater understanding and communicating useful knowledge of earthquakes is important for issues of both scientific and societal concern especially relating to seismic hazard and risk assessment. I, with the guidance of my mentors, contribute to the expansion of earthquake understanding by means of investigating three-dimensional distributions of earthquake ruptures along California strike-slip faults. Previous work by Powers and Jordan (in prep.) shows that the average rate of small earthquakes along California strike-slip faults obeys a power-law of the form R~(x^2 + d^2)^(- γ /2), where the rate R is in events/km^2, x is the distance from a fault, γ is the decay rate of seismicity, and d is the near-fault inner scale.
However, they do not consider the depth variability of earthquake hypocenters. We therefore perform a reconnaissance of their fault-referenced data set to determine if there is significant on-fault versus off-fault variability in earthquake depths. Results show interesting regional variations. In southern California, on-fault earthquake hypocenters are strongly localized in depth, but become more distributed with distance from a fault. In contrast, variance of hypocenter depths in northern California is similar both on and off of faults. Similar regional variations are observed for γ and d, so depth variance likely correlates with fault properties such as seismic productivity, creep rate, and cumulative offset. These results have important implications for fault-based models of seismicity, which can be used to improve current earthquake forecasting methods such as the epidemic type aftershock sequence (ETAS) model.
Backscatter of Acoustical Waves by Natural Sediment
Nicole Hembree-Caldwell , Marine Science - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Jeff Morin, Geological Sciences
As coastal populations continue to increase, the pressing threat of coastal erosion is an immediate concern. A better understanding of sediment distribution allows coastal managers to implement more effective efforts for restoration and nourishment to diminish the immediate threat to coastal communities. Recent developments in Acoustic instrumentation allows for profile observations of sediment characteristics in the boundary layer the Acoustic Backscatter Instrument (ABS) developed by Aquatec Inc. is capable of measuring sediment dispersal within the water column dependent upon size, shape, and density. The purpose of this study was to better understand the differences between size and shape of sediment detected with the ABS utilizing four predetermined frequencies (1, 2.5, 3, 5 MHz). The instrument was tested in a calibration chamber designed and built in the Coastal Processes and Sediment Dynamics Lab (CPSD, Department of Geological Sciences, Dr. George
Voulgaris). Three size ranges of natural sediment and synthetic glass spheres of corresponding size were individually suspended within the calibration chamber.
Data was collected using the ABS for a duration of three hours. The collected data was then used to determine the effect of shape on the backscatter. Although there was a general trend present within the data, there were apparent differences between the profiles of natural and synthetic sediments. This study provides a preliminary understanding of the differences between size and shape of natural and syn-

thetic sediments. Ultimately the results of this study can be utilized to develop a correlation factor between sediment data collected in the lab and collected in the field.
Discrimination of West African Ethnic Groups Using Y-SNPS
Sidney Jarido , Biological Sciences - Sophomore
Mentor: Dr. Bert Ely, Biological Sciences
Y-Chromosome single nucleotide polymorphisms (Y-SNPs) have many practical forensic applications such as the establishment of paternity. However, Y-SNPs have also been widely used in the study of human migration and evolution. Because different ethnic groups have distinctive gene pools, studying the distribution of a particular Y-SNP may help to demystify the migration patterns of a particular group of interest. Previous studies have classified many of the ethnic groups of Africa as belonging to either the E3a*or the E3a7 subclade of the major African haplogroup, E3a.
However, the use of only two subclades doesn’t allow for much discrimination between ethnic groups. Two newly identified SNP markers (E3a8 and E38a) help in further differentiation of the E3a haplogroup into E3a8 and E3a8a. In this study, we used a sample of 180 individuals from 5 West African countries (Benin, Equatorial
Guinea, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Cameroon). To determine which samples were
E3a8 and E3a8a, we determined which SNP was present in each sample. We found that the E3a8 and E3a8a subclades were more common in the samples taken along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea than the samples taken further inland in Cameroon or in Sierra Leone. The new markers help to show population differentiation and can be used to provide better discrimination among West African ethnic groups.
Environmental Controls of Steppe-Forest Transitions in Lava Beds National
Monument
Ian Johnson , Geography - Senior
Mentor: Dr. John Kupfer, Geography
The occurrence of fire in an environment is a crucial step to the sustainability of that environment and the intentional introduction of fire by humans helps monitor this.
However over the past century human fire management of Lava Beds National
Monument has been a difficult task. In some areas of the Monument where there has been a lack of controlled burns the woody vegetation such as shrubs and juniper have taken place and diminished the biodiversity of the area. On the other hand some previous controlled burns have made way for some fire tailored species that are encroaching on the previously native plant species region. The Park Managers at
Lava Beds have sent me many aerial photographs of the Monument ranging from 70 years ago to current. Through the use of geographic information system ArcGIS v.
9.3 I can effectively view the aerial photos in my chosen study areas and identify regions of change over the locale and digitize individual forest patches over time.
This research can help the Park Managers of Lava Beds better understand the effects and placement of their prescribed burns and the reasons for their current vegetation patterns.

Subcuticular Bacteria in the Brittle Star Amphipholis gracillima
Emily Kasl , Marine Science - Senior
Kathleen Marston, Marine Science - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Richard Long, Biological Sciences
Many echinoderm species have been observed to support subcuticular bacteria
(SCB), however very little is known about the purpose or function of SCB and few of these bacteria have been identified. The primary focus of this study was to quantify the SCB community of Amphipholis gracillima , a brittle star common to the southeastern coast of the United States. To test our hypothesis that A. gracillima hosts a monoculture of SCB, we collected brittle stars from North Inlet (Georgetown, SC).
Arms were sampled according to three sterility regimes to prevent contamination by external bacteria. DNA was extracted using the Ultraclean Soil DNA kit and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the 16S-23S rRNA operon was amplified using PCR. Bacterial community structure was examined by automated method of ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA). All samples of A. gracillima were found to contain a mixed SCB community with slight variation in the number and type of species observed both between treatments and within individual brittle stars. However, three main ribotypes were represented in the majority of individuals. This observation voids our monoculture hypothesis and suggests the possibility of multiple functions of the consortia of SCB. Further work is needed to identify the
SCB community and investigate possible antimicrobial or symbiotic properties. Additionally, the variable presence of SCB species between individuals suggests alternative methods (reproductive, environmental, etc.) for transmission of the bacteria.
Detection of Karenia brevis on the West Florida Shelf
Preston Kendrick , Marine Science - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Tammi Richardson, Biological Sciences
Karenia brevis is a toxin-producing dinoflagellate that accumulates in high numbers or "blooms" in the Gulf of Mexico, especially off the west coast of Florida. Blooms of
K. brevis may result in fish kills, neurotoxic shellfish poisoning, marine mammal mortalities, and respiratory problems in humans. Detection and quantification of K. brevis is an important component of studying the ecology and development of these blooms. As part of the Magellan Scholar Program, I participated in an oceanographic research cruise on the west Florida shelf, starting and ending at the port of St. Petersburg, FL. To assess phytoplankton community composition, water samples were collected aboard the R/V Pelican from October 16th - 19th, 2008. Samples were collected at the surface and from the depth of the chlorophyll maximum. Phytoplankton biomass and community composition were determined by microscopy and by assessment of biomarker photosynthetic pigments by High Performance Liquid Chromatography. At the beginning of the cruise, the phytoplankton community was dominated by diatoms. Samples collected on the final day of the cruise, however, indicated that a bloom of K. brevis was beginning. These data will be used by State wildlife and fisheries personnel to make management decisions about beach closings and restrictions on shellfish harvest.

Hybridization of M. edulis and M. galloprovincialis Along the Eastern British
Coast: Comparison of Recent and Historical Data
James Knox , Biological Sciences - Junior
Mentor: Dr. Jerry Hilbish, Biological Sciences
Serious ecological consequences can result from climate change. All species have a specific temperature range in which metabolic function is normal. When temperature is increased in situations of climate change, the geographical distribution of certain species may shift in order to coincide with the new average temperatures.
Members of the genus Mytilus are ideal indicator species for climate change studies because competing species have temperature-dependent distributions. M. edulis and
M. galloprovincialis are two species which compete and hybridize along the coast of
Great Britain; M. galloprovincialis is a warm water species and M. edulis is a cold water species. Samples of M. edulis and M. galloprovincialis were collected at 16 sites along the eastern British coast in the summer of 2008. Allele frequencies were calculated for each site using the Glu-5’locus and results were compared to historical allele frequencies collected by Skibinski et. al (1982). The number of alleles in each specimen size class was also recorded in order to determine size structure at each site. It was found that, between 1976 and 2008, M. edulis allele frequencies significantly increased at Swale and South Woodham Ferrer, while M. galloprovincialis allele frequencies significantly increased at Filey Brigg North and Robin Hood’s Bay.
One or Two Species of Cownose Ray (genus Rhinoptera ) in the Western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico?
Justin Lewandowski, Marine Science - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Joseph Quattro, Biological Sciences
The potential for misidentification between two threatened cow-nose rays (genus
Rhinoptera ) is an example of the conservation management issues created by cryptic speciation. Originally, it was thought that only R. bonasus was present in the Gulf of
Mexico. However, individuals with R. brasiliensis – like jaw toothplate number (a defining characteristic separating the two species) have led to the suspicion that R. brasiliensis is present as well. If some of rays in the Gulf that were thought to be R. bonasus are actually R. brasiliensis , census numbers for this IUCN (2007) threatened species would obviously be much lower. We analyzed mitochondrial DNA variation in cownose rays collected from the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico to evaluate the presence of R. brasiliensis . Field methods included sample collection and storage in ethanol. Laboratory methods involved DNA extraction, PCR amplification, DNA sequencing, and phylogenetic analysis. Analytical methods involved basic population genetic analysis and morphological identification. Analysis of samples from the Gulf and western Atlantic revealed that there are clearly two species present in both locations. At present, it is clear the R. brasiliensis is indeed present in the Gulf and western Atlantic, although it is as of yet unclear just how abundant it is versus the abundance of R. bonasus . We are continuing these studies by additional sampling and the inclusion of voucher specimens from outside of US coastal waters (Mexico and Brazil).

Sequencing the Subcuticular Bacterial Community in the Brittle Star Amphipholis gracillima
Kathleen Marston, Marine Science - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Richard Long, Biological Sciences
Subcuticular bacteria (SCB) have been noted in many species of brittle star and may be an important symbiont. To date only a few SCB isolates has been identified by the
16S rDNA. This work represents the analysis of subcuticular bacteria found in the brittle star species Amphipholis gracillima . It was expected that a monoculture of bacteria would be found to inhabit the subcuticular space. A. gracillima was analyzed by Automated rRNA Intergenic Spacer Analysis (ARISA). Many peaks or operational taxonomic units of bacteria species were found. To identify species present, DNA extracted from brittle star arm portions was amplified using Polymerase
Chain Reaction (PCR) targeting the 16S rDNA, Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region and a portion of the 23S rDNA. This target region serves three purposes: 1) the 23S rDNA region, which is specific to bacteria, eliminates mitochondrial DNA interference, 2) the 16S rDNA region allows for phylogenetic analysis, and 3) it allows for putative assignment of phylogeny to different peaks from ARISA analysis.
Mixed PCR products from the bacterial community were isolated by using clone library technology. Following colony isolation and sequences, phylogenetic analysis was performed using BLAST searches.
The Effect of Defense Proteins in Plants Against Insects and Bacteria
Azka Nazir, Biological Sciences - Sophomore
Mentor: Dr. Johannes Stratmann, Biological Sciences
Plant pathogens and herbivores halt the growth of plants. As a consequence, plants have evolved defense mechanisms that protect them from being completely devoured by herbivores, from diseases caused by microbial pathogens. When a caterpillar feeds on a tomato leaf, the leaf comes in contact with oral secretions of the caterpillars. I wanted to find out whether these oral secretions are responsible in inducing the wound response. The wound response results in the accumulation of proteinase inhibitor proteins. And when these proteins are consumed with plant diet, they block the digestive processes in the guts of the insects. I obtained the oral secretions and applied them to plants, and measured the proteinase inhibitor protein using radial immunodiffusion assays. I found that oral secretions induce a wound response in tomato plants. Flagellin is a protein present in flagellum of bacteria. It is known to trigger defenses in plants against bacteria. In order to find out whether flagellin has an effect on tomato wound response or not, I applied it to plants and measured proteinase inhibitor protein in leaves. I found that flagellin induced the synthesis of high levels of proteinase inhibitors, which was surprising because these defense proteins were not known to be effective against bacteria. My results indicate that defense proteins in plants, like proteinase inhibitors, may be effective in mounting a defense response against insects and bacteria. Through this project, I have been trying to learn how plants, while being completely immobile, protect themselves from bacteria and pathogenic attack.

The Effects of CSN5 Silencing on Manduca sexta Herbivory in Tomato Plants
Sarah Pulliam , Biological Sciences - Junior
Mentor: Dr. Johannes Stratmann, Biological Sciences
Plants have evolved a variety of defense responses to protect against stresses such as herbivorous insect attack. I studied the effects of Manduca sexta caterpillar attack on tomato plants to better understand the molecular processes underlying defense strategies. Ultimately, my goal is to increase plant resistance to diseases and pests in crop plants; this will aid in the search for hardier, more adaptable crop plants in order to decrease problems of world hunger. Virus Induced Gene Silencing (VIGS) was used to reduce the transcript abundance of the CSN5 gene in tomato plants. This protein is part of the COP9 Signalosome (CSN) complex which is involved in various developmental processes. I hypothesized that the loss of this gene would adversely affect plant defense responses. Control plants and CSN5-silenced plants were fed to caterpillars, and mortality rates and defoliation were measured. Tissue samples were analyzed for levels of the anti-insect protein proteinase inhibitor 2 (PI-2) and the defense hormone jasmonic acid. Caterpillar larval weight was significantly increased and defoliation was more pronounced in CSN5-VIGS plants, and these plants also had reduced levels of PI-2 proteins. It was also shown that CSN5-silenced plants had reduced levels of jasmonic acid after wounding. Together this confirms that reducing the levels of CSN5 compromises plant defenses against caterpillar wounding.
These results illuminate the importance of the CSN complex in defense responses.
During this project I gained valuable research experience and a solid foundation on which to further develop my career in plant research.
The Effects of the Sumter Wastewater Treatment Plant on the Survival of Ceriodaphnia dubia in 7-day Chronic Toxicity Tests
Erin Worley , Nursing - Sophomore
Mentors: Dr. Pearl Fernandes, Biology; USC Sumter
Dr. Michele Harmon, Biology & Geology; USC Aiken
USC Sumter
The Pocotaligo River is a freshwater wetland that originates in Sumter, SC. The Pocotaligo swamp has endured severe anthropogenic and natural alterations to its ecology over the last eight or nine decades. The Sumter Wastewater Treatment
Plant discharges an average of 45 million liters/month of treated sewage into the swamp. Water quality can be assessed through physiochemical measurements and use of biological indicators. One of the commonly used biological indicators of water quality is Ceriodaphnia dubia ( C. dubia ), a freshwater zooplankton. The objective of the present study was to determine the possible effects of the wastewater treatment plant on water quality. Surface water samples were collected every two months from an upstream (control), an effluent release site, and a downstream site using as many habitats as possible within each site. Physical and chemical analysis of surface water was conducted. Acute (48 hour) and chronic (7 day) toxicity tests were conducted using twenty replicates, each containing one C. dubia neonate for each type of water. The acute toxicity test examined the mortality of C. dubia in a 48 hour time period. The chronic toxicity tests examined the total numbers of live offspring produced per parent animal. Our results indicate that there were significant differences among sites in the seasonally averaged water temperature, dissolved oxygen and conductivity (p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in mortality or alterations in reproductive success among C. dubia between the three sites. Presently, the Sumter Wastewater Treatment Plant is adequately treating its sewage.

Identification of Transcriptional Control Elements of a Novel Bi-directional
Promoter Associated with the p53 Gene
Emily Ferguson , Biological Sciences - Senior
Mentor: Dr. David Reisman, Biological Sciences
Previous studies have shown that the normal p53 gene regulates programmed cell death in response to cell damage. An abnormal p53 gene is found in 85% of all cancers which does not respond properly causing the cell to continue growth when it should die. Advancements in genome mapping have uncovered another gene,
WDR79, that lies only one thousand base pairs upstream from the p53 gene. In an attempt to discover whether these genes share common regulatory elements, our goal is to clone and characterize the WDR79 promoter. To clone this promoter, we
PCR amplified a 1000 bp region of DNA from both the human and mouse genomes that separates the two genes. The products were purified and cloned into a TOPOvector (Invitrogen). Plasmids that carried the cloned PCR products in an orientation allowing the transfer of the putative WDR79 promoter into a reporter vector were selected. The plasmids were digested with XhoI and KpnI and the promoter regions were purified and ligated to a luciferase reporter vector, pGL3. These constructs used in transfection assays to test for WDR79 promoter activity. To test for activity, the plasmids were introduced into HeLa and Swiss3T3 cells. After a number of transfections we concluded that the WDR79 promoter is located in the 1000 base pair region we cloned. We have begun making deletions in this region, via restriction enzyme digests, to determine what areas are important. Once these deletions have been completed, we will introduce them into cells to determine what regions contain regulatory elements.
Effect of the Angiogenic Inhibitor Tumstatin on Suppression of Tumor Growth
Rebecca Krygiel , Biological Sciences - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Maria Marjorette Pena
Angiogenesis is the process of growing new capillaries from pre-existing blood vessels. It is a normal process, but is also a crucial step in tumorigenesis, the transition of dormant tumors to their malignant state. When a tumor develops, the “angiogenic switch” is “turned on” to provide the tumor with blood supply and nutrients. Targeting tumor vasculature may be an effective therapy for preventing tumor progression. Tumstatin, an endogenous angiogenic inhibitor, has both anti-angiogenic and pro-apoptotic properties, deeming it a potentially powerful therapeutic agent. ApcMin/+ mice are models for colorectal cancer progression. They have a mutation in the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene similar to that found in humans with colorectal cancer. The goal of my project was to determine if increased levels of tumstatin in mouse serum will reduce the number of intestinal tumors in ApcMin/+ mice. I used a gene therapy method by in vivo intramuscular electrogene transfer. I constructed a plasmid that expressed the tumstatin gene, electroporated the plasmid and the empty vector (the control) every 2 weeks, and collected blood serum. Two age groups were tested: 4-9 and 9-15 weeks of age. The mice were sacrificed and the intestinal tumors were counted under a microscope. From our results, there was no difference in tumor burden between the two groups of mice in the 4-9 week old group (23.00 vs. 23.67). However, we observed a reduction in tumor burden in the 9
-15 week group (36.28 vs. 17.4). We will verify the serum levels of tumstatin using immunosorbent assays.

Horizontal Gene Transfer and the Evolution of Enterobacteria Phage Lambda
Andrew Moeller , Biological Sciences - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Robert Friedman, Biological Sciences
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a phenomenon by which genetic material is transferred between living organisms. Transfers can occur through direct cell to cell contact, viral vectors, and DNA absorption from the extracellular environment. Although there has been little success in determining the frequency of these genetic exchanges, it is thought that HGT has played a major role in the evolutionary history of both bacteria and bacteriophages. Using phylogenetic methods to analyze protein sequence data, I identified a set of enteric bacteria that have likely participated in
HGT with the bacteriophage lambda. From that set, I constructed phylogenetic trees that show the evolutionary histories of transferred genes are often independent from the evolutionary histories of the organisms in which they reside. These trees also show that certain genes have a tendency to be transferred more often than others, with shorter, non-enzymatic proteins like structural phage elements being transferred most frequently. Conclusions from this work have bolstered our understanding of bacterial HGT, while simultaneously raising new questions regarding
HGT mechanisms.
Effect of Gold Nanoparticles on Amyloidβ Selfassembly in Alzheimer’s
Disease
Stephanie Paolini , Chemical Engineering - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Melissa Moss, Chemical Engineering
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has become increasingly prevalent in America’s aging population. At the pathological level, AD is characterized by the deposition of abnormally aggregated proteins into both intracellular and extracellular plaques. The amyloidβ protein (A β ) forms the extracellular plaques, which have been cited as one of the earliest markers of AD. During plaque formation, soluble monomeric A β , already present in the aging brain, self-assembles to form partially soluble protofibril intermediates before finally forming insoluble A β fibrils. Both protofibrils and fibrils are neurotoxic. Thus, A β self-assembly is implicated in the progression of AD and inhibition of A β self-assembly is a possible therapeutic approach. Nanoparticles have shown promise in biotechnology, including biological imaging and drug delivery.
This project evaluates the effect of gold nanoparticles on A β self-assembly, specifically on A β monomer aggregation and on A β protofibril growth. In the current study,
22 nm gold nanospheres coated with negatively charged sodium citrate were studied. Results demonstrate that these nanoparticles have little effect on the formation of fibrils from monomer, but they do inhibit protofibril growth by monomer addition. Future work may include the conjugation of small inhibitor molecules to these nanoparticles as a means of examining whether the clustering of known inhibitor molecules increases A β binding affinity.
Impact of Myeloperoxidase Exposure on 1L-1 β Expression in Human Blood
Platelets
Ashleigh Quick , Biological Sciences - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Mary Forman, Biological Sciences
In this study, we performed short-term incubations of blood platelets with an enzyme myeloperoxidase (MPO); a marker of oxidative stress. In oxidative stress an

imbalance between the antioxidant system and reactive oxygen species formation occurs. This reaction is prevalent in hemodialysis patients possibly leading to thrombotic events, systemic inflammation, and cardiovascular events. The body is in a constant state of inflammation overproducing three proinflammatory cytokines Interleukin-1 β (IL-1 β ), Interleukin-6, and Tumor Necrosis Factorα . Concurrently, plasma
MPO levels are elevated in these patients. Activated monocytes and macrophages are thought to be the prominent source of IL-1 β . We hypothesize MPO can indirectly initiate processing of ProIL-1 β in platelets. Following short-term incubations, platelets were prepared for protein immunoprecipitation and western blot analysis for the expression of mature IL-1 β . We demonstrated an apparent increase in the presence of IL-1 β via immunoprecipitation beginning at 4 hours with visually thicker bands in the 4 and 6 hr MPO samples. Protein concentrations will be determined by
ELISA assay. The Pro-IL-1 β is primarily a cytosolic protein in platelets, and cleaved by interleukin-1 converting enzyme (ICE) forming mature IL-1 β . Previous studies determined an association between gene expression of IL-1 β and complement factor
C5a using whole blood from hemodialysis patients. Because C5a also initiates MPO synthesis in whole blood, this enzyme may be indirectly involved in platelet processing of Pro IL-1 β . We hope these studies will improve our understanding of inflammatory processes in patients undergoing hemodialysis and lead to the development of an early clinical marker in those developing cardiovascular disease.
Flow Cytometric Analysis of T cells in Adverse Myocardial Remodeling
Will Spencer , Biological Sciences – Senior
Mentor: Dr. Greg Brower, Cell and Developmental Biology and Anatomy
Myocardial remodeling, a key element to heart disease, is characterized by the degradation of the extra cellular matrix followed by ventricular dilation. Death typically results from the left ventricle’s reduced cardiac output which causes back pressure to the pulmonary circuit resulting in pulmonary edema. In addition to mast cells, T cells are thought to play a role in the remodeling process. In this study, characterization of T cells during adverse remodeling was performed using flow cytometric analysis in 8 week old Sprague Dawley male rats. The cardiac mast cell isolation protocol developed by this lab is the same protocol used to isolate cardiac T cells.
Using this protocol, T cells were isolated from the pericardium and stimulated in incubation with TNF-alpha and Substance P. In this study, an in vivo model is not used, but in vitro stimulation with factors such as TNF-a and Substance P were performed. Monensin was used as a golgi apparatus blocker to inhibit exocytosis of the cytokines, yielding higher detection levels for all cytokines. After incubation the concentrations of cells containing CD+, IL-4, IFN-y, IL-17, STAT3 and STAT3P were quantified using flow cytometry. Initial results show TNF-alpha has increased the population of STAT3-P cells, and reduction of STAT3, showing a shift to the phosphorylated state. TNF-alpha shifted the population of CD4+ cells from 67.16% in unstimulated cells to 76.09% in stimulated cells, while Substance P decreased the population to 63.42%.

Identification of Gonadal Biomarkers of Low Dose Polybrominated Diphenyl
Ether (PBDE) Exposure
Roopa Varadarajan , Biological Sciences - Junior
Mentor: Dr. Holly LaVoie, Cell and Developmental Biology and Anatomy
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are flame retardants that are widely used in textiles, plastics, and electronics. PBDE levels in human serum increased by 8000-
9000% from 1973 to 2003. High doses of penta-BDEs in the mg/kg bw range negatively impact behavior, memory, thyroid hormone function, reproduction, and bone development. This study investigated the effects of ingestion of a relatively low dose of the penta-BDE mixture DE-71 by pregnant rats on reproductive and endocrine parameters of the F1 offspring. F0 dams received 60 mg/kg bw of DE-71 by gavage from day 1 of pregnancy through lactation. F1 animals were sacrificed at postnatal day 21, or after breeding, at 5 months of age. Some adult F1 females were sacrificed at day 14.5 of pregnancy. At sacrifice, tissues were dissected, weighed, and either frozen for RNA isolation or fixed for histology; serum was also collected. At day 14.5 of pregnancy, F1 females exposed to DE-71 perinatally had significantly higher total serum T3 and T4 levels than F1 females receiving vehicle perinatally (P0.01). Thyroid weight/bw was higher in 5-month-old F1 females from dams treated with DE-
71 compared to controls (P=0.002). No differences in gonadal weights or offspring numbers were observed. Microarray analyses of RNA from 5-month-old F1 ovaries and 21-day-old F1 testes demonstrated gene expression changes in response to perinatal DE-71 exposure. Real-time PCR confirmed expression of osteopontin mRNA was significantly elevated (P0.05) in the same tissues. In summary, low dose PBDE exposure during development altered both the thyroid axis and gonadal gene expression.
Regulation of Nuclear Factor-kappa β Phosphorylation in Lean Control and
Zucker Diabetic Fatty Rat Cardiac Fibroblasts
Daniel Weinberg , Biological Sciences - Sophomore
Mentor: Dr. Chandrashekhar Patel, Cell and Developmental Biology and Anatomy
Clinical and animal studies have identified cardiac fibrosis as a major contributor to
Diabetes-related deaths in the United States. Nuclear transcription factor, Nuclear
Factor-kappa β (NFk β ), largely mediates the profibrotic inflammatory response of cardiac fibroblasts to inflammatory agents including advanced glycosylation endproducts (AGEs) and other inflammatory cytokines. Much is known about the signal transduction pathways from NFk β as well as its known activators; however, there is little known about specific differences in patterns of phosphorylation between normal cardiac fibroblasts and cardiac fibroblasts in diabetic patients. In this experiment, adult rat cardiac fibroblasts isolated from Lean Control (LC) rats and Zucker
Diabetic Fatty (ZDF) rats were treated in vitro with time-dependent dosages of proinflammatory cytokine Interleukin 1 Beta (IL-1 β ). Western-Blotting was then used to assay levels of total NFk β phosphorylation as well as levels of phosphorylation for seven specific Serine and Threonine residues known to play a role in the phosphoregulation of NFk β transcription activity: Threonine 254, Serine 276, Serine 311,
Threonine 435, Serine 468, Serine 529, and Serine 536. Preliminary data analysis shows minor variations in total activation and Serine/Threonine –specific phosphorylation between LC and ZDF phenotypes. Time-dependent treatments also indicate that lean and diabetic fibroblasts may differ in the time necessary for NFk β activation to begin as well as the duration that NFk β remains active. Further study will attempt to quantify disparities between NFk β activation in LC and ZDF fibroblasts as well as qualify the implications of inflammation in these two phenotypes.

Development of a Fluorescent Bioassay for Measuring cAMP in Neonatal Myocytes
Zachary Coffman , Chemistry - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Kenneth Welsh, Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the most prevalent type of transmembrane receptors for transducing signals across cellular membranes. There are upwards of two hundred known GPCRs expressed in the heart, but almost one-third of the
GPCRs have yet to be characterized. A large number of these GPCRs work by changing intracellular levels of cAMP. Among cAMP’s many uses is its role in controlling the contractility of muscular tissue as well as heart rate through the up or downregulation of ion channels. The goal of this project was to develop a fluorescent imaging plate reader (FLIPR) based assay for identifying new drugs that bind to GPCRs and regulate the intracellular levels of cAMP in the heart. In this research, neonatal rat cardiac ventricular myocytes were cultured in 96-well plates and infected with adenovirus expressing a cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) ion channel. The cells were then loaded with Fluo-4, a fluorescent Ca+2 ion indicator to monitor the flow of ions across the cell membrane. An α -adrenergic agonist, isoproterenol, was applied to the cells and produced an increase in the fluorescent response that indicated a Ca+2 influx through the CNG channel. Ca+2 fluorescence was inhibited by the addition of specific α -adrenergic and muscarinic receptor agonists such as carbachol and phenylephrine, but was propagated by the addition of different phosphodiesterase inhibitors such as cilostamide and IBMX. This fluorescent bioassay has applications in more than cardiac research as it provides a fast and efficient way to test many different drugs on different cultured cells.
Over-Expression of HOXA9 Leads to Differential Regulation of NF-k β Dependant Transcription
Huley Dru S. Dickert , Political Science – Senior
Mentor: Dr. Chandrashekhar Patel, Cell and Developmental Biology and Anatomy
Inflammation of endothelial cells is an essential step in the initiation of atherosclerosis. In endothelial cells, inflammation is mediated in part by the down-regulation of homeobox protein HOXA9 and the subsequent nuclear localization of transcription factor nuclear-factor kappa β (NF-k β ). Previously it has been shown that NF-k β is integral to the inflammatory response via aiding the transcription of proteins COX-2 which regulates the biosynthesis of prostaglandins and matrix metalloproteases which allows for degradation of the extracellular matrix Furthermore, nuclear localization of NF-K β induces the transcription of its own inhibitor, I-k β . In the present investigation, to determine the mechanistic action of NF-k β when HOXA9 is downregulated, HOXA9 was constitutively expressed in bovine aortic endothelial cells treated with various inflammatory agents. Here it is shown that COX-2 and MMP-9 expression was successfully repressed but that de novo synthesis of I-k β was unaffected. Therefore, it appears that NF-k β allows for the transcription of I-k β in the presence of an inflammatory agent but is only necessary and not sufficient for transcription of COX-2 and MMP-9 under similar conditions. These findings seem to indicate that there are two classes of genes regulated by NF-k β , those that are responsive and irresponsive to HOXA9 over-expression.

Anti-HIV-1 vif Activity by a Hammerhead Ribozyme Expressed from a Retroviral Vector
Audrey Hendley , Biological Sciences - Senior
Mentor: Dr. William Jackson, Biology and Geology
USC Aiken
HIV-1 is a lentivirus that primarily infects CD4+ T helper lymphocytes, resulting in a gradual deterioration of immune function and leading to the onset of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Recent research suggests that HIV replication can be inhibited using ribozyme therapy. Hammerhead ribozymes are small, endoribonucleases that can be designed to cleave substrate RNAs at sequence specific sites defined as XUX¡¦, where X = any nucleotide and X¡¦ = A, C, or U. Hammerhead ribozymes targeted to HIV-1 mRNAs have been shown to reduce or inhibit viral replication. The HIV-1 virion infectivity factor (vif) gene encodes a protein which counteracts the function of an innate, antiretroviral defense mechanism of nonpermissive cells, such as CD4+ T helper lymphocytes. This mechanism is mediated by apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing enzyme-catalytic polypeptide-like 3G
(APOBEC3G), which is a cellular cytidine deaminase that is encapsulated into progeny virions in the absence of Vif and is inhibitory during the next round of viral replication. Vif neutralizes APOBEC3G by reducing its translation and by rapid degradation of the native protein. Vif, therefore, may be a good target for ribozymemediated inhibition of HIV-1 replication. To test this hypothesis, three catalytic and non-catalytic hammerhead ribozymes targeted to nucleotides 5113, 5127, and 5154 of the HIV-1 genomic clone NL43 (Accession # M19221) were designed and cloned.
Non-catalytic ribozymes were inactivated by a G to A substitution within the catalytic core and given a ƒ´ designation. Each of these ribozymes was cloned into the retroviral vector, pSuper.retro.puro (pSRP) for tissue culture studies. pSRP was designed to express siRNAs and we hypothesized would also efficiently express hammerhead ribozymes. The retroviral vector pSRPVif5113 or pSRPVif5113ƒ´ was transiently transfected into 293T cells, along with pCMV-VifFLAG, which expresses the
HIV-1 vif gene fused to the FLAG epitope. A Vif-targeted siRNA cloned into a similar retroviral vector, (pSuper.retro.GFP+neo) was analyzed in parallel. Total protein was isolated and ribozyme-mediated reduction of vif expression was analyzed by
Western blot. The initial analysis of these ribozymes suggested reduction of vif expression in ribozyme positive cells as compared to non-catalytic (ƒ´) transfected cells. Interestingly, cells transfected with anti-Vif siRNA appeared to have an even greater reduction in vif expression. Current studies are underway to verify these results.
NonO: A Candidate for Repairing DNA Damage Produced by Cancer Chemotherapeutic Drugs
Cedric Johnson , Biological Sciences - Sophomore
Mentor: Dr. Douglas Pittman, Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences
Chemotherapy is one of the treatments for cancer. In addition to attacking cancer cells, chemotherapy agents affect healthy cells, resulting in side effects such as hair loss, nausea, fatigue and anemia. Therefore, an important challenge is to eliminate only cancer cells. My long-term goal is to identify DNA repair proteins that may be targeted to improve chemotherapy treatments. A protein family named RAD51 functions in a process known as Homologous Recombination DNA repair. NonO,
(Non-POU domain containing octamer-binding) is a newly identified interacting pro-

tein candidate. I have cloned the NonO gene into two epitope tagged expression vectors and fused NonO with a Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) reporter. I have demonstrated expression of the epitope tagged proteins and attempting to confirm
NonO interaction with RAD51 proteins. Through transient transfection, I have determined that NonO localizes to the nucleus of a cell, consistent with its proposed role in DNA damage repair. These studies may help identify new chemotherapeutic targets to improve patient survival and quality of life.
Role of P-glycoprotein in the Transport of Amyloidβ Protein in Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy
Emily Matherly , Biomedical Engineering - Sophomore
Mentors : Dr. Francisco Gonzalez-Velasquez, Chemical Engineering
Dr. Melissa Moss, Chemical Engineering
Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), a cerebrovascular deposition of the amyloidβ
( A β) protein, is a well-known cause of hemorrhagic stroke. Altered A β transport may be responsible for vascular A β accumulation. However, it remains unclear how the transport of A β from the brain to the vasculature is impeded to facilitate A β accumulation. P-glycoprotein (Pgp), an ATPase transporter, interacts with amphipathic molecules and mediates their removal from the brain. It was hypothesized that
Pgp is involved in the transport of A β through the BBB. A β assembly state(s) transported from the basolateral to the apical side of confluent monolayers of human brain microvascular endothelial cells were compared using endothelial permeability coefficients (Pe). Both A β monomer and A β aggregates were transported across monolayers. In addition, A β assembly state(s) that interact with Pgp were identified using an in vitro assay that measures ATPase activity of Pgp. These results revealed that Pgp preferentially binds soluble A β aggregates, but not monomer of fibril. Together, these findings suggest a role for Pgp I transporting soluble A β aggregates across the BBB.
P53: The Tumor Suppressor Gene
Heather McKerrow , Biological Sciences - Senior
Mentor: Dr. David Reisman, Biological Sciences
P-53 is a tumor suppressor gene, whose activity is induced by cell damage. The cell damage will then lead to cell cycle arrest and repair or apoptosis (programmed cell death). In response to DNA damage, the p53 protein is modified by phosphorylation, which leads to its increased stability and accumulation in the cell.
The transcription role response has not yet been established (at least to our knowledge). In fact, numerous reports using UV light as a damaging agent are conflicting.
So we have set out to test whether transcription of the p53 is activated by a panel of
DNA damaging agents by using a reporter gene based system. Here the luciferase gene is expressed from the p53 promoter. We introduced these vectors (human and mouse) into cells and treated them with a variety of DNA damaging agents, then assayed for luciferase activity as a measure of p53 promoter activity.

The Effect of Wasting on Glucose Tolerance in the ApcMin/+ Mouse
Jewel Sheehan , Exercise Science - Junior
Mentor: Dr. James Carson, Exercise Science
Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the United States. Patients diagnosed with colorectal often experience cachexia, a critical loss of body weight including adipose and lean tissue wasting. Cachexia can be attributed to as many as
25% of cancer-related deaths. The role of inflammation has been extensively studied in cachectic patients, though the metabolic changes that may significantly affect cachexia severity are not as well understood. One diagnostic measure of metabolic function is whole body glucose clearance. The ApcMin/+ (Min) mouse is a widely accepted genetic colorectal cancer model that undergoes cachexia. The purpose of this study was to determine if alterations in glucose metabolism contribute to cachexia in the Min mouse. Glucose tolerance tests were performed on Min (n=10), and wild type (WT, n=5), mice at 8, 14 and 20 weeks of age. Blood was sampled before an IP glucose injection and at 15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes post injection.
Glucose clearance in 20 week old Min mice was significantly attenuated when compared to age-matched WT mice. There were no significant differences between groups at earlier ages. Interestingly, the Min mice were stratified into glucose tolerant and glucose intolerant groups at 20 weeks of age. The Min mice that were glucose intolerant began wasting at an earlier age and at a faster rate than mice still glucose tolerant at 20 weeks. Future research will determine if alterations in insulin release are important for the metabolic disruption related to accelerated cachexia in the Min mouse.
Cultured Ventricular Tissue Slices as a Model of Myocardial Remodeling
Apoorva Srivastava , Baccalaureus Artium et Scientiae - Sophomore
Mentor: Dr. Gregory Brower, Cell and Developmental Biology and Anatomy
Mast cells play a critical role in ventricular remodeling by activating matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs). In vivo models of heart failure, isolated heart, and cell culture have limitations such as time restrictions, lack of cell-cell interactions, and the inability to control variables. We hypothesized that using cultured LV tissue slices in tissue culture would overcome these limitations and attempted to elicit the activation of MMPs via degranulation of mast cells. Left ventricular (LV) slices were obtained by perfusing the hearts of SD rats with PBS in a Langendorff setup. The LV was separated from RV, placed in a cylinder filled with 5% agarose, into the
Brendel/Vitron Tissue Slicer (filled with RPMI media) bubbled with 5% CO2 and
95% O2. Seven 300-350 ìm slices per heart were placed in 500 µl of media and cultured for 24 hours at 37°C. There were two control groups and two groups were treated with 10ìL of compound 48/80, with and without changing the media. After
24 hours, supernatant and tissues were snap frozen for analysis of MMPs. Also, one tissue from each group was used for histological analysis with H&E. Zymography was conducted to determine LV MMP activity. Tissue morphology in the cultured slices was normal where media was changed after one hour and deterioration was observed in slices where it was not. Tissues that were treated with 48/80 showed an 8% increase in MMP activation as compared to the other ones.This study demonstrates the feasibility of culturing LV tissue slices over 24 hours.

Structure and Morphology of Virus-Composite Fibers Fabricated via Electrospinning Method
Vaughn Braxton, Chemistry - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Qian Wang, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Composite virus- and polymer-based fibers were fabricated via the electrospinning method. Poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) and poly(vinyl alcohol) were used separately as co-polymers for electrospinning with tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) purified from infected tobacco plant. Fibers were spun in a low-humidity nitrogen atmosphere at applied potential of 10-20 kV at a collection distance of 5-15 cm. Fluorescently labeled TMV/PVP composite fibers were examined with fluorescence microscopy, revealing good density and dispersity of virus particles. Characterization via
SEM, high-resolution FE-SEM, and TEM showed uniform fiber morphology in nonwoven mats with diameters between 200-1200 nm, depending upon spinning conditions. This method can produce fibers which, in combination with TMV, may serve as a substrate for cell seeding, growth, and selective modification of properties.
Capillary Electrophoresis of Dyes and Fluorescent Brighteners for the Forensic
Discrimination of Trace Evidence Fibers
Micheline Goulart, Chemistry - Junior
Rocio Pellerano, Chemistry
Mentor: Dr. Stephen Morgan, Chemistry and Biochemistry
The principle underlying the importance of forensic trace evidence, that “every contact leaves a trace,” was stated by the French criminalist Edmond Locard. Fibers can be of probative value in establishing associations between a suspect, a victim, or the scene of a crime. Typical fiber examinations attempt to disprove a match between questioned and known fibers by comparison microscopy, or by refractive index measurements to identify polymer type. Distinctive physical features (shapes and diameters) or uncommon polymer types would immediately lead to rejection of the match hypothesis. With the present state of fiber examination, if fibers are of a common fiber type or lack distinctive color (white cotton), their evidential value is diminished. Chemical identification of dyes and their relative amounts on a fiber can aid comparisons of known and questioned fibers. For example, although white cotton fibers may seem to be of no forensic value due to the prevalence of white cotton garments, such fibers are white because they have been dyed white by fluorescent brighteners. The chemical analysis for the presence of specific dyes can itself be extremely useful, particularly if the dyes are proprietary to a manufacturer or are uncommon. The goal of this project is development of trace analytical methods using capillary electrophoresis for separation of the dye components extracted from fibers and subsequent characterization of dyes by UV/visible spectrophotometry. The research hypothesis tested in this work is whether trace analytical characterization of fibers can provide chemical markers that can enhance discrimination in forensic comparisons.

Synthesis of Kainic Acid
Lisa James , Biological Sciences - Senior
Courtney Rabun, Biological Sciences - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Nandeo Chooney, Chemistry
USC Aiken
Causing neuronal death, (-)-á-Kainic Acid along with its derivatives are toxic to several known animal species, including rats. These GABA-mimetics have been shown to cause neuroexcitatory activity observed in several neurological disorders. In this research project, a synthetic route which involves control of the stereochemistry in order to synthesize a pure stereoisomer of kainic acid is proposed. The pure stereoisomer possesses certain medical properties of interest to pharmacological companies. The laboratory synthesis is gaining popularity and increasing importance by chemists all over the world in that extraction from seaweeds, where kainic acid is found, does not produce reasonable yield. This laboratory procedure will attempt to synthesize kainic acid using an ENE reaction in the final step of the ten steps as shown in the overall scheme.
Higgs Boson Decay Simulation
Alexander Lesov, Physics - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Milind Purohit, Physics and Astronomy
The Higgs mechanism is currently the most popular theoretical solution to the problem of electroweak symmetry breaking in the Standard Model. With the completion of the construction of the LHC at CERN, the high energy physics community has an opportunity to transform this speculative theory into an experimental fact. Evidence would come in the form of a new scalar boson, the Higgs. In order to make the most of a search for the Higgs, it is important to know the details of the decay signatures by which it would be characterized as well as the exact chances of detecting any of these signatures with your experiment. This research focuses on Monte Carlo simulation of the mode in which a Higgs decays to two Z bosons, which then go on to decay to a four lepton final state. The results of these simulations are then used to learn about the discover potential of this mode in the ATLAS detector of the LHC.
Extraction of SWNT from Estuarine Sediment by Surfactants
Amber Moore, Chemistry - Senior
Mentor: Dr. P. Lee Ferguson, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are emerging as a promising material for commercial and industrial applications due to their unique mechanical and electrical properties.
These nanomaterials have experienced an expansion of production and use in recent years. During their lifecycle, an unintended release into the environment cannot be excluded. It is shown in several studies that CNT have the potential to cause adverse effects on environmental and human health. Currently, there are no straightforward methods sensitive enough for detection and quantitation of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) in the aquatic environment. Our research focuses on developing an analytical method designed to detect and quantify SWNT in complex environmental samples by an extraction step combined with near infrared fluorescence spectroscopy (NIRF). Our aim is to develop a method to extract SWNT from solidphase environmental samples by chemical extraction. It is known that in high ionicstrength conditions, such as estuarine water, SWNT agglomerate and associate with

the sediment. Several surfactants (including sodium dodecylsulfate and Triton X-
100) and biomolecules (sodiumdioxycholate (SDC) or NOM) are known to stabilize
SWNT in aqueous solutions. Extraction methods were developed based on this knowledge. The methods rely on sonication-assisted solubilization of SWNT from sediments in the presence of various surfactants (i.e. anionic, cationic, neutral) and biomolecules followed by high-speed centrifugation. The efficiencies of the tested surfactant extraction methods are presented. Validation of this method has been performed using 14C labeled SWNT and real estuarine sediments, allowing testing of
SWNT concentrations within the range predicted for their occurrence in the aquatic environment.
Analysis of the Accuracy of Linearized Quantum Force for Quantum Mechanical Tunneling
Mallory Mueller, Chemistry - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Sophya Garashchuk, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Quantum-mechanical effects in molecular dynamics, such as tunneling, zero point energy and nonadiabatic behavior, are required to understand and accurately describe reactions of complex molecular systems. But the full solution of the timedependent Schrödinger equation is unfeasible (and unnecessary) in high dimensions. Consequently, approached based on classical trajectories are widely used to study dynamics of nuclei. Such classical description is often appropriate for heavy particles, computationally cheap and, therefore, applicable to systems of hundreds of atoms. Including the quantum effects in a practical way, however, is an outstanding challenge. We developed a semi-classical method based on quantum trajectories, which utilized the Broglie-Bohm formulation of the Schrödinger equation. Quantum effects are described by the quantum force acting on the trajectory ensemble in addition to the classical force. To make the method practical in high dimensions the quantum force should be approximated. Linear approximation is the cheapest; it is exact for Gaussian wavepackets, and captures dominant quantum effects in general systems. Description of tunneling is analyzed in this study.
A Supramolecular Colorimetric System to Measure Disastereomeric Ratios
Samir Patel, Chemistry - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Ken Shimizu, Chemistry and Biochemistry
A molecular tweezer was designed that can distinguish between diastereomers - chemicals that have the same formula but differ only in their molecular shapes. The quick and accurate monitoring of diastereomers is important because shape differences often lead to very different interactions with biological systems, thus they are useful for biosensing and pharmaceutical monitoring. Traditionally, the differentiation and monitoring of diastereomeric ratio (dr), the ratio of syn- (C-shaped) and anti- (S-shaped) diastereomers in a solution, has been done using expensive, immobile equipment like HLPC or NMR. In our method a molecular tweezer (the sensor) becomes colored in the presence of the target analyte (syn- and anti-), and the intensity of the color can be used to determine the dr in a solution. The molecular tweezer is simply added to a solution containing the diastereomers, and the color of the solution is monitored. We have demonstrated the utility of our method by differentiating between C- and S-shaped molecules based on the differences in color and intensity of the molecular tweezer.

Malware Detection: Are Our Computer Systems Secure?
Dwayne Bates, Computer Science - Junior
Mentor: Dr. Csilla Farkas, Computer Science and Engineering
The goal of this research is to develop awareness about the effects of malware on personal and business computing. There are three main objectives in researching malware. The first objective aims to establish the characteristics of malware. In particular, we study the unique properties of spyware. Our goal is to evaluate the genesis and potential consequences of spyware, and to propose techniques that can be applied to detect, identify, and remove spyware from computer systems, and to recover from the infection. We also aim to detect spyware as early as possible in its lifecycle, thus reducing the potential damage. Task two was to understand the user’s attitudes towards security and its effect in the overall security-level of the computing system. Identifying practices of users will depict what habits are being effectively used. Thus, gaining knowledge about what a user does may also depict neglected protocols needed for safety while computing. Research in this particular area gave vital information that can be distributed among users, agencies, and various organizations on what security standards need to be upheld and more importantly why. Task three will involve determining what is needed to recover a PC once it is infected. Being knowledgeable about what has happened to the machine will give an idea about what to do to fix it. There are various known methods for detection of spyware. The focal point of this task will be to depict what can be done in response.
Security in Service Orchestration
Brandon Bush, Computer Science and Engineering - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Csilla Farkas, Computer Science and Engineering
This project included devising a way to annotate web services with security metadata from the Naval Research Labs security ontology. These security semantics provide a means for a reasoner in a semantic environment to determine whether or not two services can be invoked together. Therefore, services can be discovered and invoked dynamically while ensuring a standard level of security. This project involved determining a way to annotate these services, as well as setting up an environment conducive to allowing a logic-based reasoner to reason on the semantics of the services. This environment will be used in a proof of concept implementation where non-critical Naval Intelligence services can be accessed by NGOs during a search and rescue operational scenario.
Inexpensive Mobile Robotic Platform for Computer Vision Applications
Benjamin Fine, Computer Science - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Jason O’Kane, Computer Science and Engineering
We will describe an inexpensive mobile robotic platform for computer vision applications. This platform is comprised of an iRobot Create mobile robotic platform, an
Asus Eee PC and a Logitech QuickCam Orbit AF. The software framework designed for this system was written in C++ using the OpenCV libraries. This poster will cover the system design of both the hardware and the software. Currently, this robotic platform is being used to study facial detection and target tracking applications.

Feasibility of Systematic Analysis on Botnet Malware Distribution Techniques
Everett Hite, Computer Science - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Chin-Tser Huang, Computer Science and Engineering
Today’s computer criminals disseminate malicious software that tricks vulnerable computers into relinquishing control to them. Large groups of these infected computers, known as “botnets,” will then simultaneously execute instructions from the
“botmaster” that has control over them. These instructions may include spreading unsolicited commercial emails (spam), launching distributed denial-of-service
(DDoS) attacks against a target server and other destructive acts. The malicious software used by botmasters to build botnets is often distributed under the guise of legitimate programs or content, such as games, films and music, leading unsuspecting users to open the files and infect themselves. In this research we examine the feasibility of studying botnets through malware installation and observation. We search for, download, and attempt to analyze suspicious executable programs from the Internet to locate botnet malware, and evaluate the effectiveness of this approach.
Scalable Routing Schemes for Wireless Mesh Networks
Dylan Kane, Computer Science - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Srihari Nelakuditi, Computer Science and Engineering
There are an abundant number of protocols to handle communications between systems and the possibly many intermediate nodes, but protocols for handling links in a wireless network are not very scalable. In contrast to their wired counterparts, wireless networks must deal with a far greater variability in service, as the links between them gain or lose transmission quality or become broken altogether for any number of reasons, such as environmental or mobility factors.
Routers need some sort of mechanism to keep track of the state of the network in order to route around failures, but the complexity of tracking all of the states and disseminating this information properly and quickly enough significantly limits the practical number of nodes. One proposed solution is localized on-demand link state routing, in which the nodes of the network only notify nodes that really need to know about neighboring link failures. My research is aiming to establish a wireless network between laptops using the Click modular routing software for packet forwarding and the Extensible Open Router Platform (XORP) to implement this new routing protocol. However, many problems still need to be addressed with how laptops can establish networks under Click. Once these issues can be resolved, this link state routing protocol would allow for efficient, loop-free routing even as the links between nodes fail or change in quality.
Study on Data Management for Open Source Mobile Applications
Maliek Mcknight, Computer Science - Freshman
Mentor: Dr. Srihari Nelakuditi, Computer Science and Engineering
In an attempt to standardize how the mobile application development process works, Google has introduced a mobile platform, named Android, consisting of a
Linux based operating system, an extensive API, and specialized Java Virtual Machine (JVM). The strength of the platform lies in the fact that it is open source and that it provides a simple method of application creation for any telephone running

the platform. In this experiment, an application was developed for the Android platform: a port of the LastFM social recommendation system. This application was planned, programmed in Java in the Eclipse IDE, and tested to assess optimal performance levels, as shown by the delay from the time of the user request to the client output. The primary goal was to improve application efficiency by adjusting how
XML source data was retrieved and parsed. Each method of XML data handling involved different orders of retrieving, parsing, and/or displaying data to the client.
The original model was an object oriented model driven by custom programmed abstracted classes. An alternative model was also employed. This model used simple data structures (mostly multidimensional arrays) to store parsed data. It was found that the array model is much faster on the Android platform.
Structural Characterization of FXYD Protein Using REDCRAFT
Elizabeth Timko, Computer Science - Junior
Mentor: Dr. Homayoun Valafar, Computer Science and Engineering
Residual dipolar couplings (RDC) obtained from NMR spectroscopy has provided a way to determine the structure of membrane proteins. In addition to the RDC data, torsion angle constraints were used to supplement the lack of RDCs. The REDCRAFT
(REsidual Dipolar Coupling Residue Assembly and Filtering Tool) software was used to analyze the RDC data and torsion angle constraints. Acquiring experimental data is expensive and often limited, the question was whether determination of structure can be successful with only a limited set of RDC data.
I used the predetermined structure of 1A1Z to determine how much RDC data is required to obtain an optimal structure. Without the use of torsion angle constraints, two RDC vectors is sufficient for successful structure determination. With the use of torsion angle constraints, the experimental structure is a better fit to the true structure with two RDCs. The fewer the amount of RDC vectors necessary to fold a protein, the less money and time are spent obtaining the RDC data. Since some proteins yield fewer RDC vectors, it must be possible to determine their structures.
Membrane proteins are involved in cellular functions. Disruption of these proteins can lead to the development of diseases. Studying the structure of membrane proteins is important in understanding and controlling their functionality. Pharmaceutical companies are interested in obtaining the structure of proteins that are principally involved in these diseases. By knowing the structure of proteins involved with these diseases, pharmaceutical companies can create drugs to cure these diseases.

Progress on Design and Development of a Bi-leaflet Mitral Bioprosthetic Valve
Jason Burnside, Mechanical Engineering - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Arash Kheradvar, Mechanical Engineering
Purpose of Study: This study aims to develop a bi-leaflet bioprosthetic heart valve for mitral position whose annulus’ saddle shape curvature changes dynamically according to the shape of the cardiac base, imitating the characteristics of a natural mitral valve. Unlike the current bioprosthetic valves, this valve represents a flow field similar to natural transmitral flow while does not restrict the motion of the base in a cardiac cycle.
Methods Used: The annulus is made of super-elastic Nitinol wire-frame due to its nonlinear recoverable behavior. Accordingly, the chordae tendineae were replaced by Nitinol prongs that hold the leaflets from being prolapsed. The cusps are substituted with pericardial tissue with nearly identical mechanical properties to natural leaflets. The saddle-shape annulus is shaped by constraining the wire-frame while they were exposed to high temperature during forming/heat-treatment process.
Summary of Results: We developed the mitral prosthesis that consisted of a saddleshape annulus that deflects due to the pressure change facilitating the unidirectional flow. This deflection results in a geometrical transformation allowing the valve to open and close effectively. The curvature of the annulus base and the angle of the supporting prongs are currently being adjusted to attain desired hydrodynamics.
Portable Water Purification: Implementing Ultra Violet Light
Charles Daniels, Electrical Engineering - Sophomore
Mentors: Mr. David Metts, Electrical Engineering
Dr. Tangali Sudarshan, Electrical Engineering
Twenty-five thousand people will die today from the lack of clean water . Many more will become sick from water borne ailments. Our goal here at the University of South
Carolina is simply to prevent this. Many take for granted the running water in our houses. Over the past year here in the Electrical Engineering department, we have been working hard to develop a portable low maintenance water purification unit.
Using ultraviolet light provided by fluorescent bulbs and an inexpensive backwashable prefilter both powered by our in-house solar array, we have developed a system that can output over seven gallons a minute, while maintaining a lifespan of one year before a single inexpensive light bulb must be changed and over fifteen years before the unit must be replaced. The basic concept of this unit is to kill the pathogens in the water with ultraviolet light (roughly 254nm). This can further be enhanced by catalysts to save energy and raise safety of the unit, ensuring that every ounce of water is safe, while every watt of power is used as efficiently as possible. A common problem, when filtering dirty water, is its turbidity or its cloudiness. If water is too cloudy the light will not pass through it, thus leaving the pathogens in the water alive and well. To solve this problem, a prefilter was added to the unit. Our particular prefilter is a bi-media filter consisting of various sizes of garnet and anthracite. An important benefit of this style of filter includes the fact that it can be backwashed, providing years of service. In the future, we plan on further developing the ultraviolet side of the unit, and then investigate packaging and business models.

Investigation of Schottky Barrier Diode Performance on Morphological Defects in 4H-SiC 4º Off Cut Si Face Epilayers
Kevin Daniels, Electrical Engineering - Senior
Mentors: Dr. Tangali Sudarshan, Electrical Engineering
Dr. Peter Muzykov, Electrical Engineering
Silicon Carbide (SiC) is a very promising semiconductor material with higher breakdown field and thermal conductivity with respect to the current material used in power electronics, silicon. However, due to the high density of defects that occurs during growth of SiC, devices that are made on the material could perform undesirably. What defects are most detrimental to the performance of a device placed on SiC are still questionable, leading to the purpose of this investigation. Using samples with various morphological defects (step bunching, triangular defects, inverted pyramids), Schottky barrier diodes were fabricated on the previously stated samples and tested for reverse leakage current and blocking voltage prior to breakdown. A sample without any of these morphological defects was used as a reference in this experiment. It was observed that devices with triangular defects and step bunching had a much higher leakage current and lower blocking voltage while samples with inverted pyramids and the control sample with no morphological defects.
Fuel-Independent Transportation
Anthony James, Mechanical Engineering - Senior
Bronsen Harding, Mechanical Engineering - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Kenneth Reifsnider, Mechanical Engineering
The project consists of designing a means of "fuel expense free" transportation. The utilized power for the vehicle must come from an entirely renewable source. Since hydrogen is a renewable source, the two-person scooter coupe being used requires the conversion of its' 50cc 4 stroke gasoline-powered engine to hydrogen powered.
The main objectives of this project are as follows: Investigate what can be done to run a car off of hydrogen. Determine how the hydrogen can be obtained freely and reliably. Develop an effective method in which to deliver the hydrogen to the engine.
Create a concept for an "independent" car, based on what is available and possible to build for low cost. Hydrogen is a clean fuel that is capable of relieving some of the stress off the usage of gasoline.
Ground Response to Projectiles Created During Extreme Weather Events
Lesley Joseph, Civil Engineering - Sophomore
Mentor: Dr. Charles Pierce, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Extreme weather events are more frequent and cause more damage than ever before. The number of tornadoes has risen over the last decade, and the ferocity of hurricanes has increased, mainly along the coastal areas. The damage during these events has largely been attributed to high wind speeds, with an increasing amount due to projectiles that are transported at high velocities. While structural damage has been well-documented, the ground impact that these projectiles produce has not been explored.
A literature review, using peer-reviewed journals, was conducted to get a better understanding of these effects, and to determine the breath of research available

concerning ground penetration and projectile generation. Then, the properties of several large objects that were reported as being transported by tornado events were documented. Using empirical formulas and derived equations from the previous research, we predicted penetration depths for each object, under different conditions.
A small-scale experiment was performed using small objects, such as bowling balls, steel plates, and concrete cylinders. We dropped them off a bridge and measured the resulting ground indentation. Once we gathered our results, we applied the previous equations to our experimental program to compare the predicted results with our experimental results. By comparing these results, we concluded that the equations gave fairly accurate estimates of the penetration depths for the objects used in our experiment, and they may possibly be used to determine the depths of much larger objects.
On Graham’s Tree Reconstruction Problem
William Kay, Mathematics - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Joshua Cooper, Mathematics
Suppose G is a tree. If we are given only the integer sequence where V k = V (L k (G)) is the k th iterated line graph's vertex set, is it possible to determine the original tree? This question (“Graham's Tree Reconstruction Conjecture") has only been answered for very limited classes of graphs. We study a closely related problem: Define A
G
, the adjacency matrix of a graph G on n vertices, as the n x n matrix with a ij
= 1 if otherwise. Denote by W k the quantity
1TAk G1, where 1 is the all 1's vector, i.e., the number of walks of length k in G . Call the sequence the walk sequence of a graph. We apply ideas from spectral and fractional graph theory to obtain results about the walk sequences and their connection to the “Graham's Tree Reconstruction Conjecture."
Development of High Quality Oxide for High Inversion Channel Mobility SiC
MOSFETs
Zegilor Laney, Electrical Engineering - Junior
Mentors: Dr. Tangali Sudarshan, Electrical Engineering
Dr. Peter Muzykov, Electrical Engineering
The most fundamental part of all modern electronics is the transistor. The leading wide bandgap semiconductor material to build the next generation of transistors is silicon carbide. Theoretically SiC has many advantages over the more commonly used silicon. Before SiC becomes as efficient and reliable as theorized two primary deficiencies must be overcome, low inversion channel mobility and reliable oxide formation. Low inversion channel mobility reduces the transistors ability to carry current, hindering its gain. Unreliable oxide formation leads to a host of problems that change the fundamental operation of the device rendering it unsuitable for most applications. To solve the issues above the stoichiometry of the top surface epi-layer will be altered resulting in an Si rich epi-layer and a reduction in interface states. We will also perform post oxidation annealing in an N20 environment, oxide growth in an N20 ambient, as well as fabricate and characterize the resulting MOSFET structures. We expect the results to conform very well with expectations resulting in devices that bring silicon carbide much closer to wide spread use in power electronics.

Splittable Coverings
Andrew Mamroth, Mathematics - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Joshua Cooper, Mathematics
The goal of the present work is to study the splittability of coverings of the integers with translates of a given set, a natural one-dimensional analogue of a question from discrete geometry. We say that a k-fold covering is “splittable” whenever it can be decomposed into two 1-fold coverings. For a given base set S of integers, define the
“splitting number” to be the least k so that every k-fold covering with translates of S is splittable. We consider the splitting number of sets of small cardinality and other sets of various types. Methods from the hypergraph theory, number theory, and design theory are employed.
An Assessment of Ground Resilience to Projectiles Generated During Extreme
Weather Events
Rodrick Tucker, Civil Engineering - Junior
Mentor: Dr. Charles Pierce, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Extreme weather events occur more frequently and are causing more damage than ever before. Hurricanes have seen an increase in ferocity, mainly along the coastal regions, while the number of tornadoes has risen over the last decade. The damage is largely attributed to high wind speeds, with an increasing amount due to projectiles that are lifted and ejected at high velocities. While structural damage has been well documented, the impact that these projectiles have on the ground has not been thoroughly explored. To get a better understanding of these effects, a small-scale experiment was conducted using small objects, such as bowling balls, steel plates, and concrete cylinders in freefall to determine crater depths. Additional experiments involved using a pneumatic air cannon to launch small objects, like plywood, at high velocities to determine the depth of penetration in various soil types. This experimental data will give a greater depth of understanding of potential threat projectiles can pose to underground pipelines and other utilities. Currently, there is a standard form being used by meteorologist and wind engineers to assess the structural damages caused by tornados, but no such form exists to assess ground damage.
From this experiment, a standard form was developed that would allow ground damage to be assessed by geotechnical engineers to the same degree of that of structural damage assessment. The form provides engineers with the important criteria, like ground conditions and pictures, which should be documented during their ground assessment.

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and Its Relation to Oral Cancer: An Epidemiological Secondary Data Analysis
Katie Carpenter , Exercise Science - Senior
Mentors: Dr. Swann Arp-Adams, Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Dr. Heather Brandt, Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a causal factor in the development of multiple forms of cancer, including cervical, penile, vulvar, vaginal, anal, oral cavity, and oropharyngeal cancers. The social and behavioral aspects of HPV and oral cancer are poorly understood and understudied. Secondary data analysis of a paper-and-pen survey completed by oral cancer patients and sleep apnea controls was conducted.
46 participants (14 oral cancer patients and 26 controls) had previously completed the survey. Participants were asked questions about alcohol and tobacco use, insurance status, general well-being, and sexual history. The REALM health literacy assessment tool was also administered. SPSS 15.0 was used to analyze the data. Preliminary results show the mean age of participants to be 51.98 years (47.12 years in controls and 58.07 in cases). 62.2% of the sample was male and 37.8% female, with
53.8% of controls being male and 46.2% being female. 85.7% cases were male and
14.3% were female. 85.7% of the oral cancer cases were white, 7.1% being black or
African-American and 7.1% Asian. The average REALM score of the sample was
62.93; controls had a higher average REALM score (63.31) than did cases (61.92). No instances of sexually transmitted disease were reported in either group. The results of this study will be useful in planning future research with the aim of further understanding the social and behavioral aspects of HPV and oral cancer. A better understanding of these aspects will enhance the prevention and treatment of HPV and oral cancer.
The Effects of Eszopiclone on Adenomatous Polyposis Development in APCMin
+/- Mice
David Elliott , Biological Sciences - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Shawn Youngstedt, Exercise Science
The prevalence of hypnotics use in the US population is approximately 2.5%, but use is much higher among cancer patients. In a study of prescription patterns over a 10year period, 44% of cancer patients used sleeping pills. However, the safety of sleeping pills is not clear. Epidemilogical studies have shown that regular use of sleeping pills is associated with increased mortality rates, including cancer-related mortality.
There has been no published data to determine if normally prescribed doses of sleeping pills might influence cancer development. This research will explore the influence of a commonly prescribed sleeping pill (Lunesta) on tumor progression in mice. Forty APCMin+/- mice were randomly divided into the two 10 week treatment groups: A Sleeping Pill group (n=20) received a daily dose of eszopiclone (0.30 mg/kg) solution and a Placebo control group (n=20) received a daily dose of saline solution via gavage. After the 10 weeks, the mice will be sacrificed and a polyp numeration process will be performed by a researcher blinded to treatment. Total polyp and size distribution counts will be performed. Pending the results further studies will be undertaken to determine the mechanisms at hand or to verify the safety of the drug.

Review of Pharmacist Management of Dyslipidemia and Anticoagulation in a
Pharmacotherapy/Anticoagulation Clinic
Mollie Gowan, Pharmacy - Senior
Mentors: Dr. Elizabeth Blake, Pharmacy
Dr. Julie Sease, Pharmacy
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy of a “Pharmacotherapy-
Anticoagulation” Clinic in which pharmacists primarily manage anticoagulation but also evaluate other disease states, including dyslipidemia.
Methods: This study was a retrospective chart review of all patients enrolled in the pharmacist-managed “Pharmacotherapy-Anticoagulation” Clinic at the WJB Dorn
VAMC from August 2007 to July 2008. The range and average low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) measurements and the time in therapeutic range (TTR) for
INR measurements, were calculated. These values were then compared to benchmark average LDL-C and TTR measurements derived from the clinical literature.
Results: A total of 282 patients were enrolled in the clinic during the study period.
TTR calculated for all patients was 70.7%. Of the 244 patients included in LDL-C analysis, 193 (79%) had a most recent LDL-C measurement 100mg/dL. For the 191 patients with LDL-C goal 100mg/dL, 164 (86%) had last LDL-C below goal. Finally,
95 (90%) of the 105 patients with diabetes had last LDL-C measurement 100mg/dL.
Conclusions: Clinical pharmacy specialists who managed anticoagulation and dyslipidemia were able to successfully attain LDL-C measurements below goal in the majority of all patients. The clinical benchmark of 55% of patients reaching LDL-C
100mg/dL was far exceeded. Patients were also maintained in therapeutic INR range over 70% of the time, exceeding the clinical benchmark goal of 65%. A Pharmacotherapy-Anticoagulation clinic is an effective pharmacy practice model for the management of anticoagulation patients who also need dyslipidemia management.
Evaluation of Vancomycin Prescribing Practices on a Nephrology Ward in a
Community Teaching Hospital
Jennifer McPhail , Pharmacy - Senior
Mentors: Dr. Brandon Bookstaver, Pharmacy
Dr. Celeste Rudisill, Pharmacy
Background: Judicious use of vancomycin is essential to controlling the emergence of resistant organisms including vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE); especially in patients prone to infection, such as those with renal impairment. This project evaluated vancomycin prescribing practices on the nephrology ward found to have elevated levels of VRE isolates according to Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines as recommended by the Healthcare Infection Control Practices
Advisory Committee (HICPAC).
Methods: A three-month prospective chart review was conducted. All patients admitted to the nephrology ward treated with vancomycin were included. Patient charts were evaluated to determine the indication for vancomycin therapy, dose, frequency, and duration of use. Each administration of vancomycin was evaluated for appropriateness of use. Treatments determined to be inappropriate were analyzed to determine the number of days of inappropriate administration.

Results: A total of 51 patients were administered vancomycin; 22 of which received inappropriate therapy. The average duration of inappropriate vancomycin treatment was 8.6 days. The most common reason for inappropriate vancomycin administration was continued use when cultures were negative for a beta-lactam resistant pathogen.
Conclusions: Although efforts to control the use of vancomycin have been established, this agent continues to be frequently administered inappropriately. In this nephrology ward, the rate of VRE is disproportionately elevated compared to the hospital as a whole, and vancomycin overuse must be discouraged. Prescriber adherence to current HICPAC guidelines is necessary to reduce the emergence of vancomycin resistance.
Evaluation of Diabetes, Hypertension and Anticoagulation in a Pharmacotheraphy/Anticoagulation Clinic
Kayce Shealy , Pharmacy - Senior
Mentors: Dr. Elizabeth Blake, Pharmacy
Dr. Julie Sease, Pharmacy
Background: Typically, pharmacist-run anticoagulation clinics focus only on anticoagulation. Information is lacking regarding clinics where other disease states and anticoagulation are managed concomitantly.
Purpose: To assess the efficacy of pharmacist management of anticoagulation, hypertension (HTN), and diabetes (DM) in a unique “pharmacotherapy/ anticoagulation” clinic.
Methods: A retrospective review of 282 patients in the pharmacotherapy/ anticoagulation clinic was conducted. Patients who received in-person DM and/or
HTN management, in addition to anticoagulation, during the 12 month study period were included. Demographic information, hemoglobin A1c (A1c), blood pressure
(BP), and time in therapeutic range (TTR) for international normalized ratio (INR) measurements were collected. Benchmark values for A1c, BP, and TTR were derived from a review of the literature and used as comparators. This study was approved by the hospital’s Institutional Review Board.
Results: One hundred eight patients were analyzed for DM and 117 were analyzed for HTN control. Eighty-three percent of patients with a BP goal of 140/90 mmHg achieved goal by last measurement, exceeding the 65% benchmark. Seventy-nine percent of patients with DM achieved BP goal by last measurement, exceeding the
58% benchmark. For last A1c measurement, 59% of patients with DM reached goal
7%, which exceeded the 40% benchmark. Average TTR for INR for patients in clinic was 70.7%, exceeding the 65% benchmark.
Conclusion: A pharmacotherapy/anticoagulation clinic is an effective practice model for the management of anticoagulation patients also in need of HTN and/or DM management and should be considered by pharmacists establishing outpatient clinical pharmacy services.

The Changing Way That Scientists Communicate - Images in the Journal of
American Chemical Society
Alan Clamp, Physics - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Ann Johnson, History
When comparing today’s scientific with issues from a few decades ago, an obvious difference is an increase in the number of images published. But what explains this phenomenon and when did it occur? Why have images become such an important mode of communication for scientists? The proliferation of images in scientific journals is often spoken of in “gut feel” terms, but no one performed a quantitative analysis This project seeks to record and assimilate concrete data on the subject and present it in graphical format with analysis.
The journal selected for study is the Journal of the American Chemical Society. It is a large general that covers the many specialized branches of Chemistry. The method of research is quite simply counting the images in the journals, which are available at the Thomas Cooper library through the 2003 volume and online thereafter. After collection, the data is entered into a computer program from which graphs and charts are produced.
This is a work in progress that will ultimately examine more than a half a century of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, but data spanning three decades will be presented at Discovery Day. Graphed data will show how the number of images have increased along with the number of images per page and per journal. A preliminary explanation and analysis will also be shown.
The Mind and Mission of Dr. Andrew Billingsley
Kharimah Dessow, History - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Bobby Donaldson, History and African-American Studies
This project will highlight one of the University of South Carolina’s unsung heroes and leading scholars by showing the significance of his intellectual contributions and documenting how his concept of positivist sociology directly shaped public policy initiatives, social science theories, and civil rights debates. Additionally, I will chronicle and analyze the impact of his leadership at some of the nation’s leading academic institutions.
Woman: An Exploration of Li Xiaojiang’s Essentialism in the New Era
Sarah Kelsey Hipp, Interdisciplinary Studies - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Krista Van Fleit Hang, Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
After the death of China’s Chairman Mao Zedong and the subsequent end of the
Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in 1976, China experienced tremendous political, economic, social, and cultural transformations. In this post-Mao environment, for women, these transformations initiated a new discourse on sexuality, subjectivity, and identity. Feminist and Cultural theorist Li Xiaojiang largely participated in this discourse and positioned herself at the forefront of the debate concerning the woman question. Aside from the theoretical projects which began to take shape in the early 1980s, literature, too, from the 1980s, or New Era literature, provided a

space where woman’s experience and the notion of woman could be explored through a thematic amalgamation of woman’s inner psychological experience, woman’s individuality, sexuality, subjectivity, and her social and economic positioning. This article attempts to better understand woman’s experience in literature from the New Era by evaluating Diana Kingsbury’s collection of short stories, I Wish
I Were a Wolf: The New Voice in Chinese Women’s Literature, under the explicative lens of Li Xiaojiang’s essentialist theory. Can threads of Li Xiaojiang’s essentialism be found in the writings of woman writers? Is woman’s voice in literature struggling to recover a natural, essential female self and holistic femininity? I argue that woman’s experience in 1980s literature resists such a goal toward a singular essential and collective female self. Rather, through the various narratives in I Wish I
Were a Wolf, it becomes evident that woman’s experience is manifold, thus underscoring the tensions which resist not only a movement towards a fundamental female identity, but expose the varying notions of what it means to be a woman.
Faces From Prison: Sergei Paradjanov’s
Jennifer Holcombe, Russian - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Alexander Ogden, Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
Identifying the influences of Georgian-Armenian Soviet filmmaker and artist, Sergei
Paradjanov, proved to be the most arduous aspect of my research. Within the context of the framework of Levon Abrahamian (an Armenian anthropologist and colleague of Paradjanov), it is important to understand that Paradjanov improvised some of his ethnographically-rich scenes—especially in Ashik-Kerib. This fantastic element with a veneer of reality leads Abrahamian to term the technique “pseudoethnography”, which underscores how Paradjanov’s art absolutely cannot be extracted out of the context of Sergei Paradjanov. I wanted to understand if Paradjanov could be easily classified as an Armenian artist. During my research in Armenia
(which most significantly included interviews with experts and time spent at the
Paradjanov Museum in Yerevan), I was able to conclude that categorizing Paradjanov as an artist was nearly impossible and more importantly—unnecessary. My research maintains that Paradjanov certainly employs Armenian references, but these are not dominant over the use of Russian literary material (Ashik-Kerib by Lermontov) or any other of his artistic influences. The imperative point is that it was not of sole importance to him in his art. My presentation for Discovery Day shall be in the format of a Power Point Presentation, which will fully utilize the wildly beautiful images created by Paradjanov. In addition to Paradjanov’s art, I will include pertinent images of Armenian art to illustrate my assertion that Paradjanov relied on the
Armenian artistic tradition, but cannot be confined to it.
Dream Big: Capstone Scholars Maymester in Greece
Meredith Smith, Public Relations - Sophomore
Emily Ko, Public Relations - Sophomore
Kourtney Love, Anthropology - Sophomore
During May of 2008, select Capstone Scholars adventured to Greece for a two-week study abroad experience. All of us took the course, Foundations in Western Civilization, for different reasons. Some were in Greece to appreciate the history of the
Greeks and their effect on Western civilization, while others were there to embrace the current Greek culture and life outside the United States. We took the course

prior to leaving for the trip so we could spend less time in the classroom and more time valuing the experience in the moment. The 24-member group consisted of intellectually curious individuals who in no way took the trip for granted. When given the opportunity to spend time away from the group, time was not wasted. Students took that free time to explore, whether that meant mixing with the locals, adventuring across the city of Athens, or climbing a mountain. Over the course of our two week program, we not only grew as a learning community but strengthened the bonds that we shared as fellow Capstone Scholars and University of South Carolina students.
From Pen to Print: Discovering the Intricacies of Publication
Jenny Thompson, English - Junior
Mentor: Dr. Janette Turner Hospital, English Language and Literature
This past summer, I interned with one of the top literary agencies in America, the
Elaine Markson Literary Agency. The dynamics of the publishing business are difficult to be certain of: trends rise and fall, social networks are built and collapsed, and, most importantly, money is never sure. The fast-paced publishing world of today constantly changes—unless a person is surrounded by it, he or she can never be sure of it. There are countless books and websites about the publishing business; however, few of them can be trusted. Gleaning the truth from a book designed to please any interested person is rare, which is why I went to New York City to study the business myself. Through the generosity of Elaine Markson and her team, I learned the basics of the publishing business: how to determine what kind of book will sell, how to market a book, how much to expect from a books’ sales, how to network with authors and publishers, and many other priceless and essential principles of the current publishing world. I learned where a legitimate source of information can be found, how to speak to clients and publishers, what to expect during meetings, and when to take a potential manuscript seriously. I look forward to sharing my knowledge with those interested in being published and those interested in potentially getting a job in the publishing business.
Analysis of Numeracy in Early 19th-Century America
Yujing Zhao, Business Economics - Sophomore
Mentor: Dr. Ann Johnson, History
The topic of literacy in early American society has been well-researched, but much less is known about the public's numeracy, or mathematical literacy, in the same time period. There is a general lack of statistics and information about numeracy in the early 19th-century U.S., despite its historical significance. Numeracy was essential to the country's initial economic development and helped shape Americans' worldview and national identity. In my ongoing research, I have been analyzing the extent of early American numeracy along with reasons and mechanisms through which citizens became numerate. In my presentation, I will identify a set of source materials and investigative approaches that as a whole coherently demonstrate the range of early numeracy. I will focus particularly on numerate content in historical print sources ignored by previous inquiries, such as newspapers, instruction books, and almanacs. My research so far indicates that Americans in the early 1800s both were more numerate and depended less on formal math education than commonly assumed.

KA2 and GluR6 Subunit Expression Changes Two Weeks After Status
Epilepticus
Sarah Barrett, Baccalaureus Artium et Scientiae - Senior
Mentor: Dr. David Mott, Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience
Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) can develop after a brain injury. Frequently implicated in the development of TLE, kainate receptors (KARs) are a subtype of glutamate receptor in the brain. KARs are composed of combinations of five different subunits which include KA2 and GluR6, and subunit composition affects receptor function. For example, KA2 subunits increase the conductance of the receptor and enhance its affinity for glutamate. Changes in the subunit composition of KARs after a brain injury may contribute to the development of epilepsy.
Accordingly, we examined changes in expression of KA2 and GluR6 in the pilocarpine model of epilepsy. Animals were treated with pilocarpine (saline as control) and allowed to remain in status epilepticus (SE) for two hours to induce a brain injury; they were sacrificed two weeks later. Immunohistochemistry for KA2 and
GluR6 was performed in the hippocampus, cortex and thalamus of control and pilocarpine-treated SE-experienced (PTSE) animals. Immunolabeling for these KAR subunits was analyzed using densitometric and qualitative approaches.
KA2 expression was significantly increased in somatosensory cortex and hippocampus (CA3, hilus and dentate molecular layer). KA2 expression was significantly decreased in hippocampus (CA1). GluR6 expression was significantly increased in hilus and decreased in piriform cortex. We suggest that these changes in KA2 and GluR6 expression produce alterations in the subunit composition of KARs in PTSE animals.
Given the dependence of KAR function on subunit composition, our data suggest that
KAR function is altered in epilepsy. Agents targeted to these altered KARs may represent novel therapeutic drugs for TLE.
Lobeline Decreases Methamphetamine-Induced Hyperactivity in Male and
Female Periadolescent Rats
Alexandra Basilakos, Experimental Psychology - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Steven Harrod, Psychology
Currently, there are no treatments for methamphetamine (METH) use or addiction.
Lobeline (LOB), a constituent of Lobelia inflata, is being investigated as a potential pharmacotherapy for METH abuse. Previous work with LOB was conducted exclusively in adult, male rats. Yet, clinical and preclinical research indicates that females exhibit greater drug effects relative to males. Prior to this study, little was known about sex differences in response to LOB alone or in conjunction with METH. Previous work from our laboratory shows that female periadolescent rats acquired tolerance to the non-specific, hypoactive effects of LOB more slowly than males, suggesting that females are more sensitive the locomotor effects of LOB. The present study was the first to examine if LOB pretreatment (3.0 mg/kg) decreased METH-induced
(0, 0.1, 0.3 mg/kg) hyperactivity in male and female periadolescent rats. Based on our previous results it was predicted that females would exhibit greater LOBinduced decreases in METH-mediated hyperactivity. The results indicate that LOB attenuated METH-induced hyperactivity before and after rats exhibited tolerance to the hypoactive effects of LOB. The pharmacological effects of METH and LOB were more pronounced in females, indicating the need to further investigate these sexdifferences when developing LOB as a pharmacotherapy.

Altered Peripheral and Spinal Innervation Patterns in Rodent Model of Fetal
Alcohol Exposure
Jeet Guram, Baccalaureus Artium et Scientiae - Junior
Mentor: Dr. Sarah Sweitzer, Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience
Fetal alcohol syndrome disorder (FASD) occurs in 1-10 out of every 1000 births. Our laboratory has shown that fetal ethanol exposure leads to decreased sensitivity to non-noxious mechanical stimuli and increased sensitivity to noxious thermal stimuli.
Our hypothesis is that fetal ethanol exposure results in aberrant termination patterns of large A β- and small C-fibers in the skin and spinal cord, increasing capsaicininduced nociception. In our FASD model, ethanol was administered to rats from postnatal day 1-9. On postnatal day 21, capsaicin-induced thermal hyperalgesia was assessed and spinal cords and hindpaws were collected for immunohistochemical localization of A β- and C- primary afferents and neuronal activation. In the skin, fetal ethanol exposure decreased the overall number of peripheral nerve endings as measured with the pan neuronal marker PGP9.5, but increased the number of nerve endings immunoreactive for CGRP (a marker for C terminals). In the spinal cord, a decrease in NF200 immunoreactivity (a marker for A β terminals) and an increase in
CGRP immunoreactivity corresponded to an increase in both capsaicin-induced thermal hyperalgesia and neuronal activation (as measured by c-fos expression) in ethanol-exposed animals compared to control animals. In conclusion, we detected in both the spinal cord and the periphery of ethanol-exposed animals an increased prevalence of pain-associated nerve endings and decreased prevalence of touchassociated nerve endings, and this finding corresponded to an increase in capsaicininduced nociception and neuronal activation. These studies suggest that fetal alcohol exposure results in dramatic changes in pain-touch peripheral and spinal innervation patterns and function.
The Role of Impulsivity as a Predictor of Methamphetamine Self-
Administration and Effects of Methamphetamine on Impulsivity
Callan Hazelbaker, Experimental Psychology - Senior
Mentor: Dr. William Boggan, Psychology
USC Beaufort
Impulsivity is a construct often linked to drug seeking behavior in clinical populations. In the present study, the relation between impulsivity and drug selfadministration was examined using an animal model of substance abuse. Impulsivity in male Long-Evans rats was measured by the use of a delay discounting task.
Subjects were then allowed to self-administer methamphetamine (METH) for 16 d or were designated as yoked saline controls. Following METH SA and cuereinstatement testing, impulsivity was re-assessed. Results showed a trend towards escalation of METH intake as long (6h) access to the drug progressed. Results also showed that METH intake increased as impulsivity decreased.
Selectivity of SB-205384 on the á-subunits of the GABA(A) Receptor
Laura Heidelberg, Biological Sciences - Junior
Mentor: Dr. Janet Fisher, Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience
á -aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter of the central nervous system. The GABA(A) receptor is a ligand-gated ion channel that is permeable to chloride ions and consists of a pentamer of subunits ( á 1-6, á 1-3, ã1-3, ä, å, ð, and è). SB-205384 is an anxiolytic drug that has been historically associated with being á3 selective. However, only the á1-3 subunits have been examined. The goal of this work was to evaluate the possible effects of SB-205384 on the á4-6 subunits and the á1/á6 and á6/á1 chimera subunits. Using recombinant receptors and the patch

clamp method, the potentiation by SB-285384 on the GABA(A) receptor was measured. The responses indicated that the á1,2, 4 subunits had different sensitivities to
SB-205384, but all commonly displayed minimal sensitivity. The á5 subunit displayed moderate sensitivity, whereas the á3 and á6 subunits displayed high sensitivity. á3 and á6 also displayed a slowed decay rate. The á1/á6 chimera subunit displayed a low sensitivity similar to the á1 subunit, indicating that SB-205384 bonds to the á1 portion of the chimera. The á6/á1 chimera displayed a high sensitivity similar to the á6 subunit, indicating that SB-205384 bonds to the á6 portion of the chimera. These results indicate that SB-205384 is not as selective as previously thought. á6 subunits are predominantly located in the adult brain and reside in the cerebellum, which controls motor coordination. Since SB-205384 was found to be at
á6 containing receptors, the potential adverse effects of the drug (loss of motor control) could be diminished through the development of a more á3 selective drug.
Protein Kinase C Epsilon Inhibition Decreases Endodthelin-1 Induced
Nociceptin and Neuronal Activation
Isiasha Mark, Biological Sciences - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Sarah Sweitzer, Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience
Chronic pain is defined as pain persisting longer than the course of natural healing associated with particular types of injuries or diseases. Chronic pain lessens the quality of life leading to lost wages and medical expenses. By finding ways to decrease pain, quality of life can be improved. Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a chemical mediator released by the body at sites of injury. Protein kinase C (PKCƒÕ) is a potential therapeutic target for treatments of chronic pain. We hypothesize administration of a PKCƒÕ inhibitor will reduce ET-1 induced pain-associated behaviors and neuronal activation. ET-1 was administered intraplantar into the left hind paw of each animal immediately followed by subcutaneous administration of the PKCƒÕ inhibitor. The nociceptive response (hind paw flinching and holding the paw up) of each animal was observed and videotaped for 75 minutes. At two hours post-ET-1, animals underwent perfusion fixation. Spinal cords were sectioned for immunohistochemical analysis for c-fos, a marker of neuronal activation. The experimental findings showed that 25 ug/kg of PKCƒÕ inhibitor decreased nociceptive responses over 75 minutes. There was a peak in behavioral response at about 25 minutes, decreasing over 75 minutes post-ET-1. Immunohistochemical results showed the least amount of neuronal activation was present in the spinal cords of animals treated with 25 ug/ kg of PKCƒÕ inhibitor. The PKCƒÕ inhibitor dose-dependently reduced both paw flinching and neuronal activation. These results are indicators of the PKCƒÕ inhibitor¡¦s ability to reduce pain-associated behaviors and neuronal activation and should further be studied as a potential therapy for decreasing chronic pain in humans.
The Rewarding Properties of Sugar in an Animal Model Fetal Alcohol Spectrum
Disorders
Casey O’Neill, Experimental Psychology - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Sandra Kelly, Psychology
There is a high co-morbidity of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and drug abuse.
There is evidence that suggests that prenatal ethanol exposure alters the neural mechanisms involving reward and possibly increase the tendency to respond to rewarding substances. Sucrose water is a motivating reward for rats, and activates the same nucleus accumbens-ventral tegmental area pathway as many drugs of abuse.
An animal model of FASD was used to investigate the hypothesis that ethanol exposure during development increases the rewarding properties of sugar. There were

three treatment groups of Long Evans rats: one group received ethanol throughout the period equivalent to all three trimester equivalents, one group received the administration procedures but no ethanol, and one group was not treated in any way.
At adulthood all rats were taught to bar press for sugar water, and eventually breakpoints were determined for each animal. The rats were then tested for sugar preference. Finally, the rats were given the opportunity to bar press for sugar for thirty minutes and then perfused. Tissue was processed for c-fos immunoreactivity in the nucleus accumbens. Ethanol-exposed animals showed an increased preference for sugar, and an increased breakpoint for sugar when compared with controls suggesting enhanced sensitivity to reward. The tissue collection and processing for c-fos immunoreactivity is currently underway. These results suggest that the reward pathways in FASD are altered in such a manner as to make the individuals vulnerable to drug abuse.
Sex Differences in Nicotine Self-Administration and Relapse Using an Animal
Model
Fiorela Ruiz, Environmental Science - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Richard See, Neuroscience; MUSC
USC Beaufort
Numerous clinical and pre-clinical studies have shown evidence of gender differences in response to self-administration and relapse using psychostimulant drugs, such as cocaine. Evidences revealed that female subjects acquired cocaine selfadministration behavior faster and exhibited a greater response for the drug than male subjects (Lynch & Carroll, 1999; Carroll et at., 2002; Hu et al., 2004; Lynch,
2008). During reinstatement testing of cocaine-prime, female subjects showed a greater response compared to males (Lynch & Carroll, 2000; Kippin et al., 2005).
Unlike cocaine studies, there are few articles devoted to examining gender differences in nicotine self-administration and relapse. Therefore, the study conducted was dedicated to the examination of sex differences related to nicotine-taking andseeking behaviors.
In this study, we used male and female Sprague-Dawley rats for subjects. First off, each subject underwent surgery for the insertion of a jugular catheter to selfadminister nicotine. This involved 10 to 15 daily 2-h or 6-h sessions for both male and female subjects. During self-administration, responses on an active lever resulted in a nicotine infusion and a cue. After the subjects achieved the nicotine dependence criteria, they underwent an extinction period in which nicotine and cues were no longer present. The next phase was reinstatement of nicotine-seeking behavior. This was our animal model of relapse. The four techniques examined in this phase were: 1) cue reinstatement, 2) stress reinstatement, 3) cue reinstatement + stress reinstatement, and 4) drug reinstatement.
The outcome of this study had mixed results. In one result, there were significant differences in the amount of active lever pressing between male and females in the 2
-h access group. Females had higher average active lever pressing, which indicated higher drug-seeking behavior. In addition, there were similar amounts of active lever pressing and nicotine intake between 2-h access females and 6-h access males.
During the reinstatement phase of this study, subjects did not show significant reinstatement to cue, stress, or nicotine-prime tests. However, there was a moderate reinstatement for the drug during cuetest + stress. In conclusion, due to the limitations of the study, future studies are being planned with a longer access condition of self-administration.

Using Herpes Simplex Virus-1 to Over-express the Endogenous Opioid System
Rabiah Ali, Biological Sciences - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Sarah Sweitzer, Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience
Chronic pain affects millions of Americans and current treatments are inadequate in dealing with chronic pain. Our laboratory has previously shown that overexpression of the endogenous opioid ligands and receptors using Herpes Simplex
Virus-1 (HSV-1) can decrease nociception and enhance opioid analgesia in a mouse
L5 spinal nerve transaction model. Our hypothesis is that HSV-1 vectors can be used to over-express the mu-opioid receptor and enkephalin primary afferent neurons with minimal inflammation. Five groups were used in this study: mu-opioid receptor, preproenkephalin, a combination of mu-opioid receptor and enkephalin, control
(E. Coli lac Z gene), and a sham group. To examine over-expression in the skin and spinal cord, immunohistochemistry for mu-opioid receptor and enkephalin expression was performed 1, 9, and 16 days post-infection. H&E staining was used to assess skin inflammation at day 1 post-infection. At one day post-infection significant increase in enkephalin in the skin was observed in both mu-opioid receptor and enkephalin groups when compared with the control groups. Viral vector dependent skin inflammation was observed on day 1 post-infection. The combination group demonstrated the greatest amount of inflammation, followed by the enkephalin group. Changes in enkephalin and mu-opioid receptor expression in the spinal cord are not observed until day 9 post-infection. In summary, these HSV-1 constructs drive over-expression of the mu-opioid receptor and enkephalin in primary afferent neurons. Also, the combination group produces significant inflammation in the skin.
This approach to treating neuropathic pain may one day be used as a way to help human chronic pain patients.
Novel GABAA Receptor Mutations Exhibit Subunit-Selective Effects on GABAA
Sensitivity
Shana Dykema , French - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Janet Fisher, Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience
The GABAA receptor is a ligand-gated ion channel found throughout the brain, and is responsible for mediating effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the CNS. A novel mutation in the GABAA receptor has recently been associated with febrile seizures (FS), which account for the majority of childhood seizure disorders, affecting 2-5% of children under five years of age. This mutation resulted in the substitution of a glycine for a highly conserved arginine residue in the external N-terminus of the ã2 subunit (R139G). To investigate whether the R139G shift exhibited subunit-specific effects on receptor function, we created this mutation in the á1, â3, and ã2 subunits of the GABAA receptor. In the á1 subunit, the mutation reduced GABA sensitivity, sped deactivation, and slowed desensitization. In the â3 subunit, this mutation caused a slight increase in sensitivity to GABA and slowed deactivation, but did not alter desensitization. Finally, in the ã2 subunit, the R139G mutation reduced GABA sensitivity, sped deactivation, and completely eliminated desensitization in response to GABA concentrations up to 10 mM.
These findings reinforce the hypothesis that the R139G mutation in the ã2 subunit could be linked to inherited forms of FS, and that changes at this site exhibit subunitselective effects on receptor activity.

The Effects of Pentobarbital as an Agonist on the K289M Mutation of the
Alpha-1 and Alpha-6 Subunits of the GABA-A Receptor
Matthew Fisher , Biological Sciences - Sophomore
Mentor: Dr. Janet Fisher, Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience
The neurotransmitter GABA acts through three classes of GABA receptors: GABAA,
GABAB, or GABAC. The GABAA receptors are ligand-gated chloride channels which are the targets for many clinically used sedative drugs, including pentobarbital. Pentobarbital acts through at least two different binding on the GABAA receptor. At low concentrations (£gM), they act as positive allosteric modulators. At higher concentrations, they can directly activate the receptor as agonists. This agonist action depends upon the subunit composition of the receptor, and pentobarbital is a more effective agonist than GABA only at receptors containing an ƒÑ6 subunit. The conformation change that translates GABA binding into channel opening is known to involve lysine289, located in an extracellular domain of the receptor. Mutations of this residue disrupt activation of the channel by GABA. Pentobarbital binds to the receptor at a different site than GABA, but may use a common signal transduction mechanism. To address this question, we used patch clamp recordings from transfected
HEK-293T transfected cells to compare the effectiveness of pentobarbital and GABA at GABAA receptors carrying a mutation at lysine289 in either the Ą1 or Ą6 subunits.
Nociceptive Threshold is Altered During Epileptogenesis in the Pilocarpine
Model of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy in Rats
Natasha Juneja, Biological Sciences - Junior
Mentor: Dr. David Mott, Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience
Individuals with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) have elevated pain threshold. Antiepileptic drugs are analgesic, making it difficult to determine whether the reduced sensitivity to pain in these individuals is due to their epilepsy or to its treatment. We have used the pilocarpine model of TLE in rats to determine whether epilepsy itself can alter nociceptive thresholds. Adult male rats were treated with pilocarpine to induce status epilepticus (SE). Beginning 24 hours post-SE, nociceptive thresholds to mechanical (Von Frey filaments), thermal (heat and cold) and painful (blunt needle) stimuli were measured. Nociceptive thresholds were measured over 24 days after SE which corresponds to the time when animals are developing TLE. Beginning on day
22, SE-experienced animals were video monitored for 72 hours to assess for behavioral seizures. On day 25 animals were transcardially perfused and their brains removed for histological analysis. SE-experienced rats exhibited a significant elevation in the nociceptive threshold to mechanical stimuli by 7 days post-SE that returned to control by 15 days post-SE. As opposed to the transient change in response to mechanical stimuli, nociceptive threshold to both cold and painful stimuli were persistently increased throughout the 24 day period. In contrast, paw withdrawal latency in response to thermal stimuli did not differ at any time point from the sham group.
Histological analysis of SE-experienced rats revealed substantial cell loss in somatosensory cortex, suggesting that seizure-induced neurodegeneration in this brain area could contribute to the observed alteration in nociceptive thresholds. These findings suggest that epilepsy itself can produce changes in pain perception and that these changes in pain thresholds may become apparent before the onset of frank seizures.

The Inverse Typicality Effect in the Brain
Jeremy May , Experimental Psychology - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Amit Almor, Psychology
Anaphors, expressions referring to previously mentioned entities (antecedents), are an important part of a coherent discourse. For example, the anaphor “the bird” can be used to refer to the antecedent “the robin.” Although much is known about the linguistic and behavioral aspects of anaphoric processing, not much is known about its neural underpinnings. One effect that has been important in behavioral studies of anaphoric processing is the Inverse Typicality Effect (ITE). The ITE is the slower reading of a category anaphor (e.g., the bird) when referring to a salient antecedent, when that antecedent is a typical member of the category (e.g., robin) rather than an atypical one (e.g., ostrich). This effect was previously argued to reflect increased working memory load caused by interference between the category anaphor and a typical member antecedent. This interference is related to the greater semantic overlap between the anaphor and the antecedent in the typical rather than the atypical case. The current study aimed to test this claim directly by examining the neural activation associated with the ITE. We used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging to measure the brain activation of participants as they read short discourses presented one sentence at a time. The results indicated that the ITE is associated with activation in the left frontal regions of the brain, supporting the role of working memory in this effect.
Audiospatial Attention Evokes Similar Brain Activation Pattern to Visualspatial Attention
Kathy Niu , Interdisciplinary Studies - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Chris Rorden, Communication Sciences and Disorders
Neuroimaging studies suggest that a fronto-parietal network is activated when we expect visual information to appear at a specific spatial location. Here, we examine whether a similar network is involved for auditory stimuli.
We used a block design, continuous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment to infer brain activation while participants performed spatial and temporal order judgment (TOJ) tasks with auditory stimuli. Each trial presented two different sounds (a viola and a bassoon) that were separated perceptually in time and space. During the TOJ task, participants identified which of the two sounds came first. For the spatial task, half of the participants were instructed to select the sound that appeared further to the left in space, and half were instructed to select the one further to the right.
More activation was observed for the spatial task than the TOJ task for the bilateral temporal parietal junction (TPJ), bilateral superior frontal regions near the frontal eye fields (FEFs), bilateral intraparietal sulci (IPS), as well as bilateral occipital temporal junction.
Crucially, the stimuli presented for both tasks and the motoric mapping for responses were the same, so the statistical contrasts of the spatial blocks with the TOJ blocks should give a pure measure of task-related differences, uncontaminated by differences in low-level perception or motoric response. Furthermore, task difficulty was controlled for as measured by response time and accuracy. The regions found for audiospatial attention are similar to those reported for visualspatial attention, showing that many of these regions are crossmodal.

Role of the Delta Opioid Receptor in the Regulation of Chronic Neuropathic
Pain
William Spears , Finance - Junior
Mentor: Dr. Sarah Sweitzer, Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience
Millions of people suffer from chronic neuropathic pain as a result of a broad range of injuries as well as diseases such as type II diabetes. These conditions remain difficult to treat and high dose opioid analgesics are limited by side effects such as constipation, mental degradation, development of tolerance, and fear of addiction.
Opioid analgesics work by binding to and activating opioid receptors such as the delta opioid receptors (DOR) in peripheral tissues, spinal cord, and the brain. Recent behavioral studies in our laboratory have shown that using Herpes Simplex Virus
(HSV) to increase expression of DOR in nociceptors increases pain, but has no effect on opioid analgesia. In contrast, infection with HSV vectors that decrease expression of DOR in nociceptors results in decreased pain, and increased opioid analgesia. My project expands on these recent behavioral studies by quantifying HSV mediated increases and decreases in expression of DOR in nociceptors that innervate the spinal cord. On day seven following a nerve transection, mice were given several complementary DNA sequences: delta opioid receptor in the sense direction (VDOR), delta opioid receptor in the anti-sense direction (VADOR), delta opioid receptor in the anti-sense direction and mu opioid receptor in the sense direction (VADOR +
VMOR), and a control virus (VCONT). Using immunohistochemical procedures, we observed increased DOR immunoreactivity following day nine and day sixteen postviral infection in the VDOR group and decreased DOR immunoreactivity in the VA-
DOR group. These results paralleled the previous behavioral studies showing that infection with VDOR results in an increase in pain by day nine post-infection and that infection with VADOR results in a decrease in pain by day nine post-infection.

Changing Carolina: Violence Prevention Through College Students
Quinyana Brown, Experimental Psychology - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Suzanne Swan, Psychology
Many researchers are currently exploring men’s participation or lack thereof in violence prevention and intervention. Changing Carolina, a primary prevention program, aims to increase bystander behavior, which challenges social norms supporting and perpetuating domestic violence and sexual violence (DV/SV); for example, speaking out when a sexist comment is made. The program also aims to prevent DV/
SV by implementing diffusion of innovation (DoI) principles. Diffusion is the process through which an innovation is communicated through certain channels among members of a social system. Changing Carolina targets the university sphere, males especially, as relationship violence and sexual assault is common within university campuses. An estimated 1/3 of college students have encountered some type of physical aggression from dating partners. Community norms supporting DV/SV that are prevalent throughout some college campuses may also contribute to high rates of violence. The intervention trains students to counteract social norms of sexism and violence, and provides support to students as they challenge these norms. A regression analysis was conducted with pretest-posttest assessments from 124 participants (59 male, 65 female) to evaluate the effectiveness of the Changing Carolina intervention. Participants were either in the Changing Carolina intervention or the comparison group (other psychology classes). Posttest scores were regressed on treatment conditions and pretest. Findings indicate Changing Carolina participants, in relation to the comparison group, reported significantly less support of partner violence among their peers at the time of posttest and also less endorsement of rape myths, beliefs about rape that are usually flawed and blame the victim.
Place Memory in a Virtual Environment Task
John Dunn, Experimental Psychology - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Doug Wedell, Psychology
Place memory, the memory for the location of an object or self in an environment, is a widely studied phenomenon in the spatial reasoning literature. One major procedure used to study place memory in animals is the Morris Water Maze, where place memory is determined by spatial relations among external cues. In the present study, the researchers adapted the Morris Water Maze to a virtual environment.
Participants were instructed to remember locations in a virtual arena measuring
150 ft. in diameter. They experienced the arena from an egocentric (first-person) frame of reference. There were two cues located in opposite locations of the perimeter of the arena. The locations of the cues varied between subjects and were either on the North and South walls or the East and West walls of the arena. After learning a target location, participants were asked to return to the remembered location from different starting points (NE, SW, NW, and SE). The study assessed the participants’ accuracies in finding learned locations as well as any observed biases in memory.
Based on prior research using an aerial rather than first person perspective, we generated these basic hypotheses. First, accuracy should be enhanced for locations closer to cues. Second, memory for locations should be biased toward cues. Third,

starting place should bias memory for location. These hypotheses were tested in the present experiment. We hope to use the results to develop a theoretical model of biases of place memory representations in spatial reasoning.
The Association Between Age, Sex, and Social Support for Diet and Physical
Activity in Overweight Adolescents
Kassandra Kugler, Experimental Psychology - Senior
Mentors: Dr. Heather Kitzman-Ulrich, Psychology
Ms. Michelle Segal, Psychology
Dr. Dawn Wilson, Psychology
Family social support (SS), defined as aid or assistance exchanged through social relationships and interpersonal transactions, has previously demonstrated a positive association with health behaviors in adolescents. Limited research has evaluated developmental trajectories and sex differences in family SS for diet and physical activity (PA) in overweight, primarily African-American, adolescents. Based on Social Cognitive Theory, this study examined the association between adolescent age, sex, and perceived family SS for diet and PA in primarily African-American, overweight adolescents (N=29, 72% African-American, 76% female, ages 11-16 yrs,
BMI=33.7±5.3) enrolled in a weight loss study. Consistent with previous literature, this study predicted that SS for diet and PA would be negatively associated with adolescent age. Levels of family SS for diet and PA by sex were also explored. At baseline, adolescent perceived family SS for diet and PA were assessed with validated self
-report measures. SS for PA (r=-0.37, p=.05) and diet (r=-0.11, p=.06) were negatively associated with age suggesting that perceived SS declines with age. Levels of family SS for diet (males M=0.72, SD=0.33; females M=0.74, SD=0.20) and PA (males
M=0.79, SD=0.30; females, M=0.63, SD=0.32) were similar across sex. Overall, these findings suggest that overweight African American males and females receive similar levels of family SS for diet and PA. However, these levels may decrease with adolescent age indicating that other strategies may be needed to encourage positive health behaviors in overweight adolescents.
ADHD as a Predictor of Adolescent Peer Crowd Affiliation
Heather Langley, Experimental Psychology - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Kate Flory, Psychology
Research has found that adolescent peer crowds (e.g., brains) serve a number of functions and are associated with different outcomes (Prinstein & La Greca, 2002).
However, little work has been conducted that examines the factors that influence affiliation with these peer crowds. The current study addresses this gap in the literature by examining the presence of symptoms of ADHD as a possible predictor of adolescent peer crowd affiliation. We hypothesized that adolescents with higher
ADHD symptoms would affiliate with peer groups (burnouts, alternatives) that have reputations for substance use and disruptive behavior.
Participants were 18 boys and 23 girls who ranged in age from 11 to 17. The primary measure used for this asked participants to report affiliation with the following peer crowds: jocks, burnouts, smart/social, brains, alternative, frats, populars, or loners. ADHD symptoms were assessed using parent and teacher reports.
Correlational and multiple regression analyses revealed that participants with

higher counts of hyperactive symptoms were more likely to affiliate with the jock peer group, while participants with higher counts of inattentive symptoms were less likely to affiliate with the smart/social peer group.
Although not consistent with our hypothesis, these results still pose several interesting avenues for future research. The results of this study indicate that participants with high ADHD symptoms tend to not affiliate with peer crowds that have reputations for beneficial peer relationships. Thus, intervention efforts should be aimed at integrating individuals with ADHD into these groups that allow for the development of healthy social behaviors.
The Contextual Dependence of Happiness for Everyday Events in a College
Student’s Life
Holley Pitts, Experimental Psychology - Junior
Mentor: Dr. Douglas Wedell, Psychology
Research demonstrates that people’s happiness is strongly dependent on context, whether it be real or imaginary. For example, receiving $10 is judged as satisfying when one expects no money, but very dissatisfying when one expects $100. This relationship of judged happiness to the contextual distribution of expectations can be described by the range-frequency theory of judgment in which comparison to recently experienced events provides the standards for judging the level of satisfaction. The theory provides specific quantitative predictions about how mean judged happiness will vary with the distribution of experienced events. We devised a web based survey as a preliminary experimental study examining the contextual dependence across domains for life satisfaction regularly experienced by college students.
Participants were asked to rate their level of happiness on a nine-point scale for hypothetical situations pertaining to one of four domains: extra cash, unanticipated expenses, study hours, and free time. The contextual distribution of events was manipulated to be either positively or negatively skewed with six target values common across contexts. It is anticipated that common target events will receive lower ratings of happiness in the negatively skewed distribution. By fitting the rangefrequency model to the data, we can infer the context participants are using to judge events and determine the extent to which this depends on recent experiences. This experiment is seen a preliminary study to an experiment that would examine how college students combine experiences across multiple domains in determining their overall satisfaction.
Attention and Conversing
Afotey Quaye, Experimental Psychology - Junior
Mentor: Dr. Amit Almor, Psychology
Previous research have found that performing a visually guided motor task while performing a language task, such as talking, results in poorer performance in both the motor and the linguistic tasks (Almor, 2006; Spence & Read, 2003). Almor
(2006) showed that talking or thinking what to say next pose the greatest interference on performing a smooth pursuit task (tracking an object on a computer screen).
However, because Almor (2006) used a task in which participants listened to and responded to prerecorded narratives, it is unclear whether these findings generalize to more natural conversation. The present experiment therefore examined the inter-

action between performing the smooth pursuit task, sound orientation, and natural conversation. Participants were recruited in pairs of friends, and after being instructed to discuss whatever topics interested them, conversed remotely via speakers and microphones. The conversations were recorded and later categorized to one of the following conversational conditions: speaking, listening, interrupting, being interrupted, maintaining dialogue (e.g. sporadically saying mm hmm, oh yeah, etc. while a friend tells a long story), and being maintained (e.g. telling the story while a friend sporadically says mm hmm, oh yeah, etc.). We hypothesized that subjects would perform poorer while speaking than while listening, that interruptions would result in the worst performance, and that maintaining a dialogue would be comparable to listening. we also hypothesized that the interference between the tasks can be reduced if the voice of the person the participant is talking to is heard from the front
(as opposed to the sides or back).
The Relationship Between Parent and Child Beliefs About Physical Activity and
Diet in Underserved Communities
Sarah Refvem, Experimental Psychology - Sophomore
Mentor: Dr. Dawn Wilson, Psychology
Dietary and physical activity (PA) behaviors are influenced during childhood through family interactions. Research indicates that low-income African American youth are not meeting national standards for dietary intake or PA. Thus, there is a need for expanding understanding of how to involve parents in interventions that promote healthy eating and PA in African American youth. This project evaluates the relationship between parent-child health beliefs and behaviors (diet, PA) as part of the Positive Action for Today’s Health (PATH) NIH funded randomized trial. The goal of this project is to evaluate the relationship between parent health beliefs on influencing healthy PA and dietary behaviors in their children using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. It is hypothesized that adolescents whose parent’s believe that they and their youth are at greater risk for health problems (e.g. diabetes, hypertension) will provide more positive support for their child’s PA and healthy eating behaviors. The impact of perceived risk on the parents’ and children’s’ beliefs and behaviors (assessed through surveys) will be evaluated in relation to PA and dietary themes that are assessed through focus group interviews with 80 African
American youth. Eight focus groups are currently being conducted for adolescents ages 11-15 with boys and girls participating in separate groups. Data will be presented that summarizes the focus group themes about how the youth’s family relates to their PA and healthy eating behaviors in families who have parents with high (vs. low) perceived risk for health complications.
Gender Differences in University of South Carolina Student Perceptions of
Campus Sexual Assault
Rebecca Ridgeway , Experimental Psychology - Junior
Mentor: Dr. Suzanne Swan, Psychology
The purpose of this study is to assess gender differences in University of South Carolina student perceptions of campus sexual assault prevalence and reporting. Student perceptions are important to study because they drive the amount of student activity in preventing campus sexual assault and also play a critical role in determining

general campus community support for survivors. Many college students are unaware or fail to acknowledge that sexual assault is a highly pervasive and severely underreported problem on college campuses. This lack of sensitivity and awareness creates a seemingly unconcerned campus environment in which student survivors of sexual assault are hesitant to seek help. Gender norms including masculine freedom from victimization and feminine self-blame also play a key role in a survivor’s decision to report his or her assault experience. Student perceptions of the effect of survivor gender on sexual assault prevalence and reporting will be assessed using written surveys and video interview footage. Based on responses, which are expected to indicate significant gender differences in prevalence and reporting, implications will be made for implementing campus sexual assault awareness programs and improving available resources for both female and male student survivors.
The Question of Torture: The Effects of Affective Disturbance, the Risk of Disaster and Uncertain Success on Moral Decision-Making
Thomas Smith, Experimental Psychology - Junior
Mentor: Dr. Douglas Wedell, Psychology
Torture is an inflammatory topic that inspires debate. The question of what situations, if any, justify torture has become important both to lawmakers and to an informed populous. The methods of experimental psychology can help uncover factors that may lead individuals to decide when torture is justifiable. To this end, we designed a study to examine the effects of situational magnitude (the potential cost in human lives), vividness (the affective impact of imagery used to describe the situation), and necessity (the probability that torture is the sole viable means of success).
These variables were included in a questionnaire format that presented a scenario corresponding to each experimental condition. Student participants, who assumed the role of an official holding a prisoner with information on a plot to kill a number of innocent people, were asked to indicate their willingness on a 6-point scale to apply various levels of interrogation to the prisoner. These levels varied in severity based on previous research on perceptions of torture. Situational magnitude and necessity were manipulated within subjects to assess the participant’s conscious rules for justifying torture. The vividness variable was manipulated between subjects to reduce the likelihood that participants would be aware that they were being emotionally influenced. We hypothesized that increasing magnitude of outcomes, vividness, and necessity would each increase willingness to torture in a majority of participants. We also hypothesized that the other variables may interact with vividness, if high vividness causes a switch to a more gut-level decision process.
Effect of Context on Policy Endorsement: How Impressionable Are We?
Ruthellen Thompson, Experimental Psychology - Sophomore
Mentor: Dr. Douglas Wedell, Psychology
Social scientists have proposed that attitudes are changed via two basic modes of thinking, 1) conscious deliberation and 2) peripheral heuristic processing. One peripheral mode of influence is suggested by recent research on how preferred values shift as a function of the average of stimulus values encountered. In body image judgments, people prefer a thinner body type when contextual images are extremely thin and a wider body type when contextual images are mostly wide. Our research examined whether this same shift toward the average would be observed when

making attitudinal endorsements of different policies. Policies we studied include: funding level for a school district, the time table for withdrawal from an occupied country, and the mandatory penalties associated with various crimes. Participants were presented with a different distribution of opinions that advocated, for example, a specific funding level. Research from perceptual domains has shown that context shifts the ideal value towards the average of values examined. We examined whether the contextual dependence of ideals applies to a situation where subjects must take a conscious stance to endorse or reject a policy. Participants rated, on an endorse-reject scale, how much they supported each of several policies. Questionnaires were manipulated to contain policies advocating mostly low or high values.
Essentially, we want to know, 1) does peripheral heuristic processing allow attitudinal endorsements to be easily manipulated or 2) does conscious deliberation establish a consistent, logically structured attitudinal stance? We hypothesized a consensus effect whereby attitudes shift toward the average of values presented.
Adolescent Sex Differences in Cognitive Vulnerabilities to Depression: A Longitudinal Study
Jennifer Yehl, Experimental Psychology - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Benjamin Hankin, Psychology
Research from a longitudinal study indicates that rates of depression increase dramatically for individuals between the ages of 15 and 18 (3% - 17%), with girls experiencing depression at higher rates (Hankin, Wetter, & Cheely, 2008). One approach in identifying risk factors for the development of depression is the study of how cognitive vulnerabilities place individuals at increased risk (Hankin & Abramson, 2001).
The cause of the sex difference in depression has not yet been determined, but
Hankin & Abramson (2001) have proposed a cognitive vulnerability-transactional stress model. This theory states that females encounter more negative life events and exhibit more cognitive vulnerabilities to depression than males, thus increasing the likelihood they will experience depression when they encounter negative events.
In this study, we hypothesize that there will be a significant relationship between negative cognitive style and symptoms of depression in adolescence, with a stronger relationship for females.
This study used a multi-wave prospective longitudinal design to examine the relationship between cognitive style, sex, and depressive symptoms in a 2 site community sample of 350 youth (ages 11-14) across 2 years. Negative cognitive style was measured by the Adolescent Cognitive Style Questionnaire (ACSQ; Hankin & Abramson, 2002), and depressive symptoms were assessed through the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI; Kovacs, 1985).
Analyses showed a significant cognitive style by sex interaction (â=0.905, p0.05), such that females with higher scores on the ACSQ had increased levels of depressive symptoms compared to their male counterparts. Possible implications of this research will be discussed.

How Do Transnational Integration Regimes Shape Financial Regulatory Institutions in Latin America?
Brian Blasser, International Business - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Gerald McDermott, International Business
Starting in the early 1990’s Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico shared similar progressive economic and political changes. All three were also subject to IMF structural adjustment criteria and were aggressive in liberalizing their capital accounts and attracting foreign investors in banking in the 1990s. During this time each country entered
“Transnational Integration Regimes” (TIRs) with Mexico joining NAFTA while Argentina and Brazil helped form Mercosur. TIRs are more than trade pacts, aid projects, or harmonization systems, as they increasingly offer developing countries normative models, resources, and enforcement mechanisms to engage in institutional change. In acting as development programs, TIRs differ not simply in terms of their incentives and largess but particularly in terms of their emphasis on institutional capacities, their empowerment of diverse stakeholder groups, and their ability to merge monitoring and learning at both the national and supra-national levels.
Through identifying domestic and international factors, we will see how resources and capabilities of governments and influence of nongovernmental groups shape this evolution. However, this evolutionary process will differ between the members of the different TIRs. This difference occurs because two-thirds of NAFTA (Canada and the United States of America) already has mature capital markets while Mercosur’s organization is more complex with a greater political function and comprises only emerging economies.
Dubai’s Academic Cluster
Ryan Burke , International Business - Junior
Mentor: Dr. Douglas Woodward, Economics
The United Arab Emirates recognized that the finite supply of oil and natural resources that existed within their country would leave their now booming economy vulnerable to a serious downturn over the long run. Realizing the shortsightedness of an unbalanced export economy dependent on raw materials, UAE business and government leaders have sought to foment new economic activities, or clusters. One of these clusters is academia—higher education institutions that could support the development of human capital, reducing UAE’s need to lean on its oil sector for continued development. Specifically, the emirate of Dubai is attempting and has imported an array of degree-granting, world-renowned universities, clustering them in its Knowledge Village and Dubai International Academic City, hoping to mimic the success of Boston’s academic cluster. Ideally, this locus of location around Dubai’s other clusters, enclaves, and free zones will forge university-industry linkages, berthing and supporting Dubai’s nascent innovation driven economy. The purpose of the Magellan scholarship was to test Dubai’s academic cluster; Cluster strengths and weaknesses can be evaluated through Porter’s “diamond” model, which consists of four elements: demand conditions, supplier networks, the context for competition, and factor conditions. The diamond model, then, provides a framework for investigating clusters as a competitive strategy for Dubai. By interviewing members associated with the academic clusters and members from other supporting industries
(higher education, government policy, technology), this report has arrived at specific recommendations, rather than this conclusion—the necessary physical conditions inherent to clusters are not alone sufficient to encourage competition and innovation.

The Ethical Risk Management of Nanotechnology
Joshua Call, Interdisciplinary Studies - Junior
Mentor: Dr. Kevin Elliott, Philosophy
A great deal of debate has surrounded the regulation of technology in the past thirty years, specifically in how to correctly assess and manage risk. The debate has introduced a number of significant ethical dilemmas, such as how to balance the opinions of experts and professionals with the desires of the public, what constitutes good evidence, what warrants regulation, what is the appropriate way to regulate, and how should the public be involved in this regulation. More problems arise when confronting nanotechnologies, which are particularly difficult to measure, regulate, and conceptualize for the public. These technologies have a host of unique features that make their risk assessment and regulation troublesome. This study explores the complexities of regulating nanotechnology, with particular emphasis on the question of public involvement. Arguments for and against public involvement are explored in their traditional setting (i.e., debates regarding nuclear and chemical technologies) and then applied to the new case of nanotechnology. These discussions are evaluated from an ethical perspective, using both deontological and utilitarian frameworks. It is concluded that there is need for revision of the current methods of approaching risk in light of the difficulties associated with nanotechnologies. The needed changes include the manner in which the public is involved and the method that government uses to manage the introduction of new nanotechnologies, since current methods are inadequate to handle this significant new field.
International Law and the Illicit Trade of Small Arms and Light Weapons
Amanda Ghessie, International Studies - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Katherine Barbieri, Political Science
Over the past semester and a half I have been in the process of producing a thesis entitled “International Law and the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons.”
I have been conducting a study to determine whether international law has reduced the illicit trade of small arms and light weapons. I have analyzed international documents related to small arms and light weapons, examined reasons why international law has been unsuccessful, and conducted a case study on the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country that has been deeply affected by the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. I chose this topic because I am extremely interested in international law, especially in developing countries. There is a lot of work that needs to be done to combat the illicit trade of small arms and light weapons. Unfortunately, not many people know about the problem, nor do they know that the United States is one of the leading manufacturers and exporters of small arms. I am producing this thesis to inform people of the problem and recommend possible solutions.
Shades of Gray
Christina McClelland, Sociology - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Shane Thye, Sociology
“Shades of Gray” is designed to determine if categories of minority race are valued differently in terms of status and prestige in our society. Although racism and discrimination are still prevalent today, there is little research on this topic. The intention of this experiment is to build upon what is already known about status characteristics by seeing if various minority categories play an integral role in determining

the degree of status and prestige. This is evaluated through a series of vignette surveys that have been administered to classes at USC. Subjects are asked to read and respond to a hypothetical scenario in which a high status white male takes prescription medication to prevent hair loss, but his features transform into that of a minority as a side-effect. He then sues the manufacturer for changes in his appearance.
Subjects play the role of a juror in a civil suit and are asked how much compensation he should receive. There are seven versions of the survey, and it has been pretested at another university to help ensure reliability. The author is in the final stages of analyzing the data, but hypothesizes that races with lighter skin tones will receive the least amount of compensation because it is closer to the advantaged status color.
If results are significant, any discrepancies found may help account for the social problems experienced by these groups. It can also determine where and to what degree racial discrimination exists and assist in forming a theory of this phenomenon.
Historical Antecedents of a Contemporary Rivalry: The Evolution of Ideologies of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona
Megan Robers, International Business - Senior
Mentor: Dr. David Crockett, Marketing
The history of the rivalry between two of Spain’s greatest football clubs stretches back over a century, encompassing fervor arguably unprecedented by any other athletic conflict. Football historians and Spanish scholars have identified social, political, and economic sources which have converged to intensify natural hostilities.
Despite identification of these causes, few researchers have sought to speculate the future role of historical tensions in the evolution of fans’ ideologies. As fan bases age and turn over to younger generations, the question remains whether emotional associations with historical events will linger to perpetuate the rivalry. Using several studies and incorporating new discoveries from research, the transition will be explored to outline its past, comment on its current state, and speculate into the uncertainty of its longevity.
Fans with affiliations to each club were interviewed during field research in Madrid and Barcelona during December 2008. Through questioning and observing, stories, opinions and affinities surfaced to provide insight and arouse concern about the prospects of an evolving ideology. This study revealed that new influences in the sports world have devalued the legitimacy of a revered tradition and threatened its vigor. Players’ lessened concern with regional identity and pursuit of lucrative contracts has greatly reduced the “nationality” of each team. As time increases the gap of fan “connectedness”, current passions too have journeyed from their roots. While its future seems grim, my research has led me to conclude that regardless of time or intensity, there is an inherent shared hatred that will propel the rivalry into perpetuity.
Ethics Roadmap in Nanotechnology
Travis Roberts, Biological Sciences - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Ann Johnson, History
There are many ethic questions that need to be answered concerning nanotechnology. Ethics roadmaps have been written in order to create an agenda and a plan for answering these questions. These questions include how nanotechnologies will affect the lives of the general public, their awareness and how to increase it in order to

offer a voice to those who are paying for it out of their taxes, and how to distribute the benefits of this new technology both within the United States and globally. This poster will present the agendas suggested by various nano-ethics roadmaps. An initial analysis of the effectiveness of roadmaps in this area will also be presented with some suggestions for improving effectiveness.
Risk Management Perceptions of Collegiate Sport Venue Managers in Accommodating Spectators With Disabilities
Adam Shuman, Sport and Entertainment Management - Senior
Mentor: Dr. John Grady, Sport and Entertainment Management
The purpose of my study is to identify those critical factors which facilitate or inhibit the collegiate sport venue manager’s ability to accommodate spectators with disabilities during sporting events. Three research questions have been proposed: First, what are the factors that facilitate the venue managers’ ability to meet the needs of spectators with disabilities? Second, what are the factors that inhibit the venue managers’ ability to meet the needs of spectators with disabilities? Third, are there similarities and/or differences in accommodating spectators with disabilities based on venue classification variables (e.g., type of venue, venue capacity, age of the venue, primary tenant)?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has had a profound impact on the sport venue management industry. Implementation of the ADA has been an especially challenging aspect of sport venue management because little guidance specific to sport and entertainment venues has been provided by the federal enforcement agencies (Skulski, Bloomer, & Chait, 2002). To find out how to better accommodate these spectators, I conducted interviews with venue managers from different types of venues that had different classification variables. To make sense of this information I analyzed the interviews by finding the similar themes.
I have found that the age of venue, ownership of the venue, the type and number of events, as well as budget constraints all play a large role in the accommodation of spectators. The results of my research should be able to help collegiate venue managers better accommodate people with disabilities.
Sustainability in the Emerging Middle Class in Johannesburg, South Africa and the Investment Opportunities Created
Erin Turner, International Business - Junior
Duggan MacDonald, Finance - Junior
Mentor: Dr. Edward Carr, Geography
World media over the past three years has reported on an emerging and expanding
Black African middle class in Johannesburg, South Africa. The recent success of the group has resulted in economic stimulation of both consumerism and the housing market around Johannesburg. Increases in income and access to credit have allowed members of the class for the first time to purchase items like cars, homes, and cell phones. We began by studying factors related to the emergence. This included consumption patterns, spending habits, skilled trade opportunities, housing development and construction, transportation infrastructure, public water and sewer systems, and suburban sprawl. We also focused heavily on current affirmative action legislation, as well as white color job availability to the class. We then spent three weeks in Johannesburg collecting additional data and interviewing numerous South
Africans. The data was complied with the goal of being used by international compa-

nies considering expansion or growth in and around the Johannesburg area. We found, among other things, that in order for class growth to be sustainable, more focus must be placed on strategies for funding education and healthcare throughout the area. Reform in these two areas coupled with enforcement of post-apartheid affirmative action legislation would allow greater numbers of educated Black Africans the opportunity to advance in the work place. Reform would allow sustainable growth to exist for years to come, and in turn stimulate the entire South African economy.
A Brief History of Youth Political Engagements and Its Impact on the 2008
Elections and Beyond
Chenwei Zhang, Political Science - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Donald Fowler, Political Science
The youth bloc (ages 18-24) is arguably the most important demographic when considering the long-term success of sustaining the democratic process of our country.
With the unprecedented energy that this group put forth towards President Obama during the 2008 presidential campaigns, our demographic received widespread attention. Although this election saw the highest rate of youth voting since 1972, when the voting age was lowered to 18, it did not quite live up to the huge upsurge that analysts foresaw. For this report, I analyzed historical accounts of youth activism, conducted scholarly research, surveyed a wide range of young people and political institutions, and conducted field work at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
I found that youth civic engagement may not be as optimistic as mainstream commentators predict, but our disengagement is not simply a result of apathy. While the future of youth civic engagement can be promising, its success will depend much on the ability for political institutions to connect and engage in a meaningful way. I outline ideas and thoughts as to how this can be done. The findings of my research will hopefully be valuable to political organizations, non-profits, educators, and young people alike as a guide and source of motivation for increasing civic engagement among young people. With a country in the midst of crisis and a period of profound change, it is important to engage all citizens, especially those who hold the fate of the future.

Comprehensive and Innovative Writing and Reading Achievement Program
(WRAP) for Primary School Students
Jason Bird, Experimental Psychology - Senior
Tyler Greer, Experimental Psychology - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Brad Smith, Psychology
Students in the state of South Carolina are particularly deficient in the essential academic focuses of writing and reading when compared to the nation’s public school average (The Nation’s Report Card, 2007). For example, according to the 2007 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), 77% of South Carolina students performed below the proficiency criteria specified by national legislation. Unfortunately, the adequate attention from teachers necessitated by many middle school students in the classroom is often limited or completely absent and individual goal counseling is not feasible. To fill this gap, partnerships with universities can provide college students who can deliver the individualized attention required to develop grade-appropriate writing and reading skills. In the Writing and Reading Achievement Program, college mentors will model writing techniques based upon the ELA
State Standard requirements and prerequisites. By working in a collaborative effort with primary school teachers, college undergraduates majoring in Education, English, and Psychology will provide a conducive and interactive learning environment to improve student's self-confidence and personal interest in subject areas relating to writing and reading.
The Use and Function of Botanicas in Santiago, Dominican Republic
Puja Dalal, Exercise Science - Senior
Elaine Kao, Baccalaureus Artium et Scientiae - Senior
Mentor: Dr. David Simmons, Anthropology & Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior
Despite a growing literature on the uses of botanicas in the United States among
Latino populations, there is still limited information on them in their context of origin. Botanicas, or local medico-religious shops, are products of the fusion of European, African, and Taino Indian beliefs and practices among the Dominican people.
These medico-religious shops are particularly important in ameliorating the distress created by inter- and intra-social tensions inherent in communities. Fieldwork was conducted in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Semi-structured interviews, key informants, and a review of the extant literature were utilized to collect data. Data reveal the central importance of botanicas in fulfilling desires as well as maintaining spiritual and overall well being.
Exploring the Effects of Budget-Cuts on Teachers
Arthur Dunn, Experimental Psychology - Senior
Mentors: Dr. Leslie Bessellieu, Psychology
Mrs. Annie Wright, Psychology
It has been shown that an organization's climate is greatly related to job performance; this relationship holds true even in high school settings. Adverse matters including budget-cuts can undermine the established school climate and may nega-

tively affect turnover rates, teacher job satisfaction, and teacher efficacy. This study examines how faculty of public high schools may be affected by budget-cuts including possible teacher layoffs in the near future.
Responses from a survey before the knowledge of impending layoffs and from a survey after will be compared to determine changes in topics such as job satisfaction, morale, involvement with students, and stress levels. Data was collected from 83 faculty members at a local high school. Differences in responses will be compared based on age, gender, and the amount of time working at the school. We hypothesize that the perceptions of newly hired faculty (two years or less) on the subject of school climate will be significantly more negative on the posttest than on the pretest.
Implications for possible interventions will be discussed.
Perceptions of Health Care by the Deaf Community and by the Health Providers Who Serve Them
Elaine Kao, Baccalaureus Artium et Scientiae - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Daniela Friedman, Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior
Background: The deaf community, a vulnerable population group within the United
States, feels that they have decreased quality and access to health care. A major obstacle to receiving health care is the language barrier. Deaf persons experience increased stress and frustration during health care encounters, resulting in negative feelings and avoidance of the health care system. Health care professionals express frustration due to communication difficulties.
Study Objectives: (1) To assess deaf individuals’ current prevention behaviors and feeling about their health and health care. (2) To evaluate health care providers' opinions regarding communication with deaf patients.
Methodology: A sample of deaf individuals aged 18 and older living in South Carolina and health providers (e.g., doctors, nurses, etc.) who work with deaf individuals in South Carolina will be included in the study. Deaf participants (n=30) will be recruited from organizations and community centers that offer supportive services to deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. In-person interviews will be conducted with the help of a paid interpreter, or via email. A 17-item questionnaire has been mailed to 57 health care providers. All deaf participants and the first 30 providers who return their surveys will receive a gift card for their time and participation.
Expected Impact: (1) Increased understanding of health communication and care barriers experienced by the deaf community, (2) Improved understanding by health providers of the importance of culturally appropriate communication with deaf individuals, and (3) Increased understanding by researchers of the deaf community’s views on preventive care and engagement in healthy behaviors.
Impact of an Evidence Based Medicine Course on Student Performance in Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPE)
Catherine McAbee, Pharmacy - Junior
Rebecca Bickley, Pharmacy - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Brandon Bookstaver, Pharmacy
Background: The South Carolina College of Pharmacy offers an Evidence Based
Medicine (EBM) course during the third professional year designed to teach a skill set required for critiquing medical literature and applying it to patient care deci-

sions. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact and influence of an EBM course on student performance during APPE.
Methods: This was a prospective study, evaluating students enrolled in the EBM course in 2007 and their APPE clinical preceptors. The primary outcome was to determine the impact of the course on APPE based on preceptor survey results comparing course enrollees’ performance to students not enrolled. Secondary outcomes included survey results from course enrollees evaluating the influence of EBM on their APPE performance. ACPE-accredited schools of pharmacy were surveyed to evaluate the current status of EBM incorporation into pharmacy curriculums.
Results: Survey response rates were 78.6% and 66.7% for students and preceptors.
The majority of preceptors (86.9%) agreed course enrollees possessed a more detailed approach in applying EBM decisions to clinical practice compared to those not enrolled. Over 90% of students agreed the skill set learned in the EBM course was most valuable to their success on APPE. Of the schools of pharmacy surveys, 67.4% believed EBM should be incorporated to a greater degree into their curriculum.
Conclusion: The skill set acquired from an EBM course contributed strongly to the students’ success on APPE performance. EBM practices and fundamentals should be a focus of incorporation into pharmacy curriculums.
Who Are the Best Teachers for Young African-American Males?
Alanda McKinney, Early Childhood Education - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Elizabeth Powers-Costello, Instruction and Teacher Education
Failures by African-American males are usually associated with environmental and societal issues affecting the family. These negative views play a major role in educating a child. The main purpose of my project is to look beyond all the factors the children face in their daily lives and examine what pedagogical techniques are most successful. Additionally, I recognize that although parent voices have often been ignored, they have much to add to conversations on the school experiences and potential success of their children. Therefore my primary research question is: “How do parents of young African-American males describe teachers they consider to be most effective for their sons?” It is the goal of this project to illuminate the voices of African-American parents’ voices in regard to teacher skills, attributes and attitudes that they view as most important for their sons’ school success. It is my objective to administer a survey to at least 40 African-American parents of young boys and to engage at least 16 parents in focus group interviews.
Plant a Row for the Hungry
Kathryn Mulligan, International Studies - Senior
Kaitlin Duffey, Chemistry - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Kevin Elliott, Philosophy
Plant a Row for the Hungry was started in 1994 by Jeff Lowenfels, then-president of the Garden Writers Association, in Anchorage, Alaska. In his magazine column he encouraged fellow gardeners to donate surplus produce to local food banks. His idea has since become a nationwide mission. In 2005, over 1.5 million pounds of produce were donated through Plant a Row, feeding 5.5 million people. Currently, Plant a
Row has more than 27,000 volunteers.
We have been working alongside Master Gardener Ryan Nevius and USC philosophy

professor Kevin Elliott to promote the Plant a Row campaign. With the help of students in Dr. Elliott’s Ethics of Food class (PHIL 101A), we have constructed three raised garden beds at the Harvest Hope Food Bank and have begun to plant spring vegetables. It has been our responsibility to coordinate students’ volunteer work in the garden and to create community awareness of the project in the hopes that individual gardeners and community groups will plant an extra row of produce to donate to local distribution centers.
By the end of the semester we hope to have secured pledges by community gardeners to plant a row of their own, as well as to have solicited and collected monetary donations from those unable to garden themselves. We will also be able to present statistics demonstrating student involvement with the project, and we intend to work with a junior in the Honors College who will continue the project as his or her own Senior Thesis project.
An Analysis of Services for Orphaned Children in Yaroslavl, Russia
Kaitlyn Pruitt, Russian - Senior
Mentor: Dr. Kara Montgomery, Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior
In January 2009, I began a 6-week, full-time, unpaid internship with Cross Cultural
Solutions in Yaroslavl, Russia; in addition, I conducted research on services available for orphaned children with the help of funding from a Magellan Grant. Cross Cultural
Solutions is an international non-profit organization that strives to provide communities with sustainable volunteer programs and encourage cultural communication and understanding. Yaroslavl has a population of just over 600,000 and is home to over 400 orphans who live in eleven state-funded orphanages or on the street. Cross
Cultural Solutions works with orphanage staff to better prepare these orphans for life in Russian society after emancipation. While in Yaroslavl, I worked in several of these orphanages and temporary shelters. My main duties included teaching English and planning educational crafts, games, and activities. Overall, I discovered that although some orphanages demonstrate an exemplary standard of care for their homeless children, others are severely lacking in both basic amenities and a motivated staff. As a Russian major at the University of South Carolina, the internship provided me the opportunity to interact with Russian adults and children in professional settings and increase my Russian communication skills. The experience also helped prepare me for service in the Peace Corps, which I am scheduled to begin in
June 2009.
Influences on School Climate
Sommers Sims, Experimental Psychology - Junior
Mentor: Dr. Leslie Bessellieu, Psychology
Students’ school performance is influenced by many factors, and their school’s social climate is one influence on their social and academic well-being. School climate is a multi-dimensional variable which includes students perceptions of opportunities for student autonomy, peer support, teacher support, and clarity and consistency of school rules (Way, Reddy and Rhodes 2007). Positive perceptions of school climate have been reliably linked to positive student outcomes. Perceptions of teacher support, in particular, seem to be a reliable predictor of academic success. However, climate seems to influence individual students differently. For example, the ways in which school climate perceptions may influence diverse student populations differ-

ently is not well understood. Therefore, this study will examine variability in students’ perceptions of school social climate based on students’ race, gender and reports of teacher support. We hypothesize that variability in overall climate perceptions will be related to students’ race and gender, but that student perceptions of teacher support will remain consistent across groups. Data was collected from 285 ninth graders at a local high school. Findings from this study can be used to inform the development of high school interventions aimed at improving social climate factors.
Student Projects Help Local Health Clinics Increase Their Capacity to Better
Serve the Hispanic Population
Anna Walton, Biological Sciences - Junior
Mentor: Prof. Lizette Laughlin, Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
South Carolina (SC) has the fastest growing Hispanic population in the United States and 74% of SC Hispanics do not have health insurance. Although about 70% of the population reports no significant change in health status, many SC Hispanics seek medical care in hospital emergency rooms for non-emergency situations. This presents a great opportunity for local, free medical clinics to reach out to this population. However, these generally smaller facilities with limited resources may find it difficult to adapt to the rapid change in patient demographics and the very different needs associated with the recently immigrated Hispanic population. In the servicelearning class, Spanish for Healthcare Professionals, students were asked to carry out a project at the Free Medical Clinic, Inc., to increase its capacity to care for Spanish speaking clients. Projects included a review of the current Spanish language patient education materials, development and organization of new patient education materials about hygiene, nutrition, diabetes, and hypertension; posting signage in
Spanish around the clinic; implementing a Spanish language answering message; and improving accessibility to referral information for patients that are not eligible to receive care at the Free Medical Clinic, Inc. During the course, a relationship was fostered with the only Hispanic clinic in the Columbia area, the Good Samaritan
Clinic. As a result of the class, current efforts are underway to provide additional support to the Good Samaritan Clinic through fundraisers, grant-writing, patient database input, and volunteer coordination carried out by student organizations, student research projects, and Spanish class projects.

Ali, Rabiah .......................................... 58
Ballard, Christopher ............................. 5
Bangs, Max ........................................ 12
Barrett, Sarah .................................... 54
Basilakos, Alexandra .......................... 54
Bates, Dwayne ................................... 41
Bickley, Rebecca ................................ 74
Bird, Jason ......................................... 73
Blasser, Brian ..................................... 68
Boutwell, Christiann .......................... 24
Braxton, Vaughn ................................ 38
Brown, Quinyana ............................... 62
Burgin, Stacey .................................... 11
Burke, Ryan ....................................... 68
Burnside, Jason .................................. 44
Bush, Brandon ................................... 41
Call, Joshua ........................................ 69
Carpenter, Katherine ......................... 48
Clamp, Alan ....................................... 51
Coffman, Zachary .............................. 34
Culbreth, Drake ................................... 5
Dalal, Puja .......................................... 73
Daniels, Charles ................................. 44
Daniels, Kevin .................................... 45
DeBruin, Derek .................................... 2
Dessow, Kharimah ............................. 51
Dickert, Huley Dru S. .......................... 34
Duck, Emilie ....................................... 15
Duffey, Kaitlin .................................... 75
Dunn, Arthur ...................................... 73
Dunn, John ......................................... 62
Dykema, Shana .................................. 58
Edwards, Courtney ............................ 18
Elliott, David ...................................... 48
Fegeas, Michelle .................................. 2
Fennell, Paige ...................................... 5
Ferguson, Emily ................................. 30
Fine, Benjamin ................................... 41
Fisher, Matthew ................................ 59
Friedell, Zach ..................................... 12
Ghessie, Amanda ............................... 69
Goodley, Edward ............................... 18
Goulart, Micheline ............................. 38
Gowan, Mollie ................................... 49
Greer, Tyler ........................................ 73
Guram, Jeet ............................... 8,11,55
Harding, Bronsen ............................... 45
Hazelbaker, Callan ............................. 55
Heidelberg, Laura .............................. 55
Hembree-Caldwell, Nicole ........... 15,24
Hendley, Audrey ............................... 35
Hipp, Sarah Kelsey ............................. 51
Hite, Everett ...................................... 42
Holcombe, Jennifer ........................... 52
Hyland, Katherine ............................. 12
James, Anthony ................................. 45
James, Lisa ........................................ 39
Jarido, Sidney .................................... 25
Jefferson, Hakeem ............................ 18
Jenkins, Jonathan .............................. 13
Johnson, Cedric ................................. 35
Johnson, Ian ...................................... 25
Joseph, Lesley ................................... 45
Juneja, Natasha ................................. 59
Kane, Dylan ....................................... 42
Kao, Elaine.................................... 73,74
Kasl, Emily ......................................... 26
Kay, William ...................................... 46
Kendrick, Preston .............................. 26
Knox, James ...................................... 27
Ko, Emily ........................................... 52
Koch, Lauren ....................................... 3
Kruzner, Savannah .............................. 3
Krygiel, Rebecca ................................ 30
Kugler, Kassandra .............................. 63
Laney, Zegilor .................................... 46
Langley, Heather ............................... 63
Lathan, Hannah ................................... 3
Lesov, Alexander ............................... 39
Lewandowski, Justin ......................... 27
Lewis, Marquis .................................. 22
Lopez, Christina ................................. 11
Love, Kourtney .................................. 52
Lyons, Gale .......................................... 6
MacDonald, Duggan .......................... 71
Mahney, Jessica .................................. 8
Mallinak, Kyle .................................... 11
Mamroth, Andrew ............................ 47
Mark, Isiasha ..................................... 56
Marston, Kathleen ....................... 26,28
Matherly, Emily ................................. 36
May, Jeremy ................................. 16,60
McAbee, Catherine ........................... 74
McClelland, Christina ........................ 69

McKerrow, Heather .......................... 36
McKinney, Alanda ............................. 75
McPhail, Jennifer .............................. 49
Moeller, Andrew ............................... 31
Moore, Amber .................................. 39
Morris, Mallory ................................... 2
Mueller, Mallory ............................... 40
Mulligan, Kathryn .............................. 75
Nazir, Azka ........................................ 28
Niu, Kathy.......................................... 60
O'Neill, Casey .................................... 56
Panjwani, Noren ............................... 22
Panvelker, Samir ............................... 11
Paolini, Stephanie ............................. 31
Patel, Samir ....................................... 40
Pellerano, Rocio ................................ 38
Pitts, Holley ....................................... 64
Pozdol, Melanie .................................. 3
Pruitt, Kaitlyn .................................... 76
Pulliam, Sarah ................................... 29
Quaye, Afotey ................................... 64
Quick, Ashleigh ................................. 31
Rabun, Courtney ............................... 39
Refvem, Sarah ................................... 65
Rice, Shayron .................................... 19
Ridgeway, Rebecca ........................... 65
Robers, Megan .................................. 70
Roberts, Travis .................................. 70
Ruiz, Fiorela ....................................... 57
Schwark, Andrew ......................... 19,20
Shealy, Kayce .................................... 50
Sheehan, Jewel ................................. 37
Shuler, Toby ........................................ 9
Shuman, Adam .................................. 71
Sims, Sommers .................................. 76
Smith, Meredith ................................ 52
Smith, Thomas .................................. 66
Spears, William ................................. 61
Spencer, Will ..................................... 32
Srivastava, Apoorva .......................... 37
Stone, Jared ...................................... 20
Tangen, Roxy ..................................... 11
Thompson, Jenny .............................. 53
Thompson, Ruthellen ........................ 66
Tilden, Mary ........................................ 3
Timko, Elizabeth ................................ 43
Tucker, Rodrick ................................. 47
Turner, Erin ....................................... 71
Varadarajan, Roopa .......................... 33
Vinci, Kimberly .................................... 6
Walton, Anna ................................. 9,77
Weed, Patti ....................................... 10
Weinberg, Daniel .............................. 33
Wetendorf, Margeaux ...................... 10
White, Alicia ........................................ 7
Williams, Theresa .............................. 16
Williamson, Kendall .......................... 13
Wolfe, Justin ..................................... 17
Worley, Erin ...................................... 29
Wroten, Alex ..................................... 22
Yehl, Jennifer..................................... 67
Zhang, Chenwei ................................. 72
Zhao, Yujing....................................... 53