May 3, 2024 | Digital Showcase | Humboldt Library
All Presenters & Abstracts
Community Connection: Becoming a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) and the Relation to Political Science
Presentation Year: 2018
This project highlights my experience volunteering with CASA of Humboldt and how it relates to a political science degree. Often CASA is marketed to the child development and social work majors; however, I will demonstrate how it is equally connected to political science majors. An internship with CASA applies several aspects of political science including: social advocacy and understanding the judicial system. CASA’s gain extensive legal experience through writing court reports, collaborating with attorneys, learning child welfare laws, and advocating in court. My ultimate hope is that my project will spark your interest in becoming an advocate, so you can make a difference for a child!
Community Needs Assessment for the Bear River Band of Rhonerville Rancheria
Presentation Year: 2018
My project is a community needs assessment for the Bear River Band of Rhonerville Rancheria, who are my community partners. I am working with Liana Whiteley, Director of Social Services. This needs assessment is needed to effectively assess and address the educational needs of the youth in their community. It is also a way to assess how the local school districts can better support the education of the tribes youth, their families, and their community. With this needs assessment, I hope to be able to capture the necessary information to demonstrate Bear River Rancheria’s need for an educational system that is supportive and inclusive of their community and culture.
Comparative Analysis of Planktonic Productivity in Trinidad Bay and Nearshore Environments in Northern California During the 2017 Upwelling Season
Presentation Year: 2018
This study investigated how biological productivity in the shallow waters of Trinidad Bay, located adjacent to Trinidad Head, differed from the productivity in exposed nearshore environments before and after the onset of seasonal upwelling in 2017. Biological and hydrographic measurements were collected prior to the onset of seasonal upwelling (March) as well as after (May and June) to determine if the associated hydrodynamics affected the spatial distribution of planktonic productivity. Measurements suggest that Trinidad Bay exhibited enhanced secondary productivity relative to nearby exposed environments during relaxation events following strong upwelling periods.
Construction of Flow Injection System to Detect and Analyze Zinc Using Fluorescent Methods
Presentation Year: 2018
Zinc is a metal that is found in trace amounts in seawater and acts as a micronutrient to marine phytoplankton. To detect and quantify trace amounts of zinc, a flow injection (FI) system was constructed using a flow-through fluorescence detector. The FI system was interfaced with a LabVIEW program which allows for the signals to be analyzed and quantifies time resolved peaks. Zinc, when bound to the organic ligand p-tosyl-8-aminoquinoline (p-taq), fluoresces when exposed to an excitation wavelength of 377 nm and emits light at 495 nm. The fully functioning FI system will be used in the analysis of zinc in Humboldt Bay and coastal waters.
Construction of Niemann Pick Disease Type C1 HEK293 Cell Model Utilizing CRISPR Gene Editing
Presentation Year: 2018
Niemann Pick Disease Type C1 (NPC1) is a rare lysosomal storage disorder that affects 1:150,000 people. The disease is characterized by cholesterol accumulation within lysosomes, as well as clinical cognitive decline and neurodegeneration. These symptoms can be attributed to a mutation in the NPC1 gene that leads to the interruption of the intracellular cholesterol transport. Using CRISPR Cas9 technology, the ability to make a cellular model with inducible CRISPR gene regulation can give researchers considerable insight into the cellular pathology of Niemann Pick Disease Type C1 as well as the ability to apply targeted drug therapy and potentially lead to drug discovery.
Continuum of Violence Research Project
Presentation Year: 2018
This project explores the spatial distribution of automobile title lenders across four metropolitan areas. Automobile title loans are specific form of alternative finance that targets individuals who do not have access to traditional forms of credit. Our research shows that the spatial distributions of these alternative financial service providers concentrate in lower income neighborhoods where residents tend to be poorer, less educated, and less white. Thus, there are clear class and racial dimensions to the marketing, spatial presence, and consumption of these alternative loan products.
Correlations between the X-ray and UV spectrum in PG1126
Presentation Year: 2018
PG 1126-041 is a closeby luminous active galactic nuclei (AGN) with a low redshift that displays complex and variable UV and X-ray absorption, which identifies winds expelled from the black hole environment. The data in this paper, collected by the Hubble Space Telescope, was normalized by polynomial fits applied using our own developed Python code. We analyzed the absorption by several ions (OVI, PV, NV, SiIV, CIV and the Lyman series) at 4 different epochs. Our goal is to study a potential correlation between the X-ray and UV absorption to understand their driving mechanism. Discoveries in this project will be compared to AGN much farther than the relatively close PG 1126-041.
Creating Inclusive Outdoor Spaces
Presentation Year: 2018
My poster outlines the work I have put in, as an Environmental Studies capstone student, to create an educational outdoor program that is more inclusive for the Latinx community through the Wildlands Conservancy. I decided to work on this project because as a Mexicana I have struggled with being in enviromental spaces and feeling like I don't belong there. Although this program will be implemented on the local level it will still help to mitigate the problem that is a predominantly white Environmentalist Movement. If through this I am able to empower at least one Latinx student to feel like they belong in the Environmental Movement, then I will consider it a success.
CRISPR-Induced Overexpression of Huntingtin as a Cellular Model of Huntington's Disease
Presentation Year: 2018
Huntington’s disease (HD) is associated with CAG trinucleotide repeats in the HTT gene, which encodes the huntingtin protein. Our central hypothesis is that overexpression of normal huntingtin, with the eventual inhibition of cells’ autophagy pathway or other route of clearance, will lead to a disease-like state. In order to address this hypothesis, we are developing a novel human cell model that will allow us to assess how excess huntingtin is managed and/or cleared by cells, and precisely how cell death occurs upon buildup of huntingtin protein. Using this model as a starting point, it is possible to study the response of human cells to huntingtin overexpression.
Cultivating Minds Through Food and Appropriate Technology
Presentation Year: 2018
In conjunction with the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology(AT), for my service learning project, I sought to share intersectional knowledge with the HSU community and beyond of self-resiliency, while being mindful of one’s impact upon the earth through appropriate technology and food sovereignty. Students and community members worked together to construct a communal garden that included AT construction techniques and promoted ecologically sound sustainable food systems that are beneficial to the entire community. It was my goal to empower individuals to become agents of change within our global community and invoke values that promoted the well being of the environment and people.
Deconstructing political morale: The development of the political demoralization scale (PDS)
Presentation Year: 2018
Minimal research combines the dimensions of political morale to develop a scale that broadly measures political demoralization. Political demoralization can be described as experienced discontentment and distress within the current political system, wherein some people may feel powerless to enact change. (Clark & Kissane, 2002). The current study is the development of a scale of political demoralization, which tests its relationship between political hopelessness, political efficacy and social desirability. Analyses of the PDS demonstrate the scale's reliability and validity.
Del Norte County: A Look at Educational Achievement
Presentation Year: 2018
Rural communities like Del Norte County face additional challenges in obtaining a quality education compared with urban areas. According to the Rural Families Data Center, this achievement gap is due to excessive absence and truancy, low socioeconomic status, poverty, and high school dropout rates. Archival data from the last ten years was obtained from the CDE DataQuest website and analyzed to inform a report created by the California Center for Rural Policy for dissemination throughout the community. Generally test scores were lower for Del Norte and low-income students. These results show that more attention must be paid to education systems in rural communities to improve outcomes.
Designing a Measure of Academic Help Seeking
Presentation Year: 2018
Existing studies on academic help seeking suggest that students only seek help if they are already academically confident. To examine these findings, The Humboldt Academic Help Seeking Scale (HAHSS) was developed in order to assess student's academic help seeking motivations and behaviors. The HAHSS was found to be reliable, and provided evidence for validity with criterion, convergent, and discriminant measures. It was also found that high scores on the HAHSS were significantly correlated with higher grade point averages. Real-world applications are discussed, such as implementing more effective online help programs in order to aid students intimidated by seeking in-person help.
Detection of Trace Metals in Seawater: The Importance of UV-Oxidation
Presentation Year: 2018
According to oceanographic research, trace metals are essential in
life of marine phytoplankton, since many trace metals are micronutrients
that are essential for biological processes. However, due
to extremely low concentrations of trace metals in seawater, it is
difficult to measure their concentrations; therefore, specific
analysis methods must be performed in order to determine the
concentrations of trace metals. Preliminary data on the effectiveness of UV irradiation to the recovery and analysis of cobalt and copper will be presented.
Developing a Database to Understand Cannabis Compliance and Quantifying California's Certified Testing Labs Preliminary Results
Presentation Year: 2018
The purpose of this research was to develop an understanding of the cannabis testing regulations in the state of California. Research was conducted identifying all Certified Cannabis Testing Labs currently doing product tests. We hoped to understand what these labs were discovering in their product safety tests. Because this was the first year of regulated certification and testing the research conducted was meant to create a baseline standard from which we can judge future years' progress against. This research will also hopefully be able to be utilized by growers in the future to find out which contaminants are most common and thus identify suitable alternatives to increase compliance.
Development and Psychometric Properties of the Mobile Device Dependency Scale
Presentation Year: 2018
Communication through cell phones is increasingly prevalent in our society and places individuals at risk of developing a mobile device dependency (Salehan, & Negahban, 2013). The purpose of this study is to develop a measure of psychological and social dependence on mobile communication. Also, this research aims to provide reliability and validity of the Mobile Device Dependency Scale (MDDS). Participants completed four self-report surveys that showed high reliability and validity of the MDDS. This scale may provide valuable information about dependency in regard to technological advancements and the societal pressures associated with device usage.
Digitizing Stratigraphic Maps
Presentation Year: 2018
This project is aimed at digitizing hand-drawn stratigraphic maps of excavations from the Dos Hombres to Gran Cacao (DH2GC) archaeological project in northwestern Belize. Archaeological illustration is a form of technical illustration that graphically records material derived from an archaeological context. Illustration is a powerful medium for disseminating knowledge, as it demonstrates the excavation process and captures history as it is unearthed. We use Adobe Illustrator CS3 software for the digitization process. Finished maps are used in the annual report for the Institute of Archaeology (IoA) in Belize.
Does Juvenile Life History Affect the Marine Survival Rate of Coho Salmon?
Presentation Year: 2018
I created a full life cycle model for Coho Salmon in Freshwater Creek in an effort to estimate separate overwinter and marine survival rates for two distinct juvenile life history strategies.
Dymaxion Projection
Presentation Year: 2018
An exploration of various spatial phenomena using the Dymaxion Projection (aka Fuller Projection).
Effects of Lethal Giant Larvae 1 on Murine Neural Progenitor Cell Differentiation
Presentation Year: 2018
Using Immunocytochemistry to analyze the expression of differentiation markers in mouse neural progenitor cells. Comparisons are made between wild type cells and Lgl -/- cells to view differences in their differentiation potential and analyze some of the potential impacts of the Lgl1 gene or it’s absence.