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Table of Contents Letter From the Editor 004 Articles Biological and Physical Interactions at Local Ocean Scales: Coupled Systems, Victoria Boatwright, Baylor Fox Kemper, PhD. 005 Determinants of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in the United States: Differences in Risk Factor and Genetic Susceptibility by Race/Ethnicity, Mehwish Rafique, Dana Kristjansson, PhD. 018 The Preventative and Healing Properties of Performing Arts in Female Genital Mutilation, Alyssa Kardos 034 Policy Brief: Comparison and Recommendations for State COVID-19 Responses of New Mexico and Utah, Ariyand Aminpour 063 Interplay of Nicotine and Social Stress Mediate Dopaminergic Neuron Firing in the Ventral Tegmental Area —Nucleus Accumbens Pathway, Contributing to Stress and Depressive Mood Disorders, Danya Adams, Nicholas Kaliss, Alexander Missner, Mary Meg Valentine 070 Evaluating the Efficacy of Targeted Inhibitor Therapeutics for Sonic Hedgehog Medulloblastoma: Significant Milestones and Current Limitations, Maria Victoria Dias, Bridgitte Isom, Katherine Poole, Sofia Triplett, Nadia Sadanandan 084 Refractory Epilepsy: Mechanisms of Pharmacoresistance, Ariel Le, Mackenzie Thomas, Brady Stallman, Kathryn Meadows, Vidya Bhargava 099 About the Authors 111 Acknowledgements 114 Letter From the Editor t is with great honor that we welcome you to the inaugural issue of Georgetown Scientific Research Journal. Since the journal’s founding in the fall of 2020, our mission has been to provide a professional, open-access platform for student researchers to publish their work in order to celebrate the scientific accomplishments of Ithe Georgetown student body. We aim to provide a space for researchers to learn from each other, collaborate with one another, and reach a broader audience. Our semesterly issues, along with weekly student highlights, biweekly faculty highlights, and research-oriented events, strive to encourage members of the Georgetown community to pursue and explore research both in and outside of the classroom. We would like to acknowledge that the COVID-19 pandemic has been an incredibly difficult challenge for people all over the world. Scientists and non-scientists alike have had to adjust to the virtual environment, overcome potential changes in employment status and housing, and cope with the tragic death of many of our loved ones. The dedication and perseverance of our authors and editors have been a true testament to their passion, character, and resilience. These authors have shown that even during this unprecedented global emergency, while physically isolated, we can come together and collaborate through science. These articles underwent an extensive and rigorous double-blind editorial process, including edits from our student editorial board, our faculty advisory board, and Duke Vertices editors who served as our outside-of-institution review board. We hope that you find this issue full of research papers that pique your interest and broaden the breadth of your scientific knowledge. In this issue, you will find authors both from the undergraduate and graduate levels presenting research on various topics ranging from a discussion of the healing properties of performing arts to determinants of cancer. Please join us in commending the work and contributions of these authors. Sincerely, Danya A. Adams Nesreen Shahrour Editor-in-Chief Executive Editor 4 GEORGETOWN SCIENTIFIC Volume One RESEARCH JOURNAL Edition One February 2021 Biological and Physical Interactions at Local Ocean Scales: Coupled Systems Victoria Boatwright, Baylor Fox Kemper, PhD. 5 Georgetown Scientific Research Journal https://doi.org/10.48091/DNPR7287 Biological and Physical Interactions at Local Ocean Scales: Coupled Systems Victoria Boatwright1 and Baylor Fox-Kemper2 1 Department of Physics, Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA 2 Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence RI, USA E-mail: [email protected] Abstract Physical and biogeochemical processes that influence primary production set Earth’s carbon and heat budgets. While these processes have long been the focus of research, high resolution models to investigate local phenomena have only recently been developed, and two-way coupling between oceanic physics and biology is only recently getting attention due to computational power. With these new developments, it is possible to study the mechanisms through which these processes interact at both global and regional scales to shape Earth’s climate, which is the goal of this paper. This paper introduces oceanic physical phenomena at submesoscales to global scales – like mixed layer depth and turbulent structures – and the relationship of smaller scale events with biological factors. It discusses the implications of these relationships for primary production. After an introductory explanation of turbulence, primarily in the form of eddies and fronts, and the effects of internal instability and surface forcing, this paper emphasizes the contributions of those phenomena (turbulence, internal instability, and surface forcing) to vertical velocities and the influence of vertical transport on biology. Next, it introduces biogeochemical feedbacks, concerning both large scale population dynamics and increased absorption of radiation at the submesoscale, to consider their impacts on physical dynamics and regional climates. Finally, the paper compiles equations of irradiance and variables of significance, suggesting terms that could produce meaningful responses to variations in phytoplankton populations. The paper highlights the importance of understanding physical-biogeochemical relationships and suggests directions for future research, particularly areas related to global warming or abrupt climate change. Keywords: turbulence, primary production, phytoplankton, submesoscale 1. Introduction ecosystems. Considering how marine primary Oceans occupy 70% of the Earth’s surface, production (the base of the food chain, organisms accounting for the sequestration of 48% of carbon that synthesize organic compounds from carbon emissions, and its surface dwellers are responsible dioxide) accounts for twice the amount of carbon for roughly half of the atmospheric oxygen1. Marine fixation performed by the open ocean (90% of the primary producers are an integral component of the ocean surface), it is important to understand the global carbon cycle, oxygen production, and marine factors promoting the growth and abundance of 6 Georgetown Scientific Research Journal https://doi.org/10.48091/DNPR7287 marine producers2. The key marine primary phenomena, identifying gaps in knowledge and producers are phytoplankton, which include a range potential consequences. of species with various characteristics, such as surface floaters, neutrally buoyant species, species 2. Methods dependent on iron for nitrogen fixing, and those This review compiles studies that measure mixed 3 that are N2-fixing . While physical phenomena in layer depths, phytoplankton concentrations, the ocean are known to provide nutrients, light, and mesoscale to submesoscale phenomena, ocean heat to plankton populations, the relationship temperatures, and other physical events. between these physical phenomena and the Observational data in this paper are derived from abundance of marine life is still uncertain for two several methods, including long-term hydrographic reasons. First, many of the interactions that impact time-series, satellite imaging showing ocean color biological abundance and spatial variability occur on and sea surface height, in-situ measurements by the mesoscale (roughly 100km or less) or even the Argo floats or ship-based measurements, and ocean submesoscale (often characterized as 0.1-10km reanalysis combining historical and computational scale), depths at which resolution is currently an models with observations. Ocean color indicates insurmountable computational cost to resolve, levels of chlorophyll-a, which is a proxy especially in two-way coupling schemes4. Second, measurement for phytoplankton concentrations. the field is just beginning to understand the coupled Sea surface height is a proxy for eddies in the ocean, feedback mechanisms of biogeochemical influences as cyclonic eddies tend to decrease surface height on physics. Coupled schemes are used in while anticyclonic eddies increase surface height. computational models to resolve the complex Models are used to determine variables of interactions between boundaries or systems; for importance and predict future outcomes. This paper example, ocean-atmosphere coupling was one of the uses models across scales: local scales though the first cases of relating two previously independent Large Eddy Simulation (LES), regional scales systems through heat flows, wind stress, and surface though the General Ocean Turbulence Model exchanges of molecules like carbon and oxygen5. In (GOTM) and Regional Ocean Modelling System this paper, we demonstrate coupling between ocean (ROMS), and global scales though the Community physics (e.g. turbulence) and marine Earth System Model (CESM) and MIT’s General biogeochemistry (e.g. phytoplankton populations), Circulation Model (MITgcm). which can be one-way (physics impacting biology, the more common approach to ocean models today) 3. Findings or two-way (physics impacts biology and biology All complex dynamics discussed subsequently influences physics). In doing so, this paper seeks to depend first on the fluid dynamics of the world’s explain various biogeochemical-biological-physical