Student Research Poster Symposium April 8, 2011 Villanova University Sigma Xi Research Poster Symposium, April 8, 2011 2 Proceedings of the 2011 Student Research Symposium April 8, 2011 Villanova Room Villanova University Villanova, PA 19085 USA Supported by: The Villanova Chapter of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society Sigma Xi Research Poster Symposium, April 8, 2011 This volume is also available electronically on the Sigma Xi chapter’s website, http://www.csc.villanova.edu/~sigmaxi/ Sigma Xi Research Poster Symposium, April 8, 2011 4 Welcome from the Poster Symposium Organizers Welcome to the 2010 Villanova University Sigma Xi’s Student Research Poster Symposium! Sigma Xi is the international honor society for research scientists and engineers. The Villanova chapter of Sigma Xi is proud to sponsor this poster symposium event to recognize and celebrate the research work accomplished by our students, and to give students an opportunity to further develop their skills in communicating those accomplishments. This book contains abstracts of 56 contributed posters. Outstanding posters will be recognized in the form of poster awards. Many thanks to all students who contributed to this symposium. We gratefully acknowledge the dedicated poster judges who committed to evaluating the research posters and providing written feedback at the end of the symposium. Special thanks for their time and commitment to promoting research at Villanova University! Congratulations to all! Mirela Damian Sigma Xi Chapter President Anil Bamezai Sigma Xi Chapter President-Elect Sridhar Santhanam Sigma Xi Chapter Secretary-Treasurer Sigma Xi Research Poster Symposium, April 8, 2011 Table of Contents Astronomy and Astrophysics (5) Ultraviolet Spectral Synthesis of HgMn Stars. Ronald BallouzUGand Edward Fitzpatrick _______1 Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopy of Three Long Period Nova-Like Variables. Alexandra C. BisolUG and Edward M. Sion _______2 A Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Analysis of the Old Nova Q Cygni. Craig P. KolobowUG and Edward M. Sion _______3 Methanol and Methanol in Water: Exploring the Spectra. Janine A MyszkaUG, Rachel M Mastrapa and Ashley S CurryUG _______4 Evidence for the Shrinking Orbit of the 2.2-day Transiting Hot Jupiter Exoplanet HD 189733b. Thomas SantapagaUG, Edward Guinan, Ronald BallouzUG , Scott Engle and Laurence DeWarf _______5 Biochemistry (4) Expression, Purification, and Characterization of a Putative Cyclooxygenase from Nostoc punctiforme. Kevin J. BackusUG, Huasong Tang UG and Barry S. Selinsky ______6 Expression, Purification, and Characterization of a Putative Cyclooxygenase from Nostoc punctiforme. Kasey JohnsonUG, Victoria Pisciella UG and Barry S. Selinsky______7 Sequence Analysis of Mouse Mammalian Tumor Virus Integration Site. Chong Wai TioUG and Janice Knepper ______8 Determining the Regulatory Sequence of the PHO1 Promoter in Phosphate Starvation. Tom RuffinoUG and Dennis Wykoff ______9 Sigma Xi Research Poster Symposium, April 8, 2011 1 Biology (16) The Effects of Tmem170 Expression on Mouse Mammary Cell and Tumor Growth. Lauren AcostaUG and Janice E. Knepper ______10 The Role of avUCP in Short-term and Long-term Cold Acclimation of Zebra Finches (Taeniopygia guttata). Caitlin ArmstrongUG and John Olson ______11 Close encounters of the unkind: the role of male aggression in reproductive isolation between sympatric damselflies. Thomas CastleUG and Vikram Iyengar ______12 Sca-1/Ly-6A is involved in sex-specific murine B lymphocyte development. Sean DeWolfUG and Anil Bamezai ______13 The Effects of Nitrogen Addition and Depletion on Invasive Species and Herbivory. Kathryn DevineUG and Samantha Chapman ______14 Ontogenetic growth and development of pectoralis muscle in precocial Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica) . Courtney FoxUG and John Olson ______15 The role of Brd2 in the control of proliferation during zebrafish development. Eliza FradkinUG and Angela DiBenedetto ______16 The effect of zygotic Brd2 knockdown on the susceptibility to epileptic behavior in a zebrafish (Danio rerio) seizure model. Hayley HanbyUG and Angela DiBenedetto ______17 Determining the role of IP7 in the phosphate signal transduction pathway in S. Pombe. Charles P. HannonUG, Dennis Wykoff and Christine Kerwin ______18 Observing the Rate of Carbon Dioxide Concentration on Sphagnum fuscum. Michelle HarrisUG, Kelman Wieder, Markus N. Thormann and Kimberli D. Scott ______19 Sigma Xi Research Poster Symposium, April 8, 2011 2 The Effects of Herbivory and Microarthropods on American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) Leaf Litter. Antonio PullanoUG and Samantha Chapman ______20 Effect of diet and migration on ketone body metabolism in European starlings. Agnes ReschkeUG and John Olson ______21 Malaria Transmission in Regards to Climate Change. Christina RileyUG and John Olson ______22 An analysis of the potential effects of the phytoestrogen genistein as an endocrine disruptor in reproductive tissues in the mouse. Kelly ThomasUG and Louise Russo ______23 DNA Binding Activities of the Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium YdcI Protein. Antonio Nathan VillamorUG and James Wilson ______24 Song repertoire composition and structure in Carolina chickadees (Poecile carolinensis): implications for mate choice within hybridizing populations. Karen E. ZusiUG and Robert L. Curry ______25 Civil & Environmental Engineering (7) Section Properties of the Girder-Slab System: Phase II – Component Testing. Matthew J. BandeltG, Shawn P. Gross, David W. Dinehart and Joseph Robert Yost ______26 Tensile Capacity of Grouped Anchors with Overlapping Failure Areas. Adam BeckmannG, David W. Dinehart, Shawn P. Gross and Peter Carrato ______27 Structural and Material Behavior of Alkali Activated Fly Ash Concrete. Stephen A. ErnstG, Michael SaleraG, Joseph Robert Yost and Aleksandra Radlinska ______28 Ductile Behavior of Open Web Steel Joists: Phase III. Timothy HarringtonG, Joseph Robert Yost, David W. Dinehart and Shawn P. Gross ______29 Sigma Xi Research Poster Symposium, April 8, 2011 3 Material Properties of Adobe Blocks Made with Recycled Paper. Shane B. MoranG, Aleksandra Radlinska and Jonathan S. Price __30 Utilizing Arching Action in Concrete Decks for more Economical Bridge Design. Christopher RaponeG, David W. Dinehart and Shawn Gross ______31 Material Properties of Alkali Activated Fly Ash Concrete. Michael SaleraG, Aleksandra Radlinska, Joseph Robert Yost and Stephen ErnstG ______32 Computer Science (10) Tier 1 Help Desk Reporting System. Nathan AcheyUG and Barbara Zimmerman ______33 Communication Graphs for Wireless Networks. Jenny LiangUG, Lauren McDermottUG, Kristin RaudonisG and Mirela Damian ______34 Computing Ensemble. Ravindra Raju KolahalamG, Kiran BhaskarReddy and Lillian Cassel ______35 Undirected Connectivity of Sparse Yao Graphs. Abhaykumar KumbharG and Mirela Damian ______36 Modeling and Simulation of a Re-entrant Manufacturing System Using Color Petri Nets. Carmen NigroUG and Vijay Gehlot ______37 New Jersey State Police Gang Survey Project. Carmen NigroUG, Mark SetzerUG, Allison CohenUG, Anthony DovelleUG and Cory KnoblerUG ______38 Yao Graphs Span Theta Graphs. Kristin RaudonisG and Mirela Damian ______39 An Ontology of all of Computing: An Update on Challenges and Approaches. Narsimha Sandeep SreerambhatlaG, Lillian Cassel and Siva Kumar InguvaG ______40 Sigma Xi Research Poster Symposium, April 8, 2011 4 The Manchester Mummy Project Database. SaiPhaneendra VadapalliG , Sukeerthi ShagaG, PavitraKaveri RamnathG, Michael Zimmerman and Barbara Zimmerman ______41 Public Speaking Engagement Automation. Juan C. VegaUG and Barbara Zimmerman ______42 Electrical and Computer Engineering (2) Underwater Acoustic Channel Estimation using Least Squares Method. Nagarjun ChakilamG and Bijan G. Mobasseri ______43 Multipath Time of Arrival Estimation in an Underwater Acoustic Channel. Shruthi SankepellyG and Bijan G. Mobasseri ______44 Mechanical Engineering (4) Cardiovascular Modeling and Diagnosis. Ali JalaliUG, C. Nataraj, Vyom Jain and G.F. Jones ______45 A Study of EEG Signals Using FFT and Wavelet Analysis. Parham GhorbanianG and Hashem Ashrafiuon ______46 Molecular Dynamics Predictions of Thermal Conductivity in Graphene for Phase Change Energy Storage Applications. Masoud H KhademG and Aaron Wemhoff ______47 Autonomous Vessel Trajectory Tracking Experiments in High Sea States. Farshad MahiniG, Hashem Ashrafiuon, Kevin BurkeUG and Leonard DiWilliams ______48 Physics (1) Mössbauer Spectroscopy and its Application to Iron Coordination Compounds of Biological Relevance. Heather PetrocciaUG, Georgia Papaefthymiou, Arthur J. Viescas and Todd C. Harrop ______49 Sigma Xi Research Poster Symposium, April 8, 2011 5 Sociology & Criminal Justice (7) Optimal Marital Happiness. Michael D'antonioUG, Amanda HostlerUG, Garrett ScanlonUG and Brian Jones ______50 Are the 2008 Farm Bill Spending Allocations Promoting the USDA’s Commitment to Develop Sustainable Agriculture? Alexandra FrantzUG and Jennifer K. Gilbert Jenkins ______51 Race and Income Effects of Murder Rates in United States Counties. Chelsea MoylanUG, Adriana ParenteUG and Brian Jones ______52 Does Race Affect Social Trust? Claire MulhernUG, Warren HoweUG and Brian Jones ______53 Racial Differences in Family Formation Patterns. Amanda NymanUG, Kelly MorrisseyUG and Brian Jones ______54 The Effects of Church Attendance on Marital Happiness. Ashley ThompsonUG, Lauren NolinUG, Brittany MayUG and Brian Jones ______55 Stay-at-Home Parenting is not as Effective as Previously Thought. Rebecca TucciUG, Zach LeBlancUG