Volume IX, 2015 University of California, Riverside Undergraduate Research Journal Sabrina Bailey Khirin Bunker Nicole De Silva Deanne Elliot Shane Eum Sarah Folk Mira Ghabour Amanda Haraksin Lorraine Horwitz Kenneth Hsu Allison Ibarra Zining Ji Sanychen Muk Clare O’Brien Enid Ocegueda Nicole Perez Maria D. Ramirez Loyola Connor Richards Chirawat Sanpakit Brandon Tran Jacqueline Wong University of California, Riverside Undergraduate Research Journal Table of Contents Controlled Synthesis for Silver Nanowires for Plasmonic Nanofocusing Probe Sabrina Bailey ......................................................................... 5 Old and New Governmental-Criminal Relationships in Mexico Khirin Bunker ........................................................................ 11 “A Princely Expenditure of Time”: The Riverside Polo Club as Conspicuous Leisure Nicole De Silva ....................................................................... 17 “All people think us mad”: Expression, Protest, and Healing in the Poetry of The Hydra at Craiglockhart War Hospital Deanne Elliot. 25 Nanoliposomal Nitroglycerin Exhibits Potent Anti-inflammatory Effects and Ameliorates Adverse Effects Associated with High-dose Nitroglycerin Shane Eum ........................................................................... 31 Linear and Cyclic Constructions of Time in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Sarah Folk ........................................................................... 39 Body Perceptions and Naturalness Mira Ghabour ........................................................................ 47 Variable Response of Native Species to Nitrogen and Soil Inoculum from Native and Invasive Species Amanda Haraksin ..................................................................... 55 Effects of Parental Status on Male Body Composition and Diet Preference in the Biparental California Mouse Lorraine Horwitz ...................................................................... 61 Group Sequential Clinical Trials for Gamma Distribution Kenneth Hsu ......................................................................... 67 Effects of Housing at Differential Temperatures on Energetics and Performance in the California Mice Allison Ibarra ......................................................................... 73 UCR Parking Policy Research Zining Ji ............................................................................. 79 Regulation of Complement Activation Through Factor D Inhibition: A Drug Discovery Study Sanychen Muk. 85 Assessing Linguistic and Cultural Literacy among Saudi Arabian Students Clare O’Brien ............................................................................91 Women and the United States Food Administration Enid Ocegueda ........................................................................ 97 University Students’ Attitudes and Behaviors Towards Cognitive Enhancement Drugs Nicole J. Perez ...................................................................... 103 The Role of Religiosity and Spirituality in Waiting Experiences Maria D. Ramirez Loyola .............................................................. 109 Search for Gluino-Mediated Pair Production of Higgsinos in pp Collisions at 13 TeV in the CMS Detector Connor Richards ..................................................................... 115 Laboratory Fire Behavior Measurements of Chaparral Crown Fire Chirawat Sanpakit .................................................................... 123 Pronoun Usage by Doctors and Patients in Surgical Consultations Brandon Tran ....................................................................... 131 From the Tomb to the Womb: Music as a Transgenerational Phantom in Chang’s Hunger Jacqueline Wong .................................................................... 137 Copyright © 2015 by the Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. No part of the UCR Undergraduate Research Journal, Volume IX (June 2015) may be reprinted, reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means without consent of the publisher. U C R U NDE R G R AD U ATE R ESEA rc H J O ur NAL 1 From the Administration “Congratulations to all of the authors of the Ninth Annual UCR Undergraduate Research Journal. It is a great pleasure to present the largest and most diverse journal to date, with representation from all four colleges. We value the dedication and commitment to undergraduate research and creative activity shown through the diligent work of the student authors, their faculty mentors, the Student Editorial Board and the Faculty Advisory Board.” — STUDENT EDITORIAL BOARD Across the sciences, social sciences and humanities, the opportunity to participate in undergraduate research and creative activities can open magical new worlds for students at the University of California, Riverside. These students have the chance to explore new concepts, investigate complex questions and advance and test their own hunches as they learn the rigor of the scientific method, the creativity of experimental design, the joy of scholarly research and personal expression, and the discipline and hard work of writing. We are proud that by the time they graduate, more than 50 percent of UC Riverside undergraduates will have participated in faculty-mentored research or creative projects. It is a pleasure to present this year’s Undergraduate Research Journal, which showcases the academic discoveries and creative endeavors of some of our talented undergraduates. I invite you to share the journeys they detail here. I know you will be inspired, as I am, by the quality of the work they have achieved. Kim A. Wilcox Chancellor You hold in your hands the Ninth Annual UC Riverside Undergraduate Research Journal. It provides a selective, peer-reviewed venue featuring the very best faculty-mentored undergraduate research and scholarship on our campus. The peer-review process has been very ably led by our Student Editorial Board, with advice as needed from the Faculty Advisory Board. I would like to thank Gladis Herrera- Berkowitz, Director of Student Success Programs, for able and timely organizational work that helped to bring this inspiring journal to fruition. Thanks also to Sheena Thrush, who assisted in this work. I want to congratulate the young scholars whose work appears here in. The process of discovery can be filled with excitement but also with frustration, as we search for the golden threads that tie together the ideas we have been pursuing and the findings that have emerged from our work. During this process, we travel a path that no one has been on before. The journal article is the culmination of that process—a formal presentation to our community of peers and mentors of what we found on that journey. Place this volume on your bookshelf. Pull it down occasionally from the shelf to re-read and to remind yourself of the journey you traveled. I wish you many more such journeys in the future. Best regards, Steven G. Brint Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Professor of Sociology 2 U C R U NDE R G R AD U ATE R ESEA rc H J O ur NAL UCR Undergraduate Research Journal Student Editorial Board Faculty Advisory Board Dimitrios Morikis Bioengineering (Chair) Curt Burgess Psychology Monica Carson Biomedical Sciences Andrea Denny-Brown English William Grover Bioengineering George Haggerty English Editor-In-Chief: Associate Editor: Associate Editor: Morris Maduro Biology (On sabbatical leave) Julianne Rolf Ivan Copado Krystal Vasquez Ilhem Messaoudi Biomedical Sciences Environmental Creative Writing Chemistry Engineering Len Mueller Chemistry Carolyn Murray Psychology Members: Vorris Nunley English Mayra Cortez Bioengineering Robert Parker Sociology Michael Deo Bioengineering Marko Princevac Mechanical Engineering Vi-Khoi Duong Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology Rebekah Richert Psychology Bianca Freeman Political Science, Middle East and Islamic Studies Conrad Rudolph History of Art Lauren Green Anthropology Wendy Saltzman Biology Joel Herrera Sociology and Latin American Studies Dana Simmons History Andrew Holyfield Creative Writing Katharine Sweeny Psychology Francisco Ilabaca Economics Georgia Warnke Political Science Melissa Mikail Philosophy/Law and Society Nicole Perez Psychology Executive Committee for Undergraduate Research Geoffrey Pronovost Biochemistry Steven Brint, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Boi Quach Bioengineering Committee Chair Claire Tran Bioengineering Peter Graham, Associate Dean, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Ad Hoc SEB Members Kazi Mamun, Assistant Dean, School of Business Administration Sarah Allec Mathematics Michael McKibben, Divisional Dean, College of Natural and Jessica Baker History Agricultural Sciences Alexis Dennis English Marcelo Guardado English Chinya Ravishankar, Associate Dean, Bourns College of Engineering Colette King English Gloria Kyallo Political Science/International Affairs Shirley Leanos Political Science Anagha Madgulkar English Mary Michael Sociology/Law and Society Kris Moisa Political Science/International Affairs Keely Smith Languages and Literatures/Languages Editorial Team: Gladis Herrera-Berkowitz Director of Student Success Programs, Undergraduate Education Nancy Kameya Program Assistant, Student Success Programs, Undergraduate Education Sheena Thrush Program Assistant, Student Success UCR Undergraduate Research Journal Student Editorial Board: Programs, Undergraduate Education Back Row (left to right): Geoffrey Pronovost, Michael Deo, Andrew