2021 Virtual Spring Student Symposium Abstracts

MOLECULAR TARGETS OF SARS-COV-2 STRAIN VARIANTS IN HUMAN HOST. Tamara Areizaga and Monica Trujillo. Biological Sciences and Geology Department.

SARS-CoV-2 is an enveloped positive single-stranded RNA virus and member of the Coronaviruses family responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to challenge our world today. Due to the highly adaptive and chronic etiology of SARS-CoV-2, it is able to infect different human tissue and transfer between different host species while adjusting to ecological conditions to sustain itself. In order to understand the hijacking mechanism of the virus during infection, identification of molecular targets in human hosts is critical. Scientists have recently studied SARS-CoV-2 molecular targets in humans providing valuable information for the development of vaccines and drugs to treat COVID-19. Like many other RNA viruses, SARS-CoV-2 has been able to mutate, and different variants and lineages have been identified since the original Wuhan strain. The spread and importance of new variants is even more important now that vaccines are available, as variants of the virus can negatively affect the protection offered by vaccines. Detection of mutations in SARS-CoV-2 isolated from wastewater can shed light into the spread of variants in asymptomatic individuals.?

TARGETING ENERGY EXPENDITURE PATHWAY TO TREAT OBESITY AND TYPE 2 DIABETES. Mayra Wanderley, Sabina Piechowska, and Sarbani Ghoshal. Biological Sciences and Geology Department.

A sedentary life-style and easy availability of calorie dense food has led to a pandemic of obesity. Obesity is a risk factor for many diseases, the foremost one is insulin resistance or type-2 diabetes (T2D). Both obesity and T2D, which are huge public health concerns, are on the rise. Our research team originally showed that insulin stimulates the inositol hexakisphosphate kinase 1 (IP6K1) to produce IP7 (5-diphosphoinositol pentakisphosphate), which in turn inhibits phosphorylation of insulin sensitizing enzyme Akt. In our presentation we will focus on the pharmacological inhibition of IP6K1 by a compound called TNP (N6-(4-nitrobenzyl)-N2-(3-(trifluoromethyl)benzyl)-9Hpurine-2,6-diamine) for treating obesity and T2D in mice models. Our review will show that inhibiting IP6K1 promotes browning of white adipose tissue and maintains phosphorylation of Akt. Both of these events lead to reduction in obesity and T2D.

INHIBITING IP6K1 TO TREAT NONALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE. Natasha McGowan and Sarbani Ghoshal. Biological Sciences and Geology Department.

Obesity is a condition that acts as a catalyst for the development of diseases such as type-2 diabetes (T2D) and non- alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); both of which prove to be fatal if left untreated. Inositol hexakisphosphate kinase 1 (IP6K1) is an enzyme in the inositol phosphate pathway which has recently been shown to have a major role in metabolic diseases. In this presentation we will review how NAFLD can be treated or reduced by using a compound called TNP which is a known IP6K1 inhibitor, in mouse models of diet induced obesity (DIO). TNP treated DIO mice were found to gain less body weight, ameliorate conditions of type-2 diabetes and fatty liver, when compared to control mice. Thus, IP6K1 can be considered a novel target for NAFLD.

EFFECT OF SINGLE WALLED CARBON NANOTUBES ON BREAST CANCER GENE EXPRESSION. Janice Williams, Regina Sullivan, and Sarbani Ghoshal. Biological Sciences and Geology Department.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive disease with limited treatment options. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) have unique properties including stability under various conditions and high surface area. Biomedical applications of SWCNT have the potential to expand cancer treatment options. Previous results from our lab have shown that TNBC cells have reduced rates of migration after treatment with dispersed SWCNTs. Our study will test the hypothesis that SWCNT treatment inhibits migration by altering expression of Matrix Metalloproteinases(MMPs), tissue inhibitors of Metalloproteinases (TIMPs) and PRPF4B. When PRPF4B, a pre-mRNA splicing factor kinase, is down regulated breast cancer cell migration is inhibited. MMPs and TIMPs have been reported as putative tumor markers and specific types have been implicated in breast cancer. All gene expression studies will be performed by real-time PCR. Anticipated data from our gene expression studies may help reveal that SWCNTs can be potential therapeutics for treating breast cancer.

DENDROTOXIN AND ITS INTERACTIONS WITH POTASSIUM CHANNELS. Nicole Paulescu and Urszula Golebiewska. Biological Sciences and Geology Department.

Dendrotoxin is one of the main components in the Black Mamba venom and is believed to be responsible for the high mortality rate cause by the Black Mamba bites. Dendrotoxin blocks certain voltage-gated potassium channels. Since influx of potassium is crucial for the repolarization of the neuronal membranes this prolongs the signaling and enhances the release of the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine at neuromuscular junctions. One of the visible symptoms are convulsions. Here we are going to take closer look at the interactions between dendrotoxin and potassium channels. The dendrotoxins are structurally homologous to serine protease inhibitors. They are basic proteins and at neutral pH are positively charged. It is proposed that they interact electrostatically with the negatively charged residues in the channel pore. We are planning to model how the inhibition of the voltage-gated potassium channels affects the neuronal signal transmission. We are using the computer language Python and simulate the changes in the action potential using a modified Hodgkin- Huxley model. We will also examine how the amount of dendrotoxin affects the signaling, and how the environmental conditions contribute to the outcome.

EXAMINING THE PRESENCE OF ENTEROCOCCUS SPP. IN WATER AROUND NYC USING LOOP MEDIATED ISOTHERMAL AMPLIFICATION (LAMP), AN ALTERNATIVE METHOD TO PCR.. Sumaiya Nasrin and Andrew Nguyen. Biological Sciences and Geology Department.

Enterococcus spp. are gram-positive bacteria that colonize human and animal intestines. They can survive in aerobic or anaerobic environments as well as in extreme conditions, making them ideal microorganisms for testing of fecal contaminated environmental water. Rapid detection of Enterococcus spp. is needed to reduce the risk of exposure to water contamination. There are several ways to test for the presence of Enterococcus spp. such as the Enterolert enzymatic assay or microbial DNA amplification by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Most tests are expensive or require special instrumentation like a thermocycler. We sought to explore the usage of an alternative method to PCR called Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). Using LAMP, we monitored for the presence of Enterococcus spp. in the water around New York City. The advantage of LAMP reaction is that it is inexpensive, requiring only a water bath between 60-68o C, 4-6 specialized primers, and a processive Bst DNA polymerase. To make the assay rapid, we use DNA prepared by the boiling method instead of traditional chromosomal extraction. Positive LAMP reaction has been detected traditionally by gel electrophoresis. We will employ a colorimetric assay using hydroxy naphthol blue and propidium iodide. ?

HOW GENE FUNCTIONS ARE STUDIED IN DIFFERENT ORGANISMS. Sara Khan and Andrew Nguyen. Biological Sciences and Geology Department.

Gene expression is a process by which the information coded within a gene is translated or expressed into proteins. Gene expression is a highly regulated process, and not all genetic information carried by the organism is converted into proteins. Regulation of expression allows for cell and tissue differentiation. To study how genes function, scientists have used the gene-deletion approach with different strategies depending on the organism. This review will summarize various approaches of studying gene function, starting with bacteria and going up the evolutionary chain to the in-vivo mouse model and human cell lines. Discussion in this review includes prokaryotes, Caenorhabditis elegans, Xenopus, Drosophila melanogaster, Mus musculus, and Homo erectus. Escherichia coli, being a molecular biologist's tool and ideal organism to study, will be discussed in detail to understand auxotrophic mutants, the genes responsible for making metabolic enzymes, and how these genes are regulated. We will discuss different strategies that are commonly used in C. elegans (heat shock), in Xenopus (injection of cloned DNA, synthetic mRNA, or antibodies), in Drosophila melanogaster (chemical mutagenesis and transposable elements), and in Mus musculus and Homo erectus (pro nuclear injection, stem cells, and recent development of precise gene deletion using CRISPR).

ADDRESSING MISCONCEPTION OF CORONAVIRUS VACCINE READINESS AND TRIALS.. Aidan Fareghbal, Margherita Minagro, Sara Sooknarine, and Monica Trujillo. Biological Sciences and Geology Department.

Social media and the news have perpetuated the myth that COVID-19 vaccines were rushed, and their safety isn't known. Our group researched the history of making of the vaccines using publicly available trusted websites and scientific journals. Our main findings are: 1- Vaccines cost a lot to develop but with the global crisis created by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, they were the most effective tool available and therefore efforts were united to help prevent further infection. During the pandemic the United States invested billions to have academic and private laboratories learning more about the biology of the virus. In parallel vaccine candidates were created and clinical trials started. We will present evidence that no trial steps were skipped, but due to global need everything was streamlined and logistic steps were expedited.

COVID-19 MYTH VS FACTS #1:THE VACCINES HAVE UNSAFE OR UNETHICAL INGREDIENTS:. Stephen Spiridakis, James Hardat, and Monica Trujillo. Biological Sciences and Geology Department.

We need to vaccinate almost 80% of the US population in order to safely return to normalcy. This is a difficult and challenging undertaking for any country. We are interested in contributing into the vaccination effort by addressing myths that are circulating among us. Many rumors surround most vaccinations in general. For example, there has been some speculation that the COVID-19 vaccine contains tiny, microscopic tracking chips. These conspiracy theories have been circulating on social media websites and forums alike. The fact remains that there is no basis to these rumors. Another rumor is that vaccines contain tissues from aborted fetuses. In reality vaccine companies have actually been very transparent with ingredients that their vaccines contain and have this information easily accessible on many websites, including the FDA's, where ingredients are deemed not only effective but safe as well. In this presentation we will share scientific data that demonstrates COVID-19 vaccines don't contain unsafe or unethical ingredients.

COVID-19 MYTHS VS. FACTS. Priscilla Kim, Cardi Lam, Shakquan McAllister, and Monica Trujillo. Biological Sciences and Geology Department.

The existing research on COVID-19 shows that young people are less likely to die than older people due to Covid-19, but the disease still leaves them with lasting symptoms such as "fatigue, brain fog, and loss of taste or smell." It's a fact that young people are carriers of the disease to groups with weaker immune systems. Public health knowledge of other infectious diseases shows that herd immunity needs to be attained in order to eradicate a disease. Herd immunity is when a population obtains indirect immunity through a majority percentage of the population becoming immune to a disease, which requires young people to also be vaccinated. There are only two ways for herd immunity to combat the pandemic: people getting vaccinated, or people getting infected, and the former poses the least amount of risk.

COVID-19: MYTH VS FACTS. Nhung Le, Amber Chandu, Claire Toussaint, and Monica Trujillo. Biological Sciences and Geology Department.

COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. It is spread through respiratory droplets that travel to a person's lungs and cause a wide range of symptoms. Severe cases can lead to respiratory failure and death. As of March 2021, 1.8 million people are infected in New York. There is still no known cure for the disease. One way to diminish the impact of the disease on society is through "herd immunity". This is achieved when the portion of the community that is immune to the disease is greater than the portion that is not, eventually slowing down the spread. In December 2020, two vaccines engineered by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna received emergency use authorization by the FDA. Since then, more than 13.8% of New Yorkers have been vaccinated. Both vaccines were engineered utilizing mRNA of SARS-CoV-2. This strategy guarantees that a portion of the Spike protein from SARS-CoV-2 will be produced in the host and therefore elicit its immune response. There are many myths surrounding the disease and vaccines. In this presentation, we hope to address some of those myths.

FUNGI: THE FUTURE OF A GREENER TOMORROW. Simona Mitac, James Hardat, and Joan Petersen. Biological Sciences and Geology Department.

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is the most significant greenhouse gas that contributes to global climate change. Decreasing CO₂ emissions requires a transformation of both production and consumption systems. This presentation will describe how fungi can be used to reduce CO₂ emissions through the creation of sustainable building materials and alternative funerary practices. The building sector, including manufacturing, transport, construction, and end-of-use disposal, is responsible for one-third of the total CO₂ emissions. Many fungi grow in mats of filaments known as mycelium that are held together by self-assembling bonds. These mycelia can be combined with agricultural waste to create natural, renewable materials that can replace many conventional construction materials, including bricks, plywood, insulation and packaging. Traditional funerary practices (cremation and burial) contribute greatly to CO₂ emissions and heavy land usage. As an alternative, mycelium can be used in the process of human composting (also referred to as natural organic reduction or NOR.) This sustainable and environmentally-friendly funerary practice would contribute greatly to reducing the human carbon footprint (about one metric ton/person), increasing soil carbon sequestration, and providing soil nutrients. The use of fungi to develop environmentally-friendly building materials and enhance natural organic reduction can help us move toward a more sustainable future.

MONITORING BIRDS IN NYC PARKS VIA FIELD OBSERVATIONS AND EBIRD DATABASE ANALYSES. James Hardat and Joan Peteren. Biological Sciences and Geology Department.

Monitoring birds within New York City provides valuable information that can inform conservation, management, and restoration decisions My research project, which is being done in collaboration with NYC Parks, is focused on creating databases gathered from the citizen science app eBird and integrating them into the mapping software program ArcGIS to identify parks in NYC that lack observational data I am also conducting field observations to fill in these data gaps. I have established the number of eBird observations per borough dating back to the 1980's. MS Access was used to clean and organize this information by decade to obtain more manageable databases. Results show that although the number of observations reported to eBird has been growing exponentially each decade, there are still parks in each borough that lack observations. .I have begun to record observations for these parks in Queens, including Roy Wilkins, Kissena Corridor East, and Vleigh Playground. To date, I have observed woodpeckers, common perching birds, raptors, and even earlier spring migrants such as the Red Winged Blackbird. Filling in the data gaps and developing a navigable database will allow us to make the best decisions regarding the conservation needs of our urban feathered friends.

EXPENSE TRACKER. ¹Eric White, ¹Museera Shakeel, ¹Alifiya Fatima, ¹Roumen Vragov, and ²Mariyum Hossain. ¹Business Department, ²Engineering Technology Department.

We are doing an active-service learning project done in the form of an Excel spreadsheet application for YAI: Seeing Beyond Disabilities. YAI is a company dedicated to providing services to the disabled, and we wish to contribute in some way to their cause. The goal of our project is to provide an easy and efficient way to keep track of expenses for the company. This is implemented by creating a custom Excel template that will keep track of daily expenditures and provide an annual overview.

ACTIVE SERVICE LEARNING PROJECT WITH INTEGRA. Patricia Wong and Roumen Vragov. Business Department.

This presentation will report on an Active Service Learning project that was undertaken as part of a computer course CIS 206- Spreadsheet Business Application. Project involved working with, Integra Managed Care, a non-profit health insurance company provides long-term care service to elderly people in New York State. Their mission is to help their patients live safely and independently in the comfort of their own home. The company headquarter locates in New Hyde Park, Long Island, New York and is a midsize company with approximately 1000 employees currently. The company website is https://integraplan.org/. My task at the company was to assist with the Membership Coordination Report. This report captures current and future enrollees for Care Management Team to prepare any necessary services prior to members boarding. The leadership from the Care Management Team decided to do an overhaul on the Membership Coordination Report by adding more fields to this report and showing critical information to increase staff productivity in their department.

SYNTHESIS OF ANTIMYCOBACTERIAL PYRROLES. Yingying Zhang and Sasan Karimi. Chemistry Department.

Pyrrole skeleton is found in many natural products that exhibit biological activities. We became interested in synthesizing several medicinally active pyrroles that have antimicrobial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tubercular activities. Although there are many methods available for preparing the pyrrole moiety, our synthetic approach is unique in that it involves treatment of nitrodienes in the presence of a Molybdenum (Mo) catalyst. We have illustrated that a number of substituted pyrroles can be synthesized using this approach and have recently employed the methodology to include the syntheses of the antimicrobial pentabromopseudilin, the anti-inflammatory bimetopyrol, and several new anti-tubercular agents that are being tested for their biological assay.

FROM NATURAL TO SYNTHETIC: PHOTOPHYSICALLY IMPROVED CYANINE DYES AND THEIR BRIGHT FUTURE PART II. Yingxin Liang and Zhou Zhou. Chemistry Department.

Cyanine fluorophores have drawn more and more attention due to their applications in many scientific fields. This presentation primarily focuses on the general synthesis strategy of cyanine dyes and highlights their applications in the recent COVID-19 virus research. In the retrosynthetic analysis, the generic cyanine dye molecule can be "cut" into three main building blocks. Two indole moieties and one polymethine chain middle piece. The indole moieties are usually synthesized by Fisher indole synthesis method and the common middle building blocks are commercially available. By manipulating the structure of indoles, target dye molecules can be symmetric or asymmetric, polar or non-polar. In recent years, a new biological imaging technology called single molecular FRET has emerged. Cyanine dyes act as the "light bulbs" in the smFRET. This cutting-edge technology has recently shed light on the real time movement patterns of the spikes on the Covid-19 virus. The future literature research focus will shift to the recent papers on the total synthesis of smFRET suitable cyanine dyes. Dyes that render greater water solubility, higher brightness, and longer lifespans.

SYNTHESIS OF X-SHAPE MOLECULES AS ELECTRON ACCEPTORS IN ORGANIC SOLAR CELLS.. Feruza Turobova and Sujun Wei. Chemistry Department.

Compared to traditional silicon solar cell, organic solar cell (OSC) has advantages of being flexible, cheap and light-weighted. However its light-to-electricity conversion efficiency is not as good as silicon counterpart. Therefore there're tremendous interests to further improve OSC's efficiency. Within OSC, it typically contains donor and acceptor materials. The C₆₀ fullerene based acceptor readily accepts electrons from a wide range of donor materials and exhibits high electron mobility. However, fullerene is not an ideal material due to its weak absorption and very deep LUMO level. Therefore there is a clear need for alternative acceptor materials. We propose to synthesize X-shape molecules as electron acceptors via strain and Hückel aromaticity as the driving forces. The molecule's bottom half is a fluorene unit, and the top half is a fused heterocyclic ring. Both motifs are twisted along a central double bond. We have synthesized first two targets in four synthetic steps. These red compounds show intense green fluorescence. Their structures were preliminarily confirmed by H-NMR and C-NMR. With ~500mg of these compounds each in hand, further investigations such as fluorescence quantum yield and testing them in an organic solar cell as acceptors are set to go.

DESIGN OF IONIC LIQUIDS BEARING THIOETHER SIDE CHAINS. Mehreen Mughal and Sharon Lall-Ramnarine. Chemistry Department.

Ionic liquids (ILs) are being extensively investigated as potential electrolytes in electrochemical devices, including rechargeable lithium cells, solar cells, and supercapacitors. However, most ILs have significantly higher viscosities than electrolytes based on conventional solvents, resulting in slower charge transport. Recent reports have shown that replacing IL alkyl side chains with short thioether side chains lowers IL viscosity significantly in imidazolium ILs, but not in pyrrolidinium and phosphonium ILs. We report here on a literature review and design process for the synthesis of novel thioether ILs and plans to prepare them. Research reveals data that is largely missing from the literature on the synthesis and characterization of thioether-substituted ILs of varying structural types, particularly those with poly-thioether side chains covalently linked to the N atom of imidazolium and pyrrolidinium cation rings. There is also a lack of comprehensive temperature-dependent characterization of critical IL physical, thermodynamic and transport properties. This work is a part of a larger collaborative project where we seek to examine the atomistic origin of viscosity by comparing ILs with ether and thioether side chains. Results are expected to make important contributions to the design of ILs optimized for larger scale use in energy storage devices such as batteries.

STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE OF A LASER-INDUCED GRAPHENE CAPACITOR. Tyra Volney and Paul Sideris. Chemistry Department.

Capacitors are energy storage devices, that have the ability of storing and releasing energy very quickly. Graphene, an allotrope of the element carbon, is currently being investigated in the fields of energy storage and electronics due to its high electrical conductivity, mechanical stability, and flexibility. Capacitors containing laser-induced graphene (LIG) electrodes scribed on plastic sheets have recently attracted attention as potential energy storage units for flexible electronics. In this work, various strategies to improve the performance of a LIG capacitor, including methods to modify both the electrodes and electrolyte, will be reviewed.

PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF IONIC LIQUID-POLYMER GELS. Shameir Nembhard and Sharon Lall-Ramnarine. Chemistry Department.

Ion gels comprised of ionic liquids (ILs) and block copolymers have found unique and important applications in diverse fields of science and engineering, such as for energy storage materials and for separations chemistry. We report on the preparation and physical characterization of selected ion gels. ILs based on tetraalkyl-phosphonium and -ammonium cations and bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide anions were synthesized and purified in our labs. The alkyl groups on the IL cations were selected by design to form a significant non-polar region, and thus optimized for use as gas separation membranes. The polymeric material used in the ion gels is a common battery development diblock copolymer, PDVF-co-HFP, ¹H and ¹³C NMR was used to confirm the structure of the ILs. Physical characterization of ion gel films included differential scanning calorimetry. This work was supported in part by the NIH Bridges to the Baccalaureate program at Queensborough Community College, and the work at BNL was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences under contract DE-SC0012704.

ENHANCED IONIC LIQUID- SINGLE-WALLED CARBON NANOTUBES MIXTURES FOR ENERGY STORAGE APPLICATIONS. Zheyong Piao and Tirandai Hemraj-Benny. Chemistry Department.

Currently, energy storage devices with high energy density and high-power density are in great demand. Compared to traditional batteries, supercapacitors are more advantageous due to their higher power density and longer life cycles. For supercapacitors to be more widely used in practical applications, more effective electrodes and electrolytes need to be identified and studied. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and ionic liquids (ILs) have shown great promise to serve as efficient electrodes and electrolytes, respectively. Although imidazolium-based ILs may be excellent solvents for the dispersion of SWCNTs in energy storage devices, the existing interactions that result in the nanotubes' de-bundling are not fully understood. Herein, a review of the enhanced conductivity properties observed for mixtures containing SWCNTs and various imidazolium ionic liquids is presented. Moreover, the specific interactions, such as cation-pi interactions or pi-pi interactions that may exist between SWCNTs and imidazolium ILs are presented. Future spectroscopic analyses of mixtures containing SWCNTs and ILs of imidazolium cations coupled with bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide (NTf₂^-) or bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide (FSA^-) anions will be discussed to contribute to the development of optimal electrodes and electrolytes for energy storage devices.

CORE-SHELL SYNTHESIS OF POLYRHODANINE NANOPARTICLES. Arnab Sharma and Moni Chauhan. Chemistry Department.

Nanoparticles are extensively studied in different fields since changing from microparticles to nanoparticles lead to immense changes in the physical and chemical properties of materials. These particles are researched in finding new medical diagnostics and targeted treatments for cancer and other diseases, fuel cells, advanced batteries, solar cells, and so on. Core-shell nanoparticles can be highly functional materials with modified properties by changing either the constituting materials or the core to shell ratio. By coating the core particles, different applications are performed, such as surface modification, the ability to increase the stability, functionality, controlled release of the core, dispersibility, and enhancing photoluminescence. These materials have economic effects on saving the precious metals by coating with inexpensive materials to reduce the consumption of the metal. In our research, core-shell Palladium polyrhodanine and Copper polyrhodanine nanoparticles were obtained in a one-step oxidation-reduction reaction, and the morphology of the materials was analyzed via Infra-red (IR) spectroscopy, SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy), EDX (Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy), and TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy) analysis. Future plans include testing these materials for anti-viral, anticancer, and antimicrobial activity and their efficacy as an adsorbent of heavy metals and dyes.

POLYANILINE NANOFIBER-METAL NANOPARTICLE COMPOSITES FOR THE CATALYTIC DEGRADATION OF CONGO RED AND OTHER TARGETS: A MINI-REVIEW. Devani Mahabir and David Sarno. Chemistry Department.

We are developing a method for the formation of polyaniline nanofiber-ruthenium nanoparticle composites (PANI-NFs/Ru-NPs). PANI nanofibers provide a matrix to immobilize and disperse metal NPs, preventing their aggregation. These high surface area, electrically conductive composites may find use as a catalyst for the degradation of congo red, an azo dye that is toxic to many aquatic organisms and highly resistant to biodegradation. Ru-NPs were synthesized from Ru-salts by microwave irradiation in water at > 100 °C in the presence of NaBH₄ and pre-formed PANI-NFs. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) were used to determine the morphology and elemental composition of these materials, respectively. SEM images suggest that NP formation is favored by shorter microwave time and higher temperature, as well as pre-adsorption of Ru-salts onto dispersed PANI-NFs; however, laboratory closures have prevented us from optimizing our method. Instead, we have conducted a literature review of relevant metal-polymer nanoscale composites and their catalytic behavior. This presentation provides an overview of our methods, as well as some of the studies we have drawn from. It also outlines our research plan to determine if our materials can be used as proposed.

POROUS MICROSPHERES OF POLYANILINE AND ITS DERIVATIVES AS A MATERIAL FOR CARGO LOADING AND DELIVERY: A MINI-REVIEW. Miaolan Chen Weng and David Sarno. Chemistry Department.

We have prepared porous microspheres of polyaniline and several of its derivatives through a single surfactant water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) double emulsion method. When the crude granular polymer is dispersed in acidic solution with unreacted monomer, it is instantaneously converted into porous spheres by addition of excess ammonium hydroxide. This one-pot method produces a wide size distribution, but it can be significantly narrowed by a multi-step method that limits the amount of available polymer. Having applied the process to several polymers, we had hoped to test these porous particles as possible materials for cargo loading and delivery; however, laboratory closures have prevented us from pursuing this research. Instead, we have conducted a literature review of relevant polymer systems that successfully demonstrate cargo loading by permeation or encapsulation, as well as different delivery methods. This presentation describes our W/O/W preparation method, including characterization by SEM and FTIR. We also present some of the studies we have drawn from, and outline our research plan to determine if our materials can be used as proposed.

CIRCUIT ANALYSIS OER MATERIALS. Professor Huixin Wu and Huixin Wu. Engineering Technology Department.

This OER material is intended for use as the first level of Circuit Analysis, with an emphasis in Direct Current - dc, for a two and four-year engineering technology program. The lecture and laboratory manual contains twelve weekly lecture and laboratory experiments. The topics range from basic technical math through principles of circuit analysis such as series, parallel, and series-parallel dc circuit; network theorems (Thevenin's theorem and maximum power transfer) and circuit methods of analysis (mesh and nodal analysis, source transformation, and source conversion) of solving dc circuits; dc power analysis; capacitance and inductance principles and transient circuit; and introduction to sinusoidal. The course includes three hours of laboratory work. Lab experiments include a brief introduction of the experimental topics, step-by-step procedures, tables and graphs to record measurements, and questions to reinforce the understanding of the theory with the experimental results. Each lab experiment is designed to be completed using a two to three-hour practicum period. For equipment, each lab station should include a dual adjustable DC power supply and a quality DMM capable of reading DC voltage, current and resistance. OER Website: https://huixinwu.github.io/circuit-analysis/

THE CYBER EFFECTS MODELING AND FRAMEWORK FOR EXECUTION OF CYBER-ATTACKS AND REMEDIES. Stephen Fiorucci and Merlinda Prelvukaj. Engineering Technology Department.

Today, mankind is highly dependent on digital communications. Mobile devices, laptops and the cloud have enabled instant and global access to data for everyone. On the other hand, without simple protection and assurance of the digital data, people are at risk. They face significant hardships and monetary losses due to security threats and issues. Digital security needs to be treated as a fundamental human right. Cybersecurity is a technique of protecting systems, networks and digital data from cyber-attacks. It is therefore important to compute the risk level within a system and plan risk prediction methods such that proactive measures can be taken to reduce the damage of cyber-attacks. Cyber-attacks use malicious codes to alter algorithms, logic, or data. The purpose of this project is to research the existence of Cyber-attacks in NYS until the present day and the procedures of Cyber effects in place that the organizations harness. Using this methodology, we investigate four major components of Cyber effects in a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service Attack) environment: How to configure System Security Baseline; Model the Cyber Attack using the Simulation; Demonstrate the Vulnerability Impact and Allocate the Actions for Remediation and the Residual Risk.

SMART VIRTUAL ROOM APP. Ornima Tyeshi and Huixin Wu. Engineering Technology Department.

This project was born with the idea of virtual meeting and social distancing due to the COVID19 pandemic. The project consists of creating an algorithm for smartphone application where the application itself looks for the best way to locate the participants in a site according to its space. For example, it can be applied in a doctor's office where it would virtually assign in which chair the patient will sit according to the time and day of the medical appointment, in order to keep to social distance. The Smart Virtual Room App can establish a communication between the nurse or receptionist while you are connected in the virtual room app. On the other hand, the application can be applied for online meetings where the app virtually assigns a place in the virtual room to each participant, who is connected remotely. Indeed, the objective of this project is to create a virtual App where it can facilitate users to create their virtual space in a real or virtual environment and facilitate communication between participants.

GENERATING ENERGY ON A SMALL SCALE USING MAGNETIC FIELDS. Ashiqul Tuhin, Omar Faruk, and Dr. Md.Shahadat Hossain. Engineering Technology Department.

The traditional method of electricity generation involved the conversion of mechanical energy into electrical energy and this mechanical energy can be produced through steam turbines, gas turbines, wind turbines, internal combustion engines, and so on. The purpose of this research project to produce electrical energy on a small scale using magnetic fields. This low-cost in-home built device can produce enough electricity to turn on light, charge a mobile, laptop, etc. The device consists of magnets and syringes and is assembled in such a way they produce rotational energy which is coupled with a DC motor to convert the rotational energy into electric energy. This electricity is then used to run the small devices connected to this low-cost environmentally friendly energy generator.

THE APPLICATIONS OF RASPBERRY PI IN EXPLORING INTERNET OF THINGS IOT. Romaine Blake and Merlinda Drini Prelvukaj. Engineering Technology Department.

Raspberry Pi is a reasonably well-priced device, considering what we can do with it. All over the world, people use Raspberry Pis to learn programming skills, build hardware projects, do home automation, and even use them in industrial applications. The Internet of Things is all the things that are connected to the internet such as our computer, our lights, our fridge, our garage door, and anything else that we are able to access through the internet. In a few years from now, everything and every device we own will be connected to the internet, and a huge amount of data will be collected for input on artificially intelligent algorithms or systems. The purpose of this project is to investigate all the applications of the Raspberry Pi in physical projects that open opportunities to create our own home automation systems, because it puts us in control, rather than use a proprietary closed system. We will apply the programming skills and with the help of GPIO pins of the Raspberry Pi and some other components try building a wireless controlled system, by establishing the communication between many devices and the Raspberry Pi.

OER/GREAT BOOKS FOR COMPOSITION COURSES. Ilse Schrynemakers, Susan Lago, Alison Cimino, and There is no faculty advisor There is no faculty advisor. English Department.

This panel shares the process for putting together as well as the content of an OER, Great Books for Composition Courses, which was created by the faculty members of this panel. Great Books for Composition Courses creates a solid foundation for first-year writers to think critically about the long, ongoing struggle for human and civil rights. By diving deeply into how "long dead" writers have articulated their stances, college students may sharpen analytical, writing, and reading skills whilst contemplating root positions on racism, feminism, environmentalism, and the rights of the LGBTQ community. Funded by a grant through Open Education Resources, this anthology is committed to zero cost textbook courses

LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY MATTERS. ¹Camila Carrillo and ²Carolina Chaves-O'Flynn. ¹Foreign Languages and Literature Department, ²Art and Design Department.

This presentation draws attention to the importance of addressing the linguistic diversity of the QCC campus in the area of film production. We will demonstrate here university students' linguistic diversity and the importance of valuing it and caring for it as an invaluable treasure, so it translates into empathy, identity, a sense of belonging, and community building among students. This work is presented by the President of the Foreign Language Society Club, who is a Film Studies student.

ADDRESSING LINGUISTIC DISCRIMINATION. Ashley Torres, Gabriella Espaillat, and Carolina Chaves-O'Flynn. Foreign Languages and Literature Department.

In 2016, professor Philippe Blanchet coined the term glottophobia (also called glottophobia, linguicism and languagism) to refer to unfair and discriminatory treatment based on people's linguistic features or skills, such as accent, jargon, and syntax. Some examples of language discrimination are discouraging people from speaking their first language by forbidding them to speak it freely by enforcing a "speak only English" policy or mocking peoples' English proficiency. For the 2021 Virtual Spring Student Symposium, students from Spanish course LS221-C24 are working on presenting cases of microaggressions related to linguistic prejudice affecting people all over the globe. These projects pretend to make visible problematic issues related to students' bilingual own condition as Spanish heritage speakers.

TRAUMA : IDENTIFYING AND RELATING TO HEALTH. ¹Karen Singer, ¹Rezan Akpinar, and ²Alisa Cercone. ¹Health, Physical Education, and Dance Department, ²English Department.

As the world has been, and continues to be traumatized by the current pandemic, we are also observing an increasing xenophobia towards others. Our project used the Common Read Book "They Called Us the Enemy" by George Takei's graphic memoir of Japanese internment camps as a parallel in identifying human rights issues of prejudice, social injustices, and xenophobia. From these comparisons we asked students to draw conclusions on how each instance causes psychological and emotional trauma, to both the suppressed and the suppressor. Students translated this information as to how this trauma would affect health according to Eastern theories. Students worked with their SWIG partners in the English class to produce an article to increase awareness of their findings to the community.

ROLE OF THE GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC HEALTH DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC. Hye Won Kwon and Parisa Assassi. Health, Physical Education, and Dance Department.

Introduction: COVID-19, which began in December 2019, is a disease that targets the lower respiratory system. COVID-19 pandemic has brought multifaceted changes in society.Aim: This paper aims to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on our society and review the role of public health and government actions.Method: We used government websites such as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and US Census Bureau publications such as Google Scholar and PubMed, and data from Johns Hopkins University were used.Results: The results of the literature review and reviewing websites indicate that the COVID-19 has put a significant economic impact on the people. The minority population is disproportionately affected mostly due to health disparities, public transportation, and living situations. Conclusion: Despite the shift of attention to COVID-19, the role of public health remains mostly the same: monitoring disease trends, educating the public about prevention measures, conducting research. We have little evidence to show the impact of the distribution of vaccines to the public on the incidence and prevalence of COVID-19. With the mutated COVID-19 strain possibly bringing another wave, public health officials and governments should work collaboratively to reinforce the primary prevention measures.

ARISTOPHANES'S LYSISTRATA. Katherine Sagos and Emily Tai. History Department.

This work was conducted by a student in History 152: Women in World History. Students in History 152 are required to complete a project in which they read a primary source; describe its value for women's history; and then evaluate one on-line source that utilizes their primary source, and one scholarly secondary source (a scholarly article or book chapter) that utilizes their primary source. The primary source chosen for the course's assigned primary source project was Aristophanes's Lysistrata; for the online source, the interpretation of Lysistrata in Spike Lee's Chi Raq (2015) will be evaluated; the interpretation of Lysistrata will also be evaluated in a secondary work, as yet to be determined. This presentation will summarize our findings and conclusions.

HISTORY AND PHYSICS 111: A SWIG ON THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE. ¹Diego Galan, ¹Emily Tai, and ²Todd Holden. ¹History Department, ²Physics Department.

In this presentation, Professor Emily Tai (History) and Professor Todd Holden (Physics) will discuss their SWIG curriculum combining the History of Medieval and Early Modern Western Europe (History 111: Introduction to Medieval and Early Modern Western Civilization) with a course on the History and Practice of Astronomy (Physics 111: Space, Astronomy and Our Universe). Mr. Diego Galan, a student in History 111, will discuss his experience with these activities, which have invited students in History and Physics to exchange ideas in interdisciplinary groups.

KHC EXHIBITION RESEARCH-PRODUCING SILENCE: HOLLYWOOD, THE HOLOCAUST AND THE JEWS. Nicholas Richards and Laura Cohen. Kupferberg Holocaust Center.

Over the past thirty years, the Kupferberg Holocaust Center (KHC) has created original exhibitions about many different themes related to the Holocaust that remain relevant in our society today. During the spring 2021 semester, the KHC's four curatorial student interns each chose one exhibit to update, including conducting research, finding more imagery, writing summaries, as well as recommending how to translate this material online. In this presentation, KHC Curatorial Intern Nicholas Richards focuses on the "Producing Silence: Hollywood, the Holocaust and the Jews" exhibition. He writes, "This exhibit covers Jewish Hollywood film producers' responses to Hitler and the Nazi party before, as well as throughout, World War II. Many early American Western films they produced and which starred Jewish actors motivated young German soldiers to enlist in the army during the First World War. Most of these Jewish producers also came from humble Eastern European communities. Consequently, many wanted to be integrated into American culture, often producing films about the American dream. Finally, many Jewish producers tried to caution others about the rise of antisemitism, even going so far as to produce films with warnings about Hitler but which were rejected and/or censored by the film studios."

KHC EXHIBITION RESEARCH-IN THE LAND OF THE SHAHS: JEWISH LIVES IN PERSIA/IRAN. Anika Chowdhury and Laura Cohen. Kupferberg Holocaust Center.

Over the past thirty years, the Kupferberg Holocaust Center (KHC) has created original exhibitions about many different themes related to the Holocaust that remain relevant in our society today. During the spring 2021 semester, the KHC's four curatorial student interns each chose one exhibit to update, including conducting research, finding more imagery, writing summaries, as well as recommending how to translate this material online. In this presentation, KHC Curatorial Intern Anika Chowdhury focuses on the "In the Land of the Shahs: Jewish Lives in Persia/Iran" exhibition. She writes, "Our legacies are an intangible extension of our personalities; they vocalize to establish a narrative that highlights our past experiences. Through this exhibition, you will discover Iran's legacy, a land which was once rich in history, culture, tradition, and civilization. It focuses on Iran's timeline in history from World War II and the progressive social and economic growth under the Shah regime, to the Islamic revolution of 1978, antisemitism against Iranian Jews, and Holocaust denial. A historical guide created with love and collaboration by the local Iranian community and expert scholars, the exhibit chronicles the imperative past, as time and survivors witness their lesser-known stories shared."

KHC EXHIBITION RESEARCH-FROM THE STAR OF SHAME TO THE STAR OF COURAGE: THE STORY OF THE YELLOW STAR. Alexia Wang and Laura Cohen. Kupferberg Holocaust Center.

Over the past thirty years, the Kupferberg Holocaust Center (KHC) has created original exhibitions about many different themes related to the Holocaust that remain relevant in our society today. During the spring 2021 semester, the KHC's four curatorial student interns each chose one exhibit to update, including conducting research, finding more imagery, writing summaries, as well as recommending how to translate this material online. In this presentation, KHC Curatorial Intern Alexia Wang focuses on the "From the Star of Shame to the Star of Courage" exhibition. She writes, "The KHC provides excellent internship opportunities for students to understand the importance of social equality and social justice through historical lessons. This exhibition shows how and why the yellow star became a symbol of discrimination, dehumanization, and segregation used by the Nazis against Jewish society in Europe during World War II. The treacherous history of the yellow Star of David reminds us to constantly fight against xenophobia, social injustice, and hate crimes which are still happening today. History will repeat itself if we do not proactively and constantly remind the public what has happened before by presenting the hard evidence from reality."

BIG DATA INFORMATION RECONSTRUCTION FOR THE MULTI-STATE HARD CORE MODEL. Siying Li and Wenjian Liu. Mathematics and Computer Science Department.

The big data information reconstruction problem on the infinite communication tree network G, is to collect and analyze massive samples at the n-th level of the phylogenetic tree to identify whether there is non-vanishing information of the root, as n goes to infinity. This project will focus on the reconstruction threshold of the multi-state hard core model on regular d-ary trees. This problem has a wide range of applications in various fields such as biology, information theory and statistical physics, and its close connections to cluster learning, data mining and deep learning have been well established in recent years.

OER AND HIGH IMPACT ACTIVITIES IN MA336 STATISTICS. Bianca Sosnovski and Bianca Sosnovski. Mathematics and Computer Science Department.

Despite the cost of higher education continuously going up, CUNY has been in the forefront of providing affordable access to quality education. At QCC, MA336 course is an introduction to statistics and the use of a professional statistical software package is part of the curriculum. MA336 is also designated as a written intensive course; a form of High Impact Practices.To create a zero cost MA336 course, OER alternatives such as OpenStax textbook, class worksheets, and the open-source homework platform WeBWorK can be used to achieve affordable learning. In addition, to fulfill the written intensive requirement of the course, written assignments can be integrated with the computer lab activities in the class.This presentation will give an overview of how the aforementioned? OER materials and High Impact activities are used in MA336 Statistics classes. Materials and activities of the OER being developed for the class will be shared.

COVID-19 INFECTION DETECTION WITH MACHINE LEARNING. Jiajun Gao and Yusuf Danisman. Mathematics and Computer Science Department.

Covid-19 has infected more than 100 million people and caused the deaths of more than 2 million people by the end of February 2021. Currently, there are two common methods for diagnosing Covid-19 infection widely in the world, Molecular Test and Antigen Test. Both methods achieve high-accuracy results but at the same time high false-negative rate. Those diagnostic methods require expensive equipment, professional personnel as the premise, and the duration to get the test results are uncertain. Meanwhile, blood tests only require cheap equipment, standardized personnel, and are able to get the results within 30 minutes with a lower false-negative rate. Machine learning provides an alternative method for backward areas as a supplementary way. This project is dedicated to improving the accuracy of Covid-19 detection with machine learning models based on routine blood exam data. In this working paper, we have developed four reliable machine learning classification models by using 279 patients' routine blood exams. The dataset has non-negligible missing value that would affect the results. Therefore, several imputation methods were applied to four classification models separately. We have developed the models with average balanced accuracy above 90%, in the 95% Confidence Interval has 90% to 96% accuracy.

USING DATA ANALYTICS TO EXPLORE THE ADOLESCENT HEALTH STUDY. Jennifer Flores and Venessa Singhroy. Mathematics and Computer Science Department.

Using the first wave of the Adolescent Health Study (ADDHEALTH) which includes a representative U.S. sample of adolescents in grades 7 through 12, We will examine the variable types corresponding to the data set. As an exemplar of using data analytics to explore ADDLHEALTH this presentation will focus on exploring the association between education level and pregnancy perceptions among adolescents.

TESTIMONY IN SONG: MUSIC PRODUCTION AND CHORUS STUDENTS RESPOND TO THEY CALLED US ENEMY. Marcos Velez, Crystal Holmes, Steven Dahlke, Svjetlana Bukvich-Nichols, and Scott Litroff. Music Department.

In empathic response to George Takei's THEY CALLED US ENEMY Music Department Students Marcos Velez (Music Production, Queensborough Chorus), and Crystal Holmes (Queensborough Chorus) have co-written a song. The composition is utilizing songwriting and performance techniques learned in Queensborough Chorus class and production techniques learned in Music Production class. The song will be performed in a video presentation by Velez and Holmes, and will demonstrate how music composition and performance advances empathic, embodied understanding. After the performance of the song, Velez and Holmes and faculty mentors will lead a discussion about cognitive, physical, and artistic processes in empathic music composition and performance.

DETERMINANTS AND INTERVENTIONS THAT PROMOTE VACCINE ACCEPTANCE: A LIMITED LITERATURE REVIEW. Kaitlyn Rose Viray, Abigail Izrailova, Kevin Doherty, Ashley Carlo, Myrlande Pierre, Weina Bei, Cheyenne McDougald, and Randelle Sasa. Nursing Department.

The US Food and Drug Administration issued its first emergency use authorization for COVID-19 vaccines in December 2020- approximately one year from when the pandemic started. This has set the record for COVID-19 vaccines as the fastest vaccines ever developed. However, vaccine hesitancy is a growing concern among public health officials. A recent Pew Poll revealed that only 69% of Americans are willing to take the COVID-19 vaccine. This led the investigators to ask: What are the determinants of, and interventions that promote vaccine acceptance? A literature review was conducted to answer this question. Articles were limited to peer-reviewed studies written in English from 2016 to 2021, and selected based on relevance. There was concordance in the literature that vaccine hesitancy is a complex and multi-faceted phenomenon. Studies revealed that vaccine hesitancy is higher among African-Americans and Hispanics, individuals with children at home, rural dwellers, and people in the northeast US. The literature identified several interventions to increase vaccine acceptance, including extended health knowledge, utilizing person-centered approach to encourage participation and coping during vaccination, use of reminders, improving vaccination access, and encouraging healthcare providers to offer vaccines. Multimodal and tailored interventions are needed to combat misinformation and increase vaccine acceptance.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF FEMALE EXTERNAL URINARY CATHETERS IN REDUCING CAUTI AND PRESSURE ULCERS.. Alexandra Kavalos, Gyo Won Seo, Carmen Signarino, Qing Zhou, Philip Nelan, Georgina Colalillo, and Jessica Prepetit. Nursing Department.

Urinary incontinence is a common issue resulting in urinary tract infections, pressure ulcers and loss of dignity. Catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) are costly for both the hospital in terms of loss of funding and increased length of stay. In addition, the risk for pressure ulcers for patients who are incontinent is higher than continent patients. External urinary catheters appear to be a solution to the issues of CAUTI's and pressure ulcers from incontinence. Until recently, there has been a lack of options for use of external catheters in women. A literature review was conducted examining the effectiveness of preventing complications of incontinence with the use of external catheters designed for women. External urinary catheters adhere externally and collect urinary output and have been successful with male patients due to better anatomical adaptability. The development of external urinary catheters for females has been difficult mainly due to poor fitting, leakage, and skin irritation. Newly developed female external catheter called PrimaFit® offers an alternative to an indwelling catheter and can be an effective solution to CAUTIs and pressure ulcers. Statistical data and analysis of overall effectiveness of the PrimaFit® including comparison to other female urinary catheters will be presented.

UTILIZING THE HIGH IMPACT PRACTICE OF COMMON READ TO PROMOTE STUDENT ADVOCACY IN STRESS MANAGEMENT, RESILIENCY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.. Robin Levinbook, Nardia Miller-Mohsin, Janet Franzese, and Kathleen Pecinka. Nursing Department.

Nurses are called upon to be advocates, teachers and activists, having to focus on mental health promotion as it relates to stress management, coping and resilience. During this past year, the mental health and well-being of the college community has been one of great concern. The Common Read initiative is a high-impact practice that endorses cross-disciplinary events in support of a campus-wide, shared reading of a selected text.?These events allow students to engage socially and academically across the campus, as well as contribute to the attainment of course, program and general education student learning outcomes. Integrating the Common Read into the community and behavioral health clinical rotations involved discussions centered around the graphic novel, They Called Us Enemy by George Takei. Identifying the recurring themes of coping and resiliency, nursing students created informative, interactive presentations delivered via Zoom to the campus community. Information centered around tools and resources significant in the management of mental health and well-being, particularly focused on managing current stressors imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Student created handouts highlighting both the community and campus based resources were placed on the Common Read Blackboard site for access by the college community.

COLLEGE STUDENTS STRESS LEVELS WHILE ATTENDING SCHOOL DURING A PANDEMIC. Tenzin Tsetan, Kate Sioson, Johanne Cesarius, Jessica Prepetit, and Philip Nelan. Nursing Department.

In this study, we studied the effects of the pandemic on the mental health of students. We conducted a literature search and found statistics from the Texas A&M University of 195 students that stated that 71% experienced increased levels of stress and anxiety due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while 20% reported no change and 9% stated they had a decrease in levels of stress and anxiety. Forty-four percent of students in the study also reported depressive thoughts, and 8% indicated experiencing suicidal thoughts. We also analyzed a YouTube video which discussed how the pandemic has affected students. This data mirrors the negative psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on college students . There are multiple studies that are being conducted as the pandemic is still present.?

STUDY OF IRON IN A PLANT AT DIFFERENT GROWTH STAGES USING X-RAY ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY. Kainat Mughal, Joel Andrade, and Sunil Dehipawala. Physics Department.

X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) is a widely used technique to investigate the chemical nature and composition of materials. We will use this technique to study iron in different plants. Since plants contribute to our diet, it is important to know the amount of iron in plants. In addition, we will investigate whether and how changes in chemical environment (soil composition) affect iron content in various parts of plant species. This study is important to vegetarians because unlike meat eaters, they (vegetarians) depend on plants to fulfill their daily iron intake. Iron deficiency can cause serious problems such as lethargy, fatigue, reduced resistance to cold, impaired learning, hypoferremia and reduced resistance to cold. Therefore, it is important to know the amount of iron present in different regions of a plant. We collected tissue samples from a plant at different growth stages and analyzed structural properties of iron using XAS. Relative amounts of iron normalized to mass and possible changes in structural properties will be presented.

SONIC BOOM PROPAGATION IN A NON-HOMOGENEOUS ATMOSPHERE. KANIZ FATEMA and Kimberly Riegel. Physics Department.

Sonic booms from large supersonic aircraft can be especially noisy and alarming. They can also disturb sleep and cause minor structural damage. These loud noises resulted in a ban on supersonic flight over land. While sonic booms cannot be completely avoided, research indicates that by carefully shaping the aircraft, the nuisance caused by them can be minimized to the point where overland supersonic flight becomes a viable choice. Understanding how sound propagates throughout the atmosphere is essential in understanding how it will sound on the ground. The International Standards Organization has a standard atmosphere profile to provide the average temperature in the atmosphere with increasing altitude. This study has implemented code to propagate sonic booms through the standard atmosphere. To compare the standard atmosphere to real weather data, the CFSv2 was used to obtain some real weather data. Understanding how a sonic boom travels through the atmosphere and interacts with varying temperature profiles creates an accurate model of sonic boom loudness and position. Future work will focus on using these realistic weather profiles to propagate the sonic booms to see the effect of different temperature in the resulting sound.

PRIOR CONCEPTUAL KNOWLEDGE AMONG INTRO LEVEL PHYSICS STUDENTS: WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM IT?. Priscila Buele and Rex Taibu. Physics Department.

Assessment and analysis of students' prior knowledge when they come into the classroom or before they begin a new topic, can help educators craft instructional strategies that acknowledge students' strengths and weaknesses. This study will analyze prior conceptual knowledge (as measured by the Force Concept Inventory (FCI)) among students. The sample to be analyzed has 146 community college students having a variety of majors and degree levels. Data was collected in three consecutive semesters. Analysis of data will involve descriptive statistics (means, correlations, etc.). First, data will be analyzed in terms of students' major and degree level. Second, data will be analyzed to explore if prior knowledge (FCI pre-test scores) can predict lab/course grade and class attendance. Third, average pre-test scores of students will be compared with various scores from the literature. Results of this study will reveal more about the use of the FCI among community college students and possibly inform instructional approaches of students under consideration.

QPAC LIVE! BROADCAST – STUDENT FILM FESTIVAL PREMIERE – EPISODE ONE

Susan Agin, Queensborough Performing Arts Center (QPAC)

QPAC partners with QCC faculty members to explore how to deliver engaging, inclusive, and learning-rich virtual programs, during a time of physical-distancing. Delivered remotely, QPAC Live! hosts a premiere of short documentary, comedy and horror films, created by QCC's Video Production students. The program consisting of short films also features interviews with the student filmmakers, conducted by QPAC's Executive & Artistic Director Susan Agin, and presiding faculty member Daniel McKleinfeld of the Speech & Theatre Department. Appearing in this trailer: Faculty: Daniel McKleinfeld, Moderator: Susan Agin, Students: Kiara Aves, Nick Biazzo

Student Film Festival Episode One

QPAC LIVE! BROADCAST – STUDENT FILM FESTIVAL PREMIERE – EPISODE TWO

Susan Agin, Queensborough Performing Arts Center (QPAC)

QPAC partners with QCC faculty members to explore how to deliver engaging, inclusive, and learning-rich virtual programs, during a time of physical-distancing. Delivered remotely, QPAC Live! hosts a premiere of short documentary, comedy and horror films, created by QCC's Video Production students. The program consisting of short films also features interviews with the student filmmakers, conducted by QPAC's Executive & Artistic Director Susan Agin, and presiding faculty member Daniel McKleinfeld of the Speech & Theatre Department. Appearing in this trailer: Faculty: Daniel McKleinfeld, Moderator: Susan Agin, Students: Samuel Henry, Drejon Blocker

Student Film Festival Episode Two

QPAC LIVE! BROADCAST – STUDENT FILM FESTIVAL PREMIERE – EPISODE THREE

Susan Agin, Queensborough Performing Arts Center (QPAC)

QPAC partners with QCC faculty members to explore how to deliver engaging, inclusive, and learning-rich virtual programs, during a time of physical-distancing. Delivered remotely, QPAC Live! hosts a premiere of short documentary, comedy and horror films, created by QCC's Video Production students. The program consisting of short films also features interviews with the student filmmakers, conducted by QPAC's Executive & Artistic Director Susan Agin, and presiding faculty member Eileen White of the Speech & Theatre Department. Appearing in this trailer: Faculty: Eileen White, Moderator: Susan Agin, Students: Christian Nicolas Tassy, Nick Biazzo, Nathan Chen

Student Film Festival Episode Three

COMMUNITY ARTS ORGANIZATIONS RESPOND TO COVID. Hollie Schiebler and Julia Rothenberg. Social Sciences Department.

Reflecting a service-oriented approach and the influence of participatory art practices community-based arts institutions (CBAIs) directly serve the interests of local community members. Rather than providing programing that fits mainstream art world norms, they support local artists, feature programing related to the experience of community members and sometimes provide services such as food pantries, English Language classes and other social services. These organizations tend to be smaller than more mainstream arts organizations, have limited funding channels and rely on the participation of local artists and community members more than arts organizations located in central or gentrifying neighborhoods. I will present the results of ongoing research I have been doing in Professor Rothenberg's sociology of the arts class on the impact of the pandemic and its economic fallout on the Queens Museum, an important community-based arts institution in Flushing, Queens. My data consists of qualitative and quantitative data on the impact of the pandemic on the communities served by the Queens Museums and the museum's outreach during the pandemic as well as the economic impact of the pandemic on the organization itself.

AT A CROSSROADS: THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON 2020 HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES' ACADEMIC MOTIVATION AND POST-FORMAL GOALS. Yvonne Rodriguez and Jody Resko. Social Sciences Department.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unexpected disruptions in education, especially for high school graduates from the COVID cohort of 2020. For these students, major milestones (e.g., graduation, senior prom) were replaced by simulated events, informal gatherings, or were entirely non-existent. Studies have begun documenting devastating impacts to students due to the loss of school routines and rituals ^{(1, 2)}. These rituals have been previously linked to academic motivation and self-esteem ⁽³⁾. Therefore, it is likely that these disruptions have negatively impacted academic motivation and post-formal educational goals for recent high school graduates. This study will 1) describe the experiences of high school graduates in the COVID cohort of 2020; 2) describe changes in their goals and motivation from March 2020 - Spring 2021; 3) identify the effects of educational disruptions on academic motivation; and 4) determine the relationship between educational disruptions, post-formal education and goals, academic motivation, and demographic variables. New York high school graduates from the COVID cohort of 2020 will comprise the sample. Participants will complete a brief demographics survey that assesses end of year high school experiences and changes in post-formal educational goals. Participants will also complete Vallerand et al.'s ⁽⁴⁾ Academic Motivation Scale [AMS].

COLLEGE STUDENTS ADHERENCE TO CORONAVIRUS LOCKDOWN MEASURES AND ITS RELATION TO REPORTED PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AND SLEEP QUALITY. Benjamin Menchell, Kersha Smith, and Rommel Robertson. Social Sciences Department.

The full impact of the Lockdown/quarantine measures implemented during the Coronavirus pandemic is still yet to be fully understood by researchers. The current study investigated the relation between adherence versus non-adherence to coronavirus lockdown/quarantine measures, psychological well-being and sleep quality of college students. We hypothesized that students' rigid or strict compliance with the lockdown/quarantine measures implemented during period of March 2020 to December 2020 would result in the reporting of poor psychological well-being and sleep quality. A total of 171 college students in the NYC area completed a 71-item questionnaire that included survey items designed to assess participants' sleep quality, psychological well-being, mental well-being, and self-reports about adherence to the quarantine/lockdown measures. Independent samples t-test results revealed that, contrary to predictions, there were no significant differences in reported sleep quality, psychological well-being or mental well-being for students who reported strict adherence to quarantine/lockdown guidelines compared to students did not report strict adherence to the guidelines. Given its importance, more research is needed to better understand the human impact of lockdown measures.

THE BRONX DOCUMENTARY CENTER: ARTS AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH DURING A PANDEMIC. Tahreem Ashraf and Julia Rothenberg. Social Sciences Department.

I have been working on a semester long research project in Professor Rothenberg's sociology of arts class investigating the impact of the COVID 19 epidemic on community-based arts institutions in New York City. I have been collecting qualitative and quantitative data on the Bronx Documentary Center, a small photographic organization in the South Bronx which supports local photographers whose work reflects the experience of community members. I have been collecting and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data concerning the demographic composition of the community and the impact of the pandemic on that community and on the institution and the center's response to the needs of the community during these difficult times. Toward the end of the semester, I will be conducting an interview with a staff member on the institution's response to the pandemic and the steps that they will take to continue their mission despite the economic fall-out from the pandemic. I will present the data that I have collected so far and place it in the context of the role of the arts and arts institutions in New York City.

"HIS BACK TURNED SQUARELY ON THE CITY": CHILD EMIGRATION IN THE EMPIRE STATE, 1853-1929. Kaylyn Kelly and Amy Traver. Social Sciences Department.

From 1853-1929, the Children's Aid Society (or CAS), a Protestant child-saving organization, used "orphan trains" to emigrate more than 100,000 New York City children to family farms across the United States. Notably, while more CAS émigrés were placed in New York than in any other state, little is known about the experiences of these children. In this historical-sociological research paper, I aim to address this gap in our understanding through analysis of more than 75 years of the CAS' Annual Reports. The paper begins with a review of the literature on the orphan trains and an explanation of the methods used. It then segues into a presentation of my research findings. The paper ends with a discussion of my findings and conclusions related to the existing literature.

THE THING THAT FINALLY DID IT: COVID- 19 AND PARTICIPATION IN MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT. Lori Dean and Anissa Moody. Social Sciences Department.

Recent studies have shown the impact of Covid-19 to have far-reaching effects. Students are reporting concerns about their health status and their employment status, financial stability, and ability to be successful with online learning at this time. The most commonly reported symptoms are depression and anxiety, though students also engage with mental health practitioners regarding crisis responses. CUNY students are especially vulnerable as under-resourced public university students. This study aims to analyze whether COVID-19 has impacted participation in mental health treatment within the CUNY school system population. This pilot study attempts to drill down to understand the nuanced pattern of mental health participation prompted by the increase of teletherapy and remote mental health tools. An online survey questionnaire will measure service utilization rates from CUNY's twenty-five college counseling centers. Mental health participation rates, including formal counseling, crisis interventions, wellness interventions, online apps, and other forms of attempts to address mental health, will be assessed from current CUNY students.

UNDERSTANDING VIEW OF EXCATUIONS AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS. Madison Otway and Celia Sporer. Social Sciences Department.

Executions have been part of social control, punishment and the overall criminal justice system for the entirety of human history. Capital punishment is said to serve the criminal justice goal of deterrence and retribution, yet there is a great of controversy about its application and implementation. Many believe they know the truth about capital punishment but when pushed to provide reputable sources for their knowledge they are unable to comply. This study's primary goal is to see if the average person can distinguish between the myths and facts of capital punishment and how such abilities (or inabilities) influences their level of support for capital punishment. Additionally, this study will look to see how Television, movies and other fictionalized accounts portray those who receive capital punishment and how such portrays can lead to the inability to distinguish between the myths and facts of capital punishment.

EMPATHY TO ACTION. Joseph Distl IV, Geovanny Guzman, Kristopher Harris, and Heather Huggins. Speech Communication and Theatre Arts Department.

Joseph Distl IV, Geovanny Guzman, and Kristopher Harris advocate for transformation at QCC by illuminating the urgency for learning communities which cultivate empathy and which support empathy to action in our everyday lives, communities, and systems. This video is an excerpt from peacebuilding through awareness and improvisation, co-sponsored by CUNY's Transforming Learning in the Humanities. Joe facilitates as Kris demonstrates; Kris shares his poem A Pattern in Black and White and reflection; Geo shares a multimedia project and reflection. This project was developed by a participatory action research (PAR) community that began in April 2018; it was initiated by PAR members who are also alumni of Global Citizenship Alliance led by Lampeto (Bette) Efthymiou, in partnership with the Kupferberg Holocaust Center and the recent exhibition "Survivance and Sovereignty on Turtle Island." The interdisciplinary PAR integrates an innovative social art form known as Social Presencing Theater (SPT); SPT embodies Theory U (Otto Scharmer, MIT) by "joining physical and spatial intelligence with emotional and cognitive intelligence" (Arawana Hayashi, SPT).The research contributes to scholarship on systems change and diversity, equity, inclusion, via presentations, performances, and experiential offerings; it aligns with the high-impact practices of global and diversity learning and undergraduate research.

FREE MINDS WONDER. ¹Delasia Vanterpool, ¹Christopher Julian Jimenez, and ²Aliza Atik. ¹Speech Communication and Theatre Arts Department, ²English Department.

Delasia Vanterpool will be performing an original poem about not being nurtured and loved by a mother's warmth but, being neglected and having to learn to develop on your own. The poem will reflect on how to be your own mother when motherly role models aren't around. It examines how friends begin to take spaces and responsibilities in life, typically designated to mothers, and how fathers do the best they can to support you.