May 9, 2018 - bmcc.cuny.edu · # PRESENTER DISCIPLINE PROJECT TITLE MENTOR FUND 1 Science ... Antioxidant capacity of guava: ... chemistry courses Sumeyra Yumak,

May 9, 2018

BoroughofManhattanCommunityCollege

TheCityUniversityofNewYork

P a g e | 1 2018 BMCC ANNUAL RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

PROGRAM

TIME EVENT ROOM

9:00am–10:00am REGISTRATION & BREAKFAST

FITERMAN

HALL ~

13th Floor

10:05am - 10:15am

OPENING REMARKS & KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

FITERMAN

HALL

~ F1306/07

Opening Remarks:

Karrin E. Wilks, Ed.D., SVP and Provost of Academic Affairs

Helene Bach, Ph.D., Director of Research

10:15am - 11:15am

STUDENT ORAL PRESENTATIONS

10:15am-10:25am: Brenda Lagares and Reese Long, Combination of

Griffithsin and Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies

Results in Antiviral synergy Against HIV

10:25am-10:35am: Clarissa Martinez, An Internet-Based Survey to Learn

About End Users Preference on Multipurpose

Prevention Technologies

10:35am-10:45am: Claudia Melo, Victor Cruz, and Victor Sorel, Antiviral

and Antibacterial Properties of Guava (Psidium

guajava L.)

10:45am-10:55am: Jairo Molina and Kyle Jean-Pierre, Human-Robot

Communication for Assistive Robot

10:55am-11:05am: Alexis Martinez, The Termination of NAFTA:

Snowballing America’s Next Catastrophe

11:05am-11:15am: Khadijatou Baldeh, Extent of Bottle Water Use vs.

Tap Water/Drinking Water Fountain se in Food

Deserts Area of New York City

11:30am - 1:00pm

RESEARCH FACULTY PANEL DISCUSSION & LUNCH BMCC faculty in a variety of fields will discuss their experience with

research and will provide advice about getting involved in on-campus

research. Faculty will be answering common questions amongst students

as well as questions students may have about any aspect of research.

1:00pm - 3:30pm REGISTRATION

RICHARD HARRIS

TERRACE PROMENADE


1:30pm – 3:00pm POSTER SESSION I

RICHARD HARRIS

TERRACE

3:15pm – 4:45pm POSTER SESSION II

4:45pm - 5:15pm PRESENTATION OF CERTIFICATES Helene Bach, Ph.D., Director of Research


Message from the President

Dear Students:

Congratulations on being selected to participate in the

2018 BMCC Annual Research Symposium. The depth and

quality of the research showcased today by your

presentations are a source of pride to your faculty mentors,

departments, the college and yourselves. We are so happy

to see your contributions to the research community at

BMCC. You and your faculty mentors bring BMCC to the

forefront as a premier college engaging students in cutting

edge research.

I commend you for the diligence and professionalism reflected by your poster and

oral presentations. You all constitute the very best the college has to offer in

research and scholarly activity and I wish you the very best as you pursue your

academic and research goals in the years ahead. We are proud of you!

Sincerely,

Antonio Pérez, Ph.D.

President


Message from the Senior Vice President and Provost

Dear Students:

It is with great pleasure that I join you in attending the 2018

BMCC Annual Research Symposium. This event provides an

opportunity for our research students and faculty mentors

to present the very best of their scholarly work, and we are

proud to exhibit and celebrate your research once again.

The 2018 poster presentations showcase a diverse

collection of research topics spanning a wide range of

disciplines. This event demonstrates the unique

undergraduate research opportunities at BMCC, made

possible by the dedication and academic excellence of our faculty, as well as the

talent and commitment of our students. I am thoroughly impressed with the caliber

and significant outcomes of your research. These activities are not only expanding

and developing your own education and career preparation, but also contributing to

a rich and thriving research community at BMCC.

Heartfelt congratulations to you and your mentors for another year of outstanding

undergraduate research! We greatly appreciate the opportunity to share your

academic accomplishments with the entire college community.

Thank you,

Karrin E. Wilks, Ed.D.

Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs


Message from the Director of Research

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff:

I want to thank all of you for your hard work and commitment

to making our 2018 BMCC Annual Research Symposium

event successful. This event represents the efforts of many

dedicated members of the BMCC community and I take

great pride in being a part of that community. It is thrilling to

experience the excitement and passion with which students

here at BMCC conduct scholarly research with their faculty

mentors. It is equally satisfying to see the amount of time and commitment that the

faculty dedicates to mentoring all their student researchers. I am very happy to see

so many of you involved in scholarly inquiry in so many different disciplines that are

represented in our ever-expanding poster session. I look forward to working with all

of you as you pursue your scholarly endeavors.

This year, the student posters are judged and the top three presenting students will

receive funding towards travel to a national conference. I want to thank the Office of

Academic Affairs for their support in providing these awards and their continued

efforts to strengthen our research community at BMCC. I would like to give a special

thanks to the faculty who mentor our research students and spend countless hours

devoted to furthering the research enterprise at BMCC. I would also like to thank all

faculty and staff who have volunteered to participate in judging the posters this year

and the coordinators of all the undergraduate research programs for their continued

support of our student researchers.

Helene Bach, Ph.D.

Director of Research


POSTER SESSION I: STUDENT PRESENTERS RICHARD HARRIS TERRACE ~ 1:30pm – 3:00pm

# PRESENTER DISCIPLINE PROJECT TITLE MENTOR FUND

1

Adkhamjon Soliev

Science

Bioremoval of dibenzothiophene from synthetic fuels by chemically-modified solid

wastes

Abel Navarro, Ph.D.

BFF

2 Jesus Hernandez Science Recovery of water-soluble proteins from meat industries by low-cost adsorbents

Abel Navarro, Ph.D.

MSEIP

3 Younes Zerhouni Science Equilibrium studies on the adsorption and

desorption of malachite green dye by spent tealeaves

Abel Navarro, Ph.D.

BFF

4 Claudia Melo Science Antioxidant capacity of guava: a traditional

medicinal plant used in the Dominican Republic (psidium guajava)

Adolfina Koroch, Ph.D.

MSEIP

5 Ho Yin Wong Science Analysis of the bioactivity of a traditional

South African medicinal plant: rooibos Alexander

Gosslau, Ph.D. CRSP

6 Vito DiGiorgio III Science Studying the alloys of the cuals2 - cufes2

system Barys Korzun,

Ph.D. BFF

7 Aleksandra

Artyfikiewicz Economics Composting: A benefit or a cost for BMCC?

Christine Farias, Ph.D.

CRSP

8 Jeno Jaramillo Economics

Regional trade agreements contribution to economic diversification and growth in Latin

America

Christine Farias, Ph.D. BFF

9 Alexis Martinez Economics

The termination of NAFTA: snowballing America’s next catastrophe


CRSP

10 Marie Sayas Science Identifying biodiversity in the Central Park

turtle pond Christine

Priano, Ph.D. CSTEP

11 William Ye Science Comparison of microorganisms in the east

river and the Hudson River

Christine

Priano, Ph.D. CSTEP

12 Maftuna

Kurbonnazarova Science

Testing saltwater bacteria for their response to varying salinity

Christine

Priano, Ph.D. CSTEP



NO. PRESENTER DISCIPLINE PROJECT TITLE MENTOR FUND

13 Yuanhe Ye Mathematics Fractal analysis of US stock prices Glenn Miller,

Ph.D. BFF

14 Khadijatou Baldeh

Social Sciences, Human Services,

and Criminal Justice

Extent of bottle water use vs tap water/drinking water fountain use in food

deserts areas of NYC

Henry Bulley, Ph.D.

CRSP

15 Qing Lan



Attitudes towards drinking water fountains vs prevalence of bottled water use in NYC

Henry Bulley, Ph.D.

CRSP

16 Zhuoquan Chen Science Assessing water quality of drinking water

fountains vs bottled water use in NYC Henry Bulley,

Ph.D. CRSP

17 Jihad Gadsden Science The effects of forskolin on cultured SH-SY5Y

neuroblastoma cells

Jane Tezapsidis,

Ph.D. CRSP

18 Meagan Young Science The rhythm of sleep Jane

Tezapsidis, Ph.D.

19 Brenda Lagares Science Combination of griffithsin and broadly

neutralizing antibodies results in antiviral synergy against HIV-1

José Fernandez

Romero, Ph.D. MSEIP

20 Nadjet Cornejal Science Human vaginal fluid components do not

affect griffithsin anti-HIV properties

José Fernandez

Romero, Ph.D. CSTEP

21 Gabriela Kimanyen Science Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for

biology laboratory practices

José Fernandez

Romero, Ph.D. CRSP

22 Tiffany Garcia Science Antiviral activity of chyawamprash against

herpes simplex virus 1 and 2

José Fernandez

Romero, Ph.D. LSAMP

23 Clarissa Martinez Science An internet-based survey to learn about end

users preferences on multipurpose prevention technologies

José Fernandez Romero, Ph.D.,

and Barbara Friedland, MPH of

the Population Council

CSTEP

24 Bohdan Klotska Mathematics Fractional parentage coefficients and

methods of their calculations

Klara LaGrance,

Ph.D. CSTEP




25 Chi Fai Lam Science

North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecasts as a potential source of cool-season

precipitation estimate to fill gaps in radar precipitation fields

Kibrewossen Tesfagiorgis,

Ph.D. CSTEP

26 Jinyu Wu Science BAlq embedded silica nanoparticles for

photonic crystals engineering Luis González-Urbina, Ph.D.

CRSP

27 Jorge Yumiseba Science Use of dynamic light scattering for colloidal

silica nanoparticles characterization Luis González-Urbina, Ph.D.

MSEIP

28 Walmy Marine Science Convolutional neural net Marcos

Betancourt, Ph.D.

CSTEP

29 Alexander Rue Psychology The role of attention in unconscious working

memory Marjan

Persuh, Ph.D. CRSP

30 Amanda McKenzie Psychology How does attention affect the richness of our

visual experience? Marjan

Persuh, Ph.D. CRSP

31 Saleha Abbasi Psychology Richness of visual perception Marjan

Persuh, Ph.D. CRSP

32 Erick Cochea Science Study of the w-boson on the LHC Miguel

Fiolhais, Ph.D. CSTEP

33 Min Shin Khant Science Autonomous robot: strategic pick up and

delivery Krongchai Praponpoj

CSTEP

34 Mohamed Tijani Science Solar panels & optical systems Shalva

Tsiklauri, Ph.D.

CRSP

35 Genevieve Lieske Science Students’ experience of taking online/hybrid

chemistry courses

Sumeyra Yumak, Ph.D.

and Hasan Yumak, Ph.D.

36 Lottyizet Nunez



Do students perform better in traditional face-to-face, online or hybrid sections of the

course?

Yana Durmysheva,

Ph.D. CRSP

37 Thalia Herrera



Student attrition in e-learning vs. traditional sections of general psychology course

Yana Durmysheva,

Ph.D. CRSP


POSTER SESSION II: STUDENT PRESENTERS RICHARD HARRIS TERRACE ~ 3:15pm – 4:45pm


38 Rolanda Saint Louis Science Biological activities of momordica charantia:

potential antioxidant capacity of bitter melon Adolfina

Koroch, Ph.D. MSEIP

39 Claudia Melo Science Antiviral and antibacterial properties of

guava (psidium guajava L.)

Adolfina Koroch, Ph.D., and José

Fernandez Romero, Ph.D.

MSEIP

40 Eric Pereira Science Biological activity of taraxacum officinale Adolfina

Koroch, Ph.D. CRSP

41 Shaiku Jalloh Science Bioactivity of the medicinal plant lippia multiflora against oxidative stress and

inflammation

Alexander Gosslau, Ph.D.

CRSP

42 Alexis Delapuente



An inquiry in pedagogical praxis & maker pedagogy

Ali Syed, Ph.D.

43 Rohan Rashid Science Scanning electron microscopy and energy

dispersive spectroscopy of alloys of the CuFeS2 - CuInS2 system

Barys Korzun, Ph.D.

BFF

44 Meryl Slay Science Antimicrobial properties of black tea extract on oral pathogen porphyromonas gingivalis

Brian Rafferty, Ph.D.

BFF

45 Evan Rumsky Science

Superconductor critical temperature transition: graphical analysis of

superconducting samples of yttrium barium copper oxide (YBa2Cu3O7−x) in heat capacity

Measurements from Superconducting to Normal State

Carlos Chaparro,

Ph.D. CSTEP

46 Abdulai Jalloh Mathematics The one dimensional filter equation and bio-

remediation of heavy metal contaminated water

Christopher McCarthy,

Ph.D. CRSP

47 Senayit Menasche Mathematics ODE model of adsorption based water filters Christopher McCarthy,

Ph.D. CRSP

48 Marawan Elzoeiry Science Adsorbate induced-segregation effects in three different mixed oxides: a computer-

based study

Daniel Torres, Ph.D.

CRSP

49 Soyeon Kim Science Magnetic quenching effect on catalysis: a

computer-based study Daniel Torres,

Ph.D. CSTEP




50 Karol Malachowicz Mathematics Applications of graphical models David Allen,

Ph.D. CSTEP

51 Jiahua Liao Computer

Information Systems

An autonomous ground explorer using computer vision

Hao Tang, Ph.D.

CRSP

52 Tiantian Xia Computer

Information Systems

Improvement of map learning application Hao Tang,

Ph.D. CRSP

53 Jo Eun Kim Mathematics Backward induction and graph theory Jaewoo Lee,

Ph.D. CRSP

54 Fadimatou Mossi Science Study of location error In satellite

precipitation estimates using A radar-gauge product

Kibrewossen Tesfagiorgis,

Ph.D. CSTEP

55 Humberto Molina Science Isolation and characterization of surface bacteria associated with the sea urchin

lytechinus variegatus

Lalitha Jayant, Ph.D.

MSEIP

56 Nathalie Rivera Science Flipping the general chemistry classroom to

reduce attrition rates in BMCC students

Lauren Wickstrom,

Ph.D. S-STEM

57 Sheila Sarkar Science Molecular recognition of cell adhesion

proteins: does water help the candida fungal pathogen colonize a host?

Lauren Wickstrom,

Ph.D. CRSP

58 Alice Wu Mathematics Solving liouville-type problems in calculus by

extending q-energy from finite to infinite Lina Wu, Ph.D. CRSP

59 Khamysse El halouani

Science Machine learning in polypeptide structures Marcos

Betancourt, Ph.D.

CSTEP

60 Kamaria Hodge Academic Literacy

and Linguistics A postcolonial examination of community

college researchers

Maureen T. Matamarese,

Ph.D. CSTEP

61 Ehab Elrawi Science Search for z bosons at the LHC Miguel

Fiolhais, Ph.D. CSTEP




62 Jairo Molina Computer

Information Systems

Human-robot communication for assistive robot

Mohammad Azhar, Ph.D.

CSTEP

63 Marco Santana Computer

Information Systems

Home robot: navigating turtlebot Mohammad Azhar, Ph.D.

MSEIP

64 Treeshan Yeadram Computer

Information Systems

Robot navigation in an unknown environment employing active mapping


CSTEP

65 Alyona Karmazin Media Arts and

Technology From idea to virtual reality: exploring VR

programming in unity Owen

Roberts, Ph.D. WiTNY

66 Claudia Guerrero Science Effect Of Reiki On The Egg laying function of

the c. elegans mutant SMA-3

Patricia Deleon, Ph.D. and Jun Liang,

Ph.D.

CSTEP

67 Brandon Short Science Kinetic recycling: capturing the kinetic energy

of a decelerating vehicle for future use Rafael

Niyazov, Ph.D. CRSP

68 Michael Rosado Science Capturing energy of a moving vehicle Rafael

Niyazov, Ph.D. CRSP


POSTER SESSION I STUDENT PRESENTER ABSTRACTS

RICHARD HARRIS TERRACE ~ 1:30pm – 3:00pm

1 Presenter: Adkhamjon Soliev

Co-Author(s): Shahjada Al Shahrear

Mentor: Abel Navarro, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Bioremoval of dibenzothiophene from synthetic fuels by chemically-modified solid wastes

Funding: Borough of Manhattan Community College Foundation Fund (BFF)

The presence of sulfur-containing compounds in the fuels has been an important concern in the last decade as an environmental threat due to its association with acid rain and greenhouse gases. This study evaluates the potential use of solid wastes from lignocellulosic sources and their chemical modifications as bio-adsorbents for the removal dibenzothiophene (DBT). The adsorption on spent chamomile, green tea and peppermint was investigated in a batch system with synthetic fuels (gasoline and diesel) as a function of mass, concentration, and desorption. Maximum adsorption was observed with chamomile (CM), reaching an adsorption of 18% in diesel and 15% in gasoline. Then, CM was chemically modified by sulfonation and thiolation, to produce SCM and TCM, respectively. Adsorption assays with these adsorbents show that both SCM and TCM have 31% removal in diesel. A solution of 30% of acetone was more efficient at desorbing DBT from the adsorbents. Adsorbents were characterized by SEM, and FTIR to explore the chemical and morphological properties of these materials as potential adsorbents in non-aqueous systems. This present work highlights the potential use of solids wastes in the elimination of sulfur-containing compounds from model fuels as a low-cost and environmentally friendly purification technique.

2 Presenter: Jesus Hernandez


Discipline: Science

Title: Recovery of water-soluble proteins from meat industries by low-cost adsorbents

Funding: Minority Science Education Improvement Program (MSEIP)

The adsorption behavior of BSA and Hb on inexpensive adsorbents was studied as a model for the recovery of proteins from meat industry residues. Spent peppermint tea (PM), powdered purple corn cob (PC), natural clay (NC) and chemically modified clay (MC) investigated to elucidate the effects of pH, adsorbent dose, initial protein concentration, presence of Hofmeister salts and heavy metals. The results indicate that the maximum adsorption capacities for BSA were reached at pH 8 with capacities around 318 and 344 mg/g with PM and PC, respectively. Hb was also adsorbed by PM and PC at pH 5, achieving adsorption capacities around 125 and 143 mg/g, respectively. The equilibrium data was fitted to isotherm mathematical theories, showing a mixed behavior of the adsorbate/adsorbent pairs. Hofmeister effect was not observed except for PM in Hb. The studied adsorbents also showed an interesting affinity towards copper, confirming their versatility and easy applicability to also remove undesired substances. The results also show complex adsorption mechanisms that varied from by adsorbent and protein. Desorption experiments were also carried out, confirming that proteins can be recovered under mild conditions. This work aims to the recovery of proteins to produce animal food or any protein-based product.




3 Presenter: Younes Zerhouni

Co-Author(s): Zead Elzoeiry


Discipline: Science

Title: Equilibrium studies on the adsorption and desorption of malachite green dye by spent tealeaves


Colored wastewaters are the most obvious contamination due to the small of very small amount of artificial dyes. Activated carbon and sludge are conventional treatment technique for this contamination. This research proposed the alternative use of spent tealeaves of green tea (GT), decaffeinated green tea (DGT), peppermint (PM) and chamomile (CM). Batch equilibrium experiments were conducted at room temperature to determine the optimum conditions that maximize the removal of malachite green (MG) as a model dye. Results indicate that the adsorption is strongly driven by pH, reporting an optimum at 6. For all the adsorbents, less than 150mg of the tealeaves reached the maximum adsorption. The absence of salts and heavy metals also maximize the adsorption of MG. Time-dependent experiments showed that less than 1.5h are needed to reach the equilibrium. Mathematical models of Langmuir, Freundlich, Dubining-Radushkevich and Temkin were used to fit the data. Modeling indicates an adsorption trend of PM˃DGT˃GT˃CM and a maximum adsorption capacity is reached with PM that is able to adsorb 69.7 mg of MG per gram of adsorbent. Desorption of MG from the adsorbents were also investigated, showing that 50% solutions of ethanol and acetone are good desorbing solutions for the recovery of the pollutant and recycling of the adsorbents. Finally instrumental analysis such as thermo-gravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy and infrared spectroscopy were used to characterize the physical and chemical properties of the adsorbents, demonstrating their good potential as adsorbents for the removal of dyes from waste waters. This study will promote further investigation on naturally-occurring biomaterials for their application on the decontamination of water resources.




4 Presenter: Claudia Melo

Co-Author(s): Victor Cruz

Mentor: Adolfina Koroch, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Antioxidant capacity of guava: a traditional medicinal plant used in the Dominican Republic (psidium guajava)


Guava (Psidium guajava L.) is a small tree native to Central and South America. Guava is cultivated in warm, tropical climates all over the world. Its leaves, seeds and even fruit skin can be eaten or used for medical purposes. In the Dominican Republic guava, especially the tea, has been used for indigestion, vertigo, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, fever, anemia, a substituent of toothpaste, a booster for the immune system and other home remedies. Living organisms suffer from degenerative diseases due to the exposure of molecular oxygen in the atmosphere. Molecular oxygen has the tendency to become a free radical that attaches to stable molecules and causes them to become unstable. This causes a chain reaction that will allow a system such as a cell to collapse. One method that living organisms can use to fight this degeneration is by consuming fruits and vegetables that contain antioxidants. These are molecules that can donate an electron to the free radical, making it harmless. Antioxidants can be found in fruits such as guava. The objective of this study is to determine the total phenols found in the Guava commercial samples of the leaves and to correlate this with its antioxidant capacity. The total phenolic and flavonoid content was determined in different commercial leaves plant extracts samples. Samples with the highest concentration of total phenolic and total flavonoid also exhibited highest antioxidant capacity. The results suggest a positive correlation between total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity.

5 Presenter: Ho Yin Wong

Co-Author(s): Daniel Crosby

Mentor: Alexander Gosslau, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Analysis of the bioactivity of a traditional South African medicinal plant: rooibos

Funding: CUNY Research Scholars Program (CRSP)

Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) is an herbal tea traditionally used in South Africa and known for its medicinal properties for generations. Rooibos is rich in polyphenols and many locals have been using Rooibos for treatment against cardiovascular and neurological disorders as well as allergies, diabetes and even cancer. These diseases are linked to oxidative stress and chronic inflammation. Lowering of oxidative stress by antioxidants can thus lower the chronic inflammation cycle and related disorders. Previously, we showed a dose dependent correlation between anti-oxidative capacity and total phenolic content in Rooibos by the use of ABTS assay or Folin-Ciocalteu method, respectively. The data suggest that polyphenolic compounds may be responsible for the effects against oxidative stress. To evaluate potential anti-inflammatory properties of Rooibos we used a cell-based model for inflammation to analyze inflammatory biomarker genes. 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) was used as an inflammatory stimulant. For experiments, the cells were treated with TPA alone and in combination with Rooibos. RNA was then isolated and reverse transcribed to cDNA. TaqMan qPCR was used to test expression levels of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and normalized to the house-keeping gene glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) expressed as ∆Ct values. By comparing the ∆Ct values of TPA vs TPA + Rooibos extract potential anti-inflammatory effects can be analyzed by the use of delta delta ct values. Currently, we did not find significant effects, although there is a positive trend in the reduction of inflammation. In future experiments we will analyze the impact of Rooibos on other inflammatory genes such as TNF-α, ICAM-1, and IL-1β to determine the "inflammatory index", the average of delta delta ct values. Also, a chemical characterization by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis will be used to identify bioactive polyphenols in Rooibos.

6 Presenter: Vito DiGiorgio III

Mentor: Barys Korzun, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Studying the alloys of the CuAlS2 - CuFeS2 system


The goal of the present paper is to study the phase relations and to determine the limits of solubility in the CuAlS2 - CuFeS2 system by X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).The thermobaric treatment (techniques of high pressure and temperature) was applied to prepare samples of the alloys from previously prepared ternary compounds CuAlS2 and CuFeS2. After preparation of the initial compounds, their homogeneous mixtures with molar part of CuFeS2 (x) equaling to 0.025, 0.05, 0.10, 0.125, 0.20, and 0.30 were prepared and treated at the high pressure of 5.5 GPa and temperatures ranging from 1170 to 1270 K. Then the polished sections of samples using different sizes of grains of abrasive compounds were prepared by Scanning Electron Microscopy. Phase formation in the (CuAlS2)1-x-(CuFeS2)x system was investigated and it was found the absence of complete solubility in the (CuAlS2)1-x-(CuFeS2)x system. The formation of solid solutions with the tetragonal structure of chalcopyrite was detected for the compositions with molar part of CuFeS2 x less than 0.20. The system with the compositions with higher content of CuFeS2 contains two phases with the chalcopyrite-like structure – CuAlS2-based and CuFeS2-based phase.




7 Presenter: Aleksandra Artyfikiewicz

Mentor: Christine Farias, Ph.D.

Discipline: Economics

Title: Composting: a benefit or a cost for BMCC?


In today’s America, millions of tons of food are thrown away every year, while about 41 million people cannot provide enough food for their households due to a lack of resources. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, up to 40 percent of food in the United States is wasted and the growing, processing, transporting, and disposing of that uneaten food costs an estimated $218 billion annually . Other costs of food waste are associated with greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, wasted water, loss of biodiversity and species. In New York City, 20% of the waste stream is food waste, so diverting this compostable or recyclable material from the landfill represents a huge opportunity to preserve the environment and cut waste management costs .3 Many educational institutions are already taking advantage of this issue by composting their organic waste. Is food waste an opportunity for the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC)? To answer this question, my poster presentation will attempt to analyze the current BMCC waste management system and compare it to a system that implements composting. The research, besides analyzing costs and benefits of composting on an urban campus, also analyzes its potential impact on the BMCC community and measures the awareness regarding food waste through a survey. The analysis is based on data from the BMCC cafeteria, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the FOR Solutions’ aerobic in-vessel composting system.

8 Presenter: Jeno Jaramillo



Title: Regional trade agreement's contribution to economic diversification and growth in Latin America


According to the World Bank, Latin America, albeit a region abundant in natural resources, has struggled as a region to stabilize economic growth. As stated at the 2017 World Economic Forum, many countries are still lagging from the overdependence on the commodity super-cycle: meaning countries in Latin America are attached to the rise in single commodity prices and do not leverage their wealth from their economic growth with social and economic investment. When commodity prices rise, Latin America experiences growth, when prices fall, the countries in this region fall into recession and financial crises. As a reaction to the overdependence, Latin America, in an effort to diversify has negotiated regional trade agreements modeled after the European Union. Two regional trade agreements are active and thriving today but support contrasting views. One of them is MERCOSUR that consists of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, and Ecuador and champions' protectionist trade policies. The other is the Pacific Alliance, made up of Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Mexico that conclude free trade is the answer to economic diversification and growth. Are free trade policies or protectionist policies resulting in greater diversification of economies in Latin America? To answer this question, my poster, through literature and quantitative review analyzes how these two alliances navigate economic issues in order to escape the commodity super-cycle and advance or inhibit growth in their respective economies and participate in global trade.




9 Presenter: Alexis Martinez



Title: The termination of NAFTA: snowballing America’s next catastrophe


The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was created 20 years ago as one of the largest free trade zones to help boost the Mexican, Canadian and American economies. The U.S. benefits from NAFTA by seeing an increase in trade, wages, productivity, and lower consumer prices. In America NAFTA has created approximately 200,000 new export related jobs and increased average wages by about 15-20% annually. Approximately 14 million jobs rely on trade between Canada and Mexico. In 1993 before NAFTA trade between the 3 countries was around $290 billion dollars whereas in 2016 trade increased to more than $1.1 trillion dollars. While American consumers and businesses were able to enjoy the benefits of NAFTA, today we face a new challenge that will ripple not only America – but the world. Will the termination of NAFTA be the snowball that will bring America into its next catastrophe? To answer this question, my poster/oral presentation will attempt to examine the pros and cons of NAFTA, discuss the possible outcomes if NAFTA is terminated, and provide an economic analysis of the unintended consequences the termination would have for America. The analysis is based on statistical data from Bloomberg, Pew Research Center, Council on Foreign Relations, New York Times, Office of the US Trade Representative and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

10 Presenter: Marie Sayas

Co-Author(s): Fadel Yerima

Mentor: Christine Priano, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Identifying biodiversity in the central park turtle pond

Funding: Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP)

Since 1988, the Turtle Pond in Central Park, NY has been home to over 500 turtles of more than five different species, including painted turtles, musk turtles, yellowbellied sliders, redeared sliders, and snapping turtles. The pond is also subject to possible pollution due to run-off water from the nearby Great Lawn. This project will investigate the different types of microbes that coexist within the same ecosystem as the turtles. A sample of the pond water was collected aseptically. Using a refractometer, the salinity of the water was measured and it was determined that there was no salt, indicating a completely freshwater environment. Standard microbiological and biochemical tests were used to isolate and characterize bacteria that were filtered from the water. Isolated bacteria were grown on selective media, including mTec and McConkey agars. Urease, oxidase, and citrate tests were also performed. Thus far, the isolated bacteria have properties consistent with being Escherichia coli, although further testing is needed to confirm this identification. Also found living in the water sample were ciliated protists. To examine these organisms further, a small amount of the original water sample was incubated at room temperature. After one week, protists were observed to be actively reproducing. All isolated organisms will be identified by DNA analysis. In addition, isolated bacteria and protists will be cultured together to determine conditions of coexistence and possible symbiotic relationships in this local aquatic ecosystem.




11 Presenter: William Ye

Co-Author(s): Nana Magradze


Discipline: Science

Title: Comparison of microorganisms in the east river and the hudson river


Manhattan island is surrounded by the estuaries of two major rivers: the Hudson River and the East River. New York City residents and visitors interact in many ways with the waters of both rivers, for example when fishing, boating, or commuting. It is therefore important to be aware of what types of waterborne microbes inhabit these aquatic ecosystems. For this project, separate water samples were obtained from both rivers. Bacteria were isolated from these samples by sterile filtration and a variety of selective microbiological tests were performed to determine characteristics. These included using various selective media to isolate and grow bacterial clones and conducting biochemical tests to determine the presence of urease, citrase, and oxidase. From the East River sample, five of six isolated bacterial clones have so far tested positive for Escherichia coli. Further biochemical testing and DNA analysis will be performed to confirm the identity of this bacteria. Bacteria isolated from the Hudson River will be subject to the same tests for identification and compared with those from the East River. Because the East River and Hudson River are closely associated with coastal waters, further experiments will be conducted to determine the ability of these bacteria to adapt to changing salt conditions.

12 Presenter: Maftuna Kurbonnazarova

Co-Author(s): Frances Colon


Discipline: Science

Title: Testing saltwater bacteria for their response to varying salinity


New York City is surrounded by several marine waterways. Sheepshead Bay is a coastal bay in the Coney Island area of Brooklyn. The East River is a tidal estuary that connects the Upper New York Bay with the Long Island Sound. Bacteria isolated from both locations exhibit halotolerance, the ability to thrive in high levels of salt. Isolated clones were characterized using selective media, chemical testing, and microscopic staining. Several clones were shown to be consistent with Escherichia coli, although further testing is needed to confirm identification. Initially, all marine bacteria from both locations grew equally well in freshwater and saltwater conditions. To investigate whether these marine bacteria remain halotolerant when grown in freshwater environments for extended periods, the Sheepshead Bay clones were grown in non-marine media for more than 100 generations of serial passages, then returned to marine media and growth rates were measured at the higher salinity. Compared with control clones that were continually maintained on marine media, bacteria that had been exposed to freshwater conditions over multiple generations exhibited decreased growth rates. These results suggest that the bacteria had lost tolerance to salt. Because the liquid media used for serial passages might have yielded a mixture of salt tolerant and salt intolerant bacteria, individual colonies will be isolated using marine agar and growth rates will be determined for clones that exhibit reduced ability to grow on the saltwater agar. In addition, halotolerance of the Sheepshead Bay clones will be compared with that of bacteria isolated from the East River.




13 Presenter: Yuanhe Ye

Mentor: Glenn Miller, Ph.D.

Discipline: Mathematics

Title: Fractal analysis of us stock prices


The purpose of this project is to apply the theory of fractal analysis of time series data developed by Benoit Mandelbrot to investigate the fractal dimension of the prices of individual and portfolios of stocks trading on the US exchanges. Typical portfolio theory uses standard deviation of the corresponding set of data to measure risk, while Mandelbrot and Peters posit that fractal dimension is a preferable way to assess risk and thus build a better investment strategy. We obtained data for a sample of 95 US listed company stocks and computed their fractal dimensions. We have undertaken the programming in R to be able to construct portfolios of stocks (with re-balancing) and then compute the fractal dimension of that time series data for the portfolio’s value over long periods of time. Also, we have run the program from 3-stock portfolios to 24-stock portfolios, from the results, making a conjecture about the effect of the portfolio size on both the level and amount of variation in the fractal dimension of the portfolios. Then, we will analyze data from 95 individual stocks and the portfolio fractal dimensions that run the program composed of random combinations and try to verify the empirical result mathematically.

14 Presenter: Khadijatou Baldeh

Mentor: Henry Bulley, Ph.D.

Discipline: Social Sciences, Human Services, and Criminal Justice

Title: Extent of bottle water use vs tap water/drinking water fountain use in food deserts areas of NYC


Food deserts are areas, especially one with low-income urban residents, where access to affordable and nutritious food, is limited by the lack of grocery stores within convenient distance. Residents of New York City food desert areas, e.g. Central Harlem, but also have concerns about the safety and quality of drinking tap water and water fountains. This exacerbates their susceptibility to concerted campaign to promote bottled water as a healthy alternative to tap water, despite reported issues with the production process of most drinking bottled water. This study is part of a collaborative project to examine the factors influencing NYC residents’ choice of drinking water from tap/fountains compared to bottled water sources. The specific objective is to examine the extent of bottle water use vs tap water/drinking water fountain use in food deserts areas of NYC. A GIS is used to partition the information into food desert areas of NYC vs other parts of the city. A statistical analysis of the survey data will be complemented with selected sampled water quality information, including nitrates (NO3), nitrates (NO2), pH, Alkalinity and Hardness. Additional information on tap water complaints the food deserts will also be analyzed. The results will provide insights into the unique challenges driving the use bottled water in NYC food deserts.




15 Presenter: Qing Lan



Title: Attitudes towards drinking water fountains vs prevalence of bottled water use in NYC


Bottled water consumption in the United States surpassed carbonated soft-drinks in 2016, after decades of consistent media campaign to promote bottled water as a safe alternative to tap water and healthy alternative to bottled soda beverages. This growth has often been fueled by dominant positive perception of bottled water taste and quality, compared to tap water and drinking water fountains. However, it is not clear the factors that influence these perceptions, especially in large metropolitan areas like New York City. This study is part of a collaborative project to examine the factors influencing NYC residents’ choice of drinking water from tap/fountains compared to bottled water sources. The specific objective is to examine consumers’ attitudes towards drinking water fountains vs prevalence of bottled water use in NYC. This study combines a survey of using online questionnaire, of perceptions and prevalence of bottled water use and safety in NYC area, with data from in situ sampled drinking water fountains water quality information that base on different boroughs in NYC, including nitrates (NO3), nitrates (NO2), pH, Alkalinity and hardness. These elements will use to compare with the bottled water sample from the close neighborhoods. By the end of this research, a statistical analysis and GIS-based visualization will be conducted. The results will provide insights into the driving forces for growth in bottled water use in the NYC boroughs.

16 Presenter: Zhuoquan Chen


Discipline: Science

Title: Assessing water quality of drinking water fountains vs bottled water use in NYC


The use of bottled water in cities across the United States, including New York City, have steadily increased in the last two decades due to concerted campaign by the Bottled Water companies. Part of this have been due to success in convincing the people to believe that the bottled water is safe and taste better than tap water. Such perception seems to be pervasive despite reports of water quality issues related to bottled water. This study is part of a collaborative project to examine the factors influencing NYC residents' choice of drinking water from tap/fountains compared to bottled water sources. The specific objective is to assess the water quality of drinking water fountains vs typical bottled water that are used use in NYC. In situ sampling was conducted for drinking water fountains in three NYC (boroughs Brooklyn, Bronx, and Manhattan) to measure selected water quality parameters including nitrates (NO3), nitrates (NO2), pH, Alkalinity and Hardness. For now, the first part of water fountain sampling we collected at stores, supermarket and building, etc. Later, we will move on to public park. In the process of sampling, I found some water fountains did not even work or be discarded. Additionally, water quality test was conducted for typical bottled water including Aquafina, Fiji, and Poland Springs. The water quality results will be overlaid on median income maps of NYC borough. This poster presentation will highlight the spatial distribution of sampled drinking water fountains. The results will be discussed to with reference to spatial differences in perceptions of bottled water quality in different areas of NYC.




17 Presenter: Jihad Gadsden

Mentor: Jane Tezapsidis, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: The effects of forskolin on cultured SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells


Neuroblastoma is a pediatric cancer that starts in nerve cells and is responsible for almost 700 new cases of cancer per year. Our research investigates the impact of Forskolin, a natural compound root extract derived from Plectranthus barbatus, on cellular viability and growth in neuroblastoma. Previous studies,in multiple myeloma U266 cells and mouse models, have shown Forskolin to boost Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), crucial for signal transduction, to induce apoptosis and prohibit tumor growth. Understanding these pathways in neuroblastoma cells may be beneficial to developing new anticancer therapies, as our investigations have shown that SH-SY5Y cells (derived from human neuroblastoma) and E18 embryonic neurons from rats, respond differently to Forskolin. We observed a significant time dependent trend of declining cell viability of up to 54% and 79% when SH-SY5Y cells were treated with Forskolin after 3 or 5 days respectively. However, Forskolin treatment significantly increased survival of E18 neurons up to 11% compared to untreated controls. These results suggest that forskolin has differential effects on normal and tumor cells and further investigation is warranted.

18 Presenter: Meagan Young

Mentor: Jane Tezapsidis, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: The rhythm of sleep

Funding:

Melatonin, often referred to as “The sleep hormone,” is, in humans, secreted by the pineal gland in the brain. The secretions are based off a circadian rhythm, which is a light/dark regulatory system. The effects of melatonin, such as feeling tired, can be attributed to whether it is light or dark outside. It is a natural secretion in response to daylight to regulate sleep. At night, this pineal hormone is very high in the blood relative to daytime, where levels are low. Melatonin is a neurohormone that is synthesized from serotonin, and if disrupted can show up in several physiologic processes other than sleep, including anxiety, appetite, immune responses, and cardiac functions. In this project, we review the role of melatonin and its implications in disease.




19 Presenter: Brenda Lagares

Co-Author(s): Reese Long

Mentor: José Fernandez Romero, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Combination of griffithsin and broadly neutralizing antibodies results in antiviral synergy against HIV-1


The discovery of potent anti-HIV neutralizing agents has opened a new door in the field of HIV prevention. Some of these promising new molecules include the lectin griffithsin and many broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs). We studied the combination of griffithsin with five different bNAbs (179NC75, 10-1074, 3BNC117, VRC01-C and PGT-121) in order to assess the antiviral relationship. We used the TZM-bl assay to test the antiviral activity against clade B HIV-1 isolates. Our results show that the combination of griffithsin and bNAbs results in an increased antiviral activity (between 1.2-30 fold increase) and in some cases resulted in antiviral synergy with combination indexes below 1. The combination of both molecules could be used as a strategy to prevent HIV-1 infection and may increase potency and antiviral spectrum while also minimizing resistance development.

20 Presenter: Nadjet Cornejal

Co-Authors: Zeinabou Salifou


Discipline: Science

Title: Human vaginal fluid components do not affect griffithsin anti-HIV properties


Griffithsin (GRFT) is a lectin with broad antimicrobial activity. GRFT potency and broad spectrum against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has prompted its development as a potential microbicide to prevent HIV acquisition. We received cervicovaginal lavages (CVLs) from seven healthy women applying a GRFT gel intravaginally as part of a Phase 1 safety trial. The CVLs were collected 24hours after gel application. We performed ELISA to quantify GRFT in CVL. Antiviral activity and cytotoxicity were evaluated using the TZM-bl and XTT assays, respectively. Softmax Pro 7 Software was used to analyze the ELISA data. GraphPad Prism Software, Inc. was used to prepare curvefitting analysis and to calculate the median cytotoxicity conentration (CC50) and the half-maximal effective concentration values (EC50). We obtained GRFT concentrations between 0.5 and 20 μg/mL in CVLs. The antiviral assay shows EC50 values between 0.18 and 0.55 ng/mL versus 0.43 ng/mL for the CVL samples and GRFT control, respectively. This result suggests that GRFT remains fully active after 24hours in the human cervicovaginal tract and support the development of GRFT as a vaginal microbicide.




21 Presenter: Gabriela Kimanyen

Co-Author(s): Brenda Lagares


Discipline: Science

Title: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for biology laboratory practices


Enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) are versatile, simple and sensitive immunoassays that exploit the specificity of antibody/antigen reaction. ELISA are widely use in all fields of pure and applied biology and are extremely important tool in diagnostics. This is a technique that every student interested in biological sciences should know. We developed a cost-effective rapid ELISA that could be performed in a 3 hours laboratory practice. For this purpose, a direct sandwich ELISA was selected as the preferred ELISA format in a 96-well microplate solid phase. The assay consisted in 5 steps: i) coating the plate with a capture antibody, ii) blocking, iii) adding standards/samples iv) adding detection antibody conjugated to horseradish peroxidase, v) and finally adding substrate followed by the stop solution. The absorbance values were determined in a Spectramax iD3 (Molecular Devices, LLC) microplate reader at 450nm, with a subtraction wavelength of 570nm. Softmax Pro 7 was used for data analysis. The preliminary results show an acceptable standard curve performance (system suitability), with coefficients of variation below 20%. We obtained a lower limit of quantification of 7.8 ng/mL. The precision and accuracy are within the established limits and key reagents (antibodies) are stable at -70°C (with or without glycerol) for at least 4 months. The ELISA is cost-effective (less than $16.00 per plate; 1 plate per bench should be used in the laboratory practice). The assay will be introduced as a new laboratory practice in BIO230 (Fundamentals of Microbiology) at BMCC.




22 Presenter: Tiffany Garcia

Co-Author(s): Reese Long


Discipline: Science

Title: Antiviral activity of chyawamprash against herpes simplex virus 1 and 2

Funding: Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP)

Chyawanprash is an herbal formulation to which multiple health benefits have been attributed. We recently reported anti-HIV activity and started the investigation of its antiviral properties against other sexually transmitted infections. Herein we explored the potential anti-herpes simplex virus type 1 and 2 (HSV1 and HSV-2) activity. We performed two independent experiments to access the in vitro therapeutic index against HSV-1 and HSV-2. For this purpose, aqueous and methanol fractions of Chyawanprash were diluted to prepare a dose-response curve and test the antiviral and virucidal activity using the plaque reduction assay. Cytotoxicity was evaluated using the XTT assay. GraphPad Prism Software, Inc. was used to prepare curvefitting analysis and to calculate the median cytotoxicity concentration (CC50) and the half-maximal effective concentration values (EC50). The therapeutic index (TI) was calculated using the CC50 / EC50 ratio. Our results show promising TI values above 10. Future studies will identify the active pharmaceutical component(s) that contribute to this antiviral activity. These new compounds may have the potential to be used in different topical formulation/devices to prevent/treat herpes simplex infection.

23 Presenter: Clarissa Martinez

Mentor: José Fernandez Romero, Ph.D. and Barbara Friedland, MPH, of the Population Council

Discipline: Science

Title: An internet-based survey to learn about end users preferences on multipurpose prevention technologies

Funding: Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP) and Population Council

Multipurpose prevention technologies (MPTs) represent a promising strategy to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unintended pregnancy. Different formulations or delivery systems (gels, vaginal rings, tablets and injectable) are being explored for this purpose. We gathered data on women’s opinions and preferences on potential future HIV/STI/unintended pregnancy prevention methods from women of reproductive age (18-49). The 20-30 min online survey consisted of 15 close-ended questions and two open-ended questions and was distributed by Population Council and partner organizations through listserv and social media. The survey recruited more than 500 women from all around the world, with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa. Seventy-five percent of women were more interested in HIV/STD prevention products if they also prevent unintended pregnancy. There was more interest in using fast dissolving vaginal tablets before sex versus other delivery systems. Some of the most important reasons why women will not use an MPT are side effects and affordability. The results of this survey will help guide the MPT product development.




24 Presenter: Bohdan Klotska

Co-Author(s): Lamarana Diallo

Mentor: Klara LaGrance, Ph.D.


Title: Fractional parentage coefficients and methods of their calculations


In our paper we concentrate fractional parentage coefficients for one- and two-body systems with different symmetries. Racah's and Redmond's methods for calculations of matrix elements of one- and two-particle operators are investigated. Method of hyperspehical functions is applied.

25 Presenter: Chi Fai Lam

Mentor: Kibrewossen Tesfagiorgis, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecasts as a potential source of cool-season precipitation estimate to fill gaps in radar precipitation fields


The main objective of the study is to test the hypothesis and give insights about the potential use of the North American Mesoscale Model (NAM) forecasts as a source of cool-season precipitation estimate in multi-sensor precipitation estimates (MPEs). The National Weather Service (NWS) combines radar, gauge and satellite precipitation estimates into a MPE. Although satellite precipitation estimates (SPEs) and numerical model outputs such as NAM precipitation predictions are the only spatially continuous sources of precipitation in the western United States, they suffer from uncertainties associated with indirect precipitation estimation. Studies show that during cold season, short term NAM precipitation predictions perform better than SPEs. Hence, NAM precipitation outputs may be used to fill gaps in radar precipitation field and improve the NWS’s MPE's. This study evaluates the performance of NAM and SPEs against rain gauge measurements. Then NAM will be merged with surrounding available radar to check NAM’s feasibility for MPEs.




26 Presenter: Jinyu Wu

Co-Author(s): Salim Abrahim

Mentor: Luis González-Urbina, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: BAlq embedded silica nanoparticles for photonic crystals engineering


Photonic crystals are periodical lattices capable of interacting with light due to their na-nometer-size structure. By interacting with the light we are able to improve the efficiency of op-tical devices such as organic photovoltaics. We aim to manipulate the emission of a molecule used in such devices, Bis (8-hydroxy-2-methylquinoline)-(4-phenylphenoxy) (BAlq) and in order to do that we aim to embed BAlq molecules in the silica nanoparticle.We synthesized silica nanoparticle samples using different amounts of BAlq and and playing with the ammonia ratio. The purpose of synthesizing silica nanoparticles in different conditions was to find out the best recipe to get photonic crystals that have BAlq molecules in-side Silica nanoparticles. We will characterize the samples in terms of amount of molecule ab-sorbed, the particle size and colloids stability. Spectrofluorometry will be used to detect the BAlq in the nanoparticles because BAlq emits light at 480nm. The photonic crystal optical characteristics will be measured with spectro-photometry, allowing to estimate the size of the nanoparticles. DLS will be used to measure the colloids stability and SEM will be necessary for a precise measurement of the particles and their size-dispersity. Ultimately, this project aims to engineer a sandwich-like structure with BAlq containing nanoparticles trapped in a photonic structure to study the influence of the photonic crystal on the molecule emission.

27 Presenter: Jorge Yumiseba

Co-Author(s): Robert Garcia, Syed Ahmed

Mentor: Luis González-Urbina, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Use of dynamic light scattering for colloidal silica nanoparticles characterization.


A photonic crystal is a periodic structure where the refractive index alternates creating an optical medium with an energy band gap that forbids propagation of a certain frequency range of light. Photonic crystals occur in nature in the form of structural coloration in opals and animal exoskeletons. In our artificial photonic crystals we use silica nanoparticles from a colloidal suspension. The optical effect of the structure is the photonic band gap, which can be seen as an iridescence reflection of light. The physical explanation of the photonic band gap is that it does not allow the electromagnetic wave to travel in the photonic crystals with the frequency of the reflected color. We used spectrophotometry to characterize the position of the band gap for samples of silica nanocolloids synthesized at different temperatures. A good colloidal photonic crystal requires very stable, size-monodisperse nanoparticles. Dynamic light scattering (DLS), is the technique will used to measure the size of the nanoparticles. DLS is based on the Brownian motion of the nanoparticles in the dispersant medium and depends on many factors; the refractive indices and absorption of the materials, and the viscosity of the solvent. For nanoparticles in suspension the stability is a very important factor that depends on the net electrical charge. Using the same tool we measured the Zeta Potential for samples with different characteristics.




28 Presenter: Walmy Marine

Mentor: Marcos Betancourt, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Convolutional neural net


The purpose of this research is to determine if a protein topologies as described by residue distance-maps can be recognized by machine learning. My role in this research is to find the optimal parameters of a convolutional neural network (CNN or ConvNets) for this application. A CNN is special type of deep-learning, artificial neural-network that takes a two dimensional image through its input layer and classifies it according to a set of categories through its output layer. In between, multiple hidden layers of neurons are tasked to recognize features of the image mainly by convolutional and pooling operations. The CNN to be trained is either the AlexNet provided by Matlab or a version of the VGGNet developed locally. The input images for our project consist of residue distance-maps approximately 32x32 in dimension. A residue distance map is a matrix representation of the distances between all possible amino-acid residue pairs of a three-dimensional polypeptide structure. A training set of “good” and “bad” distance maps will go through the convolutional and pooling layers, which performs downsampling operations of the image reducing it by half every time. The pooling layer can also be interpreted as a coarse-graining of the structure. Finally, a fully connected layer will generate the output classification as a good or a bad topology. The optimal network parameters for training will be determined for sufficiently large training and testing sets. Finer classification resolution and larger structures will be explored depending on the preliminary results.

29 Presenter: Alexander Rue

Mentor: Marjan Persuh, Ph.D.

Discipline: Pschyology

Title: The role of attention in unconscious working memory


Working memory, a capacity to store and manipulate information in the service of the ongoing task, is a fundamental concept in cognitive science. Recently, it has been proposed that working memory stores and operates on unconsciously perceived information. We tested the hypothesis that storage itself but not the working memory information in the focus of attention is unconscious. Observers were presented with different objects on the computer monitor and instructed to memorize these items. We then introduced a distraction task, during which observers were presented with a set of images and asked to detect image repetition. After the distraction task, observers were asked to report the memorized items. Unlike previous experiments, we used a free recall to determine if some of the items were not consciously accessible to observers. Several observers were unable to report one or more items, demonstrating that they were not conscious of information that was encoded into working memory. We then used colors as cues to determine if observers can bring into attentional focus some the items that they were unable to report during the free recall. Indeed, several observers were able to retrieve stored information, demonstrating that information can be stored unconsciously into working memory. In the second experiment we sought to better characterize unconscious working memory by testing how the availability of attentional resources affects storage and recall.




30 Presenter: Amanda McKenzie


Discipline: Psychology

Title: How does attention affect the richness of our visual experience?


Although we believe that we have a rich visual experience, experiments on inattentional blindness and change blindness suggest that our visual experience is limited only to a few objects, reflecting a limited capacity of attention and working memory. The perception of the remainder of the world is presumably gained by using the redundancy of our surrounding world and our brain represents it as a summary statistics. Our goal is to test the richness or possible sparseness of the visual experience using multiple object tracking and cued change detection paradigms. We will use multiple object tracking to manipulate the availability of attentional resources. Observers will track objects moving at constant speed and by manipulating the speed, we will directly affect attentional resources available for the second task, cued change detection. For the cued change detection, eight rectangles will be presented around the centrally presented multiple object tracking task. Rectangles will then disappear and a cue indicating a position for one of the rectangles will be presented. Observers will be presented a new set of rectangles and asked to notice a change between the two rectangle displays at the position of a cued rectangle. Our previous experiments indicate that observers perform well in this task, suggesting that their perceptual experience is rich and detailed. It is however unknown how attention affects the richness of experience. We have already demonstrated that we can successfully manipulate attention in the multiple object tracking task. In the next step we will combine the two tasks to determine if attention is necessary for the rich visual experience.

31 Presenter: Saleha Abbasi


Discipline: Psychology

Title: Richness of visual perception


Is our visual perception really as rich as our everyday experience suggests? Or do we suffer from the refrigerator light illusion? In other words, believing that we experience rich and detailed world only because it is readily available upon close inspection. Partial report experiments suggest that perception is rich. Change blindness experiments suggest that it is sparse. One camp argues for rich visual perception with many details, whereas the other camp argues that details are available only for few (~3-4) objects; the rest is experienced as an ensemble or summary statistics. To address this question in a qualitative and eventually in quantitative terms, several factors that influence our perception should be considered. One important factor is distinction between the central and peripheral vision. Another important factor is distribution of sizes and distances between objects, that contribute to the phenomenon of crowding, which poses well known limitations on visual perception. Lastly it is important to consider the allocation of attentional resources. Because all behavioral measures of perception require some form of memory, interference between items in memory might drastically underestimate the richness of visual perception. We sought to address this methodological problem, by designing a visual perception experiment in which all items are selected from distinct categories. This novel design will allow us to explore factors that moderate visual perception and to estimate in quantitative terms the richness of our perception.




32 Presenter: Erick Cochea

Mentor: Miguel Fiolhais, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Study of the w-boson on the LHC


The purpose of this research project is to study several properties of the W boson decay at the Large Hadron Collider, such as Lepton Universality. These measurements were performed using Proton-Proton collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at a center of mass energy of 7 TeV. A statistical analysis was implemented, and the results were found to be compatible with the theoretical predictions of the Standard Model of Particle Physics.

33 Presenter: Min Shin Khant

Co-Author(s): Fernando Alban, Jilvia D’ouza

Mentor: Krongchai Praponpoj

Discipline: Science

Title: Autonomous robot: strategic pickup and delivery


Build an autonomous robot that utilizes sensors and performs an objective through a set of algorithms. The robot is to stop and collect orange and white ping pong balls from the track and simultaneously sort them. Then, unload the balls separately into its designated pockets. We believe the wall following navigation path is the best way to reach our objective. The incorporation of PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) control system used in programming allows for precise distance measurements which transform into precise movements. Different sensors were tried and discarded through the process for the navigation of the robot. The sensor that are currently in use for navigation is a laser distance sensors. Other sensors like RGB color sensor and gyroscope, play a large role in the sorting and pick up mechanisms, especially movement and navigation.




34 Presenter: Mohamed Tijani

Mentor: Shalva Tsiklauri, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Solar panels & optical systems


In the present, making solar energy economical and efficient is the most important challenge for engineers and scientists. In fact, it is classified, by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), as one of 14 Grand Challenges that should be a priority focus. There are several reasons that outline the importance of improving the technology of solar energy. First of all, it is almost a necessity to escape the dependency on fossil fuels and its negative impacts on the environment. Nevertheless, the most important reason is the excellent potential that solar energy portrays. According to the National Academy of Engineering, solar energy is capable of providing “10,000 times as much as all the commercial energy that humans use on the planet.” In order to address the issue of the efficiency of the currently existing photovoltaic (PV) cells, we are introducing optical systems. This technology helps adjust and control the intensity and direction of sunlight rays that reach solar cells. Manipulating the quantities of sunlight rays helps increase the efficiency of the PV cells. My role consists of conducting experiments to test the performance of solar panels with and without optical systems to compare energy output. Following the research predictions, I was able to record an average increase of 7% of energy output comparing to original values for a system that does not use optical systems. Furthermore, having an incident angle of 90° at which sunlight reaches the PV cells is an important factor for optimal light absorption, and thus energy output. As most houses in the United States have inclined roofs, the incident angle is at 90° only for a limited fraction of time during a typical day. To tackle that issue we are currently testing a demo that tracks sunlight by rotating an optical system at an angular speed that is compatible with Earth’s motion around its axis. We are utilizing an Arduino that controls a Servo motor attached to a light-reflecting mirror.

35 Presenter: Genevieve Lieske

Mentor: Sumeyra Yumak, Ph.D., and Hasan Yumak, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Students’ experience of taking online/hybrid chemistry courses

Funding:

Taking an online or a hybrid class has many benefits for students. Online courses provide students the opportunity to plan their study time based on their work and school schedules. Students can arrange their study time when they are at their peak energy or availability, whether that’s early morning or late at night. Having all course materials to be always accessible online is another benefit for students. Online/hybrid courses can also save valuable time for students since it does not require commuting to class. All of this makes online learning a good option for students who are organized and manage time efficiently. BMCC along with many CUNY campuses offer online/hybrid classes for almost any courses. In this study, by using student surveys, we study experience of students taking an online/hybrid chemistry course.




36 Presenter: Lottyizet Nunez

Mentor: Yana Durmysheva, Ph.D.


Title: Do students perform better in traditional face-to-face, online or hybrid sections of the course?


Technological innovations of the past several decades have led to the development of various learning modalities. In addition to traditional classroom teaching and learning in higher education, online and hybrid models are rapidly becoming more and more popular. The purpose of the present research was to determine whether the success rate of college students depends on the teaching modality used to deliver the course material. To do that, academic success measured by final numeric grades in sections of the General Psychology course taught by the same instructor in traditional face-to-face, online and hybrid formats over a period of several years is measured and comparisons were drawn. Results, implications and future directions of the research will be discussed.

37 Presenter: Thalia Herrera

Mentor: Yana Durmysheva, Ph.D.


Title: Student attrition in e-learning vs. traditional sections of general psychology course


Past research on attrition rates in college courses demonstrated a higher tendency for students to drop out from e-Learning courses more compared to traditional face-to face courses. The purpose of the present research was to observe the differences in attrition rates in traditional face-to- face vs. fully online vs. partially online sections of General Psychology course at Borough of Manhattan Community College taught by the same instructor over a period of several years. Results, implications and strategies for reducing attrition rates will be discussed.


POSTER SESSION II STUDENT PRESENTER ABSTRACTS


38 Presenter: Rolanda Saint Louis


Discipline: Science

Title: Biological activities of momordica charantia: potential antioxidant capacity of bitter melon


Momordica charantia is a tropical fast-growing vine, known as bitter melon, cerasse and bitter gourd a member of Cucurbitaceae family. In different cultures it is used in traditional medicine for sickness like diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, digestive problems and for the treatment of cancer. The fruit has been used as a vegetable for many years in countries like India, China, Brazil, Africa, Haiti etc. The benefits of bitter melon remain in the bioactive phytochemical component that are non-nutritive chemicals that produce physiological effects on the human body and protects them from several types of diseases. Many medicinal properties of M. charantia are associated with those chemical compounds that are accumulated in the plant such as total phenols, flavonoids, and alkaloid. The objective of this study is to investigate the antioxidant capacity of commercial samples of M. charantia. Plant extracts were prepared using 1mL of DMSO (Dimethyl sulfoxide) filtered and stored until use. The total phenolic and flavonoid content was determined in different leaves and fruits commercial samples. The fruit samples of bitter melon have the highest concentration of total phenolic as well as total flavonoid. The results suggest, the fruit will have a greater antioxidant capacity compare to the leaves of the plant.

39 Presenter: Claudia Melo

Co-Author(s): Victor Cruz, Victor Sorel, and Aned C. Buczynski

Mentor: Adolfina Koroch, Ph.D., and José Fernandez Romero, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Antiviral and antibacterial properties of guava (Psidium guajava L.)


Guava (Psidium guajava L.) is cultivated in warm tropical climates all over the world. In the Dominican Republic, guava has been traditionally used for treating different illnesses and as a disinfectant in low income family households. Guava leaves, has been used for treatment of vertigo, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, fever, anemia, bacterial and viral infections. The objective of this study is to determine the antiviral and antibacterial activity in commercial samples of guava leaves. All guava extracts were prepared in DMSO and tested for antiviral and antibacterial activity. The TZM-bl and XTT assays were used to test antiviral activity and cytotoxicity, respectively. Two different HIV-1 strains (HIV-1ADA and HIV-1MN) were used in the antiviral procedure. The median cytotoxicity concentration (CC50) and the half-maximal effective concentration values (EC50) were obtained through a curvefitting analysis using GraphPad Prism Software, Inc. The therapeutic index (TI) was calculated using the CC50 / EC50 ratio. A high-throughput 96 well microplate spectrophotometric assay was used to evaluate antibacterial activity against gram negative (Escherichia coli) and gram positive (Staphylococcus epidermidis) bacteria. The guava extracts show selective antiviral activity with TI values above 10. Similarly, the extracts inhibit bacterial growth at concentrations above 10%. These results support the use of guava leaves in traditional medicine.




40 Presenter: Eric Pereira


Discipline: Science

Title: Biological activity of taraxacum officinale


The leaves and roots of dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) are used in traditional Brazilian herbal remedies to treat diseases of the liver, urinary and digestive disorders as well as regulating cholesterol and regulating blood pressure. Plants synthesize and accumulate various chemical compounds that provide an ecological advantage. One of these class of chemicals are called polyphenols. Many of these polyphenols have beneficial health effects for humans through their antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-carcinogenic properties. Cultures that practice traditional medicine often use specific plants that contain many types of polyphenols, such as flavonoids, phenolics, and antioxidants. Dandelions are also rich in iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc minerals as well as vitamins A and C. The objective of this research is to determine the total polyphenols and antioxidant activity of commercial samples of dandelion leaves and roots. Dry samples of dandelion leaves and roots are grinded and dissolved in DMSO and made into extracts. These extracts are measured for total phenolics, flavonoids, and antioxidant activity using a spectrophotometer. Antioxidant activity is measured through three different techniques using ABTS. Determining the total biological activity for this class of polyphenols will help understand the use and effectiveness of dandelion in traditional plant remedies. Dandelion has also been used to regulate blood sugar in patients with Type 2 Diabetes. It’s rich composition of phenols inhibit α-amylase activity that help reduce the amount of intestinal glucose absorption. Future work will include the study of dandelion samples the α-amylase inhibitory activity.




41 Presenter: Shaiku Jalloh

Co-Author(s): Ilyasse Benezha

Mentor: Alexander Gosslau, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Bioactivity of the medicinal plant Lippia multiflora against oxidative stress and inflammation

Funding: CUNY Research Scholarship Program (CRSP)

Lippia multiflora is used as herbal tea by local cultures in Africa, Central and South America for medical purposes for many years. Lippia multiflora is commonly used for treating skin and gastrointestinal infections as well as respiratory disorders such asthma and bronchitis all of them associated with chronic inflammation. During chronic inflammation an accumulation of free radicals is leading to oxidative stress. The ABTS assay demonstrated that Lippia has a strong antioxidant activity. Using the Folin-Ciocalteu method, we observed a close correlation between anti-oxidative capacity and phenolic content in Lippia. The high R² value suggest polyphenolic compounds as major bioactives against oxidative stress. To analyze potential cytotoxicity we applied different concentrations of Lippia multiflora to human monocytes (U-937 cells) and analyzed cell viability using the MTT assay. As a result, there were no apparent toxic effects up to 100ug/ml. For analysis of the anti-inflammatory potential of Lippia, we used the inflammatory stimulant 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) to induce the differentiation to macrophages in which genes of the inflammatory cascade are upregulated. In our cell-based model for inflammation we were measuring the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 which play a central role in the inflammatory cascade. After normalization to the house-keeping gene GAPDH results were expressed as delta CT (ΔCt) values an indicator for the level of gene expression. To analyze the anti-inflammatory potential the ∆Ct values of TPA vs TPA treatment with Lippia were compared and expressed as ∆∆Ct. Our experiments demonstrated that Lippia prominently down-regulated the expression of COX-2. As a result, our research analysis demonstrated evidence of bioactivity of Lippia against oxidative stress and inflammation which explain its traditional use against disorders related to chronic inflammation. In future experiments, we will analyze other inflammatory genes such as ICAM-1, TNF- , IL-1ß. Moreover, we are planning a chemical characterization of Lippia multiflora by nuclear magnetic (NMR) analysis to identify polypenolic bioactives.




42 Presenter: Alexis Delapuente

Mentor: Ali Syed, Ph.D.


Title: An inquiry in pedagogical praxis & maker pedagogy

Funding:

My research focuses on a number of current best practices in pedagogical theory and practice or, as they are referred to by my faculty mentor, “literacies of praxis.” As part of this larger project I have conducted a meta-analysis of scholarly literature regarding the Maker movement: a pedagogical movement with an emphasis on making, doing, and engaging students in directing their own learning. Arising from a pedagogical and cultural movement that was initially facilitated primarily by hubs of woodshops, studios, the movement has found a new incarnation in the digital era. Contemporary Maker spaces feature robotics, 3D printing, and other digital and virtual technologies. My project identifies preliminary points of departure from a participant observation model of ethnographic inquiry into the use of Maker spaces and identifies other pedagogical praxis that focus on student agency in the learning process. My preliminary research and analysis will corroborate my faculty mentor’s thinking about the importance of conceptualizing a “learning as research” pedagogy to compliment new pedagogical inquiry in the practice of “teaching as research.” This notion will be situated in the broader framework of “living as scholarship” through self-reflexive inquiry in the social sciences. Finally, I will also explore the notion of “teaching as research” through a structured ethnographic inquiry into the use of Maker pedagogy in the STEAM field. By conducting participant observation research reflecting upon my work with primary school students, I will consider the effectiveness of a praxis of """"living as scholarship"""" for inquiry in the social sciences.

43 Presenter: Rohan Rashid

Mentor: Barys Korzun, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy of alloys of the CuFeS2 - CuInS2 system


Copper indium disulfide (CuInS2) is one of the promising chalcopyrite-like compounds that can be used in thin film solar cells. Nevertheless to increase the efficiency of photovoltaic conversion the band gap energy of the CuInS2-based absorber must be reduced. An obvious approach for such reduction of the CuInS2 band gap consists in combining CuInS2 in solid solutions with other ternary compounds that have a lower band gap, for instance, CuFeS2. The goal of the present paper is to study the phase relations and to determine the limits of solubility in the CuFeS2 - CuInS2 system by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). The thermobaric treatment (techniques of high pressure and temperature) was applied to prepare samples of the alloys from previously prepared ternary compounds CuInS2 and CuFeS2. After preparation of the initial compounds, their mixtures were prepared and treated at the high pressure of 5.5 GPa and temperatures ranging from 1170 to 1270 K. Phase formation in the (CuInS2)1-x-(CuFeS2)x system was investigated and it was found the absence of complete solubility in this system. The formation of solid solutions with the tetragonal structure of chalcopyrite was detected only for the compositions with molar part of CuFeS2 x The system with the compositions with higher content of CuFeS2 contains two phases with the chalcopyrite-like structure – CuInS2-based and CuFeS2-based phase. The solubility of CuInS2 is about 0.02 molar part.




44 Presenter: Meryl Slay

Mentor: Brian Rafferty, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Antimicrobial properties of black tea extract on oral pathogen porphyromonas gingivalis


It is widely known that maintaining good dental hygiene is important to prevent decay in teeth and gums, however research suggests the significance of good oral health extends far beyond the mouth. In fact, periodontal disease may affect a range of systemic diseases throughout the body, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and bacterial pneumonia. The purpose of this research is to focus on a keystone pathogen of periodontal disease, Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis, strains W50, ATCC 33277, 381) and examine whether the growth of P. gingivalis can be targeted and inhibited using black tea extract (BTE). To do this, we focused on the 24 hour exposure of BTE to determine MIC and MBC values for the various strains. The next step was to establish mono-species biofilms using serial dilutions of P. gingivalis in 96 well plates in order to quantify growth. Crystal violet (CV) assays were used to stain and measure the optical density of the attached cells. Using the 24 hour point to establish a biofilm, we have determined that 1:32 and 1:64 dilutions of the initial inoculum are the concentrations that show the most growth with the least amount of cell starvation. Pathogenic bacterium are one half of the picture; therefore, we also treat the human oral squamous carcinoma cell line (SCC-25) with BTE in order to determine the appropriate dose of BTE we can use without substantially altering the function of the oral cells. This research is the groundwork for ultimately exploring how BTE may affect the inflammatory responses, attachment and invasion interactions between mono-species P. gingivalis and oral cells.

45 Presenter: Evan Rumsky

Mentor: Carlos Chaparro, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title:

Superconductor critical temperature transition: graphical analysis of superconducting samples of yttrium barium copper oxide (yba2cu3o7−x) in heat capacity measurements from superconducting to normal state


Superconductors are materials that, below certain temperatures usually called the critical temperature (Tc), lose their resistance to the flow of an electrical current. Since their discovery more than a hundred years ago, a great number of superconducting materials and compounds have been discovered. Finding materials that allow the flow of electrons with zero resistance can be of great technological relevance and have been the focus of extensive research efforts to understand and harness their properties. In this work a graphical analysis of the superconducting to normal transition of two different samples of the superconductor Yttrium Barium Copper Oxide (YBa2Cu3O7−x) is presented from measurements taken at Argonne National Laboratories. The heat capacity measurements are studied and analyzed from the data provided. Our study reveals that the transition temperature of one of the samples was 87 degrees Kelvin, very close to the typical value found in literature of 92 degrees Kelvin. Another interesting find was the double transition from the superconducting to normal state of the second sample which may indicate the presence of impurities or crystalline defects in the sample. Superconducting material provides a powerful option for future power supply in a diverse array of applications. Our study utilizes data analysis of calorimetry and other characterization methods, which are essential to our understanding of the superconducting behavior of materials as they are being discovered. Researchers, engineers, and physicists alike use these observations as vital feedback on a sector that is at the forefront of the future technological horizon.




46 Presenter: Abdulai Jalloh

Mentor: Christopher McCarthy, Ph.D.


Title: The one dimensional filter equation and bio-remediation of heavy metal contaminated water


Our research focused on developing kinetic models of adsorption and one dimensional models of adsorption based filters. These mathematical models have been developed in support of our college's interdisciplinary lab group (chemistry, engineering, mathematics). Our group conducts research into the bio-remediation of heavy metal contaminated water via filtration. The filters are constructed out of biomass, such as spent tea leaves. The spent tea leaves are available in large quantities as a result of the industrial production of tea beverages. The heavy metals bond with the surfaces of the tea leaves (adsorption). The models we are developing involve differential equations, stochastic methods, and recursive functions. Our poster will explain our models and compare the models' predictions to data obtained from computer simulations and experimentally by our lab group.

47 Presenter: Senayit Menasche

Mentor: Christopher McCarthy, Ph.D.


Title: ODE model of adsorption based water filters


The main objectives of this research are: a) modeling adsorption kinetics of heavy metals on spent tealeaves in a fixed-bed adsorption column and b) developing one-dimensional adsorption model of heavy metals on spent tealeaves. In this study, spent tealeaves that are available in large quantities as industrial byproducts of tea beverages are packed and used in a fixed column as adsorption filters. Contaminated water is pumped through the filter, and concentrations of heavy metal from the effluent are collected every minute. We are developing a mathematical model that involves differential equations, stochastic methods, and recursive functions to simulate the collected data. These mathematical models that are simulating the filters have been developed in support of our college's interdisciplinary lab group (chemistry, engineering, mathematics). The poster will explain the models and compare the models' predictions to data obtained from computer simulations and experimentally by our lab group.




48 Presenter: Marawan Elzoeiry

Mentor: Daniel Torres, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Adsorbate induced-segregation effects in three different mixed oxides: a computer-based study


Catalysts are substances that increase the rate of chemical reactions, without undergoing any permanent chemical change. You can find a catalyst inside your cars’ muffler in the form of platinum particles that convert poisonous CO into harmful CO2. Mixed oxide-based catalysts are low-cost prototypes of industrial catalysts, which are made of costly precious metals. Mixed oxides results from the combination of oxygen and two different metals in the form of a solid solution. Mixed oxides catalysts have complicated structures and various structural defects such as oxygen vacancies control its chemical reactivity. The role of these vacancies and the strength of its interaction with the two metals in the mixture are unknown, which motivates our project. In this computer-based project, we carried Quantum mechanics simulations to study the structure of mixed oxides in the form of a matrix combined with metal impurity. We selected a wide range of metallic impurities and used combinatoric methods to study a large set of mixed oxides in the presence of oxygen vacancies. We are extending our previous research including two new oxide matrices, CaO and SrO. Finally, we will carry a density of states analysis in order to gain insight into the bond established between oxygen vacancies and metal impurities.

49 Presenter: Soyeon Kim

Mentor: Daniel Torres, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Magnetic quenching effect on catalysis: a computer-based study


Catalysts are substances that increase the rate of chemical reactions, helping produce valuable chemicals. Without them you would not be able to buy cheap medicines over the counter or even drive your car without polluting. Catalysts often contain magnetic materials such as Nickel, Cobalt of Iron, in the form of small particles. At the surface of these materials, gas molecules adsorb, breaking down into atoms and rearranging to produce new and sometimes unexpected chemicals. Hence catalysts serve as template for new chemical pathways to occur. Adsorbates are involved in charge transfer with the metallic catalyst, which alters its magnetic state, quenching its magnetic moment. However, the mechanism responsible for these magnetic alterations is not well studied. In this computer-based study, we will systematically address the changes on the magnetic moment of a catalyst due to the presence of a series of adsorbates. The metallic catalyst will be modeled using GPAW, a quantum mechanics code. We will study a series of non-metal adsorbates and compare its magnetic moment before and after the adsorption. Similarly, we will compute the magnetic moment of the catalysts with and without adsorbates. By comparing the magnetism changes we will elucidate what adsorbate impact magnetic catalysts the most.




50 Presenter: Karol Malachowicz

Co-Author(s): Xiaoyong. Y SUN and Kiwook Kwon

Mentor: David Allen, Ph.D.


Title: Applications of graphical models


This research project focuses on Discrete Bayesian Networks and their relation to graphs. This allows one to make probabilistic calculations based on traversing the graph. Graphical Models are commonly used in various areas of business and technology. Time permitting, various applications will be discussed.

51 Presenter: Jiahua Liao

Mentor: Hao Tang, Ph.D.

Discipline: Computer Information Systems

Title: An autonomous ground explorer using computer vision


Nowadays, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the hottest topics in the computer field. Moreover, the AI is mostly applied to the Robotic. Therefore, people will use robots to do some meticulous or dangerous human working, which include cleaning, surgery, navigation, rescue, and so on. We will design and implement an intelligent mobile robot, which can navigate in an indoor environment. In this project, we design and implement an embedded intelligent mobile robot from parts. It is built up by a powerful micro-processor (with hundreds graphical processing units), a stereo camera and a programmable Robot, to explore and understand indoor environments. We first build and test an existing open source robotics algorithm for simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) using the stereo camera. Second, we build an obstacle avoidance algorithm on the top of the SLAM system to enable the robot to easily travel in the environment without collisions. Finally, we design algorithms to allow the robot self-explore an unknown environment and automatically build a 3D model of the environment. In addition, we will also improve the user interface to make human users easy access and communicate with the robot.




52 Presenter: Tiantian Xia

Mentor: Hao Tang, Ph.D.


Title: Improvement of map learning application


Visual impaired people is a group that often be easily overlooked. Nowadays, they still have huge inconvenience when they travel around. A map learning application was built to help visual impaired people to learn and make a mental map by themselves. Therefore, in this project we will improve the App in different aspects. We are going to modify the application by improving and designing several methods so that visually impaired people can easily access the application and understand all the map information. First, to eliminate redundant instructions, we will redefine the main route for the player move through the map. Second, we will increase the game play to make it more engaging. We will set some challenging part in the game make it not boring for users. Third, we also design a new interface that a user can easily access. Finally, we will conduct experiments. The aim of this project is help visually impaired people travel more safely and confidently.

53 Presenter: Jo Eun Kim

Mentor: Jaewoo Lee, Ph.D.


Title: Backward induction and its applications to game theory


We describe how backward induction can be applied especially in game theory. Through backward induction, a player can have a winning strategy under some conditions in match stick game, students can predict the possibility of a pop quiz, and the fiercest pirate can make a proposal to survive with the maximum number of gold pieces. We describe the pirate game in detail. Depending on the number of pirates, we can predict not only which pirate would agree or disagree with the proposal, but also which pirate would survive or not.




54 Presenter: Fadimatou Mossi

Co-Author(s): Chi Fai

Mentor: Kibrewossen Tesfagiorgis, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Study of location error in satellite precipitation estimates using a radar-gauge product


The goal of this project is to investigate location error in satellite precipitation estimates. Improved hydrologic prediction requires accurate precipitation estimates at fine scales (hourly time scale and kilometers spatial scale). Even though infrared (IR) based satellite precipitation estimates (SPEs) are prone to uncertainties such as location error (example: shift in latitude and longitude, and rotation), compared to ground-based measurements, these IR-based SPEs provide estimates at such scale. This research compares two SPEs, namely Hydroestimator (HE) and Self-Calibrating Multivariate Precipitation Retrieval (SCaMPR) against Stage-IV ground-based radar-gauge precipitation estimate to determine location error parameters. The study uses the location of the radar as the center of region of interest to calculate the relative displacement of the precipitation in SPEs. The geographic location for this study is Oklahoma (USA). Tornado cases in the months March, April, May, August, and October 2017 were given special emphasis for this research. Statistical parameters such as bias, correlation coefficient, false alarm ratio and probability of detection are used as measures of verification.

55 Presenter: Humberto Molina

Co-Author(s): Jonathan Gaige

Mentor: Lalitha Jayant, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Isolation and characterization of surface bacteria associated with the sea urchin lytechinus variegatus


This study focuses on identifying and characterizing bacterial flora that coexist on the surface and test of the sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus. Several bacterial strains were isolated from different batches of wild type sea urchins by gently swabbing their test, mouth and gonadopores with a sterile tip and plating them onto marine agar plates. More than 60 different bacteria were re-streaked till single colonies were obtained. Results indicated that all isolated bacteria were gram negative rods. They also tested positive for the enzyme oxidase and did not ferment lactose. One of them showed agarolytic properties. A few of them harbor endogenous cryptic plasmids ranging in size from 5Kb to 20Kb. A total of 13 strains were selected to be investigated phylogenetically by 16S rDNA gene amplification and sequence analysis. The sequences obtained will be compared with 16S rDNA gene sequences from databases. Bacteria will be tested for antimicrobial properties and the presence of bio-active compounds.




56 Presenter: Nathalie Rivera

Co-Author(s): Sheila Sarkar, Liang, Lalitha Jayant, Nipa Deora, and Lauren Wickstrom, Ph.D.

Mentor: Lauren Wickstrom, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Flipping the general chemistry classroom to reduce attrition rates in BMCC students

Funding: Scholarship in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM)

The Borough of Manhattan Community College was recently ranked as one of the top 100 associate degree providers in the country. However, only a small percentage of students enrolled in BMCC are STEM majors and an even smaller percentage graduate with a STEM degree given the academic challenges associated with gateway courses. This project aims to improve student retention rates and performance in College Chemistry 1 (CHE 201) by flipping the classroom and reversing the traditional process of how content and activities are presented in a course. Through pre-class introduction and assessment of new material, in-class group activities with high impact learning, and post-class supplemental instruction, we expect to improve overall enrichment and performance. We will investigate this hypothesis by comparing post-semester assessment results for flipped and traditional classrooms during the same semester.

57 Presenter: Sheila Sarkar

Co-Author(s): Lauren Wickstrom, Ph.D. and Emilio Gallicchio

Mentor: Lauren Wickstrom, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Molecular recognition of cell adhesion proteins: does water help the candida fungal pathogen colonize a host?


The Candida fungal pathogen is a newsworthy source of life threatening nosocomial infections and its cell-adhesion proteins on its surface enable it to stick to and colonize a host. Understanding the mechanism behind this widespread adherence to host tissue is key to developing methods to prevent infectious disease amidst a larger paradigm shift of viewing drug-resistant fungi on par with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. X-ray structural data from a Candida protein-peptide complex suggests that a network of water forms a bridge between the cell-adhesion protein of the pathogen and a peptide in a body cell. The goal of this work is to determine whether these water molecules influence the molecular recognition of cell adhesion proteins to their host cells. We investigated this hypothesis by performing all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of the ALS-9 protein-peptide complex in explicit and implicit solvent and monitored its stability to assess the importance of bridging water molecules inside the binding cavity.




58 Presenter: Alice Wu

Mentor: Lina Wu, Ph.D.


Title: Solving liouville-type problems in calculus by extending q-energy from finite to infinite


The study of Liouville-type problems in Differential Geometry is to discover constancy properties for maps between the domain and the target on Riemannian manifolds. Existence of constancy properties is determined by geometric structures on manifolds and energy growth for maps. In this project, we focus on solving Liouville-type problems in Calculus where manifolds are Euclidean spaces restricted with the real number systems and maps become functions. The original work in this project is to explore q-energy growth for functions from finite to infinite by the p-balanced technique. Calculus skills such as Holder Inequality and Tests for Convergence Series has be used to evaluate limits and integrations for functions. Computational methods and energy estimation techniques applied for functions in this project have been successfully generalized as an effective algorithm applied for maps. This successful algorithm has an in-depth impact on the research field of solving Liouville-type problems related with q-energy approaching to infinity.

59 Presenter: Khamysse El halouani

Mentor: Marcos Betancourt, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Machine learning in polypeptide structures


An essential, perhaps paramount, element of protein research is to identify the rules that its amino- acid sequence conforms to in order to direct its folding process. Computational methods to determine a protein structure from its sequence requires either the detailed simulation of protein dynamics or some other type of stochastic sampling of the polypeptide conformational space. The long-range objective of this project is to use machine learning and convolutional neural networks (CNN) to assist in the conformational search. A CNNs is a type of deep learning technique that is commonly used to classify two dimensional images. With this in mind, we have selected distance maps to represent protein structures. A distance map represents the distances between all possible amino-acid residue pairs of a protein structure using two-dimensional matrices. They prove unequivocally useful due to our ability to reconstruct a protein structure from them, as well as the fact that evaluating the distances between the residues is relatively simple. Our short-term goal is to test if CNNs can accurately determine if any given protein distance map corresponds to a geometrically-realizable topology. We are currently developing algorithms to generate a database of “good” and “bad” distance maps, which includes simulations of protein structures by coarse-grained (i.e., simplified) models. The resulting structures will be used to generate good distance maps, which will in turn be strategically modified to generate bad ones. We will thoroughly investigate to what extent CNN’s can be used toward this purpose and understand its limitations. A successful outcome of this project will be a critical step towards the accomplishment of our long-term goal.




60 Presenter: Kamaria Hodge

Co-Author(s): Daniel Antipova

Mentor: Maureen T. Matamarese, Ph.D.

Discipline: Academic Literacy and Linguistics

Title: A postcolonial examination of community college researchers


Research at the Community College Research Center (CCRC) informs federal, state, and city-wide policies (Bailey, Jaggars, Jenkins, 2015). However, they often paint a narrow portrait of community college life, student challenges, teaching, and learning, leading to a series of state and federal policies that do not properly reflect the community college experience. Indeed, at the CCRC 20th anniversary party, Jill Biden challenged the CCRC to conduct more qualitative research, asking them to examine the lived experiences of community college students. Moreover, it appears as though most academic research monographs written about community colleges are authored by academics outside of the community college. Postcolonial theory, and particularly Participatory Action Research (Baldwin, 2012; Fals Borda, 2006; Freire, 1972; Heron & Reason, 2001; Reason & Bradbury, 2008) highlight the exploitative power imbalance that comes from elite institutions researching poor, underprivileged communities, arguing for a shift in research approach that emphasizes collaboration between the (usually wealthier) researching institution and the researched, the colonizer and the colonized, metaphorically speaking. The extent to which the experience of community college students and faculty are observed through the lens of the ivory tower is an empirical question. As such, we are analyzing the two most popular community college research journals to ascertain how many studies at each journal are published by academics who are, or used to be, community college faculty. We created a database of authors for each journal for the last ten years, noting whether they are (or were) community college faculty or not. Initial findings suggest that 4-year faculty publications outweigh community college faculty publications. Our next step will be to investigate the 4-year faculty publications to see if they used ethnographic methods, which would make those scholars more familiar with and participant observers in, the community college research context. We will also consider the frequency of citation for each article in order to understand the impact of that work on the field of community college research.

61 Presenter: Ehab Elrawi

Mentor: Miguel Fiolhais, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Search for z bosons at the LHC


The objective of this project is to test the sensitivity of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider to a possible new heavy vector boson with a mass of 1 TeV. A statistical analysis was implemented to identify final states with two opposite charge leptons in real and simulated proton-proton collision data events collected by the ATLAS experiment at a center of mass energy of 7 TeV. Results showed the expected observation of the Z boson centered at 91 GeV and the observation of a simulated Z boson peak at 1 TeV at 99.7% Confidence Level.




62 Presenter: Jairo Molina

Co-Author(s): Kyle Jean-Pierre

Mentor: Mohammad Azhar, Ph.D.


Title: Human-robot communication for assistive robot


A main challenge of human-robot interaction is its necessity of communication. Overlapping robotics and speech recognition provided by artificial intelligence will completely revolutionize the way humans interact with robots, and technology itself. In this paper, we focus on developing fluid communication solution for affordable assistive robot such as Turtlebot. We are developing an affordable home robot that can capable of assisting with daily tasks. Therefore, in way to minimize this gap, we are taking an approach to artificial intelligence by developing speech-to-interaction functionality. By using cloud services and AI assistant Alexa, the Turtlebot will be able to perform tasks such as delivering food to sick people by simply using human speech.

63 Presenter: Marco Santana

Co-Author(s): Henry Gunman



Title: Home robot: navigating turtlebot


Home Robot has the potential to dramatically increase the overall productivity of everyday life for humanity. The Robocup @ Home competition has brought the creation and programming of robots that can help with daily tasks like shopping or carrying heavy things. The real challenge comes from getting the robots to understand and navigate our complex world. Most robots accomplish this with expensive hardware, but the newest Robocup @ HomeEdu league challenges to solve these tasks with more affordable robots. Working toward understanding and utilizing robots has not only help me improve my skills as a programmer, but also has also given me the chance to work on an amazing project that can help progress the next big step in technology. We have successfully programmed the robot to complete the “Follow Me” challenge where the robot follows a person using its sensors. We are currently working toward completing “Help-Me-Carry” challenge. The Help-Me-Carry challenge entails of the robot navigating a known area, following the operator through an unknown area, picking up a specified object, following the operator back to the known area, dropping the item in a specified location, and going back to its resting location.




64 Presenter: Treeshan Yeadram



Title: Robot navigation in an unknown environment employing active mapping


The biggest problem we face currently in assistive robotics is the implementation of navigation in an unknown environment. Mostly because without the navigation we can’t move forward with the programming the rest of the robot in the physical dynamic world where things are constantly changing. My research question is as follows: Can the affordable assistive robot do active mapping to navigate in the unknown environment? My research will focus on exploring ways to achieve active mapping to make the robot move around a room that is constantly changing and recording as the environment changes.

65 Presenter: Alyona Karmazin

Mentor: Owen Roberts, Ph.D.

Discipline: Media Arts and Technology

Title: From idea to virtual reality. Exploring vr programming in unity

Funding: Women in Technology and Entrepreneurship in New York (WiTNY)

This research is an exploration of VR programming using the Unity3D environment and GoogleVR SDK. The goal was to build a flight simulator from scratch, documenting the process and each component required from scripting, physics, 3D objects, lighting and materials and interaction. In the game, the player pilots a paper airplane, exploring the game world and achieving goals such as collecting rings and avoiding obstacles. The project explores the interaction of the players head movement and rotation controlling the plane via sensors in the VR headset. The game uses simplified, or “low-poly”, graphics in order to make the application performance fast enough to support VR immersion.




66 Presenter: Claudia Guerrero

Mentor: Patricia Deleon, Ph.D., and Jun Liang, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Effect of reiki on the egg laying function of the C. elegans mutant sma-3.


Reiki, is a form of complementary medicine classified by the NHI as energy healing which despite been widely used has little scientific background. Sma-3 is a mutated strain of C. elegans that lays fewer eggs compared to the wild type. Our work investigates weather or not reiki can improve the egg laying function of the sma-3 worms either by increasing the number of laid eggs or their viability. Our hypothesis predicts that the number of eggs, and/or their viability, produced by the sma-3 worms will increase as a result of receiving Reiki treatments. After synchronizing the worms, 10 plates with 2 worms each were seeded, then randomized into 2 groups (Treatment and Control). The experimental group received 15 minutes of reiki and the 2 groups were placed in a 20 0C incubator. After 24 hours the number of eggs and larvae was determined, and another 15 minutes of reiki administered to the experimental group; this protocol was repeated for a total of 4 reiki treatments. The results showed a dose-dependent increase in the number of eggs laid by the treatment group compared to the control; after the 4th reiki treatment, the experimental group egg count was 127.9% that of the control group. We observed the same pattern in the number of larvae with the experimental group showing a count that was 134.7% that of the control group. Our results suggest that reiki has a positive effect on the egg laying function and on the egg viability of the sma-3 C. elegans. These results are the average of 2 independent experiments, and we recognize the need to obtain more data in order to determine their statistical significance.

67 Presenter: Brandon Short

Mentor: Rafael Niyazov, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Kinetic recycling: capturing the kinetic energy of a decelerating vehicle for future use


When a vehicle slows down, its kinetic energy decreases. The goal of my research is designing a system that allows the capture, storage, and controlled release of energy in a manner conductive of moving the vehicle forward again. I have used a method of designing and editing conceptual systems, then trial and error of working models. This methodology permits changing the design and scale as needed. The two outcomes with which I evaluated success were as follows. First, is the system functional in capturing, storing, and releasing the energy? Second, is the system repeatable with similar results? Although I did consider other applications involving electromagnetic systems or hydraulic systems, I ultimately limited the scope of my research to systems reliant upon springs and mechanical means. Model 1 would compress the spring by a mass attached to low friction sliders that allow for translational motion. Model 2 was designed in such a way as to link the rotation of the axle to the expansion of a spring through a system of belts and pulleys. Although both systems drive the vehicle forward upon release, Model 2 is far more successful in capturing the energy while braking. This difference determines my conclusion that Model 2 is a massive improvement from Model 1 and further design changes should opt to work off of the rotational kinetic energy of the axle instead of translational kinetic energy of a portion of the vehicle’s mass. If successful, this research will significantly change the approach of designing vehicles.




68 Presenter: Michael Rosado

Mentor: Rafael Niyazov, Ph.D.

Discipline: Science

Title: Capturing energy of a moving vehicle


With the repeated stopping vehicles succumb to with everyday driving, the kinetic energy they have is lost and fuel must be used in order to move again. This is an inefficiency that can be resolved by creating a system that saves this kinetic energy as potential energy the users of said vehicles can utilize in order to move forward. The work that my project revolves around is the design of this system with efficiency and practicality in mind. This system can be created in many ways, but for my design I will convert the rotational kinetic energy of the axle of a car into potential energy by using a spring. This design was chosen as the other options, such as using inertial forces to compress a spring or using electric potential with magnets to store the energy, were deemed impractical when compared to the options I have chosen. The reasons for this being that inertial forces are most effective with sudden and drastic changes in velocity, which doesn’t happen in everyday driving, and that a spring stores energy in a linear and practical fashion that is desirable. My expected outcome is a model with a defined relationship between the weight of the system and the strength of the spring that will be able to move a vehicle forward from rest.


Acknowledgements The Borough of Manhattan Community College Office of Research extends its deep appreciation to the

numerous BMCC students, faculty, and staff who contributed their time and effort into the

2018 BMCC Annual Research Symposium (BARS).

FACULTY MENTORS

Abel Navarro, Ph.D.

Adolfina Koroch, Ph.D.

Alexander Gosslau, Ph.D.

Ali Syed, Ph.D.

Barys Korzun, Ph.D.

Brian Rafferty, Ph.D.

Carlos Chaparro, Ph.D.


Christine Priano, Ph.D.

Christopher McCarthy, Ph.D.

Daniel Torres, Ph.D.

David Allen, Ph.D.

Glenn Miller, Ph.D.

Hao Tang, Ph.D.

Hasan Yumak, Ph.D.

Henry Bulley, Ph.D.

Jaewoo Lee, Ph.D.

Jane Tezapsidis, Ph.D.

José Fernández Romero, Ph.D.

Jun Liang, Ph.D.

Kara LaGrance, Ph.D.

Kibrewossen Tesfariorgis, Ph.D.

Krongchai Praponpoj, Ph.D.

Lalitha Jayant, Ph.D.

Lauren Wickstrom, Ph.D.

Luis González-Urbina, Ph.D.

Marcos Betancourt, Ph.D.

Marjan Persuh, Ph.D.

Maureen T. Matamarese

Miguel Fiolhais, Ph.D.


Owen Roberts, Ph.D.

Patricia DeLeon, Ph.D.

Rafael Niyazov, Ph.D.

Shalva Tsiklauri, Ph.D.

Shirley Leyro, Ph.D.

Monica Foust, Ph.D.

Sumeyra Yumak

Yana Durmysheva

POSTER JUDGES

VP Diane Walleser, Ed.D

Dean Christopher Shultz, Ph.D.

Dean Janice Zummo, Ph.D.

Anita Ta’rnai

Ayanna Weekes

Bettina Hansel, Ph.D.

Brenda L. Worthington

Bryan Dowling, Ph.D.

Catarina Mata, Ph.D.

Christopher Barrette

Daniela Bardac-Vlada

Damaris Lois Y. Lang, Ph.D.

David Bahr, Ph.D.

Domenick Acocella

Elisa Decker, Ph.D.

Elisabeth Jaffe, Ed.D

Gabriella Morvay, Ph.D.

Gerard Clock

Giselle Toby

Heidi Durkin

Jason Tan de Bibiana

June R Soto, MSN

Katarzyna Chung, Ph.D.

Khushmand Rajendran, Ph.D.

Kristin Waters, Ph.D.

Liana Erstenyuk

Manita Pavel

Maria Greene

Marlena Scott

Mee Eng

Monica Foust, Ph.D.

Nicole Lopez-Jantzen, Ph.D.

Quinn Minor, Ph.D.

Remi Alapo, Ph.D.

S. Roderick Snipes, Ph.D.

Samvel Jeshmaridian, Ph.D.

Sara Crosby

Sheldon Applewhite, Ph.D.

Shevonne McKenzie

Susie Boydston-White, Ph.D.

Tabethah Mack-Ouattara, Ph.D.

Tim Leonard, Ph.D.

Victoria Apostol-Marius

Yasemin Gurcan, Ph.D.

SPECIAL THANKS TO: Antonio Pérez, President

Karrin E. Wilks, Provost and SVP of Academic Affairs

Doris Holz, Vice President of Development

Jim Berg, Associate Dean of Faculty

Tanya Hughes, Administration & Planning

Yvonne Rigby, Director, Reprographics

Ashley Santiago, Reprographics

Vinton Melbourne, Director, Media Center

Eric Lugo, Buildings & Grounds

BMCC Student Volunteers

CUNY Office of Research

New York State Education Department

U.S. Department of Education

The Population Council


Notes


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May 9, 2018 - bmcc.cuny.edu · # PRESENTER DISCIPLINE PROJECT TITLE MENTOR FUND 1 Science ... Antioxidant capacity of guava: ... chemistry courses Sumeyra Yumak,