2022 Academic Symposium
Symposium Schedule
Thursday, April 21, 2022 | 10:00AM – 4:00PM
| Time | Presentation Title | Presenter |
| 9:40AM -10:00am | Opening Remarks SEAY Front Parlor |
Dr. Murphy and Dr. D’Olivo |
| Oral Presentations – SEAY #306 10:00AM – 11:00AM Session |
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| 10:00AM – 10:20AM | Cara Solutions Internship | Miranda Mazzola (Moderator) |
| 10:20AM – 10:40AM | Sports Information Internship | Erin Nappi |
| 10:40AM – 11:00AM | Determination of Sugar Content in single M&M by Density and Physical Separation: A Sweet Introductory Discovery Experiment | Zachary Orr |
| 11:00AM – 12:00PM Session | ||
| 11:00AM – 11:20AM | Evaluation of the effectiveness of three common equine thrush treatments | Adrianna Strait (Moderator) |
| 11:20AM – 11:40AM | Voluntary water intake of flavored water in horses | Brianna Soule |
| 11:40AM – 12:00PM | Centenary University Enactus | Ashley Wrede & Jenna Glinko |
| 12:00PM – 1:00PM Session | ||
| 12:00PM – 12:20PM | Kittatinny Regional High School internship | Kyle Szuszkowski (Moderator) |
| 12:20PM – 12:40PM | Who lives, who dies, who tells their story: The factual and fictional work of Alexander Hamilton and George Washington | Lauren McCartney |
| 12:40PM – 1:00PM | Psychotherapeutic Substance Use Disorder Assessment | Nicole Taylor |
| Poster – SEAY Front Parlor | ||
| 10:00AM – 3:00PM | Volunteer Income Tax Assistance VITA | Nikolai Osadtsia |
| Honors Student Presentations (Virtual on Zoom) Five talented honors students will be presenting their capstone projects as part of CU’s Academic Symposium on Thursday April 21st. All presentations will be via Zoom and all are welcome! All sessions will be recorded. Please see schedule and links below: |
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| 9:00AM – 10:00AM | California Wild Santa Fe Style | Kora Milligan |
| 10:00AM – 11:00AM | Canine Cognition of Human Social Interactions | Kristi Wenger |
| 11:00AM – 12:00PM | Understanding How Adverse Childhood Experiences Impact Academic Performance in College Students | Tatiyana Osgood Myers |
| 1:00PM – 2:00PM | Spotted Lanternfly Microbiomes: An Initial Investigation Into an Invasive Insect | Alissa Mor |
| 2:00PM – 3:00PM | Predator Avoidance Behaviors in Gravid and Non‐Gravid Grass Shrimp While in the Presence of Food | Jessica McKenzie |
Presentation Abstracts
Miranda Mazzola, “Cara Solutions Internship”
I will be presenting on my internship I worked for this past semester for Cara Solution, in which I will be talking about how analysis was used in my work that goes hand‐in‐hand with my major here at Centenary. I was summarizing assets using Microsoft Excel for certain situations such as for a $10 billion supermarket chain, using assets put together to evaluate and test complex spreadsheet models that were used in court, and I also used assets that were put together for payroll over a two‐year span for me to analyze and summarize the data and revenue.
Lauren McCartney “Who lives, who dies, who tells their story: The factual and fictional work of Alexander Hamilton and George Washington”
In this presentation, I am going to talk about how George Washington and Alexander Hamilton are portrayed in history, and popular culture. My goal is to divide information about these men in two categories, facts, and fiction. As part of my research, I viewed documentaries, to help better understand their fictional sides. For the factual side, I have chosen five books, all by different authors, whose interpretations of Hamilton and Washington differ greatly. By separating facts, and fiction, I can better understand why these two men are written, talked about, and studied so much in American History. Both Hamilton, and Washington’s lives were intercepted for a while, as one topic. When it comes to viewing both men, I will be looking at them in three arts re‐Revolutionary America, America during The Revolution, and after Revolutionary America. As two different human beings with their own stories, there will be a lot of information to cover. In the end I hope the information gathered was able to fulfil the goal of my paper. An analysis of the upbringing, personal and professional lives of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton in context of the time enables one to judge if the fame attributed to them is warranted.
Erin Nappi, “Sports Information Internship”
I will be presenting on the duties I had during the time period of my internship with the Athletic Department, as well as the lessons learned from it. This is my final presentation, and it is to summarize my semester long internship including duties, lessons, opinions, and suggestions.
Zachary Orr, “Determination of Sugar Content in single M&M by Density and Physical Separation: A Sweet Introductory Discovery Experiment”
In the experiment described in this article, two different methods are used to determine the sugar content in single M&M. First, density of solutions of known sugar concentration is measured and the data are used to determine the sugar content. Since there is no reference to a true value of sugar percent in M&M, a second method is needed. In the second design, weighing differences of before and after the dissolution of M&M in water provided the percent sugar. Both methods have been tested with different sample size of M&M and agreed with each other by less than 0.5%. These two methods could be a better alternative to other density experiments as students showed an avid interest in laboratory investigations of the properties of products, they are familiar with. They are often surprised at the results they obtain, which indicate the relatively high levels of sugar content in single M&M.
Brianna Soule, “Voluntary water intake of flavored water in horses”
Colic, abdominal pain, has predisposing factors including decreased water intake. The objective of this study was to determine if sweet feed or banana flavored water would increase voluntary water intake in horses to serve as an assessable, noninvasive method to decrease the risk of impaction colic. After a three‐day control period, 21 horses were randomly divided into two sequences and offered banana or sweet feed flavored water. A repeated measure study design was used to measure water consumption over a 62‐hour period. Although not statistically significant, the three‐day average water intake was largest for banana flavored water (M = 53.51, SD= 9.25 ml/kg), followed by sweet feed (M = 52.93, SD= 11.99 ml/kg), and, finally, unflavored water (M = 50.40, SD= 10.82 ml/kg). Although not significant, the average unflavored water intake (M = 29 .3 ml/kg, SD = 8.9) over the measurement period was greater than the banana flavored water (M = 27.7 ml/kg, SD= 9.8), but the average consumption of the sweet feed flavored water (M = 30.4 ml/kg, SD= 14.6) was greater than unflavored water (M = 24.3 ml/kg, SD= 11.4). Future research is warranted to determine if other flavors significantly increase voluntary water intake in horses.
Adrianna Strait, “Evaluation of effectiveness of three common equine thrush treatments”
Thrush is a common disease of ungulates primarily affecting the frog and sulci, caused by the anaerobic bacteria, Fusobacterium necrophorum. Thrush accounts for approximately 45.0% of hoof disorders in horses. Prevention and treatment of thrush are essential to prevent horses from developing severe infections and becoming lame. The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of three common thrush treatments for horses: Thrush Buster®, dilute bleach solution spray, or Metronidazole paste. Cases of thrush diagnosed by a veterinarian or veterinarian‐trained researcher were given a score, from O to 4, based on the severity of the thrush in each hoof (n=59) and randomly assigned a treatment. Cases were rescored each week of the three‐week treatment, and the final and initial scores were compared to determine effectiveness. The thrush treatments were compared with Thrush Buster® as the reference at a significance level of a=.05. Binomial Logistic Regression Modeling was performed, finding that the odds of a hoof treated with Metronidazole to be thrush‐free was 6.1 times greater than a hoof treated with Thrush Buster® (p=0.001), while the odds of a hoof that was treated with bleach to be thrush‐free was only 0.97 times greater than a hoof treated with Thrush Buster® (p=0.970), after adjustment for treatment week. Of the three treatments utilized in this study, Metronidazole paste applied to the affected areas every other day was the most effective treatment for thrush in horses.
Kyle Szuszkowski, “Kittatinny Regional High School internship”
Working with the Athletic Director at KRHS, doing a job shadowing of my roles at Kittatinny Regional High School. I am the Assistant Varsity Baseball Coach as well. The presentation will highlight my experiences, challenges, and main concepts learned over the past two semesters I have been interning there.
Nicole Taylor, “Psychotherapeutic Substance Use Disorder Assessment”
At present time, individuals receiving a Substance Use Disorder evaluation and assessment from a Treatment Center is a combination of a Biopsychosocial and a self‐report evaluation and an evaluator’s subjective view through the Addiction Severity Assessment. My current research is the beginning stages of having the ability to pull the components of addiction through the subconscious rather than the skewed perspective of the self‐reported conscious. This imagery projective test is based on the Thematic Apperception Test, with originally designed images designated to pull specific components typically attached to those afflicted with Substance Use Disorder. My research and current data that I will be presenting is to distinguish what data is able to be pulled from different population of individuals. I plan to continue this study into my graduate program and forward, to ensure I obtain enough data to present this evaluation as something that could potentially be utilized in treatment centers within the next five to ten years.
Ashely Wrede & Jenna Glinko, “Centenary University Enactus”
POM121C is a protein found in the nuclear pore complex (NPC) located on the nuclear envelope of eukaryotic cells. The NPCs are responsible for the transport of molecules in and out of the cell nucleus and are composed of a variety of nucleoporin proteins. The structure of the NPC and its composite proteins have been the subject of much discussion. While the amino acid sequence of POM121C has been recently discovered, its 3-D structure remains unsolved. By utilizing homology modeling software and bioinformatics tools, we have generated a series of potential 3-D models based on the amino acid sequence of POM121C. Comparative modeling tools were also applied in order to investigate possible structure-function relationships for these models, based on homologous proteins deposited in protein structure databases.
Poster Presentation Abstracts
Nikolai Osadtsia, “Volunteer Income Tax Assistance VITA”
Our presentation is to introduce and explain the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program here at Centenary University. How it helps the underserved community and provides a service opportunity for the students at Centenary University.
Jessica McKenzie, “Predator Avoidance Behaviors in Gravid and Non‐Gravid Grass Shrimp While in the Presence of Food”
New Jersey coastal environments host a plethora of native and invasive grass shrimp species. The three native species observed for this experiment included: Palaemonetes pugio, P. vulgaris, and P. intermedius. The subjects were identified and collected in three field sites: Morgan Marina in Parlin, Irwin Marina in Redbank, and Rutgers Field Station in Tuckerton. In the laboratory, five gravid and five non‐gravid shrimp participated in maze trials to collect data on the variance of their behaviors when in the presence of food and predators. Essential behaviors observed and recorded for this experiment included: number of shrimp that make contact with the mussels, number of shrimp that locate the mussels without contact, and number of shrimp that make no contact with the mussels. The results proved that behaviors between the gravid and non‐gravid shrimp varied significantly in the presence of predators.
Kora Milligan, “California Wild Santa Fe Style”
My collection, California Wild Santa Fe Style, is a spring/summer 2022 collection inspired by the fun‐loving wild spirit of a western cowgirl. I grew up listening to country music and have grown a strong appreciation for the style and attitude that follow it. I wanted to incorporate my love of summer and sparkly things by adding bright colors and funky patterns with lots of rhinestones and appliques. In addition to the fun western style, as a part of my honors capstone project and my own personal values, I have made a conscious effort to make this collection eco‐friendly by up‐cycling thrifted materials, such as tablecloths and quilts, and using leftover materials from past projects. By doing this I hope that I can show others that sustainable fashion can be easily accessible and trendy. I feel that this collection is quirky, whimsical, and is a great representation of my values and style!
Alissa Mor, “Spotted Lanternfly Microbiomes: An Initial Investigation Into an Invasive Insect?”
Spotted lanternflies (Lycorma delicatula) are invasive insects spreading through the mid‐Atlantic region of the United States. Spotted lanternflies feed and lay eggs on crops which severely impacts agricultural systems. Currently, there is no efficient control method for spotted lanternflies. However, there is hope for microbial methods to control their spread and impact. The first step in finding microbial control methods is to categorize the spotted lanternfly microbiome. This study sought to understand which bacteria were present in the microbiome across spotted lanternfly life stages, including juveniles and adults, using the 16S V4 rRNA gene marker. The Earth Microbiome Protocol was followed, and the data was analyzed using QIIME2. The major bacterial phyla found in the adults include Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Firmicutes. The juvenile data was inconclusive, but we believe that juveniles may have a limited microbiome.
Tatiyana Osgood Myers, “Understanding How Adverse Childhood Experiences Impact Academic Performance in College Students”
Adverse Childhood experiences (ACEs) are traumatic events that occur in childhood and can have long‐term effects in adulthood. Certain experiences such as discrimination, bullying, and lack of social support, especially in minority groups, are linked to critical mental health outcomes. Although the role of major trauma is established for post‐traumatic stress disorder outcomes, the contributions of pre‐diagnostic trauma to academic achievement ability are less well understood for students with ACEs who do not endorse concurrent neuropsychiatric diagnoses. Notably, minority students have a greater likelihood of trauma exposure and poor academic achievement, especially when residing in historically underserved neighborhoods. The aim of this research study is to analyze the literature on ACEs to determine their potential impact on the academic performance of college students. In future studies, this will enable the development of quantifiable trajectories for ACE risk and associated mental health outcomes with stronger links to academic performance decline.
Kristi Wenger, “Canine Cognition of Human Social Interactions”
A study was conducted to determine how canines interpret three different social interactions between two individuals. Results showed that the range of time to complete the path was highly variable. The survey responses from the owner were used to perform two cluster analyses. The first cluster analysis separated the subjects into two clusters based on their level of formal training and how reserved they were perceived by their owners. A second cluster analysis separated the subjects into two groups based on the number of months they had owned and how calm they were perceived by their owners. In the cluster analysis for formal training and reservation, cluster one had 0% formal training and a mean response of 2.3 respectively. Cluster two had 83.3% training and a mean of 4.7. In the analysis comparing months owned and calmness, the subjects in cluster one were owned for an average of 23.9 months and had a mean response of 4.6, while the subjects in cluster two were owned for 72.0 months on average and had a mean response of 6. This data can be further investigated to hypothesize about other behaviors or can be used to make a correlation among the existing evidence.