Cells use diverse mechanisms to prevent DNA damage and tumor formation. Two tumor suppressors employed in this effort are the focus of our study: breast cancer type 1 susceptibility protein (BRCA1) and BRCA-1-associated RING Domain protein 1 (BARD1). These two proteins form a complex that suppresses the generation of estrogen-derived free radicals. Inherited mutations in BRCA1 or BARD1 are associated with an increased risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer in humans. The model organism Caenorhabditis elegans possesses the orthologs BRC-1 and BRD-1 which can be readily mutated, offering an attractive model to study biochemical functions. However, it is unknown if BRC-1/BRD-1 also regulates the transcription of estrogen metabolism (cyp) genes to control the production of free radicals as noted for the human homologs. Utilizing gene expression analysis and estrogen exposure assays, this study demonstrates that BRC-1/BRD-1 has a conserved function of regulating cyp genes in C. elegans. However, our data also shows that BRC-1 and BRD-1 do not necessarily protect DNA from free radical damage upon estrogen exposure, despite its proven inhibition of cyp genes expression. Further investigation is required to determine the function of these cyp gene homologs in C. elegans. Our findings of this additional conserved function of the BRCA1/BARD1 homologs in C. elegans further validate its use as a model organism to better understand the myriad ways BRCA1/BARD1 protects the genome.

BRCA1 and p53 have been proven to interact in tumor suppressor pathways for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. Finding the physical binding location associated with this interplay is important in assessing cancer risk and determining molecular details of the interaction. This project aimed to identify the protein binding region of p53 with the intrinsically disordered region of BRCA1. We cloned select regions of human BRCA1 and p53 protein into E. coli bacteria, then harvested and purified the proteins. A pull-down assay was performed to test binding affinity between a segment of p53 and two different length BRCA1 constructs. The assay showed that neither the construct that contained BRCA1 amino acids between 772-1126 nor the construct with amino acids between 896-1190 interacted with p53. This indicates that these amino acids alone are not sufficient for binding of p53 and BRCA1. Our results could also indicate that a third-party binding mediator is required in vivo. This information expands upon our knowledge of the p53 and BRCA1 binding interaction and can be used in a clinical setting to evaluate risk associated with mutations in the experimental regions.

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease associated with old age and marked by deficits in memory and learning skills. AD pathology is characterized by amyloid-beta (AB) accumulation, which leads to plaque formation and ultimately neuronal death. Additionally, AB activates microglial cells, which function as an immune cell in the brain. Microglial cells secrete proteins that induce inflammation, known as pro-inflammatory cytokines. The chronic activation of pro-inflammatory cytokines engenders neuroinflammation and oxidative stress, which then further exacerbates AD pathologies. This project aims to study the effectiveness of cannabidiol (CBD) as a potential treatment for AD, due to its known anti-inflammatory properties. We will measure the inflammatory response of cultured BV2 immortalized mouse microglial cells following lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment. We will then include a CBD treatment to study its therapeutic capabilities in reducing inflammation. We hypothesize that treatment with CBD will decrease the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha and IL-6 induced by LPS stimulation. We will perform enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) to detect and quantify the cytokine levels.The overall goal of the research is to demonstrate the capacity of CBD to minimize the immunological mechanisms that drive AD pathologies. Our research will contribute to the understanding of the link between the immune system and central nervous system in AD development. AD is the sixth leading cause of death in America, but the availability of therapies is limited. CBD represents a natural and possible effective therapy for those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, and our research will contribute to determining its efficacy.

Effect of Season, Body Size, and Sex on the Mercury Concentrations of Orb-Weaving Spiders
Cale Perry, Garrett Helburn, Olivia Eberwein, Madeline Hannappel, Matthew Chumchal, and Ray Drenner
Mercury (Hg) is an anthropogenic contaminants found in all aquatic ecosystems across the world. One of the methods to monitor levels of Hg contamination in an ecosystem is using sentinel organisms: abundant and widely distributed organisms within the food web that accumulate contaminants in body tissues without negative effects. Riparian spiders are a potential sentinel organism for the study of Hg contamination in aquatic ecosystems, as they accumulate mercury through the consumption of contaminated emergent aquatic insects. The present study will examine the effects of spider body size, sex, and season on 2 taxa of orb-weaving spiders [Family Araneidae: Larinioides sp., Metazygia sp.]. 575 orb-weaving spiders were collected from a boat dock on the South side of Eagle Mountain Lake, Texas, USA, from May to September 2019. The spiders were preserved in 95% ethanol and sorted based genera, month collected, sex, and size class. Size class was determined by measuring the spiders front left leg length (tibia + patella) and served as an indicator of body size. Mercury contamination will be analyzed through direct Hg analysis.

Plants with threatened habitats and fragmented populations may require repatriation efforts to maintain healthy populations. Populations of Sarracenia alata, the pale pitcher plant, are severely fragmented, and the species is near threatened. A complete understanding of its reproduction will be crucial in establishing and maintaining healthy populations. The goals of this study were to determine if 1) S. alata is capable of selfing (reproducing with pollen from the same individual); 2) S. alata is capable of autogamy (selfing without intervention); and 3) pollen load affects reproductive success. We used seed set to measure individual fitness. Thus, it was necessary to determine a reliable method of counting seeds. Two methods were examined, and these gave statistically similar results. We found that while S. alata is capable of selfing, it is not autogamous. Seed set was significantly higher in outcrossed individuals than in selfed individuals . In 2019, plants receiving supplemental pollen yielded more seeds than those in either the control group or a group in which pollinator access was restricted. During 2021 (a year with higher pollinator activity), there was no significant difference between the number of seeds produced by control plants and those receiving supplemental pollen. This study demonstrates the important role of pollinators in maintaining healthy populations in this system.

Migration, which is defined as the seasonal movement for survival or reproductive advantage such as access to resources, is a behavioral phenomenon exhibited by many species including the salmonid Oncorhynchus mykiss. More commonly known as rainbow trout, O. mykiss exists in two life histories: migrants (steelhead trout), and residents (rainbow trout). While there are many factors that contribute to this variation in migration behavior, one of the reasons is their genetic makeup since there is an apparent correlation between the migratory behavior of parents and their offspring. The primary objective of this research project is to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), or genetic differences, which are associated with migratory behavior in rainbow trout. To that end, I used whole genome sequence data from five migrant and five resident rainbow trout. These data were aligned to the trout genome and used to locate genetic differences between the two migratory types. Quantitative PCR (DMAS-qPCR) approaches were used to validate the SNPs and genotype them in a larger set of twenty-five migratory steelhead. Research findings exhibited that Sashin Lake is producing smolts (young migratory steelhead) that are successfully returning to the lake and reproducing at the end of their life cycle. Additionally, while there was not a significant difference seen in terms of marine survival between the sexes, females were more likely to migrate compared to their male counterparts due to the reproductive advantage and greater access to resources that migration offers. This data will support future studies observing trout migratory behavior with larger sample sizes and from different generations and settings and will benefit conservation studies regarding population decline in migratory species.

BRCA1 is a gene whose protein (also named BRCA1) is found throughout all human cells and engages in DNA repair, cell cycle regulation, gene transcription regulation, and apoptosis. However, mutations in BRCA1 typically confer a higher risk of cancer in estrogen-responsive tissues, including breast epithelial tissue. This increase in incidence of tissue-specific cancers is thought to be in part due to the role of BRCA1 in the estrogen response pathway and interaction with the estrogen receptor alpha (ERα). Previous studies identified possible regions of each protein involved in the binding interface between BRCA1 and ERα. Using these regions (amino acids 177-240 in BRCA1 and the ligand binding domain of ERα) as our constructs, our studies further analyzed the molecular details of this direct interaction and determined methods conducive to studying the BRCA1-ERα interaction. A pull down assay qualitatively confirmed binding between the constructs of BRCA1 and ERα. Data collected from NMR spectroscopy reaffirmed the direct interaction between BRCA1 and ERα first seen in the pull down assay and provided evidence demonstrating that the presence of estrogen in the samples increased binding affinity. Finally, fluorescence spectroscopy of quenching experiments confirmed the previous two results – that a direct interaction between the constructs of BRCA1 and ERα used occurs and the binding affinity increases in the presence of estrogen – and allowed us to describe the binding curve of the system being studied. The molecular details confirmed here provide further avenues of study, such as documenting variants of unknown significance or studying the role estrogen plays in the function of the BRCA1-ERα complex, which could lead to novel findings that expand our understanding of the role either protein plays in cancer development.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affects about 6 million Americans, and hallmark pathologies of AD include amyloid beta (Aβ), inflammation, and oxidative stress. Microglial cells (MGCs) are brain cells that function like immune cells, and they respond to Aβ by secreting pro-inflammatory cytokines. Cytokines induce inflammation at sites of infection, and Aβ continually increases inflammation, resulting in neuronal death. Inflammation is also connected to oxidative stress, and prior research has demonstrated that Nrf2 (a transcription factor) protects cells from oxidative stress by increasing antioxidant enzymes. We will test potential benefits of molecules with antioxidant capabilities, created by Dr. Green (TCU Chemistry), on inflammation and Nrf2 expression in MGCs. Previously, we demonstrated that these compounds, L2 and L4, are powerful antioxidants that protect MGCs from oxidative stress. Currently, we aim to study the effects of L2 and L4 on inflammation, Nrf2 expression and heme oxygenase-1 (antioxidant) production following an inflammatory insult. We will pre-treat MGCs with different concentrations of L2 and L4, and then stimulate MGCs with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a bacterial mimetic. Subsequently, we will measure pro-inflammatory cytokines, Nrf2 expression and antioxidant response genes. Overall, it is crucial for researchers to investigate effective therapeutics that could relieve AD symptoms, such as antioxidant treatment.

Testing of chemicals that enter our waterways is necessary to keep marine environments healthy. The current method of toxicity testing is the larval growth and survival (LGS) test, which exposes larval fish to varying concentrations of an effluent or chemical. Given recent legislation that calls for improvements in the welfare of animals used in toxicity testing, there is a need to identify alternatives to the LGS test. In light of this, the objective of the current study was to determine whether toxicity tests featuring fish embryos or shrimp could be used in place of LGS tests.

To accomplish this, we compared the results of the standard LGS test using inland silverside larvae with the results from two alternative tests, a mysid (e.g., shrimp) test and an inland silverside fish embryo toxicity (FET) test. The results of this study show that both the mysid and FET tests are promising alternative testing methods to the LGS test. The adoption of either test type will meet legislative goals and improve the welfare of fish used in toxicity testing.

The Effect of Body Size on Mercury Concentration of Orb-Weaving Spiders (Araneidae) from the Clear Fork and West Fork of the Trinity River

Authors: Tyler Williams, Iris Schmeder, Morgan Capone, Matthew Chumchal, Andrew Todd, Ray Drenner, Cale Perry, Tori Martinez, Macyn Willingham, Robby Peterson, Chris Allender

Mercury (Hg) is a contaminant threatening all ecosystems. Inorganic Hg is released into the atmosphere from power plants and artisanal gold mines before being deposited over the landscape. Inorganic Hg deposited in the water can be converted by aquatic bacteria to methylmercury (MeHg). Methylmercury is one of the most toxic forms of Hg due to its capability of bioaccumulating within the tissues of organisms. Overexposure of methylmercury can cause damage to the nervous, genetic, and enzyme systems in the body, leading to a multitude of health complications. Evaluating the amount of Hg in an ecosystem, and thus the risk to organisms, is not straightforward. For example, the concentration of Hg in water or sediment may not be representative of aquatic organisms’ exposure to Hg because not all the Hg in water or sediment is bioavailable. As a result, scientists measure Hg concentrations in sentinels, defined as: an organism that can accumulate Hg within its tissue without significant adverse effects and serve as a representation of the level of Hg present within an ecosystem. Riparian spiders consume emerging aquatic insects and are therefore sentinels of Hg contamination in aquatic ecosystems. The objective of the study was to evaluate the concentration of total Hg in orb-weaving spiders (Family Araneidae) from the Clear Fork and West Fork of the Trinity River and determine how Hg concentration changes with spider body size. Spiders were preserved in 95% ethanol and body size was measured. Spiders were then dried and analyzed using a Direct Mercury Analyzer (DMA).

The long-term goal of exploring macrocycles is to be able to produce drugs that can interfere with certain protein-protein interactions within cells. This strategy could have the potential to change the way scientists think about drug design. Aspartic acid is a particularly useful to incorporate because it is one of the top five amino acids that contribute to binding at protein-protein interfaces. The acid sidechain of aspartic acid presents significant challenge because of the potential for side reactions. This research has established that an aspartic acid macrocycle can be synthesized quickly in three steps. The route is remarkably efficient and has the characteristics of those that could be used to make drugs. This poster details the chemical synthesis and characterization of this molecule, discusses potential side reactions, and identifies the next steps in advancing this project.

N-terminal acetylation plays an important role in the stability, activity, and targeting of proteins in eukaryotes. Most proteins expressed in bacteria are not acetylated, although the N-terminal acetylation is critical for the activities of a handful of biologically important proteins. Therefore, it is of practical significance to control N-terminal acetylation of recombinant proteins in bacteria. This study is aimed to alter the substrate specificity of RimJ, a protein N-terminal aminotransferase (NAT) that is known to acetylate a few recombinant proteins including the Z-domain in E. coli. The RimJ-mediated protein acetylation occurs at a higher rate when the substrate’s N-terminal amino acid is small. Because of this narrow substrate specificity, RimJ is not applicable for a broad range of recombinant proteins. Based on the AlphaFold-predicted structure of E. coli RimJ (AF-P0A948_F1), we predicted that five amino acids (Y106, M142, N144, Y170, and L171) may recognize substrate proteins in the active site. We created RimJ variants, in which one or two of these five amino acids are changed to alanine, a small neutral amino acid, so that the active site becomes larger to accommodate substrate proteins containing bigger N-terminal amino acid residues. Then, the substrate specificity of RimJ was investigated by co-expressing two Z-domain variants T2I and S3K, which were not acetylated by the wild-type RimJ. The expressed Z-domain variants were purified by immobilized metal affinity chromatography and subsequently analyzed by mass spectrometry, by which a 42-Da mass increment indicates the presence of an N-terminal acetyl group. The RimJ single mutants such as N144A, M142A, and Y106A showed little acetylation on both T2I and S3K Z-domain variants. In contrast, the RimJ double mutants, Y106A M142A, Y106A N144A, and Y170A L171A showed higher acetylation rates on the Z-domain T2I variants. Little acetylation was observed for the Z-domain S3K variant by any of these double mutants. We also created more RimJ variants in which three different amino acids located on the other side of the active site were changed to alanine. These variants will be used to co-express the Z-domain variants, whose N-terminal acetylation patterns will be analyzed by mass spectrometry.

In the lab, molecules used as drugs are made either in solution (wherein the reactive agents dissolve) or on solid supports referred to as 'beads' (wherein reactive agents are washed over beads and become attached only to be liberated later). The virtue of bead-based synthesis comes with the savings in time and energy normally required to purify the reaction products. That is, solution phase synthesis is work intensive. Here, a route to cyclic molecules synthesized on beads is described. The molecules produced by these bead-based methods have already been prepared in solution for comparison. In addition to evaluating the relative efficiencies of these two routes, the bead-based method can be used to rapidly make 100s-1000s of cyclic molecules. Such numbers are not possible using solution phase methods due to the burdens of purification. The effort relies on tethering an acetal to a reactive bead, followed by a protection and deprotection sequence, the addition of an amino acid using standard peptide coupling strategies and a reaction with a core group that offers the potential for the attachment of 100s-1000s of different groups. Cleavage of this linear molecule from the bead leads to spontaneous cyclization to the desired products. The products will be characterized by NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry as well as be assayed for biological activity in a disease model of breast cancer.

Tissue engineering encompasses many important medical applications that pertain to the repair and regeneration of various tissues throughout the human body that have been adversely affected by disease or injury. Through combining the body’s cells with synthetic scaffolds, tissue engineering promotes proliferation of cells at damaged sites. Recent advances have demonstrated that using biocompatible materials such as alginate hydrogels—polymer networks derived from brown algae—are a cheap and environmentally-friendly approach to this. Alginate hydrogels are effective because they mimic the extracellular matrix of tissues, which provides structural support to cells that comprise human tissues.
One necessary modification to these scaffold materials is to load them with drugs that can facilitate healing. More complex designs can ideally deliver more than one therapeutic species simultaneously. In addition to hydrogels, drugs can also be loaded into a material known as porous silicon (pSi). pSi nanoparticles can be physically entrapped inside alginate hydrogels to create a two-system drug delivery mechanism with sustained release. This allows drugs such as growth factors, substances that stimulate cell growth, to be released at different times as the pSi and alginate hydrogel degrade.
This project entails the construction of alginate hydrogels that incorporate model dye-loaded pSi particles. The release of two dye molecules known as curcumin and rhodamine were monitored to assess the efficacy of the two-system drug delivery mechanism. It was first found that curcumin was too hydrophobic of a dye to achieve significant loading in the pSi. Rhodamine was found to be released from the pSi/alginate hydrogel system in a more incremental (sustained) manner over time compared to a relatively large initial ‘burst’ release observed for the release of rhodamine from pSi only. Sustained release in drug delivery is important to ideally reduce the amount of drug necessary and contrasts a burst release where large amounts of the loaded molecules are released prior to achieving a stable release profile. Furthermore, the localization of pSi in the alginate hydrogels was achieved by inserting loaded pSi membranes into pre-gelled alginate hydrogels, which is important to control the spatial delivery of the loaded molecule from pSi. Overall, it is believed that this pSi/alginate hydrogel material can greatly benefit the field of tissue engineering by creating dual delivery platforms with more diverse control over drug release.

It is estimated that 50 million individuals worldwide live with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a neurodegenerative progressive disorder that, along with other chronic dementias, cost the United States $355 billion in 2021. Previous research links AD with amyloid beta (A𝛽) aggregation in the brain. Possible therapeutic drugs, including antioxidants and metal chelating agents, need efficient delivery systems that can cross the blood-brain barrier and release drugs appropriately. Recent discoveries in nanoscale materials as targeted drug delivery and controlled release agents have shown that such materials can release therapeutic drugs in a slow manner and increase efficacy. Chief among these carriers are porous materials with high surface areas because of their tunable pore structure, surface chemistry and drug loading capacity. This project focuses on using porous silicon derivatives as a carrier because, in addition to the above properties, it is a known biocompatible material.
This research deals with developing efficient protocols for loading mesoporous silica (pSiO2) with selected metal ion binding agents through systematic manipulation of external variables in order to achieve the highest percentage of loading. Once this has been determined, release and complexation studies are conducted. Known spectrophotometric methods are used to monitor diffusion over time and evaluate the profile of the sustained release. Different derivatives of chelating agents are tested and compared to determine the best suited candidates. The macrocyclic molecule Pyclen was the first tested candidate, followed by its dimer form, and finally a halogen substituted derivative. Stoichiometric complexation ratios with copper ions are measured followed by testing their success of inhibiting amyloid beta aggregation. Developing a slow and steady rate at which drugs capable of inhibiting neurotoxic A𝛽 aggregates in the brain can be released should be more effective and lead to more promising solutions for AD.

The misregulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and transition metal ions contributes to the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). A series of new pyridinophane ligands with indole (L2 and L3) and 4-methyl-8-hydroxyquinoline (L4) modifications were evaluated as a means of targeting the molecular features of AD. These studies contribute to the overall understanding of the therapeutic potential of the pyridinophane backbone as a means of treating AD. In comparison to the parent molecule L1, the order of radical scavenging activity was determined to be L4 > L1 ~ L3 > L2, which is likely related to the reactivity and position of the substitutions. These results demonstrate that the addition of (1) the indole moiety to the pyridine, and (2) the addition of the 4-methyl-8-hydroxyquinoline moiety to the secondary amine on the tetra-aza macrocyclic pyridinophane both disrupt radical scavenging ability, warranting future exploration of these modifications in therapeutic design for AD.

To accomplish many critical reactions and interactions mediated by metals like zinc and copper, Nature uses the amino acid cysteine—often in pairs—that are preorganized in space by a protein. Cysteine proteases are illustrative of the former; zinc finger transcription factors of the latter. Small molecule models of these proteins can serve many roles. They can shed light on the chemical process or ape them for therapeutic gain. Here, a macrocycle is used to preorganize two cysteine residues. These macrocycles are synthesized in three steps. The route begins with a stepwise substitution of a BOC-protected hydrazine group, a protected cysteine, and dimethylamine onto a triazine ring. Next, an acetal is appended onto the compound. Finally, a macrocycle is produced using an acid-promoted homodimerization. The macrocycle product has been characterized using 1H and 13C NMR in 1D and 2D experiments. Additionally, logP, variable temperature NMR, and H/D exchange experiments will be performed to understand the shape of the macrocycle in solution. These studies conclude with a study of how these cysteines bind metal ions. The results of this work will guide their development for biomedical applications including their use as drugs.

Various semiconductor metal oxides such as ZnO, TiO2, WO3, and BiVO4 have been utilized for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water-splitting as well as for value added alternative reactions. However, single-phase materials often face multiple challenges including poor charge separation efficiency and surface degradation especially in aqueous environment. BiVO4 is well known as a promising photoanode material, but the above-mentioned shortcomings are still present. Therefore, in order to enhance the PEC performance of BiVO4,our group has focused on doping techniques for BiVO4 with tungsten (W) to yield tungsten doped BiVO4 (W:BiVO4). In addition, polyethylene glycol (PEG) has also been introduced to the material as a morphological control agent. The addition of polymer to the precursor solution helps to control the porosity of the resulting surface film by promoting a less porous and more compact formation of BiVO4 on FTO. The mixture of PEG (1% MW 100,000 : 1% MW 20,000) has been tested. The photochemical oxidation of a solution containing (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-yl)oxyl (TEMPO) has been performed in acetonitrile with 0.1 M tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate (TBAPF6) electrolyte. As a result, photocurrent density of PEG (1% MW 100,000 : 1% MW 20,000) - W:BiVO4 (0.58 mAcm-2 with an applied biased of 0.3 V vs. SCE) has outperformed that of W:BiVO4 without PEG (0.32 mAcm-2). Based on the data obtained, PEG(1% MW 100,000 : 1% MW 20,000) -W:BiVO4 outperformed W:BiVO4 by about 2 times. In the future, the best performing electrode samples will be studied for driving TEMPO-mediated benzyl alcohol oxidation.

Micelles represent an important example of nanoparticles with the ability to host nonpolar molecules in water. Understanding the effect of salts on micelle diffusion is important for enhancing particle insertion into porous materials in the presence of salt brines with application in enhancing oil recovery and soil remediation. In this poster, the effect of two salting-out salts (sodium sulfate and magnesium sulfate) on the diffusion of a non-ionic micelle (tyloxapol) is examined. Micelle diffusion coefficients were experimentally determined in aqueous salt solutions using dynamic light scattering at 25 ˚C. Our experimental results show that the micelle diffusion coefficient is approximately constant until a critical salt concentration is reached. After this concentration, micelle diffusion was found to decrease significantly, and this behavior reflects a corresponding increase in micelle size. To explain our experimental results, we introduce a two-state equilibrium model showing that relatively large surfactant aggregates become thermodynamically more stable than micelles at high salt concentrations. The results of our model were also used to examine the effect of salt gradients on micelle diffusion.

Adamantyl H-phosphinate esters were first introduced by Yiotakis et al. as a protecting group in the synthesis of phosphinopeptides. Gatineau et al. later found adamantyl H- phosphinate esters to be useful in the synthesis of P-stereogenic compounds. Phosphorus compounds have a broad range of applications ranging from pharmaceuticals to agricultural products, making them an area of interest in synthetic chemistry. However, methods for the preparation of P-stereogenic compounds that achieve high enantioselectivity are limited. Gatineau et al. discovered that adamantyl H-phosphinate esters serve as precursors that facilitate this preparation, which they attributed to the ability of the esters to resist racemization when displaced with organometallics. However, their methods were limited by the necessity of chlorophosphine starting materials. In this project, we aimed at developing novel synthetic methods for the preparation of adamantyl H-phosphinate esters which are not limited in terms of available reagents and are less expensive than current known methods. EDC, PivCl, and T3P were utilized in the esterification reactions. Methods were developed to prepare these esters in good yield on a multigram scale without the need for chromatography. An alternative method to the esterification of H-phosphinic acids was also employed that involved the preparation of adamantyl hypophosphite and its conversion into a variety of H-phosphinate esters. However, adamantyl hypophosphite was shown to have limited reactivity.

Artificial photosynthesis utilizes controlled photochemical reactions to store light energy from the sun as chemical potential energy (that of new chemical bonds). This study describes the fabrication and study of nanostructured BiVO4 photoanodes to optimize the capture and conversion of light energy to chemical potential energy. BiVO4 is a promising n-type semiconductor due to its ability to absorb a portion of the visible light spectrum. Moreover, BiVO4 is an eco-friendly material which exhibits an optimal conduction and valence band edge position to perform water oxidation. Research has suggested that the oxidative performance of bismuth vanadate films is based on both the overall surface area and presence of grain boundaries which can alter the chemical conductivity of the photoanode interface. Specifically, this work aims to alter the porosity and structure of the BiVO4 film by controlling the concentration of polymer additive, polyethylene glycol (PEG), used as a templating agent in the precursor sol-gel. Changing the PEG concentration should affect both the surface porosity and film thickness. The application of the film involves a simple liquid-phase, dip-coating deposition which is easily reproducible. We hypothesize that an increase in surface area and porosity of the photoanode interface will result in an increase in overall photocurrent generation. These nanostructured photoanodes were used to measure the oxidation of the stable radical, (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-yl)oxyl (TEMPO), via photoelectrochemical analysis. Our findings provide insight into a simple yet effective fabrication procedure of photoanodes for use in renewable solar chemical applications.

Our product seeks to provide a teacher-driven computer programming education platform that allows users total anonymity in communication and grading. The purpose of this software is to provide educators the ability to assign students both in class programming contests that are graded on a time-to-completion basis and to facilitate both guided and collaborative communication about programming and computer software. This product was initially designed to be used in university’s Intro to Programming classes where the professor recognized that students, especially females, were hesitant to participate due to a perceived lack of knowledge of the topic. In any situation, asking questions can be beneficial, and this platform will provide students the ability to ask their peers and professors questions without the fear of negative reflection on their knowledge or understanding. 
The Platform is built on a custom serverless architecture utilizing Amazon Web Services (AWS). The Platform hosts a publicly accessible web portal, API layers for integration and data manipulation, and database and object storage solutions for data management and storage. Our choice in using AWS gave us the ability to implement pre-built and managed security solutions for our project. The security of our users information is offloaded immediately to a managed AWS service to minimize potential penetrations.
During the course of the project, we enhanced our time management skills and learnt how to collaborate and communicate within a team. Ultimately the research project will be considered a success if the application promotes better communication and learning within the classroom.

Day traders typically spend most of their day looking at graphs to try to find specific patterns and changes in the market. The chance of making a rewarding investment could be gone while traders try to figure out whether the pattern is good or bad. This tedious and time-consuming job can be made easier and quicker. Our team members, David Greenwell, Alfredo Perez, Zhengwei Zhou, Ahn Nguyen, and Kyle Conte have been working hard to build an algorithm to find one of the best possible market patterns called the three-bar pattern. This three-bar pattern is a pattern one might see in the market, and it shows a turning point in the market. Our client Dr. Zhang, a day trader, was interested in a way to find this pattern in real-time, on a select few stocks. With the help of Dr. Ma, Dr. Wei, and Dr. Kadiyala, our sponsors, we have created the algorithm and are working on implementing a web application for it.

Toyota Financial Services (TFS), being part of a highly regulated industry needs to ensure that all risk management, governance process, and controls are in place to ensure compliance. This entails documenting all the business processes, definitions of their data elements, connecting the defined data elements to the physical attributes in their various applications and databases. Furthermore, they need to document the lineage of the data to ensure that it is flowing correctly through their ecosystem. In addition to these, they must ensure the data quality at the source and through the transformations, it goes through while flowing in their ecosystem.
The problem of the disjointed system to record, store, check and correct all the data in the ecosystem/ no holistic view of data is affecting the employers/ business partners of TFS, the impact of which is unorganized data, manual process of linking physical and business data elements which is time-consuming.
A solution that our team is working towards is to build a data portal where data will be organized by business areas such as Loan Originations, Insurance, Servicing, etc., and various classifications under those areas. We are also implementing a google-like search for any data element which would bring up business definitions, physical attributes, data quality rules, profiles, and any related data associated with it.

Toyota Financial Services (TFS) is the largest automotive lender in the nation with over $125B in total assets. TFS offers financing, leasing, protection plans, and other financial services to customers and dealers all across the United States. In order to serve their customers better, it was required to have a comprehensive view of the customer. The TFS Customer 360 team has worked with TFS to create a Customer 360 view by harnessing the power of graph databases, semantic queries, and graph visualization tools. This view represents all direct and indirect relationships that exist for a customer and will be made available to different stakeholders in the company to make more informed decisions and to better identify potential opportunities.