Here are a few examples of successful abstract submissions from previous years to help you as you develop your abstract (remember, keep it to 250 words maximum).
Hispanic and Latinx Students’ Journey to Becoming a Nurse
This paper is going to look at how U.S. minority students, specifically Hispanic or Latinx, experience a different pathway to the nursing program because of stereotypical barriers, lack of support, academic challenges, and emotional responses to an unhospitalitied campus environment. Racial diversity in the healthcare field is essential, and the lack of diversity among the workforce is known to be linked to the health disparities in the nation’s population. The need for valuable mentorship, emotional and financial support, and creating a welcoming environment around the campus leads to an increasing encouragement for minority students to enroll in the nursing program, thus having a diverse nursing faculty that accurately reflects on the growing Hispanic/Latinx population. This paper will be reviewing four journal articles written by Registered Nurses, Assistant Professors, Nurse Educators, etc., researching and studying current or formal nursing students’ experiences in the nursing program in an attempt to address the need for a fair and successful completion into the healthcare field for all minority students (focusing on Hispanic/Latinx).
Effects of Video Games as Stress Reliever Between College Majors
Video games have been a hotly debated issue in psychology since their introduction as a mainstream recreational activity. Questions have arisen as to whether they are detrimental or beneficial to the human psyche. In exploring the research, we found that there can be a positive relationship between video games, stress relief, and emotional effect. For example, studies range in topics from the effects of video gameplay and stress on military veterans (Carras et al., 2018), to recover from stressful situations in day-to-day activities (Reinecke, 2009). Our study examined a previously unexplored relationship between academic major and video games used as a stress reliever. Our results showed that 52% of college students found video games as an effective stress reliever, however, only 19% of college students believed video games was a beneficial use of time. In addition, undeclared students reported the highest video game usage whereas the students majoring in business reported the lowest video games usage.
Effects of Pesticides on the Growth of Honey Bee Gut Microbes
The interaction between microbes and their animal hosts are of fundamental importance for the health of both organisms. The gut microbiome plays an essential role in metabolism, growth and development, immune function, and protection against pathogens. The presence and abundance of these microbes may be altered by environmental factors, such as exposure to pesticides. Pesticides are a widely used remedy for crop infestation and can have detrimental effects on the native and managed bee populations, which play an important role in the pollination of many plants. The goal of this project is to study the effects of pesticides on the honey bee (Apis mellifera) gut microbiome. Specifically, we hypothesized that if honey bee gut microbes are exposed to pesticides in laboratory assays, their growth will be altered. In this study, honey bees were sampled from two different locations in eastern Washington and two different time points, sterilely dissected, and plated onto four different media types to obtain cultured isolates. We obtained 36 morphologically-distinct microbial isolates in total, with 14 isolated on sabouraud dextrose agar, 10 isolated on trypticase soy agar + 5% sheep blood, 7 isolated on De Man, Rogosa and Sharpe agar, and 5 isolated on brain heart infusion agar media. Once isolated, the growth of these microbes will be tested against three pesticides that were prevalent among bee hives in eastern Washington (cypermethrin, imidacloprid, and tau-Fluvalinate) using 96-well plate bacterial growth assays. Isolates will then be identified by extracting, amplifying, and sequencing their 16S rRNA gene. We expect to find that some microbes will have reduced growth, potentially enhanced growth, or may be robust to pesticide exposure. Our laboratory results will inform hypotheses about the host-microbe-pesticide interactions that occur in the field, which can have important implications for bee, and thus ecosystem, health.
Contact Metamorphism, Mineralization, and Detrital Zircon Interpretation From Silver Hill, Spokane, Wa.
Silver Hill, in Spokane County, WA, hosts an abandoned tin-tungsten mine from the early 1900’s. Detrital zircon (Dz) analysis yielded unexpectedly young Dz ages in the host rock. Twenty-seven of 113 Dz grains were about 48 million-years-old from a rock mapped as Mesoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks, or approximately 1.45 Ga old Belt Supergroup. Why and how did these young Dz crystals form? There are a few possible reasons why very young Dz are present in the quartzite, but one key factor is that the proximal and sometimes cross-cutting (intruding) granite is also about 48 Ma old (Stephens et al., 2017). Possible hypotheses for these young DZ ages:1) Dz grains were deposited with ash fallout than sedimentary processes. 2) Young Dz grains were from contamination during sample preparation. 3) Dz grains crystallized during contact metamorphism from the granite.
Younger Dz in the quartzite were small, 20 micron and equant, suggesting that they were not eroded or transported. Burial, lithification, uplift and high temperature (600° to 900°C) would suggest recrystallization by contact metamorphism. Obliterated small and equant zircons crystal associated in an ash deposit. Contamination was discluded because small grains of Dz were observed in micro-probe analyses which was done at WSU to analyze the samples of granite and quartzite. This data yielded the different types of feldspar within the rock and examined the grains that were in contact with one another to analyze using two-feldspar temperature and pressure ratios. This was to determine where in the thermal gradient the young Dz crystals grew and to show it was not deep enough for complete of the rock. The similarities of age of the granite and the younger Dz grains suggest contact metamorphism. The presence ore: scheelite, wolframite and Cassiterite also suggest shallow hydro-thermal enrichment associated with contact metamorphism. This study concludes that the ore enrichment was likely coeval with the intrusion.
Bone Marrow Macrophage Cell Density Plays a Regulatory Role in Osteoclast Differentiation
Bone modeling and remodeling are dynamic processes governed by the actions of and communication between cells that regulate bone resorption and formation. These cells include osteoclasts, which break down and resorb bone matrix and osteoblasts, which produce new bone matrix. The integrity of resultant bone is thus tightly coupled to the activity of each of these cell types. Dysregulation of osteoclast activity can result in bone loss disorders, such as osteoporosis.
Osteoclasts are derived from bone marrow macrophages (BMMs), which proliferate in the presence of macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF). Osteoclastogenesis, the process of differentiation BMMs undergo to become mature, multinucleated osteoclasts, is initiated by activation of the RANK signal pathway by receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-Β ligand (RANKL). The Notch signal pathway, a cell contact-dependent pathway that relies on receptor ligand interactions that occur between cells, is also required for osteoclast maturation, though the mechanism is poorly understood. Precursor cell density may play a role in coordination of altered gene expression from a proliferative profile to an osteoclast differentiation profile via Notch activation.
This study explores the role of density on Notch signaling in primary BMMs collected from C57BL/6 mice and seeded at increasing cell density. Osteoclastogenesis will be initiated in two groups with MCSF and RANKL. Notch inhibitor, DAPT will be added to one group. Resultant osteoclasts will be fixed and stained for tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) activity. Osteoclast differentiation will be evaluated by quantification of the number and size of resultant multinuclear cells. A student’s T-test will be used to compare measured variables between treatment and control groups at each density and an ANOVA will be utilized for comparison across densities. The results of this study will elaborate on the role of density in osteoclast differentiation.
Communication Through the Arts for People Living with Dementia
With the number of older adults rising in the United States, the number of people living with dementia is rising as well. As dementia progresses, many clients experience reduced communication and language skills, among other symptoms. As a result of this loss of function, loved ones, friends, caregivers, and others face challenges when trying to communicate with people with dementia, and innovative strategies are needed. This poster will discuss current communication strategies used with people with Alzheimer’s or dementia, with a particular focus on art as a communication strategy. Communication strategies identified will include those used between people with Alzheimer’s or dementia and either the families of people with Alzheimer’s or dementia or their assisting social workers. Further discussion will include best practices for the use of arts communication.
