Research Days Posters 2024

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  Effect of Hormone Concentrations on Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica) Testicular Physiology

  Audrey Warburton and Lindsey Swierk

  For over 30 years, rapid amphibian species decline and extinction has been a global phenomenon; more than 70% of the world’s amphibian species are now declining. A major cause of amphibian decline is reproductive failure, which can be due to endocrine-disrupting chemicals and subsequent hormonal and/or sex organ abnormalities. This study aims to understand the effects of varying hormone concentrations on the testicular physiology of male wood frogs (Rana sylvatica). To do so, this research examined testicular histology slides of R. sylvatica (n = 104) males collected from suburban and rural vernal ponds in southern Connecticut. Various testicular structures were quantified as a proxy for reproductive preparedness and output. These results were then compared to the frog’s corresponding testosterone and estradiol concentrations. By understanding the fundamental relationship between reproductive physiology and reproductive success, we will gain the knowledge needed to ensure that amphibian populations can thrive despite human impacts.

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  Food Insecurity Associated with Increased Perceived Stress & Decreased Participation in Health Promoting Activities

  Katelyn Wasilenko, Katerina Nagorny, Sarah Livshits, Alexis Valerius, Elliott Ifraimov, Gabrielle Castillo, Ushima Chowdhury, Sabrina Bubis, and Lina Begdache

  Food insecurity (FI) affects nearly 800 million globally. This study investigated the underexplored relationships between FI, health-promoting activities (HPAs), and perceived stress. An anonymous online survey was administered and results were analyzed using Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient in SPSS Version 28.0. FI was negatively correlated with completing health care tasks (r= -0.136, p < 0.01), engaging in social activities both active (r=-0.213, p < 0.01) and not (r=-0.146, p < 0.01), and confidence coping with problems (r=-0.233, p < 0.01). FI was positively correlated with perceived stress (r=0.155, p < 0.01). These findings align with prior research and discuss possible mediation through stress mindset interventions and education of nutrition beyond Westernized diets. This study gives insights into the dynamics between FI, HPAs, and perceived stress, laying the groundwork for more robust longitudinal research to create a comprehensive understanding of FI relationships.

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  The Limits of Empathy Beyond Political Comfort Zones: An Investigation of the Absence of Empathy for Victims of October 7th

  Eiden Weinberg

  Recent scholarship in social psychology and political science highlights how people can struggle to empathize with those who hold opposing political ideologies. As a case study, this research turns to the current climate of anti-Jewish and anti-Israel sentiment amid the Israel-Hamas War. It explores the double standard demonstrated by prominent feminist organizations such as UN Women and the #MeToo Movement––and prestigious universities such as Harvard and Penn––which had strikingly muted or belated responses to the sexual violence perpetrated against Jewish and Israeli women on October 7th, and to the rise of antisemitism globally. The goal of this research is to raise awareness about harmful, non-empathetic rhetoric rapidly permeating the world as a result of Hamas’s atrocities on October 7th. This project aims to expose a double standard of empathy and work towards peace and empathy for all.

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  Cover Crops in New York State

  Patrick Welte

  Cover cropping is an increasingly important practice of modern sustainable agriculture. Given the various detrimental ecological effects of many modern agricultural practices, farming sustainability is a vital component of any broader movements advocating environmental health. New York State has unique risks and priorities for environmental management and our agriculture plays a key role in the environmental health of our waterways, soil, and air. Cover cropping is one practice in sustainable agriculture that has many benefits for both farmers and the broader public. Despite efforts to incentivize their use through subsidies, many farmers still do not use cover crops. What are the factors that affect cover crop usage in New York State? Why are they used at starkly different rates in different regions? These questions can be studied scientifically to inform important policy decisions. Studying this can answer the important question, “What can we do to most improve cover crop usage?”

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  Computational Photochemistry of Commercial Tattoo Pigments

  Michael Xiao

  Though tattooing dates back millennia, modern tattooing uses molecular pigments that have only been incorporated into tattooing in the last 50 years or so. Coupled with the dramatic increase in the popularity of tattooing, there is also an increased interest in the population of tattoo removal. In our study, we investigated the toxic effects of various pigments commonly found in tattoo ink on BJ human dermal fibroblasts with exposure to visible light. We tested organic and inorganic pigments that contain azo (i.e., nitrogen-nitrogen double bond) and non-azo functional groups and were exposed to dermal fibroblasts at various concentrations in the absence and presence of visible light. Computational chemistry was used to determine whether shining visible light onto tattoo pigment molecules affects the cleavage of azo bonds.

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  From the Discard Pile to Special Collections: How Book Collectors Shape Today’s Information

  Aeryn Zahn

  Many of the libraries we have today, the places we rely on for our most important knowledge and cultural heritage, were built from the private collections of people who lived centuries ago. Binghamton University’s copy of Danielis Heinsii In obitum v. illustr. Iosephi Scaligeri (1609), contains many ownership marks. This book survived over the centuries thanks to the many owners who valued it enough to preserve and pass it on. Using the names, dates, and other information from these ownership marks, I researched these owners’ lives and library collections. Each private and institutional owner valued the book to varying degrees and for different reasons. The book was treasured as a religious artifact by some owners, yet was discarded by the British Museum. Danielis Heinsii provides an exciting opportunity to trace how the interests and values of our book-collecting predecessors fundamentally shaped the information that is available to us today.

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  Structuralism and the Left/Right-handedness Binary

  Arielle Zeitchick

  Throughout time, misconceptions have been made about both what determines and the subsequent characteristics of laterality, specifically when it comes to left handedness. This paper will be analyzing the concept of structuralism as it pertains to common assumptions about societal binaries, specifically through the lens of the left/right dichotomy. It will also be tracing back these assumptions about left-handedness or leftness as a whole, through societal and etymological means, and investigating whether this dichotomy has any connections with the masculine/feminine binary. Furthermore, this research will discuss the effects of these judgements and separations made between left and right handedness, including conversion practices, of which often have detrimental psychological effects. It argues that while as a society, deconstruction and unitary theory may never be possible, destigmatization of left-handedness may be.

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  Trans-ness in Antiquity: Transgressing Gender and Definition

  Joey Zhang

  When discussing Ancient Mediterranean society, there are numerous accounts of gender transitions. However, a disproportionate number of those historical records involve individuals assigned female at birth transitioning into men. This research analyzes the origins of these transitions and how they came to be. It was found that there were patterns between some of these trans-like characters, such as divine intervention or surgery to fix a sudden issue in one’s genitals. Since women were considered the “less perfect male” in the Ancient Greco-Roman world, gender transformation could be an opportunity for these characters assigned female at birth to assume the role of the perfect sex (male). This paper provides a suggestion as to what the authors (who were common people) thought about the male gender and how it was superior to females, leading the females to have a desire for transformation to gain power and privilege.

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  The Un-Politics of Book Buying

  Anna Zhou

  Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, widely known for failing to give King Henry VIII a divorce from Catherine of Aragon so he could marry Anne Boleyn, compelled an author two centuries later to vindicate his actions through a book, The Life of Cardinal Wolsey. However, at the time of its publication, England was Protestant, not Catholic, and yet, many nobles and clergymen still decided to buy this book. Luckily, this book contained a subscription list, and many of these names are traceable. Some examples include an archbishop with the same title as Wolsey once held, a couple buying two copies despite having a good relationship, and the successor of a man executed for treason. There are also letters to be examined between a queen and a noblewoman that may reveal parts of her character that influence her interest in this book. So did these people really care about Wolsey? Or is this book just a collector’s item?