Dr. Donald Perry, associate professor of chemistry, recently published an article entitled “Study of Adsorption of Aminobenzoic Acid Isomers on Silver Nanostructures by Surface-Enhanced Infrared Spectroscopy,” in the Journal of Physical Chemistry, 2009, 113 (42), pp 18304–18311. Co-authors are James S. Cordova, Lauren G. Smith, Hye-Jin Son and Elizabeth M. Schiefer, Enkeleda Dervishi, Fumiya Watanabe and Alexandru S. Biris. Also published was the article, “Adsorption analysis of nitrophenol isomers on silver nanostructures by surface-enhanced spectroscopy,” in the Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 342, (Feb. 15, 2010), 311–319, with co-authors Hye Jin Son, James S. Cordova, Lauren G. Smith, and Alexandru S. Biris.
Dr. Debra L. Burris, assistant profressor of physics, and Jeremy Lusk, made the presentation “Abundance Calculations and Error Analysis for Lighter Neutron- Capture Elements with Improved Spectra” at the 215th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Washington DC on Jan. 5, 2010.
Five UCA students were the recipients of the Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF). They are:
Justin Allen, of Mt. Vernon, whose project, “Cloning by Yeast Gap Repair to Determine the Different Functions of the Homologous Proteins Mdv1 and Caf4” focuses on the analysis of chimera proteins. Justin has taken different parts or domains of two proteins Mdv1 and Caf4 and mixed them together to create chimera proteins. Justin will work with his mentor Dr. Kari Naylor, assistant professor of biology.
Skipper Thurman, of Mountain View. His project is titled, “The Design and Testing of a Novel Method tovMeasure Pain Withdrawal Threshold in Physiological Studies”. Skipper’s research seeks to improve established methods of pain measurement as well as contribute to the body of data involving diabetic neuropathy. Skipper will work with his mentor, Dr. Azida Walker, assistant professor of physics and astronomy.
Danielle Tippit Allen, of Russellville. The project is titled, “The application of whole mount in situ hybridization as a new method to analyze gene expression in developing epidermal tissues in plants”. The project investigates the way in which plant “skin” cells communicate with each other to form various structures including prickles and trichomes. Danielle will work with her mentor Dr. J. D. Swanson, assistant professor of biology.
Autumn Bewley, of Jonesboro. The project is titled, “Immune Responses to a Nickel-based Anti-Tumor Compound in Both Mercury Susceptible and Mercury Resistant Mice”. This project is designed to assess immune responses to a Nickel-based compound to determine if this compound might be safely used as an anti-tumor drug in humans. Autumn will work with her mentor Dr. Ben Rowley, assistant professor of biology.
Heather J. Clarke, of North Little Rock. The project is titled, “Analysis of B-cell Antibody Gene Segment Use in Response to Mercury Treatment”. Previous studies suggest a connection between mercury exposure and instances of autoimmunity—diseases in which our antibodies attack our own healthy cells. The specific aim of this project is to compare antibody gene segments used in mercury-treated (autoimmune) mice versus control mice. Heather will work with her mentor Dr. Ben Rowley, assistant professor of biology.