2017 University Day Research Abstracts
The University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMPI) proudly presents the 2017 University Day Research Abstracts, highlighting the exceptional work and academic achievements of our students.
Posters
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Chunzeng Wang
Student Presenters: Caleb Ward, Daniel Swallow
Norway Bluff/Munsungan Lake and Round Mountain-Peaked Mountain are two separate areas in North Maine Woods with abundant high-quality cherty tuff rocks that were used to make lithic tools by Paleo-Indians. Elemental analysis by portable XRF analyzer on the cherty tuff collected from both areas suggests that the tuff formations in both areas are different. After using the portable XRF analyzer to analyze 41 artifacts collected from Sawyer Farm of Ashland, our question is can we track sources of the artifacts to either Norway Bluff/Munsungan Lake area or Round Mountain-Peaked Mountain area by comparing the elemental data? This presentation will answer the question.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Chunzeng Wang
Student Presenter: Andrew Dolley
A DJI Phantom 4 drone was used to obtain very-high-resolution aerial imagery of the Kings Grove cemetery of Mars. With GPS ground-control points and GIS georeferencing and on-screen digitizing tools, the imagery was used as a base map for high-precision cemetery plot mapping. With integration of plot owner information, a cemetery plot GIS database was developed for the town officials to use for daily efficient cemetery management and planning.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Chunzeng Wang
Student Presenter: Theodore Gilliam
Faculty Mentor: Shirley Rush
Student Presenters: Lyric Foss, Hannah Boyce
During our time in Tanzania we had the opportunity to learn about several different aspects of Culture. Even in the small village we were living in, we had the backgrounds of Muslim, Maasai, and Christian. We were able to experience and take part in many significant and meaningful events. From what we wore to what we ate, we were always learning and taking part in a unique culture. During this presentation we hope to be able to enlighten and inform, on a world different then our own.
Faculty Mentor: Carolyn Dorsey
Student Presenter: Sara Sullivan, Danielle Thibodeau, Began Bither
Our poster goes overs all the fundamentals of an internship. Coving the right now benefits and future. Experiencing an internship can help get a foot in the door and help prepare for a future career. After personal experiences and research we see that future employees look for someone with experience and having an internship puts you ahead of other candidates.
Faculty Mentor: Lori Deschaine
Student Presenters: Michaela Therrien, Hope King
This poster presentation is about a bill that is in process of being passed. The bill is about children who are abandoned by their parents and relatives step in to take of care of the children. This bill gives more support to the caregivers and children who were neglected by their parents. In this presentation we will highlight the pros and cons of the bill.
Faculty Mentor: Lori Deshaine
Student Presenters: Deborah L. Jones
The act to resolve issues of Legalization of not less than 90 days after adjournment , issuing a regulatory measures of disbursement on retail sales of recreational marijuana to adults over the age of 21. Pertaining to the State of Maine’s Constitution, following all laws within the Constitution, to help preserve peace within the public, health and safety. By looking into these proposed amendments from the Legislation, these amendments in the new laws with restriction of use, sale, and consumption, can be controlled under law.
Faculty Mentor: Lori Deshaine
Student Presenter: Suzanne St. Pierre-Donovan
Some different forms ways to use marijuana medically and recreationally without or minimally effecting those around you and limited the risks to you.
Faculty Mentor: Carol Ayoob
Student Presenters: Samantha Riding, Ward Gerow
The “camera obscura” is the prototype for all modern optical cameras. It operates on the basic principle in optics that light rays reflected off object(s) are diffracted when they encounter a relatively small aperture and pass through inverted when they encounter another surface. Well-known artists like Vermeer may have used some form of the camera obscura to produce accurate proportions in their paintings. Modern photographers like Abelardo Morell have used it to produce artistic renderings of landscapes.
The camera obscura demonstrated in the UMPI art department produces an image of the landscape to the north of the campus. Please enjoy the experience!
Faculty Mentor: Carolyn Dorsey
Student Presenters: Nicolas Lenhard, Spencer Garrison, Mason Turner
Lean Six Sigma: DMAIC is a combination of two processes, which are formulated to “improve processes and products.” This process is a business management strategy formulated to eliminate non-value from a process in order to streamline production, improve quality and gain customer satisfaction. Using the five phases (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, & Control) organizations or individuals can identify where they are weak and how to improve.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jason Johnston
Student Presenters: Carly Bell, Bonnie Corey
Climate change has been linked to disruptions in the arrival dates for some migratory birds. There are two different types of migratory birds, including short and long distance birds. Arrival dates for thirteen species of birds were recorded and observed for thirty-four years. We hypothesized that short distance migratory birds would have an earlier arrival date, but long distance migratory birds would not be affected. Our data revealed, and other studies support, that some short distance birds arrived earlier than in the past, whereas long distance birds arrived at relatively the same time.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Judith Roe
Student Presenter: Bonnie Corey
Five rock glaciers at the base of rocky slopes in Deboullie Public Lands in the North Maine Woods maintain subterranean ice year round and are covered by thick mats of vegetation. Samples of reindeer lichens were collected at different heights on the glacier slopes and DNA was extracted from individuals of two species, Cladonia stygia and C. stellaris. One gene region was sequenced to reveal genetic differences between samples. Individuals with the same genotype were found on more than one glacier and at varying heights within a glacier suggesting that gene flow is occurring both within and between rock glaciers.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Judith Roe
Student Presenters: Lydia Tiley, Sean Barbosa, Samuel Carpenter, Alex Kimball, Janel Sewell
Caenorhabditis elegans is used as a model to study human health because it shares similar biochemical pathways and genes with humans. The ability to resist stress is reduced in worms fed an abundance of nutrients/food and increased when calories are restricted. Altering certain genes will affect the lifespan of the animal and provide clues into the genetics and role of nutrition in aging. At the MDI Biological Laboratory, we exposed worms with different genetic makeups to heat stress and measured their survival. Difference in survival rates may be attributed to an increase in the expression of stress resistance genes.
Faculty Mentor: Carolyn Dorsey
Student Presenters: Quinton Harris, Ebby Kamara
Change is constantly happening in everyday life, sometimes a change is out of our control and often times it is a decision we as people make in our lives. A change can vary from a minor tweak to a drastic makeover. It is important to know how to manage change, a good method that we want to talk about is identifying the rider the elephant and the path. The rider is the person(s) thoughts while going through the change, the elephant is the emotions of the person, the path is the journey to accomplish the change or end goal. In the world of business there are always changes, change is a constant thing and ultimately should be looked at as a good thing.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Larry Feinstein
Student Presenters: Lydia Tilley, Jennifer Grass
The CDC classifies antibiotic-resistant bacteria an “urgent” public health threat. Our lab obtained 30 pathogenic bacterial isolates from five species along with their Vitek® Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing results from TAMC. The Jackson Laboratory is sequencing each genome using Illumina NextSeq. Comparative functional genomics will link mobile genomic elements to specific antibiotics and mutations that increase virulence in each genome. These elements may provide targets for new antibiotics, show if certain antibiotic resistance is conferred by one gene or many, and reveal how frequently resistance mechanisms move between species. Comparing mobile elements within multiple species makes novel insights more likely.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Larry Feinstein
Student Presenters: Debbi Herne, Ryan Tebo, Carly Bell
Potato Virus Y has a negative economic impact on Maine potato growers. PVY has a broad host range, infecting many unrelated plant species. Efforts to minimize crop PVY infection is confounded by PVY’s ability to infect other species and spread to potatoes. Our team found a considerable number of different plant species tested positive for PVY using standard ELISA tests. However, we were not able to confirm virus presence in any of the positive ELISA samples with RT-PCR. The importance of non-host vegetation for PVY epidemiology may be exaggerated due to false positive ELISA results reported in earlier published surveys.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jason Johnston
Student Presenter: Riley McDuffie
These birds are brought to Jason by the public for collection on the intention of creating a preserved specimen that the public is able to view. Jason as a mentor brings me the birds Riley McDuffie and I have the job of creating the bird specimens. The process of making specimens is first collection and then preserving them in a freezer until I am ready to work on the bird. I then remove the inner muscle and organs such as the brain. What is left is just the skin and bones the wing bones are tied together and a dowel is placed for rigidity. To recreate body size cotton is placed and then bird is sewn up and set in desired position to dry. Once dried these birds are shown for knowledge to the common public to get an up close and personal view of what the different species looks like.
Faculty Mentor: Lori Deshaine
Student Presenters: Matthew Theriault, Emily Nadeau, Alyssa Summerson
LD 76 Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §1760, sub-§10, if enacted will exempt disposable and reusable diapering products for children, as well as diaper covers and wraps for both reusable and disposable diapers. This bill has been sponsored by several legislators with the main contributor being Denise Tepler, of Topsham. Our poster will analyze the bill as well as gain insight into how the National Association of Social Workers in Maine feel about the bill.
Faculty Mentor: Carolyn Dorsey
Student Presenters: Sandra McDonald
In 2015, there were twenty-two homeless veterans who went to homeless shelters in Aroostook County and sixteen of those veterans were turned away because of individual circumstances, Project 16 was named for those sixteen veterans.
On March 9, 2017 United Veterans of Maine and WAGM-TV collaborated together in a Telethon and raised over $45,000 that would go to create a homeless shelter and work-training center, the Dahlgren-Skidgel Memorial Farm of Hope. The farm will consist of a main office, 3 duplex units, and 5 greenhouses for Aroostook County Veterans.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Scott Dobrin
Student Presenters: Kierra Shain, Ashley Johnston, Sean Barbosa
Near-infrared (NiR) light therapy promotes recovery from injury, shows promise as a treatment for a variety of neurological disorders, and is reported to enhance cognition. We aimed to establish the bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) as an invertebrate model for human NiR therapy. The bumble bee has a short lifespan, is amenable to molecular approaches, and displays complex social behaviors which lend to studies of memory and cognition. Here we report preliminary findings on bumble bee lifespan survival following NiR irradiation.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Scott Dobrin
Student Presenters: Sean Barbosa
Near-infrared (NiR) light therapy promotes recovery from injury, shows promise as a treatment for a variety of neurological disorders, and is reported to enhance cognition. We aimed to establish the bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) as an invertebrate model for human NiR therapy. The bumble bee has a short lifespan, is amenable to molecular approaches, and displays complex social behaviors which lend to studies of memory and cognition. Here we report development of the methods to determine changes in ATP production following NiR irradiation.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Scott Dobrin
Student Presenters: Ashley Johnston, Kierra Shane
Near-infrared (NiR) light therapy promotes recovery from injury, shows promise as a treatment for a variety of neurological disorders, and is reported to enhance cognition. We aimed to establish the bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) as an invertebrate model for human NiR therapy. The bumble bee has a short lifespan, is amenable to molecular approaches, and displays complex social behaviors which lend to studies of memory and cognition. Here we report development of the methods to determine changes in Cytochrome C Oxidase I expression following NiR irradiation.
Faculty Mentor: Carolyn Dorsey
Student Presenters: Tyler Brooks, Tyler Proulx
The poster is about Gentile Hall fitness classes that are taught by Keli Marston. These fitness classes can help you achieve your personal fitness goals. The classes are free to students and three dollars for Gentile Hall members. The classes are fit camp and total body circuit. The fitness classes utilize all parts of Gentile. Keli Marston also offers personal training to anyone interested. There will be information about the classes and personal training including the day it is held and time. Pictures of the classes will be shown on the poster.
Faculty Mentor: David Putnam
Student Presenter: Nathaniel Norris
The Altai Mountains of western Mongolia preserve an exceptional record of mountain glacier retreat during the last glacial termination (~18,000 to 11,000 years ago). A complete reconstruction of the character and rate of retreat in inner Asia allows us for precise and accurate reconstruction of past climates; in addition to understanding the effect of modern climate warming on contemporary glaciers. Here, I present a digital elevation model (DEM) and an elevation profile of samples collected from Holy Mountain; an ice-molded bedrock hill located in the Tsagaan Gol valley of western Mongolia. Using 10Be surface-exposure dating techniques of granitic glacial erratic samples along the elevation profile transect, I will reconstruct glacial retreat and ice surface lowering of the former Potanin glacier during the climate warming after the last ice age. The Tsagaan Gol valley also holds cultural significance in the form of petroglyphs carved into glacially-molded bedrock surfaces. With the retreat sequence mapped, we can learn maximum ages of when humans could modify the landscape.
Faculty Mentor: Chris Rolon
Student Presenters: Sully Jackson, Laurie Smyth-Doody, Joseph Ladd, Hope King
This poster is a simple UMPI club advertising poster that will allow students to meet members of CRU and see basic information about CRU.
Staff Mentor: Michelle Greene
Student Presenters: Chenoa Jackson, Amber-Lynn Hulstrunk, Angelita Hernandez, Lossene Dorleh, Lassana Dorleh
This will be a basic UMPI club advertisement poster that will present information about meeting times, books read, and future books to read in the group. Students will be able to meet members of UMPI Page Turners and be able to sign up for more information.
Session 1
Faculty Mentor: Carolyn Dorsey
Student Presenters: Cassidy Mitchell, Sabrina Haney
Are you as SMART as you think? Come join us and find out. This presentation is going to inform you on how to set logical goals. We will speak about why it is important to set goals, and the many different types of goals that will help you plan for your future. The goal setting technique called SMART will be discussed and there will be an interactive activity to go along with the presentation. If you are ready to start planning ahead, your first step is right here.
Faculty Mentor: Wendi Malenfant
Student Presenters: Kelsey Corriveau, Victoria Butterfield, Katherine McKenna, Chelsey Briggs, Hollie Lovely, Lora Archer, Shelby Cummings
Each student will conduct an individual science investigation pertaining to various science concepts and topics. Each student will have a detailed explanation describing what happened throughout the experimental process.
Faculty Mentor: Patrick Baker
Student Presenters: Madeline Ireland, Katlyn Dow
Depression is a common but serious classification of mood disorders. It affects approximately 14.8 million Americans each year. Depression-related suicide is the 10th leading cause of death; an American dies from suicide approximately every 11.9 minutes. Allopathic treatment refers to the treatment of disease or injury through medical practice or pharmaceuticals. Homeopathic treatment refers to treatment of disease or injury through minute doses of drugs with alternative medicine, such as therapy. This purpose of this presentation is showing how a combination of allopathic and homeopathic treatment is more beneficial to a patient with depression than solely one or the other.
Faculty Mentor: Kim-Anne Perkins
Student Presenter: Victoria Studholme
Ruby Payne is an American author, speaker, publisher, and career educator. The ideal social worker, according to Payne, knows about the Hidden Rules among Classes. From her book, A Framework for Understanding Poverty allows social workers to see the diverse community as three different classes. Poverty. Middle Class. Wealth. Payne has made her ideas clear about the understandable aspects of social welfare. She believes that in order for a case manager to truly understand the complex needs and wants of their client, they must understand how things such as possessions, money, family structure, education, and social emphasis affects each different class. Throughout this presentation, we will look at the different ways in which all classes view these different forces. With the help of Ruby Payne, we will be able to understand the process of Case Management, and understand exactly how to meet each of the clients’ needs. The fundamental question that you will leave with, is how I can efficiently and effectively help my client with all of their unmet needs.
Faculty Mentor: William Breton
Student Presenter: Lydia Streinz
Students with behavioral disorders are some of the hardest to teach in a classroom. In this presentation I have chosen the particular behavior disorder of Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and will talk about some of the strategies for helping these students to succeed. There are two well-known psychologists that are national authorities for working with students with behavioral disorders and I will be presenting on some of their strategies for working with these students.
Faculty Mentor: Carolyn Dorsey
Student Presenter: Xuetong Zhang
Being from China, I always wondered what they did in America. I pondered about the “American Dream” and what exactly American culture was. I had many questions and I realized that the only way I could get answers to my questions was by visiting America. So, that is what I did. I came to America a couple years ago. In America, there was always one question I was asked over and over by countless people. “Do you do this in China?” I have heard this question numerous times. I always think to myself “China and America are so similar in so many ways.” All countries have differences and similarities. I chose this topic because I want to discuss the life between China and America have.
Faculty Mentor: Hyrum Benson
Student Presenter: Monica Quist
Connecting is an innate human desire/necessity. It is something we’ve relied on since the beginning of our time to grow, develop, and survive. As everything does, our means of communicating has evolved over time. Technology is continuously playing a larger role in all aspects of our lives. My work questions our current relationship with technology and where it is heading, as well as questions the effects it has on our personal relationships. I also stress the importance of grounding our real, natural connections with ourselves and others through play, self-awareness, and being in the moment. Because my work embodies the balance of what is virtual and tangible, all of my pieces are involved with technology in some way, whether that be the piece itself or how it was created. While these symbols are within all of my work, the technology doesn’t overtake the real, raw connections that they represent as a whole.
Faculty Mentor: Hyrum Benson
Student Presenter: Mollie Hicks
I create work that questions sexism in contemporary media and other political and social constructs by directly relating sexist themes that women are obstructed by today to sexist themes in paintings created long ago in cultures we’d like to think of as “outdated.” Troublingly, many of these themes are still so normalized in contemporary times that we don’t even notice them in paintings. To combat this, I have reimagined several paintings that are famous, however, not famously controversial. By replacing the women in these paintings – who are usually the victim of some sort of oppression – with my self-portrait, I am showcasing that the causal spread of sexism through any type of platform (specifically fine art in this case) affects every individual woman, and thus, me personally. Through the use of my own image and commonly encountered symbolic images, I hope to uncover themes within these works that should be controversial and relay the importance of understanding sexist subliminal messages in media and their effect on female identity.
Session 2
Faculty Mentor: Barbara Blackstone
Student Presenters: Katlyn Dow, Jordan Cook
In this presentation we will examine the topic of mindfulness in athletics. Using information from Dr. Ciaran Dalton and our research we can begin to determine whether or not mindfulness actually works or is it truly just a myth.
Mindfulness intervention is the key to overcoming psychological barriers. Philipp Rothlin, Daniel Birrer, Stephan Horvath, and Martin Grosse Holforth wrote in their article that, “Evidence-based techniques could help athletes, for example, to increase and maintain functional athletic behavior in competitions/games…” (2016) In conclusion, is mindfulness beneficial to our practice as Athletic Trainers?
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jacqui Lowman
Student Presenters: Erin Keehn, Meghan Legassie, Tong Liu, Monica Hewitt
Join a group of students as they walk you through the journey of a lifetime. The Appalachian Trail is a place that is sacred to many outdoor lovers. But this year, it is also the place where community and the human spirit come together to do something that many would think impossible. Come and listen to a group of students working to erase the word “can’t” from everyone’s mind and see if it might change you, too.
Faculty Mentor: Deborah Hodgkins
Student Presenters: Melissa Lizotte, Virginia white, Kate Asam, Lassana Dorleh, Lossene Dorleh
Students will read works of literary nonfiction written in ENG 313, Creative Nonfiction:
Melissa Lizotte, “The Way Life Could be”
Virginia White, “Images: Most in Black and White”
Kate Asam, “Family Legends”
Lassana Dorleh, “Two’s Company”
Lossene Dorleh, “The D Word”
Session 3
Faculty Mentor: Patrick Baker
Student Presenters: Katarina Jenson, Sydney Churchill
The progressive relaxation technique was developed by Dr. Edmund Jacobson in the 1930s. It is based on the theory that, by consciously letting go of tension through a progression, and creating an environment which is peaceful and quiet, our bodies go from an activated mode to a deactivated one. The four stages of progressive relaxation include: awareness of tension, tensing the muscles, letting go of the tension, and awareness of relaxation. Progressive relaxation teaches you to recognize the difference between tension and relaxation in the body, and the awareness of how your body should feel.
Faculty Mentor: Stacey Emery
Student Presenter: Kerrigan Arnett
I will be focusing on the basics of accounting and financial forms for reporting accounting information. It will all be explained and shown through the example of a Monopoly game, based off of an accounting class project. I will show simple examples of accounting and basics of bookkeeping, and then walk through journaling entries based off of the game of Monopoly. From there, I will show how to calculate numbers such as cash balance and net income and turn your data into financial forms. Each financial form will be explained and shown, along with tips for displaying and reporting information.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Lisa Leduc
Student Presenter: Idella Thompson
A review of the qualitative and quantitative research conducted about the current Protection from Abuse order process in Maine. The purpose of this research is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the current protection order system in order to make informed policy recommendations to state and local government.
Maine Policy Scholar Presentation for the University of Maine at Presque Isle
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jacqui Lowman
Student Presenters: Erin Keehn, Monica Hewitt, Garrett DeLong, Joshua Cross, Meghan Legassie, Melissa Lizotte, Tong Liu, Brandy Smith
The environment is important to everyone. Here in Maine, we tend to take the beautiful outdoors for granted. But this semester our PCJ 316 class is on a mission to help preserve our great wilderness for future generations. Come and listen as we go over the issue brought to our attention and we’ll explain in detail just what we’re prepared to do in order to eradicate such a problem in our state. We live on this world together, so join us to find out how we plan to keep it worth living on.
Session 4
Faculty Mentor: Chris Rolon
Student Presenters: Sully Jackson, Darius Haskell, Dana Doody, Laurie Smyth-Doody
This presentation will examine falsifiable claims that the Bible makes with regards to Cosmology, Biology, Archaeology, and Prophesy. The Bible makes two types of claims, among others. These are spiritual claims and factual claims. Factual claims are more tangible, and can be proven or disproven. This talk will examine the credibility of the Bible’s factual claims, which is an indicator of its ability to make credible spiritual claims.
Faculty Mentor: Carol Ayoob
Student Presenter: Arianna Forbes
The sexual objectification of women isn’t just in your head—it’s in everyone’s. A new study finds that our brains see men as people and women as body parts. Women are more likely to be picked apart by the brain and seen as parts rather than a whole. This presentation brings light of the issue with the start of a conversation and expressing the issue through art.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Lea Allen
Student Presenters: Brynn Staples, Lassana Dorleh, Lossene Dorleh
Polarization of views and opinions is at a high in our society right now. Sometimes it seems like we do not even speak the same language. How can we have civil discourse–or even perhaps see the importance of it– in such a polarized society? Using the novel Things Fall Apart as our point of departure, we will examine what happens when individuals and communities cannot ‘meet in the middle’, cannot find a way to have discourse. Blending spoken word, poetry ‘jamming’, visual images, and literary interpretation, this presentation examines and performs the idea that without translation (or finding common ground), things fall apart.
Session 5
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kimberly Sebold
Student Presenter: Michael Dobbs
On April 2, 1917, the United States entered World War I. In remembrance of the 100th anniversary of the US entrance into World War I, I am doing an independent study that examines the impact of World War I on Aroostook County. Through such primary sources as local newspapers and the Maine State Department of Agriculture Reports as well as secondary sources, I have been able to see the impact of the war on women and the impact of the war on agriculture. I have also discovered how the resident of Aroostook County perceived the major events of the war. My presentation will explain my findings as well as discuss the research process.
Faculty Mentor: Shirley Rush
Student Presenter: Kassidy Morin
Fifty students with low/no vision enrolled in Moshi Secondary School are in need of adaptive learning resources (Braille Books, Computers). Building on a collaborative learning assessment between University of Maine at Presque-Isle and Moshi Secondary School, the computer laboratory project has been initiated to provide eleven laptops for students with special needs enrolled at Moshi Secondary School. Moshi Secondary School is a public all male residential school with approximately eight hundred students and almost one hundred teaching and non-teaching staff.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Tomasz Herzog
Student Presenters: Chelsey Briggs, Lukas Legassie, Kristen West, Kimmi Bauchman
Our presentation is a collaborative study of the civic participation found with college students in Poland (Adam Mickiewicz University) and in the United States (University of Maine at Presque Isle). After collecting data in both countries, we will reveal our findings through a live video conference with our Polish counterparts and discuss the rationale around the results.