Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
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Taco\u27Bout It!®
No full textTaco\u27Bout It!® is an app-based with the sole purpose of helping students connect with their fellow peers. The purpose of the app is to push people out of their social comfort zones and create more united communities through lunchtime conversations. Through pushing people out of their social comfort zones and opening up to others, you can make friends and create more united communities. While most apps that connect people have paywalls, and others that don’t have paywalls usually don’t help you find people. Taco’Bout It!® allows students who are socially awkward or have small peer networks, to build strong, sustainable relationships and social skills; all without any expense
ReadyStudyGo
No full textReadyStudyGO provides access to technology and other students in a way that is collaborative and helps students to retain information. Instead of using AI to cheat on papers and projects, students can turn to other students in the district. The product is a combination of students’ favorite technology, like snapchat, quizlet, etc., but makes everything free and accessible to all students! All these apps and websites are combined and made more efficient in ReadyStudyGO. Our target audience for ReadyStudyGo will be the principals and faculty of the schools we are advertising to. Our main focus is the principals and faculty because we believe that in order to incorporate ReadyStudyGo into the school environment the adults have to be well associated with the platform itself. We will teach principals and teachers how the platform works and how their students can use it. They can then teach the students when, how, and why they should use ReadyStudyGo. The Main points and ideas that we focus on when getting our business out there are looking for partners, resources, and activities that make this app successful. We hope to partner with software companies and different channels that can help make our site known to the public and to make it a reliable and easy tool for schools.We hope our site can promote engagement with others, getting help when it comes to homework and making studying personal to how each individual is taught and how they learn
The Impact of Commercial Crop Practices on Climate Change
No full textCurrent commercial crop production practices have become a leading factor in many, if not all, decisions regarding climate change. Particular agricultural efforts such as land usage and deforestation strongly contribute to the release of greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. Fertilizer usage and livestock farming release nitrous oxide and potassium chloride, while land usage and soil management affect regional and global climate patterns. Leading to changes in the usage of water, crop production affects the rain cycle. Understanding the relations between crop production and climate change is critical for developing sustainable agricultural practices that can mitigate emissions, enhance resilience, and ensure food security in a changing climate. This research aims to align with the 13th United Nations Sustainable Development Goal, Climate Action, as it aspires to address patterns observed that relate to the effects of commercial crop production practices on climate change. This presentation hopes to explore sustainable agriculture practices and how increasing or decreasing their usage affects the climate
Synthesis of a Benzoxazole Derivative to be Used for the Treatment of Tropical Cutaneous Leishmaniasis
No full textCutaneous Leishmaniasis is an infectious parasitic disease caused by the bite of infected female sandflies and characterized by disfiguring, slow healing, and re-forming skin lesions that leave lifelong scars. The goal of our effort was to synthesize derivatives of a Benzoxazole to be tested by the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) for their effectiveness in treating cutaneous leishmaniasis. Three final compounds were synthesized from the reaction of carboxylic acids 3-chlorobenzoic acid, 3- (methylthio) benzoic acid, and 3-methoxybenzoic acid with the amine, 2-amino-5-chlorobenzoxazole
Synthesis of Amide Derivatives as Preclinical Drug Candidates for Visceral Leishmaniasis
No full textVisceral Leishmaniasis (VL) is a lethal protozoan disease caused by numerous species of the Leishmania genus, manifesting symptoms like fever, spleen and liver enlargement, progressive weight loss, and anemia. In this experiment, three potential VL drug amide derivatives were synthesized using multiple coupling agents and methods. The objective of each trial was to isolate a compound effective in treating Leishmaniasis caused by the species Leishmania (L.) dovani and L. infantum, which will be tested by the Drugs for Neglecte Diseases Initiative (DNDi) organization. The first two trials utilized DMAP and EDCI coupling agents and physical homogenization, while the third trial necessitated pyridine and a heated homogenization process. The first two trials reacted 3-fluorobenzoic acid with 2-amino-5-chlorobenzoxazole, and 3(trifluoromethyl)phenylacetic acid with 2-amino-5-chlorobenzoxazole, respectively—the third trial employed pyridine-2-carbonyl chloride HCL and 2- amino-5-chlorobenzoxazole. After synthesis, products were isolated through a separatory funnel and dried over sodium sulfate. Purity testing using thin-layer chromatography with a 1:1 hexane and ethyl acetate solvent ratio was conducted, followed by silica gel column chromatography with a 3:1 hexane to ethyl acetate ratio for product determination and isolation. Infrared spectroscopy confirmed the presence of each compound. The synthesized compounds will be delivered to DND\u27s laboratory for efficacy, based on surface area polarity, cytotoxicity, and Leishmania activity
Analysis of Nachusa Grasslands Restoration Progress through Geochemical Data
No full textPrairie restoration is an important strategy to recover biodiversity and ecosystem services, especially in the North American Midwest where many prairie sites have been destroyed or degraded due primarily to intensive agriculture. Restored prairies have microbial diversity and soil organic carbon (SOC) that serves as a carbon storage, absorbing the carbon in the atmosphere and decreasing CO2 levels. Analyzing the soil microbiome’s response to restoration efforts provides insight to the extent and progress of restoration efforts taking place in the Nachusa Grasslands. We analyzed the microbial communities and geochemical content in soil samples from the Northern Illinois Nachusa grasslands to assess how these factors interrelate through the progress of restoration. We will present the results of our analysis on the soil microbiome and geochemical data and relate them to past studies to provide a report on restoration progress in the Nachusa Grasslands
Applying Graph Neural Networks to Improve the Data Resolution of Stream Water Quality Monitoring Networks
No full textIn most US watersheds, surface water quality observations are scarce, making it challenging to assess goals, advise management, and calibrate high-resolution models. Popular statistical techniques, such as USGS\u27s LOADEST and WRTDS, estimate daily pollution load using regression methods and the link between flow and pollutant concentrations. However, they do not consider upstream-downstream relationships. We suggest using Graph Neural Network (GNN) to improve spatial and temporal resolution of water quality data, considering the river network connections and the spatial-temporal inputs simultaneously. Using a physical flow direction graph, the GNN builds up numerical relationship edges among river monitoring stations. It then wraps up the time steps using spatiotemporal encoders. After imputations with multiple solvers, the GNN decodes the spatial connections and results in continuous monitoring data at each station. We test this method in the Maumee River Basin because of its prolonged records on river water quantity and quality
Developing a Questionnaire to Measure the Efficacy of a Multiomic Detection Model for Colorectal Cancer Screening
No full textThe U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) states that adults aged 45 to 75 not at increased risk for colorectal cancer (CRC) should be screened once every ten years. Literature shows three out of ten adults don’t adhere to CRC screening guidelines due to socioeconomic status, fear of screening methods, affordability, and other inhibitors. Insufficient information is available on improving screening adherence—however, new screening methods bring newer benefits. A newly developed blood-based detection model for CRC screening offers equivalent or better sensitivity and specificity, and we are developing a questionnaire assessing these potential benefits. The new model would offer alternatives to CS or other screening methods. The questionnaire aims for insights on the benefits of the new screening method and increased knowledge of factors of screening adherence; it identifies disparities with CR screening access so healthcare providers aim efforts toward under screened populations. The survey measures adherence to the CRC screening methods, collects information to record variance in screening opportunities, and assesses barriers to screening, respondents’ screening knowledge, and whether a practitioner encouraged screening. On implementing this questionnaire, we’ll see benefits of the new detection method—such as improved accessibility—and will give us a guide for resource allocation to improve adherence
Drug Discovery on Tropical Disease
No full textLeishmaniasis, a tropical disease, poses significant challenges due to the unreliability, toxicity, and cost of current treatments. Addressing this, a novel treatment approach is under investigation, focusing on 5-chloro-1,3-benzoxazol-2-amine, a promising compound identified through the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative\u27s Open Synthesis Network. This molecule is undergoing rigorous testing, including Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Infrared Spectroscopy, to verify its structure. To synthesize the intended molecule, the 5-chloro-1,3-benzoxazol-2-amine was reacted with one of three carboxylic acids: Fluorophenylacetic acid, p-Tolylacetic acid Methylphenylacetic acid). Both acids resulted in some mine yield; however, neither yielded enough to be considered a final product that would work
Energy Consumption Study for Multi-Axis Robot Additive
No full textAs additive manufacturing (AM) develops into a more mature manufacturing technology, the scope of experimentation with its limits and use cases has broadened. With the increasing implementation of these technologies, the energy usage of these machines is gaining significance, particularly in the context of climate change and conscious material consumption. The potential of AM in space exploration and colonization, where resource limitations are extreme, necessitates a careful balance. The use of multiple mobile or stationary robots to print models larger than the printer’s capacity while maintaining energy efficiency and strength presents a solution. However, this approach also introduces challenges such as robot interference, placement, energy usage, decomposition of large parts, and quality. This study delves into the impact of variables such as model/part position, orientation, speed, and infill on the energy consumption of the robot. A data-driven energy surrogate model for robotic AM, which is trajectory-dependent, is utilized to calculate energy consumption. Two case studies, i.e., door structure and fuel tank models, printed with different print settings for traditional fused deposition modeling (FDM), wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM), and concrete 3d printing, are studied. Factors such as changing the location and orientation of parts impact these more than factors like the velocity and acceleration of the print head, which have a change in energy efficiency. However, these savings in energy consumption may result in a less structurally sound item