MacEwan Open Journals (MacEwan University)
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Molecular Modelling and Biochemical Characterization of a DNA Repair Enzyme Binding to DNA
No full textComputational techniques of homology modelling, enzyme–substrate docking, and molecular dynamics were applied to elucidate the structure and substrate binding properties of the DNA repair enzyme polynucleotide kinase/phosphatase from the nematode C. elegans (CePNKP). PNKP is involved in the repair of DNA strand breaks, a form of DNA damage caused by reactive oxygen species, ionizing radiation and certain chemical mutagens. Mutations in human PNKP have been associated with the neurological disorders Microcephaly with Intractable Seizures (MCSZ) and Ataxia Oculomotor Apraxia 4 (AOA4). In addition, human PNKP has been identified as a potential drug target for the development of chemo- and radiosensitizing agents for cancer treatment. CePNKP is a useful model system for studying the human enzyme. The substrate preference for both human and C. elegans PNKP has been investigated, and found to be similar, with higher selectivity for recessed over blunt DNA ends. However, CePNKP exhibits a more exclusive preference for recessed DNA ends than human PNKP. To elucidate the reason for the unique substrate specificity of CePNKP, the structure of CePNKP in complex with its DNA substrate must be determined in atomistic detail by molecular modelling. The generated structural model is compared with our experimental results of kinase activity assays of wild-type CePNKP.
Discipline: Biological Sciences/Chemistry
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Nina Bernstein, Dr. Jorge Llan
The Unschedule Planning Method
No full textThe proposed research seeks to examine the effectiveness of a novel application of scheduling called an unschedule. In an unschedule, the emphasis is paradoxically on scheduling enjoyable activities before scheduling work. According to the promoter of this method, Neil Fiore (2007), when we neglect to prioritize enjoyable activities, as often happens in traditional scheduling, our workload becomes tedious to the point of procrastinating. In this study, undergraduate participants will begin with a two-week baseline period in which they record the amount of time they spend studying. Participants will then be assigned to one of three conditions: (1) a control group that will employ the traditional method of scheduling their studying first, (2) an unscheduled group that will schedule their fun activities first, and (3) an unscheduled plus 30-minute group that will use unscheduling as well as short 30-minute study sessions (which Fiore also suggests in order to reduce task aversiveness). The hypotheses are that the participants who are in the unscheduled conditions, and especially those in the unscheduled plus 30-minute condition, will increase their time spent studying and report being less distracted by temptations, thereby, decreasing their overall tendency to procrastinate.
Discipline: Psychology Honours
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Russ Powel
Faking Faces: Psychopathic Traits and Feigned Emotional Expressions
No full textThe purpose of this study was to determine what effect psychopathic traits have on the ability to express both genuine and feigned emotional expressions through a detailed analysis of facial characteristics of emotion. Despite the wide array of research on psychopathic traits and emotional dysfunction, most studies have focused on recognition rather than expression of emotion. Participants (n = 121) were assessed for psychopathic traits and randomly assigned into a feigned or genuine emotional condition, and asked to display each of the six core emotions (i.e., happiness, fear, anger, surprise, disgust, and sadness). Each face was then coded for the presence of facial musculature action units using a standardized coding system. Results indicated that those feigned group produced more authentic facial expressions than their genuine counterparts. Limited main effects were found related to psychopathy and overall facial expressions; however, interesting patterns of specific action units were noted. Specifically, those high in psychopathic traits engaged in more authentic and pronounced expressions of specific facial musculature movements in some emotional expressions (i.e., fear and disgust). Implications concerning methods of coding, emotion induction, and facial affective mimicry are discussed.
Discipline: Psychology Honours
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kristine Peace
 
The Effects of Cerebellar Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on Voluntary Covert Attention
No full textAlthough the cerebellum is primarily known for its role in motor coordination and motor learning, recent research indicates that it is also involved in cognitive functions such as attention. The current study used a mild brain stimulation technique – transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), to further investigate the involvement of the cerebellum in attention. Specifically, we were interested in the effects of stimulation to the left lateral cerebellum on a voluntary covert attention task. Voluntary covert attention refers to an intentional shifting of attention without moving one’s eyes (e.g. paying attention to an object in your periphery). Participants completed 3 sessions: sham (no stimulation), cathodal (-), and anodal (+) stimulation. In this exploratory study, our main interest was to demonstrate a modulation of performance on the attention task following cerebellar tDCS. Therefore, any difference in performance on the attention task following either cathodal or anodal stimulations compared to sham were of interest. Consistent with previous findings, the results show that participants were faster compared to invalidly cued targets; however, these effects were not systematically altered by tDCS. We argue that the absence of any effects of tDCS on voluntary covert attention could be related to the stimulation parameters used, or the sensitivity of the behavioural tasks employed.
Discipline: Psychology Honours
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Chris Strieme
Falling from Grace: Schadenfreude and the Dark Side of Human Nature
No full textPrevious research has shown that the experience of schadenfreude (pleasure derived from someone else’s misfortune) serves an adaptive value by alerting individuals of competing rivals or mating opportunities (Colyn & Gordon, 2013). The present study examined gender differences in the experience of schadenfreude towards a male and female celebrity in a sample of 203 undergraduate students. The findings show that women (n = 102) reported greater schadenfreude towards the female celebrity, whereas men (n = 101) reported more intense schadenfreude overall towards both the female and male celebrity. Furthermore, several predictors of schadenfreude were examined including empathy, envy, deservingness, and hostility. The results indicate that schadenfreude was correlated strongly with deservingness (r = .63) and weakly correlated with empathy (r = - .11). The findings from this study suggest that schadenfreude is a multi-determined emotion that can be evoked by many factors such as gender, social values, and an individual’s reaction towards the misfortune.
Discipline: Psychology Honours
Faculty Mentor: Dr. David Watso
Statistical Analysis of Mental Health Factors
No full textThis study aims to build a model that effectively predicts the presence of depression in 25,113 Canadian citizens ages 15 and over living in the ten provinces. Predictors were chosen for their potential to introduce significant stress into the lives of individuals. The tested variables obtained from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) of 2012 include current age, sex, marital status, BMI, frequency of alcohol consumption, presence of cancer, drug use, employment status, originating from Canada, and current school enrollment. These variables were subjected to a forward selection process in SPSS to fit a statistically significant binomial logistic regression model. The relationship between individual variables and depression was also examined through the Crosstabs function in SPSS. Results suggested that all chosen explanatory variables have a significant association with the response variable except presence of cancer, which also did not show significance in the final fitted model. Key Terms: Mood disorder, Depression, Mental Health, Canada
Discipline: Statistics
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Karen Bur
Modernist and Medieval Questing in Eliot\u27s The Waste Land
No full textThe spiritual pilgrimage or quest, however variable in its goals, trajectories, and outcomes, is a prevalent theme in modernist literature. Alexandra Peat’s Travel and Modernist Literature: Sacred and Ethical Journeys considers the quest in modernist literature an embodiment of “an ethical questioning of the very nature of belief,” a departure from reliance on traditional spiritual frameworks into a voyage and search for an alternative spirituality (1). Jonathan Ullyot’s The Medieval Presence in Modernist Literature: The Quest to Fail focuses on modernist texts featuring “‘impossible’ quest narratives in which the object of the quest is unclear” (7) and uses the framework of failure aesthetics to study this particular form of the modernist preoccupation with questing. Representing both alternative spirituality and failed quests, T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land (1922) draws upon the Arthurian Fisher King and Holy Grail quest narrative as a framework for spiritual and existential questioning. I intend to explore the function of the quest as a metaphor and vehicle for such questioning in The Waste Land. I will focus on the role of medieval quest narratives and the role of space—landscape and architecture—in Eliot’s modernist quests.
Discipline: English Honours
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sarah Coplan
Multimodal antipredator communication in the black capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
No full textMany animals, such as the black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus), use multiple signals in order to detect predators. Chickadees primarily use visual and acoustic signals to communicate information about predators in their territory. The objective of this project was to examine the difference in response to unimodal and multimodal signals. This was achieved by using presentations and playing calls of an owl and a hawk. The data collected was statistically significant; therefore, chickadees use multimodal communication to detect predators. Also, the results were supported by previous research on multimodal communication.
Discipline: Biology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Shannon Digwee
Deconstructing the Categorical Interpretations of Plato
No full textA number of feminist scholars have branded Plato as a misogynist, while others have taken the stance that he was a feminist. However, these modern categorizations of a philosopher who lived and wrote over two thousand years ago ought not to deter us from engaging with his dialogues. Instead, we should approach Platonic dialogues with an openness that acknowledges but does not dwell on the time that has passed and the subsequent changes that have come with it. We must actively engage with the dialogue, taking into account the place, the people, and the words themselves. The written word must be understood as the spoken word, with all its ironic elements and dualities revealed. The thesis being presented follows this line of action, looking to engage not only with Platonic philosophy but also with its critics using the approach set out by Hans-Georg Gadamer and Jacob Klein in their studies of Plato and his works.
Discipline: Political Science Honours
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Gaelan Murphy
 
Variability in Stone Microblades at a Prehistoric Interior Pacific Northwest Fishing Village
No full textArchaeological excavations at a Prehistoric village site associated with a salmon fishery on the Nautley River in central British Columbia recovered small stone tools called microblades from three areas: house depressions, a refuse area, and a riverside terrace. This paper explores variation in the form of the microblades from these areas, as well as the location of use wear on the tool\u27s edges. Differences were found between the microblades of the spatial assemblages, which I suggest may be related to their design and function.
Discipline: Anthropology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Paul Princ