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The Effect of Visual Media on General Perceptions of Healthy Bodies
Get PDFVisual media play a significant role in people’s daily lives. The increase in visual media associated with by the internet and social media fuels our curiosity about the media’s influence on perceptions of healthy bodies. For the purposes of our research, we are defining a healthy body as a sustainable level of nutrition and exercise as reasonable with respect to a person’s ability. We are collecting data through an online survey that asks participants to view various images of celebrities and Olympians and determine whether they would consider their bodies as healthy or unhealthy on a Likert scale. The participants will not be given any prior information on the diets and exercise habits of the individuals in the photos, and must base their judgments strictly on the visuals presented. Our prediction is that there will be some discrepancy between perceived health and the appearance of the subjects’ bodies. We expect that the gender, age, and/or sexual orientation of the participants, as well as the gender presentation and race of the subjects will affect how these bodies are perceived.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2021/1030/thumbnail.jp
Is Mitochondrial Recombination a Source of Reproductive Barriers?
Get PDFIn fungi and some plants, mitochondrial DNAs are biparentally inherited and can recombine to create novel mtDNAs. When Saccharomyces yeast hybridize, either a parental or recombinant mtDNA is inherited but the fitness effects of this is not understood. The mtDNAs from S. paradoxus have two distinct gene orders, one similar to S. cerevisiae mtDNAs and one unique. Our hypothesis is that recombination between mtDNAs with different gene orders will be more likely to produce recombinant mtDNAs that lack important regions and therefore will have lower fitness. I will test this by performing controlled crosses and evaluating mtDNA inheritance and hybrid fitness. This work could reveal a novel type of postzygotic isolation.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2021/1040/thumbnail.jp
The Effects of the Great Migration on Chicago
Get PDFAfter the Civil War, African Americans were freed from slavery and in the following years, there were many civil rights successes made for the black population of America. While there were successes, there were also drawbacks leading to stark inequality. These disadvantages ultimately led to the Great Migration which spanned about 50 years. This study investigates the causes, effects, and long term results of the Great Migration on African Americans, specifically in Chicago, Illinois. To examine the relationship between the push and pull factors of the Great Migration, many primary and secondary sources were analyzed. Scholarly journals aided in providing an outside view of the movement from historians. Primary sources include many newspaper clippings from the Chicago Defender. There were many letters with accounts of travels and experiences, which greatly contribute to the context of the Great Migration. The motivation to move from the South to the North was encouraged by constant discrimination, low wages, and poor education systems. Cities in the North, like Chicago and Detroit, were popular destinations for African Americans because of employment opportunities. Factories were in need of workers and the black population was willing because of the higher wages. However, discrimination was not obsolete in these areas. In summer of 1919, also known as the Red Summer, there were race riots on the South Side of Chicago because of rising racial tensions. The research conducted exposed multiple first hand accounts, as well as data, and the opinions of some historians. The information gathered suggests that extreme discrimination and overall poor living conditions were the main causes of the Great Migration, resulting in a huge shift in the demographic of certain areas.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2021/1017/thumbnail.jp
Exploring The Effects Of State-Sanctioned Torture On Human Rights In America
Get PDFSince 2002, detainees in Guantanamo Bay have been subject to egregious human rights abuses, but a lesser-known aspect of the torture they suffer is the use of extraordinary renditions, or the forced kidnapping of a person to another location to avoid a country’s laws regarding interrogation or torture. In Johnston County, North Carolina, the CIA used charter company Aero Contractors Ltd. to aid these renditions by flying planes out of the county airport with the intent to transport (render) detainees from foreign countries to CIA detention centers, such as Guantanamo Bay. Because of methods used on detainees such as beatings and stress positions, these rendition flights were torture in and of themselves and played a key role in the mental breaking of a detainee. Since North Carolina supported this program knowing it was illegal and morally wrong, we must ask ourselves what consequences this acceptance of torture could have on both NC and the United States.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2021/1032/thumbnail.jp
Connecting Uyghur Forced Labor to the Fashion Industries
Get PDF“The happiest Muslims in the world” is the absurd saying issued by the Chinese government describing the estimated one million Uyghur Muslims held in detention camps in Xinjiang, China. In the past few years, Uyghurs and Turkic Muslim minorities have been disappearing into what the Chinese government formally labels as “re-education camps.” In these camps there has been evidence that exploitative forced labor is occurring. The factories that Uyghurs work at in Xinjiang, have been proven to supply chain ties to some of the most popular U.S. fashion brands such as ZARA, Calvin Klein (PVH), and Victoria’s Secret (L brands). Many of these companies currently do not have any clear plans to disassociate themselves. To combat the human rights violations that restrict the freedoms of the Uyghurs, we explore specific ties to supply chains from Xinjiang and the use of Uyghur forced labor. Our report will examine specifically how supply chain tracing in the industry is conducted. Pressuring the government to reveal answers requires targeted arguments about how they are failing to uphold the law. Specifically, for over 90 years, U.S. legislation through the Tariff Act of 1930 has explicitly made it illegal to import “goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part by forced labor” into the United States. Companies are getting away with goods tied to Xinjiang whether it is intentional or not. The purpose of this research is to uncover undeniable, indisputable evidence and information of forced labor in which groups and nations can utilize to further investigate their own supply chains. In understanding which factories and companies display red flags, there is an opportunity for change in practices to begin starting in the U.S., then on a global scale.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2021/1057/thumbnail.jp
Optimizing the Purification Process for Microwave Synthesized Lead Halide Perovskites
Get PDFLead halide perovskite nanocrystals (LHPs) have become a promising optoelectronic material due to their bright photoluminescence, low manufacturing cost, and application in solar cells and light emitting diodes (LEDs). Quantum yield (QY) is a metric used to quantify the efficiency by which they emit light, defined as the ratio of number of photons emitted to those absorbed. Currently there are several commonly used routes for synthesizing LHPs, including the hot injection (HI) and room temperature supersaturated recrystallization (SR) methods. Each technique presents its own challenges in the form of high operating temperatures, low stability of resulting LHPs, or lack of precise control over the synthesis process. Developments have been made toward a new synthesis technique, using a microwave reactor to produce highly stable and luminescent perovskites. This microwave synthesis allows for the precise control of operating parameters while being simpler than traditional methods since it is a one-pot technique. In order to fully optimize a microwave synthesis for LHPs, work must be done to improve the purification procedure. Purification is a necessary step in the synthesis of LHPs as it allows for better analysis of optical properties and can even improve QY. Herein, we attempt to further optimize perovskites produced via microwave synthesis by comparing different purification techniques to determine which produces the most luminescent QDs.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2021/1067/thumbnail.jp
Improving the Performance of Fuel Cells using Pt-Based Nano-Crystalline Catalysts
Get PDFReduction of global carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emission necessitates the use of energy conversion devices that generate electricity directly without involving the combustion of fossil fuels. The fuel cell meets this criterion by producing electricity through an oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and fuel (e.g. hydrogen or methanol) oxidation at the electrodes. However, the efficient functioning of a fuel cell requires the use of catalysts that are a) highly active, b) exposing a large surface area for the reactions and c) being chemically stable for long cycles of operation on the electrodes. The study shows that Pt-based nano-crystalline catalysts alloyed with 3d-transition metals such as Fe, Ni, Co can produce desired facets through manipulation of their noncrystalline shape and meet all three basic criteria. Furthermore, the size and shape of the nano-crystals can be accurately controlled by optimizing the precursors and tuning the synthesis conditions, thereby facilitating the growth of a wide variety of nanocatalysts with designed structures that may be well suited to improve the ORR performance that is the bottle-neck in the fuel cell development. These catalysts show great promise in not only achieving high ORR activity but also lowering the materials cost in the fuel cell technology, potentially enabling mass production of the new generation fuel cell catalysts with some earth-abundant metals.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2021/1083/thumbnail.jp
Covid-19 Outreach to Refugee and Immigrant Communities in the Southern Tier
Get PDFImmigrant communities are disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 pandemic for a number of reasons, such as limited access to affordable healthcare, higher poverty rates, and exposure to pre-existing conditions which worsen the effects of the virus. Non-profit organizations like the American Civic Association (ACA) in Binghamton have been fighting for immigrant and refugee rights since 1939. Naturally, the ACA has shifted their focus from citizenship classes and English language classes courses to more health care programs, such as Covid-19 vaccination outreach and educational workshops. The goal of this outreach is to educate the misinformed about the Covid-19 vaccine and make it available to as many members of these vulnerable communities as possible. In order to understand the extent of barriers to vaccination access in the Southern Tier, I am interning at the ACA to put immigrants on the list to get vaccinated, as the ACA has served as a pop-up vaccination spot. I also assist in educational outreach, such as contacting institutions which cater specifically to immigrant communities, and also creating slides for informational Zoom presentations. Previous research has shown that over 50% of Latino immigrants in New York experienced Covid-19 symptoms, but did not seek medical care due to fear of deportation and/or lack of insurance. Additionally, due to Covid-19’s high infection rate, many healthcare providers worldwide have shifted almost entirely to virtual consultations. This effectively combats the spread of Covid-19, but the majority of the migrant population does not have access to the technology required for these medical televisits. This has caused misinformation to run rampant, and members of these communities are more hesitant to receive the vaccine. All in all, I will compare this research to my findings done through participant observation and see what the common threads are, as well as any possible solutions.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2021/1084/thumbnail.jp
Path to Citizenship: The Financial Dilemma of the Modern Day Immigrant
Get PDFThe United States is currently undergoing an immigration crisis. Thousands of undocumented adults, families, and unaccompanied children attempt to cross the border on a monthly basis. In a country that once encouraged mass migration to its land, it is now increasingly difficult for migrants in the modern day to obtain citizenship, particularly for those who are not financially well-off. While immigrants face a plethora of issues, one of the primary issues they face are the increasing monetary requirements and setbacks when attempting to obtain citizenship. This presentation examines immigration policies from the Trump and Obama administrations, deportation and immigration statistics throughout both administrations, current naturalization requirements and the personal experiences of undocumented individuals to highlight the citizenship dilemma that immigrants face in the United States today. The information on immigration policies gathered from government websites and archives highlight the citizenship requirements of prospective immigrants, which show that with increasing demand, the policies have adapted to weed out the less wealthy. The experiences of undocumented individuals were gathered through interviews and newspaper articles, those of which explain the financial insecurities and difficulties moving forward on the path to citizenship due to the policies. Throughout the research process, my findings conclude that the application and processing fees of relevant applications continue to increase, negatively impacting the ability for those who simply cannot afford it to obtain citizenship.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2021/1088/thumbnail.jp
Tobacco and Nicotine Use in the Perinatal Period: A Postpartum Video Intervention
Get PDFTobacco and nicotine exposures in the perinatal period continue to negatively impact the health of women and their families. This is of particular concern in Broome County, where 20% of women reported using tobacco at some point in their pregnancy. It is crucial that nurses have effective tools to intervene and address this health threat during routine care. The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness of our newly developed postpartum educational video related to tobacco and nicotine exposure. This pre- post-test study is designed to measure changes in knowledge and self-efficacy after viewing the video in a postpartum hospital setting. These variables, along with demographics, nicotine use behaviors, and attitudes will be collected electronically, using a 22-item survey. The survey, video, and consent for participation will be delivered via iPad or iPhone using the Qualtrics Survey platform. After we provide an orientation to the study, postpartum nurses will recruit women and provide access to the intervention. Participants will include 25 women who are over the age of 18, fluent in English, and have delivered a baby during their current hospital stay. Nurses will be asked for feedback during and at the conclusion of the study as part of a process evaluation. This study will provide preliminary results related to the efficacy of the video and will also allow us to refine our methodology before conducting the study on a larger scale. The ultimate goal is that women who view this video will show increased quit rates related to nicotine use.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2021/1098/thumbnail.jp