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If you were to ask someone what they were most afraid of, what do you think they would say? Chances are, many would respond that they have a fear of death. After all, according to Chapman University’s 2017 “Survey of American Fears,” 20.3% of Americans are “afraid” or “very afraid” of dying. Unlike other fears such as fear of public speaking, spiders, or tiny holes that could be avoided, death cannot be avoided for most. Yet interestingly,  some incredible yet biologically simple organisms seem to have uncovered the fountain of youth. Among them are the Hydra, the Turritopsis dohrnii jellyfish, turtles, and lobsters, each able to employ various mechanisms that could ultimately prolong their lives for thousands of years and render them biologically immortal. Such mechanisms include the telomerase enzyme, which prevents the telomere shortening that leads to age-related cellular degradation, the FoxO gene, which maintains the stem cells and supports innate immune pathways that defend the organism against microinvasion, limitless regeneration of cells/tissues/organs/DNA, the ability to revert back to an earlier stage of the lifespan by restarting the growth process of cells, and cryptobiosis, which halts metabolism to promote survival during extremely adverse conditions. The following paper overviews this variety of mechanisms and attempts to apply them to humans in order to evaluate the question: “Is it possible for humans to become biologically immortal?” It will also evaluate the nuanced consequences if humans indeed became biologically immortal by addressing the inevitable changes to life as we know it today.

biology, biochemistry, immunology, chemistry, math

Keeping up with the Immortal Jellyfish: Biological Immortality in the Animal Kingdom & Applications for Prolonging Human Lifespan

Microbiology, immunology, genetics, molecular genetics, cell biology, global health

*Carex nudata*, a riparian sedge, functions as a key determinant in wetland health by providing nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, and establishing prime conditions for other wetland species propagation as an early successional species[1](https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1890/0012-9658(2000)081[3431:CIIASP]2.0.CO;2)  – plant species that tend to have greater rates of photosynthesis and respiration as well as nutrient uptake[2](https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/succession-a-closer-look-13256638/). Specifically, *C. nudata* provides valuable substrate for other wetland plants while also protecting others from insect larvae and deer grazing. At times, wetland restoration projects do not reach successful integration due to a lack of understanding of the propagated species and the abiotic conditions that are present in the area. Plant performance is important and so are its effects on other wetland species it interacts with[1](https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1890/0012-9658(2000)081[3431:CIIASP]2.0.CO;2). Examining the effect of pH on the species’ ability to sequester carbon gives us insight into possible wetland health and restoration success indications. As restoration efforts aim to repair ecologically damaged sites, oftentimes as a result of human development and resource extraction, chosen plants must be able to survive atypical abiotic conditions such as high acidity from abandoned mining sites and areas where exposed minerals alter the neutral pH of water sources. Here, same-maturity Torrent Sedge plugs sourced from Wetland Nursery in Richmond, California, have been grown in a controlled environment and closely monitored for the effects of pH on growth, carbon sequestration, and biomass. Throughout the experiment, other abiotic conditions such as light exposure, nitrate levels, dissolved oxygen levels, phosphorus levels, and potassium levels were held constant for the duration of the study. The exposed pH conditions: low pH (5), neutral pH (7), and high pH (9) were carefully maintained every five days. After a 14-day growth period, weight measurements were taken of biomass and organic carbon in plant subjects. *C. nudata* subjects performed better in neutral pH conditions while demonstrating higher susceptibility to fungal diseases in more acidic and basic conditions. Over the course of 2 months, observations and measurements tracked the growth of eighteen plant subjects, correlating data on how pH affects different wetland species. The observations in this study may hopefully provide insight into wetland restoration efforts, environmental impact foresight, and wetland health indication.

Marine Biology, Coral Reef Ecology, Coral Reef Restoration, Biological Oceanography, Marine Ecology

Effects of Various pH Conditions on the Carbon Sequestration of Carex nudata

Tooth decay (cavity) has the potential to affect all parts of the tooth, which include: enamel, dentin, and the pulp (nerve of the tooth). Tooth decay is caused by poor hygiene which leads to different sugars accumulating in the mouth, producing bacteria. As the cavity grows in size and when the cavity has reached the pulp, more extensive treatment may be needed. Because dental cavities is the most common non-communicable disease worldwide, knowing the effectiveness of several treatments is very important to maintain good oral-health. In adult patients with detrimental cavities or infections, a root canal or implant are two possible treatments that follow the standard of care. A systematic review will be conducted to evaluate whether root canal treatment or implant placement has a higher success and better outcome. Information will be gathered from multiple research articles to draw a conclusion. A root canal option requires the patient to maintain a much stringent oral hygiene routine and follow up with maintenance visits at the dental office. However, an implant is a surgical procedure that may take time to osseointegrate and thus requires more patience and follow up visits from the patient. Although a root canal or an implant are two ways of successfully treating a cavity or infection, our research shows a root canal has a higher success rate and thus should be explored more carefully as a viable treatment option by a patient.

Dentistry, Chemistry, Surgery, Anatomy, Research, Pathology

Comparison of Root Canal vs. Dental  Implant: Outcome and Success Rates

This project aims to introduce the cultural aspects of the Nung minority group living in Lang Son Province, Northeastern Vietnam through the lens of photography, vlogs and written mediums. The project will result in an Instagram page that will share pictures and videos of the daily lives of the Nung people, with a focus on their language as a communication tool. In order to reach the project’s outcome, people living in Hanoi as well as local Nung people living in Lang Son province will be interviewed. Stories and information collected from the interviews will be shared along with the photos and videos on the “In The Nung” Instagram page. During the course of the project, the progress will be tracked in the form of written and visual logs, and the logs will be posted on a Wordpress page that will be linked to the Instagram page.

Anthropology and Ethnography, Religion and Society, Theater, Literature, Italian and French

In The Nung

Abstract
This paper examines the films of Wong Kar-wai and Jia Zhangke as two examples and analyzed the effects of modernization on people in late 1990s China. Through a comparative analysis of Chungking Express (1994) and Still Life (2006), I show how the two films are distinct in their main emphasis and how they reflect the perception of “home” in both areas of China. In the different techniques of cinematography, narrative forms, editing, space construction, etc, we see how Chungking Express stresses individualism compared to collectivism in Still Life, which reflects the definition of home in Hong Kong is closely related to the construction of self-identity while home in mainland China is more connected to its social-cultural unit.

literature, philosophy, aesthetics, political thought, history, comics, graphic novels of empire and colonialism

In Search for Love: Modernization, Home, and Romance in Wang Kar Wai and Jia Zhangke

Misha is working on a machine learning-based algorithm to decode the direction of arm movement from a population of motor neurons. This has been achieved using two methods; population vector and maximum likelihood estimation. Misha's challenge will be to find a third ML algorithm that can also be used; however, the goal would be to increase prediction accuracy. This method will be implemented in MATLAB or Python. 

Biomedical Engineering, STEM in general, medical, prosthetics, Electronics, Robotics

The Use of Machine Learning to Decode Neural Activity in the Motor Cortex of Primates

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 mission demonstrated the ability to land a booster-stage rocket using complex systems to control engine re-ignition as a brake - a revolutionary breakthrough in the space exploration industry. Even though SpaceX has brought about a technological revolution that sets a higher bar for space travel, there are ways to make this application more economically viable and sustainable. A promising alternative is the usage of a solid fuel rocket instead of liquid fuel, which drastically reduces the cost of rocket production by removing the technology needed for containing cryogenic liquid fuel. However, this creates the question of how to control the thrust of solid-fuel rockets as once ignited, the engines cannot be shut down. To answer the question, this project investigates the complex systems necessary to implement controlled solid-fuel descent for rocket landing and develops a control system diagram to explain how solid-fuel rockets can implement controlled descent.
To succeed at designing a control diagram the paper focuses on some existing technologies while also looking at current theories. The paper will go in depth about the control diagram and its connections to the controlled rocket descent while making connections to current tech and theories. There will be charts and graphs to support the explanation. There will also be a small physics section that focuses on providing context as to why certain parts of an integrated control system are important. The overall research will take into account a multitude of perspectives and sources to communicate clearly the pros and cons of said control system design.

Robotics, Systems Engineering; Control Systems; Automation; Aerospace Engineering; Physics; Mechanical Engineering

The efficacy of baseball pitchers can be predicted from prior pitching data using machine learning models. Previous machine learning works relating to baseball have primarily involved predicting outcomes of baseball games and a thrown pitch. This paper is the first work that uses sixteen game-independent features, which describe a pitcher’s set of thrown pitches, to predict multiple pitcher efficacy metrics, like walks/hits allowed per inning (WHIP), batting average against (BAA), and fielding independent pitching (FIP). We hypothesized that these sixteen “physical features”, which are measured by the use of sensors, can explain >50% of the variance while predicting pitcher efficacy.  We applied the Neural Network model to predict the efficacy metrics using all sixteen features, while we used the Linear Regression model to analyze the individual impact of each feature for predicting the efficacy metrics.  We observed from the Neural Network and Linear Regression models that the “ballFrequency” feature was the most impactful in predicting the WHIP for any pitcher.  For the BAA and FIP metrics, the Linear Regression models showed that none of the features were impactful; however, we observed that the Neural Network model improved the prediction of the BAA and FIP metrics. Based on our evaluations, the machine learning models could not prove our hypothesis as the results accounted for <50% of the variance when predicting the pitcher efficacy metrics. Professional scouts can still use the results of our individual feature analysis to select better pitchers who have never played a game at the professional level.

Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Theoretical Computer Science, Mathematics, Game Design, and Procedurally-Generated Content.

Predicting Baseball Pitcher Efficacy using Physical Pitch Characteristics"

Use of technologies in our current time is extremely widespread from our social media to portable devices but there is less focus on how this technology functions in the lives of individuals with neuro disorders. With the rise in trends for inclusivity for all, it would be worthy to investigate how technology bridges the learning and living gaps between people with and without these disabilities. The aim of this paper is to explore how these groups of people –specifically those with autism, adhd and rett’s—interact with technology, and more importantly, treatments regarding their day to day living from speech to social skills, emotions, motor therapy and more.  The method used in this literature study is through search for articles on platforms including ResearchGate, Google Scholar, Scopus, PubMed and ScienceDirect. The keywords we used were "autism", "robot",  "rett’s", "adhd",   "augmentative","alternative", "communication"  "virtual", "video", "reality",   "robotics", "asd" and we  specifically combined "autism" AND "robot", "autism” AND "robotics", "virtual” AND "reality", "asd" "robot", "augmentative", AND "alternative", AND "communication" ,"asd" AND "robotics." Most studies included were conducted between the years 2008-2021, as most research papers on this subject have been published in the last decade.

Psychology, Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience, Developmental Science, Cognition, Learning, Attention, Memory, Infancy, Perception

Assistive Technology for Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Review of Literature

Based on the novel Don't Cry for Me," I will be exploring concepts such as black masculinity and black femininity in this book, where a dying father is writing letters to his gay son. Black masculinity, in the novel, is not of a fixed nature but rather fluid. Black masculinity was presented in 3 different ways: the grandfather, the father, and the gay son. In which the grandfather lived his masculinity in a stoic, rigid way in which work was his main purpose in life and it encompassed how he lived his life. The father lived his masculinity in a fraught way because his perception of who he had to be as a man was greatly influenced by the strict way his grandfather taught him to be a man, the openness and tolerance his wife wanted him to have that clashed with his upbringing in a conservative rural town; and the contrasting idea of manhood that was prominent in the city's black community at that time. The son displayed a revolutionary way of being a man. He was not afraid to show his feelings; he was tender-hearted and had a different sexual orientation compared to his grandfather and father, which impacted him. Similar to black masculinity, black femininity was also portrayed in different ways across the book: the mother, the grandmother, and that little girl who was bullied and ostracized by the community. Like the son, the mother was also revolutionary for her time in how she was a free spirit who was a feminist and wanted to go against the ideals and expectations of women of her time, which were to stay docile, stay at home, not read and always respect their husbands. Unlike the mother, the grandmother was docile; she was a woman of her time who didn't want to go against or defy the system set in place against her. She couldn't have any intellectual aspirations because of the environment she was placed in and how she was supposed to keep her head down and follow the rules. In short, this led to her being submissive to her husband and to losing hope of having a better life and opportunities. However, I would like to point out that while both versions of women are portrayed differently, they are both strong, and this should not be missed.

Medical Anthropology, Anthropology of South America, Social Sciences

Society Scorned 'His Last Letter': Analysis of Black Masculinity and Black Femininity in the book "Don't Cry for Me"

This project consists of 3 steps:
1. The painting "Self Portait with a Harp" by Rose-Adélaïde Ducreux is analyzed for both cultural context and fashion content.
2. The type of dress worn in the painting is researched for garment construction, fabric, and silhouette, with the understanding of the other garments that shape the dress underneath.
3. The garment is constructed in a historically accurate manner to reflect what such a dress may have looked like.

The Intersection of Fashion & History, Costume Design, Fashion History, Period Accuracy, Costume Research, Making Look Books and Pitch Decks for Film Design, Costume Sketching

Rose Adélaïde Ducreux / Lydia O Dress Project

This project aims to investigate Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and identify how genetic factors are associated with it. Research has found that mutations of and interactions between Tau and Amyloid proteins cause AD. The Tau protein is widely found in brain neurons. It is found in a microtubule, which typically carries nutrients through the neurons. Tau tangles, or buildup of the protein, are commonly found in individuals with AD, leading to memory loss. The Amyloid protein is present in many of the body’s organ systems. Amyloid plaques, or malformed amyloid proteins, are found between neurons of a person with AD, which cause neurodegeneration. The Amyloid Beta is a sticky part of the protein that causes plaque formation. Heavy accumulations of Tau and Amyloid Beta play a large part in brain damage of a person with AD. Furthermore, the neuroinflammatory hypothesis states that “dysfunctional inflammatory processes” cause AD. In this project, RNA sequencing data from the Allen Institute Aging, Dementia, and TBI study containing 377 samples of gene expression levels will be analyzed to build a machine learning model. This model will be created using PANDAS and will predict the relations between genetic factors underlying AD and identify any patterns related to cognitive decline. The goal is to identify individuals who are at risk of AD and advise appropriate action by searching for genes that express Tau, Amyloid Beta, and other proteins related to AD. The results found through the research and modeling will not only help with diagnosis, but also identify potential drug treatments.

computational neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, signal processing, human neuroscience, machine learning, theoretical neuroscience, cognitive science

How do genetic factors differ for normal aging and AD? What do they indicate about cognitive decline associated with AD? How can gene expression be used to identify individuals at high risk of AD?

Teenagers have grown up surrounded by technology. They have become used to creating accounts on numerous platforms with passwords linked to each one. On the other hand, middle-aged adults, between the ages of 40 and 60, know more than a world that has become heavily reliant on usernames and passwords. There are differences between what teenagers and adults have been taught about password complexity and strength and how individuals choose to implement this knowledge about digital security. This paper uses a survey study in order to analyze the differences between teenagers’ password complexity and strength and middle-aged adults. I designed and administered a survey to both teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18 in the United States (US) and adults between the ages of 40 and 60 in the US. The survey was able to determine the education each anonymous individual had received on password complexity and their usual practices when creating a password for a new account. Examples of these practices included reusing a password from another account, creating a unique password for every platform, and including uppercase and lowercase letters and a special character. An analysis of this data shows the correlation between receiving more education about password strength and ways to increase it and the age demographic that actually implements what they have learned. This paper aims to show how growing up with or without the current technology and constant access to the Internet people have can impact one’s knowledge and practices of password complexity and strength.

human-computer interaction, social media, tech ethics, AI ethics, privacy, UX design, computer science, social psychology, cognitive psychology

Generational Impact on Password Strength

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) made the first direct detection of gravitational waves. This detection was only possible due to the advanced technology developed by the LIGO team. Particularly impressive were the mechanisms used to keep suspended mirrors from being impacted by external noise. Chinmay will write a review paper describing the LIGO experiment and focusing on the advancements that have been made to the mirror system. The paper will pull from multiple reliable sources to give an approachable description of the mirror systems.

Particle colliders, Coding in physics, Dark matter

LIGO: A Review of Mirror Technology

CRISPR gene editing is used to modify the genome of organisms, serving as a potential approach to cure different genetic diseases including cancers, Huntington's disease, and cystic fibrosis (1). The ERO1A (Endoplasmic Reticulum Oxidoreductase 1 Alpha) gene is a protein-coding gene that is involved in disulfide bond formation in the endoplasmic reticulum and has been implicated in a variety of diseases, including cholera and liver cancer (2). A 2019 study by the University of Connecticut used CRISPR to repress the ERO1A gene in the HepG2 cell line. The HepG2 cells were extracted from a male Caucasian child of age 15 with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of liver cancer (3). A control data sample from the same patient had also been uploaded on the ENCODE database in absence of CRISPR editing (4). Data was downloaded from the ENCODE database, aligned with the human reference transcriptome using Kallisto一a program that quantifies transcript abundance一and then analyzed for differential gene expression on the Degust platform (5-14). The use of CRISPR to modify the ERO1A gene was successful in decreasing the expression of the RNA transcripts produced and suggested effects on other potential biomarkers of HCC (GPC3 and KPNA2) and related genes (UPF1, SPP1, ARG1, MDM2). CRISPR editing can hence be a potential treatment for diseases associated with the ERO1A gene, including liver cancer.

Biophysics, bioinformatics, statistics, data science, machine learning, cellular and molecular biology, chemistry

Validating the efficacy and impact of CRISPR repression of the ERO1A gene using RNA-seq analysis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

The simulation of robot arms are an integral component of robotics engineering as they allow us to test and alter conditions of the system and troubleshoot errors. This paper outlines the process of constructing a 3-link robot simulation, from the basic concepts to the main algorithm. The different shapes of graphs produced by varying different parameters (i.e. number of obstacles, location, coefficients)are also analyzed to determine the main contenders influencing an algorithm’s success. The efficiency and drawbacks of given parameters and algorithms are also analyzed to create a paper that provides a comprehensive view of the simulation process and potential keys for exploration. Individuals seeking an improved understanding of robot arms and their algorithms and potential applications shall benefit from this report.

Robotics, aerodynamics, system design, drones, structures, programming, computer vision

Analysing the Multi-Faceted Process of 3-link Robot Arm Simulation

More than 18 million adults have coronary artery disease, with there being around 360,900 deaths in 2019 in the United States. Coronary artery disease (CAD) occurs when a person’s body creates cholesterol-containing deposits in their coronary arteries and inflammation follows. This causes the major blood vessels that supply the heart to become diseased  (atherosclerosis), which can cause heart attacks or strokes. Overall, the coronary arteries are a vital part of the heart, since they supply all of the oxygen, nutrients, and blood. With an excess of plaque in these arteries, the blood flow will decrease causing either chest pain or shortness of breath, the two main symptoms of CAD. Sadly, this disease can only be found after a few decades with the patient either suffering from a heart attack or a blockage. Right now, the main ways to diagnose CAD are through blood tests, exercise stress tests, or by using echocardiograms. But these examinations will be used only after the patient has shown any symptoms of the disease. On the other hand, my project will be able to diagnose coronary artery disease using 13 different parameters from blood test and electrocardiogram (ECG) results before it is too late so that the patient can take any necessary precautions to avert fatal outcomes. 
Links:
https://www.verywellhealth.com/how-heart-disease-is-diagnosed-4163340
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronary-artery-disease/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20350619
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronary-artery-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20350613
https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm


Biomedical Engineering, Deep Learning, Personal Finance, Website Development, Machine Learning, Statistics, Biomaterials, Biomechanics, Bioimaging, Image Processing, Nuclear Medicine, Tissue Engineering, Material Science, Disease Modeling, Cancer Research, Personal Development

How can machine learning diagnose coronary artery disease using adult data from blood tests and electrocardiograms?

Music generation using machine learning and AI has been a topic of interest over the past few years. Music proves to be a complex task for AI, as it is an art of time, is heavily influenced by human intuition, and is often composed polyphonically where all instruments are interdependent. However, audio data has several interesting features for a machine learning model. In fact, it follows a strict tempo, is pitch-related, and when defining a strict genre or style, some patterns can be found in the way music is created. Currently, most multi-track music generation models use CNN (Convolutional Neural Network), and music is often generated using only very general training data, not allowing a user to generate music according to a specific melody.

In this paper, we present a VAE-based (Variational Autoencoder) machine learning model that is able to generate a musical accompaniment to a user-given melody. The master melody is inputted by the user and a VAE works with a Convolutional Neural Network to find a musical accompaniment to the inputted melody. Unlike current existing models, which generally generate music from scratch after listening to many samples, this one allows any user to enrich his/her wanted melody. We trained our model on different genres to produce different styles of accompaniment to the melody. Not only does it perform better than state of the art CNNs, but it also gives the user more influence on the outputted music, allowing him to give the first main melodic idea.

Renewable energy (solar), heat transfer, computational materials science

To what extent can machine learning find a suitable musical accompaniment for a given melody?

Ridhi will write a review article summarizing what we know about BRCA and PARP mutations in ovarian cancer, and highlighting understudied genes that also play a role outside of BRCA and PARP defects.

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