Search

Currently, studies have been conducted focusing around aquatic species and how chemical properties within the water may impact their survival, such as the effect of pH levels on flounder eggs. In specific, the study discussed how acidic pH levels negatively affected their development and survival rate. However, there is limited research conducted pertaining to the connection between pH levels and crustaceans. This begs the question: how do differing pH levels in water affect the hatching rates of aquatic organisms, specifically crustaceans? Based on previous studies, if crustaceans are exposed to acidic pH levels, then the hatching rates will be negatively affected. In order to prove this, an experimental method was used with five samples with different pH levels and sea monkeys added to them. Sea monkeys, a hybrid breed of brine shrimp, were used in order to represent crustaceans in the experiment. The five samples were recorded hourly for times of initial hatching and the relative amount of eggs hatched. Concluding the experimental process the results showed that the basic pH levels had negative effects towards the hatching rates with no survival at 8.0 and very little survival at 7.5. Also, there was an increased rate of hatching for the acidic pH levels with the highest abundance of sea monkeys and the quickest to hatch at 6.0. Overall, the data concludes that the basic pH levels negatively affect the hatching rates of crustacean eggs, and the acidic pH levels had little effect on the hatching rates.

Maple syrup has been identified as one of the healthiest natural sweeteners by many scholarly sources. Previous research has examined the bacteria growth in syrup samples to assess its antibacterial properties. The goal of this research study was to examine the bacteria presence on locally versus commercially produced maple syrup in Geauga County, where home produced maple syrup options are prevalent. To assess the differences in terms of bacteria growth and sugar content of syrup samples in Northeast Ohio, a quantitative method was conducted where five samples from roadside stands and five samples from mass produced locations sold in stores were purchased. The colonies were counted over a period of six days and the sugar content was measured using a refractometer. It was concluded from this research that home produced samples contained less bacteria than store bought samples, which indicates potential health benefits for consumers to choose the best source of maple syrup production for their health. There was also a slight correlation discovered between the sugar content of the syrup and the number of colonies grown by the end of the data collection period.

This study investigated the relationship between absurd humor in meme stills and the perceived humor among Generation Z students. Students of a high school in Northeast Ohio were given one of two seemingly identical surveys, each with a selection of six memes and individual Likert scales corresponding to the presented memes. A rubric was created with guidelines for visual components that was used to assign the presented memes an absurdity score with categories of “minimal absurdism,” “semi-absurd,” and “absurd.” Participants (n=298) were asked to rank the memes on the Likert scale ranging from a value of 1—not at all funny to a maximum value of 5—extremely funny. Following a chi-squared test, we can be over 99% confident that there is a present relationship between absurdist humor content in meme stills and how humorous they are rated by Generation Z students. These findings can be applied to the usage of memes in marketing, an ever-increasing function of meme humor, to make advertisements and communication more effective.

Odd time signatures are a music theory concept and are not used often in modern pop music. Additionally, a significant issue of unoriginality is occurring in the modern pop song genre, and very little research has been conducted on time signatures. A study was conducted on how the time signature of a song impacts the enjoyment of a pop song in order to find a solution for artists to improve the quality of their songs. High school music students listened to both previously released pop songs and self-composed variations on a single pop song, rating each song after each listen in order to find this solution. The average enjoyment of all of the ratings of common time signature pop songs were statistically compared to the average enjoyment of all of the ratings of odd time signature pop songs. The previously released pop song segment of the study found that previously released common time signature pop songs were enjoyed significantly more than previously released odd time signature pop songs, but this part may have been subject to dramatic confounding variables. The second part of the study found that there was no significant difference in the average enjoyment of odd time signature variations than the average enjoyment of common time signature variations. These results imply that fans of pop artists would enjoy their songs no less depending on the time signature, and thus pop song artists can increase the originality of their songs by utilizing odd time signatures with almost no consequence.

The nursing profession is heavily saturated with long hours and night shifts. Oftentimes new nurses spend months to years working on the night shift which influences biological processes such as the circadian rhythm. Their eating habits, digestion, sleep, and metabolism are all affected. Using the platform Google Forms, night shift nurses from the past and those currently working the night shift were questioned on their night shift experience, focusing on their diet and dietary habits. After the data collection was analyzed in Google Sheets, I drew conclusions and found trends among the participants. There were forty participants due to method limitations, but the participants showed many negative implications of being a night worker. In order to evaluate multiple perspectives from the participants, there were two groups of participants. The first consisted of nurses currently working the night shift, and the second group had nurses that have worked the night shift in the past but no longer do. Current night shift nurses were negatively impacted the most, but to my surprise, there were still dietary implications for those who do not work the night shift currently. For the most part, both groups of participants’ diets and overall health had declined; something needs to be done to help those helping us.

The titles used for cultured meat vary drastically and a single name needs to be found. This would allow for a clear name to be established in order to appeal to consumers, and appealing in this way would help to best cultivate the benefits of this meat that could help the environment and economy. To measure this, a 7-point likert scale in a survey with many of these titles and various company logos was employed. Several analysis tests (ANOVA repeated measures and difference of means) were thereafter used to analyze the data found. It was then concluded that cruelty-free meat was, by a large margin, statistically significantly above the other titles and should be used for further practice and sales.

Blue light is known to have a multitude of negative effects on the health and well-being of someone who is frequently exposed to the harmful light. Blue light glasses are able to provide temporary relief from blue light exposure through filtering out concentrations of blue light, discontinuing the transfer through the retina of the eye. The experiment consists of three reading comprehension tests, all of equal difficulty and length. There are two treatment groups: wearing blue light blocking glasses and not wearing blue light blocking glasses. After participating in the experiment, participants also answered a short survey in regards to their experiences with blue light during school and outside of school. The results of the study were inconclusive, showing little to no correlation between wearing blue light blocking glasses and improved test scores. The survey allowed for further discovery about the negative implications resulting from blue light exposure, as many participants felt blue light has harmed their health and focus both in the classroom and outside of school. Since there was no statistical significance between treatment groups, considerations should be taken into perspective for future research to ensure more accurate results. Overall, blue light blocking glasses did not improve the ability to retain more information for high school student participants.

This experiment was conducted to inquire the impact of traffic noise pollution on plant growth within urban community gardens. In acknowledgment of urbanization concerns and the increase of noise within cities, the study was devised to determine if this type of pollution was impacting plants, in addition to animals and humans. To achieve the research goal, two conditional groups with identical set-ups were placed in adjacent rooms. One group contained traffic noises while the other contained natural noises. Plants were grown over six weeks and data was collected both throughout the experiment and at its conclusion. At the conclusion of the experiment, the average plant height for the control group was 104.2 millimeters and 65.6 millimeters for the experimental group. Additionally, the average plant weight for the control group was 1.31 grams and .85 grams for the experimental group. The results yielded T-values of 3.74661 and 1.89107, respectively. With 95-percent confidence, the results showed a statistically significant difference in average plant height and weight between the two conditional groups. The data yielded an answer to the question proposed by the research and fulfilled the purpose of experimentation. A deteriorating effect was found and the impact calls upon city leaders to research the topic further. The results stress the need for a solution involving the reduction of noise to protect the benefits provided by community gardens and the plants within them.

In 2014, the FDA approved the non-invasive and economical Cologuard test for colorectal cancer diagnosis for people reaching the age of 50, a milestone previously met with the “gold standard” of colorectal cancer diagnosis: the colonoscopy. Though prevention and treatment for the third most common cancer in the world have been heavily researched, the diagnosis has been thought to be set with the colonoscopy, without much room for modifications. To assess the possibility of replacing the invasive and costly colonoscopy with Cologuard screening as the first step in colorectal cancer diagnosis, a retrospective cohort study was done with data collected from a medical health record database of a northeast Ohio hospital. Medical record numbers were matched with age, sex, any personal or family history, and the results of the colonoscopies of 111 patients with positive Cologuard tests. Of the 111 patients, 92 proceeded with the colonoscopy. The sensitivities, or true-positive rates of results, were calculated for groups organized with respect to age, sex, and previous family and personal oncologic history. Since the data is categorical, a goodness of fit chi-square was done for the statistical analysis, resulting in a failure to reject the null hypothesis with χ2=0.09318 and p=6.571. In conclusion, the replacement of the invasive colonoscopy with Cologuard non-invasive screening as the first step in colorectal cancer diagnosis could not be proven statistically significant and, therefore, medically favorable.

Arabidopsis Thaliana, a model organism for genetic modification, was tested to discover whether or not a genetic increase in biomass affects the plant’s rate of carbon fixation. An experimental design was employed, involving the testing of the carbon fixation rates from 4 separate experimental groups, genetically modified and a control group, both sterilized and unsterilized. Sterile water and a 50% bleach solution were used for seed sterilization, and once complete, all types of seeds were given a week long cold treatment. After the cold treatment had concluded, these plants were grown on moist fertilized soil, and were watered using a glass tray. Water was added into the flat surface every 2 days, and this nourishment was absorbed by the soil through holes in 4.409 x 3.937 terracotta pots. This absorption allowed for dry soil to remoisten, ultimately providing hydration to A. Thaliana. Growth measurements of the observed largest leaf were taken each week for a 4 week growth period. Once fully grown, a procedure known as photosynthetic flotation was used to uncover carbon fixation rates between the experimental groups, involving 0.5 cm leaf disks rising in a bicarbonate solution as carbon dioxide was converted to oxygen. The faster the leaf disk rose, the more rapidly carbon dioxide was fixated. Overall, data gathered from this experiment showed little difference between carbon fixation rates of biomass genetic modification and a control group, causing for this genetic modification only being able to be used to combat overpopulation with larger food being produced, but not that of reversing climate change. However, there was a significant gap in terms of the time to rise of leaf disks between sterilized and unsterilized groups, revealing that a more specific study in regards to this variable must be conducted.

All students have to take exams at some point in their schooling careers and often in overwhelming amounts. With tests carrying great importance, students try to optimize their performance on these tests in a variety of ways. A widely-practiced strategy is eating peppermint or candy during the test in hopes of boosting brain performance. Peppermint has been known to stimulate olfactory receptors in humans. Similarly, acidity is an alternative powerful taste stimulant. Although acidity stimulates taste receptors and not olfactory receptors, taste and smell are very closely related which makes peppermint and acidity have similar overall effects. Since peppermint has shown improved memory and cognition in students, this study will now examine how acidity effects brain performance. This inquiry was investigated by giving 84 local high school students beverages of ranging acidity levels and soon after having them complete a timed, four-function math exam to test their brain performance. With average test scores of 38.62, 36.05, and 40.02 for the highest acidity, medium acidity, and lowest acidity beverage respectively with a control (no drink) average of 39.33, acidity does not appear to have an effect on student brain stimulation (p=.53). In conclusion, there was no statistically significant correlation between acidity and student brain function, but this was only a preliminary study and similar concepts should be further explored in the future.

This experiment was conducted for the purpose of inquiring how the concentration of antibiotics, specifically Amoxicillin and Cephalexin, would affect the productivity of aquatic microorganisms within Northeastern Ohio rivers. In acknowledgment of the growing concerns over agricultural pollution, the study was devised to increase current knowledge of how the presence of antibiotics could affect aquatic microorganisms other the well-documented creation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In order to achieve the research goal, water was collected from a Northeastern Ohio river and then tested with various amounts of antibiotics. Over the following five days, the concentration of dissolved oxygen was measured which was used to calculate the overall rate of respiration of the sample. The overall respiration rates of the samples with Amoxicillin were 0.0369 mg/L·hr (milligram per liter per hour) with no antibiotics, 0.835 mg/L·hr with 250 mg, 1.16 mg/L·hr with 500 mg, and 0.951 mg/L·hr with 750 mg. The samples with Cephalexin yielded rates of 0.963 mg/L·hr with 250 mg, 0. mg/L·hr with 500 mg, mg/L·hr with 750 mg. These yielded R-values of 0.694 and 0.788 respectively.. This means that the null hypothesis was rejected, thus showing a statistically significant correlation. However, the alternate hypothesis was not supported as a positive correlation between the respiration rate and antibiotic concentration was shown.

The goal of this research was to explore the potential relationship between a primary guardian’s marital status and the child resulting from that relationship’s MBTI personality type. Given that personality types are often linked to environmental factors, these two factor appeared to be linked psychologically. The relationship between the five main marital statuses, married, divorced, separated, widowed, and single mother/father, and the results of MBTI tests was explored in this study. To explore the possible relationship, a mixed method approach was employed to high school students ranging from grades nine to twelve. The participants were asked to participate in an MBTI personality test which was followed by a survey asking questions about the participant’s primary guardians. The marital status was found to have no impact on the personality types of the participants; all groups were found to tend to be more introverted than extroverted.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential relationship between hamstring flexibility and competitive level of Irish dancers. Since the premier of Riverdance in 1994, Irish dance has grown in population and has geologically spread to locations previously unassociated with Irish culture. Resulting from these changes has been the establishment of more and larger competitions, as well as increased athleticism in the dance form. This study followed a quasi-experimental approach, and dancers volunteered to participate. Participants were first asked verbal questions for secondary data collection and data on performance level. Hamstring flexibility was then measured using the Straight Leg Raise (SLR) test for analysis. The data support the conclusion that higher level Irish dancers have higher hamstring flexibility than lower level dancers. Irish dancers seeking to advance into higher competition levels may use this information to incorporate more flexibility building into their training. Likewise, Irish dance instructors may devote more instruction time to assisting their students in building their hamstring flexibility efficiently and properly. Future researchers may investigate similar studies with other physical aspects, such as flexibility in the quadriceps. Alternatively, researchers may investigate the extent to which Irish dance adjudicators seek out high hamstring flexibility in the dancers they judge in comparison to more traditional aspects of Irish dance.

Arabidopsis thaliana ecotype Col-0, a model organism in plant physiology, was studied in conjunction with heat wave temperature patterns, here defined as a multi-day pattern of oscillating high maximum daily temperatures and normal temperatures. The study was run with an experimental design, involving the construction of two plant growth chambers, of which one was set to maintain a constant temperature around 23º Celsius. The other was set to vary in maximum temperature according to a heat wave definition based upon climate data from Columbia, Missouri, the native region of the studied ecotype of A. thaliana. Seeds were placed on fertilized soil and watered daily throughout the process of their growth, and they were moved into the growth chambers after sprouting under sunlight. Data was collected regarding each plant's developmental stage throughout plant growth, and biomass data was collected at the end of each individual's growth. Overall, an effect on the plants was found when the control and experimental groups were compared. The experimental group showed increased plant mortality and slowed plant development. This study has implications for the field of environmental science, climate research, and biology in that it may impact both the study of plant growth and planting seasons in agriculture. These results suggest potential for future studies into the genetic differences between plants that thrive under each set of conditions. These results are in agreement with other evidence of the negative effects of climate change on ecosystems.

The Mozart Effect is a phenomenon where it is believed that students benefit from listening to classical music while studying or completing a class task. Studies released about the Mozart Effect have proven to not be the most reliable or replicable of studies. Similarly, very few studies have been released using music other than classical to see how all genres of music impact a students performance in the classroom. This research study began with a pre-assessment survey to determine characteristics of the population sample, 79 students varying from grades 10-12 in both Advanced Placement and College Prep English courses. The next part of the study included an experiment where students were to complete a portion of a released ACT reading excerpt. Students were to perform the task in silence, listening to a Mozart Sonata, or while listening to one of five pieces deemed to be the most popular of the year 2018. Upon completion, students were to complete a post-assessment survey in which they reviewed how they felt about the experience. Through an ANOVA, the scores from all students in the silent group, the classical group, and the popular group were compared in order to determine if any one treatment group performed significantly better or worse than others in terms of accuracy, as well as to see if different auditory factors were to blame. The results proved to be insignificant, showing how students do not perform better or worse on comprehension tasks when different auditory backgrounds are applied.

In the field of neuroscience, cognitive memory is at the center of biomedical research. Prior works in cognitive memory all suggest and show that as people age their short term memory slows down and becomes less effective from an accuracy standpoint. This especially becomes apparent in age related memory impairments such as Alzheimer’s. Using musical stimulation this study was focused on finding out if music has an effect on a musician’s short term memory speed and overall accuracy in both auditory and visual memory. Visual and auditory memory are the primary ways in which music is memorized. Along with visual memory motor memory is also tested in musicians as they use muscles when playing an instrument (Chua, 2014). Thus, these two were combined with the aim of finding out if music has an effect on the entire short term memory system. The study focused on all ages ranging from fourteen to the age bracket of sixty and over. Each participant was given the same conditions under which the study was conducted. Using a T-chart analysis the data showed that overall the speed of memory is enhanced with musical stimulation; however, accuracy was statistically insignificant. To avoid the distraction of future participants they should be evaluated one at a time.Key Words: cognitive memory, auditory, visual, musicians, motor memory

The following essay will present research that studies the interweaving of color and memory. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of different formats of color within a prose fiction text, and to show how color affects the retention of the information read. To perform the study, one passage made in three different formats – black and white throughout the text, colored font on random words, or highlighted text on random words – will be randomly assigned to Advanced Placement (AP) and College Prep (Regular) English class juniors, followed by a test based on accuracy. The results show that color has a more positive influence than normal black and white text in regards to retaining information. Moreover, women overall were seen to perform significantly better on the text with highlighted text compared to colored font, whereas men overall were seen to be more successful using colored font than highlight. One can conclude from this research that using color to study and remember information for a test or a job-related interview can improve one’s performance. Due to the positive influence of color, students should ask their teachers to promote a more color-coded study plan, present key parts in a slideshow using highlighting or colored font, or more, which could lead to higher student scores and steer attention towards the information being given.