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- Creator:
- Arredondo, Ruben
- Description:
- The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore and understand the acculturation process in U.S. born Latinx adults who relocated, temporarily or permanently to any Latin American country during their childhood who later returned to the U.S. Circular migration in U.S born Latinx individuals, has received little attention in the psychological literature. This two-way, repetitive relocation may not fit in with the current models of migration and acculturation. Although the evidence for the impact of the acculturation process and acculturative stress on Latinx mental health is accumulating, we still know little about the processes that support positive adjustment. A better understanding of the potential protective processes that may alleviate the risks could provide valuable information for the development of interventions to mitigate the negative effects of stressors such the process of acculturation. Participants will be recruited using snowball sampling methods and the sample will consist of U.S. born Latinx individuals, who are 18 or older and engaged in the process of circular migration. A semi-structured interview protocol will developed consisting of questions focused around demographics and lived experiences. Interviews will be conducted via Zoom or any other video conference software available to the participants. Data will be analyzed through thematic analysis. We expect that 5-8 themes will emerge from the data analysis. These will be carefully analyzed to grasp a better understanding of the processes and experiences involved in this phenomena.
- Resource Type:
- Abstract
- Campus Tesim:
- Pomona
- Creator:
- Manuel, Robert
- Description:
- Viruses play an essential role in the ecology and evolution of Archaea, Eukarya, and Bacteria. Recently, a novel and distinct lysis system has been described for two archaeal viruses. The virus at the focus of this study, STIV, has developed into a model system for studying archaeal viral/host interactions. During infection of the host cell, Sulfolobus solfataricus, seven-sided pyramid structures are formed on the surface of the infected cell. As pyramid formation is solely dependent on one viral protein, a series of unbiased point mutations have been made throughout the coding sequence of the protein to learn more about it. However, the current method used to screen for viral mutants is both time and labor intensive. The goal of this project is to adapt the yeast-two-hybrid system and other such tests for screening viral mutants. As these experimental assays are performed in E. coli and yeast instead of the host archaeal cell, it has the potential to be a less time consuming and a more cost-effective way of screening viral mutants. If successful, it may be possible to apply these techniques to other archaeal viral mutants.
- Resource Type:
- Abstract
- Campus Tesim:
- Pomona
- Creator:
- Martinez, Noel
- Description:
- Many species rely on spatial memory and associative learning to succeed in their environment. Hybridization, the process of two different species mating, results in impaired cognitive function and reduced fitness because of a limited ability to obtain food and inefficient metabolism. However, cognition within hybrids is understudied as a reproductive barrier. Black-capped and Carolina chickadees form a very narrow hybrid zone, the area where the two species overlap. Their hybrids have reduced fitness due to strong reproductive barriers. Specifically, hybrids exhibit poorer performance on problem solving and associative learning tasks relative to parentals. As a result, their ability to locate and store food may be negatively impacted, thereby reducing fitness. This is vital because chickadees are food caching birds. The parental species are capable of learning from others chickadees but knowledge about such social learning in hybrids is scarce. It is possible that hybrids may be able to compensate for impaired cognition and increase their fitness by observing and learning how other chickadee forage and cache. I will test the ability of hybrid chickadees to learn from watching trained tutors by assessing their problem solving and associative learning abilities and compare them to parentals to determine if social learning has an effect on hybrid cognition. All chickadees will participate in two tasks to test their ability to remember the location of a food item and solve a puzzle. Studies on cognition as a postzygotic reproductive barrier are lacking, so this study will help add to growing research.
- Resource Type:
- Abstract
- Campus Tesim:
- Pomona
- Creator:
- Breslau, Eric
- Description:
- Nudibranchia is a diverse group of sea slugs characterized by the lack of a protective shell, which is lost during metamorphosis to adult stage. This has hypothetically promoted the evolution of alternative defense mechanisms within Nudibranchia including chemical, visual (crypsis, mimicry), and cleptodefense; using cnidocytes from their cnidarian prey. Despite the wealth of information we have gained from this group, we have yet to understand how these defense strategies have evolved throughout the group due to a lack of sufficient genetic data. While traditional Sanger sequencing has been very successful in elucidating relationships at shallower taxonomic levels, it has been problematic for resolving deeper nodes necessary for large clade reconstructions. RNA-sequencing, a next generation sequencing (NGS) technique, provides a more cost-efficient method for producing larger datasets and has been successfully applied across many groups, including one of the two major clades within Nudibranchia, Cladobranchia. This study aims at resolving the second major group within Nudibranchia, Doridina, using RNA-sequencing data in order to understand evolutionary patterns within this clade.
- Resource Type:
- Abstract
- Campus Tesim:
- Pomona
- Creator:
- Gonzalez, Edgar
- Description:
- Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) are equally responsible for genital herpes infections that affect over 400 million people worldwide. Presently, there is no vaccine for either virus. We tested adjuvanted liposomes conjugated to gD3pep, an HSV-2 peptide, against HSV infection in BALB/c mice. Adjuvants included MPL, MTP-PE, LT1, or CDN for HSV-1 and QS-21, GPI-0100, and Pam3CAG, or no adjuvant for HSV-2, with PBS as the control. Mice (n=21/group HSV-1; n=17/group HSV-2) received vaccine or PBS subcutaneously d0, d14, d28. Serum/spleens were harvested d31 (n=7/group HSV-1; n=5/group HSV-2) to determine HSV neutralizing antibody titers, anti-gD3pep IgG isotype concentrations, and cytokine secretion. Mice (n=7/group) were challenged intravaginally d35 with either HSV-1 or HSV-2 and monitored for morbidity for four weeks. Viral burden was determined in spinal cord samples collected d42 (n=7/group). Survival was 86% with CDN, 71% with MPL, 57% with MTP-PE, and 14% with both LT1 and PBS in HSV-1 challenged mice. HSV-2 infected mice had 57% survival for QS-21,GPI-0100, 29% for Pam3CAG or no adjuvant, and 0% for PBS. CDN and MPL (HSV-1) and QS-21, GPI-0100, and Pam3CAG (HSV-2) had significantly lower spinal cord viral burden compared to PBS (pd"0.0210 and pd"0.0079, respectively). CDN and MPL (HSV-1) and QS-21, GPI-0100, and Pa
- Resource Type:
- Abstract
- Campus Tesim:
- Pomona
- Creator:
- Arreaga, Briana
- Description:
- Precious transition metals, such as ruthenium and palladium, are used as catalysts in the making of pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals however, these elements oftentimes are expensive and not very Earth abundant. This has resulted in research into first row transition metals, including iron and nickel, which are more prevalent and less costly than many of the metals that are currently being used in catalysis. Nickel complexes have been synthesized where it is bounded to bidentate Nheterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands. The NHC ligands were made by synthesizing mesitylimidazole and using it to make a bis(imidazolium)salt ligand precursor, [MesNHC2Me][Br]2. Following addition of KHMDS as a strong non-nucleophilic base, the free ligand was reacted with Ni(COD)2 to form the nickel complex, (MesNHC2Me)Ni(COD), which was recently reported by our group and crystallographically characterized. The complex was characterized by 1H NMR and 13C NMR. Nickel complexes, such as this, may be cost effective catalysts alternative for a variety of chemical transformations.
- Resource Type:
- Abstract
- Campus Tesim:
- Pomona
- Creator:
- Alcaraz, Ana
- Description:
- While the flowers may be the most visually charismatic aspect of the plants, they are also highly complex. Post maturation, the flower organs shed through a highly regulated process of organ abscission. Genetic studies on organ abscission of economically important flowering plants are in their infancy. Using Aquilegia coerulea (Columbines) as a model system, the proposed project goals are to understand the following: 1) Morphological and developmental changes underlying floral organ expansion and maturation. 2) The genetic basis of floral organ maturation and identification of potential candidate genes that can delay the process of organ shedding. We are using histology and scanning electron microscopy to determine the exact timing of the abscission zone (AZ) formation in floral organs. The AZ area from the receptacle, petals, and sepals from young and matured flowers is collected for RNA-seq. The proposed experiment will help to capture differentially expressed genes in the early and late developmental stages of floral organs. Identified potential candidate genes can be tested through functional genetic studies in the future.
- Resource Type:
- Abstract
- Campus Tesim:
- Pomona
- Creator:
- Ogaz, Patrick and Escobar Vara, Andrea
- Description:
- Culture influences not only the values and beliefs of the members of a society but also the attitudes and behaviors towards products and promotional messages. Thus, it is imperative that companies utilizing social media understand the psychology of the market they are targeting. Most social media platforms are composed of a combination of seven functional building blocks ― identity, conversations, sharing, presence, groups, relationships, and reputation (Kietzmann et al. (2011). In this research, we focus on the sharing function and examine how culture influences consumers' sharing behavior on social media. The prevalence of the sharing function on social media has equipped consumers with a new way to interact with companies to influence their brands. However, little is known about how the individualism-collectivism (INDCOL) dimension of the culture (Hofstede, 2001) influences when consumers prefer to share (before or after an event), and the role regulatory foci, promotion-orientation versus prevention-orientation (Higgins, 1997), play in the process. Further, little is known about how INDCOL shapes the type of information consumers share (bragging vs. self-defamation) through social media. This research contributes to international advertising and marketing literature by focusing on the role of culture on consumers' sharing behaviors. We also intend to provide practitioners with valuable information that they can utilize to optimize their global social media marketing strategy, enhance consumer engagement and build brand equity across cultural boundaries.
- Resource Type:
- Abstract
- Campus Tesim:
- Pomona
- Creator:
- Chen, Jinfeng
- Description:
- Globalization significantly contributes to increased interactions between individuals from various national cultural backgrounds. This trend continues to draw researchers' interest in national multicultural experiences (MCEs) and their impacts on creative performance. Studies have demonstrated that MCEs have a positive influence on creative thinking; however, current literature on the relationship between different types of MCEs and creativity is limited. This study examines the effects of two types of MCEs-multicultural exposures and multicultural interactions-on individual creative performance. The moderating effects of positivity/negativity of individual experience in this relationship will also be examined.
- Resource Type:
- Abstract
- Campus Tesim:
- Pomona
- Creator:
- Chic, Grant, Munoz, Jillian, Chow, Daniel, and Borsaly, Sarah
- Description:
- Social media has provided individuals and brands alike with a platform to form communities, cultivate relationships, and share content. Incorporating social social networking sites (SNS) and microblogging services has become essential for companies' digital marketing campaigns and the viable option for customer relationship management (CRM). In this research, we utilize a honeycomb framework with seven social media functions (Kietzmann et al., 2012) ― conversations, presence, groups, sharing, relationships, identity, and reputation ― as a guide to investigate social media user behaviors and draw on cross-cultural research literature as well as marketing literature. In existing social media marketing literature, there is very little theory-based research about the role of culture on consumers' social media use behaviors. Thus, we investigate the effects of individualism and collectivism cultural dimension on consumers' social media use behaviors. The insights gathered from observing natural, consumer behaviors will contribute to international advertising and marketing literature. Further, this study will benefit multinational companies by providing them with strategies appropriate for the culture of the host country in building brand equity and loyalty.
- Resource Type:
- Abstract
- Campus Tesim:
- Pomona