Cornell Undergraduate Research Journal

Letter from the Editor

Chris Cizmeciyan — 2023-12-21

No abstract available.

Government Website Inaccessibility and the Future of Accessibility in Information Technology

Kassidy Slaughter — 2023-12-21

Although the government has made efforts to mandate the accessibility of federal websites, such guidelines have ultimately failed at addressing the needs of the disability community. The law requiring the viewability of federal websites, Section 508, is enforced by the Access Board, a government agency. However, the guidelines for evaluating website accessibility are vague and do not include provisions for people with cognitive disabilities. Such insubstantial laws deny disabled people essential government benefits, opportunities to interact with the government, and knowledge about the legislation that affects them. Upon examining this literature, the practical impacts of exclusionary language were revealed. After reviewing relevant legislation, I explored research papers detailing the disparities caused by inaccessible legislation. Lastly, I examined current projects to develop my policy recommendations. I contend that stricter legislation and website testing boards led by people with disabilities will promote the proper administration of accessibility laws. I found that the approach employed by the Department of Justice to determine the accessibility of federal websites excludes the varied ways that disabled people interact with technology. The Department of Justice must clearly present and frequently release its accessibility assessments to promote accountability. Further, accessibility measurements must be led by people with disabilities, and the testing boards should be a coalition of communities, internet accessibility tools, and legislators to promote the agency of the most impacted. The institution of these initiatives would remove barriers restricting information from the people that the laws are intended to affect.

The Effect of E-Cigarette Tax on Health Outcomes

Esha Shakthy — 2023-12-21

The alarming rise in the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) among teens in the US has become a major health concern, driving many states to take action, including Illinois, which implemented a 15% tax on e-cigarettes. This research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of taxation to control e-cigarette use, measured by improvement in health outcomes in Illinois, from before and after the state implemented the 15% tax. Additionally, a comparison was done with neighboring states of Michigan and Missouri. Using difference-in-difference hypothesis testing, a statistically significant decrease in reported rates of asthma, depression, toothache, and bleeding gums, was noted when comparing health outcomes before and after the implementation of the state tax in Illinois as compared to Michigan. A decrease in the reported rate of asthma was noted to be significant in the comparison with Missouri as well.

Competition Dynamics in Invertebrates Across Geographical Gradients

Iliana Goodhew — 2023-12-21

Studying competition dynamics of invertebrate species is essential to understanding species distribution, how species become invasive, and dealing with pests and pollinators. However, there is a gap in the literature when it comes to what geographical factors influence invertebrate competition. This study investigates competition dynamics of terrestrial invertebrates across various ecosystems and geographical areas, as well potential predictors for the patterns observed. I used food lures across sites in multiple countries, and recorded the number of visitors and level of consumption to attribute a competition score to each lure. Three different food types were used to account for dietary preferences (Fat, Protein, and Sugar). The results show that there is a significant variation of competition scores across sites. In addition, I identified a significant statistical interaction between sites and food types in relation to competition scores, which suggests that competition is different between the sites, but the pattern of variation differs per food type. A regression was conducted to see if Net Primary Productivity or the geological age of an ecosystem were predictors of the variation in competition scores. Geological age came out statistically significant for the scores in the Fat food type, suggesting that it may be an important driver for invertebrate competition. Idiosyncrasies of the sites are discussed with the aim to identify other factors that may affect competition levels and their patterns. This research contributes to the study of competition dynamics in terrestrial invertebrates and could inspire an approach to predicting interactions and effects of new or introduced species.

Investigating the Structural, Functional, and Biochemical Properties of PPi -dependent PEPCK Paralogs from Entamoeba histolytica

Siddhi Balamurali — 2023-12-21

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) is an important metabolic enzyme which functions to interconvert oxaloacetic acid (OAA) and phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) in the Krebs cycle, a key process of generating cellular energy. There exist three known classes of PEPCK - two of which are nucleotide-dependent, using ATP and GTP. Very little is known about the third, PP_i-dependent PEPCK. Comparing classes, nucleotide-dependent PEPCKs are both functionally and structurally similar (~60-70 kDa) whereas PP_i-dependent PEPCK bears significant functional and structural differences (~130 kDa). This presented work investigates PP_i-dependent PEPCK from a human parasite Entamoeba histolytica (EhPEPCK). It is unique from previous work done on another homolog from Propionibacterium freudenreichii (PfPEPCK) in that there are three paralogs instead of one. This suggests increased complexity in function and regulation. This work has determined that the interaction between EhPEPCK paralogs gives rise to dimers and heterotrimers, and certain interactions show substrate induced inhibition. Kinetic measurements were completed to determine the metal cofactor of EhPEPCKs, and to determine the kinetic consequences of the aforementioned oligomeric states. The experiments support the conclusion that aggregation causes substrate inhibition, and that dimers are more active than trimers.

Comparison of Face Masks by Arduino Sensors

Berk Balkir — 2023-12-21

The COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 has created a health crisis around the world. There have been many precautions taken against the virus, such as social distancing and the use of personal protective equipment. Face masks are an essential part of personal protective equipment, especially for essential workers. Although the pandemic has caused a high demand for facemasks, there is limited scientific knowledge available on the various types of masks. Knowledge about the air quality inside the different facemasks could be beneficial for both the COVID-19 pandemic and future disease outbreaks, which will seemingly increase in the future. There are different types of masks, ranging from tight-fitting N95 respirator masks to looser surgical masks to homemade cloth masks. Herein, N95 respirator masks, surgical masks, cloth face masks, and surgical masks on top of N95 respirator masks were compared in terms of CO₂ levels, Volatile Organic Compound levels (VOCs), temperature, humidity, and O₂ concentrations. To record these measurements, Arduino-based sensors were constructed and utilized for the measurements. It was found that the N95 mask and the surgical mask on top of the N95 mask trapped the highest concentration of carbon dioxide, VOCs, temperature, humidity, and the lowest oxygen levels compared to the surgical mask and cloth mask.