Volume 2, No. 1, 2016
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Acta Spartae is the undergraduate journal of sciences and mathematics at The University of Tampa, and is designed to recognize and promote the vibrant undergraduate research community at UT by providing a forum for the dissemination of research and ideas produced at the University.
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Item Editor's Note(College of Natural and Health Sciences, The University of Tampa, 2016) Ethan DeneaultItem Predicting the Function of Hypothetical Protein PANDA 003700 Partial Using Computational Analysis Methods(College of Natural and Health Sciences, The University of Tampa, 2016) Cameron Bixby; Padmanabhan MahadevanLegions of hypothetical proteins are currently awaiting accurate characterization of their functions, but due to the influx of sequence data, the rate of analysis is not able to keep up with the rate of discovery of hypothetical proteins. However, various computational methods such as, Pfam, BLAST, and Swiss Homology Modeling are helping researchers predict the function of hypothetical proteins. Instead of using only experimental methods which are time consuming and difficult, computational methods are helping pave the way for faster hypothetical protein analysis. In this study, a series of computational tests were performed in order to predict the function of hypothetical protein PANDA 003700 partial (EFB18608.1). The predicted function of the hypothetical protein was found to be that of an mRNA turnover protein 4 which is involved in ribosomal assembly.Item Identifying Genotypes of Acropora cervicornis that are Resilient to White Band Disease(College of Natural and Health Sciences, The University of Tampa, 2016) Alana L. Boyles and Erinn M. MulleWhite band disease in the Caribbean, which targets frameworkbuilding stony corals like Acropora cervicornis (staghorn coral), has become commonplace on reefs in the Florida Keys. This increase in white band disease has resulted in significant loss of Acropora species. To combat this rapid decline, A. cervicornis is grown in nurseries in situ and transplanted onto affected reefs. In order for transplanting efforts to be the most successful, the transplanted corals should be resilient to disease outbreaks. To propagate resilient corals in nurseries, scientists should first determine whether varying genotypes differ in disease susceptibility. An experimental laboratory manipulation was conducted to test whether nine genotypes from an in situ nursery on Summerland Key varied in disease susceptibility. The corals were arranged in three distances from a diseased individual to test for genotypic resilience to white band disease. Though the evidence suggests there is variation among genotypic susceptibility, the data was not significant. However, the B/O genotype was able to withstand contracting white band disease in all but one individual, suggesting this genotype may be more resilient than others. There was also no difference in susceptibility among distances from the diseased coral, although there was a trend of higher rates of disease infection at the closest distance. These results suggest that there may indeed be differences in susceptibility among genotypes of A. cervicornis, although further study with higher replication is needed.Item Protective Qualities of UV-resistant Bacteria(College of Natural and Health Sciences, The University of Tampa, 2016) Sloan Goldberg; Eric FreundtUltraviolet radiation causes detrimental effects on the cell by mutating its DNA. Micrococcus luteus and Micrococcus radiophilus are two bacterial species known to be able to withstand high levels of UV radiation. However, it is unknown if they have any protective effects on other cells, like Escherichia coli. Using UVB radiation from a light box, minimum lethal doses (MLD) were determined for M. luteus, M. radiophilus, and E. coli. The MLDs of the Micrococcus species were substantially higher than the MLD of E. coli. E. coli was mixed with the Micrococcus species and exposed to UV radiation to test for protective effects. It was found that E. coli was able to grow past its MLD in a few cases with both M. luteus, and M. radiophilus. However, it was noted that exact timing was difficult to obtain with our methods. It was found that the E. coli colonies that did grow in higher UV exposure were usually surrounded by a Micrococcus species, potentially showing protection. Exploring microbes for their UV protective qualities may provide an alternative for chemical containing sunscreens, offering a potentially safer product for both people and the environment.Item Comparison of Antibiotic Susceptibility of Bacterial Communities on Cell Phones Belonging to Health Care Workers and Non-Health Care Workers(College of Natural and Health Sciences, The University of Tampa, 2016) Matt Guillemette, Zachary Rivera; Eric FreundtThe frequent use of cell phones inside of health care facilities produces a risk of contamination of the phones with potentially pathogenic bacteria. The elevated use of antibiotics within these health care facilities may also contribute to heightened levels of antibiotic resistant strains on these devices. To assess this, bacterial samples were collected from health care workers’ and non-health care workers’ cell phones. The bacterial isolates were assessed for antibiotic resistance via the Kirby-Bauer method. Eleven out of nineteen of the bacterial isolates from the health care workers cell phones displayed resistance to at least one antibiotic. According to our study, the lower amount of resistance of the bacteria isolated from the health care worker samples compared to the non-health care worker samples leads us to conclude that there is not a higher prevalence of antibiotic resistant bacteria on health care workers’ phones.Item The Efficacy of natural Antimicrobials and Antibiotics on Staphylococcus aureus and an Unknown Environmental Isolate(College of Natural and Health Sciences, The University of Tampa, 2016) Keith Gandy, Danielle Oddo, Danielle Pett; Eric FreundtThe problem of antibiotic resistance is growing increasingly prominent as more microbes are evolving to evade traditional antibiotics. New antibiotics and treatments against virulent bacteria are becoming a necessity in the medical community. In this experiment, antimicrobial properties of homeopathic compounds were tested. Tea tree oil and apple cider vinegar were compared with three common antibiotics: vancomycin, erythromycin and cephalothin. These compounds were tested against the possibly virulent bacteria Staphylococcus aureus as well as an environmentally isolated strain that was identified to be a gram positive streptobacillus. The results of this experiment demonstrated that the homeopathic compounds created zones of inhibition. The zone diameter directly correlated with the susceptibility or resistance of that particular colony to the antibiotic. The zones from the homeopathic medicines and the antibiotic disks of vancomycin, cephalothin, and erythromycin were compared. The largest zones of inhibition with Staphylococcus aureus and the environmental isolate were generated by cephalothin. Although traditional antibiotics displayed the greatest antimicrobial properties, our results suggest that homeopathic compounds can successfully inhibit growth of potential pathogenic bacteria and should be considered for future clinical applications.