Volume 4, No. 1, 2019

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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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    Editor's Note
    (College of Natural and Health Sciences, The University of Tampa, 2019) Deneault, Ethan
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    Abundance Analysis of Tabby’s Star (KIC 8462852)
    (Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics, College of Natural and Health Sciences, The University of Tampa, 2019) Thomas, Stacey; Fernanda Martinez, Cintia; Cunha, Katia; Smith, Verne V.; Dr. Simon Schuler; Simon Schuler
    KIC 8462852 is a star of interest due to it’s unusual flux phenomena. Although there is now a better understanding of the star’s photometric fluctuations, the star has yet to be fully characterized. Our research focuses on determining the chemical composition of KIC 8462852. Here we present our analysis of medium-resolution spectra obtained with the 3.5 meter WIYN telescope and HYDRA spectrograph in single-object mode to determine the star’s chemical abundance. We have used the MOOG spectral analysis software and KURUCZ model atmospheres to determine abundances via spectral synthesis. Of the elements analyzed, the abundances of iron, nickel, and silicon are comparable to that of the sun. The only outlier is calcium which was found to be more enhanced in this star than that of the sun.
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    An Analysis of Factors that Influence Student Perceptions of Flu Shot Effectiveness
    (Department of Public Health and the Department of Biology, College of Natural and Health Sciences, The University of Tampa, 2019) Stadler, Caroline; Dr. Jessalyn Miller; Dr. Claudia X. Aguado Loi
    Student influenza vaccine uptake on campus is significantly below national goals set by Healthy People 2020 and the American College Health Association. Students commonly view the flu vaccine as ineffective due to personal knowledge and experiences from the vaccine and the virus. This study expands the literature by examining the association of sociodemographic factors (culture, race/ethnicity, gender, and religion), beliefs, and behavior on a student’s perception of flu shot effectiveness. A total of 33 college students completed a twenty-item survey. Fisher’s exact analyses were conducted and general trends were analyzed. The Fisher’s exact tests yielded no significant results for most items except for the belief that race/ethnicity has an effect on their perception (p=.003) and whether or not the student believes they can contract the flu from the vaccine (p=.029). Trend results suggested a connection between personal knowledge, past experiences, and culture on student perceptions of flu shot effectiveness. These results show that public health strategies to increase flu vaccine uptake should consider broader factors when targeting predisposing and enabling factors that shape student health behaviors surrounding flu prevention uptake.
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    Determining Chemical Homogeneity of the Open Cluster NGC 752 through High-Resolution Abundance Analysis
    (Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics, College of Natural and Health Sciences, The University of Tampa, 2019) Rodriguez, Omar; Dr. Simon Schuler
    Using high-resolution, high-signal-to-noise ratio Keck/HIRES spectra, we have derived the temperature and pressure structure, and elemental abundances of the atmosphere of six stars believed to be in the galactic open cluster NGC 752. Three of the stars are main-sequence dwarfs, and three are evolved red giant stars. We find the iron abundances to have an average value of [Fe=H] = -0:01 (on a scale where the Sun has an iron abundance of [Fe=H] = 0) with a standard deviation of 0.02 dex, providing evidence that the molecular cloud from which these stars formed was chemically homogeneous. We also derived the abundances of carbon, oxygen, sodium, magnesium, aluminum, and nickel to further demonstrate this claim. Additional derivation of the star’s nitrogen abundance will be performed, and an analysis of the abundances will be done by testing stellar nucleosynthesis models.
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    Associations Between Vibrio and the Planktonic Community Throughout Tampa Bay
    (Department of Biology, College of Natural and Health Sciences, The University of Tampa, 2019) Johnson, Heather; Dr. Bridgette Froeschke; Dr. Rebecca Waggett
    Vibrio is a genus of bacteria whose species naturally inhabit warm, marine waters throughout the world. Many of these species are pathogenic to humans, which makes predicting outbreaks of vital importance. Considerable information is still being discovered about Vibrio ecology, therefore additional studies of Vibrio in the marine environment are necessary. Previous relationships between Vibrio species, the planktonic community, and environmental factors have been described, but these relationships have not been explored in Tampa Bay. Zooplankton tows were performed at six different locations in Tampa Bay. Three sites were located in the inner bay, while three were closer to the Gulf of Mexico. Whole water samples and environmental parameters were also collected from each site. Zooplankton samples were separated into two classes: copepods and copepod nauplii and resuspended in sterile saline. Whole water samples were diluted to 10􀀀1, 10mL, and 20mL. Zooplankton and water samples were vacuum filtered, and the filter paper plated on Thiosulfate-Citrate-Bile-Sucrose (TCBS) agar plates. The plates were incubated at 37 C for 24 hours and assessed for growth. Associations between Vibrio and the planktonic community, as well as patterns in environmental factors provide valuable insight to the bacterial community of Tampa Bay.
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    Using Non-Invasive Sampling Techniques to Test Genetic Markers for the Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea)
    (Department of Biology, College of Natural and Health Sciences, The University of Tampa, 2019) Heller, Lynn; Dr. Natalia Belfiore
    As with most wading birds in North America, the true conservation status of the Little Blue Heron, (Egretta caerulea) is unknown. Even though wading bird census is still improving, it has been evident that populations have been declining for decades. Environmental stressors, both natural and anthropogenic, are the main contributing factor to the decline observed in heron populations. Microsatellite genetic markers can be used to evaluate the genetic diversity and overall health of a population. Microsatellite markers were chosen for this study to demonstrate that population genetic studies can be conducted with non-invasive DNA sampling because microsatellites are PCR based and only require a minimal amount of DNA. We determined that the markers created for other herons from the same genus (Egretta) along with other closely related herons had a successful cross amplification in the Little Blue Heron. We found that usable quantities of DNA can be extracted from salvaged heron artifacts including carcasses, eggshells and molted feathers. This study provides a resource for future conservation genetic studies and population genetic studies on herons and other birds as well.
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    Identifying Candidate Moving Groups in the Gaia Catalog
    (Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics, College of Natural and Health Sciences, The University of Tampa, 2019) Gardner, Michaela; Dr. Simon Schuler
    Gaia is a European satellite mission recording positional and radial velocity measurements for about a billion stars in order to create a three-dimensional map of the Milky Way Galaxy. Stars form in groups within giant molecular clouds of gas and dust and are gravitationally bound in what is known as open clusters. The members of an individual cluster share similar kinematic properties as the cluster orbits the Galactic center. Over time open clusters dissolve due to the equipartition process, or disruption from tidal encounters; however the former members still share common motions despite being spread out across the Galaxy. Dismantled members from a given cluster are collectively known as a moving group. Using the Python programming language, we calculated the three-dimensional space velocity components and their uncertainties for individual stars in the Gaia catalog. Once these values were determined, we developed a method to search through the catalog and identify stars with common kinematic properties that have potential to constitute a moving group. We have compiled a list of 450 candidate moving groups with at least five members; 38 of the candidate groups contain ten or more members. These data will be used in future observing projects to look for other indications, such as common metallicities, to confirm the possible members are related.
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    The Impact of Microplastics on Crassostrea virginica Filtration Efficiency
    (Department of Biology, College of Natural and Health Sciences, The University of Tampa, 2019) Carpenter, Jenna; Sierra, Brianna; Dr. Heather Masonjones
    There has been increasing concern among biologists about whether or not microplastics are affecting the health of marine organisms and humans. While some studies have shown microplastic effects on juvenile Crassostrea virginica (Eastern Oyster), there are few studies which focus on how adult Crassostrea virginica are affected. This experiment focuses on the ability of adult Crassostrea virginica to filter and dispose of different densities of fluorescent polyethylene microbeads obtained from Cospheric Innovations. Crassostrea virginicawere collected in Tampa Bay and once acclimated, were exposed to treatment concentrations of 0.167 microbeads mL-1 and 0.083 microbeads mL-1 (500 mm–600 mm) at a density of 1g cm-3 over a six hour time interval. An examination of adult oyster clusters exposed to different amounts of microbeads showed the adult oyster’s ability to take in microplastics. Microplastics were seen in higher amounts within the 0.167 microbeads mL-1 concentration, with a maximum of 52 microbeads observed. Some oysters filtered in microbeads, demonstrating the potential for microplastics to impact oyster health, specifically mass loss. This issue is prevalent in oyster populations and can impact higher trophic level organisms through bioaccumulation. These results demonstrate the issues associated with microplastics and encourage future research to be conducted.
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