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  Linear Congruence Equations

  Jakirah Sandifer,

  The congruence relation includes the divisibility relation as a special case. In a linear congruence relation a b (mod m), multiples of m are exactly the numbers that “look like 0” modulo m. Also , if we are working with integers modulo m, we can ignore multiples of m in the calculations.

  Also solving the congruence a xb (mod m) means finding the value(s) of x that satisfies the equation.

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  Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells and LRP 1 Signaling

  Micah Starghill, Brooke Jones, Maghan Mouton, Anh-Taun Nquyen, Denise Cayton, and Dr. Partha Bhattacharjee PhD

  This research is focused on retinal pigment epithelial cells ( which contains the LRP 1 receptor These are a single layer of cuboidal cells located at the back of the eye, which are primarily responsible for lipid homeostasis The RPE cell layer forms the outer blood retina barrier ( which functions as a regulator of the movement of solutes from the choroid to the sub retinal space Under normal conditions these cells are mitotically inactive, however under adverse conditions they will proliferate and migrate into the retina, sub retinal space, and into the vitreous This can result in a few diseases which includes but is not limited to, diabetic retinopathy, age related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema, and proliferative vitreoretinopathy

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  Examining the Determinants of PrEP Utilization in HIV High Risk Groups

  Alysia Terry; Lori Gordon PharmD, BCPS-AQ ID; and Daniel Sarpong PhD

  Incidence of HIV infections is high within Louisiana, especially in New Orleans with a rate twice the national rate. Reduction of HIV transmission requires an evidence-based multipronged approach, which includes access to Pre- Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP).

  Despite increases in PrEP uptake among men who have sex with men (MSM), usage and perceptions of PrEP among MSMs in the Greater New Orleans (GNO) are significantly low.¹

  The purpose of the study was to assess the public’s awareness and acceptance of PrEP and to increase the GNO residents’ knowledge of PrEP.

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  Detection of Chemical Pollutants by Use of Aptamers

  Jennifer Tran and Dr. Mehnaaz Ali

  Studying the impact of certain toxins on the environment

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  American Guerrilla: Different Day Same Struggle

  Destini' Azhante' Warner and Jennifer Betts

  This research analyzes Rites and Reason Theatre at Brown University It shows how African Americans used theatre to inform and resist against the injustices brought against them in their homes and communities by institutions of oppression and racism Rites and Reason is a structure used to amplify the voices of African American students at Brown University where they have a safe space to research the history of the African Diaspora but also deconstruct the culture of oppression Specifically this research analyzes the play American Guerrilla written by Ron Brown The play focuses on Bobby Seale and the relationship between the Black Panther Party and the Government This work makes parallels to injustices in the 60 's when the setting of the play took place, the 90 ’s when the play was performed, and in the present where African Americans still face the same injustices and struggles

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  Disparities in COVID-19 Related Worry & Related Outcomes Among Older Adults in the United States

  Felicia V. Wheaton PhD

  Racial disparities in COVID-19 exposure, illness, hospitalization and mortality have been well-documented, however, less is known about whether African Americans and other minorities experience greater worry related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from the special midterm release of the 2020 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) were used to examine the relationship between race (white, African American, and other) and ethnicity (Hispanic/Non- Hispanic) and COVID-19 related worry among older Americans (N=2,069). Participants were asked, “because of the coronavirus pandemic how worried are you about 1) your own health, 2) the health of others in your family? 3) Your financial situation? 4) Being able to get help if you needed it from family, friends, or others? 5) What will happen in the future?” (0=not at all worried and 10=very worried). Results from OLS regression controlling for age, gender and education showed that compared with whites, African Americans had significantly higher average worry for all items except the last (other race did not differ). Hispanics had significantly higher worry. These findings indicate that in addition to the previously documented disparities in COVID-19, older African Americans and Hispanics experienced more worry. This has important implications for long-term physical and mental health.

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  College Student Attitudes Surrounding COVID-19

  Karlie M. Williams, Daniel F. Sarpong, Tynesia Fields, Robbie A. Beyl, and Daniel S. Hsia

  In this survey study, we aimed to better understand the attitudes of college students towards COVID-19 testing.

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  Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of New Ceramide Analogs

  Karyn Wilson, Tulasi Ponnapakkam PhD, Navneet Goyal PhD, and Maryam Foroozesh PhD

  Breast cancer is the most diagnosed form of cancer in women in the United States. It is estimated that on average, every two minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer; and one woman will die of the disease every thirteen minutes. Many anti-cancer drugs used to clinically treat breast cancer mediate tumor cell death through the initiation of apoptosis. Multidrug-resistance is a major cause of cancer chemotherapy failure in clinical treatment. As a result, molecular pathways involved in tumor cell proliferation, including the ceramide signaling pathway, have become potential targets for pharmacological intervention.

  Ceramides have been shown to potentiate signaling events that drive apoptosis, autophagic responses, and cell cycle arrest. Ceramide analogs can be designed to inhibit ceramide-metabolizing enzymes in order to increase intra-cellular ceramide levels in cancer cells, leading to increased cell death. Our approach is to design and synthesize such ceramide analogs. Some of our synthesized analogs have been shown to have greater efficacy and specificity than endogenous ceramides. Evidence shows that multidrug-resistant cancer cells are as sensitive as corresponding regular cancer cells under the exposure to some of our anti-cancer ceramide analogs.

  Previously, a number of ceramide analogs with a flavone moiety on the backbone were synthesized. Initial docking studies showed that flavone moieties are too big for the binding pocket of human ceramidase. Coumarin-containing ceramide analogs, however, are smaller in size, and are expected to have increased efficiency along with self-fluorescence. For this project, new ceramide analogs containing a coumarin moiety on the sidechain were synthesized in order to study their biological activities.