purcc 2012 - University of the Pacific

Oral Presentation Abstracts
For this paper I employ biographical information
about Shirin Neshat in order to show how her
upbringing influenced her vision of the separate
spheres for men and women. This is
supplemented by a consideration of the cultural,
social, and religious codes in Muslim countries,
in particular Iran. I also examine the gender roles
of men and women in the Muslim world, which
clarify that, through her work, Neshat is trying
to convey her belief that despite women’s
limited rights, they still have a powerful voice.
Finally, I conduct a formal analysis of the video
in order to show that despite their separation, the
fate of men and women are
powerfully linked.
TDS, not so tedious: An efficient
technique to study topological changes in
modified G-quadruplex DNA
Arlen Guillen
Faculty mentor: Liang Xue
The UV thermal difference spectrum (TDS) is a
convenient and inexpensive tool for
characterization of nucleic acid structures. It is
obtained by taking the difference in the UV
absorbance spectra of the unfolded and folded
states of a given nucleic acid below and above its
melting temperature. The specific shape of the
spectra is distinctive for a given nucleic acid
sequence/structure. Recently, it was reported
(Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 123, 10833-10836)
that TDS spectra can be used to classify different
types of G-quadruplex DNA topologies as well.
G-quadruplex DNA is a unique DNA secondary
structure that is formed by guanine rich nucleic
acid sequences. The guanine nucleobase can
associate through Hoogsteen hydrogen bonds to
form a square planar structure called G-tetrad.
The G-tetrads then stack on top of each other to
give rise to G-quadruplex DNA. Such structures
have been proposed to form at the ends of
chromosomes i.e. the telomeric region containing
the 5’-dTTAGGG repeats and play an important
role in genomic integrity. Telomeric DNA is
readily accessible by DNA damaging agents,
leading to chemical modification of nucleobases
such as 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxodG), 8-
oxo-7,8-dihydroadenine (8-oxodA) and abasic
sites. Herein, we report the use of TDS as a tool
to study the effect of location and type of
nucleobase modification viz. 8-oxodG, 8-oxodA
and abasic sites, on the topological changes in G-
quadruplex DNA structures.
Student Self Esteem's Effect on
Classroom Leadership
Chelsea Fredrick
Faculty Mentor: Qingwen Dong
It is assumed that student’s who possess the
combination of high self-esteem and social
intelligence are guaranteed to be more vocal,
persuasive, and productive leaders within a
classroom environment and later in the work
environment. However, without statistical data it
is difficult to prove the correlation between a
student’s self confidence and their performance
within the classroom. This paper intends to
present data that will clearly define the influence
individual self esteem and social intelligence has
over classroom behavior. After assessing
individual empathy, listening skills, open
mindedness, productivity, and persuasion
techniques within the classroom, this information
can be compared to each student’s semantic
differential scale (a classic self esteem survey).
After testing is complete, each personality
quality will be tested for reliability and then
continue on to a complete correlation analysis.
The final statistics presented will give a vivid
indication of the relationship between the
mentality of a student and how they conduct
themselves within a learning environment.
Call of Duty: Affects of Violent Video
Games on Aggressive Behaviors
Gabriella Giannini
Faculty Mentor: Qingwen Dong
The impact of chronic violent video game play
on player’s aggressive behaviors have been a
passionate debate with mixed results supporting
both sides of the issue. For over 40 years, violent
video games have been able to efficiently market
its violent plot and images to millions of players
even in a market inundated with competition.
Call of Duty, one of the most popular violent
video games in the contemporary marketplace is
a game that motivates its players to take on the
role of military arms men and kill as many
competitors as possible. This game has gained
widespread appeal, even with a strong M-rating
(mature) that advises consumers of its graphic
storyline, characters, and weaponry. With this
pervasive attraction to violence in video games,
the possibility of players subconsciously
retaining the violent action and images shown in
the violent video games is a serious possibility.
Through a sample of 300 college students, this
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