2010 - Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity

Helmholtz-Smoluchowski relation was then
used to determine the zeta potential. The
experiments were done under different ionic
strength across targeted and non-targeted
M cells. The results were correlated to uptake
studies of PLGA nanoparticles and were used to
elucidate the significance of M cell electrostatic
properties on microparticle uptake for mucosal
vaccine therapies.
The Effects of Caffeine and Nicotine on
Learning
Daniel Khafi, Psychology
Mentor: Aaron Seitz
Department of Psychology
The vast majority of the population indulges in
either caffeine or nicotine intake. However, so
far there is little research regarding the effects of
such drugs on learning. The current study aims
to understand how what people drink or smoke
in-between learning and recall can impact their
consolidation of learning. A previous study by
Mednick et al., (2008) suggested a counter
intuitive role of caffeine in the consolidation of
learning, where a moderate dose of caffeine
impairs declarative verbal memory and motor
sequence learning, but simultaneously increases
perceptual learning. This counter intuitive effect
of caffeine directly challenges the widely held
belief that caffeine enhances cognitive
performance. Mednick et al., (2008) suggested
that the primary action of caffeine on
consolidation was via acetylcholine processes in
the brain. Our hypothesis is that acetylcholine
differentially impacts consolidation of
hippocampus dependant and neocortical
dependant learning processes, and that caffeine
and nicotine, which impact different aspects of
the acetylcholine system, will differentially
impact learning in each of these brain regions.
This hypothesis is being tested by training
subjects on a word-pair associate task, learning
of which is known to be hippocampus
dependant, and a visual texture discrimination
task, learning of which is known to be dependant
on visual cortex. Following the training subjects
will be given either nicotine, caffeine, placebo or
nothing and their retention of learning is tested
on the following day. We will present the
preliminary results of this research and discuss
the relevance of these results.
Impunity in Argentina’s Political Institutions
Ivan Krimker, Political Science
Mentor: William T. Barndt
Department of Political Science
In Argentina‘s democratic system there is a
relatively free press, justice system, and free and
fair elections. However, instances of blatant
corruption at high levels of office have
undermined the strength of the institutions and
tested citizens‘ tolerance for abuse of power.
Some individuals have been able to act with
total impunity and still remain relevant in the
political arena, as in the case of Carlos Saul
Menem, the former president of Argentina.
Others have paid a high price, as did Menem‘s
Secretary of Environmental Issues, Maria Julia
Alsogaray. Why is this the case? What
differentiates one case from the other? And
what facilitates impunity and what does not?
Can we design a system that can prevent it from
happening in the future? By isolating several
cases of impunity and comparing them to
instances where accountability was present, this
research will attempt to draw some general
conclusions about impunity. Ultimately,
impunity in Argentina is not the result of merely
cultural undertones in the psyche of the average
Argentine citizen. Instead, it is the result of a
slow and inefficient legal system and the
complicity of high level officials who benefit
from loose rules and weak institutions.
Establishing a system of horizontal checks and
balances can avert uncontrolled corruption. A
focus on a de facto and not just a de jure
separation of the government branches and,
more importantly, the strengthening of the legal
system can provide a strong deterrence to all
officials seeking impunity, regardless of their
rank.
Fourth Annual UCR Symposium for Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity
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