Schedule and Program - North Carolina Academy of Science

Study of microbial organisms of environmental significance in the soilTalena Davis*, Taek H. You, John J. Bang, Sang Seob LeeCampbell UniversityProkaryotes have inhabited earth long before eukaryotes. Microorganisms have established their existenceby adapting to dynamic environments that they faced, often very extreme environments. Less than 3 % ofmicroorganisms have been successfully cultured. Despite their adaptability to various conditions, some genesin microorganisms are highly conserved throughout evolution. We are interested in culturing microorganismsthat have not been cultured successfully. In search of discovering microorganisms that are capable of breakdown chemical components of explosives, such as gunpowder, soil sample from firing range was taken to thelab. After several rounds of purifying microorganisms, genomic DNA was extracted from them and 16s rRNAgenes were amplified by PCR followed by DNA sequencing. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that some of theisolated microorganisms have highly conserved 16s rRNA gene sequence compared to known existing sequences.The isolated microorganisms are characterized for physical and chemical tests for accurate identification. Gaschromatograph is going to reveal the strains have capability of breaking down the chemical components inexplosives.E-learning pilot for Human Anatomy and Phisiology: Studentperceptions of “Mastering A&P”Dowd Joe*, Boyce Robert, Sheri Anderson, Beth Orayzun, Heather League, UNCWilmington, CHHS, SHAHS, Office of e-learning, Pearson educationUNCWPurpose: To evaluate student’s perception of the Mastering A&P e-learning system and to determine its suitabilityfor its full implementation in subsequent semesters. Background: Research is needed to evaluate the effect ofe-learning in traditional Anatomy and Physiology courses. Methods: Volunteers that attended a fall semesterAnatomy and Physiology course were asked to participate in the evaluation of the Mastering A&P e-learningsystem. They were promised one point on their final grade by completing the e-learning assignments and a finalcourse evaluation. Two focus groups were conducted at mid-course and last week with questions consisting ofyes/no, Likert and open ended varieties. The five open ended question responses were classified into categories.Percentages were used to evaluate the responses. Results: 20 students or 34% of the class were in the programby the end of the semester, 68% female and 32% male with 11 students completing 100% of the assignments.Students reported some difficulty during the registration process. Students “neither agreed nor disagreed” theMastering A&P questions were easy, length of assignments were appropriate or they needed to reference the book.Overall assignments were rated as helpful in learning and positively impacted test scores. The program was ratedgood to excellent with 100% reporting they would recommend Mastering A&P to a fellow student. Conclusions:The Mastering A&P e-learning program was an effective tool according to subjective evaluations. The evidencesuggests Mastering A&P is suitable for implementation.Cloning and Characterization of the Coxiella burnetii MacrophageInfectivity Potentiator ProteinBen Dyer* and Michelle S. ThomasCampbell UniversityCoxiella burnetii is the causative agent of the acute flu-like disease Q fever, and is a bacterium whose intracellularlifestyle and route of infection are quite similar to those of Legionella pneumophila, the cause of Legionnaires’disease. Thus far, a limited number of possible C. burnetii virulence factors have been identified, with one of thesebeing a homolog to the L. pneumophila Macrophage Infectivity Potentiator (LpMip) protein. C. burnetii MipCampbell University - 41