Barrett

Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.

Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.

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High-throughput screening and identification of synthetic peptides with Mycobacterium abscessus inhibitory activity

Description
The rise in the number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, due in part to the widespread use of antibiotics, has spawned new technological approaches for identifying novel antimicrobials with narrow specificity. Current antibiotic treatment regimens and anti-tuberculosis drugs are not effective at treating Mycobacterium abscessus; therefore, antimicrobial peptides have gained prominence as…

The rise in the number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, due in part to the widespread use of antibiotics, has spawned new technological approaches for identifying novel antimicrobials with narrow specificity. Current antibiotic treatment regimens and anti-tuberculosis drugs are not effective at treating Mycobacterium abscessus; therefore, antimicrobial peptides have gained prominence as alternative antimicrobials due to their specificity towards anionic bacterial membranes, rapid action, and inability for the bacteria to develop resistance by acting against the cell membrane. Our group has developed a high-density peptide microarray consisting of 125,000 random synthetic peptides for rapid screening of antimicrobial peptides against M. abscessus. From the array screening, the peptides that interacted with the mycobacterial cell surface were synthesized and subsequent inhibitory, bactericidal, and toxicity assays were performed. Additionally, minimum inhibitory concentration assays were performed with these peptides against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli in order to determine if inhibitory activity was observed against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Six peptides, out of the 125,000 peptides screened, had inhibitory activity against M. abscessus and low toxicity (< 10%) against human red blood cells. One peptide also exhibited inhibitory activity against S. aureus and E. coli. To determine combination effects, antimicrobial synergy assays will be performed with the six peptides and clarithromycin
ContributorsIannuzo, Natalie (Author) / Haydel, Shelley E. (Thesis director) / Diehnelt, Chris W. (Committee member) / Bean, Heather D. (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor, Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
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The Demographics of Polling Places

Description
Elections in the United States are highly decentralized with vast powers given to the states to control laws surrounding voter registration, primary procedures, and polling places even in elections of federal officials. There are many individual factors that predict a person's likelihood of voting including race, education, and age. Historically…

Elections in the United States are highly decentralized with vast powers given to the states to control laws surrounding voter registration, primary procedures, and polling places even in elections of federal officials. There are many individual factors that predict a person's likelihood of voting including race, education, and age. Historically disenfranchised groups are still disproportionately affected by restrictive voter registration and ID laws which can suppress their turnout. Less understood is how election-day polling place accessibility affects turnout. Absentee and early voting increase accessibility for all voters, but 47 states still rely on election-day polling places. I study how the geographic allocation of polling places and the number of voters assigned to each (polling place load) in Maricopa County, Arizona has affected turnout in primary and general elections between 2006 and 2016 while controlling for the demographics of voting precincts. This represents a significant data problem; voting precincts changed three times during the time studied and polling places themselves can change every election. To aid in analysis, I created a visualization that allows for the exploration of polling place load, precinct demographics, and polling place accessibility metrics in a map view of the county. I find through a spatial regression model that increasing the load on a polling place can decrease the election-day turnout and prohibitively large distances to the polling place have a similar effect. The effect is more pronounced during general elections and is present at varying levels during each of the 12 elections studied. Finally, I discuss how early voting options appear to have little positive effect on overall turnout and may in fact decrease it.
ContributorsHansen, Brett Joseph (Author) / Maciejewski, Ross (Thesis director) / Grubesic, Anthony (Committee member) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12