Conference Proceedings - Student Research Development Center

Transcription

THE
ANA G. MÉNDEZ UNIVERSITY SYSTEM (AGMUS)
AND THE
STUDENT RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT CENTER (SRDC)
AGMUS INSTITUTE OF MATHEMATICS
CARIBBEAN COMPUTING CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE
ARE PROUD TO HOST THE
SPRING 2012 PRE-COLLEGE
RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM
SHOWCASING MINORITY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ MENTORED RESEARCH
Leadership at SUAGM Vice Presidency for Planning and Academic Affairs
Dr. Jorge L. Crespo Armáiz
Vice President for Planning and Academic Affairs
Juan F. Arratia, Ph. D.
Student Research Development Center
Executive Director
SHERATON PUERTO RICO CONVENTION CENTER HOTEL
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO
MAY 12, 2012
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents………………………………………………………………….
Ana G. Méndez University System (AGMUS) Profile …………………………..
Conference at a Glance ……………………………………………………………
Message from the Vice President for Planning and Academic Affairs
Dr. Jorge Crespo……………………………………………………………
2
3
4
5
Message from the Chancellor of Universidad Metropolitana
Dr. Federico Matheu ……………………………………………………….
6
Message from the Chancellor of Universidad del Este
Alberto Maldonado, Esq.…………………………………………………….
7
Message from the Chancellor of Universidad del Turabo
Dr. Dennis Alicea…………………………………………………………..
8
Message from the Director and Principal Investigator
Dr. Juan F. Arratia …………………………………………………………
9
Prologue……………………………………………………………………………
10
Keynote Speakers…………………………………………………………………..
11
Workshop Speakers………………………………………………………………… 12
Research Mentors………………………………………………………………….. 13
ACUNE Photography……………………………………………………………...
23
AGMUS Institute of Mathematics…………………………………………………
24
Workshop: “GeoGebra: A Free Tool for Algebra and Geometry”…………………
25
Caribbean Computing Center for Excellence (CCCE) Alliance……………………
26
Workshop “Alice in Computerland”…………………………………………….….
27
Schedule of Events …………………………………………………………………
28
Abstracts:
Astronomy………………………………………..………………….……...
Biology…………………………………………………………………..….
Genomics……………………………………………………………….…...
Bio-Mathematics…………………………………………………………….
Bio-Statistics………………………………………………………………...
Computational Chemistry………………………………………………….
Computer Sciences…………………………………………………………
Engineering…………………………………………………………………
Environmental Sciences…………………………………………………….
Atmospheric Sciences………………………………………………………
Nanotechnology…………………………………………………………….
Robotics…………………………………………………………………….
Acknowledgments …………………………………………………………………
Index of Presenters ………………………………………………………………...
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60
63
74
89
98
111
114
135
145
149
155
158
169
172
Ana G. Méndez University System
AGMUS Institute of Mathematics
Caribbean Computing Center for Excellence
MISSION
The Model Institutions for Excellence (MIE) award granted by the National Science
Foundation (NSF) helped transform Universidad Metropolitana (UMET) into a nationally
recognized undergraduate research institution, and a model in science, technology,
engineering and mathematics (STEM). Mentoring of undergraduates and pre-college students
by research mentors was the cornerstone of the MIE Project. We believe that creative
research is one of the best ways to prepare students to become persistent and successful in
graduate school and professional careers. Today, the Student Research Development Center
(SRDC), which is part of the Ana G. Méndez University System (AGMUS), is the entity that
continues the MIE strategy by impacting students from the AGMUS and universities across
the nation, as well as pre-college students from the Puerto Rico Educational System. Two
NSF grants, the AGMUS Institute of Mathematics and the Caribbean Computing Center for
Excellence are the funding tools to implement the mission of the Student Research
Development Center in Puerto Rico.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Model Institutions for Excellence ended in 2009. The primary goal of this cooperative
agreement with NSF was to increase the number of BS degrees granted to underrepresented
students in STEM fields at Universidad Metropolitana. Over 247 UMET STEM majors got
their BS degrees and 156 were transfer to graduate school. In order to increase the number of
BS degrees transferred to graduate school, we will continue with the strategy of an early
undergraduate research program and partnership with key research institutions in the US
mainland, Puerto Rico and abroad. Research mentoring will be the central component of the
knowledge transfer and creative thinking activities at AGMUS. Cooperative and collaborative
learning strategies, presentations at scientific conferences, scientific writing and coauthorship, technology literacy, and preparation for graduate school are activities that are
transforming the philosophy of the institution. Now, with the NSF grants, the AGMUS
Institute of Mathematics and the Caribbean Computing Center for Excellence, the goals are
reaching institutions outside the AGMUS campuses in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
GOALS
The main goal of the Pre-College Research Symposium is to encourage pre-college research
with research mentors, develop students’ written and oral communication skills, provide a
forum in the Caribbean for students to foster interest in undergraduate education, particularly
in STEM fields, and set national research standards for pre-college research presentations.
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ANA G. MENDEZ UNIVERSITY SYSTEM
STUDENT RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT CENTER
AGMUS INSTITUTE OF MATHEMATICS
SPRING 2012 PRE-COLLEGE
RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM
CONFERENCE AT A GLANCE
SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012
SHERATON PR CONVENTION CENTER HOTEL
7:00 –8:00 a.m.
Registration
Breakfast
Poster Session Set-Up
7 :30–8:00 a.m.
Judges Meeting
8:00–8:20 a.m.
Opening Ceremony
San Juan Ballroom
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Carlos F. Rosado
Vice President and Dean of Continuing Education
8:20–11:00 a.m.
Poster Session
San Juan Ballroom
10:00–10:30 a.m
Coffee Break
San Juan Ballroom
11:00–12:40 m.
Oral Research Presentations
12:40–2:45 p.m.
Paseo San Juan Foyer
San Juan Ballroom
San Juan Ballroom
Laguna
Session I
San Juan Ballroom
Session II
Laguna
Session III
Bahia
…………………………………Session IV………………………...….…Miramar
Lunch
San Juan Ballroom
Keynote Speaker: Rafael Rodrigo
Spanish Research Council (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
2:45–3:30 p.m.
Awards Ceremony and Closing Remarks
3:30 p.m.
Symposium Adjourns
12:00 – 4:00 p.m.
12:00 – 4:00 p.m.
San Juan Ballroom
WORKSHOPS FOR SCIENCE AND MATH TEACHERS
“Geogebra: A Free Tool for Algebra and Geometry”
Dr. Luis de la Torre, Universidad Metropolitana
San Cristobal Room
“Alice in Computerland”
Team Alice, Inter-American University-San Germán
4
San Felipe Room
5
6
7
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Developing Minds Through
Research Experiences
May 12, 2012
Dear Pre-College Students:
The Spring 2012 Pre-College Research Symposium is the culmination of the activities and dissemination process
of the Saturday Academy Program of the Ana G. Méndez University System (AGMUS). For a period of four
months, since January 2012, all of you, more than two-hundred and ninety pre-college students from eighty-four
private and public high schools in Puerto Rico worked long hours in the research laboratories of the AGMUS
campuses, Polytechnic University, Inter-American University-San Germán, Barranquitas and Metro, the
University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez-Humacao, Cayey, the University of the Virgin Islands, the Arecibo
Observatory, María Reina Academy, Manuel Mediavilla Negrón School, and José Aponte de la Torre School
with the guidance and mentorship of fifty professors and student research mentors in two-hundred sixteen
research projects in the areas of astronomy, biology, genomics, bio-mathematics, bio-statistics, computational
chemistry, computer sciences, engineering, atmospheric sciences, environmental sciences, nanotechnology and
robotics.
One of the objectives of the Spring 2012 Pre-College Research Symposium is to offer young motivated high
school researchers the opportunity to learn and to practice their communication skills in a formal professional
scientific meeting. A second objective is to give high school students of Puerto Rico a forum for the
presentation of the results and findings of their research projects to teachers, research mentors, family members,
and the university community at large.
The Ana G. Méndez University and the Student Research Development Center are proud of the results obtained
by the pre-college students and their mentors in the Spring 2012 Saturday Academy Program and the Spring
2012 Pre-College Research Symposium. I hope your experience inspires you and your peers to select science,
technology, engineering or mathematics as your field of study in the near future.
My sincere appreciation goes to the Student Research Development Center staff and student research mentors for
their effort and commitment to implement the Spring 2012 Saturday Academy Program and the Spring 2012 PreCollege Research Symposium. This event would not have been possible without the ongoing support of the
National Science Foundation and the NASA Puerto Rico Space Grant Consortium.
Sincerely yours,
Juan F. Arratia, Ph. D.
Executive Director and Principal Investigator
PO Box 21150
San Juan, Puerto Rico 00928-1150
Tel: 787.766.1717 x.6000
Fax: 787.751.5386
Web: http://srdc.suagm.edu
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ANA G. MÉNDEZ UNIVERSITY SYSTEM (AGMUS)
As an Educational Institution
The Ana G. Méndez University System (AGMUS) is home to approximately 43,500 undergraduate and graduate students
who are mainly underrepresented low-income minority students from the Metropolitan San Juan area in Puerto Rico. Three
institutions form the AGMUS University System: Universidad Metropolitana (UMET), Universidad del Este (UNE), and
Universidad del Turabo (UT). UMET has been a teaching institution since its foundation in 1948. Today, however, its
philosophy has been changing to address the students’ study needs and the requirements of society. Our President, Dr. José
F. Méndez, has set the agenda to have it become the best undergraduate research institution in Puerto Rico. Additionally, the
President has set the goal to implement the MIE best practices at UNE and UT and transform AGMUS into a leading
undergraduate research institution through the Student Development Center at the Vice Presidency for Planning and
Academic Affairs.
As an Undergraduate Research Institution
In 1995, UMET was selected by the National Science Foundation as a Model Institution for Excellence (MIE) school. At
that time, a five-year Cooperative Agreement for more than $11 million was signed between UMET and the NSF. A second
Cooperative Agreement was signed on October 1, 2000 for an additional three years and for $7.5 million. The third phase of
the MIE grant for $2.5 million for three additional years was awarded on October 1, 2003. The main objective of the
relationship with NSF has been to transform UMET into a model for Hispanic Serving Institutions in the nation. Our major
goal has been to increase the number of BS degrees granted by UMET, to transfer a significant number of science students to
graduate school, and to enroll them in Ph. D. programs to fulfill the goals and aspirations of a greater participation of
minorities in the science, mathematics, and engineering fields. After 13 years of funding, UMET has been transformed
through the MIE activities by producing an effective pipeline from pre-college to undergraduate, and from undergraduate to
graduate school for hundreds of underrepresented minorities from Puerto Rico. It has also been transformed with faculty
research mentors who are helping science students create knowledge and disseminate creative thinking among the members
of the university and pre-college community. Our undergraduate and pre-college research program, sponsored by the
National Science Foundation and NASA, are paving the way for research-oriented activities for the benefit of Puerto Rico
and the US Virgin Islands students.
PROLOGUE
The sponsorship of the National Science Foundation has been fundamental for the implementation of the Pre-College
Program at the Ana G. Méndez University System at Universidad Metropolitana. For thirteen years, the Model Institutions
for Excellence (MIE) Project organized the Saturday Academy Program. In 2006, a new dimension was established with the
dissemination of the MIE best practices into Universidad del Turabo and Universidad del Este (UNE) under the Student
Research Development Center. The main goal of this program is to motivate high school students to pursue careers in
science, technology, engineering and mathematics at the BS and graduate levels. The Saturday Academy Program usually
extends for sixteen weeks during the months of August through December. Students from public and private schools,
enrolled in grades 10, 11 and 12, conduct research under the mentorship of faculty and student research mentors from
AGMUS and institutions in the US mainland and abroad. More than two thousand pre-college students have learned the
fundamentals of scientific research through their participation in the Saturday Academy Program at AGMUS. For the last six
years, a symposium has been organized to present the results of this activity to the university community and to motivate
other Puerto Rican students to engage in scientific research.
The Spring 2012 Pre-College Research Symposium showcases the research experiences of two-hundred ninety (290) precollege students from public and private high schools from Puerto Rico. The mentorship of faculty and undergraduate
research mentors made possible the concretization of the research projects. Their results are documented in the pages of these
proceedings.
The National Science Foundation, the Ana G. Méndez University System, the Student Research Development Center and
institutions of the Caribbean Computing Center for Excellence across Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands are proud of the
research work conducted by the Saturday Academy Spring 2012 participants. We hope this Symposium will be a vehicle by
which the scientific productivity of high school students from Puerto Rico will be disseminated in future years.
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KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Dr. Rafael Rodrigo
Dr. Rafael Rodrigo (Granada, 1953) is in the Physical Sciences. He is Research Professor of the Spanish National
Research Council (CSIC) at Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA) in Granada, Spain. He was Director of IAA
(1990-2004) and President of CSIC (2008-2012). His main fields of interests are planetary atmospheres, minor
bodies and exploration of the Solar System. He has more than 200 international scientific publications. He has been
Co-Investigator in the following space missions: “Huygens Atmospheric Structure Instrument” (HASI) (NASAESA Cassini-Huygens Mission); Instruments “Osiris” and “Giada” of the ESA Mission Rosetta for the exploration
of a comet; Spanish Lead Scientist of the Osiris instrument; “Planetary Fourier Spectrometer” (PFS) (Mars Express
Mission and Venus Express Mission of ESA); BepiColombo Laser Altimeter of the ESA Mission BepiColombo to
planet Mercury. Dr. Rodrigo is recipient of NASA and ESA Awards. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the
International Academy of Astronautics.
Dr. Carlos F. Rosado
Dr. Carlos F. Rosado Martínez is the Assistant Vice President and Dean of Continuing Education in the Ana G.
Méndez University System (AGMUS). He graduated from the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), Río Piedras
Campus, specializing in Educational Administration and Supervision. His doctoral dissertation was The
development of education throughout life and its implications for educational administration. He holds a
Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education and a Masters in Public Health Education, both degrees obtained also
at UPR. Dr. Rosado has worked in the Department of Education, the Department of Health, the University of
Puerto Rico, and AGMUS since 2011. He also worked at two private consulting and training firms, always
devoted to education and training of youth and adults. His personal mission is to advance the development and
implementation of the paradigm of education and learning throughout life. In that sense, one of his areas of
interest has been promoting research in teaching and learning, and strengthening teaching and learning science
and mathematics in schools and colleges in Puerto Rico. Dr. Rosado’s agenda includes creating, developing and
supporting projects that foster entrepreneurship, scientific curiosity, self-esteem and significantly improve the
academic achievement of students and position young professionals from Puerto Rico in this complex globalized
world. Dr. Carlos Rosado is currently working on editing and publishing a book related to the development and
relevance of the paradigm of education and learning throughout life, the implications of this paradigm for
traditional schools and universities, and a proposal for the development of education in Puerto Rico.
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WORKSHOP SPEAKERS
Yvonne Avilés
Yvonne Avilés has a B.S in Computer Engineering and a M.S. in Computer Engineering, both from the
University of Puerto Rico at its Mayaguez Campus.
In 2000, she started her career as a Software Engineer in the Research and Development Group for Lucent
Technologies in North Andover, MA. Within Lucent, she also worked in the hardware division as a Verification
Engineer. Later, fond of an academic environment, she pursued a teaching career at Inter-American University
of Puerto Rico in San Germán, as a Computer Science Professor. Prof. Avilés teaches computer programming,
computer graphics, and discrete mathematics at the undergraduate level.
Dr. Luis de la Torre
Dr. Luis de la Torre is an assistant professor at Universidad Metropolina (UMET). He works as mentor to the
AGMUS Institute of Mathematics, a National Science Foundation sponsored program based at UMET in San
Juan, Puerto Rico. Dr. de la Torre was born in Cartagena, Colombia, earned a BS in Mathematics from
Universidad de Cartagena, a M.Sc. in Scientific Computing from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, and a
Ph.D in Computer Science and Engineering from University of Puerto Rico. His research is focused on High
Performance Computing and Bioinformatics Algorithms. His teaching interests are in math and computer
science courses. Dr. de la Torre spends most of his time as a coach, and mentor for current and prospective biomathematics students. He is also training students for the Math Olympiad competition and the Informatics
Olympiad Competition. Dr. de la Torre has several publications in peer reviewed journals and scientific
proceedings, and has made poster and oral presentations in national and international meetings.
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RESEARCH MENTORS
Dr. Juan F. Arratia
Dr. Juan F. Arratia was born in Pomaire, Chile. He graduated from Universidad Técnica del Estado with a BS
in Electrical Engineering in 1973. He was awarded an MSc in Engineering from Louisiana Tech University,
Ruston, Louisiana, in 1979 and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Washington University, St. Louis,
Missouri in 1985. He has taught and conducted research at universities in Chile (Universidad Técnica del Estado
and Universidad Austral de Chile), Puerto Rico (Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico and the University
of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez), and in the US mainland at Washington University, St. Louis, and Louisiana Tech
University, Ruston, Louisiana. He has lectured and given conferences on advanced automation, robotics, vision
systems, artificial intelligence, total quality management and science and engineering education in Chile,
Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Mexico, Brazil, Nicaragua, Perú, Canada, Spain, the Netherlands,
Turkey, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, Australia, China, Puerto Rico and in the US mainland. He was the
Advanced Manufacturing Manager for Medtronic, Inc., a leading pacemaker company, and is a consultant in
advanced automation for pharmaceutical and medical devices companies in Puerto Rico. From 1998 to 2006, he
was the Director and Principal Investigator of the Model Institutions for Excellence (MIE) Project, a National
Science Foundation sponsored program based at Universidad Metropolitana in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Since
2007, he has been the Executive Director of the Ana G. Méndez University System (AGMUS) Student Research
Development Center, designed to disseminate MIE best practices at Universidad del Turabo and Universidad del
Este. In November 2007 he was awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and
Engineering Mentoring at a ceremony in the White House in Washington DC.
Cesar Banderas, Ph.D.
Dr. César Banderas studied his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Electrical Engineer at the University of
Buffalo in New York and was certified in Executive Development at the Harvard School of Management in
Boston, Massachusetts. He is the President of BanDeMar Networks, a minority-owned small company
specializing in advanced video solutions for e-learning markets. Dr. Banderas’ technical background is in active
perception, which combines real-time computer vision and other sensor modalities with machine learning and
behavioral control. He is interested in all aspects of active vision, including algorithms for signal processing and
control, sensor VLSI, and multiprocessing architectures. His experience in active perception comes largely from
his work in foveal vision, which exploits in the machine setting the multiacuity properties prevalent in vertebrate
vision. Dr. Banderas has been active in the field of pervasive rich media, which endeavors to provide
spatiotemporally coordinated multimodal streams to an audience with diverse demographics, player platforms
and channel access (e.g., broadband-connected PCs, wireless PDAs, set-top boxes). In 1990, Dr. Banderas
formed a research department at Amherst Systems dedicated to the development and application of active vision.
This work yielded operational platforms with algorithms for video understanding and automaton behavior
control, matching multiprocessor architectures, and smart VLSI imaging sensors (imagers with monolithic signal
processing). He has had profit/loss responsibility, and was able to secure external funding for all R&D (over
twenty customer grants and contracts) while exceeding growth and profit estimates. To date, this active vision
research has yielded six Ph.Ds and four M.S. degrees, several patents, the highest distinction in the Air Force
Small Business Innovative Research Accomplishments Report to the U.S. Congress, a Small Business of the
Year nomination from Rome Lab, and the 1999 NASA Space Act award from the Johnson Space Center. In
2001, he formed a research department at Manhattan-based Sorceron (now BanDeMar) dedicated to the
synthesis and delivery of object-oriented rich media. As CTO, Dr. Banderas is member of the Association for
Computing Machinery, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the International Society for Optical
Engineering.
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Nellie Marie Bonilla Santiago
Ms Bonilla is a mechanical engineer with diverse research and internship experiences. She is mentor of the
engineering group at Universidad del Turabo for the second semester in a row. After graduating from José
Gautier Benítez High School in 2006, she started and completed a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering
studies at Universidad del Turabo. Since the beginning, she has been involved in numerous associations taking
leadership positions such as in the Honor’s Program where she was President for two years, SHPE, AUPH,
ASME to which she was Vice President and TAΩ, the engineering honor association from which she was
president in 2011. Furthermore, she has had diverse internship opportunities in the summers of 2008 and 2009
she worked with Marathon Oil in the Robinson, Illinois Refinery where she gave maintenance work to pumps
and compressors and did some structural design work. During a week of the summers of 2010 and 2011, she
participated in a Capstone Design Seminar at Michigan Tech, a NASA Minority University Research and
Education Program Grant. In 2010 she participated in the Summer Robotic Boot Camp at NASA Goddard Space
Flight Center in Maryland where she designed essential parts for the robots. Finally, in 2011, she performed an
energy harvesting research in her academic institution Universidad del Turabo, and continued her reaserch work
from the previous academic semester. In the Fall of 2011, se continued working in this area. With the reaserch
project opportunity she was able to present orally her work at the The Puerto Rico Louis Stokes Alliance for
Minority Participation (PR-LSAMP) 2011 and at the AGMUS 2011 Research Symposium. With all the
opportunities and involvement in her academic career, Nellie Bonilla has been the recipient of various
scholarships such as: Sistema Universitario Ana G. Méndez Permanent Scholarship Fund, Robert C. Byrd
Scholarship, General Motors Engineering Excellence Award, ELA Employee Association Scholarship, and the
Marathon Oil Corporation Scholarship. She was selected as a 2011 Berkeley Edge Scholar. She helped in the
developement of the new class format for the Capstone Design class of the Engineering Department at
Universidad del Turabo. She is currently working as a Mechanical Engineering Laboratory Supervisor at
Universidad del Turabo. Her plans are to continue graduate studies at the University of South Florida to obtain a
PhD in Mechanical Engineering concentrating her research in robotics.
Katherine Calderón Mojica
Katherine Calderón Mojica is an undergraduate student of the bachelor’s degree oin industrial chemistry at the
University of Puerto Rico at Humacao. In July 2011, she obtained her Associate Degree in Chemical
Technology at the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao. She is a Scholar student
in Caribbean Computing Center for Excellence. She has made several summer internships related to the area
of computational chemistry at Jackson State University in Mississippi where she received recognition as the
second place in an oral presentation for organic chemistry research in the computational chemistry area. She
currently works as a computational chemistry mentor in the Broadening Participation in Computing Alliance
program (NSF-BPCA) at UPRH. She also works at the UPRH CADA (Centro de Apoyo y Desarrollo
Académico) program to help students in the tutorials of general chemistry and organic chemistry. She wants to
continue studying towards an MD /PhD in organic chemistry. Her great desire in the professional field of
chemistry area is to become a professor of organic chemistry.
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Joehan B. Carrasquillo
Born in Fajardo PR. in the year 1991, Joehan Benjamin Carrasquillo-García had aspirations of being an electrical
engineer since an early age. Having an IQ of “132” he was clinically dubbed “gifted” at the age of 9. He started
the Puerto Rican equivalent of high-school when he was10 years old. Since that age he enrolled on a pre-college
engineering program called Steps. Currently he is studying Electrical and Computer Engineering wishing to
continue his studies in graduate school. He has participated in two internship opportunities “Integration of SIFT
Computer Vision Algorithm to the Tekkotsu Famework” and “Emulation of a HEV Battery on a Power-Supply”
in the notorious Carnegie Mellon (Pittsburgh, PA.) and Michigan Tech (Houghton, MI.) Universities
respectively, both internship opportunities under the National Science Foundation Research Experience for
Undergraduates program (the NSF REU). He has also participated of various design projects under the “MEPI
BioGen” Co. of the University of Turabo (Gurabo, PR.) and other design opportunities. Joehan is currently in his
last undergraduate education year, making him a graduate school student applicant at the age of 21. Much of the
things he has accomplished are thanks to the NSF (National Science Foundation), AGMUS (the Ana G. Mendez
University System), the SRDC (Student Research Development Center) and the CCCE (Caribbean Computing
Center for Excellence) and their support, for which he is very grateful. He extends a special thanks to Dr. Juan F.
Arratia and his cohorts.
Laysa Michelle Claudio González
Laysa M. Claudio González is an undergraduate student of the B.A. in Industrial Chemistry at the University of
Puerto Rico at Humacao. She graduated from an Associate Degree in Chemical Technology at University of
Puerto Rico at Humacao in June 2011. She loved chemistry and that is the reason why she learned
computational chemistry, especially computational biochemistry through the Broadening Participation in
Computing Alliance (NSF-BPCA) program at University of Puerto Rico at Humacao. Before being a mentor, she
was assistant mentor in Computational Chemistry. In the future, she wants to obtain an M.D./P.h.D in Surgery.
She also wants work in an investigation about of cancer, and investigate proteins that are essential in vital
processes and on the analysis of human DNA, but with a focus on chemistry.
15
Joksan X. Flores Rivera
Joksan X. Flores Rivera was born in Aibonito Puerto Rico. He is currently a senior Computer Engineering
student at Universidad del Turabo, Gurabo Campus. Joksan started his degree studies at Universidad del Turabo
in August 2006 in the Department of Electrical Engineering. In 2006 he transferred to Computer Engineering
which was his target program since he graduated from high school. During his bachelor´s degree, he has
developed himself as a successful engineering student and as a leader of the university community. In his fourth
year of university; he entered the Honor Roll at Universidad del Turabo and has maintained that position up to
now. In 2009 he started as a member of the Ana G, Méndez University System Caribbean Computer Center for
Excelence program, in which he has developed himself as a successful student participating in symposia,
conferences and research internships. His first internship was in 2009 at the University of South Florida working
for the Center for Urban and Transportation Research on the TRACIT project. In 2010 he was at an internsip at
the University of Notre Dame in Indiana working for the wireless networking department on the Cooperative
Mapping and Assessment Using Smartphones project. During his years at the Turabo Campus he has
participated in diverse activities as tutoring students in mathematics and computer skills, mentoring high school
students in computer science and engineering projects as part of the Saturday Academy, and has participated in
different project developments as part of his courses.
Dr. Tapasi Ghosh
Dr. Tapasi Ghosh is a Radio Astronomer working at the Arecibo Observatory since 1992. She received her Ph.D.
from the Indian Institute of Science in 1990. Between 1990 - 1992, she was a Post Doctoral Research Fellow at
the Netherlands Foundation for Research in Astronomy. Her area of interest is extragalactic astronomy in
general and studying molecules in external galaxies in particular. Her technical expertise lie in the area of Very
Long Baseline Interferometry.
Maxine N. González Vega
Maxine N. González Vega is a rising junior and a student at Universidad Metropolitana (UMET). She attended
=Academia Bautista de Puerto Nuevo and is currently the mentor for the biostatistics division in the Satutrday
Academy for pre-college students at UMET. From 2009-2010, Maxine attended two pre-college internships, one
in Vermont, the EPSCoR Project, and the other at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. In the 2011 summer
she was given the opportunity of atending her first undergraduate internship at the University of Alabama at
Birmingham to work in the Section of Statistical Genetics. She was also was given the opportunity to participate
in a Richard Tapia conference for Computer Science in April 2011 and in October 2011 she attended the
SACNAS National Conference in San Jose, California, to present her summer research. She is very interested in
pursuing an M.D. /Ph.D in pediatric Neurosurgery.
16
Isis S. Laham
Isis S. Laham has a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus and an M.S. in
Computer Engineering from Boston University in Massachusetts. Professor Laham worked in the industry as an
Engineer from 1987 until 1991. She worked for the Navy Atlantic Fleet Weapons Training Facility (AFWTF)
Software Contract in Roosevelt Roads from 1991 to 2003, where she was a programmer, then became an analyst
and finally a Software Manager. She has been working at Universidad Del Este since 2003 as a full time
professor. She began as a Business Administration Professor where she taught programming courses (Visual
Basic, JAVA, Databases, HTML, System’s Analysis and Design, among others). She is currently part of the
School of Science and Technology, where she teaches mathematics and engineering courses. Since August 2009,
she was hired to mentor high school students for the AGMUS Saturday Academy at Universidad Del Este.
Alvaro Lecompte Montes
Alvaro Lecompte is a mechanical engineering, and also has BS in mathematics and physics from University of
Los Andes, Colombia. He has an MS and Dr.rer.nat in Physics from the University of Vienna, Austria. He has
had a long career as university professor of mathematics and physics and is currently Coordinator of the Master
Program in Applied Mathematics at Inter American University, San German Campus. His research areas have
been focused on mathematical physics, particularly quantum statistical physics, with its applications to
thermodynamics and quantum information theory. He teaches mathematical methods in science courses both at
the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Prof. Guillermo Mejía
Professor Guillermo Mejía is full-time Assistant Professor since 1976, with areas of expertise in C#, Visual
Basic, ASP.NET, Intel Assembly Language, Visual C++, and Object-oriented programming. His teaching
interest is in Networks and multiprogramming. He has been teaching computer programming at Inter American
University since 1985, always working with students trying to get them interested in Computer Science careers.
17
Dr. Marlio Paredes
Dr. Paredes was born in Cali, Colombia. He has a B.S. and an M.S. in Mathematics, both from Universidad del
Valle in Cali, Colombia. In 2000 he obtained a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the State University of Campinas in
Brazil and his specialization area is Differential Geometry and its applications. He has published several
scientific papers in specialized journals; his research work is in a variety of areas such as Combinatorics,
Differential Geometry, Differential Equations, Applied Mathematics and Mathematical Education. In 2001 he
published a paper with Professor Brendan McKay from Australian National University and as a consequence he
was included in the famous Erdös Number List (http://www.oakland.edu/enp/) obtaining Erdös Number 2.
He has taught and conducted research at universities in Colombia (Universidad del Valle and Universidad
Industrial de Santander), Brazil (State University of Campinas) and Puerto Rico (Universidad del Turabo). He
has lectured and given conferences in Colombia, Brazil, México, Puerto Rico, Canada and the United States. Dr.
Paredes has held academic positions such as Director of the School of Mathematics and Research Director of the
Faculty of Science at Universidad Industrial de Santander, Colombia. At this moment he is Co-PI of the NSF
project BPC-A: Caribbean Computing Center for Excellence at Universidad del Turabo and he is also
Mathematics curriculum specialist of the Turabo Math and Science Alliance (AMCT, Spanish acronym).
Dr. Oliva M. Primera-Pedrozo
Dr. Oliva M. Primera-Pedrozo is a professor of Chemistry at the School of Science and Technology at
Universidad Metropolitana in San Juan. She has a Ph.D in materials science from the University of Puerto RicoMayaguez Campus. She also has a post-doctoral training at Jackson State University in Jackson, MS. Dr.
Primera has been involved in research activities related to areas of nanotechnology and synthesis of
nanomaterials using the wet-chemistry approach and vibrational spectroscopy for seven years. Her research
interests are the synthesis and surface modification of silver and gold nanoparticles and semiconductors as
cadmium selenide and lead selnide quantum dots. Also, the IR/Raman spectroscopies and Susrface Enhanced
Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) applied to chemical and biological detection. Dr. Primera has several publications
in peer reviewed journals and proceedings, and has made oral and poster presentations in national and
international meetings. Some important contributions have been disseminated in well-known ACS meetings,
NANO-DDS, SPIE conferences in explosive detection sponsored by the International Society for Optical
Engineering. In addition, Dr. Primera has a solid experience in mentoring pre-college, undergraduate and
graduate students not only in research but also in their academic goals. As part of the formation of her
undergraduate students, they are authors and coauthors of some publications. Dr. Primera also has mentored
students from universities such as Pittsburg, Northeastern and Polytechnic Institute in NY as part of NSF
sponsored REU programs during UPRM- summer sessions. In addition, Dr. Primera has participated in the
organization of NanoDays educational activities in PuertRico and she has been a judge in national pre-college
Science Fairs in Puerto Rico and Mississippi. She currently has start-up funds projects with the Institute for
Functionalization Materials (IFN) from the University of Puerto Rico sponsored by the National Science
Foundation (NSF). She is a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and Material Research Society
(MRS).
18
Gerson Restrepo
In 2006, Mr. Restrepo started the Forum of Inventors and Entrepreneurs by his own personal initiative, and
gathered collaboration with more than thirty agencies to provide free seminars on intellectual property,
commercialization, prototyping, evaluation of commercial merit, etc. In 2010 he also created the first patent
contest in Puerto Rico. He worked for Collaborative for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (NSF funded), PRState Wide Systemic Initiative-SSI, Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program-MSEIP, Louis
Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation-PR-AMP, Regional Technology Centers for Sciences and
Mathematics-NASA, and the Fund for Improvement of Post Secondary Education-FIPSE; the MBRS-RISE
project funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, and the College Board of Puerto Rico. He holds an MS
in Physics, graduate credits in Chemical Physics, and he obtained certificates on Educational TV and Distance
Learning Education from the Center for Distance Learning Education at the Ana G. Méndez University System.
Mr. Restrepo is also an inventor and holds more than 600 ideas many of which of commercial potential. He is
highly motivated, proactive, and with excellent abilities for interpersonal relations with his partners.
Ramón Rivera Varona
Ramón Rivera Varona is a Mechanical Engineer with extensive experience, management skills and work at the
Plasma Laboratory at the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico. The Plasma Engineering Laboratory is currently
developing research on basic physics of electron cyclotron resonance, ion implantation in a diversity of
materials, basic research in the use of plasma for energy production, plasma diagnostic using electrostatic probes
and magnetic field of confinement. As a scientist, he is responsible for the development of this machine that has
the advantage of magnetically confining stable plasma. Ramon Rivera Varona won Second Place Award in the
Annual Arizona Student Research Conference poster presentation in 2007, Third Place Award in The Eastern
Technical Career Conference in October 2006, Second Place Award in the Annual Arizona Student Research
Conference poster presentation in 2006, and received a certificate of achievement from NASA Living with a
Star/Solar Probe for demonstrated cooperation, initiative, and outstanding performance as member of the Solar
Probe Plasma Testing in August 2006.
19
Natalia C. Santiago
Natalia Cristal Santiago Merced started as a pre-college student at Universidad Metropolitana. Her early research
experience was in the Spring 2009 Saturday Academy Pre-College Program at Universidad Metropolitana
(UMET). She conducted the research “Study of Differences and Consequences in Mutations of the SGSH Gene.”
Santiago Merced presented her research on May 23, 2009 at the Spring 2009 Pre-College Research Symposium
sponsored by the Ana G. Méndez University System(AGMUS) in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She was awarded the
Best Poster Presentation. In the summer of 2009, Natalia participated in a research internship at the University of
Vermont. She was accepted in the Early Admission Program and was a freshman in the Bio-Mathematics BS at
Universidad Metropolitana in the Fall of 2009. Natalia participated in another research in the Fall of 2009 at the
Saturday Academy Pre-College Program at UMET. She conducted the research “Comparison of Phosphorus and
Macro-invertebrates in Two Streams Surrounded by Different Ecosystems” and presented it at the Fall 2009 PreCollege Research Symposium. She was awarded the Best Poster Presentation. She participated in the Spring
2010 Saturday Academy Pre-College Program at UMET and conducted the research “Comparison of Phosphorus
and Macroinvertebrates in Two Streams Surrounded by Different Ecosystems” and presented it at the Spring
2010 Pre-College Research Symposium. She was awarded the Best Poster Presentation. In the summer of 2010,
she participated in a research internship at the University of Vermont. Natalia conducted the research
“Relationship of Lotic Macroinvertebrates Communities to Phosphorus and Suspended Solids” and presented it
at some symposiums including the XXI Research Symposium and SACNAS. In the summer 2011, she
participated in a research internship at Arizona State University and conducted the research “Evolutionary
Analysis of Disease-Associated of Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor 3 Gene (FGFR3 Gene),” which she
presented at the AGMUS 2011 Research Symposium sponsored.
Claudia E. Talavera Babuena
Claudia Talavera obtained a M.Sc. degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Puerto Rico. She has
studies in Computer Science and Mathematics with extensive experience in educational areas. She is full- time
professor at Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico. The courses that Prof. Talavera teaches are Programming
Languages, Numerical Analysis, Discrete Mathematics, Structures of Data, Probability, Statistics, and
Mathematics courses. She actually studies in the graduate program for Master in Computer Science at
Polytechnic University.
Brenda C. Torres
Brenda C. Torres is a first year student from the doctoral program of Environmental Sciences with concentration
of Biology, at the Turabo University. She holds a bachelor degree on Computer Engineering, with Mathematics
and Statistics as a second concentration, from Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral obtained in Guayaquil,
Ecuador; country where she comes from. Also, she completed a master degree in Mathematics and Statistics in
2009 in Puerto Rico. Her research was about statistics model to describe and classify senior people living in
Spain according to their leisure time habits. The results of her investigation were presented at the SACNAS
Conference in San José, California in October 2011. Her interests about life science motivated her to begin the
PhD program at the Turabo University in August 2011. She is currently studying stochastic differential equations
to model pollution issues. Her strong background and teaching experiences as TA while she was enrolled at the
master program, and as former mentor of the AFAMAC program, led her to participate since August 2011 as a
mentor in the biostatistics and genomics division at the Turabo University. She is also interested in genomics and
modeling as fields of research.
20
Pieter Van der Meer
After obtaining a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering with a major in Transportation using Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) as an analysis tool, Pieter Van der Meer joined the University of Puerto Rico at
Mayagüez as a GIS Specialist. He became a facilitator, coordinator and Lab Instructor of the Laboratory for
Applied Remote Sensing and Image Processing (LARSIP) from NASA, located within the facilities of the
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus. He
was instrumental in creating a “Research Culture” in LARSIP during the summer and between semesters by
starting and continuing a LARSIP Summer Research Program for high school and undergraduate students during
the1990s. The high school students were attending various high schools in the Mayagüez and San Germán areas.
The emphasis of the research program was on hands-on training in the use of computers and on research topics
using the Internet. In addition, the students were required to prepare abstracts and papers and give presentations
to their colleagues at conferences about their topic of interest. In 1998, he was instrumental in receiving the fiveyear (later extended to seven) Partnership for Spatial and Computational Research (PaSCoR) award from
NASA to provide undergraduate students the opportunity to experience for the first time on the Mayagüez
Campus an academic environment for multidisciplinary training in several faculties: College of Agricultural
Sciences, Arts and Sciences and Engineering as desired by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and
Technology, also called ABET 2000. Through PaSCoR, the next generation of multidisciplinary Scientists and
Engineers received a well balanced education of theory in several disciplines together with a strong component
of hands-on training and practice. The intention was and still is to prepare the students adequately for the real
world without extensive additional education and training at the company’s or government’s expense.
Melinda Vargas Ramos
Melinda Vargas Ramos was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. During this past year she has been
working on research pertaining to the BPC-A program, and for the summer of 2010 participated
in the CENS Summer High School Internship at UCLA. She presented her project at the 68th
Joint Annual Meeting of The National Institute of Science in Atlanta, Georgia. With her
developed phone application “What’s Hazardous,” she won the 2010 National Center for
Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) Award for Aspirations in Computing Puerto Rico
Affiliate. Melinda was an assistant mentor at the Saturday Academy at Turabo University from January through
May 2011 and is currently at Universidad Metropolitana in the bio-mathematics field. For her future career she
is aiming for a Ph.D. in Bio-Mathematics.
21
Edgardo Luis Vázquez Rodríguez was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His hobbies include
playing the trumpet in big bands, jazz orchestras, and popular music orchestras. From playing the trumpet,
Edgardo has participated in numerous international jazz festivals including the Heineken Jazz Festival (held in
Puerto Rico) and the International Jazz Festival from Carolina. In June 2007, he was admitted in the first
extracurricular specialized school of science, mathematics, technology and languages (also known as Escuela
Pa’los Duros) in Carolina, Puerto Rico. This specialized school helped Edgardo realize and reach his potential in
mathematics. In his last year in the school he had the opportunity of attending the AGMUS Saturday Academy
where he worked on two pre-college research projects in the areas of genomics entitled A Computational Study
of Amino Acid Substitution in the SMPD1 Gene (2009) and A Computational Study of Amino Acid Substitution in
the RASAL 1 Gene (2010) which he later presented in pre-college conferences. Edgardo graduated with honors in
2010 from Saint Francis School and Pa’los Duros. Then he attended his first summer internship at Universidad
Metropolitana (UMET) where he conducted his third research entitled Pandemic of AH1N1 Influenza Virus and
Vaccination Effectiveness (2010). After the internship, Edgardo started college at UMET studying BioMathematics with a full scholarship from the National Science Foundation. During his freshman year, he
attended two national conferences in the United States presenting his summer research- the 68th Joint Annual
Meeting of the BKX Honor Society/National Institute of Science (held in Atlanta, Georgia) and the 2011
Richard Tapia Conference (held in San Francisco, California). Later, in the summer of 2011, he attended an the
Massachusets Institute of Technology (MIT), where he conducted his fourth research, Hierarchical Analysis of
Music and Spider Silk using Category Theory. Edgardo attended the Society for the Advancement Hispanics,
Chicanos & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) 2011 conference (held in San Jose, California), and the
2012 Joint Mathematical Meeting (held in Boston, Massachusetts). He is currently a mentor in the AGMUS
Saturday Academy in the areas of Genomics, Bio-Statistics, and Bio-Mathematics, which is his main major at
UMET.
22
23
Universidad Metropolitana
The history of the AGMUS Institute of Mathematics began on September 1, 2008 when the National Science
Foundation awarded UMET a five‐year grant for $2,100,000 to implement a program to enhance bio mathematics
at the Ana G. Méndez University System. The grant created a BS in Bio‐Mathematics with scholarship
opportunities for students with a GPA of 3.00 or higher and a commitment to pursue graduate studies in partner
institutions in the US mainland. During the summer, math scholars will travel to research institutions in the US
mainland to work in research for a period of 8‐10 weeks. A pre‐college research agenda will be implemented on
Saturdays under the Saturday Academy of the Student Research Development Center (SRDC) of the Vice‐
Presidency for Planning and Academic Affairs. Scholars of the AGMUS Institute of Mathematics will present
research outcomes in symposia at the pre‐college and undergraduate levels
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
∙ Scholarship for the cost of Registration*
∙ Stipend of $400*
*This stipend is computed according to the student GPA and is subject to renovation is accordance with academic progress.
ELIGIBILITY
∙ Be admitted at the Department of Science and Technology at UMET in the Bachelor Degree in Bio‐Mathematics.
New Students
∙ Have a general high school average (GPA) of 3.00 or higher ‐ Score of 600 or higher in the math section of the College Board Exam.
Transferred Students
∙ Have a general high school average (GPA) of 3.00
For more information contact :
Wanda I. Rodríguez Lugo
Coordinator of Institute of Mathematics
Tel: (787) 766-1717 x6009
Fax: (787)751-5386
Email. um_wrodrigu@suagm.edu
institute.math@gmail.com
Web Page: http://www.suagm.edu/umet/im/
24
25
For more information contact:
Luis F. Font
CCCE Coordinator
Tel. (787)766-1717 ext. 6945
lufont@suagm.edu
http://ccce.suagm.edu
26
ANA G. MENDEZ UNIVERSITY SYSTEM
STUDENT RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT CENTER
The Caribbean Computing Center for Excellence
invites you to participate in the workshop for teachers:
Offered by
“Team Alice”
Inter-American University, San Germán
Date: Saturday, May 12, 2012
Time: 12:00-4:00pm
Place: Sheraton Puerto Rico Convention
Center Hotel
San Juan, P.R.
For registration, go to:
http://ccce.suagm.edu
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Luis F. Font, CCCE Coordinator
Tel. (787)766-1717 ext. 6945
Email: lufont@suagm.edu
Participants who complete the workshop will receive a $50.00 stipend.
Please confirm. Limited spaces.
27
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012
SHERATON PR CONVENTION CENTER HOTEL
7:00 – 8:00 a.m.
POSTER SESSION SET-UP
Breakfast
REGISTRATION
8:00 – 8:20 a.m.
OPENING CEREMONY
Welcome
: Dr. Juan F. Arratia, Executive Director
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Carlos Rosado
Vice President and Dean of Continuing
Education, Ana G. Méndez Univ. System
8:20 – 10:40 a.m.
POSTER SESSION
SAN JUAN BALLROOM
ASTRONOMY, BIOLOGY, GENOMICS, BIOMATHEMATICS, BIO-STATISTICS,
COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY, COMPUTER
SCIENCES, ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL
SCIENCES, ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES,
NANOTECHNOLOGY AND ROBOTICS
Chairperson: Dr. Oscar González, Universidad Metropolitana
ASTRONOMY
Joel Arocho, Padre Aníbal Reyes Belén High School,
Hatillo, Puerto Rico.
Christian Rivera, Luis Felipe Crespo High School,
Camuy, Puerto Rico.
1
Do LIRGs have More Dark Matter?
Yesenia M. Rivera, Harrison Rivera Colón Antonio
Lucchetti Vocational High School, Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
2
Do Luminous Infrared Galaxies-LIRGs- Follow the
Hubble Law?
Verónica M. Torres, Adriana J. Colón; San Felipe
School, Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
Do LIRGs Follow the Tully-Fisher Relation?
28
3
BIOLOGY
Lilliana Aanonsen, San Benito School, Mayagüez,
Puerto Rico.
4
Morphine & Music: How do they Affect the Brain?
Edvin Alvarado, Carvin School, Carolina, Puerto
Rico.
5
The Design of a New Energy Converter from Ocean
Waves
Jessyliz Camacho, José Aponte de la Torre School,
Carolina, Puerto Rico.
6
Stems Cells: The Perfect Cure for Alzheimer?
Maybelle C. Rosado, San Benito School, Mayagüez,
Puerto Rico.
7
The Function of Pro-Neural MIR-128 as a Tumor
Growth Suppresor in Glioblastoma Multiforme
Gabriela Cuebas, San Benito School, Mayagüez,
Puerto Rico.
8
The Reprogramming of Stem Cells to an Embryonic
State
Alondra Figueroa Sánchez, José Aponte de la Torre
School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
9
Robotic Liquid Dispenser and Reminder
(RLMD4KIDZ) Phase 2
Michael L. Hicks, Santiago Apóstol School, Fajardo,
Puerto Rico.
10
Caffeine’s Effects on Children with ADD/ADHD
Natalie López, Immaculate School, Mayagüez, Puerto
Rico.
11
Efficiency of Lung Cancer Treatments
Alexandra Maldonado and Adriana García, San
Benito School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
The Human Brain Connectivity Between Cognition,
the Visual and the Perceptual Systems
29
12
Orlando Rosa, San Carlos School, Aguadilla, Puerto
Rico.
13
How Dangerous are Cellular Towers?
Ana Rossetti, C.R.O.E.M. School, Mayagüez, Puerto
Rico.
14
Is Ammonia an Effective Antimicrobial Agent For
Beef Products?
Ashlie Santaliz, San Benito School, Mayagüez, Puerto
Rico.
15
Is Sodium Nitrite (NANO2) Really a Safe Food
Preservative?
Zoraida Santiago, C.R.O.E.M. School, Mayagüez,
Puerto Rico.
16
The Effects of the Use of Social Networks on the
Development of Relationships Between Human Beings
Soleil Valentín Carrero,
Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
C.R.O.E.M.
School,
17
Spider Silk: A Revolutionary High Performance
Biomaterial
Stephanie M. Vargas, San Benito School, Mayagüez,
Puerto Rico.
18
The Effects of Cell Phone Use on Human Brain Cells
Jo-Ann Vélez, San Benito School. Mayagüez, Puerto
Rico.
19
The Growing Use of Algae as an Energy Alternative in
the Caribbean Region
GENOMICS
Silkia M. Alvarado Zayas, Santa Teresita Academy,
Naranjito
Puerto Rico.
Comparative Analysis of the KRT1 and KRT10
Proteins in Epidermolytic Hyperkeratosis
30
20
Karla Krystal Alverio Valle, Thomas Alva Edison
School, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
21
Analysis and Comparison of Ebola Virus VP35 and
VP40 and How They Affect the Human Body
Julia Calderón Ramírez and Jaymarie Osorio,
Caguas Military Academy, Gurabo, Puerto Rico.
22
Hair Length in Dogs is Controlled by Fibroblast
Growth Factor Gene 5 (FGF5) and Plays an Important
Role in the Embryonic Development in Humans
Shaquille Raé Carrión Díaz, Cristo de los Milagros
Academy, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
23
Bioinformatic Study and Comparative Analysis
between the 7-DHC Reductase Enzyme and the Lamin
B Receptor in the Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome
José S. Colón Miranda and Katherine Gómez
Restrepo, Caguas Military Academy, Caguas, Puerto
Rico.
24
Phylogenetic Analysis in the Mutation of Amino Acids
in the BLM Gene
Michael Concepción Santana, Bayamón Military
Academy, Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
25
Evolutionary Study Sequence Analysis ABCA12 Gene
in Harlequin Ichthyosis
Amanda Marie Crastz Flores and Kilian Sebastian
Crastz Flores, Nuestra Señora de la Providencia
School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
26
Analysis of HBB-001 and HBB-004 Transcripts of the
HBB Gene and its Relationship with Beta Thalassemia
Disorder
Stephanie Cruz, Carvin School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
27
Analysis of the Sickle Cell Disease Proteins Myoglobin
and Haemoglobin Using Bioinformatics Tools
Bryanda Liz Díaz Romero, Saint Francis School,
Study of Amino Acid Substitution Mutation on the
PROS1 AlphaProtein
31
28
Ian Febus Gómez, Yakaira Mauricio Merced and
Jennifer Suárez Santiago, Caguas Military Academy,
Caguas, Puerto Rico.
29
Comparison of the Huntingtin Gene in Homo sapiens
and Mus musculus
Alejandra Figueroa and Carmen Roque Pérez,
Caguas Military Academy, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
30
Analysis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Caused by
SOD1 Gene Mutation
Desiree Gómez, Margarita Janer Palacios High School,
Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
31
Genomics and Bioinformatics Comparative Analysis
and Visualization
Maroly C. González Pérez, Papa Juan XXIII High
School, Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
32
Study and Analysis of the FMRP
Nathalie González and Alba Cruz Alicea, Caguas
Military Academy Caguas, Puerto Rico.
33
Prion Protein and Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease
José Luis Marrero,
Naranjito, Puerto Rico.
Santa
Teresita
Academy,
34
Bioinformatics Study of the SLC26A2 Protein
Gustavo Alfonso Martínez Muñiz, Homeschooling,
Isamar Torres, Notre Dame School, Caguas, Puerto
Rico.
35
Comparison of the PCM1 Gene Among Three Species:
Humans, Freshwater Planarian, and House Mouse
Nilka Meléndez, Calasanz School, San Juan, Puerto
Rico.
Study of the Neurofibromin Protein Using
Biioinformatic Tools
32
36
Ricardo Meléndez, Marista School, Guaynabo, Puerto
Rico.
37
Tolerance Levels of Amino Acid Substitution on
Protein Fibrocystin
Natalie A. Nieves Echevarría, Papa Juan XXIII High
School, Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
38
Analysis of the BMP Protein Using Bioinformatics
Methods
Jessica N. Pita Aquino, University Gardens High
39
Analysis of the Lamin A Protein Using Bioinformatics
Methods
Jessica N. Ríos Santiago, Santa María del Camino
40
Comparison of PIK3C2A and PIK3C2B Proteins in
Ovarian Cancer
Christopher Rivera Irizarry, University Gardens
High School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
41
Bioinformatics Study and Comparison of the Genes
COL4A3, COL4A4 and COL4A5
Natalia Rodríguez Rivera, Santa Teresita Academy,
Naranjito, Puerto Rico.
42
Bioinformatics Investigation of RAF1 & KRAS
Zabdiel Roldán Ayala, Carvin School, Inc, Carolina,
Puerto Rico.
43
Study of the Creb Protein using Bioinformatics
Methods
Kelvin Santana Rodríguez, University Gardens High
Bioinformatics Study of the PCDH15 Gene in the
Usher Syndrome
33
44
Netsha Santiago, Caguas Private School, Caguas,
Puerto Rico.
45
Sequence Analysis and Comparison of Malaria,
Dengue, and West Nile Virus in Mosquitoes
John D. Vélez Rivera, Ana Delia Flores Santana
Vocational School, Fajardo, Puerto Rico.
46
Amino Acid Sequence Bioinformatics Analysis on
Retinitis Pigmentosa
BIO-MATHEMATICS
Hermes Aponte Rivera; Bonneville School, San Juan,
Puerto Rico.
47
Uranium Decay and its Effect on Future Generations
Gabriela Barreto, Nuestra Señora del Carmen School,
San Juan, Puerto Rico.
48
Computational Analysis Of Amino Acid Changes In
Braf Gene
Justin Cotto Reyes, Miguel Meléndez Muñoz School,
Cayey, Puerto Rico.
49
Sir Model on a(H1N1) in Puerto Rico
Ariely V. Ferrer Zanetti; Carvin School Inc., San
Juan, PuertoRico.
50
Flower Diversity Morning Glories
Kevin A. Garayalde; Escuela Del Deporte De San
Juan, Puerto Rico.
51
Identification of the Relationship Between Velocity
and Force to Perform Effective Kicks in Taekwondo
Fiama Y. Hernández, Carvin School, Inc., Carolina,
Puerto Rico.
The Truth About the "Fat Free" Yogurt and its
Repercussion Modeled Through Cell Division
34
52
José Gabriel Lebrón Zapata, Ramón Vila Mayo
School, San Juan; Puerto Rico.
53
Meteorological Effects of Hurricane Irene in Puerto
Rico
Jonathan López De León, Santa María del Camino
School, Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico.
54
A Dangerous Disease Caused by the Bacillus Gram
Negative Bacteria
Abner Pérez Cabán, Santa María Del Camino,
Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico.
55
H3N2 Exponential Spread
Andrea P. Rivera, Lorenzo Vizcarrondo, Carolina
Puerto Rico.
56
Computational Analysis of Substitution of Amino
Acids In KCNH2 Gene
Marcos Sánchez Navarro, Bonneville School, San
Juan, Puerto Rico.
57
Stem Cells Medical Innovation, Uses and Treatments
Yamilette Santiago Rodríguez,
Carvin
School,
58
Computational Study of Amino Acid Substitution of
KCNQ1 Gene
Jilarie A. Santos Santiago, Bautista de Puerto Nuevo
Academy, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
59
How Vehicles Can Affect the Respiratory System
Rosely Torres, Shakira Rodríguez, Miguel Meléndez
Muñoz School, Cayey, Puerto Rico.
60
Effectivity of Fingerprints: Identification Method
Xandimar Villafañe, San Jorge Academy, Carolina,
Puerto Rico.
Nydiana Benítez, Isidro A. Sánchez School, Luquillo,
Puerto Rico.
Simulation of a Perfect Bowling Strike
35
61
BIO-STATISTICS
Fabiola Agramonte, María Reina School, Guaynabo,
Puerto Rico.
62
Statistical Comparison of Anisakid Nematodes in two
Different Sperm Whales Stranded in the Caribbean
Saimara Alejandro, Bautista de Puerto Nuevo
63
What are the Main Diseases that Cause Death to
Dolphins While in Captivity?
Brian Alicea, Abdiely Betancourt and Christian
Díaz, Caguas Military Academy, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
64
How the Inheritance of Some Traits is Transmitted
from Parents to the Offspring in the Labrador Retriever
Dog?
Alina Amador, María Reina Academy, Guaynabo,
Puerto Rico.
65
Prevalence and Abundance of Halarachne Miroungae
in Harbor Seals, Phoca Vitulina from the Western
Coast of North America
Alondra Yaritza Báez Nieves, Manuela Toro Morice
School, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
66
Application of Mendelian Laws and Punnett Square to
study Inheritance of Autosomal Dominant Juvenil
Myoclonic Epilepsy
Angelie Cambero De La Rosa, Bautista de Puerto
Nuevo Academy, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
67
Rates of Abortion in Women through the Adolescent
and Young Adult Phases
Ediel Corujo, Antilles Military Academy, Trujillo
Alto, Puerto Rico.
68
Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome
Adria Cotto, Bautista de Puerto Nuevo Academy, San
Juan, Puerto Rico.
Mortality Rate for Texting and Driving in the United
States
36
69
Stephanie Cruz, Antilles Military Academy, Trujillo
Alto, Puerto Rico.
70
Bacterium Bartonella henselae and the Effects on Cat
Owners
Luis F. Díaz Figueroa, San Antonio Abad School,
Humacao, Puerto Rico.
71
Statistical Analysis of the Relationship between Down
Syndrome Births in the United States and Main
Characteristics of the Mother During Pregnancy
Natasha García, Dr. José Ozuna School, San Juan,
Puerto Rico.
72
Mathematical Model of the Different Economic
Systems in Puerto Rico
Irene Hammel, María Reina Academy, Guaynabo,
Puerto Rico.
73
Abundance of the Tetraphillidean metacestode,
Phyllobothrium delphini in the Skin of the Roughtooth
Dolphin, Steno bredanensis, stranded in Arroyo, Puerto
Rico
Ana Longo, María Reina Academy, Guaynabo, Puerto
Rico.
74
Mean Intensity of Chiorchis groschafti in the West
Indian Manatee, Trichechus manatus, stranded in
Puerto Rico
Astrid Martínez, Bautista de Puerto Nuevo Academy,
75
The Rates of Mortality caused by the Staphylococcus
aureu Bacteria
Daniela Martínez, María Reina Academy, Guaynabo,
Puerto Rico.
Prevalence and Frequency Distribution of Anisakid
Larvae Found in Phocoena phocoena, the Harbor
Porpoise, Stranded in California
37
76
Karina Miranda,University Garden School, San Juan,
Puerto Rico.
77
Factors that Increase the Annual Liver Cancer
Mortality in Men and Women
Zahiribeth Piñero, Bautista de Puerto Nuevo
78
How has the Human Papilloma Virus Grown in the
Human Population?
Cecilia Pou, María Reina Academy, Guaynabo, Puerto
Rico.
79
Mean Abundance of Anisakid Nematodes from the
Stomach of Kogia simus, Dwarf Sperm Whale
Stranded in the Caribbean
Marlyn Tirado, Cidra Vocational School, Cidra,
Puerto Rico.
80
Statistical Analysis of the Relationship among Types of
Offenses Processed in Puerto Rico
COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY
Christopher Carrasquillo Moulier, Rachel M.
Quintana Santiago, College of Advance Education
Gaudi, Humacao, Puerto Rico.
81
Analysis of Aloe Vera Interactions with Blood Glucose
Ariadna S. Claudio Ortiz, College of Advance
Education Gaudi, Humacao, Puerto Rico.
82
Determination of Folic Acid in Rice
Vilmarie Díaz Pérez, College of Advance Education
83
Comparison between Functional Groups of Tamoxifen
and Arimidex in the Treatment of Breast Cancer
Sergio A. Donato Ferrer, Perpetuo Socorro School,
Determination of Lead in a Wastewater Sample
38
84
Kelvin Perales Lozada, Educación Avanzada Gaudi
School, Humacao, Puerto Rico.
85
Determination of Acidity and Total Hardness of a
Water Sample
Raúl Yamil Soto Delgado, Educación Avanzada
Gaudi School, Humacao, Puerto Rico.
86
How to Make Soap Through a Saponification Reaction
COMPUTER SCIENCES
Abdallah Abdallah, All Saints Cathedral School, St.
Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
87
The Effect of Temperature on Lithium Ion Battery
Capacity
Cinkia Aponte; Pablo Colón Berdecía School,
Barranquitas, Puerto Rico.
88
Mobile Application for Education on Welfare and
Protection of Animals
Jocelyne Bedminster, Charlotte Amalie High School,
St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands.
89
Agent-Based Modeling Approach to the Predator-Prey
Model
Anthony R. Bonilla, Rafael A. Aponte, José Gautier
Benítez School, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
90
Design of a Command Line Binary Selection Text
Game: “Alphacore”
Emanuel Cabrera, Bautista De Levittown Academy,
Toa Baja, Puerto Rico.
91
Derivative and Integrals Calculator
Nishmar Cestero González, Episcopal Cathedral
Scietym: Scientific Word Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes
Dictionary APP
39
92
Alejandro Coste, Bautista de Puerto Nuevo Academy,
93
Reactive List
Jahan Dadlani, David McDonald, All Saints
Cathedral School, U.S. Virgin Islands.
94
Virgin Islands DUI Android/Windows Application:
Enddrunkdriving
Maylene Díaz, Luis Muñoz Marín School,
95
Guide 4 the Stars
Khyle Encarnación, Danté Francis, K'Jani Hall, St.
Croix Educational Complex, St. Croix, Virgin Islands.
96
Controlling the Irobot Using Android Devices
Isaías D. García Vázquez, Eliud Carrión Vega,
Antonio Fernos Isern Vocational School, San Lorenzo,
Puerto Rico.
97
Design of a Simple Video Player Using Python
Jerrad Havemann, Antilles School, U.S. Virgin
Islands.
Kyle Gonsalves, Charlotte Amalie High School, U.S.
Virgin Islands.
98
Low-Mass Star Formation of NGC 133: A
Multiwavelength
Kevin Huang Zu, Wascar Richiez, Bautista de Puerto
Nuevo Academy, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
99
Remote Desktop Connection Performance
Joshua Ledee, Pawan Dodani, All Saints Cathedral
School, U.S. Virgin Islands.
100
Virgin Islands DUI IOS Application: Enddrunkdriving
Richard Lee, Home Schooling, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The Ballistic Trajectory Simulator
40
101
Biko McMillan, St. Croix Educational Complex, St.
Croix, Virgin Islands.
102
RT Programming in Railroad Concept: Collision
Prevention and User-Friendly Implementation
Valeria Menéndez, San Benito School, Mayagüez,
Puerto Rico.
103
The Effectiveness of Using the Memory-Assist System
with Technology
Marcel Morales Torres, Central de Artes Visuales
104
Tennis Game Tracker Application
Nelson R. Olivera Collazo, Blanca Rodríguez
Irizarry; Lola Rodríguez de Tió High School, San
Germán, Puerto Rico.
105
Public Service Announcement Movie Using Alice
Programming Language
Yomar Ortiz, Pablo Colón Berdecía School,
106
A Common Virtual Space for Learning Physics in High
School
Gian Carlos Padilla Cruz, Kevin Matos Salgado,
María Teresa Piñeiro School, Toa Baja, Puerto Rico.
107
Virtual Machine in Real Work Environment
Jean Luis Pérez Colón, Lorenzo Vizcarrondo School,
108
Physics Applied to Basketball
Kiddany Pérez, Bautista de Levittown Academy, Toa
Baja, Puerto Rico.
109
Periodic Table for Window Phone
Alexandra Rivera, José Aponte de la Torre School,
Cars that Run on Magnetic Forces
41
110
Ashley Rodríguez Suárez, Kaylee Galindo Vega,
Lola Rodríguez de Tió High School, San Germán,
Puerto Rico.
111
Environmental Issues Awareness Through Storyboard
Animation Using the Alice Programming Language
Ashley M. Rodríguez Suárez, Stephanie R. Ventura
Vega, Lola Rodríguez de Tío High School, San
112
A Practical Comparison of Object-Oriented Languages
and Assembler Solving the Factorial
Jan M. Rodríguez, Jose Aponte de la Torre School,
Juan C. Pérez, Gilberto Concepción de Gracia School,
113
Mechanic Assistant
Karla Rosado, Luis Muñoz Marín School,
114
Android APP for Preventing Unwished Pregnancy on
Young People
Tatiana Rosado, Pablo Colón Berdecía School,
115
Teaching the Alphabet to Elementary School Children
Through a Mobile Application
Andres Rosner, San Ignacio Loyola School, San Juan,
Puerto Rico.
Oswaldo Castillo, Gabriela Mistral School, San Juan,
Puerto Rico.
116
Geolock
Pablo Sepúlveda, Javier Cruz, Bautista De Levittown
Academy, Toa Baja, Puerto Rico.
117
Sir Epidemic Calculator
Marielena Soto, Luis Muñoz Marín School,
Mobile Application for Gluten Free Diet
42
118
Noah Stolz, Virgin Islands Montessori School and
International Academy, US Virgin Islands.
119
An Application of the Cellular Automate to Simulate
the Prey-Predator Model: A Case Study of the IndoPacific Lionfish
Alondra M. Torres Sotillo, Natalie Rosario Burgos,
Lola Rodríguez de Tió High School, San Germán,
Puerto Rico.
120
Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio: Recursion,
Interation and Explicit Solution
Leyra Torres, Luis Muñoz Marín School,
121
Cyber School Agenda
William Van Rensselaer, Antilles School, U.S. Virgin
Islands.
Portia Norkaitis, Akil Turner-Richards, All Saints
Cathedral School, U.S. Virgin Islands.
122
Design and Implementation of the Quasar
Programming Language: Preliminary Results
Juan Vázquez, Cristo Redentor School, San Lorenzo,
Puerto Rico.
123
Design of a Simple Question Game Using JAVA
Sabrina White, St. Croix Educational Complex, St.
Croix, Virgin Islands.
124
Increasing Scribbler Mobility with an Android Phone
ENGINEERING
Gianni Algarín Rivera, Carvin School, Carolina,
Puerto Rico.
125
On the Use of Modified Textiles for Energy
Conversion Applications
Christian X. Alvarado, Priamo A. Pichardo, Caguas
Military Academy, Gurabo, Puerto Rico.
Energy Alternatives for Puerto Rico
43
126
Gabriel Alvarado, Pedro Lefevre, Caguas Military
Academy, Gurabo, Puerto Rico.
127
Comparison Between Artificial and Natural
Intelligence
Ana Bourasseau, Bonneville School, San Juan, Puerto
Rico.
Gustavo Reyes, American Military Academy,
Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
128
How to Find the Optimal Distribution of Charge in IEC
Plasma
Rafael Burgos, Eddiel Cruz, C.R.O.E.M. School,
129
A Solution for the Congestion Problem of the
Vehicular Flow in the Perimeter of UPRM Campus
Aley Jenny De Leٕón Laboy, Lourdes School, San
Juan, Puerto Rico.
130
Boltzmann Relations in the Study of Plasma
Confinement
Lorena Díaz, C.R.O.E.M. School, Mayagüez, Puerto
Rico.
131
How Community Service Volunteers are Providing the
Skills to Solve Existing Water Service Problems in
Ceiba
Luis J. Fonseca, Francisco Ortiz, Yulián Sánchez,
Antonio Fernós Isern Vocational School, San Lorenzo,
Puerto Rico.
132
Efficiency of Converting a Remote Control Car to
Solar Energy
Carlos A. Guzmán, Edgardo A. Mangual, Caguas
Military Academy, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
133
Eosolar House
Steven Jensen, Caribbean School, Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Better Fins for Wind Turbines
44
134
Kevin Joel Marrero Nieves, San Benito School,
135
The Need for Renewable Energy and the Effectiveness
of Solar Energy Versus Wind Energy
William Morales Molina, C.R.O.E.M. School,
136
Optimizing the Production of Hydrogen Using Water
Fabiola Negrette Delgado, María Reina Academy,
Fernando Hernández Millet, Santo Tomás de Aquino
Academy, Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
137
Comparative Study of the Heat Loss Between Flat
Plate Collector and Vacuum Tube Collectors Applied
in Solar Cooling Facilities
David Paeres Castaño, Edwin Rivera Meléndez,
Santo Tomás de Aquino Academy, Bayamón, Puerto
Rico.
138
Influence of the Solar Collector Surface on Useful Heat
for Solar Cooling Applications
Rafael Ramos, Caguas Military Academy, Gurabo,
Puerto Rico.
139
How to Apply the Industrial Engineering Method to
Solve a Problem
Christian Rivera, Dr. Pedro Perea Fajardo Vocational
School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
140
Thermal Conductivity of Silver Nanofluids
Daniel Rodríguez, Miguel Martínez, C.R.O.E.M.
School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
The Development and Programming of a Mobile
Application to Organize Class Schedules and
Assignments
45
141
Valerie Vázquez Santiago, Ernesto González Colón,
Santos Tomás de Aquino Academy, Bayamón, Puerto
Rico.
142
Difference on Useful Heat Gained with Respect to
Different Solar Collector Technologies in Solar
Cooling Applications
Anthony Vélez, Manuela Toro Morice School,
143
Marine Windmill
Darlene Vidal, Puerto Rico Christian School, Toa
Baja, Puerto Rico.
Jonathan Lorenzo, Bautista de Puerto Nuevo
144
How to Obtain the Minimum Charge with the
Minimum Iterations in Which the Points will Coincide
with the Voltage in the Ring
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Odemaris Carrasquillo, José Aponte de la Torre
145
Implementation of a New Agronomic Technique Using
Potassium Polyacrylate and Biomaterials to Increase
Moisture in a High Dry Land
María E. Herrera Díaz and Jesús A. Sánchez Vélez,
Manuel Mediavilla Negrón School, Humacao, Puerto
Rico.
146
The Effect of the Pipeline on the Aquifer
Melanie E. Quiñones Candelaria; José Aponte de la
Torre School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
147
Impact of Human Activity on Water Quality and
Rhyzophora mangle
Thalía Rivera, Dayany Berríos and Emanuel Torres,
Manuel Mediavilla Negrón School, Humacao, Puerto
Rico.
The Use of Magnetism as Insecticide in Plants
46
148
Irving A. Santiago Robles, Manuel Mediavilla
Negrón School, Humacao, Puerto Rico.
149
How the Gasoduct Affects the Residents’ Emigration
Area
Nakisha Villegas Cardona and Raisa Aponte
Figueroa, Manuel Mediavilla Negrón School,
150
How Does the Quality of Water Affect the Community
and the Atmosphere?
ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES
Ihan Acevedo, San Felipe School, Arecibo, Puerto
Rico.
Joshua Pupo, Antonio Luchetti Vocational School,
Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
151
Comparing the F-Region (O+) and Plasmaphere
(H++HE+) Contributions to the VTEC (Vertical Total
Electron Content) During the Anomalous Solar
Minimum
Rebecca Agosto Matos, Home Schooling, Carolina,
Puerto Rico.
Rafael Rosa Díaz, Santiago Apóstol School, Fajardo,
Puerto Rico.
152
Shipwrecks, Geological and Meteorological Activity
Near the Sargasso Sea
Laura Aponte, Yazmín Torres, Padre Aníbal Reyes
Belén, Hatillo, Puerto Rico.
153
Geomagenitc Storms Prediction for the Increasing
Portion of Solar Cycle 24
Yamilette Díaz, Tamara Nieves, San Felipe School,
Morphology of The E-Region Over The Arecibo
Observatory Based on Isr Radar Data
47
154
Luis Raúl Gómez, Alexis Serrano; Santiago R.
Palmer School, Camuy, Puerto Rico.
Gabriel Amador, San Felipe School, Arecibo, Puerto
Rico.
155
Determination of the Thermospheric Atomic Oxygen
Over the Arecibo Observatory Region Based on FabryPerot Interformer and Incoherent Scatter Radar Data
Felipe Pérez Toledo, Natalia Montero Pérez, San
Felipe School, Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
156
Is the Ionosphere Over Arecibo Observatory the Same
for the Longest Registered Solar Minimum (End and
Beginning of Solar Cycles #23 and #24)? (Notificar)
NANOTECHNOLOGY
Michelle C. Pérez Ayala, Notre Dame School,
Gabriela Talavera, Santa María del Camino School,
157
Synthesis of Seed-Mediated Gold Nanoparticles:
Effect of Size on Inhibition of Bacteria Growth
Yimari A. Vargas Ramos, San Antonio Abad School,
158
Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles and Toxicity Effects
ROBOTICS
Mariely Caraballo, Antonio Fernós Isern Vocational
School, San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico.
159
Puzzle Solver
Cristian Claros Bradley, Boris Ruíz Pettersson, San
Jorge Academy, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
160
Solving a Maze Path-Planning Problem in a Robotic
Programming Framework for an Optimal Behavioral
Design
Lourdes Cruz, C.R.O.E.M. School, Mayagüez, Puerto
Rico.
Design and Development of a Prototype Remotely
Operated Vehicle (ROV) to Clean Up Oil Spills and
Save Major Ecosystems
48
161
José De Jesús, Saint Francis School, Carolina, Puerto
Rico.
Alec Hernández, Homeschool, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
162
Tsunamis, Earthquakes, Storms, Hurricanes, and
Tornadoes Robotic Street Cleaner
Adrian Gómez, Antonio Fernós Isern Vocational
Osvaldo Massanet, Bautista de Caguas Academy,
163
The Barking Dog Safe Alarm
Jenipher Danline González Aponte, Bautista de
Caguas School, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
164
Solving a Robotic Navigation Problem Using Robust
Detections of Visual Markers
Ián F. Méndez Rivas, Saint Francis School, Carolina,
Puerto Rico.
165
Objects Characteristics Assimilation for a
Classification Problem Using Autonomous Robots
José A. Millán, University Gardens High School, San
Juan, Puerto Rico.
166
Comparison of Path Planning Behaviors for an Optimal
Approach to a Maze Problem
Wilfredo Montañez, Antonio Fernós Isern Vocational
167
“I’m Watching You” Alarm System
Davette Nazario, José Aponte de la Torre School,
Kenneth Hicks, Santiago Apóstol School, Fajardo,
Puerto Rico.
Robotics Math Problem Solver
49
168
Giovanni Pacheco Fuentes, Giovanni Tobar
Quintero; San Ignacio de Loyola School, San Juan,
Puerto Rico.
169
Comparing the Walk Controller and a Programmed
Behavior of a Robotic Framework for a Maze-Solving
Problem
Camila Rodríguez, and Tamara Rosario; Marista
School, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
170
Arm Design for a Praying Mantis Robot
Javier I. Rodríguez and Tahira Castello; St. Mary’s
171
Deconstruction and Reproduction of Beethoven’s Fifth
Symphony by the Create Robot
Onix Tarrats Calderón, Sagrada Familia School,
Corozal, Puerto Rico.
Suriel Cruz, Bayamón Military Academy, Bayamón,
Puerto Rico.
172
Objects Identification and Navigation Using
Autonomous Systems
José E. Vázquez, Notre Dame School, Caguas, Puerto
Rico.
173
Escaping the Maze: Designing, Constructing and
Decoding an Undertermined Path
Karlene Vega and Gabriela Báez, St. Mary’s School,
Create, the Puzzle Solver
POSTER EXHIBITION
NANOTECHNOLOGY
Joel Fuentes, C.R.O.E.M. School, Mayagüez, Puerto
Rico.
The Use of Einstein’s Special Relativity Theory to
Calculate and Compare the Travel Time of Muons with
their Mean Lifetime
50
174
ROBOTICS
Adriel O. Rivera Ruíz, Saint Francis School,
Maze Solving and Objects Recovery Using
Autonomous Robots
10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
COFFEE BREAK
11:00 a.m. – 12:40 m.
ORAL RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS
51
11:00 – 12:40 m.
ORAL PRESENTATIONS
SESSION I GENOMICS AND BIO-STATISTICS
SAN JUAN BALLROOM
Chairperson: Dr. Ángel Arcelay, Universidad del Este
GENOMICS
11:00 – 11:10 a.m.
Jailisse Acosta, University Gardens High School, San Juan,
Puerto Rico.
Analysis of the VHL Protein in the Von-Hippel Lindau
Syndrome Using Bioformatics Methods
11:10 – 11:20 a.m.
Mario A. Barenas Hernández, Carvin School, Inc., Carolina,
Puerto Rico.
Bioinformatics Study of the CRTAP Protein in Osteogenesis
Imperfecta
11:20 – 11:30 a.m.
Guillermo R. Díaz Ginés, University Gardens High School, San
Juan, Puerto Rico.
Bioinformatics Study and Comparison of the HFE Protein
Hemochromatosis
11:30 – 11:40 a.m.
Glory López Clemente, Bautista de Carolina Academy,
Comparative Study of the PHD Finger Protein 8 Using BioInformatics Tools
11:40 – 11:50 a.m.
Valeria Lee Medina Bermúdez, San Antonio Abad School,
Analysis of the Relationship of LMNA Protein, LMNA Gene
and Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS)
Osvaldo D. Rivera, Adianez School, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
11:50 – 12:00 a.m.
Bioinformatic Comparative Analysis of RANKL and CD137
Proteins In Multiple Myelomas
52
BIO-STATISTICS
12:00 – 12:10 m.
Brayan Alvarado, Antilles Military Academy, Trujillo Alto,
Puerto Rico.
The Effects of the Iritis Disease that Ultimately Leads to
Glaucoma
12:10 – 12:20 m.
Gisselle González, Bautista de Puerto Nuevo Academy, San
Juan, Puerto Rico.
Stimulants in Medical Students
12:20 – 12:30 m.
Michael Nieves, Santa Teresita School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Epidemiology, Treatment and Prevention of Human T-Cell
Leukemia
12:30 – 12:40 m.
Jorge Rosado, Antilles Military Academy, Trujillo Alto, Puerto
Rico.
Distiller Process for Natural and Industrial Water
53
11:00 – 12:40 m.
ORAL PRESENTATIONS
SESSION IIASTRONOMY, BIOLOGY, BIO-MATHEMATICS
AND ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES
LAGUNA
Chairperson: Dr. Alvaro Lecompte
Inter-American University-San Germán
ASTRONOMY
11:00 – 11:10 a.m.
Edwin C. López Ramos, Carlos E. Marín Pérez, Dr. María
Cadilla de Martínez High School, Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
Is the Gas in a “Strange” State in Luminous Infrared Galaxies?
11:10 – 11:20 a.m.
Linda Sara Morales Vázquez, Bayamón Military Academy,
Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
Why are there Luminous Infrared Galaxies?
BIOLOGY
11:20 – 11:30 a.m.
Jesbaniris Bas Concepción, José Aponte de la Torre
Analysis of Lipid Extraction and Biodiesel Production
from Wastewater Sludge
BIO-MATHEMATICS
11:30 – 11:40 a.m.
Casey Caballero, Radians High School, Cayey, Puerto Rico.
Diabetes Prevention and Treatment Decision Trees
11:40 – 11:50 a.m.
Yadira Comulada, Puerto Rico Christian School, Toa Baja,
Puerto Rico.
Vegetarians and Cancer
11:50 – 12:00 m.
Nicole M. Maldonado Millán, Homeschooler, San Juan, Puerto
Rico.
White Cheeked Pintails
54
12:00 – 12:10 m.
Jennifer Patritti Cram, Manuela Toro Morice School, Caguas,
Puerto Rico.
Linear Algebra and the Phenomenon of Autosomal Inheritance:
The Huntington Disease Case
12:10 – 12:20 a.m.
Gerardo Sánchez, Bonneville School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Black Holes, Destroyers, Creators, and Mysteries of the
Universe
12:20 – 12:30 m.
Natalia Vázquez Berríos, Radians High School, Cayey, Puerto
Rico.
Which Seat Should a Person Take in a Theater?: Finding the
Optimal Place
12:30 – 12:40 p.m.
Edrick Alvarado Rodríguez, Rafael Pérez Berríos,
C.R.O.E.M. School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
The Effect Between the Incidences of Muons as Secondary
Cosmic Rays & Atmospheric Content
55
11:00 – 12:40 p.m.
ORAL PRESENTATIONS
SESSION III
COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY, ENGINEERING,
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES,
NANOTECHNOLOGY AND ROBOTICS
BAHIA
Chairperson: . Dr. Ángel González
Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico
11:00 – 11:10 a.m.
Robert Pérez Ossers, C.R.O.E.M. School, Mayagüez, Puerto
Rico.
The Effect of Metal Concentrations on Cosmetics to Human
Health
ENGINEERING
11:10 – 11:20 a.m.
Xavier Figueroa, Camille Price; Bautista de Puerto Nuevo
Calculating the Energy Number Variation of the Minimum
Charge and Implementing Gauss’ Law to Substantiate Modeling
Effectiveness
11:20 – 11:30 a.m.
Isardo Braverman and Elaine Nazario; José Aponte de la
Torre School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Effects of Hurricane Irene on Streams in the Rio Grande de
Loíza Watershed
11:30 – 11:40 a.m.
Joemy Velázquez Franco and Eliz Janet Castro Santiago,
Manuel Mediavilla Negrón School, Humacao, Puerto Rico.
How the Gasoduct Affects the Fauna and Flora
NANOTECHNOLOGY
11:40 – 11:50 a.m.
Melanie Cruz Cruz, Antilles Military Academy, Trujillo Alto,
Puerto Rico.
The Effect of Citrate on the Inhibition of Bacteria Growth Using
Silver Nanoparticles
56
11:50 – 12:00 m.
Arnaldo Mercado-Pérez, Marista “El Salvador” School,
Manatí, Puerto Rico.
Toxicity Effect of PEG and PVP Coated Silver Nanoparticles
Through Bacterial Growth Inhibition
ROBOTICS
12:00 – 12:10 m.
Diego Carrasquillo Martínez and Carlos Torres Quiñones,
St. Mary’s School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Create The Mathematician
12:10 – 12:20 m.
Jonnathan Ortiz, Karielys Ortiz, Antonio Fernós Isern
Vocational School, San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico.
Robot Guide Dog
12:20 – 12:30 m.
Ángel Pérez, San José Academy, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Rose Cruz, Lourdes School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
How Does a Calliope5KP Find a Better Behavior to Resolve a
Complicated Maze?
12:30 – 12:40 m.
Brenda Rivera, Bayamón Military Aca++demy, Bayamón,
Puerto Rico.
Mario Ochoa, San Ignacio School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Using Robots for Object’s Characteristics Recognition to
Solve Classification Problems
57
11:00 – 12:30 p.m.
ORAL PRESENTATIONS
SESSION IV
COMPUTER SCIENCES
MIRAMAR
Chairperson: . Dr. Eliana Valenzuela
University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo
COMPUTER SCIENCES
11:00 – 11:10 a.m.
Fadi T. Abumoala, Luis Negrón López High School, Sabana
Grande, Puerto Rico.
Division Algorithm for Complex Integers
11:10 – 11:20 a.m.
Gerald Almodóvar Méndez, Luis Negrón López High School,
Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico.
Affine Cryptographic Codes Using Complex Integers
11:20 – 11:30 a.m.
Edwin J. Alvarado, Caguas Military Academy, Gurabo, Puerto
Rico.
Design of a Metronome Using the Java Platform
11:30 – 11:40 a.m.
Ángel G. Andino, Santa Gema School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Web Solution for a Clickers System in Smart Phones
11:40 – 11:50 a.m.
Frankie Cabrera, Bautista de Puerto Nuevo Academy, San
Juan, Puerto Rico.
How to Improve Network Efficiency Using GNS3
11:50 – 12:00 m.
Rafael Cabrera, Bautista de Levittown Academy, Toa Baja,
Puerto Rico.
Expanding a Meta Search Engine Application by Adding Image
Search Functions
12:00 – 12:10 m.
Ángel Cruz Soto, Luis Negrón López, High School, Sabana
Grande, Puerto Rico.
Modular Arithmetic in Complex Integers
12:10 – 12:20 m.
Ademyr Rivera Ríos, Ernesto Ramos Antonini School, San
Juan, Puerto Rico.
Scientific Calculator
58
12:20 – 12:30 m.
Carlos Toro, Southwestern Educational Society (SESO) School,
Fixing the BCS to Save College Football and the Economy
59
ABSTRACTS
ASTRONOMY
DO LIRGs HAVE MORE DARK MATTER?
Joel Arocho, Padre Aníbal Reyes Belén High School, Hatillo, Puerto Rico.
Christian Rivera, Luis Felipe Crespo High School, Camuy, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Dr. Tapasi Ghosh, Arecibo Observatory, Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
Dark matter is the term used to describe material in the universe that does not emit, absorb or reflect
light. It is invisible, but its presence is revealed by the gravitational effects on objects that we can see.
A Luminous Infrared Galaxy (LIRG) is a galactic body whose defining characteristic is in emitting
more than 1011 solar luminosities in the far-infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The purpose
of this project is to compare the ratio of neutral-hydrogen (HI) mass to total dynamical mass (MHI /
Mdyn) for a sample of LIRGs to that for a sample of normal galaxies. We measure the amount of
neutral hydrogen in the galaxy spectrum by using the standard equation, MHI = 2.36 × 105 DL2 ∫s dv,
where DL is the distance to the galaxy, and ∫s dv is the area under the HI spectrum). Since the
rotational speed of the HI gas in a galaxy (at a particular inclination angle) determines the width of the
spectrum, this can be used to determine the Mdyn , a quantity dominated by the presence of dark matter
(as demonstrated by various researchers in this field). Comparison of the ratio, MHI / Mdyn, between our
sample of LIRGs and a control sample of normal galaxies will help us investigate if LIRGs have a
relatively higher fraction of dark matter in them.
IS THE GAS IN A “STRANGE” STATE IN LUMINOUS INFRARED GALAXIES?
Edwin C. López Ramos, Carlos E. Marín Pérez; Dr. Maria Cadilla de Martínez High School,
Luminous Infrared Galaxies, also known as LIRGs, are galaxies that emit 90% of their light in
infrared. These galaxies create one hundred times more stars in comparison with normal galaxies. The
objective of this project is to investigate if the gas in these LIGRs is in a “strange” state. The data has
been obtained via radio spectroscopic observations of neutral hydrogen (HI) and OH radicals present
in the interstellar space of these galaxies. Detection of any HI in absorption will indicate if there is
presence of any cold gas in the LIRGs. Also, presence of dust in these galaxies can be determined via
detection of OH emission. The other aspect that will be investigated is whether the HI line profile has
asymmetric properties indicating effects of interactions with other nearby galaxies. The findings will
be compared to similar properties for normal spiral galaxies.
60
WHY ARE THERE LUMINOUS INFRARED GALAXIES?
Linda Sara Morales Vázquez; Bayamón Military Academy, Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
Luminous Infrared Galaxies (LIRGs) have become the dominant population of extragalactic objects in
the local Universe, being more numerous than optically selected starburst and Seyfert galaxies and
quasi-stellar objects at comparable bolometric luminosity. In order to understand why these galaxies
are so luminous in infrared light we are comparing the amount of neutral-hydrogen (MHI) in a sample
of 33 LIRGs to that for a control sample of 20 normal galaxies. To measure the amount of neutral
hydrogen in the galaxy spectrum, we use the equation, MHI = 2.36 × 105 DL2 ∫s dv, where DL is the
distance to the galaxy, and ∫s dv is the area under the HI spectrum. The comparison will lead us to
decide if any excess neutral-hydrogen gas is related to the cause of the high infrared luminosity of the
LIRG’s.
DO LOMINOUS INFRARED GALAXIES-LIRGs- FOLLOW THE HUBBLE LAW?
Yesenia M. Rivera; Antonio Lucchetti Vocational High School, Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
Harrison Rivera Colón; Antonio Lucchetti Vocational High School, Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
All of the galaxies in the Universe emit some kind of light, some more or less than others. In our
research we are studying those galaxies that emit their most intense light in the infrared band. These
are called Luminous Infrared Galaxies (LIRGs). Our research goal is to inquire if, like normal
galaxies, LIRGs also follow Hubble’s law. In 1929, Edwin Hubble noted that the further away a
galaxy was, the faster it was moving away from us. This can be expressed as, V=H0D and is called the
Hubble's Law. The recessional velocities of the galaxies in our sample of LIRGs are derived from the
observations of (redshifted) neutral hydrogen (HI) spectra, and the application of the Doppler Effect.
An independent indication of their distances will be obtained from their apparent angular sizes, as
gathered from literature. We will then plot the velocities obtained from the HI spectra against the
angular sizes of these Galaxies, and explore whether or not the Hubble law is followed by the galaxies
in our sample.
61
DO LIRGs FOLLOW THE TULLY-FISHER RELATION?
Verónica M. Torres, Adriana J. Colón; San Felipe School, Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
The purpose of this research is to study the LIRGs (Luminous Infrared Galaxies) and see if they
follow the Tully-Fisher relation. The LIRGs are different to normal galaxies for the fact that they emit
90% of their light in infrared. The Tully-Fisher relation states that the bigger the galaxy is, the faster it
rotates. The faster the galaxy rotates, the wider is the emission line in velocity. Also, the bigger the
galaxy, the more is its luminosity. Tully-Fisher relation shows that for normal galaxies, the velocity
width (W) of the lines is proportional to its luminosity (L) following an equation, L ∝ Wα . In a
sample of 33 LIRGs we are measuring the neutral hydrogen emission line width. We will find the
luminosities of these galaxies from literature and study if the Tully-Fisher law is maintained by the
LIRGs. This will indicate whether the LIRGs are peculiar either in their motion or in the amount of
light they emit.
62
ABSTRACTS
BIOLOGY
MORPHINE & MUSIC: HOW DO THEY AFFECT THE BRAIN?
Lilliana Aanonsen, San Benito School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Prof. Pieter Van der Meer, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor Assistant: Gilberto Jiménez, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
Morphine is a narcotic analgesic used to relieve pain. It activates the brain’s reward system and affects
directly the nervous system. Music, however, stimulates different parts of the brain, and one of them
(the nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental) releases a substance known as dopamine, which is
linked to the brain’s reward system and makes the person feel good. The connection between music
and morphine due to the dopamine is of great interest in the medical community. That is why this
research consisted of seeing which parts of the brain are affected by music, as well as figure out if
morphine and music can be further linked together to create new recovery therapies and reduce the use
of morphine, which is known to cause addiction. One of the possible results of this research is that
music and morphine are indeed related, and therefore, the number of answers in favor of the presence
of dopamine in the body will increase in comparison with the control group. The experiment consisted
of three (3) different music genres, one (1) song per genre and three (3) persons for each song. The
control group also consisted of three (3) persons. Each of the participants listened to a designated song
and answered a questionnaire of 10 questions related to the effect of morphine in the human body. The
purpose of these questions was to figure out if the part of the brain in charge of the dopamine
production was stimulated or not, and to see if the person had any kind of reaction similar to one of
those a person under morphine effects. This may uncover opportunities for the creation of new
recovery methods involving the use of both morphine and music on them, instead of using only
morphine.
63
THE DESIGN OF A NEW ENERGY CONVERTER FROM OCEAN WAVES
Edvin Alvarado, Carvin School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Prof. Gerson Restrepo, Universidad del Este, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
The escalating prices of fossil fuels have focused the future of energy use into renewable cleaner
sources. Renewable energy can be obtained from the sun, wind, steam, and water currents.
Nevertheless, there are few developments to take energy from the ocean waves. The Atlantic Ocean is
one of the most active oceans; there are big bodies of water around Puerto Rico and the long coastlines
of the United States, representing untapped sources of energy. Wind farms or solar plants are attractive
technologies, but they demand massive use of terrain which is limited in Puerto Rico. To produce
renewable energy, it is better that water sources are used while not affecting the use of the beaches. A
way to convert the energy of ocean waves into electrical energy was created which will contribute to
the independence of fossil fuels. A non-invasive ocean wave energy conversion design has been
fashioned using Google SketchUp, which could be implemented near beaches, bringing cheaper
electricity. The energy converter was designed to not interfere with ships and bathers alike. The design
included a long cylindrical tube with fixed coils positioned in such a manner that their vector area
pointed radially outward. The coils were concentrically surrounded by a toroidal arrangement of
magnets. On the outside, there were a set of rotating blades disposed perpendicularly to the surface of
the tube which received the impulse of the ocean waves at near floor level. This movement was
transferred to the magnets and the relative moment between the magnets and the inner coils induced
electricity.
ANALYSIS OF LIPID EXTRACTION
WASTEWATER SLUDGE
AND
BIODIESEL
PRODUCTION
FROM
Jesbaniris Bas Concepción; José Aponte de la Torre School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Prof. Yiria E. Muñiz Costas; José Aponte de la Torre School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
The most promising renewable alternative fuel, biodiesel, is produced from various lipid sources.
Primary and secondary sludge of municipal wastewater treatment facilities are potential sources of
lipids. In this study, the influence of different variables on the lipid extraction and biodiesel production
from dried wastewater sludge was investigated aiding in the development of a system to reduce the
existing wastewater pipe’s lipid clogging problem in the treatment facilities. The sewage sludge was
obtained from Aqueducts and Sewage Authority plant facilities in Piñones and Puerto Nuevo. To
evaluate the potential of sewage sludge, extracted lipids for biodiesel production both-acid-catalyzed
transesterification and alkali-catalyzed transesterification of lipids were performed and compared. The
fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield and quality of the alkali and acid- catalyzed transesterification of
the extracted lipids were determined by gas chromatography. Also, the fuel properties like, refractive
index, acid value, viscosity and density were estimated.
64
STEMS CELLS: THE PERFECT CURE FOR ALZHEIMER?
Jessyliz Camacho; José Aponte de la Torre School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Alzheimer’s, a progressive disorder of the brain, does not have a cure. The purpose of this research
was to find the reasons that prove that stem cells are the cure to look forward to. With these results, the
quality of life can be improved for many people with this disease. The methods used in this research
were the analysis of documents and research about stem cells and Alzheimer and showing how the
stem cells work.
THE FUNCTION OF PRO-NEURAL MIR-128 AS A TUMOR GROWTH SUPPRESOR IN
GLIOBLASTOMA MULTIFORME
Maybelle C. Rosado, San Benito School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor Assistant: Gilberto Jiménez, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico .
This investigation was about the function of miR-128 in glioblastoma multiforme and how this gene
can make the tumor grow wide and big in the human brain. Glioblastoma multiforme is a type of
glioma, a tumor that starts commonly in the brain that is virulent, fast-growing and starts in the glia
which is a group of support cells for the brain that nourish the brain and help guide signals that are
transmitted along the neurons. Glioblastoma can cause severe damages on the human brain and also
death. But just like any other type of cancer, there is a gene that causes the tumor to grow without
stopping. That gene is the miR-128. This investigation presents the function of miR-128 and how the
gene affects the human brain. The problem of this tumor is that it does not have a cure, even with
chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy. It is nearly impossible to cure the tumor. But there are still
experts trying to look for the cure by putting together two different chemotherapy treatment substances
that can be the cure for the disease. The goal of this investigation was to inform the functions of the
gene in glioblastoma multiforme and also the possible cure for such a devastating tumor. MiR-128 is a
gene composed of non-coding RNA that is involved in the post-transcriptional regulation of gene
expression in multicellular organisms. This investigation will help to understand the different roles of
pro-neural miR-128 in cancer. People can become familiar about the genes involved with the
development of glioblastoma multiforme. Also this investigation can help the science community by
creating other ways to stop this gene from growing without suppressing the tumor. It can guarantee a
longer period of life for the persons that are diagnosed with the tumor.
65
THE REPROGRAMMING OF STEM CELLS TO AN EMBRYONIC STATE
Gabriela Cuebas, San Benito School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
Stem cells offer different kinds of therapy and the ability to regenerate damaged tissues. Finding stem
cells in the human body in large amounts is impossible. There are only three main sources for
obtaining stem cells: Adult stem cells which are obtained from bone marrow or the peripheral system,
Cord cells obtained from the umbilical cord and embryonic cells. Many people are against using
embryonic cells because they think that it is an attempt to play God that devalues human life and is
morally unacceptable. It is not an easy process to extract or obtain these stem cells; this is why stem
cell reprogramming has taken a significant leap in science. A group of medical researchers showed
that normal skin cells can be reprogrammed to an embryonic state. With this research specific induced
pluripotent stem cells which have the ability to cure any human disease, can be made. This process
makes the patient have a somewhat easier access to stem cells that are compatible with his or her other
cells.
ROBOTIC LIQUID DISPENSER AND REMINDER (RLMD4KIDZ) PHASE 2
Alondra Figueroa Sánchez; José Aponte de la Torre School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
The major difficulty faced by parents/guardians when their children get sick is the complexity of
treatments, when more than two medications are required. The different medication times can confuse
the guardian who can forget to give the correct dosage of medicines at the correct times. This
investigation has focused on how parents give their children the wrong medication, the incorrect dose,
and the harmful effects that may have on them. Across the United States nearly 800,000 children have
to be rushed to the emergency room each year because of accidental poisoning. Around 5,700 children
end up in the emergency room each year because caregivers accidentally give the child an overdose of
over-the-counter medications. This research suggests that the RLMD4KIDZ will help provide
medications at the proper time and the correct dose, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The
RLMD4KIDZ will also warn the parent or guardian when the child needs to take any respiratory
therapy, inhalers, nasal sprays, eye drops, ears drops, a skin cream, or insulin.
66
CAFFEINE’S EFFECTS ON CHILDREN WITH ADD/ADHD
Michael L. Hicks, Santiago Apóstol School, Fajardo, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Edgardo Vázquez Rodríguez, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Research PI Mentor: Dr. Ángel Arcelay, Universidad Del Este, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Research Assistant Mentor: Elvin Méndez Sotomayor, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto
Rico.
Caffeine on regular causes children to become hyperactive and, in some cases, intolerant and
uncontrollable; in adults, it acts as an energy boost. ADD/ADHD is a biological, brain-based
condition that is characterized by poor attention and distractibility and/or hyperactive and impulsive
behaviors; it is one of the most common mental disorders that develop in children. Caffeine works as a
stimulant and it’s been marked to have a potential to treat ADD/ADHD. Research has found that, like
stimulants in medications for the conditions, all work the same way by increasing dopamine levels and
blocking the reuptake of key neurotransmitters in the brain like norepinephrine. If caffeine is
consumed in large doses, it can cause nervousness, irritability, anxiety, muscle twitching,
tremulousness, insomnia, and a condition called caffeinism. Caffeine can help kids with these
condition focus easily in school, if the child has ADHD, it helps such child calm down, it helps them
sleep, etc. Symptoms may continue through adolescence and adulthood. If left untreated, it can lead to
poor school/work performance, poor relationships and a feeling of low self-esteem. We hypothesize
that caffeine has the potential to become a treatment for ADD/ADHD. A plan has been designed to
potentially help school children with these conditions. It consists on providing them with a daily dose
of caffeine during school hours and tracking their reactions.
67
EFFICIENCY OF LUNG CANCER TREATMENTS
Natalie López, Immaculate School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
Lung cancer is uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the lung; that uncontrolled reproduction
forms tumors on the tissues of the lung, generally in the protective cover of the air passages in the
cells. Because lungs are large sized, cancer can grow for many years and scatter outside the lungs
without causing suspicions. Furthermore, over the world, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer
deaths in women and men. For those reasons it is important to analyze and compare the efficiency of
lung cancer treatments. These treatments are varied because there are two main types of lung cancer:
small cells lung cancer and non-small cells lung cancer, with different proportion of its treatments.
Some treatments need to be reconsidered because they may have some disadvantages that are not
explained or studied after being recommended for a patient. For instance, some cancer treatments are:
surgery, radiation therapy, laser therapy, photodynamic therapy, and in addition, the most known, the
chemotherapy treatment. Analyzing those treatments can clarify how lung cancer can be overcome
more efficiently. In fact, this research investigates the two main types of lung cancer, and compares
the treatments used to cure them, searching for advantages and disadvantages of the treatments in the
two types of lung cancer, and analyzing the comparison to conclude which treatments are more
effective to counteract cancer.
THE HUMAN BRAIN CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN COGNITION, THE VISUAL AND THE
PERCEPTUAL SYSTEMS
Alexandra Maldonado and Adriana García, San Benito School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
When looking desperately for a lost item, the brain starts working with different speed levels to find it,
but the perceptual system fails to detect the item because of the difference in speed, since the
perceptual system works differently not permitting both systems to "sync" correctly. The brain tries to
send a message about picking up the lost item, touching it or moving it so our visual system can catch
up and realize it. It is very important to understand the function of visual perception, which is the
ability to interpret information and surroundings from the effects of visible light. The cognition is
responsible for the decision-making as well as understanding the solution of problems. An important
detail about brain connectivity is that it is linked to the visual system. Basically this relationship states
that they both work together but they are not at the same function levels. For the investigation, a
webcam was used. The subject completed a series of small tasks and video recorded the eye
movements to evaluate the relationship of the visual system with the perceptual system and drew
conclusions about the possible causes of this lack of sync between both systems. The main task to be
accomplished was to find a hidden object surrounded by a complex background, full of details. Each
subject was evaluated for a set time of one minute and fifty seconds and using the eye tracking
software; the movements of the eyes were determined to find the areas of concentration during the
distribution of one minute and fifty seconds. The tasks were analyzed and the results were organized
to find the percentage of error.
68
HOW DANGEROUS ARE CELLULAR TOWERS?
Orlando Rosa, San Carlos School, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.
Ever wonder how do cellphones connect to the internet, how text messages are sent and how do calls
transfer from person to person? The answer to such inquiries is simple, by connecting to a cellular
phone tower; the text message is sent or transmitted to the intended receiver. Did you ever think that
the radiation emitted by the cellular towers, is dangerous? This problem has been around people since
the beginning of the cell phone service, but no one has ever taken the time to question whether that is
dangerous radiation? The cell phone towers are mainly located in high mountain tops, or top of
buildings. When located on top of a building, it is almost impossible to avoid the contact with
radiation emitted from these towers. These days, human beings are so used to seeing cellular towers
that they forget how harmful they can be. The main goal of this investigation was to provide an
orientation on how dangerous radiation can be and how human beings can avoid it as much as
possible. The expectation from this research project is that no matter how safe the companies may say
their cellular towers are, it is still radiation, and radiation in theory, is harmful for the living
organisms.
IS AMMONIA AN EFFECTIVE ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT FOR BEEF PRODUCTS?
Ana Rossetti, C.R.O.E.M. School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
To prove whether ammonia is effective or not at killing bacteria contained in beef trimmings, a test
was run. The number of bacteria in beef trimmings depends on what substance the beef is in contact
with. Distilled water does not promote bacteria growth or reduces it so it was chosen as the control
substance, while ammonia is the antimicrobial agent under study. Two separated groups (A and B) of
beef trimmings were selected. Group A was soaked in distilled water and Group B was soaked in
ammonium hydroxide for different times. The samples were turned into dilutions of 10¹ and 10³ and
were inserted into agar plates. As expected, all samples from group A were filled with bacteria. The
samples of group B showed a significant reduction of bacteria, some samples did not even contain
bacteria. The biggest average amount of bacteria that survived the ammonia treatment was 3500
bacteria per gram, which is not enough to make a human sick. The smallest average of bacteria per
gram was 23.33. The ammonia treatment worked perfectly. It killed almost all of the bacteria in the
beef and left the beef safe to consume. Thus ammonia proved to be an effective antimicrobial agent.
69
IS SODIUM NITRITE (NANO2) REALLY A SAFE FOOD PRESERVATIVE?
Ashlie Santaliz, San Benito School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
Sodium nitrite (NO2) is commonly used in the food industry as a stabilizer and an additive. It has
antimicrobial properties that inhibit the growth of harmful pathogens and disease-causing bacteria. It is
added to processed meats; especially to cured meats to give them the ideal pink color that makes them
look fresh and to provide the distinctive cured flavor usually found in ham, bacon, and hot dogs. It
also prevents meat spoilage and delays development of botulism and inhibits growth of the bacteria
Clostridium botulinum. Sodium nitrite will always be found in the ingredients of cured meats.
Nevertheless, nitrite is highly toxic by itself. Residual nitrite in cured meat products contributes, under
certain conditions, to the formation of nitrosamines, which are known carcinogenics. The question is
why do industries still use sodium nitrite as the principal additive? Taking into account the
antimicrobial properties of the harmful pathogens and disease-causing bacteria, the objective of this
research project was to find a safer and healthier substitute for sodium nitrite that may work just as
well, if not better, as an inhibitor of C.botulinum bacteria.
THE EFFECTS OF THE USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN HUMAN BEINGS
Zoraida Santiago, C.R.O.E.M. School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor Assistant: Gilberto Jiménez, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Relationships are a vital aspect of human beings. However, a dilemma or choice between two equally
favorable or unfavorable alternatives is existing or seem to exist since interpersonal relationships are
being maintained using cybernetics rather than face to face contact. This research describes how social
networks such as ‘Facebook’, have affected relationships at different stages of development. The
hypothesis established was that female individuals in the developmental stage of adolescence
significantly appreciate the virtual friends on the face. Research variables were interpersonal
relationships (dependent) and users of social network, Facebook, in the developmental stages of preadolescence, adolescence and early adulthood, including gender (independent). To test the hypothesis,
a sample of sixty-six (66) individual’s members of educational institutions in Barceloneta was used.
Eleven (11) females at each stage of development with social network accounts with Facebook
(experimental group) and eleven (11) men at every stage of development with social network accounts
with Facebook (control group). The measurement instrument was a questionnaire consisting of twenty
(26) closed questions. The statistical analysis and Pearson correlation test showed a negative
correlation which proved no significant relevance between gender and age. The conclusion of the
investigation is expected to show that the null hypothesis is accepted, resulting in no significant
relevance between gender and the different stages of development.
70
SPIDER SILK: A REVOLUTIONARY HIGH PERFORMANCE BIOMATERIAL
Soleil Valentín Carrero, C.R.O.E.M. School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
Spider silk is a filamentous natural fiber protein made, in part, of complex protein microstructures,
fragile in appearance, but these webs can stop insects in midflight and are robust enough to trap their
prey. Despite this light and delicate appearance, it is a high-performance biomaterial, with high rates
of modulus of elasticity, tensile strength and tensile strain. The purpose of this research was to find out
whether spider silk is more resistant than steel or not. According to Yoneda (2010), “Scientists
Unlock Secret of Super Strong Spider Silk Material,” spider silk may seem fragile, but it actually has a
tensile strength that is a whopping five times more than steel. Based on this information, could spider
silk be stronger and more flexible than steel actually used for constructions? The qualities of the spider
silk are unique because they combine fiber proteins into physical and mechanical engineering
properties depending on the species. That is why Nephila Clavipes was the species of spider used for
this research because of its high stress and strain. Four (4) samples of Nephila Clavipes silk were
examined and taken to a laboratory where they were tested in a tensile tester to find out their physical
properties. The results of the physical properties of the spider silk were compared to the physical
properties of steel and stainless steel. After comparing results, Nephila Clavipes silk proved to be
stronger and more flexible than steel materials used in actual constructions. Comparison charts and
graphs are used to display this information.
71
THE EFFECTS OF CELL PHONE USE ON HUMAN BRAIN CELLS
Stephanie M. Vargas, San Benito School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
With the increasing use of mobile communication, concerns have been expressed about the possible
interactions of electromagnetic radiation with the human organism and, in particular, the brain. Every
cell phone uses some amount of radiation when in use. This type of radiation is called electromagnetic
radiation. Electromagnetic radiation, as the name suggests, combines the effects of electric and
magnetic fields. In this case, Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR), a form of energy in the
electromagnetic spectrum, is used in wireless communication and emitted from antennae of mobile
telephones and from cellular masts. Being exposed to electromagnetic radiation emitted by cellular
phones continually may damage brain cells, specifically neurons since they are specialized to transmit
and process information and be responsible for different tasks in the human body such as analyzing,
learning and thinking as studied by Salford. In this investigation, neurons were put to test to determine
the difference and variations of behavior given by the person’s way of reasoning to mathematical
problems. The alternate hypothesis was that there will be a change in behavior and/or way of thinking
and analyzing to mathematical problems after being exposed to electromagnetic radiation. This
research involved students between the ages of 15-17. The students were exposed to electromagnetic
radiation for half an hour (30 minutes) and were assigned mathematical problems before and after the
completion of cell phone use to well notice the differences in behavior. All neurons are electrically
excitable, making them act differently when a variation of frequencies are applied. There are not
enough research projects on this topic, and therefore there is not enough information about the effects
of the radiation on the neurons. Further experiments are needed to determine the risks. As a result of
this research, participants took less time to answer the second sheet of exercises after being exposed to
the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the cellphone during those 30 minutes, proving the alternate
hypothesis.
72
THE GROWING USE OF ALGAE AS AN ENERGY ALTERNATIVE IN THE CARIBBEAN
REGION
Jo-Ann Vélez, San Benito School. Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
With a changing world in terms of climate, society and culture, there has come a time in which many
things have had to change. In the fuel market, many new options have arisen. Among the options there
is the possibility of using the oil extracted from algae (seaweed) making a cleaner way to produce
energy because growing algae consumes the CO2 and the algae fuel releases that into the atmosphere.
Algae can be made into a variety of biofuels, including biodiesel, ethanol, hydrogen and biogas.
Genetically modified strains of algae are being developed for algae biofuels, especially high lipidcontent algae. Two and a half kilograms of algae contain one kilogram of lipid oil, making algae forty
percent (40%) lipid content. Algae are used by humans in many ways. They are used as fertilizers, soil
conditioners and are a source of livestock feed. In Puerto Rico the first choice for energy production
has always been fossil fuels even though there is much potential for other types of energy sources. The
possibility for algae farming is very attractive as are other choices like solar, wind and even used
vegetable oil which has been known to be used in some cars recently. The seaweed genus of
macroalga called Sargassum is the most common algae in Puerto Rico that is found in almost every
shoreline and as such is a natural resource. It is in fact considered an invasive species. Sargassum
natan reproduces itself by fragmentation while other types reproduce sexually. The farming of algae is
considered low in cost because of the easy manageability, a requirement for production and its fast
reproduction. The rising gasoline prices make algae farming a commercially viable option in the near
future in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean region.
73
ABSTRACTS
GENOMICS
ANALYSIS OF THE VHL PROTEIN IN THE VON-HIPPEL LINDAU SYNDROME USING
BIOFORMATIC METHODS
Jailisse Acosta, University Gardens High School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Student Research Mentor: Dorielys Valentin, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Student research Mentor Assistant: Luis Ortiz, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Von-Hippel Lindau syndrome is a disorder that causes the formation of tumors in different parts of the
body. These tumors appear during an early stage of adulthood but develop throughout life. Even
though there is no cure for this syndrome, there are treatments such as a nutritional guideline for
cancer prevention. The symptoms that patients with this syndrome may experience are: vomiting,
headaches, loss of balance, and continuous pain. The reason why this syndrome occurs is because of
mutations within the VHL gene. This investigation had different objectives such as inferring a
phylogenetic tree, viewing the 3D VHL protein, comparing and analyzing the amino acid sequence
and mainly acquiring more knowledge of this syndrome and providing information to the society. The
methodology included using various bioinformatics tools such as PubMed (FASTA), EBI(European
Bioinformatics Institute), MEME, GeneDoc, G-Blocks, finally MEGA5.
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE
EPIDERMOLYTIC HYPERKERATOSIS
KRT1
AND
KRT10
PROTEINS
IN
Silkia M. Alvarado Zayas, Santa Teresita Academy, Naranjito Puerto Rico.
Student Research Mentor: Dorielys Valentín, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Student Research Assistant: Luis M. Ortiz, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The mutation in Keratin10 and Keratin9 genes are responsible for causing severe and rare skin
conditions and disorders. Epidermolityc hyperkeratosis is one of the disorders caused by these
proteins. This illness is a rare skin disorder that causes very red skin, erosions, scaling and severe
blisters. This investigation consists in comparing, contrasting and evaluating the differences in the
keratin10 and keratin9 proteins. The objective of this project was completed using programs like
Visual Molecular Dynamics (VMD), MEGA5, and GeneDoc.
74
ANALYSIS AND COMPARISON OF EBOLA VIRUS VP35 AND VP40 AND HOW IT
AFFECTS THE HUMAN BODY
Karla Krystal Alverio Valle, Thomas Alva Edison School, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Brenda Torres-Velásquez, Universidad del Turabo, Gurabo, Puerto Rico.
The virus is named after the Ebola River Valley in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (today
Zaire), which is near the site of the first recognized outbreak in 1976. Ebola is caused by the Ebola
virus, which can be transmitted from person to person. The Ebola virus hemorrhagic fever is a disease
transmitted to humans by direct contact with infected live or dead animals as well as humans, and
more specifically with their body fluid. The sequences of the proteins are VP35 and VP40 from the
Ebola Virus families. Genetic and antigenic classification of Ebola virus isolates during human
outbreaks has led to the recognition of four subtypes — Ebola Sudan, E. Zaire, E. Ivory Coast and E.
Reston. Ebola Reston originates in Asia and has never been reported to cause human disease, but the
other three subtypes move on the African subcontinent and are pathogenic for humans, causing a
specific febrile hemorrhagic disease and sometimes death. This project included a comparison of the
sequences of the proteins VP35 and VP40 from the Ebola Virus families. It covers the transmission,
symptoms, and treatment of the virus, as well as the possibility of it being used for bioterrorism.
BIOINFORMATIC STUDY OF THE CRTAP PROTEIN IN OSTEOGENESIS IMPERFECTA
Mario A. Barenas Hernández, Carvin School, Inc., Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Student Research Mentor: Dorielys M.Valentín, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Student Research Mentor Assistant: Luis M. Ortiz, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a genetic disorder in which the bones of the patient are not well
formed and cannot support their bodies. The genetic disorder’s name, in the vernacular language, is
literally named “Glass Bones”, for the situation the bones are in, and it holds up to its name, with
various stages and able to affect anyone. In regards to any other variables, this disease makes an
impact on both, the physical and emotional status of the patient. This disease can be caused by various
proteins resulting in various stages of the disorder. CRTAP LEPRE1, COL1A1, and COL1A2 are the
known genes that cause this disease. The objective of the research was to compare the CRTAP protein
with E14 binding protein by means of bioinformatics tools. Some of the programs used were
GeneDoc, MEGA5 and Visual Molecular Dynamics (VMD).
75
HAIR LENGTH IN DOGS IS CONTROLLED BY FIBROBLAST GROWTH FACTOR GENE
5 (FGF5) AND PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT IN
HUMANS
Julia Calderón Ramírez and Jaymarie Osorio, Caguas Military Academy, Gurabo, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentors: Brenda Torres-Velásquez, Universidad del Turabo, Gurabo, Puerto Rico.
Paul Brito-Vargas, Universidad del Este, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling plays an important role. The FGF’s are involved in distinct
processes during development of the central nervous system (CNS). The FGF family members possess
broad mutagenic and cell survival activities, and are involved in a variety of biological processes,
including embryonic development, cell growth, morphogenesis, tissue repair, tumor growth and
invasion. The human structure has many similarities with dogs. The question would be if the gene that
controls the length of hair in humans also controls it in animals. For this research, literature on
scientific researches on the genes responsible for hair length was read. After finding the different
genes, their differences and similarities were searched. However all investigations revealed that the
hair length in dogs is controlled by a limited number of genes. One of these genes produces a
recessively inherited long-haired phenotype that has been thought to explain the bulk of hair-length
variation among many breeds and this gene is the FGF5. In humans, this gene is involved in a variety
of biological processes, including embryonic development, cell growth, morphogenesis, tissue repair,
tumor growth and invasion. In conclusion, both dogs and humans have a common gene, but it
performs different functions for both.
BIOINFORMATIC STUDY AND COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN THE 7-DHC
REDUCTASE ENZYME AND THE LAMIN B RECEPTOR IN THE SMITH-LEMLI-OPITZ
SYNDROME
Shaquille Raé Carrión Díaz, Cristo de los Milagros Academy, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
Student Research Mentor Assistant: Luis Ortiz Jordan, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto
Rico.
The Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome is a metabolic disorder that prevents the human body from
developing enough cholesterol to support normal growth and development due to a low occurrence of
the 7-DHC reductase enzyme. It is inherited; one cannot be infected. For a child to inherit this
syndrome, both of his/her parents must carry a defective copy of the DHCR7 gene. It is a very
dangerous syndrome that causes from physical deformities, failure of the organs, mental retardation,
and poor growth. The objectives of this investigation were to find and contrast proteins in other animal
species similar to Homo sapiens’ 7-DHC reductase enzyme and Lamin B Receptor, to investigate the
conservation percentage between the proteins of the selected species, to construct and compare
phylogenetic trees that represent the evolution and motifs, and to evaluate the differences in the 7DHC reductase enzyme and the Lamin B Receptor. The programs used were: Genedoc, MEGA 5, and
Visual Molecular Dynamics (VMD).
76
PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS IN THE MUTATION OF AMINO ACIDS IN THE BLM
GENE
José S. Colón Miranda and Katherine Gómez Restrepo, Caguas Military Academy, Caguas, Puerto
Rico.
The official name of the BLM gene is Bloom syndrome, RecQ helicase-like. BLM is the gene's
official symbol. The BLM gene provides instructions for making a member of a protein family called
RecQ helicases. The BLM protein interacts with several other proteins involved in the maintenance of
genome integrity. With the help of its partner proteins, BLM suppresses sister chromatid exchanges
and helps to maintain the stability of the DNA during the copying process. Researchers believe BLM
restarts the DNA copying process when it stalls, an event that probably happens frequently in the cell.
The BLM gene is located on the long (q) arm of chromosome 15 at position 26.1. In this investigation,
the BLM protein was mutated, changing the amino acid located in the position 100 (Q). The results
were that among the 20 substitutions of the aa, 8 mutations were predicted as damaging, and 12
mutations were predicted as tolerated. The Ensembl database was used to find the BLM gene, and the
BLM protein. To study the mutations, the SIFT program was used. SIFT basically predicts whether an
amino acid substitution affects a protein function or not.
EVOLUTIONARY STUDY SEQUENCE ANALYSIS ABCA12 GENE IN HARLEQUIN
ICHTHYOSIS
Michael Concepción Santana, Bayamón Military Academy, Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
Student Research Mentor: Dorielys M. Valentín, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Student Research Mentor Assistant: Luis M. Ortiz Jordan, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan,
Puerto Rico.
Harlequin ichthyosis is a rare genetic disorder with unestablished cure that mainly affects the skin.
Infants with this condition are born with thick skin covering most of their skin. This genetic disorder is
caused by a mutation in the ABCA12 gene. The ABCA12 gene contains information for developing
proteins that are essential for the development of the skin and has an important role transferring fats
lipids in the epidermis. The purpose of this research was to appraise the dissimilarity between
ABCA12 and ABCA13 and in the selected species determine the evolutionary changes in the gene of
interest. The methods used in this research were Pubmed, NCI-Blast, Genedoc, MEME, Mega5, PDB,
VMD. NCBI (Pubmed) is a free database accessing the MEDLINE database of references. GENEDOC
is a Full Featured Multiple Sequence Alignment Editor, Analyzer and Shading Utility. MEME is a
method that search “motifs” in the protein. MEGA 5 is an integrated tool for conducting automatic and
manual sequence alignment, inferring phylogenetic trees. VMD is a method that builds 3D structures
of the protein.
77
ANALYSIS OF HBB-001 AND HBB-004 TRANSCRIPTS OF THE HBB GENE AND ITS
RELATIONSHIP WITH BETA THALASSEMIA DISORDER
Amanda Marie Crastz Flores and Kilian Sebastian Crastz Flores, Nuestra Señora de la
Providencia School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Haemoglobin is a protein that transports oxygen in blood cells. Human haemoglobin consists of two
protein chains (subunits): alpha and beta. The alpha subunit is encoded by the HBA1 and HBA2 genes
while the beta subunit is encoded by the HBB gene. The HBB gene provides instructions for making a
protein called beta-globin. HBB gene has four transcrips: HBB-001 and HBB-004 coding for proteins
while HBB-002 and HBB-003 are noncoding transcrips containing intronic sequences. Mutations in
the HBB gene cause beta thalassemia. Beta thalassemia is a blood disorder that reduces the production
of hemoglobin. The purpose of this study was to explain HBB gene function and its transcripts HBB001 and HBB-004, as well as alterations that they are sensitive to suffer, and their relationship with
Beta thalassemia disorder.
ANALYSIS OF THE SICKLE CELL DISEASE
HAEMOGLOBIN USING BIOINFORMATICS TOOLS
PROTEINS
MYOGLOBIN
AND
Stephanie Cruz, Carvin School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Student Research Mentor Assistant: Luis Ortiz, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Sickle cell anemia is a disease that affects red blood cells; it gives them a lunar shape that does not
permit enough oxygen carriage throughout the body. This formation is due to a mutation on
chromosome 11, in the gene that produces beta globin. This mutation of the gene causes a change in
the amino acids of hemoglobin, which results in Hb S instead. The best known treatment is the bone
marrow transplant which is known to cure the disease. The purpose of this research was to compare
and evaluate Myoglobin and Hemoglobin proteins by means of bioinformatics tools. For this research
some of the programs used were Genedoc for the analysis of multiple sequence alignments, MEGA5
to infer a phylogenetic tree, and VMD to view the 3D structure of the protein.
78
STUDY
OF AMINO
ALPHA PROTEIN
ACID
SUBSTITUTION MUTATION
ON
THE
PROS1
Bryanda Liz Díaz Romero, Saint Francis School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Rico.
The PROS1 alpha gene provides instruction for making a protein called protein S which is important
for controlling blood clotting. It circulates in the blood in two different forms: bounding with another
protein o in free form. Protein S has three different types of deficiency. Deficiency type I is when an
individual do not have enough protein to control blood clotting and it cause abnormal blood clotting.
Deficiency type II is when the levels of protein are normal, but the protein is not able to interact with
other molecules. Deficiency type III occurs when there is a low amount of free protein S the PROSI
alpha gene provides instructions for making a protein called protein S which is important to
controlling blood clotting. The diagnosis of hereditary PS deficiency is notoriously difficult. As a
result of overlapping PS levels in carriers and non-carriers of mutations and variations in levels related
to age, gender and acquired conditions. Plasma sample should be taken to minimize false-positive
results. Positive test results should be confirmed by a second blood sample. In pregnant women,
positive test results should be confirmed after the postpartum period. As goal of this research, the first
twenty positions of the POS1 protein were studied on terms of amino acid substitution on each
position which causes a phenotypic effect. SIFT, a program designed to sort tolerance level, was used
to study this phenotypic causes. The results obtained from SIFT analysis showed that 31.75% of the
amino acid substitution were intolerant while 68.25% were tolerant. This result demonstrates that there
is a low probability that if mutation occurs, the protein is more tolerant then intolerant in the first
twenty position of the PROS1 protein.
BIOINFORMATICS STUDY
HEMOCHROMATOSIS
AND
COMPARISON
OF
THE
HFE
PROTEIN
Guillermo R. Díaz Ginés, University Gardens High School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Hemochromatosis is a genetic disease caused by a mutation in the HFE protein. This disease causes an
abnormal level of iron absorption in the cells from the food that is consumed. The human body uses
the HFE protein or Human Hemochromatosis protein to deal with the concentrations of iron in cells. A
mutation in that gene can lead a person to have buildups of iron that can damage certain organs
including the heart, liver, and pancreas. It is also one of the most common genetic defects in the
United States. Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) is one of the most common autosomal recessive
disorders, and if the person is not treated, he or she may die prematurely. The objective of this project
was to evaluate the HFE protein compared to one of its family, such as the Beta-2 Microglobulin.
Bioinformatics tools such as GeneDoc, Visual Molecular Dynamics (VMD), and MEGA5 were used
to compare and relate the proteins, construct a 3-D model, and build a phylogenetic tree.
79
COMPARISON OF HUNTINGTIN GENE IN HOMO SAPIENS AND MUS MUSCULUS
Ian Febus Gómez, Yakaira Mauricio Merced and Jennifer Suárez Santiago. Caguas Military
Academy, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
In the year 1872, the American physician George Huntington wrote about an illness that he called "an
heirloom from generations away back in the dim past." He was not the first to describe the disorder,
which has been traced back to the Middle Ages at least. Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited
disease that causes certain nerve cells in the brain to waste away. People are born with the defective
gene, but symptoms usually do not appear until middle age. Early symptoms of HD may include
uncontrolled movements, clumsiness or balance problems. If one of the parents has Huntington's
disease, the offspring has a 50-50 chance of getting it. A blood test can tell if you have the HD gene
and will develop the disease. Medicines can help manage some of the symptoms, but cannot slow
down or stop the disease. There is no cure for Huntington Disease. In order to study Huntington
Disease we used the website http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov to find Huntingtin (HTT-HD or IT15) gene
which codes for the protein Huntingtin (Htt). Part of this gene is a repeated section called a
trinucleotide repeat, which varies in length between individuals and may change length between
generations. When the length of this repeated section reaches a certain threshold, it produces an altered
form of the protein, called mutant Huntingtin protein (mHtt). We found that they were other species
that also have HTT gene, for instance Mus-Musculus. Also, we used the program BLAST to compare
Htt protein in Homo Sapiens and Mus-Musculus. Results from BLAST showed there is a percent of
similitude between Htt in Homo Sapiens and Mus-Musculus.
ANALYSIS OF AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS CAUSED BY SOD1 GENE
MUTATION
Alejandra Figueroa and Carmen Roque Pérez, Caguas Military Academy, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a serious neurological disease that causes muscle weakness,
disability and eventually death. ALS is often called Lou Gehrig's disease, after the famous baseball
player who was diagnosed with it in 1939. Among the possible causes related to this disease are: gene
mutation, chemical imbalance, disorganized immune response and protein mishandling. Mutations in
the ALS2, SETX, SOD1, and VAPB genes cause ALS while variations of the ANG, DCTN1, NEFH,
PRPH, SMN1, and SMN2 genes increase the risk of developing ALS. The SOD1 gene provides
instructions for making an enzyme called superoxide dismutase that is abundant in cells throughout the
body. This enzyme neutralizes supercharged oxygen molecules (superoxide radicals), which can
damage cells if their levels are not controlled. More than 100 SOD1 gene mutations that cause type 1
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis have been identified. The most common mutation replaces the amino
acid alanine with the amino acid valine at position 4 in the enzyme (Ala4Val or A4V). This project
tried to ascertain what would happen with other amino acids replacements in the same position. An
ensemble database was used to obtain the SOD1 sequence and the Sift software to make the amino
acid substitutions.
80
GENOMICS
AND
VISUALIZATION
BIO-INFORMATICS
COMPARATIVE
ANALYSIS
AND
Desiree Gómez, Margarita Janer Palacios High School, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
Student Assistant Research Mentor: Luis Ortiz, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Epidermolysis Bullosa is a skin disease where blisters appear on the skin and in the mucosal area. It
affects women and men equally and could appear at any age or the person might even be born with the
condition. It does not have cure, but there are things that the person can do to improve the situation.
The mutation is induced by proteins, which are inherited, and it causes the separation of tissue and
blister formation. There are different types of Epidermolysis Bullosa, such as Junctional
Epidermolysis Bullosa and Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa. For this research, two different types of
collagen alpha were used to develop the investigation. Bio-informatics tools were used to compare the
two proteins with two different types of the conditions. The programs used were GENEDOC to find
the sequence and to analyze the sequence alignment, Mega5 for create a visual phylogenetic tree and
Visual Molecular Dynamics to create 3D models of the proteins.
STUDY AND ANALYSIS OF THE FMRP
Maroly C. González Pérez, Papa Juan XXIII High School, Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
Fragile X syndrome is a genetic disorder that is caused by a series of developmental problems. This
syndrome is caused by mutations in the FMR1 gene. In this research bioinformatics tools were used to
analyze multiple sequence alignments of the selected species, construct and compare phylogenetic
trees, and visualize the 3D model of the protein. Some of the programs used were GeneDoc, MEGA5
and Visual Molecular Dynamics (VMD).
PRION PROTEIN AND CREUTZFELDT JAKOB DISEASE
Nathalie González and Alba Cruz Alicea, Caguas Military Academy Caguas, Puerto Rico.
The Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (CJD) is a pathology of the central nervous system that primarily affects
the brain in a group of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies charactized by the formation of an
abnormality of the Prion. The origin of this disease is by contaminated meat (mad cows) that is sent to
the digestive system and affects the vision, and provokes dementia, hallucination, muscle fasciculation
and drowsiness. Creutzfeldt Jakob contains a protein called a prion that usually develops in people but
this disease disrupts the normality of this protein. The human Prion Protein is (PrP) and is a
glycoprotein that is located in the human gliboblastoma cell line T98G. The prion protein (PrP) is
located in the brain. There is another type of protein called a prion (PrPsc) that is characterized in the
cell combined with the prion (Prp). This protein is protease resistant (PrPres) located in the human cell
surface. Jakob Creutfeldt means having an abnormal protein that is a phase as the protein is reversed
and affects humans on their cell surface. The immune system is affected through meat contamination,
which involves humans in a state of neuronal dysfunction.
81
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE PHD FINGER PROTEIN 8 USING BIO-INFORMATIC
TOOLS
Glory López Clemente, Bautista de Carolina Academy, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
PHD Finger Protein 8, commonly known as Cleft Lip, is a condition where the upper lip and/or palate
are split. In some cases there could also be a Cleft Palate where the palate is split and there is also a
bilateral cleft (two-sided). Even though many people are trying to find a way to prevent it and are
unsuccessful, treatments for this genetic disorder are available. This research looked for the
sequencing of the contrast protein and tried to evaluate the difference of the PHF8 and the PHF by
means of bioinformatics tools. One of the programs used was Genedoc, a full featured multiple
sequence alignment editor and it was used to find the analysis of multiple sequence alignments and to
find the percentage of conservation in the amino acid sequences. G-Blocks is a program used to
eliminate the gaps or spaces in blank in the alignments. MEGA5 (Molecular Evolutionary Genetic
Analysis) is used to infer a phylogenetic tree and compare the protein sequences. PDB (Protein Data
Bank) is used to find the 3D structure of the protein and VMD (Visual Molecular Dynamics) is used to
view the protein.
BIOINFORMATIC STUDY OF THE SLC26A2 PROTEIN
José Luis Marrero, Santa Teresita Academy, Naranjito, Puerto Rico.
Diastrophic dysplasia is a rare growth factor and, almost always, it is the cause of orthopedic problems
on people with dwarfism. This disease is known as a progressive one, which can lead to other physical
disabilities. The diagnosis of this disease is detected or confirmed by a molecular genetic testing of the
protein SLC26A2 (DTDST), the only gene known as a DTD family. This bioinformatic study attempts
to find and contrast the proteins SLC26A2 and SLC26A4, investigate the conservation percentage, and
construct phylogenetic trees and motifs to evaluate the differences in the SLC26A2 and SLC26A4.
The programs used for this investigation were GeneDoc, MEGA5 and Visual Molecular Dynamics
(VMD).
82
COMPARISON OF THE PCM1 GENE AMONG THREE
FRESHWATER PLANARIAN, AND HOUSE MOUSE
SPECIES:
HUMANS,
Gustavo Alfonso Martínez Muñiz, Homeschooling, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
Isamar Torres, Notre Dame School, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
The PCM1 is a gene that has been shown to be an important factor in schizophrenia in humans. But
this gene does not only exist in humans; it has been found in different species of animals. In this
project, the PCM1 genes will be compared in structure and function in each individual species of the
following list: Humans (Homo sapiens), the freshwater planarian (schmidtea mediterranea), and the
house mouse (mus musculus. The NCBI database was used to find the gene sequence of selected
species. The species’ genes was compared through BLAST software in order to establish the percent
of similarities among the sequences. Finally, the function of the gene was explained within each
species, and how these functions differ among the selected species.
ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP OF LMNA PROTEIN, LMNA GENE AND
HUTCHINSON-GILFORD PROGERIA SYNDROME (HGPS)
Valeria Lee Medina Bermúdez, San Antonio Abad School, Humacao, Puerto Rico.
Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome or HGPS is a rare genetic disorder that is characterized by
premature aging and death in children due to coronary artery disease. Children who suffer HGPS
develop loss of subcutaneous fat and muscle, skin atrophy, osteoporosis, arthritis, poor growth, and
alopecia. Progeria of childhood is caused by mutations in the LMNA protein, which is produced by the
LMNA gene, also called Lamin A/C, abnormal processing of the nuclear envelope protein lamin A
and accumulation of Prelamin. The mutation replaces the nucleotide cytosine with the nucleotide
thymine at position 1824 (written as C1824T). This mutation is also noted as Gly608Gly or G608G,
which refers to the position in the Lamin A protein affected by the mutation. The LMNA gene is
located on the chromosome 1, band 1q21.1-1q21.3. Emphasis was given to the tolerance level of
mutations in the LMNA protein. The NCBI database was used to obtain the sequence and a
description of the gene and the protein. In order to set up mutations, the BLAST and SIFT Human
Protein Programs were utilized. The results showed that some mutations in the LMNA protein are
predicted as "highly tolerated," while other mutations were predicted as "damaging" to the normal
function of the protein. The LMNA gene alterations are related with several diseases, for instance:
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy, limb-girdle muscular dystrophy,
familial dilated cardiomyotaphy (variants of Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy), Dunningan type
partial lipodystrophy, Mandibulocral dysplasia and other variations.
83
STUDY OF THE NEUROFIBROMIN PROTEIN USING BiIOINFORMATICS TOOLS
Nilka T. Meléndez, Calasanz School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Neurofibromatosis is a genetic disorder that can affect many parts of the body, including the brain,
spinal cord, nerves, and skin. It can cause the growth of non-cancerous tumors on nerve tissue and
bone abnormalities. Bioinformatics tools were used to analyze relationships between Merlin and
Radixin, such as motifs, conserved amino acids and phylogeny. The programs used included EBI,
GeneDoc, Mega 5, Meme, and more.
TOLERANCE LEVELS OF AMINO ACID SUBSTITUTION ON PROTEIN FIBROCYSTIN
Ricardo Meléndez, Marista School, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
Rico.
Polycystic kidney disease is a common disorder found in humans that gives rise to complications in
the kidneys, liver, and other organs. The disease is a consequence of the mutation of the gene PKHD1,
among other genes, which lies in the chromosome 6. Here we evaluate the frequency of a mutation in
the gene PKHD1 per amino acid substitution in the first twenty amino acids of the polypeptide chain.
Using a program that determines the probability that protein function can be compromised,
comparisons between such places indicate that the levels of tolerance are lower at the ends of the
protein and at several spots in between, though the latter are in the minority.
ANALYSIS OF THE BMP PROTEIN USING BIOINFORMATICS METHODS
Natalie A. Nieves Echevarría, Papa Juan XXIII High School, Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
The fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) is a genetic disease in which the tendons, muscles and
ligaments of the body become ossified. In most cases, this disease is created by a new mutation in the
individual. The mutation in the ACVR1 gene affects its protein function which is related to growth,
the development of bones and the ossification of other skeletal tissues. Bioinformatics programs were
used to find and compare proteins in other animal species similar to Homo sapiens' BMP and BMP4
and analyze conservation percentage between the proteins of the selected species. Some of the
programs used were GeneDoc, MEGA5 and Visual Molecular Dynamics (VMD).
84
ANALYSIS OF THE LAMIN A PROTEIN USING BIOINFORMATIC METHODS
Jessica N. Pita Aquino, University Gardens High School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Hutchinson Gilford Progeria Syndrome is an uncommon genetic condition that produces the
appearance of fast aging in children. Progeria is caused by a mutation of the gene LMNA (lamin A/C
proteins). This gene determinates the shape of the nucleus within cells. The purpose of this
investigation was to analyze and compare lamin A/C and LMNB1 multiple sequence alignments,
motifs, phylogenetic trees and visualize their 3D structure to establish similarities using bioinformatics
methods. Some of the programs used were GeneDoc, MEGA5 and Visual Molecular Dynamics
(VMD).
COMPARISON OF PIK3C2A AND PIK3C2B PROTEINS IN OVARIAN CANCER
Jessica N. Ríos Santiago, Santa María del Camino School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Ovarian cancer is a disease that develops in the female reproductive area after menopause. It is the
third most common form of cancer in women and it can be treated, but not cured. It is still unknown
what really causes this cancer, but there are some factors that can make it appear such as fertility,
infections, obesity and malignant transformations of epithelial cells. PIK3C2A is a protein found in the
malignant epithelial cells and the high production of it is a cancer-causing factor. The symptoms of
this disease appear until the cancer is spread. The objectives of this research were to investigate the
difference of the proteins PIK3C2A and PIK3C2B, and to find and contrast these proteins by means of
bioinformatics tools. The programs used to accomplish this work were GeneDoc, MEGA5 and Visual
Molecular Dynamics (VMD).
BIOINFORMATICS STUDY AND COMPARISON OF THE GENES COL4A3, COL4A4 AND
COL4A5
Christopher Rivera Irizarry, University Gardens High School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Student Reasearch Mentor: Dorielys Valentín, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Student Research Mentor Assistant: Luis Ortíz, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan Puerto Rico.
The gene Collagen type IV alpha 5, symbolized as COL4A5, combines with genes COL4A3 and
COL4A4 to make a complete type IV collagen molecule. These genes are very important for the
correct function of kidneys, inner ear structures and maintenance of shape and color of the eye. When
mutated, each one of the genes creates abnormalities creating kidney diseases and deafness in the
person with the mutated genes, this becoming the Alport syndrome. The purpose of this research was
to compare COL4A5, COL4A4 and COL4A3 using bioinformatics tools to analyze multiple
sequences, conserved regions, phylogenetic trees and visualize the COL4A5 3D structure. Some of
the programs used were GeneDoc, MEGA5 and Visual Molecular Dynamics (VMD).
85
BIOINFORMATIC COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF RANKL AND CD137 PROTEINS IN
MULTIPLE MYELOMAS
Osvaldo D. Rivera, Adianez School, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
Student Research Mentor: Dorielys M. Valentín, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Student Assistant Research Mentor: Luis Ortiz Jordán, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto
Rico.
Cancer can be described as the malignant uncontrolled cell growth in the body. When cancer forms in
the bone marrow of the body, it is known as multiple myeloma. The bone marrow is known to produce
stem cells that develop into three types of blood cells: red blood cells, white blood cells (plasma cells),
and platelets. Myeloma focuses on the uncontrolled growth of abnormal plasma cells or myeloma
cells, forming neoplasms in the bone marrow. As the tumor forms, it gets harder for the bone marrow
to produce blood cells and platelets. With less white blood cells and an excessive amount of abnormal
plasma cells, the body is more likely to suffer from immunodeficiency. The faulty maturation of
plasma cells is caused by a mutation in the CD137 protein, a member of the tumor necrosis factor
superfamily. The tumor also damages and breaks down the bone, causing hypercalcemia. Myeloma
bone disease is caused by the overexpression of the RANKL protein, another member of the tumor
necrosis factor superfamily, which is involved in the bone’s metabolism. The objectives of this
research were to compare, contrast and analyze the differences between the Homo sapiens’ original
RANKL and CD137 proteins in other similar animal species. GeneDoc was used to investigate the
percentage of conservation between the proteins of the selected species. Phylogenetic trees that
represent evolutionary changes in the genes of interest were constructed using MEGA 5.
BIOINFORMATICS INVESTIGATION OF RAF1 & KRAS
Natalia Rodríguez Rivera, Santa Teresita Academy, Naranjito; Puerto Rico.
Student Research Mentor: Dorielys Valentín, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan; Puerto Rico.
Student Research Mentor: Luis M. Ortiz, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan; Puerto Rico.
Noonan Syndrome is a genetic disorder that affects different parts of the body. The cause of the
syndrome is a mutation in a particular gene KRAS and RAF1. Because these genes play a role in the
formation of many tissues throughout the body, this constant activation of their proteins disrupts the
normal process of cell growth and division. The objective of the research was to evaluate and compare
KRAS and RAF1 protein by means of bioinformatics tools. The programs used were GeneDoc,
MEGA5, and Visual Molecular Dynamics (VMD).
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STUDY OF THE CREB PROTEIN USING BIOINFORMATICS METHODS
Zabdiel Roldán Ayala, Carvin School, Inc, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
The Rubinstein Taybi syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that affects cell growth. The most common
symptoms are broad thumbs, altered facial features and mental limitations in the person affected with
the disorder. This genetic disorder is caused by a mutation of the CREBBP gene. Once the mutation
has occurred, the gene produces low quantities or none of the CREB. This genetic disorder is affected
by another gene called Ep300 that produces p300, but it is mutated and has the same consequence as
CREBBP. The purpose of this research was to compare these two proteins by means of bioinformatics
tools. Some of the processes done were a phylogenetic tree using MEGA5 and motifs and work to find
differences between these two proteins.
BIOINFORMATIC STUDY OF THE PCDH15 GENE IN THE USHER SYNDROME
Kelvin Santana Rodríguez, University Gardens High School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Student Reasearch Mentor: Dorielys Valentín, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Student Research Mentor Assistant: Luis Ortíz, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan Puerto Rico.
Usher Syndrome Type 1 (dystrophia retinae pigmentosa-dysostosis syndrome) is an inherited genetic
disorder that causes the individual to progressively lose hearing and vision, thus resulting in balance
problems as well. This syndrome is accompanied by retinistis pigmentosa which is the cause of the
vision loss in the individual. The PCDH15 gene, one of the genes related to this syndrome, plays an
essential role in maintenance of normal retinal and cochlear function. Mutations in this gene result in
hearing loss and, for that matter, Usher Syndrome Type 1. The purpose of this research was to
compare the PCDH15 and PCDH17 using bioinformatics tools to analyze multiple sequences,
conserved regions and phylogenetic trees. The PCDH15 was compared with the PCDH17 gene
because it belongs to the same family of genes called CDH (cadherin superfamily). Some of the
programs used were GeneDoc and MEGA5.
SEQUENCE ANALYSIS AND COMPARISON OF MALARIA, DENGUE, AND WEST NILE
VIRUS IN MOSQUITOES
Netsha Santiago, Caguas Private School, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
The purpose of this investigation was to compare, observe, and analyze three different diseases with
similar symptoms of the three types of species of mosquitoes. There are more than 3,000 species of
mosquitoes. Because it is difficult to differentiate all of the species, scientists focus on the three
species that cause the most problems on humans: Aedes, Anopheles, and Culex. The Aedes mosquito
is known for carrying Yellow Fever, Dengue Virus, and Lymphatic Filariasis; the Anopheles gambiae
mosquito for carrying malaria, and the Culex mosquito spread Filariasis, West Nile Virus, Avian
Malaria, Japanese encephalitis and St. Louis encephalitis. The Dengue Virus, Malaria and the West
Nile Virus are the most common diseases that the human being would get by being bitten by
mosquitoes and the ones that cause most problems on humans.
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AMINO ACID SEQUENCE BIOINFORMATIC ANALYSIS ON RETINITIS PIGMENTOSA
John D. Vélez Rivera, Ana Delia Flores Santana Vocational School, Fajardo, Puerto Rico.
Student Research Mentor Assistant: Luis Ortiz Jordan, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto
Rico.
Retinitis Pigmentosa is a rare eye disease which causes slow retinal degeneration. The disease is
inherited, not caused by injury. It is caused by a mutation in the Peripherin-2 gene (PRPH2) found in
the cone and rod cells of the retina. This disease especially affects the rods, which are responsible for
the perception of light and darkness. To inherit this disease, both parents must be carrying copies of
the PRPH2 gene. Symptoms are slow loss of peripheral vision which over the years develop into
tunnel vision, and if the individual lives long enough, the disease causes complete blindness. The
objectives of this investigation were to find and contrast proteins in other animal species similar to
Homo sapiens’ PRPH2 gene and CD151, to investigate the conservation percentage between the
proteins of the selected species, to construct and compare phylogenetic trees that represent the
evolutionary and motifs, and to evaluate the differences in the PRPH2 gene and CD151. Some
programs used were GeneDoc, Visual Molecular Dynamics (VMD), and MEGA-5.
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ABSTRACTS
BIO-MATHEMATICS
URANIUM DECAY AND ITS EFFECT ON FUTURE GENERATIONS
Hermes Aponte Rivera; Bonneville School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Melinda Vargas, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Uranium is a chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table. It is commonly used to
produce nuclear weapons and nuclear power stations because it has the ability to undergo fission. On
Earth, there are several uranium reserves with large amounts of this element, but it is not known how
much amount there was in the beginning. By knowing that Earth’s age is 4.55 billion years, it is
possible to calculate the initial amount of uranium. If the initial amount is found out, it can be known
how much it has decayed. Through radioactive decay, uranium releases ionizing radiation, which has
the ability to destroy or damage living cells. This decay, if inhaled, can cause several problems,
including increasing the risk of lung and bone cancer. Since uranium is also toxic, it can damage
internal organs and affect reproduction, and increase the risk of leukemia and soft tissue cancers. If
uranium has those many negative effects, it radioactively decays with time, and it is mined and milled,
then in the future the next generations will face the risks of these activities.
COMPUTATIONAL ANALYSIS OF AMINO ACID CHANGES IN BRAF GENE
Gabriela Barreto, Nuestra Señora del Carmen School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Rico.
The v-raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B1 gene encodes a protein called BRAF which is
involved in sending signals within cells and regulation in cellular growth. Mutations that occur in the
BRAF gene can be inherited generating birth defects on newborns and even cause cancer later in life
on adults as an oncogene. More than 30 mutations in the BRAF gene are associated with papillary
thyroid cancer, or papillary thyroid carcinoma, which is the most common type of thyroid cancer
representing 80% of all thyroid neoplasms and occurs more frequently in women between the ages 3040 years. The aim of this research is to predict whether an amino acid substitution on the first twenty
positions of the amino acid sequence of BRAF affects its function and phenotypic effect therefore
causing a mutation that will cause thyroid cancer. This aim will be accomplished using the program
SIFT, Sorting Intolerant from Tolerant, as primary tool for the investigation. The data obtained by
SIFT shows that an 85% of amino acid substitution within the first twenty positions of BRAF was
intolerant, while 15% being tolerant. By this we infer that there is a high probability that a mutation
can occur within the first position of the BRAF protein.
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DIABETES PREVENTION AND TREATMENT DECISION TREES
Casey Caballero, Radians High School, Cayey, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Jorge T. León Cruz, University of Puerto Rico, Cayey, Puerto Rico.
Diabetes is a disease in which levels of blood glucose are abnormal. This condition has become a
serious health problem in United States with a 8.3% affected population. In many cases this disease
without treatment is high risky, and patients can develop some short or long term complications. The
purpose of this research was focused on the development of a tool to understand, predict and help the
diabetic condition using decision tree The main idea of this research was to develop the basic rules to
an expert system to educate the public about the prevention and treatment of the Diabetes disease. The
project started with a survey, which was administered to 130 individuals in whom 17 were diabetic.
The survey consisted of common questions to determine the knowledge participants possess in regards
to diabetes. The results of this survey determined that individuals that don't have diabetes know
someone with this condition and still don't have the minimum knowledge of what could happen to
them. the decision trees develop in this research is a useful tool for everyone that confronts this
condition, this tool is a proper strategies that will help maintain a healthy life style.
VEGETARIANS AND CANCER
Yadira Comulada; Puerto Rico Christian School, Toa Baja, Puerto Rico.
Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the human body, and it has become one of the
leading causes of death in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, half of all
men and one-third of all women in the United States will develop cancer in their lifetime. One of the
many factors that can cause cancer is a bad diet, which is why various studies have shown that
vegetarians have a smaller risk of getting cancer than meat eaters. The comparisons that were made in
this investigation were between the male and female population in the U.S., the male and female
vegetarian population in the U.S., and the United States population with cancer. With these
comparisons, one can see how living a vegetarian lifestyle can help an individual lower the chances of
getting cancer and living a healthier life.
SIR MODEL ON A (H1N1) IN PUERTO RICO
Justin Cotto Reyes, Miguel Meléndez Muñoz School, Cayey, Puerto Rico.
Mentor: Jorge T. León Cruz, University of Puerto Rico, Cayey, Puerto Rico.
The Swine Flu (AH1n1 virus) was a pandemic caused by a variant of influenza virus. It is from swine
origin, subtype A(H1n1) which combined with genetic material from an avian strain. Two swine and
one human suffered a mutation, this allowed the transmission from pig to human and from one person
to another one. This research was based in the use of differential equations to stimulate the conditions
that could have given rise to the A(H1n1) epidemic in Puerto Rico. The results presented in this
research will prepare for major disasters in a determined population. In addition, the consequences of
propagation of this disease are shown. The Vensim Program was used to apply the Susceptible,
Infected and Recovered (SIR) model. It was explore if the vaccine was effective in stopping the
disease in Puerto Rico.
90
FLOWER DIVERSITY MORNING GLORIES
Ariely V. Ferrer Zanetti, Carvin School Inc., San Juan, PuertoRico.
It has been stated that the average outcrossing rate of the Morning Glory (Ipomoea purpurea) is about
65% to 70% in natural populations. White is the recessive allele and dark pink is the dominant allele
found in this species. In previous studies, a combination range for flower-color phenotypes within a
population of 157 elected and crossed among themselves is to generate the next range of 48% for
white flowers (recessive trait) and 86% for dark pink flowers (dominant trait). In this investigation the
goal was to find the number of crosses between the dominant allele and the recessive allele. For this
investigation a hypothetical example of an initial amount of Morning Glories was created. Then based
on the percentage range of the white and dark pink flowers premeditated, the outcrossed number of
flowers was calculated.
IDENTIFICATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VELOCITY AND FORCE TO
PERFORM EFFECTIVE KICKS IN TAEKWONDO
Kevin A. Garayalde; Escuela Del Deporte De San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Melinda Vargas, Universidad Metropolitana at San Juan, Puerto Rico.
In sports there are various mathematical and scientific factors that are used every day without the
individual being aware of it. In Taekwondo, laws pertaining to physics, mathematics, and biology
assume an important role in the development of this sport. In this investigation, the factors that were
measured were velocity and force. The analyzed data was divided by age and gender. Another factor
that was taken into consideration was weight. The individual with less weight can perform better kicks
than the individual with more weight. The purpose of this research was to develop a mathematics and
physics tool to improve kicks in the taekwondo sport and also show how mathematics is useful in life.
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE "FAT FREE" YOGURT AND ITS REPERCUSSION MODELED
THROUGH CELL DIVISION
Fiama Y. Hernández; Carvin School, Inc., Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Yogurt contains many types of bacteria, but the most commonly found are the Lactobacillus
bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophiles. These bacteria cause milk to thicken into yogurt. This
process occurs when the bacteria coagulate and ferment milk sugar into lactic acid and curdle the
protein into yogurt. Engineering researchers altered Lactobacillus bacteria and created a new derivate
called propionic bacterium, whose function is to naturally produce a polyunsaturated fatty acid called
t10. Since these bacteria are found in yogurt, when an individual ingests yogurt, bacteria help him or
her to lose fat. This concept might be better recognized as the “fat free” yogurt. This investigation
determined though the use of the exponential growth model equation the frequency of cell division of
the Lactobacillus bulgaricus by comparing the two types of yogurts, traditional and “fat free.”
Finally, the consumer can be shown his or her risks, such as organ failure, depending on yogurt
consumption.
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METEOROLOGICAL EFFECTS OF HURRICANE IRENE IN PUERTO RICO
José Gabriel Lebrón Zapata; Ramón Vila Mayo School, San Juan; Puerto Rico.
Melinda Vargas: Universidad Metropolitana; San Juan Puerto Rico.
The central focus of this research was to see the effects of Hurricane Irene in meteorological data
before, during and after the atmospheric disaster passed through Puerto Rico. It also measured the
differences in water temperature, atmospheric temperature, wind direction, wind speed, and
atmospheric pressure. To see these differences, the researcher compared data obtained from different
buoys around Puerto Rico. In this research meteorological data were analyzed. The information was
taken from NOAA’s National Data Buoy Center from Buoy # 9755371 located in San Juan, Buoy #
9759110 located in Magüeyes Island near Lajas, Buoy # 9752695 located in Vieques, Buoy # 9753216
located in Fajardo, and Buoy # 9752235. The information was analyzed through graphs and later
compared in order to see their similarities and differences. Other data such as cost of the damage, and
mortalities related to hurricane when it crossed over Puerto Rico were studied; this leading to the
understanding on how a cyclone affects in many levels.
A DANGEROUS DISEASE CAUSED BY THE BACILLUS GRAM NEGATIVE BACTERIA
Jonathan López De León; Santa María del Camino School, Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico.
Nowadays, the world has different explanations for each disease. Respiratory problems are one of
these. The main cause of this disease could be the production of endotoxin lipopolysaccharide
liberated by the bacillus gram negative bacteria as it is undergoing through the process of lysis. This
toxin is so dangerous that a person that gets infected by it could die because of its presence. Endotoxin
liberation could be predicted using the logistic model equation to find the population of endotoxins in
a given time. With this equation, one can find how many endotoxins are produced in a specific time.
Therefore, a solution to avoid contact with these endotoxins was created minimizing respiratory
problems. Also, as its goal, this experiment tried to find something that could stop their reproduction
and avoid they growth.
WHITE CHEEKED PINTAILS
Nicole M. Maldonado Millán, Homeschooler, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The central focus of this research was to investigate why the White-Cheeked Pintails are in danger and
how they can be helped from becoming extinct. The White-Cheeked Pintails is a medium-sized
dabbling duck which as adults have brown upper parts with black feathers bordered with pale buff on
the back. The tail is pointed and yellowish and the wing coverts are brown. Tertials are blackish with
pale brown edges. They are examined in 97 different locations all around Puerto Rico. During years
many facts have encouraged the losing number of Pintails. Those facts may change depending on the
examined location. Examples of these facts are changes in temperature, number of trees, or changes in
the water salinity. This research was about searching for the number of Pintails that existed years ago
and why those numbers changed, the number of wetlands that were obstructed and affected the ducks,
and how this will help know if the future of these ducks will be better or not.
92
LINEAR ALGEBRA AND THE PHENOMENON OF AUTOSOMAL INHERITANCE: THE
HUNTINGTON DISEASE CASE
Jennifer Patritti Cram, Manuela Toro Morice School, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentors: Marlio Paredes and Brenda Torres-Velásquez, Universidad del Turabo, Gurabo,
Puerto Rico.
Huntington's disease is a fatal hereditary disease that destroys neurons in areas of the brain involved in
movement, intellect, and emotions. It affects the central nervous system with symptoms usually
appearing in adults within the third or fourth decade of life. Likewise, these symptoms may include
involuntary movements and loss of motor control. In addition, personality changes may occur, with
loss of memory and decreased mental capacity. This condition is inherited in an autosomal dominant
pattern, which means one copy of the altered gene in each cell is sufficient to cause the disorder. An
affected person usually inherits the altered gene from one affected parent. The main focus of this
project was applied from linear algebra to genetics. Therefore, in the project it was applied to concepts
of linear algebra including differencial equations, diagonalization of a matrix, inversion of a matrix,
eigenvalues, and eigenvectors. The purpose of this project was to predict the genotype distribution of a
particular trait in a population after any number of generations from only the genotype distribution in
the initial population.
H3N2 EXPONENTIAL SPREAD
Abner Pérez Cabán; Santa María Del Camino, Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico.
Influenza is an RNA virus belonging to the family Orthomyxoviridae. There are 3 types: A
(responsible for the seasonal epidemics and pandemics), B (causes seasonal epidemics) and C (with
little clinical relevance). The regular guests are birds, pigs, and humans. This virus is characterized by
the presence of envelope glycoprotein called hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N). There are 16
types of hemagglutinin and 9 of neuraminidase. Of this combination produces different subtypes of the
influenza A (H1N1, H3N2, H5N1, among others). The B type has no subtype. The problems that arise
are how fast the H3N2 can spread. The Epidemic model equation was used in this research with the
purpose of knowing how many H3N2 will be obtained in the end.
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COMPUTATIONAL ANALYSIS OF SUBSTITUTION OF AMINO ACIDS IN KCNH2 GENE
Andrea P. Rivera, Lorenzo Vizcarrondo, Carolina Puerto Rico.
Rico.
The KCNH2 (hERG) gene, located in 7q 36.1 belongs to a large family of genes that provide
instructions for biosynthesis of potassium channels .These channels, which transport positively
charged atoms (ions) of potassium into and out of cells, play a key role in a cell's ability to generate
and transmit electrical signals. The specific function of a potassium channel depends on its protein
components and its location in the body. Channels made with the KCNH2 protein are active in heart
(cardiac) muscle, where they transport potassium ions out of cells. Mutations in the KCNH2 gene are a
common cause of Romano-Ward syndrome. These changes prevent the protein from assembling into
functional ion channels or alter the channels' structure and function. As a result, the channels cannot
properly regulate the flow of potassium ions in cardiac muscle cells. The program SIFT was run to
predict whether an amino acid function can affect protein function. Results show that an average of
29.5% of amino acid substitution are intolerant and 70.5% of amino acid substitution are tolerant, that
means the there is a lower probability of a mutation that will occur.
BLACK HOLES, DESTROYERS, CREATORS, AND MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE
Gerardo Sánchez; Bonneville School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Black holes are the last stage of the lifecycle of a star. Mathematically it is defined as a space-time that
possesses a horizon situated in a manner in which its interior will never be in contact with the exterior.
Black holes are objects so compact that their gravitational force prevents anything including light from
escaping. Anything that passes through their event horizon has no return. All matter is concentrated in
a region of infinite small volume. Black holes are not visible, but we know of their existence by
observing matter being attracted into them. Even though black holes are intricate objects, it is possible
to determine and measure their superficial area and final mass. This investigation will help to
understand their behavior and their interaction with the universe. What is inside a black hole? What is
their purpose? It is a mystery that is yet to be unfolded. The area of a sphere with the radius R is 4π
R^2. It can be demonstrated that this formula is modified in a curved space. It results to be: A=4π
G/c^4 (2GM^2-Q^2+2M√(G^2 M^2-GQ^2-c^2 a^2 ).The final mass of a black hole can be easily
calculated, deducting from the first formula in the way in which the final mass of the hole must be
greater or equal to: c^2/G √(A/16π), where A is the initial area of the hole. There exists a relationship
between the increase in mass and the area. If the area increases by a quantity of ∆A, then the mass
increases by a quantity of : ∆M=K/8πG∆A+(additional terms), where the quantity K is the superficial
gravity of the black hole.
94
STEM CELLS MEDICAL INNOVATION, USES AND TREATMENTS
Marcos Sánchez Navarro, Bonneville School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Stem cells are cells that have the ability to develop into different types of cells of the body during their
life and growth. There are two major types of stem cells: embryonic and somatic stem cells.
Embryonic stem cells come from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst and are pluripotent while
somatic stem cells are undifferentiated cells that are multipotent. Embryonic stem cells can
differentiate into all derivatives of the three primary germ layers: ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm.
Scientists have not been able to uncover the full potential of these cells. By giving these cells the
correct way they can be utilized to find cures for a wide variety of diseases, injuries, conditions, etc.
Some of these are: diabetes, spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s disease and many more. Lately, more
and more patients are in need of an organ transplant, but there are not enough donors to help save
these people in hope of a second chance of living. Embryonic stem cells can also be used for solving
this serious problem that scientists are trying to create organs identical to the ones found in the human
body. In this research, by using a mathematical equation of exponential growth, the time it would take
for an embryonic stem cell to make a cell colony numerous enough to create organs was calculated to
solve this problem.
COMPUTATIONAL STUDY OF AMINO ACID SUBSTITUTION OF KCNQ1 GENE
Yamilette Santiago Rodríguez, Carvin School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Rico.
The KCNQ1 gene belongs to a large family of genes that provide instructions for cell production of
potassium channels. The official name of this gene is potassium voltage-gated channel, KQT-like
subfamily, member 1. The gene is located in the chromosome 11p15.5. These channels, which
transport positively charged atoms (ions) of potassium into and out of cells, play a key role in a cell's
ability to generate and transmit electrical signals. KCNQ1 gene cause Romano-Ward syndrome and
Jervell and Lange-Nielsen syndrome have been identified to be associated with KCQN1 gene
mutations. People with this syndrome typically have mutations in both copies of the KCNQ1 gene in
each cell. Most of these changes lead to the production of a short, nonfunctional version of the
KCNQ1 protein that cannot be used to build potassium channels. An inability of cells in the inner ear
and cardiac muscle to properly transport potassium ions leads to the hearing loss and abnormal heart
rhythm (arrhythmia) found in Jervell and Lange-Nielsen syndrome. The purpose of this research is to
predict whether an amino acid function can affect function of the protein using SIFT. Results show
that an average of 80.5% of amino acid substitution are intolerant and 19.5% of amino acid
substitution are tolerant, that means that there is a bigger probability of a mutation occurring.
95
HOW VEHICLES CAN AFFECT THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
Jilarie A. Santos Santiago, Bautista de Puerto Nuevo Academy, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Asthma is a chronic disease that affects the pulmonary system. The contamination in the air affects the
pulmonary system and can produce asthma. What is causing an expansion of asthma in Puerto Rico?
Is the increase of vehicles in Puerto Rico affecting the health of people with asthma and affecting the
ones who do not have it? If the contamination continues to expand and the use of vehicles keeps
increasing, could it affect individuals? The answer is yes. In Puerto Rico by 2007 there were 3.04
million vehicles and the population was of 3.9 million. For that reason, this investigation was centered
on using mathematics to compare the augmentation of people with asthma with the augmentation of
the vehicular mass from 2000 until 2007. Consequently, one can see how the vehicular mass can affect
health. People of Puerto Rico have more than one car per person. Therefore, if vehicular mass in
Puerto Rico could be reduced, two things would be accomplished: reduction of the contamination and
reduction of the population of people with asthma in Puerto Rico.
EFFECTIVITY OF FINGERPRINTS: IDENTIFICATION METHOD
Rosely Torres, Shakira Rodríguez; Miguel Meléndez Muñoz School, Cayey, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Jorge León, University of Puerto Rico, Cayey, Puerto Rico.
Since the 19th century, the interest with Francis Galton and fingerprinting has been increasing. Several
years have passed and fingerprint recognition has evolved, and they are crucial to identify persons.
Each person in the world has its own form of fingerprints and each fingerprint is unique. However, the
techniques to determine the uniqueness of fingerprints has a bygone conclusion, especially, the partial
comparison due to the absence of a full fingerprint. There have been some reported cases of mistakes
because the autorities did a wrong fingerprint comparison. The main purpose of this research project
was to estimate the minimun amount of minitiae necessary to distinghish with minimal error between
two individuals. The research was based on finding the necessary minutiaes to have a trace of the
person’s fingerprint. In addition, the study consisted of finding how many minutiae are needed in a
partial fingerprint to know if it can be related to a particular person. Image processing was used to
develop recognition algorithms in order to find the minimum minutiaes. The result showed that 12
matched minutiae were required by the forensic guidelines is an estimate number.
96
WHICH SEAT SHOULD A PERSON TAKE IN A THEATER?: FINDING THE OPTIMAL
PLACE
Natalia Vázquez Berríos, Radians High School, Cayey, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Jorge T. León Cruz, University of Puerto Rico, Cayey, Puerto Rico.
Each day thousands of people attend movie theaters as a entertainment method. People have been
thinking about this decision for a long time and try to find the a good theater seat. The purpose of this
project was to find the optimal place that a person should take in a movie theater. Based on the
humans eye zooming limitation, the people are forced to move closer and farther to the movie
projection screen to get a desired accuracy. A model was develop to determine the head rotation angle
and the percent of projection screen covered by the useful field of view. In addition a statistics analysis
was perform by surveying peoples opinion about the topic. The results showed that the best place is a
trade of between lost resolution and minimizing the head rotation angle and the optimal vales is near
to the rear center place.
SIMULATION OF A PERFECT BOWLING STRIKE
Xandimar Villafañe, San Jorge Academy, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Nydiana Benítez, Isidro A. Sánchez School, Luquillo, Puerto Rico.
Rico.
Bowling is a very popular sport in the world which consists of a person throwing a heavy ball with the
purpose of knocking ten pins in the form of a pyramid at the end of the bowling lane. Not everybody
who plays bowling has the ability to throw a bowling ball the correct way to score a strike. The
mathematical-physics behind bowling is helpful in our understanding of the influence of factors in the
different bowling throws e.g. the angular momentum of the ball needed to make the best impact angle
on the pins to knock them. We design a mathematical model to simulate a bowling ball striking pins
using actual measurements of the lane. As tool for the simulation, SCRATCH, an interactive C++
program created by MIT (short for Massachusetts Institute of Technology) was used. The simulation
of a perfect strike shows that the angle of impact between the bowling ball and the pins depend on
their initial angles, velocities, and angular velocities from the bowling ball’s starting position.
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ABSTRACTS
BIO-STATISTICS
STATISTICAL COMPARISON OF ANISAKID NEMATODES IN TWO DIFFERENT
SPERM WHALES STRANDED IN THE CARIBBEAN
Fabiola Agramonte; María Reina School, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Prof. Marlene Colón, María Reina Academy, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
Although it is known that both pygmy and dwarf sperm whales are related, there is still much debate
and differing opinions as to their correct classification. They were considered to be the same species
until 1966, when Caldwell and Caldwell identified them as separate species. The pygmy sperm whale,
Kogia breviceps, is a cetacean not much larger than a dolphin. It has large shark-like head in
comparison to its body and a small lower jaw. The Dwarf sperm whale, Kogia sima, is the smallest
species commonly known as a whale and usually lies motionless when at sea’s surface. The
identification between these two whales is almost impossible at sea; however, the dwarf sperm whale
is slightly smaller and has a larger dorsal fin. For this study, the parasite fauna from these two whales
were compared statistically in terms of frequency and abundance. Knowing that the relative abundance
of hosts of different species may determine what proportions of the parasite population they harbor,
parasites were collected from 40 carcasses of stranded cetaceans and manatees in the Caribbean
between 1992 and 2004. All parasitic specimens found, including the ones from the pygmy sperm
whale off the coast of Puerto Rico, were collected after necropsy and fixed in 10% formalin or
preserved in 70% ethanol. Parasites were mounted in lacto phenol for morphological identification.
All four dwarf sperm whales examined were found to be infected with both Anisakis brevispiculata
and Pseudoterranova ceticola. Each individual whale had around 300 nematode parasites of which
around 207 belong to the species A. brevispiculata and 193 to the species P. ceticola. Prevalence
percentage of A. brevispiculata was 51.7% while the prevalence percentage of P. ceticola was 48.2%.
It is known that these anisakid adult nematodes can co-exist in the same host and that the presence of
these parasites suggests that larval stages may occur in cephalopods or fishes consumed by these
whales and later for human consumption (Solíz et al. 2006).
WHAT ARE THE MAIN DISEASES THAT CAUSE DEATH TO DOLPHINS WHILE IN
CAPTIVITY?
Saimara Alejandro; Bautista de Puerto Nuevo Academy, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Maxine N. González, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Research Assistant Mentor: Kamil Suliveres, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The masses think that having wild animals for entertainment purposes is normal, while in some cases
it may even be considered as animal abuse. The average life span of a dolphin in the wild is 45 years;
yet half of all captured dolphins die within their first two years of captivity. The survivors last an
average of only 5 years in captivity. What are the main diseases that cause death to dolphins in
captivity? Every seven years, half of all dolphins in captivity die from capture shock, pneumonia,
intestinal disease, ulcers, chlorine poisoning, and other stress-related illnesses. In many habitats built
for the dolphins the waters are filled with chemicals as well as bacteria, causing these health problems,
one of which is blindness. Identifying the main case of dolphin deaths will lead to an understanding of
the negative and positive aspects of dolphin captivity. The research conclusion was that if a dolphin
remains in captivity for some time, it will die from pneumonia.
98
HOW THE INHERITANCE OF SOME TRAITS IS TRANSMITTED FROM PARENTS TO
THE OFFSPRING IN THE LABRADOR RETRIEVER DOG?
Brian Alicea, Abdiely Betancourt and Christian Díaz, Caguas Military Academy, Caguas, Puerto
Rico.
In dog genetics, every gene has two copies, one from each parent. If an individual has two different
versions of a particular gene, they can interact in two basic ways: a dominant gene will mask the
presence of a recessive one. As a result, recessive traits (traits caused by recessive genes) are only
expressed in individuals with two identical recessive genes. Many traits follow the simple dominant
and recessive pattern of inheritance. These are called Mendelian traits. In dogs, Mendelian dominant
traits include a correct bite, darker eyes, the presence of a dewlap, long ears, upright ears and a short
coat. Mendelian recessive traits include overbites or underbites, lighter eye colors, the lack of a
dewlap, short ears, floppy ears and a long coat. Using Mendelian Laws and Punnett Square, this
research project showed how some traits are transmitted from parents to the offspring in Labrador
Retriever dogs, using samples cases of crosses. Probability concepts were used to make inferences
from results.
THE EFFECTS OF THE IRITIS DISEASE THAT ULTIMATELY LEADS TO GLAUCOMA
Brayan Alvarado, Antilles Military Academy, Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico.
The Iritis disease was chosen because it has been shown that if it is not correctly treated, it could lead
to glaucoma. The iris is the colored portion of the eyes including the dark pupil located on the center
of the eye and is in front of the uveal tract. The iris has a muscular fiber that controls the entering of
light and helps to see clearly, which makes the pupil smaller when there is bright light and when there
is dim effect in the light the pupil grows larger but in some cases there is inflammation in the eye,
which leads to iritic. The symptoms can be pain on the eye or in the eyebrow due to bright lights,
redness on the eye, blurred vision, headache, increase of tears in the eye that can lead to glaucoma
which lead to loss of vision. Iritis can be treated. Some of the treatments are the following: the steroid
eye drops which helps to treat and reduce the inflammation by stabilizing the cell membranes in the
eye, the other one is dilating eye drops that dilate the pupil and reduce eye pain and protect the eye
from adhesions, and the last one is the antibiotic eye drops because in case of a bacterial infection, the
antibiotic can help the iris. The methodology at first was used to find information of the disease and
later find statistics and the last thing was to build equations by using mathematical programs. In
conclusion, the if this disease is not treated well, it can lead to an epidemic in some part of the world.
99
PREVALENCE AND ABUNDANCE OF HALARACHNE MIROUNGAE IN HARBOR SEALS,
PHOCA VITULINA FROM THE WESTERN COAST OF NORTH AMERICA
Alina Amador; María Reina Academy, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
Parasites are an integral part of every ecosystem, representing a major factor in global biodiversity.
Even though some are common and may not cause any noticeable harm, others can cause marine
mammals to suffer major health issues and can even lead to death. The type of parasite, its abundance
and intensity of infection are major factors that will determine the future of the marine mammal
population. Halarachne miroungae is known to affect the respiratory tracts of harbor seals. Many
may clog the nasal passages of the seals resulting in difficulty in breathing or other health problems.
Even if it does not lead to death, health issues can and will be present in the animal which, in great
abundance, can cause a noticeable change in their ecosystem. For this study, the nasal passages of six
juvenile harbor seals stranded off the coast of California between 1974 and 2002 were examined for
halarachnid mites. Specimens of these parasites were initially fixed in 10% formalin and later
transferred and stored in glass vials with 70% ethanol. A detailed morphological identification was
conducted by mounting specimens in lacto-phenol. Two out of six harbor seals were infected by
Halarchne miroungae. This represented a percentage of prevalence of 33%. Infestations went from 60
to 235 mites in nasal passages. A mean abundance of 49 mites was reported for each seal. Comparing
the results of this study with those reported from published scientific papers, these reports can be
considered as normal findings when considering that infestation by nasal mites have been mainly
described in seals older than one year (Kim et al. 1980; Rijks et al, 2008) The severity of infestation in
this case was variable and depends on health status and age of infected individual. The lower
percentage of individuals with heavy mite infestation (2/6, 33%) could be related to underestimation
due to the difficulty of a complete parasite count during stranding due to human error or because some
parasites leave their host when it is dead.
APPLICATION OF MENDELIAN LAWS AND PUNNETT SQUARE TO STUDY
INHERITANCE OF AUTOSOMAL DOMINANT JUVENIL MYOCLONIC EPILEPSY
Alondra Yaritza Báez Nieves. Manuela Toro Morice School, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
Have you ever asked yourself how diseases passed from generation to generation? How does one
know, if kids or grandchildren would get a family disease? The topic of epilepsy was chosen. It has
been proven that epilepsy can be obtained by inheritance, but, How does one know in what generation
of a family, the epilepsy will be inherited or expressed? To study the pattern of inheritance, the
syndrome of Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy (JME) autosomal dominant, was chosen. Based on studies,
GABRA1 (locus 5q34) is one of the genes related to develop JME when this gene suffers mutations.
To know how the inheritance works, the pedigree was studied. Combinations were made with family
patterns and the probabilities to carry the mutated gene, to inherit the mutated gene and, to develop
JME diseases, according to Mendelian laws, particularly the Principle of Segregation; and Autosomal
Dominant Inheritance characteristics. As an analysis tool, Punnett Square was used. This research
work presents a few cases of JME inheritance and results about future generations from those cases.
100
RATES OF ABORTION IN WOMEN THROUGH THE PHASES OF ADOLESCENT AND
YOUNG ADULTS
Angelie Cambero De La Rosa, Bautista de Puerto Nuevo Academy, Puerto Rico.
Research Assistant Mentor: Kamil Suliveres, Universidad Metropolitana, Cupey, Puerto Rico.
What side effects may have premeditated abortion through the years? Abortion is the interruption of
fetal development as it has not reached the 3 months. The objective of this research was to predict the
abortion cases in 2013, viewing if they increase or are reduced statistically in the world with the
purpose to expose the seriousness of these acts. The goal was to analyze its social impact for people
who are considering abortion. For the prediction of abortions in 2013, a model was built using
government statistics of the past years to obtain a rate of growth or decrease, so that finally a
prediction could be made. There are reported about 4.4 million women seeking abortion in the US
alone. There were various symptoms that have been expressed in women who have gotten an abortion.
These include: post abortion stress syndrome, infection in the uterus, missed abortion (some tissues
left from the zygote), big clots, abnormal bleeding, foul-smelling vaginal discharge, blood in stool or
urine, among others. The purpose of this research was to build awareness about abortion, not from an
option that this is a solution to unwanted pregnancy, but to present the different side effects this could
have in a woman’s body. In the past years there have been an average of 101,592 cases of women who
had abortions, of which 31,618 (almost one third) had done the procedure previously. Since this
number keeps growing, so do the various campaigns that defend or criticize the subject, but in reality
in 2004, approximately 32 deaths during abortion procedures were reported. This has to be alarming
due to the fact, that abortion is legal, meaning that the care for these women has to be better.
MUNCHAUSEN BY PROXY SYNDROME
Ediel Corujo, Antilles Military Academy, Puerto Rico
Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome is a rare mental disorder in which a person feigns a mental or
physical disorder in order to attract attention of others. The women who suffer from this mental
disorder try to transmit it to their offspring. Those mothers who try to fake their offspring’s diseases or
health problems do so because of their internal need to fool others into feeling sorry for the affected
person. The problem of the people who suffer from this disorder is that they are willing to undergo any
medical procedure, no matter how painful or expensive, to show that they are truly sick, when in
reality they are not. The objectives of this investigation were to find more information about this
disease and to inform others of the cruelty this disorder brings. In order to begin this investigation,
information was gathered on this rare mental disorder. That information was then used to create graphs
in a mathematical program. After the graph was created, it was then used to analyze the result. Some
of the statistics gathered during this investigation were: 98% of the affected perpetrators were women,
the mortality rate was approximately 6%, the race and age predilection has not been yet determined.
This investigation showed that this mental disorder is extremely rare and therefore there are many
things unknown, like the race and age predilection. This investigation has also demonstrated that
women are most susceptible to this disorder and that 6% of those women kill their offspring because
of the effects of this rare mental disorder.
101
MORTALITY RATE FOR TEXTING AND DRIVING IN THE UNITED STATES
Adria Cotto, Bautista de Puerto Nuevo Academy, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
In the United States, hundreds of people die each year from texting and driving accidents. These
mortality rates are due to irresponsibility while driving and lack of attention to the actions at hand. The
purpose of this investigation was to educate people about the dangers of texting while driving. In
educating people of the danger, the hope is to reduce and in a near future stop accidents from
occurring. The main objectives were to analyze data of mortality rates from years 2007 to 2011.
Observations were made on the regions where the largest rates occur. The research demonstrates how
dangerous it is to text or check telephones while driving.
BACTERIUM Bartonella henselae AND THE EFFECTS ON CAT OWNERS
Stephanie Cruz; Antilles Military Academy, Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico.
Bartonellosis, best known as Cat scratch disease, is a condition caused by the bacterium Bartonella
henselae, which is carried by cats. The disease is spread through cat bites, cat scratches, or exposure to
cat saliva. There are approximately two hundred million cats in the 10 most populated countries
(MapXL, 2011), and this number keeps increasing and so do the diseases these carry. Moreover, not
many cat owners know the effect of the different diseases that they can contract by a scratch or bite.
The purpose of this project was to demonstrate how the disease may affect more population and
become a plague in the future because people do not pay much attention to it. For this project,
information was gathered to find the problem of this disease and using that information graphics were
made in a mathematical model. It was found that an estimated 22,000 cases are reported in United
States every year people being infected with this disease. Also, it was found that of the approximately
60 million pet cats in the United States, at least 20% were infected with Bartonella. The results
demonstrate that cat owners are not aware of the implications that a scratch or bite of a cat may cause
to them even though the cases are increasing every year. Cats may seem cute and healthy but, their
disease may be an owner’s enemy one day.
102
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DOWN SYNDROME
BIRTHS IN THE UNITED STATES AND, MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MOTHER
DURING PREGNANCY
Luis F. Díaz Figueroa, San Antonio Abad School, Humacao, Puerto Rico.
Down syndrome is the most common autosomal abnormality among live births. Most Down syndrome
cases result from true trisomy 21, with trisomy 21 mosaicism and translocations involving
chromosome 21. According several studies, the only well established risk factor for Down syndrome is
advanced maternal age. However, if the child has the syndrome as a result of a translocation in
chromosome 21 and either or both parents are translocation carriers, there is an increased risk for
additional children to also have the syndrome. Down syndrome prevalence is known to vary by
race/ethnicity and by sex. Also, through time it has been of public interest to study the association of
mother with smoking habits, age of the mother at the birth time and Down Syndrome incidence. To
study that relationship, the Wonder online database of the Center of Disease Control (CDC) was used
to obtain cases of Down Syndrome in United States, classified by variables like year, age of the
mother, and mother' habits to smoke during pregnancy. Statistical Analysis was performed with
Minitab software.
MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF THE DIFFERENT ECONOMIC SYSTEMS IN PUERTO
RICO
Natasha García; Dr. José Ozuna School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The economy is a system where a government is in charge of using all the material resources in an
efficient way. At the same time, there are three basic economic models: communism, socialism, and
the mixed model. Communism is the model where every decision will be made in a democratic way.
Every voice of every person counts. At the time, communism or better known as free market
economy, is considered as a branch of socialism. Socialism is the model where everything has to be
planed and thought before taking any decision. In addition, the mixed model is the one that applies the
communist and the socialist concepts. The beginning of the twentieth century marks the economy of
Puerto Rico. The Cepal in 2004 informeds that this mark in the Puerto Rican economy leaves adverse
effects such as high growth rates and industrialization, modernization and urbanization. Distributions
problems get worst. For the past few years, it has been the interest of many people to keep suggesting
the right economic model right for Puerto Rico. “The model proposed development must be made on
the following three elements: first, proposed rule desirable or economy; second, a sufficient model to
explain the current economic performance and measure the distances between it and the economy
desirable and; third, a system of criteria and policy strategies that lead to progressive transformation of
the desirable effect on the economy, its purpose (Rodríguez, 2008).” To carry out this investigation,
the first step was to get to know the topic. What are the three basic economic models, how do they
work and what is the difference between them. The studied models were communism, socialism, and
the mixed model. The reason for choosing these models was to find out which one of these will be the
one which would help underpin the economy of Puerto Rico. The next step was to study the models
that Puerto Rico is currently using to support its economy. To analyze the results, different platforms
were made to represent the outcomes of these models in the economy of Puerto Rico. After analyzing
them, suggestions on the most appropriate economic model for Puerto Rico are made.
103
STIMULANTS IN MEDICAL STUDENTS
Gisselle González, Bautista de Puerto Nuevo Academy, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Stimulants are medicine that can be prescribed or not. They are used to raise energy levels to deal with
responsibilities. Students use stimulants to work better, to stay alert and they can help them study. The
purpose of this study was to determine how they affect students who have been in medical school for 4
years. The most frequently used stimulants were caffeine (56.2%), energizing beverages (27%),
amphetamines (8%), nicotine (6.9%) and others substances (1.8%). The stimulants were used to stay
awake (56.1%) and to study for a test (31.6%). Results found that 70.4% of the students who
participated in the study used stimulants while 29.6% had never used them. The study also revealed
that 56.8% considered that the use of stimulants helped them in their academic performance. These
results demonstrated the frequent use of stimulant substances among medical school student in Puerto
Rico. One application program was especially used in this project. What was expected to happen was
that medical students would realize the danger they are doing to themselves, because of possible
addiction. This research found that more medical students use stimulants to raise their studies than the
ones who do not.
ABUNDANCE OF THE TETRAPHILLIDEAN METACESTODE, PHYLLOBOTHRIUM
DELPHINI IN THE SKIN OF THE ROUGHTOOTH DOLPHIN, STENO BREDANENSIS,
STRANDED IN ARROYO, PUERTO RICO
Irene Hammel; María Reina Academy, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
Statistical analyses of marine mammal parasites are scarce. Ecologists are increasingly using statistical
models and results associated to parasite populations including their abundance, frequency and
distribution due to their importance as biological tags (Odata et al. 2009). These results help scientists
predict aspects of the ecology, biology, evolution and distribution of marine mammals representing a
valuable tool for conservation and ongoing management plans on endangered marine species (ColomLlavina et al. 2009). Steno bredanensis (Cuvier in Lesson, 1828) is a small odontocete commonly
called the rough-toothed dolphin. Despite reports of sightings of stranded specimens, the species is
thought to typically occur in low abundance. Although there are poor recordings of Tetraphyllidean
metacestodes in Steno bredanensis, this study documented the frequency and abundance
of Phyllobothrium delphini in these dolphins. Knowing the relative abundance of host of different
species may determine what proportions of the parasite population they harbor. Marine mammals are
suggested to be intermediate hosts of these Tetraphyllidean metacestodes (Testa and Dailey, 1976).
Forty cetaceans were salvaged in the Caribbean between 1992 and 2004. Parasitic specimens were
collected after necropsies and fixed in 10% formalin or preserved in 70% ethanol. Parasites were
mounted in lacto phenol for morphological identification. Only one rough-toothed dolphin stranded
during 1992-2004 was investigated for infection of Phyllobothrium delphini larvae. Abundance of P.
delphini resulted in 34 individuals found in the skin of the stranded dolphin. These findings could
suggest that, due to the dolphins’ low abundance in tropical and subtropical oceans, P. delphini
conveniently occurs in low abundance in the skin of these dolphins as an evolutionary response and
population strategy for survival.
104
MEAN INTENSITY OF CHIORCHIS GROSCHAFTI IN THE WEST INDIAN MANATEE,
TRICHECHUS MANATUS, STRANDED IN PUERTO RICO
Ana Longo; María Reina Academy, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
The size of the natural parasite population is difficult to measure. Individuals differ greatly in the
number of parasites they harbor. Prevalence (proportion infected), mean intensity (parasites per
infected individual), and mean abundance (parasites per individuals examined) are 3 common
population-level descriptors of parasite abundance (Bush et al., 1997). Ecologists are increasingly
appreciating using statistical models and results associated to parasite population including their
abundance, frequency, and distribution due to their importance as biological tags (Odata et al. 2009).
These results help scientist predict aspects of the ecology, biology, evolution and distribution of
marine mammals representing a valuable tool for conservation and management plans ongoing on
endangered marine species (Colom-Llavina et al. 2009). The West Indian Manatee, Trichechus
manatus, is known to harbor three species of trematodes of which Chiorchis groschafti is a
characteristic parasite, commonly found in the intestine of manatees. Manatees are marine mammals
from the sirenian species that have adapted living in salt and fresh waters. Manatees are referred to as
“sea cows” since they are harmless creatures with no natural enemies. Parasites were collected from
40 carcasses of stranded cetaceans and manatees in the Caribbean between 1992 and 2004. All
parasitic specimens found off the coast of Puerto Rico, including the ones from the West Indian
Manatee, were collected after necropsy and fixed in 10% formalin or preserved in 70% ethanol.
Parasites were mounted in lacto phenol for morphological identification. Seven out of nine manatees
examined (77.7%) were found to be heavily infected with C. groschafti and C. cochleotrema, of which
66.6% where females and 33.3% where males. Each individual manatee had around 4,500 trematode
parasites of which an average of 3,900 (86.6%) belong to the species C. groschafti and an average of
600 (13.3%) belong to the species C. cochleotrema. Findings of C. groschafti were always (100%) in
the intestines of all seven individuals while C. cochleotrema was found in nasal passages in 55.5% of
all cases and in the trachea in 22.2% of all cases. These results agree with other published scientific
results.
105
THE RATES OF MORTALITY CAUSED BY THE STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREU BACTERIA
Astrid Martínez, Bautista de Puerto Nuevo Academy, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Research Assistant Mentor: Kamil Suliveres, Universidad Metropolitana, Cupey, Puerto Rico.
Nearly 19,000 humans are dying per year in the United State because of a bacterium known as
Staphylococcus commonly called staph. This bacterium is found in the body, in some types of foods,
even in animals. The problem is that if the bacterium is not treated from the beginning of the
contraction and activation, then it could transform into a much more complicated disease, making it
harder to find treatment. In the human body there are many cells, among those cells Streptococcus is
found; these cells are known as the defending cells, also referred to as the “good cells”. The bacterium
Staphylococcus enters the body through a laceration, skin irritation or simply a cut. This bacterium has
many threads or mutations; they evolve making the new mutation worse than the original. The
treatment of staph will solely depend on the time of activation in the body and which is the thread
contracted. In some studies, scientists found a medicine from the penicillin family called methicillin
that could withstand the staph bacterium. In the beginning of the treatment, the medicine started to
cure many humans around the world but as bodies got accustomed to methicillin, so did the staph
because humans under treatment developed defending cells as did the bacterium. Because of this, a
specific thread of the bacterium was selected and an exponential model was built to predict how many
cases of Staphylococcus will be reported in 2013.
106
PREVALENCE AND FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF ANISAKID LARVAE FOUND IN
PHOCOENA PHOCOENA, THE HARBOR PORPOISE, STRANDED IN CALIFORNIA
Daniela Martínez; María Reina Academy, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
Parasites play an important factor in marine mammal population. Dailey (1979) recommended using
parasites as biological tags or indicators for host’s migration and feeding, social structure, general
health condition, and as an aid in assessing mortality. Parasites have also served biologists as
indicators of current and historical ecological relationships (Aznar et al. 2001) providing useful
information on host ecology, biogeography and phylogeny (Gardner and Campbell, 1992, Brooks and
McLennan 1993, Hoberg 1996, Hoberg 1997). The frequency distribution of Anisakis simplex in 14
harbor porpoises off the coast of California is described. Nematodes were collected from fourteen
carcasses of harbor porpoises salvaged in California between 1974 and 2002. Specimens of each
parasite found were initially fixed in 10% formalin and later transferred and stored in glass vials with
70% ethanol. A detailed morphological identification was conducted by mounting specimens in lactophenol. Eleven out of fourteen porpoises (prevalence percentage of 78.5%) were infected by Anisakis
simplex, collected from the stomach, esophagus, fore-stomach, and kidneys, and were categorized as
third stage larvae, fourth stage larvae, sub-adults and adults. The frequency distribution of the
infection of the parasite in a given locality was calculated. Porpoises are known to harbor around
8,000 specimens of A. simplex (Herreras, et al. 2004). In this study each of the eleven porpoises
infected by A. simplex sensu lato had an average of 11,000 specimens of Anisakis sp. of which around
4,000 (prevalence and frequency percentage of 36.3%) were categorized as third and fourth stage
larvae and 7,000 (prevalence and frequency percentage of 63.6%) specimens where categorized as
adults and sub-adults. All stages seemed to occur principally in the forestomach, but this trend was
stronger for anisakid adults and sub-adults. The large number of parasites of this anisakid species
found in each stranded porpoise clearly suggests a heavy infection that may have arisen as a secondary
infection and/or could have been the cause of stranding as it has been documented that heavy parasite
infections in marine mammals may cause these animals to strand.
FACTORS THAT INCREASE THE ANNUAL LIVER CANCER MORTALITY IN MEN AND
WOMEN
Karina Miranda; University Gardens, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Nowadays, the mortality rate of liver cancer in the population worldwide has increased. This may be
due to the fact that is the fourth most common cause of cancer mortality and the fifth most common
cancer in the world. Patients who are diagnosed with liver cancer without a proper treatment have only
a year of life. Even though there are some treatments to prevent liver cancer from spreading, not all
liver cancers are curable. Liver cancer rose 2.1 per cent a year between 1997 and 2008. The purpose of
this investigation was to find possible causes in which liver cancer mortality rate increases. The
objective was to analyze the main reasons of mortality in people that have liver cancer. The idea was
to see an improvement in the knowledge of the patient prior to the first visit to the physician.
107
EPIDEMIOLOGY, TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF HUMAN T-CELL LEUKEMIA
Michael Nieves, Santa Teresita School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Human T-Cell Leukemia has been a problem in the United States since 1979. It is the first Retrovirus
to be discovered on a human being. It is a type of virus that infects a type of white blood cell (T-Cells)
and can cause leukemia and lymphoma. The objective of this investigation was to raise awareness and
to inform people of the disease, its causes, how it spreads and how to avoid contracting it. Also, this
was meant to validate the information presented and to locate where exactly the virus is located and
where does the alteration happen.
HOW HAS THE HUMAN PAPILOMA VIRUS GROWN IN THE HUMAN POPULATION?
Zahiribeth Piñero, Bautista de Puerto Nuevo Academy, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Why is there an increase in people infected with Human Papilloma Virus? People should learn more
about this disease in order to protect better themselves and reduce the spread statistics. This disease is
highly contagious and serious. Most HPV types cause no symptoms, some can cause warts, and only
very few can affect the cervical, anal or penis area. The genital human papilloma virus is the most
common sexually transmitted infection. In order to estimate the impact of primary cervical cancer
screening with human papilloma virus (HPV) testing, and implementation of the current HPV
vaccines, the most recent and largest HPV studies in United States is summarized. A comprehensive
study covering 83% of the population of the United States from 1998 to 2003 estimated that each year
there are about 24.900 cases of HPV-associated cancer. To do the investigation, was necessary use
analytic models and a mathematical modeling program such as Excel. The results showed that there
were 8.063 women infected with human papilloma virus in the United States, 255 infected men and
partners of people infected with human papilloma virus was 30. People should raise awareness about
these figures, especially women who are most affected and should protect themselves, be careful when
choosing a sexual partner. If people react, this research could change the world, could be the beginning
of a movement of awareness and prevention. The results are based on women, men and partners of
people infected with human papilloma virus.
108
MEAN ABUNDANCE OF ANISAKID NEMATODES FROM THE STOMACH OF KOGIA
SIMUS, DWARF SPERM WHALE STRANDED IN THE CARIBBEAN
Cecilia Pou; María Reina Academy, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
Kogiid whales (Kogia breviceps and K. simus) are known to be the typical final host of parasitic
nematodes. Although population densities of these Kogiid whales are uncertain, the statistics found
are vital for the preservation of the family. Ecologists are increasingly using statistical models and
results associated to parasite population including their abundance, frequency and distribution due to
their importance as biological tags (Odata et al. 2009). These results help scientists predict aspects of
the ecology, biology, evolution and distribution of marine mammals representing a valuable tool for
conservation and ongoing management plans on endangered marine species (Colon-Llavina et al.
2009). Species of Anisakis brevispiculata and Pseudoterranova ceticola are known to infect Kogiid
whales (Colon-Llavina et al. 2009). This study reports the mean abundance of these nematodes
pertaining to the family Anisakidae found in the dwarf sperm whale. Parasites were collected from 40
carcasses of stranded cetaceans and manatees in the Caribbean between 1992 and 2004. All parasitic
specimens found, including the ones from the pygmy sperm whale, off the coast of Puerto Rico, were
collected after necropsy and fixed in 10% formalin or preserved in 70% ethanol. Parasites were
mounted in lacto phenol for morphological identification. Three stranded dwarf sperm whales were
examined for parasites from the digestive tract. All three whales were infected with both Anisakis
brevispiculata and Pseudoterranova ceticola. Each individual whale had around 400 nematode
parasites of which an average of 207 belonged to species A. brevispiculata and an average of 193 of
the species P. ceticola. Prevalence percentage of A. brevispiculata was 51.7% while the prevalence
percentage of P. ceticola was 48.2%. It is known that these anisakid adult nematodes can co-exist in
the same host and the presence of these parasites suggests that larval stages may occur in cephalopods
or fishes consumed by these whales and later for human consumption (Solíz et al. 2006).
DISTILLER PROCESS FOR NATURAL AND INDUSTRIAL WATER
Jorge Rosado, Antilles Military Academy, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Water purification is one of the many processes used to purify water for human consumption. There
are different types of distillers: natural distillers, industrial distillers, and home distillers. The
objectives of this investigation were to see which of the purifiers were the most efficient and see if
natural distillers were still good for human consumption. First, information was gathered doing an
extensive search on papers and articles about the distillation of water using different resources such as
companies, home and natural distillers. As the information was been gathered, some water samples
were taken from the different areas of interest, to be compared and decide which was better for human
consumption. For each sample taken, an analysis of the water was done using a pH meter and a
microscope to closely inspect the quantities of bacteria in each sample. Finally with the information
obtained by the analysis was graphed and a comparison of the results was done to conclude which of
the distillers is more efficient.
109
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP AMONG TYPES OF OFFENSES
PROCESSED IN PUERTO RICO
Marlyn Tirado, Cidra Vocational School, Cidra, Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico`s crime rate is established according to statistical analyses of Group A Offenses. The
Puerto Rico Police gathers data and organizes it in accordance with a system of classification of
criminal categories used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In this system, crimes are
classified in two main categories: Group A Offenses (murder and homicide, robbery, rape, aggravated
assault, breaking and entering, illegal appropriation and motor vehicle theft) and Group 8 Offenses,
which include all other violations. This means that the official reports on crime are limited to those
seven mentioned above, failing to recognize the ones in Group B. This general practice has been in
effect since the 1930s. However, in 2000 a new system of classification and information was
implemented: the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS). This new system includes 41
categories, 31 of them in Group A offenses and 10 in Group B offenses. It is important to gain
knowledge about the criminality problem in order to look for solutions to fight it. Crime trends on the
Island were analyzed. Data was obtained through an online database, and statistical analyses were
developed with Minitab v14 software. This project showed significant relationships among crime
categories, crime trends, and main variables affecting the incidence of specifics crimes.
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ABSTRACTS
ANALYSIS OF ALOE VERA INTERACTIONS WITH BLOOD GLUCOSE
Christopher Carrasquillo Moulier, Rachel M. Quintana Santiago, College of Advance Education
Research Mentor: Laysa M. Claudio González, University of Puerto Rico at Humacao, Puerto Rico.
Aloe vera is a medicinal plant that produces two substances: a gel and latex that are used in medicines.
Aloe vera is used to regulate glucose levels in diabetic patients. Diabetes is a condition in which blood
levels of glucose are abnormally high, because the organism not release or use insulin improperly.
Through the technique of distillation, the essential oil 8s extracted from the aloe plant called aloe vera.
Using the technique of infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), the functional groups of aloe vera were
determined to obtain the active ingredient. Furthermore, using the Gaussview and Gaussian programs,
the interaction between aloin (active ingredient of aloe vera) and glucose can be seen. In the future
research could include how aloe vera can help with cholesterol and triglycerides.
DETERMINATION OF FOLIC ACID IN RICE
Ariadna S. Claudio Ortiz, College of Advance Education Gaudi, Humacao, Puerto Rico.
Folic acid is a vitamin B that could prevent fetus birth defects, like brain defects and medulla spinal
defects denominated as neural tube defects (NTD) when it is taken before pregnancy and in the first
weeks of pregnancy. There are several foods enriched with folic acid, rice being one of them;
therefore, rice was the sample studied. To determine the quantity of folic acid contained in rice, a
volumetric method (tritrimetric) was used utilizing a titration process with NaOH 0.02 M and
phenolphthalein as the indicator. Using the Gaussview and Gaussian programs, the chemical surface
of the folic acid was also analyzed to determine the most important functional groups of the molecule
that interact with the development of the fetus. In future investigations, a study will be made to
determine the percent of folic acid contained in corn cereal (Corn Flakes) in comparison to the percent
given in the label of the box, and a determination will be made on how the amount of folic acid is
affected, if affected, when milk is added to the chocolate powder Quick.
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COMPARISON BETWEEN FUNCTIONAL GROUPS OF TAMOXIFEN AND ARIMIDEX IN
THE TREATMENT OF BREAST CANCER
Vilmarie Díaz Pérez, College of Advance Education Gaudi, Humacao, Puerto Rico.
Tamoxifen and Arimidex are drugs to treat breast cancer. Tamoxifen is a drug that interferes with
estrogen activity. Arimidex or anastrazole is a hormone used to treat breast cancer in postmenopausal
women. This drug combats cancer by acting as an "aromatase inhibitor." The main function of
tamoxifen and arimidex is to control the production of estrogen, since estrogen promotes the
production of certain cancers. Through Gaussview and Gaussian programs, observations were made
on the differences in the structure of the molecule, the surface chemistry, the enthalpy and interaction
with cancer cells, all of this was made to determine which drug was better to treat the disease. Future
research will concentrate on how feeding habits can contribute to developing cancer, and thus
determine which foods are most at risk to make people more susceptible to disease.
DETERMINATION OF LEAD IN A WASTEWATER SAMPLE
Sergio A. Donato Ferrer, Perpetuo Socorro School, Humacao, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Katherine Calderón Mojica, University of Puerto Rico, Humacao, Puerto Rico.
Lead can enter drinking water through corrosion of pipes. This is most likely to occur when the water
is slightly acidic. This is the reason that the systems of public water treatment are now required to
carry out a pH adjustment in water that serves for the use of drinking water. Lead causes corrosion of
household plumbing and erosion of natural deposits that affect the environmental area. To determine
how much lead the water has, the DithiVer Metals Reagent was used. This Reagent is a stable powder
form of dithizone. Lead ions in basic solution react with dithizone to form a pink to red leaddithizonate complex, which is extracted with chloroform. For this, the interactions using the Gauss
View program were used to determine the chemical reaction occurring in the sample.
DETERMINATION OF ACIDITY AND TOTAL HARDNESS OF A WATER SAMPLE
Kelvin Perales Lozada, Educación Avanzada Gaudi School, Humacao, Puerto Rico.
Density functional Calculations (DFT) have been carried out to study the vibration interactions and
movements of water hardness. Water hardness is determined by the calculation of the CaCo3
percentage. This percentage is from the amount of calcium and magnesium ions from the water
sample. For this analysis, the Gauss View program was used for the different optimized structures and
to see the interaction with metal ions (Mg++, Ca++). For these samples, water and contaminated were
analyzed with the acidity and Total Hardness to see how they affect the environment.
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THE EFFECT OF METAL CONCENTRATIONS ON COSMETICS TO HUMAN HEALTH
Robert Pérez Ossers, C.R.O.E.M. School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
Lipstick, among other cosmetics, is being used and marketed continuously to benefit the financial
means of many companies. However, the composition of lipstick is not being regulated appropriately,
where the FDA clearly states that the metal content is not regulated in the composition of cosmetics.
Lipstick contains a variety of different metals that are not only threatening for human health, but also
toxic for anyone that comes in contact with them. As part of the first phase of the research project, two
tests were performed: a thin-layer chromatography test and the gold ring optical visibility test. These
test revealed traces of metallic compounds. These lipstick samples were also observed under a
microscope with a 40x magnification, using ultraviolet light. The presence of brilliant spots in both
tests indicated that the samples contained metallic compounds. For the second phase of the research,
an inductively coupled plasma spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to analyze eight samples of lipstick
and 10 samples of mascara. The samples were first placed in nitric acid to eliminate all the organic
material. After that, the membrane aromatic recovery system (MARS) diluted the samples, which were
analyzed by the ICP-MS to measure the concentration of metals in the cosmetic samples with an
accuracy of 99.9%. After conducting a series of tests, it was concluded that the excess of metals in the
cosmetics tested is significantly excessive. It confirmed the established hypothesis by showing that all
the tested cosmetics contained different concentrations of toxic metals.
HOW TO MAKE SOAP THROUGH A SAPONIFICATION REACTION
Raúl Yamil Soto Delgado, Educación Avanzada Gaudi School, Humacao, Puerto Rico.
Saponification is a well known reaction to prepare soap through the mixture of a vegetable oil or
animal fat with a strong alkali. In general, the reaction involves the hydrolisis of triglycerides that are
esters of fatty acids and finally form a sodium salt of a carboxylate and glycerol. However, soap
effectiveness is dependent of the water hardness. Some ions such as Mg, Ca, and Fe comes insoluble
form of carboxylic acids. The soap stock is explained by the formation of micelle with the interaction
of polar and nonpolar portions. Theoretical calculus can provide information of the micelles
interactions. In this research, Gauss View program was used to analyze the interactions of the
micelles. Also, the interactions with fats, oils and even water were evaluated. The results demonstrated
that the program is a useful to study these interactions and can be applied to other reactions.
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ABSTRACTS
COMPUTER SCIENCES
THE EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON LITHIUM ION BATTERY CAPACITY
Abdallah Abdallah, All Saints Cathedral School, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Mentor: Ms. Chantelle Belmonte, All Saints Cathedral School, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Over the past years, mobile technologies have developed at an exceptional rate. As a result, there has
been an amplified electric demand on batteries. Battery technology has not advanced at a rate to keep
up with the demand for power for mobile devices. Since there has not been any significant
advancement in batteries, one tries to conserve every percentage one can. Current battery technologies
have many parameters that affect the battery capacity such as temperature, voltage use, and depth of
discharge. Many significant research studies have tested lithium ion batteries and how they cope with
different parameters and how they affect the battery capacity and battery cycle life. This study
focused on how temperature affects the lithium ion battery capacity. Graphical simulations and
analytic models were applied to observe the effect of temperature on the battery capacity. It is
anticipated that the higher the temperature the lower the battery capacity.
DIVISION ALGORITHM FOR COMPLEX INTEGERS
Fadi T. Abumoala, Luis Negrón López High School, Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Dr. Álvaro Lecompte, Inter-American University, San Germán, Puerto Rico.
In the Complex Integers, also called Gaussian Integers, the quotient and the remainder of a division
always exist, with the remainder of smaller modulus than the divisor. However, there are different
possibilities to select both of them. The algorithm is usually found in textbooks and produces a
remainder of minimum modulus. With variations of the former adding small multiples of the divisor,
other remainders can also be calculated. A method was programmed that provides a list of possible
quotients and remainders for each dividend and divisor so that the user was able to select the most
convenient for his or her purpose. They are presented in order of growing modulus. Usually, about six
possibilities for each division are interesting. A graphical representation was also programmed using
Mathematica software.
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AFFINE CRYPTOGRAPHIC CODES USING COMPLEX INTEGERS
Gerald Almodóvar Méndez, Luis Negrón López High School, Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico.
Affine cryptographic codes are among the oldest in use, including the famous Caesar cipher. A
number is associated with each letter or group of letters in a message, and this is changed by
multiplying and adding some secret keys in modular arithmetic. The numbers can be converted again
into letters and sent as the ciphered message. The deciphering is just the opposite operation. As the
group of letters and the key spaces grow large, it is hard to break. Even this is not a safe method for
modern techniques, it is, however, very fast and efficient to program. In this work, an affine
encryption method using complex integers was programmed. Each group of two letters was
transformed into a complex integer and this was changed into another complex integer using modular
arithmetic and the secret key. The method is in some way equivalent to the use of an affine code with
2 x 2 matrices. But now the arithmetic is elegantly incorporated in complex arithmetic, and it is also
efficiently programmed. Several examples are shown.
DESIGN OF A METRONOME USING THE JAVA PLATFORM
Edwin J. Alvarado, Caguas Military Academy, Gurabo, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Joksan X. Flores-Rivera, Universidad del Turabo, Gurabo, Puerto Rico.
In music theory, tempo is the term used to describe the rate at which the fundamental rhythm of a
musical piece is going to be executed. The rate is determined by a certain mathematical relationship
between tempo and time. Tempo specifies the amount of time between each individual beat in a
composition. Certain devices, such as the metronome, express this amount by stressing each beat
audibly. However, tempo alone does not make up the whole relationship. Time signature modifies the
time between each beat within a piece. Metronomes, mechanical, electronical or software-based, do
not react to these modifications. The objective of this research was to design a metronome application
that reacts to these variations. Through the adjustment of the aforementioned mathematical
relationship, the metronome was able project the desired tempo in addition to expressing the alteration
caused by the time signature.
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WEB SOLUTION FOR A CLICKERS SYSTEM IN SMART PHONES
Ángel G. Andino, Santa Gema School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Prof. Héctor de la Torre, Universidad del Turabo, Gurabo, Puerto Rico.
“Clickers” is an easy classroom response systems technology used to collect students’ response in tests
and surveys to promote active learning. This type of tool frequently is an expensive system. The
owner company created a specific hardware and software to develop these types of systems. The aim
of this research was to develop a free software web basics tool to create an educational free system
using smart phones. Many clickers companies offer good software but the hardware is only for their
own systems. The principal objective in this research was to implement clicker into smartphones and
computers in the university network. With this new free system the universities would not need an
“EXPENSIVE” clicker system. The only requirement for students would be a smartphone or
cellphone with Internet access. The website development would include real time interactive data
results. That successful development of the tool is a significant upgrade to the clickers, a jump into a
smartphone world.
MOBILE APPLICATION FOR EDUCATION ON WELFARE AND PROTECTION OF
ANIMALS
Cinkia Aponte; Pablo Colón Berdecía School, Barranquitas, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Prof. Carmen L. Carvajal, Inter-American University, Barranquitas, Puerto Rico.
The objective of this project was to educate people about Law 154 of Puerto Rico for the Welfare and
Protection of Animals. This law penalizes people who have mistreated animals. Since a high
percentage of children does not know this law and how take care of animals, the main idea was to
develop a mobile application for teaching children that animals must not be abused and how they
should be protected and loved. This application consists on a set of games and activities designed for
children using the appropriate user-friendly interface. Given the fact that Android technology is
increasing its participation on the cell phone market, it was used as the computer platform for
developing the application. As a result of this project, a user-friendly application was developed for
teaching children about Law 154 in a funny and interactive way.
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AGENT-BASED MODELING APPROACH TO THE PREDATOR-PREY MODEL
Jocelyne Bedminster, Charlotte Amalie High School, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands.
Research Mentor: Dr. Marc Boumedine, University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, US Virgin
Islands.
This study explores the predator-prey problem as a case study to illustrate agent-based modeling
(ABM) approach to system dynamics. Agent based modeling consists of building a model with a set
of agents that simulate the behaviors of the entities that form the whole system. Complex behaviors
evolve from describing simple rules that express relationships between agents and how these agents
must respond to specified events. The ABM approach to the prey-predator problem was based on the
work of Uri Wilensky and it was implemented in NetLogo, an open source multi-agent modeling
environment. NetLogo allows the definition of two types of agents: mobile or turtles and stationary or
patches agents. A graphical user interface provided a simple way to interact with the models through
parameters such as predator/prey birth rates, minimum energy needed to reproduce, maximum ages
and initial populations. Discrete simulations and visualization of the predator-prey population
fluctuations were visualized with graphs and monitors.
DESIGN OF A COMMAND LINE BINARY SELECTION TEXT GAME: “ALPHACORE”
Anthony R. Bonilla, Rafael A. Aponte, José Gautier Benítez School, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
The purpose of this project was to learn the basics of programming a binary computer text game using
the Java computer programming language. The game, called ‘AlphaCore,’ was designed using the
Java programming language because of the desire to explore binary selection as a possible game
designing tool. A binary game is a game that gives the user two command choices to part from, in this
case ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’ The text game ‘AlphaCore’ is a story about a man named Alan Drake, who is out
for vengeance, to get the killers of his parents and take revenge on them, with twists and turns in the
story and THE PLAYER decides what is going to happen next. The story for the game was written on
the ‘Microsoft Word’ program, drafts for the text game were made on ‘Notepad’ and the final game
was developed in Java using NetBeans 7.1. The game is expected to run on every computer available
for use. As a future work, it is expected to be expanded to the Android Platform. As future work, the
transition from text games to more developed video games will be made.
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DERIVATIVE AND INTEGRALS CALCULATOR
Emanuel Cabrera, Bautista De Levittown Academy, Toa Baja, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Raúl O. Colón: Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The main goal in this project was to create and application that helps precalculus and calculus students
to shorten the long process of finding the derivative and integral of a number or variable. This
application is for the Windows phone. In calculus, a branch of mathematics, the derivative is a
measure of how a function changes as its input changes. The Integral is actually the reverse process of
the derivative. This calculator would be successful because the process of finding the derivative and
integral of a number of variables is long. In fact, calculus is one of the hardest forms of math. Also,
since the differentiation and antidifferantiation are the basics of calculus, they would be used
throughout the entire calculus course. For example: one was taught that adding and subtracting were
the basics of math, and those basics would still be used, but in different methods and ways.
HOW TO IMPROVE NETWORK EFFICIENCY USING GNS3
Frankie Cabrera, Bautista de Puerto Nuevo Academy, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Today, network efficiency is a very interesting problem in the computer network field. Commonly, the
users reflect inconformity in relation to the network speed and reliability. This research was based on
the network systems efficiency, using the Graphical Network Simulator (GNS3) tool. GNS3 is well
known software in the computer network field that allows the creation and simulation of networks
systems. In this research, GNS3 was used to verify, test, and measure the performance of a real-world
network configuration that was already done (e.g a university network). The principal objective of this
research was to create a network-improved version of the original one by testing several network
topology and modifications. The most efficient one in terms of speed and reliability was selected as
the new improved network. The results showed that the selected improved topology, provided an
increase in the network speed and improved reliability referred to as the successful transmission rate.
EXPANDING A META SEARCH ENGINE APPLICATION BY ADDING IMAGE SEARCH
FUNCTIONS
Rafael Cabrera, Bautista de Levittown Academy, Toa Baja, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Raúl Colón, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The use of Smartphones continues to rapidly increase. Most phones features include several Internet
search engines, such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing. However, these engines often yield different results,
making Internet searching more complicated. To address this shortcoming, the current research project
aimed to develop a “Meta-Search Engine” (MSE) that efficiently integrates various engines. Visual
Studio 2010 and Microsoft Expression Blend 4 were used to develop an MSE that also includes Image
Search Results (ISR) among other web search enhancing features. MSE has been designed and
developed and is currently undergoing “beta testing.” An efficient and user-friendly MSE has the
potential to provide millions of Smartphone users with an enhanced and efficient Internet search
experience.
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SCIETYM: SCIENTIFIC WORD ROOTS, PREFIXES, AND SUFFIXES DICTIONARY APP
Nishmar Cestero González, Episcopal Cathedral School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Raúl O. Colón, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Today there are a great number of applications made for mobile phones, but there are not many
designed to be of use to scientists. The purpose of this research project was to develop a mobile
application which caters to the scientific community. The app functions as a scientific, etymology
dictionary titled “SciEtym.” Users would be able to search for the meanings of scientific word roots,
prefixes, and suffixes or select them from a list. Additionally, the user would view several words
derived from the selected morpheme (root, prefix, or suffix). The list box of morphemes was
populated with an array of these. The meanings and derived words were stored in parallel arrays,
which could be retrieved and displayed for the user with the binary search method. Since the binary
search method requires sorted arrays, a selection sort method was implemented. The use of the binary
search and selection methods were done with the goal of using effective programming methods
because the app relies on a phone’s limited resources. SciEtym was developed for Windows Phone 7
using Silverlight C# in Visual Studio. This app will be useful to the scientific community and students
because it can aid in learning and recognizing the large amount of terminology that they must become
familiar with.
REACTIVE LIST
Alejandro Coste, Bautista de Puerto Nuevo Academy, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Laboratories are part of the first classes that freshmen take in college. A time consuming part of labs
is the gathering of data, called pre-lab. Naming the materials and writing their properties is a key
process which often takes a lot of time. This program, the Reactive List, is named exactly after what it
does, it gives a list of the properties and safety regulations of each reactive that will be used for a lab
project (Limited amount of reactives within this program). The correct term for the Reactive List
would be MSDS, Material Safety Data Sheet. The main goal here would be to reduce the amount of
time the pre-lab takes, since researching and properly organizing the information takes a lot of time,
often from the laboratory itself.
MODULAR ARITHMETIC IN COMPLEX INTEGERS
Ángel Cruz Soto, Luis Negrón López High School, Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico.
Complex integers, also known as Gaussian integers, have practically the same algebraic properties as
integers, including modular arithmetic. However, due to the non uniqueness of the remainder, there is
not a canonical selection of a representative in each congruence class. For a given divisor z = a + b i,
the basic congruence z ≡ 0 gives a ≡ -b i , and also a² + b² ≡ 0, so there are multiple possibilities to
simplify a complex integer with congruencies Mod z. A method to produce three different selections
of a representative for each congruent class for a fixed divisor was programmed according to the
following criteria: 1) smaller norm; 2) nonnegative real part and smaller norm; and 3) non negative
real and imaginary parts and smaller norm. With this program, several examples were calculated
where analogies and differences with integer modular arithmetic could be observed.
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VIRGIN ISLANDS DUI ANDROID/WINDOWS APPLICATION: ENDDRUNKDRIVING
Jahan Dadlani; David McDonald, All Saints Cathedral School, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Research Mentor: Marc Boumedine, University of the Virgin Islands, St.Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Drunk driving related incidents have escalated in the USVI community as well as abroad. The goal of
this research was to make members of the community more aware of the problem. Through the
Android and Windows platforms, an application was designed and implemented to educate and help
prevent drunk driving in the Virgin Islands. The Android version was built on Eclipse, for Android
devices 2.2 or higher. The application was coded in JAVA and the layout was designed in XML The
Windows version was built on the C# Microsoft Visual Studio platform. Both platforms offer, as the
main feature, an “emergency” key to initiate a call to a local taxi service if the user is incapable or
driving or does not pass the self-checklist. Other features include statistics on drunk driving accidents
in the Virgin Islands, and phone numbers for local assistance services such as Alcoholics Anonymous.
Collaboration is now underway with classmate partners (see Virgin Islands DUI iOS Application) on
implementing an RSS feed directly into the application from an individual’s Facebook page
“EndDrunkdriVIng.”
GUIDE 4 THE STARS
Maylene Díaz; Luis Muñoz Marín School, Barranquitas, Puerto Rico.
Astronomy is an exciting science. However, it is really hard to understand the night sky specifically
for an inexperienced person. By developing a mobile application, this project helps people to read,
recognize, locate, learn and appreciate the stars, planets and constellation on the night sky. This
application was developed for the Android operating system and shows the user the location of
celestial bodies depending on the time/hour of the mobile device.
CONTROLLING THE IROBOT USING ANDROID DEVICES
Khyle Encarnación, Danté Francis, K'Jani Hall, St. Croix Educational Complex, St. Croix, Virgin
Islands
Research Mentors: Dr. Steven Case, LaDia Carrington, University of the Virgin Islands, St. Croix.
Household chores can become activities of the past with the use of the iRobot Roomba. In 2011,
iRobot generated more than 465 million dollars in revenue. The objective of this research was to
prototype alternative user interfaces for the scribbler robot; specifically, controlling the robot via
speech and via a tablet. The development was based on Java and used the Sphinx-4 Speech
Recognition Engine to prototype a speech-based user interface, and the DroidDraw application to
prototype the tablet user interface. These prototypes were then migrated to the NetBeans platform to
integrate the prototypes with the Scribbler development tools and API. The prototypes were then used
to control a Scribbler robot remotely via a Bluetooth connection. The prototypes demonstrated the
potential to control the robot using alternative user interfaces. In the future, the work can be enhanced
to allow the user to more effectively operate the Scribbler robot while maintaining mobility of both the
user and the robot.
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DESIGN OF A SIMPLE VIDEO PLAYER USING PYTHON
Isaías D. García Vázquez, Eliud Carrión Vega; Antonio Fernos Isern Vocational School, San
Lorenzo, Puerto Rico.
The objective of this project was to create a simple video player using the Python Scripting Language
that uses simple menus and controls in order to attract the attention of the users due to ease of use.
This player was created for users with little knowledge of the operation of video and audio formats.
Common video players only support the most common video formats; that is why the objective of this
video player was to support almost any video and audio formats. This will help to reduce the amount
of different software that had to be installed on a computer. There are programs that offer this
opportunity but consume large amounts of computing resources. Also, nowadays people use different
devices that run on different platforms, but due to the scripting language chosen for the application, it
can almost play in any platform with this capability.
LOW-MASS STAR FORMATION OF NGC 133: A MULTIWAVELENGTH
Jerrad Havemann, Antilles School, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Kyle Gonsalves, Charlotte Amalie High School, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Research Mentor: Cynthia Gómez Martín, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
This project is about a wide-ranging multiwavelength study of the NGC 1333 region in the Perseus
giant molecular cloud. The goal of this study was to use multi-wavelength archival data of this region
to determine existing relationships between physical parameters in order to better understand the star
formation processes of low mass stars, brown dwarfs, and exoplanetary populations in the NGC 1333
region in the Perseus giant molecular cloud. Using archival data retrieved from the NASA/IPAC
Infrared Science Archive, the Vizier databases, the ADS databases, a master catalog of all available
sources was created by cross matching them with the FLAMINGOS near-infrared catalog within the
TOPCAT program. Scatter plots were generated based on the data gathered within the master catalog
to uncover connections amongst the different physical parameters. These plots revealed key
information that will allow researchers to gain in-depth knowledge about the star formation history
and processes in NGC 1333 of the Perseus Cloud.
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REMOTE DESKTOP CONNECTION PERFORMANCE
Kevin Huang Zu; Wascar Richiez, Bautista de Puerto Nuevo Academy, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The remote desktop connection is a program with the abilities to access a computer in a remote
connection fashion. Remote desktop connection can be used in several scenarios. This program is very
useful even to solve problems when needed. In some cases, it is necessary for the owner to provide a
person (technician) with access to a computer to solve some problem. The principal objective of this
research was to evaluate different remote desktop connection tools to determine their efficiency.
Different remote desktop connection tools were used with the same characteristics to test different
programs and to determine which tool is more efficient and reliable. The connection tools used were
Teamviewer, ShowMyPc, Ultra VNC; and the measure tool used was Performance Monitor for
Windows. The test was performed over different programs such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Word,
PowerPoint and Excel. According to the statistical results, Teamviewer was efficient and reliable
compared to the others. This efficiency was in terms of speed, bandwidth consumption, and graphical
resolution.
VIRGIN ISLANDS DUI IOS APPLICATION: ENDDRUNKDRIVING
Joshua Ledee; Pawan Dodani, All Saints Cathedral School, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Research Mentor: Dr. Marc Boumedine, University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin
Islands.
Nationwide, driving while under the influence has become a very serious problem. The goal of this
research was to make the members of the Virgin Islands community more aware of the problem and
understand the consequences of their actions. Through the iOS platform, an application was created to
help both avoid and educate on driving under the influence in the Virgin Islands. iOS was chosen for
the platform because the researcher believes it will reach the targeted population better than other
platforms. This application was made using the program Titanium Studio on a Macbook Pro and the
programming language JavasScript. Application features included simple functionality to initiate a call
(key touch) to the local taxi service when the user is incapable of driving back home, a self-check list
to go through before deciding to drive, statistics on drunk driving accidents in the Virgin Islands, and
links/phone numbers for local help services such as Alcoholics Anonymous. Collaboration is currently
underway with classmate partners (see Virgin Islands DUI Android/Windows Application) on
implementing an RSS feed directly into the application from the Facebook page “EndDrunkDriVIng.”
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THE BALLISTIC TRAJECTORY SIMULATOR
Richard Lee, Home Schooling, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor, Raúl O. Colón, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Shooting is a sport that needs to adjust some parameters in real time. In several cases, the shooter
needs to calculate mentally the settings before shooting to improve accuracy. In this research, a
Smartphone application was developed to calculate the right parameter values for a better shooting. To
develop this Smartphone application, some physics equations were used to model the ballistic
problem. In these equations, the initial bullet speed, target height, and target distance were used as
inputs to produce the shooting angles correctly and the right bullet weight. The Smartphone
application was developed in Visual Studio 2010 C++ for the Android Store and the App Store. A
graphical representation was developed using the selected equations and codes. The application was
tested using Visual Studio. The developed application may be useful for soldiers in the field.
RT PROGRAMMING IN RAILROAD CONCEPT: COLLISION PREVENTION AND USERFRIENDLY IMPLEMENTATION
Biko McMillan, St. Croix Educational Complex, St. Croix, Virgin Islands.
Research Mentors: Dr. Steven Case, LaDia Carrington, University of the Virgin Islands, St. Croix,
Virgin Islands.
Real time programming is computer programming with special requirements regarding response times.
When programming, generally, time is not an issue when running a program. A good implementation
and teaching tool of real time programming, RT programming, would be in the use of model railroads
where timing is crucial in preventing collisions. The first purpose of this project was improving the
run of a model train on a track by programming how it moves on the track and responds to signals
while also teaching students how to employ RT-programming. The program allows the user to “tell”
the train what to do, such as increase or decrease speed and stop and start, along with telling the track
when to flip open or close the switch. The program also allows for the control of multiple trains
simultaneously, a feature that dramatically increases efficiency. At this point however, the main focus
is occupancy detection. This will allow the program to send a message telling the user which part of
the track is occupied by which train. The hardware used to implement this, the BDL168 LocoNet
Occupancy Detector, was placed in different locations along the track. When the train left one zone
and entered the other, it sent a message to the computer, letting the user know what area of the track
the train was on. Future works will include integrating this software into a mobile platform, allowing
users to not depend on a computer and instead other handheld devices.
123
THE EFFECTIVENESS
TECHNOLOGY
OF
USING
THE
MEMORY-ASSIST
SYSTEM
WITH
Valeria Menéndez, San Benito School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
This research focuses on the effectiveness of the ridiculous association memory-assist system when
paired up with technology in the classroom. The problem addressed is the difficulty of memorization
of the students in the classroom which eventually leads to poor grades and so on. If this problem is
resolved and memorization is made easier and more enjoyable for students in the near future, these
methods can be fully implemented, resulting in fewer students failing their classes and the number of
future dropouts being reduced significantly. The hypothesis is that both technology and creative means
such as the ridiculous association are used more effectively than they do with the conventional
teaching strategies normally used in schools. The method used was an experiment. The experimental
process involved the students (independent variable) from a normal school, from the same grade and
class who were subjected to taking a class (dependent variable) normally and were examined through a
questionnaire. After that, a second lesson was provided (of the same difficulty and length of their past
lesson thanks to planning previously made with their teacher) and in this lesson, both technology and
the ridiculous association were used, the results from the second lesson being considerably better than
the ones from their first.
TENNIS GAME TRACKER APPLICATION
Marcel Morales Torres, Central de Artes Visuales School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The Tennis Game Tracker Application (TGTA) is a simple application developed to keep track of
tennis game punctuations in the court. The main motivation to make this program is an interest in the
sport of tennis. This sport is not a commercialized sport across the United States. Therefore, the
approach of this Java-based application is to commercialize this sport by making a score tracker
available to amateur or starting players and by beginning a whole different and new idea of this
healthy activity using the technology available in our homes as in our pockets. This idea is not a new
one; it is seen on the transmission of live games on television; however, this program is intended to be
one any person can download and carry freely. Due to the complexity of this project it is still in a stage
of development. This project would most likely revolutionize the public tennis industry in some
matters by facilitating an automatic score tracking system for every-day players.
124
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT MOVIE USING ALICE PROGRAMMING
LANGUAGE
Nelson R. Olivera Collazo, Blanca Rodríguez Irizarry; Lola Rodríguez de Tió High School, San
Research Mentor: Yvonne Avilés, Inter-American University, San Germán, Puerto Rico.
Technology is nowadays an essential part of education and communication. Furthermore, computer
animation is vastly used in entertainment and advertisement. Alice is an animation tool that provides
for the creation of interactive virtual worlds. It allows the user to write simple programs to animate
objects in those worlds and is an excellent tool for learning programming concepts and fundamentals.
For this, Alice provides an opportunity to contribute to society and education by raising awareness of
important issues through the creation of short movies presenting a social issue or a solution to an
existing situation. This project develops a public service announcement movie using the Alice
programming environment, presenting the rising issue of animal cruelty in society. The development
of this project also follows the guidelines for the creation of solutions to engineering problems;
integrating the fundamentals of object-oriented programming in the context of the engineering design
process.
A COMMON VIRTUAL SPACE FOR LEARNING PHYSICS IN HIGH SCHOOL
Yomar Ortiz, Pablo Colón Berdecía School, Barranquitas, Puerto Rico.
Physics is an important subject for high school students. However, given its complexity and high level
of abstraction, learning this subject is an enormous challenge for students. Therefore, this project
aimed to provide a reliable service to twelfth grade students interested in learning physics. The main
idea was to develop a website that allowed students to obtain more information about physics in order
to understand and learn the topics discussed in the class room. This website includes videos, solved
exercises and examples of different physics topics. The proposed website was developed using
Joomla, which is an open source application for the development of web pages and sites. Finally, as a
result of this project, it is expected to be an user-friendly website that helps students to learn and
understand physics.
125
VIRTUAL MACHINE IN REAL WORK ENVIRONMENT
Gian Carlos Padilla Cruz, Kevin Matos Salgado, María Teresa Piñeiro School, Toa Baja, Puerto
Rico.
Research Mentor: Prof. Hector de la Torre, Universidad del Turabo, Gurabo, Puerto Rico.
A virtual machine is an application which emulates a computer inside a host computer. This creates a
virtual environment referred to as Virtualization. Actually, there are many possibilities in the virtual
machine process, including virtualizing several operating systems to select from and many application
interfaces to choose from. The central focus of this research was to measure and determine which
operating system has a better overall performance in the virtual machine interface. A series of tools
were used to get specific data on the performance of the different operating systems in the virtual
machine interface. The programs used to measure the performance was Perfmon, which is basically a
tool, exclusive for Windows, that measures and records data acquired from the performance of the
computer; it measures CPU usage, memory usage, RAM and more. The results of this research
showed that Windows consumes more computer resources than Linux Ubuntu in most of the
measuring processes. Linux has a better performance than Windows. For future experiments, MAC
will be added to the operating systems list and it will be compared to the other ones.
PHYSICS APPLIED TO BASKETBALL
Jean Luis Pérez Colón, Lorenzo Vizcarrondo School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentors: Prof. Isis Laham, Dr. Ángel R. Arcelay, Universidad del Este, Carolina, Puerto
Rico.
Physics can be applied to many sports. Specifically Newton’s Laws are applicable to the game of
basketball. Newton’s First Law can explain why the ball when it is shot by a player goes up in the air,
but due to gravity it will start to go down. Newton’s Second Law can explain that the velocity of the
ball thrown or its acceleration will depend on the force exerted by the player when he makes the shot.
Newton’s Third Law deals with the fact that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
This can be appreciated when the player misses the shot, and the ball touches either the backboard or
the rim, the ball will bounce back, and depending on the force applied on the shot, that will determine
the strength of the bouncing back. The purpose of this project was to design and build a visual basic
program that would use Newton’s formulas to help calculate the best angle for a shot depending on the
player’s height and the distance to the basket at the moment of the shot. The outcome of this project
was a program that would help a basketball player to improve his shooting to the basket. This project
was also an opportunity to learn how to program by integrating sports, physics and mathematics.
126
PERIODIC TABLE FOR WINDOW PHONE
Kiddany Pérez, Bautista de Levittown Academy, Toa Baja, Puerto Rico.
The main goal in this project was to make an application about the periodic table with physical
constants for the Windows phone in visual studios to help students study chemistry. This application
for the Windows phone was chosen because the Windows phone market in very small and we want to
help it grow. The periodic table is a table of all the known elements in the world and their
characteristics. Constants are physical quantities that are universal and nonchanging. The application
includes a full periodic table with all the information of each element and a list of constants to study.
This application will be successful in the market because chemistry is one of the classes that needs a
lot of memorization. Hopefully, the application will help students study and comprehend chemistry
better.
SCIENTIFIC CALCULATOR
Ademyr Rivera Ríos, Ernesto Ramos Antonini School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Raúl O Colón, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
This application is about a scientific calculator that will contain all the mathematical operations
included in a regular calculator like addition, substraction, multiplication, division and the other
operations in scientific calculators like exponents, percents, reciprocals, square root. Negative
numbers and decimals will be integrated so that users have more options. This application will be
performed for the operating system of Windows Phone 7 in the programming language C#. The
Visual
Studio
2010 program is
used
for coding and
Expression Blend
4 program for
the visual area. The purpose and objective of this application is learn and help people in their work
and/or studies and put the application in the marketplace for free so anyone can download it in their
phone.
CARS THAT RUN ON MAGNETIC FORCES
Alexandra Rivera, José Aponte de la Torre School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentors: Isis Laham, Ángel R. Arcelay, Universidad del Este, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
The purpose of this project was to design the prototype of a car and road system that are energized and
controlled by magnetic forces. The main purpose of this effort was to transform the main method of
transportation that is based on cars and buses that run on gasoline, to eliminate the use of fuel, and
finally, to use a cleaner method of transportation that is sensible to our planet. The key element for the
decision of implementing magnets in the design of the car and the future roads was the concern that
exists due to the pollution that is affecting the environment, ecosystems and earth. The product of this
project was a model that includes the design of the future road system, including the modifications that
are required to the car: to add magnets that will energize the car and will make it move. It also
included the algorithm of a computerized system that would be used to control the vehicle’s flow on
the streets. The idea of this project came from Maglev, and the trains that are currently being used to
transport people in Japan. Maglev is a system of transportation that uses magnetic levitation to guide
and propel vehicles from magnets. In this system, wheels, axels and bearings are replaced by magnets.
127
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AWARENESS THROUGH STORYBOARD ANIMATION
USING THE ALICE PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE
Ashley Rodríguez Suárez, Kaylee Galindo Vega; Lola Rodríguez de Tió High School, San Germán,
Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Yvonne Avilés, Inter American University, San Germán, Puerto Rico.
Global warming is one of the major social issues of this century, mainly as a result of overpopulation,
overconsumption and neglect. Through the use of technology in education and communication,
awareness of the issue may be created and possible solutions presented in an attempt to reduce the
effects of the current conditions and avoid future harm. The Alice programming environment is a tool
that provides the means to accomplish a virtual animation of the exposed issue. This project presents a
scenario of the effects of human pollution on nature, and the renowned recommendations to reduce,
reuse and recycle. Through the use of storyboards, object-oriented programming fundamentals and
guided by the engineering design process, this simulation integrates computer science and engineering
fundamentals, as well as the study of effective presentations of public service announcements.
A PRACTICAL COMPARISON OF OBJECT-ORIENTED LANGUAGES AND ASSEMBLER
SOLVING THE FACTORIAL
Ashley M. Rodríguez Suárez, Stephanie R. Ventura Vega; Lola Rodríguez de Tío High School,
San Germán, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Guillermo Mejía, Inter-American University, San Germán, Puerto Rico.
In the early days of programming, most applications were written in Assembler language. They had to
fit in a small area of memory and run very efficiently on slow processors. Computer languages
evolved to be easier to use, not only to include mathematical formulas, but also to facilitate
programming of algorithms and data structures. Today, the visual interface is the most common
language and will be so in the future. This work compares the codes in C++, Java, Visual Basic and
Assembler languages to program the algorithm for calculating the factorial. Working the code in each
of these languages will allow making a comparison to understand the difference between these
computer languages, and to learn about their limitations and advantages.
128
MECHANIC ASSISTANT
Jan M. Rodríguez, Jose Aponte de la Torre School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Juan C. Pérez, Gilberto Concepción de Gracia School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentors: Isis Laham, Dr. Ángel R. Arcelay, Universidad del Este, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
The Scratch programming language was developed by MIT through a special project with the support
of the National Science Foundation. The purpose of this project was to provide kids with a
programming tool to help them in the process of learning about mathematics, and computations. At
the same time, it was an opportunity to develop creativity and reasoning. The Scratch programming
language can be used as a tool to create interactive stories, games, and animations. It is very user
friendly and can be learned in a very short period of time and little effort. There are many tasks and/or
processes that can be learned with the aid of a computer demo. The mechanic assistant project was
programmed using Scratch as a platform to develop an interactive demo that would present step by
step how to change a flat tire and to change the oil of a car. There are many people that can learn from
this demo, and they will save time and money by doing these two tasks by themselves.
ANDROID APP FOR PREVENTING UNWISHED PREGNANCY ON YOUNG PEOPLE
Karla Rosado; Luis Muñoz Marín School, Barranquitas, Puerto Rico.
A common problem in our society is the pregnancy of young women. Usually, young people do not
have knowledge about the risk associated to the sexual activity, especially, unwished pregnancy and
sexually transmitted diseases. The objective of this project was to design a mobile application for
young people focused on the prevention of pregnancy. This application teaches people about how
hard is to have and maintain a baby. The user must satisfy the baby’s need. An interesting feature of
this application is the possibility of changing the baby’s characteristics such as hair color, weight and
eyes color. The key idea is that the young people realize that, even though the application is a game,
having a baby is an enormous responsibility.
TEACHING THE ALPHABET TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN THROUGH A
MOBILE APPLICATION
Tatiana Rosado; Pablo Colón Berdecía School, Barranquitas, Puerto Rico.
Nowadays, children are avid for new experiences and challenges involving electronic devices.
Therefore, the objective of this project was to encourage the teaching of the alphabet to elementary
school children through a mobile application for Android phones. Moreover, this application,
developed following the software development methodology based on prototypes, allows users to
select the language of instruction (English or Spanish), learn vowels, consonants using a set of games
designed for this purpose. The main idea is that children acquire the knowledge in an interactive
manner. Furthermore, incorporating the alphabet and Spanish and English, parents may feel assured
that their children will learn for the future.
129
GEOLOCK
Andres Rosner, San Ignacio Loyola School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Oswaldo Castillo, Gabriela Mistral School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
GeoLock technology is programmed using Visual C# and Windows Phone 7. GeoLock allows for a
smart phone to mark a location using GPS (Global Positioning System). This technology incredibly
reduces time to locate a specific location. The reason for this program is to help geologists and even
common citizens with a fast access to marked locations, a quick description and a photo of the
location. The integration of the GPS receiver with the application allows an impressive solution to
reduce the time taken to re-locate a target in the field. The software uses this technology to provide
GeoLock functionality to smart phone users. GeoLock enables users to quickly and accurately reacquire the target and increase productivity.
SIR EPIDEMIC CALCULATOR
Pablo Sepúlveda; Javier Cruz, Bautista De Levittown Academy, Toa Baja, Puerto Rico.
The main goal of this research was to make an application for Windows Phone in Visual Studios by
using the SIR Epidemic Model. This application was meant to help epidemiologists. The S stands for
Susceptible, the I stands for Infected, and the R stands for Recovered. This application will be mostly
used when an individual does not have a computer available. Would this application help
epidemiologists? Yes, this application would help them by shortening the process in which
epidemiologists have to calculate, normally, by hand. The objective with the SIR Epidemic Calculator
was to help epidemiologists shorten the process of calculating the amount of Susceptible, Infected, and
Recovered (SIR) information.
MOBILE APPLICATION FOR GLUTEN FREE DIET
Marielena Soto, Luis Muñoz Marín School, Barranquitas, Puerto Rico.
Autism is a common condition in the current infant generation. Recent studies have found that a
gluten-and-casein-free diet is very beneficial for people with this condition. However, it is very hard to
determine if a food contains gluten and/or casein. Therefore, this project aimed to provide a mobile
application for Spanish speakers that allows therm to determine if a product contains gluten or casein.
The selected mobile technology for this application is Android. An important feature of this
application is the user-friendly interface, ideal for parents with autistic children.
130
AN APPLICATION OF THE CELLULAR AUTOMATE TO SIMULATE THE PREYPREDATOR MODEL: A CASE STUDY OF THE INDO-PACIFIC LIONFISH
Noah Stolz, Virgin Islands Montessori School and International Academy, US Virgin Islands.
Islands.
This study shows an application of Cellular Automata (CA) in order to study the Predator-Prey Model
through relationships and interactions between two different life-forms; one being a predator, the other
being prey. In this model, the predator was the invasive lionfish, while the prey represents other fish
species. In this case, the predator would eventually overcome the prey. Discrete equations were used
in order to predict the population of other fish in proportion to that of the Indo-Pacific lionfish. In
order to formulate this problem, the behavior of the Indo-Pacific lionfish was described as an invasive
species. If left alone, the Indo-Pacific lionfish will consume a wide range of native fishes. The
invasive lionfish also has few predators, such as the Nassau grouper; however, this hardly affects its
feeding rate. Using the Predator-Prey Model and the Cellular Automatait can be shown that the
population of the invasive Indo-Pacific Lionfish grows at a phenomenal rate with the potential to
exterminate many native fish populations.
FIXING THE BCS TO SAVE COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND THE ECONOMY
Carlos Toro, Southwestern Educational Society (SESO) School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) is a college football postseason showcase that selects the best
teams in the country to play in the national championship and create other exciting games. It uses a
system of polls and computer rankings to select these teams to play in these games. The problem this
system is having is that certain teams cannot play in the national championship because they are told
by the system that they aren’t good enough despite having incredible and even historic seasons. One
other problem the system is creating is the unfair revenue sharing among Division 1-A schools. Most
of the money is being given to approximately 55% of D1-A schools that are considered the “elite
college football programs”. The objective of this project was to create a fairer system of selecting
teams to the national championship and to better distribute revenue money to the 120 D1-A schools.
To do so, the project requires immense statistical research into the sport. Then, a mathematical
formula is created using thousands of different statistics covering all aspects of evaluating a team’s
season. To find out if the system is better or not, the formula will is subject to evaluation according to
thousands of fans and many college football experts. Their rankings will determine which system is
better according to how close each system is to the general population. Expected results will be that
the mathematical formula created will end up being better than the BCS, plus the chance of one “NonBCS” school will end up playing for the national championship. Future projects will include an even
bigger statistical data usage and a more comprehensive formula, as well as possible playoff scenarios
in which the formula will be used to determine the best teams.
131
FIBONACCI NUMBERS AND THE GOLDEN RATIO: RECURSION, INTERATION AND
EXPLICIT SOLUTION
Alondra M. Torres Sotillo, Natalie Rosario Burgos, Lola Rodríguez de Tió High School, San
Research Mentor: Guillermo Mejía, Inter American University, San Germán, Puerto Rico.
Fibonacci numbers appear in many ways in nature and are equally subjacent in many computer
algorithms. Their simple definition involves the very useful concept of recursion, one of the most
important ideas of mathematics and computer sciences. This concept can be best understood following
the tree structure of the generated operations to find a given Fibonacci number. The same tree invites
to avoid repetitions, and to change recursion into iteration, another equally important concept. The
explicit solution of the Fibonacci equation, however, involves just the combination of powers of the
two golden ratios and only the powers of the positive one. Like magic, there is a formula that solves
the problem instantly. The cost is the need to use irrational numbers and their powers, that is, of
transcendental calculus. In this research these three types of analysis were programmed in a Visual
Environment, to show the conceptual shift from the first to the last and the essence of the computation
dilemma.
CYBER SCHOOL AGENDA
Leyra Torres; Luis Muñoz Marín School, Barranquitas, Puerto Rico.
Cyber School Agenda is like an actual interactive agenda in the cell phone. The main objective of this
application was to help high school students to keep track of their class responsibilities and to
persuade them to create study habits. All types of students can use this application¸ and it allows to
pick one’s own time schedule. Weekly it shows the user a little reflective phrase and knowledge
sentences. To catch the attention of the students, it allows them to pick their own personalized agenda
with its own style. When a test, project or assignment date is near, the agenda sends several
notifications. It is also free for any type of Android device.
132
DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE QUASAR PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE:
PRELIMINARY RESULTS
William Van Rensselaer, Antilles School, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Portia Norkaitis, Akil Turner-Richards, All Saints Cathedral School, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Islands.
This project designs and implements a compiler for the new programming language, Quasar. At
present, Quasar is easy to use, dynamically typed, and object oriented, handling arithmetic, functions,
and IO (input-output). The steps for making the compiler include: constructing the grammar, making
the lexical analyzer (which scans words from a source file and forms a list of tokens), parsing the
token list and forming a syntax tree (a tree representation of the tokens), eventually translating to Java
bytecode, which can be read by the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Translating to Java bytecode allows
portability to any computer that has a JVM installed and compiling to bytecode will eventually allow
us to port applications to the Android operating system, which uses Java. Constant monitoring and
improvement will be needed once Android applications are constructed with Quasar. Understanding
the theory behind Java and how to create programming languages, required comprehending the many
Java tutorials, reading the JVM Spec and sharing/reflecting upon the unique experiences concerning
prior programming. The goal was to create an easy to use language with a wide range of capabilities
that would draw more people to the fields of computer science and programming.
DESIGN OF A SIMPLE QUESTION GAME USING JAVA
Juan Vázquez, Cristo Redentor School, San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico.
Doeseveryone hate being bored? The objective of this project was to design a game using the Java
Programming Language that can be used by all people when they lose their connection to the Internet
and do not have anything else to do. The Questions Game is a simple game based on questions and
answers given by the computer in a random way so that the user can have fun while getting different
answers to the questions. The game consists of the user picking a question from a list of pre-defined
questions and providing yes or no answers or more extended and concrete answers. This application
was created using Java due to the ease of implementation and the multi-platform capability of this
platform.
133
INCREASING SCRIBBLER MOBILITY WITH AN ANDROID PHONE
Sabrina White, St. Croix Educational Complex, St. Croix, Virgin Islands.
Research Mentors: Dr. Steven Case, LaDia Carrington,University of the Virgin Islands, St. Croix,
Virgin Islands.
Over the years, the popularity of Android devices has increased significantly. Recently, Google CEO
Larry Page revealed that 250 million Android devices are currently in use worldwide (3XC Mobile
Device Manager, 2012) and 700,000 Android phones are activated daily. Today’s mobile robots are
most often controlled from a stationary console, which limits the overall mobility of the robot. To
increase the overall portability of the robot, this project demonstrates that an Android-based cell phone
can be used to manage and control a mobile robot. In this project, the development process began with
creation of prototypes of the application’s user interface using droidraw. The prototypes were then
migrated into a Java-based implementation using the NetBeans IDE and the Android SDK. The
application was then tested using a simulator of the Android phone and the Scribbler robot before
testing on actual devices. The expectation was that the Android application will provide sufficient
functionality to allow users to be more mobile while controlling the mobile Scribbler robot.
134
ABSTRACTS
ENGINEERING
ON THE USE OF MODIFIED TEXTILES FOR ENERGY CONVERSION APPLICATIONS
Gianni Algarín Rivera, Carvin School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Prof. Gerson Restrepo, Universidad del Este, Puerto Rico.
Global Warming caused by the constant burning of fossil fuels is an issue of serious concern for
everyone. The consequences of this are dramatic for the environment and society. For this reason,
today’s youth should try to integrate the current efforts towards counteracting this threat. A substantial
contribution for decreasing the burning of fuel is devising new eco-friendly designs that may harvest
energy for practical solutions as providing electricity for street lighting, vending machines, kiosks, or
charging facilities. Light emitting diodes-LED, and solar arrays can contribute to lower excessive
carbon dioxide emissions. But these arrays exhibit some rigidity that prevent their incorporation into
more common uses. For this reason, there are numerous researcher projects addressing the production
of solar textiles and photovoltaic fibers. This is leading to the incorporation of nano materials into
textiles or clothes, resulting in the energy conversion devices for solar charging of electronic
appliances in any location. This field is currently intensively researched, and one of the approaches
includes the use of fibers surrounded by the semiconducting compositions. The easier and cheaper
method of impregnating the compositions onto the fabric or textiles was chosen. This research used
AutoCAD Architecture to propose new applications for textiles modified to convert them into solar
energy.
ENERGY ALTERNATIVES FOR PUERTO RICO
Christian X. Alvarado, Priamo A. Pichardo, Caguas Military Academy, Gurabo, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Nellie M. Bonilla, Universidad del Turabo, Gurabo, Puerto Rico.
The problem investigated in this research was which energy or power alternative is the best option for
Puerto Rico. The problem was tried to be solved by looking up information of all the renewable
energies that exist. After that a chart was made to know which alternative is better for the given
conditions of the Island. It was found that the best energy alternative for Puerto Rico is thermal solar
energy.
135
COMPARISON BETWEEN ARTIFICIAL AND NATURAL INTELLIGENCE
Gabriel Alvarado, Pedro Lefevre; Caguas Military Academy, Gurabo, Puerto Rico.
If a comparison between Artificial Intelligence and Natural Intelligence is made, Artificial Intelligence
is very much similar to Natural Intelligence. For this research, the mechanism of Mindstorm (NXT)
was used to make this comparison. Two sensors were adapted for sound and color. When the Rubik's
Cube was put in the cradle of the robot, the sound detector was activated and sent a signal to enable
the color sensor. The color sensor scans the Rubik's Cube and begins to organize its six color faces.
Completing the Rubik's Cube takes time. The same was done with three high school sophomores to
compare the time. This robot was called PJ-26 #2. The Artificial Intelligence and Natural Intelligence
are similar, but not the same. Natural Intelligence is what is needed to plan and create Artificial
Intelligence. One thing they both have in common is that both make mistakes but are able to solve
problems. After the great similarities between Artificial Intelligence and Natural Intelligence were
found, future research will investigate the benefit of Artificial Intelligence to humanity.
HOW TO FIND THE OPTIMAL DISTRIBUTION OF CHARGE IN IEC PLASMA
Ana Bourasseau; Bonneville School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Gustavo Reyes, American Military Academy, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Prof. Claudia Talavera, Polytechnic University, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor Assistant: Ramon Rivera, Polytechnic University, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
This is an experiment on inertial electrostatic confinement whose purpose is to determine the charge
distribution between the four rings of a spherical figure. Plasma is the fourth state of matter, caused by
the ionization of gas. Inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC) is a concept for retaining plasma in an
electro static field. Two main tools are used for the experiment; MATLAB, a program used to code
and compile various mathematical and scientific tables and representations of data, and the IEC
device, a compact configuration device. MATLAB is used to simulate the charge applied to the rings.
The Gauss law is used to approximate the voltage in the rings of the sphere. The distribution of charge
is random, varying between two ways of distributing the charge. Two methods were used,
randomizing the distribution of charge across all rings, and randomizing it on each ring. The sphere
with the largest amount of correctly charged points represented the optimal distribution.
136
A SOLUTION FOR THE CONGESTION PROBLEM OF THE VEHICULAR FLOW IN THE
PERIMETER OF UPRM CAMPUS
Rafael Burgos, Eddiel Cruz, C.R.O.E.M. School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Prof. Pieter van der Meer, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
The purpose of this project was to propose a solution to the traffic flow problem that currently exists at
the main entrance of the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus (UPRM). The first step of the
project was to identify the vehicular flow peak times. Peak times refer to the periods of time in which
the larger number of vehicles transit in and out of the University. By implanting automatic traffic
counters, the vehicular flow can be monitored and peak times were determined to be 7:30AM8:30AM, 12:30PM-1:30PM, and 4:30PM-5:30PM. By promoting the use of the recently constructed
bypass (Road PR-3108) for the vehicles traveling south in PR-2 to access the University Campus
using the alternate entrances of “Terrace” and “PR-108,” a considerable relief in traffic congestion can
be obtained at these critical periods. For the vehicles traveling north using Post Street from downtown
Mayagüez, the congestion can be reduced by adjusting the traffic lights at the main entrance to balance
the lack of an existing bypass in this area. This adjustment should be feasible as the traffic travelling
south is reduced. The contributions of this project are twofold. By reducing the traffic congestion
problem at the main entrance, it provides relief not only to the University’s internal traffic, but also to
the vehicular flow in the perimeter, which includes important city streets and roads such as Ramón
Emeterio Betances Avenue (formerly Post Street) and Road PR-2.
BOLTZMANN RELATIONS IN THE STUDY OF PLASMA CONFINEMENT
Aley Jenny De Leٕón Laboy Lourdes School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentors: Prof. Gerson Restrepo, Universidad del Este, Carolina, Puerto Rico
Prof. Ramón Rivera, Ángel González, Ph. D., Polytechnic University, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
PI Mentor: Prof. Ángel R. Arcelay, Ph.D., Universidad del Este, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
The creation of plasmas through the ionization of particles in a vacuum chamber is part of ongoing
experimentation at the Plasma Laboratory from the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico. This
plasma is created using Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) which accelerates charged particles
radially inward in a spherical geometry. The higher levels of energy in plasmas can be used for
applications such as cancer treatment. Boltzmann equation and a Single Langmuir Probe were used to
model and study the initial conditions of the plasma. Conditions of plasma included -650V and
50.5mTorr of vacuum. Radiuses were varied from 0.0 to 0.17 in and energies ranged from 7.0733 eV
to 52.29 eV. MATLAB was used for graphing data of voltage and current and a simulated Boltzmann
relation was fitted for comparison. The results for these two procedures and their corresponding error
percents are presented.
137
HOW COMMUNITY SERVICE VOLUNTEERS ARE PROVIDING THE SKILLS TO
SOLVE EXISTING WATER SERVICE PROBLEMS IN CEIBA
Lorena Díaz, C.R.O.E.M. School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
The municipality of Ceiba is located on the east coast of Puerto Rico and includes the
Roosevelt Roads Naval Base (BNRR) of the United States Navy, which controls the best agricultural
land, beaches and marine resources. When the Roosevelt Roads Naval Base was in
use in Ceiba, business was stable and people's needs were supplied equally. When the base was
removed from Ceiba business, and with it, the declining treatment towards citizens, the people’s
needs increased. Today there are many sectors of Ceiba which do not have constant water access. The
water treatment plant together with the materials on the base will be of great value if modified to be
of benefit to the town of Ceiba. This plant had been previously used to supply water to the town’s
people, so it is totally possible to use it. Residents of areas with problems with Ceiba’s water system
were interviewed. It was established that the location is a major factor affecting water
availability. After obtaining these data, tests were run to prove that the water service in the plant was
indeed better than the one provided by Aqueduct and Sewer Authority. An interview with an exworker of the naval base proved that a connection from the water treatment plant to Ceiba’s water
distribution system is not only possible but also urgently needed. This connection will ultimately help
the 38% of Ceiba’s population currently living below the poverty line.
CALCULATING THE ENERGY NUMBER VARIATION OF THE MINIMUM CHARGE
AND IMPLEMENTING GAUSS’ LAW TO SUBSTANTIATE MODELING EFFECTIVENESS
Xavier Figueroa, Camille Price; Bautista de Puerto Nuevo Academy, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor Assistant: Ramón Rivera, Polytechnic University, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Plasma is the fourth state of matter better known amongst some scientists as the primary state of
matter because this state makes up 99.99% of the known universe. Using inertial electrostatic
confinement (IEC), plasma can be confined inside a spherical strong-wired cathode. A modeling
program enables the simulation of plasma to comprehend the various functions of plasma efficiently.
Efficiency in modeling is represented by the lowest voltage inside plasma, which provides for a better
representation of what in reality happens in the laboratory. The minimum charge is processed through
Gauss’ law. Gauss's law relates to the distribution of electric charge to the resulting electric field.
Since the main purpose is to find the minimum charge variation, a modified single Langmuir probe
was used to calculate the charge without the need of calculating density and temperature. The voltage
was calculated at -500V. Using the program, the number of denotations that represent the voltage were
also documented, this number determining along with the minimum charge if the model was effective
or ineffective.
138
EFFICIENCY OF CONVERTING A REMOTE CONTROL CAR TO SOLAR ENERGY
Luis J. Fonseca, Francisco Ortiz, Yulián Sánchez, Antonio Fernós Isern Vocational School, San
Lorenzo, Puerto Rico.
The energy cost has been increasing dramatically the past few years due to the high consumption of
petroleum. Consumers have been looking for other energy sources that are more efficient. Solar
energy is one example of a renewable source that is a good alternative for reducing petroleum
consumption. The main objective of this project was to design a remote control car powered by solar
energy to test the reliability of this alternate energy. By using SolidWorks and other engineering tools,
the best design and materials were selected to later create a simulation. The final goal was to
determine the reliability of solar energy that is an eco-friendly energy source.
EOSOLAR HOUSE
Carlos A. Guzmán, Edgardo A. Mangual; Caguas Military Academy, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
The energy cost has been increasing dramatically due to the high consumption of petroleum. In the last
few decades, consumers have been looking for other energy sources that are more efficient and
cheaper. Wind and solar energy are two examples of renewable sources that are good alternatives for
reducing petroleum consumption. The main objective of this project was to design an energy smart
house powered by solar and wind energy. By using SolidWorks and other engineering tools the best
location, design, and materials were selected. The final goal was to reduce petroleum consumption by
using other energy sources that are more friendly to the ecosystem and are able to generate enough
energy to power a house.
BETTER FINS FOR WIND TURBINES
Steven Jensen, Caribbean School, Ponce, Puerto Rico.
On the past years, the energy cost has been increasing due to the high consumption of petroleum. But
consumers are looking for other energy sources that are more efficient and low in cost. Wind energy is
an example of a renewable and more efficient energy for reaching this goal. The main objective of this
project was to determine the best shape and size of the fins of a wind turbine. By using SolidWorks
and other engineering tools, the best design and material are to be selected to the given conditions of
the island of Puerto Rico. The final goal was to reduce petroleum consumption by using an alternative
energy source that is more reliable and friendly to the environment while being able to generate
enough energy to power a house.
139
THE NEED FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SOLAR
ENERGY VERSUS WIND ENERGY
Kevin Joel Marrero Nieves, San Benito School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Prof. Pieter Van der Meer, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Research Mentor Assistant: Gilberto Jiménez, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Just a few decades ago, humanity discovered the biggest progressive illness Earth started suffering
since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution back in 1750. The World’s scientists forecasted this
illness and named it pollution, starting new research studies on the topic and searched for different
ways of stopping it. Pollution is essentially the contamination of air, water, or soil by substances that
are harmful to living organisms. Pollution occurs naturally as biogenic contamination; for example,
through volcanic eruptions, or as the result of human activities, which is known as anthropogenic
contamination, such as the smoke produced after burning a fossil fuel. After burning fossil fuels such
as coal, petroleum or natural gas, the particles liberated in the process will eventually contribute to the
greenhouse effect or simply harm the ecosystem lowering the quality of life. Different types of
solutions have been searched and discovered, but the use of renewable energy is the most effective one
to solve a long term problem such as pollution. Renewable energy is a viable way because it
replenishes naturally. The main types of renewable energy are the use of wind power, hydropower as
the kinetic energy produced out of water, solar energy, biomass as the solar energy recovered from the
plants that passed through the process of photosynthesis, biofuel and geothermal energy as the thermal
energy generated and stored in the Earth. This research project assessed the effectiveness of a solar
panel versus the effectiveness of a wind turbine measuring the voltage produced by both instruments
during a week and proving its capacity to distribute the electric energy created in the process. The
goal, as always, is to create more energy at a lower cost. Basic fundamentals of electricity,
socioeconomic studies, wind speed index and solar radiation insolation index for the location of the
experiment are going were taken into account.
OPTIMIZING THE PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN USING WATER
William Morales Molina, C.R.O.E.M. School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
Water is available in great quantities on Earth. The water molecule is composed of H2O, two
molecules of hydrogen and one of oxygen. According to Bohn (1991) Hydrogen is a very powerful
source of energy since its atoms are very reactive. The demand for energy is increasing throughout
Earth and most energy comes from fossil fuels. This energy crisis is faced with renewable energy
resources like the solar, hydro, geothermal, wind and water energy. Hydrogen demonstrates the best
option to supply and reduce the use of non-renewable energy resources as fossils fuels. Scientists are
working hard to develop new kinds of green energy as new ways to produce hydrogen. One of those
emerging new ways to produce hydrogen is water electrolysis. A constructed system of three pipes
with six plates was connected to produce hydrogen through water electrolysis. This constructed
system is considered to be efficient and it is estimated to produce 8.06 cubic inches of hydrogen and
4.16 cubic inches of oxygen from water in ten seconds. This system can be made economically viable
to solve the world’s energy problem.
140
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE HEAT LOSS BETWEEN FLAT PLATE COLLECTOR
AND VACUUM TUBE COLLECTORS APPLIED IN SOLAR COOLING FACILITIES
Fabiola Negrette Delgado, María Reina Academy, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Fernando Hernández Millet, Santo Tomás de Aquino Academy, Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Dr. Rafael Salgado, Inter-American University, Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
The most important part of any solar thermal facility is the solar collectors. They are the engine of the
system and convert solar radiation into useful heat by means of a flowing thermal fluid. There are
several types of solar collectors and the cost ranges from $800 to $1300 depending on the technology.
Flat plate collectors are the most inexpensive technology while vacuum tube or concentrating
collectors reaches very high costs. In this work, a solar cooling facility was envisioned in order to
supply the cooling needs of a typical dwelling. But, to be competitive with common vapor
compression systems typically installed in homes, the solar cooling facility had to be designed as small
as possible. The solar collector field is the largest element in a solar cooling facility, so care was taken
when designing it. A code written in MatLab was developed in order to study which type of solar
collector technology must be installed in terms of cost, efficiency and size.
INFLUENCE OF THE SOLAR COLLECTOR SURFACE ON USEFUL HEAT FOR SOLAR
COOLING APPLICATIONS
David Paeres Castaño, Edwin Rivera Meléndez, Santo Tomás de Aquino Academy, Bayamón,
Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Dr. Rafael Salgado Mangual, Inter-American University, Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
Solar energy is one of the most popular renewable energies because of its availability and because it is
a proven technology that had been used for many years; for example, it has been used in solar water
heating systems. But with the high price of fossil fuels and greenhouse effect due to the products of
power generating plants, solar energy is facing new challenges. It is being studied and applied in new
technologies in order to reduce the environmental impact of humans. One of the new applications of
solar energy is the solar cooling plants. These systems convert energy in the form of heat into cooling.
In Puerto Rico, air conditioning is the most expensive part of the electric bill in an ordinary house. In
this sense, solar cooling facilities can play an important role by lowering energy consumption. A
simulation in MatLab was written to analyze the optimum solar collector surface for these types of
facilities in the Puerto Rican climate. This is very important when the system is aimed at the
residential sector.
HOW TO APPLY THE INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING METHOD TO SOLVE A PROBLEM
Rafael Ramos, Caguas Military Academy, Gurabo, Puerto Rico.
The problem investigated in this research was which energy is the method used by industrial engineers
to solve problems and how this method can be applied to any project. The problem was tried to be
solved by looking up information of this and different existing methods on how to solve problems.
After that the methods where compared to know which alternative was better for solving any type of
problem. It was found that the most complete problem solving method was the one used by industrial
engineers since it is an iterative method that adjusts to the given conditions of the situation.
141
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY OF SILVER NANOFLUIDS
Christian Rivera, Dr. Pedro Perea Fajardo Vocational School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
Thermal conductivity is used to determine the thermic conductivity of different shapes and sizes of
silver nanoparticles by applying a voltage to the platinum wire that produces heat. The procedure to
measure the thermal conductivity of the test material, silver, can now take place. The objective of this
research was to use silver nanofluids for electronic equipment and cooling systems to avoid over
heating of multiple devices such as: radars, air purifiers, air conditioners and refrigerators. The
hypothesis was that the silver nanofluids are better thermal conductors than the usual ones used in big
industries.
THE DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRAMMING OF A MOBILE APPLICATION TO
ORGANIZE CLASS SCHEDULES AND ASSIGNMENTS
Daniel Rodríguez, Miguel Martínez, C.R.O.E.M. School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
In this team research, one-half of the team designed the infrastructure of the application, and the other
half took care of the programming of the application, using the given development computer. In this
research, a mobile application is in the development phase to achieve an unconventional, efficient way
of organizing classes and assignments. With this application the user is able to organize class
schedules and assignments in a more compact and faster way. The user-friendly interface of the
Android™ operating system has mass appeal and will organize and save user time. The main goal of
this application is to maximize efficiency when organizing class schedules and assignments for the
everyday high school or university student. The data shows the designs of the application. The
methodology explains in a detailed fashion how the application is going to be programmed. All of the
data are screenshots of how the programming will be done, and how the application’s main functions
will appear. The developing phase requires the installation of JDK and SDK applications. The
interface in the development computer will permit the programming phase. After researching the
programming language better known as Java™, the functions can be established. After following the
work plan elaborated to organize the phases, details and features of the application, the alternate
hypothesis can be proven correct. In conclusion, according to the work plan, the alternate hypothesis
can be achieved. By applying the methodology and data into action, a mobile application can be
created to maximize the efficiency of how a user can organize class schedules and assignments.
142
DIFFERENCE ON USEFUL HEAT GAINED WITH RESPECT TO DIFFERENT SOLAR
COLLECTOR TECHNOLOGIES IN SOLAR COOLING APPLICATIONS
Valerie Vázquez Santiago, Ernesto González Colón, Santos Tomás de Aquino Academy, Bayamón,
Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Dr. Rafael Salgado Mangual, Inter-American University, Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
Global has all the scientific community worried and many people are trying to look for innovative
ways to help the environment. The use of alternative energy will be crucial in lowering fossil fuel
consumption in the next decades and will help in the global warming issue, so many research projects
are conducted towards that direction. Solar energy is one of the most used and known renewable
energies because of its availability. One of the most consuming household devices is air conditioning.
In order to reduce the electric energy consumption and the greenhouse gas emissions, an absorption
cooling system may to be used to produce the cooling effect. This study focuses on the optimum solar
collector’s surface in terms of useful heat and cooling energy produced when different solar collector
technologies corresponding to Flat Plate Collectors (FPC) and Vacuum Tube Collectors (VTC) are
used.
MARINE WINDMILL
Anthony Vélez, Manuela Toro Morice School, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
In the past few years, the energy cost has been increasing. The high consumption of petroleum has
generated a high cost. Nevertheless, consumers are looking for other energy sources that are more
efficient and cheaper. Wind energy is an example of a renewable and more efficient energy for
reducing petroleum consumption. The main objective of this project was to generate wind power
based on marine currents. Furthermore, the design of the project consisted on an underwater windmill,
understandings that marine currents are generated by winds. However, the materials depend on the
velocity of currents and, of course, how deep they are. One of the goals was to find the marine currents
of Puerto Rico or close to its shore and with them generate energy to finally reduce the pollution in the
environment by using other energy sources that are more friendly to the ecosystem and are able to
generate enough energy to powar a house.
143
HOW TO OBTAIN THE MINIMUM CHARGE WITH THE MINIMUM ITERATIONS IN
WHICH THE POINTS WILL COINCIDE WITH THE VOLTAGE IN THE RING
Darlene Vidal, Puerto Rico Christian School, Toa Baja, Puerto Rico.
Jonathan Lorenzo, Bautista de Puerto Nuevo Academy, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor Assistant: Ramón Rivera, Polytechnic University, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Simulation and modeling give the opportunity of being wrong and trying to fix it without overrunning
and damaging any machine or instrument that could be expensive. A simulation is the execution of a
model, represented by a computer program that gives information about the system being investigated.
Plasma is the fourth state of matter and the most common form of matter; it makes up over 99% of the
visible universe. Plasma consists of a collection of free moving electrons and ions – atoms that have
lost electrons. Inertial electrostatic confinement also abbreviated as IEC is a concept used to retain or
obtain plasma inside a sphere using an electrostatic field. The field accelerates the charged particles
rapidly inward making the gas inside ionized to finally create plasma. Gauss law also called Gauss
Flux Theorem is the law relating the distribution of the charge to result into an electric field. This
experiment consisted of obtaining the minimum charge with the minimum iterations in which the
points will coincide with the voltage in the ring. The chamber is the anode and the sphere is the
cathode. A voltage was applied to this sphere from -400V to -1000V, 50 by 50. To keep plasma inside
the sphere, the voltage in the rings had to stay the same. The voltage varies but the number of
divisions of the ring (npt) and maximum iterations (MaxIter) stay the same. A probe was used to
measure the voltage inside the sphere and the number was approximated using the Gauss Law.
144
ABSTRACTS
EFFECTS OF HURRICANE IRENE ON STREAMS IN THE RIO GRANDE DE LOIZA
WATERSHED
Isardo Braverman and Elaine Nazario; José Aponte de la Torre School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Water is one of the world’s most prized resources. The study of watersheds and basins impacts the
society that surrounds them, and are disturbed every year by natural or human effects. In the
Caribbean, no natural disturbance is more noted than the atmospheric kind. During 2011, torrential
downpours caused by Hurricane Irene (first hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in many years) caused
watersheds to receive an exponential increase in water intake. This changed drastically the shape of
watersheds around the island; in particular, the Rio Grande de Loiza watershed. As this is the largest
basin in terms of water capacity, it was one of the most affected. The Maracuto stream, direct tributary
to the basin, is the focus of this investigation. With data compiled from a time directly before and after
the event, this project intends to find the extent of damage hurricanes have on streams. Aside from the
physical damage to the shape of the stream, information on macroinvertebrates, when compared to
data from a previous year, will shed some light into how nature adapts changes and reshapes its
surface when faced with events such as hurricanes.
IMPLEMENTATION OF A NEW AGRONOMIC TECHNIQUE USING POTASSIUM
POLYACRYLATE AND BIOMATERIALS TO INCREASE MOISTURE IN A HIGH DRY
LAND
Odemaris Carrasquillo; José Aponte de la Torre School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
This research is intended to apply a new agricultural technique, using "potassium polyacrylate" as an
absorbing agent of water and a geotextile membrane used to retain moisture by the condensation of
water vapor, supplying land necessary conditions for the development of crops, reducing the need for
irrigation systems and avoiding plants to dry due to weather conditions. To perform this investigation,
three models were prepared, one being the control and other two were the experimental groups. The
control group only had “San Antón” Mollisol soil, while the experimental group A had “San Antón”
soil and polymers; the third, or experimental group B, had the same San Antón” soil, polymers and
the geotextile membrane on the surface of the planter. Once the planters were prepared, they remained
under observation for 30 days. The first 20 days the plants were normally watered and the other 10
days they were not watered in order to monitor the efficiency of the polymers and the geotextile
membrane. Once the observation period concluded, it was determined that the growth of the plants in
experimental group B was the most developed. Therefore, the conclusion was that the membrane was
able to condense the water vapor present in the environment and retained the humidity in the plant’s
roots. Also, the polymers acted as was expected, maintaining the humidity, and providing the
necessary conditions to enable the plant to develop effectively.
145
THE EFFECT OF THE PIPELINE ON THE AQUIFER
María E. Herrera Díaz and Jesús A. Sánchez Vélez, Manuel Mediavilla Negrón School, Humacao,
Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Alba Iris Hernández, Manuel Mediavilla Negrón School, Humacao, Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico is an island with no renewable power sources. This power sources are coal, gas, and
petroleum. To supplement the demand, a pipeline has been developing in the southern part of the
island, a project from the Tallaboa Ward (Peñuelas) to the Aguirre Ward (Salinas), Puerto Rico, which
will cover 92 miles. This project will impact 106 of the karst zone that is a principal supply of 25% of
the water in Puerto Rico. The pipeline construction route impacts 235 rivers and 369 acres of water.
The pipeline project is a risk to the aquifer of south Puerto Rico. The purpose of this research was to
estimate the environmental impact caused by the pipeline on the aquifers of Puerto Rico. To perform
this research, people from Casa Pueblo in Adjuntas were interviewed. Previous results showed that
several types of aquifers will be affected for this project.
IMPACT OF HUMAN ACTIVITY ON WATER QUALITY AND RHYZOPHORA MANGLE
Melanie E. Quiñones Candelaria; José Aponte de la Torre School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
The Rhyzophora mangle is the predominant species of mangroves in the Caribbean. How does the
human activity affect the quality of the water? How does the quality of the water affect the
reproduction of the Rhyzophora mangle? The impact of human activity on the quality of water has a
destructive impact on Rhyzophora mangle. The Piñones Mangrove Forest and Laguna Grande in
Fajardo were compared in this investigation. The Piñones Mangrove Forest has no access control,
resulting in higher, unsupervised human activity and waste water sewage drains that flow into the
waters. Laguna Grande in Fajardo has controlled access. In the spring of 2007, the Puerto Rico
Department of Natural Resources banned swimming in Laguna Grande in Fajardo to reduce the wear
and tear on the bay and allowed nature to begin undoing the damage that humans inflicted on the
environment. Water quality was determined by measuring the pH, the nitrate, and phosphate, turbidity
of the water, alkalinity and dissolved oxygen. Each of the parameters of the water contamination was
measured with La Motte kits. The Rhyzophora mangle development and abundance were observed.
After evaluating both places, the results revealed that the water at the Piñones Mangrove Forest was
more contaminated than in Laguna Grande, translating this into the impact on the Rhyzophora mangle.
146
THE USE OF MAGNETISM AS INSECTICIDE IN PLANTS
Thalía Rivera, Dayany Berríos and Emanuel Torres, Manuel Mediavilla Negrón School, Humacao,
Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Janet Estrella, Manuel Mediavilla Negrón School, Humacao, Puerto Rico.
The cherry tomato is a plant of the Solanaceae family. For many years, several methods have been
used to enhance or stimulate the growth of tomato plants. Some of these methods are: the use of
salicylic acid, phosphates, greenhouse systems, or fertilizers. The purpose of this research was to test
the effectiveness of using magnetic fields. The magnetic field was created by placing two magnets as a
positive stimulant on germination, growth and development of tomato plants. In addition, a second
method (insecticide) was using as a comparison, other tomato plant samples to analyze the effect of
the growth. Experiments were performed during three months and the height of the plants was
measured every week. During the period of three months, the plants with the magnetic field increased
an average of 7.5 cm in height. However, the plants with insecticide only had an average increase of
6.4 cm. In the last month, the plants with the magnetic fields increased up to 26.1 cm compared to the
ones with insecticides that only had 21.5 cm. According to these results, the hypothesis was valid
because the magnetism (magnet) served as a stimulant for plants to germinate, grow, and develop
more rapidly.
HOW THE GASODUCT AFFECTS THE RESIDENTS’ EMIGRATION AREA
Irving A. Santiago Robles, Manuel Mediavilla Negrón School, Humacao, Puerto Rico.
The principal energy source of Puerto Rico is petroleum. It is well known that petroleum is a nonrenewable energy source. The gasoduct is an alternative project to solve the energy demand in Puerto
Rico. The gasoduct in the southern region is a project that consists of the installation of a 20” diameter
piping that will be used to transport natural gas through a distance as far as 42.4 miles, from the
Ecoelectric Plant in the Tallaboa sector located in the town of Peñuelas, all the way to the facilities of
the Aguirre Puerto Rico Electrical Company Plant, located at Salinas, PR. The designated zone
dedicated to install this piping will include a construction area of 75 feet wide. At the crossing of the
water bodies, the measure will be approximately 150-300 feet. The objective of this research was to
determine the effect of the gasoduct project on the residents’ emigration in surrounding gasoduct
areas. The gasoduct route will affect 51 communities that run between the University of Puerto Rico at
Utuado through public and private properties in the area. This project will have an environmental
impact causing permanent defragmentation. In effect, the pipeline will run through places near
schools, churches and will affect properties where owners will have to move from the areas. The New
Star Acquisition Company employees have been visited notified that their property has to be used for
the gasoduct project, the information causing movement to other areas. The result of this research
showed that there are x% emigrations en the areas.
147
HOW THE GASODUCT AFFECTS THE FAUNA AND FLORA
Joemy Velázquez Franco and Eliz Janet Castro Santiago, Manuel Mediavilla Negrón School,
The main energy source in Puerto Rico is petroleum. This energy is an expensive source reflected in
the high cost in electricity bills for the community. To reduce this problem, the government has been
looking for other low-cost energy sources alternatives. Natural gas is one of the energy sources
considered to reduce the energy cost. According to the Electric and Power Authority’s (AEE) previous
reports, the Gasoduct Project will decrease the electricity cost up to 30%. This research consisted in
estimating the Gasoduct Project impact on the fauna and flora over the pipeline that will cross Puerto
Rico from the south (Peñuelas) to the North (San Juan). The Gasoduct Project route will impact 92
miles of extension. These pipelines will be cutting through some of Puerto Rico natural forests which
are the habitats to some animals and plant life that are almost extinct. Most of these animals need the
plant life in the area to survive. To perform this research, a visit to Casa Pueblo in Adjuntas was
performed and some people were interviewed. According to the interview, the forests in the
surrounding area of the gasoduct will be destroyed. Several samples are taken from forest near to gas
duct route to estimate the typical fauna and flora present in this area. These areas were the natural
habitats of the sapo concho, coquí llanero, and the Puerto Rican parrot as well as others that are
endangered species. These animals need the forest wildlife for shelter, to reproduce and to survive.
The forests impacted here are important to the population’s health and the ecology’s wellbeing. The
results suggested that the gasoduct will not only affect negatively the plant life but will also be
disastrous for the animals.
HOW DOES THE QUALITY OF WATER AFFECT THE COMMUNITY AND THE
ATMOSPHERE?
Nakisha Villegas Cardona and Raisa Aponte Figueroa, Manuel Mediavilla Negrón School,
Research Mentor: Janet Estrella, Manuel Mediavilla Negrón School, Humacao, Puerto Rico.
Water quality is a critical factor in the health and quality of human life. Humans approximately
consume 1 gallon of water per day. The most used water resources are usually surface water and
groundwater. The surface waters are rivers, streams, lakes, oceans and streams. The underground
waters are usually polluted by industry, wells, gutter, storage tanks and septic tanks. Surface waters
may be contaminated by industry, animals, land movements, oil spills, etc. Government agencies such
as the Water and Sewer Authority (AAA), the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental
Resources (DNER) and the Environmental Quality Board (EQB), among others, are responsible for
regulating water treatment processes for human consumption (i.e. clean fresh and odorless drinking
water). The purpose of this project was to determine the adverse factors affecting the quality of
drinking water in the community of Puerto Rico and how these factors affect the reliability of the
service. This research studied rivers and treatment plants in the east of Puerto Rico areas. Rivers were
compared based on the different levels of contamination measured based on environmental quality
standards. The results of this research showed that some rivers are no reliable according to
environmental quality standards and for that reason the service is occasionally suspended. The most
common contamination sources are provided from industries and gutters.
148
ABSTRACTS
COMPARING THE F-REGION (O+) AND PLASMAPHERE (H++He+) CONTRIBUTIONS TO
THE VTEC (VERTICAL TOTAL ELECTRON CONTENT) DURING THE ANOMALOUS
SOLAR MINIMUM
Ihan Acevedo; San Felipe School, Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
Joshua Pupo; Antonio Luchetti Vocational School, Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentors: Dr. Sixto González, Dr. Christiano GM Brum, Edvier Cabassa, Arecibo
Observatory, Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor Assistant: Jenipher D. González, Bautista de Caguas Academy, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
Transionospheric communication (satellite communication and TV signal, for example) and much of
the electronic equipment based on Global Position System (GPS) have been widely used and have
become a daily part of much of the world’s population. In general, satellite signals (such as GPS
signals) travel through the protonosphere-ionosphere on their way to receivers on or near the Earth’s
surface. The free electrons populating these regions of the atmosphere affect the propagation of the
signals, changing their speed and direction or, in other words, the propagation of the GPS signals are
changed in proportion to the varying electron density along the line of sight between the GPS receiver
and the satellite. This affects the GPS range observables: a delay is added to the code measurements
and advance to the phase measurements. To achieve very precise positions from the GPS, for example,
this ionospheric delay or advance must be taken into account. The mean distance from the Earth
surface and the GPS satellite is 20,200 km. The major part of the electrons crossed by the GPS signal
are inserted in the ionosphere (region below the protonosphere, usually limited by the transition height
(region where H+ and O+ ions (ht) concentration are equal). The ionospheric region over the Arecibo
Observatory generally is bellow 1,100km and 600km for daytime and nighttime, respectively. Since
the GPS satellite orbit is around 20,200km of altitude, this implies that approximately 19,000km of
protonosphere environment is crossed by the GPS signal. So, for a better understanding of the TEC
(total electron content) behavior it is very important to know the contribution of the ionosphere and the
protonosphere in the total amount of TEC. The purpose of this work was to establish such
contributions (from the ionosphere and protonosphere based on the O+, H+ and He+ ion concentrations)
in the GPS signal based on TEC measurements and topside Incoherent Scatter radar (ISR) data.
149
SHIPWRECKS, GEOLOGICAL AND METEOROLOGICAL ACTIVITY NEAR THE
SARGASSO SEA
Rebecca Agosto Matos, Home Schooling, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Rafael Rosa Díaz, Santiago Apóstol School, Fajardo, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Prof. Gerson Restrepo, Universidad del Este, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
The purpose of this research was to explore correlations between shipwrecks, ocean currents,
geological and meteorological activity near the area known as the Sargasso Sea (Bermuda Triangle).
This correlation intends to provide scientific a explanation for unusual shipwrecks activity in the area.
Information gathered included ocean currents, trenches, and atmospheric phenomena drawn from
databases such as the National Weather Center, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Caribbean Seismic Network. Data gathered on a
graphic application was superimposed and a high historical activity of tropical storms since 1851 was
discovered, with vast regions covered by seaweeds, and unusual ocean currents among other factors
that might be causing the shipwrecks occurrences.
THE EFFECT BETWEEN THE INCIDENCES OF MUONS AS SECONDARY COSMIC
RAYS & ATMOSPHERIC CONTENT
Edrick Alvarado Rodríguez, Rafael Pérez Berríos, C.R.O.E.M. School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
Cosmic rays can interact with nuclei in the Earth's upper atmosphere. That interaction results in
secondary particles quickly decaying into the particles that strike the Earth's surface such as muons
(Lochner, 2011). Haze is an atmospheric anomaly caused by atmospheric contaminants in the form of
small particles. Many of these particles absorb sunlight and cause obscurity in the sky avoiding the
passing of photons. This research consists of taking the amount of secondary particles from cosmic ray
air showers, specifically muons, and relating the amount of incidence of these particles with the
amount of AOT, which is produced by atmospheric contaminants called haze (NASA, 2002). A
photometer and a muon detector were used at CROEM’s facilities to collect data. This data processed
by QuarkNet at their e-lab project found at www18.i2u2.org/elab/cosmic. Plotted Graphs were
analyzed in terms of Flux: (events/
/60-seconds), and compared to the amount of AOT given by the
.
following formula:
. It revealed the result of the amount of sunlight
that haze allows through the Earth’s atmosphere down to the Troposphere, converted into Atmospheric
Optical Thickness (AOT). With the aid of Graphical Analysis, the result of this research showed a
strong relationship between the amount of AOT and the incidence of muons as cosmic ray air showers.
150
GEOMAGENITC STORMS PREDICTION FOR THE INCREASING PORTION OF SOLAR
CYCLE 24
Laura Aponte, Yazmín Torres; Padre Aníbal Reyes Belén School, Hatillo, Puerto Rico.
The importance of studying geomagnetic storms is basically twofold. One refers to their academic
aspect of being considered a central part of geophysics. The other involves practical aspects that in
some cases can represent a particular concern for mankind. In the last 50 years, several studies have
been conducted on the influences and responses of the ionosphere to the geomagnetic storm. There are
just a few studies based on ISR data (Incoherent Scatter Radar) such as the Arecibo Observatory radar.
The data gaps found can be attributed to a number of factors, the most important of these being the
high cost of operation of this kind of instrument, i.e., it is too expensive to run this type of radar for
long periods. The few simultaneous registers of ISR and geomagnetic storms occurred by coincidence
during some experiments and generally did not encompass a whole storm. This work analyzed the
whole Dst index data bank (which gives information about the strength of the ring current around earth
caused by solar protons and electrons precipitation) in order to identify all the storms that occurred in
the last 57 years (from January 1, 1957 until December 31, 2008). Based on this survey, a statistical
model of forecasting will be constructed in order to evaluate the more susceptive periods of storm
occurrence for the growth stage of the solar cycle #24 and based on the output from that model the
group of Arecibo Observatory researchers will be able to schedule radar time in order to try to obtain
ISR registers for an entire storm. This forecast will be based on the day of the year (season), solar
activity (based on F107cm index) and in function of the Bartels’ cycle (27-day variations in
geomagnetic activity linked to the solar rotation period).
151
MORPHOLOGY OF THE E-REGION OVER THE ARECIBO OBSERVATORY BASED ON
ISR RADAR DATA
Yamilette Díaz, Tamara Nieves; San Felipe School, Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
Embedded in the neutral atmosphere is an ionized region called ionosphere. This ionized region
(populated by free electrons and ions) extends from about 60 to beyond 1000km and completely
encircles the Earth. The electron density distribution by altitude of the ionosphere exhibits a basic
structure at all latitudes, i.e., it is composed of the D, E, F1 and F2 layers. The E layer (subject of this
study) was the first ionospheric region to be detected in the early 1900’s. At the E region (located
between 90 and 120km of altitude), chemical processes are most important and molecular ions
dominate. The main sources of E region ionization are soft X-ray (1-10nm) and far ultraviolet (UV)
solar radiation. At night the E layer electron concentration rapidly decreases because the primary
source of ionization is no longer present and a distinct E-F “valley” can appear separating the E and F2
regions. In addition, around the nighttime, E region altitudes tend to produce a small, thin cloud of
intense ionization called sporadic E (Es). The Es can be up to an order of magnitude greater than
background densities and the primary ions in these sporadic layers are metallic (Fe+ and Mg+)
generally formed by ablated meteoric material. This work was focused on the study of 3 Incoherent
Scatter Radar (ISR) experiments over the Arecibo Observatory for different solar activity conditions.
It will determine the E region background densities (altitudinal disposition of the electron density by
time as well as its peak) and the occurrence of Es. In addition, it will be determinate the vertical drift
velocity-and-acceleration of the Es layers in order to understand the metallic ion diffusion in the E
region altitudes.
THE USE OF EINSTEIN’S SPECIAL RELATIVITY THEORY TO CALCULATE AND
COMPARE THE TRAVEL TIME OF MUONS WITH THEIR MEAN LIFETIME
Joel Fuentes, C.R.O.E.M. School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
Muons (µ-) and antimuons (µ+) are subatomic particles created during weak interaction between
highly energetic cosmic rays and the nuclei of atmospheric particles in the upper atmosphere (15Km).
Muons have a greater mass than the electron. Also, they are extremely penetrating particles with the
ability to reach the ground. This research aims to compare the travel time of muons with their mean
lifetime. Both values were determined experimentally to find the maximum expected flux of muons
according to two theories of kinematics: Classical Theory of Physics and Special Relativity. In
Classical Physics, time is an invariant parameter. However, according to Einstein, in Special
Relativity, an effect called “time dilation” slows down time in a moving frame with respect to one at
rest. With knowledge about the muon’s travel time (earth frame) and mean lifetime, the number of
muons out of a million can be calculated by using the time-dilated half-life. In conclusion, a
comparison with flux measurements, using Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) and e-Labs, show how
Special Relativity can provide solutions.
152
DETERMINATION OF THE THERMOSPHERIC ATOMIC OXYGEN OVER THE
ARECIBO OBSERVATORY REGION BASED ON FABRY-PEROT INTERFORMER AND
INCOHERENT SCATTER RADAR DATA
Luis Raúl Gómez, Alexis Serrano; Santiago R. Palmer School, Camuy, Puerto Rico.
Gabriel Amador, San Felipe School, Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
The atmosphere is greatly influenced by gravity-and-atomic-molecular diffusion as well temperature
and scale height, so the best way to divide it is by layers. The ionosphere, which is the ionized portion
of the atmosphere, is populated by free electrons and ions, and lays from the Mesosphere to the
Thermosphere. Basically, the ionosphere is formed by the ionization of atmospheric gases such as N2
(molecular nitrogen), O2 (molecular oxygen) and O (atomic oxygen). For the Arecibo Observatory
latitude, the energy required comes from solar radiation in the extreme ultra-violet (EUV) and X-ray
parts of the spectrum. Once formed, the ions and electrons tend to recombine and to react with other
minority gaseous species to produce other ions. At night, when solar activity decreases, oxygen starts
to recombine with itself seeking more atomic stability. As this happens, there is a detectible emission,
which its peek can be seen at 630.0nm (nanometers) wavelength. In this work, the neutral atomic
oxygen concentration was obtained at the peak of the ionosphere based on O+ momentum balance. In
order to do this, the neutral winds component registered by Fabry-Perot Interferometer (FPI) during
nighttime optical red-line emission at 630.0nm radiated by atomic oxygen excited in the 1D metastable
states were analyzed. Also, the ion temperature and electron density registered by the incoherent
scatter radar (ISR) were used. The results were compared with the simulations of the Mass
Spectrometer Incoherent Scatter model (MSIS).
153
IS THE IONOSPHERE OVER ARECIBO OBSERVATORY THE SAME FOR THE
LONGEST REGISTERED SOLAR MINIMUM (END AND BEGINNING OF SOLAR
CYCLES #23 AND #24)?
Felipe Pérez Toledo, Natalia Montero Pérez; San Felipe School, Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
Generally, the solar cycle lasts for 22 years on average (taking into account the solar magnetic activity
that coincides with the change in polarity of the sun’s magnetic field), which includes two 11-year
cycles of sunspots. The 11-year cycle can be divided by the ascendant and descendent phases that
generally last for 4 and 7 years, respectively. At the last transition of solar cycles (#23 to #24), a very
long period of low solar activity was experienced between the end of 2006 and beginning of 2010 (it
registered 797 days with no sunspots). This period of solar minimum was about one year larger than
the historical registers. The solar emissions (radiation and hot plasma) follow the same pattern of the
sunspot number distribution and these emissions are the main sources of ionization of the Earth’s
atmosphere. The ionosphere, ionized portion of the atmosphere, also varies with the solar cycle.
Specifically, the peak of the ionosphere (also known as peak of region F2, i.e., region with the biggest
concentration of free electrons) also responds to the solar variations and it can be used as a parameter
of the ionospheric behavior. This work was focused on the study of the altitude and concentration of
the F2 region peak (hmF2 and NmF2, respectively) registered by the Arecibo Observatory (AO)
Incoherent Scatter Radar data during the anomalous solar minimum. These registers were compared
with the predictions of the AO (Arecibo Observatory Empirical Model) and IRI (International
reference Ionosphere) models taking into account the same solar activity in order to identify and
understand if there was any difference between the data from the anomalous and previous solar
minimums and the theoretical predictions.
154
NANOTECHNOLOGY
THE EFFECT OF CITRATE ON THE INHIBITION OF BACTERIA GROWTH USING
SILVER NANOPARTICLES
Melanie Cruz Cruz, Antilles Military Academy, Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Dr. Oliva M. Primera-Pedrozo, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Nanoparticles in the 1-100 nm size range have been used for several applications as valuable materials
for chemical, optical, and biological applications. However, many of these materials have
demonstrated cytotoxic properties in eukaryotic and prokayyotic cells. Although silver nanoparticles
(AgNPs) have been reported as a bactericide during the last few years, further research to study the
effect of reducing agente percentage during the synthesis is needed. In this research Bacillus
thuringiensis (Bt) was used for the experiments. Bt is a Gram-positive bacterium that lives within the
soil and is extensively renowned for its toxicity on insect larvae. It produces intracellular protein
crystals toxic to a wide number to insect larvae, as a result is commercially used as insecticide. There
are some bacteria that are important in humans and the inhibition of their growth can cause severe
effects. So, it is very important to analyze the effect of the silver nanoparticles in the inhibition of
bacteria. In this research, silver nanoparticles were prepared via wet chemical method through
trisodium citrate as reducing and capping agent. The interaction of the nanoparticles with Bt cells was
also evaluated using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The effect of silver nanoparticles
volume in the inhibition of Bt growth was evaluated by measuring optical densities (OD) values
during 2, 3, 5, 9 and 24 H. The results showed an effect of the citrate concentrate in the inhibition and
interaction with the cells.
155
TOXICITY EFFECT OF PEG AND PVP COATED SILVER NANOPARTICLES THROUGH
BACTERIAL GROWTH INHIBITION
Arnaldo Mercado-Pérez, Marista “El Salvador” School, Manatí, Puerto Rico.
Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) are among the most engineered nanoproducts in the industry. Their
widespread elaboration responds to their antimicrobial and antifungal properties, which makes them
suitable to be used in products that reduce bacteria populations. However, there is a dangerous risk in
the uncontrolled exposure of humans and the environment to Ag NPs. Certain strains of bacteria are
beneficial to living beings, and therefore their populations should not be drastically diminished. The
present study aimed to successfully synthesize Ag NPs using a conventional method, through which
silver nitrate (AgNO3) was reduced into the zerovalent nanoparticles by heating and stirring a mixture
of AgNO3 and a 1% solution of sodium citrate, which served as both reducing and capping agent. UVVis spectroscopy showed that these bare NPs possessed an absorption peak at 416 nm, which clearly
complies with the inherent characteristics of Ag NPs. Furthermore, the spectroscopy’s narrow peak
also allows to claim monodispersity amongst the NPs. Ag NPs were covered with polymers
poly(ethylene glycol) –or PEG– and poly(vinylpyrrolidone) –or PVP– , with molecular weights of
10,000 and 8,000 kDa, respectively. PEG-covered Ag NPs presented an absorption peak at 413 nm,
and those covered with PVP accessed their peak at 412 nm. A toxicity test using bacterium B.
thuringiensis was developed in order to understand the effect that Ag NP surface modification and
concentration had on the bacterium’s population. Cultures of the bacterium of interest were exposed to
100- and 200- µL concentrations of all three NPs (bare Ag NPs, PEG-coated AG NPs, and PVP-coated
Ag NPs). This step was fundamental in order to measure the Ag NP’s bacteria growth inhibition as an
indicator of the NP’s toxicity. The results demonstrated an increase in all the culture’s Optical Density
(OD), which might lead to the interpretation of bacterial growth. Nonetheless, a mathematical model
to describe the bacterium’s growth under each individual condition was developed using the logistic
equation
, where K is the carrying capacity, r is the growth rate, a is the x offset, and b
is the y offset. Afterwards, the Solver tool from Microsoft Excel was used to determine the minimum
values for K, r, a and b such that the graph they produced greatly resembled the original one
describing B. thuringiensis’s growth in exposure to the Ag NPs. A comparison of the growth rate
values for each independent condition showed that all of them (all r values), were below the control’s
growth rate, proving then that the Ag NPs diminished the bacterium’s capacity to grow. The OD
increase might be explained by the fact that B. thuringiensis produces endospores in order to survive
harsh conditions. As consequence, a more critical appreciation of the Ag NP’s antimicrobial properties
is suggested.
156
SYNTHESIS OF SEED-MEDIATED GOLD NANOPARTICLES:
INHIBITION OF BACTERIA GROWTH
EFFECT OF SIZE ON
Michelle C. Pérez Ayala, Notre Dame School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Gabriela Talavera, Santa María del Camino School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Dr. Oliva M. Primera-Pedrozo, School of Science and Technology, Universidad
Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Nanoparticles have been of great interest and are being used for several applications in industry,
agriculture, business, medicine and public health. However, environmental exposure to nanomaterials
is inevitable and as a consequence toxicity research is gaining attention. In particular, gold
nanoparticles have potential uses in medical diagnostics, as tracers, and for other biological
applications. So, it is very important to investigate the toxicity of gold nanoparticles and size
influences before any in vivo applications. In this research, CTAB gold nanoparticles were synthesized
via seed mediated methods approach. Two different sizes were synthesized with a particle size of 3-4
nm and 35 nm. The UV-Vis spectra showed one peak around 500 nm as an indication of the formation
of spherical nanoparticles. The effect of the size of the gold nanoparticles was analyzed in the
inhibition of the growth of the B. thuringiensis. This bacteria was exposed to two concentrations of
both gold nanoparticles during 24 H in an incubator. The results showed that there is a close
dependence on the inhibition and the size of the gold nanoparticles. TEM was used in order to
determine if the nanoparticles were inside or outside the prokaryote.
SYNTHESIS OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES AND TOXICITY EFFECTS
Yimari A. Vargas Ramos, San Antonio Abad School, Humacao, Puerto Rico.
Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) can be synthesized using several reducing agents such as trisodium
citrate, sodium borohydride, and hydroxylamine among others. The amount of these reducing agents
can affect the optical properties of nanoparticles, which depend on the shape and size and also on the
dielectric constant and that of the surrounding medium. In this research, silver nanoparticles were
prepared in an aqueous medium using citrate as capping and reducing agents. Two different
concentrations were evaluated: 0.5 % and 1.0 %. Both colloidal suspensions showed one peak and
indicated a good monodispersity. The colloidal suspensions showed instability when exposure to room
temperature and light. The aim of this project was to assess the effect of the amount of citrate in size of
silver nanoparticles. Toxicity was evaluated using Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) as a Gram-positive
bacterium for 1.0% of citrate using 100 µL and 200 µL of the nanoparticle volume. The bacteria were
exposed to silver nanoparticles at the beginning of the growth stage for a period of 24 H. The bacteria
growth for Bt was reduced after exposure of the silver nanoparticles. No remarkable change was found
in the bacteria control samples without silver nanoparticles during the experiment.
157
ABSTRACTS
ROBOTICS
PUZZLE SOLVER
Mariely Caraballo, Antonio Fernós Isern Vocational School, San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Joehan Carrasquillo, Universidad del Turabo, Gurabo, Puerto Rico.
Puzzle recognition and puzzle-solving are very important parts of collective science and intelligence.
In this project, utilizing the Tekkotsu SIFT (Scale Invariant Feature Transform) tool a program was
developed which was able to detect two or more objects. The program then determined if the detected
objects were a match. Only two objects were matched at a time. This project was made on a model
scale. SIFT is an algorithm for extracting features from an image for use in object recognition and
tracking. The Tekkotsu SIFT Tool is an interactive program for training a SIFT-based object
recognizer from sample images. Tekkotsu means 'iron bones' in Japanese, often used in the context of
buildings' structural framework. Similarly, this software package aims to give a structure on which to
build, handling routine tasks so that one can focus on higher level programming. Tekkotsu uses an
object-oriented and event-passing architecture, making full use of the template and inheritance features
of C++. It was originally written for the Sony AIBO, but has since grown to run on a variety of
different robots.
CREATE THE MATHEMATICIAN
Diego Carrasquillo Martínez and Carlos Torres Quiñones, St. Mary’s School, San Juan, Puerto
Rico.
Research Mentor: Ramón A. Cardona, Inter-American University Metropolitan Campus, San Juan,
Puerto Rico.
The purpose of this project was to make the iRobot Create solve basic arithmetic functions in an
interactive way. As input mechanism, the use of AprilTags is integrated for visual recognition. The
user places a tag, associated with a particular digit and/or operation, in front of the robot's camera to
trigger the identification process. AprilTags are visual markers designed for robust detection by
machines. This is the best method for the iRobot to detect the numbers or operations
because AprilTags are well integrated with the Tekkotsu framework, and the software structure use in
this project. Tekkotsu is an open source, free software project that builds on several third party
libraries. AprilTags were chosen over other algorithms, like SIFT Object Recognition, because the
iRobot will only need to recognize numbers and operations, all of which are uniform and will not vary.
Using such method, the tag corresponding to the digit “4” followed by “0" can be shown, and the robot
may say back “forty”, in order to confirm the input. Making the robot evaluate simple arithmetic
operations, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of whole numbers, relying
exclusively on visual interactions, brings forth a series of complex programming situations. For
instance, how can the iRobot be made to recognize the last digit of a multi-digit operant? How the
hierarchy of operations be effectively implemented when solving functions? To enhance the
interactivity component of the project, SpeechNodes can be used for voice confirmation and
PilotNodes for simple navigation feedback.
158
SOLVING A MAZE PATH-PLANNING PROBLEM IN A ROBOTIC PROGRAMMING
FRAMEWORK FOR AN OPTIMAL BEHAVIORAL DESIGN
Cristian Claros Bradley, Boris Ruíz Pettersson, San Jorge Academy, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Joaquín Pockels, Polytechnic University, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Robotics frameworks have been developed by the scientific community to improve artificial
intelligence. Creating and comparing performances of behaviors for solving navigation and vision
problems in a robotics programming framework result in a better understanding of behavioral patterns.
For this project, Tekkotsu was used, an open source robotic framework for constructing behaviors and
robotics applications dedicated to high level robotics programming. This experiment consisted on a
robotic behavior comparison in a virtual environment with a maze problem. To solve it, the two
approaches were used: the method of Pilot Node and April Tags with Pilot Node. The reason for this
experiment was to figure out which of these methods is more effective and less time consuming. The
virtual maze was created using Mirage and the robot objective was to find the end point of the maze.
The result of the test was that April Tags with Pilot Node was the better to use behavior method.
DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A PROTOTYPE REMOTELY OPERATED VEHICLE
(ROV) TO CLEAN UP OIL SPILLS AND SAVE MAJOR ECOSYSTEMS
Lourdes Cruz, C.R.O.E.M. School, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
Oil Spills have become one of the worst manmade disasters that can happen: once they begin, you can
expect to see their effects decades afterwards. Water currents spread them across the ocean, allowing a
small spill to affect ecosystems miles away. Although there are many different technologies used to
clean up oil spills such as oil boom and chemical dispersants, their efficacy depends upon many
factors. For one, a small change in the tide can render the oil boom ineffective as waves laden with oil
pass over them. Chemical dispersants are the most efficient, yet scientists are not sure how they affect
the ecosystem. The goal of this investigation is to design and construct a functional Remotely
Operated Vehicle (ROV) that can effectively help clean up oil spills by gathering the oil that floats on
the surface of the water. The ROV will accomplish this by pushing the oil, effectively stopping it from
spreading. The design was first sketched on paper, and then digitally modeled in Pro-Engineer®. A
cost analysis of the prototype was formulated once this was completed. Afterwards, these plans were
utilized to construct a working prototype utilizing PVC tubes. The prototype was first tested for
stability and buoyancy. The results were used to determine the final positions of the motors utilized to
steer the vehicles. A budget on how much was spent on building materials was drafted. This will later
be used along with the results from the experiment to see if it is a cost-effective solution to the oil spill
problem.
159
TSUNAMIS, EARTHQUAKES, STORMS, HURRICANES, AND TORNADOES ROBOTIC
STREET CLEANER
José De Jesús, Saint Francis School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Alec Hernández, Homeschool, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
This project is a prototype robot that will assist cleaning up the streets after a natural disaster occurs,
such as Tsunamis, Earthquakes, Storms, Hurricanes, and Tornadoes (TESHT). The name of the robot
is an acronym for the disasters. This type of robot can be beneficial to humans, because it can facilitate
the movement of debris and heavy objects. TESHT will clean the streets after any natural disaster
faster than humans doing the job by themselves. After Japan’s tsunami and Haiti’s earthquake, there
were many people involved in the cleaning of the streets. This process takes a long time, because
people got tired or hurt, and needed to take some rest. If they had robots doing the disaster clean-up,
organization and recovery could have been done faster and with less human effort. Robots do not get
tired, do not need to sleep and can handle heavy loads. To implement this robot, the Lego Mindstorms
NXT robot was used. This robot includes several sensors such as Ultrasonic Sensor, Light Sensor,
Sound Sensor and Touch sensor. It also includes three servo motors to allow its movement. The
design chosen for this project was the vehicle robot version of the Lego Mindstorms NXT and all four
sensors were included in the design.
THE BARKING DOG SAFE ALARM
Adrian Gómez, Antonio Fernós Isern Vocational School, San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico.
Osvaldo Massanet, Bautista de Caguas Academy, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
With the worldwide increase of robbery incidence, private property owners are concerned about their
property's security. In order to solve this problem, it is proposed to use robots to reduce the amount of
damage and/or loss of physical property. The robot will act as a security drone, where it will scan the
face of a person and uses the Tekkotsu SIFT tool, an object recognition algorithm, to determine if the
person is “known” or not. In the case that the robot does not recognize the person, the robot will alert
property owners of intruders. SIFT (Scale Invariant Feature Transform) is an algorithm for extracting
features from an image for use in object recognition and tracking. The Tekkotsu SIFT Tool is an
interactive program for training a SIFT-based object recognizer from sample images. Tekkotsu means
'iron bones' in Japanese, often used in the context of a building’s structural framework. Similarly, this
software package aims to give a structure on which to build, handling routine tasks so that one can
focus on higher level programming. Tekkotsu uses an object-oriented and event-passing architecture,
making full use of the template and inheritance features of C++. It was originally written for the Sony
AIBO, but has since grown to run on a variety of different robots.
160
SOLVING A ROBOTIC NAVIGATION PROBLEM USING ROBUST DETECTIONS OF
VISUAL MARKERS
Jenipher Danline González Aponte, Bautista de Caguas School, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentors: Joaquín Pockels, Polytechnic University, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Ramón Cardona, Inter-American University-Metro, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
This project focuses on making the iRobot Create decipher the correct path through a coded artificial
environment, employing the Tekkotsu robotics framework. The framework provides an array of
integrated debugging, analyzing and reporting tools that assist in development and accelerates the
process. It also supports high-level programming abstraction to make robot behavior intuitive, by
removing the need of any hardware interaction and/or configuration. Using virtual markers as traffic
signals, Create will process and execute a set instruction, implemented through different coded tags
named AprilTags. Like the SIFT Object Recognition algorithm, the use of tags facilitates visual
detection of objects in real-time making possible decision making processes through object discovery.
One key factor for choosing AprilTags was its deep integration with the framework and reasonable
learning curve. The first step was to construct the virtual environment that incorporates the tags as
landmarks by using the WorldBuilder syntax. To steer through the world, Tekkotsu's navigational and
visual components were used to identify the traffic signs, convert the acquired data to pilot
instructions, and execute the result. Finally, to effectively test the solution, a segment of the simulated
course was recreate with cardboard boxes and AprilTags printouts.
OBJECTS CHARACTERISTICS ASSIMILATION FOR A CLASSIFICATION PROBLEM
USING AUTONOMOUS ROBOTS
Ián F. Méndez Rivas, Saint Francis School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentors: Joaquin Pockels, Polytechnic University, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The goal of this project was to recognize, manipulate and rearrange color cylinders in a nonpredetermined approach, using the iRobot Create and the Tekkotsu robotics framework. To define the
vision, navigation and maneuverability tasks required, the tools and convenience of high-level
programming abstraction provided by the framework were used. To work with Tekkotsu’s virtual
simulator, Mirage, WorldBuilder syntax was used to construct the testing environment. It is composed
of: six cylinders, three colored red and three blue, projected seven inches above ground; and two floor
squares, one colored red and one blue. Create had to identify, using Tekkotsu’s color segmentation
features, each cylinder and maneuver it to the respective colored squares. The solution is being tested
using our coded virtual environment, and parts of the settings will be recreated using cardboard boxes,
for testing in real life conditions.
161
COMPARISON OF PATH PLANNING BEHAVIORS FOR AN OPTIMAL APPROACH TO A
MAZE PROBLEM
José A. Millán, University Gardens High School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The main objective in this research was to carry out a comparison of cognitive behaviors using
navigation and visual problems such as a solution to an 8x7 maze. The maze concept was created by a
maze randomization tool. The two behaviors following these approaches were written in C++ and
compiled in an open source robotic programming framework called “Tekkotsu” in order to solve the
maze, and executed in “Mirage”, a 3D robotics simulator environment. The performances of the
behaviors were established taking into consideration their efficiency in terms of run-time, number of
collisions and percentage of success. As future projections, a combination of these two approaches
was made in order to obtain an optimal solution in navigation problems.
“I’M WATCHING YOU” ALARM SYSTEM
Wilfredo Montañez, Antonio Fernós Isern Vocational School, San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico.
Research mentor: Joehan Carrasquillo, Universidad del Turabo, Gurabo, Puerto Rico.
Criminality has always been a concern throughout society. Multiple methods to reduce crime have
been implemented; however it continues to haunt society today. The proposition of the “I'm Watching
You” Alarm System Project as a possible solution to reduce crime and solve criminal cases might
provide the model for a possible solution to reduce crime. In this project a program was developed
which scanned the face of a person and determined through the Tekkotsu SIFT (Scale Invariant
Feature Transform), an object recognition algorithm, if the person was within the SIFT Database or
not. In the case that the person/object was a match, it notified the user of the program with an alarm.
SIFT is an algorithm for extracting features from an image for use in object recognition and tracking.
The Tekkotsu SIFT Tool is an interactive program for training a SIFT-based object recognizer from
sample images. Tekkotsu means 'iron bones' in Japanese, often used in the context of building’s
structural framework. Similarly, this software package aims to give a structure on which to build,
handling routine tasks so that one can focus on higher level programming. Tekkotsu uses an objectoriented and event-passing architecture, making full use of the template and inheritance features of
C++. It was originally written for the Sony AIBO, but has since grown to run on a variety of different
robots.
162
ROBOTICS MATH PROBLEM SOLVER
Davette Nazario, José Aponte de la Torre School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Kenneth Hicks, Santiago Apóstol School, Fajardo, Puerto Rico.
Math is a fundamental subject in life. Nowadays students have difficulty learning math or do not want
to learn the subject. They think mathematics is boring, difficult, that it is not needed in the future or
simply because they think that if their parents do not know math and have a good job, they do not need
to learn this subject either. This project consisted of a robot that reads, analyzes, solves and verbalizes
simple math problems to grasp young people’s attention and help them to have an interest in the
subject. At the present time, young people have more interest in technology, and this can be an
alternative approach to teaching math. The robot that used was a Tekkotsu, iRobot Create. In addition,
an ASUS netbook with Ubuntu, an UNIX based operating system, was used. With the ASUS
computer, a program was created and downloaded to the iRobot. This program will had to be
continuous, meaning that it could not stop until the robot was commanded to stop. The robot had two
sensors in the front bumper. Each side of the bumper could be touched and it generated an event. If
the right bumper was touched; it meant that the operation would be a sum. On the other hand, if the
left bumper was touched, the operation was a subtraction. The robot would analyze and solve the
math problem internally. After it solved the problem, the robot verbalized the solution. When the robot
verbalized the solution, it returned to its original state, waiting to solve another problem or to stop.
ROBOT GUIDE DOG
Jonnathan Ortiz, Karielys Ortiz; Antonio Fernós Isern Vocational School, San Lorenzo, Puerto
Rico.
The purpose of this project was to design a robot-guide for the visually impaired. This robot is
designed to do functions similar to those done by a blind-seeing eye-dog. The robot-guide-dog will
provide a more secure guiding and prevent injuries of the user by determining if there are objects in
the user's way and taking measures to avoid it. The motivation for this project started by the knowing
of biological disadvantages of a dog and the problems these might bring to the visually impaired user.
This design was intended for the reduction of time a visually impaired user needs to wait for an aid as
well as reduce difficulties with the aid provided. The robot-guide designed in this project was
implemented using Tekkotsu software. Tekkotsu means 'iron bones' in Japanese, often used in the
context of a building’s structural framework. Similarly, this software package aimed to give a structure
on which to build, handling routine tasks so that one can focus on higher level programming. Tekkotsu
uses an object-oriented and event-passing architecture, making full use of the template and inheritance
features of C++. It was originally written for the Sony AIBO, but has since grown to run on a variety
of different robots.
163
COMPARING THE WALK CONTROLLER AND A PROGRAMMED BEHAVIOR OF A
ROBOTIC FRAMEWORK FOR A MAZE-SOLVING PROBLEM
Giovanni Pacheco Fuentes, Giovanni Tobar Quintero; San Ignacio de Loyola School, San Juan,
Puerto Rico.
The creation of this experiment was the product of two young researchers who had a peculiar interest
in Robotics. The purpose of this experiment was to solve a 3D simulated maze using human
intervention via direct control and a programmed behavior. In order to solve the maze autonomously, a
navigation system used a robotic framework called Tekkotsu. The dimension of the maze was
7x7meters. In order to create the maze, another tool for 3D simulated environment creation called
Mirage was used. A comparison was made between the two solutions and a difference in run-time was
obtained and analyzed.
HOW DOES A CALLIOPE5KP FIND A BETTER BEHAVIOR TO RESOLVE A
COMPLICATED MAZE?
Ángel Pérez, San José Academy, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Rose Cruz, Lourdes School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
This project explains the results of experimentation with a maze created by using a 3D simulation tool
and by creating behaviors that use different methods of solving the maze. One behavior utilizes a
simple navigation system and the other uses an RRT (Rapidly-Exploring Random Tree) algorithm.
When comparing the behaviors, it is intended to obtain a better logical design understanding. For this
project, the open source robotic programming framework Tekkotsu, that includes the tools necessary
to undertake the study, was used. A 3D 8x8 meters sized maze world was created. Then using a
simulated world the programmed robot used the two behaviors in order to solve the maze. To analyze
the performance, results of the run-time of each behavior were calculated.
164
MAZE SOLVING AND OBJECTS RECOVERY USING AUTONOMOUS ROBOTS
Adriel O. Rivera Ruíz; Saint Francis School, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentors: Joaquin Pockels, Polytechnic University, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
In this investigation on robots, some features of the Calliope robot are tested with the purpose of
making autonomous navigation possible and also to be able to carry out missions in the process. For
this to be accomplished, the Path Planner, Random Search trees and a Vision System were used. With
all these together, a test would tell weather if using these features would work better for the
autonomous navigation for the Calliope robot. Using the features for autonomous navigation, the robot
was to accomplish its mission by reaching, grabbing, and bringing the object to its designated spot.
Most importantly, this is accomplished inside a maze. The first part of the experiment involved the
construction of a 3D environment simulation for hosting the robot in a virtual world. This is done by
using Mirage, a tool included in the open source robotics framework called Tekkotsu, which was later
used to generate and test the solution. As part of the maze layout, a red cylinder object was positioned
and separated from the escape path. The Cylinder object was chosen because today’s objects really
have cylinder characteristics, and it is one of the simplest objects recognizable by Tekkotsu. To
complete the task, the robot had to first understand its environment, to look for and go to the target, in
this case the red cylinder. One of Tekkotsu's greatest strength is that it manages all low-level
functions, like event routing and shared memory, so one can concentrate on high-level programming
abstraction using the functions of the color segmentation, dual coding vision and navigation systems.
By using the Tekkotsu's mentioned tools, the robot's behavior was programmed to complete the task.
The experiment is in the process of being completed.
USING ROBOTS FOR OBJECT’S CHARACTERISTICS RECOGNITION TO SOLVE
CLASSIFICATION PROBLEMS
Brenda Rivera, Bayamón Military Academy, Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
Mario Ochoa, San Ignacio School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the area of computer science focusing on creating a machine that can
engage in behaviors that humans consider intelligent. Vision is one of the most difficult problems in
AI. In this research, a navigation and vision problem was solved by a behavior constructed in an open
source robotic programming framework called Tekkotsu. Using Mirage, a 3D robotic simulator
environment, cubes with different colors were created along with their respective frames in the
ground. Tekkotsu’s Computer Vision was used to recognize each cube and frame color and location,
to then organize each cube in their respective frame. Also, this robot behavior was made in real life
using the CREATE robot. For a future work, it will be better to use a robot with arms and a head.
165
ARM DESIGN FOR A PRAYING MANTIS ROBOT
Camila Rodríguez, and Tamara Rosario; Marista School, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico.
The Chiara, part of Tekkotsu's compatible line of robots, consists of 27 degrees of freedom (DOF) that
include a six DOF arm with a gripper capable of precise holonomic motion. It was designed as a
tabletop manipulator for controlled spaces. One disadvantage in its design is the reliance on a solely
planar arm capable of only side-to-side motions. In other words, it is incapable of generating any
elevation, relying on an adapted front leg to compensate for tasks that require any vertical movement
for object manipulation. For example, it would be impossible for the Chiara to move an item from the
ground plane to a top level shelf, inches above its starting position, without any additional support. To
improve upon this design deficiency, it was expected to learn from the praying mantis’ unique
structure and layout of its front legs. The mantis’ forelegs provide the insect with a versatile and
utilitarian component, which shapes much of its behavior. Their design enable locomotion and restrain
of capture pray. In using the insect as design inspiration, it was aimed to develop the Chiara’s
successor, adapting the key aspects of the mantis’ forelegs into a new platform for autonomous
navigation and object manipulation. Future work could involve constructing a prototype of the design
for testing purposes. The development of configuration, kinematic and hardware files are required to
make the hardware compatible with a robotic framework, like Tekkotsu. For actual testing, behaviors
can be coded that focus on key design considerations such as precise navigation and maneuverability,
as well as object control and transportation.
DECONSTRUCTION AND REPRODUCTION OF BEETHOVEN’S FIFTH SYMPHONY BY
THE CREATE ROBOT
Javier I. Rodríguez and Tahira Castello; St. Mary’s School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentor: Ramón Cardona Inter-American University Metropolitan Campus, San Juan, Puerto
Rico.
Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is structured through a series of distinct fragments, characterized by
changes in tone and scale. A major part of this project was the deconstruction of a preselected part of
the song, and the later reconstruction of the different segments with the use of AprilTags. The Create
robot must be able to interpret the tags, while rearranging the accumulated parts. AprilTags serve as
visual markers, a special purpose control system designed for machine detection and recognition. They
are not the only system available for object recognition and communication, but the fact that they are
already implemented on the Tekkotsu framework makes them the ideal choice for this project.
Tekkotsu is an open source project aiming to provide basic services on a robot, such as smooth
motion, vision, locomotion, user interaction, and networking, among others. By employing the tools
and structure provided through the framework, the notes contained on each tag can be searched,
identified, analyzed, rearranged and reproduced. Before deconstructing the melody and assigning the
fragments to each individual tag, a virtual world using the syntax defined in WorldBuilder must be
developed. It is within this digital environment that the robot will look for, and analyze each tag it
detects, to ultimately be able to reproduce the song.
166
OBJECTS IDENTIFICATION AND NAVIGATION USING AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
Onix Tarrats Calderón, Sagrada Familia School, Corozal, Puerto Rico.
Suriel Cruz, Bayamón Military Academy, Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
This experiment's purpose was to verify the effectiveness of autonomous systems to accomplish an
established task in a virtual world that closely emulates reality. This topic is of general interest due to
the employment of robotics and Artificial Intelligence for numerous applications, which are factors
that have merged to daily life. With this investigation it is intended to find out if using autonomous
systems to detect and move objects in environments with a variety of obstacles, is an efficient
procedure. How well is said procedure accomplished? In order to test these factors, a virtual world for
the robot was created using a 3D robotics simulation program called Mirage. Then the robot was given
a series of actions and behaviors in order to find a target and take it to its corresponding place, while
going through a series of obstacles.
ESCAPING THE MAZE:
UNDERTERMINED PATH
DESIGNING,
CONSTRUCTING
AND
DECODING
AN
José E. Vázquez; Notre Dame School, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico.
This project involves the design and resolution of a moderate size maze using the Tekkotsu framework
and the iRobot Create. The framework is an open source initiative to develop an easy to learn and
teach structure that permits high-level programming abstraction. The makeup of the maze will admit
different paths, each with different levels of complexity to test the solution generated. It will be
constructed using WorldBuilder syntax, and tested within Tekkotsu's virtual environment, Mirage.
During program execution, the robot must recognize, analyze and recalculate an effective route for
every turn. Employing colored visual markers, communicate is established with the Create, so it can
survey its surroundings better and determine the correct path. Some routes may involve obstacles,
simple geometric shapes like squares and/or rectangles which require a particular action to be avoided.
For example, when the robot reaches an obstacle it considers one of three options; (1) to get around it,
(2) to push it, or (3) to back away from it. To test this project’s solution, the Create maneuvered
different starting points, always using the same maze layout. This helped to identify and optimize the
path created by the robot, while avoiding rebuilding the maze for every test. Finally, a scaled section
of the maze for real-life testing was built.
167
CREATE, THE PUZZLE SOLVER
Karlene Vega and Gabriela Báez, St. Mary’s School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico.
The end result of this project was to make the iRobot Create solve a simplified version of the famous
15-puzzle. In order for this to be tested appropriately, a virtual environment of the classic game for
Mirage was constructed using the WorldBuilder syntax. For efficiency purposes, the complexity of the
puzzle was reduced by decreasing the number of tiles; instead of a 16 x16 grid, a 4x4 was used. One of
the first steps for the robot to address this problem was to break the task into manageable bits of
actions with a lesser degree of difficulty. To complete the revised 3-puzzle, the Create must push a tile
vertically or horizontally to an empty space leaving behind a new empty space. This process continues
until the tiles are in proper order. To the robot, this simple puzzle involves a sequence of elaborate
actions like: visual recognition, path planning, object selection and manipulation, localization task and
a little reasoning to develop the right strategy. These actions inevitably require coding in low-level,
which demands greater expertise of programming principles. This is one of the main reasons why the
solution was developed using the Tekkotsu framework. It provides a set of tools for coding, graphic
representation and debugging, as well as a complete library solution for high-level abstraction.
168
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Faculty research mentoring is the main driving force behind the scientific products (posters and oral
presentations) presented in this symposium. Our greatest appreciation and gratitude to all the mentors
who took part in the Spring 2012 Pre-College Research Symposium by working and training the next
generation of scientists whose efforts are presented in this booklet, as well as to the many other faculty
members who support the Student Research Development Center and its goals and objectives. Our
most sincere thanks are also extended to the following individuals who helped to make this Spring
2012 Pre-College Research Symposium possible.
Keynote and Workshop Speakers:
Ms. Yvonne Avilés, Inter-American University-San Germán
Dr. Luis de la Torre, Universidad Metropolitana
Dr. Rafael Rodrigo, Universidad Metropolitana
Dr. Carlos F. Rosado, Ana G. Méndez University System
Judges and Session Chairmen:
Irisber Alequín, Inter-American University-San Germán
Gadiel Alicano, University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez
Alice Arroyo, University of Puerto Rico-Cayey
Sara Ávila, Universidad Metropolitana
Rima Awad, Polytechnic University
Daniel Bacelo, Universidad Metropolitana
María Barberena, Universidad del Turabo
Elizabeth Barbosa, Inter-American University-Bayamón
Alfredo Bermúdez, Universidad del Turabo
Luis Bilbraut, Universidad del Turabo
Leonardo Chéverez, Inter-American University-Bayamón
Wilnerys Colberg, Universidad Metropolitana
Carlimar Collazo, Inter-American University-San Germán
Kevin Colón, Inter-American University-Guayama
Joel Corporán, University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez
Luz M. Cumba, Universidad Metropolitana
José Díaz, University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez
Luis Echevarría
Walter Literovich
Hilsamar Félix, University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez
Jorge Figueroa, Universidad del Este
Juan Jiménez, Inter-American University-San Germán
Zayira Jordán, Polytechnic University
Alvaro Laham, Universidad Metropolitana
Dayanara Lebrón, Universidad Metropolitana
Julio León, Universidad del Turabo
Walter Litewrowich
Jonathan López, Universidad Metropolitana
Roberto Luna, Inter-American University-San Germán
Eduan Martínez, Universidad Metropolitana
Joseph Martire
169
Ana Medina, University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez
Álex Méndez, Universidad del Turabo
Cristina Morales, University of Puerto Rico-Bayamón
Richard Morales, Inter-American University-San Germán
Jhonny Navarro
Jonathan Nieves, University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez
José Orellano, University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez
Antonia Ortega
Greisha Ortiz, Universidad Metropolitana
Claribel Pérez, Santo Tomás de Aquino School
Francisco Pérez, University of Puerto Rico-Bayamón
Gabriel Porrata, University of Puerto Rico-Cayey
Karoline Ríos, Universidad Metropolitana
Juan Rivera, Universidad Metropolitana
Lisbeth Rivera, Universidad Metropolitana
Marcel Rivera, University of Puerto Rico-Bayamón
Miguel Rivera, University of Puerto Rico-Bayamón
Vanessa Rivera
Amnerys Rodríguez, University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez
Rafael Rodríguez, Inter-Bayamón
Weyshla Rodríguez, Universidad Metropolitana
Ángel Santiago
Natalia Santiago, Universidad Metropolitana
Víctor Santos, University of Puerto Rico-Bayamón
Antonio Tapia, University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez
Jonathan Vargas, Universidad del Turabo
Ángel Vázquez, Inter-American University-Metro
Eliezer Vázquez, Inter-American University-San Germán
José A. Vega, Ana G. Méndez University System
Raúl Viera, University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo
Research Mentors and Assistants:
Yvonne Avilés, Inter-American University-San Germán
Chantelle Belmonte, University of the Virgin Islands
Nellie Bonilla, Universidad del Turabo
Marc Boumedine, University of the Virgin Islands
Paul Brito, Universidad del Turabo
Christiano GM Brum, Arecibo Observatory
Natalie Brum, Arecibo Observatory
Edvier Cabassa, Arecibo Observatory
Katherine Calderón, University of Puerto Rico-Humacao
Ramón Cardona, Inter-American University-Metro
Joehan Carrasquillo, Universidad del Turabo
Ladia Carrington, University of the Virgin Islands
Carmen Carvajal, Inter-American University-Barranquitas
Steve Case, University of the Virgin Islands
Laysa Claudio, University of Puerto Rico-Humacao
Wilnerys Colberg, Universidad Metropolitana
Marlene Colón, María Reina Academy
170
Raúl Colón, Universidad Metropolitana
Héctor de la Torre, Universidad Metropolitana
Janet Estrella, Manuel Mediavilla Negrón School
Eric Figueroa
Joksan Flores, Universidad del Turabo
Tapasi Ghosh, Arecibo Observatory
Cynthia Gómez, University of the Virgin Islands
Jenipher González, Arecibo Observatory
Maxine González, Universidad Metropolitana
Sixto González, Arecibo Observatory
Alba I. Hernández, Manuel Mediavilla Negrón School
Gilberto Jiménez, University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez
Isis Laham, Universidad del Este
Dayanara Lebrón, Universidad Metropolitana
Alvaro Lecompte, Inter-American University-San Germán
Jorge T. León, University of Puerto Rico-Cayey
Guillermo Mejía, Inter-American University-San Germán
Elvin Méndez, Universidad del Este
Yiria E. Muñiz, José Aponte de la Torre School
Luis Ortiz, Universidad Metropolitana
Joaquín Pockels, Polytechnic University
Oliva Primera, Universidad Metropolitana
Gerson Restrepo, Universidad del Este
Emanuel Rivera, Polytechnic University
Ramón Rivera, Polytechnic University
Rafael Salgado, Inter-American University-Bayamón
Kamil Suliveres, Universidad Metropolitana
Claudia Talavera, Polytechnic University
Brenda Torres, Universidad del Turabo
Dorielys Valentín, Universidad Metropolitana
Pieter Van der Meer, University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez
Melinda Vargas, Universidad Metropolitana
Edgardo Vázquez, Universidad del Este
Symposium Staff:
Dr. Gladys Bonilla, SRDC Consultant
Dr. Luis de la Torre, Bio-Mathematics Faculty
Ms. Thelma Graniela, SRDC
Ms. Zulma Irizarry, SRDC
Ms. Ivette Miranda, SRDC
Mr. Nicholas Natalizio, SRDC
Symposium Coordinators:
Dr. Juan F. Arratia, Executive Director, Student Research Development Center
Mr. Luis F. Font, Coordinator Caribbean Computing Center for Excellence (CCCE)
Mrs. Wanda Rodríguez, Coordinator AGMUS Institute of Mathematics
171
INDEX OF PRESENTERS
NAME
Lilliana Aanonsen
Abdallah Abdallah
Fadi T. Abumoala
Ihan Acevedo
Jailisse Acosta
Fabiola Agramonte
Rebecca Agosto
Saimara Alejandro
Gianni Algarín
Brian Alicea
Gerald Almodóvar
Brayan Alvarado
Christian X. Alvarado
Edrick Alvarado
Edvin Alvarado
Edwin J. Alvarado
Gabriel Alvarado
Silkia M. Alvarado
Karla K. Alverio
Alina Amador
Gabriel Amador
Ángel G. Andino
Joel Arocho
Cinkia Aponte
Hermes Aponte
Laura Aponte
Raisa Aponte
Rafael A. Aponte
Alondra Y. Báez
Gabriela Báez
Mario A. Barenas
Gabriela Barreto
Jesbaniris Bas
Jocelyne Bedminster
Nydiana Benítez
Dayany Berríos
Abdiely Betancourt
Anthony R. Bonilla
Ana Bourasseau
Isardo Braverman
Rafael Burgos
Casey Caballero
SCHOOL
San Benito School, Mayagüez
All Saints Cathedral School, St. Thomas
Luis Negrón López High School, Sabana Grande
San Felipe School, Arecibo
University Gardens High School, San Juan
María Reina Academy, Guaynabo
Home Schooling, Carolina
Bautista de Puerto Nuevo Academy, San Juan
Carvin School, Carolina
Caguas Military Academy, Caguas
Antilles Military Academy, Trujillo Alto
Caguas Military Academy, Gurabo
C.R.O.E.M. School, Mayagüez
Santa Teresita Academy, Naranjito
Thomas Alba Edison School, Caguas
Santiago R. Palmer School, Camuy
Santa Gema School, Carolina
Padre Aníbal Reyes Belén High School, Hatillo
Pablo Colón Berdecía School, Barranquitas
Bonneville School, San Juan
Padre Aníbal Reyes Belén School, Hatillo
Manuel Mediavilla Negrón School, Humacao
José Gautier Benítez School, Caguas
Manuela Toro Morice School, Caguas
St. Mary’s School, San Juan
Nuestra Señora del Carmen School, San Juan
José Aponte de la Torre School, Carolina
Charlotte Amalie High Schoo, US Virgin Islands
Isidro A. Sánchez School, Luquillo
José Gautier Benítez School, Caguas
Radians High School, Cayey
172
PAGES
29, 63
39, 114
58, 114
47, 149
52, 74
36, 98
47, 150
36, 98
43, 135
36, 99
58, 115
53, 99
43, 135
55, 150
29, 64
58, 115
44, 136
30, 174
31, 75
36, 100
48, 153
58, 116
28, 60
39, 116
34, 89
47, 151
47, 148
39, 117
36, 100
50, 168
52, 75
34, 89
54, 64
39, 117
35, 97
46, 147
36, 99
39, 117
44, 136
56, 145
44, 137
54, 90
NAME
Emanuel Cabrera
Frankie Cabrera
Rafael Cabrera
Julia Calderón
Jessyliz Camacho
Angelie Cambero
Mariely Caraballo
Christopher Carrasquillo
Diego Carrasquillo
Odemaris Carrasquillo
Eliud Carrión
Shaquille R. Carrión
Tahira Castello
Oswaldo Castillo
Eliz J. Castro
Nishmar Cestero
Cristian Claros
Ariadna S. Claudio
Adriana J. Colón
José S. Colón
Yadira Comulada
Michael Concepción
Ediel Corujo
Alejandro Coste
Adria Cotto
Justin Cotto
Amanda M. Crastz
Kilian S. Crastz
Alba Cruz
Ángel Cruz
Eddiel Cruz
Javier Cruz
Lourdes Cruz
Melanie Cruz
Rose Cruz
Stephanie N. Cruz
Stephanie Cruz
Suriel Cruz
Gabriela Cuebas
Jahan Dadlani
José De Jesús
Aley J. De León
Bryanda L. Díaz
SCHOOL
Bautista de Levittown Academy, Toa Baja
Antonio Fernos Isern Vocational School, San Lorenzo
College of Advance Education Gaudi, Humacao
Antonio Fernos Isern Vocational School, San Lorenzo
Cristo de los Milagros Academy, Caguas
Gabriela Mistral School, San Juan
Episcopal Cathedral School, San Juan
San Jorge Academy, San Juan
Puerto Rico Christian School, Toa Baja
Bayamón Military Academy, Bayamón
Miguel Meléndez Muñoz School, Cayey
Nuestra Señora de la Providencia School, San Juan
Nuestra Señora de la Providencia School, San Juan
Lourdes School, San Juan
All Saints Cathedral School, US Virgin Islands
Saint Francis School, Carolina
Lourdes School, San Juan
173
PAGES
39, 118
58, 118
58, 118
31, 76
29, 65
36, 101
48, 158
38, 111
57, 158
46, 145
40, 121
31, 76
50, 166
42, 130
56, 148
39, 119
48, 159
38, 111
28, 62
31, 77
54, 90
31, 77
36, 101
40, 119
36, 102
34, 90
31, 78
31, 78
32, 81
58, 119
44, 137
42, 130
49, 159
56, 155
57, 164
31, 78
37, 102
50, 167
29, 66
40, 120
49, 160
44, 137
31, 79
NAME
Christian Díaz
Guillermo R. Díaz
Lorena Díaz
Luis F. Díaz
Maylene Díaz
Vilmarie Díaz
Yamilette Díaz
Pawan Dodani
Sergio A. Donato
Khyle Encarnación
Ian Febus
Ariely V. Ferrer
Alejandra Figueroa
Alondra Figueroa
Xavier Figueroa
Luis J. Fonseca
Danté Francis
Joel Fuentes
Kaylee Galindo
Kevin A. Garayalde
Adriana García
Isaías D. García
Natasha García
Adrian Gómez
Desiree Gómez
Luis R. Gómez
Katherine Gómez
Kyle Gonsalves
Ernesto González
Gisselle González
Jenipher D. González
Maroly C. González
Nathalie González
Carlos A. Guzmán
K’Jani Hall
Irene Hammel
Jerrad Havemann
Alec Hernández
Fernando Hernández
Fiama Y. Hernández
María E. Herrera
Kenneth Hicks
Michael L. Hicks
Kevin Huang
SCHOOL
San Antonio Abad School, Humacao
Luis Muñoz Marín School, Barranquitas
Perpetuo Socorro School, Humacao
St. Croix Educational Complex, St. Croix, VI
Carvin School Inc., San Juan
Antonio Fernós Isern Vocational School, San Lorenzo
C.R.O.E.M. School, Mayagüez,
Lola Rodríguez de Tió High School, San Germán
Escuela Del Deporte de San Juan, San Juan
Dr. José Ozuna School, San Juan
Margarita Janer Palacios High School, Guaynabo
Charlotte Amalie High School, US Virgin Islands
Santos Tomás de Aquino Academy, Bayamón
Bautista de Caguas School, Caguas
Papa Juan XXIII High School, Bayamón
Antilles School, US Virgin Islands
Homeschool, Carolina
Santo Tomás de Aquino Academy, Bayamón
Carvin School Inc., Carolina
Santiago Apóstol School, Fajardo
174
PAGES
36, 99
52, 79
44, 138
37, 103
40, 120
38, 112
47, 152
40, 122
38, 112
40, 120
32, 80
34, 91
32, 80
29, 66
56, 138
44, 139
40, 120
42, 128
34, 91
29, 68
40, 121
37, 103
49, 160
32, 81
48, 153
31, 77
40, 121
46, 143
53, 104
49, 161
32, 81
32, 81
44, 139
40, 120
37, 104
40, 121
49, 160
45, 141
34, 91
46, 146
49, 163
29, 67
40, 122
NAME
Steven Jensen
José G. Lebrón
Joshua Ledee
Richard Lee
Pedro Lefevre
Ana Longo
Edwin C. López
Glory López
Jonathan López
Natalie López
Jonathan Lorenzo
Alexandra Maldonado
Nicole M. Maldonado
Edgardo A. Mangual
Carlos E. Marín
José L. Marrero
Kevin J. Marrero
Astrid Martínez
Daniela Martínez
Gustavo Martínez
Miguel Martínez
Osvaldo Massanet
Kevin Matos
Yakaira Mauricio
David McDonald
Biko McMillan
Valeria L. Medina
Nilka Meléndez
Ricardo Meléndez
Ián F. Méndez
Valeria Menéndez
Arnaldo Mercado
José A. Millán
Karina Miranda
Wilfredo Montañez
Natalia Montero
Linda S. Morales
Marcel Morales
William Morales
Davette Nazario
Elaine Nazario
Fabiola Negrette
Michael Nieves
SCHOOL
Caribbean School, Ponce
Ramón Vila Mayo School, San Juan
Home Schooling, San Juan
Dr. María Cadilla de Martínez High School, Arecibo
Bautista de Carolina Academy, Carolina
Santa María del Camino School, Trujillo Alto
Immaculate School, Mayagüez
Homeschooler, San Juan
Dr. María Cadilla de Martínez High School, Arecibo
Homeschooler, Caguas
Bautista de Caguas Academy, Caguas
María Teresa Piñeiro School, Toa Baja
Calasanz School, San Juan
Marista School, Guaynabo
Marista “El Salvador” School, Manatí
University Gardens School, San Juan
Central de Artes Visuales School, San Juan
María Reina Academy, San Juan
Santa Teresita School, San Juan
175
PAGES
44, 139
35, 92
40, 122
40, 123
44, 136
37, 105
54, 60
52, 82
35, 92
29, 68
46, 144
29, 68
54, 92
44, 139
54, 60
32, 82
45, 140
37, 106
37, 107
32, 83
45, 142
49, 160
41, 126
32, 80
40, 120
41, 123
52, 83
32, 84
33, 84
49, 161
41, 124
57, 156
49, 162
38, 107
49, 162
48, 154
54, 61
41, 124
45, 140
49, 163
56, 145
45, 141
53, 108
NAME
Natalie A. Nieves
Tamara Nieves
Portia Norkaitis
Mario Ochoa
Nelson R. Olivera
Francisco Ortiz
Jonnathan Ortiz
Karielys Ortiz
Yomar Ortiz
Jaymarie Osorio
Giovanni Pacheco
Gian C. Padilla
David Paeres
Jennifer Patritti
Kelvin Perales
Abner Pérez
Ángel Pérez
Felipe Pérez
Jean L. Pérez
Juan C. Pérez
Kiddany Pérez
Michelle C. Pérez
Rafael Pérez
Robert Pérez
Priamo A. Pichardo
Zahiribeth Piñero
Jessica N. Pita
Cecilia Pou
Camille Price
Joshua Pupo
Rachel M. Quintana
Melanie E. Quiñones
Rafael Ramos
Gustavo Reyes
Wascar Richiez
Jessica N. Ríos
Ademyr Rivera
Adriel O. Rivera
Alexandra Rivera
Andrea P. Rivera
Brenda Rivera
Christian Rivera
Christian Rivera
Christopher Rivera
SCHOOL
Papa Juan XXIII High School, Bayamón
San Ignacio School, San Juan
Pablo Colón Berdecía School, Barranquitas
San Ignacio de Loyola School, San Juan
María Teresa Piñeiro School, Toa Baja
Educación Avanzada Gaudi School, Humacao
Santa María del Camino, Trujillo Alto
San José Academy, San Juan
Lorenzo Vizcarrondo School, Carolina
Gilberto Concepción de Gracia School, Carolina
Notre Dame School, Carolina
Antonio Luchetti Vocational School, Arecibo
American Military Academy, Guaynabo
Santa María del Camino School, Carolina
Ernesto Ramos Antonini School, San Juan
Lorenzo Vizcarrondo School, Carolina
Dr. Pedro Perea Fajardo Vocational School, Mayagüez
Luis Felipe Crespo High School, Camuy
176
PAGES
33, 84
47, 152
43, 133
57, 165
41, 125
44, 139
57, 163
57, 163
41, 125
31, 76
50, 164
41, 126
45, 141
55, 93
39, 112
35, 93
57, 164
48, 154
41, 126
42, 129
41, 127
48, 157
55, 150
56, 113
43, 135
38, 108
33, 85
38, 109
56, 138
47, 149
38, 111
46, 146
45, 141
44, 136
40, 122
33, 85
58, 127
51, 165
41, 127
35, 94
57, 165
45, 142
28, 60
33, 85
NAME
Edwin Rivera
Harrison Rivera
Osvaldo D. Rivera
Thalía Rivera
Yesenia M. Rivera
Ashley M. Rodríguez
Blanca Rodríguez
Camila Rodríguez
Daniel Rodríguez
Jan M. Rodríguez
Javier I. Rodríguez
Natalia Rodríguez
Shakira Rodríguez
Zabdiel Roldán
Carmen Roque
Orlando Rosa
Rafael Rosa
Jorge Rosado
Karla Rosado
Maybelle C. Rosado
Tatiana Rosado
Natalie Rosario
Tamara Rosario
Andrés Rosner
Ana Rossetti
Boris Ruíz
Gerardo Sánchez
Jesús A. Sánchez
Marcos Sánchez
Yulián Sánchez
Ashlie Santaliz
Kelvin Santana
Irving A. Santiago
Netsha Santiago
Yamilette Santiago
Zoraida Santiago
Jilarie A. Santos
Pablo Sepúlveda
Alexis Serrano
Marielena Soto
Raúl Y. Soto
Noah Stolz
Jennifer Suárez
SCHOOL
PAGES
Antonio Lucchetti Vocational High School, Arecibo
Adianez School, Guaynabo
Antonio Lucchetti Vocational High School, Arecibo
Carvin School, Inc, Carolina
San Carlos School, Aguadilla
Pablo Colón Berdecía Sschool, Barranquitas
San Ignacio Loyola School, San Juan
San Jorge Academy, San Juan
Caguas Private School, Caguas
Bautista de Puerto Nuevo Academy
Educación Avanzada Gaudi School, Humacao
Virgin Islands Montessori School & International
Academy, US Virgin Islands
177
45, 141
28, 61
52, 86
46, 147
28, 61
42, 128
41, 125
50, 166
45, 142
42, 129
50, 166
33, 86
35, 96
33, 87
32, 80
30, 69
47, 150
53, 109
42, 129
29, 65
42, 129
43, 132
50, 166
42, 130
30, 69
48, 159
55, 94
46, 146
35, 95
44, 139
30, 70
33, 87
47, 147
34, 87
35, 95
30, 70
35, 96
42, 130
48, 153
42, 130
39, 113
43, 131
32, 80
NAME
Gabriela Talavera
Onix Tarrats
Marlyn Tirado
Giovanni Tobar
Carlos Toro
Alondra M. Torres
Carlos Torres
Emanuel Torres
Isamar Torres
Leyra Torres
Rosely Torres
Verónica M. Torres
Yazmín Torres
Akil Turner
Soleil Valentín
William Van Rensselaer
Stephanie M. Vargas
Yimari Vargas
José E. Vázquez
Juan Vázquez
Natalia Vázquez
Valerie Vázquez
Karlene Vega
Joemy Velázquez
Anthony Vélez
Jo-Ann Vélez
John D. Vélez
Stephanie R. Ventura
Darlene Vidal
Xandimar Villafañe
Nakisha Villegas
Sabrina White
SCHOOL
PAGES
Santa María del Camino School, Carolina
Sagrada Familia School, Corozal
Cidra Vocational School, Cidra
San Ignacio de Loyola School, San Juan
Southwestern Educational Society (SESO) School,
Mayagüez
Notre Dame School, Caguas
Padre Aníbal Reyes Belén School, Hatillo
Antilles School, US Virgin Islands
Notre Dame School, Caguas
Cristo Redentor School, San Lorenzo
Radians High School, Cayey
Santos Tomás de Aquino Academy, Bayamón
Ana Delia Flores Santana Vocational School, Fajardo
Puerto Rico Christian School, Toa Baja
San Jorge Academy, Carolina
48, 157
50, 167
38, 110
50, 164
59, 131
178
43, 132
57, 158
46, 147
32,83
43,132
35,96
28, 62
47, 151
43, 133
30, 71
43, 133
30, 72
48, 157
50, 167
43, 133
55, 97
46, 143
50, 168
56, 148
46, 143
30, 73
34, 88
42, 128
46, 144
35, 97
47, 148
43, 134
We gratefully acknowledge the support and sponsorship of the
Spring 2012 Pre-College Research Symposium from:
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Grant #DMS-0822404
Grant #CNS-0940522
National Aeronautic Space Administration (NASA)
Caribbean Computing Center for Excellence
AGMUS Institute of Mathematics

Conference Proceedings - Student Research Development Center

Transcription

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