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Cantaurus
“...Grasp the trunk hard only,
and you will shake all the branches.”
Journal of McPherson College Science
Volume 19
May 2011
Cantaurus
Journal of McPherson College Science
Volume 19
Amanda Aragon
Karissa Ferrell
May 2011
Abdominal Strength vs. Speed in Female College Athletes

2-4
What is the Prevalence of MRSA in a Health Care Setting Compared
to a Community Setting?
5-10
Isolation, Characterization, and Quantitation of Isoxanthopterin from
Drosophila melangolaster Strains Wild Type and White Apricot
11-14
What is the Prevalence of MRSA in an Elementary School Setting
Compared to a Hospital Setting?
15-18
Zachery Hlad
Quantitative Survey of Zebra Mussels (Dreissna polymorpha) Within
Wilson Lake and Kanopolis Lake
19-22
Dylan Jandreau
A Comparison of the Prevalence of Tinea pedis in Morrison and
Bittinger Shower Drains of McPherson College
23-25
`
Christover Lange
What is the Distribution of Lung Capacity Amongst McPherson
College Students?
26-28
Tecie Turner
Comparison of Coping Self-Efficacy Levels Between Freshman and
Seniors at Scott Community High School
29-31

The Effectiveness of Multi-Purpose Solutions Against Clinically
Isolated Micro-Organisms
32-36

Research Awards in the Natural Sciences
37-38
Cumulative Index, Volumes 1-19
39-43
Austin Froese
Kelley Green
Ashley Zodrow

Cover: The artwork on the cover is an original work by Dee Erway, Program Director for Graphic Design at
McPherson College. The quotation is taken from Wendell Berry's essay, The Loss of the University, (p. 82 in
Home Economics, North Point Press, 1987) in which he references the book Samuel Johnson, by W. Jackson
Bate (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1977, p. 51) as follows: "Dr. Johnson told Mrs. Thrale that his cousin,
Cornelius Ford, `advised him to study the Principles of everything, that a general Acquaintance with Life might
be the Consequence of his Enquiries - Learn said he the leading Precognita of all things ... grasp the Trunk
hard only, and you will shake all the Branches.'"
Cantaurus is an official publication of the Division of Science and Technology, McPherson College,
McPherson, KS. The purpose of this journal is to publish the results of original research conducted by students
majoring in the natural sciences at McPherson College. The research published herein represents partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the B.S. degree at McPherson College.
Midwest Oilseeds, of Adel, Iowa is gratefully recognized for its generous financial support of student research
at McPherson College. Harry H. Stine, class of 1963, is President and CEO of Midwest Oilseeds.
Cantaurus, Vol. 19, 2-4, May 2011 © McPherson College Division of Science and Technology
Abdominal Strength vs. Speed in Female College Athletes
Amanda Aragon
ABSTRACT
Abdominal strength may be contributed to the speed at which you run. Using the McPherson College Women’s
soccer team, I tested to see if abdominal strength played a role in speed in 10 soccer players. I measured the
weight, BMI (Body Mass Index), and abdominal strength before workouts started along with the 40, 100, and
200 yard sprints. They then did abdominal workouts for about 20 minutes, three times a week, for six weeks. I
repeated the measurements of their weight, BMI, abdominal strength and the three sprints after the six weeks
of workouts. I also took their height, arm length, and torso length and along with weight and BMI, used those to
make sure none of them had an effect on my results. My results showed that speed only increased on the 100
yard sprint with increased abdominal strength. In the 40 and 200 yard sprints, the speed decreased with
increased abdominal strength. There was no significant correlation between any of results except for the
difference in weight and the difference in abdominal strength along with the difference in BMI and the difference
in abdominal strength. Meaning that people who weighted more, tended to through the ball further and people
with an increase in their weight, their BMI’s also increased (directly related to each other). There was also not a
great enough difference with pre and post weight and BMI. There however was a great enough difference that
it wasn’t due to chance with the pre and post 40, 100, 200 and abdominal strength changes. With increased
abdominal strength, the time for the 40 and 200 yard sprints increased with increased abdominal strength,
while the time for the 100 yard spring decreased with sprint time. Abdominal strength was shown to increase
speed on an average sprint, opposed to a short sprint or a longer sprint.
Keywords: abdominal strength, female collegiate athletes, sprinting.
INTRODUCTION
Having core strength is defined as the ability to
control the position and motion of the trunk over the
pelvis to allow optimum production, transfer and
control of force and motion to the terminal segment.
(French, 2008). When the core is strong it helps with
the transfer of energy from the larger torso to the
smaller extremities, which can help relieve joints from
stress. Having and maintaining a strong core results
in core stability which then results in being able to
maximize force generations and decrease joint loads
when doing activities like running or throwing.(Kibler,
2006). It allows the proper alignment of the spine and
pelvis while limbs are moving. With less joint loads,
there is less stress being put on joints, which will help
to keep joints healthier and not cause pain. Speed is
also defined as sprinting which is when someone
runs a short distance at their top speed.
A toned core is very helpful and important for
athletes. A toned midsection has the functions of
stability and force generation and is involved in
almost all activities like running, kicking, and
throwing. (Borghuis, 2008). Core strength will help
maximize the potential of all extremities. In addition
to a strong core being helpful to athletes’
performances, it is also helpful in the fact that a
strong core helps with the prevention of injuries.
Research has found that having an unstable core can
lead to pain in other parts of the body. The knee is
one of the major parts of the body that is a victim of
core instability during exercise. (Borghuis, 2008). The
knee can be a victim because when the core isn’t
strong, it causes the hips to rotate inside along with
the tibia to rotate inwards also. This in turn causes
the knee to tract tilted inwards instead of up and
down. It is found that lower extremity injuries can
cause back pain in the future from poor muscle
endurance since the lower extremity injuries prevent
the athlete from participating in sports. Athletes with
a strong core have good balance and stability which
is crucial for an athlete. Having these two key
components helps to prevent the athlete from injuring
them self, which allows the athlete to perform at their
best. They will be able to run at their highest speed
since they will not be injured. There have been a
couple of experiments that tested the effect of
abdominal strength on different types of speed.
There was a study done with 57 elite male athletes
and 14 elite female athletes along with 87 normal
people that ranged from 18-22 years old. They used
an isokinetic technique to measure the maximum
torque in the core during lateral flexion and flexion
and extension. The results showed that the more
elite athletes produced more than the normal people
of each gender. (Andersson, 1988).There have been
similar studies done where other muscle groups such
as calves and thighs were measure to compare the
effect that they had on speed as well.
I want to take the definition of abdominal strength
(the ability to control the position and motion of the
trunk over the pelvis to allow optimum production,
Abdominal Strength vs. Speed – Aragon
transfer and control of force and motion to the
terminal segment) and compare and see if there is
any kind of correlation with the definition of speed
(when someone runs a short distance at their top
speed.) With all of this information on the abdomen
and with myself being an athlete, I want to see if
having a stronger abdomen affects the speed of an
athlete. I will also take into consideration the height,
weight and BMI (Body Mass Index) of each athlete I
test. I will do a before and after evaluation of these
things. I want to have the athlete do an abdominal
workout three times a week for six weeks. I will also
test the athletes’ abdominal strength and speeds
before doing the workouts by having then throw in a
ball and also run 40, 100 and 200 yard sprints. Then
after six weeks I will re-evaluate their speeds along
with their weight, BMI and abdominal strength. I will
then compare the results.
3
RESULTS
With each measurement I took, I noticed that the
abdominal strength in eight out of the 11 increased,
one of the 11 decreased, one of the 11 stayed the
same and one of the 11 was voided because she got
hurt and couldn’t finish the experiment. As far as
weight and BMI goes five of the 11, weight and BMI
increased, two of the 11, weight and BMI decreased
and three of the 11 stayed the same and one of the
11 was again voided. For the 200 yard sprint nine of
the 11 speed increased, one of the 11 speed
decreased and one of the 11 was voided. For the 100
yard sprint, the results were completely opposite.
Nine of the 11 speed decreased, while one of the 11
speeds increased and one of the 11 was voided.
Lastly, for the 40 yard sprint, eight of the 11 speed
increased, while two of the 11 speed decreased and
one of the 11 was voided.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
I started off with talking to Dan Hoffman about the
different ways of measuring abdominal strength and
which one he believes will help me out the most. The
next part of my experiment was to get permission for
a couple different things. I had to talk to my soccer
coach, Robert Talley and get his approval to us the
McPherson College Women’s Soccer Team for my
experiment. I also needed to get my proposal
accepted from the Institutional Review Board in order
for my experiment to actually happen.
In order to find out if abdominal strength and
speed had an effect on one another, I used the
McPherson’s College Women’s Soccer Team. I
tested them in 40 yards, 100 yards, and 200 yard
sprints.
I recorded their results before they started
abdominal workouts. I also measured their abdominal
strength as well as weight and BMI to insure that
weight loss didn’t improve speed.
Once I had their measurements and had them
recorded, they performed six weeks of abdominal
workouts, three times a week. I then recorded all the
information again.
The abdominal workouts consisted of different
forms/styles of crunches along with planks. Each
workout lasted for fifteen minutes. Each person
picked a different form/style of crunch to do. We
started off with doing 15 of each style. As time went
on, and their abdominal strength increased, the
amount they had to do for each repetition also
increased. Each week increased by five.
After six weeks, I got their final measurements. I
again took their sprint times, followed by abdominal
strength, weight and BMI. I compared the before and
after results. I compared to see if there is any kind of
correlation that abdominal strength had on the effect
of speed by using a paired t-test.
Figure 1: Change in Time vs. Sprint Distance.
Difference in the before and after times (seconds) of
the 40, 100, 200 yard sprints.
Figure 2: Distance (yards) thrown (abdominal
strength) before and after workouts.
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DISCUSSION
LITERATURE CITED
There was no significant correlation between any of
results except for difference in weight and BMI before
and after the abdominal workouts with the difference
in abdominal strength before and after the abdominal
workouts. The non significan, St correlations were
not applicable to P>0.050, while the two that had a
correlation were P<0.050. There was also not a
great enough difference that is due to chance with
pre and post weight and BMI. Weight was only had
P=0.089, meaning it is P>0.050, but it also was
stated that negative results should be interpreted
cautiously. BMI had P=.442, meaning that P>0.050,
but it as well stated that negative results should be
interpreted cautiously. There however was a great
enough difference that it wasn’t due to chance with
the pre and post 40, 100, 200 and abdominal
strength changes. For all of these to be due not to
chance, P<0.050. For the 40 yard sprint, P=0.005,
the 100 yard sprint, P=0.002, the 200 yard sprint,
P=0.020 and for the abdominal strength, P=0.027.
My results can relate back to the experiment
Andersson did with seeing how much torque each
athlete or normal person produces. Athletes
produced more torque in the core, which was used in
the hip, allowing an athlete to run faster. However,
this was only true for the 100 yard sprint. Another
experiment was one that Stanton did. He used swiss
ball training to improve core strength and then looked
at the effect it had on running. Stanton found that
there wasn’t a positive correlation with running and
abdominal strength. It was found that swiss ball
exercises improved core strength without improving
physical performances. (Borguis, 2008). This could
reason why the 40 and 200 yard sprint times
increased.
If I were to go back and re-do this experiment. The
first thing I would change would to have more people
participate in it, so that I have more results to
compare. I would like to have around 30 people
compared to the 14 I started with and 10 I ended
with. I also would have done one on one exercises
with everyone because about half way through
workouts, people started to slack and not put very
much effort in the abdominal workouts, we were
doing three times a week. The last thing I would
change, would be to have a longer time frame than
six weeks of workouts. I would prefer 18 weeks and
then re-test them every six weeks so that there is a
lot of data to compare and you can also see how
each person is coming along through the process.
Andersson, E., L. Sward, and A. Thorstessson. 1988.
Trunk Muscle Strength in Athletes. Med. and Sci.
Sports and Exerc,. 20:587-593.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the McPherson Women’s
College Soccer Team, My Advisor: Dr. Frye, CoAdvisor: Dr. Ayella, and Dan Hoffman.
Borghuis, J, A L. Hof, and K A. P. M. Lemmink.
2008. The Importance of Sensory –Motor Control
in Providing Core Stability. Sports Medicine
38(11): 893-916.
Kibler, W. B, J. Press and A. Sciascia. 2006. The
Role of Core Stability in Athletic Function.Sports
Medicine 36(3): 189-198.
French, L, A E. Hibbs, L. Spears, K G. Thompson,
and A. Wrigley. 2008. Optimizing Performance by
Improving Core Stability and Core Strength.
Sports Medicine 38(12): 995-1008.
Cantaurus, Vol. 19, 5-10, May 2011 © McPherson College Division of Science and Technology
What is the Prevalence of MRSA in a Health Care Setting Compared to a
Community Setting?
Karissa Ferrell
ABSTRACT
Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a fast growing risk for many people in a health setting
and in the community. Its resistance makes it hard to defeat, but with people becoming more aware of MRSA
and demonstrating better hygiene, spreading it will hopefully become less in the future. I took 91 samples from
McPherson College and 91 samples from a family practice clinic/hospital. I used Mannitol salt agar with
oxacillin to plate my samples. The agar was a selective and differential media for the specific bacteria
Staphylococcus aureus. The samples that grew and fermented the Mannitol salt agar and were Gram stained
and isolated, then sent to Molecular Epidemiology Inc. to see if bacteria growth was positive for
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). All other bacteria growth that did not ferment the agar was considered
negative for MRSA. After sending in a sample to the MEI, it confirmed that 15 samples of the 91 at the family
practice clinic/hospital were positive for Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA. McPherson College samples were
compromised . Instead another student’s results from an elementary school’s samples were used. We found
that the results were too significant to happen by chance alone. Also, surprisingly, there was a higher
prevalence in the community, not the health care setting. MRSA is however still prevalent in both the health
setting and in the community. Its resistance still remains strong and MRSA can be deadly if not treated.
Facilities need to take cleaning seriously.
Keywords: MRSA, Staphylococcus Aureus, mannitol salt agar, fermentation, X^2 goodness of fit test.
INTRODUCTION
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
is a type of bacteria that is resistant to most
antibiotics, especially those in the penicillin family.
These include methicillin, oxacillin, amoxicillin, and
penicillin antibiotics. MRSA is a strain of
Staphylococcus aureus that usually causes skin
infections. According to the Centers for Disease
Control (CDC) it appears as pustules or boils which
often are red, swollen, painful, or have pus or other
drainage. However MRSA can cause severe
infections such as bloodstream infections, surgical
site infections, or pneumonia which in some cases
can be life threatening. The CDC also states that
MRSA is important to study because of its
pathogenicity: “MRSA have many virulence factors
that enable them to cause disease in normal host.”
Also MRSA has limited treatment options and is
transmissible. So MRSA is a dangerous bacterium
that is always finding ways to evolve.
There are two types of MRSA. The first type is
called health care associated MRSA or HA-MRSA.
This type is acquired by being in a health care facility.
Usually people who are infected are hospitalized,
going in for surgery, or in a nursing home, have “an
underlying chronic disease, immune suppression, or
injecting narcotic use” (Del Giudice, et al, 2005). It is
usually because their immune system is down or not
at its best. Also many health care workers become
infected by being in contact with a patient who is
infected. The second type is community associated
MRSA or CA-MRSA. This kind is transmitted through
the community like military (bases), athletes (gym),
schools, etc. Del Giudice, et al. (2005), stated that
“CA-MRSA infects younger subjects and is more
frequently associated with skin infections, while HAMRSA is associated with a broader range of
infections (of the urinary tract, respiratory tract, skin,
etc.). CA-MRSA is more often susceptible to other
antimicrobials than is HA-MRSA.” So MRSA is
becoming a problem because of its evolution to
become resistant to many antibiotics.
Researchers in the past have tested MRSA in the
health care community to determine how prevalent
MRSA is. Researchers have done this in two ways.
The first way is to find MRSA on patients. In the
article by Mongkolrattanothai (2009) children from
age’s infant to 18 years old were examined. They did
the “antimicrobial” therapy on those patients that
tested positive for MRSA. MRSA was more prevalent
in children ages four to 59 months. Their experiment
also found that methicillin resistant skin and soft
tissue infections have increased every year. Also in
an article by Del Giudice et al, (2005) more children
were infected with CA-MRSA than adults. Moran
(2009) did a similar study except with adults ages 18
years and older. Again MRSA was found in patients.
The majority of them had a skin infection to begin
with. “About 85% of all invasive MRSA infections
were associated with healthcare, and of those, about
two-thirds occurred outside of the hospital, while
about one third occurred during hospitalization. And
about 14% of all the infections occurred in persons
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Cantaurus
without obvious exposures to healthcare” retrieved
from the CDC. Unfortunately MRSA could be
anywhere since in these articles people got MRSA
from various places in the community or at a health
care setting.
The second way to test for MRSA is testing
medical equipment and/or to compare how well the
cleaning methods in health care facilities do with
killing bacteria. A study by Merlin, et al (2009) tested
emergency personnel stethoscopes for MRSA. They
found 16 of 50 stethoscopes tested had MRSA on
them. Also the EMS had no idea when they were last
cleaned. Another similar experiment (Chidi, 2009)
tested for MRSA on medical equipment in a hospital
setting. They followed the standard cleaning
procedure to find if MRSA was still prevalent after
being washed. Their results showed MRSA. So they
put the same instruments into an automated machine
and found it worked better at cleaning than manual
washing. In a third study, Montgomery et al, (2010)
tested for MRSA at several schools’ athletic training
facilities and the locker room facilities. At nine of the
10 schools MRSA was found in both facilities on at
least two locations. This proves that MRSA is quite
prevalent in places that may not be suspected.
These researchers have all wished they had more
time to do their experiments. Testing for the
prevalence of MRSA needs time especially when
trying to kill the bacteria. Also many studies, like the
ones done by Moran (2006) and Mongkolrattanothai
(2009), wanted more range demographically to see
how widespread MRSA is. So my research project
would test MRSA in a family practice setting and in
the community. Most experiments are done in
hospitals, but a doctor at a family practice sees many
patients on a regular basis. Also there aren’t many
studies done to see how transferrable MRSA is at a
college setting among students. My research will help
see the prevalence of MRSA in both types of these
demographics. I will test the medical equipment that
comes in contact with skin (e.g. stethoscopes,
doorknobs, etc.) at the clinic and at the College I will
sample comparable things like doorknobs, tables,
etc. In both cases I will sample things that come in
contact with human skin. In my research I will answer
the question…What is the prevalence of MRSA in a
health care setting compared to a community
setting?
If I find MRSA at the family practice clinic and
hospital I can let the doctor know so she is aware. I
will also do the same for the college. So in both
situations this will help them find better hygiene
practices to kill the bacteria strain Staphylococcus
aureus. Although according to Cimolai (2008), “The
ability to decontaminate MRSA from environmental
surfaces is an issue for debate… the efficacy of a
topical agent will depend on exposure time,
concentration in its solvent, humidity, temperature,
and neutralization by spoilage substances, among
other things. Disinfectant residue after cleaning may
provide for a lingering bioactivity. Despite what may
be seen as seemingly effective product and
technique, the potential for prompt recontamination
must be considered.”
Any change will help to keep the bacteria from
spreading and reaching other demographics which
will limit the spread of CA-MRSA especially. My
research is important to finding how prevalent MRSA
is so that places such as a family practice and a
college can help prevent its spread to new places
and people.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The purpose of the research is to find the prevalence
of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA) in a health care setting and compare it to
how prevalent it is in the community. The research
project was conducted at a family clinic and hospital
in Kansas. It was chosen since it is a health setting
that has many patients in and out daily. The
community associated MRSA to be compared was
conducted in Melhorn, the science hall at McPherson
College. This building also gets many students in and
out daily. There are also a few professors whose
office resides in this building.
The materials that were tested included hard
surfaces; at the clinic it was exam tables, at the
hospital it was bed tables and in Melhorn desks were
sampled. At each place the men’s and women’s
bathrooms were tested. Each included toilet knobs,
faucet knobs, soap dispensers, and door knobs. Last,
at both the clinic/hospital and Melhorn two door
knobs from each room were sampled. The materials
needed to test, to collect, and possibly to grow MRSA
were described by Ashlee Jost (personal
communication, Nov. 17, 2009) included sterile
Dacron swabs and sterilized Q-tips soaked in nutrient
broth to collect samples, Petri dishes to hold the
Mannitol salt agar with oxacillin, flasks, stir bars, and
foil to make the agar, autoclave, and incubator
(following making the agar), a loop, Bunsen burner,
and slides to transfer bacteria, and crystal violet,
iodine, decolorizing solution, safranin, and a
microscope for the gram stain procedure.
The methods were also described by Ashlee Jost
(personal communication, Nov. 17, 2009) including
making the Mannitol salt agar, sampling, and
analyzing. To begin approximately 111 grams of
Mannitol salt agar was weighed and place in a flask
with one liter of water followed by a stir bar. Foil was
placed over the top and mixed and heated to boil for
one minute. Once it was done it was placed in the
autoclave for sterilization. First the autoclave needed
to be filled with water to the line. Once it was the
flask was put into the autoclave and shut. It was
turned to steam, and then it steamed for 15 minutes
at 121 degree Celsius. However because the steam
Prevalence of MRSA – Ferrell
takes a bit to reach temperature, the flask stayed in
for 45-60 minutes instead of the 15 minutes. It was
taken out of the autoclave and put into the incubator
at 50 degree Celsius for an hour to cool. Once cooled
six micrograms of oxacillin was added to it, mixed
slowly. Then using the laminar flow hood and turning
the blower on (for sterilization purposes), the
Mannitol salt agar was poured into 40 plates (25 mL
each), left to cool with lid off, and then put into the
refrigerator until ready for sampling.
Before samples were taken, nutrient broth was
made to moisten the swabs to collect samples.
Approximately 13 grams of nutrient broth was
measured out and placed in one liter of water in a
flask. Then a stir bar was added and it was mixed.
Once mixed thoroughly the nutrient broth was put
into test tubes followed by sterile swabs in each test
tube. Then a cap was placed on each test tube. The
test tubes in racks were placed in the autoclave for
45-60 minutes at 121 degree Celsius for sterilization.
Once done the test tubes were placed in the
incubator at 37 degree Celsius until ready for
sampling.
The samples were taken at each location and on
materials mentioned earlier. The test tubes in racks
were taken to each location. The sterile technique
was used to swab each sample. The swab was
placed back into the test tube. When done the
samples were taken to the lab. In the laminar flow
hood the blower was turned on (for sterilization
purposes) and the Mannitol salt agar plates were
placed under the laminar flow hood with the lids off.
Then the cotton swabs were taken out of each test
tube and swabbed onto the Mannitol slat agar plates.
Once done and everything labeled the plated
samples were put into the incubator at 37*C (Ashlee
Jost, personal communication, Nov. 17, 2009). The
plates were watched for first sign of growth.
Next the Gram staining procedure including
transferring from plate to slide was done when
growth appeared on the plates. The gram stain
procedure steps followed were described by Ashlee
Jost (personal communication, Nov. 17, 2009). From
the Mannitol salt agar the samples were transferred
to a slide by using a loop and Bunsen burner for
sterilization. The loop was sterilized by the fire then a
swab of bacteria was taken from the plate and
smeared on the slide. The loop was re-sterilized by
the fire and placed under a running facet to catch a
drop of water. The water was smeared on the
bacteria. The loop was re-sterilized. The slide was
placed over the fire to dry and kill the bacteria. Next
the Gram staining procedure was done. This
procedure includes using crystal violet, iodine,
decolorizing solution, and safranin. Crystal violet was
placed on the slide for 30 seconds then rinsed with
water for five seconds. Second the iodine was placed
on the slide for one minute then rinsed with water for
five seconds. Third the decolorizing solution was
7
placed on the slide for 15 seconds then rinsed with
water for five seconds. And last the safranin was
placed on the slide for one minute then rinsed with
water for five seconds. When done the slides were
patted dry and ready to be looked at under a
microscope. Staphylococcus aureus is a Gram
positive bacterium with a cocci shape. And the Gram
staining will turn the gram positive bacteria purple. So
all samples that were purple and cocci shape
counted positive for MRSA and everything else was
counted negative for MRSA. The samples that were
positive for MRSA had two isolations done with a
gram stain following each. This was to make sure the
bacteria were gram positive and cocci shape. After
the two isolations, samples were isolated a third time
and sent to the Molecular Epidemiology Inc. (MEI) for
genetic identification to find out if the bacteria was
actually a Staphylococcus aureus strain.
So with all the materials and method procedures I
hope that my results will answer my senior research
question. If I do find MRSA in any environment
setting I will bring it to the attention of the
clinic/hospital and the college. Hopefully with the
information they can conduct a way to have their
equipment properly cleaned. This will help to
decrease the spread of MRSA both in the community
and health environments.
RESULTS
A total of 91 samples were collected at Melhorn and
a total of 91 samples collected at the clinic/hospital.
Samples were considered either positive or negative
for MRSA; such as gram negative (pink) bacteria or
rod shape bacteria were considered negative for
MRSA and no further research was done to identify
bacteria. Bacteria that fermented the Mannitol Salt
agar, which started as red, turning it yellow were
considered positive for MRSA. Further isolation was
done to these samples. Also the Gram stain
procedure was done to make sure it was gram
positive (purple) and cocci shape. Other samples that
had growth on Mannitol salt agar, but did not ferment
the agar were considered negative for MRSA.
According to the “Online Textbook of Bacteriology”
website; “Staphylococcus aureus forms a fairly large
yellow colony on rich medium.” Also from Jonathan
Frye, “the aureus in Staphylococcus aureus means
golden,” (Jonathan Frye, personal communication,
Jan. 11, 2011). There were a total of 15 fermented
(yellow) samples from the clinic/hospital. One sample
from the 15 fermented group was transferred to the
test tube with agar via sterile technique and sent to
the MEI to make sure the bacteria is really a
Staphylococcus aureus strain in MRSA. One sample
from the negative MRSA group was also transferred
to a test tube with agar and also sent in for
identification. This was done on curiosity of what
bacteria grew with oxacillin, but did not ferment. From
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the fermented group the 15 samples were from the
following places: Rm. 8 on door outside knob at
Clinic (C), Women’s Bathroom (WB) on Faucet Knob
(FK) at C, WB on door outside knob at C, 1st
Entrance door on outside knob at C, Men’s Bathroom
(MB) on Soap Dispenser (SD) at C, Rm. 4 on Exam
Table (ET) at C, Rm. 3 door inside knob at C, Rm. 1
door inside knob at C, Rm. 106 on door outside knob
at Hospital (H), MB on door inside knob at H, Rm.
118 on Toilet Knob (TK) at H, Rm. 116 on door
outside knob at H, Rm. 118 on Bed Table (BT) at H,
1st rail on Right side at H, and Rm. 119 door outside
knob at H.
When I received the results from the MEI it proved
that the 15 bacteria samples that fermented the agar
were indeed Staphylococcus aureus. So I can
confirm that our results are positive for MRSA. No
samples from the Melhorn group were sent to a
geneticist since the samples were considered too old
and I could not isolate live (from dead) bacteria or get
a pure isolation. Also for these samples I do not know
which bacteria fermented the agar. So unfortunately
Melhorn samples will not be compared to. Instead I
will compare my results from the family practice clinic
and hospital to Kelly Green’s results. Kelly Green
took samples (also looking for the prevalence of
MRSA) at a local elementary school. She had 43
samples out of 87 that fermented the Mannitol salt
agar. She also sent a sample to the MEI. When she
got the results she found that her bacteria samples
were also Staphylococcus aureus, confirming
positive for MRSA.
Comparing my results to Kelley’s we used the X^2
Goodness of Fit test to see if there is a significance in
finding MRSA and it was not just by random chance.
In the X^2 Goodness of Fit test there are observed
values and expected values. The observe values are
in Table 1. Positive values are how many samples
fermented the agar and have MRSA and the negative
values are how many samples didn’t ferment the
agar at each facility. The expected values are found
in Table 2. Next I plugged the observed and
expected values into the X^2
3). These values added together equaled 23.03.
There is 1 degree of freedom. Looking in the X^2
table with a critical value of 3.84 and a p-value of
0.05, 23.03 is close to 0.001 P-value, in the 95
percentile. This means that our results are too
significant to happen by chance alone. It is significant
because if MRSA was randomly distributed then the
frequency of MRSA would be equal everywhere. But
since it is much more frequent at the elementary
school then the clinic/hospital it makes the result
findings significant.
Next I found the percentages (Table 4) to compare
the prevalence. The prevalence of MRSA is more
prevalent in a community setting than a health care
setting. However it is not known of many children
from an elementary school getting a horrendous skin
infection. It is because children have a stronger
immune system to fight infection. It is more known of
people getting it in a clinic/hospital because patients
have a weak or weaker immune system. This is why
hospital patients are more susceptible to getting
MRSA.
DISCUSSION
MRSA is an increasing problem in the United States
causing many skin infections. It is a huge crisis in the
health/medical community causing “nearly 500,000
hospitalizations and 19,000 deaths a year in the
United States” (Schwarz, 2011). MRSA spreads
widely and fast that it is hard to treat. Many
antibiotics no longer work for MRSA due to its
growing resistant. But luckily now there is a study in
which a vaccine is being created to prevent MRSA.
The orthopaedic scientist at University of Rochester
Medical center have ”discovered an antibody that
reaches beyond the microbe’s surface and can stop
the MRSA bacteria from growing, at least in mice and
in cell cultures” (Schwarz, 2011). According to this
article “staph-infection is the leading cause of
Table 2. Expected
Values
(+)MRSA
Table 1. Observed
Values
(+)MRSA
(-)MRSA
Elementary School
43
44
Clinic/Hospital
15
91
Table 3. X^2 Goodness of Fit Equation (O-E)^2/O
Elementary
School
Clinic/
Hospital
Goodness of
(+)MRSA
(-)MRSA
(43-28.2)^2/28.2
(44-58.4)^2/58.4
=7.8
=3.6
(15-29.6)^2/29.6
(76-61.3)^2/61.3
=7.2
=3.5
Fit equation, Sum of (O-E)^2/E (Table
(-)MRSA
Elementary School
28.2
58.4
Clinic/ Hospital
29.6
61.3
Table 4. Percentages
(+)MRSA
(-)MRSA
(43/87)100 (44/87)100
Elementary School
=49.4%
=50.6%
(15/91)100 (76/91)100
Clinic/Hospital
=16.5%
=83.5%
osteomyelitis, a serious bacterial infection of the
bone” (Schwarz, 2011).In another study by the
University of Florida, they tested gym equipment at
Prevalence of MRSA – Ferrell
several fitness centers to see if MRSA was present.
They collected 240 samples before and after
cleanings, three times a day. Surprisingly, results
showed no MRSA or any staph-infection causing
bacteria. Kathleen Ryan believes it has to do with
people being more sanitary, she states, “People right
now are going around carrying their hand sanitizer in
their purse and they are hand-sanitizing everything
they touch. Maybe we don’t need to be quite that
worried like when you go to the gym and every time
you touch something it is a potential source of some
horrible bug” (2011). However it is still crucial that
people be cautious of what they touch.
In the Melhorn results I did not test before and
after cleaning to see if the prevalence of MRSA or
bacteria growth in general changed. The Melhorn
building is cleaned on a daily basis. This includes all
bathrooms, lecture halls, classrooms. From what I
have seen rooms are vacuumed/swept and mopped,
and hard surfaces are wiped down. However I do not
know what kinds of products are used to sanitize
surfaces. I do not know the cleaning routine(s) at the
elementary.
At the family practice clinic and hospital I do not
know how often the rooms are cleaned. I did observe
at the family practice clinic that the nurses wiped
down the exam table and pulled a new sheet over it
in between patients. But I did not notice
stethoscopes, hard surfaces, and door knobs being
cleaned at either facility in between patients. Also I
do not know how often restrooms are cleaned. I did
notice the doctor at the family practice clinic did
consistently wash her hands before and after
examining patients.
The results from the family practice clinic and the
hospital are positive for MRSA at each facility
confirmed through the MEI Staphylococcus was
present on the fermented plate samples. Now that I
am aware of the results I will use the information to
inform both health facilities that MRSA is a present
issue. Hopefully receiving this information, the health
facilities will take measure in fixing the problem.
Though the Melhorn results are not reliable, there
was still growth on several plates and some plates
were fermenting the agar. The college will be
informed also about taking new measures to insure
the bacterial problem decreases.
Some limitations I had were not being able to
sample at more locations. A broader demographic is
needed to truly confirm that the community is more
prevalent with MRSA. My results alone cannot say
100% that a community setting has a higher
prevalence than a health care setting. Along with this
more time would be needed to conduct testing at
various locations. Last testing cleaning methods
would have been valuable to see which work and
which do not. This will help people become aware of
how washing thoroughly is important to prevent
spreading.
9
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Dr. Jonathan Frye for his
guidance and patience throughout this whole
process. I want to thank a doctor and her staffs for
letting me use the family practice clinic and the
hospital to collect samples. I thank McPherson
College for letting me use their facilities and
equipment and for funding my research. Also I
thank Kelley Green for helping me and letting me
use her results to complete my research. Last I
want to thank Dr. Allan Ayella and the professors
of the Science Department for meeting with us and
pushing us to get our paper done!
LITERATURE CITED
Bacteria Absent from Gym Equip. Laboratory
Equipment. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/Newsbacteria-absent-from-gym-equip-030411.aspx
Del Giudice, P., V. Blanc, F. Durupt, M. Bes, J.
Martinez, E. Counillon, G. Lina, F. Vandenesch
and J. Etienne. 2006. Emergence of two
populations of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
aureus with distinct epidemiological, clinical and
biological features, isolated from patients with
community-acquired skin infections. British Journal
of Dermatology 154(1): 118-124.
Cimolai, N. 2008. MRSA and the Environment:
Implications for Comprehensive Control Measures.
European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and
Infectious Diseases 27(7): 481-493.
Chidi, O., A. Agwu, W. Akinpelu, R. Hammons, C.
Clark, R. Etienne-Cummings, P. Hill, R. Rothman,
S. Babalola, T. Ross, K. Carroll, and B. Asiyanola.
2009. Contamination of Equipment in Emergency
Settings: An Exploratory Study with a Targeted
Automated Intervention. Annals of Surgical
Innovation and Research 3(8).
Merlin, M.A., M.L. Wong, P.W. Pryor, and Kevin
Rynn. 2009. Prevalence of Methicillin-Resistant
Staphylococcus aureus on the Stethoscopes of
Emergency Medical Services Providers. ProQuest
13: 71-75.
Mongkolrattanothai, K., J.C Aldag, P. Mankin, and
B.M. Gray. 2009. Epidemiology of CommunityOnset Staphylococcus aureus Infections in
Pediatric Patients: An Experience at a Children’s
Hospital in Central Illinois. BMC Infectious
Diseases 9:112.
10
Cantaurus
Montgomery, K., T. Ryan, A. Krause, & C. Starkey.
2010. Assessment of Athletic Health Care Facility
Surfaces for MRSA in the Secondary School
Setting. Journal of Environmental Health 72(6): 811.
Moran, G.J., A. Krishnadasan, R.J. Gorwitz, G.
Fosheim, L. McDonald, R. Carey, and D. Talan.
2006. Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus Infections
among Patients in the Emergency Department.
The New England Journal of Medicine 355: 666674.
MRSA Infections. 2010. Center for Disease Control.
Retrieved October 31, 2010.
http://www.cdc.gov/mrsa/definition/index.html.
MRSA. Google Health. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
https://health.google.com/health/ref/MRSA
Schwarz, Edward, et al. 2011. Researchers Discover
Vaccine Route for MRSA. University of Rochester
Medical Center.
http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/Newsbacteria-absent-from-gym-equip030411.aspx?xmlmenuid=51
Staphylococcus aureus, Online Textbook of
Bacteriology. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
http://www.textbookofbacteriology.net/staph.html
Cantaurus, Vol. 19, 11-14, May 2011 © McPherson College Division of Science and Technology
Isolation, Characterization, and Quantitation of Isoxanthopterin from
Drosophila melanogaster Strains Wild Type and White Apricot
Austin Froese
ABSTRACT
Wild type Drosophila melanogasters’ eyes contain all six of the pteridines that help make up the color of the
eye. Not all mutant strains’ metabolic pathways function in a way that they can produce all of the pteridines like
the wild type. The pigment isoxanthopterin absorbs light in the ultra violet spectrum; this pigment allows
Drosophila melanogaster to see fluorescing pigments that humans are unable to, such as in some flowers. It is
also responsible for the red color that the majority of strains of Drosophila melanogaster have, even if in small
quantities. After decapitating the wild type and the mutant strain white apricot, they were crushed the flies’
heads, which are mostly made up of the eyes, onto separate pieces of chromatography paper, using a 1:1 ratio
of ammonium hydroxide and 2-propanol as a solvent, and allowed the isoxanthopterin to separate from the
other pigments present, the pigments were then extracted from the paper. After analysis of the pigment using
a UV-visible spectrophotometer, a standard curve was created in order to quantitate the amount of pigment
found in each of the two, wild type and the mutant white apricot, for. The amounts of isoxanthopterin in the two
varieties were similar revealing that wild type and white apricot mutants both must contain a xanthine
dehydrogenase enzyme that catalyzes a number of reactions in the metabolic pathways in Drosophila
melanogaster. The wild type average in the chromatogram using ten Drosophila melanogaster was 0.5820
ug/head while the white apricot value was 0.8163. The values for the chromatograms using 30 or more heads
for the wild type and white apricot were 0.2029 and 0.2036 respectively. The reaction pertinent to this study
was the formation of isoxanthopterin from 2-amino-4-hydroxypteridine and xanthopterin. This enzyme has
shown to be imperative in the formation of isoxanthopterin. Mutant strains of Drosophila melanogaster whose
eyes do not contain isoxanthopterin lack the ability to see in the blue-violet fluorescent spectrum and lack a
strong red color in the eyes.
Keywords: Catalyze, chromatography, Drosophila melanogaster, enzyme, isoxanthopterin, metabolic
pathways, mutants, pteridines, xanthine dehydrogenase.
INTRODUCTION
The eyes of some Drosophila melanogaster contain
fluorescent pteridines that were separated by paper
chromatography and characterized using UV visible
spectrophotometer. Comparing the pigments found
in the different colored eyes of Drosophila
melanogaster and the presence or lack thereof,
allowed for analyzes the spectrums at which wild and
mutant strains of Drosophila melanogaster can
absorb through their eyes. These biochemical
analyses can be instructive in evolutionary and
genetic studies.
Pteridines in Dropsophila
melanogaster have been researched by Rasmussen
and Scossirolli (1954), Rasmussen (1954, 1955),
Hubby and Throckmorton (1960), and Throckmorton
(1962). These authors have analyzed the presence
of pteridines in specific organs in Drosophila
melanogaster as well as similar species but have
found that these pigments are present in all wild eyes
species similar to Drosophila melanogaster. In the
mutant strains however, research has shown that
there is a relationship between the quantities of
pteridines in the internal organs and pigments found
in the eyes. (Hardon and Mitchell, 1951 and Hardon
1958)
Hardon and Mitchell studied the pigment
presence and quantity of the pteridine pigments in
different stages of the life cycle in Drosophila
melanogaster and also compared the pigment
differences in sex.
Using the heads of Drosophila melanogaster with
different eye colors, the pigments were separated
and characterized.
Using this information and
previous research, assumptions were made as to
what enzymes or compounds are absent in the
metabolic pathways that cause pteridines absence in
the mutant strains. If isoxanthopterin is present that
means that a xanthine dehydrogenase must be
present to catalyze reactions necessary to form
isoxanthopterin within the metabolic pathways
(Forrest et al, 1961). Drosophila melanogaster that
lack isoxanthopterin lack the ability to see in the
violet fluorescent spectrum and also lack a strong red
color in the eyes. By determining the presence and
quantity of isoxanthopterin in the wild type and white
apricot mutant strains of Drosophila melanogaster we
can potentially answer behavioral and metabolic
questions pertaining to possibly the most scientifically
studied organism ever.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Wild type and white apricot mutant strains were
12
Cantaurus
ordered from Carolina Biological Supply Company
and raised on Carolina Biological Supply Company’s
formula 4-24 instant Drosophila medium blue in a
incubator at approximately 25°C. The Drosophila
melanogaster were anaesthitized using Carolina fly
nap and the heads were removed using a sharp
scalpel under a Bauch and Lomb 0.7X – 3X
dissecting microscope until a minimum of 10 heads
was reached. The heads were then carefully put into
a line approximately 2cm above the bottom of
Whatman number 1 chromatography paper and
crushed and smeared with a glass rod directly onto
the chromatography paper. The papers were then
placed into a 100ml graduated cylinder that was
covered with Pechiney Plastic Packaging parafilm
“M” laboratory film and wrapped in tin foil to keep out
light. The solvent used was a 1:1 ratio of 2-propanol
and ammonium hydroxide and each run took
anywhere from six to nine hours. After the solvent
had nearly reached the top of the paper, the papers
were removed and wrapped in tin foil till extraction.
The papers were removed from the foil in a dark
room and allowed to dry for approximately 15 min.
Then using a UL 977C ultra-violet light set to
longwave (365nm) to see the violet isoxanthopterin
band. This band was cut out in its entirety and then
cut up into smaller pieces in the bottom of a test tube.
The pieces were then washed twice, first with 2ml of
solvent then again with 1ml of solvent measured with
a Gilson 1000ul adjustable pipette. These solutions
were then wrapped in foil and capped to prevent
outside light and evaporation from effecting volume
and concentration. A standard solution of
100,200ug/L was then made up and the standard
solution was used to calculate the percent extracted
for my samples. The standard solutions were applied
to the chromatography paper using a Gilson1000ul
adjustable pipet and put one drop on at a time and
allowed to dry before the next drop was applied to
keep the starting point of the solution on the paper as
small and concentrated as possible. From here the
extraction process was the same as the other
samples.
These solutions were then analyzed by a Varian
Cary Win UV-visible light spectrophotometer version
2.00 and software with the “scan” application to find
the wavelength of the peaks and absorbance values.
Using this data calculated a range for my
isoxanthopterin standards. The stock solution was
made up to be 100,200ug/L using ≥97.5% pure
isoxanthopterin obtained from Sigma-Aldrich. Using
this stock solution a set of standards were made, the
concentrations were as follows: 250ug/L, 500ug/L,
1000ug/L, 2000ug/L, 4000ug/L, and 8000ug/L and
were made up into 25ml volumetric flasks and a
Gilson 1000ul adjustable pipette.
Using these
standards and the Cary WinUV “concentration”
application a standard curve was set up at a
wavelength of 223.9nm, (the wavelength of the
standards’ peak), and calculated the concentration of
the samples, and mg of isoxanthopterin per head,
corrected by the percent extraction found from the
standard paper chromatography test.
This process was repeated with 10 to 39
Drosophila melanogaster heads per chromatogram of
wild and white apricot strains to show the
reproducibility of the experiment.
RESULTS
The Rf values for the paper chromatography had a
mean of 0.448±0.10 with a 95% confidence interval
and a standard deviation of 0.08245.
Using the absorptions from the samples the
concentration of each was calculated in accordance
with the calibration curve, which contained 6
standards ranging from 250ug/L to 8000ug/L and had
a correlation coefficient of 0.99731, and then the
average amount was found, in ug, of isoxanthopterin
in each of the Drosophila melanogasters’ heads.
Table 1: Statistical Data Analysis of Extractions
Type
Wild 1
Wild 2
W. Apricot
Wild
Wild
W. Apricot
# of
Heads
10
10
10
31
33
39
Abs.
0.3984
0.3632
0.5238
0.4550
0.3912
0.5102
Conc. ug/head
ug/L
2036
0.6108
1844
0.5532
2721
0.8163
2345
0.2269
1996
0.1788
2647
0.2036
The statistical analyses on the values from the
chromatograms containing ten wild type Drosophila
melanogaster heads and the values from the
chromatograms containing 31 and 33 wild type
Drosophila melanogaster heads separately due to
the fact that there were discrepancies in the ratios
between the two.
The standard deviation of the ug/head of the
chromatograms containing ten heads was 0.4101
and the mean was 6.314. The standard error of this
value was 0.2902. The standard deviation of the
ug/head of the chromatograms containing 31 and 33
heads was 1.584 and the mean was 6.47. The
standard error of this value was 1.120.
The percent extraction correction was not used
due to the fact that the data from the standards from
the chromatograms was inconclusive as to what a
correct percent extraction value would equal.
DISCUSSION
The values found for the confidence intervals from
Isolation, Characterization, and Quantitation of Isoxanthopterin. – Froese
the Rf values of the chromatograms are relatively
high. This could be due to the differing rates of
evaporation of the two compounds used in the
solvent causing the ratio of 2-propanol and
ammonium hydroxide to be ever changing. I also
believe that the white apricot chromatograms could
have had different Rf values due to the other
pigments present in the wild type chromatograms
that are not present in the white apricot mutant strain.
The average Rf value for the white apricot
chromatogram was 0.58 while the average Rf value
for the wild type was 0.415. Despite this relatively
large difference, when looking at the ultra-violet and
visible spectrum (210nm to 800nm) scans of these
two chromatogram bands I found that throughout the
entire scanned spectrum they are nearly identical
leading me to believe that they are in fact the same
molecule despite differing Rf values.
Since I did not have multiple white apricot samples
with a similar number of heads to run in the ultravilolet visible spectrophotometer, I could not do
statistical analyses on them. I did however do
statistical analyses on the two wild type
chromatograms containing ten heads and the
chromatograms containing 31 and 33 heads
separately. This data also lacks precision which is
hard to find the source of with the limited amount of
data I had available.
The numbers for the chromatograms containing 31
and 33 heads have significantly lower ug/head values
than the chromatograms containing ten heads. I
believe this flaw is not in my technique but a flaw in
this particular experimental design. I do not think it is
necessarily set up for finding quantitative values. If
trying to simply find the presence of a pigment, these
methods and materials are an accurate and efficient
means of doing so.
Possibilities of error could be in the extraction of
the pigment from the chromatogram paper. The
bands containing the pigment isoxanthopterin were
cut out of the paper and then were cut into small
pieces and placed in a test tube to which two
separate washings were carried out with a pipette by
adding the solvent to the test tube, stirring and
decanting the liquid off. If the concentration of
isoxantopterin was higher, such as in the 31 and 33
head samples, this type of washing could cause
more isoxanthopterin to remain in the test tube
containing the paper and not quantitatively been
removed. This would account for the different ug/L
values found in the chromatograms containg ten
heads and the ones containing 31 and 33 heads.
Also small number of samples and the age of the
Drosophila melanogaster could have played a role in
the relatively high error in values. While I did not find
any evidence of age being a factor in other scientific
research, in looking at the Drosophila melanogasters
through the microscope, it was evident that the
younger looking samples’ eyes did have more of a
13
visible red color than the older looking specimens.
This type of error would most likely been eliminated if
more data had been collected.
In conclusion, despite the error in this
experimental design, I do trust the values found in
this research enough to conclude that the white
apricot mutant strain and the wild type do both
contain the pigment isoxanthopterin.
This also
proves the presence of a xanthine dehyrogenase
enzyme needed to catalyze reactions in the
metabolic pathways of Drosophila melanogaster in
order to create the pigment isoxanthopterin (Forrest
et al, 1961). I also believe that the white apricot
mutant strain does, in fact, contain more of the
isoxantopterin pigment than the wild type as my
figures do show.
I would like to encourage others to attempt to
make improvements to this experimental design or
adjust the number of Drosophila melanogaster heads
used in an attempt to obtain quantitative data of the
amounts of isoxanthopterin in the eyes of Drosophila
melanogaster strains.
AKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank McPherson College for the use
of their equipment and resources and the science
faculty for all the guidance and assistance they
have generously provided.
LITERATURE CITED
Baglioni, C. 1959. Two New Pteridine Pigments in
Drosophila melanogaster. Kurze Mitteilungen. 15.
XII. pp. 465-467.
Forrest, H. S., E. W. Hanly, and J. M. Lagowski.
1961. Biochemical Differences Between the
Mutants Rosy-2 and Maroon-like of Drosophila
melanogaster. Genetics 46: 1455-1463.
Glassman, E., and H. K. Mitchell. 1958. Mutants of
Drosophila melanogaster Deficient in Xanthine
Dehydrogenase. Fellow in Cancer Research of
the American Cancer Society, pp. 153-162.
Gregg, T. G., and L. A. Smucker. 1965. Pteridines
and Gene Homologies in the Eye Color Mutants of
Drosophila hydei and Drosophila melanogaster.
Genetics: 52 1023-1034.
Hardon, E., and H. K. Mitchell. 1951. Properties of
Mutants of Drosophila melanogaster and Changes
During Development as Revealed by Paper
Chromatography. Genetics: 37 650-655.
Hubby, J. L., and L. H. Throckmorton. 1959.
Evolution and Pteridine Metabolism in the Genus
Drosophila. Genetics: 46: 65-78.
14
Cantaurus
Wiederrecht, G. J., D. R. Paton, and G. M. Brown.
1981. The Isolation of an Intermediate Involved in
the Synthesis of Drosopterin in Drosophila
melanogaster. The Journal of Biological
Chemistry. Vol: 256(20): 10399-10402.
Cantaurus, Vol. 19, 15-18, May 2011 © McPherson College Division of Science and Technology
What is the Prevalence of MRSA in an Elementary School Setting
Compared to a Hospital Setting?
Kelley Green
ABSTRACT
Staphylococcus aureus and more specifically Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was once
known to be a hospital acquired bacteria. MRSA has now been found in community settings that can pose as a
problem for controlling the bacteria. This study was done to determine the prevalence of MRSA in an
Elementary school setting compared to a Hospital setting. There were 100 samples collected from the
Elementary school and 91 samples collected from the Hospital all of inanimate objects. The testing of the
samples were done using Mannitol Salt Agar containing oxacillin for the growth of the bacteria, and then a
Gram staining procedure to confirm if the bacteria from the plates were Gram positive or negative. The plates
of agar were then distributed into two different groups, yellow plates and pink plates. The yellow plates were
assumed to be positive for MRSA and the pink plates were negative. Samples from one yellow plate and one
pink plate were then sent to Molecular Epidemiology Inc. where the bacteria were confirmed to be MRSA and
Corynebacterium mucifaciens. Next, a chi square analysis was done to determine the significant difference
between the two different sites tested. The value 23.03 calculated, was greater than the critical value 3.84,
therefore the number of positive results was not due to random chance alone. The statistical test showed that
49% out of the total Elementary samples tested positive, 74% of all positive results from both sites were from
the Elementary school, and 32.6% of the 178 samples taken tested positive for MRSA. The results show that
MRSA is present in communities but it does not affect everyone. The 32.6% was lower than the numbers
found in similar studies done. The spread of MRSA can be prevented by simply washing hands and keeping
open cuts and scrapes clean and covered.
Keywords: Community acquired MRSA, gram negative and positive, isolation, methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus, prevalence.
INTRODUCTION
Care facilities and hospitals are a source for many
different kinds of bacteria that cause infections that
are spread from one person to another. Because
bacteria are extremely hard to see with the naked
eye, we are unaware of them lurking all around us.
Hospitals have been battling Methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) since it was first
identified in 1960’s (Capriotti, 2003).
This
nosocomial microbe (HA-MRSA) is a very serious
problem in intensive care unit patients, due to the
open wounds and contact with doctors and nurses,
who may transfer the bacteria from patient to patient.
Not only is this affecting healthcare facilities, it has
now made its way into the community as well.
MRSA has become a community acquired (CAMRSA) infection, meaning that it has now spread its
colonies from hospitals into public facilities and also
nursing homes. MRSA is defined as community
acquired if the MRSA-positive specimen was
obtained outside hospital settings or within two days
of hospital admission, or if it was from a person who
had not been hospitalized within two years before the
data of MRSA isolation (Salmenlinna, 2002). MRSA
is a type of staphylococcal bacteria that is resistant to
methicillin and other antibiotics. The infection occurs
more frequently in people who have a weakened
immune system and a history of hospitalization or
nursing home residence within the past year (Weber,
2008). The problem that has kept researchers and
medical facilities active is how quickly MRSA has
developed a resistance to antibiotics.
Currently, MRSA is resistant to amoxicillin,
omacillin, penicillin, and methicillin (Jost, 2010).
What makes the bacteria resistant to the current
antibiotics is its ability to develop a new genetic
makeup that allows the bacteria to grow and
reproduce over the antibiotic. Researchers are
working to eliminate the bacteria’s ability to develop
resistance to antibiotics by suggesting that selection
and administration of antibiotics be efficient and used
correctly (Weber, 2008).
There is little knowledge about community
acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA). Therefore, my project
goal is to test the prevalence of MRSA at McPherson
College as well as Eisenhower Elementary School at
different locations. Other studies, involving MRSA,
have been done by fellow students. A previous
student at McPherson College had designed a study
that tested McPherson students, using their
fingerprints, to determine if a person was positive for
being a carrier of MRSA (Jost, 2010). Jost was able
to calculate the number of carriers on campus and
proposed ways to prevent infections to others. The
study I have designed will help to provide a better
16
Cantaurus
understanding to the spread of MRSA not only from
organism to organism, but through affected surfaces
as well, in a hope to prevent a further spread.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The purpose of this study was to determine the
prevalence
of
MRSA
(Methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus) in communities through two
different schools. The two locations chosen for this
study were Eisenhower Elementary, primarily
because the school was familiar to the researcher
and it was similar in size to the Melhorn Science Hall,
located on McPherson College’s campus that was
used for the second location. The principal, as well
as the custodian of the elementary school were
informed of the study and all details involving the
sampling. There were approximately 100 samples
taken from similar locations in Melhorn and
Eisenhower.
The testing was done over a four month period
that allowed enough time to sufficiently collect all the
samples and analyze them. To collect the samples
in Melhorn, the work was divided between a fellow
researcher, who was also testing for MRSA in the
same location. This took one month to complete.
The samples taken at Eisenhower were done over
two different days that allowed a separation between
samples when isolating and gram staining.
The sites that were chosen within the Elementary
school and College settings needed to have a great
amount of contact with people daily. In this study,
door knobs, hard surfaces, bathrooms, and a
computer lab were used as the testing sites (Shanks,
et al., 2009). In order to obtain the samples, Nutrient
Broth was made the day before with swabs that were
autoclaved, to ensure the broth and the swabs were
sterile so other bacteria and outside factors did not
contaminate the study. The Nutrient Broth was
suggested instead of a saline solution to simplify the
sampling process. The Nutrient Broth (13 g/ 1 L)
provided an environment for any bacteria that was
collected to grow. The techniques used in this study
for gathering the samples were used by the
Department of Biology and Health Sciences of Pace
University (Shanks, 2009).
Each sample was
retrieved with a sterile swab soaked with nutrient
broth, rotating the swab across the same size of area
each time. There were three-five sites within each
location that were swabbed (Montgomery, et al.,
2010). The swabs were then placed back into the
sterile broth and placed in the incubator at 37°C for
48 hrs. After 48 hours of incubation, the mannitol salt
agar was made and put into the plates. The agar
was measured out in g/ml and then placed in to a
beaker of water that measured in millimeters. The
beaker with the agar and water was placed on a hot
plate, where the solution was mixed with a stirring
rod and heated with the hot plate. Once the solution
started to boil, the beaker was then taken off of the
hot plate and was covered with tin foil. Next, the
beaker was put into an autoclave for 50-55 min at a
temperature of 250°F ~ 121°C. After the agar was
autoclaved, it was left to cool in an incubator set at
45°C for 45 min and then the oxacillin was added to
the agar and the plates were poured. BBL mannitol
salt agar plates were made (111g/ 1L) and mixed
with 6 µg/ml of oxacillin sodium salt, then the
samples were transferred to the plates and incubated
at 37°C for 24-48 hours.
After the plates had been incubated the bacterial
colonies and changed the color of the agar from red
to yellow, this proved the bacteria to be MRSA
positive. The plates that were a brighter pink with
bacterial growth are presumed to be negative for the
MRSA bacteria. The plates were then grouped in to
yellow and pink plates. From the two groups only
one plate from each group was used for the isolation
and gram staining procedures. The isolations were
done using a Ni-chrome wire loop that was heated
with a Bunsen burner to help insure that no other
bacteria were transferred to the plates.
A single
colony was transferred from the growth plate to
another plate that contained the same mannitol salt
agar and oxacillin mixture. The isolations were then
incubated at 37°C until growth appeared. The red
color of the agar for the isolations again turned yellow
for the positive MRSA and bright pink for the negative
MRSA. These isolations were gram stained using
crystal violet, alcohol decolorizer, iodine solution and
safranin solution, to check for the purple, cocci shape
bacteria.
The slides were done using a four step
Gram staining procedure (Jost, 2010).
Once all the data were collected and assessed for
the areas that tested positive for MRSA, the
statistical analysis was evaluated using the chi
square goodness of fit test.
RESULTS
The Gram staining procedure provided two different
results. There were Gram positive, purple colored,
cocci, and Gram negative, pink colored, rod shaped.
The main difference between the two Gram
bacterium is due to the structure of the bacterial cell
wall.
Gram positive bacteria have a cell wall
containing a thick layer of peptidoglycan that allows
the crystal violet to penetrate the bacterium during
the staining procedure but also keeps the solution
from escaping or being washed out.
In Gram
negative bacteria, the cell walls lack the
peptidoglycan which makes it impossible for the
crystal violet to stain the bacterium and this is why
they stain pink from the final safranin stain.
There were a total of 91 samples taken from the
McPherson College Melhorn Science Hall, and a total
of 100 samples from Eisenhower Elementary School.
Accounted for in the number of yellow agar plates vs.
Prevalence of MRSA in a Community vs. Hospital – Green
the pink plates in the Elementary samples, there
were 43 yellow plates, and 44 pink plates. Out of the
100 samples there were 13 plates that were not
applicable due to no growth or the growth of a fungus
that consumed the plates. Therefore, 87 plates were
used for the testing.
The samples from the
Elementary School, both the yellow and pink plates,
were sent to Molecular Epidemiology Inc. for testing
along with the samples from another student who
tested a Hospital for MRSA. Due to the mishap with
the Melhorn samples, we were unable to have the
samples taken from the College, tested due to the
mistake of letting them sit for months after the
isolations and Gram stain tests were completed, so
they have been disregarded and the Elementary
results were compared to the Hospital results done
by a fellow student. There were 91 samples taken
from the Hospital site.
Table 1. Shows the totals and percentages of MRSA
Total # of
Locations
(+) MRSA (-) MRSA
Samples
Elementary
43
44
School
49%,74% 50%,36%
87
Hospital
15
76
Setting
16%,25% 83%,63%
91
Total # of
58
120
Samples
32.6%
67.4%
178
The results from Molecular Epidemiology Inc.
showed the yellow plates tested positive for
Staphylococcus aureus, and the pink plates were
Corynebacterium mucifaciens.
The results are
shown in Table 1. Out of the 87 samples taken from
the Elementary school, 49% of the samples were
positive for MRSA and 50% were negative for MRSA.
The samples from the Hospital showed that 16% of
the 91 samples were positive and 83% were
negative. When you look at the total positive results
found, 74% of that total is from the Elementary
school alone, and only 36% account for the total of
negative results found between the two different
locations. The percentage for the total number of
surfaces testing positive out of 178 total samples was
32.6% of all surfaces, tested positive for MRSA. The
chi square analysis performed had a value of 23.03,
with one for the number of degrees of freedom. This
value of 23.03 was much greater than the critical
value of 3.84 therefore this means that the number of
positive results was not due to random chance alone.
DISCUSSION
The point of this study was to determine the
prevalence of CA-MRSA in both an Elementary
school and Hospital setting on inanimate objects.
In a similar study, done at nine different secondary
school settings, Montgomery (2010) tested surfaces
17
in athletic health care facilities for MRSA. He found
46.7% of all surfaces tested positive for MRSA and
also that 90% of facilities had two or most surfaces
showing positive results (Montgomery, 2010). In
comparison to the study done with the Elementary
school and Hospital, 32.6% was lower but close to
the percentage they found of all surfaces testing
positive for MRSA. The comparison to the study
performed, at the facilities sampled things such as;
water coolers, treatment tables, locker room sink and
shower faucet handles, moist heat units, biohazard
containers, ice machine, and doorknobs in and out of
the facilities. The handles to the sink faucets
resulted in testing positive for 50%. There were 10
different doorknobs that were samples as well and
none of them tested positive for MRSA.
This study showed that MRSA is present in
communities like schools and Hospitals. However,
this does not mean that everyone is at a high risk of
getting the bacteria. Students with weak immune
systems are more likely to acquire the bacteria as
well as those with open and unattended cuts and
scrapes. The bacteria are present and should be
made aware to the community so the bacteria can be
controlled and not allowed to spread.
Ways to prevent the spread of the CA-MRSA
involve the simple task of washing hands. According
to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) avoid
coming into contact with others wounds and
bandages, keep cuts and scrapes clean, and do not
share personal items like towels and razors. They
also suggest that you keep all surfaces within a high
traffic area disinfected and kept clean.
This study could also be done at any facility where
there is a high traffic area like cafeterias, libraries,
weight rooms, gyms etc. Jost suggested that Testing
for MRSA through a nasal swab is another method
that could be used. In her study she also concluded
that MRSA carriers are more common in older
persons. Testing inanimate objects and or places
were elders are found on a common bases of some
sort may result in an increase of MRSA findings.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the McPherson College Science
Department for allowing me to use their equipment
and materials to complete my project. I would also
like to thank Dr. Frye for all of his help and
guidance throughout my entire project as well as
Dr. Ayella for his helpful assistance, Eisenhower
Elementary School, Melhorn Science Hall and the
Hospital for participating in the sampling process
of inanimate objects in their facilities. Last but not
least, I would like to thank Karissa for all of her
time and effort she helped put into the Melhorn
samples that we gathered together.
18
Cantaurus
LITERATURE CITED
Capriotti, T. 2003. Preventing Nosocomial Spread of
MRSA Is in Your Hands. MEDSURG Nursing Vol.
12(3):193-196
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. 9 Aug.
2010. Prevention of MRSA Infections.
http://www.cdc.gov/mrsa/prevent/index.html (12
Jan, 2011).
Jost, A. 2010. What is the Prevalence of MRSA
Carriers in the McPherson College Student
Population? Cantaurus 18:12-15.
Montgomery, K, T Ryan, a Krause, C Starkey. 2010.
Assessment of Athletic Health Care Facility
Surfaces for MRSA in the Secondary School
Setting. Journal of Environmental Health 72(6):
8-11.
Salmeninna, S, O Lyytikainen. and J Vuopio-Varkila
2002. CDC: Community-Acquired MethicillinResistant Staphylococcus aureus. 8(6).
Shanks, R.C., Peteroy-Kelly, A Marcy. 2009.
Analysis of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria
found at various sites on surfaces in an urban
university. BIOS 80(3):105-113.
Weber, J. Carol. 2008. Infectious Dis-EASE: Update
on Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA).Urologic Nursing 28(2):143-145.
Cantaurus, Vol. 19, 19-22, May 2011 © McPherson College Division of Science and Technology
Quantitative Survey of Zebra Mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) Within
Wilson Lake and Kanopolis Lake
Zachery D. Hlad
ABSTRACT
Zebra mussels, Dreissena polymorpha, are a non-native invasive species that are capable of causing
substantial ecological and economic damage. They have been spreading throughout the United States since
1986. Research was conducted at Wilson Lake and Kanopolis Lake in Kansas to develop a better
understanding of the habitats that zebra mussels prefer to infest. A rocky, sandy, and Marina habitat, were
chosen at both lakes. A total of six locations, three in each lake were studied in this report. Five samples were
taken at each location on two different dates, the first being in September and the second in December. The
samples were analyzed to determine a population difference in habitats for the zebra mussels. It was
concluded that zebra mussels were present in Wilson Lake at the “rocky” habitat and the Marina. However, the
“rocky” habitat had a more established population with a mean value of 242.00 ± 17.74 in comparison to the
Marina with a value of 119.30 ± 8.38. However, the sandy habitat at Wilson Lake did not show any signs of
zebra mussel inhabitation. No zebra mussels were found at any of the Kanopolis Lake sampling areas.
Keywords: Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha), Wilson Lake, Kanopolis Lake.
INTRODUCTION
The zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) is a small
mollusk native to Europe and Asia. It was first
introduced, most likely inadvertently, to the United
States around 1985. They were first detected in the
Great Lakes, but since then, the zebra mussels have
been spreading to other parts of the country.
Currently, they are present in all of the Great Lakes,
many rivers, and 230 other lakes through the United
States (Benson 2010).
Since introduction of
Dreissena polymorpha to Kansas in 2001, they have
infested 18 different bodies of water including Marion
Reservoir, Milford Lake, Cheney Reservoir, and the
Missouri River. Any species introduced into a new
environment can potentially cause problems within
the ecosystem, but zebra mussels are capable of
causing both ecologic and economic problems.
Dreissena polymorpha reproduce at such a high rate
that one mature female can produce up to one million
eggs within a lifetime.
They obstruct irrigation
systems, boat motors, as well as disrupt the natural
ecosystem (KDHE 2003). Several methods to rid the
lakes of these invaders have been proposed, such as
chemical treatments and introduction of a predator,
but both could cause negative impacts on the lake.
Chemical treatment can interfere with other species
within the ecosystem along with humans that partake
in the lake. The most effective method is prevention.
Preventing the further spread of Dreissena
polymorpha can be done by washing boats with
warm water and soap immediately following removal
from an inhabited lake. (Benson 2010) Also, by not
transporting water from one infested body of water to
another (Benson 2010).
Figure 1. The outbreak of Dreissena polymorpha
throughout the United States is shown on this map.
It is important to recognize the habits of this
invasive species in order to understand the effects on
the ecosystem of the lake.
“Zebra mussels
[Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas)] provide an example
of an invasive species that influences community
structure and ecosystem function of lakes due to
rapid establishment and high filtering capacity”
(Naddafi 2007).
Several different models of zebra mussel
population dynamics have been proposed. One
being that the invader will develop slowly, and then
increase rapidly until some equilibrium is reached
(Burlakova 2006). Another, known as “boom and
bust,” suggests a collapse following an extremely
high density (Burlakova 2006). The first step in
distinguishing these organisms is examining
population dynamics. In this study, density
20
Cantaurus
measurements were taken from different locations on
Wilson and Kanopolis Lakes.
Using those
measurements,
an
average
population
per
environment was derived. The purpose of this
experiment was to develop an understanding of what
environments Dreissena polymorpha prefer to
develop in, and use that information to slow, stop or
even eliminate this non-native species from our
lakes. Education regarding this invasive species is
vital to controlling the outbreak in the United States.
With the information gathered, I hope to educate the
public on proper techniques to stop the spread of
mussels, while also providing more data for
development of a remedy to this growing problem.
other lake. With the help of the park managers from
Wilson and Kanopolis, I decided on a “sandy” area
(Venango Beach and Tower Beach), a “rocky” area
(Boldt Bluff Access and Hell Creek Bridge) and the
marinas (Tower Harbor Marina and Lake Wilson
Marina) from each lake.
C
MATERIALS AND METHODS
B
Permission was obtained from the US Army Corps of
Engineers for completion of this experiment. My
points of contact were Nolan Fisher park manager of
Wilson Lake, Lester Tacha park manager of
Kanopolis Lake, and Dan Hays operations manager
of Wilson and Kanopolis Lake. Additionally, Lester
Tacha was consulted for habitat suggestions. The
experiment was conducted at Wilson Lake which is
located in Russell County, Kansas and Kanopolis
Lake in Ellsworth County. Wilson Lake has an
average depth of 24 feet, surface area of 9,020
acres, and it is located on the Saline River,
controlling a drainage area of 1,917 square miles.
Kanopolis Lake, on the other hand, has an average
depth of 19 feet, surface area of 3,406 acres, and is
located on the Smoky Hill River and controls a
drainage area of 7,860 square miles. A measurable
population of Dreissena polymorpha was found in
Wilson Lake in 2009. Due to the recent finding of
these invaders, the population has not reached the
equilibrium that is often times met after introduction
to a new location. Kanopolis Lake is still uninhabited
by Dreissena polymorpha.
A
Figure 3. The sampling locations, Hell Creek Bridge
(A), Wilson Lake Marina (B), and Wilson Lake Tower
(C) can be found in this map of Wilson Lake.
A
C
B
Figure 4. The sampling locations, Boldt Bluff Access
(A), Tower Harbor Marina (B), and Venango Beach
(C), can be found in this map of Kanopolis Lake.
Figure 2. The two sampling locations, Wilson Lake
and Kanopolis Lake, can be seen on this map of
Kansas.
All samples were taken at three locations along
the shoreline of each lake. The 3 locations were
chosen in an attempt to resemble a location from the
The methods outlined in the USACE report for
zebra mussel abundance prepared by the National
Park Service were used to derive the methods for
this study. From the three predetermined locations,
five quadrants (1/8 m2) were thrown randomly. All
material within each quadrant to fingers depth was
Zebra Mussel Survey at Wilson Lake and Kanopolis Lake – Hlad
collected in a plastic pail with small holes
approximately 3mm in diameter drilled in bottom to
release water. The contents of the pail were then
transferred to a plastic Ziploc bag labeled for each
quadrant. Samples collected from each quadrant
were labeled and stored in a cooler for later analysis.
After going through the initial filtering process, each
sample from each quadrant was examined
separately to determine the exact number of zebra
mussels in each sample. Photos and descriptions of
Driessena polymorpha were used to determine the
species present within the samples.
Several weeks after the secondary sampling,
water was released from the Kanopolis Lake
reservoir exposing much of the shoreline.
A follow up observation was completed by walking
the shorelines and examining for the presence of
zebra mussels and none were found.
RESULTS
After each sample was collected and counted, the
data was analyzed using SigmaStat. Each set of
data was run through a descriptive statistics test.
Because zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha)
were not discovered at Kanopolis Lake during
testing, Those samples were excluded from
SigmaStat analysis.
The samples taken from Hell Creek Bridge at
Wilson Lake on 9/22/10 had a mean value of 253.2 ±
43.57. While the samples taken on 12/11/10 had a
mean value of 230.8 ± 69.77.
Wilson Lake Marina samples had a mean value of
120.6 ± 30.80 and 118 ± 25.03 respectively. The
overall small size of the zebra mussel combined with
relatively small amount of samples that were taken
are the cause of the large standard deviations
associated with the Wilson Lake Marina and Hell
Dreissena
polymorpha Values in Wilson Lake
Creek Bridge
values.
350
Zebra Mussel count
300
250
Hell Creek Bridge
200
150
Wilson Lake Marina
100
50
Wilson Lake Tower
0
1
2
3
Sampling Locations
Plot 1
Figure 5. The values of Dreissena polymorpha found in
the sampling locations at Wilson Lake also described in
the text. The error bars show the standard deviation
associated with each value.
21
Samples taken from the Wilson Lake Tower were
also uninhabited by zebra mussels. This is most
likely due to the terrain at this location. The Wilson
Lake Tower provides a sandy environment that
Dreissena polymorpha seem to have difficulty
establishing in.
DISCUSSION
The Hell Creek Bridge location at Wilson Lake had a
much larger overall mean value than the other
locations. This large value is most likely due to the
habitat that makes up that location. Hell Creek
Bridge is an extremely rocky area with little sand.
The zebra mussels at this location were stacked
several layers high. This could be reflective upon the
environment or the duration they have inhabited that
particular location.
Samples taken at Wilson Lake Marina had a mean
value much lower than the Hell Creek Bridge
samples. Sampling at this location was slightly
different from the others because the mussels were
removed from the flotation supporting the docks.
This means that the zebra mussels were under little
water and their exposure was dependent on the lake
elevation. I assumed the counts at the Marinas
would be much lower than the other areas but
sampled them due to the high boat traffic that enters
and leaves the marinas. The zebra mussels here
were only a couple layers thick leading me to believe
that the population had not been there as long as the
Hell Creek Bridge mussels or they did not prefer this
area in comparison to the rocky area.
Wilson Lake Tower results were somewhat
surprising. The values were anticipated to be much
lower due to the environment, but were not expected
to be nonexistent. This could be a result of the zebra
mussels’ habitat requirements or my sampling
techniques. Some of the Dreissena polymorpha are
so small that it would be difficult to detect them by
sifting through wet sand.
After the analysis of all my samples of Kanopolis
Lake, no Dreissena polymorpha were detected. This
makes Kanopolis one of the last lakes in the area to
still be uninhabited. With the surrounding lakes being
infected and the high amount of visitation that occurs
at Kanopolis Lake, the infestation of zebra mussels is
probable.
For further research, I would suggest an increased
amount of samples per location. This would allow for
a more accurate mean value and standard deviation.
The relative size of zebra mussels in comparison to
the sampling location made it very difficult to get
consistent values. I would also sample at completely
random locations if possible. Meaning, I would not
constrict the sampling locations to only on the
shoreline. That would enable one to estimate a total
population of Dreissena polymorpha for the entire
lake. It would also be interesting to expand the
22
Cantaurus
environments that are sampled to include submerged
objects such as trees. I believe these few changes
would make a considerable difference in the outcome
of the experiment.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Dr. Van Asselt and Dr. Ayella for
their guidance and support throughout the course
of my project, as well as the staff at Kanopolis
Lake and Wilson Lake for their input. Also, I
would like to thank McPherson College Natural
Science Department for funding my research and
the use of their facilities. Lastly, I would like to
thank my brother, Kyle Hlad, for his help
throughout this process.
LITERATURE CITED
Benson, A. J. and D. Raikow. (2011). Dreissena
polymorpha. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic
Species Database, Gainesville, FL.
<http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?sp
eciesID=5> RevisionDate: 7/8/2010
Burlakova, L. E. (2006). Changes in the distribution
and abundance of dreissena polymorpha within
lakes through time. Hydrobiologia, 571, 133-146.
KDHE. (2003). Zebra mussel: their inevitable arrival
in kansas. Kansas Department of Health and
Environment, Retrieved from <http://www.kdheks.
gov/befs/download/zebra_mussel_article.pdf>
Naddafi, R. (2007). The Effect of seasonal variation
in selective feeding by zebra mussels (dreissena
polymorpha)
on
phytoplankton
community
composition. Freshwater Biology, 52, 823-842.
National, P.S. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St.
Paul District. (2006). Quantitative assessment of
zebra mussels at native mussels beds in the lower
st. croix river. St. Croix Falls, WI: National Park
Service.
Cantaurus, Vol. 19, 23-25, May 2011 © McPherson College Division of Science and Technology
A Comparison of the Prevalence of Tinea Pedis in the Morrison and
Bittinger Shower Drains of McPherson College
Dylan Jandreau
ABSTRACT
Tinea pedis is the fungus that is responsible for causing athlete’s foot. Athlete’s foot is when the foot begins to
itch, burn, crack, hurt and bleed. This can be very uncomfortable for the person. Athlete’s foot can be spread
through direct contact of the skin or by indirect contact through other objects, such as towels and floors. The
purpose of this experiment was to compare the prevalence of Tinea pedis in the Morrison and Bittinger shower
drains of McPherson College. This was done by collecting a sample from each of the shower drains and then
by growing this sample in a petri dish of Sabouraud agar. I collected samples from all thirty-two showers.
There were sixteen showers in each dorm. The samples were then placed into a thirty-seven degree incubator
and left to grow for two weeks. Once this time had passed a simple crystal violet stain was performed on each
sample. The samples were then examined under a microscope to identify whether the sample was fungal or
bacterial. This examination revealed that of all the showers sampled only one contained fungus.
Keywords: Tinea pedis, athlete’s foot, fungus, shower, shower drain, Morrison, Bittinger, McPherson College.
INTRODUCTION
Tinea pedis which is more commonly known as
athlete’s foot is a fungus that can affect anyone.
Most people typically think of Tinea pedis as a fungus
that can only affect people who play sports, however
this is not the case. People are at risk of developing
Tinea pedis if they wear shoes. When people wear
shoes their feet rub on the shoes and create friction.
The friction creates sweat that helps create the ideal
environment for Tinea pedis to grow in. Another
factor that increases the chances of developing Tinea
pedis is the use of communal showers. This is
another reason that people typically think of athletes
as being the ones who develop Tinea pedis. So with
these risk factors in mind I want to discover and
compare the prevalence of Tinea pedis in the
Morrison and Bittinger Hall shower drains.
Many people have an idea of what Tinea pedis is
but they do not fully understand what it is. People
think that it is just an itching of the foot, and while this
is part of what Tinea pedis is it is not the whole fungal
infection. Tinea pedis has many symptoms that
include: dry skin, itching, burning, cracking, pain, and
bleeding (Athlete’s Foot, 2010). Tinea pedis is not
something that should be taken lightly as it is a fungal
infection that can be spread through contact either
directly or indirectlty. If you use a shower that a
person with Tinea pedis has recently used then you
could obtain Tinea pedis yourself.
According to a study done by Field (2008) it has
been observed that a higher number of Tinea pedis
cases exist among athletes. This could be caused
because athletes are sweating from their feet and
creating an ideal environment for the fungus to grow.
The athletes are also creating a lot of friction that
helps cause Tinea pedis (Field 2008). To determine if
Tinea pedis is present in the showers I will use a
method similar to Albert (2007). I will make some
slight adjustments due to the fact that I will not be
using skin samples to test for Tinea pedis (Albert,
2007).
The purpose of this experiment is to discover
whether or not Tinea pedis even exists in the
showers. If it does exist there is it more prevalent in
an all male or all female dorm. I think this will be
valuable information for people who live in these
dorms. If I do discover a significant amount of Tinea
pedis present then this will be valuable to McPherson
College so that they can address their cleaning
methods in the showers.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
To determine if Tinea pedis is present in the
showers I will use a method similar Albert (2007). I
will make some slight adjustments due to the fact that
I will not be using skin samples to test for Tinea pedis
(Albert, 2007).
The materials that were needed included: sterile
cotton swabs, Sabouraud agar, markers, thirtyseven degree incubator, test tubes, petri dishes,
autoclave, slides, crystal violet stain, and a
microscope.
The first step to perform in this experiment was to
obtain the permission of McPherson College. The
permission of the college was needed as this could
be an ethical issue since it deals with the students
and their personal health. The next step that was
performed was to find out what time the bathrooms
were cleaned and then determine what time the
samples would be taken from the bathrooms. The
next step was to go and collect the samples. The
samples were taken by using sterile cotton swabs
24
Cantaurus
and sticking them down into the shower drain and
rubbing them around. After this was done the cotton
swab was then be placed into a sterile test tube. The
end of the cotton swab that has the sample on it was
then cut and placed on the agar. The agar that was
used was Sabouraud agar and it was prepared by
following the instructions on the bottle. Then the
sample was labeled with correct information. Once
the sample had been obtained it would need to be
tested for Tinea pedis. To test for Tinea pedis the
sample was placed in an incubator set to thirty-seven
degrees Celsius so that the fungi could grow. After
two weeks in time had passed the sample was
removed from the incubator. After the fungus had a
chance to grow on the agar it was helpful to perform
a simple gram-stain in order to help confirm that
Tinea pedis was the fungus that was present in the
showers. This made it easier to see and identify the
fungus. This was done by taking a small amount of
the growth from each plate and placing it on
individual slides. After placing the culture on the
slide it is necessary to dry or fix the culture over a
gentle flame. The next step was to add the stain.
Once the slides were stained they were examined
under a microscope. This is when each slide was
classified as bacterial or fungal. Once the amount of
shower drains containing fungus was determined a χ2
Test of Homogeneity was performed. For this test the
critical value was 0.05 and the degree of freedom
was one (LeBlanc, 2008).
RESULTS
After collecting and plating all of the samples I
needed to use a microscope to further examine them.
I sampled from two dorms and from thirty-two
showers. Through further examination I was able to
discover which of the showers had bacteria and
which of the showers had fungus growth.
Some of the showers in each of the dorms had
showers that had no growth. In the Bittinger Dorm
the showers with no growth were: Lower Left
numbers two and three, Lower Right number four,
and Upper Right numbers three and four.
In Morrison the showers with no growth were:
Lower Left numbers one, two, three, and four, Lower
Right numbers one and four, and Upper Right
numbers one and four.
Of the samples that did have growth, the one that
had fungus was in Bittinger and it was the Lower
Right number two shower.
In order to determine if the amount of Tinea pedis
fungus that was found was a significant amount a χ2
Test of Homogeneity was performed. The results
from this test concluded that the amount of Tinea
pedis present in the shower drains was not a
significant amount.
DISCUSSION
So based on the results I did not find exactly what
I thought I would. While I did discover some Tinea
pedis, I did not find the amount that I expected. I
expected to find the fungus in multiple showers in
both of the dorms. The fact that the fungus was
discovered in only one of the thirty-two showers will
be comforting to the residents of those dorms. Since
it was concluded that the amount of Tinea pedis was
not significant this meant that the Tinea pedis was
there due to random chance. So it was normal and
should have been expected to find at least the
presence of Tinea pedis.
I cannot be sure of the exact reason that the
fungus was not high in presence in the showers but
my guess would because the showers are being
cleaned properly. The showers were cleaned daily,
Monday through Friday, and they were disinfected
with a one-step disinfectant called Virex II 256. This
is the same cleaner that is used in hospitals and
other health care facilities (Staff, 2011). Another
possible reason was that of the people that used the
showers none of them had the Tinea pedis fungus
present on their feet. The methods of acquiring and
testing the samples could also have been an issue
and created an error in the results. The time that the
showers were sampled could also have had an
impact on the results. There might have been more
fungus present if I would have sampled when the
showers had not been cleaned for almost twenty-four
hours.
If I were to change anything with this experiment it
would be that I would collect samples from more
showers. This would allow for a greater variety of
people and showers. This would also allow me to
test showers that are designed different and could
possibly hold bacteria and fungus more than the
other style of showers. I would also want to collect
my samples at a different time such as the weekend
when the showers are not cleaned. I believe doing
these few steps differently would lead to different
results.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Dr. Frye and Dr. Ayella for their
advice and guidance on my experiment. I would
also like to thank Amber Novinger for her
assistance with this experiment. Finally, I would
like to thank McPherson College for funding and
allowing me to perform this experiment.
LITERATURE CITED
Albert, S. 2007. Effective Strategies in the
Management of Tinea Pedis. First Report July
2007: 3-12.
Tinea pedis In The Showers – Jandreau
Athlete's Foot. (2010). Retrieved April 22, 2010, from
MedicineNet.com:
http://www.medicinenet.com/athletes_foot/article.h
tm
Field A. and Adams B.B. 2008. Tinea Pedis in
athletes. International Journal of Dermatology,
Volume 47: 485-492.
LeBlanc, D. C. (2008). Statistics: Concepts and
Applications for Science. Tichenor Publishing &
Printing.
Staff, M. C. (2011, March 31). How Do You Clean
The Showers. (D. Jandreau, Interviewer)
25
Cantaurus, Vol. 19, 26-28, May 2011 © McPherson College Division of Science and Technology
What is the Distribution of Lung Capacity Amongst the McPherson
College Students?
Christover Lange
ABSTRACT
This experiment was conducted to find an average lung capacity of students on the McPherson College
campus. The lung capacity is typically based on the size of the individual. The subjects were asked if they
would like to take part in the experiment, then asked to take a survey. The survey consisted of a series of
simple questions regarding to: sex, height, weight, and fitness. After the survey was finished, the subjects were
then instructed how experiment was going to work. They were directed to take several deep breaths, then to
exhale with as much force as possible into a spirometer that was plugged into the Iworx software. They were
asked to replicate this process two more times. Once the subject had completed the physical test, the data
were gathered and organized so that it could be analyzed. The data were plugged into the computer for
analysis. The averages lung capacities for the subjects are as follows: 5.516 L, 2.139 L., 3.877 L., 2.202 L.,
2.298 l., 2.529 L., 4.399 L., 4.297 L., 3.76 L., 2.951 L., 4.393 L., 4.128 L., 3.841 L., 2.733 L., and 2.263 L. After
analysis some outliers were discovered such as abnormal lung capacities for a relatively large healthy
individual. However besides this one instance the rest of the data came back within the relative expected
norms. Therefore a hypothesis that lung capacity is related closely to size is still very possible.
Keywords: Lung capacity, lung volume, size-Lung capacity ratio, spirometry, vital capacity.
INTRODUCTION
The objective of this research project is to establish
the distribution of overall lung capacity of the
McPherson College student body. A broad spectrum
of factors that contribute to a general population’s
overall lung capacity will be investigated. In doing
this study, hopefully a better understanding of which
individuals have a significant respiratory advantage,
i.e. the ability to have a larger capacity for oxygen
uptake, due to past exposures, genetic factors, and
overall fitness will be obtained
This project will be modeled after several others. The
most influential on this project will be that of Cui, et al
(2008). This specific article provides a basis for the
methods that will be used to gather the data need to
fulfill the experiment. It involves a spirometer to
measure the FEV (Forced Expiratory Volume) which
will be the basis of how my project will measure the
same data, except I am using the FVC (Forced Vital
Capacity). Cui, et al (2008) also describes in detail
the process of finding a background to the individuals
involved, by asking for an extensive medical history.
By asking for a general medical history, I will be
further able to determine the origins from which
certain respiratory conditions came.
There are also many articles that show the effects
of external factors on individuals’ respiratory health
such as Meo, et al (2009) and Hernandez, et al
(2008). These articles include exposure to oil spills,
city pollution, and other factors that may have
contributed to certain environments and how they
affected the inhabitants of that region. This is
important because not every region has the same
environmental factors that may affect the lung
capacity of the inhabitants. These factors are just
some of the contributing details to the overall health
of certain inhabitants. Even though these are
significant variables I will be unable to link them
unless the subjects have prior knowledge of being
exposed.
There are also articles like that of Pieters, et al
(2000), that show more biological
reasons for
different lung capacities, such as malnutrition and the
effects it has on the individuals who do not receive
the proper amount of nutritional value recommended.
Another factor that affects the lung capacity of a
population is the overall fitness and health of
individuals. A more physically fit individual will have a
better lung capacity than that of a non-exercising
individual. One other basic area that may affect the
lung capacity of an individual are respiratory
conditions such as asthma and allergic rhinitis, which
inhibit a natural breathing function. The make-up of
the body may also play a role, such as size i.e. 6’6”
330 lbs. vs. 5’4” 110 lbs. These two individuals would
have a difference in chest circumference; therefore
the lung capacity should be different. The gender of
the participant could also yield different results.
All of the variables discussed would have a
dramatic effect on the lung capacity of an individual.
Therefore all of these variables will be taken into
account when analyzing the data.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This project is based off an experiment conducted by
Cui, et al (2008) on lung function and cytokine levels.
Lung Capacity Amongst McPherson College Students – Lange
Surveys were given to the subjects before they
participated in the experiment, these surveys asked
for: sex, height, weight, chest circumference, a brief
personal history, and an account on personal
physical fitness.
After the survey was completed, the subject was
ready for the experiment using the spirometer and
the I-worx program. The data were gathered.
Disposable, detachable mouth pieces were used for
sanitary reason.
The subjects perform a FVC test that is given to
them at a state of rest, this way I can take data points
of individuals and not push any ethical issues that
may harm the subject. Also in doing the tests at rest I
hope to avoid any unknown variables that I could not
have foreseen. The subjects inhaled a couple of
deep breaths, and then took one final one and
exhaled with full force into the spirometer head and
the data was recorded.
After all the data was collected, it was analyzed
through the Sigma Plot software. With the best fit
being a multiple linear regression.
27
being 6’5” and 5’2”. Also when it came to fitness,
most of the subject considered themselves rather fit.
The results of this experiment seemed to take a
normal pattern. After procuring several samples from
the subjects, I found that the larger a body the more
likely that individual is to have a larger lung capacity.
All 15 subjects went through the same process so if
there was an error it had to be either because of the
method or because of technical error from the Iworx
system.
The average lung capacity of the subjects was
3.376L, with the maximum of 5.805L and a minimum
of 2.004L in respect to all the subjects. There were a
few outliers however with the normal idea of larger
equaling a higher lung capacity. Subject D was a
male, 20 years of age, 6’2” and weighing 220 lbs,
and he is an athlete at the college. However his
maximum exhalation only came to 2.202L which I
found to be rather low for someone in his situation, I
do not however have an explanation for this, after
speaking to him about the low results; he stated that
his doctors had also been a little confused by his low
lung capacity.
2D Graph 1
RESULTS
Table 2: Statistical Analysis between two subjects
5
Volume (Liters)
4
3
2
1
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Subjects
Figure 1: Volume exerted
the subjects.
Col by
1
Table 1 Survey of Subjects (9 Men and 6 Female)
Large
Medium
Small
Grand
Total
Sum of
H
Sum of
W
Sum of
F
Sum of
B.T.
5
5
5
15
5
5
5
15
4
6
5
15
4
6
5
15
The surveys yielded a broad spectrum of subjects.
The student had a vast range in height, the extremes
Subject D
Mean
2.202
Standard
Error
0.013503
Median
2.215
Mode
#N/A
Standard
Deviation
0.023388
Sample
Variance
0.000547
Kurtosis
#DIV/0!
Skewness
-1.72849
Range
0.041
Minimum
2.175
Maximum
2.216
Sum
6.606
Count
3
Confidence
Level
(95.0%)
0.058099
Subject F
Mean
2.528667
Standard
Error
0.047959
Median
2.544
Mode
#N/A
Standard
Deviation
0.083068
Sample
Variance
0.0069
Kurtosis
#DIV/0!
Skewness
-0.80234
Range
0.164
Minimum
2.439
Maximum
2.603
Sum
7.586
Count
3
Confidence
Level
(95.0%)
0.206353
Here is a comparison of Subject D and subject F
who are both relatively the same in every physical
category except lung capacity. So the two subjects in
theory show have been similar yet, they their lung
capacities are far different. I did find that males
generally have a high lung capacity than females,
and that usually the larger one is the more likely they
are to have a larger lung capacity.
Normality Test: passed (P=0.132), constant
variance test passed (p=0.514)
28
Cantaurus
Table 3: Analysis of Variance Table
Reg.
DF
2
SS
7.874
MS
3.937
Res.
Total
12
14
1.226
9.1
0.102
0.65
F
38.527
P<
.001
DISCUSSION
The results of this experiment seemed to have
followed the path I had hypothesized originally. For
most of the subjects size had the most impact on the
lung capacity. There were a few exceptions that led
me to believe that maybe the lung capacity of
individuals may not merely depend on size but as for
the most part they do. In previous experiments size
had been the main contributor to capacity. The one
outlier subject I had also could not provide an
explanation as to why their lung capacity was so low
for their size. They stated that previous medical
examinations have been confused by the subject’s
volume exerted into a spirometer. This is one subject
that I could not find an explanation for. The rest of the
subjects seemed to keep with size and gender, i.e. a
large male would have a high lung capacity whereas
a small female would have a lower lung capacity.
After completing this experiment, I have come to
realize that a few things should have been handled
differently. For example, the sample size should have
been increased dramatically. By doing this it would
have provide a better foundation for analysis.
Another thing that would have helped this project
greatly would have been to narrow down the subject
field, say to a certain group on campus. By
simplifying the search and allowing for a more
intricate study of lung capacity, I believe that future
scientist will be able to follow my work and make a
better analysis of the study.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the McPherson College Natural
Science Department, Dr. Jonathan Frye and Dr.
Allan Ayella, and all of my subjects for without
whom none of this would have been possible.
LITERATURE CITED
Cui,R.,Bei, H., Yun, M., Yuzhu, W., Mingwu, Z.2008
Lung Function and Cytokine Levels in Professional
Athletes. Journal of Asthma 45(4): 343-34.
Hernandez, A., Casado, I., Pena, G., Gil, F.,
Villanueva, E., Pla, A. 2008 Low Level of Exposure
to Pesticides Leads to Lung Dysfunction in
Occupationally Exposed Subjects. Inhalation
Toxicology 20(9): 839-849
MEO, S., Al-Drees, A., Rhaseed, S., Meo, I., Khan,
M., Al-Saadi, M., Alkandari, J., 2009 Effect of
duration of exposure to polluted air environment
on lung function in subjects exposed to crude oil
spill into sea water. International Journal of
Occupational Medicine & Environmental Health
22(1): 35-41
Pieters, T., Boland, B., Beguin, C., Veriter, C.,
Stanescu, D., Frans, A., Lambert, M. (2000) Lung
function study and diffusion capacity in anorexia
nervosa. Journal of Internal Medicine 248.(2):137142
Cantaurus, Vol. 19, 29-31, May 2011 © McPherson College Division of Science and Technology
Comparison of Coping Self-Efficacy Levels Between Freshmen and
Seniors at Scott Community High School
Tecie L. Turner
ABSTRACT
This study examined the differences in levels of coping self-efficacy among two populations: freshmen and
seniors in high school. All participants were asked to complete a nine item, discrete value questionnaire titled
the Next Element Outcomes System (NEOS), followed by two open-ended questions. The two types of
questions allowed for both quantitative and qualitative results. The NEOS provided quantitative results in three
categories: openness, resourcefulness, and persistence. Qualitative data, collected by means of the openended questions, provided participants’ explanations to their values assigned for coping self-efficacy. Analysis
of quantitative data revealed a general trend of increased coping self-efficacy levels following high school
education. The difference in mean values on the NEOS, between the two populations, was greater than would
be expected by chance (P=0.00184). A comparison of individual categories across the two populations
expressed a statistically significant difference among resourcefulness (P=0.030) and persistence (P=0.034),
but not openness (P=0.255). Qualitative data resulted in a distinction in explanations between the two
populations. Freshmen were more likely to provide explanations based on their personality type, while seniors’
results included actual experiences leading to such distinctions.
Keywords: Coping, self-efficacy, openness, resourcefulness, persistence.
INTRODUCTION
The ability to cope with challenging circumstances is
certainly vital. At times, a person may thrive due to
their actual abilities to do so. One’s confidence plays
a significant role in determining the outcome of
situations. Occasionally, being overly confident in
one’s abilities can lead to failure. This study was
designed to observe whether or not high school
experiences have an effect on confidence by
analyzing levels of coping self-efficacy.
Self-efficacy is defined as the degree of
confidence in one’s ability to carry out a specific set
of behaviors and reach a specific goal (Pajares and
Urdan, 2006). The level of self-efficacy refers to its
dependence on the difficulty level of a particular task.
Coping self-efficacy involves the perceived selfefficacy in dealing with threats. In the present
research, levels of coping self-efficacy were
investigated among two populations: freshmen and
seniors in high school. It was hypothesized that
levels of coping self-efficacy will be greater among
the seniors in comparison with the freshmen
population. Explanations behind such levels were
also studied in the research.
Several studies have been performed relating to
this topic of research. However, they either involve
the broad idea of self-efficacy, or include populations
varying from those chosen for this particular study.
None of the literature reviewed is specific to the
concept of high school experience affecting levels of
coping self-efficacy. For example, one particular
study examined differences in self-efficacy among
college students in good academic standing and
college students on academic probation. Results
indicated that self-efficacy and mastery goals were
positively related to academic standing.
Both quantitative and qualitative results were
collected for this study. Quantitative results were
gathered by means of a discrete number
questionnaire (NEOS), while quantitative data was
based on explanations to two of the items on the
questionnaire. The additional questions were useful
for providing brief explanations to the values
assigned to the two particular questions on the
NEOS.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The study includes two populations: freshmen and
seniors in high school. Both populations were
enrolled in Scott Community High School, which is
located in the state of Kansas. Participants included
individuals of both sexes.
Participants were asked to complete a nine item
questionnaire involving coping self-efficacy, followed
by two open-ended questions. The questionnaire is
titled the Next Element Outcomes System (NEOS).
Each of the nine questions on the NEOS requested a
rating for two situations: “Me at Work”, and “Me at
Leisure”. These two situations were used together to
develop NEOS scores in three categories: openness,
resourcefulness, and persistence.
Questionnaire
results include discrete values ranging from zero to
ten.
Qualitative data consisted of two questions. Such
questions were based on specific items located on
the questionnaire (Hsieh et. al., 2005). These were
Coping Self-Efficacy – Turner
open-ended questions involving the participant’s
opinion as to why he/she chose given values on the
NEOS.
Interpretation of participants’ qualitative
results was made by first typing in an easy-to read
format. Results were then analyzed for merging
themes.
RESULTS
Data from the NEOS produced results for three
categories
(openness,
persistence,
and
resourcefulness). Scores ranged from zero (no
confidence in ability) to ten (high confidence in ability)
in each of the three categories. Results from the
NEOS were analyzed by means of a Two Way
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). This test allowed for
a comparison of the mean values among the two
populations, as well as each category individually
between the populations.
Overall, as indicated by the ANOVA, the senior
class rated themselves higher than the freshmen in
coping self-efficacy. The mean score for freshmen
was 6.691, while the mean score for seniors was
7.311. This difference is greater than would be
expected by chance (P=0.00184). A comparison of
individual categories across the two populations
expressed a statistically significant difference among
resourcefulness
(P=0.0300)
and
persistence
(P=0.0340), but not openness (P=0.2550). Below is
a bar chart, illustrating the differences in results
between the two populations.
Comparison of Freshmen and Seniors
NEOS Scores
10
Fr
Sr
8
6
4
2
n
ea
M
te
is
rs
Pe
R
es
ou
O
rc
ef
pe
ul
nn
e
ne
ss
ss
nc
e
0
Figure 1: Comparison of freshman and seniors
Qualitative results were interpreted for participants’
explanations to their chosen scores. Such results
expressed a distinction between the two populations.
Freshmen articulated a common theme of basing
their opinions of themselves on their personality type.
Seniors’ results, however, contributed their value
outcomes to previous personal experiences.
30
DISCUSSION
Based on results found from this study, there is a
significant growth in levels of coping self-efficacy
throughout an individual’s time in high school. In
addition, one’s perceived thoughts of such efficacy
tend to be due to personal experiences, rather than
personality types, by the end of their education. With
these conclusions made, it is important to recognize
one main factor that may have altered results.
Freshmen data was collected at the beginning of
their class period. On the other hand, senior data
was collected following a standardized test. This
difference in data collection environments may have
been significant. The senior population could have
been exhausted from the test, while freshmen were
likely refreshed at the beginning of their class. In
addition, freshmen likely did not feel a need to rush
the questionnaire, while seniors may have felt a
sense of urgency to return to their class schedule.
These two aspects of the study should not be
overlooked when examining the results.
Students were all enrolled at one particular school.
This detail assured that the two populations would be
as similar as possible. However, with more time, it
would be useful to survey populations at multiple high
schools for more inclusive results.
In conclusion, findings from the study express a
statistically significant difference in coping selfefficacy between the chosen populations. According
to results presented, seniors in high school exhibit
higher levels of coping self-efficacy than freshmen in
high school.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Jeff King and Nate Regier at Next Element
Consulting allowed for my use of their self-efficacy
questionnaire, which was certainly a vital portion
of my research. Also, in order to collect data from
high school students, Shelly Turner at Scott
Community High School cooperated thoroughly
with me, in an incredibly rapid pace. She, as well
as employees and students at SCHS, allowed for
a smooth data collection process. Considering my
lack of previous experience researching in this
field of study, I turned to two particular instructors
in the Behavioral Science department at
McPherson College. Dr. Bryan Midgley and Dr.
Laura Eells were of significant assistance through
the learning process. Finally, as my core advisor
on this particular research for the past two years,
Dr. Jonathan Frye has been an essential factor in
the success of this study. The guidance, support,
and certainly patience in which he exhibits have
been truly appreciated.
Coping Self-Efficacy – Turner
LITERATURE CITED
Pajares, F., and T. Urdan. 2006. Self-Efficacy Beliefs
of Adolescents. Greenwich, CT: Information Age
Publishing. 298 pp.
Hsieh, P., J. R. Sullivan, and N. S. Guerra. 2007. A
Closer Look at College Students: Self-Efficacy and
Goal Orientation. Journal of Advanced Academics,
18: 454-476.
31
Cantaurus, Vol. 19, 32-36, May 2011 © McPherson College Division of Science and Technology
The Effectiveness of Multi-purpose Disinfecting Solutions Against Clinically Isolated Micro-Organisms
Ashley Zodrow
ABSTRACT
To quantitatively asses a contact lens multipurpose disinfecting solution’s effectiveness, the ISO recommends
a 3-log reduction against bacterial species and a 1-log reduction against fungal species. This standard, upheld
by the FDA, is tested against pure strains of microorganisms from the ATCC. Recent concern has arisen regarding the use of these pure laboratory cultures as sufficient standards for evaluating the biocidal effectiveness of disinfecting solutions. In this study, the effectiveness of four disinfecting contact lens solutions was assessed by inoculation in three replicates with clinically isolated bacterial strains; one strain arose from an ocular
infection, while two other strains were isolated from inanimate surfaces in a non-optometric clinic. The four solutions tested included Opti-Free Replenish®, Complete®, Re-Nu Sensitive®, and Equate®. All four solutions
passed the 3-log reduction requirement when inoculated with the isolate from the ocular infection, later identified as Staphylococcus warneri. The four solutions failed to meet the 3-log reduction in one or more of the tests
against the strains of bacteria which were non-ocular in origin.
Keywords: Contact lens, disinfecting solution, ocular infection, solution effectiveness, Staphylococcus warneri.
INTRODUCTION
Historically, contact lens wearers have been identified as a demographic group with increased susceptibility to ocular infections (Ritterband, 2007). For
users of one extended wear silicone hydrogel, the
rate of infectious incidence was 18 cases per 10,000
wearers (Schein et. al., 2005). Similarly, a study
conducted in the United Kingdom regarding extended
wear silicone hydrogels, found users of this type of
contact to have an incidence rate of 19.8 cases per
10,000 wearers (Morgan, 2005). Therefore, while not
every contact lens wearer should expect complications, doctors of optometry and ophthalmology, lens
manufacturers, and manufacturers of lens care solutions share interest in ongoing research that can lead
to the development of products and lens care guidelines to further improve contact lens wearers’ health
and safety.
Several factors contribute to the development of
an infection. Specific wearing patterns have been
linked to greater risk of bacterial colonization of
lenses and associated care materials (Yung et. al.,
2007). However, contamination alone does not
guarantee that a user will develop an infection. Patient compliance and safe-handling of the lens are
other contributing factors which Yung et. al. identified. Furthermore, the health of the cornea may be
affected by dryness, trauma, or underlying conditions
which may predispose a patient to a higher risk of
infection (Stone, 2007). All other factors considered,
the disinfecting solution’s effectiveness is the one
most easily manipulated and controlled by the eye
care suppliers and healthcare providers.
A multi-purpose disinfecting solution’s effectiveness depends upon the environment within which the
solution is stored, the interaction of the solution with
the corneal epithelium of the wearer, the binding
properties of the solution with the case or contact, the
solution’s ability to attack biofilms, and the species of
microorganism with which the solution interacts.
Solutions have been shown to lose bactericidal
ability over a three month storage period, and when
storage temperatures are altered (Leung et. al.,
2004). Also, certain brands of silicone hydrogel
lenses combined with solutions containing polyhexamethylene biguanide as the active ingredient are
more prone to disturbing the protective corneal epithelium, thus leaving the tissue more vulnerable to
potential infection (Stone, 2007). An ideal solution
would not be absorbed into the lens surface or the
surface of the case. Re-Nu with MoistureLoc® has
previously shown to be less effective against Fusarium due in part to the disinfectant’s absorbance into
the case and lens materials, and also due to the inactive ingredients’ ability to bind and mask the microorganism (Ritterband, 2007). Microbial communities
can also become more resistant to solutions’ active
ingredients when the microorganisms form biofilms;
thus testing a pathogenic strain in its “planktonic”
form can yield different predictions of outcomes for a
disinfecting solution’s efficiency than that which is
actually observed when the microorganism has
formed biofilms on the lens surface (Flynn et. al.,
2009). Finally, an effective solution must be able to
perform adequately both against bacterial and fungal
pathogens, which differ greatly in cellular structure
(Boost et. al., 2010).
To quantitatively evaluate solution effectiveness,
the ISO, International Organization for Standardization, requires a multi-purpose solution to demonstrate
a 3-log reduction against bacterial pathogens and a
The Effectiveness of Multi-purpose Disinfecting Solutions – Zodrow
1-log reduction against fungal microorganisms in
their planktonic form (Hume et. al., 2007). In accordance with the Food and Drug Administration, or
FDA, guidelines, solutions are tested with pure laboratory strains which are cultured and recommended
by the American Type Culture Collection, or ATCC,
as a supplier (Hume et. al., 2007).
Recently, concern has arisen regarding the use of
pure laboratory cultures as a sufficient standard for
evaluating a solution’s biocidal effectiveness. While
proving to be effective against laboratory strains of
microorganisms, certain multi-purpose solutions
tested with environmentally and clinically isolated
strains of fungi failed to meet the above criteria
(Boost et. al., 2010). Also, a clinically isolated strain
of Serratia marcescens was tested in five multipurpose solutions, two of which were found to be ineffective against the bacteria (Hume et. al., 2007).
Thus, further study is needed to improve current testing procedures and to understand the interaction of
solutions with clinically and environmentally encountered strains of microorganisms.
The objective of this study is to test multi-purpose
solutions from the common classes of disinfectants
including: polyhexamethylene biguanide, polyaminopropylbiguanide, myristamidopropyl dimethylamine,
alexidine, and polyquaternium-1, against bacterial
specimens of both ocular and non-ocular origin.
These disinfecting agents function as bactericides by
different means. However, each of the disinfectants
affects the structural integrity and permeability of the
bacterial cell membrane (McDonnell and Russell,
1999). The hypothesis is that all multi-purpose solutions will exhibit a 3-log reduction of the microorganisms from each of the three isolates after the manufacturers’ recommended exposure time in solution.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
To collect clinical pathogens for isolation, contact
lens wearers with an ocular infection agreed to contribute their disposable lenses. The lenses were kept
in Blairex ® sterile saline solution until the samples
could be transported to the laboratory for culture.
While waiting for inoculating media to be prepared,
the samples were stored in their cases in the refrigerator. All inoculating media were autoclaved at
121°C for a period of at least fifteen minutes; the total
time in the autoclave averaged fifty-five minutes.
Once the inoculating media was prepared, samples were transported to the enclosed flow hood system. The hood work area and inoculating materials
were first sterilized by ultraviolet radiation for threefive minutes. The contact lenses were transferred
into tubes of nutrient broth (Oxoid) by tweezers which
were sterilized with ultraviolet radiation and by flaming with isopropyl alcohol. If lenses adhered to the
surface of the tube, a sterile micro-loop was used to
push the lens into the media. After the inoculated
33
tube exhibited growth, a sterile micro-loop was dipped into the media and used to create a streak plate
on nutrient agar (Oxoid). Successions of streak
plates were then generated in an attempt to produce
an isolated colony. All inoculated materials were
incubated at 37°C, except when transferred to the
refrigerator for prolonged periods of storage.
The first infectious pathogen was collected 7-282010, and consisted of Gram negative rods as indicated by Gram staining. This strain eventually became unviable in laboratory culture, perhaps due to
prolonged storage conditions in the refrigerator and
incubator. A second sample consisting of cocci was
collected 11-04-2010. Gram staining of this strain
was ambiguous, as both Gram positive and Gram
negative coloration was observed. This observation
was attributed to the differences of smear thickness
on the slide, which could create areas of denser
staining. To further clarify the identity of the cocci, a
test tube containing nutrient agar media (Oxoid) at a
slant was prepared and inoculated from an isolated
colony to be sent to Molecular Epidemiology, Inc., for
genetic identification. The cocci isolated in the
slanted tube of agar were used to inoculate a fresh
tube of nutrient broth (Oxoid) and this tube was used
to create all later tubes for testing this strain. Of notable interest, the wearer of the lens from which the
cocci were isolated had suffered previous ocular
trauma not related to use of the lens, and had since
developed symptoms of infection after resuming use
of the lens.
In order to diversify the collection of test organisms, a strain of Gram positive rods and a separate
strain of Gram negative rods were contributed from
the project conducted by Karissa Ferrell regarding
the prevalence of oxacillin resistant microorganisms.
These rods were therefore isolated from inanimate
surfaces, and were not of ocular origin. Both strains
had been plated on an oxacillin treated mannitol salt
agar media originally. These two plated strains were
used to inoculate tubes of nutrient broth (Oxoid), then
transferred to streak plates. Isolated colonies were
used to inoculate fresh tubes of the nutrient broth and
were used to generate all tubes used for further testing of these strains. A Gram stain of the isolates
confirmed the previous Gram staining observation
conducted by Karissa Ferrell.
To determine the initial colony forming units, or
CFU’s, per tube of inoculate, a series of 1:10 dilutions was plated for each of the isolates. A single mL
of inoculate was transferred into tubes containing 9
mL of nutrient broth to bring the total volume to 10
mL. Aliquots of 100 µL were plated and disbursed
across the nutrient agar with the sterilized spreader
tool. To ensure consistent concentration of cells in
the inoculating media, all dilution tubes were vortexed for at least 30 seconds before the next aliquot
was transferred to the next tube for dilution. The
spectrophotometer was then used to measure the
34
Cantaurus
absorbance of the undiluted inoculating media at 660
nm. According to previous studies, 1X108 colony
forming units in sterile saline has an absorbance of
0.1 at 660 nm (Hume et. al., 2007). By contrast, I
measured absorbance values in the nutrient broth.
The plates inoculated from the dilution tubes were
then examined, and the plate yielding the clearest
viable cell count was then utilized to calculate the
undiluted concentration of colony forming units. The
third 1:10 serial dilution tube was used to inoculate
the multi-purpose solutions. The concentration of
cells utilized to test the contact lens solutions varied
for each of the three isolates due to the difference in
growth rates and incubation times amongst the three
microorganisms. Single mL aliquots of inoculate
were placed in 9 mL of the multi-purpose solutions.
The dilution tube was vortexed at least 30 seconds
between each successive inoculation. Each of the
three isolated strains was tested three times in each
of the four multi-purpose solutions.
After the manufacturer recommended exposure
period, the inoculated multipurpose solutions were
vortexed for 30 seconds, and 100 µL of the inoculated disinfecting solution was plated onto nutrient
agar. Colony counts were taken after incubation at
37°C for 35.5-42 hours.
Table 1. Disinfecting solutions specifications. Polyquad® is the trade name for polyquaternium-1 and
Aldox® is the brand name for myristamidopropyl dimethylamine. PHMB is polyhexamethylene biguanide. Dymed® is merely a trade name for polyaminopropylbiguanide. The Exposure time is listed in
hours.
Expo%
sure
Solution
Company
Active
Time
Ingredient
(hrs)
Opti-Free
Replenish®
Alcon
Complete®
Abott
Re-Nu
Sensitive®
Bausch&
Lomb
Equate®
Wal-Mart
0.001% Polyquad®
0.0005%
Aldox®
6
PHMB
0.0001%
6
Dymed®
0.00005%
4
Polyaminopropyl
biguanide
0.0001%
4
The one way ANOVA test for variance was utilized to identify any statistically significant difference
amongst the plate counts from the four disinfecting
solutions for each of the microorganisms tested.
SigmaStat®. was utilized to perform the ANOVA test
with P<0.05 used to determine significance. For the
pairwise multiple comparisions test, the Holm-Sidak
method was used to identify which solution interactions differed significantly.
RESULTS
The initial CFU/mL for the undiluted sample of cocci
after 45 hours of incubation at 37°C was determined
to be 1.19X108 by serial dilution plate counts. The
absorbance of the undiluted cocci was 0.308 at 660
nm. The plate count was relied upon more than the
absorbance data because the absorbance varied
based upon agar concentration and tube incubation
time. More absorbance data would have been required for the construction of a calibration curve to
directly associate concentrations of CFU/mL from the
plate counts with the absorbances of the initial undilute cultures. Since 1.19X108 CFU/mL was the original concentration by plate count, the disinfecting
solutions would have been exposed to 1.19X105
CFU/mL on the third dilution. The cocci was subsequently identified by Molecular Epidemiology, Inc., as
being Staphylococcus warneri.
For the actual testing of the Gram negative rods,
the fourth and fifth serial dilution plates provided an
estimate of 1.7X107 CFU/mL for the undiluted sample
after 17 hours of incubation. I neglected to record an
absorbance for the sample of Gram negative rods at
the time of testing; however, a previous culture of the
same Gram negative rods had yielded an absorbance of 0.119 at 660 nm after 24 hours of incubation and contained 3.7X107 CFU/mL in the undiluted
tube as determined by serial plate counts. Thus
there is close agreement between the pilot trial and
the actual test. The disinfecting solutions were therefore exposed to 1.7X104 CFU/mL, which was the third
dilution of the 1.7X107 CFU/mL undiluted culture.
The Gram positive rods had an absorbance of
0.107 at 660 nm and 21 hours of incubation. The
original concentration from the serial dilutions plate
count was determined to be 3.6 X107 CFU/mL. Thus,
the disinfecting solutions were exposed to 3.6X104
CFU/mL.
The one way ANOVA failed to detect any significant differences amongst the four disinfecting solutions’ performances against the cocci and the Gram
positive rods. The ANOVA did detect a significant
difference amongst the four solutions’ performances
with the Gram negative rods.
The Holm-Sidak test revealed a significant difference
between Re-Nu Sensitive® and Complete® as well
as for Re-Nu Sensitive® and Opti-Free Replenish®.
The level used to determine significance was 0.05 for
each statistical test.
As previously stated, each strain of microorganism
was tested in each of the four multi-purpose disinfect-
The Effectiveness of Multi-purpose Disinfecting Solutions – Zodrow
ing solutions three times. The direct colony counts
after being plated and incubated are displayed below.
Table 2. Raw data. In each column with a bacterial
test strain label, the exp. denotes the expected
CFU/mL after exposure to the solution. The actual
CFU/mL as determined from the plate counts is displayed below. The “p” or “f” designation notates
whether the solution passed or failed to meet the 3log reduction.
Incubation
Period
35.5-42 hours
for all plates
Opti-Free Replenish ®
1
2
3
Complete® 1
2
3
Re-Nu Sensitive®
1
2
3
Equate®
1
2
3
Ocular
Cocci
Exp.
119
Gram
(-) Rods
Exp.
17
Gram(+)
Rods
Exp. 36
10 P
0P
10 P
50 F
0P
70 F
60 F
90 F
0P
0P
20 P
0P
20 F
10 P
10 P
10 P
30 P
100F
10 P
10 P
0P
120F
90 F
210F
80 F
110F
120F
20P
0P
0P
60 F
60 F
90 F
40 F
30 P
40 F
DISCUSSION
Of considerable notability, the solutions all met the 3log reduction when exposed to the ocular strain of
cocci; however, no solution met the 3-log reduction
for all three repetitions of the Gram positive and
Gram negative rods which were not ocular in origin.
The results cannot be interpreted as absolute regarding the comparisons between solutions for each bacterial strain tested. The power of the ANOVA tests
was considerably lower for those comparisons which
failed to detect any significant difference. The power
was only 0.145 whereas the desired power was
0.800 for the evaluation of the differences between
solutions when exposed the Gram positive rods.
Power of the ANOVA used to evaluate the difference
in interactions amongst solutions exposed to cocci
was only 0.05 rather than 0.800. However, the power of the ANOVA which detected the significant difference amongst the solutions exposed to the Gram
negative rods was 0.915. The Holm-Sidak test re-
35
vealed a significantly greater CFU/mL remaining after
exposure to Re-Nu Sensitive® in contrast to CFU/mL
remaining after exposure to either Complete® or Opti-Free Replenish®. To further increase the power of
the tests and reduce the variability of the results, one
should use more repetitions of each solution-strain
combination. Accuracy of the initial inoculating concentrations used to test solutions could be further
ensured by making replicate serial dilution plates to
verify the reproducibility of colony counts.
One additional possible source of error in this experiment is the prolonged storage periods in both the
incubator and refrigerator. Multiple re-cultures in the
laboratory and varying storage conditions can cause
the bacterial population to deviate from the original
sample; previous studies recommended that no more
than five re-cultures should be taken if the subcultures are to remain representative of the original bacterial population. The samples used in solution testing were re-cultured more than five times, and therefore there may be genetic discrepancy between the
test culture and the original culture (ATCC, 2010).
When considering the results of this experiment,
one should note that the methodology of this study
differed from the previous experiment conducted by
Hume et. al. (2007), because their team used 10 µL
of cell culture in 1 mL of disinfecting solution. Hume
et. al. previously noted that 10 mL of disinfecting
solution is the volume recommended by the ISO rather than 1 mL; therefore the larger test volume was
implemented in this study. Also note that this study
used longer incubation periods in contrast to previous
studies. The extended incubation period was implemented to allow for sufficient time to detect the
growth of the slower growing ocular strain.
While these results suggest that certain disinfecting solutions may be less effective against the nonocular isolates of bacteria, further testing of clinically
isolated bacterial strains of ocular origin is necessary
to draw conclusions sufficient to warrant any change
in the current disinfection systems. In addition, future
experiments could test microorganisms representative of the fungal or protozoal pathogens. One could
also evaluate the effects of biofilms and solution interactions since the observations of this study were
restricted to the evaluation of microbial behavior in
the planktonic form.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to thank the faculty of the natural science department. In particular, I give special thanks to Dr.
Frye and Dr. Koralegedara for assisting me with
the development of the project design, the location
of materials, and their assistance in acquiring literary review resources. I also wish to recognize
Karissa Ferrell for contribution of the original Gram
positive and Gram negative rod isolates. Finally, I
wish to acknowledge the doctors and staff of a lo-
36
Cantaurus
cal optometric clinic for their advice and support
for the topic development and for their assistance
in the acquisition of samples.
LITERATURE CITED
ATCC. 2010. Reference strains: how many passages
are too many? technical bulletin no. 6.
http://www.atcc.org/CulturesandProducts/Technical
Support/ (March, 2011).
Boost, M, S Lai, C Ma, and P Cho. 2010. Do multipurpose contact lens disinfecting solutions work
effectively against non-FDA/ISO recommended
strains of bacteria and fungi? Ophthalmic and
Physiological Optics 30:12-19.
Flynn, LB, Y Imamura, J Chandra, C Yu, PK Mukherjee, E Pearlman, and MA Ghannoum. 2009. Increased resistance of contact lens-related bacterial biofilms to antimicrobial activity of soft contact
lens care solutions. Cornea 28:918-926.
Hume, EB, H Zhu, N Cole, C Huynh, S Lam, and
MDP Willcox. 2007. Efficacy of contact lens multipurpose solutions against Serratia marcescens.
Optometry and Vision Science 84:316-320.
Leung, P, MV Boost, and P Cho. 2004. Effect of storage temperatures and time on the efficacy of multipurpose solutions for contact lenses. Ophthalmic
and Physiological Optics 24: 218-224.
McDonnell, G, and AD Russell.1999. Antiseptics and
disinfectants: activity, action, and resistance.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov (11 January, 2011).
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varying severity among contact lens wearers. British Journal of Ophthalmology 89:430-436.
www.bjophthalmol.com (31 March, 2011).
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Solutions and the Risk of Contact Lens Keratitis.
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Tielsch, E Alfonso, M Bullimore, D O’Day, and J
Shovlin. 2005. The incidence of microbial keratitis
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2172-2179.
Stone, RP. 2007. Understanding corneal barrier integrity: the cornea, the contact lens, and contact
lens solutions. Review of Ophthalmology 14: 2-4,
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contamination of contact lenses and lens care accessories of soft contact lens wearers (university
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Cantaurus, Vol. 19, May 2011
McPherson College Division of Science and Technology
Research Awards in the Natural Sciences
The awards are sponsored by the Natural Sciences of McPherson College and Midwest Oilseeds of Adel, Iowa.
The Burkholder Research Award, the highest award, is presented in recognition of outstanding achievement
in student research. The Merit Research Award is presented in recognition of achievement in student
research.
Each student completing a senior research project in the Natural Sciences is a candidate for an award. The
Natural Science Faculty select the winners of the awards. Three criteria are used to judge the quality of the
research and in selection of student award winners: (1) Selection and planning of a research project; (2) Quality
of the research work, including techniques, observations made, and the analysis of data; and (3) Reporting the
research, consisting of preparation of the research paper, and a poster or oral presentation to students and
faculty.
Each student receiving an award will receive a Certificate of Award. Those receiving the Burkholder Award will
have their name inscribed on a plaque, and will receive a year membership in the American Association for the
Advancement of Science and a subscription to the journal Science.
Burkholder Research Award Winners
Merit Research Award Winners
Ashlee Jost (2010)
David Miller (2010)
Adam Horinek (2009)
Joel Grosbach (2008)
Landon Snell (2008)
W. Brett Whitenack (2008)
Callie Crist (2007)
Travis Allen (2006)
Joseph Blas (2005)
Robert Ullom (2004)
Michelle Schulz (2003)
Elizabeth Stover (2002)
Genelle Wine (2001)
Nathan J. McLaughlin (2000)
Roy Johnson, Jr. (1999)
Kerri Kobbeman (1997)
Monica Embers (1995)
Heather Hughbanks (1995)
Adam Smith (1994)
Tyson Burden (1993)
Peter Hanson (1992)
James Dechand (1990)
David Lehman (1988)
David Krehbiel (1987)
Marla Ullom (1987)
Karissa Ferrell (2011)
Kelley Green (2011)
Ashley Zodrow (2011)
Amanda Pangburn (2009)
Nicole Sampson (2009)
Lezli Warkentin (2009)
Alan Grosbach (2008)
Rhonda Hoffert (2007)
Jamie Rodriguez (2007)
Lisa Sader (2006)
Eric Vrtiska (2006)
David Cockriel (2005)
Jenny Harper (2005)
Danielle Lucore (2005)
Adelina Cripe (2003)
Renata L. Lichty (2002)
Jonas Lichty (2001)
Jeffrey L. McPherson (2000)
Jennifer M. Amiot (1999)
Janet Bowen (1999)
Eric D. Putnam (1999)
Anna Katharina Schenk (1999)
Cameron Mahler (1998)
Rebecca Standafer (1998)
Rod Samuelson (1997)
Chris Owens (1996)
Wes Sechler (1996)
Stasi Zirkel (1996)
Erik Harmon (1995)
Susan Blubaugh (1994)
Sherry Coopple (1994)
Adeola Grillo (1994)
Paula Worley (1994)
Robin Morgan (1993)
Jody Weddle (1992)
Thomas Champion (1991)
Shannon Hull (1991)
David Maxey (1990)
Michelle Roesch (1989)
Cynthia Aeschacher (1988)
Sandra Ashbaugh (1988)
Cassandra Clark (1987)
38
Burkholder Research Award Winners
Merit Research Award Winners
Marsha Morley (1987)
Jay Nicholson (1987)
Cantaurus, Vol. 19, May 2011
McPherson College Division of Science and Technology
Cumulative Index, Volumes 1-19
Abbey, D. 1997. A Field Scale Evaluation of a
Genetically Engineered Corn Hybrid Resistant to
European Corn Borer. Cantaurus 5:2-5.
Allen, S. 2002. Characterization of Co (Am2 Bcyclam)
PF6 . Cantaurus 10:2-6.
Allen, T. 2006. Explaining Spatial Variation in Yields in
Irrigated Corn. Cantaurus 14:2-14.
Aragon, A. 2011. Abdominal Strength vs. Speed in
Female College Athletes. Cantaurus 19:2-4.
Amiot, J.M. 1999. The Effect of Day Length on the
Longevity of Drosophila melanogaster. Cantaurus
7:2-4.
Barr, A.B. 1994. Demineralization of Pigs Teeth.
Cantaurus 2:2-6.
Behnke, A. 2001. The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on
Binocular Convergence and Monocular
Accomodation. Cantaurus 9:2-4.
Berlanga, J.A. 2004. Bacteria Isolated from an MTBE
Mineral Medium Culture. Cantaurus 12:2-3.
Blas, J. 2005. Expression and Purification of TumorSuppressor Protein Tip30 for Structural Studies by
NMR Spectroscopy. Cantaurus 13:2-4.
Blubaugh, S.J. 1994. The Effect of Early Feed
Restriction on Death Loss, Growth Rate and Final
Maximum Body Weight of Broiler Chickens.
Cantaurus 2:7-10.
Bowen, J. 1999. Develop a Quantitative Analytical
Method for Low ( 1 ppm) Levels of Ammonium
Sulfate. Cantaurus 7:5-8
Bretz, M. 1996. Changes in fiber content of tallgrass
and shortgrass species during maturation. Cantaurus
4:2-4.
Burden, T.L. 1993. Immunological Specificity of
Classically Conditioned Immuno-enhancement.
Cantaurus 1:3-11.
Cox, T.D. 2006. Germination of Five Wheat Varieties
over a Range of Salinities. Cantaurus 14:15-18.
Cripe, A. 2003. McPherson College’s Environmental
Impact on Water Use, Energy Use, and Waste
Generation/Disposal. Cantaurus 11:5-14.
Crist, C. E. Klein, J. Golan, D. Harrison-Findik. 2007.
The Interaction of Alcohol and Iron-Overload in the invivo Regulation of Iron Responsive Genes.
Cantaurus 15:2-6.
DeMoss, C.L. 1994. The Decomposition of Chlorinated
Hydrocarbons in Aqueous Solution by Ultrasonic
Irradiation. Cantaurus 2:16-20.
Dennis, J.W. 1999. The Effect of Echinacea purpurea
on Stimulating IgM (Primary) and IgG (Secondary)
Immune Responses in Male CD1 Mice. Cantaurus
7:9-11.
Ducy, M. 2010. The Effect of Low-Carbohydrate Intake
and Exercise on the Rate of Weight Gain and Blood
Glucose Fluctuation in Female Mice. Cantaurus 18:27.
Embers, M.E. 1995. The Effect of Vitamin E on Splenic
and Hepatic Natural Killer (NK) Cell Activity in the Rat.
Cantaurus 3:2-6.
Embers, M.E. 1996. Current Findings and
Developments in AIDS Research: A Review.
Cantaurus 4:5-7.
Engquist, L.D. 2007. Tracking Patient Habits: Gender
Age, Financial State, and Health Education.
Cantaurus 15:7-10.
Epps, M.E. 1996. The effect of soil nutrient status on
the resorption efficiency of nitrogen and phosphorus
from leaves of green ash, Fraxinus pennsylvanica.
Cantaurus 4:8-10.
Feasenhiser, D. 2005. The Effects of Organic
Selenium on Rumen Volatile Fatty Acid Production in
Continuous Culture. Cantaurus 13:10-13.
Cantrell, M.D. 1993. Studies of Sonochemically
Enhanced Grignard Reactions. Cantaurus 1:18-22.
Ferrell, K. 2011. What is the Prevalence of MRSA in a
Health Care Setting Compared to a Community
Setting?. Cantaurus 19:5-10.
Cockriel, D. The Design and Synthesis of Pyrazine
Ligands Suitable for Molecular Weaving with
Octahedral Metal Ions. Cantaurus 13:5-9.
Fisher, H. 2007. Benzo(a)pyrene Induced Mutagenesis
of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Cantaurus 15:11-13.
Coleman, C. 2003. What are the Effects of No-till
Farming on Soil Moisture and Soil Temperature
Compared to Conventional Tillage in Rice County
Kansas? Cantaurus 11:2-4.
Fisher, J.D. 2001. Evaluation of the Farm Credit Quick
Loan Analysis as a Valid Scorecard for Small
Business Loans Between $100,000 and $250,000.
Cantaurus 9:5-8.
Consaul, D.J. 2004. The Effects of Kickoff and
Compost on Yield and Economic Value of Double
Crop Potatoes. Cantaurus 12:4-6.
Freeman, H. 1997. The Difference Between Heat and
CO2 Measurements of Metabolic Rates in Mice.
Cantaurus 5:6-8.
Coopple, S. 1994. PCR Analysis of Small Indian
Mongoose Mitochondrial DNA. Cantaurus 2:11-15.
Friesen, M. 1999. A Comparative Analysis of Flue Gas
Desulfurization Byproducts to Limestone in an
Increase in the Soil pH. Cantaurus 7:12-14.
40
Cantaurus
Froese, A. 2011. Isolation, Characterization,
Quantitation of Isoxanthopterin from Drosophila
Melangolaster strains Wild Type and White Apricot.
Cantaurus 19:11-14.
Gallo, S. 2001. The Effects of Wastewater Treatment
Sludge on the Decomposition of Yard Waste.
Cantaurus 9:9-11.
Determine Nanoparticle Protection of Complexed
dsDNA. Cantaurus 15:14-16.
Herrera, A.K. 2000. The Effects of Slow and Fast
Velocity Training on Vertical Jump Using the Dynamic
Force Monitor. Cantaurus 8:2-5.
Hiebert, L.M. 1996. The visible effects that laundering
has on dyed cotton when a non-formaldehyde based
resin finish has been applied. Cantaurus 4:11-13.
Gesch, P. 1994. Comparisons of Myofibrillar Protein
Using Gel Electrophoresis in Mouse Skeletal Muscle.
Cantaurus 2:21-24.
Hoffert, R. 2007. Hershey Diamond Synthesis: an
Attempt at Verifying Methods. Cantaurus 15:17-20.
Ghaffarian, A. 2008. Aerobic Methane Production of
Tropical Plants. Cantaurus 16:2-5.
Hoffert, W. 2003. Synthesis and Characterization of a
3+
Chloro - Hydroxo Chromium Complex of CrossBridged Cyclam. Cantaurus 11:15-19.
Good, S.J. 2002. Operation and Methods Development
for the Varian Saturn 2100D GC/MS. Cantaurus
10:7-13.
Green, K. 2011. What is the Prevalence of MRSA in an
Elementary School Setting Compared to a Hospital
Setting? Cantaurus 19:15-18.
Hoffman, D. 2005. Human Performance Assessment
Using the DYFORMON Exercise System. Cantaurus
13:18-22.
Holderreed, M. 1993. Attenuation of the Immunosuppressive and Adrenal Responses to Noise Stress
in Rats. Cantaurus 1:23-31.
Griggs, M.M. 2010. The Comparison of Bacteria
Populations under Artificial and Natural Nails, and the
Effect of Hand Cleansing with Alcohol-Based Gels
and Antibacterial Soap. Cantaurus 18:8-11.
Hooton, S. 1999. The Effect of Different Concentrations
of Gingko biloba on the Memory of a Maze in Mice.
Cantaurus 7:19-22.
Grillo, A.O. 1994. Effect of Short-term Sulfur dioxide
Fumigation on Photosynthesis in Sunflower and
Wheat. Cantaurus 2:25-28.
Horinek, A. 2009. Antibiotic Resistance to
Oxytetracycline HCL in Kansas Department of Wildlife
Fish Hatchery of Pratt, KS. Cantaurus 17:2-4.
Grillo, I.A. 2002. The Synthesis and Characterization of
Co(Am2Bcyclam)PF6 A model for new MRI Contrast
Agents. Cantaurus 10:14-19.
House, J.A. 1998. Adaptation of Pseudomonas
aeruginosa in Kansas oil fields for use in tertiary oil
recovery. Cantaurus 6:2-4.
Grosbach, A. 2008. The Effect of a Nutritional
Supplement on Stillbirths in Swine. Cantaurus 16:6-8.
Huen. J. 1997. The Effects of Vitamin E on the Longevity of Drosophila melanogaster. Cantaurus 5:9-11.
Grosbach, J. 2008. The Effect of Row Spacing on the
Yield and Plant Growth of Popcorn (Zea mays).
Cantaurus 16:9-12.
Hughbanks, H.L. 1995. The Effects of Ovariectomy
and Supplemental Estrogen Therapy on the Growth
and Development of Prepubescent Rats. Cantaurus
3:11-16.
Hlad, Z. 2011. Quantitative Survey of Zebra Mussels
(Dressna polymorpha) Within Wilson Lake and
Kanopolis Lake. Cantaurus 19:16-19.
Hamud-Socoro, A.A. 2004. Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Resistance to Tetracycline and Triclosan. Cantaurus
12:7-9.
Hamud-Socoro, M.A. 2002. Is There a Difference in
Hemoglobin Concentration Between Male and
Female Horses? Cantaurus 10:20-22.
Hargitt, R. 2001. The Nitrate Contamination of Private
Well Water in Rural Northwest Kansas. Cantaurus
9:12-17.
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41
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42
Cantaurus
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43