Derek Simonsen Presents at Buena Vista University's Thirteenth Annual Scholars Day

2017 May 1

Buena Vista University's (BVU) thirteenth annual Scholars Day was held Saturday, April 29. The event provided students from all disciplines an opportunity to present their best original research, academic posters, artistic creations and performances to their peers, professors and the public.

This year's Scholars Day event featured 63 presentations from 120 students, exploring topics from literature and business to science and history.

Derek Simonsen, a senior biology major from Quimby , was one of the students who participated. Simonsen's presentation was titled "Potential Metabolic Degradation of Triclosan in Utero and Residual Effects on Langerhan Cells," and the project's abstract is as follows:

Triclosan is a common antimicrobial agent found in a wide variety of personal care products, but has recently undergone regulation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and will removed from products by the end of 2017. Triclosan has been widely studied as an estrogen mimicking compound and has also been shown to photodegrade into 2,7/2,8 dibenzochloro-p-dioxin. This research hypothesized that triclosan may metabolically produce 2,7/2,8 dibenzochloro-p-dioxin in mouse amniotic fluid after maternal ingestion due to a 2013 BVU research project that showed a unique tail hair follicle anomaly among dosed pups. This 2013 project hypothesized the tail anomaly may be related to 2,7/2,8 dibenzochloro-p-dioxin production because of a 1989 article written by Phuvel showing dioxin effects on Langerhan cells. Pregnant mice were dosed with 1 ppb triclosan solution from day 13 of pregnancy until euthanization at day 19. Amniotic fluid was then extracted and analyzed using an Agilent 7890A/5975 GC/MS. A range of m/z 50-500 was scanned to confirm the retention times of the analytes. Results indicated that 2,7/2,8 dibenzochloro-p-dioxin levels in amniotic fluid were non-detectable. Additional mouse samples will be further analyzed in order to increase sample sizes and potential detection.

Evidence of DDT Resuspension Through Dredging of a Midwest Agricultural Lake System

Although the organochlorine dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, DDT, was outlawed in select countries during the 1972 Stockholm Convention, DDT and daughter compounds can persist in the environment for approximately forty years. When sorbed to substrate, DDT does not pose a measurable threat, but once disturbed by anthropogenic activities such as dredging, DDT could be released into the water column and recirculate through the ecosystem. Due to the lipophilic nature of DDT, resuspension and bioaccumulation in organisms may occur. This study investigated if DDT compounds were present at measurable levels in Storm Lake's water column and substrate. Storm Lake is a 3097-acre glacial lake that has been dredged from 2000 to present. To determine concentrations of DDT compounds in the samples, an external calibration curve was created using an Agilent 7890A/5975 GC/MS. A range of m/z 50-500 was scanned to confirm the retention times of the analytes. The calibration curve related the DDT Mix concentrations in ppm to the abundance peak area at a retention time of 17.23 minutes for DDD and 18.61 minutes for DDT. Results indicated that DDT levels in selected Storm Lake sites were non-detectable, but measurable levels were found in extracts from planarians exposed to the substrate.

Although the organochlorine dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, DDT, was outlawed in select countries during the 1972 Stockholm Convention, DDT and daughter compounds can persist in the environment for approximately forty years. When sorbed to substrate, DDT does not pose a measurable threat, but once disturbed by anthropogenic activities such as dredging, DDT could be released into the water column and recirculate through the ecosystem. Due to the lipophilic nature of DDT, resuspension and bioaccumulation in organisms may occur. This study investigated if DDT compounds were present at measurable levels in Storm Lake's water column and substrate. Storm Lake is a 3097-acre glacial lake that has been dredged from 2000 to present. To determine concentrations of DDT compounds in the samples, an external calibration curve was created using an Agilent 7890A/5975 GC/MS. A range of m/z 50-500 was scanned to confirm the retention times of the analytes. The calibration curve related the DDT Mix concentrations in ppm to the abundance peak area at a retention time of 17.23 minutes for DDD and 18.61 minutes for DDT. Results indicated that DDT levels in selected Storm Lake sites were non-detectable, but measurable levels were found in extracts from planarians exposed to the substrate.

The keynote speaker for the event was Adrienne B. Haynes, a 2010 BVU graduate, who is an attorney and business woman who specializes in helping entrepreneurs develop sustainable infrastructure and business practices. Haynes is the managing partner of SEED Law, a business law firm, and owner of SEED Collective, a consultancy. She is the founder of the nonprofit, the Construction Business Institute, and is active in both the Multicultural Business Coalition and Black Female Attorneys network. Haynes is also a member of the BVU National Alumni Association Board of Directors.

"This is a special event because it gives students' a real-life platform where they can showcase their success beyond exams and grades," said Dr. Steven Mills, assistant professor of Spanish and chair of the events committee who organized the event. "With a Scholars Day presentation, students take their hard work and form it into a new medium or method for discussion. They become experts on their topic and then stand in front of peers and become teachers about what they have done and how it adds to the greater corpus of knowledge in their field."

This year marked the first time Scholars Day and the annual Student Recognition Dinner - which was held later that evening - were combined.

"For the first time, those who presented as part of Scholars Day received an invitation to the dinner and were recognized alongside all the others receiving honors and awards for academic excellence," added Mills. "They deserved to be a part of the celebration of hard work and dedication."