Rural Water Testing and Cognitive Testing of Street-Connected Children

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Presentation Type

Submission

Department

Biology

Major

Biology, Nutritional Science, Chemistry

Abstract

The Pepperdine Kenya: Made In the Streets Summer Program is a unique IP experience which allows students to apply classroom information about broad public health concepts such as malnutrition, sanitation, and disease in a service-learning environment. As part of this program, students have the opportunity to engage in research projects that connect their academic work with the ongoing efforts of Made In The Streets, a Kenya based nonprofit which aims to help street-connected children transition into a more stable lifestyle with formal education and career training. This past summer, students participated in a number of research projects including water quality testing, rural water purification systems, and a number of physical and cognitive assessments. The water quality testing involved both bacterial contamination assessment and a number of individual tests for such other inorganic contaminants such as fluoride and nitrate using a YSI Photometer, results indicated a concerning amount of both bacteria and fluoride, however nitrate was well within acceptable limits. Testing a number of water filtration systems that could be made in rural settings with readily available materials and found that a simple water bottle with ground moringa seeds showed great promise as an effective filtration system. Lastly, the cognitive assessments provided insights into the potential value of assessing cognitive skills on an ongoing basis for MITS students. However, further work is needed to develop validated cognitive assessments for Kenyan students to provide reliable data for future studies.

Faculty Mentor

Dr. Matt Joyner, Dr. Hunter Paris, Dr. Donna Nofziger, Dr. Kim Loan

Funding Source or Research Program

Cross Disciplinary-Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research, Summer Undergraduate Research in Biology, Summer Undergraduate Research Program

Location

Black Family Plaza Classroom 191

Start Date

22-3-2024 3:15 PM

End Date

22-3-2024 3:30 PM

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Mar 22nd, 3:15 PM Mar 22nd, 3:30 PM

Rural Water Testing and Cognitive Testing of Street-Connected Children

Black Family Plaza Classroom 191

The Pepperdine Kenya: Made In the Streets Summer Program is a unique IP experience which allows students to apply classroom information about broad public health concepts such as malnutrition, sanitation, and disease in a service-learning environment. As part of this program, students have the opportunity to engage in research projects that connect their academic work with the ongoing efforts of Made In The Streets, a Kenya based nonprofit which aims to help street-connected children transition into a more stable lifestyle with formal education and career training. This past summer, students participated in a number of research projects including water quality testing, rural water purification systems, and a number of physical and cognitive assessments. The water quality testing involved both bacterial contamination assessment and a number of individual tests for such other inorganic contaminants such as fluoride and nitrate using a YSI Photometer, results indicated a concerning amount of both bacteria and fluoride, however nitrate was well within acceptable limits. Testing a number of water filtration systems that could be made in rural settings with readily available materials and found that a simple water bottle with ground moringa seeds showed great promise as an effective filtration system. Lastly, the cognitive assessments provided insights into the potential value of assessing cognitive skills on an ongoing basis for MITS students. However, further work is needed to develop validated cognitive assessments for Kenyan students to provide reliable data for future studies.