UW-Madison Undergraduate Symposium || Abstracts 2014
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ABSTRACTS 2014 Undergraduate Symposium Celebrating research, creative endeavor and service-learning We would like to thank our major sponsors and partners: Brittingham Trust General Library System Institute for Biology Education McNair Scholars Program Morgridge Center for Public Service Office of the Provost Undergraduate Academic Awards Office Undergraduate Research Scholars Program University Marketing Wisconsin Union The Writing Center 2014 Undergraduate Symposium Organizing Committee: Jane Harris Cramer, Maya Holtzman, Svetlana Karpe, Kelli Hughes, Linda Kietzer, Laurie Mayberry, Aaron Miller, Christopher Olsen, Janice Rice, Amy Sloane, Julie Stubbs, Malika Taalbi, Beth Tryon, and Berit Ness (coordinator). A special thanks is also extended to Stephanie Diaz de Leon of The Wisconsin Union; Rosemary Bodolay, Patricia Iaccarino, Carrie (Carolyn) Kruse, and Pamela O’Donnell at College Library; and Jeff Crucius of the Division of Information Technology. Cover photos courtesy Office of University Communications and the Undergraduate Symposium Committee ii Abstracts and Art Statements University of Wisconsin–Madison April 10, 2014 • Union South THE SHORT AND DIFFICULT LIFE OF WALES’ DEVOLVED GOVERNMENT: WAS IT ALWAYS A LEGITIMATE INSTITUTION? Lucille Abrams, Yoshiko Herrera (Mentor), Political Science The construction of the regional, or devolved, government of Wales, as well as its corresponding governing body, the National Assembly for Wales, was a protracted process. Through library research, I sought to find the reasons for this dif- ficulty and ask if Welsh citizens believed the Assembly to be a valid, or legitimate, political institution. The political history of the United Kingdom, Wales’ individual history, and analysis of voter turnout at the first Assembly election, contribute to answering this question. The Assembly did not suffer from a lack of legitimacy but from an apathetic and alienated constitu- ency. This apathy is widespread among the United Kingdom today, and changes must be made to British politics to keep Wales’ difficulties from reoccurring in other policy initiatives. POLITICAL HUMOR ON TWITTER Kyle Acevedo, David Lassen (Mentor), Political Science Twitter is an ever-growing social network that is popular in our cultural. It is being used for news, sports, or what my research is focused on, political humor. The objectives of this research project include trying to figure out how political content and humor on twitter are directly related. Also to see how these compare to humor that is not politically related. To help distinguish between these we code tweets on a University of Wisconsin–Madison survey platform. This survey contains specific questions to help us categorize tweets; into two main groups political and non-political. We are coding tweets from not only government officials, but also the public. With this research we are trying to understand how people are getting news, specifically, political news. CHARACTERIZATION OF IRX4+ CARDIAC PROGENITORS Luke Addesso, Daryl Nelson (Mentor), Cell and Regenerative Biology Regenerative cell therapy has emerged as a possible remedy for the damage inflicted by myocardial infarction (MI). One form of cell therapy entails the use of cardiac progenitors, which demonstrate the cardiac-specific potency necessary to adequately replenish the infarcted myocardium. The purpose of the experiment is to identify a cardiac progenitor popula- tion that exhibits ventricular-specific potency, and to determine whether Irx4 serves a genetic marker for the elucidation of this specified cell type. Progenitors that expressed Irx4 were purified from a culture of differentiating mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs). The purified Irx4+ cells displayed the proliferative capacity and potency necessary to be classified as cardiac progenitors. Progeny generated from the differentiated Irx4+ progenitors include the following: endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and ventricular myocytes. 1 ANALYSIS OF CO-CULTURE DERIVED NATURAL PRODUCT Srikar Adibhatla, Navid Adnani (Mentor), Pharmaceutical Sciences Our lab has identified a novel antibiotic produced by co-cultivation of a Micromonospora sp. with a Rhodococcus sp. interestingly, the compound is not produced when either is grown in monoculture. We aim to identify if cellular contact of the two bacteria is necessary for biosynthesis of the novel antibiotic. To test this, we will modify 24-well culture plates to include porous membrane that will allow movement of small molecules between the two cultures, but not bacterial cells. To detect whether the novel antibiotic is produced in wells with and without the cellular contact, we will perform a disc diffu- sion assay of the culture extract against B. subtilis. This study will help better understand the culture conditions necessary for the production of the antibiotic in co-culture. DIVINE ATTRIBUTES: EXPLORING THE NATURE OF GOD Hiwot Adilow, Jesse Steinberg (Mentor), Philosophy What type of characteristics do we believe are essential in a Divine Being? Through researching various religions and their descriptions of the Divine, or God, we are able to come closer to answering this question and posing others. When defining and describing God, what do various religions have in common? What about the Divine’s makeup informs a believer’s dedication to their Faith? Finally, what philosophical and scientific evidence supports those beliefs about the Divine and the believer’s faith in Them? The goal of this research is not to find the “right” religion, but to contribute to dialogue around the commonalities and differences between Divine attributes in various religions and presenting the arguments and questions associated with each belief in a Philosophy of Religion book. PERCEIVING FRACTION MAGNITUDES Harim Ahn, Percival Matthews (Mentor), Educational Psychology The purpose of this research was to investigate whether humans have perceptual tools that can help support fraction con- cepts. Past research argued that although perception supports whole numbers, humans do not have perceptual access to frac- tions, making it difficult to comprehend them. In the present study, participants compared pairs of symbolic or nonsymbolic fractions and judged which was the larger of the two. Nonsymbolic fractions were composed either of pairs of dot arrays or pairs of circles. Participants demonstrated distance effects across formats. Participants got faster and more accurate as the distance between stimuli increased. This finding suggests participants can perceive fraction magnitudes regardless of format, and further suggests that it may be possible to use perceptual training to teach about symbolic fractions. STORAGE AND CHEMISTRY OF SOIL CARBON IN POST-AGRICULTURAL FORESTS Nawaf Alghamdi, Emily Atkinson (Mentor), Forest and Wildlife Ecology The purpose of this study was to investigate how soil carbon (C) is stored in post-agricultural forests. The study had two components: 1) Fractionation of organic matter in soil samples, and 2) 13C-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spec- troscopy. Soil samples from St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands were collected and separated into multiple soil organic matter fractions. We hypothesized that a greater proportion of soil C would be stored as particulate (free floating) organic matter instead of stored inside soil aggregates. The second phase of the project was to measure potential differences in chemical composition of the soil organic matter fractions. We hypothesized that different forest types would have different propor- tions of organic functional groups in C that is stored inside soil aggregates. 2 WHO KNOWS BEST?: AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE TOP-DOWN APPROACH OF EVALUATING MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY Janerra Allen, Linda Hogle (Mentor), Medical History and Bioethics Medical science and technology have become increasingly complex, challenging existing systems to evaluate their efficacy and safety. What kind of expertise should be used in such evaluations, and how should oversight regulations be determined? Typically the experts are bioethicists and scientists, but ‘non-experts’ can also contribute by sharing their experiences and knowledge, leading to better evaluation, as argued by Brian Wynne, among others. This poster will show different models of how lay expertise has contributed to scientific research and evaluation. After reviewing the models developed by advo- cacy groups, I propose a new model to incorporate various kinds of expertise in a more equitable way. 13C/12C DELTA VALUE OF NEONATAL BREATH AS EARLY BIOMARKER OF INFECTION RELATED TO CHORIOAMNIONITIS Nackers Allison, De-Ann Pillers (Mentor), Pediatrics The purpose of this study is to determine if changes in 13C/12C delta value in breath can be used as an early biomarker of bacterial infection, specifically looking at newborns with fetal inflammatory response syndrome related to chorioam- nionitis. Subjects in this study need to meet specific requirements and give consent. A neonatal nasal cannula is used to collect samples of breath into a bag and is tested in a cavity ring-down spectroscopy to determine the breath carbon isotope delta values. In this study, researchers hope to observe a correlation between 13C/12C delta value in breath and changes in physiology related to fractionation during APR to infection. In response to future results, this study hopes to serve as an early diagnosis of infection for future neonates. TROPICAL CYCLONE WIND STRUCTURE PROJECT Mohamed Amin, Christopher Rozoff (Mentor), Atmospheric and