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FRIDAY, APRIL 3 ABSTRACT 2020 Showcasing research, creativity, and service learning go.wisc.edu/ugsympo Welcome to our 22nd Annual Undergraduate Symposium at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The Symposium takes a new turn this year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic whereby we celebrate the research accomplishments of our undergraduates in a virtual format. We look forward to getting back to our labs, field sites, studios and similar locations where the creativity and curiosity of our undergraduates can flourish without constraint as they build their Wisconsin Experience. Steven M. Cramer, Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning University of Wisconsin–Madison We would like to thank our major sponsors and partners: Brittingham Trust Chancellor’s and Powers-Knapp Scholarship Programs General Library System McNair Scholars Program Morgridge Center for Public Service Office of the Provost Undergraduate Academic Awards Office Undergraduate Research Scholars Program University Marketing Wisconsin Institute for Science Education and Community Engagement Wisconsin Union The Writing Center 2020 Undergraduate Symposium Organizing Committee: Hannah Bailey, Liza Chang, Steven M. Cramer, Doug DeRosa, Sarah Hagedon (coordinator), Marina Kelly, Laura Livingston, Mandy Morrow, Samantha Samreth, Amber Smith, Julie Stubbs A special thanks goes to Stephanie Diaz de Leon of The Wisconsin Union; Jay Ray and Crague Cook at College Library; DesignLab; and College Library Computer & Media Center. Cover photo by the Office of University Commications. ii HIDDEN HISTORIES AND RHETORICAL DISSONANCE IN THE PLANTATION HERITAGE SITE Heidi Weston, Michael Bernard-Donals (Mentor) My aim with this paper was to document the range of rhetorical tensions that are embodied in Plantation Heritage Sites and their preserved architecture, objects and collections, tour talks and historical interpretation. These tensions are engendered by the rhetorical needs and desires of tourism and through the uncertain admixture of Old South myths and more histori- cally accurate narratives. I argue that these rhetorical conflicts which are represented in the plantation heritage site are indicative of the friction that exists between dominant publics and subaltern counterpublics, who both view the plantation heritage site as central to their sense of self and collective identity. COLLEGE STUDENTS BEFORE CROSS CULTURAL STUDY ABROAD Kendi Aaron, Julie Larson-Guenette (Mentor) University students seeking to gain global experiences take part in study abroad programs. This research focuses on a 3-phase study investigating cultural literacy and linguistic gains among a cohort of UW-Madison students in an 11-month study abroad program in Freiburg, Germany. Data for this project consists of surveys, interviews, and writing samples taken before, during (at 4.5 months) and after the program. Dr. Julie Larson-Guenette and her colleague previously noted increased linguistic proficiency in students’ writing samples. However, the current project focuses on a subset of interview data (n=6) collected prior to the 11-month program. Data analyses explore themes present in the initial interviews that offer insight into students’ motivations for study abroad and their desire to cultivate cross-cultural awareness and linguistic development. OS AND ND ISOTOPE STRATIGRAPHY OF THE ~2.05 GA ZAONEGA FORMATION TO UNDERSTAND CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL WEATHERING DURING THE GREAT OXIDATION EVENT Sheila Rozalia Binti Abdul Rashid, Annie Bauer (Mentor) About 2.4 billion years ago (Ga), the concentration of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere rose dramatically, changing the nature and intensity of chemical and physical weathering until oxygen levels crashed 2.0Ga. Paleoproterozoic organic-rich shales of the Zaonega Formation in the Onega Basin, Russia, contain weathered detrital material that could provide critical infor- mation about the nature of these fluctuations in atmospheric oxygen. We performed Os and Nd isotope over 100s of meters of stratigraphy to evaluate the authigenic and detrital components in these shales. Our Os isotope results track the variation in chemical weathering input across millions of years in the Onega Basin, providing a record of the crash in oxygen levels. We use the 143Sm-147Nd isotope system to track variations in the detrital provenance throughout this interval. POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY PROTOTYPE ASSEMBLY Paul Adu, Duncan Carlsmith (Mentor) Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a nuclear medicine functional imaging technique for observing cell metabolism and diagnosing diseases. In the Garage Physics lab, we’re trying to assemble a pint-sized prototype of the PET scan. The system works on the principle that a radioactive tracer undergoes decay to emit a positron. The positron travels until it interacts with a nearby electron to annihilate, producing a pair of gamma photons. The gamma photons produce a scintil- lation, which is detected by a silicon photomultiplier. We use MATLAB to collect raw data. The Pint-sized PET prototype will be able to solve the problem of high operational cost associated with the existing PET scan. Moreover, it can be used to diagnose diseases from wide range of bodies: humans, pets, and lab animals. 1 THE USE OF UNNECESSARY IMAGING FOR DIAGNOSIS OF INGUINAL HERNIAS David Aguilar, Dr. Anne Lidor (Mentor) In the US, over 700,000 inguinal hernia repairs are performed each year. Inguinal hernias are usually diagnosed by a physi- cal exam. In the event where physical exams are inconclusive, imaging techniques can be used. However, some physicians order radiology studies even when a hernia is felt during the physical exam. Studies such as CT scans, ultrasounds, and MRIs are used. Unnecessary radiographic imaging can lead to adverse side-effects for the patient, increase the cost for the patient, and put an economic strain on our healthcare system. The purpose of this project is to determine how much unnecessary imagery is used. Electronic health records from the UW-Health system will be analyzed to determine the rate of usage of radiology studies in the inguinal hernia surgery population. MAPPING THE TEMPORAL: CATALOGING ECONOMIC SECTORS IN LATINO VENDOR MARKET Naga Sahiti Akondi, Edna Ledesma (Mentor) Flea markets in America generate around $300 billion in sales annually. These markets tend to be run and visited mostly by Latino in areas with a high concentration of this population. Despite this, not much attention was given to them as important places of attachment. This research studies the economic profile of these markets with a place based approach. It draws comparisons between four sample flea markets in California and Texas chosen because they are home to a high number of Latinos. The research methodology includes site observations, surveys, and key informant interviews. Some findings from this research show how Latinos feel a sense of attachment to these markets. This research aims to suggest policy measures to support Latino owned businesses. ELECTROPORATION OF GFP-MRNA INTO NK92 Adeela Ali, Christian Capitini (Mentor) Natural killer (NK) cells are a subset of lymphocytes that can kill cells in an antigen-independent manner. The human NK cell line,NK-92, when transduced with a CD19 CAR has been shown to be highly cytotoxic to cancer cells. However, conventional lentiviral approaches for CAR transfection into NK cells have the potential to cause insertional mutagenesis. Here, we attempt to transduce GFP into NK-92 cells using mRNA electroporation. This method has been shown to have higher transduction efficiency as compared to DNA-based methods. We will be testing the efficacy of electroporation as well as NK-92 cell viability post-transduction. The results from this study will help establish safer, more efficacious meth- ods of CAR transduction into NK cells for clinical purposes. GENERATION OF ENHANCED RIBOSOMES FOR OPTIMAL PROTEIN OVEREXPRESSION VIA CRISPR-CAS9-ASSISTED RECOMBINEERING Anna Allen, Silvia Cavagnero (Mentor) The accumulation of insoluble protein aggregates in overexpression conditions is a common obstacle for researchers aim- ing to study proteins and turn them into useful products. Existing methods used to prevent or counteract this problem in bacteria are largely inadequate. A promising alternative is modification of the ribosome to unlock its intrinsic ability to chaperone protein folding. This approach is made possible with the gene-editing potential of CRISPR-Cas9-assisted recombineering. Through systematic edits to the structure of the E. coli ribosome, we hope to design an idealized machine capable of both synthesizing proteins and promoting their complete, proper folding prior to release. Timely folding in this way is crucial to bypassing the aggregation pathway. 2 GEODESIGN FOR RIPARIAN VEGETATION BUFFERS TO MAINTAIN TEMPERATURES TROUT STREAMS IN A CHANGING CLIMATE Rykia Amos, David Allen Hart (Mentor) Recognized as a trout fishing haven, Wisconsin attracts tourism to its more than 10,000 miles of cold-water streams. Anthropogenic climate change threatens the long-term health of these water bodies. This project focuses on trout streams within western Dane County. The first phase involves review of observed and predicted climate trends for temperature in Wisconsin developed by the UW Center for Climatic Research, and use of the FishVis Mapper developed by the U.S Geological Survey to identify streams with cold-water species vulnerable to increasing temperatures. The second phase reviews literature about the capacity of
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