Undergraduate Research Symposium May 21, 2010 Mary Gates Hall Online Proceedings

POSTER SESSION 1 POSTER SESSION 1 MGH 241, Easel 178 Balcony, Easel 115 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM

The Role of the Mitotic Kinase Plk1 and the AKAP Trace-Contaminant Degradation by Wastewater Gravin in Cellular Transformation Microorganisms Karly Anne (Karly) Fischer, Senior, Biology (Physiology) Wayne Tamell (Wayne) Mc Neal, Senior, Civil Engineering Mentor: John Scott, Pharmacology NASA Space Grant Scholar, McNair Scholar Mentor: David Canton, Pharmacology, Howard Hughes Mentor: Heidi Gough, Civil And Environmental Engineering Medical Institute Mentor: John Ferguson, Civil And Environmental Engineering Propagation of cellular signals through protein phosphoryla- tion and dephosphorylation are key regulatory mechanisms in Trace-level contaminants originating from pharmaceuticals mammalian cells. Perturbation of these signaling pathways and personal care products (PPCP) represent a new class can lead to numerous disease states, including cancer. These of contaminants which are suspected to cause adverse im- molecules and their interaction partners are integral parts of pacts to aquatic life. These compounds often enter aquatic every physiological system. Our interest in the regulation of systems through sewers systems and wastewater treatment cellular signaling through the action of a family of proteins plants. The identification of organisms capable of degrad- known as A-kinase anchoring proteins (AKAPs) is important. ing PPCP will contribute greatly to the design and imple- AKAPs are signal-organizing molecules that bind to cyclic- mentation of new processes for the removal of PPCP dur- AMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA) to further propagate ing wastewater treatment. Naproxen is one of many PPCP activation or inhibition signals in the cell. In addition to PKA, that are studied. Activated sludge from West Point Wastewa- AKAPs scaffold other important signaling molecules includ- ter Treatment Plant was enriched for microorganisms capable ing kinases (protein kinases C and D), phosphatases (PP1 and of degrading Naproxen. These enrichments were transferred PP2B) and phosphodiesterases (PDEs). Of particular interest and isolated while Naproxen degradation was monitored. En- are the interactions of the AKAP Gravin with polo-like ki- richments showing active degradation will be plated on solid nase 1 (Plk1), a regulator of mitosis in eukaryotic cells. This defined media, and colonies capable of degrading Naproxen interaction is of particular interest because elevated expres- will be selected. These colonies will be identified using DNA sion of Plk1 is correlated with certain cancers and Gravin has sequencing. On-going work will include monitoring growth been demonstrated to function as a tumor-suppressor gene. of biomass while monitoring degradation and various starting To evaluate the effect these proteins have on neoplasia (un- concentrations of Naproxen for degradation. controllable cell growth and division) in living cells, max- iprep DNA that encodes for the proteins Gravin, Plk1 and combinations of both are transfected into NIH 3T3 cells and POSTER SESSION 1 allowed to proliferate in selective media. Over time, “normal” Commons East, Easel 39 NIH 3T3 cells form a monolayer and then arrest due to con- 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM tact inhibition. However, if the cells have been transformed (changed cell morphology and growth patterning associated Presidential Influence on Congressional Agenda Setting with neoplasia) they will form a foci of cells on the tissue in Foreign and Domestic Policy culture plate. The plates are stained and then analyzed using Emma Katherine (Emma) Tessier, Junior, Political Science ImageJ software to count the number of foci per plate. Ulti- Mentor: John Wilkerson, Political Science mately, this study will help elucidate the effects of Gravin and Mentor: Loren Collingwood, Political Science Plk1 in cell cycle progression and transformation and provide clues to the role of Gravin in a genetic knock-out mouse. One of the most prominent Presidential roles is to act as chief diplomat for the United States, while Congress is more di- rectly concerned with constituents’ domestic needs. This fun-

Undergraduate Research Program 1 exp.washington.edu/urp damental difference in policy roles might suggest that we would expect to see a difference in presidential influence POSTER SESSION 1 across different policy areas. Such a difference in presiden- Commons East, Easel 1 tial influence has implications for voters, and for the field of 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM political science, as it would contribute to our understand- ing of government and presidential power. It is important to Selective Attention to Transparent Motion is by Blocking understand the relationship between the president’s agenda and Not by Attenuation and the legislative agenda, because it represents the driving Victor Duc Thang (Victor) Nguyen, Senior, Neurobiology, force of policymaking in the United States. I compare the Biochemistry, Psychology President’s influence over the congressional foreign policy Mentor: John Palmer, Pscyhology agenda to his influence over the congressional domestic pol- What neural mechanisms control visual attention? In partic- icy agenda. Scholars have studied the influence of the Presi- ular, how is it that we are able to distinguish between numer- dent on the Congress from many angles, but a direct empirical ous, moving objects within our visual field? We applied prin- comparison between two central policy arenas has not been ciples of contrast detection to a filtering paradigm based on investigated. I hypothesize that the President will have more motion discrimination. Observers viewed a single field of two influence over the congressional foreign policy agenda. My superimposed sets of dots with net motion in several possible analysis examines 46 years of data coded by policy area from directions. The task was to discriminate between cued, rele- the Policy Agendas Project. Correlation and regression anal- vant directions of motion while ignoring irrelevant directions ysis is used to compare the issues emphasized in Presidential of motion. For example, one might discriminate between left- State of the Union Address with those emphasized in Con- ward and rightward motion while ignoring diagonally moving gressional bills and hearings. The ultimate goal is to end the dots. Not all the dots within the sets are moving in the same speculation about presidential influence in the field and bet- direction. By manipulating the percentage of dots moving ter understand the role of the President in legislative agenda together in both relevant and irrelevant directions, one can setting. test for selection by blocking versus selection by attenuation. With blocking, processing of even a strong stimulus is com- POSTER SESSION 1 pletely prevented; with attenuation, processing of an irrele- vant stimulus is decreased (but not zero). The results were Commons East, Easel 40 consistent with blocking and not attenuation. They rule out 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM models of attenuation such as a motion analog to the contrast The Politics of Pork gain model of contrast detection. Possible models of block- Kyle Quenton (Kyle) Corn, Senior, Political Science ing include attention switching, response gain, or a selection Mentor: John Wilkerson, Political Science process in decision rather than perception. The average American Citizen views congressional earmarks, or “pork” as a large wasteful portion of the federal budget. POSTER SESSION 1 Politicians view congressional earmarks as a “political com- Commons West, Easel 83 modity” that can be used to garner electoral support back in 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM their home district. Is pork allocated differently than other federal funds? What are the different considerations that drive Understanding Gene Function in Arabidopsis Thaliana the decisions to allocate pork? I hypothesize that earmarks using T-DNA Insertion Lines are allocated no differently than federal program dollars gen- Gabriel Licina, Sophomore, Biology, Sccc Inactive Code erally. To test this hypothesis, I compare the amount of ear- Amanuel Negash, Junior, Pre-Major, Sccc Inactive Code mark spending and general program spending states received Anna Wang, Sophomore, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, across a range of program areas between 1995-1998. Is the Sccc Inactive Code distribution of earmarks to each state significantly different Sonja Schmidt, Sophomore, Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, than their share of general federal funds they receive? If so, Sccc Inactive Code what accounts for these differences? My general findings in- Mentor: John Wiseley, Biology, Seattle Central Community dicate that states receive pork at different rates than other fed- College eral funds. More specifically, the more delegates that a state Mentor: Kate Sowell, Biology, Seattle Central Community has with oversight over a specific category of pork the more College of that category a state will receive. Arabidopsis thaliana, a species widely used in plant research, has had its entire genome sequenced while information on specific gene function is still limited. This research aims

2 to investigate gene function from observable phenotypes us- The Effects of Need on State Social Welfare Spending ing t-DNA insertions generated using Agrobacterium Tume- Melanie Ann (Melanie) Gillette, Junior, Political Science, faciens. A. tumfaciens is a gram negative bacterium that in- Environmental Studies fects dicots and inserts portions of its transfer DNA, known Mentor: John Wilkerson, Political Science as t-DNA, into the plant genome causing mutations at ran- Mentor: Loren Collingwood, Political Science dom. Taking known t-DNA sequences and transforming them States have considerable influence over how federal welfare A. thaliana into results in observable phenotypic differences. programs are implemented. We would like to think that state These plants were used to study gene function by character- policy decisions in this area are primarily motivated by the izing the phenotypes of knock out mutants. We germinated need of various recipient groups. In this study, I examine the seeds from the Feldman gene line and isolated the plants influence of political, economic and social factors on welfare showing phenotypic differences. Plasmid rescue was per- policy decisions at the state level. My goal is to understand formed using bacterial plasmids built in to the t-DNA seg- state differences in Maintenance of Effort (MOE) funding un- ment in order to identify the genes responsible for the mu- der the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program tant phenotypes. The online BLAST tool will be used to (TANF). Research in this area is important for understand- A. thaliana search the genomic database to identity our genes. ing social welfare spending because although there is a min- Bioinformatic tools will be used to predict possible protein imum required amount of money states must contribute to structure and function, and to identify potential homologues their MOE funds on top of federally provided funds, states in other taxa. This project aims to further our current un- still have discretion as to how much money they contribute A. thaliana derstanding of gene function by observing the after this minimum. Since states are able to influence the direct correlation between phenotype and disrupted gene se- amount of money they contribute to their MOE funds, MOE is quences. This correlation will improve our understanding of a good variable to measure state social welfare spending pref- other plants, and the effect that these genes may have on crop erences. My analysis is based on twelve years of data across production, growth and drought tolerance. 50 states. It includes political data such as political party con- trolling the state government, economic data such as MOE POSTER SESSION 1 spending per capita and GDP per capita, and social data such as public opinion about welfare. Despite the frequent empha- Commons East, Easel 41 sis given to the role of politics in social welfare spending, I 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM expect to find that economic need will be the most important explanation for state differences in MOE funding under the Bipartisanship in the United States Senate Joshua Alexander (Josh) Hansen King, Senior, Law, TANF program that so many low-income Americans depend Societies, & Justice, Political Science on daily. Mentor: John Wilkerson, Political Science Recently, the abscence of bipartisanship on key legislative is- SESSION 1B sues such as health care makes the studying of what makes bipartisanship likely a more pressing issue. Research to date MOLECULARAND FEEDING on the causes of bipartisanship is limited in that it focuses pri- marily on the characteristics of the issues that win bipartisan DYNAMICSIN ECOSYSTEMS support. By measuring bipartisanship as whether a legisla- Session Moderator: Vincent Gallucci, Aquatic & Fishery tor cosponsors a bill sponsored by a member of the opposite Sciences party we can address what shapes individual decisions to en- Mary Gates Hall Room 082A gage in bipartisanship and what makes some legislators more 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM likely to engage in bipartisanship than others. This allows for * Note: Titles in order of presentation. better predictions about the possibility of bipartisan behavior in the future. Some examples of our attempts to analyze in- Pacific Herring (Clupea Pallasii) Consumption of dividual behavior will involve looking at the role seniority, Zooplankton in Hood Canal ideology, and the role of political leadership in influencing Sarah Kathryn (Sarah) Hu, Junior, Aquatic & Fishery senators to engage in bipartisanship. Sciences Mentor: John Horne, Aquatic and Fishery Sciences POSTER SESSION 1 The deprivation of necessary oxygen in aquatic environments, Commons East, Easel 42 called hypoxia, may affect aquatic environments by influenc- ing predator-prey interactions. Seasonal hypoxia in the form 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM of low dissolved oxygen (DO) layers affect fish and zoo-

3 plankton vertical migrations. Lower Hood Canal, located in brafish NLRs, we hypothesized that there are NLRs that ei- Washington State, is vulnerable to hypoxia because of low ther activate or inhibit inflammation, thus expressing a dual water circulation and large anthropogenic inputs of phospho- regulatory role in innate immunity. To test this hypothesis, rous and nitrogen in runoff water. Low water circulation and we developed a yeast-2-hybrid assay to find protein interac- high nutrient input, causes an increased abundance of ma- tions between “bait” plasmid constructs made from a known rine organisms that use the oxygen, which depletes DO and NLR-interacting protein and a “prey” library derived from ze- can lead to fish deaths. The objective of this study was to brafish intestinal cDNA. Our screen yielded several potential evaluate the influence of hypoxia on Pacific herring (Clupea interacting proteins using the yeast-2-hybrid approach, and pallasii) zooplankton consumption. Time of year and geo- these proteins are currently being tested through additional graphic region within Hood Canal were used as variables to biochemical assays to rule out false interactions. Teleost fish compare consumption at varying DO levels. Herring were and mammals last shared a common ancestor over 350 mil- sampled in July, September, and December. In December, lion years ago; therefore, using this comparative approach samples were also collected in two regions that had different will help us to understand the evolution of inflammation in DO levels. Higher consumption rates were observed in July vertebrates. and September. Warmer months correspond with pre-hypoxic July and September’s hypoxic peak, while December is con- sidered post-hypoxic. Selectivity of prey, such as larval crab, SESSION 1E polycheates, and copepods, reflected seasonal abundance and availability of prey within the environment. Differences in NEW TECHNOLOGIES,MEDIA, AND prey consumption may also be attributed to variations of DO content in different regions of Lower Hood Canal. The study SCHOLARSHIP:THE demonstrates the link between herring consumption of zoo- INTERCONNECTED HISTORIESOF plankton and seasonal conditions. LATIN AMERICA, THE MIDDLE EAST ANDTHE U.S. SESSION 1B Session Moderator: Julie Villegas, English Mary Gates Hall Room 231 MOLECULARAND FEEDING 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM DYNAMICSIN ECOSYSTEMS * Note: Titles in order of presentation. Session Moderator: Vincent Gallucci, Aquatic & Fishery Rhetoric of a New America: Narrative Discourse in the Sciences Obama Campaign Mary Gates Hall Room 082A Janiece A. (Janiece) Jenkins, Senior, Business 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM Administration (Finance), Communication * Note: Titles in order of presentation. Mentor: John Hammerback, Communication

The Inflammasome: A Regulator of Inflammation Barack Obama’s successful presidential campaign in 2008 in- Nicole Elizabeth (Nicole) Scharping, Junior, Biology vites study by students of Communication. Seeking to recon- (Molecular, Cellular & Developmental) cile the public’s conflicting conceptions of the country’s prob- Mentor: John Hansen, Pathobiology lems while simultaneously striving to break historical prece- Mentor: Lucia Vojtech, Pathobiology dent by becoming the first biracial and black candidate of a major party and then the first president, Obama’s campaign In vertebrate innate immunity, the inflammasome detects relied heavily on narrative discourse. This narrative painted pathogenic invaders and initiates the host’s inflammatory re- a compelling and convincing picture of the past, present, and sponse to fight infection. The inflammasome forms when future that the audience of the American people found per- intracellular pathogen detectors called Nod-like receptors suasive and in many cases inspiring. To explain the rhetorical (NLRs) sense the presence of pathogens and oligomerize. dynamics that contributed to and perhaps even accounted for The oligomer recruits and activates cleaving enzymes called Obama’s unexpected electoral victories, I will apply narra- inflammatory caspases, which in turn activate immune sys- tive analysis to a representative sample of his most prominent tem signaling molecules called cytokines. These cytokines public speeches as well as key campaign documents such as are secreted from the infected cell, initiating local inflamma- his “Blueprint for America.” The goal of my project is to re- tion. Our group is using zebrafish to study the evolutionary veal the appeal of Obama’s campaign message and to shed conservation of the inflammasome, as zebrafish have an ex- light on how this message was able to transform the percep- panded NLR gene family in comparison to mammals. Based tions of the American people by animating audiences, inspir- upon the properties of conserved protein domains within ze-

4 ing volunteer workers and an unprecedented number of indi- Dimensionally-Constrained Power Supplies for vidual campaign contributors, and encouraging a grassroots Low-Power Wireless Sensors enthusiastic support which helped to secure the presidency Brendan Scott Trimboli, Senior, Electrical Engineering for Obama. Mary Gates Scholar, NASA Space Grant Scholar Mentor: Brian Otis, Electrical Engineering Mentor: John Burt, Electrical Engineering SESSION 1N Wireless sensing technology is currently among the most rapidly developing areas of research in electrical engineer- ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCESAND ing. One advantage to wireless sensing is the ability to deploy SURFACE PROCESSES:METHODS noninvasive electronics in various environments for applica- tions ranging anywhere from macro-scale sensing, such as AND RESULTS glacial monitoring, to micro-scale sensing, such as biomedi- Session Moderator: Joanne (Jody) Bourgeois, Earth & cal implants. While the sizes of integrated circuits continue Space Sciences to shrink due to advanced fabrication processes, device power Mary Gates Hall Room 284 supply dimensions have emerged as a dominating constraint, 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM limiting technological progress. One system subject to such a * Note: Titles in order of presentation. constraint is Encounternet, a network of wireless transceivers capable of continuously monitoring social interactions among Using Cosmic-Ray Produced Isotopes to Determine the song sparrows that is currently in development at the Uni- Glacial History of Antarctic Bedrock Surfaces versity of Washington’s Wireless Sensing Laboratory. In or- Ann (Annie) Bauer, Senior, French, Earth & Space Sciences der to capture sufficient data from which meaningful obser- Mary Gates Scholar, NASA Space Grant Scholar vations can be extracted, wireless device run-time duration Mentor: John Stone, Earth & Space Sciences must be maximized, which typically implies that larger bat- teries with higher energy densities must be used. Unfortu- The expansion and retreat of the Antarctic ice sheet has a ma- nately a sparrow can bear only up to 1.2g of weight, thus a jor impact on global sea level. It is difficult to model the trade-off between run-time duration and device weight must extent of the ice sheet earlier than the most recent glaciation, be addressed. In an effort to satisfy both specifications, three but cosmic ray-produced isotopes in bedrock can be used to basic wireless sensor power supply architectures have been place limits on the extent of the ice sheet during past glacia- explored through simulation and experimentation: primary tions. Cosmic rays interact with the minerals in bedrock cell, rechargeable cell, and cell-free. It was found that for to produce unstable radioactive isotopes. We will measure the initial deployment of Encounternet, use of a primary cell the relative concentrations of two radioisotopes, aluminum- was the only feasible way to stay beneath the firm weight 26 and beryllium-10, both of which are produced in quartz threshold. However, other wireless sensing devices, includ- when exposed to cosmic rays. These isotopes increase in ing future iterations of Encounternet, may be able to employ concentration when rock surfaces are exposed during inter- a rechargeable or cell-free power supply dependent upon their glacial periods, and decay at different rates when bedrock respective dimensional constraints. surfaces are shielded by ice during times of glacial cover. The ratio of these two isotopes is therefore sensitive to the length of exposure and burial of the bedrock. One possible POSTER SESSION 2 complication is subglacial erosion, which can remove pre- Commons West, Easel 60 exposed surfaces. However, by measuring concentrations 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM of chlorine-36, which has a different production profile, we should be able to separate the effect of subglacial erosion Mysterious Disturbances of Stellar ”Frisbees” from the glacial history of the surface. For this project, seven Zachary Harrison (Zack) Draper, Sophomore, Astronomy, bedrock samples were collected on an elevation transect of Physics Mt. Rigby in the Transantarctic Mountains. We separated Undergraduate Research Conference Travel Awardee minerals from whole rock samples and extracted the isotopes Mentor: John Wisniewski, Astronomy by ion-exchange chemistry. Isotope concentrations will be determined by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry. Classical ”Be” stars are massive, rapidly rotating stars hav- ing gaseous circumstellar decretion disks which are known to sometimes dissipate and regenerate. Since the mechanism POSTER SESSION 2 for forming these disks is not known, observing these stars Balcony, Easel 115 when they transition between a ”Be” phase and a normal B 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM star phase can help constrain what causes the disks to form.

5 We have analyzed 15 years of spectroscopic and spectropo- larimetric data from the Ritter and Pine Bluff Observatories of POSTER SESSION 2 two ”Be” stars, 60 Cygni (Cyg) and Pi Aquarii (Aqr), during Balcony, Easel 116 which such a transition phase from Be to B star occurred. The 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM time-scale of 60 Cyg’s disk loss was 1000 days, during which the disk emission declined monotonically, while Pi Aqr’s disk Using Sensing Systems for Real-Time Audio Performance loss episode lasted 2440 days and was interrupted by two ma- Robert Charles (Rob) Gay, Senior, Digital Arts & jor injection events of new disk material. We used the wave- Experimental Media, Electrical Engineering length dependence of polarization during each stars disk-less Mentor: John Sahr, Electrical Engineering phase to determine the interstellar polarization. Analysis of Mentor: Nicolas Varchausky, Digital Arts and Experimental the intrinsic polarization and H-alpha equivalent width mea- Media surements show that both disks faded in an inside-out manner, This project is a product of collaboration between the Digital with timescales much longer than the orbital periods of their Arts and Electrical Engineering departments. The goal was to binary companions. We also detect small deviations away devise a system of interaction between bodily movement and from the overall disk position angle in our polarization data; 3D, real-time audio performance for Nicolas Varchausky’s we speculate that this might be indicative of either a warp in sound installation “Speaker Performing Kiosk.” The final the inner disk region or the injection of new disk material at product is a small, battery-powered, light-weight device that an inclined orbit to the plane of the pre-existing disk. We also is worn by a user and can transfer sensor information (both present our initial efforts to model time dependent behavior of analog and digital, including serial communication with sen- our spectropolarimetric data using 3D Monte Carlo Radiative sors that use I2C) to the SuperCollider audio programming transfer codes. language run on a remote computer.The device allows Var- chausky to wirelessly use an accelerometer to measure bod- POSTER SESSION 2 ily movement within his installation. The research yields an easy-to-use device that can interface with SuperCollider, has Commons West, Easel 59 a software implementation that is easily expandable for future 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM sensors and devices, and a hardware implementation that can M Dwarf Flares: Exoplanet Implications be easily interfaced with many other common digital soft- Benjamin Michael (Ben) Tofflemire, Junior, Physics, ware packages used within the digital arts (i.e. MaxMSP, Astronomy Processing, PureData, etc.). The final product allows digi- Mary Gates Scholar tal artists and musicians to use hardware and sensory devices Mentor: John Wisniewski, Astronomy creatively while removing the worry of designing a wire- less hardware/software framework between the sensor and the Low mass stars such as M dwarfs are prime targets for ex- computer. This allows artists to instead focus their energy on oplanet transit searches as their low luminosities and small how to use the output of the sensor quickly and easily for the stellar radii could enable detection of super-Earths residing given project. in their habitable zones. While promising targets for transit searches, M dwarfs are also inherently variable and can ex- hibit up to 6.0 magnitude flux enhancements in the optical SESSION 2C U-band. This is significantly higher than the predicted tran- sit depths of super-Earths (0.005 magnitude flux decrease). PREVENTIONOF ADULT AND The behavior of flares at infrared (IR) wavelengths, particu- larly those likely to be used to study and characterize M dwarf PEDIATRIC DISEASES,INJURIESAND exoplanets using facilities such as the James Web Space Tele- SURGICAL COMPLICATIONS scope, remains largely unknown. To address these uncertain- ties, we have executed a coordinated, contemporaneous mon- Session Moderator: Amy Cizik, Orthopaedics and Sports itoring program of the optical and IR flux of M dwarfs known Medicine to regularly flare. A suite of telescopes located at the Kitt Mary Gates Hall Room 085 Peak National Observatory and the Apache Point Observatory 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM were used for the observations. We present the initial results * Note: Titles in order of presentation. of this program and discuss how flare events could influence future exoplanet detection and characterization studies in the IR.

6 Assessment of Role of Windows in Pediatric Window Fall Serotonin receptor type 1B (5-HT1B) plays an important role Hyun Rae Song, Senior, Biochemistry in addictive behavior. Specifically, it has been shown to reg- Mentor: Brian Johnston, Pediatrics ulate the rewarding properties of drugs of abuse such as co- Mentor: Beth Ebel, Pediatrics caine and alcohol. These receptors, present in the brain’s re- Mentor: Alex Quistberg, Epidemiology, Harborview Injury ward pathway, are expressed on the terminals of nucleus ac- Prevention & Research Center cumbens shell (NAcSh) GABAergic neurons that project to Each year approximately 5000 children fall from windows dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). These in the US, often sustaining serious injury. Little remains receptors modulate dopamine tone in the NAcSh via disin- known about modifiable environmental risk factors for pre- hibition of dopamine release from VTA neurons. To date, venting these falls. Researchers at the Harborview Injury there is no regionally selective method for targeting this pop- Prevention and Research Center conducted a pilot study to ulation of neurons. We explore a novel method for region- examine methods for studying factors associated with win- specific knockdown of 5-HT1B receptors using short hair- dow design with interest in the presence of a window screen pin RNA (shRNA) interference to degrade 5-HT1B mRNA. as risk factors. Windows through which children had fallen ShRNA constructs were designed, cloned, and tested for were matched to control windows in the same home and in mRNA knockdown efficacy using HeLa cells engineered to the home of an age/gender matched child. Cases were identi- express 5-HT1B. The most promising construct, as indicated fied when children were treated for window falls in the emer- by quantitative PCR (qPCR) data, was packaged with her- gency department; controls were selected from among chil- pes simplex virus and injected locally to the targeted area of dren treated for injury other than window falls. We measured interest. Here we present data for the validation of the con- the presence of a screen as well as the static resistance of struct using various techniques, including qPCR, immunohis- these screens. Measurements included the minimum applied tochemistry, and behavioral models. force at which the screen failed and the proportion that failed below calculated clinically-relevant thresholds. We obtained ESSION data on 18 case windows, 18 in-home control windows and S 2D 14 matched out-of-home controls, from April 1 to October 31, 2009. Of the 18 cases, 12 cases had screens that could be BRAINAND BEHAVIOR tested with 11 in-home control screens. Of the 14 controls, Session Moderator: Steven L. Buck, Psychology there were 12 screens eligible for testing. Approximately Mary Gates Hall Room 228 50% of case screens and in-home matched control screens 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM failed at 22 Newtons or less compared to 16.7% of the com- * Note: Titles in order of presentation. munity control screens that failed at this level. At 44 N, no significant difference in failure proportion was observed. A Retrograde Neuronal Tracing to Map Serotonergic case control study of window design and screen factors is pos- Neurons Projecting from the Dorsal Raphe Nucleus to sible. Screen presence does not appear to be a risk factor for the Dorsal Striatum pediatric window falls, however, screens in case households Evan Carlos, Junior, Biology (General), Communication appear more likely than screens in community control homes Mentor: John Neumaier, Psychiatry to fail at levels of applied pressure comparable to the weight Mentor: Daniel Eskenazi, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences of a child leaning against the mesh. The dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) lies in the midbrain and provides serotonergic innervation to multiple areas in the SESSION 2D forebrain. One of these areas is the caudate-putamen com- plex or dorsal striatum (DS) which current research sug- BRAINAND BEHAVIOR gests is further divided into distinct subregions. The DS has been implicated in the obsessions that characterize obsessive- Session Moderator: Steven L. Buck, Psychology compulsive disorder and other addictive behaviors. Since Mary Gates Hall Room 228 some of these disorders respond to medicines that target the 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM serotonin system, we investigated the serotonergic innerva- * Note: Titles in order of presentation. tion of the rat DS by stereotaxically injecting retrogradely transported red (excitation at 605 Hz) and green (excitation at Validation of shRNA-Induced 5-HT1B Knock-Down 515Hz) fluospheres. We used 35 Sprague Dawley rats rang- Expression in Rat Reward Circuitry ing in weight from 300-360g. The red and green fluospheres Shinn Yi (Cindy) Chou, Senior, Applied Music (Orchestral were injected at three different coordinates: anterior dorsal Instruments), Biology (Physiology), Neurobiology medial, posterior dorsal medial and dorsal lateral striatum. Mentor: John Neumaier, Psychiatry After a five day waiting period, to allow the tracers to reach Mentor: Amy Furay, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

7 the DRN, rats were transcardially profused and 40µm coro- tion and illness constituting an ominous threat, the missionar- nal sections prepared on a vibratome were mounted on slides ies’ arrival was ultimately useful (though certainly problem- to be viewed under a fluorescent microscope. Preliminary atic) for the Hawaiian monarchy. I claim that Hawaii’s en- data show fluosphere injections in the forebrain successfully trance into the world system - politically, economically and transport retrogradely to discrete regions within the DRN and epidemiologically - altered a pre-contact sociopolitical bal- we are performing stereological analysis to quantify these re- ance that would have otherwise significantly diminished the sults. Additionally, we will be using immunohistochemistry influence of the ABCFM in the early years of the Hawaiian to verify the identity of these neurons as serotonergic. As monarchy. an anatomical control, fluorescent signal was detected in the substantia nigra (SN) and signal was strongest in the rostral sections of the DRN corresponding to previous literature. The SESSION 2R visualization of discrete subregions of DRN projecting to dis- crete subregions of the DS provide a rationale for further anal- GLOBAL ISSUESFORTHE 21ST ysis of this circuitry. CENTURY Session Moderator: John Wilkerson, Political Science SESSION 2M Mary Gates Hall Room 389 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM EMPIRE,IDENTITYAND * Note: Titles in order of presentation. INCORPORATION Stop the EU, I’m Running for Parliament! Session Moderator: Francisco Benitez, Comparative Chris Garrett Cunningham, Senior, Political Science Literature Mentor: John Wilkerson, Political Science Mary Gates Hall Room 271 Member states of the European Union must transpose Euro- 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM pean Commission directives into national law within a speci- * Note: Titles in order of presentation. fied period of time. However, the EU is plagued with frequent The Sandwich Islands Mission: Clothing the Heathen episodes of member state non-compliance. Current schol- Body, Saving the Heathen Soul arship suggests several factors that influence the timeliness Sean M. (Sean) Kinney, Senior, Comparative History of of directive implementation – including state capacity to un- Ideas, Political Science dertake directive characteristics, EU – member state conflict, Mary Gates Scholar directive specificity and flexibility, geographic polarization, Mentor: John Toews, History and others – though little research to date has investigated how national electoral politics impacts transposition rates and I reconsider the apparent ease with which the Sandwich Is- timeliness. In this study, I investigate whether parliamentary lands Mission, sponsored by the American Board of Commis- election cycles help to explain variations in compliance with sioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM), incorporated itself EC directives across nations. My analysis is based on six- within the Hawaiian social order during the first half of the teen years of compliance information across four policy sec- 19th century. On its face the Mission’s influence is perplex- tors and fifteen EU member states. I expect to find that the ing; its contingent was numerically insignificant; it lacked the presence or absence of parliamentary elections is a signifi- direct sponsorship of an imperial occupational force; and it cant predictor of compliance. In addition, I control for other sought a radical transformation of Hawaiian belief and be- established variables in order to assess the relative importance havior. The ABCFM spoke of their ‘instrumentality’ as a ve- of politics versus other considerations. hicle for the salvation of Heathen Hawaiian. Their standpoint contrasts markedly to the position of the Hawaiian monar- chy, which, I argue, saw the Sandwich Islands Mission as serving important symbolic, political, and disciplinary pur- poses. After Cook’s arrival, alliances and relationships en- tered between Kamehameha, his governors, British imperial representatives, and capitalist merchants effectively severed the complex reciprocal bonds long established between the chiefs and priests, the commoners and the land. Successive waves of epidemic and disease halved the pre-contact popu- lation within a period of mere decades. A half-century after Cook, with the Hawaiian sociopolitical frame in transforma-

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