POSTER PRESENTATIONS
Oyate Hall, Student Center
1:30 p.m.
Presenter: Taylir Bullick
Project Adviser: Nancy Carpenter (Chemistry)
Title: Synthesis and X-Ray Crystal Structure of 1-ferrocenyl-2-benzyl-1,3-butadione
Type of Presentation: Poster or Visual Display #11
Chiral complexes, or complexes with some degree of asymmetry, pass on their chirality when reacting with other molecules, so are necessary in syntheses where the product needs to be of a certain orientation. The design of chiral ligands for such complexes is important because these complexes can potentially be used to make pharmaceuticals and other molecules for use in the human body, a largely chiral environment. This work was done with the objective of synthesizing one such ligand, 1-ferrocenyl-2-benzyl-1,3-butadione, and obtaining a crystal structure. The synthesis (reported in previous research) was carried out in two primary steps that resulted in the addition of a benzyl substituent to 𝛃-ketoacetyl ferrocene. To obtain a single crystal for x-ray diffraction, previously synthesized 1-ferrocenyl-2-benzyl-1,3-butadione was recrystallized by diffusion of a non-polar solvent into a solution of the ligand in a polar solvent. Using four different polar and two different non-polar solvents, recrystallization was attempted with eight solvent pairs. A combination of pentane and chloroform yielded a single x-ray quality crystal, whose structure was elucidated. Results of analysis of the ligand’s stereochemistry and structure will be discussed. Success in synthesizing and characterizing this ligand suggests the possibility of creating other, similar chiral ferrocenyl ligands.
Presenter: Michael Cagle
Project Advisers: Stephen Burks and Jon Anderson (Economics and Statistics)
Title: Accident Cost Analysis On Truck Drivers Diagnosed With Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Type of Presentation: Poster or Visual Display #13
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a condition in which the airway repeatedly closes during sleep and the brain is required to partially wake to open it, preventing the sufferer from getting restful sleep. The fatigue resulting from untreated OSA has been shown to increase the crash risk for the motoring public, and significant evidence suggests the same is true for commercial vehicle drivers. However, the trucking industry has resisted mandatory OSA screening due to cost concerns. Using a dataset containing OSA screening, diagnosis and treatment compliance records, as well as employment and crash claims details, on several thousand truckers employed by a large motor carrier, we evaluate the effect of an employer-mandated OSA diagnosis and treatment program on the claim costs for preventable crashes experienced by truck drivers. We constructed a retrospective cohort analysis using case-control matching and compared drivers who received a diagnosis from an overnight polysomnogram (PSG) versus drivers who had been screened as unlikely to have OSA by the Somni-Sage® screening questionnaire. We analyze Per-Driver-Per-Month (PD-PM) crash costs using a two part multivariate model that simultaneously estimates the chance of positive costs and the value of costs if positive. Although our preliminary results only present weak statistical evidence that the PD-PM costs of non-adherent drivers are higher than controls’, the size of the difference is practically significant, with an estimated PD-PM difference of approximately $200 in 2016 dollars. This suggests savings on crash liabilities may partially offset the cost of a mandated OSA program.
Presenter: Joseph Flack
Project Adviser: Joseph Alia (Chemistry)
Title: A TD-DFT Study of Two Fluorescent Medical Dyes
Type of Presentation: Poster or Visual Display #9
Two fluorescent medical imaging dyes, a Coumarin derivative and a cyanine dye, were studied using popular computational methods. Absorbance wavelengths were computed by finding the lowest energy states of the dyes in their ground and excited states. Solvent effects were accounted for using a popular computational solvent model. Vibrational analyses were performed to ensure the molecules were lowest in energy after the absorbance computations. Absorbance and fluorescence wavelengths were found to be in the visible range. Gaussian09 software was used for all computations and Gaussview5 was used to analyze results graphically.
Presenter: Bailey Kemp
Co-Presenter: Sarah Severson
Project Adviser: Rachel Johnson (Biology)
Title: Maternal Coxsackievirus Infection and Dysregulation of SUMOylation Processes as a Potential Cause of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
Type of Presentation: Poster or Visual Display #3
Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) is a life-threatening congenital heart defect with unknown etiology. We present the hypothesis that HLHS may be caused by maternal asymptomatic coxsackievirus infection through the mechanism of modifying the fetal epigenome, specifically in the context of small ubiquitin-like modifiers (SUMO). Coxsackievirus is capable of crossing the placental barrier and has been shown to alter the SUMO aggregation patterns of the host cell. The cardiac transcription factor Nkx2-5 is dependent on SUMOylation for proper function, and as Nkx2-5 is vital for heart development, disruption of SUMOylation patterns of Nkx2-5 may have severe consequences, leading to cardiac anomalies such as HLHS. Further investigation of the potential causes of HLHS will not only help to advance treatment options, but also to develop new means of disease prevention.
Presenter: Dennis Dongmin Kim
Project Advisers: Heather Waye and Peter Dolan (Biology and Computer Science)
Title: Developing methods of processing and analyzing genetic data to examine tiger salamander population structure
Type of Presentation: Poster or Visual Display #6
Professor Heather Waye and her colleagues conducted a pilot study in 2014 to measure genetic diversity and dispersal pattern in a population of tiger salamanders in west-central Minnesota. The ultimate goal of this research was to analyze the genetic differences between tiger salamander larvae captured in breeding ponds within Pepperton Waterfowl Production Area to understand the population structure and movement patterns. They expected that ponds closer to each other would have more similar genetic information, and that genetic differences between ponds would increase with geographic distance. However, the initial analysis using standard techniques failed to uncover useful patterns in the data. Reorganization of the data and other quantitative approaches are needed to discover any significant patterns in this sample. In my research, I attempted a different modeling method to determine whether re-manipulating samples will uncover hidden patterns of genetic variation. In order to investigate this process, I learned how to install and utilize a software pipeline called Stacks which uses a standard UNIX- like environment operating system called Ubuntu. This software pipeline is a new methodological approach that we are using to build ‘loci’, fixed positions of genetic markers on chromosomes, from short-read sequences to map the relationship between individual tiger salamanders. We hope this technique that interrogates DNA fragments will provide the potential genetic differences between individuals in the sample. My results improve understanding of how to use advanced statistical and computational methods tailored to complex problems with real-world data.
Presenter: Arre Langer
Project Adviser: Tom Genova (Spanish)
Title: Concern of Cultural Validity in Spanish Translation of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - 2
Type of Presentation: Poster or Visual Display #17
The MMPI-2 is a commonly used diagnostic tool in many clinical mental health settings. It is primarily used to diagnose mental illness. The inventory has been translated into multiple languages for non-English speakers, including Spanish. An in-depth review of the Spanish translations of the individual questions in the booklet was conducted. First, each question was analyzed in terms of cultural variability regarding cultural relativism and later grouped into broader categories, or themes. The themes that raised the most notable concerns regarding cultural validity and consistency, or potential inter-cultural differences in interpretation, were identified as Latino versus American views on religion, interpersonal relationships, and the somatization of psychological symptomology, the portrayal of mental illness through physical symptoms. Such topics should be reviewed further to address the reliability of the MMPI-2 to correctly diagnose mental illness(es) of Spanish-speaking clients and patients.
Presenter: Yutao Li
Project Adviser: Stephen Burks (Economics)
Title: The Effectiveness of the Commercial Driver Medical Examination in Screening for Hypertension
Type of Presentation: Poster or Visual Display #12
The Commercial Driver Medical Examination (CDME) is used to assess the medical fitness of a driver to safely operate a commercial motor vehicle. Hypertension is a disease that has been shown in prior research to cause reduced driving safety performance when not properly managed, and it is therefore important that medical examiners be able to consistently identify it in drivers. However, the CDME has historically been ineffective at screening drivers with safety-related diseases. For example, a report from the US Government Accountability Office showed the existence of a substantial number of drivers who were deemed eligible by the federal government for full disability benefits and yet also passed their CDME’s. To address these issues, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) instituted the Medical Examiner Registry and mandatory training programs for examiners. This project uses data from before these reforms to establish a baseline for comparison to the new version of the CDME. We compare hypertension as captured in CDME records to hypertension as captured in medical insurance claims data on the same drivers. Our initial results indicate that of the 1,320 drivers who were determined from the insurance data to have hypertension, medical examiners were able to correctly identify 74% of them as having the condition. This suggests that while the CDME was moderately successful in screening for hypertension even before the reforms, there was room for improvement.
Presenter: Michael Medlyn
Project Adviser: Rachel Johnson (Biology)
Title: The Role of Stinging Nettle, Urtica dioica, Extract in Inflammation
Type of Presentation: Poster or Visual Display #4
The stinging nettle, Urtica dioica, has a long history as both a harmful plant and as a valuable herbal supplement. However, in more recent times the medicinal properties of nettles have been under investigation. Researchers believe that nettles can regulate inflammation by inhibiting an inflammatory pathway called NF-κB. This pathway activates an immunosuppressant cytokine called IL-10. It is important to study nettle extract and its role in IL-10 production because nettles may be beneficial or harmful depending the nature of the inflammation. My research focused on this interaction between stinging nettle extract and T cell production of IL-10. I hypothesized that T cells will increase the production of IL-10 in response to an increasing exposure of nettle extract. To test this hypothesis, murine T cells were stimulated and exposed to a variety of concentrations of Urtica dioica extracts. To measure the concentrations of IL-10 secreted by the cells, enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were used. While an increase in IL-10 production was not observed in the preliminary results, there appears to be a significant trend of decreased cytokine production between the full stimulation and the sub stimulation groups. The opposite of this trend was observed in the control groups, with the IL-10 concentration increasing from full stimulation to sub stimulation groups. This suggests that stinging nettle does indeed influence cytokine production.
Presenter: Katherine Novak
Project Adviser: Heather Waye (Biology)
Title: Can Diet Affect Coloration in Tiger Salamanders?
Type of Presentation: Poster or Visual Display #5
Coloration is a crucial tool among amphibians for defense, for thermoregulation, and for mating. However, not a lot is known about how coloration is determined. To investigate this, I looked toward derivatives of carotenoids which have two important uses. They largely make up the coloration in amphibian skin cells or can be metabolized into Vitamin A and other antioxidants. How amphibians allocate these nutrients to become Vitamin A or as part of their coloration is a key tradeoff that potentially shows the individual’s status of health. If they have access to excess food, they will have enough carotenoids to invest into their coloration. I wanted to see if increasing their access to carotenoids through diet would allow them to allocate more carotenoids into their pigmentation. To study this, I took 12 Eastern Tiger Salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum) who have been individually housed at University of Minnesota Morris and conducted a diet experiment. Six were fed with a fish diet that they had been eating before the experiment as a control and six were fed with carotenoid enhanced krill for a total of 8 weeks. I took photographs of each salamander each week under a standard light condition with a color standard. The before and after photographs for each salamander will be compared using a color analysis program. A significant increase in the yellow coloration of the experimental salamanders will indicate that the carotenoids obtained through diet were used for pigmentation.
Presenter: Madison Phillips
Project Adviser: Jimmy Schryver (Art History)
Title: Of Women, For Women: Viewing Aphrodite of Knidos through a Feminist Lens
Type of Presentation: Poster or Visual Display #1
The male kouroi, archaic Greek statues, were the embodiment of arête, meaning virtue or excellence, whose nudity was contrasted with clothed state of female statues. While male nudity was celebrated by male viewers, the clothing on female statues was viewed as protection; a naked woman in Greek art represented either a slave or a prostitute. The first female nude statue was carved in the mid-fourth century B.C.E. by Praxiteles: the Aphrodite of Knidos. The modern viewer may experience a mixture of emotions when faced with the nude female figure, it was no different in Ancient Greece. This controversial nude was the first designed to emphasize the divinity of the female body through its nakedness. In addition, it established new traditions aimed at new viewers. The new viewers were women. Much of the literature on Greek nudes is through the male gaze that views the statues as a traditional fertility motif, similar to Venus figurines. In my presentation, I argue that applying a feminist lens to the Knidian Aphrodite allows us to not only view the statue in a new light, but also consider a new audience, women.
Presenter: Wahid Ratul
Project Adviser: Satis Devkota (Economics)
Title: Impact of Conditional Cash Transfer on Maternal Health Outcomes in Bangladesh
Type of Presentation: Poster or Visual Display #16
Using the Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey (BDHS) data for the year 1999 to 2014, this paper studied the impact of Shombob on the use of appropriate maternal health service in Bangladesh. Shombob was a conditional cash transfer (CCT) program to improve nutrition, which was implemented from April 2002 to December 2013 throughout the country in Bangladesh. The hypothesis of the study is that through its effect on nutrition, Shombob indirectly influences the utilization of maternal health service. To examine differences in utilization of prenatal and postnatal services and the institutional delivery among pregnant women during the survey recall period, I used the logistic regression analyses and compared the predicted outcome for women with and without exposure to Shombob. Predicted probabilities were calculated and indirect effects were estimated. Over the study period, the proportion of pregnant women reporting the utilization of prenatal service, institutional delivery, and the post-natal services has increased significantly. Shombob, educational attainment of the pregnant women and her husband, household wealth, and the family size are positively associated with the utilization of those services. Even though the nutrition has no direct effect on the utilization of maternal health services, the conditional cash transferred to provide better nutrition may compensate the opportunity cost in the form of wage loss and travel cost, that might ultimately encourage the pregnant women for appropriate utilization of prenatal, institutional delivery and the postnatal services.
Presenter: Miranda Rosequist
Project Adviser: Tracy Otten (Studio Art)
Title: Women of History and Mythology
Type of Presentation: Poster or Visual Display #19
Throughout history, women on the outskirts of society who have been contributors to the growth of humanity, such as scientists, authors, and artists, have been considered evil, misunderstood or feared due to their power and knowledge. My creative work examines the narrative surrounding these women from a different perspective by looking through the lens of historical mythologies and feminine symbols. In making these art pieces, I aim to turn these perceived negative qualities into positive traits. I construct lists of possible symbolic components for the imagery by researching relevant folklore, such as mythology and gender-specific historical information. The sources I use include medieval manuscripts, historical depictions, and biographies. These writings inspire and influence the symbolism created within the resulting drawings and prints. Thumbnail studies, or small sketches, are made to help develop the more detailed sketches as the composition and subject matter are brought together within the artwork. The design of the monster or “familiar” (a creature that serves a witch) is paired with a historical woman. While the pairing is grounded in reality depending on the known personal attributes, strengths, and occupation of the woman, mythology informs how the characters ultimately look. I often choose women that are not very well known by the general public, however, if the woman is famous, I use the familiar or monster to highlight lesser-known aspects of the individual. The portraiture component of what I create is developed from photographs or paintings of the women when available. My work revolves around these themes in order to give voice to the inequities in our society by highlighting taboos and negativity associated with women. Why do we consider power and knowledge undesirable traits in women while admiring them in men?
Presenter: Ramitha Rupasinghe
Project Adviser: Nancy Carpenter (Chemistry)
Title: Investigation of hexadehydro-Diels–Alder - derived benzynes with diaziridines.
Type of Presentation: Poster or Visual Display #10
The extent to which benzynes react with various trapping agents is an important question in synthetic chemistry due to its versatility to produce products that can be used as pharmaceuticals, dyes and other complex molecules. The hexadehydro-Diels-Alder (HDDA) reaction allows the generation of benzynes in situ which then can be efficiently trapped to synthesize complex products in one step with high yields. Reactions of HDDA - derived benzynes with trapping agents such as thioamides, alcohols, pyrroles, silyl ethers and multifunctional natural products have been studied in previous research. In this research, the reactions of HDDA-derived benzynes with diaziridines is explored because it is possible to form indoles as the final product; indole derivatives play an important role in pharmacological drug discovery and analysis, such as in its use for anticancer, antiHIV and antidiabetic pharmaceuticals. The synthesis, characterization and investigation of several benzyne precursors, diaziridines, and their corresponding reactions were examined in this research along with the optimization of the reaction conditions for the synthesis of diaziridines.
Presenter: Mackenzie Schara
Co-Presenter: Mika Cadiz
Project Adviser: Rachel Johnson (Biology)
Title: The Effects of Echinacea purpurea on T cell IFN-γ and IL-2 Cytokines
Type of Presentation: Poster or Visual Display #2
Purple coneflower, or Echinacea purpurea, is a substance long thought to help remedy colds and afflictions, yet current research is still in disagreement on its actual immunological effects. This uncertainty will be somewhat assuaged with this research by examining the effects of E. purpurea on T cell cytokines IFN-γ and IL-2. These immunostimulatory cytokines further activate the immune system, preparing the system to more effectively manage pathogens. If E. purpurea did aid in the betterment of certain ailments, administering E. purpurea would result in an increased production of T cell cytokines. Therefore, we are exposing various doses of E. purpurea to T cells and measuring the levels of cytokines using an ELISA. Preliminary findings show that E. purpurea can increase cytokine levels, but is very dependent on the dose and time of exposure. With additional findings, it may be concluded that, under certain conditions, E. purpurea may aid in the activation of the immune system.
Presenter: Jamin Stagg
Project Adviser: Sylke Boyd (Physics)
Title: Simulating Snow Albedo by Modifying a Ray-Tracing Algorithm
Type of Presentation: Poster or Visual Display #15
When snow melts, the dirt below it starts to surface. These dirt particles, or LAPs (Light Absorbing Particles), lower the albedo of the snow. Albedo is known as the fraction of backscattered solar intensity over incident ray intensity. The lower the snow’s albedo, the more energy the snow will absorb and the faster it will melt. To model the effect of the LAPs depth and concentration on the snow’s albedo we are developing a computer program. The program simulates light scattering based on reflection and refraction on the surfaces of groups of geometric objects. An absorbing component is added to the program to represent the LAPs. A system of hexagonal particles with random positions and orientations is generated to represent the layer of snow. Our computer program traces light rays of three different wavelengths through those objects and gathers statistics for backscattered, transmitted, and absorbed light intensities. A varying number of LAPs are placed in one layer at a time to model the depth and concentration of the LAPs with the snow’s albedo. I will present my methods and preliminary findings for the simulations of the influence of dark particles on the albedo of a snow layer in a poster. I also present plans on how to improve the methods for this type of simulation.
Presenter: Cana Straub
Project Adviser: Jennifer Goodnough (Chemistry)
Title: Temperature dependent rotational correlation times for liquid phase acetic acid
Type of Presentation: Poster or Visual Display #8
The structure and dynamics of hydrogen bonding liquids continue to be of interest in chemistry. Many biological systems, including DNA and proteins, exhibit significant hydrogen-bonding, but the effects of that bonding on the dynamics of the molecules is still unknown. Acetic acid is a hydrogen bonded liquid which is small enough to be effectively studied using ab initio methods as well as experimental NMR. Experimental and theoretical 1H NMR chemical shift and experimental spin-lattice relaxation time (T1) data were used to study the rotational motion of liquid phase acetic acid molecules. A semi-empirical approach was employed to determine temperature-dependent quadrupole coupling constants and asymmetry parameters. These variables, along with temperature-dependent spin-lattice relaxation times, were used to determine rotational correlation times (𝛕c) for the 2H vector of liquid phase acetic acid from 300 K to 370 K. If different than those for another vector in the molecule throughout the temperature range, these rotational correlation times can be used to show that the rotational motion of liquid phase acetic acid can be said to be anisotropic, meaning the individual acetic acid molecules rotate in different directions in the liquid state. This will give us an insight into how hydrogen bonding affects the liquids in which it is present.
Presenter: Alaina Swanson
Co-Presenter: Liam Taylor
Project Adviser: Gordon McIntosh (Physics)
Title: Variation in the Regner-Pfotzer maximum during a total solar eclipse
Type of Presentation: Poster or Visual Display #14
During the summer of 2017, we traveled to Aurora, Nebraska to study cosmic rays during the total solar eclipse. It was predicted that there would be a change in cosmic ray induced radiation during totality. To measure the radiation and atmospheric conditions, we flew balloons equipped with Geiger counters and temperature and pressure sensors. In addition, we measured radiation at the surface of the Earth. In the upper atmosphere, there is a region of maximum intensity, known as the Regner-Pfotzer (RP) maximum. From determining this maximum, we can extrapolate any observable change in radiation activity. We collected data before, during, and after totality and compared the results. The 19 and 20 August 2017 RP maxima occurred at an altitude of 18.3 km ± 1.0 km. During the eclipse the RP maximum occurred at 18.0 km ± 1.0 km. Our data do not show any change in radiation activity.
Presenter: Wyatt Wilcox
Co-Presenter: Andrew Helmin
Project Adviser: Ted Pappenfus (Chemistry)
Title: Indophenine as a Donor-Acceptor Copolymer
Type of Presentation: Poster or Visual Display #7
With the ever-expanding field of solar energy technology, there is a high demand for better polymers to produce more efficient solar cells to potentially reduce cost. An example of this is a donor-acceptor copolymer because it allows for energy gap tuning. Energy gap tuning allows the right kind of light to be absorbed by the solar cell to produce electricity. In this research, a new bis-sulfone indophenine (BSI) was formed in a one-pot synthesis with the addition of 6-bromoisatin, thiophene, and sulfuric acid. The BSI was then oxidized by the addition of mCPBA. Polymerization of the BSI was carried out using the prepared BSI and a Stille-benzodithiophene (BDT) reagent to produce a new polymer using a Stille coupling reaction. Due to solubility issues, data collection was limited and thus the production of more soluble polymers is required. Characterization was attempted on the resulting polymer using uv-vis spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry giving a band gap of 1.34 eV and 1.20 eV, respectively. Because the ideal band gap is 1.23 eV this copolymer is a candidate for use in a solar cell after the solubility issues have been addressed.
Presenter: Xingyao Xiao
Project Adviser: Peter Dolan (Statistics)
Title: Visualizing Statistical Data on United States Agriculture
Type of Presentation: Poster or Visual Display #18
Food is essential to life. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) plays an indispensable role in ensuring people have access to healthy food. However, the data on the USDA website is not easy to access. Users must download many files to get data about animals, crops, the weather, and so on. To make the data more accessible to the general public, I built a web-based application to help make the data easy to access, explore, and compare. My application integrates multiple datasets from USDA website to provide graphic visualizations that enable users to get the exact, specific data intervals and information they want. Moreover, viewers can fully understand the trends of different types of crop yields in last decade and the factors behind those trends by interactively manipulating the information that interests them. To be specific, viewers can easily access and compare the crop yields according to different kinds of crop, state, and year. My research enables users to visualize and interact with many datasets instead of downloading all of them. The achievement of the research is not only to provide the convenience to interact and get specific crop yields tendency, but also explain the reasons behind these trends.