Honors Projects in Progress

Honors Project Summaries, 2012-2013

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Writer:	Amanda Dwyer
Faculty Advisor:	Bart De Stasio
Topic:	Comparison of the Effects of Cynobacteria on the Reproductive Success of Eurytemera affins on Population in the Baltic Sea & Green Bay, Wisconsin
Summary:	The Northern Baltic Sea, off the southern coast of Finland, and Green Bay, off Lake Michigan in Wisconsin, both experience large toxic cyanobacteria blooms, especially during the summer and early fall months. Nodularia spumigena is the toxic algae in the Baltic Sea and produces the toxin Nodularin. Nodularin is a toxin that has branched from the toxin Microcystin, which is produced by Microcystis, the toxic algae forming blooms in Green Bay. While the toxin often acts as a defense mechanism to deter zooplankton from grazing, the calenoid copepod Eurytemora affinis, with populations in both the Baltic and Green Bay, does feed and consume these toxic algal cells and is able to survive. The consequences in terms of reproductive success from the consumption of this toxin are relatively unexplored. This study focuses on whether or not the two populations have similar responses to feeding on each of these toxic algae in laboratory studies. In both locations, the copepods were collected from the field and put through grazing experiments to examine their grazing and filtration rates in addition to their egg production in various food treatments. Both populations were able to feed and survive but had decreased egg production in a treatment consisting of a mixture of toxic algae and algae considered a good food source (Rhodomonas in Baltic experiments; Scenedesmus in Green Bay experiments). When exposed to the mixture of the good food source with the filtrate of the toxic algae, the Baltic population had a 43% decrease in survivorship, but egg production was comparable to that of the Rhodomonas control. The filtrate treatment had a 91% survivorship in Green Bay and nearly a double increase in egg production compared to the Scenedesmus control. This leads to the need for further investigation of the effects of the intracellular and intercellular toxins on both copepod populations.

Writer:	Yagmur Esemen
Faculty Advisor:	Elizabeth De Stasio
Topic:	Neural Gene Targets of DAF-19 in C. elegans
Summary:	Regulatory Factor X (RFX) transcription factors (TF) are present in most eukaryotes and are important for regulating processes such as the cell cycle, brain development, neural function and ciliogenesis. C. elegans RFX TF, DAF-19, has four known isoforms: A, B, C, and M. Recent studies suggest DAF-19 A/B, the longest isoforms varying only by one exon, are important in synaptic protein maintenance. However, the molecular details of this regulation are not yet understood. It may be activating genes coding for proteins that inhibit synaptic protein degradation or inhibiting genes coding for proteins that activate synaptic protein degradation. Failing to maintain healthy synapses have been shown to correlate with neurodegenerative diseases such as, Alzheimer’s. The purpose of this study was to identify the gene targets of DAF-19A/B in C. elegans. Transgenes for three putative genes, hex-1, T07F10.1, and Y73F8A.11, were constructed so that the promoter regions of each gene regulate the expression of GFP. Each transgene was injected into two strains of animals: one with a functional daf-19 gene and one with a daf-19 mutation. The expression of GFP was compared between these two strains, via confocal microscopy, to identify if DAF-19 regulates the expression of that gene. All genes showed DAF-19-dependent changes in their expressions. Furthermore, behavioral investigation was carried out, via a roaming and dwelling assay, to observe if the mutants of these putative genes phenocopy DAF-19 mutants. Mutating either of these three genes caused a daf-19-mutant like behavior. Finally, a rescue experiment was carried out by injecting a translational fusion of the genes of interest with GFP.

Writer:	Matt Larsen
Faculty Advisor:	Bart De Stasio
Topic:	The Effects of Habitat Use and Age on Round Gobies in the Lower Fox River
Summary:	The round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) is a bottom dwelling fish species native to the Black and Caspian Seas of Eurasia and has become a successful invasive of the Great lakes watershed of North America (Kornis, 2008). In the great lakes it has begun outcompeting native species through niche competition, rapid reproduction, and by eating the eggs of other fish. The Fox River is a 182 mile long river in eastern Wisconsin that connects Lake Michigan to Lake Winnebago; a large inland lake known for exceptional game fish. This river is divided into two different sections, the Upper Fox and Lower Fox, which are separated by a barrier at Wrightstown, WI (Fox River (Wisconsin), 2012). In 2008, Matt Kornis a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison did research to predict the future distribution pattern of the round goby based on current locations in the Lake Michigan watershed (Kornis, 2008). In the summer of 2012 we collected data on round goby distribution in the Fox River Valley to compare to Matt Kornis’s original data as well as his predictions for the future. Through these comparison’s we were able to see that the round goby has increased its range in the Fox River system to the barrier at Wrightstown, WI and into several streams that it was not located before. This is a unique circumstance for an invasive species that normally lives in large open rivers and lakes to be moving into the tributaries that are connected to this river system (Kornis, 2008). From collected and past data we were able to create an updated population distribution estimate for the round goby in the Fox River system.

Writer:	Alec Uebersohn
Faculty Advisor:	Kimberly Dickson
Topic:	Purification and Characterization of Oxidation-Resistant Ribonuclease Inhibitor Variants
Summary:

Writer:	He Zhang
Faculty Advisor:	Elizabeth De Stasio
Topic:	Investigating Potential Target Genes of the RFX Transcription Factor DAF-19 in Caenorhabsitis elegans
Summary:

Writer:	Beatriz Perez
Faculty Advisor:	Juan Navea
Topic:	Dissolution of Clay Aerosols in Acidic Media
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Writer:	Adrienne Atkins
Faculty Advisor:	Randall McNeill
Topic:	Speech and Herioc Identity in the Iliad
Summary:	This study argues that the Iliad is not the story of Achilles, as scholars tend to read it, but rather the problems of heroic identity in general (of which Achilles is simply a part). The Homeric hero possesses complex relationships with death, the divine, and the Greek community. Meanwhile, combat lies at the heart of the heroic task, and direct speech is the primary medium through which the poet develops his characters. Thus, I examine speech as an identity index in the Iliad’s combat scenes and chart the character development of three Greek heroes in particular through their speech: Diomedes, Patroklos, and Agamemnon. My final chapter discusses the identity issues of Achilles that scholars have long recognized and draws parallels between his speech and that of the other heroes, demonstrating that heroic identity conflict transcends Achilles alone. In the combat scenes of the Iliad, the minor heroes do not act as filler, nor do they simply serve to set up Achilles’ return to battle; they work with Achilles to build the work into a study of heroic identity.

Writer:	Regina Hammond
Faculty Advisor:	Tsvetanka Karagyozova and Merton Finkler
Topic:	Microinsurance and the Millennium Development Goal of Achieving Universal Primary Education
Summary:	Microinsurance, the provision of standard insurance products to the poor, has expanded its reach and scope dramatically over the last decade. Some development economists hope that microinsurance can become one of the levers for breaking the poverty trap by being a safety net for low-income individuals. However, the literature on the impact of microinsurance on clients in developing countries is limited and focuses predominantly on its microeconomic impact either using anecdotes or primarily qualitative analysis. This paper empirically explores the purpose microinsurance serves in development, by examining the impact of microinsurance on the Millennium Development Goal of achieving universal primary education.

Writer:	Minh Nguyen
Faculty Advisor:	Tsvetanka Karagyozova
Topic:	Asset Prices & Economic Inequality
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Writer:	Jillian Fischer
Faculty Advisor:	Faith Barrett
Topic:	The Sister Was Not a Mister: Gender and Sexuality in the Writings of Gertrude Stein and Virginia Woolf
Summary:	This honors thesis explores the topics of gender and sexuality within Gertrude Stein’s Tender Buttons and Virginia Woolf’s Orlando by analyzing the texts through the lens of early twentieth-century sexologists and twentieth and twenty first century gender theorists. Both works reveal a common critique of the heteronormativity present within early twentieth-century understandings of sexuality and propose alternative spheres of sexuality and gender identity. Stein creates an alternative sphere in which desire is expanded. Beginning with an exploration of consumerist desire, Stein ultimately reveals a utopian vision of lesbian sexuality and the foregrounding of female desire, sexuality, and pleasure. Woolf’s alternative consists of world that foregrounds women’s intellect rather than their physicality, and reveals gender – the assumed basis of sexuality – as a socially constructed concept. Using Stein’s initial assertion of alternative sexualities and rejection of heteronormativity, Woolf creates her narrative to make radical assertions about gender and gender performance.

Writer:	Carly Roe
Faculty Advisor:	Marcia Bjornerud
Topic:	Detrial Zircon U/Pb Age Determination: Understanding the Provenance of the Upper Cretaceous Shumagin Formation, Alaska
Summary:	The Chugach-Prince William (CPW) composite terrane is a Late Cretaceous to Eocene accretionary complex exposed for ~2200 km in southern Alaska, extending from Baranof Island in the east to Sanak Island in the west. The CPW is composed of deep-water flysch and associated volcanic rocks and is intruded by near-trench plutons of the 62-50 Ma Sanak-Baranof belt. The location of the accretion of the CPW is a matter of debate, and the two prevailing hypotheses for its location at the time of its intrusion by the Sanak-Baranof belt require distinctly different source regions for the sediment of the CPW flysch. The Upper Cretaceous Shumagin Formation is found on Sanak and Shumagin Islands in the westernmost part of the CPW terrane. New U/Pb detrital zircon data indicate that the maximum deposition age of the Shumagin Formation on Nagai Island in 73-77 Ma, and is consistent with the 73.7±1.2 Ma U/Pb date from an interbedded tuff. Mineralogical and sedimentological data indicate that the Shumagin Formation represents a rapid deposition of an enormous amount of sediment along a basin on a deep submarine fan adjacent to an active volcanic arc. Both mineralogical and U/Pb detrital zircon data constrain the provenance to a source region implicated by the hypothesis for a southern location of the CPW at the time of its intrusion by the Sanak-Baranof belt and its subsequent northward, coast-parallel translation.

Writer:	Stephen J. Nordin
Faculty Advisor:	Peter Blitstein
Topic:	Atomic Logic: US Non-Proliferation Initiatives and Presidential Decision-Making, 1961-1974
Summary:	This project examines how successive American administrations confronted the international spread of nuclear weapons. The focus is on the decision-making processes of presidents Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon when confronting atomic weapons development in Israel and India. It seeks to identify influences on presidential perceptions of the phenomenon of nuclear proliferation. These include initiatives at the United Nations, reportage from the intelligence community, the advice of administration officials, and the positioning of foreign governments. The American response to the Israeli and Indian cases prior to 1974 played a formative role in the development of non-proliferation policy in subsequent decades. The decisions made by presidents primarily sought to address challenges raised by the non-proliferation initiatives of their predecessors. Through historical analysis of these cases, seemingly disjointed reactions can provide insight into presidential decision-making and the "second wave" of nuclear weapons development—that of non-Security Council nations.

Mathematics and Computer Science

Writer:	Colin M. Potts
Faculty Advisor:	Kurt Krebsbach
Topic:	Iterative Statistical Verification of Probabilistic Plans
Summary:

Music Education

Writer:	Shauna McFaul
Faculty Advisor:	Nick Keelan
Topic:	Developing Depth and Dimension: Instructional Tools and Practices to Facilitate and Encourage the Growth of Young Jazz Musicians
Summary:	Developing Depth and Dimension: A step-by-step, comprehensive introduction to the world of jazz for young musicians. This work begins with a philosophical discussion of the educational methods that are incorporated into the following games, lesson plans and writings. The project is directed toward students who have little to no experience playing jazz or improvising. It is meant to provide a foundation for continued success and development throughout their musical lives.

Writer:	Helen Rowe
Faculty Advisor:	Julie McQuinn
Topic:	Music and Meaning in "Portal"
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Writer:	Alexis VanZalen
Faculty Advisor:	Sara Ceballos
Topic:	The Self-Fashioning of a Consummate Musical Orator
Summary:	Dieterich Buxtehude (1637-1707) actively fashioned his reputation as an adept member of his commercial capitalistic society, a useful civil servant, and an accomplished and complete musician, throughout his life. His organ praeludia were no small part of this self-fashioning project because through them, unrestricted and unguided by text, he was allowed total freedom in presenting a musical affection or emotion, and thus was able to demonstrate the pinnacle of his musicianship, both his craftsmanship and his creativity. Within the rhetorical conception of music during the baroque period, this musical self-fashioning can be considered an appeal to ethos because it promotes the audience’s confidence in Buxtehude as a musical orator. Moreover, interpreting Buxtehude’s organ praeludia in terms of their musical-rhetorical appeal to ethos demonstrates how the whole genre they represent, the stylus phantasticus, can usefully be understood as the style most appropriate for musical self-fashioning. Significantly, this functional approach to the so-called “fantastic style” connects the genre to the concept of musical rhetoric, reconciling a point of conflict in current scholarship on Buxtehude’s praeludia.

Writer:	Ethan Landes
Faculty Advisor:	Tom Ryckman
Topic:	Learning From Experience: A Philosophical Perspective
Summary:	This work examines philosophical solutions to David Hume’s problem of induction—a skeptical attack on our ability to learn from experience. I explore the logical, ontological, and epistemic difficulties behind the everyday assumption that the future will resemble the past. While historical solutions by philosophers such as Bertrand Russell and Karl Popper have been unsuccessful at tackling these complications, combining recent work on natural kinds and naturalistic epistemology has promise. Ultimately, I expand on work done by Howard Sankey, Hilary Kornblith, and Brian Ellis to create an account of nature and epistemology that explains why objects in nature have predictable behavior.

Writer:	Thomas Matusiak
Faculty Advisor:	Rosa Tapia
Topic:	No Future: Youth and Disenchantment in Colombian Cinema
Summary:	This project studies representation of youth and urban space in a series of Colombian films from the 1990's and early 2000's. I choose to group these films under the proposed label of cine del desencanto (cinema of disenchantment), as I argue that they express a profound disillusionment felt by the marginalized classes of Latin America's mega-cities, particularly youth, caused by the false promises of neoliberal policies propagated by the government on one hand, and the enchantment of social mobility allegedly offered by the boom in narco-trafficking on the other. The focus thus, is on constructions of urban youth and their ability to navigate the city amid a (bio)politics of urban space that critics have attributed to the neoliberal turn at the end of the 20th century.