Category: 2020

Affiliative David’s Scores: An Analysis of Social Change over Two Years in a Semi-Free Ranging Group of Japanese Macaques (Macaca fuscata)

Presenter(s): Caitlin Shreeve—Anthropology

Faculty Mentor(s): Kylen Gartland, Frances White

Session: Prerecorded Poster Presentation

Typically, dominance in primates is determined through aggressive interactions with initiation of aggression indicating higher dominance rank . David’s Score analyses using aggression are frequently used to calculate dominance hierarchies in primates . However, if fights are rare then it can be hard to identify male rank . Non-aggressive behaviors like grooming can also indicate rank based on directionality . For example, higher-ranking males are often groomed more whereas lower-ranking males will do more grooming . For this study, we were interested in: 1) whether a dominance hierarchy could be constructed from non-aggressive behaviors, and 2) whether there were significant changes in grooming directionality and intensity over time . We examined a group of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) at the Oregon National Primate Research Center . We collected a total of 475 hours of behavioral data between two summer study periods in 2018 and 2019 . We collected data on 11 adult males using 15-minute focal follows with 1-minute instantaneous scans . We calculated David’s Scores for each male for 2018 and 2019 from grooming interactions and found hierarchical differences . Comparison between these scores demonstrated that the high-ranking males did not show a change in their David’s Score, indicating that their grooming effort remained constant . Lower- ranking males increased their grooming efforts directed at higher-ranking males while middle-ranking males showed only minor changes in their David’s Score . These data suggest that David’s Scores based on non-aggressive behaviors may be used to measure behavioral strategies and that the greatest increase in grooming effort is made by the low-ranking males .

Alutiiq Use of Birds at Rice Ridge (49–KOD–363), Kodiak Island

Presenter(s): Amy Shannon—Anthropology

Faculty Mentor(s): Madonna Moss

Session: Prerecorded Poster Presentation

Rice Ridge is a deeply stratified archaeological deposit on Kodiak Island . It has a well-preserved faunal assemblage, including an extensive bird bone assemblage, associated with the Ocean Bay tradition (7600-4200 BP) . One study has shown that birds are an important part of the lifeways of Ocean Bay groups, but this has not yet been investigated on Kodiak Island, where Alutiiq ancestors have been conventionally portrayed as primarily dependent on marine mammals and fish . We have studied bird bones from four of the sixteen excavation units at Rice Ridge, yielding 4,714 bone fragments identifiable to element, of which 3,734 were identified to taxon . Cormorants (Phalacrocorax spp .), ducks (primarily Melanitta spp . and Somateria spp .), geese, and murres (Uria spp .) were the most prevalent taxa . Less than 5% of all fragments were from terrestrial species, indicating a heavy exploitation of marine birds . This poster presents our analysis of modifications to the bones, such as cut marks and burning, as well as the representation of different skeletal elements . We are able to infer that birds were used not only as food sources, but to make bird skin clothing .

Investigating the Relationship between Acute Mountain Sickness, Patent Foramen Ovale, and Systemic Inflammation

Presenter(s): Karina Shah—Human Physiology

Faculty Mentor(s): Kaitlyn DiMarco, Andrew Lovering

Session: Prerecorded Poster Presentation

Acute mountain sickness (AMS) occurs when individuals rapidly ascend to high altitude, but its exact cause is unknown . A patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a hole in the heart present in one-third of the population . PFO+ subjects have greater AMS incidence, but the reasons are unknown . AMS is associated with systemic inflammation as determined by elevated cytokines and data from our lab suggests that PFO+ subjects have greater systemic inflammation . Thus, we hypothesized that the association between AMS and PFO is explained by increased inflammation . To test this, 17 PFO+ subjects (9 women) and 17 PFO- subjects (9 women) were exposed to 10 hours of hypoxia simulating 15600 feet and AMS was assessed using the Lake Louise Questionnaire . Blood samples taken before and at 10 hours of hypoxia were assayed for 13 inflammatory mediators . We found that 83% of PFO+ subjects but only 61% of PFO- subjects got AMS . AMS- subjects had significantly higher levels of IL-12p70 at 10 hours than AMS+ subjects . All other cytokines had significant time effects, and the greatest increases were in AMS- subjects . Compared to PFO- subjects, PFO+ subjects had significantly higher IL-1Î2, interferon (IFN)-α2, IL-8, IL-10, and MCP-1 levels before and at 10 hours . PFO+ subjects had the greatest increases in IFN-α2, MCP-1, and IL-10 and PFO- subjects had the greatest increases in IL-1Î2 and IL-6 . These data suggest inflammation levels differ with PFO and AMS, but with separate patterns . Therefore, systemic inflammation in AMS and PFO may be more complex than previously thought .

Optical access to auditory cortex for in-vivo two-photon calcium imaging

Presenter(s): Raj Shah—Human Physiology

Faculty Mentor(s): Santiago Jaramillo, Beth McCarry

Session 5: The Wonders of the Brain

In vivo two-photon calcium imaging is a powerful tool that enables measuring activity of hundreds of individual neurons simultaneously . To understand how the brain makes predictions about sounds, we will use this imaging technique to measure how neurons from the auditory cortex of awake mice respond to expected and unexpected sounds . To image activity at the neuronal level, optical access is achieved via implantation of a cranial window . However, the auditory cortex is not easily accessible during surgery due its lateral location and large muscles and arteries around the ears . Here, we report an updated protocol for cranial window implantation over the auditory cortex for use in two-photon calcium imaging . With optical access to the auditory cortex, we are able to use in-vivo two-photon calcium imaging to evaluate sound-evoked responses of hundreds of auditory cortical neurons . These data will allow classifying and mapping the location of neurons that represent either predictions about a stimulus or errors in these predictions .

Dimana? Disini: The effects of migration and political strife on the Chinese Indonesian family, name, and identity.

Presenter(s): Kezia Setyawan—Journalism

Faculty Mentor(s): Sung Park, Tuong Vu

Session 4: Cultural Considerations—The Other

Dimana? Disini . Translated, this means, where are you/us? I/We are here .
Over the span of many generations, Chinese Indonesians have migrated to all corners across the globe . I hope to reckon and reflect upon how my family has changed and how others in our community have . This professional project will explore how identity and values shift through the lens of migration and assimilation for Chinese Indonesians . I have conducted in-person interviews in English and Indonesian and taken portraits of each interviewee . Through the process, I have tried to parse together patterns that show similarities in perspectives and what are contradictions . The final work is split into different components, one aspect is the literature review, which provides context and background information that informs contemporary Chinese Indonesian existence, timelines that illustrate historical events and family migration illustrating the changes in familial names over generations, and a series of studio lit portraiture on location with captions from their interview on what informs who they are . The project matters because it is a multimedia journalistic package that has many different entry points for the audience to engage with cultural identities different than their own .

Vacuum Airship Design With Finite Element Analysis

Presenter(s): Daniel Sellers—Physics

Faculty Mentor(s): Ben McMorran

Session: Prerecorded Poster Presentation

The ultimate expression of Archimedes’ principle of buoyancy would be to enclose a vacuum with some structure of less mass than the air displaced by that structure . So far such a craft has never been realized in prototype due to the daunting material and engineering challenges . We propose a novel design for such an airship, using inflatable supports and an Aramid fabric shell, and examine the physical constraints and material requirements using both SolidWorks (SW) Simulation Finite Element Analysis and principles of structural statics .

We develop a dynamic simulator (in python) to approximate the shapes formed by thin fabric shell sections under unbalanced pressure loads . The resulting geometries are converted to thin shell SolidWorks models and analyzed . Attempts are made to verify the results, including mesh independence and comparison to empirical stress/strain results performed on similar materials and configurations .

Deflection of thin shell sections using material properties of Kevlar Aramid fiber are found to agree qualitatively with the theoretical results of Timeshemko, though actual deflection predicted by SW is marginally smaller than predicted by theory, which in turn only very roughly agrees with the experimental results considered . The tensile stress within the shell models is found to be well within acceptable limits for typical Aramid fibers . Some models for the inflatable support structure currently under development are presented, without results . The advantages and challenges of the Finite Element Method for novel design concepts are briefly discussed .

Equilibrium Solutions for 2-Dimensional Nonaxisymmetric Disks

Presenter(s): Daniel Sellers—Physics

Faculty Mentor(s): James Imamura

Session 5: To the Moon and Back—Relativity Matters

In this study we seek equilibrium solutions for compressible, self-gravitating, 2-dimensional nonaxisymmetric disks . Such structures arise in binary star systems and other systems where tidal forces arise such as in the Earth-moon system . These disks are governed by a Scalar Momentum Equation (SME) and a partial differential equation describing hydrodynamic flow within the disk (Stream Function Equation) . We solve these equations using a self-consistent field approach . At each iterative step, the Stream Function and gravitational potential are approximated at all grid points using Guass-Seidel iteration . These quantities, taken with the SME and appropriate boundary conditions are used to find an updated guess for the density distribution .

Guass-Seidel algorithms are applied to the relevant partial differential equations which have been discretized using a finite central-differencing technique . These solvers are implemented in python and verified using analytical solutions for simple cases, such as axisymmetric disks with uniform density . We find that our solvers converge to the analytical solutions over many iterations .

Parameters for the overall equilibrium solutions are taken from Andalib’s 1998 Dissertation focused on 2-D self-gravitating systems . Present work is focused on reproducing some of the presented solutions as both a check on our equilibrium solutions and as a starting point for further research .

Quantifying the spatial morphology of organic films through polarization- dependent imaging

Presenter(s): Madelyn Scott—Chemistry, Physics

Faculty Mentor(s): Kelly Wilson, Cathy Wong

Session 2: Cells R Us

Organic semiconducting materials are appealing, green alternatives to conventional semiconductors because they can be solution-processed into flexible films . However, solution-processing fabrication methods can be prone to morphological disorder, meaning that crystalline structures in the
film exhibit a variety of sizes and shapes . A large degree of morphological disorder inhibits the electronic functionality of a film for use in technological devices . Examining how film morphology varies with different deposition conditions allows us to connect the physical properties of organic semiconducting films to macroscopic perturbations in their formation environments . In this work, we used a homebuilt microscope to image the polarization-dependent absorption of organic films, and developed an image analysis software package to characterize their spatial morphology . A series of pictures are collected of the sample, rotating the polarizer between each image . For every pixel in the image, the absorption signal as a function of polarization angle is fit to a sinusoidal curve . These fits are employed to assign pixels in the image to discrete aggregate domains within the film . Quantitative domain metrics are computed to describe the morphology of the film . Several organic films are produced under different deposition conditions and their resulting morphologies are compared . By better understanding the relationship between deposition conditions and film formation, existing solution-processing techniques can be further controlled and refined to achieve target physical properties in organic semiconducting materials .

How the second person perspective utilizes distance as a way to tell traumatic stories, specifically from marginalized perspectives

Presenter(s): Hayley Schlueter—English

Faculty Mentor(s): Will Alden

Session 4: Let’s KIDD Around: KIDD Creative Writing Program

This project aims to understand the unique ways in which the second person perspective can be utilized for stories about trauma, and therefore, stories about marginalized identities and experiences—meaning people who experience some form of systemic oppression, such as women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ people . The second person often creates a sense of discomfort in the reader by calling direct attention to the reader, essentially forcing them to become a part of the story by inhabiting the “you” and the life of the story’s character . At the same time that the “you” creates this often uncomfortable intimacy, it also creates a sense of distance . My research explores the ways in which the second person perspective utilizes these seeming contradictions between intimacy and alienation, discomfort and distance, as a method for telling stories about trauma and identity through the examination of short stories such as Michael Cunningham’s “Mister Brother” and Kiese Laymon’s “You are the Second Person .” I am interested in the ways in which marginalized authors and characters, who already experience the world as deeply alienating, are able to use the second person as a way to emphasize and control that alienation .

Peirce’s phenomenological grounding of Science and Matters therein

Presenter(s): Timothy Schatz—Philosophy, Math

Faculty Mentor(s): Scott Pratt, Erin McKenna

Session 1: It’s a Science Thing

Any survey of C .S . Peirce’s philosophy will reveal a vast but shattered continent . Hence, any reader who ventures beyond a single text will have to ask themselves how they are to regard the relation of these texts . I am aligned with the unitary interpretation, espoused by the late Dr . Joseph M . Ransdell, and so affirm the Peircean system as essentially phenomenological . The divisions of science, or systems of science, maintains three divisions: mathematics, philosophy, and special science . Phenomenology finds its home in philosophy, and it is here where knowing first encounters being . As such, following Peirce’s underlying gestures towards positive philosophy, post-Kantian empiricism, realism, and christen mysticism, phenomenology naturally arises as ground and loci of his philosophy, insofar as it places the subject in a living world . In the first division of this work, the general system of phenomenological reflection reveals a form of knowing which is inherently human in which beings are known as a world and not disparate things . This reflection is threefold in which reflection folds back onto itself to reveal the triadic structure of Being . Thus the second division shall take up the triadic structure, the categories, in phenomenological detail qua their expression in being . Lastly, this paper culminates in the general architecture of phenomenology, which serves as the ground for Peirce’s Weltanschauung, that is, his conception of the cosmos .