Note: The 25th Annual Research Conference was originally going to be held on March 13, 2020 from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm on the Gainesville Campus, Martha T. Nesbitt building. However, due to the global COVID-19 Pandemic and subsequent shut down, the conference was cancelled and was moved online the following month. The works/submissions on this page contain students’ who submitted for both the original conference and the online one.
SPECIAL UPDATE: To honor and celebrate the hard work you put into preparing for the Annual Research Conference, we have decided to host the conference ONLINE on April 17, 2020!

The online 25th Annual Research Conference consisted of oral presentations via Visual Huddle, and a poster session. You will be able to view poster presentations by clicking on each individual poster’s titles and finding their uploaded video.
Note to Presenters: 
If you were previously accepted to present at the 25th ATC (originally scheduled for March 13) please fill out the survey to let us know if you can participate and if your originally scheduled hour still works for you.
In addition, students originally scheduled to present at another (no cancelled) conference may also present at ARC 2020! If you have any questions, please contact <a href=”mailto:curca@ung.edu”> CURCA@ung.edu</a>.

UNG Annual Research Conference 2020

ARC Program 2020

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) rights have progressed quickly in the 21st century. However, much of this progress has been in the global West. In 2019, Taiwan became the first country in Asia to recognize same-sex marriage, leaving behind the third-largest economic power in the world, Japan, which has not yet moved to recognize same-sex marriage. Through a comparative political examination, this study explores how family registry systems have affected LGBTQ rights and the progression of marriage equality in two liberal democratic states in East Asia. This paper draws from the extensive literature on the history, use, and current status of the koseki and huji. It also examines the role played by transnational advocacy organizations in sharing information and influence. The koseki has a long history in Japan which helped shape the current system of marriage and families. During the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, adopted a similar system. This examination uses case study methodology to explore why Taiwan progressed toward marriage equality and Japan has not. This study hypothesizes that these family registry systems are patriarchal, heteronormative, and discriminatory and have thus hindered – though not prevented in the case of Taiwan – the fight for LGBTQ rights and marriage equality. Taiwan and Japan are two of the strongest liberal democracies in Asia, both with a history of Confucian values. As an emerging beacon for LGBTQ human rights in Asia, Taiwan, as a norm entrepreneur in Asia, has set an example that many other countries in the region can follow.

Making Marriage Equal in Asia

This study examined virtual reality (VR) as a means of delivery for mindfulness practice compared to the traditional form of instruction to establish proof of concept. The study utilized an Oculus Rift (Facebook Technologies, LLC)© and the Perfect (NDreams)© visual and sound environment while attending Hill’s Mindfulness Practice (HMP)©. Participants were randomized into three groups: 1) VR+HMP instruction, 2) HMP only instruction, and 3) a Waitlist control. Participants in the VR+HMP or HMP groups experienced six 10-minute sessions of mindfulness practice that included: 1) Body Scan, 2) Object Attention, 3) Focused Breathing, 4) Grounding, 5) Dealing with Difficult Emotions and Sensation, and 6) Self-Compassion. These sessions are based on a combination of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (Kabat Zinn, 1990) and Koru for emerging adults (Roger & Maytan, 2012). Participants completed pre- and post-assessments for the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, et al., 1983), Self-Compassion Scale (Neff, 2003), Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ), and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). Participants were expected to have no experience with mindfulness prior to study entry. Participants were expected to practice the mindfulness instruction on their own for 10 minutes each day, collected either online or paper copy. In examining the scores of the MAAS, an interaction (F(2,20)=5.13, p=.02, η2=.34) qualified the main effect of the experience (F(2,20)=4.53, p=.02, η2=.31). There was no main effect of the training (F(1,20)=0.25, p>.05, η2=.01). The interaction showed an increase in mindfulness awareness in the VR group, thus demonstrating proof of concept.

31. Virtual Reality Mindfulness Training: Proof of Concept Within the College Population

Understanding the ecological factors that contributed to the late-Pleistocene large mammal extinction event (~10,000 years ago) has been particularly challenging due to the lack of a modern comparative framework. However, existing research suggests that changes in landscapes and the distribution of vegetation likely contributed to the downfall of megaherbivores. In this study, we create a dietary model for late-Pleistocene herbivores using enamel carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) isotope values from extant white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). More specifically, we investigate the isotopic signature of enamel during the formation of M1, M2 and M3 as a means of considering annual variation in diet as well as variation across the life of the individual. The δ13C value of enamel apatite reflects the δ13C value of ingested foodstuffs, offset by a diet-tissue fractionation factor. Based upon this scheme, herbivorous mammals can be divided into three different dietary categories: C3 browsers (3/C4 mixed-feeders (>-8‰ to 4 grazers (>-1‰). Variability in δ18O values within a single tooth are indicative of seasonal changes in precipitation or temperature given the relationship between enamel δ18O values and ingested water. Higher δ18O values are suggestive of elevated evaporation or decreased precipitation, frequently induced by warm/dry conditions. With this information, we will be able to better understand existing isotopic data collected from mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) and long-horned bison (Bison latifrons) in southeastern North America. Finally, these data (particularly oxygen isotopes) will be valuable for considering modern and ancient changes in rainfall across southeastern North America.

25. Isotopic evidence of dietary variation in white-tailed deer: a model for Pleistocene herbivores in southeastern North America

Foraging decisions are often critically important to species’ fitness and survival. The importance of these decisions have been documented for small mammals and indicate that habitat conditions influence predator vigilance and resource acquisition. Powerlines are a prevalent landscape component found across the southeastern U.S. and, while they potentially influence animal activity and habitat use, their impact is poorly understood. Our objective for this project was to assess the influence of a powerline on small mammal foraging within Chicopee Woods Nature Preserve in Hall County, GA. To achieve our objective, we used feeding stations containing a mixture of sand and sunflower seeds and measured the giving up density (GUD) after one week, with the assumption that small mammals seeking to balance predator vigilance and exposure with acquisition of food will consume more resources when they feel least threatened. Feeding stations were placed at varying distances from the powerline edge and GUD was modeled using linear regression to assess the influence of distance to edge, vegetation cover, and habitat type on foraging. Preliminary analyses indicate that giving up density was lower (i.e., animals consumed more seeds) as distance into the powerline increased. Our results suggest that powerlines are used by foraging small mammals, but that the rodents avoid use of powerline edges. This result generally agrees with previous research that indicates predation risk is higher along the edge of a habitat than within the interior. Future efforts will focus on increasing our sample size and determining if our results persist throughout seasons.

29. Assessing Edge Effects on Small-mammal Foraging using Giving up Density Stations

Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy afflicting the lives of men worldwide. Prostate cancer has two stages, androgen dependent and androgen independent. In the androgen dependent stage, the prostate cancer can be treated by hormone depletion therapy. In androgen independent stage the hormone depletion therapy does not work. The only available treatment for androgen independent prostate cancer is FDA approved chemotherapy drug docetaxel. Patients initially respond to docetaxel and then they become resistant to it. The cells that are resistant to docetaxel express cancer stem cell markers and represent the population of cancer stem cells. The goal of this project will be to develop docetaxel resistant androgen independent prostate cancer cell lines. These resistant cell lines will then be treated with natural products like grapefruit, lemon peel, ashwagandha, turmeric, and ginger in the presence and absence of docetaxel. The cell death will be checked by MTT assay. This project will involve using the natural products which are well tolerated by human body for solving the problem of drug resistance in prostate cancer cells and developing an effective treatment for this deadly disease.

03. The effect of natural products on the growth of docetaxel resistant androgen independent prostate cancer cells expressing cancer stem cell markers.

The Study of Fluid Motion in an Oscillating Heat Pipe with Neutron Images
As electronic devices become more complicated, more excessive heat is generated from the devices. However, if the excessive heat released from an electronic device is not removed effectively, the performance of the electronic device will degrade with time. An OHP (oscillating heat pipe) is a cooling system composed of copper tubes which are partially filled with a liquid. The main purpose of an OHP is to keep the fluid inside its copper tubes oscillating allowing the removal of heat from an electronic device. The OHP has shown better performance than a conventional heat pipe which makes it a promising thermal management device. However, the fluid motion in the OHP is not fully understood. An OHP was fabricated and neutron imaging was used to visualize the motion of the fluid inside an OHP. The temperature data and imaging were collected simultaneously. In this study, the fluid motion of the OHP will be analyzed. This will be done by using the images that are provided from the neutron imaging. It is expected that the results will provide insight on how the oscillating heat pipe can be designed for more effective cooling of electronic devices. New design concepts for better thermal performance of OHP will be suggested.

The Study of Fluid Motion in an Oscillating Heat Pipe with Neutron Images

Georgia Academy Science Abstract
Microplastics, plastic pieces smaller than five millimeters, are of growing concerns in marine ecosystems because the cause multiple negative effects, including decreased survivorship and direct developmental defects. Sea urchin larvae are a target for microplastic studies because they easily ingest microplastics and are an important component of marine zooplankton communities. Prior studies examining the survival and development of Tripneustes gratilla larvae exposed to 5µm polyethylene beads found no effect on larval survivorship and only a small effect on body width development in five-day old larvae. However, it is unclear how generalizable these findings are to other sea urchin species and for other types of plastic. Our research aims to discover the effects of polystyrene microplastics on larval survivorship and body-size development in Lytechinus variegatus following the same procedures used with T. gratilla. In this study, L. variegatus larvae were divided among three treatments: treatment one had 300 algae/ml, treatment two had 150 algae and 150 5μm polystyrene beads/ml and treatment three had 300 5µm polystyrene beads/ml. Larvae were kept at a concentration of 5 larvae/ml. Percent survivorship was estimated from 5ml samples were taken daily for 21 days. Body measurements were taken on five-day-old larvae using ImageJ. Five different body measurements were made: post-oral arm length (POA), body width, body length, the ratio of POA length to body width, and the ratio of POA length to body length. Treatments were replicated two times for survivorship and three times for arm length measurements because data was collected from larvae created during two, independent lab-spawning events. Survivorship estimates so far suggest that treatment one had the highest survivorship, treatment two had intermediate survivorship, and treatment three had the lowest survivorship. However, these results are based on only two replicates and will be repeated. Body measurements had two significant differences among treatments. Body width was significantly larger in treatment one than treatment two (p=0.005) or treatment three. Body length was significantly smaller for treatment three than treatment one (p

THE EFFECTS OF MICROPLASTICS ON LYTECHINUS VARIEGATUS SURVIVORSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT

The nature of dark energy and dark matter is an enigma that has long puzzled scientists. To further explore their mysterious nature, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) was assembled and observations begin in October 2020. LSST will conduct a deep sky survey at a frequency that enables imaging of all parts of the visible sky, every few nights for ten years. Our research goal is to provide spectroscopic follow-up of transients (particularly type 1a supernovae) with the North Georgia Astronomical Observatory in June 2020. In preparation, we are developing a spectroscopic data reduction pipeline in Python and calculating the expected number of transients accessible to our observatory. Type Ia supernovae are commonly used for measuring cosmic distances; they are known as “standard candles” in modern cosmology. They were the tool used for the discovery of the accelerated expansion of the universe and provide constraints on the nature of dark energy.

Exploding Stars and the Expanding Universe

Southern Gospel Solutions to Music Classroom Problems: A Study of the Pedagogical Strategies used in the Gospel Children’s Choir Setting
Anita Ingram
In this study, I seek to find solutions to issues that plague American music education by exploring pedagogical strategies used in non-classical settings. Specifically, I will be comparing the essence of teaching and learning between public school music classrooms and Gospel children’s choirs in Southern African American churches. Considering the national standards for music classes set by the National Association of Music Educators (NAfME) and Edwin E. Gordon’s Music Learning Theory, this study will establish the current state of music education by identifying common obstacles faced by music teachers across the country. Then, through the observation of Gospel children’s choirs, this study will compare the teaching that takes place in a gospel choir setting to the requirements of the national standards and the essential components of Gordon’s Music Learning Theory. I will use the observation period to identify pedagogical methods used by choir directors, analyze choir participants’ skill sets and responses to direction, and examine the rigor of music performed by Gospel children’s choirs. By means of comparison, this study will determine if teachers and students in music classrooms can benefit from the strategies used in the Gospel choir setting.

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