Fall Poster Session
November 17, 2022
Fall Poster Session
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2022
SUB Hallway | 11 a.m. –12:30 p.m.
Student Presenters
Art Mia Sue Thomas | “A Blueprint for an Artist in The Idea of the Temple of Painting”
Kendra Duffey | “Between Two Practices”
Noah Paisley | “Mingei: An Invitation to Beauty”
Biology Kaitlyn Moss | “Gene Expression of Par-1 in Cancer Cells in the Presence of Thrombin”
Charisse Walker | “Observing the Differences in Mammal Species Across Suburban and Rural Wooded Areas Using Camera Traps”
Emma Straley | “Myotis septentrionalis and Myotis sodalist Habitat Suitability Model Analysis Using ArcGIS on a Wetland Mitigation Site in West Tennessee”
Allaina Armstrong | “Six in One: Cryptic Species and a New Host Record for Olixon testaceum (Vespoidea: Rhopalosomatidae) Revealed by DNA Barcoding”
Lauren Gaggley | “Comparison of Cold and Room Temperature Plastination”
Sydney Sample | “Downstream Effects of Thrombin-Induced Par-1 Activation in Fibroblast Cells”
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ART
A Blueprint for an Artist in The Idea of the Temple of Painting
Presenter: Mia Thomas
Faculty Advisor: Haelim Allen
Giovanni Paolo Lomazzo was an Italian painter, writer, and art critic of the 16th century who, in the writing of his treatise, The Idea of the Temple of Painting, communicated complex ideas about art and the individualistic nature of artists. He presents the reader with a blueprint of a metaphorical temple with a layered foundation with the elements of art supported by the columns of old masters such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, and four others. Along with his Idea, he provides an interpretation of these features as a guide to understanding an artist’s character and use of the elements. Lomazzo shares the fundamental need for discernment, diligence, and practice since they are the keys to become a thriving artist and producing good art. Lomazzo had a crucial contribution to the foundation of the study of art philosophy because of his specific ideas about the formation of the artist, art criticism, and the components that produce successful art. While his ideas in their entirety are not wholly original, his Idea challenged his contemporary’s thoughts because of its unique perspective, writing style, and character.
Between Two Practices
Presenter: Kendra Duffey
Faculty Advisor: Haelim Allen
Illustration and fine art are not entirely thought of as the same type of practice. Though both could use similar techniques and skills, the recognition of the work and artist is based on how the work is used and the perception of others. At times, an artist may find themselves between two different practices. This divide between practices may seem confusing and unsettling to the artist if they do not gain their desired recognition. Norman Rockwell lived in the middle of a divide between being an illustrator and wanting to be recognized as a fine artist. Even at an early age, Rockwell aspired to be a fine artist. He soon, however, found himself painting commercially out of his great success in illustration and the financial stability it provided. His early pieces consisted of illustrations for magazine covers such as the Post, and for advertisements. He made a name for himself as an illustrator but could not easily make a name as a fine artist. The art world recognized his work solely as commercial and not taken seriously, at least not to the status of what they considered as fine art. The art world, however, was and is a changing organization whose ideas eventually shifted towards reconsidering Rockwell’s work for fine art status. Norman Rockwell’s conflict of wanting the association of a fine artist, while having a name as a commercial illustrator will be examined, along with showing both when he lacked the association with fine arts and when he gained the association for having fine art qualities.
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Mingei: An Invitation to Beauty
Presenter: Noah Paisley
Faculty Advisor: Haelim Allen
Following the westernization and industrialism of Japan as a result of the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the country began to see a shift away from traditional Buddhist philosophy in favor of the consumer nature brought by an industrialized society. Soetsu Yanagi, a Japanese aesthetician, proposed the idea that the country was losing its heart as it began to shed its more spiritual values in the wake of westernization, and that the remedy was to embrace the beautiful aspects of everyday life. Yanagi, along with other craftsmen like Shoji Hamada and Kawai Kanjiro, founded what came to be known as the Mingei. Important to the Mingei philosophy was the belief that everyone deserved to be in close contact with well made, beautiful objects. With the nature of our society being a result of the industrialization of Yanagi’s time, the philosophy that he and others in the movement held can be just as helpful and profound now as it was back then. As Yanagi put it, “Without our realizing it, these unattractive objects have had an enormous impact on our sensitivity to beauty” (Yanagi 2017). And so, with the appreciation of beauty in our everyday lives, the capacity of our understanding and emotion can be increased as we go forward in an age of desensitization to beauty and the natural world.
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BIOLOGY
Gene Expression of Par-1 in Cancer Cells in the Presence of Thrombin
Presenter: Kaitlyn Moss
Faculty Advisor: Marc Lockett
Proteinase-activated receptor-1 (PAR-1) not only regulates platelet function but has a role in the development of multiple cancers. PAR-1 is activated by thrombin, which is the key enzyme of blood coagulation and when overproduced, can promote tumor growth. This project explores the importance of the PAR-1 activation in response to varying concentrations of thrombin using the cancer cell line CCF- STTG1. To investigate this response, three different concentrations of thrombin were used: 2.5 units, 5 units, and 10 units. Results showed that the higher concentration of thrombin, the higher cell count of CCF-STTG1. A PAR-1 antagonist was then used to confirm if thrombin activity could be inhibited to decrease the activation of CCF-STTG1 cells. Finally, to determine downstream effects of PAR-1 activation, a RT-PCR was performed (results pending).
Observing the Differences in Mammal Species Across Suburban and Rural Wooded Areas Using Camera Traps
Presenter: Charisse Walker
Faculty Advisor: Andy Madison
My research objective was to observe mammal species’ differences across suburban and rural wooded areas using trail camera traps. I assumed that rural areas would have higher species richness and abundance. Camera traps were placed from 2 January - 30 July, 2022 and all mammals observed were documented. Two sites in Chattanooga, a site in Jackson, and a site in McKenzie, TN, were used for observations. Two different statistical analyses were used to compare data from the different sites. Tentative data for the Chattanooga sites show the suburban site has higher richness and abundance than the rural site, contrary to my hypothesis. This could be random chance (only one site was chosen) or because the mammals were concentrated into the only available habitat. Chattanooga is more industrialized and larger than Jackson, so that could also be a factor in the final results.
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Myotis septentrionalis and Myotis sodalist Habitat Suitability Model Analysis Using ArcGIS on a Wetland Mitigation Site in West Tennessee
Presenter: Emma Straley
Faculty Advisor: Michael Schiebout
The Rossville Farm Mitigation Site, near Memphis, TN, was acoustically surveyed for 2 federally protected Myotis species, Myotis septentrionalis (northern long-ear bat) and Myotis sodalis (Indiana bat). Bat presence can be an indicator of habitat health. Because both Myotis species utilize the same feeding grounds and there is indication the Mitigation Site might harbor them, we used ArcGIS to create a habitat suitability model for the 2 bat species. Bat calls were recorded with Wildlife Acoustics Echo Meter Touch Pro. The recordings were analyzed using Wildlife Acoustics’ Kaleidoscope software and analyzed. Three bat species were detected, although not our target species. The presence of these other bats suggests the reclamation plan being implemented for the Rossville Farm Mitigation Bank is successfully establishing functional wildlife habitats.
Six in One: Cryptic Species and a New Host Record for Olixon testaceum (Vespoidea: Rhopalosomatidae) Revealed by DNA Barcoding
Presenter: Allaina Armstrong
Faculty Advisor: Jeremy Blaschke
New discoveries have increased our knowledge of the systematics and behavior of Olixon Cameron, an understudied genus of parasitoid cricket-assassin wasps (Vespoidea: Rhopalosomatidae). Little is known about the biology of these brachypterous wasps. Olixon testaceum is one of the most widespread of rhopalosomatid species, occurring in Central and South America. The widespread distribution and habitat variation of O. testaceum makes it an excellent candidate for genetic species delimitation study using data from the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD). Here we report Anaxipha cf. calusa as the first confirmed host of O. testaceum, as well as genetic evidence of 6 cryptic species within the nominal species O. testaceum
Comparison of Cold and Room Temperature Plastination
Presenter: Lauren Gaggley
Faculty Advisor: Micah Fern
The use of plastinated specimens for anatomical studies is a growing field. Plastination is a method of preservation that replaces water in living tissues with plastic polymers. The current standard for this method of preservation is cold temperature plastination, but specimen shrinkage, equipment cost, and long procedure duration have been problematic. Room temperature plastination is an alternative method to the standard cold temperature plastination. Cat (Felis catus) and pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) brains were plastinated using cold temperature (CT) and room temperature (RT) plastination methods effect on specimen shrinkage. Criteria used to measure all plastinates included mass, length, width, and height. Equipment dependance, length of processes and costs were also calculated for CT and RT plastination methods. Results of this study are pending.
Downstream Effects of Thrombin-Induced Par-1 Activation in Fibroblast Cells
Presenter: Sydney Sample
Faculty Advisor: Marc Lockett
Clotting factors regulate several processes during wound healing, with angiogenesis, new blood vessel formation, being crucial. In addition, fibroblasts and endothelial cells mediate physiological functions of angiogenesis. The clotting factor, thrombin, has been implicated in mediating angiogenesis in endothelial cells. However, the effect of thrombin on fibroblast function is less well characterized. This research is being conducted to examine if thrombin mediates angiogenesis in fibroblast cells through proteaseactivated receptor-1 (PAR-1) activation. It was hypothesized that thrombin will induce angiogenesis through PAR-1. This was determined by culturing 3T3-L1 fibroblast cells in varying conditions: control group, thrombin, PAR-1 agonist, and PAR-1 antagonist with thrombin. Cell cultures were performed for various time periods to examine the time frame in which thrombin and PAR-1 mediate gene expression. RT-qPCR was then used to analyze expression of angiogenesis genes, cathepsin-S and vascular endothelial growth factor (results pending).
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BE TRANSFORMED
The Fall Poster Session is sponsored by the Union University Research Program
