Latinos are the largest and fastest-growing majority in Washington State, but over the past thirty years they have been systematically underrepresented in local office. This research focuses on city council and school board races across the ten counties which have the largest Latino populations, and the resulting report is the first to document the severe history of Latino underrepresentation in Washington. Through the same surname analysis used by the Department of Justice in its investigations of racially polarized voting, we analyzed the precinct-by-precint electoral results and found that Latino candidates are routinely defeated by non-Latino candidates. Previous studies have demonstrated that at-large elections - which are used in more than 90% of Washington's local races - tend to dilute minority votes and depress minority representation when minority candidates run against majority candidates. We found that Latinos win far less than half of their races against non-Latinos, suggesting that the extensive use of at-large elections has been combined with racially motivated voting patterns to systematically deny Latino candidates local office. Through interviews with Latino leaders and prominent members of various communities in Yakima County, we also found that Latino communites face more than just structural barriers to effective political participation and proportional representation. Our findings strongly suggest that the Revised Code of Washington ought to be amended to allow local jurisdictions to move away from at-large elections, that local jurisdictions should strive to provide more bilingual services, and that community organizations ought to prioritize the cultivation of local Latino leaders. This report was written as part of the State of the State for Washington Latinos project, which is an ongoing community-based research program at Whitman College. Our research was conducted in partnership with the National Voting Rights Advocacy Initiative.

The Paul Yager Lab in the University of Washington’s Bioengineering Department has been researching the dynamics of fluids on two dimensional paper networks of nitrocellulose. Knowledge of this science will allow for the development of distributed diagnostics, akin to pregnancy tests, that can be used in remote settings without access to electricity or medical supplies. By testing the storage and flow of various proteins and carbohydrates on nitrocellulose, we are developing lateral flow enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for the diagnosis of various diseases. My research involves the control of proteins once they are already on the nitrocellulose membrane. By printing proteins and carbohydrates in various conformations onto the nitrocellulose, we were able to test the effectiveness of our methods for delaying and mixing protein flow. We showed that you can delay protein flow by printing a wall of sugar around the protein that needs to dissolve before the protein can flow with the liquid. We tested the flow patterns of two consecutive patterns of proteins and found that we can predict the time and efficiency with which they arrive at the downstream mixing site. We also developed ways to effectively load up to 1µl of solution onto the nitrocellulose strips. This research will be useful in the eventual development of a working ELISA, when combined with other results from researchers in the lab.

Bacterial conjugation is a form of horizontal gene transfer that serves as an important source of genetic plasticity and diversity in both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. It has also been proved to be advantageous for dissemination of antibiotic resistance. Conjugation is a plasmid-mediated mechanism that allows single stranded DNA to be transferred across cell membranes from a donor to a recipient cell. In Escherichia coli, the conjugative F (fertility) plasmid encodes all necessary proteins for assembling the transfer apparatus thus allowing transfer and propagation of DNA into a recipient bacterial cell. Previous conflicting studies of bacterial conjugation in E. coli have shown DNA transfer to occur between donor and recipient pairs in intimate cell-cell contact or between distant donor and recipient pairs, connected only by the pilus, a filamentous protein extended from the donor cell. Using various fluorescent protein constructs to differentially mark donor and recipient cells and F plasmid DNA itself, we visualize conjugation in real time with single-cell resolution by fluorescent microscopy. Here we show that conjugation occurs only when donor and recipient cells are in intimate and close physical contact with each other. In addition, there appears to be no preference for cellular orientation for transfer. Furthermore, we propose a simple rate equation to model DNA transfer between bacteria and measure the rate of DNA transfer per unit time per cell contact. This quantitative model is a tool to elucidate conjugation at a single-cell scale and will provide a deeper understanding into the mechanism of bacterial conjugation.

All cells including bacteria exhibit an intricate spatial organization that is essential for cellular function. The mechanisms by which this ultra structural organization is established and maintained are not yet understood. The resolution limit of conventional wide-field fluorescence microscopy is set to 250nm by the diffraction limit, however the building blocks cellular ultra-structure, protein, are typically a few nanometers in size. Therefore, in order to probe the cell-machinery that gives rise to the organization of Escherichia coli chromosome, I use a super resolution fluorescence microscopy technique called PhotoActivation Localization Microscopy (PALM). I am able to resolve DNA structures with a resolution near ~20nm by labeling short sections of E. coli chromosome with a photoactivatable fluorescent protein. I then relate the measured size of chromosome sections to known physical parameters of DNA in order to asses the viability of various polymer models of DNA, which will lead to a better understanding of the physical factors that lead to structure in E. coli.

In 2011, a 3 week research cruise on board the R/V Atlantis was undertaken to the Endeavor segment of the Juan de Fuca spreading ridge. The main purpose of this expedition was to determine conductive heat flow from lightly sedimented sea floor within the axial valley of the spreading center (in close proximity to an isolated hydrothermal vent system). During a series of Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) dives to the seafloor, hundreds of heat flow time series were measured by the deployment of 13 “thermal blanket” heat flow instruments, which will enable researchers to better constrain the spatial extent of the hydrothermal fluid recharge zone. Throughout each dive, continuous video footage was recorded from several cameras on-board the ROV, along with the geographic position, altitude, heading and three dimensional orientation of the vehicle. A geological map of the sea floor across the vent field will be created using geo-referenced and orthorectified frame grabs (“flattened” onto the topography) from ROV video. The primary goal of this project is to provide a means of quantitatively measuring the porosity of spreading ridge seafloor basalt in this area of active hydrothermal venting, through the application of a technique that has never before been attempted at this scale.  A series of trigonometric algorithms were developed to use this reference information as a means of translating a still video image from ROV footage into a series of geo-referenced images.  Geographic Informatics System (GIS) software is being used to create a mosaic-like map of volcanic, biological and geological features from the sea floor near this hydrothermal vent system from these images.  An additional data layer will be produced simultaneously to provide additional information concerning the spatial extent and distribution of geologic features on the seafloor to assist in understanding the results of the heat flow study. 

Bacterial conjugation is the process of transferring genetic material from one cell to another. In the case of F-plasmid of Escherichia coli, the conjugation system is composed of inter-membrane proteins as well as hairlike appendages called pili encoded by the plasmid. Current interest in the characterization of F-plasmid lies with its ability to not only transfer itself to other cells but also its potential to mobilize auxiliary genes, such as antibiotic resistance, that yield some selective advantage. However, many basic details about the F-plasmid system, such as how donor cells recognize recipients and the function of the protruding pili, remain unknown. Through the use of an optical tweezer setup, I am able to isolate individual, fluorescently labeled E. coli cells in close proximity to each other. Once in close proximity, I will monitor the forces applied by donor cells on recipient cells and compare those forces to the forces potentially applied by donor cells on other donor cells. In addition, by utilizing the same optical tweezer setup, I will explore the statistical behavior of F-plasmid transfer as a function of cell-to-cell separation to investigate the potential function of the pili as transfer conduits.

Despite the numerous studies of the bacteria E. Coli, the basic motion of macromolecules confined to the cellular cytoplasm, such as mRNA, remains uncharacterized. I employ a technique called fluorescent correlation microscopy, which consists of binding synthesized mRNA with fluorescent proteins, imaging the cell throughout its lifetime, and analyzing the images using statistical autocorrelation. This technique allows me to determine the diffusion constant (D) as a function of cellular location while bypassing the error caused by higher order analysis. We predict that D is primarily dependent on the molecular crowding at its position, and there exists a tendency for mRNA to gather in the less crowded spaces in the cell, e.g. at the poles.

More than 50 percent of stars are found in binary systems. A cataclysmic variable star is a binary system consisting of a white dwarf and a larger, cooler star in an orbit with a period of only a few hours. These stars are so close that the white dwarf distorts the gravitational field of the other star and mass is transferred from the cool star to the white dwarf via an accretion disk. The defining characteristic of the type of cataclysmic variable called dwarf novae is that they irregularly increase and decrease in brightness. The increases (called outbursts) are caused by an instability in the accretion disk that causes an increase in accretion. After an outburst, these stars steadily decline in brightness until they return to their original state. However, the subgroup of dwarf novae called Z Cam systems sometimes become stuck in a state called a standstill, where they stay at a brightness near outburst level, and then decline to their original level. Using data taken at Kitt Peak National Observatory and Apache Point observatory over a series of five months, we were able to analyze spectra of two unusual objects as they go through their outbursts. We can find out what state they are in by comparing their spectra to light curves from the American Association of Variable Star Observers. What is unusual about these objects is that rather than fade to their original state after standstills, they go up to another outburst. Using these spectra, we hope to find the accretion rates of the stars at standstill, and then compare to other stars of the same type to better understand why they have this peculiar behavior.

The neuromodulator dopamine is important for motivated behavior. Past research provides evidence that dopamine neurons encode the expected value of reward-predicting stimuli in situations with a single option. The current project investigated dopamine transmission when multiple options are present, as previous studies have arrived at conflicting conclusions. One study found that dopamine neurons encode the value of the subsequently chosen option, regardless of the expected value of the option foregone; whereas the other concluded that dopamine neurons encode the value of the greater available reward, regardless of which option was actually chosen. To address this discrepancy, we recorded changes in nucleus accumbens dopamine concentration using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry in rats performing a decision-making task in operant chambers. Sessions included single-option trials intermixed with choices between two options that differed in reward size (number of food pellets) and effort requirement (number of lever presses). When rats were presented with a low-reward/low-effort option (1 pellet for 4 presses) and a high-reward/intermediate-effort option (4 pellets for 8 presses), they preferred the high-reward/intermediate-effort option. In separate sessions, when presented with the low-reward/low-effort and a high-reward/high-effort (4 pellets for 32 presses) options, the rats preferred the low-reward/low-effort option. Preliminary voltammetry results from single option trials suggested that dopamine release was greater following the presentation of the high-reward/intermediate-effort option compared to the presentation of the low-reward/low-effort option. In the other session type, however, dopamine concentration did not differ between the high-reward/high-effort option and the low-reward/low-effort option. In two-option choice trials, dopamine release associated with each reward/effort combination was similar to that in the corresponding single-option trials. Thus far, these results are more consistent with the claim that dopamine encodes for the option subsequently chosen, but the interaction between behavioral preference and encoding of expected reward value requires further investigation.