2008 Proceedings - St. Cloud State University

Abstracts
Session A All Disciplines Ballroom
Identification of a PGC-1 Destroying Protein for the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Disorders
Neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson‘s disease affect the fine motor control functions in the patient‘s brain causing the loss of
muscle control in the body, leading to excessive uncontrolled movement, or the loss of movement in the patient. The loss of cells in the
area of the brain that controls these movements is the primary cause of these diseases. All human cells are comprised of proteins, the
three-dimensional building blocks that are used to construct the structures and carry out functions for the cells. One particular protein, the
PGC-1 protein, has been shown to help protect brain cells from degeneration. We recently discovered that two other human proteins
cause the degradation of PGC-1, thus reducing the beneficial activity of this protein. Here we propose to find the identity of these proteins.
The long term goal is to design a drug that inhibits these proteins, thus keeping PGC-1 levels high, halting Parkinson‘s disease.
Presentation Index: A60
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Department: Biological Sciences
Project Sponsor(s):
Student Presenter(s): Alfano, Tony; Lennemann, Nick
Olson, Brian
Session B Paper Presentation Competition I South Voyageurs
Bifold Window Doors to Increase R-Value
Today's increasing needs for energy efficiency has pushed window manufacturers to pursue window designs which possess higher R-
values. Window manufacturers have been able to increase a window's R-value to around 7 by utilizing technologies such as coatings and
double or triple glazing. However, significant gain can be achieved by adding insulated bifold doors to the interior of the window. By
adding insulated bifold doors to the interior of the window, a theoretical gain of an additional R-value of 6 can be achieved when using
extruded polystyrene insulated doors or an additional R-value of 7.5 when using sprayed foam insulated doors. Utilizing these insulated
bifold doors may serve to add an aesthetically pleasing element to a window opening while producing much improved window opening R-
value.
Presentation Index: B1
Time: 9:30 a.m.
Department: Environmental and Technological Studies
Project Sponsor(s):
Student Presenter(s): Frikken, Jon
Holmen, John
Baseball at Native American Boarding Schools in Minnesota: A History
Near the close of the nineteenth century, the burgeoning American republic witnessed numerous social reforms bent on perfecting the
national community. For many Native Americans, long proponents of strong cultural ties, this complex era saw the proliferation of Indian
Industrial schools, institutions designed to ―civilize‖ native children—often by erasing their tribal heritage—toward full American citizenship.
In Minnesota, several off-reservation boarding schools arose, training both Ojibwe and Dakota students to speak English, accept
Christianity, and labor industriously. Prominent scholars including David Wallace Adams and Brenda J. Child have written extensively on
Industrial institutions, detailing the acculturating tactics of the schools and the varied responses of indigenous children. Moreover,
emerging scholarship—including recent works by John Bloom and Sally Jenkins—has illuminated athletics as a noteworthy component of
many boarding school curriculums. Still, while significantly broadening scholarship on Industrial sports, these and other writings have
focused predominately on football at the nation‘s largest institutions, neglecting sports at smaller, regional schools and overlooking
baseball‘s distinct popularity amongst Native boarders. This paper, then, details Laliberte‘s original research into baseball at several
boarding schools in late nineteenth century Minnesota, including St. John‘s and Morris Industrial Schools. Laliberte describes the origins,
participants, and organization of these unique teams, and comments on their competitions versus local white clubs. In the process,
Laliberte evidences that both Ojibwe and Dakota boys refashioned baseball from an assimilationist tool into an instrument of tribal
persistence—in language, values, and traditions—thus transforming the national pastime in imaginative and surprising ways.
Presentation Index: B2
Time: 9:50 a.m.
Department: History
Project Sponsor(s):
Student Presenter(s): Laliberte, David
Galler, Robert
St. Cloud State University Student Research Colloquium 35
April 22, 2008