Iowa Center for Research by Undergraduates

Veterans' Education

Darys J. Kriegel

The United States places an emphasis on equality and mobility to pursue the American dream. Many Americans believe they have access to resources that give everyone a chance at upward mobility. The current job market places a high emphasis on college-level education, and any potential barrier to it is worth studying. Veterans have received little attention in the research on educational attainment, and face different challenges than their civilian counterparts. Veterans are socialized into a different lifestyle with different norms, than asked to reintegrate after their service. My research compares educational achievement of the male veteran and civilian population.

Metabolic Consequences of Deoxycorticosterone Acetate (DOCA)-Salt in Mice

Beth A. Buehrer

Chronic peripheral delivery of deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) combined with a high-sodium diet is a classic model of low-renin hypertension. DOCA salt has previously been demonstrated to be dependent upon angiotensinergic activity in the brain. We report that male C57BL/6J mice treated with DOCA and a high-sodium diet exhibited elevated metabolic rates. Treating the mice with the direct vasodilator, hydralazine did not have an effect on metabolic rate. Intracerebroventricular infusion of the angiotensin AT1 receptor antagonist, Losartan did attenuate the metabolic rate as well as increased adiposity. This data documents sound brain-angiotensin-dependent metabolic consequences of DOCA-salt in mice.

New Capabilities for Vison-based Posture Prediction

Lindsey A. Knake

Using Santos™, a real-time predictive physics-based virtual human developed by Virtual Soldier Research, a new vision model was created for digital human models. Although field of view (FOV) is a commonly used evaluation parameter with digital human models, minimal research has involved modeling how eye motion (relative to the head and body) affects the FOV and posture of a digital human striving to see a particular target. Few models incorporate independent eye movement and the effects of obstacles, with the ability to predict human posture realistically. This work presents critical components for simulating how vision affects human posture: eye movement and visual obstacle avoidance.

Predictors of Language Outcomes in 3- and 6-year-old children with Mild to Severe Hearing Loss: Data from the OCHL Project

Keegan M. Koehlinger

Approximately 10% of the population in the United States has a hearing impairment of some severity. A hearing loss is difficult for any individual, but especially difficult for young children who are in the process of acquiring language. Whether the language of children with a hearing impairment (HI) eventually approximates that of their normal hearing (NH) peers is unclear. Some studies suggest that these children perform similarly to their NH peers while others suggest they lag behind. Conversational language samples from 90 3- and 6-year-old children from Iowa, Nebraska and North Carolina were analyzed. Data on hearing aid use and benefit was also obtained. HI children performed worse than NH peers in average sentence length and use of grammatical features. Regressions showed that language development is affected by severity of the hearing loss and benefit obtained from hearing aid use. Implications for early identification and aural habilitation will be discussed.

When in Rome, Reuse as the Romans Do: Moving Statues Around the Ancient Roman Empire

Lindsay M. Morecraft

In Iowa, people tend to buy secondhand goods like household furnishings and clothing for economic reasons. In ancient Rome, emperors and other prominent members of society also acquired secondhand items, including statues, but for reasons other than economic ones. The appeal of this action, especially for emperors, may have been to visually represent Roman dominance over another culture or to legitimize their authority by visually connecting it with an earlier time period and person. Statues were not necessarily reused within their cities of origin, but were sometimes moved to other countries to serve a new purpose. This poster examines a selection of these moved and altered statues in conjunction with their origin and location of discovery in order to better understand the appeal and purpose of this action. By conducting this research, the body of knowledge within this medium is expanded and therefore available to the general public of Iowa and surrounding areas.

Genetic analysis of lithium-responsive neurological processes using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster

Daniel F. Frana Mr

Lithium has been used for many years as one of the most efficacious therapies for bipolar affective disorder. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the mood-stabilizing action of lithium still remain largely unknown. To better understand the evolutionarily conserved mechanisms underlying lithium’s actions in the nervous system, we have studied the mutants in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster whose neurological phenotypes are significantly improved by providing a diet containing lithium. Here I report the molecular identification and characterization of these mutations. The results of our study are expected to provide novel insights into the lithium-responsive neurological processes.

Understanding Sexual Intimacy in Marriage

Jaci L. Rolffs et al.

The Dissolution of Close, Same-sex Friendships

Audrey Shelton

This study was designed to identify the effects of certain transgressions as a result of the duration of the friendship, the sex of the parties involved as well as the similarities in the types of transgressions that lead to the demise of close friendships and romantic relationships. Analysis of the data revealed that more women than men experienced the dissolution of a close, same-sex friendship, it did not take a transgression of more intense severity to break-up a friendship of longer duration , and the same types of transgressions break-up male and female friendships.

Hidden In Stone: Identifying Use-Wear Traces on Lithic Tools

Anson G. Kritsch

My project seeks to identify characteristic wear patterns preserved on stone tools from processing plants commonly used by people in the ancient Near East and North America. The method uses an experimental, analogical approach and both low and high power optical microscopy. Wear traces produced on experimental tools are compared to wear traces on archaeological tools in order to identify physical changes in the stone from use. Key wear traces identified in this way will be used to make important distinctions between tools used in the past to process plants for consumption and those used to process plants for construction.

Differences in prelinguistic communication between male and female infants and their caregivers

Jennifer M. Hand et al.

Differences in Prelinguistic Communication between Male and Female Infants and their Caregivers

Previous studies have shown that infant vocalizations are sensitive to social stimulation and that contingent maternal behavior can promote more complex and mature vocal behavior. Few studies have examined differences in communication between male and female infants or differential maternal responses. In this study, we examined male and female communicative acts during attentionally-directed vocalizations (vocalizations while playing with a toy and alternating eye gaze to the mother) and maternal responses in 30 min. play sessions. We found that female infants displayed more conversational acts than males when they vocalized, such as requesting for an object or answering a question. Males displayed more gestural acts than females when they vocalized, such as giving an object to their mother or pointing to an object. Both male and female infants showed similar levels of vocalizing when they were manually manipulating a toy. Mothers responded to their female infants vocalizations with more vocal acknowledgments (“mmm-hmm”, “uh-huh”), while mothers with male infants responded more with behavioral actions and vocalizations. Follow-up studies are exploring the relationship between these differential behaviors and language development.

GIS, Taphonomy, and the Mortuary Artificial Cave of Bolores, Torres Vedras, Portugal

Meagan E. Thies

The Neolithic-Early Bronze Age mortuary artificial cave of Bolores continues to raise many questions for the interdisciplinary team of project archaeologists, osteologists, and geologists. With GIS, artifacts, bones, stratigraphic levels, and rock fall have been recorded to determine how many people were buried at the site, how they were spatially distributed, and what kinds of burial practices were carried out. This poster employs GIS to address the taphonomic processes responsible for the high level of fragmentation of the bones.

Learning From Archaeological Faunal Material: How We Acquire Knowledge

Sarah Patterson

Sexual Aggression in Married Couples: A 7-Year Longitudinal Study

Kassi D. Pham

Structure of motivations for drinking and its relations to personality and self-reported drinking behavior

Suzanne M. Peterson et al.

Body Position Influences Maintenance of Objects in Visual Short-Term Memory

Mia J. Branson

Currently, literature suggests that body position affects attentional allocation via low-level perceptual processes. The results from the current study demonstrate that body position acts as an implicit cue to protect the storage of items in visual short term memory. These results reflect that there may be cognitive benefits of body position as well as perceptual benefits.

The Relative Influence of Postpartum Depression and Neonatal Fussiness on Childhood Psychopathology

Allison M. Momany

Our previous research found neonatal fussiness correlates with emotional and

behavioral problems at ages 8 to 11. This research examines the relative influence of

neonatal fussiness and postpartum maternal depression, a known risk factor.

Background

Previous research indicates maternal ratings of fussiness in young children

correlate with ratings of emotional and behavioral problems during childhood (Grant,

2009; Stringaris, 2010). Research also shows that postpartum maternal depression is a

risk factor for childhood behavior problems and is correlated with maternal ratings of

fussiness (Cutrona and Troutman, 1986). Our previous research found that neonatal

fussiness at one month predicts later childhood psychopathology. The current study

examines the relative influence of postpartum depression and maternal ratings of

fussiness on later emotional and behavioral problems.

Methods

Study methods were approved by the University of Iowa Institutional Review

Board (IRB).

Subjects

111 infants, identified through birth records, were evaluated in their home at 3 and 4

weeks. Participants were contacted and recruited for participation in a follow-up study 8

to 11 years later (mean age = 9.3, SD = 1.0). 33 children (30%) participated in the

follow-up.

Assessments

Neonatal negative emotionality.

The 6-item fussy-difficult scale of the Infant

Characteristics Questionnaire (ICQ) (Bates, Freeland, & Lounsbury, 1979) was used to

obtain maternal ratings of infant negative emotionality. A factor analysis of the ICQ

indicates the 6-item fussy-difficult scale is the most “clear-cut and valid factor” of the

ICQ with good internal consistency and has previously been used with 4-week-old

infants (Cronbach’s alpha = .79 to .87) (Bates, et al., 1979; Van Egeren, 2004).

Childhood psychopathology.

Mothers completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)

when the children were 8 to 11 years of age. The internal consistency of the problem

scales and DSM-oriented scales is supported by alpha coefficients ranging from .78 to

.97 and .72 to .91 respectively (Achenbach, 2001). Criterion-related validity is supported

by a significant difference between referred and non-referred children (Achenbach,

2001). Construct validity is supported by a significant association with other diagnostic

instruments (Achenbach, 2001).

Maternal depression.

Symptoms of maternal depression were assessed using the

Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) (Cox, Holden, & Sagovsky, 1987) at 3

weeks postpartum and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) (Beck & Steer, 1993) at 4

weeks postpartum. The EPDS and BDI have been widely used in studies of postpartum

depression. The EPDS and BDI were highly correlated (.59) so a postpartum

depression score was created by standardizing EPDS and BDI scores and adding them.

Results

Maternal postpartum depression and maternal ratings of neonatal fussiness are

significantly correlated with a value of .38 (p>.005). Correlations between neonatal

fussiness and childhood psychopathology with and without adjustment for postpartum

maternal depression are presented in Table 1.

Conclusions

Results of this research are consistent with previous research indicating infant

temperament is associated with childhood psychopathology. Although maternal

postpartum depression and maternal ratings of neonatal fussiness are significantly

correlated, neonatal fussiness is a significant predictor of later emotional and behavioral

problems after controlling for postpartum maternal depression.

Personality and Parenting: Links Between Traits Relevant to Personality Pathology and Court Outcomes in Department of Human Services (DHS) Assessment Cases

Alexandra M. Kane et al.

Psychological evaluations of parental competency assess parents’ ability to care for and make appropriate decisions with regard to their children. Such evaluations commonly include measures of personality characteristics, and/or diagnoses of personality disorder, that might interfere with parenting. Currently however, the most frequently administered tests are the MMPI and the MMCI which have been criticized for confounding personality with symptom dimensions and whose scales do not correspond well with factors from current personality research. The current study examines links between trait measures of personality pathology and court outcomes in 100 parenting cases from the Seashore Psychology Clinic at the University of Iowa. Personality was assessed using self- (Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality; SNAP/SNAP-2) and other- (Schedule for Personality from Notes and Documents; SPAN-DOC) report scales. Court-outcome variables include legal charges prior and subsequent to evaluation, grounds for DHS/court involvement, and outcomes of cases related to the evaluation. Preliminary results suggest that personality traits—and specifically those linked to impulsivity or disinhibition—can be linked meaningfully to legal variables. These data demonstrate the utility of trait measures in evaluations of parental competency and provide an empirical link between competency assessments and family outcomes.

Local Government in the 21st Century

Nicholas D. Pottebaum et al.

Doing Biographical Research: The Past as Context for Individual Lives

Kirstin L. Riggs Miss

Developing a spatial model of estimated tornado damage for Des Moines, IA

Patrick J. Bitterman

This project provides a model for estimating property damage by bringing together expert knowlege, construction data, and the geographic study of the spatial extent of tornadoes.