Participants

Karienne Black, Bairnsdale Secondary College, Australia

Patrick Haylock, Bairnsdale Secondary College, Australia

The effects of bushfires on the health of river systems in Australia

With the acceptance of global warming increasing world wide, more research is being conducted on its effects. However, research is limited by the information available. My project explores how a volunteer without specialist training is able to collect information on the environment to assist in understanding our changing world.

Daniel Gabay, Israel Art and Science Academy, Israel

Increasing Algorithm Efficiency in the Complex Plane - A Dynamic New Algorithm for Solving Equations

This work is about the analysis of different numerical methods for solving equations in the complex plane. The project is divided into two main parts: The first is about known algorithms, and focuses on their efficiency in different circumstances, and the second concerns a new algorithm that I developed.

Hiroki Nakao, Institute of Molecular and Cellular BiosciencesThe University of Tokyo, Japan

Cloning and Studying functions of an enormous gene, Herc2

The final target of my research is to discover the effective treatment for a disease, Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS). For this purpose, I am cloning a gene called Herc2, which is thought to be responsible for the disease. So the first step is to finish the cloning. Then, I am analyzing functions of the gene; the second goal is to understand functions of the gene, which leads to the discovery of medical care.

Yuki Nakata, Sophia University, Japan

Pre-processing for Improving Speech Intelligibility in Reverberant Environments

Reverberation may exist in any environment. While reverberation often enriches music, speech perception is often difficult under reverberant conditions. The purpose of our research is to improve speech intelligibility under reverberant environments by pre-processing the speech signals.

Tackhoon Kim, KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology), South Korea

Studies on New Angiogenic Transcription Factor DER71(Ets Related Protein 71) and Generation of Conditional Knockout Mouse

Angiogenesis, the process of blood vessel formation, is a physiologically and developmentally important process that enables timely and even transport of oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. There are millions of blood vessels throughout the body and their formation requires delicate yet complex regulation of multiple angiogenic factors, one of the most important of which is VEGF(Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) and its receptor VEGFR(VEGF Receptor), also called Flk-1.
In 1995, Shalaby et. al. has generated a Flk1 knockout mouse. The homozygous knockout mouse was shown to be embryonic lethal due to the complete absence of blood vessel. This has proven that Flk-1 is an extremely important factor in at least embryonic angiogenesis.
Further studies on Flk-1 expression profile showed that Flk-1 enhancer region contains multiple Ets binding sites that can bind Ets family proteins. Mutation in Ets binding region within theFlk-1 enhancer region abolished angiogenesis, indicating its central role in Flk-1 expression. However, the actual protein that binds to Ets binding region and thus promotes Flk-1 is still yet to be elucidated.
Recently a zebrafish mutant called cloche that completely lacks the blood vessel was found to have mutated Etsrp (Ets1 related protein). And also studies on hemangioblasts have shown that Ets Related Protein 71 (ER71) is highly upregulated in mouse hemangioblasts. Therefore, it seems likely that ER71 is involved in embryonic angiogenesis. So we generated an ER71 knockout mouse. However, further examination of ER71's function requires knockout of ER71 at desired time and tissue. So, conditional knockout mouse is being generated that employs Cre-loxP and Flp-Frt system that can selectively ablate ER71 genomic locus.

Ana Karen Becerra Duarte, Red nacional de actividades juveniles en ciencia y tecnologia, Mexico

Aid for the handicapped

The purpose of a microcontroller circuit is to help people with partial paralysis to open, and close doors and windows; to turn on and off electrical devices and at the same time work as a lifeline.
The total control of this system is connected to the telephone line.

Sravanthi Devulapalli, Berg Videregående Skole, Norway

Do spices inhibit fungus growth on cooked rice?

The preservative properties of commonly used spices in Asian cooking are well known, as there are many myths and few studies in this field. The aim of the present study was to asses the anti-fungal properties the following spices: cayenne pepper, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon and powdered cloves. There were a total of 5 trials where cooked rice was mixed with these five spices, placed in plastic cups and observed for seven days. The area covered in fungus was used to determine the preservative qualities of these spices and was measured every 12 hours, using a ruler. The cloves and cinnamon samples did not have fungus growth for 7 days, and this demonstrates that these spices have anti-fungal properties. However, cayenne pepper and cumin seemed to accelerate the growth. Moreover, the results for the turmeric samples were non-conclusive.

Nikita A. Dzhindo, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Russia

The use of semi-solid processing for production of an integrated brake rotor

Automotive usage of aluminium parts has grown tremendously over the last twenty years. This tendency is supported with a development of the newest SSM-technologies. In a modern construction of a compound brake rotor the nave is expedient for making of aluminium alloy and use in pair with a replaceable disk from cast iron or aluminium matrix composite material. Lowering of a rotor mass at the expense of transition from a traditional monolithic construction to compound construction at which a nave and a working part of a rotor are made separately and of different materials using SSM-technologies is an example of such decision.

Thierry Schmidlin, Gymnasium Oberwil / project at Biozentrum of the University of Basel, Switzerland

Topological research on mutated transmembrane proteins

Transmembrane proteins are important enzymes in every cell. They are structurally verysimilar as they generally consist of a bundle of hydrophobic helices that span the membrane. The topology can consequently be described as a succession of transmembrane domains with alternating orientations. For that reason, every transmembrane domain appears to be indispensible, since deletion of an individual helix disrupts the overall topology of the protein. For most transmembrane proteins this is indeed the case.
My studies deal with an exception to this rule. Sec61p is the main subunit of a protein-translocating channel in the ER. It is composed of 10 transmembrane helices. Two of these helices can be individually deleted without destroying protein function. How is it possible that the mutant proteins remain functional?

Amelia Chang, Raffles Junior College, Singapore

Development of a Novel Approach for Applications in Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a fatal X-linked recessive inherited disease which arises due to mutations in the dystrophin gene, characterized by progressive muscle weakness and culminating in death. Prognosis for afflicted individuals remains poor, especially since a successful cure has not emerged, leaving molecular analysis as the only solution available for couples at risk of conceiving afflicted children. One widely-used technique to exclude the presence of an affected foetus is prenatal diagnosis. Another alternative for the management of this disease is preimplantation genetic diagnosis, where analysis is carried out on single blastomeres biopsied from cleavage stage embryos, hence avoiding the need for pregnancy termination. However, only one or two cells can be removed at maximum to maintain embryonic integrity. Taking into consideration that a single diploid cell only contains about 5pg of DNA, successful genetic diagnosis is hindered by limiting template and additionally complicated by the prevalence of haploid blastomeres. This study aims to develop a novel amplification approach for the enhancement of diagnostic sensitivity, in order to reduce the possibility of misdiagnosis arising as a result of limiting template DNA. Results from the novel protocol encompassing both multiplex nested PCR and whole genome amplification have demonstrated successful analysis of DNA from starting amounts between 0.01 to 1pg, lower than that found in a single blastomere. This strategy has shown promise in improving amplification sensitivity beyond single cell limits for the amelioration of prenatal diagnostic quality and minimization of embryo mistyping during PGD, and is applicable in a clinical context.

Florian Ostermaier, Gymnasium Wilhelmsdorf and Henrike Wilms, University of Konstanz, Germany

Flashing Water Drops

Falling water drops, illuminated from one direction, flash up at specific heights. This causes interrupted light traces, when taking pictures of the drop with a longer exposure time. We found out, that the observation strongly depends on the position the observer has relative to the light source. So we aimed at explaining this phenomenon with all relevant parameters. By videotaping falling water drops, we were able to make out a periodical deformation, which we then took as basis for simulations. We used the raytracing program 'povray' to simulate the light reflections of an oscillating water drop, which match the
experimental results very well. Accidentally using a different setup in the simulation, we got other light reflections, which we were then able to reproduce with an adjusted experimental setup. In addition to the optical description of the phenomenon, we developed a theory for the oscillation. Accordingly the frequency depends on the surface tension of the liquid and the mass of the droplet. We can read out the frequency from the reflections in our photographs and they match quite well with the calculated frequencies. So we are now able to explain the recurrent reflections of falling water drops as well as calculating the oscillation frequency depending on certain parameters.

Herbert Mukungu, Entebbe Secondary school, Uganda

Medicinal herbs on the shores of lake Victoria (A case study on Kitubulu forest)

The study was carried out at Kitubulu an area found in Entebbe near Lake Victoria with tropical vegetation.
     This area has a variety of plants that are of medicinal use.  

Maria Mwebaza Nabukalu, Entebbe Secondary school, Uganda

A study of the activities of different bird species in botanical gardens by the shores of lake Victoria

The study was carried out at Botanical Gardens Entebbe. The Botanical Gardens are located on the Eastern shore of the Entebbe peninsular which is a bird sanctuary offering a superb introduction to many Ugandan bird species ranging from indigenous to migratory birds.
These gardens host a variety of Open country and woodland species hence one can easily spend a pleasant couple of hours enjoying nature with the birds constantly uttering out their strange calls or different musical sounds. Birds were also observed to carry out different activities e.g. Feeding, Flying around the shore and Sun basking though surprisingly they do not nest there.
Weaver birds and Sun birds in particular were the commonest and the greatest in number at the beginning of the study in late September and early October but the frequency of their number lowered greatly at the end of October towards November as the season changed.
Presence of birds of the same kind depends on their movements and lifestyle that is if they move in groups, pairs or colonies and those that move that way are the commonest while those that move singly e.g. pratincoles are the rarest species on the lake shores.

Andras Gilyen, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary

Hungaroszféra - The Sphere Robot

The main aim of the project is to build a robot, capable to move in various environment, being controlled over the air. The robot will be able to do a lots of tasks, for example explores the environment, or gets samples from it.

Márton Spohn, Fazekas Mihály Secondary School, Budapest, Hungary

Examination of the plants’ self-defence against pests

A big group of plants, especially members of the Lamiaceae family have a special ability of self-defence by attracting the natural predators of their pests in case of an attack by evaporating specific chemicals. Some articles were available about this phenomenon but a contradiction remained unnoticed: they held responsible for this function directly a group of molecules - the furanolabdane diterpenes - that cannot evaporate. My project was aimed at discovering trough experiments the exact effect mechanism of furanolabdanes as self-defence agents by a proposed fragmentation to volatile compounds.

George Francis Hotz, Bergen County Academies, Glen Rock NJ, USA

I want a Holodeck

"I designed and built a 360 degree viewable volumetric display. Since I first saw the hologram of Princess Leia projected by R2D2  in Star Wars, I wanted my own  3D display".

Dmitry Vaintrob, Harvard University, USA

The String Topology BV Algebra and Hochschild Cohomology

This project provides an algebraic description of the String Topology Batalin-Vilkovisky algebra for a large class of manifolds. Such a description previously existed only for spheres and projective spaces.
The homology H(LX) of the space of free loops of a closed oriented smooth manifold X has a rich algebraic structure called string topology, discovered by Chas and Sullivan in 1999. In particular, H(LX) is a Batalin-Vilkovisky (BV) algebra. However this structure is hard to compute in algebraic terms.
This project studies string topology in the case when the manifold X is aspherical. In this case the Hochschild cohomology Gerstenhaber algebra HH(A) of the group algebra A of the fundamental group of X has a BV structure. My main result is a theorem establishing a structural isomorphism between the Hochschild cohomology BV algebra HH(A) and the string topology BV algebra H(LX). In particular, for closed oriented surface X of hyperbolic type this gives a complete description of the BV algebra operations on H(LX) and HH(A) terms of the Goldman bracket of loops on X.
There are several conjectures connecting the string topology BV algebra with algebraic structures on the Hochshild cohomology of algebras related to the manifold X. My theorem is the first such hypothesis that has been proven. The proof is based on a combination of topological and algebraic constructions allowing to compute and compare multiplications and BV operators on both H(LX) and HH(A).

Matt Seaberg, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA

Suppression of LIGO mirror vibrational modes

There is some concern that parametric instabilities due to coupling of optical cavity modes and mirror vibrational modes could occur in AdvLIGO. Likelihood of his occurring depends strongly on the quality factors (Q’s) of the mirror’s vibrational modes. In this experiment we investigate the possibility of reducing the Q’s of these modes by placing copper ringbands around LIGO mirrors. Measurements are made at the Thermal Noise Interferometer, which is used to measure coating thermal noise in AdvLIGO mirror prototypes. Initial results indicate that the Q’s are reduced, although more research is necessary to confirm this. Also observed are undesirable vibrations that cover up coating thermal noise. Further work implies that these vibrations are not present in monolithic rings.

Temple Mu He, Stanford University, USA

Period analysis of Cataclysmic variable X10 and its implications on the origin of low states

Cataclysmic variables are binary systems, each consisting of a white dwarf (the primary) and low mass star (the secondary). Usually, matter flows form the secondary onto the primary, producing X-rays upon impact. However, previous observations have indicated that certain cataclysmic variables frequently exhibit low stated - a dramatic decrease in mass transfer (and thus X-ray production) for an extended period of time. Low stated can last up to several years, and this phenomenon is currently not well understood. This research is primarily focused on creating a model to elucidate the origin of low stated using data gathered from X10, a magnetic cataclysmic variable that experienced a low state in year 2005. The model proposed in this study attributes low states to the magnetic interactions between the secondary’s starspots and the primary, and its predictions on which systems should exhibit low states and which ones should not have been confirmed by past observations.

Daniel Malan, H/S Kempton Park, South Africa

The future of energy efficient vehicles

Vehicles are not energy efficient: In order to reduce speed energy is converted into heat. I have built a model that harnesses this energy. It is fitted onto a bicycle. Then the bicycle brakes, the model is automatically switched on. This kinetic energy of the bicycle is then converted into electrical energy, which charges the batteries; the batteries in turn supply energy to the lights of the bicycle.
The model is an improved version of the dynamo flashlight, because it does not rely on direct friction to convert energy. The fulcrum of the wheel is used and the electric energy is stored in batteries until needed.
This one application uses a principle that can be implemented in different types of vehicles.

Georgia Connolley, St. Mary's Shaftesbury, Great Britain

Development of a method for the quantitative analysis of 2-phenylethyl isothiocyanate (PETIC) in water

This project consisted of the deleopment of a GC-MS methos fir analysis of PETIC. This was followed by an investigation into different methods for the extraction of PETIC from water using Solid Phase Extraction and Solid Phase Micro Extraction. SPME was found to be the best extraction method used.
This project also consisted of fieldwork at Europe’s largest watercress farm and discovered that PEITIC is a likely cause for the low numbers of aquatic invertebrates.

Niloufar Rahi, University of Heidelberg, Germany

To what extent are human adults able to build syntactic categories with distributional information alone?

In the past investigators showed that there is a relation between words of syntactic category and the words that surround then in child-directed speech. This means that word of syntactic categories are preceded and followed by certain words. The pattern that exists because of this relation is called distributional information. The question now is if children use this information as a cue to categorize words. As a first step to answer this question we wanted to know if human adults are able to fins categories when they hear sentences with only distributional information. If not then children will most likely not be able to use the information as a cue. In six experiments with adults we investigated this question. Participants succeeded in categorizing when they heard symmetric three word sentences or so called “frame sentences” (AxB). But the participants didi not use the frames to categorize because they accepted frame violation (AxD, CxB). The next question was if they used biagrams for categorization. Biagrams are two word sentences (Ax, xB). Thus, there is only one word that can bear the information about the other word’s syntactic category. But the results do not give a definite answer. The adults succeeded in an experiment with biagrams and a tone in every sentence (Ax “ding”, “ding” xB) but failed in an experiment where the tone was replaced by a variable word that didi not give any information about the syntactic category.

Anna Mathia Klawonn, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark

Ketonebodies and diabetic coma

Diabetic ketoacidocis is a severe condition for diabetes patients. It appears when the level of insulin decreases drastically and the concentration of ketonebodies rises. Diabetic ketoacidosis can eventually lead to coma and death.
There is know to be a casual relationship between concentrations of the ketonebody ß-hydroxybutyrate and the level of consciousness in patients suffering from diabetic coma are investigated. Metabolic pathways know to be relevant in the development of diabetic coma are reviewed and discussed. The pH-dependence of neurotransmitter receptors are considered and discussed, due to the chemical properties of the ketonebodies, leading to the assessment that the effect of ß-hydroxybutyrate on the NMDA-receptor is relevant in connection with diabetic coma. Furthermore the effects of ß-hydroxybutyrate on mono-molecular layers of DPPC were investigated by determining pressure-molecular area isotherms for the pure lipid system and upon addition of ß-hydroxybutyrate to the sub-phase. We used differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to assess the effect in liposomes of DPPC and POPE. ß-hydroxybutyrate was found to interact in a concentration-dependent manner on monolayers and liposomes. A lowering of the transition temperature for the liquid to hexagonal phase transition was observed, as was an increase in the area per molecule parameter. These results support the view that a membrane-mediated effect on transmembrane proteins is a possible mechanism for how increased concentrations of ß-hydroxybutyrate cause coma.