Wisconsin/Upper Peninsula Michigan Reverse Transcriptase -Polymerase Chain Reaction Testing of Aedes triseriatus mosquitoes for Detection of La Crosse Virus in La Crosse County, Wisconsin

Overview

Aedes triseriatus is a tree-hole dwelling mosquito native to the United States and one of the most common species in La Crosse County, Wisconsin. A. triseriatus mosquitoes are the primary vector of La Crosse virus (LACV). A. triseriatus have maintained LACV in nature through animal hosts, including small mammals, but also contract LACV from each other through horizontal and vertical transmission. The first case of La Crosse encephalitis, a mosquito borne illness caused by LACV, was detect ed in La Crosse County during the year of 1960. La Crosse encephalitis cases were most prevalent in the upper Midwestern region of the United States until the mid -2000s but are now more frequently seen in the Appalachian (Southeastern) region of the United States. This study used Reverse Transcriptase -Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) to test A. triseriatus mosquitoes in La Crosse County, WI to determine the presence and prevalence of LACV. Interestingly, all of the A. triseriatus mosquitoes collected in La Crosse County during the summer of 2021 tested negative for LACV. This prompts further hypothesis analysis to identify the reason behind the fall of La Crosse encephalitis cases. Optimizing Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Efficiency: The Effect of Light Intensity on Energy Absorption in Organic Dyes Mairin Castellano University School of Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) offer solutions to drawbacks of traditional silicon solar cells. However, research is needed to identify and harness factors that may increase their efficiencies to match or surpass silicon solar cells. Published DSSC res earch focuses on testing static plant factors, including pigment or plant type. No prior research has manipulated the conditions plants were grown under or experimented with plant acclimation. This research aims to determine if DSSC power efficiency can be increased using dyes extracted from plants acclimated to low-light conditions. When moved to low-light conditions, many plants acclimate to produce more pigments or optimize their photosystem ratios. It was hypothesized that these plants will absorb light more efficiently as a dye in a DSSC. Spathiphyllum plants were exposed to low light conditions for increments of 12 hours (0 - 84 hours) and extracted as dyes for 8 DSSC experimental groups. DSSCs were constructed, and power was measured over time using a multimeter. Results identified optimal acclimation period as 72 hours under low light conditions prior to extraction. Subsequent testing with a larger sample size found a 13% average increase in power from the 0 hour to 72 hour groups. This supports the h ypothesis and suggests Spathiphyllum may acclimate to suboptimal light conditions, enabling increased absorption as a dye. This study reveals plant acclimation may be harnessed in DSSCs to boost power output. There are numerous applications of this researc h to synthetically modify dyes mimicking acclimating structures, critical to increase the efficiency and viability of DSSCs. Characterization of Antimicrobials from the Soil Bacterium Xenorhabdus szentirmaii Ritisha Dey, Troy Skwor, Shama Mirza, Steven Forst Shorewood High School, Shorewood, WI

Competition history

• JSHS 2024 Category not listed

Resources

• National JSHS abstract book ↗

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