2024 Abstracts

Authors: Joshua Stubbs, Annette Lewis, Kendall Holcomb, Barbara Suassuna Schincariol. Mentors: Geoffery Zhan. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Does Greater Phylogenetic Distance Affect Competition Outcomes in Fungal Communities?Annette Lewis, Kendall Holcomb, Bárbara Suassuna Schincariol, Josh Stubbs, Geoffery Zahn PhDFungi play a critical role in decomposition, affecting nutrient cycling at a global scale. Saprotrophic fungi competitively decompose dead organic matter. However, the role of phylogenetic relatedness on interspecific competition in fungal communities has not received much attention. The theory of phylogenetic over-dispersion suggests that species within a community tend to be less related than expected by chance, therefore limiting competition due to functional redundancy. Similarly, Darwin’s naturalization hypothesis suggests that taxonomically distinct invaders might experience reduced competition and resistance. In this study, we chose three different saprotrophic fungal species with varying relatedness: Aspergillus niger and Fusarium keratoplasticum (from the same family), and Pleurotus ostreatus (from a different phylum). These species were chosen based on decomposition abilities and phylogenetic distances. These species were cultured and placed in seven combinations to assess their ability to decompose and compete as individual fungal populations and as combined communities (e.g., A, B, A+B, B+C, and A+B+C). Each species was placed near a sterilized piece of paper such that competition was evaluated by analyzing the paper coverage in Petri dishes over three weeks. Each Petri dish was analyzed individually based on the average percentage of paper covered and, within combined communities, the percentage of paper each species covered. Interactions between each species and the percentage of the paper covered was recorded for further analysis. Assessing paper coverage allows for the observation of any potential competitive inhibition of decomposition. We hypothesize that decomposing and competitive abilities would be the strongest with A. niger. Despite the fast growth rate of A. niger individually, preliminary results suggest that it was outcompeted when paired with other species. This research highlights the potential nuances in fungal community interactions influenced by phylogenetic relationships, shedding light on the principles of phylogenetic overdispersion and Darwin’s naturalization hypothesis.

Authors: Tyler Randall. Mentors: Joshua Price. Insitution: Southern Utah University. This research paper investigates the relationship between men's consumption of pornography and its potential influence on women's decisions regarding marriage. In an era of increasing acceptance of pornography, this study delves into the socio-economic implications of its widespread usage. The research builds upon existing literature that suggests individuals turn to pornography as an escape from negative emotional state. As internet pornography has grown into a big industry, we aim to understand its impacts not only individuals but also on society. Numerous studies have found that pornography as a factor contributing to divorce cases. Specifically, women may perceive pornography as a form of infidelity, which is shown to lead to unhappiness and potentially divorce. Our research contributes to the field by examining the distinct needs and motivations of men and women in the context of marriage. We seek to determine whether men's pornography consumption leads women to view them as less suitable for marriage. We explore the possibility that men may be giving up their ability to be an attractive option for women if they are looking at pornography.

Authors: Noah Bezzant, Mikayla Kimball, Ashley Allan. Mentors: Brent Feland. Insitution: Brigham Young University. BACKGROUND: General knee pain is a common complaint among both athletes and older adults. Osteoarthritis is a common etiology for knee pain that can interfere with function during aging and can be assessed by validated questionnaires. It remains unclear whether there exists a dose–response relationship between cartilage loss and pain worsening. Articular cartilage thickness of the femoral condyles can be measured by ultrasound imaging and few studies utilizing this form of measurement exist. It is currently unknown if articular cartilage thickness measured ultrasonographically correlates with pain related ratings in aging athletes. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess whether articular cartilage thickness at the femoral condyles as measured by ultrasound imaging has any relationship to knee pain as rated by the modified KOOS (Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score) survey in senior athletes over the age of 50.METHODS: Data was collected from 35 volunteers (participants in the Huntsman World Senior Games) in St. George, Utah, 2023. All subjects (22 females: mean age = 64.9 ± 6.6 yrs, Ht = 158.7 ± 35.6 cm, Wt= 66.3 ± 10.0 kg; 13 males: mean age = 67.3 ± 8.3 yrs, Ht = 179.3 ± 10.7 cm, Wt= 84.3 ± 13.4 kg) signed an approved consent and completed a modified KOOS survey before being seated on a table, with their back flattened against the wall directly behind them. They were then asked to bring either knee as deeply into flexion against their torso as possible; approximating 120°-140° of knee flexion, depending on the range of motion the subject was capable of. In flexion, the patella was shifted inferiorly enough to expose the femoral condyles so that a short axis image of the articular cartilage was obtained and the thickness of the cartilage was assessed at 3 points.ANALYSIS: All data were analyzed using JMP ver16.2 with a Pearson product pairwise correlations to determine if a relationship between average cartilage thickness correlates with pain subscale scoring from the KOOS in males and females. Correlation between age and thickness was also examined.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: There were no significant correlations between the pain subscale score and cartilage thickness in males (p=.6998, r=0.1316), females (p=.8733, r=0.0392), or combined (p=.7308, r=0.0655) in this group of senior athletes. Age and thickness was not significantly correlated (p=.1232, r= -0.2877), but did show a trend of decreasing cartilage thickness with age. The addition of more subjects should show age and thickness to be negatively correlated with each other.

Authors: Elizabeth Smith, Melissa Chavez. Mentors: Jared Neilsen. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Suicidality is a growing public health issue, especially in a neurodiverse population. Suicidality rates are higher among a sample of people with ASD (Demirkaya et al., 2016). While the full causes of why people with ASD tend to be more suicidal are unknown, there are people who are trying to address this with different treatments. Some of the treatments that are being used work in neurotypical people. However, there is a lack of treatment use for those of nuerodiverse populations. One of the areas that we know decreases suicidality is talking about it more, which is contrary to the prevalent myth that talking about suicidality increases rates of suicidal tendencies (Dazzi et al. 2014). Knowing that suicidal tendencies are decreased by talking about suicide, we set out to answer the question: Is the same true for neurodiverse populations who are at more risk for suicide? We recruited a total of 72 participatns, 27 from the ASD community, 20 with social anxiety, and 25 neurotypical people (to act as a control group). To answer this question, we sent out nightly surveys that included questions about suicidality as well as having them come in every 6 weeks to administer the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating scale. For the participant’s first visit, we administered the lifetime version, and then at every other visit, we administered the 6 week version. We then compiled the scores and ran them through R. We found that the scores decreased (i.e. participants were less suicidal) across the visits. This indicates that suicidality is lessened through talking about suicide for neurodiverse populations. Further research is needed to confirm this. While the findings from this study are positive, they need to be considered in the light of several limitations such as attrition from the participants and the recency bias on the part of the students.

Authors: Josh D Gubler, Connor D Olsen, Fredi R Mino, Mingchuan Cheng, Jacob A George. Mentors: Connor Olsen. Insitution: University of Utah. The long-term goal of this research is to investigate how lower sampling rates of electromyographic (EMG) signals affect the performance of classification and regression algorithms. EMG signals measure the electrical activity of muscle contractions. Myoelectric interfaces can classify or regress features generated from the EMG signal to control devices like prostheses, exoskeletons, robotic systems, or human-computer interfaces. Most of the power of the EMG signal is contained between 50 and 500 Hz, and most recording devices sample EMG at 1 kHz with a 5-15 Hz high-pass filter and a 375-500 Hz low-pass filter. As myoelectric devices become wireless and integrated with wearable technology, reducing the sampling rate can substantially reduce battery consumption and processing power. We sampled EMG data at 30 kHz from the forearms of three participants while they performed six gestures. We then downsampled to rates ranging between 50-1000 Hz and calculated various EMG features from the downsampled data. We found significant effects for both EMG feature and sampling rate on regression performance of a modified Kalman Filter (p < 0.05, two-way ANOVA). The mean-absolute-value and waveform-length EMG features performed significantly better at low frequencies (<250 Hz) in contrast to zero-crossing, slope-sign-change, and mean-frequency EMG features (p < .05, multiple pairwise comparisons). Sampling rate also had a significant impact on the classification accuracy of a k-nearest neighbors algorithm (p < 0.05, two-way ANOVA). However, sampling rate had no impact on classification accuracy for a continuous Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) (p > 0.05, two-way ANOVA). Future work will validate the effectiveness of this CNN as a control modality when using downsampled EMG from wearable sensors. If proficient control can be achieved from down sampled EMG, this could substantially improve battery life and make EMG a more practical biosensor for wearable devices.

Authors: Corin Marsh, Acacia Overono. Mentors: Acacia Overono. Insitution: Utah Valley University. A variety of memorization techniques have been shown to enhance the ability to recall important information. While many of these techniques focus on repetition and retrieval of verbal information, the drawing superiority effect (DSE, Wammes et al., 2016) is a phenomenon where drawing leads to better recall compared to re-writing. The present study investigates the extent of these findings by combining the DSE with retrieval practice. This experiment utilized a within-subjects, single-blind design consisting of 32 undergraduate students ranging in age from 18 to 42. Participants were tasked with learning 20 vocabulary terms through a guided slideshow, then studied terms through; reading definitions (verbal restudy), viewing images of the definitions (visual restudy), writing definitions (verbal retrieval), and drawing definitions from memory (DSE with retrieval). After a brief distractor task, participants were tested on their recall of the definitions. Finally, subjects completed a shortened version of the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) and a funnel debrief. Preliminary analyses using a repeated measures ANOVA revealed that re-reading was the study method that resulted in the highest recall scores (M = .57) compared to all other conditions (F (3, 93) = 14.9, p < .001, ηp2 = .324). Further — VVIQ ability showed no significant correlation with participant scores for any of the study methods. These results indicate that re-reading was a more effective study strategy for memorizing vocabulary terms with a short delay when compared to viewing images, writing definitions, and drawing definitions from memory. Future work will examine how longer delays and providing feedback influence may modulate the benefits of re-reading, drawing, and retrieval as study strategies. Keywords: drawing superiority effect, retrieval practice, memory, VVIQ

Authors: Miranda Rose, Daniel James. Mentors: Daniel James. Insitution: Utah Valley University. In this study, we investigated mechanical vibrations as a mechanism for creating uniform droplets in a free liquid jet. A stream of liquid naturally breaks into irregular droplets as it falls due to the Plateau-Rayleigh instability. In this work, droplet break-up was triggered by utilizing a motor with Arduino-based frequency control and stroboscopic visualization. The project achieved uniform droplet sizes for multiple liquids of different viscosities. Notably, this method demonstrated the creation of Dippin Dots-like confections at a STEM fair, engaging learners in the principles of physics and engineering. Future work will focus on the original goal of utilizing acoustics for droplet formation, aiming to refine the process and expand its industrial applicability.

Authors: Bryan Jay Frandsen. Mentors: Joseph McMurray. Insitution: Brigham Young University. This paper expands on a citizen-candidate model of electoral competition under both plurality rule and ranked choice voting. The paper finds that ranked choice voting nominally avoids Duverger’s Law by accumulating many identical candidates but yields fewer viable equilibrium policy positions than plurality rule. Additionally, ranked choice voting favors moderate candidates and policies, increasing the probability of their implementation compared to plurality rule. This moderate bias leads to lower polarization in equilibrium than is possible under plurality rule.

Authors: Nykitha chomina, Emalee Dias, Mary Roberts. Mentors: Jodi Lopez. Insitution: Utah Valley University. As e-cigarette use has increased in popularity among the general population, especially among adolescents, the demand for research has become evident. E-cigarettes became available in the United States in 2007 and were created as a tobacco cessation tool, even though there is no current research supporting those claims. The wide array of flavors is attributed to the growing popularity of e-cigarettes with known and unknown properties. There is some overlap between the chemicals found in traditional cigarettes and e-cigarettes including nicotine. Some of the most negative effects of these ingredients include carcinogenic effects and negative oral manifestations such as hairy tongue, xerostomia, inflammation, and increased incidence of periodontal disease. For decades dental professionals have been interviewing patients regarding their smoking habits; however, with the rise of e-cigarette use, there is a greater demand for patient education. It is crucial that dental professionals take on an active role when it comes to preaching the truths about the dangers of e-cigarettes and the negative impact on oral health. Keywords: e-cigarette, oral health, ingredients

Authors: Danielle Black. Mentors: Chris Anderson. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common psychiatric disorder diagnosed in children, characterized by impulsivity, inattention, and hyperactivity. It is frequently co-morbid with eating disorders, primarily bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge-eating disorder (BED). Impulsivity is an important factor in increasing the risk of binge-eating and subsequent feelings of guilt, which may prompt purging behaviors. This often manifests early in childhood as loss of control while eating and can indicate future development of an eating disorder. The current project aimed to assess the link between ADHD symptoms and disordered eating in Utah Valley University alumni. After obtaining IRB approval, 265 alumni responded to an email survey containing nineteen questions regarding ADHD symptoms and three items related to disordered eating. Pearson correlations revealed a significant association between ADHD symptoms and binging (r=.22, p <.01) as well as guilt about eating (r=.17, p <.01). Limitations of the study include the absence of a clinical ADHD diagnoses, relying instead on self-report, and the homogeneous sample, restricting its generalizability. The study was bolstered by its comprehensive coverage of ADHD symptoms and an adequately large sample size to detect statistical significance. This study provides valuable information for those suffering from eating disorders and the clinicians that treat them. Future research could assess the interplay between treating ADHD and reducing the risk of eating disorders. Notably, purging and ADHD symptoms were not significantly correlated, and future research could further explore that relationship. In conclusion, the relationship between binge eating and ADHD symptoms should be acknowledged by clinicians.

Authors: Lauryn Dupaix. Mentors: Riley Nelson. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Golger’s rule is an ecogeographic rule stating that animals in warm and humid climates are heavily pigmented, whereas animals in colder and drier climates are lightly pigmented. By using previously collected specimens of Proctacanthus sp. from across the U.S., we explore how this rule applies to several species of robber flies over time and geographic space. The average color of thorax was analyzed using a spectrophotometer which were used in correlation tests with climate measurements from where the specimen was collected. We found that this ecogeographic rule was not consistent in all four of the species of robber flies that were analyzed. Therefore, other studies of the applicability of ecogeographic rules are being assessed in this genus. This research helps define morphological variation in a widespread species and open avenues for more morphological analysis of insects in a changing climate.

Authors: Amanda Lee, Alex Phillips, Bonnie Baxter, Amy Schmid. Mentors: Bonnie Baxter. Insitution: Westminster College. The Great Salt Lake is home to a massive variety of microorganisms and insights into these populations will aid in understanding the ecosystem. The Union Pacific Railroad’s causeway has divided the lake into two distinct sections and over time caused the North Arm to increase in salinity over the South Arm and gain its hallmark pink color due to restricted freshwater input. Terminal rivers flow into the South Arm while the North Arm’s water evaporates, leaving behind accumulating salty brine, and the two very different waters have nurtured two accordingly distinctive ecosystems. Breaches periodically opened in the causeway allow the waters to mix and provide opportunity for the microbial communities of the two arms to intermingle. In a collaboration between the Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster University and the Schmid Lab at Duke University, this project focuses on procuring a picture of the North Arm’s microbial diversity and the extent that it adapts to new environments over the four seasons, as well as what happens to the microbes and their nutrient exchange at that breach mixing point. Halophilic archaea and algae comprise the majority of biodiversity in the lake, and we hypothesize that those taxonomic compositions of the North Arm are stable over the different seasons, due to their extremophilic nature. Every season, we have collected water samples from the causeway, breach, and Spiral Jetty to grow and isolate bacterial colonies for DNA extraction and imaging. We also collect biofilm on filters to analyze RNA gene expression and metabolite usage as the environment changes. Over nearly two years of sampling, the hypothesis has been supported and we are seeing stability in community compositions in comparison to the less-salty South Arm. We are still interpreting results from the mixed breach samples, but thus far the microbes appear to be similar to those in the North Arm.

Authors: Alexander Panin, Benjamin Miera. Mentors: Alexander Panin. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Recent searches for extrasolar planets have brought a surprising discovery – almost any star seems to have a planetary system around it. We know that massive stars end their lives in a violent supernova explosion, during which an extremely large amount of energy (~3x10^46 J) is released from the star in a very short time. In this presentation, we analyze the effect of this explosion – primarily the impact of the neutrino flash, the gamma ray flash, and the expanding plasma shell - on the mechanical and thermal stability of an orbiting planet. Our calculations show that a planet's orbit can be significantly disrupted by the momentum of the exploding star shell (depending on the planet's mass and proximity to the host star), but the radiation pressure from the explosion has a much weaker effect. If a star loses too much mass to the expanding shell, any previously stable orbit will become unstable, causing the planets to escape. Additionally, we found that the gamma ray flash and the plasma shell incident on the planet can cause significant heating, while the neutrino flash would have virtually no effect. Also, if a star’s collapse is asymmetric then the star itself can leave the planetary system due to the momentum of the asymmetric neutrino radiation. The sequence of events during a supernova explosion and how they influence such a planet is discussed in the presentation.

Authors: Rebecca Kreutz. Mentors: John Chaston. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Previous studies of the relationship between Drosophila melanogaster and its microbiome have shown that the bacteria in fruit flies can have a large effect on life history strategy. Higher proportions of Acetobacter, a genus of aerobic bacteria, correlate with faster development to reproductive maturity and higher, earlier fecundity. Greater proportions of Lactobacillus, a genus of anaerobic bacteria, correlate with lower initial reproduction but longer lifespan and maintenance of somatic cells. Despite this, the determinants of a Drosophila’s microbiome are still not well understood. This study will explore the relationship between the depth of the food that flies mature in and the proportion of anaerobic bacteria found in the flies. To test this, I will prepare vials with varying amounts of food, place fly eggs in them, inoculate them with a mixture of Acetobacter and Lactobacillus, homogenize the flies that mature, and compare the proportions of bacteria across the different food depths. Greater food depth will mimic food that is more rotten, because as fruit rots it becomes softer and the fly larvae are able to burrow deeper. As the flies gain greater access to the inside of the fruit, there may be an increase in the proportion of anaerobic bacteria in the fly’s gut, due to the reduced access of the bacteria to the air. Because different food depths can simulate different fruit ages, this study may be able to establish a relationship between the season the flies mature and their microbiome.

Authors: Baylee Schumacher, Ryley Horrocks, Divya Singh. Mentors: Divya Singh. Insitution: Utah Tech University. 3D printed plastics have gained immense popularity in the recent times given the direct integration with CAD based software platform as well as ease of manufacturing. In addition, use of 3D printed parts can be more economical and less labor intensive.However, the mechanical behavior of these plastics is not well defined. There are many factors that affect the integrity of 3D printed plastic – extrusion temperature, infill pattern and infill percentage being a few of them.In this work, authors have attempted to study the effect of these factors on the tensile and flexure (bending) strength of 3D printed plastics. Firstly, tensile and bending samples are prepared by varying on more of the following – extrusion temperature, infill patter and infill percentage. Further, the specimens are tested in a destructive manner for tensile and flexure strength following the standard tensile and three-point bending technique on a Materials Testing System. The results on the variation in the strength as a function of print parameters provides an insight on the importance of standardizing these parameters to maximize strength and minimize cost.Keywords: additive manufacturing, 3D printed plastic, tensile strength, flexure strength

Authors: Amber Brooks. Mentors: Michelle Schober. Insitution: University of Utah. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause death or result in long-term disabilities. TBIs are the leading cause of death and disability due to trauma and the leading cause of acquired neurological disability in children. At present, medical treatment using supportive and specific therapies to optimize recovery are lacking. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a component of fish oil and a natural constituent of brain cell membranes, is a potential candidate therapy to improve neurologic recovery after severe TBI. The objective of our project is to test the hypothesis that DHA improves cognitive outcome and brain imaging in a male rat model of pediatric TBI, controlled cortical impact (CCI) in male rat pups. Seventeen-day-old male rat pups received CCI or a minimally invasive (SHAM) surgery. Half of the CCI and SHAM rats were fed a DHA diet for 60 days before experiments began. Learning was tested using a Morris Water Maze (MWM) experiment and memory was tested using a Novel Object Recognition (NOR) experiment. Brain injury assessment was accomplished using T2 and DTI magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The T2 MRI scans were used to measure the volume of the hippocampus, the center for learning and memory, and to lesion volume, to assess loss of hemisphere volume. The DTI MRI scans were used to observe the injury to the white matter of the brain. Based on preliminary findings, we anticipate that the results of the study will not support our hypothesis and that DHA will have no beneficial effects on improving cognitive outcomes and brain imaging.

Authors: James Blood, Nathan Sheets, Chase Seiter, Lydia Hawley, Erin Taylor, Eliza White, Hillary Wadsworth, Jason Hansen, Jordan Yorgason. Mentors: Jordan Yorgason. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Microglia are the immune cells of the brain and are activated by many drugs of abuse. One drug of abuse of interest is methamphetamine, which is known to increase reactive oxygen species (ROS). Microglia are sensitive to ROS. Methamphetamine changes microglia morphology. To determine if the effects of methamphetamine on microglia are through ROS, glucose oxidase, which reacts with glucose to form hydrogen peroxide, was applied. Glucose oxidase increased ROS production and decreased dopamine release but had little-to-no effect on ATP release. Glucose oxidase has similar effects on microglia morphology compared to methamphetamine. This suggests that methamphetamine effects on microglia are due to ROS production. Methamphetamine locomotor sensitization behavioral experiments were run to mimic repeated methamphetamine exposure. Along with voltammetry experiments to measure dopamine and ATP release, methamphetamine treated animals were used to detect microglial morphology changes using confocal microscopy. Our methamphetamine treatment was able to change microglial morphology compared to saline treated controls. Methamphetamine injected animals also had attenuated glucose oxidase effects on dopamine release. By understanding how neuronal outputs affect microglia activity in the context of psychostimulant use we can better parse out how the mechanisms of addiction are connected to immune system function.

Authors: Nate Lovett. Mentors: Harish Bhatt. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equations (CNLSEs) are an extension of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) that applies to multiple interacting wave systems. They occur naturally in many physical systems, including nonlinear optics, multi-component Bose-Einstein condensates, and shallow water waves. Solitons, which are self-contained, localized wave packets that preserve their shape and speed during propagation, are a significant application of CNLSEs. Solitons are prevalent in nonlinear systems and play a critical role in long-distance information transmission in telecommunications. Despite their widespread use in various fields, solving CNLSEs analytically is challenging, and numerical approximations are necessary. However, solving CNLSEs numerically is a difficult task because of their high nonlinearity.To overcome this challenge, in this presentation, we will introduce, analyze, and implement an established fourth-order Exponential Time Differencing scheme in combination with the Fourier spectral method for simulating one-dimensional CNLSEs. In order to check the performance of this method in terms of accuracy, efficiency, and stability, we will present simulation results on CNLSEs. Our results will consider single, two, and four soliton interactions for homogeneous Neumann, homogeneous Dirichlet, and periodic boundary conditions. The numerical results will show that the proposed method is able to preserve energy and mass for a long time simulation in soliton interactions, as well as preserve the expected order of convergence for the proposed method.