2024 Abstracts

Authors: Fiona Fox, Catherine Schumann, Cameron Monson. Mentors: Sarah Coyne. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Most often, research has looked at the negative effects of social media on mental health. The purpose of this study is to understand the interactions between social media usage and body image, and if there are any ways that social media has a positive impact on body image. This study surveyed children and youth ages 7-17 to gain insight on their social media use and different aspects of mental health. Social media preoccupation and mindfulness were both significantly correlated with body esteem, and a slightly significant correlation was found between positive social media use and body esteem. These findings suggest that mindfulness around social media usage can help mitigate the negative impact on body esteem that many youth experience. Parents can use these findings to have conversations with their children and teenagers about being mindful with social media use and avoiding preoccupation with it.

Authors: Dean Peterson. Mentors: John Chaston. Insitution: Brigham Young University. The microbiota of Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies can be observed to study their effects on fly phenotypes. This paper will focus on the microbiota’s effects on fruit fly dietary preference for yeast (DPY), to determine if specific nutritional molecules produced by the microbiota control DPY. Previous studies have unsuccessfully sought to identify such small molecules by testing for roles of essential amino acids (Leitao-Goncalves 2017). A study completed in our lab suggested that bacterial thiamine biosynthesis/metabolism genes influence fly DPY because mutations shifted the preference from a diet with less yeast to a diet with more yeast (Call 2022). In our first efforts we found that raising flies on thiamine supplemented diet influenced their DPY. I want to determine if supplementing thiamine specifically causes this shift, and if the shift observed in the mutants is seen due to a lack of dietary thiamine. Here, I will perform the same tests with flies given diet supplemented with other B vitamins to test specificity. I will then confirm the role of bacterial thiamine on these phenotypes by rearing flies colonized with bacterial thiamine biosynthesis/metabolism mutants on thiamine supplemented diets. If these flies raised with increased dietary thiamine prefer a diet with less yeast, and the experiment with other B vitamins does not show a similar shift as thiamine, then the specificity of thiamine as the small molecule involved in yeast preference is confirmed.

Authors: Kathryn Hales. Mentors: Sarah Steimel. Insitution: Weber State University. College students are exposed to a lot of stress, and it can impact their college experience and success. This mixed-methods study helps explain how current Weber State students’ communication with faculty is affected by stressors. Students responded to a survey we created by compiling questions from four existing studies. They answered questions on how they experience and respond to stress and how they communicate in the classroom. Interviews were also conducted to gain a more in-depth understanding of what instructors do, and whether it is helpful or not for relieving stress in the classroom. The results show statistical evidence of a relationship between stress and the type of communication students will engage in with their instructors. Instructors’ preparedness and style of communication also influences a student’s willingness to participate and communicate with their instructor.

Authors: Emma Parry, Nikki Trush, Christina Pondell. Mentors: Christina Pondell. Insitution: Utah Tech University. Rivers in arid environments provide extremely important sources of freshwater for local ecosystems and communities. These regions are highly vulnerable to climate change and are seeing high rates of human population growth. This leads to unsustainable demand on progressively more threatened freshwater resources. Despite the importance of these water resources for residential, agricultural, and environmental needs, there is little information available to describe long term changes to water quality in response to human and climate change. The Santa Clara River in southern Utah is one prime example of a threatened arid river system that serves as an important drinking water source to a rapidly growing human population. This 52-mile-long river flows from the Pine Valley Mountains and past the cities of Ivins, Santa Clara, and St. George before meeting with the Virgin River. This research discusses results from a water quality monitoring program initiated in February 2023. Our sampling efforts focused on the lower Santa Clara River between Gunlock Reservoir and the Virgin River confluence. We selected four sites to monitor the impacts of changes in land use and restoration efforts on the river’s water quality. In this presentation we discuss results from time series analysis and correlations between water quality, flow rates, and land use to describe how water quality responds to human and climate impacts on this arid freshwater resource. This research underscores the importance of establishing long-term monitoring capabilities for critical water quality parameters and provides valuable insights for sustainable water management and environmental conservation in southern Utah.

Authors: Samuel Andersen. Mentors: Jianlong Han. Insitution: Southern Utah University. We study a Gray-Scott model arising from chemistry. Using nondimensionalization, we reduce the number of parameters, we also analyze the stability of the steady state solutions of the system.

Authors: Marianna Lopez Luritta, Mckinna Baird. Mentors: Jean Norman. Insitution: Weber State University. This research explores the state of student media at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) given the decline of student media outlets in the past decade due both to the challenges of newspapers in general and the pandemic. It is an attempt to document the presence of student media at these non-White institutions, an effort that does not appear to have been completed before now.Despite ample research on student media, there is a void of data specific to HBCUs and HSIs. Research also has been conducted on journalism programs at HBCUs (Crawford, 2012; Jeter, 2002; Sturgis & Johnson-Ross, 2019), but not addressing student media at these unique institutions. At least journalism at HBCUs have been researched. Hispanic Serving Institutions, a much newer federal designation, have been the subject of some work in the academy, but little if any research has been done on journalism, let alone student media, in these bilingual institutions.The most current lists available show a total of 666 HBCUs and HSIs in the United States, including Puerto Rico (The Hundred Seven, 2018; Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, 2021). This study started by gathering information from the institutions' websites and social media, and by making phone calls to the newsrooms when no information was available on websites or social media. Through this initial step, we identified 220 HBCUs and HSIs with student media, including newspapers, radio stations, broadcasts, and podcasts. This team deployed a questionnaire to learn more about these outlets to help us shed light on their production operations, publishing styles, diversity inside of the newsrooms, and work methodology. We also have created a unique dataset for future research on student media. We expect to have results from that survey in time for the conferences.

Authors: Joshua Booher. Mentors: Jacob Hickman. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Musicians in Northern Ireland described the space and community that they were actively trying to build in Belfast as “the Third Thing”. In Belfast, music has remained as an alternative third space to the sectarian dualism of Protestant vs Catholics. Since before the Easter Rising in 1916 Catholic Nationalists have fought to obtain sovereignty by establishing a United Ireland while Protestant Unionist fight to retain what they have obtained and defend king and country from Nationalist siege. Their opposition to each other fueled The Troubles in Belfast. Since signing the good Friday agreement in 1998, active tension between these communities still creates further divides and oppositions toward their counterparts. The Good Friday Agreement ostensibly marked the end of the Troubles by providing equal sovereignty to both sides. In Belfast, music has played a significant role in anti-sectarian thirdness. Punk fostered this thirdness within the conflict of the Troubles through its references by way of its anti-sectarian framework. In contemporary Belfast, the residual punk scene now serves as one genre of many in the broader music scene. This music scene has now been self proclaimed as this “third thing” which pushes back on implosive sectarian frameworks between Catholic and Protestant communities.

Authors: Ashlyn Clark. Mentors: Lynnette Finau. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Festivals, museums, bookstores, and Shinto shrines might not seem to have a lot in common, but implicit Nationalist ideals find their way into each of these, leaving their mark in the transmission of Japanese identity. In this study of Yasukuni Jinja and the Yushukan Museum (the Tokyo National War and Peace Memorial shrine and museum), it becomes more clear how these relate to one another, how they relate to Japanese identity, and how exactly they are nationalist in nature. Honor, sacrifice, tradition, and war come together to create a beautiful, unifying narrative that links ancestors with descendants, maintaining national identity and continuing to transmit their traditional ideals.

Authors: Cate Bateman, Carson Veazie, . Sydney Sandall. Mentors: Matt Ogburn. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Western Utah is home to two distinct species of oak, Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) and Dixie live oak (Quercus turbinella), which can hybridize to form an intermediate species that has been named Quercus undulata. In spite of previous research on these shrubs, we are still unsure of how the hybrid has survived in small isolated locations well outside of the range of one parent species (Dixie live oak, which is restricted in Utah to Washington, Kane, and San Juan Counties). Our primary objective was to perform an ecological niche modeling assessment of Q. undulata within the Three Peaks Recreation Area. Our approach included collecting plot-level data to determine abiotic and biotic niche factors correlating with the presence/absence of Q. undulata, including slope, aspect, soil type, soil chemistry, vegetation cover, and other associated woody plant species. Our results have shown that Q. undulata populations have higher concentrations in south-facing slopes, potentially reflecting the climatic preferences of its Dixie live oak parent. Results also showed that both focal species, Q. undulata and Q. gambelii, prefer areas with shallow soil and rocky outcrops. We plan to continue data collection and our analysis of soil type and chemistry. These results will help us to better understand the evolutionary history and ecological requirements of this fascinating native Utah plant.

Authors: Ayana Srivastava, Gliceida Galarza Fortuna, Beverly Chigarira, Emre Dal, Chadi Hage Chehade, Georges Gebrael, Arshit Narang, Neeraj Agarwal, Umang Swami, Haoran Li. Mentors: Neeraj Agarwal. Insitution: University of Utah. The utility of ChatGPT in subspecialty consultation for patients (pts) with metastatic genitourinary (GU) cancer.Ayana Srivastava, Gliceida Galarza Fortuna, Beverly Chigarira, Emre Dal, Chadi Hage Chehade, Georges Gebrael, Arshit Narang, Neeraj Agarwal, Umang Swami, Haoran LiHuntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT;University of Kansas Cancer Center, Westwood, KSBackground:Cancer management requires a multidisciplinary approach, often requiring medical consultation from subspecialists. With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies like ChatGPT, it is hypothesized that these tools may help expedite the consultation process. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of ChatGPT in providing guideline-based sub-specialty recommendations for managing pts with metastatic GU cancer.Methods:In this single-institution, IRB-approved, retrospective, proof-of-concept study, pts with metastatic GU cancer over the past 3 years were screened. Those with at least one consultation referral to subspecialty clinics were randomly selected. ChatGPT 3.5 was given the most recent clinic note that triggered sub-specialty consultation. The AI tool was then asked to provide an assessment and plan. Two physicians independently assessed the accuracy of diagnoses made by ChatGPT and subspecialty physicians. The primary outcome was the consistency of ChatGPT recommendations with those of subspecialty physicians. Secondary Outcomes included potential time saved by using ChatGPT and comparison of medical decision-making (MDM) complexity levels between ChatGPT and subspecialty physicians.Results:A total of 39 pts were included. Their primary diagnoses included prostate cancer (51.3%), bladder cancer (23.1%) and kidney cancer (15.4%). The referred subspecialty clinic included cardiology (33.3%), hematology (17.9%), hepatology (2.6 %), hospice (10.3%), neurology (12.8%), pulmonary (15.4 %), and rheumatology (7.7%). The average waiting time for pts to be seen in subspecialty clinics was 44.9 days (SD = 42.4). Of 39 patient’s charts reviewed by ChatGPT, 30/39 (76.9%) had the same diagnosis with consultant sub-specialties. The average diagnoses made by ChatGPT were 8.2, compared with 3.4 made by sub-specialty physicians (p < 0.0001). The accuracy of diagnoses made by ChatGPT was the same, higher, and lower than human physicians in 10 (33.3%), 3 (10%), and 17 (56.7%) cases, respectively. Consistency of treatment plans between ChatGPT and physicians was found in 18 cases (46.2%). ChatGPT recommended additional workup in 32 cases (85.1%). The average number of words written in consultation notes by ChatGPT was 362.7 (SD = 72.9), which was significantly greater than subspecialty physicians (n = 224.7, p < 0.0001).Conclusions:These hypothesis-generating data suggest the potential utility of ChatGPT to assist medical oncologists in managing increasingly complex pts with metastatic cancer. Further studies are needed to validate our findings.

Authors: Stefan Jezik. Mentors: Jocelyn Wikle. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Much preexisting relationship education is focused on adults and those already in romantic relationships. Due to the audience of this relationship education, it is often tailored to fit those experiencing relationship issues in their marriages or with their romantic partner. This form of relationship education frequently fulfills the role of a bandage to a wound, instead of fulfilling a preemptive role that could mitigate the number and severity of relationship problems from developing in the first place. While relationship education can be beneficial for any target audience, research has increasingly turned to this preemptive type of relationship education by recommending that institutionalized relationship education at the highschool level tailor its curricula to youth, teenagers, and emerging adults (Hawkins, 2017; Barber & Eccles, 2003).

Authors: Alexis West Salinas. Mentors: Johnathan Chidester. Insitution: Southern Utah University. There is a growing need to further understand the psychological and physical effects of religiosity among female-identifying members within the LDS church. According to recent studies, as of June 2023, Utah has a Mormon population of 68.55%. Within these statistics, about a fifth of LDS members reported that they have or are currently taking medication for depression. The article also states that 27% of LDS women have depression compared to the 14.5% of LDS men. The church has an infamous reputation with the demonization of mental illness, especially with women. Given the history of society’s treatment of women, women are at an increased risk of suffering within the LDS church. It is important to have the best interests of LDS women in discussing the effects religiosity has on female members within Utah. This paper will analyze the well-being among women of the LDS church as well as assess the specific effects religiosity within Utah may produce surrounding the topics of purity culture, societal expectations, job opportunities, and relationships. This paper will also touch on topics relating to Utah education, LGBTQ+ women within the church, as well as compare and contrast gender roles and sociology. Composing a formulated understanding of these relationships paves the pathway forward in implementing accommodating tools for women within the LDS church in mental health and spirituality.

Authors: Euiyoung Kim, Bonnie Anderson. Mentors: Bonnie Anderson. Insitution: Utah Valley University. A thermoacoustic engine is designed to transfer heat energy into sound energy. Heat engines have a hot side (hot heat exchanger) and a cold side (cold heat exchanger) and use part of the heat flowing between them to do work. The engine in this study is shaped like a bottle with copper wire mesh heat exchangers in the neck. A heating element wrapped around the top of the neck supplies heat to the hot side and the base of the bottle is made of aluminum to keep the cold side at room temperature. When the temperature on the hot side reaches a threshold the sound wave is created. The heat goes from the mesh of the hot side into the “stack” (steel wool, in this case) and down to the cold mesh. The motion of air as it picks up and drops off heat along the stack excites the engine into one of its resonant frequencies. Different mesh configurations of the heat exchangers were tested to determine the impact on the acoustic properties of the engine. Principal Component Analysis was used to determine which parameters of the mesh affected the acoustic pressure the most. The outcomes of this research not only contribute to the emerging field of thermoacoustics but also provide valuable knowledge for the development of thermal sensors and electric energy in remote locations.

Authors: Charley Beck, Justin Hawkins. Mentors: Alex Tye. Insitution: Utah Tech University. Thermochronometry dating of apatite (U-Th/He) of Andes Plate Tectonics from the Sierra de Altohuasi Charley Beck, Justin Hawkins, Alex TyeDuring the Cenozoic time period plate tectonics caused uplift in the Eastern Cordillera. We constrain the geologic evolution of the southernmost Eastern Cordillera through (U-Th/He) dating. Our results advance our understanding of the convergent plate boundary of the South American Plate and the Nazca Plate. The exhumation event caused the formation of the mountain range found in the Sierra de Altohuasi. Four samples were collected in the Sierra de Altohuasi near the town of Corral Quemado, Catamarca Province, Argentina. The samples were then analyzed using an apatite (U-Th)/He) system. The results indicated exhumation of the Sierra de Altohuasi from 28.6-13.3 Ma. This suggests an episode of exhumation during the Miocene and Oligocene, due to subduction of the Nazca Plate under the South American Plate. These apatite (U-Th/He) ages better constrain the exhumation history of the Eastern Cordillera. Further studies will show correlation of uplift events of the surrounding areas of Corral Quemado. Due to the compressed South American Plate, our data suggests the large mountain range formed under movement of the Nazca Plate.

Authors: Caroline Cowley, Megan Jewell, Brenda Mendoza, Aubrey Cluff, Ryan Summerhays, Jason Hansen. Mentors: Jason Hansen. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Approximately 8 million newborns manifest a birth defect every year worldwide. One of the most common birth defects involve disruptions in musculoskeletal development. Oxidative stress has been found to propagate teratogenesis. Thioredoxin-1 (Trx1), an oxidoreductase, is an important antioxidant regulator required for proper embryonic development. Trx1 knockouts have been found to be embryolethal prior to implantation. A preliminary study to assess osteogenesis was conducted using mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) originating from transgenic conditional Trx1 knockout embryos. Upon confluence, MEFs were stimulated to undergo osteogenesis via commercially available media. A subset of cells were treated with doxycycline (DOX) prior to and throughout the culture period. MEFs were maintained over a 21 day period in a reduced oxygen environment. MEFs were then fixed in formalin and stained with Alizarin red to determine the degree of osteogenesis. MEFs treated with DOX were unable to undergo proper osteogenesis. While this would suggest that osteogenesis is regulated through proper functions of Trx1, it is unknown how Trx1 regulates osteogenesis in utero. Because Trx1 deletion is lethal prior to implantation it has been historically difficult to study the role of Trx1 during organogenesis. With the development of the DOX-inducible Trx1 conditional knockout mouse, we can now target specific developmental periods and evaluate post-implantation processes like osteogenesis. Using proper transgenic mice and breeding schemes, DOX-inducible Trx1 conditional knockout embryos were treated in utero with DOX through the dam’s drinking water, starting on gestational day (GD) 8.5. The embryos were collected on GD 16.5, fixed in 95% ethanol, and then skinned. To visualize bone and cartilage, the embryos were placed in ethanol and subsequently stained with Alizarin red and Alcian blue. The staining showed that embryos lacking Trx1 were significantly stunted in their skeletal maturation. With this data, we are the first to show that during organogenesis, the musculoskeletal system is affected by deletions of Trx1 at specific periods of development. Under oxidizing conditions which exceed the capacity of the oxidoreductase pathway of Trx1, Trx1 exists primarily in its oxidized form and can no longer reduce proteins that have been turned off by oxidation. Our Trx1 deletions model a highly oxidized state in which Trx1 is dysfunctional. Because regulatory redox control of protein activity is required for proper embryonic development, exposure to oxidizing environmental conditions specifically affecting Trx1 redox state may target the disruption of the musculoskeletal system.

Authors: Bronwyn Brown. Mentors: Ben Felix. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Architectural Analytique of the Thomas S. Monson Center Building with the Scamozzi Order at University of Utah

Authors: Aksel Anderson, Lindsay Rupp, Anna Busatto, Rob MacLeod. Mentors: Rob MacLeod. Insitution: University of Utah. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally, and one of the most impactful subsets is coronary artery disease (CAD). CAD occurs when an obstruction(s) in the arteries fails to supply the heart with sufficient blood flow, ultimately resulting in tissue death. Understanding the geometric structure of the heart’s vasculature can provide insight into the development of CAD. However, previous research has only captured vasculature geometries for the main coronary branches, neglecting the downstream vasculature. Therefore, capturing the downstream vasculature would offer researchers a more comprehensive model to study CAD. Our study developed a method to efficiently obtain subject-specific, comprehensive vasculature geometries. First, we obtained five computed tomography (CT) scans of explanted porcine hearts with the coronaries highlighted via a contrast agent. From these CT images, we developed a novel method to efficiently capture the vasculature geometry of each subject. Once we obtained the final geometries, we computed two metrics to determine the extent of the captured vasculature: (1) the number of vessel segments and (2) the smallest vessel radius. We obtained an average vessel segment count of approximately 169 +/- 63 vessels and a smallest vessel radius of approximately 0.44 +/- 0.15 mm. We were able to successfully capture vessels over 85% smaller than the largest porcine coronary artery with a radius of approximately 3.5 mm. Our methodology will help researchers and clinicians obtain comprehensive vascular geometries to enhance the study and treatment of CAD.

Authors: Soren Pearce. Mentors: Jacob Hickman. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Conversations about conspiracy theories have become prevalent in contemporary Western society, reaching through all levels of private, academic, and governmental discourse. Part of this discourse revolves around the question of what exactly conspiracy theories are and how they occur within a population; much of the recent academic treatment of conspiracy theories identifies them as a kind of propaganda whose purpose is to promote particular political agendas, especially those with apocalyptic concerns (Cassam 2019). While conspiracy theories certainly have been and continue to be used to further certain political aims, this understanding of them as totally propaganda provides only a narrow insight that fails to capture the scope of how conspiracy theories occur in the real world and how they are experienced by the people who believe in them. Philosophy and political theory can only be so informative, and they lack an ethnographic perspective to instruct on the lived reality of conspiracy theories (Hickman & Webster 2018). During my fieldwork in Belfast, Northern Ireland, I conducted ethnographic research with a group of people who could easily and accurately be labeled conspiracy theorists; my experiences with them provide insight into how conspiracy theories actually operate in the lives of living people. Contrary to popular claims, conspiracy theories—especially those that deal with the end of the world as we know it—are not experienced as primarily political phenomena. Instead, they are experienced as religious truths, and the millenarian activism that often surrounds them is enacted because of a conviction of personal obligation to the truth. Framing conspiracy theories as mere propaganda or dismissing them as the effects of cognitive dissonance incorrectly discounts the empirical reality of these beliefs for the people who have them.