2024 Abstracts

Authors: Erica Webb, Joseph Price. Mentors: Joseph Price. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Blocking is a strategy used in machine learning to reduce the number of comparisons that need to be considered. In this paper, we develop a blocking strategy based on the characteristics of two people in the same household. We apply this pair blocking approach to link US census records and show that it dramatically reduces the number of possible matches to consider and can directly identify millions of unique matches at the blocking step. We apply our method to linking records for a few groups that have been harder to link using previous methods, including inter-racial couples and German-born Americans. Both of these are groups that have changed how they report aspects of their identity (race of birthplace) over time. Our approach allows us to dramatically increase the match rates for these couples across adjacent census years.

Authors: Jane Damstedt, Kasey Cole. Mentors: Kasey Cole. Insitution: University of Utah. In this project, we are analyzing faunal remains recovered from Utah’s House Mountain Range in the Tubafore cave system to create a paleoecological baseline of life in that location over the past 1000 years. All animals have relatively consistent ecological tolerances and preferences, so comparing the data from the information obtained in this study with contemporary accounts of mammalian ecology in the same area will be useful in evaluating the role of anthropogenic climate change in mammalian ecosystems. In this project, I am identifying the animal remains to the lowest level of taxonomic classification possible to determine what kinds of species richness and environment were present at the time in which the animal was alive. Creating an accurate record of the animals found in this cave assemblage is critical because very little is known about the species richness of the Great Basin area. This data will then be stored and compared to modern zoological data, which came from online databases Actos and Vertnet. The information gathered from this project can be used to inform conservation and sustainability efforts aiming at preserving biodiversity in Central Utah’s Mountain Ranges.

Authors: Samantha Richardson, Sam Simmons. Mentors: Mark Hughes. Insitution: Brigham Young University. During cellular mitosis long DNA molecules are first split and then separated with one copy being transferred to each of the daughter cells. A class of enzymes known as topoisomerases assist in the separation of the two strands of DNA, though the precise mechanism by which they work is unknown. In this talk we will discuss attempts to model topoisomerase action using techniques from reinforcement learning.

Authors: Abraham Harris, Juliana Corbridge. Mentors: Mark Hughes. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Braid closures provide a way to study knots and links in 3-space via group-theoretic techniques. Several important open problems in low-dimensional topology can be reformulated as problems in combinatorial group theory via a particular braid invariant called the band rank. In this talk we will describe the band rank and techniques for computing this quantity which draw on tools from reinforcement learning.

Authors: Austin Green, Gaby Karakcheyeva. Insitution: University of Utah. As the world’s human population continues to concentrate within urban areas and these landscapes continue to expand worldwide, wildlife is under pressure to adapt to novel environmental disturbances. Along urban-wildlife gradients, and especially within less developed areas, human recreation can affect wildlife behavior. These effects may be most apparent during peaks in human recreational activity. In addition, climatic conditions such as aridity and precipitation can also alter wildlife behavior. Understanding the interactions between these two pressures, human activity and climate, can help us understand how wildlife behavior will be affected as human populations grow and climate warms. In this study, we will use data from a large-scale citizen science camera trapping project to assess whether periodic increases in human recreational activity paired with arid climates will elicit behavioral responses across multiple mammal species in northern Utah, U.S.A. Specifically, we will assess whether increases in human recreational activity during the weekend affected mammalian temporal activity patterns at the community-wide and species-specific level, taking into consideration if these trends are amplified in areas that are arid and low in precipitation. I hypothesize that increased human recreational activity will alter wildlife behavior, in general, however this change in behavior will be amplified in drier, hotter areas. I predict that during the weekends human activity will increase, leading to general decreases in activity, mobility, and breeding behavior across species, and this will be amplified in hotter and less vegetated areas. However, I predict that naturally diurnal species will be more affected than nocturnal species as they attempt to avoid overlap with humans, leading to changes in species-species interactions.

Authors: Grace Moore. Mentors: Aaron Olsen. Insitution: Utah State University. AbstractAnimal care technicians for research labs have many responsibilities in order to maintain the integrity of a research project. However, it is difficult to determine what tasks will require most of a technician’s time and effort. Thus, it is proposed that tracking what each individual does during a given shift can allow supervisors and technicians to create an efficient schedule of how they will work and provide a standard for individuals to meet every day. This project consists of tracking in detail what an animal care technician does in a given “shift”, including observation hours, handling and restraining, working in different biosafety levels, cleaning and prepping caging, and changing the caging. This data collection, over several months of work, finds relationships between tasks, the frequencies of being completed, and the time they take. The key tasks of an animal care technician are observing, providing nourishment, maintaining clean environments for both the researchers and the subjects, and maintaining supplies and accurate records. Additionally, many hours are dedicated solely to observing the animals to ensure their health and safety. Moreover, cleaning and prepping of caging or supplies are completed more than half of the time during a given shift. Finally, working with a given species may require more time to complete a task (such as cage changing or cage preparation) compared to another species despite the task being the same. If each technician were to track their tasks and create a profile of personal statistics, they would be able to easily determine how long a task should take. Moreover, a supervisor would be able to determine if a technician is working more efficiently or even falling behind during daily tasks. Overall, these findings could be used to incorporate better time management or planning for institutions to know what more time or resources may need to be devoted to in order to maintain a safe environment, provide exceptional care for the subjects, and follow every protocol.

Authors: Drew Allred, Vern Hart. Mentors: Vern Hart. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Surgery remains one of the most common and effective treatments for a variety of cancers, especially those that form solid, localized tumors such as breast and colorectal cancers. During these treatments, the palpable lesion is surgically resected with the assumption that cancerous cells have metastasized to nearby tissues. As such, surgeons will excise a tissue margin surrounding the tumor in hopes of removing any additional cancer, thus preventing further spread of the disease. However, this process is time-consuming and requires specialized expertise from a trained pathologist to verify that all cancer has been removed. Furthermore, if the pathology report indicates that not all cancerous cells have been extracted, additional follow-up visits and surgeries are typically required. In recent years a number of non-invasive technologies have been developed which seek to map cancerous cells in whole tissues. Training and validating these methods still requires a reliable ground truth, typically provided by an annotated pathology report. We propose a simpler model in which two cell species were co-cultured to provide a heterogeneous training sample. One of these species (PANC-1) was transfected with a vector coding for a fluorescent marker to represent healthy tissue, while the other species (COS-7) remained untreated, representing cancerous cells. An experiment was then conducted using a coherent diffraction imaging (CDI) system, in which laser light incident on the cells was used to quantify phase shifts produced by each cell type. Fluorescent microscopy was then used to create a map of transfected and non-transfected cells for comparison. Results will be presented demonstrating a correlation between the phase shifts produced by the two cell types and the corresponding fluorescent images, potentially facilitating optical cell identification without the need for pathology.

Authors: Grace Harang, Avery Hansgen. Mentors: Zhenyu Jin. Insitution: Utah Tech University. Title: Utah Tech Capus Temperature Mapping with GISAuthors: Grace Harang and Avery Hansgen, Advisor: Zhenyu JinAbstract: Across America, college campuses are re-evaluating their landscaping decisions to better support the environment. Utah Tech University, in the Mojave Desert, has a large amount of grass across the campus which is extremely water-consuming, non-native, and expensive to upkeep. However, removal of grass would result in lower humidity and even higher temperatures on campus. Our research will quantify how the temperature may be affected based on land-cover. This will be essential to any future decisions by the school board. Our method will be to map out 45 evenly spaced points across Utah Tech campus, 15 grass land-cover, 15 xero-scape cover, and 15 bare concrete (parking lots). At both 10am and 9pm. At each point, we will record the humidity and air temperature. To ensure that the sun rays and wind-chill are not also being read, we will use an umbrella to shade the measuring device. The purpose of this project is to determine the temperature difference between the three different surfaces, and to use GIS spatial interpolation to make campus temperature maps.

Authors: Annika Wood. Mentors: Michael Rotter. Insitution: Utah Valley University. The Asteraceae is the most common plant family in Utah County, Utah. With over 79 genera and 238 species, it is also the most diverse family. Due to this substantial size and diversity, the genera of the Asteraceae have traditionally been placed into tribes. This confusing taxonomic situation has made the Asteraceae a noticeable but difficult group to identify. In particular the beginning botany students and non-technically trained citizens often can recognize the Asteraceae but have trouble distinguishing the many species. To help with this issue, we are creating a guide to the tribes and genera of the Asteraceae of Utah County. This key will provide a general view of which genera are connected and which are not. Knowing these patterns and differences could prove to be useful information for those who wish to know more about the fantastic plants that grow within Utah County. The course of action for creating these keys include research of the specimens in Utah Valley University's herbarium as well as other online herbariums. For the tribes we are specifically researching the distinct taxonomic classifications for each tribe individually as well as what connects them together. When those connections and distinctions are laid out in an understandable key, we will further create keys for each genera in the tribes. The end result we hope will be a useful and informative tool for identifying plants in the Asteraceae family.

Authors: Lindsay Beekman. Mentors: Olga Kopp. Insitution: Utah Valley University. This research probes the primary historical newspapers of early 1900s Utah, providing insights into the cultural atmosphere of the time and the widespread support for the Eugenics movement throughout the state. Our findings indicate that out of 72 distinct newspaper articles discussing Eugenics in Utah between 1908 and 1938, 62 conveyed a positive perspective, 9 remained neutral, and only 1 expressed opposition. Notably, from 1947 to 1996, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints administered the ‘Indian Student Placement Program’ or ‘Lamanite Placement Program,’ aligning with many Eugenics principles. Utah, like many places worldwide, embraced Eugenics with open arms.

Authors: America Cox, Kendra Autumn , Bryn Dentinger. Mentors: Bryn Dentinger. Insitution: University of Utah. Neotropical ants of the Attini tribe evolved the innate ability to farm fungi. Agaricomycetidae contains two clades that are cultivated by ants: the lepiotaceous and pterulaceous cultivars. However, there are free-living relatives phylogenetically distributed throughout each cultivar clade. Comparison between the free-living relatives and attine system cultivars may identify the evolutionary differences caused by, or initially enabling, agricultural symbiosis. Our research compares free-living relatives and cultivars through genomic and metabolic analysis. Attines undertake significant cultivar maintenance through the regulation of pathogenic contamination of their fungal “gardens” as well as the provision of specific growth substrates, including insect frass. Noting the apparently specialized substrates cultivars receive from the ants, we conducted a pilot test for a growth media preference between a lepiotaceous cultivar, a pterulaceous cultivar, and a free-living pterulaceous relative. We placed the fungi on regular PDY media and PDY media infused with caterpillar frass, and the cultivars either changed structure or had improved growth on the frass-infused media. Following the pilot test, we will run metabolic assays on the cultivars and free-living relatives on different media types. This may indicate a media preference which gives further insight to the attine-fungal symbiotic relationship opposed to the fungal free-living relatives revealing pieces of the fungi’s evolutionary history. We performed DNA extraction, PCR testing, Sanger sequencing of the ITS region, and then whole genome sequencing on the cultivars and their free-living relatives. Sanger sequencing allowed us to build phylogenetic trees to examine the relationship between the free-living fungi and cultivars. The whole genome sequencing allowed us to use antiSMASH software to generate predicted secondary metabolite clusters in a fungi species that “escaped” cultivation, a cultivar, and a free-living relative. This preliminary data suggests a diversification of fungal secondary metabolites occurs after attine domestication. By looking at fungal metabolic and genomic data, we hope to gain insight into the fungi’s evolutionary history and agricultural symbiosis.

Authors: Vy Dao, Devin Taylor, Danielle Taylor. Mentors: Devin Taylor, Danielle Taylor. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Epilepsy is one of the most common neurologic disorders affecting about 60 million people worldwide (Chen et al., Poduri and Lowenstein, 2011). Currently in the field, there are various methods being used for mechanical seizure induction using Drosophila melanogaster. This variability makes it difficult to compare findings from different research studies. We employed various mechanical seizure induction techniques currently used in Drosophila epilepsy research. We focused on both group testing as well as individual testing using different anesthesia parameters. For individual testing, epileptiform activity and locomotor activity were recorded in adult male Drosophila through mechanical seizure induction using a vortex assay at either 24-hours post- or 1-hour post-CO2 anesthesia. We also evaluated the time for 50% of adult drosophila recovery as indicated by a group climbing assay (10 flies per group) following mechanical seizure induction using a vortex assay at either 24-hours post- or 1-hour post-CO2 anesthesia. Finally, for each of the above testing parameters, we not only tested wild-type (WT) flies, but also multiple positive control seizure phenotype flies commonly used in mechanical seizure induction studies using Drosophila melanogaster. We found significant effects in both CO2 induction methods as well as in different genetically induced seizure phenotypes.

Authors: Joshua Thlaman, Brynlei Luke, Emily Pattee. Mentors: Lindsay Chaney. Insitution: Snow College. We tested if grasshopper species varied based on locations with constant human interaction vs. locations with little to no human interaction within Sanpete county. Due to how close, (a 6 mile radius), the collection locations are, it was logically reasoned that there will be no differences in grasshopper species between Ephraim and Manti Utah.​This study was performed with grasshoppers collected in Sanpete County: specifically, the town of Ephraim, Ephraim canyon, the town of Manti, and Manti canyon. To do this, we collected grasshoppers from each of the mentioned locations, extracted the DNA samples by humanely freezing the grasshoppers and collected small amounts of the grasshoppers, amplified the DNA samples using PCR, and sequenced the PCR products to help identify the grasshopper species collected using BLAST. ​Our experiment results showed that there was a large variation of species collected, as well as many similar species were present in all collection locations. Ephraim housing and Ephraim canyon only had one type of species present (Melanoplus sanguinipes), while Manti housing showed three other species (Melanoplus differentialis, Dissosteira carolina, Trimerotropis pallidipennis), and Manti canyon showed another species type (Trimerotropis cincta). This suggests that there is more variation within Manti housing and Manti canyon, no variation within Ephraim housing and Ephraim canyon, and only some variation between Manti and Ephraim.

Authors: Anthony Cornwall, Jake Rhea, Travis Ficklin. Mentors: Travis Ficklin. Insitution: Utah Tech University. The purpose of this study was to examine the correlation among various barbell tracking methods for both validity and between-method variability. Back squat and snatch lifts were simultaneously tracked using three systems: a corded linear transducer system (Tendo), a laser-based system (Flex), and a reflective marker multi-camera motion capture system (3D). The 3D system was considered a gold standard for validation. Nine repetitions each of barbell back squat and a snatch lifts were executed. Each system simultaneously tracked peak velocity, peak power, mean velocity, mean power, and displacement of the barbell for both lifts. All correlations were tested using Pearson Product Moment, with alpha set a priori at 0.05. Correlations among tracking methods were high for the back squat, and considerably lower for the snatch lift. Correlations for displacement were poor among all methods (-0.63 < r < 0.65). Correlations for velocities and powers were strong in the back squat (0.79 < r < 0.99), but weak-to-moderate for the snatch (-0.31 < r < 0.63). A discussion will be presented of tracking methods and lift mechanics, which can explain some, but not all, disparities among methods.

Authors: Samuel Weisler, Colton Korpi, Josh Lythgoe. Mentors: Aliki Milioti. Insitution: Utah Valley University. The Venice Project addresses the challenge of blending contemporary buildings into the well-established urban environment of Venice, a city well known for its rich architectural heritage. In a city with canals in the place of streets, where motorboats and gondolas are the main mode of transportation, seasonal flooding at high tide continues to become a greater environmental concern. The research centers on the documentation and preservation of these valued characteristics through an analytical and interpretative research approach. The primary focus is on aspects such as perception, harmony of open and enclosed space, and the seamless integration into the urban and environmental fabric.The unique design constraints were taken head on in creating the one of a kind ‘Ca’Meriggiare’, a luxury hotel that enriches Venice’s heritage. In lieu of fighting against them, the design embraces the environmental challenges posed by the periodic flooding of the city and transforms them into an integral part of the design. For instance, the flooding is harnessed to create a charming, arcaded entrance exclusive to hotel guests arriving by boat, providing a unique entry sequence unphased by rising or falling water levels.The expected result of the research is a successful fusion of a contemporary hotel with the rich historical context of the city. The innovative design allowed the periodic flooding to become an integral part of the hotel that added a charm and uniqueness to the guest experience. Ca’Meriggiare stands as a testament to the harmonious integration of historical preservation with environmental adaption that honors Venice’s heritage. This luxury hotel case study offers a holistic perspective on theoretical and design considerations, emphasizing the importance of integration within the environmental dimensions. Rather than viewed as an isolated instance, it provides an overarching framework for innovation that will apply to the evolution of contemporary architecture.

Authors: Shauri Thacker. Mentors: Nicole Dib. Insitution: Southern Utah University. The representation of Black narratives within the medium of comics and graphic novels has been and continues to be sparse compared to the focus on white characters and stories. In recent years, however, a new paradigm of Black representation has been appearing in comics and comics studies. Emerging from Black Lives Matter movement discourse about police brutality and taking a new angle on the “organic black protest tradition” is Victor LaValle and Dietrich Smith’s 2017 graphic novel Destroyer. Their visual narrative follows the last descendant of Frankenstein—Dr. Josephine Baker—and her endeavors for justice after the murder of her son Akai as her plotline weaves with the original Frankenstein creature’s quest to subdue humanity (Rickford, 35). In this paper, I will perform a close reading of this work using the theoretical lens of critical race theory and its intersection with feminist theory. My reading will prove that LaValle and Smith’s comic—though it does not have the intent of treating Black women as a “unitary and monolithic entity”—increases a reader’s focus on mother and doctor Josephine Baker in order to portray her rage and grief over Akai’s death at the hands of a police offer (Nash, 8). This analysis of Dr. Baker’s character, combined with LaValle’s usage of allusions and intertextuality, subverts the stereotypically white comic narrative by portraying the lived reality and precarity of many Black individuals within the United States. Through this reading, I will demonstrate that the medium of comics allows for a multifaceted depiction of Black narratives and a new form of literary activism.

Authors: Payton Jones. Mentors: Jamie Spinney. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Virtual Reality: The Next Step in Technology-Based Education Virtual Reality (VR) technology offers numerous educational opportunities that can enhance high school curriculum. The use of technology in the classroom has been rapidly evolving since the development of the accessible internet. Laptops, tablets, online learning platforms, and interactive projections are several of the technological developments, and now VR appears to be one of the next steps in that evolution. As VR continues to become more affordable and more advanced, there is a commensurate increase in opportunities to enhance curriculum, instructional techniques, and student engagement. For example, VR enables students and teachers to go on virtual field trips to places that are relevant to class material without the challenges and costs of leaving the classroom. The purpose of this study was twofold; (a) to investigate the different applications of VR technology that can be used to enhance high school social science curriculum, and (b) to summarize some of the main benefits and challenges associated with implementing VR in the classroom. The results of this study indicate that VR technology has considerable potential to enhance both the learning experience and student engagement by providing immersive learning opportunities, but these opportunities are unlikely to be widely utilized in the near future.

Authors: Brianna Bastian. Mentors: Alexandra Giannell. Insitution: Utah Valley University. My understanding of language as a whole began to broaden when I took my first of many ASL classes almost a decade ago. It continued to deepen and grow when I spent a year and a half in an immersive Spanish-speaking program. Now as a university student studying both Speech Pathology and Art, I have found myself recognizing the validity of art as a language. Thus, my research and presentation explores the linguistics of the visual arts.