2014 Abstracts

Sara Calicchia, Utah State University Humanities Successful writing, achieved by self-regulated writers, depends not only upon focus and content, but also the writing environment, including the physical and social setting, which varies greatly among writers. Just as musical tastes differ among individuals, there are strong preferences regarding the role of music in a writing setting. To better understand the environmental self-regulation of writers, I selected a group of twelve high-achieving writers with a range of musical interests, including nine professors and three undergraduate students across three academic fields. The results suggest that musical background impacts a writer’s preferred setting, and academic writers should strongly consider this impact when establishing a successful writing environment.

Zacrey Hansen, Utah Valley University Humanities Within Old Norse myth lurks Hildolf, whose name means Battle-Wolf. He only appears in the Medieval Norse poems twice: in a name list of Odin’s sons in the Prose Edda, and then is off-handedly mentioned by Odin himself, in the Poetic Edda. Since the mythic stories make no other mention of Hildolf, the general scholarly consensus is that Hildolf is simply another of Odin’s many aliases. Indeed, Odin’s association with wolves, especially those that attend him, makes this a likely conclusion. This thesis, however, takes a different approach; that the Poetic Edda reinforces Hildolf’s status as Odin’s son by listing Thor and Hildolf’s names together. Moreover, a closer look at speech ascribed to Odin places Hildolf’s domain of Rathsey’s Sound within the river that separates Jotunheim and Asgard. Further analysis of cultural context also reveals symbolic and etymological parallels between Hildolf and the Ulfhednar, or Wolf-Coats, Norse warriors famously known for taking on the aspect of the wolf during battle. Through the synthesis of these disparate connections, this paper develops a clearer picture of Hildolf’s place in Norse mythology. Asgardian by birth, though not by station, Hildolf stands as the connection between gods and giants, between man and beast, and as Thor guides men to defend against enemies from without, Hildolf guides them to defend against the enemies from within. The conference presentation of this research stems from a longer work planned for submission to The Journal of Contemporary Heathen Thought.

Jackson Bell, Brigham Young University Humanities Since a military coup in 2009, Madagascar’s low standard of living, political instability, and weak economy have worsened. One way to improve the situation in Madagascar is to improve English skills, which are import in the tourism, exports, financial aid, and international academic collaboration sectors. For example, a knowledge of the English language will give Malagasy people access to 45 percent of the world’s scholarly research journals. I recently published a Malagasy-English bilingual dictionary which aimed to meet this need. However, the dictionary is somewhat impractical because it is limited to simple, rigid definitions. It is insufficient for a complete understanding of either Malagasy or English because real-life usage of words often deviates from basic definitions.

Michael Nielson, Dixie State University Humanities Character development is arguably the greatest driving force in fiction writing. But how does an author create a believable, complex character? Oftentimes, writers attempt to mimic characters they’ve encountered in literature. These characters repeated over time are generally known as character-specific archetypes; However, these archetypes delve deeper than writers simply copying other writers. The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms defines archetypes as a “symbol, theme, setting, or character-type that recurs in different times and places in myth, literature, folklore, dreams, and rituals so frequently or prominently as to suggest that it embodies some essential element of ‘universal’ human experience.” This paper will survey the effectiveness of writers consciously using character-specific archetypes—such as the hero, the sage, and the jester—drawing upon the expertise of Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, and Victoria Schmidt with specific attention to J. R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of The Rings series and Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories. Ultimately, I will suggest that the best way to create a believable, complex character is through the conscious use of archetypes, which allows the reader full immersion into the fictional work and fosters the suspension of disbelief.

Jeremy Lofthouse, University of Utah Humanities The identity of Mormon women has been sharply contested throughout the Latter-day Saint movement. Women in the nineteenth-century were targeted by critics of Mormonism as oppressed, even enslaved through polygamy. Following the termination of polygamy, Mormon women became hyper-domestic, following patterns of mainstream America. The identity of some Mormon women has made another dramatic transition in the last decade.

Tyson Amundsen, University of Utah Humanities The focus of my research was to create a database of the various people, institutions, and funding agencies that constituted the discursive community of malaria specialists in Brazil—the network responsible for producing and distributing medical knowledge there from 1850-2012. This database will be used to chart trends in Brazilian research and publishing activities, Brazilian participation in international conferences, the reception of Brazilian research abroad, and Brazilian engagement with the work of foreign researchers.

Meg Siner, Westminster College Humanities I would like to present my research on the 1913 Utah opera The Sun Dance Opera, written and directed by Lakota activist Zitkala-Sa. The opera, score, libretto are found in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections of the Harold B. Library at Brigham Young University. The opera premiered to rave reviews but has since fallen into obscurity.

Garrett Norris, University of Utah Humanities In this abstract, I will summarize the major differences and similarities I have found between Chinese and Japanese concepts of loyalty represented in the the three classical texts I analyzed.

Jordan Bracken, Dixie State University Humanities Of the many problems facing woman today, one of the more serious is the unrealistic standard of beauty and behavior that women are expected to achieve, maintain, and accept as normative. However, I will show how select works of fiction, including Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Birthmark and Edgar Allen Poe’s The Oval Portrait, exemplify the dangers of the male gaze; additionally, I will explicate non-fiction works such as Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique and Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex, which explore the severe consequences of attempting to force women to conform to a gendered societal paradigm. These works demonstrate the destructive characteristics to both men and women which can be easily overlooked by those who believe that a cultural standard, any cultural standard, represents a natural or necessary state of gendered behavior. When the image of the perfect feminine is idealized and internalized it both pressures women to alter their true identities and expects men to hold women to an unattainable behavioral and physical standard.

Jane Hise, Dixie State University Humanities Modern cultural perceptions of appropriate gendered behavior can pressure individuals into unhealthy, often self-destructive, behaviors in an attempt to attain an unachievable paradigm of gendered and sexual perfection. Social norms, however, are transitory and therefore, any attempts to achieve gendered perfection based on these norms are at best inauthentic performances, and the dangers inherent in the pursuit of such skewed perceptions of masculinity and femininity are inherently dangerous to the physical and emotional health of the individual. While we are not likely to eliminate the indoctrination of current or future generations into the culturally sanctioned roles of gender performance entirely, recognizing the artifice in these expectations and behaviors can expand the boundaries of socially accepted standards to allow for healthier expressions of identity.

Steven Hepworth, Weber State University Humanities Mormons and Missourians were at war with one another 1838. At the heart of the issue was the political and literal power of the Mormons in the state. The Mormon leader, Joseph Smith, claimed to have received revelations stating Missouri, and more particularly Jackson County, was to be the land of inheritance for Mormon Saints. Missourians feared a Mormon overtake of the State. During this same time the growing issue of slavery was the issue in Missouri. Mormons and Missourians found themselves on opposite ends of the slavery debate. These heated issues caused both Mormons and Missourians to persecute, harass, destroy, and fight one another. Orson Hyde changed the landscape of this conflict. On October 24, 1838 Orson Hyde signed a sworn affidavit declaring that Joseph Smith and the Mormon Church planned to overtake, possess, and control the State of Missouri. At the time, Orson was an Apostle, or leading member of the Mormon Church. He was well respected within the church and throughout the Missouri community. His testimony against the church and its leaders came as a shock to many. He showed no sign of discontentment previous to his signing a sworn affidavit against Joseph Smith and the Mormon Church. Why would a leading member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints testify against his religion, which he still held dear, and his friends? Orson Hyde indicted Mormon leaders of treason to save the lives of his family, to placate non-Mormon neighbors, and because of a failed mind due to illness. I will explore the involvement of Hyde in the Mormon Missouri war, what led him to testify against the Mormon Church, and the consequences resulted from his testimony.

Colby Townsend, University of Utah Humanities A vast amount of literature has been produced on the Book of Mormon since its initial publication in 1830. Writers from all backgrounds have approached this text, generally in a polarized manner. Either they approach it as committed believers or non-committed skeptics. In reviewing this literature it becomes apparent that not enough work has been done on the influence of the King James Version (KJV) of the Biblical text on the actual production of the Book of Mormon. A large project is underway to locate all of the places in the text of the Book of Mormon that are literarily dependent on the KJV. This paper will be a contribution toward that end. Malachi 3-4 is quoted in numerous places throughout the Book of Mormon, not just 3 Ne. 24-25 where Jesus gives the Nephites these chapters because “they [had them] not.” The paper will locate all of those places in the text of the Book of Mormon where the language and phraseology of Malachi is used, and its use will be analyzed through literary and source criticism. At present this paper is still a work in progress, and therefore has no set conclusion, but the working hypothesis is that Joseph Smith either utilized the KJV Malachi directly in the process of dictating the Book of Mormon by taking out a KJV and having his scribe copy it down, or the language was so familiar to him it came to mind as he dictated to his scribe. This will contribute to the larger study of locating all those places in the Book of Mormon that are dependent on the Bible, which will be published as a scholarly reference for use in comparative studies between the Bible and the Book of Mormon.

Echo Smith, University of Utah Humanities Since the publication, in 1995, of Jonathan Shay’s Achilles in Vietnam, an increasingly popular view of PTSD in soldiers holds that modern day combatants experience the horrors of warfare in much the same way as did ancient Greek and Roman soldiers and that PTSD must have been just as prevalent in the classical world as it is today.

Emily Simmons, Utah Valley University Humanities In Franz Kafka’s novel The Trial, the protagonist Josef K. is accused and ultimately punished for an unspecified crime of which he proclaims himself innocent. This paper examines Kafka’s novel through a religious studies approach—specifically, offering a reading of the Judeo-Christian myth of the fall of Adam and Eve, as exemplified in The Trial. I thus posit that K. is a type of post-fall Everyman who suffers the effects of the fall, attempts to restore himself to a Edenic state, but rejects the opportunity to be the fallen world’s savior and instead resigns humankind to continued suffering. To substantiate my argument I analyze four aspects of the novel. First, I examine K.’s conversation with the priest as they discuss the nature and origin of K.’s guilt. Next, I show that K.’s compulsive sexual behavior is his attempt to attain a spiritual completeness through sexual intercourse. Then, I find that as K. is suffering the effects of Adam’s fall, so too are the women suffering from the curse of Eve. Finally, I explore instances where K. exhibits similarities to the Biblical Jesus Christ, arguing that K. has the chance to perform a “savior” role but refuses. In addition to my analysis of the primary text, this paper also draws on contemporary scholars who discuss themes both Biblical and secular with an eye toward understanding K. and his relationship with women and the world around him. As a result of this analysis, I conclude that although K. is demoralized from the corrupt judicial system, maze of pointless bureaucracy, and hollow authority of the novel’s priest, he continues to seek, until the very minute of his death, salvation from the effects of the fall.

Jacob Newman, Brigham Young University Humanities In ‘A New Approach to Assessing Strategic Learning: The Case of Self-Regulation in Vocabulary Acquisition’ Tseng et al. (2006) discuss their design of an instrument that measures learners’ self-regulatory capacity rather than use of specific learning strategies. Learning strategies include a variety of behaviors or activities that a learner does to help them during the learning process. This instrument (SRCvoc), designed as a questionnaire, aims to help learners discover their self-regulatory capacity and then apply personalized learning strategies that are beneficial to their own vocabulary learning. Vocabulary learning is essential in developing language skills. According to their research, SRCvoc ‘can serve as a diagnostic measure to identify and understand learners’ strengths and weaknesses in terms of the five areas of self-regulation in the area of (English vocabulary) learning’ (Tseng et al. 2006: 96). The goals of the study, per Tseng et al. (2006) were (a) to create an instrument that ‘measured learner trait of self-regulatory capacity rather than survey specific behavioral habits’ (b) to create ‘an instrument based on a theoretical construct.’ SRCvoc is based on self-regulatory strategy research from the area of educational psychology, with facets including commitment, metacognitive, satiation, emotion, and environmental control and (c) to design an instrument “in one particular learning domain only, that is vocabulary learning.” We replicated the administration of SRCvoc to verify that it is of value beyond the original context. With assistance from Dr. Neil Anderson and Dr. James Hartshorn, I administered the questionnaire through a Qualtrics survey to learners in the academic program at Brigham Young University’s English Language Center (ELC) to replicate the original administration of SRCvoc. I created and distributed self-regulatory profiles from the results of SRCvoc to the students. We examined the validity and reliability of SRCvoc through statistical analysis and learned more about training self-regulated learners.

Lauren Harding, Utah Valley University Humanities From the Classical world, the male nude has come to be one of the most recognizable symbols for Greek civilization. This nude is a protean and multifaceted entity that took on different meanings as Hellenic society progressed. Two binary forms of these nudes recur as archetypes, which in this paper are identified as (1) the Heroic/Athletic nude and (2) the Ephebic/Mythological nude. Within the new discursive framework of these two physiques, it is necessary to incorporate the recent research that has been produced after the large feminist and gender studies awakening that has swept through the Classical scholarly world. The field has been wonderfully enriched with this research, and as such a re-evaluation of the male form is in order. This investigation will reveal new and fascinating aspects of Greek sculpture that previously have not been studied, and will illustrate how the distinctions between the two nudes are more easily seen, or, in certain cases, how these distinctions are blurred. Through better understanding this complicated, omni-sexual world of Classical Greece, we will enrich the understanding of our own culture, which is more nuanced than the hetero-normative standard that many believe exists.

Ward Symes, Dixie State University Humanities Some people think a heavy blanket of intellectual darkness was thrown over Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire and not lifted until the Renaissance. Were the Dark Ages a time of total illiteracy when learning and education ceased to exist? Did the Dark Ages only end with the emergence of great milestones like the invention of Gutenberg’s movable type printing press and Martin Luther protesting the Catholic Church?

Quinn Mason, Brigham Young University Humanities “Law is the highest reason, implanted in nature, which commands what ought to be done and forbids the opposite,” Cicero wrote, “This reason, when firmly fixed and fully developed in the human mind, is Law… Law is intelligence, whose natural function is to command right conduct and forbid wrongdoing.” In Bronté’s well-known novel, Jane Eyre, Jane is confronted with all she desires which is the love of Mr. Rochester, who is married under peculiar circumstances to crazy Bertha Mason. She is given the option of living with Mr. Rochester outside of marriage. However, Jane states, “I adhered to principle and law … [and] scorned and crushed the insane prompting of a frenzied moment”. My research focuses the role of natural law within the complicated situation presented before Jane Eyre and how she masters her passion, rather than being a slave to her desires.

Mahreen Bashir, University of Utah Humanities A complicated social paradox humanity faces is assessing the union between the seemingly contradictory ideologies of “sustainability” and “growth” into one viable system. Adapting a merger between concepts such as: the retention of cultural values and social systems, industry, urban sprawl, modernity, sanitation, progress and the environment. This objective of this research project centers around using understandings of post-colonial theory to find new connections in South Asian identity through South Asian literature written in English, and the literature’s relationship to ecology. Specifically, it applies the nascent subaltern lens of a historiography that examines South Asia as both a post-colonial subcontinent, and an emerging “superpower,” in the rhetoric of a global economy, to understand a relationship between Indian people and India as place. Questions asked are posed in regard to the affects of orientalism and a cultural infiltration of seeing endemic knowledge to be degenerate in relation to Western academia; Indian-American identity; and the weight of the term “subaltern” through works by South Asian writers. Furthermore, the project uses an ecocritical lens on these works to extract how identity discourse and post-colonialism have created understandings of Indian identity within English literature. The anticipated outcome of this research paper is to create a greater understanding of both emergent academic lenses, and their application in understanding Indian culture and identity as portrayed by works written by Indo-American writers. This research idea was born out of my passion for both ecology and post-colonial studies that I have honed through my studies as an environmental studies and gender studies double major. The main objective is to investigate the plurality of identity, and the ramifications that identity, has on the establishment of more sustainable behavior to counter the impending global crisis the planet is facing in terms of lack of environmental stewardship, and subsequent social justice.

Nicholas Sheets, Brigham Young University Humanities This honors’ thesis analyzes a lesser-known drama by Jorge Ibargüengoitia, Llegó Margo (1956), by approaching historic social critiques in Mexico through dialogue, plot, and character development. Readers will approach this play through various elements of Marxist and historical criticism. Through this, higher significance to social themes develops when considered in the historical context of the semicentennial celebration of Mexico’s revolution of 1910. The play then falls into a broader national dialogue of Mexico’s social structures post-revolution. Research for this thesis includes the Ibargüengoitia papers at the Firestone Library, an interview with Joy Laville (the author’s widow), and travels to various locations in Mexico, ultimately resulting in the thesis’ higher awareness to historic social themes and a richness of Mexican ideals. Ibargüengoitia offers a critique of & for his own middle-class audience, calling attention to its hypocritical treatment of the poor as well as a hyper awareness to social traditions which ultimately maintain an unsympathetic class structure in Mexico.

Charity Anne Rowley, Brigham Young University Health Background: Since 2009 groups of professors and students from the College of Nursing have been traveling to Guayaquil, Ecuador and assessing anemia rates and nutrition among the school children there. The adverse effects of anemia can include: weakness, fatigue, shortness of breath, and poor concentration. Initial anemia rates were discovered ranging 30-50%.

Amy A Fairbrother, Utah Valley University Health Research has shown that high-frequency (HF) ultrasound is capable of detecting structural and biomechanical property changes in tissues and cells at the microscopic level. This capability is currently being tested for the real-time identification of breast tissue pathology in surgical margins during lumpectomies. The objective of this study was to determine if structural and property changes arising in tissue from variations in temperature can be detected by using HF ultrasound. Once a tissue sample is excised from the body, the temperature of the sample decreases rapidly from body temperature to that of the surrounding room temperature. Because of the decrease in heat, the tissue can become more rigid and thus less fluid. These alterations in biomechanical properties can affect HF ultrasonic measurements such as wavespeed and attenuation. These biomechanical changes may also affect the ultrasonic signals sensitive to tissue structure such as the number of peaks in the ultrasonic spectra. The methodology of the research was as follows. Fresh samples of bovine tissue were ultrasonically tested at 3 different temperatures: 37º, 24.5º, and 15º C. Each sample was approximately 7.6 mm thick and 3.8 x 2.5 cm in size. To observe the overall effects of temperature on a sample, the tissue was slowly heated from room temperature to body temperature (37º C) and then tested with HF ultrasound. The sample was then cooled back down to room temperature (24.5º C) and tested again using HF ultrasound. Lastly, the sample was cooled further to 15º C and again tested using HF ultrasound. Ultrasonic waveforms were collected using 50-MHz pitch-catch and pulse-echo measurements. The data was then analyzed to determine changes in wavespeed, attenuation, and spectral peak density with temperature. Results from the study will be presented and discussed with respect to the improvement of HF ultrasound procedures for testing tissue samples.

Matthew Mogensen, Southern Utah University Health The anti-inflammatory effects of omega-3 fatty acids (n-3) and their possible role in the regulation of asthma are promising for those suffering from the disease. Omega-3 fatty acids have been linked to the reduction of eicosanoids, which are signaling molecules that regulate the inflammatory response. Inflammation in the respiratory system is one of the most widespread symptoms of asthma and therefore poses the most risk to asthmatic individuals. This two phase study will test the effectiveness of n-3 in individuals with varying severities of asthma. In both stages of this study, a placebo or n-3 in the form of a krill oil capsule containing the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) will be administered, lung volumes and capacities will be measured weekly, and the frequency/severity of asthma attacks will be recorded. Phase one of the study will test whether n-3 reduces asthma symptoms with no activity modifications, while phase two will test whether n-3 is effective in reducing asthma symptoms associated with exercise. The two phases of the study will be separated in order to isolate the duration of n-3 ingestion as a variable in the experiment. As this is an ongoing experiment, results are not yet available. However, if n-3 is effective, we expect to see an increase in lung volume and a decrease in the frequency and severity of asthma attacks in individuals. These results would suggest that n-3 could be an effective and simple treatment that, when taken daily, could reduce the frequency/severity of asthma attacks and help improve quality of life for asthma sufferers.

Kristen Hamblin, Brigham Young University Health Empathy is an essential characteristic in nursing. In fact, the skill of empathy, the ability to understand the feelings or situation of another, is of paramount importance to the nurse-patient relationship. Additionally, empathetic interactions often lead to increased patient satisfaction, compliance, and overall quality of life.

Micelle Reed, University of Utah Health For patients with medically intractable epilepsy, a neurological disorder characterized by seizures that are unable to be controlled with medication, surgical resection of the seizure generating zone is necessary to obtain seizure freedom. Intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) is used for determining areas for resection when noninvasive techniques fail to pinpoint a specific area. High frequency oscillations (HFOs), observed through iEEG, are successful biomarkers for the seizure generating zones and are more localized to the source of seizures than areas of propagation. The most common method for determining HFO occurrence lies in expert epileptologist interpretation of the iEEG data, although this method is limited to small data sets and the expertise of the doctor. This study uses the signal processing techniques of spectrogram analysis and continuous waveform transforms to find high frequency content in sampled patient data. Through the use of Friedman’s Tests, statistical difference between channels is determined and subsequent Wilcoxon signed-rank tests are performed to find the channels with statistically greater high frequency content. This allows for an unbiased, automated determination of seizure generating channels. Localization of the seizure generating area can be decided because of the 1-1 correspondence between the channel signal and macroelectrode placement on the brain. If functional mapping reveals the cost of resection of that area of the brain to be less than the benefit of reduction in seizure activity, surgery will be performed. Through the determination of the true seizure generating zone, surgical resection will lead to the best patient outcome of potential seizure freedom and improved quality of life.

Kevin Crockett, Utah Valley University Health Purpose

Teresa Wilson, Utah Valley University Health A critical issue in breast conservation surgery (lumpectomy) for breast cancer treatment is ensuring the tissue surrounding the excised tumor, the margins, are cancer-free. In collaboration with the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, students from Utah Valley University are using high-frequency (HF) ultrasound to test the pathology of lumpectomy surgical margins. This pre-clinical study is a blind study which will involve 80 patients, approximately 320 specimens, and use traditional pathology as the “gold standard” for measuring the HF ultrasound method’s accuracy. Ultrasonic waveforms of margins were acquired at the Huntsman Cancer Hospital in pitch-catch and pulse-echo modes using 50-MHz, 6.35-mm diameter transducers. The data were analyzed to obtain ultrasonic parameters such as wavespeed, attenuation, specimen thickness and spectral peak density (the number of peaks and valleys in a HF ultrasonic spectral band). The objective of this paper is to search for trends in the data acquired to date to provide an assessment of reliability, stability, and robustness of the study.

Taylor Colvin, Utah Valley University Health Introduction: There are millions of people in need of prosthetics worldwide and only a very small percentage currently have access to appropriate prosthetic care. As amputees are unable to afford a prosthetic, they are often incapable of maintaining many social interactions and provide for their basic needs. Utah Valley University’s Mobility Mission traveled to Guatemala to manufacture prosthetic limbs for those individuals in need. Our research can also encourage manufacturers to continue developing a better affordable prosthetic that can be donated to those amputees in need to restore quality of life to those individuals.

McKay Frandsen, Utah Valley University Health INTRODUCTION

Charity Anne Rowley, Brigham Young University Health In 2010, The Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that adverse events during hospitalization contribute to the deaths of 180,000 patients each year! The purpose of this study is to improve patient safety in the hospital by understanding the role of the charge nurse(the 24/7 nursing supervisor in hospital units).

Jennifer Orton, Brigham Young University Health In contrast to the success of America’s vaccination rates among children, adult vaccination rates remain suboptimal. Some adults, such as school employees, are in a position where they can easily contract and spread vaccine-preventable communicable diseases, yet mandatory vaccinations are usually lacking in this population. Schools may easily become communicable disease outbreak centers, especially for highly contagious diseases such as measles and influenza. The purpose of this study was to evaluate why rural Utah school employees remain vaccinated for measles and influenza, as well as to discover the perceptions of these school employees regarding mandatory vaccination policies. Of the 835 respondents, 71.7% reported they received the measles vaccination as a child, although only 26.9% reported having a measles booster vaccine as an adult. When asked why they had not received the measles booster, 46% of participants stated they were unsure if they needed one. Other participants also reported lack of an adult measles booster vaccine because it was not required by the school district (5%) and that they did not perceive the need because they were healthy (5%). Even more concerning, over half of the school employees (51%) had not received their influenza vaccine for the current year. When questioned about their lack of influenza vaccination, 26.4% believed the vaccine was ineffective and 25.4% were noncompliant because they did not have the time to get the vaccination. When questioned about their perceptions regarding mandatory vaccine policies for school employees, four major themes emerged: 1) adults should retain agency; 2) vaccine effectiveness was not guaranteed; 3) adults do not need vaccinations; and 4) cost of vaccines. Further education is needed regarding the need for adult vaccinations, especially among school employees in rural Utah. To control the spread of communicable diseases, school districts may consider mandatory vaccination of school employees.

Emily Matson, Brigham Young University Health Cancer, despite its common association with old age, is a leading cause of death for children age 1-14, second only to unintentional injuries. Improvements in diagnosis and treatment are increasing childhood cancer survival, and more research is needed on the risk of subsequent cancer following an initial diagnosis, of either the same or another site. Research on associations between childhood and secondary cancers may improve patient follow-up by providing health professionals with information about which subsequent cancers are likely to occur, which screenings to conduct and what symptoms to look for.

Bradley Weaver, University of Utah Health High-grade gliomas, especially glioblastoma (GBMs, WHO Grade IV), are the most common primary brain tumors in humans. Despite recent advances in molecular targeted therapies for cancer, there has been little progress in treatment of GBMs. Median patient survival after diagnosis is dismal: approximately 12 months. Hypoxia is a key clinical marker of GBMs, which contain pockets of necrotic and hypoxic regions within the solid tumor mass. The transcription factors in the Hypoxia Inducible Factor (HIF) family are the master regulators of the cellular response to hypoxia. Their downstream targets include compounds that promote angiogenesis, increase glycolysis, and inhibit apoptosis. Recent research has identified glioma stem cells (GSCs) surviving within the hypoxic microenvironment, and has implicated HIF1α as a potential regulator of the GSC phenotype. GSCs are thought to promote therapeutic resistance and recurrence of GBMs after surgical resection. Clarifying the role of HIF1α in glioma stem cell dynamics is important for targeting both the tumor cells and their environment in new treatment. It is expected that GSC populations with more aggressive phenotypes will express higher levels of HIF1α and have higher proliferation rates under acute hypoxia. In this study, the HIF1α levels and proliferation dynamics of multiple, unique GSC cell lines are investigated. Cell lines used include two GSC lines isolated from primary patient tumors (NSC20/23) and a stem cell enriched high-grade glioma line. Preliminary results suggest that not all populations of GSCs respond the same way to hypoxic stress, and HIF1α may play a central role in stem cell dynamics, but not in the growth of non-stem tumor cells. Probing further into this relationship will increase our understanding of how brain tumors behave, and how to more effectively target them in patients. Further data and conclusions from this project will be available at the time of presentation.

Andrea Quiroz, Utah Valley University Health The stimulation and inhibition of tissue vascularization has important applications to tissue engineering and oncology. Approaches to quantitatively evaluate neovascularization in vivo in adult animals with differentiated tissue include both invasive methods that use an implanted or injury-induced matrix in the study organism, or noninvasive small animal imaging methods such as MRI, CT, and PET. The objective of this study was to determine if ultrasonic spectra in the 10-100 MHz range could be used as an in vivo neovascularization assay. Numerical simulations and phantoms were used as model systems to test the feasibility of the approach. The simulations modeled ultrasonic scattering from microscopic vascular networks using randomly oriented cylinders to represent blood vessels and cylindrical wave functions to represent ultrasonic waves. Phantoms were fabricated from a gelatin-soluble fiber mixture and agarose gel. The agarose gel was embedded in the gelatin-fiber in order to simulate vascular tissue. Ultrasonic tests were performed using two broadband ultrasonic transducers centered at 50 MHz. Pitch-catch data were collected and analyzed by calculating the peak density of the ultrasonic frequency spectrum, which is the number of peaks and valleys in the spectrum (a measure of the spectrum’s complexity). Control specimens were tested to determine the differences in the sound wave properties between the gelatin-fiber and the agarose gel. The controls demonstrated the instrument’s ability to differentiate between the two types of material. Measurements of agarose inclusions in the gelatin-fiber showed a significantly higher peak density than those for the control gelatin-fiber. These results indicate that the agarose gel structures are scattering sound to a greater extent than the gelatin-fiber alone. The results thus far have provided a strategy for proceeding with the project in the future. The phantoms will be refined and made more realistic to produce an adequate mimic for vascular tissue.

Elise Corbett, Brigham Young University Health Background

Brooke Wahlquist, Brigham Young University Health Exposure to the house dust mite (HDM) allergens Der p 1 and Der f 1 has been implicated in the development and exacerbation of asthma, the leading chronic disease among children in the U. S. Indoor relative humidity (RH) is the most important determinant of HDM growth in homes. HDM populations reach a maximum size at 85% RH but can survive at RH levels as low as 54 %. The RH in the commonly arid climate of the western U.S. is often below 55%, and as such, HDM exposure in these areas has not been viewed as a significant health concern. However, studies have shown that evaporative coolers, or “swamp coolers”, can increase indoor RH levels enough in arid climates to support HDM growth. In this study, we propose to evaluate the relationship between HDM allergen levels in the home and evaporative cooler use in 46 single family homes in Utah County. Homes will be recruited from among BYU employees based on the age of home as well as type of cooling system used (evaporative cooler (n = 23) vs. central air conditioning (n = 23)). Der p 1 and Der f 1 will be measured in homes by reservoir dust and area air sampling. Additionally, continuous RH measurements will be taken in the home over a 72-hour period in order to more fully characterize fluctuations in indoor humidity, and their relationship to HDM concentrations. Samples and RH measurements will be collected up to 3 times in each home over the course of 1 year. Samples will be analyzed in the laboratory using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect Der p 1 and Der f 1, and by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect HDM DNA on air sample filters.

Erin Horton, Dixie State University Health OPUNTIA FICUS INDICA: RED BLOOD CELL VIABILITY AND AGGLUTINATION PROPERTIES

Sheri Casey, Utah Valley University Health Justification: According to many studies, low socioeconomics is positively correlated to sports participation. Little research explores the economic relationship correlated with youth sports.

Tim Smith, Brigham Young University Health Previous research studies have confirmed that life-threatening illness adversely impacts psychosocial well-being, from feelings of isolation and embarrassment to the onset of psychotic episodes and suicidality. To help patients cope with chronic and/or terminal symptoms, many healthcare providers advocate the benefits of social support groups as a palliative measure, such as weekly meetings of cancer patients. The rapid proliferation of such programs, as well as associated “survivor groups,” has attracted research attention, and the number of research studies on the topic is now substantial. The field would currently benefit from a quantitative synthesis of the extant findings. To systematically quantify the effect of such intervention groups on mortality (i.e., death rates), we undertook a meta-analysis of the research literature, comparing patient survival rates as a function of social interventions. Across 27 studies examined thus far, we encountered a surprising variability of intervention success in prolonging life. Although most intervention provided demonstrated evidence of increased survival rates among participants, several studies did not. Our presentation will discuss the implications of our findings for healthcare providers and pose questions that will need to be addressed in future research.

Rhett Thomson, Utah Valley University Health Previous studies have shown high-frequency (HF) ultrasound may be sufficiently sensitive to detect and differentiate between both the histopathology and molecular subtypes of breast cancer. The goal of this study was to test the boundaries of HF ultrasonic testing methods. The parameter of interest was the effect of formalin fixation on tissue samples. Formalin has been found to stiffen tissues. Since ultrasound is sensitive to histological properties such as stiffness and adhesion factors, stiffening caused by fixation may compromise the results of the HF ultrasound analysis. This study monitored potential changes to HF measurements caused by tissue fixation. The fixation solution used was 10% neutral buffered formalin. The same formalin solution is used by hospitals after breast conserving surgery (BCS) to prepare and preserve excised tissue specimens for pathology. If no change in HF ultrasound analysis is detected in tissue samples before or after fixation, prepared tissue specimens from BCS patients may be used as viable samples for HF ultrasonic testing. Twenty tissue samples were used in this study. All samples were excised from the cortex, medulla, or ureter of a fresh cow kidney. Samples were tested with HF ultrasound. Testing conditions and procedures were identical to previous breast cancer tests. HF ultrasonic testing was completed at the zero hour mark and then repeated at five successive time intervals during fixation. Data collected from each sample was compared across all time intervals to detect any changes caused by fixation. Analysis of the data showed no significant changes in HF readings before, during, or after fixation up to 17 hours. Any variations observed were within experimental error. These findings demonstrate that formalin fixation does not affect the accuracy of HF ultrasonic testing techniques on bovine tissue samples. To reinforce the findings, this study will be repeated using different types of tissues.

Christopher Hutchings, Brigham Young University Engineering The biocatalysis industry has been rapidly expanding due to the fact that there has been a greater demand for ecologically friendly manufacturing processes. The benefit of biocatalytic systems is that it enables stereo-, chemo-, and regio- specificity in chemical manufacturing. This in turn reduces wasteful byproducts from chemical manufacturing. This is especially valuable in industries where removal of chemically similar but physically harmful waste products is essential. The problem with the traditional biocatalytic processes is that they are hindered from limitations in areas such as enzyme stability, leaching, recoverability, and reusability. These limitations significantly impede the cost-effectiveness of biocatalysis for industrial applications. The processes of enzyme immobilization like adsorption, entrapment, and other such forms of immobilizations provide improvements such as stability, recoverability, and reusability. Though they provide improvements they also go through enzyme leaching, complicated or even toxic conjugation procedures and have a lack of specificity to attachment location from. This ends in being counterintuitive and defeats the purpose of enzyme immobilization. It is here we start to build upon the recent advancements in unnatural amino acid and incorporating them into enzymes to demonstrate a biocompatible and covalent enzyme immobilization process that improves protein stability and enables attachment orientation control. This system we refer to as the Protein Residue-Explicit Covalent Immobilization for Stability Enhancement or PRECISE system, and it permits the covalent attachment of enzymes at potentially any location on the enzyme onto a surface. Using this process, we create reusable enzymes that are more stable and more resistant to harsh conditions. We have also concluded from this process that there is no leaching and increased stability from immobilization with the enzyme with satisfactory results in enzyme activity.

Cameron Bell, Brigham Young University Engineering 72-hour emergency kits are often inadequately equipped; they lack means to treat water or cook food, compromising chances of survival in an extended critical situation. Dr. Jones and I aim to develop a foldable, lightweight biomass cookstove to solve this problem.

Daniel Smith, Brigham Young University Engineering Although it is known as a graceful sport, figure skating can take a serious toll on skaters’ bodies. Considering that figure skaters commonly train five days per week, with 50-100 jumps per day, it is not surprising that repetitive stress injuries are a serious issue in figure skating. Because the forces associated with these jumps are poorly understood (including their magnitudes, loading rate, and when they occur) training plans designed to prevent injury are incapable of preparing athletes to best avoid their negative effects.

Mark Lindsay, Brigham Young University Engineering The protein production industry which creates vaccines, cancer drugs, and enzymes for chemical manufacturing and biocatalysis has revenue of over $160 billion a year. However, there are several significant protein production obstacles: high production costs exacerbated by difficulties with protein purification, retention, and stability. By better understanding protein structure and function we can resolve these issues. However, traditional methods of studying protein structure and function are costly and time consuming, taking several days to even a week to study one or a few sites. We have developed a process to study up to potentially hundreds of sites simultaneously in a matter of hours.

Josephine Bastian, Brigham Young University Engineering 3D immersive visualization systems, or CAVEs™, have found wide adoption for use in geosciences, planetary science, medical research, and computer science. However, much of the potential for such systems in practical civil and environmental engineering settings has been severely limited due to 1) extreme costs in both hardware and software; 2) immobility due to calibration and darkroom requirements; and 3) extensive and expensive manpower requirements for both operation and maintenance. This project presents the development and testing of a new mobile low-cost immersive stereo visualization system – the “VuePod” – that attempts to address these challenges through the use of commercial-off-the-shelf technologies, open source software, consumer-grade passive 3-D television monitors, an active tracking system, and a modular construction approach. The VuePod capitalizes on recent functional advancements and cost decreases in both hardware and software and is demonstrated herein as a viable alternative to projector-based walk-in CAVEs and their limitations. A description of the hardware and its assembly, software and its configuration, and the modular structural system is presented as well as results from several benchmark computation and visualization tests.

Neil Hinckley, Brigham Young University Engineering Due to the increasing interest in combining the physical and digital world devices which allow users to naturally interact with digital systems are becoming much more important and prevalent. In order to improve upon standard haptic controllers and interfaces we explored compliant haptic devices, which us a compliant member to provide tunable force feedback to users. We were able to produce a prototype device and demonstrate some of the capabilities and advantages of compliant haptic devices.

Bryce Ostler, Utah Valley University Engineering Much of SQL’s power derives from SQL’s declarative rather than procedural nature: a programmer describes the result desired rather than how to produce the result. Systems using SQL must translate SQL’s declarative language into a procedural language in order to execute queries. Relational Algebra (RA) is a procedural language that SQL can be transformed into and executed on a computer using a RA engine. Optimizations are applied to RA code to improve the performance of a translated query. The author of this abstract will present a simple RA engine written in Python and how it has been used as part of a Database Theory course.

Sean Bedingfield, Utah State University Engineering The delivery of zinc ions using ZnO nanoparticles within the body has been shown to cause the destruction of tumor cells and may also treat neurodegenerative disorders. The silane capping of ZnO nanoparticles is employed as a post-synthesis method to protect them from dissolution in polar solvents. Preliminary research demonstrates standard methods of silane capping result in aggregation of nanoparticles. Aggregation produces particles significantly larger than the original diameter of the nanoparticles, making them too large for some medical applications.

Tyler Mathis, Brigham Young University Education We need to improve our educational system through giving our teachers more chances to be given constructive feedback through teacher evaluations. As teachers receive feedback and are put through effective teacher evaluations their performance will improve and the upcoming generation will be more educated. This will greatly beneficial to the future of our society as a whole. Teacher evaluations is an important topic to raise awareness of to help produce effective and beneficial teaching to the upcoming generation. The topic I will address is how we can make teacher evaluations more effective by exploring ways to quantitatively measure teachers’ effectiveness through examining student gains. I will also examine why implementing teacher observations will be an asset to teacher performance and a necessity in teacher evaluations.

Michelle Fordham, Utah Valley University Education A Family Write Night is an opportunity for teachers, students, and parents to come together to learn about the different stages of writing development and what writing does for the student at any level. Since writing will strengthen and enhance the student in other literacy skills and knowledge, bringing these students and families together in a friendly, casual atmosphere to provide enjoyable, non-assessed activities builds confidence in a writer’s sense of who they are, their voices as writers, as well as developing critical thinking skills. Parent and family involvement is a key component of this activity. Having families, students, and teachers working together to encourage writing at home builds strong family bonds while strengthening writing skills.