2015 Abstracts

Bryce Anderson, Kemais Ehlers, Deborah Johnson, and Stephen Persaud, Brigham Young University Life Sciences Antigen presenting cells digest and display foreign proteins from infected cells on the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) that is recognized by T cells via their T cell receptor (TCR). LLO56 and LLO118 are CD4+ helper T cells with TCRs specific for the same Listeria monocytogenes epitope. Despite differing by only 15 amino acids, these TCRs have dramatically different primary and secondary responses to infection. TCRs have very low affinity for peptide MHC. We determined to generate high affinity T cell receptors to test if T cell activation would be improved. We reasoned that the single chain LLO118 and LLO56 TCRs (Vβ2-linker-Vα2) could be subjected to directed evolution to generate mutants that are more stable and then used as a template for engineering high affinity T cell receptors. Single chain LLO118 and LLO56 were fused to the yeast surface protein Aga-2 and error prone PCR was used to generate mutagenic libraries. Stabilized single chain TCRs (scTCRs) were selected for using biotinylated Vβ2 and Vα2 antibodies and anti-biotin beads. First generation clones with increased stability compared to wild type were isolated for both LLO118 and LLO56. A second mutagenic library using the first generation mutants as templates was produced and the most stable clones were selected after temperature denaturation, permitting isolation of clones with increased stability. We are currently engineering high affinity T cell receptors by generating affinity libraries using site directed mutagenesis of the CDR3 regions. These libraries are sorted for their ability to bind to MHC tetramers and individual clones are tested using flow cytometry. Generation of pathogen specific high affinity TCRs will increase our understanding of how T cells are activated and could also provide infection specific diagnostics and therapeutics.

Benjamin Bitner, Jason Ray, Kyle Kener, and Brent Wright, Brigham Young University Life Sciences β-cell mass is lost in both major forms of diabetes. Mature β-cell have restricted proliferative capacity. Studies aimed at increasing β-cell mass frequently have the unwanted side effects of decreased glucose stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) or increased apoptotic rates. Without functional β-cells, the body is unable to reduce elevated blood glucose, which results in hyperglycemia induced maladies. Enhanaced GSIS could be used as a treatment for diabetes. Overexpression of the β-cell transcription factor Nkx6.1 induces β-cell proliferation, enhances GSIS and protects against apoptosis. Nkx6.1 induces expression of VGF, which is necessary for enhanced GSIS. Microarray analysis of Nkx6.1 expressing primary rat islets demonstrates upregulation of c-Fos at 24 and 48 hours after adenoviral transduction. We have shown that c-Fos upregulates expression of VGF. Finally, preliminary data suggest that c-Fos modulates GSIS as demonstrated in INS-1 β-cell line, stable INS-1 knockdown cells transduced with lenti-sh-c-Fos and in primary islets. We present a model by which c-Fos is necessary for Nkx6.1 mediated enhanced GSIS by inducing expression of VGF.

Stephanie Bartlett, Utah Valley University Life Sciences Our project investigates the phylogenetic relationships of the superfamily Ephemeroidea + Behningiidae. Found in waters worldwide, burrowing families are unique in that they have mandibular tusks that allow them to tunnel in the silt or gravel of riverbeds. Surprisingly, even without the mandibular tusks necessary for tunnel construction, the Behningiidae family is still found within these burrows as nymphs. Because the Behningiidae don’t have tusks, morphological research has lead to a phylogenetic classification of this family that our genomic investigation ultimately disputes. To begin this investigation, mayfly specimens were collected worldwide and prepared for DNA extraction. For each specimen genes were amplified via polymerase chain reaction and visualized on an agarose gel, before being sequenced and analyzed. The specific genes targeted for this analysis include; 12s mitochondrial rDNA, 16s mitochondrial rDNA, 18s nuclear rDNA, 28s nuclear rDNA, H3 nuclear protein coding, and CO1 mitochondrial protein coding. Datasets were supplemented with sequences acquired from Genbank. The ingroup consisted of approximately 30 samples. Phylogenetic relationships were estimated using Maximum Parsimony, Maximum Likelihood, and Baysian methods. We constructed phylogenetic relationships of burrowing mayflies using molecular DNA data analysis, when compared to morphological analysis we identified some important classification differences. As a result of our findings, we propose an alternative explanation for the evolution of mandibular tusks in burrowing mayflies (Ephemeroptera). The data support that burrowing mayflies first evolved tusks. Within the family Behningiidae, tusks were lost, while the burrowing lifestyle (i.e., living in a burrow to filter feed) was retained. This study represents the largest analysis to date for these insects and strongly supports the evolutionary trend of a gain and a loss of mandibular tusks during their evolution.

Jacob Welch, Brigham Young University Life Sciences Learning and memory occur due to adaptive brain changes in response to our environment. These changes are mediated by synaptic plasticity, particularly within the hippocampus. Plasticity can either strengthen or weaken synapses, known as long-term potentiation (LTP) or long-term depression (LTD) respectively. While many forms of plasticity are NMDA-dependent, recently endocannabinoids were identified to mediate several new forms of hippocampal synaptic plasticity through the CB1 and TRPV1 receptors. However, research has demonstrated a non-CB1/TRPV1-dependent endocannabinoid synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus. Several potential candidate receptors that bind the endocannabinoid anandamide have been identified. These are among the orphan G-protein coupled receptors (GPRs) whose distribution in the brain and/or function is less well known. GPR55 is of particular interest as it activates second messenger systems. Using quantitative RT-PCR, electrophysiological and memory behavioral tasks we examined hippocampal GPR55 expression and function. GPR55 is expressed in hippocampus of both rats and mice. Cellular expression is currently being examined and appears to be rare in interneurons and more likely expressed by pyramidal cells. Interestingly, application of the GPR55 agonist LPI (2 μM) to wild-type mice demonstrates a significant enhancement of LTP in brain slices. This LPI effect was not noted in GPR55 knock-out (KO) mice, which exhibit significantly (p < 0.05) smaller LTP (146%) than wildtype (WT) (181%). GPR55 also appears to increase release probability (Sylantyev et al., PNAS, 2013), denoting a presynaptic role. Paired-pulse ratios are now being analyzed between GPR55 KO and WT mice to confirm this finding; however we did not note a change in EPSCs in CA1 in response to 2μM LPI. These data suggest GPR55 is expressed and physiologically relevant in the hippocampus. Because enhanced LTP is usually associated with better memory performance in rodents, this provides a potential target to enhance the cellular mechanism associated with memory formation.

Bryce Taylor and Ian Kesler, Southern Utah University Life Sciences Green infrastructure is the use of natural processes to manage stormwater runoff and has many positive effects on evaporative cooling, building energy demand, and wildlife habitat. Very little green infrastructure research has been conducted in arid environments such as Southern Utah. The scope of this research project is to establish a complete water budget of the green roof using a lysimeter (an acrylic box resting on a high-resolution weighing scale). The water budget will help in determining whether the cost of irrigating the green roof is off- set by the potential benefits to biodiversity and decreased energy demands.We have constructed a working lysimeter and will collect the required data by using: a high resolution scale, a tipping bucket to measure drainage, two soil moisture and temperature sensors and weather data from the campus weather station. A collection of mixed Sedum species vegetation will be planted in the lysimeter using a special green roof media to accurately simulate a greenroof environment. Both pitfall (used to capture grounded insects) and combination traps (used to capture airborne insects) will be used to measure the biodiversity. Data collection will begin during the winter of 2014 and continue indefinitely.

Danny Ferguson, Utah Valley University Life Sciences This research examined the acceptance of evolution for introductory Biology students and the reasons why they don’t accept evolution, accept evolution, and why they change their minds over the semester. Previous studies examined student’s observations and knowledge of the evolutionary theory and found that the degree of conflict students perceived between religion and science was negatively correlated with their knowledge of evolution. Objective: The objective of this research was to better understand the student’s views of evolution and its integration into their worldly and religious views. Methods: We will conduct interviews with general Biology students in order to better understand the reasons why they don’t accept evolution, accept evolution, and why they change their minds over the semester. The interview questions are designed to investigate, in more detail than the previous surveys, the opinions of evolution and how they change over the course of the semester. The recordings will be transcribed and quantified by binning answers into categories. Given high % of students are LDS, we will ask a few additional questions to this portion of the population. Results: We found that as students knowledge of evolution increased, their conflict with religion decreased. The data demonstrate that there are three main reasons for this trend: 1) Evidence convinces the students to accept evolution; 2) Particularly for LDS students, knowledge of the official position of the Church, enables them to allow evolution to be a correct process in nature; and 3) the instructor as a role model (believer yet accepts evolution) can have a large influence.

Jake Loveless, Utah Valley University Life Sciences Macroinvertebrate assemblage composition was assessed in two perennial streams, Pleasant Creek, and Sulphur Creek in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, during the summer of 2014. Individuals collected were identified to genus. This information was used to compare assemblage composition, nutrient availability, and water quality between the two streams. Five collection trips were made (May 27, June 10,17, July 1,15). Sampling was conducted randomly using mesh kick nets with four samples being collected per site, per trip. Heavy rains caused flash flooding on July 15 prohibiting sampling, so a total of sixteen samples per site were taken. Samples were stored in 90% isopropyl alcohol until they could besorted and identified using a dissecting microscope. Water quality estimates were determined by taking the weighted average of the tolerance values, and the final classification was made using the family-level biotic index. Pleasant Creek showed the highest number of taxa present, fourteen, compared to six in Sulphur Creek. Both streams followed the predictions of the River Continuum Concept consisting of collector-dominated functional feeding groups, with Pleasant Creek showing a higher percentage of predators 35.7% to 16.6%. Tolerance values of collected taxa were used to estimate organic pollution indicating good water quality in Pleasant Creek, and fairly poor water quality in Sulphur Creek. The differences in the macroinvertebrate assemblage composition in this study were likely multi-causal. Stream size is a major factor influencing the structure of macroinvertebrate assemblages; in general, as stream size increases, more taxa are added. Pleasant Creek is a much larger stream with a well-established channel, while Sulphur Creek is shallow with depths never exceeding fifteen centimeters. The shallow channel of Sulphur Creek also made it prone to frequent flooding. Isolated floods have little impact on macroinvertebrate communities due to availability of aerial adults nearby to recolonize rapidly, however, frequent flooding may have long-term effects through extirpation of taxa with high mortality. The difference in water quality was the most surprising finding in this study. The fairly poor water quality of Sulphur Creek may also be a factor in the lack of genera found there. Organic pollution effects primary productivity in streams, and while primary productivity was not measured in this study, visual observations found very little algae or aquatic vegetation at Sulphur Creek.

Anne Thomas and Richard Gill, Brigham Young University Life Sciences Providing water for expanding urban communities in the western United States is a growing concern for city planners and governmental agencies. Landscaping can claim up to 50% of the urban water budget but also has the most potential for water conservation. Landscape water use is highly variable, however, because of species-specific differences in tree water use and because of decision-making by city planners and residents in maintaining trees. The objective of this study is to improve our ability to predict urban forest water use by identifying differences in tree basal area and diversity between neighborhoods that have arisen at different periods of development in Heber Valley, Utah. We classified neighborhoods as established, exurban (rural housing), commercial, or new tract based on age, location, and lot size. We performed a stratified random survey with twenty lots in each category and collected diameter and species data for each tree in the lot. Some of the patterns we observed were easily anticipated, such as higher basal area per hectare in the older, established neighborhoods relative to newer tract housing. Surprisingly, the number of individual trees per hectare in tract and established neighborhoods is very similar. Perhaps of more interest is the low species richness of tract housing compared to exurban communities. Because exurban communities are being replaced by tract housing there is evidence that tree diversity will be lost. Another important aspect of community structure in urban forests is the ratio of conifers to broadleaf trees because of fundamental differences in water use patterns. Conifers comprised twenty-five percent of the basal area in exurban and thirty-five percent in established neighborhoods, as opposed to five percent in tract. Our data suggest that tree diversity is likely to decrease while water demand is likely to increase with changes in urban forests in the coming decade.

Westen Archibald, Trevor Smart, and Emily Forsyth, Brigham Young University Life Sciences The Beaver Dam Wash National Conservation Area is considered an important biodiversity hotspot for the Western United States. The wash is an ecotone on the Northeastern edge of the Mojave Desert and is directly adjacent to both the Colorado Plateau and the Great Basin. Thus, this area contains various species of flora and fauna from each of the surrounding biomes. Prior research of the Beaver Dam Wash has documented high aboveground biodiversity for a desert ecosystem however no research has been conducted on belowground diversity. For this reason we chose to characterize the diversity and distribution of entomophilic nematodes, as they are commonly used as a biological indicator to the surrounding ecosystems. We hypothesized that because plant and insect biodiversity is high here, we would also find a diversity of entomophilic nematodes that is higher than the surrounding areas. To test this hypothesis we collected soil samples from 15 sample sites representative of the diversity of the different ecological communities. We tested for patterns of codistribution between entomophilic nematodes and environmental variables, such as plant cover, proximity to water, presence of organic matter, elevation, ecosystem classification, and soil chemistry. We extracted nematodes from the soil samples and sequenced the 28s rDNA region of representative individuals from each sample. Nematode diversity was low; one species was broadly distributed, X others were more patchily distributed. No correlation was found between above ground factors or soil chemical properties (ppm phosphorous, percent organic matter, and percent soil moisture). We conclude that the distribution of entomophilic nematodes in this ecological confluence is to some degree stochastic and uncoupled from aboveground diversity or belowground soil conditions.

Katherine Harris, Brady Evans and Thomas Andros, Brigham Young University Life Sciences Metabolic diseases, such as obesity and diabetes, have become endemic and the need for better treatments is rising. Mutations in PAS kinase, a recently discovered sensory kinase, have been shown to cause Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY) in humans (Semplici et al., 2011). In addition, PAS kinase deficient mice display many phenotypes related to diabetes including resistance to weight gain, insulin insensitivity and triglyceride accumulation in response to a high-fat diet (Hao et al., 2007). Despite its importance in metabolism, little is known about the regulation of PAS kinase. PAS kinase consists of a sensory PAS domain that binds to and inhibits a protein kinase domain (Amezcua et al, 2002). We are currently engaged in several yeast genetic screens which will allow identification of regions in the full length PAS kinase that are essential for activation or for binding its substrates. The first screen is based on the finding that PAS kinase overexpression rescues a temperature-sensitive mutation in Tor2, the tor2(ts). We have isolated both point mutations and truncations in PAS kinase which alleviate the tor2(ts), suggesting they are hyperactive alleles. These mutations identify novel regions involved in PAS kinase regulation. Our second screen uses the yeast 2-hybrid to select for both point mutations and truncations that increase the ability of PAS kinase to bind its substrates. These mutations will help identify key regions of PAS kinase utilized in substrate recognition. Finally, we have identified regions of PAS kinase that are well-conserved throughout evolution and will compare these regions with the regions affected by our mutations. This study will be the first reported mutagenic analysis of PAS kinase. Analysis of these specific genetic regions will help elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation and function of PAS kinase, a key player in the development of metabolic disease.

Scott Newton, Brigham Young University Life Sciences The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is known to controls the processing of rewarding and addictive behaviors. The VTA contains dopamine (DA) cells, which release DA to downstream targets in response to rewarding stimuli, and GABA cells, which modulate DA cell activity. Therefore, both cell types are involved in associative reward learning. Synaptic plasticity plays an important role in adaptive reward signaling within the VTA. Endocannabinoids mediate or modulate synaptic plasticity at synapses within the reward circuit. However, the source of endocannabinoids within the VTA is not well understood. Therefore, our goal was to describe the distribution of endocannabinoid biosynthetic enzyme mRNA within VTA neurons. We extracted single VTA neurons via whole cell patch clamp and used single-cell real-time quantitative PCR to identify DA and GABA neurons based on mRNA expression of cell-type specific targets. Additionally, electrophysiological properties such as action potential frequency and sag potential amplitude were examined between the two cell types. Concurrent with established observations, slower firing frequencies were observed in DAergic neurons, however overlap was identified between these two cell types. VTA neurons were then probed for endocannabinoid/ biosynthetic enzyme mRNA, such as N-acyl-phosphatidylethanolamine-specific phospholipase D (NAPE- PLD), diacylglycerol lipase α (DAGLα), and 12-lipoxygenase. We also probed for type I metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) mRNA, as endocannabinoid synthesis requires mGluR activation. Our data demonstrate that endocannabinoid biosynthetic enzyme mRNA is expressed in both DAergic and GABAergic cells with concurrent expression of type I mGluRs. Next, to ensure mRNA expression was representative of protein content, slices were stained using immunohistochemistry for GAD67, DAGLα, NAPE-PLD and type I mGluRs. Positive labeling for these targets was observed in VTA neurons, supporting our RT-PCR results. Collectively, these data suggest DAergic and GABAergic cells of the VTA have the capability to produce endocannabinoids and potentially alter synaptic plasticity involved in reward and addiction.

Alex Hyer, University of Utah Life Sciences Geochemical reactions associated with the process known as serpentinization can generate copious quantities of organic carbon and chemical energy that support life, but these reactions also greatly increase the pH of serpentinization sites. High-pH environments hinder ATP production because the low proton concentrations at high pH can result in a reversed proton gradient across cell membranes. Organisms present at serpentinization sites are not well-characterized, and adaptations to their alkaliphilic lifestyle are unknown. Bacillus pseudofirmus OF4 was not isolated from serpentinization sites, but it is a well- studied alkaliphile that has several distinct adaptations for ATP production in high pH environments. Its sequence for ATP synthase, the molecular motor responsible for ATP generation in the cell, contains several distinctive mutations including an AXAXAXA motif that increases the C-ring stoichiometry, a P51XXE54XXP57 motif that creates a distinct kink in the outer helix of the C-subunit, and a V21 mutation granting rotamer freedom to E54. In this study, we search for similar mutations in metagenomic databases containing DNA sequences collected from serpentinization sites. Analysis of alignments from the programs BLAST and Exonerate indicate that V21 is present in several alignments, but P51 is found in only a single alignment from serpentinization sites. The AXAXAXA motif is non- existent in our databases, but the more common GXGXGXG motif is present with alanine replacements occurring periodically. In general, these results indicate that our DNA sequences from high-pH sites of serpentinization are more reminiscent of typical neutrophiles than of the alkaliphile B. pseudofirmus OF4. Therefore, serpentinization- adapted organisms may harbor other adaptations to high pH such as local pmf regulation. Future work will test for quantitative correlations between environmental pH measurements and the incidence of mutations in ATP synthase in order to identify novel adaptations to high pH in serpentinization-driven ecosystems.

Laine Anderson, Utah State University Life Sciences Plague is maintained in complex epizootic and enzootic transmission cycles involving rodents and their fleas. Ground squirrels, prairie dogs, woodrats and their associated fleas have been identified as essential for bacterial maintenance. Oropsylla montana is of major interest due to the fact that it is distributed throughout the western U.S. where most human plague cases occur. Evidence suggests this species is the primary vector of plague to humans. Data on the genetic variation within and among populations of potential vectors of Yersinia pestis, including O. montana, is very limited. O. montana fleas were previously collected from 35 geographically distinct field sites from Colorado and New Mexico on the east, to California and Oregon on the west. Genomic DNA was extracted and mitochondrial and nuclear genetic data was sequenced to estimate phylogenetic relationships. The data collected from these studies will expand our knowledge of natural O. montana populations. We anticipate the genetic data collected from these flea populations will provide information that will assist with understanding human plague risk. Such information will, in turn, provide potentially significant insights into the ecology and epidemiology of plague in this region and is likely to suggest new strategies for monitoring and preventing this disease.

Kyle Kener, Brigham Young University Life Sciences Diabetes is characterized by the inability to maintain a normal blood glucose level caused by decreased insulin due to β-cell loss, or decreased insulin sensitivity in the liver, muscle, and adipose tissue. While β-cell death is a hallmark of T1D, β-cells are also destroyed as T2D progresses. Death of β-cells is eventually a hallmark of both forms of diabetes. This results in decreased functional β-cell mass, which is defined by the ability to secrete insulin while maintaining β-cell number through proliferation or decreased apoptosis. To resolve the decreased β-cell level, much research is being done regarding β-cell proliferation to increase pancreatic β-cell mass. However, another important step in this process is protecting β-cells from apoptotic mediated β-cell death. The β-cell transcription factor Nkx6.1 is sufficient to induce β-cell proliferation and increase protection against apoptotic insults. The Nkx6.1 target gene VGF is critical for protection against apoptosis. Our data demonstrates that Nkx6.1 upregulates expression of c-Fos. Furthermore, we show that c- Fos is sufficient to induce expression of VGF. In addition, our data demonstrates that expression of c-Fos is sufficient to protect β-cells from apoptotic insults. Our data demonstrates that c-Fos is the link between the Nkx6.1 and VGF, and that it’s expression is sufficient to protect rat pancreatic β-cells from apoptosis.

Madalynne Fedoruk and Darian Carey, Dixie State University Life Sciences For at least three decades, infection with chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) has been a major cause of population decline in amphibians worldwide. This pathogen has been found in canyon tree frogs (Hyla arenicolor) in Zion National Park; previous studies suggested that population sizes decreased in frogs infected with the fungus; but our studies indicated that these frogs were resistant. We hypothesized that chytrid infection in the Zion Canyon tree frogs were not lethal, but other environmental factors caused populations to fluctuate. Canyon tree frogs were captured and swabbed in each of nine canyons in and around Zion National Park during the summer of 2014, and total frog populations were counted in each study canyon. The swabs were analyzed for the presence of chytrid DNA, and infection rates and population sizes were compared with data from 2011-2013. We found that the presence or absence of chytrid had no influence on population size in a particular canyon; population sizes were more dependent on precipitation. The Zion canyon tree frogs resist this normally lethal disease; how they evade it will be the goal of future studies.

Aimee Newsham, Dixie State University Life Sciences Millions of people are infected yearly with resistant pathogens, including MRSA (methicillin- resistant Staphylococcus aureus), a biofilm-forming pathogen that is often transferred to patients from contaminated surfaces. Therefore, improved methods to destroy biofilm- encapsulated pathogens or to prevent their initial formation are required. This research is focused on the development of a safe treatment against biofilms by integrating organic salts, or ionic liquids (ILs), into different surfaces. Textiles were integrated with ILs to prevent formation of biofilms/bacterial growth, and were also treated post-exposure to determine if the biofilms could be destroyed post-contamination. Effectiveness of newly designed ILs were tested via inhibition zone studies on LB agar plates, and post-treatment samples were analyzed via scanning electron microscopy for presence of bacteria. The bacteria tested included Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Escherichia coli. These microbes are similar to MRSA in that they form biofilms comprised of extracellular proteins, DNA and polysaccharides. Bacterial colonies encapsulate themselves with biofilms to provide protection from threats, including antibacterial drugs. By integrating ionic liquids into textiles, formation can be prevented by IL solvation and sequestering of the extracellular biofilm components, including the proteins and DNA. This research could have tremendous implications regarding defeating bacteria that are resistant to existing treatments due to biofilm encapsulation. Additionally, the results could lead to new antimicrobial textiles and new approaches to prevent adherence and growth resistant biofilm-encapsulated pathogens.

Jeff Mecham, Brigham Young University Life Sciences Breast cancer is diagnosed in one of every eight American women. But, a safe, effective treatment for cancer has yet to be developed. Resveratrol, a naturally occurring phenol found in the skin of grapes, shows promise to be a powerful but safe chemotherapeutic in a sea of otherwise damaging and toxic treatments. However, the mechanisms by which resveratrol operates are yet to be fully understood. Our project focuses on the mechanisms by which resveratrol induces cell death in breast cancer cells. We will focus on the mechanisms of the p53 pathway. The protein p53 operates as an internal housekeeper of the cell. When DNA is damaged, p53 assesses the damage and can cause cell death when needed to prevent the spread and replication of the damaged cells. Cancer cells often decrease the amount of p53, allowing them to replicate without hindrance. Cancer cells treated with resveratrol show an increase of the amount of intracellular p53 restoring the cells’ ability to induce cell death. Our project focuses on two apparent mechanisms by which this increase occurs: calcium signaling and the decrease of ubiquitination of P53. Ubiquitin is a protein used to mark other proteins for degradation. Other papers and studies have shown that resveratrol inhibits key players in the process of ubiquitinizing p53. We will focus on resveratrol’s effect on both the ubiquitinizing and deubiquitinizing machinery, including G3BP1, USP10, and MDM2. A better understanding of the mechanisms by which resveratrol leads to the targeted death of cancer cells is an important step towards better cancer treatments.

Jordan Tingey, Brigham Young University Life Sciences Diabetes is a serious condition that is increasing worldwide. Diabetes is characterized by lost β-cell mass and uncontrolled blood glucose levels. Pancreatic islet transplantation could be used to cure people with diabetes, however the lack of islets is a major obstacle to its use. If we could understand how to increase β-cell proliferation and glucose stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) then we could increase success in pancreatic islet transplants. Nkx6.1 induces β-cell proliferation. Nkx6.1 mediated proliferation is dependent on expression of Nr4a1 and Nr4a3. Nr4a1 and Nr4a3 are orphan nuclear receptors. It is currently unknown what ligand induces their activation. Previous reports have shown that free fatty acids induces expression of Nr4a1 and Nr4a3 in muscle, liver and adipose tissue. We show that culture of our INS-1 832/3 β -cell line in the presence of 0.2 mM palmitate induces expression of Nr4a nuclear receptors. Furthermore, culture with 0.2 mM palmitate results in increased β -cell proliferation. Finally, using INS-1 cells cultured with palmitate, and INS-1 cells deficient for either Nr4a1 or Nr4a3 we demonstrate the effect on mitochondrial respiration. Our data demonstrate that free fatty acids that are present during diabetes may induces expression and enhance activation of the Nr4a nuclear receptors, thus resulting in enhanced β -cell proliferation.

Alysa Edwards, University of Utah Life Sciences Percutaneous devices (PDs) constitute foreign materials that penetrate through the protective skin barrier to provide connection between internal and external environments. It has been previously shown that the periprosthetic tissue at the PD-skin interface is under a continuous state of wound healing, which often results in epidermal downgrowth. This continuous downgrowth is detrimental to the long-term survival of these devices. To date, there are no effective methodologies available to either prevent or quantify the degree of epidermal downgrowth indicating a need to find effective markers to document the healing response around these devices. In this study, periprosthetic tissues from a previous pig- back study were subjected to two different evaluations: (1) standard histology (HandE) and (2) immunohistochemical staining (IHC). Healing responses around PDs made with different material types were examined using cytokeratin 6 and collagen 4 to determine the degree of wound healing and granulation tissue maturity. Varying exposure time and concentration of stains, staining procedures were optimized. The interfacial tissues were then analyzed using either a photo or a confocal microscope. Preliminary data (Figure 1) indicated that there were noticeable differences in the periprosthetic regions between the material types used. The IHC data confirmed that the periprosthetic tissue is a hyper cellular region with a high density of blood vessels (collagen 4) and migrating keratinocytes. This data further confirmed the morphological differences observed between implant types using standard histology. Continued analysis will quantify the amount of collagen 4 within the periprosthetic tissue using imageJ software. Semi-quantitative data from each implant type will then be compared to predict biocompatibility. This research has demonstrated that IHC staining could be a potential tool for understanding the healing cascades around the percutaneous device.

Derek Munday, University of Utah Life Sciences Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are more prevalent in individuals with diet-induced obesity (DIO) and type two diabetes (T2DM). Examples of CVD include blood vessel dysfunction and systemic hypertension. Both of these pathologies are associated with a reduced ability of the inner lining of the blood vessel (the endothelium) to release a substance (nitric oxide) that causes the blood vessel to dilate. At present the mechanism whereby T2DM and DIO decrease the function of the enzyme (nitric oxide synthase; NOS) responsible for nitric oxide synthesis and release is unknown. Determining this mechanism is the current focus of our laboratory. Earlier we reported that the sphingolipid ceramide is elevated in cell models of lipotoxicity and in mice with DIO. Most recently in endothelial cells we showed that ceramide causes protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) to bind directly with NOS which disrupts the interactions among proteins that are necessary for optimal NOS function. My overall project was concerned with determining whether this mechanism is operational in mice with DIO. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that PP2A inhibition would preserve vascular protein- protein interactions required for optimal NOS enzyme function to an extent that arterial dysfunction and hypertension would not occur. Mice consumed a control (CON) or high fat (HF) diet for 12 weeks. During the last 2 weeks, cohorts of mice from each group were injected (IP) with saline (vehicle control) or the PP2A inhibitor LB1 (1.0 mg/kg/day). We observed that interactions among proteins required for optimal NOS enzyme function were disrupted in arteries from mice with DIO treated with saline but not with LB1. Furthermore, arterial dysfunction and hypertension existed in mice with DIO that received saline but not LB1. These results strongly suggest that PP2A activation contributes importantly to arterial dysfunction that exists in a pre-clinical model of DIO.

Scott Frodsham, Brigham Young University Life Sciences The goal of this study is to better understand if the genetic variants that strongly correlate with an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) also increase the risk of developing diseases that commonly co-occur with MS. This relationship can be determined by comparing genetic data of patients diagnosed exclusively with MS to the genetic data of patients diagnosed with both MS and one of its comorbid diseases. Many electronic medical records (EMR) collected at medical institutions are made available for research purposes. The EMRs of individuals contained in the database that will be used for this study are linked to corresponding genetic information. Data extraction via computer algorithm will be executed to identify patients who, because of their respective diagnoses, will provide meaningful data for analysis. The case group for individuals diagnosed with just MS and have available genetic information consists of 1003 individuals. Applying a basic algorithm (ICD-9 billing codes) to this group has shown preliminary data on patients with MS and one other comorbidity as follows: Hypertension, 192 patients; anxiety, 17 patients; hypothyroidism, 84 patients; Type 1 diabetes, 24 patients; inflammatory bowel disease, 12 patients; migraine, 116 patients; restless leg syndrome, 14 patients; rheumatoid arthritis, 28 patients. The algorithms will be modified to find and include more patients for analysis. We will enhance patient identification by including medications and text keyword searches of clinical notes in the search. Genetic analysis will be performed on the final dataset.

Brooke Linney, Brigham Young University Life Sciences Recombinant DNA technology has become one of the most critical fields of research relating to biotechnology. Recombinant DNA can be used to obtain certain proteins or examine the effects of genes that we engineer, with many applications in medical research. As part of our lab’s use for recombinant DNA, we create a gene sequence to code for a certain protein, and then use heat-shocking transformation to stimulate Escherichia coli bacterial cells to incorporate the mutated DNA from the surrounding solution. As the bacterial cells then grow, they replicate the mutated plasmid that we introduced. This DNA can later be extracted from the bacterial cells and used for further synthesis, usually protein synthesis in our lab. The process of transforming bacterial cells with mutated DNA is directly affected by plasmid size. Transformation efficiency is maximized with smaller plasmids. One of the DNA plasmids we use to introduce mutations is the pET9a vector. This plasmid is a sequence of 4,341 base pairs, but by reducing the length of the plasmid, we can increase transformation efficiency. By restricting the size of the pET9a vector, we will also be able to introduce larger foreign DNA sequences than we would with the original pET9a vector. This presentation will explore the different methods of reducing sequence length to optimize the pET9a vector, mainly focusing on site-directed mutagenesis coupled with the use of restriction enzymes.

Jason Ray, Benjamin Bitner, Kyle Kener, and Brent Jackson, Brigham Young University Life Sciences Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are increasing at an alarming rate. Both types of diabetes result in decreased functional β-cell mass, which is defined as the number of β-cells multiplied by their Glucose Stimulated Insulin Secretion rate. Decreased functional β-cell mass inhibits regulation of blood glucose levels. β-cells have an extremely low proliferation rate after adolescence, meaning the functional β-cell mass cannot naturally recover. Increasing functional β-cell mass could provide a cure for diabetes, either through pancreatic islet transplants or through enhancement of the endogenous β-cell population. Nkx6.1 has been shown to increase β-cell proliferation by inducing the nuclear receptors Nr4a.1 and Nr4a.3. We have shown that Nkx6.1 increases expression of the gene c-Fos, and that c-Fos induces expression of Nr4a1 and Nr4a3. Furthermore, we have shown that c-Fos is sufficient to induce proliferation of β-cells in the INS-1 832/3 cell line and in primary rat islets. Finally, using lenti-sh-c-Fos to create a stable c-Fos deficient stable cell line, we have demonstrated that Nkx6.1 mediated proliferation is modified by the lack of c-Fos. We propose a model by which c-Fos is a critical link between Nkx6.1 and Nr4a mediated β-cell proliferation.

Kari Norman, Utah State University Life Sciences The identification of important areas for biodiversity is essential for affective allocation of limited conservation resources. Since Myers’ seminal biodiversity hotspot paper in 2000, great strides have been made in more accurate global mapping. While global mapping identifies important patterns in large-scale biodiversity, conservation management rarely if ever occurs on the same scale. Finer scale mapping is therefore essential to make research applicable for on the ground decision-making. This project focuses on North America, a continent that holds no priority areas when included in a global analysis. Using citizen scientist data of multiple vertebrate and plant taxa, we created maps of species richness and significantly rare species. In addition, we created similar maps based on range map data and compared to determine if the two data types produced different biodiversity priority areas. The results of this study provide informative maps about the locations of species, their vulnerability, and how human action may impact them, as well as underline the importance of understanding the data behind their construction.

Tyler White, Kyle Jensen, Jacob Hatch, Trevor Wienclaw, Brian Hair, and Aaron Trent, Brigham Young University Life Sciences The bacterium Staphylococcus Aureus (SA) is a common commensal organism of the human nose and skin that can lead to diseases such as pneumonia, endocarditis, and meningitis. These SA infections are usually remedied via antibiotic treatment with methicillin. However, over the course of frequent exposure to various antibiotics, the bacteria have evolved resistance to methicillin to create resistant strains (MRSA) that is completely resistant to this drug and many others (leaving vancomycin as the last viable option). As a result, the need for an antibiotic alternative treatment for this infection is becoming increasingly crucial especially in hospitals where nosocomial transmission of the bacteria is prevalent. Phage are bacterial-specific viruses that have shown promise as anti- bacterial agents for human bacterial pathogens. Thus far, we have isolated 18 different samples of phage that lyse MRSA and 51 strains of S. Aureus (over 20 of which are MRSA). We are currently testing all phage samples against these bacterial strains to determine which phage possess a broad tropism to kill many SA/MRSA isolates. We are also conducting experiments to determine the relative lytic ability of each phage. Lytic phage with broad tropism and/or strong lytic ability will have their genomes sequenced in order to verify their respective novelty. Novel phage will be aggregated to form a highly virulent cocktail that can be used to treat a broad spectrum of SA and MRSA infections.

Brent Wright, Brigham Young University Life Sciences Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death among Americans and is a major health concern worldwide. Nearly one in four Americans aged 65 or older are diabetic. Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes both result in reduced functional β-cell mass, which regulates the storage and secretion of insulin. Increased functional β-cell mass could essentially cure diabetes. We have shown that Nkx6.1 overexpression induces proliferation of 2-month-old primary rat β-cells but fails to induce replication of 8-month-old primary β-cells, as measured by 3H- thymidine incorporation is age-dependent. Cell cycle activator and inhibitor mRNA levels were measured in young and aged untreated islets and islets transduced with AdCMV-BGal or AdCMV-Nkx6.1. This data demonstrated a significant increase in mRNA expression of cell cycle inhibitors p21 and p57 of the CIP/KIP family in young islets transduced with Nkx6.1. However, p21 and p57 mRNA showed no significant increase in aged islets. Cdk2 and cyclin E1 mRNA expression showed a similar trend for young and aged islets. The increased expression of Cdk2, a necessary factor for transition from G1 to S phase, could provide possible explanation for increased proliferation in young islets. Fluctuating mRNA levels of key cell cycle components in aged islets, provides a possible explanation for the decreased effectiveness of Nkx6.1 in inducing proliferation in aged islets.

Michael Hinckley and Cayden Westwood, Dixie State University Life Sciences Clinical laboratory standards state that urine samples should be tested within 2 hours of collection. If testing is delayed beyond that time frame the sample needs to be refrigerated to inhibit urea conversion to ammonia and an increase in urine pH. Here medical lab science students investigated whether urine samples left at room temperature for 48 hours resulted in significant increases in urine pH with concomitant microbial growth. Five clean-catch urine specimens were obtained and promptly tested for pH levels using a sterile pH meter (EcoTestr, Oakton Instruments). Samples were then aliquoted into capped and uncapped containers that were left at room temperature. Samples were tested at 0, 8, 20, 24, 32 and 48 hours. The pH values from the uncapped and capped samples from these time periods were analyzed using a paired two tailed t-test. Results indicated one sample out of five was significant (P = .05). Initial samples were gram stained, then read to determine the presence of bacteria. Specimens were cultured on 5% Sheep Blood and MacConkey agar plates. Plates were read for bacterial growth at 24 hours incubation and growth was identified on two samples. At 48 hours, both uncapped and capped urine cultures were plated again and three samples demonstrated bacterial growth the following day. Microbial testing identified normal urogenital flora and pathogenic bacteria. Urine with pathogenic bacteria demonstrated significant increases in pH, while additional cultures with bacterial growth also increased but not with significance. Future studies could employ a larger sample size from both healthy and diseased individuals. Furthermore, identification of microbes that will thrive in acidic and alkaline pH would be of interest.

Joshua Peterson, Brigham Young University Life Sciences Cancer kills millions of people every year. Cancer occurs when cells proliferate at an excessive rate and do not die as regularly functioning cells do. In cancer cells, the mechanism that initiates apoptosis (cell death) is inhibited. These cells eventually multiply to the point where they interfere with physiological function and cause death. Therefore, one of the aims of cancer research is to find treatments that initiate apoptosis in cancer cells. Many current chemotherapeutic (anti- cancer) treatments are toxic to all mitotic cells, rather than to cancer cells alone. Studies have shown that resveratrol, which is found in grapes, peanuts, and berries, facilitates apoptosis in cancer cells without causing apoptosis in regular cells. The apoptotic activity of resveratrol in tumor cells is dependent on a large, sustained increase in cytoplasmic calcium ion concentration. In properly functioning cells, plasma membrane Ca2+- ATPase (PMCA) pumps excess calcium from the cytosol to the extracellular space. PMCA prevents toxically high levels of calcium and maintains cytoplasmic calcium homeostasis. Using live cell microscopy to monitor intracellular calcium ion concentration, we explore the direct and indirect effects of resveratrol on PMCA activity in MDA-MB-231 (a breast cancer cell line).

Coral Gardner, Southern Utah University Life Sciences Sea spiders (pycnogonids) are a small group of exclusively marine arthropods which resemble terrestrial spiders. One family, the Colossendeidae can grow to a very large adult size, much larger than any other pycnogonid. Colossendeis colossea, the largest known species, has a leg span of up to 70 cm and is found in both very deep ocean waters and shallower water in the Antarctic. Since it has been very difficult to obtain and study live specimens of this species, very little is known of their biology and natural history. We have obtained a number of preserved specimens, all labeled C. colossea, from the United States National Museum and are asking the question, are all of these specimens actually C. colossea? To answer this question, the specimens are being compared to syntypes from the Museum of Comparative Zoology and also to the original type description (Wilson, 1881). Based on previous scientific papers on C. colossea and closely related species, the following are used to separate species within this genus: relative proportions of terminal segments of walking leg and of pedipalp; location and number of eyes and shape of eye tubercle; proboscis shape and orientation; number of spine rows on terminal segments of oviger and shape of oviger terminal claw; abdomen size and orientation. Based on these, our preliminary results demonstrate that some of the United States National Museum specimens are not C. colossea since they differ from the syntypes and type description in several of the above characteristics.

Morgan Christiansen, Taylor Hoybjerg, and Ryan Cook, Brigham Young University Life Sciences Asthma is a chronic allergic disorder manifest by airway restriction due to inflammation, bronchoconstriction, and increased respiratory mucous secretion. As many as 300 million people worldwide are affected by asthma. It is becoming increasingly prevalent, especially in countries experiencing urbanization and Westernization. Asthma is currently the most common chronic illness among children in the U.S. and the third leading cause of hospitalization for children aged 0 – 15 yrs. Reservoir dust collection and area air sampling are the two primary methods of measuring allergen levels in house dust. Allergen sensitization leading to asthma is thought to occur prior to age six while the immune system is still naïve. In the case of the dust mite allergen Der p1, the exposure window may be as early as age two. However, little evidence is available to establish a dose–response relationship between inhalation exposure and early immunological sensitization to allergens. Temperature and relative humidity play a major role in dust mite survival and proliferation—indoor humidity above 50-60% in arid environments has been shown to support dust mite populations. Evaporative “swamp” coolers add moisture to cool the air and this increased humidity can create favorable environments for dust mite survival. The purpose of this research is to quantify the levels of dust mite antigen in homes with air conditioners and homes with swamp coolers in Utah Valley to determine the role humidity plays in the abundance of dust mite antigens. We are testing the hypothesis that homes with swamp coolers exhibit higher levels of antigen due to heightened humidity levels.

Breanna Torgersen, Hailey Seaver, Abigail Gunn, Siena Davis, and Jim Johnston, Brigham Young University Life Sciences Exposure to radon gas (222Rn) is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. Because 222Rn is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas, it must be tested for to recognize its existence in a home. Studies show that many homeowners know little about radon, and do not test their homes as recommended. This study was undertaken to measure Utah County residents’ knowledge about radon, and to understand factors associated with radon testing. Utah County residents (N = 200) are currently being surveyed as they exit the vital records office at the Utah County Health Department (UCHD). Subjects complete a 51-item survey measuring demographics, radon knowledge, and social cognitive theory-based constructs related to radon testing. Preliminary data (n = 65) shows subjects’ mean radon knowledge score was 1.68 (33%, SD = 26.24%) on a 5-item test. There was a significant relationship between radon testing and self-efficacy (OR 1.76, 95% CI: 1.2–2.6, p = 0.007). Subjects with higher self-efficacy for radon testing were more likely to report that they had tested their home at least once. Data collection is still underway on this study, and all results reported here are preliminary.

Morgan Hughes, Utah State University Life Sciences Elk feeding stations are used throughout the Western US as a means to prevent depredation on private lands (Smith,2001). Many of the unintended effects of such artificial congregation remain unexamined. In many species, increased densities result in increased parasite loads (Dietz, 1988) adding physiological stress to individual animals and reducing the economic value of the animal to sportsmen (Choquette, 1956). Through laboratory analysis of fecal float samples, I will monitor changes in the number of parasite eggs for elk at Hardware Ranch feeding station over the winter season. This is to discover if there may be negative implications of feeding stations which should be further examined. Increased prevalence of parasites could also indicate an increased danger for transmission of other diseases which are a threat to domestic livestock (Williams, 2002).

Matthew Durrant and Dennis Eggett, Brigham Young University Life Sciences The drugs amantandine and rimantadine were previously used to treat influenza A infections in humans. In 2005, a mutation in the Influenza A M2 channel conferred resistance to these drugs, rendering them obsolete against treating influenza. The S31N amantadine-resistance mutation in the influenza A M2 sequence currently occurs more frequently in nature than the S31 wild type. Overcoming this mutation with new drug compounds is the focus of Influenza A M2 channel researchers. However, there are several other identified mutations that have also been shown to confer resistance to these drugs. These other mutations are thought to occur only in small frequencies in nature. A statistical analysis of 1,007 unique M2 protein sequences shows an enhanced frequency for the S31N/V27A dual amantidine resistant mutation in recent years, especially in swine, compared to expected frequencies based on the occurrence rates of individual mutations in wild type (S31) M2. The development of the S31N/V27A variant in the Midwestern US swine may be a harbinger of novel human strain development. At the same time, the different propensities for the V27A as compared to the V27T dual mutant may reflect differences in viral fitness or protein energetics, and this information could be exploited to focus drug development so as to reduce further drug insensitivity. V27A/S31N is a possible path forward for the evolution of M2, which may convey a new level of drug resistance and should receive attention in drug design.

Tielle Gallion, Brigham Young University Life Sciences Quality of life is highly dependent on how well the liver functions. Increases in liver-enzyme levels, such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) are associated with liver damage. A common treatment for Relapse-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) is Copaxone. This treatment has shown to be effective in reducing the number of relapses (periods of disability), but despite its effectiveness there is a prevalence of side effects, including increased liver enzyme activity. The aim of this pharmacogenetic project is to look at the effects of Copaxone, a drug therapy used in treating RRMS, on a patient’s liver-enzyme levels. I will determine if a correlation exists between increased liver levels and a specific genotype present in RRMS patients. I also plan to utilize medical record extraction. We have identified clinic visits in which 1,050 patients are recorded as currently using Copaxone by creating an algorithm to extract this data from electronic medical records (EMRs). This records are part of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center BioVU database. With this information, I have determined the period of time when patients are taking the drug. I accomplished this by manually calculating start and stop dates of Copaxone and created a table with information for each individual. Laboratory values are stored in a database, and we are currently extracting liver levels for ALT, AST, ALP, and GGT during the identified time frames for respective patients. Once extraction of lab values is complete, I will perform a linear regression analysis in R, a statistical computing program, to determine if any correlation exists between RRMS patient genotypes and liver-enzyme levels. Patients have previously been genotyped on the ImmunoChip, which contains 196,524 SNPs and has undergone stringent quality control.

Matz Indergard, Paul Spruell, and Fredrich Govedich, Southern Utah University Life Sciences Dispersal of organisms allows them to colonize new habitats and may buffer against extirpation due to localized catastrophic events. For organisms inhabiting ephemeral environments, dispersal can be challenging, as suitable habitat is often small, isolated spatially, and unpredictable temporally. Fairy shrimp are small invertebrates that occupy ephemeral freshwater pools filled by rainfall. Fairy shrimp produce resting (resistant) eggs when conditions are not favorable. Upon the return of supportive conditions, these eggs will then hatch. Little is known about the methods of dispersal used by fairy shrimp. However, it has been suggested that the resting eggs are the most likely life stage to provide dispersal opportunities. We examined two proposed methods of egg dispersal for fairy shrimp (Brachinecta sp) from a series of ephemeral pools just north of Three Peaks near Cedar City, Utah. We hypothesized that dispersal could be attributed to prevailing winds or water runoff, which would disperse eggs in a direction corresponding to prevailing wind patterns or to outflow following the surface gradient. To conduct our test we established three reference points equally spaced in the linearly arrayed series of pools. We then collected soil samples at randomly determined locations around these center points to form an overlapping radial grid. We then added purified water to each of our samples and hatched any shrimp eggs that were present in the sediment. We then mapped the overall concentrations of shrimp in our sampling area. Results to date do not reveal an obvious pattern with prevailing wind direction and dispersal.

Amanda Johnson, Rian Farr, and Autumn Woodfall, Dixie State University Life Sciences Autism affects approximately 1 in 68 children, and is one of the fastest growing developmental disorders in the United States. Studies suggest that autism may be a result of processes that occur during labor and delivery. Although Pitocin is widely used during labor and delivery in the United States, there is a paucity of research on the developmental outcomes of Pitocin use during labor and delivery in young children. Additionally, the components and metabolic fate that make up the compounded Pitocin are widely varied between suppliers. Samples of Pitocin were extracted to isolate the chemicals that comprised commercial available products. These were then analyzed by chemical and biological methods to determine the composition and chemical breakdown products. Understanding the components and breakdown of commercial Pitocin will help to determine the compounds potentially transferred to fetuses with Pitocin use during labor and delivery and the potential developmental outcome.

Alex Bischoff, Connor Dodge, Sarah Livingston, Sterling Rosqvist, Tomonori Baba, Kyle Larsen,

Coral Gardner and Don Long, Southern Utah University Life Sciences Irrigation of lawns and gardens in Cedar City, Utah is accomplished in two fundamentally different manners. In older neighborhoods, water is diverted from a natural stream (Coal Creek) into a series of canals and ditches for residential flood irrigation, compared to newer neighborhoods, which use sprinklers or similar devices from well water. The overall objective of this project is to better understand the chemical and biological changes that occur in irrigation and runoff waters in Cedar City. We are addressing the following three hypotheses. 1) Changes will be observed in water chemistry as surface water moves from Coal Creek through Cedar City. 2) Irrigation strategies influence water chemistry during periods of high precipitation. 3) Microbial community changes will be associated with differences in water chemistry. Water chemistry data including dissolved oxygen, conductivity, pH, alkalinity, dissolved organic matter and nitrate/nitrite were collected weekly at eight sites and during high precipitation events. Over the course of four months, there was a reduction in alkalinity levels among all sites. During high precipitation periods, nitrate was detected in newer neighborhoods. Dissolved oxygen and pH were at higher levels, while salinity and conductivity were lower in a reservoir site relative to irrigation canals. Future work will investigate bacterial community composition in Cedar City waters. We will isolate bacterial DNA from water samples and amplify the 16sRNA segment of DNA using the polymerase chain reaction. We will then correlate bacterial community composition to the water chemistry results described above.

Brianne Palmer, Utah State University Life Sciences Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) are declining in the interior west. Aspen are critical for the maintenance of wildlife habitat and are one of the few broadleaf trees in the western forest ecosystem. In western landscapes, it has recently been determined that a large proportion of aspen trees are triploid (three copies of each chromosome) and the remaining trees are diploid (two copies of each chromosomes). In this study we attempted to find differences in the physiology between the two cytotypes to determine future management strategies The size and density of stomata trees is likely to influence the survival of the species in water- and heat-stressed environments, since stomata control both photosynthesis rates and rates of water loss. Individuals with larger stomata or greater stomatal density may be efficient photosynthesizers but may be at risk for water loss during transpiration in environments with low precipitation and hot temperatures, such as those often seen during summers in the intermountain west. To determine if there is physiological differences between the cytotypes we measured the variation between stomatal sizes and densities between the cytotypes using cellulose acetate leaf impressions and microscope imagery. We collected leaves from twelve aspen stands (eight diploid and four triploid) representing the two cytotypes in Swan Flats and Fish Lake, Utah. From these analyses, we deduced that the variation in stomatal size and density is primarily among clones rather than among cytotypes. Further data collection and analyses will occur in the spring of 2015.

Austin Thompson and David Walton, Brigham Young University Life Sciences When we sustain a traumatic injury to the peripheral nervous system (PNS), our bodies elicit a series of responses to try to heal the acquired damage, including inflammation and repair processes. One of these responses is the increased expression of nerve growth factor receptor (NGFR), which helps to stimulate regeneration of the nerve. In a normal, healthy PNS, NGFR is rarely found. Following damage to the nerve, NGFR can be found in high levels around the damaged area. In our study, we are simulating traumatic injury to the sciatic nerve of rats in order to study the effects of regeneration after a local application of nerve growth factor (NGF). We are using both a physical crush model and a focal demyelination model to simulate the nerve injury. In the crush model, we are examining the effect of a crushed extracellular matrix (ECM) on degeneration and subsequent regeneration. In the focal demyelination model, we are investigating the effects of local demyelination with an intact ECM on degeneration and regeneration. In two additional experimental groups, we will perform an intraneural injection of NGF into the damaged sciatic nerve one week after the crush or a lysolecithin injection at the damaged site. We are examining the nerve both qualitatively using SEM and immunohistochemistry and quantitatively using electrophysiology. This allows us to understand the role of the ECM in regeneration, and its effect on the rate of regeneration. We hypothesize that the addition of NGF in combination with the increase of NGFR after injury will increase the rate of nerve regeneration. We expect regeneration to be faster in the focal demyelination model due to the presence of intact ECM than in the crush model where the ECM is damaged.

Simranvir Kaur, University of Utah Life Sciences The placenta is the major source of fetal serotonin during pregnancy, which is essential for fetal brain development. In Utah, approximately 13% of pregnant women take Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) to treat depression, the use of which has been correlated to significantly lower serotonin levels in cord blood for newborns. Studies suggest association between maternal SSRI use and adverse outcomes such as preterm birth, cognitive deficit, and disruption of serotonergic systems. However the effect of SSRIs on placental gene expression, serotonin synthesis and transport in the placenta, is not known. This study evaluates the impact of maternal SSRI use on placental gene expression and levels of serotonin in the cord blood using a nested case-control observational study model. Biological samples will be collected until 20 cases (women taking SSRIs during pregnancy) and 20 appropriately matched controls have been enrolled into the study. Participants also complete an online questionnaire to measure depression and anxiety levels as well as document any medication they have taken during pregnancy. Data and sample collection for this study is still in progress. Once enough samples have been collected for batch analysis, we will complete RT-PCR and ELISA, expected in Spring 2015. Upon complete data analysis, we expect this study will help in targeting mothers who are at risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes and further provide suggestions for intervention.

Matthew Durrant and Shuqing Xu, Brigham Young University Life Sciences Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology have recently sequenced the Nicotiana attenuata (wild tobacco) genome. This genome affords researchers new opportunities to understand the evolution of this organism. One method for analyzing the evolution of specific genes in a given genome is referred to as phylostratigraphy, which makes use of large-scale BLAST sequence similarity searches. I designed a pipeline using the python programming language that implements a phylostratigraphic analysis to estimate the evolutionary age of all ~35,000 genes belonging to N. attenuata. By analyzing the large amounts of data produced by this BLAST search, each gene was assigned an estimated age through comparing the taxonomies of all other organisms that share similar protein sequences. This effectively answers the question “How old is this gene?” for each gene in the entire N. attenuata genome. Previous studies have produced microarray data that tracks the transcriptomic response of N. attenuata to an herbivore attack. By comparing the newly gathered gene evolutionary age information with this previously gathered microarray data, several new insights into the molecular signaling pathways of N. attenuata were made. It was found that at 1 hour following an herbivore attack, the transcriptome of N. attenuata is evolutionarily young, suggesting that the initial response to an herbivore attack recruits genes that have evolved more recently in the organism’s evolutionary history. At 5 hours after attack, however, there is a distinct decrease in the overall age of the N. attenuata transcriptome, suggesting that the organism is recruiting more ancient genes that are used to reconfigure the transcriptome of the organism. Beyond 5 hours, the transcriptome is once again relatively young, and it is clear that it has indeed been reconfigured to provide a more herbivore-specific defense response. This demonstrates a novel, evolutionary approach to analyzing signaling pathways in plants.

Mercedes Sanford, Ryan Pearson, Kate Summers, and Brigid Crotty, Utah State University Education Deficits in complex syntax may not be apparent in stories that children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) create on their own. That is, in self-generated stories, complex syntactic forms are not obligatory in order to get the “message across.” However, in order to create complex stories, those that contain complicating actions and events, complex sentences are unavoidable. Although children with ASD have been said to have typical syntactic skills, it is possible, that this is due to a preference for syntactically simple utterances. The purpose of this study was to examine the syntactic complexity of stories created by 5 children with ASD as they participated in an intervention to improve their narrative skills. Stories were elicited once weekly from single scene picture prompts; recorded, transcribed and then coded for narrative proficiency and syntactic complexity. Results indicated that during baseline when children were not receiving instruction, their self-generated stories contained more simple sentences (75-100%) that contained one main verb as compared to complex sentences (0-25%) that contained two or more main verbs. Their narrative skills during baseline were judged to be below average. Over the course of instruction, children’s narrative skills and their use of complex sentences increased in a similar pattern. Individual differences were observed in the impact that this pattern of change had on children’s verbal fluency and grammaticality. These differences will be discussed in terms of a cognitive load hypothesis.

Kristine Jolley, Brigham Young University Education This research-in-progress examines the role of action research in teacher movement toward reform-based mathematics education during a sustained professional development initiative. This initiative, which provided coursework for the Utah Elementary Mathematics Endorsement (UEME), was implemented as a Brigham Young University/Alpine School District partnership collaboration. Although the UEME is offered at several sites across Utah as a major state professional development initiative in mathematics education, our collaboration was unique in incorporating action research as a major component. We pose and seek to answer the following question: What happens to teachers’ knowledge and theories regarding reform-based mathematics education as they engage in action research on a reform-based mathematics education practice of their choice in their classrooms? We have examined data collected from three cohorts of participants over the 4-year duration of the grant; each participant was involved for 2 years. Of the 53 participants, 12 (4 from each cohort) were purposefully selected according to pre- and post-measures of participants’ mathematics beliefs, knowledge, and practice as well as the dimensions of gender, ethnicity, professional assignment, and years of teaching experience. Qualitative analysis of relevant data from these participants is contributing to our understanding of the role of action research in teacher movement toward reform-based mathematics education. We are currently writing the analysis section of a manuscript based on these data. Recognition of the need for improvement in mathematics teaching and learning is not new, yet implementing the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics adds a new layer of challenge. This in-depth study of action research as a professional development practice should inform decision-making regarding the inclusion of action research in subsequent Endorsement programs as well as in other professional development initiatives. Further, this study should add its own unique contribution to the research conversation on a broader scale.

Amber Christensen, Weber State University Education Session Title Women and nutrition in the back country: How their calorie intake and calorie expenditure affect their body composition while backpacking Summary Abstract This study examines the factors that influence change in women’s body composition while backpacking through a mountainous terrain. To see the changes and why they happened, pre- and post- data was collected to measure body composition while participants filled out food logs to generate calorie intake and calorie expenditure. Full Abstract Women are becoming more frequent in the back country as the benefits of nature are becoming more known. Since men have dominated the outdoor world, there is more research conducted on men in the outdoors than there are on women. Nutrition research in the back country is also a new research subject that is gaining interest. Adding women, nutrition, and the back country for research is a topic that not many have touched on. Why is this all relevant and what could it mean? From looking into women and their nutrition in the back country, we can get an inside look at what changes their bodies are making and what factors are causing these changes. During this study women over the age of 18 enrolled in a National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) course of their choice went into the back country of Wyoming for thirty days. Before they left for the back country, pre-tests were recorded of their body composition using Weber State University’s Bod Pod which recorded lean muscle masses and body fat masses. During their expedition they were asked to keep a food log. Their leaders recorded their distance traveled during each day which was then calculated into energy expenditure. Upon returning, post-tests were recorded using the Bod Pod to compare results between before and after. Measurements and data have been collected on these women as well as their food logs. A conclusion will be made from analyzing the data from both Bod Pod measurements and the food and nutritional intake vs energy expenditure. Currently the process of entering this data is underway and will be completed within the coming months. Once this data is entered and analyzed with the results from the Bod Pod, conclusions can be made to determine if these women received adequate calorie intake to at least match calorie expenditure and what affects their nutrition intake had on changes to their body composition. Measurable Outcomes 1. Changes in body composition; lean muscle mass vs fat mass. 2. If calorie intake was sufficient to support calorie expenditure. 3. Nutritional value of the foods consumed and how they affected performance.

Raschelle Davis, Dixie State University Education The general populace in America has many misconceptions concerning space; this is due to lack of explicit, clear education. As children grow and observe the world around them they can create misconceptions about how things work. Research shows that this is particularly true when children are learning about space (Brunsell and Marcks, 2007). Many of these misconceptions can be corrected or avoided if the teacher has specific knowledge of the science content and how to teach it (Bulunuz and Jarrett, 2009). As a mother of a young boy I have been asked many questions about space and how it all works. I was never sure how I should answer those questions, since I did not fully understand how it worked myself. This past year I became involved in a NASA astronomy project in my teacher education program that teaches space science to students using a hands-on approach. During my first astronomy event I could not help but be amazed with the questions and the confusion that some of the students had about space while looking through the telescopes. This gave me the desire to learn more about space and teaching children about space. This research project explores children’s misconceptions about space, the problems with how children are currently being taught about space, and how students could more effectively be taught about space in order to reach clear understanding.

Jadyn Naylor, Michael Jensen, and Kevin Duncan, Utah State University Education From 2007-2008 the United States and the rest of the world suffered the largest economic downturn since the Great Depression, a period which has been termed the “Great Recession”. This occurred when, as a result of the subprime mortgage crisis, residential and business investment declined, leading to the collapse of several major financial institutions and significant disruption in the flow of credit to businesses and consumers. The contraction of GDP growth and record unemployment that followed inspired congress to pass TARP in 2008, authorizing the US government to purchase $700 billion worth of “troubled” assets. In 2009 President Obama passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to boost demand for goods and services and create jobs. On top of these legislative measures, the Federal Reserve lowered the federal funds rate to nearly zero, to increase liquidity, and gave banks $7.7 trillion in emergency loans to promote market trust. These responses have been said to reflect the federal government’s faith in Keynesian economic theories, theories which encourage government manipulation of currency and interest rates to counteract fluctuations in the economy. Trust in markets to correct themselves is all but nonexistent at the federal level. Whether or not this distrust is justified is the subject of our research. Previous research has found that economic freedom is positively correlated with increases in wealth, education, health, and political freedom. With our research we hope to determine if and how economic freedom affects the speed and robustness with which an economy recovers from economic downturns. Because the United States government is based upon the ideas of federalism, economic policies vary from state to state. We will use this property to our advantage for our research, comparing each state’s level of economic freedom to various measures of that state’s economic health. These data will be analyzed before, during, and after the recession. Our hypothesis is that states with higher economic freedom rankings recovered from the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008 more quickly than states with lower economic freedom scores. To determine the level of economic freedom in each state, we will be using the Economic Freedom of North America ratings published by the Fraser Institute each year. The Fraser Institute measures the extent to which the policies in each state promote or limit economic freedom based on the state’s size of government, tax code, and labor market restrictions. The Fraser Institute does this at both a sub-government level and an all-government level, giving each state two rankings. We will be testing our hypothesis against both rankings. Our methodology is to compare these rankings to several economic variables: Real GDP, percentage unemployment, and number of jobs created per capita. We will be using periodic measurements of these data across time, from 2006 – 2013. In examining the relationship between these variables and the Fraser Institute’s economic freedom rankings we expect to determine whether there is any correlation, at the state level, between economic freedom and quality of economic recovery, and if there is, to determine the nature of the correlation.

Logan Carter, Southern Utah University Education Many students learn best from hands on activities. I myself have had several experiences that have led to deeper understanding and growth. I have participated in many scientific extra-curricular activities such as the SUU Science and Engineering fair, The International Science and Engineering fair, and NCSSSMST conventions. Throughout all of these I gained a deeper understanding of scientific concepts. To test the hypothesis that learning in elementary school students may be affected positively by experiential learning because it engages them in whole brain learning, I have designed an engaged learning set of activities. I will test these activities on approximately twenty students between the ages of nine and eleven at North Elementary School. I will measure how students respond to a set of experiential learning activities through pre and post-activity assessments. For example, we will learn about parental care in amphibians, specifically Alytes spp. -the midwife toads. Male midwife toads wrap the fertilized eggs on their legg’s and care for them until they hatch. The activity would be to split the students into groups and making one group gives the other group the eggs (balloons on a string) to the other group to simulate caring for them. That group would then race to a finish line with the balloons around their legs, making sure not to break any of the eggs. The students with the most unbroken eggs would be awarded a prize for parental care. Experiential learning is an effective way for students to gain knowledge.

Nicolette Parrish, Dixie State University Education In a world where it seems nearly impossible for American Indian people to succeed, this presentation will draw upon first-hand interviews with terminal degree-holding American Indian women to demonstrate their successes, failures, resiliency, determination, and strengths in the face of an educational system that has historically been a source of pain and trauma for their communities. Indeed, the relationship between American Indians and academia has not always been a pleasant one. In 1879, Carlisle Indian School was the first Indian boarding school to be opened in the United States. The first boarding schools took American Indian children thousands of miles away from their homelands and forced them to live a foreign lifestyle. They were not allowed to speak their language or live by their traditional and cultural values. A new life was forced onto them and for years American Indians struggled to cope with that cultural and geographical dislocation. 135 years later, American Indians are still struggling to make a connection with the modern world and with their cultural world. It is rare to see an American Indian with a doctorate degree and it is even rarer for that person to be a woman. The quality of education and lack of resources on reservations often leaves American Indian children behind. For this reason, the aim of this project, to collect the oral histories from those that have overcome these obstacles in the face of so much adversity, is especially valuable.

Emily Kunz, Shea Long, Melany Reeder, and Brigid Crotty, Utah State University Education It has been proposed that asking a child to make up their own story, rather than to retell a story, is a more stringent test of narrative ability and may tax the linguistic system revealing weaknesses not apparent in less difficult contexts (eg., retelling stories). At least one study has shown that children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) experience content-form tradeoffs as they master narrative discourse (DeLucchi, Fricke, Kaye, Crotty and Gillam, 2015). The content-form tradeoff was observed when children with ASD with typical grammatical skills and poor narrative proficiency were shown to experience significant grammatical difficulties as they mastered narrative discourse. The purpose of this study was to determine whether content-form trade-offs were observed in stories children with ASD were asked to retell. Five children with ASD ranging in age from 9-12 were asked to retell stories weekly, during a baseline and narrative treatment period over the course of 12-16 weeks. The stories were scored for grammaticality and narrative proficiency. Story retells were observed to be grammatical whether elicited during baseline, early, mid or later treatment sessions. Children with lower language skills experienced times when they were completely unable to recall a story, particularly early on in instruction, although when they did, they experienced good grammatical accuracy. Children with higher language skills were always able to remember parts of the story and were highly grammatical. The story model (retell) may make it less difficult for students with ASD to focus on and remember content while also maintaining grammatical accuracy.