2020 Abstracts

Dearden, Heravi, Shen, Arslanian, Shrestha, Mismash, Tinsley, Pay (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Dearden, David (Brigham Young University, Chemistry)

Using the Spartan and Ion Molecular Spectrometry Suite (IMoS), we use the 3D modeling to predict stability and molecule favorability. Previously in our experimentation we have seen and proper capping of a host molecule with cucurbit[5]uril. This was different than cucurbit[6]uril as the cap in some cases didn't bond to all the upward oxygens because on the molecular symmetry, thus host enclosure was less favorable in cucurbit[6]uril than cucurbit[5]uril. We also observed in our lab the energy differences using the Extensible Computation Chemistry Environment (ECCE) of cucurbit[5]uril host transfer based on cap and host interactions. These studies show that cucurbit[5]uril with methane as a host is more favorable than outside the cavity. It also shows that methane inside cucurbit[5]uril is more favored than in decamethylcucurbit[5]uril. The studies using computational study will be testable using mass spectrometry, and we predict that the same behavior trend will show using other caps and hosts with cucurbit[5]uril and decamethylcucurbit[5]uril.

Lake, Alexander; Soboleva, Tatiana; Berreau, Lisa (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Berreau, Lisa (College of Science, Chemistry and Biochemistry)

Carbon Monoxide (CO) has been found to have a wide range of potential therapeutic effects. For example, low concentrations of CO have been shown to produce anti-inflammatory, anti-hypoxia, anti-proliferative, and anti-apoptotic effects, as well as vasodilation. CO-releasing molecules (CORMs), particularly those which release CO upon triggering with light in the visible range (photoCORMs), are of significant current interest for targeted CO delivery. Our laboratory is developing extended flavonols as highly tunable tunable photoCORMs. In this presentation, the synthesis, characterization, and CO release reactivity studies exploring the use of flavonol esters as CO delivery molecules will be presented.

Gee, Joshua; Clark, Daniel (Weber State University)
Faculty Advisor: Clark, Daniel (Weber State University, Microbiology)

Naegleria fowleri is a fatal human pathogenic free-living amoeba capable of infecting the human central nervous system. The causative agent of an extremely rare and fatal infection known as primary amoebic meningoencephalitis. N.fowleri is dangerously lethal in the fact that it rapidly deteriorates the brain and is most often diagnosed at death. It is believed that N.fowleri CD59-like complement regulatory protein is important in the infection process. The function of this protein has not been made clear, but is thought to play a protective role in resistance to lytic cell death caused by complement. Consequence of this function results in the amoeba becoming camouflaged by the host's native immune system. Inhibition of this protein is a novel step toward treatment of infection. An established and successful approach to treating infectious organisms is to use antibodies that target and interrupt the function of outer membrane proteins involved in the infection process.The goal of this research is to evaluate the hypothesis that human anti-CD59 antibodies can neutralize the amoeba's CD59-like protein in the presence of complement, which would normally lyse the cells. To do this, we established an experimental infection model using human cells (HeLa cervical cancer cells) grown to confluence in a monolayer, which are susceptible to infection by N. fowleri. This model mimics the natural infection of N. fowleri, and will provide a greater understanding of its pathogenesis.

Gomez, Nathaniel; Blumel, Daniel; Dueñas, Davis; Hazel, Matt; Yu, Ming* (Utah Valley University)
Faculty Advisor: Yu, Ming (Utah Valley University, Chemistry)

Kidney cancer in both men and women is among the top ten most common cancers, where the risk in men is estimated at 1:48, and women at 1:83. The issue with kidney disease is that it is difficult to accurately diagnose early-on. Methods of diagnosis that are currently established are expensive and highly invasive if at all accurate. Our research is focused on developing a fast, reliable and cost-effective method of diagnosing kidney disease by the use of fluorescent quantum dots (QDs). When mixed in a solution that contains protein biomarkers, QDs can act as biosensors because the protein alters their fluorescent properties. With QD biosensing, optimal conditions were discovered for the size of QDs and buffers used for detecting different protein biomarkers. The study provides empirical evidence that the alteration is distinguishable between healthy and cancerous levels of protein.

Da Silva, Adrik; Greenwald, Michael; Li, Yongtai; Manseau, Julianna; Woods, Ciera (Westminster College)
Faculty Advisor: Conwell, Peter (Westminster College, Physics); Kamenetzky, Julia (Westminster College, Physics)

The long jump is a track and field event that has a history dating back to 656 BC. Understably, much theorizing and experimenting has been done to find the ideal conditions necessary for an athlete to win such an event. This experiment tests the efficacy of such a theory by using an equation derived by Yongtai Li and comparing its calculations to measurements from a force sensor. Based on Newton's Second Law, the force and its respective range produced from a jump were analyzed and Yongtai's equation proved to be similar to the actual force due to the theoretical results overlapping with the measured results, but will be modified in the future to include angle and initial running velocity to provide an accurate measure of the force necessary to travel a certain horizontal distance. This equation and the ease of calculations will prove useful to long jumper's who attempt to defy the limits of the human body by breaking world records in their events

Keyes, E. Dalles; Alvey, Brighton; Smith, T. Andrew; Roberts, Andrew G. (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Roberts, Andrew G. (University of Utah, Chemistry)

Medicinal chemistry has long relied on the development of small molecule therapeutics to treat human disease. Small molecules affect change at the cellular level through specific interactions with biological targets (e.g. proteins), thereby eliciting a desired physiological response. Conversely, small molecules can also interact non-specifically, which can complicate their targeted application. In many cases, the use of peptide-based medicines can address this limitation. Like small molecules, peptide-therapeutics are designed to modulate specific biological processes. They often exhibit desirable activity at low concentrations as a result of high selectivity. Being comprised of natural amino acid building blocks, peptides offer an inherent advantage. Their natural breakdown leads to minimally toxic degradation products. However, premature and rapid degradation can result in failure to reach an established target in vivo. The cyclization of peptides has shown to be a promising strategy to address this problem. Inspired by Nature's wide collection of non-ribosomal peptides, specifically those comprising electron-rich aromatic moieties, we have developed a new chemical strategy for the synthesis of cyclic peptides. Our cyclization method leverages the inherent reactivity of the tyrosine (Tyr) phenol nucleus with electrophilic 1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione (TAD) moieties. Using this reaction, we can construct macrocyclic peptidomimetic scaffolds. Upon synthesizing an N4-substituted 1,2,4-triazolidine-3,5-dione (aka urazole) at the N-terminus of a solid-supported peptide, the urazole moiety is chemoselectively oxidized under mild conditions to generate a TAD derivative in situ. The TAD moiety reacts with the sidechain phenol nucleus of internally or terminally located Tyr residues and results in the formation of a macrocyclic peptide. We envision that this method will significantly augment current strategies for constructing macrocyclic peptides by enabling the facile synthesis of complex peptidomimetic scaffolds. Furthermore, this approach is anticipated to expand the repertoire of tools used for developing medicinally relevant peptides and, thus, may be suitable for preparing unique peptide-based therapeutics.

Sevy, Jonathon; Radebaugh, Jani; McDougall, Dylan; Kerber, Laura; Rabinovitch, Jason (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Radebaugh, Jani (Brigham Young University, Geology)

Yardangs are wind-carved linear ridges that are found selectively on Earth and extensively on Mars. The history of the morphologic development of yardangs is not well known. In the Puna high plateau of Argentina there are ignimbrite deposits, many of which have been eroded into yardang fields, commonly called fleets. Yarding fleets are evenly spaced forms, facing into the wind, that resemble a fleet of boats sailing. A prominent fleet, known as Campo de las Piedras Pomez (CCP) was studied to more fully understand their formation and morphology, including field research in December 2018 and 2019. Some physical characteristics looked at in the field included: dedos direction and lengths; heights and lengths of yardangs; structural features; wind and gravel ripple direction. In addition, relationships between yardang organization and structural control have been analyzed. The dedos on the fronts of yardangs averaged 4.0cm in length, while the reverse dedos were 3.3cm. From this it was determined that: Two wind directions, with one dominant, are present; Structural features can shape morphology of yardangs.

Parada, Michelle (Weber State University)
Faculty Advisor: Schramm, Katharina (Weber State University, Botany)

This research focuses on anti-tumor and the biotoxicity of A. millefollium (yarrow).
Yarrow is an interesting plant with a long history of medicinal uses, but very little has been done to research and prove the different beneficial properties claimed. There are two simple bench-top assays performed in this study, the potato disc assay which inoculates potato slices with Agrobacterium tumefaciens as well as different concentrations of yarrow extracts and assesses the resulting tumor formation and the brine shrimp toxicity assay to assess the LD-50 of the extracts. My results will indicate whether or not the native yarrow extracts inhibit or do not inhibit tumor formation and its toxicity level. The results of this research could lead to further studies of the phytochemicals in the plant to be used for cancer treatments.

Sundstrom, Rebecca; Jensen, Joseph B. (Utah Valley University)
Faculty Advisor: Jensen, Joseph (Utah Valley University, Physics)

We will measure Surface Brightness Fluctuations (SBF) in three galaxies (ESO137-G006, NGC 3309, and NGC 5128) using images from two cameras: the GeMS Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics (MCAO) system and the FLAMINGOS-2 (F-2) near-infrared imaging spectrograph, at the 8-meter Gemini South Telescope in Chile. To make an accurate measurement we need to first determine a photometric calibration for the MCAO system by comparing flux, or captured light, from both detectors. This is necessary because MCAO collects crisp, sharp images but omits some of the total incoming flux from the stars in the galaxies. F-2 takes broader images but includes more measurable flux. By finding the ratio of the flux collected by MCAO to the flux collected by F-2 we can take this "missing" light into account without compromising the crisp, sharp resolution MCAO provides.

Timothy P. McFadden; Chideraa I. Nwachukwu; Andrew G. Roberts (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Roberts, Andrew (College of Science, Chemistry)

Carbon—nitrogen (C—N) bonds are easy to form relative to carbon—carbon (C—C) bonds due to reliable and predictable reactions. Previous methods to form a C—C bond from a C—N bond require four independent chemical reactions. We report a new method to achieve the desired transformation in one flask. Optimization of this method is ongoing; ultimately, we hope to define a new strategy for accessing future C—C bonds with C—N bonds.

Schmidt, Jack; Leonard, Christina; Jukes, Thomas (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Schmidt, Jack (S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources, Watershed Sciences Department)

Abstract: Western rivers are impounded by a suite of water resource infrastructure that supports human life and has fueled western development. These rivers also support a unique ecosystem for endemic endangered species, whose habitat has been degraded by water resource development that has disrupted the flow and sediment delivered to the system. Channel morphology, and within-channel habitat are the consequence of sediment deposition and erosion. One way to measure the amount of sediment deposition or erosion is by measuring the amount of sediment transported into and out of a river segment to calculate the mass-sediment budget. Such analyses, however, cannot identify the locations within the river segment where aggradation or degradation has occurred, or predict how habitat has changed. In this study, we aim to correlate field-based measurements of channel and habitat change with flux-based sediment budgets. We propose that in order to predict detailed channel response and habitat change, flux-based sediment budgets must be partitioned by grain size class, because different grain size classes are eroded and deposited in different parts of the channel. As part of this study, we have collected samples and observations throughout the study area to analyze and characterize the grain size distribution of the channel and floodplain in units identified as eroding or aggrading. By obtaining information about where different grain size classes of sediment are deposited and eroded, we are working to link the partitioned mass-sediment budget to channel change to understand where and why channel change occurs.

Backman, Natalia; Bell, Mckenzie; Gostick, Anthony; Kiggins, Kendrick; Koller, Christopher; Naylor, Emily; Porter, Tyrel; Rawlings, Bree; Domyan, Eric, Ph.D (Utah Valley University)
Faculty Advisor: Domyan, Eric (Utah Valley University, Biology/Biotechnology)

The domesticated rock pigeon has been the subject of selective breeding for hounds of years and so displays an immense variety of phenotypes. This variety provides opportunities to further understand the genetic basis of phenotypic evolution. Pigmentation of pigeon feathers is controlled by multiple alleles at different loci, which influences the type and amount of melanin deposited in the feathers. A specific phenotype, known as "recessive red", consists of distinctly red plumage and is caused by a mutation that greatly reduces the expression of the gene Sox10. This gene encodes a transcription factor, known to play a key role in melanocyte maturation and proliferation. Sox10 likely regulates the transcription of multiple downstream genes but the identities of these genes are largely unknown. To identify downstream targets of Sox10, we compared the transcriptomes of regenerating feathers from wild-type and recessive red birds to identify genes that had different expression levels between the two groups. We identified 46 genes that are expressed at different levels between wild-type and recessive red birds, and thus are potential targets of Sox101.
While several of the target genes have known roles in pigmentation, the role that many of the targets play in pigmentation has not been studied, making them interesting candidates for further investigation. Using CRISPR-Cas9, we introduced mutations in candidate genes that were chosen because of their unusually low expression in recessive red birds due to the mutation of Sox10. By observing the effects of the mutated genes, we can determine their roles in pigmentation. The genes that we are mutagenizing in our research is Tbx2, Arsg, and Abcb5 to see if they play a role in the melanin synthesis pathway.

Backman, Natalia; Ogden, Heath (Utah Valley University)
Faculty Advisor: Ogden, Heath (Utah Valley University, Biology)

The Family Baetidae, is in the order Ephemeroptera, also commonly known as Mayflies. The first baetids were described around 1815 by Leach, and since there are more than 900 species have been described. The family Baetidae is an important group of mayflies because of their position on the mayfly tree of life in that they are a key to understanding evolutionary trends, such as the origin of wings and flight. Taxon sampling for this study consisted of over 100 taxa, representing ??? genera, from lineages distributed geographically worldwide, except Antarctica. Two main datasets were constructed. The genes 12s, 16s, H3, 18s, 28s and CO1 were used as part of a traditional dataset. Targeted capture sequencing was used to generate a phylogenomic dataset, consisting of over 400 loci. Trees were reconstructed from the aligned datasets, and the results were compared. The phylogenomic data resulted in a much more resolved topology.

Meyr, Katherine (Weber State University)
Faculty Advisor: Matyjasik, Marek (Science, Earth and Environmental Sciences)

The impacts of water quality is among the most highly contested aspects of mining projects. Despite the protection of the majority of land in British Columbia, evidence of the negative environmental impacts of past and present mining activities may be found on the most sacred of lands. Evaluated water samples taken from multiple sites in First Nation territory show evidence of mining contamination, with streams following the sacred Tlingit trail showing the highest percentage of heavy metals. Though British Columbia's regulations have been extensive, mines abandoned before these regulations were put into place may be a source of pollution among current wildlife and vegetation. Abandoned mining sites in British Columbia must be thoroughly evaluated in order to understand the damage that has been done both culturally and environmentally.

Durrant, Bianca; Bennion, Sean; Shipp, Dustin (Utah Valley University)
Faculty Advisor: Shipp, Dustin (Utah Valley University, Physics)

determine bacteria is growing the bacteria on agar and then identify the bacteria via the API system (analytical profile index). In some medical cases, 24 hours is too long to wait, especially if a patient needs antibiotics. Raman spectroscopy uses laser light to excite a spectrum specific to each molecule. This molecular specificity enables Raman spectroscopy to identify the species of bacteria without a lengthy growth period. Raman spectroscopy is non invasive and only needs one bacterium for detection. It is therefore faster than growing bacteria and identifying via the API system.

From other research groups we know that Raman spectroscopy is able to classify bacteria, albeit with limited breadth of bacterial types. The next step is to implement imaging techniques to make the identification even faster, so that those techniques can be used in hospitals to determine pathological bacteria, so that the treatment can be given faster. Furthermore, when a hospital is unsure whether the patient has a disease caused by bacteria usually they start treating the patient with antibiotics in case they are infected. If identification only take a few hours instead of two to three days, doctors would only prescribe antibiotics when necessary, thus decrease the risk of multiresistant bacteria.

Breitenbach, Makenzie; Lyman, Seth; Tran, Huy (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Lyman, Seth (College of Science, Chemistry and Biochemistry Department); Tran, Huy (College of Science, Chemistry and Biochemistry Department)

The Uintah Basin is a rural area in Northeast Utah where the oil and gas industry is prominent. During multi-day temperature inversions that occur during some winters, locally-emitted air pollutants, particularly from the oil and gas industry, react in the atmosphere to produce ozone. While it is well known that oxides of nitrogen and organic compounds are the main precursors to ozone formation, significant gaps exist in understanding of the sources and composition of organics emitted from various oil and gas-related sources. Better understanding of organic compound emissions will allow regulators and industry to make better decisions to reduce ozone-forming pollution to protect the health of residents and workers in the Uintah Basin.

During the winter of 2018-2019, we are deploying 14 remote measurement stations that collect air samples in silonite-coated canisters (for non-methane hydrocarbons and light alcohols) and on 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine-coated sorbent cartridges (for carbonyls). We are analyzing the canister and cartridge samples in our laboratory via gas and liquid chromatography, respectively, to determine concentrations of a suite of 76 organic compounds, all of which are known to be involved in the formation of wintertime ozone in the Uintah Basin. We position these stations in different configurations around the Basin to characterize certain facility types and to characterize organic compound concentrations across the entire Basin. For this presentation, we will use meteorological data and trajectory modeling to determine how facilities in the vicinity of our measurement stations impacted ambient organic compound concentrations and speciation. Later in 2019-20, we will use the 2014 Utah Air Agencies Oil and Gas Emissions Inventory with a three-dimensional photochemical model (WRF-CMAQ) to simulate air concentrations of the measured compounds. We will compare modeled and measured results to determine how well the inventory and model simulate actual ozone precursor concentrations.

Craig, Michael W. ; Valle, Hugo E. (Weber State University)
Faculty Advisor: Valle, Hugo (Weber State University, Computer Science)

Project atmosniffer has provided me a unique opportunity to work with existing code, updating and maintaining both software and hardware.

Project atmosniffer's purpose is to develop a scientific and comercial air-quality monitoring and recording tool. This project has undergone many transformations over the years since its birth and is continuing to be improved during the period of my contributions.

Most of the learning and developing was self-driven with guidance and learning tools provided by Dr. Valle and the university (pluralsight). The atmosniffer has changed much of its hardware, using a new microprocesser, a new gas board, a new OLED screen, and new drivers. Learning to code to hardware, update legacy code, and reading/coding how each module communicates with each other has been very fascinating.

More details covering the development of Project Atmosniffer will be presented.