Architecture
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The Relationship Among Attachment Styles and Sexual Satisfaction and Frequency
Authors: Brandie Statham, Rebekah Hakala. Mentors: Todd Spencer. Insitution: Utah Valley University. The link between attachment style and sexual intercourse frequency is critical in determining an individual's sexual satisfaction in a romantic relationship. Secure, anxious, avoidant, and disordered attachment types all have a substantial impact on how people approach sexual intimacy (Mark, Vowels, & Murray, 2018). Individuals who are securely attached tend to have better levels of sexual satisfaction because they can openly communicate their desires and needs, creating a positive and supportive sexual environment. Anxiously connected people, on the other hand, may experience swings in sexual satisfaction as a result of their reliance on sexual connection for reassurance. Individuals who prioritize physical proximity over emotional intimacy may have difficulty forming deep emotional relationships, affecting their overall sexual satisfaction. Disorganized attachment patterns can result in complex and occasionally contradictory experiences (Mark, Vowels, & Murray, 2018).. They may want both closeness and distance, which can create confusion. This attachment style's unpredictability can have an impact on both frequency and satisfaction.The purpose of the present study is to examine the relationship among attachment styles and sexual satisfaction, and sexual frequency. Our sample consists of 411 married individuals. Participants completed The Relationship Questionnaire (RQ; Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991), Sexual Frequency, and Sexual Satisfaction Index (CSI-4; Funk & Rogge, 2000). Results of the one way Anova were significant F (3,407) = 8.21, p=<.001. There was a significant difference in levels of sexual satisfaction among attachment styles. Secure attachment (M=32.95, SD = 8.23), fearful attachment (M=29.40, SD = 9.80), preoccupied (M=29.54, SD = 9.82), and dismissing (M = 30.77, SD = 9.97). Results of the Bonferroni Post-hoc analysis indicated a significantly higher levels of couple satisfaction than fearful and dismissing attachment styles (p.<.001). There was no significant difference in the amount of frequency of sex and attachment style. Results provide empirical support that secure attachment styles tend to be beneficial for sexual satisfaction despite having no statistical difference in sexual frequency.
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What if WASP-39b was Twice as Hot?
Authors: Brian Seamons. Mentors: . Insitution: Utah Valley University. We compare the atmospheric compositions of WASP-39b and WASP-178b, as well as the different observing modes and analysis techniques for both observations. While both objects are gas giants, WASP-178b’s short-period orbit around its A-type host star leads to an equilibrium temperature more than double that of WASP-39b. WASP-39b was the one of the first exoplanets to be studied by JWST, and subsequently gave astronomers the first insights into JWST’s unprecedented exoplanet characterization capabilities. The data was collected using the NIRSpec PRISM observing mode, which provides broad-wavelength observations typically between 0.5 and 5.5 microns. Our intent was to use the publicly released data files and independently confirm the findings of the Early Release Science team while simultaneously validating our own data analysis pipeline. Our custom methods produced satisfactory results, ultimately yielding a transmission spectra that was consistent with that of the ERS team. Following this, we turned our attention to our second planet, WASP-178b, using data from the Cycle 1 program JWST-GO- 2055 (PI Lothringer). Using the G395H NIRSpec observing mode, which provides narrower wavelength coverage (~3-5 microns) with higher-resolution (R~3000), we constrained atmospheric conditions and molecular abundances, specifically H2O and CO. Though these two gas giants are quite unique, we present the results of each study side-by-side to highlight similarities and differences of both planetary atmospheric composition and the JWST observation modes which provided the data.
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How the Media Portrays Physical Disabilities
Authors: Jessica Anderson. Mentors: Jennifer Kohler. Insitution: Utah Tech University. Social media, television, and Cinema all play key roles in shaping our perception of reality. This study examines stigmas and stereotypes of disabilities that are perpetuated through the media specifically through these three sources. It also examines the presence of inspiration porn and the proper representation of physical disabilities in these media sources.
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The Jazz Standard as Archive in Utah Jazz Performance
Authors: Jens Watts. Mentors: Brian Harker. Insitution: Brigham Young University. What is a standard at its essence? Wren 2022 suggests that in jazz scholarship, undue emphasis has been placed on the analysis of the standard as a work. Instead, the standard should be understood as an archive: the sum of all relationships between different iterations of the work. I posit that further work in this mode will help to correct an antiquated philosophy of music existing on a page and direct further attention to the act of ‘musicking,’ as promoted by Christopher Small in his 1998 book.This article examines three jazz standards: “On the Sunny Side of the Street,” “Autumn Leaves,” and “On Green Dolphin Street.” These standards were chosen because of their varying interpretations in harmony and melody. My analysis of these standards is threefold: theoretical, historical, and ethnographic. I begin with an analysis of the published sheet music for each of these standards, examining unique features of their pitch content. From there, I depart to a historical analysis, examining changes in the performance of the tune over time.The bulk of my research reports on an ethnography of jazz musicians on the Utah scene. My interlocutors were asked to play the standards in question, which I recorded. I examine common features of their interpretations, as well as salient differences. Some of their thoughts on these standards in particular and the practice of learning standards in general are also presented. The resulting collection of information on my multidisciplinary approach to analyzing standards reveals important aspects of the epistemology of jazz music and the ontology of standards themselves.
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The Relationship Between Economic Sector & Job Satisfaction
Authors: Kelsey Grimshaw. Mentors: Joshua Price. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Job satisfaction is a multidimensional state resulting from one’s job and their responses to it. Job satisfaction contains eight facets: recognition, working conditions, management, pay, promotions, coworkers, supervision, and the job itself. The concept of economic sectors was first introduced by economist Colin Clark. He suggested industries could be separated into categories. These categories would be determined based on significantly different characteristics of industries. There are currently five economic sectors: primary (raw materials), secondary (manufacturing), tertiary (service), quaternary (information services), and quinary (public service). Data on occupation and job satisfaction from the General Social Survey were used to build a multivariate linear regression. Results are forthcoming.
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Pertenece a los Estados Unidos: The Benefits of a Bilingual Education in the United States
Authors: Beckham Trigo. Mentors: Johnathan Chidester. Insitution: Southern Utah University. The lack of resources, funding, and federal recognition is leading to the deficit in K-12 Education around the United States compared to other first world countries with developed education systems. For years the United States has been hammered on the fact that the country doesn't provide every child with bilingual study opportunities. European countries such as Spain, Italy, Germany, and France all offer bilingual studies and are making them required for students to take. These are key elements in a successful education system and offer so many more opportunities and benefits than the standard single language system we have placed in our K-12 Schools. Statistically the change to a new bilingual research would greatly benefit our country and would help decrease political divisiveness and bring an extent of unity among several ethnic groups in the country. The country continues to grow through immigration where the United States is projected to become the top Spanish speaking country in the world with 140 million speakers. However, the United States is not preparing for this and investing in its future students and citizens. Research has proven time and time again that there are so many benefits to a bilingual education, some of these including an increase in brain activity, and power in children, an academic advantage, and competition in the job market. The United States has deeply oppressed this system due to systematic racism, and political motivation. However, the United States has no established language in which it defines itself even though the majority speak English. The United States is also a world power with a lot of interaction with foreign countries. This in itself is going to be very problematic for the future of the United States as the world climate changes. It needs leaders to represent itself in many other languages, not just in the English language. The contrary to this research is that the language is ineffective to learning, makes it harder for students to assimilate into the United States culture, and spend too much time learning the second language. However, none of these statements can be statistically backed and solely based on a few percent of people's personal experience. Overall the research time and time again directs the United States to the bilingual education system, but when will it be adopted?
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Vocabulary Intervention: Supporting English Language Learners in Vocabulary Development
Authors: Allie Baumgartner. Mentors: Chizu Matsubara. Insitution: Utah Tech University. • ABSTRACT: A student’s understanding and comprehension of content specific vocabulary is essential for their learning. However, Multilingual Learners (MLs) can struggle to understand what they are learning when they do not have knowledge of content specific vocabulary. This research focuses on the implementation of strategies into a small group reading lesson. These strategies will work towards increasing students’ understanding of content specific vocabulary words, in the areas of social studies and science. By using the methodology of action research, the research will implement research-based strategies for strengthening vocabulary for students learning English as a target language. This research will be conducted over a six-week time frame, with two focus students that are multilingual learners. The research-based word-learning strategies will be incorporated into the small group consisting of four students, to support their learning. Word-learning strategies are strategies that assist students to ascertain the meanings of words that are unfamiliar to them. Students can then apply these strategies to learning of unfamiliar words that are included in the content reading that they do in another small group. The word-learning strategies will support the students in learning, and understanding the meaning of content specific vocabulary words.
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Tin Foil Prophets: The Moral Worlds of Conspiracy and Apocalypse
Authors: Soren Pearce. Mentors: Jacob Hickman. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Conversations about conspiracy theories have become prevalent in contemporary Western society, reaching through all levels of private, academic, and governmental discourse. Part of this discourse revolves around the question of what exactly conspiracy theories are and how they occur within a population; much of the recent academic treatment of conspiracy theories identifies them as a kind of propaganda whose purpose is to promote particular political agendas, especially those with apocalyptic concerns (Cassam 2019). While conspiracy theories certainly have been and continue to be used to further certain political aims, this understanding of them as totally propaganda provides only a narrow insight that fails to capture the scope of how conspiracy theories occur in the real world and how they are experienced by the people who believe in them. Philosophy and political theory can only be so informative, and they lack an ethnographic perspective to instruct on the lived reality of conspiracy theories (Hickman & Webster 2018). During my fieldwork in Belfast, Northern Ireland, I conducted ethnographic research with a group of people who could easily and accurately be labeled conspiracy theorists; my experiences with them provide insight into how conspiracy theories actually operate in the lives of living people. Contrary to popular claims, conspiracy theories—especially those that deal with the end of the world as we know it—are not experienced as primarily political phenomena. Instead, they are experienced as religious truths, and the millenarian activism that often surrounds them is enacted because of a conviction of personal obligation to the truth. Framing conspiracy theories as mere propaganda or dismissing them as the effects of cognitive dissonance incorrectly discounts the empirical reality of these beliefs for the people who have them.
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Music and Recall: A study of the impacts of Music on Performance
Authors: Cari Monson, Julie Pynn. Mentors: Julie Pynn. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Background music refers to music that is played while the listener’s attention is focused on another task (Radocy & Boyle, 1988). Research suggests that the effect of background music on performance during a cognitive task showed improvements in episodic memory. Music activates the limbic system which is involved in controlling memory(e.g., Blood et al., 1999). The purpose of this study is to predict the relationship between music and performance on a cognitive task. It is hypothesized that students who listen to white noise while studying a text will recall more information, than those listening to classical music or pop music. In particular, the lyrics in pop music will be especially distracting(Cheah, 2022). Studying the relationship between music and performance on a cognitive task has implications for understanding memory. Results are forth coming
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Evolution of TETR/TETO system toward orthogonal transcriptional repression
Authors: Alexa N Gormick, Adam M Zahm, Justin G English. Mentors: Justin G English. Insitution: University of Utah. Recent advancements in gene therapy have pushed towards the prevention and treatment of a diverse spectrum of disorders and diseases that are caused by misregulation of gene expression programs and their transcriptional regulators. However, the profoundness of the field means that much of the mechanisms and effects of regulation are unknown and understudied. Here, we explore the limits of flexible exogenous gene expression and its potential use in optimizing efficacy and specificity in gene therapy interventions while minimizing the possible associated risks. This is made possible by exploiting the Tet-On system of inducible transcriptional regulation, which allows the expression of any target gene to be reversibly, specifically, and differentially controlled. In this system, the tetracycline repressor (TetR) binds the tetracycline operator (TetO), impeding transcription of any downstream gene embedded by the researcher; tetracycline dosing causes TetR to adopt a new conformation that removes it from TetO, inducing gene expression on command (Das et al., 2016). Because of the diverse utility of this system, we are in pursuit of developing novel TetR-TetO orthologous pairs that do not interfere with this wild-type circuit and can be used to regulate gene expression in parallel. As a first step to generating TetR-TetO orthologs, we mapped the usage of TetO by TetR in a massively parallel reporter assay (MPRA) by engineering an extensive library of mutant TetOs and quantified the resulting range of TetR regulation through reporter gene expression. From this screen, we identified candidate TetO mutants to direct the evolution of the wild-type TetR towards complementary states to those TetO mutant sequences. Our preliminary findings indicate that the engineering of distinct synthetic expression cassettes based on the TetR-TetO operon is feasible. These novel tools may ultimately allow us to build a synthetic genetic circuit to model regulatory feedback loops that can help discover malfunctions in cell growth, reproduction, and cycling that can arise from genetic disorders and can lead to disease.1. Das, A. T., Tenenbaum, L., & Berkhout, B. (2016). Tet-On Systems For Doxycycline-inducible Gene Expression. Current Gene Therapy, 16(3), 156–167. https://doi.org/10.2174/1566523216666160524144041
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Lysine Methyltransferase SETD7 Methylates Two Novel Residues on Histone H3
Authors: Braxton Bird. Mentors: Sarah Franklin. Insitution: University of Utah. Heart disease ends the lives of nearly 700,000 people each year and has been the leading cause of death in the United States since 1950. Around this time researchers discovered that some modifications involving our genetic code could be altered to affect gene expression but leaves the DNA intact, which was later termed epigenetics. Today we’ve discovered that these epigenetic modifications, including post translational modifications (PTMS), regulate genes linked to cardiovascular disease. We recently examined the histone lysine methyltransferase SETD7, which is most prominently known for its ability to methylate histone H3K4. SETD7’s expression is upregulated in multiple types of heart disease in both humans and mice and is essential for cardiomyocyte differentiation in embryonic development. In addition to its ability to methylated H3K4, SETD7 has been shown to methylate 8 other histone residues. To further characterize the histone residues methylated by SETD7, we carried out an unbiased analysis of lysine residues methylated by SETD7 using an in vitro methyltransferase assay coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. We hypothesized that SETD7 may modify additional sites than those that have previously been identified. Our analysis determined that SETD7 monomethylates two novel residues on histone H3: lysine 36 (K36) and lysine 122 (K122). These sites of modification were also confirmed by western blotting for site specific antibodies to these methylation marks. Although our understanding of both these residues is limited, we do know that K36 methylation is linked to DNA replication and genomic stability while K122 methylation is downregulated in drug-resistant MCF-7/ADR cancer cells. These two novel methylation sites suggest that this lysine methyltransferase plays a more complex role in regulating epigenetic modifications and gene expression than previously recognized. Although the identification of this new enzymatic activity for SETD7 is important for understanding the dynamic function of methyltransferases, additional studies will be necessary to fully elucidate the role of SETD7 in cardiac physiology and gene regulation.
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Utilizing Genomic and Metabolic Data to Investigate the Evolutionary Ecology of Ant-Farmed Fungi
Authors: America Cox, Kendra Autumn , Bryn Dentinger. Mentors: Bryn Dentinger. Insitution: University of Utah. Neotropical ants of the Attini tribe evolved the innate ability to farm fungi. Agaricomycetidae contains two clades that are cultivated by ants: the lepiotaceous and pterulaceous cultivars. However, there are free-living relatives phylogenetically distributed throughout each cultivar clade. Comparison between the free-living relatives and attine system cultivars may identify the evolutionary differences caused by, or initially enabling, agricultural symbiosis. Our research compares free-living relatives and cultivars through genomic and metabolic analysis. Attines undertake significant cultivar maintenance through the regulation of pathogenic contamination of their fungal “gardens” as well as the provision of specific growth substrates, including insect frass. Noting the apparently specialized substrates cultivars receive from the ants, we conducted a pilot test for a growth media preference between a lepiotaceous cultivar, a pterulaceous cultivar, and a free-living pterulaceous relative. We placed the fungi on regular PDY media and PDY media infused with caterpillar frass, and the cultivars either changed structure or had improved growth on the frass-infused media. Following the pilot test, we will run metabolic assays on the cultivars and free-living relatives on different media types. This may indicate a media preference which gives further insight to the attine-fungal symbiotic relationship opposed to the fungal free-living relatives revealing pieces of the fungi’s evolutionary history. We performed DNA extraction, PCR testing, Sanger sequencing of the ITS region, and then whole genome sequencing on the cultivars and their free-living relatives. Sanger sequencing allowed us to build phylogenetic trees to examine the relationship between the free-living fungi and cultivars. The whole genome sequencing allowed us to use antiSMASH software to generate predicted secondary metabolite clusters in a fungi species that “escaped” cultivation, a cultivar, and a free-living relative. This preliminary data suggests a diversification of fungal secondary metabolites occurs after attine domestication. By looking at fungal metabolic and genomic data, we hope to gain insight into the fungi’s evolutionary history and agricultural symbiosis.
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Complex Responses of Desert Soil Properties to Organic Amendment Applications
Authors: Trevor Ashby, Elizabeth Maclennan. Mentors: Gabriela Chilom. Insitution: Utah Tech University. This study explores the influence of organic amendment on the water retention and wettability of desert soils, which are traditionally challenged by limited water availability. The water retention was assessed by gravimetric methods and the wettability changes were assessed by using the contact angle and ethanol droplet methods. The aggregation and morphology of the soils was examined by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Application of organic amendments to desert soils altered their wettability, water retention, and aggregation in a manner not directly tied to the quantity of organic material incorporated. These alterations are indicative of complex soil-organic matter interactions that transcend mere carbon addition and underscore a multifaceted response of desert soils to organic amendments, which cannot be predicted by the amount of organic carbon alone.
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Automating the Analysis of Language Samples Obtained from the Frog Story Series: Step 1
Authors: Tessa Sabin, Derek Bagley, Kylie Olsen, Alexis Klein, Haven Broadhurst. Mentors: Sandi Gillam. Insitution: Utah State University. The purpose of this project was to create systematic, reliable rubrics for using the Frog Story series in language sample analysis for the diagnosis and treatment of children with developmental language disorders (DLD).Language sample analysis is a critical part of the assessment process by speech language pathologists (SLPs) for determining whether a child has a developmental language disorder. This is accomplished by analyzing a child’s use of vocabulary, sentence structures, and grammatical markers (i.e., past tense) and comparing it to their typically developing peers. Once diagnosed, language sampling is used as part of progress monitoring efforts to ensure the child is making reasonable progress toward their language goals in one (or all) of these areas.Elicitation of language from a child is often achieved by asking them to tell a story. One popular way that SLPs have obtained samples is to ask them to retell one of four popular wordless picture books from the Frog Story series by Mercer Mayer. This series involves the antics of a frog and his boy as they encounter different adventures. There is no rubric or “analysis key” associated with the stories leaving the SLP to decide how to use the information obtained from the story independently. This makes it hard to obtain reliable results over multiple time points for use in progress monitoring.In this project, a team analyzed all four Frog stories for their inclusion of specific story elements (i.e., character, setting, episode), vocabulary and sentence structures; and separate rubrics were created. The methodology for identifying the language parameters of interest, reliability in coding, and uses for the rubrics will be described. The rubrics will be automated using a web application so clinicians can upload their child’s story and have them instantly scored, making their use in analysis more reliable and consistent.
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Gender disparities in the pursuit of biology at UVU
Authors: Eden Backman, Britt Wyatt, Kandace Flanary, Jessica Cusick, T Heath Ogden, Joshua Premo. Mentors: Joshua Premo. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Utah Valley University serves a unique student population where ~70% of students are Latter-Day Saints (LDS) and ~30% are non-traditional (over the age of 24) (UVU IR, 2023). Compared to the overall 1.6% of LDS individuals in the United States (Pew Research Center, 2023), the identities of UVU students are vastly underrepresented in education research that has been conducted at other institutions. This is especially important as the LDS religion has been related to one of the most conservative religious groups concerning gender roles (Heaton, Bahr, and Jacobson 2004). Additionally, recent preliminary analysis of public institutional data from Utah universities indicates that UVU is graduating more men than women in biology, drastically contrasting other Utah university and national trends. In Utah, the STEM workforce has seen a significant 20% increase since 2016 (UWLP, 2022). However, it's important to note that during this period of expansion, men have disproportionately reaped the benefits in terms of STEM career opportunities. According to IWPR (2019), men in Utah are 2.5 times more likely to secure a STEM career compared to women. Furthermore, in 2020, STEM careers in Utah boasted median annual wages that were over twice as high as those in other occupations, which has direct implications for individuals' lifetime earnings and social capital. Given this information, we questioned why women were not choosing educational paths that will promote a career in STEM? If they are choosing STEM majors, then what are the factors that promote women to leave STEM during their undergraduate careers? This research project focuses on trying to answer these questions specifically at Utah Valley University (UVU). UVU’s biology program reflects similar patterns that are seen in the STEM workforce in Utah. UVU’s biology program was graduating twice as many men compared to women during the most recent academic year (2022-23)(UVU IR). This was the lowest percentage of women earning a four-year biology degree when compared to all other Utah institutions (USHE, 2023). The following research questions were addressed to help inform our understanding of why inequities in degree attainment by gender are being seen at UVU: 1) Are women less accepting of biological ideas (evolution, vaccines, climate change, etc.) that may be impacting women’s pursuits of biology? 2) Are there differences in how women are relating to science (motivation, immersion, or integration) that may be impacting their pursuit of biology? 3) Are there differences in political orientation or religious affiliation that may be impacting women’s pursuits of biology? To answer these questions, we collected data from 1,455 students (22% were biology majors) enrolled in biology classes at UVU in Fall 2023. Comparisons were made using independent samples t-test (with Bonferroni adjustments) to see the extent to which factors varied between men and women both within and outside of the biology major. In contrast to expectations, results for research question #1 show that women biology majors did not agree with science less than men. In fact, women strongly agreed with several science ideas at a higher rate than did men. These ideas included environmental concern and climate change (women = 66% vs. Men = 41%) and vaccination (women = 63% vs. Men = 48%). This result suggests that differences in acceptance of science ideas may not be driving the differences in degree attainment in biology. If anything, these results suggest that women should be more likely to continue in the biology major compared to men. In addition, when students’ immersion (sense of belonging and science identity) in science was assessed by gender women were slightly higher than men with about 8% more strongly agreeing to being immersed in science. This finding suggested that women are not experiencing lower immersion as a potential factor impacting degree attainment. Further examination of additional factors is underway. This study highlights that there are specific factors that may be contributing to gender disparities in biology bachelor's degree attainment at UVU. We recommend specific interventions targeting areas of differences in the biology program to provide additional scaffolds and supports to promote more equitable career trajectory and lifetime earnings for women pursuing Biology at UVU.
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Nutrient Release of Tumor Stroma is Controlled by Glucocorticoids
Authors: Libby Brooks. Mentors: Natasha Pavlova. Insitution: University of Utah. About 90% of cancer deaths are from the development of secondary tumor growths from a process called metastasis. As cancer cells divide uncontrollably nutrients from nearby tissue – specifically the amino acid glutamine – are depleted. Glutamine is one of the most abundant amino acids in the bloodstream, and most cells cannot live without it. Tumors have poor vasculature which further contributes to the depletion of nutrients. Even in nutrient-depleted environments, tumors have found ways to grow.Tumors are comprised of cancer cells as well as non-cancerous stromal cells. Studies have shown stromal cells can synthesize glutamine which they release into the tumor microenvironment feeding cancer cells and allowing them to grow. However, the signaling pathway used between the cancer and stromal cells in this relationship remains unclear.To study the signaling pathway by which stromal cells are synthesizing glutamine I treated cells with a common anti-inflammatory drug, dexamethasone. Mice receiving dexamethasone over a long period of time had increased lung metastases when injected with cancer cells. Dexamethasone binds to the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) which activates the expression of glutamine synthetase (GLUL) enzyme mRNA. The expression of GLUL causes the cell to synthesize glutamine. However, the role of GR, in regulating GLUL expression in tumors, remains insufficiently studied.The experiments done for this project show that dexamethasone induces GLUL expression in stromal cells such that they start releasing glutamine. This may promote growth of cancer cells even when there is a deficit of nutrients around. It is hypothesized that due to this property, dexamethasone increases risk of metastasis. This project will aid in the development of cancer therapeutics to treat metastatic cancers.
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Establishing a Common Framework for Triangles
Authors: Jordan Gertino, Bryan Wilson. Mentors: Bryan Wilson. Insitution: Salt Lake Community College. This study investigates inscribing a changing base tetrahedron within a unit circle, presenting a unique approach to generate a comprehensive array of all triangles with a specific scale and orientation. The ultimate objective is to establish a surjection between the creation angle and the resulting triangle. With this method all triangles are (theoretically, up to scaling) possible to construct using surjection. By creating a standard family of triangles this research may provide a different framework in geometric manipulation with potential applications in chemistry, biology, and other various fields. One example is that it could be a good model for the molecular structure of tetrahedrons under pressure.
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Differentiation of VOC emissions of heat-stressed Populus trichocarpa with varying levels of mycorrhizal colonization
Authors: Luis Valdez, Mary Alvarez, Jessica Berryman, Ron Valcarce. Mentors: Jessica Berryman. Insitution: Salt Lake Community College. Plants produce & emit a diverse and substantial amount of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) into the atmosphere. These compounds play important roles in the plant’s tri-trophic interactions, responses to environmental stress, and have been shown to participate in atmospheric chemistry. Although variation in VOC emissions in plants has been extensively studied, there are gaps in knowledge on how symbiotic interactions with soil microbiota shape the VOC profile of plants in the context of environmental stress. Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) are fungi that form symbiotic associations with plants by colonizing their roots & providing enhanced micronutrient & water retention in exchange for photosynthates. These associations have also been shown to enhance plant responses against biotic & abiotic stress. In this study, we will look at how the expression of heat stress- induced VOCs changes based on mycorrhizal availability in the soil. Populus b. trichocarpa saplings will be exposed to the respective temperatures of 25° C, 35° C, & 40° C for an extended period of time. Emitted volatiles will be collected and analyzed using GC-MS. For each type of temperature, emissions will be compared between saplings planted under different levels of AMF availability (low, medium, & high). We expect volatile emissions to change based on mycorrhizal availability in one of two scenarios; increased emissions due to increased phosphorus uptake from the fungus or decreased emissions due to carbon allocation to the fungus.
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