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Authors: Joshua Parmley, Acacia Overono. Mentors: Acacia Overono. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Since its founding over a century ago, the American Psychological Association has adopted several distinct roles in its ongoing pursuit of legitimacy, stability, and growth for the field of psychology. Two of its most important roles include the establishment and enforcement of an ethics code and the standardization and development of undergraduate education. These two goals are related; the best way to uphold an ethics code is to ingrain that code into future researchers and practitioners. The APA Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major 3.0, which lists the APA’s ideal learning objectives for undergraduate programs, attempts to do just that. In its section on ethics training, it places a great degree of responsibility on undergraduate programs to prepare students for a world of bad actors, exploitative systems, and ethical grey areas. To achieve this, the document recognizes that students must develop an ethical skill or proficiency, not just a knowledge of the codes and principles. Unfortunately, Guidelines recommendations for achieving that goal quickly become clouded, as the document wrestles with the various concerns about teaching ethics. Primarily, the Guidelines section on ethics seems conflicted about whether instructors should give students historical examples of psychologists and psychology systems engaging in unethical behavior The Guidelines expresses the concern that presenting students with examples of ethical failures by psychologists will distract students from the learning outcomes or lead them to view the field negatively and abandon it altogether. Accordingly, the APA tentatively recommends that negative examples be shared cautiously, alongside examples of the positive achievements of the field and ethical systems in place. Are the APA’s fears that blunt ethics courses could turn students away from the major valid? Or do the Guidelines recommendations put too little faith in their instructors and students? This study seeks to examine the validity of the APA’s concerns and the efficacy of their recommendations. One hundred and fifty Intro to Psychology students will be divided into three groups. Each group will be instructed in the principles of the APA ethics code using a) no historical examples, b) a balance of negative and positive examples, or c) several negative examples. Participants will then take a survey that measures their ethical proficiency, their memory of the material, and their confidence in the field of psychology. Measurement of ethical proficiency will be adapted from APA measurement tools. We predict that the group instructed with several negative examples, without balancing positive examples, will result in greater measurements of ethical proficiency, better recall, and a slightly lowered level of confidence in the field. We predict this based on the idea that reviewing negative examples in the instructional material will provide students with a specific model of ethical decision-making.

Authors: Ayana Srivastava, Gliceida Galarza Fortuna, Beverly Chigarira, Emre Dal, Chadi Hage Chehade, Georges Gebrael, Arshit Narang, Neeraj Agarwal, Umang Swami, Haoran Li. Mentors: Neeraj Agarwal. Insitution: University of Utah. The utility of ChatGPT in subspecialty consultation for patients (pts) with metastatic genitourinary (GU) cancer.Ayana Srivastava, Gliceida Galarza Fortuna, Beverly Chigarira, Emre Dal, Chadi Hage Chehade, Georges Gebrael, Arshit Narang, Neeraj Agarwal, Umang Swami, Haoran LiHuntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT;University of Kansas Cancer Center, Westwood, KSBackground:Cancer management requires a multidisciplinary approach, often requiring medical consultation from subspecialists. With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies like ChatGPT, it is hypothesized that these tools may help expedite the consultation process. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of ChatGPT in providing guideline-based sub-specialty recommendations for managing pts with metastatic GU cancer.Methods:In this single-institution, IRB-approved, retrospective, proof-of-concept study, pts with metastatic GU cancer over the past 3 years were screened. Those with at least one consultation referral to subspecialty clinics were randomly selected. ChatGPT 3.5 was given the most recent clinic note that triggered sub-specialty consultation. The AI tool was then asked to provide an assessment and plan. Two physicians independently assessed the accuracy of diagnoses made by ChatGPT and subspecialty physicians. The primary outcome was the consistency of ChatGPT recommendations with those of subspecialty physicians. Secondary Outcomes included potential time saved by using ChatGPT and comparison of medical decision-making (MDM) complexity levels between ChatGPT and subspecialty physicians.Results:A total of 39 pts were included. Their primary diagnoses included prostate cancer (51.3%), bladder cancer (23.1%) and kidney cancer (15.4%). The referred subspecialty clinic included cardiology (33.3%), hematology (17.9%), hepatology (2.6 %), hospice (10.3%), neurology (12.8%), pulmonary (15.4 %), and rheumatology (7.7%). The average waiting time for pts to be seen in subspecialty clinics was 44.9 days (SD = 42.4). Of 39 patient’s charts reviewed by ChatGPT, 30/39 (76.9%) had the same diagnosis with consultant sub-specialties. The average diagnoses made by ChatGPT were 8.2, compared with 3.4 made by sub-specialty physicians (p < 0.0001). The accuracy of diagnoses made by ChatGPT was the same, higher, and lower than human physicians in 10 (33.3%), 3 (10%), and 17 (56.7%) cases, respectively. Consistency of treatment plans between ChatGPT and physicians was found in 18 cases (46.2%). ChatGPT recommended additional workup in 32 cases (85.1%). The average number of words written in consultation notes by ChatGPT was 362.7 (SD = 72.9), which was significantly greater than subspecialty physicians (n = 224.7, p < 0.0001).Conclusions:These hypothesis-generating data suggest the potential utility of ChatGPT to assist medical oncologists in managing increasingly complex pts with metastatic cancer. Further studies are needed to validate our findings.

Authors: Danielle Alvarado, Kasidy Weber, Shannon Buckley. Mentors: Shannon Buckley. Insitution: University of Utah. The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) plays a critical role in cancer by regulating the degradation of key proteins involved in cell cycle control, DNA repair, apoptosis, and signaling pathways, making it a crucial mechanism for maintaining cellular homeostasis and preventingtumor development and progression. The expression levels of F-box ubiquitin E3 ligase, FBXO21, correlates with patient survival in several types of cancer, suggesting a role in tumorgenesis. We have previously shown silencing FBXO21 in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell lines and patient samples leads to differentiation, slowed tumor progression, increased chemotherapy sensitivity, and altered cytokine signaling. Further, we found that FBXO21 ubiquitinates p85Î±, a regulatory part of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway, for degradation resulting in altered PI3K signaling. Although PI3K inhibitors are used in cancertreatment, issues like off-target effects, dose-limiting toxicities, and resistance necessitate further research and development for optimized efficiency and minimal negative effects in targeting the PI3K pathway. To further understand the role of FBXO21 in cancer, we utilized shRNAs targeting FBXO21 in various cancer cell lines to identify the role of FBXO21 in cellular proliferation, apoptosis, and alteration of the PI3K pathway. The PI3K signaling pathway is initiated through p85Î± binding to the catalytic subunit, p110, leading to downstream AKT and mTOR activation. We found knockdown of FBXO21 stabilizes p85Î±, leading to dimerization of free p85 and decreased PI3K pathway activation. Therefore, we hypothesize that FBXO21 may function as a novel regulator of PI3K signaling, offering an alternative approach to PI3K inhibitors. Our findings suggest that FBXO21 may represent a novel therapeutic target acrossvarious cancer subtypes to target the overactive PI3K pathway. Targeting FBXO21 may enhance the efficacy of current therapies and provide potential benefits for improving patient outcomes in the treatment of cancer, including but not limited to AML

Authors: Natalia Rubio, Madison Farrer. Mentors: Christopher Anderson. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a neuroimaging technique used to monitor brain activity by measuring the changes in blood oxygenation levels, especially when presented with stimuli or given tasks. This is due to the principle that active brain regions require more oxygen, resulting in changes of blood flow and concentrations of hemoglobin. These observable results are achieved by diodes placed on the surface of the scalp that emit near-infrared (NIR) light into the skull. The absorption of this light by the hemoglobin in the brain’s blood vessels is then detected, localizing neural activity. Due to its portability and cost-efficient nature, fNIRS is being widely used across various fields of research and clinical applications whereas other neuroimaging methods might be less feasible or practical. Psychologists and neuroscientists are able to utilize fNIRS to understand how different regions of the brain are involved in various cognitive processes. It has been used in studying conditions like Alzheimer's disease, stroke, traumatic brain injury, autism, schizophrenia, mood disorders, and dementia. In the context of dementia research, fNIRS has emerged as a promising tool . While fNIRS has a low spatial resolution with measurements restricted to the outer cortex of the brain, it enables the study of the progression of dementia by providing real-time data and offering relative tolerance to subject motion. In fact, a neuro-clinic in Provo, Utah (Cognitive FX) has been studying the use of this fNIRS technique on patients with dementia while they perform language tasks. Although no patient data will be used in this study, the use of fNIRS as a technique to learn about the progression of dementia is noteworthy. Therefore, following IRB approval I will perform semi-structured qualitative interviews with two neuro-technicians using fNIRS in this clinic. Items will focus on the strengths and challenges of using fNIRS with dementia patients. Additionally, I will shadow these technicians to gain hands-on experience. Qualitative results will be analyzed and presented. It is anticipated that this research project will raise awareness of the use of fNIRS as a technique in neuroscience as well as its potential to benefit those with dementia.

Authors: Ellie P. Evans, Mmadili Ilozumba, Sheetal Hardikar, Neli Ulrich, Jennifer Ose. Mentors: Mmadili Ilozumba. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Cachexia is a complex syndrome characterized by severe weight loss and muscle wasting. It is also a prevalent complication in various chronic diseases, including cancer and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Recent research has underscored the pivotal role of the gut microbiome in systemic well-being. Furthermore, it has been shown that cancer patients suffering from cachexia have unique bacteria composition in the gut compared to that of non-cachectic patients. In the absence of stool samples, there are a few metabolites in the circulatory system that can be directly linked to gut microbiota. Examples include bile acids, and short chain fatty acids as metabolites produced by specific Phylum. The presence of these gut microbiota derived metabolites (GMDM) in the circulation indicate a compromise in the integrity of tight junctions in the intestines. These results prompted an investigation of GMDM as an indicator of gut permeability. Our hypothesis is that an increased concentration of GMDM in the circulation is linked to gut permeability, leading to the development of cachexia in patients with colorectal cancer.  This literature review provides a comprehensive analysis of the relationship between gut permeability and cachexia, seeking to identify which GMDMs are the most accurate indicators of specific bacteria linked to gut permeability, and subsequently, are accurate projectors of cachexia.  Acetic acid, a short chain fatty acid (SCFA) is a GMDM detected in the plasma of patients with gut permeability. Acetic acid makes up about 60% of the SCFAs produced by a healthy gut flora and 90% of it is produced by the genus Bifidobacterium. Our literature review will cover how closely a measurement of acetic acid and other GMDMs measured in plasma can be linked to gut permeability and to Bifidobacterium levels in the gut. Similarly, Indole is a GMDM produced by Escherichia coli and other indole-producing bacteria. Indole isn’t produced naturally anywhere else in the body. When it is naturally absorbed into the liver through the portal vein, it’s mostly converted into indoxyl sulfate. The heightened presence indole in plasma in sulfate-free forms could indicate that indole is being absorbed through holes in the tight junctions of the intestines, rather than through the portal vein. This information would allow cohorts that have collected plasma samples in the past to measure gut permeability by proxy, even if they’re unable to investigate the gut microbiota and metabolites present from stool samples. These connections found could further help us to use-already collected samples to find accurate biomarkers for early cachexia development in cancer patients. If an oral presentation is unavailable, a poster presentation would be great.

Authors: Ana Paulina Medellin-Alvarez, Jared Almazan, Tursun Turapov, David A. Kircher, Karly A. Stanley, Gennie L. Parkman, MiKaela N. Field, Katie M. Culver, Silvia Coma, Jonathan A. Pachter, Howard Colman, Sheri L. Holmen. Mentors: Sheri Holmen. Insitution: University of Utah. Despite promising results from recent FDA-approved therapies, many advanced melanoma patients develop resistance to both immunotherapy and targeted therapy. A common resistance mechanism to targeted therapy is upregulation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, which has also been shown to promote the development of melanoma brain metastases. Historically, AKT inhibitors have failed in the clinic due to their limited efficacy or intolerable toxicity. Proteomic analysis comparing non-metastatic vs brain metastatic primary tumors in mice revealed focal adhesion kinase (FAK) as an AKT1 specific effector and a potential alternative therapeutic target. FAK is a non-receptor tyrosine kinase that localizes primarily to focal adhesions to regulate cell migration. To determine whether targeting FAK alone or in combination with the RAF/MEK inhibitor avutometinib reduces brain metastases and prolongs survival, we utilized both autochthonous and syngeneic melanoma mouse models. Mice with either subcutaneous tumors or established brain metastases were treated with FAK inhibitor, RAF/MEK inhibitor, or the combination of FAK and RAF/MEK inhibitors. Each cohort was assessed for tumor onset, growth, metastasis, and survival. Our results show that combined RAF/MEK/FAK inhibition significantly delays tumor onset, causes regression of established tumors, prevents the development of brain metastases, promotes the regression of established brain metastases, and prolongs survival. In addition, patient-derived BRAF V600E melanoma xenograft mouse models resistant to the BRAF inhibitor dabrafenib and the MEK inhibitor trametinib, were sensitive to combined RAF/MEK/FAK blockade. The addition of the BRAF inhibitor encorafenib to these models further enhanced the effect on tumor growth. These results support the initiation of a clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of the RAF/MEK inhibitor avutometinib in combination with the FAK inhibitor defactinib in patients with brain metastases from cutaneous melanoma. Additionally, we are assessing non-canonical roles of FAK in modulating the tumor microenvironment to determine whether avutometinib and defactinib also enhance the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibition in this disease.

Authors: Corin Marsh, Acacia Overono. Mentors: Acacia Overono. Insitution: Utah Valley University. A variety of memorization techniques have been shown to enhance the ability to recall important information. While many of these techniques focus on repetition and retrieval of verbal information, the drawing superiority effect (DSE, Wammes et al., 2016) is a phenomenon where drawing leads to better recall compared to re-writing. The present study investigates the extent of these findings by combining the DSE with retrieval practice. This experiment utilized a within-subjects, single-blind design consisting of 32 undergraduate students ranging in age from 18 to 42. Participants were tasked with learning 20 vocabulary terms through a guided slideshow, then studied terms through; reading definitions (verbal restudy), viewing images of the definitions (visual restudy), writing definitions (verbal retrieval), and drawing definitions from memory (DSE with retrieval). After a brief distractor task, participants were tested on their recall of the definitions. Finally, subjects completed a shortened version of the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) and a funnel debrief. Preliminary analyses using a repeated measures ANOVA revealed that re-reading was the study method that resulted in the highest recall scores (M = .57) compared to all other conditions (F (3, 93) = 14.9, p < .001, ηp2 = .324). Further — VVIQ ability showed no significant correlation with participant scores for any of the study methods. These results indicate that re-reading was a more effective study strategy for memorizing vocabulary terms with a short delay when compared to viewing images, writing definitions, and drawing definitions from memory. Future work will examine how longer delays and providing feedback influence may modulate the benefits of re-reading, drawing, and retrieval as study strategies. Keywords: drawing superiority effect, retrieval practice, memory, VVIQ

Authors: Ty Wilson. Mentors: Amita Kaundal. Insitution: Utah State University. Climate-induced environmental stresses and the increased use of fertilizers to meet the increasing demand for food significantly threaten food production and soil health. In natural environments, microbes are vital to the growth and development of plants. Their presence in the soil allows for enormous flexibility and nutritional availability for plants, particularly those living in harsh conditions. A plant’s microbiome, especially the underground, plays a significant role in its growth and development and mitigates environmental stresses. Idaho and Utah are particularly challenging environments due to extreme temperatures and arid soil. However, despite these difficult environmental factors, the native plants of Utah and Idaho can thrive. Here, we are exploring the rhizosphere microbiome of Shepherdia x utahensis ‘Torrey,’ a hybrid of two highly drought-tolerant buffaloberry species, S. argentea and S. rotundifolia native to the Intermountain West region of the US to isolate plant growth promoting bacteria. In this study, we isolated drought-resistant plant growth-promoting microbes from the rhizosphere of hybrid buffaloberry. Root samples of hybrid buffaloberry were collected from three locations in Utah: the USU campus, Greenville Farm USU, and the USU botanical garden, Kaysville. The rhizosphere was removed from these root samples and pooled together. The bacteria were isolated on five different bacterial growth media twice. The isolated microbes were then purified using the streak plate method. Forty-six unique isolates were selected based on morphological characteristics and tested for four plant growth-promoting traits. Fourteen bacteria could show the ability to fix nitrogen fix, 18 produced a siderophore, 17 could solubilize phosphate, and 11 produced catalases. IAA production, ACC deaminase, and protease activity assays are in progress. All isolates will be identified by 16S rRNA Sanger sequencing.

Authors: Kylie Hansen. Mentors: Janis Boettinger. Insitution: Utah State University. Cache Valley, Utah, has unique soils due to environmental events such as Pleistocene pluvial Lake Bonneville. This lake extended about 20,000 square miles in Northern Utah, and its depletion left numerous shorelines, the most relevant being the Bonneville and Provo shorelines. These various water levels influence the geological formations in Cache Valley and the different characteristics of soil formation. An important soil-forming factor used to characterize varying soils is the parent material. Parent material is the original sediments the soil formed on and can be various things such as sediments deposited by gravity, streams, lake sediments, or wind. These different materials depend on the location and alter the soil properties. A dominant soil parent material in the Lake Bonneville area is sediment deposited by this lake. This type of parent material is identifiable by coarser-sized sediments, such as cobbles, gravel, and sand. This pattern is evident on terraces in Cache Valley’s lower soil layers, but the near-surface layers have fewer rock fragments and more fine sand, silt, and clay. This distinct difference in particle size leads to the question of what is the parent material source in the surface horizons of soil formed in Lake Bonneville deposits in Cache Valley. There is not much literature on this question and little documentation compares the soil profiles for different Lake Bonneville terrace levels (Bonneville shoreline compared to Provo shoreline). We hypothesize that the different particle sizes of parent material in the surface of soils formed dominantly in Lake Bonneville deposits is eolian sediment transported and deposited by wind. To determine this, we will sample soils across Cache Valley and analyze the fine and very fine sand sediments in plane-polarized and cross-polarized light. This process will identify various minerals within each soil horizon, showing possible differences in the upper and lower horizons. The minerals present in each soil will indicate the parent materials, allowing us to understand what is causing the different textured horizons in these soils and where the sediment originated from.

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

Authors: Sylvia Lee, Ainsley Parkins, Rodolfo S Probst. Mentors: Rodolfo S Probst. Insitution: University of Utah. Mutualisms between ants and plants are ubiquitous interactions and have been evolving for over 100 million years. Studies have been done on systems wherein the plants provide nutritional resources for ants, but the dynamics of mutualistic interactions in environments where host plants do not provide obvious nutritional rewards continue to remain elusive, raising questions about their co-evolutionary histories. In these circumstances, associated fauna, such as mealybugs and soft scales (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae and Coccidae), serve as intermediaries of the association, providing honeydew (enhanced plant sap) as a main food source to their host ants. However, the identity of the insects involved in these associations and their co-evolutionary history with ants is poorly understood. By focusing on samples collected in Costa Rica from 33 colonies of the Neotropical plant-ant genus Myrmelachista (Formicinae: Myrmelachistini), we sequenced DNA barcodes (cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 [CO1]) using Oxford Nanopore Technology and employed Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) for both the Myrmelachista ants and their associated fauna. We aimed to identify their taxonomy, phylogenetic relationships and identify unique interactions between ants and their associated fauna. We recovered DNA barcodes for eleven Myrmelachista species and seven putative species of mealybugs (n=5) and soft scales (n=2). For the seven putative species of Coccoidea, our DNA barcodes, when compared to available sequences from the NCBI database, recovered an average of 85% match similarity. The closest matches associated our putative species to Old World Coccoidea taxa, reinforcing the need for taxonomic studies of this superfamily for the Neotropical region. Each putative species of soft scales was found uniquely associated with two Myrmelachista species (M. flavoguarea and M. cooperi). For all eleven Myrmelachista species, five were associated with two putative mealybug species. One putative mealybug species was associated with five different Myrmelachista species; one was uniquely associated with M. nigrocotea. Same associations were found between the associated fauna of M. flavocotea and M. lauropacifica; M. haberi and M. RSP027; M. plebecula, M. meganaranja, and M. osa, respectively. These results suggest that there may be unique associations between some Myrmelachista species and their Coccoidea associates, unconstrained by the ant phylogeny. Our findings also provide insights on Coccoidea taxonomy, emphasizing NGS DNA barcoding as a tool to illuminate how ant-plant associations might have evolved.

Authors: Ainsley E Parkins, Sylvia Lee, Elizabeth J Heath, Thomas Petitjean, Kyle Cink, Kyle Kittelberger, Cagan Sekercioglou, Rodolfo S Probst. Mentors: Rodolfo S Probst. Insitution: University of Utah. Biodiversity loss poses a significant threat, requiring accurate species assessment and conservation strategies. Non-invasive and cost-effective techniques should be prioritized, especially when dealing with threatened vertebrate fauna. By focusing on cryptic Eastern European species within the genus Emberiza (Passeriformes: Emberizidae), we designed an affordable molecular pipeline (including DNA primers and bioinformatics) integrating DNA barcoding with Nanopore sequencing to address species boundaries and provide conservation information for avifauna diversity. We conducted non-invasive DNA extractions from individual feathers of 192 specimens collected in the Aras River Riparian Corridor (ARRC), an important ecological hotspot in Turkey. By targeting the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (CO1) region, our goal was to differentiate Emberiza taxa and identify potential cryptic lineages while using cutting-edge next-generation sequencing (NGS) of multiplexed specimens with portable Oxford Nanopore Technologies. Our focal study examined boundaries in Emberiza subspecies (E. shoeniclus shoeniclus and E. shoeniclus caspia) with subtle morphological differences, utilizing DNA barcoding and Nanopore sequencing. We obtained 182 Emberiza DNA barcodes. Clustering analysis recovered a paraphyletic assemblage (n=32) and a clade, the latter recovering majority of the barcodes (n=150), separated by at least 8% genetic difference. In both cases, we observed a mixture of barcodes from the nominal subspecies and Caspian subspecies, suggesting that cryptic morphological characteristics are not reflected in genetic separation. Our results also suggest putative cryptic Emberiza species, highlighting the importance of the ARRC for conserving avian diversity. We demonstrate that our pipeline, integrating real-time Nanopore sequencing with non-invasive DNA barcoding, can be used for conservation initiatives (particularly aiding cryptic species identification). This study expands our knowledge of avian diversity and highlights the potential of NGS DNA barcodes as a powerful tool for aiding conservation efforts amidst biodiversity loss.

Authors: Alexander Romano, Matthew Hesterman, Rachel Hill, Melodie Weller. Mentors: Melodie Weller. Insitution: University of Utah. Sjogren’s Disease (SjD) is an autoimmune disease diagnosed by symptoms of reduced tear and saliva excretion, accumulation of lymphocyte foci in the salivary glands, and the occurrence of antibodies against Ro (SSA), La (SSB), and nuclear proteins. The cause of SjD is unknown, though previous studies have detected the sequence and antigens of Hepatitis Delta Virus (HDV) in the minor salivary gland acinar, ductal, and adipose cells of patients with SjD; without the typical presence of a Hepatitis B coinfection. In this study, murine models were transduced with Adeno-associated virus containing expression cassettes for Luciferase (control), small, large, or a combination of both small and large HDV antigens to evaluate the impact of HDV antigen expression on salivary gland function and SjD autoimmune disease development. After a ten- or four-month period, the models were analyzed. Findings included a significant increase of inflammation for samples expressing both small and large HDV antigens, a significant increase of anti-SSA(La) antibodies in samples expressing the short HDV antigen, and a correlation between increased overall inflammation and decreased overall saliva flow. Performing qPCR methods verified the amount of HDV in the submandibular glands and Illumina sequencing portrayed an increase in glycolysis and beta oxidation metabolism in models with detectible HDV sequence. The models showed significantly increased IgM expression in the HDV exposed murine models, without significant change of other antibodies. Future plans include an ELISA diagnostic assay to verify the antibody levels and further sequencing analysis. With this information we can build a better picture of the direct mechanisms of HDV-mediated changes in salivary gland dysfunction and determine the extent that HDV can inducing systemic SjD symptoms.

Authors: Nadia Mando, Josh Shaeffer, Jared Nielsen. Mentors: Jared Nielsen. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Background: “Feeling the Spirit” is an important experience for many active Latter-Day Saints. Feeling the Spirit is often defined by the presence of positive, even if minor, feelings which are perceived to be interactions with deity. However, some Latter-Day Saints struggle to feel the Spirit which can be distressing to them. Recently, LDS leaders have focused on understanding how depressed individuals might experience “feeling the Spirit” differently.Objective: Our pilot study sought to understand the relationship between depression and the frequency and strength of spiritual experiences.Methods: We used the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS21) to measure depression. We created two separate measures to inquire how frequently and strongly participants felt the Spirit in the last six months. We also created a task asking participants to read multiple scripture passages and report how strongly they felt the Spirit while reading each passage. Responses to each passage were averaged to create a state measure of feeling the Spirit. We hypothesized that higher scores of depression would predict lower scores on feeling the Spirit for all three measures.Results: We found that scores on depression (M=11.388, SD=7.844) significantly correlated to frequency (M=3.683, SD=0.760, r= -0.352, p<.001) and strength (M=4.004,SD=0.628, r=-0.453, p<.001) of the Spirit. However, depression scores were not significantly correlated with our state measure (M=2.384, SD=0.903, r=-0.192, p=0.078). In our regression models we found that depression is a significant predictor of both frequency (R2= 0.091, F(1,83)=8.347, p=.005, =-0.029, p=.005) and strength (R2=0.158, F(1,83)=15.523, p<.001, = -0.032) of feeling the Spirit but, not of feeling the Spirit during the scripture task (R2=0.003, F(1,83)=0.236, p=0.628, = -0.463).Conclusion: These findings suggest that depression may affect how LDS persons experience their relationship with God. Our findings take a step toward explaining why some individuals may experience difficulty in “feeling the Spirit”. Future studies are necessary to elucidate these preliminary findings.

Authors: Abigail Williams, Kelsie Minga, Abby Baker, Ella Sieg, Olivia Harris. Mentors: Wendy Birmingham. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Background: Research has found positive health benefits in the communication of positive events (capitalization) with others who respond with curiosity and enthusiasm. An expectation is that one’s spouse would respond in such a way. And indeed, if one has a highly supportive spouse this is likely the case. However, not all individuals have a highly supportive spouse and may have a spouse whose behavior is more ambivalent. Such ambivalent, or unpredictable behavior may lead to worse physiological outcomes when sharing good news including increased risk for cardiovascular events. Blood pressure should dip 10-15% overnight (“dipping”). A less than 10% dip is associated with higher cardiovascular disease risk. We looked at capitalization and dipping in ambivalent and supportive couples. Interpersonal Theory asserts that positive or negative behaviors from one spouse can elicit similar responses from the other spouse. Thus we looked at capitalization and dipping for spousal ambivalent behavior, and one’s own ambivalent behavior. Ambivalent behavior, whether one own’s or one’s spouse’s can also impact the quality of the relationship.  Methods: 90 couples were recruited from a local university, social media, and the community. Participants completed measures of marital quality. They were fitted with an ambulatory blood pressure monitor for 24 hours. The monitor took a reading every 30 minutes during the daytime and once an hour overnight. Participants completed a daily diary entry each time the monitor took a reading during the daytime which included questions regarding their present activities (e.g., posture, current emotions, food consumption). Participants returned the equipment the following morning and were compensated.  Results:  Ambivalent behavior was associated with worse relationship quality measured as responsiveness, both in terms of one’s own behavior, and one’s spouse’s behavior. We found no association for systolic blood pressure (SBP) dipping for individuals whose spouse’s behavior was viewed as ambivalent, however diastolic blood (DBP) dipping was in the opposite direction showing ambivalent spousal behavior was associated with healthier dipping. Of interest, when one reported their own behavior as ambivalent when their spouse was sharing good news, their SBP dipping was unhealthy.   Conclusions: Spousal ambivalent behavior seems to be less important than one’s own behavior on SBP dipping. This may be because one is generally aware of their own behavior and understands that such behavior is problematic for the relationship. This awareness, however,  may come with a cost for their health as well as their relationship.

Authors: Braden Bringhurst, Michael Ray, Megan Barbier, Ellie Smith. Mentors: Peter Ward. Insitution: Brigham Young University. In travel, the interplay of social connection and novelty profoundly shapes the impact of peoples' experiences. This study examines novelty, positive emotions, social connection, and the impact of the experience on participants through the lens of the Self-Expansion Theory. Novelty is defined as the process of experiencing or encountering something different to the objects regularly encountered in everyday life. Social connection is defined as the affective and cognitive perception of interrelatedness within social groups, encompassing emotional responses like feeling understood and valued. Positive emotion is defined as pleasant multicomponent response tendencies, including joy, interest, contentment, pride, and love. Experience impact is defined using the experience typology. This typology starts with prosaic experiences or ordinary parts of life. The next progression is memorable experiences which introduce felt emotions into the experience. The next stage is meaningful which introduces discovery as well as emotions into the experience. The final stage is transformational which introduces a desire, or actual personal change happening to the experiencer as well as emotions and discovery. To measure the various stages of the experience typology framework, we use the Experience Impact Scale to identify the personal impact of a tourist experience. These various constructs are explored through the perspective of the Self-Expansion Theory which states that people seek to expand their potential efficacy, perspectives, and sense of self through the development of relationships. This study utilizes this theory by looking into novelty’s effect on the impact of an experience through the lens of Self-Expansion Theory with respect to social connection and positive emotions as mediating factors. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling in AMOS v 28. Models were gradually expanded on, starting with the initial relationship between subjective novelty and experience impact. Later, a mediating model was considered that incorporated subjective connection and positive emotions as mediating effects on experience impact. The model examining the relationship between subjective novelty and experience impact as mediated by subjective connection and positive emotions had an acceptable model fit. The significant factors that contributed to the model were subjective novelty which had a standardized regression weight of .264, subjective connection which had a standardized regression weight of .222, and positive emotions which had a standardized regression weight of .256. The model explained 16% of the variance within experience impact. This study demonstrates that novelty influences social connection which influences positive emotion which positively impacts the tourist experience. People designing experiences should create a novel experience for the experiencer that evokes positive emotions and facilitates social connection. Future research could explore the relationship between the novelty of location and activities associated with tourist participation and the impact on the experience.

Authors: Emma Manley. Mentors: Johnathan Chidester. Insitution: Southern Utah University. This presentation will be about the indescribable magical Studio Ghibli movies. Specifically, I will be analyzing how these movies are great at representing life. From the weird, outstanding world of Chihiro’s ghost town from Spirited Away, all the way down to the simple little Iron town of Princess Mononoke. These movies are amazing, not just for their remarkable art work and lovable characters, but for the relatability and symbolism of these stories. These stories are weird and strange, but so is everyone. We are human. A complex being that is evolving every single day. We have creative minds in all sorts of differing ways, and these movies are great at explaining this; they are complex, imaginative, and life-like. I will not be defining every single Studio Ghibli movie, but I have chosen a few movies I wish to expand on. My first one is The Wind Rises. This movie is based on a true story about Jiro Horikoshi, the designer of the A5M fighter aircraft. This story goes into detail about his life: his failures, his trials, and the hardships he endured. The second one is Spirited Away: this story is Studio Ghibli's most famous work. This is a story of a little girl who gets trapped in a spirit world all alone. Along her journey she makes new friends, discovers new ideas, and is able to discover who she is. The final movie is Princess Mononoke: Princess Mononoke is Studio Ghibli's masterpiece. The young warrior Ashitaka is strucken with a curse and will soon die. This story is about him getting rid of his curse, discovering how to make peace and stop hate.We should know and understand these movies, not because they are just films and that I like them, but because they are innovative and original. With these movies we jump into a creative world that we can make our own. These movies are relatable in every sense because they are just like us: weird, quirky, and just so compelling. We feel a connection to the trials that each character has because in a sense we all have been through something of the same. These movies represent life in a silly way that I wish to know more about. I will expand on the way these movies are made, the theme and writing, and the characters that we relate to.