Fine Arts

Authors: Em Hart. Mentors: Nicole Dib. Insitution: Southern Utah University. The legend of King Arthur has withstood the test of time unlike any other work of literature. Not only is a tale originating from a post-Roman Britain still known today, it is influential and pervasive, impacting the building blocks, themes, and motifs of contemporary stories in genres ranging from fantasy to superheroes to propaganda pieces. Given the legend’s undeniable influence, it sparks the question of what characteristics have allowed this tale to transcend the standard literary lifetime. One theory attributes the legend’s universality to the romantic narrative structure that it gained during the French Vulgate Cycle in the thirteenth century. Though undoubtedly a contributing factor given the structure’s popularity at the time, this theory neglects to consider more common and proven factors of audience appeal, particularly the appeal that similarly transcends temporary trends and tastes. When considering Arthurian legend’s universality, it is important to acknowledge what elements remain consistent over the centuries as opposed to what has more freedom to change with the shifting tastes of the cultures it touches. Arthurian legend, despite the massive changes it has undergone, maintains elements that allow audiences across time to accurately identify it as Arthurian legend. Though stories can carry elements popularized or introduced by Arthuriana in the modern day, those elements do not necessarily make that story Arthurian in the perception of the reader. However, there are stories that change narrative structure, medium, time, place, and even popular plot points, that are still recognized as Arthurian. A similar phenomenon can be seen outside of Arthuriana in more contemporary stories that outlast their expected literary lifetimes. With this in mind, this presentation will consider the ways that Fan Studies explore the communities, individuals, and passions that have replicated this phenomenon. When engaging with this area of study and the elements that source it, a pattern emerges, showing a characteristic that commonly fuels the burgeoning universality of these celebrated stories. In fan works, things like narrative structure, medium, time, and plot all change freely, allowing for the consistencies to become clear. The characters, their bonds, their flaws, and their dramatic needs remain consistent across ever-changing landscapes, be it in fandom circles or the centuries and cultures touched by Arthurian legend. With this guide from other stories and their early universality, my paper will make it clear that an audience appeal substantial enough to transcend centuries is ultimately accessed through characterization, an essential element of the Arthurian legend.

Authors: Cate Bateman, Jose Aurelio De La Rocha Tapia, Ethan Fulwood, Arianna Harrington. Mentors: Arianna Harrington. Insitution: Southern Utah University. The Eocene-Oligocene boundary in North America was marked by climatic cooling and drying. This transition is a key time in mammalian evolution, and studying fossils spanning this boundary could yield important information about how fauna responded to the climatic change. McCarty’s Mountain, a fossil rich geological feature located in Madison County, Montana, has long intrigued scientists due to the many insights it holds into the terrestrial fauna of the region. The sites from McCarty’s Mountain date from the Chadronian North American Land Mammal Age, which corresponds to the late Eocene epoch. The geological strata to produce these fossils were thought to have been deposited in a floodplain, yielding remarkably preserved fossils which have been collected and studied since the early 1900’s. However, the microfossils from this locality have been understudied despite the insights it could provide to the terrestrial Eocene-Oligocene transition in North America. In this study, we aim to close this gap by analyzing microfossils picked from matrix collected from McCarty’s Mountain localities in summer 2023. Preliminarily, we have processed about ⅛ of the collected sediments, and have found several identifiable elements including mammalian teeth, vertebrae, and long bones. We will continue this work by washing and soaking the remaining matrix and quantifying the microfossils retrieved. The fossils recovered may provide future insight to changes in microfauna across the Eocene-Oligocene boundary.

Authors: Ashley Hartwig, Dr. Weeg. Mentors: Matthew Weeg. Insitution: Southern Utah University. The physiological benefits of petting pet cats, dogs, and horses have been thoroughly investigated for decades. Studies suggest that the act of handling and being around pets can offer direct cardiovascular benefits, such as lower blood pressure and heart rate as well as indirect benefits such as lowering triglyceride and cholesterol levels. However, the ability of pet reptiles to offer similar benefits has not been explored. In this work, we investigated the effects of reptile handling on the handler, expressed by cardiovascular variables. An automated blood pressure device was used to obtain the blood pressure and heart rate of participants every five minutes over a 20-minute time period. Three different conditions were tested for each participant: one where they handled a snake (Python regius), one where they handled a lizard (Pogona vitticeps), and one where they handled a stuffed animal , which served as the control. Overall, we saw a significant decrease in the systolic blood pressure in subjects during both reptile conditions compared to the control , though there was no change in diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure (MAP), or heart rate. A decrease in systolic blood pressure has also been documented in studies involving mammalian companion animals. Therefore, our results provide evidence that handling snakes and lizards might provide some of the same cardiovascular benefits as handling cats, dogs, or horses. If so, this lends support to the argument that lizards and snakes can also be considered companion animals. These conclusions can be used to advocate for proper reptile husbandry and conservation efforts to protect native species in the fight against stigmas surrounding reptiles.

Authors: Clista Galecki. Mentors: William Anderegg. Insitution: University of Utah. This project will determine whether exposure to wildfire impacts a plant's ability to acclimate to summer drought. This is important because with rising temperatures and droughts there is an increase of wildfires (Diffenbaugh et al., 2015). This question will be address by comparing drought physiological traits of a native tree species, Utah juniper, in burned versus unburned sites in central Utah. The goal of the project is to determine whether plants that survive wildfires are more or less drought resilient. This research may provide insight into whether various tree species are better adapted to survive droughts and wildfires which will help in future ecology predictions of the future landscapes.There are multiple factors in why forests respond differently to drought. The factors include elevation, prior exposure to fire, prior exposure to drought, clade, and species (Anderegg et al., 2020). Severe drought or heat from a fire can result in hydraulic failure (McDowell et al., 2008). This means that the plant has loses its ability to sufficiently move water from the roots to the leaves. Which could indicate that trees burned in wildfires will not be better adapted to summer drought. Whereas there is a possibility that if the tree has had sufficient amount of time to recover from a stressing event that it could be better adapted for future droughts (Anderegg et al, 2020). My project will focus specifically on the effects of prior exposure to fire on Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) drought acclimation ability.

Authors: Logan Whitney, Jaren Wilson, Elley Colledge, Jamie Thygerson. Mentors: Jessica Pullan. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Exosomes are nanosized (40-150 nm) extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted from cells that play a vital role in the human body's intracellular communication.1 The use of bovine-derived exosomes as a drug delivery vehicle provides an innovative approach to targeted drug delivery4 due to their stability, nontoxicity, non-immunogenic properties, and cost efficiency.5,6,7,8,9 The purpose of our research is to establish and refine a raw bovine milk exosome isolation protocol to determine the quality of exosomes. Current standards for small EV identification are currently being established and regulated by the International Society of Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) but center around three main categories: proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids.2 To refer to EVs as exosomes, they must be of endosome origin, otherwise they are referred to as ectosomes, and must be appropriately referred to by their size.13 Upon isolation, we verified the morphology of the small EV’s using Scanning Electron Microscopy, allowing visualization of the size and shape of the small EVs. Our research methods for the quantification of surface proteins include Rose Bengal Assay12 and Bradford Assay. Examination using exosome-specific cell surface markers, such as CD63, demonstrates protein functionality of the small EVs. Quantification of lipids allows for comparison of lipid concentration to surface protein concentration for further evidence of exosome identification. Lastly, RNA quantification ensured the small EVs met the concentration threshold to be defined as exosomes. The combination of these methods will further the work in bovine milk extracellular vesicles by yielding a low-cost, high-yield protocol for the isolation and characterization of EVs that can be further used as biomarkers, drug carriers, and a variety of platforms of delivery to physiological targets. [1] Rayamajhi, S., Nguyen T., Marasini R., Aryal S. Macrophage-derived exosome-mimetic hybrid [2] Théry, C., Witwer, K.W., Aikawa, E., Alcaraz, M.J., Anderson, J.D., Andriantsitohaina, R., et al. Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles 2018 (MISEV2018): a position statement of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles and update of the MISEV2014 guidelines.  Journal of Extracellular Vesicles 2018; 7:1. [3] Pullan, J. E., Confeld, M. I., Osborn, J. K., Kim, J., Sarkar, K., and Mallik, S. Exosomes as drug carriers for cancer therapy. Molecular Pharmaceutics 2019; 16:1789–1798. vesicles for tumor targeted drug delivery. Acta Biomaterialia 2019; 94:482-494.  [4] He J, Ren W, Wang W, et al. Exosomal targeting and its potential clinical application. Drug Deliv Transl Res 2022;12(10):2385-2402. [5] Munagala R, Aqil F, Jeyabalan J, Gupta RC. Bovine milk-derived exosomes for drug delivery. Cancer Lett. 2016; 371(1):48-61. [6] Rashidi M, Bijari S, Khazaei AH, Shojaei-Ghahrizjani F, Rezakhani L. The role of milk-derived exosomes in the treatment of diseases. Front Genet 2022;13:1009338.  [7]García-Martínez J, Pérez-Castillo ÍM, Salto R, López-Pedrosa JM, Rueda R, Girón MD. Beneficial Effects of Bovine Milk Exosomes in Metabolic Interorgan Cross-Talk. Nutrients 2022;14(7):1442.  [8] Mashouri, L., Yousefi, H., Aref, A.R. et al. Exosomes: composition, biogenesis, and mechanisms in cancer metastasis and drug resistance. Mol Cancer 2019; 18:75.  [9] Radha Munagala, Hina Kausar, Charu Munjal, Ramesh C. Gupta, Withaferin A induces p53-dependent apoptosis by repression of HPV oncogenes and upregulation of tumor suppressor proteins in human cervical cancer cells, Carcinogenesis 2011; 11:1697–1705. [10] Wijenayake S., Eisha S., Tawhidi Z., Pitino M.A., Steele M.A., Fleming A.S., et al. Comparison of methods for pre-processing, exosome isolation, and RNA extraction in unpasteurized bovine and human milk. PLoS ONE 2021;16:e0257633. [11] Osteikoetxea X., Balogh A., Szabó-Taylor K., Németh A., Szabó T.G., Pálóczi K., et al. Improved Characterization of EV Preparations Based on Protein to Lipid Ratio and Lipid Properties. PLOS ONE 2015;10:e0121184. [12] Kishore, S.; Maruthamuthu, M. Binding of Rose Bengal onto Bovine Serum Albumin. Proceedings / Indian Academy of Sciences 1993, 105 (4–5), 279–285. DOI:10.1007/bf02866917. [13] Théry, C., Witwer, K. W., Aikawa, E. et al. (2018). Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles 2018 (MISEV2018): A position statement of the International Society for extracellular vesicles and update of the MISEV2014 guidelines. Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/20013078.2018.1535750z

Authors: Jared K Bradshaw. Mentors: Brandon Ro. Insitution: Utah Valley University. This research seeks to analyze if there exists an understanding of structural design principles among untrained humans. Building forms and styles have evolved since the earliest structures. For thousands of years buildings were limited by naturally occurring materials. Designs of those periods reflected the structural principles of those materials. In the last few hundred years technological advances have provided structural methods which radically altered how buildings can be designed. An example is the difference in column spacing between historic and modern buildings, where the former has much tighter spacing due to natural material’s spanning limitations. To analyze the understanding of untrained humans an eye-tracking study was conducted using A.I.-3M-VAS eye-tracking software. This technology utilizes artificial intelligence to graphically display eye gaze sequences, patterns, and durations of focus. The software reflects the first few seconds of eye-tracking, providing insights into subconscious reactions before a logical response is formed. Images of structural elements were designed digitally to reflect a variety of forms, maintain cohesiveness, and remove visual variables. Each image was individually processed through the software providing isolated results. The results of the study show consistent patterns of focus on locations of structural significance, such as bearing points, connections, and material loads. The consistency by which these concepts received focus concludes that there is an innate human ability to locate structural methods of building. Of note the structural forms which adhered to the limits of natural materials registered different eye tracking patterns than the modern manipulated material forms. The historic methods displayed even tracking throughout the structure, whereas the modern methods created hot spots at the points of greatest structural significance. The differences further emphasizes that untrained people are not limited to just understanding familiar structural forms. This will allow for further research on the physiological effects between form types.

Authors: Mackay B Steffensen, AustinRyan A Kirkby, Kieran L Richards. Mentors: Mackay B Steffensen. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Cyanuric chloride, a 1,3,5-trichlorotriazine, serves as a valuable platform for constructing innovative molecules. This project explores the unique reactivity of triazines to synthesize triazine crown ethers—a class of cyclic polyethers with a central cavity capable of selectively binding metal ions and polar molecules. Temperature-controlled nucleophilic aromatic substitution is employed to selectively substitute the triazine ring, providing precise control over the reaction. The first substitution with a primary amine nucleophile occurs rapidly at 0 °C, while subsequent substitutions at room temperature or 70 °C necessitate longer reaction times. This controlled approach enables the incorporation of three different amines.The project aims to synthesize triazine crown ethers through temperature-dependent substitution using two different methods. The first approach employs a diamine with an ether linkage in the presence of a base, facilitating consecutive substitutions to produce the target molecule. Intramolecular reactions are favored, but intermolecular reactions may lead to unexpected yet valuable products. The second method utilizes templated synthesis, taking advantage of the affinity of crown ethers for metal cations to promote cyclization reactions. A traditional route involving post-synthetic cyclization with ethylene glycol is also considered.The successful synthesis of these molecules opens up opportunities for further research, including characterizing their affinity for metals and exploring other unique properties. The acquired knowledge can be applied to construct more complex molecular structures, making this work valuable in materials science, analytical chemistry, and pharmaceuticals.

Authors: Sydney Pruett. Mentors: Roger Gold. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Microbiologically Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP) presents an innovative avenue for sustainable construction and environmental remediation. This biogenic process leverages the enzymatic hydrolysis of urea by microorganisms to generate calcium carbonate crystals, offering a green alternative with carbon sequestration potential, enhanced structural durability, and self-healing capabilities. Sporosarcina pasteurii is currently the predominant microorganism employed in biobrick production due to its notable urease activity. This study endeavors to assess the MICP potential of less explored bacterial strains with comparable urease activity levels. The strains under investigation include Sporosarcina ureae, Bacillus sphaericus, Bacillus thuringiensis, Bacillus cereus and Bacillus stearothermophilus. Additionally, we aim to shed light on the viability of these alternative microorganisms for MICP applications, contributing to a broader understanding of this promising technology's adaptability and potential implications for sustainable construction practices.

Authors: Spencer Thompson. Mentors: Sayeed Sajal. Insitution: Utah Valley University. The widespread use of Large Language Models (LLMs) in various industries raises critical concerns about user data privacy and security. This research focuses on two key vulnerabilities: prompt attacks and unauthorized retrieval of sensitive training data. We employ a straightforward methodology to craft effective system messages that neutralize malicious queries in real-time, thereby mitigating prompt attacks. To prevent the unauthorized extraction of sensitive information, we build on the concept of strong system messages. We aim to identify a system message that minimizes computational overhead while maximizing effectiveness. Our results demonstrate that a strategically-crafted system message can guide an LLM's output in a manner that enhances data security without compromising computational efficiency.

Authors: Ann Day, Shawn Coon. Mentors: Shawn Coon. Insitution: Westminster College. The decades long movement to discredit, defund, and de-professionalize public education has taken many forms. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, policymakers have increasingly attempted to undermine public education through state specific programs (Bacher-Hicks et tal., 2023; Peele & Riser-Kositsky, 2020; Friedman & Young, 2022; Perera, 2023; Vasallo, 2023; Walker, 2022). These policies have taken many forms and attempted to address multiple perceived problems. However, the one commonality between all of these policies is that they perpetuate a trend of educational policymaking that tacitly or actively attempts to de-professionalize teachers and teaching (Apple, 2004; Milner, 2013). The state of Utah, and it’s 2023 legislative session, offers a compelling case study into why this legislation continues to emerge, the rationale behind this movement, and the impact these policies have on educators.

Authors: Seunghwan Shin, Sydney Coates. Mentors: Guizella Rocabado. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Organic chemistry is one of the most feared and failed courses in the undergraduate curriculum. Consequently, studying what makes this course “too difficult” as perceived by students is worthwhile because these perceptions result in many students not considering STEM majors because they require chemistry courses. Our research group has investigated perceived costs in general chemistry, and this study expands our understanding of these constructs in organic chemistry. Students’ perceived costs of a chemistry class can be many, such as task effort, loss of valued alternatives, emotional, and others. These costs might be overcome by students’ interests and goals, yet the level of perceived costs might have a lasting impact on the students’ overall perception of chemistry and their desire to pursue chemistry and other STEM careers in the future. In this study we investigated the mentioned subclasses of perceived costs, other salient perceived costs, and mastery or performance goal orientations and the impact these constructs may have on students’ experiences in organic chemistry classrooms. Expanding on a previous study in general chemistry, we present the results of interviews we conducted with students in this class. Our results reveal that students struggle with the content, pace, and overall difficulty of the material. These results are not surprising; however, we also uncovered the students’ deep desire to learn and understand the material, the motivating effect of having a good relationship with their professor, and many other themes that emerged from our conversations.

Authors: Gabriella Proctor, Luke Alder. Mentors: Marcos Corchando Sonera. Insitution: Southern Utah University. The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is known to cause the disease chytridiomycosis and is notorious for its role in decimating anuran populations worldwide. A highly prevalent invasive species, the American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus), is understood to play an important role in the transmission of this disease in invaded regions. Notably, American bullfrogs are often largely immune to the effects of Bd, making them important reservoirs of the pathogen. Within southern Utah, this species has successfully invaded the Virgin River watershed, yet this population has not been the subject of prior study regarding its potential as a reservoir for Bd. We hypothesize that the Utah population has also been infected with Bd, potentially endangering native amphibian species. We sampled 46 bullfrog specimens from eight distinct aquatic habitats within the Virgin River basin in southwest Utah. Skin swabs will undergo purification and quantification, followed by PCR and gel electrophoresis to visualize and confirm results. We hope that our findings will be valuable in comprehending the impact of invasive American bullfrogs on amphibians within the Colorado River basin, particularly in relation to the spread and effects of chytridiomycosis.

Authors: Andy Sefcik. Mentors: Jamie Johnson. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Utah Valley University's Repertory Ballet Ensemble (RBE) has made it a priority to expose students to contemporary ballet techniques. In the Summer and Fall of 2023, Complexions Contemporary Ballet (CCB) Former Ballet Master, Christina Johnson, and Répétiteur, Jourdan Epstein visited the university to teach NIQUE classes and set repertoire on RBE for the February 2024 concerts. CCB was founded in 1994 by Master Choreographer Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson with the intent of reinventing dance by fusing a variety of styles and techniques. Based on phenomenological field research, gathered during the CCB Winter Intensive, I intend to illuminate the hallmarks of the CCB generated “NIQUE” technique in comparison to Vaganova approaches to ballet technique. In this presentation, I will present phrasework in the style of classical Vaganova ballet technique in comparison to NIQUE technique to create a clear visual difference between the two movement styles. This research shares the fundamentals of NIQUE technique to highlight how it is connected to and how it has developed beyond classical ballet technique.

Authors: Harmony Newbrough. Insitution: Utah Valley University. During the time of Ancient Rome, there were many sarcophagi that were created that had faceless portraits, and it could have been for a number of reasons, whether it be financial or personal. These unfinished portrait faces have puzzled archaeologists and historians alike in trying to find a concrete answer as to why there are so many of them,

Authors: Peyton Jackson. Mentors: John Chaston. Insitution: Brigham Young University. This study explores the relationship between seasonal variations and the development rates of Drosophila Melanogaster. Flies are closely monitored in a controlled laboratory setting after being transferred from outdoor cages across different seasons. In the outdoor cages, the introduction of the bacterial strain A. orientalis DmW_045, commonly referred to as '45,' enhances development rates and ensures consistent data collection. Axenic flies, created by thoroughly sterilizing fly eggs with bleach to eliminate external bacteria, are employed to isolate genetic influences on the relationship between season and development rates. The core methodology involves two groups: axenic flies treated with '45' and a control group unexposed to '45.' This approach guarantees data accuracy and assesses development rates based purely on genetics. Development rates are measured by marking eclosed (hatched) pupae on vials at specific intervals. The research seeks to unveil the correlation between seasonal variations and fly development rates, shedding light on the role of seasonal factors in shaping development. This study explores the interplay between seasonal variations and Drosophila fly development, emphasizing genetics and environmental factors. Its potential significance lies in providing insights beneficial for ecological and genetic studies, potentially offering a clear genetic link between seasons and development rates that can enhance our understanding of the natural world.

Authors: Abigail Cheever, Chloe Kang, Hunter Lindsay, Mackenzie Hansen, Kim O'Neill, K Scott Weber. Mentors: K Scott Weber, Kim O'Neill. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cell therapy is a modern technology that has become a widely accepted treatment for blood cancers such as lymphoma and leukemia. Recent studies have proven the successful application of CAR T cell therapies in autoimmune diseases as well. Graves’ Disease (GD) is an autoimmune disease that affects approximately 1 in 100 Americans and is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism. GD is mediated by anti-thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) antibodies produced by autoreactive B cells. Our hypothesis is that a curative treatment for GD can be created by designing a CAR T cell that specifically targets the autoreactive B cells in GD, by using TSHR as a binding domain to act as bait for the anti-TSHR B cells. We selected TSHR epitopes for the binding domain of the CAAR T cell, and our anti-TSHR antibodies bound significantly to our engineered CAAR T cells. A target B cell line with anti-TSHR B cell receptors was engineered using the Nalm6 B cell line. Using primary human CAAR T cells, activation and cytotoxicity assays against anti-TSHR B cells shows that CAAR T cell therapy is an effective and promising method to treat antibody mediated autoimmune diseases like GD.

Authors: Ellie Martin. Mentors: Cynthia Finlayson. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Pottery reconstruction allows archaeologists to better understand their artifacts and gain a more complete understanding of ancient ceramic techniques. Reconstruction techniques have evolved over time that strive for both better conservation practices and long-lasting results, as well as the use of bonding materials that are reversible rather than permanent. This poster examines the process of utilizing an acetone-based glue consisting of dissolved polymer beads of differing strength solutions. The entire process with be illustrated by step-by-step photos and directions as well as the quality of the final results. Two layers of different solution consistencies are applied to the pottery in different stages before the pieces are joined together. The first layer of glue is a thin coat made of 5% polymer and 95% acetone, and it is applied to any edges that will be refit. This layer fortifies the sherd and ensures that the glue applied is not stronger than the sherd itself. After the first layer has dried, the second coat of glue, made of 12% polymer and 88% acetone, is added to each piece. The sherds are then joined and placed in a secure location to dry, such as a bin of silica beads. Acetone-based polymer glue is strong and flexible, yet also dissolvable. Any mistakes can be unmade with the careful application of small amounts of acetone, and no restoration action is utilized on the pottery fragments that cannot be undone. This method of reconstruction is safe, secure, long-lasting, and meets modern conservation standards.

Authors: Dustin Edmonds, Devin Needs, Riley Fisher. Mentors: Brent Feland. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Research questionHow does localized vibration increase blood flow? We know that localized vibrations increase blood flow. We wanted to know if this is done through the release of hormones, specifically histamines. Relevant research contextResearch on blood flow has been done using whole-body vibration but research on the effects of localized vibration on arterial blood flow is scant. To date, there are only a couple of research articles on massage guns despite their prolific use in the sports industry. No research to date has attempted to assess the mechanism behind the increased blood flow that results from localized vibration.MethodsTwenty-one participants completed this study, 11 males and 10 females, mean age of 22.1 +/- 2.0 years. The mean male height 181.3 +/- 9.6 cm and weight 80.7 +/- 19.0 kg. The mean female height is 169.2 +/- 7.5 cm, and the mean weight is 64.5 +/- 9.3 kg. All subjects were “recreationally active” and exercised at least three times a week for thirty minutes a day. Excessive activity or high-level athletes were not allowed to participate. Each subject received localized vibration to the gastrocnemius (vibration of 47 Hz for 10 minutes) with and without an antihistamine drug by reporting to the lab on 2 separate days. The non-antihistamine trial was performed first, followed at least 24 hours later by ingesting an antihistamine (180 mg of fexofenadine) 1 hour before the trial. Blood flow in the popliteal artery was measured using an ultrasound. Measurements (mean and peak blood velocity, volume flow, popliteal diameter, and heart rate) were taken before localized vibration treatment and then taken at intervals for 19 minutes after the treatment.AnalysisWe used a cell-means mixed model to statistically compare the effect of vibration on blood flow with and without antihistamines. This was done by evaluating the blood flow response immediately post vibration and comparing that to baseline values for both control and antihistamine conditions. Results and ConclusionThere was a significant increase in blood flow without antihistamine while administration of antihistamine blunted the blood flow response and resulted in an insignificant increase in blood flow. In the tests with the antihistamine, we saw an insignificant change in blood flow immediately post vibration, resulting from the localized vibration. From this experiment, we hypothesize that increased blood flow from localized vibration is due to activation of mast cells which release histamines and that this cellular activation is force dependent.

Authors: Naavah Craze, crazen@byu.edu . Mentors: John Chaston. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Wolbachia are maternally inherited bacteria found in the reproductive organs of many arthropod species. These parasitic bacteria are influential in the reproductive fitness of the host and can affect a population’s male-to-female ratio. Wolbachia can only be cultured in living cells and current methods for inoculating hosts with this bacteria have low success rates. These factors make these bacteria difficult to study in lab environments. In this project, we test a pricking method for inoculating Drosophila melanogaster with Wolbachia. In this method, axenic, or bacteria-free, female flies will be pricked in the abdomen with a Wolbachia-coated needle. Eggs from these flies will be collected from 3 to 5 days after pricking and will be incubated. The offspring will be tested using gel electrophoresis to see if inoculation was successful. If successful, this method can be used as a simple and efficient way to introduce Wolbachia into Drosophila melanogaster. These inoculated flies can then be used in experiments to study the relationship between the bacteria and the host organism.

Authors: Lillian Davis, Paul B Frandsen. Mentors: Paul B. Frandsen. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Insects of the order Embioptera (webspinners) typically live in colonies that can cover the ground of entire fields with their silk-constructed galleries, providing them with camouflage from predators and cover from the rain. Uniquely amongst silk-producing insects, webspinners possess silk glands in their forelimbs and, like spiders, retain the ability to produce silk throughout their life history. They typically live together in semi-social colonies, feeding off of decaying plant matter. Previous studies have been limited to morphological descriptions of species, testing various qualities of their silk, and a few molecular studies based on short DNA sequences. Here we present the genome of Apostonia ceylonica, a webspinner species from India, providing the first embiopteran genome assembly, opening the door to a multitude of analyses. At a haploid size of approximately 3.1 gigabases, their genome is significantly larger than previous estimates, containing a significant number of repeating segments. This data provides valuable information for future studies into the genes that control silk production, information for identifying this species through meta-barcoding, and data that could improve phylogenetic trees. By evaluating the effect of repetitive elements on their oversized genomes, we gain insights into the evolutionary history of Apostonia ceylonica.

Authors: Lauren Heath, John Chaston. Mentors: John Chaston. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Mounting evidence shows that gut microbiota disruption is related to several physiological processes and disease development in mammals; however, the mechanisms by which these processes take place are not fully understood due to the complexity of the mammalian gut microbiome. Studying the fruit fly, Drosophila Melanogaster proves to be a valuable model for understanding the gut microbiome on a smaller scale. Previous research has identified microbiota disruption alters the fly’s ability to cope with thermal stress and causes slower chill coma recovery times. Chill coma recovery is an important survival trait and stress response in Drosophila flies. Microbiota may affect the ability of hosts to tolerate stressful situations. The purpose of this project is to determine the effect of different bacterial strains on the mechanisms of chill coma recovery through a metagenome analysis of different bacterial strains. I hypothesize that certain microbe genes will increase chill coma recovery times. To test this assumption, I will mono-associate by flooding different groups of eggs with a microbe wash and infusing their food with the same bacteria strain. After cultivation, a chill coma will be induced by placing mature adult flies in empty vials on ice for three hours, and then the time for each individual to stand up after their transfer to room temperature will be recorded. Subsequently, I will assess cold tolerance, and evaluate the rates of recovery. With this, we can further identify the mechanisms of the chill coma recovery process by pinpointing specific proteins necessary for this process through a metagenome-wide association approach (MGWA) and gene analysis. If I observe no effect of the bacterial strains on chill coma recovery times, I can test different mixes of microbes to determine if improved recovery rates are a side effect of global metabolic changes caused by decreased biodiversity in the gut of drosophila flies. Studying the metabolic processes of Drosophila allows us to unravel further the mechanisms by which gut microbes affect the fitness and health of their host. My findings may be extrapolated to further understand the human gut microbiome.

Authors: Jonathan Dickerson, Christian Ahrens, Zach Valentine, Sara Linderman, Hillary Wadsworth, Lauren Ford, Jordan Yorgason. Mentors: Jordan Yorgason. Insitution: Brigham Young University. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is a major component of the reward pathway in the brain. The role of ATP as a neurotransmitter within the NAc has largely remained unstudied. Multiple experiments have hinted at larger roles ATP may have in other areas of the brain, but not yet in the NAc to our knowledge. Our goal was to characterize ATP release in the NAc, in an attempt to pave the way to finding novel methods for treating/preventing addiction. Fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) was used to track ATP and dopamine release in the NAc of mouse brains, evoked with electrical stimulations before and after application of various drugs. Blocking nAChR’s and NaV channels reduced both ATP and dopamine release. Blocking DAT’s enhanced release, but blocked clearance of both ATP and dopamine, and activating the immune system with LPS increased release of both ATP and dopamine. Changes in dopamine and ATP release after drug application were definitely correlated, but not proportionally so. While in some instances, the same mechanisms previously thought to work just with one neurotransmitter or the other had effects on both, changes in ATP signaling cannot be fully explained by dopaminergic machinery in the NAc.

Authors: Kirsten Sanders. Mentors: Ruth Kerry. Insitution: Brigham Young University. The Great Salt Lake (GSL) found in the Salt Lake Valley is a remnant of Lake Bonneville. In the 1980s the GSL reached record high water levels. But by 2022, the lake has been drying up and reached record-low water levels. Previous research using seven years of Purple Air Network data has shown that particulate air pollution levels, PM 2.5 and PM 10, are worse within 10km of the Great Salt Lake. Other research investigating the distribution of toxic heavy metals (Copper, Arsenic, Lead, and Zinc) in topsoil samples from throughout the Salt Lake Valley showed that some of the highest levels of Copper and Arsenic pollution were found near Saltair among dried sediments on the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake. This study involved collecting numerous samples from the dried shoreline of the Great Salt Lake and analyzing them for their heavy metal contents using Xray Fluorescence. The heavy metals were then mapped and linked to sediment particle sizes and pH to indicate where the most toxic sediments are located, and where the sediments that are most easily picked up by the wind are located. The maps of heavy metals will be used with our analysis of the Purple Air Network and wind rose data from our previous study to show where toxic dust clouds are most likely to be an issue to the population. Links with 2016 Asthma ER visits and Hospitalizations will also be investigated.

Authors: Eva Driggs, Megan Cahoon, Seth Bybee. Mentors: Seth Bybee. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Odonates (dragonflies and damselflies) exhibit diverse coloration. These vibrant colors are important for species recognition, camouflage, and mate recognition. Adult odonates emerge in late spring, mate and reproduce, and die by fall. As color and seasonality are both important aspects of the adult stage in odonates, we pose the question: Does the odonate community color composition change over the season?We hypothesize that different colors within the odonate community will peak in abundance at different times in the season. We conducted population estimates weekly at a local park in Provo and analyzed data from Utah, the Great Basin, and the West Coast (GBIF). From this data, we found that generally, blue odonates have the highest abundance throughout the season, but red odonate populations persist later in the season while blue populations decline which may be due to seasonal changes in heat and light.

Authors: Cooper Johnson. Mentors: John Chaston. Insitution: Brigham Young University. The main goal of this project is to determine the relationships between microbes in the microbiota of Drosophila and the activity rate of Drosophila at low temperatures. Previous research has already determined that the microbiota leads to changes in fly activity levels at normal temperatures (Schretter, 2019). Studying the relationship at low temperatures with the method I will outline below will help us to have a more holistic view of how the bacteria affect fly locomotion and behavior. This holistic understanding can open doors for other projects that study if manipulation of the microbiota could have a specific desired effect on the fly’s behavior, and it can help us understand how the microbiota’s impacts are affected by drastic changes in temperature. In this experiment we seek to determine how each of 41 different strains of bacteria affects fly activity at temperatures of approximately 17 degrees celsius using several different metrics to measure both locomotion and social behaviors. These metrics would be collected simultaneously by placing flies in a chamber for Drosophila Video Tracking (DVT), which would use a camera and tracking software to record the above-mentioned metrics on fly activity. Using so many different metrics allows us to have a more holistic view of the flies’ activity and to be able to better determine exactly how the bacteria are affecting the flies. In order to connect the data with the microbiota, the flies would be separated into 41 different experimental groups and each group would be “mono-associated” with one of the 41 different above-mentioned bacterial strains. Mono-association means that each of the fly eggs would be bleached, and then divided in groups, with each group being grown in an environment containing a specific type of bacteria. This means that each fly experimental group would have one species of bacteria in their microbiota, and therefore we can associate changes in fly behavior to the differences in the Drosophila microbiota. Having determined which bacteria affect the fly activity at low temperatures, we would use Metagenome-wide association to determine which bacterial genes are causing this change. Metagenome-wide association involves comparing the genomes of bacteria shown to cause changes in Drosophila activity in order to identify the similar protein-coding sequences that may be the causes of these changes in activity. To confirm the findings at that stage, the genes are expressed in a bacteria that doesn’t express them normally, and flies are analyzed to see if the changes in activity persist. If they do, we can safely say that the changes are due to that specific gene sequence. We expect that the mono-associated flies will show differences in activity level, because it has already been established in a previous study that the microbiota in the flies has a statistically significant effect on the activity level of the flies, meaning that the presence of certain bacterial cultures in the flies lead to a difference in activity. Therefore, if there is no difference in activity level, it is most likely due to the low temperatures, and it may then be necessary to perform the experiment again at different temperatures to determine at what point the temperature negates the effect caused by the bacteria present in the fly microbiota. We aim to study the relationship between the microbes present in the fly microbiota and their activity level at low temperatures and identify the mechanisms by which the microbes affect the fly activity level.

Authors: Lauryn Dupaix. Mentors: Riley Nelson. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Golger’s rule is an ecogeographic rule stating that animals in warm and humid climates are heavily pigmented, whereas animals in colder and drier climates are lightly pigmented. By using previously collected specimens of Proctacanthus sp. from across the U.S., we explore how this rule applies to several species of robber flies over time and geographic space. The average color of thorax was analyzed using a spectrophotometer which were used in correlation tests with climate measurements from where the specimen was collected. We found that this ecogeographic rule was not consistent in all four of the species of robber flies that were analyzed. Therefore, other studies of the applicability of ecogeographic rules are being assessed in this genus. This research helps define morphological variation in a widespread species and open avenues for more morphological analysis of insects in a changing climate.

Authors: Levi Pouwer, Keaton Helquist. Mentors: Jared Nielsen. Insitution: Brigham Young University. OBJECTIVE: To identify brain regions and networks underlying acquired-brain-injury-induced insomnia. BACKGROUND: In patients of tertiary-level mental healthcare facilities, symptoms of chronic insomnia are prevalent in 78.2% of the population. Additionally, among those who suffer from acquired brain injury, few symptoms are as generally pervasive as that of chronic insomnia. Meta-analyses of insomnia patients with fMRI data have failed to identify consistently affected brain regions. Individual studies have suggested several brain regions are involved in insomnia, including the anterior cingulum, orbitofrontal cortex, the insula, caudate nucleus, and the anterior capsula interna. However, few regions have consistently been implicated in the pathophysiology of insomnia. Moreover, little is known regarding the collective brain networks involving insomnia. DESIGN/METHODS: A comprehensive systematic literature review was conducted to identify case studies of individuals afflicted with acquired brain injury-induced insomnia (N=53). The review process was facilitated by employing Cadima, specialized literature review software. To establish a reference baseline for comparison, a substantial cohort of resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) scans from healthy control subjects (N=1000) was meticulously acquired. Subsequently, lesion network mapping analysis, as outlined by Fox et al. in 2018, was applied to the lesions observed in the 53 patients. This method allowed us to assess the impact on functional connectivity and analyze its implications by comparing the patients' lesion networks with the baseline scans obtained from healthy controls. RESULTS: In the context of lesion network mapping analysis, our study revealed that 45 out of 53 patients diagnosed with acquired brain injury-induced insomnia exhibited brain lesions that were functionally connected to both the left amygdala and the left anterior insula. Moreover, in 39 out of 57 patients, the lesion networks also included bilateral anterior insula and the hypothalamus. Comparative analysis of these lesions with a normative database unveiled a substantial disparity in functional connectivity to the left amygdala and left anterior insula in patients suffering from acquired brain injury-induced insomnia. This finding underscores the relevance of tissue within these regions and tissues functionally connected to these areas in relation to the onset of lesion-induced insomnia. CONCLUSION: The observed functional network connectivity among the left amygdala and the left insular region in relation to insomnia introduces a potentially more intricate mechanism underlying the onset of insomnia, in addition to the previously proposed factors such as hyperarousal in cortical regions and subcortical neuropathologies. Our findings highlight the possibility of a deeper connection between the initiation of insomnia and limbic structures, specifically emphasizing their role in emotion and sleep regulation. This suggests that the neural mechanisms influencing anxiety may have interrelated effects on the mechanisms influencing insomnia. It is evident that further investigation, particularly among psychiatric patients afflicted with insomnia, is warranted to delve into the activities occurring in these regions and to elucidate the potential interplay between anxiety and insomnia. This research paves the way for a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between neural pathways and the development of insomnia, ultimately offering valuable insights for future clinical and therapeutic considerations.

Authors: Connor Hough. Mentors: Johnny Chaston. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Many variables can have an effect on the microbiota (microbial community associated with an organism) which can, in turn, affect the health and lifestyle of the microbiota's host organism. One such variable is geographic latitude (distance away from the earth's equator) which was the subject of a portion of a study performed by Walters et al. in 2020 and a similar study performed by Henry et al. in 2022. Walters et al. determined that latitude had a significant effect on the composition of the gut microbiota in Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies) while Henry et al. determined that latitude did not have a significant effect. To better understand what variables may have caused a difference in the results of these two studies I plan to perform data analysis on the data provided from both Walters et al. and Henry et al. Particularly, Henry et al. provided data about the microbiota of other sample types associated with D. melanogaster across the latitudinal cline such as the fruit fly excrement, the leaves in their environment, and their diet which consisted of apples and grapes. While this data was mentioned in Henry et al.’s paper I feel that a more in depth analysis of these sample types could bring insight about how these microbiota affect one another and how latitude affects each of them separately. I will use QIIME (a bioinformatics data analysis software) data analysis methods, such as alpha and beta diversity metrics, and R to analyze the data provided and create graphs. Because each sample type in the data was recorded with unequal sample sizes I will also need to make a new taxonomic graph of the sample types when measured proportionally to each other. To do this I will use QIIME to group the original feature table metadata from Henry et al. by sample type and return a new table with an equal number of samples for each sample type. With this done I will then be able to make a new bar plot using QIIME. I will then use this new set of adjusted data to analyze the relationships between latitude and each sample type as well as the relationship between each sample type to one another. I will also perform these data analytics methods on the data provided on fruit fly gut microbiota by Walters et al. and compare the results with the fruit fly gut microbiota provided by Henry et al.. I hypothesize that further analyzing the data from these sample types will reveal new correlations between the microbiota of these sample types and with latitude. If no new information is learned through this analysis then it will solidify Henry et al.’s claim that latitude does not significantly affect the microbiota. Alternative outcomes may show that there is not a correlation between the microbiota of sample types which would indicate that the microbiota exhibits a neutral behavior and is not selective. However, if my hypothesis is correct then these correlations would show that the microbiota of separate sample types are related to the microbiota of other sample types and that latitude does have a significant effect on the microbiota of each sample type. The results of this analysis will open up more pathways for study about the reason behind these correlations or the lack thereof.

Authors: Brynlyn Hastings, Dante Cervantes, Jaime Analuisa. Mentors: Lindsay Chaney. Insitution: Snow College. Ants are a diverse and ecologically significant group of insects, yet their species identification in the field can be challenging due to their small size and morphological variation. In this study conducted at Snow College, we employed DNA barcoding techniques to unravel the ant species diversity within the local ecosystem of Snow College's Campus. Our research aimed to shed light on the ant species biodiversity concerning areas that had more human interference compared to those with little human interference contributing to a better understanding of local biodiversity.

Authors: Lant Jenkins, Dalyn Davis, Caleb Kratt. Mentors: Jeffery Barrow. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Currently, nematodes, fruit flies, and zebrafish are effective models for gene manipulation due to their rapid embryonic development and capacity for producing a large number of offspring. Avians such as the chicken have also served as embryonic models and have proven to be powerful tools for exploring developmental processes such as neural tube or limb development. Because of high chick fecundity, a relatively short period of development, and the accessibility of the chick embryo, the chicken would make an excellent model for gene manipulation that would significantly enhance our study of the relationship between genes and phenotypes in vertebrates. The aim of our research is to develop a line of genetically modified chicken germ cells into which new DNA vectors can be seamlessly introduced via cassette exchange. The design of the germ cells is such that the DNA vectors will be incorporated into the chicken genome at specified safe harbor locations, areas of euchromatin where the introduced DNA will not interfere with other genes. These modified germ cells can then be injected into chicken embryos and contribute to the chick’s germline. We anticipate that this model for modifying the chicken’s genome will significantly enhance our ability to introduce new DNA vectors, making the chicken a more desirable model for studying embryonic development via genetic manipulation.

Authors: Joshua Thlaman, Brynlei Luke, Emily Pattee. Mentors: Lindsay Chaney. Insitution: Snow College. We tested if grasshopper species varied based on locations with constant human interaction vs. locations with little to no human interaction within Sanpete county. Due to how close, (a 6 mile radius), the collection locations are, it was logically reasoned that there will be no differences in grasshopper species between Ephraim and Manti Utah.​This study was performed with grasshoppers collected in Sanpete County: specifically, the town of Ephraim, Ephraim canyon, the town of Manti, and Manti canyon. To do this, we collected grasshoppers from each of the mentioned locations, extracted the DNA samples by humanely freezing the grasshoppers and collected small amounts of the grasshoppers, amplified the DNA samples using PCR, and sequenced the PCR products to help identify the grasshopper species collected using BLAST. ​Our experiment results showed that there was a large variation of species collected, as well as many similar species were present in all collection locations. Ephraim housing and Ephraim canyon only had one type of species present (Melanoplus sanguinipes), while Manti housing showed three other species (Melanoplus differentialis, Dissosteira carolina, Trimerotropis pallidipennis), and Manti canyon showed another species type (Trimerotropis cincta). This suggests that there is more variation within Manti housing and Manti canyon, no variation within Ephraim housing and Ephraim canyon, and only some variation between Manti and Ephraim.

Authors: Eric Morris. Mentors: Jerry Johnson. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Black Spot Disease (BSD) is a parasitic infection that occurs when trematode parasites burrow into the skin of a fish and form a cyst. The infected fish releases black pigment around the cyst creating a visible black spot. Fishes can have different levels of infection ranging from a few cysts located on their skin to an entire body speckled with these markings. Parasitic diseases typically come with a cost to the host species. Little research has been conducted examining the cost of such diseases in the placental live-bearing fish Brachyrhaphis rhabdophora. My study examines the influence of BSD on female association preferences by providing female Brachyrhaphis rhabdophora dichotomous choices between males who appear to be healthy, slightly infected, moderately infected, and highly infected. The different levels of infection in the males are simulated by ink tattooing.

Authors: Byron Adams, Elias Johnson, D Alejandro Espinosa-Lucas, R Darío Perez-García, Israel Solano-Zavaleta, J Jaime Zúñiga-Vega, Gonzalo A Ramirez-Cruz. Mentors: Byron Adams. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Urbanization has forced animals to respond to novel environments. One of the challenges of urban ecology is that it is unknown if the ecological processes that take place in wild conditions also occur in urban environments. In natural ecosystems, key predators can limit prey abundance and have a widespread effect on trophic levels. Here, we examine a predator-prey interaction in Mexico City, an urban ecosystem where prey can be evaluated in the presence or absence of apex predators. Nearly all original ecosystems in Mexico City have been converted into man-made structures. Many of the green spaces in the city contain populations of the Mexican gray squirrel. These green spaces are also inhabited by different species of raptors, the most frequent being Harris’s hawk, Cooper’s hawk, and sharp-shinned hawk. Little is known about interactions between raptors and squirrels in terms of demographic parameters. We do know, however, that raptors prey on squirrels. We predicted that in parks where raptors were present, there would be fewer squirrels than in parks where there were no raptors. We studied the relationship between raptors and squirrels using occupancy models to determine the environmental factors that affect the presence of both squirrels and raptors. We then tested if the presence of raptors influenced the occupancy probability of squirrels. Lastly, we estimated the abundance of squirrels in parks, both where raptors are present and where they are absent. Contrary to our predictions, we found no evidence that predators predict squirrel abundance. However, we did find evidence that the presence of raptors can be predicted by the abundance of squirrels. These results suggest that this predator-prey interaction in Mexico City parks could be relatively recent and still not in equilibrium, or that other factors may be affecting the dynamics between these two urban populations.

Authors: Lonnie Ernst. Mentors: Lane Law. Insitution: Salt Lake Community College. Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic bacteria commonly found in water. Microcystis aeruginosa is one such cyanobacteria that is found within the waters of Utah Lake. M. aeruginosa produces the microcystin toxin which is harmful to the aquatic life and contributes to the ongoing problem of eutrophication and, if ingested, is also harmful to humans. Alongside this toxin producing cyanobacteria, Utah Lake is contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) which are highly carcinogenic chemical compounds. This study aims to offer a method of bioremediation by engineering M. aeruginosa to carry a BPH gene pathway that breaks down PCBs. Using CRISPR, this gene would remove the microcystin producing gene and replace it with the BPH gene resulting in the engineered M. aeruginosa to breakdown the PCB contaminants and halt further production of the microcystin toxin.

Authors: Alix Elliston. Mentors: Lane Law. Insitution: Salt Lake Community College. Cyanobacteria (colloquially known as blue-green algae) are photosynthetic prokaryotes commonly found in water. Several genera of freshwater cyanobacteria, including Microcystis, Planktothrix (Oscillatoria), and Anabaena, produce potent hepatotoxins known as microcystins. Eutrophication and increasing temperatures facilitate an overgrowth of toxin-producing cyanobacteria, referred to as cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs). There are several known cyanophages which infect these genera and there has been some research into the role phages play in regulating cyanoHABs. This study aims to isolate microcystin-producing cyanobacteria from Utah Lake, as well as known or novel freshwater cyanophages which can infect the isolates. Any isolated phage will be propagated, have its DNA extracted and sequenced, and studied for use as a CRISPR delivery vehicle to target toxin-producing cyanobacteria, with the aim of knocking out microcystin biosynthesis.

Authors: Nolan Rodeback, Jerald Johnson. Mentors: Jerald Johnson. Insitution: Brigham Young University. The environment plays a crucial role in the development and evolution of organisms. In some cases, the environmental pressures on a mother may result in changes of offspring phenotypes. This phenomenon, called maternal effects, might occur in the tropic fish species Brachyrhaphis rhabdophora. I will conduct an experiment to test if maternal effects can be induced by the presence of a predator. To measure this we will look at maturity age and growth rates in the offspring where mothers are reared in the presence or absence of predators. If predators have an effect, offspring should mature at earlier ages and have faster growth rates than individuals with mothers reared in the absence of predators.

Authors: Isaac Wilson, Bree Wilson. Mentors: Arianna Harrington. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Understanding the body size of an organism is crucial for discussing its ecological role, potential trophic impact on its environment, and life history. The sauropod dinosaurs represent the largest land animals known, reaching masses many times that of modern elephants and rivaling the most massive cetaceans in some cases. This study attempts to quantify the body size variation between average and maximum sauropod dinosaurs by using Camarasaurus as a focal genus and comparing appendicular elements from the same quarries. Intraquarry rather than intraspecific variation is chosen due to the difficulty of diagnosing limb elements to the species level, and limb elements are known to scale isometrically in Camarasaurus. In addition to Camarasaurus-centric measurements, extant and extinct ecological analogues with recorded body size ranges are also used to estimate body size variation. While their life histories are not well-known, histological analysis indicates that sauropods were likely tachymetabolic endotherms, and their growth curves were most similar to birds and large herbivorous mammals in terms of extant taxa. This is in contrast to basal sauropodomorphs like Plateosaurus, which is demonstrated to exhibit high developmental plasticity. Minimum intraspecific size variation, collected from the literature and based on birds, nonavian dinosaurs, and large herbivorous mammals suggest that the largest representatives of any given sauropod species could have been between 139% and well over 200% larger than the average. Applying preliminary ratios from the data collected so far to the largest well-preserved sauropod, Argentinosaurus huinculensis, results in a plausible maximal mass of 137-177 tonnes for the genus.

Authors: Brooklyn Jones. Mentors: Bradford Berges. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Staphylococcus aureus (SA) forms biofilms that cause considerable morbidity and mortality in patients who receive implanted devices such as prosthetics or fixator pins. An ideal surface for such medical devices would inhibit biofilm growth. Recently, it was reported that surface modification of stainless-steel materials with carbon-infiltrated carbon nanotubes (CICNT) inhibits the growth of SA biofilms. Through previous research, we investigated this antimicrobial effect on titanium (Ti) materials with CICNT coated surfaces in a variety of surface morphologies and across a broader spectrum of SA isolates. We have in vitro evidence that carbon nanotube-treated materials are effective at preventing SA biofilm formation on Ti, the most common material used in human implanted devices. We now wish to study the effects of carbon nanotube treatments on prevention of SA biofilm formation in vivo which has potential value to improving human health .

Authors: Wesley Hendricks. Mentors: Steve Johnson. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Pioglitazone Hydrochloride (PGZ) is a well-accepted treatment of type-II diabetes and has been shown in previous studies to increase lifespan of C. elegans. The agonist has been shown to affect the insulin, IGF-1 signaling pathway (IIS), dietary restriction (DR) and germline signaling pathways. Previous studies have not been able to identify epigenetic marks that are a result of the pathway effects of PGZ (Jia Wenguan et. al). This study seeks to understand how subsequent generations are affected by antiaging compounds and what epigenetic marks are transmitted through the germline of C. elegans from these three pathways. After exposure, through lifespan tracking, we hope to see a change in transgenerational longevity. Using RNAi, we then plan to knockout known genes in each pathway. We hope to see that intestine-germline pathway and maintenance genes that are known to function in each pathway are required for the longevity effect.

Authors: Braden Nelson. Mentors: Nathan S Werner. Insitution: Southern Utah University. The stereocontrolled palladium-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction of (E)-2-phenylethenylboronic acid pinacol ester with aryl chlorides to produce (E)-stilbene derivatives was studied. (E)-2-Phenylethenylboronic acid pinacol ester was synthesized by 9-borobicyclo[3.3.1]nonane (9-BBN) catalyzed hydroboration reaction of phenylacetylene with pinacolborane. The reaction conditions of the palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction of this reagent with aryl chlorides were then evaluated to maximize the yield of the cross-coupled product. The maximum yield of (E)-stilbene, 74%, was obtained when the amount of (E)-2-phenylethenylboronic acid pinacol ester was increased from 1.2 to 1.5 equivalents, RuPhos was used as the ligand, K2CO3 was used as the base, and DMF was used as the reaction solvent at 90 °C. Four other aryl chlorides bearing electron-withdrawing and electron-donating substituents in the ortho- and para-positions were found to undergo facile coupling in 91-100% isolated yield.

Authors: Julia Gilpin, Lucy Bowden, Sela Harris, Elisa McRae, Jenny Bean, Brooklyn Jones. Mentors: Bradford Berges. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Staphylococcus aureus (SA) is a significant human pathogen that has acquired antibiotic resistance, posing a global health threat. This bacterium is prevalent in livestock, raw meat, and healthcare settings, leading to infections ranging from mild to life-threatening. The emergence of multi-drug resistant strains, such as Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), further complicates treatment. The mechanisms of antibiotic resistance transfer, especially within biofilms, remain poorly understood.This research aims to investigate horizontal gene transfer within biofilms of SA isolated from humans. Leveraging the work of the Berges laboratory and techniques used by other researchers. The experimental design involves the use of heat-killed cells as donors to prevent conjugation, shedding light on how biofilm structure influences transformation efficiency.To address the hypothesis that biofilms serve as hotspots for horizontal gene transfer, the research employs a two-component system for upregulating natural competence genes in SA under biofilm growth conditions. This approach will allow us to detect natural transformation, advancing our understanding of SA infections closely associated with biofilm formation. If successful, this study will provide insights into how SA acquires antibiotic-resistant genes and may lead to the development of preventive measures and treatment strategies to combat drug-resistant strains.

Authors: Derek Baker, Lauren Jensen, Dagney Goodfellow, Seunghwan Shin. Mentors: Guizella Rocabado. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Differences in sexes have long been speculated, yet their application in chemistry learning environments has not been well researched. Literature shows that males have larger cerebral volumes for visual capacities more often associated with hands-on projects and courses than female brains. And female brains have larger cerebral volumes for areas associated with memorization and socialization which more highly correlate with lecture-based learning. Given the high attrition of women in chemistry courses, we investigated this phenomenon in organic chemistry topics that are highly visual (e.g. chirality, Newman projections, chair conformations, bond rotations, etc.) and topics that require more memorization (e.g., functional groups, energy values associated with sterics, nomenclature, definitions, etc.). We conducted an anonymous survey with students who are currently enrolled in organic chemistry or have taken organic chemistry in the past. The questions varied in difficulty as well as levels of visualization or memorization required. The results show correlation with the literature that males score better in the visual-based questions, and females score better in the memorization-based questions. In addition, we conducted interviews with male and female students in organic chemistry, and found that the female students self-generated various techniques to visualize 3D rotations (e.g., use their hands, draw arrows, etc). While most male students didn’t adopt these techniques because they were able to do the 3D rotations in their head. With these results, we plan to design course interventions to bridge the gaps between the extremes of visualization vs. memorization-based concepts for the students.

Authors: Becca fabis. Mentors: Alexandra Giannell. Insitution: Utah Valley University. On December 2nd my friend was killed by a hit and run driver while going on a run at night. It was right before finals. I was involved with the police and helped her family pack up all of my beloved friends belongings and watched as her daddy cried in her room. Words can’t express the agony I saw. Two months later I learned that another roomate (in a different apartment) her cousin had committed suicide. And we were the place everyone gathered. I held her cousin’s (who committed suicide) sister in my arms as she cried. Words cannot express the agony I felt for them.Then on the first day of school this semester (a month ago) my father suddenly passed away from a brain aneurysm. He was at the peak of health. My mom puked from sickness and shock, later got sick with other illnesses, (she’s doing a little better now) then my sister got sick and I was left to care for them on my own. There’s no words to express my exhaustion. The late nights of wandering my house making sure we were safe. Words have no ability to express my agony I’m in. After my roomate passed I created a painting. It’s called my grieving process because it’s of a house, the house represents me. In it through color you can see the process that grief can have on a person. I’m only 25, people say I’m too young to lose this many people. Perhaps they’re right. It’s an eerie painting and pretty odd when you look at it. I have had now three losses that have taught me that sometimes words aren’t enough. That it’s through art I can scream and it is documented. I would love to present on how creating art can be the breathe of fresh air one desperately needs in order to continue on in this fight we call life.

Authors: Ezra Bradley, Sam Wald, Steve Francis, Derek Hansen, Jason McDonald, Jon Balzotti. Insitution: Brigham Young University. This presentation discusses the frameworks used to create an extended reality (XR) technical training for use in a nuclear handling context. Many of these insights can be applied to technical equipment training in various applications. In addition to describing the process for the creation of the training, design considerations are also expounded. These include approaches for colocation within the training, content presentation and navigation, and instructional design.

Authors: Keenan Faulkner. Mentors: Jeff Goeders. Insitution: Brigham Young University. FPGAs are a type of reconfigurable computing chip that are often used in mission critical systems in various applications including aerospace, defense, and telecommunications. Hardware netlists are generally converted into a bitstream and loaded onto an FPGA board through vendor-provided tools. Due to the proprietary nature of these tools, it is up to the designer to trust the validity of the design's conversion to bitstream. However, motivated attackers may alter the CAD tools' integrity or manipulate the stored bitstream with the intent to disrupt the functionality of a design.We have put forward a novel approach to verify functional equivalence between a synthesized netlist and the produced FPGA bitstream using a structural comparison algorithm. This presentation aims to demonstrate the fault-injection testing algorithms designed to prove the veracity of our approach. The fault-injection testing algorithms involve making manipulations to wire connections and initialization values in LUTs (lookup tables) from a bitstream reversed netlist, then running our comparison algorithms on the corrupted netlist and the original synthesized netlist to show that the algorithms will catch the errors.

Authors: Payton Jones. Mentors: Jamie Spinney. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Virtual Reality: The Next Step in Technology-Based Education Virtual Reality (VR) technology offers numerous educational opportunities that can enhance high school curriculum. The use of technology in the classroom has been rapidly evolving since the development of the accessible internet. Laptops, tablets, online learning platforms, and interactive projections are several of the technological developments, and now VR appears to be one of the next steps in that evolution. As VR continues to become more affordable and more advanced, there is a commensurate increase in opportunities to enhance curriculum, instructional techniques, and student engagement. For example, VR enables students and teachers to go on virtual field trips to places that are relevant to class material without the challenges and costs of leaving the classroom. The purpose of this study was twofold; (a) to investigate the different applications of VR technology that can be used to enhance high school social science curriculum, and (b) to summarize some of the main benefits and challenges associated with implementing VR in the classroom. The results of this study indicate that VR technology has considerable potential to enhance both the learning experience and student engagement by providing immersive learning opportunities, but these opportunities are unlikely to be widely utilized in the near future.

Authors: Sierra M Mellor, Madilyn Brandt, Nathaniel Eberhart, Samuel Flor, Julianne H Grose. Mentors: Julianne Grose. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Continued use of antibiotics has driven the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which cause infections that prove difficult to treat. Therefore, it is crucial that alternative treatments for bacterial infections are developed. One such promising method, known as phage therapy, utilizes viruses that infect bacteria. However, compared to the high abundance of bacteriophages, relatively few have been isolated and sequenced, with little known about their gene products. Here we have isolated two phages, SummitAcademy and AJGecko, against the host bacteria Gordonia rubripertincta. Gordonia belongs to the Actinobacteria class containing many pathogenic bacteria, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and so analysis of SummitAcademy and AJGecko can provide insight into the evolution of this family. Genomic comparison of conserved genes between SummitAcademy and other Gordonia phages identifies 14 hypothetical proteins as unique to SummitAcademy. Subsequent liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) of CsCl-purified SummitAcademy confirms expression of many predicted gene products, verifying the annotation. Several peptides generated through mass spectrometry also provide evidence for extending predicted start sites of gene products. Further characterization of virion proteins and gene products of SummitAcademy can add to the overall knowledge of this cluster of phages and potential phage therapies against Gordonia or related infections.

Authors: Lexi Todd, Jessica Jespersen, Isabel Medina Hull, Mary Crawford, Taylor Powell, Ashley Roberts, Melia Fonoimoana Garrett, Kris Urbina, Elizabeth A Cutrer. Mentors: Elizabeth A Cutrer. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Background: American Samoan children face significant mental health challenges, including high levels of depression and anxiety, often escalating to suicidal thoughts and behaviors during adolescence. Addressing this issue, our study collaborated with community leaders in American Samoa to develop and implement five tailored lesson plans aimed at teaching 35 elementary school children resilience strategies for emotional self-regulation. Method: Employing Multimodal Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (MMIPA), we examined students' drawings depicting their emotions of sadness, anger, and fear before and after the intervention. The analysis focused on understanding the impact of the lesson plans on students' emotional regulation strategies. Results: Post-intervention, our findings indicated a notable improvement in students' ability to regulate their emotions, particularly fear. Through the lesson plans, students acquired practical skills and coping mechanisms, allowing them to better manage their emotions. This positive shift in emotional regulation suggests that the intervention played a significant role in enhancing students' resilience, specifically in dealing with fear-related emotions. Conclusion: Our study underscores the effectiveness of a community-based intervention approach in addressing the mental health challenges faced by American Samoan children. By providing targeted resilience-focused lessons, students demonstrated improved emotional self-regulation, particularly in managing fear. These findings highlight the importance of culturally sensitive interventions and community collaboration in promoting mental well-being among vulnerable populations.

Authors: Megan Sorensen, Lianna Olsen, Maleah Bowen. Mentors: Ryan Kellems, Cade Charlton. Insitution: Brigham Young University. This research explores how virtual reality can help children with autism. It explores the effects of an intervention using virtual reality to assess the usability of virtual reality for children with autism.There are more than 200 studies that show that video modeling is a viable way to teach students with autism various skills. Research has started to explore if virtual reality is also a successful way to teach students with autism similar skills. Different studies have been conducted regarding social skills and cognitive skills and how they can be taught using virtual reality. There is very little research about fine-motor skills and virtual reality for individuals with disabilities. Our research adds to that research, but specifically explores fine-motor skills and the feasibility of using virtual reality with children with autism. The study uses a single subject research design with 5-10 participants with autism. Before starting data collection, the participant completes a brief tutorial for how to use virtual reality. One tutorial is for how to use the controllers and the other is for how to use the hand-tracking feature that allows the participant to use their hands instead of the controllers. The study is an alternating-treatment design. The individual is given a specific task to complete using the playroom items found in the “First Steps” application on the Oculus Quest. For example, they are asked to stack blocks, throw paper airplanes, etc. They either complete the task using the controllers or with the handtracking feature based upon a random schedule and the latency of the trial is measured. The data compares hand-tracking and controllers and measures whether the participant is getting faster with every trial. It was hypothesized that the students will be able to learn how to use the virtual reality interface and that they will be able to generalize the skills learned to other settings and/or skills, and that the interventions will be viewed by the participant and parents as socially valid ways to learn. It was anticipated that the participant will get increasingly faster at completing the tasks for both hand-tracking and with the controllers. It was also anticipated that the rate of completing tasks with controllers will be faster than that of hand-tracking. Preliminary date has shown this relationship to be true. Future research will explore the specific practices of how virtual reality can be best used for children with autism.

Authors: Nathan Vaughan. Mentors: Jeffery Tessem. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Diabetes Mellitus is a chronic disease characterized by a loss of functional beta cell mass, and impaired glucose homeostasis. Elevated glucose levels in the body are known to be the cause of a plethora of debilitating illnesses. Hyperglycemia negatively effects beta cell function, resulting in impaired insulin secretion and cell death. Two key transcription factors involved in beta cell development, function, and proliferation are Nkx6.1 and Pdx1. We have shown a binding interaction between these Nkx6.1 and Pdx1 and have shown that they co-regulate various genes necessary for beta cell maturity and function. Preliminary data indicate that elevated glucose concentrations downregulate Nkx6.1 mRNA and protein, as well as Pdx1 mRNA. However, the effect of elevated glucose concentrations on Pdx1 and Nkx6.1 binding interaction and subsequent function remains largely unexplored. Here we demonstrate the effect of hyperglycemia on the Pdx1-Nkx6.1 interaction, and the effect on expression of Pdx1 and Nkx6.1 downstream target genes. Understanding the effect of hyperglycemia on this interaction will allow us to better understand the stress that a beta cell is under during diabetic conditions, and to develop interventions to ameliorate these effects.