Fine Arts

Authors: Alexa Smith. Mentors: Iliana Portaro. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Every day, more and more political ads are popping up in Spanglish or even full-out Spanish on screens across the United States. Whether or not these ads are effective is another story. The research conducted here was based on the hypothesis that in America, after its most recent, tumultuous presidential election cycle, given also that Spanish speakers are on the rise, a candidate’s bilingualism could mean the difference between winning a seat or walking home empty-handed. According to an anonymous online research survey conducted in Salem of Marion County, Oregon, this is only the case when a constituent places importance on a candidate’s language ability. Otherwise, the majority of respondents remained largely indifferent. Additionally, this study determines that more can be done to encourage Latinx individuals to participate in the political system, and it all starts with community outreach. The results of this survey are based on a small, mostly Caucasian sample size, but there is still much to be examined.

Authors: Jared Hanks, Kevan LaFrance, Julie Pynn. Mentors: Kevan LaFrance. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Implicit Bias is a form of bias that occurs subconsciously but influences conscious actions. It often occurs as racial bias and in apolitical environments (Gassner, 2014). Research shows those who are more conservative leaning are prone to racial bias (Brown, 2019). This research will broaden our understanding of implicit biases with political preferences taken into account. Using an Implicit Association Test, participants will sort "good" and "bad" words as they sort African-American or European-American faces. Research shows there is a correlation between thought compatibility and speed as connections we subconsciously hold are made faster (West, 2021). We predict those with conservative views will have a higher rate of association between black and bad words than those with progressive views, and those who lean progressive will feel they have more implicit bias when asked. this research will enhance our understanding of political bias and more importantly those who take the test will be given a chance to assess their own biases and be provided some tools to live with bias or seek to combat it. Results are forthcoming.

Authors: Hunter Mitchell, Grace Carsey, Maria Balaceanu, Peg Bird, Bridger Lisonbee, Dannelle Larsen-Rife. Mentors: John Jones. Insitution: Utah Tech University. Early experiences in the home have long-term effects on health and well-being. This study will examine the connections between parenting styles and coping mechanisms, shedding light on their implications for child development and adult mental health and well-being. Parenting styles looked at in this study, specifically authoritarian has varied views on expectations, discipline, and rewards (Doepke & Zilibotti, 2017). Parenting styles have been shown to impact how children express themselves, and more specifically their expression of anger (Radomir-Beliţoiu, 2019). The expression of anger may indicate a deficiency in healthy coping skills. When individuals are found without healthy ways of coping, they become increasingly vulnerable to mental health disorders and poor relationship satisfaction. Based on our current understanding we believe that an authoritarian parenting style will be positively correlated with unhealthy coping mechanisms such as avoidance, substance use, and self-criticism. Adult participants (N = 100) varying in ethnicity and age will be recruited to complete the Brief Cope Questionnaire (Carver, 1997) and an adaptive version of the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ; Robinson, Mandleco, Olsen, & Hart, 2001) to assess their parent's style of parenting and their ability to cope with challenges. We will run an ANOVA on the collected data using SPSS. We expect to see a correlation between parenting styles and children’s coping skills. It is anticipated that there will be a strong positive correlation in unhealthy coping skills and parental strategies. This study may suggest the importance of educating children and young adults in healthier coping skills and adults in healthy parenting strategies. This education may aid in reducing the frequency and intensity of mental health crisis in adults.

Authors: Peg Bird, Maria Balaceanu, Grace Carsey, Tiffanee Suhaka, Hunter Mitchell, Ives Hong, Tara Caplin, Ed Wu, John T Jones, Dannelle Larsen-Rife. Mentors: John T Jones. Insitution: Utah Tech University. This study examines the relationship between perfectionism and self-compassion. Perfectionism may be beneficial, but often promotes unrealistically high self-imposed standards, a preoccupation with making mistakes, and a compulsivity toward order, leading to self-criticism and self-loathing. Perfectionism results in persistent feelings of failure, indecision, procrastination, and shame, which negatively impact relationships, work-life satisfaction, and overall well-being (Enns et al., 2001; Frost et al., 1993). Self-compassion is directing warmth and care toward oneself during times of suffering and comprises three core components: self-kindness (offering oneself warmth during adversity), common humanity (acknowledging shared suffering), and mindfulness (approaching the experience of pain with presence and curiosity) (Neff, 2003). Self-compassion is associated with mental health and well-being, including a stable sense of self-worth, increased resilience, life satisfaction, and perspective-taking. Furthermore, self-compassion negatively correlates with anxiety and depression, reduced fear of failure, perfectionism, and self-criticism (Barnard et al., 2011; Neff, 2003; Neff et al., 2006). This correlational study will recruit approximately 100 adult participants to evaluate associations between perfectionism and self-compassion. Participants will complete the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale and the Self-Compassion Scale (Frost et al., 1990; Neff, 2003). We anticipate a negative correlation between self-compassion and perfectionism, with higher levels of self-compassion corresponding with lower levels of perfectionism. If this prediction is supported by the data, the study’s outcomes will extend existing research on the potentially deleterious effects of perfectionism and pave the way for the development of interventions aimed at improving mental health outcomes among individuals adversely impacted by this trait.

Authors: Kendra Johnson. Mentors: Dannelle Larsen-Rife. Insitution: Utah Tech University. This study's objective is to examine how sleep quality is related to attachment and any moderating effect from social support. Sleep quality affects multiple aspects of life including physical and mental health. About 40% of the population is affected by sleep complaints (Palagini et al., 2018). Over time, disturbed sleep can become a risk factor for mental illness and substance use disorders (Adams et al., 2014). According to Gur-Yaish et al., (2020), negative interactions related to attachment disturbances negatively affected sleep quality. Individuals with insecure attachment may be more prone to insomnia and sleep disturbances (Palagini et al., 2018). People with anxious attachment have difficulty trusting that others will be there for them when they are in need. Insecure attachment is measured on two scales: anxious and avoidant. Because of this fear, people with insecure attachment may engage in behaviors intended to reassure them of the other person’s trustworthiness. An individual with avoidant attachment tends to resist close relationships, fearing that others are not reliable (Bowlby 1982). Adults in romantic relationships tend to behave similarly to children and mothers when it comes to attachment pairing (Fraley & Shaver, 1998). When people have insecure attachment, they may be highly activated by relationship ruptures, leaving them anxious and vulnerable to poor sleep quality. The resulting poor sleep quality may be moderated by high levels of outside social support, though with high attachment avoidance, the benefits of social support are less influential. Participants (N = 94) completed the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-RS) scale to measure attachment, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Social Support Questionnaire-Short Form (SSQ6). Findings reveal that though the correlation between insecure attachment and sleep was small, the addition of social support revealed some interesting patterns that give insight to the relationship between attachment, sleep, and the effects of social support.

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: Patrick R Davies II. Mentors: Acacia Overono. Insitution: Utah Valley University. While there is a dedicated area of the brain for recognizing faces, the efficacy of recognition tasks can vary depending on the context under which they’re performed. The existing literature is undecided on whether anxiety helps or harms tasks relating to emotional content recognition, and some studies have taken steps into researching memory as an additional layer to these recognition tasks. A preliminary study was performed with 16 participants using virtual reality to study the effects of acute anxiety on the ability to correctly identify faces. Participants played either a brief horror game or a brief virtual sandbox in order to induce a desired emotional state, then were asked to complete a brief paired-face identification paradigm. Initial results show that anxiety strengthens identification of neutral emotionally-valent face pairs. Further results may clarify the relationship between anxiety and face identification processes.

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: Trenton M. Gibson, Brett E Pickett. Mentors: Brett E Pickett. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Lynch Syndrome, formerly known as Hereditary Non-Polyposis Colorectal Cancer, is an autosomal dominant condition characterized by non-functional DNA mismatch repair genes, leading to mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR). Individuals with dMMR have an increased risk of developing cancerous tumors with microsatellite instability (MSI). The aim of this study was to investigate significant perturbations in gene expression among different dMMR variants within Lynch Syndrome, specifically focusing on variants in the PMS2, MLH1, and MSH2 loci. We obtained 55 public RNA-seq human colorectal tumor samples with specific germline dMMR mutations and 20 samples of healthy colorectal epithelium from the GENE Expression Omnibus (GEO). These samples were subjected to a robust RNA-seq data preprocessing and analytical workflow, which involved quality control, trimming, read pseudomapping and quantification using Salmon, identification of significant differentially expressed genes using edgeR, and gene ontology enrichment analysis using Camera. Signaling pathway impact analysis (SPIA) was employed to assess gene pathway perturbations. Our results revealed that tumor samples from individuals with germline mutations in the PMS2 MMR gene exhibited transcriptomic profiles indicating upregulation in pathways related to intrinsic and extrinsic prothrombin activation, fibrinolysis, and uPA/uPAR-mediated signaling, in comparison to other tumor and healthy samples. Previous research has established a correlation between these pathways and tumor growth, invasiveness, and metastasis. These findings provide a foundation for further research to explore the interactions between PMS2 and these pathways in influencing tumor development.

Authors: Tara Caplin, Tiffanee Suhaka, Maria Balaceanu, Peg Bird, Dannelle Larsen-Rife. Mentors: Dannelle Larsen-Rife. Insitution: Utah Tech University. Early parent-child interactions have a profound impact on the developing brain, influencing lifelong emotional and social well-being. This review evaluates the Newborn Behavioral Observation (NBO), a relationship-based neurobehavioral approach for families and infants three months old and younger. The NBO supports newborns, caregiver’s, and families by providing individualized information on their infants' behavior and competencies. It facilitates communication and intersubjectivity between infants and caregivers during a critical developmental period, while reducing maternal postpartum depression (PPD). Research on the association between the NBO, PPD, and infant neurodevelopment is reviewed and evaluated in high-risk populations. Although evidence supports approaches like the NBO, they are not yet standard in early intervention due to clinicians' lack of training in infant mental health. The NBO is a foundational tool for cultivating positive early relationships with beneficial implications for clinician standard care of newborns and families. Keywords: Newborn Behavioral Observation (NBO), early relationships, postpartum depression (PPD), infant development, relationship-based, early intervention.

Authors: Robert Macdonald. Mentors: Troy Munro. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Due to the recent developments in the precision of small scale 3-D printing, the use of complex multi-dimensional heating geometries is now very feasible in microfluidics. Small channels can be filled with liquid metal and can become a heat source by passing an electrical current through the liquid metal. There is a desire for the creation of isothermal areas within microfluidic chips for processes such as polymerase chain reaction and melt curve analysis of DNA to detect mutations. One difficulty of designing isothermal areas in microfluidics is the complexity of the geometries involved and the precision needed to be useful. These two problems were addressed by using a finite element software COMSOL to simulate the microfluidic chip to aid in design iteration. Quick evaluation of the performance of different heating geometries in COMSOL allows for faster evolution of our design. Using these principles, a novel microfluidic chip design was developed with a simulated isothermal volume of 5 microliters and a temperature variation of <0.1 degrees Celsius.

Authors: Tanner Frahm, Eugene Kwan, Ravi Ranjan. Mentors: Ravi Ranjan. Insitution: University of Utah. Introduction:Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is a non-invasive treatment for ventricular tachycardia (VT) that acts as a promising alternative to the current gold-standard treatment, catheter ablation. Preliminary clinical successes indicate the promise of SBRT while subsequent animal studies suggest that the mechanism of SBRT is novel and unknown. We propose SBRT may alter Connexin-43 (Cx43) gap-junction distribution in cardiac myocyte walls, affecting electrical conduction and reducing VT episodes. A large animal model was used to evaluate Cx43 changes post-SBRT, aiming to elucidate its mechanism of action. Understanding this could expand SBRT's use in arrhythmia management and explore myocyte reprogramming.Methods:A large animal model (n=3) underwent cardiac SBRT on portions of their heart. Each animal provided control, untreated tissue, and treated tissues. Post-treatment, the hearts were excised, perfused, and preserved. Transmural sections were processed for histological and confocal microscopy analyses to assess scarring and Cx43 distribution. An algorithm for semi-automatic myocyte segmentation and Cx43 distribution analysis was developed and used. Two-sample student t-tests were conducted to compare Cx43 distribution between treated and control regions. All image and statistical analysis were performed in MATLAB.Results/Discussion:Preliminary results for the three preliminary animals indicate that treated regions of the myocardium had statistically significant differences in Cx43 distribution (p-values < 0.05). Treated values (mean  standard deviation) were 48%  25%, 62%  26%, and 64%  17% of the distribution of Cx43 on the longitudinal ends while the untreated were 42%  30%, 44%  25% and 26% 16%. The proportion of Cx43 distributed along the longitudinal axis (the short ends of the myocyte) increased in all three animals. The results build on the findings of previous animal studies which suggested that the scarring like ablation was not the mechanism, but that Cx43 or other cellular components could be changing in response to therapy. Conclusions:The findings support the hypothesis that Cx43 distribution changes in response to SBRT indicating that the radiation could be inducing remodeling at the cellular level. Evidence of non-invasive cardiac reprogramming provides basic science credence to the preliminary and ongoing clinical studies evaluating the treatment in patients. The findings further inform and motivate more animal studies and analysis of changes to other cellular components.

Authors: Mary Harris. Mentors: Joshua Gubler. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Middle Eastern governments typically score at or near the bottom of indices measuring women’s rights and political participation. The Middle East also contains a large saturation of authoritarian regimes. The Arab Spring challenged these regimes' structures and included vast female participation, but there is little existing research to understand the Spring's impact on women's participation and empowerment in the region. This study aims to add to the research by gathering data from the Arab Barometer to plot public opinion surveys before, during, and after the Arab Spring for a variety of countries in the Middle East and North Africa region. A difference on difference t-test shows the statistical difference of change in opinion before and during the Arab Spring. Twenty semi-structured interviews (conducted in Jordan in 2022) supplemented the quantitative analysis attempting to show the causation between the Arab Spring and the growth in public opinion toward women's empowerment. These are conducted under the hypothesis that: Women’s participation in the Arab Spring improved public opinion towards women’s empowerment in the region. The quantitative analysis illustrates a correlation between the Arab Spring and opinions of women's empowerment, but the shifts of opinions are both negative and positive. The data suggests that the negative impact is connected with the second half of the Arab Spring when the governments were subject to more instability. The interview's results differ from the hypothesis and illustrate little connection between the Arab Spring and public opinion of women's empowerment. These results are affected by the lack of movement in Jordan during the Arab Spring. More research is needed to understand the causation of such a phenomenon in other countries.

Authors: Viridian Hellebore, Isabella Rodriguez, Stockton Palmer, Sim Perry, Justine Padilla. Mentors: Kirsten L Graham. Insitution: Southern Utah University. The examination of attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community presents a newly found psychological concept that plays an important role in fostering social inclusion, reducing discrimination, and promoting a more accepting society. The purpose of our study is to create a measure that will assess a person's general attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community. In the current social and political climate of the US, there are a multitude of differing thoughts, opinions, and feelings regarding the community- some that are positive, and some that are negative. Current and past research generally only focus on sexuality, requiring the need for a scale that includes all members of the LGBTQ+ community. Such past works include Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gays Scale (Herek 1988) as well as the Index of Attitudes Toward Homosexuals (Hudson & Ricketts 1980). The Attitudes regarding Gender and Sexuality Scale (AGSS) was created to provide a single scale that will measure a variety of attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community. The AGSS covers fear, understanding, and tolerance- related aspects of these attitudes. Before releasing the scale to the general public, the scale was given to five subjects to assess for face validity. Participants will be recruited from MTurk and social media, and will be asked to respond to 21 questions that envelop the above aspects of attitudes. The participants will answer the “Gender/Sex Diversity Scale'' (Sudson, 2022) alongside AGSS to test for construct validity. The participants will also be asked to answer two scales that are measuring different constructs to test for discriminant validity. Once all of the data has been collected a confirmatory factor analysis will be ran. To test for reliability, we will be using the internal consistency method. For this we will be testing for Cronbach’s coefficient alpha since our scale using a 7-point Likert scale. We hypothesize that AGSS will be able to measure both negative and positive attitudes that are directed towards the LGBTQ+ community. With these results further research could be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of anti-discrimination laws, the reasoning behind these attitudes, and how the attitudes affect the wellbeing of the LGBTQ+ community.

Authors: Aubrilin Johnson. Mentors: Yu Ya Liang. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Drought stress negatively affects the growth, survival, and production of crops. Developing drought-tolerant cultivars is an important strategy for maintaining crop yields under undesirable water conditions. Tomatoes are an important crop both grown worldwide and here in Utah. Improving drought tolerance in tomato plants can increase yearly yields and reduce the amount of crops lost during the periodic droughts that Utah has. A way to develop drought-tolerant tomatoes may be through identifying and utilizing genes that enhance survival and growth rates under stressful water conditions. In this study, we will use two varieties of tomato, including drought-tolerant wild species, and susceptible commercial varieties. According to previous studies, drought during late the vegetative stage will significantly reduce the yield, therefore this study will focus on that. Using RNA-seq to find the difference in gene expression between the control and drought groups. Identifying differences will facilitate in finding candidate genes that may have a potential role in drought resistance. Then take the top cultivar and find the specific drought-resistant gene, which can then be used by Utah tomato growers to yield more resistant crops.

Authors: Grace McFarlane. Mentors: Michael Rotter. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus) is a native shrub to North America, and can be an important component in restoring native plant communities. Members of this genus tend to have physically hard seeds and low germination rates, resulting in a lack of ability to grow this plant by seeds and increasing genetic diversity in restoration sites. We investigated six different methods in order to produce higher germination rates, tracking them over time. Using seeds from three different populations we planted these thimbleberry seeds in groups of 50 for each germination method, monitoring the rates of growth and the success rate percent. These methods included standard planting as our control, cold stratification using a fridge, scarification with sandpaper, hot water bath by boiling the seeds, acid bath with sulfuric acid, and a room temperature soak in water overnight. Our goal is to identify a standard procedure for high germination rates and success.

Authors: Asher Mitchell, Neil Chilson. Mentors: Neil Chilson. Insitution: Utah State University. With the rapid adoption of Artificial Intelligence marked by the release of OpenAI’s GPT model and a number of similar models, concerns are being raised about the potential for centralization of control over the technology, which could have implications like control of user data, increased political influence, lack of user choice, and several other potential issues.This paper focuses on an alternative to the currently proposed solutions to this threat; creating a separate regulatory agency for the technology, or legislating conformity to specific standards. We focus instead on different interoperability-based solutions that allow end users to tap into the source code, giving them the ability to ensure control of their data and allowing for competition in the AI market.

Authors: Mikaela Cowles, Joseph Jensen. Mentors: Joseph Jensen. Insitution: Utah Valley University. We are developing a newly calibrated distance ladder based on surface brightness fluctuations (SBF) to decrease systematic uncertainties in the current measurement of the Hubble Constant. James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations of 14 nearby elliptical galaxies are now being observed to measure a new zero point for SBF distances independent of Cepheids. We have recently acquired 69 images of massive early-type galaxies using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). These HST distances have doubled the number of galaxy distances measured using SBF and will be combined with past SBF surveys to calculate the Hubble Constant to help resolve the Hubble tension. These distances will be added to the Cosmicflows-4 database to help map the mass distribution in the local universe. This project will continue with the allocation of an additional 123 HST orbits, from which we expect to add ~40 galaxies in 2024.

Authors: Lisa Bell, Kelsey Hixon Bowles, Joni Hayward Marcum, Maren Neild, Asmaa Alsharif. Mentors: Lisa Bell. Insitution: Utah Valley University. With the development of artificial intelligence and its breakthrough into the academic sphere, some might argue that artificial intelligence is a better and more effective tutor than human tutors. However, it’s important to acknowledge that peer tutoring itself aligns with High-Impact Practice (HIPs) as coined by George Kuh, and it effectively leverages each core element of HIPS. As a high-impact practice, tutoring enhances student engagement, critical thinking skills, and overall academic and personal development and success. Although evidently peer tutoring aligns with HIPs criteria, it is severely underrepresented in HIPs research and discussions, warranting a closer examination and recognition in the academic community. By integrating writing center research with High-Impact Practices (HIPs) and original Institutional Review Board (IRB) research, this presentation establishes peer tutoring as a High-Impact Practice (HIP) and underscores its significance in education, even in the era of advancing artificial intelligence.

Authors: Alley Fausett, Megan Ritter Martin, Kristin Davenport, Malisa Brooks, Kent Hinkson. Mentors: Kent Hinkson, Malisa Brooks. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Background: University students oftentimes face challenges with well-being and mental health, including depression, anxiety, sleep problems, PTSD, and suicide ideation/behaviors. However, previous research in some areas such as depression and its impact on student’s academic performance has remained generally inconclusive because of the contradictory findings that have often been reported. For example, one study will find a moderate association between grade point average (GPA) and depression, while another will in turn fail to find a significant relationship. Thus, more research is needed beyond simple correlations between GPA and depression to understand possible mechanisms and pathways. The current research hypothesizes that depression symptoms will either not be related or be weakly related to GPA but will be significantly associated with several possible mediating variables such as “turning in assignments late”, “having withdrawn from a class”, and “being placed on academic probation.”Methods: University students (n = 1,359) were recruited to participate in this study from dozens of universities across the United States in 2021. Data was collected anonymously and confidentially through a targeted online survey. Students were compensated with a $10 Amazon gift card for their participation. Zero order correlations were conducted to examine the relationship between variables of interest, which may lead to possible mediating pathways.Results: No statistically significant correlation was observed between depression symptoms and academic performance among students. Yet, several other measures of academic performance beyond GPA were found to have negative relationships with depression including five questions of particular academic activity and items such as withdrawing from class, being placed on academic probation, etc. Further, the strength and significance of the relationship between depression symptoms and these measures of academic performance were stronger and more pronounced in those in their Freshman and Sophomore years. Additionally, the relationships were weaker during their Junior and Senior years, and practically non-existent in graduate programs.Conclusion: In summary, our study contributes to the growing number of often-contradictory studies demonstrating a sometimes-yes, sometimes-no relationship between depression and GPA. However, our study goes beyond this binary comparison to explore other variables of academic performance and found several significant relationships that can help the field better understand the impacts of depression on student’s performance. These findings emphasize the importance of addressing mental health for better academic outcomes for university students. Implementing targeted support systems and interventions within educational institutions could benefit students’ overall well-being and improve academic performance.

Authors: Michelle Stanley. Mentors: Baktybek Abdrisaev. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, much of Europe has been striving to reduce their dependence on Russian energy. Lithuania, however, began this process 11 years ago when Russia raised the price of Russian gas transported through Gazprom. Lithuanian leadership recognized the potential danger of being dependent on Russia and with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, those concerns proved to be well-founded. Through its history, Lithuania has experienced Russian oppression and has fought for its sovereignty. The history of Lithuania’s energy relationship with Russia from its declared independence from the Soviet Union in March 1990, its complete dependence on Russia for gas, and the process of becoming the first European Union country to become independent from Russian gas in May 2022. This is a case study which shows that: independence from Russian energy removes Russia’s coercive power over that country, the current European energy crisis is the culmination of long-standing European dependence on Russian energy, and that eventually European countries will have to reconcile with Russia. The article will outline three significant periods of time in Lithuania’s energy relationship with Russia: the Lithuania-Soviet Union energy relationship immediately before the fall of the Soviet Union, the process whereby Lithuania has pursued its energy independence from Russia since 1991, and Lithuania’s efforts to achieve full energy independence from Russia following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Authors: Joshua Zander, Angel Rodriguez, Mason Davis, Edwin Nazario Dejesus, Mohammad Shekaramiz, Mohammad A S Masoum, Abdennour Seibi. Mentors: Mohammad Shekaramiz. Insitution: Utah Valley University. The proposed approach of using computer vision and autonomous drones for inspecting small wind turbines is a significant step towards improving the efficiency and safety of wind turbine inspections. The use of DJI Mini 3 Pro and Matrice 300 drones in conjunction with DJI’s Mobile SDK, which allows for programmed flights, enables the drones to fly autonomously and capture high-quality images of the wind turbines. The images are then processed using object detection with YOLOv8, which can accurately detect the turbines. Navigation is based on both GPS and object detection, which ensures that the drones can navigate accurately and avoid any obstacles. The proposed approach is expected to reduce the cost and time required for wind turbine inspections, while also improving the accuracy of the inspection process. This approach can be used to inspect wind turbines in remote locations, which are difficult to access, and can help identify any issues with the turbines before they become major problems.The proposed approach has the potential to revolutionize the wind energy industry by making wind turbine inspections more efficient and cost-effective. The use of computer vision and autonomous drones can help reduce the need for human intervention in the inspection process, which can be dangerous and time-consuming. The proposed approach can also help improve the accuracy of the inspection process by providing high-quality images of the turbines. This can help identify any issues with the turbines before they become major problems, which can help reduce the risk of accidents and improve the safety of the wind energy industry.

Authors: Leif Ravnsen. Mentors: Scott Abbott. Insitution: Utah Valley University. After years of drought and water mismanagement Great Salt Lake is facing a crisis that is and will continue to directly affect everyone that lives along the Wasatch Front. As the water levels recede and expose the lakebed, the toxic materials within are disturbed out of the parched ground to poison our air. This issue also impacts our famous snow, as the lake moisture which would help rejuvenate our water supply diminishes into a feedback loop of ever increasing scarcity. According to a scientific report published on BYU’s website, our best hope for averting this crisis is water conservation. This project aims to accomplish two broad goals to help educate people about the need for this conversation: examine the issues surrounding the crisis within an interdisciplinary framework and create more ways for people to connect personally with Great Salt Lake. This project leverages many different perspectives and methods toward these ends, with theological appeals, expert interviews, examinations of the ecological and cultural impacts, comparisons to contemporary conservation efforts, focus articles on the local flora and fauna, and creative works in various formats. The Lake of Salt website will be added to the network of conservationists working toward the positive resolution of this ecological crisis, to help shed the fog of apathy and bring more hands to this great, but not insurmountable, task.

Authors: Jacob Atkinson. Mentors: Vinodh Chellamuthu. Insitution: Utah Tech University. Insurance is a crucial part of economies worldwide, paying billions of dollars in claims yearly. Insurance companies need to anticipate future claim liabilities to manage the high volume of claims. This research investigates the use of linear and non-linear machine learning algorithms, including linear regression, ridge, lasso, elastic net, Decision Tree Regressor, Random Forest Regressor, and Gradient Boosting Regressor, to predict auto insurance claim amounts. The performance of each model is assessed using various metrics, such as mean squared errors, mean absolute errors, and R-squared. An optimized model will also be used to estimate the future financial impact.

Authors: Elise Bennett, Zenos Thoreson, Blaise Bartlett, Jacob McFadden, Melanie Rosa, Nathan Walker, Logan Fenn, Eric Domyan, Colleen Hough. Mentors: Eric Domyan, Colleen Hough. Insitution: Utah Valley University. A team of 13 biotech students competed in the international Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition in Paris, France in the Bioremediation category. The iGEM Foundation is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote education and collaboration for the advancement of synthetic biology. The Grand Jamboree is a 4-day expo where students, academics, investors, industry representatives, journalists, and the public gather while student teams from around the world compete for medals and awards by following the engineering cycle, design, build, test, learn (DBTL) with living organisms. Our team chose to focus on bioremediation of Utah Lake because, not only is it a local issue, it is also used worldwide as an example of toxic algal blooms. Excess nutrient loading in Utah Lake is causing eutrophication, which leads to increased algal blooms that produce toxins hazardous to human, animal, and aquatic life. The excess nutrients are composed mostly of nitrogen and phosphorous compounds that enter the lake primarily from wastewater treatment plants, runoff fertilizer, and naturally occurring inorganic environmental sources. Our goal is to reduce the nutrient load of wastewater entering the lake by engineering a harmless organism to sequester phosphorus and convert nitrogenous compounds to atmospheric nitrogen, which is biologically inert. We chose the microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as the chassis for the genetically engineered machine. A second, long-term goal would be to turn the sequestered nutrients into a product that is usable to the local community. We have a responsibility to the local community, native people, plants, and animals to restore Utah Lake to its natural beauty to be respectably and responsibly shared by all.

Authors: Spencer Timmerman. Mentors: Joseph Price. Insitution: Brigham Young University. We develop a method for creating a lexicon of all correctly spelled surnames in historical US records. We focus specially on the full-count 1850-1940 census records which include over 10 million unique spellings in the surname field. We use three steps to create this lexicon. First, we use links across multiple census records for the same individuals and use these links to identify spellings of the same surname. Second, we use data from a large genealogical website to help identify the correct surnames for each person and convert this into training data. Third, we develop a machine-learning approach that uses the frequency of surnames across different record collections to identify a lexicon of correctly-spelled surnames. Our final lexicon of correctly-spelled surnames only includes 500,000 of the 10 million unique found in US census records. We also provide a crosswalk that maps the majority of incorrect surnames into a unique surname in the lexicon.

Authors: Ashley Swensen, Ruth Kerry. Mentors: Ruth Kerry. Insitution: Brigham Young University. The American West has been experiencing severe drought for over 20 years with changes in climate. Also, the population in certain states has greatly increased putting increasing pressure on the limited fresh water supply. While the agricultural sector is the biggest consumer of freshwater, much is also used to irrigate turfgrass lawns in urban residential areas. The EPA has estimated that about 50% of household irrigation water is wasted by temporal and spatial misapplications. Temporal misapplications can be reduced by using smart sprinkler controllers that take into account recent weather when scheduling irrigation timing. This research investigates people’s willingness to implement more efficient watering practices with and without incentives. It also investigates how an average water bill for a quarter acre lot varies between states and between cities within 5 states in the semi-arid west (AZ, CO, ID, NV, UT). Following comparison of average water bills between states and cities, the potential savings from taking advantage of water saving incentives offered by cities is investigated. The research found differences between the genders and aridity zones in terms of the types of incentive that are favored and likelihood of utilizing methods to improve irrigation efficiency. Water bills were the highest in AZ and lowest in ID and UT. The low water bills in ID are likely associated with the greater prevalence of agriculture in that state than the others studied. Most UT cities had incentives for Smart Sprinkler controllers or to xeriscape. However, in other states several cities did not have incentives for installing Smart Sprinkler controllers. We conclude by trying to assess whether incentives or disincentives are more effective at reducing water use by residential customers.

Authors: Alexandra Osmond, Samantha Stabler, Sara Knowlton, Sam Chipman, Brock Kirwan. Mentors: Brock Kirwan. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Memory discrimination refers to the ability to distinguish between different memories or experiences based on their unique characteristics or details. The Mnemonic Similarity Task (MST) is a variant of a recognition memory task that assesses memory discrimination by asking participants to encode a series of objects in long-term memory and later discriminate between targets (repeated items), lures (similar but not exactly the same as previously seen items), and foils (novel items). The similarity of targets and lures is systematically varied resulting in five similarity levels (L1-L5). The goal of our research was to determine if individuals retain memory discrimination abilities after different periods of time exceeding 12 hours. Study recruitment was done on Brigham Young University campus for 18-25 year olds with no known neurological conditions (ADHD, major depression etc.). Thirty participants were tested in each group and they were asked to complete an immediate test. They were then asked to return to the lab for a second test after a 1-day, 3-day, or 1-week delay.Our results showed that the 1-week delay of the MST eradicated an individual's ability to discriminate between the lures of varying similarity. At a 1-day delay, individuals did lose some memory discrimination ability, but were still able to recognize the more distinct lures.

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: James Hall. Mentors: Paul Stavast. Insitution: Brigham Young University. As of November 2023 the Utah Statewide Archaeological Society's social media pages have close to 4 thousand followers, which shows that interest in Archaeology. From 1955 to around the mid-90s USAS members contributed greatly to the archaeological research and the protection of archaeological sites and the materials created by those people that had called what is now Utah home. Through the partnership of Universities and Museums they had great success and this poster aims to highlight some of those successes and push for Museums to continue facilitating these opportunities.

Authors: Reagan Wexels, Lauren Davis, Mason Peterson, Oliver Swanson, Rebekah Story, Julie Johnson Pynn, . . Mentors: Julie Johnson Pynn. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Environmental identity may affect an individual's pro-environmental behaviors, along with their association with the world around them (Clayton et al., 2021.) This concept demonstrates how people act according to their personality and values in relation to the natural world (Wesolek, 2020.)The degree of connection that an individual feels can be measured by the Connectedness to Nature Scale (Mayer et al., 2004.) The purpose of this study is to better understand the effect of Peter Kahn’s technological nature (2011) on people's connection to nature. We hypothesize that mindfulness meditation, which utilizes technological nature, will increase the connection to nature experienced by the participants in comparison to wilderness survival instruction utilizing technological nature. Research has established a link between mindfulness and an individual's connection to nature (Adventure-Heart et al., 2017.) Results will be forthcoming. The proposed study is important, because many people feel less connected to nature than ever. Understanding how to reconnect with the environment will allow greater access to the benefits of doing so.

Authors: Kirsten Graham, Julie Pynn. Mentors: Kirsten Graham. Insitution: Southern Utah University. This study looks at how the LGBT+ population deals with concerns of identity, societal acceptance, and discrimination. The research identifies three primary coping mechanisms that affect resiliency: problem-focused coping, emotional coping, and avoidant coping. The purpose of the study is to determine how coping strategies and resilience relate to obstacles faced by Southern Utah University students. It makes use of qualitative data analysis, the Brief-Scale COPE, and the Brief-Resilience scales. I hypothesize with the quantitative data LGBT individuals who employ strong problem-focused skills are expected to demonstrate higher levels of resilience scoping, LGBT individuals who employ high levels of emotion focused-coping skills are expected to demonstrate low levels of resiliency, and those that demonstrate high levels of avoidant focused-coping are expected to demonstrate low levels of resiliency. Qualitative data analysis will reveal common thematic patterns in the use of problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidant coping skills among LGBT+ individuals, providing insights into their coping strategies related to discrimination, social acceptance, and identity. Understanding how the LGBT+ community at Southern Utah University manages to cope with challenges is crucial because it can result in better support and wellbeing. Results are forthcoming

Authors: Gabriel Hammond, Rebecca Seegraber, Tim Webster. Mentors: Tim Webster. Insitution: University of Utah. Bornean and Sumatran orangutans demonstrate pronounced differences in their social behavior. All orangutans are more solitary than other apes and monkeys, but Bornean orangutans are even less social than their Sumatran counterparts. This contrast is generally attributed to differences in forest productivity between the two islands, as feeding competition is a major cost to social behavior. Variation in sociality between the two species directly impacts male reproductive skew, or the extent to which males can monopolize reproductive success. Sex-biased demographic phenomena such as male reproductive skew can be reconstructed across a lineage’s history by comparing genetic variation across different regions of the genome. Autosomes and the X chromosome are inherited in different proportions, in a population with an equal sex ratio, four autosome copies will be passed down for every three X chromosomes. Deviations in genetic diversity from this expected ratio can be indications of sex biased demographic events. This project is leveraging differential inheritance of chromosomes to explore the role of orangutan socioecology in shaping male reproductive strategies through genomic analysis of reproductive skew across Bornean and Sumatran orangutans.

Authors: Matthew Hovorka. Mentors: Connie Ericksen. Insitution: Utah Valley University. This research project examines evidence of individual identity and personhood among perinates, neonates, and young children in the Tiwanaku culture (Western Bolivia, Chile, Peru, A.D. 500-1100) of the ancient Andes. A multifocal approach is taken in examining the topic, and ethnohistorical and archaeological evidence is examined to create a picture of Tiwanaku conceptions of personhood. Through a comprehensive analysis of burial practices, iconography, and ethnohistorical records, this study sheds light on the nuanced conceptions of personhood and individual identity held within the Tiwanaku culture. By delving into the socio-cultural context and material evidence, this research contributes to a deeper appreciation of the complex beliefs and societal values of this ancient Andean civilization.

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: Bryce Tolman, Jasper Terungwa Iorkula , Justin Singleton, Matt Peterson. Mentors: Matt Peterson. Insitution: Brigham Young University. An efficient method for preparing C-3 aminated pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines was developed. The method consisted of treating 3-bromopyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine with a wide range of 1° or 2° alkylamines with CuI (20 mol%), L-proline (40 mol%), and Et 3 N (2 equiv) in DMSO under microwave heating conditions (130 °C, 4 hours). C-3 aminated products were obtained in good to excellent isolated yields (54–90%; ave. yield = 77%), and represents the most broadly applicable, non-palladium-catalyzed amination of 3-bromopyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine ever reported. The coupling worked well for unfunctionalized 1° alkylamines such as butylamine, benzylamine, isopropylamine or cyclohexylamine, and more densely functionalized 1° amines with CH 2 - or CH 2 CH 2 -linked heterocycles were also well tolerated (e.g. pyridine-, indole-, thiophene-, and furan-linked methyl- or ethylamine derivatives). 2° Alkylamines such as morpholine, pyrrolidine, and piperidine also reacted well under these conditions. Heating under conventional oil-bath conditions required a more extended reaction time (40 h), but also gave products in good yield (72-76%) for both 100-mg and gram-scale reactions. A pegylated azide (11-azido-3,6,9-trioxaundecan-1-amine) was also coupled in good yield (65% yield microwave), demonstrating compatibility of this methodology for potential click-type applications. Our method is simple and efficient, and avoids drawbacks associated with alternative methods, including long reaction times, limited substrate scope, and required use of air-sensitive/extremely expensive palladium catalysts and specialized synthetic ligands.

Authors: Allison Stevens, Gennie Parkman. Mentors: Gennie Parkman. Insitution: Weber State University. The principal genes that are responsible for the conversion of benign nevi, or pigmented lesions, to cancerous melanomas have been discovered and validated. However, we are still identifying the additional genetic alterations that are responsible for the migration and invasion of melanoma cells and ultimately metastasis of these melanomas as that is where treatment needs remain. (Davies, et al., 2002)One gene that has been identified to potentially play a role in the metastasis of melanoma is thymocyte selection associated high mobility group box, or TOX. Based on one study, the levels of TOX gene expression were found to be elevated in melanoma brain metastases versus extracranial metastases (Bierman et al., 2022). These findings have led us to hypothesize that TOX plays a role in the migration and invasion of melanoma into the brain. Preliminary work has been completed to clone our gene of interest, TOX, into an expression vector and transduce mammalian melanoma cells to evaluate their effects on melanoma cell rate growth and migration. These experiments will identify the effect of TOX on the initiation and progression of melanoma cells through in vitro melanoma cell culture and experimentation before potentially progressing to well-validated mouse models of melanoma.

Authors: Audrey French, Carl E Hjelmen. Mentors: Carl E Hjelmen. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Chromosome numbers are often one of the first pieces of genetic information we collect about the genome of an organism. These chromosome numbers vary widely across the tree of life and will change due to fission and fusion events, where the number increases or decreases, respectively (Blackmon and Demuth 2015, Perkins et al. 2019, Sylvester et al. 2020, Morelli et al. 2022). As the Drosophila species group has been a model for more than 100 years, there is a plethora of information on their karyotypes, including number, chromosome shapes, and sex chromosome systems. The shapes of chromosomes vary and can be described as metacentric (v), submetacentric (j), telocentric (rod), and small and heterochromatic (dot). In the Drosophila genus, sex chromosome systems can be neo-sex, XY, and X0. The numerous species of Drosophila can be compiled into the major subgenera of Drosophila and Sophophora, which have diverged for around 40-65 million years. The karyotype data of the Drosophila genus has been compiled into an open-source database. I am using this database to find the rates of chromosome number change in the Drosophila genus. This analysis is done through the chromePlus package in R (Blackmon et al., 2019) which will perform a comparative phylogenetic analysis, and a phylogeny of 152 species in the Drosophila genus (Hjelmen et al., 2019). Using these available tools, I can compare rates of fusion and fission between sex chromosome systems and subgenera. This could expand the knowledge on evolution of chromosomes and genomes.

Authors: Nathan Klundt, Violeta Vasilevska. Mentors: Violeta Vasilevska. Insitution: Utah Valley University. In electrical power networks, phase measurement units (PMUs) are sensors used to monitor the network. However, these PMUs are very costly, hence the electric company are interested in using the minimum number of PMUs that will ensure that they can observe the whole network. This real-life problem is modeled in graph theory as a graph coloring game. Namely, the power domination problem [2, 3] in graph theory is concerned with finding a minimum number of these sensors needed to color (observe) the entire graph (network) according to a set of rules. We consider two variants of this coloring problem. The k-fault-tolerant power domination [3] is asking to find minimum number of PMUs needed to observe (color) the whole network (graph) even when k number of the PMUs are faulty but allows only one PMU to be placed on an electric node (vertex). The other variant, called robust power domination [1], asks the same as fault tolerant power domination, but allows for multiple PMUs to be placed on the same electric node (vertex). In this presentation, we introduce these coloring problems through examples, and provide some theoretical bounds on the minimum number of PMUs needed for various families of graphs for both k-fault-tolerant and robust power domination problems. References: [1] Beth Bjorkman and Esther Conrad. (2023). Introduction to Robust Power Domination. arXiv:2305.13430. [2] Dennise J. Brueni and Lenwood S. Heath. The PMU placement problem. SIAM Journal on Discrete Mathematics, 19(3): 744-761, 2005. [2] Teresa W. Haynes, Sandra M. Hedetniemi, Stephen T. Hedetniemi, and Michael A. Henning. Domination in graphs applied to electric power networks. SIAM Journal on Discrete Mathematics, 15(4): 519-529, 2002. [3] Kung-Jui Pai, Jou-Ming Chang, and Yue-Li Wang. Restricted power domination and fault-tolerant power domination on grids, Discrete Applied Mathematics, 158(10):1079–1089, 2010.

Authors: Atira Schulte. Mentors: Michael Popich. Insitution: Westminster College. We live in an environmental crisis caused by mass overconsumption and non-sustainable practices of humans- issues rooted in anthropocentric beliefs that humans may use all other life to our benefit with no regard for consequences. Animals and ecosystems have the right to exist and flourish, they have intrinsic worth, so they ought to have moral standing. This research aimed to build a new ethical theory that would extend the same rights humans are widely considered to have to other animals and ecosystems; especially citing Martha Nussbaum, James Sterba, and John O’Neill. The age-old desire to dominate nature must be replaced with a newfound respect and wonder for non-human life and the environment; Reframing our methods of thinking and moving towards more sustainable methods of living. Only by changing the mindset of humans, from one of domination and exploitation to stewardship and coexistence-even friendship, can we resolve this environmental crisis.

Authors: Cristina Chirvasa, Tyler Williams, Matteo Petit Bon. Mentors: Karen Beard. Insitution: Utah State University. Arctic regions are experiencing climate change impacts at disproportionately high rates. Rising temperatures, flooding from melting sea ice and increasing storm surges, and changing animal migration patterns are all contributing to altered Arctic ecosystems. Here, we examine the impact of warming, flooding, and increased herbivory on three plant communities, with varying levels of background inundation due to their distance from rivers, in the Yukon-Kuskokwim (Y-K) delta, a large riverine delta in Alaska. While previous research has examined climate change responses in the Arctic, there have been few studies on the response of plant functional traits to herbivory with other environmental factors. We will conduct an experiment to measure the impact of these variables (herbivory, flooding, and warming) across three different habitat types. My research will investigate the response of plant functional traits to the experimental treatments. I will fit linear mixed effects models to analyze the impact of our three treatments. This study will increase knowledge on climate change impacts on different plant communities across the Y-K Delta.

Authors: Alyssa Taylor. Mentors: Dr. Marquez-Velarde . Insitution: Utah State University. Athletics United (AU) is a non-profit organization in Logan, Utah dedicated to using “sport to provide a supportive environment for new American families to integrate with local communities for personal, physical and social growth” (https://www.athleticsunited.us/). To this point, AU lacks meaningful research to measure its progress in meeting its mission statement. In order to qualify and quantify AU’s impact, this project investigates question: “Does Athletics United help families integrate into local communities and how?” Athletics United integrates families into the community by providing a space to build friendships, expand one’s world view, and access community resources. During Summer of 2023, nine families participating in AU were interviewed. A mix of American and new American families were recruited. Four interviewees required an interpreter. Interviews are being qualitatively analyzed using NVivo. The interview data confirms that Athletics United integrates families into the community by providing a space to build friendships, expand one’s world view, and access community resources. To further improve, AU can consider assigning volunteers to help new American families participate in events and access resources more consistently.

Authors: Chance Witt, Devan Hill. Mentors: Jianlong Han, Seth Armstrong, Sarah Duffin. Insitution: Southern Utah University. We study the steady state solutions of a Lotka-Volterra model with crowing effects when delta=2. A nonstandard numerical scheme is proposed, and numerical experiments predict the long term behavior of the numerical solution.

Authors: Webster Madison, Oldroyd Kristina, Shubert Jennifer. Mentors: Shubert Jennifer. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Recent societal events have become benchmarks for understanding how young people interpret and engage with broader social issues. For example, the 2016 election revealed a heightened awareness of systemic racism, inequity, and oppression among youth disapproving of Trump’s presidency, with Latinx groups in particular demonstrating awareness of racism and discrimination across marginalized groups.Furthermore, the Supreme Court’s historic decision to overturn Roe v. Wade ignited nationwide discourse on social issues such as women’s reproductive rights and bodily autonomy, with some interpreting the ruling as perpetuating systemic oppression, a form of cultural imperialism and power imbalance, disproportionately affecting marginalized groups’ access to safe and legal abortions. This study utilizes Young’s (1990) multifaceted oppression framework to investigate how emerging adults demonstrate awareness of oppression in interpreting and responding to societal events.Data came from 104 undergraduate students (Mage= 21.74; 72% Female; 91% White) identifying as conservative, moderate, or liberal. This study collected data from a longitudinal sample through a Qualtrics survey distributed within hours of the Supreme Court decision. Participants responded to open-ended questions regarding their feelings, views, and potential changes in attitudes and behaviors due to the overturn. By applying a coding scheme based on Young’s framework to the narrative responses, evidence of all five dimensions of oppression emerged. Intriguingly, marginalization (i.e., limiting full participation in society) constituted the most prevalent theme, appearing in 52 responses opposing the overturn and 10 supporting the overturn, followed by powerlessness (i.e., inability to make decisions regarding oneself), arising in 40 opposing and 22 supporting narratives. Next, 37 opposing and 33 supporting responses highlighted cultural imperialism (i.e., valuing and enforcing dominant cultural norms). Then, 38 opposing and 8 supporting responses expressed violence (i.e., intentional harm or threat). Finally, only 22 opposing and 8 supporting responses illustrated exploitation (i.e., systemic transfer of resources). These findings suggest that participants across the political spectrum expressed complex reactions to the decision’s ramifications. Evidence of all five facets of oppression in participants’ narratives may shed light on the potential for heightened critical consciousness among individuals navigating the complexities of a post-decision landscape. Further theory building is necessary to understand how young people develop a critical awareness of significant social events and their impact on critical consciousness. Moreover, these findings establish a foundation for advancing critical consciousness theory, particularly concerning period effects and the development of awareness regarding structural privilege, oppression, and inequity.

Authors: Benjamin VanDreew. Mentors: Kal Munis. Insitution: Utah Valley University. America as we know it today is politically very polarizing, divided, and full of misinformation. In this climate, buzzwords have become as prominent as ever either being spouted by politicians or news outlets or even trickling out to the public. In 2023 the word “woke” became a popular buzzword and is used in all sorts of contexts. So much so that in a lot of ways “woke” has lost any of its original meaning that was trying to be conveyed. In this study, I am out to discover what “woke” really means to Americans from all different walks of life. We have set up a conjoint list experiment that will be sent out in the form of a survey featuring randomized options. We will be able to get a better look at what aspects of American life people feel are the most “woke” and help define what the buzzword really means. This research will give us a deeper look into modern American culture and help provide clarity to this polarizing subject.

Authors: Ian Macapagal. Mentors: Joshua Price. Insitution: Southern Utah University. The issue of suicide in the United States constitutes an increasingly concerning economic and public health issue, given the observed rise in suicide rates in recent years and the societal costs incurred by suicides. This paper focuses on the incidence of suicides by firearm, given firearms’ comparatively high usage and lethality in suicides, and investigates the effects of mandatory waiting periods for firearm purchases on the incidence of suicide. Such purchase delays theoretically provide a “cooling off” period, temporarily denying impulsively suicidal individuals the means to commit suicide. This study employs multivariate regression analysis to isolate the effects of having state-level mandatory waiting periods for firearms purchases, as well as the length of such periods, on state-level suicide mortality rates. This analysis is conducted with the aim of investigating the effectiveness of these policies in reducing firearms-related and total suicides, in addition to the extent to which suicidal individuals respond by substituting firearms for other methods.

Authors: Cate Miller, Tyler Free, Brad Bundy. Mentors: Brad Bundy. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Diagnostics are an essential tool in the treatment path for many different types of cancer. They are used to determine the progression of cancer treatment and are critical to increase survival rates. The most common diagnostics are often too expensive or sophisticated to be used on a widespread scale. Using a cell-free protein synthesis system to create a biosensor as a diagnostic can drastically decrease costs, increase convenience, and increase survival rates. We previously engineered low-cost CFPS systems to detect glutamine which would be useful for low-cost biosensing of clinically relevant glutamine concentrations. This work reports our progress in optimizing the CFPS glutamine biosensor for improved performance.

Authors: Arahi Perdomo, Brooklyn Moore, Erin Kerr, Hula Santiago, Kylie Kay, Sarahi Joyner. Mentors: Krista Ruggles. Insitution: Utah Valley University. This research initiative centers on the experiences and learning outcomes of preservice teachers (PSTs) from Utah Valley University who volunteer to teach in the San Juan School District (SJSD) and the Navajo Nation. Our primary aim is to understand how this cross-cultural teaching experience shapes their future teaching practices, perspectives on diversity, and inclusion in education.Preservice teachers play a critical role in the future of education This study examines how their participation in a unique cultural context can enhance their preparedness as educators. By engaging in volunteer teaching assignments within the Navajo Nation, these students gain exposure to diverse cultural backgrounds; fostering cultural awareness and sensitivity.We seek to show the transformative impact of this experience on their personal and professional growth. Through interviews and observations, we will explore the challenges and opportunities faced by preservice teachers and how this experience influences their teaching philosophies and aspirations.Our ultimate goal is to determine how such immersive experiences can contribute to the development of culturally responsive pedagogy. We believe that these preservice teachers, with their enriched perspectives, can become advocates for diversity and inclusion not only within their classrooms but also within the broader educational landscape and society.This research holds the potential to inform teacher education programs and policy discussions regarding the value of cross-cultural experiences in teacher preparation. By shedding light on the impact of volunteer teaching in the Navajo Nation, we hope to contribute to the ongoing dialogue on fostering more inclusive and culturally aware educators, ultimately benefiting students and society as a whole.

Authors: Alexa Bailey, Sophie Daines, Joshua Bennett, Carlos Moreno, Scott Weber. Mentors: Scott Weber. Insitution: Brigham Young University. As the understanding of cancer pathophysiology continues to increase, there is an increased focus on the role of T cells in targeting cancerous cells and tumor sites. Recently, it was demonstrated that CD5, a transmembrane glycoprotein found on T cells, plays a key role in negatively regulating T cell activity. CD5 also significantly impacts T cell metabolic profiles by increasing oxygen consumption rates (OCR) and extracellular acidification rates (ECAR). We are now investigating the role of CD6, a related membrane protein found on T cells, and its effect on regulating T cell proliferation and metabolism by measuring the proliferation rates and metabolic profile of T cells from a CD5/CD6 double knockout murine model. Because tumor microenvironments are vitally important in determining the immune system’s response to cancer, differences in metabolism may yield new insights for developing immunotherapy techniques.

Authors: Travis Christensen, Geoff Zahn, Alma Laney. Mentors: Alma Laney. Insitution: Utah Valley University. In July 2022, green cabbage plants (Brassica oleracea) were observed with severe viral symptoms in a local community garden in Utah County. These plants were observed to be covered with cabbage aphids (Brevicoryne brassicae). Symptoms observed on the cabbage plants included yellowing, necrotic lesions, and brittle necrosis of the leaves. These symptoms have been found to be transmissible by the cabbage aphid to broccoli, cabbage, and kale, although symptoms are delayed in kale. Work is being done to find other transmissible plants within the brassica family. Sequencing of RNA yielded no results, however, amplification of viral DNA via rolling circle amplification (RCA) has yielded positive results. A sample obtained through maintenance of the virus and cabbage aphid is currently being subjected to RNAseq using the NovaSeq Illumina platform. Through several virological methods we are able to conclude the presence of a putative geminivirus transmissible through cabbage aphid in our affected plants. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an aphid-transmissible DNA virus of brassicas in Utah. Further work is being done to further identify, classify, and build the genome of this specific virus using Illumina sequencing.