Fine Arts

Authors: Anna Wilkinson, Feyan Hoffman, Roshan Abraham. Mentors: Daren Nelson. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Remote sensing technologies, involving drone and satellite imagery, have recently begun to be used in hydrologic research with various applications. The technology is relatively easy to obtain, is noninvasive, and helps minimize cost, access, and safety concerns related to the study of wetlands. The thermal and multispectral imagery can provide unique datasets that expand understanding into groundwater and surface water interactions. As part of this project, we are exploring remote sensing applications within the hydrology of wetlands surrounding Utah Lake, a large freshwater lake within Utah Valley. The project has involved the collection of thermal and multispectral drone imagery from 2021 to 2023. Thermal imagery collected in these areas has assisted in the determining of hot and cold spring locations and how these springs have shifted due to changes in groundwater levels and lake levels. In addition, this imagery has shown how physical anthropogenic influences have also impacted the location and stream channels associated with these springs. Multispectral imagery is used to understand the health of phreatophytes near the lake during dry and wet years to be used as an indicator for groundwater level changes. Even though much of the data is still preliminary and part of a long-term study these remote sensing technologies are already showing how these groundwater systems adapt to seasonal and anthropogenic changes.

Authors: Cole Statham, Katelyn Thomas. Mentors: Michael C Rotter. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Datura (Solanaceae) is a potent hallucinogenic genus of plants that has varied uses across cultures. Tropane alkaloids in these plants are potent compounds that, depending on dosage, can offer the user a psychoactive experience or cause severe reactions including death. For some, Datura is little more than an ornamental flower or an ideal source to have a psychedelic experience. While for others it is a sacred plant, used on special occasions, and only permitted to be handled by those who have been prepared and trained to do so. An explanation for these cultural differences could be that cultures with taboos surrounding this plant are likely those that have species of Datura with variable levels of tropane alkaloids, while cultures without taboos are likely to have species with consistent levels of tropane alkaloids. Here we focus on six species of Datura using literature reports of tropane alkaloid contents and compare the variability in these phytochemicals to cultural uses of these plants. We predict that societies with cultural taboos will be more likely to be those with species that have higher variability in tropane alkaloids.

Authors: Vy Dao, Devin Taylor, Danielle Taylor. Mentors: Devin Taylor, Danielle Taylor. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Epilepsy is one of the most common neurologic disorders affecting about 60 million people worldwide (Chen et al., Poduri and Lowenstein, 2011). Currently in the field, there are various methods being used for mechanical seizure induction using Drosophila melanogaster. This variability makes it difficult to compare findings from different research studies. We employed various mechanical seizure induction techniques currently used in Drosophila epilepsy research. We focused on both group testing as well as individual testing using different anesthesia parameters. For individual testing, epileptiform activity and locomotor activity were recorded in adult male Drosophila through mechanical seizure induction using a vortex assay at either 24-hours post- or 1-hour post-CO2 anesthesia. We also evaluated the time for 50% of adult drosophila recovery as indicated by a group climbing assay (10 flies per group) following mechanical seizure induction using a vortex assay at either 24-hours post- or 1-hour post-CO2 anesthesia. Finally, for each of the above testing parameters, we not only tested wild-type (WT) flies, but also multiple positive control seizure phenotype flies commonly used in mechanical seizure induction studies using Drosophila melanogaster. We found significant effects in both CO2 induction methods as well as in different genetically induced seizure phenotypes.

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: 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: 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: Kelsey Grimshaw, Julie Pynn, Kirsten Graham. Mentors: Kirsten Graham. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Epilepsy is the most common chronic neurological illness, yet very little is known about it. Studies have found that stigma has created challenges for people with epilepsy in economic and social capacities (Walker, 2018). It is suggested that stigma surrounding epilepsy is due to a lack of awareness (Al-Dossari, 2018). A Qualtrics survey will be administered to a sample of Southern Utah University students to solicit their awareness of epilepsy and their perceptions of stigma regarding people with epilepsy. Additionally, interviews will be conducted with a second sample of people who identify as having epilepsy to discover their perceptions regarding awareness and stigma. The results of the two samples will be compared. It is hypothesized that the stigmas identified in university students will be consistent with experiences described in interviews of people with epilepsy. The findings from this study could aid in the normalization and destigmatization of epilepsy and other chronic illnesses in society.

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: 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: 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: Willow Norton, Kaleb Cox, Jaycen Sunderman, Jessalyn Warhurt. Mentors: Kirsten L. Graham. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Positive awe is a feeling of wonder, insignificance, reverence, etc., that is stimulated by man-made or natural events, objects, or circumstances. Monroy & Keltner list the five primary domains of awe as nature, spiritual engagement, music, dance, and psychedelics, but a scale determining the exact origin points of awe has not yet been developed. Upon researching awe more and determining that it is a universally felt emotion, we started looking at where awe may stem from, or what causes it. We have found that there are different types of awe, or that different populations may be able to feel it differently, but we could not find a measure of where it originates. In our study, we attempted to determine the sources from which people experience positive awe by developing the Positive Awe Origin Scale (PA-OS). While developing the PA-OS, we delivered our scale to five peers who tested the face value of our scale about readability and subject matter, and we then edited our scale based on the feedback we received. In the present study, participants will be recruited through social media and MTurk to complete an online survey, via Qualtrics. This survey will include likert scale items rated 1 to 5, with 1 being “strongly disagree” and 5 being “strongly agree.” Psychometric evaluation of results will include a confirmatory factor analysis and an internal consistency measure using Cronbach’s alpha. Discriminant validity will be measured as we correlate our scores with other, unrelated, scales included in the Qualtrics survey, which measure different constructs. Convergent validity will be measured as participants complete an awe subscale of the Dispositional Positive Emotion Scale (DPES). We anticipate that the PA-OS will help further identify the various sources of awe and lead to improvements in the research.

Authors: Sophia Dodge. Mentors: Alex Greenwald. Insitution: University of Utah. This project seeks to address the understudied presence of Gambel Oak acorns in the archaeological record of the Great Basin, Colorado Plateau, and Southwest regions. While ethnographic data and historical records suggest that Native peoples in this area consumed some Gambel Oak acorns, their recognition in archaeological contexts has been limited. This study aims to assess the viability of methodologies for identifying macrobotanical acorn remains, shedding light on their utilization across different time scales, especially as fallback crops during resource shortages, such as climate shifts. Through experimental methods like burning, parching, and midden simulation we will determine how these methods impact the identifiability of acorns. The research holds significance for our understanding of past human responses to climate change and the ongoing struggle for Indigenous food sovereignty, providing valuable insights into sustainable food sources for the future.

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: 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: 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: Broden Lund, John Jones. Mentors: John Jones. Insitution: Utah Tech University. Pursuing higher education credentials involves a significant investment of money, time, and energy. For many, this investment fails to pay off when students abandon their studies prior to graduation. Identifying factors that influence persistence to graduation has thus been the subject of a good deal of past research. The aim of this ongoing study is to explore the interaction between motivation type, responses to failure, and self-efficacy, on persistence among students at different stages of their academic careers. Participants will be 100 college students currently enrolled at a mid-sized university in the United States. Participants will complete measures of academic motivation, coping strategies in response to failure, and self-efficacy. We predict that the further a student progresses the more intrinsically motivated they will tend to be, and that this shift in motivation will be accompanied by increasing reliance on problem-focused coping and increased self-efficacy. Our results have the potential to provide a more nuanced understanding of the role intrinsic motivation plays in student success. Implications for students, parents, teachers, and administrators will also be considered.

Authors: Samantha Denbow, Katie Finlinson, Carley Grube, Joseph Johnson, Tanner Dougherty. Mentors: Kirsten L Graham. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Religious affiliation is rapidly declining (Engelman, 2019). Given that religions often perpetuate an in-group out-group dynamic, bidirectional prejudices can be seen between both people who are a part of and people who are not a part of religion (Jackson & Hunsberger, 1999). One explanation for this phenomena of leaving religion and increased prejudice is that there is a shift in attitudes towards religion. Attitudes affect behavior and may explain why people are leaving religion and becoming more prejudiced towards religious and non-religious groups. Our scale Attitudes Towards Religion (ATR) aims to measure attitudes towards religion to better understand why these cultural shifts are happening. We have defined attitudes as “a mostly enduring organization of thoughts, feelings, and behavioral tendencies directed towards objects, groups, events, or symbols” (Breckler, 1984; Hogg & Vaughan, 2005). Little research has been done to determine attitudes as a three part model (affect, cognition, and behavior) when examining religion. The current measures used to examine attitudes towards religion are less defined and fail to address the tripartite model of attitudes by relying more on affective and cognitive components of attitudes (Breckler, 1984). One such scale is called the Astley–Francis Scale of Attitude Towards Theistic Faith, which measures attitudes through affective items on a Likert scale. As demonstrated through this scale and others, many measures are also limited to attitudes of theistic, western religions, rather than encompassing nontheistic religions (Astley et al., 2012; Szydłowski et al., 2021). Attitudes are important to research because they impact daily choices in every individual’s life. Our study sample will be recruited through the Amazon Mechanical Turk survey platform and researchers’ social media pages. We predict our scale will measure attitudes towards religion to further inform current literature concerning religion and religious exit. We will examine reliability in our scale by testing Cronbach's alpha to ensure internal consistency. A small pilot group of 5 undergraduate peers reviewed the items for clarity, readability, and face validity. We then made changes to the items based on the feedback. Because our measure was developed according to a well-established tripart theory of attitude, a confirmatory factor analysis will be used to assess initial factor structure and how well our model fits the data. In addition, we will examine convergent validity by comparing the Astley–Francis Scale of Attitude Towards Theistic Faith with our scale. Discriminant validity will be examined by comparing other non-related scales that measure different constructs with our scale. With this information, further research can be done to understand the correlation between attitudes towards religion and religious participation/exit. The authors for this project are Samantha Denbow, Katie Finlinson, Joseph Johnson, Tanner Dougherty, and Carley Grube. This information will be presented in a poster format.

Authors: Sebastian Partida. Mentors: Jamie Spinney. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Lighting levels have an important role in influencing the ambiance and functionality of various land uses. To achieve specified goals while optimizing energy efficiency and sustainability, lighting intensity must be balanced. The purpose of this study was to compare light intensity for different land uses (e.g., residential, commercial, industrial, and recreational). This study measured light intensity (i.e., brightness) for a random sample of different land uses using a digital light meter within Cedar City, UT. GPS coordinates were also acquired in order to map the brightness data. As expected, the results revealed that residential land uses were the darkest, whereas commercial and industrial land uses were the brightest. The findings indicate communities have to maintain a balance between creating a warm and pleasant atmosphere and ensuring appropriate illumination for safety and security purposes. Energy-efficient LED fixtures and smart lighting systems, for example, can provide adjustable and programmable illumination settings that meet both aesthetic and safety requirements.

Authors: Kylee Fernandez. Mentors: Gennie L Parkman. Insitution: University of Utah. Evaluating the role of LRRC1 in melanoma growth and metastasisThe development of brain metastases is a critical problem in Utah, regardless of the novel therapies created for melanoma. The melanoma mortality rates in Utah are 31% higher than the national average and the melanoma incidences are 80% higher. To lower these incidences, our research is aimed at investigating targets in melanoma that play a crucial role in brain metastasis and can be identified as therapeutic interventions.LRRC1 is a gene known as Leucine Rich Repeat Containing 1. LRRC1 is involved in early-stage adipocytic differentiation. Altered gene and protein expression of LRRC1 is observed in melanoma potentially due to the vital role LRRC1 plays in adipose stem cells that differentiate by adopting the phenotypic, biochemical, and functional properties of more terminally differentiated cells. To evaluate the effect of LRRC1 on melanoma growth and metastasis, we are using an established autochthonous in vitro and in vivo model of melanoma based on the RCAS/TVA avian retroviral system. The results of this study will have tremendous potential to contribute to the understanding of the genetics of this heterogeneous disease.

Authors: Adriana Bibo, Nicole Losurdo, Nichole Link. Mentors: Nichole Link, Cindy Greaves. Insitution: University of Utah. Microcephaly is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by occipital frontal circumference (OFC) more than two standard deviations below the mean. It can be accompanied by comorbidities including intellectual disabilities, seizures, and other developmental phenotypes. Microcephaly is attributed to malnutrition and exposure to toxins or infection during pregnancy, but genetic mutations are also a leading cause. To investigate the genetic mechanisms behind microcephaly, our lab collaborates with a physician who has completed whole exome sequencing for two hundred microcephaly patients. He identified potentially pathogenic human variants, which we are studying using Drosophila melanogaster as our model organism. We screened for loss of function phenotypes through RNAi knockdown of fly orthologs to determine if these genes are necessary for brain development. In our primary screen, we found that RNAi knockdown of Bx42 in neural stem cells or post-mitotic neurons causes significantly reduced brain lobe volume. In our current study, we are assessing potential causes for reduced brain lobe volume. We seek to determine if RNAi knockdown of Bx42 in neural stem cells or neurons affects cell number, proliferation, or death in developing brains.

Authors: Nicholas Poll. Mentors: Moriel Zelikowsky. Insitution: University of Utah. Social interaction is one of the chief drivers of evolution and natural selection. Animal interactions shape the ecological world and have shaped the world’s evolutionary timeline. Of the many types of animal interactions, one of the most influential to behavior and development is aggression. Many animals' aggressive behaviors and mechanisms are so distinct that their origins can be traced back to specific selective pressures. These pressures range from reproductive competition to predator-prey interactions and have apparent effects on many species’ developments. There are many stressors that can increase aggressive tendencies found in mammals, yet it’s clear that the neural bases that connect these stressors and their behavioral responses are understudied. The targeted brain region in this project is the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST). The BNST is a neurochemically diverse node of the extended amygdala that has been implicated in mediating stress and sensory information. It anatomically acts as a relay station between a number of different structures including the hypothalamus and amygdala. The BNST has been implicated to have a role in stressor-induced aggressive behaviors; however, the neural mechanisms that connect this region and these behaviors are relatively understudied. Corticotropin-releasing Hormone (CRH) in mammals displays upregulation following the introduction of a stressor and has been found to mediate aggression and anxiety. Similarly, tachykinin-expressing neurons have been shown to have a role in mediating aggression in mammals. While CRH and tachykinin’s link to anxiety and aggression is well supported, it is not clear to what extent it has on BNST. This project aims to provide data to support the role that CRH and Tachykinin 2 (Tac2) in the BNST have in mediating aggression in mice through optogenetic stimulation.

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

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

Authors: Dallin Oyler, Ana Alfaro, Kailee Myxter, Ben Brooks, Amanda Brooks. Mentors: Jessica Pullan. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Nausea and vomiting are common complications that occur in 70% of pregnancies. Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) is the most severe form of these symptoms and is estimated to be prevalent in 0.3-2% of pregnancies. Due to the fetal and maternal morbidity associated with HG, identifying the cause and treatment options for these women is a critical task in obstetrics. Research regarding the etiology of HG has been fairly recent and is still ongoing, however, evidence had directed to a positive correlation between increased levels of the serum protein GDF15 and HG symptoms. We hypothesize that polymorphisms in both maternal and fetal DNA plays a role in the upregulated GDF-15 seen in mothers experiencing symptoms of HG during pregnancy. The DNA of 2 mothers and their corresponding children were sequenced and analyzed. The DNA was obtained through buccal swabs from the epithelial cells of the inner cheek, and then purified and ran through PCR. We employed 3 distinct primers that correspond to mutations in the genome that account for the elevated levels of circulating GDF-15 in the mother. As of current, the mother-daughter DNA is still under analysis for single-nucleotide polymorphisms, however recently published literature has suggested results similar to our hypothesis. M. Fejzo et al. shows that upregulated serum GDF-15 is primarily of fetal origin, and that maternal sensitivity to GDF15 increases the risk for developing HG. Additionally, the DNA coding variant GDF15 C211G was shown to elevate the risk of HG

Authors: Auriana Dunn. Mentors: Kathryn Sokolowski. Insitution: University of Utah. Reconstructing the diet of extinct animals can help us understand how living species are suited to their environments, which can inform paleoecological and zooarchaeological research as well as modern species conservation. Seasonal variation in animals’ diets can further be used to reconstruct seasonality patterns in the past and understand how animals may vary their diet under future climate change. However, determining the diet of extinct species is challenging, and detecting seasonal changes in diet is even more so. Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) can be a tool to solve this problem. DMTA analyzes dental microwear by measuring the pits and scratches on teeth to determine what an animal consumed in the days and weeks before it died. This project examines the DMTA of modern African Bovidae species to determine if seasonal dietary changes can be observed. If a difference can be found in the dental microwear of specimens that died during different seasons, seasonal changes in diet can be inferred. Here, I gathered dental microwear data from 407 specimens across five modern studies and matched the data to the museum specimens’ date of death to determine whether it died in a wet or dry season. The analysis found that four of the Bovidae species examined in our study showed evidence of seasonal diet shifts in their DMTA data. Dental microwear can be useful in determining seasonal diets and season of death for specimens. This method can be applied to extinct Bovidae species to understand ancient ecosystems and the evolution of Bovidae dietary strategies.

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

Authors: Jane Damstedt, Kasey Cole. Mentors: Kasey Cole. Insitution: University of Utah. In this project, we are analyzing faunal remains recovered from Utah’s House Mountain Range in the Tubafore cave system to create a paleoecological baseline of life in that location over the past 1000 years. All animals have relatively consistent ecological tolerances and preferences, so comparing the data from the information obtained in this study with contemporary accounts of mammalian ecology in the same area will be useful in evaluating the role of anthropogenic climate change in mammalian ecosystems. In this project, I am identifying the animal remains to the lowest level of taxonomic classification possible to determine what kinds of species richness and environment were present at the time in which the animal was alive. Creating an accurate record of the animals found in this cave assemblage is critical because very little is known about the species richness of the Great Basin area. This data will then be stored and compared to modern zoological data, which came from online databases Actos and Vertnet. The information gathered from this project can be used to inform conservation and sustainability efforts aiming at preserving biodiversity in Central Utah’s Mountain Ranges.

Authors: Cooper Bell-Hunley, Ming Yu, Emily Heider. Mentors: Emily Heider. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Green chemistry involves the redesign of chemical processes and products to reduce hazards to the environment and human health. Reconsidering the teaching curriculum with a view to embrace green chemistry can reduce costs in waste disposal and has the potential to improve accessibility. This research involves the redesign of qualitative analysis general chemistry experiment to eliminate the use of teratogenic mercury (Hg) and neurotoxic lead (Pb). Making this change creates a more inclusive laboratory since expectant mothers should not be exposed to mercury and therefore some students did not feel safe completing the previous version of the experiment. With any change in curriculum, it is important to consider the impact on learning outcomes that students can achieve. This research details the assessment of learning outcomes with a quasi-experimental design. Instructors in multiple general chemistry labs selected the qualitative analysis experiment (with or without Hg and Pb) and learning outcomes achieved were assessed following the experiment.

Authors: Ada Cottam Allen, Mikhael T Semaan. Mentors: Mikhael T Semaan. Insitution: University of Utah. Regularly buoyed from thermodynamic equilibrium by complex and fluctuating environments, living systems must continually respond and adapt to external stimuli. Recent tools from stochastic thermodynamics place concrete energetic and entropic bounds on these processes, for systems arbitrarily far from equilibrium both in and out of steady-state conditions, and thus reveal mechanisms by which these systems absorb and dissipate energy to function. Here, we leverage these tools to simulate and calculate the thermodynamic signatures of several models of sodium and potassium ion channels---channels crucial to propagating action potentials in mammalian neurons---as driven by biologically-realistic action potential spiking protocols. Thus uncovering their detailed energetic responses to such complex environmental conditions, these results enable detailed comparison between the thermodynamic functionality of each channel type with driving one would expect in-vivo. When applied to competing models of the same channel, these tools also provide additional criteria for model selection; to this end, we close by calculating expected ionic currents, directly facilitating comparison with dynamically-driven patch-clamp experiments.

Authors: G. Colton Gardner, Lynasi Gapelu, Sohom Mookherjee, Sihem Boudina, J. David Symons. Mentors: J. David Symons. Insitution: University of Utah. With the prevalence of cardiovascular disease increasing world wide and its precise mechanisms remaining elusive, the need for novel treatments is urgent. Autophagy is a conserved process whereby dysregulated intracellular proteins are escorted to the lysosome for recycling. Emerging evidence indicates that autophagy is important in maintaining endothelial cell (EC) proteostasis and function. My laboratory showed that autophagy repression in adult mice ECs produces arterial dysfunction, and indexes of autophagy are repressed in ECs of older mice and humans which display concurrent EC dysfunction. Sequestosome 1 (p62) tethers proteins and enables their entry into the autophagic pathway. The contribution from EC p62 to cardiovascular and metabolic function is unknown and experiments are needed to investigate this. Thus, p62 will be depleted from ECs of adult male and female mice (p62iEC-/-) via tamoxifen regimen, and results will be compared to animals wherein EC p62 is intact (CON). The efficacy and specificity of EC p62 depletion will be evaluated in ECs and vascular smooth muscle by qPCR and immunoblotting. Three adjacent 1 mm thoracic aorta sections will be obtained 14 days after the tamoxifen regimen. The central aorta section will be used to measure intrinsic mechanical stiffness by wire myography, with the other two used to find lumen diameter and intimal medial thickness. These measurements will help create Stress vs. Strain curves and the Elastic Modulus, which will be compared between the groups to show the differences caused by p62 depletion. We expect p62 depletion from ECs to increase intrinsic aortic stiffness.

Authors: Sydney Larsen. Mentors: Joshua Steffen. Insitution: University of Utah. Pollen preserves are crucial to maintaining Apis mellifera’s hive health. This pollen provides bees with a source of protein, amino acids, lipids, and other nutrients that are vital for larvae development (Dharampal et. Al, 2019). In addition to providing these essential nutrients, bee collected pollen also provides the hive with an excellent source of external pollen-borne microorganisms. These microbes provide a variety of benefits including serving as a major dietary requirement for larvae, assisting in biochemical processes such as bee bread fermentation, and assisting in bee resistance to pathogens (Gilliam, 1997). Despite the importance that these organisms play on bee health, there is currently little research on how the microbial composition of bee foraged pollen changes throughout the foraging season in response to abiotic and biotic factors. Rapid advancements in DNA metabarcoding approaches and DNA sequencing technologies have made the assessment of hive level foraging patterns easily accessible. We attempt to leverage the benefits of these new approaches to characterize how microbial composition in pollen provisions changes in relation to shifts in foraging preferences. Here we describe general patterns plant foraging behaviors for two hives across a single foraging season. In addition, we describe the variability of microbial diversity associated with pollen across this same time frame. Our initial description plant and microbial communities present in pollen provisions suggest that pollinator foraging preferences play a significant role in pollen associated microbial communities. This will allow for further research into how the presence of specific beneficial microbes is affected by changes in climate, floral availability, pathogen presence, etc..ReferencesDharampal, P. S., Carlson, C., Currie, C. R., & Steffan, S. A. (2019). Pollen-borne microbes shape bee fitness. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 286(1904), 20182894.Gilliam, M. (1997). Identification and roles of non-pathogenic microflora associated with honey bees. FEMS Microbiology Letters, 155(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0378-1097(97)00337-6

Authors: My Nha Quyen Tran, Cindy Greaves. Mentors: Martin Horvath, Cindy Greaves. Insitution: University of Utah. I have been studying the DNA repair enzyme MutY found at the Lost City thermal field 3000 feet deep in the Atlantic Ocean with conditions similar to those that may have shaped the origin of life. With no sunlight and very little oxygen, life at the Lost City is driven by chemical transformations in rocks at extremely high levels of pH and temperature. DNA in all organisms strictly follows base pairing rules in which A pairs with T and G pairs with C. We all think of oxygen as beneficial, but it can cause damage to DNA. Oxidized guanine (OG) violates the base pairing rules and pairs with A. This causes mutations, which can lead to changes in the genetic information. The mutagenic potential of OG was a challenge that had to be solved early in the emergence of DNA-encoded life. The enzyme MutY functions in suppressing mutations and therefore protects us from developing cancer by finding and removing A from OG:A mispairs. In my effort to replicate conditions at the Lost City so as to explore how the DNA repair enzyme MutY evolved to function in this strange environment I need to purify the enzyme. I used DNA cloning to attach the MutY-encoding genes to a soluble bacterial protein called GST that hopefully will make it easier to purify the MutY proteins. Encouragingly, these fusion proteins expressed well in bacteria and appeared to be soluble. I am now exploring different conditions looking for optimal enzyme activity, which I predict to be different from what familiar bacteria can tolerate. Basic science research on how DNA repair enzymes adapted to the strange environment at the Lost City may inform future translational applications to treat and cure cancer and thus ensure a healthy society in Utah.

Authors: William Lee, Rishab Nayak, Cecilia Knapp, Camila Soderholm. Mentors: Ryan Stolley. Insitution: University of Utah. Recent publications have shown pyridine carboxylate functionalized aza-crown ethers coordinate strongly to a number of rare earth elements. Considering their strong coordination, we have modified these crown-ethers with a number of hydrophobic moieties to allow for adsorption to non-polar substrates to enable packed bed isolation of these elements to address the broad use and limited availability of these elements.

Authors: Nathan Jackson, Ryan James, James Crutchfield. Mentors: Mikhael Semaan. Insitution: University of Utah. Symbolic dynamics allows for modeling---and designing for---the effects of imperfectly measuring a time series of data, by partitioning into a finite number of possibilities. The resulting time series of discrete symbols is then made especially amenable to information-theoretic methods for understanding its temporal structure and correlation. In particular, as long as the partitioning scheme is generating, the resulting estimations for entropy rate---the rate at which the process creates information---converge to a measure of chaos in the underlying system, a dynamical invariant.However, the entropy rate is not sensitive to what kind of generating partition: colloquially, an instrument must be at least accurate enough, but can be more fine-grained as desired. In contrast, its breakdown into a piece which affects future measurements (“bound”) and a piece which does not (“ephemeral”) depends quite dramatically on the choice of generating partition. We ask, then: is there a canonical partitioning scheme for which the full suite of information measures relate to dynamical invariants?To tackle this, we simulate the well-known tent and logistic maps, sweeping over all two-boundary partitions, calculating the full information anatomies for each. We find that ephemeral and bound information are extremized by the single-boundary coarsest generating partition, suggesting a canonical role for the simplest “good enough” instrument. The remaining multivariate measures, meanwhile, reveal hitherto-unseen structure in the process of imperfect measurement.

Authors: Cate Bateman, Carson Veazie, . Sydney Sandall. Mentors: Matt Ogburn. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Western Utah is home to two distinct species of oak, Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) and Dixie live oak (Quercus turbinella), which can hybridize to form an intermediate species that has been named Quercus undulata. In spite of previous research on these shrubs, we are still unsure of how the hybrid has survived in small isolated locations well outside of the range of one parent species (Dixie live oak, which is restricted in Utah to Washington, Kane, and San Juan Counties). Our primary objective was to perform an ecological niche modeling assessment of Q. undulata within the Three Peaks Recreation Area. Our approach included collecting plot-level data to determine abiotic and biotic niche factors correlating with the presence/absence of Q. undulata, including slope, aspect, soil type, soil chemistry, vegetation cover, and other associated woody plant species. Our results have shown that Q. undulata populations have higher concentrations in south-facing slopes, potentially reflecting the climatic preferences of its Dixie live oak parent. Results also showed that both focal species, Q. undulata and Q. gambelii, prefer areas with shallow soil and rocky outcrops. We plan to continue data collection and our analysis of soil type and chemistry. These results will help us to better understand the evolutionary history and ecological requirements of this fascinating native Utah plant.

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: Maggie Smith, Bryan L Koenig. Mentors: Bryan L Koenig. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Nationwide, Utah ranks 14th for suicide rates (CDC, 2021). To help prevent suicide, understanding suicidal ideation differences among certain populations such as sexual, ethnic, and racial minorities is important. One study found that LGBTQ+ individuals are three times more likely than non-LGBTQ+ individuals to attempt suicide at some point in their lives (di Giacomo et al. 2018). Religious background has also been connected to suicidality. Sterling and colleagues (2002) discovered that active LDS males aged 15–34 years have a lower risk of suicide compared with both less active LDS members and non-LDS individuals. Whereas some studies have samples of diverse ages and locations, research on suicidality among college students specifically in Utah is lacking. The purpose of the present research is to assess how demographic variables such as religious identity, biological sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and racial/ethnic identity are connected to suicidality at a regional university in the Southwestern United States, Southern Utah University. In this study, 1,397 SUU Students took at least one of two surveys that asked about mental health variables and demographics. Suicidal ideation was measured using the Suicidality Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire Revised (Osman et al., 2001). Results indicate that the more minoritized identities students had, the more likely they were to be suicidal. Other findings include that LGBTQ+ students were very likely to be suicidal, cisgender students were less likely to be suicidal, and female students were more likely than male students to be suicidal. Additionally, suicidality was lowest among LDS students and highest among non-religious participants.

Authors: Mikel Cressman, Jackie Richey, Dantzel Petersen Hancey, Bianka Geraldo, Kayden Barlow, Ainsley Lumsden, Olivia Hubble. Mentors: Patrick Steffen. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Heart rate variability or HRV is a measure of the amount of time between a person’s heartbeats and is related to their physiological response to stress. Social support is an important component of positive health outcomes and plays a part in mediating distress. More research is needed to better understand the connection between HRV, social support and distress. We hypothesize that those with low baseline HRV will have higher distress scores and lower social support than those with high baseline HRV. We also hypothesized that someone with high distress and high social support will have higher HRV than those with high distress and low social support. In this study, social support was measured using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), distress was measured using the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms (CCAPS), and baseline HRV was measured using a NEXUS biofeedback device using ECG leads on the collarbones and left rib. Our sample consisted of 236 college students (17-28 years old; 57.6% female; 85.9% white) drawn from an online recruiting software and student development classes. For the first hypothesis, we will use a MANOVA to compare both low and high HRV baseline with mean MSPSS and CCAPS scores. We will use an ANOVA to compare differences in HRV between those with high MSPSS and high CCAPS scores to those with low MSPSS and high CCAPS for the second hypothesis. We expect to find that those in the lower HRV group will have higher CCAPS scores and lower MSPSS scores when compared to the high HRV group. We also expect to find that participants in the high CCAPS and high MSPSS group will have a higher HRV when compared to the high CCAPS and low MSPSS group.

Authors: Breanne Herrmann. Mentors: Paul Stavast. Insitution: Brigham Young University. The construction and preservation of the Berlin Wall in 20th century Germany has perpetuated a social legacy perceived differently in various countries. Although the historical facts are unchangeable, their representation by institutions in each country varies and reveals their unique participation with the German Democratic Republic. This paper analyzes the portrayal of the Berlin Wall and surrounding GDR events in museums in both Berlin, Germany and American cities. Die Mauer, The Wall museum at Leipziger Platz in Berlin serves as a model of the German perspective. Its focus on the logistics of the Berlin Wall and the social impact in Germany and surrounding satellite countries is compared to the portrayal in American museums, which assume a more general approach of the Berlin Wall as a symbol of greater political struggles. This includes a consideration of locations of museums in America as well as information presented in the exhibits. Identifying differences between museums in these two countries provides insight into the experience of each during the GDR period and subsequent social perceptions of the Berlin Wall's history.

Authors: Maisie Baird, Hugh Kerry, Samuel Otterstrom. Mentors: Samuel Otterstrom. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Throughout the history of the United States, populations have experienced continual fluctuations across its diverse landscape. Although much research has focused on the growth and decline of cities and counties, many of these studies have focused on the positive population growth in larger cities and counties, insomuch that scholars and the public might have an incomplete or skewed view of the historical population geography of the country. However, this paper presents a broader perspective, including times of both population growth and decrease across regions and multiple decades and showing how these trends do not follow strictly positive trajectories nor exhibit isolated randomness. This paper will focus on specific examples of counties across the United States, highlighting why there were population ‘top-outs’ in these areas. For example, Sheridan County, Nebraska experienced a population boom at the onset of World War I, as it became the United States’ primary source of potash. However, at the end of World War I, potash could again be cheaply imported from Europe so, Sheridan County lost its booming industry, resulting in population decline. This research delves into the concept of population ‘topping out’ in counties, emphasizing a comprehensive understanding achieved through a holistic framework that accounts for geographic, regional, economic, and temporal aspects.

Authors: Jacalyn Richey, Hayley Pierce. Mentors: Hayley Pierce. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Good sleep habits and effective self-control are important components of successful functioning. Unfortunately, chronic sleep loss is a common concern in adolescence as both their autonomy and demands on their time increase. This loss of sleep impacts neural and physical development and is connected with increased mental illness, delinquency, and academic difficulties. Self-control may aid in the prioritization of sleep by curbing impulsive desires and improving decision making around adhering to bedtimes. This study drew on data from the Future of Families and Childhood Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) measuring self-control at age 9 and sleep outcomes at age 15 (N = 3,444; 48.7% female; 49% Non-Hispanic Black). Multivariable analyses indicated that self-control showed statistically significant relationships with social jetlag, falling asleep, and having a regular bedtime after controlling for several relational and economic factors. Improving childhood self-control habits and skills through modeling and instruction may lead to increased positive sleep outcomes, which may increase healthy development in adolescence and beyond.

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

Authors: Annabelle Crawford. Mentors: Celeste Beesley. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Women who run for office do not fit societal leadership expectations, which hurts their chances of being elected (Bauer 2020; Eagly and Karau 2002). Women who serve in male-coded positions face backlash for confronting issues that are incongruent with stereotypically feminine attributes (Davidson-Schmich, Jalalzai, and Och 2023). I theorize that social role incongruence is exacerbated for women who serve on male-coded legislative committees. Therefore, I predict that women who serve on male-coded committees are reelected less frequently than women who do not serve on male-coded committees. However, I propose that women with leadership roles on male-coded committees are members of the political elite and therefore will be reelected at rates similar to other legislators. This research will employ a census of female legislators from both houses of the U.S. Congress who began their tenure between 1993 and 2022, using data compiled by the Congressional Research Service. Whether a committee is male-coded or female-coded (or gender-neutral) will be determined based on whether men or women dominate the industry associated with the committee. Social role incongruence will be measured by analyzing public perceptions of female legislators during the time they served on a male-coded committee. I will use regression analysis to determine the effect of serving on a male-coded committee on a woman’s gender role incongruence. I will then compare the proportion of reelection races won by women who served on a male-coded committee to the proportion of races won by women who served on a female-coded or gender-neutral committee using difference in proportions tests. I will also compare the electoral success of women who held leadership roles on male-coded committees to the electoral success of other legislators.

Authors: Sara Knowlton, Sam Chipman, Samantha Stabler, Alex Osmond, Brock Kirwan. Mentors: Brock Kirwan. Insitution: Brigham Young University. The hippocampus is a brain structure involved in recognition memory and pattern separation, or the ability to disambiguate potentially interfering or overlapping memory representations. The Mnemonic Similarity Task (MST) has been used to assess memory specificity by asking participants to encode a series of objects and later perform a recognition memory test with repeated items (targets), similar but not exact repeats (lures), and novel items (foils). In a single-subject case study, we utilized the MST in evaluating recognition memory over various delays of a subject with anterograde amnesia. Subject MC is a healthy young adult female who underwent a unilateral amygdalohippocampectomy as a treatment for epilepsy. This procedure included the complete removal of her hippocampus in the right hemisphere, which we verified with magnetic resonance imaging. In addition to the MST, we compiled a battery of neuropsychological tests, including the Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning (WRAML-3), the Delis-Kaplan Executive Functioning System, and the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI-II) to more holistically assess MC’s memory deficits. Preliminary analyses showed significantly lower lure discrimination when compared with control subjects, indicating deficits in pattern separation. Further analysis of MC’s MST results are being conducted to evaluate her broader ability for recognition memory.

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: Alexis Downey, Kylee Navin, Brice Page, Alyssa Franklin, Hannah Cluff, Julie Johnson Pynn. Mentors: Julie Johnson Pynn. Insitution: Southern Utah University. “Gender expression refers to the way a person expresses their gender identity through appearance, behavior, and interests” (Helgenson, 2020). Previous research has shown that clothing has been used as a form of self-expression and that this expression of self-perception is more important for cisgender women (Strubel and Goswami, 2022). Additionally, previous research has found that conservative beliefs predict generalized prejudice toward gender-nonconforming individuals (Prusaczyk and Hodson, 2020). Felt pressure from peers and the self has been found to relate with greater gender typicality (Jackson et al. 2021), which leads us to believe that images of others may influence comfort and conformity with one’s own gender expression. The purpose of our study is to better understand the effects of appearance and political affiliation on comfort and conformity with gender expression. Participants were exposed to one of two visual manipulations: images of gender-conforming individuals, and images of gender-nonconforming individuals. Participants were asked to complete the Comfort and Conformity with Gender Expression Survey before and after being exposed to the images. We predicted that viewing images of gender non-conforming individuals would decrease participants' comfort and conformity with their gender expression, while viewing images of gender-conforming individuals would increase participants' comfort and conformity with their gender expression. Results will be forthcoming. Gender identity and expression are evolving rapidly, and it is important to examine masculinity and femininity in relation to gender non-conforming individuals rather than just gender-conforming individuals.

Authors: Jacob Hutchings, Harrison Li. Mentors: Joe Price. Insitution: Brigham Young University. We examine the effectiveness of federal school nutrition policies and regulations; specifically, the recent transitional targets for sodium reduction announced in 2021. We performed web-scraping to gather over 5 million observations representing every U.S. state and over 2000 school districts and then constructed a weekly average of sodium served in school lunches by district. Using this data, we apply OLS regression with district fixed effects and find that the policy caused a significant, one-time reduction in weekly average sodium of approximately 220 mg. We further explore this result by looking at heterogeneous responses to the policy by political partisanship. We find that there is a significant, partisan response to the transitional targets. Lastly, we consider an adverse effect of sodium reduction by looking at potential sodium substitutes in school lunches. Contrary to expectations, our data shows a statistically significant correlation between decreased sodium levels and decreased sugar levels. To conclude, sodium reduction policies reduce sodium and other harmful nutrients but may be less effective across party lines.

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: 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: 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.