Digital Commons Network^™

Pvaast Anallysis Of Alzheimer’S Disease Sequencing Project Pedigree Data, Kristen Crofts, John S. K. Kauwe

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder affecting more than 10 percent of Americans over the age of 65 (1). This disease destroys memory and thinking skills and is a leading cause of dementia. Although research in recent years has provided substantial information related to risk factors associated with Alzheimer’s disease, a great deal of information still remains unknown. PVAAST is a software tool that can analyze genome sequence data of Alzheimer’s patients in a creative way by also analyzing the patients’ pedigree information. With the combined information from family members, it is more feasible to identify genetic mutations related …

Byu Undergraduate Explore The Development Of Scientific Reasoning Ability In Stem Majors And Its Correlation To Student Performance And Retention, Jamie Jensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This report will outline how effectively we met our academic and mentoring objectives. I have listed below both the academic and mentoring objectives put forth in the original proposal and have outlined how they were met or modified over the course of the past two years. Let me just start out by saying how proud I am of my undergraduate team of researchers. They have been absolutely AMAZING and have taken this project on with incredible autonomy. Although we are a bit behind our anticipated schedule (due to the autonomy that I have tried to foster with the students), the …

Insect Visual Systems And Fossils To Provide Students A Clear Vision Of 21st Century Phylogenetic Systematics, Seth M. Bybee

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Goals one and three were both very successful (more below), however goal two became bogged down and was ultimately abandoned. CT-scanning is a process that requires hundreds or even thousands of fine x-rays through an organism in cross-section to be “stacked” together. Stacking the x-rays together allows researchers to literally explore the internal and external anatomy of organisms in ways never before possible. The most successful scans are those produced when tissues are discrete and have different attributes in terms of pattern, hardness, etc. We focused heavily on fossil specimens embedded in amber. Unfortunately, the cuticle of these specimens were …

Autoimmunity-Promoting B Cell Effects Of The Risk Factor Irf5, Brian Poole

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The academic objectives of this proposal were met. Using the funding provided by the MEG, we generated data that were used to publish two peer-reviewed journal articles:

The Role Of Nr4a1 In Maternal Obesity Induced Beta Cell Expansion, Jeffery S. Tessem

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The academic objectives of this Mentoring Environment Grant (MEG) were to 1) train undergraduate students in the scientific process to prepare them in careers as physicians and scientists, and 2) to examine the relationship between in utero Nr4a1 beta cell specific deletion during maternal overnutrition and obesity on beta cell mass at birth and diabetic onset. We were successful in accomplishing these objectives, as evidenced by the training of four undergraduate students, presentation of research and local and national meetings, and initial preparation of a manuscript reporting our findings.

Final Report For The 2015 Meg Entitled: Development Of Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (Q-Pcr) Assays For The Detection And Identification Of Human Tick-Borne Pathogens, Richard Robison

Journal of Undergraduate Research

1. Develop singleplex q-PCR assays to identify the tick-borne pathogens Borrelia burgdorferi, Borrelia hermsii, Bartonella henselae, and Babesia microti. Primer generation software will be used to design primer and probe sequences that will theoretically perform optimally in PCR reactions. All sequences will be subjected to BLAST searches to confirm their specificity for a particular organism. Once primer sequences have been obtained, they will be synthesized by Integrated DNA Technologies, Inc. (IDT). These primers will be evaluated in q-PCR reactions using target DNA from multiple isolates and SyberGreen to detect nucleic acid amplification. Parameters for each reaction will be optimized using these …

Synaptic Modification Of Inhibitory Inputs To Gaba Neurons In The Ventral Tegmental Area: A Novel Potential Target Mediating Reward And Addiction In The Brain, Jeff Edwards

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The objectives of this award were met, especially in regard to the mentoring focus of the award. The students have been mentored and trained in an effective manner as outlined in my Mentoring Plan (abbreviated below). This includes mentoring students in research, writing, publishing, presenting at conferences, etc. Indeed, one measure of the success of mentoring is demonstrated by the fact that all the students graduating from my lab during this time were accepted to the professional school of their choice (see students listed below). Research, especially where the students are actually involved in all aspects of it including data …

Unleashing The Power Of Undergraduates To Unravel The Impacts Of Water Relations And Co2 Levels On The Photosynthetic Plasticity Of Agave Sensu Lato Species: A Group Of Desert Succulents Important To Natural And Human Systems, J. Ryan Stewart

Journal of Undergraduate Research

• Evaluation of how well the academic objectives of the proposal were met
• Evaluation of the mentoring environment
• List of students who participated and what academic deliverables they have produced or it is anticipated they will produce
• Description of the results/findings of the project
• Description of how the budget was spent

The Role Of Lkb1 In Obesity-Induced Skeletal Muscle Inflammation And Insulin Resistance, David Thomson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The incidence of obesity and the health consequences that accompany it have increased rapidly over the past decade. Understanding the molecular pathways involved in its development will be crucial in developing novel treatment strategies for obesity and associated disorders. Low-grade inflammation likely plays a major role in many of the complications of obesity. We proposed to study the role of liver kinase B1 (LKB1) in the development of inflammation and insulin resistance in obese mice and saturated fatty acid-induced insulin-resistant cells.

The Determinants And Dynamics Of National Identity And Ethno-Regional Identity Salience, Joel Selway

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The project had a general aim to understand the competing national and ethnic identities in Northern Thailand, one of Thailand’s four regions. The North is inhabited by the Lanna ethnic group, an ethnic cousin of the majority Siamese, whose former independent kingdom was annexed to the country as late as 1899. Lanna is a crucial region to understand in contemporary Thai politics because the last four democratically-elected prime ministers (since 2001) that Northerners voted for were removed from office by non-democratic means. Two of those four were themselves prominent Northerners. A political crisis now envelops the country, which is currently …

Assessing Genetic And Environmental Predictors Of Infant Reflexive Attention, Rebecca Lundwall

Journal of Undergraduate Research

My students and I have been very productive during the two funding years of this grant. Together, we have published three peer-reviewed papers (one in an undergraduate research journal) and submitted six papers that are now under review (one in an undergraduate research journal). In addition, I have mentored student submissions of eight poster presentations at local, regional, and national conferences. These papers and presentations have involved 25 students as co-authors.

Relic Hunter — A Student Multidisciplinary Video Game Development Project, Sam Nielson, Seth Holladay, Justin Kunz

Journal of Undergraduate Research

We set out with the objectives to create a fully-working slice of a video game, to develop art pieces for students’ portfolio pieces, to help students develop leadership and team skills, and give our students a chance to collaboratively work out the interlocking bits of knowledge necessary for something as complicated as a game project. In addition, we hoped the project would help students develop professional relationships, and create mentoring opportunities for students on future projects. The project hit all of these objectives and even exceeded in some areas. The most important target was to have the students bring their …

The Essay Genome Project, Patrick Madden

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This project utilized computational analysis to evaluate essays. Through stylometry, the study of writing style, the team studied essayists’ work to delineate writerly heritage, to identify potential authorship, and to recognize trends and answer questions about literary genre. From our analysis, we were able to identify preliminary points of demarcation among essayists due to style, time period, location, and subgenre. The primary subgenre which we examined over the course of the project was the “lyric essay,” a recently popular form which has uncertain characteristics we wanted to elucidate. As we examined essays classified as “lyric” we were able to corroborate …

The Critically Annotated Collected Works Of Elisa Von Der Recke And Women’S Articles In Vienna’S “Die Neue Freie Presse:” A Digital Companion To Red Vienna, White Socialism And The Blues: Ann Tizia Leitich’S America, Michelle James, Rob Mcfarland

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Without funding there would be no Sophie project, which is why the first item in this report on the Sophie activities during 2015 must be an expression of our gratitude to both the ORCA office and to the College of Humanities, on behalf of the faculty members involved, and particularly, on behalf of the many students whose lives have been enriched in numerous ways by their Sophie work. We are aware of the many projects vying for your attention and funding, and are particularly grateful for the support you have given this project over the years. Your grants have enriched …

Nursing Student Experiences Regarding Safe Use Of Electronic Health Records: A Pilot Study Of The Safer Guides, Karen Whitt, Katreena Merrill, Lacey Eden

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this project was to mentor undergraduate nursing students through the entire research process while they worked on a study to evaluate undergraduate and graduate nursing students’ and practicing nurse practitioners’ clinical experience and awareness of safe electronic health record (EHR) practices utilizing the SAFER guide checklists. This project provided multiple mentoring and learning opportunities for the undergraduate students who worked on this project. We exceeded the original objectives of the study and included more opportunities for student research mentoring than were listed in the original proposal. The students had the opportunity for hands-on experience with all aspects …

Mentoring Nursing Students In A Refugee And Immigrant Public And Global Health Course, Debra Edmunds

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The following excerpt from a student’s reflective journal illustrates that academic objectives were met (used with permission): “I have learned a lot from this population and this knowledge has allowed my attitudes to develop and mature in understanding of this high-risk population. Refugees are a misunderstood and, many times, forgotten population that have experienced extensive trauma. I worked with many people on my mission that came from these backgrounds but I never had the opportunity to help them in this type of a setting. I have come to realize that for many people, their story will never be truly known …

Improving Immunization Rates Among Pregnant Women: A Mentored Experience, Lacey M. Eden

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this MEG to mentor nursing students through the process of implementing an education program for pregnant women regarding the importance of Tdap immunization during pregnancy, and to assist Utah County obstetric offices in improving Tdap immunization rates among their patients. Additionally, this project provided an opportunity for undergraduate students to educate the public and utilize health information-technology to empower the patient to be proactive about their care and the protection of their unborn child.

Alzheimer’S Disease: A New Model Defining The Mechanism Of Iron- Catalyzed Radical Damage To Neurons, Richard Watt, Jonathan Wisco

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The MEG proposal focused on understanding how elevated homocysteine levels cause the inability of cells to control iron levels as a cause for Alzheimer’s disease. Iron is associated with the amyloid plaques and tau tangles that are proposed to cause damage to neurons. Dr. Wisco and I previously submitted an NIH R15 proposal that was viewed positively but was not funded due to a lack of preliminary data. Our goal was to use MEG funding to provide preliminary data supporting the hypothesis. We proposed that Homocysteine was a dangerous trigger for disrupting iron metabolism. Biochemical techniques, immunohistochemistry techniques and MRI …

Mentoring Undergraduates At The Intersection Of Organic Synthesis And Peptide Science, Steven L. Castle

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Our academic goals were threefold. First, we aimed to synthesize building blocks and begin assembling them to construct the anticancer peptide yaku’amide A (YA, Figure 1). Our purposes in synthesizing YA were to develop new chemical reactions suitable for efficiently preparing its unusual amino acids (shown in red and blue in Figure 1), and synthesize simplified analogues for use in studies designed to reveal its biological target and mode of action. Our second academic goal was derived from the first and involved investigating the ability of bulky dehydroamino acids (i.e., the amino acids of YA shown in blue in Figure …

Function Of Ric-8a In G Protein E+- Subunit Biogenesis, Barry Willardson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

1. Grant Ludlam. The MEG award helped support Grant’s work from January 2015 through August 2016. During this time Grant has worked on three projects. He investigated the role of Ric8A in the folding of the G protein a subunit and its assembly into the G protein heterotrimeric complex. Unfortunately, his results showed that deletion of Ric8A in the photoreceptor cells of mice did not affect G protein signaling. As a result, he changed his research focus to determining the structure of the BBSome core complex. He assisted a graduate student, Takuma Aoba, in this work. They used a combination of …

A Novel Approach To A Big Simulation Problem: Creating Efficient Dry Granular Material Simulations With Accurate Visual Detail And Behavior, Seth Holladay

Journal of Undergraduate Research

We received a MEG grant for researching the simulation of granular materials for computer graphics and animation. Materials such as sand and snow simulation is very expensive but necessary for productions, as well as hard to control the look, so I have been mentoring undergraduate and graduate students researching how to make sand simulations both efficient and art directable.

Validation Of Four Activity Trackers And Their Influence On Activity Level In Adolescents And Young Adults, Neil Peterson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Objectives:

1. Validate activity trackers including FitBit Surge, Basis Peak, and Apple Watch, against the validated ActiGraph GT3X+.
2. Use quantitative and qualitative means to determine the influence on these commercial exercise trackers on changing sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity (PA) behavior.

Improving Immunization Rates Among Pregnant Women: A Mentored Experience, Lacey M. Eden

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this MEG to mentor nursing students through the process of implementing an education program for pregnant women regarding the importance of Tdap immunization during pregnancy, and to assist Utah County obstetric offices in improving Tdap immunization rates among their patients. Additionally, this project provided an opportunity for undergraduate students to educate the public and utilize health information-technology to empower the patient to be proactive about their care and the protection of their unborn child.

The MEG funding was successfully utilized for its intended purpose (production of a mobile application to educate and remind pregnant women about needed …

Mentoring Nursing Students In A Refugee And Immigrant Public And Global Health Course, Debra Edmunds

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The following excerpt from a student’s reflective journal illustrates that academic objectives were met (used with permission): “I have learned a lot from this population and this knowledge has allowed my attitudes to develop and mature in understanding of this high-risk population. Refugees are a misunderstood and, many times, forgotten population that have experienced extensive trauma. I worked with many people on my mission that came from these backgrounds but I never had the opportunity to help them in this type of a setting. I have come to realize that for many people, their story will never be truly known …

Victorian Short Fiction Project, Leslee Thorne-Murphy

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Our project was to prepare a digital collection of short stories, The Victorian Short Fiction Project (VSFP), for a scholarly review process. The VSFP is a digital anthology of Victorian-era short stories compiled and edited by students in undergraduate Victorian literature classes here at BYU. Leslee Thorne-Murphy designed the project to expand students’ knowledge of the Victorian-era short story, an under-studied genre in the field of Victorian literature, and to give them experience in the fields of scholarly editing and the digital humanities. Students would conduct research in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections library to find short fiction to …

Nursing Student Experiences Regarding Safe Use Of Electronic Health Records: A Pilot Study Of The Safer Guides, Karen Whitt, Katreena Merrill, Lacey Eden

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this project was to mentor undergraduate nursing students through the entire research process while they worked on a study to evaluate undergraduate and graduate nursing students’ and practicing nurse practitioners’ clinical experience and awareness of safe electronic health record (EHR) practices utilizing the SAFER guide checklists. This project provided multiple mentoring and learning opportunities for the undergraduate students who worked on this project. We exceeded the original objectives of the study and included more opportunities for student research mentoring than were listed in the original proposal. The students had the opportunity for hands-on experience with all aspects …

Getting To Know Veterans Through The Utah Honor Flight, Kent Blad, Ron Ulberg

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The academic objectives of the MEG proposal were met and exceeded. Specifically, students were able to serve as individual guardians for a WWII or Korea War Veteran on an Honor Flight to Washington DC to allow those Veterans to visit those sites that are in place to honor their service to our country. For most of the 25 Veterans that were sponsored by BYU College of Nursing, this was their last visit to these sites before they pass on. Examples of these sites were WWII Memorial, Korea War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Navy Memorial, Air Force Memorial, Marine / Iwo …

Wic Clients And Immunizations: A Community-Wide Educational Project, Karlen E. Luthy

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Although most well-known for formula and food vouchers, the WIC Program also excels with their education programs. In fact, every three months WIC parents are required to complete authorized on-line educational modules or attend approved educational classes prior to obtaining their food vouchers for the subsequent quarter.

Getting To Know Veterans Through The Utah Honor Flight, Kent Blad, Ron Ulberg

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The academic objectives of the MEG proposal were met and exceeded. Specifically, students were able to serve as individual guardians for a WWII or Korea War Veteran on an Honor Flight to Washington DC to allow those Veterans to visit those sites that are in place to honor their service to our country. For most of the 25 Veterans that were sponsored by BYU College of Nursing, this was their last visit to these sites before they pass on. Examples of these sites were WWII Memorial, Korea War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Navy Memorial, Air Force Memorial, Marine / Iwo …

Wic Clients And Immunizations: A Community-Wide Educational Project, Karlen E. Luthy

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Although most well-known for formula and food vouchers, the WIC Program also excels with their education programs. In fact, every three months WIC parents are required to complete authorized on-line educational modules or attend approved educational classes prior to obtaining their food vouchers for the subsequent quarter.

In Utah, WIC clients establish their eligibility for program services at the WIC location within their county of residence. The WIC Program in Utah County is one of the largest in the state, providing services for approximately 8,000 women. During 2013-2014, a troublesome trend emerged among WIC clients in Utah County – a …