Life Sciences Commons^™

Introduction And Evaluation Of 10 Hybrid Quinoa X Pitseed Goosefoot Lines In Central Malawi, Carter D. Allred, Mike Banda, Eric Jellen, Moses F.A. Maliro

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

Protein deficiency is common amongst subsistence farmers in much of the developing world. It has been estimated, for example, that over one third of residents of rural Malawi are protein deficient. Adding to this problem in Malawi is the fact that there is only one brief rainy season, during which all crops are grown. Other countries with as dry a climate in the region have low population density, which allows them to reap more from their annual maize harvest. Meanwhile, countries in the region with similarly high population density as Malawi are able to grow higher value crops because of …

Why Parents Say No To Having Their Children Vaccinated Against Measles: A Systematic Review Of The Social Determinants Of Parental Perceptions And Family Approaches To Addressing Mmr Vaccine Hesitancy, M. Lelinneth B. Novilla, Michael C. Goates, Mallory Showalter, L. Kirsten Novilla, Russell Doria, Michael Dang, Katelyn Aldridge, Tyler Leffler

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

The increase in vaccine-preventable disease (VPD) outbreaks has caused great alarm to the public health community. While national and state immunization coverages remain high, the resurgence of measles points to local pockets of under-vaccination that coincide with higher parental vaccine hesitancy and more non-medical exemptions.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), vaccine hesitancy is the “delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite availability of vaccination services” and is problematic for highly contagious diseases like measles. Without adequate vaccination coverage to establish herd immunity, person-to-person transmission is facilitated, particularly in under-vaccinated communities. Central to the discussion about measles resurgence …

Galectin-1: A Potential Protein Therapy For Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy 2b, Mary L. Vallecillo, Matthew S. Teynor, Jonard C. Valdoz, Spencer D. Hayes, P. Daniel Poulson, Matthew F. Rathgeber, Sean R. Stowell, Pam M. Van Ry

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

• Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy 2B (LGMD2B) belongs to a group of diseases called dysferlinopathies, caused by mutations in the DYSF gene.
• Dysferlin is an important muscle membrane protein involved in repair and regeneration after injury.
• LGMD2B causes muscle wasting, fat infiltration, and loss of ambulation in patients.
• Currently there is no cure and few treatment options.
• Galectin-1 is a small protein that interacts with glycosylated proteins. It shows efficacy in treating murine models of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
• Here we explore the ability of recombinant human Galectin-1 (rHsGal-1) to ameliorate disease pathologies and mechanisms of LGMD2B

Hypothesis: Recombinant human galectin-1 (rHsGal-1) protein …

Enhanced Efficiency Nitrogen Fertilizer: Coated Urea, Savannah R. Fahning, Bryan G. Hopkins

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

Nutrient loss contributes to pollution, depletion of natural resources, and economic loss

Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizers (EEF) increase uptake efficiency and crop yield/quality

This research focuses on Nitrogen EEF, namely Coated Urea

Measuring Alcohol-Induced Secondary Structure Changes Of Snap-25a, Samuel W. Shumway, Mark T. Parsons, Robert E. Coffman, Dixon J. Woodbury

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

Alcohol has been consumed by humans for thousands of years and has a known inhibitory effect on neurotransmission. Here we explore the effect of ethanol on the folding of SNARE proteins known to drive neurotransmitter release (exocytosis) in neurons. The SNARE proteins SNAP‐25, syntaxin, and VAMP provide the four helical regions (SNARE domains) that form a coiled-coil complex required for exocytosis. This complex is continually formed and unwound as exocytotic vesicles fuse and are recycled.

Circular Dichroism was used to measure secondary structure of SNAP-25’s first SNARE domain SN1. We observed an increase in α-helical structure followed by precipitation as …

Stemfi Changes Classrooms: Using The Theory Of Planned Behavior To Explain Barriers To Change In The Stem Faculty Institute (Stemfi) Professional Development Program, Jeffrey Shipley, Jamie Jensen Phd, Haley Mickelsen, Caitlin Playstead

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

According to the 2012 PCAST report, only 40% of students who enter college intending to complete a STEM degree are successful in doing so. One of the most common reasons for a student to change majors from a STEM field is the poor quality of instruction. We developed a faculty development program called STEMFI to aid professors in implementing student centered teaching techniques. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the STEMFI Faculty Institute we performed COPUS analyses before and after an intensive year-long faculty development program.

Cognitive Decline In Older Adults After Incident Coronary Heart Disease Or After First Receipt Of Cabg Surgery Or Pci, Jacqueline E. Kunzelman, Evan L. Thacker, Rachel M. Gabor, Monica Scrobotovici, Natalie J. Blades, Wt Longstreth Jr., Susan R. Heckbert, Bruce M. Psaty, Alice M. Arnold, Annette L. Fitzpatrick, David J. Llewellyn, Elżbieta Kuźma, Hooman Kamel, Mandip S. Dhamoon, Sarwat I. Chaudhry, John A. Dodson, Dawson W. Hedges, Shawn D. Gale, Lance D. Erickson, Bruce L. Brown

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

• Cardiovascular health and disease are important determinants of cognitive decline
• Population-based longitudinal studies of this issue are needed

Hypotheses:

• Incident CHD leads to faster long-term cognitive decline in older adults
• Among older adults with CHD, treatment with CABG surgery or PCI leads to slower long-term cognitive decline

Floral Traits Underlying Evolution In Gilia Yorkii, Joseph Detemple, Veronica Mosquera, Clinton Whipple

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

Gilia yorkii and Gilia capitata are two closely related species that have remarkably different inflorescence and floral structures. In this project we are seeking to find specific floral traits that differentiate the different species. These two species are ideal for this study because they produce a fertile hybrid in which elements of the two different phenotypes can be observed.

Utah Lake's Cyanobacteria Proliferation And Toxin Production In Response To Nitrogen And Phosphorous Additions, Gabriella Lawson, Jonathan Daniels, Erin Fleming Jones, Rachel Buck, Michelle Baker, Benjamin Abbott, Zachary Aanderud

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

Understanding cyanobacterial nutrient requirements and toxin production will help the Utah Department of Environmental Quality control toxic algal blooms on Utah Lake. Cyanobacteria’s primary nutrient needs include phosphorous (P) and nitrogen (N). Despite the fact that some cyanobacteria species can fix their own N, many still prefer utilizing easily accessible nitrogen sources (Dolman et al., 2012). Thus, explaining why both P and N can limit or accelerate cyanobacterial proliferation (Dolman et al., 2012). As it turns out, cyanobacteria nutrient needs are particularly complex. One purpose of this study is to detail the multifaceted N and P nutrient requirements of the …

Comparing Intrinsic Foot Muscle Strength And Dynamic Balance In Older Active Males, Aubree Graham, Dustin Bruening Phd, A. Wayne Johnson Pt, Phd, Sarah Ridge Phd

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

Purpose: To examine the relationship between IFM strength and dynamic balance in healthy, active older adults.

Ramp Sequences Change Across Tissues: How Ramps Correlate With Differing Tissue-Specific Expression Levels, Taylor Meurs, Justin Miller, Ben Song

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

Poster People's Choice Award Winner

Our bodies are made of proteins. They help our cells function, give them structure, and cause some diseases. Different amounts of proteins are required for different functions, which makes regulation of protein production a scientific concern. Genes produce quantities of proteins dependent on many factors. Rare regions at the beginning of genes have recently been attributed to variation in protein expression. These regions, called ramp sequences, correlate with higher production. Protein expression differs across tissue types, but it has yet to be explored if ramp sequences correlate with these differences.

Questions

• Do different tissues use …

Does Negative Frequency-Dependent Selection Maintain Gonopodial Asymmetry In Xenophallus Umbratilis?, Mary-Elise Johnson, Erik S. Johnson, Jerald B. Johnson

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

How does negative frequency-dependent selection emerge in populations?

The idea of negative frequency-dependent selection is elegant and simple: Traits are evolutionarily favored when they are rare but disfavored when they become common. This can theoretically lead to oscillations in the ratios of morphs within populations. Unfortunately, there is still little evidence that this process occurs in the wild. The live bearing fish Xenophallus umbratilis exhibits uniquely asymetrical morphology in the male mating structure, called a gonopodium. In this species, the gonopodium terminates with either a dextral (right-handed) or sinistral (left handed) twist, suggesting that mating within this species could be …

Chemokine Receptor Ccrl2-V180m And Its Role In Inflammation And Alzheimer's Disease, Lucie Dearden, Josue D. Gonzalez Murcia, John S. K. Kauwe Phd, K. Scott Weber Phd

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a fatal neurodegenerative condition that is the leading cause of dementia among elderly patients. It is commonly associated with neuroinflammation and its progression is evident in higher levels of serum chemokines and activated microglia. We have identified a receptor and its mutant, CCRL2-V180M, associated with lower levels of the pro-inflammatory chemokine ligand, CCL4. We have previously identified ligand binding behaviorof one isoform of CCRL2, CRAM-A and propose to compare its behaviour to the more commonly expressed isoform, CRAM-B. We hypothesize that CCRL2-V180M binds with a higher affinity than WT to CCL4, decreasing levels of CCL4 in …

New Evidence For Alternative Mating Strategies In Alfaro Cultratus, Kaeli Mueller, Kaitlyn Golden, Jerry Johnson Phd

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

Poster 2nd Place Award Winner

Poeciliids, such as the species Alfaro cultratus, have a unique reproductive system in which males internally fertilize females, which facilitates competition between males. This takes the form of two strategies:

Large Males

• Court females
• Chase away small males
• Have a higher number of successful mating attempts
• Allocate less energy to reproductive organs, i.e. gonads and gonopodium

Small Males

• Can’t mate with as many females
• Attempt sneak copulations, often unsuccessful
• Allocate more energy to reproductive organs, i.e. gonads and gonopodium

These alternative mating strategies can be seen with regressions between gonad and body mass, or …

Comparative Study Of Humectants Used To Preserve Epithelial Tissue, Tanner Nelson, Zak Webber, Aaron Peatross, Alex Pittard, Andrew Sykes, Ayden Olsen, Brandon Meeves, Chris Baeza, Christian Nilsen, Craig Reeves, David West, Dexter Tan, Elijah Lindstrom, Emma Holdaway, Gregg Davis, Iliana Madsen, Niko Jones, Olivia Grinnell, Sawyer Colvin, Tyler Humpherys, Jason Adams

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

Video Presentation People's Choice Award Winner

• Preserving human tissue is widely important in many different fields including the burial of the deceased, forensics, and education. Most cadaveric preserving solutions contain a humectant chemical which keeps the tissue moist and well-preserved.
• We believe that in a comparative study a wet/dry tissue analysis can be used to analyze which humectants are most effective at preventing water loss from the tissue.
• Through further comparative analysis using our methods, we hope to determine the most effective humectant for the preservation of tissue.

Foot Muscle Activation In Resting, Barefoot, And Shod Walking Conditions - A Pilot Study, Lolita Chamberlain, Taryn Corey, Clint Frandsen, A. Wayne Johnson Pt, Phd, Sarah Ridge Phd

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

Video Presentation 1st Place Award Winner/Poster 3rd Place Award Winner

Purpose: To compare differences in foot muscle activation while resting, barefoot, and shod to determine which condition requires the highest level of activation. Hypothesis: It is expected that percent increase in muscle activation will be highest for barefoot walking followed by shod walking, and will be lowest after resting.

Enhanced Efficiency Phosphorus Fertilizers, Savannah J. Kobza, Bryan G. Hopkins

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

• Phosphorus (P) fertilizer loss = negative environmental & economic impacts
• Surface P runoff = eutrophication & natural resource waste
• P Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizers (EEF) = reduce P loss & improve crop yields by up to ~5%
• P EEF evaluated = organic acids, polymer coatings, struvite

Hold Your Horses: Tracking Spatial Patterns Of Feral Horse Movement Across Seasons And Months In Northwestern Nevada, Logan Kalai Ellis

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

Free roaming horses are found on allcontinents worldwide. These horsesinfluence a range of biotic and abioticfactors but managing these horses hasfaced many challenges, one of which isunderstanding the spatial movementpatterns of these horses. The Sheldonwildlife refuge area is home to wildhorses that are free roaming in thenorthwest corner of Nevada. Managingthese horses is important as theyimpact other wildlife and affect landuse of people living around the wildliferefuge area. Feral horses do notrecognize management areas in thesame way that humans acknowledgeand follow them so understanding theirspatial movement patterns will assist indecision making about managementareas for these animals.

Optimal Chemotherapeutic Combination Of 9 Natural Compounds In Treating Pc-3 Prostate Cancer Cells, Ian Berlin, Jason Kenealy Phd

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

• Cell viability assays to determine the concentration at which half the PC-3 cells died (IC50)
• Mixture design Surface methodology (MDRSM) with cell viability to determine most effective combination

Why Longer Exams Are Better For Learning: Extended Exams Increase Information Retention By Creating Stronger Connections In The Brain, Haley Mickelsen Moe, Jacob Sowards, Tana Sowards, Jamie L. Jensen

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

Poster 1st Place Award Winner

Although it’s been shown that extended exams significantly improve long-term conceptual understanding, researchers are still unsure which learning pathway contributes to this phenomenon. In order to determine which learning pathway is responsible for increasedconceptual understanding, we administered and analyzed biology exams of various lengths and levels in 3 different treatments.

The Owlet Pregnancy Band: Is It Accurate?, Heather Day

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

Fetal heart rate monitoring devices have brought information, assurance, and warnings to doctors and parents about their unborn fetus. In recent years, there has been a push to gather more information through continuous fetal heart rate (FHR) monitoring. Owlet Baby Care has created a continuous pregnancy monitor that uses electrocardiograph (ECG) technology to detect the FHR.

The product has multiple sensors to detect heart rate signals. The sensors will then send the information to the medallion to be processed through a machine learning algorithm. Next, the data will be sent to the user’s phone via an application. The Owlet Pregnancy …

Zika And Dengue Virus Live Vaccines: Experiments To Improve The Thermostability Of A Vaccine Candidate Through Lyophilization, Marshall S. Butler

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

With the recent outbreak of Zika virus in Central and South America, there has been an increased demand for vaccines around the world for both zika and dengue virus. Due to a combination of high environmental temperatures and poor cold-storage capabilities in developing countries, it is often difficult for a live-attenuated vaccine to be shipped and maintained. In order to preserve and stabilize vaccines at refrigerated temperatures so that they can be easily shipped and stored, lyophilization (freeze-drying) can be explored as a possible solution. A successful lyophilization process will ensure an extended product shelf life, improve virus stability, and …

Macrophage Toll-Like Receptor Chimeric Antigen Receptor: Moto-Car™ Shows Potent Activation And Killing Of Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cells, Michelle H. Townsend, Jonathan R. Skidmore, Kelsey A. Bennion, Guoying Wang, Zachary D. Ewell, David Lum, Michael Boyer, Kim L. O'Neill

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a mesothelin targeting engineered Macrophage Toll-like Receptor Chimeric Antigen Receptor (MOTO-CAR™). Recently, immunotherapies have emerged as a new horizon for treating cancer. The development of T-cell chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) and their success in treating liquid malignancies transformed the field of cancer treatment, but their effectiveness in treating solid malignancies has been limited due to their inability to traffic to the tumor site. Macrophages, however, are known to be actively recruited by tumors. Due to their association with tumors we chose to explore the use of MOTO-CARS™ as an …

Do Gender And Age Affect How College Students Address Their Stem Instructors?, Ashley Hale, J. Greenall, J. Kilmer, E. G. Bailey

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

• No matter their level of education or preferred title, many university-level STEM instructors experience variability in how their students address them, with younger female professors having been addressed by their first name more than male professors in the past (Rubin, 1981).
• Titles hold certain implications and perceptions. For instance, a study found that female professors who were addressed as “Dr.” were perceived to be less accessible than their male colleagues were (Takiff, 2001).
• Rate My Professors is an anonymous platform allowing students to refer to their professors in whatever way is most comfortable for them
• A recent …

Understanding Drug Addiction Through Optogenetics, D. Bird, Scott Kent Brown Iii, T. Hastings, J. Edwards

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

Background

Drug addiction results from neural plasticity in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), an area of the brain’s reward system, in which higher levels of dopamine are expressed. Research suggests that decreased activity of inhibitory neurons (specifically, GABAergic neurons) in the VTA could cause the hyperactivity of dopaminergic cells in the VTA and thus mediate opiate addiction. However, little additional research has been performed to evaluate plasticity of VTA GABA neurons and the role they play in addiction.

Hypothesis

Why are VTA GABAergic cells inhibited and how?

• We hypothesize that inhibitory inputs onto GABA neurons in the VTA directly affect …

Invasives And The Native Great Basin Desert Plant Community: Competition Response Under Changing Precipitation And Fire Regimes, Baylie C. Nusink, Tara B.B. Bishop, Samuel B. St. Clair

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

Climate change forecasts for cold North American deserts predict drier summers, early fall rain, and less winter precipitation as snow (Abatzoglouand Kolden2011).

In the Great Basin Desert the invasive species cheatgrass (Bromustectorum) has spread, altered fire patterns, and changed competitive interactions with native plants (Germinoet al. 2016b).

The objective was to understand how fall precipitation timing, fire disturbance, and the competition between native and invasive plants may alter the plant community in the Great Basin Desert.

Does The Morphologically Constrained Species Alfaro Cultratus Display Sexual Dimorphism?, Kelsie Bonnett, Kaitlyn Golden, Jerald B. Johnson

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

Is there a difference between male and female anal fin length in relation to body length in Alfaro cultratus?

1. Does overall anal fin length (adjusted for body length) differ between sexes?

2. Does the rate at which anal fin length changes as body size increases differ between sexes?

3. Does predation affect these differences?

Cubap: An Interactive Web Portal For Analyzing Codon Usage Bias Across Populations, Matthew Hodgman, Justin Miller, Taylor Meurs, John Kauwe

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

CUBAP is an interactive web portal that allows users to query population differences in codon usage biases across 17,635 genes. It is freely available at cubap.byu.edu.

Sunflower Seedlings Fail To Remove Uranium In The Navajo Nation, Zak Webber, Ben Abbott

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

Mining and the natural geology in the Navajo Nation has led to widespread pollution of uranium contaminating the livestock and drinking water of many Navajo. Uranium has been shown to have adverse health effects and be connected withhypertension, renal failure, and cancer.

Recent studies suggested that the common sunflower, helianthus annus, has the ability to remove uranium in a hydroponic (water only) environment. This led us to believe that sunflowers may be effective to remove uranium from the water in soil conditions in the Navajo Nation.

Understanding The Changes In Gene Expression Between Stages Of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma, Rachel Skabelund, Stephen Piccolo, Kim O'Neill

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2020

In order to understand how cancer progresses from one stage to the next, researchers have been analyzing the changes in gene expression between stages of various cancers. However, very little of this type of research has been done on diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), a type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma that affects 18,000 new patients each year. Using gene set omics analysis (GSOA), we analyzed B-cell specific gene expression pathways in consecutive stages of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma to understand if there were specific pathways that changed their expression from one stage to the next.