Life Sciences Commons^™

Genome-Wide Analysis Of Methylome In The Mouse Brain Using Long-Read Sequencing Technology, Zachary Even, He Huang, Ramkumar Mathur, Xusheng Wang

Arts & Sciences Undergraduate Showcase

DNA methylation is an epigenetic modification that transfers a methyl group onto the C-5 position of the cytosine to form 5-methylcytosine. DNA methylation regulates gene expression by recruiting proteins involved in gene repression or by inhibiting the binding of transcription factor(s) to DNA, especially in regulation of Allele Specific Expression (ASE). In this study, we used Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencing technology to profile methylome in the two inbred mouse strains, C57BL/6J (B6) and DBA/2J (D2). Compared with bisulfite conversion followed by Illumina Sequencing, long-read sequencing technology allows us to achieve much longer read length of 4,653.675 base pairs on average …

Environmental Impacts Of Contact Lens Waste, Abigail Wilhelmi

Arts & Sciences Undergraduate Showcase

Contact lenses have been used for decades to correct vision, and over 150 million people use contact lenses today. The materials used to make contact lenses have evolved drastically, but ultimately resulted in a specific plastic, silicone-derived hydrogel, which provides maximal comfort and clear vision, while also maintaining the eye health of the user. Contact lenses have enhanced the lives of many people, but a topic that is often left out of contact lens discussions is that of plastic waste. Single-use plastic and increased plastic pollution have recently been areas of concern and expanded research. Contact lenses are often forgotten …

2021 - The Second Annual Fall Symposium Of Student Scholars

Symposium of Student Scholars Program Books

The full program book from the Fall 2021 Symposium of Student Scholars, held on November 18, 2021. Includes abstracts from the presentations and posters.

Descriptive Study Of A Healthy Weight Management Program For Overweight Or Obese Children And Youth, Chad Roberts, Pam Kasyan-Howe, Kristin Domville, Lisa Schubert

Fall 2021 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

The rise in obesity among children and youth in the last 20 years is a public health concern. The prevalence of childhood obesity has multiplied worldwide in the last four decades (“The Heavy Burden of Obesity and the Economics of Prevention,” 2019). Obesity is a complex chronic disease in which abnormal or excessive accumulation of body fat impairs health (Wharton et al., 2020). Childhood obesity can profoundly affect children's physical health, social and emotional well-being, and self-esteem (Rankin et al., 2016 & Purnell et al., 2018). The problem is a lack of an occupation-based evaluation tool utilized to link occupational …

A Method To Assess Response Inhibition During A Balance Recovery Step, Molly Rowley

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Background: Correlations between falls and executive function tests, particularly those tests emphasizing inhibitory control, suggests that the ability to suppress automatic, but unwanted action, is important in fall prevention. Response inhibition has been a topic of considerable interest in the cognitive neuroscience community for many decades, bringing with it, the development of techniques that could be used to inform assessment of reactive balance. Research question: Can we apply a method used in traditional cognitive testing - the stop signal task - to measure response inhibition in a speeded, balance recovery task? Methods: Twenty healthy, young adults completed a novel reactive …

Determination Of Free Fatty Acid And Triglyceride Fatty Acid Of Food Fats Using A Rapid Gas Chromatographic Method, Aubreyona Migliori

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Food fats are primarily triglycerides composed of esterified fatty acids on a glycerol backbone. To measure the fatty acid content of foods, a derivatization reaction is conducted which transfers the fatty acids from glycerol to methanol, forming a fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). FAMES are measured using gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID). Free fatty acids in foods are a result of a degradation reactions and are considered a defect. This decreases consumer acceptance and expedites further deterioration which decreases the value of edible oils. The goal of this study was to develop a rapid and sensitive method to …

Characterization Of The Atpase Activity Of Casding, Christian Cahoon

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

The battle between bacteria and phage has been ongoing for eons. This battle has generated the evolutionary pressure necessary for the development of microbial immune systems. Characterization of these systems has led to the discovery of molecular tools such CRISPR-Cas systems. This system uses a genetic memory of past viral infections coupled with associated proteins to form ribonucleoprotein complexes which seek out and destroy foreign genetic elements. These systems have been repurposed by scientists to create powerful gene editing tools such as Cas9. With such powerful molecular tools being discovered, we have pursued the characterization of a relatively unknown system, …

Synthetic Hagfish Slime Mimetics: Mechanical Characterization, Hayden Johns, Spencer Walker

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Hagfish are ancient animals that eject a slime when attacked by predators. The slime that the hagfish emit is almost entirely composed of water but protein strands within the slime cause the slime to have incredible strength. However, these protein strands will be formed synthetically for the purposes of our experiment. To defend against foes, the Navy launches plastic ropes into the propellers of enemy warships in order to decrease the thrust of the motors. In a push to find a more biodegradable solution, the utilization of hagfish slime has shown great promise in stopping propellers.While we know that the …

The Effects Of Various Carbon Sources And The Presence Of Vitamin B-12 On The Production Of 1,3-Propanediol By L. Reuteri., Kayden Stevenson

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Dairy product preservation has evolved over thousands of years and has been a major benefit to humanity by creating stable, nutrient-dense food sources. Today the lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus reuteri is important in preserving fermented dairy products through the production of the compound reuterin. Reuterin (1,3-propanediol) demonstrates antibiotic properties that prevent the fermentation of dairy products by undesirable bacteria. The purpose of this study is to determine if L. reuteri can produce 1,3-propanediol from a variety of carbon sources. Bacterial strains were incubated in the presence of a carbon source with vitamin B-12 or without B-12 for seven days with …

Estimating Cattle Density Using Wildlife Cameras, Emily Bonebrake

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Quantifying the abundance and distribution of animal populations is critical for effective wildlife research and management. Due to their cost-effectiveness, wildlife cameras have become an increasingly popular tool for estimating population densities. Previously, this technique relied on ‘capture-recapture’ models that utilized re-sightings of individually marked animals, but in recent years methods have been developed to estimate the population densities of unmarked animals. One such method is the random encounter and staying time (REST) technique, which does this by assuming that the cumulative time animals stay within the view of the camera scales linearly with the number of individuals. This allows …

Determining The Nucleic Acid Binding Affinities Of Crispr-Associated Ding (Casding), Matt Armbrust

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

CRISPR-Cas systems are adaptive prokaryotic immune systems that enable host cells to defend against attack from foreign nucleic acids such as phage infections or plasmids. CRISPR-Cas systems are diverse and encompass 2 classes, 6 types, and 33 subtypes. The Type IV-A CRISPR-Cas system from Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain 83 is composed of five different genes (csf1, csf2, csf3, cas6, and dinG). Type IV-A systems are poorly understood, and currently there is little research detailing their biological and biochemical mechanism of immunity. CasDinG, an ancillary protein within the Type IV-A system, is required for an immune response in vivo. However, the role …

Climate Change Impacts On Atmospheric Ammonia And Implications For Human Health, Casey Olson, Connor Snow, Bridger Jorgensen

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

According to national data Cache Valley has the highest concentrations of atmospheric ammonia in the nation. This study aims to answer the questions of whether climate variables and events such as precipitation, averaged winds, geopotential height, and teleconnections can be used to predict the behavior of pollutants and how human biology is potentially affected. Data from the Utah Climate Center shows that the 3rd yearly quartile has the highest levels of airborne ammonia due to the high levels of fertilizer use and livestock emissions in the farming industry in Cache Valley. After data analysis, there seems to be a connection …

Halotolerant Rhizosphere Bacteria: Isolation Of Rhizosphere Bacteria From Native Utah Plant Ceanothus Velutinus, Alyssa Nielsen

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Increasing incidences of drought forced farmers to use the secondary, degraded water for irrigation. These water sources are rich in salt concentrations. This project has started with the hopes of finding bacteria from the rhizosphere of a native to Utah plant, Ceanothus velutinus, that helps the plant survive the saltier conditions of Utah. The rhizosphere, a layer of soil attached to the roots of a plant, contains microorganisms that may contribute to the plants' abiotic and biotic stress resistance. These microorganisms are known as Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR). The roots and rhizosphere samples were collected from Tony Grove in …

Effect Of Basal Diet And Black Raspberry Supplementation On Gene Biomarkers Of "Leaky Gut" In Mouse Model Of Colitis-Associated Colorectal Cancer, Eliza Stewart

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Colorectal cancer is currently the third leading cause of cancer death in the world. The risk of developing colorectal cancer increases significantly in individuals who suffer from colitis, which is inflammation of the colon lining, seen in Irritable Bowel Disease. The term “leaky gut” is often used to describe increased intestinal permeability and is closely related to colitis. Leaky gut is associated with dysbiosis of the gut microbiota, which can occur through diet. This dysbiosis leads to pro-longed inflammation and affects genes that encode for proteins involved in the tight junctions between cells. Compromised intestinal integrity allows for translocation of …

Understanding How Changes In Precipitation Intensity Will Affect Vegetation In The Western U.S., Cristina Chirvasa

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Precipitation events are becoming more intense as the atmosphere warms, but it remains unclear how precipitation intensification will affect plant growth in arid and semiarid ecosystems. There is conflicting evidence suggesting that larger precipitation events may either increase or decrease plant growth. Here, we report the growth responses of herbaceous and woody plants to experimental manipulations of precipitation intensity in a cold, semi-arid ecosystem in Utah, USA. In this experiment, precipitation was collected and redeposited as fewer, larger events with total annual precipitation kept constant across treatments. Results from the first two growing seasons revealed that more intense events ‘pushed’ …

Digitization Of Entomological Collections At Usu, Eastern Using Scan (Symbiota Collections Of Arthropods Network) Data Portal And Seek! Inaturalist App, Alexandra Cartwright

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Pollinators, including bees, provide valuable ecosystem services for native plants and agricultural species. Phenology, or the timing of biological events such as flowering of plants, is changing as a result of climate change. The digitization of specimens allows for insights into species distributions, seasonality, and phenology in 60-70-year-old collections. The entomological collection at Utah State University, Eastern houses approximately 3,000 individual specimens and over 100 bees. The oldest specimens date from 1953, many from the 1960s, 70s, & 80s and the majority of specimens are from Carbon and Emery Counties. Digitization of entomological collections can provide: species distributions: Which species …

True Grit (1969) And Feminism: How It Succeeds And Why We Should Expect Better, Courtney Isom

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Hollywood Westerns are certainly not renowned for their contribution to feminist plots or characters, but True Grit (1969) is one of the more forward thinking movies with respect to women’s roles. However, the movie still portrays traditional power structures of patriarchy that undermine the female character’s autonomy. Looking at this film through the lens of both Critical Rhetoric and a Gender Diversity Perspective allows us to see the nuances of Mattie Ross' stand against oppressive traditional roles, while also examining the ways in which she is still dominated by discursive patriarchal practices. Celeste Condit’s gender diversity perspective encourages ditching traditional …

Discovering Virally Encoded Proteins That Block Type Iv Crispr Immune Systems, Andrew Williams

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Bacteria and the viruses that infect them have been at war from the beginnings of life until today. Due to selective pressure from viral infection, bacteria have evolved various biological defense systems, including CRISPR-Cas systems that use a genetic memory of previous viral encounters to protect against future invasions. However, recently it has been shown that viruses have evolved counter-strategies to evade CRISPR systems. Virally encoded proteins called anti-CRISPRs use a variety of mechanisms to block the activity of CRISPR immune systems in order to infect bacterial cells. The Jackson lab at USU recently showed that a Type IV-A CRISPR-Cas …

Universal Healthcare: Is It The Future?, Izzy Wappett

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

About 8.5% of the United States population has no form of healthcare. The rest of the population either has a form of public or private insurance given to them by the government, private insurers, or employers. But there are countries worldwide that have systems where every citizen has healthcare. This is called universal healthcare. Universal Healthcare has shown to be more effective because it portrays healthcare as less of a privilege and more of a right to all. But many Americans view this kind of system as controlling and a system that takes away your freedom. But as studies and …

Identification And Isolation Of Halotolerant Endophytes In Ceanothus Velutinus May Lead To Plant Health In Saline Conditions, Katherine Hewitt

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Plant-microbe relations are integral to plant survival and crop productivity. Part of a plant’s biosphere are endophytes, microbes found between the cells of a plant. Endophytes can be beneficial to help a plant cope with abiotic stressors such as salinity. In Utah, our soils are high in salinity due to topography and climate. Climate change has increased soil salinity across the world, and water availability is becoming scarcer leading agriculture to use more saline sources to irrigate. Thus, salt is a concern for farmers. We aim to identify halotolerant endophytes from Ceanothus velutinus, Snowbrush which is native to the …

Log Proximity And Moss As Indicators Of Conifer Seedling Abundance In Old-Growth Douglas-Fir/ Hemlock Forests, Isabella Wetzler

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

It is increasingly essential to develop a comprehensive understanding of forest processes so that we may better conserve and maintain our old-growth forests in the face of climate change. In the Pacific Northwest, logs might elevate and remove conifer seedlings from light competition with moss and herbs, but seedlings growing on the forest floor may benefit from log shade. Moss can retain moisture which may result in higher water availability for seedlings, but in droughty conditions the desiccated moss might leave seedlings ‘high and dry’. Logs increase mircrosite heterogeneity, providing cool, moist microclimates for seedlings and protecting them from droughty …

Characterizing The Mechanisms Of C. Elegans Prmt1 Temperature Dependence, Arianna Towne

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Over time, cellular enzymes evolve through amino acid mutations which allow them to remain functional at temperatures specific to the host organism. This activity may be partially or completely lost when enzymes are removed from their optimal temperature range, as is observed for the C. elegans protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (cPRMT1). This construct demonstrates maximum enzymatic activity at the C. elegans optimum of 20°C, but no activity at 37°C where activity for mammalian PRMT1 variants is observed. Given dysregulation of PRMT1 has been linked to various disease states, we are interested in exploiting the biophysical mechanisms of cPRMT1 temperature dependence …

Smokejumper Obituary: Howells, Dan M. (Mccall 1974), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Biol 1411- Botany Laboratory Manual, Yolander R. Youngblood

Open Education Resources

Botany Laboratory Manual By – Yolander R.Youngblood, PhD.

This manual was reviewed by student editors, Ayanna Montegut and Ineceia Carter.

Table of Contents

1. The Plant Cell Lab

2. Mitosis Lab

3. Plant Growth and Development Lab

4. Simple Tissue Lab

5. Leaf Lab

6. Stem Lab

7. Root Lab

8. Evolution of Land Plants Lab

9. Bryophyte Lab

10. Fern Lab

11. Gymnosperm Lab

12. Angiosperm Lab

13. Appendix

a. Writing in the Scientific Notebook

b. How to use the Microscope

c. Plants and Their Structure

d. Additional Video, Lecture, and Lab Resources

Smokejumper Obituary: Hall, Dann Jay (Anchorage 1972), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Smokejumper Obituary: Anderson, Gary T. (Missoula 1963), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Volume 4, Chapter 1-17: Aquatic And Wet Marchantiophyta, Order Blasiales, Janice M. Glime

Bryophyte Ecology Subchapters

No abstract provided.

Chronic Bronchitis, Siddharth Tiwari '22, Edward Ning '23, Avery Hedican '23

Human Diseases Graphic Novels

No abstract provided.

Bobby And Marv: The Asthma Attack, Vidhi Shah '23, Joanna Menendie '22

Human Diseases Graphic Novels

No abstract provided.

Lactose Intolerance: The Comic, Natali Chung '22, Apurva Reddy '22

Human Diseases Graphic Novels

No abstract provided.