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The Effects Of Anesthesia On Midbrain Gaba Neurons, Stuart Layton, Dr. Scott Steffensen Sep 2013

The Effects Of Anesthesia On Midbrain Gaba Neurons, Stuart Layton, Dr. Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Consciousness has perplexed neuroscientists for decades. What is consciousness and how is it obstructed by anesthesia? Every year doctors expose thousands of people to general anesthesia. Anesthesia does several things, it prevents the perception of pain, renders a patient unconscious, inhibits the formation of memory, and paralyzes the subject; all of which as desired during a medical procedure. The mechanism by which anesthesia accomplishes these many tasks are unknown, including its ability to render a subject unconscious. The goal of this study was to study the effects of anesthesia on -aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) …

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Does Monitor Peptide Produce Anorexia Through The Release Of Endogenous Cholecystokinin?, Cory A. Talbot, Dr. Gregory N. Ervin Sep 2013

Does Monitor Peptide Produce Anorexia Through The Release Of Endogenous Cholecystokinin?, Cory A. Talbot, Dr. Gregory N. Ervin

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Cholecystokinin (CCK) is a gut hormone released following the ingestion of a meal. It was first shown in 1973 by Gibbs et al. that administration of exogenous CCK-8 (CCK-8 is the smallest part of the CCK molecule that possesses its biological activity) before a meal leads to a decrease in food intake and the onset of satiety-like behaviors in rats.1 Extensive evidence now exists demonstrating that exogenous CCK-8 can produce a selective decrease in food intakes in humans, as well. By using CCK receptor antagonists to block endogenous CCK or trypsin inhibitors to elevate released endogenous CCK, some evidence is …

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Inhibition Of Nek2 And Proteasome Activity, Jessica Flory, David Bearss Sep 2013

Inhibition Of Nek2 And Proteasome Activity, Jessica Flory, David Bearss

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Nek2 is a kinase that promotes centrosome separation during the cell cycle. Our lab has shown that Nek2 over-­‐expression is the best predictor of a poor outcome in multiple myeloma therapy, but the mechanism is unknown. The standard therapy for treating multiple myeloma is use of Bortezomib, an inhibitor of the proteasome (which degrades proteins). Mitosis is often triggered by the degradation of proteins that are unnecessary for the cell to divide. The evidence that Nek2 over-­‐expression can predict the outcome of multiple myeloma therapy leads us to the hypothesis that Nek2 affects proteasome activity in multiple myeloma cells. The …

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Human-Swarm Interaction: Effects On Operator Workload, Scale, And Swarm Topology, Brian O. Pendleton Sep 2013

Human-Swarm Interaction: Effects On Operator Workload, Scale, And Swarm Topology, Brian O. Pendleton

Theses and Dissertations

Robots, including UAVs, have found increasing use in helping humans with dangerous and difficult tasks. The number of robots in use is increasing and is likely to continue increasing in the future. As the number of robots increases, human operators will need to coordinate and control the actions of large teams of robots. While multi-robot supervisory control has been widely studied, it requires that an operator divide his or her attention between robots. Consequently, the use of multi-robot supervisory control is limited by the number of robots that a human or team of humans can reasonably control. Swarm robotics -- …

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The Art Of Character Design, Matthew Wilson, Bethanne Andersen Aug 2013

The Art Of Character Design, Matthew Wilson, Bethanne Andersen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

How many people do you know have physical characteristics that match their personality? The idea that a personality and the way a person looks are connected is not new. Illustrators and animators have been capitalizing on it in their work for decades. However, it has just been since the last half of this century that this concept has really taken hold. This idea intrigued me so much that I spent two semesters of my educational experience at Brigham Young University researching, interviewing and learning about the subject.

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Orca Report, Tom Beckstead, Dr. Jack W. Sites Jr. Aug 2013

Orca Report, Tom Beckstead, Dr. Jack W. Sites Jr.

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Snakes of the Neotropical subfamily Dipsadinae are poorly known from both ecological and phylogenetic perspectives, despite unique feeding adaptations and bizarre diets. Some of these snakes specialize on snails and slugs (ecologists refer to them as “goo eaters”), and they have a unique dentition and jaw structure that permits them to extract gastropod snails from their shells. Others have enlarged rear fangs, are mildly venomous, and prey on ectothermal vertebrates such as frogs, frog eggs, and lizards (Fig. 1).

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Twinkle Primase/Helicase Protein In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Travis Hunt, Dr. Brent Nielsen Aug 2013

Twinkle Primase/Helicase Protein In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Travis Hunt, Dr. Brent Nielsen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The overall goal of the project was to study the role of DNA recombination in maintenance of plant mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Recombination is the process by which a molecule of DNA is nicked or broken and then the end is joined to a different but homologous DNA molecule.

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The Relationship Between High-Salt And Estrogen On Blood Pressure Under Basal And Stressed Conditions In The Female Offspring Of Sprague Dawley Rats That Were Subjected To High Or Normal Salt Diets During Pregnancy, Brandon G. Wilkinson, Dr. James Porter Aug 2013

The Relationship Between High-Salt And Estrogen On Blood Pressure Under Basal And Stressed Conditions In The Female Offspring Of Sprague Dawley Rats That Were Subjected To High Or Normal Salt Diets During Pregnancy, Brandon G. Wilkinson, Dr. James Porter

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one leading cause of death in the United States. High blood pressure (hypertension) is a form of CVD and affects nearly 1 in 3 American adults. Men are more likely than women to develop hypertension until 45 years of age. However, percentages of women diagnosed with hypertension rise to exceed that of men around 45-54 years of age.1 This trend in hypertension is a clear age-related sex dimorphism. The trend suggests that following the onset of menopause, women have a higher risk of hypertension, a risk that continues to rise with age.2-3 Current research …

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A Review Of Hair Morphology Classification Techniques From The Past Thirty Years, Britten Sessions, Dr. Wilford Hess Aug 2013

A Review Of Hair Morphology Classification Techniques From The Past Thirty Years, Britten Sessions, Dr. Wilford Hess

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Due to its implicit nature in species identification, hair has been studied and classified since the beginning of the 20th century. Hausman visualized enough hair characteristics and variation between mammalian species to attempt an identification system using light microscopy. His efforts in characterizing species based on hair patterns established the form by which other later mammalogists created taxonomy keys.

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Discovery And Development Of New Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus Resistance Genes, David L. Price, Dr. Mikel R. Stevens Aug 2013

Discovery And Development Of New Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus Resistance Genes, David L. Price, Dr. Mikel R. Stevens

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The tomato is susceptible to more than 200 diseases. Tomato spotted wilt virus is one of the most damaging pathogens in tomatoes. Due to its wide spread, TSWV has become an important limiting factor in tomato production worldwide. Most often the virus is spread by Frankliniella occidentalis (commonly known as thrips), tiny insects that act as a vector carrying the virus. After the plant is infected, the virus will spread throughout the plant. Tomatoes showing symptoms of the disease are unmarketable due to severe discolorations. In areas of high infection, the economic losses for farmers are substantial. By developing lines …

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Saponin Microarray, Jimena B. Alvarez, Dr. P. Jeff Maughan Aug 2013

Saponin Microarray, Jimena B. Alvarez, Dr. P. Jeff Maughan

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) is an important crop originally from the Andes of South America. Quinoa grows well in high altitude and high saline conditions, for which it is used as a substantial food source by the farmers of the Altiplano (high plains) in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Quinoa has great nutritional value, as its seeds contain high quality protein in vast amounts and other nutrients such as carbohydrates, lipids, and minerals1. However, quinoa has a seed coat with high levels of saponin that limits its nutritional uptake in humans. In addition, saponins are bitter-tasting compounds, thus making quinoa unpalatable. …

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Characterization Of Osteoarthritic Degeneration In Sedc Mutant Mice, David Holt, Dr. Robert Seegmiller Aug 2013

Characterization Of Osteoarthritic Degeneration In Sedc Mutant Mice, David Holt, Dr. Robert Seegmiller

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SEDC) is a recessive human genetic disorder characterized by skeletal abnormalities and early onset osteoarthritis (OA).1 Type II and the alpha 3 chain of type XI collagen together are integral in the development of normal articular cartilage (AC) and are both encoded by the Col2a1 gene.2 Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (sedc) mice have a missense mutation of the Col2a1 gene within the triple helical region of type II collagen, affecting its production, leading to development of abnormal AC.

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Low-Dose Alcohol Self-Administration In Freely-Moving Rats And Its Effect On The Firing Rate Of Ventral Tegmental Area Gaba Neurons, Stuart Thomas, Dr. Scott Steffensen Aug 2013

Low-Dose Alcohol Self-Administration In Freely-Moving Rats And Its Effect On The Firing Rate Of Ventral Tegmental Area Gaba Neurons, Stuart Thomas, Dr. Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Each year, more and more people become the slaves of addiction to narcotics, alcohol, and nicotine. These addictions destroy families and ruin lives. The brain’s chemistry is influenced by these drugs. This study aimed to evaluate how alcohol and other drugs affect the brain’s chemistry and identify potential avenues for therapy.

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Bromus Tectorum: Cheating Its Way To The Top, Keith R. Merrill, Dr. Craig E. Coleman Aug 2013

Bromus Tectorum: Cheating Its Way To The Top, Keith R. Merrill, Dr. Craig E. Coleman

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass, or downy brome) is an exotic annual weed (recently?) introduced to the United States (ca. 1890) . Since its introduction, B. tectorum has been extremely effective at invading the Intermountain West, displacing native vegetation and causing extensive loss of shrub and rangeland habitats. Because B. tectorum is almost entirely self-pollinating, successful individuals within a given region can be distinguished by genetic analysis. We are using microsatellite markers for genotyping ecologically diverse populations of B. tectorum. Our goal is to better understand the correlation between B tectorum genotypes and the ecological habitats in which they are found, as …

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Dna Barcoding In Chenopodium, Benjamin L. King, Dr. Peter J. Maughan Aug 2013

Dna Barcoding In Chenopodium, Benjamin L. King, Dr. Peter J. Maughan

Journal of Undergraduate Research

DNA barcoding is one of the most important, novel techniques to be introduced in molecular systematics and genetics research in the last decade. Barcoding has been established as a consistent and reliable indicator of taxonomic relationships in eukaryotes, particularly in animals, where a uniform barcode sequence in the mitochondrial genome is used. In plants, a standard barcoding system has only been settled upon in the past year, and it is based on combining DNA sequences from three regions of the chloroplast genome. As part of the greater C. quinoa project overseen by the faculty of the Plant and Wildlife Sciences …

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Monster In The Woods—Adventures In Puppetry, Brian R. Mcnair, Kelly Loosli Aug 2013

Monster In The Woods—Adventures In Puppetry, Brian R. Mcnair, Kelly Loosli

Journal of Undergraduate Research

It was supposed to be simple, a quick project, inexpensive, from the gut, a chance to experience a puppet production from beginning to end, learn from every step, and come away with an intricate knowledge of film, puppetry, green screen, and post production; a project meant to last six months: tops. But as other people became involved, idea leading to idea and way onto way it didn’t take long for my simple puppet show to turn into its namesake: a monster in the woods.

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Recreating The Past Through The Use Of Modern Technology, Jennifer Harris, Dr. Cynthia Finlayson Aug 2013

Recreating The Past Through The Use Of Modern Technology, Jennifer Harris, Dr. Cynthia Finlayson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Last year I set out on an adventure to research an ancient civilization, to gather photographic and textual research halfway across the globe. I traveled to Greece in order to research the ancient Minoans, a very advanced and interesting people who had a great influence on Greek culture.

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Investigation Of The Structure Of Quinoa Saponins By Hplc And Mass-Spec, Samuel Swainhart, Dr. Steve Wood Aug 2013

Investigation Of The Structure Of Quinoa Saponins By Hplc And Mass-Spec, Samuel Swainhart, Dr. Steve Wood

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Quinoa is a grain grown mainly by Natives in diverse areas throughout Latin America that is considered by many nutritional scientists as possibly the most nourishing grain available. Its contents include high levels of protein, an exceptional composition of amino acids, and many carbohydrates. Unfortunately, quinoa is very climate sensitive, and currently can only be grown in certain areas of the world, due to a low tolerance for intense heat. For this reason, quinoa is not grown everywhere and its annual yields are nowhere near the enormous quantities of rice and grain harvested annually. There are many different known varieties …

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Summary Of Hungarian Apocalypse Analysis, Arle R. Lommel, Dr. John Robertson Aug 2013

Summary Of Hungarian Apocalypse Analysis, Arle R. Lommel, Dr. John Robertson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The fifteenth century was an important time in the development of the Hungarian nation and the Hungarian language. Despite a war with both the Turks and the Austrians, Hungarian culture was undergoing a flowering in the independent principality of Transylvania. This was linked largely to the introduction of printing from Germany. For the first time Hungarian texts could be disseminated widely to a populace that had never seen vernacular literature before. Particularly important in this blossoming was the publication of biblical translations, translations that the Reformers thought would put God into the hands of the people and take away Rome’s …

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Effects Of Metabolic Rate On Muscle Cell Phospholipid Profile, Aaron Miller, Danny Sims, Dr. Steven Wood Aug 2013

Effects Of Metabolic Rate On Muscle Cell Phospholipid Profile, Aaron Miller, Danny Sims, Dr. Steven Wood

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Animal and human cell membranes are composed primarily of phospholipids that form a bi-layer around the cell. Phospholipids play a crucial role in cell membrane function by regulating fluidity and structure. Alterations in the cell membrane composition can drastically affect cell function and metabolism. The purpose of our research study was to identify muscle cell membrane compositional changes due to exercise and muscular dystrophy. Also, we sought to identify the specific chemical changes occurring in the cell membrane by characterizing the structures of the cell membrane phospholipids using mass spectrometry.

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Ovarian Cyst Development In Dairy Cattle, Rachael G. Johnson, Dr. Roy W. Silcox, Dr. John S. Gardner Aug 2013

Ovarian Cyst Development In Dairy Cattle, Rachael G. Johnson, Dr. Roy W. Silcox, Dr. John S. Gardner

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Ovarian cysts are follicular structures greater than 25 mm in diameter present on an ovary for 10 days or more in the absence of a corpus luteum 1. These cysts halt the normal ovarian cycle and reduce the fertility of the female. Cysts occur in all domestic livestock species, as well as rats, humans, and other primates. The incidence of cystic ovarian disease (COD) in dairy cattle has a significant economic impact on the dairy industry since cows that produce the most milk are often those affected by COD.

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Pcr Genotyping And Analysis Of Bacteriocin Production By Natural Salmonella Isolates For Potential Use As Inhibitors Of Pathogenic Salmonella, Ramesh Tiwari, Dr. Brent Nielsen Aug 2013

Pcr Genotyping And Analysis Of Bacteriocin Production By Natural Salmonella Isolates For Potential Use As Inhibitors Of Pathogenic Salmonella, Ramesh Tiwari, Dr. Brent Nielsen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Salmonella is a genus of bacteria that is a major cause of food borne illness throughout the world. Species of Salmonella like S. thyphimurium and S. enteriditis still pose significant health problems. Poultry and egg products are the main food sources infected by these species (Portrait et al. 1999). The main problem with these infections is their rapid spread among the infected species (in a flock). An infected bird (which has Salmonella infection in its intestinal tract) or a flock of birds can transfer the infection to others rapidly even before the appearance of symptoms and thus the urgency of …

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The Study Of Genetic Mutations Resulting In Dwarfism, Jonathon Jackson, Dr. Robert Seegmiller Aug 2013

The Study Of Genetic Mutations Resulting In Dwarfism, Jonathon Jackson, Dr. Robert Seegmiller

Journal of Undergraduate Research

As has been outlined, I am submitting this report of the accomplishments that have been made over the past semester in conjunction with the 1,000 dollar award that I received from your office.

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The Effects Of Juniper Litter Depth And Allelopathy On Two Native Species, Chad S. Horman, Dr. Val Jo Anderson Aug 2013

The Effects Of Juniper Litter Depth And Allelopathy On Two Native Species, Chad S. Horman, Dr. Val Jo Anderson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Juniper (Juniperus spp.) forests cover a large percentage of the West and are continuing to invade grass/shrub ecotypes. This eventually leads to a reduced understory and lower productivity for grazing animals. This reduction in understory biomass is due to the competitiveness of this species. The negative affects of Juniper on the understory have been attributed to one or more of the following: 1) shading, 2) rainfall interception, 3) litter accumulation, 4) allelopathy, and 5) competition for water and nutrients.

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An Abstraction Of The Java Language’S Awt Library, Leanne Isaac, Dr. Phillip J. Windley Aug 2013

An Abstraction Of The Java Language’S Awt Library, Leanne Isaac, Dr. Phillip J. Windley

Journal of Undergraduate Research

As Java, a new language developed for the Internet, has continued to grow in popularity, the face of the World Wide Web is changing. Now, once static HTML pages are lined with moving animation and sounds. While the possibilities that Java brings to the Internet are practically endless, creating these applications is not a simple task for the everyday Internet user who has not had experience in advance computer programming. With this fact in mind, I thought that if it were possible to create a simple and direct language that could be sent to a program which translated it into …

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Speculative Evaluation In Particle Swarm Optimization, Matthew Gardner, Dr. Kevin Seppi Aug 2013

Speculative Evaluation In Particle Swarm Optimization, Matthew Gardner, Dr. Kevin Seppi

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Optimization problems are ubiquitous in our modern world. Businesses such as Google need to decide where to place ads, scientists need to fit models to data, and airlines need to schedule their flights. All of these problems are optimization problems, and optimization techniques can be used to find solutions. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is a relatively new optimization technique that draws on ideas from the sociology of flocking birds. It was originally developed for use on a single machine, and attempts at modifying the algorithm to run in parallel are still quite preliminary. However, the problems people want to solve …

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Identifying Selection In The Angptl4 Gene Using Treesaap, Jeffrey Staples, Dr. Keith Crandall Aug 2013

Identifying Selection In The Angptl4 Gene Using Treesaap, Jeffrey Staples, Dr. Keith Crandall

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Geneticists have successfully identified the sources of many diseases that are inherited according to Mendelian rules (e.g. cystic fibrosis and Huntington’s disease). However, not all diseases are caused by one faulty gene; these so-called complex diseases (e.g. asthma, obesity, and diabetes) result from any number of mutated genes, faulty pathways, or environmental conditions. Association studies have identified a particular gene family (Angiopoietin-like proteins or ANGPTL) to be correlated with several of these complex diseases, namely diabetes, obesity, and heart disease1, 2; however, the function and contribution of these genes to these complex diseases is not completely understood.

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Orca Grant Final Report, Alisha Walbrecht Aug 2013

Orca Grant Final Report, Alisha Walbrecht

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Metaphors are a very important aspect of language, particularly of the English language. Lakoff and Johnson opened linguists to the study of metaphors by pointing out that English speakers use metaphors throughout their speech. For example, Lakoff and Johnson say that the phrase “spending time” is evidence of the metaphor “time is money,” which allows speakers to use money terms with time terms. According to Lakoff and Johnson, these metaphors permeate almost every aspect of English speech.

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Assessing Premature Arthritis In Sedc Mutant Mice, Shaela Avery, Dr. Robert Seegmiller Aug 2013

Assessing Premature Arthritis In Sedc Mutant Mice, Shaela Avery, Dr. Robert Seegmiller

Journal of Undergraduate Research

A recently discovered collagen gene mutation, spondyloepiphiseal dysplasia congenita (sedc), is found on the Col2a1 gene in both mice and humans. The mouse mutation is molecularly similar to the human SEDC mutation, which causes premature osteoarthritis. Studies, such as this one, in mouse models provide a greater understanding of this recently discovered mutation and help in finding ways to prevent osteoarthritis in humans.

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Phenotypic Divergence In Boldness/Shyness In Brachyraphis Fishes, Scott Miller, Dr. Jerry Johnson Aug 2013

Phenotypic Divergence In Boldness/Shyness In Brachyraphis Fishes, Scott Miller, Dr. Jerry Johnson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Among some of the most exciting research in evolutionary biology involves animal social behavior. Of particular interest is whether social behaviors are inheritable. If social behaviors are inheritable, they become a selective force and are capable of shaping the life history of an animal. Dr. Culum Brown has pioneered much of the research in this field with fishes. My research is based on his preliminary research and supplemented with work by Dr. Jerry Johnson. The goal of my research was to test if behaviors evolve in response to differences in mortality pressures in the environment. A greater understanding of how …

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