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Postfire Seedling Establishment Of Desert Peach (Prunus Fasciculata) And Joshua Tree (Yucca Brevifolia) From Simulated Seed Caches In The Mojave Desert, Mark Borchert

Western North American Naturalist

Desert rodents in the western USA cache enormous numbers of seeds. Seed caches represent a reliable, although highly variable, source of seedling recruitment for numerous desert plants. Prefire caching of refractory seeds (i.e., those capable of forming persistent seed banks) is an important source of postfire seedling recruitment, but it is likely that prefire caches of short-lived seeds also may contribute to postfire regeneration. The primary objective of this study was to quantify seedling recruitment from artificial caches of 2 species with short-lived seeds planted after a stand-replacing wildfire in a singleleaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla) forest. I investigated …

Seasonal Phenology And Colony Longevity Patterns In A Predatory Social Wasp, David T. Rankin, Kevin J. Loope, Erin E. Wilson-Rankin

Western North American Naturalist

Social wasps play critical ecological roles in an ecosystem, providing a diversity of services and some disservices. Yellowjacket wasps (Vespula spp.) in particular are well known for shaping arthropod communities via predation and competition for resources. In part due to their sociality and large colony sizes, Vespula can have a profound ecological impact on local communities. Such effects can be magnified when colonies exhibit a perennial life history, in which a colony will overwinter, persist for more than one year, and become orders of magnitude larger in size compared to typical annual colonies. Despite growing interest in the factors …

Male And Female Victims Experience Different Types Of Sexual Assault, Carolyn Allen, Samuel Payne, Julie Valentine

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Intro:

• Sexual assault kits (SAKs) contain forensic evidence and are collected following an assault
• Most research on SAK processing has been done with combined male and female assaults
• 10% of victims are male
• There is lots of research on female victims, but very little research on male victims

In-Class Evolution Discussions Change Bible Interpretation, Jessica Abele

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Conflict between religion and evolution is a major barrier for religious biology students. Educators have been working to increase evolution acceptance by using a variety of methods (e.g., increasing evolution knowledge, addressing creationism in class, etc.) with little success. However, recent research shows using a reconciliatory approach to evolution and religion increases evolution acceptance while overall religiosity is unaffected (Lindsay et al., 2019).

Genes Critical For Flagellar Motility In Agrobacterium Fabrum, Audrey Memmott, Joel Griffitts

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

The flagellum contains 24 structural proteins that are vital for bacterial motility and virulence (Liu). Additionally, these structural proteins must be assembled in the correct order and orientation for a bacterium to be motile via its flagellum (Armitage). Our current knowledge regarding the flagellum is limited, however, because the majority of it comes from studies focused on Escherichia coli. To increase existing knowledge regarding the flagellum and the genes vital for its functionality, we attempted to define all the genes vital for flagellar motility in A. fabrum by analyzing motility when specific genes are disrupted.

Dietary And Energetic Trends Of The Invasive Asian Shore Crab, Tanner Reese, Blaine D. Griffen

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

The Asian shore crab, Hemigrapsus sanguineus , is an invasive crab species that lives on the East Coast of the United States. It has become an important part of its invaded ecosystems and their energetic interactions. We studied this species’ energetics to better understand how they vary across season and latitude.

• The ratio of gut width to carapace width (“standardized gut size”) is indicative of long term diet quality in crabs (a larger gut corresponds to a lower average diet quality) (Griffen & Mosblack 2011)
• We measured standardized gut size and gut energy content to examine how this species’ diet …

Eeg As Successful Diagnostic Tool For Immune Effector Cell Associated Neurotoxicity Syndrome, Daniel Jones, Christine Eckhardt, Haoqi Sun, Ryan Tesh, Brandon Westover

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

CAR T cell therapy was first proven effective in 2013¹ for the treatment of certain cancer s . However, its widespread adoption is still hindered by side effects like immune effector cell associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS). Current research aims to better predict, diagnose, and treat ICANS so that CAR T cell therapy can be more widely applied. Although prior studies have attempted to identify an objective biomarker of ICANS² , current practice relies on clinical assessment to diagnose ICANS. We hypothesize that qualitative features of the EEG may be utilized to develop a physiological grading system of the …

Interruption Of Junctional Adhesion Molecules Shows Developmental Defects, Wesley Allen, Nathan Beckett, Lauren Hall, Emma Holdaway, Sion Jung, Meredith Mann, Spencer Thacker, Jacob Wengler, Cailey Winn, Dario Mizrachi, Michael Stark

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Development of the central nervous system, the brain and the spinal cord, starts initially with the formation of the neural tube. This vital process starts as a sheet of cells which then folds into a cylindrical structure in the early stages of embryo development (Fig1). Defects in the formation of the neural tube can lead to permanent disabilities in babies after birth. This is important to understand as current statistics show that approximately 300,000 babies are born annually with neural tube defects. (NTDs). In addition to NTDs there are many other dangerous birth defects that are important to understand as …

Introducing Xanthoria Parietina: Invasive, Naturalized, Or Opportunistic?, Mikele Baugh, Steve Leavitt

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Lichens are one of the world’s ubiquitous group of organisms. They have been documented from frigid tundras to arid deserts. While some species are known to be particularly hardy and flexible in their habitats, many species are linked to specific growing conditions. As the global climate changes, the geographical range for different growing conditions shifts. Economic trade and human travel provide new opportunities for species to access new locations that are beginning to develop habitable conditions. Xanthoria parietina has been observed in the Great Basin (a region outside of its typical coastal distribution) found in newly built horticultural landscapes. Individuals …

Overcoming Detrimental Potato Fungi In Potato Fields With The Secondary Metabolites Of Naturally Occurring Steptomyces, Hansan Jones, Jacob Anderson, Erik Kemp, Brad Geary, Matthew Madsen, Ryan Stewart

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

• Fungal disease Silver scurf can cause 13% water loss and give poor aesthetic appeal, both of which reduce farmers profits (1,2).
• Pythium leak can result in up to 50% total loss of potatoes in storage (3)
• Streptomyces is the right candidate to mitigate or eliminate these losses because of its ability to survive in soil (4) and its history as a proven biocontrol for other plant pathogens (5).

The Mrna/Protein Relationship Is Fluid And Changes Across Tissue And Diseased States, Jose Humberto Giraldez Chavez, Sam Payne

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

• Cancer is a dysregulated cell
• Molecular typing via DNA/RNA/protein
• Is RNA a proxy for cell?

Staying Hydrated: A Comparative Analysis Of Humectants In Human Skin, Ayden Olsen, Rachel Prince, Craig Reeves, Cassie Peterson, Jason Adams

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Humectants are an important class of compounds that attract and retain water within a cell. When mixed with water to create wetting solutions, humectants can prevent desiccation of cadaveric specimens. Recognizing a relative scarcity of comparative studies analyzing the effects of various wetting solutions on post preservation cadaveric maintenance, we utilized wet-dry analysis in order to compare the effects of four common humectants on water retention in human skin tissue. We created a concentration gradient for each humectant to identify the optimal concentrations of each compound for water retention, after which we compared water retention in tissue at the optimal …

Does Bathing After Sexual Assault Or Time Elapsed Have A Greater Effect On The Development Of Codis Eligible Dna Profiles?, Emily Black, Sam Payne, Julie Valentine, Leslie Miles

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Which has a greater effect on the development of CODIS eligible DNA profiles from SAKs – bathing/showering status of the victim or time between the assault and examination?

Comparison Of Tardigrade Extraction Methods, Abigail Andros

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

It is a time-consuming process to pick tardigrades for an experiment. The standard method is to add water to the sample, then look through it and pick out tardigrades with a micropipette or small wire loop (Tsujimoto et al. 2015).

A Chromosome-Scale Assembly Of The Djulis (Chenopodium Formosanum) Genome, An Emerging Orphan Crop From Taiwan, Peter J. Maughan, Eric N. Jellen, John Sproul, Karol Krak, Tzu-Yun Huang, Tzu Che Lin, Beatriz Navarro Dominguez, Yung-Fen Huang, Kate Jaggi, David E. Jarvis

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Djulis (Chenopodium formosanum Koidz.) is a semi-domesticated Taiwanese native crop. It is a BCD-genome hexaploid (2n = 6x = 54) relative of the Andean-native allotetraploid (AABB) quinoa (C. quinoa). Djulis has been grown in a relatively small area by aboriginal Taiwanese, who use it primarily as a fermentation starter to produce ritual alcoholic beverages. Djulis’ seed protein, like that of quinoa, is complete in terms of its human dietary essential amino acid profile; the seed also offers a wide variety of nutritionally important vitamins and minerals. These nutritional attributes have attracted international attention as a novel, healthy grain option. We …

Whole-Body Vibration Alleviates Symptoms Of Morphine Withdrawal, Gavin C. Jones, Christina A. Small, Dallin Z. Otteson, Scott C. Steffensen

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Whole body vibration at 80 Hz has been shown to blunt neuropathological markers and behavioral symptoms of alcohol dependence Here, we evaluate its ability to ameliorate symptoms of morphine use and withdrawal.

The Role Of Cd5 In Cd4+ T Cell Metabolism, Joshua Bennett, Kiara Whitley, Claudia Freitas Phd, Christopher Haynie, Carlos Moreno, Scott Weber

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

T cells serve a key role in the immunological response in the adaptive system. Different receptors present on the T cell have certain roles and are able to either inhibit or stimulate signaling which consequently regulates the function and metabolism of the cell. CD5 is an inhibitory co receptor expressed on the surface of T cells known to regulate thymocyte selection and TCR signaling . Our goal is to better understand the effects of CD5 regulation in metabolism. Using metabolic flux assays, we found that CD5KO naïve T cells have increased glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration in comparison to wild type …

Reviewing The Effects Of Human-Induced Limb Damage In Crabs, Jacob B. Spencer, Blaine D. Griffen

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Limb damage in crabs comes in various forms, each with unique consequences. Brachyuran crabs shed limbs as a defensive reflex, with natural breakage occurring along a plane, otherwise known as autotomy. In addition to autotomy, crabs commonly lose limbs due to fishing practices such as declawing. In many areas, taking the limbs and releasing the crab is a common practice. The logic is that the populations won’t decline if the crab is put back. Other practices such as nicking, or cutting the main claw tendon, are used to restrict claw movement. Various effects of these fishery practices have been documented …

Overcoming Detrimental Potato Fungi With The Secondary Metabolites Of Naturally Occurring Streptomyces In A Greenhouse, Hansan Jones, Jacob Anderson, Erik Kemp, Brad Geary, Matthew Madsen, Ryan Stewart

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

• Fungal disease Silver scurf can cause 13% water loss and give poor aesthetic appeal, both of which reduce farmers profits (1,2).
• Pythium leak can result in up to 50% total loss of potatoes in storage (3).
• Streptomyces is the right candidate to mitigate or eliminate these losses because of its ability to survive in soil (4) and its history as a proven biocontrol for other plant pathogens (5).

Morphological Changes Of The Asian Shore Crab Across Latitudes, Ainslee Mcmullin, Blaine D. Griffen

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

The Asian shore crab, Hemigrapsus sanguineus , is an invasive species that has rapidly spread across the Eastern United States coastline. First observed in North America in 1988, its range currently extends from Maine to North Carolina. H. sanguineus has adapted very well to this region and has displaced several native species as the dominant crab in rocky intertidal habitats. Although the Asian shore crab’s biology and interactions with native species has been well studied, larger scale impacts (economic, potential further spread, community ecology, etc.) are under researched. We collected specimen samples of H. sanguineus throughout its entire East coast …

Species Invasion Vs. Abundance In The Northern And Southern Regions Of Lake Powell, Amanda Lebarge, Mark Belk

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Lake Powell is a dynamic system, evidenced by its yearly fluctuations in water level. In the last 20 years, this reservoir has experienced invasions from two different invasive species: the gizzard shard, and quagga mussel. Due to the unique nature of Lake Powell, our research seeks to understand if there were catastrophic effects of these invasions on fish biomass and abundance patterns, and do these impacts vary based on region? We hypothesize that both species will have a major impact in all regions on the native species in Lake Powell; however, the southern region will be more catastrophic.

A Ketogenic Diet Enhances Hippocampal Mitochondrial Efficiency, Cali E. Warren, Erin R. Saito, Benjamin T. Bikman

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Mitochondrial dysfunction and cognitive impairment are common symptoms in many neurologic disorders, as well as in nonpathological aging. Ketones have been suggested as therapeutic for their relevance in epilepsy and other neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, and major depressive disorder.

New Treatment For Multiple Sclerosis Could Halt Disease Progression Without Weakening Immune System, Carter Helquist, Dario Mizrachi

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

• Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating neurological and autoimmune disease in which immune cells cause demyelination of axons in nervous tissue.
• Current treatments for the disease are principally aimed at weakening the immune system to therefore weaken the autoimmune attack on the brain. This leaves patients prone to other sicknesses.
• We seek a treatment that prevents the immune cells from entering the central nervous system (CNS) thereby protecting its cells.
• We can prevent immune cells from entering the CNS by strengthening the blood brain barrier through targeting claudin 5 proteins in the tight junctions.
• This new treatment could mean increased …

Chimeric Claudins Reveal Role In Neural Tube Defects, Wesley Allen, Nathan Beckett, Emma Brenchley, Jacob Wengler, Lauren Hall, Cailey Winn, Meredith Mann, Sion Jung, Spencer Thacker, Rachel May, Dario Mizrachi, Micheal Stark

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Claudins (CLDN), a family of proteins found in the tight junction, play a major role in membrane permeability. While claudin disruption is known to contribute to the formation of neural tube defects (NTD), current research methods rely heavily on a non-specific toxin, CPE, when exploring the importance of CLDNs within neural tube formation. This makes it difficult to identify individual CLDN’s contribution to NTD formation, creating a need for a more specific method.

Potential Regulation Of Breast Cancer Invasion By Thymidine Kinase 1, Eliza E. Bitter, Rachel M. Morris, Toni O. Mortimer, Kai Barlow, Abigail Schekall, Michelle H. Townsend, Jonathan Skidmore, Brett E. Pickett, Kim L. O'Neill

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and is largely treatable within the early stages of the disease. However, patient mortality drastically declines as the tumor begins to invade other tissues and metastasize, making aggressive phenotypes especially problematic to treat. Such treatment typically requires an aggressive and decisive multidisciplinary approach. The recent expansion of immunotherapy as a viable treatment option has greatly improved treatment outcomes, especially with aggressive breast cancer phenotypes. Thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) is a DNA salvage pathway enzyme that is highly expressed during S phase and involved in cell cycle repair. Past studies indicated that …

Ancestral State Reconstruction Of Oviposition Techniques In New World Stick Insects, Ellie Mcgregor, Jackson Linde, Michael F. Whiting

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Phasmids, commonly known as stick bugs, are unique and interesting creatures, both phenotypically and genotypically. Their cryptic abilities are what draws most people to them, but their oviposition techniques, or how they disperse eggs, has become a new source of interest. While most phasmids are known to flick or drop their eggs from the canopy, there are several other techniques including inserting the eggs into the soil or gluing them to a substrate. New world phasmids have not been thoroughly studied, especially in understanding which technique was ancestral. The purpose of this paper was to construct a phylogenetic tree to …

Group Psychotherapy For Pain: A Meta-Analysis, Cameron Todd Alldredge

Theses and Dissertations

Chronic pain is common and frequently interferes with people’s regular functioning and reduces quality of life. Though pharmacological approaches are used most frequently to treat pain-related issues, the side effects of these medications often lead to other problems. Group therapy has been used and studied for decades in treating pain though it’s general efficacy for addressing pain is not clear. Objectives: to determine group therapy’s efficacy for patients with pain-related issues and whether the effects are moderated by study, patient, leader, or group characteristics. Method: potential articles were selected from searches completed in major databases based on a set of …

Thermosensitive Polymers And Thermo-Responsive Liposomal Drug Delivery Systems, Waad H. Abuwatfa, Nahid S. Awad, William G. Pitt, Ghaleb A. Husseini

Faculty Publications

Temperature excursions within a biological milieu can be effectively used to induce drug release from thermosensitive drug-encapsulating nanoparticles. Oncological hyperthermia is of particular interest, as it is proven to synergistically act to arrest tumor growth when combined with optimally-designed smart drug delivery systems (DDSs). Thermoresponsive DDSs aid in making the drugs more bioavailable, enhance the therapeutic index and pharmacokinetic trends, and provide the spatial placement and temporal delivery of the drug into localized anatomical sites. This paper reviews the fundamentals of thermosensitive polymers, with a particular focus on thermoresponsive liposomal-based drug delivery systems.

Recommendations For Infection Control In Congregate Shelters Following A Natural Disaster, Megan Schultz, Blaine Winters

Student Works

Infection control is at the forefront of nurses’ minds, particularly following a natural disaster. Natural disasters often displace people from their homes, requiring them to stay in congregate shelters for a short period of time. The risk of infection is significantly increased in shelters environments. The purpose of this literature review is to determine the appropriate strategies to mitigate the spread of infection in congregate shelters following a natural disaster. Implications for practice are identified.

Trophic Relationships In Larval California Newts (Taricha Torosa), Michael P. Marchetti, Kirsti Dunkel, Charlotte Moxley

Western North American Naturalist

The larval stage of the California newt (Taricha torosa) has been little studied despite the presence and abundance of the species throughout much of California. During the 2017–2018 time period, the diet and life history characteristics of this cohort of stream-dwelling newt larvae were examined, using gut contents and stable isotopes, in order to better understand the ecological niche and trophic relationships of the life stage. Our results suggest that the newt larvae consume Chironomidae as a major part of their diet and that this reliance decreases as the larvae age. Newt larvae also feed more widely and …