Digital Commons Network^™

Pharmacological Characterization Of The Oxytocin Receptor Antagonist L-368,899 For Coyote Receptors, Mckenna Rich, Hillary Ihrig

Student Research Symposium

The neurohormone oxytocin influences many physiological pathways in animals, aiding in social behaviors, pair bonding, social recognition, and maternal behavior. A common strategy used to observe the influence of oxytocin on these behaviors is to disrupt oxytocin signaling, by blocking the oxytocin receptor (OXTR). This blockade can be achieved using antagonists which bind to the receptor and inhibit the subsequent activation of intracellular signaling pathways. We aimed to determine whether the commercially-available OXTR antagonist L-368,899 selectively binds to OXTR in coyote brains. L-368,899 selectively binds to OXTR in primates and has been used in animal behavior studies to block oxytocin-dependent …

Analyzing Fatal Bird-Window Collision Mitigation Occurring At The Classroom And Student Services Building, Brigham City, Ut, Hunter Martin

Student Research Symposium

Bird-window collisions are often not thought about as if they are a major problem to bird populations worldwide. This is not the case as bird populations are threatened by these collisions. In the United States alone it is estimated that 97.6 - 975.6 million birds fatally collide with human-made windows annually, and another 16 to 42 million collide in Canada per year. Our focus is to investigate a possible window collision problem and explore different mitigation efforts to prevent these collisions at the USU-Brigham City campus (Brigham City, Utah, 84302). We hope to determine how many fatal bird-window collisions are …

Cytokine Indicators Of Inflammation In Mice Fed A Western Type Diet, Eliza Owens, Emily Mortensen

Student Research Symposium

Colorectal cancer is currently the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. The risk of colon cancer increases in individuals who suffer from colitis, which is inflammation of the colon lining. Colitis is common in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The development of colorectal cancer is complex and can be associated with dysbiosis of the gut microbiota, which has been shown to be affected by diet. Disruption of the gut microbiome can lead to the overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria which can contribute to disease. Pathogenic bacteria and other bacterial byproducts that manage to cross the epithelial …

Growth Of Arpe Cells On A 3d Printed Pla Scaffold, Dallin Fairbourn, Jamen Cannon, Jake Accordino

Student Research Symposium

Forming blood vessels is a common obstacle that is faced when attempting to develop artificial organs. One possible method of overcoming this obstacle is by using a 3D printed material as a scaffold for blood vessel growth. In previous studies, it has been shown that Poly-lactic acid (PLA) is an ideal material for use as a scaffold in tissue engineering applications (Kudryavtseva et al., 2017). The following proof of concept will evaluate the ability of PLA to support cell growth on its surface. Specifically, this project aims to determine its usefulness as a scaffold in the culture of Adult Retinal …

Pyseqrna: An Automated Python Package For Advanced Rna Sequencing Data Analysis And Annotation, Naveen Duhan

Student Research Symposium

Abstract: With the advent of Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies, numerous data is being generated every day, however, streamlined analysis remains a big hurdle to efficiently use the technology. A large number of algorithms, statistical methods, and software tools have been developed in recent years to perform the individual analysis steps of various NGS applications. Some NGS applications data analysis procedures are therefore very complex, requiring several program tools to be downloaded for their various processing steps. There is a significant room for the development of scalable computing environments that link the individual software components to automated workflows to efficiently and …

The Influences Of Individual Differences In Working Memory Capacity And Multiple Narrators On Adults’ Story Comprehension: A Pilot Study, Stephanie Johnson

Student Research Symposium

It is well-known that people struggle to listen and comprehend spoken language in environments where multiple talkers are present. It is cognitively demanding to communicate in these difficult listening environments that occur commonly in everyday life (Plomp, 1994); therefore, one’s working memory abilities may play a role in how successful they can communicate when multiple talkers are present (Schneider et al., 2007). This preliminary study aimed to explore the relationship between working memory capacity (WMC) and spoken language comprehension in the context of multiple talkers. Six participants performed complex span tasks to assess their WMC abilities. Participants also listened to …

Translating -Omics Big Data: Comprehensive Understanding Of Host-Pathogen Interactions To Control Bacterial Blight In Alfalfa Using Computational Approaches, Raghav Kataria

Student Research Symposium

Plant infectious diseases are a major threat to the crops, owing to economic losses to the agriculture industry worldwide. Molecular interactions between the host and pathogen play a critical role in understanding the basis of pathogenesis. Majority of the Pseudomonas syringae strains are known to cause frost injury in plants, amongst which, P. syringae pv. syringae ALF3 is asserted to be a causal organism of bacterial stem blight in Medicago sativa (alfalfa). We elucidated the genome-scale host-pathogen interactions (HPIs) between alfalfa and P. syringae using two intense computational approaches: interolog (homology-based) and the domain-based method (based on 3D structure of …

Microalgae Growth For Wastewater Remediation And Biofuel Production, Tallon Beckstrom, Jacob Watkins, Shaylynn Cannon

Student Research Symposium

Excess nutrient loading due to phosphorus and nitrates is a ubiquitous problem in water treatment facilities across the United States. While these compounds are valuable commodities in fertilizers, they can be harmful to humans when consumed in high concentrations and lead to toxic algae blooms and eutrophication when released into the environment. Established treatment methods include bacterial reduction, biomass uptake, and chemical processes like magnesium spiking to encourage struvite precipitation. Previous studies have noted that algae are a particularly promising tool for phosphorus and nitrate removal in wastewater through mechanisms such as struvite formation (Hillman, 2020). In addition, studies have …

An Illness Narrative Of Pediatric Cochlear Implantation: A Case Study, Emma Bowman

Student Research Symposium

Illness narratives are personal stories that are shared to better understand one's experiences while living with an illness or health condition. Narratives are valuable because they allow us to understand our lives, as well as illuminate one's self-identity and well-being. This then gives the audience an insight into the storyteller's perspective on how they cope and process their experiences throughout their life. Our aim was to uncover the subjective experience of a young adult growing up with bilateral cochlear implants in the United States. To do so, we gathered an hour-long story from him and then transcribed and analyzed his …

Novel Approach For Sex Identification In Equine Forensic Samples Using Pcr Amplification, Jessica Felts

Student Research Symposium

DDX3 is a ubiquitous gene in mammals that codes for a protein in the DEAD-box protein family. This protein is an ATP-dependent RNA helicase, which denotes its involvement in altering the structure of RNA1, functions as a transcriptional regulator1, and is proposed to be involved in the nuclear export of retroviral RNA1. The DDX3 gene is located on the X-chromosome between base pair 34,831,836 and base pair 34,847,409 (15,573 total base pairs). In addition, there is a homologous gene located on the Y-chromosome between base pair 6,194,312 to bp 6,199,142 (4,917 total base pairs). The Y-chromosome homolog, however, contains unique …

Informed Polluters: A Comparison Between Pollutant Sources Of Two Lakes And Resulting Remediation Strategies, Jeffrey Kennedy

Student Research Symposium

Excess nutrients are a problem for many lakes and rivers across the country. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires states to monitor polluted waterbodies and provide plans to remediate them. These plans are commonly submitted in a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) report where sources and polluters are identified. These reports have not been successful, however, at solving all nutrient problems. Newman Lake in Washington and Mantua Reservoir in Utah are two lakes that continue to receive excess nutrients, notably phosphorus. High levels of these nutrients lead to increased biological activity and subsequent drops in dissolved oxygen. Many lakes …

Antimicrobial Activity Of Artemisia Tridentata, David Suisse, Kayla Suisse

Student Research Symposium

Many plants and fungi secrete substances to adjust their environment to be more favorable to their needs. These secondary metabolites include chemicals emitted to kill other plants or microbes that would otherwise endanger or compete with the original plant. One such example is that of penicillin—extracted from a mold by Alexander Fleming in the 1920s. Fleming found that the growth of staphylococci, a bacterium, which shared the plate with the mold was inhibited. Penicillin, a secondary metabolite created by the mold, quickly became a well-known and useful antimicrobial agent and an ingredient in many drugs. Aspirin has a similar, if …

Time-Domain Simulation Of Acoustic Wave Scattering And Internal Propagation From Gas Bubbles Of Various Shapes, Jiacheng Hou

Student Research Symposium

The acoustic scattering of a resonant entity can be applied to various areas including underwater acoustics, biomedical acoustics, physical acoustics, and bioacoustics. It is convenient to detect mine under the seabed, school fish swim bladders, and diagnose human organs based on the voiceprint of their acoustic scattering. Therefore, understanding the behaviors and properties of scattering is important. Theoretical studies for scattering field outside an ideal spherical gas bubble have been well-developed and compared with numerous simulation and experimental researches, and the concept of shape factor was obtained for more general cases of an ideal gas bubble. The resonance frequency and …

Extendable And Invertible Manifold Learning With Geometry Regularized Autoencoders, Andres Duque

Student Research Symposium

A fundamental task in data exploration is to extract simplified low dimensional representations that capture intrinsic geometry in data, especially for faithfully visualizing data in two or three dimensions. Common approaches to this task use kernel methods for manifold learning. However, these methods typically only provide an embedding of fixed input data and cannot extend to new data points. Autoencoders have also recently become popular for representation learning. But while they naturally compute feature extractors that are both extendable to new data and invertible (i.e., reconstructing original features from latent representation), they have limited capabilities to follow global intrinsic geometry …

Discerning The Efficacy Of Potential Non-Opioid Pain Drugs With Camp Analysis, Matthew Mattoon

Student Research Symposium

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a relatively new discovery in molecular biology and have been fundamental for the development of new drug therapies. GPCRs are receptors within the outer membrane of a cell that trigger reactions throughout a cell. There are multiple units that attach to the GPCR: the alpha, the beta, and the gamma subunits. A ligand (activating or agonistic molecule) binds to the protein receptor, causing a change in structure that allows the attached subunits to move. These movements can generate various signaling pathways that can change a cell. This experiment focuses on the alpha sub-unit whose movement …

Illegal Wildlife Trade Increases Probability Of Zoonotic Disease Spread In The United States, Ryan Bushman

Student Research Symposium

Illegal wildlife trade is a major contributor to the spread of zoonotic disease in the United States and may potentially lead to further public health emergencies, a significant loss of life, and can cost billions of dollars. The trade of bushmeat and exotic pets are examples of illegal wildlife trade that can result in the spread of zoonotic diseases. These illegal activities are driven by deep-rooted cultural beliefs, financial necessity, and luxurious lifestyles. An analysis of the existing literature on these subjects through the lens of anticipatory intelligence reveals certain areas of the current systems that combat illegal wildlife trade …

Exploring Canid Monogamy: Characterization Of The Distribution Of Vasopressin 1a Receptors In The Brain Of Coyotes (Canis Latrans), Madeline Measom, Sophia Adamis

Student Research Symposium

Arginine vasopressin (AVP) is a neuropeptide hormone that has been shown to be a factor in the biological basis of social attachment in monogamous species. It functions in the brain to modulate social memory, territoriality, and social attachment between pair-bonded adult mates of the same species. Research has mostly focused on the vasopressin 1a receptors (AVPR1a) in the brains of socially monogamous rodents and non-human primates. These studies demonstrate a critical role of AVP and AVPR1a in the neurobiology of social attachment, especially influencing species-specific, pairbond-related behaviors. Coyotes are a unique species in the context of social research because they …

Isolation Of Halotolerant Bacteria From The Rhizosphere Of Ceanothus Velutinus May Lead To Contributions In Plant Health In Saline Conditions, Jacob Davis

Student Research Symposium

As global temperatures have been steadily rising in the past few decades, soil salinity has been steadily increasing in many parts of the world as well. This increase in salinity has proven detrimental and especially challenging for many plant species. The soil directly in contact with the roots of plants is known as the rhizosphere. The rhizosphere hosts plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). PGPR plays a significant role in a plant's ability to deal with stressors such as drought, heavy metal contamination, and extreme cold temperatures. Native plants are known to show versatility to these stressors as well. One such native …

Deepnec: A Novel Alignment-Free Tool For The Characterization Of Nitrification-Related Enzymes Using Deep Learning, A Step Towards Comprehensive Understanding Of The Nitrogen Cycle, Naveen Duhan

Student Research Symposium

Abstract: Nitrification is an important microbial two-step transformation in the global nitrogen cycle, as it is the only natural process that produces nitrate within a system. The functional annotation of nitrification-related enzymes has a broad range of applications in metagenomics, agriculture, industrial biotechnology, etc. The time and resources needed for determining the function of enzymes experimentally are restrictively costly. Therefore, an accurate genome-scale computational prediction of the nitrification-related enzymes has become much more important.In this study, we developed an alignment-free computational approach to determine the nitrification-related enzymes from the sequence itself. We propose deepNEC, a novel end-to-end feature selection and …

Low Cost, Accurate System For The Monitoring Of Rotating Algal Biofilm Reactors With Raspberry Pi, Abiela Meek

Student Research Symposium

Research into more environmentally friendly and biologically based products is a rapidly growing field of study. Often, these systems require careful monitoring in order to maximize production and efficiency. This type of research also demands that lab models must later be scaled up to production size, this process often leads to an increase in cost because different equipment is required to monitor benchtop scale lab models than what is required for use in production scale systems. A Raspberry Pi, which is a low cost, single board computer, provides a perfect, cost effective solution to scaling up and easy monitoring. Multiple …

Combining Nissl Staining And Digital Densitometry To Accurately Quantify Oxytocin Receptors In The Human Substantia Nigra, Kip Dooley

Student Research Symposium

Oxytocin, a hormone present in the mammalian brain, has been shown to be a vital component of social function in animals and may have a role in the social deficits associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder in humans. Based on previous studies from our lab, there are oxytocin receptors in the human substantia nigra, a basal ganglia structure in the midbrain that is important in both movement and reward pathways. The substantia nigra contains two subsections that are defined by the neurotransmitters they contain: the pars compacta, which is dopaminergic, and the pars reticulata, which is GABAergic. By localizing oxytocin receptors …

3d Bioprinting Presents Positive Health And Social Benefits—But Equitable Utilization Necessary, Kade Roberts

Student Research Symposium

Organ donation shortages paired with high demand present a great issue for the general population. Every year, thousands of patients lay on organ donation waiting lists and never receive their necessary care. The increased research and success into 3D printed organs could solve many of these problems regarding demand, in addition to solving other biotechnological issues. As with every emerging biotechnology, the implications of its introduction must be established. This project provides an opportunity analysis on the problems 3D bioprinting will solve, in addition to projecting future issues the technology may create. Presentation Time: Thursday, 10-11 a.m.Zoom link: https://usu-edu.zoom.us/j/83484931836?pwd=TlpyRWsrSjYvVVl6dTVXRi9YQ3JOZz09

Monitoring The Spatial Ecology Of Puma Concolor Along A Wildland-Urban Gradient, Natalie D'Souza, Tim Cromwell

Student Research Symposium

The wildland-urban gradient is a hotspot for human-wildlife conflict, as resources and land-use are often shared between the two. As humans encroach more into wildlife lands, humans become ecological players in urban, as well as wildland, ecosystems. Expanding into wildlife habitat creates gradients of human disturbance that can negatively alter ecosystem dynamics. Many species must adapt to human-dominated environments, or else face extinction. Cache Valley, Utah, has a growing wildland-urban interface that borders the southern Bear River Range, an extension of the Wasatch Front, and is mostly contained within Cache National Forest. Cache County is the sixth-fastest growing county in …

Variation In Anuran Digit Lengths Between Microhabitats, Rylee Dalton

Student Research Symposium

Anuran species occupy a wide variety of microhabitats, including arboreal, semiarboreal, burrowing, aquatic, semi-aquatic, torrent, and terrestrial habitats. Previous research found relationships between pelvic and limb morphology and microhabitat in anurans, providing insight into how the anuran skeleton may have evolved in response to selection pressures associated with microhabitat. In this study, we analyze the relationship between anuran digit length and microhabitat to determine if and how digit length varies by microhabitat. We measured individual digit segments in over 250 species using microcomputed topography scanning and Meshlab. We used phylogenetic generalized least squares to test the relationship between digit segment …

Crispr And The Transhumanism Movement: Civilian And Military Ethics Reassessment Looming, Jennifer Ha

Student Research Symposium

CRISPR/Cas9 is an emerging biotechnology that allows scientists to edit genes and modify, delete, or correct exact regions of a person’s DNA. This technology could be the future of medicine in eradicating different genetic diseases and disorders and enhancing the quality of life around the world. CRISPR can be used to treat different cancers, blood disorders, AIDS, cystic fibrosis, and a variety of other diseases by going in and changing specific regions of DNA. However, why just eradicate disease when CRISPR can also enhance different characteristics, such as increase metabolism, improve eyesight, or enhance athletic ability? With the potential of …

Is Mitigation Of Drought Stress By Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Driven By A Nano-Specific Mechanism Or Mitigation Of Micronutrient Deficiency?, Justin Deakin

Student Research Symposium

It has been reported that zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) can promote drought tolerance in crops when used as soil amendments. However, many of these experiments were conducted in Zn-deficient growth media with no comparison to currently available Zn fertilization methods, making it unclear if the benefits from adding ZnO NPs were caused by a nano-specifc mechanism or simply by the mitigation of a micronutrient deficiency. A review of the literature shows that of 12 published experiments considering the effects of ZnO NPs on plant health, 5 out of 6 studies that did not include a comparison to currently available …

Identification, Isolation And Characterization Of A Novel Glucosyltransferase From Beauveria Bassiana, Jie Ren

Student Research Symposium

Quercetin is a naturally occurring phenolic compound that is commonly used due to its various biological activities, but its low aqueous solubility and poor bioavailability hinder further clinical applications. For assessing the effect of the glycosylation of quercetin on its aqueous solubility, one glucosyltransferase gene (BbGT) was cloned from the genome of the strain Beauveria bassiana ATCC 7159 and heterologously expressed in different microorganism host cells, namely Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Pseudomonas putida, and Pichia pastoris. Then, the glycosyltransferase was purified, and its glycosylation capacity toward quercetin was verified. The result showed that the purified BbGT (50.4 kDa) could convert …

Establishment Of A Coyote Brain Atlas: Counterstaining Techniques In A Canid Brain, Auria Staheli, Nate Johnson

Student Research Symposium

Oxytocin is commonly known as “the love hormone,” as it is the neurotransmitter responsible for pair bonding in many mammalian species, including humans. However, it and its related hormone vasopressin also have other very important and wide ranging functions for physical, emotional, and social well-being. The Freeman neurobiology lab is working to map the location of oxytocin and vasopressin receptors within brains of the common coyote (Canis latrans). This work will permit comparisons with the brains of other pair-bond-forming mammals and will further our understanding of how these transmitters and their receptors affect behavior. However, inferring the locations of these …

Application Of A Self-Disinfecting Surface For Hemodialysis, Katie Christensen, Sierra Flores, Ivy Hansen, Cody Paraso, Andrea Peterson

Biological Engineering

The Biological Engineering Department at Utah State University (USU) is collaborating with Fresenius Medical Care (FMC) to develop a novel method of bacterial reduction for hemodialysis systems.

In the United States, approximately 34% of reported hemodialysis hospitalizations have been due to infections [1]. The water inlet line was identified as an area with potential to introduce bacteria into the system.

Nutrient Management: Heterotrophic Nitrification, Zac Mcclellan, Jaden Storrer, Anna Scribner, Jayce Bradley

Biological Engineering

The removal of nitrogen in the form of ammonia from wastewater is an important yet expensive step in treatment often done in two stages, typically by different autotrophic nitrifiers:

- Nitrification: Ammonia is converted to Nitrite and Nitrate.

- Denitrification: Nitrate is converted to nitrogen gas (N2)

Heterotrophic nitrifiers like Alcaligenes faecalis are able to perform both processes and reduce the two step treatment process to one.

Previously, experiments were performed on Alcaligenes faecalis in a synthetic wastewater environment to determine the kinetic constants for a substrate-dependent ammonia removal rate (Michaelis Mentin Kinetics).