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  The Work of Cross Dating: A Look into the Dendrochronology of Great Basin Bristlecone Pine at the Carpenter Canyon Middle Site

  Zeb Mendenhall, Otto de Groff, and Steven L. Petersen

  Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva, hereafter bristlecone) is the longest living organisms on earth. Their annual growth rings are vital resources for understanding climate change¹ (Fig. 1)

  Like all trees, bristlecone develops a “ring” every year during the growing season. Because of their exceptional longevity, this makes them an ideal “archive” of past climate conditions²

  While climate is a variable affecting bristlecone growth, little research has been conducted that identifies factors the influence bristlecone growth, in particular elevation.

  This study investigates these factors to better understand bristlecone’s response environmental variability at specific elevations.

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  Epigenetic reprogramming in pediatric tumors predicts active pathways in the tumor microenvironments

  Noah Moffat, Clark Tolbert, Colin Wessman, and Matthew H. Bailey

  Figure 1: We collected samples from five different studies that analyzed and generated spatial transcriptomic data from adult and pediatric brain tumors1-4.

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  Stress, Resilience, and Suicidal Ideation in Autistic Young Adults

  Cole Murphy and Jared Nielsen

  Autistic young adults face a higher risk of suicide than their neurotypical peers due to the stress associated with potential difficulties with social interactions. It is known that stress may increase suicidal ideation, and that resilience may decrease it, but this study investigates the specific relationship between stress, resilience, and suicidal ideation in autistic young adults.

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  Enabling better interoperability and reusability for Down syndrome transcriptomic datasets

  Harrison Oaks, Garrett L. Wride, and Stephen Piccolo

  Introduction: Gene expression profiling has become a cornerstone of biomedical research, offering relevant insights into the molecular mechanisms that underlie complex conditions such as Down syndrome (DS), a condition caused by trisomy 21. RNA expression data from individuals with DS have highlighted critical pathways involved in development, immune function, and disease susceptibility. Despite the availability of over 100 publicly shared RNA expression datasets, their potential remains underutilized due to inconsistent metadata, diverse normalization protocols, and varying data quality. Addressing these barriers is vital to enabling researchers to standardize, integrate, and analyze datasets effectively. We do this by creating a data pipeline that contains the following steps: data collection, quality control, normalization, and metadata standardization, resulting in interoperable data (see Fig. 2).

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  Neuroimmune effects of methamphetamine and ethanol in the nucleus accumbens

  Brayden Parker, Derek Langford, Channing Syme, Chris Galbraith, Savannah Evans, Matthew Burris, and Jordan T. Yorgason

  • Microglia are the innate immune cells of the brain and change morphology with activation, with increased ameoboid morphology with increased immune activation.
  • Microglia release and clear reactive oxygen species (ROS)
  • ATP is a known chemoattractant to microglia and is released at dopamine terminals in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), which is a reward center of the brain
  • Methamphetamine (Meth) is a psychostimulant drug that decreases dopamine clearance and increases ROS

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  Looking for Manna, Dung, and Craters - Uncovering Hidden Diversity in Circinaria Lichens

  Lizzie Perry, Ginny Basset, and Steve Leavitt

  • Lichens, symbiotic partnerships between fungi and photosynthetic organisms, are often overlooked in biodiversity studies due to their cryptic nature. The lichen genus, Circinaria —historically, described as “Manna Lichens”, “crater lichens”, “pigeon dung lichens”, and “excrement of the earth”¹ —remains understudied.
  • This genus includes approximately 40 formally described species worldwide, however, only 13 have been documented in North America³.
  • To better understand species-level diversity of Circinaria in Western North America, we used an integrated data set – DNA, morphology, and ecology – to characterize diversity and delimit potential candidate species.

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  Prelanding Movement Differences in Joint Kinematics in Chronic Ankle Instability with and without Ankle Swelling

  Brayden Phillips, Hyunwook Lee, Seunguk Han, Minsub Oh, and J. Ty Hopkins

  • Lateral ankle sprains (LASs) are one of the most common lower extremity injuries1 and develop into chronic ankle instability (CAI) up to 74% of the time.1
  • Approximately 40% of CAI individuals suffer from persistent swelling after lateral ankle sprains.2,3
  • Swelling results in an inability to contract at a normal level surrounding joint musculature.4
  • Athrogenicmuscle inhibition (AMI) plays a central role in altered neuromuscular control, which may result in altered neuromechanicsand increased susceptibility to joint injury.4

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  Forb Species Selection for Improved Mine Reclamation

  Joanna Pincock, Matt Madsen, Mallory Hinton, and April Hulet

  Forbs play a crucial role in restoration efforts in the Intermountain West due to their benefits to pollinators and wildlife, and their contribution to ecosystem resilience. Their inclusion in restoration projects enhances biodiversity, improves habitat quality, and supports overall ecosystem stability.

  However, forbs are difficult to establish, especially in degraded rangeland soils, due to several challenges:

  • Poor soil conditions
  • Seed dormancy requirements
  • Limitations with seeding methods
  • Competition from invasive species

  Our research objectives were to:

  1. Evaluate the effectiveness of various methods to break seed dormancy and improve germination rates of 15 forb species (Fig. 1)
  2. Assess plant emergence and growth across different soil conditions and treatments for the 15 forb species (Fig. 1)

  Forb species were selected based on their ability to grow in 6-12" precipitation zones, their status of early species, and the availability of seeds.

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  Socioeconomic Advantage Effects on Family Health Across Three Generations

  Brooklyn Richins, Gladys Lopez MPH, Kato Haupeakui MPH, and Ali Crandall Ph.D.

  Family health is a resource at the level of the family unit that influences each family member’s health (Weiss-Laxer et al., 2020).

  Socioeconomic status (SES) is measured by education, employment, and income; prior research suggests that SES influences quality of life (Baker, 2014).

  We examined how parent and grandparent SES affects young adult report of family health.

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  Effects of Acute Injections of EtOH in Cytokine Release in Mice

  Alina Svitlana Rodriguez Bezruchko, Alka Gaur, Carlos M. Moreno, Jordan T. Yorgason, and Scott Weber

  To learn the pathway by which the peripheral immune system interacts with dopaminergic neurons and triggers an addiction response, we compared cytokine and chemokine production levels before and after a 20-minute ethanol injection. Since some cytokines and chemokines can cross the blood-brain barrier, their peripheral production may influence neural activity. We had four groups: ethanol, saline, domperidone-ethanol, and domperidone-saline. As domperidone is a dopamine antagonist, we will use it as a control to verify that the change in cytokine production is due to ethanol rather than other factors.

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  How Microbiota Affect the Drosophila Melanogaster Life History Approach

  Ricardo Romo and John M. Chaston

  • The microbiota of Drosophila melanogaster plays a significant role in its life history strategy and local adaptation [1]. This study examines how variations in microbiota composition influence the trade-offs between reproduction and somatic maintenance.
  • Previous research has shown that LAB and AAB bacteria affect Drosophila Melanogaster life history strategies and this research explores the effects of LAB and AAB bacterial strains on flies raised under controlled conditions.
  • This study contributes to the growing evidence that microbiota is an essential factor in understanding local adaptation and evolutionary biology and how certain bacterial strains affect an organism’s reproductive strategy.

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  Majority of NCAA Div. 1 Football Players at BYU Demonstrate Patellar Tendon Blood Flow Post-Exercise

  Bryson T. Schaugaard, Lee J. Hinkle, Gabe Davidson, B. Brett Mortensen, and A. Wayne Johnson

  Patellar tendinopathy is a frequent overuse injury among collegiate athletes, especially in football players, due to the intense strain on the patellar tendon. Power Doppler Imaging (PDI) is an effective way to analyze blood flow (BF) within the tendon and correlates to patellar tendinopathy and pain. A healthy and normal tendon should have a score of 0 on a modified Oberg scale.

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  Firing Properties of HGVP and Granule Cell Populations in Sensorimotor Pathways

  Kate Shepard, M Eyring, and Trace Stay

  The vestibular ocular reflex (VOR) functions to keep the eyes stable during head movement. Previous studies have suggested that output from Purkinje cells of the flocculus called HGVP’s modify motor neurons that control the VOR (Kahlon and Lisberger, 2000). (below, Kan, University of Wisconsin)

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  AceE and PflB: Interference in oxygen independent or dependent metabolic pathways affect virulence of P. carotovorum

  Ethan Shreeve, Foxx Naylor, and Jeffrey Schachterle

  Pectobacterium carotovorum is a plant-pathogenic bacterium, causing soft rot diseases in vegetables such as potatoes and carrots. Mainly, this is achieved by the production of plant cell walldegrading enzymes, allowing for invasion of host cells. The general mechanisms underlying the pathogenicity of P. carotovorum are well characterized, but the phenotypic effects of some core metabolic processes are not. An important part of metabolism in bacteria is pyruvate production and utilization as a metabolic intermediate. P. carotovorum has two critical genes— pflB and aceE—that play roles in directing pyruvate metabolism. PflB encodes pyruvate formate-lyase, enabling the bacterium to convert pyruvate into formate and acetyl-CoA under low-oxygen conditions. AceE is integral to the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, which operates more efficiently in oxygenrich environments, funneling pyruvate into the bacterium’s principal energy-generating cycles. These two genes, when knocked out, appear to decrease overall virulence of P. carotovorum.

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  Improving Native Grass Germination with Seed Enhancement Technologies

  Ronni Stauffer, Tanner Knapp, April Hulet, Sam Ahler, Nancy Shackelford, and Matthew Madsen

  Faster germination aids invasive weeds’ competitive ability.

  Several different seed enhancement technologies can help improve native grass germination so they can be more competitive.

  Osmotic priming (OP), solid matrix priming (SMP), and gibberellic acid seed coatings (GA3) are varying techniques that have been shown to increase seedling germination in native plants.

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  Erythrocyte Morphological Changes from Isosmotic Glucose Additions

  Rees Stenson, Jared Roth, and Robert Davis

  To develop a non-invasive optical method for glucose monitoring, it’s essential to understand the changes in the scattering coefficient of in vitro whole blood due to glucose concentration, but the mechanisms causing these changes remains unclear. The difference in index of refraction between erythrocytes and the surrounding plasma suggests that a change in cell size or shape may lead to a shift in the scattering coefficient of whole blood. Through optical microscopy, erythrocyte morphology as a function of glucose concentration was measured.

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  Identifying Potentially Advantageous Genes in Introgressed Regions of Wild Pitseed Goosefoot Chromosomes into Quinoa

  Kayla Stephensen, Juliana Fuller, Eric N. Jellen, Peter J. Maughan, and David E. Jarvis

  Despite increasing in worldwide popularity, quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is not well adapted to environments outside its native range of cultivation in the Andean region of South America. To try to improve quinoa’s growth in new environments, particularly in hot tropical and arid climates, we previously crossed quinoa with its wild relative, pitseed goosefoot (Chenopodium berlandieri), which is naturally adapted to regions where optimal vegetative and reproductive growth is limited due to adverse biotic and abiotic conditions. Over the course of multiple generations, we have selected the best performing progeny based on their ability to survive in warmer environments. Investigating the chromosomal regions of the pitseed goosefoot genome that have introgressed into the superior lines would allow for the identification of possible genetic loci that may have promoted greater tolerance to hotter climates or that may confer other advantageous traits. To identify these potential loci, we sequenced the genomes of the quinoa and pitseed goosefoot parental lines and of the selected offspring and then mapped the genomes of the offspring against the parental genomes. We then looked at regions of the pitseed goosefoot genome that were incorporated into the genomes of the selected progeny and compared those recurring segments with genes found in those segments. We identified several candidate heat tolerance genes within the introgressed regions. These candidates will be further investigated in future studies to determine their impact on growth in hot environments.

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  Those Dam Fish: Morphological Response in Two Riverine Fish Species Following Dam Construction

  Leah Stimpson, Austin Rejcek, and Mark C. Belk

  Flow regime is a known predictor of fish shape¹. Conspecific populations living in distinct flow environments often exhibit different morphologies.

  Dams present a unique opportunity to observe a dramatically transformed flow regime. Fish populations that once occupied a fast-flowing habitat suddenly live in an artificial reservoir.

  The Parana Basin in southern Brazil boasts some of the greatest fish diversity in the world. The biological implications of hydroelectric dam construction along its major rivers must be studied.

  Previous literature has been limited to a single species or ecological niche².

  ➢ Our objective was to describe what morphological divergence, if any, is present within two species across three locations: Upstream, Reservoir and Downstream of the Sao Domingos dam.

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  ARID1A Knockout: a Catalyst for Osteosarcoma Progression

  Alma Taggart, Peyton Worley, Heinen Louis, Emilee Nielson, and Jared Barrott

  Osteosarcoma (OS) is a rare form of bone cancer, with high mortality rates in children and young adults. Current OS research has been limited by a lack of mouse models that accurately represent the metastatic and chemoresistant nature of this cancer. Furthermore, by focusing on patient-derived xenograft models it limits the applications of novel immunotherapies because these mouse models lack a competent immune system. By knocking out Arid1a, we generated a mouse model that more accurately reflects the aggressive nature of the tumor with 100% penetrance of tumorigenesis and 41% penetrance of metastasis, while maintaining a competent immune system. This new mouse model allows for insights to better understand the tumor microenvironment (TME), and testing novel therapies.

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  Using Neuroscience to Understand Food

  Tyler Thronton and Jonathan Kershaw

  Food liking is determined by evaluation and reward centers in the brain. Few studies have observed the magnifying effects that messages have on taste liking as participants try food in a neuroimaging setting.

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  GCSF Involvement in Ethanol Dopamine Adaptations

  Zachary Valentine, Chase Seiter, Rachel Campbell, Camryn Holt, and Jordan T. Yorgason

  Objective: Investigate the role of Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (GCSF) in ethanol-induced dopamine adaptations using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry.

  Hypothesis: Prolonged alcohol exposure will weaken GCSF release, resulting in diminished effects on dopamine terminals.

  Dopamine (DA) release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) plays a crucial role in learning stimuli associated with reward

  Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (GCSF) is a known neuromodulator for for DA release

  Ethanol has been demonstrated to increase the firing rate of dopamine neurons in the (VTA)

  The effects of ethanol on GCSF neuromodulation remains unknown

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  GEOfinder

  Amanda Warren, Abigail Muir, and Stephen Piccolo

  AI-driven search tools make gene expression data easier to find, which could revolutionize research.

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  How Does Alcohol Affect Neurotransmission? — An Exploration of SNAP-25

  Thomas Weed, Tanner M. Blocker, Jonah R. Beck, Jason T. Carlson, Christopher E. Hunt Jr., Mike Sumsion, and Dixon J. Woodbury

  SNAP-25 helps drive fusion of synaptic vesicles with the neuronal membrane. This process of exocytosis is fundamental for any form of neuro-communication. Prior to vesicle fusion, SNAP-25 comes together with two other SNARE proteins, syntaxin and synaptobrevin, to form the SNARE complex. As the SNARE complex tightens, vesicle fusion occurs, leading to neurotransmitter release. SNAP-25 is expressed in two isoforms, SNAP-25A and SNAP-25B, and are expressed at different stages of development. Previous literature has shown that alcohol and oxidative stress directly affect neurotransmission. We sought to determine if the method of action was through altering the secondary structure of SNAP-25. Using Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy (CD), we determined that SNAP-25’s secondary structure is significantly impacted by alcohol and oxidative stress. We hypothesize that these structural differences in SNAP-25 provide neurons with functionally different responses possibly resulting in altered neurotransmission.

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  Assessing Sandy Beach Health Throughout the South Atlantic Bight with Ghost Crabs

  Raquel Wilson and Blaine D. Griffen

  To better inform the management and protection of marine ecosystems, we examined human impacts on sandy beach health across the South Atlantic Bight by assessing the abundance and size of ghost crab burrows, and habitat quality. We used an urbanization index to measure the level of human impact. Sandy beach ecosystems are ecologically and economically important, yet they face immense pressure from increasing human activity^1,2. Protecting these ecosystems is critical yet challenging due to their large size, but we can evaluate their health and the extent of human impact using a bioindicator species. We used the Atlantic ghost crab because they are an established bioindicator species—an organism that helps measure the health of an ecosystem³. We hypothesized that human impacts would be strongest in highly urbanized cities and in Florida.