Fall Student Research Symposium 2022

Follow

• 

  Electrochemical DNA-Based Biosensor for the Detection of DNase I Activity for Potential Application for CRISPR-Cas Based Biosensor

  Tessa Siler

  Dioxyribonuclease I (DNase I, DC 3.1.21.1) is an enzyme that cleaves DNA at phosphodiester linkages. The deviation of DNase I activity is a significant important marker for several diseases. For example, the lower activity of DNase can cause arthritis and several other autoimmune diseases, whereas higher DNase I activities are observed in patients with breast and oral cavity cancers. This makes monitoring the DNase I activity important for clinical and point-of-care diagnostics.Several methods were developed to assay DNase I activity, such as the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), fluorimetric assays, radial immunodiffusion (RID) and radial enzyme diffusion (RED) assays. These methods are relatively expensive, time-consuming, and require trained personnel and laboratory equipment. Electrochemical biosensors were developed to detect DNase I activity. For this, the electrode is modified with a DNA layer and incubated in a solution containing a redox label non-covalently binding to the DNA. Then, the electrode is transferred to the redox label-free solution, and the amount of adsorbed redox label is measured by voltammetric or coulometric methods. After this, the electrode is exposed to the sample, and the measurement is repeated. As a result, the difference between the initial and final signals allows for calculating the loss of the DNA on the electrode surface proportional to the DNase I activity. This procedure has several drawbacks, such as many experimental steps and the desorption of the loss of a non-covalently bound redox label before the signal is measured.In this work, we developed an electrochemical DNA biosensor utilizing [Ru(NH3)6]3+ as a redox label that overcomes the described limitations. The signal is measured before and after the exposure to the sample in the redox label containing the solution preventing the loss of adsorbed redox label. This biosensor operates in coulometric and voltammetric regimes and is easy to use and sensitive. Importantly, this biosensor has the potential to be used in combination with the newly discovered CRISPR Cas-nucleases for the detection of DNA. The details will be discussed.

• 

  How College Students' Mental Health is Impacted by Working

  Katie Swain

  College students are faced with many different challenges and through this study I wanted to investigate the impact having a part-time job had on full-time college students' mental health. The main goal of this study was to help me decide if getting a part-time job would be beneficial or detrimental to my mental health. Research was conducted using the USU library and internet resources to locate both primary and secondary sources. For this study, professor and student point of views on the subject were taken into account to create a well-rounded argument. Through my research, I have found that getting a job can be beneficial for mental health if you don't go overboard on the hours. Professionals recommend no more than 15 hours per week and creating a prioritized schedule to help balance the workload. Universities have a responsibility to create mental health programs to support their students in all aspects of their education.

• 

  Calling Back Cursive

  Kari Thompson

  Research into the importance of cursive writing in elementary schools and whether it should still be taught. Research was conducted using library and internet recourses to locate both primary and secondary research. The conclusion was that cursive writing is most beneficial when introduced before the third grade. Cursive is easy to learn because it follows children's natural movement during brain development. Students that learn cursive perform better at spelling and written communication than those who do not. Cursive writing promotes memory retention and higher motor skills. This type of penmanship should be implemented in elementary school curriculum.

• 

  Who is Helping the Rural Poor?

  Kylee Tidwell

  In the proposed qualitative study, investigators sought to understand the ways in which impoverished residents in rural areas with few nonprofits meet their basic needs (e.g., hunger, housing, utilities). The findings of the proposed study will identify potential social service gaps in rural areas, while also drawing attention to non-traditional organizations who are providing assistance outside of their specific missions.

• 

  Dating Apps: Proceed With Caution

  Jenna Tolman

  Dating apps are becoming increasingly more prevalent in the lives of many. This led me to ask, do dating apps lead to success for all groups of people, and what defines success for these people? To conduct this research I looked for sources in a variety of online databases, looking for both primary and secondary sources on the success rates and outcomes of using dating apps. I also used my own personal experiences with dating apps. Research for this topic was done through online databases and search engines. Through my research, exploring all sides of dating apps and taking into account personal and other shared experiences of many, I found that an individual's experience on dating apps is based much on what they want and are looking for, but that doesn't always guarantee a successful long term relationship or that you won't be faced with forms of harassment. If a person finds themselves on a dating app, they should proceed with caution. Many people, but especially minorities experience forms of harassment on dating apps. While some may be looking for a long term relationship, others are looking for a casual hookup which can make it hard for an individual to navigate. To further my research, I would like to look into more of the differences between men and women on these apps, and how the increase in hookup culture and harassment affects each gender.

• 

  The Continuing Value of 20th Century Modernist Architecture

  Mattheus Wardle

  20th century modernist architecture has begun to age in the 21st century, and the debate of its preservation has begun as well. As the defining architectural style of the 1920s through the 1970s, modernism displayed progressive materials and ideas of the time. In its application, however, it often mirrored the societal injustices it was meant to solve. This project analyzes the various characteristics of modernist architecture and their lasting importance. By looking at the theory surrounding modernism and specific built examples, I argue that the interactions between the style and society provides a way to understand how the built environment amplifies injustice. This understanding allows creates pathway to the development of a more equitable built environment in the 21st century.

• 

  The Commercialization of Space

  Benjamin Weaver

  There have been many advances in space and its research recently. With the increase of rocket launches over the years and a more concrete emphasis in space reasearch. NASA has been planning on replacing once of its most influential satellites, the International Space Station, with Commercial Low-Earth-Orbit Destinations (CLDs) which plan on opening space to a greater commercial market. This study aims to understand whether this transfer to CLDs will be good. Research was conducted using library and internet resources to locate both primary and secondary research related to the International Space Station, CLDs, and the future plans that NASA has created. Analysis has shown that there are many positives to the commercialization process and the negatives are being researched to resolve. An increase in research and technological development is shown and a new market with new innovations created by competition. The results say that the commercialization of space will have positive outcomes that will benefit humanity. Based on this, people should be less scared of this transition to CLDs. There will need to be continued awareness of the problems caused by increased commercialization, but new research and technologies are being developed to lessen these problems.

• 

  Schoolyard Activity of Children At Risk for Communication and/or Language Delays

  Mason Widdison

  INTRODUCTION Low parental education, hearing loss, premature birth, and several developmental disorders put children at risk for communication and/or language delays, which adversely affect social development and academic readiness. Our purpose was to characterize the outdoor free-play behaviors of children who are at risk of such delays to ultimately inform changes to the schoolyard environment which promote physical activity, social interaction, and language development. METHODS Children (N=16) in preschool or kindergarten who are at risk for communication and/or language delays were observed for a single day, which included one or two 30-minute recess periods, depending on whether the child attended for a half (n=7) or full (n=9) day. A direct observation protocol based on the Observational System for Recording Activity in Children and the Play Observation Scale was used wherein the focal child was observed for 5-sec, then data were recorded for 25-sec, resulting in one observation per 30-sec. Outcomes included physical activity level, type, context, group composition, play type, and conversation. RESULTS Children spent 61% of observations in total physical activity with walking (23%) and open space (48%) as the most common activity type and context, respectively. Most observations (79%) occurred in a social setting, primarily in a group with an adult (31%). Children engaged in functional play for 68% of the observations while 31% of observations included conversation. DISCUSSION Children's play was mostly social and active, similar to prior research in children without risk for communication and/or language delays. These data will be used to inform program-specific changes to the schoolyard environment. Similar observations conducted indoors could inform classroom redesign strategies

• 

  Reversing the Gaze: Using Indigenous and Western Media Frames to Compare Coverage of Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples in the News Media

  Eric Wilkes

  The news media acts as an important conduit for shaping societal views of the socio-politics of climate change. While climate change will indeed affect everyone, it will not affect everyone equally. Indigenous peoples are among the populations whose well-being is threatened the most by climate change. International scholarship finds it is not uncommon for Indigenous cultures, communities, and perspectives to be underrepresented and misrepresented in Western climate change media. Research also indicates that fair Indigenous representation occurs when Indigenous peoples are the authors of news articles themselves. We performed a comparative content analysis of media coverage of climate change, environmental issues, and Indigenous peoples during 2020 and 2021 using novel Indigenous and Western deductive coding frameworks we created informed by Tribal Critical Race Theory and other literature and theory in these respective areas. To exemplify the utility of these coding frameworks,we evaluated the differences in discussions of climate change and environmental issues in news articles from two Indigenous news publications, Indian Country Today and Navajo Times, and two Western news publications, The New York Times and The Salt Lake Tribune. Our findings indicate that Indigenous news outlets commonly engage Western environmental worldviews, but primarily in the context of problematizing Western environmental practices, and by necessity of Western worldviews' hegemony in the United States. Conversely, Western publications engage Indigenous environmental worldviews, when they do, to highlight the urgency of environmental problems and elucidate the Indigenous perspective of a problem, but negligibly in the context of positioning solutions toenvironmental problems. Creating and utilizing theory-informed Indigenous media frames challenges the recurrent Western gaze on Indigenous peoples within academia. This content analysis contributes to a better understanding of Indigenous and Western worldviews and the media, settler colonialism, and climate change from Indigenous and Western perspectives. Overall, this research responds to a critical call for sociologists to engage more deeply with settler colonialism, Indigenous issues, and intersectional environmental justice.

• 

  Isolation of Bacterial and Fungal Microbes From the Rhizosphere of Shepherdia utahensis 'Torrey'

  Ty Wilson and Katie Hewitt

  My presentation is on the Isolation of Bacterial and Fungal Microbes from the Rhizosphere of Shepherdia x utahensis 'Torrey' also known as Hybrid Buffaloberry. Hybrid Buffaloberry is a combination between two varieties native to the Intermountain West: Shepherdia argentea, a highly drought tolerant variety, and Shepherdia rotundifolia, a common more aesthetically pleasing variety. Both native varieties are well documented to have nodule forming microbes that help aid their development in such harsh conditions. We acquired our Rhizosphere sample by shaking the roots and nodules from our sample in a phosphate buffer and serially diluted it to a useful concentration. We then spread the dilution on five different media, each with a different isolation objective. From each media, we selected unique looking microbes and isolated them using the streak plate method. We will be testing each of these microbes for their effect on plant growth as well as for other plant promoting traits, such as Nitrogen fixation, Phosphate solubilization, Siderophore production, and Indole Acetic Acid production. We also hope to work towards understanding what causes nodule growth as well as discover how to induce their growth in other plant varieties.

• 

  Love and Support is All They Need!

  Krysten Yoho

  What skills are needed to teach students with disabilities? Well, because I am going into the special education field for a career, I wanted to find some examples of skills to help me further expand my knowledge of needed skills. In my literature review, I was looking online at sources of previous special educators and their personal experiences and the skills they used in a special education classroom. After evaluating these sources, I found the most common and necessary skills needed to teach students that have disabilities are, love and unconditional support. Though there are many other skills that are needed to teach these students, as teachers we need to show our students that we love and support them no matter what.