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  Perceptual Learning of Infants Across Domains

  Melanie Garcia, Carolina A. Herrera, Ryan K. Perez, Rodica R. Constantine, and Erin E. Hannon

  Infancy is a unique developmental period in which there is rapid attunement of perceptual systems to specific environmental properties. Perceptual narrowing: By the end of the first year, infants become adept processors and develop expertise of familiar socially meaningful domains such as faces, language, and music leading to subsequent social and cognitive abilities. The mechanisms driving these perceptual changes remain debated, with contrasting accounts proposing experience-dependent or domain-general influences. Objective: This research aims to investigate whether perceptual narrowing in early development is primarily driven by domain-specific experiences or by domain-general factors such as brain maturation and information processing.

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  The Application of Single-Cell RNA-Sequencing Data Analysis to Assess Changes in Gene Expression

  Mark Vincent Gatan and Hazel Jane Cadiz

  Human diseases can be analyzed by studying the dysregulation of gene expression. This can be applied to: Alzheimer’s disease (AD), age-related changes in immune cells and neurons, and COVID-19. We sought to develop an scRNA-seq bioinformatics pipeline that would support future studies on gene expression in AD.

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  Does Children’s Openness to Experience and Musicality Influence Perception of Major and Minor Musical Modes?

  Bryanna Grijalva, Natalya Sayegh, Carlos Tamayo tamayc4@unlv.nevada.edu, Ryan K. Perez, Sivan Barashy, and Solena Mednicoff

  Previous studies have found a relationship between openness to experience, musical training, and auditory abilities in adults. Openness to experience: one of the major personality traits that encapsulates how open-minded, creative, insightful, and imaginative a person can be. Tonality: the orientation of melodies and harmonies toward a referential pitch class. Musicality: one’s enthusiasm for music and desire to make music.

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  Listener’s Judgement of Tempo Is Influenced by Dance Speed

  Carolina A. Herrera, Ryan K. Perez, Jared W. Leslie, and Erin E. Hannon

  The tempo of a musical composition is typically denoted by the number of beats per minute (BPM). Nevertheless, perception of tempo is inherently subjective, and it can be shaped by the listener's familiarity with both musical and dance elements [1, 2, 3, 4]. Even when songs have the same BPM, the perceived speed of the songs can differ based on the specific dance form and cultural context [1, 4]

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  Social Media Marketing Related to Nike

  Felipe Herrera

  This research examines positive and negative attitudes about social media marketing within Nike. Understanding consumer attitudes about social media marketing is important because it affects our lives every day and we are exposed to it on a regular basis. Previous research about this product category showed that there are new tactics Nike is using to expand business, how the pandemic affected usage of social media, and the percentages of apps being used by adults in the last year. I conducted three netnography analyses by observing consumer groups on Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit social media platforms on Nike to understand consumer meanings related to this product category. I found that consumers choose to support Nike because of the risks that they take when promoting certain products or choosing to support certain individuals who may not be admired by everyone. Next, I will conduct surveys to examine consumer groups on Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit social media platforms on Nike. My research has the potential to provide insights to marketing managers in increasing traffic through certain platforms, seeing why people choose to stay loyal to certain brands, and how users interact with one another.

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  Sexual Abuse and Interpersonal Difficulties in Youth

  Priscilla Herrera and Kinsey Ellis

  Researchers have found childhood sexual abuse victimization to be associated with impairments in trust, social comfort, and quality of interpersonal relationships1,2,3. Research which investigates the unique relationship between sexual abuse and interpersonal difficulties among youth with a history of child maltreatment is limited. The present study aimed to investigate interpersonal functioning differences in maltreated youth who have and have not experienced sexual abuse.

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  Emotional Reactivity Predicts Dissociation in Maltreated Youth

  Jaelin Isquith and Kinsey Ellis

  The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR) defines dissociation as “disruption in the usually integrated functions of consciousness, memory, identity or perception of the environment”11. Dissociation most commonly occurs after a traumatic experience and can take many forms; Subtypes include dissociative amnesia, absorption and imaginative involvement, passive influence, and depersonalization and derealization. Dissociation has been linked to several negative outcomes such as increased risk for development of personality disorders, suicidal ideation, and self-harm2,3. Risk factors for dissociation have been understudied in child and adolescent populations. One factor that has been found to be related to severity of dissociative symptoms and negative outcomes is emotional dysregulation4,5. The relationship between specific aspects of emotional dysregulation and dissociation is understudied. Studies which consider specific aspects of emotional reactivity in youth are particularly limited.

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  State Government: A Comparison of Bicameral, Biennial, Citizen Legislatures

  Zachary J. Johnigan

  Governing agencies can be classified as either federal, state, or local. The Nevada Legislature is a state level governing body that provides governance for the state of Nevada. A large part of the process of governing the state takes place during a regular legislative session, where new laws are heard then passed or denied and old laws are revised or abolished. One regular legislative session consists of 120 calendar days. In the event that not all business was able to be conducted within a regular session, the governor of the state can call for a special session to be opened. A special session is typically not budgeted and ends up costing extra money to operate. There may be operational issues surrounding current regular session lengths and frequency which attribute to the Nevada Legislature needing to open so many special sessions. This topic is of interest for the Nevada Legislature’s stakeholders. The stakeholders are the citizens of the state of Nevada who pay taxes.

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  Finding Diffs of Pull Request Commits

  Chalinee Karawek and John Businge

  Github is a social network that allows developers' projects to be forked for various uses, such as developing the existing repository or use the code to steer development into a new direction. As more forks are made, the more bugs that can occur due to new pull requests not synchronizing with the upstream repository. PaReco is a clone detection tool by Ramkisoen et al. (Ramkisoen et al. 2022) that identifies the changes inside the files inside a pull request by performing diff on every file. However, in this study, we take a different approach to identifying the changes inside the files of a pull request by considering a diff in the entire pull request.

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  Music Enhances Focus and Concentration

  Daniyal Kheradmand

  This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the genre of music listened to and its impact on enhancing focus and concentration during puzzle-solving, as measured by completion time, across a diverse sample of individuals. The researcher, Daniyal Kheradmand, conducted the study at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) on a sample of 50 students and employees. Participants were required to solve two simple puzzles (9 pieces) while listening to their favorite music and without music. The time taken to complete each puzzle was recorded and compared. Results showed that 68% of participants completed the puzzle faster while listening to music. These findings suggest that listening to music, including one's favorite music, can improve concentration and enhance the learning process. The study emphasizes the importance of individual preferences when utilizing music as a tool to increase concentration.

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  Investigating the Impact of Dividing Attention on Auditory and Visual Object Memory

  Sharica Lee, Julius Hernandez, and Ryan Tyler Sablan sablar1@unlv.nevada.edu

  Recently, we found that dividing attention reduced recollection and familiarity for visual objects, but a different pattern emerged for auditory object memory: auditory object recollection was not affected by dividing attention. This could be attributable to differing levels of baseline performance with visual memory far exceeding auditory memory. Thus, we attempted to equate baseline performance in both modalities in order to adequately investigate the previous findings.

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  The Time Window of Reconsolidation: A Replication

  Mateo Marquez and Jessica Nguyen

  Reconsolidation is the process whereby activating a consolidated memory can bring it into a labile state where it can be strengthened, weakened, or updated. Hupbach et al., (2007) showed that memory updating is only found when the reconsolidation process has time to complete. This finding has been argued to be due to other memory processes (Sederberg et al., 2011). Before testing alternative explanations, the result needs to be replicated by an independent lab.

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  Reminders of Reconsolidation: Prediction Error vs. Spatial Context

  Mateo Marquez, Jessica Nguyen, and Augustine Alvarado

  Reconsolidation is the process whereby reactivating a consolidated memory can bring it into a labile state where it can be strengthened, weakened, or updated. Spatial context and prediction error (PE) are two ways that memories can be reactivated. Spatial context refers to being in the same-environmental setting during encoding and retrieval, whereas PE refers to the mismatch between expected and observed events. Both methods have successfully reactivated consolidated memories. However, it is unclear whether reconsolidation is affected by PE when it isolated in different spaces.

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  Are Socio-Cultural Factors Correlated With Breastfeeding Among Latina Mothers in Nevada?

  Marissa Martinez, Karen Farfan, and Luis Aceves

  Breastfeeding has many benefits for both mother and their child (e.g., lower rates of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, obesity, asthma, cardiovascular disease, etc.). Recent studies suggest that 93% of children born in Mexico are breastfed their child compared to 81.1% of Nevadan women reported breastfeeding their child. Previous studies suggest that socio-cultural factors such as socioeconomic status, education level, mother’s age, acculturation, cultural beliefs, and perceptions are associated with breastfeeding. Many studies have not use a validated acculturation measure.

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  Osteobiography of an Adolescent from Bronze Age (3146-3130 BP) Non Nok Tha, Thailand

  Thomas Monticello

  Osteobiography is suited to investigating the individual experiences of the Agricultural Transition. Non Nok Tha is an early agricultural site in Southeast Asia. Previous research argued that domestication of rice led to better health outcomes; however, this may not have been the case for all individuals.

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  Effects of Time-Restricted Exercise on Hypertrophy, Aerobic Adaptations, and Body Weight in Mice

  Greco Neblina, Elias M. Malek, Michael B. Dial, and Austin Cooper

  Sleep and circadian rhythms are shown to impact cellular and whole-body metabolism and exercise capacity. Mice experience adaptations (e.g., hypertrophy, increased time to exhaustion) as a result of voluntary aerobic exercise. Adaptations to aerobic exercise are influenced by the time of day at which exercise is performed due to alterations in transcriptional and translational processes that affect mitochondrial abundance. It is critical to examine the gross effects of exercise timing on metabolic adaptations and other adaptations to aerobic exercise. This knowledge can help athletes and coaches organize time-optimized training schedules and help clinicians improve patient outcomes through time-of-day related adaptations to clinical exercise regimens

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  Misophonia, ASMR, and Frisson Experience Predicted by Age, But Not Gender

  Kaela Omengan, Bryanna Grijalva, Natalya Sayegh, Carlos Tamayo, David Vollweiler, Solena Mednicoff, and Erin Hannon

  Misophonia: A disorder that shows low tolerance for specific sounds, often yielding reactions like anger and stress. Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): An affective sensation which elicits positive physiological responses. Musical frisson: Emotional response to music characterized by goosebumps, tingling sensations, or raised hair on the skin. Previous Literature: Potential links between misophonia, ASMR, and frisson; Higher emotional sensitivity in females.

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  Third-order Harmonic Generation in Few-Layer Graphene

  Nicholas T. Pereira, Timothy Chung, and Joshua O. Island

  Optical harmonic generation is a phenomena that occurs in nonlinear materials and can be used to study the properties of those materials. For example, the nonlinear response of layered, two-dimensional (2D) materials can be used to characterize flake thickness, lattice and stacking symmetries, and crystal strain. Here, we study third harmonic generation (THG) in graphene and few-layer graphite as a precursor to investigating nonlinear optical properties of other 2D materials. We present a custom scanning setup for optical harmonic generation and present our results on few-layer flakes. These results provide a solid basis for future measurements of other new 2D materials.

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  Perceived Tempo is Influenced by Embodied Dance Speed and Latin Dance Expertise

  Ryan K. Perez, Carolina A. Herrera, Melanie Garcia garcim81@unlv.nevada.edu, Miguel A. Castaño, and Jared W. Leslie

  Tempo is the speed of a piece of music and is measured in beats per minute (BPM). Tempo perception is subjective and may be influenced by the listener’s musical culture. Even for the same tempo, some dances are faster than others depending on the dance and culture. In the present study, we ask whether the speed of dance movements for a given song influences subjective perception of that song’s tempo among listeners with and without prior experience dancing to Latin music.

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  PFAS: A Threat to Public Health and Safety

  Ibrahim Qazi, Adriana Carrillo, Alexa Guloy guloya1@unlv.nevada.edu, Emily Moon, Rayan Muneer, Hien Tran, and Raiden Wadsworth

  Nonstick pots and pans, takeout containers, waterproof clothes: these are items that people use in their daily lives. A common denominator in all of these items lies PFAS, or Per- and Poly-Fluoroalkyl Substances. Our exposure to these chemicals has proven to be toxic and carcinogenic to human health. Despite the evidence of their harmful effects, many companies still continue to incorporate these forever chemicals into their products, thus prolonging their exposure to humans.

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  Understanding the Relationship Between Climate Change Anxiety, Hope, and Action: A Moderation Analysis

  Jin Qian, Daniela Alvarez, Ishrat Zaman ishratzaman@u.boisestate.edu, and Yuhan Bi

  Climate change affects all species on Earth, and immediate action is required to mitigate these negative effects. Purpose of this study: to explore whether climate change anxiety moderates the relationship between hope and action.

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  Do Age, Musical Training, and Multilingualism Contribute to Misophonia, ASMR, and Frisson Experiences?

  Riley Ramos, Kayla Daugherty, Haley Yanez, Joseph Altamirano, David Vollweiler, Solena Mednicoff, and Erin Hannon

  Misophonia: intense negative reactions to sounds such as chewing or pen clicking. Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): positive tingling sensation to triggering auditory and visual stimuli. Frisson: Positive response (chills, teary eyes) to music or other emotionally charged experiences.

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  General Chemistry Students’ Perceptions of Remote/Online V. In-Person Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic

  Sabeeka Raza and Abigale Ly

  As a result of the sudden nationwide lockdowns that occurred in March of 2020, many universities rapidly shifted to remote instruction. This complete and rapid transformation of the education system is one that is historically unparalleled. Professors and instructors were forced to adapt their lessons and exams to an online format within a matter of weeks (Rupnow et al., 2020). Students were forced to adjust to a remote learning environment, which was accompanied by the challenges of adopting new learning strategies in an environment isolated from peers and professors (Simon et al., 2020). While many classes have now shifted back to the traditional classroom environment, there are still many classes that are offered online at most institutions. In the current study, we interviewed general chemistry students who had recent experience with both in-person and remote learning in order to identify, from the students’ perspectives, how instruction can be modified to support meaningful learning and engagement in their future chemistry classes, whatever their format (Closs et al., 2021).

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  The Relationship Between School Refusal Behavior and Executive Functions

  Christina Saliba, Shreyas Bhat, Karina R. Carrillo-Juárez carrik7@unlv.nevada.edu, and Randolph Dupont

  School refusal is a pressing issue that impacts children throughout the United States. School Refusal behaviors can be attributed to four distinct reasons: avoiding school because it induces negative emotions (ANA), avoiding social or evaluative situations (ESE), seeking attention from others (AGB), and pursuing rewards outside of the school environment (PTR) (Kearney, 2002). Executive functions are mechanisms that monitor and regulate cognitive processes and tasks. These include problem-solving, working memory, attention, and inhibition. Executive functions can be linked with various aspects of school achievement and cognitive development in children and adolescents (Sosic-Vasic, 2017). Previous research has shown that kindergarteners who struggled with school refusal and absenteeism displayed lower levels of executive functioning than those who did not, as absence from school resulted in lower optimal working memory and lower cognitive flexibility (Gottfried, 2022). This study hypothesizes that the severity of reasons for school refusal would negatively predict executive functioning.

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  Different Canopy Covers Effect Microclimate: How the Urban Heat Island Effect Can Be Reduced in Las Vegas

  Melanie Sanchez and Alison Sloat

  The purpose of my research was to investigate the effects that different canopy covers have on desert cities microclimates and how the City of Las Vegas can implement the best techniques to reduce temperatures in the hottest parts of town. I collected data on the different temperatures in two separate parts of the city (East Las Vegas, Midtown UNLV area) in one-hour intervals during two and three in the afternoon and surveyed four different areas on its tree canopy coverage. I also analyzed scientific peer reviewed studies which helped me see what other arid cities, like Phoenix, AZ, have done to minimize their Urban Heat Island effect and whether we should implement those same techniques in Las Vegas. In my research I found that temperatures on the East side of town were on average 5° F hotter than the UNLV area and that the UNLV area has a 26% higher canopy coverage than the East Las Vegas area. These results indicate that the area of UNLV is generally cooler than East Las Vegas because of increased canopy coverage and taller buildings. To reduce temperatures in the East Las Vegas Valley, we must ease the incorporation of photovoltaics in parking lots, the planting of trees and knowledge of where to place them, and the involvement of citizens in cooling their neighborhoods.