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  Musical Chills: The Effect of Age and Musical Ability

  Isabella Aceituno, Erin Hannon, and Solena Mednicoff

  Musical chills mark a peak emotional response to music, characterized by goosebumps, tingling sensations down the back, and raised hair on the skin. Previous research has connected musical chills to changes in music such as crescendos, the entrance of new voices or instruments, unexpected harmonies, or changes in acoustic features. Knowledge of musical structures, such as key and harmony, develop from infancy to adulthood. If children’s musical expectations change with age, so too might their emotional musical experiences.

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  The Effect of Sleep and Emotion on Pattern Separation

  Sarah Al-Shimary and Alanna Osmanski

  The relationship between sleep and memory has been a topic of interest in psychology for decades. Prior research demonstrates that the sleep state is an optimal time for memory consolidation to occur, most commonly through a model known as active systems consolidation. A widely accepted view of emotion is that sleep preferentially consolidations emotional over neutral material. Recent meta-analyses of sleep, emotion, and memory have suggested that this effect may not be as robust as we once thought. A new way to investigate the relationship between sleep and memory consolidation of emotional stimuli is with a pattern separation task known as the Mnemonic Familiarity Task (MST).

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  Synthesis of Novel Disulfide Triazole Organophosphate Containing Fire Retardants

  Parsa Asaei and Jun Yong Kang

  Fire Retardants (FR) play a pivotal role in reducing smoke plume generation in wildland fires, which coincides with one of NSF EPSCoR’s HDRFS project objectives: investigating smoke plume dynamics. With the San Antonio Statement from 2010 banning halogenated FRs, there has been a push in research towards safer and better alternatives. The synthesis of a novel disulfide triazole organophosphate fire retardant (DSTP) would aid in NSF EPSCoR’s HDRFS research as a greener and better alternative. Therefore, our research aimed to i) develop a novel FR that harnesses the synergistic effects of phosphate-, disulfide-, and triazole-functionality that can be applied to mitigate wildland fires and ii) to study the effect of these FRs on the reduction of smoke plumes.

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  Positive and Negative Attitudes Towards Skincare Products

  Jordan Rachelle Barcenas and Jessica Herrera

  Understanding consumer attitudes about skincare products. Rise in skincare products from COVID. More demand for higher quality products. Examine price sensitivity, brand exclusivity, positive results, and clean ingredient preferences.

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  A Study on the Development of a Self-Motivation App to Increase Motivation in College Students

  Paige Barker, Nathan Guerrero, and Kyla Sannadan sannadan@unlv.nevada.edu

  In 2021, the Healthy Mind Network published data which found a consistent decline in the mental health of college students. Mental health struggles is a major factor in lack of motivation in college students. Motivational smart phone applications are prevalent, but there is a lack of applications offering motivation to college students specifically. We hypothesized that a smartphone app geared toward motivating students could positively influence student motivation. To test this hypothesis, we designed and prototyped a new app we call “ Groove”, inspired by the phrase “getting into the groove” which ties in with the notion of productivity or getting started in doing a task.

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  How Method and Usage of Coffee Relate to Consumer Attitudes

  Vince Benedetto, Jocelyn Perez, and James Iwatsubo iwatsj1@unlv.nevada.edu

  Coffee is a staple in many American’s daily routines, with popularity growing globally ever year. User's consume coffee for a multitude of reasons including, health benefits, increasing productivity, social and cultural rituals, and pleasure. Regular coffee users prefer specific methods of sourcing their beverages. Consumer attitudes affect purchasing behavior and provide valuable insights for marketers.

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  Municipal Waste in Southern Nevada: Understanding the Obsession with Garbage

  Zachary Billot

  Southern Nevada’s reliance on inexpensive disposal of waste results in lack of support for sustainable investment in waste diversion programs. Clark County lags significantly behind the US in terms of its municipal waste diversion due to problems related to the collection of materials and incentive for collection, limited institutionalized food waste collection programs, monopolization of waste management, as well as substantial rates of contamination of recyclable materials compared nationally. This proposal recommends a multifactor approach.

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  A Genetic Screen for Metabolic Modulators in Drosophila melanogaster

  Victoria Campos, Logan Kazimer, Brandon Polimeni, Katelyn Niswonger, and Matthew Meiselman

  When environments become unfavorable, to preserve energy, animals will attenuate reproduction and limit growth. This evolutionary strategy requires perceiving and assessing a complex environment, a long-standing role of the nervous system. However, the nervous system’s control over endocrine states remains a monumental challenge. Here, we propose to exploit the genetic accessibility and cellular resolution readily found in Drosophila melanogaster, to fully explore how the brain controls metabolic and reproductive states. This project relies on the Meiselman Lab’s established unbiased neural activation screen, which located new neural circuits that participate in metabolic control. The project proposes the use of the split Gal-4 UAS system, which will isolate both the activation domain (AD) and DNA-binding domain (DBD) of two separate genetic lines in Drosophila melanogaster. When two lines are bred, the temperature-sensitive cation channel known as TrpA1 is expressed ectopically only within neurons labeled by both lines. The TrpA1 channel opens when specimens are incubated at a temperature beyond 25 Celsius. The activation of the TrpA1 channel depolarizes neurons and stimulates synaptic release (Karashima 2009). It is expected that following a 48-hour incubation period in which females reach sexual maturity, a reduction of the number of eggs produced inside ovaries will be observed if the activated neurons are responsible for arresting metabolism. To visualize the newly identified, restricted set of neurons, immunohistochemistry was used. Utilizing this methodology, we aim to find new neurons that are responsible for controlling both metabolic and reproductive states.

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  Comparing Measures of Discourse Deficits in Individuals with TBI and CVA

  Amanda Carper and André Lindsey

  Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and cerebrovascular accidents (CVA), otherwise known as strokes, can both result in discourse deficits. The present study compares the narrative discourse of individuals with CVA to individuals with TBI. This study aims to (1) determine potential diagnostic differences and (2) identify any consistent symptoms that may best guide treatment.

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  The Possible Neurobiological Mechanisms Influencing PTSD According to Previous Research: A Review

  Tiria Carr and Collen M. Parks

  Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD is a mental health condition that's triggered by either experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event. According to the National Center for PTSD, approximately six out of one hundred people (six percent) in the United States report to have suffered PTSD either currently or. This experiment aimed to: Explore the different behavior and brain measures used to evaluate the extent of neurological change that brains with PTSD suffer; Review different experimental procedures; Aims to express a theoretical experiment from the data collected; Hypothesize an effective experimental procedure for measuring neurological change in subjects suffering from PTSD.

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  Sense of Relatedness from Racial Groups within Maltreated Youth

  Jessica Castillo and Jaelin Isquith

  Sense of relatedness is a crucial factor in the development of meaningful interpersonal relationships (Datu, 2017). Interpersonal relationships have demonstrated a significant impact on how individuals cope with their environment (Yulina et al., 2021). Youth in low socioeconomic environments are at higher risk of being exposed to unstable relationships which further increases this vulnerable population to learning ineffective interpersonal skills throughout their lifespan (Colman & Wisdom, 2004). Youth from marginalized groups have higher risk at experiencing negative life experiences, for example economic inequalities, heightened distress, systemic oppression, and economic inequalities (Hatch & Dohrenwend, 2007). Previous research has suggested African-American individuals experience a higher rate of stressors than whites, regardless of socioeconomic status due to systemic oppression and racism (Hatch & Dohrenwend, 2007). Increased traumatic experiences including racism and discrimination may place BIPOC individuals at increased risk for interpersonal difficulties (Umberman et al., 2016).

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  Injury Inequity Among Nevada Pedestrians: Assessment Using Measurements of Community Needs

  Merika Charupoom; Nicole Bacani; Emily Carter; Emily Strickler; Laura K. Gryder; Kavita Batra; and Deborah A. Kuhls MD, FACS

  In 2020, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that Nevada was the 10th highest ranking in pedestrian fatality rates. According to a report by Zero Fatalities, in 2021, there were 84 pedestrian deaths. Underserved communities, the elderly, and low income individuals are more likely to use walking, biking, or public transportation as a primary means of transportation due to vehicle expenses. Older adults, racial/ethnic minorities and those with lower socioeconomic statuses (SES) may bear a disproportionate burden of auto-pedestrian crashes.

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  Comparison of Molecular Methods for Absolute Quantification of Low-Abundant Bacterial Communities in Milk

  Carmina Chavez, Janet E. Williams, Michelle K. McGuire, and Mark A. McGuire

  Milk was historically thought to be generally sterile. However, use of culture-dependent and culture-independent methods has provided strong evidence that milk has a microbiome (Figure 1). Culture-independent methods (e.g., high-throughput sequencing) have demonstrated the diversity of microbes in milk but provide relative abundance data. Culture-dependent methods have indicated microbial communities in milk are of low abundance, but it is challenging to measure absolute quantities accurately. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) has been used to quantify bacterial taxa in milk, However, concentrations often fall below the detection limit (Figure 2 & 3). Digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) allows detection of low-abundant copies of DNA due to its high sensitivity (Figure 4).

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  A Timeline of Klinefelter’s Syndrome, XXY

  Emma Chevalier, Tyler Venegas, and Mary Salibi

  Klinefelter Syndrome (KS) is a non-mendelian chromosomal disorder consisting of supernumerary X chromosomes in males, 80% of which manifest as the 47,XXY karyotype. The resulting gene dosage abnormalities affect both cognitive and physical development, with variable expressivity. The disease was first described by Harry Klinefelter in 1942 and was thought to be an endocrine disorder until the late 1950s, when karyotyping of affected individuals revealed an extra X chromosome.

  (It is the most common sex chromosome aneuploidy (1:500 males) and the most common cause of azoospermia. The phenotype for KS is highly contested due to its extremely variable expressivity and the extreme heterogeneity in its clinical and genetic presentation.

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  The Role of Prediction Error in Episodic Memory

  Natalie Chisam and Natalie Hsiao

  Prediction Error and Memory: Memory encoding and retention is influenced by prediction errors (PE), which occur when observed events deviate from expectations. Predictive Based Theories: Several theories have been proposed to predict how PE influences memory.

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  The Analysis of Wartime Rape Using Postmodern Feminism in The Conflicts of Sierra Leone 1991, Bosnia-Herzegovina 1992, Darfur 2003

  Allyssa Chua

  The practice of wartime rape has occurred from the ancient times until the present with the United Nations reporting about 2,542 confirmed cases of conflict-related sexual violence in 2020. Estimates tend to be significantly higher, with UNICEF estimating 250,000 rape cases in Sierra Leone’s civil war. Women and girls are disproportionately and deliberately targeted compared to men and boys in sexual violence. This paper uses a postmodern feminist framework in analyzing wartime rape. It contends that the phallocentrism allows rape to become a language of masculine dominance.

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  Youths’ Sense of Mastery Scores in Correlation to PTSD Criterion D Scores & Total PTSD-RI Scores

  Katherine Conklin and Amanda Mraz

  Childhood resilience levels impact the severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Resiliency is defined as a personal characteristic fostering effective coping, adaptive functional abilities, and motivation.

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  A Young Adult Male With a Neck Fracture from Bronze Age (3146-3130 BP) Non Nok Tha, Thailand

  Madelyn Cram

  Individual identity is shaped by experience. Trauma & illness �� Individual experience & identity. Bioarchaeology demonstrates the ability to explore how individual experiences manifests into unique identities for past peoples. This poster presents an osteobiography of a young adult male living with a whiplash fracture form Bronze Age Non Nok Tha, Thailand (3146-3130 BP).

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  Success in the Theme Park Industry

  Tyler Crowder, Jessica Jones, and Greg Lonnquist lonnqg1@unlv.nevada.edu

  We researched Disneyland Theme Park to determine what makes a theme park experience successful for consumers. This research examines positive and negative attitudes about Disneyland Theme Park in Anaheim, California.

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  Unique Marketing Struggles in Web3 Compared to Web2

  Vincent D'Ambrosia

  Web 2 is a technical term in reference to the internet as we know it today and focuses on social media and allowing people to interact better and communicate with each other. Web3 is the next evolution of the internet and its focus leans towards decentralization which aims to place more control of an individual’s data and finances into their own hands. Due to this decentralization, connecting with people is more difficult compared to Web2 communication outlets. NFTs are a common and popular product in Web3. While they come in many forms, the collectible market dominates NFTs and these can be compared to a Pokemon card minus the cardboard. Opensea is a popular centralized marketplace that facilitates buying and selling of NFTs. Web2 brands typically market value in their product to their audience whether it be entertainment or influencer value, a successful customer may be someone who recognizes enough worth in the product to spend money. Web3 brands are typically selling you personal ownership as part of the NFT. Many collections will have a set number for sale with each one being unique and the only one like it, which helps towards the perception of scarcity.

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  Sensitivity to Musical Groove is Predicted by Sensitivity to Musical Chills, but not General Musicality

  Nicole Datastanyan, Kaela Omengan, Isabella Aceituno aceituno@unlv.nevada.edu, Solena Mednicoff, and Sivan Barashy

  Previous research suggests that individual differences in musicality may predict groove sensitivity. Groovy music is highly stimulating music that makes listeners want to move while eliciting feelings of pleasure and arousal. Musicality refers to listeners’ affinity to music including musical talent, sophistication, and expertise. Frisson (musical chills) is an intense emotional response to music characterized by goosebumps or a tingling sensation.

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  Examining Differences in PTSD Symptomatology Among Youth Who Have Experienced Sexual and Psychological Maltreatment Using Nonparametric Analyses

  Emma Domschot and Vanni Jefferson V. Arcaina

  Child sexual abuse, even when accounting for co-occuring risk factors, may be predictive of worse clinical outcomes when comparing to other types of trauma (Kisiel et al., 2014). However, contrasting research suggests that psychological maltreatment may independently contribute to a negative risk of clinical outcomes comparable to child sexual abuse (Hodgon et al., 2014). Other studies suggest that complex trauma, in terms of experiencing prolonged and several traumas over a period of time, may often lead to an increased risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (John et al., 2019). The current study aimed to examine differences in PTSD symptomatology among youth who experience sexual maltreatment, psychological maltreatment, and both concurrently.

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  What made you Choose?

  Reyes Felix

  The social, revenue, and other differences between iPhones and Samsung phones are examined through netnography and literature reviews. Individuals were surveyed on their current and previous devices.

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  The Evolution of Racial Representation in Spider-Man Movies

  Janelle Ferraris

  Discusses the current evolution of racial representation in Spider-Man movies using content analysis with qualitative approach. Using plot, quotes, and character interactions, conclusions were made about current film limitations and possible future studies.

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  Can Reconsolidation Account for the Misinformation Effect?

  Olesya T. Frolova and Gabriel E. Hull

  A successful replication of Rindal & Zaragoza (2016) would indicate that reconsolidation cannot account for the misinformation effect. Current preliminary data supports the results found by the original study, suggesting that an alternative theory must be explored to explain the misinformation effect. For example, it is possible that the original memory is not altered by the misinformation but competes with the original memory leading to temporary inaccessibility at test. Results from this study could influence law enforcement interview techniques to avoid false testimonies. One limitation of the study is that performance on the test was potentially too good; this will be addressed in future studies.