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About the Collection
The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) provides students with the opportunity to present their research at three annual undergraduate research symposia. This collection contains slides from student lightning talks.
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The COVID-19 Pandemic and Work From Home 2019-2021
Maryam Raja, Caitlin J. Saladino, and William E. Brown Jr.
12-1-2023Research Background and Methods: The ACS reports that by 2021 around 27.6 million individuals (17.9% of workers) worked from home. Pandemic affected commuting patterns and workplace systems.
Research Findings: The data presented in Table 1 account for all workers aged 16 and above. Among Mountain West states, Nevada reported the smallest percentage of home-based workers in both 2019 (tied with Colorado) and 2021. Table 2 presents population data for Mountain West MSAs with populations of 1 million or more and percentage of home-based workers with a margin of error in both 2019 and 2021.
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Auto-tracking Techniques for Defining Hip-joint articulation with Biplanar X-ray
Ethan Yamamoto, Ike Brown, and Kennedy Wharton
4-28-2023Canine hip dysplasia (CHD) provides a tractable and potentially predictive model for human hip dysplasia and OA. CHD can be identified by assessing the joint laxity, femoral head coverage and wear on the hip joint. The goal is to develop an understanding of the intraarticular mechanics of the hip joint and how hip-joint dysfunction impacts these mechanics. To achieve our goal, we needed to develop a system to track the hip joint.
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Foster Youth in the Mountain West
Zachary Billot
12-9-2022Number of children adopted from foster care vs. waiting to be adopted from foster care in the Mountain West, FY2020
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Adolescent Athlete Perceptions of Gender Differences in Coaching
Ivannia Cabrera
12-9-2022How is the preference for coaching intertwined with sports? Do athletes differ in their perceptions of having a male or female coach? Is there an obvious preference between the genders? What kind of behaviors are associated with each gender?
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Analyzing Hippocampus Based Behavior in Model Mice
Tiria Carr
12-9-2022Model organism must discern between familiar and novel stimuli after delay. Hippocampal dependent processes involved in spatial pattern recognition. Latency in trial responses and reward collection is measured, as well as trial accuracy.
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Retroviral Protease (RVP) DDI2 is a Viable Alternative for Full-Length (FL) DDI2
Ethan Chi
12-9-2022Proteasome inhibitors are drugs used to treat multiple myeloma. Currently, three are approved by the FDA.
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Influenza and Wastewater Surveillance
Tiffany Familara, Hayley Baker, Anthony Harrington, and Ching-Lan Chang
12-9-2022Quantitative PCR led to identification of influenza A viral RNA at three schools in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Streaming's Effect on American Media Exports
Aviel Geronimo and Jonathan Swanberg
4-27-2022The Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry is largest in the United States with a total value of $660 Billion in 2020. The global M&E industry is valued at approximately $2 Trillion. New technologies have allowed for the advent of streaming services for music, television, film, books, video games, and more. Streaming services allow media exports to be easily accessed by consumers domestically and abroad.
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Quantification of SARS-CoV-2 Prevalence Using Wastewater Surveillance
Moonis Ghani, Hayley Baker, Nabih Ghani, Anthony Harrington, and Ching-Lan Chang
12-9-2022SARS-CoV-2 RNA was successfully detected in the wastewater samples. PMMoV concentrations varied little, meaning it was a valid control. The diversity of SARS-CoV-2 concentrations indicated varying levels of infection within different parts of the community. PCR and WGS can help determine viral load and identify variants.
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Correctional Spending and Sexual Violence in State Prisons
Suzanne Lara
4-27-2022Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA). Nevada PREA Coordinator Marissa Pons. Sexual Violence: Nonconsensual behavior or act of sexual nature by Staff to an Incarcerated individual. Attempted, Completed, Threatened, Requested.
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Interrelation on Cultural and Culinary Differences of Two Country Borders: The Mexican Immigrant
Merci Silva-Acosta
4-27-2022Background and Methodology: Culinary CustomsCultural Traits
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The Fiscal Impact of Marsy's Law: A Financial Analysis of Victims' Rights Policy in Nevada
Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio
12-9-2022Since 2008, the "Marsy's Law" campaign has sought to embed in state constitutions a specific and lengthy set of victims' rights. In 2018, voters ratified "Question 1" in Nevada which broaded the definition of the term victim to any person directly and 'proximately' harmed by a criminal offense. As a result, Marsy's Law opens the door to the interpretation of the word "crime" and the word "victim."
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Predicting the Next Pandemic: Utilizing wastewater-based epidemiology as a novel technique for detecting mpox DNA
Austin Tang, Michael Moshi, Hayley Baker, and Ching-Lan Chang
12-9-2022Mpox cases are trending downward in Las Vegas, aligning with national trends. The study demonstrates that it is possible to extract mpox DNA directly from wastewater and quantify the genetic material using qPCR. This research indicates that WBE can be utilized to give a relative abundance of virual nucleic acids in wastewater, giving opportunities for early-warning systems and other public health interventions. Mpox remains a global threat to public health, continued surveillance of MPXV using wastewater is necessary to ensure that we can detect unusual spike in viral DNA level. Mpox detected in the wastewater samples will be sequences to check for potential mutations in the genome.
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Nucleic Acid Extraction of Human Immunodeficiency Virus from Municipal Wastewater
Fritz Vanderford, Hayley Baker, and Ching-Lan Chang
12-9-2022In 2021, globally there were ~ 38.4 million people living with Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), ~650,000 people died from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) related illnesses, ~1.5 million people acquired HIV. In the US, ~1.9 million people had HIV at the end of 2019, ~30,635 people were diagnosed with HIV in 2020.
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Urban and Community Tree Cover in the Mountain West
Annie Vong
12-9-2022Tree Cover: provides shade, absorbs carbon, e.g. trees and bushes. Impervious Cover: absorbs heat, e.g. concrete and buildings.
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Food Insecurity in Nevada
Zachary Walusek
12-9-2022Defining the Food Insecurity Landscape, Methodology, Findings
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How Social Media Marketing Impacts the Economy
Madisen Yoder
4-27-2022Survey Question Topics: 1. Respondent Demographics 2. Social Media Platform Usage 3. Frequency of Social Media Advertising 4. Influence of Social Media Advertising on Purchasing Decisions
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Why Are My Rates Going Up? An Examination Behind NV Energy's Recent Electric Rate Increase
Grace Zielinski
12-9-202296% of Nevadans live in NV Energy's service territory. Rate increase directly connected to natural gas consumption rate increase. Recent Californian heatwave raised demand for Natural Gas, straining supply and increasing prices. NV Energy does not make profit over recent increase. Electric rate increase implemented to cover the Natural Gas price increase.
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Effects of Recycled Asphalt Binder on the Viscosity of Recycled Binder and Mixtures
Abdulrahman Alahdal and Moses Karakouzian Ph.D.
11-15-2021Asphalt pavement is a combination of materials that are typically used in the construction of roads, highways, airports, parking lots, etc. Asphalt pavement consists of asphalt binder, mineral filler, and a mixture of aggregates such as crushed rocks, sand, slags, and gravel. These components are produced with a great deal of energy which results in significant CO2 emissions. In this study, the viscosity of virgin and reclaimed asphalt binders, as well as reclaimed asphalt binders and virgin asphalt binders’ mixtures, are examined according to the testing protocol and specifications of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Results from this study will allow reclaimed asphalt to be used in asphalt mixtures to the greatest extent possible. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions directly increase as asphalt production grows. As a result of studying the effects, we will be able to increase the proportion of reclaimed asphalt pavement used in new asphalt pavement mixtures, which in turn will decrease the yearly CO2 emissions.
To maximize asphalt pavement's strength and resistance, it is crucial to maintain its viscosity, since asphalt binder is responsible for holding aggregate together. We found that the viscosity of the mixtures containing 5 to 30% reclaimed asphalt binder decreased linearly as the percentage of reclaimed asphalt binder increased. Despite this, specimens with 30 to 50% reclaimed asphalt binder show an increasing viscosity as the amount of reclaimed asphalt binder increases. Accordingly, reclaimed asphalt should account for approximately 5-30% of the total mix of asphalt.
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Visualizing the Southern Nevada Homelessness Crisis
Vanessa Marie Booth and William Brown Ph.D.
11-15-2021Presented in this policy study, is an in-depth analysis of the growing Homelessness Crisis occurring across the state of Nevada while focusing on the state of play scenario that the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area presents. The data synthesized in this study primarily focuses on predicted homelessness rates, the current scope of the homelessness crisis, housing affordability, accessibility to poverty alleviation services, alongside notable policy recommendations. The scope of the study calls into question the funding formula and allocations of federal funds to solve the current homelessness crisis. Research methodologies in this study include but are not limited to, several mixed-methods like policy data analysis, data interpretation, observations, and archival research. The findings of this study indicate that immediate policy remedies/solutions are needed to alleviate the exacerbating homelessness crisis in Southern Nevada.
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A Study on Improvement of Mobile App for UNLV: Campus Safety Protocol in User Experience
Mayra Carrera, Mustafa Diallo, Cecilia Garcia-Leon, Khristine Le, Kristine Monsada, and Sang-Duck Seo Ph.D.
11-15-2021According to The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), an average of 28,000 crimes were reported on college campuses across the United States in 2019. However, while many universities offer services to help students stay safe while on campus, students continue to feel unsafe.
The University of Nevada Las Vegas’s (UNLV) proximity to the Las Vegas Strip causes campus to be vulnerable to crime. While UNLV offers students safety resources through their campus safety app, ‘RebelSafe,’ we found that only a small percentage of UNLV students actually use the app and wanted to pinpoint why. Thus, we focused our research on improving the usability and User Experience (UX) of this existing campus safety application by redesigning the app and conducting usability tests with the redesign.
To test the effectiveness of the new redesign, our empirical study consists of three tasks for participants to execute: contacting police, requesting safety escorts, and accessing other safety resources. The findings from the usability testing help us analyze the difficulties users experience from the prototype. They also help us determine areas that are working and areas that need improvement.
By focusing on the improvement of the existing UNLV RebelSafe mobile app, this study intends not only to specify an effective user interface design that fits into emergency protocol procedure but also to clarify the campus safety resources through a single mobile application.
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The Joestar Spirit: How the Protagonists of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Embody Key Traits of the Hero
Tracy Fuentes and Amy M. Green Ph.D.
11-15-2021Despite how much anime has grown in popularity over the decade and even more so this past year, studies on animes outside of Studio Ghibli’s filmography remain minimal compared to the large amount of content available today. The complexity and artistry presented in anime make them worthy of literary analysis, and the anime Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is no exception to this. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure spans five parts consisting of different storylines, each with its own protagonist. This paper seeks to explore the anime Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure as a literary work, and specifically examine how the characters compare to the typical hero and portrayals of masculinity. This character analysis argues that although the five protagonists of the anime are drastically different in personality and character, they all possess four basic traits of a hero: selflessness, bravery, a strong sense of justice, and the ability to succeed alone. Using the words of the creator of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Hirohiko Araki; evidence from the anime; and research on heroes and Japanese culture, this paper demonstrates how the five characters exemplify these heroic traits.
