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Factors Of Profitable Field Crop Selection, Jacob Thomas Briscoe

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Methods of crop selection are varied, depending on a variety of factors, including resources, climate, soil type, and potential marketability of the crop. This study utilizes a theoretical farm of one thousand farmable acres to estimate the costs and returns as well as the resources associated with cultivating, planting, irrigating, harvesting and selling the crop products. The theoretical farm is situated in southwest Idaho in any of the counties of Ada, Canyon, Elmore, Owyhee and Payette. The crops grown are typical of the area; the crops examined are field corn (Zea mays), alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and …

Spa47 Is An Oligomerization - Activated Type Three Secretion System (T3ss) Atpase From Shigella Flexneri, Jamie Lee Kingsford

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Gram-negative pathogens often use conserved type three secretion systems (T3SS) for virulence. The Shigella type three secretion apparatus (T3SA) penetrates the host cell membrane and provides a unidirectional conduit for injection of effectors into host cells. The protein Spa4 7 localizes to the base of the apparatus and is speculated to be an ATPase that provides the energy for T3SA formation and secretion. Here, we developed an expression and purification protocol, producing active Spa47 and providing the first direct evidence that Spa47 is a bona fide ATPase. Additionally, size exclusion chromatography and analytical ultracentrifugation identified multiple oligomeric species of Spa47 …

The Influence Of Prior Motor Actions On Motor Planning In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Daisha Lynn Cummins

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Studies have found children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have a rigidity of motor plans and difficulties planning and executing movements. Children with ASD also exhibit repetitive behaviors such as nail biting and rocking back and forth. When planning for movements, repetitive behaviors might manifest as difficulty in formulating new or switching between different motor plans. In typically developing individuals, actions are often influence by recently performed motor actions. We sought to determine if this influence was stronger in children with ASD.

A rotation motor task was created to evaluate the rigidity of motor planning of five children with ASD …

Using Accelerometer Data To Remotely Assess Predation Activity Of Arctic Wolves, Heather Shipp

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Arctic wolves (Canis lupus arctos) play an important role in ecosystems located in the far northern regions of the world; however, unlike the gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park, little information is available about High Arctic wolves and their impacts on prey populations. This research uses data received from two GPS radio-collared Arctic wolves located in the Fosheim Peninsula on Ellesmere Island. Each radio-collar was programmed to record a position every 30-60 minutes, as well as the wolfs activity movement (forwards - backwards and left - right), which was generated by an accelerometer housed within the radio-collar. This …

The Effect Of Pure Infrared Light On The Growth Of Rhodospirrilum Rubrum, Jordan Lee Wilkes

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Scientists who study aquatic ecosystems quickly notice a diversity of pathways that different microbes and organisms can use to metabolize nutrients found in common ponds or pools. Competition for vital resources, such as light and inorganic minerals, allow only certain organisms to grow in certain niches within these ecosystems. Rhodospirillum rubrum is a gram negative, photosynthetic bacteria that competes for light within aquatic ecosystems in order to survive. R. rubrum is believed to specifically absorb light for photosynthesis at wavelengths in the range of infrared light. It was found that R. rubrum indeed can grow in "dark", anaerobic environments by …

Assessing Plant Community Structure In The Upper Las Vegas Wash Conservation Transfer Area, Nevada: The Influence Of Biotic And Abiotic Variables, Amy A. Croft

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ecological communities are complex, the structure of which is composed of interactions between multiple community characteristics and the abiotic and biotic factors shaping them. Because of this complexity, ecological studies are generally limited in scope and size, often dissecting communities into their component parts to examine them piece by piece. While this might be the most practical method to study communities, this approach often neglects other characteristics that, with their inclusion, would provide a more complete picture of community ecology. The studies described in this dissertation were conducted in an effort to synthesize the complexity that is inherent in ecological …

Aligning Conservation Goals And Management Objectives For Bonneville Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus Clarki Utah) In The Logan River, Utah, Harrison E. Mohn

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Rivers are often managed without informed knowledge of how sportfish use different areas of the river to reproduce, and rarely take into account the relationship between fish movement and how they are distributed within the river when making management decisions. The population of native Bonneville cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki utah) within the Logan River is the largest documented population remaining for this imperiled species, and still maintains extremely high numbers of fish in the upper river. Currently, fishing is not allowed in the upper 20 kilometers of the Logan River watershed during spawning, based on the assumption that …