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Characterization Of The Substrate Interactions And Regulation Of Protein Arginine Methyltransferase, Yalemi Morales

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Protein arginine methylation is a posttranslational modification catalyzed by the family of proteins known as the protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs). Thousands of methylated arginines have been found in mammalian cells. Many targets of arginine regulation are involved in important cellular processes like transcription, RNA transport and processing, translation, cellular signaling, and DNA repair. Since PRMT dysregulation has been linked to a variety of disease states, understanding how the activity of the PRMTs is regulated is of paramount importance. PRMT1 is the predominant PRMT, responsible for about 85% of all arginine methylation in cells, but very little is known about how …

Oocyte Quality: Molecular Constituents Altered In The Oocyte Due To Various Environmental Factors, Lindsay Cox

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An estimated 1.6 million American couples struggle with infertility. Some causes for poor fertility can be clearly defined but in many instances, subfertility is unexplained. Poor oocyte quality is now considered to be a main contributing factor for many causes of infertility. Good oocyte quality is crucial for many processes including embryo development and maintaining pregnancy. There is a possibility that any alterations to the oocyte can have long lasting effects on embryo development and the health of the offspring. The oocyte is very sensitive to any perturbations to its surrounding environment. Transcripts for apoptosis inhibitors and epigenetic modifiers were …

The Effects Of Rootstock, Scion, Grafting Method And Plant Growth Regulators On Flexural Strength And Hydraulic Resistance Of Apple, Stuart W. Adams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The apple rootstock ‘Geneva^® 41’ (‘G.41’), is desirable for its resistance to fire blight, Erwinia amylovora, while producing high yields. However, ‘G.41’ and other Geneva^® selections tend to form weak graft unions in the nursery that are susceptible to breaking in the wind, at harvest, or during shipment. In order to understand and remedy this graft union weakness, six scions (‘Fuji’, ‘Gala’, ‘Honeycrisp’, ‘McIntosh’, ‘Pink Lady’, and ‘Scilate’) by seven rootstocks (‘G.41’, ‘G.935’, ‘G.214’, ‘G.11’, ‘M.9-NIC 29’, ‘B.9’ and ‘EMLA 26’), by two grafting methods (chip bud and saddle graft) in a factorial design were tested for graft …

An Economic Analysis Of Factors Affecting Pre-Weaned Dairy Calf Growth And Profit Optimization In Dairy Calf Operations, Vincent T. Hess

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was an extension of a study submitted in April 2014 by Sheldon D. Holt entitled “Ambient Temperature, Calf Intakes, and Weight Gains on Preweaned Dairy Calves”.

A major component in a profitable dairy operation is the raising of female calves as replacement heifers; but since no direct income is generated by calf raising alone, it is often overlooked as a potential profit area on a dairy farm. Calf management practices that ultimately impact milk productivity and reproductive performance during a heifer’s lifetime begin at birth. This study examines the effect of calf starter intake on calf growth, measuring …

A Spatiotemporal Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreak Model Predicting Severity, Cycle Period, And Invasion Speed, Jacob P. Duncan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The mountain pine beetle (MPB, Dendroctonus ponderosae), a tree-killing bark beetle, has historically been part of the normal disturbance regime in lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) forests. In recent years, warm winters and summers have allowed MPB populations to achieve synchronous emergence and successful attacks, resulting in widespread population outbreaks and resultant tree mortality across western North America. We develop an age-structured forest demographic model that incorporates temperature-dependent MPB infestations: the Susceptible-Infested-Juvenile (SIJ) model. Stability of equilibria is analyzed as a function of population growth rates, and indicates the existence of periodic outbreaks that intensify as growth rates …

Greater Sage-Grouse Vital Rate And Habitat Use Response To Landscape Scale Habitat Manipulations And Vegetation Micro-Sites In Northwestern Utah, Charles P. Sandford

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) has been a species of conservation concern since the early 20^th century. The decline of populations has largely been attributed to loss and degradation of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) habitats. To contribute to the knowledge of sage-grouse ecology and quantify the effectiveness of landscape scale habitat manipulations intended to benefit sage-grouse, I monitored habitat use and vital-rates (i.e., nest and brood success) of 45 sage-grouse females in the Box Ender Sage-Grouse Management Area (SGMA) in northwestern Utah. Using telemetry locations of sage-grouse females with known nest and brood fates, I generated …

Investigation Of The Tailoring Steps In Pradimicin Biosynthesis, Kandy L. Napan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research focused on the investigation of the late steps in the biosynthetic pathway of the novel antifungal and antiviral pradimicins A-C. Pradimicins were first isolated from the soil bacterium Actinomadura hibisca. These bioactive molecules are assembled by a type II polyketide biosynthetic pathway. Although the biosynthetic gene cluster of pradimicin has been identified, the functions of the biosynthetic genes and how they work collaboratively to form the final structures of pradimicins remain unknown. This research aims to functionally characterize the enzymes involved in the late steps of the biosynthetic route.

The early biosynthetic steps of pradimicins have been …

Effects Of Carboxymethyl-Lysine In Heat Processed Foods On The Plasma Metabolome In Mice, Zhou Fang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Carboxymethyl-lysine (CML), an advanced glycation end product (AGEs), is formed during the cooking process and may induce toxic effects on human health. The effect of dietary CML on the plasma metabolite profile was investigated. Mice were fed with one of five different diets: AIN93 diet (negative control), a 45% kcal from fat Diet Induced Obesity diet (DIO; positive control); CML0, TWD (Total Western Diet) with low CML; CML1, TWD with medium CML, and CML2, TWD with high CML for 8 weeks, and the plasma metabolome was determined by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). In addition quantitative analysis of plasma glucose level …

Anthropogenic And Natural Stressors And Their Effect On Immunity, Reproduction, And The Stress Response, Lorin A. Neuman-Lee

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Animals must be able to cope with many natural and human-made stressors in order to successfully survive and reproduce. These stressors can come in many forms and are increasing as human activities become more and more prevalent across the globe. In order to cope with these stressors, organisms must allocate limited energy away from processes such as reproduction to mount a stress response. This stress response involves the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and results in a cascade of hormones and down-stream effects, such as changes in reproduction and immune function. In order to understand how reptiles and amphibians cope …

Modulation Of The Nutritional Context And Early Experience As New Tools To Increase The Use Of Medusahead (Taeniatherum Caput-Medusae Ssp. Asperum) By Grazing Sheep, Juan J. Montes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Medusahead is an invasive weed that reduces wildlife habitat and biodiversity as well as commercial and recreational value of land. Grazing represents a sustainable method for its control but stakeholders claim that livestock will not eat medusahead because of its low feed value. This research explored a supplementation program, along with experiences early in life with mother to enhance use of medusahead by sheep. Results showed that an energy supplement did not enhance medusahead use by sheep but that early experience with mother influenced yearlings to use the weed more evenly across days. When availability of the weed was low …

Utah Lotus: North American Legume For Possible Use In Rangeland Revegetation In The Southern Great Basin Of The Western United States, Jason M. Stettler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis project explored the production and forage quality characteristics of Utah lotus (Lotus utahensis Ottley) and scrub lotus (L. wrightii (A. Gray) Greene) seed collections during a two-year period. The variation of 14 Utah lotus and five scrub lotus seed collections was evaluated by measuring important plant characteristics at three common garden sites in northern Utah. In addition, the genetic structure of the collections was determined by molecular biological techniques. Large variation was observed among collections for all phenotypic traits measured, with Utah lotus and scrub lotus being phenotypically quite different. Two collections of Utah lotus (LU-5 …

Biodiversity, Community Dynamics, And Novel Foraging Behaviors Of A Rich Native Bee Fauna Across Habitats At Pinnacles National Park, California, Joan M. Meiners

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Global concern about honeybee declines has spurred feverish research about the status and protection of this single species, yet our understanding of the ecology and issues impacting thousands of species of native bees lags behind. Pinnacles National Park, America's newest, near Salinas, California, is currently the most densely biodiverse area for native bees known on the planet. Recent work by researchers at Utah State University and the USDA-ARS has documented 479 species of native bees in only 42 square miles of this park. During two years of field studies and 308 collector days, we assembled data on 52,853 bee specimens …

The Role Of Gpr84 In Medium-Chain Saturated Fatty Acid Taste Transduction, Yan Liu

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The prevalence of overweight or obese in adults has nearly doubled during the past two decades, and obesity increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and even some types of cancer. One of the factors closely linked with the obesity epidemic is overconsumption of dietary fat. Accumulating evidence has supported the existence of the "taste of fat", and more and more studies have focused on identifying the mechanisms of fatty acid detection by gustatory system. In this study, I showed for the first time that medium-chain saturated fatty acids (MCFAs) were able to activate taste cells isolated from mice, and …

Emerging Technology To Exclude Wildlife From Roads: Electrified Pavement And Deer Guards In Utah, Usa, Joseph P. Flower

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Vehicle collisions with large wild animals threaten public safety, can harm wildlife populations, and often result in substantial property damage. The most effective
way to reduce these collisions is to install wildlife fencing along the roadway and provide structures that enable wildlife to cross roads safely. However, if access roads that bisect fencing do not include barriers to deter animals from entering the highway, these measures can become ineffective. The purpose of my research was to: 1) evaluate the effectiveness of barriers currently used to exclude wildlife from highways, and 2) determine whether cattle guards augmented with segments of electrified …

Rapid Savanna Response To Changing Precipitation Intensity, Ryan S. Berry

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Climate change has the potential to cause large-scale changes in plant growth, biodiversity, and biosphere-climate feedbacks. A pervasive aspect of climate change is that as the atmosphere warms, precipitation events are likely to become less frequent but more intense, because warmer air can hold more water. Larger precipitation events can be expected to change plant productivity and community composition, particularly in semiarid ecosystems such as savannas. Savannas are of particular interest because they are spatially expansive at the global scale, they are important to humans for food production, and they are known to be sensitive to changes in soil water …

Amelioration Of Chikungunya Through Inhibition Of The Inflammatory Response, Ashley L. Dagley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

CHIK is an emerging viral disease that is rapidly spreading around the world and causing significant illness in infected people. This virus is spread through the bite of an infected mosquito. Symptoms of disease include high fever, rash, joint pain and arthritis-like symptoms. This disease has recently been reported in the United States, mainly as a result of importation from vacationers to areas affected by this disease. The purpose of this research was to model the disease in mice in order to identify intervention strategies that reduce disease in the hope that it will be useful in the treatment of …

Effects Of Environmental Water Rights Purchases On Dissolved Oxygen, Stream Temperature, And Fish Habitat, Nathaniel R. Mouzon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Degraded water quality has reduced aquatic species abundance and survivability in Nevada’s Walker River. Low instream flows and increased nutrients affect native fish populations through high daily stream temperatures and low nightly dissolved oxygen concentrations. Increasing streamflow, through environmental water purchases, may improve water quality and enhance habitat for native fish species, such as Lahontan cutthroat trout. This study uses River Modeling System, a computer model, to estimate streamflows, stream temperatures, and dissolved oxygen concentrations in the Walker River. Streamflow increases are simulated to determine potential improvements to high water temperatures and low dissolved oxygen concentrations, enabling the prioritization of …

Identifying And Reducing Risk Of The Female Athlete Triad In Division I Athletes, Jennifer Day

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Physically active females, or female athletes, are at risk for the condition known as the female athlete triad (Triad). The Triad is made up of three components that are distinctly separate, but intertwined: consuming inadequate energy for how much they are exercising, poor bone health, and problems with their menstrual periods. When female athletes don’t consume enough energy for how much they exercise, there can be hormonal imbalances, causing the body to conserve energy from some important functions including menstruation, and increased bone turnover resulting in a higher risk of stress fractures and early osteoporosis. Female athletes at risk for …

Investigation Of Solubilization, Cold Gelation, And Rennet Coagulation Properties Of Highly Concentrated Micellar Casein Concentrate For Use In Cheese Making, Ying Lu

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This work demonstrated potentials to use a microfiltrated, diafiltrated, and vacuum-evaporated milk protein concentrate-highly concentrated micellar casein
concentrate (HC-MCC) for use in cheese making. Previously, ultrafiltrated milk concentrate has been used for cheese making to improve cheese yield and increase milk processing ability. However, ultrafiltrated milk contains high level of serum protein, which negatively impact cheese quality during aging. Microfiltrated milk is more suitable for cheese making with most serum proteins removed.

The project evaluated the potential of cheese making using recombined concentrated milk (RCM) by mixing HC-MCC and cream. We identify the method to solubilize …

Soil Nutrient Cycling And Water Use In Response To Orchard Floor Management In Stone-Fruit Orchards In The Intermountain West, Catherine Mae Culumber

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An organic peach orchard trial evaluated the effectiveness of different organic management approaches to enhance soil quality and conserve water without compromise to fruit tree growth and fertility. Two tree-row treatments: ‘straw mulch’ (Triticum aestivum L.) and ‘living mulch’ (Lobularia maritima (L.) Desv.) were tested in combination with two alleyway groundcovers: ‘grass’ (Festuca rubra L. with Lolium perenne L.) and a legume, ‘Birdsfoot trefoil’ (Lotus corniculatus L.). The novel treatments were compared with tillage and weed fabric tree-rows with grass alleyways. After mowing, cuttings from the trefoil alleyway were deposited into tree-rows, which provided additional N …

Quantum Mechanical Studies Of Charge Assisted Hydrogen And Halogen Bonds, Binod Nepal

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Like cement bridges one brick to another, noncovalent forces also bridge two or more molecules together to form a molecular crystal or molecular cluster. Although weaker than the covalent bond, the existence of noncovalent forces can be seen everywhere from liquid water to construction of complex biomolecules like DNA, RNA, proteins etc. An introduction of suitable charge; positive or negative, on the binding units can increase the strength of noncovalent interaction by several orders of magnitude. The primary aim of this dissertation is to explore some fundamental properties of such charge assisted noncovalent interactions which will be helpful for the …

Stable Isotopes And The Ecology And Physiology Of Reptiles, Andrew M. Durso

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

When animals don’t have enough food, they have to “choose” between “spending” their limited energy on themselves or on their offspring. Biologists think that reptiles can make this choice quickly in response to different environments. But, it can be hard to study these choices because it is hard to convert between, for example, the number of eggs laid and the speed of healing a wound. By using stable isotope chemistry, we can collect more detailed and comparable information about how lizards and other animals spend their limited resources than with any other method. For example, lizards in the wild have …

Revegetation Of Bulrushes Bolboschoenus Maritimus, Schoenoplectus Acutus, And S. Americanus In Great Salt Lake Wetlands: Seed Biology And Influence Of Environmental Factors On Rhizomes, James Marty

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A primary goal of ecological restoration is to establish desirable plant species. This goal is particularly important following the removal of invasive plants. Understanding biological characteristics of plant species important to revegetation is crucial to plant establishment. In the globally important Great Salt Lake (GSL) wetlands, native habitat-forming bulrushes Bolboschoenus maritimus, Schoenoplectus acutus, and S. americanus are frequently displaced by the invasive grass Phragmites australis. Bulrush seeds require very specific germination conditions and are also dormant, therefore they do not germinate consistently even when exposed to appropriate germination conditions. Additionally, wetland environments are often associated with water …

Salt Tolerance Of Forage Kochia, Gardner's Saltbush, And Halogeton: Studies In Hydroponic Culture, Joseph Sagers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Halogeton (Halogeton glomeratus) is a halophytic, invasive species that displaces Gardner’s saltbush (Atriplex gardneri) on saline rangelands. Forage kochia (Bassia prostrata) is a potential species to rehabilitate these ecosystems. This study compared the salinity tolerance of these species and tall wheatgrass (Thinopyrum ponticum) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa). Plants were evaluated for 28 days in hydroponics where they were maintained at 0, 150, 200, 300, 400, 600, and 800 mM NaCl. Shoot growth and ion accumulation were determined. Alfalfa and tall wheatgrass were severely affected by salt with both species’ shoot …

The Utah Forest Dynamics Plot: Long-Term Ecological Monitoring And Theoretical Ecology In A High-Elevation Subalpine Environment, Tucker J. Furniss

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity has been advanced as a universal theory for species coexistence in forests worldwide, but few studies have examined its relevance to high-elevation, stressful environments. I established the Utah Forest Dynamics Plot (UFDP) in a heterogeneous subalpine forest at 3,091 m elevation on the Colorado Plateau to examine three underlying assumptions of neutral theory (functional equivalence, ecological equivalence, and habitat generality) and one prediction (the species abundance distribution). The UFDP comprises 27,845 stems ≥1 cm diameter at breast height of 17 species, 10 genera, and 6 families over 13.6 ha. The neutral model was a …

Discharge-Suspended Sediment Relations: Near-Channel Environment Controls Shape And Steepness, Land Use Controls Median And Low Flow Conditions, Angus A. Vaughan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Erosion, transport and deposition of fine sediment (clay, silt and fine sand) influence the form and function of river systems. Excess suspended sediment degrades stream ecosystems and is implicated as a leading cause of water quality and aquatic life impairment. Therefore, understanding the factors that control fine sediment transport patterns is an interesting topic for basic science and one that has important management and policy implications.

In this study, we sought to understand how attributes of the landscape and channel network might control the shape, steepness and vertical offset of the relationship between river discharge and suspended sediment. Watershed and …

Invasive Coqui Frogs Serve As Novel Prey For Birds In Hawaii, And Not As Competitors, Robyn L. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Puerto Rican coqui frog was introduced the Hawaiian Islands in the late 1980s. Because of the frog's loud call and high abundance, the State of Hawaii has spent millions of dollars on its eradication. Conservationists are also concerned that the frog could negatively impact Hawaii's endemic birds, which are already threatened by a host of other invasive species, either by competing with them for insects or by increasing bird predators. The purpose of this research was to investigate the impacts of coquis on Hawaiian birds. First, we examined overlap in prey resources between coquis and birds, and second, we …

Spatial Ecology And Captive Behavior Of Rehabilitated Black Bears In Utah, Patrick J. Myers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Animal movements and space use are fundamental components of life and play integral roles in organismal fitness, population dynamics, and the ecology and evolution of species. The heterogeneous distribution of resources and the movement required to access them, results in ecology being a fundamentally spatial concept. Thus, elucidating animal-habitat relationships is a central focus of wildlife ecology and conservation. I utilized GPS technology, resource selection functions, and generalized linear mixed models, to investigate the immediate post-release movements, denning chronology, release-site fidelity, and season-delineated movements, home ranges, and resource use for six, orphaned and rehabilitated black bears (Ursus americanus). …

Migratory Waterbird Ecology At A Critical Staging Area, Great Salt Lake, Utah, Maureen G. Frank

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Millions of birds use Great Salt Lake, Utah, during their migrations every year. While many of the birds use the shorelines and wetlands around Great Salt Lake, there are three migratory species that use the open waters of Great Salt Lake: Wilson's phalaropes (Phalaropus tricolor), red-necked phalaropes (Phalaropus lobatus), and eared grebes (Podiceps nigricollis). Eared grebes feed primarily on brine shrimp (Artemia fanciscana), while phalaropes are thought to consume brine flies (Ephydridae) and brackish-water aquatic invertebrates. Despite the reliance of phalaropes and eared grebes on the invertebrate prey of Great Salt Lake, …

Effects Of Feeding High-Moisture Corn Grain With Slow-Release Urea In Dairy Diets On Lactational Performance, Energy And Nitrogen Utilization, And Ruminal Fermentation Profiles By Lactating Cows, Braden M. Tye

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The objective of this experiment was to determine if nutrient utilization and energy partitioning by lactating dairy cows would differ in response to dietary corn grain (CG) types [steam-flaked corn (SFC) vs. high-moisture corn (HMC)] and to test if the types of CG would interact with slow-release urea (SRU) on lactational performance and energy utilization. Eight multiparous Holstein cows (32 ± 8.2 days-in-milk) were used in a duplicated 4 × 4 Latin square with one square consisting of ruminally cannulated cows. A 2 × 2 factorial arrangement was used to test 4 dietary treatments: SFC without SRU, SFC with SRU, …