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Niccolo Leo Caldararo, Big Brains And The Human Superorganism: Why Special Brains Appear In Hominids And Other Social Animals. Rowman & Littlefield, 2017, Andrew Targowski

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Front Matter, Comparative Civilizations Review

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Comparative Civilizations Review No. 79 Full Issue, Comparative Civilizations Review

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Development And Use Of Lipidomics And Proteomics Methods To Identify And Measure Pro-Survival Metabolic Pathways In Cancer, Monique Merilyn Speirs

Theses and Dissertations

Throughout society’s continual war against cancer, we have attempted pharmacological intervention only to find that tumors develop modes of resistance. It is well known that genetics play an integral role in cancer. Technological advances have greatly improved our ability to study cancer biochemistry beyond the genome by measuring changes in the expression and activity of RNA, proteins, and lipids in experimental models and human patients. As our techniques and technology to perform cancer research progresses, it is becoming more evident that cancer cells develop stress tolerance mechanisms at multiple levels within the central dogma, including altering mRNA expression, enzyme concentrations, …

Thermochemical Conversion Of Biomass: Detailed Gasification And Near-Burner Co-Firing Measurements, Jacob B. Beutler

Theses and Dissertations

An increasing emphasis on mitigating global climate change (global warming) over the last few decades has created interest in a broad range of sustainable or alternative energy systems to replace fossil fuel combustion. Biomass, when harvested responsibly, is a renewable fuel with many uses in replacing fossil fuels. Cofiring biomass with coal in traditional large-scale coal power plants represents one of the lowest risk, least costly, near-term methods of CO₂ mitigation. Simultaneously, it is one of the most efficient and inexpensive uses of biomass. Alternatively, biomass can be transformed into useful products through gasification to produce clean syngas for …

Distribution, Habitat, And Population Size Of Island Night Lizards On San Nicolas Island, California, Charles A. Drost, Gary M. Fellers, Thomas G. Murphey, Patrick M. Kleeman, Brian J. Halstead, Ryan P. O'Donnell

Western North American Naturalist

The Island Night Lizard (Xantusia riversiana) was removed from the federal list of threatened species in May 2014. This strongly differentiated species is endemic to 3 of the southern California Channel Islands—San Clemente, San Nicolas, and Santa Barbara. Suitable habitat for Island Night Lizards is extensive on San Clemente Island, and the species is abundant there. Habitat is limited and fragmented, however, on San Nicolas Island and small Santa Barbara Island. Bringing together extensive field surveys and mark-recapture sampling, we synthesize available data for Island Night Lizards on San Nicolas Island and calculate population and density estimates for …

Comparison Of Estimators For Monitoring Long-Term Population Trends In Deer Mice, Peromyscus Maniculatus, On The California Channel Islands, Catherin A. Schwemm, Charles A. Drost, John L. Orrock, Timothy J. Coonan, Thomas R. Stanley

Western North American Naturalist

Capture-recapture methods are commonly used to estimate abundance and density of wild animal populations. Although a variety of sophisticated analytical techniques are available to evaluate capture-recapture data, vertebrate monitoring programs often lack the resources (e.g., time, personnel, and/or analytical expertise) to apply these methods. As an alternative, simple population indices, such as counts of unique individuals, may provide sufficient information to detect meaningful changes in population size. In this study we investigated whether a population index, easily generated from mark-recapture data under all conditions, might be used to provide valid ecological information for managers interested in long-term population trends of …

Evolution Of The Photopigments In The Largest And Most Complex Terrestrial Animal Eyes, Seth M. Bybee

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Evaluation of how well the academic objectives of the proposal were met The proposal had three main aims: 1). Produce a phylogenetic estimate of aeshnid dragonfly evolution from transcriptomes. 2). Use the phylogeny from Aim I and the photopigments isolated from the transcriptome data to examine the evolution of aeshnid color visual systems and 3) Using independent and complimentary methods (in situ hybridization, qPCR and transcriptome data) to examine both the distribution and level of expression for each photopigment for one focal species (Anax junius). Goals one and two were both successful, however goal three became bogged down and only …

Ianimate: Exploring The Use Of Animation And Virtual Environments In Educational Settings, Ryan O. Kellems

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Evaluation of how well the academic objectives of the proposal were met

The academic objectives of the grant were met. During the course of the study there were four independent research sites where the intervention was delivered and data was collected. The results form several of theses studies has been published and the conceptual ideals from the project have also been published. This funding has also provided the foundation for the current work I am doing. There is currently one other data set from the grant under review and another manuscript in the final stages of preparation.

The Effect Of Nr4a3 On Functional Beta Cell Mass, Jeffery S. Tessem

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The academic objectives of this Mentoring Environment Grant (MEG) were to 1) train undergraduate students in the scientific process to prepare them in careers as physicians and scientists, and 2) to determine if the in vitro phenotypes observed in Nr4a3 deficient beta cell lines are translatable to the Nr4a3 KO mouse. . We were successful in accomplishing these objectives, as evidenced by the training of four undergraduate students, presentation of research and local and national meetings, and initial preparation of a manuscript reporting our findings. While we did have difficulty breeding these mice, this study gives us the basis of …

Spatial And Temporal Fishing Patterns At The Outer Banks Of The Southern California Bight, Daniel J. Pondella Ii, Matthew J. Robart, Jeremy T. Claisse, Jonathan P. Williams, Chelsea M. Williams, Amanda J. Zellmer, Susan E. Piacenza

Western North American Naturalist

We analyzed recreational and commercial catch records from 1980 to 2009 for the fishing blocks associated with the 5 southern offshore banks of the Southern California Bight (Cortes Bank, Tanner Bank, Northeast Bank, Cherry Ridge, and Garrett Ridge). Recreational fishers and divers targeted pelagic taxa (e.g., tunas and Yellowtail) but instead landed more benthic taxa (e.g., rockfishes, Ocean Whitefish, and California Sheephead). For the commercial fisheries, pelagics (Bluefin Tuna, Albacore, Skipjack, Yellowfin Tuna, Pacific Bonito, and Swordfish) were the most important taxa and represented a significant proportion (8%–27%) of the landings of these fishes in the bight. These fishes were …

Traditions Of Early Human Groups In Baja California And Possible Routes For The Peopling Of The Peninsula, Harumi Fujita, Amira F. Ainis

Western North American Naturalist

Ideas concerning the initial peopling of the Baja California Peninsula have dramatically changed in recent decades. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the native inhabitants of the southern part of the Baja California Peninsula were believed by some to have come from Melanesia, based on the perceived similarity in skull morphology. Since the middle of the 20th century, most researchers propose that initial populations entered from the north by land, bringing with them 2 distinct cultural traditions. The first wave was thought to have been an incursion of Paleoindians with Clovis-type fluted points. The second wave refers to …

English As A Second Language Speakers’ Ability To Replicate Native Speaker Speech Forms When Engaged In Imitative Interaction, Ariana Avila, Dr. Mark Tanner

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this study was to gather acoustic data aimed at empirically assessing the degree to which non-native English speakers can approximate the linguistic features of native speech when engaged in imitative interaction. The focus of my study was to investigate the degree to which ESL learners living in an English speaking environment can produce linguistic features (variation in intonation, appropriate word and sentence stress, and appropriate use of pausing to delineate meaning units in discourse) in their speech similar to those produced by native English speakers when the ESL learner is trying to imitate what a native speaker …

Prehistoric Shellfish Utilization And Settlement Systems On Western Santa Cruz Island, Michael A. Glassow

Western North American Naturalist

Archaeologists generally have not taken advantage of the distinctive characteristics of assemblages of shellfish remains from prehistoric sites to gain information about movement of people between sites within their territory. I attempt to demonstrate this potential through analysis of shell assemblages obtained through small-scale test excavation at 2 archaeological sites in the interior of Santa Cruz Island: CA-SCRI-796 in the western sector of the island and CA-SCRI-758 at an upland location in the central sector. An aspect of the data analysis focused on strata containing an abundance of red abalone shells, dating sometime between 3700 and 3350 cal BC at …

Marine Debris Trends: 30 Years Of Change On Ventura County And Channel Island Beaches, Michaela Miller, Clare Steele, Dorothy Horn, Cause Hanna

Western North American Naturalist

The persistence of plastics in marine ecosystems and the physical hazards marine debris pose to wildlife have become issues of global concern. The Santa Barbara Channel is home to a number of important marine and coastal ecosystems, including the 5 islands of Channel Islands National Park, and has a variety of factors that influence marine debris accumulation. We examined the spatial variation of marine debris density and composition across the Santa Barbara Channel by quantifying marine debris on beaches of Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz Islands and the Ventura County mainland. Debris from surveyed beaches was cataloged, weighed, and measured …

The Women Of Guernica: A Compilation Of Interpretations, Heidi Herrera, Dr. Heather Belnap-Jensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Although there is a wealth of scholarship on Picasso’s Guernica (1937) (Fig. 1), until recently there has been a distinct lack of analyses completed through feminist methods, an approach essential to a holistic understanding of Guernica. Conducting on-site research at the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid, I focused on the women of the painting, studying preparatory drawings and works in which Picasso’s representation of women often borders on violent, painting them as monstrous and agonized. The correlation between Picasso’s previous representations of women and Guernica’s harrowing display of women and animals in pain participates within the Spanish artistic tradition in …

Antibiotic Resistance In Staphylococcus Aureus From Commercially Available Meat, Samuel Schriever, Bradford Berges

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Bacteria can be found everywhere. While some bacteria can help humans to make medicine and clean up environmental disasters, other bacteria can cause horrible disease. After the discovery of antibiotics in the early twentieth century humans have been using them to treat human and animal disease. At first antibiotics very effective at clearing bacterial infections. Bacteria that were able to survive the antibiotics were able to spread and become more common. Bacteria have the ability to share genes and those genes are very favorable for the bacteria that have them. Today, animals are given more antibiotics than humans are. This …

Examining How The Cd5 Co-Receptor Alters T Helper Cell Activation In Response To Bacterial Infection, Garrett Hamblin, Scott Weber

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Properly functioning helper T cells are crucial in a response to an infection. The adaptive immune response is orchestrated by T helper cells and their function is dependent upon interactions between the T cell receptor (TCR), peptide MHC (pMHC) and co-receptors. Upon TCR interaction with a foreign antigen, a calcium signaling cascade is initiated, which determines T cell activation, survival, proliferation and differentiation. CD5 is a T cell co-receptor that is a negative regulator of T cell activation. T cells with higher CD5 expression respond better to foreign antigen than those with lower CD5 expression. Cell-surface expression of CD5 is …

Multicultural Competency For Us Seminary And Institute Teachers, Mario O. Lopez

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

I remember visiting an early morning seminary class in Laie, Hawaii, held in a chapel next to the high school. The seminary teacher was Caucasian. Her students were Polynesians, Asians, Latinos, and haoles (Caucasians). I noticed the Tongans were seated together on one side and the Samoans on the opposite side. The Asians were scattered in the middle. The haoles were in the front seats and the Latinos right next to the back door. The Tongans and Samoans were talking and laughing. The Asians were quiet, heads bowed down, and some were sleeping. The Latinos were always looking at the …

Modeling Vocal Fold Intravascular Flow With Synthetic Replicas, Aaron David Terry

Theses and Dissertations

Communication by voice is foundational in our society and many rely on their voices for their occupations. Voice disorders affect a significant number of individuals each year, and diagnosis and treatment improvements are therefore sought via advancements in voice research. Contained in this thesis is a description of work intended to contribute to vocal fold research by using synthetic, self-oscillating vocal fold replicas to study the impact of replica vibration on perfusion fluid flow through the replica. Methods for manufacturing vocal fold replicas containing imbedded channels allowing for fluid perfusion are discussed. Experimental procedures developed for delivering perfusion fluid to …

“The Lord God Which Gathereth The Outcasts” (Isaiah 56:3–8), Daniel Balnap

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

During the last week of his ministry, Christ was asked what the great commandment was, and in his answer he suggested two, the last being “love thy neighbor as thyself ” (Mark 12:31). Though not stated by Christ, this commandment, found in Leviticus 19:18, is then followed by a similar commandment to love the stranger “as thyself ” (19:34). These two principles reflected one of the great principles of the law—the care for the marginalized outsider. Yet the plight of the marginalized was not only realized in the law, it was also found in the writings of the prophets. One …

Sex Differences In Rhesus Monkeys’ Digit Ratio (2d:4d Ratio) And Its Association With Maternal Social Dominance Rank, Alexander Baxter, Elizabeth K. Wood, Parker Jarman, Ashley N. Cameron, John P. Capitanio, James Dee Higley

Faculty Publications

Prenatal androgen exposure (PAE) plays a pivotal role in masculinizing the developing body and brain, and extreme exposure may contribute to autism, anxiety disorder and schizophrenia. One commonly used biomarker for PAE is the pointer-to-ring-finger digit length (2D:4D) ratio. Although this biomarker is widely used in human studies, relatively few studies have investigated 2D:4D ratio in nonhuman primates, particularly rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), one of the most commonly used animals in biomedical research. Thus far, data suggest that sexual dimorphism in 2D:4D ratio may be in the opposite direction in some monkey species, when compared to the pattern …

Advancing Social Connection As A Public Health Priority In The United States, Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Theodore Robles, David A. Sbarra

Faculty Publications

A robust body of scientific evidence indicates that being embedded in high-quality close relationships and feeling socially connected to the people in your life is associated with decreased risk for all-cause mortality as well as a range of disease morbidities. Despite mounting evidence that the magnitude of these associations is comparable to many leading health determinants (that receive significant public health resources), government agencies, healthcare providers and associations, and public/private healthcare funders are slow to recognize human social relationships as either a health determinant or health risk marker in a manner that is comparable to other public health priorities. This …

La Sal Daisy, Erigeron Mancus, Density And Associated Species From Treeline Ecotone And Alpine Habitats, James F. Fowler, Steve Overby, Barb Smith

Western North American Naturalist

The La Sal daisy, Erigeron mancus, is endemic to treeline ecotone and alpine meadow habitats of the La Sal Mountains in Utah, an insular, laccolithic mountain range on the Colorado Plateau in southeastern Utah. From 2009 to 2011 we established elevational transects through upper spruce-fir forest, treeline ecotone, and alpine meadow habitats on Laurel Ridge in the Middle Mountain group of the La Sal Mountains to measure (1) periodic changes in E. mancus population density, (2) changes in the elevation of the E. mancus population centroid, (3) changes in patch size occupied by E. mancus, and (4) changes …

Interaction Between Seed Detectability And Seed Preference Affects Harvest Rates Of Granivorous Rodents, William S. Longland, Lindsay A. Dimitri

Western North American Naturalist

Granivorous rodents commonly exhibit preferences for seeds of particular plant species. However, among buried seeds that are available, rodents may find that alternate, less desirable seeds are more easily located by olfaction than preferred seeds. Seeds of Indian ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides) are a highly preferred food resource for seed-caching desert heteromyid rodents. We tested relative abilities of heteromyids to locate buried caches of Indian ricegrass seeds versus seeds of another plant species (cheatgrass, Bromus tectorum) that are common in heteromyid diets at a western Nevada field site. Rodents located more cheatgrass than Indian ricegrass seed caches in …

Cougar Dispersal And Natal Homing In A Desert Environment, David M. Choate, Kathleen M. Longshore, Daniel B. Thompson

Western North American Naturalist

We present a review of cougar dispersal literature and the first evidence of natural (i.e., unmanipulated) homing behavior by a dispersing male cougar (Puma concolor) that sustained severe injuries crossing the northern Mojave Desert. Based on Global Positioning System and ground tracking data, the male traveled a total distance of 981.1 km at 5.03 km/d, including 170.31 km from the Desert National Wildlife Refuge to the northwestern Grand Canyon, where he sustained severe injuries. The interkill interval increased from 7.1 ± 2.7 d while he was in his natal range to 17.5 ± 4.9 d during dispersal. While …

Development Of A Model For Adult T Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma In Htlv-1 Infected Humanized Mice, Kayleigh Ingersoll, Dr. Brad Berges

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Human T-lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) is a virus that is linked to Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL), causing cancer in T cells. There are an estimated 10-20 million people worldwide infected with HTLV-1. HTLV-1 is transmitted through contact of bodily fluid and usually occurs through breastfeeding, sexual transmission, and sharing needles. ATLL develops in only about 5% of infected persons after decades of infection. An ATLL diagnosis is grim as there is no cure, and most patients do not respond or only have a limited response to treatments. Current treatments include antiretrovirals or chemotherapy, but there has been little to no …

Faculty Members’ Lived Experiences With Open Educational Resources, Michael Troy Martin

Instructional Psychology and Technology Graduate Student Projects

The cost of textbooks has continued to increase, and the financial effect on students in higher education is significant. Numerous studies have been done to learn more about student and faculty perceptions toward Open Educational Resources (OER) use. Recent studies confirm that most instructors would use OER in order to alleviate the financial burden placed on students; however, OER adoption rates do not reflect this belief. In my study I sought to better understand what instructors experience when they search for OER. In this phenomenological study, I interviewed faculty who expressed a desire to use OER and to capture their …

Commercial Dance Activism, Keely Song Glenn

BYU Research Development Office Research Networking Conference

Advocating clean air, reduce/reuse/recycle with an emphasis on clean water, and post-partum recovery exercises and accessibility

The Language Of Love (Memoir Fiction), Sarah Justine Skriloff

AWE (A Woman’s Experience)

Fiction/memoir of a young woman's encounter with her mother over body weight issues.