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The Orchestra Pit, Aylea Stephens Sep 2017

The Orchestra Pit, Aylea Stephens

Children's Book and Media Review

A snake is lost. This snake is very sure that it’s in the wrong pit, because instead of a snake pit, it’s found its way into the orchestra pit. The snake explores the orchestra pit for a while, discovering that trumpets are loud, tubs are roomy, and trombones are long. The snake is unaware of what is spooking the orchestra members and keeps looking at the different kinds of instruments. Soon the orchestra begins playing and the snake leaves the wrong pit and finally makes it into the right one.

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The Tapir Scientist: Saving South America's Largest Mammal, Aylea Stephens Sep 2017

The Tapir Scientist: Saving South America's Largest Mammal, Aylea Stephens

Children's Book and Media Review

In another great addition to the Scientists in the Field series, readers can discover the mysterious tapir and the people who study them. Tapirs, prehistoric tropical animals that live in Brazil, are creatures that most people have never heard of, but scientists like Pati Medici have dedicated their lives to the study and protection of tapirs. The book has fact sheets, biographies of the scientist team, and descriptions of the region that the tapirs live in.

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The Elephant's Friend And Other Tales From Ancient India, Ariel Woodbury Sep 2017

The Elephant's Friend And Other Tales From Ancient India, Ariel Woodbury

Children's Book and Media Review

Elephant's friend Dog is sold away and Elephant mourns until the king returns Dog to him. The scrawny tiger tricks a greedy man to cross the river for a gold bangle, but then eats him. The wise little parrot tricks the cat so that he won't eat her babies who are learning to fly. The fishermen catch two large fish who believes in fate, but the wise fish and the clever fish escape. The foolish lion is tricked into jumping down a well. The golden swan's kindness is repaid with greed. The crocodile is a disloyal friend and the monkey …

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Rattlesnake Nuisance Removals And Urban Expansion In Phoenix, Arizona, Steven L. Pitts, Bryan D. Hughes, Ivana Mali Sep 2017

Rattlesnake Nuisance Removals And Urban Expansion In Phoenix, Arizona, Steven L. Pitts, Bryan D. Hughes, Ivana Mali

Western North American Naturalist

Urbanization can have significant consequences on local wildlife. While some species can thrive in urban environments, others are often seen as nuisance animals and therefore are either killed by landowners or removed by professionals. Snakes, especially rattlesnakes, represent one such taxon. Here, we analyzed rattlesnake removal data from the city of Phoenix, Arizona, USA, to determine whether the removal data directly correlates with urban expansion. Between 2011 and 2014, over 500 rattlesnakes and over 300 non-rattlesnakes were removed by professionals, with significant removal clusters in the northern Phoenix metropolis. Land cover change analyses showed that all removal sites experienced dramatic …

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End Matter Sep 2017

End Matter

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

No abstract provided.

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Developing A Location Detector Using Acoustical Energy Quantities, Jacey Young Aug 2017

Developing A Location Detector Using Acoustical Energy Quantities, Jacey Young

Student Works

In this paper, development through the use of LabVIEW for an acoustical energy quantity detector is discussed. This detector uses the quantity of sound intensity to locate the direction of a sound source in three dimensional space with relation to the center of a spherical microphone probe placed directly under a web camera. The direction and the magnitude of the sound intensity are then used to generate an arrow pointing in the direction of the sound source and position it on top the web camera's image of the surrounding area. These quantities are then also used to highlight an area …

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To See For Herself: Maria Sibylla Merian’S Research Journey To Suriname: 1699-1701, Catherine Grimm Aug 2017

To See For Herself: Maria Sibylla Merian’S Research Journey To Suriname: 1699-1701, Catherine Grimm

Resources

No abstract provided.

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Almonds, A Fiesty Industry, Kenneth M. Petrowsky Aug 2017

Almonds, A Fiesty Industry, Kenneth M. Petrowsky

Marriott Student Review

A bitter power struggle between the almond industry and the milk industry has become a test of the United States’ free market. The National Milk Producers Federation has turned to Washington for aid while the Almond board of California and the Blue Diamond co-op have focused on improving their product.

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Comparative Trends In Log Populations In Northern Arizona Mixed-Conifer And Ponderosa Pine Forests Following Severe Drought, Joseph L. Ganey, Scott C. Vojta Aug 2017

Comparative Trends In Log Populations In Northern Arizona Mixed-Conifer And Ponderosa Pine Forests Following Severe Drought, Joseph L. Ganey, Scott C. Vojta

Western North American Naturalist

Logs provide an important form of coarse woody debris in forest systems, contributing to numerous ecological processes and affecting wildlife habitat and fuel complexes. Despite this, little information is available on the dynamics of log populations in southwestern ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and especially mixed-conifer forests. A recent episode of elevated tree mortality in these forest types in northern Arizona caused a pulse in log inputs as dead trees broke and fell. We documented changes in these log populations from 2004 to 2009 in an earlier paper. Here, we extended that work to evaluate changes in log abundance …

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Splat And The Cool School Trip, Aylea Stephens Aug 2017

Splat And The Cool School Trip, Aylea Stephens

Children's Book and Media Review

Splat is thrilled to be able to go to the zoo with his class on a field trip to see the penguins. He thinks penguins are some of the best animals, and can’t wait to see them himself. Seymour can’t come because mice scare the elephants, but Seymour does his best to get to the zoo himself anyway when Splat leaves him to go to school. Finally, after waiting for a long time and having to go see lots of other animals first, Splat is on his way to see the penguins when Seymour crashes out of the air on …

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Mrs. Noodlekugel Series: Mrs. Noodlekugel And Drooly The Bear, Kristie Hinckley Aug 2017

Mrs. Noodlekugel Series: Mrs. Noodlekugel And Drooly The Bear, Kristie Hinckley

Children's Book and Media Review

Nick and Maxine have recently moved to an apartment building in the city when they discover Mrs. Noodlekugel and her talking, piano playing pets that live behind their building. When Nick and Maxine’s parents need to attend an event out of town, their parents have them stay with Mrs. Noodlekugel. They are surprised when Mr. Noodlgekugel, a sailor, brings home a bear named Drooly, whom he plans to train for the circus. When Drooly wanders off one day, everyone joins efforts to find him. Once they do, Mr. Noodlekugel and Drooly decide to head back to sea! It is quite …

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My Friend Rabbit, Kristie Hinckley Aug 2017

My Friend Rabbit, Kristie Hinckley

Children's Book and Media Review

My Friend Rabbit is about mouse's friend Rabbit who means well, but always gets into trouble. Rabbit gets an airplane stuck in a tree and has a brilliant idea to stack up zoo animals, including an elephant, a rhino, a hippo, and a bear, to help them reach it. But the plane is still out of reach! After Rabbit’s last effort, the animals come tumbling down. The animals are not happy, but Rabbit means well. This book might leave you thinking about some of your friends that may be like Rabbit sometimes. In the end, good friends stick around through …

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Boom! Boom! Boom!, Ariel Woodbury Aug 2017

Boom! Boom! Boom!, Ariel Woodbury

Children's Book and Media Review

The thunder booms outside and no one wants to be alone. A little boy is joined under the covers by his animals friends, one by one, until the bed can't hold them all! The bed breaks and everyone scatters, leaving the little boy and his teddy bear to sleep alone at last. The story has a rhyming narrative that counts along as the number of animals in the boy's bed increases with each turn of the page. The storm outside the boy's room is paired with large, colorful type for its onomatopoetic booms and crashes. The illustrations have soft edges …

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A General-Purpose Animation System For 4d, Justin Alain Jensen Aug 2017

A General-Purpose Animation System For 4d, Justin Alain Jensen

Theses and Dissertations

Computer animation has been limited almost exclusively to 2D and 3D. The tools for 3D computer animation have been largely in place for decades and are well-understood. Existing tools for visualizing 4D geometry include minimal animation features. Few tools have been designed specifically for animation of higher-dimensional objects, phenomena, or spaces. None have been designed to be familiar to 3D animators. A general-purpose 4D animation system can be expected to facilitate more widespread understanding of 4D geometry and space, can become the basis for creating unique 3D visual effects, and may offer new insight into 3D animation concepts. We have …

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The Effect Of Cocoa Flavanols On Β-Cell Mass And Function, Thomas John Rowley Aug 2017

The Effect Of Cocoa Flavanols On Β-Cell Mass And Function, Thomas John Rowley

Theses and Dissertations

A hallmark of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is β-cell dysfunction and the eventual loss of functional β-cell mass. Therefore, mechanisms that improve or preserve β-cell function could be used to improve the quality of life of individuals with T2D. Studies have shown that monomeric, oligomeric and polymeric cocoa flavanols have different effects on obesity, insulin resistance and glucose tolerance. We hypothesized that these cocoa flavanols may have beneficial effects on β-cell function. INS-1 832/13 derived β-cells and primary rat islets cultured with a monomeric catechin-rich cocoa flavanol fraction demonstrated enhanced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, while cells cultured with total cocoa extract, …

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Space Use, Resource Selection, And Survival Of Reintroduced Bighorn Sheep, Rusty Wade Robinson Aug 2017

Space Use, Resource Selection, And Survival Of Reintroduced Bighorn Sheep, Rusty Wade Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

Successful management of bighorn sheep depends on understanding the mechanisms responsible for population growth or decline, habitat selection, and utilization distribution after translocations. We studied a declining population of desert bighorn sheep in the North San Rafael Swell, Utah to determine birthdates of neonates, demographics, limiting factors, population size, probable cause of death, production, and survival. We documented 19 mortalities attributed to a variety of causes including cougar predation (n = 10, 53%), bluetongue virus (n = 2, 11%), reproductive complications (n = 2, 11%), hunter harvest (n = 1, 5%), and unknown (n = 4, 21%). Annual survival of …

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The Relationship Between Microbiota, Diet, And Energy Production In The Alpaca, Courtney Carroll Aug 2017

The Relationship Between Microbiota, Diet, And Energy Production In The Alpaca, Courtney Carroll

Theses and Dissertations

The alpaca is a small South American camelid (SAC) that is an important production animal in Peru, especially among the highly impoverished communities of the high Andes, and raised for its fiber and meat. Alpacas are highly reliant on the microbes within their digestive tracts to digest the plant material they consume; volatile fatty acids (VFAs) are released as a byproduct of this microbial fermentation and used as a major source of energy by the alpaca. To explore optimal parameters for alpaca microbiome analysis, performed 16S rRNA gene surveys on alpaca C1 and fecal samples that had been extracted using …

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Mri T2 Signal Changes Indicate Tau Pathophysiology In A Murine Alzheimer's Disease Model, Rajan Deep Adhikari Aug 2017

Mri T2 Signal Changes Indicate Tau Pathophysiology In A Murine Alzheimer's Disease Model, Rajan Deep Adhikari

Theses and Dissertations

Pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment, the essential domains in medical practice, seem helpless to address Alzheimer's disease (AD). With a huge mortality rate, it is looming and threatening the socioeconomic barrier. Despite many different studies, the pathogenesis of AD remains inconclusive. However, growing numbers of studies suggest oxidative stress to contribute to the initiation and progression of AD. We propose an iron hypothesis: iron mediated oxidative damage by reactive oxygen species (ROS), which induces protective roles of amyloid beta and hyper-phosphorylated tau (HP-tau) to sequester iron and limit the disease. We propose to study such mechanism using transgenic mice models for …

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Mass Communication Law And Policy Research And The Values Of Free Expression, Edward L. Carter Jul 2017

Mass Communication Law And Policy Research And The Values Of Free Expression, Edward L. Carter

Faculty Publications

Mass communication law and policy research, including on values and theory of freedom of expression, has played an important role in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly for decades. Mass communication law research in Quarterly reached a high point with a special issue on the First Amendment in 1992 and numerous articles in the decade that followed. A relationship is explored between First Amendment theory and structural archetypes of constitutional argument. Future research could focus on international law and contemporary challenges involving technology, surveillance and changes in democratic citizenship.

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Single-Species And Multiple-Species Connectivity Models For Large Mammals On The Navajo Nation, Erica Fleishman, Jesse Anderson, Brett G. Dickson Jul 2017

Single-Species And Multiple-Species Connectivity Models For Large Mammals On The Navajo Nation, Erica Fleishman, Jesse Anderson, Brett G. Dickson

Western North American Naturalist

Estimation of connectivity for multiple species could increase the efficiency of resource management and elucidate trade-offs among maintenance of connectivity for different taxa. We identified potential areas of high connectivity for 5 species of mammals on the Navajo Nation and adjacent lands in Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, USA: mountain lion (Puma concolor), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni), American black bear (Ursus americanus), and pronghorn (Antilocapra americana). These species were identified by the Navajo Nation as relevant to the benefit of their present and future …

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Westward Expansion Of The Evening Bat (Nycticeius Humeralis) In The United States, With Notes On The First Record From New Mexico, Brett R. Andersen, Keith Geluso, Hans W. Otto, Larisa Bishop-Boros Jul 2017

Westward Expansion Of The Evening Bat (Nycticeius Humeralis) In The United States, With Notes On The First Record From New Mexico, Brett R. Andersen, Keith Geluso, Hans W. Otto, Larisa Bishop-Boros

Western North American Naturalist

The general lack of trees in the Great Plains has limited colonization by eastern woodland mammals in the past, but recent expansion of forests in corridors along prairie waterways and in towns has enabled an assortment of woodland species to expand distributional ranges westward. The evening bat (Nycticeius humeralis) historically occurred in woodlands throughout the eastern United States. Following our capture of the first evening bat in New Mexico, we updated the distributional range for this species by amassing recent records from published literature and museum voucher records west of its historic range published in 1981, the last …

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Distribution Of Western Juniper Seeds Across An Ecotone And Implications For Dispersal, Lindsay A. Dimitri, William S. Longland Jul 2017

Distribution Of Western Juniper Seeds Across An Ecotone And Implications For Dispersal, Lindsay A. Dimitri, William S. Longland

Western North American Naturalist

Western juniper woodlands have been the focus of extensive research and management due to range expansion and infilling that began over a century ago. Understanding juniper seed dispersal is vital to identifying processes behind this expansion. Dispersal of Juniperus seeds has generally been attributed to consumption of female juniper cones (“berries”) by frugivorous birds and mammals, which then defecate seeds after gut passage. However, recent studies have found that scatter-hoarding rodents harvest and cache juniper seeds. Rodents caching and failing to recover juniper seeds that have been removed from feces may constitute a secondary mode of dispersal that accounts for …

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Limitations In The Reproductive Success Of A Burrow-Nesting Bird (Momotus Mexicanus) During A Humid Season, Grégory Michaël Charre, Omar Paniagua, Marcela Osorio-Beristain Jul 2017

Limitations In The Reproductive Success Of A Burrow-Nesting Bird (Momotus Mexicanus) During A Humid Season, Grégory Michaël Charre, Omar Paniagua, Marcela Osorio-Beristain

Western North American Naturalist

Burrow-nesting birds are limited by access to nest sites, particularly in years of very high humidity levels, such those seen with El Niño, or in forests that are fragmented due to the effects of human activity. We assessed the breeding success of Momotus mexicanus nesting along the earth bank of a secondary road corridor in a seasonally dry tropical forest in Central Mexico. We monitored 28 nests during the reproductive period and characterized the composition of the soil where they were constructed, as well as other physical variables. One nest produced 2 fledglings, and the other 27 failed to …

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Historical Occurrence Of White-Tailed Ptarmigan In Wyoming, Clait E. Braun, Gregory T. Wann Jul 2017

Historical Occurrence Of White-Tailed Ptarmigan In Wyoming, Clait E. Braun, Gregory T. Wann

Western North American Naturalist

We found 13 specimens (11 museum skins, 2 skeletons) of White-tailed Ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura) collected in Wyoming. All were collected in the 1911–1967 period: 12 from the Snowy Range (Albany County) and one from near Encampment (Carbon County). The last verifiable observations of White-tailed Ptarmigan in the Snowy Range were 2 separate reports in 1974, both of 4 individuals in the same location. A more recent report of 2 birds north of the Snowy Range on 15 October 2005 has also been verified. None of the verifiable observations or collection events was of more than 6 individuals. Most …

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Genetic Structure Across A Contact Zone Between Xerospermophilus Ground Squirrels In Southern California, Philip Leitner, Jennifer Rippert, Majorie D. Matocq Jul 2017

Genetic Structure Across A Contact Zone Between Xerospermophilus Ground Squirrels In Southern California, Philip Leitner, Jennifer Rippert, Majorie D. Matocq

Western North American Naturalist

The Mohave ground squirrel (Xerospermophilus mohavensis) is endemic to the western Mojave Desert of California and is state-listed as Threatened. This species is of conservation concern because of the potential for large-scale renewable energy development within its range. Recent evidence suggests that this threatened species may at least occasionally hybridize with the closely related round-tailed ground squirrel (Xerospermophilus tereticaudus) where the species come into contact. As a result, there is great interest in the distribution of the Mohave ground squirrel, especially where it may come in contact with the round-tailed ground squirrel. One of the least …

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The Role Of Lkb1 In Obesity-Induced Skeletal Muscle Inflammation And Insulin Resistance, David Thomson Jul 2017

The Role Of Lkb1 In Obesity-Induced Skeletal Muscle Inflammation And Insulin Resistance, David Thomson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The incidence of obesity and the health consequences that accompany it have increased rapidly over the past decade. Understanding the molecular pathways involved in its development will be crucial in developing novel treatment strategies for obesity and associated disorders. Low-grade inflammation likely plays a major role in many of the complications of obesity. We proposed to study the role of liver kinase B1 (LKB1) in the development of inflammation and insulin resistance in obese mice and saturated fatty acid-induced insulin-resistant cells.

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Synaptic Modification Of Inhibitory Inputs To Gaba Neurons In The Ventral Tegmental Area: A Novel Potential Target Mediating Reward And Addiction In The Brain, Jeff Edwards Jul 2017

Synaptic Modification Of Inhibitory Inputs To Gaba Neurons In The Ventral Tegmental Area: A Novel Potential Target Mediating Reward And Addiction In The Brain, Jeff Edwards

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The objectives of this award were met, especially in regard to the mentoring focus of the award. The students have been mentored and trained in an effective manner as outlined in my Mentoring Plan (abbreviated below). This includes mentoring students in research, writing, publishing, presenting at conferences, etc. Indeed, one measure of the success of mentoring is demonstrated by the fact that all the students graduating from my lab during this time were accepted to the professional school of their choice (see students listed below). Research, especially where the students are actually involved in all aspects of it including data …

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The Role Of Nr4a1 In Maternal Obesity Induced Beta Cell Expansion, Jeffery S. Tessem Jul 2017

The Role Of Nr4a1 In Maternal Obesity Induced Beta Cell Expansion, 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 examine the relationship between in utero Nr4a1 beta cell specific deletion during maternal overnutrition and obesity on beta cell mass at birth and diabetic onset. 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.

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Insect Visual Systems And Fossils To Provide Students A Clear Vision Of 21st Century Phylogenetic Systematics, Seth M. Bybee Jul 2017

Insect Visual Systems And Fossils To Provide Students A Clear Vision Of 21st Century Phylogenetic Systematics, Seth M. Bybee

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Goals one and three were both very successful (more below), however goal two became bogged down and was ultimately abandoned. CT-scanning is a process that requires hundreds or even thousands of fine x-rays through an organism in cross-section to be “stacked” together. Stacking the x-rays together allows researchers to literally explore the internal and external anatomy of organisms in ways never before possible. The most successful scans are those produced when tissues are discrete and have different attributes in terms of pattern, hardness, etc. We focused heavily on fossil specimens embedded in amber. Unfortunately, the cuticle of these specimens were …

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Response To Drought Of A Stream Fish Assemblage In A High Elevation Stream In The Intermountain West, Richard M. Simkins Jul 2017

Response To Drought Of A Stream Fish Assemblage In A High Elevation Stream In The Intermountain West, Richard M. Simkins

Theses and Dissertations

One of the most influential disturbances for stream fish assemblages is large-scale declines in flow caused by periods of drought. Although stream characteristics are known to influence the response of stream fishes to drought, we asked if ecological traits of stream fishes determine, in part, their population level response to drought. To test for ecological trait-based responses to drought in a stream fish assemblage, we quantified species abundances over a period of 5 years that represented a wet to dry period. We sampled stream fishes in Yellow Creek, Wyoming, USA, a high elevation stream dependent on snow-storage for most of …

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