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Ocelot (Leopardus Pardalis): An Addition To The Mammals Of Chihuahua, Mexico, Carlos A. López González, Cristian Aguilar Miguel, Federico Mora Carrillo, Zaira Y. González

Western North American Naturalist

We present the first documented record of an ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) for the Mexican state of Chihuahua. The animal was camera-trapped in open oak woodland. This finding increases the number of mammal species present in the northern Sierra Madre Occidental and reinforces the need for continuing surveys in the barrancas region of Chihuahua.


Documentamos el primer registro de ocelote (Leopardus pardalis) para el Estado de Chihuahua, Mexico asociado a un bosque abierto de encinos, incrementando el numero de species presente en el norte de la Sierra Madre Occidental, fortaleciendo la necesidad de continuar la búsqueda de …

The Neural Correlates Of Anxiety, Learning And Memory In Autism, C. Brock Kirwan

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Autism is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social communication as well as substantial behavioral rigidity. Autism often has a devastating impact on the wellbeing of affected individuals and their families, as well as in community settings such as schools and health care systems. Recent research suggests that some aspects of learning and memory are impaired in autism, but the exact pattern of impaired and spared functions remains unclear. This sponsored MEG project used cross-disciplinary methods to address two main aims: 1) the relationship between anxiety and associative learning and 2) the impact of autism on long-term declarative memory …

Loneliness And Social Isolation As Risk Factors For Mortality: A Meta-Analytic Review, Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Timothy B. Smith, Mark Baker, Tyler Harris, David Stephenson

Faculty Publications

Actual and perceived social isolation are both associated with increased risk for early mortality. The objective of this meta-analytic review is to establish the overall and relative magnitude of social isolation and loneliness and examine possible moderators. A literature search of studies (January 1980 to February 2014) was conducted using MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Social Work Abstracts, and Google Scholar. The included studies provide quantitative data on mortality as affected by loneliness, social isolation, or living alone. Across studies that statistically controlled for a variety of possible confounds, the independent random effects weighted average effect sizes for social isolation OR = …

Media Violence And Judgments Of Offensiveness: A Quantitative And Qualitative Analysis, Sarah M. Coyne, Mark A. Callister, Douglas A. Gentile, Emily Howard

Faculty Publications

Although many studies examine the behavioral effects of viewing media violence, there is little research on whether such violence is perceived as offensive to viewers. Accordingly, the current study examines whether media violence is offensive to viewers and whether feelings of offense mediate the relationship between viewing media violence and aggressive behavior. Participants consisted of 1,429 emerging adults from 2 different Universities in the United States. Results revealed that compared with other content in the media, media violence is perceived as relatively inoffensive. Certain situational (context, genre, and type of violence) and viewer characteristics (gender and religiosity) influenced feelings of …

The Folks Of The Postapocalypse: The Road, Religion, And Folklore Studies, Megan M. Toone

BYU English Symposium

The postapocalyptic genre provides opportunity for examination of the most basic aspects of society considering this alone remains of humanity and culture after apocalyptic events. In a genre where much of societal structures and ideologies are lost, the destroyed concepts cannot adequately analyze postapoclayptic texts. Folklore—the study of human behavior and interaction including the communication and binding together of a individuals and groups—becomes necessary. When applying the revelatory aspect of the postapocalypse with the folkloric framework of analysis to Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, religion comes to the forefront—not religion as expressed and understood by structured and mass religion, but …

Redefining Atonement In The Eco-Dystopian World Of Margaret Atwood's Oryx & Crake, Rachel Gilman

BYU English Symposium

What if there was no God? Margaret Atwood’s Oryx & Crake infiltrates a faithful reader’s mind to consider her eco-dystopian world with this question in mind. From a perspective of faith in God and in atonement, considering this dystopian world becomes an exercise in placing human identity in the context of self-creation and self-destruction rather than in divine origin. Without a spiritual genesis of animals and the natural environment, their purpose becomes more dictated by the progress of human need and their end becomes less intertwined with the fate of humanity. Characters that act as creators and destroyers who are …

“I Could Do With Less Caressing”: Sexual Abuse In The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall, Andrew S. Doub

BYU English Symposium

Anne Brontë’s 1848 novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall has long been called a seminal text in the feminist literary canon. Although a fair amount of recent scholarship has been written on the element of domestic violence found within its pages, most critics concede that Brontë stops short of depicting actual physical abuse between Helen Huntingdon and her husband Arthur. However, this paper suggests that scholars have overlooked Helen’s explicit reports of being sexually assaulted by her husband and their significance. By including the element in her story, Brontë entered her description of marital sexual abuse into the public discourse …

Images Of Horror: Tracing Frankenstein’S Fear-Myth Through Comic Books And Graphic Novels, Audra Coleman

BYU English Symposium

When compiling information for my presentation, I found that there were many different visual representations of Frankenstein’s monster. While these differed in a few ways, each depiction of the monster’s physical body still traced its roots back to the original novel. Each new artist still attempted to create a bodily image that invokes a specific fear: mainly that what we fear the most are our own bodies. In my essay, I explore these various ways the visual representation of Frankenstein’s monster both represents this fear-myth and creates new images for the monster. Due to their heavy visuals and tradition of …

Oz: A Reflection Of America, Monica D. Allen

BYU English Symposium

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum was one of America’s first fairy tales. As such America is embedded, as well as outright discussed, in the book. It is quite clear that around the turn of the century Baum saw the need for a change in America involving the economy and leadership, and noted that this change was beginning to take place. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz reflects this and in his book, Baum brings two conflicting ideas of what America was becoming—the Emerald City—and what he thought America should be like—the rest of Oz, specifically the Munchkin …

“The Black Cat:” A Reflection Of Pre-Civil War Slavery, Hannah Walker

BYU English Symposium

In 1843, Edgar Allan Poe published “The Black Cat” amid one of the most foreboding ages in American history: the pre-Civil War era. Critics often attempt to make sense of the violent plot of Poe’s classic by pointing to flaws in the human psyche or supernatural undertones which pervade many of Poe’s other pieces. However, by recognizing distinct parallels between the Southern practice of slavery and symbolic plot points in “The Black Cat,” readers can unveil richer implications behind Poe’s dark tale. Specifically, “The Black Cat” functions as a racial allegory that depicts the injustices of slavery and, ultimately, shows …

The Central Aim Of This Proposal Is To Provide Opportunities For Students From Diverse Academic Backgrounds To Work Collaboratively On A Number Of Federally Funded Environmental Change Experiments Across Four Of Utah’S Ecosystems—Mojave Desert, Great Basin Shrub Steppe, Subalpine Tall Forb, And Colorado Plateau Grassland. This Proposal Funded 4 Students From Life Sciences And Engineering., Mark C. Belk

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The proposal was to compare life history characteristics and the cost of reproduction tradeoff among populations of a burying beetle (Nicrophorus orbicollis). We conducted two major experiments with the MEG funding directed toward this goal. Both experiments required that we collect beetles from the wild and then raise their offspring in the lab to document responses. First, we compared lifetime reproductive output among two populations at two distinct temperatures. Second, we evaluated parentage of offspring (using newly developed molecular techniques) after manipulation of parental care.

Validation Of An Nbmp2 Mutant Mouse Model, Laura C. Bridgewater

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Work in the Bridgewater Lab over the last several years has focused on elucidating the function of a novel protein we discovered, nBmp2. The initial discovery presenting work performed in cultured cells (rather than whole animals) was published back in 2010 and we subsequently constructed a mutant mouse line in which nBmp2 is disrupted. Much evidence was accumulating to show that the mice have problems with muscle function, neurological function, and immune function, but some fundamental experiments necessary to validate the mouse model had been giving us problems. The absence of that data prevented us from publishing any reports on …

The Role Of Wnt Signaling In Normal Muscle Development And Disease, Jeffery Barrow

Journal of Undergraduate Research

My laboratory studies the role of Wnt signaling in regulating important events during embryogenesis. In order to better understand the function of this pathway, we study mouse mutants that lack the Porcupine (Porcn) gene which encodes a protein that is required for the secretion of all Wnt molecules. Prior to obtaining the MEG grant entitled: The role of Wnt signaling in normal muscle development and disease, we had demonstrated that mice lacking Porcn activity in the ventral limb ectoderm exhibit a thinning of the ventral limb ectoderm, loss of epidermal appendages and loss of muscle and tendons in the underlying …

Motivational Strategies For Second Language Teaching And Learning, Neil J. Anderson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The academic objectives centered around five primary research questions:

1. What is the relationship among (a) teachers’ view of the importance of motivational teaching strategies, (b) the frequency with which they report using motivational teaching strategies, and (c) the actual use of motivational teaching strategies in second language classrooms?
2. How does the teacher’s motivational teaching practice affect learners’ classroom motivation in terms of the levels of their alertness, participation, and volunteering?
3. Can teachers guide learners to take more responsibility for monitoring and maintaining their levels of motivation in second language classrooms?
4. Can learners play a multiplier effect role in motivating their …

A Sequence Variant In Human Kalrn Impairs Protein Function And Coincides With Reduced Cortical Thickness, Derin J. Cobia, Theron A. Russell, Katherine D. Blizinsky, Michael Cahill, Zhong Xie, Robert A. Sweet, Jubao Duan, Pablo V. Gejman, Lei Wang, John G. Csernansky, Peter Penzes

Faculty Publications

Dendritic spine pathology is a key feature of several neuropsychiatric disorders. The Rac1 guanine nucleotide exchange factor kalirin-7 is critical for spine morphogenesis on cortical pyramidal neurons. Here we identify a rare coding variant in the KALRN gene region that encodes the catalytic domain, in a schizophrenia patient and his sibling with major depressive disorder. The D1338N substitution significantly diminished the protein's ability catalyze the activation of Rac1. Contrary to wild-type kalirin-7, kalirin-7-D1338N failed to increase spine size and density. Both subjects carrying the polymorphism displayed reduced cortical volume in the superior temporal sulcus (STS), a region implicated in schizophrenia. …

The Folks Of The Postapocalypse: The Road, Religion, And Folklore Studies, Megan M. Toone

Student Works

Please use abstract submitted to enter conference if possible.

Is Literature Above Politics? James Joyce As An Author Of “Political Enthusiasm”, Lesli A. Mortensen

Student Works

James Joyce's stories "The Dead" and "Eveline" can be considered as "literatures of enthusiasm," a term previously used only to classify political literature in the American Revolution. By showing that Joyce joins in the tradition of writing "literatures of enthusiasm," or works that inspire revolution against colonial power and influence, readers can see how this strategy served to promote a postcolonial literary tradition in Ireland. Joyce sought to inspire the creation of a national identity in the wake of generations of British imperialism, as American authors did during the Revolutionary War. Joyce works towards this goal of inspiring social change …

Functional Anatomy Of The Forelimb Of A New Drepanosaur: Testing Behavioral Models For Extinct Species, Austin Andrus, Dr. Brooks Britt

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Introduction: I recently discovered a new genus of reptile from the Triassic period (roughly 225 million years ago). Reptiles like it are called “drepanosaurs,” and share many unique features such as large claws, unusual, humped shoulder blades, opposable fingers, and prehensile tails. Many of these structures appear to be well-suited for climbing, and the scientific community generally considers drepanosaurs to be arboreal. My new specimen, however, is more complete than previous discoveries have been, and it includes skeletal features that could indicate a digging lifestyle. Digging and climbing are on opposite ends of the behavioral spectrum, so my study seeks …

Adriaen Van De Venne’S Skating Owls (1620-1660), Sarah James Dyer, Martha Peacock

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Although some scholars think that Skating Owls (1620-1660) by Adriaen van de Venne (Fig. 1) is solely a lighthearted piece, I have found that through his use of iconographic imagery and well-known proverbs, van de Venne was able to generate a work of art intended to portray a moralizing message condemning the vice of adultery and warning the male audience about the dangers of cunning women. It was imperative for my thesis to see the artwork in person to conduct further research and gain a greater knowledge about the artwork’s purpose. Very little is known or has been published on …

Advancing Biomechanical Research Through A Camelid Model Of The Human Lumbar Spine, Dean K. Stolworthy

Theses and Dissertations

The increasing incidence of disc degeneration and its correlation with lower back pain is an alarming trend in modern society. The research of intervertebral disc degeneration and low back pain would greatly benefit from additional methods to study its etiology and possible treatment methods. A large animal model that maintains the biological and mechanical environment that is most similar to the human lumbar spine could provide substantial improvements in understanding and resolving the problem of intervertebral disc related low back pain.This dissertation presents my doctoral work of investigating the potential for the camelid cervical spine to serve as a suitable …

Detecting And Tracking Moving Objects From A Small Unmanned Air Vehicle, Patrick Defranco

Theses and Dissertations

As the market for unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) rapidly expands, the need for algorithmsthat improve the capabilities of those vehicles is also growing. One valuable capability for UAVsis that of persistent tracking—the ability to find and track another moving object, usually on theground, from an aerial platform. This thesis presents a method for tracking multiple ground targetsfrom an airborne camera. Moving objects on the ground are detected by using frame-to-frameregistration. The detected objects are then tracked using the newly developed recursive RANSACalgorithm. Much video tracking work has focused on using appearance-based processing for tracking,with some approaches using dynamic trackers such …

Exploring The Antibacterial, Antioxidant, And Anticancerproperties Of Lichen Metabolites, Gajendra Shrestha

Theses and Dissertations

Natural products have been a significant source of new drugs, especially in treating cancer, infectious diseases, hypertension, and neurological disorders. Although many natural metabolites have been screened and yielded pharmaceutically important drugs, many potential sources of natural product drug therapies still need to be investigated, including lichens. Lichens are symbiotic systems consisting of a filamentous fungus and a photosynthetic partner (an eukaryotic alga and/or cyanobacterium). Lichens produce an impressive variety of unique secondary compounds and have been used as ingredients in folk medicines for centuries. Demonstrated biological roles based on lichen chemistry include: antibiotics, anti-proliferative, antioxidants, anti-HIV, anti-cancer, immunomodulation, and …

Rangeland Monitoring Using Remote Sensing: An Assessment Of Vegetation Cover Comparing Field-Based Sampling And Image Analysis Techniques, Ammon K. Boswell

Theses and Dissertations

Rangeland monitoring is used by land managers for assessing multiple-use management practices on western rangelands. Managers benefit from improved monitoring methods that provide rapid, accurate, cost-effective, and robust measures of rangeland health and ecological trend. In this study, we used a supervised classification image analysis approach to estimate plant cover and bare ground by functional group that can be used to monitor and assess rangeland structure. High-resolution color infrared imagery taken of 40 research plots was acquired with a UltraCam X (UCX) digital camera during summer 2011. Ground estimates of cover were simultaneously collected by the Utah Division of Wildlife …

Prototype For Zion: The Original Provo Tabernacle And The Construction Of Mormon Zion In The American West, Ryan W. Saltzgiver

Theses and Dissertations

During the winter of 2011–2012, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and Office of Public Archaeology (OPA) at Brigham Young University (BYU) conducted archaeological explorations in urban Provo, Utah. The purpose of the research was to uncover and document the extant remains of the Original or Old Provo Tabernacle (OPT; 42UT1844). The data recovered from that excavation was the impetus for the current study. Through a combination of documentary and archaeological evidence, and using Mormon theology as a lens through which to interpret the actions of nineteenth century Latter-day Saints, this thesis demonstrates the important role …

Rab Proteins And Alzheimer's: A Current Review Of Their Involvement In Amyloid Beta Generation With Focus On Rab10 Expression In N2a-695 Cells, Ivan Arano Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis work describes the role of Rab proteins in amyloid processing and clearance in different cell pathways. It also describes an experimental approach used to analyze the expression effects of Rab10 in amyloid beta production. Since the main theory behind neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease claims that high levels of amyloid beta 42 (Aβ42) molecules trigger widespread neuronal death, control of Aβ42 has been a main target in Alzheimer's disease research. In addition, several studies show increased levels of particular Rab proteins in Alzheimer's pathogenesis. However, no review consolidates current findings in neurodegeneration of Alzheimer's with Rab protein dysfunction. The …

Betende Hande: Albrecht Durer's Self-Portrait As A Gothic Church, Christine Heathcote

Theses and Dissertations

In 1508 Albrecht Dürer, famed German printmaker and Nürnberg citizen, was commission by Jakob Heller of Frankfurt to paint a large altarpiece for a new church. The Heller Altarpiece was the second commission of the printer since his training in Venice, Italy (1504-1507) to paint like an Italian master. In order to prepare for such a commission, Dürer spent over a year creating drawings of black ink and white chalk on blue Venetian paper to serve as inspiration for the large painting. However once the painting was complete, the artist held onto these ink and chalk drawings as part of …

Three-Dimensional Flow Measurements Around A Mechanical Flapping Wing, Eric R. Hardester

Theses and Dissertations

Man has always been fascinated by the flight of birds and insects. First attempts at flight involved flapping wings to mimic the birds and insects that had been observed in flight. Fixed wings proved to be a more practical approach and have been used for over 100 years for manned flight. Emphasis has been placed on flapping wing designs for micro air vehicles (MAVs) as research has shown that challenges arise in lift generation and stability in fixed wing flight as the scale decreases [1].This research explores the use of 3D, time-resolved, Synthetic Aperture PIV (SAPIV) in measuring flow velocities …

The Biology Of Claudin 6 (Cldn6) In The Developing Mouse Lung, Felix Ruben Jimenez Rondan

Theses and Dissertations

The tight junctions (TJ), which are located in the apical region between epithelial and endothelial cells, regulate the paracellular diffusion of ions and small molecules and play an important role in maintaining cell polarity, cell-cell integrity, and permeability. In the lung, epithelial cells are attached by TJ structures. They provide a permeable barrier and cell communication. The loss of barrier integrity, which is maintained by the expression of claudins (Cldn), results in cellular permibilization and leads to paracellular diffusion of solutes and harmful molecules. There are 27 known Cldn homologous members in mice and human. Cldn6 is mostly expressed in …

The Role Of Receptors For Advanced Glycation End-Products (Rage) And Ceramide In Cardiovascular Disease, Michael Bruce Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

Type 2 diabetes and cigarette smoke exposure are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular complications. The role of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) is already well-established in numerous comorbidities including cardiomyopathy. Given the role of AGEs and their receptor, RAGE, in activating inflammatory pathways, we sought to determine whether ceramides could be a mediator of RAGE-induced altered heart mitochondrial function. Using an in vitro model, we treated H9C2 cardiomyocytes with carboxy-methyl lysine-BSA, followed by mitochondrial respiration assessment. We found that mitochondrial respiration was significantly impaired in AGE-treated cells, but not when co-treated with myriocin, an inhibitor of de novo …

Identifying And Understanding The Difference Between Japanese And English When Giving Walking Directions, Keiko Moriyama Barney

Theses and Dissertations

In order to better identify and understand the differences between Japanese and English, the task of giving walking directions was used. Japanese and American public facilities (10 each) were randomly chosen from which to collect data over the phone in order to examine these differences based on the following five communication styles: 1) politeness, 2) indirectness, 3) self-effacement, 4) back-channel feedback (Aizuchi), 5) and other linguistic and cognitive differences in relation to space and giving directions. The study confirmed what the author reviewed in the literature: Japanese are more polite, English speakers tend to give directions simply and …