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Mommy Blogs And Rhetoric: Reading Experiences That Shape Maternal Identities, Brighton Joan Capua May 2013

Mommy Blogs And Rhetoric: Reading Experiences That Shape Maternal Identities, Brighton Joan Capua

Theses and Dissertations

The transition to motherhood is difficult and jarring for many women. Not only does this transition demand life-altering changes to a woman's life, but especially in more recent times, this transition offers nothing but uncertainty. As the role and understanding of women continues to change, what motherhood means becomes increasingly difficult to define; additionally, the traditional narratives of stay-at-home mothers who are always happy to do housework and nurture their children no longer apply for many 21st-century women, leaving new mothers feeling uncertain about who they are and who they want to become. Since the turn of the century, mothers …

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Evaluating The Safety Effects Of Signal Improvements, Ashley Lynn Dowell May 2013

Evaluating The Safety Effects Of Signal Improvements, Ashley Lynn Dowell

Theses and Dissertations

As a result of high crash frequencies on roadways, transportation safety has become a high priority for the United States Department of Transportation and the Utah Department of Transportation. A large percentage of fatal and injury crashes on roadways occur at intersections and traffic signals have been implemented to reduce these severe crashes. There is a need to evaluate the effectiveness of the traffic signal improvements through the development of Crash Modification Factors (CMFs). Recent research has shown that traditional safety evaluation methods have been inadequate in developing CMFs. In recent years, Bayesian statistical methods have been utilized in traffic …

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Isolation, Characterization And Synthesis Of Asthma Inducing Fungal Glycolipid And Analytical Method Development For Novel Antimicrobial Peptide Mimics, Vinod Chaudhary May 2013

Isolation, Characterization And Synthesis Of Asthma Inducing Fungal Glycolipid And Analytical Method Development For Novel Antimicrobial Peptide Mimics, Vinod Chaudhary

Theses and Dissertations

NKT cells are an important part of human immune system and recognize a specific set of antigens called glycolipids. Only a handful of "natural" NKT cell antigens are known till date. Although NKT cells play a protective role against pathogenic organisms, imbalances in NKT cell functions are implicated in many diseases including asthma. Allergic asthma, a Th2 driven inflammation of airways, is primarily caused by inhalation of environmental allergens. In the last decade, inhaled allergen Aspergillus fumigatus has been under scrutiny for the presence of NKT cell antigens that might trigger asthma. We successfully isolated, characterized and synthesized a "natural" …

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Synthesis And Immunological Evaluation Of Type I, Type Ii, And Gamma Delta Nkt Cell Antigens, Brian L. Anderson May 2013

Synthesis And Immunological Evaluation Of Type I, Type Ii, And Gamma Delta Nkt Cell Antigens, Brian L. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the immune system is to protect our bodies from infection. One way it accomplishes this task is through the presentation of foreign pathogens to NKT cells. After an antigen is presented to the T cell receptor, activated NKT cells quickly release soluble chemical signals, termed chemokines and cytokines, that modulate the response of the immune system. Due to the immunological relevance of NKT cell activation, we developed and synthesised non-natural analogs of immunostimulatory type I, II, and gamma delta NKT cell antigens. The immunological evaluations of these analogs resulted in identification of sulfatide as a gamma delta …

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The State Of The Research: Meta-Analysis And Conceptual Critique Of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Ryan Lance Nelson May 2013

The State Of The Research: Meta-Analysis And Conceptual Critique Of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Ryan Lance Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers studying the long-term cognitive sequelae of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) have produced disparate results. Some studies have shown little to no long-term cognitive effects while others have shown that persistent cognitive sequelae continue to affect a subgroup of patients. Meta-analysis has been used to try to integrate these contrasting results to foster a coherent understanding of the cognitive outcomes following mTBI. However, previous meta-analyses of long-term cognitive sequelae have used studies from a period of mTBI research where methodological rigor has been called into question (Carroll, Cassidy, Holm, Kraus, & Coronado, 2004). Using studies from this period, meta-analysts …

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An Exploration Of Carbon-Filled Carbon Nanotubes As A Potential Material In Coronary Stents, Kristopher Neil Jones May 2013

An Exploration Of Carbon-Filled Carbon Nanotubes As A Potential Material In Coronary Stents, Kristopher Neil Jones

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to explore the potential of using carbon-infiltrated carbon nanotubes (CI-CNT) as a material for coronary artery stents. Stents are commonly fabricated from metal, which may not perform as well as many polymers and ceramics in biomedical applications. Pyrolytic carbon, a ceramic, is currently used in medical implant devices due to its preferrable biocompatibility properties. Micro-patterned pyrolytic carbon devices can be created by growing carbon nanotubes, and then filling the space between with amorphous carbon via chemical vapor deposition. We prepared multiple samples of two different planar stent-like flexible geometries and smaller cubic structures out …

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The Effects Of Intervention Involving A Robot On Compliance Of Four Children With Autism To Requests Produced By Their Mothers, Holly Jeanne Nelson May 2013

The Effects Of Intervention Involving A Robot On Compliance Of Four Children With Autism To Requests Produced By Their Mothers, Holly Jeanne Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

The current study presents the use of a humanoid robot to facilitate compliant behaviors to two types of directives in four children with autism. The children participated in a three-month intervention program that incorporated core components of the SCERTS model in order to facilitate social communication (Prizant, Wetherby, Rubin, & Laurent, 2003). Treatment sessions were comprised of 40 minutes of traditional treatment and 10 minutes of interaction with a humanoid robot. Pre- and post-intervention assessment were conducted, each involving a 5 minute interaction with the child's mother, in which they were presented with directives in the form of physical manipulation …

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“Short Tempers And Long Knives: Hostilities Between The Blackfeet Confederacy And American Fur Trappers From 1806 To 1840.”, Jay H. Buckley May 2013

“Short Tempers And Long Knives: Hostilities Between The Blackfeet Confederacy And American Fur Trappers From 1806 To 1840.”, Jay H. Buckley

Faculty Publications

Next to grizzly bears and Mother Nature, the most feared enemy of American fur trappers traveling along the upper Missouri River were the Niitsftapi or Blackfeet, the "Original People" or "Prairie People." The Blackfeet Confederacy comprised the dominant military power on the northwestern plains. Blackfeet sought to maintain their hegemony by preventing American traders and trappers from trading with and strengthening the Shoshones, Crows, Flatheads (Salish), and Nez Perces. They accomplished this by harassing and attacking American trappers and stealing their horses and furs. Blackfeet enmity toward the Americans and their determination to keep them out of their neighborhood instilled …

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Bats Of Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas: Community Composition, Abundance, And Seasonal Acivity, Tamera D. H. Riedle, Raymond S. Matlack Apr 2013

Bats Of Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas: Community Composition, Abundance, And Seasonal Acivity, Tamera D. H. Riedle, Raymond S. Matlack

Western North American Naturalist

Basic natural history information is lacking for many bats, especially for bats of the Texas Panhandle. We examined community composition, relative abundance, and seasonal activity of bats in Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas, using 3 survey methods (mist net, roost surveys, and acoustic monitoring) between July 2006 and May 2009. Twelve species of bats were captured or observed, with the Brazilian free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis), canyon bat (Parastrellus hesperus), and big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) being the most common. Acoustic calls of 2 additional species, most likely the California myotis (Myotis californicus …

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Medusahead Invasion Along Unimproved Roads, Animal Trails, And Random Transects, Kirk W. Davies, Aleta M. Nafus, Matthew D. Madsen Apr 2013

Medusahead Invasion Along Unimproved Roads, Animal Trails, And Random Transects, Kirk W. Davies, Aleta M. Nafus, Matthew D. Madsen

Western North American Naturalist

Medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae [L.] Nevski), an exotic annual grass, is rapidly spreading and causing ecological damage across the western United States. Because this exotic plant occupies vast areas and because management resources are limited, it is critical that land managers prioritize where they direct treatment and monitoring efforts. Identifying where and by what means medusahead is spreading could provide valuable information to assist in determining where prevention and control efforts should be applied. We compared medusahead invasion levels along unimproved roads, animal trails, and random transects at 6 sites in southeastern Oregon to determine where medusahead was more common …

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Assessing Migratory Stopover Site Quality For Birds During Fall Migration Along Two California Rivers, Renée L. Cormier, Thomas Gardali, Julian K. Wood Apr 2013

Assessing Migratory Stopover Site Quality For Birds During Fall Migration Along Two California Rivers, Renée L. Cormier, Thomas Gardali, Julian K. Wood

Western North American Naturalist

Measuring site quality for birds at migration stopover grounds and identifying critical stopover habitats are both important components of gauging the full life cycle conservation of migratory birds. We evaluated riparian stopover habitat quality on the San Joaquin and Mokelumne rivers in California’s Central Valley for migrant Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii), Orange-crowned Warblers (Oreothlypis celata), Yellow Warblers (Setophaga petechia), and Wilson’s Warblers (Cardellina pusilla). For each species, we used 3 approaches to assess habitat quality: (1) we examined change in mass of individuals that were recaptured at least once; (2) we tracked …

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Provisioning Rate, Dietary Composition, And Prey Selection Of Breeding Bobolinks And Grasshopper Sparrows, Ben R. Skipper, Daniel H. Kim Apr 2013

Provisioning Rate, Dietary Composition, And Prey Selection Of Breeding Bobolinks And Grasshopper Sparrows, Ben R. Skipper, Daniel H. Kim

Western North American Naturalist

We examined parental provisioning behavior of 2 grassland obligate birds, Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) and Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum) in south central Nebraska. We assessed rates of food delivery (provisions ⋅ nestling–1h–1) and prey composition by using video recordings. We estimated arthropod availability from sweep net samples collected during 2 breeding seasons. We evaluated the effects of provisioning rate and prey composition on nestling quality inferred through nestling mass. We focused our efforts on lepidopteran larvae and orthopterans, as these orders comprised the bulk of identified prey deliveries. Total provisioning rates at 53 …

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Hatching Plasticity Under Complex Conditions: Responses Of Newt Embryos To Chemical And Mechanical Stimuli From Egg And Larval Predators, Brian G. Gall, Leticia L. Hoffmann, Edmund D. Brodie Jr. Apr 2013

Hatching Plasticity Under Complex Conditions: Responses Of Newt Embryos To Chemical And Mechanical Stimuli From Egg And Larval Predators, Brian G. Gall, Leticia L. Hoffmann, Edmund D. Brodie Jr.

Western North American Naturalist

Environmentally cued hatching plasticity is a common attribute of the eggs of oviparous organisms that has been especially well studied in amphibians. Nevertheless, this process has been largely overlooked in species with complex natural histories. We exposed embryos of the rough-skinned newt (Taricha granulosa) to chemical and mechanical stimuli from multiple potential threats, including caddisfly larvae, a major predator on the egg stage of newts. Newt embryos did not exhibit hatching plasticity toward chemical cues from any treatment but, contrary to prediction, did delay hatching in response to mechanical stimuli from an egg predator. Observations of predation by …

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The Biology Of Small Mammals By Joseph F. Merritt, Howard O. Clark Apr 2013

The Biology Of Small Mammals By Joseph F. Merritt, Howard O. Clark

Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

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End Matter, Vol. 73 No. 1 Apr 2013

End Matter, Vol. 73 No. 1

Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

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Kenneth W. Stewart, 1935–2012: Obituary And List Of Publications, Bill P. Stark, Richard W. Baumann Apr 2013

Kenneth W. Stewart, 1935–2012: Obituary And List Of Publications, Bill P. Stark, Richard W. Baumann

Western North American Naturalist

Kenneth W. Stewart, obituary

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Mimicking The Mechanical Behavior Of Advancing Disc Degeneration Through Needle Injections, Jeremy S. Alsup Apr 2013

Mimicking The Mechanical Behavior Of Advancing Disc Degeneration Through Needle Injections, Jeremy S. Alsup

Theses and Dissertations

Objective - To investigate the effects of injected protease solution on the mechanical advancement of disc degeneration, and to establish test protocol for future pre-clinical validation of spinal arthroplasty devices. The hypothesis that injection of a protease into a cadaveric lumbar disc will mimic advanced degeneration mechanics was the subject of this study. Summary of Background Information - Spinal disc degeneration is a universal condition that progresses in adults due to aging, disease, or injury. Stages of disc degeneration have been categorized in cadaver specimens, with each degeneration level exhibiting characteristic changes in flexibility parameters. Spinal disc tissue can be …

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Improving Crowd Simulation With Optimal Acceleration Angles, Movement On 3d Surfaces, And Social Dynamics, Brian C. Ricks Apr 2013

Improving Crowd Simulation With Optimal Acceleration Angles, Movement On 3d Surfaces, And Social Dynamics, Brian C. Ricks

Theses and Dissertations

Crowd simulation plays a critical role in modern films, games, and architectural design. However, despite decades of algorithmic improvements, crowds use sub-optimal heuristics, are primarily constrained to 2D surfaces, and show few if any social dynamics. This dissertation proposes that a solution to these problems lies in altering how each agent perceives its environment as opposed to new obstacle avoidance algorithms. First, this dissertation presents a theoretical look at optimal agent movement. Next, in order to place crowds on arbitrary 3D manifolds, algorithms are proposed that change how each agent perceives its environment. The resulting crowds move naturally across a …

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Kinetics Of Atmospheric Reactions Of Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds: Measurement Of The Rate Constant Ofthujone + Cl· At 296 K And Calculation Ofthe Equilibrium Constant For The Ho2ch2ch2o2· H2o Complex, Marie Coy Killian Apr 2013

Kinetics Of Atmospheric Reactions Of Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds: Measurement Of The Rate Constant Ofthujone + Cl· At 296 K And Calculation Ofthe Equilibrium Constant For The Ho2ch2ch2o2· H2o Complex, Marie Coy Killian

Theses and Dissertations

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) react with Cl and OH radicals and the resulting radicals combine with oxygen to form peroxy radicals RO2. Organic peroxy radicals can then react with NO to form NO2, a precursor of tropospheric ozone. The work presented here explored the initial reaction between Cl and thujone, a VOC emitted by Great Basin sagebrush. The rate constant for the reaction of thujone + Cl at 296 K was measured with the method of relative rates with FTIR for detection of reactants. LEDs were used to photolyze Cl2 to generate Cl in the reaction cell. Thujone was …

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Effects Of Light Stimulation On The Baseline Level Of Dopamine In The Nucleus Accumbens, Benjamin Carter, Dr. Scott Steffensen Apr 2013

Effects Of Light Stimulation On The Baseline Level Of Dopamine In The Nucleus Accumbens, Benjamin Carter, Dr. Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This study explored the effects of light stimulation on the baseline levels of dopamine (DA) in the Nucleus Accumbens (NAc).

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The Childrens’ Literacy Project: “Restoring The Love Of Reading”, Melissa Manwill, Robert Barrett Apr 2013

The Childrens’ Literacy Project: “Restoring The Love Of Reading”, Melissa Manwill, Robert Barrett

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This project began as a desire to try my hand at making a graphic novel. I’d never done it before. Neither had my classmates. We had also never made a collaborative art project in the way that the animation program makes a film each year. Those two desires culminated in a 12-person team compiling an anthology of graphic novels to address illiteracy by helping students ages 9-14 get excited and stay excited about reading. The concept is like the children’s TV show Wishbone. You target the reluctant readers who are 9-14 years old, and you give them a teaser of …

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Chronicle Of A Country: French Oral Histories, Jacob Johnson, Dr. Dean Duncan Apr 2013

Chronicle Of A Country: French Oral Histories, Jacob Johnson, Dr. Dean Duncan

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Our project is a creative approach to documenting French culture through the words and experiences of its citizens. We traveled to France and interviewed many people, learning a great deal about what happiness means to people from this country. Our questions were simple: Could you tell us a story from a time in your life when you were happy? And could you tell us one from when you were sad? Overall, we found both great variety in their responses, as well as common themes throughout many of the stories they told. The most common element that the people interviewed connected …

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Mariachi-Dachi, Kevin Merriman, Ryan Woodward Apr 2013

Mariachi-Dachi, Kevin Merriman, Ryan Woodward

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Besides the fact that this is something I’ve fantasized doing since I was a kid, this was also the perfect project for me to help propel my career forward as an artist. As a student, it’s easy to get caught up in finishing assignments for the sake of getting a good grade – and as an art student, this can become a very dangerous thing. Having more complete thoughts and finished products speak much louder to potential employers, and when art students are too focused on finishing something just for a grade, they risk not having things in their portfolio …

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A Midsummer Night's Dream: A Teacher's Solution To Disinterest And Society's Solution To Anti-Literacy, Leah Anderson Apr 2013

A Midsummer Night's Dream: A Teacher's Solution To Disinterest And Society's Solution To Anti-Literacy, Leah Anderson

Student Works

Shakespeare has made his way from the heart of commonplace Globe attendants, through the minds of scholarly experts and into the adolescent classroom. As an icon in the history of written English literature, Shakespeare has influenced writers for centuries. Now, thousands of ninth grade students study Romeo and Juliet and other plays each year. The universal themes promoted by Shakespeare's myriad of publications as well as his stylistic prowess in make his work a popular part of high school English syllabi. However, arguments about the psychological and academic impact of these plays on today's youth present a contrary argument. This …

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The Villain Iago As The Pinnacle Of Badness, Lauren Remington Apr 2013

The Villain Iago As The Pinnacle Of Badness, Lauren Remington

Student Works

Shakespeare's Othello, one of Shakespeare's most popular tragedies, showcases the works and cunning of one well-known and even well-loved villains, Iago. Iago is a chameleon of a character easily capable of manipulating those around him to meet his ends. All the cleverness and cold calculation homaged, he lacks any definitive motive or driving purpose, merely revenge on the seemingly guiltless Othello. This determined denial of a motive and extremity of action reflects well Carl Jung, a well-celebrated personality psychologist, and his theory on personality, specifically the "shadow" archetype. The shadow is an amoral, metaphorical storage center of humankind's propensity to …

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Choosing Not To Believe: Realistic Unrealism In The Winter's Tale, Rachel Olson Apr 2013

Choosing Not To Believe: Realistic Unrealism In The Winter's Tale, Rachel Olson

Student Works

The romantic elements of mixing genres and the influence of the supernatural within Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale have led to the critics' rejection of the play. Leontes's, the tragic hero's, interaction with the oracle in the play thus becomes a metaphor for this rejection, as it is a rejection seemingly based on a desire for realism. In reality, it is a rejection predicated on an inability to recognize that the romantic elements of the play are in fact what makes it realistic, a belief that is essential to understanding and appreciating the message of the play. The mishmash of genres …

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Place-Based Art Education/Anasazi & Fremon Art And Culture, Mark Graham Apr 2013

Place-Based Art Education/Anasazi & Fremon Art And Culture, Mark Graham

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This project engaged students in arts-based research of the rock art of Anasazi, Fremont and other ancient cultures in central and southern Utah. Their research had three components: (1) A review of research literature describing the history and interpretations of this ancient art, place-based education, and the issues of educating the indigenous people of Utah and the American Southwest. (2) A visual documentation of this ancient rock art in its various locations that includes photography, drawing and painting. (3) A scholarly presentation of the background research and the visual documentation that incorporates arts-based research methodology. This project will began during …

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Mentored Research In Geochemistry Of Ancient Maya And Fremont Archaeological Sites, Dr. Richard Terry Apr 2013

Mentored Research In Geochemistry Of Ancient Maya And Fremont Archaeological Sites, Dr. Richard Terry

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Many of the activities of the ancient Maya did not leave artifactual or architectural remains for us to study, since many activities involved organic materials that were biodegraded over time. Furthermore, the warm and humid climate accelerated the decomposition of most organic materials (Dahlin et al., 2007). However, minerals like phosphate contained in food and other organic materials are fixed on the soil surface, imprinting a chemical trace which is possible to analyze (Barba and Ortiz 1992; Terry et al. 2000; Parnell et al. 2001). Geochemical techniques can be used to determine ancient human activity and their correlation to minerals …

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Transcriptional Activity Of The Novel Nuclear Protein Nbmp-2, Dr. Laura Bridgewater Apr 2013

Transcriptional Activity Of The Novel Nuclear Protein Nbmp-2, Dr. Laura Bridgewater

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The goal of this project was to follow up on preliminary data suggesting that nBmp2 directly activated transcription. A few months of follow-up experiments, however, showed that the original transcription data was not reproducible. At that point we turned our attention to two different questions about nBmp2 function: 1) Does nBMP-2 affect the cell cycle? 2) Is nBMP-2 involved in the immune response? These questions have each yielded interesting and important results that are leading toward publications and grant proposals.

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Combining Demographic And Life History Data To Test The Reproductive Value Hypothesis In Livebearing Fishes, Dr. Mark Belk Apr 2013

Combining Demographic And Life History Data To Test The Reproductive Value Hypothesis In Livebearing Fishes, Dr. Mark Belk

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The proposal was to conduct a large-scale mark-recapture project on a livebearing fish in Utah lake to evaluate size and sex-specific mortality rates of this population. The experiment was begun in mid- summer by marking over 1000 individual mosquitofish. All fish were returned to the lake alive after marking. In the original design we would recapture fish at two later intervals – late summer and early spring. At the late summer recapture time we recaptured individuals over a four day period with an intensive effort involving several undergraduates and graduate students. We recaptured only one marked individual out of the …

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