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Analysis Of The Cytopathogenic Effect Of Different Hiv-1 Vpr Isoforms On Primary Human Cd4+ T Cells And A Model Cell Line, Jonatan Josue Fierro Nieves

Theses and Dissertations

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the causal agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a disease characterized by the depletion of CD4+ T cells which impairs immune response. Analysis of HIV-1 infected patients has identified two distinctive phenotypes that differ in length of time towards the development of AIDS, Rapid Progressor (RP) and Long-Term Non-Progressor (LTNP) patients. The cause of the differences between these two groups is a process that is still under investigation. Hints about a possible cause have been attributed to the discovery of mutations in the viral protein R (Vpr) that have been associated with these phenotypes: mutations …

Thirteen-Lined Ground Squirrel (Ictidomys Tridecemlineatus) Morphology And Burrow Placement Across A Latitudinal Range, Emma Solis, Emily Davis, Hallie Dickerson, Veronqiue Tessier, Taqwa Armstrong, Jessica Healy-La Price

Western North American Naturalist

Thirteen-lined ground squirrels (TLGS; Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) are burrowing obligate hibernators whose species range extends over 20 degrees latitude in North America from Texas to Canada. Despite their ubiquity as laboratory animals for hibernation research, relatively little is known about their life history across their range in the wild. We live-trapped TLGS in parks or cemeteries from Texas to Minnesota, took morphological measurements, and conducted a survey of burrowing locations in 5 states across the latitudinal gradient. We found that soil texture and percent soil organic matter differed at field sites in different states, with Minnesota soil high in sand …

Improving Ideation Of User Actions Using A Novel Ideation Method, Thomas L. Ashworth

Theses and Dissertations

During early stages of the design process, ideation methods are used to generate a set of potential solutions based on a particular need. Solutions to design problems generally require both technology and user actions (or tactics) of some sort, although solution ideas may omit explicit mention of either technology or tactics. Previous research suggests that an explicit consideration of tactics in early-stage ideation enables design teams to improve the quantity, quality, variety, and novelty of their idea sets. In this paper, a novel ideation method known as the Random Prompts method is presented, and its performance is evaluated against a …

An Analog For Large-Scale Lacustrine Deposits: 3d Characterization Of A Pleistocene Lake Bonneville Spit, Eli D. Lopez

Theses and Dissertations

Ultra-high-resolution subsurface stratigraphy mapped from 3D ground-penetrating radar (GPR) can provide insights into the fine-scale heterogeneity of reservoirs and other geologic features. Analog models derived from 3D GPR aid in understanding reservoir compartmentalization that may be sub-seismic but still affect fluid flow. We integrate 2D profiles and 3D GPR volumes with measured stratigraphic sections from outcrop exposure to characterize the fine-scale stratigraphy of an ancient Lake Bonneville shoreline deposit (locally, circa 20 ka based on carbon-14 dating) in the Great Basin (northwestern Utah). The heterogeneity of the deposit is expressed as multiple discordant patterns, separated by unconformities that likely were …

Renaming The Peak: Investigating The Effects Of Changing The Name Of Squ*W Peak On Native Women And Public Perceptions Of Native American Culture, Hannah Dixon

AWE (A Woman’s Experience)

In light of the rise in public social activism and language justice in recent years, concerns about the name of Squ*w Peak, a mountain point near Provo, Utah, have surfaced due to “squaw” being an offensive term for Native American women. Looking at the effects of the peak’s current name on Native women, as well as its effects on non-Native perceptions of Native women and cultures, shows the potential implications of a name change for the peak. This paper draws on a review of the term’s linguistic associations, studies on potential psychological effects of microaggressions, and research on other effects …

Two Modes Of Cyclicality In The Ancient World, Yanming An

Comparative Civilizations Review

The cyclical view of time and history appears in two modes represented respectively by the Indo-Hellenic and the Chinese tradition. The former contains a conception of Mahayuga or Great Year, which signifies the periodic destruction and reconstruction in the cosmos and human world. In addition, it analogizes human affairs to the celestial cycle and therefore generalizes the mode of cyclical movements in both the cosmos and the human world as “uniform rotation.” In contrast, the Chinese tradition incorporates Heaven and human into a unity, containing no conception of periodic interruption in the movement of Heaven-human unity. At the same, it …

Effects Of Plastic And Waste Pollution On Ocean Communities In The Asian Pacific Region, Whitney Kingsolver

Ballard Brief

Plastic and waste pollution is a global problem, but it affects ocean communities in the Asia Pacific Region (APR) the most due to their lack of resources to process the pollution. Additionally, low-income areas in these countries need access to sustainable non-plastic packaging options, which increases the amount of plastic generated. Direct pollution leads to poor ocean health and the disruption of important industries like tourism or fishing. Plastic pollutants eventually break down, which creates microplastics and releases toxic chemicals. These pollutants damage ecosystems and severely harm marine life. The overwhelming amount of waste pollution in the APR also damages …

Nationalism In The Context Of Globalization, Mariana Tepfenhart, M.A.

Comparative Civilizations Review

To understand the connection and consequences between nationalism and globalism, I will start with a basic definition of nationalism. According to Websters Dictionary, nations that are focused on national, not international goals, are nationalistic. A nation comprises the same language, customs, and traditions.

Some scholars have argued that nationalism has historical roots. People have been bonded by ethnicity and politics from ancient times. Others consider nationalism as a modern phenomenon due to industrialization, democratization, and modern technology. Jonathan Hearn1 from the University of Edinburgh has argued that some states are more homogeneous than others and they have strong senses of …

Pointers From Sociology: Looking At Trevor Noah’S Born A Crime: Stories From A South African Childhood, Joseph Drew

Comparative Civilizations Review

The book is a study of a basic change in social stratification. It is also a study of poverty in South Africa. Plus, it is a study of the changing nature of community and society in that land.

We know that almost every society organizes inequality by ranking categories of people in a hierarchy. Four important principles of social stratification are:

• Social stratification is inclusive of all, not a reflection of individual differences, and shapes our lives.

• Social stratification carries over from generation to generation.

• Social stratification is universal but variable.

• Social stratification involves both inequality and beliefs about the …

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End Matter

Comparative Civilizations Review

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Small Claims, Shawna V. Tropp

Comparative Civilizations Review

Had Laura Davidov not been a heavy woman in her late fifties, she would have thought that she had made a conquest. A golden young man appeared to have been following her through the Musée Rodin for over an hour; his eyes were turquoise, and he was quite old enough to be her son. There was also something disturbingly familiar about him. She therefore beamed her most maternal smile upon him and took a hesitant step in his direction.

Presence Of Malnutrition And Severe Acute Malnutrition Among Children In South Asia, Madison Johnson

Ballard Brief

South Asia is home to 23% of the global population and has the largest prevalence of stunting in any region in the world. Severe acute malnutrition is a frequent cause of death in children under 5 globally. While sustainable development goals have brought more people out of poverty in the last 50 years, a disproportionate number of children remain malnourished. These children are typically found in developing countries, with a large burden existing in South Asia. Young children are most susceptible to the effects of malnutrition as they are at a stage of increased physical and cognitive development. There are …

Singing And Healing: Thought Paper, Kimberly Nearon

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Singing can be a healing experience, both for the body and the soul (1, 3, 4). “Music has the ability to repair brain damage and return lost memories” (3). Common themes in recent studies and articles discuss how “singing releases endorphins, serotonin and dopamine - the ‘happy’ chemicals that boost your mood and make you feel good about yourself” (3). “Singing also counts as an aerobic activity as it introduces more oxygen into the blood leading to better circulations - and a better mood” (3). Singing can “stimulate the immune response”, “improve snoring”, and “improve lung function” benefiting those who …

Mary, Martha, And The “Good Part”: A Feminist Evaluation Of The Glorification Of Sacrifice In Latter-Day Saint Culture, Harriet Norcross

AWE (A Woman’s Experience)

Susa Young Gates Award Essay

Honorable Mention

In the tenth chapter of Luke, Jesus Christ visits the home of sisters Mary and Martha. While Mary sits at the Savior’s feet and listens to his words, Martha bustles about doing what she thinks is her duty, serving others (The Holy Bible, Luke 10:38-42). When she complains to Christ that her sister is not helping her with the work, He will not instruct Mary to leave his side, instead telling Martha that her sister has chosen the good part.

Claiming Power In African American Women Storytelling, Heather Bergeson

AWE (A Woman’s Experience)

Beginning with slave narratives and continuing to the contemporary day, black autobiographers have shared and perpetuated the values and experiences of their communities through the medium of stories, which seek to expose perspectives that are often withheld or overshadowed by white voices. Tracy K. Smith’s memoir Ordinary Light participates in this tradition as she writes about her experiences as an African American woman in the United States. Near the text’s close, Smith asserts that storytelling is an act of “claiming the power to name and state and face the events, even the most awful events, making up a life” (279). …

Li-Ion Electrode Microstructure Evolution During Drying And Calendering, Mojdeh Nikpour, Baichuan Liu, Paul Minson, Zachary Hillman, Brian A. Mazzeo, Dean R. Wheeler

Faculty Publications

The drying process of electrodes might seem to be a simple operation, but it has profound effects on the microstructure. Some unexpected changes can happen depending on the drying conditions. In prior work, we developed the multiphase-smoothed-particle (MPSP) model, which predicted a relative increase in the carbon additive and binder adjacent to the current collector during drying. This motivated us to undertake the present experimental investigation of the relationship between the drying rate and microstructure and transport properties for a typical anode and cathode. Specifically, the drying rate was controlled by means of temperature for both an NMC532 cathode and …

Effects Of Rotor-Airframe Interaction On The Aeromechanics And Wake Of A Quadcopter In Forward Flight, Denis-Gabriel Caprace, Andrew Ning, Philippe Chatelain, Grégoire Winckelmans

Faculty Publications

From small drones to large Urban Air Mobility vehicles, the market of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is currently booming. Modern VTOL designs feature a variety of configurations involving rotors, lifting surfaces and bluff bodies. The resulting aerodynamics are highly impacted by the interactions between those components and their wakes. This has consequences on the aircraft performance and on the downstream wake. Studying the effects of those interactions through CFD can inform the development of cheaper numerical models. In this work, we focus on the interaction between rotors and bluff bodies based on the example of a generic quadcopter …

Dbl Study Reflectivity Journal, Gloria Mora

ScholarsArchive Data

This is a reflectivity journal to document all the steps taken to complete the Thesis "Decision-Based Learning as a Tool for Teaching Statistics in a Peruvian University." This journal documents all the conversations that the researchers have about their understanding of DBL and all the major decisions made it
to complete this study.

Parent And Child Acculturation Differences: Sleep And Weight Outcomes In Latinx Pre-Adolescents, Kelsey K. Zaugg

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: The present study aimed to evaluate associations between parent-child acculturation differences and sleep and weight outcomes in Latinx pre-adolescents aged 10-12 years. Parent and child stress were considered as possible mediators through which parent-child discordance in acculturation may negatively impact sleep quality and body fatness. Pre-adolescent resilience and ethnic pride were explored as possible personal strengths that may ameliorate the impact of this association. Method: Data from mothers, fathers, and pre-adolescents were collected on two occasions separated by one year. In our sample, only language-specific acculturation was significantly different between parents and children. Thus, parent-child language difference was a …

Exploring Perceptions Of New Media Among The Lakota Nation, Isabelle C. Kramer

Theses and Dissertations

Since its inception, the worldwide web has fundamentally altered our understanding of communications. With the rapid adoption of new media around the globe, individuals are increasingly able to communicate with people on the other side of the planet in real-time--traditional boundaries like time and space are no longer relevant barriers to intercultural communication. As such, scholars are scrambling to recognize and understand the broader implications of social media, videoconferencing, blogging, etc on more traditional definitions of culture. Additionally, researchers are beginning to study the ways in which minority cultures are utilizing new media, and the way that new media impacts …

Examining The Effects Of Eating Behaviors On Mental Health And Internalization Of Weight-Based Messaging, Avery E. Bollinger

Theses and Dissertations

The current study sought to explore the effects of eating behaviors on mental health and the internalization of attitudes toward one's appearance. This was performed through a survey distributed through a global online market research firm, Dynata, and gathered 495 eligible participants. Of those, 78 represented the plant-based group, and 417 represented the non-plant-based group. Each completed the survey containing sections with the Mizes Anorectic Cognitions Scale (MACS) to assess if they were at low or high risk for having/developing an eating disorder, a section determining if participants were plant-based (defined as a regimen that encourages whole, plant-based foods and …

Associations Between Glycemic Control And Executive Functioning In Type 1 Diabetes: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Hannah Margot Mcdaniel

Theses and Dissertations

Research conducted with youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D) has shown that glycemic extremes and poorer T1D management are associated with poorer performance on measures of executive functioning (EF) compared to non-T1D counterparts. Deficits in EF may negatively impact the development of healthy T1D management skills. Our primary aim was to conduct a meta-analytic review of previous studies investigating the associations between glycemic control and EF in children with T1D across the developmental span. Comprehensive literature searches were conducted using PubMed, MedLine, PsycInfo, Google Scholar, and EBSCO for articles that met eligibility criteria. Eligibility criteria included correlational, randomized, and non-randomized …

Air Quality Impacts From Mineral Dust, Fireworks, And Urban Pollution Revealed By Trace Element Chemistry And Strontium Isotopes Ratios In The Wasatch Front, Utah, Usa, Micah J. Marcy

Theses and Dissertations

Airborne particulate matter (PM) in urban areas is derived from a combination of natural and anthropogenic sources. To identify PM sources and their effects on air quality, we collected PM using active filter samplers over a two-year period in the urban Wasatch Front, northern Utah, an area affected by multiple pollution sources. Filters from active samplers and other PM samples were analyzed for major and trace element concentrations and 87Sr/86Sr ratios. We identified wind-blown mineral dust from dry lake beds, winter inversions, and fireworks as primary PM sources affecting air quality in the Wasatch Front. Dust contributes Al, Be, Ca, …

Jephthah's Daughter: A Hebrew Foreground For Jesus' Passion In Matthew, Hanna Elizabeth Seariac

Theses and Dissertations

While there are key differences between Jephthah's daughter's story and that of Jesus, not least the difference in gender of the sacrificial victims, this thesis posits that both the similarities and differences between these two accounts can enrich readings of Jesus' death in the gospel of Matthew. A careful comparison of the narrative of Jephthah's daughter with Jesus' Passion narrative in the gospel of Matthew leads to the conclusion that Jesus' death should be interpreted as a human sacrifice. Reading Jesus' death as a human sacrifice and locating it in that socio-religious context makes his death indicative of a transactional, …

Still No Crystal Ball: Toward An Application For Broad Evaluation Of Student Understanding, Piper Armstrong

Theses and Dissertations

Evaluation of student understanding of learning material is critical to effective teaching. Current computer-aided evaluation tools exist, such as Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT); however, they require expert knowledge to implement and update. We propose a novel task, to create an evaluation tool that can predict student performance (knowledge) based on general performance on test questions without expert curation of the questions or expert understanding of the evaluation tool. We implement two methods for creating such a tool, find both methods lacking, and urge further investigation.

Lost In Translation: Implications For Translating Psychometric Tests As Seen With The Nunchi Scale, Jacob A. Larson

Theses and Dissertations

Psychometric tests are often translated from one language into another for use in cultural and cross-cultural psychological research. This tradition has long been a primary method for studying psychological concepts across cultures. A body of literature has been emerging that raises concerns with this process of translation and suggests that psychological concepts may not always translate smoothly across cultures. In what follows, I examine these issues surrounding the translation of psychometric tests. To do this, I gathered survey data for an English translation of the Nunchi Scale, to examine the process of translation and various analytic techniques devised to demonstrate …

An Exploration Of Factors That Impact Uptake Of Human Papillomavirus Vaccines, David Samuel Redd

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction The discovery and continued development of vaccines is arguably one of the most important innovations in human history. Vaccination greatly reduces the worldwide incidence and transmission of diseases, preventing permanent injury and premature death. Mass vaccination campaigns have led to the eradication or partial eradication of severe infectious such as smallpox and polio, have reduced childhood mortality, and has led to an overall increase in average health in the human population globally. Despite the documented benefits of vaccination, vaccine hesitancy is increasing, and the uptake of some vaccines is low. Vaccines have been so successful at preventing disease that …

Big Data Meta-Analyses Of Transcriptional Responses Of Human Samples To Orthohantavirus Infection And Shotgun Metagenomics From Crohn's Disease Patients., John L. Krapohl

Theses and Dissertations

Hantavirus is a dangerous zoonotic viral pathogen that is found across Asia, Europe, and the Americas. This virus causes a range of symptoms from flu-like malaise to heart failure and death. It is normally transmitted to humans via the aerosolized feces or urine of infected rodents. Currently, there are no known treatments for the disease, and it continues to threaten human health in endemic areas. In order to identify possible future therapeutic targets, we ran a meta-analysis of existing transcriptomic data collected from infected human tissue. Several genes and cellular pathways were identified, in addition to several potential therapeutics that …

Defining Cheating Using Multiple Models, Krista Joy Dowdle

Theses and Dissertations

Extradyadic romantic behavior in committed relationships, referred to here as "cheating," is a common occurrence. For the purposes of this study, we define cheating as romantic or sexual behaviors that occur outside of a committed romantic relationship and that violate the expectations of the relationship. This definition can be broken down into two parts: the behavior that occurred and the judgment of whether that behavior constitutes cheating. Using a large sample (N = 1,020), we tested a measure that conceptualized cheating as composing explicit behaviors, categorical judgment of behaviors, and dimensional judgment of behaviors. Fit statistics were mixed and we …

Synthesis And Anticancer Evaluation Of Novel Pyrazolo[1,5-A]Pyrimidines: Discovery Of A Novel Lead Compound With Selective Activities Against Vps34 And Jak1-Jh2 Pseudokinase, Reuben Dass

Theses and Dissertations

A library of 25 novel 3,6-disubstituted and 3-substituted pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines were synthesized using a microwave chemical reactor in 3 steps with a total reaction time of 1 hour. The products were obtained in good to excellent yields (20-93%, ave. = 62%). The synthesis began with the reaction of aryl acetonitriles with dimethylformamide-dimethylacetal (120C, 20 min), followed by treatment of the resulting 2-arylacrylonitrile with H2NNH2 • HBr (120C, 20 min). The intermediate 4-arylpyrazol-5-amine obtained was finally reacted with either 2-aryl-substituted malondialdehydes or 1,1,3,3-tetramethoxypropane (120C, 20 min) to give the final products. The products were either collected directly on a Buchner funnel or …