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Acceptance Finds A Way: How To Teach And Use Evolution's Explanatory Power, Daniel George Ferguson

Theses and Dissertations

The theory of evolution is the central combing theory that brings together all the tenets of biology that bring about a solid understanding of life. It is also one of the most controversial scientific theories of all time and is widely rejected by about 40% of the general public in the United States. One of the biggest reasons for low evolution acceptance is the perceived conflict between evolution and religious beliefs. Educators and researchers have been working hard to improve how we teach evolution in the classroom; some methods, such as focusing on evolution knowledge, have shown to be mixed. …

Data Mining For Disease Mechanisms & Biomarkers, Brett E. Pickett

BYU Research Development Office Research Networking Conference

Transcriptomics, RNA-sequencing, Data mining, Machine learning, Biomarker identification, Comparative genomics, Oxford Nanopore sequencing, Genome assembly

3d Printing For Lab-On-A-Chip, Greg P. Nordin

BYU Research Development Office Research Networking Conference

3D printed microfluids, biological and chemical sensors, Nanophotonics and integrated optics, Micro- and nanofabrication, MEMS, and Microfluids

Harnessing The Power Of Clinically-Derived Data, Mary F. Davis

BYU Research Development Office Research Networking Conference

Medical Laboratory Science

Fabrication And Characterization Of Dna Templated Electronic Nanomaterials And Their Directed Placement By Self-Assembly Of Block Copolymers, Dulashani Ruwanthika Ranasinghe Weerakkodige

Theses and Dissertations

Bottom-up self-assembly has the potential to fabricate nanostructures with advanced electrical features. DNA templates have been used to enable such self-assembling methods due to their versatility and compatibility with various nanomaterials. This dissertation describes research to advance several different steps of biotemplated nanofabrication, from DNA assembly to characterization. I assembled different nanomaterials including surfactant-coated Au nanorods, DNA-linked Au nanorods and Pd nanoparticles on DNA nanotubes ~10 micrometer long, and on ~400 nm long bar-shaped DNA origami templates. I optimized seeding by changing the surfactant and magnesium ion concentrations in the seeding solution. After successful seeding, I performed electroless plating on …

Is There A Relationship Between Religiosity And Infidelity? A Meta-Analysis, Meghan Maddock

Theses and Dissertations

Infidelity in romantic relationships is common and has been associated with relationship dissolution and strain on individuals. Most religions teach that infidelity is harmful, and some researchers have suggested that, in the aggregate, more religious people might be less likely to report infidelity. However, research has been mixed, with some studies finding that more religious people are less likely to report infidelity, other studies finding that more religious people are more likely to report infidelity, and other studies finding no relationship. To clarify seemingly contradictory findings, I conducted a meta-analysis of the infidelity-religiosity relationship with 38 studies and a total …

Exercise As A Predictor Of Change In Self-Reported Marital Satisfaction And Behaviors Of Couples In Therapy, Emily J. Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

Recent studies looking to link physical exercise with beneficial couple outcomes have had mixed results, showing benefits for females but not males in some instances, and even negative effects for males in one instance. However, these studies used self-report data for exercise which may suffer from reporting errors. This study analyzed how daily exercise, measured by participants wearing accelerometers, impacts marital satisfaction, positive behaviors, and negative behaviors in a clinical population. The data was analyzed using multilevel models to determine how time spent exercising impacted individuals and their partners in terms of relationship outcomes. Results indicated small but significant relationships …

Atomic Layer Deposition And High Sensitivity-Low Energy Ion Scattering For The Determination Of The Surface Silanol Density On Glass And Unsupervised Exploratory Data Analysis With Summary Statistics And Other Methods, Tahereh Gholian Avval

Theses and Dissertations

With the increasing importance of hand-held devices with touch displays, the need for flat panel displays (FPDs) will likely increase in the future. Glass is the most important substrate for FPD manufacturing, where both its bulk and surface properties are critical for its performance. Many properties of the glass used in FPDs are controlled by its surface chemistry. Surface hydroxyls are the most important functional groups on a glass surface, which control processes that occurs on oxide surfaces, including wetting, adhesion, electrostatic charging and discharge, and the rate of contamination. In this dissertation, I present a new approach for determining …

Quantifying Protein Quality To Understand Protein Homeostasis, Hsien-Jung Lavender Lin

Theses and Dissertations

Proteins are the center of all biochemical reactions in living organisms. Proteins need to be present at the right time, in the right place, with the correct concentration and have the right shape to carry their designated function. Protein homeostasis is when all proteins in the proteome are in functional balance, and such balance is maintained by synthesis, folding, and degradation machinery. When protein homeostasis is lost, organisms start to age and develop diseases. To truly unveil disease mechanisms and provide more efficient means for treatment and prevention, we need a holistic understanding of the mechanism of protein homeostasis. Currently, …

An Acoustofluidic Scanning Nanoscope Using Enhanced Image Stacking And Processing, Geonsoo Jin, Joseph Rich, Jianping Xia, Albert J. He, Chenglong Zhao, Tony Jun Huang

Faculty Publications

Nanoscale optical resolution with a large field of view is a critical feature for many research and industry areas, such as semiconductor fabrication, biomedical imaging, and nanoscale material identification. Several scanning microscopes have been developed to resolve the inverse relationship between the resolution and field of view; however, those scanning microscopes still rely upon fluorescence labeling and complex optical systems. To overcome these limitations, we developed a dual-camera acoustofluidic nanoscope with a seamless image merging algorithm (alpha-blending process). This design allows us to precisely image both the sample and the microspheres simultaneously and accurately track the particle path and location. …

Field-Based Selenium Partitioning Coefficients And Trophic Transfer Factors For Cutthroat Trout Fisheries From Four Montane Lakes, Colorado, Usa, Scott J. Herrmann, Del Wayne R. Nimmo, Lynn M. Herrmann-Hoesing

Western North American Naturalist

Most studies of selenium (Se) bioaccumulation and trophic transfer in freshwater habitats have focused primarily on lotic and lentic sites in regions of elevated selenium. In contrast to previous reports, we proposed investigating Se partitioning from water to subsequent trophic levels in oligotrophic montane lakes using concentrations in water, sediment, periphyton, and filamentous algae, and also in the stomach contents and tissues of cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii) analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The indicator values for the level-one (water to particulate) partitioning coefficients (K_d values) or enrichment factors (EFs) were as high as 1,641,000 …

End Matter, Vol. 82 No. 2

Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

Trace Elements In Walleye Tissues And Dietary Components From An Impoundment Located Downstream Of The Leadville Mining District, Colorado, Ii: Cu, Zn, As, Cd, And Pb, Del Wayne R. Nimmo, Scott J. Herrmann, Igor V. Melnykov

Western North American Naturalist

Trace elements in 15 walleye (Sander vitreus) tissues taken from the Pueblo Reservoir in Colorado corresponded to many metals of worldwide concern and were the same as those released into the Arkansas River from decades of mining at Leadville, Colorado. Therefore, analyses of walleye stomach contents, gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum; a dietary prey item for walleye), and tissues of walleye were compared for an increase in, or a deficiency of, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, and Pb. Tissues were compared as couplets but also evaluated with tissues clustered into 6 functional groups. The trace elements were found …

Simulation And Localization Of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Leveraging Lie Group Structure, Easton Robert Potokar

Theses and Dissertations

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) have the potential to dramatically improve safety, quality of life and general scientific knowledge. Our coasts, lakes and rivers are filled with various forms of marine infrastructure including dams, bridges, ship hulls, communication lines, and oil rigs. Each of these structures requires regular inspection, and current methods utilize divers, which is dangerous, expensive, and time consuming. AUVs have the potential to alleviate these difficulties and enable more regular inspection of these structures. Furthermore, there are significant scientific discoveries in the fields of geology, marine biology and medicine that AUV exploration of our oceans will enable. Since …

Front Matter, Vol. 82 No. 2

Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

Trace Elements In Walleye Tissues And Dietary Components From An Impoundment Located Downstream Of The Leadville Mining District, Colorado, I: Hg And Se, Scott J. Herrmann, Del Wayne R. Nimmo, Igor V. Melnykov

Western North American Naturalist

There is a paucity of studies focusing on how total mercury (THg) and total selenium (TSe) concentrations vary in walleye tissues and prey organisms from a reservoir that is downstream from a major mining district and whose basin consists of Cretaceous sedimentary Se-bearing outcroppings. Pueblo Reservoir in Colorado is fed by water from the upper Arkansas River, which has been polluted by trace metals and metalloids since mining began in 1859. Pueblo Reservoir is the only mainstem impoundment on the Upper Arkansas River and is located about 251 km downstream from the historic Leadville Mining District. Nearly all the contaminated …

Performance Of Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor With Trickling Filter In Poorly Managed Sewer Network, Rahel Sintayehu Tessema

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Due to increased water consumption and pressing environmental requirements of the sewage treatment plant, there is a growing attention in urban area of developing country. Given poorly planned, design and management practice of sewerage infrastructure in developing countries, the performance of well-known biological wastewater treatment options worth to evaluate considering operational and maintenance guidelines. This study aimed at evaluating the operational efficiency of Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactor with Trickling filter (TF) in the presence of recirculating sludge in treating domestic sewage where the sewer network is poorly managed. The case study performed on Kality wastewater treatment plant in …

Assessing The Groundwater Vulnerability To Nitrates And Pesticides Within The Geospatial Decision Support System Landsupport, Marialaura Bancheri, Alessia Perego, Giuliano Langella, Daniele Lezzi

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

This work presents how to assess the groundwater vulnerability to both pesticides and nitrate within the geospatial Decision Support system (s-DSS) of LandSupport, though two new web-based, freely-available dynamical tools, named the pesticide fate tool and nitrate fate tool. The pesticide fate tool is based on the extended transfer function model (TFM-ext), specifically expanded to consider the transport of reactive solutes, i.e., pesticides. The nitrate fate tool is based on the coupling of the ARMOSA model, used to simulate the crop growth dynamics and the consequent nitrate leaching within the most biological active zone (i.e. the rooting depth of the …

Using Slow Sand Filter For Organic Matter And Suspended Solids Removal As Post Treatment Unit For Wastewater Effluent, Samir Addisu Afifi, Amany A. Elfari, Samir Alnahhal

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The Gaza Strip - Palestine, like any other section of the Mediterranean, has a distinct and substantial water shortage; nevertheless, the problem in this area is more obvious and serious, and it is linked to water quantity and quality. The Gaza Strip's only source of water is groundwater, and agriculture consumes more than 70% of all groundwater extracted. New work has begun to develop sustainable technical and economical solutions to cope with the non-sufficient existing wastewater treatment plant effluents' quality for reuse. The paper evaluated the organic matter and suspended solids removal efficacy of Slow Sand Filter (SSF) designed to …

Personality-Dependent Responses Of Elk To Predatory Pursuits, Rob Found

Western North American Naturalist

Personality in wildlife has been linked to several ecological processes including mortality risk, facultative migration, and behavioral plasticity. In this paper I examined the relationship between personality and antipredator tactics exhibited by 20 wild female elk (Cervus canadensis) in Jasper National Park, Alberta. Two observers conducted 106 separate chases designed explicitly to resemble predator pursuits by wolves, the main predator of elk. We quantified and classified elk tactical responses during each chase. Elk with “shy” type personalities responded to 84% of predator-resembling pursuits by employing speed-based tactics to outrun pursuers or rejoin conspecifics. Elk with “bold” type personalities …

Ensemble Model-Based Method For Time Series Sensors’ Datavalidation And Imputation Applied To A Real Waste Water Treatmentplant, Josep Pascual-Pañach, Miquel Sànchez-Marrè, Miquel Àngel Cugueró-Escofet

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Intelligent Decision Support Systems (IDSS) integrate different Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques with the aim of taking or supporting human-like decisions. To this end, these techniques are based on the available data from the target process. This implies that invalid or missing data could trigger incorrect decisions and therefore, undesirable situations in the supervised process. This is even more important in environmental systems. In data-driven applications such as IDSS, data quality is a basal problem that should be addressed for the sake of the overall systems’ performance. In this paper, a data validation and imputation methodology for time-series is presented. This …

Genomic Analysis And Therapeutic Development Of Bacteriophages To Treat Bacterial Infections And Parasitic Infestations, Daniel W. Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

Microbiomes are an extremely vast and complex network of microorganisms. Bacteriophages are a key factor in the microbial health of an ecological system and impact the evolution of pathogenic bacterial strains. Bacteria and the phages that infect them have an intricate relationship due to the dependency on the bacterial host for phage replication, the ability of the phage to lyse and kill its host, and the horizontal gene transfer between the host and phage. This thesis aimed to understand how bacteria and the bacteriophages that infect them impact an ecological system, with a focus on disease states. By analyzing all …

Quantifying Protein Quality To Understand Protein Homeostasis (Supplemental Data), Hsien-Jung Lavender Lin

ScholarsArchive Data

This data set includes the supplementary data for chpaters 3 and 4 in the dissertation Quantifying Protein Quality to Understand Protein Homeostasis. It includes various excel worksheets that were used to generate the data reported in the dissertation. We make this data available to the public so anyone who wants to reproduce the results has the resources and access to other perspectives that weren't discussed in depth in the dissertation. Chapter 3 used mass-spectrometry to quantify the surface accessibility differences in human serum albumin (HSA)between patients with and without rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We found certain residues are less reactive …

The Design Of Constructed Salt Marshes Under Deep Uncertainty, John Kucharski, Jennifer Olszewski, Marriah Abellera, Todd Steissberg

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Using nature in engineering design is a long-standing goal of water resource managers. Landscape features like salt marshes serve critical ecological functions in coastal environments delivering important water quality, erosion control and flood inundation benefits. Despite their benefits, natural coastal features like salt marsh have been decimated by development and pollution, leaving much of our coastline unprotected. The diverse benefits of these nature-based features (NBF) make them attractive components of traditional water resource project designs. However, the reality of including these features in engineered designs is complicated by physical and biological uncertainties that limit their use. In this presentation, the …

Using A Multimedia Modeling Approach To Simulate Eutrophication In The Pawcatuck River Estuary, Finnian S. Cashel, Christopher D. Knightes

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The Pawcatuck River Estuary (PRE), composed of the Pawcatuck River and Little Narragansett Bay (CT/RI, USA), is a coastal plain estuary subject to environmental stress. Anthropogenic nutrient loading, watershed land use changes, and urbanization have contributed to eutrophication, which results in hypoxia and seagrass loss. To understand these processes, a one-dimensional, numerical, process-based model was developed to interpret and predict spatial variations in water quality, using WASP8 (Water Analysis Simulation Program, v 8.32). Our PRE WASP Model included five different sub-modules: Dynamic Wave, or DYNHYD5, was used for hydrodynamics, the heat module for water temperature, the advanced eutrophication module for …

A Mixed Method Approach To Understanding Team Members' Perspectives After Receiving Problem-Solving Training And Performance Feedback, Alexander Mark Julian

Theses and Dissertations

While countless studies have collected data on the effectiveness of various problem- solving models, few have attempted to identify which components of the training process are helpful to participants. Two teacher teams consisting of seven participants were trained in an adapted version of the Team-initiated Problem Solving (TIPS) model, observed each meeting, and provided performance feedback regarding how well they had adhered to the model. A mixed method approach was used to collect quantitative data in the form of the teams' adherence to the TIPS model and qualitative data once successful adherence to the model had been shown. Researchers interviewed …

Predicting The Topographic Zonation Of Vegetation In A Salt Playa In Utah, Usa, Roger T. Koide, Jakob Garlick, Spencer Klatt, Noah Boekweg, Augustine Tambe, Katherine Jensen, Emily Weatherhead

Western North American Naturalist

Vegetation in salt playas—iconic landforms in the Great Basin of the western United States—exhibits a striking topographical zonation that has remained unexplained. In particular, a distinctive pattern is exhibited by salt-succulent species in the Amaranthaceae wherein Allenrolfea occidentalis occurs in monospecific stands at the highest topographic position in the playa, Sarcocornia utahensis occurs in monospecific stands in the middle position, and Salicornia rubra occurs in monospecific stands at the lowest topographic position. Because salt playas feature a shallow, temporary winter lake that recedes as it evaporates throughout the summer and because vegetation zones closely follow the contours of the temporary …

Micronutrient Fortified Soymilk Processing Supplemental Data Tables, Michael L. Dunn, Oscar A. Pike, Bradley J. Taylor, Dallin M. Hardy

ScholarsArchive Data

This data set contains Supplemental Tables (created using Microsoft Word) for the following manuscript submitted for publication:

Vitamin stability and sensory acceptability in micronutrient-fortified soymilk prepared by small-scale batch processing

Authors: Dallin M. Hardy, Oscar A. Pike, Bradley J. Taylor, Michael L. Dunn

The above manuscript was prepared with modifications from portions of the M.S. thesis of Dallin M. Hardy, which can be found at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/8284/

The data set includes five supplementary tables containing data values for vitamin retention during processing and sensory acceptance of micronutrient fortified soymilk. The data in these tables had no statistically significant differences between treatments.

The Telsam Protein Polymer Significantly Improves The Speed And Propensity Of Crystallization Of Target Proteins, Seyedeh Sara Soleimani

Theses and Dissertations

While conducting pilot studies into the usefulness of fusion to TELSAM polymers as a potential protein crystallization strategy, we observed novel properties in crystals of two TELSAM–target protein fusions, as follows. (i) A TELSAM–target protein fusion can crystallize more rapidly and with greater propensity than the same target protein alone. (ii) TELSAM–target protein fusions can be crystallized at low protein concentrations. This unprecedented observation suggests a route to crystallize proteins that can only be produced in microgram amounts. (iii) The TELSAM polymers themselves need not directly contact one another in the crystal lattice in order to form well-diffracting crystals. This …

Lahontan Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus Clarkii Henshawi) And Paiute Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus Clarkii Seleniris) Detection From Environmental Dna Samples: A Dual-Purpose Assay, Thomas W. Franklin, Joseph C. Dysthe, Helen Neville, Michael K. Young, Kevin M. Mckelvey, Michael K. Schwartz

Western North American Naturalist

Lahontan cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii henshawi) and Paiute cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii seleniris) are rare taxa of conservation concern. Their generally low population densities and remote distribution make traditional sampling difficult, but they primarily exist in small streams, a habitat type where environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling has proven extremely effective. We developed a single eDNA assay that allows sensitive detection of both taxa, which occur separate from each other in different regions of the Lahontan Basin. Performance of the assay was evaluated using most lineages of Lahontan cutthroat trout and Paiute cutthroat trout as well as …