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Monitoring Domestic Sheep Energy Requirements And Habitat Selection On Summer Mountain Range Using Low-Cost Gps Collar Technology, Elizabeth M. Baum Jul 2021

Monitoring Domestic Sheep Energy Requirements And Habitat Selection On Summer Mountain Range Using Low-Cost Gps Collar Technology, Elizabeth M. Baum

Theses and Dissertations

With the advent of global position system (GPS) collar technology, we have developed a much greater understanding of the temporal and spatial distribution of livestock and their associated grazing patterns. While significant research using GPS collars has been reported for cattle, little research is available describing collar use in understanding the behavior of domestic sheep. The purpose of our research was to evaluate the energy requirements of sheep with the use of GPS collars. To accomplish this, we adapted a low-cost i-gotU GPS tracking device that is typically designed for cattle and modified it to fit sheep. Each collar was …

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Synthesizing Phylogeography And Community Ecology To Understand Patterns Of Community Diversity, Trevor J. Williams Jul 2021

Synthesizing Phylogeography And Community Ecology To Understand Patterns Of Community Diversity, Trevor J. Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Community ecology is the study of the patterns and processes governing species abundance, distribution, and diversity within and between communities. Likewise, phylogeography is the study of the historic processes controlling genetic diversity across space. Both fields investigate diversity, albeit at different temporal, spatial and taxonomic scales and therefore have varying assumptions. Community ecology typically focuses on contemporary mechanisms whereas phylogeography studies historic ones. However, new research has discovered that both genetic and community diversity can be influenced by contemporary and historic processes in tandem. As such, a growing number of researchers have called for greater integration of phylogeography and ecology …

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Design Validation Of A Multi-Stage Gradually Deploying Stent, Dillon J. Despain Jul 2021

Design Validation Of A Multi-Stage Gradually Deploying Stent, Dillon J. Despain

Theses and Dissertations

Angioplasty, or the use of rapidly deploying stents, is a common treatment for reopening narrowed vasculature often caused by atherosclerotic plaque. However, in-stent restenosis (ISR) induced by intimal hyperplasia is a common challenge to angioplasty. High impact stresses from current stent deployment processes have been linked to intimal hyperplasia; thus a stent that is gradually deployed over a longer period of time holds potential to mitigate these stresses. This work hypothesizes that resorbable polymeric links can be used as a triggering mechanism to enable repeatably controlled deployment of a compliant nitinol stent design with the eventual goal of reducing intimal …

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Increasing Introductory Biology Students' Modeling Mastery Through Visualizing Population Growth Models, Samantha Rae Wasson Jul 2021

Increasing Introductory Biology Students' Modeling Mastery Through Visualizing Population Growth Models, Samantha Rae Wasson

Theses and Dissertations

In introductory biology, college students are taught to predict how populations will grow and change over time by using population growth models. These models are commonly represented as mathematical equations. However, students consistently struggle when math and biology concepts intersect in the classroom, and these struggles lead to suboptimal understanding of how mathematical population models are designed and used. Education literature suggests that students may struggle with population modeling because of math anxiety, the high cognitive load of the task, and the lack of scaffolding for abstract concepts. In our study, we sought to improve student mastery modeling exponential growth, …

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Synthesis And Utility Of Chiral And Achiral Trifluoroacetamide Substrates In Cycloaddition Reactions, Isaac Theodore Smith Jul 2021

Synthesis And Utility Of Chiral And Achiral Trifluoroacetamide Substrates In Cycloaddition Reactions, Isaac Theodore Smith

Theses and Dissertations

In this document we report the synthesis, characterization, and utility of a chiral amidoacrylate substrate. This substrate features a reactive alkene that can be used in a variety of reactions. [3+2]-Cycloaddition reactions to form pyrroloindolines are shown to proceed with excellent diastereoselectivity (>20:1) and yield (86%). [3+2]-Reactions allow for the stereoselective construction of the pyrroloindoline backbone common in many natural products. Diels-Alder reactions catalyzed by TiCl4 show high yields (82%) with ~2:1 diastereoselectivity. Cyclopropanation reactions proceed in moderate yield (71%) and diastereoselectivity (~3:1). Both Diels-Alder and cyclopropanation reactions utilizing the chiral amidoacrylate substrate serve to stereoselectively produce unnatural amino …

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The Music Of Rivers: How Climate, Land Use, And Disturbances Tune The Frequencies And Volumes Of Streams Worldwide, Brian Charles Brown Jul 2021

The Music Of Rivers: How Climate, Land Use, And Disturbances Tune The Frequencies And Volumes Of Streams Worldwide, Brian Charles Brown

Theses and Dissertations

The amount of water flowing through streams and rivers changes through time. The seasonality and duration of these changes can have profound impacts on human freshwater availability, aquatic habitat, and biogeochemical cycling. Numerous factors are thought to influence streamflow regime, including drainage basin area, temperature, precipitation, and land cover. Few of these qualities have remained untouched, either directly or indirectly, by expanding human activities. Altered climate, sweeping changes to large portions of the earth's surface, and the construction of dams and other infrastructure have fundamentally altered streamflows worldwide. Understanding the nature of these changes, both globally and regionally in the …

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Protein Conformational Stability Enhancement Through Pegylation And Macrocyclization, Qiang Xiao Jul 2021

Protein Conformational Stability Enhancement Through Pegylation And Macrocyclization, Qiang Xiao

Theses and Dissertations

PEGylation can improve the pharmacokinetic properties of protein therapeutics via decreasing renal clearance and shielding the protein surface from proteases, antibody neutrailization, and aggregation. Conformational stability enhancement can provide criteria for the identification of optimal sites for PEGylation, but how PEG influence the noncovalent interactions from the surface of proteins has not been well illustrated. Macrocyclization can effectively enhance the conformational stability of small peptides and large proteins. Combination of PEG-based conformational stability enhancement and macrocyclization-based conformational constraint has not been explored. Macrocycliziation has been employed to stabilize protein tertiary structures, but there are no general guidelines for interhelical staple …

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Exploration Of Constant-Force Wristbands For A Wearable Health Device, Thomas Alexander Naylor Jul 2021

Exploration Of Constant-Force Wristbands For A Wearable Health Device, Thomas Alexander Naylor

Theses and Dissertations

Wearable Health Devices (WHDs) are an emerging technology that enables continuous monitoring of vital signs during daily life. Issues with constant and consistent data acquisition have been found while WHD technology has developed. The force of the measurement area and movement of the sensors are key mechanical issues that need to be solved for WHDs to become a viable way to continuously monitor health conditions. This work explores Constant-Force Mechanisms (CFMs) as a solution to problems the current WHD industry faces. Additionally, the relationship between force provided from the mechanism, sensor pressure on the wrist, patient comfort, and sensor readings …

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Nonlinear Ultrafast Excitation And Two-Dimensional Terahertz Spectroscopy Of Solids, Brittany E. Knighton Jul 2021

Nonlinear Ultrafast Excitation And Two-Dimensional Terahertz Spectroscopy Of Solids, Brittany E. Knighton

Theses and Dissertations

Ultrafast spectroscopy allows us to probe and understand material properties. With it, we can measure phonon-polaritons (optical phonons coupled with light) and the resulting dispersion curve in lithium niobate. Customizing the excitation source in ultrafast measurements can excite phonon modes to large amplitudes, allowing the experimental exploration of the Potential Energy Surface in solids. However, stronger pump fluences and bigger signal isn't always the answer in ultrafast spectroscopy. When sample signals and their nonlinear and mechanisms cannot be distinguished with 1D measurements, simple 2D THz measurements are a great place to start searching for distinct factors as was the case …

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Saprotrophic Capacity Of Endophytic Fungi, Emily L. Davis Jul 2021

Saprotrophic Capacity Of Endophytic Fungi, Emily L. Davis

Theses and Dissertations

Endophytic fungi inhabit the living tissue of a host plant for at least a portion of their life cycle. While some researchers have shown that various endophytic fungi participate in litter decomposition, we do not know whether such fungi are actually saprotrophic, meaning that they can obtain energy from litter. Therefore, I determined if endophytic fungi are saprotrophs using leaf litter as the energy source. All 49 tested isolates were found to be saprotrophic. To compare the saprotrophic capacities of fungi from different habitats, which produce different types of litter, a universal litter proxy needs to be used. I hypothesized …

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Stress-Induced Plasma Cortisol Concentrations In Infancy Are Associated With Later Parenting Behaviors In Female Rhesus Macaques (Macaca Mulatta), Colt Halter Jul 2021

Stress-Induced Plasma Cortisol Concentrations In Infancy Are Associated With Later Parenting Behaviors In Female Rhesus Macaques (Macaca Mulatta), Colt Halter

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Few studies have longitudinally assessed the relationship between infant stress reactivity and future parenting styles. Stress-induced plasma cortisol concentrations are stable over development and can be utilized as a marker for stress reactivity. This study investigates the relationship between stress-induced plasma cortisol concentrations in infancy and later parenting behavior in a translational nonhuman primate model. We hypothesized that higher stress-induced cortisol levels in infancy would predict impairments in maternal behaviors in adulthood. Subjects were rhesus macaque females (N=122; Macaca mulatta), assessed as infants and again as mothers. At three-to-four months of age, subjects underwent a standardized BioBehavioral …

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Seasonal Nutrient Limitations Of Cyanobacteria, Phytoplankton, And Cyanotoxins In Utah Lake, Gabriella Marie Lawson Jul 2021

Seasonal Nutrient Limitations Of Cyanobacteria, Phytoplankton, And Cyanotoxins In Utah Lake, Gabriella Marie Lawson

Theses and Dissertations

Excess nutrients from human activity trigger toxic cyanobacterial and algal blooms, creating expansive hypoxic dead zones in lakes, damaging ecosystems, hurting local economies, undermining food and water security, and directly harming human health. To identify when and where nutrients limit phytoplankton and cyanobacterial growth, and cyanotoxin concentrations across Utah Lake, USA we conducted four in-situ bioassay studies (563 cubitainers or experimental units) that experimentally added N, P or N+P over the spring, early summer, summer, late summer, and fall in lake water from the top 20 cm of the water column. For our purpose, we defined total phytoplankton as all …

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A Comparison Of Heat Treatment-Induced Skeletal Muscle Adaptations Relative To Exercise Training, Jamie Puanani Brun Kaluhiokalani Jul 2021

A Comparison Of Heat Treatment-Induced Skeletal Muscle Adaptations Relative To Exercise Training, Jamie Puanani Brun Kaluhiokalani

Theses and Dissertations

In vitro and animal studies indicate that the response to heat stress is associated with beneficial adaptations that promote cell health and survival. Few studies to date have examined this finding in human subjects, and it is unclear how the adaptation compares in magnitude to exercise training. The purpose of this study was to investigate the skeletal muscle adaptations (namely mitochondrial biogenesis and capillarization) of 6 weeks of deep-muscle heat treatment relative to exercise training. We hypothesized that heat treatment (HT), applied through pulsed shortwave diathermy (2 hr, 3 days/week) over a 6-week intervention period would lead to increased mitochondrial …

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Understanding The Interaction Between Habitat Use Of Feral Horses And The Abundance Of Greater Sage-Grouse In The Great Basin, Mikiah R. Carver Jul 2021

Understanding The Interaction Between Habitat Use Of Feral Horses And The Abundance Of Greater Sage-Grouse In The Great Basin, Mikiah R. Carver

Theses and Dissertations

Environmental impacts of feral horses (Equus caballus) are a subject of conservation concern and controversial national policy. In North America, feral horses are considered an invasive species where they impact rangelands of the arid and semi-arid western United States. The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is a native sagebrush obligate bird species that relies on sagebrush habitats to sustain viable population levels. Recent literature suggests that feral horse presence can have a notable effect on the fitness of native and sagebrush obligate species throughout the arid and semi-arid western United States. The purpose of this thesis was to assess the potential …

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Cross-National Analysis Of Mothers' Occupational Status In Germany And The United States: Before And After Germany's Work-Family Policy Changes, Paige N. Park Jul 2021

Cross-National Analysis Of Mothers' Occupational Status In Germany And The United States: Before And After Germany's Work-Family Policy Changes, Paige N. Park

Theses and Dissertations

In many OECD countries, women are underrepresented in the highest status, highest paying positions and overrepresented in the lowest status, lowest paying positions. One potential reason for this inequity is the "motherhood penalty," where women with children face more roadblocks in hiring and promotions. This research investigates occupational segregation among mothers and fathers and analyzes whether gender gaps in occupational status are more extreme for immigrant populations. Using data from the Luxembourg Cross-National Data Center, I compare changes in gender occupational segregation from 2000 to 2016 in Germany and the United States among immigrant and native-born parents. Multinomial logistic regression …

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Pinpointing Pornography's Effects: Paring Off The Influences Of Masturbation, Sexual Desire Discrepancy, And Sexual Engagement In Heterosexual Dyads, Brady C. Eisert Jul 2021

Pinpointing Pornography's Effects: Paring Off The Influences Of Masturbation, Sexual Desire Discrepancy, And Sexual Engagement In Heterosexual Dyads, Brady C. Eisert

Theses and Dissertations

Pornography has increasingly become a hot topic of discussion in the United States, likely due to its increasing rate of consumption. Recent scholarship has indicated the need to account for factors such as masturbation and sexual desire discrepancy when conducting pornography research. The current study isolated the influence pornography use had on those in heterosexual romantic relationships (N=713 couples) by parsing out the effects of sexual desire discrepancy and masturbation. This was done by using a series of nested actor-partner interdependence models (APIM) to see how the relationships between pornography use and sexual satisfaction changed in each model. Masturbation and …

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Using Phased Whole Genome Sequence Data To Better Understand The Role Of Compound-Heterozygous Variants In Pediatric Diseases, Dustin B. Miller Jul 2021

Using Phased Whole Genome Sequence Data To Better Understand The Role Of Compound-Heterozygous Variants In Pediatric Diseases, Dustin B. Miller

Theses and Dissertations

A compound-heterozygous variant occurs when a child inherits a variant from each parent, with these variants occurring at a different position within the same gene and on opposite homologous chromosomes. These inherited variants may result in two nonfunctional versions of the same gene. Compound-heterozygous variants cannot be identified unless a patients' DNA sequence data is phased. Phasing is a computationally demanding process that requires the use of multiple software tools in order to determine which nucleotide was inherited from which parent. First, in Chapter 1, we review the literature to better understand what research has been conducted on the role …

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Southwestern Bats And Their External Bacteria, Ernest W. Valdez, Emily M. Johnson, Edward W. Strach, Patrick A. Lewis, William C. Briggs, Nicole A. Caimi, Ara S. Winter, Jennifer J.M. Hathaway, Diana E. Northup Jul 2021

Southwestern Bats And Their External Bacteria, Ernest W. Valdez, Emily M. Johnson, Edward W. Strach, Patrick A. Lewis, William C. Briggs, Nicole A. Caimi, Ara S. Winter, Jennifer J.M. Hathaway, Diana E. Northup

Western North American Naturalist

Bat species diversity within the United States is greatest in the Southwest, with approximately 30 species present. At least 16 of these bat species hibernate and are susceptible to white-nose syndrome (WNS), which is caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans. Since 2006, millions of bats from 35 U.S. states and 7 Canadian provinces have died from WNS. In previous studies of external surfaces of bats sampled from southwestern states, Actinobacteria were detected that were shown to have antifungal properties against P. destructans in laboratory testing. These studies motivated us to expand our research to sites that represent possible gateways …

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End Matter, Vol. 81 No. 2 Jul 2021

End Matter, Vol. 81 No. 2

Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

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Front Matter, Vol. 81 No. 2 Jul 2021

Front Matter, Vol. 81 No. 2

Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

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Density And Subsurface Burrowing Of A Desert-Dwelling Land Snail, Helminthoglypta Greggi, In The Western Mohave Desert, Rob R. Ramey Ii, Joel M. Diamond, David J. Cerasale Jul 2021

Density And Subsurface Burrowing Of A Desert-Dwelling Land Snail, Helminthoglypta Greggi, In The Western Mohave Desert, Rob R. Ramey Ii, Joel M. Diamond, David J. Cerasale

Western North American Naturalist

This paper reports on the subsurface burrowing of the desert-dwelling land snail Helminthoglypta greggi in the western Mohave Desert. By excavating into the soil layer, we found that the majority of live snails were burrowed into the soil beneath rocks as well as shrubs, and in both disturbed and undisturbed areas. Live snails were found as deep as 50 cm in the soil layer, and shells as deep as 55 cm. Densities averaged 4.3 live snails per square meter of surface area and 10.1 snails per cubic meter of excavated soil. When these densities are multiplied by a conservative habitat …

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Internal And External Oblique Muscle Asymmetry In Sprinters And Sprint Hurdlers: A Cross-Sectional Study, Lauren Ashley Renee Adams Jul 2021

Internal And External Oblique Muscle Asymmetry In Sprinters And Sprint Hurdlers: A Cross-Sectional Study, Lauren Ashley Renee Adams

Theses and Dissertations

Background: The abdominal muscles are vital in providing core stability for proper function in most activities. There is a correlation between side asymmetry of theses muscles and dysfunction. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare trunk muscle morphology and trunk rotational strength between sprinters, a symmetrical sport and sprint hurdlers, an asymmetrical sport. Methods: Twenty-one trained collegiate sprinters and sprint hurdlers were recruited for the study (12 M, 9 F), average age (years) 20.2   1.5, height (cm) 176.9   9.1, and weight (kg) 70.6   9.8. Using real-time ultrasound, panoramic images of the internal oblique (IO) and external …

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Fisher Use Of Postfire Landscapes: Implications For Habitat Connectivity And Restoration, Craig Thompson, Heath Smith, Rebecca Green, Sam Wasser, Kathryn Purcell Jul 2021

Fisher Use Of Postfire Landscapes: Implications For Habitat Connectivity And Restoration, Craig Thompson, Heath Smith, Rebecca Green, Sam Wasser, Kathryn Purcell

Western North American Naturalist

The relationship between fishers (Pekania pennanti), fire, and fuel management in the Sierra Nevada region is complex and highly controversial, and the recent listing of southern Sierra Nevada fishers as endangered has brought this issue to the forefront for many land managers. While wildfire is a natural component of the historic disturbance regime in the dry, mixed conifer forests of California, it also has the capacity to destroy large swaths of suitable habitat and to fragment tenuous populations, particularly given recent shifts in wildfire scope and severity. Therefore, balancing fuel reduction with habitat conservation requires careful consideration of …

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Using An Ultraviolet Light Test To Improve Sagebrush Identification And Predict Forage Quality For Wildlife, Roger Rosentreter, Brecken C. Robb, Jennifer S. Forbey Jul 2021

Using An Ultraviolet Light Test To Improve Sagebrush Identification And Predict Forage Quality For Wildlife, Roger Rosentreter, Brecken C. Robb, Jennifer S. Forbey

Western North American Naturalist

Sagebrush identification can be improved by using a relatively easy ultraviolet (UV) light test on specimens. Sagebrush produces a variety of water-soluble polyphenols called coumarins, which fluoresce a blue color under UV light and can help differentiate species, subspecies, and hybrids. We tested 16 different sagebrush taxa (including species and subspecies) from herbarium specimens and found 3 taxa (low sagebrush, Artemisia arbuscula; Wyoming sagebrush, A. tridentata wyomingensis; and basin sagebrush, A. t. tridentata) that were often misidentified. We show that the UV light test can greatly improve identification of these species. Moreover, given that the UV+ chemicals …

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Tp-5801 In Vitro Kinase Screen Data, Joshua Andersen Jul 2021

Tp-5801 In Vitro Kinase Screen Data, Joshua Andersen

ScholarsArchive Data

In vitro kinase screen data for TP-5801 to accompany Chan and Egbert et al., Nature Communications, 2021 (in press)

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Each Atom An Agent?, Steven L. Peck Jul 2021

Each Atom An Agent?, Steven L. Peck

BYU Studies

An agent, broadly conceived, references something causally efficacious. More narrowly, the word agent is usually deployed in at least three senses. The first is as brute causality. For example, to say that water is an agent of erosion on vegetatively barren hillsides is to claim that water directly causes the removal of the soil in particular drainage systems. The second sense, used predominately in biology, recognizes an agent as an individual autonomous system that constrains the flow of energy and matter such that its actions are performed for particular functions or goals. For instance, a simple bacterium is drawn to …

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The Impact Of Emergency Response Trainees During The Ebola Outbreak In Sierra Leone, 2014-2016, Abbey Whitcomb Jun 2021

The Impact Of Emergency Response Trainees During The Ebola Outbreak In Sierra Leone, 2014-2016, Abbey Whitcomb

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This research aimed to address the impact of non-health trainees as a part of the emergency health response during the Ebola outbreak within Sierra Leone. The non-health trainees, including sanitation workers within health settings, ambulance drivers, burial teams, prison officers, community engagement staff, border officers, traditional birth assistants, etc. was contrasted with individuals receiving clinical and patient-care training. The data were taken from weekly situation reports published by the Internal Organization for Migration in 2015. Using a negative binomial model, we sought to determine the incidence rate ratio of weekly cases and deaths as a result of new trainees. Trainees …

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Changes In An Exotic Fish Community Assemblage Of A Thermal Spring In Central Idaho, Skyler Smith, Bart Gamett, Ryan Beatty, Eric Billman Jun 2021

Changes In An Exotic Fish Community Assemblage Of A Thermal Spring In Central Idaho, Skyler Smith, Bart Gamett, Ryan Beatty, Eric Billman

Western North American Naturalist

Barney Hot Springs is a thermal spring in the headwaters of the Little Lost River drainage in central Idaho. Tropical fish have been released into Barney Hot Springs, and several species have established self-sustaining populations. The objectives of this study were to determine the current community assemblage of tropical fish in Barney Hot Springs and to assess species composition and extent of downstream distribution of tropical fish in Barney Creek. The composition in 2017 consisted of Amelanic Convict Cichlids Amatitlania nigrofasciata, Mozambique Tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus, Zebra Mbuna Maylandia zebra, and Green Swordtails Xiphophorus hellerii. Total abundance …

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Sequence Specific Concentration And Labeling Of Bacterial Plasmids For Future Use In Detection Of Drug-Resistant Sepsis Cases Without Amplification, Robert L. Hanson Jun 2021

Sequence Specific Concentration And Labeling Of Bacterial Plasmids For Future Use In Detection Of Drug-Resistant Sepsis Cases Without Amplification, Robert L. Hanson

Theses and Dissertations

Rapidly diagnosing the precise drug resistance present in sepsis-inducing bacteria is a continuing need to maintain the efficacy of our medical systems. Diagnostics currently being developed for such scenarios are either sensitive or rapid, but not both. Sequence-specific single DNA molecule analysis could fill this gap if it could be adapted to work on smaller targets, similar to those produced by classical biological methods. In this work, I demonstrate that immobilized ssDNA in the appropriate hybridization buffer can rapidly pull its complementary sequence out of solution. I also demonstrate that such systems in a microfluidic chip can be used to …

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Limbic Morphometry In Individuals With Schizophrenia And Their Nonpsychotic Siblings, Rachael Olivia Slate Jun 2021

Limbic Morphometry In Individuals With Schizophrenia And Their Nonpsychotic Siblings, Rachael Olivia Slate

Theses and Dissertations

The limbic system is hypothesized to play a critical role in pathophysiology of schizophrenia, with abnormalities thought to contribute to the expression of various aspects of the cognitive deficits and clinical symptoms. Psychosis is understood as highly heritable and family members, specifically non-affected siblings, while not displaying overt signs of the disorder, often exhibit features similar to those observed in patients, though to a lesser degree. The overarching aim of this project was to investigate the integrity of limbic circuitry in a sample of patients with schizophrenia and their non-affected siblings and examine its potential relationship with various clinical features …

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