Digital Commons Network^™

Лол—Comparing Expressions Of Humor Used In Memes By Russian And English Speakers, Teya Jensen

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis explores trends in the types of humor used by Russian and English speakers in the creation and perpetuation of internet memes. The purpose of this project is to better understand the impact of the globalizing effects of the internet on social identity. Most current scholarship addressing the effects of memes on social communication and research into the specific trends of humor on the internet, focuses on the meme culture of English-speakers. Some researchers have focused on analyzing meme use in other countries, but they have not compared American and Russian humor.

This project demonstrates how patterns of pastiche, …

Does Family Communication Matter? Exploring Knowledge Of Breast Cancer Genetics In Cancer Families, Deborah Himes, Sarah H. Davis, Jane Lassetter Phd, Rn, Neil E. Peterson, Margaret F. Clayton, Wendy C. Birmingham, Anita Y. Kinney

Faculty Publications

Purpose: Knowledge of breast cancer genetics is critical for those at increased hereditary risk who must make decisions about breast cancer screening options. This descriptive study explored theory-based relationships among cognitive and emotional variables related to knowledge of breast cancer genetics in cancer families. Methods: Participants included first-degree relatives of women with breast cancer who had received genetic counseling and testing. Study participants themselves did not have breast cancer and had not received genetic counseling or testing. Data were collected by telephone interviews and surveys. Variables analyzed included numeracy, health literacy, cancer-related distress, age, education, and the reported amount of …

Computationally Modeling The Trophic Cascade In Yellowstone National Park, Emily Menden

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Many of the world’s ecosystems are facing species elimination (2). Whether this elimination is intentional or accidental, the consequences need to be understood in order to make better resource management decisions. Computational models can be helpful in making these management decisions. Yellowstone National Park gives ecologists a unique opportunity to study species elimination and reintroduction.

In the 1920s, wolves were extirpated from the Greater Yellowstone Area. The absence of wolves allowed the elk population to increase unbounded by a natural predator. Over the years, Yellowstone management took various measures to control the elk population. In the 1970s, the National Park …

Computational Modelling Of Peptides Containing Non-Standard Amino Acids, David W. Kastner

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Peptides represent a class of abundant and potent pharmaceutic compounds. Despite their appeal, the design, synthesis, and engineering of biologically relevant peptides remain a challenge. Chapter 1 introduces the various computational methods that will be used. Chapter 2 focuses on the incorporation of a special class of amino acids called bulky dehydroamino acids into the turn of β-hairpins to proteolytically stabilize peptides. Our results suggest that dehydroamino acids confer proteolytic stability by favoring a more folded state. Chapter 3 describes the structural calculations of a rare anticancer peptide called Yaku’amide using a combined molecular mechanics/quantum mechanics hybrid method. The …

Genetics Beyond The Classroom: An Analysis Of Undergraduate Students’ Understanding Of Genetics And Attitudes Towards Clinical Genetics, Jessica Mcclintock

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Genetics is a field of study that has been difficult for high school students, college students, and the general public to fully grasp, comprehend, and apply to clinical settings. Other studies show that students who are given hands on experiences with difficult concepts, like personalized genomics, have a better attitude towards and retention of those concepts. The purpose of this study was to determine if an in-class lecture specifically discussing clinical genetics concepts and benefits in solving difficult polygenic diseases would increase student attitudes towards genetic testing and prenatal testing and their knowledge of genetics in general. Students were asked …

Stochastic Modeling Reveals How Motor Protein And Filament Properties Affect Intermediate Filament Transport, J. C. Dallon, Cecil Leduc, Sandrine Etienne-Manneville, Stephanie Portet

Faculty Publications

Intermediate filaments are a key component of the cytoskeleton. Their trans- port along microtubules plays an essential role in the control of the shape and structural organization of cells. To identify the key parameters responsible for the control of intermediate filament transport, we generated a model of elastic filament transport by microtubule-associated dynein and kinesin. The model is also applicable to the transport of any elastically-coupled cargoes. We inves- tigate the effect of filament properties such as number of motor binding sites, length, and elasticity on motion of filaments. Additionally, we consider the ef- fect of motor properties, i.e. off …

Wasatch Front Atmospheric Deposition Reflects Regional Desert Dust And Local Anthropogenic Sources, Michael Max Goodman

Theses and Dissertations

Dust originating from dry lakes contributes harmful and toxic elements to downwind urban areas and mountain snowpack that is compounded by local contaminant inputs from anthropogenic sources. To evaluate dust contributions to an urban area from regional playas, we sampled playa dust sources, urban dust deposition, and snow dust deposition in central Utah, USA. Samples were analyzed for grain size, mineralogy, and chemistry. Bulk mineralogy between playa, urban, and snow dust samples was similar, with silicate, carbonate, and evaporite minerals. Grain size distribution between fine playa, urban, and snow dust particles was also similar. Elements found at high concentrations in …

Total Synthesis Of Anticancer Agent Deoxypodophyllotoxin And Antiviral F4-4 Demonstrating The Utility Of The Intramolecular Styryl Diels-Alder (Isda) Reaction, Diana Isabel Saavedra Nova

Theses and Dissertations

The intramolecular styryl Diels – Alder (ISDA) reaction is a rare and unique [4+2] cycloaddition with potential in the syntheses of polycycles. Its utility is based on the formation of two rings and one stereocenter in a single step, making it an efficient method for the construction of lignan-type natural product targets. Detailed mechanistic studies with complex esters and the application to natural product synthesis has been limited due to drawbacks including the loss of aromaticity, producing slow reactivity, a potentially problematic thermal [1,3]-hydrogen shift, and electronic mismatch related to the substituents on the aryl functional groups. In this research, …

Annual Survival And Harvest Vulnerability Of Elk (Cervus Canadensis), Maksim Sergeyev

Theses and Dissertations

Across the western United States, most populations of Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus canadensis) are managed through hunter harvest (Sandrey 1983). In hunted populations, human harvest is the leading source of mortality (Ballard 2000). With the exception of elk in national parks, populations are primarily managed through hunter harvest. Other sources of mortality include disease, automobile collisions, and predation from mountain lions, coyotes, wolves, and black bears (Childress 2003, Hornocker 1970). As a species of management concern and high economic value (Pickton 2008), hunted populations of elk are carefully managed to target population sizes to guarantee a sustainable supply and ensure …

Pas Kinase And Tor, Controllers Of Cell Growth And Proliferation, Brooke Jasmyn Cozzens

Theses and Dissertations

Nutrient sensing kinases lie at the heart of cellular health and homeostasis, allowing cells to quickly adapt to changing environments. Target of Rapamycin (TOR) and PAS kinase (PASK, or PASKIN) are two such nutrient kinases, conserved from yeast to man. In yeast, these kinases each have paralogs. The two TOR paralogs in yeast mimic the mammalian TORC1 and TORC2 complexes, except both Tor1 and Tor2 may contribute to TORC1 or TORC2 function. The two PAS kinase paralogs are paired with the TOR paralogs, meaning that both Psk1 and Psk2 regulate TORC1, while Psk2 suppresses a temperature-sensitive allele of Tor2. Herein …

Aviary Of The Reverend William J. Long, Shae Lewis Warnick

Theses and Dissertations

Humans perceive the natural world in a subjective and sensual way, yet over time science has turned the study of nature into a progressively objective pursuit. The Aviary of the Reverend William J. Long is an installation of anthropomorphic bird dolls that examines the roles of science and sentiment in our interactions with the natural world.

Applications Of Pattern Recognition Entropy (Pre) And Informatics To Data Analysis, Shiladitya Chatterjee

Theses and Dissertations

The primary focus of my work is the application of informatics methods to the fields of materials science and analytical chemistry. The statistical analysis of data has become increasingly important in understanding the properties of materials and analytes. Statistical methods like principal component analysis (PCA) and multivariate curve resolution (MCR) are widely used for analysis in chemistry and other fields given their ability to categorize spectra in an unsupervised way. PCA is relatively easy to apply and has appealing mathematical properties. However, the results can be challenging to interpret, even for experienced users. In contrast, MCR results can be more …

Ribosomally Synthesized And Post-Translationally Modified Peptides As Potential Scaffolds For Peptide Engineering, Devan Bursey

Theses and Dissertations

Peptides are small proteins that are crucial in many biological pathways such as antimicrobial defense, hormone signaling, and virulence. They often exhibit tight specificity for their targets and therefore have great therapeutic potential. Many peptide-based therapeutics are currently available, and the demand for this type of drug is expected to continue to increase. In order to satisfy the growing demand for peptide-based therapeutics, new engineering approaches to generate novel peptides should be developed. Ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) are a group of peptides that have the potential to be effective scaffolds for in vivo peptide engineering projects. These …

Interactions Between The Organellar Pol1a, Pol1b, And Twinkle Dna Replication Proteins And Their Role In Plant Organelle Dna Replication, Stewart Anthony Morley

Theses and Dissertations

Plants maintain organelle genomes that are descended from ancient microbes. Ages ago, these ancient microbes were engulfed by larger cells, beginning a process of co-evolution we now call the endo-symbiotic theory. Over time, DNA from the engulfed microbe was transferred to the genome of the larger engulfing cell, eventually losing the ability to be free-living, and establishing a permanent residency in the larger cell. Similarly, the larger cell came to rely so much on the microbe it had engulfed, that it too lost its ability to survive without it. Thus, mitochondria and plastids were born. Nearly all multicellular eukaryotes possess …

Humpback Whales: Musical Migrating Mammals, Jamie Greenwood

Children's Book and Media Review

Humpback whales are one of the largest animals on Earth, known for traveling in pods and singing songs deep in the ocean. This book consists of an introduction to the humpback whale and four chapters. The chapters detail what humpback whales look like, where they live, what they do, and their life cycles. The book makes comparisons and identifies similarities and differences between humpback whales and dolphins, hedgehogs, gray whales, fennec foxes, gibbons, sloths, caribou, and house mice. The book concludes with a culminating chart of the shared characteristics of each of these animals.

Falling From Grace: Hprt Is Not Suitable As An Endogenous Control For Cancer-Related Studies, Michelle H. Townsend, Abigail M. Felsted, Zac E. Ence, Stephen R. Piccolo, Richard A. Robison

Faculty Publications

HPRT is a housekeeping enzyme involved in recycling guanine and inosine in the purine salvage pathway. As a housekeeping gene, HPRT has been widely used as an endogenous control for molecular studies evaluating changes in gene expression. Yet, recent evidence has shown that HPRT exhibits high variability within malignant samples. We designed this study to determine whether this observed upregulation is consistently found, therefore rendering hprt an unsuitable normalization control in cancer. Utilizing protein and RNA-seq expression, we found that malignant and normal patient samples vary significantly both within the same tissue type and across organ sites. Upon staining for …

Emergence Of Collective Behaviors In Hub-Based Colonies Using Grammatical Evolution And Behavior Trees, Aadesh Neupane

Theses and Dissertations

Animals such as bees, ants, birds, fish, and others are able to efficiently perform complex coordinated tasks like foraging, nest-selection, flocking and escaping predators without centralized control or coordination. These complex collective behaviors are the result of emergence. Conventionally, mimicking these collective behaviors with robots requires researchers to study actual behaviors, derive mathematical models, and implement these models as algorithms. Since the conventional approach is very time consuming and cumbersome, this thesis uses an emergence-based method for the efficient evolution of collective behaviors. Our method, Grammatical Evolution algorithm for Evolution of Swarm bEhaviors (GEESE), is based on Grammatical Evolution (GE) …

Supportive Hand-Holding Attenuates Pupillary Responses To Stress In Adult Couples, Wendy C. Birmingham, Tyler C. Graff, Steven G. Luke

Faculty Publications

Background

Social relationships, particularly marriage, have been shown to ameliorate the potentially pathogenic impact of stressful events but prior research has been mostly aimed at downstream effects, with less research on real-time reactivity. Pupillometry is an innovative procedure that allows us to see the effects of acute stress in real time. The muscles that control pupil size are linked to the autonomic nervous system, so that when stressed, the pupils dilate; this occurs within 200ms. This quick response allows us to see the immediate effects of acute stress on the autonomic nervous system (ANS), and the real-time effects of social …

Attachment And Relationship Quality: A Longitudinal Cross-Lagged Panel Model Examining The Association Of Attachment Styles And Relationship Quality In Married Couples, Meagan Cahoon Alder

Theses and Dissertations

This is a longitudinal cross-lagged panel model examining the bi-directional association of attachment styles and relationship quality in a community sample of 355 married couples, with at least one child between 10-14 years of age at the beginning of the study and 17-21 years of age at the end of the study. An Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM), was used to test for actor and partner effects, thereby accounting for the non-independent nature of the data. Two separate APIM models were tested with Male Attachment predicting Female Relationship Quality and Female Attachment predicting Male Relationship Quality. Results indicate that own attachment …

Potential New Biomarkers For Endometrial Cancer, Michelle H. Townsend, Zac E. Ence, Abigail M. Felsted, Alyssa C. Parker, Stephen R. Piccolo, Richard A. Robison, Kim L. O'Neill

Faculty Publications

Abstract

Background: Incidence of endometrial cancer are rising both in the United States and worldwide. As endometrial cancer becomes more prominent, the need to develop and characterize biomarkers for early stage diagnosis and the treatment of endometrial cancer has become an important priority. Several biomarkers currently used to diagnose endometrial cancer are directly related to obesity. Although epigenetic and mutational biomarkers have been identified and have resulted in treatment options for patients with specific aberrations, many tumors do not harbor those specific aberrations. A promising alternative is to determine biomarkers based on differential gene expression, which can be used to …

Effects Of Substrate On Movement Patterns And Behavior Of Stream Fish Through Culverts: An Experimental Approach, Kyla Johnson, Lindsay E. Wait, Suzanne K. Monk, Russell Rader, Rollin H. Hotchkiss, Mark C. Belk

Faculty Publications

Culverts can provide a significant barrier to fish passage by fragmenting fish habitats and impeding the passage success of small-bodied fish. Geographical connectivity is critical to the maintenance of diverse fish assemblages. Culverts with high cross-sectional velocity can cause population fragmentation by impeding passage of small, freshwater fish. Behavioral responses of small fish to high velocities can differ among functional groups, and swimming behavior of many species is not well known. We tested effects of substrate type on swimming behavior in two small, freshwater fish species—southern leatherside chub (Lepidomeda aliciae, a midwater species), and longnose dace (Rhinichthys …

Recognizing Stepfamily Myths, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

A stepfamily is defined as a household in which there are two adults in a committed couple relationship and where at least one of them has a child or children from a previous relationship. There are an estimated 9,100 new American stepfamilies created each week. Fifty percent of all Americans have a step connection. Thus if you live or have lived in a stepfamily, you have a lot of company! Like all families, stepfamilies have challenges as well as strengths. For stepfamilies to become strong, it's important that they are aware of some of the common challenges they face and …

Developing Your Own Unique Family Style, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

Stepfamilies are structurally different from first-marriage families. New relationships, new roles, and new traditions need to be developed. In the process of developing a unique family style, stepfamilies may need to face and overcome certain obstacles. This article discusses some of the major obstacles to a new family identity and ways to deal with them. These obstacles include a belief in myths about stepfamilies, holding unrealistic expectations, having few established guidelines about stepfamily living, mourning losses and making adjustments, and divided loyalties.

Sibling Rivalry: Help For Parents, Jeremy Boyle, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

If you already have a child or children, when a new baby arrives so does the potential for sibling rivalry. As a parent, you can help minimize sibling rivalries by preparing before you bring the child home, by understanding the roots of sibling rivalry, and by helping your children learn conflict resolution skills.

Dealing With Infertility And Childlessness, Jeremy Boyle, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

One in every six couples will never be able to conceive a child. This can be a very painful realization for a couple who has dreamed of having offspring. The Family: A Proclamation to the World says, "We declare that God's commandment for his children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force."

Parents As The First And Foremost Teachers, Megan Northrup, Craig H. Hart, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

The Family: A Proclamation to the World states that "parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness" (¶ 6). Many of today's scholars support this statement. Family science and child development researchers everywhere are emphatic that good parenting is vital. From the earliest preschool years, the way parents teach and rear their children is critical to their children's development throughout life.

The Sacred Responsibility Of Mothers, Jennifer Crockett, Wendy Woodfield, Sarah Smith, Stephen F. Duncan, Shirley R. Klein

Forever Families

The Family: A Proclamation to the World, states: "Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live."

Working Successfully Across Households, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

A common outcome of divorce involving children is some form of shared custody that allows children contact and co-residence with their biological parents at alternating times. Current research suggests that regardless of residence, children benefit when they have stable, loving relationships with both parents. This is the ideal for children and should be pursued, unless one parent has problems that place the child in danger. Shared custody arrangements are best for children when all parties agree and parents are willing to work hard, sacrifice, and cooperate.

Discovering And Building Stepfamily Strengths, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

Strong stepfamilies don't just happen. It takes time and effort to build and maintain a strong stepfamily. Members of stepfamilies must be committed and determined to make it so.

Developing A Solid Marriage, Stephen F. Duncan

Forever Families

A solid marriage is at the foundation of a successful stepfamily. In a stepfamily, however, bonds between a parent and child have preceded those of the marriage. Consequently, remarried couples need to make a special effort to care for their relationship. There are several things that pose challenges to the development of a successful remarriage.