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The Handschin Foundation: Franz Hasenböhler

Swiss American Historical Society Review

Born on November 1, 1936 as citizen of Therwil near Basel. He attended the elementary school in Therwil and graduated with a Matura [the nationally required exam which allows entering a Swiss (or German, Austrian) university, type A, i.e. with Greek and Latin] from the humanities branch of the Gymnasium [college preparatory school] in Basel in 1956. Subsequently he studied philosophy and law at the universities of Basel and Fribourg and received a doctor in law in 1974.

Psychologism And American Instructional Technology, David Wiley, Bekir Gur

Faculty Publications

Note: This is not the final draft of the article. The centrality of psychology in the field of instructional technology has never been comprehensively questioned; most instructional technologists have assumed that (behaviorist, cognitivist, constructivist, or another) psychology is the natural foundation for education and thus for instructional technology. The driving question of this article is: What are the problems of psychologism as found in the theories and practices of instructional technology? We present a brief genealogy of American instructional technology in relation to the influence of psychology; review critical psychology and discuss some problems of psychologism focusing on positivism, metaphysics, …

Patterns Of User Activity In The Different Features Of The Blackboard Cms Across All Courses For An Academic Year At Brigham Young University, Michael E. Griffiths, Charles R. Graham

Faculty Publications

In the past decade, course management systems (CMS) have become an integral part of most institutions of higher education. While there has been a significant amount of research looking at CMS usage at the course level, there has been less research looking at the institution-wide CMS usage from a CMS activity database perspective. This article shares findings from a study which analyzes over 36 million student and instructor clicks within the Blackboard CMS across the entire campus of Brigham Young University (BYU) during one full academic year. This research reports overall levels of user activity across campus, patterns of user …

Genetic Analysis Of Ribosome Stalling And Rescue, Douglas Ray Tanner

Theses and Dissertations

In eubacteria, ribosome stalling on broken messenger RNA transcripts can lead to cell death. The trans-translation quality control mechanism rescues many of these stalled ribosomes. In this process, tmRNA enters stalled ribosomes by mimicking a transfer RNA, accepting the stalled nascent peptide. The ribosome then releases the broken mRNA and resumes translation on a coding region within tmRNA itself. Translation of tmRNA marks the nascent peptide for destruction by the addition of a short proteolysis tag and the ribosome is released at a stop codon within the tmRNA open reading frame. An intriguing aspect of trans-translation is that …

Synthesis And Evaluation Of Stimulatory Properties Of Glycolipids For Natural Killer T Cells, Xiangtian Long

Theses and Dissertations

Natural killer T cells (NKT cells) are a subset of T cells. They regulate a wide range of diseases including infection, tumor growth, and autoimmune diseases, through recognizing glycolipid antigens in the context of CD1d. An understanding of the scope of glycolipid antigens would facilitate use of this cell type in controlling immune responses. Till today, a lysosomal glycolipid, isoglobotrihexosylceramide (iGb3), is the only natural glycolipid that has been found to be recognized by both human and mouse NKT cells. To elucidate the molecular basis of this specific recognition, iGb3 variants were designed and prepared: i) replacement of the C26 …

Where Is Thy Glory? Moses 1, The Nature Of Truth And The Plan Of Salvation, Dan Belnap, Daniel L. Belnap

Faculty Publications

While the first chapter of the book of Moses is often understood as introductory to the rest of the book, the chapter itself is an inclusive text centering on Moses’s transformation through three separate encounters with supernatural beings. In each encounter he is taught something of the meaning of truth and experiences the power that the comprehension of truth brings. His example is particularly instructive in light of the doctrine that “truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come” (D&C 93:24).

The first section of Moses 1 contains Moses’s encounter …

Transcriptomic Analysis Of The Entomopathogenic Nematode Heterorhabditis Bacteriophora Tto1, Byron J. Adams, Xiaodong Bai, Todd A. Ciche, Sandra Clifton, Randy Gaugler, Parwinder S. Grewal, Saskia A. Hogenhout, John Spieth, Paul W. Sternberg, Richard K. Wilson

Faculty Publications

Background: The entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora and its symbiotic bacterium, Photorhabdus luminescens, are important biological control agents of insect pests. This nematode-bacterium-insect association represents an emerging tripartite model for research on mutualistic and parasitic symbioses. Elucidation of mechanisms underlying these biological processes may serve as a foundation for improving the biological control potential of the nematode-bacterium complex. This large-scale expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis effort enables gene discovery and development of microsatellite markers. These ESTs will also aid in the annotation of the upcoming complete genome sequence of H. bacteriophora. Results: A total of 31,485 high quality ESTs were generated …

Real-Time Optical Flow Sensor Design And Its Application On Obstacle Detection, Zhaoyi Wei

Theses and Dissertations

Motion is one of the most important features describing an image sequence. Motion estimation has been widely applied in structure from motion, vision-based navigation and many other fields. However, real-time motion estimation remains a challenge because of its high computational expense. The traditional CPU-based scheme cannot satisfy the power, size and computation requirements in many applications. With the availability of new parallel architectures such as FPGAs and GPUs, applying these new technologies to computer vision tasks such as motion estimation has been an active research field in recent years. In this dissertation, FPGAs have been applied to real-time motion estimation …

The Case Of The Silent Crippler, Amanda Orme, Karlen E. (Beth) Luthy

Faculty Publications

Thirteen-year-old “Stephanie” has been complaining of bilateral leg pain and increasing lower extremity weakness. Stephanie's teacher recently approached her parents to inform them of concerns that Stephanie is walking differently and seems off balance at school.

Ionic Selectivity In L-Type Calcium Channels By Electrostatics And Hard-Core Repulsion, Dezso Boda, Douglas Henderson, Monika Valisko, Bob Eisenberg, Dirk Gillespie

Faculty Publications

A physical model of selective "ion binding" in the L-type calcium channel is constructed, and consequences of the model are compared with experimental data. This reduced model treats only ions and the carboxylate oxygens of the EEEE locus explicitly and restricts interactions to hard-core repulsion and ion–ion and ion–dielectric electrostatic forces. The structural atoms provide a flexible environment for passing cations, thus resulting in a self-organized induced-fit model of the selectivity filter. Experimental conditions involving binary mixtures of alkali and/or alkaline earth metal ions are computed using equilibrium Monte Carlo simulations in the grand canonical ensemble. The model pore rejects …

Ultrasonic Drug Delivery To Tumors Via Stealth Liposomes, Peter Jones, Ghaleb A. Husseini, William G. Pitt, Beverly L. Roeder

Faculty Publications

Our research develops ultrasonically-controlled drug delivery systems. Previous micellar drug carriers released the drug upon ultrasonication. We have developed a liposomal drug carrier that is even more effective upon insonation in reducing tumors.

Regional And Seasonal Diet Of The Western Burrowing Owl In South Central Nevada, Derek B. Hall, Paul D. Greger, Jeffrey R. Rosier

Western North American Naturalist

We examined diets of Western Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia hypugaea) based on contents of pellets and large prey remains collected year-round at burrows in each of the 3 regions in south central Nevada (Mojave Desert, Great Basin Desert, and Transition region). The most common prey items, based on percent frequency of occurrence, were crickets and grasshoppers, beetles, rodents, sun spiders, and scorpions. The most common vertebrate prey was kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spp.). True bugs (Hemiptera), scorpions, and western harvest mice (Reithrodontomys megalotis) occurred most frequently in pellets from the Great Basin Desert region. Kangaroo rats …

Herbaceous Succession After Burning Of Cut Western Juniper Trees, Jon D. Bates, Tony J. Svejcar

Western North American Naturalist

The expansion of western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis spp. occidentalis Hook.) in the northern Great Basin has resulted in the wide-scale conversion of sagebrush-steppe communities to juniper woodlands. Prescribed fire and mechanical cutting are the 2 main methods used to remove juniper and restore sagebrush steppe. Mechanical treatments commonly leave cut juniper on site. Disadvantages of leaving cut juniper are the increased fuel hazard and the potential for increased establishment and growth of invasive species. This study evaluated the response of herbaceous plants to winter burning of cut western juniper. Vegetation response was compared among 2 burning treatments (burning trees …

Age And Growth Of Bluehead Suckers And Flannelmouth Suckers In Headwater Tributaries, Wyoming, Diana E. Sweet, Robert I. Compton, Wayne A. Hubert

Western North American Naturalist

Bluehead sucker (Catostomus discobolus) and flannelmouth sucker (Catostomus latipinnis) populations are declining throughout these species' native ranges in the Upper Colorado River Basin. In order to conserve these populations, an understanding of population dynamics is needed. Using age estimates from pectoral fin rays, we describe age and growth of these 2 species in 3 Wyoming stream systems: Muddy Creek, the Little Sandy River, and the Big Sandy River. Within all 3 stream systems, flannelmouth suckers were longer-lived than bluehead suckers, with maximum estimated ages of 16 years in Muddy Creek, 18 years in Little Sandy Creek, …

Comparative Susceptibility Of Conifers To Knobcone Pine Dwarf Mistletoe, Robert L. Mathiasen

Western North American Naturalist

Seventeen mixed conifer stands infested with knobcone pine dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium siskiyouense) were sampled to evaluate host susceptibility to this parasitic plant. Temporary circular plots (radius 6 m) were established around dominant, severely infected knobcone pines (Pinus attenuata). Within plots, species, diameter at breast height, and dwarf mistletoe rating (6-class system) were determined for each live tree taller than 1.4 m. More than 2000 trees were sampled in 140 plots. Based on the incidence of infection, tree species were assigned to host-susceptibility classes. Although Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi) and shore pine (Pinus contorta …

Assessing Cheatgrass (Bromus Tectorum) Genetic Diversity And Population Structure Using Rapd And Microsatellite Molecular Markers, Michael C. Ashley, William S. Longland

Western North American Naturalist

Two molecular marker systems, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and microsatellites, were used to evaluate population diversity and differentiation in 4 northern Nevada Bromus tectorum populations. From 80 RAPD primers, we found 16 (20%) that yielded 165 strong repeatable bands. Of those bands, 60 (35.8%) were polymorphic. Of those, 21 met data-pruning guidelines for final analysis. RAPD variation was moderate (x̄ = 0.363, s_x̄ = 0.022), ranging from 0.312 to 0.404. Microsatellite variation was similar (x̄ = 0.234, s_x̄ = 0.051) but varied more widely, ranging from 0.009 to 0.551. All populations were out of Hardy-Weinberg …

Sperm Viability In The Reproductive Tract Of Females In A Population Of Sceloporus Mucronatus Exhibiting Asynchronous Reproduction, Angela M. Ortega-León, Maricela Villagrán–Santa Cruz, J. Jamie Zúñiga-Vega, Raúl Cueva–Del Castillo, Fausto R. Méndez–De La Cruz

Western North American Naturalist

Asynchronous reproduction is a common phenomenon in high-elevation populations of lizards from Central México. Sperm storage in the reproductive tract of females is the mechanism for making oocyte fertilization possible. Our study addresses questions related to functional oviductal sperm storage of females mating on different dates throughout the reproductive season. A population of Sceloporus mucronatus with copulation in the summer and ovulation in the fall was chosen for this experiment. Eleven females that copulated in the field during June and 13 females that copulated in captivity during August were maintained in the laboratory until parturition. The number of pregnant females …

Grass Rhizosheaths: Associated Bacterial Communities And Potential For Nitrogen Fixation, David Bergmann, Mike Zehfus, Linda Zierer, Brian Smith, Mark Gable

Western North American Naturalist

Rhizosheaths are structures composed of mucilage secreted from plants and adherent soil particles that form a cylinder around the root. Using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), we observed bacteria associated with rhizosheaths of the grasses Achnatherum hymenoides, Calamovilfa longifolia, Hesperostipa comata, and Pascopyrum smithii from a sand dune area in Harding County in northwestern South Dakota. The greatest numbers of bacteria, observed with SEM (529 mm⁻²), and the greatest number of culturable bacteria (9.9 × 10⁷ CFU · g⁻¹ or 5178 CFU · mm⁻²) were on rhizosheaths of C. longifolia. Rhizosheaths of all the grasses …

Maternal Defensive Behavior Of Mountain Goats Against Predation By Golden Eagles, Sandra Hamel, Steeve D. Côté

Western North American Naturalist

Maternal defensive behavior against predators may appear risky but is common in many species. Herein we describe maternal defensive behavior of mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) against Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) predatory attempts. We found that Golden Eagles attacked goats in 1.9% of sightings (n = 311 sightings of active Golden Eagles over 12 years) but were never successful. Mothers always defended their young against Golden Eagle attacks. Predation by Golden Eagles on young-of-the-year appears low for most ungulate species, including mountain goats. The benefits of defending offspring against eagles are likely high in ungulates, and …

Distribution And First Reports Of Branchiobdellida (Annelida: Clitellata) On Crayfish In The Prairie Provinces Of Canada, Bronwyn W. Williams, Stuart R. Gelder, Heather Proctor

Western North American Naturalist

Orconectes virilis (northern crayfish) were collected from 67 sites in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and far-western Ontario, Canada, and yielded 2 species of branchiobdellidans, Cambarincola vitreus and Cambarincola chirocephalus. This is the first report of branchiobdellidans in the Prairie Provinces. Cambarincola vitreus was distributed across the study area, but C. chirocephalus appeared to be restricted to southeastern Saskatchewan, southern Manitoba, and the site in western Ontario. Neither branchiobdellidan species was observed on crayfish in the Beaver River or the South Saskatchewan River and associated tributaries upstream (west) of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, despite multiple sampling at these locations.

The Gentle Subversive: Rachel Carson And The Rise Of The Environmental Movement By Mark H. Lytle, John D. Rothlisberger

Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

Front Matter, Vol. 69 No. 1

Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

New Distribution Record For The Social Parasitic Ant Anergates Atratulus (Schenck, 1852) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): An Icun Red-Listed Species, Shawn T. Dash, Leticia Sanchez

Western North American Naturalist

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources red-lists a number of ant species. One species is Anergates atratulus (Schenck, 1852), a rarely collected social parasite introduced from Europe. The known distribution in North America is along the Atlantic seaboard. This note reports a huge range expansion in North America, to include Colorado. This finding is important because it provides useful information about the conservation and dispersal patterns of a rare, introduced, socially parasitic ant species.

Effects Of Elevation And Genetic Introgression On Growth Of Colorado River Cutthroat Trout, Mark C. Belk, Michael N. Mcgee, Dennis K. Shiozawa

Western North American Naturalist

Inland populations of cutthroat trout have suffered dramatic declines and some subspecies are considered threatened or endangered. Understanding patterns of variation and factors that influence life history in populations is important for conservation and management. We determined effects of elevation, sex, and genetic introgression (with Yellowstone cutthroat trout, Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi, and rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss) on growth rates of Colorado River cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii pleuriticus) in the Sheep Creek drainage in the Uinta Mountains of Utah. In this high-elevation system, native trout grew slowly and matured relatively late. Elevation, sex, and genetic introgression all …

Relationship Between Cheatgrass Coverage And The Relative Abundance Of Snakes On Antelope Island, Utah, Lucas K. Hall, John F. Mull, John F. Cavitt

Western North American Naturalist

Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is an invasive annual known to negatively impact many shrub-dependent organisms; however, relatively little research has examined how it affects snake communities. Bromus tectorum is abundant at Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah, and could be a possible threat to snake populations. Study sites representing different B. tectorum coverage percentages were established to measure relative abundance of snakes. Snakes were captured from June to September 2005 primarily by using funnel traps attached to drift-fence arrays. Linear regression revealed a negative relationship between B. tectorum coverage (%) and the relative abundance of the Great Basin …

Home-Range Size And Overlap Of Sympatric Male Mule And White-Tailed Deer In Texas, Kristina J. Brunjes, Warren B. Ballard, Mary H. Humphrey, Fielding Harwell, Nancy E. Mcintyre, Paul R. Krausman, Mark C. Wallace

Western North American Naturalist

Information about the ecology of sympatric male deer is limited, which may influence management strategies for these species. We estimated home-range and core-area sizes and overlap, and survival of sympatric male desert mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus eremicus) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in west central Texas. We captured 18 males of each species, fitted them with radio-collars, and monitored them for mortality from 2000 through 2003. We calculated home ranges for 7 males of each species in 2001 and 2002. Home-range sizes of mule deer (8.8 km²) and white-tailed deer (7.4 km²) …

Multiple-Scale Roost Habitat Comparisons Of Female Merriam's Wild Turkeys In The Southern Black Hills, South Dakota, Daniel J. Thompson, Mark A. Rumble, Lester D. Flake, Chad P. Lehman

Western North American Naturalist

Because quantity and quality of roosting habitat can affect Merriam's Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo merriami) distribution, we described habitat characteristics of Merriam's turkey roost sites in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota. Varying proportions of Merriam's turkeys in the southern Black Hills depended on supplemental feed from livestock operations during the 2 winters of our study, whereas the remainder wintered in forested habitat away from supplemental feed. We compared characteristics of roost habitat occupied by female turkeys from both groups. We located turkeys with radio-transmitters in the early morning and late evening to find roost sites. Female …

Rediscovered Population Of Mexican Plateau Spotted Whiptail Lizard, Aspidoscelis Septemvittata (Teiidae), From México, D.F., Oswaldo Hernández-Gallegos, Felipe De Jesús Rodríguez-Romero, Petra Sánchez-Nava, Fausto R. Méndez

Western North American Naturalist

Multiple surveys carried out by herpetologists in México, D.F., during the 1980s failed to find specimens of Aspidoscelis septemvitatta (Squamata: Teiidae). However, 10 specimens were recently collected to the east of México, D.F., inside a protected area, Sierra de Santa Catarina. The Sierra de Santa Catarina has been heavily modified by human activity and habitation. Morphological and natural history information about the specimens are presented, as well as notes on locality.

Condors In Canyon Country: The Return Of The California Condor To The Grand Canyon Region By Sophie A. H. Osborn, Howard O. Clark

Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

End Matter, Vol. 69 No. 1

Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.