Digital Commons Network^™

The Utah Statesman, October 14, 2014, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Efficient Gene Targeting In Golden Syrian Hamsters By The Crispr/Cas9 System, Zhiqiang Fan, Wei Li, Sang R. Lee, Qinggang Meng, Tom D. Bunch, Kenneth L. White, Zhongde Wang, Il-Keun Kong

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

The golden Syrian hamster is the model of choice or the only rodent model for studying many human diseases. However, the lack of gene targeting tools in hamsters severely limits their use in biomedical research. Here, we report the first successful application of the CRISPR/Cas9 system to efficiently conduct gene targeting in hamsters. We designed five synthetic single-guide RNAs (sgRNAs)—three for targeting the coding sequences for different functional domains of the hamster STAT2 protein, one for KCNQ1, and one for PPP1R12C—and demonstrated that the CRISPR/Cas9 system is highly efficient in introducing site-specific mutations in hamster somatic cells. We …

The Utah Statesman, October 9, 2014, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

The Utah Statesman, October 7, 2014, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Digitalcrust - A 4d Data System Of Material Properties For Transforming Research On Crustal Fluid Flow, Y. Fan, S. Richard, R. S. Bristol, S. E. Peters, S. E. Ingebritsen, N. Moosdorf, A. Packman, T. Gleeson, I. Zaslavsky, S. Peckham, L. Murdoch, M. Fienen, David G. Tarboton, N. Jones, Richard P. Hooper, J. Arrigo, D. Gochis, J. R. Olson, D. Wolock

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Fluid circulation in the Earth's crust plays an essential role in surface, near surface, and deep crustal processes. Flow pathways are driven by hydraulic gradients but controlled by material permeability, which varies over many orders of magnitude and changes over time. Although millions of measurements of crustal properties have been made, including geophysical imaging and borehole tests, this vast amount of data and information has not been integrated into a comprehensive knowledge system. A community data infrastructure is needed to improve data access, enable large‐scale synthetic analyses, and support representations of the subsurface in Earth system models. Here, we describe …

October Post 3, Lynne Mcneil

Digital Folklore Project 2014

No abstract provided.

Bioeconomic Factors Of Beef Heifer Maturity To Consider When Establishing Criteria To Optimally Select And/Or Retain Herd Replacements, M. C. Stockton, R. K. Wilson, Dillon M. Feuz, L. A. Stalker, R. N. Funston

Applied Economics Faculty Publications

Understanding the biology of heifer maturity and its relationship to calving difficulty and subsequent breeding success is a vital step in building abioeconomic model to identify optimal production and profitability. A limited dependent variable probit model is used to quantify the responses among heifer maturities, measured by a maturity index (MI), on dystocia and second pregnancy. The MI account for heifer age, birth BW, prebreeding BW, nutrition level, and dam size and age and is found to be inversely related to dystocia occurrence. On average there is a 2.2% increase in the probability of dystocia with every 1 point drop …

October Post 9, Breanne Martin

Digital Folklore Project 2014

No abstract provided.

Improving The Resilience Of Mixed-Farm Systems To Pending Climate Change In Far Western Nepal: Baseline Survey Report, D. Layne Coppock

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

This report provides a summary of the main results of a household baseline survey carried out in late 2013 in four village development committees (VDC) in Bajura District. A total of 320 households were surveyed with 80 per VDC. Two of the VDCs have been subsequently targeted for interventions related to climate change adaptation, while two VDCs have voluntary agreed to serving as paired “controls.” This baseline survey was undertaken as part of a study entitled, ‘Improving the Resilience of Mixed Farm Systems to Pending Climate Change in Far Western Nepal’, conducted by USU and HKI. The baseline survey was …

Utilizing Repurposed Materials To Construct Utility Buildings And Small Animal Shelters, C. Kim Chapman

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes how to use repurposed materials such as shipping pallets, scraps from construction sites or other building projects, to construct utility buildings and small animal shelters.

The Utah Statesman, September 30, 2014, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Warming, Competition, And Bromus Tectorum Population Growth Across An Elevation Gradient, Aldo Compagnoni, Peter B. Adler

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is one of the most problematic invasive plant species in North America and climate change threatens to exacerbate its impacts. We conducted a two‐year field experiment to test the effect of warming, competition, and seed source on cheatgrass performance across an elevation gradient in northern Utah. We hypothesized that warming would increase cheatgrass performance, but that warming effects would be limited by competing vegetation and by local adaptation of cheatgrass seed sources. The warming treatment relied on open top chambers, we removed vegetation to assess the effect of competition from neighboring vegetation, and we reciprocally …

Schooling Increases Risk Exposure For Fish Navigating Past Artificial Barriers, Bertrand H. Lemasson, James W. Haefner, Mark D. Bowen

Biology Faculty Publications

Artificial barriers have become ubiquitous features in freshwater ecosystems and they can significantly impact a region's biodiversity. Assessing the risk faced by fish forced to navigate their way around artificial barriers is largely based on assays of individual swimming behavior. However, social interactions can significantly influence fish movement patterns and alter their risk exposure. Using an experimental flume, we assessed the effects of social interactions on the amount of time required for juvenile palmetto bass (Morone chrysops × M. saxatilis) to navigate downstream past an artificial barrier. Fish were released either individually or in groups into the flume …

Educational Policies Committee Program Proposal, Caine College Of The Arts, September 26, 2014 - Bfa-Design And Technology Emphasis: Film Production Concentration, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

The Department of Theatre Arts at Utah State University requests approval of a proposal to add a concentration in Film Production within the BFA in Theatre: Design and Technology Emphasis.

The Utah Statesman, September 25, 2014, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

The Utah Statesman, September 23, 2014, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Agenda, September 22, 2014, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Human Resources information on code changes affecting faculty
• Section 100 concerning VP for Research and Dean of the School of Grad Studies
• Educational Policies Committee Annual Report
• EPC Items
• Honors Program Report
• Libraries Advisory Council Report
• Parking Committee Report
• PTR Code Change Discussion & Advisory Votes
• Code change 402.12.3 Committee on Committees term (first reading)

Age Of Barrier Canyon-Style Rock Art Constrained By Cross-Cutting Relations And Luminescence Dating Techniques, Joel L. Pederson, Harriet Cornachione, Steven R. Simms, Reza Sohbati, Tammy M. Rittenour, Andrew S. Murray, Gary Cox

Geosciences Faculty Publications

Rock art compels interest from both researchers and a broader public, inspiring many hypotheses about its cultural origin and meaning, but it is notoriously difficult to date numerically. Barrier Canyon-style (BCS) pictographs of the Colorado Plateau are among the most debated examples; hypotheses about its age span the entire Holocene epoch and previous attempts at direct radiocarbon dating have failed. We provide multiple age constraints through the use of cross-cutting relations and new and broadly applicable approaches in optically stimulated luminescence dating at the Great Gallery panel, the type section of BCS art in Canyonlands National Park, southeastern Utah. Alluvial …

Curriculum Subcommittee Agenda, September 4, 2014, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Department of Agricultural Systems Technology and Education

• New Course
• Title Change
• Credit Hour, Grade Mode Change
• Title, Prerequisite, Course Description Change

Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Science

• New Course

Department of Plants, Soils and Climate

• Credit Hour Change
• Prerequisite Change

Department of Art and Design

• New Course

Department of Theatre Arts

• Grade Mode Change

Department of Family, Consumer and Human Development

• New Course

Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation

• Title Change
• Prerequisite Change

Department of Psychology

• Title, Prerequisite, Course Description Change

Department of Teacher Education and Leadership

• Course Description change
• Prerequisite Change

Department of Biological Engineering

• New Course …

The Utah Statesman, September 4, 2014, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

How To Use Anti-Mullerian Hormone Testing To Diagnose Granulosa Cell Tumors In Mares, Dirk K. Vanderwall, Kerry A. Rood

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes how to use Anti-Mullerian hormone testing to diagnose granulosa cell tumors in mares.

Disposicion A Pagar Del Consumidor Por Carnes De Especialidad, Kynda Curtis, Shane Feuz, Nelissa Aybar

All Current Publications

A medida que la demanda de alimentos orgánicos y naturales aumenta en los EE.UU, es importante entender las preferencias del consumidor y su disposición a pagar, en términos de primas, por productos de especialidad o no tradicionales.

The Utah Statesman, August 28, 2014, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Cubesat Advanced Technology Propulsion System Concept, Dennis Morris, Rodney Noble

Small Satellite Conference

One of the many challenges when it comes to small satellites is low cost, especially when it comes to propulsion. At Aerojet Rocketdyne a CubeSat propulsion system was developed utilizing the advantages of the additive manufacturing process. This design reduces the part count by 50%, eliminates all 22 final assembly welds and reduces the projected recurring propulsion system cost by 75%. Starting with the CubeSat envelope of 1000 cubic centimeters, a typical satellite hydrazine mono propellant propulsion system was created for a baseline comparison. The goal of the advanced technology low cost propulsion system was to minimize part count by …

An Autonomous Proximity Navigation Testbed For Nanosatellites, Subhransu Mishra, Marin Kobilarov

Small Satellite Conference

The goal of this work is to develop techniques and tools to enhance small-spacecraft in-orbit autonomy. The focus is on developing perception and control algorithms to enable autonomous proximity operations, and performing preliminary validation in a laboratory air-bearing testbed. To achieve this, we have developed CubeSat engineering models equipped with a simple cold-gas propulsion system, on-board vision-based sensing and embedded computer for perception and control algorithms, and integrated them in the air-bearing testbed. Basic point-to-point autonomous navigation and obstacle avoidance tasks on such a planar environment have been successfully demonstrated.

Exploration Missions To Host Small Payloads, Jonathan Cirtain, Joseph Pelfrey

Small Satellite Conference

The next-generation heavy launch vehicle, the Space Launch System (SLS), will provide the capability to deploy small satellites during the trans-lunar phase of the exploration mission trajectory. We will describe the payload mission concept of operations, the payload capacity for the SLS, and the payload requirements. Exploration Mission 1, currently planned for launch in December 2017, will be the first mission to carry such payloads on the SLS.

Small Spinning Landers For Solar System Exploration Missions, Rex Ridenoure, Joe Cardin, Chris Day

Small Satellite Conference

The spinning lander is a novel concept for safely landing and hopping on unimproved surfaces virtually anywhere in the solar system. It was first conceived in the early 1960s by satellite industry pioneer Harold Rosen, but not applied to an actual mission design until 2007-2008 as a Google Lunar XPRIZE team entry. Key to this new lander concept is the dual-spin spacecraft system approach developed and matured by Rosen and his Hughes Space & Communications, Inc. team starting in the late 1960s—a simple, scalable spacecraft architecture which dominated the communications satellite arena for nearly 25 years. Rosen’s GLXP entry featured …

Describing And Deploying Satellite Behaviors Using Rules-Based Statecharts, Kenneth Center

Small Satellite Conference

PnP Innovations has developed the ability to graphically author Universal Modeling Language (UML) statechart diagrams that can be translated directly to rules-based flight code. The generated code module integrates with an Autonomous Mission Manager (AMM) Architecture developed by a working group at the Air Force Research Laboratory. The role of the statechart-described module behaviors can be many and varied – from subsystem mode transition management to fault tolerance techniques to courses of action taken in response to non-deterministic events. The capability provides a unique opportunity for system designers or operators (not programmers) to capture behaviors in a form that is …

E. Coli Antimicrobial Satellite (Ecamsat): Science Payload System Development And Test, Travis Boone, Aaron Cohen, Matthew Chin, Tori Chinn, Charlie Friedericks, Evan Jackson, Mahmonir Keyhan, Matthew Lera, Ac Matin, David Mayer, Christopher Middour, Macarena Parra, Antonio Ricco, Stevan Spremo

Small Satellite Conference

The E. coli AntiMicrobial Satellite (EcAMSat) mission will investigate space microgravity e_ects on the dose-dependent antibiotic response and resistance of wildtype and mutant strains of uropathogenic Escherichia coli, a bacterial pathogen responsible for urinary tract infection in humans and animals. EcAMSat is the _rst biological science CubeSat built by NASA in the 6U con_guration, and it will feature the _fth biological CubeSat payload developed by the NASA/Ames Research Center and the fourth mission to conduct a peer-reviewed biological science experiment. Building on the hardware ight heritage of GeneSat, PharmaSat-1, and O/OREOS, EcAMSat features a uidics payload that can create and …

Identifying Priority Species And Conservation Opportunities Under Future Climate Scenarios: Amphibians In A Biodiversity Hotspot, Kyle Barrett, Nathan P. Nibbelink, John C. Maerz

All Publications

Climate change is driving shifts in the distribution of plants and animals, and prioritizing management actions for such shifts is a necessary but technically difficult challenge. We worked with state agencies in the southeastern United States to identify high-priority amphibian species, to model the vulnerabilities of those species to regional climate change, and to identify long-term climatic refugia within the context of existing conservation lands. Directly interfacing with state natural resource experts ensured that 1) species prioritization schemes extend beyond political boundaries and 2) our models resulted in conservation-relevant applications. We used a correlative model to project midcentury distributions of …