Digital Commons Network^™

Protein Residue Analysis In Archaeology: A Geological Contamination Experiment, Theresa Popp

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Protein residue analysis has been used by archaeologists for decades to explore ancient diets and hunting behaviors based on proteins deposited on tools and artifacts, however, protein contamination of buried artifacts has been assumed but lacked formal study. Through a contamination experiment testing different geological contexts (e.g. water movement and freeze-thaw), possible routes of protein contamination within soil were identified, adversely impacting protein residue analysis conducted on buried artifacts. Protein was found to move through soil in large enough concentrations to elicit positive protein residue results on sterile artifacts that never made direct contact with the protein source used in …

The Evaluation Of Compound X In A Mouse Model In Chikv Disease, Kaitlyn Blotter

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an infectious alphavirus spread by Aedes aegypti and Aedes alpopictus mosquitoes. Recently, there have been various outbreaks in the Americas, the Caribbean, and across Asia and Africa (Bettis et al., 2022). Although mortality rates of Chikungunya disease are relatively low, the disease has been shown to have high morbidity and chronic effects. Currently, there are no approved antivirals for treatment of CHIKV infection. The goal of this study was to identify whether Compound X is an effective treatment in a mouse model of CHIKV infection. Compound X was active in cell culture models of CHIKV infection, …

Chemical-Mediated Mate Attraction In Clover Root Curculio (Sitona Hispidulus F.), A Belowground Pest Of Forage Crops, Kristin Leutgeb

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Curculionid beetles are well known for their production of semiochemicals, including contact (e.g. cuticular hydrocarbons) and volatile pheromones that mediate conspecific attraction and mating. Clover root curculio (CRC; Sitona hispidulus) in particular is an emergent, soil-borne pest of significant concern to producers of alfalfa and other leguminous crops in the United States. Producers have few control options for CRC and a greater understanding of chemical-mediated attraction in this species can potentially improve the sustainability of its management. To examine which chemical cues are important for affecting the behavior of CRC and whether there are sex-based differences in response, I …

What Is Biological Engineering? – A Magazine, Morgan Christensen

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Biological Engineering is one of the less commonly known fields of engineering and can be challenging to describe to someone outside the discipline. The most common question I've been asked during my undergraduate career is "What is biological engineering?". My answer has changed throughout my time at Utah State University as I've had more experiences within the discipline. This project focuses on answering this question in the format of a magazine to help bridge the gap between those in the discipline and a general audience. By using a magazine as the format, the content must be organized and written in …

Effects Of Humidity On Native And Non-Native Cavity Nesting Solitary Bees, Elleke Grace Kofford Manwill

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Invasive species are defined as those that are not native to an ecosystem but may cause harm to the environment or to human health. Osmia cornifrons, a species introduced to the United States, and Osmia lignaria, a native species, are cavity-nesting solitary bees. Although not officially classified as invasive, O. cornifrons presents competition for the niche that O. lignaria inhabits. O. cornifrons has established populations throughout the East Coast and the Pacific Northwest, while O. lignaria is found all throughout the contiguous United States. This interspecies difference in geographical range exists despite their similar temperature ranges. To determine …

Travels In Ireland, Melissa Evelyn Cook

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

“Travels In Ireland” is a creative non-fiction essay with elements of travel writing. It follows my journey around Ireland, including Killarney, Dingle, Kell’s Bay, Castle Desmond, Galway, the Aran Islands and Coole Park. This essay is in communication with other travel writing pieces as I experiment with the genre. In preparation I read many different examples of travel writing including Travels with Charley, Stones of Aran, and On the Shoreline of Knowledge. My initial plan for this project involved studying cultural differences and experimenting with the genre of travel writing. While I began this project without a …

How Variation In Activity Time And Duration At Water Sources Affects Feral Horse Vulnerability To Cougar Predation In Southern Nevada, Katelyn Davies

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Feral horses have become prominent in the Intermountain West. Approximately 43,000 horses are found in Nevada alone. With increasing numbers, they have become a large portion of ungulate biomass. Thus, it is important to understand their behavior, as they become integrated into western wildlife communities. However, little research has been conducted on the ecology of feral horses, and their relationships with native ungulates, carnivores, and local resources such as water.

To address these concerns, I outlined three objectives: (1) determine if horses changed their water visitation activity times in relation to temperature. As a primarily diurnal species, we were interested …

It Started On A Stage, Jordan Lockwood

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The creation of It Started On A Stage aimed to answer if any amount of experience with theater can affect an individual. The show is a devised piece inspired by a series of interviews with 15 subjects. Devised theater is a branch of applied theater where individuals collaborate on creating the script. The interviewees all had varying levels of experience in differing fields of expertise. I asked them a series of questions regarding their past and current experiences with theater. Regardless of their level of involvement or whether they were currently pursuing it, all of these participants agreed that theater …

Priming Through Persuasion: Towards Secure Password Behavior, Rizu Paudel, Mahdi Nasrullah Al-Ameen

Computer Science Student Research

Users tend to create weak passwords even for the important accounts. The prior research shed light on user’s insecure password behavior, and why the interventions, including requirement specification (e.g., password composition policies) and feedback systems (e.g., password meters) fail in practice. To this end, we propose and evaluate the concept: priming-through-persuasion in the realm of secure password creation. In particular, we created visual designs, aimed at priming users about the repercussions of weak passwords before their password creation. We base our designs on two forms of persuasion methods: pathos and logos. Pathos appeals to people’s emotion in order to persuade …

Faculty Senate Agenda April 29, 2024, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

No abstract provided.

Sustainability And Drivers Of Populus Tremuloides Regeneration And Recruitment Near The Southwestern Edge Of Its Range, Connor D. Crouch, Nicholas P. Wilhelmi, Paul C. Rogers, Margaret M. Moore, Kristen M. Waring

Aspen Bibliography

Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) ecosystems are highly valued in the southwestern United States because of the ecological, economic, and aesthetic benefits they provide. Aspen has experienced extensive mortality in recent decades, and there is evidence that many areas in Arizona, United States lack adequate recruitment to replace dying overstory trees. Maintaining sustainable levels of regeneration and recruitment (i.e. juveniles) is critical for promoting aspen ecosystem resilience and adaptive capacity, but questions remain about which factors currently limit juvenile aspen and which strategies are appropriate for managing aspen in an increasingly uncertain future. To fill these critical knowledge gaps, …

Telehealth Acceptance And Commitment Therapy For Adolescents With Transdiagnostic Health-Related Anxiety: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial, Julie M. Petersen, Marissa L. Donahue, Leila K. Capel, Emily M. Bowers, Mercedes G. Woolley, Sara Boghosian, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Student Research

Health-related anxiety is an under-researched and pressing issue to understand in adolescents, particularly given the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study is a randomized, waitlist-controlled trial of 10 weekly, 50-minute sessions of telehealth ACT targeting health-related anxiety in adolescents as compared to a waitlist. A sample of 30 adolescents (ages 12- 17), plus one caretaker each (N = 60), currently struggling with clinical levels of health-related anxiety were enrolled. The majority of caretakers and adolescents were White, non-Hispanic/Latine, and female. Data were analyzed using multilevel modeling across pre-, mid-, post-treatment, and one-month follow-up. Adolescents reported small, significant decreases in health-related anxiety …

Cocoa Polyphenols Modulate The Fecal Microbiome In A Mouse Model Of Colitis, Independent Of Basal Diet And Colon Inflammation, Abby D. Benninghoff

Browse all Datasets

Chronic inflammation increases the risk of developing multiple chronic diseases, including cancer. The risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC) specifically is increased in individuals who suffer from colitis, a characteristic of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Diet is another risk factor for developing CRC, particularly an inflammation-promoting Western-type diet. Thus, supplementing a Western diet with functional foods containing anti-inflammatory polyphenols is a potential approach to decreasing CRC risk by reducing gut inflammation and altering gut microbiome profile. This study aimed to determine the effects of cocoa polyphenol (CP) supplementation on inflammation status and microbiome profile before, during, and after colitis when …

Environmental Factors Associated With Triploid Aspen Occurrence In Intermountain West Landscapes, Karen E. Mock, James A. Walton

Browse all Datasets

Polyploidy is common among plants and can contribute to physiological and morphological differences, altering how plants respond to environmental changes, promoting genetic diversification, and even species radiation. Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), a keystone species associated with high plant and animal diversity is frequently found in mixed diploid/triploid populations in the Intermountain West. High mortality rates and widespread population declines in aspen are of increasing concern in the Intermountain West, often ascribed to changing climates and drought stress events. The goal of this study was to better understand environmental factors influencing the distribution of triploid aspen population in the Intermountain West. …

Grazing On The Arizona Strip: Catchment History And Repair, Melanie Heaton

All Current Publications

Water, not forage, is the limiting factor for wildlife and livestock grazing the Arizona Strip, a nearly 3-million-acre piece of land located north of the Grand Canyon and south of the Utah border. Since springs and groundwater are rare or absent, harvesting of natural precipitation is the main source of water for animals. Catchment systems, which capture precipitation on a sloped rubber apron and contain it in a large tank or lined pond, are used by government agencies and grazing permittees to efficiently provide water for wildlife and livestock. As catchments reach the end of their useful lives, tank replacement …

Cocoa Polyphenols Modulate The Gut Microbiome In A Site-Specific Manner In Mice, Marcus Hayden

Student Research Symposium

Gut Health and the Microbiome

• Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most prevalent cancers in the United States; early-onset CRC is also on the rise [1].
• Colitis-associated CRC is defined as CRC that arises from inflammation of the colon.
• A Western-type diet has been shown to exacerbate colitis.
• Metabolites of the gut microbiome contain anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties [2].
• Diet is a key factor in the gut microbiome composition.
• Polyphenols in cocoa may restore the gut microbiome composition from pre-existing dysbiosis.
• More research is needed to study how dietary cocoa supplementation modulates the microbiome across several sites of the …

The Effects Of Including Sprouted Barley In The Diets Of Feeder Lambs, Zachary Crump

Student Research Symposium

Introduction

• Why do we care about sustainable agriculture?
• Increased population, and decreased available resources make production difficult to keep up with demand (Alexandratos and Bruinsma 2012).
• Lamb demand has increased 38% from 2012-2022 in the United States (Agriculture 2024)
• New technology can increase crop intensification to help production meet demand.

An Indigenous Kitchen: Using Design To Preserve Indigenous North American Food Cultures And Edible Plants, Alida Cummings

Student Research Symposium

Examine the causes and the detriment of reduced rood access, loss of knowledge, nutritional deficit, and reliance on imported foods on Indigenous American populations, with emphasis on the Pueblo, Diné, Apache, Hopi, and Zuni peoples of the American Southwest. Examine attempts to restore cultural food knowledge and Indigenous plant cultivation. Examine traditional foodways of the American Southwest. Propose and demonstrate possible solutions brought about by use of architecture and interior design.

Effect Of Medium On Epigenetics In Fertilized And Cloned Embryos, Ethan Loertscher

Student Research Symposium

• The metabolic pathways that oocytes and embryos take during early development have an important effect on epigenetic events. This leads to the question of whether different cultures affect epigenetics.
• There are some concerns that serum-containing mediums may be correlated with poor health outcomes.
• Acetylation of lysine 9 on histone 3 is associated with chromatin configurations. The intensity of H₃K₉ac is much lower in cloned embryos (somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT)) than what is seen in normal embryos
• This study was aiming to compare IVF and SCNT embryos cultured in a medium containing serum and a medium …

E-Cigarette Impacts On Aspects Of Dementia: Basic Research, Daniel S. Da Silva, Lucy N. Scribner

Student Research Symposium

E-cigarettes and Dementia

• Although smoking has declined in recent years, e-cigarette (vaping) use has drastically increased, particularly in youth.
• Smoking escalates risk for vascular dementia, with women more impacted than men.
• Dementia - Impaired capacity to remember, which interferes with the ability to perform daily functions.

A Comparison Of Gray Wolf Home Range Estimates, James Dye

Student Research Symposium

For this study we use GPS collar data from two wolf populations in Turkey and Croatia to compare their home ranges in order to determine which populations home ranges are larger. These two populations live in similar climates but have different impacts from human activity. The wolf population in Turkey experiences larger human presence and almost no natural prey availability, while in Croatia the wolf population exists in a more natural habitat with a substantial natural prey base. This creates an interesting comparison between the two populations and raises the question which average home range would be larger.

Effects On Cytokine Supplementation On Bovine Embryo Development, Pratt Griffeth

Student Research Symposium

• Artificial reproductive techniques (ARTs), such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF), allow for embryo production beyond what is naturally possible.
• To conduct IVF oocytes must reach maturity via in-vitro maturation (IVM), be fertilized by IVF, and the resulting embryos cultured via in-vitro culture (IVC).
• Modifications in maturation media and culture media are often tested experimentally to increase effectiveness of ARTs.
• Researchers have found that supplementing a group of three cytokines (fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), leukemia inhibiting factor (LIF), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1), together known as FLI) in maturation media improved oocyte maturation in pigs and bovine cloning success.^1-2
• Our …

Empower Boomers: Champion Inclusive Design, Alaine Thomson

Student Research Symposium

I like the second one down, looks sophisticated and a leisurely read. Big type face. Intriguing photos. Looks engaging and worth my investment to read the article. The first one is tolerable. Big words to catch your attention. But the additional pages could be broken up with photos, ect. and larger typeface. I totally disliked the bottom one!!! Makes me physically ill! Dizzy, like going in a book store with anxiety. Boom, Boom your eyes are bounced all over the page. Number three is the same way. Too many little boxes with snippets of information and incredibly small type that …

Temporal Dynamics In Forage Value: Assessing The Seasonal Shift In Legumes And Non-Legume Forb Quality During The Growing Period, Fnu Surbhi

Student Research Symposium

Project Goal: The establishment of resource islands containing high-protein species to replace costly late-season nutritional supplements for beef cattle, promoting productivity and biodiversity while reducing environmental impact.

Seasonal Effects On Bovine Oocyte Quality, Harper Sjostrom

Student Research Symposium

• Bovine oocytes are impacted by the environments they grow in and the climates of those environments.
• Supplementation of melatonin or cytokine (FLI) could aid in oocyte quality and mitochondrial membrane distribution/potential.
• The aim of this study was to evaluate 1) if supplementation of melatonin/cytokine (FLI) during in vitro maturation has an impact on maturation rates in oocytes and 2) if supplementation/temperature affect mitochondrial membrane distribution/potential in bovine oocytes.

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Agenda April 15, 2024, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• 3:30 Call to Order
• Approval of Minutes – March 18, 2024
• 3:35 University Business
• 3:55 Faculty Senate Business
• 4:00 Information
• Educational Policies Committee – April 4, 2024
• Student Nutrition Access Center
• 4:10 Reports
• Budget and Faculty Welfare Annual Report
• Calendar Committee Annual Report
• Committee on Committees Annual Report
• Recruitment & Retention Annual Report
• 4:30 Old Business
• 4:35 New Business
• Adjourn: 5:00 pm

The Utah Statesman, April 8, 2024, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

First-Time Market Goat, Ashley Longmore, Cheyenne Reid

All Current Publications

This fact sheet is 4-H youth who are thinking about or have recently purchased their first 4-H goat. This fact sheet is a simple outline that provides information on selection, feeding, housing, basic care, and grooming.

First-Time Market Lamb, Ashley Longmore, Cheyenne Reid

All Current Publications

This fact sheet is 4-H youth who are thinking about or have recently purchased their first 4-H lamb. This fact sheet is a simple outline providing more information on selection, feeding, housing, basic care, and grooming.

Curriculum Subcommittee Minutes April 4, 2024, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Approval of Minutes - March 7, 2024
• Program Proposals
• Semester Course Approval Reviews -
• College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences,
• Caine College of the Arts,
• Jon M. Huntsman School of Business,
• Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services,
• College of Engineering,
• College of Humanities and Social Sciences,
• S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources,
• College of Science,
• College of Veterinary Medicine
• Other Business
• Adjourn: 2:30 pm