Digital Commons Network^™

Stimulus Complexity And Chunk Tightness Interact To Impede Perceptual Restructuring During Problem Solving, Zhonglu Zhang, Christopher M. Warren, Yi Lei, Qiang Xing, Hong Li

Psychology Faculty Publications

The mutual influence of stimulus complexity and chunk tightness on perceptual restructuring was examined using a chunk decomposition task (CDT). Participants attempted to remove components of Chinese characters in order to produce new, valid characters. Participants had their electroencephalogram recorded while completing a CDT in conditions of low or high stimulus complexity, crossed with two levels of chunk tightness. Tight chunks overlapped spatially whereas loose chunks did not. Both increasing chunk tightness and increasing stimulus complexity impaired performance (lower accuracy, longer reaction times), and these factors interacted such that highly complex, tight chunks produced the worst performance. These factors also …

Spacetime Groups, Ian M. Anderson, Charles G. Torre

All Physics Faculty Publications

A spacetime group is a connected 4-dimensional Lie group G endowed with a left invariant Lorentz metric h and such that the connected component of the isometry group of h is G itself. The Newman-Penrose formalism is used to give an algebraic classification of spacetime groups, that is, we determine a complete list of inequivalent spacetime Lie algebras, which are pairs, (g, n), with g being a 4-dimensional Lie algebra and n being a Lorentzian inner product on g. A full analysis of the equivalence problem for spacetime Lie algebras is given which leads to a completely …

Towards More Realistic Estimates Of Dom Decay In Streams: Incubation Methods, Light, And Non-Additive Effects, Julia E. Kelso, Emma J. Rosi, Michelle A. Baker

Ecology Center Publications

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is the largest pool of organic matter in aquatic ecosystems and is a primary substrate for microbial respiration in streams. However, understanding the controls on DOM processing by microbes remains limited, and DOM decay rates remain largely unconstrained. Many DOM decay rates are quantified with bioassays in dark bottles, which may underestimate DOM decay in streams because these bioassays do not include a benthic zone and do not account for abiotic factors of DOM loss, such as photodegradation and volatilization. We measured decay of labile and semi-labile DOM over 3 d in experimental streams and bottle …

Brain Micrornas Among Social And Solitary Bees, Karen M. Kapheim, Beryl M. Jones, Eirik Søvik, Eckart Stolle, Robert M. Waterhouse, Guy Bloch, Yehuda Ben-Shahar

Biology Faculty Publications

Evolutionary transitions to a social lifestyle in insects are associated with lineage-specific changes in gene expression, but the key nodes that drive these regulatory changes are unknown. We examined the relationship between social organization and lineage-specific microRNAs (miRNAs). Genome scans across 12 bee species showed that miRNA copy-number is mostly conserved and not associated with sociality. However, deep sequencing of small RNAs in six bee species revealed a substantial proportion (20–35%) of detected miRNAs had lineage-specific expression in the brain, 24–72% of which did not have homologues in other species. Lineage-specific miRNAs disproportionately target lineage-specific genes, and have lower expression …

Discovery Of A Novel Analogue Of Fr901533 And The Corresponding Biosynthetic Gene Cluster From Streptosporangium Roseum No. 79089, Fuchao Xu, Yonghong Liang, Jie Ren, Siyuan Wang, Jixun Zhan

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

FR901533 (1, also known as WS79089B), WS79089A (2), and WS79089C (3) are polycyclic aromatic natural products with promising inhibitory activity to endothelin-converting enzymes. In this work, we isolated five tridecaketide products from Streptosporangium roseum No. 79089, including 1-3, benaphthamycin (4) and a novel FR901533 analogue (5). The structure of 5 was characterized based on spectroscopic data. Compared to the major product 2, the new compound 5 has an additional hydroxyl group at C-12 and an extra methyl group at the 13-OH. The configuration of C-19 of these compounds …

Equine Nutrition: Concentrates, Karl Hoopes, Patricia Evans, Scott Mckendrick

All Current Publications

Concentrate (grain) should be considered only as supplements to good quality hay. In general, a mature horse does not require the energy provided by concentrate-type feeds (grains/sweet feeds, pelleted feed, etc.) unless the horse is used for more than light work or in production, such as a lactating mare or a breeding stallion. Too many times horses are overfed rather than underfed. This fact sheet will help horse owners understand the digestive process and the general feeding requirements, including different grains and mixed grains, for their horses.

Equine Dental Care, Karl Hoopes, Patricia Evans, Diana Witkopf

All Current Publications

Just as people visit the dentist on a regular basis to maintain proper dental health, horses also require regular dental care. Horses should have at least annual dental check-ups to maintain proper alignment and remove points and hooks. This publication provides facts and suggestions on basic equine dental care for horses of all ages.

Greentpu: Predictive Design Paradigm For Improving Timing Error Resilience Of A Near-Threshold Tensor Processing Unit, Pramesh Pandey, Prabal Basu, Koushik Chakraborty, Sanghamitra Roy

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The emergence of hardware accelerators has brought about several orders of magnitude improvement in the speed of the deep neural-network (DNN) inference. Among such DNN accelerators, the Google tensor processing unit (TPU) has transpired to be the best-in-class, offering more than 15\times speedup over the contemporary GPUs. However, the rapid growth in several DNN workloads conspires to escalate the energy consumptions of the TPU-based data-centers. In order to restrict the energy consumption of TPUs, we propose GreenTPU - a low-power near-threshold (NTC) TPU design paradigm. To ensure a high inference accuracy at a low-voltage operation, GreenTPU identifies the patterns in …

Calibrating Your Orchard Sprayer, Brent Black, Earl Seeley

All Current Publications

The costs of fungicides, miticides, insecticides, foliar nutrients, wetting agents and plant growth regulators continue to increase. For a full spray program on apples, for example, the cost of spray materials alone could cost $800 to $1700 per acre per year. A poorly calibrated sprayer applying an average of 10% more material than intended, directly increases production costs by $80 to $170 per acre. Nozzles on sprayers wear out over time, and flow rates increase as nozzles wear, with worn nozzles eventually increasing flow rates by 10% or more. Financially sound management requires carefully calibrating orchard sprayers to optimize the …

No More “Social Distancing” But Practice Physical Separation, Debasree Das Gupta, David W. S. Wong

Kinesiology and Health Science Faculty Publications

Though not a new term, “social distancing” exploded onto the global stage as an expression to publicize the only means currently available to control the transmission of COVID-19. This term is increasingly being adopted and translated into the vernacular to inform and guide public behavior in most, if not all, countries around the world. However, any effective global response requires direct and unambiguous communication and sharing of ideas across communities with different cultural backgrounds as well as between researchers and responders across the disciplinary spectrum. Unfortunately, social distancing is a misnomer. The current use of social distancing – separating ourselves …

A Low-Cost, Open Source Monitoring System For Collecting High Temporal Resolution Water Use Data On Magnetically Driven Residential Water Meters, Camilo J. Bastidas Pacheco, Jeffery S. Horsburgh, Robb J. Tracy

Publications

We present a low-cost (≈$150) monitoring system for collecting high temporal resolution residential water use data without disrupting the operation of commonly available water meters. This system was designed for installation on top of analog, magnetically driven, positive displacement, residential water meters and can collect data at a variable time resolution interval. The system couples an Arduino Pro microcontroller board, a datalogging shield customized for this specific application, and a magnetometer sensor. The system was developed and calibrated at the Utah Water Research Laboratory and was deployed for testing on five single family residences in Logan and Providence, Utah, for …

Applied Behavior Analysis For The Treatment Of Autism: A Systematic Review Of Assistive Technologies, Fábio Junior Alves, Emerson Assis De Carvalho, Juliana Aguilar, Lucelmo Lacerda De Brito, Guilherme Sousa Bastos

Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling Student Research

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that may lead to significant impairment in social communication, repetitive patterns of behavior, and possible fixed and restricted interests. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a well-supported and evidence-based treatment for the delays attributed to ASD. Assistive technologies, such as gamification, software apps, computer-based training (Web), and robotics; provide a standardized method of implementing ABA techniques. This review provides a synthesis of the main characteristics of these technologies. The assessed proposals focused on technologies such as Distributed Systems, Image Processing, Gamification, and Robotics. The primary objectives of these tools sought to improve social …

Existing Empirical Kinetic Models In Biochemical Methane Potential (Bmp) Testing, Their Selection And Numerical Solution, Yehor Pererva, Charles D. Miller, Ronald C. Sims

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) tests are a crucial part of feasibility studies to estimate energy recovery opportunities from organic wastes and wastewater. Despite the large number of publications dedicated to BMP testing and numerous attempts to standardize procedures, there is no “one size fits all” mathematical model to describe biomethane formation kinetic precisely. Importantly, the kinetics models are utilized for treatability estimation and modeling processes for the purpose of scale-up. A numerical computation approach is a widely used method to determine model coefficients, as a replacement for the previously used linearization approach. However, it requires more information for each model …

Effects Of Behavioral Skills Training On Teachers Conducting The Recess-To-Classroom Transition, Sarah C. Smith, Thomas S. Higbee

Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling Faculty Publications

Elementary school teachers transition their students from recess to the classroom multiple times a day. When students do not line up quickly or are disruptive in line, teachers can spend valuable instructional time trying to manage students’ inappropriate behaviors. The result is a loss of instructional time that could lead to a decrease in student performance. This study examined how teachers could use behavioral skills training with their students as a way to reduce the length of the recess-to-classroom transition with second–fourth graders. After teachers were trained, they provided their students with training, which included instruction, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback. …

Recognition And Stigma Of Prescription Drug Abuse Disorder: Personal And Community Determinants, Robert Shupp, Scott Loveridge, Mark Skidmore, Brandn Green, Don Albrecht

Extension Research

Background

Prescription drug abuse (PDA) disorders continue to contribute to the current American opioid crisis. Within this context, our study seeks to improve understanding about stigma associated with, and symptom recognition of, prescription drug abuse.

Aims

Model the stigma and symptom recognition of PDA in the general population.

Methods

A randomized, nation-wide, online, vignette-focused survey of the general public (N = 631) was implemented with an oversample for rural counties. Logit estimation was used for analysis, with regional and county-level sociodemographic variables as controls.

Results

Individual respondents that self-identify as having or having had “a prescription drug abuse issue” were …

Structural Controls On Crustal Fluid Circulation And Hot Spring Geochemistry Above A Flat‐Slab Subduction Zone, Peru, Brandt E. Scott, Dennis L. Newell, M. J. Jessup, T. A. Grambling, C. A. Shaw

Geosciences Faculty Publications

Hot spring geochemistry from the Cordillera Blanca and Cordillera Huayhuash, Peru, reveal the influence of crustal‐scale structures on geothermal fluid circulation in an amagmatic region located above a flat‐slab subduction zone. To test the influence of contrasting modes of faulting in these regions, springs were targeted along the Cordillera Blanca detachment fault, within its hanging wall, in the footwall of the detachment, and in the Cordillera Huayhuash. Hot springs along the Cordillera Blanca detachment fault zone are associated with recent extension and normal faulting, and those in its footwall and the Cordillera Huayhuash are located in the Marañon fold and …

“How Well Does Your Structural Equation Model Fit Your Data?”: Is Marcoulides And Yuan’S Equivalence Test The Answer?, James Peugh, David F. Feldon

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Structural equation modeling is an ideal data analytical tool for testing complex relationships among many analytical variables. It can simultaneously test multiple mediating and moderating relationships, estimate latent variables on the basis of related measures, and address practical issues such as nonnormality and missing data. To test the extent to which a hypothesized model provides an appropriate characterization of the collective relationships among its variables, researchers must assess the “fit” between the model and the sample’s data. However, interpreting estimates of model fit is a problematic process. The traditional inferential test of model fit, the chi-square test, is biased due …

Creating Digital Activity Schedules To Promote Independence And Engagement, Kassidy S. Reinert, Thomas S. Higbee, Lyndsay D. Nix

Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling Faculty Publications

Photographic activity schedules have been demonstrated to be effective in helping individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities learn how to complete both simple and complex sequences of activities without prompting from adults. Although the majority of research studies demonstrating the effectiveness of activity schedules have used schedule books composed of static printed pictures attached to physical pages, recently researchers have begun to demonstrate the effectiveness of technology-based activity schedules. In the current article, we provide a task analysis for creating both simple and complex digital activity schedules using Google Slides, a freely available, web-based technology that operates on a …

The Gridded Retarding Ion Drift Sensor For The Petitsat Cubesat Mission, Ryan L. Davidson, B. Oborn, E. F. Robertson, S. Noel, G. D. Earle, J. Green, J. Kramer

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The Gridded Retarding Ion Drift Sensor (GRIDS) is a small sensor that will fly on the 6 U petitSat CubeSat. It is designed to measure the three-dimensional plasma drift velocity vector in the Earth’s ionosphere. The GRIDS also supplies information about the ion temperature, ion density, and the ratio of light to heavy ions present in the ionospheric plasma. It utilizes well-proven techniques that have been successfully validated by similar instruments on larger satellite missions while meeting CubeSat-compatible requirements for low mass, size, and power consumption. GRIDS performs the functions of a Retarding Potential Analyzer (RPA) and an Ion Drift …

Perceptual Training For Improved Intelligibility Of Dysarthric Speech, Stephanie A. Borrie

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Keeping It Classy: Classification Of Live Fish And Ghost Pit Tags Detected With A Mobile Pit Tag Interrogation System Using An Innovative Analytical Approach, J. Benjamin Stout, Mary Conner, Phaedra Budy, Peter Mackinnon, Mark Mckinstry

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

The ability of passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag data to improve demographic parameter estimates has led to the rapid advancement of PIT tag systems. However, ghost tags create uncertainty about detected tag status (i.e., live fish or ghost tag) when using mobile interrogation systems. We developed a method to differentiate between live fish and ghost tags using a random forest classification model with a novel data input structure based on known fate PIT tag detections in the San Juan River (New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah, USA). We used our model to classify detected tags with an overall error rate of …

Creating Silence: How Managerial Narcissism Decreases Employee Voice, Jake Harrison, Alexander C. Romney

Curiosity

Narcissism in organizations is becoming increasingly prevalent, as evidenced by the growing number of CEOs that seek acclaim and dominance, often at the expense of others (Chatterjee, 2017). Narcissism is defined as “individuals for whom enhancing the positivity of the self (specifically, to achieve status and esteem) is overwhelmingly important” (Campbell, 2004), and most often wields a detrimental influence on organizations. In the management literature, efficacy is defined as “a person’s estimate that a given behavior will lead to certain outcomes” (Bandura, 1977), and employees who hold a stronger sense of personal self-efficacy will display more active efforts to improve …

How Many Tree Species Of Birch Are In Alaska? Implications For Wetland Designations, Carol A. Rowe, Robert W. Lichvar, Paul G. Wolf

Biology Faculty Publications

Wetland areas are critical habitats, especially in northern regions of North America. Wetland classifications are based on several factors, including the presence of certain plant species and assemblages of species, of which trees play a significant role. Here we examined wetland species of birch (Betula) in North America, with a focus on Alaska, and the use of birche tree species in wetland delineation. We sampled over 200 trees from sites, including Alaska, Alberta, Minnesota, and New Hampshire. We used genetic data from over 3000 loci detected by restriction site associated DNA analysis. We used an indirect estimate of …

Natural Categorization: Electrophysiological Responses To Viewing Natural Versus Built Environments, Salif Mahamane, Nick Wan, Alexis Porter, Allison S. Hancock, Justin Campbell, M. S. Lyons, Kerry Jordan

Psychology Faculty Publications

Environments are unique in terms of structural composition and evoked human experience. Previous studies suggest that natural compared to built environments may increase positive emotions. Humans in natural environments also demonstrate greater performance on attention-based tasks. Few studies have investigated cortical mechanisms underlying these phenomena or probed these differences from a neural perspective. Using a temporally sensitive electrophysiological approach, we employ an event-related, implicit passive viewing task to demonstrate that in humans, a greater late positive potential (LPP) occurs with exposure to built than natural environments, resulting in a faster return of activation to pre-stimulus baseline levels when viewing natural …

Finding Av Needles In Manuscript Haystacks: Conducting An Audiovisual Assessment/Audit In Manuscript Archives, Benjamin Harry

Journal of Western Archives

Many twentieth-century audiovisual formats are becoming obsolete or are physically degrading, warranting the need to digitally reformat this content. The first step is to expeditiously document where and what types of audiovisual materials are hidden within archival manuscript collections. This article describes the efforts of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections (LTPSC) at Brigham Young University to quickly audit manuscript collections to determine the location and format details of audiovisual materials, a crucial first step to inform decisions about personnel requirements, equipment purchases, and grant seeking to facilitate the systematic digitization of audiovisual content.

Numerical Method For Rapid Aerostructural Design And Optimization, Jeffrey D. Taylor, Douglas F. Hunsaker

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Student Publications and Presentations

During early phases of wing design, analytic and low-fidelity methods are often used to identify promising design concepts. In many cases, solutions obtained using these methods provide intuition about the design space that is not easily obtained using higher-fidelity methods. This is especially true for aerostructural design. However, many analytic and low-fidelity aerostructural solutions are limited in application to wings with specific planforms and weight distributions. Here, a numerical method for minimizing induced drag with structural constraints is presented that uses approximations that apply to wings with arbitrary planforms and weight distributions. The method is applied to the NASA Ikhana …

How “Dependent” Are We? A Spatiotemporal Analysis Of The Young And The Older Adult Populations In The Us, Debasree Das Gupta, David W. S. Wong

Kinesiology and Health Science Faculty Publications

The shifting of a country’s age structure has far-reaching socioeconomic and policy implications. In the US, the changing age structure at the sub-national level has received little research attention. To address this gap, we examine age dependencies across states in the US between 1990 and 2010 using decennial census data. We find that dependency changes have been gradual with a distinct graying of states during this period. Within this overarching trend, the sources of states’ dependencies follow complicated trajectories without clear spatiotemporal patterns. Nevertheless, changes in states’ old-age dependency contributions to respective total dependencies are geographically clustered and the inverse …

Analysis Of Movement Recursions To Detect Reproductive Events And Estimate Their Fate In Central Place Foragers, Simona Picardi, Brian J. Smith, Matthew E. Boone, Peter C. Frederick, Jacopo G. Cecere, Diego Rubolini, Lorenzo Serra, Simone Pirrello, Rena R. Borkhataria, Mathieu Basille

Ecology Center Publications

Background

Recursive movement patterns have been used to detect behavioral structure within individual movement trajectories in the context of foraging ecology, home-ranging behavior, and predator avoidance. Some animals exhibit movement recursions to locations that are tied to reproductive functions, including nests and dens; while existing literature recognizes that, no method is currently available to explicitly target different types of revisited locations. Moreover, the temporal persistence of recursive movements to a breeding location can carry information regarding the fate of breeding attempts, but it has never been used as a metric to quantify recursive movement patterns. Here, we introduce a method …

Experiencing Active Mathematics Learning: Meeting The Expectations For Teaching And Learning In Mathematics Classrooms, Kristy Litster, Beth L. Macdonald, Jessica F. Shumway

Teacher Education and Leadership Faculty Publications

Active learning mathematics classrooms incorporate meaningful activities that emphasize reasoning, thinking and active interaction with mathematics. Current mathematics standards and curricula recommend that Mathematics Teacher Educators (MTEs) use elements of active learning in their mathematics content courses specifically designed for Prospective Teachers (PTs) as they prepare PTs to learn and teach mathematics. However, it can be very difficult for PTs to shift their pedagogical dispositions towards instruction associated with active learning because they typically have not experienced mathematics taught in this way. This article focuses on two instructional practices for MTEs to use with PTs. First, selecting tasks that promote …

Reducing The Spread Of Infection: Hand Washing, Darlene Christensen

All Current Publications

This publication provides instructions and information on proper hand-washing techniques.