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Evolutionary Selection Against Short Nucleotide Sequences In Viruses And Their Related Hosts, Yoram Zarai, Zohar Zafrir, Bunpote Siridechadilok, Amporn Suphatrakul, Modi Roopin, Justin G. Julander, Tamir Tuller

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

Viruses are under constant evolutionary pressure to effectively interact with the host intracellular factors, while evading its immune system. Understanding how viruses co-evolve with their hosts is a fundamental topic in molecular evolution and may also aid in developing novel viral based applications such as vaccines, oncologic therapies, and anti-bacterial treatments. Here, based on a novel statistical framework and a large-scale genomic analysis of 2,625 viruses from all classes infecting 439 host organisms from all kingdoms of life, we identify short nucleotide sequences that are under-represented in the coding regions of viruses and their hosts. These sequences cannot be explained …

Honoring The Class Of 2020, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

You’ve accomplished something extraordinary. By persevering through years of challenging work and training, you have earned one of the most versatile and valuable college degrees. In the last few months, you have shown tremendous agility in navigating an unprecedented public health crisis while completing a rigorous academic program and senior capstone requirements. You overcame this difficult hurdle, demonstrating the highest level of dedication and professionalism and accomplishing what no other class has done before. With your education and skillset from the College of Engineering, you are uniquely qualified to take on what comes next. You will enter an engineering workforce …

Faculty Senate Minutes, April 27, 2020, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

Call to Order

• Approval of Minutes

University Business

• State of the University
• IDEA Surveys

Information

• EPC Monthly Report

Reports

• Committee on Committees
• Calendar Committee
• Recruitment & Retention

Old Business

• Student Involvement

New Business

• Faculty Senate President Elect

Concluding Remarks, Passing of the Gavel

College Caucus to Elect FSEC Members

Considerations For Crop Rotation From Alfalfa To Corn, Earl Creech, Matt Yost, Grant Cardon, Corey Ransom, Jason Clark

All Current Publications

The importance of rotating out of a declining alfalfa stand is well established. As the alfalfa stand ages, forage yield and quality decline, while weed, insect, and disease pressures increase. Terminating the stand and growing one or more other crops for several (2–3) years allows a grower to press the reset button on a piece of ground. These years of growing another crop will result in more productive alfalfa when a new stand is planted again.

Acute Mechanical Stress In Primary Porcine Rpe Cells Induces Angiogenic Factor Expression And In Vitro Angiogenesis, Farhad Farjood, Amir Ahmadpour, Sassan Ostvar, Elizabeth Vargis

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Background

Choroidal neovascularization (CNV) is a major cause of blindness in patients with age-related macular degeneration. CNV is characterized by new blood vessel growth and subretinal fluid accumulation, which results in mechanical pressure on retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. The overexpression of RPE-derived angiogenic factors plays an important role in inducing CNV. In this work, we investigated the effect of mechanical stress on the expression of angiogenic factors in porcine RPE cells and determined the impact of conditioned medium on in-vitro angiogenesis.

Results

The goal of this study was to determine whether low levels of acute mechanical stress during early …

Co Sense And Release Flavonols: Progress Toward The Development Of An Analyte Replacement Photocorm For Use In Living Cells, Marina Popova, Tatiana Soboleva, Abby D. Benninghoff, Lisa M. Berreau

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a signaling molecule in humans. Prior research suggests that therapeutic levels of CO can have beneficial effects in treating a variety of physiological and pathological conditions. To facilitate understanding of the role of CO in biology, molecules that enable fluorescence detection of CO in living systems have emerged as an important class of chemical tools. A key unmet challenge in this field is the development of fluorescent analyte replacement probes that replenish the CO that is consumed during detection. Herein, we report the first examples of CO sense and release molecules that involve combining a common …

The Urban/Rural Divide In Access To Medication-Assisted Treatment For Opioid Use Disorder In Utah, Debasree Dasgupta, Erin Fanning Madden, Sandra H. Sulzer, Timothy Light, Michelle Chapoose, Suzanne Prevedel

All Current Publications

Death by drug poisoning is the leading cause of death due to injury in the state of Utah (UDOH, 2014). From 2013-2015, Utah ranked seventh in the nation for drug overdose deaths, the majority of which were opioid-related (CDC, 2018a). In 2017, the age-adjusted mortality rate from drug overdose in Utah was 15.5 per 100,000, putting the state above the national average of 14.9 per 100,000 (CDC, 2018b). Opioid overdose death rates in most of rural Utah far exceeds rates across the urban counties of the state. The higher rates of deaths in rural Utah is indeed concerning. Evidence indicates …

General Education Subcommittee Minutes, April 21, 2020, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Course Approvals/Removals/Syllabi Approvals
• HIST 3060 (DHA)
• SOC 3340 (DSS)
• Election of General Education Chair
• Committee Members for 2020-2021
• Gen Ed Assessment

General Education Subcommittee Minutes, April 21, 2020, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Course Approvals/Removals/Syllabi Approvals
• Business
• Gen Ed Assessment

Go With Your Gut: The Role Of Gut Microbiota In Health, Lydia Bangerter, Mateja R. Savoie-Roskos, Jeffrey Chapman, Abbigail Sundell, Carrie Durward

All Current Publications

Living within your gastrointestinal tract (gut) are about 100 trillion bacterial cells—your gastrointestinal microbiota—a host of bacteria that play a vital role in your body (Ghaisas, Maher, & Kanthasamy, 2016). Your gut microbiome is responsible for a wide variety of functions that contribute to overall health and may be linked to many chronic diseases including cancer, obesity, and cardiovascular disease (Ghaisaset al., 2016; Peregrin, 2013). This fact sheet will discuss the role the gut microbiome plays in various aspects of health and how to improve your gut health.

A New Sampler For The Collection And Retrieval Of Dry Dust Deposition, Janice Brahney, Gregory Wetherbee, Graham A. Sexstone, C. Youngbull, P. Strong, Ruth C. Heindel

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Atmospheric dust can influence biogeochemical cycles, accelerate snowmelt, and affect air, water quality, and human health. Yet, the bulk of atmospherically transported material remains poorly quantified in terms of total mass fluxes and composition. This lack of information stems in part from the challenges associated with measuring dust deposition. Here we report on the design and efficacy of a new dry deposition sampler (Dry Deposition Sampling Unit (DSU)) and method that quantifies the gravitational flux of dust particles. The sampler can be used alone or within existing networks such as those employed by the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP). Because …

Dynamics Of Larkspur (Delphinium Barbeyi) Pellet Consumption And Tolerance Of The Inhibitory Effects Of Larkspur Alkaloids On Muscle Function In Cattle., Benedict T. Green, Jim Pfister, Dale Gardner, Kevin Welch, Daniel Cook

Poisonous Plant Research (PPR)

Larkspurs (Delphinium spp.) are toxic native plants on foothill and mountain rangelands in western North America, which poison cattle grazing on those rangelands. The purpose of this study was to examine in a laboratory setting, the subclinical effects of larkspur intake and toxicosis, by allowing larkspur susceptible and resistant cattle to self-select the amount of larkspur consumed in pellet form. We hypothesized that there would be differences in short term (9 – 11 day) pellet consumption between susceptible and resistant animals. Two trials were completed, each with larkspur resistant and susceptible Angus steers, and larkspur-alfalfa pellets at a 12% …

Moral Luck, Universalization, And Covid-19, Rachel Robinson-Greene

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

All over the country, people are making headlines for violating shelter-in-place and stay-at-home orders. Motivations for this behavior are diverse; some fail to recognize the gravity of the situation, some acknowledge that COVID-19 is bad, but doubt that it is a threat to them personally, others, despite a lack of expertise in infectious disease, trust their gut instincts more than they trust the opinions of experts. Some people who defiantly resist orders insist that they are doing so to protect their constitutional rights. People are hosting parties, attending church services, and engaging in life-as-usual activity. Those who have been sheltering …

Biological Engineering Professor Named Fellow Of National Organization, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

April 15, 2020 — Utah State University Professor Ron Sims was named fellow of the Institute of Biological Engineering, or IBE, on April 1.

The Impact Of The Illness Label ‘Gout’ On Illness And Treatment Perceptions In Māori (Indigenous New Zealanders), Nicola Dalbeth, Meihana Douglas, Kate Mackrill, Leanne Te Karu, Maria Kleinstäuber, Keith J. Petrie

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Despite contemporary advances in understanding pathogenesis and effective management of gout, beliefs about the disease continue to be focused on gout as a self-inflicted illness. The illness label itself may contribute to inaccurate perceptions of the disease and its management. In Aotearoa/New Zealand, Māori (Indigenous New Zealanders) have high prevalence of severe gout. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of the illness label ‘gout’ on perceptions of the disease and its management for Māori. Methods: Māori supermarket shoppers (n = 172) in rural and urban locations were recruited into a study examining the perceptions about …

Structure And Stability Of W1/O/W2 Emulsions As Influenced By Wpc And Nacl In Inner Aqueous Phase, Vivek Prakash Wankhede, Prateek Sharma, Shaik Abdul Hussain, Ram Ran Bijoy Singh

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences Faculty Publications

Effect of WPC and NaCl in internal aqueous phase (W1) of W1/O/W2 type double emulsions was studied. Pre-emulsion and final emulsion were prepared using microfluidizer and Ultra-Turrax high shear mixer, respectively. The emulsions prepared using salt exhibited uniform droplet size distribution and structural integrity. WPC at 6% and NaCl at 2 or 4% levels demonstrated better sedimentation stability (> 99%) and encapsulation stability (> 95%) during preparation and storage of double emulsions. Samples without added NaCl showed poor emulsion stability and structural integrity. Higher level of WPC i.e. 8% resulted in poor stability and encapsulation efficiency of double emulsions at …

Nytrox As “Drop-In” Replacement For Gaseous Oxygen In Smallsat Hybrid Propulsion Systems, Stephen A. Whitmore

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

A medical grade nitrous oxide (N₂O) and gaseous oxygen (GOX) “Nytrox” blend is investigated as a volumetrically-efficient replacement for GOX in SmallSat-scale hybrid propulsion systems. Combined with 3-D printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), the propellants represent a significantly safer, but superior performing, alternative to environmentally-unsustainable spacecraft propellants like hydrazine. In a manner analogous to the creation of soda-water using dissolved carbon dioxide, Nytrox is created by bubbling GOX under pressure into N₂O until the solution reaches saturation. Oxygen in the ullage dilutes N₂O vapor and increases the required decomposition energy barrier by several orders …

Women's Leadership In Higher Education: Status, Barriers, And Motivators, Susan R. Madsen, Karen A. Longman

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

Advancing more women into institutional leadership roles in higher education matters. Although numerous studies have documented the value of involving diverse perspectives in decision-making processes (Donovan & Caplan, 2019; Gero & Garrity, 2018; Williams, 2013; Woolley & Malone, 2011), many individuals and organizations—ranging from the corporate sector and the political realm to postsecondary education—have voiced commitments to increasing the representation of women in higher ranks, yet they have been stymied in achieving measurable results. A variety of examples in the research-based literature reflect the glacial pace of progress for women into leadership roles across a variety of fields. Examining the …

Primary Care Pain And Opioid Monitoring Program, Alise Williams Condie

Student Research Symposium

Chronic pain and opioid use have become topics of importance as opioid overdose deaths have risen to epidemic proportions throughout the nation. Chronic pain lasts for long periods of time, and can be caused by a past injury or arise without a known cause. Opioids have largely been utilized to treat pain in the past, but it has been discovered that opioids are better used to treat acute pain and not chronic pain. Opioids can have negative consequences including changes to the brain, depression, increased pain, constipation, sedation, and even death. There are many evidence-based alternatives to opioids available, but …

An Evaluation Of Web-Based Acceptance And Commitment Therapy For Dementia Caregivers, Hannah Cragun

Student Research Symposium

With increased prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, family caregivers are providing up to ten years of unpaid care. Informal dementia caregivers are frequently exposed to behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) that can cause distress. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an empirically tested subset of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy shown to improve caregiver depressive symptoms, use of positive coping skills, and management of role demands. Caregivers face barriers to accessing face-to-face therapy because of factors that delay seeking help until post-crisis. Online ACT is easily accessible, navigable, and free, and has been demonstrated to improve mental health indicators …

“Home Sweet Home”: Effects Of Home Environment On Children’S Behavior Development From Infancy To Fifth Grade, Shelbee Johnson

Student Research Symposium

Infant and toddler years are crucial for behavior development, which impacts the likelihood of a successful adulthood. If improper development occurs, it could lead to the child exhibiting externalized and internalized problem behaviors. Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) measures the environments and parenting children are exposed to. Parental responsiveness, ex. paying attention to the child or being in-tune with the child's emotions, increases the likelihood of a child developing adaptive social skills. Responsivity and acceptance in the home are related to development of social behavior, as they are associated with parents modeling pro-social behavior. This project aims …

Discounting Of Delayed Food And Water In Rats, Shasta Rebalkin

Student Research Symposium

Humans often make decisions between outcomes that occur at different times. For example, students may have to decide whether to study to get a good grade on a test tomorrow or hang out with friends tonight. One of the ways we describe how people make these decisions is called delay discounting. Delay discounting is the decline in present value of an outcome because of its delay. Thus, students might prefer hanging out with friends now over a good grade because getting a good grade occurs later and is less valuable. The study of delay discounting is important because a preference …

“They Aren’T Even Old Enough To Get A Driver’S License”: Variations Among Age Of Consent And Romeo And Juliet Laws, Yocheved Ramirez

Student Research Symposium

American culture is concerned about sex among teenagers, especially with the continuing rise in use of social media and fears of a growing "hookup culture". Sex outside of marriage appears to be relatively common, and there is a lot of concern about teenage pregnancies, teenagers in "relationships" with adults, and minors engaging in sex in general given how emotionally immature adolescents can be. Because of these concerns about sexual behavior among teenagers, every state in the United States of America has implemented a law about age of consent, and some have gone further to define what acceptable age differences between …

Comparing Delay Discounting And Delayed Gratification In Rats, Macie K. Nielsen

Student Research Symposium

Humans often make decisions between outcomes that occur at different times. For example, students may have to decide whether to study to get a good grade on a test tomorrow or hang out with friends tonight. One of the ways we describe how people make these decisions is called delay discounting. Delay discounting is the decline in present value of an outcome because of its delay. Thus, students might prefer hanging out with friends now over a good grade because getting a good grade occurs later and is less valuable. The study of delay discounting is important because a preference …

The Transtheoretical Model As A Predictor Of Fruit And Vegetable Intake In Snap Participants, Keshele Stevens

Student Research Symposium

Background: Many Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants do not consume enough fruits and vegetables (F&V). The transtheoretical model has been used to predict and improve F&V consumption through public health interventions. This study focuses on self-efficacy and decisional balance (perceived benefits and barriers). Measurement scales for each construct have been validated in multiple populations. Repeated analyses of these constructs and measurement scales and their ability to predict F&V consumption will further inform the creation, implementation, and evaluation of nutrition interventions in low-income populations. Purpose: The current study seeks to understand the relationship between decisional balance and self-efficacy and actual …

Plant-Air Partitioning Of Semivolatile Pesticides On Citrus And Alfalfa Leaves With Varied Temperature And Relative Humidity, Calvin Luu

Student Research Symposium

Many commercial pesticides fall into the category of semivolatile organic compounds (SOCs). SOCs can either volatilize into the air or deposit onto surfaces in the environment, depending on the temperature. One property that allows for a prediction of this behavior is the plant-air partition coefficient (Kplant-air). The Kplant-air describes the SOC's equilibrium that is formed between a plant surface and the air around after it lands on the plant. Differences in temperature, humidity, and the type of leaf due to different surface properties between species influences the Kplant-air. The objective of this study was to measure the Kplant-air values for …

Effects On Pollution Levels If Utah State University Converted Its Vehicle Fleet To Electric, Weston Taylor

Student Research Symposium

Two types of pollution will be considered: carbon dioxide and Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5). PM2.5 is one of the most prevalent, damaging pollutants to humans at least here in Cache Valley. It is produced primarily as a byproduct of combustion. Switching to electric propulsion vehicles, PM2.5 pollution can be greatly reduced due to much higher efficiencies and the lack of combustion in the vehicle. The effects of the pollution levels are calculated based on the reduction of combustion used to generate the power to drive the vehicles and much higher efficiencies of electric vehicles and large scale electric power generation. …

An Evaluation Of The Susceptibility Of Goats To Larkspur Toxicosis, Kevin D. Welch, Clint A. Stonecipher, Dale R. Gardner, Benedict T. Green, Daniel Cook

Poisonous Plant Research (PPR)

Larkspurs (Delphinium spp.) are a major cause of cattle losses in western North America, whereas sheep have been shown to be resistant to larkspur toxicosis. Goats are often used as a small ruminant model to study poisonous plants, even though they can be more resistant to some poisonous plants. It is not known how susceptible goats are to the adverse effects of larkspurs. In this study, we evaluated the susceptibility of goats to larkspur toxicosis by performing a dose-response study. We dosed goats with D. barbeyi collected near Cedar City, Utah at 3.3, 4.4, 6.6, 8.8 and 10.0 g …

Theoretical Risk Of Genetic Reassortment Should Not Impede Development Of Live, Attenuated Rift Valley Fever (Rvf) Vaccines Commentary On The Draft Who Rvf Target Product Profile, Thomas P. Monath, Jeroen Kortekaas, Douglas M. Watts, Rebecca C. Christofferson, Angelle Desiree Labeaud, Brian B. Gowen, Clarence J. Peters, Darci R. Smith, Robert Swanepoel, John C. Morrill, Thomas G. Ksiazek, Phillip R. Pittman, Brian H. Bird, George Bettinger

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

In November 2019, The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a draft set of Target Product Profiles (TPPs) describing optimal and minimally acceptable targets for vaccines against Rift Valley fever (RVF), a Phlebovirus with a three segmented genome, in both humans and ruminants. The TPPs contained rigid requirements to protect against genomic reassortment of live, attenuated vaccines (LAVs) with wild-type RVF virus (RVFV), which place undue constraints on development and regulatory approval of LAVs. We review the current LAVs in use and in development, and conclude that there is no evidence that reassortment between LAVs and wild-type RVFV has occurred during …

Soil Microbe Identification: An Innovative Approach To Teaching Microbiology Labs, Autumn Kelsch

Student Research Symposium

In the lab I plan to develop, students will collect soil from a location of their choice and try to isolate and identify bacteria from the samples. Working with bacteria from soil instead of from an individual's body (which is the approach currently being used in the course) will remove the threat of spreading a communicable disease and will allow students to work in groups. This will cut down the cost, but more importantly it will strengthen the students' teamwork skills - a major objective of the class. Students will then be responsible for keeping their cultures growing for several …