Digital Commons Network^™

Tremblings, November 2018, Western Aspen Alliance

Tremblings

Aspen seedlings follow Brian Head Fire

Karen Mock

Larissa Yocom

Over the past decade, views on the importance and frequency of aspen seeding events in the Intermountain West have begun to change. Once thought to be so rare as to be ecologically and operationally negligible, there is increasing evidence that aspen seedling establishment may actually be common under certain conditions. These conditions include seed production, soil moisture sufficient for germination and establishment, low herbivory pressure, and reduced competition for soil access, light, and water. Post-fire landscapes often provide just this “window of opportunity,” and in fact most observations of aspen …

Substance Use Disorders Among Utah Women, Robbyn T. Scribner, Susan R. Madsen

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

Substance use disorders, including the opioid epidemic, have reached crisis levels throughout the United States, and Utah is no exception. In 2017, more than 72,000 Americans died from drug overdoses, a number that has doubled in the past decade. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 635 Utahns died from a drug overdose in 2016; that is 22.4 per 100,00 population, a rate that was above the national average of 19.8 and the 19th highest in the nation for that year. Although in Utah and the U.S. as a whole, men are more likely to die from a drug overdose, …

Curriculum Subcommittee Agenda, November 1, 2018, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Program Proposals

• Adding School Based and Community Based Emphases in Family and Consumer Sciences Education
• Offering an Emphasis in Farm and Ranch Operations
• Changing the name from Agricultural Communication and Journalism to Agricultural Communication
• Offering an Elementary Mathematics Specialist Graduate Certificate
• Establishing an I-System Institute for Transdisciplinary Studies
• Offering an Associate of Applied Science degree in Surgical Technology

Semester Course Approval Reviews

Educational Policies Committee Minutes, November 1, 2018, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Curriculum Subcommittee report
• Academic Standards Subcommittee report
• General Education Subcommittee report

Riparian Research And Management: Past, Present, Future: Volume 1, Steven W. Carothers, Hisham El Waer, Helen C. Fairley, Deborah M. Finch, Suzanne C. Fouty, Jonathan M. Friedman, Jennifer K. Frey, Stanley V. Gregory, Robert H. Hamre, Annie Henry, Osvel Hinojosa-Huerta, Elaine E. Johnson, R. Roy Johnson, Kenneth J. Kingsley, Mary Anne Mcleod, Eric Mellink, Katie Merewether, Duncan T. Patten, John S. Richardson, Anne Sands, Michael L. Scott, Bo Shelby, Anna A. Sher, D. Max Smith, John T. Stanley, Frederick J. Swanson, Raymond M. Turner, Robert H. Webb, William E. Werner

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Fifty years ago, riparian habitats were not recognized for their extensive and critical contributions to wildlife and the ecosystem function of watersheds. This changed as riparian values were identified and documented, and the science of riparian ecology developed steadily. Papers in this volume range from the more mesic northwestern United States to the arid Southwest and Mexico. More than two dozen authors—most with decades of experience—review the origins of riparian science in the western United States, document what is currently known about riparian ecosystems, and project future needs. Topics are widespread and include: interactions with fire, climate change, and declining …

Grammy's Iconic Holiday Cheese Bread, Hillary Place

USU Student Folklore Fieldwork

Ingredients:

1 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup of “Kraft Mac n’ Cheese” cheese powder

1 loaf of sourdough French bread split in half lengthwise

Instructions:

First things first, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. While it’s warming up, grab a medium bowl and in the bowl, combine the unsalted butter and the cheese powder and mix with a spatula until there are no lumps. It should be thick but spreadable. If it’s too thick to spread, grab some more softened butter and mix that in there. It needs to be creamy. Divide the mixture in half. …

Curriculum Subcommittee Minutes, November 1, 2018, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Program Proposals

• Adding School Based and Community Based Emphases in Family and Consumer Sciences Education
• Offering an Emphasis in Farm and Ranch Operations
• Changing the name from Agricultural Communication and Journalism to Agricultural Communication
• Offering an Elementary Mathematics Specialist Graduate Certificate
• Establishing an I-System Institute for Transdisciplinary Studies
• Offering an Associate of Applied Science degree in Surgical Technology

Semester Course Approval Reviews

Chinese New Year, Lily Ward

USU Student Folklore Fieldwork

The Chinese New Year is by far the most important holiday in China. Millions of Factory Workers leave their homes and live in dormitories by the factories they work in and they never see their families except for the Chinese New Year and the Fall Harvest celebration. Factories close, many restaurants and small businesses close and all those who have families go back to their “home towns” and stay for a few weeks. The trains are so jammed full that folks are standing in the aisles. If for any reason trains are delayed, chaos immediately erupts. If the delay is …

Teaching Counseling Skills In Audiology Graduate Programs: Clinical Supervisors’ Perceptions And Practices, Karen F. Muñoz, Trenton J. Landon, Kim Corbin-Lewis

Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education Faculty Publications

Background: Counseling is a critical component within audiological service delivery. Partnering with patients to support them in learning to effectively cope with their hearing challenges is a key component in achieving desired outcomes. Even though there is agreement on the foundational role counseling plays in audiology service delivery, counseling instruction varies among audiology training programs.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the perspectives and practices of supervisors in audiology graduate training programs related to mentoring students in the acquisition of counseling skills.

Research Design: A cross-sectional design was used; participants completed a self-report survey.

Study Sample: The …

Educational Policies Committee Agenda, November 1, 2018, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Curriculum Subcommittee
• Academic Standards Subcommittee
• General Education Subcommittee

Alpha-Amino-Beta-Carboxy-Muconate-Semialdehyde Decarboxylase Controls Dietary Niacin Requirements For Nad+ Synthesis, Laura Palzer, Jessica J. Bader, Frances Angel, Megan Witzel, Sydney Blaser, Alexis Mcneil, Miles K. Wandersee, N. Adrian Leu, Christopher J. Lengner, Clara E. Cho, Kevin D. Welch, James B. Kirkland, Ralph G. Meyer, Mirella L. Meyer-Ficca

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

NAD⁺ is essential for redox reactions in energy metabolism and necessary for DNA repair and epigenetic modification. Humans require sufficient amounts of dietary niacin (nicotinic acid, nicotinamide, and nicotinamide riboside) for adequate NAD⁺ synthesis. In contrast, mice easily generate sufficient NAD⁺ solely from tryptophan through the kynurenine pathway. We show that transgenic mice with inducible expression of human alpha-amino-beta-carboxy-muconate-semialdehyde decarboxylase (ACMSD) become niacin dependent similar to humans when ACMSD expression is high. On niacin-free diets, these acquired niacin dependency (ANDY) mice developed reversible, mild-to-severe NAD⁺ deficiency, depending on the nutrient composition of the diet. NAD deficiency …

Forecast Or Fall: Prediction's Importance To Postural Control, Chris J. Dakin, David A.E. Bolton

Kinesiology and Health Science Faculty Publications

To interact successfully with an uncertain environment, organisms must be able to respond to both unanticipated and anticipated events. For unanticipated events, organisms have evolved stereotyped motor behaviors mapped to the statistical regularities of the environment, which can be trigged by specific sensory stimuli. These 'reflexive' responses are more or less hardwired to prevent falls and represent, maybe, the best available solution to maintaining posture given limited available time and information. With the gift of foresight, however, motor behaviors can be tuned or prepared in advance, improving the ability of the organism to compensate for, and interact with, the changing …

Hidden Cost Of Disease In A Free-Ranging Ungulate: Brucellosis Reduces Mid-Winter Pregnancy In Elk, Gavin C. Cotterill, Paul C. Cross, Arthur D. Middleton, Jared D. Rogerson, Brandon M. Scurlock, Johan T. Du Toit

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Demonstrating disease impacts on the vital rates of free‐ranging mammalian hosts typically requires intensive, long‐term study. Evidence for chronic pathogens affecting reproduction but not survival is rare, but has the potential for wide‐ranging effects. Accurately quantifying disease‐associated reductions in fecundity is important for advancing theory, generating accurate predictive models, and achieving effective management. We investigated the impacts of brucellosis (Brucella abortus) on elk (Cervus canadensis) productivity using serological data from over 6,000 captures since 1990 in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, USA. Over 1,000 of these records included known age and pregnancy status. Using Bayesian multilevel models, …

Falling, Amber Utterback

USU Student Folklore Fieldwork

So Michael and I had had an argument. And we were laying in bed...and all of a sudden--and it was late it was like midnight--there was a crashing sound in your room. So we go in there and your jewelry tray had fallen off the shelf. And it tipped--

A-The top shelf.

L-It was on the very top shelf. And it was three tiers--your jewelry tray was three tiers high. And it landed straight up and down like it had totally just been picked up and dropped straight down. Nothing even fell off of it.

A-No I didn’t even wake …

Seeing Grandma, Amber Utterback

USU Student Folklore Fieldwork

So apparently Michael and I were going to go hunting. I thought I had talked to Grandma about dropping you off. Do you remember?

A-Yeah I remember.

L-Do you remember if we talked to her?

A-I think we did.

L-I thought so too. So anyways apparently we went on the quad--we loaded you guys on on the quad and headed down there because we were going out to hunt by the river and I thought we saw Grandma waiting in the window...I swear I saw Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma for sure. And so you guys went in the house--

A-No …

Dad's Radio, Amber Utterback

USU Student Folklore Fieldwork

I remember that even before you dad died there were weird things that would happen in the house. THat your dad always said it was--that the house was haunted. ODIE! Odie?[yelling for dog] So didn’t someone say somebody had died here beside your dad?

A-That’s what the neighbors told us.

L-So I unfortunately can’t remember all the things that happened before.

A-Well you could talk about the radio.(That’s weird).

L-So when your dad was alive he liked to listen to the radio in the garage while we was out working--it was on the workbench in his garage cause he liked …

Utah Women's Postsecondary Education Roundtable, Susan R. Madsen

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

Utah must harness the power of education for its residents, as the state’s future economic success and high quality of life rests squarely upon having an educated population. Increasing the number of Utah residents completing a postsecondary certificate or degree is a powerful strategy for maximizing the quality of life in Utah. An educated population increases both the social and economic capital of the state. Cultivating an educated populace requires creating a college-going culture and assuring that both women and men earn postsecondary certificates and degrees to the maximum extent possible.

Decisions For The Dead: The Moral Dimensions Of Body Disposal, Rachel Robinson-Greene

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

When Monique Martinot died of ovarian cancer in 1984, her husband, hoping to achieve immortality for his wife through cryonics, placed her body in an industrial size freezer in his chateau in the town of Neuil–sur–Layon, France. When the husband, Raymond Martinot, realized, years later at the age of eighty, that his own death was imminent, he conveyed to his son that he would like to be frozen alongside his wife until such time that their bodies could be revived. French courts objected to this method of body disposal and demanded that both bodies be removed from the freezer and …

Use Of The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory With Social Workers: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Jayme E. Walters, Aaron R. Brown, Aubrey E. Jones

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Burnout among social workers continues to be a relevant issue as it can lead to major problems: personal health issues, service deterioration, and turnover. This study examined the use of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory with U.S. social workers (N = 1774) in direct-service and non-direct-service roles. The CBI is a no-cost alternative to the commonly employed Maslach Burnout Inventory. Results revealed that the CBI is a suitable tool to measure burnout among social workers regardless of position. Screening, identifying sources, and action planning to reduce burnout are critical steps for organizations to ensure a quality atmosphere for employees and clients.

The Usability Of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Uavs) For Pedestrian Observation, Keunhyun Park, Reid Ewing

Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Faculty Publications

The monitoring of pedestrian activity is challenging, primarily because its traffic levels are typically lower and more variable than those of motorized vehicles. Compared with other on-the-ground observation tools, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) could be suitable for counting and mapping pedestrians in a reliable and efficient way. Thus, this study establishes and tests a new method of pedestrian observation using UAVs. The results show that UAV observations demonstrate high levels of interrater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.99) and equivalence reliability (Cronbach’s α = .97 with on-the-ground counts and .73 with Google Street View). Practical implications of the new tool …

Health Effects Of Late-Career Unemployment, Maren Wright Voss, Lori L. Wadsworth, Wendy Birmingham, M. Beth Merryman, Lisa Crabtree, Kathy Subasic, Man Hung

Extension Research

Objective: Job loss has a demonstrated negative impact on physical and mental health. Involuntary retirement has also been linked to poorer physical and mental health outcomes. This study examined whether late-career unemployment is related to involuntary retirement and health declines postretirement. Method: Analysis was conducted using the 2000-2012 U.S. Health and Retirement Study (HRS) survey data with unemployment months regressed with demographic and baseline health measures on physical and mental health. Results: Individuals with late-career unemployment reported more involuntary retirement timing (47.0%) compared with those reporting no unemployment (27.9%). Late-career unemployment had no significant effect on self-reported physical health (β …

Germ Cell Depletion Influenced Neuromuscular, Sensory, Renal And Metabolic Function In Postreproductive Female Mice, Tracy L. Habermehl, Kate C. Parkinson, Jeffrey B. Mason

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

Numerous observations suggest a relationship between reproduction and health. This relationship has been difficult to define, particularly in mammals. At menopause, germ cell-diminished ovaries are relatively senescent. In mice, replacement of these senescent ovaries with young, actively cycling ovaries significantly increased life and health span in recipients. While we were successful in extending life and health span in postreproductive females, these experiments were not designed to distinguish between the contributions of ovarian hormones from actively cycling germ cells and the somatic tissue components of the ovaries. In the current study, we used 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide to deplete ovarian germ cells in …

A Novel Shortwave Infrared Proximal Sensing Approach To Quantify The Water Stability Of Soil Aggregates, Azadeh Gholoubi, Hojat Emami, Scott B. Jones, Markus Tuller

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Soil structure and aggregate stability (AS) are critical soil properties affecting water infiltration, root growth, and resistance to soil and wind erosion. Changes in AS may be early indicators of soil degradation, pointing to low organic matter (OM) content, reduced biological activity, or poor nutrient cycling. Hence, efficient and reliable AS measurement techniques are essential for detection, management, and remediation of degraded soil resources. Here we quantify soil AS by developing a novel proximal sensing technique based on shortwave infrared (SWIR) reflectance measurements. The novel approach is similar to the well-documented high energy moisture characteristic (HEMC) method, which yields a …

The Utah Statesman, October 16, 2018, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Agenda, October 15, 2018, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• EPC Monthly Report – October 4, 2018
• ASR 2019-03 Sexual Discrimination and Harassment
• ECR 2019-02 Mental Health Syllabus Resources
• Libraries Advisory Council Annual Report
• Code 405.11.4 External Reviewers (first reading)
• IPCC Report

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Minutes, October 15, 2018, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• EPC Monthly Report – October 4, 2018
• ASR 2019-03 Sexual Discrimination and Harassment
• ECR 2019-02 Mental Health Syllabus Resources - Kristin Hall
• Libraries Advisory Council Annual Report
• Code 405.11.4 External Reviewers (first reading)
• IPCC Report

Neurobehavioral Evaluation Of Mice Dosed With Water Hemlock Green Seeds And Tubers, Camila F. P. Orlando-Goulart, Kevin D. Welch, James A. Pfister, Daniel S. Goulart, Adilson D. Damasceno, Stephen T. Lee

Poisonous Plant Research (PPR)

Water hemlock are plants of the genus Cicuta and are toxic to animals and humans. The primary toxin is cicutoxin, which is abundant in the tubers, but less abundant in other parts of the plant. Other cicutoxin-like compounds, such as cicutols, which may also contribute to the toxicity of water hemlock, are more abundant in non-tuber plant parts. The objective of this study was to determine the toxicity of different parts of water hemlock and characterize their effects on motor function/coordination in mice. An aqueous extract of green seeds, dry seeds, tubers, flowers and stems of water hemlock was dosed …

Chronic Health Conditions Among Us Veterans Discharged From Military Service For Misconduct, Emily Brignone, Jamison D. Fargo, Rebecca K. Blais, Adi V. Gundlapalli

Psychology Faculty Publications

Veterans who are discharged from military service due to misconduct are vulnerable to negative health-related outcomes, including homelessness, incarceration, and suicide. We used national data from the Veterans Health Administration for 218,608 veterans of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan that took place after the events of September 11, 2001, to compare clinical diagnoses between routinely-discharged (n = 203,174) and misconduct-discharged (n = 15,433) veterans. Misconduct-discharged veterans had significantly higher risk for all mental health conditions (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] range, 2.5–8.0) and several behaviorally linked chronic health conditions (AOR range, 1.2–5.9). Misconduct-discharged veterans have serious and complex health care needs; …

A Novel Cancer Syndrome Caused By Kcnq1-Deficiency In The Golden Syrian Hamster, Rong Li, Jinxin Miao, Alexandru-Flaviu Tabaran, M. Gerard O'Sullivan, Kyle J. Anderson, Patricia M. Scott, Zhongde Wang, Robert T. Cormier

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The golden Syrian hamster is an emerging model organism. To optimize its use, our group has made the first genetically engineered hamsters. One of the first genes that we investigated is KCNQ1 which encodes for the KCNQ1 potassium channel and also has been implicated as a tumor suppressor gene.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We generated KCNQ1 knockout (KO) hamsters by CRISPR/Cas9­-mediated gene targeting and investigated the effects of KCNQ1­-deficiency on tumorigenesis.

RESULTS: By 70 days of age seven of the eight homozygous KCNQ1 KOs used in this study began showing signs of distress, and on necropsy six of the seven …

The Grape Remote Sensing Atmospheric Profile And Evapotranspiration Experiment, William P. Kustas, Martha C. Anderson, Joseph G. Alfieri, Kyle Knipper, Alfonso F. Torres-Rua, Christopher K. Parry, Hector Nieto, Nurit Agam, William A. White, Feng Gao, Lynn Mckee, John H. Prueger, Lawrence E. Hipps, Sebastian A. Los, Maria Mar Alsina, Luis Sanchez, Brent Sams, Nick Dokoozlian, Mac Mckee, Scott B. Jones, Yun Yang, Tiffany G. Wilson, Fangni Lei, Andrew Mcelrone, Josh L. Heitman, Adam M. Howard, Kirk Post, Forrest Melton, Christopher Hain

AggieAir Publications

Particularly in light of California’s recent multiyear drought, there is a critical need for accurate and timely evapotranspiration (ET) and crop stress information to ensure long-term sustainability of high-value crops. Providing this information requires the development of tools applicable across the continuum from subfield scales to improve water management within individual fields up to watershed and regional scales to assess water resources at county and state levels. High-value perennial crops (vineyards and orchards) are major water users, and growers will need better tools to improve water-use efficiency to remain economically viable and sustainable during periods of prolonged drought. To develop …