Digital Commons Network^™

Assessing Variation In Air Quality Perception: A Case Study In Utah, Karen Jayne Mendenhall

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

In recent years, Utah has experienced poor air quality due to pollution-trapping winter inversions and summer ozone pollution. The resulting impacts of poor air quality include health issues, reduced visibility, economic impacts and ecological impacts. Utah’s topography and exploding urban population are factors which increase human exposure to these adverse impacts of air pollution. It is important for State and local governments to understand how people perceive air quality so that clean air campaigns target those who are most likely to foster pro-environmental behaviors. An analysis was conducted using data from a state-wide survey conducted in July 2017. The survey …

Pruning Strategies For High Density ‘Montmorency' Tart Cherry, Sheriden M. Hansen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The tart cherry (Prunus cerasus) is the most significant fruit tree crop in Utah, accounting for roughly 51% of the total statewide commercial fruit acreage. In order to accommodate harvesting equipment, tart cherries are grown in conventional orchards with large trees spaced up to 5.5 meters apart. New methods of harvest are adapted to smaller trees in tighter spaced high density (HD) orchards. HD orchards bear fruit earlier in the orchard life than conventional orchards, but likely require different pruning and management strategies, which have not yet been determined for tart cherry. Experimental HD orchards were used to …

Low Offspring Survival In Mountain Pine Beetle Infesting The Resistant Great Basin Bristlecone Pine Supports The Preference-Performance Hypothesis, Erika L. Eidson, Karen E. Mock, Barbara J. Bentz

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

The preference-performance hypothesis states that ovipositing phytophagous insects will select host plants that are well-suited for their offspring and avoid host plants that do not support offspring performance (survival, development and fitness). The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae), a native insect herbivore in western North America, can successfully attack and reproduce in most species of Pinus throughout its native range. However, mountain pine beetles avoid attacking Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva), despite recent climate-driven increases in mountain pine beetle populations at the high elevations where Great Basin bristlecone pine grows. Low preference for a potential …

Desorption Of Trace Inorganic Contaminants From Solids In Drinking Water Distribution Systems, Tiana W. Hammer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In order to maintain high quality safe drinking water, we need to understand what happens after the water has been cleaned at the drinking water plant and before it gets to the consumer’s house. Even if low concentrations of toxic contaminants enter the drinking water distribution system (DWDS) there is potential for contaminants to accumulate and be released by changes in flow or water conditions in high concentrations at the tap. For this study, we collected solid material from Park City, Utah that accumulated within the DWDS, along with a year of monthly monitoring of the DWDS. These solids were …

Characterization Of Lactose Fatty Acid Esters For Their Microbial Growth Inhibitory Activity And Emulsification Properties, Seung-Min Lee

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Sugar esters, substances made from bonding fatty acid tails to a sugar head, can play a number of key roles in food systems from antimicrobial agents to emulsifiers. These unique and very useful properties result from their water-loving and water-avoiding ends. Lactose, a sugar found in milk, based esters are important, as they are environmentally friendly and inexpensive, however, they are not very well understood. I created four different types of lactose esters: lactose monooctanoate (LMO), lactose monodecanoate (LMD), lactose monolaurate (LML) and lactose monomyristate (LMM), and then compared them to each other to see which would be the best …

The Effect Of Gender And Socioeconomic Status On Concussion Reporting Behavior Among Ncaa Student-Athletes, Joshua Anthony Hansen

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Concussions are traumatic brain injuries that result from "brain shaking" that can occur during any situation that transmits force to the head. Concussions are defined as a clinical syndrome characterized by immediate and transient post-traumatic impairment of neural functions which lead to a complex grouping of both psychological and physiological symptoms (McCrory, et al., 2013). As knowledge of the long-term implications of these injuries grows, concussions are becoming more of a major health concern worldwide. One subset of concussion classifications, sports-related concussions, is receiving an increasing amount of attention from both scientists and health-care practitioners. It is estimated that more …

The Vestibular Contribution To Balance Control In Older Adults During Locomotion And Stair Negotiation, Megan Elwood

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Background: Stability is known to decrease as we age, but currently we know very little about how the body's balance system, the vestibular system, contributes to balance control in older adults, particularly while walking and climbing stairs. The purpose of this study was to take the first step in understanding vestibular contribution to balance control during locomotion and stair negotiation, and how this changes with age.

Methods: Ten young adults and six older adults ascended and descended a nine-step staircase 78 times and walked on a treadmill for 10 minutes to complete a total of 300 complete steps in …

Urlend Survey Finds Future Teachers Largely Unprepared For Children On The Autism Spectrum, Jolynne Lyon

Blog Posts

Blog post is about a survey that discusses whether or not teachers are prepared for students on the autism spectrum.

Ride Utah! Program Guide, Karl Hoopes, Karson Anderson, Jared C. Shultz

All Current Publications

Utah State University Extension has developed a therapeutic equine program called Ride Utah! that targets military personnel and a guest. This guide explains that program and contains an in-depth review of Ride Utah! and includes step by step instructions on how to replicate the program.

A New Utah Forest Insect Pest: Balsam Woolly Adelgid, Darren Mcavoy, Diane G. Alston, Ryan Davis, Megan Dettenmaier

All Current Publications

This fact sheet introduces an invasive forest pest, the balsam woolly adelgid and discusses its impacts on Utah forests, life cycle traits, identifying characteristics, control methods, and steps that Utah partners are taking to combat this pest.

Small Hive Beetle [Aethina Tumida (Murray)], Lori R. Spears, Ann M.M. Mull

All Current Publications

Small hive beetle (SHB) is an exotic pest of honey and bumble bee colonies that is native to Africa. SHB feeds on pollen and honey, kills bee brood and workers, and causes honey to discolor and ferment. This pest is now found throughout much of the U.S. with highest infestations occurring in the Southeast. It was first detected in Utah in 2016 and is now confirmed in Washington and Davis counties. Infestations can be prevented by early detection, using good husbandry techniques, maintaining a high ratio of bees to comb, and keeping hives in partial to full sun. Chemical control …

Enamel Hypoplasia And Its Relation To Ethnicity And Socioeconomic Status In The 19th Century United States, Amanda Drew Olivas Cook

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) is a condition of tooth enamel characterized by linear bands in tooth enamel that result from metabolic stress during the childhood years of enamel formation. The presence of LEH has frequently been used in biological anthropology as a marker of stress experienced during childhood. This paper uses a biocultural approach to investigate the occurrence and severity of LEH defects on the teeth of African American and European American adult male remains in the Terry Anatomical Skeletal Collection. The Terry Collection consists of low socioeconomic status individuals whose remains were unclaimed at St. Louis morgues and hospitals, …

Evaluation Of 'Structure-From-Motion' From A Pole-Mounted Camera For Monitoring Geomorphic Change, Rebecca K. Rossi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Emerging "Structure-from-Motion" (SfM) photogrammetry techniques encourage faster, cheaper, and more accessible field methods for accurately reconstructing 3D topography. The SfM method consists of collecting sets of overlapping images of the ground surface with a point and shoot camera, and reconstructing surface topography from the images with developed software programs. This research develops and implements a SfM image acquisition method and post-processing workflow as a supplemental technique to the traditional total-station method to aid in monitoring sandbar change in Marble and Grand Canyons along the Colorado River in Arizona. Due to permitting in Grand Canyon National Park, a 4.9 m pole-mounted …

Advancement To The Highest Faculty Ranks In Academic Stem: Explaining The Gender Gap At Usu, Helga Van Miegroet

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Science and technology (S&T) disciplines at universities are still largely dominated by men, and few women are found in the highest employment ranks. Using the faculty data from Utah State University, this thesis explores the factors that help explain the difference in career trajectory between men and women in the S&T colleges. While there were few women in S&T colleges prior to the 1990s, more women have been hired since then, and the lower ranks of the faculty corps are starting to reflect the gender composition of the doctoral degree holders in the different fields. This is not the case …

The Influence Of Multiyear Drought-Driven Habitat Loss On The Bear Lake Sculpin (Cottus Extensus) And The Bear Lake Strain Of The Bonneville Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus Clarkii Utah), Hayley C. Glassic

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Multiyear drought is expected to increase in occurrence and severity in dry regions across the world, such as the American Southwest, endangering native species and ecosystem health. The effects of multiyear drought are often worsened by human water use for consumption, energy production, and agriculture, which, in lakes and reservoirs, cause reduced lake elevation. Reductions in lake elevation may leave previously submerged habitat stranded along shorelines and make tributaries inaccessible to fishes. Here, we show that decreasing lake elevation, associated with drought and water withdrawal, reduces the availability of shoreline cobble habitat to fishes and increases tributary distance by creating …

Standard Machine Learning Techniques In Audio Beehive Monitoring: Classification Of Audio Samples With Logistic Regression, K-Nearest Neighbor, Random Forest And Support Vector Machine, Prakhar Amlathe

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Honeybees are one of the most important pollinating species in agriculture. Every three out of four crops have honeybee as their sole pollinator. Since 2006 there has been a drastic decrease in the bee population which is attributed to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). The bee colonies fail/ die without giving any traditional health symptoms which otherwise could help in alerting the Beekeepers in advance about their situation.

Electronic Beehive Monitoring System has various sensors embedded in it to extract video, audio and temperature data that could provide critical information on colony behavior and health without invasive beehive inspections. Previously, significant …

A Review Of Open Access To Evidence Based Medicine For Athletic Trainers, Emily F. Teson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The most useful form of educating new and current athletic trainers is through evidence-based practice (EBP). Concussions are one of the most frequent injuries in sports and are seen at every setting of athletic training. Concussion research is essential for athletic trainers to make informed and educated decisions on the most current diagnosis, treatments, and return to play protocols for concussion injuries.

Purpose: The purpose of this narrative review was to analyze the amount of peer-reviewed research on current concussion articles that is freely accessible to athletic trainers in settings without university affiliations or budgets for journal subscriptions.

Methods: Two …

Values, Mushfaking, And Literacy In Disability: Applying James Paul Gee’S Discourse Theory To The Deaf And Mental Health Communities, Adrienne Griffiths

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The disability community has been a historically marginalized group and continues to be. Many advocates for inclusive language feel uncomfortable around the disability community because they are uncertain how to act and speak. There are two forms of language syntaxes that people primarily use to refer to someone with a disability: People-first language and Identity-first language. People-first language identifies someone first, then refers to their disability, such as “person with autism.” The second framework, Identity-first language, includes referring to someone’s disability first, then by another attribute. In other words, “autistic person.”

Both forms of language syntaxes have many reasons as …

Professional Development Needs Of Utah State University Extension Professionals, Callahan K. Ward

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many Utah State University (USU) Extension personnel are nearing retirement age. The purpose of this study was to identify professional development needs of Extension professionals and assess USU Extension by evaluating competencies essential to be a successful Extension professional. USU Extension can conduct more beneficial professional development training by using identified high priority competencies and improve the on boarding process for new Extension professionals. With improvements as suggested, the effectiveness of professional development could be enhanced and produce Extension professionals who work more efficiently and are committed to the success of USU Extension.

Breeding Season Ecology And Demography Of Lesser Scaup (Aythya Affinis) At Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Jeffrey M. Warren

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

It is hypothesized that individuals make reproductive decisions based on current assessments of their physiological condition and environmental conditions. For female lesser scaup (Aythya affinis), breeding occurs after an energetically costly spring migration. Increasing fat reserves (i.e., ‘body condition’) prior to breeding allows a female to produce a larger clutch of eggs, but time spent gaining body condition is costly in terms of time allowed to raise ducklings before freezing conditions in the fall. In Chapter 2 I explored rate of pre-breeding body condition gain in female lesser scaup, and how that rate influenced clutch size. Spring phenology, …

Using Remotely Piloted Aircraft And Infrared Technology To Detect And Monitor Greater Sage-Grouse, Thomas R. Thompson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In wildlife management, using cutting edge technology and science to monitor greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) populations, enables land managers to better assess the impact of their management decisions. Having precise counts of sage-grouse lek attendance, and specifically male lek attendance, is an important metric used to evaluate population status and response to conservation actions (Gifford et.al, 2013, Dahlgren et al., 2016). Leks are seasonal breeding sites where males perform a ritualistic courtship dance for females.

Our case study examined if a Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) was effective in detecting, and counting, sage-grouse during the lek season (early …

Modular, Scalable Battery Systems With Integrated Cell Balancing And Dc Bus Power Processing, Muhammad Muneeb Ur Rehman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Traditional electric vehicle and stationary battery systems use series-connected battery packs that employ centralized battery management and power processing architecture. Though, these systems meet the basic safety and power requirements with a simple hard- ware structure, the approach results in a battery pack that is energy and power limited by weak cells throughout life and most importantly at end-of-life. The applications of battery systems can benefit significantly from modular, scalable battery systems capable of advanced cell balancing, efficient power processing, and cost gains via reuse beyond first-use application. The design of modular battery systems has unique requirements for the power …

Targeted-Grazing As A Fuels Reduction Treatment: Evaluation Of Vegetation Dynamics And Utilization Levels, Travis Decker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wildfires have caused concern as they have increased in severity and intensity over the last few decades. Land managers have sought management actions to mitigate the risk of wildfire by reducing fuel loads, thus decreasing wildfire intensity. Camp Williams is a National Guard camp near Bluffdale, Utah, where small arms and artillery training occurs. Managers at Camp Williams have created fuel breaks by implementing targeted sheep and goat grazing to remove fine fuel and thin brush. Management objectives set utilization of fine fuels (herbaceous) at 80% by weight. Questions arose regarding the ecological impact of the prescribed grazing rates in …

Silane Modulation Of Protein Conformation And Self-Assembly, Abul Bashar Mohammad Giasuddin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research focused on development of nanoparticle- based therapeutics against amyloid fibrils. Amyloid fibrils are associated with various diseases such as Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, mad cow disease, Alzheimer’s, and cataracts. Amyloid fibrils develop when proteins change their shape from a native form to a pathogenic “misfolded” form. The misfolded proteins have the ability to recruit more native proteins into the pathogenic forms, which self-assemble into amyloid fibrils that are hallmarks of the various protein-misfolding diseases listed above. Amyloid fibrils are highly resistant to degradation, which may contribute to the symptoms of amyloid diseases. Synthetic drugs, natural compounds, and antibodies are widely …

Promoting Client Nutrition In Urban Utah Food Pantries, Casey Coombs

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Food pantry clients are at an increased risk of poor diet quality which can lead to a variety of chronic diseases. Identifying nutrition interventions that help improve the dietary intake of this vulnerable population is important to help improve health outcomes. Utah’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed), also known as Food $ense, partners with many pantries throughout the state to improve healthy food access. This research was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a pantry intervention, Thumbs Up for Healthy Choices, to evaluate its impact on food pantry clients’ selection and use of identified healthy foods. In addition to program …

Ph Effects On The Sorption Of Fluoxetine And Sulfamethoxazole By Three Powdered Activated Carbons, James D. Schneider

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are widely used throughout the world. PPCPs are emerging as pollutants of concern and may pose a risk in the future to drinking water supplies. Two such compounds are sulfamethoxazole (SMXL) and fluoxetine (FLX). These ionizable compounds are not readily removed from water by conventional water treatment technologies. Powdered activated carbon (PAC) is a useful material for removing contaminants from water and is currently used in many water treatment applications. PACs may carry either a net positive or negative surface charge depending on the pH of solution. This study examined the hypothesis that the …

Relationships Among Preschool Attendance, Type, And Quality And Early Mathematical Literacy, Jennifer E. Throndsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As students enter kindergarten, some students are more academically prepared than others. This study looked at the relationships among preschool attendance, preschool type (i.e., public, private, Head Start, and home-based technology providers) and preschool quality and early mathematical literacy skills for diverse students. The study sought to answer three research questions: What is the relationship between preschool attendance and early mathematical literacy? What is the relationship between preschool type and early mathematical literacy? What is the relationship between preschool quality and early mathematical literacy? Within each research question, there was also an investigation to see if there were differing effects …

Participate!, Michael Kettinger

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Hands-on art projects that directly reference scientific information may be a good outreach tool to generate interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

Development Of A 4th-8th Grade Curriculum For Flying And Programming Mini Drones, Jordan Lynn Bartholomew, Russell Scott Mayo

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This project was a joint effort by Jordan Bartholomew and Russell Mayo. The project consisted of three parts. Part one was the development of the lesson content led by Jordan Bartholomew. Part two was the production of a multimedia package that included lesson videos, animations and logos for the ROAV copter mini curriculum, led by Russell Mayo. Part three included a journal article to introduce the curriculum co-written by both Jordan and Russ. The curriculum was developed for hands-on experiential learning and includes a computational thinking component. The lesson videos were intended for self-instruction or in a classroom setting. The …

Judgments Of Intelligence And Likability For Young Adult Female Speakers Of American English: The Influence Of Vocal Fry And The Surrounding Acoustic-Prosodic Context, Michelle Parker

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Objective: There is little consensus about how the use of the voice quality feature, vocal fry, in the speech of college-aged American women influences listener judgements of the speaker. This study investigates how vocal fry influences the judgement of speaker intelligence and likeability in this population, while taking into account the surrounding acoustic-prosodic context, specifically speech rate and voice pitch.

Method: Speech samples were obtained from eight American English speaking females who presented with different combinations of voice pitch (low or high), speech rate (slow or fast), and vocal fry (presence or absence). Listener judgements from 463 adults (262 males; …