Digital Commons Network^™

Developing A General Methodology For Evaluating Composite Action In Insulated Wall Panels, Jaiden Olsen, Salam Al-Rubaye, Taylor J. Sorensen, Marc Maguire

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Precast concrete sandwich wall panels(PCSWPs) have been in use for over 60 years. They provide a very efficient building envelope for many buildings. Characteristic PCSWPs comprise an outer and inner layer (or wythe) of concrete separated by an insulating material. To use all of the material as efficiently as possible, the layers are attached by connectors which penetrate through the insulating layer and are embedded in either concrete wythe. These connectors make it possible for both layers of the wall to work together when resisting loads. The connectors are made out of plastic, or FRP, to prevent heat transfer from …

A Computational Study Of Vegf Production By Patterned Retinal Epithelial Cell Colonies As A Model For Neovascular Macular Degeneration, Qanita Bani Baker, Gregory J. Podgorski, Elizabeth Vargis, Nicholas Flann

Biology Faculty Publications

Background: The configuration of necrotic areas within the retinal pigmented epithelium is an important element in the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In the exudative (wet) and non-exudative (dry) forms of the disease, retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells respond to adjacent atrophied regions by secreting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) that in turn recruits new blood vessels which lead to a further reduction in retinal function and vision. In vitro models exist for studying VEGF expression in wet AMD (Vargis et al., Biomaterials 35(13):3999–4004, 2014), but are limited in the patterns of necrotic and intact RPE epithelium they can …

Biomanufacturing Through Igem-An International Student Competition, Asif Rahman, Ryan J. Putman, Neal Hengge, Charles D. Miller

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

The foundations of synthetic biology are built on molecular biology and genetic engineering. One of the purposes of synthetic biology is to make biology easier to engineer by the creation of standardized biological parts and devices. There are a wide range of potential applications for synthetic biology and a variety of approaches to constructing parts and systems. Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) students from around the world apply synthetic biology principles at the annual International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition to demonstrate functioning biological systems created from standardized parts. The iGEM competition will continue to add to the …

Qualitative Analysis Of Microbial Dynamics During Anaerobic Digestion Of Microalgal Biomass In A Uasb Reactor, Anna Doloman, Yousef Soboh, Andrew J. Walters, Ronald C. Sims, Charles D. Miller

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a microbiologically coordinated process with dynamic relationships between bacterial players. Current understanding of dynamic changes in the bacterial composition during the AD process is incomplete. The objective of this research was to assess changes in bacterial community composition that coordinates with anaerobic codigestion of microalgal biomass cultivated on municipal wastewater. An upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor was used to achieve high rates of microalgae decomposition and biogas production. Samples of the sludge were collected throughout AD and extracted DNA was subjected to next-generation sequencing using methanogen mcrA gene specific and universal bacterial primers. Analysis of the …

Effects Of High Intensity Ultrasound Frequency And High-Speed Agitation On Fat Crystallization, Roberta Silva, Juhee Lee, V. Gibon, Silvana Martini

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences Faculty Publications

The objective of this research was to examine the effect of ultrasound frequency and high-speed agitation on lipid crystallization. Interesterified soybean oil was crystallized at 44 °C without and with the application of high intensity ultrasound (HIU—20 and 40 kHz) or with high-speed agitation (6000 and 24,000 rpm). Two tip amplitudes (24 and 108 µm) and three pulse durations were evaluated (5, 10, and 15 s) for the acoustic frequencies tested. Sonication at 20 kHz of frequency significantly reduced crystal size, increased (p < 0.05) elasticity (435.9 ± 173.3–80,218 ± 15,384 Pa) and SFC (0.2 ± 0.0–4.5 ± 0.4%). No significant difference was observed in the crystallization behavior of these samples when sonicated at different amplitudes for 5 and 10 s. The crystallization behavior was significantly delayed (p < 0.05) in samples sonicated using 108 µm amplitude for 15 s. Larger crystals were formed in samples sonicated at 40 kHz compared to those obtained with 20 kHz and lower SFC (3.7 ± 0.0%) and elasticity (3943 ± 1459 Pa) values were obtained. High-speed agitation at 24,000 rpm increased SFC (5.5 ± 0.1%) and crystallized area and decreased the elasticity (42,602 ± 11,775 Pa) compared to the samples sonicated at 20 kHz.

Sonocrystallization Of Interesterified Fats With 20 And 30% Of Stearic Acid At The Sn-2 Position And Their Physical Blends, Jeta V. Kadamne, Ebenezer A. Ifeduba, Casimir C. Akoh, Silvana Martini

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences Faculty Publications

Physical blends (PB) of high oleic sunflower oil and tristearin with 20 and 30% stearic acid and their interesterified (IE) products where 20 and 30% of the fatty acids are stearic acid at the sn-2 position crystallized without and with application of high intensity ultrasound (HIU). IE samples were crystallized at supercooling temperatures (ΔT) of 12, 9, 6, and 3 °C while PB were crystallized at ΔT = 12 °C. HIU induced crystallization in PB samples, but not in the IE ones. Induction in crystallization with HIU was also observed at ΔT = 6 and 3 °C for IE C18:0 …

Do You Know If Your Clients Are Having Challenges Coping, Karen F. Muñoz, Hannah Mcleod, Cache Pitt, Elizabeth S. Preston, Tiffany Shelton, Michael P. Twohig

Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education Faculty Publications

Hearing loss is a common condition, yet, many adults who could benefit from amplification do not use their hearing aids, even though it could help them overcome negative consequences such as social withdrawal, loneliness, and depression. Equally concerning, hearing aid use is highly variable for young children, compromising speech and language developmental outcomes.

How clients are coping with emotional challenges may be a contributing factor to hearing aid usage, and such challenges may go undetected by audiologists. Depression and anxiety are common mental health conditions, and can interfere with effective healthcare management and treatment adherence; for example, when parents of …

Assessment Of Usda-Nrcs Rangeland Conservation Programs: Recommendation For An Evidence-Based Conservation Platform, David D. Briske, Brandon T. Bestelmeyer, Joel R. Brown, Mark W. Brunson, Thomas L. Thurow, John Tanaka

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

The Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) was created in response to a request from the Office of Management and Budget that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service (USDA- NRCS) document the societal benefits anticipated to accrue from a major increase in conservation funding authorized by the 2002 Farm Bill. A comprehensive evaluation of the efficacy of rangeland conservation practices cost- shared with private landowners was unable to evaluate conservation benefits because outcomes were seldom documented. Four interrelated suppositions are presented to examine the causes underlying minimal documentation of conservations outcomes. These suppositions are (1) the benefits of …

Predator-Prey Coevolution Drives Productivity-Richness Relationships In Planktonic Systems, Zhichao Pu, Michael H. Cortez, Lin Jiang

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

The relationship between environmental productivity and species richness often varies among empirical studies, and despite much research, simple explanations for this phenomenon remain elusive. We investigated how phytoplankton and zooplankton coevolution shapes productivity-richness relationships in both phytoplankton and zooplankton, using a simple nutrient-phytoplankton-zooplankton model that incorporates size-dependent metabolic rates summarized from empirical studies. The model allowed comparisons of evolved species richness across productivity levels and at different evolutionary times. Our results show that disruptive selection leads to evolutionary branching of phytoplankton and zooplankton. Both the time required for evolutionary branching and the number of evolved species in phytoplankton and zooplankton …

Acceptance And Commitment Therapy As A Treatment For Anxiety And Depression: A Review, Michael P. Twohig, Michael E. Levin

Psychology Faculty Publications

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is a modern form of cognitive behavioral therapy based on a distinct philosophy (functional contextualism) and basic science of cognition (relational frame theory). This article reviews the core features of ACT’s theoretical model of psychopathology and treatment as well as its therapeutic approach. It then provides a systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating ACT for depression and anxiety disorders. Summarizing across a total of 36 RCTs, ACT appears to be more efficacious than waitlist conditions and treatment-as-usual, with largely equivalent effects relative to traditional cognitive behavioral therapy. Evidence from several trials also indicate …

The Acceptance And Commitment Therapy Matrix Mobile App: A Pilot Randomized Trial On Health Behaviors, Michael E. Levin, Benjamin G. Pierce, Benjamin Schoendorff

Psychology Faculty Publications

Mobile apps provide a promising format for delivering acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to improve diet/exercise. This pilot trial evaluated a novel ACT-based app for health behaviors based on the matrix approach. A sample of 23 community adults were randomly assigned to use the app for two weeks or to a waitlist condition. Findings indicated a high degree of satisfaction with the app and acceptable adherence. Although the intent-to-treat sample indicated few intervention effects, when focusing on program engagers only, health behaviors significantly improved in the app condition relative to waitlist. There were no differences between conditions on valued action …

Observación Conductual De Las Interacciones Durante La Dolución De Problemas En Familia: Desarrollo Y Validación De Una Escala [Behavioral Observation Of Interactions During Family Problem Solving: Development And Validation Of A Scale], Jahaira Félix Fermín, Melanie M. Domenech-Rodriguez

Psychology Faculty Publications

La familia es el núcleo principal de socialización de los niños, ya que a través de las interacciones con sus padres y madres aprenden destrezas sociales e interpersonales. Existen pocos estudios sobre las interacciones durante la solución de problemas en familias y la mayoría de éstos se deriva de medidas de auto-informe. Se presenta el desarrollo y validación de una escala de observación para evaluar las interacciones entre padres e hijos y examinar la calidad de la solución de problemas en familia. Se evaluaron las estrategias de evasión, medidas de tiempo y la calidad de solución de problemas. Se encontró …

Do College Students Use Online Self-Help? A Survey Of Intentions And Use Of Mental Health Resources, Michael E. Levin, Krista Stocke, Benjamin G. Pierce, Crissa Levin

Psychology Faculty Publications

Online self-help may help increase the reach of mental health services for college students, but little research has examined students’ actual interest/use of these resources. An online survey of 389 college students examined intentions and use of online mental health resources as compared with other support options. Findings indicated the highest intentions/use of informal supports (e.g., parents, friends) for mental health problems and lowest intentions/use for online self-help. However, a subset of students showed a preference for online self-help over other forms of support. Participants were also more likely to request online self-help resources (21%) than in-person therapy resources (9%) …

Inventory Of Wildlife Use Of Mortality Pits As Feeding Sites: Implications Of Pathogen Exposure, Jeremy W. Ellis, Susan A. Shriner, Hailey E. Mclean, Lauren Petersen, J. Jeffrey Root

Human–Wildlife Interactions

To better understand the use of mortality pits by wildlife and possible pathogen dissemination from the resulting wildlife contact in these areas, we used 8 camera traps on 4 mortality pits in Colorado from June to December 2014 to create a species inventory and establish use estimates for those species. We observed 43 species visiting (in or near) the mortality pits during 1,168 total camera trap days. Of these, 24 species directly interacted with the mortality pits or carcasses contained within them. The most common visitors to mortality pits were raccoons (Procyon lotor), coyotes (Canis latrans), domestic dogs (Canis lupus …

Best Management Practices In Counting Urban Black Bears, Jonathan L. Fusaro, Mary M. Conner, Michael R. Conover, Timothy J. Taylor, Marc W. Kenyon Jr.

Human–Wildlife Interactions

DNA-based capture-mark-recapture (CMR) techniques are commonly used to obtain population parameters of black bears (Ursus americanus) in rural and wildland landscapes; however, these techniques have not been implemented in urban clusters (i.e., 2,500 to 50,000 residents). Black bears can readily habituate to urban clusters, and wildlife managers need to monitor and manage these urban bear populations. We modified DNAbased CMR for black bear using hair-snares to take into account the small home ranges of urban bears, urban bear behavior, and human safety within Mammoth Lakes, California, USA. We conducted this study for 3 fi eld seasons in 2010, 2011, and …

Public Geospatial Datasets As An Approach To Maximizing Efficiency In The Collection Of Site Covariates In Wildlife–Vehicle Collision Studies, James A. Vance, Walter H. Smith, Gabrielle L. Smith

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Wildlife–vehicle collisions (WVCs) are a major research focus because of increasing human health and safety concerns and the potential for biological impacts on wildlife. A key component of both understanding the causes of WVCs and designing mitigation measures is the collection and analysis of environmental and roadway data at WVC sites. However, collecting these site data can be logistically challenging and potentially dangerous to researchers. We studied the feasibility and accuracy of using public geospatial datasets, particularly Google Earth and Street View, as an alternative approach to assessing WVC onsite covariates. We randomly selected 50 sites from a larger WVC …

Equine Infectious Anemia, Karl H. Hoopes

All Current Publications

This fact sheet gives information on equine infectious anemia, a blood-borne infectious viral disease of horses, donkeys, and mules. It describes transmission, clinical disease, diagnosis and control.

Caseous Lymphadenitis Management In Goats, C. Kim Chapman, Matthew J. Kennedy

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes Caseous Lymphadenitis, an infectious disease of sheep and goats and gives information on managing the disease.

An Investigation Of Factors That Influence Acceptability Of Parent Training, Trisha M. Chase, Gretchen Gimpel Peacock

Psychology Student Research

Parent training is an effective intervention for parents of children with a variety of childhood disorders, including conduct problems, and parents often view behavioral parent training as acceptable. Explanations and rationales for parent training are commonly provided at the beginning of treatment. The purpose of this study was to determine whether changing the description of a behavioral parenting intervention influenced parents’ acceptability ratings and whether mothers and fathers differed in their ratings. There were 78 participants (39 mother-father dyads) in this study. Participants viewed one of two descriptions of parent training that focused on either addressing deficits in parenting skills …

Pain Acceptance Potentially Mediates The Relationship Between Pain Catastrophizing And Post-Surgery Outcomes Among Compensated Lumbar Fusion Patients, Cassie Dance, M. Scott Deberard, Jessica Gundy Cuneo

Psychology Student Research

Purpose: Chronic low back pain is highly prevalent and often treatment recalcitrant condition, particularly among workers’ compensation patients. There is a need to identify psychological factors that may predispose such patients to pain chronicity. The primary aim of this study was to examine whether pain acceptance potentially mediated the relationship between pain catastrophizing and post-surgical outcomes in a sample of compensated lumbar fusion patients.
Patients and methods: Patients insured with the Workers Compensation Fund of Utah and who were at least 2 years post-lumbar fusion surgery completed an outcome survey. These data were obtained from a prior retrospective-cohort study that …

Partner Influence In Diet And Exercise Behaviors: Testing Behavior Modeling, Social Control, And Normative Body Size, Brea Perry, Gabriele Circiurkaite, Christy Freadreacea Brady, Justin Garcia

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Previous research has documented social contagion in obesity and related health behaviors, but less is known about the social processes underlying these patterns. Focusing on married or cohabitating couples, we simultaneously explore three potential social mechanisms influencing obesity: normative body size, social control, and behavior modeling. We analyze the association between partner characteristics and the obesity-related health behaviors of focal respondents, comparing the effects of partners’ body type, partners’ attempts to manage respondents’ eating behaviors, and partners’ own health behaviors on respondents’ health behaviors (physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption, and fast food consumption). Data on 215 partners are extracted …

Diet And Lifetyle Factors Associated With Mirna Expression In Colorectal Tissue, Martha L. Slattery, Jennifer S. Herrick, Lila E. Mullany, John R. Stevens, Roger K. Wolff

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-protein-coding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression. Diet and lifestyle factors have been hypothesized to be involved in the regulation of miRNA expression. In this study it was hypothesized that diet and lifestyle factors are associated with miRNA expression. Data from 1,447 cases of colorectal cancer to evaluate 34 diet and lifestyle variables using miRNA expression in normal colorectal mucosa as well as for differential expression between paired carcinoma and normal tissue were used. miRNA data were obtained using an Agilent platform. Multiple comparisons were adjusted for using the false discovery rate q-value. There were 250 …

Death Row Dilemmas: The Sentencing And Execution Of Ronald Smith Jr., Rachel Robinson-Greene

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

In the early hours of the morning, on November 8th, 1994, Casey Wilson was working his shift at a Circle K in Huntsville, Alabama. That morning, 23-year-old Ronald Bert Smith Jr. came into the station with the intention to rob it. He pistol-whipped Wilson and forced him to the convenience store restroom where he shot him. Wilson died of his wounds. To avoid detection and identification, Smith removed the store’s surveillance videotape from that night and brought it with him.

In-Class Versus At-Home Quizzes: Which Is Better? A Flipped Learning Study In A Two-Site Synchronously-Broadcast Organic Chemistry Course, Michael A. Christensen, Alyssia M. Lambert, Louis S. Nadelson, Kami M. Dupree, Trish A. Kingsford

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

We recently shared our design of a two-semester flipped organic chemistry course, in which we gave students in-class quizzes to incentivize attendance and watching the lecture videos in advance. With a second iteration, we planned to make the video-watching experience more engaging. We accordingly hypothesized that if students completed short at-home quizzes while watching the videos, then attentiveness, engagement, and learning would increase. We tested this with a later section of the course, dividing the material into 13 units. For units 1-6, we gave in-class quizzes; for 7-13, quizzes were at home. Although units 1-6 and 7-13 covered different material, …

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Agenda, December 12, 2016, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Council on Teacher Education Annual Report
• EPC Items (December)
• Scholarship Advisory Board Annual Report
• Discussion of a portion of the Annual Review Procedures
  
  
  

The Role Of Diverse Strategies In The Sustainability Of Online Communities, Lingfei Wu, Jacopo A. Baggio, Marco A. Janssen

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Online communities are becoming increasingly important as platforms for large-scale human cooperation. These communities allow users seeking and sharing professional skills to solve problems collaboratively. To investigate how users cooperate to complete a large number of knowledge-producing tasks, we analyze Stack Exchange, one of the largest question and answer systems in the world. We construct attention networks to model the growth of 110 communities in the Stack Exchange system and quantify individual answering strategies using the linking dynamics on attention networks. We identify two answering strategies. Strategy A aims at performing maintenance by doing simple tasks, whereas strategy B aims …

Faculty Senate Agenda, December 5, 2016, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Retention and Student Success
• EPC Items (November)
• USUSA Annual Report
• 402.12 Senate Standing Committees (Second Reading)

Usu Faculty Senate Minutes, December 5, 2016, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Faculty Forum Discussion - Vince Wickwar
• Retention and Student Success – Heidi Kesler
• EPC Items (November) - Larry Smith
• USUSA Annual Report – Ashley Waddoups
• 402.12 Senate Standing Committees (Second Reading) - Ronda Callister

Community To Clinic Navigation To Improve Diabetes Outcomes, Gabriele Circiurkaite, Nancy E. Schoenberg, Mary Kate Greenwood

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Rural residents experience rates of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) that are considerably higher than their urban or suburban counterparts. Two primary modifiable factors, self-management and formal clinical management, have potential to greatly improve diabetes outcomes. “Community to Clinic Navigation to Improve Diabetes Outcomes,” is the first known randomized clinical trial pilot study to test a hybrid model of diabetes self-management education plus clinical navigation among rural residents with T2DM. Forty-one adults with T2DM were recruited from two federally qualified health centers in rural Appalachia from November 2014–January 2015. Community health workers provided navigation, including helping participants understand and implement …

Multitaxon Distribution Models Reveal Severe Alteration In The Regional Biodiversity Of Freshwater Invertebrates, Charles P. Hawkins, Lester L. Yuan

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Knowledge of current and historical conditions is needed to guide conservation and restoration policies, but such information is lacking for most taxa. This problem is especially severe for small, inconspicuous taxa, such as the thousands of invertebrate species that inhabit stream and other freshwater ecosystems. We describe a novel application of River Invertebrate Prediction and Classification System (RIVPACS)-type multitaxon distribution models that, when applied to the biological survey data routinely collected in support of water-quality monitoring programs, can quantify the regional biodiversity status of hundreds of taxa. We used models developed for 2 stream data sets (North Carolina and the …