Digital Commons Network^™

A Comparison Of The Storage-Only Deficit And Joint Mechanism Deficit Hypotheses Of The Verbal Working Memory Storage Capacity Limitation Of Children With Developmental Language Disorder, James W. Montgomery, Ronald B. Gillam, Julia L. Evans, Sarah Schwartz, Jamison D. Fargo

Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education Faculty Publications

Purpose: The storage-only deficit and joint mechanism deficit hypotheses are two possible explanations of the verbal working memory (vWM) storage capacity limitation of school-age children with developmental language disorder (DLD). We assessed the merits of each hypothesis in a large group of children with DLD and a group of same-age typically developing (TD) children.

Method: Participants were 117 children with DLD and 117 propensity-matched TD children 7-11 years of age. Children completed tasks indexing vWM capacity, verbal short-term storage, sustained attention, attention switching, and lexical long-term memory (LTM).

Results: For the DLD group, all of the mechanisms jointly explained 26.5% …

Fate Of The Organophosphate Insecticide, Chlorpyrifos, In Leaves, Soil, And Air Following Application, Supta Das, Kimberly J. Hageman, Madeleine Taylor, Sue Michelsen-Heath, Ian Stewart

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

A field study was conducted to further our understanding about the fate and transport of the organophosphate insecticide, chlorpyrifos, and its degradation product, chlorpyrifos oxon. Leaf, soil and air sampling was conducted for 21 days after chlorpyrifos application to a field of purple tansy (Phacelia tanacetifolia). Air samples were collected using a high-volume air sampler (HVAS) and seven battery-operated medium-volume active air samplers placed around the field and on a 500-m transect extending away from the field. Chlorpyrifos was detected every day of the sampling period in all matrices, with concentrations decreasing rapidly after application. Chlorpyrifos oxon was …

Physics-Driven Dual-Defect Model Fits Of Voltage Step-Up To Breakdown Data In Spacecraft Polymers, Allen Andersen, Jr Dennison

Journal Articles

Overly conservative estimates of breakdown strength can increase the mass and cost of spacecraft electrostatic discharge (ESD) mitigation methods. Improved estimates of ESD likelihood in the space environment require better models of ESD distributions. The purpose of this work is to evaluate our previously proposed dual-defect model of voltage step-up-to-breakdown tests with a case study across four dielectric materials. We predicted that materials best fit by mixed Weibull distributions would exhibit better fits with the dual-defect model compared to a mean field single defect theory. Additional data for biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP), polyimide (PI or Kapton) from three sources, and …

Aromatic Character Of [Au13]5+ And [Mau12]4+/6+ (M = Pd, Pt) Cores In Ligand Protected Gold Nanoclusters – Interplay Between Spherical And Planar Σ-Aromatics, Nikita Fedik, Alexander I. Boldyrev, Alvaro Muñoz-Castro

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The most characteristic feature of planar π-aromatics is the ability to sustain a long-range shielding cone under a magnetic field oriented in a specific direction. In this article, we showed that similar magnetic responses can be found in σ-aromatic and spherical aromatic systems. For [Au₁₃]⁵⁺, long-range characteristics of the induced magnetic field in the bare icosahedral core are revealed, which are also found in the ligand protected [Au₂₅(SH)₁₈]− model, proving its spherical aromatic properties, also supported by the AdNDP analysis. Such properties are given by the 8-ve of the structural core satisfying …

Hemispherical Shifted Symmetry In Polar Cap Patch Occurrence: A Survey Of Gps Tec Maps From 2015–2018, Michael David, Jan Josef Sojka, Robert W. Schunk, Anthea J. Coster

All Physics Faculty Presentations

Much theoretical and observational work has been devoted to studying the occurrence of F region polar cap patches in the Northern Hemisphere; considerably less work has been applied to the Southern Hemisphere. In recent years, the Madrigal database of mappings of total electron content (TEC) has improved in Southern Hemisphere coverage, to the point that we can now carry out a study of patch frequency and occurrence. We find that Southern Hemisphere patch occurrence is very similar to that of the Northern Hemisphere with a half‐year offset, plus an offset in universal time of approximately 12 hr. This is further …

Nanoscale Evidence For Temperature-Induced Transient Rheology And Postseismic Fault Healing, Alexis K. Ault, Jordan L. Jensen, Robert G. Mcdermott, F.-A. Shen, B. R. Van Devener

Geosciences Faculty Publications

Friction-generated heat and the subsequent thermal evolution control fault material properties and thus strength during the earthquake cycle. We document evidence for transient, nanoscale fault rheology on a high-gloss, light-reflective hematite fault mirror (FM). The FM cuts specularite with minor quartz from the Pleistocene El Laco Fe-ore deposit, northern Chile. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy data reveal that the FM volume comprises a2+ suboxides. Sub–5-nm-thick silica films encase hematite grains and connect to amorphous interstitial silica. Observations imply that coseismic shear heating (temperature >1000 °C) generated transiently amorphous, intermixed but immiscible, and rheologically weak Fe-oxide and silica. Hematite regrowth in …

A Unified Description Of The Electrical Properties Of Low-Density Polyethylene Via The Dispersion Parameter, Zack Gibson, Megan Loveland, Jr Dennison

Physics Student Research

Low-density polyethylene is a prototypical highly disordered insulating material. This ubiquitous polymer has a variety of applications from spacecraft charging to high voltage DC power cable insulation. Therefore, the electrical properties are of great interest. The dispersion parameter, which originally appeared in a semi-empirical model to describe anomalies in permittivity data, is central to an understanding of these electrical properties. This parameter depends linearly on either temperature (low field regime) or on electric field (high field regime) and is scaled by the reciprocal of a characteristic energy. When the dispersion parameter reaches one, a transition from dispersive to non-dispersive transport …

Ensemble Streamflow Forecasting Using An Energy Balance Snowmelt Model Coupled To A Distributed Hydrologic Model With Assimilation Of Snow And Streamflow Observations, Tseganeh Zekiewos Gichamo, David G. Tarboton

Publications

In many river basins across the world, snowmelt is an important source of streamflow. However, detailed snowmelt modeling is hampered by limited input data and uncertainty arising from inadequate model structure and parametrization. Data assimilation that updates model states based on observations, reduces uncertainty and improves streamflow forecasts. In this study, we evaluated the Utah Energy Balance (UEB) snowmelt model coupled to the Sacramento Soil Moisture Accounting (SAC‐SMA) and rutpix7 stream routing models, integrated within the Research Distributed Hydrologic Model (RDHM) framework for streamflow forecasting. We implemented an ensemble Kalman filter for assimilation of snow water equivalent (SWE) observations in …

Piezoelastic Pvdf/Tpu Nanofibrous Composite Membrane: Fabrication And Characterization, Eman Elnabawy, Ahmed H. Hassanin, Nader Shehata, Anton Popelka, Remya Nair, Saifallah Yousef, Ishac Kandas

Biology Faculty Publications

Poly (vinylidene fluoride) nanofibers (PVDF NFs) have been extensively used in energy harvesting applications due to their promising piezoresponse characteristics. However, the mechanical properties of the generated fibers are still lacking. Therefore, we are presenting in this work a promising improvement in the elasticity properties of PVDF nanofibrous membrane through thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) additives. Morphological, physical, and mechanical analyses were performed for membranes developed from different blend ratios. Then, the impact of added weight ratio of TPU on the piezoelectric response of the formed nanofibrous composite membranes was studied. The piezoelectric characteristics were studied through impulse loading testing where the …

Charge Transport In Disordered Materials And The Dispersion Parameter, Zachary Gibson

Physics Student Research

Charge transport in disordered solids can be described with use of a dispersion parameter. The dispersion parameter can be defined simply as either the thermal energy (low electric field regime) or the field energy (high field regime) scaled by the reciprocal of a characteristic energy of the material. A transitionary temperature and electric field are defined when the ratio of thermal or field energy over the characteristic energy is one, respectively. This indicates a transition from dispersive transport to normal transport. Dispersive transport can be described simply by the dispersion parameter for many disordered materials. Models involving the dispersion parameter …

Kenyan Delegation Visits The Uwrl, Utah Water Research Laboratory

News

The UWRL recently welcomed a delegation of Kenyan dignitaries who were visiting USU to discuss development and use of the water that will become available with dam projects underway in Kenya. The USU agricultural extension office arranged the tour, which included the UWRL and USU’s experimental farm in Wellsville. The lab portion of the tour was hosted by UWRL faculty members involved in agricultural management and irrigation and hydraulics. Visitors included government leaders from the Kajaido area in Kenya and the East Africa Chamber of Commerce, along with staff members and others. Together they discussed water challenges, use, and development …

Uwrl Outstanding Student Spotlight Hyrum Tennant, Utah Water Research Laboratory

News

Each month the UWRL takes a moment to highlight an outstanding student, faculty member, or alumni. This month our spotlight is on Hyrum Tennant, a graduate student studying Civil and Environmental Engineering at Utah State University.

Data From: Cavitation Clusters In Lipid Systems – The Generation Of A Bifurcated Streamer And The Dual Collapse Of A Bubble Cluster, Silvana Martini, Peter Birkin, Tadd T. Truscott

Browse all Datasets

Over the past decade several studies have reported the use of high intensity ultrasound (HIU) to induce the crystallization of lipids. The effect that HIU has on lipid crystallization is usually attributed to the generation of cavities but acoustic cavitation has never been fully explored in lipids. The dynamics of a particular cavitation cluster next to a piston like emitter in an oil, was investigated in this study. The lipid systems, which are important in food processing, are studied with high-speed camera imaging, laser scattering and pressure measurements. A sequence of stable clusters were noted. In addition, a bifurcated streamer …

Housing & Residence Life Impact Report: Fall 2017 To Spring 2018, Hayden Hoopes, Alan Andersen, Kirk Bird, John Bostock, Whit Milligan, Amanda M. Hagman

Publications

Introduction: Living on campus is considered a high impact practice for student success. Student success is believed to emerge from “the amount of physical and psychological energy that the student devotes to the academic experience” (Astin, 1984), housing and residence life programming facilitates this type of devotion. However, creating this type of living experience requires administrators understand the complexities of how housing can affect specific student groups and their decision to either persist at or leave an institution. This report explores the impact of housing and residence life at Utah State University on students living on campus. It disaggregates results …

Aggieair Partners With Faa & Industry Experts To Develop Drone Traffic Management System, Brittanie Carter

News

AggieAir^TM recently spent 10 days in Las Vegas, Nevada working with the FAA and other industry experts to create safety regulations and programs for drone services in the future. As a research center of the Utah Water Research Laboratory at Utah State University, AggieAir has been specializing in the development and use of small uncrewed aerial systems for collecting scientific imagery and data for the past 13 years.

Differences In Drought Tolerance Among Gisela® Cherry Rootstocks Determined Using Automated Weighing Lysimeters, Lance V. Stott, Brent Black, Bruce Bugbee

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

The Gisela® series of dwarfing rootstock are widely used because they enable high-density production, but they may be sensitive to drought. Drought tolerance may be associated with root-zone distribution and depth or with physiological adaptation to low water potential. Here we describe a novel technique for determining physiological tolerance to drought when root distribution is held constant. In two matching studies, we continuously measured transpiration of two groups of eight trees using a 16-container automated weighing lysimeter system in a greenhouse. With this system, Gisela® 3, 5, and 12 (G.3, G.5, and G.12) rootstocks were subjected to multiple, controlled drought …

An Open-Source Data Manager For Network Models, Stephen Knox, James Tomlinson, Julien J. Harou, Philipp Meier, David E. Rosenberg, Jay R. Lund, David E. Rheinheimer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Developing simulation and optimisation models for resource networks like water or energy systems increasingly involves integrating multiple data sources and software. Connecting multiple models and managing data accessed by different groups of analysts is a software challenge. Many resource systems are represented in computer models as networks of nodes and links, driven by a range of objectives and rules. We present a data storage platform, written in Python, which exploits the commonality of network representations to store data for multiple model types within a single deployment. This open-source platform provides a common source of data to multiple models using consistent …

Dynamic Secondary Electron Emission In Rough Composite Materials, Leandro Olano, Maria E. Dávila, John R. Dennison, Petronilo Martín-Iglesias, Isabel Montero

All Physics Faculty Publications

The interaction of ionizing radiation with matter is of critical importance in numerous areas of science and technology like space and vacuum technology and even medicine and biotechnology. Secondary electron emission is a consequence of electron irradiation on materials. We achieve extremely low secondary electron emission yield values smaller than 0.2, even up to incident electron energies ~1 keV, due to an undocumented synergy between neighbouring metal and dielectric domains in composite samples. To investigate this experimental discovery, we propose a simple 3D model where the dielectric and metallic domains are arranged in parallel and interleaved. The proposed surface profile …

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Agenda, September 23, 2019, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Human Resource Policy Changes
• EPC Monthly Report - September 5, 2019
• 321 Respectful Workplace-Employee Rights
• USUSA-Student Rep on Faculty Search Committees
• Educational Policies Committee Annual Report
• Honors Program Annual Report
• Faculty forum updates
• 403.3.1 Standards of Conduct-Faculty Responsibilities to Students (2nd reading)
• 403.3.2 Standards of Conduct-Professional Obligations (2nd reading)

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Minutes, September 23, 2019, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Human Resource Policy Changes - Doug Bullock
• EPC Monthly Report – September 5, 2019 - Frank Galey
• 321 Respectful Workplace-Employee Rights - Patrick Belmont
• USUSA-Student Rep on Faculty Search Committees - Dexton Lake
• Educational Policies Committee Annual Report - Frank Galey
• Honors Program Annual Report - Kristine Miller
• Faculty Forum update - Patrick Belmont
• 403.3.1 Standards of Conduct-Faculty Responsibilities to Students (2nd reading) - Patrick Belmont
• 403.3.2 Standards of Conduct-Professional Obligations (2nd reading) - Patrick Belmont
• College Level Faculty Forums - Patrick Belmont
• Empowering Teaching Excellence - Neal Legler | Travis Thurston

Definition Of The Chalcogen Bond (Iupac Recommendations 2019), Christer B. Aakeroy, David L. Bryce, Gautam R. Desiraju, Antonio Frontera, Anthony C. Legon, Francesco Nicotra, Kari Rissanen, Steve Scheiner, Giancarlo Terraneo, Pierangelo Metrangolo, Giuseppe Resnati

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

This recommendation proposes a definition for the term “chalcogen bond”; it is recommended the term is used to designate the specific subset of inter- and intramolecular interactions formed by chalcogen atoms wherein the Group 16 element is the electrophilic site.

The Physical Significance Of Α For Electron Transport, Zachary Gibson

Physics Student Research

Charge transport in crystalline materials can be well understood through the use of Bloch functions, band theory, and extended state transport. Disordered materials do not allow the same luxury, and different methods have to be considered. It turns out that band structures still exist. Although extended state conduction can still occur, localized states within the band gap allow for alternative mechanisms of charge transport in disordered materials. Conduction can be understood through such models as hopping, multiple trapping, and percolation, but all of them can lead to a broad distribution of event times. For example, the hopping-time distribution proposed by …

Student Insights Report, Fall 2019, The Center For Student Analytics

Publications

For the past three years, the staff of the Center for Student Analytics have worked to discover and expose meaningful, data-informed insights into what helps students succeed at Utah State University. The following pages highlight 20 of the most useful insights we found provided here in small sets that will be useful to students, faculty, staff, university leadership, parents, and even prospective students. As you explore this report, we encourage you to see the student data as a window into USU itself. While big data helps us understand how individual students are performing, it tells us a great deal more …

Stormtime Thermospheric Neutral Winds Obtained From A Data Assimilation Model, Ludger Scherliess

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Theoretical Studies Of Ir And Nmr Spectral Changes Induced By Sigma-Hole Hydrogen, Halogen, Chalcogen, Pnicogen, And Tetrel Bonds In A Model Protein Environment, Mariusz Michalczyk, Wiktor Zierkiewicz, Rafał Wysokiński, Steve Scheiner

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Various types of σ-hole bond complexes were formed with FX, HFY, H₂FZ, and H₃FT (X = Cl, Br, I; Y = S, Se, Te; Z = P, As, Sb; T = Si, Ge, Sn) as Lewis acid. In order to examine their interactions with a protein, N-methylacetamide (NMA), a model of the peptide linkage was used as the base. These noncovalent bonds were compared by computational means with H-bonds formed by NMA with XH molecules (X = F, Cl, Br, I). In all cases, the A–F bond, which lies opposite the base and is responsible for …

A Near Horizon Extreme Binary Black Hole Geometry, Jacob Ciafre, Maria J. Rodriguez

All Physics Faculty Presentations

A new solution of four-dimensional vacuum General Relativity is presented. It describes the near horizon region of the extreme (maximally spinning) binary black hole system with two identical extreme Kerr black holes held in equilibrium by a massless strut. This is the first example of a non-supersymmetric, near horizon extreme binary black hole geometry of two uncharged black holes. The black holes are co-rotating, their relative distance is fixed, and the solution is uniquely specified by the mass. Asymptotically, the geometry corresponds to the near horizon extreme Kerr (NHEK) black hole. The binary extreme system has finite entropy.

Simultaneous In Situ Measurements Of Small-Scale Structures In Neutral, Plasma, And Atomic Oxygen Densities During The Wadis Sounding Rocket Project, Boris Strelnikov, Martin Eberhart, Martin Friedrich, Jonas Hedin, Mikhail Khaplanov, Gerd Baumgarten, Bifford P. Williams, Tristan Staszak, Heiner Asmus, Irina Strelnikova, Ralph Latteck, Mykhaylo Grygalashvyly, Franz-Josef Lübken, Josef Höffner, Raimund Wörl, Jörg Gumbel, Stefan Löhle, Stefanos Fasoulas, Markus Rapp, Aroh Barjatya, Michael J. Taylor, Pierre-Dominique Pautet

Publications

In this paper we present an overview of measurements conducted during the WADIS-2 rocket campaign. We investigate the effect of small-scale processes like gravity waves and turbulence on the distribution of atomic oxygen and other species in the mesosphere–lower thermosphere (MLT) region. Our analysis suggests that density fluctuations of atomic oxygen are coupled to fluctuations of other constituents, i.e., plasma and neutrals. Our measurements show that all measured quantities, including winds, densities, and temperatures, reveal signatures of both waves and turbulence. We show observations of gravity wave saturation and breakdown together with simultaneous measurements of generated turbulence. Atomic oxygen inside …

Dr. Blake Tullis Appointed To The Utah Drinking Water Board, Utah Water Research Laboratory

News

UWRL researcher, USU professor, and Interim VP for Research,Blake Tullis, has been appointed to the Utah Drinking Water Board (DWB) for a 4-year term. The 9 members of the board are appointed by the governor. Dr. Tullis will fill the academic/research board member position previously held by UWRL faculty member David Stevens.

Uwrl Featured In Awra Impact Magazine, Utah Water Research Laboratory

News

The UWRL was featured in the September 2019 issue of the of the American Water Research Association (AWRA) Water Resources IMPACT Magazin. This issue includes a series of articles about western water issues collaboration, with a particular emphasis on Utah's water issues. The AWRA 2019 Water Resources Annual Conference will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, on November 2-6, 2019, and the UWRL is one of the tour destinations for the conference.

On Video Analysis Of Omnidirectional Bee Traffic: Counting Bee Motions With Motion Detection And Image Classification, Vladmir Kulyukin, Sarbajit Mukherjee

Computer Science Faculty and Staff Publications

Omnidirectional bee traffic is the number of bees moving in arbitrary directions in close proximity to the landing pad of a given hive over a given period of time. Video bee traffic analysis has the potential to automate the assessment of omnidirectional bee traffic levels, which, in turn, may lead to a complete or partial automation of honeybee colony health assessment. In this investigation, we proposed, implemented, and partially evaluated a two-tier method for counting bee motions to estimate levels of omnidirectional bee traffic in bee traffic videos. Our method couples motion detection with image classification so that motion detection …