Digital Commons Network^™

Student Involvement & Leadership Center: Impact Report Spring 2015 To Fall 2018, Erik Dickamore, Amanda M. Hagman, Spencer Bitner, Nathan Laursen, Mitchell Colver

Publications

Leadership and involvement programs are an integral part of the student experience on University campuses. Volunteers and scholars within leadership and involvement serve their peers by providing rewarding events that unify the student body. Volunteers and scholars also benefit through opportunities for personal exploration and growth. Working with SILC allows students to serve and lead in a unique way. This report explored the association between student participation in leadership and involvement programs, and student persistence to the next term at Utah State University. METHODS: Students participation was captured by rosters across all SILC programs. Students who had a record of …

Comparison Of Σ-Hole And Π-Hole Tetrel Bonds In Complexes Of Borazine With Th3f And F2to/H2to (T=C,Si,Ge), Jingru Zhang, Qingze Hu, Qing-Zhong Li, Steve Scheiner, Shufeng Liu

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The complexes between borazine and TH3F/F2TO/H2TO (T=C, Si, Ge) are investigated with high-level quantum chemical calculations. Borazine has three sites of negative electrostatic potential: the N atom, the ring center, and the H atom of the B-H bond, while TH3F and F2TO/H2TO provide the σ-hole and π-hole, respectively, for the tetrel bond. The N atom of borazine is the favored site for both the σ and π-hole tetrel bonds. Less stable dimers include a σ-tetrel bond to the borazine ring center and to the BH proton. The π-hole tetrel-bonded complexes are more strongly bound than aretheirσ-hole counterparts. Due to the …

Educational Policies Committee Minutes, February 7, 2019, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Curriculum Subcommittee report
• Academic Standards Subcommittee report
• General Education Subcommittee report
• EPC/Curriculum Handbook

Curriculum Subcommittee Agenda, February 7, 2019, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Program Proposals

• Offering a Minor in Hunger and Food Security Studies
• Discontinuing the Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences
• Changing Parks and Recreation program name to Recreation Management program
• Offering an RN to BSN Completion Program
• Offering a Minor in Mechanical Engineering
• Establishing a Center for Anticipatory Intelligence
• Offering an (undergraduate) Emphasis in Anticipatory Intelligence
• Changing the department name from Geology to Earth Sciences

Semester Course Approval Reviews

Other

• EPC/Curriculum Handbook

Educational Policies Committee Agenda, February 7, 2019, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Curriculum Subcommittee
• Academic Standards Subcommittee
• General Education Subcommittee
• EPC/Curriculum Handbook

Employing Plant Functional Groups To Advance Seed Dispersal Ecology And Conservation, Clare Aslan, Noelle G. Beckman, Haldre S. Rogers, Judie Bronstein, Damaris Zurell, Florian Hartig, Katriona Shea, Liba Pejchar, Mike Neubert, John Poulsen, Janneke Hillerislambers, Maria Miriti, Bette Loiselle, Edu Effiom, Jenny Zambrano, Eugene W. Schupp, Et Al.

Biology Faculty Publications

Seed dispersal enables plants to reach hospitable germination sites and escape natural enemies. Understanding when and how much seed dispersal matters to plant fitness is critical for understanding plant population and community dynamics. At the same time, the complexity of factors that determine if a seed will be successfully dispersed and subsequently develop into a reproductive plant is daunting. Quantifying all factors that may influence seed dispersal effectiveness for any potential seed-vector relationship would require an unrealistically large amount of time, materials and financial resources. On the other hand, being able to make dispersal predictions is critical for predicting whether …

Ayman Nassar Receives Awwa Intermountain Section Scholarship, Utah Water Research Laboratory

News

The American Water Works Association (AWWA) Intermountain Section has selected USU/UWRL graduate student Ayman Nassar to receive this year’s Eva Nieminski Honorary Graduate Science Engineering Scholarship. The scholarship was created “to encourage science education and training related to the field of conservation, water quality, supply, resources, reuse or treatment."

Faculty Senate Agenda, February 4, 2019, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• EPC Monthly Report – January 10, 2019
• Academic Freedom and Tenure Annual Report
• Council on Teacher Education Annual Report
• 405.7.2 – External Reviewers
• Greenhouse Gas Resolution
• 403.3.1 – Standards of Conduct – Faculty Responsibilities to Students
• 403.3.2 – Standards of Conduct – Professional Obligations
• 405.2.1 – 405.3.2 – 405.5.1 – 405.10.1 Community Engagement Inclusion
• 407.1.1 – Non Punitive Measure
• 407.8.5(3) – Sexual Harassment
• 407.11.2(2) - Notification of Faculty Member
• 407.11.3(2) – Protection of Complainant and Others

Faculty Senate Minutes, February 4, 2019, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Academic Freedom and Tenure
• Council on Teacher Education
• Greenhouse Gas Resolution

Switchable Aromaticity In An Isostructural Mn Phthalocyanine Series Isolated In Five Separate Redox States, Camden Hunt, Madeline Peterson, Cassidy Anderson, Tieyan Chang, Guang Wu, Steve Scheiner, Gabriel Ménard

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The synthesis and characterization of a new phthalocyanine(Pc) Mn-nitride complex, (OEtPc)MnN (2; OEtPc= 1,4,8,11,15,18,22,25-octaethoxy-Pc), as well as its stable, readily accessible oxidized (2+ and 22+) and reduced (2-, 22-) congeners is reported. This unique isostructural series displays switchable aromatic character spanning the aromatic (2), non-aromatic (22+), and antiaromatic (22-) triad, in addition to the open-shell radical states (2+, 2-). All complexes were structurally characterized and displayed significant structural distortions at the redox extrema (22+, 22-) consistent with proposed [16 or 18]annulene π ring circuit models. Spectroscopic and computational studies further support these models. This isolated, fully characterized, isostructural series spanning …

Biogeochemical Recuperation Of Lowland Tropical Forest During Succession, Benjamin W. Sullivan, Rachel L. Nifong, Megan K. Nasto, Silvia Alvarez-Clare, Camie M. Dencker, Fiona M. Soper, Kevin T. Shoemaker, F. Yoko Ishida, Joana Zaragoza-Castells, Eric A. Davidson, Cory C. Cleveland

Biology Faculty Publications

High rates of land conversion and land use change have vastly increased the proportion of secondary forest in the lowland tropics relative to mature forest. As secondary forests recover following abandonment, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) must be present in sufficient quantities to sustain high rates of net primary production and to replenish the nutrients lost during land use prior to secondary forest establishment. Biogeochemical theory and results from individual studies suggest that N can recuperate during secondary forest recovery, especially relative to P. Here, we synthesized 23 metrics of N and P in soil and plants from 45 secondary …

Genetic Loci Associated With Salt Tolerance In Advanced Breeding Populations Of Tetraploid Alfalfa Using Genome-Wide Association Studies, Xiang-Ping Liu, Charles Hawkins, Michael D. Peel, Long-Xi Yu

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Many agricultural lands in the western United States consist of soil with high concentrations of salt, which is detrimental to alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) growth and production, especially in the region where water resource is limited. Developing alfalfa varieties with salt tolerance is imperative for sustainable production under increasing soil salinity. In the present study, we used advanced alfalfa breeding populations and evaluated five traits related to salt tolerance including biomass dry weight (DW) and fresh weight (FW), plant height (PH), leaf relative water content (RWC), and stomatal conductance (SC) under control and salt stress. Stress susceptibility index (SSI) …

A Counting-Focused Instructional Treatment To Improve Number Sense: An Exploratory Classroom-Based Intervention Study, Jessica F. Shumway, Patricia S. Moyer-Packenham

Teacher Education and Leadership Faculty Publications

Developing students’ number sense is a critical area of research in mathematics education because of the role number sense plays in early mathematics learning. In particular, cognitive psychology research has pinpointed verbal counting as a number sense construct that is critical in later mathematics achievement. This study explored variations in 7- and 8-year-old students’ number sense outcomes as they engaged in a counting-focused instructional treatment for differing durations. Sixty students in three elementary classrooms in the United States participated in the counting-focused instructional treatment. A generalized estimating equations (GEE) analysis showed an associated average increase in test scores for students …

Cache Valley: Liquefaction, Out-Of-Sync Earthquakes, Lake Bonneville, And Linking Up The West Cache Fault Zone, Susanne U. Jänecke, Robert Q. Oaks Jr., Nathan Ellis, James P. Evans, A. J. Knight, Justin Oakeson

Geosciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Soil And Vegetation Survey Of Antelope Pasture, Curlew Grazing Allotment, Oneida County, Id, Merran Owen, Kari E. Veblen, Thomas A. Monaco, Janis Boettinger

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Antelope Pasture, located in the Black Pine Valley of Oneida County, Idaho, is a 1500-acre portion of the Curlew Grazing Allotment, managed by the Pocatello Field Office of the BLM (Figure 1). The pasture is heavily invaded with exotic annuals such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), halogeton (Halogeton glomeratus), and clasping pepperweed (Lepidium perfoliatum), and grazing is temporarily discontinued. Land-use history of the pasture includes livestock grazing, possible homesteading and cultivation of Agropyron cristatum (crested wheatgrass).

Factors That Influence Mathematical Creativity, Joseph S. Kozlowski, Scott A. Chamberlin, Eric Mann

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

Creativity is a psychological construct that has gained research popularity (Akgul & Kaveci, 2016), however it remains a challenging one to define. The variety of definitions promulgated to understand creativity hints at the complexity of the mental process. Furthermore, as a subset of creativity, domain-specific mathematical creativity has also garnered a variety of definitions. The transdisciplinary research on creativity (Sriraman & Haavold, 2017) is seminal in this world of fast-paced innovation, invention, solution, and synthesis. Considering every human being with at least average cognitive abilities possesses the ability to think creatively (Baran, 2011), developing students’ creative talents and abilities must …

A Re-Emergent Analysis Of Early Algebraic Learning, Steven Boyce, Diana Moss

Extension Research

In this paper, we discuss a novel approach for collaborative retrospective analysis. One researcher was directly involved in a classroom teaching experiment, adopting an emergent perspective as an interpreter-witness of classroom interactions during a four-week algebra instructional unit with sixth-grade students. The other researcher experienced and analyzed the data in reverse chronological order. We describe how this re-emergent perspective revealed aspects of students’ early algebraic reasoning.

Predatory Hymenopteran Assemblages In Boreal Alaska: Associations With Forest Composition And Post-Fire Succession, Alexandria Wenninger, Teresa Hollingsworth, Diane Wagner

Aspen Bibliography

Changes to the fire regime in boreal Alaska are shifting the ratio of coniferous to deciduous dominance on the landscape. The increase in aspen and birch may have important effects on predatory hymenopteran assemblages by providing a source of extrafloral nectar and increasing prey availability. Furthermore, fire-induced changes in successional age alter habitat structure and microclimate in ways that may favor ants. This study is the first to characterize the influence of fire-related vegetation changes on boreal predatory hymenopteran assemblages. We compare the abundance, species richness, and composition of predatory hymenopteran assemblages among forests at different stages of succession and …

Catalytic Mechanism For The Conversion Of Salicylate Into Catechol By The Flavin-Dependent Monooxygenase Salicylate Hydroxylase, Débora M. A. Costa, Stefanya V. Gómez, Simara S. De Araújo, Mozart S. Pereira, Rosemeire B. Alves, Denize C. Favaro, Alvan C. Hengge, Ronaldo A. P. Nagem, Tiago A. S. Brandão

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Salicylate hydroxylase (NahG) is a flavin-dependent monooxygenase that catalyzes the decarboxylative hydroxylation of salicylate into catechol in the naphthalene degradation pathway in Pseudomonas putida G7. We explored the mechanism of action of this enzyme in detail using a combination of structural and biophysical methods. NahG shares many structural and mechanistic features with other versatile flavin-dependent monooxygenases, with potential biocatalytic applications. The crystal structure at 2.0 Å resolution for the apo form of NahG adds a new snapshot preceding the FAD binding in flavin-dependent monooxygenases. The k_cat/K_m for the salicylate reaction catalyzed by the holo form is …

Exploring Mortality Rates For Major Causes Of Death In Korea, Hyo Jung Oh, Donng Min Yang, Chong Hyuck Kim, Jae Gyu Jeon, Nam Hyung Jung, Chan Young Kim, Jurgen Symanzik, Hyo Won Oh, Akugizibwe Edwin, Seong Ii Jo, Jeong Yong Ahn

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

Background: The trends and patterns of the mortality rates for causes of death are meaningful information. They can provide a basis for national demographic and health care policies by identifying the number, causes, and geographical distribution of deaths.

Objective: To explore and analyze the characteristics of the mortality rates for major causes of death in Korea.

Methods: Some common data analysis methods were used to describe the data. We also used some visualization techniques such as heat maps and line plots to present mortality rates by gender, age, and year.

Results: Our analysis shows the crude …

Weighting Effective Number Of Species Measures By Abundance Weakens Detection Of Diversity Responses, Yong Cao, Charles P. Hawkins

Ecology Center Publications

1. The effective number of species (ENS) has been proposed as a robust measure of species diversity that overcomes several limitations in terms of both diversity indices and species richness (SR). However, it is not yet clear if ENS improves interpretation and comparison of biodiversity monitoring data, and ultimately resource management decisions.

2. We used simulations of five stream macroinvertebrate assemblages and spatially extensive field data of stream fishes and mussels to show (a) how different ENS formulations respond to stress and (b) how diversity–environment relationships change with values of q, which weight ENS measures by species abundances.

3. Values …

Recoupling Fire And Grazing Reduces Wildland Fuel Loads On Rangelands, Heath D. Starns, Samuel D. Fuhlendorf, R. Dwayne Elmore, Dirac Twidwell, Eric T. Thacker, Torre J. Hovick, Barney Luttbeg

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Fire suppression and exclusion, the historically dominant paradigm of fire management, has resulted in major modifications of fire-dependent ecosystems worldwide. These changes are partially credited with a recent increase in wildfire number and extent, as well as more extreme fire behavior. Fire and herbivory historically interacted, and research has shown that the interaction creates a unique mosaic of vegetation heterogeneity that each disturbance alone does not create. Because fire and grazing have largely been decoupled in modern times, the degree to which the interaction affects fuels and fire regimes has not yet been quantified. We evaluated effects of fire-only and …

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Minutes, January 22, 2019, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Academic Freedom and Tenure
• Council on Teacher Education
• Greenhouse Gas Resolution
• USUSA Annual Report
• Professional Responsibilities and Procedures Committee
• Scholarship Advisory Board
• USUSA Recommendations

Dual Geometry Schemes In Tetrel Bonds: Complexes Between Tf4(T = Si, Ge, Sn) And Pyridine Derivatives, Wiktor Zierkiewicz, Mariusz Michalczyk, Rafał Wysokiński, Steve Scheiner

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

When an N-base approaches the tetrel atom of TF4(T = Si, Ge, Sn) the latter moleculedeforms from a tetrahedral structure in the monomer to a trigonal bipyramid. The base can situateitself at either an axial or equatorial position, leading to two different equilibrium geometries.The interaction energies are considerably larger for the equatorial structures, up around 50 kcal/mol,which also have a shorter R(T··N) separation. On the other hand, the energy needed to deform thetetrahedral monomer into the equatorial structure is much higher than the equivalent deformationenergy in the axial dimer. When these two opposite trends are combined, it is the axial …

Development Of Ultrafast Broadband Electronic Sum Frequency Generation For Charge Dynamics At Surfaces And Interfaces, Gang-Hua Deng, Yuqin Qian, Yi Rao

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Understandings of population and relaxation of charges at surfaces and interfaces are essential to improve charge collection efficiency for energy conversion, catalysis, and photosynthesis. Existing time-resolved surface and interface tools are limited to either under ultrahigh vacuum or in a narrow wavelength region with the loss of spectral information. There lacks an efficient time-resolved surface/interface-specific electronic spectroscopy under ambient conditions for the ultra fast surface/interface dynamics. Here we developed a novel technique for surface/interface-specific broadband electronic sum frequency generation (ESFG). The broadband ESFG was based on a stable two-stage BiB₃O₆ crystal-based optical parametric amplifier, which generates a …

Educational Policies Committee Program Proposal, College Of Science, January 11, 2019, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

The Department of Mathematics and Statistics in the College of Science proposes offering an Applied Mathematics Emphasis.

Educational Policies Committee Program Proposal, Emma Eccles Jones College Of Education And Human Services, January 11, 2019, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

The School of Teacher Education and Leadership in the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services proposes offering an Elementary Mathematics Specialist Certificate.

Prioritizing Stream Barrier Removal To Maximize Connected Aquatic Habitat And Minimize Water Scarcity, Maggi Kraft, David E. Rosenberg, Sarah E. Null

Watershed Sciences Student Research

Instream barriers, such as dams, culverts, and diversions, alter hydrologic processes and aquatic habitat. Removing uneconomical and aging instream barriers is increasingly used for river restoration. Historically, selection of barrier removal projects used score‐and‐rank techniques, ignoring cumulative change and the spatial structure of stream networks. Likewise, most water supply models prioritize either human water uses or aquatic habitat, failing to incorporate both human and environmental water use benefits. Here, a dual‐objective optimization model identifies barriers to remove that maximize connected aquatic habitat and minimize water scarcity. Aquatic habitat is measured using monthly average streamflow, temperature, channel gradient, and geomorphic condition …

A Sine-Summation Algorithm For The Prediction Of Ship Deck Motion, Christian R. Bolander, Douglas F. Hunsaker

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Student Publications and Presentations

Landing a fixed-wing aircraft on a moving aircraft carrier is a risky and inefficient process. Having an accurate prediction of ship deck motion decreases the risk posed to both the pilot and the aircraft and increases the efficiency of landing maneuvers. The present work proposes the use of a sine-summation algorithm to predict future ship motion. The algorithm decomposes recorded ship acceleration data into its characteristic harmonic parameters using a fast Fourier transform. The harmonic parameters are then used in a summation of sine waves to create a fit for the acceleration data, which is projected into future time intervals …

Water Entry Of Spheres At Various Contact Angles, Nathan B. Spiers, Mohammad M. Mansoor, Jesse Belden, Tadd T. Truscott

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

It is well known that the water entry of a sphere causes cavity formation above a critical impact velocity as a function of the solid-liquid contact angle (Duez et al. 2007). Using a rough sphere with a contact angle of 120^◦, Aristoff & Bush (2009) showed that there are four different cavity shapes dependent on the Bond and Weber numbers (i.e., quasi-static, shallow, deep and surface). We experimentally alter the Bond number, Weber number and contact angle of smooth spheres and find two key additions to the literature: 1) Cavity shape also depends on the contact angle; 2) …