Digital Commons Network^™

Identification And Heterologous Reconstitution Of A 5-Alk(En)Ylresorcinol Synthase From Endophytic Fungus Shiraia Sp. Slf14, Huiwen Yan, Lei Sun, Jinge Huang, Yixing Qiu, Fuchao Xu, Riming Yan, Du Zhu, Wei Wang, Jixun Zhan

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

A new type III polyketide synthase gene (Ssars) was discovered from the genome of Shiraia sp. Slf14, an endophytic fungal strain from Huperzia serrata. The intron-free gene was cloned from the cDNA and ligated to two expression vectors pET28a and YEpADH2p-URA3 for expression in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae BJ5464, respectively. SsARS was efficiently expressed in E. coli BL21(DE3), leading to the synthesis of a series of polyketide products. Six major products were isolated from the engineered E. coli and characterized as 1,3-dihydroxyphenyl-5-undecane, 1,3-dihydroxyphenyl-5-cis-6'-tridecene,1,3-dihydroxyphenyl-5-tridecane, 1,3-dihydroxyphenyl-5-cis-8'-pentadecene, 1,3-dihydroxyphenyl-5-pentadecane and 1,3-dihydroxyphenyl-5-cis-10'-heptadecene, respectively, …

The Utah Statesman, October 23, 2018, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Beyond The 1984 Perspective: Narrow Focus On Modern Wildfire Trends Underestimates Future Risks To Water Security, Brendan P. Murphy, Larissa L. Yocom, Patrick Belmont

Ecology Center Publications

The western United States remains well below historical wildfire activity, yet misconceptions abound in the public and news media that the area burning by wildfire each year in the American West is unprecedented. We submit that short‐term records of wildfire and a disproportionate focus on recent fire trends within high‐profile science stoke these misconceptions. Furthermore, we highlight serious risks to long‐term water security (encompassing water supply, storage, and quality) that have only recently been recognized and are underestimated as the result of skewed perspectives of wildfire. Compiling several data sets, we illustrate a comprehensive history of western wildfire, demonstrate that …

Award-Winning Student Design Could Generate Alternative Energy Using Food Waste | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

Utah State University students created an award-winning design that helps one of Utah’s wastewater treatment facilities increase the use of renewable energy using food waste as a biofuel feedstock.

Usu Researchers Develop New Devices To Test Retinal Cells | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

Researchers at Utah State University have developed new devices to mechanically stress human cells in the lab.

New Findings Of Controls On Carbon Export In Permafrost Terrain | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

After two decades of collecting data, a team of researchers discovered new ways in which groundwater moves and controls the export of carbon from land to streams in the permafrost terrain of the Alaskan North Slope.

Hydrologic Observation, Model, And Theory Congruence On Evapotranspiration Variance: Diagnosis Of Multiple Observations And Land Surface Models, Ruijie Zeng, Ximing Cai

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper reconciles the state-of-the-art observations and simulations of evapotranspiration (ET) temporal variability through a diagnostic framework composed of an observation-model-theory triplet. Specifically, a confirmed theoretical tool, Evapotranspiration Temporal VARiance Decomposition (EVARD), is used as a benchmark to estimate ET monthly variance (σ²_ET) across the contiguous United States (CONUS) with inputs including hydroclimatic observations, Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment-based terrestrial water storage, four observation-based products (ET_RSUW by the University of Washington, ET_RSMOD16 from MOD16 Global Terrestrial ET Data Set, ET_FLUXNET upscaled from of fluxtower observations, and ET_GLEAM from Global Land Evaporation Amsterdam Model), …

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

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

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

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

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

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

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

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Utah State Grad Burke Williams Really Is A Rocket Scientist | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

Burke Williams was born and raised in Alpine, Utah, but has now lived in Farr West Utah for 13-plus years.

Identifying Usu Energy Loss, Utah Water Research Laboratory

News

AggieAir_TM, a Service Center of the UWRL specializing in the development and use of small unmanned aerial systems for collecting scientific imagery and data, recently worked with USU Facilities to help them identify energy waste on campus.

A Rolling Perspective: This Is My Normal, Jennifer Holland

Blog Posts

Blog post is about Holland’s perspective on being in a wheelchair.

Novel Devices For Studying Acute And Chronic Mechanical Stress In Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells, Farhad Farjood, Elizabeth Vargis

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Choroidal neovascularization (CNV) is a major cause of blindness in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Overexpression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a potent angiogenic protein, by retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells is a key stimulator of CNV. Mechanical stress occurs during different stages of AMD and is a possible inducer of VEGF expression in RPE cells. However, robust and realistic approaches to studying acute and chronic mechanical stress under various AMD stages do not exist.The majority of previous work has studied cyclic stretching of RPE cells grown on flexible substrates, but an ideal model must be able to …

Is Uber A Substitute Or Complement For Public Transit?, Jonathan D. Hall, Craig Palsson, Joseph Price

Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

How Uber affects public transit ridership is a relevant policy question facing cities worldwide. Theoretically, Uber’s effect on transit is ambiguous: while Uber is an alternative mode of travel, it can also increase the reach and flexibility of public transit’s fixed-route, fixed-schedule service. We estimate the effect of Uber on public transit ridership using a difference-in-differences design that exploits variation across U.S. metropolitan areas in both the intensity of Uber penetration and the timing of Uber entry. We find that Uber is a complement for the average transit agency, increasing ridership by five percent after two years. This average effect …

Curriculum Subcommittee Agenda, October 4, 2018, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Program Proposal

• Offering a Masters in Ancient Languages and Cultures
• Changing the name from American Studies to Folklore and American Studies
• Restructuring Folklore and American Studies
• Offering a Baccalaureate degree in Chinese
• Establishing an I-System Institute for Transdisciplinary Studies

Semester Course Approval Reviews

Curriculum Subcommittee Minutes, October 4, 2018, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Program Proposal

• Offering a Masters in Ancient Languages and Cultures
• Changing the name from American Studies to Folklore and American Studies
• Restructuring Folklore and American Studies
• Offering a Baccalaureate degree in Chinese
• Establishing an I-System Institute for Transdisciplinary Studies

Semester Course Approval Reviews

Other

• Request for Curriculum

Educational Policies Committee Agenda, October 4, 2018, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Curriculum Subcommittee
• Academic Standards Subcommittee
• General Education Subcommittee

Educational Policies Committee Minutes, October 4, 2018, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

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

The Utah Statesman, October 2, 2018, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Cognitive Load Affects Numerical And Temporal Judgments In Distinct Ways, Karina Hamamouche, Maura Keefe, Kerry Jordan, Sara Cordes

Psychology Faculty Publications

Prominent theories suggest that time and number are processed by a single neural locus or a common magnitude system (e.g., Meck and Church, 1983; Walsh, 2003). However, a growing body of literature has identified numerous inconsistencies between temporal and numerical processing, casting doubt on the presence of such a singular system. Findings of distinct temporal and numerical biases in the presence of emotional content (Baker et al., 2013; Young and Cordes, 2013) are particularly relevant to this debate. Specifically, emotional stimuli lead to temporal overestimation, yet identical stimuli result in numerical underestimation. In …

The Huntsman Post, October 2018, Usu Jon M. Huntsman School Of Business

Jon M. Huntsman School of Business Huntsman Post Issues Collection

Monthly newsletter for the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University.

Faculty Senate Minutes, October 1, 2018, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• EPC Monthly Report – September 6, 2018
• EPC Annual Report
• Honors Annual Report
• Faculty Senate Meeting Time Change – Kimberly Lott
• Code 403.3.1 Standards of Conduct-Faculty Responsibilities to Student - Kimberly Lott
• Code 403.3.2 Standards of Conduct-Professional Obligations - Kimberly Lott
• Code 407.1.1 Non-punitive Measures - Kimberly Lott
• Code 407.11.2 Inquiry into Allegations of Violation Policies 407.8 and/or 407.9 - Kimberly Lott
• Code 407.11.3 Protection of Complainant and Others - Kimberly Lott
• Nominating Committee Code

2018 Football Preview, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Annual football preview.

Basketball Preview 2018, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Annual Basketball Preview

The Lifecycle Of Sustainable Analytics: From Data Collection To Change Management, Mitchell Colver

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

In this age of an ever-increasing list of analytics vendors and endlessly forwarded news articles that trumpet the promises of big data in higher education, it can be easy to become distracted by data science and miss out on another opportuni­ty—supporting increased professionalism amongst university staff, faculty, and administrators. Indeed, like many technologies before it, analytics provides us with an opportunity to catalyze institutional effectiveness, but only when we resist the tenden­cy to believe that technology can replace the need for human ingenuity and judgment. This report will argue that such threats to pro­fessional flourishing can be insulated against if …

Faculty Senate Agenda, October 1, 2018, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• EPC Monthly Report - September 6, 2018
• EPC Annual Report
• Honors Annual Report
• Faculty Senate Meeting Time Change
• Code 403.3.1 Standards of Conduct-Faculty Responsibilities to Student
• Code 403.3.2 Standards of Conduct-Professional Obligations
• Code 407.1.1 Non-punitive Measures
• Code 407.11.2 Inquiry into Allegations of Violation Policies 407.8 and/or 407.9
• Code 407.11.3 Protection of Complainant and Others
• Nominating Committee Code

Using The Convenient Slow Cooker Safely, Susan Haws

All Current Publications

A slow cooker is a convenient time saver. This fact sheet explains what a slow cooker is, how it works, and how to choose one. It also has tip on preparing food safely, using slow cookers at high altitudes, dealing with power outages, saving leftovers, and testing a slow cooker's performance.

Clover Root Curculio (Sitona Hispidulus F.), Kaitlin Rim, Steven Price, Ricardo Ramirez

All Current Publications

The clover root curculio is an important agricultural pest in forage production systems. Adult beetles feed on the host plant leaves while the damaging larval stage feeds on the roots below ground. Heavy larval feeding has been associated with reduced stand establishment, disruption of nutrient and water uptake, increased secondary plant pathogen infection, decreased winter plant survival, delayed green-up, and reductions in forage quality and yield. Due to the hidden nature of eggs and larvae in the soil, CRC has been overlooked and damage is often misdiagnosed as nutrient deficiencies or pathogens. Historically, applications of chlorinated hydrocarbons, carbamates, and organophosphates …

Relative Salt Tolerance Of 22 Pomegranate (Punica Granatum) Cultivars, Youping Sun, Genhua Niu, Joseph G. Masabni, Girisha Ganjegunte

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to determine the relative salt tolerance of pomegranate (Punica granatum) cultivars. Twenty-two pomegranate cultivars were irrigated weekly with a saline solution at an electrical conductivity (EC) of 10.0 dS·m–1 for 4 weeks and subsequently with a saline solution at an EC of 15.0 dS·m–1 for another 3 weeks (salt treatment). Another group of uniform plants was watered with a nutrient solution without additional salts at an EC of 1.2 dS·m–1 (control). No visual foliar salt damage (leaf burn, necrosis, or discoloration) was observed during the entire experimental period; however, salt treatment impacted pomegranate growth negatively, …