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Characterization Of Rhodopseudomonas Palustrus Strains For The Production Of Fixed Nitrogen Fertilizer For Mars, Daniel Kade Derrick

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The purpose of this project was to characterize the potential of various strains of purple non-sulfur bacteria for the production of fixed nitrogen fertilizers for the manned Mars missions. Six strains of Rhodopseudomonas palustris (CGA009, CGA010, TIE-1, NifA*, and PB23) were all investigated. Through initial growth trial experiments, R. palustris NifA* and PB23 were selected for their engineered nitrogen fixation and rapid growth respectively. Growth curves and ammonium concentrations were collected over time in pilot scale batch photobioreactors (200 mL). Biomass production was then scaled up to benchtop photobioreactors (1.5 L) and then 14 L total volume for both NifA* …

Usu Equine-Assisted Activities And Therapies Facilities Designed Master Plan, Lindsie C. Smith

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

Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapies (EAAT) is recognized as a therapeutic approach for persons with disabilities. The USU Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Sciences Department provides EAAT instruction and services; however, they do not have the appropriate facilities to model best-practices in the delivery of these services. This design research entailed the development of a phased masterplan to support the instruction and delivery of equine-assisted activities and therapies in an innovative and accessible environment that supports animal-assisted intervention and natural equine behaviors.

The methodology used to approach the master plan design was derived from Norman K. Booth’s (1990) design process, as described …

Increasing Knowledge Through Nutrition Education In Adolescents And Children In Klaten, Indonesia, Alexandra Leavitt

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

Food insecurity continues to plague over 840 million people all over the world. Food insecurity can lead to malnutrition which can result in long-term adverse health effects. Malnutrition has the highest impact on mothers and children living in developing countries as most families are living on less than two U.S. dollars a day. In order to provide enough food, low-income families rely on inexpensive foods, which are often lacking in essential nutrients. More developed countries can provide food aide in the form of commodities or therapeutic foods, but this is only a temporary fix to a continuous problem. The long-term …

Ranchers Adapting To Climate Variability In The Upper Colorado River Basin, Utah, Hadia Akbar

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Changes in climate influence agricultural production. This study looks at the impacts of climate variability in the Utah regions of the Upper Colorado River Basin by combining regression techniques with interview data to explore how climate variability affects agricultural production and how the farmers are adapting their practices to these changes. The results show that climate does not have any significant impact on cattle and hay production in the study area on a decadal scale. However, on an annual basis temperature seems to have more impact than precipitation. Among non-climatic variables, commodity prices and their regulations by the government are …

Disease Ecology And Adaptive Management Of Brucellosis In Greater Yellowstone Elk, Gavin G. Cotterill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Brucellosis is a bacterial infection that primarily affects livestock and can also be transmitted to humans. In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), elk (Cervus canadensis) and bison (Bison bison) are habitual carriers of Brucella abortus, which arrived to the region with cattle over a century ago. The disease was eliminated from cattle in the United States through widespread control efforts, but is now periodically transmitted back to cattle on open rangelands where they can come into contact with fetal tissues and fluids from disease-induced abortions that occur among elk during the late winter and spring. …

A Case Study Comparing The Life Skills Development And Knowledge In Youth Participants Of Horseless And Traditional Horse Programs In Utah, Haley M. Johnson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Traditional horse 4-H programs develop life skills and knowledge in youth. Horseless horse programs lack evaluation for the same benefits. This study evaluated and compared four horseless and seven traditional horse participants from Washington County 4-H in Utah for gains in horse knowledge and development of 10 life skills that are commonly found in 4-H curriculum today: leadership, teamwork, self-responsibility, personal safety, problem solving, decision making, critical thinking, goal setting, communication, and concern for others.

The researcher conducted interviews to learn about life skill experiences of the horse program participants and discover what barriers prevented horseless youth from participating in …

The Influence Of Protein Concentration And Homogenization On Moisture Content, Curd Yield, And Fat Retention Of Model Cheese Made From Microfiltered Skim Milk Recombined With Cream, Richard Byron Geslison

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This project was funded by the Western Dairy Center at Utah State University as part of a multi-pronged approach to improve the current understanding of using concentrated milks in cheese making. Concentrated milk for this study was provided by South Dakota State University.

This study compared the effect of different concentration factors of milk on curd moisture levels, fat content, and cheese curd yields. To see if these results could be improved (i.e. remove more moisture and retain more fat) milk samples were also subjected to limited pressure homogenization (microfluidization) treatments.

It was found in the course of this study …

Improving Identification Of Pediatric Feeding Dysfunction Among Registered Dietitian Nutritionists, April Litchford

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

All Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDN) undergo extensive training to develop the ability to improve dietary intake among individuals of all ages. Treating children (0-18 years of age) is often challenging and requires specialized training. One area that is particularly challenging is identifying children that may not be able to eat appropriately to sustain rapid growth and development. An online survey of RDNs that work specifically with children was conducted to better understand how RDNs are identifying and treating children with feeding problems. From the survey we learned that the methods and procedures used by RDNs for identifying and treating children …

Salinity Tolerance In Kentucky Bluegrass Hybrids, Paul G. Harris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Diminishing water sources in the Intermountain West have led to increased use of alternative sources of water. These sources, such as reclaimed water, generally have elevated salinity levels that may slow growth, and cause a decline in turfgrass quality. Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) is sensitive to salt stress, but is otherwise very well adapted to many turfgrass areas because of its dark color, durability, ability to recover from wear, and soft texture. Because of these positive traits, it has been the subject of selection for salt tolerance. This study was designed to evaluate the salt tolerance of hybrids …

Club Athletes: Dietary Supplement Use And How The Registered Dietitian Can Better Serve This Population, Rachel E. Robbins

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Dietary supplements are a booming business in the United States. Currently over half of Americans have taken a dietary supplement in the last year. Collegiate and professional athletes are even more likely to take a dietary supplement to get a competitive edge over their opponents. The objective of this study was to assess dietary supplement use in club athletes at Utah State University. Club athletes are non-scholarship athletes associated with a university. They often do not the same level of funding or resources that NCAA or scholarship athletes have. A survey was sent to all 401 club athletes at Utah …

Effect Of Dietary Maillard Reaction Products On Insulin Sensitivity, Metabolic Inflammation And Intestinal Inflammation In Mice Fed The Total Western Diet, Siyu Xiao

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Maillard reaction products (MRPs) are generated when proteins or amino acids are heated with reducing sugars. In previous studies, baking whole diet pellets at a high temperature has been the most common way to promote MRP formation. However, baking diets also induces other chemical reactions besides MRP production, for example lipid oxidation. In this study, only casein and sugars were cooked to generate MRPs. Thus, a complementary experiment was conducted to determine how baking diet pellets affects lipid oxidation.

Previous rodent studies showed MRPs either induced weight gain and or impaired glucose tolerance. On the other hand, dietary MRPs were …

North Dakota Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus Urophasianus) Recovery Project: Using Translocation To Prevent State-Wide Extirpation And Develop Rangewide Protocols, Kade D. Lazenby

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocurcus urophasianus; hereafter sage-grouse) are the largest grouse species in North America. Sage-grouse occupy 11 western states, extending into North Dakota. North Dakota sage-grouse population is part of the Great Plains Management Zone. Conservation of sage-grouse has been on the forefront of conservation management 1990s. In 2015 the USFWS declared sage-grouse were not warranted for listing based on significant management efforts. Translocations of sage-grouse to prevent populations from extirpation are an example of these efforts.

Translocations have been described as movement and release of animals into a novel environment. There have been more than 7200 sage-grouse …

Effects Of Bovine Maternal Nutrient Restriction On Offspring Microrna And Mrna Expression And Muscle Fiber Type, Nikole E. Ineck

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

For producers in more temperate areas, such as the Intermountain West, poor nutrition during the second trimester of gestation is common due to seasonal changes in forage and nutrient availability. The majority of muscle fibers are formed and adipogenesis is initiated in the second trimester, making it a critical time for skeletal muscle and adipose development in beef cattle. However, the extent to which these changes persist in the offspring postnatally is unknown. In this study, maternal nutrition was restricted during the second trimester in order to analyze the effects of maternal nutrient restriction on offspring skeletal muscle growth. Offspring …

Effect Of Thermosonication On Viscosity Of Milk Concentrates And Milk Quality And Shelf Life, Vidita Deshpande

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Thermosonication is the application of soundwaves at temperatures ≥50°C. It can be used to improve functional properties, overall quality, and shelf life of dairy products. Milk is concentrated before being spray dried and currently milk concentration is limited by increased viscosity. Decreasing the viscosity of concentrates prior to spray drying could be economically beneficial to dairy processors. Results from this study showed that that thermosonication significantly reduced the viscosity of concentrates such as reconstituted milk protein concentrate (rMPC) and reconstituted skim milk powder (rSMP). This would allow for spray drying of these concentrates at a higher total solids with a …

Preserving Pomegranates, Charlotte P. Brennand, Suzanne Jorgenson

All Current Publications

This publication describes pomegranates and how to store and can them. It also provides nutritional information.

Beans In The Garden, Dan Drost

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes growing beans in Utah gardens. It includes varieties, how to grow them, how to control pests, harvesting and storage, productivity, nutrition and answers to frequently asked questions.

Calendula In The Garden, Dan Drost, Liz Braithwaite

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes basil in the calendula, varieties, how to grow, problems, harvesting and storage, productivity, nutrition, and frequently asked questions.

Broccoli In The Garden, Dan Drost, Michael Johnson

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes broccoli in the garden, gives recommended varieties, how to grow, problems, harvest and storage, productivity, nutrition, and frequently asked questions.

Brussels Sprouts In The Garden, Dan Drost, Michael Johnson

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes brussels sprouts in the garden, gives recommended varieties, how to grow, problems, harvest and storage, productivity, and nutrition.

Cabbage In The Garden, Dan Drost, Mike Johnson

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

Breastfeeding Or Formula Feeding: A Mother's Choice, Trista Briggs, Mateja R. Savoie-Roskos, Lydia Bangerter, Casey Coombs

All Current Publications

Deciding how to feed an infant is a decision that should be made by a mother and her family. The benefits of exclusively breastfeeding an infant for the first six months of life are well established (World Health Organization [WHO], 2017); however, it may not always be feasible or a preferred option. For mothers who cannot or choose not to breastfeed, formula feeding is a great option that can support a healthy and thriving infant. This fact sheet will address common questions about breastfeeding and formula feeding to help mothers make an informed decision on how to feed their infant, …

Pasture Management To Improve Dry Matter Intake, Marcus F. Rose, Earl Creech, Blair L. Waldron, S. Clay Isom, Michael Peel, Kara Thornton-Kurth, Jacob Hadfield, Kerry A. Rood

All Current Publications

Agricultural producers are constantly looking for ways to maximize returns while reducing input costs. On dairy operations, a move from confinement feeding to pasture grazing offers the potential to reduce costs associated with harvest and storage of feed. In such a transition, producers sometimes report a decline in milk production and growth of livestock—both of which can strongly correlate to dry matter intake. Fortunately, dry matter intake is something that can be influenced by management practices. In this publication, we discuss the pasture management practices to improve dry matter intake.

Considerations For Crop Rotation From Alfalfa To Corn, Earl Creech, Matt Yost, Grant Cardon, Corey Ransom, Jason Clark

All Current Publications

The importance of rotating out of a declining alfalfa stand is well established. As the alfalfa stand ages, forage yield and quality decline, while weed, insect, and disease pressures increase. Terminating the stand and growing one or more other crops for several (2–3) years allows a grower to press the reset button on a piece of ground. These years of growing another crop will result in more productive alfalfa when a new stand is planted again.

Caterpillars On A Phytochemical Landscape: The Case Of Alfalfa And The Melissa Blue Butterfly, Matthew L. Forister, Su'ad A. Yoon, Casey S. Philbin, Craig D. Dodson, Bret Hart, Joshua G. Harrison, Oren Shelef, James A. Fordyce, Zachary H. Marion, Chris C. Nice, Lora A. Richards, C. Alex Buerkle, Zach Gompert

Biology Faculty Publications

Modern metabolomic approaches that generate more comprehensive phytochemical profiles than were previously available are providing new opportunities for understanding plant‐animal interactions. Specifically, we can characterize the phytochemical landscape by asking how a larger number of individual compounds affect herbivores and how compounds covary among plants. Here we use the recent colonization of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) by the Melissa blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa) to investigate the effects of indivdiual compounds and suites of covarying phytochemicals on caterpillar performance. We find that survival, development time, and adult weight are all associated with variation in nutrition and toxicity, including …

Go With Your Gut: The Role Of Gut Microbiota In Health, Lydia Bangerter, Mateja R. Savoie-Roskos, Jeffrey Chapman, Abbigail Sundell, Carrie Durward

All Current Publications

Living within your gastrointestinal tract (gut) are about 100 trillion bacterial cells—your gastrointestinal microbiota—a host of bacteria that play a vital role in your body (Ghaisas, Maher, & Kanthasamy, 2016). Your gut microbiome is responsible for a wide variety of functions that contribute to overall health and may be linked to many chronic diseases including cancer, obesity, and cardiovascular disease (Ghaisaset al., 2016; Peregrin, 2013). This fact sheet will discuss the role the gut microbiome plays in various aspects of health and how to improve your gut health.

Dynamics Of Larkspur (Delphinium Barbeyi) Pellet Consumption And Tolerance Of The Inhibitory Effects Of Larkspur Alkaloids On Muscle Function In Cattle., Benedict T. Green, Jim Pfister, Dale Gardner, Kevin Welch, Daniel Cook

Poisonous Plant Research (PPR)

Larkspurs (Delphinium spp.) are toxic native plants on foothill and mountain rangelands in western North America, which poison cattle grazing on those rangelands. The purpose of this study was to examine in a laboratory setting, the subclinical effects of larkspur intake and toxicosis, by allowing larkspur susceptible and resistant cattle to self-select the amount of larkspur consumed in pellet form. We hypothesized that there would be differences in short term (9 – 11 day) pellet consumption between susceptible and resistant animals. Two trials were completed, each with larkspur resistant and susceptible Angus steers, and larkspur-alfalfa pellets at a 12% …

Structure And Stability Of W1/O/W2 Emulsions As Influenced By Wpc And Nacl In Inner Aqueous Phase, Vivek Prakash Wankhede, Prateek Sharma, Shaik Abdul Hussain, Ram Ran Bijoy Singh

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences Faculty Publications

Effect of WPC and NaCl in internal aqueous phase (W1) of W1/O/W2 type double emulsions was studied. Pre-emulsion and final emulsion were prepared using microfluidizer and Ultra-Turrax high shear mixer, respectively. The emulsions prepared using salt exhibited uniform droplet size distribution and structural integrity. WPC at 6% and NaCl at 2 or 4% levels demonstrated better sedimentation stability (> 99%) and encapsulation stability (> 95%) during preparation and storage of double emulsions. Samples without added NaCl showed poor emulsion stability and structural integrity. Higher level of WPC i.e. 8% resulted in poor stability and encapsulation efficiency of double emulsions at …

Spinach In The Garden, Dan Drost

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes spinach, recommended varieties, how to grow, planting and spacing, problems, harvest and storage, and nutrition.

Primary Care Pain And Opioid Monitoring Program, Alise Williams Condie

Student Research Symposium

Chronic pain and opioid use have become topics of importance as opioid overdose deaths have risen to epidemic proportions throughout the nation. Chronic pain lasts for long periods of time, and can be caused by a past injury or arise without a known cause. Opioids have largely been utilized to treat pain in the past, but it has been discovered that opioids are better used to treat acute pain and not chronic pain. Opioids can have negative consequences including changes to the brain, depression, increased pain, constipation, sedation, and even death. There are many evidence-based alternatives to opioids available, but …

The Transtheoretical Model As A Predictor Of Fruit And Vegetable Intake In Snap Participants, Keshele Stevens

Student Research Symposium

Background: Many Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants do not consume enough fruits and vegetables (F&V). The transtheoretical model has been used to predict and improve F&V consumption through public health interventions. This study focuses on self-efficacy and decisional balance (perceived benefits and barriers). Measurement scales for each construct have been validated in multiple populations. Repeated analyses of these constructs and measurement scales and their ability to predict F&V consumption will further inform the creation, implementation, and evaluation of nutrition interventions in low-income populations. Purpose: The current study seeks to understand the relationship between decisional balance and self-efficacy and actual …