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Mountain Lion (Puma Concolor) And Feral Horse (Equus Ferus) Interactions: Examining The Influence Of A Non-Native Ungulate On Predator Behavior In A Semi-Arid Environment, Peter C. Iacono

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A non-native is a species that evolved in one ecosystem and has established within another. Non-native species can thrive in new ecosystems as they can spread quickly, outcompete and replace native species, and disrupt food webs. Domestic horses were brought to North America by Europeans in 1493. They are now found in 11 states across the western United States. Feral horses can negatively impact vegetation, endangered species habitat, compete with native species, and be important prey for mountain lions under certain conditions. But do feral horses affect the food web? Feral horses are managed by large removals to reduce the …

Subduing The Wolf: Utah Pioneer Identity And The War On Wolves Between 1852 And 2020., Mason Lytle

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Utah has a unique history of pioneer settlement connected to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This history has become a source of pride that began with the first white settlers. I have come to call this the “deseret pioneer” identity, to differentiate from other western settlers. From the nineteenth to the twenty-first century, politicians and agriculturalists used this “deseret pioneer” identity to thwart federal protections for wolves and respond to wilderness policies that made Utah the only “rocky-mountain” state to not have wolves in the twenty-first century.

The Relationship Between Career Choice And Indecision Within The Career And Technical Education Pathway Model, Zak A. Konakis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The United States is shifting the public education model toward one that favors increasing skill complexity to lead students into future careers. It is uncertain, however, if these changes are benefiting students and having the desired impact on the future workforce. Utilizing the Swiss and German dual apprenticeship and work-based learning model, Utah is attempting to bring more practical and hands-on experiential learning opportunities to students across the state. This study intended to understand if these changes are accomplishing the intended result in students in rural eastern Utah.

Furthermore, the study found that students who engage in early experiential learning …

Big Fish And More Of Them: Salmonid Habitat Availability, Quality, And Use Across Multiple Scales Within A River-Reservoir System, John S. Mclaren V

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Reservoirs and their associated rivers provide water for agricultural and municipal uses, ecological benefits for fish and wildlife, and associated recreational activity. However, in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem climate change and population growth are putting pressure on water quality and supply, potentially damaging the unique and economically important coldwater trout habitat that these systems support. In this study, the author investigates the impact of changing water quality and supply on trout habitat quality, quantity, and selection to assist conservation goals in the Henry’s Fork Watershed in eastern Idaho. The study found that higher availability of cold-water refuge habitat in Island …

“Whan The Turuf Is Thy Tour”: Analyzing Gender Codes Of Burial Monuments In Late Medieval And Early Modern England, Shelbie Durrant

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The cultural pressures of gender conformity and "norms" have lasted as long as the social constructs of gender themselves. Gender is present and can be analyzed in symbols within material culture such as the Russell family funerary monuments located in their private chapel in Chenies, London. Gender, although not always transparently at the front of consciousness, was interacted with, performed, and memorialized in life and death, especially for families that were high status. The presence of gender in these funerary monuments illuminates how expected conformity of gender norms were in this time — so present that they were literally set …

Phenotypic Analysis, Molecular Characterization, And Antibiogram Of Caries-Causing Bacteria Isolated From Dental Patients, Khushbu Farva, Huma Sattar, Hayat Ullah, Abdur Raziq, Muhammad Danish Mehmood, Afrasiab Khan Tareen, Imrana Niaz Sultan, Quratulaain Zohra, Muhammad Waseem Khan

Biological Engineering Student Research

Dental caries is a biofilm-mediated, sugar-driven, multifactorial, dynamic disease that results in the phasic demineralization and remineralization of dental hard tissues. Despite scientific advances in cariology, dental caries remains a severe global concern. The aim of this study was to determine the optimization of microbial and molecular techniques for the detection of cariogenic pathogens in dental caries patients, the prevalence of cariogenic bacteria on the basis of socioeconomic, climatological, and hygienic factors, and in vitro evaluation of the antimicrobial activity of selected synthetic antibiotics and herbal extracts. In this study, oral samples were collected from 900 patients for bacterial strain …

Kinetics Of Depth Jumps Performed By Female And Male National Collegiate Athletics Association Basketball Athletes And Young Adults, Talin Louder, Brennan J. Thompson, Alex Woster, Eadric Bressel

Kinesiology and Health Science Faculty Publications

The depth jump (DJ) is commonly used to evaluate athletic ability, and has further application in rehabilitation and injury prevention. There is limited research exploring sex-based differences in DJ ground reaction force (GRF) measures. This study aimed to evaluate for sex-based differences in DJ GRF measures and determine sample size thresholds for binary classification of sex. Forty-seven participants from mixed-sex samples of NCAA athletes and young adults performed DJs from various drop heights. Force platform dynamometry and 2-dimensional videography were used to estimate GRF measures. Three-way mixed analysis of variance was used to evaluate main effects and interactions. Receiver operating …

Beginner's Guide To Common Native Bees, Cody Zesiger, Elizabeth Cohen, Hannah Jarvis, Lori R. Spears, Ricardo Ramirez

All Current Publications

Utah is a superb place for beginning bee enthusiasts. Over 1,000 species of native bees exist in Utah (Cane, 2015). Southern Utah alone has approximately the same number of bee species as the entire eastern U.S. coast. There are many reasons for appreciating bees and encouraging their presence in the landscape. Specifically, bees are key to a sustainable environment as they are essential pollinators of food and fiber crops. Bees can also be appreciated for their striking diversity in color and size. This fact sheet highlights the different bee species that you may see in Utah.

Manejo De La Chinche Hedionda Marrón Marmolada Para Frutas Y Hortalizas En Utah, Lori R. Spears, Marion Murray, Diane G. Alston, Celina Wille

All Current Publications

La chinche hedionda marrón marmolada es una plaga molesta y conómicamente importante para la agricultura que invadió Norteamérica desde el este de Asia a fines de la década de 1990.

C···O And Si···O Tetrel Bonds: Substituent Effects And Transfer Of The Sif3 Group, Zhihao Niu, Qiaozhuo Wu, Qingzhong Li, Steve Scheiner

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The tetrel bond (TB) between 1,2-benzisothiazol-3-one-2-TF₃-1,1-dioxide (T = C, Si) and the O atom of pyridine-1-oxide (PO) and its derivatives (PO-X, X = H, NO₂, CN, F, CH₃, OH, OCH₃, NH₂, and Li) is examined by quantum chemical means. The Si···O TB is quite strong, with interaction energies approaching a maximum of nearly 70 kcal/mol, while the C···O TB is an order of magnitude weaker, with interaction energies between 2.0 and 2.6 kcal/mol. An electron-withdrawing substituent on the Lewis base weakens this TB, while an electron-donating group has the opposite …

Variable Synchrony In Insect Outbreak Cycling Across A Forest Landscape Gradient: Multi-Scale Evidence From Trembling Aspen In Alberta, Barry J. Cooke, Jens Roland

Aspen Bibliography

Using multi-scale trembling aspen tree-ring width data from Alberta, we show that scaling has a profound influence on dendroecological inferencing. At all scales of sampling, there is a significant climatological signal whose strength is nevertheless superseded by the pervasive effect of insect herbivory. At the smallest spatial scale, 20 km x 20 km, we demonstrate a quasi-periodic pattern of sharp growth reductions and the existence of negative spatial correlations among successive outbreaks. At the intermediate spatial scale of 20 km x 80 km, we show that the period 1930-1963 was marked by extremely low correlations in aspen ring widths, with …

Ranchsatdb: A Genome-Wide Simple Sequence Repeat (Ssr) Markers Database Of Livestock Species For Mutant Germplasm Characterization And Improving Farm Animal Health, Naveen Duhan, Simardeep Kaur, Rakesh Kaundal

Plants, Soils and Climate Student Research

Microsatellites, also known as simple sequence repeats (SSRs), are polymorphic loci that play an important role in genome research, animal breeding, and disease control. Ranch animals are important components of agricultural landscape. The ranch animal SSR database, ranchSATdb, is a web resource which contains 15,520,263 putative SSR markers. This database provides a comprehensive tool for performing end-to-end marker selection, from SSRs prediction to generating marker primers and their cross-species feasibility, visualization of the resulting markers, and finding similarities between the genomic repeat sequences all in one place without the need to switch between other resources. The user-friendly online interface …

Plant Stem Undergraduate Symposium, David Britt

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Bio-Friendly Formulations From Siderophore-Producing Fluorescent Pseudomonas As Biocontrol Agents For The Management Of Soil-Borne Fungi, Fusarium Oxysporum And Rhizoctonia Solani, Gaber Attia Abo-Zaid, Ahmed Salah Abdullah, Nadia Abdel-Mohsen Soliman, Ebaa Ebrahim El-Sharouny, Abdulaziz A. Al-Askar, Yiming Su, Ahmed Abdelkhalek, Soraya Abdel-Fattah Sabry

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Secretion of siderophores by Pseudomonas aeruginosa F2 and P. fluorescens JY3 was evaluated on chrome azurol S (CAS) agar plates and their inhibitory effect was inspected against Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizoctonia solani. Production of siderophores as biocontrol agents from F2 and JY3 was accomplished in two optimized media. Afterward, cell-free supernatants of the bacterial cultures containing siderophores were used for the preparation of two bio-friendly formulations for the management of F. oxysporum and R. solani under greenhouse conditions. The investigated bacterial isolates, F2 and JY3, showed antagonistic activity in vitro against F. oxysporum and R. solani and produced siderophores …

Reimagining Disability: A Call To Action, Paritosh Joshi, Julia Pappageorge

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

This article focuses on how the medical profession, organizations, and universities should incorporate the social model of disability into their regulations and policies to advance justice for individuals with disabilities. Traditionally, disability has been viewed through the medical model, which postulates that one’s individual body or mind is medically impaired and diminishes the person’s quality of life. The model overemphasizes individual difference or disability diagnosis as something that should be treated at an individual level through medical intervention, and ignores social factors that impact the development of physical and mental conditions. Moreover, this pervasive attitude towards disability permeates institutions and …

Ticks And Tick-Borne Diseases Of Utah, Kate V. Richardson, Ryan Davis, Ricardo Ramirez

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes ticks and tick-borne diseases in Utah. It includes a description of ticks, their life cycle, habitat, feeding, and reproduction. The fact sheet also provides information about tick bites and safety, common tick-transmitted diseases in Utah, and the status of Lyme disease in Utah.

“I Have Learned That Things Are Different Here”: Understanding The Transitional Challenges With Technology Use After Relocating To The Usa, Prakriti Dumaru, Ankit Shrestha, Rizu Paudel, Arezou Behfar, Hanieh Atashpanjeh, Mahdi Nasrullah Al-Ameen

Computer Science Student Research

In the age of globalization, international students from developing countries (for brevity, we term them as ‘international students’ in this paper, unless otherwise specified) have become an integral part of the U.S. education system. After relocation to the USA, first-generation international students undergo not only societal differences but also experience changes in the technology space – posing unique challenges for them. Our semi-structured interviews with 26 participants who were pursuing education at the time of our study, or had recently graduated informed us of their adaptation to the technology landscape in the USA; our analysis revealed the underlying challenges in …

Controlling Soil Erosion After Wildfire And Guiding Recovery In Southern Utah, Kristina Young, Kara Dohrenwend, Matt Mcettrick, Henry Grover

All Current Publications

Wildfire is a natural part of many ecosystems in the Four Corners region (Southern Utah, Northern Arizona, Southwest Colorado, and Northwest New Mexico). However, after decades of fire suppression, the intensity and size of wildfires is increasing. This fact sheet is intended to help those in dry, monsoonal regions understand what happens to land after a wildfire and explains the processes of soil erosion. It outlines factors that influence how wildfire can affect soils and plants and provides suggestions for reducing soil erosion when necessary. The information presented is relevant to both private landowners and public lands managers whose landscapes …

Comparative Genome-Wide Analysis Of Micrornas And Their Target Genes In Roots Of Contrasting Indica Rice Cultivars Under Reproductive-Stage Drought, Simardeep Kaur, Karishma Seem, Suresh Kumar, Rakesh Kaundal, Trilochan Mohapatra

Plants, Soils and Climate Student Research

Recurrent occurrence of drought stress in varying intensity has become a common phenomenon in the present era of global climate change, which not only causes severe yield losses but also challenges the cultivation of rice. This raises serious concerns for sustainable food production and global food security. The root of a plant is primarily responsible to perceive drought stress and acquire sufficient water for the survival/optimal growth of the plant under extreme climatic conditions. Earlier studies reported the involvement/important roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in plants’ responses to environmental/abiotic stresses. A number (738) of miRNAs is known to be expressed in …

Assessing Downstream Aquatic Habitat Availability Relative To Headwater Reservoir Management In The Henrys Fork Snake River, Christina N. Morrisett, Robert W. Van Kirk, Sarah E. Null

Watershed Sciences Student Research

Reservoirs are sometimes managed to meet agricultural and other water demands, while also maintaining streamflow for aquatic species and ecosystems. In the Henrys Fork Snake River, Idaho (USA), irrigation-season management of a headwater reservoir is informed by a flow target in a management reach ~95 km downstream. The target is in place to meet irrigation demand and maintain aquatic habitat within the 11.4 km management reach and has undergone four flow target assignments from 1978 to 2021. Recent changes to irrigation-season management to maximize reservoir carryover warranted investigation into the flow target assignment. Thus, we created a streamflow-habitat model using …

How Co-Designing Computational Modeling Activities Helped Teachers Implement Responsive Teaching Strategies, Hillary Swanson, Luettamae Lawrence, Jared Arnell, Allisia Dawkins, Bonni Jones, Bruce Sherin, Uri Wilensky

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

In recent years, science education has shifted focus, from content to practice. This is reflected in the NGSS, which advocate learning science concepts through engagement in science and engineering practices. Theory building is a central activity of science and computational modeling is a key practice through which contemporary scientists construct theory. In this paper, we discuss an 8th grade science teacher's implementation of a computational modeling lesson. The teacher had co-designed the computational modeling microworld and lesson with the research team over the preceding summers. We investigate the teacher's activity during a whole-class discussion near the end of the lesson, …

Rhaphiolepis Indica Fruit Extracts For Control Fusarium Solani And Rhizoctonia Solani, The Causal Agents Of Bean Root Rot, Ahmed A. Heflish, Said I. Behiry, Abdulaziz A. Al-Askar, Yiming Su, Ahmed Abdelkhalek, Mohamed K. Gaber

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Numerous strategies have been suggested to reduce dependence on synthetic products, such as physical, microbial, and natural methods. Among the natural remedies, plant extracts have emerged as a popular option owing to their eco-friendly character, ease of degradation, and harmless nature to humans. In our study, we used the acetone and hexane extracts of Rhaphiolepis indica fruit to combat two fungal pathogens that were isolated from infected bean plants and showed root rot symptoms. The two pathogens were confirmed to be pathogenic by pathogenicity assays conducted in vivo. The morphological and molecular identification by ITS-region sequencing revealed that the two …

Antimicrobial Efficacy And Hplc Analysis Of Polyphenolic Compounds In A Whole-Plant Extract Of Eryngium Campestre, Abdulaziz A. Al-Askar, Shimaa Bashir, Abdallah E. Mohamed, Omaima A. Sharaf, Rokaia Nabil, Yiming Su, Ahmed Abdelkhalek, Said I. Behiry

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Due to the constant increase in the number of plant diseases and the lack of available treatments, there has been a growing interest in plant extracts over the past few decades. Numerous studies suggest that plant extract molecules possess valuable antimicrobial activities, particularly against fungi and bacteria. This suggests that these biomaterials could potentially serve as attractive therapeutic options for the treatment of phytopathogen infections. In the present study, we investigated and analyzed the methanolic extract of Eryngium campestre L. whole plant extract using HPLC. The analysis revealed the presence of several polyphenolic constituents, with benzoic acid, catechol, quercetin, vanillic …

What San Juan County Leaders And Residents Can Do To Strengthen The Impact Of Girls And Women In Their Area, Angie Kleven, Susan R. Madsen

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

This idea sheet is based on a 2023 gathering of 24 leaders in San Juan County. Girls and women face challenges unique to the area in which they live, and the goal of this gathering was to identify those barriers and determine strategies and initiatives that local leaders and residents can implement to address them. This document includes recommendations in the following areas: education, home and family, health and wellbeing, business and economics, and culture and community engagement.

Balsam Woolly Adelgid, Liz Rideout, Kate V. Richardson, Diane G. Alston, Ryan Davis, Darren Mcavoy, Lori R. Spears, Danielle Malesky, Liz Herbertson, Colleen Keyes

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes balsam woolly adelgid, a tiny sucking insect that is a serious pest of true firs in forests, landscapes, and in seed and Christmas tree production. It includes a description of tree injury and symptoms, life history and identification, monitoring, management, and implications to forest health.

Research Development & Early-Career Faculty: Catalysts Of Change For Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In Stem, Monica Castañeda-Kessel, Idalis Villanueva Alarcón, Ryan Berke

Office of Research Faculty and Staff Publications

Problem Statement: Early-career science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) faculty members are often challenged when identifying authentic diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals, objectives, and tasks for their research grant proposals. Advancing DEI has not been one person’s job but rather the responsibility of a highly organized network within a system. Research development professionals have been and will continue to be critical resources for developing DEI plans and broadening participation. Their value is partly due to relationship-oriented processes that research professionals cultivate and shepherd as well as the inherently cross-disciplinary nature of the day-to-day work. Observation: In FY 19, 53% …

Environmentally Friendly New Catalyst Using Waste Alkaline Solution From Aluminum Production For The Synthesis Of Biodiesel In Aqueous Medium, Sandro L. Barbosa, David Lee Nelson, Lucas Paconio, Moises Pedro, Wallans Torres Pio Dos Santos, Alexandre P. Wentx, Fernando L. P. Pessoa, Foster A. Agblevor, Daniel A. Bortoleto, Maria B. De Freitas-Marques, Lucas D. Zanatta

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Red mud (RM) is composed of a waste alkaline solution (pH = 13.3) obtained from the production of alumina. It contains high concentrations of hematite (Fe₂O₃), goethite (FeOOH), gibbsite [Al(OH)₃], a boehmite (AlOOH), anatase (Tetragonal–TiO₂), rutile (Ditetragonal dipyramidal–TiO₂), hydrogarnets [Ca₃Al₂(SiO₄)_3-x(OH)_4x], quartz (SiO₂), and perovskite (CaTiO₃). It was shown to be an excellent catalytic mixture for biodiesel production. To demonstrate the value of RM, an environmentally friendly process of transesterification in aqueous medium using waste cooking oil …

When Is An Owl More Than An Owl? An Interaction Analysis Of A Computer Science Co-Design Conversation On Cultural Relevance, Stephanie M. Robillard, Victor R. Lee, Jody Clarke-Midura, Jessica F. Shumway

Publications

The learning sciences community is currently exploring new ways to enact productive and equitable co-design research-practice partnerships that are sensitive to all the concerns and needs of stakeholders. The paper contributes to that still-growing literature through an interaction analysis of a co-design discussion involving school district partners that unfolded about cultural relevance and sensitivity in relation to the use of a specific image in an elementary school coding lesson. The episode involved looking moment-by-moment at how district educators recognized and acknowledged that a specific design decision could be harmful for a minoritized population of students enrolled in the district. However, …

2023 Utah People & Environment Poll Descriptive Report, Jessica Schad, Sadie Braddock, Cole Lancaster

Utah People and Environment Poll (UPEP)

From March to May 2023, faculty and graduate students at Utah State University (USU) in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHaSS) and in the department of Environment and Society started the Utah People and Environment Poll, or UPEP, to survey adult Utah residents about their perceptions on environmental issues of importance to the state.

Adverse Childhood Experiences In Mothers And Their Children With Hearing Loss, Elizabeth A. Rosenzweig

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

This study examined the relationship between maternal and child ACEs in children with hearing loss ages 3-12. One hundred twenty-four mother-child dyads completed assessments of mother and child ACEs. Adverse cChildhood eExperiences (ACEs) were measured using the Center for Youth Wellness Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (CYW ACE-Q; Burke Harris & Renschler, 2015).

Both maternal and child participants in this study reported higher levels of ACE exposure than previously reported in studies of the general population. Maternal and child ACEs were significantly correlated. White/Caucasian mothers experienced significantly fewer ACEs than mothers of other races/ethnicities. Children living in adoptive, foster, or guardianship …