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Histochemistry Of Colloidal Iron Stained Crystal Associated Material In Urinary Stones And Experimentally Induced Intrarenal Deposits In Rats, Saeed R. Khan, Raymond L. Hackett

Scanning Electron Microscopy

Organic material associated with the calcium oxalate crystals in urinary stones and experimentally induced nephrolithiasis was stained with colloidal iron and analysed by energy dispersive x-ray microanalysis using standard techniques. Iron was positively identified in the stained specimens indicating that some of the organic material is an acidic mucosubstance. The results also indicate that some of the organic material of urinary stones may originate in the kidneys.

Scanning Electron Microscopy Of The Irradiated Mouse Bladder Urothelium, Jon B. Reitan, Kari Feren

Scanning Electron Microscopy

The luminal surface of mouse bladder urothelium was studied by scanning microscopy 1 year after irradiation with 0, 10 and 20 Gy respectively. The controls that were anaesthetized only displayed surface characteristics indistinguishable from normal urothelium.

Irradiation with 10 Gy did not result in marked overall changes in the scanning electron microscopic features of the luminal aspect, but in some areas alterations comparable to the alterations after 20 Gy were observed. After irradiation with 20 Gy focal hyperplastic areas, superficial early ulceration and dedifferentiation of cover cells were seen. The dedifferentiation to featureless cells is probably not associated with increased …

Immunoarchitecture Of The Regenerating Rat Spleen: Effects Of Partial Splenectomy And Heterotopic Autotransplantation, Michael C. Dugan, Thomas M. Grogan, Marlys H. Witte, Catherine Rangel, Lynne Richter, Charles L. Witte, David B. Van Wyck

Scanning Electron Microscopy

To investigate the microstructure of in situ (eutopic) and autotransplanted (ectopic) splenic remnants, adult Sprague-Dawley rats were studied 60 days after 1) subtotal (~80%) splenectomy, 2) total splenectomy followed by single or multiple remnant intraperitoneal autotransplantation, or 3) sham operation. Total nucleated cell counts were determined in excised splenic remnants, and immunohistochemical staining using monoclonal antibodies to rat B-and T-cell antigens was performed in serial tissue sections.

Immunoarchitecture of eutopic remnants was indistinguishable from that of intact spleens and total nucleated cell counts remained proportional to weight. In contrast, ectopic remnants showed sparsity and abnormal mixing of B and T …

Use Of Electron Back Scatter Diffraction Patterns For Determination Of Crystal Symmetry Elements, D. J. Dingley, Karim Baba-Kishi

Scanning Electron Microscopy

The application of electron back scatter diffraction in the scanning electron microscope has been extended to the determination of crystal symmetry elements, point group and space group. The wide angular range of the patterns makes this a relatively simple task compared with equivalent analysis using electron channelling patterns, convergent beam patterns or standard x-ray methods, though the complexity of the analysis does not permit an unthinking approach. To establish the best procedure specimens from the seven crystal systems were investigated and results from the examination of the metal tin (tetragonal), and minerals zircon (ZrSiO₄, tetragonal) and calcite (CaCO …

Preparation Methods For Quantitative Electron Probe X-Ray Microanalysis Of Rat Exocrine Pancreas: A Review, N. Roos, T. Barnard

Scanning Electron Microscopy

Pancreatic acinar cells are thought to secrete a fluid containing digestive enzymes and electrolytes and use e,g, calcium as a second messenger upon stimulation, Together with their pronounced morphological polarity, they provide a model system to study the effect of different preparation methods for quantitative biological electron probe X-ray microanalysis (EPXMA) of ultrathin sections, Several preparation methods i,e,, freeze-drying and plastic-embedding, freeze-substitution (2 days) and freeze-drying of ultrathin cryosections have been applied to examine the retention of sodium, magnesium, phosphorus, sulfur, (chlorine), potassium and calcium in subcellular compartments (basal cytoplasm, apical cytoplasm, mitochondria and zymogen granules), In freeze-substituted samples the …

Corrosion Cast Technique Applied In Lymphatic Pathways, A. Castenholz

Scanning Electron Microscopy

The paper deals with methods and results of the microcorrosion cast technique in lymph angiology. For the representation of the special organization of the lymph vascular system including the initial vascular structures, intranodal pathways, bigger collectors, and lymph trunks, the application of various injection techniques is necessary. The interstitial injection of Mercox proves to be suitable to show the initial lymphatics and prelymphatic spaces. Similarly, the intranodal injection makes visible the system of the lymph sinuses and the spaces of the reticular tissue in this organ. Casts of bigger collecting vessels, lymph trunks, and thoracic duct can be obtained by …

The Study Of Biominerals By High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy, Stephen Mann

Scanning Electron Microscopy

This paper presents an overview of the study of the ultrastructure of biogenic inorganic solids (biominerals) using high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). A range of biominerals have been studied including iron oxides, calcium phosphates, calcium carbonates and silica. The studies have revealed information concerning the structural complexity of these materials and have identified crystallographic order and disorder at the nanometre level. In addition, the results have aided the elucidation of the mechanisms of nucleation and growth of biogenic minerals.

Surface Activity Of Different Strains Of Halobacterium For Potential Use In Microbially Enhanced Oil Recovery, Fuad A. Al-Harjan

Biology

Surface activity and optimum growth conditions were determined for ten strains of halophilic bacteria isolated from the Great Salt Lake and Halobacterium halobium NRG 34003. Three of these strains were used to determine bitumen release from Utah tar sand. Optimum growth requirements for H. halobium NRC 34003 were determined to be pH 6.5, temperature 40ºC, and NaCl concentration 22% (w v^-1). Halobacterium strain 11 optimum growth conditions were pH 6.5, temperature 45ºC, and 22% w v^-1 NaCl. All the halophiles tested showed archaebacterial lipid patterns by thin-layer chromatography (TLC). Surface tension measurements of different bacterial suspensions and …

The Physiological Ecology Of Incubation In The Black-Billed Magpie: Coping With Fluctuating Egg Temperatures And Variable Rates Of Egg Water Loss, Lee R. Jones

Biology

Black-billed Magpie eggs that lost 9-21% of their initial egg mass as water during natural incubation had a high hatching success (80-93%). Fractional water losses of 21-27% resulted in lower hatching success (67%), and only one of four eggs that lost more than 27% of their initial mass as water hatched. Although many embryos tolerated relatively high rates of water loss throughout incubation, embryonic mortality increased if the rate of water loss during the first five days of incubation exceeded 3.00 mg cm^-2 d^-1. Black-billed Magpie eggs that were incubated at 37.5°C and at 4-8%, 28-32%, or …

Effects Of A Volcanic Disturbance On Small Mammals, With Special Reference To Deer Mouse (Peromyscus Maniculatus) Populations, Kurt Allan Johnson

Biology

Patterns of survival and recovery of small mammal populations were studied from August 1981 through October 1984, following the 18 May 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington. Eight research plots were established, representing a matrix of two initial site conditions (forested and clearcut) by three levels of volcanic disturbance (control, heavy tephra, and blowdown). Other scientists contributed data from the level of heaviest disturbance, the blast zone. Small mammals were trapped, percent cover of vegetation and downed woody debris was measured, and food resource availability was sampled. By defining residuals (or their offspring) as all animals trapped in 1980-1982, …

Solar- Terrestrial Physics: A Space Age Birth, R. W. Schunk

Faculty Honor Lectures

Solar- Terrestrial Physics, in its broadest sense, is concerned with the transport of energy, particles, and fields from the sun to the earth and their consequent effect on the terrestrial environment. Most of the solar energy eventually deposited in our atmosphere, at a rate of approximately a trillion megawatts, arrives in the form of visible light. The study of how this energy affects our environment falls within the purview of meteorology, a discipline that has experienced an independent development and that has sufficiently different problems from solar-terrestrial physics that it can be regarded as a separate but neighboring discipline. In …

Plant-Herbivore Interactions: Grasses And Grasshoppers In Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, Tim B. Graham

Biology

In the Grand Canyon, grasses with 3 carbon photosynthetic pathway and C₄ grasses have different distribution patterns: C₄ grasses are more abundant at lower elevations, C₃ species are more common at higher elevations. Differences in C₃ and C₄ grass abundances at different sites were used to test the following hypotheses using three species of grasshopper: 1. C₄ plants are avoided by herbivores; and 2. sparse grasses are preferred as food over abundant grasses by herbivores. Food habits of the grasshoppers were analyzed using carbon isotope ratios and feeding trials. Carbon isotope analysis gave estimates …

Utah State University Commencement, 1986 – Main Campus, Utah State University

Commencement Programs

Ninety-Third Annual Commencement of Utah State University

Effects Of Provisioning Rates And Number Fledged On Sibling Aggression In Great Blue Herons, Joseph P. Sullivan

Biology

During 1984 and 1985, a total of 51 Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) nests were observed in northern Utah. Rates of parental provisioning to nestlings and number of young fledged were compared to frequencies of thirteen nestling: nestling interactions. Only the unranked provisioning rates: number fledged comparison was found to have a regression slope significantly different from zero. No significant correlation was found between provisioning rate and any nestling interaction. Significant correlations and regression slopes were found between some nestling interactions and number fledged. Sibling aggression did not appear to be a means to bring about brood reduction. …

The Genetic Relatedness Of United States Prototype Bluetongue Viruses By Rna/Rna Hybridization, Timothy F. Kowalik

Biology

The genetic relatedness of the prototype bluetongue viruses isolated in the United States were examined by RNA/RNA hybridization. Genomic dsRNAs of the five United States prototype bluetongue viruses were separated by either SOS-PAGE or NuSieve agarose gel electrophoresis. These were blotted by both standard Northern technique and a recently developed, rapid alkali-blotting method to positively charged nylon membranes. The blotted RNAs were then probed with 3'-end labeled dsRNA of each serotype. Initially, single segments were individually hybridized to identify cognate genes. Total genomic dsRNAs were subsequently probed to determine genetic relatedness. The genes coding for the nonstructural proteins NS1 and …

In Vitro Study Of The Effect Of Lead On Natural Killer Cell Activity, Hesham Saleh Ibrahim

Biology

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of lead on the natural killer (NK) cell, a type of lymphocyte which is considered to be a first line of defense against tumors. In this study, the effect of lead on NK cell activity and interferon-augmented NK cell activity has been investigated along with the possible mechanisms by which lead affects these activities. Four approaches were used in an attempt to determine possible mechanisms by which lead affects NK cells: viability testing of treated/untreated cells; testing the effect of lead on the NK cell activity in the presence/absence of …

An Emergency Transfusion Technique, Ann Rich

Biology

The purpose of this study was to develop a transfusion technique that could be used in developing countries and in times of civilian disaster or wartime, when electricity and sophisticated equipment are not available. This technique consists of the use of a device for direct transfusion, consisting of plastic tubing connected to a stopcock and syringe, and a method of direct compatibility testing. The device was tested on sheep using a flow rate of 1 ml/s. No problems were encountered and no adverse reactions were observed. The compatibility technique was tested on 150 blood specimens. It was able to detect …

Revegetation Of Denuded High Elevation Watersheds In Mustang, Nepal, Madhukar Upadhya

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

Lack of vegetative cover largely caused by such human activities as firewood collection, intensive grazing, and deforestation have accelerated the process of desertification at high elevation watersheds in Nepal. Mountain environment at high elevation is delicate and regeneration of vegetation is slow. Livestock grazing and firewood collection are the basic needs of the people. However, constant human pressure on natural vegetation upsets the hydrologic processes and results in disastrous soil erosion. Desertification caused by long-term soil erosion in semi-arid regions of Mustang district (a severely desertified, high elevation area) in Nepal probably indicates the future of other high elevation watersheds, …

The Effect Of Geographical Setting, Duration In A Single Parent Family, Sex And Dethronement On Stepsibling Relationships After Parental Remarriage, Sharon D. Cannon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This exploratory study investigated how four independent variables, namely post-marital residence, length of time in a single parent family, gender and change in relative age position in the family, affect the closeness of stepsibling relationships. This research focused primarily on families in which stepsiblings lived together in the same household; however, individuals who had stepsiblings living in another location were also included in the study.

A sample of 139 people was generated through a purposive method of requesting names of eligible persons from county extension agents in four Western states (Utah, Idaho, Oregon and Arizona), and from ten introductory classes …

The Effects Of A Social Skills Training Program On Interpersonal Communications In Parent Adolescent Dyads, Patrick Sean Noble

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this thesis was two fold. First, there was an experiment in which the independent variable was the behavioral skill levels of parents and their adolescents on a social skills training program and the dependent variable was the parent and adolescent perceptions of their interpersonal relationship regarding communication and problem solving. Second, there was an experiment comparing instructional styles wherein the independent variable was the length of time used to present the social skills training program and the dependent variable was the resulting scores on the behavioral measures of the program. A modified pretest -post-test control group design …

Carnivore Competition And Resource Use In The Serengeti Ecosystem Of Tanzania, George Walter Frame

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Coexisting ungulate-eating carnivores--lion, spotted hyena, cheetah, leopard, African wild dog, black-backed jackal, common jackal, and six species of vulture--are examined in East Africa's Serengeti ecosystem. Niche similarities year-round, by season, and by location are described using food, habitat, time of hunting, and other variables. Intraspecific niches of cheetah sex, age, and social groups show that male coalitions differ most from the others in hunting behavior and habitat use. Tests using the carnivore data failed to support hypotheses about niche breadth variation, niche overlap variation, range of food items, and niche inclusion. Densities of the five largest Carnivora in the 35,500 …

Vulnerability Of Cougars To Hunting, Dan Barnhurst

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Forty radio-collared cougars (Felis concolor) were monitored for 630 cougar months. Track searches were conducted and tracking information was gathered over a 20-month period. Vulnerability was estimated to be greatest for 0 to 6-month-old kittens. This age class is the most susceptible to starvation after being orphaned, or being killed by hounds when the hunter is unaware of their presence, since their tracks were found with their mother's tracks only 19 percent of the time. Tracks of 7 to 12-month old kittens were found with their mother's tracks 43 percent of the time. Relative road-crossing frequencies of seven …

Calcium Amelioration Of Salinity (Sodicity) On Nitrogen Fixation, Stomatal Resistance, Potassium/Sodium Ratio And Total Nitrogen Of Phaseolus Vulgaris L., Mahmood Akhavan-Kharazian

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Extreme salinity is one of the most common environmental constraints with which legume/rhizobia symbionts must deal in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. In some areas, with good management, it has been economically possible to ameliorate the saline soil with calcium. The objective of this study, therefore, was to investigate calcium amelioration of salinity (sodicity) on nitrogen fixation, stomatal resistance, potassium/sodium ratio, and total nitrogen of Phaseolus vulgaris L. Seeds of snapbeans were grown in pots under green house conditions and were irrigated with NaCl concentrations of 0, 0.4, 0.8 or 1.2 S m^-1 combined with CaS0_{4 …}

Computer Simulations Of Biological Growth Patterns: Tree Modeling Success And Applications, Robert L. Nagel Jr.

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

The purpose of this investigation was to explore the depiction of trees in three dimensions on a microcomputer. While the use of computer-aided design in landscape architecture is increasing, imagery for plant materials is found to be at a more or less symbolic level. The literature concerning previous inquiries into the mechanisms of tree growth and differentiation provide a good deal of information ranging from physiological basics to sophisticated structural and mathematical growth models. This forms the basis from which programming work proceeded.

In this context, the body of work reported here emphasizes the development of a programming methodology for …

Viruses In Water, Nasrin Mohammadpour Daryaee

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

The use of water by man, plants and animals is universal. Without it there can be no life. Every living thing requires water. Man can live nearly two months without food, but can live only three or four days without water. In our homes, whether in the city or in the country, water is essential for cleanliness and health. Water can be considered as the principal raw material and the lowest cost raw material from which most of our farm produce is made. It is essential for the growth of crops and animals and is a very important factor in …

Land Use Controls As An Influence On Surface Water Quality In Cache County, Utah, Jerry E. Sempek

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

The purpose of this thesis is to identify land use planning strategies which are most appropriate for the mitigation of nonpoint surface water pollution problems in Cache County, Utah. This work expands on an initial planning effort by the County intended to address these pollution problems. Unfortunately, that effort resulted in the adoption of an ordinance which falls short of ensuring surface water protection.

Planning strategies designed to protect wetlands and provide water resource protection have been proposed and implemented in other regions of the United States. A sample of these programs was selected and their similarities and differences were …

Purification Of Anthrax Toxin Protective Antigen Component And Characterization Of Its Binding Interaction With Bovine Kidney Cells, Daniel Dalton Martin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Protective antigen component of B. anthracis toxin was produced and purified to the >99% level. Toxin was purified from culture supernatant utilizing concentration and liquid chromatography techniques. Purity was determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

The purified protective antigen retained biological and antigenic activity as evidenced respectively by lethality in Fischer 344 rats when injected in combination with lethal factor, and by positive results on the Ouchterlony double diffussion assay.

Radioiodinated protective antigen was used both in the in vivo and the in vitro experiments.

In vivo distribution of labelled protective antigen was determined in Fischer 344 rats. Assay …

Belowground Resource Exploitation In Semiarid Plants: A Comparative Study Using Two Tussock Grasses That Differ In Competitive Ability, David M. Eissenstat

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The relative competitive abilities of Agropyron desertorum and Agropyron spicatum were compared using Artemisia tridentata transplants as indicator plants. Although these two tussock grasses have similar shoot growth forms and shoot physiological characteristics, they have substantial differences in their competitive abilities. Artemisia had lower survival, growth, reproduction, and water potential when transplanted into neighborhoods of A. desertorum than in neighborhoods of A. spicatum.

Plant attributes associated with the differences in competitive ability were explored. Agropyron desertorum and A. spicatum have remarkably similar potential growth rates at warm soil temperatures. In a prolonged cold soil temperature treatment in the greenhouse, …

Estimating Optimum Overstory Vegetation Reduction For Increasing Understory Production, John A. Tanaka

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate analytical approaches for estimating the optimum (profit maximizing) rate of initial overstory kill for increasing seasonal forage availability on a specific ranch. The models were developed using the big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) - crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum, A. desertorum) vegetation type on a Utah cow-calf-yearling operation as an example. The models should be applicable on any ranching situation where understory forage production is constrained by the establishment and growth of undesirable overstory vegetation.

Three model forms were developed and compared for their applicability to on-the-ground investment decision …

Clostridium Perfringens: An Adjunctive Indicator In Nonpoint Pollution, Steven G. Eberl

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Clostridium perfringens (CP) was evaluated as an additional indicator in assessing impacts and sources of microbial pollution in the Idaho-Utah Cache Valley. Point, nonpoint, river water, and animal fecal samples were analyzed for CP, total coliforms, fecal collforms, and fecal streptococci.

Monthly river samples consistently contained < 20 CP/100 mL, but concentrations of the other indicators varied significantly by location and date. Two sample stations consistently had CP concentrations greater than 20/100 mL. One of these stations was influenced by an upstream wastewater discharge. Chlorinated effluent from this trickling filter plant contained greater than 10³ CP/100 mL, but met a 400 FC/100 mL discharge standard. A consistent decrease in CP concentrations in samples taken downstream from this wastewater source were found, despite significant impact from adjacent nonpoint pollution. Lagoon and oxidation ditch wastewater effluents sampled contained < 20 CP/100 mL.

Nonpoint sources sampled (e.g., cattle feedlot runoff) contained < 20 CP/100 mL and 10²-10⁴/100 …