Digital Commons Network^™

Linear Enamel Hypoplasia And Its Relation To Socioeconomic Class In The 19th Century United States, Amanda Cook

Student Research Symposium

Linear hypoplasia of the dental enamel has long been used as an indicator of physical stress during the tooth year of formation. Enamel hypoplasia present in adult teeth can indicate that the individual experienced growth disturbances during childhood to late adolescence. Through the use of human remains of known origin, age, sex, and socioeconomic background, one can compare childhood stressors according to difference of demographic grouping. This study examines the frequencies of growth disruptions among ethnic and socioeconomic groups of the United States throughout the 20th century. If there are differences in frequencies, do we see this difference increase or …

Timeframe Of Hbeag And Hbsag Levels Of Developing Chisari Mice And Correlation With Liver Hepatitis B Dna Levels, Thomas Ditton

Student Research Symposium

Transgenic Hepatitis B mice are crucial to the research and development of hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccines and therapies. Using a specific transgenic mouse developed by Frank Chisari (The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA), the Institute for Antiviral Research at Utah State University performs research and experiments an NIH/NIAID contract and for pharmaceutical companies. These mice express all HBV DNA, RNA, capsid, and protein antigens. The surface antigen (HBsAg) is of particular interest as it is commonly used as a target for vaccinations, and as a diagnostic marker. By collecting serum from transgenic mice over the course of seven …

Characterizing The Growth Of Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells On Recombinant Spider Silk Membranes, Chase Paterson

Student Research Symposium

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in developed countries. Major participants in AMD are the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. They grow posterior to the photoreceptors on an acellular protein structure, called Bruch’s membrane. These cells transport nutrients, remove waste, and provide support for the photoreceptor cells. As ageing occurs, a lipid substance called drusen forms inside Bruch’s membrane and inhibits RPE cell growth and function. To better understand the relationship between the disruption of RPE cells and AMD, cells must be grown and characterized in vitro. Such research could lead to the development of an …

Nature's Computers: Patchiness, Collective Dynamics, And Emergent Computation In Stomtata, Joshua Hibbard

Student Research Symposium

Plants have evolved incredible tools to respond to changing environmental conditions in order to maximize their efficiency. In particular, the stomata on plant leaves are capable of maximizing photosynthesis while minimizing water loss for the whole leaf. In fact, the leaves develop "patches" of open and closed stomata that oscillate and shift in response to external (and internal) stimuli. These tiny cells seem to behave in ways reminiscent of cellular neural (nonlinear) networks, which are largely studied in computational science. The research then focuses on constructing a model of plant stomata based on temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, and light intensity …

Novel Methods To Produce Large Recombinant Spider Silk Proteins, Nathan Hebert

Student Research Symposium

Spider silk has long been an interest of scientific research due to its' remarkable mechanical properties. Until recently there has been no way to effectively obtain spider silk, except by harvesting it from individual spiders. With advances in technology, the genes that code for the individual spider silk proteins have been isolated and genetically engineered into other hosts to produce recombinant spider silk proteins (rSSps) of varying molecular weights, ranging from 10 kDa to 250 kDa. The larger the rSSps' molecular weight, the greater the mechanical properties of the ensuing product will be. Unfortunately, when utilizing current production methods, larger …

Using Raav-Timp3 Vector For The Improvement Of Osteoarthritis In An Ovine Model, Crystal Collier

Student Research Symposium

Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disorder in the United States. It becomes most prevalent in adults reaching 60+ years of age and causes discomfort, decreased mobility and in some cases even excruciating pain. A large animal model for osteoarthritis is necessary for furthering the research and solution potential for this ubiquitous disease. Using an ovine model proves an effective technique in characterizing joint issues and with a demonstrated method of inducing the osteoarthritis over a period of months, not years, we can make hefty strides in furthering understanding of the disease. Our method involves two groups of surgically altered, …

Age-Related Loss Of Early Grasp Affordance When Viewing A Safety Handle, Doug Mcdannald

Student Research Symposium

Age-related loss of early grasp affordance when viewing a safety handle Author: D.W. McDannald1, , M. Mansour2, G. Rydalch3, D.A.E. Bolton1 Mere observation of objects in our surroundings can potentiate movement, a fact reflected by visually-primed activation of motor cortical networks. This mechanism holds potential value for reactive balance control where recovery actions of the arms or legs must be targeted to a new support base to avoid a fall. The present study was conducted to test if there was a difference in activation of motor cortical networks when viewing a wall-mounted safety handle in older adults versus young adults. …

Modeling The Emergence Of Epistatic Gene Combinations As A Phenotypic Function Of Evolution, Wyatt Brannon

Student Research Symposium

Empirical evidence has demonstrated that individual features of an organism, such as a dog’s hair color, are often the expression of a set of interdependent genes rather than that of a single gene. When outward features, or phenotypes, are predicated on a set of interdependent genes, the genes are said to be epistatic. This project uses a software model to simulate the emergence of epistasis within a simple haploid species. Correspondent to the utility of an individual’s phenotypic expression, each organism possesses a calculated fitness value based upon its genetic composition. As high fitness individuals tend to have a longer …

Economically Preserving Mammalian Cell Cultures At The Institute For Antiviral Research, Brennan Mcewan

Student Research Symposium

My project compares several different methods of freezing human cell lines for storage to see which method best preserves the cells. Cell storage is an important but often overlooked part of any lab that does in vitro testing. Freezing cells allows cell lines to be used long after they are harvested, and allows laboratories to use cells at much lower passage numbers than if they had been continuously grown since harvest. It is important to store the cells properly because poor storage methods can seriously harm or kill valuable cell lines. To test different cell freezing strategies, I will harvest …

Transplanting A Bacterial Immune System: Design, Construction, And Expression Of A Multi-Subunit Type Iv Crispr System, Riannon Smith, Melena Garrett

Student Research Symposium

CRISPR (Clusters of Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) loci and cas (CRISPR associated) genes provide adaptive immunity against invasive elements such as viruses and plasmids in bacteria and archaea. These RNA-guided systems have been repurposed for wide applications in genome engineering and have the potential to cure genetic diseases. Although the structure and function of CRISPR system Types I, II, III, V, and VI have been determined, the Type IV CRISPR systems have not yet been examined experimentally. To better understand the structure and function of Type IV CRISPR systems, we have constructed a plasmid to recombinantly co-express several Type …

Brighten Up, Katelyn Zabriskie Pettit

Student Research Symposium

The body of this research looks at the relationship between a persons’ mental state and how color is perceived. It uses graphic design to bring awareness to the issue of mental health by visually comparing these differences. By measuring the color perception between those who are clinically depressed and those of a healthy mental state, this gives an objective way to help diagnose depression. This objectivity can also help create awareness and give better understanding of depression to the general population. This can be done through well-known phrases used to describe sadness, such as, “feeling blue,” and understanding their scientific …

Mechanisms Of Abnormal Angiogenesis In Retinal Disease, Farhad Farjood

Student Research Symposium

Abnormal angiogenesis is often the final step towards loss of vision in many retinal diseases, including exudative age-related macular degeneration. While many risk factors have been found to be linked to elevated levels of angiogenic proteins in the eye, the exact mechanisms leading to abnormal angiogenesis remain unclear. Loss of cell-cell contact and mechanical stress are two understudied phenomena that are often associated with retinal degeneration. The hypothesis of this work is that mechanical stress and loss of cell-cell contact can promote initiation and/or progression of aberrant angiogenesis in the retina by inducing the expression of angiogenic proteins. To test …

Increasing Methane Production In Anaerobic Digestion Methane Production With Wastewater Algae, Jeffrey Crandall

Student Research Symposium

Wastewater treatment includes anaerobic digestion of a biosolids, which are generated through the treatment of soluble organic chemicals and conversion to carbon dioxide and water, which produces biomethane. Biomethane production is beneficial since it can be converted to usable energy forms such as electricity and natural gas. In this experiment, microalgae was combined with wastewater to determine if it aids in wastewater treatment by increases biomethane production. Microalgae was cultivated on a rotating algal biofilm reactor at the largest wastewater treatment plant in Utah, the Central Valley Water Reclamation Facility. Methane was measured using gas chromatography. Microalgae, wastewater, and food …

Undergraduates And Woodpeckers, Taryn Rodman

Student Research Symposium

Woodpeckers serve a vital role as a keystone species in their respective biome by excavating nesting cavities that are used by numerous forest birds and animals. These secondary cavity nesters rely heavily on the success of primary cavity nesters in order to ensure their own reproductive success. Unfortunately, numerous woodpeckers, such as the Black-backed (Picoides arcticus) and White-headed Woodpeckers (Picoides albolarvatus), have seen a large decline in numbers and are now considered a threatened species. Inability for these woodpeckers to reproduce creates a top-down trophic cascade in their biome. In an effort to better understand how nesting success is impacted …

Mitochondrial-Targeted Co-Releasing Molecule, Tatiana Soboleva

Student Research Symposium

Carbon monoxide is an endogenously produced signalling molecule that is known to exert cytoprotective and homeostatic regulatory functions. Due to its high affinity for heme proteins, one of the recognized targets for CO are mitochondria and their electron transport chain. To date, there are four reported CORMs (CORM-2, CORM-3, CORM-A1, and CORM-401) that have been used as CO donors in mitochondrial studies. However, the differences with respect to their cell penetration, localization and solution-driven CO release chemistry could make the comparison of mitochondrial response data for these systems challenging. To investigate the impact of mitochondrial-specific CO delivery, we have designed …

Mitigation Of Methane Emissions From Septic Systems, Jace Parkinson, Katelyn Ellis

Student Research Symposium

Global warming and the greenhouse effect has been a growing issue in recent years. Greenhouse gases (GHG) have been linked to increasing global temperatures. While the leading greenhouse gases are water vapor and CO2, methane has been reported to be the 3rd largest contributing factor to the greenhouse effect, contributing 4-9% of the overall greenhouse effect. Methane has also been reported to have global warming potential of 21-23 times that of CO2. Septic tanks and onsite wastewater treatment facilities are one of the major man-made producers of methane, along with landfills. The Environmental Protection Agency has reported that about 76% …

Developing A Soil Aggregate Stability Standard For Use In Laboratory Proficiency Testing, Mackenzie Smith

Student Research Symposium

Soil health is an important part of agriculture and is becoming an issue to which more and more people are paying attention. In evaluating soil health there are many factors proposed to determine healthy soils, and one of the most reliable indicators, as identified by both academic and soil testing industry experts, is macro-aggregate stability. There is a great need for a method to make standard macro-aggregate stability soil samples for commercial and public labs and other facilities to use in quality control/quality assurance programs. We performed a screening study where different soils with widely ranging clay and organic matter …

Modeling Ecosystem Functions For Ecosystem Service Management Of Great Salt Lake Wetlands, Aubin Douglas

Student Research Symposium

Great Salt Lake wetland managers are responsible for maintaining the ecosystem services provided by their wetland complexes. Unfortunately, these managers have limited data on synergies and trade-offs in ecosystem services across the landscape yet are tasked with making decisions about how best to manage these services. Ecosystem services are often measured on the landscape via "proxies," which, for this research, are several ecosystem functions (i.e. sediment retention, carbon and nitrogen uptake, seed production, migratory bird habitat) performed by particular wetland vegetation types. In this project, we are quantifying and determining the distributions of ecosystem functions provided by individual vegetation types …

Patterns Of Bird Window Strikes On Usu Campus And Physical Features That Increase Risk For Collision, Rachel Sagers Lauritsen, Lauritsen Landon, Keller Brinnlie, Harward Haley Schmid

Student Research Symposium

Millions of birds die each year from colliding with glass windows. Our research group collected data via a census survey for over year on USU campus. We used this data to pinpoint windows and areas that are the deadliest for birds, and collected window area and tree density and type information to make our findings generalizable. We are using this data to encourage USU to take efforts to mitigate the problem of bird window collisions and to be a leading example as we take this project to other Utah universities. We are also using our findings to develop and test …

Investigation Of Effects Wpd/Ipd-Loop Mutations In Specific Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases, Alex Tolman

Student Research Symposium

Phosphorylation is an important mechanism that cells utilize to activate or deactivate receptors, regulators, and enzymes. A few protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) were studied in this project; one of which is PTP1B, a down-regulator for the human insulin receptor. Another enzyme studied is YopH, a virulence agent in Yersinia pestis, the bacteria responsible for the bubonic plague. YopH is the fastest phosphatase with over 1,000 turnovers per second. The last enzyme focused on in this project is SSo, a PTP found in the thermophilic bacteria Sulfolobus solfataricus. Although the active site of each of these enzymes is highly superimposable, their …

Doctoral Students’ Faculty And Peer Interaction Patterns: Relationships To Researcher Self-Efficacy And Skill Acquisition, Soojeong Jeong

Student Research Symposium

Using a national sample of 336 biology students, this study aimed (1) to classify doctpresentation students’ faculty and peer interaction patterns and (2) to investigate associations between students’ interaction classification and their demographic characteristics, research self-efficacy, and research performance. The findings revealed three distinct doctpresentation student faculty and peer interaction patterns throughout students’ second year of doctpresentation training: (a) high interaction with faculty and peers, (b) high interaction with peers only, and (c) low interaction with faculty and peers. Further, clear differences in class membership were apparent as a function of international student status. In addition, the association of greatest …

The Effect Of Aging On Angiogenesis In Rpe Cells, Kara Swenson

Student Research Symposium

Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)is the leading cause of blindness in adults. There are two types of AMD, wet and dry. Wet AMD, also known as neovascular macular degeneration, occurs when vascular cells beneath the retina begin to grow, disrupting the nutrient supply chain to the photoreceptors, essentially starving and killing them. The exact cause of the abnormal growth of the new vascular cells, known as neovascularization or angiogenesis, is still unknown. However, this disease usually occurs in adults, which indicates that the cause is related to aging. Therefore, it is very important to discover the role that aging plays …

Far-Red: The Forgotten Photons, Paul Kusuma

Student Research Symposium

Far-red radiation is on the edge of human vision. These wavelengths of radiation, barely visible to our eyes, induce transformative responses in plants. Moving down into a canopy dramatically increases the fraction of far-red photons, which has implications for high density planting in agriculture. LEDs generally lack far-red because these photons are far less photosynthetically active than other wavelengths. Our research shows morphological changes caused by supplemental far-red radiation.

N-H---N Hydrogen Bonds In Proteins, Sandra Lundell

Student Research Symposium

The intramolecular bonding within proteins is of paramount importance to understand protein structure, folding, and stability with a direct impact on the accuracy of molecular modeling software. Hydrogen bonds are very common between amino acids and the most common of these is the N-H---O bond. It is not, however, the only type of hydrogen bond. Recent studies have suggested that N-H---N bonds exist and shouldn't be ignored. To investigate this, a comprehensive study of the ability of amino acids to form N-H---N bonds was performed via quantum chemical calculations. This presentation will discuss the results.

Phenological Mismatch In Coastal Western Alaska May Increase Summer Season Greenhouse Gas Uptake, Katharine C. Kelsey, A. Joshua Leffler, Karen H. Beard, Ryan T. Choi, Joel A. Schmutz, Jeffery M. Welker

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

High latitude ecosystems are prone to phenological mismatches due to climate change- driven advances in the growing season and changing arrival times of migratory herbivores. These changes have the potential to alter biogeochemical cycling and contribute to feedbacks on climate change by altering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) through large regions of the Arctic. Yet the effects of phenological mismatches on gas fluxes are currently unexplored. We used a three-year field experiment that altered the start of the growing season and timing of grazing to …

Characterizing The Effects Of Radiation On Muscle Cells, Lori Caldwell, Charles Harding, Eryn Hanson, Jr Dennison, Elizabeth Vargis

Presentations

No abstract provided.

Aggie Engineers Receive Nsf Graduate Research Fellowships, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

A Utah State University College of Engineering student will receive the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Award.

The Response Of Big Sagebrush (Artemisia Tridentata) To Interannual Climate Variation Changes Across Its Range, Andrew R. Kleinhesselink, Peter B. Adler

Ecology Center Publications

Understanding how annual climate variation affects population growth rates across a species' range may help us anticipate the effects of climate change on species distribution and abundance. We predict that populations in warmer or wetter parts of a species' range should respond negatively to periods of above average temperature or precipitation, respectively, whereas populations in colder or drier areas should respond positively to periods of above average temperature or precipitation. To test this, we estimated the population sensitivity of a common shrub species, big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), to annual climate variation across its range. Our analysis includes 8,175 …

Rapid Regeneration Offsets Losses From Warming-Induced Tree Mortality In An Aspen-Dominated Broad-Leaved Forest In Northern China, Pengwu Zhao, Chongyang Xu, Mei Zhou, Bo Zhang, Peng Ge, Nan Zeng, Hongyan Liu

Aspen Bibliography

Worldwide tree mortality as induced by climate change presents a challenge to forest managers. To successfully manage vulnerable forests requires the capacity of regeneration to compensate for losses from tree mortality. We observed rapid regeneration and the growth release of young trees after warming-induced mortality in a David aspen-dominated (Populus davidiana) broad-leaved forest in Inner Mongolia, China, as based on individual tree measurements taken in 2012 and 2015 from a 6-ha permanent plot. Warming and drought stress killed large trees 10–15 m tall with a total number of 2881 trees during 2011–2012, and also thinned the upper crowns. …

Educational Policies Committee Agenda, April 5, 2018, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Curriculum Subcommittee
• Academic Standards Subcommittee
• General Education Subcommittee