Digital Commons Network^™

Teacher And Student Perspectives On The Effectiveness Of First-Year Composition In Preparing L2 Students For Discipline-Specific Writing, Elena Shvidko

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

The study described in this article was conducted to gather teachers’ and students’ perspectives about the effectiveness of a first-year composition course in preparing students for discipline-specific writing in college. Data were collected in a large research U.S. university through a student survey (n=32) and teacher interviews (n=5). The results show that the majority of the students and all instructors found the course effective and its assignments helpful in preparing students for writing in their university classes. In addition, all participated instructors also tried to improve the course by employing a variety of approaches and strategies, such as implementing assignments …

Curriculum Subcommittee Agenda, September 1, 2016, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Semester Course Approval Reviews

Program Proposals

• Changing the name from Agricultural Economics to Applied Economics
• Offering a Minor in Residential Landscape Design
• Adding a Forest Ecology Specialization to the MS and PhD programs of the Department of Wildland Resources

Other

• Approving Prerequisites
• Curriculog updates and site changes

Educational Policies Committee Minutes, September 1, 2016, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Subcommittee Reports
• Curriculum Subcommittee
• Course Approvals
• Program Proposals
• Academic Standards Subcommittee
• General Education Subcommittee

Curriculum Subcommittee Minutes, September 1, 2016, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Semester Course Approval Reviews

Program Proposals

• Changing the name from Agricultural Economics to Applied Economics
• Offering a Minor in Residential Landscape Design
• Adding a Forest Ecology Specialization to the MS and PhD programs of the Department of Wildland Resources

Other

• Approving Prerequisites
• Curriculog updates and site changes

Educational Policies Committee Agenda, September 1, 2016, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Subcommittee Reports
• Curriculum Subcommittee
• Course Approvals
• Program Proposals
• Academic Standards Subcommittee
• General Education Subcommittee

Systems Modeling To Improve The Hydro-Ecological Performance Of Diked Wetlands, Omar Alminagorta, David E. Rosenberg, Karin M. Kettenring

Publications

Water scarcity and invasive vegetation threaten arid-region wetlands and wetland managers seek ways to enhance wetland ecosystem services with limited water, labor, and financial resources. While prior systems modeling efforts have focused on water management to improve flow-based ecosystem and habitat objectives, here we consider water allocation and invasive vegetation management that jointly target the concurrent hydrologic and vegetation habitat needs of priority wetland bird species. We formulate a composite weighted usable area for wetlands (WU) objective function that represents the wetland surface area that provides suitable water level and vegetation cover conditions for priority bird species. Maximizing …

Improving Organic Peach Orchard Fertility With Nitrogen-Fixing Ground Covers In Capitol Reef National Park: A Case Study, Esther Thomsen

All Current Publications

A USDA organic research grant provided funding for Utah State University researchers to collaborate with CRNP orchard managers to explore options to improve tree health and fruit quality using organic management techniques while maintaining historical and cultural mandates of the National Park Service.

Voles [Microtus Spp.], Ryan Davis

All Current Publications

This fact sheet focuses on the meadow vole and includes a description, how to identify voles, their biology, activity and damage, and how to manage them.

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Agenda, August 29, 2016, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• FSEC Role
• Research and Graduate Studies
• Financial integrity: Section 406.1 through 406.6: Program Discontinuance, Financial Exigency and Financial Crisis
• Where do we stand with left over items at PRPC?
• Modification of Policy 369.2.3. under proposed change, this will affect non-tenured faculty

The Bear River's History And Diversion: Constraints, Unsolved Problems, And Implications For The Lake Bonneville Record, Joel L. Pederson, Susanne U. Jänecke, M. C. Reheis, D. S. Kaufman, Robert Q. Oaks Jr.

Geosciences Faculty Publications

The shifting course of the Bear River has influenced the hydrologic balance of the Bonneville basin through time, including the magnitude of Lake Bonneville. This was first recognized by G.K. Gilbert and addressed in the early work of Robert Bright, who focused on the southeastern Idaho region of Gem Valley and Oneida Narrows. In this chapter, we summarize and evaluate existing knowledge from this region, present updated and new chronostratigraphic evidence for the Bear River's drainage history, and discuss implications for the Bonneville record as well as future research needs.

The Bear River in Plio-Pleistocene time joined the Snake River …

The Farm Newsletter, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

A Note on Carrots

Included in your shares with the carrots are the carrot greens. Though usually discarded, carrot tops are actually edible and highly nutritious. They can been eaten raw in salads, cooked into soups, or used in a variety of other ways. Important to note however is that due to the natural biological processes in the plant, if your carrot tops are left attached to the roots for an extended time they will make your carrots soft. This is because the plant is still alive and the leaves are still pulling moisture from the roots.

Central Vietnam Climate Over The Past Five Centuries From Cypress Tree Rings, Brendan M. Buckley, Daniel K. Stahle, Hong Truong Luu, Shih-Yu Wang, Tran Quoc Trung Nguyen, Philip Thomas, Canh Nam Le, That Minh Ton, The Hoang Bui, Van Thiet Nguyen

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

We present the first crossdated tree ring record from central Vietnam, derived from the growth rings of the rare cypress Fokienia hodginsii from the mountains of Quang Nam Province near the Laos border. The Quang Nam Fokienia hodginsii time series (QNFH), based on the crossdated sequences of 71 increment core samples from 37 mature trees, is the third published dendrochronological record from this species. The record extends 667 years from AD 1347 to 2013 and exhibits a mean series intercorrelation of 0.526, similarly significant with the first two published Fokienia hodginsii records: 0.474 for Mu Cang Chai (MCFH) and 0.578 …

Complete Genome Sequences Of Three Historically Important, Spatiotemporally Distinct, And Genetically Divergent Strains Of Zika Virus: Mr-766, P6-740, And Prvabc-59, Sangim Yun, Byunghak Song, Jordan C. Frank, Justin G. Julander, Irina A. Polejaeva, Christopher J. Davies, Kenneth L. White, Youngmin Lee

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

Here, we report the 10,807-nucleotide-long consensus RNA genome sequences of three spatiotemporally distinct and genetically divergent Zika virus strains, with the functionality of their genomic sequences substantiated by reverse genetics: MR-766 (African lineage, Uganda, 1947), P6-740 (Asian lineage, Malaysia, 1966), and PRVABC-59 (Asian lineage-derived American strain, Puerto Rico, 2015).

An Embodied Agent Helps Anxious Students In Mathematics Learning, Yanghee Kim, Jeffrey L. Thayne, Quan Wei

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Mathematics anxiety is known to be detrimental to mathematics learning. This study explored if an embodied agent could be used to help alleviate student anxiety in classrooms. To examine this potential, agent-guided algebra lessons were developed, in which an animated agent was equipped with prescriptive instructional guidance and anxiety treating messages. The lessons were deployed in regular mathematics classrooms, one lesson per day over a week, with 138 boys and girls in the 9th grade in the United States. After taking the weeklong agent-based lessons, students decreased in their mathematics anxiety (p = .042) and increased in mathematics learning …

Dr. Elizabeth Vargis To Present At Tedxusu | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

Aug. 12, 2016 – Assistant Professor of Biological Engineering Dr. Elizabeth Vargis will present at this year's TEDxUSU. Now in its fifth year, TEDxUSU will be held Oct. 28 in the Manon Caine Russell Kathryn Caine Wanlass Performance Hall on USU’s Logan campus.

Smartphone Seismology: Data Acquisition Through Consumer Available Devices, Matt Olsen

Physics Capstone Projects

“Science!”, is an exuberant exclamation of achievement or satisfaction in the actual results of science that can be heard in a loud comic tone from time to time throughout the Geology department. Science is also defined as, “knowledge about or study of the natural world based on facts learned through experiments and observation” by Merriam-Webster dictionary. Whether the science is Physics or Geology, Biology or Chemistry, scientists seem to get excited when science happens. But science is always happening, so scientists should always be excited and exuberant, which if math serves me correctly would definitely equal happy.

Powercell Payload On Eu:Cropis - Measuring Synthetic Biology In Space, Griffin Mccutcheon, Ryan Kent, Ivan Paulino-Lima, Evlyn Pless, Antonio Ricco, Edward Mazmanian, Steven Hu, Bruce White, Dzung Hoang, Elizabeth Hyde, Earl Daley, Greenfield Trinh, Brett Pugh, Eric Tapio, Karolyn Ronzano, Charles Scott Richey, Lynn J. Rothschild

Small Satellite Conference

NASA’s PowerCell payload, as part of the German Space Agency’s (DLR’s) Eu:CROPIS (Euglena Combined Regenerative Organic-food Production In Space) mission, will compare the effect of multiple simulated gravity regimes on basic processes required for synthetic biology in space including growth, protein production, and genetic transformation of the bacterium Bacillus subtilis. In addition, it will pioneer the use of a cyanobacterially-produced feedstock for microbial growth in space, a concept we call “PowerCell.” The PowerCell experiment system will be integrated on the DLR's compact satellite as a secondary payload to be launched during the summer of 2017. In order to …

Interactions Of Nucleic Acid Bases With Temozolomide. Stacked, Perpendicular, And Coplanar Heterodimers, Okuma Emile Kasende, Steve Scheiner

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Temozolomide (TMZ) was paired with each of the five nucleic acid bases, and the potential energy surface searched for all minima, in the context of dispersion-corrected density functional theory and MP2 methods. Three types of arrangements were observed, with competitive stabilities. Coplanar H-bonding structures, reminiscent of Watson–Crick base pairs were typically the lowest in energy, albeit by a small amount. Also very stable were perpendicular arrangements that included one or more H-bonds. The two monomers were stacked approximately parallel to one another in the third category, some of which contained weak and distorted H-bonds. Dispersion was found to be a …

Cubesat Space Environments Effects Studied In The Space Survivability Test Chamber, Jr Dennison, Gregory Wilson, Alex Souvall, Ben Russon, Katie Gamaunt

Posters

CubeSats are particularly susceptible to environmental-induced modifications, which can lead to deleterious or catastrophic consequences. This is increasingly important as small satellites—with minimal shielding due to reduced mass and size constraints and reliance on more compact and sensitive electronics—have longer mission lifetimes and make more diverse, complex and sensitive measurements. The current push to expand deployment of CubeSats beyond LEO, into even more demanding environments where modest relief due to shielding by the Earth’s magnetosphere is absent (such as polar or GEO orbits), can further exacerbate these problems.

Testing of small satellites is therefore critical to avoid such problems. A …

Phytochemicals In Animal Health; Diet Selection And Trade-Offs Between Costs And Benefits, Juan J. Villalba, Morgane Costes-Thire, Cecile Ginane

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences Faculty Publications

Many plant tissues contain plant secondary compounds (PSC), which have long been recognised as defensive chemicals that deter herbivory via their toxic effects. However, herbivores may also benefit from including PSC into their diets. Plant-derived phenolics, terpenes and alkaloids have antiparasitic properties and sesquiterpene lactones have antibacterial, antifungal and antiparasitic properties. These actions are in part a consequence of the negative actions that PSC exert across several trophic levels, including the bacteria, parasites and fungi that inhabit herbivores’ bodies. Given the dual action, toxin and medicine, it is possible to hypothesise that self-selection of PSC by herbivores should occur when …

Design And Characterization Of A 3d-Printed Attitude Control Thruster For An Interplanetary 6u Cubesat, Terry Stevenson, Glenn Lightsey

Small Satellite Conference

This paper describes the design and testing of a miniature, 3D-printed cold gas attitude control thruster for the NASA Ames Research Center BioSentinel mission, an interplanetary small spacecraft that will be launched on the EM-1 flight of SLS. Earth-orbiting small satellites typically use magnetic torque rods for momentum unloading, but these cannot be employed in interplanetary space due to the lack of a strong external magnetic field. ACS thrusters can be used to unload reaction wheels or used directly for attitude control, regardless of the external environment. By 3D printing the propellant tanks, pipes, and nozzles into a single component, …

Cellularized Satellites - A Small Satellite Instantiation That Provides Mission And Space Access Adaptability, Talbot Jaeger, Walter Mirczak, Bill Crandall

Small Satellite Conference

Small satellites are an exciting technology in the space industry today. For example, over half a dozen private companies have announced plans to build large networks of smallsats to provide remote-sensing imagery data to customers. While smallsats can provide advantages over traditional large satellites, satellites assembled from “building block” cells called satlets could add to those advantages. Through funding from the Phoenix program at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), NovaWurks is developing the cellularization of satellite technology as a way to dramatically decrease the cost of new space assets, while also enabling these assets to be incrementally upgradeable …

Small Sat At 30: Trends, Patterns, And Discoveries, Michael T. Hicks, Carlos Niederstrasser

Small Satellite Conference

Thirty years of the SmallSat Conference have produced a wealth of papers spanning technical, business, and market topics relevant to small satellites. Thanks to the online availability of every paper going back to the first SmallSat Conference in 1987, it is possible to analyze the proceedings of the conference to ascertain industry trends, development patterns, and technical discoveries. How has the focus of technology and mission paper topics changed over three decades? How has the participation of organizations, and the ratio of education, commercial, military, civil, and domestic/international involvement evolved? In this paper we provide the results of our analysis, …

Achieving Science With Cubesats: Thinking Inside The Box, Thomas H. Zurbuchen, Bhavya Lal

Small Satellite Conference

No abstract provided.

Monitoring The Charge Distribution During Proton And Sodium Ion Conduction Along Chains Of Water Molecules And Protein Residues, Steve Scheiner

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Quantum calculations are used to determine the level of delocalization of the charge of a cation as it translates along a chain of water molecules or glycine residues. Charge dispersal is monitored via the molecular electrostatic potential and the dipole moment of the entire system. The positive charge is largely localized on the water molecule on which the proton is situated, but becomes more intense and extended as the proton moves along the chain. The positive charge is more delocalized in protonated polyglycine, where it extends over at least an entire residue. Displacement of the proton along the chain intensifies …

Modeling Zombie Outbreaks: A Problem-Based Approach To Improving Mathematics One Brain At A Time, Matthew Lewis, James A. Powell

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

A great deal of educational literature has focused on problem-based learning (PBL) in mathematics at the primary and secondary level, but arguably there is an even greater need for PBL in college math courses. We present a project centered around the Humans vs. Zombies moderated tag game played on the USU campus. We discuss the project in the context of an undergraduate differential equations course and discuss how the project is launched. We highlight examples of students mathematical models along with their verbal and written responses as well as discussing assessment and student learning. Results are discussed in the context …

The Techedsat/Phonesat Missions For Small Payload Quick Return, Marcus Murbach, Richard Alena, Ali Guarneros Luna

Small Satellite Conference

In 2014, Ames Research Center launched the Technical Educational Satellite 4 (TechEdSat 4) from an external launcher aboard the International Space Station. This experimental CubeSat deployed an exobrake, an exo-atmospheric drag chute that can be used for controlled de-orbit of a small payload canister from earth orbit. This capability is useful for returning biological samples from ISS and even planetary samples from beyond the earth. Such capability can support better biological and medical science experiments and is a long-term goal of NASA and industry.

The results of the TechEdSat 4 (TES4) mission will be presented along with the design of …

Biosentinel: A 6u Nanosatellite For Deep Space Biological Science, Hugo Sanchez, James Chartres, Robert Hanel, Sharmila Bhattacharya, Antonio Ricco, Matthew Dortenzio

Small Satellite Conference

BioSentinel is a "6U" (10 x 22 x 34 cm; 14 kg) nanosatellite flying as a secondary payload aboard NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) Exploration Mission (EM) 1, scheduled for launch in 2018. BioSentinel measures the damage and repair of DNA in a biological organism and compares that to information to onboard physical radiation sensors. In order to understand the relative contributions of the space environment's two dominant biological perturbations, reduced gravity and ionizing radiation, results from deep space will be compared to data obtained in LEO (on ISS) and a ground control on Earth. These data points allow the …

Human Observers Differ In Ability To Perceive Insect Diversity, Joseph S. Wilson, Joshua P. Jahner, Matthew L. Forister

Biology Faculty Publications

Human perception of biological variation is an important and understudied issue in the conservation and management of natural resources. Here, we took a novel approach by asking 1152 participants, primarily college biology students, to score examples of insect mimicry by the number of distinct kinds of animals they saw. Latent class analysis successfully separated participants based on their accuracy of perception as well as demographic information and opinions about biodiversity. Contrary to expectations, factors such as childhood experience (growing up in urban, suburban or rural areas) did not affect the ability to see biodiversity as much as political views (location …

Catalytic Pyrolysis Of Poly Vinyl Chloride As A Viable Way Of Waste Management, Randy Santos, Foster A. Agblevor

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

The main purpose of this investigation is to achieve the dechlorination and cracking of PVC producing a low chlorinated oil using a single step process; finding and using a suitable adsorbent that captures the chlorine released in the decomposition of the Poly Vinyl Chloride in the solid phase; then use the adsorbent to enhance red mud chlorine absorption activity. Find an alternative viable use for the waste PVC and red mud that will reduce landfilling. Calcium Hydroxide was selected as the main chlorine adsorbent since it captured 75% chlorine in the solid phase. The calcium hydroxide was mixed with red …