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Liberalis, Spring 2016, Utah State University

Liberalis

Freedom to Think, Discover, and Create. The alumni magazine for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Utah State University.

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

College of Engineering News

April 1, 2016 – A Utah State University Aggie from the College of Engineering has been selected to receive the prestigious National Science Foundation Fellowship Award that will help cover the costs of graduate studies. A second engineering alumnus also received the award.

Predictive Formula For Electron Range Over A Large Span Of Energies, Anne C. Starley, Gregory Wilson, Lisa Montierth Phillipps, Jr Dennison

Posters

An empirical model developed by the Materials Research Group that predicts the approximate electron penetration depth—or range—of some common materials has been extended to predict the range for a broad assortment of other materials. The electron range of a material is the maximum distance electrons can travel through a material, before losing all of their incident kinetic energy. The original model used the Continuous-Slow-Down-Approximation for energy deposition in a material to develop a composite analytical formula which estimated the range from 10 MeV with an uncertainty of v, which describes the effective number of valence electrons. N_V was empirically …

Educational Policies Committee Program Proposal, College Of Natural Resources, April 1, 2016 - Wildlife Science Minor, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Creation of a Wildlife Science minor in the Wildland Resources Department is requested. This minor will consist of a mix of 15 credits of fundamental wildlife courses that will give the recipient basic knowledge of wildlife science and management to complement the Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (FAS) major in the Watershed Sciences Department.

Educational Policies Committee Program Proposal, College Of Agriculture And Applied Sciences, April 1, 2016, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

The American Campus in Flic en Flac, Mauritius is a newly accredited university. They are required for a minimum of five years to partner with other universities to offer degrees. They have approached USU and the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences is seeking cooperation in offering the B.A. International Agribusiness and the B.S. Agribusiness degrees from the department of Applied Economics.

Educational Policies Committee Program Proposal, College Of Agriculture And Applied Sciences, April 1, 2016 - Agricultural Science, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

The School of Applied Sciences, Technology and Education (ASTE) at Utah State University (USU), in conjunction with Utah State University Eastern and the Regional Campuses, are developing an Agricultural Science Associate of Science with the intent, if approved, to begin fall of 2016.

Educational Policies Committee Program Proposal, Emma Eccles Jones College Of Education And Human Services, April 1, 2016 – Behavioral Health Minor In Psychology, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

The Department of Psychology is proposing to offer a minor in Behavioral Health.

Educational Policies Committee Program Proposal, Emma Eccles Jones College Of Education And Human Services, April 1, 2016 – Department Of Kinesiology And Health Science, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Rename the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation to the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science.

Biology And Management Of Billbugs (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) In Turfgrass, Madeleine Dupuy, Ricardo A. Ramirez

Biology Faculty Publications

Billbugs (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Sphenophorus spp.) are a complex of weevil pests affecting turfgrass throughout the United States. Billbug larvae cause damage by feeding in stems, on roots, and on the crowns of turf, causing severe discoloration and eventual plant death. Monitoring efforts have focused on nondestructive pitfall sampling of ground-active billbug adults and on destructive sampling using soil cores for larval stages in the soil. Given the cryptic nature of the susceptible larval stages, billbugs are typically managed by preventive applications of long-residual, systemic insecticides, including neonicotinoids and anthranilic diamides. Despite knowledge of effective management practices including pest-resistant turf varieties, …

Water Rights For Wetlands In The Bear River Delta, Maureen Frank, Jimmy Marty, Christine Rohal, Rebekah Downard, Joanna Endter-Wada, Karin Kettenring, Mark Larese-Casanova

All Current Publications

This fact sheet explains the basic premise and functioning of water rights in Utah and how water rights affect wetlands, specifically those in the northern region of the state. It includes the history of Utah water rights and the basic components of prior appropriation doctrine, and gives an example of using water rights for wetlands by explaining how the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge works with neighboring water users to secure water for its wetlands.

Alternative Pest Control Methods For Homeowners, Helen Muntz, Rhonda Miller, Diane Alston

All Current Publications

This fact sheet explains how using a comprehensive, or integrated pest management approach, will help home gardeners reduce their reliance on pesticides for pest control.

The Utah Statesman, March 31, 2016, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Factoring Attitudes Towards Conflict Risk Into Selection Of Protected Areas For Conservation, Edd Hammill, A. I. Tulloch, H. P. Possingham, N. Strange, K. A. Wilson

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

The high incidence of armed conflicts in biodiverse regions poses significant challenges in achieving international conservation targets. Because attitudes towards risk vary, we assessed different strategies for protected area planning that reflected alternative attitudes towards the risk of armed conflicts. We find that ignoring conflict risk will deliver the lowest return on investment. Opting to completely avoid conflict-prone areas offers limited improvements and could lead to species receiving no protection. Accounting for conflict by protecting additional areas to offset the impacts of armed conflicts would not only increase the return on investment (an effect that is enhanced when high-risk areas …

Congratulations A-Pin Recipients | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

March 29, 2016 – Dean Christine Hailey and department heads from across the College of Engineering on Tuesday recognized 13 students for receiving the prestigious A-Pin award.

The A-Pin is one of the oldest awards at Utah State University. Initiated in 1910, it acknowledges and rewards students who achieve a straight-A grade point average while carrying 15 graded credit hours for two consecutive semesters.

The Utah Statesman, March 28, 2016, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

The Use Of Microfluidics And Dielectrophoresis For Separation, Concentration, And Identification Of Bacteria, Cynthia Hanson, Michael Sieverts, Karen Tew, Annelise Dykes, Michaela Salisbury, Elizabeth Vargis

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Traditional bacterial identification methods take one to two days to complete, relying on large bacteria colonies for visual identification. In order to decrease this analysis time in a cost-effective manner, a method to sort and concentrate bacteria based on the bacteria's characteristics itself is needed. One example of such a method is dielectrophoresis, which has been used by researchers to separate bacteria from sample debris and sort bacteria according to species. This work presents variations in which dielectrophoresis can be performed and their associated drawbacks and benefits specifically to bacterial identification. In addition, a potential microfluidic design will be discussed.

The Utah Statesman, March 17, 2016, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

The Blurred Line Between Form And Process: A Comparison Of Stream Channel Classification Frameworks, Alan Kasprak, Nate Hough-Snee, Tim Beechie, Nicolaas Bouwes, Gary Brierley, Reid Camp, Kirstie Fryirs, Hiroo Imaki, Martha Jensen, Gary O'Brien, David Rosgen, Joseph Michael Wheaton

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Stream classification provides a means to understand the diversity and distribution of channels and floodplains that occur across a landscape while identifying links between geomorphic form and process. Accordingly, stream classification is frequently employed as a watershed planning, management, and restoration tool. At the same time, there has been intense debate and criticism of particular frameworks, on the grounds that these frameworks classify stream reaches based largely on their physical form, rather than direct measurements of their component hydrogeomorphic processes. Despite this debate surrounding stream classifications, and their ongoing use in watershed management, direct comparisons of channel classification frameworks are …

Hydrogen Bonded And Stacked Geometries Of The Temozolomide Dimer, Okuma Emile Kasende, Jules Tshishimbi Muya, Vincent De Paul Nzuwah-Nziko, Steve Scheiner

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Dispersion-corrected Density Functional Theory (DFT) and MP2 quantum chemical methods are used to examine homodimers of temozolomide (TMZ). Of the twelve dimer configurations found to be minima, the antarafacial stacked dimer is the most favored, lower in energy than coplanar dimers which are stabilized by H-bonds. The comparison between B3LYP and B3LYP-D binding energies points to dispersion as a primary factor in stabilizing the stacked geometries. CO(π)→CO(π*)charge transfers between amide groups in the global minimum are identified by NBO, as well as a pair of weak CH∙∙N H-bonds. AIM analysis of the electron density provides an alternative description which includes …

Faculty Senate Agenda, March 14, 2016, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• EPC Items for February
• Budget and Faculty Welfare Committee
• Faculty Diversity, Development and Equity Committee
• 405.12.3 CFAC Policy (Second Reading)
• 405.6.2(2) and 405.8.2 PAC (First Reading)
• 402.10.1 Reapportionment fix for missed section (First Reading)

The Utah Statesman, March 14, 2016, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Maximal Stomatal Conductance To Water And Plasticity In Stomatal Traits Differ Between Native And Invasive Introduced Lineages Of Phragmites Australis In North America, V. Douhovnikoff, S. H. Taylor, Eric L. G. Hazelton, C. Smith, J. O'Brien

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

The fitness costs of reproduction by clonal growth can include a limited ability to adapt to environmental and temporal heterogeneity. Paradoxically, some facultatively clonal species are not only able to survive, but colonize, thrive, and expand in heterogeneous environments. This is likely due to the capacity for acclimation (sensu stricto) which compensates for the fitness costs and complements the ecological advantages of clonality. Introduced P. australis demonstrates great phenotypic plasticity in response to temperature, nutrient availability, geographic gradient, water depths, habitat fertility, atmospheric CO₂, interspecific competition, and intraspecific competition for light. However, no in situ …

A Continuous Correlated Beta Process Model For Genetic Ancestry In Admixed Populations, Zachariah Gompert

Biology Faculty Publications

Admixture and recombination create populations and genomes with genetic ancestry from multiple source populations. Analyses of genetic ancestry in admixed populations are relevant for trait and disease mapping, studies of speciation, and conservation efforts. Consequently, many methods have been developed to infer genome-average ancestry and to deconvolute ancestry into continuous local ancestry blocks or tracts within individuals. Current methods for local ancestry inference perform well when admixture occurred recently or hybridization is ongoing, or when admixture occurred in the distant past such that local ancestry blocks have fixed in the admixed population. However, methods to infer local ancestry frequencies in …

Expression Profiles Of Mirna Subsets Distinguish Human Colorectal Carcinoma And Normal Colonic Mucosa, Daniel F. Pellatt, John R. Stevens, Roger K. Wolff, Lila E. Mullany, Jennifer S. Herrick, Wade Samowitz, Martha L. Slattery

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVES: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-protein-coding RNA molecules that are commonly dysregulated in colorectal tumors. The objective of this study was to identify smaller subsets of highly predictive miRNAs.

METHODS: Data come from population-based studies of colorectal cancer conducted in Utah and the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program. Tissue samples were available for 1,953 individuals, of which 1,894 had carcinoma tissue and 1,599 had normal mucosa available for statistical analysis. Agilent Human miRNA Microarray V.19.0 was used to generate miRNA expression profiles; validation of expression levels was carried out using quantitative PCR. We used random forest analysis and verified findings …

The Utah Statesman, March 3, 2016, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Utah State Magazine, Spring 2016, Utah State University

Utah State Magazine

The quarterly magazine for friends and alumni of Utah State University.

Developing A Safe Test System For High-Energy Electron Flux Environments Testing, Heather Tippets

Senior Theses and Projects

In order to predict and mitigate adverse environmental effects on spacecraft in orbit about Earth, a versatile pre-launch test capability for assessment and verification of small satellites, systems, and components was developed by Utah State University’s Materials Physics Group. To further diversify this project, a 100 mCi Sr-90 beta radiation source (0.5 MeV – 2.5 MeV) is exploited to simulate the high energy electron flux of geostationary orbit. Various samples including in-the-loop hardware, spacecraft materials, optical components, and solar arrays are irradiated to gain a better understanding of how these materials and electronics break down in space environments. For employee …

Radiation Safety Design For High Energy Electron Flux Environments Testing, Heather Tippets

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

What, If Anything, Are Hybrids: Enduring Truths And Challenges Associated With Population Structure And Gene Flow, Zachariah Gompert, C. Alex Buerkle

Biology Faculty Publications

Hybridization is a potent evolutionary process that can affect the origin, maintenance, and loss of biodiversity. Because of its ecological and evolutionary consequences, an understanding of hybridization is important for basic and applied sciences, including conservation biology and agriculture. Herein, we review and discuss ideas that are relevant to the recognition of hybrids and hybridization. We supplement this discussion with simulations. The ideas we present have a long history, particularly in botany, and clarifying them should have practical consequences for managing hybridization and gene flow in plants. One of our primary goals is to illustrate what we can and cannot …

Senior Alumni And Industry Luncheon 2016 | Biological Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

The 3rd Annual Senior, Alumni, & Industry Luncheon (SAIL) will be on Friday, March 25, 2016 in room 326 of the Engineering Building (ENGR) at 11:30 AM.