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Utah’S Adaptive Resources Management Greater Sage-Grouse Local Working Groups Accomplishment Report, Utah State University Extension

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

Green Beans, Brianne Sherwood, Elizabeth Inman

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

Green beans are thought to have originated in Peru and spread through South and Central America by Indian tribes. Spanish explorers introduced them into Europe in the 16th century. Surveys indicate that 60% of commercially grown green beans are produced in the United States. Particularly, Illinois, Michigan, New York, and Wisconsin produce the greatest amount of green beans in the United States.

Building The Small Spacecraft Technology Pipeline, Dr. James Reuther

Small Satellite Conference

Biography - Dr. Reuther currently serves as the Acting Director for Crosscutting Capability Demonstrations in the Office of Chief Technologist of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Headquarters. Previously, Dr. Reuther served as the Lead of the Test and Verification (T&V) Office for the Orion spacecraft development. After graduating from the University of California Davis with a Bachelors, Masters, and Ph.D. in mechanical and aeronautical engineering, Dr. Reuther performed foundational research in Aerodynamic Shape Optimization. Next, he served as the computation aerothermal sub-team lead for the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) and NASA’s Return to Flight (RTF) efforts under …

Distant Horizons: Smallsat Evolution In The Mid-To-Far Term, Matt Bille, Paul Kolodziejski, Tom Hunsaker

Small Satellite Conference

There are many smallsat missions now in progress or in development, and these are pushing smallsats into new realms of technology, compactness, and mission utility. Proposals for the near term will shrink smallsats further, couple them in new ways using constellations or fractionated architectures, and edge into new mission areas. What, though, is on the horizon looking out 10-25 years or more? While there have been some overly optimistic predictions about smallsats, the advances demonstrated or in development in computing, nanomaterials, microelectromechanical systems, and other areas indicate the future will include some smallsat applications only now being imagined, and others …

Initial On-Orbit Engineering Results From The O/Oreos Nanosatellite, Christopher Kitts, Mike Rasay, Laura Bica, Ignacio Mas, Michael Neumann, Anthony Young, Giovanni Minelli, Antonio Ricco, Eric Stackpole, Elwood Agasid, Christopher Beasley, Charlie Friedericks, David Squires, Pascale Ehrenfreund, Wayne Nicholson, Rocco Mancinelli, Orlando Santos, Richard Quinn, Nathan Bramall, Andrew Mattioda, Amanda Cook, Julie Chittenden, Katie Bryson, Matthew Piccini, Macarena Parra

Small Satellite Conference

The Organism/Organics Exposure to Orbital Stresses (O/OREOS) nanosatellite mission successfully launched on November 19, 2010 from Kodiak, AK aboard a Minotaur IV launch vehicle. The principal goals for this 5.5 kg spacecraft include conducting astrobiologically-relevant experiments in two separate payloads within the 3U cubesat form factor and demonstrating in-situ measurement technology in a small satellite. Developed by the Small Spacecraft Payloads and Technology Team at NASA Ames Research Center, O/OREOS builds upon heritage gained from its two predecessors, GeneSat-1 and PharmaSat. Mission operations are conducted by students at Santa Clara University using several 3-meter S-Band antennas and supporting stations, an …

25 Years Of Small Satellites, Siegfried Janson

Small Satellite Conference

Twenty-five years ago in 1986, 25 microsatellites were launched into orbit; 24 were military communications satellites lofted by the former Soviet Union as part of a communications constellation. No active nanosatellites or picosatellites were launched that year. Last year (2010), 4 microsatellites, 15 nanosatellites, and 3 picosatellites were launched. Small spacecraft have gotten smaller, and they are being used for more than just communications. Advances in micro/nanoelectronics, microelectromechanical systems, solar cell technologies, global positioning systems, and the Internet have allowed small groups of individuals to design, build, and fly ever-smaller satellites with ever-increasing capabilities. In parallel, small satellite containment and …

Compact Hyperspectrals, Luca Maresi, Semen Grabarnik, Matteo Taccola, Vincent Moreau, Coralie De Clercq, Bavo Delauré, Stephanie Delalieux, Els Knaeps, Wouter Dierckx, Cees Coolen, Mathieu Breukers, Lieve De Vos

Small Satellite Conference

Numerous Hyperspectral Imagers have been launched or are being built for resource management, monitoring anthropogenic effects on the troposphere gases, and for defense applications. Payloads such as Hyperion, EnMAP, HyspIRI, and SCHYAMACHY are instruments with mass in excess of 100 Kg. Technologies recently developed in precision manufacturing of aspherical mirrors, detectors, and spectral filters allow to shrink a hyperspectral instrument in an envelope that will fit on a small satellite, or even in a CubeSat. The reduction of mass, volume, and power is not the only problems to be solved to successfully use a hyperspectral on board of a small …

A Plus: Utah State University, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

A Closer look at the Services and Departments of Utah State University. All Information in this package provided by the highlights departments.

2011 Utah State University Student Orientation Guide, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

A special supplemental magazine provided by The Utah Statesman to take a closer look at some of the services and departments available at Utah State University.

Dietary Patterns And Cognitive Decline In Aged Populations, Austin J. Bowles

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

In this paper, we discuss distinctive features of longitudinal studies, and illustrate two regression-based methods for the analysis of longitudinal data. A study of dietary patterns and cognitive decline (Cache County Memory Study) is used to motivate our discussion and analysis. Cognitive decline is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, the sixth leading cause of all deaths among Americans. The study attempted to identify dietary patterns associated with reduced risk of age-related cognitive decline in elderly populations. Higher levels of adherence to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) and/or Mediterranean diets were found to be associated with increased cognitive …

The Impact Of Team-Based Learning’S Readiness Assurance Process On Virtually Isolated Adults, Matthew W. Barclay

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of the readiness assurance process of team-based learning (TBL) in virtually isolated settings. Many Internet sites offer courses for adults to use on their own without access to mentors or other learners. However, educational theory suggests that people learn better with others than by themselves. The focus of this investigation was whether the inclusion of the readiness assurance process would increase participants’ levels of learning based on Bloom’s revised taxonomy within the limits of virtual isolation.

In this study an experimental pretest-posttest design was employed. Using a 2- day mini-course …

Zeolite‐Based Algae Biofilm Rotating Photobioreactor For Algae And Biomass Production, Ashton M. Young

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Alkaline conditions induced by algae growth in wastewater stabilization ponds create deprotonated ammonium ions that result in ammonia gas (NH₃) volatilization. If algae are utilized to remediate wastewater through uptake of phosphorus, the resulting nitrogen loss will hinder this process because algae generally require a stoichiometric molar ratio of N₁₆P₁. Lower ratios of N/P due to loss of ammonia gas will limit the growth and yield of algae, and therefore will reduce phosphorus removal from the water phase into the algae phase. In order to reduce nitrogen loss through volatilization, an ammonium selective zeolite, …

Effect Of Adjunct Cultures, Sodium Gluconate, And Ripening Temperature On Low-Fat Cheddar Cheese Flavor, Rebekah M. Lance

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Low-fat Cheddar cheese flavor is different from full-fat Cheddar cheese and is not acceptable to many consumers. This 2-part experiment was designed to examine effects adjunct cultures have on low-fat Cheddar cheese flavor as determined through descriptive analysis and consumer feedback.

In Part 1, low-fat (5%) Cheddar cheese was produced in duplicate, using 6 combinations of DVS850, LH32, CR540, CRL431, Emfour, and CR319 bacterial cultures. Due to a previously observed positive effect by sodium gluconate on low-fat cheese flavor, each replicate was split into treatments of 0.0% and 0.8% sodium gluconate. Each of these treatments was then split into ripening …

Studies Of The Distinguishing Features Of Nadph:2-Ketopropyl-Coenzyme M Oxidoreductase/Carboxylase, An Atypical Member Of The Disulfide/ Oxidoreductase Family Of Enzymes, Melissa A. Beighley-Kofoed

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The metabolism of propylene in Xanthobacter autotrophicus occurs via epoxypropane formation and subsequent metabolism by a three-step, four-enzyme pathway, utilizing the atypical cofactor Coenzyme M (CoM) to form acetoacetate. The last step in the epoxide carboxylase pathway is catalyzed by a distinctive member of the disulfide oxidoreductase (DSOR) family of enzymes, NADPH:2-ketopropyl CoM oxidoreductase/carboxylase (2-KPCC). 2-KPCC catalyzes the unorthodox cleavage of a thioether bond and successive carboxylation of the substrate. The focus of the research presented in this dissertation aims to elucidate the details of 2-KPCC that allow it to perform chemistry unconventional for typical DSOR members. Sitedirected mutagenesis was …

Community Level Effects Of Vegetation Architecture And Prey Availability: A Study Of Ground-Dwelling Arthropods In A Shrub-Steppe Ecosystem, Mary E. Pendergast

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Changes to vegetation architecture within a natural habitat can have profound impacts upon ecological community function, but the relative influence of vegetation architecture itself and potential indirect influences of associated food resources are often difficult to disentangle. I present the results of a three-year study designed to address the community level impacts of changes in big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) architecture and associated prey availability upon the ground-dwelling arthropod community. Three experimental sagebrush architecture treatments (low, intermediate, and high foliage density) and two levels of prey insect availability treatment (natural and baited/increased prey availability) were imposed in a sage-steppe …

The Decline And Conservation Status Of North American Bumble Bees, Jonathan B. Koch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Several reports of North American bumble bee (Bombus Latreille) decline have been documented across the continent, but no study has fully assessed the geographic scope of decline. In this study I discuss the importance of Natural History Collections (NHC) in estimating historic bumble bee distributions and abundances, as well as in informing current surveys. To estimate changes in distribution and relative abundance I compare historic data assembled from a >73,000 specimen database with a contemporary 3-year survey of North American bumble bees across 382 locations in the contiguous U.S.A. Based on my results, four historically abundant bumble bees, B. …

Ecologically-Based Manipulation Practices For Managing Bromus Tectorum-Infested Rangelands, Beth Fowers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is an invasive annual grass common in several semiarid plant communities in the western U.S. B. tectorum presence increases fire frequency and size, reducing species diversity, and leading to annual species-dominated systems with inconsistent livestock forage potential and degraded wildlife habitat value. Most efforts to manage B. tectorum-dominated rangelands have focused on controlling the plant itself rather than addressing the causes of vegetation change. An alternative approach, ecologically-based invasive plant management (EBIPM), identifies treatments that can alter factors associated with the causes of succession, leading to a more desirable vegetation state. This study utilized …

Testing Mediated Effects Of A Sex Education Program On Youth Sexual Activity, Paul James Birch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Empirical investigations have identified hundreds of factors that predict whether youth engage in sexual activity (YSA). To promote optimal health and the avoidance of unhealthy or problematic outcomes that can result from YSA, sex education programs have been extensively developed and evaluated. Many evaluations have identified the effect of the program on immediate outcomes such as attitudes and intentions, others have examined subsequent behavioral and health outcomes, and some have done both. The purpose of this study was to extend the evaluation literature by testing a mediated effects model. A sex education program was found to have significant immediate effects …

Effects Of Non‐Surface‐Disturbing Treatments For Native Grass Revegetation On Cheatgrass (Bromus Tectorum L.) Metrics And Soil Ion Availabilities, Jan C.R. Summerhays

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Several restoration methods intended to increase the success of aerially‐seeded perennial grasses were assessed to determine their effects on cheatgrass metrics and soil nutrient bioavailabilities. These methods were: 1) imazapic herbicide application (140 g ai ∙ ha^-1, 210 g ai ∙ ha^-1, and no application [control]), 2) vegetation manipulation treatments (50% sagebrush overstory thinning, 100% sagebrush overstory thinning, sagebrush overstory and/or vegetative thatch burning, and no manipulation [control]), and 3) alternative seeding treatments (aerial seeding with raking, aerial seeding with activated carbon [AC] addition, aerial seeding with sucrose addition, and regular aerial seeding [control]). Treatments were …

A Functional Assessment Of The Use Of Virtual Simulations To Train Distance Preservice Special Education Teachers To Conduct Individualized Education Program Team Meetings, Lee Landrum Mason

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The individualized education program (IEP) is a critical component of providing special education services to children with disabilities, outlining the services and modifications that will be provided to help them make progress towards the general curriculum. While simulations have been shown to be an effective means of teaching special education policies and procedures, this can be challenging when working with distance students. The purpose of this study was to identify and examine how virtual simulations function to train preservice teachers learning to conduct IEP team meetings.

Seven preservice special education teachers enrolled in a mild/moderate distance degree and licensure program …

Ungulate Damage To Safflower In San Juan County, Utah, Michael J. Haney

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In Utah, farmers are concerned that ungulates are damaging safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) fields. I examined elk (Cervus elaphus) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) damage to safflower production in San Juan County, Utah during 2009 and 2010. Data on damaged safflower plants were collected within 28 fields, totaling 1,581 ha (13 fields totaling 963 ha during 2009; 15 fields totaling 618 ha during 2010). I compared 3 methods to assess losses: ungulate-proof exclosures, adjacent plant compensation method, and counting the number of damaged plants in 50-m transects (safflower count method). Exclosures were of limited use …

An Extendable Software Architecture For Massively Parallel Biological Simulation, Karthik Iyer

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

Information technology has aided tremendously in the growth of the medical sciences industry. Tissue simulation is one such area wherein information technology aids in the field of medical science. This project focuses on defining, designing, and developing a computational architecture that performs repetitive and rigorous tissue simulation runs under different conditions and utilizes parallel computation.

The goal of this work is to demonstrate a parallel network-based architecture involving multiple clients interacting with a server that sends and receives voluminous data. The project assumes large memory capacity for the clients and the servers, but limits bandwidth requirements. The work demonstrates a …

Reducing Reliance On Supplemental Winter Feeding In Elk (Cervus Canadensis): An Applied Management Experiment At Deseret Land And Livestock Ranch, Utah, Dax L. Mangus

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wildlife managers have fed elk in North America for nearly 100 years. Giving winter feed to elk can compensate for a shortage of natural winter range and may boost elk populations while also helping prevent commingling with livestock and depredation of winter feed intended for livestock. In contrast to these benefits of supplemental feeding, there are economic and environmental costs associated with feeding, and elk herds that winter on feeding grounds have a higher risk of contracting and transmitting disease. Brucellosis is of primary concern now, and Chronic Wasting Disease may be in the future. Many see the discontinuation of …

Sage-Grouse Habitat In Utah. A Guide For Landowners And Managers, Todd A. Black

All Current Publications

This publication addressing sage-grouse habitat in Utah noting that the loss and fragmentation of sagebrush landscapes in the West have caused the decline of sage-grouse populations.

European Earwig (Forficula Auricularia), Diane G. Alston, Andrew Tebeau

All Current Publications

The European earwig (Order Dermaptera, which means “skin wings” to describe their leathery wings) (Fig. 1) is native to Europe, western Asia, and parts of Africa. The common name “earwig” comes from a myth that the insect would climb into the ears of humans and chew into the brain, but this is false. The European earwig was first introduced into Utah in the early 1900s. Establishment and population growth have been remarkably successful in northern Utah.

Beneficial True Bugs: Damsel Bugs, Ricardo Ramirez, Ron Patterson

All Current Publications

Predatory insects can provide natural pest control by eating unwanted pests. This beneficial service is known as biological control. Predatory insects are one factor that maintains pest populations at non-damaging levels. By conserving and encouraging predatory insect populations, plants can be protected from pest attack and excessive damage.

What Makes An Animal Choose A Forage, Elizabeth A. Burritt, Frederick D. Provenza

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Interview With Dr. Stephen Schneider Of The Cpd's Biomedical Clinic, Center For Persons With Disabilities

Blog Posts

No abstract provided.

Liberalis, Summer 2011, 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.

The Integrated Pest Management (Ipm) Concept, Diane G. Alston

All Archived Publications

No abstract provided.