Digital Commons Network^™

Modeling Polar Cap Airglow Patch Intensities Using Three-Dimensional Ionospheres Produced By Data Assimilations, Michael R. Negale, J. V. Eccles, J. M. Holmes, S. V. Fridman, L. J. Nickisch

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

Discrete high density plasma structures in the Earth’s ionosphere that convect across the polar cap from the dayside to nightside are known as polar cap patches. Patches can interfere and disrupt satellite and HF communications, and therefore, accurate forecasting and modeling of this phenomenon would be greatly beneficial. In this study we have utilized the Global Positioning System Ionospheric Inversion (GPSII) data assimilation model using electron density measurements from the northward looking Resolute Bay Incoherent Scatter Radar (RISR-N) and total electron content (TEC) from ground based Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers to reconstruct the high latitude ionosphere. From the …

Increasing Production Of Therapeutic Mabs In Cho Cells Through Genetic Engineering, Charles Barentine

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Between 2014 and 2018, the global market for therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) rose from $60 billion to $115.2 billion with a projected value of $300 billion by 2025. These molecules are used to effectively treat some of the most challenging illnesses from auto-immune diseases to cancer. While mAbs are highly valuable with potent applications, their production at scale remains an outstanding challenge. These molecules are largely produced in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells that require highly specific conditions to produce a useful product.

Genetic engineering presents one solution to overcome productivity limits. With the advent of CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced …

Interview With James Morales, Utah State University Special Collections & Archives

Utah State University COVID-19 Oral History Collection

No abstract provided.

Responsive Technical Education Curriculum: An Exploratory Case Study Approach Toward Understanding Human Skills Alignment, Kari Lamoreaux

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Globalization and rapid changes in technology have led to a shift in the skills employers need. These changes have resulted in a gap between the skills people have and those required by industry. This exploratory case study sought to better understand the uniquely human skills employers desire and technical educators should teach in order to address this gap in a local context. The study was conducted in four phases. 1) Current literature was analyzed to identify commonly recurring human skills discussed in studies and reports. 2) These skills were then used as search terms in an analysis of occupational advisory …

Mountain States Oilseeds: Risk Management For Safflower Production In The Intermountain West, Jameson F. Packer

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

Safflower is an oilseed crop primarily produced in the western Great Plains because of its compatibility with cereal grain equipment. Varieties grown in that region are harvested predominantly for seeds high in safflower oil and oleic acid that are processed and used in cooking oil, human nutrition, and other health and beauty products. Safflower is also grown in Utah, Idaho, and California for birdseed mixes due to the region’s arid climate, which yields a crisp, white seed that is highly favorable in the birdseed market. Mountain States Oilseeds, headquartered in American Falls, Idaho, is one of the United States’ largest …

Population Ecology Of Spruce-Fir Forests Of The Interior West, Katheryn Little

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Spruce-fir forest type covers nearly 10 million acres of forested land in the interior west, but there is a lack of research defining how these forests grow for future planning. Stand density index (SDI) represents the average tree size and number of trees in a stand multiplied. Each species has specific maximum number the growing space can handle known as ‘fully stocked’. If the stand is fully stocked, it must wait until trees die for individuals to grow. Spruce and fir have similar maximum stocking values, and similar growth characteristics, allowing them to be plotted together. Using current forest data, …

Carbon Sinks And Sources In Great Salt Lake: Consequences Of Declining Lake Levels, Melissa Cobo Arias

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Globally, saline lakes are experiencing declining water level as a consequence of climate change, water diversions for human consumption, and management strategies that do not account for changing climate and drought conditions. Great Salt Lake (GSL) is a large saline lake in Utah, USA, and is, as most saline lakes, experiencing decreasing lake levels which may impact local carbon cycling. It is unknown how lakebed drying affects processes that control carbon sequestration and carbon emissions to the atmosphere. The goal of this research was to measure various biological processes that use, create, and transform carbon in GSL to understand the …

Statistical Challenges And Methods For Missing And Imbalanced Data, Rose Adjei

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Missing data remains a prevalent issue in every area of research. The impact of missing data, if not carefully handled, can be detrimental to any statistical analysis. Some statistical challenges associated with missing data include, loss of information, reduced statistical power and non-generalizability of findings in a study. It is therefore crucial that researchers pay close and particular attention when dealing with missing data. This multi-paper dissertation provides insight into missing data across different fields of study and addresses some of the above mentioned challenges of missing data through simulation studies and application to real datasets. The first paper of …

Data Visualization, Dimensionality Reduction, And Data Alignment Via Manifold Learning, Andrés Felipe Duque Correa

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The high dimensionality of modern data introduces significant challenges in descriptive and exploratory data analysis. These challenges gave rise to extensive work on dimensionality reduction and manifold learning aiming to provide low dimensional representations that preserve or uncover intrinsic patterns and structures in the data. In this thesis, we expand the current literature in manifold learning developing two methods called DIG (Dynamical Information Geometry) and GRAE (Geometry Regularized Autoencoders). DIG is a method capable of finding low-dimensional representations of high-frequency multivariate time series data, especially suited for visualization. GRAE is a general framework which splices the well-established machinery from kernel …

Storytelling To Promote Mental Health: A Conceptual Analysis And Application With Acceptance And Commitment Therapy For Depression, Carter H. Davis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Mental health treatments can be delivered in many ways. One approach is to use storytelling to communicate healthy practices. While societies across the world have engaged in storytelling for thousands of years, these practices have been used less in the mental health field. The aim of this project was to study the overlap between the areas of mental health and storytelling. We also tested how a storytelling-based mental health treatment could help solve a particular clinical problem. In this case, the problem of people who receive inadequate help for managing depression through medication alone.

We examined one particular mental health …

Together, Our Voices Will Strengthen The Weaving: Using Autoethnography And Narrative Inquiry To Indigenize Sense Of Belonging In Higher Education, Devon S. Isaacs

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Native American students in higher education are often asked to find a sense of belonging in places and spaces that do not reflect their cultures or worldviews. This can lead to isolation and a feeling of having to choose between themselves and their identities as Indigenous peoples. This contributes to poorer mental health, loss of well-being, and decreased academic success. The purpose of this study was to ask seven Native American participants how they defined sense of belonging from their own worldviews. Participants were also asked about spaces and places in higher education that helped or did not help them …

Old-Growth Forest Dynamics After Fire And Drought In The Sierra Nevada, California, Usa, Kendall M.L. Becker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Understanding forest ecosystems is important because forests cover approximately one-third of Earth’s land area, store half of Earth’s carbon, shelter half of Earth’s species, and absorb a quarter of new anthropogenic carbon emissions, slowing climate change. This dissertation provides insight into future forest habitat, fuels, species composition, and structure by investigating what happens to snags, seedlings, and trees in an old-growth forest after a low- to moderate-severity fire.

Chapter II explores how low- to moderate-severity fire changes snag fall rates. Predicting how long snags will remain standing after fire is essential for managing habitat, understanding chemical cycling in forests, and …

Investigating The Use Of Quartz Luminescence And Rock-Color Alteration To Characterize Wildfire Exposure; Applied To The 2020 Mangum Fire, Kaibab Plateau, Arizona, April I. Phinney

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wildfires appear to be increasing in size, severity, and frequency. Land managers need information on past wildfire behavior to make effective and adaptive land management plans. However, there are only a few techniques and data sources that provide information on past fire heating. This study aims to provide new methods to equip managers with a more robust understanding of historic and modern fire behavior. Fire behavior is assessed using novel methods that can assess soil and rock response to past wildfire heat exposure.

This study examined samples from the 2020 Mangum Fire, in northern Arizona. Sediment and rock were gathered …

Evaluating Strategies For Anemone And Ranunculus Cut Flower Production In The Us Intermountain West, Shannon Rauter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

National growth in small-scale, specialty cut flower farms is reflected in Utah, where 145 members have joined the Utah Cut Flower Farm Association since its 2019 founding. Cool season cut flower production is limited in Utah and the Intermountain West by a narrow harvest window and elevated soil salinity. The objective of this research was to optimize production systems for anemone (Anemone coronaria L.) and ranunculus (Ranunculus asiaticus L.) in the Intermountain West by evaluating season advancement methods within a high tunnel and field production system, as well as the salinity sensitivity of each species. Fall planting dates, …

Bedrock Erosion In Swedish Spillways - A Methodology For Assessing Design Pore Pressures Aimed For Design Of Erosion Mitigation Via Reinforcement Of The Rock Mass, Per Eriksson, Jonas Persson, Carol-Oscar Nilsson

Protections Conference

This article presents a collection of literature and data that enables calculations of hydraulic pressures inside a structurally simplified rock mass. The causation between the pressure in the rock mass and the near plane-parallel turbulently flowing waters on natural surfaces of igneous rock is expressed. The article is mainly aimed at rock reinforcement calculations given magmatic rock types with high durability and large block size.

First Application Of Articulated Concrete Block Armoring With A Stabilized Stone Drainage Layer, Jeremy R. Young, Jim Nadeau

Protections Conference

Results from recent hydraulic testing of Articulated Concrete Block (ACB) systems have shown variations in the level of the ACB surface is attributed to the movement of an unconfined stone drainage layer. This movement appears to be exacerbated by thicker drainage layers, higher overtopping depths, and longer test flumes. While the apparent movement did not constitute “threshold of performance” as currently defined by ASTM D7276 and D7277, there was a desire to mitigate movement of the stone drainage layer and maintain conservatism in ACB design and construction. This paper will review the findings of Nadeau and Wedin’s paper from Protections …

Changes In Obstacles To Learning During The Covid-19 Pandemic For University Students And Recommended Solutions, Becky Williams, Sunshine L. Brosi

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version of this article here.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused disruptions to student learning from K–12 to universities and continues to manifest negative effects on students. To better understand the challenges our students face and how those obstacles have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic began, we surveyed our undergraduate ecology students who ranked obstacles to learning they experience in technology, learning environment, and economic security. The majority of respondents report conditions have worsened since the onset of the pandemic. Surveys identified the largest challenges on average were being unfamiliar with technology, using a smartphone or tablet for …

Student Stories Of Online Learning, Carrie Lewis Miller, Michael Manderfeld

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version of this article here.

Instructional designers at a Midwest university piloted a survey based on the Quality Matters general standards asking students about their online course experience prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Students were asked to indicate whether they experienced a specific course design element and whether they considered that element to be important to their learning experience. Follow-up interviews with some participants were also held. Data from the survey indicated students perceive their online course experience to be good based on course design elements they encountered. Implications for providing additional faculty development programming based …

Impact Of Social Determinants Of Health On Early Hearing Detection And Intervention Screening/Diagnosis Outcomes, Nannette Nicholson, Ellen A. Rhoades, Rachel E. Glade, Laura Smith-Olinde

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Purpose

We reviewed how Social Determinants of Health relate to health inequities and disparities for Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs. Then, we examine links between specific sociodemographic factors (maternal age, maternal education, ‘race’/ethnicity) and hearing screening and diagnostic audiology follow-up for newborns in the U.S. and its territories.

Methods

Maternal demographic, hearing screening and diagnostic data extracted from publicly available Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) records were reported to CDC by personnel responsible for EHDI programs. Data were subjected to statistical analysis using analysis of variance and multiple regression techniques.

Results

Results showed no significant differences …

The Journal Of Early Hearing Detection And Intervention: Volume 7 Issue 3, Pages 1-98

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

No abstract provided.

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Meeting, Agenda, November 14, 2022, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Call to Order
  Approval of Minutes – October 17, 2022
• University Business
• Information
  Educational Policies Committee – November 3, 2022
• Reports
  Faculty Evaluation Committee Annual Report
  USUSA Annual Report
  Honors Annual Report
• Old Business
• New Business
  Office of Equity Additional Training
  Code 404 Faculty Appointments Track Changes | Final Clean

Communities Activated: Stories From Behind The Scenes Of Progress, Avery C. Edenfield, Ariel Malan, Mel Payne, Roberto Lopez, Blair L. Barfuss, Latrisha Fall

Intersections on Inclusion: Critical Conversations about the Academy

In 2020, USU received the Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement, recognizing USU has great work to do in our communities; as a land grant institution we have the responsibility to the communities in which we are located to honor the mission statement of ‘serving the public through learning, discovery, and engagement and cultivating diversity of thought and culture.’ This panel will center the voices of community leaders and change-makers dedicated to advancing progress toward equity. As we learn from panelists about their community initiatives and advocacy, participants will be invited to reflect on ways they can engage in their …

Stereotypes And Judgments About American Indian Peoples: Results From An Experimental Study, Raymond Orr, Katelyn Sharratt, Muhammad Iqbal

Journal of Indigenous Research

Native tribes and peoples are the subject of significant public scrutiny and judgement. Not only are many political interests aligned against Natives, but the presence of racial stereotypes and active discrimination have created difficult conditions in which American Indians are often invalidated as a people or polity through the retraction of their “authenticity” as an Indian, as perceived by outsiders. The process by which Natives are made “inauthentic” has been explored extensively in narrative and qualitative-based research. However, studies using experimental methods to determine the presence of underlying factors, such as racial bias or stereotypes, are scarce. To fill this …

Educational Policies Committee, Agenda, November 3, 2022, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Approval of Minutes - October 6, 2022
• Subcommittee Reports
• Curriculum Subcommittee (Chad Simon)
• Academic Standards Subcommittee (Renee Galliher)
• General Education Subcommittee (Matt Sanders)
• Other Business
• Adjourn

Curriculum Subcommittee Agenda, November 3, 2022, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Approval of Minutes - October 6, 2022
• Program Proposals
• Semester Course Approval Reviews
• Other Business
• Adjourn: 3:00 pm

Predicting Riverbed Deformation During Floods For A Sustainable Design Of Headworks Structures, I. Joshi, U. Singh, M. B. Bishwakarma, Y. Kitamura, L. Lia

International Symposium on Hydraulic Structures

Understanding and predicting riverbed deformation during floods is important for the proper and sustainable design of headworks structures. Field-scale study of floods is challenging, and existing literature shows that mainly qualitative data (Photographic and Videographic) have been used in riverbed deformation studies. On the other hand, laboratory experiments allow studying floods in more detail and under a controlled environment. In this research, bed deformation of river channel during floods was investigated by conducting experiments in a curved flume. Parameters of the experiments were chosen with respect to gravel-cobbled River in Nepal. Four different floods with different magnitudes and durations were …

Near-Full-Scale Physical Modelling And Open-Channel Flow Velocity In A Fish-Friendly Culvert With Full-Height Sidewall Baffles, J. Hu, Y. Li, H. Chanson

International Symposium on Hydraulic Structures

A near-full-scale physical modelling was performed on the oscillation and instability of open-channel flow in a fish-friendly culvert equipped with full-height sidewall baffles. High-resolution measurements of the instantaneous flow velocity were conducted using a Vectrino+ acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV). The physical results were marked by the existence of some low-frequency seiche phenomenon. A well-established triple decomposition technique was applied to the time series of free-surface and velocity time-series. The low-pass components confirmed a unique flow structure, consisting of a high-velocity zone in the main channel and a low-velocity flow reversal within the lateral cavities. The band-pass components corresponded to the …

Jet Scour In Cohesive And Non-Cohesive Soil, J. Di Nardi, M. Palermo, S. Pagliara, F. A. Bombardelli

International Symposium on Hydraulic Structures

A safe design of hydraulic structures depends on reliable estimations of the scour generated by the interaction between flow, structure, and bed sediments. Non-cohesive and cohesive soils are characterized by very different scour processes. Consequently, the behavior of the two soil types under scour has usually been studied separately. More specifically, cohesive soils are subjected to significant interparticle forces, which affect the properties of the material, resulting in different erosion mechanisms. Because of the complexity of the problem, erosion processes have been mainly investigated experimentally, resulting in a variety of case-dependent predicting equations. Recent theoretical advancements contributed to clarify the …

Plunge Pool Rock Scour Assessment By Fluid-Solid Coupling, E. F. R. Bollaert, M. Grünzner

International Symposium on Hydraulic Structures

This paper presents a novel approach for detailed 2D numerical assessment of rock scour in plunge pools or unlined channels downstream of hydraulic structures. The approach is based on an automated coupling between the 3D hydraulics and the turbulence of an impacting jet (or any other turbulent flow environment) and the detailed bathymetric evolution with time of the rocky bottom that is being scoured, for a given flood event. Detailed flow hydraulics are thereby computed by the FLOW-3D® CFD software, allowing sound implementation of air entrainment and defining the main flow parameters at the water-rock interface. Bathymetric evolution with time …

Cfd-Based Modeling For Computing Discharge Coefficient Of An Ogee Spillway, Hariom Gautam, Zulfequar Ahmad, Pramod Kumar Sharma

International Symposium on Hydraulic Structures

The basic functionality of the spillway is to control the flow and safely convey the excess flow while keeping the structure stable. An ogee spillway is commonly used due to its high discharging capacity. The discharge coefficient of an ogee spillway is greatly affected by the ratio of an operating head and design head. Since physical models are expensive and have limitations in terms of scale effect, a comprehensive numerical simulation was performed in this study to estimate the discharge coefficient for an ogee spillway under various head ratios using CFD-based numerical modeling. The numerical simulations were done using FLOW-3D. …