Digital Commons Network^™

Mechanisms Of Overyielding And Coexistence In Diverse Tallgrass Prairie Communities, Leslie E. Forero

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Plants compete for the same basic nutrient and water resources. According to the competitive exclusion principle, when a substantial overlap in resource pools exists, the best competitor for resources should drive all other species to extinction. The ability for plants to coexist in violation of the competitive exclusion principle is the “biodiversity paradox”. Coexistence is actually beneficial for plants: as species diversity increases, you typically see increases in plant biomass production (known as the biodiversity-productivity relationship). The mechanisms behind coexistence and the biodiversity-productivity relationship remain an ecological mystery. One hypothesis is that plants obtain water and nutrients from different places …

Investigation Of Methionine And Lysine Derivatives As A Source Of Rumen-Protected Amino Acids For Lactating Dairy Cows, Mark Avila Fagundes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Cows have a protein requirement for growth, maintenance, and lactation. In order to meet those protein requirements, dairy farmers can supplement or feed cattle with specific amino acids, the building blocks that make-up protein. However, in order for the amino acid product to be effective it must avoid degradation in the rumen and be delivered in the small intestine for absorption. Lysine and methionine have traditionally been recognized as the most limiting amino acids for lactating dairy cows. Therefore, nutrition companies have focused on finding ways to encapsulate or protect lysine and methionine from rumen microbes. The N-acetyl-L-methionine and N-acetyl-L-lysine …

Modeling, Simulation And Optimization Of Nuclear Hybrid Energy Systems Using Openmodelica And Raven, Stephen Michael Hills

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Nuclear hybrid energy systems (NHES) are a viable option to combine renewable energy sources, such as wind, with a less fluctuating energy source. Given recent development and their inherent safer and modular design, small modular reactors (SMRs), which are smaller versions of a nuclear reactor, can play an instrumental role in complementing renewables and supporting carbon-free power sectors in the coming decades. With increasing population and demand for clean water, Freeze desalination (FD), which uses freezing to separate water from salt, is a possible way to produce clean water while converting excess power from a SMR into stored thermal energy …

The Fate And Cycling Of Nitrogen, Phosphorous, And Trace Heavy Metals In Beaver-Altered Headwater Streams, Desneiges S. Murray

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Human land-use can increase the amount of non-point source (NPS) pollution in a stream, negatively affecting ecosystem health and beneficial services provided by an ecosystem. Unfortunately, NPS pollution remains high in many waterbodies. Beaver dams may be a passive, cost-effective strategy for removing NPS pollution in headwater streams because beaver dams slow stream flow and collect sediments. Impounded sediments can change how nutrients and pollutants are cycled in a stream through multiple pathways. In the first part of our study, we investigated whether beaver activity can reduce nitrogen, phosphorous and heavy metals from otherwise traveling downstream. Results suggest beaver ponds …

An Indicator Based Transportation Sustainability Assessment In Regional Development: A Case Study For Cache County, Utah, Humaira Yusuf Nabeela

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Evaluating sustainability for a key system like transportation can be vital for both planners and citizens alike, as planners provide the system and citizens use the system. A sustainable transportation system not only builds a prosperous economy, but it also ensures social equity and a healthy environment for years to come. There are differing scales of sustainability assessment, ranging from neighborhood to global. However, a sustainability scale between the local and national scale is not very common in practice. Therefore, this study offers a regional scale sustainability assessment for the transportation system that will address local changes while also reflecting …

The Effect Of High Elevation Weather Stations On The Usda's Pasture, Rangeland, And Forage Insurance Program, Wyatt Matthew Feuz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This paper examines the effect of high elevation weather stations on the rainfall index used by the Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage insurance program. Weather station data for the state of Utah is used to identify high elevation weather stations and their location. Utilizing the corresponding rainfall index data, the effect of the high elevation weather stations is determined. This paper finds when high elevation weather stations begin reporting there is a jump up of 19.01–27.88 percentage points on average in the rainfall index for the corresponding grid locations. This indicates the rainfall index may not accurately represent actual precipitation amounts …

Preschool Children's Development In Number, Geometry, And Executive Function: A Cross-Lagged Examination, Brionne G. Neilson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Children develop rapidly during early childhood, and this includes their mathematics and executive function (EF) skills. Past research has focused on connections between early mathematics and EF, but more work was needed to fully understand these relations. In particular, past studies have generally used numeracy-based measures to assess early mathematics, although professional guidelines indicate a more comprehensive construct that includes geometry. The research herein addresses some of the gaps of previous work as it examines unique connections between early number, geometry, and EF. One hundred eighteen preschool children from urban and rural communities, being an average age of 53 months …

Perceived Barriers To Implementation Of The Good Behavior Game: An Exploratory Investigation, Nicole Lovell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Typical teacher professional development for Tier 1 behavior support often involves a “sit and get” training approach. Here, teachers are provided with a brief presentation that outlines the strategy to be implemented then dismissed from the training with the encouragement to implement the strategy in their classroom. This approach often does not result in teacher usage of the strategies, such as behavior supports, presented during the training session. A common challenge to teacher usage of behavior support is the match between the critical components of the strategy and the values, skills, and available resources of those who are implementing, or …

Analysis And Control Of Parallel And Series Connected Modular Battery Systems, Mohamed Kamel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery technology plays a major role in modern power applications. However, intrinsic technology limitations require a battery management system (BMS) to ensure all Li-ion cells’ safety. Moreover, high-power and high-voltage applications utilize several parallel, and series connected cells, forming a large battery pack that results in unavoidable cell mismatches. Therefore, large battery packs employ cell balancing circuits, where the BMS controls their operation. Furthermore, a central power electronics converter interfaces the battery pack to the high-voltage DC rail, reducing the system’s reliability. A battery power module (BPM) has emerged as an individual battery cell connected across a low-power …

Sensitivity And Estimation Of Aerodynamic, Propulsion, And Inertial Parameters For Rudderless Aircraft Using Simulation, Jaden W. Thurgood

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A technique known as system identification is often used in aircraft design and testing to understand and validate the mathematical parameters that describe the aircrafts stability and handling characteristics. System identification can be thought of as the inverse of simulation. In the world of system identification, we have a physical system that we seek to understand in more detail by monitoring the system with an array of sensors. In short, we conduct tests of an aircraft while recording the inputs and response outputs. Then we take the input and output data and run it through an algorithm that seeks to …

Design Of Miniaturized Sweeping Langmuir Probe And Electric Field Probe For The Sport Mission, Nathan P. Tipton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Scintillation Prediction Observation Research Task (SPORT) is a joint United States of America and Brazil 6U CubeSat mission. The US is providing the science instruments and the spacecraft launch. Brazil is providing the spacecraft bus, integration, and operations. Utah State University will provide four instruments for the mission as part of the US contribution in a suite called the Space Weather Probes (SWP). These instruments are the Sweeping Langmuir Probe (SLP), the Electric Field Probe (EFP), and the Sweeping Impedance Probe (SIP). Higher frequency components of the SLP and EFP will be observed through a Wave Spectrometer (WS). These …

The Effects Of Ethnic Identity And Family Obligations On Somatic Symptoms Among Latinx Emerging Adults, Jazmin Lara

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Somatic symptoms have been associated with psychological distress across different cultures and are used to diagnose depressive and anxiety disorders in the U.S. Across cultures, individuals with internalizing disorders may present with somatic symptoms outside of the diagnostic criteria, emphasizing the importance of these physical concerns. For example, Latinxs tend to endorse more somatic symptoms than White Americans, suggesting that different cultural aspects may contribute to the higher endorsement of somatic symptoms among Latinxs. However, not many studies have examined specific sociocultural factors that may be influencing somatic symptom report. This is especially true among emerging adults who are in …

Uses And Challenges Of Collecting Lidar Data From A Growing Autonomous Vehicle Fleet: Implications For Infrastructure Planning And Inspection Practices, Md Ashikur Rahman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) that utilize LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and other sensing technologies are becoming an inevitable part of transportation industry. Concurrently, transportation agencies are increasingly challenged with the management and tracking of large-scale highway asset inventory. LiDAR has become popular among transportation agencies for highway asset management given its advantage over traditional surveying methods. The affordability of LiDAR technology is increasing day by day. Given this, there will be substantial challenges and opportunities for the utilization of big data resulting from the growth of AVs with LiDAR. A proper understanding of the data size generated from this technology …

Minoritized Student Experiences With Psychoeducational Service Provision For Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Megan E. Golson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Due to the impact of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder on students' academic, social, and behavioral outcomes, it is important students receive supportive interventions. Federal regulation requires schools identify students with disabilities like ADHD and provide them with accommodations and supports as needed. Unfortunately, the research that supports these interventions does not adequately include students from racially/ethnically minoritized groups. Due to factors like discrimination and stereotyping, racially/ethnically minoritized students may experience ADHD and ADHD services differently. This study included 35 minoritized adolescent students who receive ADHD services. Through an online survey, students reported their symptom experiences, the academic and social effects of ADHD, …

Biomethanation And Alkaline Wet Air Oxidation Of Water Hyacinth (Pontederia Crassipes) From Ozama River, Dominican Republic, Yessica A. Castro

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Obtaining valuable products from environmental remediation waste is a sustainable approach that contributes to the ecological well-being of developing countries. In the present work, the feasibility of the water hyacinth anaerobic digestion as a post-weed management practice in the Ozama River (Dominican Republic) was demonstrated. The estimated energy required for harvesting was lower than that produced during digestion. The biomethanation of water hyacinth was improved by Alkaline Wet Air Oxidation (AWAO), a thermochemical pretreatment process that almost doubled the methane production rate and increased the yield by 24% when conducted at high temperatures. At lower temperatures, the methane yield of …

Accounting For Critical Attributes And Uncertainty In Flow-Ecology Relationships, Elizabeth Decker Morgan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Environmental flows are used to maintain streamflow for aquatic species in rivers while also sustaining human water requirements. While there are many approaches to develop environmental flows, they all rely on a strong conceptual understanding of flow-ecology relationships, which are often uncertain. Uncertainty in flow-ecology relationships can stem from using limited data to develop or test relationships or an incomplete understanding of the attributes inherent to each relationship, such as climate and land conditions. Accounting for these attributes and uncertainty in flow-ecology relationships is critical given mounting interest to develop and implement environmental flows at large scales, often with limited …

Effects Of Appetitive, Pre-Exposed, And Novel Distracters On Interval Timing Behavior: Role Of Nomifensine Within The Prelimbic Cortex, Alexander R. Matthews

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Poor attentional focus harms the estimation of time within the seconds-to-minutes range, i.e. interval timing. Interval timing behavior is related to several cognitive functions including perception of the passage of time, decision making, and to memory processes. Harmful delays in timing are caused by distractions of attention, within the timing task in the form of novel, or familiar distracters, which may or may not have been previously conditioned. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore how attention to novel or familiar distractions within the timing task can be altered using catecholamine reuptake blocker nomifensine. The experiment in Chapter 3, …

Three-Phase Unfolding Based Soft Dc-Link Converter Topologies For Ac To Dc Applications, Dorai Babu Yelaverthi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plugin hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are more efficient than internal combustion-based vehicles. Adaption of EVs will help reduce the carbon emissions produced by the transportation sector. The charging infrastructure has to grow at a rapid pace to encourage EV adaption. Installing higher capacity fast chargers will help alleviate the range anxiety of battery electric vehicle customers. More public charging stations are required for the full adaption of EVs. Utility power is distributed as ‘alternating current.’ A battery requires ‘direct current’ (DC) source to charge it. Hence a power converter that converts AC source to DC …

Moderating Effects Of School Ethnic Composition On The Associations Between Cultural Variables And Academic Outcomes Among Latinx Youth, Juan Estrada

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Cultural factors such as acculturative stress, discrimination and ethnic identity have been shown to relate to Latinx students’ academic outcomes, with the first two being risk factors, while the last one primarily plays a protective role. Factors that modify or change these relationships have been studied by both psychological and educational researchers, in efforts to inform interventions. One area of interest is school ethnic contexts, specifically school ethnic representation (number of same-ethnic peers) and school ethnic diversity (proportion of different ethnic groups in student body). This study investigated whether these two school ethnic variables changed or influenced the relationship between …

Characterizing Oligomeric State Changes Of Protein Arginine Methyltransferase 1 As A Mechanism For Regulating Activity, Ariana N. Ortolano

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

If you imagined a living cell as a factory, enzymes would be the workers with each individually performing a very specific and important job. If a job is not done correctly it could be detrimental to the performance of assembly lines and devastate a businesses’ existence. For enzymes, their jobs occur on a biological level by catalyzing reactions inside the cell, which can include altering another protein and the pathway it is involved in. Protein arginine methyltransferases, or PRMTs, is an example of an enzyme that modifies protein substrates. It does this by adding one or two methyl groups onto …

Achieving Hate Speech Detection In A Low Resource Setting, Peiyu Li

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Online social networks provide people with convenient platforms to communicate and share life moments. However, because of the anonymous property of these social media platforms, the cases of online hate speeches are increasing. Hate speech is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as “public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation”. Online hate speech has caused serious negative effects to legitimate users, including mental or emotional stress, reputational damage, and fear for one’s safety. To protect legitimate online users, automatically hate speech detection techniques are …

Algorithms For The Calibration And Correction Of Texel Images Using Inertial Measurement Updates, Trevor C. Welch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A 3D terrain map can be developed to survey the earth’s surface and provide scientists with a method of accurately modeling terrain. Some of the applications include agricultural surveys, disaster management, and object classification. In order to develop a 3D terrain map, a sensor must capture all of the data to create the map. This 3D mapping tool can be made by combining a sensor that take samples of points on the earth’s surface and combines that with a digital camera that takes an image and lays it across those samples of the earth.

In order to take data over …

Trends In Us Crop Yields & Water Use, Britta L. Schumacher

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Over half the land in the US is dedicated to agriculture, with the vast majority of all cropland cultivated in corn, wheat, or soybean. Despite continuing advances in agricultural technologies, and consistent yield growth over the twentieth century, research suggests that environmental change is already impacting agricultural yield and future changes are sure to exacerbate challenges to agricultural production. It follows that the future of US agriculture depends on the evolution of the changing climate, the relationship between crop yields and the environment, on-farm management and adaptations, the ecosystems that support agriculture, the political and economic incentives that shape what …

Short- And Long-Term Mechanisms For Increasing Inputs Of Phosphorus In Mountain Waterbodies Of Northeastern Utah, Usa, Jessica Scholz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Phosphorus is an essential nutrient that allows life in water to flourish, but changes in phosphorus supplies are not well understood in remote watersheds. In mountain environments, remote watersheds contain critical high-quality water supplies and unique ecosystems, but excess phosphorus can diminish water quality by producing unfavorable aquatic species. Therefore, observed trends of increasing phosphorus concentrations in remote lakes and rivers in the US over the last two decades are a significant concern. Using the Uinta Mountains as a case study, we evaluated three different direct and indirect pathways for phosphorus increases in remote mountain watersheds that may explain observed …

Herennius Philo And The Dilemma Of Lexicography, Alec Smitten

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis seeks to explore De Diversis Verborum Significationibus, the surviving epitome of the lexicon of Herennius Philo of Byblos (ca. 64-148 CE). By placing Philo in the timeline of Greek lexica, his prescriptive style and desire for absolute correctness in speech stands out among other lexicographers, and raises this question: what is the purpose of a dictionary, to describe how words are used, or to define “correct” usage?

Studies Of Classical Analysis After Whittaker And Watson, Ting-Yao Lee

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The goal of this thesis is to solve problems from the first four chapters of the book, titled A Course of Modern Analysis: An Introduction to the General Theory of Infinite Processes and of Analytic Functions with an Account of the Principal Transcendental Functions by E.T. Whittaker and G.N. Watson. The titles of the first four chapters are “Complex Numbers,” “The Theory of Convergence,” “Continuous Functions and Uniform Convergence,” and “The Theory of Riemann Integration,” respectively. This book is a classic mathematical analysis textbook that contains some challenging end-of-chapter exercises and some details within each chapter are often left to …

Application Of Flow And Ion Data To Estimate Ungaged Inflows And Losses In Urban And Agricultural Sub-Reaches Of The Logan River Observatory, Hyrum Tennant

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Streams in urban and agricultural environments are often heavily diverted for irrigation and drinking water purposes. These streams can receive inflow from unmeasured sources including stormwater returns, groundwater drains, and irrigation runoff that will help sustain flow during dry periods. Due to an inability to identify the source of most of these inflows or directly measure their volumes, there is a clear need for identification and quantification methods. Streamflow data from the Logan River Observatory illustrates the importance of unidentified inflows in sections influenced by large diversions. To understand the role of unidentified inflows and possible outflows in this portion …

Space-Time Dynamics Of The Uinta Fremont Agricultural Transition In Eastern Utah And Northwestern Colorado, Trista N. Schiele

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Recent work in Utah’s northern Uinta Basin documents associations between variability in precipitation and fluctuating populations during the Fremont period, AD 300-1350. In this study, I evaluate the role that precipitation variability had on observed regional population density and settlement patterns. I test a model of village formation in Cub Creek, Utah across the larger Uinta Basin and its periphery by creating two predictive statistical models using archaeological data anchored in space and time. I conclude that while precipitation variability plays a role in the initial adoption of farming practices which itself leads to higher population densities, changes in patterns …

Application Of Computational Fluid Dynamics To Determine Gas Expansion Factors Of Differential Pressure Flow Meters, Patrick L. Campana

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research was to investigate if computer simulations could be used to accurately predict gas expansion in differential pressure flow meters. Differential pressure flow meters are used to measure the flow rate of pressurized liquids and gases through pipes. Computer simulations of liquid and gas flows were conducted for three distinct differential pressure flow meter geometries: Classical Venturis, Stand Concentric orifice plates, and wedge meters.

Gas flows were modeled as dry air using the assumption of a perfect gas. Expansion effects were modeled using the ideal gas law. Computer simulations of Classical Venturi and Standard Concentric orifice …

The Biggest Snowball Fight In Earth History: Stratigraphy, Facies Analysis, And Geochronology Of The Pocatello Formation, Matthew W. Ellison

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Snowball Earth Hypothesis details a time in Earth’s history (the Cryogenian period) where the entire planet was encapsulated by kilometer thick ice sheets for two, multi-million-year glaciations. The first, known as the Sturtian, lasted from 717 – 660 million years ago while the second, known as the Marinoan, lasted form approximately 650 – 635 million years ago. Snowball Earth was caused by a few processes that sort of built upon each other: Rodinia began splitting apart ~740 million years ago which allowed for increased rates of silicate weathering. High rates of silicate weathering resulted in CO₂ drawdown which …