Digital Commons Network^™

Survival Of Mycoplasma Species In Recycled Bedding Sand And Possible Implications For Disease Transmission To Ruminants, Anne E. Justice-Allen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Mycoplasmas are a group of bacteria which are small in size, lack a cell wall, and have small genomes in comparison to other bacteria. The members of the group that are pathogenic utilize several mechanisms to evade the host's immune system. These processes affect surveillance and control mechanisms such as serologic testing and vaccination. Many of these organisms cause diseases of livestock, which heavily impact production parameters such as weight gain, milk yield, and egg production. Mycoplasmas also cause disease in people.

Mycoplasma spp. can cause mastitis, metritis, pneumonia, and arthritis. The currently documented routes of transmission of Mycoplasma spp. …

Planning For Closure Of The Logan City/Cache County Landfill And Surrounding Landscape, Kristofor Lee Kvarfordt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Planning for closure requires in depth analysis into many operational, environmental, and social factors. Ideally, the planning process should resolve as many of the technical, social, and aesthetic requirements as possible by systematically addressing the various elements that influence the final design. This research identified the significant issues related to planning for the end use of the current Logan landfill after it reaches capacity in 18-20 years and the associated lagoons and wetlands. The current closure plan calls for simply recontouring the landfill to stabilize the slopes, then revegetating. The location of the site has serious implications for environmental impact …

A Spatiotemporal Analysis Of Aspen Decline In Southern Utah’S Cedar Mountain, Using Remote Sensing And Geographic Information Systems, David M. Evans

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Widespread mortality of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) has occurred over large expanses of the Western US during the 20^th century. While much of this decline was due to conifer encroachment into seral aspen, significant aspen losses also occurred in areas of persistent aspen and may have been exasperated by drought conditions. Aspen decline has been especially notable at Cedar Mountain, Utah, an area of mostly private land and extensive persistent aspen coverage. The objectives of this study were to create a time series of live and dead aspen cover on the Cedar Mountain landscape, using remotely sensed …

Correlation Of Age-Specific Phenylalanine Levels On Intellectual Outcome In Patients With Phenylketonuria, Krista S. Viau

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study includes data collected from a retrospective chart review of patients with phenylketonuria treated at the University of Utah Metabolic Clinic. Among the
approximately 175 patients treated for phenylketonuria at this clinic, 55 patients (28 female) met the inclusion criteria for the present study. Based on the diagnostic Phe
level, 66.7% were classified as having classic phenylketonuria, 18.5% with moderate phenylketonuria, and 14.8% with mild phenylketonuria.

Subjects’ cognitive status was measured with one of three neuropsychological tests: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children third and fourth editions and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale third edition. Due to structural differences among …

Thaw: A Memoir, Diane Bush

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This collection of creative nonfiction essays is a hybrid text of visual and verbal narratives located broadly within the genres of memoir, research-based nonfiction, and history. Women's memoirs, including a number of non-traditional texts, historical narratives, and an archival collection of photographs, provided springboards for the exploration of and reflection on the emotional terrain of loss, the ache of remembrance, and the ultimate desire for peace.

Ultimately, this work is a search for solace amidst emotional upheaval, beginning in childhood, after the deaths of my father, mother, first husband, and beloved aunt. Unable to sit still with my grief, I …

Quantifying Surface Water And Groundwater Interactions In A High-Gradient Mountain Stream For Solute Transport, Noah M. Schmadel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A study reach in a mountain stream highly influenced by groundwater was selected to test common data collection strategies used to characterize and quantify groundwater exchange processes necessary to predict solute transport. The data types collected include: high frequency discharge estimates with the use of rating curves, dilution gauging techniques with instantaneous tracer experiments, groundwater table and stream water surface elevations, vertical head gradients, and hydraulic conductivity estimates. The first two data types were categorized as stream gauging and the remaining three data types as site characterization. The stream gauging data were used to quantify net changes in stream discharge …

Summer Home Range Fidelity In Adult Female Elk (Cervus Elaphus) In Northwestern Colorado, April M. Brough

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Understanding the degree of spatial fidelity of individuals within a species increases our ability to manage appropriately. Elk (Cervus elaphus) is a highly managed species in the Intermountain West, but there is little research evaluating summer home range fidelity of individual elk. We evaluated fidelity of 72 adult female elk to individual summer-fall home ranges in the White River study area in northwestern Colorado during two consecutive summers. Based on individual kernel-estimated utilization distributions, we used (1) the Volume of Intersection (VI) statistic and (2) interannual distances between centers of mass to compare summer range overlap and distribution. …

Effects Of Coyote Removal On Pronghorn And Mule Deer Populations In Wyoming, Dylan Earl Brown

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

I studied the relationship between coyote (Canis latrans) removal and pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) density and fawn:doe ratios in southwest Wyoming and northeast Utah in 2007 and 2008. Coyote removal variables studied included the number of coyotes removed, ground hours worked, total hours worked, coyotes removed/aerial gunning hour, coyotes removed/ground work hour, and coyotes removed/total effort hour. None of the variables explained changes observed in fawn:doe ratios of pronghorn or mule deer. The number of coyotes removed, ground hours worked, total hours worked, and coyotes removed/aerial gunning hour were positively …

The Effect Of Irrigation Diversions On The Mountain Whitefish (Prosopium Williamsoni) Population In The Big Lost River, Patrick Allen Kennedy

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Management agencies documented a decline in the mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) population on the Big Lost River, and unscreened diversions were recognized as a potential factor for this decline. Research suggests the Big Lost River mountain whitefish population is genetically unique, and it has been petitioned for protection under the Endangered Species Act. In 2007, a basin-wide synopsis of diversions was conducted to describe relative entrainment and identify diversions that entrained the most mountain whitefish. This larger scaled synopsis facilitated a more precise assessment of entrainment by a subset of diversions in 2008. In 2008, the volume that …

The Effects Of Social Status And Learning On Captive Coyote (Canis Latrans) Behavior, Lynne Barbara Gilbert-Norton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many canids live within hierarchical social systems that could promote differences in learning or in behavior between ranked individuals. Differences in foraging and territorial behavior have been observed between ranked coyotes (Canis latrans), yet effects of learning and social status on coyote behavior are not thoroughly understood. I explored a) coyote response to an artificial scent boundary and whether response differed by status, b) how foraging coyotes tracked temporal resource change, and c) how coyotes find spatially distributed food, and the effect of dominance on foraging behavior. I used male/female pairs of captive coyotes at the National Wildlife Research Center …

Herbicide, Salinity, And Flooding Tolerance Of Foxtail Barley (Hordeum Jubatum L.) And Desirable Pasture Grasses, Karl R. Israelsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research trials performed in the greenhouse compared the tolerance and response of Hordeum jubatum and desirable pasture grass species to herbicides, salinity, and flooding. Desirable grass species used in this study included: 'Fawn' tall fescue (Festuca arundinaceae), 'Garrison' creeping foxtail (Alopecurus arundinaceus), 'Palaton' reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea), 'Climax' timothy (Phleum pratense), 'Alkar' tall wheatgrass (Thinopyrum ponticum), 'Potomac' orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata), and 'Mustang' altai wildrye (Leymus angustus). Tolerance to herbicides, salinity, and flooding varied significantly among grass species. Herbicide tolerance was tested using four herbicides at five …

Defining And Meeting The Demand For Agricultural Machinery In China: A Case Study Of John Deere, Garrett W. Davis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

There has been little research conducted regarding the agricultural machinery market in China. However, current data suggest that this demand is dramatically increasing. This dissertation endeavors to generally define the current demand of the agricultural machinery market in China. There has been research conducted on multiple factors of the agricultural machinery market in China, such as land tenure rights, rural migration, government agricultural policies, and others. Through the use of limited quantitative data, market demand is analyzed and defined. By means of a qualitative case study of a successful multinational corporation, Deere & Co., how the demand is being met …

Investigating Methods To Reduce Black Bear (Ursus Americanus) Visitation To Anthropogenic Food Sources: Conditioned Taste Aversion And Food Removal, Kari D. Signor

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Conflicts between humans and black bears (Ursus americanus) jeopardize the safety of both humans and bears, especially when bears become food-conditioned to anthropogenic food sources in areas such as campgrounds. Interest in using non-lethal techniques, such as aversive conditioning, to manage such conflicts is growing. I conducted a captive experiment at The Wildlife Science Center in Minnesota and two field experiments in the La Sal Mountains, Utah, to investigate the effects of taste aversion conditioning using thiabendazole (TBZ) with a novel flavor cue and food removal on black bear food consumption and visitation to human food sources. In …

Removal And Utilization Of Wastewater Nutrients For Algae Biomass And Biofuels, Erick W. Griffiths

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Logan City Environmental Department operates a facility that consists of 460 acres of fairly shallow lagoons (~ 5'deep) for biological wastewater treatment that meets targets for primary and secondary treatments (solids, biological oxygen demand (BOD), and pathogen removal). Significant natural algal growth occurs in these lagoons, which improves BOD removal through oxygenation and also facilitates N removal through volatilization as ammonia under high pH conditions created by algal growth. Phosphorus, however, is non-volatile and stays in the water and likely cycles in and out of algal cells as they grow and die in the lagoons. In the near future, …

The Cult Of True Motherhood: A Narrative, Jacoba Lynne Mendelkow

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis consists of five chapters including a traditional introduction and four chapters, which investigate cultural interpretations of motherhood within the genre of memoir and personal essay. In the introduction, I discuss my research as it relates to the larger collection and detail how this work is different from other works within the "mother memoir" genre. Chapters II thru V, then, are all essays which begin to explore the major themes of cultural motherhood: ambivalence, loss, legitimacy, morality, and sin. These chapters, especially chapter II, identify and detail the traits of true motherhood as patience, compassion, sacrifice, and strength.

Chapter …

Synthetic Studies Of Laulimalide Analogues, Ian Addison Mcalexander

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Chapter 1 provides some background information on the disease area of cancer and current modes of treatment. Chemotherapy treatment is discussed with a focus on the major cellular targets for these drugs: DNA and microtubules. For each target, classes of active compounds are described along with their mode of action. The microtubule stabilizing agent laulimalide is introduced and a case is made for analogue synthesis.

Chapter 2 describes our first generation efforts toward synthesis of des-methyl laulimalide. The target compound is divided into a northern and southern fragment with the synthesis of each fragment described. The preparation of landmark intermediates …

The Effects Of Quality And Magnitude Of Reinforcement On Choice Responding, Jessica Erin Frieder

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The present study investigated the effects of a concurrent schedules arrangement, in which three dimensions of reinforcement (duration, attention, and stimuli) were manipulated, on choice responding, appropriate behavior, and problem behavior for three participants with disabilities who had escape-maintained problem behavior. Three experiments were conducted in which participants could choose between work, break, or problem behavior. In the first experiment, the choice analysis, three reinforcement dimensions were varied simultaneously for choice responses. In the second experiment, the component choice analysis, reinforcement dimensions were evaluated in isolation. In the third experiment, the effort analysis, increasing task demand requirements and how they …

Naive Prey Versus Nonnative Predators: A Role For Behavior In Endangered Species Conservation, Stephanie A. Kraft

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Fish are one of the most imperiled groups of vertebrates worldwide. Threats to fish fall into one of four general categories: physical habitat loss or degradation, chemical pollution, overfishing, and nonnative species introductions. Nonnative predatory fish often have a devastating impact on native prey, especially with endemic fish, whose restricted distribution and often limited evolutionary history with predators make them particularly susceptible to nonnative predators. One reason nonnative fish are often so efficient predators is that the native fish do not recognize the predator as a threat. Although many studies have examined the role of predator odor recognition, no fish …

Carbohydrate Derivatives In Antibiotics Research, Yi Liang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In this study, we investigated the potential applications of carbohydrates in the development of new antibiotics. To tackle the problem of multidrug-resistant variants of M. tuberculosis (MDR-TB), we investigated the biosynthesis pathways of trehalose, which has contributed to significant drug resistance. Some new methods were developed for the synthesis of potential inhibitors (6-azido-trehalose and 6,6'-diazido-trehalose) that have been designed to imitate the intermediate molecule (trehalose 6-phosphate, TPP) of OtsA-OtsB pathway. At the same time, some new antibacterial agents based on trehalose have been synthesized. Members of the 1,2,3-triazole family have shown interesting biological properties. Steroid derivatives have been developed in …

The Effect Of Lipids On Recognition Thresholds And Intensity Ratings Of The Five Basic Tastes, Jennifer Ellen Thurgood

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In addition to the contribution of lipids to food texture and aroma, the effect of lipids on taste perception is now commonly studied. It has been found that lipids may affect taste perception through lipid composition (i.e., cis-polyunsaturated fatty acids).

This study assessed the effect of lipid composition on the recognition thresholds of the basic tastes (i.e., sour, umami, bitter, salty, sweet) in emulsion model systems as well as taste intensities perceived at low suprathreshold concentrations. Taste thresholds and intensities in corresponding aqueous systems were determined for comparison. To evaluate the effect of lipid chemical composition on tastant detection, …

Sustaining The Allideghi Grassland Of Ethiopia: Influences Of Pastoralism And Vegetation Change, Almaz Tadesse Kebede

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Allideghi Wildlife Reserve in the Amibara District of Afar Regional State, Ethiopia, has international significance for harboring endangered Grevy's Zebra and other wildlife dependent on grasslands. The reserve is increasingly used by pastoral people and their herds. Impacts of livestock on native vegetation include direct effects of grazing and indirect effects from livestock-facilitated dispersal of an invasive plant, Prosopis juliflora. The main research objective was to determine effects of pastoralism and vegetation change on prospects for sustaining the Allideghi Wildlife Reserve as grassland habitat for Grevy's Zebra. Methods included use of driving surveys to quantify resource use by …

Isolation And Characterization Of Different Aggregates Of Lipid From Bovine Milk, Ankur Jhanwar

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Bovine milk fat globules naturally vary from less than 0.2 µm to 15 µm in diameter. Milk has at least two distinct distributions of fat globules. While the majority (~90%) of globules in milk are of the smaller distribution (average diameter of 0.4 µm), virtually all the fat is carried in the larger globules (average diameter 3.5 µm). This distribution suggests some compositional and/or functional significance might exist between the two populations of fat globules, which may be related to origin of these globules in the lactating cell.

Milk fat globules have a unique structure, composed of a core droplet …

Vegetation Characteristics Of Wyoming Big Sagebrush Communities Historically Seeded With Crested Wheatgrass In Northeastern Great Basin, Usa, Justin Rodney Williams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum [L.] Gaertn.) is one of the most commonly seeded grass species in the western United States and dominates thousands of hectares in the Great Basin. Although many degraded Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis) plant communities have been seeded with crested wheatgrass, successional pathways, influence of soil attributes, and cultivation history on the vegetation of these communities have not been fully characterized. I sought to identify community phases, vegetative differences, and soil attributes that explain variation among 35 Wyoming big sagebrush communities historically seeded with crested wheatgrass. All communities were more than …

Goatsrue (Galega Officinalis) Seed Biology, Control, And Toxicity, Michelle Oldham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Goatsrue is an introduced perennial plant that has proven to have great invasive potential, leading to its classification as a noxious weed in many states and at the federal level. This research focused on seed biology, herbicide control, and toxic dynamics of goatsrue. Physical dormancy of mature goatsrue seed was tested through scarification using sulfuric acid with exposures of up to 60 minutes resulting in 100% germination. Comparison of dormancy for 26-year-old and 6-month-old goatsrue seed indicated aged seeds had reduced dormancy levels compared to newly harvested seeds, but had similar viability. Goatsrue seedling emergence was inversely related to burial …

An Investigation Of Postzygotic Reproductive Isolation And Phenotypic Divergence In The Bark Beetle Dendroctonus Ponderosae, Ryan R. Bracewell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Understanding reproductive isolation and divergence is the focus of speciation research. Recent evidence suggested that some Dendroctonus ponderosae populations produced hybrids with reproductive incompatibilities, a reproductive boundary undetected by phylogeographic analyses using molecular markers. Additionally, the unique bifurcated distribution of D. ponderosae and the proposed isolation-by-distance gene flow pattern around the Great Basin Desert provided a unique opportunity to investigate the evolution of postmating (postyzygotic) isolation while also understanding phenotypic divergence along latitudinal (climatic) gradients. First, I characterized the strength, biological pattern, and geographic pattern of postzygotic isolation in D. ponderosae by crossing increasingly divergent populations in a common garden …

Cognitive Inference And Resulting Behaviors In Response To Ambiguous Threat In The Coyote, Canis Latrans, Sarah Shawnee Dawson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

While antipredator strategies have been a focus of behavioral research for decades, scientists generally study the responses of prey toward overt, explicit threat. However, risk can also be significant when a threat is covert, such as when an ambush predator may be nearby or a secondary threat remains after a predator's departure. Little is known about the mechanism that prey use to assess risk in a predator's absence. Tests were conducted to determine the manner in which coyotes respond to these ambiguous threats. Specifically, I tested whether coyotes respond to prior anthropogenic activity that has occurred near their only food …

Seed Banks Of Sagebrush Communities Seeded With Crested Wheatgrass, Kevin L. Gunnell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum [L.] Gaertn.) is one of the most commonly seeded exotic species in the western United States. Although many degraded Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis) plant communities have been seeded with crested wheatgrass during rehabilitation efforts, seed banks of these communities have not been characterized. I sought to characterize and explain the variation among 33 seeded communities in the northeastern Great Basin. Hierarchical clustering and principal components analysis identified four possible seed bank categories in these communities. Seed bank categories varied from high to low crested wheatgrass dominance. The crested wheatgrass-dominated category …

Mechanisms Of Induced Cell Death In Bluetongue Virus Challenged Human Cell Lines, Justin Darrel Hoopes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Bluetongue virus (BTV) is a pathogenic member of the Reoviridae family. BTV does not cause disease in humans, but is capable of selectively infecting and killing certain transformed human cell lines. Understanding BTV's oncotrophism may lead to new therapeutics for treating cancer. This study focused on the underlying mechanisms of BTV-induced cell death in carcinoma cell lines. It was our hypothesis that BTV infects human carcinoma transformed cells, produces mRNA and protein, induces a strong inflammatory response, induces mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK)-based pro-apoptotic signaling, inhibits PKB-based signaling, and eventually kills the cell by inducing apoptosis.

Three carcinoma cell lines …

Joseph Smith And The Bible: "Extending The Text And Filling The Silences", Sylvan Eugene Needham Iii

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In the first chapter, the underlying argument of the thesis indicates that Smith was very familiar with the Bible. His written work that reflects the scriptural nature of the Bible and is today canonized by Mormons is argued that it "extends the Bible's text and fills [many of] its [doctrinal] silences." A complete reading of this thesis could make some readers think that the doctrine of a plurality of Gods is integral to the sense of the Bible and a novel explanation for the existence of the universe.

The second chapter indicates that many have grappled with the summary doctrine …

Effects Of Targeted Grazing And Prescribed Burning On Fire Behavior And Community Dynamics Of A Cheatgrass (Bromus Tectorum)-Dominated Landscape, Joel M. Diamond

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Studies were conducted to determine the effectiveness of using targeted grazing and prescribed burning as tools to reduce fire hazards and cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) dominance on rangelands in the northern Great Basin. A field study, with four grazing-burning treatments (graze and no-burn, graze and burn, no-graze and burn, and no-graze and no-burn), was conducted on a B. tectorum-dominated site near McDermitt, Nevada from 2005-2007. Cattle removed 80-90% of standing biomass in grazed plots in May 2005 and 2006 when B. tectorum was in the boot (phenological) stage. Grazed and ungrazed plots were burned in October 2005 and …