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Cougar Predation And Ecological Energetics In Southern Utah, Bruce Bennet Ackerman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Diet of cougars (Felis concolor) was studied from December 1978 to August 1981, on a 4500 km2 study area near Escalante, Utah. Prey eaten was determined from analysis of 112 animals consumed as prey, and from 239 cougar scats. Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) were the major prey item, comprising 81% of biomass consumed. Lagomorphs, large rodents, and smaller predators were also important components. Cattle comprised <1% of the diet, although commonly grazed on the cougar's summer range. Adult male and juvenile (<1yr) mule deer were killed more often than expected, in fall (P<0.10) and in winter (P<0.005). Cougars were a major cause of mortality of adult deer (41% of all adult female deaths, 35% of male), but only 6% of mortality of juveniles. Selection of prey seemed to be a function of prey vulnerability, rather than one of active choice by the predator.

Motion-sensitive radio-transmitters were placed on 15 cougars, from 3 months to 7-9 years of age. Three parameters of the radio signal were used to determine activity levels during 6843 …

Population Characteristics And Movement Patterns Of Cougars In Southern Utah, Thomas P. Hemker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Movements of 22 cougars (Felis concolor) were monitored by radio-telemetry between January 1979 and July 1981 in southern Utah. The population, composed of resident, transient, and juvenile cougars, remained relatively constant in size for 3 years. Densities (0.4-0.5 cougars/100 km²) were considerably lower than has been reported elsewhere. Average annual home area size of resident females (685 km²) and a single resident male (826 km²) were substantially larger than other home area sizes reported. Home areas of resident females overlapped and resident male home areas may have overlapped as well. Despite the …

Toxicologic Effects Of Extracts Of Cestrum Parqui L'Héritier In Mice, Tomás A. López

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Cestrum parqui L'Héritier is a Solanaceous weed of wide distribution throughout the world. It causes poisoning of animals, particularly cattle and sheep, and constitutes a serious problem for animal production in some countries.

The present study was undertaken to develop a biological test for the detection of toxicity of extracts obtained from the plant. This test will be utilized to assess the toxicity of extracts obtained from the plant in future studies.

The plant is known to induce poisoning in laboratory animals, but there are no precise references on doses to be utilized and of appropriate routes of dosing. Oral …

An Interregional Study Of Kenya's Livestock Sector Using Linear Programming, Zakayo Joseph Mwangi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The major purpose of this study was to determine the least-cost method of producing red meat in Kenya. Linear programming was used in the study. A simulated reduction of grazing land available in one of the settlement areas was carried out to indicate what effect this had on the overall regional production pattern of meat in the country.

Kenya was divided into eleven livestock producing and consuming regions. 1979 was used as the base year, and the demand projection was based on the 1979 population. Input and output coefficients, livestock unit requirements, and market prices were developed. A linear programming …

Stream Insect Production As A Function Of Alkalinity And Detritus Processing, Thomas G. Osborn

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The study was conducted to determine if aquatic insect production was significantly different between high and low alkalinity mountain streams and if any differences were associated with food availability factors. The major objectives included determining: (1) if annual production differences occur between high and low alkalinity streams; (2) if processing rates of terrestrial detritus differs between high and low alkalinity streams; (3) if detrital processing rates are related to stream insect productivities; (4) if primary productivity varies between high and low alkalinity streams; (5) if toxic effects or micronutrient limitations exist in high or low alkalinity streams that could limit …

Faunal Succession And Depositional Environments Within The Lodgepole Limestone (Early Mississippian) Of Samaria Mountain, Idaho, Gary Keith Hines

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Community succession, the orderly changes a community experiences with time, is considered to be the result of either autogenic or allogenic factors working singularly or in combination. It has been further suggested that, as communities undergo succession, certain biological parameters change in a predictable manner. Examination of members 2 through 4 of the Mississippian (Kinderhook-Osage) Lodgepole Formation of Samaria Mountain, Idaho provides a means to evaluate these concepts.

Within the study section comprised of 125 beds (61.5 m thick), four rock types are recognized. These include: (1) fossiliferous wackestone (78% of beds), which ranges in color from dark-gray (N3) to …

Biofeedback: A Possible Substitute For Smoking, Earl Eugene Griffith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Numerous agencies have accumulated evidence since 1964 which implicates habitual cigarette smoking as a causal or facilitating factor in the development of many circulatory and respiratory diseases. This study sought to identify those psychological variables which possibly contribute to the maintenance of cigarette smoking and therefore, had two main purposes. First, this study investigated the individual and simultaneous physiological changes, i.e., Electroencephalography, Electromyography, Heart Rate, Blood Pressure and Skin Temperature that occurred during and immediately after the smoking of one cigarette. Second, the study investigated the hypothesis that smoking frequency would decrease when individuals were trained via biofeedback procedures to …

Autoshaping Infant Vocalizations, Alexander Mcnaughton Myers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A series of five experiments was conducted to determine whether operant or respondent factors controlled the emission of a particular vocalization ("Q") by human infants 16 to 18 months old. Experiment 1 consisted of a pilot investigation of the effects of an autoshaping procedure on three infants' vocal behavior. All three subjects demonstrated increased emission of the target sound during the CR period. Experiments 2 through 4 attempted to replicate the findings of Experiment 1 under controlled conditions, and failed to do so. Experiment 5a presented infant subjects with a discrete-trial operant procedure (having the identical temporal parameters as the …

Models For Estimating Energy And Protein Utilization For Feeds, Muhammad Fadel Wardeh

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Data on the proximate nutrient content of feedstuffs, digestibility and energy utilization available from the International Feedstuffs Institute (Utah State University) were used to develop mathematical models for estimating energy and protein utilization of five classes of feedstuffs for various kinds of animals.

Classes of feedstuffs were subdivided into more related subclasses. Furthermore, data from all feeds were pooled together then subgrouped into more related subgroups in an attempt to gain high precision in prediction of digestible proximate nutrients and TDN from a single chemical entity by the use of simple regression models (Y = bo + b₁x …

Examination Of The Effect Of Physical Exercise On Metabolic Control In Type I Insulin-Dependent Youth With Diabetes Mellitus, Gayle Ann Brazzi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

There is evidence for the importance of physical exercise balanced with diet and insulin therapy in the treatment and control of Type I insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Recent attention in the literature has focused on the once neglected component of treatment--exercise. A well-controlled exercise state is generally believed to be beneficial for the individual with diabetes. Limited studies are available on the effect of exercise on long-term metabolic control. Before exercise levels can be professionally prescribed for a given population of youth with diabetes, current exercise patterns should be evaluated as to the effect on long-term metabolic control.

It is the …

Effect Of Atmospheric Oxidation On Bioavailability Of Meat Iron And Liver Weights In Rats, Kathleen M. Cardon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Iron bioavailability of diets containing oxidized turkey and oxidized beef meat was investigated in two experiments. In both studies male, weanling rats were made anemic by consumption of a low iron diet and bleeding. The experimental diets were prepared so that meat was the only source of iron. Hemoglobin regeneration served as the basis for measuring iron utilization. In experiment 1, lyophilized, uncooked turkey meat was allowed to oxidize at 20-22°C for 0, 48, 96, 144, 216, or 264 hours and then fed to the rats. The length of oxidation time of the turkey meat did not significantly affect the …

Bovine Muscle Cathepsin D: Purification And Proteolytic Activity On Muscle Proteins, Paul Hwaleun Fan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An affinity column for cathepsin D was prepared making use of the strong affinity of pepstatin for cathepsin D. Pepstatin is an N-acylated pentapeptide from Actinomycetes with the following structure: isovaleryl-L-valyl-L-valyl-4-amino-3-hydroxy-6-methylheptanoyl-L-alanyl-4-amino-3-hydroxy- 6-methyl heptanoic acid. A relatively rapid and efficient method for cathepsin D purification has been developed; Steps include homogenization, ammonium sulfate fractionation, and chromatography on pepstatin-Sepharose column. The final preparation has a specific activity of 38 units/mg. and shows a single protein band on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate corresponding to a subunit molecular weight of 42,000. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis studies did not reveal any impurities. The …

Bioavailability Of Calcium, Fluoride And Iron In Mechanically-Deboned Beef Fed To Growing Rats, Kathryn Mclaughlin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Weanling rats were fed diets containing raw lyophylized hand-deboned shank beef (HDS) supplemented with CaCO₃, retorted lyophylized mechanically deboned shank beef (MDS), or raw lyophylized MDS. Ca in the latter two diets originated from bone during the mechanical deboning process. Ca absorption, Ca retention, bone weight, and bone breaking strength were similar for comparative dietary levels of Ca regardless of the source. Bone ash and Ca content was significantly higher (P < .05) in the MDS 393 (3.93 g Ca/kg diet) diet and in the retorted MDS 460 diet compared with the HDS 488 diet. Relative biological values for the MDS diets calculated relative to the HDS diets ranged from 102 to 132 when the linear regression of Ca consumed, Ca retained, or dietary Ca level vs bone ash or bone Ca content was obtained. The retorted MDS 460 diet contained the highest Fe level and exhibited a lower percent absorption, terminal hemoglobin level, and liver Fe storage. Humerus F content increased as dietary F (also present from bone) level increased. Dietary F level did not determine humerus breaking strength.

The Effects Of Myoglobin, Nitrosylmyoglobin, And Free Iron On The Growth Of Clostridium Botulinum In Cured Meat, Susan K. Fortier Collinge

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Although nitrite is a known inhibitor of Clostridium botulinum in cured meats, the mechanism of inhibition is not understood. The observation has been made that iron is required for growth of C. botulinum and that the role of nitrite may be to alter the pathway of iron uptake by these organisms. Since the color change in cured meats is due to the binding of nitrite to the heme group of meat pigments, it was hypothesized that nitrite may also be tying up an essential iron source, heme. This experiment was an investigation of the possibility that myoglobin added to a …

Factors Affecting The Measurement Of Undenatured Whey Protein Nitrogen In Dried Whey By A Modified Harland-Ashworth Test, Reyad M. Aboumahmoud

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Harland-Ashworth test for measuring undenatured whey protein nitrogen in nonfat dry milk was modified to measure undenatured whey protein nitrogen in dried whey. The new test was designed to measure absorbance in Harland-Ashworth filtrates at 280 nm to eliminate difficulties associated with turbidimetric measurements. One gram dried whey was reconstituted in 25 ml pH 6.7 phosphate buffer (.1M) in a 25 x 150 mm test tube. Ten grams sodium chloride were added. The test tubes were incubated for 30 min in a water bath at 37C and shaken 8-10 times in the first 15 min. The tubes were removed …

An Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (Elisa) For Pantothenate, Allen H. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for pantothenate has been developed. Antibodies induced in rabbits against bovine serum albumin-pantothenate conjugate were specifically purified by affinity chromatography. This process served to reduce the amount of endogenous pantothenate attached to the antibody, as well as to purify the antibody. The purified antibodies were covalently linked to alkaline phosphatase (Sigma type VII) with glutaraldehyde (0.05% aqueous solution). An immobilized pantothenate substrate was first obtained by attaching human serum albumin-pantothenate conjugate to the surface of polystyrene culture tubes by passive adsorption. The binding of the enzyme labelled antibody (E-AB) to this substrate is proportionately inhibited …

Vitamin A And Vitamin E Status Of Persons On Hemodialysis, Kathleen S. Johnson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The study was designed to assess the vitamin A and vitamin E status of persons receiving maintenance hemodialysis. Blood samples from thirty persons receiving hemodialysis, as well as age and sex-matched controls, were analyzed for vitamin A, vitamin E, and carotene using a spectrofluorometric assay for vitamins A and E, and a spectrophotometric assay for carotene. Dietary intakes of vitamins A and E were estimated via verbal questioning. Samples of dialysate were also studied. Results of the investigation showed significantly elevated vitamin A, normal vitamin E, and decreased carotene levels in persons with renal failure receiving maintenance hemodialysis, when compared …

Diversity And Production Of Herbaceous Vegetation In A Northern Utah Subalpine Chronosequence, Gary A. Reese

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Successional trends in herbaceous plant production and diversity were studied in an age sequence of sites, i.e. chronosequence, inferred to represent a meadow to aspen to fir to spruce-fir sere. Primary production was observed to decrease in a linear fashion with successional development. Three components of diversity; richness, heterogeneity, and equitability or evenness, each had low early successional values, reaching maximum diversity in mid-succession, and declining to intermediate levels with maturity. The magnitude of these trends varied greatly, depending on the methods used to determine plant dominance. Characteristics of various dominance indices and their applicability to this study were examined. …

Economic Analysis Of Long-Term Management Strategies For Two Sizes Of Utah Cattle Ranches, Roger E. Banner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Utah cattle ranchers realize relatively little profit from ranch ownership and management. This study represents an attempt to identify ranch management strategies that produce more profit over time than do conventional strategies.

To identify optimum management strategies for the long term, analyses of ranches under both normal and adverse ranch operation conditions using the COPLAN linear programming model were made for strategy comparison. To depict these ranch business environmental conditions, production levels were estimated from available biological data and price levels were estimated by indexing 1977 ranch product prices (the most current budget data available for Utah). The variability of …

The Energy Expenditure Of Heifers Grazing Crested Wheatgrass Rangeland In West-Central Utah, Kris M. Havstad

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The free-roaming ruminant requires energy for the demands of vii grazing, traveling and thermoregulation that are not required by its confined counterpart. Literature estimates of these additional costs range from 10 to 170 percent above maintenance. The uncertain magnitude of this increased demand and the factors that contribute to it impede the ability of the rangeland ruminant nutritionist to establish guidelines for the energy requirements of the free-roaming herbivore. This study was designed to estimate the energy expenditure of yearling Angus heifers while grazing a declining supply of available crested wheatgrass forage (Agropyron cristatum) on rangeland in west-central …

Allegory And Nietzschean Values In Kafka, Camus, And Kazantzakis, Paul Kenneth Naylor

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this these is to explore Nietzschean values as they appear in three modern allegories: Franz Kafka's The Castle, Albert Camus' The Plague, and Nikos Kazantzakis' Zorba the Greek. The intent is to illustrate Friedrich Nietzsche's three stages of the overman as they apply to Kafka, Camus, and Kazantzakis.

Seasonal Temperature Preference Of Adult Mountain Whitefish, Prosopium Williamsoni, Jean M. Ihnat

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Temperatures selected seasonally by adult mountain whitefish were measured in the laboratory in a horizontal gradient. Final preferendum estimates, based on acute (3-hour) preference tests conducted with fish acclimated to 5, 10, and 15 C each season, were 17.7 C (pre-spawning), 11.9 C (post-spawning), 9.9 C (winter), and 16.3 C (spring). Seasonal influence on temperature selection was evident on the basis of differences in final preferenda, covariance analysis of responses of laboratory-acclimated fish, and temperature selection by fish held at ambient river temperatures. Post-spawning and winter groups selected lower temperatures than did pre-spawning and spring groups. Pre-spawning fish selected temperatures …

Some Morphological And Chemical Responses Of Blackbrush (Coleogyne Ramosissima) To Goat Browsing: Influences On Dietary Blackbrush Selection By Goats And Cattle, Frederick D. Provenza

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Domestic goats were used to modify the growth form of blackbrush, a spinescent shrub occurring in nearly monospecific stands on several million hectares of rangeland in the southwestern United States. The objective of this research was to evaluate goat browsing as a means of improving these rangelands for cattle. Winter goat browsing stimulated spring twig growth from basal and axillary buds which resulted in increased production.

Twig production by heavily browsed plants (>95 percent removal of current season's twigs) was a function of precipitation, soil depth, branch location on the plant, and period of rest after browsing. As precipitation …

Natural Pastures Of The Macquarie Region Of New South Wales: Their Origin, Composition And Management, David Leslie Michaelk

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Two experiments were conducted in the semi-arid (400 millimeter annual rainfall) Macquarie region of New South Wales, Australia, at the Trangie Agricultural Research Station (31° 59'S; 147° S7'E), to examine (a) the way botanical parameters can be used to separate grazing and climatic impacts on range vegetation, and (b) how this delineation affects application of range science tenets (site, condition and trend) to different pasture types.

Two range sites were studied: Site 1, a light soil type, was dominated by annual grasses, legumes and forbs, whereas perennial grasses (mainly Chloris acieularis and Chloris truncata) dominated the heavy soils of …

Investigations On The Great Northern Beans (Phaseolus Vulgaris L.): Protein Functionality, Antinutrients, Flatus Factors, Fermentation, And Carbohydrates, Shridhar K. Sathe

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Protein content of the Great Northern beans was 26.10 percent on a dry weight basis. The apparent isoelectric pH of the NaCl extractable proteins was about 4.4. Among the several solubilizing agents, Na₂CO₃, K₂SO₄, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and NaOH at the respective concentrations of 0.5, 5.0, 5.0 (all w/v), and 0.02 N were the best protein solubilizing agents, solubilizing 93.6 grams Lowry protein per 100 grams Kjeldahl protein. AIbumins and globulins accounted for 21.18 and 73.40 percent, respectively, of the total bean proteins. The bean proteins were fractionated and protein concentrates …

Effects Of Preexposure To Shock On Autoshaping, Nancy L. Eldred

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The safety signal hypothesis suggests that during the absence of stimuli predicting impending shock, the organism is not fearful. The stimuli which predict the absence of shock are therefore called safety signals. The purpose of the present study was to investigate some critical properties of safety signals. Such stimuli in an avoidance or escape situation, according to the opponent process model, are expected to acquire hedonic value opposite to shock.

This study examined differences in conditioning variables between safety signals predicting different intensities of shock, and between safety signals present in procedures using predicted shock, and procedures using unpredicted shock. …

Inter- And Intra-Sensory Modality Stimulus Scaling: A Method For The Determination Of The Relative Salience Of Stimuli In Poison-Based Aversion Learning By Pigeons, David L. Pounds

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

One of the most rapidly expanding areas of research in psychology has been poison-based aversion learning (PBAL). The PBAL paradigm typically involves: exposing an animal to a novel substance; inducing illness following ingestion of that substance; and then providing access to the substance at a later time. The initial reaction to the novel substance is generally to reduce consumption, a finding labeled neophobia. The reduction of substance intake on test day is called learned aversion.

Following demonstrations of cue-to-consequence specificity (i.e., the differential associability of some stimuli with certain consequences) in PBAL research with rats, recent research has focused on …

Ego Strengthening Hypnotic Suggestions Versus Specific Hypnotic Suggestions In The Treatment Of Obesity, Richard A. Hutchison

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A comparison was made of two types of hypnotic suggestions. Twenty seven subjects in two groups participated in eight weekly one-hour group hypnotic sessions. All subjects were given the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, and were weighed pre, post and at four month follow-up. Both types of hypnotic suggestions were equally effective in helping individuals lose weight. The average weight loss was 10 pounds at follow up. Both groups showed improvement on the personality tests. Those who received the ego-strengthening hypnotic suggestions showed more improvement and more long lasting improvement than did those who received the specific …

Growth-Form Analysis And Paleoecology Of The Corals Of The Late Ordovician Through Mid-Silurian Fish Haven And Laketown Formations, Bear River Range, North-Central Utah, Thomas B. Rich

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Morphology of corals of the Late Ordovician through mid-Silurian Fish Haven and Laketown Formations were analyzed to document adaptations to inferred enviromental conditions, i.e., (bathymetry, illumination, sedimentation, currents, and energy), under which their enclosing sediment was deposited. Specimens and data were collected from six sites. Insoluble-residue tests were performed on the corals' matrices.

Individual corallites of radial-lensoidal corals radiate in all directions. Vertical growth, however, was restricted in turbulent conditions. Umbrellic, radial-lensoidal corals feature downward facing corallites, considered to be an adaptation to a well illuminated environment.

On tabular lensoidal corals, constituent corallites faces exclusively upward, an orientation needed under …

Comparison Of Toxicological Models For Evaluation Of Air Pollutants: Response Of The Pulmonary Alveolar Macrophage To Hexavalent Chromium, Jennifer Baker Galvin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was designed to accomplish two primary objectives: (1) to compare two test methods commonly used to evaluate toxicity of inhaled air pollutants, and (2) to observe the response as measured by each of the methods, of pulmonary alveolar macrophages exposed to 2μg hexavalent chromium.

The first method evaluated featured use of intratracheal injections to simulate live inhalation exposures, and the second required exposure of macrophages cultured on petri plates. Pulmonary alveolar macrophages harvested from Long Evans rats were used. The two cell function parameters measured in the evaluations were chemiluminescence and oxygen consumption (which was determined for cells …