Digital Commons Network^™

Comparison Of Chikungunya Virus Strains In Disease Severity And Susceptibility To T-705 (Favipiravir), In Vitro And In Vivo, Makda Gebre

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Chikungunya is a mosquito-transmitted disease caused by Chikungunya virus (CHIKV). Symptoms of Chikungunya include debilitating joint pain and swelling, fever and rash. CHIKV was first discovered in 1953 in Tanzania, and has since caused periodic outbreaks of disease. The virus reemerged recently in 2004 and has since spread around the world affecting more than 3 million people. The different strains of CHIKV have been grouped into three phylogenetic clades: West African, Asian and East/Central/South African (ECSA). There are no FDA approved medicines or vaccines used to treat or prevent CHIKV infection. The antiviral drug, T-705 (commercially known as Favipiravir), has …

A Comparison Of Five Statistical Methods For Predicting Stream Temperature Across Stream Networks, Maike F. Holthuijzen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The health of freshwater aquatic systems, particularly stream networks, is mainly influenced by water temperature, which controls biological processes and influences species distributions and aquatic biodiversity. Thermal regimes of rivers are likely to change in the future, due to climate change and other anthropogenic impacts, and our ability to predict stream temperatures will be critical in understanding distribution shifts of aquatic biota. Spatial statistical network models take into account spatial relationships but have drawbacks, including high computation times and data pre-processing requirements. Machine learning techniques and generalized additive models (GAM) are promising alternatives to the SSN model. Two machine learning …

Natural And Anthropogenic Effects On Life History Characteristics In The Side-Blotched Lizard (Uta Stansburiana), Geoffrey David Stuart Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Survival is a prerequisite for successful reproduction, and is thus intertwined with fitness. Some physiological systems can improve survival, like the immune system, but compete with other processes for resources. Because animals evolved with resource limitation, it is important to understand how these resource-allocation decisions are made. To meet this end, I performed four investigations addressing how life-history characteristics shift in side-blotched lizards (Uta stansburiana) using laboratory studies and multi-year field sampling. First, I measured metabolic rates in response to different immune challenges and different energy states in male lizards. I found that, surprisingly, cutaneous biopsies were associated …

Quantifying Riverbed Sediment Using Recreational-Grade Side Scan Sonar, Daniel Hamill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Colorado River in Glen, Marble, and Grand Canyons is subject to a complex regulatory framework, including the Colorado River Compact, the Endangered Species Act, and the Grand Canyon Protection Act of 1992. Physical, biological, and cultural resources are extensively monitored by the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program (GCDAMP) to assess the effect of Glen Canyon Dam (GCD) operations on the downstream environment. The GCDAMP consists of a diverse group of stakeholders who identify priority resources and agree upon water releases at GCD. Large expenditures of money have been devoted to monitoring physical and biological resources in Grand Canyon. …

A Comparison Of Park Access With Park Need For Children: Case Study In Cache County, Utah, Shuolei Chen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Childhood obesity is one of the nation’s most serious health problems. There are growing efforts to prevent childhood obesity by improving opportunities for physical activity in their communities. The outdoor settings of the built environment, such as parks and open spaces, can offer children opportunities for physical activities, experience with nature, and social interaction, which contribute to children’s physical and psychological health. However, children’s physical access to parks is often inequitable. Simultaneously, the quality of parks also varies. These disparities caused the inequitable distribution of health-promoting features of built environment among disadvantaged groups who may not have access to other …

Pharmaceuticals And Personal Care Products In An Effluent-Dominated Stream: Seasonal Variability And Downstream Fate, Bradley R. Buswell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) consist of a large group of compounds including medicines, lotions, soaps, shampoos, and even flame retardants and insect repellants. After use, PPCPs often enter waste streams that are directed to municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Due to inefficient removals in conventional wastewater treatment processes, WWTP discharges into streams and rivers are a major source of PPCPs to the environment.

The East Canyon Water Reclamation Facility (ECWRF) is a WWTP in Park City, Utah. After treatment, the ECWRF effluent is discharged into a small constructed wetland area before it enters East Canyon Creek. Due to …

Alternative Treatment Technologies For Low-Cost Industrial And Municipal Wastewater Management, Alan J. Hodges

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Roughly the same volume of water that rushes over the Niagara Falls is produced as wastewater in North America. This wastewater is treated through a variety of means to ensure that it can be safely returned to the natural ecosystem. This thesis examines two novel means for this treatment, one biological and one physical-chemical in nature, namely, Rotating Algae Biofilm Reactor treatment and expanded shale augmented coagulation-flocculation.

Rotating algae biofilm reactors (RABRs) support biofilm algae growth, and in turn, the algae take up harmful contaminants from the wastewater. This system was tested in wastewater from petroleum refining operations. The efficacy …

The Influence Of Wind Energy Development On Columbian Sharp-Tailed Grouse (Tympanuchus Phasianellus Columbianus) Breeding Season Ecology In Eastern Idaho, Matthew C. Proett

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Columbian sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus; CSTG) has experienced range-wide population declines, primarily as a result of habitat loss or degradation, and currently occupies <10% of its historic range. Expansion of wind energy developments across the remaining occupied CSTG range has been identified as a potential threat to the species. To assess the potential influence of wind energy development of CSTG breeding season ecology, I captured and radio-marked 135 female CSTG drugin 2014-2015 at leks located between 0.1-13.8 km from wind turbines in restored grassland habitats. Using radio-telemetry, I monitored 147 nests and 68 broods and developed models to assess the influence of wind turbines, roads, habitat features temporal factors, and precipitation on CSTG nest site selection, nest survival, brood success, and chick survival. Female CSTG in my study selected nest sites in grassland habitats where >30% of the canopy cover in the nesting core use area was composed of forbs (i.e., broadleaf plants). The strength of selection for this habitat type increased as its availability increased on the landscape. Nest survival increased with higher visual obstruction readings (i.e., concealment) at the nest bowl and in grassland habitats where forb cover exceeded 30% in the nesting core use area. I did not detect an influence of wind turbines or …

The Influence Of Threatened State Preemption On City Council Voting Behavior And Municipal Broadband, Dillon P. Corbridge

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The relationship between city and state government has been contentious at times throughout American history. Cities only have the legal authority granted to them by state government, yet many cities have cause to seek policy that may not be in the interest of those who govern the state. Leaders of American states may choose to preempt municipal authority by removing the legal power of a city to perform certain actions. While preemption provides states with a tool for regulating the policies and practices that cities may pursue, it is unclear whether city leaders act cautiously to avoid preemption, or instead …

Effects Of Changing Environments On Survival Of A Widely Distributed Ungulate, S Andrew Sims

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wildlife species distributed over large areas of land inhabiting varying environments are experiencing shifts in their home ranges due to human expansion and climate change. As these species home ranges shifts out of familiar, critical habitat they are forced to interact with novel environments, which in turn affects the species population demographics. In order to manage and conserve these species accordingly, specifically in a time of large-scale change, it is imperative that we add to current understandings of how they interact with various environments. Furthermore, frequently generating short-term predictions of demographic drivers will allow for conservation and management insight that …

A Stochastic Model For Water-Vegetation Systems And The Effect Of Decreasing Precipitation On Semi-Arid Environments, Shannon A. Dixon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Current climate change trends are affecting the magnitude and recurrence of extreme weather events. In particular, several semi-arid regions around the planet are confronting more intense and prolonged lack of precipitation, slowly transforming these regions into deserts. Many mathematical models have been developed for purposes of analyzing vegetation-water interactions, particularly in semi-arid landscapes. Most models are based on the average behavior of the system as a whole, and how it is influenced by external changes. These models may be termed "macro-scale" models. Other models have concerned themselves with the interactions between individuals, in this case the interactions between individual plants …

Spatial And Behavioral Patterns Of Captive Coyotes, Jeffrey T. Schultz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Environmental enrichment is a technique used at many captive animal facilities that can improve the well-being of their animals. It seeks to enhance habitat features and promote natural behavior by providing a variety of practical ways for captive animals to control their environmental settings, especially during stressful circumstances. Enclosure features, such as shelter structures, are one tool that promotes wild behavior by adding complexity to an enclosure’s physical environment. Enrichment efforts for captive wildlife are most effective when they are specialized to the biological needs of the animals. Human activity may alter captive animal behavior and utility of enclosure features, …

Spatial Ecology Of Coyotes And Cougars: Understanding The Influence Of Multiple Prey On The Spatial Interactions Of Two Predators, Peter J. Mahoney

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The coyote (Canis latrans) has expanded throughout much of North America over the past century following the regional extirpation of apex predators. These highly adaptable canids can occupy a variety of landscapes from the rainforests of Central America to the dense, human-dominated urban centers of the United States. As a generalist predator, coyotes can capitalize on a variety of food resources, including anthropogenic subsidies such as domestic livestock and food tailings at landfills. These tendencies often bring coyotes in direct conflict with humans, forcing managers to consider mitigation strategies ranging from the targeted removal of problem individuals to …

Hydrocarbon And Co2 Emissions From Oil And Gas Production Well Pad Soils Comparative To Background Soil Emissions In Eastern Utah, Cody S. Watkins

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

What effect does the development of oil and gas have on the observed air quality (i.e., increased ozone, carbon dioxide (CO₂), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and/or methane emissions) in northeastern Utah? What percentage of these gases is natural background emissions, and what percentage is due to the recent oil and gas development in the region? Emissions in this text refer to gases released from the earth’s surface to the atmosphere. Methane is the primary compound in natural gas. Natural gas is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon gas mixture. Emissions of methane, non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC), and CO₂ at 27 …

Analysis Of Beef Steaks Of Varying Usda Quality Grades And Thicknesses Cooked On Low And High Grill Surface Temperatures, Tonirae Gardner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The objective of this project was to analyze the thermodynamics (thermal conductivity and diffusivity as well as protein denaturation) and physical properties (percent expressible moisture, cooking loss, change in steak thickness, shear force, texture profile analysis and rheological behavior) of beef steaks of different USDA quality grades (Upper 2/3 Choice and Select), thicknesses (thick and thin), and grill surface temperatures (high and low) cooked to the same internal degree of doneness to determine if a specific set of cooking parameters would create a profound difference in the eating characteristics, described by the tenderness and juiciness of cooked beef strip steaks. …

Evaluating Habitat-Based Niche Requirements And Potential Recruitment Bottlenecks For Imperiled Bluehead Sucker (Catostomus Discobolus), Bryan C. Maloney

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Changes to rivers that alter physical and thermal habitat may cause fish population abundance to decline, due to fewer individuals maturing and entering the adult population. The Weber River has become highly degraded with many dams and diversions altering fish habitat, river volume, velocity, and temperature, and limiting movement between reaches. Bluehead suckers (Catostomus discobolus) occupy only 47% of their historical range and the genetically-distinct Weber River (northern UT) population is declining and contains few young, juvenile fish. My objectives were to determine whether spawning and rearing habitat available in the Weber River may be limiting bluehead sucker …

Strategies For Increased Lactic Acid Production From Algal Cake Fermentations At Low Ph By Lactobacillus Casei, Tom J. Overbeck

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

We explored using de-oiled algal biomass (algal cake) as a low-value substrate for production of lactic acid in fermentations with Lactobacillus casei, and strategies for increasing lactic acid production at low pH. L. casei 12A algal cake (AC) fermentations showed carbohydrate and amino acid availability limit growth and lactic acid production. These nutritional requirements were effectively addressed with enzymatic hydrolysis of the AC using α-amylase, cellulase, and pepsin. Producing 0.075 g lactic acid per g AC from AC digested with all three enzymes. We explored heterologous expression of the cellulase gene (celE) from Clostridium thermocellum and the …

Sclerocactus Wetlandicus: Habitat Characterization, Seed Germination And Mycorrhizal Analysis, Kourtney T. Harding

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Uinta Basin hookless cactus (Sclerocactus wetlandicus) is a threatened species native to Eastern Utah. The cactus is found in a landscape highly disturbed by non-renewable energy production. To understand the environmental conditions that support natural growth of this cactus, we asked what types of plants were present in the same areas as the cactus, and if the types of plants were different in environments that were disturbed. From our assessment, we determined that the types of plants present in disturbed areas were drastically different from those present in undisturbed locations. Areas previously used for energy production are …

Extension Of Behavioral Momentum Theory To Conditions With Changing Reinforcer Rates, Andrew R. Craig

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Behavior is more likely to persist when disrupted in some way in the presence of stimuli correlated with frequent delivery of reward than in the presence of stimuli correlated with infrequent rewards. In laboratory investigations, the correlation between reward rates and specific stimuli are almost always held constant before testing for persistence. In the real world, however, how often rewards are encountered is likely to vary substantially over time. The major goal of the work described in this dissertation was to explore effects of reward rates that change over time on persistence of behavior in controlled laboratory settings using pigeon …

Object Recognition In Videos Utilizing Hierarchical And Temporal Objectness With Deep Neural Networks, Liang Peng

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As the growth of mobile devices and social networks has been faster than ever, online image and video content has become truly ubiquitous today. Understanding of these images and videos, called vision, is one of the most primary ways for human being to perceive the world. Computer vision, which refers to the study of enabling machines to see and understand the visual world, is fundamental in advancing Artificial Intelligence.

Object recognition, which is defined as the task of locating and recognizing object categories in images and videos, is a major research field in computer vision. Recent research in object recognition …

Direct And Indirect Effects Of Climate Change On Plant Populations And Communities In Sagebrush Steppe, Andrew R. Kleinhesselink

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Rapid climate change presents humanity with a number of big problems. Foremost among these is the sad fact that the climate we will pass on to our children will likely be nothing like the climate that we inherited from our parents. Ecologists have collected solid evidence that climate change has already begun to affect the living things around us and the ecosystems humans depend on. Unfortunately, predicting the future effects of climate change on life on earth is not easy. We focused on three research goals as part of an effort to improve our ability to predict how plants and …

Environmental Values And Landscape Architecture: A New Ecological Paradigm Study, Emmet J. Pruss

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In recent decades, landscape design theory has been affected by an increase in pro-environmental values. Largely, this trend has been associated with notions of ‘sustainability’ and ‘ecosystem services.’ These notions involve sustaining current human behaviors within the constraints of ecological limits and maximizing the benefits that humans receive from ecosystems, respectively. In this way, they involve high evaluations of the instrumental values of ecosystems, yet remain predominantly anthropocentric. As such, they are characteristic of shallow ecology worldview.

In order to assess whether the pro-environmental, yet essentially anthropocentric values involved with modern landscape architecture theory are reflected in the environmental worldviews …

Foraging Ecology Of Mountain Lions In The Sierra National Forest, California, Bradley C. Nichols

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

We conducted this research to gain insight into mountain lion (Puma concolor) prey composition in the Sierra National Forest of California. Managers in the region are concerned with both causes of declines and inability to increase fisher (Pekania pennanti) populations. Research has shown that mountain lions are a threat to fishers due to direct predation of this forest specialist. We radio-collared 5 adult mountain lions in order to determine prey composition and kill rates. As expected, mountain lions selected primarily for mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). However we did detect other prey such as gray …

Predicting The Impact Of A Northern Pike (Esox Lucius) Invasion On Endangered June Sucker (Chasmistes Liorus) And Sport Fishes In Utah Lake, Ut, Jamie Reynolds

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Invasive species introductions are associated with negative economic and environmental impacts, including reductions in native species populations. Successful invasive species populations often grow rapidly and a new food web structure is established. The ability of invasive species to outcompete and prey upon native species are two characteristics that make them a leading cause of fish extinctions in North America.

Northern pike (Esox lucius; hereafter pike) are voracious ambush top predators \native to the upper Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions of the lower 48 United States, Alaska, and southern Canada. Pike have been spreading across the Intermountain West and Pacific …

Water Entry Impact Dynamics Of Diving Birds, Saberul Islam Sharker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Plunge diving and surface diving are two main techniques used by seabirds for foraging purposes. While some plunge divers can dive into the water at very high speeds (24 m/s), surface divers do not. This study analyzes the free-surface impact of 3D printed bird head models with embedded accelerometers to determine why surface divers cannot dive safely at high speeds. The problem is investigated in the context of impact jerk where surface divers, unlike plunge divers, are found to experience non-dimensional jerk (J^∗) values exceeding a safe limit. This approach portrays itself as an unconventional yet effective method …

The Influence Of Aspen Chemistry And The Nutritional Context On Aspen Herbivory, Kristen Y. Heroy

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Consumption of aspen by herbivores is one major force causing aspen decline in North America. In this Dissertation, I aimed to determine why herbivores prefer browsing on certain aspen stands over others, and why they prefer consuming aspen that contains chemical defenses over understory forages like grasses, forbs, and shrubs. I explored the influence of nutrients and chemical defenses within aspen on aspen intake and preference by lambs in pen experiments. I also explored drivers of aspen preference on the landscape by looking at relationships between aspen herbivory, indicators of aspen health, amount of nutrients available in the understory, and …

To What Extent Might Beaver Dam Building Buffer Water Storage Losses Associated With A Declining Snowpack?, Konrad Hafen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Dams built by North American Beaver create natural water storage and slow water as it moves through streams. In portions of streams with beaver dams, these effects have been observed to decrease the peak magnitude of floods and increase base flow during annual summer droughts. In the western United States changes to streamflow patterns have been observed in recent decades with large spring floods coming earlier in the year, causing annual summer droughts to start earlier and last longer. These changes are linked to decreasing snowpack which acts as the most significant natural water storage reservoir by holding onto precipitation …

Effects Of Gestational Dietary Intake On Calf Growth And Early Feedlot Performance Of Offspring, Jose M. Gardner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Fetal programming is a relatively new and quickly growing field of research in the livestock industry. The concept of fetal programming is simply defined as the effects a change in maternal nutritional intake has on offspring, whether it be a genetic or physical change. The intention of this study was to specifically look at the effects of nutrient restriction of cows during the second trimester of gestation on the growth and performance of the resulting calves.

In this study, thirty-two cows of predominantly angus influence from the Utah state university herd were chosen, naturally bred to a pure bred angus …

Production Of Phenol-Formaldehyde Adhesives From Catalytic Pyrolysis Oil, Angela M. Akude

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Phenol-formaldehyde adhesives conventionally synthesized from fossil fuel resources pose two major concerns: sustainability issues and environmental concerns. The sustainability issues arise from the inevitable depletion of fossil fuel resources while
the environmental concerns, primarily, stem from the emission of volatile organic compounds. Thus, opting for alternative raw materials from renewable resources reduces the dependence on fossil fuels as well as promote the production of environmentally-friendly products.

The successful commercialization of bio-adhesives requires that the substitution of phenol with bio-oil during resin synthesis should be above 40%. In this study, catalytic pyrolysis oil produced from pinyon-juniper biomass and red mud alumina …

Effect Of N-3 And N-6 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids On Inflammation, Tao Xu

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) has changed drastically in the past century in the American diet has received attention due to potential effects on chronic inflammation-related metabolic diseases. In this project, the effects of dietary PUFA content and the n-6 to n-3 ratio on inflammatory responses in the acute and chronic inflammation models were evaluated. The PUFA content was modified on a Western diet background to deliver both n-6 and n-3 intakes at the 10^th and 90^th percentile of the population in the United States, and models of acute and chronic inflammation were tested in mice model. …