Digital Commons Network^™

The Antimycobacterial Activity Of Hypericum Perforatum Herb And The Effects Of Surfactants, Shujie Shen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Tuberculosis is a stubborn and lethal infectious disease. The world-wide tuberculosis surveillance reports that the new TB cases ranges from seven to eight million per year and deaths ranges from 1.3 to 1.6 million every year. The treatment of tuberculosis mainly depends on antituberculosis drugs, such as isoniazid, rifampin, pyrazinamide and ethambutol. However, drug-resistance acquisition is an inevitable process during tuberculosis treatment. Today, multi-drug resistant and the extensively drug-resistant TB cases have been widely reported around the world. Thus, the discovery of novel antituberculosis drugs is essential to effective TB treatment. Hypericum perforatum, also called St. John’s Wort, is …

Effects Of Planting Date, Harvest Date, And Environmental Conditions On Germination Of Forage Kochia Accessions, Cody F. Creech

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Forage kochia is used to re-seed areas in harsh environments that have been infested by annual weeds or disturbed by repetitive fires. It is an introduced perennial semi-shrub that is valuable to livestock and wildlife as a forage. The seed of forage kochia is very unpredictable and successful establishment in areas of low precipitation where it is utilized has often been erratic. Forage kochia seeding failures are costly and leave the land vulnerable to further degradation and erosion. This study was conducted to investigate how germination of forage kochia is affected by different harvest and planting dates, age of seed, …

Characterization Of The Involvement Of Integrins, Focal Adhesion Kinase, And Phospholipase C Enzymes Endogenous To The Oocyte In Bovine Fertilization And Oocyte Activation, Benjamin Rand Sessions

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Center for Integrated Biosystems (CIB) and Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Sciences (ADVS) Department at Utah State University propose a multi-year molecular study of cattle gamete interactions to improve our basic understanding of fertilization. The CIB and ADVS will utilize existing collaborations in addition to recruiting state and federal funding sources to complete the extensive project.

Various laboratory techniques will be used to discover the molecular players of fertilization in hopes of shedding light on a variety of human infertility issues due to problems at the gamete level. A more complete understanding of fertilization could also lead to the development …

Latent Classes Of Self-Reported Adolescent Depression In A Clinical In-Patient Population, Jonathan F. Doti

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The depressive disorders are among the most common mental health problems with substantial financial and quality-of-life costs. Depression has generated considerable debate as to the underlying structure/taxonomy and continues to be frequently debated. Adolescents who meet diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder often experience anxiety (and vice versa). Therefore, understanding the underlying structure of depression as well as the co-occurrence of anxiety in a population of adolescents adds to our conceptual understanding of these disorders and facilitates treatment clarity.

This investigation sought to investigate the following research questions for adolescents’ self-reported symptoms of depression, and self-reported symptoms of depression and …

Biochemical Characterization Of Sac9, A Putative Phosphoinositide Phosphatase In Arabidopsis Thaliana, And Its Role In Cellular Abnormalities, Almut H. Vollmer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Since the early colonization of land by fungi and plants some 700 million years ago, plants have been continuously faced with changes in their environment. Unlike animals, plants are not free to move about, and can therefore not evade many stress factors. How plants sense and respond to their environment has been of interest not only to scientific research but also in more practical applications such as agriculture.

Signals (such as light or salinity) from the outside of plant cells trigger a flow of information to the inside of the cell. The final target for most of the information is …

Robust Computational Tools For Multiple Testing With Genetic Association Studies, William L. Welbourn Jr.

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The mapping of the human genome and the completion of the Human HapMap project over the past decade have significantly altered how research is conducted with respect to the genetic epidemiology of human disease. Study designs and analytic approaches have evolved rapidly from investigations involving relatively few targeted candidate genes to hypothesis-free genome-wide association studies, where thousands – and now even millions – of single molecular mutations are simultaneously analyzed to identify regions of the genome that may influence disease. As laboratory techniques continue to improve and costs decrease, the volume of genetic data will inexorably rise, and robust tools …

Outcomes And Presurgical Correlates Of Lumbar Fusion In Utah Workers' Compensation Patients: A Replication Study, Jessica M. Gundy

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Over the past 2 decades, lumbar fusion surgeries performed in the United States have increased dramatically, particularly for compensated workers. Costs for these procedures have also risen substantially in the past decade, primarily due to the use of more sophisticated surgical devices such as interbody fusion cages. While surgical instrumentation and technology may improve the rates of solid bony vertebral fusion, overall improvements in quality of life and pain outcomes related to this new technology are still inconclusive.

In collaboration with the Workers Compensation Fund of Utah (WCFU) and Utah State University (USU), a psychology professor, Dr. M. Scott DeBerard, …

Exploring Aspects Of Strong Remarriages, Marci Campbell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Remarriage is often studied with a focus on the difficulties associated with the complexities of remarriage. The focus of this study was to explore aspects of strong remarriages. Ten couples that had been remarried for 5 years were interviewed separately about their strong remarriage. Prevalent topics were compiled and organized into factors that contribute to a strong remarriage. These factors include: commitment, love, religion/spirituality, communication, compatibility, financial agreement, and physical intimacy. Additionally, expectations of remarriage were explored. The majority of the individuals expressed that their remarriage exceeded their expectations. A discussion of suggestions for future research is included.

A Study Of Mothers’ Perceptions And Practices Of Kindergarten Readiness, Kirsten Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was conducted to understand what mothers with children enrolled in a developmentally appropriate preschool program believe and are actually doing to help prepare their children for kindergarten, something of key importance, as kindergarten success is a foundation for later school success. There is very little research on the topic of parental perceptions and practices in kindergarten readiness and the transition into kindergarten.

A survey was sent home to 60 families who had their child enrolled in the Adele and Dale Young Child Development Laboratory at Utah State University during the 2010-2011 school year. In the survey, parents were …

Exploring A Stable Aspen Niche Within Aspen-Conifer Forests Of Utah, Cody M. Mittanck

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study addresses a critical issue faced by resource managers confronting aspen restoration projects in the Intermountain West. Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) forests have received a large amount of popular and academic attention over the last decade due to concerns over decline. As a result, both private and public forest resource managers have focused attention on actively restoring aspen communities through treatments such as prescribed burning, logging, and grazing exclosures to name a few. There is increasing evidence suggesting the existence of "stable" aspen communities. This community type undergoes processes entirely different from successional aspen communities and …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Three Utah Wastewater Treatment Facilities In Removing Pharmaceuticals And Personal Care Products, Oksana Roth

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The occurrence of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in surface waters has become a growing concern within the last decade although the first mention of human PPCPs in the environment goes back to late 1970s. Pharmaceuticals include prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, and veterinary drugs. Personal care products include products such as lotions, fragrances, and soaps. In addition to traditional personal care products, the term PPCPs has been adopted to represent a wide variety of chemicals used in consumer products including plasticizers and fire retardants. Wastewater effluents are thought to be the main source of PPCPs in surface waters since …

Raman Microspectroscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy, And Electric Cell-Substrate Impedance Sensing For Characterization Of Bio-Interfaces: Molecular, Bacteria, And Mammalian Cells, Gerald Dustin Mcewen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Understanding bio-interfaces will help improve the design and application of biomaterials that can interact with biological objects like nucleic acids, molecules, bacteria, and mammalian cells. Currently, there exist instruments to investigate material properties for the electrical, chemical, physical, and mechanical nature of biomaterials or biological samples. Our goal is to use advanced spectroscopic methods and data analysis to find specific properties of biological objects and see how these properties show the biological object’s response to their environment.

My studies of interfacial electron transfer (ET) of DNA coated gold electrodes aided to understand that the density of DNA on the surface …

Drivers Of Nest Success And Stochastic Population Dynamics Of The Common Eider (Somateria Mollissima), David Thomas Iles

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Human-caused climate alterations to Arctic ecosystems have resulted in a constellation of impacts on the biological relationships within them, yet the consequences of these changes on the population dynamics of many species are poorly understood. Thus, an understanding of the drivers of variation in population performance is needed to inform the management and conservation of imperiled species. Here, we use a long-term dataset for the common eider, an Arctic-breeding sea duck, to examine the drivers of annual variation in nest survival, and evaluate the effects of variation in vital rates on population growth. Our chapter 2 results suggested that increased …

A Demographic Evaluation Of Increasing Rates Of Suicide Mortality In Japan And South Korea, Sun Young Jeon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

According to a World Health Organization report, about one million people die by suicide each year. Fortunately, rates of suicide mortality have been decreasing
among most of the OECD countries, but Japan and South Korea are the only two exceptions to this trend, which has shown increasing suicide rates over the last 25
years. A number of studies have focused on psychological motives and individual-level causes of suicide, such as depression, mental disorder, and disability. However,
as Durkheim pointed out, suicide in a society does not have any obvious relationship to the prevalence of mental disorder. With his theory indicating …

Avian Response To Post Wildland Fire Reseeding Treatments In Great Basin Shrubsteppe, Adam B. Brewerton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wildfire is often considered a destructive force. However, we have learned that fire is a natural part of many ecosystems and can even be productive by recycling nutrients, and allowing for regrowth. A natural pattern of fire frequency allows for native plants and animals to recover from its destructiveness and capitalize on its benefits. Environmental changes, such as exotic invasive species, like cheatgrass, and livestock grazing, can make recovery less likely. Cheatgrass also promotes fire. As cheatgrass establishes, fires become more frequent and larger, making it hard or impossible for native plants to recover. Land managers often reseed to restore …

Genetic Diversity And Genetic Structuring At Multiple Spatial Scales Across The Range Of The Northern Leopard Frog, Rana Pipiens, Ryan P. O'Donnell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Genetic diversity is the raw material for evolution: evolution cannot happen without genetic diversity, and the ability of a population to respond to a changing environment depends directly on how diverse its genes are. Understanding the distribution of genetic diversity is important for many reasons, including predicting whether species will be able to adapt to climate change and predicting the spread of invasive species. Information about the distribution of genetic diversity across the range of the Northern Leopard Frog, a declining species, will not only help us to ensure that the species can continue to evolve in response to changing …

The Relationship Of Outdoor Recreation And Gardening With Depression Among Individuals With Disabilities, Justin Floyd Wilson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Activities involving natural environments have positive psychological impacts on participants. Both outdoor recreation and gardening have been shown to reduce feelings of depression. However, the effects of these activities on the depression levels of individuals with disabilities have not yet been studied. In order to better understand the relationship between these activities and depression among individuals with disabilities, two separate studies were conducted.

The first study seeks to better understand the relationship between outdoor recreation participation and depression among Montana residents with disabilities using publicly available Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data. It hypothesizes that depression would be negatively …

Using Relevance Vector Machines Approach For Prediction Of Total Suspended Solids And Turbidity To Sustain Water Quality And Wildlife In Mud Lake, Hussein Aly Batt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The main objective of the research is the development of Multivariate Relevant Vector Machine (MVRVM) to predict suspended fine sediment, water quality constituents, and provide an understanding for the practical problem of determining the amount of data required for the MVRVM. MVRVM is a statistical learning algorithm that is based on Bayes theory. It has been widely used to predict patterns in hydrological systems and other fields. This research represents the first known attempt to use a MVRVM approach to predict transport of very fine sediment and water quality constituents in a complex natural system.

The results demonstrate the ability …

Homogenization Of Large-Scale Movement Models In Ecology With Application To The Spread Of Chronic Wasting Disease In Mule Deer, Martha J. Garlick

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) that affects deer, elk, and moose. TSEs are prion diseases which include mad cow disease and scrapie in sheep and goats. The disease agent is a misshapen protein called a prion, which causes lesions in the brain, and to date, there is no cure. CWD is a slow-developing, fatal disease, which is rare in the free-ranging mule deer population of Utah. Infected deer shed prions into the environment through saliva, feces, and decaying carcasses. These prions remain infective in soils for many years and healthy deer may contract CWD by …

The Influence Of Geology And Other Environmental Factors On Stream Water Chemistry And Benthic Invertebrate Assemblages, John R. Olson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Determining if a stream has been degraded by human activities requires knowing what that stream’s natural water quality and freshwater species composition would likely be without any alteration. However stream natural conditions vary greatly from stream to stream, making predicting natural conditions difficult. To determine natural stream conditions, I developed models to predict natural stream water chemistry at individual streams across the western USA. Specifically, the models predict a stream’s electrical conductivity (a measure of the amount of solids dissolved in water), acid neutralization capacity, and concentrations of calcium, magnesium, sulfate, total phosphorus, and total nitrogen. These models predict chemistry …

Integration Of Water-Column And Benthic Processes And Their Effect On Dissolved Oxygen Fluctuations In Small Northern Utah Streams, Ruba A. Mohamed

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Dissolved oxygen (DO) is an important element for aquatic organisms as it is used for respiration by most organisms. Certain concentrations of DO are required in aquatic ecosystems depending on the type and needs of the aquatic organisms. In general, DO concentrations less than 5 mg/L stress many types of aquatic organisms including fishes. In order to maintain DO concentration above the stress level, respiration is one of the factors that should be maintained by controlling the excess growth of aquatic plants. Many factors cause the outbreak of plant growth, including abundance of nutrients and presence of sun light. In …

Chemical Characterization Of Meat Related To Animal Diet, Rossarin Tansawat

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

There is currently much interest in increasing health benefits from consuming nutritious food, including beef. Plant secondary compounds (PSC) such as tannins or saponins in various forages have an influence on animal nutrition and health, depending on the type of PSC and the amount consumed. However, relatively little is known about effects of PSC on meat color, flavor, and nutritional value. Thus, additional information is needed to better understand and to develop new animal feeding regimes for optimum animal growth, meat flavor, and meat nutritional quality.

In the first study, grain- vs. pasture-fed beef rib steaks were evaluated. The objective …

Environmental Assessment Of Streams: Linking Land Use, Instream Stressors, And Biological Indices To Infer Likely Causes Of Ecological Impairment, Jacob J. Vander Laan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

To protect and restore stream biota, managers need to be able to both detect biological degradation and infer likely causes of impairment. Managers commonly develop indices based on stream biota to assess the biological condition of streams. However, the performance of these indices dictates the ability to detect degradation, and although index performance varies widely, the sources of this variation are often unclear. In addition, bioassessments do not identify causes of impairment. My thesis research had two general goals: 1) develop indices to measure biological condition in Nevada streams and 2) quantify relationships between land uses, stressors, and biological condition …

Father-Child Interactions At 24 And 36 Months And Developmental Outcomes At Prekindergarten, Shareesa L. Mcmurdie

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study looked at father teaching interactions and singing in toddlerhood as predictors of child cognitive and language outcomes at prekindergarten in a low-income, ethnically diverse sample. Results found that, overall, father teaching interactions in toddlerhood predicted child cognitive and language outcomes at prekindergarten and father singing in toddlerhood predicted language outcomes. Fathers provided slightly more teaching interactions at child age 24 months than at 36 months, and sang more frequently at 36 months.

Within ethnic groups, father teaching interactions were statistically significant in predicting cognitive and language development outcomes for children of African American (approached significance for language outcomes) …

Using Stereo Particle Image Velocimetry To Quantify And Optimize Mixing In An Algae Raceway Using Delta Wings, Blake W. Lance

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Biofuel research has been continually growing over the past six decades. Of the potential sources for biofuels, microalgae is the most promising, and circulating (raceway) ponds are the most cost-effective method for growing microalgae in abundance. Nevertheless, biofuel production from algae must be more efficient to be competitive with traditional fuels. Previous studies using several airfoils, triangles, and squares at high angles to the flow direction (angle of attack) show an increase in mixing in raceways and can improve productivity by up to a factor of 2.2. Researchers show that increasing growth by increasing mixing is a repeatable effect that …

The Survival And Growth Of Adult Bonneville Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus Clarkii Utah) In Response To Different Movement Patterns In A Tributary Of The Logan River, Utah, Jared W. Randall

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In the past many inland trout species were believed to be sedentary, only occupying small stream segments (20 meters) during their life span. Recently it has been found that cutthroat trout do move and many populations do contain both mobile and non-mobile strategies. Most organisms move to attain greater growth rates, but movement also leads to higher detection by predators. Both mobile and non-mobile strategies have been observed in Spawn creek, a tributary of the Logan River in Northern Utah. My research evaluated the movement patterns, survival, and growth of adult Bonneville cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii Utah. My objectives …

Dystopian Literature And The Novella Form As Illustrated Through Side Effects, An Original Novella, Bryan W. Johnson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This master’s degree thesis exists in two parts: a critical introduction and an original novella entitled Side Effects. The critical introduction introduces and explains the theories on, literature surrounding, and literary uses of dystopian fiction, the novella format, and drug-based psychotherapy. Current opinion on dystopian fiction sees it characterized by a seemingly perfect societal setting that ultimately contains hidden or suppressed moral flaws. The ultimate purpose of dystopian fiction is commentary on contemporary society through a defamiliarized setting. The novella format is shown to exist in a middle-ground state between the short story and the novel, yet the format …

A Coupled Human And Natural Systems Approach To Understanding An Invasive Frog, Eleutherodactylus Coqui, In Hawaii, Emily A. Kalnicky

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Human activities worldwide have altered nature in ways that create new combinations of species and environmental processes. To understand so-called "novel ecosystems" it is important to consider both the natural and the societal factors that shape them, and how those factors are interconnected or "coupled." We used such an approach to explore options for managing a non-native invasive frog, the coqui, which has become established on the island of Hawaii and threatens to spread to other parts of the state.

The nighttime calls of the coqui create a nuisance for property owners when populations become dense enough, as often occurs …

Characterization Of The Function And Interaction Of Proteins Involved In Exopolysaccharide Synthesis In Streptococcus Thermophilus, Streptococcus Iniae, And Lactococcus Lactis Subsp. Cremoris, Angela D. Cefalo

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many microorganisms produce capsules of repeating sugar units that surround the cell called exopolysaccharides. The synthesis of these capsules is a complex process that involves numerous protein components. A better understanding of the way these proteins function and interact with one another will benefit many industrial processes by aiding in the construction of bacterial strains with enhanced properties and could also lead to new treatment strategies against microbial pathogens in which capsule production is important in their ability to cause disease. In this study, the function of one of the proteins involved in the regulation of capsule synthesis in the …

Isolation And Purification Of Anthocyanins From Black Bean Wastewater Using Macroporous Resins, Xiaoxi Wang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Isolation and purification of anthocyanins from black bean canning wastewater by column chromatography with macroporous resins were investigated in this study. Different adsorption materials and adsorption conditions were compared and the most effective material and adsorption conditions were selected to purify anthocyanins. Purified anthocyanins then were identified by high performance liquid chromatography electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. The most effective macroporous resin was selected by comparing the adsorption performance of five different types of macroporous resins (Diaion Hp20, Sepabeads Sp70, Sepabeads Sp207, Sepabeads Sp700, and Sepabeads Sp710). Equilibrium adsorption isotherms of five resins with wastewater were measured and analyzed using Langmuir …