Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Humidity & Temperature Has On Dna Contamination During Storage, Samantha Leigh Allison Ramey

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Studies have been conducted on DNA cross-contamination throughout the criminal investigation process in order to evaluation the possibility that DNA from one sample could potentially influence the outcome of another. However, no published studies have examined the potential for contamination during the storage of genetic evidence after samples have been taken from crime scenes or suspects. This study is a continuation of a preliminary project, which examined storage drying time in relation to cross-contamination. The current study tested temperature and humidity for the potential of cross-contamination during storage prior to extraction. Prior to storage, 50 μl of male saliva was …

Determining Spatial Controls On Snow Isotopic Signature And Tracing The Snowmelt Pulse As It Moves Through Two Montane Catchments, Jenna K. Rolle

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In this study, we investigate the spatial and temporal distribution of stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in water across two mountainous catchments in west-central Montana to trace the input of snow to local soil, bedrock aquifers, and streams. Snowpack and snowmelt samples were collected throughout the winter season at ten sites selected to encompass a range of elevation, aspect, slope angle and hillslope position. Soil and bedrock wells at five of the ten sites were sampled after the initial snowmelt pulse and stream samples were collected weekly at the outlets of both catchments to trace the timing and partitioning …

A Comparative Analysis Of Repatriation Of Native American Artifacts And Human Remains Laws In Montana, Usa And Alberta Canada, Helen Cryer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

ABSTRACT: Native American and Indigenous communities across the United States and Canada have lost an extensive amount of human remains and sacred artifacts to non-Native people exhuming Native American and Indigenous burial sites that may have been dug up for personal gain, stolen, placed in museums, or left in the hands of non-Native collectors. The repatriation of human remains and sacred artifacts to Native nations can be a lengthy, political, and challenging process yet it is worth the effort for Native people. Native American advocacy and evolving public sentiment toward Native people have led to legislative advancements in the United …

Facilitating Aquatic Invasive Species Management Using Satellite Remote Sensing And Machine Learning Frameworks, Sean C. Carter

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The urgent decision-making needs of invasive species managers can be better met by the integration of biodiversity big data with large-domain models and environmental data products in the form of new workflows and tools that facilitate data utilization across platforms. Timely risk assessments allow for the spatial prioritization of monitoring that could streamline invasive species management paradigms and invasive species’ ability to prevent irreversible damage, such that decision makers can focus surveillance and intervention efforts where they are likely to be most effective under budgetary and resource constraints. I present a workflow that generates rapid spatial risk assessments on aquatic …

Make No Mistake: The Benefits Of An Errorless Learning Procedure In A Depressed Population, Bethany G. Gorter

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Despite evidence of verbal memory deficits in people with depression (Goodall et al., 2018), there are currently minimal studies examining the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation techniques in this population, and no studies examining the effectiveness of errorless learning procedures (EL). Errorless learning eliminates errors during encoding which contrasts with traditional trial-and-error, effortful learning (EF). This paper argues that because the memory deficits in depression are largely due to dysexecutive functioning (Snyder 2013) errorless learning procedures could be beneficial to this population because it helps reduce the burden on executive functioning during encoding and retrieval. Moreover, a newer modification of errorless …

An Integrative Investigation Of The Synechococcus A/B Clade During Adaptive Radiation At The Upper Thermal Limit Of Phototrophy, Christopher L. Pierpont

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Thermophilic microorganisms have been scientifically observed since the early nineteenth century and have spurred many questions about the limits of life and the capacity of organisms to survive extreme conditions. Decades of research on thermophile proteins and genomes have yielded several proposed correlates of temperature that may contribute to adaptation of bacteria and archaea to high temperature. However, many of the generalizations reported are drawn from analyses of deeply divergent taxa or from individual case studies in isolation from mesophilic relatives. Members of the Synechococcus A/B (SynAB) group are the only cyanobacteria with members able to grow above 65 °C …

Development Of Nanodisc Affinity Capillary Electrophoresis To Study The Interaction Of Giα Protein With Cell Membranes, Bethany R. Emeigh

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Guanine nucleotide-binding proteins, or G-proteins, are crucial to cell signaling by acting as molecular switches through interactions with membrane-bound receptors. G-proteins have become of greater interest due to the possibility of novel drug targets. The G-protein alpha subunit, Gα, binds GTP before localizing to the membrane to interact with other G-protein subunits and G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Gi lacks a hydrophobic region to promote localization to the membrane, but a co-translational lipidation of the N-terminal residue stabilizes this interaction.

Protein interactions with biological membranes are challenging to study due to the complex structure of membranes and the often-limited quantities of the …

A Renaissance: The Absurd Retelling Of Mostly True Events, Erica R. Hitzman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Throughout the following you will be taken on a fantastical retelling of the exhibition A Renaissance, and some of what lead up to it. Through the eyes of various shifting perspectives you will explore the relationships between the artist, her art, and the viewer in the hopes of unveiling how the work plays into feminist theory, its place in the Zeitgeist, and the motivations behind it. Each perspective is formatted differently, to visually mirror the shift in perspective. Presented in the first person and aligned to the right, the account of the artist discusses the process, emotion, and inspiration behind …

Role Of Morphological Awareness In Language And Literacy In Children With And Without Developmental Language Disorder, Melissa Phelan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Past research has shown phonological awareness is highly correlated with language and literacy success in children with and without Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), but a less examined area of language and literacy is morphological awareness. Delayed morphology in children with DLD has been studied extensively in spoken language, but relatively little in written language in the DLD population. This study explored two research questions: 1) Is morphological awareness related to language and literacy success in children with and without DLD, and 2) Is morphological awareness impaired for those children with DLD and dyslexia similarly to that of phonological awareness. A …

Is Loss A Laughing Matter?: A Study Of Humor Reactions And Benign Violation Theory In The Context Of Grief., Miranda B. Henrich

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Death is not commonly considered a humorous topic; however, bereaved individuals often joke about their loss. The jokes grievers tell while grieving have been overlooked within research, resulting in a limited understanding of how this communication impacts those hearing it. This research sought to eliminate that gap by building an understanding of the interpersonal effects of grief-based humor through the lens of Benign Violation Theory. Twenty-two individuals participated in semi-structured interviews that revolved around whether humor could be found in grief and how this humor affected their relationship with the bereaved. The interviews identified that when a bereaved individual uses …

Canceling Vs. #Cancel Culture: An Analysis On The Surveillance And Discipline Of Social Media Behavior Through Competing Discourses Of Power, Julia G. Bezio

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Canceling and #cancelculture have become the topic of many debates over free speech and accountability for oppressive behaviors in social media discourse. This thesis examines Twitter discourse from two recent racism-based cancel cases. Using Foss and Gill’s (1987) adapted epistemic rhetoric framework and emphasizing elements of Foucauldian surveillance and discipline in the discourse, I conduct a comparative qualitative examination of Gina Rodriguez’s and Chris Harrison’s cancel discourse. I contend that in the cancel process, Twitter users engage in surveillance to discipline one another on multiple levels: first, as cancelers use the practice to discipline oppressive behaviors on social media, and …

24-Hour Total Energy Expenditure During Ultra-Endurance Cross-Country Cycling, Patrick S. Dodds

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

ABSTRACT

Previous studies have used the doubly labelled water (DLW) method to evaluate the total energy expenditure (TEE) during Ironman, ultra-marathon trail runs and competitive road cycling. However, the technique has not been applied to a 24-hour cross-country mountain bike event. This case study examined the TEE, cycling metrics and ad libitum nutrient/fluid intake in a trained male cyclist during a 24-hour cross-country mountain bike race. A trained male cyclist (41 y, 74.1 kg, 172.4 cm) received an oral dose of DLW prior to the 24-hour event for the calculations of TEE and water turnover (rH₂O). Nude body …

Rewilding The Great Plains, Sarah E. Mosquera

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This long-form journalistic story and photo essay is about Tribes in Eastern Montana and their efforts to restore native species to the Great Plains ecosystem. Across the Great Plains, Tribes are working to bring native species back to their ancestral territories. The swift fox, black-footed ferret and buffalo were all pushed to the brink of extinction as colonizers took over. Now, Tribes on Fort Peck, Northern Cheyenne and Fort Belknap are partnering with conservation organizations to help repair the prairie ecosystem. Driven by cultural knowledge and a sense of responsibility, many Tribes are learning from past mistakes and nearby successes. …

Making “Habitat Quality” Meaningful: Quantifying Demographic Effects Of Habitat In Two Sympatric Species, Anna Katherine Moeller

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Habitat quality may be an underlying factor driving or exacerbating mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) population declines across their range and concurrent white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) population increases. A clearer understanding of how the two species respond to habitat variables is needed to disentangle the drivers of mule deer decline and identify opportunities to change population trajectories through habitat management. Capitalizing on extensive monitoring data for sympatric populations of mule deer and white-tailed deer, this dissertation improves understanding of habitat quality by exploring and developing modeling approaches that connect habitat and demographics in these two species.

Using a resource selection function …

Emission And Chemistry Of Volatile Organic Compounds In Western U.S. Wildifre Smoke, Wade Jeremy Permar

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Wildfires are a significant source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the western U.S., emitting hundreds to thousands of different species that play key roles in tropospheric oxidation, ozone production, and secondary organic aerosol formation. Many of these VOCs have only recently been identified and quantified in laboratory burning experiments. Consequently, little is known about their emissions from wildfires, which species are most important for plume OH oxidation chemistry, and how they evolve as smoke plumes age. This dissertation aims to improve our understanding of the emissions and chemistry of VOCs in wildfire smoke using detailed in situ measurements made …

Genetic Monitoring And Rescue In Mid-Atlantic Brook Trout (Salvelinus Fontinalis) Poulations, Zachary Lorn Robinson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) populations have experienced dramatic declines throughout their native range, in part, due to anthropogenic land use and habitat fragmentation. In the mid-Atlantic region, brook trout populations often occupy small, headwater habitat fragments in demographic and genetic isolation, making them vulnerable to inbreeding and genetic drift. My dissertation evaluates different methods for genetic assessment, monitoring, and management of small, isolated brook trout populations. First, I examined the potential value of effective number of breeders (N_b) estimates for genetic monitoring by determining whether N_b estimates were sensitive to habitat characteristics known to affect …

Squatters, Alina Cerisse Cohen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Mother Superior, Brandon R. Hansen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Prologue /The Lake Within

I am a fisherman. Every time I raise my arm to cast, I’m searching for an answer.

What is a lake?

I throw my lure at the lilies of my childhood, the sunken log of my crib. With every cast I hope the truth will follow it back, this little piece of me I offer to the mystery.

My earliest memories are at the bus stop, where a shroud of mist swirled about me and I listed side-to-side, six-AM eyes drooping while I waited for that big yellow ship to bust through the fog and …

Understanding And Improving Barriers To Treatment And Care Of Postpartum Depression, Marcy N. Hanson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Background: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a multifaceted and complex issue that impacts not only the mother, but also the infant and social system and may influence how healthcare is accessed. Compounding the effects of PPD are comorbidities such as perinatal substance use. Utilization of substances during pregnancy can increase feelings of anxiety and depression, result in cognitive and physiological consequences for the infant and impair relationships with healthcare providers.

Purpose: The studies completed for this dissertation revealed current concerns regarding PPD within the context of screening practices, perinatal substance use and rural practice implications.

Methods: Three studies were conducted. Study …

Arctic Greening: Characterizing Tundra Vegetation From In-Situ And Remotely Sensed Observations, Shira Ann Ellenson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

As the Arctic has warmed at twice the rate of the global average, vegetation productivity has also been increasing. While satellite remote sensing is useful for summarizing Arctic-wide trends, changes in tundra species heights, densities, composition, and distribution can be missed at coarse resolution. Smaller, plot-scale studies are necessary to better understand vegetation dynamics at fine scales occurring on the ground.

In 1995, high-resolution traditional aerial photographs and in-situ measurements of vegetation characteristics were taken at a series of plots established on the Alaskan North Slope. Repeat field surveys in 2021 revealed increases in plant cover for deciduous shrubs and …

Getting To Know You: Relationship Formation Across Development In Octodon Degus, Amber Lynn Thatcher

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Social relationships are a necessary part of group formation and cohesion across many animal species and can increase the health and fitness of the individuals involved. These benefits are seen across the lifespan, although the exact advantages and functions differ across developmental stages. Our current understanding of how relationships are formed and maintained is incomplete. Previous findings suggest that a measure of stability may be a useful method for understanding how relationships are formed and how this process may differ across development. The goal of this dissertation is to investigate the variability of social interactions over time and how it …

The Birds, The Bees, The Trees, And The Breeze: Expanding The Moral Universe Throught Rsk Anlysis, Jared Gibbs

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Re-Storying Grant Creek: A Case Study Of Relational Dynamics On A Degraded Montana Stream, Seamus Rucci Land

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration began in 2021, and after a history of contentious ethical debates, ecological restoration is increasingly portrayed as a viable framework for combating environmental degradation and supporting more healthy and stable social-ecological systems. The proposed ecological restoration of Grant Creek, a degraded stream near Missoula, Montana, offers an opportunity to connect a restoration site to the broader, rapidly growing field of restoration practice. It also allows the opportunity to forward the ‘relational turn’ proposed by many in the sustainability sciences as an ontological and methodological means to move beyond positivist portrayals of social-ecological systems, which …

Development Of Regional Landslide Susceptibility Models: A First Step Towards Model Transferability, Gina M. Belair

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Landslides are a globally pervasive problem with the potential to cause significant fatalities and economic losses. Although landslides are widespread, many at-risk regions may not have the high-quality data or resources used in most landslide susceptibility analyses. This study aims to develop regional susceptibility relationships that are versatile and use publicly available data and open-sourced software. Logistic Regression and Frequency Ratio susceptibility relationships were developed in 23 regions in Washington, Utah, North Carolina, and Kentucky, with a region referring to a unique area and data combination. Regions were diverse in their geology, morphology, climate, and nature and quality of their …

Mark My Words: The Linguistic Complexity Of The Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology Abstracts And Subsequent Citations, Alivia Lauren Zubrod

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Through language, scientific communication can positively impact the progression and advancement of science. Given the value of scientific communication, it is important to explore what factors might be associated with influential scientific communication. Surprisingly, relatively little research has examined the linguistic properties of influential scientific communication. In effort to overcome this gap in the literature, I used integrative complexity, a well-validated linguistic variable, to assess the relation between article abstracts and subsequent number of citations from one of the most highly-cited social psychology journals (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology). In an analysis of over 1.4 million words from 9,884 …

Epistemoligical Uncertainty And Political Ideology: Exploring The Relationship Between Temporal Threats And Ideology, James Donald Mcfarland

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Research in motivation suggests that individuals are highly attuned to perceived risk and danger and tend to form groups (physical and ideological) on the basis of the threats they collectively share with like-minded others. These initial stages of threat detection and evaluation are often found to occur through subtle environmental cues. This study examined the relationship between feelings of uneasiness and political ideology through the framing of temporal cues (e.g., past- vs. future-tense). Participants (n = 181) were recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and were randomly assigned a short vignette about a relatable life experience (e.g., purchasing a car). …

Fathmm: Frameshift Aware Translated Hidden Markov Models, Genevieve Krause

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

1-D Crustal Seismic Velocity Models For West-Central And Western Montana, Courtenay Duzet

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In seismically active areas with infrequent, large-magnitude earthquakes, high-quality seismic data are critical for determining high-resolution, accurate seismic velocity models. Here, we present a new local-scale seismic velocity model for the crust in west-central Montana as well as a new regional-scale seismic velocity model for the crust and upper mantle across broader western Montana. The new models are constrained by phase arrivals from several passive seismic networks, including the University of Montana Seismic Network (UMSN), the Montana Regional Seismic Network (MRSN), the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS), temporary deployments by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and the USArray Transportable …

A Qualitative Examination Of Teacher's Perspectives Of Social-Emotional Learning And Spirituality In The Public School Setting, Amy E. Violante

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Spirituality is not often discussed in the field of school psychology or the public school setting. However, it is understood to be a factor supporting resilience and well-being among children. Aspects of spirituality align with the core components of social-emotional learning (SEL), which relate to awareness of self and others, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. The aims of the current study were to explore public school teachers’ perspectives of spirituality and SEL in the classroom, of the relationship between these topics, and of supporting spiritual and SEL development in order to promote student well-being. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve …

A Reynolds Number Based Sampling Technique For 3-D Vector Fields In Computational Fluid Dynamic Environments, Trent James Schweitzer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Effective visualization of unsteady, time-dependent vector fields in a virtual environment is not a trivial task. This is due to the fact that most visualization techniques require the user to have a prior understanding of how the vector field will behave to set the parameters used to create the visualization. In this thesis we will take air flow data from a computational fluid dynamic simulations to calculate the amount of turbulence (represented as Reynolds numbers) to identify regions of interest. We then calculate wind pathlines that will intersect with these points sampled from these regions. We address the issue of …