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Plant Establishment And Soil Microenvironments In Utah Juniper Masticated Woodlands, Kert R. Young Jul 2012

Plant Establishment And Soil Microenvironments In Utah Juniper Masticated Woodlands, Kert R. Young

Theses and Dissertations

Juniper (Juniperus spp.) encroachment into sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) and bunchgrass communities has reduced understory plant cover and allowed juniper trees to dominate millions of hectares of semiarid rangelands. Trees are mechanically masticated or shredded to decrease wildfire potential and increase desirable understory plant cover. When trees are masticated after a major increase in tree population density and associated decrease in perennial understory cover, there is a risk that invasive annual grasses will dominate because they are highly responsive to the increased resource availability that commonly follows removal of the main resource user. To determine if tree mastication increases …


Communication Patterns Among Members Of Engineering Global Virtual Teams, Holt Zaugg Jul 2012

Communication Patterns Among Members Of Engineering Global Virtual Teams, Holt Zaugg

Theses and Dissertations

Global virtual (GV) teams provide an opportunity for engineering students to participate in meaningful, cross-cultural learning projects without additional costs of time and money associated with study abroad programs. However, students must learn how to communicate effectively with international team members. Instruction to help students learn which virtual communication technologies to use and how to use them is needed. Training must include cross-cultural training that facilitates team communications and interactions with people from different cultural backgrounds. This study focused on how 10 specialized lessons, Principles of Global Virtual Teams (PGVT), facilitated the communications and interactions of students participating on GV …


Malingering Detection Measure Utility And Concordance In A University Accommodation-Seeking Student Population, Nichole M. Loser Jul 2012

Malingering Detection Measure Utility And Concordance In A University Accommodation-Seeking Student Population, Nichole M. Loser

Theses and Dissertations

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, universities and colleges are required to provide accommodative services for students with disabilities. Many studies have examined the role of malingering mental health symptoms in order to obtain psychotropic medications, but very little research has been done on the role of accommodations as secondary gain in students who may malinger learning disabilities. This study sought to examine both the usefulness of implementing specific malingering detection measures in psychological evaluations with university students and the agreement of those measures within the population. Archival data was gathered from a university accommodation clinic that provided free …


Healing The Cartesian Split: Understanding And Renewing Pathos In Academic Writing, Travis Washburn Jul 2012

Healing The Cartesian Split: Understanding And Renewing Pathos In Academic Writing, Travis Washburn

Theses and Dissertations

There have always been rogues who dared to go against the traditional "intellectual" writing style of science and academia, a style that seems bent on transcending the "merely personal." Those who take this risk are embracing the rhetorical tradition of pathos, one that goes as far back as Aristotle. Current academic trends support a genre devoid of pathos and lacking true ethos—a deviation from classic rhetoric, and one that supports the Cartesian split of mind-body dualism. Neurological studies done by Antonio Damasio and others suggest that a holistic view is a more accurate picture of how a human soul functions. …


The Evolution Of Conservative Attitudes As A Complement To Cognitive Threat Detection Mechanisms, Russ Clay Jul 2012

The Evolution Of Conservative Attitudes As A Complement To Cognitive Threat Detection Mechanisms, Russ Clay

Theses and Dissertations

Conservatism reflects a general attitude structure characterized by a preference for traditional social practices and an aversion to uncertainty and threat. Though the social environment undoubtedly plays a role in shaping conservative attitudes, recent studies suggest that trait-level characteristics may contribute to their development as well. The present research investigated trait-level cognitive threat detection ability as a factor which may influence the development and maintenance of conservative social attitudes. A computer simulation indicated that socially conservative attitudes may function as a strategy for increasing the survival rate of an individual with poor threat detection ability living in a relatively dangerous …


Forecasting The Vitality Of The Fur Language: A Study In Language Use Patterns And Attitudes In Darfur, Kerry Mae Corbett Jul 2012

Forecasting The Vitality Of The Fur Language: A Study In Language Use Patterns And Attitudes In Darfur, Kerry Mae Corbett

Theses and Dissertations

The Fur language of Darfur, Sudan has been undergoing a decades-long language shift to the more dominant and prestigious Arabic spoken throughout the country. However, a decade of conflict in Darfur has brought greater awareness of ethnic identity and disrupted the previously-documented language shift. Using questionnaires, this study explores the current language use patterns and attitudes of 286 individuals in two towns and four Internally Displaced People camps in Darfur. It uses interviews to further explore language attitudes. The research shows that demographic variables such as gender, age, and level of education affect language use and attitudes and confirms that …


Analysis Of The Fish Community On Tidal-Freshwater Constructed Reefs, Briana Langford Jul 2012

Analysis Of The Fish Community On Tidal-Freshwater Constructed Reefs, Briana Langford

Theses and Dissertations

Constructed reefs are used successfully in marine systems to enhance spawning habitat; this study examines the effectiveness of constructed reefs in a tidal-freshwater river. Fish abundance, species diversity and richness, residency, water column position, reproductive guilds, and feeding guilds were analyzed on two constructed reefs in the tidal-freshwater James River and compared to silted regions representing the primary substrate in the river. Reefs were sampled using hydroacoustics, electroshocking, gillnetting, trawling, and egg mats. The constructed reefs had a greater proportion of fish that broadcast spawn over hard substrate and a trend of more overall individual, residential, and demersal fish. The …


Post-Fire Soil Water Repellency: Extent, Severity And Thickness Relative To Ecological Site Characteristics Within Piñon-Juniper Woodlands, Daniel Lewis Zvirzdin Jun 2012

Post-Fire Soil Water Repellency: Extent, Severity And Thickness Relative To Ecological Site Characteristics Within Piñon-Juniper Woodlands, Daniel Lewis Zvirzdin

Theses and Dissertations

Erosion and weed dominance often limit the recovery of burned piñon-juniper woodlands. Soil water repellency (SWR) is one factor that may contribute to this by increasing overland flow and impeding seedling establishment. In spite of these effects, the extent of SWR within piñon-juniper woodlands is unknown. In this study, the extent, severity and thickness of SWR were sampled across 41 1,000 m2 plots within three 2009 Utah wildfires. Predictive models of SWR were built from ecological site characteristic data collected at each site. Across the study, SWR was found at 37% of the points sampled. SWR extent was strongly related …


Effects Of Prescribed Fire On Ozark Ant Ecology, Robin Michelle Verble Jun 2012

Effects Of Prescribed Fire On Ozark Ant Ecology, Robin Michelle Verble

Theses and Dissertations

Fires are among the most conspicuous disturbances affecting leaf litter communities, and are sources of both direct and indirect insect mortality. Fires historically occurred on the Ozark landscape at high frequencies, and modern forest managers utilize prescribed fire to restore and maintain those ecosystems. I examined fire effects at multiple scales, ranging from post-fire patterns in leaf litter arthropod community structure to responses of individual organisms to heat stress. This dissertation summarizes the history of fire occurrences in Ozark forests of Arkansas. It then unifies the results of four observational and experimental studies designed to assess how Ozark forest ant …


A Systems Engineering Approach To The Design And Integration Of Microstrip Antennas With Wearable Wireless Devices, Daniel Gilbert Rucker Jun 2012

A Systems Engineering Approach To The Design And Integration Of Microstrip Antennas With Wearable Wireless Devices, Daniel Gilbert Rucker

Theses and Dissertations

Modern wireless systems for implantable and wearable Body Area Network (BAN) applications have reached an advanced stage of design and development not possible in previous generations. Systems engineering techniques allow for modern wireless devices to be developed in a top-down approach to meet the necessary design requirements while utilizing modular architectures. A modular systems architecture is developed to form a platform for BAN systems design. The BAN systems architecture defines the requirements, physical architecture, and operational architecture. The antenna component of the system is researched in detail and prototypes are developed to meet the requirements of implantable and wearable BAN …


Xprime-Em: Eliciting Expert Prior Information For Motif Exploration Using The Expectation-Maximization Algorithm, Wei Zhou Jun 2012

Xprime-Em: Eliciting Expert Prior Information For Motif Exploration Using The Expectation-Maximization Algorithm, Wei Zhou

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the possible mechanisms of gene transcription regulation is a primary challenge for current molecular biologists. Identifying transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs), also called DNA motifs, is an important step in understanding these mechanisms. Furthermore, many human diseases are attributed to mutations in TFBSs, which makes identifying those DNA motifs significant for disease treatment. Uncertainty and variations in specific nucleotides of TFBSs present difficulties for DNA motif searching. In this project, we present an algorithm, XPRIME-EM (Eliciting EXpert PRior Information for Motif Exploration using the Expectation-Maximization Algorithm), which can discover known and de novo (unknown) DNA motifs simultaneously from a …


The Role Of A And B Vitamins During Orofacial Development Of Xenopus Laevis, Allyson Kennedy Jun 2012

The Role Of A And B Vitamins During Orofacial Development Of Xenopus Laevis, Allyson Kennedy

Theses and Dissertations

Orofacial anomalies make up about a third of the 120,000 birth defects each year in the United States. Children born with these abnormalities must undergo immense physical and emotional strain in order to correct the defects. In fact, about $697 million is spent every year surgically treating children with cleft lip and/or cleft palate (2011). In countries where surgery is not an option, this abnormality causes immense difficulties in eating, hearing, speech, and psychosocial development. The causes of cleft lip/palate are extremely complex. Genetics play a role in the anomaly; however, 95% of cleft palate cases are non-syndromic and likely …


Mda-7/Il-24; A Promising Cancer Therapeutic Agent, Hossein Hamed Jun 2012

Mda-7/Il-24; A Promising Cancer Therapeutic Agent, Hossein Hamed

Theses and Dissertations

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an aggressive cancer that affects millions of patients per year. Conventional therapies combining chemotherapeutic agents with radiation can only extend survival by a few months; therefore, there is a dire need for an effective means of treating this deadly disease. Melanoma differentiation-associated gene-7/interleukin-24 (mda-7/IL-24), currently in the early stages of FDA pre-IND drug trials, has proven to be an effective cancer specific cytokine, able to trigger the onset of mitochondrial dysfunction and/or autophagy. GBM’s have mutations that often result in the activation of cytoprotective cell signaling pathways, preventing cancer therapeutics and even MDA-7/IL-24 treatments from being …


Characterizing The Role Of Nucleosome Remodeling Factor (Nurf) In Tumorigenesis And Metastatic Progression Using Mouse Models Of Breast Cancer., Suehyb Alkhatib Jun 2012

Characterizing The Role Of Nucleosome Remodeling Factor (Nurf) In Tumorigenesis And Metastatic Progression Using Mouse Models Of Breast Cancer., Suehyb Alkhatib

Theses and Dissertations

Increasingly the role of epigenetic machinery as a bridge between underlying DNA sequence and cellular phenotype is being discovered. The establishment of a myriad of unique cellular types sharing identical gene sequences in a multicellular organism gives a broad sense for the inherent role of epigenetic influence on cell differentiation. Importantly, the epigenetic mechanisms involved in establishing cell identity unsurprisingly contribute to diseased states, including cancer. Recent research continues to elucidate contributory roles of epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, histone modification, and microRNA regulation, in human cancers. Additionally, chromatin remodelers, such as the Nucleosome Remodeling Factor (NURF), have been …


The Putative Cannabinoid Receptor Gpr55 Modulates Synaptic Plasticity In The Hippocampus, Corinne Marie Badgley Jun 2012

The Putative Cannabinoid Receptor Gpr55 Modulates Synaptic Plasticity In The Hippocampus, Corinne Marie Badgley

Theses and Dissertations

Endocannabinoids (eCBs) are small molecules that are capable of modulating synaptic plasticity of both excitatory and inhibitory synapses in the brain. While eCBs bind to transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) and cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) in the central nervous system, we recently identified a form of non-CB1, non-TRPV1 mediated long term depression activated by the eCB anandamide at CA1 hippocampal stratum radiatum interneurons. GPR55, an orphan G-protein receptor, has been identified in the hippocampus and is capable of activation by eCBs, making it a good candidate for mediating this non-CB1, non-TRPV1 form of synaptic plasticity. Here we performed whole-cell …


Enhancing Trust In The Smart Grid By Applying A Modified Exponentially Weighted Averages Algorithm, Andrew T. Kasperek Jun 2012

Enhancing Trust In The Smart Grid By Applying A Modified Exponentially Weighted Averages Algorithm, Andrew T. Kasperek

Theses and Dissertations

The main contribution of this thesis is the development and application of a modified Exponentially Weighted Moving Algorithm (EWMA) algorithm, and its ability to robustly function in the face varying numbers of bad (malicious or malfunctioning) Special Protection System (SPS) nodes. Simulation results support the use of the proposed modified EWMA reputation based trust module in SPSs within a smart grid environment. This modification results in the ability to easily maintain the system above the minimum acceptable frequency of 58.8 Hz at the 95% confidence interval, when challenged with test cases containing 5, 10 and 15 bad node test cases …


Truth Begins In Lies': The Paradoxes Of Western Society In House M.D., Jason A. Hagey Jun 2012

Truth Begins In Lies': The Paradoxes Of Western Society In House M.D., Jason A. Hagey

Theses and Dissertations

The core of House M.D. is its assertion that current Western civilization lives in a perpetual state of dissonance: we desire to have the rawness of emotion but we can only handle this rawness when we combine it with intellect, even if that intellect lies to us. This is the ontological paradox that the televisual text grapples with. Through the use of archetypal analysis and allegorical interpretation, this thesis reveals that dissonance and its relationship to contemporary Western society. Through House M.D. we realize that there are structures to the paradoxes that we live and there are paradoxes in our …


An Application Of Con-Resistant Trust To Improve The Reliability Of Special Protection Systems Within The Smart Grid, Crystal M. Shipman Jun 2012

An Application Of Con-Resistant Trust To Improve The Reliability Of Special Protection Systems Within The Smart Grid, Crystal M. Shipman

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores an application of a con-resistant trust mechanism to improve the performance of communications-based special protection systems to further enhance their effectiveness and resiliency. New initiatives in the energy sector are paving the way for the emergent communications-based smart grid technology. Smart grids incorporate modern technologies in an effort to be more reliable and efficient. However, with the benefits of this new technology comes added risk. This research utilizes a con-resistant trust mechanism as a method to quickly identify malicious or malfunctioning protection system nodes in order to mitigate the resulting instabilities in the smart grid. The feasibility …


Mapping Creativity: An A/R/Tographic Look At The Artistic Process Of High School Students, Bart Andrus Francis Jun 2012

Mapping Creativity: An A/R/Tographic Look At The Artistic Process Of High School Students, Bart Andrus Francis

Theses and Dissertations

A high school visual art educator, along with 20 students enrolled in this teacher/researcher's Advanced Placement (AP) studio course, investigated the processes involved in creating artwork. Understanding artistic processes beyond skills and techniques is significant for curriculum development, but it is also key in conceptualizing art as a way of knowing. The arts based research strategy utilized in this study was a/r/tography, which focuses on the interconnectedness between artist, researcher, and teacher/learner. This highly reflective form of action research allowed the researcher and students to uncover new understandings of what it means to be an artist-researcher through a combination of …


The Pro-Inflammatory Contributions Of Receptors For Advanced Glycation End-Products (Rage) In Alveolar Macrophages Following Cigarette Smoke Exposure, Adam Benjamin Robinson Jun 2012

The Pro-Inflammatory Contributions Of Receptors For Advanced Glycation End-Products (Rage) In Alveolar Macrophages Following Cigarette Smoke Exposure, Adam Benjamin Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

Receptors for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) are multi-ligand cell surface receptors of the immunoglobin family expressed by epithelium and macrophages. RAGE expression increases following ligand binding and when diverse cells are exposed to a variety of insults including cigarette smoke extract (CSE). The current research sought to characterize the pro-inflammatory contributions of RAGE expressed by alveolar macrophages (AMs) following CSE exposure. Acute exposure of mice to CSE via nasal instillation revealed diminished bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cellularity and fewer AMs in RAGE null mice compared to controls. Primary AMs were obtained from BAL, exposed to CSE in vitro, and RNA, DNA, …


The Development Of Interactive Technology For Conveying Symbols, Signs, And Meaning For Beginning Learners Of Arabic, Samuel Joseph Chester Smith Jun 2012

The Development Of Interactive Technology For Conveying Symbols, Signs, And Meaning For Beginning Learners Of Arabic, Samuel Joseph Chester Smith

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored how a computer-assisted second-language instructional method introduced basic Arabic vocabulary and grammar and affected vocabulary acquisition. This instructional method used audio, text and animated images to introduce the vocabulary and grammar in a meaningful step-by-step presentation. Volunteers from Brigham Young University and Brigham Young University-Idaho were randomly assigned to either a control group or an experimental group to participate in interactive Arabic language computer programs. The control group received Arabic instruction by means of computerized flashcards, while the experimental group received Arabic instruction by means of animated images. Following the treatment, the volunteers completed an online posttest …


Identification Through Inhabitation In Literature, Film, And Video Games, Charlotte Palfreyman Smith Jun 2012

Identification Through Inhabitation In Literature, Film, And Video Games, Charlotte Palfreyman Smith

Theses and Dissertations

In real life we each experience the world separately through our individual bodies, which necessitates what Kenneth Burke calls "identification." In this paper, I assert that as artistic media have structured our aesthetic experience in a way that increasingly resembles our lived, embodied experiences, our identification with fictional characters requires less imaginative effort and is more automatic and powerful. I will show this by analyzing how we inhabit characters through sensory engagement, point of view, and narrative form in literature, film, and video games (specifically action/adventure games, RPGs, and MMORPGs). I will then build off of Burke's foundational theory to …


Media Meets Science: The Experience Of A Media Teacher And Science Teacher As They Implement Media Literacy In A Science Classroom, Matthew Jay Brown Jun 2012

Media Meets Science: The Experience Of A Media Teacher And Science Teacher As They Implement Media Literacy In A Science Classroom, Matthew Jay Brown

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative action research study looked at my collaboration with a science teacher as we combined a Television Production class with an Advanced Placement Environmental Science class. This cross-curricular case study explored the implementation of the principles of media literacy, defined by the National Association for Media Literacy Education, into the science classroom where media literacy has traditionally been a non-factor. The impact of media and technology on everyone's daily lives is making it necessary for us to become media literate. The use of media literacy tools and strategies in a combined media production class and an AP science class …


Content Analysis Of 50 Picture Books For Latino Immigrant Children: Implications For Supportive Bibliotherapy, Robert Jeffrey Gomm Jun 2012

Content Analysis Of 50 Picture Books For Latino Immigrant Children: Implications For Supportive Bibliotherapy, Robert Jeffrey Gomm

Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzed the content of 50 children's picture books, specifically award-winning picture books created for and/or about Latino immigrant children. Familiar artwork, situations, and characters help Latino immigrant children identify with the stories. Information from this analysis will help parents, teachers, and school mental health professions select appropriate books for bibliotherapy aligned with Latino immigrant children's needs. Based on this study's analyses, two resources are included: (a) a list of 20 children's picture books that address four or more Latino immigrant challenges and (b) a handout with common challenges facing immigrant children and books to specifically meet each of …


Social And Emotional Learning In Preschool: An Evaluation Of Strong Start Pre-K, Leslie Gunter Jun 2012

Social And Emotional Learning In Preschool: An Evaluation Of Strong Start Pre-K, Leslie Gunter

Theses and Dissertations

Young children face unique social challenges, and they need social and emotional resilience skills in order to navigate their way through school. Many of the children who need the most help are in family situations where parents are not able to teach these skills. Students can become more resilient through social and emotional learning (SEL) in the classroom. SEL teaches children to identify the emotions of themselves and others, to communicate their emotions in a nonviolent way, and to be good friends. By teaching SEL at a young age, teachers can help children become more adept as they make friends …


Using An Internet Learning Profile To Create Customized Plans, Beth Lynne Jun 2012

Using An Internet Learning Profile To Create Customized Plans, Beth Lynne

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to develop an Internet Learning Profile for eighth grade students based upon Gardner's Multiple Intelligences and to use the results to develop customized lesson plan activities for each profile that can be incorporated into existing curriculum. Another purpose of this study was to discover if students who are considered more literate (via NJ ASK language arts literacy scores) are immersed in the use of online social networking, role play/interactive gaming online, blogs, discussion boards, online classes, video websites, search engines, paint or animation applications, etc. I used a Multiple Intelligences Scale (Chislett & Chapman, …


Unique Features And Neuronal Properties In A Multisensory Cortex, W. Alex Foxworthy Jun 2012

Unique Features And Neuronal Properties In A Multisensory Cortex, W. Alex Foxworthy

Theses and Dissertations

UNIQUE FEAUTRES OF ORGANIZATION AND NEURONAL PROPERTIES IN A MULTISENSORY CORTEX Multisensory processing is a ubiquitous sensory effect that underlies a wide variety of behaviors, such as detection and orientation, as well as perceptual phenomena from speech comprehension to binding. Such multisensory perceptual effects are presumed to be based in cortex, especially within areas known to contain multisensory neurons. However, unlike their lower-level/primary sensory cortical counterparts, little is known about the connectional, functional and laminar organization of higher-level multisensory cortex. Therefore, to examine the fundamental features of neuronal processing and organization in the multisensory cortical area of the posterior parietal …


Exposure To Dietary Selenium And Soy Isoflavones In Utero Provides Greater Protection Against Prostate Cancer Risk Factors In Tramp Mice Than Exposure Beginning At 6 Weeks, Heather Schofield Lindsay Jun 2012

Exposure To Dietary Selenium And Soy Isoflavones In Utero Provides Greater Protection Against Prostate Cancer Risk Factors In Tramp Mice Than Exposure Beginning At 6 Weeks, Heather Schofield Lindsay

Theses and Dissertations

Prostate cancer is the second most commonly occurring cancer in men in the United States. Generally, an extended period of time is needed for a mutation to develop into a full scale tumor. Because of this long latency period, lifestyle and environmental factors, such as diet, may play an important role in the development and progression of the disease. Diet is one factor that has been implicated in the risk for developing prostate cancer. We previously showed that diets high in soy isoflavones and selenium (Se) decreased androgen receptor expression and expression of androgen regulated genes in healthy rat prostates. …


Determination Of Toxic Heavy Metals In Wet Deposition And Ambient Air In Columbus, Ga, Melissa K.M. Nestor Jun 2012

Determination Of Toxic Heavy Metals In Wet Deposition And Ambient Air In Columbus, Ga, Melissa K.M. Nestor

Theses and Dissertations

Atmospheric pollution is one of the most significant and potentially catastrophic environmental issues threatening the United States and the world today. One such source of this pollution is heavy metals. The impact of heavy metal pollution on living organisms can be disastrous, having the potential to cause the deterioration of ecosystems and posing danger to the health and survival of the human race. Chronic and acute human exposure to this type of pollution can damage the proper functioning of vital body organs by inhibiting important neurological pathways. In plants, it essentially acts as a counter-agent to proper growth. In areas …


Investigating The Translation Of Cobra1: Canonical Expression Is Alternatively Initiated From A Non-Aug Codon, Mohamed Abouelsoud Jun 2012

Investigating The Translation Of Cobra1: Canonical Expression Is Alternatively Initiated From A Non-Aug Codon, Mohamed Abouelsoud

Theses and Dissertations

COBRA1, co-factor of BRCA1, is a transcriptional regulator and a subunit of the Negative elongation complex also known as NELF-B. Although this protein was first designated as a cofactor of BRCA1 and hence acts accordingly, it was found later that it elicits a battery of response genes overlapping those regulated by BRCA1 in absence of BRCA1 itself. Cobra1 deletion is embryonic lethal and results in embryonic stem cells (ESC) differentiation independent of the typical pluripotency machinery. Moreover, it was found that it has a role in suppression of tumors' growth and patients with poor prognosis of breast cancer had decreased …