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Bone Properties Of Recombinant Inbred Line - Bxd Mouse, Yueying Angela Zhang

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Osteoporosis is identified by reduced bone mass, decreased bone quality and altered bone micro-architecture. These traits are quantitative and also highly regulated by genetic and environmental factors. As a powerful tool for collaborative analysis of quantitative traits and gene function, BXD recombinant inbred (RI) lines mice have been used to identify genetic effects for bone density.

For the first time, we investigated the bone properties of BXD RI mice by analyzing femur and tibia and compared their phenotypes of different compartments. In this study, microcomputed tomography (µCT) provided an accurate measurement on characterizing bone quality and bone architecture ex-vivo; three-point …

The Development And Application Of A Custom Robotic Biomechanical Testing Platform Employing Real-Time Load-Control To Compare Spinal Biomechanical Testing Protocols: Pure Moment, Ideal Follower Load, And A Novel Trunk Weight Protocol, Charles Ramsey Bennett

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The human lumbar spine has been the subject of biomechanical study for many decades owing to the numerous medical cases resulting in the development of various corrective surgical procedures and medical devices intended to relieve patient discomfort. Spinal biomechanics is a broad field containing but not limited to the in vitro study of cadaveric tissue utilizing testing platforms used to apply motion- or load-profiles to tissue in the investigation of the various kinetic or kinematic responses, respectively. The particular arena field of this research concerns the field of robotics as it applies to testing platforms and how they are applied …

Protein Interactions In Mrna Methylation Complexes, Yazan Ali Alqara

Senior Honors Theses

Experiments were performed to test sequence and structural specific interactions of proteins with a conserved RNA modification enzyme, which is known as Ime4 in yeast and Mettl3 in mammals. Ime4 methylates N6-adenosine bases on mRNA molecules. The goal of this project is to gain direct insights into how novel proteins interact with Ime4 to form the methyltranferase (MTase) complex and to identify proteins that are essential for Ime4 activity. It has been recognized that there are two proteins that interact within the Ime4 complex, which are known as Mum2 (a cytoplasmic protein essential for meiotic DNA replication within yeast) and …

Iron Citrate Toxicity Causes Aco1Δ-Induced Mtdna Loss In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Muhammad Ali Farooq

Senior Honors Theses

Aconitase is an enzyme of the Krebs cycle that catalyzes the isomerization of citrate to isocitrate. In addition to its enzymatic activity, Aco1 has been reported to bind to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and mediate its maintenance in the budding yeast S. cerevisiae. In the absence of Aco1, cells rapidly lose mtDNA and become “petite” mutants. The purpose of this study is to uncover the mechanism behind mtDNA loss due to an aco1 deletion mutation. We found that an aco1 mutation activates the mitochondria-to-nucleus retrograde (RTG) signaling pathway, resulting in increased expression of citrate synthases (CIT) through the activation of two …

The Effects Of Sugar On Mental Health In Marijuana Smokers, Megan N. Long

Senior Honors Theses

This research study examined the effects of high levels of sugar intake on mental health in marijuana smokers. Because the literature demonstrates a similarity between refined sugar and other commonly addictive drugs, those who ingest a higher percentage of dietary sugar will score more poorly on the DASS21, meaning that with higher levels of sugar ingestion, a greater deficit in mental health functioning will be measurable. Of 16 participants, nine were female and seven were male, and the participants ranged from a normal weight to obese. The results did support the hypothesis of sugar dependence. This has implications for future …

Omega Point, Christine Carey

Senior Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Testosterone Reactivity To Skydiving, Swornim M. Shrestha

Senior Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine if testosterone shows reactivity to skydiving and to examine whether the testosterone level and reactivity was associated with sex and sensation seeking trait of the participants. Testosterone is an important steroid hormone which has several biological and socio-behavioral effects on people and is also present in disproportionate amounts in males and females; thus, it is important to explore how this hormone acts in different sex. Furthermore, exploring the relationship between sensation-seeking and testosterone could provide insight into the relation between psychological factor and hormonal response in humans. Forty-four people were recruited to …

The Cultural Manifestations Of Anorexia Nervosa, Aaron Volk

Tredway Library Prize for First-Year Research

No abstract provided.

Response Of Cyp1a And Vegf In Cyprinodon Variegatus When Exposed To Source/Dispersed Oil And Hypoxia, Bryan Matthew Hedgpeth

Master's Theses

My thesis research focused on the effects of two environmental stressors on the small estuarine fish, Sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus). Specifically, I examined the effects of exposure to crude and dispersed oil and hypoxia. I looked for responses using a combination of molecular and ecological endpoints. These stressors were chosen because of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill which released 4.1 million barrels of crude oil into the northern Gulf of Mexico. An estimated 2.1 million gallons of Corexit 9500 was used in an attempt to disperse the oil slick into the water column. The spill happened in …

Hand Preference For Tool-Use In Capuchin Monkeys (Cebus Apella) Is Associated With Asymmetry Of The Primary Motor Cortex, Kimberley A. Phillips, C. R. Thompson

Psychology Faculty Research

Skilled motor actions are associated with handedness and neuroanatomical specializations in humans. Recent reports have documented similar neuroanatomical asymmetries and their relationship to hand preference in some nonhuman primate species, including chimpanzees and capuchin monkeys. We investigated whether capuchins displayed significant hand preferences for a tool use task and whether such preferences were associated with motor-processing regions of the brain. Handedness data on a dipping tool-use task and high-resolution 3T MRI scans were collected from 15 monkeys. Capuchins displayed a significant group-level left-hand preference for this type of tool use, and handedness was associated with asymmetry of the primary motor …

A Comparison Of Resistance To Extinction Following Dynamic And Static Schedules Of Reinforcement, Andrew R. Craig

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Behavioral momentum theory states that the Pavlovian stimulus-reinforcer relation governs resistance to extinction. Thus, higher baseline reinforcer rates should produce more persistent behavior than lower baseline reinforcer rates. Though this positive relation generally is observed when behavior is maintained and subsequently disrupted in multiple schedules, the opposite relation is observed when single schedules are used. An alternative framework of extinction performance based on Bayesian change detection may be applied intuitively to describe resistance to extinction in single schedules of reinforcement. This approach asserts that detection of changes in reinforcer rates during extinction should be easier following training with rich reinforcer …

Modeling Usa Stream Temperatures For Stream Biodiversity And Climate Change Assessments, Ryan A. Hill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Stream temperature in one of the most biologically important aspects of water quality, but we lack temperature information for the vast majority of streams within the USA. Stream temperature can be influenced by several types of landscape and waterway alteration including upstream urbanization, agriculture, and reservoir releases. Stream temperatures are also expected to be affected by climate change over the next
century. We need to know how stream temperatures vary naturally, how they are influenced by human activity, and how they will respond to climate changes to effectively manage stream ecosystems. I used data from several thousand streams within the …

Comparison Of Stated Iron Concentrations Between Name Brand And Generic Children's Multivitamins, Ashlea Nicole Pettengill

Master's Theses

The mineral iron is one of the most common minerals on Earth; not only is iron found in the atmosphere, water, and plants, it is an essential mineral needed for the human body. Children need iron at a young age to ensure proper growth and development of myelin, to promote oxygen transportation within red blood cells, and to assist in Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and Ribonucleic acid (RNA). With iron readily available in children's multivitamins, iron toxicity can become an issue when taking too many tablets. With two types of brands, generic and name brand, parents should be aware of the …

Saving The "Ignorant American": Reflections On Science, Religion, And Public Scholarship, Linda Maccammon

Verbum

No abstract provided.

Area Dental Missionary Lands Moments After Quake, Bill Vaughn

Verbum

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph.

"A smile is a language that can transcend all borders. When Dr. Michele Bonnevie left Harrisburg Airport she expected her trip to Guatemala to be just like her two previous dental mission trips. Fifteen minutes prior to her plane landing at Guatemala City, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake rocked the western coast of the country."

Full Issue, No Author

Verbum

This is the full issue of Volume 10, Issue 2 of Verbum, published in Spring 2013 by the REST Club at St. John Fisher College. Articles from this issue are available as separate PDFs at http://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/verbum/vol10/iss2/

Light Level Does Not Alter Ethylene Sensitivity In Radish Or Pea, Joseph F. Romagnano, Bruce Bugbee

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Ethylene accumulation occurs in many plant growth environments. In some instances, low photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) is also a stress factor. Ethylene helps regulate the shade-avoidance mechanism and synthesis rates can be altered by light. We thus hypothesized that ethylene sensitivity in whole plants may be altered in low light. Radish (Raphanus sativus) and pea (Pisum sativum) plants were selected as models due to their rapid growth, use in previous studies and difference in growth habit. We first characterized radish and pea sensitivity to ethylene. Radish vegetation was less sensitive to ethylene than pea vegetation. Pea reproductive yield was highly …

Space Law And Government 50 Years Later, Stephen E. Doyle

Journal of Space Law

No abstract provided.

Front Matter, Journal Editors

Journal of Space Law

Includes table of contents.

The Biochemical Foundations Of Evolving Metalaw: Moving At A Glance To The Biological Basis Of Sentient “Essence”, George S. Robinson

Journal of Space Law

No abstract provided.

Hunting: A Necessary Evil To Benefit The Greater Good, Timothy Patrick Mccann

Student Works

No abstract provided.

Emotional Intelligence In Medical Laboratory Science, Travis Miles Price

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Medical laboratory scientists (MLSs) are responsible for performing highly complex biochemical analyses on samples collected from patients in hospitals and clinics. The performance of these tests often involves little patient exposure on the part of the MLS and as a result some have wondered about the role soft skills, like communication, conflict resolution and empathy, play in medical laboratory science. The aim of this study was to explore the importance that medical laboratory administrators place on these types of skills, collectively referred to as emotional intelligence (EI), as well as to assess how satisfied they were with the demonstration of …

Regulation And Expression Of Nanog, Oct4, And Sox2 In The Bovine Blastocyst Following Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer, Justin Scott Hall

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Sciences Department (ADVS) and the Center for Integrated Biosystems (CIB) at Utah State University are studying various molecular mechanisms involved in the animal cloning process. This study involves the extensive network of people, facilities, equipment, and funding already associated with the CIB and ADVS joint project.

Cloning involves many molecular challenges that for the most part have become roadblocks for the normal development of the fetus. The mechanisms necessary to transform an adult cell into a competent stem cell that can then transform and develop into a healthy organism are poorly understood. Some of these …

Analysis Of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Panels For Bovine Dna Identification, Kimberly A. Blanchard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have great power in resolving questions of unknown parentage on ranches or dairies where errors could have been made in pedigree record keeping or when such records were simply not kept. Currently a panel of 88 SNPs based on a panel originally created by USDA-MARC is commercially available from the company Fluidigm^®. Our objective was to determine whether or not the number of SNPs could be reduced to form a smaller, more cost-efficient parentage-testing panel. A smaller panel would be beneficial to farmers and researchers alike in the reduction of time spent running and …

An Environmental History Of The Bear River Range, 1860-1910, Bradley Paul Hansen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The study of environmental history suggests that nature and culture change all the time, but that the rate and scale of such change can vary enormously. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Anglo settlement in the American West transformed landscapes and ecologies, creating new and complex environmental problems. This transformation was particularly impressive in Cache Valley, Utah's Bear River Range. From 1860 to 1910, Mormon settlers overused or misused the Bear River Range's lumber, grazing forage, wild game, and water resources and introduced invasive plant and animal species throughout the area.

By the turn of the 20th century, …

Evaluating Eriogonum Corymbosum Tolerance To Frequent Irrigation And Evaluating Its Significant Morphological Variations For Potential Cultivars, Graham C. Hunter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Eriogonum corymbosum (Lacy Buckwheat) is an attractive subshrub species native to low rainfall areas of the Colorado Plateau and suitable for low water landscapes in the Intermountain West (IMW). Low water use landscapes can contribute to water conservation in arid climates; developing a palette of plants that are both attractive and drought tolerant can promote the acceptance of low water use landscapes as an alternative to the traditional bluegrass landscapes of the IMW. In 2007 a strip plot design containing four repetitions with four randomly assigned plants each of Eriogonum corymbosum, Eriogonum thompsoniae, and the control species Cornus …

Development Of The Multiple Use Plug Hybrid For Nanosats (Muphyn) Miniature Thruster, Shannon Dean Eilers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Multiple Use Plug Hybrid for Nanosats (MUPHyN) prototype thruster incorporates solutions to several major challenges that have traditionally limited the deployment of chemical propulsion systems on small spacecraft. The MUPHyN thruster offers several features that are uniquely suited for small satellite applications. These features include 1) a non-explosive ignition system, 2) non-mechanical thrust vectoring using secondary fluid injection on an aerospike nozzle cooled with the oxidizer flow, 3) a non-toxic, chemically-stable combination of liquid and inert solid propellants, 4) a compact form factor enabled by the direct digital manufacture of the inert solid fuel grain. Hybrid rocket motors provide …

Clonal Diversity Of Quaking Aspen (Populus Tremuloides): How Multiple Clones May Add To Theresilience And Persistence Of This Forest Type, Richard Scott Gardner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Aspen forests and woodlands are widespread across the western United States and are a primary component of many ecosystems in the west. Aspen is a clonal species, with reproduction occurring both by root sprouting (suckering) and seeding. Traditionally, western aspen forests were thought to consist almost entirely of large clones established several thousands of years ago, with seeding events being rare and ecologically negligible. Although clones in the western US can grow to be many acres, recent studies have demonstrated a far greater proportion of small clones than had been previously thought to exist. In this study I wanted to …

Predictors Of Father-Child And Mother-Child Attachment In Two-Parent Families, Jared P. Benware

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Jared Benware, M.S. and Gretchen Gimpel Peacock, Ph.D. at Utah State University examined parent-child attachment in two-parent families. Specifically, the relationship between mother-child and father-child attachment, the relationship between a child's temperament and parent-child attachment, and the relationship between the attachment and the amounts of time a parent spends away from his or her child. The researchers solicited parents as participants to complete questionnaires that measure parent-child attachment and the temperament of their child. This study focused especially on providing more information on the connection between father-child attachment and mother-child attachment rather than focusing only on mothers as the primary …

An Evaluation Of Current Stormwater Best Management Practice Relationships Between Design And Efficiency: A Series Of Local And National Case Studies, Amanda Ann Goodwin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Water quality continues to be threatened by human development activities such as stormwater runoff from urbanization. This study addresses the question of how stormwater Best Management Practice (BMP) system design choices affect pollutant removal efficiency, through the examination of 12 case study sites (across five states) that use three common BMP system design types (detention, retention, and wetland channel). Water quality information was obtained from the International Stormwater Database and site composite grab samples. Development conditions were inventoried by orthophotos and assessed using Geographic Information System (GIS) and AutoCAD data.

This study relates Total Suspended Solid (TSS) load removal efficiency …