Digital Commons Network^™

The Micronutrient Profile Of The Typical American Diet Enhances Colorectal Carcinogenesis, Stephany Del Carmen Perez Monsanto

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The typical Western dietary pattern is characterized by the consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods and has been linked to increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Our research group previously developed the total Western diet (TWD) that emulates typical human dietary intakes of macro- (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) on an energy density basis for rodents. In the present study, we sought to determine the impact of TWD on biomarkers of metabolic syndrome and obesity in comparison to a commercial 45% fat diet used for models of diet-induced obesity (DIO diet) and the standard basal AIN93G diet, …

Concurrent Neurological And Behavioral Assessment Of Number Line Estimation Performance In Children And Adults, Joseph Michael Baker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Understanding the brain’s response to common math-learning activities may help improve math education. For example, by imaging the brains of typically developing children and adults throughout a number line estimation task, it is possible to establish a baseline of what “typical” brains do in such situations. Thus, comparisons may be made to determine the degree to which brain functioning differs between typical and atypical math learners. Moreover, by identifying methods that may increase the brain’s response to real-world math activities, it may be possible to improve the math learning process for typical and atypical learners alike.

Brain imaging devices such …

Diet-Induced Obesity Decreases Liver Iron Stores In Mice Fed Iron Deficient, Adequate, Or Excessive Diets, Brett J. Healy

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Epidemiological and observational evidence suggests that obesity is related to poor Fe status. To determine interactions between obesity, dietary Fe intake and Fe status; male, weanling C57BL/6J mice were fed either high fat diets to induce obesity or a standard diet for 16 weeks. Fe concentrations of both the high fat or control diet (4.5 vs 3.8 kcal/g) were set at: 5, 50 or 500 mg Fe/kg diet. Mice fed the high fat diets had significantly higher percentage body fat (17.9%) compared to mice fed control diets (5.3%, P<0.001). Among obese mice, dietary Fe levels did not significantly influence body composition. Conversely among lean mice, mice fed the iron excessive diet had significantly less fat mass when compared to mice fed the iron deficient diet (P<0.05). Obesity and/or dietary Fe concentration did not significantly affect plasma Fe levels. ANOVA analysis showed significant effects of diet-induced obesity, dietary Fe and an interaction between both factors on liver Fe levels (P< 0.05). Obese mice had significantly lowered liver Fe levels compared to lean cohorts fed the same amount of dietary Fe (P<0.05 for all comparisons). Moreover, lean mice fed the Fe deficient diet (5 mg Fe/kg diet) had similar liver Fe levels (127 mg Fe/kg ± 0.04) compared to obese mice fed the 50 mg Fe/kg diet (132 mg Fe/kg ± 0.05). These data suggest that obesity, independent of dietary Fe intake, influences liver Fe stores.

Studies On Nitrogen And Silicon Deficiency In Microalgal Lipid Production, Curtis Adams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Microalgae are single celled plants that inhabit aquatic and terrestrial environments across the planet. Many species are oleaginous, which means they are capable of producing oils, similar to many higher plants we are familiar with like canola, safflower and coconut. Different from higher plants, however, algae have simple structures that allow them to grow at very high rates. Due to these characteristics—oil production and rapid growth rates—algae are considered a promising future source of oil. Algal oils could be useful for production of food for people, feed for animals, biodiesel, detergents, and many other applications.

Algae have not been heavily …

Effects Of Inorganic Nutrients And Dissolved Organic Carbon On Oxygen Demand In Select Rivers In Northern Utah, Joseph L. Crawford

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Our nation’s waterways are a valuable resource whose quality is influenced by their surroundings as well the amount of nutrients (largely nitrogen and phosphorus) in the water. Nutrients play an important role in aquatic ecosystems; however, if nutrient levels become too high, it is detrimental to water quality. Excess fertilizer that runs off of agricultural land and into the rivers and streams is a common source of nutrients in our waterways. Other sources of nitrogen and phosphorus include effluent released from wastewater facilities.

There are many negative side effects of high nutrients in the water. They can create large algal …

Factors Affecting The Oxidative Stability Of Foods-Interesterified Soybean Oil With High Intensity Ultrasound Treatment And Trona Mineral In Packaged Fresh Meats, Jiwon Lee

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Oxidation leads to rancid flavors or odors in oils and meat and causes discoloration in muscle foods. There is a great concern about economic loss when oxidation is not effectively controlled. Novel processing and storage methods such as ultrasound, interesterification, or gas emitter sachet in meat packaging have been studied to provide desirable quality properties of oils and meat products. However, there are not enough studies to explain their effect on oxidative stability. Better understanding of new techniques is required to manage the oxidative stability and even other quality properties.

High intensity ultrasound is an effective method to improve physical …

Interspecific Interactions Between Penstemon Palmeri And Shrubs In The Arid Shrublands Of The Spring Mountains, Nevada, Jesse M. Poulos

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A project involving shrub removal was undertaken by the United States Forest Service in the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area (SMNRA) to reduce accumulated woody fuels, which can pose risks to human communities. The SMNRA is also home to a variety of species that occur within these fuel reduction boundaries and are protected under the Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP) of Clark County, Nevada. It is unknown how MSHCP covered species will respond to shrub removal. This research focuses on the interactions between shrubs and the herbaceous plant Palmer’s penstemon (Penstemon palmeri), one of many nectar sources …

Relationship Between Occupational Complexity And Dementia Risk In Late-Life: A Population Study, Daylee Rose Greene

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

According to cognitive reserve theory, challenging and/or stimulating cognitive activities can build a theoretical reserve, which may lead to a delay in the clinical expression of dementia and/or Alzheimer's disease. These cognitively stimulating activities are thought to build cognitive strategies and neural pathways that are more efficient, enabling the individual to live symptom-free for a longer period of time. One mechanism through which cognitive reserve can be built is by participating in an occupation high in cognitive complexity. When individuals hold an occupation that is high in complexity, they may build their cognitive reserve in such a manner as to …

Kisspeptins - Expression, Purification, And Biological Assays, Mathew Puthayathu Kurian

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Kisspeptins are hormones involved in the onset of puberty in adolescents and maintenance of reproductive function in adults. Defects in kisspeptin signaling are associated with many reproductive disorders. Kisspeptins were originally discovered as metastasis suppressors and have been found to suppress the metastasis of certain cancers. Unfortunately, many aspects of kisspeptin action at a cellular level remain unknown. Kisspeptins, therefore, are attractive candidates for large-scale production for use as research and therapeutic reagents. We developed a simple and cost effective method to express and purify kisspeptins in large quantities. We also tested the biological activity of kisspeptins on cells expressing …

Characterization Of The Product Specificity And Kinetic Mechanism Of Protein Arginine Methyltransferase 1, Shanying Gui

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Protein enzymes perform a vast array of functions within living organisms, catalyzing various metabolic reactions including DNA replication, DNA repair, protein synthesis, etc. In order to maintain proper cellular functions, enzymes need to be accurately regulated under different circumstances. Specifically, enzymes can be modified after their creation to give them additional functions. These modifications can do a variety of things including activating (turning on) or inactivating (turning off) an enzyme, changing what proteins or molecules can interact with the enzyme, changing the enzyme’s location in the cell, and/or targeting the enzyme for destruction. This dissertation focuses on a single class …

Assessing Vehicle-Related Mortality Of Mule Deer In Utah, Daniel D. Olson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Roads are essential in modern societies, but as populations grow and traffic volumes rise, roads will continue to be built and expanded. As a result, the effects that roads have on wildlife will likely intensify, making it imperative that managers understand those effects so mitigation can be directed accordingly. In Utah, considerable areas of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) habitat have been bisected by roads. Mule deer are commonly involved in vehicle collisions and there is concern that roads and vehicle traffic are impacting populations. This project was conducted to determine the number and demographic effects of deer-vehicle collisions, …

Dot Product Graphs And Their Applications To Ecology, Sean Bailey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

We will introduce a new tool to visualize the comparison between different birds. This tool will allow users to use any number of measurable traits to see relationships between different birds, both individually and collectively.

Evaluation Of Survey Methods And Development Of Species Distribution Models For Kit Foxes In The Great Basin Desert, Stephen J. Dempsey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Historically, kit foxes (Vulpes macrotis) once occupied the desert and semi-arid regions of southwestern North America, ranging from Idaho to central Mexico. Their range-wide decline has warranted the kit fox to be designated as a state sensitive species in Utah. Once considered the most abundant carnivore in western Utah, the kit fox has been in steep decline over the past decade, creating a demand to determine kit fox presence in the Great Basin desert. Currently there is little consensus on which survey methodology is best for detecting kit fox presence. We tested 4 survey methods (scat deposition, scent …

Causes And Consequences Of Local Variability In Aroga Websteri Clarke Abundance Over Space And Time, Virginia L.J. Bolshakova

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Sagebrush steppe habitat is rapidly declining in the Intermountain West in both quality and quantity. Observed reductions in animal and bird populations associated with sagebrush, invasion of exotic annual grasses such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), and other concerns with climate change have led to a growing awareness of the need to monitor and better understand the rate of habitat loss. Sagebrush lands are subject to periodic loss caused by insect feeding damage, and human activities have the potential to promote unnaturally high levels of such loss. The sagebrush defoliating Aroga moth, Aroga websteri Clarke (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), can kill …

Vital Rates, Population Trends, And Habitat-Use Patterns Of A Translocated Greater Sage-Grouse Population: Implications For Future Translocations, Orrin V. Duvuvuei

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) populations have declined range-wide with some local populations exhibiting dramatic decreases. In 2009–2010, radio-marked hens (30 hens in 2009 and 30 hens in 2010) were translocated from Parker Mountain in south-central Utah to augment a rapidly declining population on Anthro Mountain in northeastern Utah. Thirty-two resident female sage-grouse on Anthro Mountain were also radio-collared from 2009–2012.

I compared population vital rates (i.e., nest and brood success, and survival) of resident and translocated hens in Anthro Mountain’s population to those of a translocated population in Strawberry Valley, Utah and the source population. Of these …

Integrated Management Of Downy Brome (Bromus Tectorum L.) Infested Rangeland, Heather Elwood

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Invasive weed species are a threat to the health and functionality of many rangeland systems. Downy brome (Bromus tectorum) is an invasive annual grass that affects the productivity of rangelands by decreasing the grazing capacity for livestock as well as altering the wildfire cycle and competing against more desirable vegetation for limited resources.

In 2006, an Invasive Plant Management Plan and Environmental Assessment was approved for Dinosaur National Monument, calling for prioritization of invasive species management on high value wildlife habitat, vector areas, and for species with a high ecological impact. The Cub Creek Watershed was identified as a priority …

Ecology Of Coyotes On The Valles Caldera National Preserve, New Mexico: Implications For Elk Calf Recruitment, Suzanne J. Gifford

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Valles Caldera National Preserve (VCNP) managers were concerned about low elk recruitment observed at the same time as an apparent increase in sightings of coyotes and observations of coyote predation on elk calves. The goal of this study was to describe coyotes’ ecological interactions with elk, particularly coyote diet and movements on the Valle Grande, a large grassland meadow in the southeastern portion of the VCNP.

We examined coyote diet by quantifying undigested remains of food items in coyote scats (feces). The most frequent taxa were rodents (montane voles and pocket gophers), elk (adult and calf), insects (grasshoppers and beetles), …

Peach Fruit Quality Analysis In Relation To Organic And Conventional Cultivation Techniques, Varun Chandra Koneru

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The USA is the third major world producer of peaches but consumption has decreased over the last two decades. Consumers have cited mealy texture, fruit browning and lack of sweetness as some undesirable characteristics in peaches, which may be related to the decline. The focus of this study was to evaluate the effect of farm management practices on fruit quality. Physical parameters (color, firmness and size), volatiles and metabolite data was collected.
Sensory evaluation indicated transitional organic peaches were liked the best and organically grown peaches were least liked. All the treatments were significantly different from each other and consumers …

A Longitudinal Study Of English Narrative Discourse Development In Young Spanish-English Bilinguals, Abbie Olszewski

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Producing oral narratives is the best predictor of later literacy functioning. The ability to use performance on oral narratives as a way to identify children who may be at- risk for academic and language problems is helpful for educators. For example, it is likely that children who are identified with language impairments or who are learning English as a second language may have difficulty creating narratives due to the inherent language complexity of creating narratives. Research has demonstrated that similar to English monolingual children, narrative ability has been shown to underlie literacy development for bilingual children. Although there are numerous …

Understanding Successful Japanese Language Programs: Utah Case Study, Timothy G. Stout

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Recent world events have caused Americans to reassess national political, economic, and educational priorities, resulting in a shift towards Asia. The schools in response have begun to introduce less commonly taught languages, such as Japanese and Chinese. Many Utah public schools have tried to implement less commonly taught language programs. Some have succeeded, and other others have not. The purpose of this study was to understand how and why some schools were able to successfully integrate less commonly taught language programs, and why others were not.

The results of this study suggest that the factors relating to students’ interests and …

Mothers' And Fathers' Attachment Relationships With Children Who Have Disabilities, Sheila Lopez

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research has found that attachment relationships between parents and children are formed independent of each other and have different outcomes for the child. Very little research regarding parent-child attachment relationships has been done with children who have a disability. This study aimed to learn more about whether differences exist in attachment relationships between mothers and fathers and whether or not the child has a disability. Results indicate that fathers of children with a disability appear to have less secure attachments with their children compared to fathers of typically developing children as well as mothers of children with and without disabilities. …

Improving Surrogate Monitoring Techniques For Suspended Sediment, Brant R. Whiting

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The quality of water of our nation’s rivers and streams is important to many vital uses including drinking water treatment, recreation, and the natural environment. Water quality can be severely impacted by the quantity and type of suspended sediment found therein. Because suspended sediment can be associated with many other contaminants that degrade water quality, it is noted as the most common impairment to water quality in the United States. Suspended sediment can cause significant ecological impacts to the chemical and biological characteristics of surface waters. The ability to accurately quantify suspended sediment concentrations at the appropriate time(s) and location(s) …

Legacy Effects Of Habitat Degradation By Lesser Snow Geese On Ground-Nesting Savannah Sparrows Along The Hudson Bay Lowlands, Stephen L. Peterson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Little is known of the direct and indirect legacy of Lesser Snow Goose (LSGO) habitat degradation in northern Canada on the biodiversity of other avian species. It is believed that a human-induced trophic cascade caused in part by agricultural habitat modification along migratory routes and wintering grounds has contributed to the increase in LSGO numbers, which has resulted in increased foraging pressure by LSGO on northern breeding and stopover sites. This habitat degradation may lead to decreased abundance and richness of Arctic / sub-Arctic avian species across landscapes that LSGO utilize and degrade.

Here we evaluated the annual change in …

Mule Deer And Wildlife Crossings In Utah, Usa, Megan Schwender

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs) negatively impact wildlife populations and create dangerous driving situations for motorists. In Utah, USA, mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) encounter a variety of hazards as they attempt to cross highways and interstates, some of which are 8 lanes wide. Agencies have sought to mitigate the risks posed to drivers and mule deer by building crossing structures for wildlife. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of crossing structures in Utah to safely pass mule deer under highways and to determine the variables that best explain mule deer passage use. From 2008 - 2011 …

Correcting Errors Due To Species Correlations In The Marginal Probability Density Evolution Algorithm, Abiezer Tejeda

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Synthetic biology is an emerging field that integrates and applies engineering design methods to biological systems. Its aim is to make biology an “engineerable” science. Over the years, biologists and engineers alike have abstracted biological systems into functional models that behave similarly to electric circuits, thus the creation of the subfield of genetic circuits. Mathematical models have been devised to simulate the behavior of genetic circuits in silico. Most models can be classified into deterministic and stochastic models. The work in this dissertation is for stochastic models.

Although ordinary differential equation (ODE) models are generally amenable to simulate genetic …

The Influence Of Widowhood And Sociodemographic Moderators On Dementia And Alzheimer's Disease Risk, Daniel Joseph Hatch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are dramatic public health problems. In recent years, researchers have uncovered evidence demonstrating that chronic stress can lead to these conditions. Because of this, researchers have also investigated whether widowhood, one of the most stressful life events, may also lead to dementia and AD. However, these studies are conflicting, and few have investigated whether the influence of widowhood on dementia and AD varies in different contexts associated with aging and widowhood. For instance, evidence suggests that widowhood may exert greater influence among males and among those with a history of depression. Other such contextual factors …

Resilience And Resistance In Academically Successful Latino/A Students, Dennis Heaton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The objective of this case study was to examine and explain the success of a group of Latino/a students whose educational success substantially exceeds the success of their peers. Ten middle school students, their parents, and selected school personnel who worked with them were interviewed. The student participants were purposefully selected based on their grades, attendance, and test scores. The adult participants were selected based on their relationship to the student participants.

The student participants were interviewed twice and the adult participants were interviewed once, using a semi-structured format designed to allow the interviewees to go beyond the interviewer’s initial …

Physiological Response Of Kentucky Bluegrass Under Salinity Stress, Lijun Wang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Salinity is a significant stress for plants world-wide. In agriculture, salts reduce germination, overall growth, yield, and sometimes death in crop plants. Salinity similarly affects turfgrass in our urban landscapes. Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) is the most widely used cool-season grass in the northern part of the United States, including the cool-arid West, but generally is a salt sensitive species. The overall objectives of this study were to study the physiological responses of Kentucky bluegrass to salt stress and to evaluate the genetic similarity among the cultivars used in the research.

Four Kentucky bluegrass entries, two salt-tolerant and …

Reproductive Biology And Impacts Of Energy Development On Physaria Congesta And Physaria Obcordata (Brassicaceae), Two Rare And Threatened Plants In The Piceance Basin, Colorado, Sarah Lynn Clark

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Oil and gas development has increased profoundly over the last 20 years in the United States. A large underground deposit of natural gas has been found in the Piceance Basin, which is located in the northwestern part of the state of Colorado. This deposit occurs in an area inhabited by two rare mustard species commonly named the Dudley Bluffs bladderpod and the Dudley Bluffs twinpod. These two plant species are also listed as threatened by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Concerns about gas development effects on these rare plants have motivated research that quantifies these potential impacts. Through funding …

Local And Regional Drivers Of Biodiversity: From Life-History Traits To System-Level Properties, Sarah R. Supp

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Biodiversity research includes the study of where species occur, the commonness and rarity of species, the number of species, and the diversity of life-history traits that occur in a single location, or community. Research is increasingly recognizing that a combination of local and regional scale processes influence community dynamics over ecological and evolutionary time-scales. However, ecologists currently lack a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms driving biodiversity in different systems and at different spatial scales. This presents a critical problem because without understanding the important mechanisms that determine and maintain biodiversity, it is difficult to accurately predict community response to environmental …