Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
-
- Agriculture (14)
- Biology (13)
- Animal Sciences (9)
- Nutrition (7)
- Biochemistry (5)
-
- Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology (5)
- Kinesiology (4)
- Physical Sciences and Mathematics (3)
- Plant Sciences (3)
- Dairy Science (2)
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (2)
- Aquaculture and Fisheries (1)
- Chemistry (1)
- Climate (1)
- Entomology (1)
- Environmental Sciences (1)
- Exercise Science (1)
- Forest Sciences (1)
- Genetics and Genomics (1)
- Medicine and Health Sciences (1)
- Natural Resources Management and Policy (1)
- Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology (1)
- Publication Year
Articles 1 - 30 of 127
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
The Effects Of Raising A Child With Companion Animals, Abby Murcray
The Effects Of Raising A Child With Companion Animals, Abby Murcray
Fall Student Research Symposium 2022
What were the effects on children who were raised with companion animals? As someone who has grown up with companion animals most of my life, I wanted to learn what impact the animals had on my growth and development. The research was conducted using library and internet resources to locate both primary and secondary resources. For this study, I looked at specific studies done on children that are surrounded by companion animals versus those that are not, using mostly Utah State's Academic Search Ultimate to find my sources. Raising a child with a domestic animal benefits a child in many …
A Helping Hand Through Dying Light, Jason Moessing
A Helping Hand Through Dying Light, Jason Moessing
Fall Student Research Symposium 2022
Many people go into martial relationships with a previous history of childhood maltreatment. This can cause marital problems later on in the marriage if steps are not taken to help the individual heal from the abuse. To find relevant information to help in this understanding, a diverse amount of websites were researched including blogs, scholarly articles, data observations, and therapy websites. Past history of childhood maltreatment can cause lasting problems in marriages, but when couples decide to find help those marriages can become beautiful symbols of love. Men and women have been found to react differently to different types of …
Facilitative Parasitization Of Brown Marmorated Stink Bug Eggs Between Native And Invasive Trissolcus Wasps, Zachary Ross
Facilitative Parasitization Of Brown Marmorated Stink Bug Eggs Between Native And Invasive Trissolcus Wasps, Zachary Ross
Fall Student Research Symposium 2022
The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys, BMSB) is an extremely successful invasive species with over 300 different host plants ranging from ornamental to agricultural species. One of the primary controls of BMSB in their native range is the parasitoid wasp Trissolcus japonicus (T.j). While T.j has the ability to control BMSB populations, native species of parasitoid wasp have also been documented targeting BMSB eggs, although with minimal success. The primary objective of this study was to determine whether or not a beneficial facilitative relationship existed between the invasive Trissolcus japonicus and the native egg parasitoid Trissolcus euschisti (T. eu). …
Isolation Of Bacterial And Fungal Microbes From The Rhizosphere Of Shepherdia Utahensis 'Torrey', Ty Wilson, Katie Hewitt
Isolation Of Bacterial And Fungal Microbes From The Rhizosphere Of Shepherdia Utahensis 'Torrey', Ty Wilson, Katie Hewitt
Fall Student Research Symposium 2022
My presentation is on the Isolation of Bacterial and Fungal Microbes from the Rhizosphere of Shepherdia x utahensis 'Torrey' also known as Hybrid Buffaloberry. Hybrid Buffaloberry is a combination between two varieties native to the Intermountain West: Shepherdia argentea, a highly drought tolerant variety, and Shepherdia rotundifolia, a common more aesthetically pleasing variety. Both native varieties are well documented to have nodule forming microbes that help aid their development in such harsh conditions. We acquired our Rhizosphere sample by shaking the roots and nodules from our sample in a phosphate buffer and serially diluted it to a useful concentration. We …
Multimodel Courtship Signaling In The Family Hylidae, Addie Lloyd
Multimodel Courtship Signaling In The Family Hylidae, Addie Lloyd
Fall Student Research Symposium 2022
It is becoming increasingly obvious that species' courtship is more complex than originally thought. Hundreds of studies have described courtship systems focusing on a single trait, but we know many species have multiple signaling methods (Hebets, 2005). Multimodal courtship describes a composition of signals covering different sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, and tactile. Is having multiple courtship methods better than just one? This study focused on two types of signaling- sexual dichromatism and the presence of vocal sacs- in the family Hylidae. The goal was to determine the preferred signaling methods and their evolutionary relationship. We predicted that most species …
Electrochemical Dna-Based Biosensor For The Detection Of Dnase I Activity For Potential Application For Crispr-Cas Based Biosensor, Tessa Siler
Fall Student Research Symposium 2022
Dioxyribonuclease I (DNase I, DC 3.1.21.1) is an enzyme that cleaves DNA at phosphodiester linkages. The deviation of DNase I activity is a significant important marker for several diseases. For example, the lower activity of DNase can cause arthritis and several other autoimmune diseases, whereas higher DNase I activities are observed in patients with breast and oral cavity cancers. This makes monitoring the DNase I activity important for clinical and point-of-care diagnostics.Several methods were developed to assay DNase I activity, such as the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), fluorimetric assays, radial immunodiffusion (RID) and radial enzyme diffusion (RED) assays. These methods …
The Effect Of Fish Oil Supplementation And A Western-Type Diet On Gut Health, Marcus Hayden
The Effect Of Fish Oil Supplementation And A Western-Type Diet On Gut Health, Marcus Hayden
Fall Student Research Symposium 2022
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide and has increased incidence in more developed countries (Parkin et al., 2005). Diets in more developed and Westernized countries, where CRC is more prevalent, tend to be energy-dense and nutrient deficient. Discovering which food patterns inhibit inflammation matters because the duration of colitis is a risk factor for CRC. Deficiencies in an American diet led to decreased gut microbiota diversity and increased prevalence of colitis. A key component of colon health is the microbiome. Dietary bioactive compounds change the composition of the microbiome. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is a promising …
Alzheimers Disease: The Effects It Has On Everyone Involved, Mckinlee Denson
Alzheimers Disease: The Effects It Has On Everyone Involved, Mckinlee Denson
Fall Student Research Symposium 2022
Alzheimers Disease is hard on everyone who is involved. With being a caregiver in my past I understand how hard it is taking care of someone with Alzheimers Disease. Family plays a big role in the life of those who have Alzheimer's Disease. On average 11 million Americans provide 15.3 billion hours of unpaid work. I believe that we need to find relief for those who give endless hours to support their loved ones with AD. Many people are impacted by Alzheimers Disease this can be friends, family, and medical caregivers. Alzheimers is especially hard on those who have the …
Expressing And Purifying Type Iv Crispr Accessory Proteins, Alivia Jolley
Expressing And Purifying Type Iv Crispr Accessory Proteins, Alivia Jolley
Fall Student Research Symposium 2022
CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)-Cas (CRISPR-associated) adaptive immune systems defend bacteria and archaea against phages, plasmids, and other mobile genetic elements. Each Type IV CRISPR system contains a subtype-specific gene and is hypothesized to be essential for function. The Type IV-A system encodes ATP-dependent 5'-3' DNA helicase called CasDinG, while the Type IV-B systems encode a putative pyrophosphatase named CasCysH. Here we investigate the function of the type IV CRISPR systems by expressing, purifying, and characterizing the accessory proteins from the type IV systems. This project is a first step towards understanding the structure and mechanism of type …
Modeling Plant Migration In A Varying Landscape, Seth Corbridge
Modeling Plant Migration In A Varying Landscape, Seth Corbridge
Fall Student Research Symposium 2022
It is important to predict how plants will migrate under the changing conditions associated with climate change. In particular, finding instances where plants migrate quickly will help in predicting which plant species are in danger of being outpaced by climate change. Many existing models for plant migration assume a homogeneous landscape, however this is not always fully realistic. This project considers a model incorporating landscape heterogeneity for modeling plant migration. By forming a landscape of varying patches of high and low motilities, it is shown how a varying landscape can lead to increased migration rates in some cases when compared …
Mechanical Properties Of Hagfish Protein Hydrogels, Hayden Johns
Mechanical Properties Of Hagfish Protein Hydrogels, Hayden Johns
Fall Student Research Symposium 2022
Hagfish are ancient animals that eject a strong slime when attacked by predators. This slime is composed of intermediate filaments that contribute to its incredible strength.To defend against foes, the Navy launches plastic ropes into the propellors of enemy warships in order to decrease the thrust of motors. In an effort to find a more biodegradable solution, the utilization of hagfish slime has shown great promise in stopping propellors.We hope to understand how the slime withstands the impact of a quickly rotating propellor, while simultaneously reducing the propellor's thrust. What specific mechanical properties allow for this phenomena? From this research …
Relationship Between Protein And Secondary Metabolite Content In Congeneric Tropical Shrubs, Anna Billings
Relationship Between Protein And Secondary Metabolite Content In Congeneric Tropical Shrubs, Anna Billings
Fall Student Research Symposium 2022
Secondary metabolites are important defensive compounds found in plants which deter pests and pathogens and play an important role in defending against herbivory and seed predation. The role of secondary metabolites in fruits is complex as plants must defend the costly fruits while also successfully attracting dispersers. Protein investment into fruits is costly for plants but can serve as a reward to dispersers. In this experiment, we examined the protein content of plant tissues and compared it with the secondary metabolite content. We extracted and measured protein content of leaf and fruit pulp tissues from 15 species of Psychotria (a …
A Method To Assess Response Inhibition During A Balance Recovery Step, Molly Rowley
A Method To Assess Response Inhibition During A Balance Recovery Step, Molly Rowley
Fall Student Research Symposium 2021
Background: Correlations between falls and executive function tests, particularly those tests emphasizing inhibitory control, suggests that the ability to suppress automatic, but unwanted action, is important in fall prevention. Response inhibition has been a topic of considerable interest in the cognitive neuroscience community for many decades, bringing with it, the development of techniques that could be used to inform assessment of reactive balance. Research question: Can we apply a method used in traditional cognitive testing - the stop signal task - to measure response inhibition in a speeded, balance recovery task? Methods: Twenty healthy, young adults completed a novel reactive …
Determination Of Free Fatty Acid And Triglyceride Fatty Acid Of Food Fats Using A Rapid Gas Chromatographic Method, Aubreyona Migliori
Determination Of Free Fatty Acid And Triglyceride Fatty Acid Of Food Fats Using A Rapid Gas Chromatographic Method, Aubreyona Migliori
Fall Student Research Symposium 2021
Food fats are primarily triglycerides composed of esterified fatty acids on a glycerol backbone. To measure the fatty acid content of foods, a derivatization reaction is conducted which transfers the fatty acids from glycerol to methanol, forming a fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). FAMES are measured using gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID). Free fatty acids in foods are a result of a degradation reactions and are considered a defect. This decreases consumer acceptance and expedites further deterioration which decreases the value of edible oils. The goal of this study was to develop a rapid and sensitive method to …
Characterization Of The Atpase Activity Of Casding, Christian Cahoon
Characterization Of The Atpase Activity Of Casding, Christian Cahoon
Fall Student Research Symposium 2021
The battle between bacteria and phage has been ongoing for eons. This battle has generated the evolutionary pressure necessary for the development of microbial immune systems. Characterization of these systems has led to the discovery of molecular tools such CRISPR-Cas systems. This system uses a genetic memory of past viral infections coupled with associated proteins to form ribonucleoprotein complexes which seek out and destroy foreign genetic elements. These systems have been repurposed by scientists to create powerful gene editing tools such as Cas9. With such powerful molecular tools being discovered, we have pursued the characterization of a relatively unknown system, …
Synthetic Hagfish Slime Mimetics: Mechanical Characterization, Hayden Johns, Spencer Walker
Synthetic Hagfish Slime Mimetics: Mechanical Characterization, Hayden Johns, Spencer Walker
Fall Student Research Symposium 2021
Hagfish are ancient animals that eject a slime when attacked by predators. The slime that the hagfish emit is almost entirely composed of water but protein strands within the slime cause the slime to have incredible strength. However, these protein strands will be formed synthetically for the purposes of our experiment. To defend against foes, the Navy launches plastic ropes into the propellers of enemy warships in order to decrease the thrust of the motors. In a push to find a more biodegradable solution, the utilization of hagfish slime has shown great promise in stopping propellers.While we know that the …
The Effects Of Various Carbon Sources And The Presence Of Vitamin B-12 On The Production Of 1,3-Propanediol By L. Reuteri., Kayden Stevenson
The Effects Of Various Carbon Sources And The Presence Of Vitamin B-12 On The Production Of 1,3-Propanediol By L. Reuteri., Kayden Stevenson
Fall Student Research Symposium 2021
Dairy product preservation has evolved over thousands of years and has been a major benefit to humanity by creating stable, nutrient-dense food sources. Today the lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus reuteri is important in preserving fermented dairy products through the production of the compound reuterin. Reuterin (1,3-propanediol) demonstrates antibiotic properties that prevent the fermentation of dairy products by undesirable bacteria. The purpose of this study is to determine if L. reuteri can produce 1,3-propanediol from a variety of carbon sources. Bacterial strains were incubated in the presence of a carbon source with vitamin B-12 or without B-12 for seven days with …
Estimating Cattle Density Using Wildlife Cameras, Emily Bonebrake
Estimating Cattle Density Using Wildlife Cameras, Emily Bonebrake
Fall Student Research Symposium 2021
Quantifying the abundance and distribution of animal populations is critical for effective wildlife research and management. Due to their cost-effectiveness, wildlife cameras have become an increasingly popular tool for estimating population densities. Previously, this technique relied on ‘capture-recapture’ models that utilized re-sightings of individually marked animals, but in recent years methods have been developed to estimate the population densities of unmarked animals. One such method is the random encounter and staying time (REST) technique, which does this by assuming that the cumulative time animals stay within the view of the camera scales linearly with the number of individuals. This allows …
Determining The Nucleic Acid Binding Affinities Of Crispr-Associated Ding (Casding), Matt Armbrust
Determining The Nucleic Acid Binding Affinities Of Crispr-Associated Ding (Casding), Matt Armbrust
Fall Student Research Symposium 2021
CRISPR-Cas systems are adaptive prokaryotic immune systems that enable host cells to defend against attack from foreign nucleic acids such as phage infections or plasmids. CRISPR-Cas systems are diverse and encompass 2 classes, 6 types, and 33 subtypes. The Type IV-A CRISPR-Cas system from Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain 83 is composed of five different genes (csf1, csf2, csf3, cas6, and dinG). Type IV-A systems are poorly understood, and currently there is little research detailing their biological and biochemical mechanism of immunity. CasDinG, an ancillary protein within the Type IV-A system, is required for an immune response in vivo. However, the role …
Climate Change Impacts On Atmospheric Ammonia And Implications For Human Health, Casey Olson, Connor Snow, Bridger Jorgensen
Climate Change Impacts On Atmospheric Ammonia And Implications For Human Health, Casey Olson, Connor Snow, Bridger Jorgensen
Fall Student Research Symposium 2021
According to national data Cache Valley has the highest concentrations of atmospheric ammonia in the nation. This study aims to answer the questions of whether climate variables and events such as precipitation, averaged winds, geopotential height, and teleconnections can be used to predict the behavior of pollutants and how human biology is potentially affected. Data from the Utah Climate Center shows that the 3rd yearly quartile has the highest levels of airborne ammonia due to the high levels of fertilizer use and livestock emissions in the farming industry in Cache Valley. After data analysis, there seems to be a connection …
Halotolerant Rhizosphere Bacteria: Isolation Of Rhizosphere Bacteria From Native Utah Plant Ceanothus Velutinus, Alyssa Nielsen
Halotolerant Rhizosphere Bacteria: Isolation Of Rhizosphere Bacteria From Native Utah Plant Ceanothus Velutinus, Alyssa Nielsen
Fall Student Research Symposium 2021
Increasing incidences of drought forced farmers to use the secondary, degraded water for irrigation. These water sources are rich in salt concentrations. This project has started with the hopes of finding bacteria from the rhizosphere of a native to Utah plant, Ceanothus velutinus, that helps the plant survive the saltier conditions of Utah. The rhizosphere, a layer of soil attached to the roots of a plant, contains microorganisms that may contribute to the plants' abiotic and biotic stress resistance. These microorganisms are known as Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR). The roots and rhizosphere samples were collected from Tony Grove in …
Effect Of Basal Diet And Black Raspberry Supplementation On Gene Biomarkers Of "Leaky Gut" In Mouse Model Of Colitis-Associated Colorectal Cancer, Eliza Stewart
Fall Student Research Symposium 2021
Colorectal cancer is currently the third leading cause of cancer death in the world. The risk of developing colorectal cancer increases significantly in individuals who suffer from colitis, which is inflammation of the colon lining, seen in Irritable Bowel Disease. The term “leaky gut” is often used to describe increased intestinal permeability and is closely related to colitis. Leaky gut is associated with dysbiosis of the gut microbiota, which can occur through diet. This dysbiosis leads to pro-longed inflammation and affects genes that encode for proteins involved in the tight junctions between cells. Compromised intestinal integrity allows for translocation of …
Understanding How Changes In Precipitation Intensity Will Affect Vegetation In The Western U.S., Cristina Chirvasa
Understanding How Changes In Precipitation Intensity Will Affect Vegetation In The Western U.S., Cristina Chirvasa
Fall Student Research Symposium 2021
Precipitation events are becoming more intense as the atmosphere warms, but it remains unclear how precipitation intensification will affect plant growth in arid and semiarid ecosystems. There is conflicting evidence suggesting that larger precipitation events may either increase or decrease plant growth. Here, we report the growth responses of herbaceous and woody plants to experimental manipulations of precipitation intensity in a cold, semi-arid ecosystem in Utah, USA. In this experiment, precipitation was collected and redeposited as fewer, larger events with total annual precipitation kept constant across treatments. Results from the first two growing seasons revealed that more intense events ‘pushed’ …
Digitization Of Entomological Collections At Usu, Eastern Using Scan (Symbiota Collections Of Arthropods Network) Data Portal And Seek! Inaturalist App, Alexandra Cartwright
Digitization Of Entomological Collections At Usu, Eastern Using Scan (Symbiota Collections Of Arthropods Network) Data Portal And Seek! Inaturalist App, Alexandra Cartwright
Fall Student Research Symposium 2021
Pollinators, including bees, provide valuable ecosystem services for native plants and agricultural species. Phenology, or the timing of biological events such as flowering of plants, is changing as a result of climate change. The digitization of specimens allows for insights into species distributions, seasonality, and phenology in 60-70-year-old collections. The entomological collection at Utah State University, Eastern houses approximately 3,000 individual specimens and over 100 bees. The oldest specimens date from 1953, many from the 1960s, 70s, & 80s and the majority of specimens are from Carbon and Emery Counties. Digitization of entomological collections can provide: species distributions: Which species …
True Grit (1969) And Feminism: How It Succeeds And Why We Should Expect Better, Courtney Isom
True Grit (1969) And Feminism: How It Succeeds And Why We Should Expect Better, Courtney Isom
Fall Student Research Symposium 2021
Hollywood Westerns are certainly not renowned for their contribution to feminist plots or characters, but True Grit (1969) is one of the more forward thinking movies with respect to women’s roles. However, the movie still portrays traditional power structures of patriarchy that undermine the female character’s autonomy. Looking at this film through the lens of both Critical Rhetoric and a Gender Diversity Perspective allows us to see the nuances of Mattie Ross' stand against oppressive traditional roles, while also examining the ways in which she is still dominated by discursive patriarchal practices. Celeste Condit’s gender diversity perspective encourages ditching traditional …
Discovering Virally Encoded Proteins That Block Type Iv Crispr Immune Systems, Andrew Williams
Discovering Virally Encoded Proteins That Block Type Iv Crispr Immune Systems, Andrew Williams
Fall Student Research Symposium 2021
Bacteria and the viruses that infect them have been at war from the beginnings of life until today. Due to selective pressure from viral infection, bacteria have evolved various biological defense systems, including CRISPR-Cas systems that use a genetic memory of previous viral encounters to protect against future invasions. However, recently it has been shown that viruses have evolved counter-strategies to evade CRISPR systems. Virally encoded proteins called anti-CRISPRs use a variety of mechanisms to block the activity of CRISPR immune systems in order to infect bacterial cells. The Jackson lab at USU recently showed that a Type IV-A CRISPR-Cas …
Universal Healthcare: Is It The Future?, Izzy Wappett
Universal Healthcare: Is It The Future?, Izzy Wappett
Fall Student Research Symposium 2021
About 8.5% of the United States population has no form of healthcare. The rest of the population either has a form of public or private insurance given to them by the government, private insurers, or employers. But there are countries worldwide that have systems where every citizen has healthcare. This is called universal healthcare. Universal Healthcare has shown to be more effective because it portrays healthcare as less of a privilege and more of a right to all. But many Americans view this kind of system as controlling and a system that takes away your freedom. But as studies and …
Identification And Isolation Of Halotolerant Endophytes In Ceanothus Velutinus May Lead To Plant Health In Saline Conditions, Katherine Hewitt
Identification And Isolation Of Halotolerant Endophytes In Ceanothus Velutinus May Lead To Plant Health In Saline Conditions, Katherine Hewitt
Fall Student Research Symposium 2021
Plant-microbe relations are integral to plant survival and crop productivity. Part of a plant’s biosphere are endophytes, microbes found between the cells of a plant. Endophytes can be beneficial to help a plant cope with abiotic stressors such as salinity. In Utah, our soils are high in salinity due to topography and climate. Climate change has increased soil salinity across the world, and water availability is becoming scarcer leading agriculture to use more saline sources to irrigate. Thus, salt is a concern for farmers. We aim to identify halotolerant endophytes from Ceanothus velutinus, Snowbrush which is native to the …
Log Proximity And Moss As Indicators Of Conifer Seedling Abundance In Old-Growth Douglas-Fir/ Hemlock Forests, Isabella Wetzler
Log Proximity And Moss As Indicators Of Conifer Seedling Abundance In Old-Growth Douglas-Fir/ Hemlock Forests, Isabella Wetzler
Fall Student Research Symposium 2021
It is increasingly essential to develop a comprehensive understanding of forest processes so that we may better conserve and maintain our old-growth forests in the face of climate change. In the Pacific Northwest, logs might elevate and remove conifer seedlings from light competition with moss and herbs, but seedlings growing on the forest floor may benefit from log shade. Moss can retain moisture which may result in higher water availability for seedlings, but in droughty conditions the desiccated moss might leave seedlings ‘high and dry’. Logs increase mircrosite heterogeneity, providing cool, moist microclimates for seedlings and protecting them from droughty …
Characterizing The Mechanisms Of C. Elegans Prmt1 Temperature Dependence, Arianna Towne
Characterizing The Mechanisms Of C. Elegans Prmt1 Temperature Dependence, Arianna Towne
Fall Student Research Symposium 2021
Over time, cellular enzymes evolve through amino acid mutations which allow them to remain functional at temperatures specific to the host organism. This activity may be partially or completely lost when enzymes are removed from their optimal temperature range, as is observed for the C. elegans protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (cPRMT1). This construct demonstrates maximum enzymatic activity at the C. elegans optimum of 20°C, but no activity at 37°C where activity for mammalian PRMT1 variants is observed. Given dysregulation of PRMT1 has been linked to various disease states, we are interested in exploiting the biophysical mechanisms of cPRMT1 temperature dependence …