Life Sciences Commons^™

Dispersal Of The Hudson River Plume In The New York Bight: Synthesis Of Observational And Numerical Studies During Latte, Robert J. Chant, John Wilkin, Weifeng Zhang, Byoung-Ju Choi, Eli Hunter, Renato Castelao, Scott Glenn, Joe Jurisa, Oscar Schofield, Robert Houghton, Josh Kohut, Thomas K. Frazer, Mark A. Moline

Biological Sciences

Observations and modeling during the Lagrangian Transport and Transformation Experiment (LaTTE) characterized the variability of the Hudson River discharge and identified several freshwater transport pathways that lead to cross-shelf mixing of the Hudson plume. The plume’s variability is comprised of several different outflow configurations that are related to wind forcing, river discharge, and shelf circulation. The modes are characterized by coastal current formation and unsteady bulge recirculation. Coastal currents are favored during low-discharge conditions and downwelling winds, and represent a rapid downshelf transport pathway. Bulge formation is favored during high-discharge conditions and upwelling winds. The bulge is characterized by clockwise …

Dietary Exposure To 2,2´,4,4´-Tetrabromodiphenyl Ether (Pbde-47) Alters Thyroid Status And Thyroid Hormone–Regulated Gene Transcription In The Pituitary And Brain, Sean C. Lema, Jon T. Dickey, Irvin R. Schultz, Penny Swanson

Biological Sciences

No abstract provided.

Sinorhizobium Meliloti, A Bacterium Lacking The Autoinducer-2 (Ai-2) Synthase, Responds To Ai-2 Supplied By Other Bacteria, C. S. Pereira, J. R. Mcauley, M. E. Taga, K. B. Xavier, Stephen T. Miller

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Works

Many bacterial species respond to the quorum-sensing signal autoinducer-2 (AI-2) by regulating different niche-specific genes. Here, we show that Sinorhizobium meliloti, a plant symbiont lacking the gene for the AI-2 synthase, while not capable of producing AI-2 can nonetheless respond to AI-2 produced by other species. We demonstrate that S. meliloti has a periplasmic binding protein that binds AI-2. The crystal structure of this protein (here named SmlsrB) with its ligand reveals that it binds (2R,4S)-2-methyl-2,3,3,4-tetrahydroxytetrahydrofuran (R-THMF), the identical AI-2 isomer recognized by LsrB of Salmonella typhimurium. The gene encoding SmlsrB is in an operon with orthologues of the lsr …

Individuals And Populations: How Biology's Theory And Data Have Interfered With The Integration Of Development And Evolution, David S. Moore

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

Research programs in quantitative behavior genetics and evolutionary psychology have contributed to the widespread belief that some psychological characteristics can be “inherited” via genetic mechanisms. In fact, molecular and developmental biologists have concluded that while genetic factors contribute to the development of all of our traits, non-genetic factors always do too, and in ways that make them no less important than genetic factors. This insight demands a reworking of the Modern Evolutionary Synthesis, a theory that defined evolution as a process involving changes in the frequencies of genes in populations, and that envisioned no role for experiential factors now known …

Site Directed Mutagensis Of Bacteriophage Hk639 And Identification Of Its Integration Site, Madhuri Jonnalagadda

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Bacteriophages affect bacterial evolution, pathogenesis and global nutrient cycling. They are also the most numerous and diverse group of biological entities on the planet [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Members of the Lambda phage family share a similar genetic organization and control early gene expression by suppressing transcription, a process known as antitermination. Transcription antitermination in Lambda is mediated by a phage-encoded protein whereas in lambdoid phage HK022, antitermination is mediated by a phage-encoded RNA molecules. Recent results suggest that another bacteriophage called HK639 also appears to use RNA-mediated antitermination. To characterize this newly identified phage we generated site …

Integrating Development And Evolution In Psychology: Looking Back, Moving Forward, David S. Moore

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

This work is the editorial for a special edition of New Ideas in Psychology titled Integrating Development and Evolution in Psychology.

Evidence Of A Novel Rna Secondary Structure In The Coding Region Of Hiv-1 Pol Gene., Qi Wang, Ian Barr, Feng Guo, Christopher Lee

Natural Sciences and Mathematics | Faculty Scholarship

RNA secondary structures play several important roles in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) life cycle. To assess whether RNA secondary structure might affect the function of the HIV protease and reverse transcriptase genes, which are the main targets of anti-HIV drugs, we applied a series of different computational approaches to detect RNA secondary structures, including thermodynamic RNA folding predictions, synonymous variability analysis, and covariance analysis. Each method independently revealed strong evidence of a novel RNA secondary structure at the junction of the protease and reverse transcriptase genes, consisting of a 107-nucleotide region containing three stems, A, B, and C. First, …

Growing Fields Of Interest: Using An Expand And Reduce Strategy For Domain Model Extraction, Christopher Thomas, Pankaj Mehra, Roger Brooks, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

Domain hierarchies are widely used as models underlying information retrieval tasks. Formal ontologies and taxonomies enrich such hierarchies further with properties and relationships associated with concepts and categories but require manual effort; therefore they are costly to maintain, and often stale. Folksonomies and vocabularies lack rich category structure and are almost entirely devoid of properties and relationships. Classification and extraction require the coverage of vocabularies and the alterability of folksonomies and can largely benefit from category relationships and other properties. With Doozer, a program for building conceptual models of information domains, we want to bridge the gap between the vocabularies …

Ard News December 2008

Agricultural Research Division: News and Annual Reports

Contents:

Comments from the Dean Gary Cunningham
Undergraduate Honors Research Program
David H. and Annie E. Larrick/William G. Whitmore Funds, 2009
Mussehl Endowment
New or Revised Projects September and October 2008
Proposals Submitted for Federal Grants September and October 2008
Grants and Contracts Received for September and October 2008

Female Collegiate Gymnasts And Experiences In Sport Retirement Due To Injury, Coleen Harrington Barry

Dissertations

There has been very limited research on sport retirement concerning the experiences that female collegiate athletes face when retiring from a sport due to injury. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore, understand, and describe experiences that former NCAA Division I female gymnasts had when they retired from gymnastics, part-way through college, due to injury. The main objective of the study was to attempt to understand female collegiate gymnasts' sport retirement experiences and the impact these experiences may have had on their identity development and college experience. The study also considered female collegiate gymnasts' perceived needs and coping …

Distribution Patterns Of Sciurus Niger (Eastern Fox Squirrel) Leaf Nests Within Woodlots Across A Suburban/Urban Landscape, Carmen M. Salsbury

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

To determine habitat characteristics that influence Sciurus niger (Eastern Fox Squirrel) abundance and distribution within a suburban/urban landscape in the midwestern United States, I documented the density and placement of fox squirrel leaf nests in 20 woodlots in the Indianapolis metropolitan area, Marion County, IN. The woodlots varied in size (0.94 to 19.5 ha), approximate age, shape, and degree of isolation from other woodlots and suitable squirrel habitat in the surrounding area. Only 8.0% of nests were located in a tree with another nest, and nests were randomly distributed in all but one woodlot, where they were uniformly dispersed. Nest …

Effects Of Olfactory And Visual Predators On Nest Success And Nest-Site Selection Of Waterfowl In North Dakota., Jennifer S. Borgo

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Selecting a nest site is an important decision for waterfowl. Because most nest failure is due to depredation, the primary selective pressure in choosing a nest site should be to reduce depredation risk. This task is difficult because predators use differing tactics to locate nests, such as olfactory or visual cues. I investigated several components of waterfowl nest-site selection and success on sites with shelterbelts (planted tree-rows) in North Dakota, during the 2006 and 2007 nesting seasons.

I found that meteorological conditions impacted nest depredation; artificial nests were more likely to be depredated when either temperature or dew point was …

Predator-Prey Relationships And Spatial Ecology Of Jaguars In The Southern Pantanal, Brazil: Implications For Conservation And Management, Sandra Maria Cintra Cavalcanti

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Pantanal wetland of Brazil is an important area for the conservation of jaguars (Panthera onca) and a stronghold for the species. Although our knowledge of jaguar ecology has increased since the first field studies in the mid 1980’s, a detailed study of this cryptic species remains challenging. In the following chapters, we investigated the ecology of jaguars in the southern Pantanal of Brazil. In Chapter II, we examined the foraging ecology of jaguars, documenting predation rates, patterns, and species killed. We found individual jaguars differed in the selection of their prey. There were differences in the proportion …

Cause And Prevention Of Liver Off-Flavor In Five Beef Chuck Muscles, Ranjeeta Wadhwani

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Liver off-flavor is a sporadic problem that limits the consumer acceptance of several beef chuck muscles, including the infraspinatus (flat iron steak). Residual blood hemoglobin is known to contribute to liver off-flavor development. This study was conducted to evaluate factors affecting development of liver off-flavor after cooking of beef chuck (shoulder) muscles. The study was conducted in three parts.

The objective of part 1 was to determine effects of muscle (infraspinatus, longissimus dorsi, serratus ventralis, supraspinatus, teres major) and processing (with or w/o carcass electrical stimulation) on residual blood hemoglobin content and total pigment content of raw muscle …

Diets Of Ladybird Beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) In Utah Alfalfa Fields, Lynette Nicole Davidson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Aphidophagous lady beetles rely on multiple sources of food in their environment. Alfalfa fields provide both aphids and many alternate foods, such as other arthropod prey, pollen, and fungi. Alfalfa fields (Medicago sativa L.) in Utah have low aphid densities, which may require lady beetles to consume alternative sources of food. Many methods can be used to determine these diets; frass analysis is used here to compare the diets of the introduced species Coccinella septempunctata L. with two native species, C. transversoguttata richardsoni Brown and Hippodamia convergens Guérin-Méneville, that occur in the Utah alfalfa habitat.

In initial laboratory experiments …

Reproductive Tactics Of Aphidophagous Lady Beetles: Comparison Of A Native Species And An Invasive Species That Is Displacing It, Yukie Kajita

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Coccinella septempunctata L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) has been introduced to North America in recent decades, raising concerns of adverse impacts on native lady beetles, including the congeneric C. transversoguttata richardsoni (Brown). The central focus of my dissertation is to understand the importance of reproduction, in particular, in promoting invasion of C. septempunctata and its replacement of native lady beetles in alfalfa fields of western North America.

Studies were conducted to compare reproductive tactics of the invasive C. septempunctata and the native C. transversoguttata, by addressing: 1) maximum rate of reproduction of overwintered lady beetles, 2) population dynamics of the invasive …

Effect Of Processing And Formulation Conditions On Physicochemical Characteristics Of Food Emulsions, Megan Tippetts

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The objective of this research was to systematically study the effect of processing conditions on crystallization behavior and destabilization mechanisms of oil-in-water (o/w) emulsions. The effects of oil content (20 and 40 wt %); crystallization temperature (T_c = 10, 5, 0, -5, -10 °C); homogenization conditions, such as high shear (HS), very low pressure homogenization (VLPH), and high pressure homogenization (HPH); and cooling rate (0.2 and 30 °C/min) on both thermal behavior and destabilization mechanisms were analyzed. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was added to VLPH emulsions and its effect on the physicochemical and oxidative stabilities and flavor was studied.

Emulsions …

The Genetics Of Colonization In Two Amphibian Species After The 1980 Eruption Of Mount St. Helens, Kristin Ann Bakkegard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The genetics of colonization is understudied in salamanders but has large conservation implications as new habitats are formed or restored to their previous condition. The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens provided a natural experiment to study the genetic effects of a large infrequent environmental disturbance on two species of salamander, Taricha granulosa (Rough-skinned newt) and Ambystoma gracile (Northwestern salamander). Both these species breed in ponds, and are thought to exhibit high breeding site fidelity and low vagility. I designated three treatments based on the effects of the eruption: new ponds (created by the eruption, immigrants only), recovery lakes (in …

Aminoglycosides And Syringomycin E As Fungicides Against Fusarium Graminearum In Head Blight Disease, Yukie Kawasaki

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Fusarium graminearum is one of the most problematic phytopathogens in US agriculture. This fungus causes head blight, foot rot, and damping off on wheat and barley. The infection lowers the grain yield and causes contamination of the grain product with mycotoxins. Effective control measures are lacking, and new fungicides that kill F. graminearum but remain safe and economical to use are needed. Newly synthesized aminoglycosides (JL22, JL38, JL39, JL40, NEOF004, NEOF005), classic aminoglycosides (amikacin, gentamicin, kanamycin A, kanamycin B, neomycin, and ribostamycin), and a lipopeptide, syringomycin E (SRE), were studied to determine their antifungal potential to control F. graminearum. …

Estimating Total Phosphorus And Total Suspended Solids Loads From High Frequency Data, Amber Spackman Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Frequently measured turbidity was examined as a surrogate for total phosphorus (TP) and total suspended solids (TSS) loads at two locations in the Little Bear River, Utah, USA. Using regression techniques, equations were developed for TP and TSS as functions of turbidity. The equations accounted for censored data, and additional explanatory variables to represent hydrological conditions were considered for inclusion in the equations. By using the resulting surrogate relationships with high frequency turbidity measurements, high frequency estimates of TP and TSS concentrations were calculated. To examine the effect of sampling frequency, reference loads were determined from the concentration records for …

Phenotypic Plasticity And The Post-Modern Synthesis: Integrating Evo-Devo And Quantitative Genetics In Theoretical And Empirical Studies, Alison G. Scoville

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Mainstream evolutionary biology lacks a mature theory of phenotype. Following from the Modern Synthesis, researchers tend to assume an unrealistically simple mapping of genotype to phenotype, or else trust that the complexities of developmental architecture can be adequately captured by measuring trait variances and covariances. In contrast, the growing field of evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) explicitly examines the relationship between developmental architecture and evolutionary change, but lacks a rigorous quantitative and predictive framework. In my dissertation, I strive to integrate quantitative genetics and evo-devo, using both theoretical and empirical studies of plasticity. My first paper explores the effect of realistic …

Livestock Mortality At Beef Farms With Chronic Wolf (Canis Lupus) Depredation In The Western Great Lakes Region (Wglr), Arion Vandergon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Gray wolf (Canis lupus) depredation on beef calves has been studied extensively in recent years. As wolf populations increase throughout the United States there is a corresponding increase in wolf/livestock interactions. Most research concentrates on summaries of reported depredations and surveys of producers affected by depredations. The objective of this study was to present data on the fate of beef calves on 3 farms in Minnesota and Wisconsin over a 2-year period. Predator presence/absence was studied as an indicator of potential depredations. Also, data are presented comparing 2 techniques that may aid researchers and livestock producers with monitoring …

Decadal-Scale Changes On Coral Reefs In Quintana Roo, Mexico, Thaddeus Allen Nicholls

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In 1988 data on coral reef community composition were collected from two areas, Akumal and Chemuyil, Quintana Roo, Mexico, ranging from 5-35m depth. These areas were revisited in 2005 and data were collected by the same methods and at the same depths as in 1988. Data from 1988 and 2005 were compared to determine if the coral reefs had undergone significant changes, and what specific changes had occurred. Chi-square analysis determined that community composition data collected in 1988 are significantly different from data collected in 2005 at all sites and depths within the categories of corals, gorgonians, sponges, and macroalgae. …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Lactose-Amines With Respect To Oil-In-Water Emulsion Stability, Nidhi Garg

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Fatty amines (hexadecyl-amine) can be esterified to lactose via Schiff-base formation at temperatures of 60° C. Extending the time of the reaction results in a darker colored product due to the Maillard reaction. Due to the amphiphilic properties of the lactose-amines, the emulsion stabilization characteristics were investigated.

In this study, synthesis of lactose-amines was done at four different heating and cooling cycles from 4 to 24 hours. Lactose-amines processed for 24 hours and 12 hours of constant heating and cooling cycles are named as 24H and 12H, respectively. Lactose-amines 4H and 8H were processed for 4 and 8 hours of …

Evaluation Of An Interactive Health Communication Trans Fat Website, Tara Banks

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In order to evaluate the short-term educational and behavioral impact of the American Heart Association's "Face the Fats" web application had upon college students, a study involving 116 Utah State University undergraduate students was conducted. A one-group pre-posttest design was utilized to answer eight research questions focusing on: health risks associated with trans fat, general trans fat knowledge, ability to identify foods containing trans and saturated fats, food label information, healthy alternatives to trans fat, and readiness to change trans fat intake. Participants completed an online pretest survey and then viewed the "Face the Fats" website at their own pace. …

Influence Of Supplemental Legumes That Contain Tannins And Saponins On Intake And Diet Digestibility In Sheep Fed Grasses That Contain Alkaloids, Jacob Michael Owens

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

My objectives were to determine if nutritional benefits occur when animals are offered foods with compounds -- alkaloids, saponins, and tannins - that are potentially complementary. I hypothesized that food intake and digestibility increase when lambs consume plants such as alfalfa ALF that contain saponins or birdsfoot trefoil (BFT) that contain tannins when the basal diet is endophyte-infected tall fescue (TF) or reed canarygrass (RCG) both of which contain alkaloids. I predicted that the nutritional status of lambs would be enhanced if basal diets of alkaloid-containing grasses were supplemented with ALF or BFT.

Lambs fed a basal diet of either …

Ecotypic Variation In Elymus Elymoides Subspecies Brevifolius Race C In The Northern Intermountain West, Matthew C. Parsons

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Little information is available on the extent of local adaptation for many native grass species. This is the case for squirreltail (Elymus section Sitanion), despite this group's prevalence and importance in rangeland restoration efforts. I evaluated 32 populations of E. elymoides ssp. brevifolius race C, a phylogenetic subdivision of bottlebrush squirreltail (E. elymoides) centered in the northern Intermountain West, for phenotypic variables and neutral genetic markers to measure their association with geographical origin. Phenotypic traits were measured in common field and greenhouse environments, and genetic diversity was assessed using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism. Three factors were extracted from the phenotypic …

A Conceptual Framework For Understanding Effects Of Wildlife Water Developments In The Western United States, Randy T. Larsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Free water can be a limiting factor to wildlife in arid regions of the world. In the western United States, management agencies have installed numerous, expensive wildlife water developments (e.g. catchments, guzzlers, wells) to: 1) increase the distribution or density of target species, 2) influence animal movements, and 3) mitigate for the loss of available free water. Despite over 50 years as an active management practice, water developments have become controversial for several species. We lack an integrated understanding of the ways free water influences animal populations. In particular, we have not meshed understanding of evolutionary adaptations that reduce the …

Enhancing The Proportions Of Healthy Fatty Acids In Milk From Dairy Cows, Korie A.S. Nelson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Twenty cows were used in a repeated measures, block design experiment for 9 wk to determine the effects of feeding partially ruminally inert calcium salts (Ca-salts) of fish oil (FO) and a general fatty acid (FA) supplement (EnerGII) at varying levels. The effects on cow health, milk components, composition of milk FA, and sensory evaluation of milk were evaluated. Cows in the 4 treatments were fed either a control diet of 57% forage and 43% concentrate mix with EnerGII fat supplement at 1.65% of diet DM (CTL) or EnerGII in basal diet was partially replaced with (a) 0.21% …

Mechanisms Of Nutrition Bar Hardening: Effect Of Hydrolyzed Whey Protein And Carbohydrate Source, Shaun P. Adams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The influence of increasing hydrolyzed protein content on the microstructure and hardness of high protein nutrition bars was investigated to determine the mechanism of hardening during storage. Bars with various hydrolyzed protein levels were manufactured using differing ratios of 0, 25, 50, 75, 100% (wt. /wt.) of partially hydrolyzed whey protein isolate (HWPI) to an intact (non-hydrolyzed) whey protein isolate (WPI) which made up approximately 38% of the total bar composition. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) (42%) and vegetable shortening (20%) constituted the rest of the ingredients. Accelerated aging was performed by storing bars at 32 ^oC for 36 …