Utah State University

Wildfire social science: rigor, traditions, and best practices for an evolving field

Abstract Increased interest in and production of wildfire social science is a positive trend. Yet the increasing breadth and depth of researchers engaging in wildfire social science also suggest a need to constructively reflect on trends in the field and to illuminate considerati...

Nutrient legacies from elephant megacarcasses create coldspots of biodiversity and hotspots of ecosystem processes

Terrestrial megafauna (animals >1,000 kg) have substantial impacts on ecosystems while alive; yet, we know little about the impacts of these ecosystem engineers after they die. Like whale carcasses in the ocean, terrestrial megacarcasses may leave ecological legacies via the nutr...

Climate drives recent increases in fire activity in aspen ( Populus tremuloides Michx.) forests of the western US

Background Portions of the western US are experiencing simultaneous increases in wildfire frequency, size and intensity alongside worsening drought conditions. Despite the importance of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) as a keystone species, drivers of wildfire in aspen...

The Curse of Black Sigatoka: A Backward Bifurcation Perspective

Abstract Black Sigatoka disease (BSD), also known as black leaf streak disease, is an airborne fungal infection caused by Pseudocercospora fijiensis that severely impacts global banana and plantain production. Its persistence and resistance to eradication make it one of the most...

Quantifying Free-Roaming Horse Body Condition: A Methodological Investigation Using Game Cameras and Observer Bias Corrections

Large populations of free-roaming horses (Equus caballus ) inhabit the western United States, Australia, and other arid and semi-arid rangelands globally. In the United States, horse body condition has been the impetus for gathering and removing horses under an emergency designat...

The longitudinal co-development of adverse childhood experiences and child internalizing problems: Examining sociodemographic disparities

Abstract Internalizing problems are prevalent in childhood and are associated with exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs); however, their co-development across childhood remains understudied. Prior research documents sociodemographic disparities (i.e., race/ethnicity, s...

Atrazine dissipation and soybean phytotoxicity following burndown applications of atrazine + mesotrione + triclopyr for Conyza spp. management

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of (atrazine + mesotrione) + triclopyr on Conyza spp. at different intervals between application and soybean sowing, as well as the phytotoxic effects of residual atrazine on soybeans. The field experiment, conducted in a randomized...

Historical Trend and Future Projection of Summer Temperature Extremes in Nepal

ABSTRACT The monsoon dominated climate along with the complex topographic gradient of Nepal, make it highly sensitive to changes in summer temperature extremes, yet nationwide evidence combining observations and projections remains limited. This study examines historical and futu...

Beyond Saying “Gracias”: Enhancing the Understanding and Expression of Gratitude in Elementary School Children through a Game-Based App

The cultivation of character strengths like gratitude can enhance children’s well-being and prosocial behavior. While school-based interventions exist, there is a lack of rigorously evaluated, gamified tools that explicitly teach gratitude to preadolescent children. This study ev...

Right on time: evaluating accuracy and timing of burn-severity assessments to support post-fire management

Abstract Effective wildfire impact assessment and post-fire management rely on burn-severity maps that accurately characterize fire effects on vegetation and soils. These maps inform time-sensitive activities such as post-fire flood and debris-flow modeling, risk mitigation for h...

The Relationship Between Attachment and Depth of Experiencing During a Couple-Based, Therapy-Like Interaction.

Depth of experiencing (EXP) refers to the depth at which individuals emotionally process and engage with their internal experiences. In this study, we observationally coded EXP during a therapy-like interaction and coupled it with secondary data from 63 heterosexual couples to ex...

Compositional legacies of fire suppression maintained after fire re-entry

Abstract Background Legacies of fire suppression include changes in forest composition and structure that tend to increase fire severity in historically frequent-fire forests. Despite the expectation that fire re-entry should favor fire-tolerant species, indirect effects of fire...

Inducible chronic NAD deficiency in mice reveals multi-systemic phenotypical, metabolic, and transcriptional changes

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is a metabolic cofactor regulating energy metabolism, epigenetics, DNA repair, and signaling. Although NAD declines with vitamin B3 deficiency, disease, and aging, systemic consequences of chronic depletion remain unclear. Here, we characte...

Connected fundamental domains for congruence subgroups

Abstract We give explicit sets of right coset representatives for the congruence subgroups Γ 0 ( N ) $\Gamma _0(N)$ normal upper Gamma 0 left parenthesis upper N right parenthesis , Γ 1 ( N ) , $\Gamma _1(N),$ normal upper Gamma 1 left parenthesis upper N right parenthesis comma...

A Systematic Replication: Instructive Feedback to Produce Emerging Play Responses

Abstract Social deficits are common in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To help facilitate the development of social behaviors, practitioners may target specific play skills, such as with toys. Previous researchers have used discrete trial training (DTT) to...

Learning together through technology-mediated lesson study

Purpose This paper describes the impact of technology-mediated lesson study (TMLS) as a professional learning model for rural secondary science teachers. Design/methodology/approach TMLS extends traditional lesson study by using video recording and online collaboration to connect...

Feasibility of an “Alien Language” Task for Prosody Assessment in Children With Down Syndrome

Background: Prosodic impairments are reported in children with Down syndrome (DS), yet current assessment tools often impose cognitive and linguistic demands that potentially obscure true prosodic ability. There is a need for accessible, low–verbal-load tasks to evaluate prosody...

Impacts of Sprouted Barley on Performance and Carcass Ultrasound Measurements in Angus-Influenced Steers During Backgrounding

The objective of this research was to determine the impacts of including sprouted barley (SB) in the diets of backgrounding beef steers. Angus-influenced steers (328 ± 6.59 kg) were assigned to one of four diets (n = 15/diet): a control (CON) diet, or a diet containing 5%, 10%, o...

Development and validation of Roots and Greens: a Whatsapp-based nutrition education program promoting indigenous produce among youth

The delivery of nutrition education through familiar social media platforms like WhatsApp provides the opportunity to facilitate positive dietary behaviors among young adults in low-resource settings. However, many WhatsApp nutrition education curricula were not developed using s...

Assessing Computational Thinking in Early Childhood: A Systematic Review of Instruments, Constructs and Psychometric Evidence

ABSTRACT Background As computational thinking (CT) becomes an essential component of early childhood education, there is a growing demand for valid and developmentally appropriate assessment tools. Yet, while the availability of assessments has increased, researchers have yet to...