Mountain Scholar (Digital Collections of Colorado and Wyoming)
Not a member yet
22564 research outputs found
Sort by
Cameron Douglas: capstone
Full text link2023 Spring.Colorado State University Art and Art History Department capstone project.Capstone contains the artist's statement, a list of works, and images of works.The artist's statement: As a graphic designer, I strive to push the boundaries of design by creating work which blends physical mark making with digital refinement. My background of print-making has allowed me to bring my work into the physical world in a variety of ways, ranging from screen printing to photo-lithography. Within my work I am passionate about creating the perfectly imperfect design. To me this defined as a design with a high level of a craftsmanship while leaving space for the material to breathe. I am inspired by the world around me, particularly urban and organic textures. My love for pulling my designs into the physical realm extents to the art directing aspect of documenting my work. In my previous body of work, Yard Sale, I designed and printed ski apparel. Then orchestrated a photo-shoot of athletes performing winter activities in my clothing. This set of photos was then applied to a full magazine, which highlighted the application of my photography in conjunction to my typographic ability. In addition to my hand craft prints, I also have experience working with clients designing and preparing branding material to be manufactured. Working with clients and other designers has create a new found appreciation for collaboration. Being able to bounce ideas of other others is my favorite part of the creative process. One of my most recent projects, African & Ale event t-shirts, was based in pure collaboration. The background our team ranged from art historians to graphic designers. Together we managed to blend our compositions into one cohesive design which remained culturally appropriate and communicating the concept of the event in a visually appealing way. My innate ability to consistently go above and beyond for clients has allowed me to carve a path for a successful design career. In addition to this my knowledge in production and print making sets me appart from others. Not only can I produce a strong body of work as an individual, I find most gratification in working with others. As a graphic designer I strive to make the world a better place through visual communication
Rocio Contreras: capstone
No full text2023 Spring.Colorado State University Art and Art History Department capstone project.Capstone contains the artist's statement, a list of works, and images of works.The artist's statement: The human experience is a complex and unique experience full of ebbs and flows that is centralized on the individual. Sharing these individual perspectives is what has proven to me to be one of the most crucial parts of humanity. Without our experiences, what are we? Through my time I have found many avenues of expressing my experiences and viewpoints. Whether that is through poetry, performing or visual art, self expression has been a cornerstone in the creation of my work. I am extremely passionate in photography as it has a remarkable ability to encapsulate a version of reality while providing the viewer with a space to create their own narrative. My emphasis in portrait photography is directly tied to my need for interaction with different perspectives. The DSLR camera with a 50mm lens is my tool of choice as it provides a comfortable setting for my subject without losing the closeness and intimacy in my photographs. Digital printing is my preferred avenue as it provides a higher localized attention to detail, allowing me to be able to accommodate my subject's specific needs. My work is a reflection of my life as it follows themes of immigration, queerness, activism, and loss. As part of my thesis I looked into the concept of identity and growth within the LGBTIA+ community. Many times we are put into categories used to describe how palatable we are to other people. "Duality" talks about the presence of both aspects of a personality without the need to pick one over the other. We are both
Sex differences in cortical-hypothalamic control of stress reactivity and cardiovascular susceptibility
Full text linkIncludes bibliographical references.2023 Spring.Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by prolonged sadness and a loss of interest, and it impacts an estimated 21 million adults in the United States. The onset of MDD is multifactorial and rates of MDD have increased due to the psychosocial and economic factors associated COVID-19 pandemic. This poses a substantial threat to population health as MDD is projected to be the leading cause of disability by 2030. Even throughout the pandemic, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is still the highest mortality rate of any disease worldwide average of 17.9 million deaths per year. More importantly, MDD and CVD have devastating comorbidity that is poorly understood. MDD doubles the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and significantly increases the chance of morbidity following cardiovascular events. Thus, we need to address mental health disabilities and cardiovascular disease susceptibility. Interestingly, both diseases are exacerbated by chronic life stressors, which increase the prevalence of mood disorders and can alter sympathetic nervous activity increasing heart rate and blood pressure. Studying how stress affects the brain may yield important information on how to treat these two diseases. In this series of experiments, I examine how the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) alters stress responding through its downstream connections to provide a mechanism for MDD and cardiovascular disease comorbidity. I will provide a brief background of the structure and function of the vmPFC and describe how neurons from this region can alter stress responding through synapses in the hypothalamus. Chapter 2 is the first of a series of experiments where I show decreased activity of the vmPFC interacts with chronic stress to predispose male rats to cardiovascular disease susceptibility. Because mood disorders are more common in women and cardiovascular disease is more prevalent in post-menopausal women compared to men, chapter 3 examines whether activating vmPFC projection neurons is sufficient to influence behavior, stress responding, and cardiovascular activity in both sexes of rats. This work uncovered that output of vmPFC glutamate neurons has sexually divergent outcomes on neuroendocrine and autonomic cardiovascular responses to stress. Furthermore, it became evident that altered vmPFC activity predisposes males but not females to cardiovascular disease susceptibility. The vmPFC does not directly project to autonomic or neuroendocrine effector regions, so chapter 4 investigates whether the vmPFC is sufficient to control stress autonomic and neuroendocrine responding through downstream intermediary synapses. The intermediate region of interest is the posterior hypothalamus (PH) which can regulate endocrine and cardiovascular activity and receives dense innervation from the vmPFC. In chapter 5, I am exploring the necessity of this vmPFC-PH circuit to regulate cardiovascular activity and stress reactivity following chronic stress exposure. Altogether these data identify novel neurocircuitry linking stress exposure to cardiovascular disease risk
Contemporary topics in undergraduate experimental organic chemistry - OER project materials
No full textThis document contains a set of materials collected for the OER project funded by the Colorado OER Council Grant (AY 2023).First edition: May 2023.A supplementary OER booklet for Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory Courses offered by the Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University.Please, download the file to view "alt text" information.Funded by the Colorado Open Educational Resources (OER) Grant 2022
Atiles Nicole: capstone
No full text2023 Spring.Colorado State University Art and Art History Department capstone project.Capstone contains the artist's statement, a list of works, and images of works.The artist's statement: When creating, I pull inspiration from the sensation of curiosity. Society and its trend of vacant numbness has ridden modern art of the unity implied in expressing emotion. My art aims to give that sensation of emotional unity and youthful curiosity. I make the content of my art personal, gothic, and whimsical in my own unique ways. I like to refer to the philosophy of the difference, or lack thereof, between reality and imagination when deciding on the content of a piece. Having the mindset that everything exists if it has been thought of, helps me find that edge of curiosity I'm pursing. My art with printmaking, drawing, and other mediums are expressive of my deeper self, while my graphic design is more expressive of my personal style and malleable understanding of the world around me. My prints are where I express myself in a dark yet intriguing way. My glorification of whimsical mystery and fictional entities become real and lifelike. In my design, I am passionate about variety and having a flexible style that is approachable. My creative design process entails using my physical art as a starting point and digitally manipulating it to express certain emotions. Overall, my art is made to trigger your imagination and express a sense of unity between reality and fiction
Identifying latent profiles of psilocybin use
Full text link2023 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.Psilocybin, the hallucinogenic substance found in some mushrooms, may have medicinal and therapeutic uses. As such, it is garnering pronounced interest from the scientific community and general public. It is likely that psilocybin is on a trajectory to become more acceptable and sought out by researchers and individuals interested in its potential benefits. Traditionally, psilocybin has been used in does large enough to produce hallucinogenic effects; however, there are some reports of beneficial outcomes of psilocybin use with particularly small (i.e., micro) doses. It is likely that there are different patterns of psilocybin use, including using psilocybin in different dosages, frequencies, and for differing purposes, which have yet to be described in the literature. Thus, I sought to determine whether or not there are identifiable psilocybin use patterns of psilocybin use, to describe their defining characteristics, and test for differences on other important constructs, e.g., benefits, consequences, and reasons for use. This research uses mixture modeling to identify latent profiles of psilocybin use in a large population of adults endorsing lifetime psilocybin. Data for this project was sourced anonymously from subreddit community sites. I found three profiles indicated by frequency and quantity of psilocybin use. Auxiliary testing was used to evaluate differences among the profiles. The Chipper Profile (n =118) was associated with approximately 1-4 annual uses and between 0.75g and 1.0g dosages of dehydrated, psilocybin containing mushrooms. The Tripper Profile (n =428) was associated with a slightly higher psilocybin use frequency as the Chipper Profile (2 and 6 times annually), and self-reported dosages between 2 and 4g. The Microdose Profile (n =118), was related to substantively higher psilocybin use frequencies than the other two profiles (between 2 - 4 times a week) and a lower range of preferred dosages (between 0.25g - 0.75g). The profiles differed in the total number reasons participants reported having for their psilocybin use and the total number of benefits they reported experiencing. This can potentially be understood in relation to psilocybin use expectancies and motives to use. Additionally, every profile was associated with a low number of psilocybin use consequences, but the profiles did not significantly differ on this measure. Psilocybin seems to be distinct from other substances in that use frequency and quantity do not appear to impact one's risk of experiencing undesirable consequences of use. Further research is required to identify risk and protective factors for negative outcomes, as well as those that optimize the one's likelihood of experiencing psilocybin use benefits
A proof of concept to differentiate among differences in flavor of American lamb using volatile flavor compound analysis
Full text link2023 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.Experiments were conducted on lamb legs (n=25 per treatment) from 3 dentition groups [ young lambs (0 permanent incisors), yearlings (2 permanent incisors) and mature sheep or mutton (>2 permanent incisors)] to establish a proof of concept for differentiating the inherent differences in flavor that exist in meat from ovine animals of various age classes using volatile flavor compound analysis. The legs were selected from commercial processing facilities. Differences among age group, breed type, sex and production background were evaluated for sensory analysis and volatile compound analysis. Trained panelists evaluated ground meat patties from each leg for lamb flavor intensity and off flavor intensity. In addition, samples were analyzed to determine percentages of lipid, moisture, protein, and ash as well as to identify volatiles produced during cooking of a raw composite of lean and fat from the external surface of the leg. Analysis of variance was conducted for sensory flavor attributes relative to animal age and production background (grain vs grass) helped to describe the experimental samples. Ratings for lamb flavor intensity were higher (P < 0.05) for lamb carcass samples than for yearling carcass samples, and lamb flavor intensity scores were similar for lamb and mature age classes. Off-flavor intensity ratings were highest (P < 0.05) for samples from mature lamb carcasses, while lamb and yearling samples produced the lowest (P < 0.05) off-flavor intensity ratings. Lamb flavor intensity and off-flavor intensity ratings were higher (P < 0.05) for grass-fed lamb samples compared to grain-fed lamb samples. Mature samples had the greatest (P < 0.05) off-flavor intensity, while lamb and yearling samples had the least (P < 0.05) off-flavor intensity. Grass-fed lamb samples had the higher (P < 0.05) lamb flavor intensity scores and higher (P < 0.05) off-flavor intensity scores. Correlations between sensory attributes and metabolites helped to narrow the 500+ to 50 of significance. Findings indicated that metabolites (volatile compounds) were related to flavor of sheep meat. Finally, regression techniques helped to predict lamb flavor intensity, off flavor intensity and proof-of-concept for classifying lamb flavor
Quantifying climate change impacts on future water resources and salinity transport in a high semi-arid watershed using the APEX-MODFLOW-Salt model
Full text link2023 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.High salinity mobilization and movement from salt laden deposits in semi-arid landscape poses threat to impairment of soil and water resources worldwide. Semi-arid regions in the world are expected to experience rising temperatures and lower precipitation, which will impact water supply and likely spatio-temporal patterns of salinity loads affecting downstream water quality. No studies have evaluated salt fate and transport from high desert landscapes under the influence of future climate uncertainties. This study quantifies the impact of future climate change on hydrology and salinity transport and their total watershed yield in the Gunnison River Watershed (GRW) (14,608 km2), Colorado, using the APEX-MODFLOW-Salt hydro-chemical watershed model and three different CMIP5 climate models output downscaled by Multivariate Adaptive Constructed Analogs (MACA), each for two climate scenarios, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5, for the period 2020–2099. The APEX-MODFLOW-Salt model accounts for transport of hydrology and major salt ions (SO42-, Cl-, CO32-, HCO3-, Ca2+, Na+, Mg2+, and K+) to in-stream loading via various hydrological pathways (surface runoff, rainfall erosional runoff, soil lateral flow, quick return flow and groundwater discharge to streams). Results indicate that varying trends in precipitation output from different climate models with different RCP yields varying trends in annual average water yield (mm/ year) with predicted maximum and minimum change of +7.3% and -13.4% but annual average salinity loads (kg/year) discharged via watershed outlet simulation increased consistently with maximum and minimum change of +9.6% and +4.1% from the baseline scenario of 2007-2017. From the results, this conjunction of APEX-MODFLOW-Salt model with downscaled future climate forcings can be a helpful modeling framework for investigating hydrology and salt mobilization, transport, and export in both historical and predictive settings for salt-affected watersheds in the world
Nature's contributions to people: socio-economic assessments of strategies to conserve natural capital and guide the sustainable provision and equitable distribution of ecosystem services in developing countries
Full text linkIncludes bibliographical references.2023 Spring.Natural resources continue to be unsustainably used and their benefits inequitably shared. In many instances economic incentives and resource management approaches have not led to the sustainable use or equitable distribution of the benefits of natural resources such as fisheries and forests. This has occurred in part because policy makers and natural resource users and managers, particularly in developing countries, lack information about the outcomes and impacts of current economic incentives that drive natural resource use behavior and potential alternative strategies for resource governance and management. This dissertation uses theories and approaches from the discipline of natural resource economics to measure the benefits of natural resource use under current governance approaches, evaluate the effectiveness of popular natural resource conservation strategies, and propose options for improving the effectiveness of those strategies in developing countries, thus contributing scientific evidence to the body of literature on the effectiveness of natural resource management approaches. In three chapters, it evaluates: 1) the effectiveness of a PES scheme in securing additional provision of watershed ecosystem services, 2) the elasticity of supply of watershed ecosystem services as a function of payments for forest conservation, and 3) the use of an ecosystem services perspective to measure the distribution of benefits from wild capture fisheries to different stakeholder groups. Chapter 1 finds that PES impacts may be somewhat offset by leakages; Chapter 2 finds that participation in PES programs could be increased by higher payments, but the relationship between payments and participation is non-linear; and Chapter 3 that an ecosystem services perspective can shed new light on managing fisheries for greatest local benefits and sustainability. These three independent analyses improve our understanding of natural resource management by dissecting resource management concepts, building upon existing ecosystem service valuation and evaluation methods, and supplying empirical evidence to resource management debates
Secondary organic aerosol formation from volatile chemical product emissions: parameters and contributions to anthropogenic aerosol
Full text link2023 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.Volatile chemical products (VCP) are an increasingly important source of hydrocarbon and oxygenated volatile organic compound (OVOC) emissions to the atmosphere, and these emissions are likely to play an important role as anthropogenic precursors for secondary organic aerosol (SOA). While the SOA from VCP hydrocarbons is often accounted for in ambient air quality models, the formation, evolution, and properties of SOA from VCP OVOCs remains uncertain. We use environmental chamber data and a kinetic model to develop SOA parameters for ten OVOCs representing glycols, glycol ethers, esters, oxygenated aromatics, and amines. Model simulations suggest that the SOA mass yields for these OVOCs are on the same magnitude as widely studied SOA precursors (e.g., long-chain alkanes, monoterpenes, and single-ring aromatics) and these yields exhibit a linear correlation with the difference between the carbon and oxygen numbers of the precursor. When combined with emissions inventories for two megacities in the United States (US) and a US-wide inventory, we find that VCPs form 0.8-2.5× as much SOA, by mass, as mobile sources. Hydrocarbons (terpenes, branched and cyclic alkanes) and OVOCs (terpenoids, glycols, glycol ethers) make up 60-75% and 25-40% of the SOA arising from VCP use, respectively. This work contributes to the growing body of knowledge focused on studying VCP VOC contributions to urban air pollution