Boise State University

About: Boise State University is a education organization based out in Boise, Idaho, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Computer science. The organization has 3698 authors who have published 8664 publications receiving 210163 citations. The organization is also known as: BSU & Boise State.

Irrelevant thoughts, emotional mood states, and cognitive task performance

Abstract: In two experiments, we investigated the relationship shared by irrelevant thoughts, emotional mood states, and cognitive task performance. At an empirical level, irrelevant thoughts were defined as thoughts that did not facilitatesuccessful task performance. We used the same general procedure for both experiments: three groups of college students received happy-, neutral- (control), or sad-mood inductions and performed a memory task. The procedure for obtaining thoughts varied between experiments. The subjects in Experiment 1 listed their thoughts after the memory recall task. In Experiment 2, the subjects were tape-recorded while performing a memory task and producing concurrent verbal protocols. The subjects in both experiments then judged their thoughts in terms of frequency, intensity,and irrelevance. Wefound a similar pattern of results in both experiments: (1) The proportions ofirrelevant thoughts and recall performance were -negatively related, and (2) happy and sad studentsproduced reliably greater proportions of irrelevant thoughts than did neutral (control) students.

Soil moisture states, lateral flow, and streamflow generation in a semi-arid, snowmelt-driven catchment

Abstract: Hydraulic connectivity on hillslopes and the existence of preferred soil moisture states in a catchment have important controls on runoff generation. In this study we investigate the relationships between soil moisture patterns, lateral hillslope flow, and streamflow generation in a semi-arid, snowmelt-driven catchment. We identify five soil moisture conditions that occur during a year and present a conceptual model based on field studies and computer simulations of how streamflow is generated with respect to the soil moisture conditions. The five soil moisture conditions are (1) a summer dry period, (2) a transitional fall wetting period, (3) a winter wet, low-flux period, (4) a spring wet, high-flux period, and (5) a transitional late-spring drying period. Transitions between the periods are driven by changes in the water balance between rain, snow, snowmelt and evapotranspiration. Low rates of water input to the soil during the winter allow dry soil regions to persist at the soil–bedrock interface, which act as barriers to lateral flow. Once the dry-soil flow barriers are wetted, whole-slope hydraulic connectivity is established, lateral flow can occur, and upland soils are in direct connection with the near-stream soil moisture. This whole-slope connectivity can alter near-stream hydraulics and modify the delivery of water, pressure, and solutes to the stream. Copyright  2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Chiral plasmonic DNA nanostructures with switchable circular dichroism

Abstract: Circular dichroism spectra of naturally occurring molecules and also of synthetic chiral arrangements of plasmonic particles often exhibit characteristic bisignate shapes. Such spectra consist of peaks next to dips (or vice versa) and result from the superposition of signals originating from many individual chiral objects oriented randomly in solution. Here we show that by first aligning and then toggling the orientation of DNA-origami-scaffolded nanoparticle helices attached to a substrate, we are able to reversibly switch the optical response between two distinct circular dichroism spectra corresponding to either perpendicular or parallel helix orientation with respect to the light beam. The observed directional circular dichroism of our switchable plasmonic material is in good agreement with predictions based on dipole approximation theory. Such dynamic metamaterials introduce functionality into soft matter-based optical devices and may enable novel data storage schemes or signal modulators.

The Effects of Kinesio™ Taping on Proprioception at the Ankle

Abstract: An experiment was designed to determine if Kinesio™ taping the anterior and lateral portion of the ankle would enhance ankle proprioception compared to the untaped ankle. 30 subjects, 15 men, 15 women, ages 18-30 participated in this study. Exclusion criteria: Ankle injury < 6 months prior to testing, significant ligament laxity as determined through clinical evaluation by an ATC, or any severe foot abnormality. Experiment utilized a single group, pretest and posttest. Plantar flexion and inversion with 20° of plantar flexion reproduction of joint position sense (RJPS) was determined using an ankle RJPS apparatus. Subjects were barefooted, blindfolded, and equipped with headphones playing white noise to eliminate auditory cues. Subjects had five trials in both plantar flexion and inversion with 20° plantar flexion before and after application of the Kinesio™ tape to the anterior/lateral portion of the ankle. Constant error and absolute error were determined from the difference between the target angle and the trial angle produced by the subject. The treatment group (Kinesio™ taped subjects) showed no change in constant and absolute error for ankle RJPS in plantar flexion and 20° of plantar flexion with inversion when compared to the untaped results using the same motions. The application of Kinesio™ tape does not appear to enhance proprioception (in terms of RJPS) in healthy individuals as determined by our measures of RJPS at the ankle in the motions of plantar flexion and 20° of plantar flexion with inversion. Key Points Proprioception research Evaluation of a new taping method Augmentation of sensory feedback Rehabilitation technique

An approach to understanding hydrologic connectivity on the hillslope and the implications for nutrient transport

Abstract: [1] Hydrologic processes control much of the export of organic matter and nutrients from the land surface. It is the variability of these hydrologic processes that produces variable patterns of nutrient transport in both space and time. In this paper, we explore how hydrologic ‘‘connectivity’’ potentially affects nutrient transport. Hydrologic connectivity is defined as the condition by which disparate regions on the hillslope are linked via subsurface water flow. We present simulations that suggest that for much of the year, water draining through a catchment is spatially isolated. Only rarely, during storm and snowmelt events when antecedent soil moisture is high, do our simulations suggest that mid-slope saturation (or near saturation) occurs and that a catchment connects from ridge to valley. Observations during snowmelt at a small headwater catchment in Idaho are consistent with these model simulations. During early season discharge episodes, in which the mid-slope soil column is not saturated, the electrical conductivity in the stream remains low, reflecting a restricted, local (lower slope) source of stream water and the continued isolation of upper and mid-slope soil water and nutrients from the stream system. Increased streamflow and higher stream water electrical conductivity, presumably reflecting the release of water from the upper reaches of the catchment, are simultaneously observed when the mid-slope becomes sufficiently wet. This study provides preliminary evidence that the seasonal timing of hydrologic connectivity may affect a range of ecological processes, including downslope nutrient transport, C/N cycling, and biological productivity along the toposequence. A better elucidation of hydrologic connectivity will be necessary for understanding local processes as well as material export from land to water at regional and global scales. INDEX TERMS: 1615 Global Change: Biogeochemical processes (4805); 1860 Hydrology: Runoff and streamflow; 1866 Hydrology: Soil moisture; 1899 Hydrology: General or miscellaneous; KEYWORDS: carbon and nitrogen transport, hydrologic connectivity, TOPMODEL