OPUS: Open Ulethbridge Scholarship

Open ULeth Scholarship (OPUS) is the University of Lethbridge's open access research repository. It contains a collection of materials related to research and teaching produced by the academic community.

Self-archiving your research in OPUS is one way to meet Open Access policies of granting agencies. It is important to retain your final, post-peer-reviewed drafts for submission to OPUS, as this is often the only version publishers will allow to be archived. Click here for information on the U of L Open Access Policy.

Check here for more information about OPUS.

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Recent Submissions

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Ecological studies of parasitoid hymenopterans (subclade Parasitoida) in southern Alberta agricultural systems
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Biological Sciences, 2024) Pawluk, Abbe D.; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science; Laird, Robert A.; Cárcamo, Héctor
Parasitoid hymenopterans are important biocontrol agents of agricultural pests. Despite their relevance to sustainable agriculture and an integrated pest management strategy, this subclade of insects is understudied. Here, we conducted two studies related to the biology of parasitoid hymenopterans in southern Alberta: 1) A survey of parasitism rates by a native genus of parasitoid, Peristenus, on a significant agricultural pest, Lygus, across 17 cultivated and uncultivated host plants; 2) A survey of parasitoid genera in canola fields as part of a study on the influence of type of edge boundaries and distance from the edge on parasitoid populations and diversity. Mean Peristenus-Lygus parasitism rates ranged from 0 – 45% across various host plant species, with a significant interaction between instar age and parasitism rates in late-stage canola and hemp. Type of edge boundary and distance from the edge did not significantly affect Hymenoptera diversity, and Diolcogaster is reported as the dominant genus of parasitoid hymenopterans in canola crops. Both studies contribute to enhanced integrated pest management studies, and more generally, to the understanding of southern Alberta insects.
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Feeling time and change through the lenticular
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Sociology, 2024) Morman, Harley Megan; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science; Mair, Kimberly
Through the juxtaposition of image pairs, visual artists and designers use flipping-style lenticular film to convey complex relationships and affects. Solo visual art exhibitions 'Let’s Do the Time Warp Again' at the Art Gallery of Alberta (2021) and 'Don’t Dream It, Be It' at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery (2024) took the lenticular as both craft material and capacious analogy for affects of time and change. At both exhibitions’ center, a series of eight institutional portraits commissioned in elementary and high school were combined with contemporary equivalents. Visual effects and movements resulting from lenticular lens misalignment offered a shimmering diachronic perspective on trajectories of self. Meanwhile, conspicuously crafted clocks failed to keep time. The exhibitions’ playful archive of objects and feelings offered a generative and critical stage on which to consider social trajectories of gender transition and embodiment via visual metaphor. This support paper documents and contextualizes the artist’s ongoing research-creation practice.
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Interaction of gravitational waves with non-abelian gauge fields and quark-gluon plasma
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, 2024) Gosala, Narasimha Reddy; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science; Dasgupta, Arundhati
Gravitational waves (GWs), often referred to as ripples in spacetime, were first detected in 2015, revolutionizing our understanding of the universe. On the other hand, the quark-gluon plasma (QGP)—a state of matter believed to have existed microseconds after the Big Bang—provides insights into the fundamental forces of nature. My research bridges these two fascinating areas, exploring how gravitational waves interact with this exotic matter governed by non-abelian (Yang-Mills (YM)) gauge fields. We aim to investigate this in two ways: (i) Study the fundamental interactions of GW with YM fields, and (ii) Explore the thermodynamic aspects of QGP. QGP is a liquid that behaves like an almost perfect fluid at temperatures observed in particle accelerators (around Tc, Tc ∼ trillion K) and like a gas of non-interacting particles at T ≫ Tc. We explore the QGP under these approximations using two models: waves and condensates. We then investigate the effect of GWs on these configurations. We find that the GW changes the frequency and direction of YM waves. In the case of condensates, GW induces the decay of condensate into waves. When we study the dynamics of fermions in the presence of condensate and GWs, we found that GWs induce flavour transitions which are relevant in explaining the strangeness enhancement of QGP as observed in colliders. We then discuss thermodynamic aspects, starting with a study of the effect of GWs on YM phase transition using classical nucleation theory and showing that GW increases nucleation rate, resulting in lesser transition time. Finally, we study the thermodynamic properties of QGP using finite temperature Quantum Field Theory. We show that the GWs play an important role in stabilizing the QGP condensates at finite temperatures, as without the GW, the QGP has negative energy and pressure.
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Biophysical characterization of honey bee virus untranslated regions
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, 2024) Letain, Jenna M.; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science; Patel, Trushar R.
Over the past two decades, honey bee colony losses have become a serious and widespread issue. Many factors contribute to these losses, but one major driver is viruses. Sacbrood virus and deformed wing virus are found globally and can cause detrimental effects to honey bee colonies. These viruses have a long, single-stranded genome of ribonucleic acid (RNA) flanked by structured untranslated regions. Although noncoding, these regions play important roles in the viral life cycle. While untranslated regions have been studied extensively in other viruses, there is a research gap for honey bee viruses. This thesis focuses on the biophysical characterization of the untranslated regions of these two common honey bee viruses. Small-angle X-ray scattering and computational modelling elucidated low and high-resolution three-dimensional structures for the viral untranslated regions. Functional assays revealed that the sacbrood virus 5′ untranslated region acts as an internal ribosome entry site capable of initiating translation. Furthermore, immunoprecipitation pull-down assays identified potential RNA-binding proteins that interact with the sacbrood virus untranslated regions. Altogether, this thesis provides foundational insights into the characteristics of the untranslated regions of sacbrood virus and deformed wing virus, guiding future research in this field.
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The endocast of the Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) reveals insights into its sensory ecology and the evolution of nocturnality in birds
(Nature Portfolio, 2020) Iwaniuk, Andrew N.; Keirnan, Aubrey R.; Janetzki, Heather; Mardon, Karine; Murphy, Stephen; Leseberg, Nicholas P.; Weisbecker, Vera
he Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) is a rare, nocturnal parrot species that has largely escaped scientific investigation due to its behaviour and habitat preferences. Recent field studies have revealed some insights into Night Parrot behaviour, but nothing is known of its sensory abilities. Here, we used μCT scans of an intact Night Parrot specimen to determine if its visual system shares similarities with other nocturnal species. The endocast of the Night Parrot revealed relatively small optic lobes and optic foramina, especially compared with closely related grass parakeets, but no apparent differences in orbit dimensions. Our data suggests that the Night Parrot likely has lower visual acuity than most other parrots, including its congener, the Eastern Ground Parrot (P. wallicus). We propose that the visual system of the Night Parrot might represent a compromise between the need to see under low light conditions and the visual acuity required to detect predators, forage, and fly. Based on the endocast and optic foramen measurements, the Night Parrot fits into a common pattern of decreased retinal input to the optic lobes in birds that should be explored more thoroughly in extant and extinct species.