Brigham Young University Research Articles

Media Conglomeration, Local News, and Capital Market Consequences

We examine the effect of news media consolidation on local business coverage and its consequences for firms, investors, and capital markets. Using television transcripts, we find a substantial drop in coverage of local firms following the consolidation of local television stations associated with Sinclair acquisitions. Local information search, institutional portfolio local bias, and overall retail trading decrease for firms in treated geographic areas. Results are most pronounced for small firms, for stations with higher ex ante viewership, and for stations with greater reductions in local coverage. Our results provide insight into the consequences of media consolidation for local business coverage, firms, investors, and capital markets. This paper was accepted by Eric So, accounting. Funding: Financial support from the Brigham Young University Marriott School of Business, Purdue University Mitch Daniels School of Business, and Kenan-Flagler Business School is gratefully acknowledged. Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.02247 .

Equipping Future Physicians with Artificial Intelligence Competencies through Student Associations

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) in the medical sector necessitate the development of AI literacy among future physicians. This article explores the pioneering efforts of the AI in Medicine Association (AIM) at Brigham Young University, which offers a framework for undergraduate pre-medical students to gain hands-on experience, receive principled education, explore ethical considerations, and learn appraisal of AI models. By supplementing formal, university-organized pre-medical education with a student-led, faculty-supported introduction to AI through an extracurricular academic association, AIM alleviates apprehensions regarding AI in medicine early and empowers students preparing for medical school to navigate the evolving landscape of AI in healthcare responsibly.

Facilitating digitisation and reformatting via committee work

The Reformatting Committee at Brigham Young University Library actively manages and facilitates the digitisation of library materials, playing a pivotal role in advancing larger digitisation projects. The committee comprises various stakeholders in the digitisation and reformatting workflow, each with unique concerns and requirements, allowing the committee to effectively navigate the complexities of the digitisation process. This paper discusses the motivations for the committee’s formation, explains its documentation and describes the benefits gained. As this paper explains, the Reformatting Committee exemplifies a balanced approach to meeting various stakeholders’ expectations and building bridges between departments, thereby advancing the library’s mission in the context of the digital era. The paper also explains that stakeholder involvement is crucial, that the structure of the committee enables improved communication and workflow, and, although not all challenges may be anticipated in projects, that the committee is set up to work together to resolve them. The paper concludes that institutions with a history of siloing in their digitisation and reformatting work should consider adopting a similar model, in order to break down such barriers and facilitate communication and collaboration, thus improving the efficiency of digitisation and reformatting projects.

An 18-month Review of ClusterMarket(TM) as an Instrument Scheduling and Project Management Tool for Brigham Young University’s Electron Microscopy Facility

An 18-month Review of ClusterMarket(TM) as an Instrument Scheduling and Project Management Tool for Brigham Young University’s Electron Microscopy Facility

A summary of the main themes and findings presented at the ASM Intermountain Branch meeting (2024).

The annual meeting for the Intermountain Branch was held in April 2024 on the campus of Brigham Young University. There were 127 branch members from Utah, Idaho, and Nevada who attended the meeting and were composed of undergraduate students, graduate or medical students, and faculty. This report highlights the diversity of, and the emerging trends in, the research conducted by American Society for Microbiology members in the Intermountain Branch.

An In-depth Corpus-based Investigation of Unbound Reflexives

ABSTRACT This paper provides a comprehensive study of real-life uses of unbound reflexives (URs) in two syntactic structures, coordination and prepositional object structures, using a large amount of synchronic, diachronic, and dialectal corpus data from some Brigham Young University (BYU) corpora. Our findings show that 1) in contemporary American English, URs have different raw frequencies and proportion patterns in the two syntactic structures from anaphoric/cataphoric reflexives and also vary according to their person values; 2) the uses of URs in the two structures have shown decreasing tendencies for the past 200 years in American English; and 3) URs are more frequently used in Irish English than any other inner-circle variety of English in relation to anaphoric reflexives, which is more prominent in coordination structures than in prepositional object structures. Our findings also contribute to providing an empirical foundation for testing existing theories of URs and developing Binding Conditions in general.

Study on the Image Construction of Shenzhen in Foreign Media

As China's special economic zone and technological innovation center, Shenzhen enjoys a high reputation at home and abroad. This study aims to observe overseas media reports on Shenzhen in recent years and explore its image construction through the method of combining corpus and critical discourse analysis. Based on the NOW corpus created by Brigham Young University in the United States, we find that the discourse construction of overseas media around Shenzhen stems from the image of its special economic zone and technological innovation. As a microcosm of China's reform and opening up, Shenzhen is portrayed as a modern, innovative and dynamic city. By analyzing the reports in the corpus, we find that overseas media mainly focus on Shenzhen's technology industry, innovation and entrepreneurship environment, and economic development mode. Shenzhen's status as China's technological innovation hub and its importance in global value chains are frequently mentioned in the reports. In addition, overseas media have also paid attention to Shenzhen's urban planning, environmental protection and international cooperation. Overall, overseas media coverage of Shenzhen presents a positive, modern image, emphasizing its importance and influence on the global stage. As a successful model of China's reform and opening up, Shenzhen is gradually becoming the focus of international attention, showing its charm and vitality as a modern city.

Differential serum inflammatory cytokine elaboration in Nepali brick factory workers

Previous studies involving workers at brick kilns in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal have revealed chronic exposure to hazardous levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) common in ambient and occupational environments. Such exposures are known to cause and/or exacerbate chronic respiratory diseases including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, there is a paucity of data regarding the systemic inflammatory status of exposed workers at brick manufacturing facilities. In the current study, we sought to elucidate systemic inflammatory responses by quantifying the molecular cytokine/chemokine profiles in serum from study participants. A sample of participants (N = 48; 54% female; 31.77±9.76 years-old) were distributed among four different job categories. Blood was procured from participants on-site, allowed to clot at room temperature, and centrifuged to obtain total serum. A human cytokine antibody array was used to screen cytokines/chemokines in serum samples. Comparisons were generated between a control group of administration workers vs. fire master workers, administration vs. green brick hand molders, and administration vs. top loaders. We discovered significantly increased concentrations of eotaxin-1, eotaxin-2, GCSF, GM-CSF, IFN-γ, IL-1γα, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TGF-β1, TNF-α, and TIMP-2 in serum samples from fire master workers vs. administration (p < 0.03). Each of these molecules, with the exception of TIMP-2, were also significantly elevated in the serum from green brick hand molders (p < 0.02). In addition, each molecule was significantly elevated in serum from top loaders compared to administration workers (p < 0.03). With few exceptions, the fire master workers expressed significantly more systemic inflammatory molecular abundance when compared to all other job descriptions. These results reveal an association between pulmonary exposure to PM2.5 and systemic inflammatory responses likely mediated by cytokine/chemokine elaboration. Additional characterization of a broader array of inflammatory molecules may provide valuable insight into susceptibility to lung diseases including COPD. This work was supported in part by funding from Undergraduate Mentoring and a Widtsoe Research Grant from Brigham Young University. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Passive Heat Stress, Like Exercise Training, Leads to Improved Vascular Function

Epidemiological data indicate that repeated heat stress improves cardiovascular health, making passive heat therapy (PHT) a potential alternative for those unable to exercise. Few studies to date have examined the potential exercise mimetic effects in humans, and it is unclear how adaptations compare in magnitude to exercise training. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of 6 weeks of localized, muscle-focused PHT on resistance artery vascular function, exercise hemodynamics and performance, molecular regulators of vascular tone, and skeletal muscle capillarization relative to the adaptations observed following high-intensity aerobic exercise training focused on the same muscles. HYPOTHESIS: 6 weeks of PHT, applied to the knee extensor muscles through pulsed shortwave diathermy (2 hr, 3 days/week), would improve both resistance artery function and exercise hemodynamics, as well as increase vascular tone regulators more than a sham treatment, but less than single-leg knee extension (KE) exercise training (EX; 40 min, 3 days/week). Methods: We randomized 34 sedentary but otherwise healthy, young adults (ages 18–36; n = 17 female, 17 male) to receive PHT, EX, or sham heating sessions (SHAM; 2 hr, 3 days/week) over 6 weeks. Vascular function was determined through the blood flow response during both a passive leg movement (PLM) assessment and a knee extension graded exercise test (GXTmax). Muscle biopsies were taken from the vastus lateralis at baseline and after 6 weeks of intervention. Results: Peak blood flow during PLM increased to the same extent in both the EX (~10.5% increase, P=0.009) and PHT groups (~8.5% increase, P=0.044). KE peak flow increased in EX (~19%, P=0.005), but did not change in PHT (P=0.523) and decreased in SHAM (~7%, P=0.020). Peak vascular conductance during KE increased by ~25% in EX (P=0.030) and PHT (P=0.012). KE peak power increased in EX by ~27% (P=0.001) but did not significantly change in PHT (P=0.175) and SHAM groups (P=0.111). EX, but not PHT or SHAM, increased muscle capillary-to-fiber ratio (P = 0.0003), capillary density (P = 0.0428), and the Capillary to Fiber Perimeter Exchange Index (P = 0.0089). Protein expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) increased significantly in both EX (P=0.0028) and PHT (P=0.0095), but only EX resulted in increased angiogenesis. CONCLUSIONS: 6 weeks of localized PHT, when applied to young healthy individuals, improved resistance artery function at rest and during exercise to the same extent as exercise training. Moreover, our data suggest that these PHT-induced improvements can be primarily attributed to increased expression of the regulators of vascular tone and not neo-angiogenesis. In conclusion, passive heat therapy mimics many, but not all the vascular benefits of exercise training. Funding for this study was provided by the Department of Exercise Sciences at Brigham Young University. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Small-molecule AMPK activation preserves anabolic signaling in a C2C12 myotube cachexia model

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a master metabolic regulator that responds to a decline in cellular energy status by promoting processes that generate ATP, while inactivating anabolic processes that consume ATP, thereby restoring the energy charge of the cell. In line with this general function, acute AMPK activation in healthy muscle cells potently inhibits anabolic signaling through the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTORC1). However, treatment of atrophying muscle (from tumor-bearing mice and cells cultured in tumor cell-conditioned media) with the non-specific AMPK activator AICAR suggests that AMPK has a protective effect on muscle mass and anabolic signaling. We have identified MLX-0867 as a novel AMPK-activating small molecule (EC50 = 32.0 mM in C2C12 myotubes). We hypothesized that similar to AICAR, treatment with MLX-0867 would also preserve muscle mass and anabolic mTORC1 signaling in cultured muscle subjected to hyperinflammatory signaling. To test this, we treated C2C12 myotubes with control media (CM) or CM + 20 ng/mL TNF-ɑ and 100 U/mL interferon-γ (T/I) for 24 hours. Additionally, the cells were concurrently treated with 250 mM AICAR, 40 mM MLX-0867 (a novel AMPK activating small-molecule), or vehicle control during the treatment period. To visualize myotubes, myosin heavy chain (MHC) was detected by immunofluorescence, and average myotube diameter was measured. In a separate experiment, the protein was extracted from treated myotubes to determine the phosphorylation of p-70S6k and ribosomal protein S6 (rpS6) as markers of anabolic signaling through mTORC1. We found that T/I treatment significantly decreased myotube diameter. Neither AICAR nor MLX-0867 attenuated this atrophy. However, while T/I substantially reduced S6k and rpS6 phosphorylation, MLX-0867 (but not AICAR) partially preserved the phosphorylation of rpS6 and tended (p=0.11) to preserve p-70S6k phosphorylation under T/I treatment. In summary, MLX-0867 partially preserved anabolic signaling in T/I treated myotubes. However, this did not preserve muscle mass, at least under the conditions utilized in this experiment. A Brigham Young University Widtsoe Grant and a sponsored research agreement with Biolexis Therapeutics funded this research. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

From Pumps and Pipes to Data and Discovery

A reorganization of the Brigham Young University Library in 2020 brought many changes to the library, including the formation of the Metadata and Information Technology (MIT) Division. This new division needed to define a vision for itself, encourage a sense of unity among its employees, and foster collaboration among those employees. This article details how the MIT Division created a Data and Discovery initiative based on the Pumps and Pipes collaboration model, a model which brings seemingly unrelated industries together to discover solutions to their respective challenges by exploring “their neighbor’s toolbox” (Pumps and Pipes, n.d., “What We Do”). Here we share the details of many of the MIT Division’s collaboration and unity initiatives, including MIT’s vision for how employees can come together to use the tools employed by other departments within the library.

Subject librarian definition and duties: Connecting the library and the university

This article reports on a qualitative case study of subject librarians at Brigham Young University's Harold B. Lee Library Subject librarians considered their main purpose to be connecting the people at the university with library resources. People skills are a key to being successful in their positions. Their duties of collection development, reference, instruction, liaison, citizenship, professional development, and scholarship are interrelated and work together in important ways. Subject librarians are satisfied with their jobs and corresponding autonomy. They are concerned about librarian stereotypes and want to overcome the ignorance about their positions. They agree that subject knowledge is important but do not agree on a formal degree standard. This study could be used to help develop and improve SL programs. It could inform hiring decisions and improve the practices of current subject librarians by focusing on the key skills of working with others and subject knowledge.

Characterizing the absolute sound levels of ambient noise in a water tank

The underwater acoustic measurement tank used at Brigham Young University is affected by several external sound sources which, although easily identified or hypothesized about on a superficial level, must be investigated in order to determine their specific effects on data collection. Therefore, our goal is to characterize the absolute sound levels of these external acoustic sources. The measurements are conducted using B&K and TC4038 hydrophones. Data are collected over frequency bands within the “flat” range of these hydrophones, facilitating the consistent identification of ambient sounds across several bands. Measurements are taken at various points of the tank in order to determine to what extent tank location affects the ambient sound. Data in Volts are converted to Pascals by applying sensitivity values. To evaluate the accuracy of levels obtained, the same method is applied to the signal from a known source and compared to the levels obtained via a deconvolution approach. The conclusions of this study are applicable in obtaining sound levels in our own tank and in other environments (e.g., aquariums). [Undergraduate Research supported by the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Brigham Young University]

Building the acoustics program at Brigham Young University

The history of acoustics at Brigham Young University dates well back into the first half of the twentieth century. Nonetheless, at the end of the twentieth century the program was on the verge of dying off. The author was hired in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at that time, in the hopes of revitalizing the acoustics program. Various steps were taken at opportune times to continuously rebuild the program to where it has become well known again – both nationally and internationally. The acoustics program is characterized by both a very strong undergraduate program in acoustics, as well as a thriving graduate program that has produced over 70 graduate theses and dissertations and even more undergraduate theses and capstone papers. This presentation will overview the growth and development of the acoustics program since 1995, highlighting lessons learned that may be useful for others looking to develop or strengthen their programs.

Graduate acoustics at Brigham Young University

Graduate studies in acoustics at BYU prepare students for industry, research, and academia by complementing in-depth coursework with publishable research. Coursework provides students with a foundation in acoustical principles, practices and measurement skills, including a experimental techniques and technical writing. Labs across the curriculum cover calibration, directivity, scattering, absorption, laser Doppler vibrometry, experimental methods for dynamic structures, lumped-element mechanical systems, equivalent circuit modeling, arrays, filters, room acoustics, active noise control, and near-field acoustical holography. Recent thesis and dissertation topics include active noise control, directivity, room acoustics, energy-based acoustics, time reversal, nondestructive evaluation, vibration and acoustics of aerospace vehicles, biomedical applications, flow-based acoustics, voice production, aeroacoustics, sound propagation modeling, nonlinear propagation, high-amplitude noise analyses, machine and deep learning applied to ambient noise level prediction, crowd noise interpretation, and underwater acoustic source localization, and ocean environment classification. Graduate students are expected to present research at professional meetings and publish in peer-reviewed acoustics journals. Graduate students often serve as peer mentors to undergraduate students on related projects and may participate in field experiments to gain additional experience. @BYUAcoustics

Potential of K-means clustering for preliminary labeling of acoustic data samples

Labeling data for use in supervised learning algorithms can be a long and arduous process, especially for large datasets. This work explores if an unsupervised k-means clustering algorithm can act as a tool to efficiently obtain preliminary labels for large acoustic datasets. This approach is tested on vector sensor data from Monterey Accelerated Research System (MARS). To determine the optimal number of clusters in the k-means algorithm, the silhouette method is used. The clustering of different types of input data will be compared. Specifically, time average spectra from the pressure sensor, the acoustic particle velocity, and intensity will be considered. In addition, the results of clustering data from different times of day and months over a two-year period will be compared. Results of the clustering will be presented along with an assessment of the potential for using a k-means clustering as a preliminary labeling tool for large acoustic sets. [Undergraduate research funded by the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences as Brigham Young University.]

Beatboxing: Teaching technical acoustical concepts through pop culture

The motivation for this presentation is to demonstrate that vocal percussion, or “beatboxing,” can be a rich method of teaching and demonstrating various introductory acoustical concepts. Beatboxing can be an entertaining way to demonstrate the different acoustical sources of energy—namely burst, noise, and voice—and how they can be combined to create familiar and unfamiliar phonemes, such as the “PF” snare. It also provides an engaging way to introduce the anatomy of the vocal tract as the students can see and hear how vibrating different parts of the mouth and throat (e.g., vocal cords, epiglottis, vestibular folds, lips, etc.) alter the sound. Finally, beatboxing can be used to demonstrate the source-filter model of speech production through altering the sound source in the throat and displaying how to change your mouth shape to produce different formant-altering effects, such as the rapid formant shifting that gives a record scratch its characteristic sound. Beatboxing provides an entertaining and effective way to demonstrate technical concepts to students in an artistic format which captures the attention, especially of younger audiences. [Undergraduate research supported by the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, at Brigham Young University.]

Analysis of the linear regime of a power amplifier for underwater acoustics experiments

When transmitting sound in a laboratory water tank, a power amplifier is needed to boost the generated signal. If the amplitude of the generated signal is too high, the power amplifier introduces harmonics into the transmitted signal. Measurements were taken to determine the maximum input amplitude for which the TEGAM 2350 power amplifier, which provides x50 amplification, has a linear response. To evaluate when harmonics are generated, acoustical measurements were taken in our acrylic 1.22 m by 3.66 m tank filled with 0.5 m of water. Custom LabView software generated a chirp with a specified amplitude. This signal was sent through the power amplifier and an impedance matching transformer to a B&K 8103 transmitter. The sound was received on the B&K 8103 hydrophones. Both were attached to two different UR10e robots that could be positioned throughout the tank. The receiver hydrophone was moved to three different locations in the tank for a variety of chirp amplitudes to find the maximum amplitude without harmonic generation. Results of these measurements are shown for three frequency bands: 10–50 kHz, 50–100 kHz, and 100–150 kHz . [Undergraduate research supported by the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Brigham Young University]

College Gap Time and Academic Outcomes for Women: Evidence from Missionaries

Abstract This study leverages a policy change in the missionary program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that exogenously influenced the likelihood that a woman took gap time during college to understand how gap time influences women's subsequent choice of major and academic outcomes. If structured gap time shapes educational outcomes, increasing the uptake of gap time by women may be a mechanism to ameliorate later wage gaps. Using administrative data from Brigham Young University (N = 17,402) and an instrumental variables estimation strategy, we find that women who take gap time for missionary service shift into majors with higher expected salaries and are more likely to be in limited-enrollment majors and majors with a higher concentration of men. However, gap time decreases the likelihood of graduating within eight years of entering college, creating tension between the costs and benefits. On average, net benefits of expected wages are close to zero. Gap time most clearly benefits women with relatively low ACT scores who are more likely to be accepted into limited enrollment programs following gap time. This research informs university administrators and students alike seeking to understand the academic implications of taking planned time off during postsecondary education.

An fMRI Investigation of the Neurocognitive Processing of Measures and Strategic Objectives

A central feature of most organizations is the use of measures to represent key elements of performance across multiple strategic objectives. Prior research demonstrates a tendency for individuals to treat these measures as though they are the higher order strategic objectives the measures were intended to represent as opposed to imperfect representations of those strategic objectives—a phenomenon labeled “surrogation.” We employ an experiment to further understand this phenomenon. In this study, we capture neural activation when processing measures and when processing strategic objectives. We find that, in regions of the brain with greater (less) activation for concrete versus abstract words, brain activation is greater (less) when processing measure phrases versus when processing strategy phrases. We further find evidence that greater brain activity and longer response times are associated with less surrogation. This affirms the notion that increased cognitive involvement can reduce surrogation. This paper was accepted by Ranjani Krishnan, accounting. Funding: This work was supported by Auburn University, Brigham Young University, Utah Valley University, and an IMA Research Foundation grant from the Institute of Management Accountants. Supplemental Material: The data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.01405 .