Digital Commons Network^™

Enhancing Metabolic Fitness Of Car T-Cells By Removing Cd6, Nate Neyman, Alka Guar, Annie Joy-Larson, Collin Mickelson, Scott Weber

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2026

Honorable Mention - Poster Design

CAR T-cell therapy is a highly effective cancer treatment involving engineering the patient’s T-cells to recognize and kill cancerous cells. This therapy has shown great success for blood cancers but has faced many challenges against solid tumors.

Surrounding tumor cells there is a lack of essential nutrients (oxygen, glucose) for T-cells to metabolize efficiency. Additionally, there is a buildup of excess waste products that directly impair T-cell function (1). To overcome these obstacles, scientists are working on developing longer lasting T-cells with improved metabolism to improve efficacy against cancer cells.

Music-Based Intervention For Stress And Sleep In Substance Use Recovery, Olivia A. Coleman

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Aim: Sleep difficulties and elevated stress are common among individuals recovering from substance use disorders (SUDs), often persisting long after initial detoxification. Music-based interventions offer a low-risk, nonpharmacological option that may support sleep and stress regulation. This study examined whether a Structured Music Listening Protocol (SMLP) could improve sleep quality and reduce perceived stress within a residential SUD treatment program.

Methods: Fifty eligible patients were enrolled in the Intervention Group (SMLP – Structured Music Listening Protocol) and fifty in the Control Group (Standardized Therapy) from a residential treatment center for SUDs. Both groups received standard therapy from the center. The …

Scarcity Rewritten: Revenue Tracking As A Catalyst For Growth Mindset And Financial Control, Christian M. Pearson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

While revenue tracking is a widely recognized “best practice” for businesses in developed economies, it is far from a universal practice. In Cambodia and other emerging markets, many small business owners do not track revenue or expenses, which may limit their ability to make sound financial decisions and reinforce psychological responses consistent with chronic resource scarcity. This article examines the effects of a business support intervention in which Cambodian business owners participated in an 8-week program designed to help them calculate profits by tracking revenue, variable costs, and fixed costs. Findings from a randomized field experiment show that business owners …

An Appalachian Expression Of Rootedness: Exploring Rootedness In The Writings Of Simone Weil And Wendell Berry, Luke Bratton

Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism

No abstract provided.

Endowed With Intelligence From On High: Scriptural Patterns Of Divinely Augmented Knowing, Yoshihiko Ariizumi

Learning, Teaching, & Researching Optimization

The four standard works of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints contain numerous accounts in which individuals exhibit intellectual capacities — of perception, reasoning, problem-solving, and articulation — that demonstrably exceed their natural endowments and circumstances. This essay identifies twenty such accounts, organizes them into five conceptual typologies, and draws from each typology a set of concrete, actionable proposals for faculty at Brigham Young University who seek to integrate divine assistance into their scholarly and pedagogical work. The central argument is that the patterns encoded in Latter-day Saint scripture constitute not merely historical records of miraculous intervention but …

De Aquí Y De Allá: Exchanging Language And Visual Culture In The Lower Rio Grande Valley, Chloë M. Robinson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study examines graphic design in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) as a site of cultural hybridity, shaped by transnational histories and bilingual practice. It explores how Mexican and Anglo design markers intersect and are negotiated in daily life through analysis of 2,180 visual artifacts, interviews with ten local creatives, and a survey of fifty residents. Historical research traces influences like nineteenth-century wood type and rótulo signage to contemporary advertising. Interviews reveal that local creatives navigate hybrid identities through code-switching, bilingual fluency, and borderlands experiences. Survey results show that participants’ language preferences predict how they categorize and rank typographic …

Silicosis Evaluation Among Native Spanish-Speaking Workers: An Exploratory Pilot Survey Of Occupational Medicine Providers, Caroline Olsen

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Silicosis is a lung disease caused by inhalation of respirable silica particles. Silicosis is usually characterized by high occupational exposure to silica in industries like mining, sandblasting, construction, and stone fabrication. Recent research showing increasing rates of silicosis among native Spanish-speaking workers demonstrates the need for improved silicosis diagnosis and patient education. While research has been done to understand the epidemiological distribution of silicosis and native Spanish-speaking workers, there has been limited research evaluating occupational medicine providers’ clinical practices related to the diagnosis of silicosis among this population.

This exploratory pilot study evaluated occupational medicine providers’ experiences related to silicosis …

Optimizing Sacrificial Core Formation In The Fabrication Of Nanopore Biosensors, Ephraim Ong

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study is part of an ongoing project to create a universal diagnostic tool using nanopore technology. Diagnosis of disease and other conditions of the body can often be linked to biomarkers such as the RNA sequence of a disease-causing virus.

The nanopore method for detecting biomarkers requires a microfluidic device designed to concentrate a large quantity of biomarker carrier beads near the detecting nanopore. Hollow channels which can conduct fluid and small particles are well used in the field of microfluidics. Many methods exist to fabricate microfluidic channels, however the nanopore method requires a channel with a thin solid-state …

The Capitol’S Punishment: A Disability Theory Reading And Analysis Of The Hunger Games Series, Brynne Farnsworth

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper analyzes how disability is treated in The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. Through a close analysis of the variety of perspectives on disability, Collins presents the Capitol as having an othering, dehumanizing approach to disability, while District Thirteen makes some accommodations but ultimately reveals itself to have a similar point of view as the Capitol. While not perfect, the perspective of the Districts prevails through its approach of empathy and connection and implies a hope for a society that draws on those connections over divisions. Collins also overarchingly promotes hope for those with disabilities throughout the series …

Buffered Strength: A Narrative Review Of Beta-Alanine Supplementation In Weightlifting And Resistance Training, Ian Brunson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Beta-alanine is a non-essential amino acid synthesized endogenously through hepatic metabolism of uracil and obtained in small amounts from dietary sources. In skeletal muscle, beta-alanine combines with histidine to form carnosine, a dipeptide that functions as an intracellular buffer. Beta-alanine is commonly used as a dietary supplement and is frequently included in pre-workout formulations as an ergogenic aid for high-intensity exercise. Beta-alanine supplementation increases intramuscular carnosine concentrations, which may enhance intracellular buffering capacity by regulating hydrogen ion accumulation and delaying fatigue during intense activity.^1,2 Although much research has examined beta-alanine supplementation in endurance, sprinting, and repeated high-intensity exercise contexts …

Are You Listening?, Hanna H. Eyre

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the interconnection between music, religion, and a feminist lens in the form of a sixteen-song Christian album. The content of the music broaches topics specific to women’s issues including family dynamics, maternal mortality, and invisible labor while also covering more broad topics of repentance, developing a more nuanced relationship with the Savior, recognizing divinity in ourselves and others, and our Heavenly Mother. This paper includes the groundwork research and experiences that led me to write this album, the methods I took to write, record, and produce the album, and an analysis of how the music changed, and …

Beyond The Flames: A Comparative Analysis Of Wildfire Preparedness And Relief In California, Ej Smith

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Wildfires in California have devastated homes and communities, with the 2024–2025 Los Angeles fires ranking among the deadliest in state history, killing 31 people and burning more than 37,000 acres across densely populated neighborhoods. In response to these fires, fire services, municipal governments, and nongovernmental organizations coordinated immediate relief efforts across multiple jurisdictions. This research uses a multiple-case study approach to examine the Eaton, Palisades, Line, and Bridge fires to identify practices that supported life safety and response effectiveness, as well as challenges that constrained response operations. Findings indicate that when environmental conditions exceeded suppression capacity, response outcomes within responder …

Stacking Moves: How Digital Platforms Sequence Value Creation, Jonathan M. Dickson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines how large digital platform firms evolve by adding new platform types over time. Using the four-type framework developed by Bryce, Dyer, and Van Alstyne—transaction, connection, innovation, and collaboration—I trace the platform histories of seven firms: Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Tencent, and Alibaba. For each firm, I classify every qualifying platform event as a base platform, a stacking move (a new interaction that draws on an existing platform's users or architecture), or a standalone platform (a new platform that operates independently). Across seventy-plus events, four findings emerge:

1. Firms stack new platform types in predictable sequences shaped by …

The Mediterranean Diet As A Protective Factor Against Tobacco-Induced Lung Cancer: Insights From The Italian Population, Morgan V. Roundy

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Lung cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer among men and the third among women in Italy, representing a major public health concern. This ecological, cross-sectional study examined and analyzed regional patterns of smoking prevalence, Mediterranean diet adherence, and age-adjusted lung cancer incidence across Italy, stratified by sex, using publicly available regional and macro-regional data and accounting for age structure and air quality. Smoking prevalence and lung cancer incidence were higher among males than females nationwide, although regional lung cancer patterns did not consistently mirror smoking prevalence, particularly among females. High adherence to the Mediterranean diet was low across …

Full Issue

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

No abstract provided.

He Sings In The Spirit Of His Father, Calle Friedner

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

It’s a beautiful summer’s day. We are in Jussi Björling’s and his family’s summer paradise on Siarö in the archipelago north of Stockholm, now divided between the two siblings, Ann- Charlotte and Lars. He has built a house of his own and couple of out-buildings in the part of the site where Jussi’s singing studio is situated. Lars is happy: this day he and his wife Leila have been married for exactly seven weeks. We’ll come back to that.

The outdoor temperature is 77 degrees F, but we are sitting talking in the shadow of the trees. Lars says it …

Full Issue

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

No abstract provided.

Jussi’S Return To The Metropolitan Opera In 1959, Don Goldberg

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

The spring of 1957 was a difficult time for me. I had planned to attend every Bjoerling performance during the 1957-58 season not knowing in the spring of ’57 that those Met performances would be his last ones for two seasons. So the announcement of Jussi’s return to the Met on November 16, 1959 in Cavalleria Rusticana was to begin a special season for me. Getting tickets for that performance involved standing on a long line that stretched down Thirty-ninth Street down to Broadway.

Who Is God: Examining Explicit Beliefs About God, Scrupulosity, Suicidal Ideation, And Pscyhopathology, Katelynn L. Payne

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Religion has often been cited as a protective factor against psychopathology and suicidal ideation. However, this pattern does not always hold true. In this study, I sought to understand these exceptions by examining the relationship between explicit beliefs about God, scrupulosity, suicidal ideation, and psychological well-being among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). 105 adults were recruited and completed self-report measures related to the study variables. Negative explicit beliefs were positively correlated with scrupulosity, depression, anxiety, stress, and suicidal ideation. Scrupulosity was also positively correlated with depression, anxiety, stress, and suicidal ideation. Positive beliefs were …

Quantifying Location-Based Variability Of Regional Brain Metabolism Using Microsamples From Apoe Knock-In Mice, Jason G. Wells, Esteban G. Colman, John C. Price

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is an important lipid transporter in the brain. There are three different ApoE variants: ApoE2, ApoE3, and ApoE4. Each of these variants either contribute to or protect against Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The Hippocampus (HC) and the Entorhinal Region (ER) of the brain consistently develop AD pathology first. We hypothesize that ApoE variants affect lipid and protein metabolism in these regions more strongly than in others. Differences in the regional regulation and the ApoE-isoform impacts of these metabolic pathways remain unknown.

We measured brain protein turnover rates in ApoE knock-in mice labeled with deuterated water. Using a laser …

Understanding Red Nichols' Career Through Biographical Study Of His Early Life From 1905-1927, Carter Glass

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines Utah-born hot jazz cornetist Ernest “Red” Nichols’ early life through a biographical lens. Using resources that include the University of Utah Historical Newspaper Database, the thesis provides details about Nichols’ childhood as a performer, and as the son of Utah music professor and clarinetist Ernest W. Nichols. These details include information on tours and performances Red and his siblings performed across the state of Utah. Additionally, the thesis argues that the music Nichols played throughout his childhood, including on his tours, was highly influential on the style of solo playing Nichols used in his early recording career. …

“I Know He Would Do Anything If I Asked”: To All The Boys I’Ve Loved Before, Female Power Fantasy, And The Ya Romance, Ilse Eskelsen

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The female power fantasy in which a powerless woman conquers a powerful man, thereby symbolically winning his status within the patriarchy for herself, is a classic feature of adult romance. It is visible, too, in YA romances like Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Sitting in tension with this inheritance from adult romance is the fact that YA is generally expected to be pedagogical, teaching young readers how to live and love well. In blending pedagogy with power fantasy and its associated escapism, To All the Boys essentially upcycles the tropes of adult romance for young …

Repurpose, Reuse, Recycle: Exploring Sustainability Solutions With Denim, Larissa Otterstrom

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This literature review and recommendation report was created in order to compile the current research surrounding sustainable fashion, denim textiles, and textile waste. The review is focused on the current state of the fashion industry, specifically with denim textiles. Denim is a high-use fabric, known for its durability and versatility. However, with the rise of the fast fashion industry, in which textiles are being produced at a faster rate but at a lower quality, and denim is no longer being designed to last. There is limited research on how this shift in consumption patterns has impacted textile creation and the …

When The Muses Went Silent And Almost Died:, Thomas M. Hines

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

What would life be like if there were no fine or performing arts? If music could not be heard in public, if great paintings of famous artists of the past and present could not be seen—in other words, how would we adjust in an esthetically deprived existence? In truth, we could continue to see and hear; nature would still be around us, but the interpretative acuity of our senses would be dulled. Opportunities to witness works of art would not be readily available. Our creative images would be internalized and not reflective of visual or auditory models. It would be …

Albumin-Binding Domains In Therapeutic Protein Engineering: A Structural And Computational Perspective On Rational Design, Matthew Argyle, Dallin M. Chipman, Anna Claire Woolley, Bradley C. Bundy, Dennis Della Corte

Faculty Publications

Therapeutic proteins face a critical pharmacokinetic challenge: rapid clearance from circulation limits their clinical efficacy. Albumin-binding domains (ABDs) offer an elegant solution by enabling therapeutic proteins to “hitchhike” on serum albumin’s favorable 19-day half-life through FcRn-mediated recycling. Clinical validation through approved therapeutics like ozoralizumab demonstrates the success of this approach, with preclinical studies showing fusion to an ABD extended half-life to 18 days. This review provides an analysis of ABD-fusion protein design, integrating structural biology, computational prediction, and rational engineering principles. We catalog the major classes of albumin-binding modalities, including bacterial three-helix bundle domains, engineered peptides, antibody-derived binders, and alternative …

Front Matter, Vol. 17

Monographs of the Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

From Islands To Mountains:, Stephanie Velasco Poserio

Swiss American Historical Society Review

This reflection, by Ms. A. Martinez, a Filipino-American living and working in diversity education at a castle museum near Bern, Switzerland, highlights how cultural connections are maintained even when one is geographically distant from one’s country of origin. In addition to Ms. Martinez’s Filipino-American perspective, I met and interviewed others who shared their stories as Filipino or Filipino-Swiss migrants. The migration of Filipinos from the islands of the Philippines to the mountains of Switzerland illustrates a dynamic journey that began with labor migration in the early 1970s and reflects a vibrant diaspora today. This article presents a cultural and historical …

Hollywood’S Toughest Stunt Clan Comes From Gossau, Canton St. Gallen:, Roland Schäfli

Swiss American Historical Society Review

Hans Epper from eastern Switzerland conquered Hollywood as a stuntman in the 1930s. His descendants continue to perform death-defying stunts for Quentin Tarantino and Steven Spielberg to this day. A family history like something out of a movie.

When Hans Epper arrived in New York on Whit Monday (the day after Pentecost) in 1926, he gave his name as “John” to the immigration authorities.

He discarded “Hans” just as he wanted to discard his origins: his past in the eastern Swiss municipality of Gossau. An official at the town hall of the industrial village in St. Gallen had scribbled “Off …

President’S Annual Report, Thomas Quinn Marabello

Swiss American Historical Society Review

The past year has been a very busy and fruitful one for the Swiss American Historical Society (SAHS), with many developments and achievements. We formed new partnerships, engaged in outreach, published a book, began our centennial plans, and gained 35 new members (many of whom are not Swiss)!

2025 began with us awarding a grant to Celeste Onchuck, an SAHS member and doctoral student who is writing her dissertation about Huldrych Zwingli and her ancestors, the Gallmann family who immigrated to South Carolina (her article exploring some of this is in this issue). The grant allowed Celeste to travel to …

Alma Gildenhorn:, C. Naseer Ahmad

Swiss American Historical Society Review

Alma Lee Gildenhorn (née Alma Lee Gross), born on January 14, 1932, in Baltimore, Maryland, is a distinguished American philanthropist, civic leader, and cultural advocate whose life exemplifies service, generosity, and dedication to the public good. Over the course of more than seven decades, she has played an influential role in advancing education, strengthening U.S.–Swiss relations, promoting the arts, and supporting countless community institutions.