Digital Commons Network^™

Ecological Drivers Of Habitat Selection And Maternal Survival In Female Mule Deer (Odocoileus Hemionus), Brady R. Knight

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the ecological and biological factors that influence habitat selection by mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) is crucial for effective management. Mule deer select cover, forage, and water, each critical to energy acquisition and survival of mule deer. Here, we evaluate the factors that influence habitat selection and reproductive decisions by mule deer . In chapter one we evaluate the influence of treatments to restore quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) on habitat selection by mule deer. We hypothesized that mule deer would not use habitats randomly because of variability in nutrition and perceived risk of predation. We predicted that areas with aspen …

Ethical Review Of Discipline-Based Education Research: Ensuring Fair Treatment For All, E. Elias Johnson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

As universities grapple with funding cuts and heightened social and political pressure, the emerging field of Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER) aims to improve student learning outcomes through experimental instruction. While using instruction as an experiment, with hypotheses and experimental tests, DBER research may affect student learning and experience in unintended ways for students involved in these classes. To address this concern, I impose ethical frameworks, namely contractualism, to better understand how the values of each stakeholder, students enrolled in experimental courses and researchers using these courses to test hypotheses, interact. I also identify potential misalignments. Following a contractual ethical framework, …

Automating Adjustable Storm Evacuation Sites For Local Governments, Bailee Kinghorn, Emma Milne, Camille Heaton

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

Using ArcGIS Pro and ArcPy 3.4, we built a tool that scrapes the National Hurricane Center and NOAA GIS databases for current shapefiles, Users choose relevant hurricane track, storm sure, or high-wind layers, specify units and distance, and generate customizable evacuation buffers around selected features, which are automatically added to their map for analysis.

Unveiling The Genomic Blueprint Of Two Pantoea Agglomerans Phages: Lia And Yaegar As Emerging Members Of The Chaseviridae Family, Leslie M. Ewool

Theses and Dissertations

Bacteriophages represent an essential component of microbial ecosystems and a promising resource for biocontrol. This study presents a comprehensive comparative genomic and evolutionary characterization of two novel bacteriophages that infect Pantoea agglomerans, Lia and Yaegar, belonging to the Loessnervirus genus within the Chaseviridae family. Both Lia and Yaegar possess double-stranded DNA genomes of approximately 54 kb with 44.4% GC content and 82 predicted open reading frames (ORFs). Functional annotation revealed distinct modules for replication, structural assembly, and lysis, but no genes associated with lysogeny, antibiotic resistance, or virulence. Average nucleotide identity (ANI) analysis indicated over 96% similarity between Lia, Yaegar, …

Toward Understanding Multi-Agent Decision Making In Complex Societies, Jonathan Skaggs

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates Multi Agent Decision Making (MADM) within Complex Societies (CS), systems of interdependent agents whose collective behaviors emerge from local interactions. Such emergent dynamics are nonlinear and difficult to predict, posing significant challenges towards understanding how individual decisions scale to societal outcomes. Existing approaches often fall short of capturing the combined attributes of CS, including asymmetry, decentralization, and adaptivity. To address this gap, we introduce new models and analyses of agent strategies that explain how cooperation and stability can arise in CS. Structured around three interrelated projects, this dissertation enhances our comprehension of MADM in CS. The research …

Improving Food Security: Determining Risk Zones For Toxic Crop Contamination, Parker J. Peterson, Cade Smith, Kirsten Sanders, Ruth Kerry, Sean Young

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

Aflatoxin contamination causes significant food waste and poses liver cancer risks to humans and livestock consuming infected corn. This study identifies high-risk years and locations in Texas by analyzing relationships between drought conditions, remote sensing data (NDVI and Thermal IR), and insurance claims for spoiled crops, enabling targeted interventions to reduce contamination and waste.

Disclosing Mental Disorders: Whether, When, How, And With Whom To Share A Mental Disorder Diagnosis To Maximize The Likelihood Of Receiving A Positive Response, Eli Z. Hendricks

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

Individuals with mental disorders face complex decisions about whether, when, how, and to whom they disclose their diagnosis. Disclosure is significant because it can lead to both substantial positive and negative outcomes. This review examined how disclosure outcomes differ across five major classifications of mental disorders. Through a search of three academic databases, 23 relevant articles were identified and analyzed. Findings indicate that both the likelihood and type of disclosure outcomes vary considerably by diagnosis. Furthermore, the optimal disclosure strategy, which maximizes the likelihood of positive outcomes, is unique for each disorder. The optimal timing, context, and audience are also …

"Judge Not The Stranger": Partisanship, Social Media, And Support For Immigration Tactics, Mary Moody, Esme Bolander, Emma Thomas

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

Public opinion polls on immigration in the United States largely focus on gaps between parties and partisans. We provide a new approach, with a novel survey experiment employing randomized vignettes. We find that respondent gender, candidate gender, and candidate country of origin are insignificant predictors of immigration preferences. However, candidates with negative social media posts about the United States government were significantly more likely to face deportation, regardless of a respondent’s partisanship. This has important implications for understanding American citizens’ perceptions of immigration, free speech, and who is welcome in the United States.

Examining The Impact Of Social Media On The Nutrition Decisions Of College Students And Their Attitudes Toward Nutritional Guidelines, Katlyn Neibaur

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Social media is becoming an increasingly popular platform used by young people to garner information, but this information is not always accurate. Understanding the degree of influence social media has on college students’ dietary habits and attitudes toward nutritional guidelines is vital for improving nutrition literacy efforts and creating policies to protect against nutritional misinformation. This study examined the associations between the social media habits of college students, their attitudes toward nutritional guidelines, and their ability to detect nutritional misinformation. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 457 undergraduate students at Brigham Young University. The content validity of the survey was …

Fabrication And Evaluation Of Large Alumina Crucibles By Vat Photopolymerization Additive Manufacturing For High-Temperature Actinide Chemistry, R. Joey Griffiths, Christy Santoyo, Jean-Baptise Forien, Bradley Childs, Andrew J. Swift, Andrew Cho, Alexander Wilson-Heid, George Ankrah, Devin Rappleye, Aiden A. Martin, Jason Jeffries, Kiel Holliday

Faculty Publications

Additive manufacturing (AM) offers opportunities to advance the design and function of ceramic tooling in high temperature actinide pyrochemistry. In technical ceramics such as alumina, conventional forming techniques often restrict design flexibility and can limit experimental progress. In this study, we investigate the use of vat photopolymerization (VP) with commercial resins to fabricate large-scale alumina crucibles, reaching dimensions up to 125 mm, which is significantly larger than typically reported for dense VP ceramics. Notably, these additively manufactured components are produced using consumer-grade hardware, which limits process control, but offers significant upside in scalability and accessibility. Using microscopy and X-ray computed …

Polydopamine-Coated Magnetic Nanoparticles Data, William G. Pitt

ScholarsArchive Data

This data archive contains raw data and processed data related to research and development of magnetic nanoparticles that adhere to bacteria. This data is the foundation of data in the MS thesis of Bowen Houser, and publications and presentations related to that research effort. Polydopamine-coated magnetic nanoparticles are found to be very adhesive to gram-positive bacteria, and less adhesive to gram-negative bacteria. These data files contain information for S. aureus, S. epidermidis, S. mutans, E. coli, P. aeruginosa, and N. perflava. Some data include the kinetics of capture.

Data Release Of 5-Fluorouracil From Polylactic Acid Microparticles Containing Magnetic Nanoparticles, William G. Pitt

ScholarsArchive Data

This data archive contains raw data and processed data related to research and development of the release of the chemotherapy drug 5-fluororacil from microparticles of poly(lactic acid) which also contain superparamagnetic magnetite nanoparticles. This data is the foundation of data in the MS thesis of Tyler Green, and publications and presentations related to that research effort.

An Updated Perspective On Learning, Andrew S. Gibbons Iii

Faculty Publications

The subject of human learning is revisited. The emergence of new research findings in cognitive neuroscience and related disciplines using new imaging tools and techniques has revealed the existence of not one but two complementary learning systems. A newly-discovered prospection process, interacting with both memory systems, has been revealed as the pivotal mechanism of learning that leads to new experience and new memory records. The universal impact of emotion on this process also receives a new emphasis. This, coupled with the ever-present social environment, show learning to be the result of conversational activity. The existence of this more complete and …

When Scripts Diverge: Strengthening Low-Resource Neural Machine Translation Through Phonetic Cross-Lingual Transfer, Ammon Shurtz

Theses and Dissertations

Multilingual Neural Machine Translation (MNMT) models enhance translation quality for low-resource languages by exploiting cross-lingual similarities during training--a process known as knowledge transfer. This transfer is particularly effective between languages that share lexical or structural features, often enabled by a common orthography. However, languages with strong phonetic and lexical similarities but distinct writing systems experience limited benefits, as the absence of a shared orthography hinders knowledge transfer. To address this limitation, we propose an approach based on phonetic information that enhances token-level alignment across scripts by leveraging transliterations. We systematically evaluate several phonetic transcription techniques and strategies for incorporating phonetic …

Navigating Structure, Function, And Stability: Bridging Immunotherapy And Protein Engineering In The Era Of Machine Learning, Christopher J. Haynie

Theses and Dissertations

The immune system is a remarkably adaptive network, yet it often fails to function optimally due to evasion strategies of pathogens or mutated cells. Many of these evasion strategies involve alterations in protein expression and function. Protein design is an area of computational biology with potential applications in improving protein function and therapeutic protein engineering. This thesis explores methods to enhance immune function and protein design across multiple scales, from molecular engineering of antibody fragments and chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) to cellular immune responses, and computational approaches for protein structure optimization. We characterize Thymidine Kinase 1-specific single-chain antibodies, highlighting both …

Strategic Management And Profit Optimization In Major League Baseball: A Framework For Sustainable Franchise Success, Cole Bourne

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the strategic, economic, and operational forces that drive profitability in Major League Baseball (MLB), positioning franchises not merely as sports teams but as complex, multi-revenue businesses. As the league evolves into a multi-billion-dollar industry shaped by expanding media rights, rising player salaries, and increasing market disparities, financial sustainability requires a blend of data-driven decision-making and modern business strategy. Through analysis of revenue streams, cost structures, market dynamics, and case studies, this work identifies the key levers that differentiate successful franchises from struggling ones.

The study outlines how media contracts—both national and local—serve as the backbone of MLB …

Our Teens Are Not Okay, But They Can Be: An Application Of The Family Firo Method To Improve Parent-Adolescent Communication About Suicide, Janene Pack Lpc, Cmhc, Peder Schillemat

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

This article explores the critical role of parent-teen communication in the mental well-being of teenagers, with a particular focus on its connection to suicide risk. A particular focus is on teens who live in Utah as the suicide rate for Utah teens and young adults is almost twice the national average. Despite the focus on families and religion in Utah, a significant number of teens continue to struggle with loneliness, hopelessness, and even thoughts of suicide. One key contributing factor to this struggle is the lack of open, supportive communication between Utah teens and their parents. The absence of effective …

Scrupulosity Ocd And How It Can Affect Our Clients’ Relationship With God, Annabella Hagen

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

This article explores various aspects of scrupulosity OCD, starting with the misconceptions about OCD that persist in society and their impact on treatment, along with a discussion of the disorder’s prevalence. It examines common OCD themes, provides a deeper understanding of religious scrupulosity, and clarifies how individuals become trapped in the scrupulosity OCD cycle. Specific triggers within the LDS Church are highlighted, alongside religious considerations such as distinguishing scrupulosity from genuine religiosity and discerning between spiritual promptings and OCD-driven thoughts. The article also addresses barriers to care unique to the LDS community and offers clinician recommendations, including an overview of …

Georgia Mae Wahlin Bello, Myrna J. Layton

Faculty Publications

Georgia Mae Wahlin Bello (February 13, 1924 – November 5, 2007) was an accomplished vocalist and pianist who was also a “one hit wonder” composer.

Earl C. Hazelle, Myrna J. Layton

Faculty Publications

Earl Charles Hazelle (February 1, 1906 – November 22, 1993) was a pianist, organist, accordionist and a composer of music for all three instruments as well as vocal music. He was also an accomplished painter in oils. Hazelle taught both music and art lessons for many years.

Newel Kay Brown, Myrna J. Layton

Faculty Publications

Newel Kay Brown (February 29, 1932 – ) is an American composer, conductor, and arranger. He was chair of the Composition Division in the College of Music at the University of North Texas before his retirement.

Frances K. Thomassen Taylor, Myrna J. Layton

Faculty Publications

Frances Eliza Warren Kingsbury Thomassen Taylor (January 21, 1870 – November 17, 1952) was an organist, composer and member of the General Board of the Primary Associations.

Moiselle Renstrom, Myrna J. Layton

Faculty Publications

Katherine Moiselle Renstrom (June 23, 1889 – September 28, 1956) was a Utah educator, author, lyricist and composer of music for children.

Mildred Tanner Pettit, Myrna J. Layton

Faculty Publications

Laura Mildred Tanner Pettit (August 9, 1895 – April 9, 1977) is best known as the composer of the iconic Primary song, I am a Child of God. Much of the music composed by Sister Pettit was aimed at children and can be found in various publications of the Primary Association of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, Sister Pettit wrote dance music and operettas which were performed widely. She sometimes choreographed and directed the productions as well.

Edwin F. Parry, Myrna J. Layton

Faculty Publications

Edwin Francis Parry (June 11, 1860 – September 16, 1935) was a Utah typesetter, printer and writer who also loved music. He sang, played the organ and piano, wrote song lyrics and composed many songs and hymns.

Irene (Christopherson) Tempest, Myrna J. Layton

Faculty Publications

Irene Ellen Nelson Christopherson Tempest (January 19, 1904 – February 9, 1988) was a Utah pianist, organist and composer.

Marie Manwaring Anderson, Myrna J. Layton

Faculty Publications

Teresa Marie Manwaring Anderson (July 8, 1913 – February 23, 2002) was an Idaho composer, pianist, music teacher and choral director.

Maurine Dewsnup, Myrna J. Layton

Faculty Publications

Grace Maurine Dewsnup (February 8, 1909 – February 1, 1998) was a Utah piano soloist, dance accompanist, composer, music theorist and teacher.

Marie Nelson Bennett, Myrna J. Layton

Faculty Publications

Marie Nelson Bennett (June 15, 1926 – November 18, 2018) was an American composer.

Chronosort: Revealing Hidden Dynamics In Alphafold3 Structure Predictions, Matthew J. Argyle, William P. Heaps, Corbyn Kubalek, Spencer Gardiner, Bradley C. Bundy, Dennis Della Corte

Faculty Publications

Protein function emerges from dynamic conformational changes, yet structure prediction methods provide only static snapshots. While AlphaFold3 (AF3) predicts protein structures, the potential for extracting dynamic information from its ensemble predictions has remained underexplored. Here, we demonstrate that AF3 structural ensembles contain substantial dynamic information that correlates remarkably well with molecular dynamics simulations (MD). We developed ChronoSort, a novel algorithm that organizes static structure predictions into temporally coherent trajectories by minimizing structural differences between neighboring frames. Through systematic analysis of four diverse protein targets, we show that root-mean-square fluctuations derived from AF3 ensembles can correlate strongly with those from MD …