Digital Commons Network^™

Preventing, Perceiving, And Post-Venting Suicide: A Guide For Teachers, For Their Students, Justin Vance

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

To aid teachers with intense time constraints, the following summary includes the bolded, most important points in the paper:

• Thank you for caring about your students; by doing more than just teaching your content, you will change lives ... and may save some.

• Teachers are not responsible for student suicide; we carry enough responsibility already.

• Genuine, assertive communication of confidence and support fosters the safe environment needed.

• Improvements to how we view and speak about suicide can help reshape how young people think about it.

• As young men lose what they care about in pursuit …

Medicaid Expansion And Diagnosis-Targeted Cost Shifting Behavior: The Case Of Diabetic Treatment And Insulin Pricing, Hayden Garff Hubbard

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Nine years after passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and five years after the Medicaid expansion roll-out, the debate and cost-benefit analysis on U.S. health reform rages on. While many impacts of the ACA remain unmeasured or inconclusive due to mixed research claims and the complexities inherent to healthcare, widespread research interest on the effects of Medicaid expansion have led to some early findings regarding cost, access and quality.

Building The Medieval Trebuchet, Daniel A. Bertrand

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The counterweight trebuchet was the heavy artillery of the Middle Ages, using gravity to hurl projectiles and destroy fortifications. In use from the mid-12^th century until the mid-15^th century, trebuchets became huge machines. Some were more than 60 feet tall and threw stones weighing more than 300lbs farther than 300 yards. These weapons changed the landscape of Europe until being replaced by later gunpowder cannons.

It is unclear how trebuchets were conceived or constructed. While replica historical machines have been made in modern times, the methods of building and assembling trebuchets have not been widely published. Learning how …

Determining The Need For Meal Preparation Education In First-Year University Students, Alicia Kunzler

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Background: In previous research, college students reported low confidence and varying skill in meal preparation ability. This study evaluates first-year university students to determine the acceptability of meal preparation programming for this population.

Objective: To assess university freshmen's skill level, confidence, and interest in food budgeting, meal planning, and cooking techniques to determine potential interventions.

Methods: First-year university students (n=265; 58 men, 205 women) were recruited through Facebook and email invitations to complete a 50-item survey. Survey categories included skills/confidence in food budgeting (8), meal planning (12), and cooking techniques 12); class interest (4), student background information (9), and general …

Fermentation Of Prebiotics In Whole Food Powders By Probiotic Lactic-Acid Producing Bacterial Strains To Identify Synbiotic Combinations, Michaela Brubaker

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Dietary interventions with probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and prebiotics, complex dietary fibers that promote LAB growth, may favorably shift the gut microbiome to reduce colorectal cancer risk. Our primary hypothesis was that the LAB strains NCFM Lactobacillus acidophilus and HNO 19 Bifidobacterium lactis would thrive in the presence of agave, green banana, black raspberry, baobab fruit, or pomegranate peel whole food powders by fermenting their oligosaccharide (OS) components into lactic acid end products. LAB strains were cultured in media with no carbohydrate, purified OS, or one of the whole food powders. LAB strains cultured with agave appeared to grow …

Analyzing Fear Free Veterinary Practices And Their Effectiveness In Managing Client And Patient Fear, Anxiety, And Stress, And The Profitability Of These Techniques, Heather Hamblin

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Fear-Free veterinary techniques are a new approach to caring for patients and clients in the veterinary clinic that have gained a great deal of popularity and traction. However, many veterinary professionals are left to question whether the utilization of these practices is resulting in a big enough change in client and patient stress levels to make it worth implementing these methods. This research looks into the views of veterinarians and clients on the effectiveness of these practices, and the competitive advantage of having a fear-free certified clinic from a business point of view.

Percussive Behavior In The Southern Resident Killer Whale (Orcinus Orca) Population At Lime Kiln Point State Park, Rylee Jensen

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The endangered Southern Resident Killer Whale (Orcinus orca, SRKW) is an iconic species in the Pacific Northwest. Although many ecological aspects of this population have been studied, including population dynamics, genealogy, diet, and habitat-use patterns, why SRKW perform above-surface "percussive" behavior such as breaching, cartwheeling, pectoral fin slapping, tail lobbing, and dorsal fin slapping remains unclear. In the present study, a) individual percussive behavioral data was recorded during the summer of 2016 to evaluate trends by age and sex class, and b) an existing long-term data set on SRKW was analyzed to compare the relationship between the seasonal …

Evaluating The Potential Of Repurposing Commercially Available Drugs For The Treatment Of Viral Infections, Brennan Connor Mcewan

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Viral infections that are often overlooked as common seasonal illnesses such as influenza can rapidly become a public threat. They threaten society as new, more dangerous strains of these common viruses emerge and as strains develop resistance to current vaccines and antiviral treatments (Kochanek, Murphy, Xu, & Tejada-Vera, 2014). To combat this, the development of antiviral treatments with novel mechanisms of action is essential. Repurposing drugs instead of developing new drugs can save years of development time and hundreds of millions of dollars (DiMasi, Hansen, & Grabowski, 2003). To support the effort to discover drugs with unique mechanisms of action, …

Natural History Field Guide: Common Ground Outdoor Adventures, Casey Ann Trout

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Common Ground Outdoor Adventures (Common Ground) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Logan, Utah. Americorps VISTA volunteer Kate Stephens initially founded Common Ground in 1993 to enhance adaptive recreational opportunities for individuals with physical disabilities in the Cache Valley community. The organization has grown since that time and is now a fully-staffed entity which annually serves 3,600 individuals. It works with individuals with a variety of disabilities, including cognitive, physical, and emotional. Considering that there are systematic and social barriers to individuals with disabilities participating in outdoor recreation activities, the role that Common Ground plays to provide opportunities to these …

Young Germ Cell Depleted Ovaries In Post-Reproductive Mice And Its Effects On Immune Function, Mckenna Walters

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

It has previously been shown that young, cycling ovarian transplantation in aged female mice increased the general health and life span in regard to their post-reproductive health. It has further been hypothesized that this enhancement of health is directly influenced by the ovarian somatic cells. To address this hypothesis, transplants of young germ cell depleted and germ cell containing ovaries were performed on female mice. The purpose of this study is to continue to discern the reproductive influence on aging health, specifically in the area of immunological well-being. Control group mice were separated by age and treatment mice were subsequently …

Transcriptomic Analysis Of Honey Bees Exposed To Organosilicone, Matthew Brent Thompson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Honey bees play an important role in agriculture and the decline of honey bee populations worldwide has generated concern. While the application of pesticides in agricultural settings is often implicated in the deterioration of honey bee population health, pesticide applications contain more than just pesticides; they also contain adjuvants that may have detrimental effects to bee health. One known effect of one type of adjuvant is the suppression of immunity-related genes and consequent increase of viral load in larvae. We investigate the effects of one class of adjuvant, organosilicone surfactants (OSS), on adult honey bee health. In a laboratory based …

Manipulation Of Ovarian Function Significantly Influenced Glucose Metabolism In Cba/J Mice, Kyleigh Ann Tyler

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Menopause is associated with a decline in overall health in women. One health aspect impacted is glucose metabolism. As women experience menopause, their metabolism declines dramatically. The current study addressed the influence of ovarian somatic cells on the improvement of metabolic health through transplantations of young, germ cell-depleted ovaries. The purpose of this study is to expand the understanding of female reproductive health on metabolism. Control mice were grouped by age and treatment mice were age-matched. Treatment mice were placed into one of three groups: 1) mice received germ cell-depleted ovaries, 2) mice received germ cell-containing ovaries, and 3) mice …

"I Don't Want To Have A Weird Relationship With You, So I'M Trying": Relational Turning Points And Trajectories Of Ex-Lds Children And Their Active Lds Parents, Jared Worwood

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Ex-LDS individuals face a unique and often turbulent time in their relationship with their parent if the individual decides to leave the LDS Church. To explore this phenomena, we investigated the turning points and relational trajectories of ex-LDS children and their interactions with their active LDS parent. Thirty emerging adult children were interviewed using the retrospective interviewing technique (RIT). Through turning point analysis, we identified 14 turning points: (1) Discussions of values and beliefs, (2) decrease in church participation, (3) moving out, (4) physical proximity, (5) critical family events, (6) parent realizations, (7) sibling events, (8) romantic life events, (9) …

Effects Of Reproductive Maturity On Neuroplasticity In Male Bumble Bees (Bombus Impatiens), Karlee Eck

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Within the span of an insect's lifetime, new synaptic connections between neurons are made in response to age and experience. This neuroplasticity leads to anatomical changes within individual brain regions that represent investment in different brain functions. The neuroplasticity of female bumble bees has been well studied, but almost nothing is known about how the male bee brain responds to life experiences. Due to the complex sensory requirements of mate finding and copulation for males, neuroplasticity is likely to be an important component of reproduction. These sensory requirements include olfactory and optic inputs, which are processed in the calyces of …

Body Dissatisfaction And Weight Bias In Children, Megan Janette Jensen

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This article reviews the rate of body dissatisfaction and weight bias among young children. It was initially hypothesized that body-image begins much earlier than adolescence, where most interventions take place. Out of fifty articles read on the subject, forty-five peer reviewed articles were included in this review. The findings of these articles were synthesized for a comprehensive review on the topic. Results suggested that weight bias begins around three years of age, while body dissatisfaction begins around age five for girls, and seven for boys. Rates of body dissatisfaction among children were similar to the rate among adolescents, averaging out …

Cultural Tactics Of Salvadoran Gangs Offer Chance For Us To Weaken Ms-13, Hannah Penner

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This paper uses the Cultural Topography framework employed by the intelligence community to assess cultural factors of the MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha) gang organization that have policy relevance to US national security. MS-13, though originally founded in the 1980s in a small sector of LA, has evolved into an international gang with a reputation of ultraviolence with a recent increase in gang activity. By striving to explore components of MS-13's identity, values, norms of behavior, and perceptions, this research can be used to create a more timely and effective strategy in combatting the present MS-13 threat within the United States. After …

A Review Of Osteoarthritis, Madelin Brooke Session

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease which plagues many older animals and humans. It is a disease that is characterized by the degeneration of joint cartilage, inflammation, as well as chronic pain and stiffness that results from this disorder. Unfortunately, most of the treatments for this painful and chronic disease mostly involve pain management and temporary relief strategies. These strategies usually include pain medication, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, injectable lubricants, as well as surgical techniques. However, because these treatments are just temporary fixes meant for pain management and to improve quality of life they must continue throughout the remainder of the …

Examining The Usability Of Content In Canvas: Html Vs. Pdf, Danni Noyes

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The mission statement of Utah State University (USU) includes “serving the public through learning, discovery and engagement.” In order to engage the diverse 27,932 students (Fall 2018 headcount including regional campuses), USU produces accessible content. Although accessible content is available to USU’s students, it is presented as an alternative to the original product rather than as a product itself. Thus, students must seek out this alternative, accessible content in order to engage with it. This pilot study indicates that content in Canvas should be made accessible from the beginning of its creation as is specified by the Theories of Universal …

The Effect Of A Surfactant Seed Coating On The Germination And Growth Of Three Native Bulrushes, Anders Hart

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Great Salt Lake (GSL) wetlands provide vital ecosystem services, including habitat for migratory birds. Alkali bulrush (Bolboschoenus maritimus), hardstem bulrush (Schoenoplectus acutus), and three-square bulrush (Schoenoplectus americanus) play an important role in providing these services, but invasion by Phragmites australis has reduced the extent these species in GSL wetlands. Restoring these native bulrushes following Phragmites removal is a primary goal for GSL managers. However, climate change and increasing human water demands upstream may alter the hydropattem of GSL wetlands, leading to lower soil moisture availability and potentially inhibiting germination and establishment of these species. …

How Can Occupational Licensing Reforms Improve Access To Dental Care?, Jacob M. Caldwell, Brian Isom

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Occupational licensing laws have a large effect on the American economy and requirements affect all levels of professional work, from hairdressers and plumbers to doctors and lawyers.Those laws vary by state and exist to protect consumers from asymmetric information problems. Yet a growing body of literature finds that occupational licensing raises costs for consumers without necessarily raising the quality of service.

The dental field is one such sector of employment that commonly is licensed. Oral health is an important indicator of overall individual health and general wellbeing. Unfortunately, consumers lack access to dental care in many parts of the United …