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Freeze-Drying As Chromobacterium Violaceum's Preservation Method For The Bixo Mission, Martín Blanco Prego, Zavier Manuel De Rada Piñeiro, Manuel Diz-Folgar, Daniel García-Lojo

Small Satellite Conference

Over the past few years, the space sector has witnessed a growing interest in exploring how biological organisms, such as Escherichia coli or Saccharomyces cerevisiae, respond to high radiation and microgravity environments. Among the various biological space missions, CubeSats, particularly SmallSats, have emerged as a popular platform for conducting such experiments owing to their reduced size and cost-effectiveness, which allows for the integration of miniaturized labs to study microorganisms onboard. However, the biggest challenge facing such missions is the preservation of living organisms for extended periods before the start of the experiments.

The UVigo SpaceLab team is currently developing a …

Development And Characterization Of A Vectored Electrospray Thruster, Ivan Savytskyy, Manish Jugroot

Small Satellite Conference

Next-generation nanosatellite missions will require precise linear impulse and torque bits for optimized attitude and trajectory control. To address this requirement, a Vectored Electrospray Thruster (VET) that provides high-resolution multi-axis attitude actuation via thrust vector control was investigated at the Royal Military College of Canada Advanced Propulsion and Plasma Exploration Laboratory (RAPPEL). The VET employs arrays of linear porous wedge emitters and uses pulse-width modulation to produce stepped emission differentials across the nanosatellite propulsion plane. A two-emitter prototype offering single-axis attitude actuation was developed to validate the thruster concept, and a custom power processing unit and complementary diagnostics suite were …

Tremblings, August 2023, Western Aspen Alliance

Tremblings

What drives oystershell scale invasions?

Connor Crouch

Kristen Waring

If you work with aspen in the American West, you may have heard of the invasive insect oystershell scale (OSS; Lepidosaphes ulmi). OSS was first observed causing aspen mortality in Arizona in 2016, and occurrences have since been observed in Utah, Nevada, and Idaho. One of the first questions we hear from practitioners about OSS-infested aspen is, “what’s causing these outbreaks?” This is an interesting question because OSS has been in North America for centuries and was documented on aspen in Arizona as early as the 1990s, but elevated incidents …

Precise Determination Of Charge Distributions In Electron Irradiated Polymers Via Pulsed Electroacoustic Measurements With Applications To Spacecraft Charging, Zachary Gibson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Understanding how charge builds up and moves around in materials that are highly insulating, such as dielectrics, is important for many applications from power transmission to spacecraft charging. The leading cause of issues in spacecraft due to interactions with the space environment is spacecraft charging. That is, the accumulation of charge on insulating materials leads to arcing and sparking aboard the spacecraft. The most critical charging occurs due to electrons in a particular energy range of 10-50 keV. Electrons with these energies can travel 1’s to 10’s of microns into relevant materials. To measure where the charge is embedded and …

Drug Cartels And Government In Mexico: A Replication And Extension, Lindsey A. Beckstead

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This paper analyzes the relationship between drug cartels and the government in Mexico. It also seeks to determine the reasons for an upsurge of violence and cartel related murders in Mexico.

Is Ownership Of Or Proximity To Residential Solar Installations Associated With Environmental Opinions And Civic Engagement?, Jace Colby

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Since 2019, solar energy has represented the largest portion of new electricity generating capacity in the United States. Previous research on who is likely to have installed solar panels on their homes has found some traits, such as political ideology and income, are associated with solar installations but conclusions are inconsistent. This research takes a novel approach by examining how the presence of solar panels, both at the individual and neighborhood level can correlate with an individual’s civic engagement and other characteristics - such as opinions about climate change and energy policies. I analyze multiple waves, or iterations, of large …

Contextualization Of El Salvador’S Need For A Powerful Executive: A Lockean Analysis Of Nayib Bukele's Approach To Public Security In A Historical, Political, And Social Synthesis, Manuel Agresio Girón Alemán

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

For most of the three decades that have presided over the Salvadoran Civil War, El Salvador has been a state tormented by high levels of crime, especially the country's homicide rate, a product of the strong presence of criminal organizations such as MS-13 and 18th Street Gang. The current president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, who took office in 2019, has declared war on gangs under a state of emergency where the human rights of suspected criminals are violated, particularly their due process guarantees. This has caused Bukele’s government to draw strong condemnation and criticism from foreign governments and human …

Surface-Functionalized Silica Nanocarriers For Mitigating Water Stress In Wheat And Benefiting The Root Microbiome, Anthony Cartwright

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Changes in climate and shifting patterns of drought threaten the growth of important cash crops like wheat. The element silicon serves as a plant nutrient and shows promise for strengthening wheat against drought while remaining safe to both the crop and the positive bacteria that grow on its roots. Silicon can be added to wheat in the form of silicon-dioxide nanoparticles featuring protective coatings made from plant-beneficial nutrients. These nanoparticles can be engineered with high surface area or porous structures allowing them to be loaded with additional nutrients that can be delivered to crops. In a laboratory setting, such nanoparticles …

#Bodypositivity Or #Bodypolitics?: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Body Positivity Myth Formed By Narratives Of Political Myth, Sydney Berenyi Lasike

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Body Positivity movement is well-known for advocating for the acceptance of all body types—including size, shape, color, and ability. Images online in support of the movement often showcase stretch marks, cellulite, and other “unattractive” bodily features to protest against the thin-ideal and strict standards of beauty placed upon women. Despite the goal to inspire self-love and celebration of all bodies, the hashtag #BodyPositivity has been taken-over by white, female influencers who have the idolized, female body. They contradict the original message of the movement through their posts on Instagram that centralize white feminine features and thin, Eurocentric bodies. This …

Antimicrobial Peptides In Transgenic Silkworm Silk, David Jaden Turner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Overview: People in India and China have produced silk textiles for thousands of years. Silk is a biodegradable, biocompatible compound used in the production of clothing, bedding, furniture, industrial materials, and medical applications. Over the last 30 years, research has increasingly investigated silk’s antimicrobial effects and how to augment its natural abilities. Antimicrobial peptides, or AMPs, are also an area of increasing interest as the rise of antibiotic resistance reduces the efficacy of current treatments. This project plans to systematically synthesize a fusion protein that incorporates the beneficial properties of each constituent into commercial silkworms.

Innovation: This project seeks to …

Designing A Rubric For Evaluating Curricular Resources In Montana's Indian Education For All Repository: A Design-Based Research Approach, Megan M. Hamilton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research study was to create an initial rubric to evaluate social studies lesson plans prior to their addition to Montana Office of Public Instruction’s online repository for Indian Education for All (IEFA) curriculum. In the first phase of this study, I examined Montana’s IEFA curriculum thematically to gain a better understanding of how Indigenous histories and perspectives are being represented using combined theoretical lenses of Tribal Critical Race Theory and culturally sustaining/ revitalizing pedagogy. In the second phase of this study, I used my thematic findings to inform the design of a theory-informed evaluative rubric. The …

Statistical Graph Quality Analysis Of Utah State University Master Of Science Thesis Reports, Ragan Astle

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Graphical software packages have become increasingly popular in our modern world, but there are concerns within the statistical visualization field about the default settings provided by these packages, which can make it challenging to create good quality graphs that align with standard graph principles. In this thesis, we investigate whether the quality of graphs from Utah State University (USU) Plan A Master of Science (MS) thesis reports from the years 1930 to 2019 was affected by the rise of graphical software packages. We collected all data stored on the USU Digital Commons website since November 2021 to determine the specific …

Making Space For Student Agency: A Multilayered Exploration Of Agency And Writing In A First‐Grade Classroom, Kara Decoursey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Early literacy learning is crucial for later success in reading and writing. We have a limited understanding of generative writing (i.e., expressing ideas in writing) in first grade and further research is warranted. The socially situated nature of writing justifies a study of student agency during writing.

In this study, data were collected before, during, and after 10 writing sessions in a first-grade classroom. Students took a pre- and post-survey that revealed their self-perceptions of their agency and confidence as literacy learners. The participating teacher was interviewed three times and the teacher’s talk was recorded during all 45- to 60- …

Telehealth Acceptance And Commitment Therapy For Adolescents With Transdiagnostic Health-Related Anxiety: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Julie M. Petersen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Health-related anxiety is a growing issue to understand how to treat, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. Some studies show that a specific type of therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), may be beneficial for health anxiety in adults, but this has not yet been tested with adolescents. The present study is a randomized, waitlist-controlled trial of ACT delivered via Zoom for adolescents struggling with health-related anxiety. A total of 30 adolescents (ages 12-17), plus one caretaker each (N = 60), living in Utah and currently struggling with health-related anxiety were enrolled. The majority of caretakers and adolescents were White, non- …

Exploring Versatile Glycosyltransferases From Microorganisms For Natural Product Biosynthesis, Jie Ren

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation is mainly focused on exploring versatile glycosyltransferases from different microorganisms with the purpose of biosynthesizing bioactive natural product glycosides through microbial fermentation. This engineered biosynthesis approach is environmentally friendly, safe, and efficient compared with plant extraction, chemical synthesis, and enzymatic synthesis. Additionally, we applied these characterized glycosyltransferases as efficient biocatalytic tools to produce novel glycosides to expand the chemical repertoire of nature. These novel compounds showed improved water solubility and some of them exhibited enhanced stability and biological activity, which laid the foundation for the development of new therapeutic agents.

In my dissertation research, I have discovered two …

All Good Women Are Mothers: Exploring Gender Binaries In How I Met Your Mother, Jessica Marinho

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Television is thought to be a form of entertainment through its many genres from comedy to drama, however, it is more than a relaxing pastime. Television series construct messages that influence audiences to accept specific behaviors. In this thesis, I analyzed the portrayal of the two main female characters in the popular television series How I Met Your Mother (2005-2009) and I argued how their depiction served to represent childless women as unwomanly and mothers as the ideal woman.

Student Veteran Innovation Workshop: Exploring Purpose-Driven Camaraderie, David Brian Kartchner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

There 1 million veterans enrolled in higher education in the U.S., and we know relatively little about them. In this work, the term student veteran refers to both former and current military service members. Most of the small body of literature on student veterans is focused on perceived issues found within this population, rather than the strengths they bring to their academic experience. In recent years, academic work has emerged that advocates a shift to looking at the positive traits of the student veteran community. Building on the emerging strength-based perspectives, the concept of purpose-driven camaraderie among student veterans introduces …

Black–White Disparities In Body Mass Index Trajectories From Adolescence To Adulthood: Assessing The Roles Of Adverse Childhood Experiences And Exposures To Short Sleep Durations, Olusola Akintoye Omisakin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In comparison to Whites and other racial groups, the Black population in the U.S. has experienced one of the highest prevalences of obesity. Research into the role of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) has increased recently because the effects of ACEs often persist for a significant portion of a person’s lifetime. Furthermore, the reduction in sleep duration in recent decades has sparked worries about public health. This dissertation assesses Black-White disparities in the associations between (1) ACEs and BMI, and (2) short sleep durations and BMI from adolescence to adulthood. Public-use datasets from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult …

Connectedness And Wellbeing: Investigating Community And Nature-Based Connection In The Context Of Utah's Rapid Growth, Sarah E. Wilson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research suggests that feeling connected to the natural world and feeling socially connected to your community positively influence wellbeing. However, significant demographic shifts within communities may reduce the amount of social and nature-based connectedness enjoyed by residents. As one of the fastest growing states, data from within Utah likely provides important insights related to how population growth impacts connectedness and wellbeing. Considering this, the present research investigated the relationships between personal wellbeing, community connection, and connection with nature in the context of Utah's rapid population growth by utilizing quantitative survey data from the Utah Wellbeing Project and demographic information from …

Public Perceptions And Attitudes Toward Domestic Climate Migrants And Migration In The U.S., Brittany Shae Harris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events due to global climate change have an important effect on human migration and relocation. Short-term extreme weather events like floods and wildfires are likely to continue to displace people. Long-term environmental changes like droughts and increasing temperatures may also contribute to increased human migration. This research aimed to better understand how people in the U.S. perceive domestic climate migrants, and what drives these perceptions. First, I investigated the relationship between public climate change risk perceptions and attitudes and perceptions about domestic climate migrants and migration. I found that people tend to rely …

Comparing Commonly Used Aquatic Habitat Modeling Methods For Native Fishes, Eryn K. Turney

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Water resources are managed for a variety of human needs, including agriculture, industrial and municipal consumption, hydropower generation, and recreation. There has been a recent push to incorporate habitat needs of aquatic wildlife into water management models alongside these other uses, particularly as competition for limited water resources in a changing climate has reduced instream flow and contributed to declining native fish populations. Habitat models are used to estimate species distributions and differentiate between suitable and unsuitable habitat based on variables important to a given species, but are not usually incorporated into water management models. Because there are many ways …

Centering Indigenous Knowledge: Reimagining Research Methods, Pedagogies, And Sustainability With Niitsitapi Awaaáhsskataiksi (Blackfoot Elders), Sandra Bartlett Atwood

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

My research sought to better engage with Indigenous ways of knowing and being (IWKB). Specifically, I collaborated with Blackfoot Elders (and Hawaiian Kupuna) to better understand 1) their perspectives towards land, 2) what factors instigate and perpetuate these perspectives, 3) how these perspectives play out in terms of identity; well being; daily life; education; environmental concern, behavior, and stewardship, and 4) ways that these perspectives towards land can inform and transform Western perspectives on land and perhaps lead to better and more equitable social-ecological outcomes. I approached this from three angles. First, I described a method for braiding Indigenous and …

Population Physiology, Demography, And Genetics Of Side-Blotched Lizards (Uta Stansburiana) Residing In Urban And Natural Environments, Spencer B. Hudson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wildlife populations across the globe are poised to lose their natural habitat to urbanization, yet there is limited information on how different species handle living in cities. Animals in urban environments are often susceptible to novel stressors, which can threaten their individual health and population viability. The physiological characteristics of animals, such as those related to metabolic hormones, oxidative stress, and immunity, are expected to be important for survival in this context. If so, animals persisting in urban areas may demonstrate physiological differences from their natural counterparts, perhaps due to evolutionary change. These potential outcomes have been documented in birds …

Overcoming Barriers To Aquatic Plant Restoration: Addressing Gaps In Species Identification And Planting Techniques In The Intermountain West, Kate A. Sinnott

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Aquatic ecosystems provide many critical and economically valuable benefits, including drinking water, food, recreational opportunities, and water supply for irrigation and agriculture. However, the health of these systems has been severely impacted by human activities such as pollution, land conversion, and introductions of harmful species. Restoring native aquatic plants can help reverse this damage and reestablish benefits, though it is not a common practice. With an objective to increase capacity for aquatic plant restoration in the Intermountain West, I identified and addressed two major barriers: 1) a lack of confidence in aquatic species identification among wetland professionals, and 2) underdeveloped …

Subduing The Wolf: Utah Pioneer Identity And The War On Wolves Between 1852 And 2020., Mason Lytle

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Utah has a unique history of pioneer settlement connected to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This history has become a source of pride that began with the first white settlers. I have come to call this the “deseret pioneer” identity, to differentiate from other western settlers. From the nineteenth to the twenty-first century, politicians and agriculturalists used this “deseret pioneer” identity to thwart federal protections for wolves and respond to wilderness policies that made Utah the only “rocky-mountain” state to not have wolves in the twenty-first century.

Effects Of Soil Amendments On Water Quality And Hydrologic Properties In Low Impact Development Systems, Lily Wetterlin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Low impact development (LID) systems are practices that use natural elements, such as soils and vegetation, to absorb and filter stormwater to protect water quality and aquatic habitats. Many LID designs use native soils; however, urban soils typically have a limited potential for infiltrating and treating stormwater. Incorporation of soil amendments, such as compost and biochar, into LID soils can improve the physical properties of soil. However, soil amendments may increase or decrease pollutants in the water leaving the site. A comparison of the effects of different types and application rates of amendments on water quality is necessary to determine …

Navigating Cultural Identity In The Classroom, Caroline V. Phillips

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

As of 2016, ~25% of children in the United States are the children of immigrants (Nibbs & Brettell). Many of these youths struggle with the feeling that they belong neither to their parents’ cultural community nor to the locality in which they have been raised (Brockett, 2018). Furthermore, little academic research exists wherein these students share their experiences and engage in the processes of meaning making. This knowledge is essential for multicultural scholars and also for the (overwhelmingly white) population of K-6 teachers who help these youth construct personal identities. This project accomplishes the following:

1. I interview second-generation immigrants …

A Case For Educational Communication On Sustainable Stormwater Management Sites Using Interpretive Methods: Applications For Utah State University, Lilian Taft

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Humans are increasingly urbanizing landscapes, lowering the land’s ability to infiltrate stormwater, increasing surface water runoff. This, combined with decreasing water availability in the Intermountain West, produces the issue of sustainable stormwater management. Professionals are moving toward green stormwater infrastructure (GSI), but public is often not aware of stormwater’s impacts on natural environments or what the purpose of GSI is. Stormwater management design techniques are evolving to use visible, sustainable methods celebrating stormwater, rather than treating the valuable resource as a disposable nuisance, channeling it underground and out of sight. Artful Rainwater Design (ARD), a technique coined by Stuart Echols …

Reaction Time Under Limited Vision With Cognitive Challenge In Individuals With Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction, Hsuan Bonny Lu

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture is a common sports injury. ACL reconstruction (ACLR) is a necessary treatment for individuals to return to competitive sports. However, a high rate of secondary injury occurs when individuals return to sport. Past research has shown that ACLR impairs physical performance, including reduction of force generate against the floor under the injured leg, changes in the gait pattern, and a loss of knee stability. While structural changes following ACL injury can leave the knee joint less stable, neurophysiological changes following ACL injury represent one potentially important mechanism underlying the performance deficits. Healthy individuals rely …

Phenotypic Analysis, Molecular Characterization, And Antibiogram Of Caries-Causing Bacteria Isolated From Dental Patients, Khushbu Farva, Huma Sattar, Hayat Ullah, Abdur Raziq, Muhammad Danish Mehmood, Afrasiab Khan Tareen, Imrana Niaz Sultan, Quratulaain Zohra, Muhammad Waseem Khan

Biological Engineering Student Research

Dental caries is a biofilm-mediated, sugar-driven, multifactorial, dynamic disease that results in the phasic demineralization and remineralization of dental hard tissues. Despite scientific advances in cariology, dental caries remains a severe global concern. The aim of this study was to determine the optimization of microbial and molecular techniques for the detection of cariogenic pathogens in dental caries patients, the prevalence of cariogenic bacteria on the basis of socioeconomic, climatological, and hygienic factors, and in vitro evaluation of the antimicrobial activity of selected synthetic antibiotics and herbal extracts. In this study, oral samples were collected from 900 patients for bacterial strain …