Digital Commons Network^™

Great Salt Lake Halophilic Archaea: A Model For Mineral Entrapment Of Life, Adrik Z. Da Silva, Jessie Kochaver, Bonnie K. Baxter

Utah Space Grant Consortium

NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, found veins of gypsum and layer of salt deposited by water in 2011(Figure 7). Gypsum has been detected on Mars as early as 2005 by the ESA’s Mars Express Orbiter, which later found evidence of chloride salts in 2008. On Earth, gypsum is formed in hypersaline environments, in minerals left behind when water evaporates. During evaporation, gypsum deposits and salt crystals can trap microorganisms in fluid inclusions. Gypsum obtained from Great Salt Lake, along with salt crystals collected from the salt glands of pelicans, were used to develop a method to extract halophilic archaea and …

Optimizing Concentrating Mirrors And Fiber Optics For Food Production On Mars, Paul Kusuma, Bruce Bugbee

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Growing food on Mars for long-term space exploration has many benefits including reduced costs and fuel requirements for lift-off, increased nutrition and psychological benefits for astronauts, and oxygen and water regeneration. However, there are also many complication including potential threats caused by the thinner atmosphere, which would force production underground or into a heavily armored base. Fiber optics and concentrating mirrors for photon delivery provide a more efficient system than more traditional electric systems. This technology transmits solar radiation, and the spectra can be altered by tuning the mirrors to only transmit photosynthetic photons. In order to reduce heat loads …

Structures Of Clusters Surrounding Ions Stabilized By Hydrogen, Halogen, Chalcogen, And Pnicogen Bonds, Steve Scheiner, Mariusz Michalczyk, Wiktor Zierkiewicz

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Four H-binding HCl and HF molecules position themselves at the vertices of a tetrahedron when surrounding a central Cl-. Halogen bonding BrF and ClF form a slightly distorted tetrahedron, a tendency that is amplified for ClCN which forms a trigonal pyramid. Chalcogen bonding SF2, SeF2, SeFMe, and SeCSe occupy one hemisphere of the central ion, leaving the other hemisphere empty. This pattern is repeated for pnicogen bonding PF3, SeF3 and AsCF. The clustering of solvent molecules on one side of the Cl- is attributed to weak attractive interactions between them, including chalcogen, pnicogen, halogen, and hydrogen bonds. Binding energies of …

Utah State Magazine, Spring 2019, Utah State University

Utah State Magazine

The quarterly magazine for friends and alumni of Utah State University.

Cultivate Spring/Summer 2019, Utah State University

Cultivate Magazine

Bi-annual magazine for the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences.

Sagestep News, Spring 2019, No. 34, Sagestep

Newsletters

Seasonal newsletter of SageSTEP.

Altruism Or Self-Interest? Exploring The Motivations Of Open Access Authors, Robert Heaton, Dylan Burns, Becky Thoms

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

More than 250 authors at Utah State University published an Open Access (OA) article in 2016. Analysis of survey results and publication data from Scopus suggests that the following factors led authors to choose OA venues: ability to pay publishing charges, disciplinary colleagues’ positive attitudes toward OA, and personal feelings such as altruism and desire to reach a wide audience. Tenure status was not an apparent factor. This article adds to the body of literature on author motivations and can inform library outreach and marketing efforts, the creation of new publishing models, and the conversation about the larger scholarly publishing …

Sustainable Foodways Of Scandinavia: A Closer Look At Sustainable Food And Beverage Practices In Denmark, Norway, And Sweden, Shandrea Marie Hickok

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Scandinavia leads the world with its devotion to sustainability and promotion of eco-friendly lifestyles. With concerns over climate change affecting the Nordic region, Scandinavian governments have taken an active role in creating national food strategies. So, what can Utah learn from the Nordic region? Ranking 45th in the nation for access to local food, Utah does not produce enough food to sustain itself for the future. With a background in environmental journalism, I traveled to Scandinavia during the summer of 2019 to explore Scandinavia's commitment to sustainable foods as a model for Utah. I examined modern and historical sustainable foods, …

"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) …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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. …

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 …

Becoming An Artistic Entrepreneur: The Nuts And Bolts Of Running A Successful Artistic Venture, Collette Nicole Cook

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The music industry is shifting away from the traditional concert in traditional venues. New and innovative concert experiences are beginning to be designed to continue to find ways to speak to new audiences. As a musician, entrepreneurial skills are becoming more and more mandatory in creating a long-lasting career. Despite the thousands of people who graduate around the country with a music degree each year, the number of traditional music jobs as a major symphony orchestra member or touring soloist are becoming more and more difficult to land, causing many graduates to have to find work in a different field …

Exploring The Impact Of Positive Peer Views Of Girls On School Engagement In Middle School Girls, Christine E. Hansen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study focused on the types of messages female middle school students receive about their gender from their peers. Specifically, it looked at microaggressions, which are sexist messages from peers, and microaffirmations, which are positive and affirming messages from peers. There were four goals of this study. First, to check if the Students Affirming Girls in Middle School scale (SAG-MS), a scale created for this study, could consistently measure microaggressions and microaffirmations. Second, to look at the relationship between when girls experience puberty and microaggressions and microaffirmations. Third, to measure any differences in the number of microaggressions and microaffirmations girls …

Effect Of Physical Stimuli On Angiogenic Factor Expression In Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells, Farhad Farjood

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a major cause of blindness in adults. Abnormal growth of blood vessels in the eye during the course of AMD causes damage to the retina, resulting in irreversible blindness. The goal of this research was to determine whether physical pressure on retinal cells can contribute to the increased blood vessel formation. To replicate the tears in the cell layers, a micropatterning method was used as a means of detaching cells from each other. Two new devices were also developed to mimic slow and fast increases in mechanical pressure on cell layers of the eye. After …

Mountain-Block Recharge To The Cache Valley Principal Aquifer And Geochemical Controls On Groundwater Movement In Alpine Karst, Skyler J. Sorsby

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Groundwater is documented to flow through solution-widened fractures and bedding planes in limestone and dolostone units in low-relief topography. This enhancement, or karstification, is much harder to study in alpine environments like the Bear River Range of northern Utah. This is problematic, due to the fact that the Bear River Range karst aquifer system supplies the City of Logan with a large quantity of water at Dewitt Spring. Furthermore, the karst aquifer sustains the Logan River for much of the year, and may allow groundwater to flow directly in the subsurface to the Cache Valley principal aquifer system.

Flow measurements …

A Case Study Of The Driven 2 Teach Program: Site-Based Experiential Professional Development For History Teachers, Hadyn Bowen Call

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Driven 2 Teach is a privately funded program for history teachers in the state of Utah. The program emphasizes the importance of teacher travel to educate history teachers in the places where history happened. This study investigated the program’s influence on participant gains in learning about history and how to best teach about the past, social studies professional development, teacher beliefs, and changes in instructional practices. This study utilized a case study methodology, autoethnography, and six interconnected frameworks: Professional development, experiential education, site-based learning, pedagogical content knowledge, teacher beliefs, and professional learning communities. This study helps demonstrate the effectiveness of …

Empathy In The Middle-School History Classroom: The Effects Of Reading Different Historical Texts On Theory Of Mind, Empathic Concern, And Historical Perspective-Taking, Jared P. Collette

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Theoretical and empirical evidence indicate a possibility that reading certain types of historical texts could improve different constructs of empathy that include theory of mind (ToM), empathic concern (EC), and historical perspective-taking (HPT).The objective of this study was to compare the effect of reading a collection of primary documents in comparison to a historical narrative on ToM, HPT, and EC for adolescents in an eighth-grade history class. Students were randomly assigned to read either a historical narrative or a collection of adapted historical documents with approximately the same length, and reading level. This researcher controlled for student comprehension scores, ToM …

The Spatial Ecology Of Predator-Prey Interactions: A Case Study Of Yellowstone Elk, Wolves, And Cougars, Michel T. Kohl

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The loss of large apex predators, and their subsequent reintroduction, has been identified as a substantial driver on the structure and function of ecological communities through behavioral mediated trophic cascades (BMTCs). The reintroduction of wolves (Canis lupus) to Yellowstone National Park (YNP) has served as foundational case study of BMTCs. In our system, it has been suggested that wolves have established a ‘landscape of fear’ in which the primary prey, elk (Cervus elaphus), now avoid risky places, which ultimately led to the recovery of the vegetation community. Although this case is frequently cited as a well-understood …

The Development, Implementation, And Assessment Of A Home Component To The Fit Game Healthy Eating Program, Hali King Obray

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Researchers at Utah State University created a school intervention called the FIT Game that has successfully increased children’s vegetable intake during lunchtime. The aim of this project was to create a home aspect to the FIT Game for parents that would increase the availability of vegetables within the home. Studies within this thesis discuss the development and revision of parent newsletters for the FIT Game program, as well as the implementation and assessment of the revised newsletters. Results from the assessments indicate that providing parent newsletters is not enough to change the vegetable availability at home.

This home component was …

Examining Different Patterns Of Children’S Early Dual Language Development And Nonverbal Executive Functioning, Audrey C. Juhasz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Children from non-English-speaking homes often lag behind their English speaking peers academically. However, people who speak two languages often have better executive functioning skills than people who speak only one language. Executive functions are neurologically-based skills related to managing oneself to achieve a goal. The relation between bilingualism and executive function may be due to how two languages are processed in the brain. However, it is unclear if more balanced bilinguals experience larger gains in executive function than people who are less balanced.

Children from low-income homes are at a disadvantage as compared to children from homes with higher incomes. …

Narrative Identities Of Early-Return Missionaries From The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Jillian Ferrell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Leaving home to become a missionary is important for many young adults in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (CJC). Some missionaries return home from their missions before their anticipated return date and struggle to make sense of who they are while facing judgment from members within the church communities and families. Little is known about the experience of identity development for early return missionaries (ERMs). There have not been many chances for ERMs to share what it means to them to have come home early from their mission. This study investigated the process of how ERMs make …

Evaluation Of Casein Hydrolysate As An Alternative Dry-Off Treatment And Milk Quality Management Tool In Dairy Cows, Justine Elena Britten

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Mastitis, an infection of the mammary gland, is the most common and expensive animal health problem for the dairy industry and affects every dairy farm to some degree. This disease complex is painful for dairy cows, increases the on-farm use of antibiotics, presents a threat to milk quality and is a waste of time, money and milk production. Each year, the dairy industry loses as much as a billion dollars to mastitis.

Many cows will experience mastitis at least once during a lactation cycle and some animals will develop recurring mastitis episodes in a single mammary quarter. These mastitic quarters …

Student Perceptions Of Connectedness At The American International School Of Utah, Diane Longhurst Johnson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Connectedness has been identified as a powerful protective factor for adolescents. This study focused on the extent to which secondary students at the American International School of Utah (AISU) report perceptions of connectedness. Specifically, this work focused on school-level factors. It examined the extent to which participation in the school-wide interventions of Crew and Intensives influence perceptions of connectedness among AISU secondary students. Data collected provided insights about perceptions of connectedness within the AISU environment that may be used to inform current practices, identify additional student support needs, and improve future implementations.

An Explanatory Sequential research design was used. This …