Digital Commons Network^™

Retaining The Herd: Habitat Restoration Efforts Increase Patch Retention Times In Mule Deer, Jack Rasmussen

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Across much of their range, and the State of Utah, mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) populations have been declining. Declines in herd numbers can be attributed to alterations to historic habitats through the introduction of exotic annual grasses and the encroachment of pinyon-juniper forests on sagebrush ecosystems, changing resource availability. To combat habitat alterations, the Utah Department of Natural Resources has implemented various habitat restoration treatments through the Watershed Restoration Initiative , broadly to remove exotic species and decrease pinyon juniper woodland encroachment. We investigated how mule deer patch retention times differ on eight different habitat restoration treatment types during summer …

Shade As An Agro-Technique To Improve Gas Exchange, Productivity, Bioactive Potential, And Antioxidant Activity Of Fruits Of Hylocereus Costaricensis, Milena Maria Tomaz De Oliveira, Noemi Tel-Zur, Francisca Gislene Albano-Machado, Daniela Melo Penha, Monique Mourão Pinho, Marlos Bezerra, Maria Raquel Alcântara De Miranda, Carlos Farley Herbster Moura, Ricardo Elesbão Alves, William Natale, Márcio Cleber De Medeiros Corrêa

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Hylocereus species are promising for enhancing fruit productivity in arid regions, but high solar radiation often leads to yield loss. This study aimed to evaluate the short-term impact of different shading levels on the physiological performance, productivity, and post-harvest quality of Hylocereus costaricensis under semi-arid conditions. Plants were grown in the field under two shade levels, i.e., 35 and 50% and their performances were compared to plants under control, i.e., 0% of shade or full sunlight. The nighttime CO₂ assimilation and productivity increased significantly by 310.5 and 114.6% and 34.3 and 50.14% for plants under 35 and 50% of …

White Bryony (Bryonia Alba), Taun Beddes, Michael Caron, Jacob Hadfield, Cory Ransom

All Current Publications

White bryony is more than just a nuisance plant. It is an aggressive, perennial vine that threatens riparian ecosystems, agricultural lands, and residential landscapes by destructively smothering vegetation. Additionally, its toxicity poses risks to people, livestock, and pets. Early detection and consistent management are critical to reducing its spread in Utah.

Measurement Uncertainty, Barton L. Smith, Douglas R. Neal

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Textbooks

This text is based on the graduate Measurements course notes from BLS at Utah State University. It is intended as a textbook for graduate students in engineering or physics or as a reference text.

If one collects several texts on measurement uncertainty, it quickly becomes clear that the measurement uncertainty community lacks a consistent language or nomenclature. This can be confusing to a new reader who may view measurement uncertainty as a very old and settled topic. The lack of consensus on nomenclature likely stems from the lack of a clear winner–a paradigm and nomenclature set sufficiently superior to be …

Curriculum Subcommittee Minutes November 6, 2025, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Approval of Minutes - October 2, 2025
• Program Proposals
• Semester Course Approval Reviews
• Other Business
• Adjourn: 3:00 pm

Educational Policies Committee Minutes November 6, 2025, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Approval of Minutes - October 2, 2025
• Subcommittee Reports
• Curriculum Subcommittee
• Academic Standards Subcommittee
• General Education Subcommittee
• Other Business
• Adjourn: 3:30 pm

Site Specific Reliability-Targeted Snow Loads And Winter Wind Parameters Across The World, Brennan Bean, Nicholas Brimhall, Bikram Bhusal, Marc Maguire, Maha Moussa

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

This report presents a framework for estimating Reliability Targeted Snow Loads (RTSLs) and Winter Wind Parameters (WWPs) at locations outside the Conterminous United States (OCONUS). The methodology integrates ground-based in-situmeasurements with gridded global climate products to generate spatially continuous RTSL estimates for nearly any location in OCONUS. RTSLs are computed at qualifying in-situ stations, and predictive models relating gridded climate products to in-situRTSLs enable estimation at locations lacking direct measurements. This report describes the development of the in-situ annual maximum snow load database, the construction of global gridded climate summaries, the estimation of site-specific RTSLs and Service Targeted …

General Education Subcommittee Minutes November 6, 2025, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Call to Order
• Approval of Minutes - October 2, 2025
• Course Approvals/Removals/Syllabi Approvals
• New Business
• Depth Discussion
• Additional Items
• Adjourn: 9:25 am

Energy Input-Output Meta-Analysis Reveals Algal Diesel Struggles To Break Even (Supplemental Information), Michelle Arnold

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1. Algal biofuels have been investigated as an alternative to traditional fossil fuels for transportation in the United States since the 1970s. Yet after five decades of development, scalability and implementation remain limited. To evaluate the state of progress, this study harmonized energy inputs and outputs across 39 papers, encompassing 508 observations on the production of algal biofuel energy return on energy investment (EROEI) in the United States. The analysis produced a mean EROEI of 1.01—essentially the break-even point—irrespective of system boundaries. This is lower than bioethanol (2.8) and far below oil (8.7). Life-cycle analysis results showed that hydrothermal liquefaction in …

Increasing Complexity Leads To Declining Productivity Of Innovation In The Algal Biofuel Industry (Supplemental Information), Michelle Arnold

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Liquid biofuels are widely promoted as renewable, lower-emission alternatives to fossil fuels. Yet despite their promise, this sector faces a critical constraint: a long-term decline in the productivity of innovation. This decline—measured by a decreasing number of patents per inventor—suggests that generating technological breakthroughs is becoming more difficult, expensive, and uncertain. As innovation becomes more resource-intensive, the feasibility of replacing petroleum with liquid biofuels grows more tenuous. This is especially problematic given the pre-existing technical disadvantages of biofuels, including their relatively low energy return on energy investment (EROEI) and energy density compared to fossil fuels. Our findings show that the …

Data Accompanying "Landscape Composition Surrounding Restoration Projects Modulates Use By Wildlife: A Case Study Of Mule Deer In Utah", Jaylin Solberg

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With mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), hereafter, deer, populations in decline, wildlife managers have increased their efforts to improve factors that limit population growth. In the State of Utah (hereafter, Utah), these efforts have included habitat restoration which is expected to improve environmental conditions for deer. Some of these efforts include pinon-juniper removal, prescribed burning, and spraying of invasive plant species. Although previous work has demonstrated the local impacts of restoration on deer populations, it is unknown how the environmental conditions in the landscape surrounding restoration treatments may modify local restoration impacts. Identifying how both local and landscape-scale conditions influence deer …

Starting An Equine-Assisted Services Program, Makenna L. Pahlke

All Current Publications

Starting an equine-assisted services (EAS) program requires more than just access to horses and a passion for helping others. This fact sheet outlines the key considerations for communities and individuals interested in developing safe, sustainable, and impactful equine-assisted programs.

Educational Policies Committee Agenda November 6, 2025, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Approval of Minutes - October 2, 2025
• Subcommittee Reports
• Curriculum Subcommittee
• Academic Standards Subcommittee
• General Education Subcommittee
• Other Business
• Adjourn: 4:00 pm

What Are Equine-Assisted Services? A Practical Guide For Families And Communities, Makenna L. Pahlke

All Current Publications

Horses are very present animals, meaning they provide immediate, nonjudgmental feedback. Their nature and size can often encourage confidence, responsibility, and self-regulation. Families and communities considering equine-assisted services (EAS) for themselves or a loved one need to understand terms, as they will help guide them to the type of program best suited to meet their expected needs, as well as help them find quality programs.

Ai Recipe Blog Is Evaluated Similarly To A Recipe Blog Created By Nutrition And Dietetic Students, Katie N. Kraus, Stacy L. Bevan, Sarah Moore Smith, Maeci H. Armstrong, Brooke Campbell Jeppesen, Catherine Fish, Heidi J. Wengreen

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences Faculty Publications

With the growing use of AI, it is important to know target audiences’ perceptions of its use. A convenience sample of students were invited to take an online survey in which they were randomly assigned to Group 1 (evaluated a student-generated blog; n = 456) or Group 2 (evaluated an AI-generated blog; n = 492). The results of independent t-tests and chi-squared tests indicated no group differences in ratings of ease of recipe preparation, time to prepare the recipe, utilization of common ingredients, and frequency of intended use of the blog. The student-generated blog was rated higher on budget …

General Education Subcommittee Agenda November 6, 2025, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Call to Order
• Approval of Minutes - October 2, 2025
• Course Approvals/Removals/Syllabi Approvals
• New Business
• Depth Discussion
• Additional Items
• Adjourn: 9:30 am

Curriculum Subcommittee Agenda November 6, 2025, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Approval of Minutes - October 2, 2025
• Program Proposals
• Other Business
• Adjourn: 3:00 pm

Digital Media And Political Engagement: Shaping Youth Environmental Attitudes And Behaviors In Four European Societies, Tyler Hansen, Chloe K. Taylor, Ryan T. Knowles

Psychology Student Research

This study investigates the relationship between students’ political engagement, civic knowledge, socioeconomic status, gender, and digital media use and their pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors in Denmark, Sweden, Spain, and Romania. To do this, we use data from the International Civic and Citizenship Study (ICCS:22) and employ hierarchical level modeling. We found that students with higher civic knowledge and greater confidence in their ability to be active citizens were more likely to report both pro-environmental behaviors and positive attitudes in every country studied. Socioeconomic status also showed positive links with environmental engagement. Digital media use was linked to more pro-environmental behaviors …

A Guide To Breaking Seed Dormancy Of Common Wetland Plant Species, Samantha R. Kurkowski, Rae Robinson, Sandra E. Johnston, Montana M. Horchler, Adrienne E. Ernst, Margaret D. Haney, Karin M. Kettenring

All Current Publications

This guide was developed from a series of seed dormancy break and germination experiments conducted over 4 years with 41 species. The purpose of this guide is to synthesize the information we learned through these experiments and present the findings for those interested in breaking seed dormancy, such as land managers, restoration practitioners, and wetland researchers. Ultimately, we hope this guidance catalyzes further wetland restoration throughout the Intermountain West.

Capacity Of Microbial Strains And Communities To Degrade Sewerage Fats, Oils, And Grease Clog Deposits, Allondra M. Woods, Catherine J. Pettinger, Catherine Harris, Tanya Soule, Garth Farley, Erica L.-W. Majumder

Biological Engineering Student Research

Fats, oils, and grease (FOG) deposits are hardened, sticky, insoluble solids that accumulate in sewage systems globally. These deposits contribute to pipe blockages and sanitary sewer overflows, releasing pathogens and pollutants into the environment, posing significant environmental and public health risks. Current removal methods are labor-intensive and costly, emphasizing the need for alternatives. While biological strategies offer a viable alternative, the microbial breakdown of FOG is poorly understood. In this study, we evaluated the potential of individual microbial strains and synthetic microbial communities to biodegrade wastewater-derived FOG deposit samples. These biological agents were applied to a range of FOG samples, …

Systems Intelligence Manager: Warfighter Dominance 2025 Technical Review Key Program, Daniel Hornberger

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

Objective & Background

• Objective
• Provide a governing network framework that reduces network congestion and improves connectivity, stability, and resilience
• Provide a single point for systems to connect to on varied networks, which also federates data to required entities
• Manage complex military CONOPs, controlling one or many heterogeneous unmanned platforms while coordinating collection efforts of varying sensor suites on each platform

Goals Reconsidered: From Brute Prelusory States Of Affairs To The Lusory Complexity Of Sport, Francisco Javier López Frías

Kinesiology and Health Science Faculty Publications

In this paper, I examine Bernard Suits’ conceptualization of goals in his influential definition of gameplay, focusing on how his account falls short of capturing the complexity of sporting practices. Suits famously describes games as voluntary attempts to overcome unnecessary obstacles in achieving an identifiable state of affairs. By referring to this state of affairs as the prelusory goal of games, he frames gameplay as structured teleologically around this goal, converting it into the most fundamental element of his notion of gameplay. Although elegant and very intuitive, this conception of games raises tensions when applied to the complex, multilayered activities …

Reliability Targeted Snow Loads And Winter Wind Parameters For Locations Outside Of The Conterminous United States, Brennan L. Bean, Nicholas Brimhall, Bikram Bhusal, Marc Maguire, Maha Moussa

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The national building standard ASCE 7 moved to reliability-targeted snow loads (RTSLs) in the 2022 version. This necessitates the development of RTSLs for international locations. This repository contains the data and code needed to produce RTSLs and Winter Wind Parameters for locations outside of the Conterminous United States (OCONUS). It relies on annual maximum snow loads provided in a separate data release (see Brimhall et al. 2025).

Electron Yields Of Lunar Regolith Simulant Layers, Christopher Vega, Matthew Robertson, Thomas Keaton, Heather Allen, Jr Dennison

Journal Articles

The charging of bulk lunar regolith has been recognized since the Apollo era as an immediate and critical issue facing our return to the moon. Accurate electron yield (EY) measurements of bulk highly insulating granular materials—which largely determine how such particles charge through interactions with space environments—are lacking due to many experimental complexities that have led to a critical knowledge gap. Such knowledge is essential for addressing fundamental science and myriad important lunar applications and simulations related to lunar dust and regolith electrostatic charging. The few prior EY studies of lunar dust were limited due to severe charging effects and …

Eutrophication, Hope Northagen, Sarah Erwin, Ethan Gilliam

All Current Publications

Eutrophication refers to the ecological state of a water body after excessive nutrient pollution. The external introduction of nutrients (primarily nitrogen and phosphorus) accelerates the growth and reproduction of plants, algae, and microbes. This fact sheet explains where eutrophication comes from, its impacts, how it is treated, and what you can do to help restore and protect our lakes, rivers, and oceans.

Cloud Seeding: Enhancing Winter Snowpack To Bolster Utah's Water Supply, Lily Lambert, Kendall Becker, Binod Pokharel, Scott Hotaling

All Current Publications

As Utah’s climate warms, the state is working to combat the decline in winter snowpack caused by rising temperatures. Cloud seeding is a safe technology that, under the right conditions, can boost snowfall. In this fact sheet, we describe what cloud seeding is, where it is currently used in Utah, and the safety measures and management practices that ensure its responsible use.

Managing Chickens From Chicks To Peak Egg Production, Joseph Okoh, Essence Perry

All Current Publications

Chickens were first domesticated for cultural purposes, but selective breeding has focused on egg production. Choosing the right breeds and good management practices are essential for farmers to maximize egg yield, quality, and safety. This fact sheet covers poultry history, top egg-laying breeds, egg anatomy, nutrition, and practical tips to help farmers improve productivity and run successful egg production ventures.

A Farmer's Guide To Egg Quality, Safety, And Flock Health, Joseph Okoh, Essence Perry

All Current Publications

Eggs are a valuable source of nutrition and income for many backyard and smallholder farmers. To ensure a steady supply of high-quality eggs, it's essential to understand the key factors that influence hens’ health and productivity. From proper nutrition to effective lighting and disease prevention, each decision you make affects your flock’s performance. This guide offers practical advice to help you raise resilient, high-laying hens and build a successful small-scale egg production system, no matter your level of experience.

Improved Streamflow Forecasting Through Swe-Augmented Spatio-Temporal Graph Neural Networks, Akhila Akkala, Soukaina Filali Boubrahimi, Shah Muhammad Hamdi, Pouya Hosseinzadeh, Ayman Nassar

Computer Science Student Research

Streamflow forecasting in snowmelt-dominated basins is essential for water resource planning, flood mitigation, and ecological sustainability. This study presents a comparative evaluation of statistical, machine learning (Random Forest), and deep learning models (Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU), and Spatio-Temporal Graph Neural Network (STGNN)) using 30 years of data from 20 monitoring stations across the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB). We assess the impact of integrating meteorological variables—particularly, the Snow Water Equivalent (SWE)—and spatial dependencies on predictive performance. Among all models, the Spatio-Temporal Graph Neural Network (STGNN) achieved the highest accuracy, with a Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) of 0.84 …

Chemical Analyses Of Soil Samples, Johan Du Toit, Shantell Garrett

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Results of chemical analyses of soil collected in the foothills of the Henry Mountains, south-central Utah, in the fall of 2020.