Digital Commons Network^™

Creating A Stat2 Knock-Out Rat With Crispr/Cas9 Using I-Gonad, Isabella Dejesus

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Through the use of genetically modified animals, a more holistic understanding of physiologic responses to various diseases and pathologies can be obtained^7,19. The STAT2 gene encodes a protein called Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 2 and is an excellent target for genetic manipulation due to its essential role in type I and III interferon signaling pathways¹¹. A member of the STAT family of transcription factors, this protein is directly involved in mediating cellular responses to various cytokines and growth factors, particularly those related to the innate immune response¹¹. While the STAT2 signaling pathway …

Investigation Of Immune/Performance Trade-Offs In Neonate Children's Pythons (Antaresia Childreni), Ellie Hartman

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Energetic costs and constraints are key considerations when analyzing an organism’s life history and may require trade-offs to be made between different life history traits. One of these trade-offs occurs between investment in immunity and performance. The purpose of this study is to discover if this trade-off influences behavior in neonate Children’s pythons (Antaresia childreni). We hypothesize that snakes undergoing an immune response will have reduced behaviors promoting survival. To test this hypothesis, neonate Children’s pythons were randomly assigned to receive an immune challenge of keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) or a vehicle injection as a control. Two days …

Untapped Potential: Many Intelligent Female Accountants Are Not In The Workforce, Heidi Sundberg

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

As the shortage of accountants in the U.S. continues to increase, it is crucial to examine what barriers are keeping women from remaining in the workforce. This research project focuses on women in accounting, especially mothers, and what changes can be made so that they are more likely to continue pursuing career growth, instead of becoming stay-at-home moms. This report focuses on what barriers women in Utah’s accounting profession face when trying to get promotions while fulfilling family commitments and how their perspectives differ from those of their management.

The basis of this research was done through a survey that …

Weaving Freedom: A Sustainable And Autonomous Approach To Community Development In Rural Argentina, Caroline Johnson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This paper examines how culturally sensitive, inclusive, and climate-responsive design can empower weavers in Blanca Pozo, Argentina by addressing the unique social, economic, and environmental challenges of the region, fostering autonomy and community resilience through innovative housing and communal spaces. AWANAY is a boutique rug design studio that makes custom artisanal pieces in remote Northern Argentina. Home to AWANAY’s skilled artisans, Blanca Pozo faces environmental pressures, including extreme heat, flooding, and limited access to electricity and fresh water. Drawing on the history of Argentine architecture and global sustainable design principles, this project proposes solutions tailored to the local climate and …

The Stem Gender Gap: Can It Be Closed?, Makenna Roberts

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Despite increasing gender parity in many professional fields, women remain underrepresented in STEM industries, particularly in math-intensive areas such as engineering, computer science, and physics. This report explores the persistent gender gap in STEM through analysis of two data sources: gendered differences in the US national Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) performance and post-graduate employment patterns among scientists and engineers.

The first portion of the analysis examines SAT score data from 2018 to 2024, with a focus on high-performing test-takers. Using Python and R, data was extracted and visualized to compare male and female performance on the Math and Evidence-Based Reading …

Reimagining Utah’S Block: Walkability As A Housing Shortage Solution, Jordan Taft Sheppard

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Utah, like much of the United States, is experiencing a housing crisis driven primarily by a shortage of available housing. Rising home prices, increasing infrastructure costs, and restrictive zoning policies have limited the supply of varied housing options, forcing many families into unsustainable housing and transportation patterns. While conventional development patterns have focused on outward expansion, this approach requires costly infrastructure investments and perpetuates car-dependent communities. This study explores an alternative solution—leveraging existing walkable urban land to accommodate growth more efficiently and sustainably.

Using a 15-minute city framework, this research identifies 2,528 acres of highly walkable land in Cache County, …

To Bee Or Not To Bee: Investigating Pesticide Behavior Inside And Outside Of Semi-Field Cages, Mallory Bingham

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Bees play an important role in ecosystems and food production through pollination. One such bee, the alfalfa leaf cutting bee (ALCB) is a very efficient pollinator and is essential in alfalfa seed production. However, bees face increasing harm, most notably due to the deleterious effect of pesticides used in agriculture, and much research is dedicated to investigating the extent of effects that pesticides have on different bee populations. One common tool used to study the effects of pesticide exposure on bees is semi-field cages. These cages have some key advantages, such as restricting bee foraging to plots sprayed with pesticides …

Training Lander For Rover Arm Testing, James Peck

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The purpose of this honors capstone project is to design and fabricate a training lander to support the Utah State University (USU) rover team in preparation for the University Rover Challenge (URC). The URC is an international collegiate competition featuring four missions, one of which—the Equipment Servicing Mission—demands a high level of robotic arm functionality and operator skill. Historically, USU's rover teams have struggled to qualify for the URC finals, in part due to limited hands-on training opportunities with the robotic arm.

To address this gap, the training lander replicates the tasks found in the URC Equipment Servicing Mission, such …

Death In A Small Town, Christine Cooper

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Today, those who experience the loss of a loved one are far removed from the process of nursing the dying and watching over the dead. These tasks are relegated to professionals with specific education, certifications, and licensing. With advances in medical technology and hospitals in most communities staffed with well-trained doctors and nurses, the process of dying is more prolonged than that of the late-19th and early-20th centuries in rural small towns. Additionally, with the rise of the death care industry family involvement is often limited to choosing a casket and organizing services. In some ways death has become an …

Domestic Challenges, Cultural Factors Driving Ecuador's Authoritarianism Acceleration, Benjamin F. Berlin

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Using the Cultural Topography (CTops) methodology, this paper provides insight to US policymakers into the cultural factors, combined with current domestic challenges, that are driving Ecuadorians toward authoritarianism. The CTops methodology requires practitioners to conduct primary research on a specific group, which is the population of Ecuador in this paper. To conduct this research, cultural texts and artifacts such as newspaper articles, monuments honoring national heroes, websites and blog posts, and many others were analyzed. Secondary research and an evaluation of current operational realities were also used to inform this paper. Once considered an “Island of Peace,” Ecuador is in …

Evaluating The Self-Healing Capabilities Of Engineered Cementitious Composite Mixtures, Emma W. Baggett

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Engineered cementitious composites (ECC) is a class of ductile fiber-reinforced concrete designed to exhibit strain-hardening and multiple fine microcracking, instead of large brittle cracks, under tensile loading. The presence of high volume of non-hydrated cement particles in ECC have demonstrated self-healing potential of cracks in ECC. This study evaluates the influence of two ECC additives, limestone powder and crumb rubber, on the self-healing performance of ECC. Three ECC mixture designs were developed: a control mixture, a limestone powder-modified mixture and a crumb rubber modified mixture. Self-healing was monitored over a period of 90 days under alternating wet and dry conditions …

The Effect Of A Peptide Targeting Ligand On Transfection Efficiency Of Polymeric Nanoparticles To Dendritic Cells, Anthony Radka

Honors Theses

Autoimmune diseases affect approximately 5-8% of the global population, leading to chronic symptoms, long-term treatment, and reduced quality of life. Current therapies primarily rely on lifelong administration of immunosuppressants, which are associated with severe side effects and heightened susceptibility to infections. This has spurred interest in cellular therapies that manipulate dendritic cells (DCs) effectively and can selectively treat these diseases. This work aims to improve the efficacy of dendritic cell-based therapies using cationic polymers that can electrostatically complex with nucleic acids, forming nanoparticles referred to as polyplexes, that can deliver therapeutic nucleic acid cargo. These particles are a favorable alternative …

Cache-Augmented Generation In Rag Pipelines: Fast And Memory-Efficient Approach To Multi-Agent Knowledge Query Systems, Yaju Gopal Shrestha

Honors Theses

This thesis presents an implementation and evaluation of Cache-Augmented Generation (CAG) for knowledge query systems, building upon the approach introduced by Chan et al. (2024). Traditional Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems (Lewis et al., 2020) face challenges including high latency, excessive memory usage, and complex infrastructure requirements. By implementing a cache-augmented architecture that preloads relevant knowledge and eliminates real-time retrieval, our approach significantly improves response time while reducing resource requirements. The research demonstrates the effectiveness of CAG through a comprehensive implementation for The University of Southern Mississippi's chatbot system, achieving a 49.02% improvement in response time compared to traditional RAG approaches. …

The Interplay Between Attribution Bias And Psychotic-Like Experiences: The Role Of Social Media, Jordan Leggett

Honors Theses

Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are perceptions, thoughts, or beliefs that resemble symptoms of psychosis but are less severe and not necessarily related to a mental disorder. A plethora of research has found associations between PLEs and hostile attribution bias, the tendency to over-interpret situations as hostile, aggressive, or intentional. Some work suggests viewing certain types of content online may be linked to hostile attribution bias. Yet, limited research has examined hostile attribution bias and PLEs through the lens of social media. This study aimed to explore these relationships by modifying a measure of hostile attribution bias using social media vignettes. This …

Navigating The Challenges Of Coccidioides Surveillance: Insights From The Environment Of El Paso County, Texas, Tanzir Hossain

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Coccidioidomycosis, or Valley fever, is a fungal infection resulting from the inhalation of spores from the Coccidioides species (C. immitis and C. posadasii), native to arid areas of the Western Hemisphere. Coccidioidomycosis presents considerable health hazards and can be fatal. It affects between 206,000 and 360,000 individuals annually, leading to 700 to 1,100 fatalities in the United States alone. In response to these issues, extensive research has concentrated on therapeutic goals for this infectious disease. Nonetheless, more limited research has focused on the environmental detection of its causative fungi, which is crucial for forecasting treatment needs and formulating preventive strategies. …

Enhancing Security And Resiliency In Operational Technology Environments Through Network Slicing And Federated Learning, Brian Giovanni Rodiles Delgado

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The growing convergence of Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) within Industry 4.0 environments has introduced new demands on industrial network infrastructure. As cyber-physical systems become increasingly interconnected, ensuring the secure, timely, and efficient exchange of critical data is essential. This thesis explores how network slicing, a method of creating isolated virtual network segments, can be applied within OT environments to address challenges such as latency, security, and resource allocation.

The first research question addressed in this thesis is: How can OT networks take advantage of NFV and SDN technology to become cyber resilient? This study examines the operational, …

H.O.V. - A Novel, David Christopher Rout

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In this novel. An agribusiness executive from Toronto lives as a homeless man in 1990's Los Angeles. He's wanted for a crime in Canada and is unable to find conventional work. His living involves being a professional passenger for morning and afternoon commuters who wish to use the High Occupancy Vehicle lane. After falling in love with a clerk at a used paperback store, he must confront his choices and deal with the circumstances of his wife's death.

Love Y Ganas; A Revolutionay Revelation, Thomas J. Salas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

My thesis does not have an abstract.

Investigating The Impact Of Bilingual Experience And Language Use Context On Cognitive Control In An Auditory Stroop Task, Christian Ruiz-Ortiz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Bilinguals are often reported to outperform monolinguals on executive control tasks, yet recent work suggests that any bilingual adaptations depend on how, and in which contexts, individuals use their two languages. The present dissertation tested whether specific dimensions of bilingual experiences (proficiency balance and daily interaction situations) predict the way listeners engage proactive (anticipatory) versus reactive (stimulus-driven) control when resolving non-linguistic conflict. Sixty young adults completed a non-linguistic auditory Stroop task that manipulated conflict expectancy both list-wide and item-specifically. Group-level analysis replicated classic proportion-congruency effects, but not the predicted proactive control signature, and transfer cost indexing reactive control was not …

A Systems Engineering Approach For Mitigating Space Debris In Earth's Orbital Regimes, Manuel Soto

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Space debris in Earth's orbital regimes is a complex threat that originates with human space activity and is maintained by Earth's gravitational force. Space debris poses the risk of colliding with and destroying operational space assets. These collisions, in turn, pose the risk of compounding space debris fragments by turning operational space entities involved in collisions into additional space debris. In other words, the space debris impact does not end with a fragment colliding with a space entity. Instead, the collision is a new space-debris birth since the entities colliding are likely to become multiple fragments. Depending on the collision's …

'She Hys Dwelling-Place': Corporeality And Female Sanctity From The Medieval To The Post-Modern, Noelle Trejo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The intention of this thesis is to explore the ways that medieval sanctity has been performed by the female body in the Middle Ages and now, and how the sanctity represented and received in the hagiographical writings of the Middle Ages is redeployed in the visual culture of 21st century horror film. In other words, it will trace how medieval hagiographical conventions surrounding sanctity either persist in their original forms or are altered for 21st century audiences, to the end of contributing to ubiquitous discourses of femininity as it relates to the corporeal body.

Saving Lives: Changing Perceptions Of Naloxone Distribution For Opioid Overdoses, Ryan Turner

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study investigated the impact and community perceptions of Narcan® (naloxone) distribution in El Paso County, Texas, as a harm reduction strategy amid the ongoing opioid epidemic. Drawing from a mixed-methods approach, the research surveyed 368 participants comprised of opioid users, family members, first responders, and community members who engaged in Narcan® training facilitated by two nonprofit organizations. The study explored four main questions: perceptions of Narcan® among different community stakeholders, patterns of Narcan® administration, whether the availability of Narcan encouraged drug use, and its effectiveness in reducing overdose deaths. Findings revealed widespread support for Narcan® distribution, although some community …

Dynamics Of Faculty-Student Interaction Beyond The Classroom: Insights From A Hispanic-Serving Community College, Jorge H. Valenzuela

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Retention and success rates remain critical concerns for colleges and universities, particularly for the Hispanic-Serving Community College. In their attempt to become "student-ready," colleges and universities have sought retention initiatives targeting students at academic risk. However, many of these initiatives overlook the less tangible underlying issues, such as fears, anxieties, inequity, lack of self-confidence, confusion, and uncertainty (Cox, 2009; Longwell-Grice and Longwell-Grice, 2008). Despite the benefits that faculty-student interactions outside the classroom bring students, literature shows that faculty-student interaction outside the classroom is generally absent (Smith et al., 2017; Thiele, 2016; Zeleden-Perez, 2019). This qualitative study explores the characteristics that …

A Sociocognitive Perspective On The Activation Of Productive Epistemic Resources In College Students' Understanding Of Chemical Equilibrium, Henk Steven Van Den Bogaard

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Science education, particularly in higher education, has a content coverage problem: it has long been described as "a mile wide, an inch deep" in various consensus documents from the National Academies. In chemistry education, the most common general chemistry curriculum covers topics as chapters based on the popular Sienko and Plane 1960's general chemistry textbook. The limited time available in such fast-paced coverage may limit the instructor's modeling and assessment of key performances in developing a mechanistic understanding of complex chemistry phenomena. In this sociocognitive, qualitative investigation, general chemistry II students' responses to assessment prompts were used to activate cognitive …

"Alone I Can't, But Together We Can": A Photovoice Study To Explore Insights Of Assisted Outpatient Treatment (Aot) From Providers Working With Individuals With Serious Mental Illness (Smi)., Monica G. Urquieta

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) is a court-ordered mental health treatment program for individuals with SMI (bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and schizophrenia) who have a history of noncompliance with treatment and are at risk of deteriorating or causing harm to themselves or others. This dissertation examined the perceptions and experiences of thirteen providers (lawyers, judges, case managers, psychiatrists, housing navigators, treatment guardians, nurse practitioners, therapists and peer support specialists with lived experience) on the AOT program for clients with SMI; and the environments that shape these perceptions, taking into account a system and community-based approach focusing on how the unique …

The Effects Of A Two-Way Dual Language Program On The Educational Trajectory Of Hispanic Emergent Bilingual Students During The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Methods Study, Jesus Jacob Villa

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This explanatory mixed-methods study examines the impact of Dual Language Bilingual Education (DLBE) and Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) programs on the academic achievement of Hispanic emergent bilingual students during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. With the U.S. Hispanic student population growing significantly, and emergent bilingual students historically underserved, this study addresses critical gaps in educational equity. Conducted in two school districts along the U.S. and Mexico border in Texas and New Mexico, the research explores how DLBE and TBE programs mitigated the pandemic's adverse effects on learning. This study analyzed quantitative data from standardized mathematics and language proficiency assessments for …

Women’S Independence In The Archives: A Study Of The Sisters Of The Holy Family As Found In The New Orleans Archdiocese Archive, Georgia Campbell

Honors Theses

The Sisters of the Holy Family, a Catholic convent based in New Orleans, have a space in the archival records of the archdiocese. The overwhelming presence of documents by men means that the story in the archive belongs as much to them as it does to the sisters. This follows the patriarchal hierarchy of the Church. Nevertheless, the documents that are available tell the sisters’ story and how they sought independence

Impact Of Magnetic Fields On Cosmic Ray Density In Molecular Clouds, Byron Jesus Encinas Velazquez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

We investigate the effects caused by Cosmic Rays (CRs) in a Molecular Clouds (MCs) environment and the effects of varied magnetic field configurations in the core (r = 1 Pc ) of a MC. We take as initial conditions for the interstellar medium a product of various supernova explosions as injected initial perturbation and observe the evolution during the timescale of ~4.5 Myrs. We compute the CR reduction factor R as a measure of the density of a distribution of particles traveling with a guiding center along randomized field lines near the core and discuss their impact on the ionization …

Teaching Bilingual Features To A Young Augmentative And Alternative Communication User With Autism, Paola Gallegos

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study examines how a minimally verbal, young Spanish-English bilingual child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) uses translanguaging toggle features on an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device to produce multi-word picture descriptions. The study employed a Rapidly Alternating Treatments Design (RATD) to analyze AAC performance under language-controlled Spanish-only and English-only conditions. A quantitative analysis examined the frequency and patterns of bilingual AAC feature use during aided modeling and instruction, while qualitative methods explored the related challenges and benefits. This study highlights the potential for bilingual AAC systems to enhance communication effectiveness and underscores the importance of incorporating user and …

Transnational Teachers On Both Sides Of The U.S.-Mexico Border: Exploring Their Identities And Conocimiento. A Phenomenological Study With A Comparative Stance, Isaac Frausto Hernandez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The transnationalism phenomenon is at the core of an increasingly globalized world. This phenomenological study with a comparative stance explores the lived experiences and perspectives of teachers with a transnational migration background with regards to how they [re]construct their identities and conocimiento. It compares and contrasts the histories and insights from participants in the borderlands with those from the heart of Mexico. Specifically, this study contributes to the under-explored body of literature which has taken a comparative stance in looking at transnationalism in education on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Data derived from migration memory maps and in-depth, phenomenological …