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Implementation Of Teach-Back For Discharge Teaching In A Critical Access Hospital: A Quality Improvement Project, Katie Beth Notch

Theses and Dissertations

A lack of comprehension of discharge instructions may cause high readmission and emergency room revisit rates for organizations. At the project site, there was no current evidence-based practice to ensure patient comprehension of discharge instructions. The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental quality improvement project was to determine if the implementation of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Always Use Teach-Back Toolkit would impact emergency room revisit rates among adult medical-surgical patients in a critical access hospital in rural Minnesota over four weeks. Afaf Meleis’ transitions theory and the Iowa model for evidence-based practice were the scientific underpinnings of the project. …

University Curriculum Committee Meeting Minutes - December 9, 2021, University Curriculum Committee

University Curriculum Committee Meeting Materials

Minutes for the Governors State University Curriculum Committee Meeting held December 9, 2021.

Ten Simple Rules For Creating A Scientific Web Application, Jessica L. Burnett, Renee Dale, Chung-Yi Hou, Gabriela Palomo-Muoz, Kaitlin Stack Whitney, Steve Aulenbach, Robert Sky Bristol, Denis Valle, Tristan P. Wellman

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The use of scientific web applications (SWApps) across biological and environmental sciences has grown exponentially over the past decades or so. Although quantitative evidence for such increased use in practice is scant, collectively, we have observed that these tools become more commonplace in teaching, outreach, and in science coproduction (e.g., as decision support tools). Despite the increased popularity of SWApps, researchers often receive little or no training in creating such tools. Although rolling out SWApps can be a relatively simple and quick process using modern, popular platforms like R shiny apps or Tableau dashboards, making them useful, usable, and sustainable …

Medical School Watercooler Newsletter - December 9, 2021, Lindsey Lyle

Watercooler Newsletter

This is the December 9, 2021 edition of the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine's newsletter - Watercooler.

Contents include:

• Grelet to present on breast cancer neurogenesis at Pathology Research Symposium
• Randall W. Powell Endowed Memorial Lectures set for Dec. 16-17
• Faculty Spotlight: Jess Mullens, M.D.
• Meet a Med Student: Daniel Irelan
• Band registration open for Doc Rock fundraising event
• Cancer and DNA damage: Discovery by USA scientists may improve patient outcomes

University Curriculum Committee Meeting Minutes - December 9, 2021, University Curriculum Committee

Faculty Senate Minutes

Minutes for the Governors State University Curriculum Committee Meeting held December 9, 2021

Survey Of Utah Onions For Bulb Rot Pathogens, Elizabeth Hansen

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Bacterial pathogens cause an estimated $60 million in damages every year in the USA. Little information is currently known about the bacterial bulb rot pathogens found in Utah that impact the onions. Surveys of onion fields and packing sheds have been conducted over the past two years to find symptomatic leaves and bulbs. Symptomatic onions were collected and cultured to grow bacterial strains and identified using PCR and DNA sequencing of the partial 16S gene. Individual isolates went through pathogenicity testing using onion scale as well as leaf assay tests. There was a total of 191 isolates from 2019 and …

Distribution, Abundance, And Population Genetics Of The Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys Temminckii) In Mississippi, Luke Pearson

Dissertations

The southeastern United States is a freshwater turtle biodiversity hotspot, second only to southeastern Asia, and this region is inhabited by one of the largest freshwater turtles in the world: the alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii). This species was heavily harvested from the 1960’s to the 1980’s for the turtle soup industry, apparently contributing to substantial, range-wide population declines. These declines, coupled with anthropogenic impacts on riverine and floodplain habitats, have led to M. temminckii being petitioned for federal listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act; it is currently under review by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service …

Exploring Emotional Labor, Emotional Dissonance, And Job Satisfaction Among African American Student Affairs Professionals At Predominately White Institutions, Vashae Dixon

Dissertations

Turnover in higher education is excessive compared to other education fields (Wilson et al., 2016). Up to 60% of student affairs professionals leave the field within the first five years of their professional career (Fried, 2014; Naifeh & Kearney, 2020), resulting in a loss of money, efficiency, and productivity (Allen et al., 2010). Previous research shows the link between turnover and job satisfaction for student affairs professionals (Fried, 2014) and the relationship between job satisfaction, emotional labor, and emotional dissonance (Parajon, 2011). Existing research lacks specific information about African Americans, undermining organizational efforts to retain employees of all identities. This …

The Understanding Of Digital And Multimedia Evidence (Dme) By Attorneys And Digital Forensic Examiners (Dfe) Within The United States Criminal Justice System, Joseph Levi White

Dissertations

One goal of this research was to determine potential themes that may influence the understanding of Digital and Multimedia Evidence (DME) by attorneys and Digital Forensic Examiners (DFE) within the United States Criminal Justice System. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather information from experienced criminal attorneys and DFEs regarding potential influences on their understanding of DME. The results of these interviews were transcribed, and the data coded to allow for qualitative analysis. Five themes were developed from this data and are thought to play a role in understanding of DME by attorneys and DFEs: motivation for involvement in the …

Granulins In Norm And Neurodegenerative Pathologies, Anukool Bhopatkar

Dissertations

Granulins (GRNs) are small, cysteine-rich modules produced from the proteolytic cleavage of the precursor protein called progranulin (PGRN). GRNs are present in the form of seven tandem repeats within the precursor and are known to be produced in the extracellular and in lysosomal environments. In physiology, PGRN and GRNs plays pleiotropic roles such as neuronal growth and differentiation, immunomodulation, wound healing. Recent studies have implicated pathological role for PGRN in Alzheimer disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) but specific mechanism(s) remains unclear. However, potential interactions between GRNs and Ab42 and TDP-43 seem like a plausible underlying mechanism. Studies presented here …

Dicer Represses Antiviral Innate Immunity Pathways In Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells, Chandan Gurung

Dissertations

Recent studies have demonstrated that embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are deficient in expressing type I interferons (IFN), the cytokines that play key roles in antiviral responses. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms and biological implications of this finding are poorly understood. In this study, I used a synthetic RNA-based assay that can simultaneously assess multiple forms of antiviral responses in ESCs. Dicer is an enzyme essential for RNA interference (RNAi), which is used as a major antiviral mechanism in invertebrates but not clear in vertebrates. RNAi activity is detected in wild-type ESCs but is abolished in Dicer knockout ESCs (D−/−ESCs) as …

Sustainable Development Among Four–Year Higher Education Institutions In The United States: A Geographic And Anthropological Perspective, Kori Nadine Armstrong

Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the factors that contribute to the cultural characteristics of sustainability among higher education institutions (HEIs) in the United States to shed light on how they represent themselves as sustainable. It documents four-year HEIs in the United States that self-identify as sustainable; evaluates how these institutions portray themselves to society as sustainable; and documents who is leading sustainability on U.S. college campuses. This dissertation fills an important gap in the literature on sustainable development in higher education that Holm and others (2016) have identified. Although education for sustainable development (ESD) has been recognized as an important topic, and …

Extending The Impairment Argument To Sentient Non-Human Animals, Christopher A. Bobier

Between the Species

I defend a new argument against raising and killing sentient non-human animals for food: It is immoral to non-lethally impair sentient non-human animals for pleasure, and since raising and killing sentient animals for gustatory pleasure impairs them to a much greater degree, that also is immoral. This argument is structurally analogous to Perry Hendricks’s impairment argument for the immorality of abortion. Proponents of the anti-abortion argument have to be, on grounds of moral consistency, proponents of the anti-meat eating argument: the very same considerations they appeal to to justify their anti-abortion impairment argument apply to the impairment argument against raising …

Discovering Virally Encoded Proteins That Block Type Iv Crispr Immune Systems, Andrew Williams

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Bacteria and the viruses that infect them have been at war from the beginnings of life until today. Due to selective pressure from viral infection, bacteria have evolved various biological defense systems, including CRISPR-Cas systems that use a genetic memory of previous viral encounters to protect against future invasions. However, recently it has been shown that viruses have evolved counter-strategies to evade CRISPR systems. Virally encoded proteins called anti-CRISPRs use a variety of mechanisms to block the activity of CRISPR immune systems in order to infect bacterial cells. The Jackson lab at USU recently showed that a Type IV-A CRISPR-Cas …

Pan Variant Sars-Cov-2 Common Interactions And Drug Candidates, Kolton Hauck

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

As the SARS-CoV-2 virus has spread, multiple strains have appeared. Research has investigated potential drug candidates for COVID-19, but without consideration for the multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2. A domain-based and interolog-based method were implemented to predict protein-protein interactions (PPIs) between the SARS-CoV-2 variants and human proteins. A common set (conserved among all strains) and a unique set (distinct for each strain) of interactions were made. These sets of interactions were characterized via subcellular localization, tissue expression, pathway enrichment and gene ontology. Lastly, drug candidates were identified for the common set. The combined domain and interolog methods resulted in 8963 predicted …

Characterization Of The Atpase Activity Of Casding, Christian Cahoon

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

The battle between bacteria and phage has been ongoing for eons. This battle has generated the evolutionary pressure necessary for the development of microbial immune systems. Characterization of these systems has led to the discovery of molecular tools such CRISPR-Cas systems. This system uses a genetic memory of past viral infections coupled with associated proteins to form ribonucleoprotein complexes which seek out and destroy foreign genetic elements. These systems have been repurposed by scientists to create powerful gene editing tools such as Cas9. With such powerful molecular tools being discovered, we have pursued the characterization of a relatively unknown system, …

Characterizing The Mechanisms Of C. Elegans Prmt1 Temperature Dependence, Arianna Towne

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Over time, cellular enzymes evolve through amino acid mutations which allow them to remain functional at temperatures specific to the host organism. This activity may be partially or completely lost when enzymes are removed from their optimal temperature range, as is observed for the C. elegans protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (cPRMT1). This construct demonstrates maximum enzymatic activity at the C. elegans optimum of 20°C, but no activity at 37°C where activity for mammalian PRMT1 variants is observed. Given dysregulation of PRMT1 has been linked to various disease states, we are interested in exploiting the biophysical mechanisms of cPRMT1 temperature dependence …

Determining The Nucleic Acid Binding Affinities Of Crispr-Associated Ding (Casding), Matt Armbrust

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

CRISPR-Cas systems are adaptive prokaryotic immune systems that enable host cells to defend against attack from foreign nucleic acids such as phage infections or plasmids. CRISPR-Cas systems are diverse and encompass 2 classes, 6 types, and 33 subtypes. The Type IV-A CRISPR-Cas system from Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain 83 is composed of five different genes (csf1, csf2, csf3, cas6, and dinG). Type IV-A systems are poorly understood, and currently there is little research detailing their biological and biochemical mechanism of immunity. CasDinG, an ancillary protein within the Type IV-A system, is required for an immune response in vivo. However, the role …

Establishing A Framework Of Nitrogen Acquisition For Martian Agriculture, Tyler Wallentine

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Nitrogen (N) forms a crucial part of DNA, proteins, and other biomolecules and is an essential element to life. Luckily, N is abundant in Earth’s and Mars’ atmospheres in its atmospheric form (N₂); however, plants and humans are unable to metabolize it in this state. N₂ gas is only able to be consumed by undergoing nitrogen fixation, an intensive process that breaks the extremely-stable N ≡ N bond in order to form bioavailable ammonia (NH₃). Many prokaryotes are capable of nitrogen fixation. Plants may uptake fixed N from these, which are then consumed by other …

Determining The Biochemical Mechanisms And Binding Activities Of A Type Iv-A Crispr-Cas Ding Helicase, Matt Armbrust

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

CRISPR-Cas systems are adaptive prokaryotic immune systems that enable host cells to defend against attack from foreign nucleic acids such as phage infections or plasmids. CRISPR-Cas systems are diverse and encompass 2 classes, 6 types, and 33 subtypes. The Type IV-A CRISPR-Cas system from Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain 83 is composed of five different genes (csf1, csf2, csf3, cas6, and dinG). Type IV-A systems are poorly understood, and currently there is little research detailing their biological and biochemical mechanism of immunity. CasDinG, an ancillary protein within the Type IV-A system, is required for an immune response in vivo. However, the role …

Measuring Irregularity Via Approximate Entropy: How Does Perceived Human Instability Affect One's Own Stability?, Madi Braunersrither

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

In a study performed at Utah State University, participants were prompted to evaluate the stability of pictured human postures while standing on a force plate. The force plate was used to collect the center of pressure of the subjects by recording measurements in the vertical and horizontal directions. The way these factors fluctuate over time and the irregularity in this fluctuation, specifically, can give insight into the subject’s postural stability. Rather than working with summary statistics such as means and variances of fitting parameters of a distribution as commonly done in statistics, we want to measure irregularity through analyzing the …

A Computational Model Of Angiogenesis In Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Brandon Pace

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a chronic disease which causes central blindness in the eye. This progressive disease is thought to affect 1 of every 4 people over the age of 80 living in developed countries, including America. There is no cure and the only treatments to halt disease progression involve biweekly eye injections for the rest of the patient’s life. Clearly there is a great need to understand AMD and find better treatment for the many afflicted. It is known that harmful capillary growth (angiogenesis) contributes to AMD. By learning more about retinal angiogenesis, we can understand AMD in …

Effectiveness Of Cannabidiol And Resveratrol Against Diesel Exhaust Particle-Induced Lung Cell Cytotoxicity, Emily Brothersen

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Environmental air pollution poses a significant health risk to individuals across the world. Diesel exhaust particles (DEPs), a major component of air pollution, have been shown to cause lung damage leading to cancer, respiratory infections, and premature death. Antioxidants, such as resveratrol, have previously demonstrated protective properties against DEP-induced cytotoxicity and reactive oxygen species. Cannabinoids extracted from hemp species have also been found to have powerful antioxidant properties, though these properties have not been thoroughly explored. In this study, A549 human lung carcinoma cells were used as a cellular model to determine the effectiveness of cannabinoids’ antioxidant properties against DEP-induced …

Understanding How Changes In Precipitation Intensity Will Affect Vegetation In The Western U.S., Cristina Chirvasa

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Precipitation events are becoming more intense as the atmosphere warms, but it remains unclear how precipitation intensification will affect plant growth in arid and semiarid ecosystems. There is conflicting evidence suggesting that larger precipitation events may either increase or decrease plant growth. Here, we report the growth responses of herbaceous and woody plants to experimental manipulations of precipitation intensity in a cold, semi-arid ecosystem in Utah, USA. In this experiment, precipitation was collected and redeposited as fewer, larger events with total annual precipitation kept constant across treatments. Results from the first two growing seasons revealed that more intense events ‘pushed’ …

Climate Change Impacts On Atmospheric Ammonia And Implications For Human Health, Casey Olson, Connor Snow, Bridger Jorgensen

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

According to national data Cache Valley has the highest concentrations of atmospheric ammonia in the nation. This study aims to answer the questions of whether climate variables and events such as precipitation, averaged winds, geopotential height, and teleconnections can be used to predict the behavior of pollutants and how human biology is potentially affected. Data from the Utah Climate Center shows that the 3rd yearly quartile has the highest levels of airborne ammonia due to the high levels of fertilizer use and livestock emissions in the farming industry in Cache Valley. After data analysis, there seems to be a connection …

Pcos: What They Should Be Telling You, Gracie Leavitt

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

It is speculated that out of 14 million women in the United States, 70% are being affected by Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, and yet it continues to be one of the most misdiagnosed or undiagnosed diseases. PCOS is a condition that stems from the endocrine system and is often determined by cysts in the ovaries, but studies have proven that that isn’t always the case nor the determining diagnostic criteria. Women aren’t given enough information when being diagnosed with PCOS, nor substantial treatment options. In a world with incredible medical advances and research happening continuously, PCOS seems to be lacking in …

Synthetic Hagfish Slime Mimetics: Mechanical Characterization, Hayden Johns, Spencer Walker

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Hagfish are ancient animals that eject a slime when attacked by predators. The slime that the hagfish emit is almost entirely composed of water but protein strands within the slime cause the slime to have incredible strength. However, these protein strands will be formed synthetically for the purposes of our experiment. To defend against foes, the Navy launches plastic ropes into the propellers of enemy warships in order to decrease the thrust of the motors. In a push to find a more biodegradable solution, the utilization of hagfish slime has shown great promise in stopping propellers.While we know that the …

Estimating Cattle Density Using Wildlife Cameras, Emily Bonebrake

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Quantifying the abundance and distribution of animal populations is critical for effective wildlife research and management. Due to their cost-effectiveness, wildlife cameras have become an increasingly popular tool for estimating population densities. Previously, this technique relied on ‘capture-recapture’ models that utilized re-sightings of individually marked animals, but in recent years methods have been developed to estimate the population densities of unmarked animals. One such method is the random encounter and staying time (REST) technique, which does this by assuming that the cumulative time animals stay within the view of the camera scales linearly with the number of individuals. This allows …

Effect Of Basal Diet And Black Raspberry Supplementation On Gene Biomarkers Of "Leaky Gut" In Mouse Model Of Colitis-Associated Colorectal Cancer, Eliza Stewart

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Colorectal cancer is currently the third leading cause of cancer death in the world. The risk of developing colorectal cancer increases significantly in individuals who suffer from colitis, which is inflammation of the colon lining, seen in Irritable Bowel Disease. The term “leaky gut” is often used to describe increased intestinal permeability and is closely related to colitis. Leaky gut is associated with dysbiosis of the gut microbiota, which can occur through diet. This dysbiosis leads to pro-longed inflammation and affects genes that encode for proteins involved in the tight junctions between cells. Compromised intestinal integrity allows for translocation of …