The Utah Statesman, March 3, 2025

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/newspapers/2893/thumbnail.jp

The Utah Statesman, April 7, 2025

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/newspapers/2897/thumbnail.jp

Canadian Space Agency Satellite Operations for the Quantum EncrYption and Science Satellite (QEYSSat) Mission

The Canadian Space Agency’s (CSA) Quantum EncrYption and Science Satellite (QEYSSat) mission launching in late 2026 will be the first demonstration of ground-to-space Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) in Canada. For this system, the receiving platform is a microsatellite in low earth orbit and the photon source is hosted in a ground based Optical Quantum Ground Station (OQGS). Together, they will enable the creation and exchange of cryptographic keys, establishing secure quantum communications at a minimum distance of 500 km. In the first year of operations, experiments will be performed to demonstrate QKD as an uplink via Weak Coherent Pulse (WCP) and Entangled Photon Source (EPS). Onwards from the second year, the mission will open to additional scientific collaborations and experiments for both the space and ground platforms. The primary payloads of the satellite consist of a telescope and supporting components capable of photon exchange with the desired OQGS. Conversely, on the ground side, this will be supported by soon to be constructed Optical-Quantum Ground Stations located at CSA headquarters in St-Hubert, as well as other partner organizations including the University of Waterloo. The Mission Operations Center (MOC) hosted at the CSA in St-Hubert will be the primary operations system for this mission. From the operational perspective, the QEYSSat mission has many considerations that must be accounted for. First, photon exchanges between the quantum ground station and the satellite must take place in eclipse to avoid stray light that may affect the quality of the experiment. Therefore, access times, operational products, and critical personnel must be planned around these tightly constrained windows. Another operational challenge is that the pointing and tracking requirements for the satellite platform and the OQGS are considerably stringent to accommodate the successful exchange of photons. This calls on the CSA Flight Dynamics and Spacecraft Engineering teams to generate high fidelity data inputs for predictive tracking systems. Additionally, the satellite operations team is implementing more efficient and automated operational planning protocols, as environmental conditions such as rapid changes in weather will impact the integrity of planned experiments, requiring rapid re-planning. Developments by the satellite operations team will allow Science End Users to task the payloads in an accessible and efficient manner. The Primary Science Operations Center (SOC) will be located at the University of Waterloo lead by the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC). To accommodate the complexities of a regular planning cycle, the CSA satellite operations team has created the SOC Planning Tool for Science End Users. This tool allows science experts with minimal knowledge of satellite operations to effectively task their payloads. This is done by employing easy-to-use interfaces displaying only the relevant information necessary for planning payload activities. The tool contains built in constraint checking functionality, drawing on the latest data from the MOC to provide the Science User immediate feedback as to the validity of their payload tasking request. The ultimate result is a robust way for science users from all levels of expertise to generate science tasking requests

How Does Social Media Influence Gen Z\u27s Perception of American Politics?

This study examines whether social media influences Gen Z voters depending on which app they use and their political affiliation. Specifically, it explores how social media platforms shape perceptions of the American political system by analyzing survey responses from Utah State University students regarding the most recent election. Understanding this influence is crucial, as social media plays a central role in shaping political information, particularly for young voters. The findings will help determine whether social media can be used in future elections and which platforms are the most reliable for each party. Given the limited research on the role of social media in shaping electoral outcomes, this study aims to fill critical knowledge gaps for both researchers and student

The Digital Dairy Diary: Exploring the Emotional Responses of Utah Social Media Users to Dairy Content

Social media is powerful in distributing information and helping society to develop perceptions and sentiments. Social media can be a useful tool in community agriculture. However, without an understanding of the emotions held by social media users concerning the dairy content on social media, ag educators can’t effectively use social media as an educational tool

A Curriculum Development Study: Crafting and Teaching Curricula for ELL Students in China

Learning Target: Today I want to teach you that good readers identify key moments in a story in order to understand the plot. One way to do this is by tracking character’s emotions

Bryce Canyon Aspen: Recent Trends, Future Actions

In cooperation with Bryce Canyon National Park, we undertook a survey of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) conditions throughout the Park with the intention of better understanding conditions and prescribing corrective measures where needed. There are clear disparities within the Park between sustainable aspen conditions and failing stands. Based on condition of mature trees, but most importantly regeneration and recruitment of juvenile stems, most aspen forests within Bryce Canyon are in poor condition. Aspen recruitment—generally sapling-sized trees that have survived browsing ungulates—is the most important metric of future stand resilience and here we found 83% of all aspen sample locations were below sustainable levels. Over half our aspen sample stands had no recruitment at all. The prime cause of this park-wide depletion of aspen recruitment is herbivory by elk, mule deer, and domestic cattle. A bright spot in this survey was the complete opposite condition—healthy overstory, abundant recruitment, and sustainable browse levels—in two large areas where fires have burned in recent years. These fires have also contributed to an expansion, in comparison to a 20-year old vegetation map, in total aspen area within the Park. In other words, while aspen overall have increased in area, those expansions are concentrated and the broader range of aspen communities are declining. As a final note, Bryce Canyon National Park has seen a recent infestation, though limited in scope, of the invasive oystershell scale (Lepidosaphes ulmi L.) insect in the area around Iron Springs. Continued monitoring and, in some cases, aggressive action will be required to mitigate potentially severe effects of this insect on future aspen communities

Bird Richness as a Mediator Between Greenspace and Mental Health Relationships

Neighborhood greenspaces are widely known to benefit bird diversity and human mental health. However, whether bird richness mediates the relationship between greenspace and mental health is unknown. We ascertain such mediation effects in 294 census tracts in Los Angeles City. We obtained greenspace data from one-meter resolution satellite imagery, bird species data from eBird citizen science datasets, and prevalence of poor mental health from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mediation analysis combined with spatial error models was used to assess the mediating effects while controlling for geographic, demographic, and socio-economic factors. We found that the higher greenspace percentage was associated with increased bird richness (β = 0.188, p \u3c 0.001), and such bird richness was associated with reduced prevalence of poor mental health (β = − 0.020, p = 0.010). The bird richness partially mediated the relationship between the greenspace percentage and the prevalence of poor mental health, as evidenced by a decrease in coefficient efficiency from − 0.020 to − 0.017. Our findings underscore the need for public health policymakers, landscape architects, and greenspace managers to consider biodiversity-friendly strategies in the design of urban greenspaces to enhance both wildlife habitats and human mental health

Caregiver Implemented Standardized to Individualized Behavior Analytic Toilet Training Package for Autistic Preschoolers

Autistic children often face challenges with toilet training and may benefit from a more structured and systematic approach compared to methods used for neurotypical children. While research and literature in this area has shown that behavior analytic toilet training packages can lead to increasing successful urinations and reducing accidents for autistic children, limitations such as not including caregivers as the individuals implementing the package, unsustainable sit schedules, and lack of acceptable levels of checks for accurate data collection and implementation of procedures highlight the need for refining of implementation oversight and examination of updated toileting procedures without the use of punishment. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of a caregiver implemented standardized to individualized behavior analytic toilet training package. Two participants have completed the study. Both completed participants have learned to independently successfully urinate in the toilet with systematic package and maintained responding over fading procedures and following 4-weeks. One completed participant required the contingent progressive sit schedule phase. Three participants are currently enrolled and actively completing sessions, one of which has progressed to a contingent progressive sit schedule phase. Three participants withdrew from the study prior to completion. Results and limitations will be discussed