The Pussy As Prey: Discourses Of Predation And Human Sexual Violence, Paige Skaff

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

The pussy is the central focus of this thesis: the pussy as prey, the pussy as the cis-gendered vulva-owning female, the pussy as the effeminate male. The pussy is a source of vulnerability and a catalyst for sexual and gender violence. The term pussy alone aligns the human figure to the nonhuman animal world in euphemistic language. Because an anthropocentric culture accords less respect to the nonhuman animal than to the human animal, the pussy is dehumanized – that is to say, an object without ethical standing that exists to serve the more powerful subject - and therefore, violence against …

Effects Of Temperature And Plant And Animal Diets On Metabolic Rate In The Juvenile Red Eared Slider (Trachemys Scripta Elegans), Taylor Macdonald, Sarah Bouchard

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Specific dynamic action (SDA) is the energy expended during ingestion, digestion, absorption, and assimilation of a meal, and is influenced by meal (type, size, composition, and temperature) and environmental temperature. Understanding the effect of meal type and environmental temperature on SDA in turtles is important in describing how T. s. elegans may acclimate with changing environmental temperatures. In this study, we conducted feeding trials in which we fed juvenile T. s. elegans duckweed and mealworm diets at 25°C and 30°C. We measured the rate of oxygen consumption as a proxy for metabolic rate after feeding for four 30 minute consecutive …

Studies Toward Provenance Determination For Indigo Dyes, Erin Kibby

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Species of indigo-producing plants have been used to color textiles for thousands of years all over the globe. Natural indigo-producing species have historically been harvested in regions of Asia, North Africa, and North and South America. This study is an exploration of methods that can be used to determine the provenance (origin) of the indigo dye in a textile through the extraction and isolation of indigoids, flavonoids, and other compounds from the natural dyestuff. There is no accepted method of extracting flavonoids from indigo-dyed textiles specifically, and there is little investigation of the regionally different species. If a method is …

Comparative Kinematic Gait Analysis In Adults With Multiple Disabilities, Lauren Rumbalski

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

The purpose of this research is to identify abnormal gait parameters or patterns amongst young adults with multiple disabilities enrolled in a work transition program sponsored by a public-school system. Gait disorders are commonly seen in individuals with neurologic disorders, with significant research in children with autism. Gait disorders have been linked with fall and injury risk, with significant research in elderly populations. Gait analysis technology can be used to identify gait characteristics in populations that are abnormal or contribute to gait disorders. In an observational design, students from the transitional program promoted by Westerville City Schools, housed on Otterbein …

Why Society Mistrusts The Science Of Covid-19, Calvin King

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

In December of 2019 the first known case of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was identified in Wuhan, China. One month later the virus had made its way to the United States and changed our daily lives forever. Mask mandates, social distancing, stay-at-home orders, and vaccinations have all been measures to help contain the spread of this deadly disease, but many people choose not to engage in these protocols not believing their effectiveness and mistrusting the science that went into making them. In this study a survey was administered to 98 participants online who were asked seven demographic questions and then …

Ohio Anuran Gut Microbiomes, Serena Hoffman

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Recent studies focusing on the skin and gut microbiome of vertebrates have found how important microbiomes are to maintaining host health. Understanding the role the gut microbiome plays to host health is of great importance for conservation. Less is known about the gut microbiome than the skin microbiome for amphibians. Literature is especially lacking for local Ohio anuran species. The purpose of this study was to establish the baseline composition of the gut microbiome for local Ohio anurans and to determine whether host species or habitat is the best predictor of gut microbiome composition. Tadpoles were collected from seven different …

Antibacterial Activity, Structure-Activity Relationships, And Scale-Up Reaction Of 1,3,4-Oxadiazoles, Olivia Marie Smith

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Oxadiazoles are compounds in the field of organic chemistry that have been gathering interest in the medicinal chemistry and microbiology communities for their biological properties, which range from anti-inflammatory agents, to chemotherapy drugs, to antibiotics. The synthesis of oxadiazoles can be difficult due to the expensive and complex nature of the techniques used as well as the volatile reagents and elevated temperatures that are often required in organic synthesis. The Grote lab has recently developed a new method for the synthesis of 1,3,4-oxadiazoles under mild conditions. The goals of this thesis were thus twofold: to develop a viable scale-up procedure …

Mhc Diversity Analysis Of Spheniscus Demersus For In Situ And Ex Situ Populations, Antonieta Van Den Berg Monsalve

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

The South African Penguin has been listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) alleles provide valuable statistics because of their variation in terms of vertebrate genomes and are pertinent to immune and reproductive health. A greater number of MHC alleles correlates with survivability of a population because the genes control the immune and reproductive systems. Legacy research by Otterbein alumni and Dr. Simon Lawrance studied MHC samples from wild, in situ, and captive, ex situ, penguin populations. By comparing these populations' major histocompatibility complexes through biostatistical analysis, contributions to conservation of the …