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The Progression Of Lyme Disease In The State Of Virginia, Margaret Michel Jan 2017

The Progression Of Lyme Disease In The State Of Virginia, Margaret Michel

Honors Theses

Lyme disease has spread in the United States from the northeast to more southern and western parts of the country. It has been shown that the tick which most often carries the Lyme disease pathogen (Borrelia burgdorferi) in North America, Ixodes scapularis, has also spread to these new areas of concern. In Virginia, the disease has progressed from the eastern shore to the western, more mountainous regions. Through obtaining historical museum specimens of mice from 11 locations in Virginia, we seek to determine whether the Lyme disease causing pathogen, B. burgdorferi, has always been present in …


Investigating Medicinally Important Portein-Protein And Protein-Ligand Interactions : A Computational Approach, Cooper Ashley Taylor Jan 2017

Investigating Medicinally Important Portein-Protein And Protein-Ligand Interactions : A Computational Approach, Cooper Ashley Taylor

Honors Theses

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and computational chemistry allow for an atomistic understanding of protein-protein and protein-ligand binding motifs. Through the use of MD, medicinally relevant complexes can be examined in detail unattainable by experimental methods. Within this work, systems pertinent to both Alzheimer’s Disease and HIV-1 are probed and thoroughly sampled to help elucidate potential therapeutic pathways. We used molecular dynamics and free energy estimations to gauge the affinity for the binary and ternary complexes of KLC1, APP and JIP1, three proteins all believed to be involved in the propagation of Alzheimer’s Disease. Two areas of thought exist suggesting that …


Spatial Variation Of Bacterial Communities On The Leaves Of A Southern Magnolia Tree, Emily Q. Nguyen Jan 2017

Spatial Variation Of Bacterial Communities On The Leaves Of A Southern Magnolia Tree, Emily Q. Nguyen

Honors Theses

The leaf surface, or phylloplane, is a dynamic environment for its microbial inhabitants, which can be subjected to many environmental factors. Existing phylloplane studies have focused on differences in bacterial community structure between trees of the same species, in different geographical locations, or between trees of different species. Few studies have examined the spatial distribution of bacterial communities on the leaves of a single tree. In this study, leaf samples from different areas of the canopy were obtained from a single Magnolia grandiflora tree. Samples were taken from the high (3.5-4.0 m above the ground), middle (1.5 m), inner middle …


Comparative Effectiveness Of An Exercise And Sedentary Break Intervention On Mood Profile And Dietary Behavior In Young Adults: Pilot Study, Hannah Dau Jan 2017

Comparative Effectiveness Of An Exercise And Sedentary Break Intervention On Mood Profile And Dietary Behavior In Young Adults: Pilot Study, Hannah Dau

Honors Theses

Exercise and sedentary behavior are both important subsets of PA (Physical Activity) to study, with emerging research demonstrating that sedentary behavior may predict mental health outcomes independent of PA. Additionally, a correlation has been observed between diet and PA, but few studies on this topic have employed an intervention design. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine whether changes in PA and sedentary behavior influence mood profile and dietary behavior. The PA intervention consisted of progressively increasing their vigorous-intensity PA (jogging) over a 4-week period among an inactive population. The sedentary group was asked not to exercise, but …


Egg Laying Bird With Male Plumage Demonstrates The Puzzling Nature Of Sexual Differentiation And Selective Mate Preferences In Zebra Finches, John Aaron Howell Jan 2017

Egg Laying Bird With Male Plumage Demonstrates The Puzzling Nature Of Sexual Differentiation And Selective Mate Preferences In Zebra Finches, John Aaron Howell

Honors Theses

Zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) are oscine Passerine songbirds that are native to Australia. Zebra finches have sexually dimorphic plumage, song nuclei, and behavior. The role of chromosomes, hormones, and genes on sexual differentiation are not completely understood. A gynandromorph in our aviary had male plumage, a male partner, and produced viable offspring. Mate preference tests revealed lower preference for the gynandromorph and its progeny than controls, suggesting that they had some traits that made them unattractive to other birds. Gynandromorph lineage males had greater same-sex preferences than control males. Chromosomes in birds are different than those in humans. Males are …


Examination Of Electroglottography (Egg) And Surface Electromyography (Semg) As Techniques To Assess Oral Motor Activity During Consumption Of Four Forms Of Chocolate, Taylor Patterson Jan 2017

Examination Of Electroglottography (Egg) And Surface Electromyography (Semg) As Techniques To Assess Oral Motor Activity During Consumption Of Four Forms Of Chocolate, Taylor Patterson

Honors Theses

The study assessed individual oral motor activity while eating different types of chocolates through the use of electroglottography (EGG) and surface electromyography (sEMG). I hypothesized that chocolate samples with higher milk solids and cocoa composition would be preferred by subjects as assessed by subject evaluation of textural attributes for the four chocolate samples. I predicted that preference will be significantly and positively correlated with oral motor events [e.g. sEMG activity of master and suprahyoid muscles, total number of chewing actions, and time to last swallow (EGG)]. The experiment used a subject group of 40 students enrolled at the University of …


Population Genetics Of The Giant Red Centipede Along The Appalachian Mountains, Kayla Elayne Ladner Jan 2017

Population Genetics Of The Giant Red Centipede Along The Appalachian Mountains, Kayla Elayne Ladner

Honors Theses

This study focused on population genetics of the giant red centipede, Scolopocryptops sexpinousus, in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Two genetic markers were used—the mitochondrial COI gene, and the nuclear RNA Polymerase II gene. The goal of this study was to determine how many genetically distinct populations of this invertebrate species exist within the study area, and to understand the spatial distribution of genetic diversity within and among populations. I hypothesized several genetically distinct populations of S. sexpinosus would be detected because the complex topographic characteristics and historical climate cycles of the region are thought to limit movement of many forest …


The Prevalence Of Food Insecurity Within The University Of Mississippi Community And Knowledge Of And Opinions About The University Of Mississippi Food Bank, Megan Marie Eubanks Jan 2017

The Prevalence Of Food Insecurity Within The University Of Mississippi Community And Knowledge Of And Opinions About The University Of Mississippi Food Bank, Megan Marie Eubanks

Honors Theses

The purpose of this research was to determine the prevalence of food insecurity within the University of Mississippi community. The project also investigated whether the University of Mississippi (UM) community supports and/ or knows about the UM Food Bank. A survey to determine perceived levels of food insecurity and knowledge of and opinions about the UM Food Bank was dispersed through Qualtrics Survey Software via University email to one-third of the UM faculty, staff, graduate students (including Pharmacy and Law), and undergraduate students. The final survey response count was 356 (response rate: 6.48%). Data collected for questions pertaining to food …


Autoregulation Of The Glial Gene Reversed Polarity In Drosophila Melanogaster, Chase Suiter Jan 2017

Autoregulation Of The Glial Gene Reversed Polarity In Drosophila Melanogaster, Chase Suiter

Honors Theses

Autoregulation is the process where an encoded protein is able to bind to and positively or negatively regulate its own expression. Autoregulatory loops are crucial for sustained gene expression, and such loops have been demonstrated to be important for development in organisms ranging from Danio rerio to Arabidopsis thaliana and Drosophila melanogaster. The cells of the nervous system arise from progenitor cells that eventually adopt one of two fates: neuronal or glial. This decision is controlled by glial cells missing; however glial cells missing is expressed briefly at the beginning development. The glial gene repo is a gene that is …


Evaluation Of A Farmers' Market Intervention On Food Insecurity, Health, And Diet Of Individuals Living In Rural, Appalachian Mississippi, Heather A. Poole Jan 2017

Evaluation Of A Farmers' Market Intervention On Food Insecurity, Health, And Diet Of Individuals Living In Rural, Appalachian Mississippi, Heather A. Poole

Honors Theses

Objective: This study examined: 1) the impact of a farmers' market nutrition education and incentive intervention on household adult food security status, produce intake, perceived diet quality, and perceived health of individuals living in rural, Appalachian Mississippi; and 2) the relationship of household adult food security status to produce intake, perceived diet quality, and perceived health at baseline. Methods: Participants were recruited for a 12-week farmers' market nutrition education and incentive ($3.00/week) intervention at two rural farmers' markets in an economically distressed, Appalachian Mississippi county and completed pre- and post-intervention surveys. Results: The mean age of participants (n=60) was 57 …


Investigating Veterinary Management Choices For Canine Heartworm Disease (Dirofilaria Immitis) In Northern Mississippi, Tobi Ku Jan 2017

Investigating Veterinary Management Choices For Canine Heartworm Disease (Dirofilaria Immitis) In Northern Mississippi, Tobi Ku

Honors Theses

Canine heartworm disease affects nearly 45% of dogs in endemic regions of the United States (Atkins, 2005). There are concerns that the chronic use of macrocyclic lactone (ML) preventives to kill adult heartworms (soft- or slow-kill) may have contributed to the development of ML resistance. My study of this problem had three objectives: (a) to determine the frequency of slow-kill treatment in heartworm-positive patients and compare them to practitioner estimates; (b) to survey practitioner opinions on the factors influencing heartworm disease management; and (c) to analyze the heartworm prevention history of heartworm-positive patients in order to understand the causes of …