Digital Commons Network^™

Prep-Hplc Method Development To Isolate Potentially-Carcinogenic, Arginine-Based Heterocyclic Amines, Victoria S. Kim

Honors Theses

Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are carcinogenic molecules generated from the reaction of creatin(in)e and amino acids at high cooking temperatures in meat. Previous research has shown that replacing creatine with arginine leads to new, uncharacterized HCA molecules. This research entails implementing and optimizing the preparative HPLC analysis of extracts from multiple burnings of arginine with phenylalanine. Isolated fractions from the prep-HPLC analysis were further analyzed using the Ames test to identify mutagenic compounds. Prep-HPLC provides quality control to the burning process along with isolation of larger quantities of materials for further characterization and molecular structure identification.

The Relationship Between The Prevalence Of Hiv/Aids And Associated Socioeconomic And Behavioral Factors, Viktoria Kolpacoff

Honors Theses

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) are a global epidemic affecting almost 40 million people. Studies show that the spread of HIV is associated with numerous and complex factors such as poverty, religious beliefs, hygiene practices, and gender inequalities. I analyzed the relationship between the prevalence of HIV and four socioeconomic and behavioral factors: per capita Gross Domestic Product, the Globalization Index, the Social Institutions and Gender Index, and literacy rates. I used logistic regression to regress the log-odds of becoming infected with HIV against the four associated factors and calculated an odds ratio for each …

Families And God-Human Interactions In Genesis, Josias A. Flores

Honors Theses

This study carefully analyzes the themes found in various interactions between God and humans in the book of Genesis, viewing them through the lens of family. The majority of the texts that record direct verbal communication between God and humans reveal that God initiates such encounters in order to develop and define healthy families. Themes found in the God-human interactions parallel previous conclusions in family studies research regarding family rituals. Motivated by insights from the behavioral sciences, this work contributes to the scholarly discussion surrounding families from a theological perspective and also provides practical implications for modern-day families.

You Tell The Tale: Interactive Retellings Of The Myth Of Orpheus, Christopher Mclean-Wheeler

Honors Theses

The thesis retells the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in an interactive narrative style. The interactive medium encourages readers to take an active role in storytelling by deciding what the protagonist does at key moments in the plot; each decision branches out into alternate story paths, allowing the adaptation to draw from multiple versions of the myth, particularly Ovid's The Metamormopheses and Virgil's The Georgics. The content chosen for inspiration is based on how it can offer new interpretations of and insight into this retelling of the familiar story.

Hispanic Hallyu: Comparing Boys Over Flowers Directed By Jeon Ki-Sang With Latino Telenovelas, Austin S. Huh

Honors Theses

The term hallyu, meaning Korean wave, was originally coined in the 1990s to describe the proliferation of South Korean popular culture throughout the world. This project focuses specifically on Hispanic populations within North and South America where--despite lack of geographical or cultural proximity to South Korea--Korean movies, dramas, and music have obtained widespread popularity. With respect to K-dramas, this project juxtaposes thematic elements between the K-drama Boys over Flowers directed by Jeon Ki-Sang and Latino telenovelas to determine if K-drama popularity can be ascribed to similarities in motifs between K-dramas and telenovelas.

Fluorescence Analysis Of Pamam Dendrimers, Ansel Nam

Honors Theses

Despite their lack of conjugation, polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers are intrinsically fluorescent, and this fluorescent is somewhat manipulable through altering the dendrimer's solvent. This level of fluorescence is dependent on a number of the dendrimer's qualities: the pH of the solvent, the mass percent concentration of the dendrimer in solvent, and the generation size of the dendrimer. In past studies, fluorescent intensity increased as generation size increased and pH decreased. Thus, this research project will attempt to replicate those results as well as further analyze the efficiency of fluorescence of PAMAM dendrimer in comparison to fluorescein.

Soil Sand Content, But Not Solil Myrosinase Enzyme Activity, Affects Mam Efficacy In Suppressing Weed Growth, Warit Chirachevin

Honors Theses

Mustard seed meal (MSM) has been shown to control weeds and pests in crop fields. Prior work showed that a sandy loam soil was superior to a silt loam soil in supporting velvetleaf growth suppression by MSM. To explore this difference, myrosinase enzyme activity was measured in both soils. Results showed no significant difference between the soils. Sand content in Michigan silt loam soil was manipulated in order to test the role of sand content on MSM efficacy in suppressing short-term velvetleaf growth. Results showed that sand enhanced the effect of MSM in suppressing seedling growth and germination.

Synthesis Of A-Cyanostilbenes And Testing Of Their Anticancer Properties, Gabrielle Cook

Honors Theses

This research project involves synthesizing cyanostilbenes and testing their anticancer properties in breast cancer cells. Breast cancer is a global issue, one that great improvement has been found in the last few decades, but also one that remains a large killer. The components of the cyanostilbene hybrids have all been shown to have anticancer properties on their own, and we would like to see if we can increase these properties by combining multiple into a single hybrid. Then these cyanostilbene compounds are tested on Her2+ human breast cancer cells. The goals is to assess whether or not the cyanostilbenes have …

The Role Of Octopamine In Syllable-Period Selective Phonotaxis In Female Cricket Acheta Domesticus, Darley Magno

Honors Theses

Female crickets respond phonotactically to the calls of conspecific males. Females' phonotaxis has been reported to be variable, ranging from unselective to selectve in response to calls with varying syllable periods (30-90 ms). Octopamine, an intertebrate neurotransmitter, has been reported to increase aggressive behavior in crickets, (Stevanson et al. 2005) but the effects of octopamine on behaviors such as phonotaxis have not been investigated. The goal of this study is to determine the effects of octopamine on the syllable-period selective phonotactic response of females. Results suggest a decrease in phonotactic responsiveness shown by 5-10 day-okds after prothroacic nanoinjection of octopamine.

The Factors That Affect The Capitalization Of Digital Currencies In Developing Countries: An Assessment Of Security Risks And Their Effects, Joshua Tinotenda Pazvakawambwa

Honors Theses

Digital currency platforms such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple are slowly but surely revolutionizing trade and commerce alongside their potential to impact people's economic lifestyles immensely. Digital currencies present a unique medium for humanitarian, mission, and more notoriosly arms and terrorism transactions around the globe. Various factors like security, legislature, and infrastructure affect the viability of adopting digital currencies in developing countries such as Zimbabwe. The research study assesses whether this technology's shortcomings outweigh the conventional means of exchange: hard cash, gold, and checks. Therefore, aiding stakeholders in making informed decisions concerning interfacing technology with economics in the developing world.

Look At That Little Macho: Surveillance And Hegemonic Masculinity In Junot DíAz's The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao, Ludanne Francis

Honors Theses

No abstract available.

War Gaming Applications For Achieving Optimum Acquisition Of Future Space, Karel Marshall

Honors Theses

In 2014, the federal government spent nearly half a trillion dollars on contractor projects. The Department of Defense wants to develop an algorithm to optimize the acquisition of new technologies. This project makes us of game theory, probability and statistics, non-linear programming and mathematical models to model negotiations between governmental agencies and private contractors. If focuses on generating the optimum solution and its corresponding acquisition strategy for different contract types. This project culminates in a collection of MATLAB (MathWorks) programs and the newly developed strategy shows strong convergence to Nash equilibrium values and successful selection of optimum solutions.

Natural Products In Weed Control: Allyl-Isothiocyanate Effects On In Vitro Velvetleaf Seedling Growth And The Influence Of Mustard Seed Meal On Soil Bacterial Populations, Stanford Shin

Honors Theses

Past research has shown that alyl isothiocyanate (AICT) and its sister ITC compounds are effective alternatives to herbicides in reducing growth in weed seedlings. In this project the effects of mustard seed meal (MSM), a source of AITC, on plant-associated soil bacteria populations was assessed along with the effect of AITC on velvetleaf seed in vitro germination. Results show that MSM reduces bacterial levels in the soil. Velvetleaf seed germination was inbibited by micromolar levels of AITC. These results suggest that MSM has the potential to impact velvetleaf growth in the field as well as becoming a weed management tool.

Investors' Reaction To The Passing Of The Indian Companies Act, 2013, Melisa Ann Ruhupatty

Honors Theses

This research seeks to determine whether mandated corporate social responsibilty (CSR) is value relevant to investors, specifically investors of Indian companies affected by the Companies Act, 2013 which requires companies meeting specific financial criteria to spend 2% of their three-year average net profits towards social initiatives. Recommended social initiatives include the development and implementation of environmentally sustainable businesss practices. Using the event study methodology, this study compares the cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) of companies recognized as CSR-active on the Bombay Stock Exccange (BSE) with those not recognized as CSR-active. Recognized CSR-active companies were determined through the use of the BSE …

The Relationship Between Cold Stress Syndrome Mortality And Body Shape In Florida Manatees, Purin Chirachevin

Honors Theses

West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) are tropical and subtropical aquatic mamals that can develop cold stress syndrome (CSS) when subjected to water temperatures below 20'C for prolonge dperiods. This study investigtes the potential impact that cold winter water temperatures in Florida may have on manatee body shape as a selective force to reduce surface-area-to-volume ratio (SA:Vol; i.e. Bergmann's and Allen's Rule). Morphometric measurements collected from state-mandated necropsies (1974-2014) were used to calculate surface area, volume, and mass. We found that manatees that died of CSS on average had significantly greater SA:Vol and less mass compared to those that died …

Molecular Mass Of L-Arginine-Based Potentially Carcinogenic Heterocyclic Amines, Irene S. Hwang

Honors Theses

Investigation of cancer-inducing molecules in cooked foods has led to the discovery of mutagenic heterocyclic amines (HCAs) in meat. The amino acids creatin(in)e and L-phenylalanine form the precursors for these HCAs. Recent research here at Andrews University have found similar mutagenic HCAs produced from plant-based proteins when L-arginine, rather than creatin(in)e, is substituted in high temperature reactions (simulated cooking) with L-phenylalanine. Our research focused on developing HPLC methods to isolate individual candidates that are then screened for mutagenicity via the Ames test. Mass spectroscopy methods were also developed to identfy the molecular structure of these lead mutagenic L-arginine-based HCAs.

Chelerythrine Chloride And Its Effects On Phonotactic Behavior In Female Crickets Acheta Domesticus, Haneul Shin

Honors Theses

Selective phonotaxis by female crickets has been shown to be variable. Mechanisms which underlie such behavioral variability are being studied. Juvenile Hormone III is a neuromodulator that has been shown to increase selectivity in phonotactic behavior of female crickets. In an attempt to further explore its effects on the behavioral responses of femaile crickets, experiments have been performed with chelerythrine cloride that is known to have an opposite effect of Juvenile Hormone III. Chelerythrine chloride, a potent protein kinase C blocker, has been hypothesized to block the effect of Juvenile Hormone III which acts through a protein kinase C pathway, …

Developing Psychiatric Nursing Competencies On An In-Patient Hospital-Based Psychiatric Unit, Beverly J. Sedlacek

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Problem Statement

Offering staff development training for psychiatric nurses has not kept pace with the advances in psychiatric knowledge and skills in nursing. Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement doctor of nursing (DNP) project was to implement a competency-based staff development program on a community hospital-based inpatient psychiatric unit to determine if the psychiatric/mental health nursing knowledge, nurse patient relational skills, and attitudes of the nurses would improve or change.

Methods

A mixed method of quasi-experimental, non-randomized pre-test/post-test and semi-structured interview design was used, which utilized a convenience sampling approach. Data were collected in two phases. Three domains of …

Design Of A Fine-Needle Aspiration Biopsy Device For Thyroid Nodules, Troy Furst, Christa Spieth, Gunnar Lovhoiden, Michael Spieth

Posters, Presentations, and Papers

While other devices currently exist to assist in FNA biopsies, none remove the repetitive whole wrist or arm movements needed to collect the sample.

Representing Clinical Practice Guidelines With Declarative Programming, Christa Spieth, Elizabeth Langlois, Yuanlin Zhang, Michael Gelfond

Posters, Presentations, and Papers

Clinical practice guidelines (CPG) describe recommended actions for diagnosis and treatment of various patient conditions. These guidelines are most often presented in a narrative form, requiring time from a physician’s already busy schedule and careful study, considering the guidelines may contain poor organization and lack clear, descriptive evidence for recommendations. Too often, this means that the information provided by guideline authors is ignored in clinical practice. Over the past few decades, much effort has gone into translating clinical practice guidelines into clinical-decision support systems to make guideline information more accessible and improve physician-patient interactions.

To contribute to physicians’ accessibility of …

Nature Of The Covenant With Noah In Genesis 6:18, Ronald Rojas

Papers

No abstract provided.

The Dawn Of The Battle Of The Sexes – Genesis 3:16, Leanne M. Sigvartsen And Jan A. Sigvartsen

Papers

No abstract provided.

The Issue Of Divorce And Remarriage In 1 Corinthians 7:15 In The Light Of The Dominical Logion Of 7:10, David Sciarabba

Papers

No abstract provided.

Judgment For The Saints: The Justice Of God In Psalms 3–14, Jerome Skinner

Papers

No abstract provided.

Israelite Ritual Law Concerning The Menstruant In Context: Embodiment And Meaning In Ancient Mesopotamia And Ancient Israel, Laura Morrow

Papers

No abstract provided.

The Biblical Law Of Niddah And Its Muslim Parallels, Jan A. Sigvartsen

Papers

No abstract provided.

The Rationale Behind The Homicide Law In Numbers 35:30–34, Slaviša Janković

Papers

No abstract provided.

Interpretations Of The Metaphor “Spiritual House” In 1 Peter 2:4-10 And Their Implications For The Indwelling Of Divine Presence, Cory Wetterlin

Papers

No abstract provided.

Religious Syncretism In Transjordan During The Iron Age As Seen In Tall Jalul And Khirbet Atarutz, Abelardo Santini Rivas

Papers

No abstract provided.

Sacred Times: The Book Of Jubilees At Qumran, J. Amanda Mcguire-Moushon

Papers

No abstract provided.