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An Evaluation Of Metric Methods Of Race Differentiation In The Human Pelvic Girdle For The Application Of Expert Witness Testimony, Laura Natalie Yurka

Master's Theses

Research has shown that measurements from the pelvic bones and femur can be utilized for race estimation when the skull is absent or damaged. The literature reported levels up to 95% accuracy when utilizing discriminant function analysis to simultaneously classify race and sex. This research examined the previously reported methods of race estimation within the evidence standards for forensic science as well as current statistical standards. New metric measurements from the pelvis and femur were also proposed and tested to assess their utility as race indicators. Finally, this research addressed concerns that skeletal collections like the Robert J. Terry Skeletal …

The Application Of P-Bar Theory In Transformation-Based Error-Driven Learning, Bryant Harold Walley

Master's Theses

In P-bar Theory, Perkins et al. (2014) proposed a rule based method for determining the context of a partext (i.e., a part of a text document).

In Transformation-Based Error-Driven Learning and Natural Language Processing: A Case Study in Part-of-Speech Tagging Brill (1995) demonstrates a method of error-driven learning applied to individual words at the sentence level to determine the part of speech each word represents.

We combine these two concepts providing a transformation-based error-driven learning algorithm to improve the results obtained from the static rules Perkins proposed and determine if the rule order prediction will provide additional metadata.

Dialect Use Within A Socially Fluid Group Of Southern Resident Killer Whales, Orcinus Orca, Courtney Elizabeth Smith

Master's Theses

Resident killer whales, Orcinus orca, of the Northeastern Pacific form stable kinship-based matrifocal associations and communicate with group-specific repertoires of discrete calls (dialects) that reflect these associations. The gradual fission of matrilines is usually consistent with dialect variations among groups that may manifest as differences in call usage at the repertoire level or subtle structural differences of the calls themselves. Therefore, matrilines that are more closely related tend to be more acoustically similar. Within the endangered community of Southern Resident killer whales (SRKWs), recent evidence shows that one particular group (L pod) exhibits the lowest rate of intrapod association …

A Phenological Study Of Bat Communities In Southern Mississippi Caves, Zachary Uriah Roth

Master's Theses

Mississippi is generally not known for its caves, and consequently its cave flora and fauna remain largely unstudied. From fall 2010 to winter 2013, we studied the bat populations in the three largest caves in Mississippi. The most common (and only) species found in these caves were Myotis austroriparius and Perimyotis subflavus. I collected monthly data on the number of bats per species, behaviors and locations of the bats within the caves, as well as atmospheric data at selected positions within each cave. All three caves were found to have significant temperature differences between seasons (winterPerimyotis subflavus was found …

The Conservation Genetics Of Two Emydid Turtles: Emydoidea Blandingii And Malaclemys Terrapin, Charlotte Lizana Petre

Master's Theses

Conservation of turtles is complicated by their sensitivity to habitat degradation and overexploitation. I used microsatellites and standard population genetic analyses to explore genetic diversity, population structure, paternity and demographic history in two emydid turtles that are currently experiencing threats to their survival. The Blanding’s turtle, Emydoidea blandingii, has experienced habitat fragmentation throughout its range, and this study focuses on a population in Massachusetts where hatchlings from one population are being translocated to establish a new population. I found evidence of multiple paternity within clutches and found no significant reduction in genetic diversity when comparing the source population and …

A Novel Method For Confirming The Presence Of Volatile Reduced Sulfide Compounds Via Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy, Krystal Lynne Parker

Master's Theses

Millions of dollars in destruction in the past decade have resulted from the use of Chinese drywall in homes. There are also potential health hazards related to this corrosive material. As such, it is important to find a way to identify Chinese drywall. Drywall can be tested for certain markers, such as strontium, sulfur, and carbonates to identify it as corrosive Chinese drywall. The laboratory preparation and analysis should be efficient and cost effective. The methods previously used, such as an X-ray fluorescence gun have had issues with getting a proper reading due to the layers of other materials found …

The Effects Of The Tootling Intervention Using Daily Reinforcement, Melissa Bryanne Mchugh

Master's Theses

The current study was designed to replicate and extend the literature on the effectiveness of a classroom intervention known as Tootling (Skinner, Skinner, & Cashwell, 1998) in decreasing disruptive classroom behavior as well as increasing academically engaged classroom behavior. Tootling is a strategy that encourages and prompts students to report instances of their peers’ positive behaviors. Thus far, only three studies have utilized direct observation data for disruptive behavior during Tootling (Cihak, Kirk, & Boon, 2009; Lambert, 2012, 2014). To extend the research on Tootling, direct observation data of disruptive and academically engaged behaviors were collected on both entire classes …

Eating, Feeding, And Weight In Early Childhood: Investigation Of Child Eating Behaviors And Maternal Feeding Style As Influences On Preschoolers' Body Mass Index, Maren Elizabeth Hankey

Master's Theses

Research investigating determinants of obesity risk during early childhood highlights the role of children’s eating behaviors as well as food-related parenting practices. Compared with the vast literature on parent feeding practices, little is known regarding parent feeding styles, and the mechanisms through which child eating behaviors and parent feeding styles influence child body mass index (BMI) remain poorly understood. The current study addressed this gap in the literature by a) describing the prevalence and correlates of parent feeding styles in a sample of mothers residing in the southern United States and b) exploring associations among child eating behaviors, parent feeding …

One Big Puzzle, Two Thousand Tiny Pieces: An Analysis Of The Juvenile Remains From The Shady Grove Ossuary, Jaimie Arlene Ide

Master's Theses

This thesis is an inventory and analysis of the juvenile remains excavated in 2010 from a Middle Mississippian ossuary at the Shady Grove site (22QU525), located in the Mississippi Delta. This project presents a clear challenge given the commingled and incomplete nature of the sample, as well as the preservation biases associated with subadult material, but this research offers valuable insight into the demographic pattern of the larger population at the site, as well as the mortuary practices which created the ossuary at Shady Grove. A “bone-by-bone” inventory revealed the presence of 43 juvenile individuals between the ages of 0 …

Reinforcement Learning Of Distributed Surveillance Plans, Madhavi Chittireddy

Master's Theses

This thesis describes the design and implementation of a Reinforcement Learning algorithm on a camera surveillance model which is used to know the stackelberg strategies of attacker and defender. This reinforcement learning algorithm is compared with the uniform policy and hill climbing algorithms by executing them on a common set of different data files, generated programmatically with various combinations of problem size, location, and orientation transitions as well as rewards of attacker and defender. The comparison includes the time taken to obtain better stackelberg policy and the resulted final pay-off of the defender. This thesis shows that the reinforcement learning …

Did Money Matter? Interpreting The Effect Of Displayed Wealth On Social Relations Within An Enslaved Community, Matthew Clark Greer

Master's Theses

Social relationships structure daily life in a startling, and important, variety of ways. However, when considering the social world that existed inside slave quarters across the Virginia Piedmont (and the Antebellum South), archaeologists have not been able to come to a clear consensus on how to approach the study of social networks; with some researchers focusing on social standing, seen most often through the role of material wealth to create connections, and others focusing on how interactions can be meaningfully interpreted from the archaeological record. This thesis represents an attempt to bridge these two theoretical stances, by looking to see …

Mapping The Distribution Of Barrier Island Slash Pine Woodland And Determining Growth Responses Of Pinus Elliottii To Hurricane Katrina (2005) On Cat Island, Mississippi, William Richard Funderburk

Master's Theses

Barrier islands are ubiquitous features along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico North American coastline and are subjected disturbances such as extreme episodic events. The wind, waves, and storm surges of Hurricane Katrina heavily impacted the Mississippi–Alabama barrier island chain on August 29, 2005. Cat Island experienced a 7-m storm surge, the highest wind energy in the chain, but was estimated to have the least amount of forest mortality. The purpose of this study was to investigate the distribution of Pinus elliottii on Cat Island Mississippi and evaluate relationships of elevation with mean radial growth rate (mm y ̄ ˡ), …

The Drosophila T-Box Transcription Factor Midline Functions Within The Insulin/Akt And C-Jun-N-Terminal Kinase Signaling Pathways To Regulate Interomatidial Bristle Formation And Cell Survival, Qichuan Chen

Master's Theses

From a genetic and allelic modifier screen, we report that the Drosophila melanogaster T-box transcription factor midline (mid), a homolog to the human TBX20 gene, interacts with dFOXO within the insulin receptor (InR) and the c-Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathways to regulate interommatidial bristle (IOB) formation. Previous studies have identified mid’s role in cell fate specification of sensory organ precursor cells in conjunction with the Notch-Delta signaling pathway (Das et al., 2013). The Notch, InR, and JNK signaling pathways regulate dFOXO activity under conditions of stress. Thus, we determined the effects of oxidative stress and metabolic stress by …

Approximation Of The Scattering Amplitude Using Nonsymmetric Saddle Point Matrices, Amber Sumner Robertson

Master's Theses

In this thesis we look at iterative methods for solving the primal (Ax = b) and dual (A^T y = g) systems of linear equations to approximate the scattering amplitude defined by g^Tx =y^Tb. We use a conjugate gradient-like iteration for a unsymmetric saddle point matrix that is contructed so as to have a real positive spectrum. We find that this method is more consistent than known methods for computing the scattering amplitude such as GLSQR or QMR. Then, we use techniques from "matrices, moments, and quadrature" to compute the scattering amplitude …

Land Owners And Law Givers: Relations Between Yeomen And Planters In The South Carolina Back Country During The Early Republic, 1790-1830, Kevin Caldwell Grubbs

Master's Theses

The society that fought the Civil War in the 1860s was slowly created through years of class conflict and cooperation between planters and yeoman farmers. The South Carolina backcountry developed during the decades of the Early Republic, reacting to the formative events of the nation during that time, such as the Second Great Awakening, the market revolution, and the War of 1812. The difficulties of these events necessitated new approaches to life in South Carolina. Over time, the new society spread from the eastern seaboard states across the South, forming the regional southern society.

The Structure And Properties Of Clique Graphs Of Regular Graphs, Jan Burmeister

Master's Theses

In the following thesis, the structure and properties of G and its clique graph cl_t (G) are analyzed for graphs G that are non-complete, regular with degree δ , and where every edge of G is contained in a t -clique. In a clique graph cl_t (G), all cliques of order t of the original graph G become the clique graph’s vertices, and the vertices of the clique graph are adjacent if and only if the corresponding cliques in the original graph have at least 1 vertex in common. This thesis mainly investigates if …

A Vegetation Analysis On Horn Island, Mississippi, Ca. 1940 Using Characteristic Dimensions Derived From Historical Aerial Photography, Guy Wilburn Jeter Jr.

Master's Theses

Horn Island is part of the MS/AL barrier island chain in the northern Gulf of Mexico located approximately 18kn off the coast of Mississippi. This island’s habitats have undergone many transitions over the last several decades. The goal of this study was to quantify habitat change over a seventy year period using historical black and white photography from 1940. Using present NAIP imagery from the USDA, habitat structure was estimated by using geo-statistics, and second order statistics, from a co-occurrence matrix, to characterize texture for habitat classification. Percent land cover was then calculated to determine overall land cover change over …

Intimate Partner Violence: Domestic Violence Service Providers' Perceptions Of Male Victims, Bradon Allan Valgardson

Master's Theses

Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women has been recognized as a serious issue which requires attention. Over the past 40 years there has been an increase in sensitivity to female victims of intimate partner violence, but the same has not been true for male victims. This may be attributed to the substantial influence the feminist perspective has had upon the development of the IPV resource system. Furthermore, certain research indicates IPV resource centers may refuse to help or demean men who seek assistance as victims (Hines, Brown, & Dunning, 2007).

This research project surveyed domestic violence resource centers in an …

Exploring The Glucocorticoid Actions Of 1Α-Hydroxycorticosterone (1Α-Oh-B) In The Elasmobranch Fishes, Faith Nichole Lambert

Master's Theses

The corticosteroid 1α-hydroxycorticosterone (1α-OH-B) is unique to the elasmobranch fishes. It is thought that 1α-OH-B acts as both the primary glucocorticoid (GC) and mineralocorticoid (MC) in these fishes, a dual role analogous to that of cortisol in the teleost fishes. The MC characteristics of 1α-OH-B are well supported, but data supporting its GC functions are lacking. In this study, the putative GC actions of 1α-OH-B were examined. The first experiment characterized the physiological stress response of the Atlantic stingray (Dasyatis sabina) to air exposure, with particular regards to the roles of corticosteroids and metabolic fuels. Results demonstrate that …

Jackson's Flying Dutchmen: The Significance Of The Royal Netherlands Military Flying School, Samuel Howard Ward

Master's Theses

From May 1942 thru February 1944, the United States allowed the Netherlands to train its aviators at Jackson Army Air Base. Known as the Royal Netherlands Military Flying School, the training the Dutch conducted helped rebuild the Royal Netherland Air Force and the air component of the Royal Netherland Navy. The Dutch military came to Jackson because they lost their territory to foreign invaders. Furthermore, the surviving members of the Dutch military felt compelled to endure and carry on the fight. The United States military selected Jackson Army Air Base because of its geographic location, the existing infrastructure at the …

Because A Fire, A Lover's Quarrel: Poems, Clifton Clyde Ward

Master's Theses

This thesis comprises poems written and/or revised over the past two years. They mark the development of my aesthetic and writing ability thus far and are representative of the training and practice incited by my own efforts and those of my professors during my enrollment in the Master of Arts degree in English, Creative Writing emphasis. The majority of these poems are written in an open form, and all of them fall under three general categories: autobiographical, absurdist, or formal.

Asymptotic Behavior Of Finite-Time Ruin Probability In A By-Claim Risk Model With Constant Interest Rate, Lei Wang

Master's Theses

Enlightened by the results of Li [8] and Wang [19], we study the ruin probability of a renewal risk model with constant interest rate and by-claim parts. We assume that the claim size and the inter-arrival time satisfy a certain dependent structure with some additional assumptions on their distribution functions. Furthermore, we give relevant preparation of theory and compare several existing risk models and dependent structures. In this way, we present our result and prove it.

Self-Assembled Gold Nanoplexes For Cancer-Targeted Sirna Delivery, Yongliang Shi

Master's Theses

Through layer-by-layer method, the authors have constructed three Au nanoplexes: AuPEI/RNA/PEI, AuPEI/RNA/PEI-mPEG, and AuPEI/NA/PEI-PEG-FA. All the nanoplexes are characterized by UV-vis spectrometry, DLS, and zeta potential. The surface density of the first layer PEI and second layer RNA were also determined. Moreover, the Au nanoplexes can protect siRNA from RNase degradation and are stable in cell culture medium.

siGLuc-ppp, ssRNA₈₀, and siF17 were delivered by the assembled Au nanoplexes, and the results were analyzed by GLuc assay, TB assay, and Luciferase assay. In terms of RNA delivery, the Au nanoplexes AuPEI/RNA/PEI exhibited excellent gene silencing efficiency (or causing …

Effects Of Water Parameters On Container Mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) Oviposition And Performance, Stephanie Sue Schelble

Master's Theses

Water body parameters have a considerable effect on the communities that develop within them. In small container habitats like tires, the depth, surface area, and volume effect the development and success of the mosquito communities. This study investigated the choices of the adult female mosquitoes, Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus, between different depths and surface areas. In addition, larval performance was determined under differing depth and larvae densities. Oviposition studies showed that Ae. albopictus had a preference for deeper habitats (χ²= 14.2902, p= 0.0139) but did not prefer any surface areas (χ²= 7.2321, p= 0.0649) though …

Methane Dynamics In St. Louis Bay, Mississippi, Hannah Marie Roberts

Master's Theses

A method of dissolved methane analysis was developed utilizing cavity ring-down spectroscopy and headspace equilibration. Samples of 70 mL were collected in 140 mL plastic syringes and equilibrated with a methane free headspace. Reproducibility was high (i.e. 4% typical RSD), and samples were successfully measured in the low nanomolar to high micromolar range. During method development, multiple research cruises were undertaken in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Stations included the Orca Basin, the Deepwater Horizon site, and the surrounding area. The Deepwater Horizon site showed no continuing leakage from October 2010 to June 2013. Samples collected from the northern Gulf …

The Treatment Utility Of Hypothesis-Driven Functional Analysis Methods For Students Whose Behavior Is Elevated During Escape, Attention, Or Escape-To-Attention Contingencies, Chandler Erin Mclemore

Master's Theses

Current research indicates that function-based treatments, based on functional analysis data can be effective for decreasing an array of problem behaviors. The vast majority of the functional analysis literature has focused on single variables that maintain problem behavior. More recently, it has been hypothesized that perhaps multiple variables may maintain a problem behavior at a given time, for example; conceivably, escape and attention could maintain a child’s problem behavior simultaneously. Research regarding multiple variables, specifically the use of an escape-to-attention (ETA) condition has been limited. Furthermore, prior studies have fallen short in reporting treatment data. The purpose of the present …

Haunted To Death: Subverting Genre And Reader Expectations In Lewis Carroll's Phantasmagoria, Elissa Anne Graeser

Master's Theses

This study of Lewis Carroll’s Phantasmagoria argues that the poem failed to achieve critical and popular success due to unmet reader expectations. The poem is a haunted house or ghost story and in many ways follows the familiar formula of the Victorian ghost story. However, Carroll’s political and generic satire alters various aspects of the anticipated structure, thereby creating a work that fails to satisfy readers on multiple levels. The failure of a work by a successful author writing within a popular genre is particularly significant for what it shows us about the relationship between genre, consumerism, and literary criticism.

The Queer Gothic Hero's Journey In Oscar Wilde's The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Kyle Leon Ethridge

Master's Theses

This study of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray argues that the novel participates in a Gothic subversion of the archetypal hero’s journey. The novel employs Gothic devices to supplant heroic narremes. As the novel progresses, both Dorian (as a type of hero-character) and the narrative repeatedly deny or subvert the normative idea of heroism later reified in Joseph Campbell’s archetypal theory. While Campbell’s hero attempts to secure and universalize a heterosocial story, Wilde’s hero is recuperated through a reconfiguring of normative failure as queer success. What is ostensibly a failure of the normative hero to achieve his quest …

Identification And Characterization Of Msab Gene Involved In Biofilm Formation And Virulence In Staphylococcus Aureus, Amelsaad Elbarasi

Master's Theses

Staphylococcus aureus is an important human pathogen that causes a wide variety of life-threatening infections ranging from minor skin and oral infections to severe infections, such as bacteremia, pneumonia, osteomyelitis, or endocarditis due to the presence and secretion of a large number of virulence factors that are controlled by global virulence regulators in complex networks. Furthermore, S. aureus infections have become a threat to public health because of their high potential to form biofilm, and their ability to resist a wide range of antibiotics has exacerbated further. Therefore, understanding the regulatory networks and developing a drug targeting these networks has …

Fear Of The Colonized Other In Richard Marsh's The Beetle, Kelsie Leigh Dove

Master's Theses

This thesis argues Richard Marsh’s Victorian novel The Beetle offers a critique of British colonial practices through the reverse colonization experiences had by British characters in the novel. Intrusive, exploitative actions perpetrated by the British subjects in the novel invite reciprocal mental and physical invasions from the female colonized subject. These encounters serve as metaphors for British imperialism, and the fear and loathing for the colonized subject felt by the British characters reveals anxiety felt by Victorian England regarding colonial subjects. The monstrous acts of the colonized subject mirror the exploitation of British imperialism, which ultimately critiques the practice.