Digital Commons Network^™

Daphnia: A Possible Way To Combat A Deadly Amphibian Pathogen, Taylor Thomas

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Globally there is a biodiversity crisis, with many groups of species threatened with extinction due to changes in the environment and human impacts. Amphibians are one such group and according to the IUCN, over 30% of amphibians are threatened by extinction. There are many factors have that can explain the decline of amphibians including pollution, habitat loss, climate change and disease. One factor is chytridiomycosis, an emerging infectious disease caused by the chytrid Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. The chytrid enters the keratinized skin of the amphibian and asexually reproduces, where it disrupts host functions, often leading to host death.

Due to …

Manipulated Manipulation: The Political Origins And Implications Of Shakespeare's Henry V, Kate Morton

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Shakespeare’s Henry V has long been one of the most ambiguous adaptations of the story of England’s most celebrated historical figure: King Henry V. This adaptation raises the question of why Shakespeare presents Henry V in a way that not only differs significantly from the other accounts of Henry V’s life, but is also entirely ambiguous as to whether this presentation of Henry V’s character is optimistic or pessimistic in nature. In my thesis, I will argue that the ambiguities present in Henry V are actually a result of Shakespeare's own stress over the political succession looming over England at …

Untangling The Mechanics Of Co-Entangled Cytoskeletal Networks, Shea Ricketts

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Active networks of interlinked protein filaments comprising the cytoskeleton largely control cellular mechanics and cell architecture. By forming cytoskeleton networks that combine motile, semiflexible actin with rigid, supportive microtubules, cells maintain structural integrity and shape while being able to flow and move. To elucidate the complex mechanical processes that arise between interacting networks of actin and microtubules within cells, we create a suite of randomly-oriented, well mixed networks of actin and microtubules by co-polymerizing varying ratios of both proteins in situ. We use optical tweezer microrheology in order to characterize the nonlinear mesoscale mechanics of in vitro co-entangled actin-microtubule composites. …

Effects Of Lower Extremity Aerobic Exercise And Conditioned Pain Modulation On Evoked Shoulder Pain, Logan Lumpkins, Craig Wassinger

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that aerobic exercise and conditioned pain modulation may be advocated in treating patients with musculoskeletal pain. The effects of lower extremity aerobic exercise and conditioned pain modulation on evoked shoulder pain are not known.

Purpose: To determine the acute effects of lower extremity aerobic exercise and conditioned pain modulation on outcomes of evoked shoulder pain from pain pressure threshold measurements.

Study Design: Repeated measures.

Methods: Thirty (30) healthy volunteers were tested over the course of two sessions. Session 1 consisted of collecting pain pressure threshold measurements over the infraspinatus before and immediately following a conditioned pain …

A Scarlet Ending, Alison J. Gibson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Dancing a duet with my shadow by integrating dance and digital media in an elaborate and entertaining performance.

With Great Power: Examining The Representation And Empowerment Of Women In Dc And Marvel Comics, Kylee Kilbourne

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Throughout history, comic books and the media they inspire have reflected modern society as it changes and grows. But women’s roles in comics have often been diminished as they become victims, damsels in distress, and sidekicks. This thesis explores the problems that female characters often face in comic books, but it also shows the positive representation that new creators have introduced over the years. This project is a genealogy, in which the development of the empowered superwoman is traced in modern age comic books. This discussion includes the characters of Kamala Khan, Harley Quinn, Gwen Stacy, and Barbara Gordon and …

Testing Vert™ Accelerometer To Identify Validity And Reliability When Compared To Switch Mat, Tara Mcdonald

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This present study was intended to identify the reliability and validity of the Vert™ device when compared to a Switch mat. Vert is a wireless device intended to measure jump count and jump height through an application on a smartphone or tablet and the Switch mat provides jump height using wireless sensors. Jump height is an important factor in many sports such as volleyball and basketball and it is important to have devices that coaches and trainers can use for testing that they can rely on. If this device is found to be valid and reliable, coaches and trainers …

Investigating Genetic Algorithm Optimization Techniques In Video Games, Nathan Ambuehl

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Immersion is essential for player experience in video games. Artificial Intelligence serves as an agent that can generate human-like responses and intelligence to reinforce a player’s immersion into their environment. The most common strategy involved in video game AI is using decision trees to guide chosen actions. However, decision trees result in repetitive and robotic actions that reflect an unrealistic interaction. This experiment applies a genetic algorithm that explores selection, crossover, and mutation functions for genetic algorithm implementation in an isolated Super Mario Bros. pathfinding environment. An optimized pathfinding AI can be created by combining an elitist selection strategy with …

2d Nmr Structural Study Of A Dna Duplex Containing Two Unnatural Base Pairs, Weston Preising

Undergraduate Honors Theses

DNA is the genetic blueprint responsible for the traits of living organisms. The "genetic alphabet" consists of four molecules called nucleobases, represented by the letters A, T, G, and C strung together in a "strand." A DNA duplex consists of two "strands" held together such that A is across from T and G across from C, referred to A-T and G-C "base pairs". Recently, the genetic alphabet or code has been expanded by synthetic biologists in an effort to unveil new insights to the machinery of DNA replication, and potentially develop new medicines to cure diseases like HIV. The new …

Is Being Wicked The Same As Having Wickedness? A Dialogue On Human Nature Between Wicked, Frankenstein, And Rousseau’S Second Discourse, Emily R. Bezold

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis revolves around the characters of Elphaba, from the musical Wicked, and the Monster, from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. In the comparison of these two verdant characters I seek to analyze their psychological development, starting from their conceptions, to their final moments in their respective stories. I will focus on the parallels between their relations with their fathers, other social connects they may or may not make, and their interaction within the wider social-political world of their stories. In this I seek to explain how Elphaba and the Monster come to represent two different types of man, according …

Investigation Into The Mechanism Of Ion Transport In Rio Negro Characiformes, Vineza D. Reduta

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Four fish species within the Characiform Order [(Rosy tetras (Hyphessobrycon rosaceus), Serpae tetras (Hyphessobrycon eques), Emperor tetras (Nematobrycon palmeri) and Penguin tetras (Thayeria obliqua)] are native to the ion-poor, acidic waters of the Rio Negro. In this paper, we focus on Wood’s revised Na⁺/NH₄⁺ exchange model to gain better insight into the mechanisms of ion transport within the Characids. We exposed each species to two experimental treatments: (i) 1mM ammonia (high external ammonia [HEA]), to test coupling of Na⁺ uptake and ammonia excretion, and (ii) 100μM Acetazolamide …

Drag: Spectacle,Transformance, And The Construction Of Gender Utopia, Tyler J. Henry

Undergraduate Honors Theses

We live in a world of constant performance. Simultaneously being performer and audience, we navigate every day situated in the suspension of disbelief due to society’s spectacle. We are continuously enacting, evaluating, providing feedback, and adjusting in order to perform just well enough to be accepted into mainstream society. Gender is often understood and constructed in rigid binaries where performing too much or too little can lead to exclusion from acceptance into society. However, there are some who purposefully perform in order to criticize the binaries and cultivate an area of limbo between masculine and feminine. I am referring to …

Evaluation Of The Efficiency Of An Arm-Based Beowulf Cluster Versus Traditional Desktop Computing For High Performance Computing, Nicholas Addiego

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In the realm of scientific computing, it has become increasingly important to focus on results driven growth (Kamil, Shalf and Storhmaier). Doing this enables researchers to continue building the rapidly expanding area of scientific discovery. However, with the growth comes a cost of the amount of resources consumed to accomplish these results. Large supercomputers are consuming power at a rate roughly fourteen thousand times that of a traditional American household (U.S. Energy Information Administration). Parallel to this, public consumers have been driving the mobile industry and the research behind it. The need to have faster and faster mobile devices that …

The Abcs Of Aba: Comparing Consequence Preferences For Maladaptive Behavior In Children On The Autism Spectrum, Alyssa A. Serceki

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Applied Behavior Analysis, or ABA, is a common therapeutic technique that has been implemented since the 1960s as a method of teaching appropriate social and functional behaviors to children on the Autism Spectrum and related disorders. ABA focuses on altering behavior by controlling the Antecedents and Consequences related to the targeted Behavior. ABA is only implemented by trained practitioners, who select from a variety of Consequence options when determining how to modify a given child’s Behavior. Because ABA is rooted in Behavioral Psychology and techniques of learning theory, it is possible that Psychological education may play a role in the …

Considerations For Mexican Immigration Policy Reform: How Motivations To Migrate Align With U.S. And Mexican Macroeconomic Conditions, Alix Naugler

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The nationalistic rhetoric adopted by the newly-elected president’s administration along with the public’s climaxing anti-immigrant hysteria has recently forced Mexican immigration intervention to the top of the U.S. agenda. Misconceptions regarding Mexicans’ role in stealing jobs, threatening cultural and ethnic traditions, and straining public welfare, educational, and healthcare resources have spurred a fear among the American people. This politically-fabricated “schizophrenia” has ceased the political and economic collaboration between the two nations and has resulted in the unilateral militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border. In this evaluation of the U.S. government’s immigration policies, the proposed economic theories related to Mexicans’ motivations in …

Light Dependent Endolysosomal Defects In A Photoreceptor Model Of Alzheimer's Disease, Michelle S. Smith

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease which is the 6^th leading cause of death in the US. AD pathology is thought to be linked to the accumulation and aggregation of toxic proteins, amyloid-beta and tau. AD development and neurodegeneration is proposed to be caused by the toxic effects of these protein accumulations, specifically amyloid-beta, as postulated by the amyloid-cascade hypothesis. To study the relationship between amyloid-beta and overall neuronal health, a study was carried out using an amyloid-expressing fruit fly photoreceptor model. Using this model, toxicity of amyloid in a stressed lysosomal system induced by light, an established …

The Effect Of Integration: A Study On The Impact Of Diversity On Economic Indicators, Luke H. Schleier

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper examines the effect of diversity, measured by the dissimilarity index, on the economic strength of an area. Economic strength is measured using five economic indicators: median home value, median income, median gross rent, percentage of people with health insurance, and firms per capita. The work aims to show that there is a positive economic impact due to integrating and creating communities that are more diverse. Previous work shows there is a positive impact of diversity on economic indicators such as wages, rents, and production but previous studies do not look at the effect on these economic indicators. This …

Impact Of Photo Angle On Food Perceptions And Evaluation, Austin B. Jacobs

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Food photography is an increasingly popular phenomenon, especially on social media. There are over 215 million photos on Instagram with the hashtag “food.” There is a growing trend to showcase the food on social media, as both health and “food art” has become part of popular culture. The purpose of this project is to explore how the photo angle utilized in the image influences a number of consumer outcomes, including evaluations of the food itself, the company, and desire to interact with the image. Specifically, pictures of food commonly employ either a three-quarter downward looking angle (as if you were …

37 Clauses: Instructions Ignore The Narrative Voice, Jonathan L. Hall

Undergraduate Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Sleep-Deprivation On Decision-Making And Action Selection, Shalin N. Shah

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis addresses neuroscience research focusing on the brain’s mechanisms underlying behavioral choice, or prioritization, and decision-making. The research has been conducted with Drosophila melanogaster, the fruit fly – a good model from both the behavioral and neural perspectives. This project specifically observes the co-regulation of sleep with two other behaviors – courtship and oviposition. The overlap between the sleep and courtship circuits in the brain should provide a good model for behavioral prioritization, and the interaction between sleep and ovipositional preference should provide a model for understanding the effects of sleep on decision-making. All three of these adaptive behaviors …

Examining The Neuronal Dopaminergic Pathway Underlying Sleep Behavior And Related Dopamine Sleep Disorders, Mary Beth Putz

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The human brain is an extremely complex organ with approximately 100 billion different neurons that are constantly sending and receiving messages. These messages are sent using the chemical messengers of the brain: neurotransmitters and neuromodulators. Mechanisms of neural control of sleep are substantially conserved across species. Evidence from multiple animal models including flies, zebrafish, and mice shows that the arousal, or wake phase, is regulated by conserved neuromodulators such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. Since these neurotransmitter systems are distributed throughout the brain and sub-serve many functions in addition to sleep, the precise circuit mechanisms by which these neurotransmitters regulate …

Analyzing The Social Change Model In The Context Of Women’S Rights To Education, Abigail R. Solnet

Undergraduate Honors Theses

For my Honors Senior Thesis, I analyzed a leadership theory called the Social Change Model. This model was created by Susan Komives, and consists of the “7 Cs” of leadership. These Cs are divided into individual (consciousness of self, congruence, commitment), group (collaboration, common purpose, controversy with civility), and societal/community (citizenship) values. These values are important in creating positive social change.

I applied the Social Change Model to the context of the human right to education. This human right is currently being violated in various areas around the world. Since human rights are intersectional, it is important to look at …

A Study Looking At How Youth’S Self- Perception Is Affected By Their Temperament, Emily K. Anderson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

Self- perception is defined as the “distinctive combination of personality characteristics and social style by which one defines oneself and by which one is recognized by others” In children, self-perception can influence how they will approach a new situation, whether that is in school, at home, or a public outing with their family. Our study aims to expand on this research by defining the relationships between proximal influences, global self- worth, self- perception, behavioral conduct and how youth’s temperament influences these variables. We will be using the Rothbart Temperament Questionnaire and the Susan Harter Self- Perception Profiles to obtain …

Co-Constructing A Mother, Alana Claxton

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This project seeks to understand the construction of a personal narrative concerning a primary parental figure using the process of collaborative autoethnography. In order to properly encapsulate the author’s lived experience, primary influential factors were considered imperative in allowing for a fuller representation. Thus, the author’s story joins those of her siblings to highlight the paradoxical process inherent in unearthing one’s singular perception. This project primarily aims to explore the complexity of autoethnography while simultaneously interrogating the cultural discourse surrounding motherhood and academic writing. By having a close and personal understanding of the subject matter as well as the research …

A Correlation Study Between Religiosity And Empathy Toward Victims Of Crime, Amy Wilson, Andera D. Clements Dr.

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

This present study was conducted to examine the relationship between religious involvement and empathy towards victims of crime. There was a total sample size of 84 individuals that participated in an online survey. Religiosity was measured using the Belief into Action scale. Empathy towards victims of crime was observed using the Victim Impact Scale. A Pearson correlation showed no significant relationship between religious involvement and empathy towards victims. There was, however, a negative significant correlation between Accountability score and percent of income given to religious causes (r=-.297, p=.011), victim blaming and how much time is spent …

Perceptions Of Male Nursing Students About Working In Women’S Health, Jose Mari Lawrence Mitra

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study explores the opinions and experiences of East Tennessee State University (ETSU) male nursing students after they have completed their clinical rotations in obstetrics (OB). Participants are interviewed about their preconceptions and post-experience perspectives regarding the clinical rotation. After analyzing the interviews, the students’ perceptions appeared to be grounded in their perceived level of comfort with women’s health nursing. Themes include (1) preconceptions, (2) welcoming, (3) rejecting, and (4) culture.

Meditative Art: A Diversion From Stress And Anxiety, Hannah T. Justis 4239670221

Undergraduate Honors Theses

I wished to present a body of work that visually represented my own meditative process of managing stress and anxiety. Towards the end of studying for my undergraduate, I began preparing for my Final Exhibition Show, and with these preparations, my life, as well as my work, changed drastically. Within the past two years, my drawings began to take on a meditative therapeutic process. It was this development that then helped manage my growing stress levels and well as the symptoms that stemmed from high levels of anxiety and bloomed from losing control in my day to day life. It …

Portfolio Insurance Using Leveraged Etfs, Jeffrey George

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study examines the use of leveraged exchange traded funds (LETFs) within a portfolio insurance framework to reduce exposure to downside risk. Investors have learned the importance of mitigating this risk having experienced two “once in a century” events in the last 20 years with the tech crash in the early 2000s and the financial crisis in 2008. Current portfolio insurance strategies are either option based (Leland & Rubinstein, 1976) or constant proportional portfolio insurance (CPPI), (Black & Jones, 1987). The cost of option based strategies can be quite high while a CPPI strategy requires constant rebalancing.

This study combines …

The Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences (Aces) And Intrinsic Religiosity In Southern Appalachia, Celina V. Unzueta Ms., Andrea Clements Dr.

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The present exploratory study examined adverse childhood experiences and religiosity in a sample of individuals from Southern Appalachia. Self-reports of childhood adversity and intrinsic religion were obtained from 167 individuals. Results showed that fifty-five percent had not experienced a childhood adversity while forty-three percent had experienced one to five episodes. Although a little under half the sample had one or more adverse experiences, there was no significant relationship between ACEs and intrinsic religion (r= -.037, p= .631). Sex and intrinsic religion were significantly related in that men endorsed the use of intrinsic religiosity more than women …

Synthesis And In-Vitro Cell Viability/Cytotoxicity Studies Of Novel Pyrrolobenzodiazepine Derivatives, John M. Jarrett

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Pyrrolobenzodiazepines (PBDs) are a group of naturally occurring compounds that were discovered in the cultures of Streptomyces in the 1960s. Some natural PBDs discovered in these cultures, such as anthramycin and sibiromycin, were shown to possess a broad spectrum of anti-tumor activity. Since cancer is still a leading cause of death globally, the development of novel anti-proliferative derivatives of PBDs is essential for human welfare worldwide. Further synthesis and structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies of the parent natural products and their tetracyclic analogs will lead to the discovery of drug candidates. In this work, thirteen PBD analogues were synthesized using no …