Life Sciences Commons^™

The Effect Of Freeze-Thaw Events On Dna Integrity In The Gray Treefrog (Hyla Versicolor), Georgia Ficarra

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Freeze-tolerant gray treefrogs survive winter by producing natural cryoprotectants and accommodating ice formation within extracellular spaces. While frozen, gray treefrogs endure hyperglycemia, dehydration, and anoxia due to the halt of all bodily functions. Upon thawing, the frogs’ anoxic cells receive a rapid influx of oxygen, which can cause oxidative damage to vital macromolecules including DNA. Previous studies have suggested freeze-tolerant frogs avoid oxidative damage after freeze-thaw events by elevating antioxidant activity, but recent work has shown upregulated DNA repair encoding genes in post-freeze frogs. The objective of this thesis is to assess the cellular costs of freezing by measuring oxidative …

Predictive Distributional Modeling Of Rare And Uncommon Stoneflies (Insecta: Plecoptera) Of The Central Appalachian Mountains Using Maximum Entropy, Phillip Nathaniel Hogan

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Predicting where rare species may be found is important in addressing and directing conservation efforts. Knowledge of the distribution for many of these taxa is often lacking or unknown altogether. The use of species distributional modeling fills gaps in this knowledge by predicting where a species may be present by taking a correlative approach between presence/pseudoabsences and environmental data. The aim of this study was to describe the distribution of several rare and uncommon aquatic insects using Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) modeling as human influences within the central Appalachian Mountains are increasing and isolating pockets of biodiversity. Species distribution modeling of …

The Relationship Between Mindfulness, Proprioceptive Awareness, And Interoceptive Awareness, Casey Ford

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The goal was to understand mindfulness mechanisms of emotion regulation and body awareness and how these relate to interoceptive and proprioceptive awareness. The 23 participants completed the Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ; Baer et al., 2006) and the Multidimensional Assessment of Interceptive Awareness (MAIA; Mehling et al., 2012). Then, the participants completed a procedure on the purpose-built Active Movement Extent Discrimination Apparatus (AMEDA; Symes et al., 2010), a device used to measure proprioception at the ankle joint. The entire procedure took one hour to complete. Results did not support the hypothesis that higher levels of mindfulness were related to higher …

The Influence Of Prenatal Yoga On Mental Health In Pregnancy During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Cathryn Duchette

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic poses risks to the mental health of expecting mothers as studies have demonstrated increased levels of stress and anxiety for new and expectant mothers during the pandemic. Prenatal yoga has been shown to be effective for improving mental health during pregnancy, but no research has been done to determine its effect on mental health during a pandemic. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of a 10-week prenatal yoga intervention on the mental health of pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic. Baseline levels of anxiety and depression were high, with an average depression score …

Mining 30 Years Of Conifer Records At The Baker Arboretum, Monika Decker

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Only limited data had been published on the survivability of specimens within public gardens. This may be due to not enough data collected or how vast the plant selections are in the gardens. The Baker Arboretum has collected data by accessioning plant collections over a period of 30 years. The Baker Arboretum has its specimens GIS mapped on the 115-acre property for easy location and detection of the the woody ornamental plants. However, little research is available to understand which coniferous specimens have the best success in the garden. In this study, six separate binomial logistic regressions were run to …

Evaluation Of Supplementing Whole Cottonseed Within Feedlot Rations During The Stockerphase Of Production With The Goal Of Increasing Average Daily Gain, Emily Lauren Cook

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Beef calves are weaned at 6-months of age and enter the stocker phase of beef production. Stocker producers have the primary goal of adding weight inexpensively to increase profit on weaned calves. Whole cottonseed is an inexpensive feed ingredient that is popularly top-dressed within dairy and finishing beef diets and is high in protein and energy. During three periods lasting 50-days (fall 2019, fall 2020, and spring 2020), freshly weaned calves were placed on a finishing ration with the goal of increasing average daily gain. Base rations were calculated at 25% tall fescue hay, 23% corn, and 52% distillers’ solubles. …

Effect Of Supplemental Garlic On The Incidence Of Anemia In Horses, Victoria Willis

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is a spice that has been used for centuries for medicinal purposes or flavoring in food. Garlic has also been commonly used as a fly and pest control for horses and is still commonly used for that purpose today. Recent research has shown garlic may cause Heinz body anemia in horses. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence of Heinz body anemia in horses supplemented with varying rates of garlic. This study included 12 horses divided into 4 groups (control and 3 supplement rates: low (0.0625 g/kg), medium (0.125 g/kg), high (0.1875 g/kg)) …

Social Engagement Of Nursing Home Residents: A Comparison Of Two Observation Methods, Annika Gabbard

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In Kentucky, low levels of physical activity and social engagement negatively impact health. This problem led to the creation of Bingocize®, an exercise program that combines the game of Bingo with intermittent exercises in a group setting to increase levels of positive affect, physical health, and, the focus of this study, social engagement. Since clear benefits of social engagement have been established, measurement and documentation of this behavior can assist in determining the level of potential benefit from Bingocize®. The purpose of this study was to compare the opinions of healthcare workers who have experience with Bingocize® on two measures …

Serve-Specific Core Self-Evaluations: A Predictive Validation Study, Brandi Renee Forgione

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Core Self-Evaluations (CSE) is a broad personality trait used by industrial organizational psychologists to predict important organizational outcomes such as job performance and employee satisfaction. CSE comprises four elements: generalized self-efficacy, self-esteem, locus of control, and neuroticism. Task-specific versions of CSE have been proposed to better predict task-specific performance than general CSE. Accordingly, Serve-Specific Core Self- Evaluations (SS-CSE) was adapted specifically to predict serve performance of intercollegiate volleyball players. In this study, I explored the predictive validity of SS-CSE for serve performance by expanding a previous study that used a concurrent validation approach. Results indicated that SS-CSE scores collected pre-season …

Effects Of Solid Matrix One-Step Planting Practice On Cool Season Turfgrass Germination In Unfavorable Conditions, Ben Duncan

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The transition zone in the United States is a difficult area to grow and establish turfgrasses. To establish or repair damaged turfgrass areas, seed priming is an often-used practice. Turfgrass companies and researchers are expanding the practice of solid matrix priming to the practice of one step planting. These products contain seed, fertilizers, and often some type of inert matter and/or mulch. This study took place in Bowling Green, KY and Knoxville, TN during the same period to investigate the effects of using these one step planting products compared to standard cool season turfgrass seeding practices. Two Pennington and two …

Visible Light Generation And Mechanistic Investigation Of High-Valent Metal-Oxo Species Supported By Different Ligands, Seth Ellis Klaine

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Numerous transition metal catalysts have been designed as biomimetic model compounds for the active site of metalloenzymes found throughout Nature, most notably cytochrome P450 monooxygenases that carry out the oxidative transformations of organic substrates with near-perfect chemo-, regio-, and stereo-selectivity. The primary active oxidants in catalytic and enzymatic cycles are fleeting high-valent metal-oxo intermediates where the oxo ligand can transfer to an organic substrate in a process known as oxygen atom transfer (OAT).

In the present work, porphyrin-manganese(III), salen-chromium(III), and salenmanganese( III) derivatives were successfully synthesized and spectroscopically characterized using 1H NMR and UV-Vis spectroscopies. A facile photochemical approach was …