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2017

Honors Theses

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Articles 1 - 30 of 109

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Analysis Of Heart Muscle Tissue For Detection Of Fluorescently Labeled Cells In Conventional- And Frozen-Section Tissue Preparations, Lena Anna Mitchell Dec 2017

Analysis Of Heart Muscle Tissue For Detection Of Fluorescently Labeled Cells In Conventional- And Frozen-Section Tissue Preparations, Lena Anna Mitchell

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.


Prep-Hplc Method Development To Isolate Potentially-Carcinogenic, Arginine-Based Heterocyclic Amines, Victoria S. Kim Dec 2017

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.


Morphological, Genetic, And Environmental Characterization Of An Unusual Population Of Isoetes (Isoetaceae, Lycopodiophyta), Shannon L. Walker Dec 2017

Morphological, Genetic, And Environmental Characterization Of An Unusual Population Of Isoetes (Isoetaceae, Lycopodiophyta), Shannon L. Walker

Honors Theses

A large and unusual population of Isoetes (Isoetaceae, Lycopodiophyta) in the DeSoto National Forest, Wayne County, Mississippi, was studied to determine if the individuals there represent a new species or if they represent part of the variation of the one primary species of the longleaf pine belt of Mississippi, Isoetes louisianensis, which it most closely resembles. The unusual population and specimens of known Isoetes louisianensis were examined comparatively based on morphology, megaspore ornamentation, examination of habitat characteristics, and phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequence data from the nuclear internal transcribed spacer 1 and 2 (ITS) and the 5.8S ribosomal gene. No …


An Examination Of The Influence Of Social Physique Anxiety On Effort And Exercise Participation In College Students, Trellony M. Irwin Dec 2017

An Examination Of The Influence Of Social Physique Anxiety On Effort And Exercise Participation In College Students, Trellony M. Irwin

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether an individual’s perception of others influenced exercise participation and effort in women and men participants involved in exercise classes in a campus recreation facility. The study consists of a survey that utilizes the Social Physique Anxiety Scale, the Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Scale, and demographic information. Results revealed that participants’ social physique anxiety accounted for roughly 30% of the variance in self-reported physical activity. However, when it came to participant effort during the group exercise classes, there was only roughly 2% variance between social physique anxiety and RPE. Further, the …


Salinity Tolerance Of Gambusia Affinis, Sarah Rubelowsky Dec 2017

Salinity Tolerance Of Gambusia Affinis, Sarah Rubelowsky

Honors Theses

Developmental plasticity refers to changes during development as a result of environmental contributions. Salinity is a varying environmental condition in freshwater and estuarine habitats that can mediate developmental plasticity in Gambusia affinis, which can increase their tolerances as an invasive species. For my study, estuarine and freshwater populations of Gambusia affinis were sampled in March of 2017 using dip nets. Both populations were then brought back to the laboratory where pregnant females were acclimated to three different salinities (0‰, 15‰, 25‰) until they gave birth. I predicted that the estuarine population of Gambusia affinis would have a greater salinity tolerance …


Agriculture Teacher Couples: Opportunities And Challenges, Kaylan Hope Johnson Nov 2017

Agriculture Teacher Couples: Opportunities And Challenges, Kaylan Hope Johnson

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.


Symptoms, Infectious Pathway, Treatment, And History Of Rabies In The United States, Paul Beckman-Ellenwood Aug 2017

Symptoms, Infectious Pathway, Treatment, And History Of Rabies In The United States, Paul Beckman-Ellenwood

Honors Theses

Rabies is a virus of the Lyssavirus family that is endemic to almost all parts of the world and claims over 55,000 lives every year. The virus is capable of being vectored through any warm-blooded animal and has a variable incubation time in its hosts. Once the disease finishes incubating and symptoms appear in the host, the disease is always fatal to humans. To prevent this there are several treatments available, but they can be expensive or difficult to obtain in parts of the world that have the most problems with rabies. To solve this vaccines have been created to …


The Effect Of Normal Helmet Degradation In Division I Football Players Over The Period Of One Half Of A Competitive Season, Matthew Mcmullan Aug 2017

The Effect Of Normal Helmet Degradation In Division I Football Players Over The Period Of One Half Of A Competitive Season, Matthew Mcmullan

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the effect of normal helmet use by athletes from a Division I football team over the period of the first half of a competitive season upon the impact performance characteristics as measured by peak g values obtained through the application of the NOCSAE drop impact testing protocol. The goal of this research is to determine if one half of a season is enough time exposure to result in a significant decrease in a helmet’s performance quality. This study tracks changes in performance in overall function, as well as the function of each …


Color Vision And Signal Color Evolution In Anolis Lizards, Catherine S. Wadman Jun 2017

Color Vision And Signal Color Evolution In Anolis Lizards, Catherine S. Wadman

Honors Theses

Anolis is a diverse genus of small arboreal lizards that utilize a visual communication system using a colorful expandable throat-fan (dewlap). They signal either to attract females or repel males. The environment the lizard lives in has influenced the coloring of these dewlaps. Species that occupy shaded habitats tend to have yellow dewlaps while those that inhabit brighter habitats tend to have red dewlaps. In experiment 1 we used a color perception assay to test whether a red or yellow stimulus against a green background was more visible to the lizard under different light intensities mimicking a dewlap appearing in …


Caveolin Binding Motif Mutation Yields A Variance In Follicle Stimulating Hormone Receptor Signaling, Justin Fleischer Jun 2017

Caveolin Binding Motif Mutation Yields A Variance In Follicle Stimulating Hormone Receptor Signaling, Justin Fleischer

Honors Theses

The human follicle stimulating hormone receptor (hFSHR) is a glycoprotein hormone receptor belonging to the g protein-coupled receptor family. It is important in both male and female reproductive processes; defects in hFSHR can lead to infertility, delayed puberty, reduced muscle bulk, and osteoporosis. Work in other labs has shown that GPCRs can be localized to microdomains located within the cell membrane called lipid rafts. These regions are highly resistant to detergents because of the high concentration of sphingolipids and cholesterol. Also within these domains, an intracellular protein, caveolin, is present. Our lab has shown that hFSHR also localizes to lipid …


The Linkage Between Hpa Axis Dysregulation And Metabolic Syndrome, Brianna Godlewski Jun 2017

The Linkage Between Hpa Axis Dysregulation And Metabolic Syndrome, Brianna Godlewski

Honors Theses

A diagnosis of Metabolic Syndrome (MSX) requires patients to present with three or more of the following symptoms: elevated fasting blood glucose levels, elevated serum triglyceride levels, low serum HDL levels, elevated blood pressure, and truncal obesity. This pathology shares many similarities with Cushing’s Syndrome (CS) but a diagnosis of CS requires hypercortisolemia. This similarity has led our lab and others to hypothesize that MSX may be a Cushingoid-like state caused by hypersensitivity of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), a nuclear hormone receptor that is activated when cortisol binds, and or hyperactivity of the enzyme 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11?- HSD) type 1, …


Development Of Novel Allele Specific Pcr Based Assays To Investigate The Contribution Of Cortisol To Metabolic Syndrome And It's Potential Implications In Depression Treatment, Justin Robert Salm Jun 2017

Development Of Novel Allele Specific Pcr Based Assays To Investigate The Contribution Of Cortisol To Metabolic Syndrome And It's Potential Implications In Depression Treatment, Justin Robert Salm

Honors Theses

The shared circuitries of depression and the stress response, regulated by the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis, implies that major depression may reflect dysregulations of the HPA axis. Previous studies find that that melancholic depression is accompanied by hyperactive HPA activity, anxiety, insomnia etc. Adversely, patients with atypical depression present CRH deficiency accompanied by lethargy and fatigue. According to the corticosteroid receptor hypothesis, HPA axis dysregulation that causes these variable phenotypic depressive moods may be attributed to defective GR expression or function. Multiple GR polymorphisms that could impact its expression or function have been identified. Due to limitations, it was not feasible …


Neuropsychological Test Performance In Pediatric Tbi, Learning Disability, And Adhd: Difference In Reliable Digit Span, Emily West Jun 2017

Neuropsychological Test Performance In Pediatric Tbi, Learning Disability, And Adhd: Difference In Reliable Digit Span, Emily West

Honors Theses

Children have been found to give non-credible performances on neuropsychological evaluations and using Performance Validity Tests (PVT) can help identify such cases, but maximum effort is necessary for tests to be reliable for determining next steps. This study assessed the differences in rates of non-credible performance on the Reliable Digit Span (RDS) between traumatic brain injury (TBI), learning disability (LD) and ADHD diagnoses in a pediatric clinical sample. It was hypothesized that those with ADHD would have a higher failure rate than those with either TBI or LD. RDS data from 200 clients referred to neuropsychological testing agencies were collected …


A Systematic Investigation Of The Effects Of Chain Length And Ionic Head Group On Perfluoroalkyl Acid Binding To Human Serum Albumin, Jake Ulrich Jun 2017

A Systematic Investigation Of The Effects Of Chain Length And Ionic Head Group On Perfluoroalkyl Acid Binding To Human Serum Albumin, Jake Ulrich

Honors Theses

Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are industrial chemicals used in everyday products ranging from non-stick coatings to fire-fighting foam. PFAAs are contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) and are bioaccumulative, persistent and toxic. Unlike other CECs, PFAAs bioaccumulate in areas of high protein concentration, such as the kidneys, liver and blood; therefore, it is vital to study PFAA-protein interactions. Human Serum Albumin (HSA) is the model protein used for PFAA-protein studies because it is the most abundant protein in the human body and it binds and transports endogenous and exogenous ligands. Previously, researchers have investigated PFAA-HSA binding, but most of these studies have …


Interactive Physical And Cognitive Exercise System (Ipaces™): The Neuropsychological Effects For Youth On The Autism Spectrum, Michaela Haller Jun 2017

Interactive Physical And Cognitive Exercise System (Ipaces™): The Neuropsychological Effects For Youth On The Autism Spectrum, Michaela Haller

Honors Theses

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects 1 in 68 children in the United States (Center for Disease Control, 2016). The disorder is characterized by deficits in social interaction, verbal communication, restricted interests, and repetitive behaviors (DSM- V, 2013). While the apparent cause of ASD is biological, the diagnosis remains based on social deficits (Hapé & Frith, 1996). Exercise has been found to improve executive function for children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, but motivation is an issue and exergames hold promise. This pilot study evaluated an interactive Physical and Cognitive Exercise System (iPACES™), wherein children pedal …


Fitness And Exercise As Linked To Overall Stress And Physiological Stress Responses, Justine Monthony Jun 2017

Fitness And Exercise As Linked To Overall Stress And Physiological Stress Responses, Justine Monthony

Honors Theses

Exercise negatively correlates with physiological stress responses, but there is less research on short-term stress hormones for this response. For this thesis, I hypothesized that exercise and fitness levels would be negatively correlated with perceived stress and with physiological stress from a standard stressor. Undergraduate college participants reported their chronic stress, current mood, past week’s physical activity (amount and intensity), perceived physical fitness, and demographic characteristics. Participants also engaged in a social stress task, on which they had limited time to prepare a speech with no notice or resources that was given in front of peers who were ostensibly analyzing …


An Investigation In Negative Transfer: Theory Of Inhibition, Neel Patel Jun 2017

An Investigation In Negative Transfer: Theory Of Inhibition, Neel Patel

Honors Theses

Campbell and Robert (2012) found that numerical addition practice led to negative transfer on a subsequent test of numerical multiplication. Alternatively Rickard et al (2011) found negative transfer for numerical addition when participants were tested on an intermixed set of addition and subtractions problems after first practicing addition and then practicing subtraction. The present study sought to assess negative transfer by practicing participants with alphabet addition verification problems and testing the performance on alphabet multiplication verification. Ninety-five participants were split into 4 groups and given varying number of days of practice. During the test phase some multiplication verification problems included …


Quantification Of Hfshr Signaling To Determine Lipid Raft Residency, Gregory Geisel Jun 2017

Quantification Of Hfshr Signaling To Determine Lipid Raft Residency, Gregory Geisel

Honors Theses

Human follicle stimulating hormone (hFSH) is a gonadotropin responsible for regulating reproductive systems by stimulation of Sertoli cells in males and granulosa cells in females. The hFSH receptor (hFSHR) is a seven transmembrane receptor that belongs to the G protein coupled receptor family. The receptor is functionally connected to a G protein on the inside of the cell. Once FSH activates its receptor, a cascade of signaling begins, resulting in the activation of adenylyl cyclase, which increases the intracellular levels of cAMP. In addition, hFSHR stimulation also activates the p44/42 MAP kinase. The spike in cAMP activates the enzyme protein …


Use Of Crispr To Develop A Follicle Stimulating Hormone Receptor Knockout In Human Granulosa Cells To Study Lipid Raft Residency, Jenna Pradhuman Jun 2017

Use Of Crispr To Develop A Follicle Stimulating Hormone Receptor Knockout In Human Granulosa Cells To Study Lipid Raft Residency, Jenna Pradhuman

Honors Theses

Human follicle stimulating hormone (hFSH) is a protein hormone responsible for stimulating the gonads and is necessary for regulating reproductive systems in both females and males. The actions of hFSh are carried out by the hFSH receptor (hFSHR), a seven transmembrane receptor that belongs to the G protein-coupled receptor family. Once FSH activates its receptor, the G protein inside the cell that is associated with the receptor is activated and starts a cascade of signaling that results in activation of protein kinase A (PKA) and the p44/42 MAP kinase (MAPK). The activation of these secondary proteins is responsible for follicular …


Biomarkers And Neuropsychological Change: A Pilot Study Of Three Months Of The Interactive Physical And Cognitive Exercise System (Ipaces™) For Older Adults, Jessica Stark Jun 2017

Biomarkers And Neuropsychological Change: A Pilot Study Of Three Months Of The Interactive Physical And Cognitive Exercise System (Ipaces™) For Older Adults, Jessica Stark

Honors Theses

The current pilot study of the interactive Physical and Cognitive Exercise System (iPACES™) examined the relationship between biomarkers and cognitive change over three months of neuroexergaming, wherein older adults pedaled and steered along a virtual bike path to complete a list of errands (Memory Lane™). Executive function and saliva were measured at baseline, mid (6-week), and three months. Results revealed moderate to large correlations between executive function and salivary biomarkers cortisol, BDNF, and IGF1. These findings suggest that neuroexergaming interventions such as iPACES™ may impact both cognitive and neurobiological pathways and perhaps could be an effective way to promote healthy …


Investigating The Relationship Between Invasive Garlic Mustard Alliaria Petiolata And Blacklegged Ticks Ixodes Scapularis, Nicole Shauffer Jun 2017

Investigating The Relationship Between Invasive Garlic Mustard Alliaria Petiolata And Blacklegged Ticks Ixodes Scapularis, Nicole Shauffer

Honors Theses

Garlic mustard Alliaria petiolata is an invasive herb that has been studied for its chemical allelopathy ability to hinder plant growth of its competitors and potential to inhibit entomopathogenic fungi. It has been suggested that these fungi which infect and kill insects and arthropods like blacklegged ticks Ixodes scapularis may be negatively impacted by garlic mustard presence. This study investigated the potential relationship between garlic mustard and blacklegged tick populations through two experiments. One experiment measured the effect of garlic mustard soil and leaf extract on waxworm survival where waxworms were used as a bioassay for the presence of fungi. …


Anion Recognition Of Porphyrin Calixarene Hybrids, Lance Mwangi May 2017

Anion Recognition Of Porphyrin Calixarene Hybrids, Lance Mwangi

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.


Effects Of Equine Appeasing Pheromone On Heart Rate And Heart Rate Variability During Temporary Separation Of Equine Preferred Partners, Hannah Susanne Wilson May 2017

Effects Of Equine Appeasing Pheromone On Heart Rate And Heart Rate Variability During Temporary Separation Of Equine Preferred Partners, Hannah Susanne Wilson

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.


Prevalence Of Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis (Bd) In Watercourses Situated In Southeast Tennessee, Macall A. Nabors May 2017

Prevalence Of Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis (Bd) In Watercourses Situated In Southeast Tennessee, Macall A. Nabors

Honors Theses

Four hundred and twenty-seven amphibian species are critically endangered. The fungal disease Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been correlated with amphibian decline and extinction. Numerous studies concerning the nature of Bd have been conducted; however, additional studies are needed to adequately evaluate Bd in southeastern Tennessee. As a result of previous studies, the following hypothesizes were proposed: watercourses in southeastern Tennessee will test positive for Bd, non-impacted streams will have a greater presence of Bd than impacted streams, and increased canopy coverage has a positive correlation with the presence of Bd. Field sampling took place from June 2nd 2016 to August …


Elucidating The Interplay Between Sodium Selenite On The Tick Amblyomma Maculatum Selenoprotein Gene Expression, Afnan M. Beauti May 2017

Elucidating The Interplay Between Sodium Selenite On The Tick Amblyomma Maculatum Selenoprotein Gene Expression, Afnan M. Beauti

Honors Theses

Selenium (Se) is an element recognized as an essential micronutrient in eukaryote organisms. Selenoproteins contain selenium as selenocysteine, the 21st amino acid. Selenium plays a role in cell growth and functioning. At low concentrations, it can induce growth and at high concentrations, it can cause a cell to stop growing and potentially have toxic effects on the cell and organism. When selenium levels are high, oxidative stress results by the production of reactive oxidative species. Selenoproteins, however, can aid the antioxidant response in the cell. Ticks are arthropods of interest, as they are one of few that contain many selenogenes, …


Investigating The Effects Of Decreased Ph On The Intertidal Shore Crab, Hemigrapsus Nudus, Avni Gandhi May 2017

Investigating The Effects Of Decreased Ph On The Intertidal Shore Crab, Hemigrapsus Nudus, Avni Gandhi

Honors Theses

Ocean acidification has emerged as an issue for marine organisms, due to increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. In particular, invertebrates with calcium carbonate exoskeletons seem to be at risk. Our research investigates the potential effect of decreased pH on the weight of Hemigrapsus nudus, a species of intertidal crab found in Northern California. Over a 6 week period, crabs were maintained in individual containers with recirculating chilled seawater at 12.7°C. The control aquaria was maintained at 8.1 pH, while the experimental aquaria averaged a pH of 7.5. Crabs were weighed at two week intervals, preliminary information shows the …


Lacuna: Transcendence Of The Human Body Through The Space Between, Anica Bottom May 2017

Lacuna: Transcendence Of The Human Body Through The Space Between, Anica Bottom

Honors Theses

This essay examines the author’s choreography, Lacuna, and research integral to its representation. During the choreographic process, experimentation of how the human body moves in relation to different architectural space was observed. In collaboration with the cast of dancers, cohesion of personal experiences in particular locations was evaluated: specifically, investigation of how environments has the ability to trigger habits or patterns of movement from both past and present experiences. A closer look at how the body responds on a visceral level to the physical and emotional sense of place is described. Although the choreographic piece, Lacuna, came to …


The Effects Of Gaze Eccentricity On Stepping Accuracy And Anticipatory Postural Adjustments, Shyrece D. Celestine May 2017

The Effects Of Gaze Eccentricity On Stepping Accuracy And Anticipatory Postural Adjustments, Shyrece D. Celestine

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.


Effects Of Temperature Gradient, Substrate Composition, And Canopy Cover On The Spatial Distribution Of Topminnow Species: Fundulus Notatus And Fundulus Olivaceus, Austin M. King May 2017

Effects Of Temperature Gradient, Substrate Composition, And Canopy Cover On The Spatial Distribution Of Topminnow Species: Fundulus Notatus And Fundulus Olivaceus, Austin M. King

Honors Theses

Hybrid zones are locations where two interbreeding species coexist and hybridize. The spatial distribution of ecologically similar species is of primary interest in understanding the formation and stability of hybrid zones. These hybrid zones are of significance as they allow for insight into how speciation occurs naturally within the environment. A variety of factors may play a role in determining the spatial distributions of species within hybrid zones. Examples of these factors include variations in temperature gradients, substrate composition, and changes in canopy cover. Fundulus olivaceus and Fundulus notatus are generally found within upstream and downstream habitats respectfully. These habitats …


Phylogenetic Relationships Of The Genera Of Achariaceae Based On Analyses Of Morphological And Dna Data, Corey L. Pagart May 2017

Phylogenetic Relationships Of The Genera Of Achariaceae Based On Analyses Of Morphological And Dna Data, Corey L. Pagart

Honors Theses

Achariaceae are a mostly tropical family of flowering plants consisting of about 29 genera and 150 species of trees and shrubs. Although they are closely related to passionflowers (Passifloraceae), violets (Violaceae), and willows and cottonwoods (Salicaceae), phylogenetic relationships of the genera remain unclear because the only studies have been focused on particular genera or had limited sampling. Few studies of the family in general have been conducted, except for some on species that produce chaulmoogra oil, a commonly used historical treatment for leprosy. For my study, I investigated the relationships of the genera within the family using morphological and molecular …