Digital Commons Network^™

Investigating Myosin Ensemble Force Generation Using Optical Tweezers, Janie Watts

Honors Theses

Myosin is a motor protein that facilitates muscle contraction and movement by stepping along actin filaments using energy from ATP hydrolysis. If myosin or other motors are disrupted throughout the body, it can have many harmful effects. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a disease caused by gene mutations that affect myosin heavy chains in the heart. The tissue of the heart becomes abnormally thick, which can make it more difficult to pump blood or block blood flow out of the heart. Our goal is to discern the mechanistic difference function of a healthy and diseased heart. To accomplish this, we construct model …

The Power Of Mission Statements: A Comparative Analysis Of Sec And Big 10 Environmental Verbiage, Julia Kienzler

Honors Theses

Since the 1980s, research universities have utilized mission statements as a way to outline their management processes and their knowledge planning. However, even top research institutions across the United States fail to incorporate environmental verbiage into their missions. This study seeks to begin to understand the factors that contribute to a university’s decision to use or to not use bold environmental language in their mission statements, especially as this concerns climate change and sustainability. To accomplish this, I conducted a comparative analysis of all twenty-six public SEC and BIG 10 universities by extracting specific environmental terminology from each school’s ‘mission …

An Imc Approach To Building Trust Among Nonprofit Donors, Catherine A. Romaine

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the role of a holistic Integrated Marketing Communications strategy within the nonprofit sector. The research aims to identify the effectiveness of different marketing communication tactics in soliciting donations for nonprofit organizations. It examines the influences and motivations of donors when choosing one organization over another for their monetary contributions. The thesis investigates the impact of specific integrated marketing strategies in building and maintaining relationships with different stakeholders such as donors, volunteers, and employees.

Through a literature review of successful nonprofits and missteps within the sector, this thesis identifies various factors that contribute to nonprofit marketing success, including …

Eucalyptus Essential Oil: A Safety Assessment And Causality Evaluation Of Published Case Reports, Cecile Bascoul

Oxford ICSB

Eucalyptus essential oil (EO) and preparations containing eucalyptus EO have been used in traditional medicine for centuries for the treatment of respiratory illnesses such as cold, influenza and sinus congestion. Research, including clinical trials, has been carried out to evaluate the efficacy of eucalyptus alleviating symptoms of such conditions. However, eucalyptus EO and preparations with eucalyptus EO have also been associated with rare cases of CNS depression and seizures. The case reports reviewed showed evidence of CNS depression and/or seizure in patients from all ages (<1 to 74 year-old) with different doses of eucalyptus EO (0.18 mL to 1000 mL). Most of the adverse events were in children; some of them reacting to small doses (4 drops of EO or about 0.24 mL), ingested, inhaled or after topical application. Most children who developed seizures did not have a history of seizures before the event. The main constituent of eucalyptus EO is 1,8-cineole (about 65% to 84% 1,8 cineole for eucalyptus globulus EO, one of the most commonly used eucalyptus species in commercially available …

Effects Of A Novel Botanical Supplement On Glycemic Variability And Postprandial Glucose Response, Nicole Stevens

Oxford ICSB

Mulberry leaf extract high in the iminosugar 1-deoxynojirimycin (DNJ) has been shown in previous studies to inhibit glycosidase enzyme activity. A novel supplement including mulberry leaf extract, berberine and cinnamon extract was evaluated in a two-cohort study using endpoints of glycemic variability, postprandial glucose response, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and safety markers. In the first cohort (n=15), these endpoints were determined over two weeks by continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and blood/urine analyses in healthy adults. Approximately half of the participants (n=7) took a dosage of 250 mg prior to each meal, and the other participants (n=8) took 500 mg before …

Inaugural College Of Liberal Arts Awards Ceremony, 2023, Lee M. Cohen, University Of Mississippi College Of Liberal Arts

Liberal Arts Awards

The College of Liberal Arts presented awards to its faculty, staff, students, and alumni in the Johnson Commons Ballroom.

The Biggest Hoax? Investigating The Work-Life Balance Of Veteran Secondary Teachers In North Mississippi Public Schools, Anna Grace Robinson

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the struggle with work-life balance among veteran secondary teachers in public North Mississippi schools. Primary research questions include a) How do veteran teachers describe the struggle with work-life balance, b) What coping strategies over their career seem helpful?, and c)What changes could be made to the educational system to better support public school teachers in their pursuit of work-life balance? At what level should those changes occur? Qualitative data was collected by interviewing five teachers from middle and high schools in the North Mississippi region and analyzed to understand emergent themes from the interviews. This research found …

Pharmacists’ Perceptions And Knowledge Of The Legalization Of Medical Marijuana In Mississippi, Faith Houston

Honors Theses

The legalization of medical cannabis in Mississippi was a debated topic among all citizens. This thesis specifically explored pharmacists’ perceptions and knowledge as medical professionals who will be involved with patients certified to use medical cannabis. Information was gathered using a voluntary online survey on the Qualtrics platform to produce a cross-sectional, descriptive study.

From the information gathered, it was apparent that pharmacists in Mississippi have varying opinions regarding medical marijuana. Some are in favor of using these products, and some are not. However, as cannabis has been officially accepted and put into patient's medical plans both current and future …

The Effects Of Motivational Intervention On College Students In Asynchronous Classes, Abigail Perkins

Honors Theses

Procrastination is one of the most common behaviors that interfere with student success (Liu et al., 2020). It affects student performance and has long-lasting effects on motivation. Several studies have shown that motivational interventions can reduce procrastination levels (Liu et al., 2020). Goal setting has been particularly successful (Grunschel et al., 2016; Liu et al., 2020; Schwinger et al., 2009). The present study is focused on the evaluation of whether proximal goal setting will affect academic procrastination in an online, asynchronous class. Seventy-eight undergraduate students enrolled in such a class were invited to participate in this study. Participants were randomly …

Provider Perspectives On Mississippi's Child Care Payment Program, Katherine Broten

Honors Theses

The Mississippi Child Care Payment Program allocates public dollars from the Child Care Development Block Grant to decrease the cost of child care to qualifying Mississippi families. The purpose of this research is to examine how the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing policy changes from the state of Mississippi shaped child care providers' experience with the Child Care Payment Program. By surveying child care providers, this researcher assesses to analyze the effectiveness of the program and determines remaining what areas of need. Please note that this research applies to policies prior to the 2023 revision to the Child Care Payment Program …

The Efficacy Of Leadership Training: A Case Study Of The Sullivan Foundation's Inspired Leadership Workshop, Rachel Berry

Honors Theses

All too often, leaders are raised up without the proper training for the job. Although a variety of different leadership training methods have been implemented over the last few decades, the efficacy of these training methods are still in question. Therefore, this thesis serves to examine the efficacy of leadership training programs by examining a leadership workshop, conducted by the Sullivan Foundation on two separate occasions, in order to understand if leadership training improves one’s leadership ability. In order to measure the efficacy of the Sullivan Foundation’s Leadership workshop, this thesis utilized a case study approach to examine the workshop …

April 27, 2023, The Daily Mississippian

Daily Mississippian (all digitized issues)

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Covid-19 On The Supply Chain And Quality Of Botanical Ingredients, Stefan Gafner

Oxford ICSB

Examples from the past show that a supply chain disruption, or a series of such disruptions, generates sudden spikes in consumer demand, and that abrupt, unplanned changes to the supply and demand in botanical materials lead to an increase in adulteration and fraud. When this happens due to simultaneous interruptions of numerous ingredients based on a global pandemic, as in the case of COVID-19, it is predictable that unscrupulous suppliers and sellers of botanical ingredients will attempt to take advantage of supply shortages by manufacturers of herbal medicines and dietary supplements to sell them lower-quality or sometimes adulterated materials.

Among …

Immulina Enhances Host Resilience Against Influenza Virus-Induced Illness In A Prodromal Mouse Model: Part B – Changes In Viral Load And Clinical Signs Of Infection, Kashif Shamim, Tahir Mir

Oxford ICSB

The University of Mississippi Botanical Dietary Supplements Research Center is performing research on the potential use of Limnospira (formally Arthrospira) to enhance resilience against influenza viral infection. Limnospira is a cyanobacterium that has been used as a food for centuries and more recently as a popular health supplement. A commercial extract called Immulina has been developed that concentrates the level of immunomodulatory activity due to Braun-type lipoproteins – compounds that activate immune pathways through a toll-like receptor (TLR) 2-dependent mechanism. Although oral ingestion of Immulina has been reported to exhibit a protective effect against subsequent H1N1 influenza A (IfA) …

Açaí Fruit Pulp And Supplement Extracts: Potential Induction Of Cyp Enzymes And P-Gp/Oatp-B Transporters, Kelli Mcdonald

Oxford ICSB

Euterpe oleracea Mart., commonly known as açaí, is among the top 40 botanicals currently used in the United States. Its presence in food products and botanical supplements is growing exponentially. To better ascertain potential açaí-drug interactions, we are analyzing the effects of açaí extracts on CYP induction and P-gp/OATP-B drug transporters. Certified organic açaí fruit powder from Mountain Rose (MR) Herbs (Eugene, OR, USA) and dietary supplement capsules containing aqueous extracts of Euterpe oleracea Mart. (açaí) fruit from Nature’s Way (Green Bay, WI, USA) and Natrol (Chatsworth, CA, USA) were obtained. The Mountain Rose powder is representative of what is …

Prediction Of Clinically Relevant Botanical-Drug Clearance Interactions For Boswellia Serrata Extract Using Sandwich-Cultured Human Hepatocytes., Amy Roe

Oxford ICSB

Boswellia serrata extract (BSE) is used in dietary supplements for its anti-inflammatory properties. There are reports in the scientific literature that BSE has the potential to inhibit CYP450 enzymes. We have shown that sandwich-cultured human hepatocytes (SCHH) are an excellent model for predicting clinically relevant botanical-drug interactions (BDI) since they integrate metabolism and transport. When using SCHH the BDI potential with BSE appears low; however, our previous work did not include an assessment of CYP450 induction potential. We present an intrinsic clearance approach using SCHH to evaluate an overall net effect (inhibition and induction) of BDI potential with BSE. SCHH …

Usp Monographs For Quality Control Of Different Ginsengs, Cuiying Ma

Oxford ICSB

Ginseng species are members of the genus Panax and are characterized by the presence of ginsenosides. American ginseng, Asian ginseng, Tienchi ginseng, and red (steamed) Asian ginseng roots and their extracts are very popular ingredients of dietary supplements. Quality control of ginseng dietary supplement products and differentiation of different ginseng articles are important for guaranty of quality and correct labeling. USP monographs for different ginsengs provide quality control procedures with suitable reference standards (RS) to help ensure correct and qualified ginseng ingredients are used.

USP ginseng monographs include both UHPLC and HPTLC identification tests of ginsenosides, which can efficiently identify …

More Than Just A Number: Utilizing Ccs And Conformational Space Analysis To Characterize Unknowns In Complex Extracts, Rachel A. Harris

Oxford ICSB

Natural products from plants, either as pure compounds or as prepared extracts, are widely recognized for their near unlimited potential due to their unmatched and rich chemical diversity. Challenging aspects in the use of natural products include the recognition that unknown compounds are not included in spectral databases, have no chemical standards, and discrimination of structurally similar isomers requires knowledge of isomer presence and potentially difficult and time-consuming chromatographic separations.[FS1] Ion mobility (IM) is a gas phase analytical technique that separates ions based on differences in their size, shape, and charge in the gas phase. Increasingly, IM is being utilized …

Fast Detection Of Adulteration In Lavender Essential Oil Using A-Teem Multidimensional Spectroscopy, Jeffrey Juien

Oxford ICSB

Absorbance-Transmission Excitation Emission Matrix, or “A-TEEM” is a multimodal spectroscopic approach that incorporates UV/Vis and 3D fluorescence for a 2-in-1 measurement. This attractive methodology promotes a rapid and cost-effective alternative for analyses in areas as diverse as water treatment, food & beverage, natural products, and pharmaceuticals. One of the key attributes responsible for its appeal is the very low limit of detection, often in the parts-per-billion to parts-per-trillion range, which is several orders of magnitude better than competing technologies such as NIR, FT-IR, and Raman. In addition to having high sensitivity and specificity, A-TEEM has proven to be a robust …

Operation Supplement Safety Ingredient Database: A Comprehensive Encyclopedic Collection Of Ingredients, Andrea T. Lindsey

Oxford ICSB

Operation Supplement Safety (OPSS) is the Department of Defense’s (DoD) go-to program for anything related to dietary supplements (DS). OPSS partners with other federal departments, professional and academic institutions to provide the most current, evidence-based information, resources, and tools for education and decision-making. In March 2022, DoD Instruction (DoDI) 6130.06, Use of Dietary Supplements in the DoD was issued. It states that OPSS will maintain the official DoD Prohibited Dietary Supplement Ingredients List and provide DS educational training.

OPSS is developing a comprehensive ingredient database (OPSSID) that will list all ingredients (to include prohibited ones) found in DS, along with …

Chemometrics: A Valuable Tool For Deriving Information From Complex Data Sets, James Harnly

Oxford ICSB

Chemometrics is a subset of machine learning which has been defined a set of advanced mathematical and statistical methods for the analysis of data. This defines many methods such as chemometrics, artificial neuro networks, support vector machines, and rule building expert systems. Chemometrics allows us to draw information from multivariate raw data, i.e., to discover patterns, causes of the patterns, and, with appropriate algorithms, the variance associated with the patterns. The most commonly used forms of chemometrics are principal components analysis (PCA for modeling) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA for classification), unsupervised and supervised methods, respectively. In its simplest …

Rapid Simultaneous Quantitation Of Kavalactones And Flavokavains In Piper Methysticum Root By A-Teem Spectroscopy, James Kababick, Stacy Wise

Oxford ICSB

No abstract provided.

‘Dynamic Duo’ In Pt Caps Off Busy Semester - Journey To Commencement, Danny Barrett Jr.

Journey to Commencement

Mackenzie Hutto and Philip Heine to celebrate May graduation then June wedding.

The Role Of Community Outreach Programs In Partnership With The University Of Mississippi In Combating Food Insecurity In The Oxford/Lafayette Area, Gabrielle Miller

Honors Theses

Grow Club is a community outreach programming effort that was formed in Oxford, Mississippi in the fall of 2020 by University of Mississippi undergraduate students. The program works towards bringing community members as well as university students and staff together in attempts at alleviating many stressors felt by local community members living in poverty. This written work aims to offer a breakdown of how this program began and the steps taken to recognize a community need, formulate solutions, and work with the community to offer resources.

Study Budgets In Human Anatomy And Physiology Students: Assessments Of Time On Tasks As Affected By Student Motivation And Assessment Weighting, Mattie C. Derivaux

Honors Theses

The extent to which a student is motivated, along with the root of that motivation, can significantly influence the nature of a student’s experience in a course, especially in a rigorous science course such as Human Anatomy and Physiology (HAP). Students’ perceptions of specific course elements, coupled with how they perceive their purposes, can alter their motivation to succeed, which in turn can affect their performance. This study sought to analyze student motivation in an undergraduate HAP course at the University of Mississippi by focusing on students’ attitudes towards the weight distribution of course assessments, effort exertions, and time allotted …

View From The Editor's Chair, Stephen Daniells

Oxford ICSB

With the pandemic fading in the minds of most Americans and a return to something we can all recognize as ‘normality’, there is a slight reset happening in US dietary supplements industry. Consumers who flocked to the industry in record numbers are still there, but spending habits have changed and hot categories like immune support are evolving. We're also seeing technology being leveraged in the search for the next hot ingredient, from artificial intelligence to synthetic biology, and this has implications for the botanicals trade. We also have an industry at odds with itself, with trade associations working against each …

Extract Of Artemisia Dracunculus L. Modulates The Proliferation And Activity Of Osteoblasts, Matthew C. Scott

Oxford ICSB

Thiazolidinedione (TZD) treatment significantly improves insulin sensitivity and lowers blood glucose via action on adipocytes. Unfortunately, the pro-adipogenic property of TZDs is also associated with bone degradation by inhibiting the action of bone forming cells, or osteoblasts. An ethanol extract of Artemisia dracunculus L., termed PMI 5011, improves blood glucose and insulin sensitivity via action on muscle cells, rather than fat, and may therefore spare bone while lowering blood glucose levels. Here we examine in vitro the effects of PMI 5011 on a pre-osteoblast cell line, MC3T3-E1 cells, during osteogenic differentiation. We hypothesized that PMI 5011 will not inhibit osteogenesis, …

New Dietary Supplement Reference Material Resources From The Nih Ods Analytical Methods And Reference Materials Program, Adam J. Kuszak

Oxford ICSB

The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) Analytical Methods and Reference Materials (AMRM) Program supports the development of tools that promote quantitative determinations of dietary supplement identity, composition, and purity, as well as assessments of authenticity and contamination of botanical raw materials and finished products. AMRM goals are accomplished through funding and collaboration in three program areas: formal validation of quantitative and qualitative methods, production of certified reference materials (CRMs), and support of dietary supplement focused laboratory quality assurance programs. This presentation will provide updates on recent AMRM activities and highlight newly available resources that should benefit natural product researchers …

Support And Balance: How Graduate Student Thomas Riddle Does It All - Journey To Commencement, Clara Turnage

Journey to Commencement

Exercise science major juggles work, school, family and a desire to help others.

College Esports: Grassroots Hobby Turned Unregulated Industry, Grace Ann Alexander

Honors Theses

When traditional sports teams formed on college campuses, it took decades before they looked anything like college sports teams do today. College football is noted as beginning in 1869 (Parlier, 2022), NCAA formed in 1906, and the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision launched in 1978 (NCAA, 2023). In 2009, one of the first recorded college esports matches took place. In 2014, Robert Morris Universty started the first varsity-level college esports program. Now, there are an estimated 500 college esports programs amassing thousands of student participants. It took decades, if not a century, for college football to achieve these numbers. …