Digital Commons Network^™

Characterization Of Aquatic Sediment Bacteria Resistant To Triclosan And Antibiotics Above And Below The Town Branch Wastewater Treatment Plant, Laura Mims

Honors Theses

Wastewater treatment plants appear to play a role in releasing antimicrobial compounds and resistant genes into the environment. The phenomenon of bacterial resistance to multiple antimicrobial compounds is not well understood with regards to public health. Studies have examined cross-resistance to triclosan and various antibiotics in bacteria. These resistance mechanisms: target site modification, membrane resistance, and efflux pumps indicate possible ways in which bacteria have adapted to antibiotics as well as triclosan. In addition, antibiotic resistance genes occur naturally in the environment and are passed from species to species through horizontal gene transfer. Sediment samples were collected from above and …

Presentation Of Bicultural Identity In Hispanic Children’S Literature, Elena B. Lofton

Honors Theses

Children of all backgrounds can use literature as a means to understand the world in which they live. Therefore, it is important that children’s books represent diverse cultures and experiences. This study analyzed Hispanic children’s literature published in the U.S. that contained child characters with bicultural Hispanic-American identities. The aim of this study was to determine how the linguistic and literary elements in five books, which contained bilingual Spanish-English interwoven text, combined to present a bicultural identity and lifestyle in the United States today. The literary elements analyzed included themes, character portrayal, the roles of family and the elderly, and …

Arigell, Shaylin Carlton

Honors Theses

In this fictional novella, a world is torn in half by a centuries-long war between the Dregmar and the Caimthu. However, the tear in the worlds wasn't as perfect as it seemed, and now a city is poking up through the ragged seams of both worlds. A city filled with neither caimthu nor dregmar, but something else entirely, something not of their world. And that's not the only thing that snuck through the cracks.

Arigell, a soldier in the caimthu army, confronts the edges of both worlds and her own past.

Bekah, a human in another world, comes face-to-face with …

The Effects Of Tourism In Jamaica, Natalie Kearns

Honors Theses

Tourism is a fast and continuously growing industry throughout every region of the world. The effect that tourism has on a location usually isn’t the first thought when vacationers enter their destination location. In order to understand the effect of tourists and the tourist industry have had on Jamaica, I examined Jamaica’s historical development, including the tourist industry and the racial inequalities that developed as slaves were brought to the island. Then, using theories on place, identity, and authenticity, I conducted a content analysis of images tourists see while researching vacations to Jamaica.

This analysis confirmed that tourism to Jamaica …

Effects Of An Anti-Neoplastic High In Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Kevin M. Schrader

Honors Theses

The study was a month-long diet change focused on increasing omega-3 fatty acids and decreasing omega-6 fatty acids. This was done by using a Mediterranean style of eating focusing on fish, fruits, and vegetables. At the end of the diet, I lost 19 lbs, had a 2% decrease in body fat, a 2% increase in muscle, and a 7 beats per minute reduction in my heart rate.

Evaluation Of Particle Size Impact On Small Farm Economic Viability, Hannah West

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

"..." Modern Silence, Sarah Maher

Honors Theses

Silence is remarkable, both in concept and in reality. The human ear is outstanding at doing what it was made for. Not only can it withstand loud sound, but can also recognize the softest and most intricate whisperings, as well as everything in between. The ear can recognize all of these sounds and passes them on to our brains for interpretation. Our ears collect all sound but our brains determine what to focus on and what to ignore. But what if there are no “important” sounds? What if you are sitting alone in an empty room, making no unnecessary sounds? …

Women In Medicine: Past, Present, & Future, Ryleigh S. Livingston

Honors Theses

Women have been healers throughout history, even dating back to ancient Egypt and Greece, but it is only recently that they have been accepted into mainstream Western medicine. This research examines women and their role in healing and healthcare from ancient Egypt and through the Middle Ages, focusing mostly on Western medicine, but also looking at Eastern traditions in medicine in the world of Islam and China. The second part of this project details the creation and execution of an event hosted by the author and her co-chair La'Mayah Hodges for Women's History Month and the research that was presented …

Optimization Of Indirubin And Indigo Production In E.Coli, Gisela Cairo

Honors Theses

The goal of this thesis is to determine the conditions that give the highest yield of indigo and indirubin in recombinant E.coli. This E.coli has been transformed with a P450 gene from woad, an indigo producing plant. The conditions investigated were the type of media, the amount of inducer, the presences of supplements, and the induction time. The techniques used during the experiments were liquid-liquid extraction using separatory funnels and centrifugation, rotary evaporation, UV-vis spectrophotometry, and thin layer chromatography. Thin layer chromatography showed that the products of the reaction are indigo and indirubin; UV-vis spectrophotometry was used to find …

Plague Inc: Distribution Of Health Resources In The Modern World, Allison Rump

Honors Theses

Due to the ever increasing connectedness of our world, disease can spread faster than ever before. Therefore global health care is a pressing issue in the modern world. The Ebola epidemic of 2014, which infected an unprecedented number of people, was reminder of not only of human fragility but of the state modern medicine, especially when deployed in economically developing areas. Not only is medicine about the science and treatment of disease, it also is about economics and the ability to pay for treatment. This can manifest in many forms, for the Ebola epidemic there often were not enough equipment …

The Effects Of Exercise On The Microbial Metabolites Of The Equine Cecum, Ashton (Johanna) Wilson

Honors Theses

Little is known about the effect of exercise on the microbial profile of the equine cecum. As hindgut fermenters, horses are particular sensitive to gastrointestinal disorders. Previous work (McKenzie et.al., 2010; Walshe and Duggan, 2011; Schoester et.al., 2012; and Jager et.al., 2013) has demonstrated an impact of exercise on the fecal microbial composition of equines and canines. However, no information has been reported on the effects of exercise related to ammonia and volatile fatty acid production within the cecum. The objective of this research was to test the hypothesis that increasing exercise would impact the production of ammonia and volatile …

Southern Illinois Ticks: An Ecological And Medical Overview, Madeleine A. Pfaff

Honors Theses

Ticks are of concern to southern Illinois residents because they are common in the forested landscapes of the region and have the capability to cause disease in humans and pets. There are several tick-borne illnesses of concern to southern Illinois residents. Prescribed burning is a potential method of tick control, but no significant results were found in the correlation of tick density with time since burn.

The Imagined Southern Setting Of Cormac Mccarthy's The Road, John Emory Hooks

Honors Theses

The Road by Cormac McCarthy hardly seems like a work of southern literature at a first glance. The novel is post-apocalyptic. A man and his son, neither of whom are ever named, trek south as they struggle to survive in a world darkened by ash-filled skies. The setting surrounding them is not recognizable as the southern US anymore. The cities are burnt and everything is covered with ash. If we rely on the geography portrayed by a work of literature to identify that literature as southern or not, then The Road cannot be classified as southern based solely on the …

Blooming Lotus, Brian Nguyen

Honors Theses

While reflecting on my poetry chapbook, Blooming Lotus, I ask myself what I was trying to accomplish by creating the chapbook. I have always been interested in my East Asian culture, but growing up as an Asian American has resulted in some ignorance in regards to the topic. I wanted to explore more of my own heritage through the creation of this chapbook by writing poems inspired by East Asian culture. Not only did I want to expose myself to East Asian culture but I also wanted to expose my readers to it as well. Most of my poems required …

Comics As Film, Film As Comics: The Examples Of Alan Moore, Daniel Clowes, And Harvey Pekar, Rachel A. Atherton

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Efficacy Of Hormone-Toxin Fusion Protein In Cell Culture, Morgan Dillard

Honors Theses

Luteinizing hormone (LH) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) are members of the gonadotropin family and are vital for fertility in animals. Both LH and hCG bind to the luteinizing hormone receptor (LHR), found only in gonadal cells. Binding of the hormone to its receptor causes production of the steroid hormones testosterone and estrogen. By ablating cells that express LHR, the production of sex steroids would be terminated, leading to a loss in fertility. The overall goal of the project is to create a nonsurgical, single-dose sterilant for cats and dogs by ablating these cells. One way to target these cells …

A Theatrical Approach To Raising Awareness Of Human Sex Trafficking Across The Globe, Gwenn Gideon

Honors Theses

As a culmination of my theatrical studies and other academic and personal interests developed over my four years at Bucknell University, I conducted a yearlong project that raised awareness of human sex trafficking in the 2014-2015 academic year. My project was composed of three distinct parts that included facilitating in-class workshops, public workshops, and directing a staged reading. The overall goal of this project was to raise awareness of human sex trafficking, get people interested and involved in the project, and give people the information they need to do more. This project was a THEA 319 Independent Study that was …

The Impact Of Modern Processed And Natural Food Diets On Flavor-Nutrient Learning And Response To Sweet Taste In Rats, Kristen Marie Palframan

Honors Theses

Animals use classical conditioning to learn predictive relationships between flavors and postingestive nutrients, which allows them to regulate their body weights. This is made difficult by modern diets, which have confusing flavor-nutrient relationships due to added fats, sugars, and flavors in processed foods. Cafeteria diets containing a variety of human-typical foods are often used to study the effects of a modern diet in animal models. Foods used in cafeteria diets typically combine aspects such as high-fat high-sugar, variety, and high palatability. However, no past studies have analyzed the effect of variety on flavor-nutrient learning by using only natural foods. In …

The Ecstasy Of Economics: The Evolution Of Sergei Eisenstein's The Old And The New, William Hays Persing

Honors Theses

In my thesis, I analyze the development of the most often forgotten work by Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein ¿ The Old and the New. The production of the film from 1926 to 1929 was during a tumultuous period of economic transition during the Soviet Union when the socialist state moved from the mixed markets of the New Economic Policy (NEP) to the centralized planning of the First Five-Year Plan. The development of The Old and the New mirrors the economic period. I analyze how Eisenstein actively adapted his cinematic practice to accommodate the changing landscape of Soviet economic policy. Additionally, …

Testing Marginal Value Theorem In Saimiri Sciureus, Evan T. Sloan

Honors Theses

Marginal value theorem (MVT), a key component of optimal foraging theory, aims to model how an individual will most efficiently utilize a resource distributed in patches of varying size and value throughout a habitat. Among the fundamental assumptions of MVT is that foragers will maximize their net energy gain by foraging in a resource patch until reaching the average rate of intake for the habitat. This "give-up time" (GUT) per patch, defined as the time between the final prey capture and departing the patch, should remain constant throughout the habitat as a whole, but vary across habitats of different quality. …

Solicitation Of Identity In Cien Años De Soledad, Marinda J. Cauley

Honors Theses

In this thesis I intend to analyze Gabriel García Márquez’ canonical, magical realist novel, Cien años de soledad (1967), which is the fictional (and historical) account of several generations of the Buendía family in their town of Macondo. Cien años de soledad made its debut in 1967 at the height of the Latin American “Boom Era” of literature (1960-1970). This novel, García Márquez’ most commercially successful work, has elicited much response in the form of articles and books of literary critique. Due to its complex and repetitive nature, many critics have traditionally sought to uncover possible allegorical and/or symbolic meanings …

The Relationship Between Teachers’ Beliefs Concerning Mathematical Problem-Solving And The Strategies Used For Teaching Third - Through Fifth - Grade Students, Jasmine L. Thomas

Honors Theses

Everyone uses problem-solving on a daily basis: paying bills, managing time, and making decisions. It is important to be able to solve problems effectively, especially in mathematics. In 2007, the Mississippi Department of Education produced a set of mathematical objectives for third - through fifth - grade students. These objectives use the phrase problem-solving, without defining its use in the mathematics classroom. To discover what mathematics teachers were actually executing in the classroom, this study used a valid online survey administrated through Qualtrics. The survey focused on determining third - through fifth - grade teachers’ definition of a problem, their …

From King Leonidas To Lord Farquaad: Popular Culture And How Authority Is Portrayed In Popular Film Of 2000-2009, Solai N. Wyman

Honors Theses

In a modern age dominated by technology, the role of entertainment such as film is steadily growing in American culture and politics. Film and politics “inform” one another, meaning that film reflects the politics within a society in which they are placed (Christensen & Haas 2005). Using this as justification, the central research question of this thesis is, "What is the political content of popular films of the 2000s in terms of authority, and what does this suggest about the culture and view on authority of the Millennials as a generation?" A content analysis of popular films from 2000-2009 was …

A Basis Of The Civil War: The Theological Views Of Nineteenth Century Christians On The Justification Of Slavery, Shaniqua Janeè Wells

Honors Theses

Views on the morality of slavery have produced a paradox within the Christian community. Historically, the issue of slavery has been analyzed tremendously by means of economic and cultural factors. The religious analysis of the institution of slavery has been overshadowed by secular motives. This paradox on the morality of slavery causes disunity within the Christian faith. Christianity, as a monotheistic religion, emphasizes the purpose that one God has for His people. Therefore, the multiplicity of views on God’s intentions for the treatment of human beings cannot be allowed in the Christian community. The abolitionists’ and activist’s views must be …

Granulins As Inflammatory Mediators In Alzheimer Disease, Randi G. Reed

Honors Theses

Alzheimer disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by severe memory deficit and cognitive decline among the elderly. This degeneration is caused by the aggregation and deposition of a protein called amyloid-β (Aβ) in the brain. Aggregation of Aβ causes neuroinflammation in addition to other toxic events. However, it is unclear whether inflammation from an external source, such as from a traumatic brain injury (TBI), could trigger Aβ aggregation. In this context, several pro-inflammatory mediators such as cytokines and chemokines have been suspects. It is now hypothesized that a group of proteins called granulins (Grns) are unique inflammatory mediators that …

Activation Of Nf-Κb Transcription Factor During In Vitro Differentiation Of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells, Natalya A. Ortolano

Honors Theses

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are a promising cell source for regenerative medicine. However, recent studies indicated that ESCs and ESC-derived cells (ESC-DCs) lack functional innate immunity against various pathogens and inflammatory cytokines. This presents a barrier to clinical application, as ESC-DCs would be placed in a wound site and exposed to pathogens and inflammatory cytokines. Using mouse ESCs (mESCs) as a model, we recently demonstrated that they are deficient in expressing type I interferons (IFN) and inflammatory cytokines. To determine the molecular basis for this finding, this study examined the activation state of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), a transcription factor that …

A Queen’S Reputation: A Feminist Analysis Of The Cultural Appropriations Of Cleopatra, Chamara Moore

Honors Theses

While there is no doubt that Cleopatra is considered a notable historical figure and popularly regarded character throughout modern media, there is a distinct pattern in her portrayal throughout time as a woman whose power is defined by her sexual promiscuity. Even throughout periods of powerful female monarchs, political change, and social progress her prowess as a leader has been assumingly attributed to her affairs with Julius Caesar and Marc Antony. The purpose of this study is to examine how literature and media has contributed to this sexualized reputation of a queen who yielded authority over such a prosperous nation. …

Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus) Behaviors In The Presence Of Active And Non-Active Shrimp Trawlers In The Mississippi Sound, Crysta M. Lorenz

Honors Theses

Bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, are reported to have close associations with shrimp trawlers worldwide. The goal of this study was to assess differences in the behavior for bottlenose dolphins between activity states of shrimp trawlers in the Mississippi Sound. During active trawling, nets are actively gathering the catch closely behind the trawler, which provide feeding opportunities for bottlenose dolphins. Non-active groups are not able to take advantage of feeding prospects and display fewer feeding behaviors and maintain a farther distance than active trawler groups. Video of trawlers were collected from the Mississippi Wild Dolphin Project and analyzed for feeding …

The Implementation Of Common Core: Graphic Novels In The Classroom, Chesnie R. Keeler

Honors Theses

The Common Core State Standards are alive and thriving in schools across the nation, and teachers are constantly looking for the best possible ways to implement these rigorous standards with student interests in mind. These standards set goals, or benchmarks, for students to reach at any specified grade level throughout their primary and secondary education; school districts, administrators, and teachers have the choice of deciding how students meet these standards. As a pre-service teacher who will enter the teaching profession, I examine how graphic novels can be implemented into the English Language Arts classroom by analyzing Maus, Persepolis, …

Alternative Material Nest Boxes And Impacts On Nestling Physiology And Adult Behavior In The Eastern Bluebird (Sialia Sialis), Jamie E. Jackson

Honors Theses

In the mid-nineteenth century, Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis, a native cavity nesting species) populations experienced serious declines because of a decrease in natural cavities and the introduction of non-native, competitive cavity nesting species. The creation of nest box programs led to an increase in bluebird populations and these programs continue to be of importance. In this study, a recycled metal ammunition can was used as a nest box to determine if this was a viable resource for bluebirds. This work investigated the effects of this alternate material nest box on nestling physiology and adult behavior with special emphasis …