Digital Commons Network^™

Identification Of An Unknown Intracellular Organism In Karenia Brevis, Daniel O. Mcarthur

Honors Theses

The dinoflagellate K. brevis is a mixotrophic marine alga that is of ecological importance in coastal waters especially along the Gulf of Mexico. They are one of a few species of algae responsible for the production of “harmful algae blooms” or HABs in which they release neurotoxins called brevetoxins which negatively impact fishing industries, local wildlife, tourism, and coastal health. Because of the danger these algae pose their lifecycle and characteristics merit intensive study.

During a previous experiment in Dr. McLean’s lab involving salinity stressing cultured K. brevis, the stressed cultures exhibited an unusual data pattern when having their …

Intergenic Regions And Repeating Gene Sequences In The Dinoflagellate Karenia Brevis, Colleen A. Gregg

Honors Theses

Karenia brevis is a species of dinoflagellates that is responsible for “red tides” (more formally known as harmful algal blooms) found in the Gulf of Mexico. The blooms have adverse effects on humans and marine animals. Karenia brevis produces toxins that, in humans, can cause upper and lower respiratory problems as well as nausea and vomiting. For marine mammals, birds, fish, and other marine organisms, exposure to brevetoxins can result in morbidity and even death.

Even with the technology and resources we have today, scientist do not fully understand the mechanisms behind toxin production and bloom initiation. Because cellular processes …

Assessing Behavior Change Related To Acute Stress Exposure In The Zebrafish, Christine E. Breazeale

Honors Theses

Stress affects how we function in all aspects of our lives. It is our physiological response to a threat. In fact, its origins were very adaptive. Stress can cause an animal to flee a predator and avoid being eaten. In today’s society, stress can prompt us to work harder to achieve a good education or promotion at work so that we can afford food, shelter, and entertainment. But stress can also impair performance at work, on tests, and even can cause long-term bodily harm. In order to fully understand the deleterious effects of stress and thereby properly treat it, it …

The Effect Of Joint Attention Intervention Techniques On Expressive Language Ability In Preschool Children With Autism, Beverly L. Locker

Honors Theses

This study sought to investigate the effect of an intervention program for joint attention on joint attention and expressive language skill. The participants were five males with autism spectrum disorders who were attending a reverse inclusion preschool in the southeastern United States. The investigator observed the participants in their classrooms over a five-week period. The most significant finding was variation in the participants’ joint attention and language behaviors. Only one participant showed improvement across the period of the study. One important clinical implication from this study is the idea that therapy for joint attention might be more effective in a …

Arthropod Density In A Fragmented Urban Landscape Along The Northern Coast Of The Gulf Of Mexico, Anna E. Williams

Honors Theses

Ecologists once focused their research on “pristine” habitats that were considered untouched by human activity. As urbanization rapidly increases, the concept of pristine habitats becomes obsolete. Urban habitats must be studied in order to understand the ecology of our increasingly developed society. Rapid urbanization greatly affects coastal habitats. Popular real estate, strip malls, casinos, and resorts all fragment urban landscapes. Much of the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico is a fragmented urban landscape caused by rapid development. That same coastal landscape is ecologically important and includes habitats important to many different organisms, among them intercontinental migratory songbirds that …

Disagreeable, Villainous, And Wimpy: The Child As Antihero In Burnett, Colfer, And Kinney, Blakely J. Owens

Honors Theses

Although children’s literature is often dismissed as largely didactic and supportive of entrenched power structures, an examination of the antihero’s development in children’s literature reveals the genre’s complexity and subtle challenges of social mores. Critics focus extensive attention on the redemption of a less-than-ideal character from social deviancy to normalcy in fiction for young readers, but more rarely do they discuss those characters that remain static in their lack of heroic qualities and fail as role models for children. The on-going discussion on conventional subgenres like the school story does not often include texts that subvert the form with bullying …

Effects Of Age On Induced Glaucoma In An In Vivo Rat Model, Robert Cox

Honors Theses

Previous in vitro studies from this lab have demonstrated that injection of a hypertonic saline solution into the episcleral vein of the rat’s eye mimics the effect of glaucoma. However, the age of the rat related to the amount of cell loss in the retina ganglion cell (RGC) layer is unknown. To address this issue, we propose to analyze the correlation of age and cell loss between 3-6 month and 1-year-old Long Evan rats. When inducing glaucoma in the Long Evan rats, the left eye in each rat was left untreated and used as an internal control. In the right …

If The Shoe Fits…An Artistic Analysis Of The Classic Fairy Talecharacter Cinderella, Corinne Andrew

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Warning Signs: A Study In The Proximate Causes Of Genocide, Bradley Ryktarsyk

Honors Theses

This paper analyzes the cases of genocide in Bosnia and Rwanda as well as the humanitarian interventions in Kosovo and Libya to study the proximate causes of genocide. Proximate cause, defined as any event or condition, leading directly, or indirectly, to genocide, or the intervention by foreign powers, occurring within the immediate generation preceding the genocidal acts, or perceived threat thereof, is herein explored through Gregory Stanton’s “Eight Stages of Genocide” (1996). “The Eight Stages of Genocide” allows these cases to be examined through a preexisting, though imperfect, framework which compartmentalizes the process of genocide into stages allowing for analysis …

Toward A Global Organic Culture: Ethnographic Perspectives On Wwoofing Practices In Peru And New Zealand, Tara Suprunowicz

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I explore the meaning behind sustainable living among organic farmers and their families in two countries. It is based on original, ethnographic research that I conducted in New Zealand in fall 2012 and Peru in summer 2012 with support from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology Meerwarth Undergraduate Research Fund. In carrying out my research I relied on participant-observation, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and writing ethnographic fieldnotes. Drawing on contemporary scholarship in the anthropology of food and the environment, my thesis contributes to cross-culturally understandings of sustainability and local and global foodways. Specifically, I will interpret the …

Intraocular Pressure Measurements In A Rat Glaucoma Model, Michael Doyle

Honors Theses

The main objective of this study was to determine if consistent intraocular pressure (IOP) measurements could be obtained from an in vivo Long Evans rat glaucoma model. An increase in IOP is the primary risk factor associated with glaucoma and reliable IOP measurements would validate our in vivo glaucoma model that we are inducing in rats. The study used nine Long Evans rats. Three rats severed as controls, three received surgery to induce glaucoma and three were administered PNU-282987 neuroprotective eye drops and then surgery to induce glaucoma. IOP measurements were obtained by tapping the retina of the rat eye …

Roman Religion, Medicine, And Disease, Stephanie Clark

Honors Theses

Medicine, as experienced in the Roman Empire, was rapidly evolving. Balancing the newly developed theories with the already-established religious belief sparked the beginning of medical secularization. There were separate worlds, that of science and medicine, and that of the every day public, that had to be bridged in a way that honored both traditions, yet kept their integrity. The development of science and medicine pioneered by Galen, a philosopher whose medical knowledge and theory guided practitioners for almost two millennia, hit levels of exploration and understanding in ancient Rome that warranted its basis as common medical theory. However, the world, …

Glottopoeia: A Case Study In Language Change, Ian Hollenbaugh

Honors Theses

"Glottopoeia: A Case Study in Language Change" is a thesis in the form of a I32-page grammar booklet, entitled An Elementary Ghau Aethauic Grammar, with a preface detailing what I did, why I did it, and how I accomplished it. In effect, I invented a language called Ghau Aethau. It was created almost entirely ex nihilo, borrowing nothing in the way of phonetics, morphology, or vocabulary from any real language. It does employ grammatical concepts present in many real-world languages, but also several of my own design. I chose this project for two reasons: first, to explore the art form …

Adenovirus Type 5 Virions Asymmetrically Lose Icosahedral Structure At Low Phs Of Endosomes, Jennifer Marie Jarboe

Honors Theses

After receptor mediated endocytosis into an endosome, human Adenovirus Type 5 (Ad5) undergoes structural changes that allow the virus to release a viral protein, pVI, that lyses the endosome and releases the virus core into the cytosol, where it travels to the nucleus to insert its genome. Structural studies of Ad5 at a range of pHs typical of endosomes (7.5-4.5) using a transmission electron microscope show that Ad5 undergoes asymmetrical loss of proteins from vertex regions at the pH of the late endosome (pH5.15). Following further acidification, Ad5 ejects core material preferentially through one vertex—indicating an asymmetry at one vertex …

Masculinity In The Virtual World Of Video Game : A Question Of Agency, Long Trinh

Honors Theses

Masculinity is an understudied topic in video games. Traditional literature considered video game as a traditional media and focused mostly on video games content, thus contributed to the common myth that playing video games make people more violent. However, recent studies suggest that video game is distinctive compared to traditional media, and that violence is not the motivating factor in video games. This study involves a content analysis of 22 video game reviews and a non-participant observation of 4 gamers playing The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. The results suggest it is not violence, but rather agency that governs the dynamics of …

Fashion Adoption Behaviors Of Women In Manhattan Related To Spring 2012 Apparel Fashion Trends, Nicole Powell

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to look at the spring trends for 2012 and then compare them that to what the women of Manhattan are actually wearing, during the same season. I wanted to understand how women were adopting the fashion trends from Spring 2012 and turning them into part of their own self-identified style. I went on a research trip to New York City from May 6th to May 12th and spent a great deal of time, on the streets, observing and taking pictures of what real Manhattan women are wearing. For this project, I focused on four …

Not Extinct: A Year In The Life Of The American Chesnut, Kristen Julina Stanfill

Honors Theses

After the widespread infection of the American chestnut tree (Castanea dentata) due to the fungus Cryphonectria parasitica the species was nearly brought to extinction and now merely exists as stump sprouts. Since the fungus infects the bark of the tree but not the root systems new shoots are able to emerge and grow before once again being girdled by the fungus. Cryphonectria parasitica is believed to have been brought to America on Asian species of chestnut which possess resistance to the blight caused by the fungus. It is the plan of the American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) to integrate the genes …

Identification Of A Human Myofibril-Inducing Rna, Ashley Moses

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Prenatal Choline Supplementation And Mk-801 Toxicity: Protecting Memory And Preventing Neurodegeneration, Chelsea Nickerson

Honors Theses

Choline is essential to the development and function of the central nervous system. Supplemental choline is neuroprotective against a variety of insults, including neurotoxins like dizocilpine (MK-801). MK-801 is an NMDA receptor antagonist that is frequently used in rodent models of psychological disorders. At low doses, it causes cognitive impairments, and at higher doses it induces motor deficits, anhedonia, and neuronal degeneration. The primary goals of the present study were to investigate whether prenatal choline supplementation protects against the cognitive impairments, motor deficits, and neuropathologies that are precipitated by MK-801 administration in adulthood. Adult male Sprague Dawley rats were fed …

An Unexpected Verdict: Exploring The Economic Implications Of An Expanding Chinese Presence In Dakar's Informal Market, Georgina Hurst

Honors Theses

Through examination of literature, statistical analysis, and field research in Dakar, Senegal, this study explores the economic implications of an expanding Chinese presence on Senegalese retailers in the informal market of Dakar, and on Senegalese consumers of cheap goods that shop primarily in this market. Since the early 1990s, a neighborhood of Chinese storefronts selling cheap goods has developed in the Centenaire region of downtown Dakar. The Chinese entrepreneurs, primarily in Dakar for wholesale, have adapted to the demands of low-end Senegalese retailers and consumers, focusing their products on basic necessities, such as clothing, and imitation commodities, such as Islamic …

Investigating The Role Of Epibiotic Bacteria In Defense Against Chytridiomycosis In The Green Frog, Lithobates Clamitans, Sarah Nalven

Honors Theses

Amphibian populations have been declining for several decades, in part due to the emerging fungal skin disease, chytridiomycosis, caused by the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Chytridiomycosis has caused extinctions and extirpations in many parts of the world, but its influence varies across species, populations, and individuals. The Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans), which inhabits the eastern half of the United States, seems capable of sustaining Bd infections without experiencing die-offs. It is possible that the Green Frog's epibiotic bacteria are contributing to its defense against Bd as the epibiotic bacteria of several amphibian species are known to play …

Gender, Nature, And The Fairytale Structure In Robin Mckinley's Works, Molly Rogers

Honors Theses

Robin McKinley is an American fantasy author who uses fairytale structure to explore themes of gender and nature. Her first book, Beauty, a retelling of “Beauty and the Beast” was published in 1978. She continues to write fairytales and other fantastic fiction, utilizing the fairytale form and structure. She has won a few awards, including the Newbery Award in 1985 for her novel The Hero and the Crown. Her latest book, Pegasus, was published in 2010. Jack Zipes describes McKinley’s heroines as "self-confident, courageous young women who take the initiative in a world which they help to define with men…it …

Scripture And Fiction: An Aesthetic Approach To The Little Pilgrim, Brian Russo

Honors Theses

The Little Pilgrim is written by Korean author Ko Un and was translated into English by Brother Anthony of Taizé. This text, a fictional rendering of the Gandavyuha Sutra, is an instant classic of contemporary Buddhist literature. The Gandavyuha Sutra comprises one-third of the fifteen hundred page Avatamsaka (Flower Garland) Sutra. The Avatamsaka has been described as the epitome of Buddhist thought, Buddhist sentiment, and Buddhist experience and is popular with all schools of Mahayana Buddhism, in particular, The Pure Land and Zen. The Avatamsaka Sutra is the longest sutra of the Buddhist canon and one of the oldest, dating …

Remapping Nature: Motherhood, Autonomy, And Anti-Mining Activism In Íntag, Ecuador, Ellicott K. Dandy

Honors Theses

This honors thesis explores the social changes that women engaged in anti-mining activism bring to a region in rural Ecuador. I discuss the ways in which they incorporate their activist techniques into everyday life, using their status as mothers to access public discourses of environmentalism, and ultimately rewrite gender roles locally. Framing the mining conflict as a catalyst for social change, I draw parallels between this movement and indigenous politics in Ecuador, propose new interpretations of the mestizo ethnic identity and assimilation in the Spanish Empire, and finally, make the case for a nature-centric cultural analysis in anthropology.

Relationship Of Cross-Linking Potential To Mechanism Of Cell Death, Adam N. Spierer

Honors Theses

Mechlorethamine (HN2), a nitrogen derivative of mustard gas, was the first synthetic anti-tumor chemotherapeutic because it forms covalent cross-links between strands of duplex DNA. HN2 represents a class of bifunctional alkylating agents that are both chemotherapeutic and carcinogenic: diepoxybutane (DEB), the active form of the pro-drug treosulfan, and epichlorohydrin (ECH), a structural hybrid of HN2 and DEB, also form covalent cross-links between DNA. While HN2 and DEB are clinically used as anti-tumor chemotherapeutics, ECH is a structural hybrid of these two compounds not used in a clinical setting. Accordingly, we aimed to understand the relationship between the cross-linking potential of …

We Came! We Stripped! We Conquered! The Sextremist Feminists Of Femen In Ukrainian Historical Context And Contemporary Controversy, Jayeon Kim

Honors Theses

In 2008, Anna Hutsol, an economist by training, founded feminist organization FEMEN (Megginson 2011). Comprised mostly of university-educated women, FEMEN has received international media coverage, encountered controversy, and received death threats for their topless protests. For their activism, French magazine Madame Figaro ranked one of the founding members Inna Schevchenko on the 13^th position in their list of Women of the Year (Madame Figaro 2012). They have delivered lectures on their movement at international forums and universities. FEMEN now has chapters in Brazil, Tunisia, France and Germany. FEMEN activists attribute their visibility to “sextremism,” their tactic of using the …

From Mind To Machine : Parity Affects In The Attentional Set-Shifting Task In Animal And Machine Models, Katie Coren Freeman

Honors Theses

As a dual behavioral and computational neuroscience research project, this study first tested reproductive effects on attention, learning, and decision making using the Attentional Set-Shifting Task (AS-ST) and then a Machine Learning model was constructed to simulate perceptual judgments and decision making through reinforced learning. In the behavioral task, response times and errors from 5 primiparous (one-time mothers) and 4 nulliparous (never pregnant) Sprague-Dawley rats were recorded during four increasingly complex attention modulation and paired associative learning tasks. The Machine Learning model reconstructed each task's decision problems through representation of internal and external conditions, valuation, action, and outcome evaluation to …

A Comparative Analysis Of The Trickster Figure In Africa, The Caribbean, And North America, Douglas Odom

Honors Theses

Nearly every society or ethnic group on the planet possesses a literary culture uniquely tied to the customs of that group. Additionally, each of these literary cultures has a folk tale tradition, which encompasses parables, songs, praise poetry, didactic stories, and many other characteristics of oral literature. One of the more engaging sub genres of the folk tale is the trickster tale. This thesis specifically focuses on three distinct trickster figures: Ajapa, a tortoise popular in Yoruba culture in Nigeria; Ananse, a spider whose exploits attempt to undermine the social order of the Akan ethnic group and has also been …

Synthesis Of A New Scytovirin Protein Derivative, Sd1-Sd2-Sd2, To Decrease Hiv-1 Binding Affinity, Alexandra M. Wood

Honors Theses

Scytovirin is a novel anti-viral protein isolated from the cyanobacterium Scytonema varium. This protein has produced great scientific interest for its anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) activity. Scytovirin disrupts the mechanism of HV infection by binding to HIV-1 proteins glycoprotein 120, glycoprotein 160, and glycoprotein 41. It does not bind to the CD4 receptor on human immune cells. The wild-type protein consists of a single 95 amino acid chain. When folded, Scytovirin's amino acid sequence is arranged into two distinct domains, each with a high degree of sequence conservation. This implicates the importance of both domains in anti-HIV activity. Primers were …

Snakes And Their Holograms, Benjamin James Zuerlein

Honors Theses

To join the individual among the infinite. In as much as a reader experiences fiction personally and solitarily. In as much as fiction is novelty and imagination is boundless. V