Digital Commons Network^™

The Emergence Of Biotechnology In The State Of Mississippi: A Review, Whitman Scott Dowlen

Honors Theses

This publication was written with the intention of performing an analysis of the present in-state bioscience initiative and subsequent Mississippi industry incumbents. Hopefully, this publication will be employed as an informative tool to Mississippi residents, universities, policy makers and private corporations considering investment in research and development in the state of Mississippi.

Harry Potter: Magic Or Illusion?, Douglas Fugate Caldwell Williams

Honors Theses

When first introduced, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series rocked the world of children’s books. It quickly topped bestseller lists and became the talk of the elementary world. But then something strange happened: grown-ups began reading the series. By the time that the last couple of books debuted, crowds of all ages fonued around bookstores to gather the latest editions. The series was all over the news, with notable critics giving their opinions and censorship debates arising in various regions. The cultural phenomenon had begun. Such a massive reception begs one question: will the Harry Potter series be a literary classic? …

Crowning Glory: A Sociological Study Of Gender In The Beauty Pageant System, Lee Taylor

Honors Theses

This thesis provides a sociological examination of the personal experiences of beauty pageant participants in the South. By deconstructing the ideal view of women in beauty pageants, I attempted to answer how pageant contestants view their individual participation in the oppressive framework of the beauty pageant contest. In order to provide an in-depth analysis on the role of gender in beauty pageants, I conducted personal interviews and field study observations. Additionally, I researched current online sources and scholarly publications concerning gender and beauty pageants. The beauty pageant system demands that young women alter their bodies and personalities in order to …

The Butterflies: An Original Film Produced Throught The University Of Mississippi In August 2008, Winsor Yu-Liang Yuan

Honors Theses

This paper is an account of a student’s original short film from the first stages of its artistic intention to its completion. The film is entitled The Butterflies. The paper provides a close inspection of the evolution of the film’s artistic intention, how that intention was realized, and how it was not realized. It describes the hardships, stresses. triumphs, and victories of the filmmaker during months of preparation and production.

Finding Humanity In Dystopia: Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale And Oryx And Crake, Emily Thrash Peters

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the relationship of humanity and literature in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid's Tale and Oryx and Crake. Through personal narration, Offred tells the story of being a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian government in which language is forbidden. She struggles to remain human in a world that treats her as a reproductive machine. Offred’s experiences lead her to forbidden games with the Commander, an affair with the Commander’s guardian, and escape because of love and trust in a world void of emotion. In Oryx and Crake. Jimmy/Snowman thinks he is the last genuine human being …

Testing A Model: Ca2+ Induced Exposure Of Tryptophan In Neural-Cadherins, Chinelo Udemgba

Honors Theses

Cadherins are transmembrane cell adhesion proteins that are critical for tissue formation and maintenance. Cell adhesion by cadherin requires binding of 3 calcium ions at the interfaces between the ectodomain modules. Recent data suggest a model in which calcium induces a relatively large conformational change in the first ectodomain module, domain 1, by causing the detachment of the A-strand from the core of domain 1 and exposure of a tryptophan in the second position, W2. The exposure of W2 is crucial for formation of a strand-crossover structure that is believed to be the adhesive dimer interface. In order to establish …

The Ontology Of Number, Garrett Michael Strickland

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I hope to offer a historical summary of the discussion of the ontology of number. I will begin with the origins of the argument, focusing primarily on the first two major players, Plato and Aristotle, and I will continue to the major players and positions of the debate as it stands today. This done, I will give some of my own insights and impressions on the subject, and I will discuss which, if any, of the positions seem acceptable and why.

A Few Good Women: Break Through Roles In Three War Plays, Bobby Ellis Pelts

Honors Theses

A Few Good Women: Break Through Roles in Three War Plays (Under the direction of Colby Kullman)

This thesis explores the roles played by women in three war plays: Lysistrata by Aristophanes, Mother Courage and Her Children by Bertolt Brecht, and A Piece ofMy Heart by Shirley Lauro. The thesis describes the ways in which the characters of each of these plays defy traditional social expectations of women in wartime. These characters challenge the ideals of femininity and "proper" behavior while defying the typical roles of wife, mother, and nurse in war. The thesis argues that the context of war …

Antibiotics, Herbs, And Magic: Health Practices In Contemporary St. Petersburg, Christine Shu

Honors Theses

In St. Petersburg, Russia, two seemingly conflicting health doctrines, western medicine and alternative medicine, play significant roles in residents' health culture. I define alternative medicine as all health practices that use such natural products as herbs, natural honey, water, seeds, berries, and even animal products, and as such unobtrusive body therapies as acupuncture, massage, yoga, or animal therapies. I define western medicine as all treatments that involve the manipulation of ingredients in a chemistry laboratory (such as antibiotics, antiviral drugs, antihistamines. or pain killers) and all body therapies intrusive to the body (such as operations). Through interviews with St. Petersburg …

Cost Benefit Analysis: A Policy Tool Of Anthropocentric Utilitarianism, Nora Anne Watson

Honors Theses

For the last three decades, there has been a lively debate over the best way for a govemapproach decisions of environmental policy. Adherents to anthropocentric utilitari anism - those who believe that actions are right as they tend to promote utility for humans - favor the use of cost-benefit analysis - a tool that is used to come up with recommendations the basis of their probable costs and ment to for or against particular environmental policies benefits. Although making decisions this way may seem like a straightforward approach that should be acceptable to everyone, many challenge the latent assumptions of …

Big And Small: Using Large Scale Puppets In Low Budget Theatre, Lauren E. Wakefield

Honors Theses

The art of puppetry has existed for as long as any other creative medium, and its role within the theatrical world has long been an important one. Characters and creatures portrayed in foam and felt often touch the hearts of audiences, and theatergoers enter a show involving puppetry ready to be entertained. Broadway productions such as Avenue Q and The Lion King push the limits of puppets' capabilities and use this creative source to express ideas that human actors would less effectively convey. This paper will explore the capabilities that each person has to create similar characters and creatures on …

Dopamine D2 Receptor Antagonist Raclopride's Effects On Core Temperature Alone And During Methamphetamine Administration At Varying Ambient Temperatures, Danielle Marie Fulbright

Honors Theses

Rationale Methamphetamine (METH) induces hypothermia at cool (18°) ambient temperatures and hyperthermia at neutral (24°) and warm (30°) ambient temperatures. Our objective was to determine if pretreatment with raclopride (RAC), a dopamine D2 receptor antagonist would alter METH-induced core temperature changes. Methods Two experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, RAC was administered alone, to determine its effects, if any, on core temperature. In Experiment 2, rats received pretreatment injections of 0.3, 0.6, or 1.2-mg/kg RAC or a saline control (sal) injection; rats then received injections of 10 mg/kg METH or sal injection. In both Experiment 1 and 2, core temperature …

Acetylcholine Muscarinic Receptor-Mediated Contractility Of Ovine Pulmonary Arteries: Changes With Maturation And Chronic Hypoxia, Dangtue Hu Nguyen

Honors Theses

Pulmonary vasculature tone is mediated by Acetylcholine Muscarinic Receptors (mAChR) located on the vascular smooth muscle wall which are responsible for vasoconstriction through the activation of Ca^'*’ dependant intracellular signaling pathways and by the endothelium which is responsible for vasodilation through the generation of Nitric Oxide (NO). The dismption and subsequent loss of the endothelium results in vasoconstriction of pulmonary arteries (PA). This effect is observed in several studies utilizing different animal models. Chronic Hypoxia (CH) has been shown to dismpt the endothelium which in turn alleviates the vasodilatory response associated with acetylcholine (ACh) stimulation. The interplay between smooth muscle …

Seasonal Changes In Bacterial Communities In Magnolia (Magnolia Grandiflora) Leaf Phyllosphere, William Craig Denney

Honors Theses

What is currently known about bacterial diversity of the phyllosphere has largely come from studies of plants involved in commercial agriculture. With very few studies dedicated to examining phyllosphere bacterial communities of natural forests, the issue of seasonal changes in bacterial communities in Magnolia gvandifloi'a leaf phyllosphere was investigated. In order to examine the issue, 16S rRNA sequencing techniques were used to identify and compare bacterial communities between leaf samples collected in February, May, August and December of 2008. When M. grandiflora DNA samples were examined with denaturing gel electrophoresis (DGGE), similarities between the bacterial communities of each leaf could …

The Inextinguishable Longing For Elsewhere: Escapism In Recent Pulitzer Prize Winning Novels, Charles Barton Wynn

Honors Theses

In reading a selection of Pulitzer Prize winning literature since 1980,1 found that many of the novels included characters who, either literally or metaphorically, longed to escape from the reality of their lives. Four novels in particular embodied this theme: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, Martin Dressier: The Tale of an American Dreamer by Steven Millhauser, and The Road by Cormac McCarthy. All four books treated escape and escapism ambiguously-sometimes escape is a flaw; sometimes escape is a virtue. Upon closer readings of the four …

Foundations And Interpretations Of Quantum Mechanics, Cory Johnson

Honors Theses

The first famous thought experiment of Einstein gives rise to his theories of relativity, the bedrock of modern astrophysics and cosmology. His second famous thought experiment begins the investigation into the foundations of quantum mechanics. It leads to a paradox, inspiring various 'no-go' theorems proven by Bell, Kochen, and Specker. Physicists and philosophers worldwide become increasingly dissatisfied with the probabilistic complementarity interpretation (Born-Bohr) and eventually offer their own accounts of the theory. By the end of the 20th century two alternative approaches stand out as the best candidates: Both the hidden variables interpretation (de Broglie-Bohm) and the many worlds interpretation …

Effects Of Context Of Natural And Artifactual Objects On Categorization, Linsey Walker

Honors Theses

Categorization of animals and vehicles in different contexts was investigated in three experiments using event related potentials (ERPs). The presence of a background and congruency of the background in relation to the object were both manipulated in order to determine the effects of context on visual processing. In Experiment 1, adults were presented with images of animals and vehicles in two conditions: situated in a congruent context (e.g. an animal in a field) and in the absence of a context (an animal in a white homogeneous background). In experiment 2, adults were presented with images of animals and vehicles in …

Maternal Experience And Alzheimer's Disease : Degenerative Differences In The Female Rat, Lindsay W. Victoria

Honors Theses

Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative disease found in many aging adults. The presence of amyloid precursor protein (APP) is an early indicator of the onset of Alzheimer’s, primarily in memory-related brain regions like the hippocampus. Hormones accompanying pregnancy, such as estrogen, may provide the female brain with protection against neurodegeneration and deposits of APP. The present study will compare concentrations of APP in the brains of parous and nulliparous animals and examine the interaction of APP with estrogen receptor beta (ERβ). Young and aged animals will also be compared to determine any early effects of APP or ERβ. It is …

Imagining Anti-Semitism : Artistic Representations Of The Dreyfus Affair, Alexa Stemmler

Honors Theses

The industrialization and large-scale urbanization of France in the nineteenth century drove many working-class people to Paris. With new disposable income and leisure time, they flocked to the boulevards, department stores and cafes of the capital to amuse themselves or simply to wander around the city. Though 1848 was to be France's last real political revolution, Paris remained the scene of cultural and social innovations due largely to this street culture; the mob was as powerful at the tum of the century as it had been in 1789. Vanessa Schwartz writes, "The crowd and the experience of belonging to an …

Characterization Of Sox Family Members In Sponge Stem Cells And During Development, Karen E. Leeds

Honors Theses

Sponges are considered the oldest and most basal part of the metazoan lineage and therefore possess a unique set of gene families that are highly conserved among all animals. One of these gene families is known as Sox transcription factors. Sox genes are known to play important roles in complex animals such as the specification of the primary layers of the body, determination of sex, and most recently induction of induced pluirpotent stem cells (iPS cells) from both human and mouse fibroblasts with the help of three other transcription factors. We have found that two different demosponge species Halichondria bowerbanki …

Excitable Boys: Gender And Redemption In The South, Emily Denton

Honors Theses

Literary critic Leslie Fiedler argues in Love and Death in the American Novel that within classic American novels there is a reoccurring pattern of the pure female and the aggressive male. These texts give rise to the reoccurring scenario in which an innocent young woman brings about the salvation of the sinful, aggressive male. These men are saved through the good works and kindness of these women. Fiedler argues further that these women are an embarrassment to their literary tradition; he says that they "proved almost everywhere a blight, a universal influence which was also a universal calamity" (45). These …

Comparing Sulfur Transformations In Surface Soils Of Chattanooga Wetlands With Different Land Use Histories, Michael Mentz

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to assess whether high sulfur inputs in a local wetland had an effect on the functions of this wetland, i.e. an increased sulfate reduction rate and an increased sulfate concentration compared to a control wetland. Sulfate reduction rates were compared in two wetlands in Chattanooga, Tennessee during July and December 2007.These wetlands were known to have bad different histories of sulfur input via sulfates in precipitation or runoff.Through use of a 35S tracer technique, overall sulfate reduction rates could be compared for the two wetlands.Replicated sediment cores were collected from each wetland on the …

The Interaction Of Nuclear Fiction And Leadership Studies, Kathryn Elberson

Honors Theses

This project is not solely a commentary on leadership studies, nor is its significance exclusive to the field of English. Rather, it is an effort to unite the two fields in a way that offers valuable contributions to both areas of study while pointing out the necessity of further interaction between the topics of leadership and literature. The few works which are traditionally regarded as having something to contribute to leadership studies are those which are either included in the canon of English literature, or those which directly demonstrate a leader-follower relationship and have a particular lesson to teach about …

Cytotoxicity Of Diepoxybutane And Epichlorohydrin In Relation To Stages Of The Cell Cycle, Megan L. Watts

Honors Theses

Work conducted in the Millard Biochemistry Research Laboratory examines the dual nature of molecules as carcinogens and anti-tumor agents through the molecular mechanisms of duplex DNA damage by bifunctional alkylating agents. Diepoxybutane (DEB) and epichlorohydrin (ECH) are polar molecules that form covalent DNA interstrand lesions by cross-linking the N7 position of deoxyguanosine residues. A recent experiment indicated that ECH preferentially targets nuclear DNA over mitochondrial DNA, whereas DEB shows similar rates of lesion formation for both loci. It was concluded that preferential targeting of nuclear DNA results from relatively poor uptake of ECH across the mitochondrial membrane. The objective of …

Stranger In A Strange Land: The Struggle For Cultural And Personal Identity In Haruki Murakami's Hard-Boiled Wonderland And The End Of The World, Laura E. Smith

Honors Theses

In order to explicate Murakami's version of the official culture, I have analyzed the novel with the works of several different theorists. Primarily, I drew my own understanding of the official culture from Raymond Williams's examination of culture in Marxism and Literature. His terminology became helpful in writing about the operation of the System and the Town, though it did not define that operation precisely. Williams's work also introduced me to the theory behind the official culture's manipulation and exclusion of historical aspects in order to create their "official" version of history, from which the official culture draws its identity. …

Effects Of Alcohol And Training On Exercise Performance And Muscle Recovery Biochemistry In The Brown Anole (Anolis Sagrei), Maryclaire Mcgovern

Honors Theses

Contrary to previous research, training may improve exercise performance in a lizard, the brown anole. A brief, two-week training period resulted in increased performance speed and distance before exhaustion in trained lizards. Trained lizards were also able to more effectively use leg glycogen stores, however each of these improvements were not found in lizards treated with alcohol. Liver glycogen concentrations were also lower in alcohol-treated lizards, and patterns of liver glycogen concentrations during recovery indicate some hepatic lactate gluconeogenesis.

Separating People And Wildlife: Zoning As A Conservation Strategy For Large Carnivores, Courtney L. Larson

Honors Theses

Large carnivores are some of the world’s most difficult species to conserve because of their large spatial requirements, low population density, and high potential for conflict with humans. However, large carnivores are valuable for ecological, cultural, and ethical reasons. Carnivore management can take a wide variety of forms, including translocation, sterilization, livestock compensation programs, regulated hunting, improved livestock husbandry practices, and zoning, among others. The objective of this thesis was to conduct a comparative analysis of examples of zoning from around the world to examine whether it is an effective carnivore management strategy.

Analysis of twelve case studies showed that …

Effect Of Observed Biological And Non-Biological Movement On Human Action And Coordination, Walter L. Campbell

Honors Theses

Recently, it has been demonstrated that an individual’s rhythmic limb movements exhibit greater variability when viewing spatially incongruent biological limb movements, but not when viewing spatially incongruent non-biological movements. Some researchers have concluded that a ‘mirror-neuron system’ might mediate the intrinsic bidirectional link between perception and action underlying interpersonal, but not environmental, coordination (e.g., Kilner et al., 2003; Tognoli et al., 2007). The current study aimed to: 1) contest this recent finding; and 2) demonstrate that the self-organized entrainment processes of coupled oscillators can explain the differing influences of biological and non-biological movements. In the first experiment, participants intentionally coordinated …

Phosphorus Primer For Maine’S Lakes, Lindsay B. Philips

Honors Theses

Phosphorus plays a major role in aquatic systems and the life that they support. It is a macronutrient that constitutes 0.5lf microorganisms and zooplankton by mass. Phosphorus is of great importance in terrestrial, agricultural, and plant systems as a macronutrient, and when it comes to aquatic systems, we tend to look at phosphorus in terms of its influence on lake primary productivity. Lakes are often phosphorus sinks because they are maintained by hydrological sources that are capable of causing nutrient influx. To understand phosphorus cycling in lake systems, it is important to consider the many sources and forms of phosphorus …

Carbon Neutrality At Colby College, Jamie K. O’Connell

Honors Theses

Carbon neutral is a term used to describe any organization, entity, or process that has a net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions level of zero (Dautremont-Smith et al. 2007a). Since carbon neutrality only requires a net greenhouse gas emissions level of zero, organizations do not need to eliminate all carbon pollution to become carbon neutral. Net emissions differ from gross emissions in that gross emissions are the sum of all emissions released by the individual or entity, whereas net emissions are equivalent to the gross emissions minus any carbon offsets. A carbon offset is any activity that reduces carbon emissions so …