Digital Commons Network^™

Fine Particulate Matter And Low Weight Births In Mexico City, Mexico, Kennedy Cohn

Honors Theses

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure has been associated with several negative health consequences, and recent studies suggest a potential relationship between PM2.5 exposure and adverse birth outcomes, including low birth weight (LBW). This thesis investigated a potential relationship between fine particulate matter concentration and low birth weight in Mexico City, Mexico between 2008-2016. Maternal pollution exposure was estimated at the city-wide level by averaging PM2.5 measurements from various monitoring stations. Birth weight was collected from the SINAC database. Logistic regression models were run for different temporal scales (by trimester, and 10-month periods); however, there were no significant relationships found between …

The Mind Matters: Yoga And Mindfulness In Preschool And K-12 Schools, Anna E. Hall

Honors Theses

This study uses a systematic literature review to examine the efficacy of preschool and K-12 school based yoga and mindfulness programs. A collection of 47 sources were examined to compare and contrast results and determine best practices. The results of the literature review are divided into three primary categories: implementation methods, student outcomes, and teacher and student opinion. The results suggest that individual and whole school implementation methods are the most effective. The results also suggest that there are positive student outcomes in regards to classroom behavior, child executive functioning, and anxiety. Teacher and student opinion on these programs are …

Gay Identity In The Gdr: The Homosexuelle Interessengemeinschaft Berlin Between Self-Expression And State Control, Susanna Cassisa

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the Homosexuelle Interessengemeinschaft Berlin (HIB), the

first gay liberation group in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Specifically, it analyzes the demands and tactics of the HIB alongside London Gay Liberation Front activist Peter Tatchell at the tenth World Festival of Youth and Students (WFYS) in 1973. This study analyzes four primary sources: 1) the HIB’s banner from the WFYS, 2) the leaflet Tatchell distributed at the WFYS, 3) Tatchell’s placard from the WFYS, and 4) a 1978 letter from the HIB to the People’s Chamber arguing for a socialist information center geared toward a homosexual patronage. I …

Molecular Mechanisms Of Oxidative Stress On Molecular Motors, Addison Caspari-Linhardt

Honors Theses

Astronauts encounter many forms of ionizing radiation during space travel. Ionizing radiation has been seen to cause cancer, cataracts, radiation sickness, tissue damage, hereditary effects, and damage to the central nervous system. Ionizing radiation can damage DNA molecules through oxidation, as well as other vital proteins like molecular motors. Kinesin-1 is a molecular motor protein that essential to intracellular transport. Microtubules serve as the “roadway” for kinesin transport, where kinesin converts chemical energy from ATP hydrolysis into mechanochemical “steps” to move along the microtubules. Optical trapping has been used in previous research to measure single kinesin motor properties. We have …

Assimilation, Association, And Modernism In The Urbanism Of The French Third Republic, Thomas Bleeker

Honors Theses

The regime of settler-colonialism present in Algeria during the French Third Republic (1870-1940) facilitated a certain mythos of Republican French renewal. Given the value French culture places on aesthetics, the colonial architecture and urban forms in French colonies was treated quite seriously. the intense political conflict and directed acculturation which characterised European imperialism, the colonial city brings many of the interactions between culture and politics into sharp relief. This thesis adds to the previous literature concerning colonial urbanism by examining the colonial ideologies embedded within Le Corbusier's master plans for Algiers. His work remains influential and controversial within architecture and …

Incorporating Demographic Structure And Variable Interaction Types Into Community Assembly Models, Akhil Reddy Alasandagutti, Nayan Chawla

Honors Theses

Theoretical studies of ecological food webs have allowed ecologists to remove the constraints of specific location and timescales from their study of ecological communities; food webs are generally complex and thus empirical study is difficult. Further, this theoretical approach allows ecologists to compare ecological processes and outcomes across any possible food web structures. However, these simulated communities are only as useful as the model from which they were constructed. Modifying existing considerations in these models, and generating new ones, are the jobs of theoretical ecologists that seek to achieve the shared goal of a majority of simulations: representation of real …

Impact Of A Dialogic Reading Intervention On The Effectiveness Of Adaptive Magnitude Comparison Ebooks For Improving Young Children’S Magnitude Comparison Skills, Patrick C. Ehrman

Honors Theses

Dialogic reading interventions have been used successfully to increase literacy and language skills, including math language. This study aims to investigate whether a dialogic reading intervention will assist children with spatial and numerical magnitude comparison skills learned through a novel adaptive eBook designed to be read together by parents and children. We propose that a dialogic reading intervention used with an adaptive magnitude comparison eBook will improve children’s spatial and numerical magnitude comparison skills and general math skills compared to control groups. Preschool-aged children and their parents (N=27) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: adaptive magnitude comparison eBooks …

The Sanctuary In Polish Hill, Annabelle M. Harsch

Honors Theses

The Sanctuary in Polish Hill, a short story cycle set in the late 1900s to 2008, surrounds a women’s shelter in Polish Hill, Pittsburgh, PA. Ruta Laksa, a second-generation Polish immigrant, moves to the neighborhood named for the influx of Polish immigrants in the late 1800s. Through vignettes of her life, Ruta finds solace in food and community as she struggles with her mental illness. Scattered throughout her own story are vignettes of other women struggling with their own mental illness and those who seek solace and safety. These women build community with each other through food, conversation, and relationship, …

Construction Of A Man Nationalism, Identity, Vercingetorix And The Gauls, Martin B. Mckew

Honors Theses

This paper intends to explore the past representations of Vercingetorix and the Gauls as defined by Julius Caesar and connect them to significant French events throughout the long nineteenth and twentieth centuries in order to establish a link between the Gauls, French nationalism, and French identity.

Exploring The Intracellular Functions Of Matrix Metalloproteinases In Neuronal And Glial Cells, Jewellian V. Welcher

Honors Theses

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of highly regulated zinc and calcium dependent endopeptidases that have a crucial role in a multitude of biological processes. While the extracellular function of MMPs as effectors of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and their role in cell surface signaling regulation has been well studied, their intracellular function and role in central nervous system (CNS) still tends to be elusive. While the intimidating task of analyzing the 23 different human MMPs with sometimes overlapping function remains an obstacle, models such as Drosophila melanogaster with only two MMPs, dMMP1 and dMMP2, provide an ideal start. To …

A Differential Equations Model Of Circulatory System Hemodynamics, Allison Newman

Honors Theses

Our model successfully uses the ventricles to pump blood across the blood vessels, lungs, and an organ for multiple cardiac cycles. We can hypothesize that this model will be able to pump blood to multiple organs that are connected in a parallel circuit. A new compartment would be465 added for the addition of each major organ system, and new rate functions that connect the organs to their local arteries and veins would be necessary.

Investigation Of The Effects Of Curcumin On Woodsmoke-Induced Inflammation, Melissa Lewis

Honors Theses

Inflammatory diseases caused by biomass smoke exposure and indoor air pollution affect millions of people worldwide. These diseases can be caused by the burning of biomass (plastic, wood, rubber, tobacco, etc.) for light or heat. Acrolein is a common indoor and outdoor pollutant from tobacco smoke or organic combustion. Wood smoke is hypothesized to cause inflammation since it contains high concentrations of particulate matter and gaseous compounds and are similar in size to other well-known damaging particles. Natural remedies, like curcumin, are hypothesized to be a natural remedy for combating inflammation. The goal of this research was to investigate the …

Why Myth Matters: The Value Of The Female Voice In Greek Mythology, Kylie Rogers

Honors Theses

In this thesis I will primarily examine how the retellings of Greek myths from the female perspective provide insight into the importance of myth and why these stories are still relevant today. Specifically, I will examine three major figures: Circe in Madeline Miller’s Circe, Penelope in Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad, and Medusa in Marjorie Garber’s The Medusa Reader, along with a few other minor characters featured in Nina MacLaughlin’s Wake, Siren. By studying the fresh perspectives provided by the narration and journeys of these characters and connecting them to plights and experiences that are currently affecting women as evidenced by …

How Does This Benefit Me?: A Case Study Of The Impact Of Long Term Circle Of Friends Participation, Casey Webb

Honors Theses

This thesis examines Circle of Friends and the impacts of long term participation (greater than 2 years) in the program. Participants were selected from a Circle of Friends group that met weekly from 2012-2017 in the lower Midwest. There were 5 white female participants ranging in ages of 21-22 at the time of the interviews. Participants completed interview questions focusing on friendship, the COF program, and the impacts it had on them. Interviews were then transcribed and coded. Many of the participants discussed what it means to be a friend, including the specific activities of friendship, such as eating meals …

Senior Design Capstone: Using An Engineering Design Process To Create A Sawzall Wobble Fixture For Milwaukee Tools, Tyler Moore

Honors Theses

The overall objective of this design project was to successfully design a fixture to expedite the repairs of Sawzalls at the Milwaukee Tools repairs facility in Greenwood, Mississippi. This project was executed in accordance with guidelines set forth by the Senior Capstone Design class at the University of Mississippi as well as the quality engineers sponsoring the project at Milwaukee Tools. The fixture was created utilizing an engineering design process with the goal of allowing technicians to press two Sawzall wobbles onto an angled Sawzall wobble shaft using an arbor press with just one press. By beginning with a straightforward …

To Care When There Is No Cure: Chronic Illness And Medicine, Skylar Nash

Honors Theses

Millions of people worldwide are suffering from chronic illness at this very moment. Just in the United States, a little less than half of the entire population has been diagnosed with a chronic illness, and a large portion of those patients have been diagnosed with multiple chronic diseases. Those stricken by incurable illness are forced to face and manage their unique illness experience along with the side-effects of the disease itself. For this subset of the population, everyday normal activity can become relatively impossible to work through. There are financial, psychological, social, and physical obstacles to overcome every day that …

An Examination Of Accounting Topics Through The Completion Of Case Studies, Kayla Biando

Honors Theses

This thesis, completed under the direction of Dr. Victoria Dickinson in Accountancy 420, a year-long thesis course, is composed of eleven case studies and is intended to analyze various areas of accounting and financial reporting. This topic analysis, along with the numerous accounting firm presentations that were offered to expose us to potential future professional opportunities, helped to further enhance our knowledge of the accounting profession while developing our critical thinking processes and related research techniques. That said, the completion of this course, both information-enhancing and skill-building, assisted in setting us up for a future career in professional accounting.

Congenital Heart Defects And The Expression Of Ccdc141, Savanna Tillman

Honors Theses

Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are one of the most prevalent types of birth defects in the United States. Both environmental and genetic components are known to contribute to the development of CHDs. One of the ways toxins present in the environment cause CHDs is by disrupting the expression of genes known to be vital in normal cardiac morphogenesis. Thus, the identification of both toxins that cause birth defects in cardiac development and genes expressed during heart development is crucial in order to fully understand the relationship between environment and genetics as they relate to CHD. Due to their external development, …

Potential Interactions Between Gper1 And Hiv Tat-Mediated Neurotoxicity, Shiwani Thapa

Honors Theses

Great advances have been made in the treatment of HIV, however, new infections remain consistent each year with no effective cure. The early entry of HIV virus into the central nervous system is thought to contribute to the development of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. One of the mechanisms of neurological impairment may involve actions of the neurotoxic HIV viral protein, trans-activator of transcription (Tat). Tat can be secreted from infected cells and acts as an excitotoxin, increasing the intracellular flux of Ca2+ , promoting mitochondrial dysfunction, and neural cell damage/death. Previous experiments have shown that steroid hormones such as estrogen can …

An Examination Of Mimetic Precision And The Selective Advantages Of Imprecise Mimics, Matt Hendricks

Honors Theses

First proposed by Henry Walter Bates in 1862, Batesian mimicry refers to the scenario in which an undefended species (the mimic) gains protection from predation due to its phenotypic resemblance to a noxious species (the model). Often, the model species possess a conspicuous phenotype which serves to warn predators of the species’ danger. A great deal of research spanning many decades has been devoted to this phenomenon as it applies to coral snakes. Coral snakes are quite noxious and are distinguished from other species of snakes by their banded patterns of bright colors such as red, yellow, and black. It …

Soda, Water, And Convenience: An Evaluation Of The Mexican Soda Tax, Benjamin Hager

Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to evaluate the Mexican soda tax of 2014 by exploring the reasons for the tax and the underlying factors that the tax seems to ignore. This soda tax, in particular, was implemented to address obesity by curbing the consumption of sugary soft drinks due to the large quantities consumed by the Mexican populous. However, as this thesis shows there are some potential pitfalls in this type of obesity prevention policy. By exploring potable water data from the World Bank, the rural and urban noncommunicable disease rates of two Mexican states, and the penetration of levels of the …

The Effects Of Progesterone Induced Blocking Factor And 17-Hydroxyprogesterone Caproate On The Pathophysiology Of Preeclampsia, Kyleigh M. Comley

Honors Theses

Preeclampsia (PE) is responsible for about 20% of the 13 million preterm births each year worldwide, including 100,000 cases annually in the United States. Despite being a leading cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity, the mechanisms of pathogenesis are still largely unknown. PE is progesterone deficient state characterized by hypertension, chronic immune activation, endothelial dysfunction and severe forms can lead to seizures. Treatment of seizures includes the administration of magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) though not all PE patients are responsive, and it does not decrease PE-associated hypertension. To resolve these conditions, PE patients are delivered early thereby making PE the leading …

Microplastic Pollution: Analytical Method Development And Current Policy, Klara Missling

Honors Theses

Microplastics pollution is an emerging research and policy topic. Standardized methods are not yet established for scientific studies or compliance with legislation requiring monitoring of microplastics. This study combines the work done in the laboratory detecting and counting microplastics in samples from the Mississippi River and in oysters from the Mississippi Sound with a literature review on microplastic pollution policy. In the laboratory, I helped prepare samples for analyses using a novel one-pot method that led to a publication in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Later, I compared visual counting of microplastics stained with Nile Red dye using a …

Evaluation Of Whether Habitual Physical Activity Is Associated With An Attenuated Memory Interference Effect, Lilianne Belle Mckissack

Honors Theses

The relationship between exercise and memory is notable. Recently, there has been a sparked interest in studying the effects of exercise on attenuating memory interference. There have been several studies that have investigated whether acute exercise can attenuate memory interference. However, this thesis specifically studies the effects of habitual physical activity on attenuating the memory interference effect, which has been infrequently studied. One-hundred and nine young adults completed an online survey evaluating their physical activity behavior and memory interference, assessed via an AB/AC paradigm. We were effective in inducing proactive interference (p = .001), but physical activity was not …

A Baseline Documentation Report For The Delta Wind Birds Sky Lake Nature Reserve, Michael Thomas

Honors Theses

The purpose of this baseline documentation is to conduct a report on our subject property and discuss the findings. A conservation easement is established by upholding a certain standard of a property’s current condition which makes a baseline documentation necessary for an easement to be enacted. Baseline documentation reports are used as a resource to monitor and enforce the legal agreements of the conservation easement. The subject property is currently owned by the Delta Wind Birds organization. In our scenario, this documentation report will serve to aid in the conversion of our subject property into a conservation easement in which …

Oxidative Potential And Composition Of Fine Particulate Matter At Two Locations In Mississippi, Victoria Claire Stevens

Honors Theses

Air pollution exposure has negative health effects on individuals across the globe. Negative impacts on human health have been documented in studies following both short-term and long-term exposure to air pollution, and these adverse effects have been seen even at the lowest levels of exposure. Fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) has specifically been linked to these negative health effects. These effects come from many sources, but one large contribution to the negative health effects comes from oxidative stress. In this study, samples were collected from Hernando, MS and Gulfport, MS in September 2013 and November 2013. Black carbon (BC) …

Synthesis Of Novel Long Chain Unsaturated Fatty Acid Analogs Of Capsaicin, Eli Bettiga

Honors Theses

A number of key studies have shown that the natural product capsaicin displays in vitro and in vivo antitumor effects against a variety of cancers, however, both the analgesic and cancer-related therapeutic potential of capsaicin have been limited by its unpleasant pungent side effects and modest potency. N-acyl vanillylamides (N-AVAMs) are a unique class of compounds that are simple side chain modified capsaicin derivatives. Limited structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies of N-AVAMs demonstrated that substitution of the capsaicin side-chain with longer unsaturated fatty acid groups results in non-pungent analogs with improved anti-invasive activity relative to capsaicin. In an effort to ultimately …

A Baseline Documentation Report For The Delta Wind Birds Sky Lake Nature Reserve, James Dubberly

Honors Theses

The purpose of this baseline documentation is to conduct a report on our subject property and discuss the findings. A conservation easement is established by upholding a certain standard of a property’s current condition which makes a baseline documentation necessary for an easement to be enacted. Baseline documentation reports are used as a resource to monitor and enforce the legal agreements of the conservation easement. The subject property is currently owned by the Delta Wind Birds organization. In our scenario, this documentation report will serve to aid in the conversion of our subject property into a conservation easement in which …

Association Of Trim Gene Variation And Lpdv Infection Patterns In Wild Turkeys, Bennett Fry

Honors Theses

Emerging infectious diseases pose a serious threat to various species throughout the globe, including humans. The lymphoproliferative disease virus (LPDV) in wild turkeys is an example of disease virus whose impact on its host requires additional study. Although the first description of lymphoproliferative disease came from outbreaks in domestic turkey flocks in Europe, it is now known that LPDV is widespread in wild turkey populations in North America. In an effort to understand what may affect an individual turkey’s susceptibility to this virus, variation in part of the anti-viral TRIM62 gene was investigated. DNA was extracted from hunter-collected, turkey blood …

Tablet Use And Social Skills In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Taylor Schwartz

Honors Theses

The use of computer tablets can be beneficial for communication deficits in Autism. Studies have shown that tablets can have positive effects on individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who have trouble communicating and expressing emotions. A systematic review was conducted to examine if tablets helped people with ASD develop social skills and expression of emotion. A search was conducted through PubMed. From the initial search, 117 articles were found. Of these 117 articles, 10 met the criteria for review along with 2 additional articles found from an additional source. These 12 articles underwent a systematic review. Tablet applications and …