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Honors Theses

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Perceptions Of Poverty And The Community Action Poverty Simulation Experience, Anna Grace Stout Jan 2016

Perceptions Of Poverty And The Community Action Poverty Simulation Experience, Anna Grace Stout

Honors Theses

A quarter of Mississippi's population lives below the poverty line. Poverty is linked to a myriad of health conditions, psychological effects, and inaccessibility of basic resources. Often, those who have never faced the challenges of poverty hold misconceptions regarding the impacts of poverty. It is important to correct misconceptions in order to combat the problems of poverty through such means as better-informed legislation and community action plans. Poverty simulations have recently been designed to educate people about poverty and its challenges. A poverty simulation is a role-playing exercise in which participants are given props and a list of tasks to …


Gender Rules: Differences In Male And Female First-Year Undergraduate Adherence To Campus Alcohol Policy, Ashley Maiolatesi Jan 2016

Gender Rules: Differences In Male And Female First-Year Undergraduate Adherence To Campus Alcohol Policy, Ashley Maiolatesi

Honors Theses

Although differences in both men's and women's risk-taking and alcohol consumption have been respectively examined in previous research, the relationship between the two has not been thoroughly documented. While there have been studies on differences between male and female drinking habits, including those on amount and frequency of consumption, as well as studies documenting how women felt about both risk-taking and gender differences in morality, these factors are rarely, if ever, expressly linked. The current study aims to test past research regarding women's traditional hesitation towards engaging in risky behavior and rebelling against policy through the study of behavioral outcomes …


Exploration Of Compound Viability As An Organ-Selective Anti-Metastatic Therapeutic Treatment For Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Ashley E. Noblin Jan 2016

Exploration Of Compound Viability As An Organ-Selective Anti-Metastatic Therapeutic Treatment For Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Ashley E. Noblin

Honors Theses

Phenformin and metformin are compounds that are currently used to treat Type II Diabetes and have been shown to suppress breast cancer metastasis. These compounds were tested, after extensive research and screening of current approved oncology drugs, in various experiments with the cell lines MDA-MB-231, LM, and BoM, with MDA-MB-231 being the parental cell line, LM being the lung metastatic line, and BoM being the bone metastatic line. The cells were treated with compound addition at various concentrations and subject to a two-day concentration response viability study in order to determine any inhibitory effects, followed by a five-day assay in …


The Application Of Rna Interference To Knock Out Groucho Expression In Drosophila S2 Cells, Savannah Mitchell Jan 2016

The Application Of Rna Interference To Knock Out Groucho Expression In Drosophila S2 Cells, Savannah Mitchell

Honors Theses

The development of a complex nervous system requires the actions of intricate genetic mechanisms that influence and maintain the differentiation of common nervous system progenitor cells into neurons and glial cells. In Drosophila melanogaster, the gene glial cells missing (gcm) encodes the transcription factor Gcm that, when active, causes early nervous system cells to preferentially differentiate into glial cells by activating the reversed polarity (repo) gene, as well as others. However, the Gcm protein also plays a role in the differentiation of both macrophages and tendon cells. This suggests that there are other transcription factors or cofactors that interact with …


Auteurs Of Revolution: The Work Of Godard, Pasolini, And Antonioni And The Student Protests Of 1968, Shelbi Stovall Jan 2016

Auteurs Of Revolution: The Work Of Godard, Pasolini, And Antonioni And The Student Protests Of 1968, Shelbi Stovall

Honors Theses

When one looks to analysis of Western movements of 1968, one commonly finds either partisan commentary on exact protest actions, ignorance to the movements' philosophical background, or no recognition of artistic responses to the political ideology of the student protesters. The image which emerges of 1968 in France, Italy, and the Unites States is thus simple, tedious, and without reference to the greater sphere of Marxist thought which exists in traditional politics or the cinematic realm. This thesis analyzes the historical moment of 1968 as it relates to and is reflected by the cinematic work and personal responses of directors …


The Effects Of Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage On Motor Unit Firing, Sherman Jones Jan 2016

The Effects Of Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage On Motor Unit Firing, Sherman Jones

Honors Theses

Exercise induced muscle damage is commonly seen in individuals who are unaccustomed to exercise above a particular activity level. This temporary condition is marked by damage to individual sarcomeres, delayed onset muscle soreness, and localized edema. The analyzed data is decomposed electromyography (dEMG) data from the University of Oklahoma's Department of Health and Exercise Science. There, it was shown that following exercise-induced muscle damage, more slow motor units are recruited for force production. For this thesis, MATLAB ® was used to calculate the synchronization and coherence of 378 motor unit pairs. It was found that following exercise-induced muscle damage, both …


Noise Reduction In The Manufacturing Environment: A Study On Small Jet Geometry Alterations, Shawn Wesley Skinner Jan 2016

Noise Reduction In The Manufacturing Environment: A Study On Small Jet Geometry Alterations, Shawn Wesley Skinner

Honors Theses

Noise pollution is an identified issue in manufacturing environments. While machines, motion, production, etc. are a large factor in this noise pollution, other sources exist. Often copper tubing is connected to pressurized containers as a make-shift jet stream for reorienting elements on the assembly line. These makeshift jets when working in conjunction create noise pollution. By manipulating the exit of these small jets, it is hypothesized that the noise level can be decreased. Using the National Center for Physical Acoustics (NCPA) at the University of Mississippi, three geometry alterations—deburring the end, creating a converging-diverging nozzle, and flattening the end—were tested …


Newborn Diagnostics: Effects Of Hearing Screening Failures, Appointment Attendance And Distance On Age Of Hearing Loss Diagnosis, Stephanie Trippel Jan 2016

Newborn Diagnostics: Effects Of Hearing Screening Failures, Appointment Attendance And Distance On Age Of Hearing Loss Diagnosis, Stephanie Trippel

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates diagnostic outcomes of infants referred to the University of Mississippi Speech and Hearing Center between January 2010 and September 2014. Data were collected on the reason for referral, eventual diagnosis, appointment attendance, and distance traveled of the patients referred. A total of 177 patients were collected. It was determined that UMSHC reaches EDHI goals for most patients who receive a diagnosis. An overwhelming majority of patients referred were due to newborn hearing screening failure, and most patients received a diagnosis of within normal limits. Those patients who never received a diagnosis had poor attendance which seemed to …


Method Development Toward The Analysis Of The Functionalization Of Proteins, Victoria Calcote Jan 2016

Method Development Toward The Analysis Of The Functionalization Of Proteins, Victoria Calcote

Honors Theses

Calmodulin is a ubiquitous small intracellular protein that functions as a receptor for regulatory calcium signals and thus regulates a multitude of physiological processes in organisms as diverse as yeast, fruit flies, and mammals. Since its structure and function have been extensively studied, our goal is to create a calmodulin biomaterial, with the ultimate goal of in situ drug delivery or as a scaffold for stem cell growth and differentiation. We plan to create this biomaterial by using Click Chemistry, the rapid creation of new heteroatom bonds through a copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition. The bonds are created by treating calmodulin as …


The Madonna, The Whore, The Myth: Deconstructing The Madonna/Whore Dichotomy In The Scarlet Letter, The Awakening, And The Virgin Suicides, Whitney Greer Jan 2016

The Madonna, The Whore, The Myth: Deconstructing The Madonna/Whore Dichotomy In The Scarlet Letter, The Awakening, And The Virgin Suicides, Whitney Greer

Honors Theses

This thesis works to answer several questions as well as raise questions regarding the Madonna/Whore dichotomy, what is actually is, and why it is still a judgment standard used in American society. This is addressed in a series of chapters that look at the origin of the dichotomy, female literary characters to whom it has been applied, and what those applications say about American, and more broadly Judeo-Christian, society at that time. Throughout an examination of The Scarlett Letter, The Awakening, and The Virgin Suicides, the way in which women are presented and the extent to which their identities are …


Females Influence Brain Evolution: Dance Complexity Related To Volume Of A Sensorimotor Region In Manakins, Wilson Helmhout Jan 2016

Females Influence Brain Evolution: Dance Complexity Related To Volume Of A Sensorimotor Region In Manakins, Wilson Helmhout

Honors Theses

Manakins are a family of birds the males of which use acrobatic, non-vocal display behaviors to attract females to mate. Across the manakin family (Pipridae), species perform displays of varying complexities with variation in the number and type of display sites, acrobatics, and number of mechanical sounds. Females of at least one species, select males on the basis of 10s of ms differences in performance of certain male display elements suggesting strong sexually selection. Additionally, recent studies show a positive relationship between display complexity and relative brain weight in manakins. This overall association of complexity with brain weight could be …


A Comparison Of Cleated Footwear Conditions And The Effects On Ground Reaction Forces During The Phases Of A Side-Cut Task, Zachary Bridges Jan 2016

A Comparison Of Cleated Footwear Conditions And The Effects On Ground Reaction Forces During The Phases Of A Side-Cut Task, Zachary Bridges

Honors Theses

Within sports and athletics, one area of interest is finding methods to increase the performance of athletes while simultaneously minimizing their risk for injury. In two of today's most popular sports (soccer and American football), cleated footwear is common equipment used to increase performance during sport-specific tasks. The interaction between cleated footwear and sport-specific tasks is one area of interest researchers are beginning to investigate and analyze the concerns of performance and safety. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effects of American football cleats, soccer cleats, and running shoes have on ground reaction forces (GRF's) in …


An Industry Giant's Struggles: Google's Relative Failure Within China, Zachary T. Cookston Jan 2016

An Industry Giant's Struggles: Google's Relative Failure Within China, Zachary T. Cookston

Honors Theses

This thesis aims to understand and further explain the reasons culminating in Google's relative failure in the Chinese search engine market. By examining Google's tenure in China, Google's fairings in other large East Asian markets, and other Western corporations' troubles adapting to the Chinese market, this paper works to exhibit the reasons for Google's failure in China. Many of Google's high-ranking officers have claimed censorship as the most important factor in forcing the industry giant to vacate one of the fastest growing and most populous search engine markets in the world, but this paper seeks to exemplify that Google's approach …


I Got It On Silk Road: An Examination Of Knowledge And Attitudes Towards Tor And The Dark Web, Zachary Mitchell Jan 2016

I Got It On Silk Road: An Examination Of Knowledge And Attitudes Towards Tor And The Dark Web, Zachary Mitchell

Honors Theses

As communication technology has grown, so has the potential for crimes to be committed with the new technology. The United States government has attempted to stay current with the times by introducing legislation to increase federal power to detect and stop these crimes, but some feel that some of these new laws and acts reduce personal freedoms and liberties. Enter Tor and the Dark Web, a set of often misunderstood tools and web-based resources designed to make users' data and behavior on the Internet anonymous. This paper describes the aforementioned laws, how Tor and the Dark Web work, and examines …


The Entrepreneurship Center At The Mississippi Development Authority: An Assessment Of The State's Small Business Engine, Ryan Snow Jan 2016

The Entrepreneurship Center At The Mississippi Development Authority: An Assessment Of The State's Small Business Engine, Ryan Snow

Honors Theses

The importance of a strong entrepreneurial environment for overall economic development is well established. Mississippi, this Mississippi Development Authority's Entrepreneur Center is the state's leading authority on small business development. However, there has been little to no analysis of the effectiveness and efficiency of the Entrepreneur Center. Two surveys were conducted. The Mississippi Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Survey (MEES) was administered by the University of Mississippi's McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement last fall to a population of 4214 business and community leaders with a responsive sample of n= 573. This survey is used to contextualize the business ecosystem of …


Singen Mit Schubert (Singing With Schubert): A Comparative Study Of Two Children's Choirs, Katherine C. Mclaughlin Jan 2016

Singen Mit Schubert (Singing With Schubert): A Comparative Study Of Two Children's Choirs, Katherine C. Mclaughlin

Honors Theses

The purpose of this comparative study is to examine the effects of selected works of Franz Schubert on the singing technique, attention span and overall reaction of two children's choirs: the Oxford Children's Chorus and the St. Peter's Children's Choir. In the fall semester of 2015 each choir was given a separate work by Schubert, one in German and one in English, to study throughout the semester and sing one final performance. By video recording each rehearsal and using Scribe 4 Software analysis, I was able to record the children's singing technique and attention span. Each choir was given a …


Walgreens: Financial Analysis And Recommendations, Madeleine Robinson Jan 2016

Walgreens: Financial Analysis And Recommendations, Madeleine Robinson

Honors Theses

This thesis is an analysis including recommendations for the publically traded company, Walgreens. By using the most recent 10-K filing, a complete financial analysis was completed. Through the findings it was recommended to Walgreens that they focus more on mobile growth to compete with technology of competitors, as well as bring an in store area to represent their mobile presence.


The Role Of Pharmacists In Prenatal Healthcare Concerning Obesity, Hypertension, And Diabetes, Madeline Ott Jan 2016

The Role Of Pharmacists In Prenatal Healthcare Concerning Obesity, Hypertension, And Diabetes, Madeline Ott

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the role of pharmacists in prenatal health care for women with chronic diseases. This study consists of a systematic review of Medline and Academic Search Premier listed articles concerning pregnant women and obesity, hypertension, or diabetes and pharmacy, focusing special attention on 40 articles. The second part of the study consisted of pharmacist interviews with thirteen pharmacists on how they view the current role of pharmacists in caring for pregnant women who are obese, hypertensive, and diabetic. The literature review suggested that chronic diseases can have a detrimental effect on children, and that there were many gaps …


Keeping Students In School: An Analysis Of Dropout Prevention Methods In Canton, Mississippi, Mary Elizabeth Kakales Jan 2016

Keeping Students In School: An Analysis Of Dropout Prevention Methods In Canton, Mississippi, Mary Elizabeth Kakales

Honors Theses

With a graduation rate of 29.7% and a dropout rate of 59.8% reported in 2005, the Canton Public School District qualified as one of the most low-performing school districts in the United States. Recently, though, the district has experienced significant improvement in these areas, reporting a graduation rate of 72.2% and a dropout rate of 17.8% in 2013. In this thesis, I analyze Canton, Mississippi's dropout prevention methods and conclude that their success is attributed to the combination of a community-wide effort and desire to be worthy of honor and respect alongside Canton Public School District's extensive Dropout Prevention Plan. …


Redox-Sensitive Block Copolymer Nanoparticle Preparation And Characterization, Mary Virginia Portera Jan 2016

Redox-Sensitive Block Copolymer Nanoparticle Preparation And Characterization, Mary Virginia Portera

Honors Theses

The purpose of the research conducted in this project was to add to a wealth of knowledge concerning chemotherapy. Although chemotherapy has been used since Paul Ehrlich's discover of Salvarsan's ability to kill Treponema pallidum (the bacterium that causes syphilis), today the term chemotherapy is mostly used in conjunction with cancer treatment. There have been many successful chemotherapy drugs produced throughout the years, but a constant problem with chemotherapy is the fact that it also affects noncancerous cells. The topic of this research investigated targeted drug delivery systems that incorporate paclitaxel, a hydrophobic chemotherapy drug. This research mainly focused on …


Optimization Of Fluidized Bed Isothermal Reactor In A Styrene Production Process, Matthew Hamilton Peaster Jan 2016

Optimization Of Fluidized Bed Isothermal Reactor In A Styrene Production Process, Matthew Hamilton Peaster

Honors Theses

The focus of this thesis is to explain the optimization of a fluidized bed isothermal reactor in a styrene production process. The first section of the thesis gives a summary of chemical process optimization in general. The next portion of the thesis gives an introduction to chemical process simulation software, and it explains how simulation software aids in the design and optimization of chemical processes. The third section of the thesis gives a brief overview of an optimization project of a styrene production process that was completed in the previous semester with a group of three. The final section explains …


Students' And Pharmacists' Perspectives On The Issue Of Adhd Prescription Medication Abuse At The University Of Mississippi, Meghan Wagner Jan 2016

Students' And Pharmacists' Perspectives On The Issue Of Adhd Prescription Medication Abuse At The University Of Mississippi, Meghan Wagner

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.


Optimizing Rna Extraction From Fungal-Algal Tissues For Transcriptomic Gene Expression Analysis, Michael J. Hohl Jan 2016

Optimizing Rna Extraction From Fungal-Algal Tissues For Transcriptomic Gene Expression Analysis, Michael J. Hohl

Honors Theses

Extracting high-quality RNA is critical for downstream applications such a qRT-PCR and RNA-Seq based transcriptomics. Single-stranded RNA is readily susceptible to degradation by environmental RNases, necessitating rapid and sterile homogenization techniques; freezing at -80°C, lysis buffer addition, and short bursts of beadbeating have been shown to increase yields and quality of extracted RNA. Utilizing fungal-algal tissues from the model symbiosis between the filamentous fungi Aspergillus nidulans and the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, three different commercial homogenizers and six RNA extractions kits were assessed and an optimized extraction protocol for total RNA from fungal-algal tissues was determined. Using the protocol designed …


Restraining Order, Michael Martella Jan 2016

Restraining Order, Michael Martella

Honors Theses

This thesis is a collection of poetry and creative non-fiction that examines the intersection of place and environment with personal identity. Here are pieces written about sex, anxiety, beauty, death, masculinity, violence. But ultimately, this is a collection derived from and dependent on love.


A Quantitative Analysis Of Financial Literacy At The University Of Mississippi, Paul Jackson Gunn Jan 2016

A Quantitative Analysis Of Financial Literacy At The University Of Mississippi, Paul Jackson Gunn

Honors Theses

This thesis examines why financial literacy is important and what factors can influence students' financial literacy at the University of Mississippi. Financial literacy is important and can affect many aspects of life, whether it is political, financial, educational or personal. Students enrolled in EDHE 105 participated in the multiple-choice survey, which included socioeconomic, demographic and financial literacy questions. Participants' answers were analyzed using four statistical models: ordinary least squares regression, univariate analysis or means by differences analysis, interactions and probit analysis. The study found that the average score, 2.02 out of five, to the financial literacy quiz for all participants …


An Investigation Of Abnormal Brain Connectivity Associated With Regions Implicated In Adhd, Roya Gordji Jan 2016

An Investigation Of Abnormal Brain Connectivity Associated With Regions Implicated In Adhd, Roya Gordji

Honors Theses

Research into the unique etiology of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has in recent years moved from a focus on dysfunction in brain regions to abnormalities between those regions. In this study, we examined the connectivity in brain areas that were deemed to be of particular significance to the disease in terms of their function and already known discrepancies in morphology and connectivity from healthy individuals. The thalamic VA nucleus and the hippocampus were the regions investigated. The data, obtained from the ADHD-200 Sample, consisted of MRI, clinical, and demographic data and were made up of 215 individuals, 117 of …


The Olfactory System In Schizophrenia: An Rsfmri Study Of The Piriform Cortex, Sara Kiparizoska Jan 2016

The Olfactory System In Schizophrenia: An Rsfmri Study Of The Piriform Cortex, Sara Kiparizoska

Honors Theses

This thesis is a study of rsfMRI imaging in order to examine coactivation patters of the piriform cortex between healthy subjects and people with schizophrenia. As part of the olfactory system, the piriform cortex is an integral part of the smell sensation. Our studies showed that coactivation among the piriform cortex and other sensory brain regions differ in people with schizophrenia compared to healthy subjects. People with schizophrenia exhibit patterns of less coactivation among their sensory brain regions compared to control subjects, specifically the intracalcarine cortex, the right planum temporale, and the left occipital lobe. The purpose of this study …


Memory In The Fingers: An Exploration Of Knitting Through The Lens Of Modern Knitters' Lives, Sinclair Rishel Jan 2016

Memory In The Fingers: An Exploration Of Knitting Through The Lens Of Modern Knitters' Lives, Sinclair Rishel

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the history of knitting through the lens of modern knitters' lives. Information about the history of knitting was gathered from various printed and online sources. A series of interviews were conducted with knitters of different ages, experience levels, professions, and socioeconomic circles. Among these were beginning knitters, casual knitters, semi-professional knitters, professional knitters, and a knitting celebrity. The interviewees were asked about their knitting lives, including personal history, motives, preferences, and habits. Using the research and the interviews to inform each other, the researcher compiled a report on each subject which included their responses and the historical …


The Effects Of Sceletium Tortuosum In The Chick Anxiety-Depression Model, Emily Mae Fountain Jan 2016

The Effects Of Sceletium Tortuosum In The Chick Anxiety-Depression Model, Emily Mae Fountain

Honors Theses

Sceletium tortuosum (S. tortuosum), known colloquially as Kanna, is a natural botanical that is thought to reduce anxiety, elevate mood, and produce euphoria. This study explores S. tortuosum's properties in the chick anxiety-depression model, a pre-clinical drug efficacy screening model that shares many features to clinical stress-related disorders and has high predictive validity. Socially-raised male Silver Laced Wyandotte chicks age 4-6 days were given intraperitoneal injections of either a vehicle, imipramine, or S. tortuosum fraction (10, 20, 30, 50, 75, or 100mg/kg) 15 minutes prior to being placed in a stress-inducing isolation chamber for 60 minutes and distress vocalizations were …


Exploration In The Effectiveness Of Solid Lipid Nanoparticle Formulations In Enhancing Ocular Delivery Of Win 55, 212 In The Management Of Glaucoma, Emily Ann Nesbit Jan 2016

Exploration In The Effectiveness Of Solid Lipid Nanoparticle Formulations In Enhancing Ocular Delivery Of Win 55, 212 In The Management Of Glaucoma, Emily Ann Nesbit

Honors Theses

Glaucoma is a progressive and degenerative ocular disease which, without proper treatment, can result in permanent blindness. Due to a complex organization of lipophilic and hydrophilic ocular membranes, topical delivery of therapeutic agents has also proved to be a challenging task. Cannabinoids, such as Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), have intraocular pressure (IOP) lowering and neuroprotective capabilities. Due to the unfavorable physiochemical characteristics of these molecules, delivery into the eye through a topical route is very difficult. Previous research has shown that prodrug derivatization and formulations such as solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) improve the physiochemical characteristics and ocular bioavailability of such molecules. WIN …