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Honors Theses

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Examining Race And Anxiety Sensitivity As Predictors Of Electronic Cigarette Use And Dependence, Carson Schmitz May 2021

Examining Race And Anxiety Sensitivity As Predictors Of Electronic Cigarette Use And Dependence, Carson Schmitz

Honors Theses

Electronic Cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have gained popularity among U.S. adults with rates of use significantly increasing over the past decade. As such, the current literature has begun to explore factors associated with e-cigarette use in significantly affected populations. Anxiety sensitivity (AS), the fear of the sensations associated with the experience of anxiety, is a known transdiagnostic risk factor for tobacco use. Additionally, higher AS has been shown to be associated with higher levels of e-cigarette use, greater perceived benefits of use, greater positive outcome expectancies, greater perceived risks of use, more quit attempts, and more difficulty quitting. Further, preliminary research focusing …


The Author’S Words And The Editor’S Pen, A Self-Study In Editorial Decision Making, Margaret M. Cahill May 2021

The Author’S Words And The Editor’S Pen, A Self-Study In Editorial Decision Making, Margaret M. Cahill

Honors Theses

This study investigates the practices that professional editors use when evaluating manuscripts for publication. Specifically, I ask: 1) Which edits are the most essential to the overall development of a text? and 2) How does the editor serve as the bridge between writer and reader? In seeking answers to these questions, I apply the editorial practices for reading and manuscript development reported by professional editors to my work as an editor of one writer’s memoir manuscript currently in the process of revision. Drawing on interviews with the author and changes to the manuscript itself, I examine the role of the …


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 May 2021

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 Impact Of Intercultural Healthcare On Indigenous Maternal Health And Access To Care In Ecuador, Lea Dudte May 2021

The Impact Of Intercultural Healthcare On Indigenous Maternal Health And Access To Care In Ecuador, Lea Dudte

Honors Theses

Article 32 of the 2008 Ecuadorian Constitution states that all citizens have the right to intercultural healthcare, which combines traditional and western medical practices. This thesis investigates the implementation of this policy and analyzes its impacts on Indigenous maternal health. I focus on Indigenous maternal health because there is a disproportionately high maternal mortality rate among this ethnic group. Moreover, medical racism and distrust of biomedical practices in public hospitals often deters Indigenous women from attending these facilities. This policy is highly tailored towards the needs of Indigenous mothers. In order to analyze the impacts of this policy on Indigenous …


The Root Of The Problem: Mississippi And The School-To-Prison Pipeline, Matthew Brennan Hendley May 2021

The Root Of The Problem: Mississippi And The School-To-Prison Pipeline, Matthew Brennan Hendley

Honors Theses

The Root of the Problem: Mississippi and the School-to-Prison Pipeline is a solutions journalism piece about the “schoolhouse to jailhouse” theory, which represents a phenomenon in which grade school students, the majority of which are minority youth, are funneled into the criminal justice system via schools through policies and procedures that criminalize student misbehavior. The piece is an in-depth analysis of the arrival, history, and current state of the school-to-prison pipeline in Mississippi, featuring one specific effort to dismantle the phenomenon in the Sunflower County Consolidated School District in the Mississippi Delta. In addition to this analysis, the piece explores …


Perceived Adult/Child Health And Diet By Snap Usage And Food Security In A Rural, Appalachian Mississippi Community, Georgia Inglis May 2021

Perceived Adult/Child Health And Diet By Snap Usage And Food Security In A Rural, Appalachian Mississippi Community, Georgia Inglis

Honors Theses

This study examined if there were differences in perceived adult health score, perceived adult diet score, parent-perceived child health score, and parent-perceived child diet score by SNAP usage and food security in a rural, Appalachian Mississippi community. Adults (n=1084) with elementary school- aged children were surveyed in a rural, Appalachian Mississippi school district. Demographic, household adult food security (USDA 10-item measure), and perceived health and dietary data were collected. Using IBM SPSS version 24, demographic statistics were calculated to summarize data. Independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA with Tukey post-hoc test was utilized to assess for differences between groups. P.05) …


Introduction Of New Value Stream Through Vermicomposting Process, James Spalding, Joseph Harris May 2021

Introduction Of New Value Stream Through Vermicomposting Process, James Spalding, Joseph Harris

Honors Theses

The purpose of our project is to analyze whether a waste byproduct can be monetized into a viable profit stream for Wonderbird Spirits. Spent grain, a waste byproduct created by the distillation process, is currently the company’s biggest source of material waste. The CME project team designed and built a trommel to aid liquid-solid separation of the spent grain so that the solid portion can be repurposed as feedstock for a vermicomposting setup. We also suggest vermicomposting setup for the distillery based on the needs and capabilities of Wonderbird Spirits. We present financial analyses detailing the cost of creating the …


Design Of An Undergraduate Laboratory Experiment Utilizing A Stirred-Tank, Jacketed Bioreactor, Brennen Middleton May 2021

Design Of An Undergraduate Laboratory Experiment Utilizing A Stirred-Tank, Jacketed Bioreactor, Brennen Middleton

Honors Theses

Bioreactors are utilized in many industries, such as the food, alternative fuel, and pharmaceutical industries, to design and manufacture products. Unlike the similar chemical batch reactors utilized in many chemical processing facilities, bioreactor utilization requires engineers to consider a wider range of operating conditions and parameters. This results in a more complex reaction system and controls network. Due to this, it is imperative for chemical and biomedical engineering students to not only understand the theory surrounding these reactor systems, but also understand how to properly design and perform operating procedures with these systems. Thus, it was determined to create an …


The Role Of The Dal Neurons In Modulating Circadian Rhythms In Olfactory Short-Term Memory In Drosophila Melanogaster, Cooper Ruwe Apr 2021

The Role Of The Dal Neurons In Modulating Circadian Rhythms In Olfactory Short-Term Memory In Drosophila Melanogaster, Cooper Ruwe

Honors Theses

Depressed short-term memory (STM) abilities during non-adaptive times of the day can significantly impact those who work occupations that require peak levels of cognitive functioning around the clock. While much work has gone into understanding the endogenous clock and circadian rhythms, there is still much to learn about the neural circuity that underlies the daily rhythms that define these regular oscillations in STM performance. The DAL neurons in the Drosophila brain are part of the circadian network and innervate the mushroom bodies (MBs), the species’ olfactory learning center, making them compelling candidates to be involved in circadian circuitry for olfactory …


Congenital Heart Defects And The Expression Of Ccdc141, Savanna Tillman Apr 2021

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, …


Stereochemical Control In Suzuki Cross Coupling Reactions Of Acyclic (Z)-Beta-Haloacroleins, William Carrick Apr 2021

Stereochemical Control In Suzuki Cross Coupling Reactions Of Acyclic (Z)-Beta-Haloacroleins, William Carrick

Honors Theses

Beta-chloroenals are readily accessible substances and are efficient precursors for a variety of heterocyclic compounds. Suzuki type cross-coupling reactions of such compounds with arylboronic acids yield ��,��-diarylacroleins with control of stereochemistry. The oxidation of these enals to the corresponding acids and subsequent oxidative lactonization leads to formation of the respective coumarins. The chemistry involved in these transformations with special attention to stereochemistry of the Suzuki coupling reaction will be discussed. A full NMR analysis involving 1H, 13C, COSY, NOESY, HSQC, and HMBC was performed to unambiguously confirm the structure and show that the reaction proceeds with retention of stereochemistry.


Evaluation Of Whether Habitual Physical Activity Is Associated With An Attenuated Memory Interference Effect, Lilianne Belle Mckissack Apr 2021

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, James Dubberly Apr 2021

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 …


Microplastic Pollution: Analytical Method Development And Current Policy, Klara Missling Apr 2021

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 …


Examining Bystander Blame In Rape And Sexual Assault, Katherine E. Purdom Apr 2021

Examining Bystander Blame In Rape And Sexual Assault, Katherine E. Purdom

Honors Theses

The present study investigated the effect of various factors on blame distribution in sexual violence cases. Participants (N = 378) were randomly assigned to either a rape (N = 187) or sexual assault (N = 190) condition and directed to read a scenario that varied only by the terminology indicated by the condition. Participants were provided two pre-filled slots labeled as the perpetrator and victim. Additionally, they were given two blank “free-response” options in which participants could assign blame and indicate a responsible party if they found it necessary. Data was gathered from the male (N = 163) and female …


Relationship Between Anxiety And Dietary Quality In College Students, Katie Darnell Apr 2021

Relationship Between Anxiety And Dietary Quality In College Students, Katie Darnell

Honors Theses

College students across many universities show high levels of anxiety in the transition from high school to college. These students must learn to adapt to a higher demand of focus and work that a college education requires, and some students find the pressure to be too much to handle. The purpose of this study was to determine whether college students with high anxiety displayed a poorer diet quality. The sample was college students (N=44) enrolled in undergraduate studies at the University of Mississippi. Students completed an anonymous 39-item questionnaire about their prevalence of anxiety and consumption rates of …


Covid-19 And Challenges To The Traditional Understanding Of Individual Medical Autonomy, Callon A. Green Apr 2021

Covid-19 And Challenges To The Traditional Understanding Of Individual Medical Autonomy, Callon A. Green

Honors Theses

Throughout history, vaccines have provided the human population with the ability to combat dangerous illnesses and avoid preventable suffering. Despite the benefits vaccines provide to the public health of the United States, anti-vaccination sentiment and resistance to vaccine uptake are still prevalent in the modern day. As the COVID-19 pandemic has developed into a major public health crisis that can be controlled through vaccination, the issues underlying vaccine resistance are becoming more critical to return to normal life. Using COVID-19 as a case study, it is evident that the individual choice to deny vaccination can have consequences on the health …


To Care When There Is No Cure: Chronic Illness And Medicine, Skylar Nash Apr 2021

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 …


Serine And Glutathione Biosynthesis In Breast Cancer Subclones That Preferentially Metastasize To Lung And Bone, Noah Thornton Apr 2021

Serine And Glutathione Biosynthesis In Breast Cancer Subclones That Preferentially Metastasize To Lung And Bone, Noah Thornton

Honors Theses

Metastatic breast cancers show distinct preferences to metastasize to lung and bone tissue. Transcriptomic analysis of lung-specific (LM) and bone-specific (BoM) subclones derived from the MDA-231 breast cancer line have identified differential expression of genes that may mediate this tissue-specific metastasis, but metabolic differences have not been systematically studied. If common metabolic phenotypes emerge in metastatic cancers having preferences for different organs, then such ‘metabolic plasticity’ may offer new therapeutic targets for treatment of specific metastases. Changes in glutathione (GSH) and serine synthesis may contribute to tissue-specific proliferation because of their roles in redox homeostasis, biosynthetic reactions including nucleotide synthesis, …


Transcriptional Activation Of Phytochrome-Interacting Factor 4 Is A Conserved Mechanism Of Thermomorphogenesis In Dicotyledenous Plants, Caroline Clutton Apr 2021

Transcriptional Activation Of Phytochrome-Interacting Factor 4 Is A Conserved Mechanism Of Thermomorphogenesis In Dicotyledenous Plants, Caroline Clutton

Honors Theses

In the model dicotyledonous plant Arabidopsis thaliana, the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor Phytochrome-Interacting Factor 4 (AtPIF4) plays a central role in regulating the ambient temperature-regulated hypocotyl growth response. Warm temperatures induce AtPIF4 transcription and the accumulated AtPIF4 promotes thermomorphogenesis by enhancing the expression of a group of growth-related genes. However, whether this thermo-induced growth response is universal, and more importantly, whether there is a conserved thermomorphogenetic mechanism shared in dicots is largely unknown. Here we show that higher ambient temperatures promote the hypocotyl growth in four other dicotyledonous plants, including Brassica rapa, Camelina sativa, Nicotiana benthamiana …


Exploring The Intracellular Functions Of Matrix Metalloproteinases In Neuronal And Glial Cells, Jewellian V. Welcher Apr 2021

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 …


Investigation Of The Effects Of Curcumin On Woodsmoke-Induced Inflammation, Melissa Lewis Apr 2021

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 …


Potential Interactions Between Gper1 And Hiv Tat-Mediated Neurotoxicity, Shiwani Thapa Apr 2021

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 Apr 2021

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 …


The Past, Present And Future Of Psychedelics, Helen Claire Mcnulty Apr 2021

The Past, Present And Future Of Psychedelics, Helen Claire Mcnulty

Honors Theses

This thesis is a systematic literature review that will articulate the need for psychedelics as a treatment for several mental illnesses and ailments. Starting with the origins of psychedelics used in South American religious ceremonies and their development and early trials in the mid 20th century as well as the legal battles of psychedelics in American society. Additionally, this thesis examines the chemical structure, pharmacology, and safety of psychedelics. An in-depth examination of psychedelics as a therapy for treatment-resistant depression, depression and anxiety as a result of a cancer diagnosis, nicotine addiction and alcoholism, OCD, PTSD, and cluster headaches …


The Effects Of Acute Exercise On Retrieval Induced Forgetting, Walter Simpson Apr 2021

The Effects Of Acute Exercise On Retrieval Induced Forgetting, Walter Simpson

Honors Theses

Retrieval Induced Forgetting (RIF) is a type of active forgetting that may play beneficial and detrimental roles in long-term memory. The benefit of the retrieval of certain information is that information will become more readily available following subsequent retrieval; a concept termed the retrieval practice effect (RP). The detrimental effect of RIF may be that, upon the subsequent recall of certain information, related information may be inhibited from recall. The effects and mechanisms of RIF have remained a topic of debate among neuroscientists, psychologists, and other related scholars. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of acute …


Observation And Detection Of Adhd Malingering In College Students, Zoe Tenner Apr 2021

Observation And Detection Of Adhd Malingering In College Students, Zoe Tenner

Honors Theses

The rate of college students attempting to obtain Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnoses in order to gain access to prescription stimulant medications has shown a large increase over the past 20 years. Research has also shown that college students are frequently able to convincingly present themselves as meeting clinical criteria for ADHD with relative ease, meaning that the barrier to false presentation for the purpose of obtaining inappropriately prescribed medication is minimal. There is a need for more concise, accurate tools to detect these efforts in clinical settings, which is an area of research pursued by members of the University of …


Diabetes Self-Management Training In Rural Mississippi, Nathan Foxworth Apr 2021

Diabetes Self-Management Training In Rural Mississippi, Nathan Foxworth

Honors Theses

The objective of this study is to evaluate participants’ attitudes towards and readiness to participate in an online Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES) program in rural Mississippi, in light of the rapid shift to telemedicine necessitated by the CoVid19 pandemic. Semi- structured in-depth interviews were conducted with patients over 18 that live in areas considered rural in Mississippi. The findings of the study conclude that patients in rural settings are willing and ready to participate in DSMES online. Of the 12 participants in the study, 11 had access to the internet and had adequate infrastructure in order to participate …


Whose Expectation? Ideal Beauty And The Cultural Construction Of The American Woman, Ameliea Rose Dulaney Apr 2021

Whose Expectation? Ideal Beauty And The Cultural Construction Of The American Woman, Ameliea Rose Dulaney

Honors Theses

My research project “Whose Expectation? Ideal Beauty and the Cultural Construction of the American Woman” explores the cultural and political climate of American society over the last four centuries, analyzing how ideal beauty standards have worked in the lives of American women over the years, examining (1) how they have been negotiated by women at different times of cultural and political flux, (2) how, although beauty has long been an integral aspect of feminine identity, it has become even more so with the introduction of new technologies (advertising, tv, makeup, etc.), and (3) how as a result, the definition of …


More Than Sectarianism: How Have State And Non-State Institutions Used Violence To Form The Current Iraqi State And What Is The Effect?, Caitlyn Perkins Apr 2021

More Than Sectarianism: How Have State And Non-State Institutions Used Violence To Form The Current Iraqi State And What Is The Effect?, Caitlyn Perkins

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the role of violence in Iraq in establishing the current Iraqi state. My chapters provide historical and theoretical context to the subject before getting into the analysis. The goal of this thesis is to show that violence in Iraq is not only caused by sectarian differences, but has been used and influenced by leaders, outside governments, and non-state institutions for personal gain and political goals at the cost of the Iraqi people.