Digital Commons Network^™

Pharmacological Dissociation Of Anxiety Model In The Chick Separation Stress Paradigm, Robert Thomas Wicks

Honors Theses

The chick separation stress paradigm has been validated as an anxiolytic screening assay. However, whether the paradigm better models Panic Disorder (PD) or Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is unknown. To pharmacologically dissociate the chick separation stress paradigm as a model of PD or GAD, subjects were administered drug probes that were either: 1) only effective in the treatment of PD (phenelzine 3.125-25.0 mg/kg), 2) effective in the treatment of both PD and GAD (alprazolam 0.065-0.5 mg/kg; clonidine 0.1-0.25 mg/kg; imipramine 1.0-15.0mg/kg), 3) only effective in the treatment of GAD (buspirone 2.5-10.0 mg/kg; trazodone 0.1-3.0 mg/kg), or 4) capable of exacerbating …

Contexts Of Positional Behavior In Captive Cebuella Pygmaea, Colin Jackson

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Measuring The Expression Of Hypovirulence In A Segregating Population Of Bc2f2 Castanea Dentata Hybrids, Lisa Michelle Worthen

Honors Theses

The American chestnut tree (Castanea dentata) was reduced from an important canopy hardwood to an understory shrub by the chestnut blight fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica). Hypovirulence, a phenomenon whereby Cryphonectria parasitica is weakened in its ability to incite chestnut blight, is caused by doublestranded RNA (dsRNA) molecules of viral origin in the cytoplasm of the fungus.Hypovirulence serves as a biological control of C. parasitica in Europe and small, isolated areas in North America, but has not been an effective, widespread biological control in North America. It has been hypothesized that the moderately higher levels of host resistance of the European chestnut …

Developmental Systems Theory: A Search For Human Nature, Erin Kenzie

Honors Theses

When trying to identify the driving forces behind the development of traits, 'nature' and 'nurture' are presented as the sole answers to a seemingly inevitable philosophical question. There must be reasons behind why an individual has a certain trait, so the rhetoric goes, and the line of reasoning has to go in one of two directions. Either factors in the individual's environment - such as parental care or life experience - are responsible, or the trait is an immutable characteristic of the individual's biological makeup. Although this dichotomy has permeated the public consciousness, it is dismissed by those who study …

The Synthesis Of Biomimetic Tungsten And Molybdenum Complexes, John Sterling Cole Iii

Honors Theses

The synthesis of novel biomimetic molybdenum and tungsten compounds that are potential model complexes for molybdenum and tungsten oxidase enzymes is being pursued. Model complexes such as these provide a better understanding of the basic chemistry of a metal center in an environment similar to that found in particular enzyme active sites. This understanding provides a good starting point for biologists or biochemists studying those biological systems. The first target complex will incorporate a tetradentate-S4 ligand (L) that features two biphenyl-S2 fragments joined by a propyl linker. The second target complex will incorporate a bidentate ligand (L') with a singly …

Spectacle And Distortion: The Anti-Globalization Movement On Television News, Raphi Rechitsky

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Macrofungi Of The Tennessee River Gorge, William D. Starrett

Honors Theses

Representative macro fungi of the Tennessee River Gorge were collected on the Tennessee River Gorge Trust (TRGT) property during 18 forays I conducted fom May to November 2004. This dramatically added to the baseline data on the macrofungi of the TRGT by adding 15 orders, 34 families, and 138 species to the existing list. These data were recorded in the herbarium of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga database. I converted the University's File Maker Pro fungi database into Microsoft Excel and Access, which allows it to be processed for introduction into the National Biological Information Infrastructure and onto the …

Ecological Niching In An Interactive Simulation, Ryan T. Webb

Honors Theses

Our goal is to create a simulation platform for the study of ecological niching that can be extended to suit the needs of biological research. Ecological niching and the accompanying evolutionary process of speciation are difficult to observe in situ, which makes them prime candidates for study via the methods of computer simulation. To this end, we have created an interactive, real-time ecosystem simulation based on the standard predator/prey interaction model, in which interacting populations of organisms exhibit swarming behavior. We hope to provide the basic simulation components necessary to bring about niching and speciation, that may be extended for …

Changes In Nursing Student Attitudes Toward Mental Illness, Jared Rogge

Honors Theses

People who suffer from mental illness comprise a highly vulnerable population, and encounter adversity from two directions. Not only do they have to contend with their illness and the management of its symptoms, but they also have to brace themselves against the societal backlash and devaluation produced by the stigma that accompanies mental illness. Stigmatization can drastically alter the life chances of individuals with mental illness and have negative outcomes in regards to employment, income (Markowitz, 1998), social integration(Chan, 2004), self esteem(Blankertz, 2001), health care, insurance, and access to justice (Sayce, 1998.)

A Comparison In Osteological Measurements Of Two Populations From East Tennessee, Corrine Vitek

Honors Theses

Forensic anthropology is the identification of skeletal remams in medicolegal death investigations. The foundation of forensic anthropology rests on "documented" skeletal collections, which provide a crucial repository of information from which experts can rely upon to make determinations about human skeletal remains. A "documented" skeletal collection is one in which the demographics (e.g., ancestry, sex, age, height) of each individual are supported by known facts about the decedent at the time of his/her death. A quantitative comparison between the Hamilton County Forensic Center's(HCFC) skeletal collection to the William M. Bass collection housed at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UTK) …

Civil War Medicine: Crisis And Heroism In The Medical Profession, 1861 - 1865, Diana Frances Semmes

Honors Theses

This thesis uses a variety of sources to look at the medical profession during the Civil War era. Both primary sources and secondary sources provide information on the perspectives of the key players during the period as well as an understanding of the knowledge present at that time and the methods and practices employed. Most of the research has been done using the J. D. Williams Library on the University of Mississippi main campus though it has been supplemented by books in my own personal collection, items loaned from Dr. Neff’s collection, online resources such as the Library of Congress …

The Forest Service's Quest For Power And Money: Implications Of A Budget-Maximizing Agency, Allison M. Stewart

Honors Theses

The Forest Service manages land for a diverse array of purposes under the Multiple Use Doctrine. Many of these uses are incompatible and lead to conflict The goal of my research is to explain what guides the Forest Service's management decisions, since this is critical to understanding how conflicts are resolved, .and uncover alternative approaches that better protect the environment.

In this paper, I present a brief history of the Forest Service's management over the past century. Particular attention is given to explaining trends in timber and recreation management. Following the historical presentation, I attempt to identify a set of …

The Synthesis And Characterization Of Bicyclooxacalixarenes, Kevin J. Selby

Honors Theses

Bicyclooxacalixarenes were synthesized in high yield via a selective, room temperature Sn Ar reaction of phluoroglucinol with 2,6-dichloropyridines. Functionality on the 2,6-dichloropyridioe was varied by changing the electron-withdrawing groups in the 3 and 5 positions (using chlorine, nitro groups, and cyano groups) and the side-chains in the 4-position (using ethyl, butyl, phenyl and ρ-tolyl groups). The resulting cage-like molecules were studied by X-ray crystallography and tested for metal complexation.

Role Of Private Owners In The Conservation Of Exotic Species, Jessica L. Beetz

Honors Theses

This study examines the private ownership of exotic species, a topic very relevant to conservation that has long been ignored in the public sphere of policy and discussion. The private ownership of exotic species is a multifaceted issue that affects not only conservation, but also the domestic industry, world trade and education. The volume of trade in live animals is remarkably high and growing, making studies that investigate the implications of this trade on the endangered and threatened species even more pressing. This thesis investigates whether or not animal species held in captivity by private owners benefit conservation of their …

The Value Of An Arts Rich Education: Why Every School Should Teach The Arts, Holly Louise Buntin

Honors Theses

This thesis aims to prove that the arts should be a major component in every student’s education. Statistics, research findings, and case studies from throughout the years were compared and compiled together in order to make a strong argument in favor of the arts. The National Art Education Association website provided many statistics as did the National Center for Education Statistics. Two of the specific studies presented in this thesis came from Champions of Change, a collection of seven major studies done by professional academics. It was produced by the Arts Education Partnership, the President’s Committee on the Arts and …

Size Exclusion Chromatography: Estimation Of Protein Shape, Gregg Oyemachi Anazia

Honors Theses

Cadherin is a cell adhesion protein that is significant in tissue formation. The protein is comprised of an extracellular region, a transmembrane segment and a cytoplasmic domain. The extracellular region contains five independently folded Pbarrel domains. They communicate with one another through calcium ions that bind at the interface between each domain. Our laboratory is interested in characterizing the interactions that the extracellular domains participate in. As a part of this overall goal, analytical techniques must be developed to assess the size of the constmcts. This is important for basic characterization of the recombinant proteins. Determining the change in size …

A Study Of The Effects Of The 2004 Tsunami On Coral Reefs And Fisheries Of The Indian Ocean, Joseph Lane Campbell

Honors Theses

This thesis serves as a broad-scale review of the effects of the tsunami on the coral reefs and the fisheries of the affected Indian Ocean region. The main goals were to 1) use my research from a recolonization project completed May 2004 as a basis for predictiverecovery models for the coral reefs, 2) review and summarize the newly available literature of the tsunami effects on coral reefs in the Indian Ocean and 3) predict the future of the Indian Ocean fisheries based on the review of the tsunami effects on human and fishery communities, using selected species as models. It …

Spectroscopic Studies Of Site 3 Mutants Of Calmodulin, Shakirat Omolara Oyetunji

Honors Theses

Calmodulin is the quintessential member of the EF-hand family of calcium binding proteins. Two mutants of the C-domain of Calmodulin were created as a series of proteins that can be used as model 1-site calcium binding systems, terminal glutamate in Site 3 was mutated to either glutamine or aspartate, mutations were expected to abrogate binding in the mutated site such that only Site 4 is functional. There was minimal overall perturbation to the folding and stability of the apo-state. Calcium binding properties of these mutant proteins were investigated by 1) direct titrations with calcium were performed under equilibrium conditions monitored …

Picric Acid Degradation In Sterilized Sediments From The Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant, Minden, Louisiana, Stephanie Kimberly Rice

Honors Theses

Picric acid is an explosive historically produced and disposed of at the Louisiana Army Ammunitions Plant (LAAP). The potential for natural degradation was investigated in two studies by creating picric acid slurries with four LAAP samples of sediment of variable composition. While the first study combined the sediment with picric acid without alteration to the sediment, the second study sterilized the sediment before the slurries were created. The purpose of the soil sterilization was to quantify the role of microbes in the degradation process. In the first study, picric acid concentrations decreased 10 to 18% the first day, attributed to …

Divination: A Collection Of Poetry, Elizabeth Davenport Stephenson

Honors Theses

This collection contains poetry that I have written during the course of my time at the University of Mississippi. Some of these poems in their first stages were part of my beginning and advanced poetry workshop portfolios. Other poems came from ideas scribbled in my poetry journal that I kept while studying abroad in New Zealand. My advisor and I set a goal of four poems a month for the fall 2005 semester, for a total of sixteen poems. The goal was to have perfected twelve poems for the final collection. I considered trying to conform my poems to a …

Ecotourism In Costa Rica: A Study Of The Viabilities And Impacts Of Three Ecotourism Models, Corey Harmon Rogers

Honors Theses

This paper examines three ecotourism endeavors in Costa Rica in order to answer the following question: can an enterprise fulfill all the definitional requirements for ecotourism and at the same time be both economically and environmentally viable? I first provide a discussion of the origins and conceptual views of ecotourism, then chart the evolution of ecotourism in Costa Rica. Next, three case studies are presented, each representing a different ecotourism model found in the country. Data presented in the case studies were compiled from site-specific primary data sets and interviews, Costa Rican government primary sources, and academic publications. For each …

Analytical Tools For Studying Phosphorus And Nitrogen Lake Nutrient Dynamics And Their Application To The Field, Ivan Mihajlov

Honors Theses

In order to evaluate the causes and conditions that lead to cyanobacteria blooms in northern temperate lakes, studies of nutrients such as total phosphorus, total nitrogen, phosphate, and nitrate are necessary. Sensitive, environmentally friendly and cost-effective techniques were developed to detect ppb-level nitrates and phosphates in the lake water. Phosphate was analyzed by luminol chemiluminescence, while the quantification of nitrate was performed by capillary electrophoresis (CE) using indirect UV detection, with a background electrolyte consisting of pyromellitic acid, hexamethonium hydroxide and triethanolamine. Sample injection methods for the CE were optimized for the analysis in Belgrade Lakes, Maine. Vertical profiles of …

Investigation Of Iron (Iii) Desferrioxamine B Oxalate Ligand Exchange By Uv-Vis Spectroscopy: The Next Step In Developing A Quantitative Analytical Method For Measuring Bioavailable Iron In Marine Ecosystems, Ken L. Pitter

Honors Theses

To date there are no analytical techniques designed to exclusively measure bioavailable iron in marine environments. The goal of this research is to develop such a technique by isolating the bioavailable iron using the terrestrial siderophore desferrioxamine B (DFB). This project contained many challenging aspects, but the specific goal of this study was to develop a robust analytical technique for quantification of Fe(III)-DFB complexes at nanomolar concentrations. Past work showed that oxalate (Ox) promotes photodissociation of Fe(III)-DFB to Fe(Il), and we are specifically interested in the mechanism of this process. A model was developed using known thermodynamic constants for Fe(III)-DFB …

Photochemical Generation Of 2-Methoxy-2methylpropylidene And Its Rearrangement Pathways, Stanislav Presolski

Honors Theses

2-methoxy-2-methylpropylidene was photochemically generated from a non-nitrogenous precursor, 1a,9b-Dihydro-IH-cyclopropa[1]phenanthrene-l-etbane 2-methoxy-2-methyl, available in two steps from phenanthrene. Two competing rearrangement pathways were observed for the p-methoxy carbene, 1,2-methyl shift and C-H insertion, which had varying weights depending on the solvent used. Nevertheless, the C-H insertion was always predominant, contrary to the current understanding of B-substituted carbenes, which apparently needs revision. An attempt was also made to measure by LFP the rate constant of rearrangement and lifetime of the stabilized l-chloro-2-methoxy-2-metbylpropylidene.

Corticosterone Response In A Learned Helplessness Model Of Depression, Courtney M. Cartwright

Honors Theses

This purpose of this study was to quantify both behavioral and biological markers of stress (i.e. distress vocalizations, plasma corticosterone) in the chick stress-separation paradigm. In this study, chicks were isolated from companions for either 5,10,15,20,40, or 60 minutes and distress vocalizations were recorded. In addition, one group was tested in the presence of social companions for 60 minutes. Blood was collected from half of the subjects immediately following the testing period and was also collected in a no-test group to establish plasma corticosterone basal levels. Isolation produced a significant elevation in distress vocalizations and corticosterone. The pattern of distress …

Engineering Genetic Networks To Measure Real Time Repression By Λ Cro In Vivo, Zachary Louis Leblanc

Honors Theses

The field of systems biology seeks to engineer systems in order to explore specific dynamic properties as they act in vivo. Cellular activities have been proven to be regulated by a range of DNA binding proteins that bind to specific sequences that activate or repress transcription. Certain phage and bacterial repressor proteins were among the first of these DNA binding proteins to be characterized structurally and functionally. The demand for study of key steps in regulation of protein expression, folding, and repression has created multiple studies into systems of varying complexity. The data in this report explores the lambda system, …

Differences In Convention: Serious Vs. Comic In Turn-Of-The-Century British Literature (1885-1915), Christopher Michael Mossing

Honors Theses

This thesis attempts to prove that the serious fiction of the late Victorian, the Edwardian, and early modernist eras of British literature differs fundamentally from the comic fiction of the same region and period in the way that it deals with chance. In serious works, authors do not allow acts of chance to dictate the responses of their characters, while the authors of comic works seem to be under no such restriction. To prove that this difference in convention exists, the thesis examines works from a handful of representative authors. For the serious, the thesis examines Thomas Hardy’s Tess of …

Common Injuries Of Musicians, Lynette Lukomski

Honors Theses

Musicians face many challenges throughout their careers; dealing with an injury should not be one of them. Unfortunately, studies show that up to seventy-five percent of musicians suffer playing-related injuries. These injuries can retard musical growth, can take time out of practices and performances, and may cost a musician his/her job. Fortunately, many non-invasive treatments can be used if injuries are diagnosed quickly, and prevention techniques are available to prevent an injury from ever occurring. Factors such as age and genetics (physical and mental characteristics inherited from parents) should be considered as well when a musician decides his/her practice schedule. …

"Science" Of Eugenics?, Madonna Spann

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Approaches And Methods In Language Teaching: An Investigative Look At A Total Physical Response In Chattanooga Area Classrooms, Alicia R. Hannah

Honors Theses

I was sitting on a leather couch at a local hangout trying to cram for a test in my Advanced Spanish Grammar class. In front of me, I had my textbook open to a picture of a crowded South American intersection and I was frantically trying to memorize a list of more than 100 Spanish vocabulary words related to automobiles. I had been studying Spanish since the eighth grade and was just amazed that 10 years later I was still having trouble internalizing certain words. I was talking aloud to myself, trying to remember the verb "to start the car." …