Digital Commons Network^™

Kentucky Comfort Care: Understanding And Awareness Of Palliative And Hospice Care In Kentucky Adults, Riley E. Hicks

Honors Theses

Kentucky has an overwhelming need for both palliative and hospice care services because of the high percentage of individuals who struggle with chronic or life-threatening conditions. Studies have shown that access to palliative and hospice care may be inhibited by the knowledge patients have of these services. The purpose of this study was to examine the awareness and understanding Kentuckians have of palliative and hospice care and to determine the factors influencing them. A 22-question survey was administered to collect information about Kentuckians understanding of available palliative and hospice care services and common vocabulary used by providers in these settings. …

The Anatomy Of A Reconstruction: From Fourier Space To Image Recovery In Computed Tomography, Charlotte P. Maurer

Honors Theses

This thesis develops the mathematical foundations of computed tomography (CT) reconstruction through the lens of harmonic analysis. Beginning with the Schwartz class, we introduce the Fourier transform and its role in expressing the Radon transform and its inversion via a fractional Laplacian. After constructing the Radon transform in general dimension R^d, we specialize to the cases d = 2 and d = 3, demonstrating explicit inversion formulas and the associated instability in lower dimensions. For its computational advantages, we study filtered back-projection using classical low-pass filters (Ram-Lak, Shepp–Logan, Cosine, Gaussian) and formulate a discrete reconstruction algorithm grounded in …

Predicting Human Steering From Optic Flow Using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks, Katie E. Bernard

Honors Theses

Human driving is a complex visuomotor task and the specific visual clues that guide it remain under investigation. While prior research has emphasized gaze-based strategies such as the Tangent Point and Future Path hypotheses, recent evidence highlights the potential role of optic flow, the visual motion pattern perceived during self-movement, as critical to steering ability. This thesis explores whether raw optic flow alone can support accurate predictions of human steering behavior. We trained a convolutional neural network to map optic flow vector fields to steering angles in a virtual reality driving simulation. The dataset, collected by Giguere et al., included …

The International Transracial Adoption Effect: Measuring The Well-Being Of Korean Adoptees Vs. Non-Adopted Korean Americans, Grace H. Jones

Honors Theses

In this study, I examine the differences in well-being and long-term outcomes between adopted and non-adopted Korean Americans. The vast majority of adopted Korean Americans are placed with white, heterosexual couples, positioning them in a unique position in American society. While they are raised in white families and often disconnected from Korean culture, they are still perceived and treated as Asian by society. Scholars refer to this tension as the transracial adoptee paradox. This study explores how that paradox affects both economic and non-economic outcomes. The analysis finds that adopted Koreans tend to earn higher incomes than their non-adopted peers, …

Microbial Degradation Of Kelp-Derived Dissolved Organic Matter In The Context Of Carbon Sequestration, Sophia N. Riazi-Sekowski

Honors Theses

Kelp, or brown algae, is an emerging form of ocean-based biological carbon dioxide removal, converting dissolved CO2 into organic molecules via photosynthesis. The export of detritus and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from coastal beds to beyond the continental shelf contributes to carbon sequestration, especially through the microbial production of refractory DOC (RDOC). The influence of microbial degradation on kelp-derived DOC is not yet well understood, contributing to inconsistency in carbon sequestration estimates. This study utilizes dark bottle incubations of both blades and holdfasts from two farmed kelp species in the Gulf of Maine — Saccharina latissima and Saccharina angustissima — …

The Value Of A Vote: Vote Pivotality Information And Its Impact On Voter Willingness To Accept, Nicholas J. Sickinger

Honors Theses

A variety of factors influence the decision to participate in a democratic election or not. This paper explores one of these factors: an individual’s perceived pivotality. I explore how people assess the value of their vote when they are informed about the likelihood that their vote will be pivotal. To do so, I conduct an online voting experiment where subjects participate in three different stylized elections: a marginal election, a landslide election, and an uninformed election (where the voter distribution is unclear to participants). I elicit participants’ vote valuations and compare them across election conditions and demographic groups using both …

Does The 25th Amendment Merit Reform?: The Challenge Of Determining Presidential Disability, Karena R. Andreassen

Honors Theses

This research project examines the persistent lack of use of the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution in its original form, despite many calls for the reform of the language or expansion of its application as situations unfold. Adopted in 1967, the amendment was created to address the challenges of presidential succession and incapacity. However, historical events over the last few decades, such as the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan, Reagan’s colon cancer, and the general increase in the age at which presidents assume office, have contributed to scrutiny over the amendments’ provisions. This study will explore why specifically …

Characterization Of A Highly Arsenic-Resistant Microbe, Eleanor E. Windholz

Honors Theses

Heavy metal pollution in our terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems is a major global concern, as chronic exposure to heavy metals such as arsenic and chromium has dire effects on mammalian health. In these polluted, arsenic-rich environments, microorganisms resistant to heavy metals have been isolated. The microbe isolated in this paper was resistant to As(V) up to 1100 mM, which is significantly higher than most published strains, and resistant to Cr(VI) at concentrations up to 5 mM. The microbe was tentatively identified as Micrococcus luteus, but its high arsenic resistance suggests it may be a novel strain. The ability of the …

Wave Reflections In A Biophysically Detailed Model Of Cardiac Tissue, Grace Moberg

Honors Theses

Regular heart rhythms are governed by the coordinated spread of action potentials through cardiac tissue. The interaction of an action potential with a tissue heterogeneity may lead to a reflection, where both a retrograde and an anterograde wave propagate off of the initial impulse. Reflections have been experimentally linked to cardiac arrhythmias, but their mechanisms of generation are not well-understood. Mathematically, reflections in phenomenological models of cardiac tissue have been linked to an unstable periodic orbit. These models typically sacrifice detail about the variety of ionic currents and processes involved in action potential propagation in favor of mathematical simplicity. Biophysically …

Introducing Catalizer: A Framework For Prototyping Models Of Biological Systems, Andy M. Day

Honors Theses

Modeling the light response system of Nannochloropsis oceanica brings

a set of challenges that make modeling difficult. Notably, potential models

may contain a large number of chemical species. A large number of

species creates a quadratic explosion in the number of potential pathways.

In addition, mathematically defining these pathways is error prone, yet

follows a surprising simple set of rules. We seek to create a domain specific

language which can precisely define these chemical reaction networks.

Once the networks have been defined, they can be exported as procedures

defined in popular programming languages for further analysis.

Asian American Navigation In Higher Education: Do We Belong At Colby College?, Amanda Rose Alpert

Honors Theses

This thesis explores how Asian American students navigate their belonging at Predominantly White Institutions (PWI), specifically a case study at the higher educational institution Colby College. In understanding how Asian American students navigate the spaces around them, this thesis dives into the history of Asian immigration to the U.S., the Asian American politicized label, and the different diasporas and cultural nuances Asian Americans experience that make up the complicated, diverse, and misunderstood label. Through exploring global racializations of Asian bodies and legacies of Western imperialism and colonialism, this gives a basis of how Asian Americans understand themselves as persons living …

Identifying The Spread Of Invasive Jumping Worms Across Maine’S Forests Using Soil Edna, Rebecca Wanger

Honors Theses

Jumping worms of the Megascolecidae family are invasive earthworms from East Asia that have been spreading across the United States since the late 1800s (Chang et al., 2021). Recently, the earthworms have gained more attention for their expansion into northeastern states, as they are believed to have negative impacts on the soil biogeochemistry, flora, and fauna of these forest ecosystems that have had no native earthworms given the recent nature of the Last Glacial Maximum (~11,000 yrs ago; Bohlen et al. 2004; McCay et al. 2020). The earthworms are distinguished by their thrashing behaviors, milky-white smooth clitellum, and evenly spaced …

Effects Of Direct And Indirect Predator Cue Intensity On Foraging Decisions In A Deer Mouse, Peromyscus, Nicholas G. Levinson

Honors Theses

Ecologists developed optimal foraging theory as a framework to understand how an animal may spend minimal time to maximize resource intake. A giving-up density (GUD) is a metric of the density of remaining food in a food patch at which an animal decides foraging is no longer economical. This study aims to test how the intensity of direct and indirect predator cues alter foraging patterns of deer mice. To measure GUD, I used depletable food patches deployed in the “upper woods” on the periphery of Colby College. To simulate direct predator cues, 1 mL of fox urine was applied on …

How Does Cocaine Exposure Affect Early Gene Expression Changes In The Prefrontal Cortex (Pfc) And Striatum?, Saathvika Diviti

Honors Theses

Cocaine use disorder (CUD) remains a significant public health concern, yet the molecular mechanisms underlying individual susceptibility are poorly understood. This study investigates early transcriptional responses to acute cocaine exposure in two key brain regions implicated in addiction, the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and striatum, using genetically diverse Diversity Outbred (DO) mice. Paired tissue samples were collected following a standardized sensitization protocol and analyzed via bulk RNA sequencing. Differential expression analysis revealed 37 significantly differentially expressed genes in the striatum. These genes overlapped with gene sets associated with substance use, neurodevelopmental disorders, and immune signaling, implicating shared pathways in central nervous …

Prophets Instead Of Priests: Diagonal Orientations & Coming-Of-Age Queerness In Jane Eyre And Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, Emily G. Flanders

Honors Theses

This project asserts that the moment in which a girl leaves the trajectory of the expected in favor of the unknown in order to pursue her discovery of self is when her coming-of-age narrative becomes queer. This is demonstrated through Jane in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and Jeanette in Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson. Jane and Jeannette’s respective coming-of-age narratives–that is, them creating their fully embodied selves, the girl they believe and know themselves to be–happen off the expected life path in the liminal, in-between, undefined space of the queer oblique. There are moments …

Adhd As A Lived Experience Amongst Bipoc College Students, Nikash Kale

Honors Theses

This thesis focuses on the perspectives of Black Indigenous and Persons of Color (BIPOC) college students on Attention-deficit/hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The study analyzes scoping strategies, perceived symptomatological differences, and the effects of racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds among BIPOC college students. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 14 participants, I examine the full permeation of ADHD among BIPOC college students, its evolution from pre-diagnosis to the present, and how they navigate the disorder and its treatment. A qualitative analysis of ADHD among minorities in college will not only allow clinicians to understand the distinct struggles of BIPOC with ADHD, but it …

Resilience And Its Effects On Psychological Well Being During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Taylor Reinsel

Honors Theses

Stressors and trauma in life are unavoidable. However, the way we respond and adapt to them can be within our control. This response differs from person to person, but there are factors that can influence the likelihood of an individual rebounding from a crisis, as well as factors that can put them at a higher risk of developing mental illness. One of the main factors that influences Psychological Well Being is the presence of Resilience.

The main goal of this study was to examine how factors of Resilience relate to Psychological Well Being and COVID-19 Well Being during the COVID-19 …

A Phenomenological Approach To Addiction, Zollie Foss

Honors Theses

This paper proposes a phenomenological investigation of addiction, with the goal of describing how it is experienced from within, as an embodied and existential phenomenon. I begin by establishing a conceptual framework—drawn from the works of existential phenomenologists Heidegger, Sartre, and Merleau-Ponty—outlining the key structures of everyday experience such as being-in-the-world, freedom, embodiment, bad faith, and sedimentation. I then turn to a description of the lived experience of addiction by drawing on various first-person addiction memoirs, showing how the aforementioned existential structures are experienced in active addiction and how pathways to sobriety reflect and are experienced as targeting these structures. …

Predictors Of Facultative Siblicide In Black-Legged Kittiwake (Rissa Tridactyla) Chicks, Maria Pisciotta

Honors Theses

In Black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), a seabird species, competition between siblings can arise when more than one chick is present in a nest. The first-hatched chick, known as the “A” chick, frequently establishes dominance over the second-hatched chick, known as the “B” chick. Many different factors can drive the presence and intensity of this competition, including the size discrepancies between chicks, and their physiological state. A likely factor is resource limitation, seen in many instances of sibling competition to be a prominent component because limited food must be allocated between both chicks by parents. In some cases, competition can escalate …

In Vitro Microfluidics System For Mechanobiologic Investigations, Michael A. Daanen

Honors Theses

Mechanobiology is an emerging field that aims to study the relationships between mechanical forces and cellular behavior. Such mechanobiological relationships are especially critical in the cardiovascular system, where endothelial cells lining the vasculature align in response to fluid shear stresses from blood flow (Sinha, 2016). Implanted flow devices, diabetes, chronic hypertension, and various other diseases and pathophysiologies alter vessel geometries and flow dynamics. Such alterations impact fluid shear stress and endothelial cell behavior, leading to microcirculatory dysfunction, vessel leakage, and organ failure (Poredos, 2021; Papadaki, 1999; Leitschuh, 1987). To simulate dysfunctional endothelial cell behavior in vitro and evaluate novel therapeutic …

A Broad Range Of Sexual Misconduct And Associated Mental Health Outcomes, Cory Sanderson

Honors Theses

College women are at a high risk of experiencing sexual misconduct (SM) (Graham et al., 2022). Research shows a connection between sexual victimization and psychological distress (Graham et al., 2022). The lack of research on a broader range of SM and associated mental health outcomes is a lacuna that must be addressed. SM is a widely understudied issue, and approximately 1 in 5 college women will experience it at least once during their time on campus (Muehlenhard et al., 2017). Women are not only at a high risk of experiencing SM during their time in college, but research shows a …

The Aussie Oddballs: Identifying The Existence Of Censer And Trample Burr Dispersal In Australian Bush Tomatoes, Abigail Motter

Honors Theses

Australian bush tomatoes in northern Western Australia likely have seed dispersal mechanisms that depend on processes outside of frugivory, which is unusual for this genus. Solanum tudununggae seeds are wind dispersed by the censer mechanism, meaning that seeds fall from holes in the top of the fruit when the branches move. In another species, piles of abscised and burr-like fruits have been found strewn around the bases of S. ossicruentum, possibly due to the extinction of animals that may have been a means of dispersal via epizoochory. In this study, we attempt to provide support for the theorized dispersal …

Reading Nietzsche As A Tool For Feminist Politics, Juliana I. Fedorko

Honors Theses

My Honors Thesis in Political Science builds upon the scholarly tradition of reading beyond Friedrich Nietzsche’s explicit discussions of women, which are oftentimes blatantly misogynistic. As a philosopher typically included in the Western existentialist canon, Nietzsche’s ethics of self-transcendence is relevant to one of the vital feminist objectives: individual autonomy. His commentary in Beyond Good and Evil, The Gay Science, On the Genealogy of Morals, and The Use and Abuse of History for Life prescribe ways of being that disrupt traditional moral systems and their accompanying social conditioning. If we examine patriarchy as one of these value …

On Linear Invariants Of Hypergraphs, Clara Chaplin

Honors Theses

We introduce linear invariants of hypergraphs as a way to study hypergraphs by their tensor representations. Our primary research goal is to determine what information linear invariants capture about the hypergraphs they arise from. We first investigate the centroid, which is shown to determine the connected components of a hypergraph. Next, we study the derivations of a hypergraph, and use this linear invariant to define a quotient operator $Q_\mathrm{Der}$ on the collection of all hypergraphs. This operator is shown to be a closure operator in that $Q_\mathrm{Der}(Q_\mathrm{Der}(\mathcal{H}))=Q_\mathrm{Der}(\mathcal{H})$ for any hypergraph $\mathcal{H}$. We apply the operator $Q_\mathrm{Der}$ to synthetically generated hypergraphs, …

A Phenomenological Approach To Addiction, Zollie Foss

Honors Theses

This paper proposes a phenomenological investigation of addiction, with the goal of describing how it is experienced from within, as an embodied and existential phenomenon. I begin by establishing a conceptual framework—drawn from the works of existential phenomenologists Heidegger, Sartre, and Merleau-Ponty—outlining the key structures of everyday experience such as being-in-the-world, freedom, embodiment, bad faith, and sedimentation. I then turn to a description of the lived experience of addiction by drawing on various first-person addiction memoirs, showing how the aforementioned existential structures are experienced in active addiction and how pathways to sobriety reflect and are experienced as targeting these structures. …

Breaking The Boundaries Of The Binary: Non-Normative Gender Expression And Rebellion In 19th-Century Literature, Anna Marie Wingard

Honors Theses

This thesis explores non-normative expressions of gender in three nineteenth-century novels: Valperga (1823) by Mary Shelley, The Hermaphrodite (c. 1846) by Julia Ward Howe, and The Awakening (1999) by Kate Chopin. Each novel’s protagonist displays gender expression that rejects nineteenth-century British and American ideals and is consequently exiled from society and faces death. The project diagrams trajectories of gender expression and identity by tracing adherence, failure, and consequences to illustrate how non-normative gender expression directly leads to social exclusion and death. The findings of this literary analysis suggest that nineteenth-century understandings of gender were rigidly policed and the novel served …

Social Determinants Of Mental Health Outcomes, Ariana Fein

Honors Theses

Mental health disorders, particularly anxiety and depression, are a growing global concern with profound consequences on individuals' well-being and societal functioning. The burden of these disorders is not only psychological but also economic, affecting quality of life. Mental health outcomes are heavily influenced by a range of social determinants, such as financial status, education, and access to healthcare. While extensive research has focused on WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) countries, there remains a significant gap in understanding how these determinants affect mental health in low-resource settings or non-WEIRD countries. This study aimed to address this gap by exploring the …

The Effects Of Conspecific Stress Cues Caused By Harassment In The Mummichog (Fundulus Heteroclitus), Megan Quinn

Honors Theses

Many organisms, especially fish, participate in herding or schooling behaviors for various benefits such as increased survival rates, better hydrodynamic efficiency, or for hunting tactics. Due to being in a tightly packed group, disturbances or predation in their environment can result in group behavioral changes. Fish release hormones into surrounding water through excretions like urine because of a disturbance which may affect their surrounding conspecifics. In this experiment a lone mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus) was exposed to a water sample from other conspecifics who were stressed through harassment. Physical behavioral changes such as changes in swimming activity, respiration rates and position …

A Kid's Guide To Infectious Disease, Abby Carroll

Honors Theses

A Kid’s Guide to Infectious Disease is an educational illustrated book intended for young pediatric patients, ages three to five. This project was inspired by my personal interests, involvement at the University of Mississippi, and experience as a medical assistant. Over the past couple of years, I have had the opportunity to work as a medical assistant, interacting with many pediatric patients and their families at HealthPointe Primary Care. As a pre-physician assistant student studying biology, I was inspired to create a resource for these kids by both my classes at the University of Mississippi and my passion for pediatric …

Sustainability Of Food Prescription Programs In Rural Mississippi, Eve Davis

Honors Theses

Food prescription programs are an innovative strategy to address food insecurity and to promote health as a preventative measure, particularly in rural and underserved areas. Mississippi has high rates of chronic diseases relating to nutrition, poverty, and limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Throughout this research, I have analyzed program funding and sustainability mechanisms such as community investment, nutrition education, and awareness. The preliminary research has identified the need for collaboration between healthcare providers, local farmers, nonprofit organizations, and government officials. I interviewed various individuals that could become potential stakeholders for food prescription programs, such as individuals from nonprofit …