Digital Commons Network^™

Fouling-Resistant Voltammetric Xylazine Sensors For Detection Of The Street Drug “Tranq”, Ann Holland Wemple

Honors Theses

As the opioid crisis continues to wreak havoc on a national and global scale, it is increasingly critical to develop methodologies to detect the most dangerous of these drugs as fentanyl and its derivatives have orders of magnitude higher potency than morphine. Recently, the scientific challenge for chemical detection of fentanyl and its derivatives has been complicated by both the constantly increasing synthetic variations of the drug as well as the expanded use of adulterants. One tragically consequential example is the nocuous street drug known as “Tranq” which combines fentanyl or a fentanyl derivative with the veterinary sedative Rompun®, chemically …

Evaluating Factors Of Coach Compensation In Ncaa Division I Fbs College Football, Ethan Vest

Honors Theses

This paper investigates the determinants of college football coach compensation, specifically examining whether individual coach characteristics or institutional characteristics play a greater role in compensation. Using six fixed effects regression models, I compare model performance using R-Squared, Adjusted R-Squared, Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), and subset F-tests. The results indicate that the school at which a coach is employed has a larger impact on compensation than individual identity. Further, lagged win percentage is found to be a significant variable on compensation, indicating that coaches negotiate their contracts in the off-season based on their performance in the previous …

The Fragility Of Belonging: Interpersonal And Institutional Factors Shaping Student Experiences In Higher Education, Ziran (Ted) Zhou

Honors Theses

Belonging is a core human need that shapes students' emotional well-being, motivation, and academic persistence (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Strayhorn, 2019). Students who experience a strong sense of belonging in higher education report lower levels of stress and depression, greater engagement, and higher academic achievement (Gillen-O'Neel, 2021; Meehan & Howells, 2019). Yet belonging remains a fragile and uneven experience, shaped by social relationships, campus climate, and institutional structures (Covarrubias, 2024; Valdez & Golash-Boza, 2020).

This study addressed two primary research questions: (1) How do experiences of belonging differ across students with varying social and identity backgrounds? (2) What factors foster …

Exploring The Role Of The Id2 And Rab11fip3 Pathway In X-Linked Chronic Granulomatous Disease (Xcgd) Through Comparative Gene Expression Analysis, Kaili Coenen

Honors Theses

X-linked chronic granulomatous disease (XCGD) is a debilitating immunodeficiency disorder primarily affecting men. The disease results from mutations in the CYBB gene on the X chromosome, which encodes the GP91^PHOX protein responsible for electron transfer from NADPH to molecular oxygen. Despite the identification of the CYBB mutation, the pathological mechanism underlying the reduction in reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in XCGD remains unclear. We hypothesized that comparative gene expression analysis, combined with pathway analysis, could identify genes and signaling pathways contributing to reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in XCGD. In this study, we analyzed gene expression data from four …

Lateral Violence Awareness In Nursing Students At The University Of Southern Mississippi, Aika Owens

Honors Theses

The purpose of this honors thesis was to obtain descriptive data about how nursing students at the University of Southern Mississippi School of Professional Nursing Practice perceive lateral violence in their clinical rotations and educational environments. This Honors thesis is significant to nursing because although lateral violence is a well-researched topic among scholars of nursing practice, there is little gathered data regarding lateral violence among nursing students, specifically at the University of Southern Mississippi. Nursing students are a vital population to examine because nursing students are often first exposed to lateral violence within a clinical setting, leading to early internalization …

Divine Condemnation And Psychological Flexibility: Viewing Psychological Distress Through A Religious Lens, Abby Chittenden

Honors Theses

Recent research has shown the widespread prevalence of psychological distress. Religion can operate both as a resource as well as a problem or barrier to good mental health. Given that some individuals attribute mental distress to religious or spiritual causes, such as punishment from God or demonic involvement, this research examines how these beliefs influence emotional regulation and mental health outcomes. The study surveyed 1,304 participants, including 686 undergraduate students and 618 online participants, to assess their religious attributions, psychological flexibility, and level of distress. The results indicated that those in the general sample who viewed their mental health struggles …

Supplementation Of Magnesium Glycinate: Testing The Acute Effects Of Magnesium Glycinate On The Stress Levels Of College Students, Meagan Bubeck

Honors Theses

he usage of supplements and vitamins to increase health has become a common practice in the United States. However, the true effects are not always well-known and can differ across brands, population, and other factors. In college, many students are functioning in high stress conditions, and some may result to going on anti-anxiety or depression medications. To see if Magnesium supplementation could be a potential first step in improving the stress levels present in the student population, the effects of Mg were studied in a population of 10 participants. Participant data was studied in both an Mg and placebo condition …

The Effect Of A Peptide Targeting Ligand On Transfection Efficiency Of Polymeric Nanoparticles To Dendritic Cells, Anthony Radka

Honors Theses

Autoimmune diseases affect approximately 5-8% of the global population, leading to chronic symptoms, long-term treatment, and reduced quality of life. Current therapies primarily rely on lifelong administration of immunosuppressants, which are associated with severe side effects and heightened susceptibility to infections. This has spurred interest in cellular therapies that manipulate dendritic cells (DCs) effectively and can selectively treat these diseases. This work aims to improve the efficacy of dendritic cell-based therapies using cationic polymers that can electrostatically complex with nucleic acids, forming nanoparticles referred to as polyplexes, that can deliver therapeutic nucleic acid cargo. These particles are a favorable alternative …

Mathematical Melodies: The Exploration Of Music Using Fourier Signal Analysis, Courtney Francois

Honors Theses

Upon initial inspection, mathematics and music appear to be distinct disciplines lacking any connections to one another. However, many complex intersections lie beneath the surface. This paper seeks to explore these connections through the analysis of the Fourier series and the Fourier transformation of musical sound signals. Orthogonal functions of various frequencies are used to approximate and recover sound signals. Following the examination of the basis of Fourier signal analysis, MATLAB is utilized to visualize the connectedness of mathematics and music through sound signals from varied musical instruments and by performing Fourier signal analysis to the sound signals. Then, the …

A Survey On Faculty Summer Compensation In Accounting, Abby Box

Honors Theses

Many colleges and universities have paid faculty approximately one-ninth of their annual base salary to teach a summer course for years. Since more accounting schools and departments have become separately accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), there has been increased pressure to increase research output. Additionally, many states have seen reductions in higher education funding. Therefore, universities have tried to use summer school as a new funding source by increasing enrollment minimums in summer classes and reducing summer school pay rates for faculty. This study incorporates a 26-question survey sent to 580 directors and chairs …

Privacy-Aware Ai-Based Agricultural Monitoring Using Internet Of Drones, Md Benozir Hossain

Honors Theses

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a vital tool for agricultural farming. AI-based image processing models utilizing different machine learning (ML) algorithms and deep learning (DL) offer advanced functionalities in disease detection, yield estimation, land use, etc. This thesis examines AI-driven techniques utilizing Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) with the addition of Federated Learning (FL) to analyze satellite and drone images for agricultural insights, especially in detecting Cotton diseases. The AI models improve agricultural farming in many ways, such as using data to make critical decisions, reducing labor costs, pest infestations, etc. Moreover, these models allow farmers to minimize yield losses by …

Cellular Telemetry For Real-Time River Flow Velocity Data From Fluvial Acoustic Tomography Loggers, Joshua Lee Seymour

Honors Theses

Streamflow is a critical element in understanding watershed processes and the effects of land use on those processes because it is the primary medium through which water, sediment, nutrients, organic material, thermal energy, and aquatic species move. Fluvial Acoustic Tomography (FAT) systems offer accurate direct measurements of river section-averaged flow velocity by measuring reciprocal acoustic travel times between at least two acoustic nodes positioned on opposite riverbanks. However, similar to many in-situ sensors used in estuarine and riverine environments, FAT loggers require manual data retrieval, which is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and limits real-time access and increases maintenance costs. This project presents …

Media And Attitudes: Glp-1 Medications For Weight Loss, Wiio Meinheit

Honors Theses

This thesis aimed to explore relationships between media and attitudes toward using GLP-1/antidiabetic medications for weight loss. This survey-based study collected data on media usage, consumer behaviors, and attitudes from students attending a public, mid-major university in the southern United States. Data from the survey was statistically analyzed to find significant relationships and correlations between variables. The results showed that attitudes toward GLP-1/antidiabetic medications for weight loss had the strongest correlation with willingness to try these medications recommended by famous athletes. The results also showed that attitudes strongly correlated with willingness to try these medications recommended by social media influencers …

The Effect Of The Black Ink Red Ink Testing Method On Anxiety Levels, Test Performance, And Note-Taking Behavior Among College Students, Peyton Murphy

Honors Theses

Anxiety among students has emerged as a pressing concern due to its significant impact on academic performance and mental well-being (Chen, 2004; Davis, DiStefano, & Schutz, 2008) and is particularly evident in student performance within STEM-related courses (Magula, 2019; Vakili & Pourrazavy, 2017). Previous research has explored various factors influencing test anxiety, including testing methods. The present study examined a testing method called "Black Ink Red Ink" (BIRI), proposed by Rodgers and Rodgers (2011). The effects of the BIRI method were examined on (1) test anxiety, (2) test scores, and (3) note taking motivation and behaviors. Thirty-eight students in a …

Archival Literacy Principles As Facilitated By University Websites: A Webometric Content Analysis, Abigail Bowers

Honors Theses

Archival literacy, the skills and knowledge one needs to effectively utilize an archive or special collections, is often taught to undergraduate students during one-shot instruction sessions or semester-long courses. For users who do not attend these sessions, archives may be inaccessible due to a lack of archival literacy. In the digital age, one way for institutions to bridge the gap between archives and users who do not attend these instruction sessions is by creating websites that align with principles of archival literacy.

This study utilizes a webometric content analysis methodology to analyze how well the homepages of institutions of higher …

Sibship Analysis Of Fall And Spring Spawn Gulf Sturgeon Eggs In The Choctawhatchee River, Florida, Lyric Mccullouch

Honors Theses

The Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi) is an anadromous species that inhabits rivers along the northern Gulf of Mexico. Facing challenges from overfishing and habitat alteration, the Gulf sturgeon is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. This study investigated the genetic distinctiveness of fall and spring spawning groups of Gulf sturgeon in the Choctawhatchee River, a critical habitat for the species. In this study, I used microsatellite loci to analyze Gulf sturgeon eggs previously collected in the fall and spring of 2019 and 2020. The goals of this study were to verify the genetic identity of …

Transcendental Blooms: Margaret Fuller And The Radical Language Of Flowers, Jenna Mcclain

Honors Theses

Situated between the literary periods of American Romanticism and Transcendentalism, Margaret Fuller’s writings vary in their topic and medium, offering a unique fusion of literary style as well as a refined yet radical social perspective. Fuller’s work frequently employs flowers as tools for communication rather than as mere symbols, with flowers acting as transmitters of Fuller’s philosophical message in her many sketches and poems. In “The Magnolia of Lake Pontchartrain,” one of her most famous prose sketches, Fuller explores flowers in a nuanced way that exemplifies how floral representations function more like characters than objects in her work. While scholars …

The Effect Of Gender On Career Success In Remote Work Settings In The Accounting Profession, Ashlyn Roche

Honors Theses

This study analyzed the career success assessments of hypothetical male and female public accountants working in remote and traditional office settings to determine if gender and work location affect work assessment. Subjects, practicing public accountants, were randomly assigned resumes of hypothetical accountants that included indications of either remote work or traditional office work and the gender of the assigned hypothetical accountants. Resumes of hypothetical accountants were otherwise identical. After initial assessments of assigned hypothetical accountants’ future career success, subjects were asked to recommend activities that would increase the likelihood of the accountants’ future career success. Subjects were then told that …

The Impact Of Hazardous Noise Levels On The Hearing Mechanism Of Marching Band Students, Margaret Westbrook

Honors Theses

Marching band participants are exposed to hazardous noise levels, and they are at risk of developing hearing loss. In this study, the impact of marching band noise on the hearing mechanism of marching band students was examined. Participants who were not in the marching band and were not exposed to noise were used as controls. Detailed case history and noise exposure history were collected using a noise exposure questionnaire (NEQ). The pure tone audiometry test was conducted to examine their hearing, distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) were recorded to examine the inner ear function, and auditory brainstem responses (ABR) were …

A Spectroscopic Survey Of Atmospheres Of Super-Earths, Luke Brust

Honors Theses

Recent research has made it possible to use spectroscopy to analyze the composition of the atmospheres of exoplanets, planets that orbit other stars. Most projects thus far have focused on the atmospheres of gas giants, as it is less challenging to observe them with available equipment. This project studies the atmospheres of four Super- Earths, planets that have a mass greater than the Earth but smaller than Neptune. This is accomplished by processing the raw spectroscopic data from the Hubble Space Telescope and modeling the atmosphere using the program 𝝉-Rex3. This survey found clear results from two of the selected …

The Interplay Between Attribution Bias And Psychotic-Like Experiences: The Role Of Social Media, Jordan Leggett

Honors Theses

Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are perceptions, thoughts, or beliefs that resemble symptoms of psychosis but are less severe and not necessarily related to a mental disorder. A plethora of research has found associations between PLEs and hostile attribution bias, the tendency to over-interpret situations as hostile, aggressive, or intentional. Some work suggests viewing certain types of content online may be linked to hostile attribution bias. Yet, limited research has examined hostile attribution bias and PLEs through the lens of social media. This study aimed to explore these relationships by modifying a measure of hostile attribution bias using social media vignettes. This …

American Girl(Hood): Gender Performance, Tween Media, And Social Media Content, Mary Carol Dassau

Honors Theses

The American Girl brand of eighteen-inch dolls presents narratives of young girls throughout historical and contemporary settings, as well as manufacturing a line of dolls designed to look “just like you.” Despite the company’s commitment to female empowerment, these narratives still fall into certain tropes of societal expectations for women and are not inclusive of all girls’ experiences. Young American Girl fans and teen collectors on YouTube then take these narratives to create their own original video content, often in stop-motion animated format. These animations typically consist of original stories and characters, which both reinforce the narratives presented by the …

Globally Adaptive Exponential Integrators For Stiff Systems Of Odes, Anzhelika Vasilyeva

Honors Theses

This thesis introduces a novel method for solving systems of Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) resulting from the spatial discretization of Partial Differential Equations (PDEs). The proposed approach builds upon an existing technique that employs Krylov projection, which requires evaluating a matrix function at each timestep. The innovation of the new method lies in its reuse strategy, which shifts the perspective from direct matrix function evaluation to polynomial interpolation. Numerical experiments conducted on constant and variable coefficient heat equations, with both smooth and discontinuous initial data, demonstrate the computational time advantage of the new approach. The results indicate that this method …

Letters From The Periphery: L.E. Faulkner’S Crusade Against Communism, Cameron Melendez

Honors Theses

This thesis explores L.E. Faulkner’s political activism. Faulkner, a railroad executive from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, launched a number of anti-communist crusades throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Utilizing his personal correspondence, political articles, and newspapers, this thesis argues that anti-communist networks were influential and powerful tools used by Faulkner and other local activists to shape the national discourse around anti-communism. Faulkner created an interconnected web of anti-communists that linked protestant fundamentalism, capitalist advocacy, racial politics, and Americanism. His 1943–1944 civic education campaigns with Rotary International and Kiwanis International and his 1954 opposition to the World Council of Churches serve as case studies …

The Factors That Affect Usm Student Experience In The General Chemistry Classroom, Emma Dickerson

Honors Theses

Chemistry has a reputation for being a challenging discipline for many students. Enrollment in chemistry courses is much lower than that of other disciplines due to “chemophobia”, which can be caused by many aspects of chemistry.^1-2To increase enrollment in chemistry, it is important to understand how to improve the student experience in the classroom. To determine the factors that affect a student’s experience in their current chemistry class, the Chemistry Attitudes and Experiences Questionnaire (CAEQ) was adapted and given to students in General Chemistry I and II classes at The University of Southern Mississippi. Descriptive statistics, an Analysis …

Mocking Birds: Investigation And Performance Of Selected Works Featuring Birdsong By Messiaen And Westerlinck, Sarah Hinchey

Honors Theses

This thesis is a creative project that includes a study of the lives and compositional techniques of Olivier Messiaen and Wilfried Westerlinck. Investigation of the composers’ techniques explains aural similarities between the two pieces. The research informed a live performance of Messiaen’s Le merle noir and a recording project of Westerlinck’s Meeting a Mockingbird in Texas.

Synthetic Efforts Towards An Analog Of Ly426965, Macy Sproles

Honors Theses

The 5-hydroxytryptamine_1A (5-HT_1A) receptor is a key target in the treatment of various neuropsychiatric conditions, and the development of selective antagonists offers promising therapeutic potential.²⁴ This study aimed to develop a synthetic analog of LY426965, a selective 5-HT_1A receptor antagonist. The synthetic route was initiated from dimethyl-2-phenylmalonate, employing pig liver esterase (PLE) as an enantioselective biocatalyst to achieve regioselective hydrolysis of one ester moiety in the malonic diester intermediate.¹⁷ Through a series of stereochemically controlled transformations, a new intermediate was successfully synthesized. Although the target molecule was not obtained, a new compound was synthesized …

Evaluating The Effects Of Social Ostracism On Attentional Control And Episodic Memory, Colby Brown

Honors Theses

This study examined the relationships between social pain, attentional control, and episodic memory. Fifty-five University of Southern Mississippi undergraduates (Mage = 19.78 years; Range = 17-29) wrote responses to one of three prompts designed to elicit feelings of social pain, physical pain, or no pain (i.e., control). Participants then completed a battery of attentional control (AC) and episodic memory (EM) tasks consisting of the Stroop squared, Flanker squared, Simon squared, and dual-list recall tasks. Participants also completed a series of questionnaires including Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) to assess any change in affect caused by the writing prompts and …

Assessing The Behavioral Impact Of Pyridostigmine Bromide In Rats, Noah A. Martin

Honors Theses

Pyridostigmine bromide (PB) is an organophosphate (OP) nerve agent prophylactic used to protect warfighters against chemical warfare agents. OPs inhibit the neural enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in the brain. This leads to the buildup of acetylcholine, causing respiratory failure, seizures, and death. PB functions by inhibiting ~30% of peripheral AChE temporarily, protecting the enzymes so that the body is able to restore sufficient cholinergic function post-exposure. PB does not cross the blood-brain barrier, though it may still indirectly affect toxicity in the brain due to repeated AChE inhibition throughout treatment, or by inhibition of non-target ChE’s in the blood. The aim …

Seasonal Detection Of Coliphages In Freshwater Bodies At Coastal Carolina University, Ella Caldwell

Honors Theses

Bacteriophages, commonly referred to as phages, are non-living viruses that only infect bacteria. As the most abundant biological entities on Earth, understanding their role in regulating microbial populations is essential. This ongoing research aims to identify naturally occurring bacteriophages that could effectively control bacteria blooms. The primary objective of this study is to detect coliphages on Coastal Carolina University's campus and determine their viral families. Coliphages are a subgroup of bacteriophages that specifically infect coliform bacteria. Water samples were collected across multiple sites on campus, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was employed to amplify the viral DNA from the potential …