Digital Commons Network^™

Analysis Of Dl-Amino Acid Ratios In Eggshells Using Reverse Phase-High Pressure Liquid Chromatography, Gergana Milkova

Honors Theses

HPLC methodology was developed to determine the concentrations and ratios of D to L amino acids in emu and ostrich eggshells treated with heat at different temperatures . We aimed to determine an internal standard and how ratios were affected under different conditions. An HPLC method was determined that gave consistent retention times and satisfactory enantioseparation . Calibration curves for each amino acid were developed from single and multi-amino acid containing dilution series producing a model that most closely replicates the eggshell-extracted amino acids.

Strengthening Social Bonds In Bujumbura Through Public Space: Redesigning Jardin Public De Bujumbura For The Restoration Of The City's Sense Of Community, Gwendoline Albright Ndikumagenge

Honors Theses

In the last century, public spaces have been of the most studied elements in urban design as some of the most used and impactful places that shape public life. Unfortunately, the necessity of public spaces for public life is not a focus everywhere. In places that have continuously experienced war and instability over the years, like Burundi, the public realm is often perceived as a source of problems rather than a promoter of the city's well-being. Public spaces are seen as settings that contribute to an increase of insecurities and instabilities in the city. This project seeks to harness the …

The Restoration Of God's Character In Physical Disabilities, Delaneira Kuntoria

Honors Theses

No abstract available.

Isolation And Characterization Of Novel Arginine-Derived Heterocyclic Amines, Nathaniel Srikureja

Honors Theses

Most known heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are potent mutagens present at significant concentrations in cooked meats, and can be synthesized from burned mixtures of L-creatin(in)e with various amino acids. We hypothesize that novel mutagenic HCAs may be synthesized from a heated plant-based food simulating binary amino acid mL'\:ture: L-arginine and L-threonine. A two-part solid phase extraction was used to separate nitrogen heterocycles from byproducts followed by prep­ HPLC and the Ames mutagenicity assay using Salmonella TA98 to determine the mutagenicity of various isolates. The results indicate that this binary amino acid mixture does not yield a mutagenic sample.

The Impact Of Male-Exposure In The Neuronal Response Of The L3 Auditory Intemeuron To Model Calls, Shekinah Dosunmu

Honors Theses

The L3 auditory neuron in female cricket Acheta domesticus responds to phonotactically attractive calls with decrement: a reduction in the number of action potentials in response to consecutive sound pulses within a chirp. Such unique response has been reported only in virgin females. This study evaluates the response of the L3 in male-exposed females to determine whether they respond to auditory stimuli differently from those exhibited by virgin female crickets.

Preliminary data indicate that L3 in young exposed female crickets responds with different decrement patterns as those reported for virgin females. The implications of these findings are discussed.

"The Beauty! The Beauty!": Colonial Literary Legacies And Conquering The Female Body In Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao, Alexi Decker

Honors Theses

Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Ufa of Oscar Wao includes a plethora of references to everything from classic literature to modem pop culture. However, Diaz ends his novel with a reference to Joseph Conrad's colonial novella Heart of Darkness, therefore inviting readers to view Oscar Wao through a lens of colonial literature. This in turn results in a reconsideration of the current critical consensus surrounding the text's treatment of sexuality and masculinity in the modern Dominican diaspora, specifically that of Oscar, the novel's titular character.

Inconnecting Oscar Wao to Heart of Darkness, I analyze the text's and characters's violence against …

Psalm 22 And The Passion Narrative Of The Gospels: Prophetic, Analogous, Or Both?, Nancy Kardos-Moldovan

Honors Theses

Psalm 22 is quoted throughout the Passion Narrative within the Gospels. With comparison between the translations of the Hebrew Old Testament verses and the Greek New Testament verses, whether citation purposes are prophetic or analogous become clear. If the New Testament translations match the Old Testament translations, a direct, prophetic fulfillment is presented. Many of the verses within the Gospels recount how the quoted Psalm 22 verses were fulfilled, especially within John 's Gospel. If mirroring of actions is displayed instead, an analogous fulfillment is presented . This viewpoint may be witnessed through Psalm 22:7, and its accompanying New Testament …

An Examination Of The Mother-Baby Relationship, Morgan A. Winkfield

Honors Theses

This study examines the relationship between postpartum depression and mother-child bonding. The purpose of this study is to help improve the understanding of the bond between a mother and child and the factors that affect postpartum depression. The dependent variable is bonding, it described as the emotional attachment between mother and child. Bonding is measured using the Post Partum Bonding Scale. The independent variable is postpartum depression. This is a disease that arises after birth often affecting the way a woman connects with the world around her. This variable is studied using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. A series of …

Managing White-Nose Syndrome In Bats: A Spatially Dynamic Modelling Approach, Mykhaylo M. Malakhov

Honors Theses

White-nose syndrome (WNS), caused by the invasive fungal patho­gen Pseudogymnoascus destructans, is a virulent disease that has plagued North American bat populations since 2006. Over the past decade WNS has rapidly spread throughout much of the Eastern and Mid­ western United States, leading to mass mortality and threatening re­gional extinction in a number of bat species. Thus, the need for development and implementation of effective control strategies has become increasingly exigent. While previous mathematical modelling studies have evaluated the efficacy of several proposed treatment methods, nothing is known about the impact of seasonal bat dispersal on such potential interventions. We …

The Effects Of Adverse Childhood Experiences On Parenting Practices, Talisa C. Gonzalez

Honors Theses

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) refer to traumatic sources of stress that a child may endure before the age of 18 such as household dysfunction, neglect, various types of abuse (i.e., physical, verbal, sexual), parental separation, and witnessing violence. These kinds of traumatic experiences have been linked to poor mental, emotional, social, and physical health in adulthood. Researchers found associations between early childhood experiences of abuse and individuals' later abusive parenting of their own children. Although the effects of ACEs can have detrimental consequences, resilience-both internal and external-can mitigate these negative effects

through the use of protective factors such as personal …

Synthesis Of An Ideal Inhibitor For The Lpxc Enzyme, Taejun Lee

Honors Theses

Due to the growing need of antibiotics in modern day medicine, this study attempts to apply a method of medicinal chemistry that would create a novel inhibitor for a lesser known target of gram negative bacteria, the LpxC enzyme. This study proposes that a synthetic plan which consists of combining components of different molecules would create a more effective inhibitor. These components include a binding group for the active site of the enzyme, a hydrophobic chain which has been shown to interact with an allosteric site on the LpxC enzyme, and the isoxazoline ring which interacts with the zinc ion. …

Neuronal And Behavioral Response Relationships In Virgin Females Of Acheta Domesticus, Brandon Shin

Honors Theses

Animals that communicate acoustically serve as models for investigating how organisms respond to sound. For instance, in field crickets, females exhibit phonotaxis (directed movement towards the sound's source) to calls with a specific frequency, intensity, and syllable period (SP) - the time between the beginning of one sound pulse and the beginning of another within the same chirp. Additionally, auditory neurons in females produce action potentials in direct response to the sound pulses of a male 's call. A previous study on the species Gryllus bimaculatus demonstrated a relationship between an individual female's behavioral and neuronal responses; however, no such …

Acoustic Reflex And Extended High-Frequency Testing In Relation To Tinnitus, Deborah Kim

Honors Theses

Tinnitus, a growing concern among adults, is the perception of sound without an external acoustic source. Tinnitus can sound like ringing, buzzing, and clicking and is typically caused by noise-induced hearing loss. Noise-induced hearing loss is caused by prolonged exposure to high levels of noise, which damages the cochlea, and can be temporary or permanent. The purpose of this study is to determine if there are any common factors or characteristics in Acoustic Reflex, standard pure tone and/or Extended High-Frequency testing results between two groups: people who report and do not report tinnitus. This study explores whether Acoustic Reflex testing …

Reality Versus Fantasy: An Analysis Of Emergency Management Practices Portrayed In Disaster Movies, Lisa Wier

Honors Theses

In Hollywood, disaster films are often highly fictionalized for entertainment purposes. They often misrepresent disaster protection, mitigation, response, and overall preparedness. The films Jurassic World (2015), San Andreas (2015), and Your Name (2016) misrepresent mass island evacuation and response, earthquake preparedness and mitigation, and near-Earth impacts (NEOs) and protection respectfully. However, the disasters exaggerated are based upon real hazards that emergency management officials must plan for. The disasters portrayed are analyzed with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National Preparedness Goal and its core capabilities to demonstrate effective strategies for the incidents, and proper identification of the discrepancies between disaster …

Hermaphroditism And The Rhetoric Of Shifting Sexual Identity In Early Modern Europe, Thomas Hudson

Honors Theses

This project is a historical examination of shifting sexual identities and intersex individuals in early modern Europe. This project focuses primarily on anatomical “hermaphrodites” (as they are termed in contemporary sources) and their place within the established binary society. This project answers questions pertaining to intersex individuals and their treatment throughout early modern Europe, depending on country, region, or communities in question. Using primary sources such as Spanish inquisition tribunal transcripts, among other official documents, this project sheds a new light on cultural gender norms of early modern society, producing deeper understanding and hopefully appreciation to our modern culture.

Rhythms And Reading: Applying Literacy To The Music Classroom, Makenzie M. Davis

Honors Theses

This research project seeks to demonstrate how literacy pedagogy can be used to teach music in the context of a music classroom. Born of the increased emphasis on literacy-based instruction in public schools, all teachers, regardless of primary content area, are expected to aid in the mission of teaching reading skills to all students. Oftentimes, teachers will forego their content area lessons in order to strictly teach a lesson on reading skills. Music teachers must be equipped to teach literacy within their music classroom without damaging the integrity of their music content lessons. Through comparative research, the project will parallel …

Breaking Down Barriers To Sustainable Eating At The University Of Dayton, Lauren Murray

Honors Theses

Sustainability is at the forefront in many conversations and innovations at the University of Dayton (UD), ranging from the Hanley Sustainability Institute to the Sustainability club. However, sustainability extends beyond water and energy conservation. In addition to these, students and faculty at UD can impact their carbon footprint through sustainable eating. The purpose of this research was to define sustainable eating, determine the carbon footprint of foods served in the UD dining halls, and develop and evaluate an educational intervention aimed at UD students within the Virginia West Kettering dining hall. The results of this research were considered in the …

Manipulating Light: Creating A Biomimetic Photonic Crystal Material Inspired By The Chameleon, Love L. Richburg

Honors Theses

The purpose of this project is to create a chameleon-inspired biomimetic material using guanine crystals and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to form a tunable photonic crystal and then characterize the material. The method for developing this material is to first synthesize a photonic crystal made of a guanine microsphere lattice. Then embed the guanine lattice in PDMS. Since PDMS is an elastomer, it can be stretched to adjust the spacing between the guanine crystals. This should allow for the photonic crystal to be adjusted similarly to the way that the chameleon adjusts the photonic crystal in its skin by changing the spacing …

Stage Based Matrix Modeling Of Trifolium Stoloniferum Restoration Populations At Taylor Fork Ecological Area, Madison County, Kentucky, Theodore J. Brancheau

Honors Theses

Trifolium stoloniferum is a federally endangered plant species that was once abundant from parts of the eastern United States like West Virginia and Kentucky and into parts of the west, such as Kansas, but was considered extinct for many years before the species was rediscovered. Although the species is recovering overall and is pending to be downlisted to threatened, this species, and many others, can benefit from more detailed population viability analyses such as the one conducted for the project. The objective of this research was to conduct a stage-based population viability analysis of restoration populations five and seven, located …

More Than A Lady: How Jane Austen’S Works Impacted The Role Of Women In English Society In The Late 18th And Early 19th Centuries, Chloe E. Rojas Ms.

Honors Theses

In Jane Austen’s works, the role and expectations of women in the 18th and 19th centuries are both reflected and questioned. My thesis outlines how Austen used her novels to represent the society in which she lived and how that society placed a sense of duty on women, specifically in terms of family, education, and marriage. Along with the representation of these duties, I also focus upon on how Austen uses her protagonists, primarily in the novels Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, and Mansfield Park, to question those standards and provide for her readers examples of women whom they …

The Effects Of Sublethal Antibiotics On Listeria Monocytogenes, Marlena Rae Merling

Honors Theses

Antibiotics can be found in sublethal levels environmentally as pollution and within the body when used as medication. Antibiotics induce stress responses and sometimes act as signaling molecules in bacteria. In order to better understand the relationship between antibiotics and bacterial infections, the effects of sublethal antibiotic exposure on the ability of Listeria monocytogenes to infect macrophages was studied. Listeria monocytogenes is an intracellular pathogen of the gastrointestinal tract that is facultatively anaerobic. Two strains of Listeria monocytogenes were tested: a lab strain and a clinical cardiotropic strain. The strains were grown in liquid media overnight aerobically or anaerobically with …

Pretrial Publicity And Juror Decisionmaking: Effects Of Inadmissible Evidence And Coverage Of Its Exclusion From Trial, Rebecca Rhein

Honors Theses

The courts have long been concerned that exposure to media coverage regarding a case making its way through the judicial process (i.e., pretrial publicity [PTP]) may influence jurors’ decisionmaking in court. Indeed, empirical research over the past two decades has shown that PTP can influence juror decisions. PTP often contains descriptions of evidence or factors that are ultimately deemed inadmissible at trial (e.g., confession evidence), but no research to date has examined what occurs when confessions are reported to the public but later deemed inadmissible. We examined these issues using a 2 (Interrogation Quality: High vs. Low) x3 (Exclusion: Technicality …

Mortality In The 21st Century: A Cycle Of Short Stories On Death And The Afterlife, Rose A. Rucoba

Honors Theses

Every culture and religion around the world has different beliefs and theories about why humans die and whether or not there is something more beyond death. Authors such as Elizabeth Evans, Flannery O’Connor, and Stephanie Vaughn are three modern-day, impactful writers who have explored the themes of death and the afterlife in their own works. In response to these writers, I have completed a collection of four short stories and one novella that focuses on the themes of death and the afterlife. The stories are separate from each other and are told from different points of view, following a variety …

Propionate Enhances The Antimicrobial Defenses In Macrophages Against Listeria Monocytogenes, John Weis

Honors Theses

Propionate is a short chain fatty acid produced by the bacteria in the human gut. It has a wide range of nutritional functions in the human body. Several studies have also reported the effects of propionate on immune cell activation. In this study, we used Listeria monocytogenes as a model pathogen to determine how and what the effects of propionate on immune cells influence cell susceptibility to infections. Listeria is a dangerous intracellular pathogen that can replicate inside immune cells such as macrophages. Therefore, we can assess the impact of propionate on infection susceptibility by performing cell culture infections. We …

Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen Dynamics In Swash Zone Sands Of Long Bay, Sc, Alexis F. Echols

Honors Theses

A key component affecting the biogeochemistry of the sedimentary environment is pore water between grains of sediments. Sedimentary microorganisms are constantly modifying chemical compounds as part of their life functions which are then exchanged between the sediment column and the overlying water column. Dissolved inorganic nitrogen, a major element for life, takes on several forms including nitrate, nitrite, and ammonium which vary in concentration throughout the sediment and with respect to each other. The relative concentrations of these nitrogen species have been previously briefly explored in sandy columns, where redox gradients that control their relative concentrations can be fairly deep …

Interrelationship Of Forms: Research Into The Juxtaposition Of Material, Color, And Texture, Emily Bartolone

Honors Theses

I have completed a body of artistic work composed of a series of paintings with the intent of exploring my use of material, color and texture. I am interested in using these tools to complete paintings which feel equally balanced and surprising, with subtleties that materialize through time spent with each piece. This exploration will continue past my thesis project, as the intention behind this project was to obtain a firmer grasp on myself as an artist along with the body of work I wish to pursue in the coming years.

The Melody Of Spatial Memory, Victoria Lynne Karpuszka

Honors Theses

Music has been studied extensively in psychology, including research on musically-induced emotion. However, the project reported here looked at new effects of musically-induced emotions on spatial memory. Trochidis and Bigand (2013) established that music and emotions are associated. Music of a major mode, or an Ionian mode, is usually associated with positive emotions. Music of minor modes, such the Locrian or Aoelian modes, are associated with negative emotions. These associations with the specific modes are seen by the lowering of the third and sixth scale tones.

Participants for the present study completed a spatial memory task (called the “Tower of …

Towards A Pre-Processing Algorithm For Automated Arrhythmia Detection, Sarah Miller

Honors Theses

There are a variety of different wearable fitness/cardiac monitoring devices that are currently used in many people’s day to day life. The primary cardiac function of these devices is to monitor heart rate, however we believe that they could be utilized to detect different forms of arrhythmia. In order to categorize and identify different forms of arrhythmia, we are utilizing published EKG data sets from existing databases as a basis for machine learning. The challenge that comes from the existing data sets is that the format they present the data in does not lend itself to machine learning, which requires …

Music Therapists’ Knowledge Of And Attitudes Towards Sustainability: Instruments, Sarah Whitehouse

Honors Theses

Sustainability has become a common point of conversation and concern in today’s society. The purpose of this project was to explore salient issues, attitudes and practices in music therapy sustainability. Information was gathered through an in-depth review of the materials used in the make and manufacturing of commonly used instruments in music therapy practice. In addition, a survey was sent to music therapy professionals with the MT-BC (Music Therapist – Board Certified) credentials to ascertain current knowledge of and attitudes toward sustainability within the profession.

The Commodification Of Education And The Threat To Public Schools, Macey Berkley

Honors Theses

With the recent push to reform the United States Education system, public schools have become under siege. Education has shifted away from educating for moral democratic citizenship, a liberal arts curriculum, to education for meeting economic demands. The aims of education have changed, and it is clear that reforms made in the late nineteenth century still resonate in the public school system today. Therefore, public schools are at risk of extinction from privatizing movements and undercuts to public education funding. Examining the implications of progressive education in the late nineteenth century and studying many key figures such as John Dewey, …