Digital Commons Network^™

Brain Scans As Evidence: Truths, Proofs, Lies, And Lessons, Francis X. Shen, Owen D. Jones

Mercer Law Review

This Brain Sciences in the Courtroom Symposium is both timely and important. Given recently developed and rapidly improving brain imaging techniques that enable non-invasive detection of brain activity, civil and criminal courts increasingly encounter attorneys proffering brain scans as evidence.' The reason is simple. In addition to caring about how people act-such as when they cause a person's death or sign a will-the legal system's inquiries frequently turn on determining what people were thinking, or were capable of thinking, when they acted.

In criminal law, for example, the same act can yield anything from mere probation to decades in …

Using Polymerase Chain Reaction To Detect Nifh And Vnfdgk In A Novel Acidophilic Microbial Community, Samantha L. Flowers

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Acidophiles are widely known for their ability to exploit harsh environments, typically consisting of high temperatures, dissolved metal concentrations, and acidic conditions. Consequently, different acidophilic species are employed industrially in applications such as biomining and bioleaching. However, their full potential in bioremediation, and in industrial practices, has yet to be fully explored because many of these acidophiles are difficult to culture in laboratory conditions or have yet to be properly identified. This investigation focuses on a novel community sampled from the Richmond Mine site in Iron Mountain, California, consisting of a filamentous fungus and prokaryotes. This consortium can be cultured …

The Contrasting Image Of Italian Women Under Fascism In The 1930’S, Jennifer Linda Monti

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The Fascist regime in Italy lasted twenty years, deeply influencing the Italian population and the Italian culture during that time period. Although Fascism tried to control the public and private life of Italians, it was unsuccessful because of the strong presence of the Catholic Church and because ofItaly’s difficult history prior to unification. What the regime did accomplish, however, was the quasi complete consent of the masses because of the numerous activities and organizations it created for them. A particular group on which Fascism focused was women, understanding how central their role was within the family, and wanting to gain …

American Political Satire: The 20th Century Onward, Michael Contino

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Political satire is an implied freedom enumerated in the first amendment of the Constitution. As a form of political speech, it falls under the category of the most protected form of expression. Now that I’ve got your attention, I can go ahead with the rest of my project. This is a journalistic study of the people who used their freedom of speech to openly criticize the government. More specifically, it’s about the people who openly criticized the government and then became famous for it. Of course, there’s many ways to criticize, many platforms, many audiences, many influences as well.

What …

Interactive Environments: Redefining Sense Of Place In The ‘Noosphere’, Kathleen Callaghan

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The rapid growth of the internet and the far-reaching ubiquity of our virtual networks within the last decade have spurred an entirely new generation of interactive devices and technologies; these include the technologies seen in cell phones, video games, televisions and computers. Furthermore, online social networks such as Facebook and our portable Internet devices, mainly the iPhone, have begun to redefine our sense of time and place in a world of global connectivity and instant-access. This phenomenon results in a constant flow of communication and information that blankets the globe and marks a cultural paradigm shift to a much more …

Dengue Fever: Infectious Hope, Collin Shea

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Abstract Not Included

In Defense Of Existence Monism, Peter Finocchiaro

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The objective of this paper is a defense of a particular answer to van Inwagen’s Special Composition Question: when is it the case that some objects together compose some additional object? The answer is the conjunction of two claims. The first claim, compositional nihilism says that, necessarily, there is never an instance of material composition, and therefore all material objects that do exist are simple, or without proper parts. The second claim, existence monism, says that there exists a material object, and that all other material objects are identical with this object. In other words, there is just one …

Structural And Functional Characterization Of A Putative Citmhs Protein From Bacillus Anthracis, Qi Wen Li

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The growing number of strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria poses a new threat to human health. The development of innovative strategies to treat bacterial infections is essential. The recent discovery of a new class of membrane transporters, CitMHS, unique to bacteria, presents a potential new target for antibacterial therapeutics. CitMHS is a class of secondary metal citrate membrane transporters, with only five members characterized to date (2,3,5,6,7). No crystal structures have been reported. Detailed structural and functional studies of CitMHS are essential to the understanding of infection pathways and, consequently, the ability to block such pathways. Cit_Ba is a CitMHS …

Effects Of Ethanol On Social Behavior & Brain Structure, Lua Jafari

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Autism spectrum disorders are a developmental disorder characterized by abnormal social behavior. Those with autism have problems with social interactions, repetitive behaviors, and both verbal and non-verbal communication. While the cause of autism is not yet know, studies have shown that there are both genetic and environmental factors linked with autism. The amygdala is considered to be part of the “social brain”, and atypical activation and morphology of the amygdala has been seen in those with autism.

For this research project, I utilized rats subjected to acute ethanol exposure during gestation and examined exposure effects on the anatomy and biochemistry …

Germline Cyst Formation And Development In Zebrafish, Tess Cherlin

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

In developing pre-natal mice, germline cysts are clusters or packages of cells consisting of individual oocytes. They are formed after the primordial germ cells move to the ovary during embryogenesis. The primordial germ cells divide, but do not completely separate. The cells within the cysts are linked by intercellular bridges, which end up breaking down leading to the formation of primordial follicles. The primordial follicles are oocytes surrounded by somatic cells called granulosa cells. Only one third of the original oocytes survive cyst breakdown and become the eggs that will be used by the mouse for her reproduction. This developmental …

Modeling Hemorrhagic Stroke And Vasospasm In The Rodent, Sarah Katherine Jane Wendel

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

In January 2010, I started work as an undergraduate research assistant at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Dr. Mary Lou Vallano’s laboratory in the Department of Neuroscience and Physiology. My research project was part of a collaborative effort with the laboratory of Dr. Eric Deshaies, a vascular neurosurgeon at Upstate. The goal was to establish a rodent model of subarachnoid hemorrhage and delayed vasospasm, and to test possible protective strategies. We used an adult rat model, in which two injections of autologous blood were given in the cisterna magna region of the brain. Analysis was done using a combination of …

Growth Of Yeast, Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Under Hypergravity Conditions, Sapir Vangruber

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is a eukaryote and model organism that can be used to study how eukaryotic cells respond to hypergravity. In this experiment, six standard wild-type strains were used to determine a maximum gravitational force the yeast can withstand and still grow. Artificial gravity was generated using a centrifuge. Yeasts were found to maintain growth even at the highest artificial gravity tested, 2,114 g. An ordered deletion set of S. cerevisiae was then screened to identify genes that could not grow and withstand simulated hypergravity compared to growth under 1g conditions. Many of the strains that failed …

The Basis And Implications Of Genetic Counseling In Patient Testing Choice, Yanina Tovpeko

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Perinatal genetic counseling is a health service provided to patients who carry risk factors for genetic abnormalities for their offspring. There are several non-invasive and invasive tests offered to patients in order to provide genetic information about possible disorders. The non-invasive screens calculate a percentage of risk relative to average population risk. If the non-invasive screens predict an elevated risk, a more invasive test can be offered to obtain definitive results about possible disorders in the pregnancy. The most commonly used invasive test is called amniocentesis and it carries a risk for pregnancy complications. After receiving abnormal results on the …

Determination Of The Amino Acids Involved In The Interactions Between Dpy-30 And Ash2l, Key Components Of The Mll1 Core Complex, Carey Stuart

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The human version of the DPY-30 protein is homologous to the DPY-30 protein in Caenorhabditis elegans (nematode), along with other DPY-30 homologous proteins in other organisms. This protein is involved in dosage compensation of X-linked genes, balancing the levels of expression of these genes between the sexes. The mechanism by which the balancing is carried out varies from organism to organism. For example, in C. elegans hermaphrodites (XX), transcript levels of the X-linked genes are cut in half. In Drosophila, the genes on the male’s (XY) X chromosome are transcribed at twice the rate of the female’s (XX) genes. …

Exploring The Potential For B12-Based Oral Vaccine Delivery; Cubilin Mediated Uptake Of B12-Conjugate Systems Greater Than 160 Kda, Teresa Soldner

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This project aimed to create a novel oral tetanus vaccine by exploiting the B₁₂ uptake pathway. While many linkers were attempted, the only successful complex was created using CDT coupling. After synthesis, purification (with some difficulty), and characterization, tests were done in vitro and in vivo. These supported the conclusion that while the complex was being successfully taken up by the cell, the complex was not created a strong enough immune response for a positive titer. On a second note, simply the uptake of B₁₂-TT is remarkable because it is the largest molecule that has been …

Pathophysiology And Treatment Of Septic And Traumatic Shock, Lyuba Polinkovsky

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Background. While various medical treatments have been proven effective in the treatment of sepsis in animal models, the only current clinically accepted treatment of human sepsis is limited to the use of activated protein C. The complex pathogenesis of human sepsis presents a challenge in precisely duplicating the process of disease development in the particular animal models which are currently employed for preclinical testing. Further research examining the pathogenesis of this deadly condition is essential for the implementation of novel therapies that target distinct disease mechanisms. The objective of this 48-hour study is to utilize a clinical model that accurately …

Fueling Ukraine’S Future: Using Microfinance As A Tool For Reducing Energy Dependency And Changing Lives, Justin Cole

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Ukraine is a country heavily dependent on other countries for its natural gas supply, leaving it vulnerable to interruptions in supply. One of its largest suppliers, Russia, has twice taken drastic means of physically closing the pipelines, thereby cutting off this supply and illustrating to Ukraine and the world the leverage that it can exercise. While at the present time the cut-offs have lasted no longer than a few weeks, future cut-offs could become more common and longer in duration. When compounded with the troubled history between the two countries, one can quickly see the precipitous situation that has the …

The Medicalization Of “Homosexuality”, Kristin (Lula) Townsend

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Cross culturally and historically people who are attracted to members of their own sex ("homosexuals") have been viewed and treated in radically different ways. Some societies have exhibited tolerance or indifference, whereas others have vilified and persecuted homosexuals. Using primary sources, this project reviews the major sociological and medical theories of “homosexuality” between 1864 and 1946, evaluates their bias and political implications, and closes with a brief overview of contemporary research.

In chapter two the themes of the texts presented are: causality, diagnosis, and treatment. The primary theory between 1864 and 1908 argues the congenital nature of “homosexuality. The themes …

High School Students’ Knowledge Of Careers And Non-College Post-Secondary Options, Mariel Stein

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This Capstone Project discusses high school students’ knowledge of careers and non-college post-secondary options. The problem this project addresses is the fact that many high school students lack adequate knowledge of careers and non-college post-secondary options, and therefore they often make poor decisions regarding their post-secondary plans.

The methodology used was research, observations, and personal communication. I conducted inductive research because I felt that my information of high school vocational education was too narrow and I wanted to broaden my knowledge to see what the trend is across the country, what the causes of the aforementioned problem are, and what …

Assessment Of Suny Upstate Medical University’S Child Telepsychiatry Consultation Program, Mary E. Lau

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Objectives: The project assesses the child telepsychiatry services provided by SUNY Upstate psychiatrists to several county mental health clinics in central New York State. Method: Data for forty-five patients was extracted from pre-consultation forms completed by the referring clinic and post-consultation summaries completed by the Upstate psychiatrists that occurred between July 13^th, 2009 and May 12^th, 2010. The study identified characteristics of patients for whom telepsychiatry consultations were sought, reviewed recommendations provided by the telepsychiatry consultant, and noted recommended changes in therapy and medication. Results: Analysis of the data showed that there was a large variation …

Women’S Rights To Contraception And Abortion In Chile And Spain, Erin Kosalwat Elzo

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Abstract

Women’s reproductive rights, particularly the rights to contraceptives and abortions, have been a contentious issue that often divides people into different political spectrums. The objective of this research was to examine women’s rights to contraception and abortion inChileandSpain. The majority of the population in these two countries is Roman Catholic (94% inSpainand 70% inChile). Both countries ratified the United Nation’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) as well as signed the Optional Protocol to the CEDAW. This research was based on an extensive review of literature that involved documents from government and non-government …

Regulation Of Immediate Early And Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition Genes Expression By Adipocytokines In The Female Reproductive Tract, Zhufeng Yang

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Individuals who are overweight or obese are at increased risk for cancer.  However, the mechanistic link between obesity and cancer is poorly defined.  Adipose tissue produces hormones and pro-inflammatory cytokines with mitogenic properties.  Many of these hormones and cytokines are altered in obese individuals and may lead to disruption of the normal balance between cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine how adipocyte-derived factors regulate the expression of genes that contribute to cell proliferation and migration.  To compare immediate early gene (cell proliferation) and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (cell migration) gene expression between untreated and …

Variation In Response To Both Natural And Experimental Infection With Porcine Circovirus 2b, Theresa P. Bohnert

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In animals, disease progression can be influenced by genetics, environment, management practices, and the type of pathogen. Infection with porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2) causes development of diseases known as porcine circovirus 2-associated diseases (PCVAD), for which there is currently no treatment. In Trial 1, weanling unvaccinated barrows and gilts (n = 229) from two genetic lines were bled at d14, 49, and at necropsy to assess disease progression from natural infection using antibodies (ELISA) and viral copy counts (quantitative PCR). Virus was isolated from infected pigs and sequenced to determine the strain responsible for infection. At d49, 113 animals …

Alternative Strategies For Managing Pharmaceutical And Personal Care Products In Water Resources, Gabriel Eckstein, George William Sherk

Faculty Scholarship

In recent decades, concern has grown over the presence of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) in water. This concern stems from the possibility that the presence of PPCPs in water supplies may pose a threat to both human and environmental health. Such threats may be both direct (e.g., exposure to endocrine disrupting compounds) and indirect (e.g., emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria). The water treatment and wastewater treatment community has been especially concerned over PPCPs because of PPCPs ubiquitous nature and their ability to persist or only partially degrade in water and during wastewater treatment. Studies done over the past …

Probing The Allosteric Activation Of Pyruvate Carboxylase Using 2′,3′-O-(2,4,6-Trinitrophenyl) Adenosine 5′-Triphosphate As A Fluorescent Mimic Of The Allosteric Activator Acetyl Coa, Abdussalam Adina-Zada, Rasmani Hazra, Chutima Sereerukb, Sarawut Jitrapakdee, Tonya N. Zeczycki, Martin St. Maurice, W Wallace Cleland, John C. Wallace, Paul V. Attwood

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

2′,3′-O-(2,4,6-Trinitrophenyl) adenosine 5′-triphosphate (TNP-ATP) is a fluorescent analogue of ATP. MgTNP-ATP was found to be an allosteric activator of pyruvate carboxylase that exhibits competition with acetyl CoA in activating the enzyme. There is no evidence that MgTNP-ATP binds to the MgATP substrate binding site of the enzyme. At concentrations above saturating, MgATP activates bicarbonate-dependent ATP cleavage, but inhibits the overall reaction. The fluorescence of MgTNP-ATP increases by about 2.5-fold upon binding to the enzyme and decreases on addition of saturating acetyl CoA. However, not all the MgTNP-ATP is displaced by acetyl CoA, or with a combination of saturating concentrations of …

Wave Reflection Characteristics Of Permeable And Impermeable Submerged Trapezoidal Breakwaters, Mathew Hornack

All Theses

The present study aims to quantify reflection coefficients in the vicinity of impermeable and permeable submerged trapezoidal breakwaters. Three impermeable breakwater models are tested, each with a unique side slope for the breakwater faces. Two permeable models are tested, one made of PVC pipe and the other consisting of golf balls contained within a mesh cage, to provide two separate porosities. Testing is carried out at the Clemson University Flow Physics Laboratory in a laboratory wave tank with the inclusion of a 1:20 sloping sandy beach to simulate natural environmental conditions. Wave elevations are collected during experiments by two capacitance …

Larval Taxonomy, Phylogeny And Historical Biogeography Of The Genus Cheumatopsyche (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae) In North America, Zachary Burington

All Theses

Larvae of the genus Cheumatopsyche (Trichoptera:Hydropsychidae) are a
abundant and probably significant ecological component of freshwater lotic ecosystems
worldwide, with many species inhabiting streams with elevated organic pollution. The
varying tolerance levels among these species necessitate species-level identification for
accurate water-quality assessment. However, past workers have had difficulty separating
the Nearctic species in the larval stage. This research presents progress on the goal
towards identification of larval Cheumatopsyche. Chaetotaxal and cuticular characters are delimited for 7 larval morphotypes, all of which have been putatively associated with
adults. The Nearctic phylogeny of Cheumatopsyche is revised, including 5 species
described after 1987. …

Species Diversity And Seasonal Abundance Of Scarabaeoidea At Four Locations In South Carolina, Kevin Hinson

All Theses

ABSTRACT
Using light, flight-intercept, and pitfall traps, 74, 327 specimens of Scarabaeoidea were captured at four golf courses in South Carolina during 2009-2010. Aphodiinae were identified only to the subfamily level and totaled 57,502 specimens. 16,825 specimens in 47 genera and 104 species in the families Ceratocanthidae, Geotrupidae, Hybosoridae, Lucanidae, Passalidae, Scarabaeidae (excluding Aphodiinae), and Trogidae were identified based on morphological characteristics. Similar to other southeastern studies focusing on phytophagous scarabs, the most abundant species consisted of Dyscinetus morator (Fabricius), Euetheola humilis (Burmeister), Cyclocephala lurida Bland, and Hybosorus illigeri Reiche. The most speciose genus captured was Phyllophaga Harris, totaling 22 …

Gis And Web Technologies For Assessing Sediment Pollution From Abandoned Developments, Joshua Werts

All Theses

The economic crisis that occurred at the time of this research left numerous residential developments in the Southeastern United States in various stages of construction, creating a potential source of sediment runoff to waterways. Sediment runoff is potentially damaging to aquatic ecosystems and lakes. The objectives of this research include identifying these developments in upstate South Carolina through GIS/remote sensing analysis and implementation of an integrated webGIS framework. Residential development locations with significant bare soil areas were identified through GIS analysis involving Landsat 5 TM classification and aerial photograph verification. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was used in …

Biomass V2.0: A New Tool For Bioprocess Simulation, Y Phan-Thien

All Theses

A simulation software (BioMASS - Biological Modeling and Simulation Software) was upgraded from the previous version and provided with additional enhancements. Several new bioprocess configurations and their subroutines have been added. The additional processes included continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) with biomass recycle, and CSTR with additional stream in the second stage. The primary goal in the development of BioMASS v2.0 was to provide users with a ready-to-use, expressive visual modeling tools. In this new version, output from simulation can be visualized in graphics. Printing, exporting, and saving file options also are available. In summary, BioMASS v2.0 offers an effective …