Digital Commons Network^™

The Debate On Marine Mammals In Captivity, Lorna C. Scribner

Honors Theses

Are marine mammal species better off today because of captivity? Is captivity ethical and should it be continued? As this debate grows stronger, both of these sides of the argument offer substantial evidence in their favor. In this paper, I discuss data for both sides and evaluate the justifications of marine mammal captivity. Ideally, no matter the outcome, this research will educate the public on influential factors of wild and captive populations.

Interannual Variability Of Wintertime Sea Surface Temperatures In The Eastern Taiwan Strait, Mu-Tun Tzeng, Kuo-Wei Lan, Jui-Wen Chan

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Using Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) sea surface temperatures (SSTs) at a 1.1-km spatial resolution, we investigated the long-term SST variability in winter in the eastern Taiwan Strait (TS) in 1995~2008. We performed an empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of spatial and time series variances for 15-day mean images. The first three modes in the EOF analysis respectively accounted for 25.9%, 16.61% and 4.59% of variances. In the first mode, the spatial amplitude showed positive values in the northeastern TS and negative values south of Chang-Yuen Rise (CYR). This suggests that warmer water occurred south of the CYR and …

The Effect Of Variable Organic Matter On Site Productivity, Soil Nutrients, And Carbon On A Southern Loblolly Pine Plantation, Jason Craig Mack

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effect of manipulating forest floor and harvest residue inputs on nutrient availability and carbon content in the context of intensive forest management. Treatments were removal and addition of forest floor and slash, and a reference. Tree volume, litterfall, and root biomass were measured to assess aboveground productivity and soil moisture and temperature, available nitrogen and phosphorus, O-horizon, and mineral soil for below ground processes. Organic matter additions increased stand bole volume, carbon at 20-60cm, and total nitrogen in the mineral soil. Severely removing the floor and harvest residues did not result in any large differences in …

Illinois State University, One Hundred And Fifty-Third Annual Commencement, December 15, 2012, Illinois State University

Commencement Programs

Illinois State University
One Hundred and Fifty-Third Annual Commencement
December 15, 2012

Commencement Convocation Exercises - December 2012, Prairie View A&M University

Commencement and Convocation Exercises

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Placental Tissue In The Skinks Eulamprus Tympanum And E. Quoyii, Lauren Yates

Honors Theses

The species Eulamprus tympanum and Eulamprus quoyii are viviparous skinks that are said to have a Type I placenta. This research compared histological characteristics of the oviduct during pregnancy in E. tympanum and E. quoyii and assessed whether structural features are consistent with a Type I placentation. A similarity was seen in both of these species and was not consistent with a Type I placenta. Extreme folding of the uterine tissue was observed in the early stages. An increase in glands around the later stages was observed while there was no change in blood vessel density over the course of …

Who's Allowed To Ride The Short Bus?: Un-Defining Disability, Hannah Widdifield

Honors Theses

However easy it may be to do, criminalizing - or less maliciously, categorizing - disability does not make it easier to accommodate. Clumping people with "special needs" together does not meet those needs any more efficiently and labeling those needs as "special" is vague and ineffective. The disabled aren't pegged into their roles for practical reasons, but because of inherited stigmas that are continuously encouraged by institutional policies, popular culture, and art. My thesis is in part an attempt to uncover and articulate a personal and social history of disability. In it I try to puzzle out how misconceptions regarding …

2012 Fall Commencement, Harding University

Commencement Programs

Program for the Harding University Commencement on December 15.

Commencement Speaker: John Reese

Evaluating The Uncertainty Of The Population Growth Parameter Estimates Of Larval Anchovy In The Southwestern Waters Of Taiwan Using Monte Carlo Simulations, Sheng-Ping Wang, Ming-An Lee, Wen-Yu Chen

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

To estimate the population growth parameter (maximum sustainable yield, carrying capacity, catchability, the ratio of initial biomass to carrying capacity and model shape parameter) of larval anchovy in the southwestern waters of Taiwan, a non-equilibrium production model was used to fit to historical catch data and standardized CPUE series. The results of standardized CPUE indicated that the sea surface temperature was the most effective variable for explaining the CPUE variation of larval anchovy abundance. This study also evaluated impact of the uncertainty associated with the catch and CPUE data on the model estimations using Monte Carlo simulations. Although the impacts …

The Failures Of Intelligence Reform, Amber Ciemniewski

Honors Theses

Intelligence reform is the legislation implemented by the federal government that's purpose is to improve the effectiveness and success of the intelligence community. It would seem evident that intelligence reform has failed, but the more important questions lie in where it has failed and how to fix it. In this thesis, it will be argued that reform attempts have failed by focusing on surface problems rather than addressing their sources. Future reforms should focus on the relationship dynamic between the intelligence community and the policymakers it serves. There has been extensive literature published on the problems in the intelligence community …

Quantifying Acclimation Levels Of Mimus Polyglottos In The Presence Of People, Jordan Rutherford

Honors Theses

The northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) is a common bird species found in North America that in the past 150 years has expanded its distribution north. It is now commonly seen in urban and suburban areas were at one point, it was rarely seen outside of rural and forested areas. For the study, I observed northern mockingbirds at nine different sites over a period of a month between September and October 2012. After the study, I determined that there is a negative relationship between the number of people in the surrounding area and the distance when the birds flew away.

Who Is Still Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf?, Laura Decrane

Honors Theses

One of the most well known villains of all time is the Big Bad Wolf. Usually a male entity, he has been present in child and adult literature for centuries and continues to unsettle readers in the twenty-first century. The Big Bad Wolf is consistently portrayed in a negative light because he originated in a time when wolves were feared, making him the perfect example to terrify village children. Over time, as a result of social and cultural changes, writers have transformed the wolf so that he is no longer the terror that plagued the nineteenth century. Instead, the Big …

The Lyme Disease Spirochete In Tick Species Collected From Warren County, Kentucky, Cheryl C. Onwu

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The overall goal of this present study was to determine the prevalence of the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, in south central Kentucky. A survey of ticks collected from a single location in Warren County, Kentucky was conducted between the months of April and June, 2010. A total of 293 ticks were collected. Three species were identified: 264 (91.7 %) of the ticks were Amblyoma americanum, 18 (6.6%) were Dermacentor variabilis, and 1 (0.35%) was Ixodes scapularis. The ten remaining ticks were immature nymphs and could not be identified. After identifying the species and sex of …

Reaction Of Halogenated Hydrocarbons With Cysteine And Nucleotides, Brittany S. Morgan

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Our objective is to develop a simple, inexpensive model to better understand the biologically relevant reactions of halogenated hydrocarbons and characterize them by NMR spectroscopy. We currently have a model that mimics the adduct created by the reaction of ethylene dibromide (a known toxin and carcinogen) with cysteine and guanosine 5’-monophosphate. Early attempts led to side products including ethylene oxide and ethylene glycol; however, our most promising method to date reacts cysteine with 2-bromoethanol in sodium methoxide/methanol followed by reaction of the 2-hydroxyethyl adduct with HCl and later with guanosine 5’-monophosphate. By reacting other halogenated hydrocarbons through the same method, …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Metallocorrole And Metalloporphyrin Complexes For Catalytic Oxidations, Zhibo Yuan

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Macrocyclic ligand-complexed transition metal-oxo intermediates are the active oxidizing species in a variety of important biological and catalytic oxidation reactions. Many transition metal catalysts have been designed to mimic the predominant oxidation catalysts in nature, namely the cytochrome P450 enzymes. Metal porphyrin complexes have been the center of research as catalysts in this context. This study focuses on the synthesis of porphyrin and corrole macrocyclic ligands and the corresponding ruthenium and iron complexes which are fully characterized by UV-vis and NMR spectroscopies.

The catalytic oxidation reactions towards organic sulfides by these metal complexes were also studied. Two ruthenium porphyrin complexes …

The Effect Of Participation In A Community Gardening Program On Mood Of College Students, Alicia Fay Mau

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The purpose of this study was to find the effect of gardening in a community setting on mood and affect of college students. Participants of the study included sixteen students attending James Madison University. There were eight controls and eight gardening participants in the six-week experiment. All participants took a pre and posttest based on the Positive and Negative Affect Scale-X (PANAS-X). Gardening groups also took the Affect Balance Scale (ABS) after an hour-long gardening session each week. Statistical analysis showed significant changes in several of the items examined by the PANAS-X. Among gardeners, negative affect went down significantly (t=0.019) …

Lipophilic And Hydrophilic Quantitative Analysis Of Antioxidant Activity In Tomatoes And Tomato Products, Anna Tran Dinh

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The amount of antioxidants present in food varies depending on environmental conditions in which produce was grown and how products were processed prior to consumption. It would, therefore, be useful to quantify antioxidant activities in these foods. This study focused on quantitative analysis of antioxidant activities in commercially produced whole tomatoes and processed tomato products. For commercially processed tomatoes, diced tomatoes had total antioxidant activities (TAA) ranging from 1.243 to 2.243 μmol TE/g fresh weight (fw), juice 1.573 to 6.86 μmol TE/g fw, paste 6.3 to 13.248 μmol TE/g fw, sauce 1.62 to 3.168 μmol TE/g fw, and soup 1.073 …

Development Of A Best Practices Manual For The U.S. Department Of Energy's Wind For Schools Project, Jessica Coleman Fox

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The Development of a Best Practices Manual for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind for Schools Project is an effort to provide the necessary research and data to make the completion of a Best Practices Manual possible. The Best Practices Manual will be used to help with the future development of Wind for Schools Projects nationally. The Wind for Schools Project was developed in 2005; currently 11 states are actively participating. As the Wind for Schools Project developed, various approaches and techniques were used to meet the goals of the program. A Best Practices Manual will serve as a repository …

The Influence Of Ubiquitin-Related Modifier Protein Urm1 On Prion Formation, Jacob Beaver

Honors Theses

Prions are infections proteins that are auto-catalyzing (form by altering a regular protein into the structurally different prion form), and are the cause of many common diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, and Bovine Spongiform encephalopathy (or Mad Cow disease). This experiment tested the effect of three different plasmids, pH317, pER62 and pmp46 on prion formation in both wild-type and Urm1 deletion mutants in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The proposed hypothesis was overexpression of the prion forming protein would increase the frequency of prion formation, as well as yield less sustainable prion amyloids (or prion aggregations) that are easier to …

"Tengo Cara De Ladron?" "Do I Have The Face Of A Thief?": An Investigative Study Of Stereotypes And Racism In Ecuador, Caryn Cortez

Honors Theses

Racism and stereotypes are still very apparent in Ecuadorian society, yet time and time again, I have found people who claim racism does not exist in Ecuador. Fascinated by how such an obvious (for an outsider) part of Ecuadorian society could be systematically denied by so many people who were part of that society, I decided to explore the issue of racism further and sought to find out, through the use of in-depth qualitative interviews and ethnographic research, how students at La Universidad Estatal de Cuenca narratively construct racial identity and racism.

Differences In Food Availability For Venus Flytraps In Resident And Restored Populations, J. Mason Truluck

Honors Theses

Expanding on a previous two-year study of resident and restored populations of Venus flytraps in Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve, the arthropod populations at resident and restored sites were sampled and compared to determine if there was a significant difference between them. Fourteen orders of invertebrates were collected from the sites, with the most numerous being Collembola (springtails) and Hymenoptera of the Family Formicidae (ants). There was no significant difference between the sample groups, though two of the traps from the restored sites were unusable. This study suggests that the arthropod population size and composition does not differ between the …

Effects Of Selenium On The Freshwater Alga Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii With And Without The Proteasome Inhibitor Mg132, E. Patrick Vallentine

Honors Theses

Selenium is a required nutrient in animal life but has not been shown to be needed in plants. The model plant cell Chlamydomonas reinhardtii may be an exception as it appears to increase its growth rate in the presence of selenium. Because selenium has the same valence state as sulfur it may be incorporated into proteins as the modified amino acid selenocysteine. This incorporation of selenocysteine into protein may disrupt the disulfide bridges that give proteins the correct conformation. Misfolded proteins can wreak havoc on a cell. This stress can be measured through several parameters. Chlorophyll levels, glutathione levels, growth, …

One Art With Two Sides: Theatre And Performance Art, Jacob Watts

Honors Theses

Theatre is typically a scripted performance, performed by actors within a "Theatre space" and observed by an audience. When capitalized, "Theatre" refers to a field of art and study. It is produced to tell a story, or create meaning. Theatre contains elements of plot and characters, often using the characters to tell a story. Visual performance art is art that focuses on live human performance and defines itself in terms of "visual art" and not in terms of "Theatre performance." Performance art does not always occupy a specific place or use a specific kind of script. It often lacks character, …

Novel Algorithms For Cross-Ontology Multi-Level Data Mining, Prashanti Manda

Theses and Dissertations

The wide spread use of ontologies in many scientific areas creates a wealth of ontologyannotated data and necessitates the development of ontology-based data mining algorithms. We have developed generalization and mining algorithms for discovering cross-ontology relationships via ontology-based data mining. We present new interestingness measures to evaluate the discovered cross-ontology relationships. The methods presented in this dissertation employ generalization as an ontology traversal technique for the discovery of interesting and informative relationships at multiple levels of abstraction between concepts from different ontologies. The generalization algorithms combine ontological annotations with the structure and semantics of the ontologies themselves to discover interesting …

Improving Commercial Broiler Attic Inlet Ventilation Through Data Acquisition Coupled With Cfd Analysis, Jonathan William Wiley Olsen

Theses and Dissertations

The use of solar heated attic air is an area of increasing interest in commercial poultry production. Attic inlets satisfy the demand for alternative heating while being simple to implement in an existing poultry house. However, little attention has been given to the configuration of the attic space and its influence on thermal energy extraction. This issue was approached in a threefold manner: i.) test case experimental data for the operation of attic inlets in an east-west oriented commercial broiler house was recorded, ii.) a two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) attic inlet ventilation model (AIVM) was developed and verified using …

Mechanisms And Patterns Of Invasion In Macrophyte Communities, Jonathan Paul Fleming

Theses and Dissertations

Aquatic plants (macrophytes) are important components of freshwater ecosystems and serve numerous purposes, physical and biological, that help to structure aquatic communities. Although macrophytes represent an essential component of stable aquatic communities, invasive macrophytes may negatively alter ecosystem properties. Non-native, invasive species have been identified as a major cause of biodiversity loss and the increasing prevalence of invasive species has prompted studies to help understand their impacts and to conserve biodiversity. Studying mechanisms of invasion also gives insight into how communities are structured and assembled. This study examined mechanisms that contribute to macrophyte invasion. First, I reviewed literature concerning mechanisms …

Early-Summer Ichthyoplankton Biodiversity Associated With Oceanic Factors On The Continental Shelf Of The Southern East China Sea, Wen-Yu Chen, Yi-Chen Wang, Ming-An Lee

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Ichthyoplankton communities associated with oceanic factors on the continental shelf of the southern East China Sea were studied in early summer 2009. Temperature and salinity of the stations in this survey respectively varied 13.78~ 27.86°C and 33.14~34.77 psu. In total, 1204 fish larval individuals belonging to 62 families and 120 taxa were identified. Using a cluster analysis, the spatial distributions of larval fish were classified into 3 groups: a coastal group, a shelf group, and an offshore group. The offshore group was further divided into 2 subgroups: a mixed shelf group and a Kuroshio group. The coastal group consisted of …

Assimilating Altimetric Data Into A South China Sea Model, Chau-Ron Wu, Ping-Tung Shaw, Shenn-Yu Chao

Faculty Publications

Sea surface heights from the TOPEX/Poseidon altimeter are assimilated into a three-dimensional primitive equation model to derive the circulation in the South China Sea. With data assimilation the model resolves not only the basinwide circulation but also a dipole off Vietnam and a low/high feature near the Luzon Strait. Mesoscale features are missing in the simulation without data assimilation because of poor resolution in the wind field and inadequate knowledge of the transport through the Luzon Strait. Compared to the case without data assimilation, data assimilation reduces the root mean square error between the simulated and observed sea surface heights …

Workplace Lactation Support: Project Development And Implementation, Peggy Rinehart

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Objective: A pilot project establishing a lactation support program for staff, faculty, and students at Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC) was introduced in September 2012. The lactation support program is intended to promote and support breastfeeding and decrease barriers to continued breastfeeding for mothers who are employed or attending classes. The purpose of this paper is to report on the: (1) development and implementation of a lactation support program in a regional multi-campus community college; and (2) plans for evaluation of the effectiveness of the new program. Setting: The program was implemented at a community college with campus sites …

Uneasy Waters: The Night Riders At Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee, 1908, Jama Mcmurtery Grove

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

On October 19, 1908, night riders at Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee kidnapped and murdered Captain Quentin Rankin, an attorney and shareholder in the West Tennessee Land Company. The murder made national news, with coverage emphasizing the night riders' demand for fishing rights. In response, Governor Malcolm Patterson called out the militia to suppress the uprising and advocated for state acquisition of the lake as a means to prevent further violence. In the accepted historical narrative, the uprising at Reelfoot Lake represents an example of rural resistance to the threat that modernization posed to traditional access rights but ignores much of the …