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University Of Memphis Magazine, 2015 Fall

University of Memphis Magazine

Cover Story, "Making the Grades " by Greg Russell

From a near-zero graduation rate 15 years ago in men’s basketball to one of the best student-athlete success rates around, Tiger players score both on and off the playing surface.

Also featured: The Columns Alumni Review

University Of Memphis Magazine, 2020 Fall

University of Memphis Magazine

In this issue, "I Want To Go Where I Can Help" By David Waters, UofM Institute for Public Service Reporting, Illustration by Catherine Knowles

UofM alum Janice Ballard joined a group of health professionals helping fight COVID-19 in the Navajo Nation, one of the hardest hit areas in the world per capita.

Also featured, "Unearthing Ancient Egypt" by Trent Shadid

As an expert on ancient Egypt, the work of UofM history professor Suzanne Onstine is providing insight into the lives of everyday Egyptians.

Using A Token Economy To Treat Escape-Maintained Problem Behavior Without Extinction, Natalie R. Andzik, Elle Smith, Nancy Neef

NIU Bibliography

The use of extinction procedures when treating escape-maintained problem behavior can be undesirable and impractical for practitioners to use. To mitigate the risks associated with escape extinction, we explored the effectiveness of a delayed reinforcement token system without the use of extinction in school and home settings to treat escape-maintained problem behavior of students with autism spectrum disorder. In lieu of escape extinction (e.g., blocking), the researchers implemented a 30 s break contingent on problem behaviors and a token (to be exchanged at the end of the session) contingent on compliance. The results of a multiple probe design indicated substantial …

Exosomes Derived From Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Mediate Perineural Invasion: Implications For Therapeutic Intervention, Cole Knoblich

Dissertations and Theses

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most globally diagnosed cancers and a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Metastatic CRC (mCRC) significantly impacts patient outcome and diminishes overall survival outcomes. Despite advances in therapeutic treatment, the 5-year survival rate for mCRC is < 20% and several patients fail to have a beneficial response to available treatments. This could be attributed to alternative routes of mCRC in which current treatments are unable to block these routes of cancer spread. One such alternative route involves the spread of cancer along the nerve termed perineural invasion (PNI) which is an independent prognostic factor in CRC. The tumor microenvironment (TME) is comprised of several different cell types that have been investigated for their role in cancer pathogenesis. Several studies have shown that cells of the TME can provide a supportive environment that allows for the growth and spread of cancer. Primary focus has been placed on cancer, stromal, and immune cells in the TME, but the role of neuronal cells in cancer pathogenesis is still unknown. Since cells of the TME can communicate through the secretion of exosomes, cancer-derived exosomes have gained widespread interest for their role in cancer pathogenesis. This study investigated how CRC-derived exosomes prime neuronal cells and contribute to PNI. By utilizing transwell co-culture systems and conditioned media experiments, we were able to determine that CRC cells secrete extracellular vesicles (EVs) that induce neuronal cell differentiation and growth, and inhibit apoptosis. Furthermore, utilization of an exosome inhibitor revealed that blocking exosome production in CRC cells could attenuate these affects. CRC- derived exosomes were collected utilizing a modified-iodixanol gradient technique and further characterization revealed an enriched pool of exosomes in fractions. Furthermore, proteomic analysis showed several proteins contained in CRC-derived exosomes that were involved in neuronal cell differentiation and growth. Lastly, treatment of CRC cells with the pharmacological tool Veratridine (VTD) was able to attenuate neuronal cell differentiation and growth and alter the proteomic profiles found in CRC-derived exosomes. In addition, VTD treatment slowed the spread of CRC along the sciatic nerve of an NIH-III nude mouse model of PNI.

An Appetite For Crime: Case Studies Of Cannibalism And The Criminological Theories That Explain It, Eponine Romo

Undergraduate Honors Theses

One of the most important aspects of studying crime is identifying how and why certain crimes happen. There are several questions one should ask: Why did this event happen? What caused this to happen? How could it have been stopped? Criminologists use various theories to seek the answer to these questions regarding diverse types of crimes from petty crimes, such as stealing a pack of gum to major, violent crimes, such as cannibalism, the latter of which will be analyzed here. The goal is to prevent these crimes from happening in the future by identifying why they are happening now. …

Augmented Reality: The Challenges And Opportunities Of This New Medium, Zijun Liang

Selected Full-Text Master Theses 2021-

Augmented reality is a technology that pushes the boundaries of media art and cyber security, expanding the potential and challenges of each. By combining computer graphics and realistic visuals, a new medium category was created that increased the classic realistic experiences. Traditional realistic sensations are the ordinary senses humans use to respond to incoming information, such as seeing, hearing, touching, and smelling—this viewpoint is based on a combination of visual anthropology and media theory.

It is vital for a media artist and software developer to understand how immersive technologies can improve the production and presentation of relevant content in interactive …

Kinetics And Connectivity Properties Of Parvalbumin- And Somatostatin-Positive Inhibition In Layer 2/3 Medial Entorhinal Cortex, Fernando R. Fernandez, Guillem Via, Carmen C. Canavier, John A. White

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Resistance And Resilience: Antibiotic Tracking To Thwart Antimicrobial Resistance, Jordan M. Fisher

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

Transimperial Networks And East Asia: Timeline, Menglu Gao, Sophia Hsu, Waiyee Loh, Hyungji Park, Jessica R. Valdez, Adrian S. Wisnicki, Rae X. Yan

English and Literary Arts: Faculty Scholarship

To help instructors and students who may be unfamiliar with the history of East Asia and its transimperial exchanges with the Anglophone world, the creators of the “Transimperial Networks and East Asia” lesson plan cluster built this timeline, which includes some major historical events from the fifteenth to the twentieth century. This timeline comes out of our many discussions about the methodological issues that arise when the field of Victorian Studies seeks to expand its traditional geographical scope. As we quickly realized in the process of creating our cluster, the usual boundaries of the long nineteenth century (the French Revolution …

Undergraduate Poster Competition, Inquiry Editors

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Faculty Highlights, Inquiry Editors

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

No abstract provided.

New Trail Crossing At Mink Brook Nature Preserve, Dylan Chan, Glendora Murphy, Madison Cook, Michelle Wang, Sacha Pritzker, Abigail Wilson

ENGS 89/90 Reports

The trail crossing connecting the two sides of Mink Brook Nature Preserve in Hanover, NH has reached the end of its useful life and must be replaced. The crossing is located on land subject to strict conservation requirements and is sacred to the local Abenaki Tribe. Therefore, the replacement structure must have limited use of metal and nonnative materials, be removable if necessary, and have minimal environmental impact in order to be respectful of the significance and history of the site. The process of designing the new crossing focused on incorporating Abenaki and Hanover community member values, such as maintaining …

Design And Integration Of Smart Surgical Drill For Use In Novel Spine Surgery, Abigail Brazil, Lucas Anderson, Michael Cullen, Mikaela O'Brien, Sajani Sivakumar, Sherrina Hwang

ENGS 89/90 Reports

Spinal fusion surgeries require substantial resources, result in long recovery times, and can cause unintended damage to the patient. PEER Technologies is working to revolutionize the spinal fusion space with the development of a new procedure, termed C-LIF. PEER’s C-LIF procedure is minimally invasive, minimizing patient tissue damage and decreasing recovery time, but lacks the sensory information present in open surgery. Our team investigated how different sensing modalities could be used to account for this lost information. We began by identifying relevant sensing modalities, interviewing spinal surgeons, and performing ex-vivo testing in excised pig spines. We then developed a benchtop …

Bs Environmental Science, 2022-23, Arkansas State University - Jonesboro

Bachelor of Science and Education

No abstract provided.

A Testing Protocol To Determine The Fixation Strength Of A Novel Bone Adhesive For Hip Joint Replacements, Bogdan Belincevic, Kevin Larkin, Eric Lin, Daniel Phan

ENGS 89/90 Reports

Current fixation between the prosthetic and bone is provided by two methods, PMMA bone cements and press-fit adherence, which exhibit problems of aseptic loosening responsible for the majority of late-term revision surgeries. Current drawbacks of fixation methods may be addressed by the use of a novel adhesive developed by RevBio, Tetranite. In addition to its unprecedented biocompatibility and bioresorbability, this mineral organic adhesive material can provide adhesion strength that is approximately 7.5x that of PMMA bone cements and sets into porous structures, providing a scaffold for bone tissue ingrowth. Tetranite’s favorable characteristics can address disadvantages of current fixation methods but …

Improved Greenhouse Design, Carlota Hopkins Guerra, Cecelia Monnin, Christina Baris, Emerald Zhu, Shailin Shah

ENGS 89/90 Reports

Our ENGS90 project fills the need for sustainable greenhouse design. After consultation with the end-users of our design and our stakeholders, we were able to design a greenhouse that is energy efficient, cutting-edge, research-grade, and economically efficient. Our recommended solution involves creating two 20’x24’ greenhouse structures. One structure will be the industry standard in greenhouse design; it will be made with double polycarbonate and heated using an Airquest propane boiler. The other structure will be our cutting-edge design and will be made with H-windows, a well-insulated material never before used in greenhouse design, and will be heated using a Fujitsu …

Electric Boat Propulsion, Peter Ammons, Vann Guarnieri, Bridger Holly, Tyler Stern

ENGS 89/90 Reports

The objective of this ENGS 89/90 project is to identify and characterize the most critical risks associated with technical feasibility of the sponsor’s proposed electric boat propulsion concept. The report and other deliverables are structured to provide the sponsor, Arion Electric, Inc., with the tools to design, predict, and characterize future prototypes. The team addressed seven technical risks over the course of the project period, covering multiple engineering disciplines including electromagnetism, thermals, structural mechanics, and fluid dynamics. The project team created a motor analysis MATLAB library using the modeling framework developed throughout the course. In addition to delivering this motor …

Nerve Repair Chamber, Theodore Bronk, Gracyn Campbell, Reeham Choudhury, Joshua De La Cruz, Basile Montagnese, Yutong (Linda) Xia

ENGS 89/90 Reports

Peripheral nerve injury can lead to severe loss of motor control or sensory integration, posing a significant decrement to quality of life. Yet, using traditional approaches to repair, maximal recovery can take up to 2-3 years to achieve with fewer than 50% of patients ever recovering acceptable sensory and motor function. There is a need to increase axonal alignment while also preventing Wallerian Degeneration of the distal end of the nerve to improve repair. We developed a nerve coupler to be used in a rat sciatic nerve model that holds proximal and distal ends of a nerve together while allowing …

Sustainability Verification, Paul Rose

American University Law Review

From the earliest stages of the sustainable finance market and of green, social, and sustainable debt as an asset class, sustainability verifiers have been essential to the market’s function. Sustainability verifiers—professional service providers who provide an external review of an issuer’s alignment with established green bond frameworks—play a crucial role in reducing information asymmetries between sustainable finance instrument issuers and investors and serve as reputational intermediaries that assure buyers of the seller’s green, social, and sustainability-centered commitments. Yet, despite their essential function in facilitating the investment of trillions of dollars in green, social, and sustainable finance investments, the role and …

"Never Let A Good Crisis Go To Waste": Can International Law Seize The Advantage?, Yves Daudet

American University International Law Review

Some international crises are circumscribed, others are more diffuse, sometimes of varying intensity depending on the region. But, at the end of the day, all regions might be impacted according to an uncertain timetable. This is the case, for example, with terrorism, cybersecurity, the migration crisis, and the climate crisis, which is one aspect of environmental damage that intersects with the health crisis. Some are latent and marked by sudden outbreaks, such as terrorism or the Islamic State’s criminal operations. Others are set to worsen, such as the migration crisis, which today is probably small compared to what it will …

Differences In Performance Anxiety Between Expert And Amateur Dressage Riders, Hanna E. Benne

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Performance anxiety is a challenge most individuals in a sport face. From experts to novices in dressage, various individuals attempt to find harmony between horse and rider. Performance is a large part of dressage sport riding. This thesis will examine the following topics: the differences in expert and amateurs’ performance anxiety; the anxiety level of an expert or amateur who has been involved in a sport related injury; if the individual has a neurotic personality, whether more performance anxiety may occur while riding. A Mini IPIP five-factor personality test, Sports anxiety scale, Sports injury anxiety scales, and dressage questionnaires will …

Examining The Effects Of Synthetic Dye Yellow No. 5 (Tartrazine) Exposure On Mouse Neuro2a Neurons In Vitro, Jenna L. Farnum

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Yellow Dye No. 5, also known as tartrazine (TRZ), is widely used[1] and has an accepted daily intake (ADI) of 0-7.5 mg/kg of body weight per day^[2]. Consuming TRZ dosages greater than the ADI can lead to reduced levels of antioxidant enzymes in the brain, chromosomal alterations, or neuronal dendritic changes, [3, 4] which can result in oxidative stress, impaired neuronal functioning and potential mutagenic effects. Within the ADI, there have been observed reductions of the copper zinc superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD1) enzyme levels.[5]We hypothesize that TRZ interacts pre-translationally inside the cell, resulting in the reduction of SOD1 mRNA. …

Investigating The Relationship Between Biological Age And Mutant Huntingtin Misfolding, Ratnesh Kesineni

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Huntington Disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease caused by an expansion of a CAG trinucleotide repeat tract in the huntingtin (HTT) gene. This CAG tract expansion causes production of mutant HTT (mtHTT) protein, which misfolds and forms inclusions in the brain that accumulate with age. Misfolded mtHTT aggregates have been linked with increased cell death in neuron cell culture, leading to speculation that mtHTT aggregates cause cell death. However, there are mouse lines that have robust mtHTT inclusion deposition, but no HD-like signs or neurodegeneration. Furthermore, neuronal HD cultured cells with inclusions were found to be …

Examining The Prevalence And Representation Of Diverse Populations In Children's Literature Found In Elementary Classroom Libraries, Trishell M. Matthews

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to (1) examine the prevalence of diverse populations in the pieces of children’s literature found in three Title I third grade classrooms, and (2) to examine if the diverse populations are authentically and relevantly represented. Researchers have emphasized the impact and importance of children’s literature that represent student’s diverse backgrounds authentically and relevantly, as they have the potential to affect students’ motivations, aspirations, and how they view themselves and the world at large. Particularly, Bishop (1990) suggested that students need books that act as “mirrors” that allow them to see themselves, their experiences, and …

Novel Microbe-Resistant Clay Dressing For Healing Burn Wounds, Kasey L. Rigby

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Every year, about 550,000 patients receive medical attention for minor and major burns in the United States.¹ In 2020, it was estimated that 11 million people worldwide suffered from burn injuries, with 150,000 of those burns being fatal.² Burns are among the most painful and debilitating recalcitrant wounds that can often turn terminal when infection occurs. The different grades for burns that we aim to treat are first, second, and third degrees.² Each burn type is susceptible to secondary infection that can be life threatening, and as a result, are extensively treated with antimicrobial agents.2 At present, …

The Role Of Individual Differences And Personality Factors In Distracted And Aggressive Driving Behaviors, Alyssa M. Holcomb

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Government reports indicate that, on average, more than 3000 people die due to distracted driving each year, accounting for nearly 10% of all fatal car crashes. Other reports claim that two-thirds of fatal car accidents result from aggressive driving. Previous research has been inconclusive regarding how personality impacts distracted and aggressive driving behaviors. Therefore, the goal of this current study is to fill the gap in the literature concerning the role that personality plays in distracted and aggressive driving behaviors. We also explored the role that distracted and aggressive driving behaviors played in accident involvement. A sample of (N=327) participants …

Ecological Storytelling In Traditional And Modern Resource Management Systems In Maine, Sarah Read

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to explore the role that social norms and values play in natural resource management systems and to see how communities may spread their social norms through ecological storytelling. The Maine lobster industry and Wabanaki communities in Maine are used as two examples for resource management systems. The Maine lobster fishery is known for being one of the most sustainable fisheries in the world. Their history is examined for how their environmental values and social norms influenced their behavior and what led to the establishment of their strong conservation ethic. Wabanaki groups in Maine are …

Effects Of Mental Health Disorders On Time Perception, Mirella S. Galliano-Rechani

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Research suggests a relationship between time distortion and mental health disorders, and the present study sought to examine this proposition. Prior research suggests that negative emotions are associated with the slowing down of time. Because mental health disorder symptomology is associated with more negative emotions, it was predicted that negative emotions would mediate the relationship between mental health disorder symptomology and time distortion. A survey was administered to university students that contained measures of anxiety, depression, emotional experiences, and time perception. Mental health disorder symptomology was found to be related to negative emotions. However, negative emotions and mental health disorder …

Intractable Pediatric Epilepsy And Dietary Therapies: A Meta-Analysis Of Trials For Seizure Reduction, Victor Figueira M Dantas

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Objective: to compare dietary treatments and their effectiveness in reducing seizures through a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials Methods: Using the PRISMA Method, the Primo database was searched to find peer-reviewed articles where researchers compared one treatment against another. The treatments of choice present in all studies are the Ketogenic Diet and the Modified Atkins Diet. Due to the nature of the experiments, the Ketogenic Diet was considered the control, as it was coined first. Results: Of the 450 articles identified, 378 met the primary peer review threshold and 190 were classified as Open Access. Eight met eligibility …

Exploring The Relationship Between Nutrition And Cribra Orbitalia: The Comparison Of Dietary Stable Isotope Comparisons Of Juveniles From Kuelap, Peru, Lissette S. Osorio

Honors Undergraduate Theses

A juvenile’s dependency on their caregiver is significant to the overall development of nutritionally related pathological lesions. However, not all skeletal pathology is caused by nutritional stress; despite anemia being the usual inferred cause, the origin of Cribra Orbitalia (CO) – lesions on the orbital roofs of the cranium– is undetermined. The purpose of this research is to compare the reconstructed diets of juveniles with and without CO and explore connections to dietary patterns (inferred from stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen). Rib bone samples of 79 juveniles with and without CO were sampled from the Kuelap archaeological site …