Digital Commons Network^™

The Physiological Significance Of Nitric Oxide Synthase In Staphylococci, Ryan M. Singh

Theses & Dissertations

Staphylococci, particularly Staphylococcus epidermidis, are common causes of implant-associated infections that may result in notable morbidity and mortality. One of the ways the innate immune system attempts to combat these invading pathogens is via the respiratory burst, in which free radical species such as nitric oxide (NO^•), toxic to bacterial respiration, are released in large quantities. Despite the toxicity of NO^•, some bacteria, including staphylococci, encode an endogenous bacterial nitric oxide synthase (bNOS), whose physiological role has been unclear until now. In this dissertation, we demonstrate that S. epidermidis is able to overcome the toxicity …

Functional Analyses Of Response Chains, Brinea Charles

Theses & Dissertations

Although functional analyses (FAs) have been used to determine the cause of problem behavior and to develop effective treatment (Iwata et al., 1982/1994; Hanley et al., 2003), they may pose an increased risk of injury to the participant and others when the target response is a severe behavior (Smith & Churchill, 2002). Several studies have explored the efficacy of using response class hierarchies (precursors) in an FA, but fewer studies have explored early sub-responses in a behavior chain. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to 1) identify a systematic process for defining response chains of severe behavior and verify …

Development, Validation, And Diagnostic Performance Of A Novel Radiomic Model For Predicting Prostate Cancer Recurrence, Linda M. Huynh

Theses & Dissertations

Multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging (MP-MRI)-derived radiomics have been shown to capture sub-visual patterns for the quantitative characterization of prostate cancer (PC) phenotypes. The present dissertation seeks to develop, evaluate, and compare the performance of an MRI-derived radiomic model for the prediction of PC recurrence following definitive treatment with radical prostatectomy (RP).

MP-MRI was obtained from 339 patients who had a minimum of 2 years follow-up following RP at three institutions. The prostate was manually delineated as the region of interest and 924 radiomic features were extracted. All features were evaluated for stability via intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and image normalization …

Phase 0 Feasibility And Design Of Mobile Health Applications For Use In Rural Settings, Aubree C. Honcoop

Theses & Dissertations

Background. Mobile Health (mHealth) interventions, when meant to serve as decision support, require an in-depth investigation of current workflows and decisional needs to ensure future usability and acceptability. Rural groups were prioritized due to their limited healthcare access, and therefore, their increased need for interventions like mHealth apps that address health disparities.

Objective. To assess the decisional needs of parents/caregivers and/or Healthcare Providers (HCPs) in rural areas regarding emergencies with children with medical complexity (CMC, Project 1), COVID-19 vaccination (Project 2), and HPV and COVID-19 vaccination (Project 3).

Methods. Parents and HCPs were approached through various methods for participation, primarily …

Healthy Aging Modulates The Neural Oscillatory Activity Underlying Basic Visual Processing And Verbal Working Memory, Seth D. Springer

Theses & Dissertations

Worldwide economic and medical improvements have led to profound demographic shifts towards an older overall population. Unfortunately, with older age comes a variety of neurological changes which act to decrease individual quality of life and independence. Since the advent of functional neuroimaging, investigation of age-related changes in neural activity has been of particular interest. However, changes in population-level neural dynamics with age remain poorly characterized. Herein, we utilized magnetoencephalography (MEG), comprehensive neuropsychological assessments, and advanced analytical techniques to investigate spectrally-specific changes in neural oscillatory activity in a healthy aging population. First, we examined age-related deficiencies in visual processing using a …

Emotional And Metacognitive Impacts Of A Human Anatomy Course Utilizing Three-Dimensional Learning Modalities, Shawn M. Magrum

Theses & Dissertations

A high school human anatomy course was designed to integrate three-dimensional learning modalities through the use of three-dimensional visualization technology, augmented reality, and whole-body donors (cadaveric specimens), and customized 3D digital models were created to support student learning. The course was organized so that each class meeting fell into one of six unique learning session types: lectures, augmented reality labs, gross anatomy (cadaveric) labs, content application (active learning) sessions, review sessions, and examination sessions.

An interval scale using ten emoji, each associated with a particular emotional valence (i.e., pleasantness) level, was developed and integrated into the course to track students’ …

Impact Of Nutritional Status And Placental Malaria Infection On Pregnancy Outcome In A Population Of Nigerian Maternal-Infant Dyads, Shirley F. Delair

Theses & Dissertations

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and accounts for one-quarter of the newborn mortality on the continent. Most newborn deaths are from prematurity (33%), infections (33%), and intrapartum complications (31%). Using an adapted analytical framework for the study of child survival in developing countries, this dissertation aimed to look at the pregnancy outcome of a population of Nigerian women and their offspring by looking at proximate determinants of health from nutritional status and environmental conditions. In Chapter 1, we characterized the micronutrients of the mother-infant dyads, looking specifically at concentrations of vitamin D and its metabolites. In Chapter …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Video Self-Monitoring On Staff Treatment Integrity During Covert And Overt Observations, Amber R. Paden

Theses & Dissertations

Previous research has shown low treatment integrity can lead to decreased effectiveness and efficiency of skill acquisition during discrete-trial instruction (DTI; Carroll et al., 2013). Pantermuehl and Lechago (2015) found that during covert observations, treatment integrity ranged from 18.6 to 76% whereas during overt observations, integrity was as high as 100%. This shows reactivity is an obstacle within DTI service delivery. It is important to investigate how reactivity affects staff performance and identify ways to increase and maintain high integrity. Finding a socially acceptable, effective, and efficient method to increase and maintain high levels of staff treatment integrity during covert …

Bridging The Information Divide: Leveraging The Learning Health System To Understand Rural-Urban Health Disparities In The Covid-19 Era, Alfred J. Anzalone

Theses & Dissertations

The examination of healthcare disparities, which the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated, revealed a pronounced divide between rural and urban settings. This divide particularly underscored the challenges of integrating rural healthcare into the Learning Health System (LHS) and utilizing real-world data (RWD) in response to a public health emergency. Our investigation expanded the growing body of literature on the rural mortality penalty, encompassing the period following the COVID-19 pandemic. By employing an LHS-enabled centralized platform of RWD, we assessed the impact of rurality on adverse COVID-19 outcomes (Aim 1), focusing on inpatient adverse events and the effectiveness of treatments and vaccinations across …

Elucidating The Luteal Microenvironment: The Role Of Fibroblasts In Luteal Regression, Corrine F. Monaco

Theses & Dissertations

The corpus luteum is a transient endocrine gland that produces progesterone, a steroid hormone needed for pregnancy. It is a heterogenous gland containing many different cell types: small and large steroidogenic cells, endothelial cells, immune cells, and fibroblasts. At the end of a non-fecund reproductive cycle, the corpus luteum undergoes cyclic regression, a process which is divided into two processes: 1) functional regression, in which progesterone production rapidly declines and 2) structural regression, in which the tissue undergoes rapid remodeling into a fibrotic scar called a corpus albicans. Although fibroblasts are well-known for their role in tissue remodeling, very little …

Individual Differences In Age And Testosterone Are Uniquely Associated With Neural Oscillatory Activity Serving Verbal Working Memory In Children And Adolescents, Abraham D. Killanin

Theses & Dissertations

During the sensitive period of adolescence, the human brain undergoes dynamic changes in structure and function resulting in vast executive function gains. Verbal working memory (VWM) is one executive function that serves as a foundation to language acquisition, reading, and learning. Many have examined the development of VWM in youth, but few have probed age-related changes in the underlying neural oscillatory dynamics, and none have examined testosterone-related changes. We recorded magnetoencephalography during a modified Sternberg VWM task in 82 youth participants aged 6 – 14 years old and collected salivary testosterone samples. Significant oscillatory responses were identified and imaged using …

Analyzing Heat Generated From Electro-Osmotic Flow Utilizing Computational Fluid Dynamics, Jordan Elizabeth Grothe

Honors Thesis

Without extensive vascularization, the transfer of fluid and nutrients through human tissue is limited to diffusion and weak interstitial flow. Electroosmosis, or the flow of fluid driven by an electrical field, has become a promising solution. Scientists have begun applying electricity to human tissue to promote stronger interstitial flow; however, optimization of this process has proven to be a challenge due to ohmic heating. Cells function within a small range of temperatures and exposure to voltages exceeding the threshold will cause cells to degrade and die prematurely. This research seeks to better understand and quantify the range of voltage where …

Evaluating Neanderthal Depopulation With Direct Neanderthal And Châtelperronian Radiocarbon Data, Thomas K. Lyman

Honors Thesis

Homo sapiens neanderthalensis (Neanderthals) inhabited Eurasia approximately 350,000 years ago before experiencing population decline and disappearing from the archaeological record around 40,000 years ago (Yaworsky et al. 1). Radiocarbon dating has played a major role in establishing the timing of the last Neanderthals by both dating their skeletal remains and animal bones associated with their material culture. Widely discussed in the context of the last Neanderthals are the Châtelperronian stratigraphic layers as they possibly contain the last of Neanderthal material culture in regions of France and Spain. Whether the Châtelperronian should be attributed to Neanderthals or Anatomically Modern Humans (AMHs) …

User Perception Of Gender Studies In Video Games, Quinn T. Gienapp

Honors Thesis

Alongside the increase in video game popularity, a subclass of games was formed that offer very unconventional gaming experiences. These games offer different stories that differ greatly from games made on multi-million-dollar budgets. Many of these types of games exist on the fringes of the industry and portray LGBTQ+ themes through their writing or gameplay. One of these games uses the medium of video games to process their trauma by relaying their own story. The game “He Fucked the Girl Out of Me” is an autobiographical video game that highlights the story of the Author and their experiences with …

Does Rural Transformation Affect Rural Income Inequality? Insights From Cross-District Panel Data Analysis In Bangladesh, Al Amin Al Abbasi, Subrata Saha, Ismat Ara Begum, Maria Fay Rola-Rubzen, Andrew M. Mckensie, Mohammad Janghir Alam

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Faculty Publications and Presentations

Rural transformation plays a crucial role in enhancing the income and employment prospects of the rural labor force. We investigate the effects of rural transformation on rural income inequality at the district level in Bangladesh using data from five years of nationally representative Household Income and Expenditure Surveys. The Gini coefficient is used to measure rural income inequality. In contrast, the share of high-value agricultural outputs and the share of rural non-farm employment are used as indicators of rural transformation. We find that rural income inequality is positively associated with the share of high-value agricultural outputs and the share …

Impacts Of Hurricane Idalia’S Surge On Coastal Sand Biogeochemistry, Wendy "Cor" Mchone

Honors Theses

Beaches are heavily influenced by extreme events, such as hurricanes. Biological and chemical processes, such as primary production and diagenesis are often interrupted by these events. To examine the effects of hurricanes on coastal biogeochemistry, this study used sand and porewater samples from Waties Island, SC, which were collected before and after Hurricane Idalia. The samples were analyzed for macronutrient concentrations, organic content, and chlorophyll concentrations. Macronutrient pore water concentration changes were not uniform. The inventory of nitrite decreased significantly after the storm, which was reflected in slight increases in the inventories of nitrate and ammonium. Concentrations of nitrate, which …

Belonging And Disagreeing: Arab Student Activism On A College Campus, Angelina E. Baroud

Honors Capstones

There has not been sufficient research on Arab college students and their activism in the United States. This topic is especially important because of the new wave of protests across college campuses due to the Israel-Hamas war. This project focused on what made Arab students join an Arab organization at a university in the Midwest and the disagreements that exist within the group. Data was gathered through participant observations of the group meetings and semi-structured interviews with the group members. This study found that the desire to connect with their culture and find a sense of community brought Arab students …

The Role Of Inflammatory Cells In The Sex Dimorphism Of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, Erin M. Schreck

Poster Presentations

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) is a disease associated with high blood pressure specifically in the lung circulation. Symptoms include dyspnea and cyanosis, and the mean survival post-diagnosis is 2.8 years without treatment. PAH can be characterized by accumulating vascular damage which results in lesion formation causing a decrease in the diameter of vessels, obstruction of flow, and ultimately increased pressure on the right heart leading to failure. These lesions define an arteriopathy that is a hallmark of PAH which is, in part, dependent on infiltration of inflammatory cells into the vascular wall. PAH presents uniquely in males and females with …

An Actuarial Prediction Of Adhd Using Neuropsychological Data, Kimberlyn Williams

Poster Presentations

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most common psychiatric diagnosis in children and a frequent psychiatric diagnosis in adults. ADHD is a clinical diagnosis based on self-reported symptoms which makes accurate diagnosis challenging. Actuarial prediction has been demonstrated to be more accurate than clinical judgment. The current study explored an actuarial approach to predicting ADHD based on a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests. This project utilized test data from Meyers Neuropsychological Battery (MNB) to develop a logistic regression model to accurately predict diagnosed ADHD cases (n=65) from normal functioning cases (n=79) with a history of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI). Binary …

The Role Of Inflammatory Cells In The Sex Dimorphism Of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, Erin M. Schreck

Honors Theses

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) is a disease associated with high blood pressure specifically in the lung circulation. Symptoms include dyspnea and cyanosis, and the mean survival post-diagnosis is 2.8 years without treatment. PAH can be characterized by accumulating vascular damage which results in lesion formation causing a decrease in the diameter of vessels, obstruction of flow, and ultimately increased pressure on the right heart leading to failure. These lesions define an arteriopathy that is a hallmark of PAH which is, in part, dependent on infiltration of inflammatory cells into the vascular wall. PAH presents uniquely in males and females with …

Testing For The Significance Of Generational Differences On Opinions Of Nuclear Power, Eli Moore

Honors Theses

Different generations have different experiences from each other depending on the circumstances of the world they were raised in. As a result, different generations have different views of different controversial topics, and there are few topics as controversial as nuclear power. Throughout its history, it has been seen as both the solution to our energy problems, as well as a threat to the safety of life as we know it. This project aims to see if such a difference exists, and if so, what factors would be most influential in creating this difference? Would the past mistakes and catastrophes shape …

Cognitive Control In Health And Disease: A Dynamic Approach To Mapping Oscillatory Activity Across The Lifespan, Mikki Schantell

Theses & Dissertations

Cognitive control is critical for flexibly adapting goal-directed behaviors to meet the demands of dynamically changing environments. The neural oscillatory dynamics serving cognitive control undergo changes across the lifespan, both in health and disease, with impairments in cognitive control functions being broadly implicated across a multitude of psychiatric disorders. Despite this, the trajectory of the population-level neural oscillatory dynamics supporting cognitive control across the lifespan remain poorly characterized, presenting challenges in fully understanding perturbations to these systems relative to one’s stage in neuronal maturation. Herein, we used the Eriksen flanker task during magnetoencephalographic (MEG) recording to map the neural oscillatory …

Jtc 24: Lifting Others, Emily Howorth

University of Mississippi News

This story is part of the 2024 Journey to Commencement series, which celebrates the pinnacle of the academic year by highlighting University of Mississippi students and their outstanding academic and personal journeys from college student to college graduate.

Workplace Transformation: Exploring The Impact Of Digital Nomad-Inspired Travel Experiences, Ekaterina Chevtaeva

All Works

This short research paper explores the experiences and transformations of employed remote workers who engage in remote work trips, a type of digital nomad-inspired travel where individuals combine work and leisure while traveling. The study aims to understand the meaning of these experiences and their impact on participants’ work practices. The methodology employed in this study is Heidegger's hermeneutical phenomenology, which focuses on subjective interpretations of experiences. Data was collected between 2022 and 2023 through prolonged engagement with seven participants who have work flexibility but do not identify as digital nomads. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to empathize with the participants’ …

Development Of Long-Acting Antiviral And Antimicrobial Prodrug Nanoformulations, Srijanee Das

Theses & Dissertations

Over the past decade, the global burden of infectious diseases has increased substantively, underscoring the need for more effective treatment strategies. However, the discovery and development of new drugs with desirable safety, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy is a time consuming and costly process with great uncertainty around success rate. As an alternative to new drug development, prodrugs and novel drug delivery systems have increasingly been explored. Both serve to overcome the drug development challenges. Such drug formulations that permit extended dosing intervals of potent native drugs serve multiple purposes by promoting patient adherence to in improving treatment outcomes. This is especially …

A Tale Of Two Proteins: An Investigation Of Recruitment Of Eukaryotic Proteins Fli1 And Lrrf1 To The Chlamydial Inclusion Membrane, Natalie Sturd

Theses & Dissertations

Chlamydia trachomatis is the pathogen responsible for the majority of infectious blindness and sexually transmitted bacterial infections worldwide. As an obligate intracellular pathogen, it establishes a niche within a pathogen-specific vacuole, termed the chlamydial inclusion. C. trachomatis modifies the inclusion membrane by type III secretion and insertion of effectors known as inclusion membrane proteins, or Incs. These Inc proteins are critical for chlamydial pathogenesis via their interactions with host proteins and their capacity to stabilize the inclusion membrane. Previous studies from our lab demonstrated the localization of two eukaryotic proteins, Flightless 1 (FLI1) and its binding partner leucine-rich repeat interacting …

Sensory Dysfunction And The Role Of Nrf2 In The Production Of Pain In Chronic Hindlimb Ischemia, Oliver Kitzerow

Theses & Dissertations

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a progressive and debilitating atherothrombotic disorder that is estimated to impact >200 million people worldwide. Higher physical activity levels are associated with better overall survival rates, slower decline of functional capability, and improved quality of life. However, intermittent claudication, pain produced by physical activity, severely limits functional capacity in PAD patients. Despite known sensory dysfunction and documented neuropathy in diseased patients, the neural mechanisms that produce pain in PAD are yet to be identified. Importantly, few animal models of hindlimb ischemia (HLI) successfully recapitulate chronic human PAD. We developed a chronic animal model of HLI …

Multimodal Investigations For The Identification Of Surgically Relevant Brain Areas, Kevin Tyner

Theses & Dissertations

Epilepsy is a neurological disease leading to recurrent and unpredictable seizures. Patients can be diagnosed as focal onset, where the seizure focus resides in one hemisphere; generalized onset, where seizure foci reside in both hemispheres; or unknown onset. Anti-seizure medications are the first line of treatment, and those whose seizures cannot be controlled with medication are diagnosed with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE). For patients diagnosed with focal onset epilepsy to achieve seizure freedom, surgical resection of the epileptogenic zone (EZ), the region of the brain that is both necessary and sufficient for initiating seizures, is required. The EZ is a theoretical …

Online & Blended Learning Environments: A Mixed Methods Study Evaluating The Feasibility, Acceptability, & Influence Of An Online Professional Development Course For Health Professions Educators, Tanya M. Custer

Theses & Dissertations

Online and blended teaching and learning (OBTL) are integral to the future and success of higher education, including health professions education. Institutions with a goal of developing high-quality online and blended programs must prioritize time and resources dedicated to professional development and training. This research study utilized an online professional development course as an intervention to gain deeper insights into the scope of faculty development to effectively teach in online and blended learning environments. The study, utilizing a convergent mixed methods approach, gathered data through a pre- and post- intervention survey measuring health professions faculty readiness to teach online, a …

The Interactions Of Centromeric Nucleosomes Elucidated By Atomic Force Microscopy, Shaun Filliaux

Theses & Dissertations

Nucleosomes are the fundamental unit of compaction for DNA in the genome. These positively charged proteins have two main types of nucleosomes: canonical (H3 containing) and centromere (CENP-A containing). The compacting of DNA allows for DNA to fit into the nucleus of cells, but creates a barrier for DNA accessibility for operations such as replication or transcription. Centromeric chromatin is a subset of chromatin structure and governs chromosome segregation. Compared to the bulk chromosome, centromeres are composed of H3 and CENP-A nucleosomes in which H3 histones is replaced by its homolog CENP-A histone. This results in nucleosomes with different structures, …