Service Learning Commons^™

Elevated Levels Of External Cysteine Inhibit Nitrogen Fixation By The Methanogenic Archaeon Methanosarcina Acetivorans, Regan Massey

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Methanogens are nitrogen fixing and methane producing archaea that play a key role in the cycling of carbon and nitrogen on earth. The global carbon and nitrogen cycle is vital to all life which makes the methanogen a primary organism of study. Methanogens are the only archaea capable of fixing nitrogen, and in order to do so, methanogens use a vital enzyme called the nitrogenase which fixes dinitrogen (N2) to ammonia (NH3). Expanding our understanding on metabolic processes of methanogens allows us to understand their environmental impact and advance their use in biotechnological applications. Methanosarcina acetivorans is the model used …

Spike Protein Structural Dynamics Of Sars-Cov-2 Coronaviruses Studied Using Molecular Dynamics, William Strickland

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has overwhelmingly impacted the global population, accounting for millions of confirmed infections and deaths over the last year. The virus’s influence on the health and safety of individuals, the economy, and daily life has been disruptive and devastating. While SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV-1, two closely related members of the SARS coronaviruses, have shown the ability to cross the species barrier and infect humans, SARS-CoV-2 has predominantly been the virus responsible for the number of infections presently known. SARS-CoV-2 has also proven to be volatile, as many variants have …

The Influence Of Temperature And Body Size On Food Consumption In Prairie Lizards (Sceloporus Consobrinus), Morgan Pelley

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Understanding the effect of temperature on physiological and digestive processes, such as voluntary consumption rate, is critical for assessing the impact of climate change. Food consumption is required for lizard survival and reproduction and its rate is dependent on temperature. For ectotherms, as temperatures increase, the amount of food consumed to meet the energy requirements related to survival and reproduction must also increase. Information on the amount of food voluntarily consumed may aid in determining if lizards can meet energy requirements. Such information could also aid in predicting survival of lizard populations, through construction of predictive climate change models. In …

The Effects Of Time Restricted Feeding On Markers Of Type 2 Diabetes, Brooke Martin

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Type 2 diabetes is one of the fastest growing chronic diseases in the country, comprising 10% of the American population. Obesity rates are at an all-time high and greatly increase risk factors for developing diabetes. Insulin resistance is the main feature of type 2 diabetes and causes management of the disease to be extremely difficult. Currently there are different possible treatments for type 2 diabetes including medication and dieting. However, diets involving fasting, though high in popularity, do not have a lot of evidence regarding their ability to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes.

Time restricted feeding (TRF) is …

Exploring Nitrogen Fixation In Methanosarcina Acetivorans, Rylee Cook

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

As of 2016, the genomes of over sixty species of methanogenic archaea have been sequenced.4 Research on the genomes of methanogens such as M. acetivorans led to the characterization of numerous genes with unknown functions. Genes similar to those of nitrogenase have been shown to possess functions unrelated to nitrogen fixation, such as F430 biosynthesis genes. 5,6,7 My research focused on the uncharacterized gene clusters ma2032-33 and ma1631-33 (Figure 1). These genes have conserved nitrogenase domains: ma2032 has fused nifH and nifD domains, while ma2033 has a nifD domain. The ma1631-33 gene cluster contains two nitrogenase homologs and one iron …

Portfolio Optimization Using The Business Cycle Approach, Maxwell Kane

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of the study is to investigate whether a portfolio manager could enhance his/her portfolio optimization strategy by periodically adjusting the equity sector weights to a diversified stock portfolio. The business cycle approach focuses on providing a framework for adjusting sector weightings to take advantage of recurring trends in economic growth that signal a phase transition soon. Once a shift in stages is detected, investors are advised to adjust their portfolio to overweight a specific sector that is projected to outperform in the next phase of the cycle and to offset exposure in sectors that tend to underperform during …

Free Convection Heat Transfer From Plates, Alexa Moreno

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this honors thesis is to create an experiment for the CHEG Lab I course. This report explains the motivation for creating this heat convection experiment, the results of performing the experiment, and provides recommendations for future work on this experiment. Multiple experiments were performed to assess materials and parameters to be investigated. It was determined that a 0.5” plate has smaller percent error and accommodates for the desired timeframe for a Lab I experiment compared to the first plate used (1.5” thickness). Recommendations for expanding on this project include adding experiments using vertical geometry for heat convection …

Quantification Of Slit-Like Pores Through Using Liquid Crystals As A Template, Dominique Savage

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this research is to manufacture a membrane with slit-like pores to achieve particle filtration. Slit-like pore membranes are preferred over conventional membranes with cylindrical pores since slit-like pores have two length scales that can be manipulated to better control cut off and flux through the membrane. This project focuses on manufacturing slit-like pore membranes through the use of two liquid crystals, 1,4-bis[4-(6-acryloyloxyhexyloxy)benzoyloxy]-2-methylbenzene (RM257) and 4-Cyano-4′-pentylbiphenyl (5CB). This method for making slit-like pores has not been widely investigated nor has the morphology of the membrane pores and mechanical properties of such a membrane been addressed. It was found …

Synthesis And Phase Transition Characterization Of Liquid Crystal Membranes With Slit-Like Pores, Isaac Hopwood

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Membranes with slit-like pores have been of interest for some time due to their ability to reject smaller particles than traditional cylindrical-pored membranes at the same fluid flux. However, using liquid crystals as a template for this sort of membrane has not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, the liquid crystal mixture of RM257 (2-Methyl-1,4-phenylene bis(4-(3-(acryloyloxy)propoxy)benzoate)) and 5CB (4-Cyano-4'-pentylbiphenyl) for the purpose of manufacturing membranes with slit-like pores, the phase transition behavior of this LC mixture at various mole fractions of RM257, and the impact of mole fraction of RM257 in the liquid crystal (LC) mixture and membrane manufacturing conditions …

Diffusion Of A Salt In An Aqueous Media, Aldaly Pineda Hernandez

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Diffusion is defined as the net transfer of a molecule from a high concentration region to a low concentration region. The concept of diffusion is used in a very important process called "desalination." Desalination is a separation process used to reduce the salt content dissolved in brackish water to make it suitable for human consumption, irrigation, and industrial use.

In desalination plants, it is important to monitor the constantly changing salt content of water, partly due to the diffusive effect. The main purpose of this experiment was to study the diffusion of NaCl in water at two NaCl concentrations. The …

Design Of A Freight Transportation Outreach Curriculum, Breanna Stoesz

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This project is centered around finding a solution to the shortage of truck drivers within the freight industry. Specifically, this project aims to lessen this shortage by ensuring potential future drivers are aware of the benefits of the industry and are encouraged to consider this career path for themselves. By producing an engaging and educational freight transportation curriculum for middle and high school students to go through in outreach programs, these students would have an increased likelihood of joining the trucking profession and encourage others to become informed about the profession as well. In addition to the direct driving role, …

Determining Earthquake Impacts On Arkansas' Roadway Network: An Application Of Hazus., Simon Rothwell

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Natural hazards are a dangerous and unpredictable aspect of life on earth. They can cause devastating damage to our surroundings that makes movement of people, goods, and emergency services difficult. There is a need to plan for these disasters to ensure that damages to our infrastructure and people are minimized. It can be difficult for planners to determine which parts of a roadway network are most vulnerable to a specific disaster and what their impact on the rest of the network may be. This thesis uses a nationally available natural disaster estimation tool developed by FEMA called “Hazus” (FEMA, 2020). …

Supply Chain Disruptions During The Pandemic And Ways Food And Beverage Companies Are Looking To Find Stability, Jacob Merz

Supply Chain Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

In March 2020, the world was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and is still dealing with its repercussions. This paper examines how the pandemic has had an impact on the food and beverage industry. In this study, there are three disruptions highlighted by industry professionals and online articles. The professionals within the supply chain industry cited in this research are Jane Gringer-Flinn, Director of Customer Solutions at Coca-Cola, Whit Calhoun, Senior Director of Logistics at The Fishin’ Company, Judy Thorne, Senior Director Distribution Services at Tyson Foods, and Bill Carver, Senior Director at J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. The three …

Colostrum Pill Supplement Business Plan, Jackson Scott

Supply Chain Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

The health benefits of supplementing bovine colostrum are plentiful and extremely under-marketed. Bovine colostrum provides an immense amount of immune system support which is a growing concern for consumers as a result of the pandemic. The other customer segment for bovine colostrum is people into fitness and putting on lean muscle mass. Natural growth hormones and bioactive proteins promote the growth of muscle mass. Finish First Nutraceuticals will be a subset of Finish First Equine, a well established horse supplement company which has supplemented the last two Kentucky Derby winners.

How The Financial Services Industry Is Utilizing Social Media To Expand Their Client Base, Kristen Stewart

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Social media is becoming an increasingly important aspect of all companies’ marketing strategies. It is almost imperative for companies to advertise through social media if they want to have a fair chance of reaching the younger generation. In fact, “the majority (97%) of Gen Z consumers say they now use social media as their top source of shopping inspiration; 65% say they use social media to find entertaining content; and 61% of them are specifically interested in watching more video content” (Kastenholz, 2021). This proves that social media can make a significant and lasting impact on a company’s success. Social …

Colgate-Palmolive Customer Development Year-Long Internship Project, Maggie Johnson

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

From June 2021 to May 2022, I had the privilege of being the Customer Development Intern in the home care department at Colgate-Palmolive. In this thesis I will unpack the experience of working with Colgate Palmolive, specifically as it pertains to my largest project for the company.

The genesis of the project was informed by observations of the company over the course of the internship. The company had a noticeable gap in the data collection tools it was utilizing. I, along with the manager and analyst of the home care team, identified a solution by using Walnut in Google Data …

Motivating Youth On Probation To Post-Secondary Success, Ximena Soto

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The Silver Star Youth Program at Rancho Cielo Youth Campus works with at-risk youth ages 15 ½ to 18 to help them achieve a high school diploma. Unfortunately, many Silver Star participants lack the motivation to graduate high school and continue on to higher education or to pursue good jobs. Of the 25 students surveyed, 25% stated having some knowledge about college and future plans after graduation. The remaining 75% of students were unsure or undecided on their plans. This capstone project was designed to motivate these at-risk youth to post-secondary success. Two intern-led workshops provided students with information about …

An Analysis Of The Suspect: The Impact Of Economic Conditions On Crime, Ryan Perez

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

Every place in the world experiences a level of crime within its borders, but there is much contention as to which factors lead to crime. Economic conditions, due to their association with poverty, are frequently discussed as a possible contributors to crime rates. This analysis examines four macroeconomic variables (GDP per capita, unemployment rate, inflation rate, and interest rate) and their effect on crime rates (violent, property, and total). After thoroughly reviewing the philosophical nature of crime, the current economic conditions through the lens of the selected macroeconomic variables, and the present criminal landscape throughout the United States and the …

Building Resilient Higher Education Communities: Lessons Learned From Pandemic Teaching, Christian Williams, Carmen Veloria, Debra Harkins

Pedagogy and the Human Sciences

The COVID-19 pandemic has left many educators grappling with uncertainties about the future of higher education while feeling exhausted from the stress and pressure to deliver quality education in unprecedented ways. While learning to incorporate new technology into remote, hybrid, and flipped classrooms, educators also find themselves responding to the psychosocial needs of students more than ever before. Yet the lack of established promising practices coupled with limited training and support on how to support students’ emotional well-being creates confusion and self-doubt. This conceptual article explores teacher experiences of teaching during a pandemic, missed opportunities, and highlights the need to …

The Environmental Stewardship Program: Contemplative Practice And Its Application To Outdoor Education, David N. Crowson

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

How might I integrate mindful awareness, benevolent social action, and environmental stewardship into the routine of an outdoor education program? The Flourish Foundation, a social-profit organization, based in Hailey, Idaho, helps facilitate a youth service-learning program maintaining wilderness trails for the Sawtooth National Recreation Area called the Environmental Stewardship Program (ESP). This program aims to provide emerging adults with service-learning opportunities in wilderness conservation and outdoor living skills by spending several days living in the backcountry and maintaining wilderness trails. A growing body of evidence supports the age-old understanding that spending time in natural environments is beneficial to our cognitive …