2019 Spring
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Item Determination of Heterocyclic Aromatic Amines at Different Depths of Meat Samples using Gas Chromatography Coupled with Mass Spectrometry(Florida Southern College, 2019-04) Yumul, SeanHeterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) are a class of substances produced naturally when cooking meats at temperatures above 155o Celsius. These compounds are carcinogenic and have been shown to increase the risk of multiple cancers including prostate cancer and leukemia. The impact of cooking time and cooking temperature on the formation of HAAs from various cooking methods and different types of meats has been previously studied, but there is a lack of research investigating the migration of these HAAs in meats during and after cooking. The study intended to quantify the relative concentrations of HAA present at different depths in pan fried Beef Chuck Eye meat samples. The results confirmed that from a “whole meat” comparison, that is without slicing the meat, the common HAA 1, 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f] quinoxaline (MeIQx) was found to increase with increasing cooking temperature and time. However, the results of the internal sliced meat trials suggested that layers furthest away from the heat source contained higher concentrations of MeIQx than layers subjected to higher thermal treatment closest to the heat source. These results have potential value for food processing companies or the individual consumer to more effectively incorporate antioxidants into meats and recipes, as these antioxidants can reduce HAA formation.Item The Extraction, Purification, and Characterization of a Possible Prodigiosin(Florida Southern College, 2019-04) Wagler, AmandaBacteria develop resistance to drugs due to improper uses of antibiotics and mutations. This creates a need for new antibiotics. New sources of drugs can be found in nature or inspired by nature. Bacteria themselves produce secondary metabolites that ward off other bacteria, and therefore can be sources for new antibiotics. The two strains of Vibrio (MI-1 and MI-2) explored in this project have been found to produce metabolites that show antibacterial activity. Due to its characteristic pink color, it can be speculated that the secondary metabolite produced by the two Vibrio species is possibly a type of prodigiosin, a class of antibacterial compounds. Finding new types prodigiosin can lead to new drugs that can be on the market. This project aims to identify the potential prodigiosin structure. The process requires three phases: extraction, purification, and characterization. The metabolites from MI-1 and MI-2 strains were extracted and purified using chromatographic methods and solid phase extraction. Spectroscopic methods focused on only MI-1 and included NMR, mass spectrometry, Infrared Spectroscopy, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy to characterize the compound.Item Human Foot Traffic and its Effect on Limpkin (Aramus guarana) Foraging, Social Behavior, and Population Density(Florida Southern College, 2019-04) Stark, AlexandraAs the human population grows and previously natural areas become developed, human interactions with wildlife become increasingly common. Businesses and homes are commonly built near wildlife. Despite efforts to minimize effects of construction on native wildlife with methods like creating riparian zones or wildlife corridors, development often negatively impacts ecosystems (Brennen 2008). Studies on human development in natural habitats often focus on natural predators and how their populations will be affected by new infrastructure (Brennan 2008). Less commonly studied is the effect that human foot traffic will have on a species or an ecosystem.Item Hostland(Florida Southern College, 2019-04) McKenna, JamesItem Biomedical Applications of Antimicrobial Metal-Organic Frameworks(Florida Southern College, 2019-04) Marusko, RobIn recent years, the field of metal-organic frameworks has seen dramatic increases in exploration. Metal-organic frameworks, commonly referred to as MOFs, have been shown to be excellent candidates for the storage of fuels (e.g., methane and acetylene), capture of gasses (e.g., hydrogen or carbon dioxide), and catalyzing reactions. With more than 20,000 different MOFs being reported and studied within the past decade, the focus of their applications has been constantly broadening and shifting. One area that has burgeoned more recently is the biomedical applications of these frameworks (particularly as antimicrobial agents) which has direct correlations and implications to the fields of medicine and dentistry, the particular interest of this project. One purpose of this particular project was to study the design and synthesis of metal-organic frameworks, in general, and tailor them toward biomedical applications, specifically. Upon the design and synthesis of suitable materials (e.g., biocompatible or bioactive), state-of-the-art structural analysis techniques (e.g., powder and single-crystal x-ray diffraction) were utilized for structure and phase confirmation. The expected bioactive materials were then evaluated for their antimicrobial properties. These materials are well-known for their modularity, and the explored structures were tailored to access/include different moieties (e.g., metal/ligand substitution, functionalization, etc.) with hopes of contributing to increased antimicrobial effectiveness.Item Women in STEM: Effects of gender and occupation in biased perception of professionals(Florida Southern College, 2019-04) King, JordanResearch shows that female professionals are viewed more negatively than males (Abel & Meltzer, 2007), and are more likely to experience gender discrimination in male-dominated careers (Bobbitt-Zeher, 2011). This is especially relevant to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) professionals. People tend to associate STEM occupations with masculinity more than non-STEM jobs (White & White, 2006). According to role congruity theory, women in masculine jobs have occupations incongruous with gender expectations, potentially increasing bias against them (Clow, Ricciardelli, & Bartfay, 2015). There is limited literature regarding the role of sexism in predicting attitudes toward women in stereotypically masculine jobs. The current study investigated how a professional’s gender and their occupation’s stereotypical masculinity affected participant perceptions and the role of ambivalent sexism in predicting those attitudes. Specifically, the researchers predicted that participants would view women and men in gender-incongruent occupations more negatively. Participants read one of four vignettes and completed a survey assessing their views of the professional and degree of ambivalent sexism. The vignettes differed on gender (male vs. female) and job-type (doctor vs. school teacher). Based on 290 participants, the results indicated that there was no main effect of gender or occupation or an interaction between them on the perception of the professional.Item Protein Expression in Response to Oil in a Marine Hydrocarbon Degrading Bacterium Isolated from Tampa Bay, Florida(Florida Southern College, 2019-04) Hofer, SarahBacteria that are capable of oil degradation play a large role in bioremediation of hydrocarbon based pollutants in their environment. After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, there has been a push to discover the species of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria naturally present in an area and their precise role in bioremediation in a hydrocarbon-degrading bacterial consortium. As part of our preliminary data, we cultured, isolated, and identified through 16S rRNA gene sequencing, marine oil degrading bacteria from the coastlines of Central Florida. We selected a species of Oceanobacillus from this screen for further study, as other Oceanobacillus species are known to degrade hydrocarbons. However, the proteins utilized for hydrocarbon metabolism in Oceanobacillus and other facultative oil degraders are currently unknown. Our study focused on the differences in protein expression when a opportunistic oil-degrading bacterium, Oceanobacillus sp., was exposed to an oil enriched or unaltered marine growth medium. These differences can provide insight into proteins that may be critical for oil degradation in Oceanobacillus sp. and other facultative oil degrading bacteria. Understanding the mechanism behind hydrocarbon degradation in this and other facultative hydrocarbon degrading species will provide insight into how a complex marine bacterial consortium can metabolize naturally occurring and pollutant hydrocarbons.Item Misconceptions in Special Relativity – An Argument for Augmentation of the Modern Physics Course(Florida Southern College, 2019-04) Mabile, Risley W.[...] The data seems to imply that the physics community is not as well aware of the capabilities of special relativity as they should be. This data also hints that the issue is a systemic one, as faculty may not truly understand what they are teaching at the level necessary to teach the subject. The rectifying of this misconception is not difficult, especially with the mathematical background every physicist must obtain over the course of their undergraduate career. The only mathematical tools necessary to eradicate this misconception from the students’ (or faculty members’) mind is a background through Calculus 2, which is a course taken by most physicists their freshman year in college.Since Modern Physics is sophomore level course, there appears to be no good reason not to address this misconception head-on by solving non-inertial problems in a Modern Physics course. It would be prudent moving forward to identify and employ an expedient teaching method that can effectively rectify this misconception directly, and this will be a topic of future work.Item “Pieces of the Puzzle”: The Effect of Altruistic Motivation on Motor Skills Productivity(Florida Southern College, 2019-04) Skiba, EmmaAltruistic motivation is the driving force behind charities, volunteerism, and random acts of kindness; it is the motivation to give a resource (eg., time, money) without the anticipation of personal gain. The purpose of this study is to quantitatively show the effect of awareness and altruistic motivation on behavior through assigning philanthropic significance to a mundane task. The participants made bracelets that were presented as either increasing awareness for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or having no external purpose. In the altruistic motivation condition, the task was given a purpose by highlighting its goal to raise funds for a charity supporting autism awareness. Participants in the altruistic motivation condition made a slightly greater number of bracelets than those in the control condition. Additionally, a survey measured the participants’ compassion toward humanity. The participants with high levels of compassion in the altruism condition completed the greatest number of bracelets. Participants in the altruistic motivation condition best performed the task of making bracelets, showing the impact of altruism on a controlled activity. This research shows that inspiring empathy and giving an external purpose to a task can increase task performance.Item Prosocial Behavior and its Impact on Corruption and State Capacity(Florida Southern College, 2019-04) Hansen, LaurenThis paper considers individual and social factors influencing an individual’s willingness to condone cheating on taxes by examining country- and individual-level data. Corruption appears to have a positive effect on tax evasion, which hinders a country’s state administrative capacity by restricting available resources. Furthermore, an individual’s prosocial attributes tend to encourage their opposition to cheating on taxes. By bringing these two outcomes together, the resulting implication is that by reducing a country’s corruption and increasing community-focused characteristics in individuals, the probability of tax evasion may decrease, leading to improved state capacity and social capital.Item Apocalypse How? Exploring the Use of Graphic Novelization in Neuroscience Pedagogy(Florida Southern College, 2019-04) Howard, Jordan R.The use of graphic novelization is a great tool to aid classroom learning (e.g., Niebert, Marsch, & Treagust, 2012). There has been evidence to suggest that more biologically-oriented content may be difficult to grasp due to its complicated vocabulary, so the use of graphic novelization has been implemented as a pedagogical tool to assist students who have weaker backgrounds in the natural sciences (e.g., Aleixo, & Sumner, 2017; Hosler & Boomer, 2011). While previous work has shown that graphic novelization enhances such content, it is uncertain as to whether metaphors must be visually-based, as opposed to being word-based. In addition to exploring the effectiveness of metaphor types, this study looked at whether feedback from a short-term test influenced long-term retention, as well as the number of prior exposures to materials participants experienced. The current study incorporated the use of metaphors (in the form of a zombie apocalypse) to convey the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Results demonstrated that there was a significant memory benefit of graphic novel materials over the control condition, especially when questions assessed materials seen twice. These results imply that graphic novelization seems to be a promising method of disseminating information about neurodegenerative disorders.Item The Possible Role for Histone Deacetylase Inhibition as a Radiosensitizer in Chordoma(Florida Southern College, 2019-04) Griner, JakeChordoma is a rare primary spinal cancer which affects one in one million people and has an average survival time of seven years. Despite advances in surgical techniques and radiation therapy, approximately 30% of chordoma patients develop metastatic disease at some point. Local recurrence is a significant issue for case where the tumor cannot be completely removed, and may appear as soon as a few months post-surgery. For this reason, there is great clinical interest in finding effective therapies that can prevent or treat recurrent or metastatic tumors. In this project, it was determined that one out of three tested chordoma cell lines experienced significant radio-sensitization following exposure to vorinostat, an FDA approved pan-HDAC inhibitor. In the three cell lines tested, it does not appear that HDAC6 plays a major role in radiation response. While further testing is necessary, this data suggests that vorinostat in combination with radiation is a possible therapeutic option for chordoma and should be investigated.Item Nontraditional Business Investment: An Examination of Investor Risk Perception and Regulation(Florida Southern College, 2019-04) Gotsch, Charles-HenryThe expansion of nontraditional equity investing platforms and peer-to-peer lending platforms has created a financial disruption the private sector’s financial services industry. As the practice and number of platforms continue to expand, so do the associated concerns and reservations about supply-side investor risk, fraud, and money laundering. This paper is written for the purpose of conceptualizing and scrutinizing online equity crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending utilizing data about investor perception of risk. This analysis quantifies investor risk perception about the different conceptual spaces within the business life cycle in addition to the ease of entry and convenience associated with the practices. Also, it explores the current regulatory environment and use the critical application of accounting principles for an examination of fraud and culpability concerns within online equity crowdfunding and peer-to-peer (P2P) lending structures. This paper intends to promote academic and pragmatic discussion around the topic of online equity crowdfunding and peer-to-peer (P2P) business lending, especially as it pertains to investor risk, funded company accountability, and potential gaps in federal regulatory compliance and oversight.Item Greener Methods Towards the Synthesis of Stachybotrin D, a Potential Anti-HIV Drug(Florida Southern College, 2019-04) Glatz, NicoleStachybotrin D is a secondary metabolite from a sponge-derived fungus with potential applications as an anti-HIV drug. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) affects 36.9 million people worldwide and is prone to developing drug resistance. While there are currently several approved HIV therapies, the tendency for mutation requires that we constantly find new anti-HIV drugs, especially those with different binding abilities. Stachybotrin D has several structural features that may promote different binding properties than the drugs currently on the market. This is important with the increase of drug resistance to current drugs used in existing therapeutic cocktails for HIV. Since fungi are unsustainable drug sources, this research focuses on the application of sustainable resources and greener techniques towards the chemical synthesis of Stachybotrin D. Retrosynthetic analysis performed on Stachybotrin D revealed the molecule can be synthesized from three segments. This research is focused on the synthesis of one segment composed of a bicyclic ring fused to a furanyl ring as well as its stereochemically specific substituents. To obtain the desired product, the synthesis incorporated a Robinson annulation using 2-methylcyclohexane-1,3-dione and ethyl vinyl ketone followed by protecting the saturated carbonyl, methylation at the α -position on the unsaturated carbonyl carbon, reducing the methylated carbonyl to an alcohol, and removing the protecting group from the carbonyl. However, after examining methods for methylating the alpha position on the unsaturated carbonyl carbon, the synthesis was revised to synthesis isopropyl vinyl ketone and using it in place of ethyl vinyl ketone in the Robinson annulation in order to add the methyl group in a greener way.Item Assessing the public health concern of Angiostrongylus cantonensis and the biodiversity of parasitic nematodes in Central Florida(Florida Southern College, 2019-04) DeBoer, KylieThe rat lungworm, Angiostrongylus cantonensis, is native to southeast Asia, but has invaded many areas around the world with the spread of its intermediate (snail) and definitive (rat) hosts. Humans are incidental hosts for Angiostrongylus cantonensis. When people ingest an infected gastropod intermediate host, the larval stage of the parasitic nematode migrates to the central nervous system where it is unable to complete development, and eventually dies. Indeed, presence of the nematode in children and adults manifests itself as eosinophilic meningitis. Several cases of human infection in the United States have been reported in Texas and Louisiana, and a handful of small-scale studies have indicated A. cantonensis in snails of southern Florida. Our project provides the first intensive survey of terrestrial snails along the I-4 corridor in Central Florida. Through morphological and molecular techniques, the biodiversity of nematode species parasitizing terrestrial gastropods at thirteen heavily trafficked parks and green spaces was observed and the geographic distribution of native and non-native snail species infected with A. cantonensis was assessed. Our results suggest that the prevalence and intensity of nematodes infecting terrestrial snails are low, but morphological analysis does indicate the presence of rat lungworm. There is the potential risk of transmission to humans in these green spaces, as well as the potential need for monitoring intermediate host infections, especially as invasive snails become more common.Item Problems with Happiness(Florida Southern College, 2019-04) Cuddeback, CorinneThis project is primarily concerned with the problem of human unhappiness. I explore the philosophical history of happiness and its relationship to other concepts such as freedom, reason, and human nature in general. By putting various optimistic and pessimistic approaches into conversation with each other, I illustrate a complicated and rich dialogue about some of the biggest questions philosophy, namely: is it actually possible to be a happy person, and if so, how? If happiness is impossible, is life worth living? While I will be arguing more from a pessimistic perspective, I do not reject the entire non-pessimistic canon, and there are many pessimistic conclusions that I do not agree with. Rather, I will suggest a different approach to the problem of happiness. By clarifying the limitations of the human condition, namely the expected and actual nature of freedom and reason, I suggest a possibility of happiness that is not based in the illusion of optimism or the denial of the fundamental aspects of human nature.Item Evaluating Implicit Biases and Hostile Behaviors Against Gender Nonconforming Individuals(Florida Southern College, 2019-04) Carlton, SaraGender nonconformity is characterized by individuals who express characteristics outside of the gender binary in which they are expected to conform, such as men expressing feminine traits and women expressing masculine traits (Rieger, Linsenmeier, Gygax, & Bailey, 2008). Gender nonconformity is common amongst members of the LGBT community, but transgender individuals are the most subject to hostile treatment for presenting as a gender opposed to the one assigned at birth (Miller & Grollman, 2015). Most people wish to believe themselves free of discriminatory tendencies, but the fact remains that everyone holds stereotypes about groups to which they do not belong (Dovidio, Gaertner, & Validzic, 1998). These stereotypes manifest in the form of implicit biases, or discriminatory behaviors that an individual may be unaware he or she is displaying (Greenwald & Krieger, 2006). The purpose of the current study to was to observe the role of both explicit and implicit biases in regards to discriminatory behaviors directed at gender nonconforming individuals in a cooperative task setting. Results indicated that participants tended to react more positively to gender nonconforming females and more negatively to gender nonconforming males when providing a partner evaluation, especially when explicit biases were expressed. The implications of these findings indicate that transgender and gender nonconforming individuals may be at higher risk of discriminatory treatment within task-oriented environments (e.g. the workplace).Item LESS is More An Investigation of Biomechanical Diagnosis Methods in Division II Women’s Basketball Players(Florida Southern College, 2019-04) Campos, ArmandoThis is a thesis on the application of the Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) for a Division II women’s basketball team. The LESS is designed to identify biomechanical deficiencies in athletes by analyzing several different stages of a box jump. The jumps were videotaped as a drop from a 12-inch box. Using the scores obtained from the LESS, both Athletic Training and Strength and Conditioning staff collaborated to help design individual plans for each athlete to optimize athletic performance and reduce injury risk. The data obtained for this thesis was gathered from a Division II women’s basketball team. LESS scores were compared to each individual’s Power Index, and injury records throughout the season.Item An Exploration of the Relationship Between Brand Endorsement of Political Candidates/Causes and Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors Toward the Brand(Florida Southern College, 2019-04) Burrows, Erin W.Though there has been extensive exploration into the multiple facets of brands, such as brand equity and identity, there has been little research into the influence of a brand’s support of a political candidate or cause on consumers’ brand approach or avoidance. This exploratory study gathered information through individual semi-structured interviews, focusing on consumer perceptions of brands supporting or opposing political candidates or causes, as well as the consumer’s self-reported behavioral responses to brands based on their own political views. Participants were diverse in age, gender, and political beliefs. The interviews were analyzed using the Grounded Theory Method for themes on consumer tendencies. Results have indicated three major themes, suggesting there was recognized national political divide, and as a result, an unclear consensus on whether brands should be politically active. However, if a brand does partake in political activism in some manner, consumers would rather the brand take action towards the cause. Additionally, the more invested a consumer is in the cause a brand speaks about, the more likely they are to take action in response.Item The Design of Zinc Metal Organic Frameworks for Biomedical Drug Delivery(Florida Southern College, 2019-04) Bigness, AlecA vast library of zinc metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been prepared and evaluated for their use in pharmaceutical drug delivery. Their properties and structures have been modulated through the variation of reaction conditions like solvent, starting material ratios, and method of reaction. A novel metal-organic framework, AB MOF1, was successfully prepared and characterized by x-ray diffraction analysis. AB MOF1 was evaluated for its use in drug delivery by using the model pharmaceutical drug ibuprofen for uptake studies, and AB MOF1’s stability in common biological and medicinal solvents was evaluated through Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD). The evaporation of ibuprofen at 157 oC during Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) of AB MOF1 impregnated with ibuprofen along with the change in morphology of AB MOF1 using PXRD give a likely indication ibuprofen was absorbed into AB MOF1. The uptake of ibuprofen reached capacity after fourteen hours of stirring in an ibuprofen solution, and the uptake is comparable to previously published results. Computational DFT studies corroborate the fact that the interaction between ibuprofen and AB MOF1 is favorable. The energy of interaction, which is defined as [(energy of AB MOF1 with ibuprofen) - (energy of ibuprofen alone + energy of AB MOF1 alone)|], of the zinc paddlewheel motif and ibuprofen was calculated to be 1.030 kcal/mol, which substantiates that the interaction between ibuprofen and AB MOF1 is favorable. This work shows the promise of AB MOF1 as a novel drug delivery vessel, and further prove the efficacy of using metal-organic frameworks to uptake and release pharmaceutical drugs in biomedical applications.