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Dietary shifts and the need for increased sustainability approaches in the global aquaculture seafood system
No full textRecent shifts in the global dietary preferences have indicated the fast-growing choice for plant-based, or meat-reduced diets. Among the motivations for such choices, which are increasingly advocated by nations and environmental institutions, is the major concern with global environmental sustainability and impacts of food production systems. Incontestably, the animal food source industry is extremely diverse, and seafood production through the aquaculture value chain remains unfamiliar to key stakeholders possibly leading to an uncomprehensive view and often biased perception of the farming industry within the environmental context. Accordingly, I discuss the importance of seafood production systems, such as the fastest seafood production that is the aquaculture sector, to increase their focus on the sustainability arena with more substantial and effective improvements for sustainable production, and most importantly, concomitantly informing end consumers. I mention examples of types of sustainability efforts that can be implemented and highlight the urgency of actively informing customers about implemented practices.Virginia Institute of Marine Scienc
"For the Price to Live": Imprisoned Plasma Donation and the 1979 Louisiana Prison Plasma Boycotts
No full textThis thesis examines the imprisoned plasma donation programs embedded in the American prison system in the latter half of the twentieth century, specifically through the lens of the prison plasma boycotts at the Louisiana State Penitentiary and the Dixon Correctional Institute in 1979. Using JSTOR’s American Prison Newspaper database, this study centers the voices of the imprisoned who donated at the plasmapheresis centers through various prison publications and attempts to stress the range of opinions held by imprisoned people concerning the plasma programs. This thesis posits that the lack of concern for the rights and health of imprisoned people and the profit-seeking motives of both the plasma companies and the prison administrations aligned to create an industry that endangered both plasma recipients and donors alike. This study begins with the evolution of plasma donation from the voluntary donation of World War II to the incentivized and imprisoned donation that emerged in the decades after. The work then moves into the case of the Louisiana prison plasma boycotts, discussing the coercive economics that created the need for the boycotts and the power imbalances implicit in the prison system that ensured they would fail. Through the reflection of the 1979 boycotts, this thesis investigates the lack of leverage in imprisoned resistance that allowed prison administrators to dismiss legitimate issues.HistoryBachelors of Arts (BA
The Economic Effects of Democratization: A Review of the Third Wave
No full textWhat is the impact that democratization has on economic performance in emerging economies? During the third wave of democratization, many countries began the process of moving away from authoritarian governments with exclusionary politico-economic institutions towards inclusive liberal democracies with competitive markets. This change in the balance of power between wealth creators and wealth appropriators provides an opportunity to test the Institutions Hypothesis to explain differences in economic performance across countries. More specifically, using difference-in-differences designs, I analyze how the process of democratization impacts four important dimensions of economic development: foreign direct investment (FDI), human capital, inequality, and national reserves. I find that democratization decreases FDI under all specifications. Regime transplacements had the largest decrease in capital inflows, followed by gradual transitions and then revolutions. Democratization slightly increases human capital, although with inconsistent statistical significance. In particular, transplacements had the largest positive effect, followed by a slight increase under replacements and a minute change under a transformation. Inequality tends to increase after democratization. Inequality increases considerably for countries that had a revolution and negotiated democratizations, while there was a slightly decrease for gradual transitions. Finally, democratization has virtually no statistically significant impact on reserves under any specification. The difference-in-difference regressions point to a strong short-term impact in particular. The fixed effects models suggests that these impacts remain notable, albeit smaller, in the long term. Checks for robustness and endogeneity corroborate many of these findings.EconomicsBachelors of Arts (BA
Proton Affinities for Proline and Pipecolic-Acid Containing Dipeptides
No full textMass spectrometry (MS) is a powerful analytical tool in the sequencing of proteins. Many bottom-up proteomics programs rely on the mobile proton model to predict MS peptide fragmentation; however, this model does not account for the selective cleavages caused by proline and pipecolic acid residues, known as the proline and pipecolic acid effects. Since the mobile proton model relies on the peptide backbone’s affinity for a proton to explain fragmentation, the proline and pipecolic acid effects can be probed through investigation of peptide gas-phase proton affinity. By characterizing the thermochemical properties of ProXxx, XxxPro, PipXxx, and XxxPip through the extended kinetic method and density functional theory calculations, the influence of adjacent amino acid residues on the proline and pipecolic acid effect can be analyzed. Microbes play a critical role in milkweed nectar sugar composition, which in turn impacts the attraction of pollinators and reproductive success. High-performance liquid chromatography paired with MS can be used to analyze the concentrations of glucose, fructose, and sucrose in Asclepias syriaca nectar to characterize the impact of the microbiome on plant fitness.ChemistryBachelors of Science (BS
Process Modeling the Neuroprotective Effects of a Plant-Based Diet on Parkinson's Disease
No full textParkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor symptoms such as tremors, bradykinesia, rigidity, and postural instability. Recent research suggests an avenue for potential neuroprotection through dietary intervention, specifically the adoption of a plant-based diet. A plant-based diet predominantly comprises foods derived from plants, emphasizing fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, and nuts while minimizing or excluding animal products. This thesis aims to explore the biochemical pathways implicated in PD progression and the potential impact of dietary choices on these pathways. The investigation focuses on several key pathways: alpha-synuclein aggregation, the blood-brain barrier crossing of levodopa, oxidative stress, ferroptosis, and methylmercury-induced dysbiosis. These pathways were modeled via CellDesigner 4.4 and their kinetics were analyzed using COPASI. Analysis indicates that this dietary approach may possess neuroprotective effects, potentially mitigating PD progression. Conversely, findings suggest that the traditional American animal-based diet might heighten the risk of developing PD by exacerbating the aforementioned pathways associated with PD pathogenesis.ChemistryBachelors of Science (BS
Harnessing the Power of Virtual Reality for Organic Chemistry Education
No full textUnderstanding organic chemistry concepts heavily relies on visualization of the geometry of molecules and spatial arrangement of molecules during mechanisms. 2D textbook depictions have their limitations in visualizing the three-dimensionality of organic chemistry. Student learning outcomes could be greatly improved from 3D visualizations of these topics. This project explores the potential of an emerging technology, Virtual Reality (VR), being incorporated as a teaching resource for organic chemistry. This paper discusses two trials for evaluating the potential of VR as a teaching resource for organic chemistry in select topics of the Diels-Alder reaction and R/S configurations and stereoisomers. The Diels-Alder reaction is a fundamental Nobel-Prize winning reaction taught in Organic Chemistry II. Experience has proven that students often struggle to visualize the transition state of this reaction and to predict the correct organic products, both in terms of regiochemistry and stereochemistry. R/S configurations and stereoisomers is a topic taught in Organic Chemistry I in which students often struggle to visualize 3D molecules to correctly assign the configuration of chirality centers and further determine the relationship between stereoisomers. Hence, we chose to develop VR organic chemistry learning exercises for these topics, which might enhance students’ understanding of the reaction compared to traditional teaching by taking advantage of the immersive and interactive experiences created by VR. This paper shows that VR tutorials have comparable student learning outcomes to traditional learning and students enjoyed learning with VR more than in a traditional classroom setting. The ethnicity or gender identity of the student did not seem to affect student benefits from the VR experience, which shows the potential of VR as an equitable teaching resource for organic chemistry. The methodology of VR development is also discussed in this paper as reference for future novice VR developers.ChemistryBachelors of Science (BS
Evaluation of Striped Bass Stocks in Virginia: Monitoring and Tagging Studies, 2023 Progress Report
No full textThis report presents the results of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) tagging and monitoring activities in Virginia during the period 1 December 2022 through 30 November 2023. It includes an assessment of the biological characteristics of striped bass taken from the 2023 spring spawning run and estimates of annual survival and fishing mortality based on annual spring tagging. The information contained in this report is required by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and is used to implement a coordinated management plan for striped bass in Virginia, and along the eastern seaboard.Virginia Institute of Marine Scienc
Two Essays On The History Of England And West Africa C. 1550-1670
No full textRye, 1573. This paper argues that some of the first voyages to West Africa were the result of a series of small political revolutions occurring in small coastal English towns. I trace the life of a single sailor, John Emery, across the Atlantic from a small town run by oligarchs, to the Canary Islands, then to West Africa, later to the Spanish Main. I argue that the first voyages to West Africa were dependent on the accumulation of capital by small-town oligarchs, who leveraged their connection with various knowledgeable parties (mostly refugees) to go to West Africa. Of Deathless Atlantic Secrets. This paper focuses on a mysterious travel account, written sometime in the seventeenth century, which I argue provided the main thrust towards the creation of the first restoration African company. I argue that it was written by an Anglo-Dutch courtier named Balthazar Gerbier, and make a case for his authorship based on a number of textual clues. Later, I argue this method – the method of “clues,” discussed best by Carlo Ginzburg – could have a fruitful application in the field of Atlantic history.HistoryMaster of Arts (M.A.
A New Metaphysical Approach to Intersectionality
No full textThe aim of this thesis is to provide a metaphysical account of intersectionality. Feminist scholars both within philosophy and in other disciplines turn to intersectionality as a tool to illustrate how the merging of identities creates particular forms of oppression and privilege that cannot be reduced to the individual parts of someone’s identity. However, understanding intersectionality as just a metaphor is limited. This thesis will use metaphysical tools to better understand the ontology of the social world. This will produce a more nuanced picture of how identity categories are created and what that means for social and political oppression.PhilosophyBachelors of Arts (BA
Harmony of the Spheres: a Suite for Orchestra
No full textHarmony of the Spheres is an hour-long suite for orchestra that borrows themes from The Planets by Gustav Holst to create an original story. The piece has 28 movements. The document is a conductor's score with a plot synopsis and a cover page.MusicBachelors of Arts (BA