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“Restless and uneasy…thin and stretched”: The Ring, The Ringbearers, and Bodies in Psychological Crisis in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
Full text linkThe attachment that Tolkien’s Ring-bearers have for the Ring, a twisted and perverted form of love, is sterile and barren; it leaves those affected unable to settle and form fruitful, loving relationships with others, an effect that Tolkien referred to as a “Ring-restlessness.” Gollum, Bilbo, and Frodo all suffer, to their own degree, from the psychological crisis caused by the Ring that renders them uneasy and agitated. This paper examines this crisis through a psychological lens, exploring how the Ringbearers are living in discord with their true selves, and struggling with the meaninglessness of life that the Ring leaves behind
Attraction of Diabrotica barberi Smith and Lawrence (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) to Eugenol-Baited Traps in Soybean
Full text linkDiabrotica barberi Smith and Lawrence (the northern corn rootworm) is a native North American leaf beetle and a major pest of corn. However, adult D. barberi forage in various habitats outside of corn fields, including soybean, roadside vegetation, and prairie. Eugenol is a common floral volatile that has been shown to increase trap catch of D. barberi within corn and prairie habitat. This paper documents the first report of increased catch of D. barberi on eugenol- baited traps in soybean fields. In two successive tests, catch of D. barberi was increased eight-fold or more by baiting traps with eugenol compared to ethanol-baited control traps. The attraction of D. barberi to eugenol-baited traps in soybean expands the potential for using such traps in determining the landscape-wide spatial and temporal dynamics of this beetle. Diabrotic
Preserving What Matters: A Multimodal Approach to Maintaining Fat-Free Mass During Anti-Obesity Medication Based Weight Loss
Full text linkWeight loss is often associated with reductions in fat-free mass (FFM), which can negatively impact metabolic rate, thermoregulation, bone density, functional capacity, and overall quality of life (Roth et al., 2022; Sedlmeier et al., 2021). This Evidence-Based Practice project aimed to reduce FFM loss in adults prescribed anti-obesity medications (AOMs) for weight management through a targeted, multimodal intervention. Twenty-two patients beginning AOM treatment at a family practice in northwest Indiana were invited to participate, with 19 consenting to enroll. Each participant received personalized guidance, including tailored calorie and protein intake goals to support a hypocaloric, high-protein diet, alongside evidence-based aerobic and resistance exercise recommendations. A smartphone application, MyFitnessPal™, was used to promote diet and exercise adherence. Key metrics, including weight, body mass index, body fat percentage, and FFM, were measured at baseline and reassessed at four, eight, and 12 weeks. The primary outcome, FFM, was evaluated using a repeated-measures ANOVA, which revealed a significant effect of time on FFM, F(1.413, 19.781) = 5.047, p = 0.026. The moderate effect size (η² = 0.265) suggests that time accounted for 26.5% of the variance in FFM. Pairwise comparisons showed no significant differences between FFM at baseline and four weeks (p = 0.400), or four weeks and eight weeks (p = 0.258), but a significant decrease was observed between eight and 12 weeks (p = 0.002). These findings suggest that, despite the intervention, FFM was not fully preserved over the 12-week period, with a notable decline occurring after eight weeks. This project offers valuable insights into the effects of AOMs on body composition and highlights the challenge of preserving FFM. The findings provide important guidance for developing future interventions designed to improve preservation of FFM in individuals prescribed AOMs for weight management
Sisterhood, Spirituality, and Self: How Women Negotiate Hybrid Femininities in Sorority Selection at a Faith-Based University
No full textThere is limited research exploring how women evaluate the costs and benefits associated with different expressions of femininity. However, sorority life offers a clear example of a space where women actively contemplate their roles and the type of gender performance they wish to embody. Drawing on 10 interviews with women in sororities at a small, private, religious institution, I investigated how they negotiate their femininities. Replicating Ispa-Landa and Oliver’s (2020) study, I hypothesized that sororities maintain an agreed-upon tier system, where top-tier sororities are expected to adhere to social constraints and expectations to be deemed more desirable. In contrast, middle- and bottom-tier sororities have greater freedom but are perceived as less desirable for not conforming to these top-tier standards. To build on their research, I explored whether faith plays a role in women’s decision-making processes. While the interviews revealed evidence of sorority rankings and the negotiation of different ideal version
Life Becomes Art: How Franz Schubert\u27s Music Reflects his Life
No full textComposers use musical composition as a form of autobiographical writing, both intentionally and unintentionally. Musical works can reflect the lived experiences of their creators even when the works themselves are not intended as personal revelations. Especially when it comes to the life and works of Franz Schubert, scholars such as Susan Youens and Lorraine Byrne Bodley have researched Schubert’s songs through the lenses of memoirs and journals, discovering certain heightened emotional aspects in his choice of lyrics and deliberate harmonic structures that appear to reflect autobiographical experiences. By regarding his songs as a reflection of his inner struggles, such as at the end of his life during his battle with syphilis, we hear an artist’s private statement about his life and relationships that he could not otherwise utter publicly. Based on my findings, I have discovered these autobiographical experiences within Schubert’s music tell a linear narrative of his life, and when one listens to his scores in order of publication, they discern a unique tale. Through a musical analysis of Schubert’s intentional text painting, this study delves deeper into Schubert’s seemingly simple lieder and probes the depths of how his personal life experiences, such as the death of his mother or his personal relationships with Josef Spaun and Franz von Schober, affected his musical creation in such a profound way
Microbial Reactions to Microplastics in Varying pH Conditions
No full textMicroplastic pollution has become an increasing issue within our rapidly developing world, particularly concerning its potential effects on both environmental and ecological populations. In collaboration with Dr. Sara Dick this study was done to examine the effects of microplastics on microbial populations from watershed and sand environments under pH 5 and pH 9 conditions. The soil samples were serial diluted to 10-5 to isolate individual colonies. Individual colonies were plated using a three streak method, incubated at 37℃ and allowed to grow. Colonies were removed from the plates and incubated in pH 5 and pH 9 agar tubes and exposed to microplastics. Growth was assessed through qualitative visual inspection and quantitative spectrophotometry. The results have indicated varied responses between different colonies and their respective conditions. Some showing inhibited growth in the presence of microplastics, particularly under the acidic conditions of pH 5. No evidence has been observed of potential microplastic degradation under any colony or condition. Future research will focus on statistical analysis on the growth patterns between conditions in order to determine statistical significance, as well as further diversification of microplastic types and different colonies to determine which microorganisms are particularly effected by microplastic pollution
The Revolutionary Bone Hunter: Mary Leakey, the Real Scientist Who Developed Paleoanthropology
Full text linkThis paper examines the life and groundbreaking contributions of the underrecognized Dr. Mary Leakey to the field of paleoanthropology. This paper focuses on Mary\u27s role in reshaping the understanding of human evolution. It begins by examining her early life to identify the reasons behind her passion for paleoanthropology before leading to knowledge known before Mary\u27s work began in the 1930s. This recognition assists in explaining what was known before Mary\u27s involvement, as the field of paleoanthropology was still in its early stages, with limited fossil evidence and a fragmented understanding of human origins. After establishing what was known before Mary\u27s career, the paper shares the pivotal discoveries made over her five-decade career, including the Proconsul africanus from 18 million years ago, the Laetoli hominin footprints from 3.75 million years ago, and some of the most significant of the fifteen new species Mary discovered. By focusing on Mary\u27s achievements, this paper seeks to highlight her underrecognized contributions, often overshadowed by her husband, Louis Leakey, and argue for her significant role in the development of modern paleoanthropology. This paper will also explore her impact on paleoanthropology by examining how Mary found critical fossils of early hominins that changed ideas about human evolution and will conclude with an explanation of Mary\u27s achievements in the field and an insight into how modern paleoanthropologists continue building on Mary\u27s work
Who’s That?: Prevalence of Anthropomorphism in Children’s Literature
Full text linkAnthropomorphism, the attribution of human characteristics to animals or objects, is often present in children’s literature. Research has shown personification of non-human entities affects the way children experience the world and their thinking about non-human entities (Ganea et al., 2014). The rates of anthropomorphism that children are exposed to is unknown. Therefore, in our study, we analyzed the prevalence rates of anthropomorphism in children’s literature from the 100 most checked out books from two Indiana counties: Porter and Stark (a rural and an urban county), based on circulation data from 2023. To analyze the prevalence of anthropomorphism in children’s books, we developed a coding scheme that characterizes the main character’s species, environment, and features. We expect anthropomorphism to be very prevalent in children’s books. We created a composite score to indicate the amount of variation in anthropomorphism present across the books, ranging from 0 to 12, with higher scores indicating more anthropomorphic features. Once all 200 books are coded, we will run a t-test to determine if there is a difference in the composite score between counties. We will also run a chi square test to understand if there are similar rates of the types of main characters among the counties. This study is foundational in understanding the base rate of anthropomorphism in children’s literature, which will allow researchers to explore the impacts that this has on children’s view of the world
Binary Modeling of the Very Hot White Dwarf - Main Sequence Star Binary GD 803
Full text linkThe white dwarf GD 803 is known to be a non-eclipsing close-binary system. It has an orbital period of less than a day, a hot white dwarf as the central star, and a cool main sequence star as the companion. Using luminosity data, in our case, luminosities in the SDSS-g and SDSS-r filters, light curves showing how the luminosity changes over time were created. Model light curves can be generated through adjustable parameters using the PHOEBE binary star modeling software. These model curves can then be compared to the data. By altering parameters to get generated light curves that are as close as possible to the data, information about the system can be estimated. The temperatures, masses, and radii of both the white dwarf and main sequence star, as well as the albedo of the main sequence and the inclination of the system are what we attempt to narrow down with this method
What\u27s On Your Mind?
No full textHow does your mind and body connect? Do your actions and thought process reflect each other? How often does your body and mind agree with each other? What’s on your mind? is a series of 4 oil paintings on smaller scale canvases. The main theme of the series is to show that the human mind can vastly differ from the presentation of the body. The series contains different poses with different inanimate objects as heads to show how stagnant the body is compared to the mind. My inspiration for this is my own transition and how I think about identity. Pretty much nothing about my body is correspondent to how I imagine myself to be, which is where the disconnect comes from. With this body of work, I hope to get people thinking about just how much they connect with themselves and their body compared to the connection they have with their own mind