Middle Tennessee State University
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Development of a Novel Shuttle Vector for Tetragenococcus halophilus
No full textTetragenococcus halophilus is used by companies in a variety of fermented foods while also being shown to be capable of being a potent probiotic. T. halophilus fermentative batches are at risk of being compromised by viral pathogens, which leads to product loss in the industry. To address the need for a molecular toolset that was capable of being maintained in T. halophilus that expresses desired genes, a plasmid (pCBW2) was designed and built in E. coli. With T. halophilus having no prior optimized way of transformation, multiple methods of transformation were tested in an attempt to introduce pCBW2 to T. halophilus. The plasmid pCBW2 was built using PCR and restriction enzymes to insert a combination of preexisting reporter elements paired with hypothetical promoters from T. halophilus genomic DNA. After construction, chemical transformation, electroporation, and biolistic transformation methods were attempted under a variety of conditions to introduce the constructed plasmid to T. halophilus. While no attempts of the transformation of T. halophilus were successful, conventional chemical transformation of E. coli was successful. E. coli were able to utilize promoters endogenous to T. halophilus, suggesting pCBW2 is a functional plasmid capable of expressing provided genes of interest.M.S
Effects of Growing Up in a Multicultural Environment
No full textIn this study, participants (N = 54) from a multicultural background (grew up in the
United States but they or their guardians are from another country) and monocultural
backgrounds (grew up in the United States and both/guardians are from the US) were
asked a series of survey questions about their experiences growing up in their specific
background/culture. This was a way to identify what negative and positive effects came
out of being raised in that type of environment. The participants from multicultural
backgrounds came from several different countries and continents. It was hypothesized
that participants that were raised in a multicultural environment face more obstacles
compared to monocultural participants, and with the survey there are not only statistical
points that support this finding but points that raise questions for possible further study
Interactions of Melamine with Physiological Constituents
No full textMelamine is found in many items belonging to households, schools, canteens,
paints, and hospitals as well as fertilizers, and seed coatings. Food contaminated with
melamine can potentially cause renal problems or formation of bladder and kidney stones
since melamine-cyanuric complexes have been reported to cause renal tubule blockage.
In this study, Raman microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis were used to determine
the composition of melamine-oxalate crystals formed in the presence of physiological
components such as uric acid, L-cystine, urea, and creatinine. Crystals were made in
water and artificial urine with melamine and oxalic acid at molar ratio of 1:10 together
with a physiological component. The formation of melamine-oxalate crystals in water
and artificial urine suggests that melamine oxalate can interact with physiological
components to form three component crystals
Hoosier Basketball Magazine Social Media Project
No full textHoosier Basketball Magazine provides the most comprehensive coverage of Indiana high school basketball in the state. This is a physical magazine with minimal social media presence. Until this project, Hoosier Basketball Magazine only had Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). Neither were active accounts. While media are increasingly consumed online, Hoosier Basketball Magazine is in danger of falling out of the public eye by only being available in physical form. This project combines physical media and social media to promote the magazine and reach a new generation of customers. While posting on social media platforms for the six-month basketball season, a larger following was built with regular engagement from the audience. Use of these platforms led to a nearly 20% growth in audience to promote the release and distribution of the physical copy of the magazine
Faithful Films: An Exploration of Habitus and Implicit Functionality in Recent Evangelical Cinema
No full textEvangelical film experienced a resurgence in the twenty-first century. Since this resurgence began, Great American Pure Flix and Kendrick Brothers Productions have set their films apart as the standard by which all other evangelical films are measured. In this project, I explore the plots of several Kendrick Brothers Productions’ films, as well as Great American Pure Flix’s God’s Not Dead series, to analyze their themes and overall structure. I suggest that these films be divided into two genres, which I have created, to classify them according to their purposes. I will put these themes in conversation with current Religious Studies scholarship to argue that the films of Kendrick Brothers Productions demonstrate underlying assumptions and commitments of the evangelical worldview. Using the same approach, I will demonstrate that the God’s Not Dead series instructs its audience in the proper embodiment of the evangelical worldview
Geology and Petrology of Core Samples Taken from The Boyd Mine of The Ducktown Mining District in East Tennessee
No full textThis project investigates the origin of a copper ore deposit in Ducktown, TN, located in the Tennessee Copper Basin. This deposit was a crucial source of copper from the mid to late 1800s through the 1960s. During the peak of production, the economic importance of the deposit attracted numerous geologists to study the rocks of the ore deposits and their surrounding areas. Despite thorough studies conducted at the time, a consensus on the origin of the deposit remained elusive.
Recent advancements in understanding ore mineral formation and analytical methodologies allow a better understanding of the conditions that form copper ores. This project focuses on core samples extracted from the Boyd mine in Ducktown. Utilizing polarized light microscopy, core samples are classified according to their mineralogical relationships. X-ray diffraction (XRD) examines crystal habits and polymorphs, confirming the mineralogical composition.
The minerals in the rocks surrounding the ore form during the regional metamorphism of rocks deposited in an ocean-floor environment. The sulfide minerals that make up the ore suggest a volcanic origin. The structure of the ore deposits suggests the ore was introduced before regional metamorphism, meaning they formed when these rocks were still the ocean floor and were likely along the rift where seafloor spreading was occurring
Building Tomorrow's Workforce Through the Self-Actualization of Post-Secondary Students in Tennessee
No full textTennessee’s future will be determined by the number of post-secondary credentials of its residents to support economic development. Additionally, Tennesseans must earn living wages to support their livelihoods. Finally, the psychological development of Tennesseans must be supported, which allows individuals to reach their fullest potential. While critical state initiatives such as Drive to 55, TN Promise, and tnAchieves have been in place for nearly a decade, Tennesseans are not graduating from post-secondary institutions at the rate that is critical for individual and state success. In reviewing initiatives and success in higher education, the study was informed by important place-based promise programs and the various definitions of student success. An understanding of self-actualization, humanistic education, and measurement of self-actualization informed how the study identifies the essence of the experience.
Utilizing a phenomenological research approach and an interpretive framework of social constructivism, this study has informed the essence and lived experiences of self-actualization among tnAchieves students at Motlow State Community College. Overall findings indicate the essence of self-actualization among students persisting toward a post-secondary credential is represented by a sliding scale-factor duality of shared support and independent motivation. The implications of these findings to policy and practice are addressed. Specifically, implications for policy outlines considerations for policy makers related to revisioning a state master plan in the future, as well as various degrees of tnAchieves program success. Implications for practice support the humanistic education model, as well as effective student support services, peer-to-peer support models, and family engagement.Ed.D
Investigation of Ligand Exchange on CdSe Quantum Dots via DART-MS
No full textQuantum dots (QDs) are an important part of many aspects of modern chemistry. Ligands play a large part in the ability to functionalize QDs. Specialized ligands, however, are ill-equipped to withstand the high temperatures of colloidal synthesis used to synthesize QDs. Ligand exchange is often used to remove the ligands used in synthesis to place ligands that are more suited to the purpose needed. One issue with ligand exchange is tracking the change of the ligands from the beginning ligand to the new ligand. NMR is sometimes used to track the exchange but it has its drawbacks. In this thesis, a method of Direct Analysis in Real-Time Mass Spectrometry (DART-MS) will be used to track the exchange for the first time. Oleate-capped CdSe QDs are made before being exchanged with dodecylamine (DDA) in increasing amounts. DART-MS is then successfully used to examine the progress of the exchange as oleate is lost from the surface and DDA is increasingly added.M.S
IMPLICATION OF THE ALIGNMENT OF GRADE LEVEL STANDARDS TO INTERVENTION: FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE INTERVENTIONIST
No full textQualifying a student for a learning disability can be difficult to know if they truly are learning disabled or is something else going on. Due to the IQ discrepancy model, to qualify a student with a learning disability, you must have an average IQ, but you are performing below grade level in achievement (Willis, 2019). However, there could be a number of reasons a student’s IQ is average, but their achievement is low. They could lack proper instruction in the general education classroom or proper intervention. Response to Intervention (RTI) was introduced in in the 1960s in an effort to move away from student unnecessarily qualifying for a learning disability (Preston et al., 2016). Unfortunately, there are several intervention programs that are not run effectively which leads to students still getting unnecessarily referred to special education. To make students’ time in intervention more effective, the author of this study decided to try a method of aligning grade level standards to intervention instruction. This qualitative study is about the perceptions interventionists have about aligning grade level standards to intervention. The study found that aligning grade level standards to intervention impacted how RTI was ran, the work of the interventionists, and impacted students in various ways.Ed.D
CRISPR-Cas9 mediated xylose auxotrophy in Scheffersomyces stipitis
No full textScheffersomyces stipitis is a top xylose fermenter. The yeast efficiently ferments xylose into ethanol, making it industrially important. In this study, I (1) create a new toolset to knock out and replace any gene in the S. stipitis genome and (2) show the phenotypic alterations in the yeast's xylose fermentation after knocking out the HXK1 gene which encodes HXK1. This experiment compares sugar utilization in wild-type and HXK1 knockout strains. The unique toolset BLINCAR (Bioluminescent Indicator Nullified by Cas9 Actuated Recombination) demonstrated that I could knock out HXK1 in S. stipitis. I tested this utilizing molecular and yeast biotechnology. The results reveal that HXK1 knockouts utilize glucose similarly to the wild type. Since knocking out HXK1 does not cause xylose auxotrophy, other glucose phosphorylation enzymes might be responsible.M.S