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Bacteria in Salt Pans Along the Mississippi Gulf Coast
Get PDFSalt pans form in shallow depressions in the ground where salt water evaporates leaving a hypersaline environment remaining. These pans become flooded during extremely high tides and as time progresses, this additional salt water is evaporated leaving behind more salt deposits. Marine salt pans can provide habitat for halophilic microorganisms and provide an interesting environment for study as conditions can change with both sediment and water depth. Towards the surface of sediment in salt pans, oxygen is still available, however, deeper sediments have limited oxygen availability and are likely anaerobic. Deeper sediments can also have higher salt concentrations so may provide an optimal environment for anaerobic halophiles.
Samples were taken in July and October 2018, when the salt pans were dry and flooded, and from the surface and 30cm deep in the sediment. DNA was extracted and the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene sequenced to determine the bacterial microbiome. Bacterial communities were compared between the surface and deeper samples and flooded and dry samples. Samples taken from surface sediments had more bacterial sequences than those taken from deeper into the sediment, and surface samples accounted for 73% of the 105,000 sequences in the dataset.
Salt pan bacterial communities were primarily composed of members of the Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Cyanobacteria, and Planctomycetes, although a total of 21 distinct bacterial phyla were detected. These phyla differed in their distributions, with members of the Bacteroidetes, Cyanobacteria, Planctomycetes, and Chloroflexi being mainly associated with surface sediment, and Proteobacteria being more prevalent in deeper sediment. Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Cyanobacteria, and Planctomycetes accounted for a greater proportion of the dry (July) bacterial community, whereas members of the Actinobacteria were more prevalent in the flooded (October) samples.
In conclusion, salt pans along the Mississippi Gulf Coast harbor a diverse bacterial community that differs both spatially (by depth) and temporally (by season and/or flooded versus dry conditions). These environments can become hypersaline when dry, suggesting that this diverse community is adapted to both flooding and high salinity conditions
The Effects of Retrieval Strategy on a Collaborative Reconstruction Task
Get PDFThe purpose of the present experiment was to explore the effects of using various retrieval strategies on a collaborative reconstruction task. More specifically, we sought to determine the extent to which the Retrieval Strategy Disruption Hypothesis (RSD) could explain the effects of collaborative inhibition on such tasks. Collaborative inhibition is observed when collaborative group performance is lower than the pooled performance of an identical number of individuals working alone (nominal groups). The RSD hypothesis suggests that one group member’s output disrupts another group member’s idiosyncratic retrieval strategy leading to poorer performance relative to individuals working alone. In the present study, participants were asked to reconstruct an eight-item list of common nouns either individually (later used to form nominal groups), with a partner employing a turn-taking strategy (turn-taking groups), or with a partner employing a turn-taking strategy while recalling the words in the order in which they were originally presented (restricted groups). We observed equivalent performance in the nominal and restricted groups and statistically poorer performance in the turn-taking groups. These results are discussed with respect to the Retrieval Strategy Disruption Hypothesis
Creating an Internet of Things Platform for Storing Smart Sensor Data Using Amazon Web Services
Get PDFWater is one of the essential resources that we should be aware of conserving, but lawn sprinkler systems in Mississippi have inefficient resource management systems. During my fundamental research, I read an article about IoT (Internet of Things) and how important it will be in the future. Both of these topics inspired prototype research.
In order to create the prototype, a Raspberry Pi, breadboard, keyboard, monitor, and cables were used. Using the Raspberry Pi, monitors, and keyboard, the software was developed in order to create a RESTFUL API gateway to connect to AWS (Amazon Web Service). In the AWS console, an AWS Lambda function was created to store data to AWS DynamoDB. Then, a breadboard and sensor were connected to the Raspberry Pi.
When the sensor detects water, the data is transferred to the Raspberry Pi, and the Raspberry Pi sends the data to the AWS API Gateway. The API Gateway then sends the data to AWS Lambda, and the process continues from AWS Lambda to AWS DynamoDB. DynamoDB can display the type of sensor, date, IP address, user id, and eventid. This platform will make it easy to monitor energy efficiency and water waste
Analysis of crush resistance and Mississippi-sourced sands to determine potential as proppant sands
Get PDFProppant is a media used in hydraulic fracturing to bear in-situ stresses in order to maintain fracture networks, which act as highly permeable pathways for hydrocarbon recovery. Proppant can be made from a variety of materials such as glass, ceramic beads, sand particles, and more. Proppants are characterized by their size, sorting, roundness, and sphericity. These properties help determine the compressive strength of the pack proppant. This study focuses on these properties for natural sand. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the viability of lower-quality sands as proppant sands by testing the affect these properties have on the compressive strengths of each sample. Testing is in accordance with ISO 13503-2 (2006) and ISO 13503-2 Amendment 1 (2009). These standards state that sands used as proppant should generate no more than 10% fines during crush tests.
This study tested five sand samples: one commercial-grade proppant, two Mississippi-sourced sands, one recreational sand, and one composite sample made from two previously tested samples. This study found that sand particles are more prone to generating fines if they are coarser and more angular, but the sub-angular specimen did meet strength requirements at lower stresses. This study also found success mixing two proppants to create a proppant that generated fewer fines than either of its parent sands. Mica grains in one of the Mississippi-sourced sands affected the compressive strength of the sample. Anomalous fine generation curves occurred for multiple sands, showing decreasing fine generation at increased stresses, and may be attributed to testing complications. Expanded study to reproduce and verify results is recommended, as well as removing mica from samples in future studies
Accounting Standards and Topics Implemented and Analyzed
Get PDFThe objective of this thesis is to report on multiple accounting standards and topics through the use of twelve different cases. The cases that were researched included the topics of evaluation of financial statements, profitability and earnings, accounts receivable, and working through a time value of money problem. Additionally, subjects such as research and development costs, the data analytics tool IBM Watson, long-term debt, stockholders’ equity, marketable securities, deferred income taxes, and revenue recognition were also analyzed throughout this paper. These cases were written to help the reader, and others, learn from their questions. The questions in the cases, as shown in this paper, are meant to act as a guidance and learning tool though the various accounting standards listed above
This is Your Brain on Music: The Study of Musical Influence on the Cognitive Mindset and Learning
Get PDFThis thesis examines the use of musical influence on the brain with an emphasis on the effects on cognitive mindset and learning in mathematics education. It explores the idea of the use of different trials and methods to potentially unlock new knowledge about the brain through listening to music during in-class group work, individual work, and class assessments. It allows for an analysis of the music’s effect on the brain and creates discussion in multiple classrooms and age groups through the eyes of a participant observer in an ethnographic research scenario. By analyzing behaviors of body language, musical taste and stimulation of the students, I demonstrate that music affects the students’ perceptions of their course load, grades and overall attitude in the math courses in which they are participants. With the duration of the research spanning a year, I observed many groups of students, polled thousands on social media, and interviewed multiple administrators that have incorporated music into their daily routine inside and outside of the classroom. Results of the research exemplify that music has an effect on the brain, both positive and negative, but inside the classroom is a special case because of awareness and musical choice when the students’ minds are the most focused. With the assistance of colleagues, I was able to construct a musical arrangement to utilize in class by studying what motivates students to work and learn. In conclusion, I decided that the right song can motivate and catalyze the learning process and memorization, but the wrong song can have the opposite effect which is apparent when reviewing grades over a period of time
The Stigmatization of Concealable and Apparent Intellectual Disabilities
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of stigma when responding to people with apparent, visible, intellectual disabilities as compared to individuals with concealable, invisible, intellectual disabilities. Additionally, we aimed to discover if people with higher psychological flexibility would show less bias or stigma towards individuals with unconcealable intellectual disabilities. This study presented 63 participants with four self-report surveys: the Attitudes Towards Disabled Persons survey (ATDP), the Multidimensional Psychological Flexibility Inventory (MPFI), Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MCSD), and a demographic survey. Vignettes were added to the self-report survey to give participants further exposure to individuals with disabilities. We also asked participants to complete the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP), which measures the accuracy and responding time of the association between images and target words. Generally, on the IRAP participants had an easier time saying that every individual was good and a harder time saying that any individual was bad. We found statistical significance between the ATDP and the Apparent- Positive Trial Type of the IRAP; Flexibility and Inflexibility; and Trial Types 1 and 2
An Analysis of Cases in Financial Reporting
Get PDFThis thesis includes twelve different cases of various topics in financial reporting, such as deferred income taxes, revenue recognition, marketable securities, and many others. The solutions to the cases were found in fulfillment of ACCY 420 at the University of Mississippi during the Fall of 2017 and the Spring of 2018. The thesis is formatted below so that the questions to each case are visible to the reader. When it was fitting, there are also journal entries, t-accounts, and tables to go along with the questions. Each case focuses on a different area of financial accounting with an emphasis on prevalent topics
Preparation of a Perylenebisimide Acceptor with Serinol and Nonadecyl-Swallowtail Imides for Use in Molecular Rectification
Get PDFSeveral attempts were made to add 2-amino-1,3-propanediol to the acceptor perylene monoanhydride (PMA). The theoretical product, N-(10-nonadecyl)-N'-(1,3-dihydroxypropan-2-yl)perylene-3,4,9,10-bis(dicarboximide), is intended for use in unimolecular rectification because the perylenebisimide core is classified as a good acceptor due to its high electron affinity. Rectification usually utilizes donor-σ-acceptor molecules, whose localized orbitals permit electron transfer when placed between metal electrodes of asymmetric voltages. However, according to an “asymmetric rectification” analysis, an electron can pass from one electrode, through the LUMO of the acceptor, and then to the other electrode when said electrodes are held at certain voltages, and result in rectification if the acceptor is closer to one electrode than to the other.12
Electrical properties are typically measured on a monolayer of rectifying molecules. The desired perylenebisimide (PBI) must be amphiphilic in order to successfully form a monolayer to be used in Langmuir–Blodgett deposition, so that when deposited on a water layer, the molecules will arrange vertically, with the hydrophilic moiety going into the water and the hydrophobic moiety facing upward. Therefore, hydrophilic serinol and a hydrophobic nonadecyl swallowtail were used to achieve such amphiphilic properties when attached to the two ends of PBI.
Several difficulties arose from the reactions used to synthesize the PBI, such as unknown impurities, even after purification via column chromatography; potential by-products; non-planar orientations, which could have affected 1H-NMR spectra; and intramolecular interactions. It is unclear why some of the reactions, though published in literature, were unsuccessful. Nevertheless, the reactions and results discussed in this text are useful for devising methods for further efforts to synthesize the target PBI
Fungal-Algal Speed Dating: Exploring Symbiotic Potential of Fungal-Algal Cocultures
Get PDFSymbiotic relationships are widely studied phenomena in the biological world. Of particular interest are the ubiquitous relationships that exist between fungi and photoautotrophs. While much is known about the commonly occurring interactions that persist between fungi and a wide range of terrestrial plants, we are interested in exploring the symbiotic capacity between fungi and earlier diverging lineages of the plant kingdom, notably green algae. We developed an experiment to allow for a medium-throughput analysis of fungal-algal interactions using three model green algae: Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Chlorella vulgaris, and Penium margaritaceum. With numerous replicated assays, these algae were individually paired with a large selection of fungal species (in the subphylum of Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota) and grown together in coculture. These fungal-algal cocultures were grown alongside fungal and algal monoculture controls. We compared dry-weight coculture biomass to that of fungal and algal monoculture biomass and used biomass comparisons as indicators of symbiotic potential in a preliminary survey of the capacity for phylogenetically diverse fungi to interact with key representatives of the green algae