More Than Just Words: My Experience in Haiti

A Purdue student describes her view of Haitian culture and reflects on how her perspectives changed following this experience

Diastereoselective Piperidine Synthesis through DDQ-Mediated Oxidative Cyclization of Enamides, N-Vinyl Carbamates, and N-Vinyl Sulfonamides

The DDQ-mediated oxidative cyclization chemistry that was previously developed in our group for the synthesis of tetrahydropyrones from allylic and benzylic ethers has been expanded for use with enamides, N-vinyl carbamates, and N-vinyl sulfonamides to synthesize piperidine rings. This chemistry provides a new oxidative method to generate N-acyliminium and N-sulfonyliminium ions. Cyclization onto the oxidatively generated α,β-unsaturated N-acyliminium and N-sulfonyliminium ions has been performed with a variety of tethered nucleophiles. The cyclization reaction suffers no difficulties in regards to chemoselectivity or over oxidation. Moreover, the resulting unit of unsaturation in the products provides an additional synthetic handle not generated through more classical iminium ion chemistry. Significantly, stereocontrol in the reaction was achieved through the use of (E)- and (Z)-allylsilanes and silyl enol ethers. Transition state models were formulated through information obtained from studies of monocyclic and bicyclic compounds synthesized through the oxidative cyclization reaction. Finally, the reaction was made catalytic through regeneration of DDQ via oxidation of the DDQ byproduct by Mn(OAc)3. This chemistry provides a powerful new method for generating nitrogen heterocycles and will provide new ways of accessing alkaloids

Doctoral Recitals

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Main Auditorium in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree

Effect of Varying Coping Thickness on Load to Fracture Strength of Aluminum Oxide Copings

Master of ScienceProsthodonticsUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163697/1/20196041.pd

Working Equids: A Case Study Investigating if Locus of Control Affects Welfare in Central America

Developing countries lack the resources and technological advancements commonly used by developed countries for production and must rely on manual or animal labor to aide in the creation, collection, and distribution of products for income. In Haiti and Honduras, the leading role of a working equid is to provide transportation for families and products to and from marketplaces. It is not uncommon for one equid to carry loads three times its body weight and make up to six trips, accumulating up to fifty miles per day, to and from its home. With extreme environmental and physical constraints placed on these working equids, equid health and performance decrease significantly. With little income to feed a family, equid owners may neglect seeking medical attention or additional costs related to their working equid. Promotion of the longevity and overall health of the equid is often overlooked, as the animal is overworked, thus further damaging its welfare. Studies divulge serious welfare concerns for the estimated 112 million working equids in developing countries where the equids have minimal access to clean water, limited grazing opportunities, poor body condition scores, facial and body wounds, and psychological fear associated with human-equid interactions. The research team sought to identify if equid owner’s locus of control was a variable contributing to the physiological and psychological welfare of working equids. The locus of control theory employed in this study was developed by Julian Rotter in 1966 and represents Rotter’s belief that man has the capability to determine his fate based on actions and reactions to his environment. This theory identifies that an individual can possess either an internal or external locus of control, which inevitably dictates the decisions they make in their life. An individual who possesses the quality traits of an internal locus of control is said to believe that their personal abilities, efforts, and or actions determine the outcome of their life. Rotter also identifies the characteristics of individuals who possess an external locus of control. Those with an external locus of control believe that fate, luck, chance, or other outside forces dictate the outcomes of their life. Identifying an owner’s locus of control, as a potential factor affecting overall welfare of working equids in developing regions of the world, may assist future research teams in understanding the underlying causes of lower welfare scores seen in these regions. This study took place over the span of one year, in 2017, beginning with a pilot test in Haiti on a sample of 10 Milot equid owners and their associated working equids (n=10). Information on research tools administered in Haiti allowed the research team to revise all research tools and implement the study on 65 Honduran equid owners and their associated working equids in October of 2017 (n=65). The results of this study identified a relationship between working equid behavior scores and owner locus of control, indicating that owners with an external locus of controls had equids with lower behavioral scores. Additionally, a significant positive relationship was found between anterior knee lesions and owners exhibiting external locus of controls. While no significant relationship between owner locus of control and total equid welfare score could be determined, the research poses many benefits for future studies focusing on equid welfare and owner interactions to NGO’s, research teams, and medically trained personnel interested in the improvement of working equid welfare. Implementation of the locus of control survey into educational intervention strategies will provide educators and non-governmental organizations with individualized information regarding potential populations and allow those educators to tailor their material to suit each demographic in a meaningful and personally relatable way

Master's Recitals

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Master of Music (MM) degree

Working Equids: A Case Study Investigating if Locus of Control Effects Welfare in Central America

Developing countries lack the resources and technological advancements commonly used by developed countries for production and must rely on manual or animal labor to aide in the creation, collection, and distribution of products for income. In Haiti and Honduras, the leading role of a working equid is to provide transportation for families and products to and from marketplaces. It is not uncommon for one equid to carry loads three times its body weight and make up to six trips, accumulating up to fifty miles per day, to and from its home. With extreme environmental and physical constraints placed on these working equids, equid health and performance decrease significantly. With little income to feed a family, equid owners may neglect seeking medical attention or additional costs related to their working equid. Promotion of the longevity and overall health of the equid is often overlooked, as the animal is overworked, thus further damaging its welfare. Studies divulge serious welfare concerns for the estimated 112 million working equids in developing countries where the equids have minimal access to clean water, limited grazing opportunities, poor body condition scores, facial and body wounds, and psychological fear associated with human-equid interactions. The research team sought to identify if equid owner’s locus of control was a variable contributing to the physiological and psychological welfare of working equids. The locus of control theory employed in this study was developed by Julian Rotter in 1966 and represents Rotter’s belief that man has the capability to determine his fate based on actions and reactions to his environment. This theory identifies that an individual can possess either an internal or external locus of control, which inevitably dictates the decisions they make in their life. An individual who possesses the quality traits of an internal locus of control is said to believe that their personal abilities, efforts, and or actions determine the outcome of their life. Rotter also identifies the characteristics of individuals who possess an external locus of control. Those with an external locus of control believe that fate, luck, chance, or other outside forces dictate the outcomes of their life. Identifying an owner’s locus of control, as a potential factor affecting overall welfare of working equids in developing regions of the world, may assist future research teams in understanding the underlying causes of lower welfare scores seen in these regions. This study took place over the span of one year, in 2017, beginning with a pilot test in Haiti on a sample of 10 Milot equid owners and their associated working equids (n=10). Information on research tools administered in Haiti allowed the research team to revise all research tools and implement the study on 65 Honduran equid owners and their associated working equids in October of 2017 (n=65). The results of this study identified a relationship between working equid behavior scores and owner locus of control, indicating that owners with external locus of controls had equids with lower behavioral scores. Additionally, a significant positive relationship was found between anterior knee lesions and owners exhibiting external locus of controls. While no significant relationship between owner locus of control and total equid welfare score could be determined, the research poses many benefits for future studies focusing on equid welfare and owner interactions to NGO’s, research teams, and medically trained personnel interested in the improvement of working equid welfare. Implementation of the locus of control survey into educational intervention strategies will provide educators and non-governmental organizations with individualized information regarding potential populations and allow those educators to tailor their material to suit each demographic in a meaningful and personally relatable way

Improving Pig Performance and Efficiency by Attenuating Transport and Immune Stress Responses Through L-Tryptophan Supplementation

In commercial settings piglet weaning and transportation occur concurrently due to the expansive application of multi-site production systems across the United States and the combination of these events can be defined as an early life stressor. Early life stress is known to reduce pig performance, efficiency, and immune resilience contributing to reduced welfare and increased production losses. To combat the deleterious effects of stress on pigs, the essential amino acid tryptophan (Trp) supplemented above current National Research Council (NRC 2012) recommended levels, improves neuroendocrine responses to stress, lowers plasma cortisol and norepinephrine concentrations, and improves hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis recovery time following stress. However, there are discrepancies concerning the Trp requirement for nursery pigs, suggesting the 2012 recommendations for Trp may be inaccurate for optimizing growth performance and health in modern pigs. Three experiments were conducted to determine the effects of supplemented standard ileal digestible Trp above NRC (2012) recommended levels on performance, feed efficiency, immune vigor, and stress tolerance. The objective of experiment 1 was to eliminate or reduce short- and long-term, transport-induced reductions in piglet feed efficiency and growth by supplementing Trp above NRC (2012) recommendations pre-weaning and/or during the nursery phase. An oral gavage of Trp or a control milk carrier was provided to pre-allotted piglets beginning at day 5 of lactation and continuing to wean. At weaning all pigs were blocked by sex, weaning weight and pre-wean treatment and randomly assigned to transport and post-wean treatments. Pigs were fed in four nursery phases with diets containing 1X or 2X NRC recommended concentrations of SID Trp and a common grower diet fed in 6 phases during the grow-finish period. At market, loin characteristics were measured via ultrasound and carcass data was collected from the packing plant. Pre-weaning Trp supplementation had no effect on preweaning growth performance; however, post-wean Trp increased overall body weight and average daily gain in nursery pigs when Trp was supplemented pre-wean. The objective for experiment 2 was to mitigate the adverse effects of early life transport stress on subsequent immune challenges by providing supplemental Trp during the nursery period. At weaning, pigs were transported for 8 hours and assigned to treatments of vaccine-induced immune challenge and dietary treatment. Pigs were fed standard nursery diets, in four phases, over 35 days with pigs receiving 1X or 2X the NRC (2012) recommended Trp concentration. Half the pigs on each dietary treatment were subjected to a 3-wk vaccine challenge consisting of circovirus, mycoplasma, and influenza vaccines administered in wk 2, 3, and 4 post-wean, respectively. At market, loin characteristics were measured via ultrasound and carcass data was collected. At the culmination of the nursery period, unchallenged pigs supplemented with Trp were heavier compared to control pigs. This resulted from an overall improvement in average daily gain for 2X Trp fed pigs. However, increasing Trp did not affect market weight, loin eye area, or lean percent in market pigs, although 2X Trp increased back fat. The objective of experiment 3 was to determine what ratio of SID tryptophan, relative to lysine, maximizes growth performance and feed efficiency in weaned pigs during the nursery period