Senior Thesis Paper

This series was centered around the idea of paintings being two parts of a whole. The purpose of these pairs is to create a dialogue between the two paintings so that they play off of each other in terms of their individual subject matter. The paintings are organized by an overarching idea that we, as individuals, have many personas that we choose to show the world depending on different situations. Each painting in the pair reflects these opposing personas we reveal to the world around us

The science of science blogging – the complicated task of defining a science blog.

What is the definition of a science blog? Is it merely a tool that disseminates, explains, comments upon, investigates, aggregates or otherwise deals with science? An increasing number of science blogs also comment upon the process and communication of science itself. Paige Brown Jarreau shares her plans for navigating research in this area as she explores the diversity of science blogging styles, approaches, formats and authors

Black Cowboys: Self-Sufficiency in the American West through the ideology of Booker T. Washington

Despite the black cowboy\u27s considerable achievement, the history of their lives remains largely uncovered. Most historiographies present a sympathetic picture, but what is missing is the voice of the black cowboys. Using the views and ideologies of Booker T. Washington, black cowboys were able to become self-sufficient men. This thesis will present a comparison and contrast between the historiography and autobiographies of black cowboys. Furthermore, giving black cowboys a voice through the philosophies of Booker T. Washington and presenting an argument on why the stories and histories of black cowboys have only recently been resurrected, largely because popular media in the progressive era did not include their stories

All the Science That Is Fit to Blog: An Analysis of Science Blogging Practices

This dissertation examines science blogging practices, including motivations, routines and content decision rules, across a wide range of science bloggers. Previous research has largely failed to investigate science blogging practices from science bloggers’ perspective or to establish a sociological framework for understanding how science bloggers decide what to blog about. I address this gap in previous research by conducting qualitative in-depth interviews with 50 science bloggers and an extensive survey of blogging motivations, approaches, content decisions rules, values and editorial constraints for over 600 active science bloggers. Results reveal that science blog content is shaped heavily by not only individual factors including personal interest, but also a variety of social forces at levels of routines, organizations or blogging communities, and social institutions. Factors revealed herein to shape science blog content are placed into a sociological framework, an adapted version of Shoemaker and Reese’s Hierarchical Model of Influences, in order to guide current and future research on the sociology of science blogging. Shoemaker and Reese’s Hierarchical Model of Influences is a model of the factors that influence mass media content, which has been used previously by mass communication researchers to guide analysis of mass media content production. In the visual model, concentric circles represent relative hierarchical levels of influences on media content, starting an individuals and expanding out to routines, organizations, extra-media influences and ideology. I adapt this model based on the factors found herein to influence science blog content, such as bloggers’ individual motivations, editorial constraints and access to information sources

Development and characterization of molecular tools for microbial forensics

Scope and Method of Study:The anthrax attacks of 2001 prompted the rapid establishment and growth of the fields of microbial and plant pathogen forensics. A complete forensic capability includes the ability to discriminate between a natural and an intentional disease outbreak, collection of forensic evidence, generation of genetic profiles for use during attribution and storage of samples. This document describes (i) the molecular characterization of plant virus populations derived from plants that were naturally and mechanically-inoculated with a model plant virus, (ii) the application of microarray-based technologies to genetically fingerprint plant viruses, (iii) the characterization of a previously-designed microarray platform for the identification and diagnosis of known and novel plant viruses, and (iv) the use of FAME profiles to aid in the discrimination of media components used to prepare Bacillus cereus T-strain spores. Though all of these projects are not directly related, they all fall within the scope of microbial forensics.Findings and Conclusions:The molecular characterization of plant virus populations derived from a natural inoculation event and those from mechanically-inoculated plants displayed minor differences in haplotype and pair-wise nucleotide diversities. Additionally, the number of recombination events was found to be lower in the mechanically-inoculated plants than those collected from the natural disease outbreak. These results indicate that differences between the two types of inoculation events exist and may be a direct function of the infection time, source(s) of inoculum(a) or environmental effects.The solution-based minisequencing and capture array technique demonstrated reproducibility at the same concentration of targets, but was less accurate using variable amounts of synthetic targets. The use of solution-based minisequencing followed by tag-array capture appears to be a promising approach to genotyping plant viruses.A significant amount of cross-hybridization was observed using the universal plant virus microarray (Virochip). The microarray platform failed to strongly hybridize to most of the known plant viruses that were applied to the array. Hybridization with Wheat streak mosaic virus-infected material indicated that the system strongly hybridized with the negative-sense strand, but not the corresponding positive-sense strands.Discrimination of individual media components was achieved by analyzing fatty acids derived from Bacillus cereus T-strain spores prepared in different media. One FAME biomarker, oleic acid, was found to be exclusively associated with media supplemented with blood

Antisense Silver Nanoparticles for Photo-activated Gene Silencing

The unique properties of noble metal nanoparticles, which include tunable electronic and photonic characteristics, contribute to their potential as novel delivery vectors with enhanced drug stability, cell uptake, and photo-activated functionalities. Silver, as one of best surface-enhancing substrates available for bulk nanostructure synthesis, is a prime choice for investigations of metal nanohybrids as antisense therapy vehicles with special surface plasmon resonance (SPR) enabled functional attributes. The singular photonic properties of silver nanoparticles (SNPs) may contribute to ease of delivery confirmation and in situ photo-activation of protected cargo packed on particle surfaces. Here we show the synthesis and characterization of 40-80nm SNPs designed for enhanced antisense oligonucleotide delivery and photo-activated gene silencing. Non-active (caged) SNP-bound DNA oligonucleotides possess an internal nitrobenzyl photocleavable linker which once exposed to light, initiates disengagement of functional antisense oligonucleotides from the nanohybrid surface. We demonstrate light-triggered, spatiotemporally controlled gene silencing based on SNP-antisense conjugates, which prove to be promising alternative platforms for gene therapy, gene expression studies, and other nanomedicine applications

Knowledge & Attitudes Towards Pediatric Pain with Needle-based Procedures in the Emergency Department Setting

PURPOSE: By the time a child enters kindergarten, they may have faced as many as thirty-three vaccine-related injections. Throughout these experiences, parents and patients associated pain and fear regarding the administration of multiple vaccines concurrently to a child has played a role in vaccine hesitancy and refusal. Parents and patients experience associated fear and pain regarding the administration of multiple concurrent scheduled vaccines, thus leading to vaccination hesitancy and refusal. In addition to scheduled immunizations, there is also the possibility of unexpected needle-based procedures taking place when emergencies arise. The purpose of the study is to explore the current level of knowledge and understanding for medical professionals including nurses and medical assistants surrounding pediatric pain during needle-based procedures such as obtaining intravenous access or administering intramuscular injections. METHODS: This study will use a quasi-experimental, pre-test/post-test design. With this, a pretest module was sent out to all medical professionals in the emergency department setting who administer vaccinations, this will include nurses, medical assistants, and unlicensed personnel via email. Following the completion of this pretest, a learning tool was attached on understanding distraction devices and how they relate to pediatric pain. Two weeks following receiving the learning module, a post-test was sent out to participants to evaluate the knowledge and intent to use distraction devices. Lastly, an analysis the data was complete to determine the knowledge, behavior, and intent to use distraction devices within this setting. RESULTS: The results of this study showed that the knowledge and attitudes regarding pediatric pain did not improve with the use of the educational tool. There was little room for improvement within the baseline group, and limitations were caused by the anonymous nature of the pre/post-test. However, all participants reported increased intent to use these devices in the future. CONCLUSION: Knowledge and attitudes of pediatric pain must be explored in all areas of pediatric care, emergency department situations, or pediatric specialty clinics. To further create better experiences during needle-based procedures, pediatric patients should be offered distraction tools and devices to lower their pain perception and improve their healthcare experience

Leadership in a South African Context

The Montagu Project at its core is an inspiring example of cross-cultural leadership, community engagement, friendship, and sustainable partnership. The collective impact of the University of Southern Maine, the Rural Arts Development (RAD) Foundation, and the Red Zebra Foundation reaches far beyond the week they meet as The Montagu Project. Each one of these partners promotes global leadership, global awareness, leadership development, community engagement, and the empowerment of youth