JEWLScholar @MTSU

JEWLScholar@MTSU is the digital repository for Middle Tennessee State University. JEWLScholar@MTSU contains scholarly and research material from MTSU faculty, staff and students.

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Recent Submissions

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    Ailuria: A Creative Exploration of Adapting Animals to Fiction
    (University Honors College, Middle Tennessee State University, 2025) True, Noah
    This thesis examines the use of anthropomorphized animal characters in literature through the lens of an author writing an animal story. The academic portion serves as a guide through the often-complex process of creating these stories, and it argues that authors have a responsibility while writing them: We cannot understand animals completely, and if we fill in the blanks without taking proper care, there will often be issues of consistency, improper messaging, or even real-world consequences. It analyzes the specific reasons why an author may choose to write about animals, the challenges of writing about them, and the wide array of considerations an author may need to make to create animal characters. For each point, there is a discussion of the specific choices made for the accompanying creative portion of the paper: Ailuria. Ailuria is an incomplete animal-fantasy novel that shows the beginnings of implementing the academic portion’s ideas.
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    Bioinformatic Characterization of Mutations Associated with Enhanced Acetate Metabolism In Esherichia coli
    (University Honors College, Middle Tennessee State University, 2025) Yahn, Madison
    The conversion of non-food lignocellulosic biomass, such as from trees or grasses, into sugars that can be converted into ethanol by fermentation is key to the future U.S. energy infrastructure. The accumulation of acetate during lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment inhibits microbial fermentation and limits bioethanol yields. This study aimed to characterize Escherichia coli strains engineered to efficiently utilize acetate as a sole carbon source to support acetate detoxification prior to yeast fermentation. Eight mutant strains were generated using either spontaneous or ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) mutagenesis, then characterized using whole-genome sequencing and comparative bioinformatic analysis. Variant detection was performed using two pipelines, Bowtie2 + bcftools and Bowtie2 + DeepVariant, to evaluate differences in sensitivity and precision. The mutants exhibited enhanced growth on acetate despite lacking mutations in acetate metabolism genes (acs, pta, ackA). Instead, changes occurred in genes associated with replication and potentially global regulation of gene expression (dnaA), acid resistance (gadX), glycogen metabolism (glgX), membrane stability (ytcA), and proton export (ECOLC_RS20895). These mutations collectively improved stress tolerance, pH homeostasis, and metabolic efficiency. The results suggest that global physiological remodeling, rather than direct enzymatic modification, underlies enhanced acetate assimilation in E. coli, providing a genetic foundation for designing robust microbial strains for bioethanol production.
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    Voting Behavior in Tennessee: A Sociological Analysis of the Driving Forces Behind a Shift to the Right in Congressional Elections
    (University Honors College, Middle Tennessee State University, 2025) Wylie, Emma
    The intent for this thesis is to examine how and why the narrative shift of the general population and news media from policy issues to ideological issues has so strongly affected voter behavior, specifically in states with clearer conservative or liberal ideology. In Tennessee, a largely conservative state, this narrative shift has led to landslide wins for Republican politicians. Although the number one polling issue remains the economy, heavier polarization and identification politics now see voters gravitating more toward the candidates who best represent their own values. Using the sociological concept of collective effervescence, I intend to help readers better understand the psychosocial implications of partisan politics and why a sociological approach is so important when understanding institutions altogether.
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    The Lost-and-Found Prince: A Creative Project Exploring Fairy Tales and the Parable of the Prodigal Son
    (University Honors College, Middle Tennessee State University, 2025) Ward, Adrienne
    This creative writing project explores the intersection of fairy tales, their illustrations, and the Parable of the Prodigal Son. I discuss the foundational aspects of the parable, what it means as both a biblical and literary text, and the countless ways it has been adapted in order to determine its key features. Then, the Grimm brothers’ literary fairy tale form is examined as an influence on culture and as a distinct style of narrative. Next, fairy tale illustrations’ impacts on art movements and the stories in which they’re found are investigated to understand their use and importance to the genre. Finally, I retell the Prodigal Son parable as a fairy tale in the literary style of the Grimm brothers, and I create accompanying illustrations that converse with the narrative, exploring the shared ground between faith and fantasy and the importance of a happily ever after.
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    Photocatalysis of Organic Reactions Using Crude St. John's Wort
    (University Honors College, Middle Tennessee State University, 2025) Vickers, Olivia
    Natural products, like hypericin, have attracted interest as cost-effective, safer photocatalysts in organic synthesis. They effectively absorb light and offer an alternative to metal-based catalysts like ruthenium and iridium. Hypericin and its derivatives are naturally found in the supplement St. John's Wort, but isolating pure hypericin is difficult due to the low concentration. Although bioengineering microorganisms to produce hypericin is possible, it is technically complex. Instead, we explored using St. John's Wort supplement capsules directly as the photocatalyst in arylation reactions with diazonium salts and aromatic rings. Reaction conditions were optimized by purifying the capsules, using an everyday sun lightbulb, and irradiating for 48 hours. To evaluate the efficacy of this approach, the recyclability of the St. John's Wort will be tested using eco-friendly deep eutectic solvents and room temperature ionic liquids. The results of this research should highlight the potential for natural product mixtures to serve as effective and simple photocatalysts for organic reactions.