Creation, Craft, and COVID-19: A Documentary

Creation, Craft, and COVID-19 is a documentary film that looks into the creation and development of a small jewelry business called Novi Creations based in Laurel, Mississippi. This thesis interviews Shauna Stockstill, the owner of Novi Creations, and presents the history of the business, its daily processes, and its struggles through the COVID-19 pandemic. This thesis also covers the planning and pre-production of the film and the performative method of approach. It breaks down different styles of documentary filmmaking and addresses ethical dilemmas found commonly in documentaries. I express my reason for creating this film and desire to share Shauna’s story, and I explain how my use of lighting, footage, and music add to the emotional expression in the film. Keywords: film, documentary, performative, craft, covid, jewelr

Analysis of Martian Parental Melts and Thermal Infrared Studies of Putative Paleolake Basins on Mars

Both martian meteorites and remote sensing data allow us to study the geologic history of Mars. Martian meteorites can reveal information regarding partial melting of the Mars mantle and the surface processes that affected the meteorite following eruption (weathering, impact ejection, etc.). Remote sensing data can be used to investigate the local-, regional- or global-scale surface of Mars in terms of composition and geomorphology. A well-rounded approach is necessary to address fundamental questions regarding the geologic history of Mars. We studied melt inclusions in augite of the martian meteorite Nakhla to better understand the magma that produced this rock. This study used laboratory methods developed at the Virginia Tech Fluids Research Lab, electron microprobe analyses, and MELTS crystallization modeling. The result of this study was a new estimate of the Nakhla parent magma composition, which is basaltic in composition. Crystallization modeling of this composition provided the closest match to mineral abundances and composition observed within the nakhlites, suggesting an improved estimate. In addition, we studied thermal infrared data of martian craters that some workers suggest display geomorphic evidence that they once contained lakes. If in fact these craters did hold water, they may still contain evaporite minerals deposited in this environment and detectable within the thermal infrared. We used data acquired by TES (Thermal Emission Spectrometer aboard the Mars Global Surveyor) and THEMIS (Thermal Emission Imaging System aboard Mars Odyssey). Because of its higher spatial resolution, THEMIS is best viewed as a spectral unit mapper, whereas TES is better at mineral identification because of its higher spectral resolution. Both studies employed a linear deconvolution routine developed at Arizona State University, spectral ratios and newly-developed carbonate indices to search for local-scale deposits of evaporites within craters. In these studies, we did not find mineralogic evidence supporting a paleolake origin for the surficial deposits within any crater

Mutation of the Hof1 pest domain affects cytokinesis in budding yeast

Cytokinesis is the division of a cell into two daughter cells. Cytokinesis failure results in polyploidy, which may contribute to tumorigenesis or cause cell death. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae protein Hof1, which is required for efficient cytokinesis, is phosphorylated during mitosis. The hypothesis that MEN (mitotic exit network) dependent phosphorylation regulates Hof1 degradation, triggering completion of cytokinesis was tested. Hof1 contains a PEST sequence, which is rich in proline, glutamic acid, serine, and threonine, and is believed to be involved in protein degradation. To test the hypothesis, we created two non-phosphorylatable mutants of the Hof1 PEST domain tagged with GFP. The first mutant is a 5A which has the first five serines replaced with alanine. The second mutant is a 10A which has nine serines and one threonine replaced with alanine. Using time-lapse microscopy we have shown that phosphorylation of the Hof1 PEST domain is required to remove Hof1 from the bud neck after cytokinesis. We used Myo1-GFP to determine if lack of PEST phosphorylation affects contraction, and our results show that it does. No cytokinesis defects were seen in cells lacking PEST domain phosphorylation. Our results suggest that neither removal of Hof1 from the bud neck nor degradation of Hof1 is required for completion of cytokinesis. Our data shows that the interaction of Hof1 with Grr1, a protein that is involved with degradation, is not regulated by PEST domain phosphorylation --Abstract, page iii

Achieved competences in temporomandibular disorders/orofacial pain: a comparison between two dental schools in Europe

The aim was to study achieved competences in temporomandibular disorders (TMD)/orofacial pain (OP) at two universities by comparing student's knowledge and understanding, satisfaction with their education and confidence in their clinical competences of TMD/OP

A Comparative Study of the Philosophy of Certain Authors Relative to Reading Readiness

The problem of this investigation is to determine the amount of agreement or disagreement in the philosophies of certain authors relative to reading readiness in the first grade. Comparative data are included on evidences of the need for reading-readiness program, major factors involved, and desirable types of activities. The purpose of the study is to determine the apparent agreement or disparity found in current educational literature