Student Works Collection

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/2152/26

The Student Works collection is designed to showcase and preserve the scholarly work being done by students at the University of Texas at Austin.

All students at UT Austin are eligible to submit their scholarly work to this collection. Examples of work deposited include: honors theses, term papers, substantial projects, posters, etc.

We ask that students get a professor to sign this form. and we also need students to fill out this form. To submit your work, please send both completed forms and your electronic file to tsw@utlists.utexas.edu.

If you have any questions about this process, please email tsw@utlists.utexas.edu

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 260

Epigenetics of SNCA and APOE Genes and Lewy Body Dementia
(2023-04-17) Yesland, Miiko
Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by rapid cognitive decline, Parkinson's-like motor issues, hallucinations and eventually death. Because LBD displays traits similar to other neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), researchers have sought more reliable, specific ways to diagnose LBD. Recent studies have singled out some candidate genes that could serve as potential biomarkers for LBD: SNCA and APOE. Epigenetic modifications, specifically hypomethylation, in SNCA and APOE genes is positively correlated with the development of Lewy Body Dementia, which suggests that these genes could be potential biomarkers to diagnose LBD if their mechanistic contribution to LBD development is better understood.
Examining Working Memory and Forgetfulness Through Serial Position Curves
(2023-12-10) Whitmarsh, Caroline E.
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Inattentive Presentation (ADHD-Inattentive) is broadly thought to involve deficits in executive functioning. Difficulties maintaining a mastery of one’s physical environment (e.g., frequently losing personal items in public spaces or one’s home) and struggles with daily mental orientation (e.g., remembering one’s schedule or maintaining a mental checklist) are common symptoms of ADHD-Inattentiveness. Taken together, these symptoms describe the general concept of forgetfulness. However, minimal research examining the specific etiology of this forgetfulness exists. The present study sought to examine the relationship between working memory and experiences of inattentive forgetfulness through serial position curves. To accomplish this, participants completed a working memory task modeled after the Baddeley et al. (1984) articulatory loop study, followed by a continuous performance task adapted from the Conners CPT 3 for ADHD assessment. Finally, participants completed a self-report survey regarding their personal experiences with forgetfulness and inattention. Participant performance on the working memory task was used to create serial position curves. Ultimately, negligible differences between the serial position curves of attentive and inattentive groups emerged. As such, the present study suggests that isolated working memory cannot solely account for experiences with inattentive forgetfulness.
Current Analysis of Color Separation of Chiral Enantiomers via Pyrogallol Red Indicator and UV-Vis Spectrophotometry and Future Applications for Chiral Identification
(2023-04-24) Reyes, Sabrina
Chiral substances are extremely important in many pharmaceutical drugs and in a variety of fields; therefore, the reliable identification of chiral enantiomers is equally as important. Unfortunately, the identification of enantiomers from a racemic mixture is challenging as there are many problems with current methods. To help address these issues, the main project objective was to develop efficient methods for identifying the chirality of enantiomers in solution of Pyrogallol Red (PR) indicator, 2-FormylPhenylBoronic Acid (FPBA), and (S)-(-)-1-Phenylethylamine (amine) by using UV-vis spectroscopy analysis. The structure of FPBA allows for rapid formation of both imines and boronate esters with reaction intermediates of amines and vicinal diols respectively. However, FPBA is an achiral sensor and therefore is not sensitive to chiral objects. Bindings between FPBA and PR lead to changes in color and absorbance, and based on the standard that the amine intermediate would transform into an imine, the chirality of the beginning amine can impact the equilibria between the boronic acid, competing indicator, and vicinal diols of the saturated solution. By introducing color and chirality to the system, equilibria between the species in the saturated solution can be exploited to determine enantiomeric excess of a sample via the monitoring of absorbance changes across solution composition/enantiomeric excess. Overall, the data gathered from this project indicates that the saturation point between FPBA and PR has not yet been reached and therefore it is not yet possible to exploit substance equilibria for color discrimination of enantiomers. However, initial data is promising as absorbance and equivalence data did differ across each trial, indicating that the expected reactions are occurring and giving promise that these reactions can continue to be exploited for chiral color analysis.
Big Top Risk for Reward: An Argument of Transdisciplinary Injury Prevention for Circus Performers
(2023) Spencer, Samantha
This argumentative essay hopes to inform readers of the risk for circus performers in modern day avant-garde performance, specifically Cirque Du Soleil, and promote the benefits of a company transition from monodisciplinary injury prevention to a transdisciplinary approach.
that which remains
(2023) Scogins, Avery
An essay written about the effects that personal experiences with death have on religious beliefs. This essay includes brief but explanatory examples the writer had with death, all before the age of eighteen, then goes into more detail by comparing the emotions and actions that came alongside said experiences with her religious beliefs at the time.
Maya Portals: Mirrors, Divination, and The Underworld in Maya Visual and Material Culture
(2023) Santoy, Yves
Mirrors were employed for various purposes throughout the ancient world, from serving as functional objects assisting rulers in dressing or examining their reflections to being integral components of esoteric and divinatory religious practices. Mirrors are often discovered in burial settings, such as tombs and caches. The Classic Maya were no different and are frequently depicted in underworld or palace scenes on cylinder drinking vessels and various art works, Their purposes extended beyond cosmetic use and served as a medium for esoteric and divinatory religious practices in order to communicate between dimensions and worlds. In Maya art, numerous scenes depict mirrors as tools utilized by rulers for practical tasks, but they also feature prominently in mystical and ritualistic contexts, such as divination rituals and ambiguous deity worship practices. Originally conceptualized as a replacement for the missing catalog for the Blanton's Forces of Nature exhibition in my Issues in Exhibitions and Collections of Visual Arts: Architecture and Sculpture in the Maya World course, this research serves as an exploration of the perception of self and religion in the Maya world . Using pieces from the exhibit and employing iconographic analysis of ceramic vessels alongside analyzing archazological evidence and in conversatiens with the exhibitions curator and Mayanists in the field, I will delve into their symbolic connections with the elite, their associations with the gods, and their role in shaping the Maya understanding of the underworld. Through this examination, we gain insight into the multifaceted significance of mirrors in ancient Maya culture.
The Artists
(2023) Rummel, Ashley
This short story uses the unique perspectives of five artists to comment on climate change.
LDLR, APOB, and PCSK9 Increasing The Risk of Hypercholesterolemia Among Asian Populations
(2023) Pham, Lanchi
Shading Schizophrenia: An Analysis of Schizophrenia Overrepresentation Among Black People in America
(2023-05-01) Ojo, Princess
This research paper explores the factors that have resulted in an overrepresentation of schizophrenia diagnoses among black people in America.
Museum of Intolerance: Domestic Unburial and American In fluences in the Desecration of Mamilla Cemetery
(2023-04-18) Li, Laura
The Mamilla Cemetery is a historic Muslim cemetery that serves as a resting place for significant Islamic figures, including 70,000 of Saladin’s soldiers from the Crusades. Mamilla Cemetery is a Muslim place of pilgrimage, and burials in the cemetery continued until 1948 when Israel overtook western Jerusalem. The site has been protected as a historical site by the Muslim Supreme Council since 1927, with this order of protection being reiterated by the Israeli Religious Affairs Ministry in 1948 with the promise that “Israel will always know to protect and respect this site.” The construction of the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Center for Human Dignity–Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem over parts of the Mamilla Cemetery exemplifies both Israel’s own settler colonialism—complete with minority displacement, “justification,” and land expansion—and private America’s role in maintaining it.
My Battlefield Skin
(2023) Forrest, Leigha
A personal essay about the author’s acne and her refusal to take Accutane pills to treat it. The essay includes information about the drug isotretinoin and anecdotes from the author’s life.
Reality Check: On Bentham's Preclusion of Reality's Effect on the Value of Experience
(2023-11-06) Holloway, Anna Grace
This paper seeks to disprove Bentham’s claim that the value of experience equals the pleasure derived from it. A few intuitive examples demonstrate the added value of reality, which is independent of perception, to critique Bentham’s utilitarianism.
Gulf Coasters Work to Restore the Bay’s Kidneys
(2023) Engelbart, Emily
Along the coast of Texas, scientists and volunteers have been restoring oyster populations with the help of restaurants and diners. Rather than discarding oyster shells at restaurants, this team turns trash to treasure, or rather, trash to habitat. Oyster shells provide a habitat for baby oysters to grow, and with a healthy population of this species comes a string of benefits including water filtration and coastal protection.
Joseph Lister’s Approach to Popularizing Antisepsis and Its Applications to Modern Surgical Advancement
(2023-12-04) Earle, Brian
This paper analyzes the implementation of Joseph Lister’s surgical antiseptic system through his 1870 work “On the Effects of the Antiseptic System Upon the Salubrity of a Surgical Hospital” and its applications to adopting modern surgical innovations.
Remembering Barbara Jordan: A Missed Opportunity
(2023-12-10) de Zwart, Norah D.
A critical analysis of how memorials ask viewers to remember their honoree(s) in a highly specific manner and how this can prove to be problematic. An interaction of other works on memorial rhetoric and an analysis of the Barbara Jordan statue at UT.
Galileo's Brush with Artistry: The Intersection of Art and Science in Seicento Italy
(2023-12) Datz, Nina
While most will recognize the great names and achievements of Italian art and science, few realize that these two definitive disciplines of Italian history have been deeply interconnected for centuries. Surprisingly, one of the strongest examples of this symbiosis is found in the life and work of the 17th-century Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei- famed primarily for his groundbreaking telescopic discoveries and dramatic trial by the Catholic Church. As an artist, friend of artists, art critic, supplier of instruments, and even a subject of art, the science giant's integral and multifaceted role in the Italian art world reflects the increasingly interdependent nature of the relationship between these fields. Through an examination of Galileo, this paper seeks to illuminate not only the existence of this connection but how it was forged by both disciplines' ceaseless pursuit of advancement.
Classifying Emission-Line Galaxies using a Dense Neural Network & Support Vector Machine
(2024) Gupta, Ayan; Totiani, Yash; Segura-Monroy, Jazhiel
In this study we present an innovative approach to classifying emission-line galaxies, specifically categorizing them as Star-Forming, Seyfert, LINERs (Low Ionization Nuclear Emission Line Region), or Composites. Leveraging both a Dense Neural Network (DNN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM), we use key emission-line flux ratios as input features extracted from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) data within the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The high accuracy in classification for both Machine Learning models showcases their effectiveness and viability in accurately classifying emission-line galaxies with slightly different inputs and target classifications compared to past Machine Learning models.
Title 25 Policy Review: Windowless Housing in West Campus
(2023-11-28) Chu, Cherry
This paper examines the issue of windowless housing in student apartments within West Campus at the University of Texas at Austin. The rise of windowless units is linked to a 2004 zoning change under Title 25 that aimed to promote a high-density, "compact city" development model. While this approach facilitated growth, it resulted in sacrificing the well-being of students who now occupy these windowless units. The paper analyzes the policy implications of the Windowless Housing Initiative, a student-led movement advocating for natural light access in all bedrooms of newly constructed buildings. The analysis explores the initiative's potential to improve living conditions, its economic feasibility, and how it might impact various stakeholders, including students, builders, and city officials. The paper concludes by recommending specific amendments to Title 25 that could establish humane habitability standards and prioritize the well-being of Austin's residents.
Where Do All The Jews Go?
(2023) Cahn, Catherine
“Where Do All the Jews Go?” is a short story about a boy struggling with his religion’s perception of the afterlife. As his challenging questions are left unanswered, he finds himself disillusioned and pushed to the breaking point.
“Colorism as a Result of Colonization and Global Ramifications”
(2023-11-14) Brod, Teresa
This paper overviews how colonization provided the foundation for ongoing white supremacy and discusses the numerous manifestations of colorism in several global regions. These include but are not limited to economic disparity, political injustice, and the vast and lucrative skin-lightening industry. By discussing how the culture of colonial hierarchy continues to influence beauty ideals, social stratification, and availability of opportunity worldwide, the permanence of white supremacy and the importance of reforming these standards is highlighted.

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