Honors Program

“Sustainable Development and The Bahamas”

Ndidiamaka Kerr, Nassau, The Bahamas
Subject Matter Expert: Dan Svedarsky, Ph.D.
Spring 2016

One of the many definitions for sustainable development is, “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Weaver, 2006). Sustainable development is important for numerous reasons including preventing climate change, improving public health, increasing economic development, and reducing pollution. As well as embracing the positive social, economic, and environmental benefits that come along with it. The goal of sustainable development is to ensure that resources are conserved and used effectively to improve the environment while simultaneously satisfying the needs of all those who live in that environment. The Bahamas is an archipelago of small island states located in the Atlantic Ocean. Sustainable development is important for this country because in addition to it solely consisting of small island states, it is also a developing country. Making The Bahamas more sustainable would help to protect and ensure the country’s ability to survive tomorrow, today. In addition to this, the effects of unsustainable development, such as climate change, will have a bigger impact on Caribbean small-island developing states like the islands of The Bahamas than they would a developed country. The purpose of this project is to explore sustainable alternatives which can be implemented to make The Bahamas more sustainable, focusing specifically on the environmental impacts of sustainable and unsustainable development.

“Evaluation of Exercise Related Stress in School Horses”

Alyssa Newburg, Maple Grove, MN
Subject Matter Expert: Abdorrahman Alghamdi, Ph.D.
Spring 2016

Workload and use frequency of horses in equine riding programs at universities have not been systematically investigated. Instructors must consider the needs of students and horses as well as the summer detraining going into fall semester. Therefore, horses are used for 1-2 rides a day based on subjective measures to avoid overtraining/injuries, but underuse can increase operational cost. The goal of this study was to assess the physiological and physical stress in the riding horses at the University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC). In consultation with the coaches, the semester was divided into 4 stages of increasing intensities. During each stage, all six classes (Western, Advanced Western, Saddle Seat, Hunt Seat, Dressage, and Team Practice) were video-taped to determine the type and duration of gaits used. In three of these classes, vital signs, lactate, and cortisol were also evaluated before each session, at the end, and at 10-minute intervals until they returned to resting values. The average riding session was 50 (42-61) minutes, but 81% (74-87) of that time was spent standing or walking. Saddle Seat, Dressage, and the Team Practice had the longest trot and canter time, but still averaged ≤ 12 minutes. At the end of the session, vital signs for most horses were at/near resting values, and the others returned to normal within 10-20 minutes. Cortisol tended to be slightly higher than resting values before the session, but declined to/near resting values by the end or within 20 minutes thereafter. Only stages 1 and 2 of Team Practice and stage 2 of Dressage deviated from this trend where cortisol was lower at the beginning, increased by the end, and returned to normal 20 minutes later. These results can help establish a more objective means in deciding horse use frequency and guide the conditioning process after summer detraining.

"Effects of Aromatase Inhibition on Estrogen Levels in the Brain of the Fathead Minnow"

Julia Rinn, International Falls, MN
Subject Matter Expert: Anthony Schroeder, Ph.D.
Spring 2016

The topic that I chose to work on for my thesis works to explore the effects that aromatase inhibitors have on the production of estrogen within the bodies of fathead minnows. Aromatase inhibitors are drugs that prevent the enzyme aromatase from working properly. Aromatase is an enzyme that is responsible for the production of hormones such as estrogen in the brain and the gonads. The drug that I was particularly interested in was Letrozole, which is a medication used for chemotherapy for women who have breast cancer. Drugs such as Letrozole are excreted and passed into the water supply. Today’s water treatment plants are not equipped to remove these chemicals from the water, which means that traces of medications such as Letrozole remain in the aquatic systems. As a result, aquatic species, such as fathead minnows are exposed to drugs that inhibit their aromatase enzymes, and cause less estrogen to be produced by their bodies. This leads to the reduction of reproductive success, and results in smaller or nonexistent broods of this type of fish. Fathead minnows are only one example of species that are affected by drugs used by humans that end up in aquatic systems. The main part of the fish that I focused on for this project was the brain and the pituitary gland, which are two of the most important organs when it comes to estrogen production, along with the gonads. The specific genes that I focused on where the CYP genes, which are a group of genes that produce enzymes that help synthesize and break down hormones within the body, specifically estrogen. It is well known what happens when aromatase is inhibited in the gonads, but very little is known about what happens if aromatase is inhibited in the brain. In this particular study, I focused on fathead minnows, because they are easy to study, and because there already were brain and pituitary gland samples available from the EPA that I could use for the project. I worked on this project with Dr. Anthony Schroeder, Ph.D., from the University of Minnesota, Crookston, who helped me gain access to the University of North Dakota lab space, since UMC did not have all of the equipment required to complete this project. We spend several days at UND working on homogenizing the frozen tissues and isolating RNA, DNA, and proteins from the fathead minnow brains. We were able to isolate good amounts of RNA for upcoming analysis for the CYP genes (in particular CYP19), to see if aromatase inhibition in the brain has a significant impact on the production of estrogen in the body, and in turn, on reproductive success. This project has great promise for the discovery of important impacts that the human contamination of waterways has on aquatic species. We believe that there will be a significant impact on reproductive success for fathead minnows due to drugs such as Letrozole, which means that many more species could also be affected within the aquatic environment. In addition, some land animals may be affected by the passing of these types of chemotherapy drugs, providing more opportunity for research into this issue of whether drugs such as Letrozole have an impact that is even larger than we anticipated. Of course, there are many other drugs that are able to impact wildlife as well, such as birth control medications (through excrement as well), and more research could be conducted to find out how different drugs can affect wildlife in all types of habitats, and what the impact is for the food web and the ripple effects contamination by medications can have on whole ecosystems.

“The Mystery of Mental Health: Rising Prevalence Among College Students”

Kathryn Sheetz, Grand Rapids, MN
Subject Matter Expert: Tim Menard, M.A.
Spring 2016

Mental health can often be a mystery as the two short words, when combined, encompass a vast number of topics. Mental health is a state of well-being, where an individual is physically, socially, and emotionally balanced. Mental illness can further be defined as a condition that affects some or all of these factors. The differentiation between the two terms is separated by what is viewed as normal behavior. While “normal behavior” seems straightforward, the term itself can convey multiple definitions between genders, races, and cultures of people. So, what is normal in relation to mental health? This work will address the issue of normality along with some of the other mysteries of mental health including source of stigma, genetic and environmental contributions, and common misconceptions. Part of this project also includes mental health survey that was created for students attending the University of Minnesota Crookston to gauge the overall mental health of the student body.

Each semester, the Honors Program sponsors several Honors Excursions. Honors Excursions are field trips or other extra-curricular opportunities that support the mission of the UMC Honors Program. Honors Excursions are free for Honors students.

In the past several years, Honors students have attended the films Steve Jobs (2015) and Sully (2016), a live performance of “The Great Russian Nutcracker” ballet, a live performance of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Buffalo Wild Wings Trivia Night, and other events throughout the state of Minnesota. Excursions help students connect with each other and reflect on themes and experiences relevant to the mission of the UMC Honors Program.

The Honors Program often sponsors or co-sponsors speakers and other campus events. Each year, the Honors Program co-sponsors a day of campus events in observance of the International Day of Nonviolence, which was established by the United Nations to commemorate the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi.

In 2015 the Honors Program co-sponsored campus presentations by Grammy Award winning musician Mike Ferris and four-time World Series champion Darryl Strawberry.
Honors students help plan and execute these events, which give the students unique opportunities to study leadership, ponder global problems, and network with speakers, scholars, and accomplished professionals working in a variety of fields.

Director

Danielle Johannesen

Committee Members

Leslie Lekatz, Agriculture and Natural Resources Department

Rachel McCoppin, Liberal Arts and Education Department

Craig Miller, Business Department

Anthony Schroeder, Math, Science and Technology Department

Student Representatives

Summer Billings, Student Representative
Maddy Witt, Student Representative