Open Research Oklahoma
ORO serves as the home for Oklahoma State University's open-access intellectual output. It includes digital dissertations, faculty publications, OSU Extension publications, undergraduate research, open educational resources, and more. Email openresearch@okstate.edu to see how your Oklahoma-based institution can join.
Recent Submissions
Publication Can a Christian be a Stoic? A comparison from metaphysics to ethics(Oklahoma State University, 2025-04-22)The goal of this research is to compare early Christianity with its philosophical contemporary of Stoicism, by exploring how their respective metaphysical systems effected their prescribed ethical perspectives. This project will argue that while there are general points of congruence in their ethics and metaphysics there are salient points of disagreement – something that is often downplayed. Throughout this paper I will compare the two systems upon the following contours: points of agreement, points of seeming agreement, and points of disagreement. For each point, I will assess a claim made by each system and explore the respective metaphysics that inform that claim. I will assess points of agreement, disagreement, and seeming agreement in the domains of their respective views on God, anthropology, ethics, and providence. On God we find disagreement in the relation between God and the universe. The Stoic system describes God as corporeal and mixed into the universe, to the point that God and the universe are occupying the same space, at the same time. Hence the Stoics are often interpreted as pantheists. The Christian system contrasts with this as it distinguishes God as wholly other than the universe. The Christian God is transcendent in relation to the universe; the Stoic God is nearly identical to the universe. This is a metaphysical disagreement. With respect to fate, while we find seeming agreement in both systems’ description of God as providentially working in the unfolding of history, there is disagreement, however, in the axiology of that providence. The Stoic maintains that all that happens is according to the God’s rational plan and is accordingly good. The Christian system would respond rather that God is working all things towards good. In the Christian system God is working all things out “according to the counsel of his will” and “for the good of those who love God.” According to the Christian, history is working towards redemption, in the Stoic system history needs no redemption. On Anthropology, there is seeming agreement in how human value is described but upon further analysis disagreement comes to the surface. While the systems share similar language to speak of the soul of a human and agree that humans have a high place in the cosmos, they disagree in how that value is grounded. In the Stoic system human value is grounded in that we are an instance of the God who permeates all. In our sharing of the divine rationality, we “constitute an emanation” of that God. In the Christian system human value is grounded in our relation to God as his image bearers. There is a distinction between God and man. That is to say we share a likeness and relation to God while remaining something separate, while the Stoics say we are something more like an occurrence or instance of God. This is a point of disagreement. On ethics, we find a seeming agreement in that both systems describe a struggle between vice and virtue for the Stoics and sin and righteousness for the Christians. Disagreement arises in their means to overcome the respective struggles. The Stoic maintains that humans are self-sufficient in their nature to overcome vice, given their divine rationality. The Christian maintains the natural human is not sufficient to overcome sin, rather grace is necessary. By comparing the two systems in the previously mentioned domains, this research illustrates that while there is often surface level agreement, there are sharp and irreconcilable differences between the two systems.Publication Clive Barker and the Monstrous Patriarch: Gendered power in the modern horror film(Oklahoma State University, 2025-04-22)Gender in the horror film is a particularly nascent subject. Considering the function of horror as an exploration of fear in a mass-appeal medium, the subversions and adhesions in these films are uniquely illustrative of rigidity and performativity of gender. Thus, explicitly queer gender subversions in horror are a tumultuous subject, the function of fear allowing for queer and feminist self expression, but often making a villain of said queer or feminist actor. This project explores the gender expression of Clive Barker’s characters in Hellraiser (1987) and The Hellbound Heart (1986). His work, both heralded and maligned for its portrayal of non-mainstream experiences of pleasure, also portrays a non-mainstream experience of patriarchy. Here the reader sees something of a masculinized feminine, and the patriarchal experience of power. Through the characters of Frank, Julia, and Kirsty, Barker outlines a character type this project names as the “rogue patriarch,” and sets this powerful but irresponsible man against the actions against the women he wishes to control and possess.Publication When is aid not a helping hand? Local corruption and foreign aid effectiveness in Sub-Saharan Africa(Oklahoma State University, 2025-04-22)In many African countries, poor governance and corruption are cited as reasons foreign aid fails to produce growth. However, previous cross-national research on this topic has only compared national corruption measures, which overlooks that citizen exposure to corruption, foreign aid, and economic growth may vary widely within a country. This research uses local-level data on corruption, development, and foreign aid in four African countries from 1999 to 2014 to better capture how aid influxes interact with reported corruption levels to impact regional development patterns. Using the theoretical framework of foreign aid as a capital investment requiring fertile conditions to meet economic and development goals, it is theorized that local areas with higher levels of corruption receiving more foreign aid will have lower levels of economic development. Although no statistically significant findings have been obtained, the findings of this research provide a base for future research on the interaction of local-level corruption and foreign aid, which may provide policymakers with important insights on when and where foreign aid can be successful.Publication Effects of pinto bean and resistant starch supplementation on bone parameters in a mouse model of estrogen deficiency(Oklahoma State University, 2025-04-22)Objective: Estrogen plays a role in regulating bone metabolism and a decrease in estrogen compromises bone health. Pinto beans (PB) are good sources of plant-derived estrogens (i.e., phytoestrogens) and fiber that can be fermented by the gut bacteria to produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that have been shown to play a role in bone health. This project aims to compare the effects of PB and isolated fiber (i.e.., retrograded resistant starch, RS3 and chemically modified, RS4) on bone parameters and to understand the role of the gut bacteria in maintaining bone health in a mouse model of estrogen deficiency. Methods: One hundred twenty 3m-old female C57BL/6 mice were made estrogen deficient by injecting with either vinyl cyclohexene diepoxide (VCD, 160 mg/kg bw in sesame oil) or sesame oil (vehicle) for 30 days. After confirmation of estrogen status with vaginal cytology, mice were assigned to one of eight treatment groups for 16 weeks in 4x2 factorial design with diet (Control [AIN-93M], 10% (wt/wt) PB, 5% (wt/wt) RS3 or 5% RS4) and estrogen status (sesame oil or VCD) as factors. The dose of RS is equivalent to the fiber content of the 10% PB. At the end of treatment, fecal samples were collected, body composition was assessed, and femur and L4 vertebrae were collected. Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry was used to assess whole body composition as well as bone mineral area (BMA), content (BMC) and density (BMD) of the femur and L4 vertebrae. Micro-computed (uCT) x-ray tomography was also used for microarchitectural analysis of the femur and L4 vertebrae. Fecal samples were analyzed for the concentrations of SCFAs acids using gas chromatography while the activity of the estrogen-deconjugating enzyme, -glucuronidase, was assessed by colorimetric method. Cecal bacteria was analyzed via 16S rDNA sequencing to assess gut microbial diversity. Data were analyzed using 2-way ANOVA and P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: VCD has no effect on whole body BMA but significantly reduce whole body BMC (PVCD = 0.014) and BMD (PVCD = 0.021). However, there was a significant diet effect on whole body BMC (Pdiet = 0.021) with the RS groups having the highest BMC. Despite the effects of VCD on whole body bone parameters, it has no effect on the bone densitometric parameters of the isolated femur and L4 vertebra. Similar to the whole-body BMC, there was a significant dietary effect on L4 vertebral BMA (Pdiet = 0.003), BMC (Pdiet < 0.0001), and BMD (Pdiet < 0.0001) as well as femoral BMD (Pdiet = 0.007). There was a significant dietary effect on femoral Tb. Th and Tb. N (p = 0.0003, 0.0077 respectively), with RS treatment diets tending to have highest measurements. Mice that were on the RS diets also displayed a significant dietary effect, regardless of estrogen status, on the L4 BV/TV (p = 0.0001), Tb. Sp (p = 0.029), Tb. Th (p = 0.0008) and Th. N (p = 0.0112). Mice that received the RS4 diet had the highest vertebral and femoral BMD followed by RS3 and the PB group had the lowest. The effects of RS treatment on fecal SCFAs concentrations follow the same pattern as its effects on bone. There was a significant dietary effect on total SCFA levels (Pdiet < 0.0001) with RS4 group having the highest total SCFAs followed by RS3 group. Similarly, there was a significant dietary effect on β-glucuronidase activity (Pdiet = 0.0031), specifically RS3 tending (P = 0.059) to have higher β-glucuronidase activity than the control group. Mice in the RS dietary groups, regardless of estrogen status, had an increase in microbiome Beta Diversity and Genus Abundance. Summary: Our findings demonstrate that RS supplementation made more notable improvements in bone densitometric parameters. uCT analysis will give us further insight on the effects of treatment on bone microarchitectural parameters. Moreover, data on gut bacterial diversity will provide more insight of its role on bone health. This study highlights the importance of fiber that are considered as prebiotic and its influence on the gut-bone axis and how this could be utilized to help alleviate conditions related to estrogen deficiency such as osteoporosis.Publication Exploring the effects of galvanotaxis on 3D bio-printed coaxial fibers(Oklahoma State University, 2025-04-22)Adapting 3D printing to create custom devices and medications has seen significant interest in biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences. Many are exploring the usage of 3D printing to develop cell-laden structures for use in drug screening and 3D cell culture development. However, the effect on cells of bioprinting and bioinks is not well understood. The movement of cells due to electrical stimulus, known as galvanotaxis, is a phenomenon observed in many cell types including neurons, and adult stem cells. Previously our group engineered a compact galvanotaxis device that is easily adaptable to in vitro cultures. Our group observed elongation of cells after printing through a 34G nozzle. The functional effects of such changes to the cell are not well understood. Some results found indicated some cells align with the electrical field and the potential of using 3D printing for developing cell-containing devices. This study looked to expand on this research by repeating the electrical stimulus procedure on coaxial printed fibers. Coaxial structure can be found in the human body in veins, arteries, and intestines. These structures are arranged concentrically around a central lumen. The purpose of this study was to understand the role that galvanotaxis plays in the potential morphological changes of elongated human astrocyte 3D bioprinted coaxial fiber.
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