Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Numerical Analysis Of A Silicon-Based Electro-Optic Modulator, Mario Alberto García-Ramírez, Orfil González-Reynoso, Everardo Vargas-Rodríguez, Miguel Angel Bello-Jiménez, Abel García-Barrientos

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

A phase shift electro-optic semiconductor structure that features a Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) is numerically analyzed. The interferometer structure considers a highly-doped Si-based waveguide that can control the phase shift by varying the refractive index through the carrier concentration while applying a control voltage. To analyze the structure, Kramers-Kronig dispersion relations, the effective index method and the Drude model are implemented within a finite element software. As a result, for an optical waveguide structure with a 9 mm length and 10 V, it is possible to obtain a phase shift by that allows, at the output of the MZI, total interference …

Partial Pseudo-Random Hashing For Transactional Memory Read/Write Data Processing And Validation, G M Sridevi, Ashoka D V, B V Ajay Prakash

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Development of a bypass parallel processing block is one of the emerging and interesting research areas in memory read/write application domain. Many Random Number Generation (RNG) techniques have been introduced for processing the data in storage memory. But the limitations include reduced efficiency, increased computational complexity, high area consumption and higher cost. This paper presents a novel dynamic memory register with optimal XOR design based on partial pseudo-random hashing to process transactional memory read/write data. Transfer characteristics of the current are analysed based on the pseudo differential pair for proficient memory utilization. A memory window is then created and adjusted …

A Content-Based File Identification Dataset: Collection, Construction, And Evaluation, Saja Dheyaa Khudhur, Hassan Awheed Jeiad

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

File-Type Identification (FTI) is one of the essential functions that can be performed by examining the data blocks' magic numbers. However, this examination leads to a challenge when a file is corrupt, or these magic numbers are missing. Content-based analytics is the best way for file type identification when the magic numbers are not available. This paper prepares and presents a content-based dataset for eight common types of files based on twelve features. We designed our dataset to be used for supervised and unsupervised machine learning models. It provides the ability to classify and cluster these types into two levels, …

Nigella Sativa Methanol Extract Inhibits Pc-3 Cell Line Colonization, Induced Apoptosis, And Modulated Lc3-Based Autophagy, Yusuf Toy, Merve Kivrik, Marwa H. Alkhafaji, Aryan M. Faraj, Ibrahim H. Gecibesler, Can A. Ağca

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Nigella sativa has various pharmacological properties and has been used throughout history for a variety of reasons. However, there is limited data about the effects of Nigella sativa (NS) on human cancer cells. This study aimed at observing the roles of methanolic extract of N. sativa on apoptosis and autophagy pathway in the Human PC3 (prostate cancer) cell line. The cell viability was checked by MTT assay. Clonogenic assay was performed to demonstrate clonogenicity and Western blot was used to check caspase-3, TIGAR, p53, and LC3 protein expression. The results demonstrated that PC3 cell proliferation was inhibited, caspase-3 and p53 …

Ultrasound-Assisted Dibutyl Phthalate Nanocapsules Preparation And Its Application As Corrosion Inhibition Coatings, Uday Bagale, Ammar Kadi, Irina Potoroko, Vinay Rangari, Minakshi Mahale

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

The current research employs an encapsulation of dibutyl phthalate (DBP) as a corrosion inhibitor in situ polymerization using a sonochemical method to form nanocapsules. The prepared nanocapsules were characterization by using Malvern particle size, Fouri-er transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Transmission electron microscope (TEM), and thermal and mechanical test to check particle size, morphology, and stability of nanocapsules. Later prepared DBP nanocapsules were incorporated in standard epoxy coating to check its corrosion inhibition resistance. The results show that nanocapsules are spherical, with an average particle size of 337 nm. Scratch nanocapsules epoxy coating shows improves coating …

Heterogeneous Catalytic Degradation Of Dye By Fenton-Like Oxidation Over A Continuous System Based On Box–Behnken Design And Traditional Batch Experiments, Imad M. Luaibi, Mohammed A. Atiya, Ahmed K. Hassan, Zainab A. Mahmoud

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

In this study, iron was coupled with copper to form a bimetallic compound through a biosynthetic method, which was then used as a catalyst in the Fenton-like processes for removing direct Blue 15 dye (DB15) from aqueous solution. Characterization techniques were applied on the resultant nanoparticles such as SEM, BET, EDAX, FT-IR, XRD, and zeta potential. Specifically, the rounded and shaped as spherical nanoparticles were found for green synthesized iron/copper nanoparticles (G-Fe/Cu NPs) with the size ranging from 32-59 nm, and the surface area was 4.452 m2/g. The effect of different experimental factors was studied in both batch and continuous …

Optical Measurement And Performance Prediction Of Solar Pv System In Al-Khidhir Zone/Iraq, Faten Sh. Zainulabdeen, Jaber O. Dahloos, Ahmed F. Atwan, Naseer K. Kasim

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

People have tended for investing the sources of renewable energy, especially solar energy, as they are clean and environmentally friendly sources. The present work aims to invest the measured data of solar irradiance, maximum ambient temperatures and wind speed provided by Al Khidhir Meteorological Station to predict the minimum performance of photovoltaic solar systems (NT-R0E3E-SHARP) for electric power generation. The single diode model is used to calculate the minimum output power produced by solar module and its minimum conversion efficiency based on soalr irradiance, maximum ambient temperatures and wind speed throughout 2020. The results indicate that the annual solar irradiance …

Determining The Structure And Activity Of A Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Protein, Ivyp2, Katherine Letsinger

Master of Science in Chemical Sciences Theses

Various biophysical methods were employed to structurally characterize and assess the activity of an important resistance factor (Ivyp2) from the multi-drug resistant Gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This opportunistic pathogen accounts for approximately 10% of all hospital-acquired infections in the United States and contains a number of virulence factors that aid in its ability to infect and colonize immunocompromised individuals and those with cystic fibrosis. One of these factors – inhibitor of vertebrate lysozyme, or Ivy – neutralizes the lytic activity of lysozyme, an antimicrobial enzyme part of the innate immune system that hydrolyzes the linkages between bacterial cell wall subunits. …

Probing Convergence In Orthogonal Conjugated Catalysis By T4 Lysozyme Utilizing Biophysical Characterization, William Turner

Master of Science in Chemical Sciences Theses

Conjugated polymers have become highly attractive as they afford unique material properties that make them promising for a wide range of applications, such as photovoltaics and drug delivery systems. However, these conjugated polymers require extensive synthetic steps involving hazardous organic solvents or metal-based catalysts yielding toxic waste streams. To remedy this, enzymes have emerged as a highly valuable alternative to synthesizing these polymers as they are able to be produced in environmentally benign conditions and have played a pivotal role in various biosynthetic strategies in recent years. Serving as model systems, lysozymes have been shown to polymerize 2-ethynylpyridine (2-EP) via …

Comparison Of Heavy Metals In Spinach Grown On The Roof Ground Location At Portland State University, Tyler A. Robin

Student Research Symposium

As a result of urbanization, fresh, healthy food can be expensive and easily contaminated but space for local farming is limited. Roofs can be underutilized in densely populated cities and can offer a space for local fresh farming. The purpose of this study is to continue a previous study done in 2021, to find if growing leafy vegetables on the roof can limit heavy metal exposure from air pollutants. This study compares spinach grown on the roof in 2021, 2019 and spinach bought from stores around the Portland State University campus and the heavy metals found in these greens. The …

Simple Arenes As Aryne Synthetic Equivalents Via Sulfonium Salt Intermediates, Riley A. Roberts

Student Research Symposium

Arynes are ephemeral molecules that are yet to be fully exploited in synthetic strategy because they are often challenging to access. These reactive intermediates participate in a myriad of reactions that conventional chemistry is incapable of, making them extremely useful for the synthesis of important molecules like pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. While classical approaches for synthesizing arynes employ cheap starting material, extremely harsh reagents are necessary to generate the aryne. In contrast, methods that do not require harsh reaction conditions do require starting material that is exceedingly difficult to synthesize. To access arynes quickly and efficiently, the work described herein aims …

Computational Investigation Of The Mechanism Of An Octahedral Ni(Ii) Proton Reduction Catalyst And Importance Of Intramolecular Hydrogen Bonding, Avik Bhattacharjee, Dayalis S.V. Brown, Carolyn N. Virca, Trent E. Ethridge, Oreana Mendez Galue, Uyen T. Pham, Theresa M. Mccormick

Student Research Symposium

Water-splitting to make hydrogen gas is of extreme importance in the field of alternative energy research. Transition-metal complexes are capable of catalyzing the conversion of water to hydrogen at higher pH, with low overpotential. Our research focuses on the importance of intramolecular hydrogen bonding (H-bonding) on the pKa and thermodynamic stability of the catalytic intermediates of a well-known proton-reduction catalyst, nickel (II) tris-pyridinethiolate. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations on the parent catalyst and eleven derivatives demonstrate geometric isomer formation after the protonation step of catalysis. These isomers differ in the relative thermodynamic stabilities and pKa values, which can be attributed …

Unusual High-Frequency Mechanical Properties Of Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticle Melts, Mayank Jhalaria, Yu Chang, Yucheng Huang, Brian C. Benicewicz, Sanat K. Kumar, George Fytas

Faculty Publications

Brillouin light spectroscopy is used to measure the elastic moduli of spherical polymer-grafted nanoparticle (GNP) melts as a function of chain length at fixed grafting density (0.47  chains/nm²) and nanoparticle radius (8 nm). While the moduli follow a rule of mixtures (Wood’s law) for long chains, they display enhanced elasticity and anomalous dissipation for graft chains <1⁢0⁢0  kDa. GNP melts with long polymers at high 𝜎 have a dry zone near the GNP core, surrounded by a region where the grafts can interpenetrate with chain fragments from adjacent GNPs. We propose that the departures from Wood’s law for short chains are due to the effectively larger silica volume fraction in the region where sound propagates—this is caused by the short, interpenetrated chain fragments being pushed out of the way. We thus conclude that transport mechanisms (of gas, ions, sound, thermal phonons) in GNP melts are radically different if interpenetrated chain segments can be “pushed out of the way” or not. This provides a facile new means for manipulating the properties of these materials.

Stabilization Of Phenanthrene Anions In Helium Nanodroplets, Siegfried Kollotzek, Farhad Izadi, Miriam Meyer, Stefan Bergmeister, Fabio Zappa, Stephan Denifl, Olof E. Echt, Paul Scheier, Elisabeth Gruber

Faculty Publications

It has been debated for years if the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon phenanthrene exists in its anionic form, or, in other words, if its electron affinity (EA) is positive or negative. In this contribution we confirm that the bare phenanthrene anion Ph^- created in a binary collision with an electron at room temperature has a lifetime shorter than microseconds. However, the embedding of neutral phenanthrene molecules in negatively charged helium nanodroplets enables the formation of phenanthrene anions by charge transfer processes and the stabilization of the latter in the ultracold environment. Gentle shrinking of the helium matrix of phenanthrene-doped HNDs …

The Design Of A Pcr-Based Assay To Detect And Isolate The Serine Palmitolytransferase Gene From Environmental Bacteria, Lana Taylor

Honors Theses

Sphingolipids are a natural class of lipids that function as structural elements of cell membranes and signaling molecules for important cellular activities such as cell growth, differentiation, apoptosis, recognition, and adhesion. These lipids can be found universally in eukaryotic cells as well as some species of bacteria, such as those found in the human gut microbiome and in the environment in soils. Though sphingolipid production is rare in bacteria, both eukaryotic and prokaryotic sphingolipid biosynthesis begin with the condensation of serine and palmitoyl CoA into 3-ketodihydrosphingosine catalyzed by the enzyme serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT). In recent years, several studies have shown …

Covalent Modification Of Recombinant Protein With Reactive Thiols, Sawyer Dulaney, Bailey Taylor

Honors Theses

Many diseases cause chronic and painful inflammation in different body systems. One of the front-line drug classes to treat such inflammation is Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs). Despite the benefits of oral administration of NSAIDs, there are drawbacks to their long-term usage because they can cause detrimental effects on off-target systems in the body such as the liver, kidney, or the lining of the intestinal tract. An alternative to NSAIDs is the usage of hydrogels for targeted drug delivery. Hydrogels can provide drug delivery in a specific portion of the site of inflammation, thus allowing higher doses of medication to be …

Computational And Spectroscopic Studies Of New Sulfur-Containing Dipole-Bound Anions, Nicholas Allen Kruse

Honors Theses

Sulfur and Nitrogen are essential ingredients in both life-supporting and light-harvesting molecules. Their presence also usually leads to the delocalization of electrons and large dipole and quadrupole moments. Such molecules are sometimes able to form negative ions through the electrostatic binding of an excess electron. These so-called multipole-bound (dipole-bound, quadrupole-bound, etc.) anions have been shown to be important in radiation damage in biology and electron transport processes. Here, we present our recent computational and experimental results studying the creation of new multipole-bound anions.

Development Of An Analytical Method For Determination Of Lead And Cadmium In Biological Materials By Gfaas Using Escherichia Coli As Model Substance, Michelle Catherine Gende, Martina Schmeling

Chemistry: Faculty Publications and Other Works

In this work, an analytical method was developed for the determination of lead and cadmium in biological samples using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Escherichia coli (E. coli) was chosen as model substance for this purpose as it is readily available in most laboratories and can be quickly and easily prepared with a high turnaround rate. Four different sample preparation methods were initially evaluated with respect to percent recovery, limit of detection, and limit of quantification, and the most promising one was developed further. The final process involving microwave assisted digestion of the sample with nitric acid …

Experimental Chronology And Investigation Of Yttrium Aluminum Garnet Nanoparticle Syntheses, Matthew Mcdonald

Doctoral Dissertations

Yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) has been a material of intense interest since its discovery in 1964. Recently, efforts have been made to find alternate ways of producing YAG and other analogous oxides as dense materials for applications in lasers, scintillators, and optics. Methods of densification necessitate the use of nanomaterials as the building blocks for their development.

The production of nano-oxides is a diverse field with numerous methods, each with its own benefits and drawbacks. Methods like ball milling and solution combustion were chosen because of their projected simplicity, meanwhile flame spray pyrolysis and precipitation were chosen because of the …

The Exploration Of Small Molecules, Lanthanide Complexes, And Catalysis Using Electronic Structure Theory, Dynamics, And Machine Learning, Gavin Mccarver

Doctoral Dissertations

With the ever increasing availability of computational resources, more challenging chemical systems can be studied. Among these challenges are the rotational and vibrational spectra of diatomic molecules within spectroscopic accuracy, the environmental perturbations induced on a rotating water molecule, the prediction of free binding energies of lanthanide complexes using machine learning, and the study of catalytic mechanisms through a theoretical framework. High levels of electronic structure theory were combined with a rigorous treatment of either the anharmonic vibrational wave functions to study diatomic molecules or the rotational wave functions to study H₂O-pH₂ interactions. The former was initially …

Experimental Physical Chemistry Applications For Material Science: The Neutron Vibrational Spectrum Of Biaxially-Oriented Pet And Hkust-1 As A Qcm-Based Ethylene Sensor, Zachary D. Stroupe

Doctoral Dissertations

This work is divided into two comprehensive subjects exploiting fundamental properties of physical chemistry to understand applied materials. The two subjects will be: the inelastic neutron scattering of thin polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films and the design and development of a quartz crystal microbalance-based ethylene detector. For the work involving the thin films, the inelastic neutron scattering (INS) was accomplished using the high flux of the VISION vibrational spectrometer at the Spallation Neutron Source yielding the highest quality data currently available. The torsional vibrational modes of biaxially-oriented PET (bPET) will be reported with the help of DFT calculations to aid in …

Raman Spectroscopy Of Aged Waterlogged Bones: Protocol Optimization, Bailey Hoplight

Chemistry

Current methods used for determining the age buried bones for forensic purposes are heavily affected by environmental conditions, can be susceptible to scientific bias and the interpretation can vary from investigator to investigator. Raman Spectroscopy can potentially be used as an automatic method to analyze the composition of bone eliminating the human factor. To test this hypothesis, we will use Raman spectroscopy to potentially identify the burial time of bones. The change in the chemical composition of the pig bones was probed using a Raman spectrometer with a 785nm excitation wavelength. Other parameters of the Raman instrument were optimized to …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Ternary Pt Nanoally Catalysts For Fuel Cells, Ylith Peck

Undergraduate Honors Theses

A hydrogen fuel cell is an electrochemical device that converts oxygen and hydrogen into electrical energy while producing water as the only by-product, which has attracted growing interest, especially in the automotive industry. This technology is efficient and has zero pollution to the environment, in contrast to the direct use of fossil fuels in combustion engines which produce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. One of the key components for hydrogen fuel cells is the catalyst that operates at the cathode, which currently use platinum. Due to the scarce amount of platinum in the world, the manufacturing cost for fuel cells …

High Performance Liquid Chromatography Monitoring Reaction Kinetics, Ken Overway, Mary Ruth Shifflett

Chemistry Faculty Scholarship

To develop a chromatographic method to characterize enantioselective kinetics, the reaction between aromatic aldehydes and ephedrine will be monitored with High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). First, develop kinetics analysis procedure with the HPLC, the decomposition of aspartame was observed with citrate and phosphate buffers. The procedure produced an activation energy in the presence of phosphate buffer of 71.9 kJ/mol with a -0.126 % error. The aromatic aldehyde, benzaldehyde, and ephedrine were run through a stereospecific column to separate peaks with various mobile phases. A more nonpolar mobile phase is required for better peak and retention time separation.

Friedel-Crafts Alkylation Of Benzene With A Superacid Catalyst, Josh T. Cutright

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Long-chain alkylbenzenes are industrially synthesized precursors to commercial surfactants such as laundry detergent. The currently used catalysts in the processes of their synthesis are corrosive and harmful to the environment. These problems can be avoided utilizing heterogeneous highly acidic catalysts. Solid catalysts do not corrode equipment and are relatively simple to remove from the post-reaction mixture. Phosphotungstic acid (PTA) supported on silica gel could be a possible catalyst due to its high acidity with an estimated pKa ≈ -13. The catalyst PTA-SiO₂ was prepared via the sol-gel method to covalently embed it in a silica support. The catalyst was …

Unraveling The Molecular Foundations Behind The Diverged Behaviors Of Mouse Insulin 1 And Insulin 2, Connecting Diabetes Risk With Glucocorticoid Treatment And Chronic Migraine Through The Analysis Of Islet Chemistry, And Capturing Key Posttranslational Modifications All Through The Application Of A Novel Lc-Ims-Ms Workflow, Connor Christopher Long

Select or Award-Winning Individual Scholarship

We display the capabilities of our established liquid chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry (LC-IMS-MS) workflow in the investigations of islet chemistry at the sub-single-islet level. We begin by characterizing the structural differences of Ins1 and Ins2 to present novel insights as to why their behaviors diverge. We then examine the effects of the stress hormone corticosterone, the rodent equivalent of human cortisol that is often used as a therapeutic, on pancreatic peptide hormone secretion. We also uncover the molecular connection behind the inverse relationship between type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk and chronic migraine via the neuropeptides CGRP and PACAP. Lastly, we …

The Use Of Hallucinogens In The Treatment Of Mental Health Disorders, Brianna Gagen

Honors College Theses

The percent of people with mental health disorders in the United States have skyrocketed over the past decade. With stigma surrounding the discussion of mental health and the symptoms associated with it, often those that are suffering do not receive sufficient treatment, as they might with a physical illness. The current, common treatment options for common psychological disorders, like depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, are sometimes not effective in patients, due to resistance or poor response outcomes. Consequently, in order to research alternative therapeutic approaches for mental health disorders, scientists are researching the effects of several hallucinogenic drugs in …

Rational Design Of Composite Nanomaterials For Water Treatment Applications, Mariana Marcos-Hernandez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Water quantity and quality have been affected in communities all around the world due to population growth, pollution, changes in land use, and climate change. In order to cope with existing and anticipated water demands and shortages, the use of treated or reclaimed water is an ongoing alternative that has helped communities all over the world address this problem. The adaptation of nanotechnology to traditional water and wastewater treatment processes offers new opportunities in technological developments. Unique size-dependent properties such as: high surface to mass ratio, high reactivity, high sorption capacities, fast dissolution, superparamagnetism, among others, provide high-tech efficient materials …

Tuning Nanoscale Molecular Heterogeneity To Improve Co2 Transport And Binding In Co2 Capture Solvents, Omar Avina

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Aqueous amine-based technology has been considered the most promising carbon capture solution for post-combustion gas from fossil fuel plants. However, solvent degradation and the high energy cost associated with removing CO2 from the solvent, known as regeneration, have hindered its widespread implementation. It has been proposed that utilizing a water lean solvent, in contrast to aqueous amines, can decrease the required heat to regenerate the solvent. Additionally, Malhotra et al. proposed that controlling the viscosity can help increase the mass transport properties of CO2 in the solvent. A recent study on CO2 binding organic liquids (CO2BOLs) found them to exist …

Automated Parallel Optimization Of Simulation Parameters Using Modified Nelder-Mead Simplex Algorithm, Erina Mills

All Dissertations

Computational simulations used in many fields have parameters that define models that are used to evaluate simulated properties. When developing these models, the goal is to choose the parameters that best replicate a set of desired properties. Mathematical optimization methods can be used to optimize the simulation parameters by defining a function that uses simulation parameters as input and outputs a value describing how well a set of experimental properties are reproduced.

Because simulated properties are often calculated using stochastic sampling methods, this optimization involves an objective function that is noisy and expensive to evaluate. Also, optimization of the simulation …