Physical Sciences and Mathematics | Open Access Articles

Sedimentary Record Of Extreme Events In The Lake Maurepas Basin, Southern Louisiana, Jonathan Edward Lambert

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

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Controlling Competing Phases Of Magnetic Intermetallics And Bioceramics, Jacob D. Mcalpin

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

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Association Of Drd4 Gene Polymorphisms With Range In Species Of The Genus Copsychus, Jocelyn B. Miller

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

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On The Amount Of Sediment Deposited In Floodplains From The Mississippi River: A Case Study In Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana, Matthew Smith

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

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Investigating Bacterial Replication Restart: Can D.Rad Pria Load D.Rad Dnab Onto Dna Forks With A Leading Strand Gap?, Michael Ryan

Honors Theses

The bacteria Deinococcus radiodurans (D. rad) is able to survive multiple double stranded breaks to its DNA with no detriment to its health as its genome can be fully repaired in a matter of hours. During bacterial DNA replication, points of DNA damage can cause replication to cease, requiring an origin independent replisome loading pathway to resume the replication. This pathway is called replication restart , a highly conserved pathway in bacteria. In the E. coli replication restart pathway primosome proteins function by binding to the DNA fork and facilitating the loading of the DnaB helicase onto the replication fork. …

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Exploring Data-Driven Electricity Feedback On Energy Conservation Behavior In The University Of Dayton Student Neighborhood, Daniel R. Esposito

Honors Theses

In general, homeowners do not have a concrete idea of how much energy their houses are using at any given moment. This energy “invisibility” is thought to be a barrier toward people adopting more sustainable behaviors. This study involves installing energy monitors in houses in the University of Dayton student neighborhood to analyze two important questions: whether the monitors teach students about the relationship between their activities and energy consumption, and whether the monitors influence students to adjust their household behaviors. Due to complications with and uncertainties in the data, quantitative conclusions could not be drawn. Fortunately, data collected from …

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Synthesis And Characterization Of Three Unique Mono-Metallic Lanthanide Complexes, Jasminder S. Grewal

Honors Theses

Three unique lanthanide complexes of formula Ln(tdh)3dpp (where Ln = Eu3+, Tb3+or Nd3+; tdh = 1,1,1- trifluoro-5,5-dimethyl-2,4-hexanedione and dpp = 2,3-Bis(2-pyridyl)pyrazine) were structurally characterized. X-ray quality crystals were grown through slow evaporation in a solution of concentrated ethyl acetate and hexanes. Each of the metals are eight coordinate, with 6 oxygen atoms from the tdh ligand and two nitrogen atoms from the dpp. Specifically, the nitrogen from 1-pyridyl group and the 1-pyrazine group coordinate to the lanthanide metal. Luminescent studies were performed on all three compounds. The Eu and Tb complexes were able to emit light in the visible region …

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Synthesis And Characterization Of A Tetra-Ruthenated Naphthylbiliverdin, Ashley M. Berding

Honors Theses

A new naphtylbiliverdin compound has been synthesized which offers intense absorption with the photodynamic therapy window (600 nm – 850 nm). The compound has been characterized by proton NMR, high resolution electrospray mass spectrometry, elemental analysis, and UV/vis spectroscopy. Coordination of four ruthenium(II) polypyridyl complexes was accomplished by standard procedures. The new tetra-ruthenated naphthylbiliverdin was characterized by elemental analysis. Cyclic voltammetry measurements reveal that all four ruthenium moieties are coordinated to the pyridyl groups of the biliverdin compound. The intense metal to ligand charge transfer (MLCT) bands of the peripheral ruthenium groups overshadow the absorption due to the biliverdin compound; …

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Classifying The Functionality Of Primosome Protein A In Deinococcus Radiodurans, Jacob Boone

Honors Theses

Deinococcus radiodurans is an extremophile bacterium with the capacity to withstand tremendous DNA damage that causes disruption of replisome complex activity. The efficiency of origin-independent replisome reloading directly correlates to effectiveness of DNA damage coping strategies, and remains largely undefined in D. rad primosome components. Investigation of D. rad PriA as a helicase protein was conducted to determine if PriA could be classified as a fossilized helicase. This project tested the three functions of known helicases by comparing E. coli and D. rad PriA. DNA binding, DNA unwinding, and ATP hydrolysis assays were performed on both proteins separately and results …

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Design And Characterization Of Photoresponsive Supramolecular Aggregates, Julie A. Fitz

Honors Theses

Supramolecular chemistry concerns the manner in which molecular building blocks associate via non-covalent interactions and form aggregates. The particular building block in this research is a photoresponsive molecule 4,4’-azobenzene dicarboxylic acid (ADA), a molecule that isomerizes reversibly around an N-N double bond upon irradiation with different wavelengths of light. The large structural changes in the molecule that result from isomerization have the potential to modulate the properties of a supramolecular aggregate. ADA was studied under a variety of environmental conditions for the purpose of understanding aggregation behavior and geometries. A UV-Vis and Circular Dichroism (CD) spectroscopic study of ADA showed …

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Photoreactions Of A Water Soluble Poly-Isoquinolpyrrole With Plasmid Dna, Gregory Versteeg

Honors Theses

With the goal of creating a porphyrin we reacted isoquinol pyrrole, p-fluorobenzaldehyde, and boron trifluoride etherate under appropriate conditions. Instead of a porphyrin being synthesized, we created polyisoquinol pyrrole in high yield and with great absorption properties around 600nm. We characterized this compound via UV/vis spectroscopy, proton NMR, and electrochemistry. The compound was then reacted with [Ru(bipy)2Cl2] to create a cationic compound and this molecule was tested as a possible photosensitizer for photodynamic therapy (PDT) but it was unable to photocleave plasmid DNA above 550nm. The original compound was then methylated and this new compound was also tested as a …

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Synthesis And Purification Of A Nucleoside Platinum Complex That Promotes Dna Cross-Linking, Ryan Spear

Honors Theses

Cancer is a deadly and ever present disease in humans and its treatment has become a focus of many types of research. This project was designed to synthesize a platinum complex that will cross-link DNA and in turn cause cell death for rapidly dividing cells (usually cancer cells). The target compound strongly resembled the structure of a nucleic acid, thymidine. Further, nucleic acids are extremely important to cell life and cell membranes have transporters specific for them. Therefore, the purpose to exploring this new platinum complex was to create compound that a cell can easily transport inside its cell and …

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Population Variation In Fossil Graptolites: A Quantitative Study Based On Single Species Assemblages, Elliott Matthias Mazur

Honors Theses

There are several different types of variation in populations of fossil organisms. These include intra-specific (population) variation, evolutionary variation (specimens on a slab accumulating over thousands of years), and preservational variation. An understanding of the extent and type of variation present in a population is fundamental to biological and paleontological studies. This study examines several populations of fossil graptolites from which population variation can be studied without the influence of the other types, and includes several types of morphometric analyses to examine population variation in several species of fossil graptolites. These analyses include isolating three dimensionally preserved specimens from limestone, …

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An Introduction To The Markov Chain Monte Carlo And Wang-Landau Algorithms, Jacob R. Desmond

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

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Analyzing Market Incentives For Wetland Restoration In Louisiana: Wetland Mitigation Banking, Blue Carbon Sequestration, And Wetland Entrepreneurship, Eric Newberry

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

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Functional Variants Of Metal-Binding Domains 5 And 6 Of The Human Wilson Protein, Sandra Weitzner

Honors Theses

Wilson's disease is caused by mutations in atp7b, a gene that encodes a copper-transporting P_1B-type ATPase, otherwise known as the Wilson protein. Over 300 different mutations cause Wilson's disease, and we focused on missense mutations occurring in the 650 amino acid N-terminus of the Wilson protein. This portion of the protein includes six metal-binding domains that function to azquire Cu(I) from the cytosol, prior to passing it through the ATP-driven membrane-spanning pump. Of particular interest are metal-binding domains 5 and 6 (WLN5-6) since we know that they are absolutely required for function of the enzyme. Several missense mutations …

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Influence Of The Sea Surface Microlayer On Ozone Deposition Velocity, Kathryn Moore

Honors Theses

The biogeochemical cycles of both iodine and ozone are strongly linked to human health and global climate and are tightly coupled through chemical processes occurring in the surface ocean and troposphere. The concentration and distribution of these compounds have the potential to drive the oxidizing capacity and suite of chemical reactions occurring in the marine boundary layer. However, modeling coupled ocean-atmosphere systems involving them is challenging because of a limited understanding of the magnitude and dominant mechanisms controlling the fluxes of both species, in addition to temporally and spatially heterogeneous distributions of ozone and iodine in the sea surface and …

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Deformation Mechanisms In Mylonites At Fletcher Peak, Washington County, Me, Ariana S. Boyd

Honors Theses

Mylonite formation and development is dependent on a number of factors including temperature, strain rate, and fluid fugacity. All three factors affect flow stress and viscosity; thus, a variance in each will affect the development of mylonites. This study focuses on factors leading to the formation of mylonite surrounded by ultramylonite of the same protolith, along-strike to one another at the center of a fault zone. The rocks in question are from the Deblois granite cut by the Kellyland fault zone, a ductile strike-slip fault zone within the larger Norumbega fault system in eastern Maine. The Deblois granite as a …

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Quantumness And Coherence In Photosynthesis, Brian Doolittle

Honors Theses

Long-lived oscillations lasting up to 1800 fs have been observed in the Fenna--Mathews--Olsen (FMO) Pigment-Protein complex. It is unclear if the oscillations are quantum or classical in origin. Quantized intra-pigment normal modes are responsible for these long-lived oscillations. In this thesis we simulate a bacteriachlorophyll dimer in the FMO Complex at physiological conditions. Our model describes two electronically coupled pigments coupled to the vibrational protein environment. Our goal is to find system parameters that allow long-lived quantum coherences to exist in photosynthetic complexes. We calculate the time evolution of our system's density matrix using the numerically exact quantum adiabatic path …

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The Impact Of Dams On Nitrogen Cycling In The Messalonskee Stream, Rebecca K. Forgrave

Honors Theses

The Messalonskee Stream in central Maine has five hydroelectric dams on 16.6km. Each dam drastically changes the flow regime of the stream, dividing it into segments with different patterns of sediment settling and organic matter retention. I investigated how these disruptions impact nitrogen cycling, specifically nitrification rates above and below each dam. I expected higher nitrification rates above the dams, where levels of organic matter are higher, and lower rates below the dam where scouring removes organic matter and fine sediment from the streambed. I measured sediment nitrification rates with a nitrapyrin-inhibition assay and potential drivers of nitrification including sediment …

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Deformation Mechanisms In The Metasedimentary Rocks Within The Kellyland Fault Zone, Washington County, Maine, Morgan E. Monz

Honors Theses

This study focuses on a high-strain, strike-slip shear zone that juxtaposed metasedimentary rocks and a homogenous granite near the brittle-ductile transition, at a depth of 15-20 km. The metasedimentary rocks of the Flume Ridge Formation (FRF) exhibit a progressive deformation gradient of phase mixing and increasing fabric intensity across strike, northwest-to-southeast, approaching the center of the shear zone. Deformation mechanisms were controlled by metasomatic reactions in a fluid-rich fault zone. During deformation, biotite and potassium feldspar in the metasedimentary rocks reacted to form phengite—a much weaker phase. The nucleation and growth of weak phases, combined with phase mixing, decreased the …

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The Effect Of Azo Textile Dyes On Gross Primary Production And Community Respiration In An Artificial Environment, Theresa L. Petzoldt

Honors Theses

Azo dyes are the largest category of textile dyes in production today, with over 100,000 tons of dye produced yearly in the United States. Ten to fifty percent of this dye is not fixed to the fabric during the textile production process, and is therefore discarded as effluent. Because dye waste is difficult to process in wastewater treatment facilities, it is important to understand how this waste affects aquatic systems using a whole ecosystem approach. This study used an artificial stream to model the effects of four azo dyes on benthic biofilm production and respiration. Dyes were found to have …

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The Talbot Effect, Malia Kawamura

Honors Theses

The goal of this project is to experimentally investigate the optical Talbot effect and the electron Talbot effect. The Talbot effect is a near-field diffraction effect which occurs when plane waves are incident upon a grating. The Talbot effect creates full grating revivals at integral Talbot lengths and revivals with greater spatial periodicity at fractional Talbot lengths. We use a green helium neon laser and Ronchi rulings to take CCD camera images of the fractional Talbot revivals directly. Additionally, a photodiode records light intensity as a function of time as a second identical grating is moved to verify the presence …

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Purenovation, Inc, Alex Nelson

Honors Theses

Welcome to PUREnovation, where "converting today and conserving tomorrow" is our lifestyle. Our mission embodies the idea of providing customers the opportunity to maximize cost savings while simultaneously helping to reduce the carbon footprint in their hometown. With a management team that encompasses a wide variety of backgrounds, we possess the necessary skills and abilities to drive our mission and visions forward. Based on our values and convictions, we believe that it is of the utmost importance to serve the individuals who live in small towns and to preserve the nature of the earth that God has graciously provided for …

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Statistical Analysis Of The Variability And Reliability Of Eye-Tracking Test In Measuring Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Xi He

Honors Theses

Saccadic eye-tracking tests have been advocated as a useful tool to distinguish mTBI patients from healthy people. However, intra-individual variances sometimes interfere with the interpretation of eye-tracking results, especially in experiments when group size is restricted. This study analyzes eye-tracking results of 14 mTBI patients taking the test twice with no medical administration in between. Using more accurate models to fit each individual's result, variables such as asymptote (of the fit functions) and hypothetical values for peak velocity, peak acceleration, and duration are derived for variability analysis. We conclude that the asymptotes for peak velocity and peak acceleration are the …

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The Effects Of Coal Mining On Health In Appalachia : Global Context And Social Justice Implications, Adrienne Schmidt

Honors Theses

The purpose of this report is to investigate the environmental and health effects of coal mining in the Appalachian region of the United States in the context of global natural resource extraction, explore existing regulation for the reduction of negative environmental health effects of mining in Appalachia, and explore the social justice implications of current mining practices. The research for this report was limited to literature published in English. It was found that there are widespread negative health effects of mining in Appalachia due to environmental toxins, a toxic social environment of limited economic opportunity, and occupational health hazards. The …

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The Fluvial Sequence Of A Latest Changhsingian, Pre-Pt Extinction River Complex, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, Tara Chizinski

Honors Theses

The Permian–Triassic mass extinction, dated between 251.941 ± 0.037 and 251.880 ± 0.0371 Ma, is well documented in the marine record, but details of the event on land are still ambiguous and widely debated within the scientific community. This project focuses on the stratigraphic record leading up to the PT boundary at one of the critical sections in the Karoo Basin of South Africa, Wapadsberg Pass. A transition in river styles is reported to have occurred across the landscape from meandering Permian sandstone-dominated channels to Triassic braided complexes. This transition can be recorded by architectural elements, which reflect sensitive variations …

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Energy Drinks And Caffeine: The Science Behind The Billion- Dollar Industry, Eric Villarreal

Honors Theses

Ask any college student how he or she gets through long study sessions, all-nighters, and the always grueling finals week and he or she will most likely reference some caffeine-containing beverage as the antidote, with energy drinks becoming an ever increasing option. The effects, both physiological and psychological, of the ingredients in energy drinks (caffeine and, to a lesser degree, glucose) dictate their usefulness to consumers. A review of the available research literature from http://scholar.google.com using the following keywords: caffeine, energy drink, Red Bull, caffeinated beverage, caffeine drink, energy drink industry, energy drink company, and glucose yielded the references that …

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On Harmonic Vibrational Frequency Convergence To The Complete Basis Set Limit In Water Dimers And Hydrogen Fluoride Dimers, Amanda Hardwick

Honors Theses

This work focuses on the convergence of harmonic vibrational frequencies in the water dimer (H2O)2 and the hydrogen fluoride dimer (HF)2 to the complete basis set (CBS) limit. It also evaluates the effect of counterpoise (CP) correction procedures and the effect of sequentially removing diffuse functions from specific basis sets on the harmonic vibrational frequencies of these dimers. Computations were run using second-order MÃ¸ller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2) with large, flexible correlation consistent basis sets. This research aims to determine if removing diffuse functions can increase the speed of harmonic vibrational frequency computations without sacrificing accuracy. Results indicate that CP-correction procedures …

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Investigation Into The Synthesis Of Dodecahydro-3a,9a-Diazaperylene, Andrew Palmer

Honors Theses

Dodecahydro-3a,9a-diazaperylene (DHDAP) may serve as a potential donor for use in a donor-sigma-acceptor complex for unimolecular rectification. In order to use DHDAP as a donor, its synthesis must first be studied and altered in such manners as to add a synthetic handle. Other things of important include increasing the yield and better understanding the mechanism by which DHDAP forms. Numerous experiments were conducted in various manners such as testing various solvents among various temperatures to even adding in extra reagents to push the reaction one way or another. In the end the yield of the synthesis was found to improve …

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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Sedimentary Record Of Extreme Events In The Lake Maurepas Basin, Southern Louisiana, Jonathan Edward Lambert

Honors Theses

Controlling Competing Phases Of Magnetic Intermetallics And Bioceramics, Jacob D. Mcalpin

Honors Theses

Association Of Drd4 Gene Polymorphisms With Range In Species Of The Genus Copsychus, Jocelyn B. Miller

Honors Theses

On The Amount Of Sediment Deposited In Floodplains From The Mississippi River: A Case Study In Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana, Matthew Smith

Honors Theses

Investigating Bacterial Replication Restart: Can D.Rad Pria Load D.Rad Dnab Onto Dna Forks With A Leading Strand Gap?, Michael Ryan

Honors Theses

Exploring Data-Driven Electricity Feedback On Energy Conservation Behavior In The University Of Dayton Student Neighborhood, Daniel R. Esposito

Honors Theses

Synthesis And Characterization Of Three Unique Mono-Metallic Lanthanide Complexes, Jasminder S. Grewal

Honors Theses

Synthesis And Characterization Of A Tetra-Ruthenated Naphthylbiliverdin, Ashley M. Berding

Honors Theses

Classifying The Functionality Of Primosome Protein A In Deinococcus Radiodurans, Jacob Boone

Honors Theses

Design And Characterization Of Photoresponsive Supramolecular Aggregates, Julie A. Fitz

Honors Theses

Photoreactions Of A Water Soluble Poly-Isoquinolpyrrole With Plasmid Dna, Gregory Versteeg

Honors Theses

Synthesis And Purification Of A Nucleoside Platinum Complex That Promotes Dna Cross-Linking, Ryan Spear

Honors Theses

Population Variation In Fossil Graptolites: A Quantitative Study Based On Single Species Assemblages, Elliott Matthias Mazur

Honors Theses

An Introduction To The Markov Chain Monte Carlo And Wang-Landau Algorithms, Jacob R. Desmond

Honors Theses

Analyzing Market Incentives For Wetland Restoration In Louisiana: Wetland Mitigation Banking, Blue Carbon Sequestration, And Wetland Entrepreneurship, Eric Newberry

Honors Theses

Functional Variants Of Metal-Binding Domains 5 And 6 Of The Human Wilson Protein, Sandra Weitzner

Honors Theses

Influence Of The Sea Surface Microlayer On Ozone Deposition Velocity, Kathryn Moore

Honors Theses

Deformation Mechanisms In Mylonites At Fletcher Peak, Washington County, Me, Ariana S. Boyd

Honors Theses

Quantumness And Coherence In Photosynthesis, Brian Doolittle

Honors Theses

The Impact Of Dams On Nitrogen Cycling In The Messalonskee Stream, Rebecca K. Forgrave

Honors Theses

Deformation Mechanisms In The Metasedimentary Rocks Within The Kellyland Fault Zone, Washington County, Maine, Morgan E. Monz

Honors Theses

The Effect Of Azo Textile Dyes On Gross Primary Production And Community Respiration In An Artificial Environment, Theresa L. Petzoldt

Honors Theses

The Talbot Effect, Malia Kawamura

Honors Theses

Purenovation, Inc, Alex Nelson

Honors Theses

Statistical Analysis Of The Variability And Reliability Of Eye-Tracking Test In Measuring Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Xi He

Honors Theses

The Effects Of Coal Mining On Health In Appalachia : Global Context And Social Justice Implications, Adrienne Schmidt

Honors Theses

The Fluvial Sequence Of A Latest Changhsingian, Pre-Pt Extinction River Complex, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, Tara Chizinski

Honors Theses

Energy Drinks And Caffeine: The Science Behind The Billion- Dollar Industry, Eric Villarreal

Honors Theses

On Harmonic Vibrational Frequency Convergence To The Complete Basis Set Limit In Water Dimers And Hydrogen Fluoride Dimers, Amanda Hardwick

Honors Theses

Investigation Into The Synthesis Of Dodecahydro-3a,9a-Diazaperylene, Andrew Palmer

Honors Theses