Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Synthesis And Evaluation Of A More Highly Conjugated Molecular Transporter, Aaron M. Almeida

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Spectroscopic Analysis Of Oxygen Sensing Aerogels, John Robert Ferrarone

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Synthesis And Structural Characterization Of Isotopically Labeled Asymmetric Metal Complexes : Through Metal Coupling Of Nmr Active Nuclei, Jenna Lynn Welby

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Stability Testing Of Mint Oils Through Gas Chromatography Analysis, Sarah Wolf

Honors Theses

In this experiment, the stability of mint oil was measured through gas chromatography analysis. Eight different oils were tested. Levels of key components of mint oil, including menthol and menthone for peppermint oil, and carvone and limonene for spearmint oil, was compared over time. Several packaging materials were immersed in oils in order to determine their effects, if any, on the composition of the oils. Additionally, oil was subjected to either 25 degree or 40 degree Celsius temperatures to determine if temperature affected the oil composition.

Novel Synthesis Of Xanthene And Benzoxanthene Dyes, Corin Michelle Schowalter

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Applying Model-View-Controller To An Embedded System Simulation, Joseph Dominic Cali

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Designing A Simulated Testing System For Embedded Systems Development, Abhishek Debchoudry

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Crossover Property Of The Nonperiodic Autocorrelation Of Quaternary Sequences, Michael Pohl

Honors Theses

Sequences with identical nonperiodic autocorrelation functions have recently been used to construct Golay sequences different than the Davis-Jedwab construction. In this thesis, we construct infinite families of quaternary sequences with identical non periodic autocorrelation functions. These results demonstrate that current con­ structions for quaternary families are not all encompassing and need further study.

Identification And Catalog Of Holocene And Late Pleistocene Chiropteran Fossils From Hamilton County, Tn, Ashley Miller

Honors Theses

Caves play an essential role in our understanding of the Pleistocene Epoch. Caves represent the largest percentage of known North American Pleistocene faunas (Kurten and Anderson, 1980). These unique environments provide stable erosion free conditions that allow fossils to remain preserved for thousands, if not millions, of years (Corgan, 1996; Schubert et al., 2003). The fossil remains found in caves can help paleontologists document biogeographic and evolutionary patterns in a great variety of organisms (Schubert et al., 2003). Many fossils found in cave deposits only date to the Holocene (Schubert et al., 2003). These fossils localities are rarely studied by …

Intramolecular Chemistry Of Ss-Acetoxyethylidene And Photochemical Generation Of Vinylidenes, Jennifer M. Nguyen

Honors Theses

The parent carbene ß-acetoxyethylidene has been previously generated by the photolysis of its precursor, acetic acid 1a,9b-dihydro-1H-cyclopropa[l]phenanthren-1-yl methyl ester. Mechanistic studies on ß-acetoxyethylidene have indicated the possibilities of three rearrangement pathways to the formation of vinyl acetate: a proton shift, an acyl shift, and a cyclic rearrangement (see Figure 8). A deuterium labeling study involving the replacement of the hydrogens on the methylene carbon has indicated that the simple 1,2-H shift was the primary manner of rearrangement, with an 82% yield of product. However, a primary kinetic isotope effect may have occurred due to the greater strength of a C-D …

World Bank -Cpa Conflict: The Struggle To Define Human Rights And Development In The Philippines, Adam B. Robbins

Honors Theses

This thesis analyzes the interactions between the World Bank (hereafter, the Bank) and the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA), an indigenous and environmental advocacy group based in the Cordillera region of Luzon, in the Philippines. Using data gathered through both text-based and participatory research methods, I analyze the discursive relationship and violent confrontations between the two organizations. Conflicting development and human rights values cause the majority of these conflicts. I focus on how each organization enacts development and human rights, and how this leads to conflict. Ultimately, I intend for this thesis to offer practical guidance for the reader involved in …

Developing A Tool To Assess Human Health Impacts Of Purchasing, Kaitlin C. Himmelmann

Honors Theses

Chemical production impacts the environment and human health. Many common products contain chemicals that can be detrimental to human health and more specifically harmful to the endocrine system. Many individuals and institutions unknowingly buy products containing chemicals that can harm the endocrine system. I developed a score that examines the level of harm that these chemicals pose to the endocrine health of the general population. The implications of Colby’s purchasing practices are discussed.

Detailed Mechanistic And Optimization Of The Photochemical Production Method Of Superoxide, Ta-Chung Ong

Honors Theses

The highly reactive nature of superoxide anion presents an analytical challenge to prepare stable standards for instrument calibration. McDowell et al. (1983) developed a convenient method of superoxide production based on continuous photolysis of benzophenone and acetone in oxygen saturated, alkaline, 2-propanol solution. In the McDowell reaction, ketones are photolyzed to their triplet state, and then reacted with alcohol to produce ketyl radicals that react with oxygen to produce superoxide. This study investigated the mechanism and rate of these reactions by Laser Flash Photolysis (LFP). Reaction rate constants for the reaction between the benzophenone triplet and ethanol was 5.5 x …

Gauguin : Generating Art Using Genetic Algorithms & User Input Naturally, Thomas E. Cook

Honors Theses

This paper outlines an undergraduate research project demonstrating an application of evolutionary computation in the context of computer art. The project, named GAUGUIN, combines the visual impact of modern computer graphics with the computational power of genetic algorithms. GAUGUIN allows the user to become a creator of art, without requiring any technical or artistic training. By using an intuitive and easily comprehensible process like evolution to create the composition, the user simply needs to evaluate a sequence of compositions. Mimicking the biological process of evolution, the system will evolve the works in order to achieve images that are more visually …

Concomitant Polymorphism In 1,2-Bis(9-Anthryl)Acetylene, Rebecca Goldstein

Honors Theses

This thesis details the serendipitous discovery of the phenomenon of concomitant conformational polymorphism found to exist in 1,2-bis(9-anthryl)acerylene. 1,2-bis(9anthryl)acetylene is a previously published molecule. However, the published crystal structure showed the molecule to be completely planar, and to crystallize in the form of orange needles. While this form of the crystal was indeed found during the synthesis of 1,2-bis(9anthryl)acetylene, a new polymorph, crystallizing as yellow prisms, was also discovered. This yellow polymorph was found by X-ray crystallography to be monoclinic with an angle of 66.7 between the anthracene planes. The planar polymorph 1,2-bis(9-anthryl)acetylene was also found by X-ray crystallography to …

Pov-It: The Pov-Ray Interactive Tutorial, Eleanor O'Rourke

Honors Theses

The Persistence of Vision Ray Tracer, commonly known as POV-Ray, is a computer graphics package that can be used to produce highly sophisticated and photorealistic images and animations. POV-Ray is widely used in the computer graphics community for a diverse variety of applications, including teaching college courses, creating visual music animations, and generating computer art. Although the popularity of POV-Ray is apparent, the teaching materials available for the package are confusing, disorganized, and inaccessible. In this project, I have designed an online system that provides a series of interactive tutorials that teach users how to create images using the POV-Ray …

External Control Of Electron Temperature In Ultra-Cold Plasmas, Roy O. Wilson

Honors Theses

This thesis discusses progress towards achieving external control of the electron temperature and the Coulomb coupling parameter of ultra-cold plasmas. Using a Littman dye laser, we create the plasma by partially photoionizing a dense, cold sample of rubidium atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT). At a controllable time delay, we excite neutral atoms in the plasma to a specific Rydberg state using a narrow bandwidth pulsed dye laser. We have made progress towards optimizing and quantifying the achievable Rydberg atom density by using mm-wave spectroscopy to control the evolution of a cold dense Rydberg sample to plasma and have also …

Α-Arylation Of Cyclopentanone : Palladium-Catalyzed Coupling Of Enamines And Aryliodides & N-Acyloxazines As Novel Bicyclic Weinreb Amides, Kristina M. Gehring

Honors Theses

The introduction of an aryl group a to a carbonyl is a useful step in the preparation of a variety of biologically interesting compounds. The palladium-catalyzed a-arylation of ketones and esters, through their enolates, has received a great deal of attention lately. Despite these efforts, cyclopentanones remain one of the most difficult classes ofketones to arylate. Many of these methods suffer from the limitation of the relatively basic reaction conditions needed in order to prepare the enolate nucleopbiles in­situ. The direct palladium-catalyzed α-arylation of enamines as an alternative route to α­aryl ketones bas received very little attention and might be …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Novel 1-Substituted Meta-Terphenyls For Platinum Complexes, Sarah Marie Sparks

Honors Theses

The unique luminescent properties of aryl, tridentate platinum complexes has led to an increased interest and investigation of various binding modes, with an emphasis on ligand design. These complexes are anticipaterl to be useful in chemical sensing, organic light emitting diodes, and solar energy converters.

Efficient Synthesis Of N9-Alkylguanines : & Evaluation Of A More Highly Conjugated Analog Of Guanidinium-Rich Molecular Transporters Using A Ph Dependent Fluorescence Assay, David E. Olson

Honors Theses

Synthesis of N9-(2-chloroethyl)guanine from 2-amino-6-chloropurine was accomplished in three steps with an overall yield of 83%. All products were purified via crystalli7.ation and no chromatography was required. Selective crystallization of the desired N9 isomer subsequent to the key alkylation step completely and efficiently removed the N7 isomer. This compound was shown to be a versatile reagent in the synthesis of various N9-substituted guanines.

The Synthesis And Characterization Of A Metal Complex Containing Chemically Non-Equivalent Axial Cyanide Ligands, Derek D. Wayman

Honors Theses

In order to analyze the magnitude and factors which effect 13C-13C NMR coupling through a metal center, we have synthesized an octahedral dicyano cobalt (III) complex in which two trans cyanides are chemically non-equivalent. Although similar complexes have been reported, their spectroscopic characterization with isotopically labeled cyanide (13CN) has yet to be studied in detail.

The Synthesis And Characterization Of A Metal Complex Containing Chemically Non-Equivalent Axial Cyanide Ligands, Derek D. Waymand

Honors Theses

In order to analyze the magnitude and factors which effect 13C-13C NMR coupling through a metal center, we have synthesized an octahedral dicyano cobalt (III) complex in which two trans cyanides are chemically non-equivalent. Although similar complexes have been reported, their spectroscopic characterization with isotopically labeled cyanide ( 13CN) has yet to be studied in detail.

Boundary Behavior Of Laplace Transforms, Timothy Ferguson

Honors Theses

In this thesis, we examine the boundary behavior of Laplace transforms (as analytic functions on the right and left half planes) of certain bounded functions. The types of bounded functions we consider are Fourier transforms of measures and almost periodic functions.

Database Creation And Implementation Using Open Source Software, Shelby Patru

Honors Theses

This project is designed to investigate the use of open source software and utilize this software to create a database for GNP Acoustical. This honors thesis will focus on the history of open source software, the pros and cons of using this software, a brief look at open source vs. proprietary software, the open source maturity model and the specifics of major software packages in the open source field that could be used to complete this project. Open source software was chosen as the subject for this project because of its increasing popularity among worldwide corporations.

This project was going …

On Conway's Generalization Of The 3x + 1 Problem, Robin M. Givens

Honors Theses

This thesis considers a variation of the 3x+1, or Collatz, Problem involving a function we call the Conway function. The Conway function is defined by letting C3(n)=2k for n=3k and C3(n)=4k±1 for n=3k±1, where n is an integer. The iterates of this function generate a few 'short' cycles, but the s' tructural dynamics are otherwise unknown. We investigate properties of the Conway function and other related functions. We also discuss the possibility of using the Conway function to generate keys for cryptographic use based on a fast, efficient binary implemenation of the function. Questions related to the conjectured tree-like structure …

Determining The Level Of Network Security Awareness Of Utc Students Living On Campus, Alma Cemerlic

Honors Theses

While information technology divisions in various schools often conduct surveys on general computer use, almost no studies have been done that directly targeted the level of Internet security awareness among college students. The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), a not-for-profit, public-private partnership focused on increasing online security awareness, in collaboration with the Government and the Internet industry, organized a number of different projects designed to promote "safe online practices" among college students. However, since research has not been done to investigate the relationship between students' demographics and their Internet security awareness, it is not possible to tell how effective these …

Position Tracking And Motion Prediction Using Fuzzy Logic, Patrick Rodjito

Honors Theses

Unlike with traditional, computationally expensive algorithms, with Fuzzy Logic (FL) one does not have to own a fast computer or very precise measuring instruments to get good results. At lower costs, FL provides a simple way to arrive at a definite conclusion based upon vague, ambiguous, imprecise, noisy, or missing input information. This is a facet of AI that appears to resemble human intuition in an important way: the ability to make quick and urgent judgment calls, on the spot, without the need to be absolutely certain of the input. The benefit brought by a low-cost solution like FL to …

Vector Theory Of Spontaneous Lorentz Violation, Shu Hong Fung

Honors Theses

Classical electromagnetism predicts two massless propagating modes, which are known as the two polarizations of the photon. On the other hand, if the Lorentz symmetry of classical electromagnetism is spontaneously broken, the new theory will still have two massless Nambu-Goldstone modes resembling the photon. If the Lorentz symmetry is broken by a bumblebee potential that allows for excitations out of the minimum, then massive modes arise. Furthermore, in curved spacetime, such massive modes will be created through a process other than the usual Higgs mechanism because of the dependence of the bumblebee potential on both the vector field and the …

Synthesis Of 2-Oxo-16-(3', 4'-Methylenedioxyphenyl)-Trans-15-Hexadecene, Adelajda Zorba

Honors Theses

This work presents the progress made towards synthesizing 2-oxo-16-(3', 4'methylenedioxyphenyl)-trans-15-hexadecene, an antimycobacterial compound that was originally isolated from the leaves of Piper Sanctum. The hydrocarbon chain of the molecule was synthesized first by opening a 15-pentadecanolactone ring by means of HI, and performing an E2 elimination reaction on the molecule followed by an organolithium reaction with CH3Li. Hexadec-15-en-2-one that was afforded this way was later reacted with 5-bromobenzo[d][1,3]dioxole following the appropriate Heck reaction protocol that allows for the formation of a palladium catalyzed carbon-carbon bond.

The modes of action of 2-oxo-16-(3', 4'-methylenedioxyphenyl)-trans-15hexadecene are comparable to the ones of rifampicin, a …

Investigating The Mechanisms Of A Novel Ribosomal Rna Degradation System, Daniel Fowler

Honors Theses

Nonfunctional ribosomal RNA decay (NRD) is a novel quality control system that eliminates defective ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs) from yeast cells. Plasmid-encoded rRNAs containing single nucleotide substitutions in the peptidyl transferase center of 25S rRNA or the decoding center of 18S rRNA are co-expressed with endogenous rRNAs in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Quantitative northern blots reveal the steady-state levels of the resulting nonfunctional rRNAs are markedly decreased compared to wild-type rRNAs . Furthermore, the decreased expression is not the result ofdefects in rRNA transcription or processing, but instead is due to decreased stability ofthe mature, nonfunctional rRNAs. Mutations in other functionally important rRNA …