Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Comparison Of The Vibrational Modes Of Thiolated Gold Nanoparticles Undergoing Core-Conversions Via Raman Spectroscopy, William Gregory Cannella Jr.

Honors Theses

In this project, the vibrational characteristics/vibrational modes are explored via Raman Spectroscopy for thiolated-gold nanoparticles. This class of compounds is also known as gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). They remain of great interest in research areas such as catalysis, gold dependent nanoelectronics, drug delivery, and sensing, due to their unique size-dependent optical, chiroptical, and electronic properties. Vibrational spectroscopy of thiolated gold nanoparticles are oftentimes considered nontrivial as the compounds strongly absorb light in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum, are generally considered weak scatterers, and give off large amounts of fluorescence. This combined with their black appearance, susceptibility to localized heating, …

Intrinsic Buffer Hydroxyl Radical Dosimetry For Hydroxyl Radical Protein Footprinting, Addison Roush

Honors Theses

Hydroxyl radical protein footprinting (HRPF) coupled to mass spectrometry is a powerful technique for the analysis of protein topography as it generates covalent mass labels that can survive downstream sample handling, and it is sensitive to the solvent accessibility of amino acid sidechains. Of the multiple platforms for HRPF, fast photochemical oxidation of proteins (FPOP) utilizes a pulsed 248 nm KrF excimer laser to label proteins by photolyzing hydrogen peroxide. FPOP is the most widely used HRPF platform because it labels proteins faster than unfolding can occur. Variations in FPOP sample conditions make it difficult to compare results between experiments …

Synthesis Of Fluorinated Pyrazoles Via Intra- And Intermolecular Cyclization Reactions, Matthew Saucier

Honors Theses

Pyrazole-based pharmaceuticals treat a wide array of diseases and conditions including obesity, diabetes, cancer, microbial and viral infections, pain and inflammation, and many neurological disorders. Syntheses for this biologically significant substrate have been well developed, but current methods to afford fluorinated pyrazoles are limited by variability and selectivity. By 2013, over 25% of all drugs available on the market contained the element fluorine due to its unique characteristics leading to improved target protein binding, bioavailability, and metabolic stability. In order to harness these pharmaceutical benefits of fluorine and overcome its difficulty in handling and stability, we set out to develop …

The Synthesis Of A Mepeg-Based Hydroxide Conducting Electrolyte And The Optimization Of The Mepeg-Tosylation Reaction, Andrew Ladner

Honors Theses

As society is becoming increasingly aware of the effects of climate change and the ever-looming threat of a fuel shortage, exploring green and renewable alternative energy production, such as fuel cells, is paramount. This project investigates the synthesis of a polyethylene glycol monomethyl ether (MePEG_n) based polymer as well as the optimization of the MePEG Tosylation reaction. The MePEG explored contains seven polymerized ethoxy groups (MePEG₇). The MePEG₇ polymer was modified by substituting a positively-charged trimethylamine group in the place of the alcohol functional group at the end of the PEG chain. The reason for …

The Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor Largazole: A Potential Chemotherapeutic Agent, Hannah Lynn Carson

Honors Theses

Histone deacetylase enzymes are known for their inherent activity as epigenetic modifiers. Although, they have become recognized for their role in cancer progression and other diseases. But also, histone deacetylases have other non-histone targets, for example, microtubules, which play important roles in cancer metastasis, apoptosis, and replication. With histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi), our research explored HDACi effects on breast cancer cell lines. The overall goal was to understand the potential of largazole, a class one histone deacetylase inhibitor on breast cancer cell lines. The research consisted of two parts: sulforhodamine B (SRB) viability assays under hypoxic and normoxic conditions. The …

Investigation Of The History Of Fingerprinting, Advancements In The Field, And Development Of Potential Methods That Could Improve The Detection Of Endogenous And Exogenous Drugs In Latent Prints, Kristen Malloy

Honors Theses

When someone thinks of fingerprinting, they are most likely going to picture how a latent print is matched to the fingerprint of a suspect based on ridge pattern analysis. However, there is much more information that can be obtained from a latent print. The work performed in this thesis focuses the detection of exogenous and endogenous drugs in latent prints. The experiments performed analyzed fingerprints from volunteers that were contaminated with one of three common painkillers: acetaminophen, acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), and ibuprofen. Three different instruments were tested for this purpose: MALDI-MS, ATR-FTIR, and LC-MS. Based on the results gathered, it …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Transition Metal Scorpionate Complexes For Redox Shuttle Applications In Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells, Chase Lance

Honors Theses

Given the rising global energy demands, alternative renewable energy sources are currently being investigated. The most appealing renewable energy source is solar energy, and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) in particular are an attractive technology. DSSCs have traditionally utilized iodide/triiodide as the redox mediator couple, which exhibits high efficiencies and fast regeneration of the oxidized dye with little recombination. Recently, the use of alternative redox couples based on transition metal complexes has been studied as a promising substitute due to the tunable design of these complexes. In this study, tridentate tris(pyrazolyl)borate and tris(pyrazolyl)methane ligands with first-row transition metals were designed and …

Using Foraminifera To Identify Overwash Deposits In St Vincent Island, Florida In The Wake Of Hurricane Michael, Kayla Washington

Honors Theses

Major hurricanes have geomorphic and stratigraphic impacts in coast environments that can be used to identify and characterize the storms. One of the approaches to identify storm impact is by studying assemblage of foraminifera, small organisms that live primarily in marine environments with some species living in marshes, in coastal marshes or ponds, with the assumption that storm-induced overwash flooding brings marine species ashore. Hurricane Michael made landfall ~40 km northwest of St Vincent Island (SVI), Florida, on October 10, 2018, as a Category 5 storm. The storm surge of Michael inundated a large part of SVI, which offers a …

Lattice Paths In Diagonals And Dimensions, Freya Bennett

Honors Theses

The Lattice Paths of Combinatorics have been used in many applications, normally under the guise of a different name, due to its versatility in surface variety and specificity of answer. The Lattice Path’s of game development, in finding paths around barriers in mazes, is called Path Finder with the A∗ algorithms as its method of solving.

Glucose Oxidase And Prussian Blue Nanoparticles Encapsulated Within A Xerogel For Electrochemical Detection Of Glucose, Daniel Baker

Honors Theses

Recent literature reports examples of electrochemical biosensor systems based on the encapsulation of enzymes and metal nanoparticles into a xerogel for the detection of biologically important compounds, such as glucose. While these systems are very successful with acceptable detection limits and linear ranges. However, Prussian Blue modified electrodes have been shown to be better than metal electrodes for the detection of hydrogen peroxide. Here, a biosensor system where a xerogel in formed with both glucose oxidase and Prussian Blue nanoparticles.

Test Using Sedimentary Records To Quantify Extreme Paleo-Flood: A Case Study Of An Oxbow Lake In South Carolina, Molly Aeschliman

Honors Theses

Extreme flooding has become an increasing issue along the coasts for people’s health and infrastructure stability. As the effect of climate change continues to persist, the need to prepare for such events becomes imperative. To improve the understanding of climatic forecasting with regards to extreme flooding, there is merit in searching flooding history beyond the instrumental records. There has been some work done in the past to correlate extreme flooding and its sedimentary traces preserved in floodplain depressions, such as oxbow lakes, based on the assumption that the coarser grain sediments in the sediment layers correspond with higher peak discharges …

Singular Value Decomposition, Krystal Bonaccorso, Andrew Incognito

Honors Theses

A well-known theorem is Diagonalization, where one of the factors is a diagonal matrix. In this paper we will be describing a similar way to factor/decompose a non-square matrix. The key to both of these ways to factor is eigenvalues and eigenvectors.

Raman Spectroscopy Study Of Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol And Cannabidiol And Their Hydrogen-Bonding Activities, Kalee Sigworth

Honors Theses

Cannabis and products containing its cannabinoids have grown rapidly in acceptance and use in recent years with legalization of cannabis in many countries and US states. Cannabidiol and Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol are two primary cannabinoids in Cannabis that have been shown to produce analgesic effects along with many other positive side effects for the user. These two cannabinoids interact with receptors in the Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems. No spectroscopic study to our knowledge has been performed to analyze the hydrogen bonding effects of interactions between these two cannabinoids and solvents. Here, we employ theoretical Raman spectra through computational methods to study …

Small Island Taphonomy In Western Australia, Courtney J. Newberry

Honors Theses

Forensic death investigations rely on postmortem interval estimations to establish a timeline surrounding a decedent’s death. Several methods are used, often together, to make such estimations. One of the main methods is the evaluation of the stage of decomposition; although decomposition follows the same general steps, the length of the process can vary by location and environmental factors. Animal scavenging can also impact decomposition by consuming flesh and impacting insect activity on the remains.

This study investigates the scavenging guilds and rate of decomposition of pig (Sus scrofa) legs on Rottnest Island, Australia. Three sites with unique environments were selected …

3d-Printed Structured-Illumination Neutron Optics For Phase Contrast Imaging With A Triga Neutron Source, Bridget Cadigan

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Boundary, Costs And Trade-Offs In Reserve Design Systems, Justus Hurd

Honors Theses

Due to limitations in funding and natural resources, it is infeasible to construct perfect reserve systems for large populations of critical species. For this project, our objective is to formulate a reserve design model that minimizes the distance between reserve sites meeting a threshold of biodiversity features subject to a species coverage constraints. Coupled with other spatial characteristics including reserve size and configuration, the boundary of a reserve system is of key importance. While positive area effects are gained when selecting additional sites, negative boundary length effects are also experienced. For example, it is costly to implement and maintain boundary …

Predictive Modeling Of Iphone 7 Charge Rates Using Least Squares Curve Fitting, Grace Cahill

Honors Theses

In a time where individuals depend on their cell phones, the need for a long lasting and quick charging battery life is imperative. As information regarding how long a battery can remained charged is highly advertised, there is no information regarding how long it would take for a dead phone battery to completely charge. This study determined the amount of time it will take an iPhone 7 to charge from 0% to 100% using the standard charging cable under four different charging conditions. The charge percentage was recorded every two minutes until it was fully charged with this process being …

Mathematical Modeling Of A Variable Mass Rocket’S Dynamics Using The Differential Transform Method, Ashwyn Sam

Honors Theses

In this paper, the mathematical modelling of a rocket with varying mass is investigated to construct a function that can describe the velocity and position of the rocket as a function of time. This research is geared more towards small scale rockets where the nonlinear drag term is of great interest to the underlying dynamics of the rocket. A simple force balance on the rocket using Newton’s second law of motion yields a Riccati differential equation for which the solution yields the velocity of the rocket at any given time. This solution can then be integrated with respect to time …

Hplc Detection Of Organic Gunshot Residues With Silicone Wristbands, Yelyzaveta Zuy

Honors Theses

The analysis of gunshot residue (GSR) is frequently used to aid in investigating firearm-related crimes. Typically, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) is applied for inorganic analysis of elements such as lead, barium, and antimony to study GSR. However, heavy metal-free ammunition creates the need for a different type of approach. This research focuses on studying the potential of detecting organic gunshot residue (OGSR) collected with silicone wristbands through passive sampling. This study has been directed towards the development of an optimal High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) procedure for the detection and separation of five selected compounds typically found in OGSR. The …

Molecular Dynamics Simulations Of Apolipoprotein A1 In Ionic Liquids, Benjamin Smith

Honors Theses

High-density lipoprotein function is essential for the healthy processing of fats in the blood. The function of these proteins is determined by their conformational structure of chains of amino acids. Certain ionic liquids have been shown to interact with individual amino acids to affect the tertiary shape of the protein. These interactions can disrupt the native hydrogen bonds between amino acids which can either promote folding or denaturing of the protein. Our work focused on apoA-1, a high-density lipoprotein that binds to cholesterol for efflux from the body. We studied this protein in different ion-based liquids with sodium, chloride, and …

Automatic Numerical Methods For Enhancement Of Blurred Text-Images Via Optimization And Nonlinear Diffusion, Aaditya Kharel

Honors Theses

In this paper, we propose an automatic numerical method for solving a nonlinear partialdifferential- equation (PDE) based image-processing model. The Perona-Malik diffusion equation (PME) accounts for both forward and backward diffusion regimes so as to perform simultaneous denoising and deblurring depending on the value of the gradient. One of the limitations of this equation is that a large value of the gradient for backward diffusion can lead to singularity formation or staircasing. Guidotti-Kim-Lambers (GKL) came up with a bound for backward diffusion to prevent staircasing, where the backward diffusion is only limited to a specific range beyond which backward diffusion …

A Machine Learning Method For Predicting Liver Transplant Survival Outcomes, Brandon C. Revels

Honors Theses

For years, doctors have utilized the Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score to aid in the allocation of organs for liver transplants (LT). A major issue with using the MELD score to allocate organs for transplantation is that the MELD score does not accurately predict post-transplant survival. This research project aims to investigate the use of machine learning (ML) methods to predict LT survival using the newer Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) dataset. For this project, death and nonfatal graft failure were treated equally as both cases result in a loss of a donated organ. The ML algorithms …

The Long Time Behavior Of The Predator-Prey Model With Holling Type Iii, Regen S. Mcgee

Honors Theses

In this paper, the classical Lotka-Volterra model is expanded based on functional response of Holling type III to analyze a dynamical predator-prey relationship with hunting cooperation (a) and the Allee effect among predators. The stability of equilibrium solutions was first analyzed by deriving a Jacobian matrix from partial derivatives of our model. Newly derived eigenvalues are then used to determine the stability. The viability of the model is then demonstrated by using MATLAB. The numerical results show a clear Allee effect and a variety of possible phenomena related to stability when carrying capacity (k) is varied. Two different types of …

Probabilistic Analysis Of Revenues In Online Games, Nishchal Sapkota

Honors Theses

Online games are captivating and engage users across the world. Some game formats maintain a pseudo-currency to give incentive to the players to play the game in search of rewards as set by the game provider. We model a multi-stage online game and predict how much revenue game providers obtain per game. We compare the revenues generated from different tournament formats to find the one with the maximum per-game revenue for the provider. We have also found the limiting value of the revenue as the game provider increases the number of stages.

Our methods are based on concepts of the …

Meta-Analysis Of Biological Research Literature, Evan Suggs

Honors Theses

Comparative studies have been powerful tools in generating a broad understanding about the evolution of animal social systems but they currently rely on the slow, manual process of reading thousands of abstracts and papers from research databases. A web application was created for researchers conducting a comparative survey, in order to speed up their research. This web application automates the retrieval of research papers and their selection process. Using previously obtained data sets on the orders Artiodacytla and Lagomorph, a machine learning application was created to classify the papers. These techniques and tools should greatly increase the speed at which …

Discriminating Azo Dyes: Conjugated Polymers, The Inner Filter Effect, And Array Sensors, Erin Crater

Honors Theses

Azo dyes are abundant pollutants that contaminate water supplies and threaten humans, biota, and ecosystem health. Their detection and discrimination are an incredible challenge due to the structural, chemical, and optical similarities between dyes, the complexity of the wastewater environment in which they are found, and their low environmental concentrations. In this work, the inner filter effect (IFE), combined with conjugated polymer array-based sensing, is utilized for the quantitative profiling of these pollutants. The array was constructed using three fluorescent, anionic conjugated polyelectrolytes whose varying spectroscopic properties led to distinct IFE patterns in the presence of the dyes. The unique …

Twisted Central Configurations Of The Eight-Body Problem, Gokul Bhusal

Honors Theses

The N-body problem qualifies as the problem of the twenty-first century because of its fundamental importance and difficulty to solve [1]. A number of great mathematicians and physicists have tried but failed to come up with the general solution of the problem. Due to the complexity of the problem, even a partial result will help us in the understanding of the N-body problem. Central configurations play a ‘central’ role in the understanding of the N-body problem. The well known Euler and Lagrangian solutions are both generated from three-body central configurations. The existence and classifications of central configurations have attracted number …

Perturbation Of Lagrange Points In Effective Potential Simulations, Swapnil Bhatta

Honors Theses

Lagrange points are analytically proven to exist at certain positions in a two-body gravitational system, simply as a function of the gravitational force governing the motion of the bodies and the centrifugal potential due to rotation, providing regions of varying effective potentials. In a system involving interactions between the gravitational forces of multiple bodies however, the position of the Lagrange points ought to change. The purpose of this research project is to verify that the change does indeed occur when a new body is introduced, and compute the perturbation in the position of these points given various parameters.

Gold Nanoparticles: Core Conversion Of Au144(Sch2ch2ph)60 To Au99(Sph-Ch3)42 Using Aromatic Thiolate Ligands And Crystallization Of Au99(Sph-Ch3)42, Elizabeth Turnage

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to synthesize Au₁₄₄(SCH₂CH₂Ph)₆₀ using a two-step synthesis reaction, and then using this product to conduct a core conversion from Au₁₄₄(SCH₂CH₂Ph)₆₀ to Au₉₉(SPh-CH₃)₄₂. The Au₉₉(SPh-CH₃)₄₂ product will then be used to attempt to form crystals using five different crystal set-up methods. Au₁₄₄(SCH₂CH₂Ph)₆₀ is made with aliphatic thiolate ligands, and when it is placed in a mixture containing excess para-methyl benzenethiol, it undergoes a …

Raman Spectroscopic And Quantum Chemical Investigation Of The Effects Of Tri-Methylamine N-Oxide (Tmao) On Hydrated Urea, Hydrated Guanidinium, And Hydrogen Bonded Networks, Genevieve Verville

Honors Theses

Trimethylamine N-Oxide (TMAO), guanidinium, and urea are three important

osmolytes with their main significance to the biophysical field being in how they

uniquely interact with proteins. TMAO is known to stabilize and counteract the

destabilizing effects of both urea and guanidinium. The exact mechanisms by which

TMAO stabilizes and both guanidinium and urea destabilize folded proteins continue

to be debated in the literature. Some studies suggest that solvent interactions do not

play a large role in TMAO’s stabilizing effects and therefore advocate direct

stabilization, whereas others suggest that TMAO counteracts denaturation primarily

through an indirect effect of strong solvent interactions. …