Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Understanding Juuling Trends Among Differing Age And Gender Demographics Through Social Sensing, Thomas Mcfann

Honors Theses

Middle schoolers, high schoolers, and college students have increasingly begun using the Juul, which is a type of e-cigarette. In fact, in 2017 a study showed that “2.1 million high schoolers and middle schoolers used e-cigarettes” (Richtel and Kaplan, 2018). The reason why my research specifically addresses the Juul is that it “is now the largest e-cigarette brand measured by retail sales companies” (Huang et al., 2018b). Studies have been done to show the short time it takes for a child to lose autonomy over tobacco use, ranging from 2 to 30 days of first inhaling a cigarette (DiFranza et …

Structures, Energetics, And Vibrational Frequencies Of Microhydrated Hexafluorophosphate, Pf6−(H2o)N=1,2 From Dft And Ab Initio Computations, Yasmeen Abdo

Honors Theses

This study systematically examines an anion commonly used in room temperature ionic liquids, hexafluorophosphate PF6−, and its non-covalent interactions with up to two explicit water molecules (PF6 − (H2 O)n where n = 1, 2). Initial low-energy configurations are identified via a set of relaxed angular scans across the edges and faces of the PF6− octahedron using the global hybrid M06-2X density functional with a triple-ζ correlation consistent basis set augmented with diffuse functions on all non- hydrogen atoms (cc-pVTZ for H and aug-cc-pVTZ for P, O, F; denoted haTZ). Full geometry optimizations are performed on these initial structures using …

Portfolio Optimization Methods: The Mean-Variance Approach And The Bayesian Approach, Hoang Nguyen

Honors Theses

This thesis is a discussion on the mean-variance approach to portfolio optimization and an introduction of the Bayesian approach, which is designed to solve certain limitations of the classical mean-variance analysis. The primary goal of portfolio optimization is to achieve the maximum return from investment given a certain level of risk. The mean-variance approach, introduced by Harry Markowitz, sought to solve this optimization problem by analyzing the means and variances of a certain collection of stocks. However, due to its simplicity, the mean-variance approach is subject to various limitations. In this paper, we seek to solve some of these limitations …

#Whyididntreport: Using Social Media As A Tool To Understand Why Sexual Assault Victims Do Not Report, Abby Garrett

Honors Theses

Sexual assault has gone largely under-reported, and social media movements, like #WhyIDidntReport, have brought great awareness to this issue. In order to take advantage of the large amounts of data the #WhyIDidntReport movement has generated, the study uses tweets to explore reasons why victims do not report their assault. The thesis cites current research on the topic of assault to generate a list of explanations victims use to describe their lack of reporting and compares the distributions with existing studies. We use a supervised learning technique to automatically categorize tweets into one of eight categories. This approach uses social sensing …

Encoding A 1-D Heisenberg Spin 1/2 Chain In A Simulated Annealing Algorithm For Machine Learning, Daniel Pompa

Honors Theses

The application areas of machine learning techniques are becoming broader and increasingly ubiquitous in the natural sciences and engineering. One such field of interest within the physics community is the training and implementation of neural networks to aid in quantum many-body computations. Conversely, research exploring the possible computational benefits of using quantum many-body dynamics in the area of artificial intelligence and machine learning has also recently started to gain traction. The marriage of these fields comes naturally with the complementary nature of their mathematical frameworks. The objective of this study was to explore the possibility of encoding a quantum spin …

The Use Of Heterocycles As Important Structures In Medicinal Chemistry, Sayre Weast

Honors Theses

Heterocycles have many applications in the discipline of medicinal chemistry. These structures are found in various natural products with relevant biological activity. Our research group, in collaboration with two others, is particularly interested in one heterocycle, quinoline, as a scaffold for HIV-1 integrase inhibitors. A synthetic route has been developed to produce a derivatized structure on small scale. One goal of this thesis was to expand the scale of this route to provide increased quantities of the quinoline scaffold. Procedures were adapted to accommodate the increase in scale to convert commercially available anthranilic acids to quinolines via the isatoic anhydride. …

Preparation Of Organometallic Cobalt(Iii) Complexes Containing Bidentate Chiral Amine Ligands As Potential Transfer Hydrogenation Catalysts, Luccas C. Do Carmo

Honors Theses

Mixed coordination sphere cobalt(III) complexes containing a chiral bidentate amine ligand and an organic carbocyclic ligand have been prepared and characterized. The integration of this mixed ligand environment involving an organometallic and Werner-type ligand along with the earth abundant metal in a high oxidation state has the potential for interesting reactivity. Complexes of the type [Co(CpR)(X-DPEN)(I)](I), where CpR = cyclopentadienyl (Cp, R = H) or pentamethylcyclopentadienyl (Cp*, R = Me) and X = meso-1,2-, 1R,2R-, and 1S,2S-, have been prepared by ligand substitution from [Co(CpR)(I)2(CO)] with 1,2-diphenyletheylenediamine (DPEN). The outer sphere iodide is readily exchangeable with sodium tetrakis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate (NaBArF) or …

Lipid Modification In Aeromonas Salmonicida Through Exogenous Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Incorporation, Rachel Hofer

Honors Theses

Aeromonas salmonicida is a Gram-negative bacterium that can infect a wide host range of fish populations, including salmonids and non-salmonids as well as freshwater and marine life. A. salmonicida causes the disease furunculosis, which can cause lethargy, intestinal inflammation, ulcers, hemorrhaging, and death. The infection is spread through fish-to-fish contact, and the presence of infection can have devastating effects on cultivated fish populations. The purpose of this study was to explore the ability of A. salmonicida to incorporate polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) into its lipid profile and test the phenotypic effects thereof. A. salmonicida cultures were grown in minimal media …

Exploring The Potential For Rare And Common Borodinia Species To Acclimate To Change, Garrett Allen

Honors Theses

An important ecological question that remains unanswered is why some species are rare while others are common. Because the natural world is dynamic, in order to persist, species must successfully respond to the environmental changes they experience. The ability to be plastic may be especially important to the survival of species in the face of rapid environmental change because such quick change does not offer species time to migrate or adapt. Consequently, differential plasticity between rare and common species, with rare species possessing less plasticity than common species, could help explain the differing successes of persisting in a large geographic …

Active Colloid Behavior Exhibiting Soft-Sphere Characteristics For Non-Newtonian Solvent, Courtney Baier

Honors Theses

The purpose of analyzing soft-sphere Brownian particles with varying velocities and densities is to be able to predict their interaction behavior once a force has been applied. The particles portray different behaviors depending on if the particles are passive or active Brownian particles. The data studied was collected from simulations, and there are no attractive forces involved in the particles’ interactions. Mean square displacement graphs, radial distribution graphs, structure factor graphs, and viscosity as a function of density and velocity were used to examine and compare the data generated. Experimental data was analyzed by a program to be interpreted into …

The Effects Of Animal-Assisted Therapy On Participation In Rehabilitation In A Patient Post-Stroke: A Case Study, Chloe Cross

Honors Theses

The human-animal bond is a powerful and emotional connection. The bond between dogs and people can provide numerous physiological and psychological benefits as well as potentially increasing the human’s quality of life. Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) utilizes the human-animal bond by incorporating a dog into the patient’s rehabilitation therapy. This case study examines if AAT sessions increase a stroke patient’s participation in the rehabilitation sessions when compared to normal sessions. Participation in therapy reduces the length of stay for patients, improves outcome measures, and lessens the effects of depression.A key part of stroke rehabilitation is incorporating exercises that increase neuroplasticity. One …

Edge Effects And Diversity Of Understory And Canopy Cloud Forest Beetles, Mallory Barbier

Honors Theses

Habitat fragmentation results in edge effects— changes in diversity and community composition along high-contrast forest edges. To date, a study of edge effects on beetle diversity has not been performed in tropical cloud forests, and few studies compare communities at both understory and canopy levels. Using bottle traps, I sampled canopy and understory beetle communities in a tropical lower montane cloud forest of Monteverde, Costa Rica across three distances (edge- 15 m, middle- 100 m, far- 205 m) along an edge-to-interior transect into the forest. According to the Shannon-Weiner diversity index, the site with the most diversity was the middle …

Designing A General Education Course On The Societal Impacts Of Artificial Intelligence, Vincent Rollins

Honors Theses

Most colleges, including UTC, already offer an artificial intelligence course (CPSC 4440) as part of their computer science curricula. Such courses are meant to explain the technology behind these elaborate systems, but these courses often neglect extensive coverage of the real-world impacts of the technology itself. UTC also offers a course entitled “Ethical and Social Issues in Computing” that does convey the importance behind the advances of computer technology and its impacts, but this course is practically available only to computer science majors. There is no generalized and widely available course that covers the technological, economic, cultural, philosophical/theological, and ethical …

Evaluation Of Different Research Methodologies For Acoustic Monitoring Of Anuran Populations, Richard Alexander Schwartz

Honors Theses

Amphibians are important for a wide variety of reasons. However, in recent years their global populations have seen a sharp decline. It is therefore increasingly important to conduct research relevant to their protection and success. The main way this is accomplished with anurans is through the monitoring of male vocalizations. This can take the form of Manual Call Surveys, Automated Recording Systems, or some hybridization of the two. However, selection of the proper research method can be complex and time-consuming, and use of the incorrect method can result in wasted funding and useless data. Very few studies have been recently …

Plant-Based Crosslinked Polymers, Jackie Davies

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

A Mobile Application For Crowdsourced Acquisition Of Urban Street-View Pedestrian Facility Data, Andrew Fink

Honors Theses

In recent years, pedestrians have been dangerously overrepresented in traffic crashes, and the pedestrian fatality rate has steadily increased during the last decade. Additionally, studies have shown that the majority of pedestrian-involved traffic accidents occur in urban non-intersections, which suggests that a more well-connected pedestrian facility network in cities would lower the rate of pedestrian involvement in traffic accidents. One way to improve the pedestrian facility network coverage is to first have up-to-date, accurate, and thorough data regarding the presence of existing pedestrian facilities. However, state departments of transportation have stated that the current methods of acquiring this data are …

Influence Of Environmental Conditions On Fatty Acid-Induced Changes In Vibrio Cholerae Persistence And Pathogenicity, Abigail Doyle

Honors Theses

Vibrio cholerae, a Gram-negative bacterium, is responsible for the acute intestinal infection known as cholera. This illness is due in part to V. cholerae’s ability to sense and adapt to changing environments as it is ingested into the human body from brackish environments. It was shown in recent studies that this bacteria has the ability to uptake exogenous fatty acids, resulting in changes to V. cholerae persistence and pathogenicity. The aim of this research is to determine the extent to which these additional exogenous UFAs influence the persistence and pathogenicity of V. cholerae throughout its transitional period from brackish environments …

Theoretical Studies Of Naphthoquinone Reactivity Toward Amines, Kevin Lee

Honors Theses

Quinones are a class of organic compounds containing a six-membered unsaturated cyclic ring with two carbonyl groups and are biologically relevant due to their ability to participate in redox reactions. Experiments have showed that quinones can induce protein modifications including oligomerization and polymerization by binding to proteins. To complement these experimental studies, theoretical studies of naphthoquinone reactivity toward an amino group were conducted. The reactions between three naphthoquinones, 1,2-naphthoquinone (ONQ), 1,4-naphthoquinone (PNQ), and 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (HNQ), and methylamine, a N-containing nucleophile, were investigated. For each naphthoquinone, the first step of both 1,2- and 1,4-additions at all possible C=O positions were examined. …

Comparative Error Analysis Of The Black-Scholes Equation, Chuan Chen

Honors Theses

Finance is a rapidly growing area in our banking world today. With this ever-increasing development come more complex derivative products than simple buy-and-sell trades. Financial derivatives such as futures and options have been developed stemming from the traditional stock, bond, currency, and commodity markets. Consequently, the need for more sophisticated mathematical modeling is also rising. The Black-Scholes equation is a partial differential equation that determines the price of a financial option under the Black-Scholes model. The idea behind the equation is that there is a perfect and risk-free way for one to hedge the options by buying and selling the …

Synthesis, Characterization, And Utilization Of Iron Ii Ion Sensing Fluorescent Probes For Detection Of Early Onset Anodic Corrosion, Dane N. Wedgeworth

Honors Theses

Corrosion effects can be seen in infrastructure all around the world. From rusted bridges, ships, and other steel surfaces, the price of corrosion adds up quickly with repairs, maintenance, and complete replacement. Common approaches to corrosion detection and prevention require slow, optical inspection to begin the repair and maintenance process, which can also be very slow and costly. However, recent literature suggests that metal chelating probes can yield new understanding of the processes of corrosion faster and with greater specificity in location and diversity in mechanisms for early onset of corrosion. Earlier corrosion detection can be characterized by several ways. …

A Study On The Modifications Of [2.2]Paracyclophane And Their Effects On The Enantioselectivity Of The Copper Catalyzed Cyclopropanation Reaction, Yousef Dawoud

Honors Theses

The use of chiral [2.2]paracyclophane Schiff-base ligands has been shown to induce enantioselectivity in the copper catalyzed cyclopropanation of styrene with diazoesters. ¹ Previous research by Dr. Masterson tested Schiff-base ligands based on 4- amino[2.2]paracyclophane with moderate enantioselectivity. In this project, the Schiff-base N- salicylidene-4-amino[2.2]paracyclophane, was modified by way of Grignard addition to the imine carbon and its enantioselective properties were explored with the copper catalyzed cyclopropanation. The methyl Grignard addition to N- salicylidene-4-amino[2.2]paracyclophane was successful in producing the amino alcohol and the amino alcohol was characterized. The amino alcohol was produced from the R enantiomer of the Schiff-base and …

Radiative Double Electron Capture By Ions In Collisions With Gas Targets, Charles Taylor

Honors Theses

Radiative double electron capture (RDEC) is a two-step quantum process where two electrons are captured from the target gas to the projectile ion beam with a simultaneous emission of a single photon. The projectile ion beam was obtained from the tandem Van de Graaff accelerator at Western Michigan University. The projectile beam used is fully and partially ionized fluorine 9+, and 8+ in collision with highly pure nitrogen gas. The objective of the research is to observe RDEC from x ray detection using time to amplitude converters (TACs) that look for coincidences between x rays and particles. The signal from …

Isolation And Characterization Of A Novel Terpenoid From The Needles Of Eastern White Pine (Pinus Strobus), And Its Potential Relation To Climate Change, Samantha Hack

Honors Theses

Climate changes is one of the most serious threats facing the future of our planet, and with is we will see drastic changes to water levels global temperatures, and atmospheric conditions. Modeling future atmospheric conditions is crucial if we are to plan for and mitigate the consequences of climate change – while important, these models will not be useful to future scientists unless various parameters, such as BVOC emission to the atmosphere, are accounted for and included in computer models. Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) are predicted to be a major component of future climax forests as their abundance increases …

The Standards Project, Dustin Robbins

Honors Theses

The Standards Project is a web app that is intended to assist United States K-12 students in meeting the academic standards each state has set out for their students. The app is intended to allow instructors to see how proficient incoming students are in standards set for the prior grade (e.g. 6th grade students’ 5th grade math skills would be shown) and launch “interventions”—be these online modules with educational content and quiz questions, after school activities, or some other form of instruction—in order to help students in problem areas while spending a minimum of class time on old material.

It …

Implementation Considerations For The Digital Bronco Id, Bryan Gilginas

Honors Theses

This paper aims to discuss the conditions and preferences of students that Western Michigan University should take if they ever implement a Digital Bronco ID. These conditions are found via an anonymous survey given to random students. These students were prompted to answer questions based on their preference and possible uses of the Digital Bronco ID. It was found that the respondents were significantly diverse in their answers. However, things such as gender, major, and age range played a significant role in patterns in which students chose their preferences. Within the paper, these patterns are interpreted and discussed for the …

Best Organic Chemistry Practices In The Midwest, Claire Van Der Bosch

Honors Theses

Organic Chemistry is a gateway course to a handful of courses in higher chemical education. Unfortunately, it is notorious for its high-fail, high-withdrawal, and high-drop rate and has a reputation for being time-consuming, with difficult concepts that are oftentimes new to students. It is often taught in a two-semester sequence, with the courses named Organic I and Organic II, and both courses have a lab component. At Western Michigan University, the fail rate for these two courses are 53.5% and 36.9%, respectively. Most higher education institutions are certified with the American Chemical Society (ACS) and given a skeleton of a …

The Effects Of Climate Change And Forest Disturbances On Terpene Production Of White Pine (Pinus Strobus) And Red Pine (Pinus Resinosa) In Northern Michigan, Troy Dehagen

Honors Theses

The secondary impacts that climate change may have on the interactions between forests and the atmosphere through forest disturbances is of increasing interest as the climate continues to change. Anthropogenic climate change, which is a direct result of coal and fossil fuel emissions, is likely to impact forest ecology through increased temperatures and extreme precipitation events, thus increasing the frequency and severity of climate-induced forest disturbances. Forest disturbances may have a secondary impact on the production and emission of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC) within forests. In the presence of oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) produced from fossil fuel …

Cyanotech: A Strategic Audit, Trent Hoppe

Honors Theses

Microalgae is a fascinating group of organisms that possess a diverse array of interesting traits and benefits relevant to food, medicine, and biofuel. Extensive research behind the viability of microalgae to disrupt the market has sparked an emergent microalgae industry. Founded in 1983, one of the top microalgae companies in the world today is Cyanotech. With a 90-acre algae farm in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii and two flagship microalgae products that are world leaders in their categories, Cyanotech is well- positioned be setting the course for the industry and revolutionizing the use microalgae commercially. Despite these favorable attributes, Cyanotech has been trapped …

Determining The Depositional Environment Of Amherstburg Formation, Elizabeth Gaines

Honors Theses

The Amherstburg Formation is a unit that stretches from Ontario to Michigan and was deposited during the Devonian Period. The goal of this project was to determine the depositional environment of the Amherstburg Formation. Facies associations were defined based on observations from three cores in northern and southeastern Michigan and later grouped into facies associations. The four facies associations were reef rubble, lagoonal, lagoonal and reef-rubble, and lagoonal and peritidal environments. These environments were deposited as laterally adjacent environments along a ramp shelf in a humid tropical climate. Sea level was relatively high during the deposition of the Amherstburg Formation. …

Design And Synthesis Of A Novel Lsoxazoline As A Potential Pam-Agonist, Josselyn Roosenberg

Honors Theses

Progression of Alzheimer's disease is associated with a loss of Ml receptor activation in the brain. However, a lack of clinical success following attempts to activate the Ml receptor at the orthosteric site has contributed to a transition towards the allosteric pocket of the receptor. Here, positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) interact to potentiate the acetylcholine response. Recent research proposes that optimization of PAM activity at the expense of intrinsic agonism may posit a means to limit adverse side effects. Therefore, this project proposes a design and synthesis of a novel isoxazoline as a potent PAM agent with weak intrinsic agonism.