Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Changes In Ant Biodiversity Across An Urban Gradient, Hao Brooks

Honors Theses

There are two aims to this study: compare diversity across an urban gradient and across seasons. We deployed traps and identified the collected 12 ant species at nine different sites centered at Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the purpose of relating levels of urbanization to the diversity of ant species at each site. We successfully sampled in the summer (June 27, 2017) and spring (March 31, 2018), and unsuccessfully sampled in winter (Feb. 16, 2018) when we collected zero ants, likely due to cold soil temperatures. To quantify “urbanization” we divided the sites into “Urban” core verses surrounding “Suburban” area using a …

Conservation And Collection Of Castanea Dentata Germplasm In The South, Trent Deason

Honors Theses

The American chestnut, Castanea dentata, has been devastated by the exotic invasive pathogens Cryphonectria parasitica and Phytophthora cinnamomi to which it has no resistance. The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) has developed an interspecific backcross breeding program to introgress disease resistance from Asian chestnut species, primarily Castanea mollissima, into C. dentata hybrid populations. The genetic base of this program can be expanded by utilizing vegetative propagation through grafting in order to collect and conserve American chestnut individuals not amenable to traditional breeding. As the majority of the surviving American chestnuts are confined to the understory, they are shaded out by the …

Sds-Page Analysis Of Modified Lysozyme By Substituted Benzoquinones And Naphthoquinones, Neethu Kurien

Honors Theses

Quinones are molecules that are commonly found in the environment, as cofactors for proteins or an electron carrier in the mitochondrial electron transport chain. However, quinones also can come from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as their metabolites, harming cellular integrity. In this study, we investigated protein modification of lysozyme in the presence of substituted benzoquinones and naphthoquinones. To simulate physiological conditions, all reactions used phosphate buffer (50.0 mM). While the majority of the experiments were performed at 37 C and pH 7.0, there were also temperature dependence (27 C and 42 C) and pH dependence (6.0 and 8.0) reactions included. SDS-PAGE …

An Explicit Formula For Dirichlet's L-Function, Shannon Michele Hyder

Honors Theses

The Riemann zeta function has a deep connection to the distribution of primes. In 1911 Landau proved that, an explicit formula where ρ = β + iγ denotes a complex zero of the zeta function and Λ(x) is an extension of the usual von Mangoldt function, so that Λ(x) = log p if x is a positive integral power of a prime p and Λ(x) = 0 for all other real values of x. Landau’s remarkable explicit formula lacks uniformity in x and therefore has limited applications to the theory of the zeta function. In 1993 Gonek proved a version …

Diastereoselective Synthesis Of 2,4,6-Trisubstituted Piperidines Via Aza-Prins Cyclization, John A. Hood

Honors Theses

The nitrogen heterocycles are shared amongst 59% of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved small molecule pharmaceuticals with the six-membered piperidine representing the most common moiety. Given the versatility and potential to yield derivatives with broad biological activities, the discovery of new chemical methods to generate these heterocycles in a more time and cost-efficient manner is desired. While there are existing racemic methods to access this class of molecule, the objective of this research is to pioneer a new novel six-step method to generate 2,4,6-trisubstituted piperidines with stereoselective control.

The first step is a condensation between a nonenolizable aldehyde and …

Experimentally Investigating Water Aerosol Formation Via Alpha Radiation In A Humid Nitrogen Atmosphere, Megan Payne

Honors Theses

This project aims to verify the formation of water aerosols induced by an ionizing radiation source in a Nitrogen atmosphere with various levels of humidity. This work is part of an effort to characterize the overall signature of ionizing radiation in Earth’s typical atmosphere. By signature, it is meant all the chemical reactions and physical processes that take place between Earth’s atmosphere and the ionizing radiation. This signature can potentially be used to identify a radiation source out in the field. The identification of a radiation source could potentially be used in a variety of defense applications. To characterize this …

Self-Reconfiguration Planning In Modular Reconfigurable Robots, Keaton Griffith

Honors Theses

MSRs are highly versatile robots that work together to form into different configurations. However, to take advantage of this ability to transform, the MSR must utilize an SRP algorithm to determine what actions to perform to shape itself to reach its goal configuration. An SRP algorithm can be boiled down to a search method through an unexplored graph which we approach with four basic search algorithms to see which algorithm is best when designing an SRP algorithm. To do this we create a general MSR model known as stickbots and use different search algorithms on a variety of SRP problems …

Pro-Antimicrobial Networks Prepared Via Degradable Thiol-Ene Acetal Photopolymerization, Sarah Swilley

Honors Theses

A degradable, antimicrobial polymer network with acetal crosslink junctions derived from p-anisaldehyde (pA), a common constituent found in star anise extract, is reported. The p-anisaldehyde was converted into a bis-functional acetal alkene monomer, which serves as a pro-antimicrobial form of the active aldehyde and a building block for materials referred to as pro-antimicrobial polymer networks via degradable acetals (PANDAs). Subsequently, the bis-functional acetal alkene monomer was photopolymerized with a multifunctional thiol to yield a thiol-ene network. PANDAs exhibit surface erosion behavior and yield sustained release of pA over 38 days when exposed to neutral or biologically relevant conditions. The pA …

Photoelectrochemical Investigations On Novel Earth Abundant Solid State Catalysts For Solar Water Oxidation, Nathaniel Branimir Kurtz

Honors Theses

In light of a looming fossil fuel scarcity, many forms of alternative, clean energy production are being researched in order to provide a more sustainable source of energy production for the future. One area of research is on using novel, abundant catalytic materials in conjunction with semiconducting materials to drive the splitting of water in order to produce hydrogen gas, an energy-rich fuel. Currently, efficiency is limited by the energy bottleneck posed by the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) half of water splitting. In this work, cobalt selenide (CoSe) catalyst paired with the semiconductor iron oxide (Fe2O3) has been identified as …

Implementing Early Screening Methods To Detect Resistance To Phytophthora Cinnamomi In Backcross Chinese-American Chestnut Hybrids, Kirsten Hein

Honors Theses

Phytophthora root rot (PRR), caused by the oomycete Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands., is one of the two greatest obstacles to survival of American chestnut (Castanea dentata Borkh.). The other is chestnut blight, caused by the ascomycete Cryphonectria parasitica (Murr.) Barr. Developing early and reliable PRR screening methods can facilitate the efficient introgression of PRR resistance from Chinese chestnut (C. mollissima Blume.) into the populations of potentially chestnut blight resistant trees currently under development by The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF). This study tests the efficacy of a method for early identification of PRR-resistant hybrid chestnuts in a greenhouse/nursery setting. The chestnut blight …

Characterization Of Metamorphic Zones In The Tennessee Blue Ridge Using Gis And Digital Imaging Processing, Hayley Beitel

Honors Theses

The origin of metamorphic zones of the Blue Ridge is attributed to metamorphic events that affected sedimentary rocks of debated age, leading the topic to be controversial and continuously studied. The present study seeks to refine the metamorphic isograds of the Tennessee Blue Ridge based on Barrovian index minerals in pelitic rocks and the texture patterns these pelitic rocks present. Methods used in the present study are supported by conventional petrography, powder X-ray diffraction, and by GIS and digital image processing. Metamorphic isograds in the Blue Ridge have been determined mainly by identification of index minerals using a polarizing petrographic …

Parental Care, Offspring Abandonment, And Filial Cannibalism, Mackenzie Davenport

Honors Theses

Parental care is a fundamental life-history trait that is found in many animals (reviewed in Royle et al. 2012). Parental care can include behaviors such as egg cleaning (Knouft et al. 2003), egg guarding (Royle et al. 2012, pg. 4), egg provisioning (Simmons & Parker 1989; Hilker & Meiners 2002; Royle et al. 2012, pg. 2), and oviposition-site selection (Refsnider & Janzen 2010). Such forms of parental care typically result in the spatial clumping of parents and their offspring. This often leads to density effects on within-clutch egg mortality, meaning that when within-clutch egg density increases, egg mortality also increases. …

Phospholipid Membrane Remodeling Through Exogenous Fatty Acid Incorporation In Certain Bacterial Species, Josh Herndon

Honors Theses

Multi-drug resistant bacteria have become problematic in healthcare settings. Recent studies have documented the ability of some bacteria, such as Vibrio species, to assimilate exogenous fatty acids into their membrane phospholipids. Therefore, the current research was performed to determine whether the three virulent, multi-drug resistant bacteria Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli can remodel their cell membranes following exposure to a range of exogenous polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Furthermore, we hypothesized that PUFAs would influence phenotypes associated with growth and virulence. Extracted phospholipids were examined by UPLC/MS analysis to confirm assimilation of exogenous PUFAs into the bacterial phospholipids. A. …

An Exploration Of Pyrrole Groups On The Enantioselectivity Of Pig Liver Esterase, Brian Long

Honors Theses

Pig Liver Esterase (PLE) is a serine protease enzyme that can interact with one side of a diester to hydrolyze the ester to a carboxylic acid, and research has found that the level of hydrophobicity of side groups can impact the enantioselectivity of PLE hydrolysis.1, 2 The Jones Model is what current researchers use to model the active site of PLE, but the nature of its binding pockets, namely the Hydrophobic Long (HL) pocket, has been called into question.3 Dimethyl 2-((pyrrole-2-yl)methyl)-2-methylmalonate was prepared to be subjected to PLE hydrolysis to see whether enantioselectivity was found. Chiral HPLC revealed 25.32% enantiomeric …

Structural Synthesis And Spatial Distribution Of A 335 Ma Igneous Suite From The Eastern Blue Ridge, Alabama Appalachians, Avery Rosenbalm

Honors Theses

The Appalachian range was formed by three orogenies, the most recent being the Alleghanian beginning at ~330 Ma. A small pluton outcropping along Highway 280 near Alexander City, AL, called the 280 granodiorite, has been dated at ~335 Ma and intrudes the Devonian Elkahatchee Quartz Diorite (EQD). While little work has been done on the intrusion, it is significant because of its age: all deformation of the intrusion should be related to the Alleghanian orogeny, while most other bodies in the region exhibit significant overprinting due to previous successive orogenies. The pluton was mapped constraining the geographic extent, which is …

Investigation Of The Effects Of Hydrogen Bonding On The Enantiomeric Excess Of Pig Liver Esterase Hydrolysis Products, Matthew Hasler

Honors Theses

Pig Liver Esterase (PLE) is an effective enzyme used in the Masterson Research Group due to its ability to hydrolyze only one ester in a malonic diester. PLE is employed for creating chiral molecules for the synthesis of unnatural amino acid precursors. Previous research in the group found that malonic half esters with hydrogen bonding capable substrates yielded varying degrees of enantiomeric excess, and non-hydrogen bonding substrates yielded racemic mixtures.1,2 The compounds synthesized contained substrates consisting of thiophene rings in the second and third position, and these molecules act as a control for the other research done in the group. …

Biocompatible, Responsive Polysoaps Via Raft Copolymerization For The Delivery Of Model Cancer Therapeutics, Mason Dearborn

Honors Theses

Many chemotherapeutic drugs are small, hydrophobic molecules that require water-soluble, biocompatible nanocarriers for enhanced vascular circulation. Existing polymeric carriers either conjugate the drug along a copolymer backbone or sequester drugs within a protected interior domain to be delivered to specific sites in the body. Such therapeutic systems must overcome a myriad of hurdles, beginning with complex, multi-step syntheses, followed by other inherent barriers that limit the efficiency of drug delivery at the targeted site. This work aims to circumvent a number of these issues using biocompatible, stimuli-responsive polysoaps that are capable of unimeric micelle formation, hydrophobic drug delivery, and triggered …

Understanding The Coating-Substrate Interface Changes And Degradation Caused By Environmental Acclimation With Water And Electrolytes, Russell Vick

Honors Theses

While it is well known that polymeric coatings are used to protect metals from corrosion, efficient and reliable protocols for quantifying and estimating protective coatings’ lifetimes have yet to match real-time results in rate or in detected mechanisms of material failure. Alkoxysilane pretreatments are widely utilized for substrate preparation and improved coating system performance by changing the metal substrate surface morphology to improve adhesion at the coating-substrate interface by creating a foundation and excluding water from the system. Three pretreatments used were 3-aminopropyltriethoxy silane (APS), tetraethylortho silicate (TEOS), N-[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]ethylenediamine (DAS). They were investigated to improve the understanding of the relationships …

A Logistic Regression Analysis Of First-Time College Students’ Completion Rates At The University Of Southern Mississippi, Jesse Homer Robinson

Honors Theses

The demand for employees with a college degree is steadily on the rise in a plethora of competitive job markets throughout the United States. This increase in demand has aided in the increasing college enrollment rates throughout the country. However, unlike enrollment trends, the rate of college completion has not had the same fortunate rise.

The goal of this study is to research and compare differences among those first-time college students who completed college within four years, six years, or did not complete. The primary source for data in this study was the Office of Institutional Research at USM. Both …

The Impact Of Past Experience With Tornadoes On Future Decisions, Emily Paltz, Michael Hayes

Honors Theses

Tornadoes are a dangerous threat to public safety. The National Weather Service (NWS), therefore, advises the public to go to an interior room on the lowest level of their houses when a tornado warning is issued for their area. As the NWS Central Region Service Assessment of the Joplin, Missouri Tornado published in July 2011 reveals, however, this is often not the first action taken after learning that there is danger of being hit by a tornado. Rather, people need to seek confirmation from more than one source before following the recommended action. The goal of this research project is …

Mechanisms Of Sleep And The Brain, Doungbagai Leo

Honors Theses

One of the most important homeostatic functions of the brain and body is sleep. This literary review analyzes the genes that are involved in sleep: Clock, Bmal1, Period, and Cryptochrome. It also explains the role of melatonin, GABA, orexin, and melanopsin during sleep regulation. The genes and neurotransmitters influence the suprachiasmatic nuclei and the circadian rhythm that our brain, and every cell of our bodies, have connections to. These connection help to ensure the homeostatic function of our bodies. The analysis of sleep-like states in other animals may show an evolutionary connection of sleep from non-mammals to mammals, but may …

A Comparison Of Frankenbrew And Traditionally Manufactured Brewing Equipment, Daniel King

Honors Theses

Opening a new business can be a daunting task. Between the legal paperwork, securing the best perceived location, hiring new employees, the investment can require the use of a life savings. In the brewing industry, this investment can be amplified by the cost of purchasing production scale brewing equipment. Because of this, many start-up brewing operations have turned to the use of Frankenbrew equipment within their brewing process. The term “Frankenbrew” was coined by Tom Hennessy of Colorado Boy Pub & Brewery. The term refers to any equipment incorporated into a brewery that was not originally intended for that purpose, …

Lee Honors College Mobile Application, James Ward

Honors Theses

In the spring of 2018 three Computer Science students Benjamin Campbell, James Ward, and Peter Shutt created a mobile application. This app was developed over the span of two semesters for their senior design project; a capstone to their degrees.

Their client, The Lee Honors College at Western Michigan University --referred to as LHC and WMU respectively hereafter-- has a plethora of academic and social information, and a large demand for access to it. This information includes building hours, contact information, health resources, a LHC specific course catalog, social media posts, event descriptions, and much more. The volume of information, …

Modular Scheduling System For Westside School District, Tyler Bienhoff

Honors Theses

Westside School district offers a modular scheduling system for their high school that is more similar to a college schedule than the typical high school system. Due to the complexity of their master schedule each semester, there are no commercially available products that can assist in creating a schedule. Hence, this thesis discusses a scheduling algorithm and management system that was built specifically for Westside High School with the potential to be expanded for use by other interested schools. The first part of the paper is focused on gathering input from students and faculty for which courses and how many …

The Proton Veto Project At Wmu/Msu, Justin Swaim

Honors Theses

The Proton Veto Wall (VW) is a charged particle detector designed and built at Western Michigan University for use at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University. The VW assists the Large Area Neutron Array (LANA) with discriminating between charged particles detected via proton recoil in the scintillating material and charged particles detected from heavy ion collisions produced in the laboratory. Twenty five Eljen-200 plastic organic scintillators are arranged in a vertical position with photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) mounted to either end. The detector sits directly in front of LANA on a large stand that was assembled using T-slotted …

Geometric Design, John Marceaux

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Mutagenicity Of Burned Arginine-Based Heterocyclic Amines And Anti-Mutagenicity Effect Of Chinese Medicinal Herbs, Rayford C. Alva

Honors Theses

From the unexpected finding that cooked grains and meat substitutes elicit a mutagenic response in Salmonella typhimurium TA98, our work has been aimed at deconstructing this finding via a survey of heated binary amino acid combinations, involving arginine, a plant-based amino acid. secondly, our work has looked towards sing phytochemical extracts from traditional Chinese medicinal herbs to inhibit the mutagenic activity of heterocyclic amines (main culprit for mutagenicity in meat). Two fractions from the burned products of arginine and phenylalanine (RF-HCA-06 and -07) were statistically significant inducers of mutagenesis; Scutellaria barbata and Oldenlandia diffusa, both separately and together, were statistically …

Synthesis Of Oxygenated Boronic Acid Substituted A-Cyanostilbenes For Use As Antibacterial, Yewon Kim

Honors Theses

Stilbenes are naturally occurring compounds that have exhibited antibacterial activity, although the biological effect of various stilbenes differs for Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains of bacteria. In prior research, cyanostilbenes have shown slight antibacterial activity (Brownlee, et al. 1943). This project aims to explore whether hybrid oxygenated a-cyanostilbenes possessing a boronic acid pharmacophore exhibits significant antibacterial activity (Das et al. 2013). The biological activity against Staphylocococcus aureus (Gram-positive) and Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) was tested using the Kirby-Bauer text. No inhibition of E. coli growth was shown while S. aureus was partially inhibited.

Spatiotemporal Properties Of Solid State Harmonics, Christopher Abadie

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Radiomic Feature Analysis And Classification Of Tumors For Serial Pre-Clinical Spect/Ct Data, Megan Chesal

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.