Digital Commons Network^™

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 …

Characterization Of The Wheat Grain Pkaba1-Interacting Protein Tawd40, Natalie Wayne

Honors Theses

Abscisic acid (ABA)-mediated gene expression is a critical component of plant responses to this important hormone, which affects plant growth, development, and responses to environmental stresses. Plant responses to ABA are mediated by a number of factors including PKABA 1> an ABA-induced protein kinase involved in ABA-suppressed gene expression in cereal grains, and TaWD40, which has previously been shown to physically interact with PKABA1. A full-length 1.9 kb TaWD40 cDNA, CK210682, was sequenced as part of this project. Based on the deduced protein sequence, it is thought that TaWD40 may belong to the family of E3 ubiquitin ligases, possibly targeting …

Environmental Awareness Of Waterville Junior High School Students, Jenna Morrison

Honors Theses

An environmental awareness survey was designed to assess the influences of gender and grade level on the relationships among outdoor experience, environmental knowledge, and environmental behavior at Waterville Junior High School, Waterville, ME. Environmental awareness indicates a fundamental understanding of the natural world, which is essential for developing future sustainable development. The foundation and acquisition of environmental knowledge of Waterville Junior High School students was determined using the multiple-choice survey. A total of 125 sixth graders and 136 eighth graders were surveyed. 61% of sixth graders and 73% of eighth graders indicated that their most common source of environmental information …

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 …

Patterns Of Dorm Energy Use And Potential Opportunities For Dorm Energy Conservation At Colby College, Sarah Kelly

Honors Theses

This thesis research began in the fall; around the same time President Adams predicted that the school would pay one million dollars more than budgeted this academic year on energy due to the rising energy prices (Adams, pers. comm.). Students, their families, and the college would bear this monetary burden. Solutions that lower energy costs would benefit many different parties. Dorms use a large amount of energy. Unlike many energy demands on campus that are relatively constant, dorm rooms are flexible in their energy use because students can change their energy use patterns. Many areas of energy waste characterize dorm …

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 …

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 …