Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Ultra-Stable Protein-Polymer Bioconjugates, Kyle S. Cole

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Finding Unpredictable Behaviors Of Periodic Bouncing For Forced Nonlinear Spring Systems When Oscillating Time Is Large, Yanyue Ning

Honors Scholar Theses

The model of nonlinear spring systems can be applied to deal with different aspect of mechanical problems, such as oscillations in periodic flexing in bridges and ships. The concentration of this research is the bouncing behaviors of nonlinear spring system when the processing time is large, therefore nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODE) are suitable since researchers can add different variables into the models and solve them by computational methods. Benefit from this, it is easy to check the oscillations or bouncing behaviors that each variable contributes to the model and find the relationship between some important factors: vibrating frequency, external …

Preparation Of Nitrogen-Containing Heterocycles Via Cyclization Of Pyridine-Tethered Organolithiums, Elizabeth Archer

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Design And Synthesis Of Fluorescence Turn-On Probes For Iron, Randy K. Jackson

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Analyzing Self-Similar And Fractal Properties Of The C. Elegans Neural Network, Tyler M. Reese, Antoni Brzoska, Daniel J. Kelleher

Open Access Author Fund Awardees' Articles

The brain is one of the most studied and highly complex systems in the biological world. While much research has concentrated on studying the brain directly, our focus is the structure of the brain itself: at its core an interconnected network of nodes (neurons). A better understanding of the structural connectivity of the brain should elucidate some of its functional properties. In this paper we analyze the connectome of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Consisting of only 302 neurons, it is one of the better-understood neural networks. Using a Laplacian Matrix of the 279-neuron “giant component” of the network, we …

An Economic Analysis Of Wine Grape Production In The State Of Connecticut, Jeremy L. Jelliffe

Master's Theses

The Connecticut Wine and Vineyard industry has grown at a steady 3.9% per year over the past decade (ATTTB, 2009). Economic models estimate that the wineries sub-sector contributes $38 million dollars to the state economy and direct employment of 106 residents (Lopez et al., 2010). Programs to support and foster further growth of the industry and CT farm vineyard culture include the Department of Agriculture’s CT Wine Trail and the annual CT Wine festival (DOAG, 2010). Farmland preservation groups also support vineyard development since grape growing tends to secure tracts of farmland for long periods of time.

Investment analysis for …

Movement, Habitat Use And Detection Probability Of Bridle Shiner Estimated By Patch Occupancy Modeling In A Connecticut Watershed, Timothy Jensen

Master's Theses

The bridle shiner (Notropis bifrenatus) is believed to have once been an important prey item throughout its native range; however, recent reports suggest populations have declined significantly and the species is now widely considered as imperiled. Habitats that are associated with this species are typically difficult to sample using traditional methods, making it unclear how much of the observed range reduction could be actual or perceived. My objectives were to estimate detection probability of bridle shiner, evaluate the importance of habitat on their distribution, and determine patterns of movement among habitat patches. I employed a repeated surveys design …

Weierstrass Points On Families Of Graphs, William D. Lindsay Jr.

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Synthesis Of Half-Loaded Nitroimidazole Indocyanine Green Dyes Attached To Carbon Nanotubes, Courtney L. Stanford

Master's Theses

Indocyanine green dye is the only FDA approved NIR fluorescent dye that can be used in humans. 2-Nitroimidazoles are very effective radiosensitizers, have low cytotoxicity, and target hypoxic tissue. By coupling the two together, hypoxic tumors can be targeted and imaged. Previous work has been done to couple 2-nitroimidazole to both sides of the indocyanine green dye. This work focuses on expanding that concept to couple 2-nitroimidazole to only one side of the dye, thus allowing for the other end to be available to couple to another compound, generating a half loaded 2-nitroimidazole indocyanine green dye. In theory, this half-loaded …

Fluorescence Tagging Of Marine Low Molecular Weight Carboxylic Acids, Brian C. Gismervik

Master's Theses

This thesis aims at the evaluation of the best amide bonding strategy that places a fluorescence aminomethyl coumarin tag onto a LMW organic acid in aqueous solution. A three-stage study was conducted. First, a suitable aminomethyl coumarin fluorophore was synthesized. Second, a library of acid-derivatized standards was synthesized for use in optimizing the anticipated HPLC separation of a mixture of LMW acids expected to be found in marine samples. Third, the aforementioned amide coupling strategies were screened to identify the most applicable method for our reaction conditions to the tagging of LMW organic acids in a large number of field …

Investigation Of Trends And Predictive Effectiveness Of Crash Severity Models, James E. Mooradian

Master's Theses

This thesis describes analysis using ordinal logistic regression to uncover temporal patterns in the severity level (fatal, serious injury, minor injury, slight injury or no injury) for persons involved in highway crashes in Connecticut, focusing on the demographic split between senior travelers (65 years and over) and non-senior travelers. Existing state sources provide data describing the time and weather conditions for each crash and the vehicles and persons involved over the time period from 1995 to 2009 as well as the traffic volumes and the characteristics of the roads on which these crashes occurred. Findings indicate an overall increase in …

Agent-Based Modeling Of Emergency Building Evacuation, Vi Q. Ha

Master's Theses

Panic during emergency building evacuation can cause crowd stampede, resulting in serious injuries and casualties. Agent-based methods have been successfully employed to investigate the collective human behavior during emergency evacuation in cases where the configurational space is extremely simple - usually one rectangular room - but not in evacuations of multi-room or multi-floor buildings. This implies that the effect of the complexity of building architecture on the collective behavior of the agents during evacuation has not been fully investigated. Here, we employ a system of self-moving particles whose motion is governed by the social-force model to investigate the effect of …

Mechanistic Studies And Optimization Of Microwave-Assisted Palladium-Catalyzed Carbon-Carbon Bond Forming Reactions And An Academic Prospective On “Quality By Design”, Neha K. Grewal

Honors Scholar Theses

This compilation of work includes four aspects: (1) an academic review on the significance and implementation of Quality by Design (QbD), (2) mechanistic studies on the palladium-catalyzed synthesis of diarylmethanes, (3) the optimization of microwave-assisted click reactions and Suzuki couplings for use in an undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory manual, and (4) monitoring the progress of organic transformations using Raman spectroscopy.

Use Of Second Harmonic Generation (Shg) Imaging For 3-Dimensional Ultrastructural Visualization Of Muscle Repair Mechanisms, Matthew Dufner

Honors Scholar Theses

In this study, we have combined SHG imaging with various fluorescent dyes which are designed to stain nuclei and used a skeletal muscle injury and regeneration model to establish the ability of this approach to reliably and reproducibly evaluate the above nuclear parameters. By using the cobra cardiotoxin (CTX-1), which creates acute well defined injuries within the muscle, on the tibialis anterior (TA) and gastrocnemius hind limb muscles of mice, predictable and reproducible regenerative patterns (in response to acute injury) can be observed by harvesting muscle samples at specific time points during recovery. Through SHG imaging, we endeavor to document …

Numerical Simulations Of Chirped Excitation, Benjamin Iannitelli

Honors Scholar Theses

In this project I developed a general method of finding the optimal laser excitation for an ensemble of two-level atoms with the primary goal of exciting as many atoms as possible, as quickly as possible, for as long as possible, in order of decreasing priority. Specifically, I simulated the laser excitation of a collection of Rubidium-87 atoms from (n=5, L=0, S=1/2, J=1/2) to (n=5, L=1, S=1/2, J=3/2), by finding numerical solutions to the optical Bloch equations. I optimized the parameters of a linear chirp paired with a Gaussian intensity pulse first neglecting and then including spontaneous emission, and then for …

Characterization Of A Thermal Reservoir For Consistent And Accurate Annealing Of High Sensitivity Thermoluminescence Dosimeters In Brachytherapy Dosimetry, William Patrick Donahue

Honors Scholar Theses

Unlike regular TLD, an accurate and consistent annealing of the high-sensitivity TLD at 240 ˚C for 15 minutes is challenging using conventional annealing ovens because the temperature in the oven chamber varies drastically over the 15-minute period after the opening (to put the TLD tray in) and closing of oven door. The temperature in the oven drops dramatically after the door is opened and ramps up gradually after the door is closed, often accompanied with significant temperature overshoot. Because an overshoot by more than 5 ˚C can significantly reduce the sensitivity of the TLD and the ramp-up profile varies with …

The Evolution Of Health Insurance In America: A Look At The Past, Present, And Future Of An Increasingly Dynamic Industry, Matthew Billas

Honors Scholar Theses

From the origins of health insurance in the form of 20^th century accident insurance to the widespread ramifications of the recent passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the health insurance industry in America has undergone an unprecedented amount of change throughout its relatively short history. Over the past century, rising medical costs as well as an increased demand for medical care have led to the rapid growth of the health insurance industry. What began as a relatively simple system has grown increasingly complex with the introduction of new plan designs and increasing government reform to …

Synthesis, Characterization, And Photocatalytic Testing Of Titania-Based Aerogels For The Degradation Of Volatile Organic Compounds, Dayton Thomas Horvath

Honors Scholar Theses

The need to degrade volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) has grown with recent economic and environmental concerns. Advanced oxidation processes governing breakdown of VOC’s have received significant attention due to environmentally conscious practices and objectives. Photocatalysis is a logical approach for VOC removal in air because of minimal energy requirements and ease of implementation. Titania with high pore volume and surface area are synthesized using a modified sol-gel method in conjunction with carbon dioxide supercritical drying. Vanadium doping increases the visible absorption of titania aerogels. Solvent removal is achieved using a custom-built high pressure chamber designed for carbon dioxide supercritical drying. …

Computable Linear Orders And Turing Reductions, Whitney P. Turner

Master's Theses

This thesis explores computable linear orders through Turing Reductions and codes zero jump and zero double jump into linear orders using discrete, dense, and block linear relations.

Long Distance Electron Transfer Across >100 Nm Thick Au Nanoparticle/Polyion Films To A Surface Redox Protein, James F. Rusling, Hongyun Liu, Yasemin Kutes, Bryan D. Huey

UCHC Articles - Research

Glutathione-decorated 5 nm gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and oppositely charged poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) were assembled into {PAH/AuNP}_n films fabricated layer-by-layer (LbL) on pyrolytic graphite (PG) electrodes. These AuNP/polyion films utilized the AuNPs as electron hopping relays to achieve direct electron transfer between underlying electrodes and redox proteins on the outer film surface across unprecedented distances >100 nm for the first time. As film thickness increased, voltammetric peak currents for surface myoglobin (Mb) on these films decreased but the electron transfer rate was relatively constant, consistent with a AuNP-mediated electron hopping mechanism.

The Synthesis Of A Homologous Series Of Alkyl Lumazines And Their Application To The Dispersion Of Carbon Nanotubes, William P. Kopcha

Master's Theses

In this thesis, the synthesis of a series of alkyl lumazine surfactants (LC_n) is reported. Their application to the dispersion of both CoMoCAT and HiPco single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) is examined in detail and the thermal stability and chirality selection properties of dispersions made with these surfactants were compared both between themselves and with an alkyl flavin surfactant (FC₁₂). Lumazine alkyl chain length exhibited some control over the quality and the quantity of SWNTs dispersed. LC₁₀ was deemed most appropriate for comparison with FC₁₂ based on considerations of solubility and nanotube individualization. …

Improved Synthesis Of The Longtailed Mealybug Pheromone, Johanna M. Bakonyi

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Bacterial Source Tracking Of E. Coli In A Constructed Wetland, Rose M. Martin

Master's Theses

Bacterial source tracking was used to identify sources of fecal contamination in a constructed wetland. Nucleotide sequence differences in the Escherichia coli malate dehydrogenase (mdh) gene were used to distinguish between strains isolated from pigeon and cattle feces. Fourteen E. coli isolates were taken from cattle and pigeon fecal samples and sixteen E. coli isolates were taken from wetland water samples. A region of the E. coli mdh gene was amplified via PCR and sequenced. Twelve distinct sequences were obtained. Water samples indicated the presence of both pigeon and cattle fecal contamination in the wetland. Six sequences distinct …

Responses To The 11/4/11 Ostp Data Rfi, David Lowe

Published Works

On November 3, 2011, OSTP released a Request for Information (RFI) soliciting public input on long-term preservation of, and public access to, the results of federally funded research, including digital data ,as required in the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010. Published here are the responses from David Lowe, Preservation Librarian and Digital Programs Team Leader at the University of Connecticut Libraries.

Superstorm Sandy Changed The Shape Of Connecticut, Peg Vanpatten

Wrack Lines

Superstorm Sandy, followed quickly by a Nor'easter, arrived in our region just in time to cancel Halloween. While the wind wasn't up to hurricane strength in most of Connecticut, its storm surges and high winds still caused plenty of damage.