Digital Commons Network^™

Artificial De Novo Tetramer Hydrogenase Mimic, Co-Metallopeptide Titration, And Photocatalysis, Thuy Hien Le

Honors Theses

Alternative energy is more imperative than ever as we continue to exhaust nonrenewable resources. There is promise in artificial hydrogenases that produce hydrogen gas which can be an alternate source of clean, sustainable renewable energy. Moreover, artificial metalloenzymes were designed for solar H2 production using de novo designed metallopeptides. A computer-guided design approach was used to conceive the peptides. These peptides are 30 amino acids long and are designed to self-assemble into tetrameric structures. There are suitably positioned cysteine residues that bind the metal Co and form metallic clusters within these artificial proteins. The Co-metallopeptides were then characterized by employing …

Computer Science Majors To Benefit From Gift To School Of Engineering, Bill Dabney

University of Mississippi News

No abstract provided.

Surface-Eroding Drug Delivery Films For Sequential And/Or Intermittent Release Of Psychoactive Drugs, Jason Price

Honors Theses

ABSTRACT JASON BLAKE PRICE: Surface-Eroding Drug Delivery Films for Sequential and/or

Intermittent Release of Psychoactive Drugs For patients with psychiatric diseases, adherence to medication schedules, medication

errors, and abuse are common issues. Promising new forms of therapy for these patients, such as micro-dosed lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), where patients receive 10-20% of a full dose every third day, present further drug delivery challenges. Sequential or intermittent release of drugs from an implanted device could ensure long-term drug compliance, automate drug dosing during the life of the implant, and eliminate potential for abuse and medication errors. To this end, we generated …

Groups Of Narrow Bipolar Events Within Thunderstorms, Sampath Bandara, Thomas Marshall, Sumedhe Karunarathne, Maribeth Stolzenburg

Faculty and Student Publications

This investigation is focused on groups of Narrow Bipolar Events (NBEs), defined as NBEs that occurred within 10 km horizontally and ±660 ms of a located, large-amplitude NBE from a dataset of positive NBEs that occurred in Mississippi thunderstorms. In two months only 15 groups were found, with a total of 31 positive and 4 negative NBEs. Each group had 2 to 5 NBEs; four groups had both positive and negative polarity NBEs. About half of the NBEs had typical values for range-normalized fast antenna (FA) electric field change magnitudes (4–15 V/m) and typical VHF powers (1000–45,000 W), but 17 …

Measurements Of The Branching Fractions Of Λc+ →Pη And Λc+ →Pπ0 Decays At Belle, S. X. Li, C. P. Shen, I. Adachi, J. K. Ahn, H. Aihara, D. M. Asner, T. Aushev, R. Ayad, V. Babu, S. Bahinipati, P. Behera, J. Bennett, F. Bernlochner, M. Bessner, V. Bhardwaj, B. Bhuyan, T. Bilka, J. Biswal, A. Bobrov

Faculty and Student Publications

We report measurements of the branching fractions of singly Cabibbo-suppressed decays Λc+→pη and Λc+→pπ0 using the full Belle data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 980.6 fb-1. The data were collected by the Belle detector at the KEKB e+e- asymmetric energy collider. A clear Λc+ signal is seen in the invariant mass distribution of pη. The fitted number of signal events of the Λc+→pη process is 7734±263; from this, we measure the ratio of branching fractions B(Λc+→pη)/B(Λc+→pK-π+)=[2.258±0.077(stat)±0.122(syst)]×10-2, from which we infer the branching fraction B(Λc+→pη)=[1.42±0.05(stat)±0.11(syst)]×10-3. In addition, no significant signal for Λc+→pπ0 is found, so an upper limit on …

Non-Linear Dimensionality Reduction Using Auto-Encoder For Optimized Malaria Infected Blood Cell Classifier, Aayush Dhakal

Honors Theses

Neural Networks have been widely used in the problem of Medical Image Analysis. However, when dealing with large images, deep networks easily exhaust computer resources, which in turn hinders training. This paper shows the efficacy of using Auto-Encoders as a dimensionality reduction tool to increase the efficiency of a Malaria Infected Blood Cell Image classifier. We show that using an autoencoder, we can reduce the dimensionality of large blood cell images effectively such that the features in the new space retain all the essential information from the original input. Then we show that the new features obtained from the autoencoder …

Preparation Of Perylene Bisimide Acceptors With Ethylcarboxyl And Pyrenylcyclohexyl Imide Groups, Michael Cashen Stark

Honors Theses

Multiple attempts were made to deprotect TBDMS-protected (tert-butyldimethylsilyl protected) serinol and swallowtailed PBI (Compound 2), synthesized by past researcher Tarrah Frederick, to generate Compound 1. The theoretical Compound 1 product is intended for use in molecular rectification of electricity because the perylene core acts as a good acceptor with high electron affinity, and it does not require an electron donor group. Many rectification molecules are amphiphilic Donor-σ-Acceptor compounds, which allow for electron transfer through localized molecular orbitals when placed between electrodes (Langmuir-Blodgett Method). However, PBIs can transfer electrons from one electrode, through the LUMO of perylene, and to the other …

University Offers On-Campus And Online Summer Camp Options For K-12, Pam Starling

University of Mississippi News

Students can enhance love of learning and stay sharp with UM summer programs

A Spectroscopic And Computational Study Of Diacetyl And Water Clusters, Margaret Baldwin

Honors Theses

Diacetyl, otherwise known as 1,2-butadione or biacetyl, is a flavor additive used in microwave popcorn, and more importantly as of late, e-cigarettes. The compound is known to cause lung disease for those who have been exposed to a large quantity of the buttery smelling molecule. As such, the characterization of diacetyl’s vibrational modes when it interacts with water are pivotal to understanding the effects it has on human lung tissue. In this research, the intermolecular interactions between water and diacetyl and the effects they have on one another’s vibrational modes are explored. While some experimental data is presented, the spectra …

Measurement Of The Anomalous Precession Frequency Of The Muon In The Fermilab Muon G-2 Experiment, T. Albahri, A. Anastasi, A. Anisenkov, K. Badgley

Faculty and Student Publications

The Muon g-2 Experiment at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) has measured the muon anomalous precession frequency ωam to an uncertainty of 434 parts per billion (ppb), statistical, and 56 ppb, systematic, with data collected in four storage ring configurations during its first physics run in 2018. When combined with a precision measurement of the magnetic field of the experiment's muon storage ring, the precession frequency measurement determines a muon magnetic anomaly of aμ(FNAL)=116 592 040(54)×10-11 (0.46 ppm). This article describes the multiple techniques employed in the reconstruction, analysis, and fitting of the data to measure the precession frequency. It …

Gorgonians Are Foundation Species On Sponge-Dominated Mesophotic Coral Reefs In The Caribbean, Marc Slattery, Michael P. Lesser

Faculty and Student Publications

Foundation species (FS) regulate ecological processes within communities often facilitating biodiversity and habitat complexity. Typically FS are dominant structure-forming taxa; but less dominant taxa having disproportionate ecological impacts to the community can also be FS. Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) are deep coral reef (∼30–150 m) communities, often dominated by emergent sponges in the Caribbean Basin. Despite the potential competitive advantage of sponges on MCEs, gorgonians are also common constituents of these reefs. Data from the Bahamas demonstrate increased biodiversity and densities of sponges on mesophotic reefs with gorgonians relative to reefs without these species. Drawing upon fifteen years of field …

Um Students Win Coveted Goldwater Scholarships, Edwin B. Smith

University of Mississippi News

Austin Wallace and Qing Ivy Li awarded one of nation's most prestigious national scholarships

Science Teaching Excites Medical Interest: A Qualitative Inquiry Of Science Education During The 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic, Xiaoshan Z. Gordy, Wesley Sparkmon, Hyllore Imeri, Andrew Notebaert

Faculty and Student Publications

The national or local lockdowns in response to COVID-19 forced education systems to rapidly shift from in-person to distance learning. The hasty transition undoubtedly imposed tremendous challenges on teachers, students and distance learning infrastructure. The purpose of this study was to investigate how high school science teachers who had previously been trained in flipped-learning and advanced educational technology through the Science Teaching Excites Medical Interest (STEMI) program perceived their transition to distance learning during this pandemic. In this study eleven teachers were interviewed with a semi-structured interview guide. Data were analyzed using the deductive-inductive content analytic approach. Our results indicated …

Search For The Dark Photon In B 0 → A′A′, A′ → E + E −, Μ + Μ −, And Π + Π − Decays At Belle, S. H. Park, Y. J. Kwon, I. Adachi, H. Aihara, S. Al Said, D. M. Asner, H. Atmacan, T. Aushev, R. Ayad, V. Babu, P. Behera, J. Bennett, M. Bessner, V. Bhardwaj, B. Bhuyan, T. Bilka, J. Biswal, G. Bonvicini, A. Bozek

Faculty and Student Publications

We present a search for the dark photon A′ in the B0 → A′A′ decays, where A′ subsequently decays to e+e−, μ+μ−, and π+π−. The search is performed by analyzing 772 × 106BB¯ events collected by the Belle detector at the KEKB e+e− energy-asymmetric collider at the ϒ(4S) resonance. No signal is found in the dark photon mass range 0.01 GeV/c2 ≤ mA′ ≤ 2.62 GeV/c2, and we set upper limits of the branching fraction of B0 → A′A′ at the 90% confidence level. The products of branching fractions, ℬ(B0→A′A′)×ℬ(A′→e+e−)2 and ℬ(B0→A′A′)×ℬ(A′→μ+μ−)2, have limits of the order of 10−8 depending …

Anodic Dissolution Of Copper In The Acidic And Basic Aluminum Chloride 1-Ethyl-3-Methylimidazolium Chloride Ionic Liquid, Lorlyn Reidy, Chen Wang, Charles L. Hussey

Faculty and Student Publications

The anodic dissolution of copper was investigated at a copper RDE in the Lewis acidic and basic composition regions of the room-temperature AlCl3-EtMeImCl ionic liquid (IL) to assess the utility of chloroaluminate liquids as solvents for the electrochemical machining and electropolishing of copper. In the Lewis acidic IL (60 mol % AlCl3), the dissolution of Cu0 proceeds under mixed kinetic-mass transport control with an exchange current density of 7.00 mA cm-2 at 306 K and an apparent activation free energy of 19.7 kJ mol-1. A formal potential of 0.843 V was obtained for the Cu+/Cu0 reaction from potentiometric measurements. In …

In Island Time, Stefan Milne

Yalobusha Review

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Journal Editors

Yalobusha Review

No abstract provided.

Strengthening Science Education In Mississippi, Bill Dabney

University of Mississippi News

Gift creates new School of Education position

Two Um Students Selected For Fellowship Program, Edwin B. Smith

University of Mississippi News

Jonathan Dabel, Je'Von D. Franklin to work with initiative aimed at solving education challenges

Evidence For X (3872) →J/Ψ Π+ Π-Produced In Single-Tag Two-Photon Interactions, Y. Teramoto, S. Uehara, M. Masuda, I. Adachi, H. Aihara, S. Al Said, D. M. Asner, H. Atmacan, T. Aushev, R. Ayad, V. Babu, P. Behera, C. Belenõ, J. Bennett, V. Bhardwaj, B. Bhuyan, T. Bilka, J. Biswal, G. Bonvicini

Faculty and Student Publications

We report the first evidence for X(3872) production in two-photon interactions by tagging either the electron or the positron in the final state, exploring the highly virtual photon region. The search is performed in e+e-→e+e-J/ψ π+ π-, using 825 fb-1 of data collected by the Belle detector operated at the KEKB e+e-collider. We observe three X(3872) candidates, where the expected background is 0.11±0.10 events, with a significance of 3.2σ. We obtain an estimated value for γB(X(3872)→J/ψ π+ π-) assuming the Q2 dependence predicted by a cc meson model, where-Q2 is the invariant mass squared of the virtual photon. No X(3915)→J/ψ …

Searching Beyond Einstein, Shea Stewart

University of Mississippi News

UM professor receives National Science Foundation award to test general relativity theory

A Tribute To Dewey Knight, Staff Report

University of Mississippi News

No abstract provided.

Acoustic Orbital Angular Momentum Hall Effect And Realization Using A Metasurface, Xu Dong Fan, Likun Zhang

Faculty and Student Publications

Vortex beams with a twisted wavefront possess both intrinsic and extrinsic orbital angular momenta. Their coupling (viz. orbital-orbital coupling) leads to an orbital angular momentum Hall effect previously found in light, providing applications in light manipulation. Here an analogous orbital Hall effect in acoustics is reported via modeling vortex beam propagation in an inhomogeneous medium. A shift of the beam center perpendicular to the inhomogeneous direction is numerically observed to follow a path predicted by ray theory in the weak inhomogeneity approximation where the coupling and conservation of total angular momenta are identified. Experimental observation of the acoustic phenomenon with …

Indolizine Donor-Based Dyes For Applications In Fluorescence Biological Imaging, William Meador

Honors Theses

NIR emissive fluorophores are intensely researched due to their potential to replace modern imaging procedures. Many molecular strategies have been employed in the literature to optimize fluorophores for deeper NIR absorption and emission, biocompatibility, and higher fluorescence quantum yields. Amongst the fluorophores studied to date, proaromatic indolizine donors are attractive alternatives to traditional alkyl amine and indoline based donors due to their 1) lower energy absorption and emission facilitated by proaromaticity, 2) large Stokes shifts due to increased dihedral angles about the π-system, 3) ease of functionalization and capacity for bioconjugation at the phenyl ring, and 4) potential for further …

Measurement Of Branching Fractions Of Λc+ →Η Λπ+, Η Σ0Π+, Λ (1670)Π+, And Η Σ (1385)+, J. Y. Lee, K. Tanida, Y. Kato, S. K. Kim, S. B. Yang, I. Adachi, J. K. Ahn, H. Aihara, S. Al Said, D. M. Asner, T. Aushev, R. Ayad, V. Babu, S. Bahinipati, P. Behera, C. Beleño, J. Bennett, M. Bessner, B. Bhuyan

Faculty and Student Publications

We report branching fraction measurements of four decay modes of the Λc+ baryon, each of which includes an η meson and a Λ baryon in the final state, and all of which are measured relative to the Λc+→pK-π+ decay mode. The results are based on a 980 fb-1 data sample collected by the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e+e- collider. Two decays, Λc+→ης0π+ and Λ(1670)π+, are observed for the first time, while the measurements of the other decay modes, Λc+→ηΛπ+ and ης(1385)+, are more precise than those made previously. We obtain relative branching fractions of B(Λc+→ηΛπ+)/B(Λc+→pK-π+)=0.293±0.003±0.014, B(Λc+→ης0π+)/B(Λc+→pK-π+)=0.120±0.006±0.010, B(Λc+→Λ(1670)π+)×B(Λ(1670)→ηΛ)/B(Λc+→pK-π+)=(5.54±0.29±0.73)×10-2, and …

March 11, 2021, The Daily Mississippian

Daily Mississippian (all digitized issues)

No abstract provided.

Pathways To Detection Of Strongly-Bound Inorganic Species: The Vibrational And Rotational Spectral Data Of Alh2oh, Hmgoh, Alh2nh2, And Hmgnh2, Alexandria G. Watrous, Megan C. Davis, Ryan C. Fortenberry

Faculty and Student Publications

Small, inorganic hydrides are likely hiding in plain sight, waiting to be detected toward various astronomical objects. AlH2OH can form in the gas phase via a downhill pathway, and the present, high-level quantum chemical study shows that this molecule exhibits bright infrared features for anharmonic fundamentals in regions above and below that associated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. AlH2OH along with HMgOH, HMgNH2, and AlH2NH2 are also polar with AlH2OH having a 1.22 D dipole moment. AlH2OH and likely HMgOH have nearly unhindered motion of the hydroxyl group but are still strongly bonded. This could assist in gas phase synthesis, where …

March 4, 2021, The Daily Mississippian

Daily Mississippian (all digitized issues)

No abstract provided.

Design Of Topical Ocular Ciprofloxacin Nanoemulsion For The Management Of Bacterial Keratitis, Ahmed Adel Ali Youssef, Chuntian Cai, Narendar Dudhipala, Soumyajit Majumdar

Faculty and Student Publications

Bacterial keratitis (BK) is a critical ocular infection that can lead to serious visual disability. Ciprofloxacin (CIP), moxifloxacin (MOX), and levofloxacin (LFX) have been accepted as monothera-pies by the US Food and Drug Administration for BK treatment. CIP is available commercially at 0.3% w/v concentration as an ophthalmic solution and as an ointment for ocular delivery. Because of solubility issues at physiological pH, CIP precipitation can occur at the corneal surface post instillation of the solution dosage form. Consequently, the ocular bioavailability of CIP is reduced. The ointment dosage form is associated with side effects such as blurred vision, itching, …

Comprehensive Chromatographic Profiling Of Cannabis From 23 Usa States Marketed For Medical Purposes, Ramia Z. Al Bakain, Yahya S. Al-Degs, James V. Cizdziel, Mahmoud A. Elsohly

Faculty and Student Publications

In this research, cannabis varieties represent 23 USA States were assayed by GC-FID to generate their complex chemical profiles informative for plants clustering. Results showed that 45 cannabinoids and terpenoids were quantified in all plant samples, where 8 cannabinoids and 18 terpenoids were identified. Among organics, Δ9-THC, CBN (cannabinoids) and Fenchol (terpenoid) not only showed the highest levels overall contents, but also were the most important compounds for cannabis clustering. Among States, Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii have the highest cannabis content. GC-FID data were subjected to PCA and HCA to find (1) the variations among cannabis chemical profiles as …