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2011

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Ptfe Tape As A Phase Screen In The Synthesis Of Chiral Α-Halo Ethers And Acetals, Salvatore Crusco Jan 2011

Ptfe Tape As A Phase Screen In The Synthesis Of Chiral Α-Halo Ethers And Acetals, Salvatore Crusco

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

In organic synthesis, the phase-vanishing (PV) technique uses an organofluoride solution to keep two reactive solutions in separate layers, while allowing a reaction to proceed at the interface of the fluorous layer. PV reactions allow otherwise vigorous reactions to proceed at a slower, more controlled rate. In this research, we evaluated the use of PTFE tape as a phase screen in the synthesis of chiral α-halo ethers and acetals. We were successful in synthesizing the two compounds of interest, and also successful in their isolation through the use of column chromatography. Since α-halo ethers are known to be carcinogenic, the …


Optimization Of Piezoelectric Transducers Using Sdoe, Devin Delong Jan 2011

Optimization Of Piezoelectric Transducers Using Sdoe, Devin Delong

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

A common problem surrounding piezoelectric transducers is matching the highimpedance active piezoelectric element with a low-impedance load, typically water or skin. This is a common problem with medical devices [Ali00]. Matching layers are added in an attempt to gradually decrease the impedance of the active piezoelectric element down to the impedance of water. If the impedance is not gradually decreased, acoustic waves are reflected at the boundaries that are proportional to the impedance mismatch of the two materials. A dual-matching layer transducer is analyzed, and we attempt to optimize the impedances and thicknesses of the two matching layers using statistical …


Determination Of Dissolved Solids Using Synthetic Urine Via Laser Refractometry, Bryan Davidson Jan 2011

Determination Of Dissolved Solids Using Synthetic Urine Via Laser Refractometry, Bryan Davidson

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

A laser refractometer was used to measure the refractive index of synthetic urine samples ranging in specific gravity of 1.028g/mL to 1.010g/mL. When analyzing a urine sample, it’s very important that the sample is not destroyed. Laser refractometry is a nondestructive analytical method that can determine the concentration of a sample based on its refractive index. The instrument used in this study utilizes an inexpensive laser that passes through a cuvet filled with a sample, and its deflection is measured on a linear photoarray. A hydrometer was used to measure and confirm the specific gravity. After three trials, it was …


A Typological Study Of Personality And Gender Among Wilkes Honors College Students: Success, Satisfaction, And Non-Conformity, Daniel Dickson Jan 2011

A Typological Study Of Personality And Gender Among Wilkes Honors College Students: Success, Satisfaction, And Non-Conformity, Daniel Dickson

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

This study investigated the relationship between personality and measures of academic success and satisfaction. Person-Environment Fit (PE Fit) was assessed by correspondence between students’individual personalities and the personalities of their same-gender peers. Significant differences were found between genders in the correlates of success. The successful male student expressed more Agreeableness and lower Openness to Experience when compared to the typical male. Also, although both typical and successful female students reflected Conscientiousness, only typical females were higher in Agreeableness. Reverse factor analyses revealed that 66% of participants could be classified into three personality types: Intellectually open-minded undercontrollers, Organized, norm-reinforcing overcontrollers, and …


The Role Of Il-17 In T-Cell Development, Manesh Gopaldas Jan 2011

The Role Of Il-17 In T-Cell Development, Manesh Gopaldas

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

T-lymphocytes develop from bone marrow derived hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and mature in the thymus, where they participate in reciprocal signaling with thymic stromal cells. The thymic developmental stages are well characterized, but only a few intrathymic signals that influence the development of T-lymphocytes have been identified. Previous microarray experiments revealed interleukin-17A (IL-17A) and its receptor (IL-17RA) as a possible stromal-lymphoid signal. In this study, an IL-17RA-/- knockout was used to determine whether the IL-17RA gene has a role in T-lymphocyte maturation. We made competitive bone marrow chimeras and analyzed the percentage of donor wildtype and mutant HSCs present in …


Rompiendo Las Cadenas De Injusticia: El Caso Para Juzgar A Los Combatientes Enemigos Justamente, Alan R. Gray Jan 2011

Rompiendo Las Cadenas De Injusticia: El Caso Para Juzgar A Los Combatientes Enemigos Justamente, Alan R. Gray

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

In Boumediene v. Bush, the Supreme Court held that individuals detained as enemy combatants at U.S. Naval Base Guantánamo Bay (GTMO) during the War on Terror are constitutionally entitled to the writ of habeas corpus. In so finding, the Court failed to thoroughly investigate the nature of the United States‟ relationship with Cuba – an investigation that would have indicated that procedural due process also ought to be extended to those detained at the base. In this thesis, I review the legal battle over enemy combatants, evaluate the writ of habeas corpus as a remedy for unlawful detention, examine the …


Forced To Vote: Evalution Fo The Effects Of Compulsory Voting On Citizens, Hamalian Jan 2011

Forced To Vote: Evalution Fo The Effects Of Compulsory Voting On Citizens, Hamalian

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

Arend Lijphart claims low voter turnout plagues democratic countries because it causes elections to be unrepresentative of the electorate. Therefore, he believes that compulsory voting is the only way to solve this ―unresolved dilemma.‖ Proponents of compulsory voting also argue that increased voter participation has positive effects on a country. This paper will not only evaluate the effects of compulsory voting on certain aspects of citizens’ welfare, but also citizens’ overall satisfaction with their life and government. In order to measure each of these elements, I will look at income equality, level of government corruption, and democracy ranking. I will …


Atrophy Or Progress? Evaluating The Evolution Of Environmental Policy By Comparing Large Scale Oil Spills In The United States, Nicole Henken Jan 2011

Atrophy Or Progress? Evaluating The Evolution Of Environmental Policy By Comparing Large Scale Oil Spills In The United States, Nicole Henken

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

Many political theorists accept that focusing events effect the cycle of environmental policy change without agreeing on the specifics of how events impact the construction of legislation. Pessimistic theories (consisting of Down’s “Issue Attention Cycle” and Freudenburg’s “Atrophy of Vigilance”) and optimistic theories (including the “Punctuated Equilibrium Model” and Busenberg’s “Evolution of Vigilance Model”) offer opposing views of policy creation. As focusing events, the Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon oil spills together serve as effective cases for assessing and comparing the validity of pessimistic and optimistic policy change models. The analysis of each set of theories adds to the understanding …


What’S In A Name? Eu Foreign Policy Through The Fyrm, Cassidy Henry-Pearson Jan 2011

What’S In A Name? Eu Foreign Policy Through The Fyrm, Cassidy Henry-Pearson

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

The European Union (EU) is a unique political/economic body in the world that has created a more integrated union of European states. Yet the structure of the EU remains under debate, as does the existence of the EU itself. Conflict about possible member states, such as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYRM) is especially contentious. By examining the FYRM‟s arduous process of gaining admission to the EU this thesis evaluates the effectiveness of the current EU foreign policy.


Fearful Symmetry: Using William Blake To Contextualize Alan Moore’S Watchmen, Megan Hesse Jan 2011

Fearful Symmetry: Using William Blake To Contextualize Alan Moore’S Watchmen, Megan Hesse

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

Alan Moore’s graphic novel Watchmen redefined the superhero genre, elevating comics from entertainment to literature. Though published over twenty-five years ago, Watchmen tells a story of human corruption that still resonates today. While he has inspired many modern graphic novelists, he owes a literary debt to his forefathers; in this case, Romanticist poet William Blake. Blake’s themes of duality and the symmetrical nature of innocence and experience are revisited and reinterpreted in Moore’s work. By interpreting Watchmen through the lens of Blake’s poems and engravings, both author’s vision of humanity comes into focus. Blake sees human nature as a duality, …


Statistical Model For College Enrollment: Exaninatino Of A Selective Liberal Arts College, Tamara Howard Jan 2011

Statistical Model For College Enrollment: Exaninatino Of A Selective Liberal Arts College, Tamara Howard

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

In this study, I use a logistic regression to model the probability of an admitted applicant either enrolling into the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University or declining admission. This institution is a small, selective liberal arts college and the case study spans an eleven year period (from 1999 to 2009). To construct my model, I examine variables such as level of academic performance, personal characteristics, geographic proximity to the institution, amount of financial aid offered, timing of admission decision, and contact with the college. I expect that students with the highest levels of academic performance, furthest …


Fabricating History: The Making Of The Molly Maguires, Ashley Irizarry Jan 2011

Fabricating History: The Making Of The Molly Maguires, Ashley Irizarry

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

This thesis focuses on the popular and historical image of the Molly Maguires, an Irish-American terrorist labor group in the 1870s, and addresses the process of building a historical record about a particular issue. Since there is very little direct information about the Molly Maguires, we know about them through contemporaries, historians and fiction writers, who were often antagonistic to the Molly Maguires. The limitations of our knowledge on the Molly Maguire calls into question whether our picture of the Mollies can even be considered historical. Although current evidence belies efforts to create an accurate historical picture of the Molly …


Plea Bargaining, Coercion, And Fairness, James R. Jimenez Jan 2011

Plea Bargaining, Coercion, And Fairness, James R. Jimenez

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

The process of plea bargaining in the American legal system has long been criticized for being coercive. I use Robert Nozick’s criteria for coercion to show that plea bargaining is not inherently coercive. However, prosecutors can introduce coercion into the process, and the possibility of uneven introduction of coercion in offering pleas makes the system of plea bargaining unfair. However, that plea bargaining can be unfair and often coercive does not mean that it must be abolished. Although the current state of plea bargaining is not ideal and does result in unfairness for many, there does not seem to be …


The Minimum Rank Problem For Chordal Graphs, Robert Lang Jan 2011

The Minimum Rank Problem For Chordal Graphs, Robert Lang

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

Determining the minimum rank of a graph has been actively studied in combinatorial matrix theory over the past decade. Given a simple, undirected graph G on n vertices, the problem is to determine the minimum rank over all real, symmetric n x n matrices whose nonzero off-diagonal entries occur in the positions corresponding to the edges of G. We use graph decompositions such as cliques, cycles, complete bipartites, etc. to help determine the minimum rank. Our focus rests on decompositions using cliques and clique-stars. We note that cliques and clique-stars have minimum rank of 1 and 2 respectively. Such a …


Septins: One Ring To Bind Them, Anthony Kain Jan 2011

Septins: One Ring To Bind Them, Anthony Kain

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

The cytoskeleton is composed of dynamic polymers of actin, tubulin, and intermediate filaments. These proteins are responsible for maintaining cell shape, intracellular organization and transport, cell division, and many other cellular processes. Among the cytoskeletal interacting proteins are septins, a conserved family of GTP binding proteins that polymerize into higher ordered filaments. Septins interact with and regulate the dynamics of both actin and microtubule cytoskeletons. Septins also regulate the processes of cytokinesis and exocytosis. In this study we use COS-7 cells as a model for studying the localization, interaction, and dynamics of SEPT2 and SEPT7. We demonstrate that septins form …


Help Or Hindrance: An Evaluation Of The 287(G) Program And Local Immigration Enforcement In Florida, Kristina Klaas Jan 2011

Help Or Hindrance: An Evaluation Of The 287(G) Program And Local Immigration Enforcement In Florida, Kristina Klaas

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

The 287(g) program trains state local law enforcement agencies and authorizes them to enforce federal immigration law. Utilizing data from Collier, Bay, Miami-Dade, and Lake counties, this thesis analyzes the impact of Florida's 287(g) program to determine if the program effectively targets "criminal aliens," as outlined in the goals of the program. While the implementation of 287(g) in Florida has increased the number of unauthorized immigrants deported, the initiative has not effectively met its stated goal to target criminal aliens. Furthermore, the 287(g) program has resulted in other consequences, such as the criminalization of immigrants, hindering local law enforcement agencies …


Racializing The Queer: Racialized Bodies And The Construction Of Gay And Lesbian Identities, Andy López Jan 2011

Racializing The Queer: Racialized Bodies And The Construction Of Gay And Lesbian Identities, Andy López

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

The contemporary Gay and Lesbian movement emphasizes “identity” in an effort to unify all people being marginalized based on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. However, such an “identity” falls short of inclusion of all people of color, and becomes a tool for the oppression of those who do not fall within the contexts already defined. This paper will highlight parallels between the construction of racialized sexuality and the construction of “gay” and “lesbian” identities. Moreover, I will examine the ways in which Race Studies and Gay & Lesbian Studies are entangled in the context of American culture, particularly with …


The Case Of The Finals Tree: How Constitutional Issues Can Be Resolved Outside Of The Courtroom, Alicia Lopiccolo Jan 2011

The Case Of The Finals Tree: How Constitutional Issues Can Be Resolved Outside Of The Courtroom, Alicia Lopiccolo

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

In December of 2005, members of the Harriet Wilkes Honors College voiced objections over the erection of a Finals Tree, a faculty and staff endorsed pine tree that held various snacks for students during finals weeks. In an email, the tree was accidentally called a Christmas tree, which it did resemble. One faculty who objected deemed the tree unconstitutional because he felt the university was endorsing a particular religion and was acting unethically. I examine the history of the Finals tree tradition, evaluate its constitutionality according to Supreme Court precedent, and examine whether its display violates the rights of those …


Implementing Brown V. Board: An Evaluation Of The Success Of Desegregation At Suncoast High School, Travis Moore Jan 2011

Implementing Brown V. Board: An Evaluation Of The Success Of Desegregation At Suncoast High School, Travis Moore

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

In 1954 a unanimous Supreme Court ruled that maintaining separate schools for white and black students was inherently unequal. Following the decision, school boards across the nation struggled to determine what desegregation meant for their schools. This research focuses on the history of desegregation at Suncoast High School, in Riviera Beach, FL, paying specific attention to the respective goals of the various stakeholders. The goals are discerned by drawing on official documents, newspaper articles and interviews. After weighing the goals of each stakeholder against the current state of desegregation at Suncoast I argue that only some goals have been met. …


The Death Of Privacy: An Empirical Analysis Of Fourth Amendment Jurisprudence, Wesley Mathieu Jan 2011

The Death Of Privacy: An Empirical Analysis Of Fourth Amendment Jurisprudence, Wesley Mathieu

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

Privacy as a legal concept affects every single American citizen whether they know it or not. Justice Harlan's concurrence in Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347 defined an expectation of privacy as one that society must recognize as objectively reasonable. The court has used this doctrine to establish different privacy tests for different situations, yet has never empirically determined whether its decisions accurately reflect society's view of what is 'reasonable.' To that end, this paper will examine the philosophical and historical origins of the right to privacy, and well as its development by the Supreme Court to its current …


Mechanisms Of Neuroprotection Mediated By Ghrelin In Neuronal Cells, Michael John Metzner Jan 2011

Mechanisms Of Neuroprotection Mediated By Ghrelin In Neuronal Cells, Michael John Metzner

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

Ghrelin is a 28-amino acid peptide secreted by the stomach. Over the past decade, studies have shown ghrelin to have broad effects on growth hormone release, appetite regulation, and glucose metabolism. These effects are explained largely by the high expression of the ghrelin receptor (GHS-R1a) in both the hypothalamus and pituitary. Recently, ghrelin has been shown to have possible neuroprotective effects in other brain regions expressing GHS-R1a, specifically stimulating anti-apoptotic and antiinflammatory pathways. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a cellular organelle responsible for processing proteins. When an abundance of misfolded proteins accumulate in the ER, cellular stress pathways ensue, and …


Regulation Of Dynactin-Mediated Microtubule Anchoring By The P24 Subunit, Lindsay Mccullough Jan 2011

Regulation Of Dynactin-Mediated Microtubule Anchoring By The P24 Subunit, Lindsay Mccullough

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

Dynactin is a 1.2 MDa multisubunit complex that is involved in a variety of cellular functions including vesicle motility, microtubule organization, and cell division. The function of most dynactin subunits are at least partially characterized, with the exception of p24. Very few things are known about p24: it has a molecular weight of ~20,800 Da, is mostly α-helical, is only found in dynactin and binds directly to p150Glued. We are using overexpression, shRNA-mediated knockdown, and fluorescent microscopy, to determine a role for p24. When p24 is overexpressed, p150Glued is lost from the centrosome and Arp 1 remains, suggesting disruption of …


The Antecedents Of Attitudes Toward Homosexuality: A Comparison Of The Effects Of Disgust, Openness, Religion And Contact On Anti-Gay Attitudes, Jessica Newton Jan 2011

The Antecedents Of Attitudes Toward Homosexuality: A Comparison Of The Effects Of Disgust, Openness, Religion And Contact On Anti-Gay Attitudes, Jessica Newton

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

In this study, I examined the structure of predictors of attitudes toward homosexuality in a sample of nearly 800 respondents. Predictors included measures of personality (Openness to Experience), emotion (Disgust), beliefs (Religiosity), other attitudes (Social Dominance Orientation and Right-Wing Authoritarianism), as well as prior exposure to homosexuals (Contact). These variables were examined in a series of statistical analyses in the prediction of Homonegativity (anti-gay attitudes). I anticipated that Contact would serve as a mediator of relationships between the remaining predictors and anti-gay attitudes. As predicted, Contact did partially mediate the relationship between two of the antecedent variables (Openness and Religiosity) …


Cellular Effects Of Knocking Down Expression Of Dynactin's P150glued Subunit, Joseph Praver Jan 2011

Cellular Effects Of Knocking Down Expression Of Dynactin's P150glued Subunit, Joseph Praver

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

Dynactin is made up of 11 different peptide units with a distinct ultrastructure consisting of a shoulder/sidearm complex and a rod-like domain. It functions as a cofactor for cytoplasmic dynein, assisting in the processes of long-range vesicle movements, microtubule anchoring, endomembrane localization, and mitotic progression. Previous studies have shown that dynactin binds to microtubules at the centrosome, keeping a radial arrangement during interphase. The p150Glued subunit contains two distinct microtubule-binding domains: CAP-Gly and Basic. While both of these sequences can interact with microtubules, CAP-Gly has a much greater affinity for binding to microtubules, suggesting that the two domains may be …


Ethnosexual Frontiers: Where Art Meets Race Within International Politics, Renata Rodriguez-Bozzetto Jan 2011

Ethnosexual Frontiers: Where Art Meets Race Within International Politics, Renata Rodriguez-Bozzetto

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

Since the economic crisis from 2007, an extensive debate matching unemployment and immigration has been central to conservative discourses. Although progressive organizations have been critical of the SB1070 law in Arizona for its pervasive racial profiling content, some individuals seem to ignore the strong history of legislation, cultural apparatus and social norms that were made to support white supremacy within the history of United States. As immigration comes to the American debate, various politics adopted by the United States towards South American countries have been ignored. My objective with this research is to take a closer look at the artistic …


An Animal Model Of Performance Enhancing Drugs And Catastrophic Interference, Akiva Rabinowitz Jan 2011

An Animal Model Of Performance Enhancing Drugs And Catastrophic Interference, Akiva Rabinowitz

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

The neural networks that underlie memory and learning are some of the most complex systems that scientists seek to describe. Recent research has demonstrated that drugs which increase synaptic plasticity possess the capacity to enhance memory. The question that the present study sought to address was whether it is possible that cognition-enhancing drugs might enhance some memories to the detriment of others. Mice of the C57BL/6J inbred strain were trained on the Morris water maze task. They were then transferred over to a second, similar, water maze and trained using either the cognition-enhancing drug apamin or saline injected intraperitoneally. A …


History Of Misunderstanding: The Colonization Of New Zealand, William Rumbold Jan 2011

History Of Misunderstanding: The Colonization Of New Zealand, William Rumbold

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

Through examination of first contact between the British Empire and the Maori natives of New Zealand, as well as the failed treaty attempt between the two, I aim to illustrate England’s role in the escalation of conflict between these two cultures. Although at first glance it appears that the war was an eventual escalation of previous tensions, I maintain that British officials in New Zealand had the resources and the knowledge to prevent the New Zealand land war. They used this knowledge to speed up the process of conquest. The British crown was trying to conquer the Maori through ambiguous …


Analysis Of Mutant Manganese-Superoxide Dismutase On The Lifespan Of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae"", Sarah Salem Jan 2011

Analysis Of Mutant Manganese-Superoxide Dismutase On The Lifespan Of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae"", Sarah Salem

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

Previously isolated mutants of the superoxide dismutase 2 gene (SOD2), selected for increased activity in E. coli, were transformed into yeast cells in order to observe their effects on aging. Polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequencing were used to confirm that the yeast incorporated the mutant form of the gene. The strains with mutant forms of the SOD2 gene were observed to have decreased growth rates compared to the unmutated strain. Lifespan analyses were then conducted in order to see if yeast with mutant versions of SOD2 had lifespans that differed significantly from those with the unmutated forms of the …


Isolating The Manganese Superoxide Dismutase Gene (Sod2) From T. Scripta"", Jairo Sanchez Jan 2011

Isolating The Manganese Superoxide Dismutase Gene (Sod2) From T. Scripta"", Jairo Sanchez

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are molecular oxygen-derived molecules that are exceedingly reactive, often generated as free radical bi-products of mitochondrial respiration, which cause oxidative stress that leads to aging. To avoid the generation of ROS, aerobic organisms have antioxidant defense mechanisms that use enzymes such as Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) to convert the superoxide radicals into hydrogen peroxide and oxygen. Manganesecontaining SOD (Mn-SOD), a product of the SOD2 gene is found in all eukaryotic organisms in the mitochondrial matrix, including T. scripta (red-eared slider turtle). Extraordinarily, T. scripta can live without oxygen for long periods of time without experiencing adverse effects …


Fundamental Value And Transaction Frequency: A Cross Sectional Study In Residential Lots, Katherine Towers Jan 2011

Fundamental Value And Transaction Frequency: A Cross Sectional Study In Residential Lots, Katherine Towers

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

The existence of market bubbles raises questions about economists‘ long held assumptions of rationality, costless arbitrage, and the efficient market hypothesis. I take a theoretical approach to the debate on market efficiency by modeling a ―no-value asset,‖ which are residential vacant lots that cannot be developed. I employ a data set that naturally controls for a number of market characteristics thought to contribute to inefficiency. I find that no-value assets traded persistently during the market upturn, in the early 2000s, suggesting limits to arbitrage. In the absence of inefficiency-causing market characteristics, the behavior of agents is likely the cause. To …