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2016

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Grid-Connected Wind And Photovoltaic System, Sindhuja Devabakthuni Jan 2016

Grid-Connected Wind And Photovoltaic System, Sindhuja Devabakthuni

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this thesis is to design a grid connected wind and photovoltaic system. A new model of converter control was designed which maintains the voltage of the bus to grid as constant when combined system of solar and wind is connected to AC bus. The model is designed to track maximum power at each point irrespective of changes in irradiance, temperature and wind speed which affects the power supplied to grid. Solar power from the sun is not constant as it is affected by changes in irradiances and temperature. Even the wind power is affected by wind speed. …

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Identity Talk Of Homeless Sheltered Women, Danielle T. Clemons Jan 2016

Identity Talk Of Homeless Sheltered Women, Danielle T. Clemons

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis focuses on identity talk among homeless sheltered women. Specifically, this research explores shelter resident's experiences, the ways residents cope with shelter life, and its consequences for their identities. The researcher entered the lifeworld of the shelter environment in an attempt to understand the identity management of the residents and answer the research question: "How do residents at Trinity House talk about their identity as homeless individuals?" This study was conducted in a homeless shelter in the Midwest in 2015. The research included in-depth, semistructured interviews with 10 homeless women and participant-observation in a shelter with approximately 100 residents …

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I'M Licensed. What Do I Do Now? : A Qualitative Study Of The Learning Journeys Of Newly Licensed Real Estate Agents, Kristine A. Brown Jan 2016

I'M Licensed. What Do I Do Now? : A Qualitative Study Of The Learning Journeys Of Newly Licensed Real Estate Agents, Kristine A. Brown

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the learning journeys of eight newly licensed real estate agents in Illinois. It examined how these agents viewed the real estate industry, how they learned the business, and how they developed their professional identities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted monthly with each participant for a six-month period during their first year in the business.

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Impacts Of Tourism On Water Quality In Quintana Roo, Mexico, Katelyn Kane Jan 2016

Impacts Of Tourism On Water Quality In Quintana Roo, Mexico, Katelyn Kane

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The Yucatan Peninsula is the world's second largest underwater karst cave system. The highly fractured limestone and scarce soil allows precipitation to rapidly infiltrate to the groundwater system identified as the Yucatan Aquifer. The geology of the area also prevents the accumulation of surface water; as such, groundwater is the only source of fresh water on the peninsula and can become easily contaminated due to anthropogenic activities on the surface from tourism. The state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, is economically dependent on the tourism industry. This study focuses on an assessment of eleven locations throughout the Cancun and Riveria Maya …

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Impression Management And Social Presence Within Asynchronous Online Discussions : A Case Study, Kimberly M. Harrison Jan 2016

Impression Management And Social Presence Within Asynchronous Online Discussions : A Case Study, Kimberly M. Harrison

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Asynchronous online discussion has become a staple of many higher education courses. The current study was designed to understand more fully the student experience within online discussions, with an emphasis on the experiences of undergraduate students outside the field of education. The research described in the current paper was a case study designed to examine the experiences of five students aged 20-25 who had senior status at a four-year university in the Midwest. Specifically, the research examined students' experiences using elements of social presence and impression management techniques to develop social identities within asynchronous online discussions, knowingly or unknowingly. Analysis …

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In Our Voices, Through Our Eyes : An Oral History Of The Illinois School Library Media Association, Mary Romano Marks Jan 2016

In Our Voices, Through Our Eyes : An Oral History Of The Illinois School Library Media Association, Mary Romano Marks

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the development of the Illinois School Library Association (ISLMA). The research focused on archival documents from the ISLMA, the Illinois Library Association (ILA), and the Illinois Association for Media in Education (IAME) Archives and the personal files of the interviewees. In addition, interviews were conducted with individuals associated with IAME and ISLMA. Participants were asked to recollect the development of ISLMA and their professional roles in relation to its birth. This research was examined in relation to the development of ISLMA, school library media history and related education, and library national standards and trends and is …

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Indigenous Gold From St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands A Materials-Based Analysis, Stephen E. Jankiewicz Jan 2016

Indigenous Gold From St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands A Materials-Based Analysis, Stephen E. Jankiewicz

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to examine the origin, manufacturing technique, function, and meaning of metals used during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries on the island of St. John, United States Virgin Islands. This project focuses on two metal artifacts recovered during National Park Service excavations conducted between 1998 and 2001 at a shoreline indigenous site located on Cinnamon Bay. These objects currently represent two of only three metal artifacts reported from the entire ancient Lesser Antilles. Chemical and physical analyses of the objects were completed with nondestructive techniques including binocular stereomicroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, …

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Individual Variation In Maternal Behavior In Spider Monkeys At El Zota Research Station, Costa Rica, Agnieszka Magdalena Sukiennik Jan 2016

Individual Variation In Maternal Behavior In Spider Monkeys At El Zota Research Station, Costa Rica, Agnieszka Magdalena Sukiennik

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Predation risk is a significant survival problem for immature primates, but only a few studies have examined the risk of predation on immatures in ateline primates. This study examined whether spider monkey mothers changed their interactions with their infants due to a perceived change in predation risk while foraging in different sized groups. I proposed that a mother's proximity to her infant/juvenile varied depending on whether she was alone with her offspring, with one other adult female, or with a larger group of adults. Because group living potentially reduces predation risk, I suggested that mothers would be in closer proximity …

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Influence Of Silver Nanoparticles On Fluorescence Enhancement, Sai Bharanisrikanth Toleti Jan 2016

Influence Of Silver Nanoparticles On Fluorescence Enhancement, Sai Bharanisrikanth Toleti

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

In this project, we studied the influence of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) on the fluorescence properties over glass substrates and on Nano pours oxide film substrates. Enhanced fluorescence intensities were observed due to presence of AgNP in near field to a fluorophore creating hot spots thereby proving the concepts of Metal Enhanced Fluorescence and Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR). A Bragg reflector pattern is created by varying the refractive index of surface resulting in layered structure causing the light getting trapped in between the layers which exhibited the properties of SPR and Evanescent fields. The mean intensity values were higher for the …

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Kinematics And Dynamics Of A Robotic Manipulator In Maple, Rafi Syed Jan 2016

Kinematics And Dynamics Of A Robotic Manipulator In Maple, Rafi Syed

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Kinematics and dynamics of a manipulator are two important problems in modeling and automation. Kinematic modeling of a manipulator is defined as the transformation from a joint coordinate system to a Cartesian coordinate system (forward kinematics) and vice versa (inverse kinematics) independent of any force causing the motion, and dynamic modeling of a manipulator defines the relation between the force and motion. To be able to control a robotic arm as required by its operation, it is important to consider the kinematic and dynamic modeling in the design of the control algorithm and the simulation of the motion. There are …

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La Causalite De La Precarite Et La Devalorisation De La Femme Zolienne Dans "Au Bonheur Des Dames", "L'Assommoir" Et "Germinal", Theodore Sikubwabo Jan 2016

La Causalite De La Precarite Et La Devalorisation De La Femme Zolienne Dans "Au Bonheur Des Dames", "L'Assommoir" Et "Germinal", Theodore Sikubwabo

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Ce memoire de recherche met l'accent sur la situation precaire et la devalorisation de la femme zolienne typiquement sous l'angle realiste d'une classe ouvriere longtemps ignoree ou mal representee dans la litterature francaise du XIXe siecle. Est-elle victime cette societe patriarcale misogyne ou responsable de sa decadence et seule de la societe dans laquelle elle vit ? La methode d'observation, d'enquete et de sa vie personnelle est a l'origine du succes de Zola qui peint un portrait exact de cette classe dans les trois oeuvres Au Bonheur des Dames, L'Assommoir et Germinal afin de trouver une solution a sa decadence …

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Late Holocene Climate Controls On Carbon Dynamics At Teringi Bog, Estonia, Kristyn Hill Jan 2016

Late Holocene Climate Controls On Carbon Dynamics At Teringi Bog, Estonia, Kristyn Hill

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study examines records of past climate variability and the controls affecting carbon accumulation rates at Teringi Bog, Estonia (57°58'31.26", 25°33'34.80"E). Analyses of [delta]¹³C, [delta] ²H, [delta]¹⁸O, and d-excess from Sphagnum fuscum moss cellulose, [delta]¹³C and [delta]¹⁵N from bulk peat, and [delta]18O and [delta]²H from surface waters indicate that carbon accumulation rates are influenced by changes the overall amount of precipitation and its seasonality throughout the Late Holocene. Changes in the depth to the water table were recorded from August, 2014, to May, 2016, and it was observed that the hydrologic balance is principally driven by fall, winter and spring …

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Learning And Leading : Transformational Learning Experiences Among College Student Peer Leaders, Alexander R. Miller Jan 2016

Learning And Leading : Transformational Learning Experiences Among College Student Peer Leaders, Alexander R. Miller

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this interpretive study was to identify the transformational learning experiences and leadership development process of college students who participate in peer leadership positions. This study explored the relationship between peer leadership roles and transformational learning. The study was shaped by four research questions: 1) How do college students who engage in peer leadership roles describe their experiences? 2) How do these student leaders make meaning of their experience? 3) What processes help student leaders make meaning of their peer leadership role? 4) What knowledge, skills, and abilities do participants report having gained as a result of their …

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Libyan Women And Revolution : A Study Of The Changes In Women's Political And Social Roles During And After The Libyan Revolution, Haala Hweio Jan 2016

Libyan Women And Revolution : A Study Of The Changes In Women's Political And Social Roles During And After The Libyan Revolution, Haala Hweio

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Several uprisings against some long-term dictatorships in the Arab region took place during the year of 2011. The phenomenon, commonly known as the Arab Spring, started in December 2010 in Tunisia, a small North African Arabic country that was going through tough economic times. The domino effect of the Tunisian revolution spread quickly through the region. Almost all Arab countries witnessed political unrest and protests demanding reforms, but in a few of them--- Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Yemen---the situation escalated to the level of popular revolution. The Arab Spring phenomenon opened the door for studies on collective behavior and revisiting …

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Life Histories Of African American Women Senior Student Affairs Officers, Tamekia M. Scott Jan 2016

Life Histories Of African American Women Senior Student Affairs Officers, Tamekia M. Scott

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative research, guided by Black Feminist Thought, was to examine the experiences of African American women senior student affairs officers to understand the strategies they utilized to advance their careers. Participants included six vice presidents/chancellors for student affairs (reporting directly to the president of the institution) and one dean of students reporting to the vice president for student affairs. The participants' recounted raced and gendered experiences during their journey to becoming a senior student affairs officer into their journey of being a senior student affairs officer. Their shared experiences were based on tokenism, hyperawareness of systemic …

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Machiavelli And Manhood : A Study Of Effeminacy In The "Discourses On Livy" And "Mandragola", Alyssa Morren Jan 2016

Machiavelli And Manhood : A Study Of Effeminacy In The "Discourses On Livy" And "Mandragola", Alyssa Morren

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis explores the linkages between effeminacy and women in Machiavelli's Discourses on Livy and Mandragola. In the Discourses, Machiavelli creates a masculine ideal without sufficiently articulating the prerequisites necessary to fulfill that ideal. However, he does not hesitate to deem things that do not meet those standards as effeminate. Effeminacy is a trait that can be ascribed to things as well as people, and appears to be the antithesis of the behavior Machiavelli wants to encourage. While effeminacy typically connotes a disparagement of men as well as women, it is difficult to tell if that is indeed what Machiavelli …

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Magnetoresistance Anisotropy And Transport Properties Of Tungsten Ditelluride, Laxman Raju Thoutam Jan 2016

Magnetoresistance Anisotropy And Transport Properties Of Tungsten Ditelluride, Laxman Raju Thoutam

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The quest for the materials showing high magnetoresistance values is ongoing and scientists come up with new methods and materials to harness their vast potential in modern electronic and sensing applications. Extreme large magnetoresistance (XMR) was recently discovered in tungsten ditelluride (WTe₂), triggering extensive research on this material regarding the electronic properties and the origin of XMR. WTe₂ being a layered compound with metal layers sandwiched between adjacent insulating chalcogenides layers is considered to be electronically two dimensional (2D), but the findings of this dissertation reveal interesting three dimensional (3D) electronic properties with a small temperature dependent mass anisotropy. The …

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Managing An Information Explosion : Civilian Administration And The Army Of Louis Xiv, 1661-1701, Robert Fulton Jan 2016

Managing An Information Explosion : Civilian Administration And The Army Of Louis Xiv, 1661-1701, Robert Fulton

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines the operations of the civilian administration of the War Department in early modern France during the reign of Louis XIV. Specifically, it analyzes the documents that represent a wide variety of information which circulated within the War Department's administrative networks. I connect these sources to the work of a new group of civilian agents, the premier commis, and utilize them to infer in what manner they were able to effectively manage a rapidly increasing volume of information materials and to influence state development in a profound manner. This examination found all of these sources to be increasing …

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Mass Mobilization And The Breakdown Of Democratic Regimes : Egypt And Indonesia In A Comparative Perspective, Testriono Jan 2016

Mass Mobilization And The Breakdown Of Democratic Regimes : Egypt And Indonesia In A Comparative Perspective, Testriono

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Why do elite conflicts in new democratic countries produce divergent political outcomes? Under what conditions do elite conflicts lead to the survival or the breakdown of democracy? Previous studies emphasize structural, institutional, and elite factors in explaining democratic breakdown, while overlooking popular mobilization as a factor. In proposing the interaction of two variables, elite conflict and mass mobilization, this thesis argues the divergent levels of the embeddedness of mass mobilization in elite conflict during political crisis result in either the survival or the breakdown of democratic regimes. I examine Egypt and Indonesia because they underwent severe elite conflict but had …

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Media's Influence On Attitudes Towards Gay Men, Anna Rossi Jan 2016

Media's Influence On Attitudes Towards Gay Men, Anna Rossi

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis research examines the importance of media in influencing public perceptions. There is little empirical evidence that negative portrayals of gay characters in movies and television shows cause individuals to have negative attitudes towards gay men. I further the research in this field by measuring participants' views on gays, directly showing them a stereotypical or non-stereotypical clip depicting gay men, and then again measuring their attitudes towards gays. I evaluate the claim that the quality of portrayals of gays in movies and television shows influence the viewer's acceptance of gays by conducting an experiment and using a comparison of …

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Methionine Aminopeptidase As A Target For The Discovery Of Novel Antibacterial Agents, Congling Chen Jan 2016

Methionine Aminopeptidase As A Target For The Discovery Of Novel Antibacterial Agents, Congling Chen

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The rise of antibiotic resistance has been an increasingly critical global health issue. Compounding this issue is the fact that the approval of new antibiotics has dramatically decreased over the past three decades. One validated target for the discovery of new antibacterial agents is methionine aminopeptidase (MetAp). MetAp is a metallo-protein that catalyzes the hydrolysis of the N-terminal methionine residue from nascent proteins, a key step required for certain post-translational modifications. Studies have demonstrated that knock-out mutations of the MetAp gene leads to decreased cell viability or even cell death, which strengthens MetAp as a viable target for antibiotic discovery …

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Millennial High School Teachers' Perceptions Of The Danielson Framework For Teaching As An Evaluation Tool : A Mixed-Methods Approach, Amy Sipovic Jan 2016

Millennial High School Teachers' Perceptions Of The Danielson Framework For Teaching As An Evaluation Tool : A Mixed-Methods Approach, Amy Sipovic

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This mixed methods study investigated how high school teachers born between the years 1982 and 1994 perceived the Danielson Framework for Teaching as an evaluation tool. Using Strauss and Howe's (1991) Generational Theory as a framework, the study examined what themes Millennial high school teachers used to describe the Danielson Framework for Teaching as an evaluation tool, their perceived strengths and weaknesses of the Danielson Framework for Teaching, whether Millennial high school teachers viewed the Danielson Framework for Teaching as a valid and reliable evaluation instrument, how their experiential knowledge influenced their views of the Danielson Framework for Teaching, and …

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Minimizing Total Number Of Tardy Jobs On A Single Batch Processing Machine By Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure With Path Relinking, Panteha Alipour Jan 2016

Minimizing Total Number Of Tardy Jobs On A Single Batch Processing Machine By Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure With Path Relinking, Panteha Alipour

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Batch processing machines are commonly used in metal working, chemical processing, and electronics manufacturing -- to name a few. Scheduling these machines optimally is a hard task; the number of decision variables used in the mathematical formulations grow exponentially. Consequently, commercial solvers used to solve the formulations require prohibitively long run times. Schedulers struggle to make good decisions due to the complexity of the problem. This research considers the problem of scheduling a single batch-processing machine such that the total number of tardy jobs is minimized. The machine can simultaneously process several jobs as a batch as long as the …

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Molecular Analysis Of The Pil Loci Of Neisseria Gonorrhoeae, Jenny Wachter Jan 2016

Molecular Analysis Of The Pil Loci Of Neisseria Gonorrhoeae, Jenny Wachter

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Piliation is an essential virulence factor for the obligate human pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae. PilE polypeptide is the major protein subunit in the pilus organelle and engages in extensive antigenic variation due to recombination between pilE and a pilS locus. pilS were so-named as they are believed to be transcriptionally silent, in contrast to the pilE locus. Despite the importance of pilE in pathogenesis, little is known regarding its regulation. Therefore, through small transcriptome analysis, we have identified a trans-encoded sRNA that was demonstrated to up-regulate expression of pilE. Furthermore, through small transcriptome analysis, in conjunction with analysis of pilS recombinants, …

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Monetary Policy Transmission Mechanism In Bangladesh : An Svar Approach, Mainul Islam Chowdhury Jan 2016

Monetary Policy Transmission Mechanism In Bangladesh : An Svar Approach, Mainul Islam Chowdhury

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the impact of monetary policy shocks on real and nominal variables in Bangladesh using monthly data for the floating exchange rate period from June 2003 to June 2015. Structural vector autoregressive (SVAR) models and impulse response functions were used to identify the impact of domestic monetary policy shocks on output, interest rate, inflation and nominal exchange rate. Results from the baseline model suggest that a contractionary monetary policy shock leads to a rise in domestic interest rate and an appreciation of domestic currency. In response to the shock both output and inflation fell but the shock had …

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Moving Beyond Personal Responsibility : A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Digital Citizenship Curricula, Kristen Mattison Jan 2016

Moving Beyond Personal Responsibility : A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Digital Citizenship Curricula, Kristen Mattison

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes how the concept of "digital citizenship" is conceptualized and furthered through three freely available curricula intended for use with high school students: NetSmartz, Digital Citizenship in Schools, and Common Sense Media. By employing a critical discourse analysis and examining the influence of sentence structure, collocational patterns, connotation, structural opposition, images and other tools used to craft and forward messages, I determined that the discoursed concept of "digital citizenship" aligns with traditional frameworks of citizenship education in schools, namely that of the personally responsible citizen. Much of the curricular documents are designed through a deficit perspective, making assumptions …

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Assembly And Degradation Of A Trimeric Membrane Protein Acrb, Qian Chai Jan 2016

Assembly And Degradation Of A Trimeric Membrane Protein Acrb, Qian Chai

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Multidrug efflux pumps are membrane proteins that actively transport foreign objects out of cells. The active efflux of these pumps is a critical self-defense mechanism that enables the survival of bacteria under hostile environments. Efflux pump AcrB is a member of the Resistance-Nodulation-Division (RND) super family. In E. coli, it associates with periplasmic protein AcrA and outer membrane channel TolC to extrude a variety of noxious compounds out of cell from both the cytoplasm and the periplasm. My dissertation research focused on two aspects of this multidrug efflux pump: the oligomerization process during the biogenesis of AcrB and its …

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Optimum Structure Of Cell Components For A Membrane-Less Iron-Ion/Hydrogen Redox Flow Battery, Jayanth Kolli Jan 2016

Optimum Structure Of Cell Components For A Membrane-Less Iron-Ion/Hydrogen Redox Flow Battery, Jayanth Kolli

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The redox flow battery (RFB) stores energy in the form of oxidized and reduced electro-active chemical species which are stored externally to the battery cell, allowing the RFB to have benefits of decoupled control and design of energy and power. Therefore, the RFB is getting intensive attention as one of the most promising and cost-effective systems to store large amounts of energy typically from renewable resources. However, even with the big benefits of the RFB system, the full application of RFB could not be achieved due to the challenging issues such as high system cost and safety issues associated with …

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Ortho-Hydroxychalcone : A Molecular Switch And Metal Sensing Fluorophore, Theodore Litberg Jan 2016

Ortho-Hydroxychalcone : A Molecular Switch And Metal Sensing Fluorophore, Theodore Litberg

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Flavanone and its ortho-hydroxychalcone isomer can be interconverted by changes in pH, making an attractive molecular switch scaffold. The ortho-hydroxychalcone, being an extended aromatic system, can also be utilized as a fluorophore with metal binding capacity. The scaffold can also be dramatically changed from previous studies by exchanging the acetophenone and benzaldehyde derived rings for hetero and extended aromatic rings to determine their effect on the midpoint pH. A variety of methoxy-/fluoro-substituted and hetero-/extended aromatic chalcones were screened in methanol and pH 13.50 buffer to determine if the scaffolds were fluorescent. From a possible 32 chalcones in the two conditions, …

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Paleofluid System Structure In The Monterrey Salient Of The Sierra Madre Oriental, Northeastern Mexico, Joshua William Zodarecky Jan 2016

Paleofluid System Structure In The Monterrey Salient Of The Sierra Madre Oriental, Northeastern Mexico, Joshua William Zodarecky

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This project investigates the paleofluid system in a thinly tapering orogenic wedge, and assesses paleofluid system heterogeneity using geochemical analyses of veins and host rock. My goal is to determine the characteristics of paleofluids within a fold-dominated orogenic belt, and to use the spatial, structural and stratigraphic distribution of paleofluid types to assess whether the paleofluid system was compartmentalized within individual folds. Regional structural geometry was characterized by combining geologic maps, digital elevation data, aerial photo interpretation, and cross section balancing and restoration to create new cross sections though the Monterrey Salient. The chemistry, temperature and distribution of paleofluids were …

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