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Computational And Experimental Analysis Of Oleanolic Acid As An Allosteric Activator Of Sirt1, Emrah Sariyer, Eda Dokumacioğlu, Hati̇ce İskender

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) is a member of the sirtuin protein family and the biological effects of SIRT1 encompass various areas such as the ageing process, metabolism regulation, and cellular stress response. SIRT1 activators are compounds that enhance the activity of SIRT1 enzyme. These activators can be natural or synthetic compounds and have the potential to provide health benefits by augmenting the biological effects of SIRT1. Oleanolic acid (OA) is a triterpenoid compound that has antiinflammatory, antioxidant, and glucose and lipid metabolism-regulating properties naturally found in many plants. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of OA …

Synthesis Of Werner- And Werner-Like-Type Clathrates, Their Characterization, And Theoretical Calculation Of Their Properties, Zari̇fe Si̇bel Şahi̇n, Zeki̇ Kartal

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

In this paper, the synthesis and structural characterization of three new coordination compounds in crystal structure consisting of a nickel atom, varying numbers of 3-aminopyridine molecules, and two isothiocyanate ion ligands are presented. The crystal structures of these compounds were determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Consequently, the explicit formulas and shorthand notations of the compounds are [Ni(NCS)2(C5H6N2)2(H2O)]·(H2O) (1), [Ni(NCS)2(C5H6N2)3]·(C2H6) (2), and [Ni(NCS)2(C5H6N2)4]·2(C5H6N2) (3). The consistency of the crystal structure data was confirmed by elemental analysis and infrared spectroscopy. These coordination compounds are Werner-like-type clathrates containing water, ethane, and 3-aminopyridine molecules as guest molecules in their structures, respectively. According to …

Investigation Of The Enzyme-Inhibitory, Antibacterial, And Anticancer Properties Of Metal Phthalocyanines, Meryem Topal, Fevzi̇ Topal, Firat Yilmaz, Esra Bulut Atalay, Ümi̇t Muhammet Koçyi̇ği̇t, Emre Güzel

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

In this study, the enzyme inhibitory, antibacterial, and anticancer activities of a phthalonitrile derivative and its metal phthalocyanines (Pcs; indium, zinc, copper, cobalt, and manganese; 1–6) were investigated. The cobalt and manganese Pcs were synthesized for the first time in this study. The inhibitory activities of the symmetric Pcs, which were expected to interact with acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) via their 4-(isopropylbenzyl)oxy substituents through host–guest interactions, were investigated. More selective inhibition of AChE than BChE was observed for these compounds. For AChE, CoPc was identified as the most potent inhibitor (IC50 = 14.81 nM), whereas for BChE, InPc was …

Templating Effect Of Neutral Dithiane Ligands On The Self-Assembly Of Cationic Au(I)-Phosphine Units, Farzane Osanlou, Abdollah Neshat, Mohammad Reza Yousefshahi, Vaclav Eigner, Michal Dusek, Shahram Seidi

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

The interactions between the dinuclear Au(I) precursor (dppm)Au2Cl2 and neutral sulfur-containing dithianes (specifically 1,3- and 1,4-dithiane) were examined in the presence of NH₄PF₆. Although these sulfur-based ligands were initially employed to facilitate the formation of mixed phosphine/sulfur Au(I) complexes, single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the unexpected generation of multinuclear Au(I) assemblies exclusively coordinated by phosphine ligands. When 1,3-dithiane was present, a trinuclear Au(I) complex was isolated, characterized by a central four-coordinate Au(I) center exhibiting a distorted see-saw geometry, flanked by two terminal Au(I) centers with T-shaped coordination environments. Importantly, the dithiane ligand did not coordinate directly to the gold centers …

Nucleophilic Cyclization Of N-Propargylated Pyrazole-5-Carboxylates: Synthesis Of Pyrazolo[1,5-A]Pyrazin-4(5h)-One Derivatives, Meli̇k Firat Mengeş, Meltem Tan Uygun

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

Cyclization reactions are among the most important and widely used methods for synthesizing biologically active fused heterocyclic compounds. In the present study, pyrazolopyrazinone derivatives (10a–i) were synthesized from N-propargylated pyrazoles via nucleophilic cyclization with hydrazine hydrate under a nitrogen atmosphere. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectral analyses confirmed that ring closure proceeded in a manner consistent with the formation of a six-membered pyrazinone moiety. In addition, the pyrazolotriazepinone derivative 15c was synthesized using an alternative approach. In this method, substitution with chloroacetone was first carried out, followed by ring closure with hydrazine hydrate, affording a seven-membered triazepinone system. Comparison of the …

Sensitive Stripping Voltammetric Determination Of An Anthracene–Isatin Schiff Base In Biological Samples, Gökçe Öztürk, İrem Gökgöz, Emi̇ne Arslan, Eli̇f Şi̇şman, İnci̇ Seli̇n Doğan, Di̇lek Kul, Fatma Ağin

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

​In the present study, the electrochemical behavior and quantitative determination of the Schiff base 3-[(anthracen-2-yl)imino]-5-nitro-1,3-dihydro-2H-indol-2-one (ANT) were investigated for the first time using voltammetric techniques at a glassy carbon electrode. The effects of solvent composition, pH, and scan rate on the redox behavior of ANT were systematically evaluated. The compound exhibited an irreversible oxidation process governed by adsorption-controlled kinetics. Quantitative analysis was conducted using differential pulse stripping voltammetry (AdS-DPV) and square-wave stripping voltammetry (AdS-SWV) under optimized conditions. Both methods exhibited linear responses over the concentration range of 0.2–8.0 μM, with limits of detection of 0.0366 μM and 0.0433 μM for …

Influence Of Precursor Synthesis Temperature And Hydrothermal Alkaline Medium On Agglomeration And Crystal Phase Of Barium Titanate Nanoparticles, Murat Özen

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

Phase‑pure, cube‑like barium titanate (BaTiO3) nanoparticles were synthesized via hydrothermal treatment of a single‑source barium-titanium peroxo-hydroxide precursor. Precursor solutions prepared at room temperature, 0 °C, and –10 °C with various storage times exhibited Ba/Ti molar ratios ranging from 0.66 to 1.05 as determined by X-ray fluorescence. Cooling the precursor solution to –10 °C effectively suppressed the polymerization of Ti-O-Ti, yielding near‑ideal stoichiometry and finer precursor particles. Subsequent hydrothermal processing in NH4OH, KOH, and NaOH (0.5–10 M, 100–200 °C) revealed the strong dependence of agglomeration and morphology on the alkaline medium. While NH4OH and KOH resulted in severe agglomeration and the …

Cover And Contents, Editors Of Turkish Journal Of Agriculture And Forestry

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

No abstract provided.

​Spectrophotometric Detection Of Food Additives And Pesticides By Magnetite Cross-Linked Tyrosinase Aggregates (Mcltas)​, İlker Polatoğlu

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

In this study, tyrosinase enzyme was cross-linked with glutaraldehyde to form aggregates on the surface of activated magnetite nanoparticles, without the need for a separate support matrix. For the first time, this novel aggregate was employed for the spectroscopic detection of ascorbic acid (AA) and diazinon, as model food additives and pesticides, respectively. This technique, developed as an alternative to optical sensors, not only eliminates their drawbacks but also facilitates the recovery of cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEA) from the reaction medium using the incorporated magnetite nanoparticles. A spectrophotometric technique was used to measure the enzyme activity of the aggregates to …

Silicon-Mediated Enhancement Of Wheat Tolerance To Drought Stress: A Comparative Study Of Antioxidant Activity, Photosynthesis, Secondary Metabolites, And Yield, Abida Kausar, Rida Yasmeen, Shahid Iqbal, Muhammad Bilal Hafeez, Asif Mukhtiar, Sadia Azeem, Ali Raza, Samreen Nazeer, Muhammad Zubair Akram, Muhammad Kamran, Fahd Rasul, Noreen Zahra

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Drought stress (DS) is a major constraint on optimal plant growth and yield. Agricultural researchers have been actively exploring fertilizers that can enhance crop production under DS conditions. Silicon (Si) application has emerged as a promising strategy for managing DS in various crops. This study investigated the potential of Si soil drenching to mitigate the adverse effects of varying levels of DS (at 100%, 70%, and 40% field capacity) in wheat. Two varieties (Ujala-2016 and FSD-2008) were used to evaluate the influence of Si (2.5 mM) on antioxidant activity, oxidative burst, secondary metabolites, growth, and yield. The results indicated that …

Church, Mosque, And State: The Impacts Of Sectarian Politics On Lebanon’S Democracy, Tonia Attie

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

As Lebanon seeks to reform multiple sectors of the country, it is crucial to understand how its consociational government, centered on religious identities, interacts with its citizens. Electoral accountability is the process by which an electorate holds politicians liable for their actions while in office. While previous studies, such as Vincent Hutchings’ “Public Opinion and Democratic Accountability,” have shown how electoral accountability functions within traditional party systems based on political ideology, there is little research on how accountability mechanisms operate in confessional party systems based on religion. This paper posits that within countries with confessional systems, voters are less able …

Supporting Early Childhood Development Through Parent And Educator Education, Hannah L. Wood

OTD Capstone Projects

This doctoral capstone was completed in partnership with Glen Leven Presbyterian Church Day School in Nashville, Tennessee, a program serving children from 6 weeks to 5 years, with the aim of supporting early childhood development through parent and educator education. The primary goal was to develop evidence-based parent newsletters on early childhood development topics, including practical strategies for daily routines. Weekly newsletters were distributed to parents and later compiled into a booklet to serve as an ongoing resource for educators. Parent survey feedback indicated that the newsletters were clear, helpful, and applicable to everyday routines. A second goal and primary …

Making The Write Connections: Cursive & Body Schema Development, Angelina Kelley

OTD Capstone Projects

This doctoral capstone project was completed at Middle Tennessee Christian School (MTCS) to address handwriting and fine motor needs across grade levels. Teachers identified a need for structured, classroom-friendly strategies to support students with dyslexia, attention challenges, and early pre-writing readiness.

The project included two components: development of a multi-sensory cursive handwriting curriculum for elementary students and implementation of a classroom-based Mat Man pilot study for preschool and transitional kindergarten students. The cursive curriculum emphasized color-coded stroke pathways, motor-based letter grouping, guided practice, repetition, and classroom application. Teacher-ready materials included laminated visual supports, portable letter cards, lesson plans, and digital …

Building Inclusive Communities: Resource And Partnership Development At Friends Life Community, Siobhan Collins

OTD Capstone Projects

Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their family systems often face barriers to meaningful participation in community activities, limiting inclusion and quality of life. This capstone project was completed in collaboration with Friends Life Community (FLC), a non-profit organization, supporting adults with IDD (friends) through community-based day programing, with emphasis on social engagement and lifelong learning. This projected aimed to promote community inclusion by shedding light on the resources available and fostering strategic partnerships within the Nashville area.

A comprehensive needs assessment identified a gap in the connection between programming at FLC and overall inclusion and advocacy within …

Effects Of Animal-Assisted Therapy In Inpatient Rehabilitation: A Reflective Study And Outline For Practice​, Anna Rosenberger

OTD Capstone Projects

This doctoral capstone project was completed in partnership with Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital. The project aimed to collect patient feedback and preliminary qualitative data on the implementation of animal-assisted therapy (AAT) interventions within an inpatient rehabilitation setting. Project activities included a comprehensive literature review, examination of current AAT practices, collaboration with therapy dog teams regarding their work and certification processes, implementation of AAT-based occupational therapy interventions, and administration of patient surveys following sessions. Outcomes of the project included the development of a practical guidebook to support the implementation of animal-assisted therapy in clinical settings, as well as the collection of …

Promoting Safety And Reducing Fall Risk In Adults With Parkinson's Disease, Kennedie Hudson

OTD Capstone Projects

This doctoral capstone project was completed in collaboration with Bridges for Parkinson’s, a local non-profit organization that supports individuals living with Parkinson’s disease. Bridges for Parkinson’s helps to reduce financial barriers and provide exercise and fitness programs that promote functional mobility, a sense of community, and overall well-being. Fall prevention is increasingly important in older adults, especially those with Parkinson’s disease. The primary goal of this project was to gain insight into individuals with Parkinson’s disease experiences and develop research-informed community and home fall prevention and safety educational materials. An educational seminar was conducted that included a pre-survey, presentation of …

Flip For Function: Professional Development And Family Education Resources, Hayley E. Fuller

OTD Capstone Projects

This doctoral capstone project was completed in partnership with Flip for Function, a therapeutic gymnastics program that promotes confidence, inclusion, and participation through adaptive athletics and child-led occupational therapy. The purpose of this project was to develop professional development and family education resources to enhance caregiver understanding, staff consistency, and community outreach. To address identified needs, a comprehensive parent- and school-friendly guidebook was created, including diagnosis-specific information (ADHD, autism, Down syndrome, and sensory processing differences), explanations of how movement supports regulation and development, and strategies to support skill carryover into home and school environments. Additional deliverables included diagnosis-based handouts, activity …

Development Of A Cvi Early Learning Kit For Clients Of Blind Early Services Tennessee, Emma Ruggles

OTD Capstone Projects

This doctoral capstone project was completed in partnership with Blind Early Services Tennessee (BEST), a nonprofit organization focused on providing early intervention services for children with visual impairments. BEST currently supports more than 300 families throughout Tennessee, utilizing a multidisciplinary team approach that includes Teachers of the Visually Impaired (TVIs), Orientation & Mobility (O&M) specialists, Occupational Therapists (OTs), and Developmental Therapists (DTs). This project focused on developing kits that offered educational resources for families while also providing materials designed to support early learning in children with Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI). Deliverables included a sensory processing guide with activity ideas, QR …

Promotion And Advocation For Naveg Integration In Nicu Practices To Advance Early Intervention Vision Health, Lily A. Simmons

OTD Capstone Projects

This doctoral capstone project was completed in partnership with Blind Early Services Tennessee (BEST), a nonprofit organization that provides early intervention services to children ages 0–5 with visual impairments and their families across the state. Serving more than 300 children and families in Tennessee, BEST offers early intervention (BEST Start), parent empowerment (BEST Advocate), and family support (BEST Together) programming. The primary goal of this project was to promote and advocate for the implementation of an early identification screening tool, the Neonatal Assessment Visual European Grid (NAVEG), a validated, non-invasive newborn vision screening tool designed to identify neurological risk for …

A Masked-Perturbation Model For Destabilization Security Games In Feedback Systems, Gabriel Michael Perry

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, we present a mathematical formulation for increasing cyberphysical system security. This model allows a system administrator to use assumptions about exposed signals to derive defense strategies meant to mitigate the system's vulnerability to feedback perturbation attacks. We begin with a survey of game theory with the goal of building the concepts of resource and security games. We then introduce our model, which is a security game; targets in this game are exposed signals in the model map of the system, and resources are perturbed or introduced dynamical relationships between these signals. This formulation, called the masked-perturbation model, …

Theoretical Expressivity Of Self-Attention As A Model Of Binary Sequence-To-Sequence Functions And Other Explorations, Dustin Angerhofer

Theses and Dissertations

The self-attention mechanism lies at the heart of modern sequential modeling with deep neural networks, especially in the context of Large Language Models (LLMs). The basic role of self-attention is to capture pairwise interactions between tokens in a sequence. This allows token embeddings to be endowed with context-dependent information before further processing. Despite its widespread use, our theoretical understanding of self-attention is still nascent. In this work, we examine self-attention as a model of binary sequence-to-sequence (seq2seq) functions, which is the simplest non-trivial case to analyze. We find, using VC dimension and the Sauer-Shelah lemma, that in the limit of …

Principal Coaching Impact: Elementary Principals' Perspectives On Their Coaching Experience, Kyle L. Hoopes

Theses and Dissertations

School principals face increasing complexity as they navigate instructional leadership, organizational change, and the emotional demands of supporting staff and students. Traditional professional development--often episodic and compliance-driven--has proven insufficient for helping principals translate knowledge into practice. This qualitative phenomenological study examined how 20 elementary principals in a large intermountain district experienced a dual-coach, team-based leadership coaching model and how coaching influenced their leadership practices and well-being. Semi-structured interviews and iterative thematic analysis revealed that coaching shaped three core areas of leadership practice: gaining clarity and direction, prioritizing instructional and organizational goals, and strengthening collaboration within school leadership teams. Principals also …

Self-Concept Clarity And Relationship Satisfaction: The Mediating Role Of Approach And Avoidance Motives For Sacrifice Among Heterosexual Couples, Hannah F. Hatch

Theses and Dissertations

While individuals often engage in relational sacrifice to promote positive outcomes like connection (approach motives), they may also sacrifice for a partner to avoid negative outcomes like conflict (avoidance motives). These distinct motives for sacrifice have been repeatedly linked with divergent couple outcomes, yet little is known about the personal and relational factors which shape them. The current study addressed this gap using dyadic data from 289 mixed-gender couples to examine how self-concept clarity (SCC) predicted changes in relationship satisfaction via approach and avoidance motives for sacrifice. Participants represented diverse ethnic and sociodemographic backgrounds across all demographic regions of the …

The Lookahead Transformer, Justin P. Olcott

Theses and Dissertations

Large Language Models (LLMs) are transformer models that generate text autoregressively in two stages: prefill and decode. The prefill stage processes all input tokens in parallel and caches them into the KV cache. The decode stage uses the KV cache, processes a single token at a time, and is generally memory-bandwidth constrained. Each decode step generates a token probability distribution, samples from it, appends the token to the cache, and repeats. This left-to-right, one-at-a-time generation paradigm has proven effective for language modeling in many domains; however, it also has limitations such as token permanence, constant compute per token generation, constant …

Iron-Based Nanoparticles As Delivery Tools, Keykavous Parang, Rajesh Vadlapatla, Ajoy Koomer, Victoria Moran, Lanie Jackson, Amir Nasrolahi Shirazi

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Iron-based nanoparticles, particularly iron oxide nanostructures (IONPs), have emerged as versatile and clinically relevant platforms for drug delivery and theranostic applications. Among these, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs), including magnetite (Fe₃O₄) and maghemite (γ-Fe₂O₃), are the most extensively investigated due to their biocompatibility, magnetic responsiveness, and established safety profiles. Their unique superparamagnetic behavior enables external magnetic-field-guided targeting, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast enhancement, and magnetically triggered hyperthermia, enabling simultaneous diagnosis and therapy. Surface functionalization with polymers, silica, lipids, peptides, and biomolecules further improves colloidal stability, circulation time, targeting specificity, and controlled drug …

Reading List: U.S.-Japan Space Security Cooperation, Alice Dell'era

Course Materials

This document provides suggested readings for a course introducing U.S.–Japan security cooperation in the space domain within the existing governance of space. It includes both foundational texts that establish the context of cooperation and competition, as well as country- and region-specific readings.

Pharmacologic Interventions To Reduce Cardiopulmonary Bypass Induced Inflammation In Cardiac Surgery: A Scoping Review, Wyatt Anderson

Student Works

ABSTRACT

1. Structured summary

Background

Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is essential in cardiac surgery but can trigger a systemic inflammatory response that contributes to postoperative complications. The scoping review conducted has a purpose to map the existing literature on pharmacologic interventions to mitigate CPB related inflammation. While several interventions demonstrated potential anti-inflammatory effects, findings were inconsistent, and no standardized pharmacologic approach is currently agreed upon.

Methods

This scoping review followed PRISMA-ScR guidelines.Both PubMed, and CINAHL were screened for studies published between 2000 and 2024 that evaluated pharmacologic interventions aimed at reducing CPB related inflammation. After screening and duplicate removal, 10 studies met …

Husky Paws S-Stem Summer Bridge Program Dataset (2024 Cohort), Michelle Jarvie-Eggart, Kathryn L. Hannum, Karlee J. Westrem, Lincoln Sorenson, Briana C. Bettin, Adrienne R. Minerick

Michigan Tech Research Data

This dataset was collected as part of the Husky PAWS (Pathways for Academic
Wellness & Success) S-STEM program at Michigan Technological University. It
includes anonymized quantitative and qualitative data from a three-week
pre-semester summer bridge program in 2024, designed to support low-income,
STEM-bound students. Data sources include pre- and post-program Likert and
open-ended surveys and daily written reflections aligned with instructional
modules on metacognition and Yosso’s Community Cultural Wealth Model (CWM).
The dataset supports research on how bridge programming influences
students’ sense of belonging, metacognitive development, and engagement
with institutional support systems during the transition to college.

April 21, 2026, Matthew Inverso

Minutes

No abstract provided.

From Admission To Readiness: Evaluating School Admissions And Supporting Early Childhood Development At Middle Tennessee Christian School, Tessa B. Barto

OTD Capstone Projects

This capstone project evaluated the admissions criteria and processes at Middle Tennessee Christian School (MTCS) to better support early childhood development and school readiness. Methods included reviewing current protocols, conducting stakeholder interviews, analyzing kindergarten-readiness trends, and comparing practices to evidence-based standards. Findings revealed variability in academic skills and highlighted social-emotional development, self-regulation, and functional independence as key areas of need. Results also emphasized the importance of a holistic admissions approach and strong family engagement in student success. In response, evidence-based recommendations were developed to enhance the admissions process. Additionally, the Early Learning Center (ELC) Classroom Support Strategies resource was created …