Analyses Of The Mec1 Dna Damage Pathway In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, William Barrett Ainsworth

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Eukaryotic organisms implement conserved surveillance machinery to sense and respond to DNA damage. Fundamental to the repair process is coordinated regulation of repair genes and initiation of cell cycle arrest protocols. Failure to preserve these checkpoints results in accumulation of mutated DNA and aberrant cell phenotypes that are characteristic of human disease. The yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, utilizes the MEC1 checkpoint pathway to regulate the DNA damage response. This study addressed two overarching themes of transcriptional and post-translational regulation within the MEC1 pathway. We first applied our understanding of the MEC1 DNA damage transcriptional response to develop advanced luciferase whole cell …

Effect Of Nitrogen On Properties Of Na2o-Cao-Sro-Zno-Sio2 Glasses, Ahmed Bachar, Cyrille Mercier, Arnaud Tricoteaux, Jean Christophe Hornez, Anne Leriche, Claudine Follet, Bertrand Revel, Stuart Hampshire, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Glasses in the Na₂O-CaO-SrO-ZnO-SiO₂ system have previously been investigated for suitability as a reagent in Al-free glass polyalkenoate cements (GPCs). These materials have many properties that offer potential in orthopedics. However, their applicability has been limited, to date, because of their poor strength. This study was undertaken with the aim of increasing the mechanical properties of a series of these Zn-based GPC glasses by doping with nitrogen to give overall compositions of: 10Na₂O-10CaO-20SrO-20ZnO-(40-3x)SiO₂-xSi₃N₄ (x is the no. of moles of Si₃N₄). The density, glass-transition temperature, hardness, …

A Guide To Process Optimization, Shannon Leeann Kynerd

Honors Theses

Optimization is improving upon an existing process. Generally, the motivation behind optimization is economical. Companies are always looking for ways to improve their process in order to maximize their profit. There are several key steps and strategies that need to be followed in order to guarantee an optimized process and ultimately the maximum profit. An analysis of the base case is essential to optimization. If the starting point is not fully known, then the amount of progress is not known. The top-down and bottom-up strategies determine the overall procedure for optimization. Top-down begins with the big picture while bottom-up starts …

Multiscale Modeling Of Particle Transport In Petroleum Reservoirs, Layne Bryan French

LSU Master's Theses

Modeling subsurface particle transport and retention is important for many processes, including sand production, fines migration, and nanoparticle injection. In this study, a pore-scale particle plugging simulator is concurrently coupled with a streamline reservoir simulator to predict the behavior of particles in the subsurface. The coupled simulators march forward in time together. The automated communication between the two models enables the prediction of spatially and time dependent parameters that control the particle transport process. At each time step, the reservoir simulator provides the inlet velocity and particle concentration of the fluid suspension to the pore-scale model which outputs the permeability, …

Modelling Of Channelization In Unconsolidated Formations Due To Liquid Injection, Juan Felipe Bautista Barake

LSU Master's Theses

Fluid injection has been increasingly implemented in oil and gas producing fields to optimize hydrocarbon production in both young and mature oil fields across the globe. This situation arises from the realization that early planning of second and tertiary recovery methods may improve project economics significantly. Injectors are then intended to perform at high injection rates with low bottomhole flowing pressures for as long as possible. In the case of injectors drilled in unconsolidated formations, deficient performance often times seems to be the norm. With a majority of these fields being offshore developments in which capital expenditures are high, a …

Applications Of Cfd Simulations On Fractal Fluid Distributor, Gongqiang He

LSU Master's Theses

Since its emergence in 1970s, process intensification has been attracting extensive research interests from both academic and industrial societies over the years. One good example of process intensification in chemical industry is the optimization of flow distributors. In many chemical processes, the uniformity of flow distributions plays the key role in determining the overall efficiency. Conventional distributors rely on high pressure drop to achieve acceptable flow distribution. With scaling symmetry from fractal, fractal distributors can handle fluid distribution much better than conventional distributors. With the rapid development of computation power and numerical simulation algorithms, Computer Fluid Dynamics (CFD) provides us …

Application Of Computational Fluid Dynamics To Near-Wellbore Modeling Of A Gas Well, Oscar Mauricio Molina

LSU Master's Theses

Well completion plays a key role in the economically viable production of hydrocarbons from a reservoir. Therefore, it is of high importance for the production engineer to have as many tools available that aid in the successful design of a proper completion scheme, depending on the type of formation rock, reservoir fluid properties and forecasting of production rates. Because well completion jobs are expensive, most of the completed wells are usually expected to produce as much hydrocarbon and as fast as possible, in order to shorten the time of return of the investment. This research study focused on the evaluation …

Modeling The Crude Oil Scheduling Problem With Integration With Lower Level Production Optimization And Uncertainty, Jorge Asis Charbel Chebeir

LSU Master's Theses

This research is focused on the modeling and optimization of the crude oil scheduling problem in order to generate the most appropriate schedule for the unloading, charging, blending, and movement of crude oil in a refinery, which means obtaining the schedule that generates the lowest costs. Uncertainty, which is often present in these types of optimization problems, is also analyzed and taken into account for the resolution of crude oil scheduling problem. A comprehensive novel model is proposed to describe the upper level crude oil scheduling problem, generate an optimal solution for the mentioned problem, and allow integration with the …

Post-Treatment Assessment Of Hydraulic Fracturing With Integrated Modeling Of Natural Fracture Distribution, Ping Puyang

LSU Master's Theses

Hydraulic fracturing has been serving as the principal reservoir stimulation technique for decades to improve production capacities of low permeability formations. On the other hand, through core and outcrop studies, advanced logging tools, microseismic fracture mapping and well testing analysis, it has been further revealed that many of the shale gas formations are naturally fractured. The presence of natural fractures and their interactions with hydraulic fractures must be taken into consideration while designing fracturing treatment. Although most natural fractures are cemented by precipitations during diagenesis, they may be reactivated during hydraulic fracturing and serve as weak paths for fluid flow …

Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Tel1 & Tel2 Role In Dna Double-Strand Break Repairs, Tommy Nhan Trieu

LSU Master's Theses

Genomic DNA is constantly in danger of being damaged by endogenous cellular processes and exogenous agents. Eukaryotes have mechanisms, collectively termed the DNA damage response, that detect and repair DNA damage. After a double-stranded break occurs, protein complexes are recruited to the break site to promote resection. Two main protein kinases involved in DNA repair are the Tel1 and Mec1 proteins. Recent studies have found that the Tel2 protein binds to both the Tel1 and Mec1 proteins and a point mutation of TEL2 on the 129th amino acid disrupts this interaction. Since both of the Tel1 and Mec1 proteins are …

A Model-Based Framework To Control The Crystal Size Distribution, Navid Ghadipasha

LSU Master's Theses

Crystallization is an old unit operation in the industry which is widely used as a separation process due to its ability to produce highly valued chemical with high purity. Despite the long history of batch crystallization, industry still relies on rule of- thumb techniques for their crystallization processes. Thus, any method to improve the products characteristics such as size and morphology will be highly valued. Advances in robustness and accuracy of automated in situ sensors give the possibility to move towards an engineering based approach by implementing the real-time monitoring and control of the process. The research undertaken here investigates …

Synthesis, Characterization And Anti-Proliferative Activity Of An Imidazolium Salt And Its Silver Carbene Complex: Utilization Of Picolyl And Quinolylmethyl Substituents, Cari E. Molnar

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The imidazolium salt (IS) and silver carbene complex (SCC) studied in this report are 3-(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)-1-(quinolin-2-ylmethyl)imidazolium chloride (1) and 3-(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)-1-(quinolin-2-ylmethyl)imidazole – silver acetate complex (2). It was anticipated that the anti-proliferative activity of 1 and 2 would be similar to other characterized ISs while having increased solubility. The SCC (2) was synthesized in order to simulate the ligand-metal coordination similar to that of cisplatin.

The success of the synthetic processes of 1 and 2 were determined by ¹H NMR (300 MHz) spectroscopy. In addition, 1 was also characterized by ¹H NMR (500 MHz) …

Predicting Key Residues Relevant To Hiapp Fibril Stability Using Permuted Residue Minimal Distance Pairs Of Riapp And Hiapp Dimers, Zak Kohler

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In order to discover the most significant residues involved in hIAPP fibril formation, Replica Exchange Molecular Dynamics (REMD) trajectories of both fibril forming hIAPP dimers and non-fibril-forming rIAPP dimers were analyzed. An import heuristic for this is the minimum distance between the peptides. To gain a greater resolution than the standard center of mass distance or 1-1, 2-2, etc.\ residue distances, every permutation of residue distance between molecules of the dimer was measured ranked. It was found that while the rIAPP had a single favored contact, (26 10), hIAPP appeared to have a network of at least three significant contacts: …

Effect Of Nanofiber Morphology On Pvdf Air Filter Performance, Andrew W. Marton

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) can be formed into small nanofibers by electrospinning that are useful for a variety of applications. Air filters produced with PVDF are known to capture ionic particles with high efficiency. Existing studies have focused on the effects of electrospinning conditions on nanofiber morphology. In this study fibers were generated with varying morphologies. Air filters were then made from each sample and then characterized by TSI. Air filters were found to have increased resistances relative to their capture efficiencies according to particle diameter. Capture efficiencies did not correlate strongly with particle diameter, and the presence of beads in …

Filtration Of Aerosolized Oils With Layered Filter Media And Drainage Channels, Corey A. Boldon

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this experiment is to compare the efficiency of four different filter media with two different drainage channel materials when filtering out aerosolized oil. The filter media include 2 micron stainless steel fibers, 6.5 micron stainless steel fibers, 2 micron woven glass fibers, and 6 micron woven glass fibers. The drainage channel materials are 500 micron Teflon (PTFE) and nylon mesh.

One major application that this research is targeted towards is air compressors. Air compressors use lubricating oil to minimize wear and corrosion. During operation some of this lubricating oil is aerosolized into the outgoing air stream. Inhalation …

Electrospinning Of S-B-S Triblock And S-I-S Triblock Copolymers For Use In Fuel Filtration, Kevin Houser

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The following research project looked into the potential of using nanofibers of syrene-isoprene-styrene triblock copolymer produced through the electrospinning process for the filtration of water out of fuel as well as a comparison of styrene-isoprene-styrene triblock to the styrene-butadiene-styrene triblock nanofibers produced at equivalent operating parameters. Based on the work completed, it is concluded that the styrene-isoprene-styrene triblock is not suitable for use in filtration with the current electrospinning conditions. On average, the styrene-isoprene-styrene triblock produced nanofibers of lower average diameter and lower standard deviation in diameter when compared to styene-butadiene-styrene triblock.

Iso: Understanding Elective International Certification, Lauren R. Kukwa

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this paper is to investigate elective certification specifically as it pertains to the Process Engineering II capstone project assigned at the University of Akron in the Spring Semester of 2015. The standards for certification are those needed to obtain certification in International Organization for Standardization’s 9000:2005 Quality Management standard. The ethics of a Chemical Engineering position as it pertains to the project will also be presented and similarities between elective certification and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Code of Ethics will be noted.

Optimization Of Polydopamine Coatings, Helen C. Terrill Ms.

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Polydopamine coatings were fabricated onto the surfaces of glass slides, silicon wafers, and Teflon pieces. A method to change surface properties was optimized, providing a new way of using substrates by means of make-over surface properties. The technology has a wide range of potential approaches including high performance coatings and biomedical surfaces. The experiments can be conducted with various types of surface modifications to make surfaces hydrophilic, hydrophobic, conductive, or magnetic. The changes of film thickness and surface energy as functions of incubation time were quantified by means of ellipsometry, profilometry, and contact angle measurements. The use of primer polydopamine …

Biosurfactants In Electrospinning, Jonathan Russell

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Surfactants are useful in electrospinning to help improve the fiber morphology. Crocin is a naturally occurring biosurfactant from saffron that is highly soluble in water. By electrospinning a biocompatible polymer, such as polyethylene oxide (PEO) and Crocin, one can improve the fiber morphology. A systematic study of PEO was conducted by varying the voltage, flow rate, and gap distance. The viscosity of the solution was determined using a viscometer and the surface tension was determined using the pendant drop method. Fiber morphology was examined using SEM and fiber diameters were determined using ImageJ to measure the fibers in the SEM …

Formation Of Polymer Micro-Tubes, Daniel Peters

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Abstract

Current demand for organs is greater than the supply of donated organs, which means that a new method of obtaining replacement organs needs to be found. The objective of the research is to evaluate the use of thermo-triggered self-rolling polymer tubes that can be used for scaffolds in tissue engineering. Additionally, the research also includes a method for forming polymer tubes through the removal of a sugar fiber, coated with a thin film of polymer, by dissolving it in deionized water. For the first approach, the effect of the aqueous environment and temperature on a polymer bilayer was observed …

Determining The Critical Micelle Concentration Of Polymer Matrix For Drug Delivery Purposes, Katie Emmert

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Targeted oral release systems have been a large topic within drug delivery systems. There are several benefits to an oral delivery including patient convenience and lower chance of infection. The colon specifically has been researched as the release media. The colon is an ideal location for a release because the pH is stable with high levels of microorganisms. Like any type of drug delivery research, there are several hurdles to overcome. In order for a drug to be released in the colon, the drug must survive the stomach and be biocompatible. This biocompatibility and pH sensitivity was created using a …

Evaluation Of The Signature Molecular Descriptor With Blosum62 And An All-Atom Description For Use In Sequence Alignment Of Proteins, Lindsay M. Aichinger

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This Honors Project focused on a few aspects of this topic. The second is comparing the molecular signature kernels to three of the BLOSUM matrices (30, 62, and 90) to test the accuracy of the mathematical model. The kernel matrix was manipulated in order to improve the relationship by focusing on side groups and also by changing how the structure was represented in the matrix by increasing the initial height distance from the central atom (Height 1 and Height 2 included).

There were multiple design constraints for this project. The first was the comparison with the BLOSUM matrices (30, 62, …

Developing A Colorimetric Membrane Sensor To Detect Trihalomethanes In Water Samples Utilizing The Fujiwara Reaction, Max D. Duckworth

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This work focused on creating a colorimetric sensor to detect trihalomethanes (THMs) at concentrations near the level of environmental regulations from the environmental protection agency (EPA). This work utlized the fujiwara reaction as well as a hydrophobic electrospun polyprolylene membrane to produce a sensitive colorimetric reaction. A calibration curve was produced which was able to predict the concentration of a bromoroform solution in the range of 8-250 ppb with a confidence of 97.7 % using the intensity of the color change as a quantitative measure.

Polymer Interactions With Nucleic Acids Under Various Physiological Conditions, Matthew S. Obrzut

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The goal of this project is to improve our understanding of nucleic acid interactions with cationic polymers with the theory that the polymers could protect the nucleic acids from degradation caused by biological enzymes. We seek to understand what the limitations of the cationic polymers are which, in this case, is mainly polymer-DNA compatibility. This experiment utilized peptide-dextran hybrid polymers with differing functionalizations to condense anionic nucleic acids into nanometer-sized polyplexes. Techniques of dynamic light scattering and zeta-potential were utilized to determine the particle sizes and surface charges of polyplexes.

In this experiment, dextran with a molecular weight of 20 …

The Impact Of Shrinkage Reducing Admixtures On The Corrosion Of Steel Rebar In Concrete, Carlee C. Mccowin, Donald P. Visco Jr.

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Chemical admixtures are prepared in modern concrete to control certain performance properties, such as strength, setting-time, and workability. In this research, the corrosion inhibition properties of various shrinkage reducing admixtures in a synthetic concrete pore solution are examined. These compounds can inhibit or promote corrosion of the carbon steel rebar in concrete structures. The corrosive effects were tested by modeling the environment of concrete in a cathodic cell with a similar pH (12-13). Each shrinkage-reducing admixture (SRA) was compared to a standard reference cell. Tafel curves were used to determine the corrosion current and potential.

New Multiphase Reactor Design Using Electrospun Nanofibers, Victoria Smith

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

No abstract provided.

Nylon-6 Fabric Nanocomposite Resistance Temperature Detectors - Effects Of Oxidant, Mwcnt, And Nylon-6 Concentration, Rebecca Howdyshell

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Abstract

The purpose of this honors project is to construct and test temperature detectors, which can be used for the advancement of exercise devices, prosthetic sockets, or medical applications. Resistance Temperature Detectors (RTDs) are an effective way to measure temperature due to the dependence of the RTD material’s resistance on temperature. The focus of this project was to develop an RTD for prosthetic socket or exercise applications, where the RTD is in close contact with the skin of the user. Generally, RTDs are constructed from platinum, copper, or nickel. However, metal RTDs have a tendency to be large and rigid, …

Modeling, Optimization, And Sensitivity Analysis Of A Continuous Multi-Segment Crystallizer For Production Of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, Bradley James Ridder

Open Access Dissertations

We have investigated the simulation-based, steady-state optimization of a new type of crystallizer for the production of pharmaceuticals. The multi-segment, multi-addition plug-flow crystallizer (MSMA-PFC) offers better control over supersaturation in one dimension compared to a batch or stirred-tank crystallizer. Through use of a population balance framework, we have written the governing model equations of population balance and mass balance on the crystallizer segments. The solution of these equations was accomplished through either the method of moments or the finite volume method. The goal was to optimize the performance of the crystallizer with respect to certain quantities, such as maximizing the …

Structure-Activity Relationships For The Water-Gas Shift Reaction Over Supported Metal Catalysts, Kaiwalya D. Sabnis

Open Access Dissertations

The Water-Gas Shift (WGS) reaction (CO + H₂O → CO₂ + H₂) is an important chemical process for industrial hydrogen production. The overall goal of this project is to use kinetic experiments and in situ characterization techniques in tandem, in order to derive structure-activity relationships for various catalytic systems. These relationships facilitate the rational catalyst design by identification of catalyst descriptors. In order to establish such relationships, various studies were undertaken, such as (i) effect of transition admetals on the WGS catalysis by molybdenum carbide (ii) effect of residual oxygen content on the performance of …

Kesterite Thin-Film Solar Cell Absorbers Derived Using Inhomogeneous Czts Nanoparticles, Wei-Chang D. Yang

Open Access Dissertations

My doctoral research focuses on understanding the structure-property-processing relationship of the kesterite materials to improve their device performance. It is recognized in both my own work and the recent literature that the structural and compositional integrities of CZTSSe are crucial to derive the solar cell grade kesterite thin-films. Analytical electron microscopy (AEM) allows me to demonstrate the structural and compositional inhomogeneity of the CZTS nanoparticles and CZTSSe thin-films at the nanoscale. For example, the observed forbidden reflections in TED patterns and FFT diffractograms corresponding to HRTEM images indicate that cation disorder leads to stacking faults in CZTS nanoparticles. Probe-corrected STEM …