Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Nickel Catalyzed Cyclizations Of Alkynyl-Etones And Their Application To The Formal Synthesis Of Pentalenic Acid, Kevin Schlosser

Honors Theses

Pentalenic acid is a very important molecule because it is a biosynthetic intermediate of pentalenolactone, which has antibiotic effects on Grampositive/ negative bacteria and pathogenic fungi. These effects are due to its ability to inhibit glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase.1 However, the total synthesis of pentalenic acid is very lengthy.2 This project will begin the process of finding a more convenient route to pentalenic acid. Previously in this laboratory there have been experiments conducted in the cyclization of enones with nickel (0)3 It is hypothesized that this method can be used to shorten the preparation of pentalenic acid. As illustrated by the …

Geology Newsletter- 1996, Department Of Geology

Geological and Environmental Sciences News

Vol. 1, No. 21

• Faculty News
• Alumni/ Friends/ Former Faculty Notes
• Geology Development
• Donations
• Scholarship Donations

Gender Discourse In Small Learning Groups Of College-Level Developmental Mathematics Students, Allen W. Emerson

Dissertations

This study was motivated by the question as to whether women’s and men’s membership in different gender communicative cultures gives rise to gender differentiated ways of talking that are implicated in the failure of a mixed-sex group to achieve good mathematical discourse when women and men sit face to face engaged in various mathematical tasks. If so, in what ways and to what effect is gender discourse implicated in the failure of a mixed-sex group to achieve good mathematical discourse?

Models of feminine and masculine discourse styles based on the theory of communicative cultural difference, as well as a model …

An Efficient Collective Communication Library For Pvm, Chirapol Mathawaphan

Masters Theses

PVM enables the use of network of workstations for parallel and distributed computation. PVM provides the message-passing primitives which include those for point-to-point communication and collective communications. The current approaches for the collective communication operations in PVM use algorithms that do not exhibit good performance.

In this thesis, we develop new approaches to improve the performance of collective communication operations in PVM by using shared memory with IP broadcasting and IP multicasting mechanism. We have implemented these approaches and have run extensive tests. This report shows the comparison of the time used by current approaches and our approaches.

A Strategy For Distributed Relational Database Design, Ismail Omar Hababeh

Masters Theses

This thesis presents a strategy for the fragmentation and allocation of data in a distributed relational database. The strategy introduces a way to fragment and allocate data to accomplish the benefits of allocating each fragment independently for each site. Some fragments may be allocated to multiple sites in order to achieve some constraints such as availability, consistency, and integrity. The strategy is appropriate for different types of computers at various sites connected to a network, with different costs of retrieval, update, and communication.

To increase the system 1/0 performance, sites having similar communication costs are grouped into clusters to which …

L-Shell Resonant Electron Transfer And Excitation In Cu18-19+ + H2 Collisions, Jeffrey A. Wroblewski

Masters Theses

Measurements of L-shell resonant electron transfer and excitation (RTE) were conducted for 45-72 MeV Cu^18-19+ (Na-like and Ne-like, respectively) ions colliding with H₂ using the Western Michigan University EN tandem Van de Graaff accelerator. The RTE process involves an electron-electron interaction between the projectile and the target where electron capture occurs simultaneously with projectile excitation. In previous measurements involving RTE with subsequent L x-ray relaxation for Nb^q+ (q=28-31) ions, the magnitudes of the RTE cross sections were found to be nearly a factor of two smaller than theory. In the analogous electron-ion process of dielectronic recombination, measurements …

The Effect Of Chromium Compounds On The Mutagenic Rate Of Benzo[A]Pyrenediolepoxide In Human Fibroblasts, Yordanos Tesfai

Masters Theses

Cancer researchers are interested in identifying the environmental causes and synergistic influences of different chemical carcinogens in order to decrease the risk of cancer. There are numerous studies which have investigated the effect of individual carcinogens but relatively few in which a well defined mixture of chemicals have been used. The present study was performed to examine the effect of chromium compounds on benzo[a]pyrene diolepoxide (BPDE) induced cytotoxicity and mutagenicity in human fibroblasts. Cytotoxicity was measured by the ability to fonn colonies while selection of 6-thioguanine resistant mutants were used to study mutagenesis in human fibroblasts.

Our results indicate that …

Rapid Method For Determination Of Iodine Numbers Of Vegetable Oils, Ondrej Hendl

Masters Theses

There is a great deal of interest by the public about the total unsaturation of fats and oils used in commercial products as an indication of nutritional value. Dealers in fats and oils are extremely interested in characterizing these products. The unsaturation is a guide to the expected stability of food additives, such as edible oils and foods in which they are used. Unsaturation is typically evaluated as an iodine number (IN), calculated for these additives based on their consumption of iodine through addition across the carbon-carbon double bonds. The classical titration method can typically take 45 minutes.

The investigation …

Side Chain Effect On Micellarly Catalyzed Hydrolysis Of Hydroxamic Acids In Perfluorooctanoic Acid Environment, A.C. Menik Fernando

Masters Theses

The side chain effect on micellar catalysis of hydroxamic acids with perfluorooctanoic acid as the reactive counterion surfactant in aqueous acetonitrile solution has been demonstrated in this thesis.

The rate constant-surfactant concentration profiles were used to estimate the critical micelle concentration and the second order rate constant for hydrolysis in the aqueous bulk phase.

The pseudo-phase ion exchange model satisfactorily explains the surfactant effect. The second order rate constants in the aqueous bulk phase show a direct relationship with steric substituent constants. The major influence of the change in micellar catalysis is the location in the micelle where the substrate …

A Depositional Analysis Of The Wymer Site, Berrien County, Michigan And Its Relationship To Post-Glacial Lake Levels In The Lake Michigan Basin, Kevin A. Kincare

Masters Theses

The Wymer site is an archeological site on the St. Joseph River floodplain 1.5 miles north of Berrien Springs, Michigan. Early and Middle Archaic cultural phases were found at the site. These sites are unusual in that their occurrence corresponds to low lake levels associated with Lake Chippewa and were assumed to occupy the now submerged shoreline areas.

A site evaluation was undertaken to examine the types of sediments and depositional structures. Trenches, grainsize analysis, ¹⁴C samples and valley topography were used to determine that the site was a point bar situated on a terrace above the modern floodplain. …

Hydrogeology And Stable Isotope Investigations Of A Landfill Impacted Site In Southwest Michigan, Eliot Anong Atekwana

Dissertations

The Cork Street landfill in the City of Kalamazoo is unlined and constructed in glacial drift material. Although water quality in some of the landfill monitoring wells is poor, the degree of the landfill’s influence to groundwater, wetlands and Davis Creek located downgradient of the landfill is unknown. The objective of this study is to evaluate the degree of the landfill’s impact in this region through hydrologic and stable isotope analysis.

Site characterization using geophysical surveys and specific conductance measurements indicates highly conductive shallow groundwater probably attributable to groundwater contamination. Hydrologic evaluation of this region shows that groundwater flows towards …

Statistical Graphics: Applications To The R And Gr Methods In Linear Models, Mei Huang Wang

Dissertations

Statistical graphics combine statistics and graphics together to visually display analytical statistical results. They present information in a way that is very easy to understand and, furthermore, they frequently reveal information that is hidden from numerical summaries. Our purpose of this study is to explore the field of statistical graphics by investigating their application to statistical methods in the context of the R and GR methods in linear models. We consider the problems of score selection, R-diagnostics, and comparison of the R- and GR-fits.

We have developed a user friendly program which uses dynamic graphics and a user interface to …

Integrity Of Digraphs, Robert Charles Vandell

Dissertations

The vertex-integrity of a digraph D, denoted I(D), is defined to be the minimum over aIII subsets X of the vertex set of D for the quantity IXI + m(D - X), w here IXI is the number of vertices in X and m(D - X) is the maximum order of a strong component in the digraph D - X. In a like manner, the arc-integrity of the digraph D, denoted I’(D), is defined to be the minimum over all subsets Y of the arc set of D for the quantity IYI + m(D - Y), where IYI is the …

Reactions Of Chlorine And Some Of Its Oxygen Derivatives With Phenol, Lizhuo Zhang

Masters Theses

Chlorine is widely used in industry. It is also the most commonly used disinfectant in water treatment plants. Since the amount of chlorine used is increasing each year, environmental and health concerns arise due to its reactivity with various of organic compounds. Many chlorinated organic compounds are toxic and as a result other non-chlorinating compounds, such as chlorine dioxide, might be potential substitutes in the future, especially in water treatment plants.

Previous studies have indicated that chlorinated organic compounds are not formed when chlorine dioxide is used as a disinfectant. Furthermore no reaction occurs between chlorite and phenol in the …

Spatial And Temporal Variability In The Distribution Of Nitrate In An Agriculturally-Impacted Aquifer, Cass County, Michigan, Caroline Lo Vetere

Masters Theses

Ground-water sampling in a shallow unconfined aquifer within a predominantly agricultural area in southwestern Michigan indicated spatial and temporal variability in the distribution of nitrate. The unconfined aquifer, which is about 40 feet thick, consists of glacially-deposited sand and gravel with interbedded clay lenses and is separated from a lower semi-confined aquifer by a 3-to 26-feet-thick till layer.

The site of the study was a 47-acre agricultural field, characterized by corn and alfalfa hay production, to which hog manure and commercial fertilizers were frequently applied. The shallow water table and relatively permeable glacial sands in the vadose zone combined to …

The Effects Of The Kalamazoo Station No. 4 On The Nearby Kleinstuck Nature Preserve, Robert J. Buechler

Masters Theses

This was a 15 month study that studied the effects of Kalamazoos' Municipal Pumping Station No. 4 on the Kleinstuck Nature Preserve. The preserve is about a quarter of a mile in the up gradient direction of Station No. 4. This study demonstrates that there is a direct correlation between the pumping and the water levels at the preserve. Pumping records show that there is no correlation between precipitation and the water levels at the preserve.

There are other factors which exaggerate this effect. It has been found that the drain field at the Y.M.C.A. parking lot, the breaching of …

A Hplc Method To Assay Mycotoxins - Fumonisin, Ochratoxin And Zearalenone, Nalini Sadagopan

Masters Theses

A HPLC method to quantitate the mycotoxins Fumonisin B1 (FB1), Ochratoxin A(OA), and Zearalenone (ZON) was developed and validated. Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of fungi like Fusarium, Asperigillus and Penicillium that contaminate crops. They have a wide array of chemical structures which facilitate their analytical detection.

The analytical method consists of reverse phase chromatography and fluorescence detection. Sample cleanup was performed using SAX and C18 cartridges prior to analysis on the HPLC.

The method developed for FB1 is unique in that it is more sensitive, accurate, and reproducible than the existing methods. Automation is one of the salient features that …

Is The Universe Expanding?: An Historical And Philosophical Perspective For Cosmologists Starting Anew, David A. Vlosak

Masters Theses

This study addresses the problem of how scientists ought to go about resolving the current crisis in big bang cosmology. Although this problem can be addressed by scientists themselves at the level of their own practice, this study addresses it at the meta-level by using the resources offered by philosophy of science.

There are two ways to resolve the current crisis. Either cosmologists can continue working on big bang theory or they can start anew. For those who choose to start anew, this study argues it would be a mistake for them to assume any new cosmological theory would have …

Random Cayley Maps, Michelle Schultz

Dissertations

Determining the orientable surfaces on which a given graph can be imbedded is the central problem of topological graph theory. The natural setting for studying this problem is random topological graph theory, where a probability model is defined on the space of all labeled 2-cell imbeddings of a connected graph. The major focus of this dissertation is the study of Cayley maps in the setting of random topological graph theory.

A Cayley graph provides a representation of a finite group and a fixed generating set for the group. A Cayley map is an imbedding of a Cayley graph whose vertex …

Ionization And Charge Changing In 0.5 - 8 Qmev Li^Q+ + He (Q=1,2,3) Collisions And Setup Of An Electron Spectrometer Control System, Oliver Woitke

Dissertations

Projectile charge changing and target ionization cross sections are measured for 0.5 to 8 qMeV Li^q+ + He (q=1,2,3) collisions. Total cross sections for single-electron capture (for L i^1,2,3+) and single-electron loss (for L i^1,2+) are obtained and compared to existing experimental and theoretical data. Also, single and double target ionization of He associated with specific outgoing projectile charge states are identified using coincidence techniques. Cross sections for target ionization associated with no projectile charge change (direct ionization), single-electron capture, and single-electron loss are measured and compared to existing experimental data and to available calculations. Double-to-single target ionization ratios R …

An Investigation On Nonenzymatic Autoxidation Of Phenolic Compounds In Natural Waters, Lei Jiang

Masters Theses

The nonenzymatic autoxidation of the phenolic compounds chlorogenic acid in aqueous solution was studied. The study demonstrated that the oxidation rate of chlorogenic acid was strongly dependent on pH. The higher the pH, the faster the rate of oxidation. The involvement of phenolate ions and radicals in oxidation reactions are two possible reasons for the pH dependency. The presence of a trace amounts of reducible transition metal ions, such as copper(II), dramatically increases the oxidation rate of chlorogenic acid. Light also increases the oxidation rate of chlorogenic acid. However, the photochemical reaction was a much slower process.

The TLC and …

A Graph Theoretic Study Of The Similarity Of Discrete Structures, Heather D. Gavlas

Dissertations

A basic problem in drug design consists of finding a compound that satisfies a spectrum of biological and chemical properties. Although drug design problems are central to pharmaceutical research, statisticians have yet to become involved in this area as these problems are viewed statistically as optimization problems. Before statistical optimization procedures can be defined on these spaces whose points are structures and not vectors, very basic mathematical notions of distance must be defined. Graphs have been used as mathematical models to represent the bonding arrangements of molecules for quite some time. In fact, if some of the methodology used by …

Ground Water Movement Through The Highly-Fractured Crystalline Core Of A Large-Scale, Foreland Uplift, Roy Al Gorge Arch, South-Central Colorado, Timothy L. Clarey

Dissertations

The objectives of this study were twofold: ( 1) to examine the well-exposed, basement core of the Royal Gorge arch as a large-scale, field test of ground water flow through a fractured, crystalline, aquifer system; and (2) to devise a method to more accurately determine the direction of maximum aperture of a fractured aquifer through structural and hydrogeologic analysis.

The recognition of a preferred direction of maximum aperture in a fractured aquifer remains an important hydrogeologic consideration because flow through a fracture is proportional to the cube of the aperture width. Previous studies of hydraulic directions using fracture orientation techniques …

An Evaluation Of Methods To Determine The Thickness Of Free Product In A Shallow Water Table Aquifer, Ross B. Wagner

Masters Theses

Estimates of the volume of recoverable free phase petroleum product in soils are frequently based on poorly understood empirical methods. These methods, in the form of field tests and/or equations, require simplifying assumptions and apparent product thickness to calculate the thickness or specific volume of free phase product. The purpose of this study was to compare the available methods against each other to cross validate them.

The field methods evaluated at a well with an apparent product thickness of 1.69 feet were: Yaniga's bailer test, split-spoon soil sampling, a test pit excavation and a new tool developed for direct measurement …

A Study Of The Chemical And Physical Interactions Between A Wetland And A Shallow Aquifer In Cass County, Michigan, Lisa Marie Anderson

Masters Theses

A study of the ground-water chemistry and flow direction adjacent to a wetland was performed in a major hog producing area. Nested piezometers, consisting of wells 7 to 18 feet deep, were installed around the wetland to determine the vertical distribution of hydraulic head and water-quality parameters. Piezometer elevations were surveyed to determine precise ground-water elevations to delineate the ground-water flow regime around the wetland. Water samples were taken at three different times to analyze water quality and seasonal variations. Analytical parameters included major ions, redox sensitive parameters (DO, nitrate-N, ammonia, iron, and sulfate), and total organic carbon.

Water level …