Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Modification Of An Injection Molding Machine To Mold Micro Parts With A Liga Mold, Emil John Geiger

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Weinreb Amides : Novel Titanium Enolate Reagents, Andrew J. Leyhane

Honors Theses

The amides of N-methoxy-N-methylamine or "Weinreb amide" have earned an important role in synthetic chemistry as both a protective group and as synthetic intermediates. We have discovered that the Weinreb amide of acetic acid, N-methoxy-N-methylacetamide adds to aldehydes to afford classic aldol products in good to excellent yields. The scope of this novel aldol reaction will be discussed.

Inclusion Chemistry Of Neutral Nonlinear Optical Dyes Within Organically Modified Silicates, Ian Saratovsky

Honors Theses

The field of photonics involves the use of light to acquire, store, process, and transmit information. Nonlinear optical (NLO) materials are crucial for success in the advancement of photonic devices. Laponite and hectorite host assemblies have been shown previously by our group to induce I -aggregation of nonlinear optical (NLO) dyes and offer facile routes to film fabrication. Head-to-tail alignment (J-aggregation) of the NLO chromophores is a required condition for photonic applications. In this study, tetrabutylammonium, triethylhexylammonium, trimethyldodecylammonium, and trimetylcetylarunonium surfactants were utilized to render the smectic intergallery region organophilic thus facilitating chromophore intercalation and an increased J-aggregated dye fraction. …

A Stereoselective Multi-Component Synthesis Of Alpha-Oxy-Beta-Substituted-Beta-Amino Esters, Avrum L. Joffe

Honors Theses

Previous work has shown that chlorotitanium enolates of methylmethoxy acetate add to aryl aldimines in a stereoselective fashion. Aryl aldimines are non-enolizable, which contributes to their ability to add to the enolates. Previous attempts to add the enolates to enolizable alkyl aldimines were unsuccessful. By using a multi-component process in which the aldimine is synthesized in-situ, we have expanded the scope of this chemistry to the enolizable alkyl aldimines. Furthermore, the multi-component process has proven to be stereoselective for the anti-adduct.

The Use Of Substituted Cyclodextrins In Capillary Electrophoresis For The Separation And Identification Of Methorphan Enantiomers, Colleen Strait

Honors Theses

The goal of this project was to separate the enantiomers levo and dextromethorphan using capillary electrophoresis (CE). Levomethorphan is a controlled substance, and dextromethorphan is an active ingredient in many cough syrups. Methylated-β-cyclodextrins (CDs) are used as additives because the CDs have chiral centers, allowing them to bind differently to the two enantiomers and thereby changing the enantiomer migration times in CE. Dimethyl- β-CD did not separate the levo and dextromethorphans; however the trimethyl-β-CD was successful at producing baseline separation with migration times of roughly 6 minutes. We are optimizing it by changing variables such as type of buffer, buffer …

The Optimization Of Sol-Gels As Sensing Arrays And The Testing Of Sol-Gel Precursors Through The Use Of Fluorescence Measurements Of Eosin-Y, Rachel M. Bukowski

Honors Theses

The purpose of the first project, performed in collaboration with Professor Frank Bright of SUNY at Buffalo, was to optimize the conditions and variables for a Cartesian Technologies Pinprinter to print reproducible spots of sol-gels doped with Ruthenium Diphenylphenathrene (Ru(dpp)32+), an oxygen-sensing complex, on microscope slides. We attempted to optimize these variables by l) the alteration of the printing speed of the sol-gel microarrays, 2) variation of the drying temperature of the gels after they had been printed, 3) controlling the reaction rate of the sol-gel, and 4) various methods of slide pre-treatment. We found that a print speed of …

The Optimization Of Sol-Gels As Sensing Arrays And The Testing Of Sol-Gel Precursors Through The Use Of Fluorescence Measurements Of Eosin-Y, Rachel M. Bukowski

Honors Theses

The purpose of the first project, performed in collaboration with Professor Frank Bright of SUNY at Buffalo, was to optimize the conditions and variables for a Cartesian Technologies Pinprinter to print reproducible spots of sol-gels doped with Ruthenium Diphenylphenathrene (Ru(dpp)32+), an oxygen-sensing complex, on microscope slides. We attempted to optimize these variables by l) the alteration of the printing speed of the sol-gel microarrays, 2) variation of the drying temperature of the gels after they had been printed, 3) controlling the reaction rate of the sol-gel, and 4) various methods of slide pre-treatment. We found that a print speed of …

Communicator-In-Chief: Presidential Use Of Television Past, Present, And Future, Jenna Wasson

Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to determine how television has changed as a communication medium for presidents over the past half century. An evaluation of the evolving ways presidents use television to communicate with and to build support from the American people has been conducted. Presidential communication strategies have been identified by drawing primarily from primary sources written by presidents and White House staff. Television technology and the television audience have changed over the years. Presidents have taken a more pro-active, aggressive role in their efforts to harness television for their own purposes. Why have these changes occurred? What impact have these …

Synthesis And Dna Binding Of Cis And Trans-Rucl2 (Dmso)4, Thomas Curran

Honors Theses

The synthesis of both cis and trans-RuCl?(DMSO)? has been reported in literature, and is currently the only way of acquiring these compounds. Because these metallodrugs have shown similar antitumor properties to cisplatin, they are currently under investigation for use in clinical trials as potential chemotherapeutics. It is believed that these drugs act in a way similar to cisplatin by causing intrastrand crosslinking of adjacent guanine residues in DNA. In an attempt to better understand any Ru/DNA interaction for these compounds, both cis and trans-RuCl?(DMSO)? were synthesized with reasonable yields (~40%). The compounds were then characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), …

Improving The Campus Sustainability Assessment Process, Andrew Nixon

Honors Theses

The human enterprise is rapidly overwhelming the Earth’s ecological systems and draining its natural resources. According to Vitousek et al., as much as one-half of the planet’s land surface has been transformed by human activity; more than half of the world’s available fresh water is used by humans; and a quarter of the planet’s bird species have been driven to extinction by human activity (Vitousek et al, 1997). These and many other negative trends pose catastrophic implications for the future of our species and for the planet’s other inhabitants.

Self-Similarity In Network Traffic, Francisco Chinchilla

Honors Theses

It is critical to properly understand the nature of network traffic in order to effectively design models describing network behavior. These models are usually used to simulate network traffic, which in turn are used to construct congestion control techniques, perform capacity planning studies, and/or evaluate the behavior of new protocols. Using the wrong models could lead to potentially serious problems such as delayed packet transmissions or an increase in packet drop rates.

Traditionally, packet arrivals were assumed to follow a Poisson arrival process. Although Poisson processes have several properties that make them easy to work with, they do not accurately …

Western Michigan University Occupational Therapy Department Web Page, Holly Pietrzak, Melissa Byrne

Honors Theses

Website designed for WMU's Occupational Therapy department.

Photochemical Generation And Chemistry Of Α-Acetoxycarbene, Jonathan Mann

Honors Theses

Efforts have been made at generating the parent α-acetoxycarbene from a non-nitrogenous precursor. Baeyer-Villiger oxidation of the ketone, 1-(1a,9b-dihydro-lHcyclopropa[1] phenanthren-1-yl)-ethanone, available in two steps from phenanthrene, led to the ester, 1-(1 a,9b-dihydro-lH-cyclopropa[/]phenanthren-l-yl)-acetate, which is a photochemical precursor of the parent α-acetoxycarbene intermediate. Photolysis of the ester in cyclohexene afforded an isomeric mixture of endo and exo acetates resulting from the carbene adding to the α-bond. Photolysis of the ester in trans-3-hexene yielded a single trans-cis acetate, a product of the same cycloaddition process. The formation of methyl glyoxal, via the l,2-acyl shift of the carbene, is observed through its derivatives. …

Purification Of The Hmg1 Protein And Investigation Of Its Interactions With Diepoxide Cross-Linked Dna, Gayle Pageau

Honors Theses

HMG1 is a nonhistone chromosomal protein that binds preferentially to some types of globally modified DNA. HMG1 has been implicated in the cellular response to the anti-cancer agent cisplatin, functioning to block excision repair of specific distorted platinated DNA lesions and resulting in enhanced cytotoxicity. We have investigated whether other DNA-binding agents also produce lesions that are recognized by HMG1. Specifically, we used polyacrylamide gel shift assays to monitor the potential HMG1 binding of diepoxybutane interstrand cross-links, which have been suggested to induce DNA bending. We isolated the native protein from chicken erythrocytes and expressed engineered HMG domain proteins in …

Investigations Of Intramolecular Copper (I)-Arene Interactions Using A Ns2-Macrocyclic Ligand With Different Pendant Aryl Arms, Paul J. Lee

Honors Theses

Two macrocyclic ligands with a pendant phenyl group -N-[2-(l-phenyl)ethyl]-1-aza-4,8di thiacyclodecane (L1) and N-[2-0-phenyl)propyl]-1-aza-4,8-dithiacyclodecane, (L2) has been synthesized and characterized. The copper(I)-triphenylphosphine complex [LICu(PPhJ)]OTf , (2) was synthesized from L1 1/2(C6H6)[CuOTf]2, and PPh3. The complexes [LICu]OTf 1 and [L2Cu]OTf 3 were also synthesized and characterized using DC and IH NMR, UV-vis and lR spectroscopy, and ESI-MS. In CD2Cl2, 1 was found to have a fluxional behavior with the barrier ΔG to the process estimated at 9-11 kcal/mol. Variable temp. NMR spectroscopy of 1 gave compelling evidence that the phenylappended group is bound in an intramolecullar η2-fashion with the copper center. At …

Effect Of 6-Thioguanine And Methyl-6-Thioguanine On Stability Of Dna Duplexes, Mabaera Rodwell

Honors Theses

6-Thioguanine (65G) has been used for the past thirty years as an anti-cancer agent in maintenance chemotherapy for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia as well as acute myeloid leukemia. Despite its long-standing clinical use, little is understood of the molecular basis of the cytotoxicity associated with ?sG. Research has shown that ?sG is incorporated into DNA during replication after which it may exert its cytotoxicity by inducing rapid mutation or by affecting DNA-protein interactions. 65G has also been shown to impair HIV replication by inhibiting HlV-l reverse transcriptase and to inhibit human telomerase activity. To further understand the structural changes associated …

Modeling A Real-Time Economics Simulation With User-Coded Agents In An Object-Oriented Database, Kevin Simons

Honors Theses

A simulation tbat models the stock market with real-time stock quotes was created. Users can translate their own theories about investing into Java code, which is then used to create an intelligent agent. The agent is inserted into the simulation, which allows the agent to gather data from the model. Based on this data, the agent uses the algorithm the user wrote to buy and sell stocks. Such as model provides a means of testing investment theories before investing.

Local Participation As A Determinant Of Success In World Bank Environmental Projects: What Is The Evidence?, Catherine Benson

Honors Theses

The current impoverished, environmentally degraded state of Africa suggests that international aid projects have proven largely unsuccessful in tackling the enormous development and environment challenges faced by Africa. Africa has historically been inundated with groups trying to implement change in the form of political, economic, and environmental agendas, beginning in the colonial period and continuing today. The abundance of advice and financial assistance poured into this region have resulted in a continent lagging behind other developing regions to an even worse extent than prior to aid projects. The environment of development in Africa is complex; nowhere else in the world …