Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Exploring Retrieval Difficulties And Self-Confidence In An Assessment Of General Chemistry Students, Karen Julian, Morgan Balabanoff

The Cardinal Edge

Developing self-assessment skills is an important aspect of learning. Framed by assessment developed for the year-long sequence of general chemistry, students were asked to rate their ability to answer conceptual questions. Using cognitive interviews, this study revealed that people rely on a range of characteristics other than content knowledge to assess their confidence, including doubt, retrieval difficulty, and test-taking methods. These findings imply that more explicit instruction may be required to encourage correct self-assessment. Students can develop their metacognitive skills and calibrate their perceived ability by completing examinations meant to emphasize content knowledge gaps.

Bioinformatic Analysis Of The Interaction Of Evc And Evc2 Proteins, Md Atikul Islam Mamun

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Protein to protein interactions are significant to various biological processes, functioning, and the regulation of cells and organisms. Proteins perform essential cellular tasks and often work together in complexes, enabling specific functions like enzymatic activity, signal transduction, DNA replication, and cell division. These interactions are important in signaling pathways, allowing proteins to interact sequentially, leading to specific cellular responses. Some proteins rely on chaperones to fold correctly, and protein to protein interactions enhance stability, preventing degradation.

Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine discovered that EvC syndrome is related to a malfunction in the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway. They found …

Studying The Stability Of Collagen/Heparin Coatings To Be Used In Cell Therapy Applications, Gavin Mussino

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

This honors thesis aims to investigate the reusability and performance of cell coatings for cell therapy applications. Cell therapy, which involves the use of human cells to repair or replace damaged tissues, holds immense potential for medical advancements. However, ensuring the survival and functionality of transplanted cells remains a significant challenge. We focused on studying the effectiveness of coatings applied to cells for improved cell growth and viability. The research project involved the preparation of the coatings using a layer-by-layer method and the subsequent seeding of cells. The coated cells were then subjected to a series of experiments to assess …

Leveraging Non-Covalent Interactions Between Small Organic Molecules And Inorganic Scaffolds In The Design Of Advanced Materials, Jonathan Lefton

Chemistry Theses and Dissertations

Powder diffraction is a powerful tool for studying crystal structures, especially as it relates to interactions of small organic molecules with inorganic compounds. The first part of this dissertation involves small organic ligands interacting with metal-organic framework, MOF-74. The first and simplest iteration involves the crystal structure solution of a neat, liquid loading of n-propylmercaptan to the open metal sites within the MOF-74 pores. Later studies investigate the leveraging of a similarly sized bitopic ligand in the solution loading of 1,2-ethanedithiol, which results in the amorphization of MOF-74. Having no crystallinity, amorphous or severely defected materials can be a …

The Investigation Of Singlet Fission From The Perspective Of Hierarchy Of Pure States (Hops), Tao (James) Chen

Chemistry Theses and Dissertations

This thesis provides a preliminary investigation of singlet fission from the perspective of Hierarchy of pure states (HOPS), which provides a numerical exact solution for the investigation of a series of open quantum systems. Since the inception of the concept of singlet fission about half a century ago, this photo-physical process has attracted the attention of a multitude of researchers and has been extensively studied theoretically and experimentally. However, these previous methods for the investigation of singlet fission focus more or less on tackling the underlying mechanisms of singlet fission from the perspective of perturbation. So far, the HOPS method …

The Investigation Of Singlet Fission From The Perspective Of Hierarchy Of Pure States (Hops), Tao (James) Chen

Chemistry Theses and Dissertations

This thesis provides a preliminary investigation of singlet fission from the perspective of Hierarchy of pure states (HOPS), which provides a numerical exact solution for the investigation of a series of open quantum systems. Since the inception of the concept of singlet fission about half a century ago, this photo-physical process has attracted the attention of a multitude of researchers and has been extensively studied theoretically and experimentally. However, these previous methods for the investigation of singlet fission focus more or less on tackling the underlying mechanisms of singlet fission from the perspective of perturbation. So far, the HOPS method …

Clear As Glass: Novel Antibiotic Glasses Vitrified From Solution, Claire Lamberti

Chemistry Theses and Dissertations

The World Health Organization (W.H.O.) has maintained a list of essential medicines since 1977 (1). This list contains the medications considered to be the most effective and of the utmost importance to the needs of worldwide healthcare systems. If new forms of these drugs can be created, they can be studied for potential stability and transportation purposes, as well as drug delivery mechanisms. There are strategies to try and improve the physicochemical properties including forming polymorphs, salts, cocrystals, and amorphous formulations. There are issues with these techniques, and a large one is that in most cases the crystal structures of …

The Decomposition Of Normal Vibrational Modes In Different Chemistry Problems, Mateus Macedo Quintano

Chemistry Theses and Dissertations

The least action principle yields the Euler-Lagrange equations, which explain molecular vibrations in minimizing action. Subsequently, the Lagrangian gives rise to the equations of motion using the Euler-Lagrange equations. We can then solve the characteristic value problem to obtain normal vibrational modes. Ultimately, the vibrational spectrum of a molecule can be extracted from the characteristic values. Normal coordinates are linear combinations of internal or Cartesian coordinates. However, the delocalization of normal vibrational modes across the molecule restricts the direct use of normal mode frequencies and force constants for measuring bond strength. From the force constant matrix and the normal mode …

Implementation And Assessment Of A Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (Cure) In General Chemistry, Alissa Potts

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are growing in popularity in the chemistry community to replace traditional laboratory courses. This approach creates a research experience for a larger number of students than traditional research mentorship experiences offered at universities. CUREs can help students take ownership of projects, learn to design and troubleshoot experimental setups, problem-solve experiments that don’t have a “known answer”, and gain confidence in the laboratory. To assess the effectiveness of a general chemistry laboratory-based CURE course with DePaul students, the Experimental Design Ability Test (EDAT) and the Meaningful Learning in the Laboratory Instrument (MLLI) survey were given to …

A Computational Study Of Adsorptive Desulfurization In Metal Organic Frameworks, Kyle Concha

Theses

Fossil fuel usage has been related to several concerns about the environment and human health. One of these concerns is related to fuels containing Organic Sulfur Compounds (OSCs) which upon burning produce hazardous compounds such as SO₂ which contributes to acid rain and affects respiratory health. Removal of these OSCs is an important field of study as it can prevent the production of SO_x compounds. One technique to remove OSCs is Adsorptive Desulfurization (ADS) in which Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are potential candidates to be used as adsorbents. Two archetypal MOFs, HKUST-1 and Cu₃HHTP₂, …

Cooking With Chemistry: Marshmallows, Admin Stem For Success

STEM for Success Showcase

This lesson plan teaches students thermodynamics, foam, and other chemistry topics by cooking marshmallows.

New Methods For Core-Hole Spectroscopy Based On Coupled Cluster Theory, Megan Simons

Chemistry Theses and Dissertations

X-ray absorption spectra (XAS) is a method used to investigate atomic local structure and electronic states. Coupled cluster method is a numerical method used for describing many-body systems and electron correlation in a wavefunction. When equation-of-motion coupled cluster is used in XAS calculations, the ground state is applied to the excitation operator, which excites or ionizes the electron. This causes a large orbital relaxation error, normally ~5 eV, which leads to the need for triple excitations in order to obtain accurate results.

This dissertation introduces a coupled cluster method that uses "transition potential" reference orbitals to reduce the orbital relaxation …

Design And Synthesis Of Dinucleating Phthalazine-Based Ligands Toward Bimetallic Ruthenium Catalysts For Water Oxidation, Alex Bromley

Honors Theses

Two synthetic pathways were developed to construct dinucleating ligands towards the synthesis of bimetallic ruthenium-based water oxidation catalysts. The motivation for this work stems from earlier observations of related ligands that are susceptible to oxidative decomposition. The design pursued here incorporates a phthalazine core into the dinucleating ligand, which, we hypothesize, will prevent the previously established cleavage of a pyridazine unit at the same position. The ligand precursors involved in the multi-step syntheses are characterized by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Synthetic protocols were refined to ensure reproducibility. In addition, our hypothesis for which of the two target ligands will …

Celebrating Native Chemists And Encouraging More Native Talent In Stem, Lisa Villa

Staff publications

This editorial was written to accompany cover art submitted to the American Chemical Society's 2023 ACS Diversity & Inclusion Cover Art Series, and selected as the July cover for Environmental Science & Technology Letters. The artwork design features several prominent chemists who are also strong advocates for increasing the number of Native American/First Nation scientists. They recognize how cultural beliefs may often be in conflict with scientific conversations, but have been working to attract and encourage Native American talent in the STEM fields.

The published cover art is included as a supplemental file.

Quantitative Analysis Of The Proteomic Selectivity Of Acidic Reductive Alkylation Of Peptides, Connor Jewell

Honors Scholar Theses

Proteome quantification is a complicated process which takes on many methods, usually involving peptide derivatization and complex mass spectral analysis. Scores of techniques have been utilized to address issues of incomplete quantification. The implementation of IPTL labeling, or isobaric peptide terminal labeling, is a recent addition to the literature, which exploits the supposedly selective labeling of N-termini of tryptic peptides from the C-termini of lysine residues due to differences in basicity. This method has been shown to improve quantitation by reducing spectral complexity and provide more accurate and reproducible results on peptide abundance. Investigations into the selectivity of terminal derivatization …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Rhenium 2,2′-Pyridylnaphthyridine Metal Complexes, Benjamin F. Solomon

Honors Theses

Rhenium (Re) is a group 7 heavy 5d transition metal in the same family as manganese (Mn) and technetium (Tc). Re-carbonyl complexes are known to be catalysts for many different kinds of reactions from C-C bond formation to reduction reactions like CO₂ reduction (CO₂RR)^1,2. With this in mind, we have prepared a set of six Re-carbonyl complexes of 2,2′-pyridyl-1,6-naphthyridine (1,6- pynap) and 2,2′-pyridyl-1,8-naphthyridine (1,8-pynap), a redox non-innocent ligand containing a bpy moiety as well as an additional aryl nitrogen binding location at which another metal-ligand bond could form. We have synthesized these complexes as precursors …

Methods For Increasing The Electron Richness Of Iron Tricarbonyl Diimine Complexes, Francesca Lombardi, Joseph Maher, Sean Peloquin

Chemistry & Biochemistry Student Scholarship

Francesca Lombardi ’24, Major: Chemistry

Joseph Maher ’25, Major: Chemistry

Sean Peloquin ’26, Major: Biochemistry

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Maria Carroll, Chemistry and Biochemistry

The goal of our research is to synthesize new iron complexes that can reduce carbon dioxide. Increasing the electron richness of iron tricarbonyl diimine complexes, which have been synthesized previously in the Carroll research group, will increase the likelihood of a reaction with carbon dioxide occurring. We have taken two approaches to changing the electron density in the complexes. First, we reacted the complex Fe((CF3)2ArDABMe)(CO)¬3 with the reducing agent potassium on graphite, in order to reduce either …

Kinetic Analysis Of Glu115ala Cytosolic Human Malate Dehydrogenase Mutation Shows A Change In Activity On Non-Native Substrate Phenylpyruvate, Kailey Paar

Chemistry & Biochemistry Student Scholarship

The cytosolic human enzyme, malate dehydrogenase (MDH1), is believed to have a significant effect on the proliferation of cancerous cells. This enzyme oxidizes NADH to NAD+ as it converts oxaloacetate (OAA) to malate. This oxidation of NADH provides the needed NAD+ to cancer cells, which require NAD+ as they upregulate glycolysis in aerobic conditions. Targeting MDH1 can reveal new therapeutic treatments for cancer by preventing the conversion of OAA to malate and depleting NAD+ stores in cancer cells, which can be done by mutating residues in the enzyme and assessing the change in activity. Here we show the replacement of …

Magnetic Slime, Admin Stem For Success

STEM for Success Showcase

Students learn chemistry and physics by making magnetic slime.

Invisible Ink, Admin Stem For Success

STEM for Success Showcase

Students create invisible ink to hide and reveal a message using chemistry.

Sugar Water Density Activity, Admin Stem For Success

STEM for Success Showcase

In this activity students learn about density using sugar water. Attached is the activity's lesson plan and a teacher reflection on the activity.

Physical And Chemical Changes Lesson Plan, Admin Stem For Success

STEM for Success Showcase

Lesson plan and video for an activity on the difference between physical and chemical changes.

The Science Of Baking Bread, Admin Stem For Success

STEM for Success Showcase

Activity plan to teach biology and chemistry using a lesson on the baking of bread.

Modeling Excited State Processes In Molecular Aggregates By Constructing An Adaptive Basis For The Hierarchy Of Pure States, Leonel Varvelo

Chemistry Theses and Dissertations

Simulating excitation energy transfer (EET) in molecular materials is of crucial importance for the development of and understanding of materials such as organic photovoltaics and photosynthetic systems and further development of novel materials. The Hierarchy of Pure States (HOPS) is an exact framework for the time evolution of an open quantum system in which a hierarchy of stochastic wave functions are propagated in time. The adaptive HOPS (adHOPS) method achieves size-invariant scaling with the number of simulated molecules for sufficiently large aggregates by using an adaptive basis that moves with the excitation through the material. To demonstrate the power of …

Microscale Chemical Manipulation And Imaging Using Photoactive Molecules And Light, Uroob Haris

Chemistry Theses and Dissertations

Chemical manipulation with light has been an active and growing area of research with important implications in materials science, biotechnology, and environmental science. From early investigations of light sensitive materials for photography in the 19^th century, to printing billions of transistors on a semiconductor chip in present day, scientists have gained a deep understanding of photochemistry and the processes that allow us to harness light for everyday applications. In this work, we explore microscale fabrication and molecular imaging using light and photoactive molecules as foundational tools. We develop a visible-light mediated technique for high resolution microscale chemical lithography comprising …

Exploring Protein Conformations And Functions Through Molecular Dynamics Simulations And Machine Learning, Hao Tian

Chemistry Theses and Dissertations

Proteins are essential biomacromolecules that perform a variety of critical functions in living organisms. The tertiary structure of a protein plays a crucial role in its biological activity as it determines how the protein interacts with other molecules. Consequently, understanding protein conformation and function is an important area of research with implications in medicine, biotechnology, and other fields.

The first part of this dissertation focuses on protein allostery, a process by which proteins transmit perturbations caused by binding at one site to a distal site, thereby regulating activity. With the development of computational methods like molecular dynamics simulations and machine …

Damped Oscillating Phosphoryl Transfer Reaction In The Cyanobacterial Circadian Clock, Hye In Jang, Pyonghwa Kim, Yongick Kim

Chemistry Faculty Research

Most organisms have circadian clocks to ensure the metabolic cycle to resonate with the rhythmic environmental changes without “damping,” or losing robustness. Cyanobacteria is the oldest and simplest form of life that is known to harbor this biological intricacy. Its KaiABC-based central oscillator proteins can be reconstituted inside a test tube, and the post-translational modification cycle occurs with 24 h periodicity. KaiC’s two major phosphorylation sites, Ser-431 and Thr-432, become phosphorylated and dephosphorylated by interacting with KaiA and KaiB, respectively. Here, we mutate Thr-432 into Ser to find the oscillatory phosphoryl transfer reaction damps. Previously, this mutant KaiC was reported …

The Concentration Of Heavy Metals In Lincoln Nebraska's Tap Water, Evan Neuhaus

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Heavy metals are commonplace in nature, and are typically found in scarce quantities in all drinking sources. However, in high enough concentrations, they can have a myriad of negative health effects. This study seeks to find the concentrations of such metals in the Lincoln water supply utilizing the resources of the Water Center at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. To test for discrete concentrations of trace elements, a method of using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) was implemented. ICP-MS uses plasma to ionize and atomize a sample which is then filtered into a series of cones into a …

Principles Of Chemistry-1, Rajnish Singh

KSU Distinguished Course Repository

Principles of Chemistry, chem 1211, is a 3 credit hour course, the first in a two-semester sequence covering the fundamental principles and applications of chemistry for science majors. Course content includes electronic structure of atoms and molecules, bonding fundamentals, fundamentals of chemical reactions, and gas laws. The course is taught asynchronously and the final exam being a national exam offered by the American chemical society, (ACS), that has to be taken in person.

Geothermal Energy And Its Impacts On The Environment, Aditi Gorthy, Nathan Tran, Laureen Pierre-Louis

Mako: NSU Undergraduate Student Journal

From the multitude of energy sources that we have developed throughout the eons, renewable energy or “clean energy” has been on the rise to combat global warming and climate change which burning nonrenewable sources of energy have contributed to. Before geothermal energy is used as part of the mainstream energy sources some aspects must be analyzed and resolved. Unfortunately, geothermal power plants still release pollutants, such as carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide, into the environment and cause general environmental disruptions due to drilling and changes in land formations. Recent and future studies have been and should be conducted to find …