Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Catalytic Enantioselective Birch–Heck Sequence For The Synthesis Of Phenanthridinone Derivatives With An All-Carbon Quaternary Stereocenter, Mary Elizabeth Sexton, William Paul Malachowski, Glenn P. A. Yap, Diana Rachii, Greg Feldman, Andrew T. Krasley, Zhilin Chen, My Anh Tran, Kalyn Wiley, Alexandra Matei, Samantha Petersen, Sabrina Tran Tien

Chemistry Faculty Research and Scholarship

Novel phenanthridinone analogues with an all-carbon quaternary stereocenter have been enantioselectively synthesized using the Birch–Heck sequence. Flat phenanthridinone structures have extensive bioactivity but consequently also suffer from poor therapeutic selectivity. The addition of a quaternary center to the phenanthridinone skeleton has the potential to generate more complex analogues with improved selectivity. Unfortunately, no general synthetic pathway to such derivatives exists. Herein we report a four-step process that transforms inexpensive benzoic acid into 22 different quaternary carbon-containing phenanthridinone analogues with a variety of substituents on all three rings: alkyl groups at the quaternary center; methyl, methoxymethyl, or para-methoxybenzyl on the …

Generation Of Nanomaterials By Reactive Laser Synthesis In Liquid, Laysa M. Frias Batista, Ashish B. Nag, Victoria K. Meader, Katharine M. Tibbetts

Chemistry Publications

Nanomaterials with tailored structures and surface chemistry are in high demand, as these materials play increasingly important roles in biology, catalysis, energy storage, and manu- facturing. Their heightened demand has attracted attention towards the development of syn- thesis routes, particularly, laser-synthesis techniques. These efforts drove the refinement of laser ablation in liquid (LAL) and related methods over the past two decades, and have led to the emergence of reactive laser-synthesis techniques that exploit these methods’ character- istic, non-equilibrium conditions. Reactive laser-synthesis approaches foster unique chemical reactions that enable the formation of composite products like multimetallic nanoparticles, supported nanostructures, and complex …

An Exploration In Health Analytics: Pediatric Burns, Care Policy Assessment And Interrupted Time Series, Chao Wang

2022

Healthcare systems globally face multiple challenges in the face of population growth and changes in disease pathology. With regard to the rising demand of the healthcare and the global threats of the pandemic, the medical datasets can be trained further to develop preventive methods. Meanwhile, policy reforms of health systems could be a critical aspect to deal with the public crisis and concerns. However, two basic problems must be addressed first: identification of key factors on a priority basis and evaluation of changes.

Thus, the paper presents a series of trials on the application of data analytics to health-related problems, …

Inflammatory Response To Sleep Fragmentation In Skeletal, Cardiac, And Smooth Muscle Tissues In Female Mice, Patton Allen

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Sleep is a critical process that the body undergoes. When sleep is interrupted, so that an individual is awakened for some period before going back into sleep, the sleep can be described as fragmented. Studies in the past have shown that sleep fragmentation (SF) promotes an inflammatory environment, especially in the brain and peripheral tissue. However, studies have not been conducted to observe inflammatory responses in muscle. To examine this, C57BL/6J female mice were subjected to either a control group (no SF) or a SF group which involved using an automated SF chamber to disrupt sleep every 2 min over …

Impact Of Proton And Neutron Irradiation On Carrier Transport Properties In Ga2o3, Andrew C. Silverman

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This project studies the properties of minority charge carriers in beta gallium oxide (β -Ga₂O₃). The behavior of minority carriers is of high importance as it greatly affects conduction and consequently device performance. Cathodoluminescence (CL) spectroscopy and EBIC (Electron Beam Induced Current) are the main experimental techniques used to study minority carrier behavior.

High energy radiation affects minority carrier properties through damage to the material and through the production of carrier traps that reduce the conductivity and mobility of the material. In this investigation, we study the effects of various kinds of high energy radiation on …

Affinity Of Cadmium Versus Zinc For The Carbonic Anhydrase Active Site, Rachel Phan

Honors Scholars Collaborative Projects

Cadmium is a heavy metal found in tobacco plants, nickel-cadmium batteries, and as a byproduct of metal mining. The similarities between the properties of zinc ions and cadmium ions in proteins due to their 2+ charges may cause displacement of zinc by cadmium if encountered and has been shown to do so in several transcription factors. Cadmium’s ability to replace zinc- a metal found in around 3,000 human proteins- is a cause for concern, especially due to its toxicity, long half-life in the body, and larger size.

Carbonic anhydrase is an important metalloprotein protein that relies on a central zinc(II) …

Ms Environmental Biology Capstone Project, Dylan Brown

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Chapter 1- Revisiting Tamarisk Invasion in Riparian Ecosystems: An Argument Against Single Species Management of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus)

Chapter 2- Temporal Trends of Tamarisk Remediation to Native Vegetation Establishment

Chapter 3- Assessing Effectiveness of Tamarisk Removal Treatments Through a Meta Regression Analysis

Chapter 4- Legal Challenges of Tamarisk Removal in the Southwestern United States

Algebraic Invariants Of Knot Diagrams On Surfaces, Ryan Martinez

HMC Senior Theses

In this thesis we first give an introduction to knots, knot diagrams, and algebraic structures defined on them accessible to anyone with knowledge of very basic abstract algebra and topology. Of particular interest in this thesis is the quandle which "colors" knot diagrams. Usually, quandles are only used to color knot diagrams in the plane or on a sphere, so this thesis extends quandles to knot diagrams on any surface and begins to classify the fundamental quandles of knot diagrams on the torus.

This thesis also breifly looks into Niebrzydowski Tribrackets which are a different algebraic structure which, in future …

Check Yourself Before You Wrek Yourself: Unpacking And Generalizing Randomized Extended Kaczmarz, William Gilroy

HMC Senior Theses

Linear systems are fundamental in many areas of science and engineering. With the advent of computers there now exist extremely large linear systems that we are interested in. Such linear systems lend themselves to iterative methods. One such method is the family of algorithms called Randomized Kaczmarz methods.
Among this family, there exists a Randomized Kaczmarz variant called Randomized
Extended Kaczmarz which solves for least squares solutions in inconsistent linear systems.
Among Kaczmarz variants, Randomized Extended Kaczmarz is unique in that it modifies input system in a special way to solve for the least squares solution. In this work we …

An Adaptive Hegselmann–Krause Model Of Opinion Dynamics, Phousawanh Peaungvongpakdy

HMC Senior Theses

Models of opinion dynamics have been used to understand how the spread
of information in a population evolves, such as the classical Hegselmann–
Krause model (Hegselmann and Krause, 2002). One extension of the model
has been used to study the impact of media ideology on social media
networks (Brooks and Porter, 2020). In this thesis, we explore various
models of opinions and propose our own model, which is an adaptive
version of the Hegselmann–Krause model. The adaptive version implements
the social phenomenon of homophily—the tendency for like-minded agents to
associate together. This is done by having agents dissolve connections …

Human Leukocyte Antigen Distributions Do Not Share A Copula Across Sub-Populations, Daniel Schellhas, Robert C. Green Ii

Computer Science Faculty Publications

The distribution of human leukocyte antigens in the population assists in matching solid organ donors and recipients when the typing methods used do not provide sufficiently precise information. This is made possible by linkage disequilibrium (LD), where alleles co-occur more often than random chance would suggest. There is a trade-off between the high bias and low variance of a broad sample from the population and the low bias but high variance of a focused sample. Some of this trade-off could be alleviated if subpopulations shared LD despite having different allele frequencies. These experiments show that Bayesian estimation can balance bias …

An Exploration Of Voting With Partial Orders, Mason Acevedo

HMC Senior Theses

In this thesis, we discuss existing ideas and voting systems in social choice theory. Specifically, we focus on the Kemeny rule and the Borda count. Then, we begin trying to understand generalizations of these voting systems in a setting where voters can submit partial rankings on their ballot, instead of complete rankings.

Leveraging Developmental Psychology To Evaluate Artificial Intelligence, David S. Moore, Lisa M. Oakes, Victoria L. Romero, Koleen C. Mccrink

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems do not exhibit human-like common sense. The principles and practices of experimental psychology – specifically, work on infant cognition – can be used to develop and test AIs, providing insight into the building blocks of common sense. Here, we describe how the evaluation team for DARPA’s Machine Common Sense program is applying conceptual content, experimental design techniques, and analysis tools used in the field of infant cognitive development to the field of AI evaluation.

Impact Of Introductory Physics For The Life Sciences In A Senior Biology Capstone Course, Benjamin D. Geller , '01, Jack Rubien , '20, Sara Hiebert Burch, Catherine Hirshfeld Crouch

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works

A goal of introductory physics for life sciences (IPLS) curricula is to prepare students to effectively use physical models and quantitative reasoning in biological and medical settings. To assess whether this goal is being met, we conducted a longitudinal study of the impact of IPLS on student work in later biology and chemistry courses. We report here on one part of that study, a comparison of written responses by students with different physics backgrounds on a diffusion task administered in a senior biology capstone course. We observed differences in student reasoning that were found to be associated with prior or …

Topological Hierarchies And Decomposition: From Clustering To Persistence, Kyle A. Brown

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Hierarchical clustering is a class of algorithms commonly used in exploratory data analysis (EDA) and supervised learning. However, they suffer from some drawbacks, including the difficulty of interpreting the resulting dendrogram, arbitrariness in the choice of cut to obtain a flat clustering, and the lack of an obvious way of comparing individual clusters. In this dissertation, we develop the notion of a topological hierarchy on recursively-defined subsets of a metric space. We look to the field of topological data analysis (TDA) for the mathematical background to associate topological structures such as simplicial complexes and maps of covers to clusters in …

The Pandemic’S Effects On The Use Of Personal Listening Devices And Prevalence Of Hearing Damage In College Students, Morgan Fink

Senior Honors Projects

Personal listening devices (PLDs), such as earbuds and headphones, are prevalent in today’s society, and overuse of these devices can cause hearing damage. Since the pandemic caused lockdowns and online classes, college students have presumably had more time to be indoors and to use PLDs, leading to a higher risk or developing hearing damage. Previous studies have explored the PLD use and the prevalence of hearing damage in college students, but this study investigates whether the coronavirus pandemic has affected college students’ PLD listening habits and whether these changes are related to the students’ disclosure of suspected symptoms of hearing …

Exploring The Complex Relationship Between Engineering Students Math Experiences And Identity Formation, Jill Davishahl, Joseph Brobst, Elizabeth Litzler, Andrew Klein, Sura Alqudah

Division of Research and Economic Development Faculty & Staff Publications

This paper shares the experiences of a group of S-STEM scholarship students as they progressed through their first year of undergraduate mathematics education including a math placement exam, a math focused bridge program, and calculus course(s). In addition, connections between student experiences and their math identity development were investigated with the goal of better understanding math identity formation. The authors used a mixed-methods approach to explore the math-related experiences of 12 students over the first year of participation in an NSF-funded S-STEM program. Data includes answers to select survey questions and transcripts of student focus groups. First, each student case …

On The Finiteness Of Quantum K-Theory Of A Homogeneous Space, D. Anderson, Linda Chen, H.-H. Tseng

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Works

We show that the product in the quantum K-ring of a generalized flag manifold G/P involves only finitely many powers of the Novikov variables. In contrast to previous approaches to this finiteness question, we exploit the finite difference module structure of quantum K-theory. At the core of the proof is a bound on the asymptotic growth of the J-function, which in turn comes from an analysis of the singularities of the zastava spaces studied in geometric representation theory. An appendix by H. Iritani establishes the equivalence between finiteness and a quadratic growth condition on certain shift operators.

The Impacts Of The Molecular Education And Research Consortium In Undergraduate Computational Chemistry On The Careers Of Women In Computational Chemistry, Kelly Anderson, Sarah Arradondo, K Aurelia Ball, Chrystal D. Bruce, Maria A. Gomez, Kedan He, Heidi Hendrickson, Lindsey Madison, Ashley Ringer Mcdonald, Maria C. Nagan, Carol Parish, Caitlin E. Scott, Patricia Soto, Aime'e Tomlinson, Mychel Varner

2022 Faculty Bibliography

The Molecular Education and Research Consortium in Undergraduate Computational Chemistry (MERCURY) has supported a diverse group of faculty and students for over 20 years by providing computational resources as well as networking opportunities and professional support. The consortium comprises 38 faculty (42% women) at 34 different institutions, who have trained nearly 900 undergraduate students, more than two-thirds of whom identify as women and one-quarter identify as students of color. MERCURY provides a model for the support necessary for faculty to achieve professional advancement and career satisfaction. The range of experiences and expertise of the consortium members provides excellent networking opportunities …

A New Universal Polarization Resolving Software Package For Solar Coronal And Heliospheric Observations, Bryce M. Walbridge, Matthew J. West, J. Marcus Hughes, Dan Seaton, Chris Lowder

Summer Research

No abstract provided.

On The Polytopal Generalization Of Sperner’S Lemma, Amit Harlev

HMC Senior Theses

We introduce and prove Sperner’s lemma, the well known combinatorial analogue of the Brouwer fixed point theorem, and then attempt to gain a better understanding of the polytopal generalization of Sperner’s lemma conjectured in Atanassov (1996) and proven in De Loera et al. (2002). After explaining the polytopal generalization and providing examples, we present a new, simpler proof of a slightly weaker result that helps us better understand the result and why it is correct. Some ideas for how to generalize this proof to the complete result are discussed. In the last two chapters we provide a brief introduction to …

S-Glutathionylation Of Chicken Breast Extract, Isabella Fransisco

Senior Honors Projects

The purpose of this experiment was to analyze chicken breast fractions through affinity chromatography for protein modifications by glutathione disulfide (GSSG). The fractions were incubated with different concentrations of GSSG to determine potential modified proteins. There were proteins modified with GSSG at 33 kDa in fraction I, at 16 kDa, 36 kDa, and 44kDa in fraction II, and at 36 kDa in fraction III for the concentration dependent reactions. In the time dependent reaction for fraction II, there were two major proteins at 65 kDa and 176 kDa that were modified by GSSG. Lastly, we suggest that the major modified …

Liability For Use Of Artificial Intelligence In Medicine, W. Nicholson Price, Sara Gerke, I. Glenn Cohen

Law & Economics Working Papers

While artificial intelligence has substantial potential to improve medical practice, errors will certainly occur, sometimes resulting in injury. Who will be liable? Questions of liability for AI-related injury raise not only immediate concerns for potentially liable parties, but also broader systemic questions about how AI will be developed and adopted. The landscape of liability is complex, involving health-care providers and institutions and the developers of AI systems. In this chapter, we consider these three principal loci of liability: individual health-care providers, focused on physicians; institutions, focused on hospitals; and developers.

Electroencephalogram Classification Of Brain States Using Deep Learning Approach, Hrishitva Patel

Computer Science Faculty Scholarship

The oldest diagnostic method in the field of neurology is electroencephalography (EEG). To grasp the information contained in EEG signals, numerous deep machine learning architectures have been developed recently. In brain computer interface (BCI) systems, classification is crucial. Many recent studies have effectively employed deep learning algorithms to learn features and classify various sorts of data. A systematic review of EEG classification using deep learning was conducted in this research, resulting in 90 studies being discovered from the Web of Science and PubMed databases. Researchers looked at a variety of factors in these studies, including the task type, EEG pre-processing …

Development Of Scent Detection And Categorization Algorithm Using Gas Chromatography And Machine Learning, Alex Driehaus

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

There are many looking to connect human senses to quantifiable data. Scents are categorized by their descriptions into scent families. These include citrus, floral, and woody. Similar descriptors designate similar families, while different descriptors correlate with different families. Dravnieks compiled an Atlas of chemical descriptors [1]. Such descriptors are cinnamon, fruity, and cadaverous. By analyzing the applicability of these descriptors, the chemicals will be sorted into their scent families.

Gas chromatography generates sample-specific signals of voltage over time. Chromatograms of known scents will serve as a basis for a convolutional neural network. This algorithm will be trained on these signals …

Kentuckians' Perception Of The Environment And Use Of Outdoor Public Spaces, Grace Herrmann

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Understanding how people perceive the environment and built public outdoor spaces is valuable in determining the direction of future development in the state. Further, understanding the emotions relating to the environment, both the natural and built public environments is instrumental in guiding future planning. This project aimed to understand Kentuckians’ perception of the environment and their use of public outdoor spaces such as parks, farmer markets, bike lanes, and walking paths through the use of a digital survey. Respondents to this survey are Kentuckians over the age of 18. The digital survey was split into four sections. The first section …

Soil Project, Gabriella Hopkins

Natural Sciences Student Research Presentations

What are soil-borne diseases?

- Soil-borne diseases are diseases that can infect plants, animals, and human via soil.

- There are multiple different pathogens that contaminate soil and cause disease including bacteria, fungi, and helminths (parasitic worms). Most of these lay dormant (inactive) in the soil until they come in contact with a host.

- A host such as an animal can become infected by inhaling dormant spores or eggs in the case of helminths or by the pathogen coming in contact with an open wound. These situations are also the case for humans, but humans can also become infected …

Soil Health And The Effects Of Nanoparticles, Elijah Mock

Natural Sciences Student Research Presentations

I researched the effects of soil on human health. Specifically, I was interested in nanoparticles that reside in soil and how they affect humans as well as crops that are planted in the soil. This topic is relevant because nanoparticles can be used to deliver drugs for doctors, create specific properties for material scientists, sensors for the military, and in a plethora of other fields (“What Are Nanoparticles? Definition, Size, Uses and Properties.”).

Root Phenotyping Of Peptide-Treated Glycine Max, Salem Jackson, Fiona Goggin

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Plant elicitor peptides (Peps) – endogenous chains of amino acids involved in natural plant defense – have been shown to decrease damage from herbivores and pathogens by inducing an immune response, increasing the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCS), transcripts, and metabolites. Exogenous treatment of soybean seeds with plant elicitor peptide GmPep3 has been shown to induce these broad-spectrum defenses and offers a new method for increasing crop yield. However, the effects of GmPep3 on indicators of soybean health – root characteristics, growth stages, etc. – have not been fully realized. Using the root-phenotyping platform RhizoVision Explorer, several root traits …

Experiment 1.07: Torque, Diego Castano

Physics Lab Experiments with Simulated Data for Remote Delivery

A mechanical balance is used to study the role of torque in states of static equilibrium.