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Locally Stranded - Addressing Rural Cases of Domestic Violence
Get PDFDomestic violence is a nationwide crisis affecting millions of women each year and saw an increase in severity during the Covid-19 pandemic (2020-2022). In Georgia, 37.4% of women report experiencing physical violence by an intimate partner. The situation is especially dire in rural areas, where women experience 150% more incidents at a more intense level than their urban counterparts and must travel three times farther to access resources. Rural women are also nearly twice as likely to be turned away from services due to a lack of space, staffing, and resources. Existing shelters often fail to meet victims\u27 needs because of poor architectural design and insufficient security. This thesis aims to reimagine the typology of women’s shelters, using qualitative research and surveys to address the specific needs of rural victims. A site in Homerville, Georgia, has been chosen to test this new approach, focusing on providing a sense of protection through secure architectural design, fostering community with social spaces, ensuring access to medical care through examination rooms, and accommodating both women and their children. The construction must be cost-effective and efficient, given the limited financial resources available, but must not compromise on safety and security. Research for this thesis involves surveys and interviews conducted in Georgia’s rural shelters during the summer of 2024 with both residents and shelter staff, alongside a literature review comparing new findings with pre-Covid-19 data and an interview with an expert on the subject. Geographic mapping was used to identify the site, targeting areas with the least access to crisis centers. Additionally, precedents of low-cost, remote, and secure shelter designs will inform the architectural strategies employed, ensuring that the project is both functional and protective for its inhabitants, addressing the complex needs of rural women facing domestic violence
Stability of proteins involved in major DNA repair mechanisms using Computational Power
No full textDNA repair mechanisms are critical in maintaining genetic stability, with spontaneous mutations occurring between 10^5 and 10^8 times daily due to endogenous and exogenous factors. This research focuses on three primary DNA repair pathways: Mismatch Repair (MMR), Base Excision Repair (BER), and Double-Strand Break Repair (DSBR), each involving various enzymes that recognize and correct DNA damage. The study investigates the stability of seven DNA repair enzymes through molecular dynamics simulations to calculate their potential and kinetic energies, using Python-based tools and PDB models. Enzyme models were categorized by their DNA repair function, and simulations were run using the OpenMM platform to compute energy profiles over a total of 4 nanoseconds. The binding affinities of five enzyme models were also calculated using PyDockDNA, further assessing the attraction forces between enzymes and DNA. Results show that thymine DNA glycosylase (PDB ID: 3UO7) had the highest stability based on potential energy, while polymerase Mu (PDB ID: 2HTF) exhibited the lowest energy totals, indicating greater flexibility. Additionally, a trend was observed between the number of atoms in the enzyme models and the total energy output, with an exception noted for endonuclease-8 (PDB ID: 2OPF). These findings provide insight into the structural stability and DNA interaction strength of repair enzymes, offering potential applications in cancer treatment strategies by better understanding enzyme behavior during DNA repair
Synthesis and Characterization of Choline Chloride: Amide Based Deep Eutectic Solvents
No full textDeep Eutectic Solvents are establishing themselves as a relatively new development in the field of green chemistry as they have only been around for just over two decades. Moreover, these solvents propose an environmentally friendly solution to toxic solvents that are commonly used for industrial purposes. Deep Eutectic Solvents are comprised of two principal components, a hydrogen bond donor and a hydrogen bond acceptor. These combinations are highly tunable as their parent components can be combined to create a DES solvent that has a melting point much lower than its parent components. The main application for these solvents is to integrate them within industrial processes as non-toxic, nonflammable, green solvents that are inert to the environment. In the research, various DESs were prepared by using a 1:2 molar ratio, stirring at 600 RPM at 80 for about one hour or until a colorless liquid was achieved. Choline chloride was used as the main hydrogen bond acceptor while urea, acetamide, benzamide, and L-glutamine were used as hydrogen bond donors. Choline chloride was shown to be the most successful with urea as the FTIR showed a significant shift between the N-H stretch of urea at 3430 and the O-H stretch of choline chloride at 3212 with the DES showing an O-H stretch around 3313 and a C=O stretch at 1664 . Based on the FTIR of the DES, it is conclusive that the desired DES was created between the two parent components, choline chloride and urea, acetamide and benzamide. Similar IR features were also noticed when acetamide and benzamide were used, however, ChCl:Glutamine DES was remained as very viscous and quickly solidified around 22° C. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was utilized to determine identify the patterns and relationships that the hydrogen bond donor and the hydrogen bond acceptors had with each other. PCA results confirm and adhere to the same results that the FTIR experiments produced as it indicated that a DES solution was successfully synthesized from the parent components
Synthesis and Characterization of Amino Acid Based Deep Eutectic Solvents by IR Spectroscopy and Principal Component Analysis
No full textDeep Eutectic Solvents (DES) are emerging environmentally friendly solvents having applications towards various sectors including electrochemistry, biocatalysis, organic synthesis, pharmaceutical industries etc. The attractive properties of DESs, i.e. renewable, biodegradable, inexpensive, nontoxic etc. make them appealing to researchers as alternative to traditional hazardous solvents. DESs are prepared by mixing two or more components including a hydrogen bond donor (HBD) and a hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA), at a certain ratio with continuous stirring and constant temperature. The various nonbonding interactions, such as dipole-dipole, hydrogen bond, hydrophobic interactions and Van der Waals forces etc. among the HBA and HBD are key factors for depression of melting temperature and hence the DES formation. Among different types of DESs i.e. metal halide, nonionic, therapeutic etc., amino acid-based DESs have become popular due to their impact on protein structure and charge reducing capabilities in native mass spectrometry. The focus of this study was to synthesize different amino acid based DESs by mixing Arginine, Histidine etc. as HBA with glycerol, ethylene glycol, lactic acid etc. as HBD at certain ratio. The mixing was conducted in a glass beaker with continuous stirring at a rate of 500-700 rpm maintaining temperature about 40 °C-100 °C. After preparation the DESs were characterized by ATR-FTIR spectrophotometer to compare the presence and shift of major functional groups in individual components and prepared DES. The origin pro (2024) was used for graphical representation and Principal component Analysis (PCA) of IR data of DESs. Among 9 prepared DESs, Histidine and Lactic acid DES (1:9) and methyl-triphenyl-phosphonium bromide and ethylene glycol (1:5) found more homogenous, clear liquid at room temperature. The functional groups were well distinguished in IR spectra and PCA graph. However, some DESs were very viscous, yellowish color whereas some did not mix at all and were not suitable for IR analysis
The Architecture of Authority
No full textThis research aims to understand the logics of incarceration in the United States through the lens of architecture and propose a solution by investigating the relationship between spaces of confinement and the incarcerated. The first component of this research aims to reveal how the physical dimensions of spaces of confinement can inflict lasting damage to the mental health and well-being of the incarcerated. The second component of this research examines the psychological impact of architectural elements within prison environments, particularly the presence of light, ventilation, and visual stimuli. It aims to understand how access to these phenomenological elements affects the mental health and well-being of incarcerated individuals. Finally, this research will propose design solutions within a prison facility using earlier critiques of typical carceral design
Indeterminate Politics: U.S. Interventionism within Nicaragua
No full textThis research accumulates various historical viewpoints, ranging from 1986 to 2023, and constructs a greater holistic work detailing justifications and complexities surrounding U.S. foreign policy towards Central America during the 1980s. It highlights the initiatives and goals of the Reagan administration which dictated U.S. interaction with the nation of Nicaragua and seeks to clarify ongoing historiographical debate surrounding the justification for these projects. This study utilizes documents, testimonies, and speeches from the United States Congress and former President Ronald Reagan to contextualize official statements relating to the role of the United States within Nicaragua. It then places them in comparison with later interpretations of 1980s U.S. foreign policy from authors such Jeff Bass, Robert Kagen, Roy Gutman, Thomas Carthers, William Schmidli, and several others. In addition to this, notable publications from The Heritage Foundation, The Permanent People\u27s Tribunal, and The Washington Post are used to observe larger media interpretations of U.S. intervention during the time period. Individual publications of political authors such as Andrew Kimmens, William Leogrande, Peter Kornbluh, and Christopher Dickey are also included for the role of observing political opinion of foreign policy initiatives within the time period
Foster Grandparents
Get PDFA connection between independent living homes and foster care homes will result in an increase of companionship, physical and mental health of the lives of older adults as well the foster care children. Children between the ages of 6-15 make up 44% of the children in the foster care system in the United States. Providing older adults the opportunity to have a mentoring role in the foster children\u27s lives will give them a sense of purpose and give the foster children an advisor. This thesis strives to focus on improving the physical and mental health of older adults and foster children\u27s lives by creating a home that gives them the opportunity to interact with one another and promote physical activity for a healthier lifestyle
