TTU Published Journals @ Volpe Library
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Progress Toward the Production of Capsaicin Analogs
No full textCapsaicin and its analogues are useful in the field of analgesics to block nerve pain. Analogues of capsaicin are prepared by coupling vanillin amines and acid chlorides. The vanillin amines were synthesized by reacting the vanillin oxime with zinc and acetic acid. The vanillin oxime was produced from oxidizing vanillin with hydroxylamine hydrochloride and sodium acetate producing a high yield. The production of the vanillin oxime can be highly successful with these methods. The oxime is then used to produce the vanillin amine. The amine can be produced through different techniques, many were attempted. Once the vanillin amine is collected, it can be combined with an acid chloride to produce the capsaicin analogue.
Keywords: vanillin, vanillin oxime, vanillin amine, capsaici
Cross-Species Molecular Docking of Ferredoxin into Photosystem I of T. Elongatus and Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803
No full textT. Elongatus and Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 are commonly used in the study of photosynthesis. The purpose of this research is to study the molecular interactions between the stromal domain (PsaC, D and E) of Photosystem I (PSI) and Ferredoxin (Fd) in a cross-species manner in order to optimize the electron transfer between the stromal domain and ferredoxin. Improving the electron transfer in these proteins should be able to aid in the design of potential biophotovoltaic energy cells for generating green electrical power. Computational models of PSI and Fd from the respective cyanobacterial species were obtained from the Protein Data Bank. The molecular docking software, ClusPro, was used to dock both Fd proteins into each stromal domain of PSI from T. Elongatus and Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. 30 cluster centers were obtained and the amino acid residue contacts at the protein-protein interface were analyzed to determine which residues are important to binding. The results suggest that high affinity protein-protein structures are possible and the electron transfer distance can be improved when docking Fd from one species to another
Phylogenetic and Geometric Morphometric Approach to Understanding Morphological Adaptations of the Major Chela in the Alpheus brevirostris Species Group
No full textAlpheus is a spectacularly diverse genus of snapping shrimp that demonstrate a wide range of adaptations for diverse microhabitats. Traditionally, these shrimps have been categorized into seven morphological species groups using taxonomically informative characters such as the major chelae and the rostrum. A recent phylogenetic analysis of ~65 Alpheus shrimp revealed that five of the seven morphologically defined species groups, including A. brevirostris group, are not monophyletic. Species assigned to the brevirostris group can be distinguished from other species groups by their shovel-shaped major claw. Phylogenetic results reveal that this characteristic claw shape has evolved independently in multiple lineages; the independent origins of their characteristic chelae may be due to convergent evolution for a burrowing lifestyle. Here we use an integrated approach combining geometric morphometrics and molecular phylogenetic reconstructions to test the hypothesis of convergent adaptation for microhabitat. This project will serve as a model for understanding the evolutionary factors promoting morphological diversification of hyper-diverse marine lineages
*WINNER* Examining Snapping Shrimp Morphology Using Geometric Morphometrics in a Phylogenetic Framework
No full textThe snapping shrimp genus Alpheus (ca. 331 spp.) comprises an ecologically diverse, species-rich genus that displays a tremendous amount of variation in key morphological characters. However, despite this dramatic variation in morphology, Alpheus is well-known for harboring numerous cryptic species complexes, many of which have been revealed only by molecular tools or subtle phenotypic differences. This necessitates a closer examination of snapping shrimp morphology to identify characteristics of additional diagnostic importance. Our study uses geometric morphometrics in a phylogenetic framework to quantify the shapes of characters that have historically been used in species diagnoses and identification. We digitized the major chelae and rostrums across three species from the Alpheus gracilipes species complex to test the reliability of geometric morphometrics in species diagnosis and will compare our results against those of Nomura & Anker's 2005 study. Additionally, we designed primers specific to Alpheus shrimp to amplify the 12S gene region, and analyzed partial sequences from the COI, 16S, and 12S mitochondrial genes for all shrimps (n = 7) in the Alpheus gracilipes species complex. Results from this study will be used to generate an updated list of diagnostically informative characters and provide a baseline for other species complexes
*WINNER* Designing a Laser Ablation Ion Source
No full textA laser (ablation) ion source was designed for use in a university ion beam facility with an objective of generating a consistent output of ions in an ultra-high vacuum environment. To accomplish this, the apparatus uses motors similarly to a 3D printer to allow a Nd:YAG laser to evenly ablate the entire surface of a sample target multiple times. This mechanism has two motors on two different axes: one that rotates the target and one that moves it in the vertical direction. Vacuum-rated materials are used in the design, including acetal plastic, aluminum 6061, and stainless steel 316L. The challenges encountered in designing the ion source, which include the efficient use of the available space, incorporating repurposed parts from an old cesium sputter source, and the provision and isolation of high voltage to the appropriate parts of the ion source will be discussed in this work
Parent Satisfaction Rates in Relation to Child Life Program Size
No full textThe topic of this project is how parent satisfaction rates relate to Child Life Program Sizes. The problem is that child life programs are often understaffed. The purpose of this project is to explore the relationship between child life program size and parents' satisfaction with hospitals. In choosing articles for this literature review, an article was a good fit if it contained key words such as parent satisfaction, child life programs, or Certified Child Life Specialists (CCLS). The research needed to be related to parent satisfaction in hospitals or child life programs. I found my articles in Google Scholar or the Tech library database. The participants in these studies were either parents of children in hospitals or child life specialists. The authors sampled participants by inviting parents of children in hospitals to participate. Another study conducted research as they were implementing a child life program. The findings were 1. parents are typically satisfied with child life interventions, 2. parents experienced less concern regarding their child's emotional state, and 3. families expressed they valued the breaks given to them by the CCLSs. Thus, the more CCLSs are available, the more parents will experience these things. This in turn will raise parent satisfaction rates. The implications of this are that hospitals will benefit from hiring more CCLSs. In the future, researchers should explore the relationships between child life program size and CCLS satisfaction
Rethink how you Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
No full textThe term recycling might bring to mind the phrase, "reduce, reuse, recycle," or the big blue bins that never seem to be clearly marked as to what items belong in them. As taught in grade school it is important to recycle materials like paper, plastic, and glass. However, recycling has a much greater capacity than most people realize. Recycling unsuspecting items such as computers, batteries, and you guessed it, clothing, can drastically reduce the amount of garbage that goes into landfills. By teaching others about the importance of recycling clothes, if all clothes are recyclable, and how to recycle clothes, the act of recycling could make a much bigger impact. In fact, recycling clothing can be just as simple as dropping your water bottle into the infamous blue bin. It is essential for us to do what we can and educate one another about the impact recycling can have if done together. Recycling not only ensures less trash build-up in landfills, but it can also increase the amount of sustainable products manufactured. In turn, those sustainably made products could be recycled time and time again. If there is a gap of knowledge that is keeping people from recycling things like clothes, will there ever be enough people taking initiative to actually make a difference? This research aims to determine if enough people are recycling their clothes and just how many people must recycle to make a difference in the world
Saving Our Earth: Slowing Down the Fast Fashion Industry
No full textToday's fashion consumers thrive in the industry with unique outfit creations and styles while our earth suffers the consequences of the horrific textiles industry and the ever-present battle of sustainability. The fashion industry contributes greatly to global CO2 emissions, water consumption, water pollution, microplastic pollution, and waste production (Niinimäki et al., 2020). The industry has already reached double the textile production since 2000 and will continue along this path unless we continue to go forth and recognize the ethical misconduct of the textile industry. The fast fashion phenomenon pushes consumers to buy more and provides apparel with shorter lifespans, which further adds to the world's environmental damage and has made it difficult for efforts to increase sustainability to create an impact. Businesses can drastically change their ways by putting in more effort to use certain materials instead of wasting water and using so many chemicals in their current production. We need to slow down. We need to stop producing and consuming clothes without a second thought and at such fast and unsustainable rates. This research project aims to educate people on how to bring back the values of sustainability in a world dominated by fast fashion
Factors of the alleged increase in Domestic Violence during the COVID-19 Pandemic
No full textSince April of 2020, we have endured a time of confinement within our families due to the restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of this, domestic violence cases have allegedly increased which has placed many individuals at risk. The purpose of this project is to explore factors associated with increased domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Keywords such as factors, COVID-19, and domestic violence were used to identify existing studies for this project. If the articles studied factors of domestic violence before the pandemic or included previous relationship issues, they were excluded from my project. Participants ranged from college students in romantic relationships to individuals in marital relationships and were selected using random assignment, snowball, and network sampling. After studying these participants, results show an increase in domestic violence due to having weak social support systems, no access to social services, and an increase in negative emotions. As the increase in domestic violence during the pandemic has placed many individuals at risk, successfully identifying the reasons behind this can help professionals competently work with susceptible individuals. Social services should remain open as much as possible to help keep victims' social supports strong and negative emotions at bay. In the future, we should focus on ways of identifying valid solutions to help decrease abusive behaviors for both men and women