TTU Published Journals @ Volpe Library
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Synthesis and NMR Characterization of New Thiosemicarbazones
No full textIsatin Thiosemicarbazones have been shown to have medicinal applications, including anti-tuberculosis drugs. Recently, our lab has shown that Palladium complexes of these same isation thiosemicarbazones strongly inhibit the Topoisomerase II
Nature's Beneficial Effects on Individuals
Get PDFThere is a growing sparsity of nature and a decline in how much time people spend being in nature. However, spending time in nature and green spaces has been shown to improve cognitive abilities in people as well as reduce ADHD symptoms in children (Berg & Berg, 2010; Schutte et al, 2015). I did a literature review of this topic to explain the benefits of spending time in nature. To find research articles I looked for articles related to the cognitive benefits of nature, nature’s effects on ADHD symptoms and the benefit of nature elements in therapeutic activities. I included qualitative as well as quantitative research and excluded research that did not have an element of spending time in green spaces. Results from the literature review showed increases in cognitive abilities such as increased focus when participants spent time in nature areas. It also showed decreases in ADHD symptoms in children when they spend time outside in nature areas versus being inside or in urban areas. These findings demonstrate the importance of spending time outside in nature areas to help increase cognitive function and reduce ADHD symptoms in children
Stock Return Prediction Algorithm
No full textThe stock market is ever changing and there is no certain way to predict which stocks will perform better than others.We plan to compile the stock data that is given to us by Challenge Data and develop an algorithm in order to predict how stocks will perform in the future. Many patterns can be seen in the data and our team plans to be able to predict, with a strong level of accuracy, the return of a stock based on the performance of that stock over a twenty day period.Our team will be using primarily R studio to perform our data analysis on this dataset. We plan to represent our data using many graphs showing the correlation between different stock parameters and the return. Using these graphs, we will be able to determine whether our hypotheses are correct and to what magnitude they impact the total return
Reconstructing the Late Mississippian Paleoclimate: Stratigraphy and XRD Analysis of the Pennington Formation, Sparta, Tennessee
No full textThe Late Mississippian represents a time when Earth was thought to be an icehouse and was experiencing eustatic sea level changes similar to today. While there’s been a wealth of research done in the western equatorial Pangea for the Late Carboniferous and Permian, this study of the Pennington Formation, Tennessee, offers an opportunity to study less focused upon terrestrial early Carboniferous paleoenvironments from central equatorial Pangea, including the effects of diagenesis on paleoenvironmental proxies employed for paleosol research. New fieldwork of an outcrop outside Sparta, TN shows interbedded limestone and mudstone layers including four paleosol profiles that have been described and analyzed for their principle clay mineralogy. The paleosols preserve typical vertic features including slickensides, mukkara and wedge-shaped peds as well as low chroma color and are thus gleyed Vertisols. The gleyed nature of these paleosols is either the result of forming under waterlogged conditions seen today in soils forming proximal to shorelines or the result of diagenesis associated with sea level rising. The presence of Vertisols intercalated between limestones suggests a persistent influence of glacioeustacy in conjunction with highly seasonal climates during base-level lowstands and soil development which gave rise to pedoturbation and the characteristic suite of vertic morphologies seen in outcrop. Clay mineralogy dominated by illite and vermiculite suggests burial diagenesis. This contrasts sites from the upper Pennsylvanian which contain evidence for eustatic sea level change but are suggestive of more ever-wet conditions and recorded by the common occurrence of thick coal layers atop mineral-dominated paleosol profiles
*WINNER* Optimization of Mass Transport within Direct Formic Acid Fuel Cell Catalyst Layer via Pore Formers
No full textIn today’s society, batteries have become a vital necessity for portable power, but lengthy recharging times, limited charge capacity, and tendency to degrade exponentially over time make batteries an inefficient power source. Direct formic acid fuel cells are a sustainable alternative to the battery due to their larger charge capacity, high efficiency, and small size. However, due to the two-phase flow on the anode and the low pore size between agglomerates in the catalyst layer (~20 nanometers), mass transport limitations plague the performance of the fuel cell. To maximize the performance, the transport of the reactant, formic acid, and the product, carbon dioxide, must be optimized. Previous work by the Rice research group has shown an increased performance by increasing the pore size of the catalyst layer from ~20 nanometers to ~10 micrometers with lithium carbonate particles. This research aims to investigate the use of magnesium oxide as an alternative pore forming template to increase the pore size between agglomerates to ~50 nanometers and increase the mass transport within the catalyst layer. Current work shows improved catalytic activity due to the increase in the porosity
EVs Grid Integration Performance Evaluation and Congestion Prevention
Get PDFThe ecosystem friendly and socio-economical merits of Electrical Vehicles (EVs) have enhanced its application globally. Although it is widely argued that EVs grid integration undermines power system security, reliability and upsurge electricity consumption, but the benefits in emission reduction is enormous, which conforms to the Asian Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate agreement with US. However, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of EVs on Medium Voltage (MV) distribution network: voltage stability and thermal overloading of transformers and cables on an IEEE 14-Bus system. The proposed method is a holistic approach in which the impact on the steady state operation of individual components (EV charger, load, transformers, buses, etc) of the system would be investigated for reliability. A load flow analysis would also be conducted on the network for power loss evaluation. However, the anticipated results of this study show that integration of large number of EVs to grid system increased line losses, transformer and cable overloading, and reduced system stability, hence, the needed for grid architecture compensation cannot be overemphasized. Therefore, the results after Bus compensation should show improved system stability, voltage profile, reduced thermal loading and congestion
Victims of Gender Politics: A Comparison of Jane Shore in The Second Part of King Edward IV and Margaret Thatcher
Get PDFWhen thinking of powerful women in Medieval and Early Modern England, one normally does not think of the literary character Jane Shore. I argue that the Jane Shore portrayed in The Second Part of King Edward IV is not only a powerful woman, but also a political figure. I point to examples of Shore using her influence over King Edward IV to make political moves and acting on her own accord. That is, she does not rely on a man to give her agency. I compare her to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to show that the treatment of women in politics did not change much in the intervening 500 years. I chose Margaret Thatcher to bring in a modern example of a woman in British politics, and to compare and contrast how the two women functioned in politics. While Heywood’s Jane Shore and Margaret Thatcher were from completely different times, had different roles in society, and held different positions of power, they were both victims of gender politics. Both women went against gendered expectations by demanding autonomy, making their own decisions, and joining the world of politics, and both women suffered the consequences of these actions
*WINNER* Determination of microplastic content in western Tennessee lakes
No full textStudies have shown that plastics degrade into microplastics with a diameter of 5mm or less. Many studies have been completed on the presence of microplastics in marine environments, with fewer studies on freshwater environments. This study attempts to determine the content of microplastics in two freshwater lakes in Tennessee that have varying degrees of human activity near the lake — Kentucky Lake on the Tennessee River and Maple’s Creek Lake isolated in the Natchez Trace State Park. Samples were collected from various locations within the two lakes via bulk sampling. The size of the microplastics were determined with a particle size analyzer, and then the chemical composition of the particles was determined by FT-IR
Struwwelpeter's use of imagery to subvert Germany's idea of proper pedagogy
No full textStruwwelpeter was the first children’s books published in Germany. Its use of cartoonish imagery and gruesome punishments enacted on children resulted in discussions about how moral pedagogy was to be taught to children. Struwwelpeter utilizes the construct of black pedagogy, which is the use of repressive and harmful tactics to enforce authority in children, to subvert the idea of proper pedagogy. The popular assertion during the publication of Struwwelpeter, was that proper pedagogy could only be constructed in the minds of youth through accurate depictions of reality. Struwwelpeter subverts this notion by using a less professional art form, as well as, taking the concept of black pedagogy to undermine the ideas of popular authority. This paper proposes that the use of black pedagogy in Struwwelpeter, ironically, undermines this authority, which it traditionally supports
Squash Bug Ovipositional Preference within Cucurbita pepo
No full textThe Squash bug (SB), Anasa tristis, is a devastating insect specialist of squash (Cucurbita pepo) that lays egg clusters on leaves. SB feeding can cause 50% yield losses in conventional and organic systems. SB preference studies in C. pepo have been performed, although with limited cultivars and unreliable results. Cocozelle, pumpkin, vegetable marrow, and zucchini are included in C. pepo subsp. pepo, while C. pepo subsp. texana includes acorn, crookneck, scallop, and straightneck squash. A previous study in the lab revealed a significant SB ovipositional preference for squash in the C. pepo subsp. texana including a preference for cultivars within the scallop and acorn market classes. The objectives of this study were to identify SB ovipositional preference within three C. pepo market class panels at the cultivar level. The within zucchini, acorn, and scallop market class assays were performed in replicated small greenhouse cages with one plant per cultivar and 5 mating pairs released into the cages. Oviposition data was taken at three days and analyzed with a mix model ANOVA using JMP13. While no SB preference within the eight cultivar scallop panel was detected, the eight cultivar acorn panel revealed significant preference for oviposition of several cultivars with Thelma Sanders (P=0.05) being the most preferred. The six cultivar panel of zucchini revealed a significant preference (P=0.05) for several zucchini cultivars with three cultivars (Golden Zucchini, Parthenon, and Caserta) being highly non-preferred. These results may be informative for growers in areas with high levels of SB pressure