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Evidence that phosphocreatine di(tris) salt effects mitochondrial activity in embryonic chick neuronal cultures and pluripotent stem cell neurons as determined by fluorescence microscopy
No full textRethinking the People's Party: An Examination of American Populism and Its Intersection with Race, Gender, and Religion.
No full text106 leaves.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-106).The People's Party was the political manifestation of the Populist movement following the Civil War and Reconstruction and during the Gilded Age. "Rethinking the People's Party: An Examination of American Populism and Its Intersection with Race, Gender, and Religion" examines the question, how did the People's Party relate to people who were not white, male, and Protestant? This thesis has found that while the People's Party wanted to reform the American political and economic system to make it more equal, it did not want to radically change the social order of the United States, and so still upheld the principles of white supremacy, patriarchy, anti-Semitism, and anti-Catholicism. This thesis has also found that the People's Party valued political expediency and electoral victory over adherence to a set of principles.John Bezís-Self
Do oil palm plantations provide quality habitat for migratory birds? A case study from Mexico
No full text11 pages with color illustrations.Habitat loss and degradation represent a major threat to Nearctic-neotropical migratory birds in the tropics. Managed agroecosystems have the potential to mitigate some impacts of land conversion, however, we know little regarding the quality of expanding oil palm plantation habitat for migratory birds in the neotropics. In this study, we used sex and age ratios, body condition, fat deposition, and muscle mass to assess oil palm habitat quality for seven species of migratory songbirds. Specifically, we captured individuals in native forest fragments and oil palm plantations in the state of Tabasco, Mexico, during two winter seasons (2017–2018, 2018–2019), and compared differences in age and sex ratios, and condition indices between habitats. We found that, when differences occurred, most species exhibited indicators of better habitat quality in native forest (older males with higher body condition indices) when compared to oil palm. Our results suggest that age and sex ratios combined with measures of physiological condition can be used to assess habitat quality for Nearctic-neotropical migratory birds overwintering in modified landscapes. Importantly, determining a species’ territorial behavior is key when selecting a given indicator of habitat quality for each species, and in certain cases, more intensive approaches such as estimates of survival, territory size, and food availability may be needed. Our results suggest that management strategies that promote forest-like conditions in oil palm plantations will improve habitat quality for declining populations of Nearctic-neotropical migratory birds
A comparison of mercury contamination in invertebrates associated with a stormwater catch basin and a vernal pool
No full text36 leaves; illustrations.Includes bibliographic references (leaves 33-36).Mercury is an environmental contaminant that reaches aquatic environments through atmospheric deposition of inorganic mercury. A highly toxic form of mercury, methylmercury, occurs as a result of methylation by anaerobic bacteria. Methylmercury (MeHg) bioaccumulates through trophic levels in aquatic ecosystems, and it spreads to terrestrial food webs largely from insectivory. For this reason, it is highly important ecologically to look at the mercury and methylmercury contamination of aquatic insects. Deposition and methylation of mercury in an environment is related to several anthropogenic and natural factors. Agricultural land use, as well as gold mining, can aid in the process of transport of mercury through sediment into water bodies. The environmental factors that carry the strongest association with total and methyl mercury in aquatic food webs are low water pH, intermediate to high organic matter, low water retention time, and high rates of fluctuation in water level. These factors were considered when collecting samples and comparing data from insects and sediments at a stormwater catch basin and a vernal pool on the Wheaton College campus in southeastern Massachusetts, especially organic matter and residence time. Higher concentrations of total mercury were detected in sediment at the basin site (mean=128.3 ng/g s=67.9) compared to the vernal pool site (mean=61.4 ng/g, s=17.6); however, no significant difference in MeHg or %MeHg was observed between invertebrate samples at the two sites. Two sample collection methods, emergence traps and pitfall traps, were used to collect aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, respectively. Significantly higher levels of MeHg were found in invertebrates from the emergence traps, regardless of site. This finding is consistent with MeHg production in aquatic sediments
Removal of Iron (II) ions from wastewater using Black, Green and White Tea waste
Full text link54 pages; illustrationsIncludes bibliographical references (leaves 39-41).Due to their toxicity, heavy metal ion like Fe2+ are a category of contaminants that should be avoided in the aquatic environment. The necessity to develop a low-cost, efficient technology for removing heavy metals from water is inescapable. The purpose of this experiment was to determine the adsorption efficiency and capacity of black, green and white Twinings tea waste in removing Fe2+(aq). The impact of changing several factors such as the starting concentration of Fe2+ in solution, the physical texture of the adsorbent used, and the contact duration was studied. Solutions were made in two categories: sonicated and non-sonicated. Each category had a set of both fine and regular tea leaves. Both sonicated and non-sonicated samples were made with increasing amounts of Fe2+(aq). All solutions were treated with 0.025 g of tea waste for 90 minutes. Both sonicated regular and fine black tea samples showed a high adsorption efficiency of 100% while the non-sonicated samples varied with 72.4% as the highest efficiency. Sonicated tea samples yielded a higher adsorption capacity of 4.5 mg/g compared to 3.5 mg/g of non-sonicated tea samples. Based on these calculated adsorption efficiencies and capacities, the experiment demonstrated that sonicated tea samples are the most effective at removing iron contamination in water. This study also showed black tea to be most efficient compared to green and white tea. However, further research is necessary to determine the most efficient tea between green and white tea.ABSTRACT -- INTRODUCTION -- 1.1. Heavy Metal Water Pollution -- 1.2. Iron (II) (Fe2+) in Water -- 1.3. Tea and Tea Waste Composition -- 1.4. Molecular Operating Environment (MOE): Complex Formation -- 1.5. Previous Methods -- 1.6. Goals of the Study -- 1.7. Hypotheses -- 2. PROCEDURES -- 2.1. COMPUTATIONAL PROCEDURES -- 2.2. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES -- 2.2.1. MATERIALS -- 2.2.2. INSTRUMENTATION -- 2.2.3 METHODS -- A. Sample Preparation -- B. UV-Vis Absorption Spectroscopy -- C. Vibrational Spectroscopy -- 3. RESULTS & DISCUSSION -- 3.1. MOE Calculations --
3.2. UV-Vis Absorption Spectroscopy -- 3.3. Beer’s plot -- 3.4. Vibrational Spectroscopy -- 3.5. Adsorption efficiency (%) -- 4.6. Adsorption Capacity (mg/g) -- 3.7. Rwandan Black Tea -- 4. CONCLUSIONS -- 4.1. LIMITATIONS -- 4.2. FUTURE WORK -- 5. REFERENCES -- 5.1. APPENDICE
Preliminary investigation of the effect of cannabidiol on the mitochondrial activity of Gallus gallus glial cells and neurons
No full textThe 2821 Star Southern Hemisphere Optical SETI Survey: An Archival Search for Candidate Laser Signals in ESO’s HARPS Spectroscope Database
No full text102 leaves; illustrations.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-101).I conducted a survey of archived observations taken from 2821 stellar targets by the HARPS spectroscope for potential signatures of lasers from extraterrestrial civilizations. The HARPS instrument examines light across a spectral range of 378-691 nanometers down to a resolution of .01 angstroms–allowing for high wavelength range and sensitivity across the optical spectrum which makes it an ideal instrument for optical SETI surveys. This search operates under the premise that such lasers would be distinct from their stellar spectral background and appear as anomalously narrow emission lines. We develop an algorithm designed to search for statistically significant spikes at least 3.5 standard deviations above the median flux in each wavelength window. Using an initial sample set of 100 stars, we established a classification system as well as methodologies for ruling out a number of types of false positives, including cosmic rays, bleedthrough from the calibration lamp, night sky airglow lines from the Earth’s own atmosphere, and large clusters of emission lines which are likely the product of natural stellar activity and flaring. Our project split into two separate approaches–The Broad Search of one observation of each star in the 2821 star target list designed to detect constant lighthouse-like beacons, and a Deep Search of all observations of each star for more intermittent sources. The Deep Search is ongoing. The Broad Search is complete, and we investigated all 294 candidates our algorithm detected in all 2821 spectra, covering the entire range of stars. Of all 294 all candidates, 29.3% appeared to be in clusters indicative of natural emission lines, possibly from flaring activity. Cosmic rays were the most common type of false positives, accounting for 47.6% of all candidates. Bleedthrough from the calibration lamp accounted for 2.4% of all candidates and 3.1% of candidates were night sky atmospheric airglow lines which evaded the algorithm’s filters. Finally, 17.7% of all candidates remain unexplained and warrant further investigation as potential signatures of extraterrestrial lasers.Part I: Background -- 1a: Theoretical Underpinnings of Optical SETI -- 1b. Fundamentals of Stellar Spectroscopy -- 1c. Description of the HARPS Instrument -- Part II: Methodology -- Section 2a: Target Selection -- Section 2b: Constructing a Search Algorithm -- Section 2c: False Positive Elimination -- 2c.1) Airglow -- 2c.2) Cosmic Rays -- 2c.3) Calibration Lamp Bleedthrough -- 2c.4) Stellar Emission Lines -- Section 2d. Estimating the Detection Sensitivity of the Algorithm -- Section 2e. Scaling the Problem (The Broad Search and The Deep Search) -- Part III: Results and Analysis -- 3a. Examples of Each Signal Class and the Most Compelling Unknown Candidates -- 33b.Constructing a Decision Tree -- 3c. Statistical Analysis of Results After Investigation -- 3d. The Deep Search -- 3e. Discussion and Conclusion -- Part IV: Future Research 4a. Following Up the “Broad Search” -- 4b. Following up the “Deep Search” -- 4c. Future Methodologies for Identifying Stellar Emission Lines -- 4d. Machine Learning for Cosmic Rays and Lower Threshold Searches -- 4e. Addressing the Problem of Interstellar Dust at a Deeper Level -- 4f. Expanding the Project into a Large Scale Collaboration with the Scientific Communit
Studies toward a greener chemical synthesis for l-arginine.
Full text link76 leaves; illustrations.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-67).L-arginine is a conditional amino acid that has been shown to benefit through supplementation, which has led to the mass production of L-arginine. Most industrial syntheses have been through keratin hydrolysis, which is harmful to the environment. While there are some green biosyntheses, the chemical industry tends not to use them because of their lower yields. This investigation aims to synthesize L-arginine using new, greener chemical methods. The formation of the first intermediate product, an enamide ester, was successfully completed. This method consisted of a three-step synthesis using hippuric acid to form azlactone, which then reacted with 3-[(Benzyloxycarbonyl)amino]-propionaldehyde to form a believed to be a new compound, 2-phenyl-4-(3-benzyloxy carbonyl amino) propylidene-oxazol-5-one. Through an acid/base reaction, the azlactone group of the compound opened to properly synthesize the enamide ester. Future investigations would be to complete the synthesis to form L-arginine.Certification -- Title Page -- Acknowledgements -- Table of Contents -- Abstract -- List of Figures -- List of Abbreviations -- Chapter 1: Introduction -- 1.1: Amino Acids -- 1.2: L-arginine in the Body -- 1.3: Industrial L-arginine Syntheses -- 1.4: Green Chemistry -- 1.5: Mechanochemistry -- 1.6: A Greener Chemical Synthesis for L-arginine -- Chapter 2: Results and Discussion -- 2.1: Turning Points in the Synthesis -- 2.1.1: Two-Step Enamide Ester Synthesis -- 2.1.2: One-Pot Synthesis -- 2.1.3: Mechanochemistry -- 2.2: Formation of the Desired Enamide Ester -- 2.2.1: Azlactone Reaction Results -- 2.2.2: 2-ph-4-(N-Cbz) Azlactone Reaction Results -- 2.2.3: Azlactone Opening Reaction Results -- Chapter 3: Experimental Methods -- 3.1: Azlactone Reaction -- 3.2: 2-ph-4-(N-Cbz) Azlactone Reaction -- 3.3: Azlactone Opening Reaction -- Chapter 4: Conclusion and Future Works -- 4.1: Conclusion -- 4.2: Future Works -- 4.2.1: Complete Greener Chemical Synthesis for L-arginine -- 4.2.2: Green Adaption to Erlenmeyer Reaction -- 4.2.3: Mechanochemistry -- References -- Appendix I -- Appendix I
Evidence for Fluoxetine Impact on Mitochondrial Density, Membrane Charge, and Distribution Within Axons
No full text22 pages; 5 figures
Synthesis and structural analysis of lanthanide perfluoropinacolates
No full text27 leaves; illustrations.Includes bibliographical references (leaf 24).Three new lanthanide perfluoropinacolate complexes ([K(THF)2][Ln(pinF)2(THF)x] (x = 3, Ln = Pr; x = 2, Ln = Tb, Ho)) have been synthesized and their solid-state structures were collected via single crystal X-ray diffractometry. Due to the fluorination of the pinacolate ligands, these complexes could display interesting electrochemical and luminescent properties. The bond angles and lengths of all three complexes were analyzed and it was found that the bond lengths in [K(THF)2][Tb(pinF)2(THF)2] and [K(THF)2][Ho(pinF)2(THF)2] were shorter than in [K(THF)2][Pr(pinF)2(THF)3]. As a result of these shorter bond lengths the bond angles in [K(THF)2][Tb(pinF)2(THF)2] and [K(THF)2][Ho(pinF)2(THF)2] were larger than in the [K(THF)2][Pr(pinF)2(THF)3] complex. This is due to a reduction in the radii of the lanthanide metal center, with praseodymium (Pr) being the largest of the three, terbium (Tb) the second, and holmium (Ho) the smallest, having ionic radii of 99.0 pm, 92.3 pm, and 90.1 pm, respectively.Abstract -- Introduction -- Experimental -- Results and Discussion -- Conclusion -- References -- Supplementary Informatio