1287 research outputs found
Sort by
Technique for the Synthesis of Difluorinated Organic Molecules Using Magnesium Bases
Get PDFThe presence of fluorine in organic molecules can confer biological advantages which are often exploited in drug development. For example, fluorine has been shown to limit drug metabolism and enhance drug distribution. However, the development of fluorinated pharmaceutics poses synthetic challenges. These challenges are especially pronounced when developing molecules with a difluoromethyl group. One difluoromethyl functional group of particular interest is the α,α-difluoro-β-amino carbonyl group, which has been seen in potential drug leads. The previous methods of accessing this group are inefficient and complex. The goal of this project was to develop a new technique to access this group by reacting α,α-difluoroenolate intermediates with unactivated imines in the presence of magnesium bases. The results showed evidence that a simpler method of the synthesizing α,α-difluoro-β-amino ketones is possible and should be further explored
Neurotoxicity of Asimina Triloba
Get PDFNeurodegenerative diseases are thought to be brought on by genetic and environmental factors including exposure to compounds and extracts found in plants. Many substances extracted from plants have been shown to induce cell death in neurons. This experiment tests different plant compounds to determine if they induce death in neurons in cell culture. In particular, we focused on extracts and compound from the Asimina Triloba plant- a plant that had anecdotally been connected with Parkinson’s Disease-like effects. Cultured neurons were treated with increasing concentrations of the compounds and extracts. Twenty-four hours after treatment, viability was assessed. Results show that while most of the compounds and extracts do not induce neurotoxicity, some of the compounds and extracts are neurotoxic and become increasingly more neurotoxic as the concentration of the compounds increase. In the future, it is important to continue exploring the toxicity of this fruit to determine whether consumption is detrimental to neuronal health. Moreover, future studies may elucidate whether these compounds could be used to model degeneration
The Holy Trinity: Religion, Identity, and International Law in Egypt
Get PDFThis thesis investigates the contradiction between Egypt’s international legal obligations to protect religious freedom and its state practice. Chapter 1 gives a brief history of the relationship between religious freedom and state authority in the Roman, Islamic, and Holy Roman Empires and the early formations of international legal protections of freedom of religion in the wake of the Thirty Years War and then WWI centuries later. Chapter 2 looks at the formation and content of the current international standards of religious freedom, focusing on the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Chapter 3 looks at case studies of possible violations of these standards in Egypt and concludes that the two main avenues which they arise are the public order interpretation of the Egyptian courts and the nature of the regime itself, creating rules and practices that discriminate against and repress the religious expression of religious minorities. Chapter 4 considers possible strategies to bring Egypt under compliance, focusing on these two avenues, emphasizing the need to change both regime behavior and the courts interpretation of public order
Firearms Trafficking to Chicago: Connections and Implications
Get PDFThe initial purpose of this study was to determine which counties contributed the most to the firearms trafficking route between Mississippi and Chicago, Illinois, and to understand which sociodemographic features may differentiate those counties from their lesser-trafficking counterparts. In order to address any firearms trafficking route, law enforcement agencies must understand the underlying causes and enabling factors. Initial studies of Mississippi counties showed trends of median household income, poverty, and racial disparities. These trends were compared with high-trafficking counties in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin in order to see if sociodemographic factors associated with firearms trafficking are state-specific or may be reflected across the country. While population size did not appear to be connected to firearms trafficking in Mississippi, the three northern states’ counties of interest appeared to be located around cities, so population was considered for each of the four states.
The results of this study identify high-trafficking counties of interest in Mississippi, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin and indicate that (a) high poverty rates appear to be associated with firearms trafficking in each of the four states (b) Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin counties of interest are centrally located around urban areas, (c) there appears to be a trend of high racial disparity with high firearms trafficking only in Mississippi; and (d) high median household income appears to be connected in Wisconsin, with low median household income likely connected in Mississippi, and no obvious trends in Illinois and Indiana
Financial Reporting: The Application of the Accounting Standards Codification
Get PDFThe following presents a series of case studies in various areas of financial reporting. The purpose of these case studies is to further understand the concepts found in the Accounting Standards Codification and see how they can be applied in the real world. Each study focused on a different area of financial accounting and the appropriate ways to account for transactions in a company’s four financial statements: the Income Statement, the Statement of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity, the Balance Sheet, and the Statement of Cash Flows. To understand the situations and transactions each case study presented, I called upon the principles and ideas I have learned in my accounting courses as a student of the University of Mississippi Patterson School of Accountancy. With the information I gathered from doing research in the Codification, I was able to generate new knowledge on the accounting concepts deliberated in the respective case studies.
Through the research I performed on the various topics in financial reporting, I gained a clearer insight on how companies account for and report their day-to-day activities, while gaining a general awareness for how companies work. I have found that my enhanced knowledge of financial reporting topics and the business world has already propelled me further into becoming the strong business woman that I have been striving to grow into during my college career. I believe that because of my understanding of these different topics in financial reporting I learned how to use my critical thinking skills to construct solutions to contextualize large problems. My research process cultivated the ways I approached every problem I encountered while on my internship with the Big Four Accounting Firm KPMG. During my time as an intern in the international tax department of the KPMG Houston office, I noticed myself reverting back to the ways of thinking that I used when advancing through the following case studies. With every new challenge as an intern, I found myself progressing intellectually as an accountant and business woman because of the analytical approach I used when problem-solving; the same approach I used to complete this thesis.
My hard skills also improved due to the extensive Excel work many of these case studies required. Before writing this thesis, I had not had much experience in Excel. Now I can say that I am extremely familiar with Excel and am comfortable learning new ways to filter and analyze data that is entered into the program. I found the improvement of my technical skills within Excel to be a huge factor as to why I easily transitioned into the work I was given on my internship. Having a solid knowledge base to build on during my internship was one of the most profitable things I learned from my time as an accounting student at the University of Mississippi.
In conclusion, the knowledge I have accumulated throughout writing this thesis will be substantial to my success in my future career as an accountant. The deeper understanding of accounting methods I received through the research I performed will be a great base for the concepts I will learn as a graduate student and for the concepts I will continue to build on as a young professional. The impact of conducting the research to write this thesis will assist me in achieving amazing heights in my professional career
A Compilation of Case Studies Highlighting Current Issues and Uses of Accounting Methods and Procedures
Get PDFHealthcare Certificates of Need in Mississippi: Policy Review and Recommendation
Get PDFHealthcare Certificates of Need, often abbreviated as CON, are public policies implemented across America with many intentions but the primary purpose of engaging the healthcare marketplace in a way that allows for government regulation and monitoring. Over time, states have created their own types of certificate of need policies while others have abandoned these types of policies all together. Mississippi is a member of the former group that has crafted its own type of policies geared towards enabling Certificates of Need. As the healthcare marketplace shifts across America, this research delves into the certificate of need policies of states with healthcare outcomes like Mississippi’s. but different in various policy aspects. Upon examination of these differences, this scholarship assesses Mississippi’s specific policies and examines various case studies within the Magnolia State to determine whether or not these types of policies are appropriate for a state like Mississippi and, if not, what types of policies may be appropriate for changing the healthcare situation in various aspects. Supported by literature review, data analysis, case studies, and policy proposals, this scholarship aims to address healthcare Certificates of Need in Mississippi
An Introduction to Case Reports: The Fundamentals of Accounting
Get PDFThis document is a culmination of twelve case reports completed over the 2016-2017 school year under the direction of Dr. Victoria Dickinson. The cases were assigned in relation to the current topics covered in ACCY 303 and ACCY 304 and were prepared under GAAP and other generally accounting standards. Several cases were a set published by Cambridge Business Publishers, LLC and can be found online. Other cases were provided by Dr. Dickinson. Each case was a series of questions that related to a separate accounting topic, and information in each is not dependent on previous cases. Journal entries, ratios, financial statements, and examples are presented. Any analysis found in this series of case reports is my own opinion and should be regarded as such
Characterizing the Effects of stm and ath1 Mutations on Floral Organ Development in Arabidopsis thaliana
Get PDFJAMES LUKE LEARY: Characterizing the Effects of stm and ath1 Mutations on Floral Organ Development in Arabidopsis thaliana(Under the direction of Dr. Sarah Liljegren)
The purpose of this project was to explore the function of SHOOTMERISTEMLESS (STM) and ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA HOMEOBOX GENE1 (ATH1), two transcription factors in Arabidopsis thaliana that play a role in the molecular pathways that establish organ boundaries in flowers. Prior research has shownthat mutations in the STM and ATH1 genes cause defects in the boundaries formed between floral organs and the stem of the plant. My study was designed to investigate whether ATH1 and STM also control the boundaries found between adjacent floral organs. I predicted that stm ath1-3 double mutant flowers would display a significant number of stamen-stamen and sepal-sepal fusion events compared to wild-type flowers, which would indicate that the boundaries between these organs had been compromised.
Stem cells found in flower meristems are required for a full set of floral organs to develop. Since STM are ATH1 are known to play roles in maintaining the population of stem cells in both shoot and flower meristems, stm ath1-3 double mutant flowers were also expected to produce fewer organs compared to wild-type flowers. I found that 15 percent of the stamens in stm and ath1-3 single mutant flowers, and 51 percent of the stamens in stm ath1-3 double mutant flowers were fused to another stamen. I also found that 95 percent of the sepals in the double mutant flowers were fused to a neighboring sepal. The stm ath1-3 mutant flowers produced three fewer petals and three fewer stamens on average. These results indicate that STM and ATH1 redundantly regulate boundaries formed between stamens and petals. They also demonstrate that STM and ATH1 regulate the size of the flower meristem and that their functions are required for that meristem to correctly produce all of its organs
Nonlinear Computational Analysis of Postural Stability and its Relationship to Estrogen Deficiency in Postmenopausal Women
Get PDFThis study aims to determine if multi-scale entropy analysis will more accurately differentiate the postural stability of postmenopausal women as a function of their estrogen status than traditional measures of postural assessment. The study participants included 7 non-Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) postmenopausal women (mean age = 57) and 4 HRT postmenopausal women (mean age = 55). Postural stability was measured with the NeuroCom Equitest and the use of conditions 1-4 of the Sensory Organization Test (SOT). The subjects received an equilibrium score for each condition with a score near 100 representing good postural stability. A modification of the “Multi-Scale Entropy Analysis” Matlab program created by Costa et al. was used to analyze the raw center of pressure (COP) trajectory data measured for each condition in both the medial-lateral (x-direction) and anterior-posterior (y-direction) directions. The Matlab program created complexity index (CI) scores where a high CI is indicative of low postural stability and a low CI is representative of good postural stability.
A basic t-test of unequal variances was performed on the CI scores between non-HRT and HRT subjects, in addition to the equilibrium scores between non-HRT and HRT subjects. The t-test revealed both the NeuroCom Equitest and MSE analysis identified a significant difference in postural stability between non-HRT subjects and HRT subjects an equal number of times (n=2), where HRT subjects exhibited better postural stability than non-HRT. The MSE analysis method was able to significantly differentiate postural stability between non-HRT and HRT subjects in SOT 1 (p=0.0432), whereas the NeuroCom Equitest did not. This is of significance because the subject is standing still on the force plate without having their balance disrupted. Previous studies have had to manipulate the surroundings and perturb the subject’s balance to significantly differentiate postural stability between non-HRT and HRT subjects. The findings from this study indicate that MSE analysis may provide a higher level of sensitivity necessary to assess postural stability as a function of estrogen status. The effect of estrogen on the preservation of postural stability in postmenopausal women may provide further evidence for the consideration of estrogen as a neuroprotectant