1287 research outputs found
Sort by
Correlation of Sand Reservoirs of the Lower Tuscaloosa Formation in the Smithdale and East Fork Fields in Amite County, Mississippi
Get PDFThe Upper Cretaceous Lower Tuscaloosa Formation has been a major hydrocarbon producer in southwest Mississippi since the 1940s, with discovered oil reserves in the billions of barrels. The mid-Cenomanian unconformity underlying the Lower Tuscaloosa created an extensive network of incised valleys. The transgressive sequences that occurred during the deposition of the Massive and Stringer Sand Members filled the incised valleys with sediments, due to the low accommodation space, and this created a series of stacked channel sand deposits.
The Smithdale and East Fork oil fields located in Amite County, Mississippi produce from the Stringer Sand Member of the Lower Tuscaloosa. The goal of this research was to determine if the two fields were producing out of the same channel sand based on petrophysical log signatures and isopach maps. Petrophysical logs were correlated in each field and used to determine sand thickness. An isopach map of the first sand was created to illustrate the channel pattern in each field.
Based on the results, the Smithdale field appears to have characteristics of a braided and meandering channel, with multiple thick depocenters inside the main channel and prominent meander loops. The East Fork field appears to be characteristic of a thinner meandering stream system. Different log signatures and sand patterns indicate there is little correlation between the two fields and that they are likely producing out of two different channel sands
Targeting Metastatic Breast Cancer with Statin Drugs and CoQ10
Get PDFStatin drugs are commonly prescribed to lower cholesterol levels in patients, but recently statins have been under investigation as a potential anti-cancer drug. Statins are HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors and subsequently inhibit the mevalonate pathway and cholesterol synthesis. Since cholesterol trafficking is vital in the growth and metastasis of cancer, statin drugs are being studied to explore their effects on cancer cells. CoQ10, one of the products from the mevalonate pathway, also has shown some potential anti-cancer properties, but its use to combat cancer is controversial. While some studies have shown that CoQ10 supplements can be synergistic with other cancer treatment methods, the biochemical mechanisms of CoQ10’s potential anti-cancer properties are poorly understood. In this experiment, the anti-cancer potentials of lovastatin and CoQ10 were studied using the breast cancer cell lines BoM-1833 (BoM) derived from MDA-231, MCF7/BoM, and T47D. The IC50 values for lovastatin were found to be 4.89×10-06 M (BoM) and 4.06×10-06 M (MCF7/BoM). The IC50 values for CoQ10 were found to be 5.46×10-07 M (BoM) and 8.86×10-07 M (MCF7/BoM). IC50 values for lovastatin and CoQ10 with the cell line T47D were not found because the drugs did not sufficiently inhibit the growth of the T47D cells
An Analysis of Commercial Oxidative Hair Dyes Using Raman Spectroscopy
Get PDFHere, we aim to further the potential use of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) in analyzing hair dyes for use in forensic investigations. Current methods include light microscopy and thin-layer chromatography (TLC). However, these techniques can be destructive to the hair samples, do not have high discriminatory power, and have had problems with giving inconclusive results. Raman spectroscopy, on the other hand, is a fast, simple technique with a high discriminatory power. Previous work has shown that SERS can be used for in-situ analyses that is not destructive to the sample. This previous work also demonstrated that SERS could definitively differentiate between semi-permanent and permanent dyes and dyes of the same color and permanency but different brand. In this study, we chose to examine 10 different color couplers that are common precursors in the production of permanent hair dyes. These couplers were then divided into four different groups based on the color dye they are used in. Both experimental SERS and theoretical Raman spectra were collected for 3-aminophenol and 5-amino-o-cresol. These results showed that 1) silver surfaces are better than gold for these type of molecules, 2) SERS is acting mainly as a fluorescence quencher with these molecules, thus, 3) the computational B3LYP/6-311G method and basis set are a good model for these molecules. With this in mind, theoretical Raman spectra were created for each of the color couplers and were compared with the others of the same group. Majority of the color couplers showed excellent differentiation and could be distinguished from the other molecule(s) in the group. The only problems arose with the amino-o-cresols in the pink-red category where their spectra were nearly the exact same. Overall, though, this study showed that using the known spectrum of each of these precursor molecules can assist forensic analysts in determining which color coupler was used in the hair dye on the sample
A Quantitative and Analytical Study of Accounting Principles
Get PDFThis thesis is dedicated to my dear parents, Todd and Kristen Racine, who have passionately devoted their lives to the education and betterment of our youth. Their work continues to inspire thousands of students, and I am just one of them. I would not be the student, friend, or man I have become today without them
Characterizing the Effects of Mutations in STM and ATH1 on Floral Organ Development in Arabidopsis thaliana
Get PDFUnderstanding the molecular controls involved in plant development is important in understanding plant physiology as a whole, and this knowledge in turn can lead to useful applications in agriculture and industry. This project investigates the roles of two transcription factors, SHOOT MERISTEMLESS (STM) and ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA HOMEOBOX GENE1 (ATH1) in the molecular pathway that creates boundaries between organs in flowers of Arabidopsis thaliana. Mutations in the STM and ATH1 genes prevent formation of basal boundaries between the floral organs and the stem, causing abscission defects in flowers. If the STM and ATH1 genes are also critical for establishing the boundaries between individual floral organs, I expected to see fusion events in mutant flowers. Since STM is involved in maintaining the stem cell populations in shoot and flower meristems, I expected to see stm mutant flowers with fewer organs. If the STM and ATH1 genes have redundant roles in inter-organ boundary formation and SAM maintenance, I expected to see significantly fewer floral organs and more severe fusion phenotypes in double mutant plants. I found that the mutant plants indeed had fusion defects, and these were most commonly found between organs of the same type. Fusion defects and absence of organs were most severe in double mutant plants, suggesting that the ATH1 and STM genes are functionally redundant in these pathways
It is Impossible to Overdo Luxury: French Variety of Capitalism and its Contribution to Luxury Market Presence
Get PDFThis study seeks to explain the dominance of French companies in the luxury fashion industry. The study aims to prove that France’s unique model of capitalism contributed to the strong position of French luxury fashion. By using the theoretical framework of the varieties of capitalism the study analyses France’s variety of capitalism, the evolution of the French luxury market, and ultimately compare how French luxury fashion firms fit the needs of the luxury fashion industry. Ultimately, the findings indicate that while the history of French fashion is the cause for its dominance until the postwar period, the French variety of capitalism after the postwar period aided in the continued dominance of the French luxury fashion industry
In the Shape of a Woman: Behavioral Compliance to Gendered Expectations in the Early Modern Era and the Implications for Human Identity in Shakespeare’s Macbeth
Get PDFThe purpose of this essay is to examine the role that gender plays in the construction of the human within Shakespeare’s Macbeth and The Merry Wives of Windsor. While gender was a vital component of the immaterial essence that distinguished humans from animals, early moderns believed that true internal gender conformity could not exist if it was not accompanied by external expressions of it.
Characters in each of these plays fixate on the external proofs of their own gendered identities, and in doing so, they inadvertently reveal that those traits which distinguish humanity are only cultural constructions and learned behavior that can only externally relate to an individual’s rational inorganic soul. In chapter 1, I focus on how, in order to re-obtain the masculinity he believes he does not possess, Macbeth defiles his own humanity so that he can take what he believes to be the requisite actions in order to do so. In chapter 2, I analyze how when Mistress Page and Mistress Ford try to remove a threat to their appearance of chastity, they unknowingly lay bare their claims to both chastity and humanity
The Frequency Attenuations of Foam Ear Plugs Affected by User Error of College Students
Get PDFThis paper examines the relationship between the attenuating ability of foam ear plugs at low and high frequencies and the effects of incorrect ear plug fitting by college students. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (1998) recommends the use of a hearing protection device (HPD) such as ear muffs or ear plugs to avoid noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). However, when not inserted properly, a HPD’s effectiveness can be adversely affected by user error and present as a decrease in attenuation. Attenuation is measured and presented on packaging as the noise reduction rating (NRR). A high NRR affected by user error can create a false sense of security, resulting in the frequent misuse of hearing protection. This paper explores the effect of user error in college students on foam ear plug attenuation by determining whether low or high frequencies are most perceived by the participant in audiometric testing. Testing utilized narrow band noise (NBN) and warble tones as stimuli presented in a sound field. Participants were asked to listen for the presented stimulus while wearing foam ear plugs fit by themselves as well as ear plugs fit by a trained experimenter. Results showed user error was greater in the lower frequencies than the higher frequencies. Additionally, there was no clinically significant difference between NBN trials and warble tone trials.
Keywords: user error, hearing protection devices, noise reduction ratin
Design and Analysis of an fMRI-compatible Vibrotactile Skin Stimulator
Get PDFThe purpose of this research project is to design a multi-purpose fMRI-compatible
vibrotactile skin stimulator that can be used in varying felds of research so that a
specifc design does not have to be built for each individual application. Throughout
this project, several stimulator designs were produced, but the core idea for each was
quite similar. In each design, a wire coil was wound on a
exible plastic tape former.
One point of each coil is fxed, and the opposite point provides stimulation. Each wire
coil was placed in a constant magnetic feld, which provided a weaker version of the
magnetic feld present in an fMRI bore. Inside this feld, each coil was driven using a
current source, which creates a force on each segment of the coil that is determined by
the equation F= I L × B. The result of these forces on the segments of the coils is a
torque in the joints of the coils. Depending on the direction of the current in the coils,
this torque causes the coils to either extend upward or contract downward. When
these coils were driven in the audible frequency band (85 to 255 Hz), the oscillating
contraction and extension of the coils provided vibrotactile stimulation that can be
detected by humans. Each stimulator design was tested for functionality through
measurements of its admittance versus frequency as well as its force per current
transfer function versus frequency. These tests were utilized to evaluate which of the
stimulator designs properly provided vibrotactile feedback while inside a magnetic
feld for the intended frequency band of use and also allowed for the determination of
the most practical skin stimulator design
“We Never Said We’re Independent”: Natural Resources, Nationalism, and the Fight for Political Autonomy in Russia’s Regions
Get PDFAfter the fall of the Soviet Union, the federal government permitted the regions and republics to obtain political autonomy, which led to a measure of self-governance during the 1990s and 2000s. The amount of political autonomy provided to the regions and republics was affected by the existence of a natural resource sector, and whether or not the republic or region in question had a nationalized ethnic minority. Natural resource sector data and federal and regional budgetary data was collected and analyzed from federal and regional government websites. Historical information on ethnic minorities as well as information on their anti-federal government protests were collected from Russian, European, and American newspapers. The republic with the longest-running natural resources sector and the largest and most anti-government ethnic minority received the most political autonomy and held it the longest. The region with the most financially successful natural resources but no nationalized ethnic minority received the least political autonomy. Regional political autonomy was affected by regional natural resource wealth, as the federal government heavily relied upon that wealth to fund the federal budget. The presence of a nationalized ethnic minority was successfully used as a tool by regional elites to obtain more political autonomy, although when the political autonomy system began to end they were unable to utilize that tool to keep their autonomy