Formation of bridged bicycloalkenes via ring closing metathesis

Ring closing metathesis may be used in the formation of small ring bicycloalkenes from monocyclic diene precursors

The Effects of Triclosan Derivatives against the Growth of Staphylococcus Aureus

Triclosan is an antimicrobial commonly used in many different antiseptics and everyday products. Unfortunately, many bacteria are now resistant to triclosan due to innate resistance, mutations in the fabI gene, and/or overexpression of certain other genes (soxS, marA, and an efflux pump encoded by acrAB). Therefore, it is essential that drugs be developed to destroy bacteria now resistant to triclosan. In this experiment, four different derivatives of triclosan were tested for antibacterial capabilities under the supervision of Dr. Hubbard at Liberty University. The derivatives were synthesized by Professor McGibbon (professor of organic chemistry at LU). Solutions of 4.0 ug/mL of each derivative were made and then tested against S. aureus for inhibition capabilities. Some of the derivatives seemed to have some inhibition capabilities, but none of them were as inhibitive as triclosan itself. Of special note, some of the results seem to indicate that the added benzene ring may inactivate triclosan’s antibacterial capabilities while the added chlorines provide at least some inhibition to S. aureus. Ultimately, the derivatives of triclosan did not have high inhibition rates at 4.0 ug/mL, but more experiments need to be performed in order to determine their effects at higher concentrations and on different species of bacteria. Hopefully, the data gathered and inferred from this experiment, including several valuable dissolving ratios and laboratory techniques which were discovered, will be implemented into future research on triclosan derivatives that will lead to the discovery of compounds even more inhibitive against bacteria growth than triclosan

Discrete local altitude sensing device Patent

Device for use in descending spacecraft as altitude sensor for actuating deceleration retrorocket

Instrument Development of the UNC Dry Eye Management Scale

Dry Eye Disease (DED) is a chronic disease that diminishes the quality of life (QOL) of millions of Americans. Clinical tests of DED poorly correlate with patient-reported symptoms, and current dry eye questionnaires that include QOL measures require considerable time and effort to complete. Therefore, as part of a research team in the University of North Carolina (UNC) Ophthalmology Department, I helped develop a single-item, patient-reported dry eye scale that conveys both the patient’s dry eye symptoms and the effects of these symptoms on the patient’s quality of life. Our initial questionnaire development consisted of two phases: conceptualization and questionnaire development and cognitive interviewing and questionnaire modification. During phase one, we performed an extensive literature review and consulted multiple patients and experts to create the conceptual framework for our dry eye questionnaire. During phase 2, we administered this preliminary questionnaire to multiple dry eye patients; then, using cognitive interviewing techniques, we asked these patients several questions about the questionnaire. In total, 18 patients were interviewed, and their input led to further modifications of our dry eye scale and ultimately led to the final product: the UNC Dry Eye Management Scale (UNC DEMS). Validity and reliability testing of this dry eye scale are ongoing, but early statistical analyses indicate that the UNC DEMS is a valid patient-reported measure of both symptoms and QOL in DED. Our hope is that this tool will assist both clinicians and patients in the monitoring and management of DED in the time-constricted clinical setting.Master of Public Healt

Optimum Suction on a Power Basis

Mechanical Engineerin

Selection of Ionic Liquid Solvents for Chemical Separations Based on the Abraham Model

Book chapter on the selection of ionic liquid solvents for chemical separations based on the Abraham model

Prediction of Partition Coefficients and Permeability of Drug Molecules in Biological Systems with Abraham Model Solute Descriptors Derived from Measured Solubilities and Water-to-Organic Solvent Partition Coefficients

Book chapter on the prediction of partition coefficients and permeability of drug molecules in biological systems with Abraham model solute descriptors derived from measured solubilities and water-to-organic solvent partition coefficients

Isothermal Titration Calorimetry for Measuring Macromolecule-Ligand Affinity

Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) is a useful tool for understanding the complete thermodynamic picture of a binding reaction. In biological sciences, macromolecular interactions are essential in understanding the machinery of the cell. Experimental conditions, such as buffer and temperature, can be tailored to the particular binding system being studied. However, careful planning is needed since certain ligand and macromolecule concentration ranges are necessary to obtain useful data. Concentrations of the macromolecule and ligand need to be accurately determined for reliable results. Care also needs to be taken when preparing the samples as impurities can significantly affect the experiment. When ITC experiments, along with controls, are performed properly, useful binding information, such as the stoichiometry, affinity and enthalpy, are obtained. By running additional experiments under different buffer or temperature conditions, more detailed information can be obtained about the system. A protocol for the basic setup of an ITC experiment is given

Computational Study of the Rovibrational Spectrum of CO₂-CS₂

A new intermolecular potential energy surface, rovibrational transition frequencies, and line strengths are computed for CO2-CS2. the potential is made by fitting energies obtained from explicitly correlated coupled-cluster calculations using an interpolating moving least squares method. the rovibrational Schrödinger equation is solved with a symmetry-adapted Lanczos algorithm and an uncoupled product basis set. All four intermolecular coordinates are included in the calculation. in agreement with previous experiments, the global minimum of the potential energy surface (PES) is cross shaped. the PES also has slipped-parallel minima. Rovibrational wavefunctions are localized in the cross minima and the slipped-parallel minima. Vibrational parent analysis was used to assign vibrational labels to rovibrational states. Tunneling occurs between the two cross minima. Because more than one symmetry operation interconverts the two wells, the symmetry (-oo) of the upper component of the tunneling doublet is different from the symmetry (-ee) of the tunneling coordinate. This unusual situation is due to the multidimensional nature of the double well tunneling. For the cross ground vibrational state, calculated rotational constants differ from their experimental counterparts by less than 0.0001 cm-1. Most rovibrational states were found to be incompatible with the standard effective rotational Hamiltonian often used to fit spectra. This appears to be due to coupling between internal and overall rotation of the dimer. a simple 2D model accounting for internal rotation was used for two cross-shaped fundamentals to obtain good fits