STRATA
STRATA, the STudent Research, Academic, and Talent Archive, is a collection of selected Fort Lewis College student work, including undergraduate research, senior seminar papers, published works, conference presentations, and other creative and artistic projects. Search by name, subject, title, or academic department.
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- Synthesis of Conformationally Constrained Diaryl Ether Cyclophanes
- The syntheses of a series of macrocyclic diarylether paracyclophanes with varying length in the bridging chain are reported. Several naturally occurring biologically active cyclophanes have been described in the literature, and many of these are chiral by virtue of restricted bond rotation opposed to the presence of stereocenters. We report the first systematic study of the relationship between the bridging chain length and the barrier to racemization of these important compounds. Progress toward the synthesis of a library of diarylether paracyclophanes with varying tether lengths is described, as well as stereochemical implications.
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- Synthesis of Conformationally Constrained Diarylether Cyclophanes
- We report progress toward the synthesis of a series of chiral conformationally constrained diarylether cyclophanes with variation in the length of the bridging carbon chain. These cyclophanes are chiral by virtue of restricted bond rotation, not by the presence of stereocenters. Cyclophanes are a class of compounds that occur naturally and are conformationally constrained due to the presence of a carbon chain bridging the para positions of an aromatic ring. Many naturally occurring diarylether cyclophanes have a seven-carbon bridge linking the diarylether component of the molecule. We report a method for the synthesis of diarylether cyclophanes with variation in the tether length. Experiments to determine the relationship between tether length and the barrier to racemization will be disclosed. Because of structural similarities to biologically active diarylether heptanoids, the synthesis of diarylether cyclophanes could lead to compounds with significant biological activity.
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- Synthesis of Conformationally Constrained Diarylether Paracyclophanes
- The syntheses of a series of macrocyclic diarylether paracyclophanes with varying length in the bridging chain are reported. Several naturally occurring biologically active cyclophanes have been described in the literature, and many of these are chiral by virtue of restricted bond rotation opposed to the presence of stereocenters. We report the first systematic study of the relationship between the bridging chain length and the barrier to racemization of these important compounds. Progress toward the synthesis of a library of diarylether paracyclophanes with varying tether lengths is described, as well as stereochemical implications.
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- Synthesis of Diarylmethanes Similar to the Norjuliol Complex
- Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease that kills hundreds of thousands annually, recently a compound to combat it has been isolated, called Norjuliol. We tested a possible synthesis pathway to create Norjuliol like compounds, for future Norjuliol synthesis and anti-leishmaniasis testing. The products of the different synthesis steps were characterized using proton NMR (400 MHz). The results show the hydrazone and boronic acid synthesis pathway should not be used for Norjuliol. Previous research has shown that the synthesis with methoxy groups on the boronic acid is possible, but the data collected demonstrated the reaction difficult with multiple methoxy groups. The initial testing of Norjuliol like compounds with alcohol groups against leishmaniasis has shown promise and have shown better results than the current treatment. Further testing is needed for definitive conclusions to be drawn.
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- Synthesis of Glycosylated Essential Oils: Potential Protective Agents for Honey Bees
- Currently, the most devastating pest to the Western Honeybee (Apis mellifera) is the Varroa Mite (Varroa destructor). This mite attacks honeybees by both extracting the hemolymph from their bodies and by passing hemolymph-based viruses between colonies. The most common methods employed in the treatment of the Varroa Mite are pyrethroid derivatives. However, the Varroa mite is increasingly displaying resistance to these synthetic acaricides, which drastically limits their overall efficacy. Recently, essential oils such as Thymol have been shown to be effective acaricides for pest management in honeybee colonies. Unfortuntely, it is difficult to control dosage of thymol-based treatments as they are currently applied to colonies in a vapor-phase. Preventing resistance to essential oils such as thymol is of the upmost importance to ensure the long term health of the western honeybee. This research focused on controlling the dosage of essential oils by synthetically creating a glycosylated thymol molecule that will be orally administered and will only become activated upon ingestion by the honeybees. This synthetically created molecule will undergo conversion from the inactive to active form within the hemolymph system of the honeybee and potentially make them resistant to the attack of the Varroa mite with a more controlled and effective dosage.
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- Synthesis of Haploscleridamine and Biologically Significant Analogs
- Haploscleridamine, a molecule isolated from a sponge of the order Haplosclerida, is a member of a group of natural products that selectively inhibits the E1 ubiquitin pathway and thus shows promise as an anti-cancer drug. We report the development of a reliable synthetic route to Haploscleridamine.
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- Synthesis of Sattabacin, Sattazolin, and Structural Analogs And Evaluation Of Antiviral Activity
- Progress toward convergent syntheses of the antiviral natural products sattabacin and sattazolin that allow for structural variation is presented. Synthetic strategies for the systematic variation of aromatic substitution have been developed and will be discussed. Building on our previous asymmetric synthesis of (+)-sattabacin, the straightforward preparation of a number of side chain analogs was also completed. Evaluation of the antiviral activity of the natural products and analogs against Varicella zoster virus are underway, and this progress will also be included.
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- TMT in the Court Room
- This research examines the effects of terror management theory (TMT) and social influences on sentences given to persons convicted of a criminal act. TMT states that humans defend themselves against the awareness of their own mortality (mortality salience; MS) by investing in cultural worldviews; meaning that when reminded of their own mortality, a person will more closely identify with similar others, and in the case of this study, against those labeled as criminals. I investigated to see whether a person would be more inclined to give a more harsh sentence to someone convicted of a crime after being confronted by the idea of their own mortality, more specifically if the influence of a peer designated to a "protector" role or "nurturer" would affect the sentence given. Each participant was primed with either the mortality salience (MS) or a control salience. Participants then read through a brief story explaining the scene, what crime had been committed, and were given one of two conditions. One condition in which the "protector" role voted to give a higher sentence, and one condition in which the "nurturer" role voted to give a higher sentence. Results of the experiment and possible directions for future research will be offered.
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- Tables and Chairs
- Short story by Alex Spear, published in the Fall 2012-Winter 2013 issue of Images.
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- Tea in Pahalgam
- Portrait of an Indian man
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- Tension Releasing Exercises Reduce Perceived Stress in College Students
- Tension Releasing Exercises (TRE) activate natural muscular vibration to release tension and activate the parasympathetic relaxation response (Berceli, 2013). The purpose of this study was to determine if TRE affected perceived stress in college students. Participants were recruited from Fort Lewis College. Stress was measured using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Measure of Current Status Part A (MOCS), administered at the beginning and end of 5 weeks. There were 9 participants recruited to the experimental group but 4 did not continue after the initial session. The experimental group was taught TRE and asked to independently perform the exercises 3 times per week for 15-20 minutes each session. The experimental group (n=5) self-reported performing the TRE an average of 3 times and 65.5 minutes per week for 5 weeks. The control group (n=30) was asked not to begin any new stress management techniques during the 5 week period. The experimental group significantly improved their average PSS scores from pre to post (21 to 8.8) on the dependent t test (p=.002). This improvement (-12.2) was significantly better than the control group (+3.5) on the independent t test (p=000011) and Mann Whitney U test (p=0.000481). The experimental group significantly improved their average MOCS scores from pre to post (22.2 to 36.6) on the dependent t test (p=.018). This improvement (+14.4) was significantly better than the control group (+2) on the independent t test (p=.002) and Mann Whitney U test (p=.025). The TRE were effective in reducing stress in college students, supporting Berceli's previous research (2009), however, the results of the present study must be viewed with caution because of the small sample size.
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- Terror Management Theory's Effect on Athletic Performance
- This research examines the effects of terror management theory (TMT) and athletic performance. TMT states that humans defend themselves against the anxiety stemming from death awareness (mortality salience; MS) by investing in cultural worldviews, which often results in identification with similar others as well as harsh denigration of anyone with opposing views. I sought to investigate whether participants' athletic performance would be affected by mortality salience. Participants included varsity lacrosse players, varsity women soccer players, men soccer players, and a mixed population of undergraduate students. Each participant was asked to complete as many push-ups as they could and then asked to complete a self-esteem survey. They were then exposed to the mortality salience or control and then asked to repeat the push-up test. The goal was to determine if the participants exposed to the MS had a greater number of completed push-ups the second go around.