Ion Channel Permeation: Kinetic Modeling of Ion/Side-Chain Electrostatic Interactions in Native and Fluorinated Gramicidin Channels

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Adam S. Frost and Professor David D. Busath, Zoology Gramicidin A is a 15-amino acid peptide produced by several strains of the bacteria Bacillus brevis. The primary sequence of gramicidin A is HCO-L-Val-Gly-L-Ala-D-Leu-L-Ala-D-Val-LVal- D-Val-L-Trp-D-Leu-L-Trp-D-Leu-L-Trp-D-Leu-L-Trp-NHCH2CH2OH. The side-chains alternate chirality, with the odd-numbered residues having the usual L-chirality and the evennumbered residues having D-chirality. The alternating chirality of the […]

Three-Dimensional Time Line

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Michael Francom and Professor Brian Christensen, Visual Arts Time is a constant in our lives. We are completely wrapped up in its influence. We relate everything we do to this marching enigma. Its outward markings are day and night, equinox and solstice. What separates the present from the past or the future? How does the principle […]

Roots of the Spanish Enlightenment: ILUSTRACIÓN and the Fruits of Philip II’s Administrative Policy and Personal Ideology

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John Brandon Fowles and Dr. Alvin F. Sherman, Jr., Spanish and Portuguese The Ilustración, or Spanish Enlightenment, followed in the footsteps of the general European Enlightenment but with a decidedly national flare. Enlightened thinkers in Spain, no less interested in neoclassical motifs than their European forerunners, also looked back to periods of Spanish history that […]

Cytotoxic Activity of Euphorbia Polycarpa

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Larry C. Ford and Drs. Noel L. Owen, Chemistry and Biochemistry and Steven G. Wood, Chemistry and Biochemistry With antimicrobial resistance on the rise, research is turning more and more to natural sources for medicinal products (the original source, ironically, for most known antimicrobials). Under the aegis of the Natural Product Center here on campus, […]

The Modern Relevance of Natural Law Considered from an Epistemological Perspective: Taking Up the Challenge of Foucault and the Poststructuralists

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Robert David Hunter Floyd and Dr. Kelly D. Patterson, Political Science This two-year project, undertaken with the aid of ORCA funding, is preceding both on schedule and in many ways better than expected. The support provided in the grant has allowed me to dedicate considerable time and energy to a topic which requires me to […]

Chemical and Taxonomic Analysis of Archaeological Soils of Piedras Negras, Guatemala

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Fabián G. Fernández and Dr. Richard E. Terry, Agronomy and Horticulture New research techniques used in other fields such as agronomy, geophysics, geochemistry, etc. are used by archaeologists at the present time. These techniques have the potential to give useful information about ancient human activities. The chemical and taxonomic analysis of soils can be a […]

Examination of Material Flow Characteristics in Friction Stir Welding

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S. James Felsted and Dr. Tracy W. Nelson, Mechanical Engineering Friction Stir Welding is a solid state joining process that makes possible the joining of materials that were previously difficult or impossible to weld. A closer examination of friction stir welding shows that welding occurs because of mechanical mixing, frictional heating, and forging. Welds are […]

The Test Re-test Reliability and Criterion Validity for the YOQ Self-Report Version

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Stephen Thomas Ewing and Dr. Gawain Wells, Psychology The Youth Outcome Questionnaire Self Report (YOQ S-R) is a new psychological measure for adolescents. It is designed to track how an adolescent feels that he or she may be changing in mental health treatment. In order to do that, we took a sample of adolescents from […]

Induction of a Novel Form of Cyclooxygenase by Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs

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Nathan K. Evanson and Dr. Daniel L. Simmons, Chemistry and Biochemistry For many years, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been used to treat pain, fever, and inflammation. The analgesic, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory effects of these drugs have been attributed to the ability of these drugs to inhibit the activity of cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes1. COX enzymes […]