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Sigma Xi Abstracts 2005
Sigma Xi 2005 Student Research Poster Symposium Abstracts University of Mississippi E.F. Yerby Center 14 April 2005 The University of Mississippi Chapter of Sigma Xi Sponsored by: The Office of Research & Sponsored Programs, The Graduate School, The American Chemical Society, Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, American Association of University Women Student Poster Symposium April 14, 2005 E.F. Yerby Center Schedule of events: 2 - 4 PM Poster judging 5:30 PM Poster Awards Ceremony (barksdale-Isom House) 1003 Jefferson Ave. Index of Abstracts Biological Sciences 5 Chemical Sciences 9 Earth & Atmospheric Sciences 13 Engineering Sciences I 16 Engineering Sciences II 19 Author Asem Al-Zoubi Erick Bourassa Dale O Bowman Naresh K Budhavaram Nishchal Chaudhary Amit Chaudhary Darleen Dempster Marwa Donia Dalia Elsherbeni Adel Elsohly Islam A. Eshrah Hongman Gao Benson Gathitu Braja D. Ghosh Ravi Goyal Clark Griffith Sarah Hinman Manish Hiranandani Brian W. Hopkins A. K. M. Azad Hossain Wei Huang Kapil Inamdar Ashutosh Jha Lisa Jordan Surinder Kaur Sean King Victor Klymko Ranjita Kokje Robbie Kröger Zach Leblanc Jiangping Liu Wei Liu Chye Hwa Loo Engineering Sciences III Health Sciences I Health Sciences II Math & Computer Sciences Social Sciences Category Engineering II Health Sciences Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Health Sciences II Engineering II Health Sciences Social Sciences Health Sciences Engineering II Chemical Sciences Engineering II Social Sciences Engineering I Chemical Sciences Biological & Health Sciences Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Biological Sciences Engineering II Chemical Sciences Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Engineering II Chemical Sciences Engineering I Math & Computer Sciences Biological Sciences Social Sciences Engineering III Biological Sciences Biological Sciences Biological Sciences Health Sciences II Math & Computer Sciences Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Poster # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 & 14 15 16 & 17 18 19 20 21 22 & 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 & 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 23 27 31 34 36 Author Kyle F. Lott Jake R. Marquess Praveen K. Mididoddi Said Mikki Henrique Momm Manish Munjal Benita Myles Shakirat O. Oyetunji Ghanshyam Pal Rahul S.Patel Jignesh Patel Amit S. Patel Sri Harsha Pulijala Honghai QI Ravi Sadasivan Ramakrishna Samudrala Rohit Sammeta Mohamed Al Sharkawy Tao Shi Harry Anton Speaker Tezeswi Tadepalli Nakul Telang Sridhar Thumma Trisha Vickrey Shaolong Wan Lei Wang Xueqing Wang Heather E. Webb Suxiang Wei Abby J. Weldon Wei-Chung Weng Erin Williams Xuan Hui Wu Lance D Yarbrough Yizhe Zhang Guiping Zheng Shiqian Zhu Category Chemical Sciences Biological Sciences Health Sciences II Engineering III Math & Computer Sciences Health Sciences II Health Sciences Health Sciences Engineering II Chemical Sciences Engineering II Social Sciences Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Social Sciences Chemical Sciences Engineering III Engineering III Engineering III Health Sciences Math & Computer Sciences Health Sciences II Health Sciences II Chemical Sciences Engineering I Chemical Sciences Biological Sciences Health Sciences Engineering I Chemical Sciences Engineering III Health Sciences Engineering III Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Engineering III Engineering III Biological Sciences Poster # 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 & 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 Directions to the Barksdale-Isom House: Go North of the Square on Lamar, turn Left at the first stop light (Jefferson) beside the Chevron Station. Go to the 2nd house past Oxford Floral (Right side). You may park behind the Chevron station. Biological Sciences Biological Sciences 16 FLA 365 AS AN INHIBITOR OF RYANODINE BUT NOT INSP3 RECEPTORS IN ARTERIAL SMOOTH MUSCLE R. Goyal, O. Ostrovskaya, C. McAllister, I.N. Pessah, J.R. Hume, & S.M. Wilson. Department of Pharmacology University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy Department of Pharmacology, University of Nevada School of Medicine, Reno Department of Molecular Biosciences and Center for Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention, University of California, Davis Ryanodine receptors (RyR) and InsP3 receptors (InsP3R) are Ca2+ permeable ion channels on the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) in smooth muscle. Ryanodine (RY) is a highly selective RyR blocker, but RY binding is dependent on RyR opening. In whole-cell studies, RY binding will likely lock the RyR in an open-conductance state, which short-circuits the SR. This is a shortcoming when studying InsP3R activity in isolation. Other RyR blockers, such as ruthenium red, have non-selective effects, which also limit their utility. FLA 365 ([2,6-dichloro-4-dimethyl-aminophenyl] isopropylamine) blocks RyR elicited Ca2+ increases in skeletal and cardiac muscle, yet its actions on smooth muscle are unknown. Canine pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) express both RyRs and InsP3Rs; thus, we tested the ability of FLA 365 (FLA) to block RyR and InsP3R elicited Ca2+ release by imaging fura-2 loaded PASMCs. Acute exposure to 10 mM caffeine (CAF), a selective RyR activator, induced substantial Ca2+ increases that were reduced in a dose dependent manner by FLA, which did not alter basal Ca2+ on its own. Moreover, following FLA washout, CAF elicited Ca2+ increases equivalent to control levels. As FLA is a chlorinated phenylalkylamine it is likely to inhibit L-type Ca2+ channels on the plasma membrane. Thus, the efficacy of FLA to inhibit Ca2+ responses was compared to that of verapamil and Nifedipine, two L-type Ca2+ channel inhibitors. The activity of FLA was also tested against serotoninelicited InsP3R mediated Ca2+ release. Serotonin induced Ca2+ increases were of equivalent amplitude in the absence or presence of FLA. Thus, FLA reversibly blocks RyRs with limited impact on InsP3Rs in PASMCs. NIH P20RR15518 from NCRR (JRH), HL49254 (JRH), PO1ES11269 (INP), 2PO AR17605 (INP), HL10476 (SMW), AI55462 (SMW) 19 CHANGES IN PLANT SPECIES COMPOSITION IN RESTORED WET PINE SAVANNAS FOLLOWING A FIRE FREQUENCY REDUCTION Sarah Hinman and Steve Brewer, Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, University, MS Frequent fires are necessary to maintain plant species diversity in restored longleaf pine ecosystems. But what happens when reductions in fire frequency are allowed to occur following restoration? Which species are lost or gained and why? We present preliminary results of a study of plant species composition and diversity in two wet pine savannas in southeast Mississippi. In 1997, two 20 x 50 m plots, each containing 16, 0.5 x 0.5 m subplots were established at different sites. Sites had been burned once every three years since the early 1980s. Presence-absence was measured in plots and subplots established in grass-sedge-pitcher plant-dominated areas at each site. Since 1997, neither site has been burned and beginning in the Fall 2003, we recensused the plots and subplots and have analyzed changes in species composition using blocked Multi-Response Permutation Procedures. In addition, we used Indicator Species Analysis to identify which species were lost or gained between 1997 and 2003. Plant species composition changed and species richness declined significantly within the subplots. Most of this change could be attributed to the loss of Drosera capillaris, Scleria reticularis, Rhexia spp., Lycopodium spp., Andropogon spp., and a couple of rare species. Only Pinus elliottii increased significantly (and all additions were as seedlings). No significant additions of any shrub species occurred due to a lack of suitable perches for dispersal vectors. The study is ongoing and plots and subplots will be recensused after a scheduled fire to determine which species reappear following fire and what if any traits are shared by plants that are sensitive to reductions in fire frequency. Biological Sciences 28 ANGIOTENSIN II TYPE 2 RECEPTOR GENE TRANSFER INTO THE HYPOTHALAMUS OF THE RAT S.Kaur1, B. Falcon2, C. Sumners2, M. Raizada2, R. Speth1. 1Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677; 2Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610 Angiotensin II mediates its effects via AT1 and AT2 receptors. A very high density of angiotensin II receptors occurs in paraventricular (PVH) and periventricular (PeVH) nuclei of the hypothalamus. PVH is important in the regulation of vasoconstriction, salt and fluid balance. The function of AT2 receptors (AT2R) in the brain is still unclear but may involve opposing the effects of AT1 receptors (AT1R). To circumvent the inherent problems associated with transgenic and knockout animals, we used a lentiviral vector to deliver the AT2R into the brain following natural embryonic development to test for possible antagonism of AT1R in the PVH. A high expression of AT2R was seen at the site of injection in lentiviral transduced rat brains. However the AT2R were expressed caudal to the PVH rather than in the PVH. None of the empty viral vector transduced rats displayed any AT2R binding in the vicinity of the PVH. There was no indication of a significant change in AT1R expression in the PVH in the AT2R transduced brains. This model could be used further in the study of functions of angiotensin receptors in the brain, with a specific focus on determining the interrelationship between AT1R and AT2R in the brain. 32 CENTRAL ACTIONS OF AMINOPEPTIDASE-RESISTANT ANGIOTENSIN II ANALOGS ON BLOOD PRESSURE IN THE RAT. Ranjita Kokje and Robert Speth. Department of Pharmacology, The University of Mississippi. Intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of bioactive peptides of the renin-angiotensin system causes pronounced pressor and dipsogenic responses. Recent studies have suggested that angiotensin III (Ang III) rather than Ang II is the active angiotensin in the brain (Reaux et al. Trend Endo Metab. 2001, 12: 157). To explore this issue we synthesized and examined a variety of Ang II agonist ligands substituted in the one position to confer aminopeptidase-resistance, thus preventing their conversion to Ang III; NMethyl-L-Asp1-Ang II, Beta-D-Asp1-Ang II, Beta-L-Asp1-Ang II, D-Ala Ang II, or with an additional N terminal aminopeptidase-resistant amino acid; Sar0-Ang II, and compared their actions with Ang II. All angiotensins were given ICV, 100 pmol in 2 L, via a stainless steel 22 gauge guide cannula (Plastics One, Roanoke, VA) placed 1 mm above the lateral ventricle at –1 mm from Bregma, and 1.5 mm lateral. Their ability to cause pressor responses in adult Sprague-Dawley rats implanted with abdominal aortic telemetric pressure transducers (DSI Inc., Arden Hills, MN) was monitored. A water bottle was present during the angiotensin administration, but was removed immediately upon observation of a dipsogenic response. ICV administration of 100 pmol of Ang II increased blood pressure by 18.4±1.4 mm Hg. The aminopeptidase-resistant analogs increased blood pressure by 17.8 to 22.6 mm Hg, and did not differ significantly from paired administrations of Ang II. The pressor response occurred with short latency and there was no apparent difference in the latency of the pressor response among any of the angiotensins. Of note, the pressor response preceded the dipsogenic response. This data suggests that conversion of Ang II to Ang III is not the mandatory to cause pressor responses when administered centrally. However, verification of the in-vivo aminopeptidase-resistance of these angiotensin analogs in the brain must be documented. Biological Sciences 33 DUPLICITY OF WETLAND PLANTS IN NUTRIENT FLUX WITHIN AGRICULTURAL DRAINAGE DITCHES Kröger, R., Holland, M.M. Department of Biology, University of Mississippi Moore, M.T., Cooper, C.M. USDA - ARS, National Sedimentation Laboratory Agriculture drainage ditches are primary intercept wetlands in amelioration of nutrient pollution from agricultural fields. Amelioration of nutrient pollution in the Mississippi watershed has wide reaching consequences on receiving waters and possible implications for aquatic community structure and Gulf of Mexico hypoxia. Drainage ditches, as integral components of the agricultural landscape, remove surface run-off and act as major conduits of nutrients from agricultural lands to receiving waters. These ditches support numerous species of wetland plants, providing additional surface area for microbial interactions as well as acting in a small, yet important assimilatory capacity. However, in some species their assimilatory function is negated in winter with seasonal die-back and the release of assimilated nutrients into the system. We tested the hypotheses of luxury uptake whereby plants given the opportunity will firstly assimilate higher concentrations of nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, and whether with subsequent decomposition these concentrations are released back into the water column. Given the opportunity Leersia oryzoides, a dominant ditch plant species, assimilated significantly higher concentrations of nitrogen (p < 0.05) and phosphorus (p < 0.001) in aboveground biomass. The senescence of aboveground biomass yielded significantly higher levels of phosphorus (+ 5.2 mg/l) and for longer periods of time. However, there were no significant differences in nitrate (+ 0.9 mg/l) and nitrite (+ 0.01 mg/l) levels which suggests that denitrification and microbial processes were removing these products from the system. Using L.oryzoides as a model it appears that the assimilatory role of wetland plants is negated in environments where seasonal dieback re-releases nutrients back into the system. 34 ENGINEERING GENETIC NETWORKS TO MEASURE REAL TIME REPRESSION BY LAMBDA CRO IN VIVO Zach Leblanc, Yin Gu & Michael Mossing. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The University of Mississippi. The field of systems biology seeks to engineer systems within living organisms in order to explore specific dynamic properties as they act in vivo. Cellular activities have been proven to be regulated by a range of DNA binding proteins that bind to specific sequences that shut transcription on or off. Certain phage and bacterial repressor proteins were among the first of these DNA binding proteins to be characterized structurally and functionally. The demand for study of key steps in regulation of protein expression, folding, and repression has created multiple studies into systems of varying complexity. The data in this report explores the lambda system, and more specifically the kinetics of repressor protein, Cro. The network of regulatory proteins and DNA sites that control a simple developmental switch in bacteriophage lambda have been extensively studied and modeled mathematically. Previous work in our laboratory has shown folding of Cro is very slow in vitro, and this phenomenon has not been included in models to date. We aim to measure the time of Cro folding and repression in vivo. In order to examine the kinetic properties of the Cro protein, green fluorescent protein is fused to a promoter engineered with PR for Cro binding and under the control of lactose repressor. Several strains of bacteria have been engineered containing the lactose repressor, green fluorescent protein that is under the regulation of LacR and Cro, and optionally variants of Cro. Initially GFP and Cro are expressed at a low level. After addition of IPTG, a compound that inactivates LacR, GFP accumulates and the fluorescence of the cell increases. In strains that contain the Cro gene, GFP accumulation is halted after enough active Cro has accumulated to repress transcription of GFP. Several Cro variants have been investigated. Initial observations of fluorescence spectra and induction kinetics of living bacterial cultures will be reported. Biological Sciences 39 THE EFFECT ON NATIVE ANT BIODIVERSITY IN NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI BY THE BLACK IMPORTED FIRE ANT (Solenopsis richteri) Jake R. Marquess and James B. Anderson At the University of Mississippi Field Station, we investigated the effect on native ant biodiversity by the black imported fire ant, Solenopsis richteri. This invasive species, a congener of the more widespread Solenopsis invicta, is now limited to a range of Northern Mississippi, NW Alabama and Southern Tennessee. The UMFS, located in Holly Springs National Forest, provides an excellent opportunity to investigate its ecological role. The objective of this study is to provide a quantitative understanding of the biodiversity of native and imported ants in distinctly different ecological settings (disturbed vs. climax communities) over an entire season (Spring to Fall). Four sites were utilized to compare differences in ant biodiversity (2 disturbed and 2 climax or undisturbed). Sites were sampled every two weeks utilizing pitfall traps and baiting. Species richness, diversity and abundance were compared between samples collected in disturbed or undisturbed areas. Ant biodiversity is not higher in undisturbed areas, but S. richteri is more abundant in disturbed or man made habitats. Ecologically, S. richteri possesses many of the biological properties of a weed and is adapted to opportunistic exploitation of disturbed habitats. A greater understanding of its niche within the native ant fauna is necessary to understanding how to control and limit subsequent infestations. 65 ETHANOL PERTURBS ALCOHOL DEHYDROGENASE ENZYME EXPRESSION IN JAPANESE MEDAKA EMBRYO Xueqing Wang, Mary L. Haasch, Asok K. Dasmahapatra Environmental Toxicology Research Program, National Center for Natural Product Research, Department of Pharmacology, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Mississippi, University, MS. Ethanol is well-known as a developmental toxicant; however, the molecular mechanism(s) of this toxicity remains unclear. We have used Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) development as a model system to determine any potential association between ethanol metabolism and ethanol-mediated developmental toxicity. Like all other vertebrates, alcohol metabolism in medaka was initiated by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). Previously, we cloned two full-length cDNAs encoding ADHs from the liver tissue of adult medaka. Phylogenetic analysis and computer modeling of the deduced amino acid sequence data identified one of them as an orthologue of mammalian Adh5 and the other as an orthologue of zebrafish Adh8. To further characterize the ADH function, we have recombinantly expressed both ADH5 and ADH8 proteins of medaka in a bacterial system. Initial studies showed that each of the recombinant proteins metabolize alcohol with different affinity. To study the effect of ethanol in regulation of ADH5 and ADH8 protein and mRNA expression during embryonic development of medaka, fertilized eggs were exposed to waterborne ethanol concentrations of 100 and 400 mM for the first two days of development and sacrificed in ovo at 2, 4, and 6 day post fertilization and also after hatching. Adh5 and Adh8 mRNAs expression were separately determined by quantitative real-time RT-PCR and the proteins activities determined enzymatically. The results indicate that both Adh5 and Adh8 mRNA expression remains unaltered at all the developmental time points tested; however both ADH5 and ADH8 enzyme activities of the embryos treated with 400 mM ethanol were reduced significantly compared to controls at day 6 of development and after hatching. The results indicate that ethanol may modulate ADH protein activity in Japanese medaka during embryonic development, resulting in alterations in ethanol metabolism and toxicity. Further research is in progress. Biological Sciences 75 INDUCTION OF CYP2M1- AND CYP2K1-LIKE PROTEINS IN MALE FATHEAD MINNOWS BY NANOMATERIALS Shiqian Zhu1, Eva Oberdörster2, and Mary L. Haasch1. Environmental Toxicology Research Program, National Center for Natural Products Research, Pharmacology Department, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS. 386771; Duke Marine Lab, Beaufort, NC and Southern Methodist University, Department of Biological Sciences, Dallas, TX2 Nanomaterials, which are by definition in the 1 - 100 nanometer range, have novel physical/chemical properties and functions due to their advantageous, miniscule size. Despite a now widespread application, there is a serious lack of information concerning the human health and environmental implications of manufactured nanomaterials. There are limited studies available on the toxicity of nanomaterials. The focus of this project was a preliminary study of the induction of cytochrome P450s by nanomaterials in an animal model. Male fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) were exposed to water-soluble fullerene (nC60), or peptide coated (to increase bioavailability) or uncoated Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNT) with the following 48 hr treatments: 1) control (reconstituted hard water; RHW), 2) 0.2 ppm nano-1 peptide, 3) 0.2 ppm nano-1 peptide-wrapped SWCNT, 4) 0.2 ppm un-coated SWCNT and 5) 0.5 ppm nC60. Although individual variability was high, after logarithm transformation of these data, statistically significant increases of CYP2K1- and one CYP2M1-like protein were observed after exposure to nC60 and peptide. Both of these protein levels also showed qualitative increasing trends compared with control, after exposure to un-coated and wrapped SWCNT. Another CYP2M1-like protein was not significantly increased in any of the exposures when compared to control. These results indicate that exposure of nanomaterials may induce CYP2K1- and CYP2M1-like proteins in fish, implying that oxidative stress or possibly tissue damage or repair is involved in the response to nanomaterials exposure. Further investigations on the mechanisms involved in these changes in protein expression will provide a better understanding of the toxicity of nanomaterials as well as providing information for evaluating the risk to aquatic organisms exposed to manufactured nanomaterials. (Supported by the Environmental Toxicology Research Program, National Center for Natural Products Research, University of Mississippi) Chemical Sciences 10 EXPERIMENTAL AND COMPUTATIONAL STUDIES OF PERFLUOROCYCLOALKANES (cCnF2n, n=3-5) AND THEIR STABLE NEGATIVE ANIONS Adel Elsohly & Gregory S. Tschumper Perfluorocycloalkanes (c-CnF2n, n=3-5) are common compounds used in the manufacture of integrated circuits. Thus, the electronic ground states of their anions are of practical importance. In order to definitively determine the electronic states of the anionic species of these cyclic structures, quantum chemical calculations (B3LYP and MP2) were performed in conjunction with experimental ESR spectroscopy. It was determined that the perfluorocyclopropane anion adopts a D3h geometry and a 2A2" ground electronic state. The perfluorocyclobutane adopts a D4h geometry and a 2A2u ground electronic state. Finally, the perfluorocyclopentane anion adopts a Cs structure and a 2A' electronic state. The highest level calculations were found to be within 1% of the a(19F) experimentally determined values. Chemical Sciences 15 CONDUCTIVITY DEPENDENCE OF PEG CONTENT IN AN ANHYDROUS PROTON CONDUCTING ELECTROLYTE Braja D. Ghosh & Jason E. Ritchie Proton conducting polymer electrolytes have important applications in electrochemical devices such as fuel cells and electrochromic displays. We have prepared anhydrous proton conducting electrolytes composed of mixtures of a MePEGnSO3H acid and a sol-gel based MePEGn polymer. Our goal is to gain a fundamental understanding of the mechanism of anhydrous proton conductivity in our MePEG polymer. We have shown that H+ transport is dependant on the volume fraction of polyethylene glycol (PEG) present and that the Grotthus mechanism of H+ transport dominates at low acid concentrations. Here the molar equivalent conductivity of the MePEGnSO3H acid is linearly correlated with the inverse of volume fraction (Vf) of PEG. This indicates that volume fraction of PEG is a strong factor controlling the conductivity in these solutions of acid and polymer. In addition, the dependence on the concentration of PEG supports the Grotthus mechanism of conductivity. More over the lack of a dependence of equivalent conductivity on the size of the MePEGnSO3H acid, indicates no contribution from the vehicle mechanism. 21 THE CYANOGEN DIMER POTENTIAL ENERGY SURFACE: A NEW PROTOTYPE DELOCALIZED PI--PI INTERACTING SYSTEM Brian W. Hopkins & Gregory S. Tschumper Cyanogen dimer is one of the smallest closed-shell, neutral prototype systems exhibiting significant pi--pi interactions with binding properties similar to those observed in the benzene dimer (i.e., large contributions from connected triple excitations). With only eight atoms and generally high symmetry, this small complex can be studied in much more detail than the dimer of benzene. This poster will present a thorough examination of the cyanogen dimer potential surface. Six stationary points have been identified on the dimer potential surface. These include linear, crossed, parallel displaced, rectangular, T-shaped, and Y-shaped geometries. In addition, the effects of electron correlation, basis set, and counterpoise correction on the interaction energy, optimized geometry, and nature of the stationary points are examined in detail. 25 USE OF A CATIONIC SURFACTANT TO MODIFY THE SURFACE CHARACTERISTICS OF HEMP FIBERS FOR USE IN POLYMERIC COMPOSITES Kapil Inamdar, Ellen Lackey (Department of Mechanical Engineering) & John O’Haver (Department on Chemical Engineering) The aim of this study is to examine the nature of hemp fibers in order to change their nature, through the use of surfactant solutions, from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. The compatibility of fibers with polymeric resins in a composite depends on several factors, including the roughness of the fiber. Rough surfaces increase the number of anchor points and offer good fiber-resin mechanical interlocking. It is highly imperative that the fiber-matrix interface be compatible for good adhesion between the two thus resulting in improved mechanical properties of the composite. Natural fibers by nature are hydrophilic (due to the presence of cellulose) while polymeric resins are hydrophobic. This tends to result in poor interfacial properties for the composite material. The -OH groups in the natural fibers form bonds with water molecules on their exposure to moisture in the atmosphere, thus making it difficult for the resin molecules to penetrate the crystalline fiber structure and interact strongly with it. For better compatibility between the fibers and the matrix, different treatments can be employed that remove the surface impurities and the -OH groups in addition to swelling the crystalline region for better resin penetration into the fiber structure. This study employs high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques to study the effect of surfactant adsorption on untreated hemp fibers at varying surfactant concentrations and treatment times. Chemical Sciences 38 MEASUREMENT OF THE ANION MOBILITY IN AN H+ CONDUCTING ELECTROLYTE Kyle F. Lott & Jason E. Ritchie Proton conducting polymer electrolytes have important electrochemical applications in devices such as fuel cells and electrochromic displays. Our goal is to understand the mechanism(s) of proton transport in these materials. We hypothesize that the electrochemical behavior of these ions will depend in large part on the volume fraction (Vf) of PEG present in each system. To test this hypothesis, we have prepared low concentration mixtures of our MePEG polymer (MePEGnO(CH2)3SiO3)n and a redox polyether hybrid melt: [Co(bipy)3+2](MePEG7SO3-). Here, we are able to independantly measure the diffusion coefficient of the Co(bipy)3 cation and the ionic conductivity of the mixture. Then, we use the Nernst-Einstein equation to calculate the diffusion coefficient of the anions MePEGnSO3-. We then apply this anion diffusion coefficient to mixtures of the MePEG polymer and our MePEG7SO3H acid to determine the diffusion coefficient of H+ ions in our MePEG polymer. 47 IMPROVED SYNTHESIS OF 1,19-DIBROMO-9-NONADECANONE Rahul S.Patel & Daniell L.Mattern In this abstract, we have directed our efforts towards an improved synthesis of 1,19-Dibromo-9nonadecanone via TiCl4 mediated Claisen condensation in presence of a base at low temperatures. This will be used to synthesize disulfide substituted swallowtail groups attached to perylenetetracarboxylic bisimides to be used as electrical rectifiers. 54 SYNTHESIS OF NON-SYMMETRICALLY SUBSTITUTED PERYLENETETRACARBOXYLIC BISIMIDES WITH PEG SWALLOWTAILS Ramakrishna Samudrala & Daniell L. Mattern Non-symmetrically substituted perylenetetracarboxylic bisimides, which may serve as molecular rectifiers of electricity, were synthesized with pyrenemethyl, pyrenebutyl or phenylethyl groups connected to one imide nitrogen and the 10-(2,5,8,12,15,18-hexaoxanonadecyl) group, serving as polyethylene-glycol (PEG) swallowtail, connected to the other imide nitrogen. The 2,5,8,12,15,18-hexaoxa-10nonadecanamine (swallow tail) was prepared by protecting serinol’s nitrogen with benzyl protecting groups and then attaching 2-methoxyethoxyethyltosylates to the alcoholic oxygens, followed by deprotection of the benzyl groups. These non-symmetric bisimides were soluble in organic solvents like CHCl3, but insoluble in water. 62 PARTIAL SYNTHESIS OF THE ACETYL ANALOG OF ACARNIDINE Trisha Vickrey & Daniell L. Mattern Acarnidine is a homospermidine derivative isolated from the sponge Acarnus erithacus. Acarnidine consists of guanidine and dimethylacrylamide side groups and a twelve carbon fatty acyl chain, attached to the homospermindine central nitrogen. These groups are thought to contribute to acarnidine’s antifungal, antiviral and antibacterial properties. The total synthesis of acarnidine and its fatty acyl analogs, each containing different saturation levels and chain length, will allow the most biologically responsive analog to be determined through bioassay. A partial synthesis of the acetyl analog of acarnidine has progressed to an intermediate containing a dimethylacrylamide group, a t-Boc protecting group attached to the central nitrogen, and a hydroxyl group, which will be converted to guanidine via a tosylate intermediate. The attachment of the tosylate has been attempted; however, it has not been successful due to possible loss of the t-Boc group and subsequent cyclization. Chemical Sciences 64 SINGLE CHAIN CRO-DNA BINDING KINETICS BY FLUORESCENCE RESONANCE ENERGY TRANSFER Lei Wang, Haifeng Jia and Michael C. Mossing; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677 Bacteriophage lambda Cro repressor binds to DNA as a dimer. The overall affinity of Cro repressor for its operator DNA is limited by dimer dissociation at submicromolar concentrations. Kinetics of the Crooperator DNA interactions can be monitored by Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET). Unique cysteine residue C3-H6-Cro was covalently modified with donor fluorophore 5-iodoacetamidofluorescein (IAF), which transferred energy to the acceptor Rhodamine labeled OR3 when they were mixed. Since Cro dimer-DNA complexes form at nanomolar concentrations of Cro subunits where the free protein is mostly monomeric, these dimers must assemble before binding DNA. The kinetics of DNA binding by C3-H6-Cro is very slow. In contrast, Single-chain lambda Cro repressors that skip the slow assembly bind very rapidly. Stopped-flow techniques were used to follow the fast kinetics. Previous study has shown that dimer assembly from the unfolded state was limited by slow proline isomerization (Satumba and Mossing, 2002). Proline replacements in the single chain dimers result in stable, fast folding proteins that are active repressors in vivo. In the future, FRET experiments will be carried out to study the binding affinities of the proline-mutant single chain proteins to operator DNA. 68 INTRINSIC CONFORMATIONAL PREFERENCES OF SUBSTITUTED CYCLOHEXANES AND TETRAHYDROPYRANS EVALUATED AT THE CCSD(T) COMPLETE BASIS SET LIMIT: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ANOMERIC EFFECT Abby Jones Weldon and Gregory S. Tschumper, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Mississippi, MS 38677 A series of MP2 and CCSD(T) computations have been carried out with correlation consistent basis sets (cc-pVXZ and aug-cc-pVXZ where X = D-5) to determine the intrinsic equatorial/axial conformational preference of CH3, F, OCH3, and OH substituted cyclohexane and tetrahydropyran rings. At the CCSD(T) complete basis set (CBS) limit the equatorial conformation is strongly favored in CBS methylcyclohexane and 2-methyltetrahydropyran ( ∆E CCSD (T ) = -1.75 and -2.83 kcal/mol, respectively). CBS The equatorial preference of the other substituents is far less pronounced. ∆E CCSD (T ) is only -0.56 kcal/mol in hydroxycyclohexane while the equatorial and axial conformers of fluorocyclohexane and CBS methoxycyclohexane are nearly electronically isoenergetic ( ∆ECCSD (T ) = -0.20 and -0.21 kcal/mol, respectively). The anomeric effect (AE) induces an axial preference in 2-fluoro, 2-methoxy, and 2CBS hyroxytetrahydropyran for which ∆E CCSD (T ) = +2.45, +1.27, and +0.86 kcal/mol, respectively. For all eight cyclic species, a zero-point vibrational energy correction decreases E by a few tenths of a kcal/mol. These benchmark data indicate that Hatree-Fock (HF) theory and the B3LYP density functional cannot reliably predict the relative equatorial and axial electronic energies of these cyclic prototypes for the AE. Even with the massive pentuple- basis sets, these two popular methods substantially overestimate the stability of the equatorial conformers. Only because of a fortuitous cancellation of errors do the HF and B3LYP methods sometimes provide reasonable estimates of the AE. The high-accuracy relative electronic energies reported here shed new light on the intrinsic energetics of this important stereoelectronic phenomenon. Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Earth & Atmospheric Sciences 3 FLOW DIMENSION ANALYSIS OF PUMPING TESTS IN GEOMETRIC AND RANDOM FIELDS Dale O. Bowman II, Robert M. Holt, and Randall M. Roberts The generalized radial flow approach is increasingly used to interpret hydraulic tests. The flow dimension of a hydraulic test can be estimated directly from the second derivative of pumping test drawdown versus log time. Previous studies have shown that flow dimension can be described as the change in cross-sectional area of flow and radial distance from the borehole. Using this relationship, we have developed a simple algorithm that generates geometries that correspond to arbitrary flow dimensions. We validated this approach using numerical pumping test simulations in fields mirroring the geometries coupled with curve fitting methods. Our results establish a direct link between physical heterogeneity and flow-dimension. To illustrate the usefulness of flow-dimension for interpreting information about heterogeneity, we simulated pumping tests in spatially correlated random fields. We noted significant changes in flow dimension when the advancing drawdown front encountered strong, contrasting heterogeneities. Using data from randomly located pumping wells, it may be possible to characterize the correlation length of the heterogeneous system. We believe flow dimension can be used with geologically-based conceptual hydrologic models to constrain heterogeneity characteristics in real aquifers. 18 DEFINING THE SPATIAL STRUCTURE OF SEDIMENTARY INTERBEDS WITHIN BASALT AT THE IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORY VADOSE ZONE RESEARCH PARK Griffith, C1, Holt, R M1, Baker, K 2, McLing, T2, & Schafer, A2. 1University of Mississippi Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, 118 Carrier Hall , University, MS 38677 United States, 2Idaho National Laboratory, PO Box 1625, Idaho Falls, ID 83415-2107 United States The Vadose Zone Research Park (VZRP) is a multidisciplinary field research center located at the Idaho National Laboratory. The VZRP vadose zone consists of variably fractured interfingering basalt flows intercalated with sedimentary interbeds. Recent field studies at the VZRP have shown that sedimentary interbeds intercept, attenuate, and laterally redistribute preferential flow in the basalts. Although geologic data on the spatial location of sedimentary interbeds is sparse at the VZRP (33 boreholes), a nearby site, Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC), has sufficient geologic data (95 boreholes) for geostatistical characterization of sedimentary interbeds. Our objective is to determine if INTEC can be used as a geostatistical analog for the VZRP. Indicator variograms of INTEC interbeds show clear anisotropic spatial structure in the horizontal plane, while variograms at the VZRP show a nugget effect. Vertical variograms from both locations compare well. Using subsets of the INTEC data, we evaluate the uncertainty in the VZRP variograms due to a limited number of sampling locations. Our results suggest that indicator geostatistics for sedimentary interbeds at INTEC are an analog for the VZRP. 22 HYPERSPECTRAL REMOTE SENSING FOR LEVEE SLIDE PREDICTION A. K. M. Azad Hossain & Greg Easson Shallow surficial failures or slides occur in the Mississippi River Levee System. Currently no tool or method is available to predict the location of slides before they occur. Studies of the mechanisms of the slides suggest that probable slide affected areas would be characterized by stressed or anomalous vegetation. High resolution hyperspectral Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager II (CASI II) imagery was analyzed for selected levee sites in association with slide inventory data and field observations. Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI), Red-edge Vegetation Stress Index (RVSI) and Red Edge Position Index (REP) were calculated using the CASI II imagery. The vegetation index images were used to locate stressed vegetation and predict levee slides. The prediction potential of the vegetation indices were evaluated by semi-variogram analysis. The statistical significance of the predictors was determined by logistic regression. Index images were classified into two classes, potential slide and not potential slide areas to develop slide prediction models. Models were developed using single predictors and combination of predictors. Percentage of Search Area Reduction (PSAR) and Failure Index (FI) were used to evaluate the performance of the slide prediction models. Earth & Atmospheric Sciences 37 ELECTROMAGNETIC SCATTERING BY BURIED DIELECTRIC INFINITELY EXTENDED CYLINDER IN A GROUND PLANE Chye Hwa Loo and Atef. Z. Elsherbeni, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Mississippi An analytic solution for the problem of electromagnetic scattering by an infinitely extended dielectric cylindrical scatterer buried in, an infinite perfectly conducting ground plane is formulated using the solution for cylinder inside a large eccentric sphere with radius approaching infinity. The scattered field coefficients are solved exactly so that the scattered field can be calculated as a function of the cylinder radius, permittivity and ground depth for any specified angle of incidence. The solution of this problem is relevant to analyze the scattering by complex 2-dimensional bodies and as the precursor to 3-dimensional scattering problem for the detection of hidden objects such as land mines, sinkholes, etc., in which the flat background can be modeled by the ground plane while the complex body can be simulated by a sphere or a system of spheres buried in the ground plane. 50 MODELING THE IMPACT OF SUBSURFACE DRAINAGE ON PESTICIDE LOSS TO ADJACENT STREAMS S.H. Pulijala, G.A. Fox , G.J. Sabbagh Concerns exist about the rapid transport of pesticides from the soil surface and into subsurface drains. The United States Environmental Protection Agency utilizes a field-scale model that does not explicitly simulate subsurface drainage. Some have suggested the adoption of more sophisticated models, such as the Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM), which is capable of simulating both runoff and subsurface drainage. However, questions remain as to the differences in pesticide loss when comparing drained fields to non-drained fields. Also, what is the impact of modeling pesticide loss from a drained field with a model only capable of simulating runoff losses? In this research, RZWQM was applied to two pesticide transport field experiments with and without artificial subsurface drainage in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for data collected during the 1987 growing season during which metolachlor and atrazine were applied. The model was calibrated based on 1987-measured subsurface drainage and runoff from the subsurface drained field. RZWQM required minimal calibration of soil hydraulic parameters in matching observed drainage and runoff. Equivalent soil data were then used in a separate model for the adjacent non-drained field. Calibration to measured runoff required a 0.025 cm/hr water table leaching rate not previously simulated. RZWQM was evaluated based on pesticide losses in subsurface drain flow and runoff. For the drained plot, measurements and model predictions suggest greater percent loss of pesticide occurred in the non-drained field. Cumulative percent metolachlor and atrazine losses in terms of mass applied from the drained field were approximately 1.21% (0.15% in subsurface drain flow) and 1.44% (0.04% in subsurface drain flow). Measured and model predicted percent losses for the non-drained plot were approximately 2.8% and 2.6% for metolachlor and atrazine, respectively. Thirty-year (1961-1990) simulations with historic rainfall data were then performed assuming annual preemergent pesticide applications. Cumulative distributions suggested no significant difference between percent losses in drained versus non-drained plots over the 30-year simulations. Average percentage loss of metolachlor and atrazine in the drained plot were 3.4% and 2.6%, respectively, while average percent loss for the nondrained plot were 3.3% and 2.5%, respectively. Pesticide half-life as compared to the soil-organic carbon sorption coefficient influenced differences in pesticide loss between drained and non-drained fields. Earth & Atmospheric Sciences 51 FLOOD MANAGEMENT DECISION MAKING USING SPATIAL COMPROMISE PROGRAMMING WITH REMOTE SENSING AND CENSUS BLOCK INFORMATION Honghai Qi, M.S. Altinakar, Xinya Ying And Sam S.Y. Wang National Center For Computational Hydroscience And Engineering, The University Of Mississippi Flooding is a frequently occurring natural hazard which costs human hardship and economic loss. The selection of an optimal flood control management strategy from a number of potential alternatives requires a complex Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) technique, which takes into account all the decision criteria. Traditional MCDM approaches rank alternatives based on average criteria values over relatively large areas. They overlook the spatial variability of decision criteria and cannot address the issue of conflicting preferences of stakeholders. In the current practice, flood-control management studies are generally carried out using steady, one-dimensional numerical simulations. This approach does not give reliable information on water depths, velocities and arrival times. The present study introduces the use of Spatial Compromise Programming (SCP) technique for flood-control management decision making based on two-dimensional flood simulations with CCHE2D-FLOOD. SCP is a recently developed MCDM technique. In contrast to other MCDM approaches, SCP has the ability to rank alternatives based on distance metric values. In GIS environment, these values are spatially varied and measure how close an alternative is to the ideal solution for each specific location. Using this technique, a new toolbox has been developed within the framework of widely used GIS software, ArcGIS. This toolbox provides a user friendly interface to build various user-defined criteria, such as loss of life and economic damage, based on 2D hydrodynamic simulation results, classified Remote Sensing (RS) image, and other GIS feature layers. The SCP computations are carried out using map algebra. The final result is shown as a raster layer with indexes of alternatives having the smallest distance metric values. The uncertainty factors are also taken into account by using Monte Carlo method based on event tree analysis. The capabilities of the SCP toolbox are demonstrated by solving a test case concerning the evaluation and ranking of hypothetical flood control alternatives for 100-year flood of Oconee River near Milledgeville, GA. It is found that the SCP toolbox provides a highly versatile environment for spatial multi-criteria comparison of flood mitigation alternatives, and may greatly facilitate decision making process. The SCP toolbox can also be easily modified for use in a large variety of planning and management applications in sustainable development of water and land resources. 72 A COMPARISON OF AT-SENSOR RADIANCE AND REFLECTANCE BASED TASSELED CAP TRANSFORM FOR CHANGE DETECTION FOR THE ASTER SENSOR Lance D. Yarbrough, Greg Easson, & Joel S. Kuszmaul The Tasseled Cap Transform (TCT) was originally created for agricultural land investigations. It is a vegetative index commonly used as an indicator of vegetation health and assessing vegetation and land cover change. The nature of the TCT requires linear combinations specific to each sensor. Additionally, the varying units of the reported digital number (DN) require supplementary eigenvectors. TCTs were derived for the at-sensor radiance and at-sensor reflectance and compared using differing change detection application in Mississippi. The Tasseled Cap Soil Brightness Index (SBI) and the Greenness Vegetative Index (GVI) were conducted and evaluated. It was found that the at-sensor radiance based TCT was most useful in a change detection analysis. The desired spectral characteristics were well contrasted while the at-sensor reflectance based TCT tended to be less effective. Engineering Sciences I Engineering Sciences I 13 DESIGN OF REBURNING FUEL Benson Gathitu and Dr. Wei-Yin Chen Reburning is a three-stage combustion technology designed for the reduction of NO by introducing a small amount (20% of overall fuel consumption in the boiler) of reburning fuel aft of the primary flame where the majority of NO is chemically reduced to nitrogen. The unburned fuel is oxidized in the third stage, or the burnout zone. Pilot and full-scale demonstration research in the last three decades, however, seemed to suggest that reburning possesses a 60% NO reduction floor. Although NO can be effectively reduced in the reburning zone, nitrogen-containing reaction products from this second stage of the process are likely the precursors of NO production in the burnout zone, which ultimately leads to the observed NO reduction floor. Recent studies of heterogeneous reburning, i.e., reburning involving a coal-derived char, have revealed its variables, kinetics and mechanisms. This information renders it possible to design a highly efficient reburning fuel. Young chars derived from low rank coals, lignite and sub-bituminous coal contain catalysts that effectively reduce not only NO, but also HCN. Gaseous CO, a rich product of incomplete combustion in the reburning stage, effectively scavenges surface oxides and regenerates the carbon active sites on the char surface. A low cost, mixed fuel containing these multiple functions has been designed and tested in a simulated, bench-scale reburning apparatus. Methane is usually chosen as one of the components due to its ability to convert NO to HCN and for the speedy production of CO, which scavenges surface oxides. A second component is chosen mainly for effective HCN reduction, including: lignite char, lignite ashes, ashes of sub-bituminous coals, ashes from utility boilers, ashes from Bunsen burners, and others. Remarkably high efficiencies of NO and HCN have been observed; for instance, when methane and ashes from lignite-fired power plants are used, about 90% of NO is converted to species other than NO and HCN. Other low-cost fuels have also been tested and their reactivity in HCN conversion seem to be even better than for those mentioned above. Our quantifications of total fixed nitrogen (NO, HCN and NH3) suggest that, by careful design of a mixed fuel, reburning technology is likely to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulation of removing 85%, or up to 0.15 lb/million Btu, of NOx in a three-stage reburning process. A provisional patent application will be filed in the near future. 14 POST-COMBUSTION REDUCTION OF NITROGEN OXIDE FROM STATIONARY AND MOBILE SOURCES Benson Gathitu and Dr. Wei-Yin Chen Stationary and mobile combustion processes are the two major sources of emission NO. Under the sponsorships of the US Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation, we have elucidated a unique reaction mechanism of NO reduction in conditions similar to fuel-rich flames, e.g. 1100°C and stoichiometric ratio (SR) in the range of 0.8 to 0.9. The newly discovered mechanism has been validated by careful design of the fuel components at low costs; see the poster entitled Design of Reburning Fuel. Recently, the possibility of applying the reaction mechanism to the post-combustion zones of coal-fired boilers and the exhaust gas from automobile engines has been explored. The post-combustion zones are usually fuel lean, SR at about 1.1, and their temperature is usually lower than those in flames, 300 to 600°C. To test the new concept, the flow reactor is converted to a fixed-bed reactor that contains low-cost novel material, and NO reduction efficiency was evaluated under the aforementioned conditions. Results reveal that about 50% of NO is reduced at 400°C with a contact time about 0.14 s. Increasing the residence time enhances NO conversion. Data suggest that high NO reduction is accompanying high CO concentration, signifying the importance of previously revealed mechanism. We are currently measuring the reaction rate constants that will allow design of catalytic reactor similar to the catalytic converter of automobile engines. The potential impact of this new discovery is expected to be enormous; a patent application is planned. Engineering Sciences I 26 ROOM TEMPERATURE IONIC LIQUID MEMBRANE FOR FACILITATED TRANSPORT OF CO2 AGAINST THE CHEMICAL POTENTIAL AND THE PRESSURE HEAD Ashutosh Jha and Paul Scovazzo Room Temperature Ionic Liquids (RTILs) are organic salts that are liquids at ambient conditions consisting entirely of ions. RTILs possess a number of unique properties for making stabilized liquid membranes: negligible vapor pressure, high thermal stability, and non-flammability and high ionic conductivity. It is this last property, we exploit in our work to develop an active-facilitated transport membrane, which uses electricity as the driving force. RTIL high ionic conductivity, low vapor pressure, and high thermal stability make them an ideal working fluid in a membrane utilizing an electrochemical process. In our experiment, Electrochemically Modulated Complexation (EMC) transports CO2 through the ionic liquid membrane. EMC is a process that combines a reversible set of redox reactions with absorption/desorption steps to achieve selective separation of gas mixtures. In this paper, we will discuss RTIL system performance in reference to the critical parameters of an EMC system: CO2 solubility and CO2 carrier solubility. Using quinine as a CO2 carrier, we have been able to increase the partial pressure of CO2 from 0.005 atm to 0.85 atm across an initial Prototype liquid membrane. The second-generation membranes will transport CO2 not only against its chemical potential but also against a total gas pressure (i.e. a membrane Compressor). 63 REACTION OF YOUNG CHARS WITH OXYGEN Shaolong Wan and Wei-Yin Chen Desorption of surface oxides and regeneration of reactive sites has historically been considered the rate controlling steps of char oxidation. Recent studies have suggested that young lignite chars effectively reduce nitrogen oxide levels in fuel rich environments, but their reactivities decrease rapidly and substantially after the volatiles are driven out of the lignite particles. Oxides on these young lignite chars seem to play a dominant role in this process and in a number of other low nitrogen oxide production processes during combustion. Nevertheless, research on the correlations of reactivity with the characteristics of chars has traditionally been centered on the old chars, or the chars pyrolyzed with a long residence time, typically from one to three hours. Because of these long residence times, it appears that there is an urgent need to enhance our knowledge of chars in the flame region, mainly the chars produced from pyrolysis and combustion with a residence time of a few seconds. A U-shaped, semi-flow ceramic reactor equipped with a rapid coal-injection port has been designed, fabricated, and operated to accomplish the project goal. Desorption of surface oxides has been carried out at the same site where the char has been produced. Desorption products are analyzed by an online gas chromatograph / mass spectrometer. North Dakota lignite and Illinois No.6 coal were used to produce young char and old char in the reactor at 629 and 1400°C. In the production of young and old chars, oxygen was introduced into the reactor 2 min and 2 hours after 1 gram of coal was injected into the preheated furnace, respectively. The oxidation lasts 15 second. After oxidation, the gas stream is switched to helium and the reactor is cooled naturally. Desorption products of weakly bound surface oxides during cooling reflects the transient kinetics. Temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) at 5°C / min is then conducted up to 1700°C. The results suggest that young chars contain more abundant surface oxides than those of old chars over a wide range of TPD temperature. Lignite chars produce more desorption products than their bituminous coal counterparts. More importantly, large amounts of surface oxides are released from all chars between 1100 and 1700°C, an observation that has not been reported before due to the limitation of furnace temperature in the past. This discovery suggests that the activation energy of the rate controlling step of char combustion is likely to be much higher than the commonly accepted 300 kJ / mol. Engineering Sciences I 67 SYNTHESIS AND AFM CHARACTERIZATION OF POLYMER NANOFIBERS PRODUCED BY ADMICELLAR POLYMERIZATION IN CYLINDRICAL MICELLES Suxiang Wei, Trey Hankins, Chun Hwa See & John O’Haver. Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Mississippi. In this work we examine the admicellar polymerization of styrene in cetyltrimethylammonium para-toluene sulfate micelles in the presence of added NaCl, a surfactant system known to produce cylindrical micelles in certain concentration ranges. Polystyrene nanofibers approximately 3 m in length and 20~ 60 nanometers in width, were created by admicellar polymerization at 50ºC for ten hours. The impact of styrene loading, surfactant concentration and the amount of added salt were pursued. Separate nanofiber strands were imaged and analyzed via atomic force microscopy (AFM), which showed tightly coiled nanofiber strands of various sizes on polystyrene and linear nanofibres on mica. Engineering Sciences II 1 ANALYSIS OF APERTURE COUPLED ANTENNAS FED BY DIELECTRIC IMAGE LINE Asem Al-Zoubi, Allen Glisson, and Ahmad Kishk The Analysis of slot antennas fed by a dielectric image line (DIL) is presented. The dielectric image line consists of a rectangular dielectric rod backed by a perfectly conducting ground plane. It is assumed that only the fundamental mode of the DIL is propagating. The effective dielectric constant method is used to approximate the fields in the DIL, from which the propagation constants are calculated. The power at the slot is determined using the spectral domain Green’s function of the magnetic field in the DIL due to a magnetic current source of the slot. The voltage discontinuity in the DIL across the slot is used to determine the impedance of the slot antenna. This slot-coupled DIL can be a good candidate for low loss feeding network for different antenna structures at millimeter wave band. The slot is assumed to be narrow compared to the wavelength in the dielectric image line. Two examples are considered; microstrip patch antenna and dielectric resonator antenna. Microstrip patch antenna is analyzed using the cavity model, and the power is obtained from the fields inside the patch. The dielectric resonator antenna DRA is analyzed using an open cavity model. The Q factors and radiation efficiency are computed. The power is obtained using the fields inside the DRA, and the losses are modeled by the Q-factor of the DRA. Effects of aperture dimensions and frequency on the input impedance of the antenna are considered. 5 ROBUST IMAGE TRANSMISSION USING PILOT ASSISTED ORTHOGONAL FREQUENCY DIVISION MULTIPLEXING Nishchal, Chaudhary & Dr. Lei Cao, Department of Electrical Engineering and Center for Wireless Communication Research University of Mississippi Orthogonal frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) has gained widespread importance for High-speed wireless application owing to its inherent immunity against delay spread and frequency selective fading at low decoding complexity. In OFDM, adaptive modulation has been shown to have significant benefits for high-speed data communication. These adaptive schemes benefit from the Channel State Information (CSI) obtained at the receiver mostly by the use of Pilot Symbols transmitted along with the information data and feeding back the CSI to the transmitter. In these schemes, the modulation technique is varied adaptively on different sub channels to maximize the data transmission rate maintaining a target BER. In our work we wish to take advantage of the CSI available at the transmitter, fed back from the receiver, to allocate better sub-channels to more important data of an image (MSB for example in case of raw image) and evaluate the performance improvement achieved by our scheme over the ones which do not use this scheme for transmission of image. Channel estimation is being done using a block based pilot assisted estimator. Frequency selective fading channel conditions are used for simulations. Initial simulations performed using MATLAB show favorable results. Further investigations are being made to improve the performance of the above schemes by considering both the adaptive allocation of source data based on relative importance and adaptive modulation of sub carriers. Engineering Sciences II 9 INVESTIGATION OF THE THRU-REFLECT-LINE CALIBRATION TECHNIQUE FOR PACKAGED TRANSISTORS Dalia Elsherbeni*, University of Mississippi; W. Elliott Hutchcraft, University of Mississippi; Charles E. Smith, University of Mississippi; Darko Kajfez, University of Mississippi The widespread use of vector network analyzers (VNAs) to characterize high frequency networks over wide frequency requires very precise calibration. Traditional, full, two-port calibration methods typically use three impedance standards and one transmission standard to calibrate VNAs. The standards normally used in this method are a short, open, load, and thru (the SOLT calibration). SOLT calibration standards can be difficult - if not impossible - to build in many non-coaxial measurement applications (such as infixture, wafer and waveguide measurements) which limits application for some frequency ranges and/or geometrical line configurations. In this paper, a newer calibration technique, called the thru-reflect-line (TRL) for two-port calibration that uses at least three standards to define the calibrated reference plane, is studied for use in testing packaged transistors and ICs having microstrip interface connections. Microstrip TRL standards for the thru, reflection, and line are designed, fabricated and tested primarily for X-band applications (8.2-12.4 GHz). TRL is the most accurate and widely used calibration method, but the frequency range coverage is limited to approximately 8:1 ratio. The measured parameters of the thru, reflect, and line standards in a TRL calibration kit perform the same function as a SOLT calibration. The Reflect standard can either be an Open or a Short, and the accuracy requirements for the Reflect standards is lower than SOLT standards. The line section of a TRL calibration should be about 1/4 wavelength, or 90° at the center of the frequency range of interest (the exact length is not critical as long as it is known). Design and fabrication techniques for the TRL standards are presented along with accuracy verification tests of the standards and measurements for packaged microwave networks in the frequency ranges of interest. 11 MODAL ANALYSIS OF CORRUGATED RECTANGULAR WAVEGUIDES SUPPORTING LEFT-HAND PROPAGATION Islam A. Eshrah, Ahmed A. Kishk, Alexander B. Yakovlev, and Allen W. Glisson Center of Applied Electromagnetic Systems Research, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA In the past few years, there has been an unparalleled interest in the so-called “metamaterial” media and transmission lines. Characterized by negative refraction or alternatively left-hand (LH) propagation, these structures support backward waves, i.e., waves that experience phase advance, in contrast to forward waves in conventional or right-handed media where phase delay is observed, along the direction of propagation. Realizations and applications of left-handed transmission lines were investigated and some systems with improved performance or more compact design were proposed. Among all guided-wave structures, cylidrical waveguides are characterized by their low losses, high power handling capability, and absence of leakage and other extraneous phenomena due to their closed geometries. The purpose of this work is to investigate the possibility of supporting LH propagation in rectangular waveguides with dielectric-filled transverse corrugations. For LH waves to propagate, the guiding structure should provide series capacitance and shunt inductance within some frequency range. Since evanescent TE modes of traditional waveguides are known to have inductive nature and the corrugations can introduce series capacitance with the proper choice of the corrugations parameters, then it is expected that LH propagation can be allowed to occur below the cutoff of the TE dominant mode of the non-corrugated waveguide. Spectral analysis of the corrugated waveguide is performed based on the dyadic Green's function approach in conjunction with Floquet's theorem analysis of periodic structures to determine the dispersion characteristics and modal field distribution Engineering Sciences II 20 REALIZATION OF ARTIFICAL MAGNETIC CONDUCTORS USING FREQUENCY SELECTIVE SURFACES Manish A. Hiranandani, Alexander B. Yakovlev and Ahmed A. Kishk, Center for Applied Electromagnetic Systems Research, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677 USA Hard and soft surfaces, which have been recently introduced in electromagnetics, act as GO and STOP surfaces, respectively, with respect to the wave propagation along the surface. Ideally, they consist of alternating perfect electric conductor (PEC) and perfect magnetic conductor (PMC) strips. In recent years, different methods of realizing artificial hard and soft surfaces have been developed. One of them is based on the use of dielectric-filled corrugated surfaces. Another common method is to introduce PEC strips on a dielectric slab of a certain thickness. A new method has been developed to create artificial hard and soft surfaces by mounting dipole and slot periodic structures on a conductor-backed dielectric slab [Maci, S. and Kildal, P. S., “Hard and Soft Gangbuster Surfaces”, Int. Symp. Electromagnetic Theory, Pisa, Italy, May 2004, pp. 290-292]. These structures act as hard and soft surfaces for transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) polarizations, depending on the direction of the incident plane wave. In the present paper, the results obtained in the above paper are verified and the analysis of these structures is further extended in order to create new designs of multiband and polarization independent hard and soft surfaces. Further, these surfaces have been applied to build low profile antennas. These antennas, being very compact in size are favorable for space and defense applications. They have been tested experimentally and show very good agreement with simulation results. EMAG Technology’s EMPicasso, a full wave simulator based on the Method of Moments is used to analyze these structures. The solution is technologically simple and simulation results are physically intuitive. 24 ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OF HARD SURFACE GUIDED-WAVE STRUCTURE Wei Huang*, Alexander B. Yakovlev, Ahmed A. Kishk and Allen W. Glisson, Center for Applied Electromagnetic Systems Research (CAESR) University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA We study a rectangular waveguide with an ideal hard surface, which is modeled by alternating a longitudinal perfect electric conductor (PEC) and perfect magnetic conductor (PMC) strips with vanishing widths. Also, we design a realistic hard surface rectangular waveguide structure based on numerical simulations using the commercial software HFSS [Version 9.2.1, 2004 Ansoft Corporation]. Compared to PEC and PMC rectangular waveguides, which can support only TM and TE modes, the most important feature of this “ideal hard surface rectangular waveguide” is that it allows propagation of a TEM mode with a zero-cutoff frequency, which can provide new applications for this type of guided-wave structure. The purpose of this paper is to develop an electric dyadic Green’s function for the modal analysis of an ideal hard surface rectangular waveguide excited by an arbitrarily-oriented electric current source. A procedure of deriving the Green’s function in terms of solenoidal and irrotational parts is presented, wherein the solenoidal part of the Green’s function is obtained in the eigenmode expansion form as a superposition of three terms associated with TM, TE, and TEM modes of the ideal hard surface waveguide. A term corresponding to the TEM mode is obtained analytically as the solution of a vector Helmholtz’s equation in the zero-cutoff limit subject to the boundary conditions of electric field on the ideal hard surface. Numerical results for the field distribution are demonstrated for the TEM mode and a few representative TM and TE modes propagating in a rectangular waveguide with ideal hard surface boundary conditions due to an arbitrarily-oriented electric dipole source. To validate the proposed model, a realistic hard surface rectangular Waveguide is simulated using the commercial software HFSS. A square hard surface waveguide with narrow PEC strips placed on top of dielectric walls is modeled at 10 GHz. The following parameters are used in the design: waveguide dimension are 23.74 mm 23.74 mm, relative dielectric constant is 2.5, slab thickness is 6.12 mm, strip width is 0.5 mm and gap width is 1.5 mm. The uniform magnitude and vector E-field distribution plots of the realistic structure will also be shown in the presentation. Engineering Sciences II 46 STUDY OF COMPLETE FREEZE-THAW AND MOISTURE INDUCED DEGRADATION FOR POLYESTER / E-GLASS COMPOSITES Ghanshyam Pal, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Mississippi. Dr. James G. Vaughan, Dr. Ellen Lackey Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Mississippi. Over the years many researchers have contributed to develop an understanding of moisture absorption behavior of different fiber reinforced composite systems under the influence of various internal factors (fiber volume fraction, fiber orientation, size of fiber reinforcement, moisture absorption nature of fiber and type of fiber etc.) and external factors (relative humidity, temperature of environment and the state of stress experienced by composites etc.). In the present research the extent of degradation in flexural and short beam shear properties as a function of amount of absorbed moisture present in composite material is studied. Further, these results were compared with the effects of water and air freeze thaw on flexural and short beam shear properties of conditioned (150 F, 24 hours) and non-conditioning samples with and without prior absorbed moisture. For this study, one freeze thaw cycle was comprised of 8 hours of freezing and 16 hours of thawing. This ensured the complete freezing and thawing of the composite material during freeze thaw cycling. A set of samples with and without absorbed moisture were also subjected to room temperature aging. Statistical analysis of results obtained after water and air freeze thaw and room temperature aging was performed in accordance with MIL Handbook – 17. Results of this study indicate that the effect of amount of absorbed moisture on flexural and short beam shear strength is much greater than that of freeze thaw in water or air. However, because of drying during room temperature aging, samples with absorbed moisture try to regain a significant portion of their flexural and short beam shear strength, which was lost due to ingress of moisture. Samples with higher moisture content (0.96%) also regain their strength as a result of drying in a vacuum oven. 48 ELECTRONIC COOLING OF GENERIC TRANSMITTER/RECEIVER MODULE ARRAY USING GRAPHITE FOAM AS MINI HEAT EXCHANGER Jignesh Patel & Dr. Jeffrey A. Roux, Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Mississippi. The current technology demands continuous miniaturization of electronic components, which leads to higher power density. Because of this increased power density electronic components quickly heat up. Thus, in order to maintain these electronic components within operating temperature range, proper heat dissipation from these components becomes very important issue. In the present study graphite foam is employed as a mini heat exchanger within the base plate cooling channel for a generic Transmitter/Receiver (T/R) module array. The T/R module array is investigated to determine the maximum power chip temperature operating under different ambient conditions, different thermal adhesives, and graphite foam configurations (the inline and the corrugated). The effective convective heat transfer coefficient values for the inline and the corrugated graphite foam are provided by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The actual effective convective heat transfer coefficient for the present application is reverse engineered with the help of experimental model. For simulation purpose, a thermal management software – IcePak has been used. Health Sciences I Engineering Sciences III 31 ACOUSTIC SIGNAL PROPAGATION IN THE SINGLE-DOMAIN AND MULTY-DOMAIN FERROELECTRIC CRYSTALS V. Klymko, Dr. A. Nadtochiy, and Dr. I. Ostrovskii . Department of Physics, University of Mississippi A propagation of the acoustic signals in a lithium niobate (LiNbO3) crystalline plate is considered. To excite the acoustic signals of different time-shape, corresponding rf-voltage pulses are applied to the plate, and electro-acoustic conversion is due to a piezoelectric effect. Both single-domain crystals and samples that contain domains with different polarization are studied. The acoustic wave propagating through the ferroelectric plate is a solution of the wave equation. In a numerical model, the Fourier transform method is used to separate a time-dependent part of a solution from its Cartesian reference part. For a uniform single-domain crystal, the coordinate part is derived as the solution of a differential equation with the corresponding boundary conditions. The finite element method for a particular domain structure is used to model a multi-domain crystal, which is investigated in our work. Experimentally, the LiNbO3 plate (sample LNO-101) is excited by a rectangular rf-pulse of 1 to 3 MHz. An output acoustic signal is detected by using a probe that is sliding along the plate surface. A picked-up piezoelectric field generated by the acoustic pulse is then displayed in an oscilloscope and further transferred into PC. The propagation of the various input acoustic signals through the uniform crystal plate is simulated in the numerical model. An effect of the interaction of acoustic waves with ferroelectric domains is numerically modeled. We compare the results of numerical simulations to our experimental data. The results of the present work can be used for developing new type of various solid state devices based on ferroelectric media. 41 QUANTUM PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION FOR ELECTROMAGNETIC APPLICATIONS Said Mikki and Ahmed Kishk, Center of Applied Electromagnetic Systems Research, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA Recently, the evolutionary particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique has attracted the attention of many engineering researchers. Several modifications to the PSO have been suggested since its discovery in 1995. The method found its way to the electromagnetic community because of its simplicity and high capability of searching for the global optimum of hard optimization problems. In this project, we propose a new PSO version for electromagnetic applications. The method is based on quantum mechanics rather than the Newtonian rules assumed in all previous versions, which we refer to as classical PSO. A general procedure is suggested to enable the researcher to derive many different versions of the quantum algorithm. The new quantum PSO (QPSO) is applied to linear array antenna synthesis. Specifically, it is required to control the side-lobe and main beam region of the resulted pattern of the array. This problem has many applications in modern smart antenna and Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) systems, where it is desirable to force the array pattern to follow a specific performance in order to increase the signal-tonoise-ratio (SNR) of the communication/radar system. The performance of the QPSO is compared against an improved version of the classical PSO. The new algorithm outperforms the classical one most of the time in convergence speed and achieves better levels for the cost function. The QPSO contains only one control parameter that can be tuned easily by trial and error or by suggested simple linear variation. Based on our understanding of the physical background of the method, various explanations of the theoretical aspects of the algorithm are presented. Health Sciences I 55 DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF PRINTED WAVEGUIDE SLOT ANTENNAS Rohit Sammeta & Ahmed A. Kishk, Center of Applied Electromagnetic System Research, University of Mississippi. Waveguide Slot Antennas have always had the problems of being voluminous and expensive to manufacture. The advent of a new concept called ‘Substrate Integrated Circuits’ (SICs) that allows the integration of planar and non-planar structures within the same substrate has led to the development of the Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW). The SIW is analogous to a rectangular waveguide filled with dielectric material, but the sidewalls of the rectangular waveguide are simulated using via holes or metallized grooves in the substrate. Etching slots on the top metallic surface of the SIW results in a slot waveguide antenna [Li Yan,et. al.. “Simulation and Experiment on SIW Slot Array Antenna” IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters, Vol 14, No. 9, September 2004]. Although the gain and efficiency of these slot antennas have a little reduction due to the dielectric losses, there is a reduction in the size, weight and cost of the waveguide slot antenna array. Integrated slot antenna array is modeled using the commercial software ‘EMPiCASSO’ [EMPiCASSO, Version 3.30, 2004 EMAG Technologies, Inc]. The waveguide is simulated using a substrate with a material of dielectric constant 2.4 and thickness t = 1.5 mm and bounded by ground plane on either sides. The sidewalls of the waveguide are simulated using via-holes and a coaxial probe excites the traveling wave array. Arrays giving a reasonably good performance (broadside beam) have been made using longitudinal shunt slots, inclined slots and spiral slots. The parameters of each kind of slot have been empirically tuned by observing the radiation pattern and with an aim of exciting the entire array. Further investigations are being carried out in order to improve the performance of the above slot configurations in terms of the radiation pattern and the input impedance. We are also trying to build a working longitudinal shunt slot array antenna on a substrate of dielectric constant 2.55. 56 USING THE ITERATIVE MULTI-REGION TECHNIQUE TO STUDY THE SCATTERING FROM LARGE ELECTROMAGNETIC PROBLEMS EXCITED BY AN INCIDENT PLANE WAVE Mohamed H. Al Sharkawy, Veysel Demir, and Atef Z. Elsherbeni Numerical analyses of large-scale electromagnetic problems require long computational time and large computer memory. One of the goals of ongoing computational electromagnetic research is to develop time and memory efficient algorithms. A class of time and memory efficient algorithms divides the computational domain into smaller sub-domains and then combines the sub-domain solutions after introducing the effect of interactions between these sub-domains. This paper is dealing with the development of a new technique based on the finite difference frequency domain (FDFD) method and an iterative procedure between sub-regions to calculate the electromagnetic scattering from multiple objects. In this approach, the problem is decomposed into separated sub-regions, each sub-region containing a scatterer or a group of scatterers. The scattered electromagnetic near fields are calculated due to the incidence of a time-harmonic wave in each sub-region, using the FDFD method or any other appropriate method. Then fictitious electric and magnetic currents on imaginary surfaces surrounding the objects in these sub-regions are calculated, using the equivalence principle. Radiated fields by these currents are then considered as incident fields on the opposing sub-regions. The same procedure of calculating the sub-region field components, the fictitious currents and the radiated fields on the opposing domains is repeated iteratively until a convergence is achieved. In this work we are going to present a solution for a 3-D problem, showing how a considerable reduction in the computation time and required computer memory has been achieved using the described procedure. Health Sciences I 57 SPACE-TIME SPREADING WITH DIFFERENTIAL DETECTION Tao Shi & Lei Cao, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Mississippi Transmit diversity techniques in wireless communications have gained increasing interest in the past few years. Inspired by the space-time block codes, Hochwald et al. proposed a transmit diversity scheme known as space-time spreading for code-division multiple-access (CDMA) systems that achieves full diversity. It uses coherent detection with the assumption that the perfect knowledge of channel is available at the receiver. While this assumption is reasonable since the receiver generally needs to estimate the channel for synchronization and carrier recovery, there also exist cases that the estimated channel state information is not reliable, and imperfect channel estimation impacts the system performance. Besides, channel estimation requires the transmission of pilots along with information data, which impairs system throughput and consumes the transmission power. Therefore, we propose a differential detection scheme for space-time spreading with two transmit antennas and one receive antenna. The scheme does not require channel state information at either the transmitter or the receiver. With segmentation and a few preamble bits padded at the transmitter, the receiver recovers the information using differential detection. The proposed scheme achieves two-level transmit diversity gain with low complexity, while having about 3-dB loss as compared to the coherent detection scheme. The system performance with respect to the segment size and the channel fading speed are studied through simulations. 69 ANALYSIS OF MEANDER LINE ANTENNA USING FDTD TECHNIQUES Wei-Chung Weng, Veysel Demir, & Atef Z. Elsherbeni Numerical analysis of a meander antenna designed on a PCB substrate with permittivity 4.5 for GSM and DCS applications is presented. The meandering traces are used for the antenna part, which is connected to a 50Ù microstrip line printed on the same surface of the substrate. In this study, the three-dimensional finite difference time domain (FDTD) method with the Berenger perfectly matched layer absorbing boundary condition, which is used to truncate the FDTD computational space is applied to analyze the meander line antenna. The incident waves propagating in the antenna in time domain are observed for understanding the characteristics of the meander lines and meander line antenna. The antenna frequency response can be obtained by means of using the discrete Fourier transform technique. Satisfactory agreement of the return loss of the meander line antenna between the FDTD and the Ansoft HFSS simulation is observed and verified the impedance bandwidth (2:1 VSWR), which can cover the GSM and DCS bands. 71 STUDY OF A LINEAR UWB ANTENNA ARRAY Xuan Hui Wu & Ahmed A. Kishk The design of UWB antennas requires special considerations, for example the control of emission level over the entire UWB bandwidth in all directions and a narrow impulse response in both transmitting and receiving modes, which make the antenna design a challenging process. The single UWB antenna element has been studied extensively. It has been found that UWB antennas should be co-designed with UWB signals in order to obtain a high system performance. When evaluating in the frequency domain, an antenna with good impedance matching, linearly increasing directivity with frequency, and linearly decreasing phase response with frequency over the entire UWB band are required for UWB applications. With the knowledge of the single UWB antenna element, it is the time to study UWB antenna arrays. In this paper, a uniformly spaced linear array comprising planar UWB dipole antennas is studied. First, time-domain waveforms due to the superposition of ten radiating antenna elements are examined. The waveform differs significantly with different relative time delay. Next, the antenna geometry as well as the array configuration are presented. The characteristics of a single antenna element, and the coupling between two adjacent elements are examined with Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method and Method of Moments (MOM). After that, a source pulse is optimized for the UWB antenna array in order to comply with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s regulation. Lastly, the radiation of the array excited by the optimal source pulse is investigated in terms of three different patterns, namely energy pattern, peak value pattern, and cross correlation pattern. Health Sciences I 73 PARAMETRIC STUDY OF DIELECTRIC RESONATOR ANTENNA ARRAYS FOR WAVEGUIDE-BASED SPATIAL POWER COMBINING USING FDTD Yizhe Zhang*, Ahmed A. Kishk, Alexander B. Yakovlev, and Allen W. Glisson A finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is used to analyze waveguide-based coaxial probe-fed dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) arrays for use in spatial power combining systems. First, a rectangular waveguide with hard walls (dielectric loading along the narrow sides of the waveguide) is analyzed to achieve a uniform field distribution in the waveguide cross-section. This is important for the waveguidebased DRA array in order to provide a uniform (with respect to magnitude and phase) excitation of the antenna elements. Next, a single DRA element is studied for operation in the waveguide environment. The input impedance and scattering parameters are studied by varying geometrical and material parameters of the DRA and the coaxial probe feed. The analysis is further extended to the case of the DRA array in order to minimize mutual coupling between antenna elements and provide a uniform coupling of the power to individual DRA elements. The analysis provided the necessary information for the optimization of design parameters such as inter-element spacing and the distance of the array to the waveguide hard walls. This analysis makes it possible to improve the designs of spatial power combiners for optimum array spacing and geometry. The numerical results obtained using our FDTD code that is based on a region-by-region approach are compared with those obtained using a commercial three dimensional (3-D) software package and exhibit very good agreement. 74 ANALYSIS OF PERIODIC STRUCTURES USING FINITE-DIFFERENCE TIME-DOMAIN METHOD Guiping Zheng, Ahmed A. Kishk, Allen W. Glisson and Alexander B. Yakovlev In this work, numerical analysis of periodic structures based on the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method is presented. Many electromagnetic structures have the properties of periodicity in one or two dimensions, such as frequency selective surfaces (FSS), photonic bandgap (PBG) structures, and infinite antenna arrays. The FSS structures have been widely used to construct a high impedance ground plane. By using a high impedance ground plane, the performance of antennas can be greatly improved. New designs can be achieved by combining infinite antenna array and FSS or EBG structures as a whole system. The FDTD technique has been successfully used to obtain the numerical solution without resorting to the complex frequency domain analysis required in the Method of Moments (MoM). The approach of optimizations by simulations can greatly save lots of resources that speed the design process, which cause a reduction of the product cost. Several validation cases including FSS and infinite antenna arrays will be presented. Health Sciences I Health Sciences I 2 IN VITRO RECEPTOR AUTORADIOGRAPHIC DEMONSTRATION OF ANGIOTENSIN II TYPE 2 RECEPTOR GENE TRANSFER IN THE RAT HEART Erick Arden Bourassa, Beverly Falcón, Jillian Stewart, Michael J. Katovich, Glenn Walter, Robert C. Speth, Colin Sumners, and Mohan K. Raizada Angiotensin II (AngII), the most active component of the renin-angiotensin system is known to affect cell regulation. It acts on 2 receptor subtypes: AT1 and AT2 that are currently thought to have opposing effects. Cardiac hypertrophy is an enlargement of the heart in response to increased cardiac workload (as seen in hypertension). Previous attempts to study the role of AT2 on cardiac hypertrophy have been inconclusive using transgenic and knockout animals, possibly due to differences in congenital genetic background and the role of AT2 in embryonic cardiovascular development. Therefore, a lentiviral vector was developed to deliver the AT2 receptor following natural embryonic development and used in Sprague Dawley rat hearts. This work is an autoradiographic determination that the lentiviral vector used to deliver AT2 to rat heart was successful. At five days of age, the rats were anesthetized and injected with either viral resuspension buffer or 3x108 multiplicities of lenti-AT2R into the left ventricle. At 15 weeks of age, osmotic mini-pumps were inserted subcutaneously to deliver 200 ng/kg/min of AngII or saline (control) for 4 weeks. Quantitative autoradiography was performed on the heart. There was no difference in AT1 binding between saline infused, AngII infused, or AT2 injected hearts. There was, however, significantly more AT2 binding of the AT2 injected hearts (while AT2 binding stayed the same for saline and AngII infused). These results show that the lentiviral vector used to deliver the AT2R to rat heart was successful in chronically increasing AT2 expression. Given the potential for AT2R up-regulation to be used clinically to reduce cardiac hypertrophy in the heart, research using this model of AT2R up-regulation may lead to a new treatment or preventative measure for cardiac hypertrophy. 6 ESTROGEN EQUIVALENTS AND CORRESPONDING CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF MARINE WATER SAMPLES COLLECTED ALONG A CORAL REEF Amit Chaudhary1, Lucy R. Harrison2, Shabana I. Khan2, Simrat Singh3, Arlette Azua3, Piero Gardinali3, and Kristine L. Willett1. 1Department of Pharmacology and Environmental Toxicology Research Program, 2 National Center for Natural Product Research, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677 3Department of Chemistry, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA. The goal of this research is to assess the potential toxicological impacts of degraded water quality due to human derived activities in marine coastal areas along the Florida Keys and the C-1 Canal located in South Miami-Dade County. Sensitive marine species such as coral, sea grasses, and fish and invertebrates in early life stages may be at risk due to the introduction of pollutants, in particular, those compounds with potential to disrupt the endocrine system. In this study, forty water samples from Looe Key before, during and after the annual Underwater Music Festival and fourteen samples from C-1 canal were collected. Samples were chemically analyzed for 8 pharmaceuticals and 14 steroids and screened for estrogen equivalents using the yeast estrogen screen. At Looe Key, estrogen equivalents ranged from nondetectable (ND) to 256 pg/L. Even though recreational activities peaked during the day of the festival, higher average estrogen equivalents (156 +_ 21 pg/L) were found in samples collected the day prior to the festival. This trend was supported by the analytical data where the sum of contaminant concentrations from these samples was statistically higher than from data from the other collection times. At Looe Key, estrone (0.07 - 0.89 ng/L), equilin (ND - 1.83 ng/L), cholesterol (181 - 1252 ng/L), caffeine (ND - 31 ng/L) and DEET (ND - 17 ng/L) were found in the majority of samples, but no coprostanol and triclosan were detected. At the C-1 canal, estrogen equivalents were ND - 223 pg/L, and estrone (0.37 - 0.85 ng/L), caffeine (ND - 23 ng/L) and DEET (3.8 - 27.3 ng/L) were detected. Coprostanol (3.6 - 5.8 ng/L) and triclosan (2.6 - 4.6 ng/L) were detected, however no nonylphenol, bisphenol A, or ethynylestradiol were detected at either location. Although the results do not indicate high potential risk to the ecosystem from acute recreational exposure, the presence of human-derived contaminants should not be downplayed. The estrogen equivalents detected at Looe Key and C-1 canal were significantly lower than what we have found at other waste water impacted marine sites (up to 1.3 ng/L). Health Sciences I 8 MANZAMINE-TYPE ALKALOIDS WITH HIGH POTENCY AGAINST INFECTIOUS DISEASES Marwa Donia & Mark T. Hamann, Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy In recent decades, the importance that the secondary metabolites from the marine ecosystem play in the control of infectious and parasitic organisms has largely been overlooked. As infectious diseases evolve and share resistance to existing pharmaceuticals, the marine environment provides a huge molecular diversity and represents a valuable ecosystem for the identification of novel leads against fungal, parasitic, bacterial, and viral diseases. In particular, malaria is a serious disease in sub-Sahran Africa, where about 90% of the fatalities occur from this disease. One of the most promising antiinfective leads to be discovered from the oceans is the manzamine-type alkaloids.Manzamine A exhibits potent in vitro activity against Plasmodium falciparum (D6clone) with an MIC value of 4.5 ng/ml.In order to isolate manzamine-type analogs that might have better efficacy and selectivity, a new species of a manzamineproducing sponge Acanthostrongylophora collected from Manado Bay, Indonesia has been investigated. As a result, one new manzamine alkaloid 12,28 oxa-ircinal A was isolated along with thirteen known manzamines. The bioactivities of the manzamines against malaria, tuberculosis, Leishmaniasis and several pathogenic bacteria and fungi were investigated. 17 MATURATION OF CALCIUM SIGNALING IN OVINE PULMONARY ARTERIAL SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS R. Goyal, L.D. Longo, S.M.Wilson. Department Of Pharmacology, University Of Mississippi, and Center of Perinatology, Department Of Physiology, Loma Linda University Several reports indicate that there are maturational adaptations in ovine cerebral arterial smooth muscle function and Ca2+ regulation of arterial tone. However, it is unknown if there are maturational adaptations in calcium homeostasis in other vascular beds. As the pulmonary vasculature undergoes dramatic changes in blood flow following parturition we tested the hypothesis that with maturation there are changes in Ca2+ signaling in isolated pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs). Individual PASMCs were studied using the calcium-sensitive dye fura 2. The results show that in 5 PASMCs isolated from 2 fetal sheep and 4 PASMCs isolated from 2 adult sheep, cyclopiazonic acid (CPA), a reversible sarco/endoplasmic reticulum (SR) calcium ATPase (SERCA) blocker caused the release of significant quantities of Ca2+. The ability of the plasma membrane and the SR stores to clear Ca2+ from the cytosol was similar in cells from fetal and adult. One of the main findings of this study was that a greater number of cells from adult had global Ca2+ responses to 10 mM caffeine, 25 of 31 PASMCs isolated from 5 adult sheep as compared to 11 of 34 PASMCs isolated from 4 fetal sheep. This suggests that the number of ryanodine receptors may be less in fetal than in adult. Similarly a greater number of adult cells responded to 10 micro-molar serotonin, 12 of 31 PASMCs isolated from 5 adult sheep as compared to 1 of 34 PASMCs isolated from 4 fetal. This latter finding could be due to either a change in serotonin receptor expression, InsP3 generation or InsP3R activation. Together these data strongly suggest that the SR Ca2+ stores are present but not yet fully functional. This work was supported by NIH 2P01HD031226 (LDL) Health Sciences I 44 EFFECTS OF AN ESCALATING METHAMPHETAMINE REGIMEN ON CORE TEMPERATURE IN THE RAT Benita Myles & Karen Sabol, Department of Pharmacology Methamphetamine (METH), a stimulant, induces hyperthermia. The purpose of this study was to determine the pattern of core body temperature response to a chronic escalating regimen. 24 rats were implanted with abdominal, temperature-sensitive radio transmitters. 2wks later they received once daily injections of saline, 5.0 mg/kg, 10.0 mg/kg, or an Escalating regimen (2.0-9.0 mg/kg) METH for 12 pretreatment days (6 rats/group). On day 13, each of these 4 pretreatment groups was challenged with a single 10.0 mg/kg METH injection. Temperature signals were automatically recorded 7 hrs/day in computer-controlled environmental chambers maintained at 24 degrees C. Following 12 pretreatment days, the 10.0 mg/kg METH challenge on day 13 produced a significant effect of pretreatment at 1hr post-challenge, which had diminished by 3 hrs: the 5.0 mg/kg, 10.0 mg/kg, and escalating pretreatment rats were all decreased from saline at 1hr post-challenge; 10.0 mg/kg rats were also decreased relative to 5.0 mg/kg rats; however, escalating and 5.0 mg/kg rats (which had the same total dose exposure) were not different. These results suggest that 1.) the escalating and 5.0 mg/kg pretreatment regimens produced the same degree of tolerance upon challenge, and 2.) core body temperature response to challenge during the first 2 hrs postinjection depends upon the pretreatment exposure, but response after 3 hrs is independent of prior exposure. 45 CHARACTERIZATION OF CALMODULIN BINDING SITES AT C DOMAIN Shakirat O. Oyetunji, Huaying, Zhao & Susan Pedigo. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Mississippi The C-terminal domain of calmodulin contains 2 EF-hand binding sites. These studies investigate a pair of mutants of Site 3 in which the critical glutamate is mutated to either glutamine or aspartate. These mutations impair binding to Site 3 such that only Site 4 is functional. Calcium binding properties of these mutant proteins were investigated by 1) direct titrations with calcium were performed under equilibrium conditions monitored by fluorescence and circular dichroism signals, 2) calcium binding constants were deduced from calcium-dependent urea denaturation experiments, 3) the heat evolved during competitive titrations was monitored by isothermal titration calorimetry, 4) the proteins were titrated under stoichiometric conditions monitored by the fluorescence of Y138. These experiments showed that the glutamine mutant was higher affinity than the aspartate mutant. Apparently, the aspartate in Site 3 destabilized the entire domain leading to lower affinity for functional site. Secondly, there is a discrepancy between the results from the urea denaturation studies that can be explained by the structural phenomena that are monitored by the spectroscopic signals. 58 THE EFFECTS OF METHAMPHETAMINE ON CORE BODY TEMPERATURE AND SPONTANEOUS BEHAVIOR IN THE RAT Greg Phelps, Anton Speaker M.S., & Karen Sabol Ph.D. Department of Psychology, The University of Mississippi Injecting the stimulant methamphetamine (METH) into rats results in changes in core body temperature and behavioral activity. In this study we investigated whether there is a relationship between the increase in behavioral activity seen after METH administration and the elevation in core body temperature. Prior to METH administration, temperature sensitive transmitters were implanted into the abdominal cavities of the rats. After a two week postsurgery recovery period, rats were placed in thermoregulatory chambers for testing. Rats received a single intraperitoneal injection of either saline, 1.0 mg/kg METH, or 5.0 mg/kg METH. Animals received the injection after a two hour period to establish a temperature baseline. Rats remained in the chambers for a period of five hours post-injection. Chambers were maintained at an ambient temperature of 24°C. While rats were in the chambers, behavioral data were recorded every fifteen minutes on a 0-10 scale with 0 being quiet awake and 10 focused licking or biting. At the low dose of 1.0 mg/kg the elevation in core body temperature paralleled the increase in behavioral activity, but at a dose of 5.0 mg/kg the peak in core temperature was delayed relative to the peak in behavioral activity. These data suggest that methamphetamine-induced changes in temperature and behavior demonstrate different temporal patterns with increasing doses. Health Sciences I 66 PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL STRESS COMBINED: STRESS HORMONE AND LYMPHOCYTIC RESPONSES AND RELATIONSHIPS H.E. Webb1, M.L. Weldy1, E.C. Fabianke1, G.R. Orndorff1, G.H. Kamimori2, FACSM, J.M. Cruse3, R.E. Lewis3, & E.O. Acevedo1, FACSM. University of Mississippi1, University, MS; Walter Reed Army Institute of Research 2, Silver Springs, MD; University of Mississippi Medical Center3, Jackson, MS. The body’s ability to adequately adapt to psychological and physical challenges is of considerable importance to individuals such as military personal, firefighters, and law-enforcement agents. Elevations in stress hormones, such as the epinephrine (EPI), norepinephrine (NE), and cortisol (CORT), are related to changes in blood lymphocyte populations. The effects of physical and psychological stress, independently, have demonstrated relationships between elevations in CORT and reductions in helper-T (HT) cells, the HT to cytotoxic-T (HT/CT) cell ratio, and natural killer (NK) cells. However, the potential additive effects of psychological stress combined with physical stress have not been investigated. PURPOSE: To investigate responses and relationships of EPI, NE, CORT, HT cells, the HT/CT cell ratio, and NK cells to psychological stress during moderate exercise. METHODS: Eight apparently healthy individuals of average fitness (VO2max = 41.24 " 2.19 ml/kg/min) were recruited for participation in the study. Subjects completed two counterbalanced 37-minute cycle ergometer rides at 65% VO2max. During the stress-exercise condition (SEC), subjects cycled while performing lab-induced psychological stressors (Stroop Color-Word task and a mental arithmetic task) on a computer. In the exercise-alone condition (EAC) the subjects simply exercised for the same duration at the same intensity. EPI, NE, CORT, HT cells, the HT/CT cell ratio, and NK cells were examined prior to, during, and following exercise. The NASA Task Load Index (NTLX) was used to assess perceived physical and psychological load following each condition. RESULTS: NTLX scores demonstrated that the subjects perceived overall workload as greater in the SEC. RMANOVA’s revealed significant interactions across time for cortisol between the SEC and the EAC. CORT and NE area-under-the-curve (AUC) calculations were also significantly greater in the SEC. Results also showed CORT AUC elevations to be related to decreases in NK cells at 60 minutes post-exercise in the SEC. Heart rate, ventilation, and respiratory rate also demonstrated significant elevations in the SEC following the psychological stress. CONCLUSION: Elevations in NE would likely lead to elevations in cardiorespiratory responses. The elevation in CORT demonstrates an activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which may suppress immune system function. Understanding the mechanisms of psychological and physiological responses to a mental stressor during exercise along with the impact of these hormones on the immune system may provide valuable information for individuals exposed to dual stress conditions. 70 MEDAKA: A MODEL SYSTEM FOR THE CHARACTERIZATION OF FETAL ALCOHOL SYDROME Erin Williams, Mary L. Haasch and Asok K. Dasmahapatra Environmental Toxicology Research Program, National Center for Natural Product Research, Department of Pharmacology, RIPS, University of Mississippi. Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a group of birth defects characterized by abnormal facial features, growth retardation, and central nervous system problems. These FAS defects are the irreversible result of a pregnant woman consuming alcohol during critical developmental periods. While the phenotypic expressions of FAS are well known, the molecular mechanisms of these developmental abnormalities have not yet been fully characterized. The critical dose of ethanol and the stage(s) of fetal development highly sensitive to ethanol have not yet been determined. We used the Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) development model to determine a critical dose and developmental stage and to evaluate oxidative stress as a possible molecular mechanism(s) of FAS. We identified cardiovascular defects produced by acute ethanol exposure as a significant phenotypic marker for FAS in adult fish. Medaka eggs within 1 hour post fertilization (hpf) to 6 days of development were exposed to ethanol concentrations from 0-800 mM in hatching solution for periods of 48 hours. The embryos exposed to low ethanol concentration (0-200 mM) exhibited active blood circulation at 50+ hpf. In the embryos exposed to a higher concentration of ethanol (400-800 mM), onset of active circulation was significantly delayed. Also, high ethanol concentration treated embryos developed blood clots in the body, Blood Island and blood vessels. In addition, the eyes were smaller and deformities in bone development were observed. The embryos exposed later during development (>48 hpf) showed a greater survival rate with fewer defects of the cardiovascular system than embryos exposed to ethanol from 0 – 48 hpf. Co-treatment of the embryos with the antioxidants, ascorbic acid, N-acetyl cysteine and retinoic acid were not able to protect the embryo from ethanol-induced cardiovascular disorders at the early phases (0-48 hpf) of development. Further research is in progress. Health Sciences II Health Sciences II 4 BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF LIGNIN TO IMPROVE BIOMASS CONVERSION TO ETHANOL AND BIOPOLYMERS Naresh Budhavaram1, Aarti Gidh1, Clint Williford1 and Alfred Mikell2. 1Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677 2Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677 Biomass can be used to produce ethanol an alternative to petroleum. The cellulose and hemicellulose in biomass can be converted to ethanol by enzymatic saccharification and fermentation. However, biomass also contains lignin that associates with cellulose and hemicellulose and forms a barrier to enzymatic attack. Termites, beetles and other arthropods can digest decaying wood and other lignocellulosic plant litter. Lignin-degrading filamentous bacteria have been isolated from the termite gut. Bacterial lignin degradation has been reported to be more specific than that with fungal systems, an advantage, leading to many industrial applications like vanillin, adhesives, binder for laminated or composite wood products, etc. The purpose of our work is to find biological agents that can disengage and depolymerize lignin, improving enzymatic saccharification. The benefits of success include reduced costs for ethanol production, and a revenue stream from lignin byproducts. We have screened inoculum sources for lignin depolymerization. Sources were cultures from dissection of guts of various insects like termites, beetles etc. that are known to digest wood. Other sources included cow rumen/dung, deer dung, and soils high in lignin content. Detailed analysis with Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIR) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) along with HPLC (UV detector) were conducted for the sources showing potential for lignin degradation. Future plans include applying the promising cultures that have shown lignin depolymerization to pretreated corn stover. We will look for increased ethanol yield as a sign of reduced lignin inhibition, and thus enhanced saccharification and fermentation of cellulose. 35 DEVELOPMENT OF TOTALLY PREDICTIVE MODELS FOR SUPERCRITICAL FLUID EXTRACTION OF NATURAL PRODUCTS Jiangping Liu & Wei-Yin Chen Cubic equations of state (EOS) have been extensively utilized for the estimations of compositions under phase equilibria because the algorithm requires minimal amount of species data, such as the critical properties. Over the last two decades, several excess free energy (GE) models have been incorporated into the EOS algorithms to relax the limitations of the conventional van der Waals mixing rule on modeling the pressure effects of excess free energy of solutions.Thus, a new family of mixing rules has been developed.When a group contribution model, such as UNIFAC, is adopted for the estimation of excess free energy, the combined EOS / GE model becomes a powerful, totally predictive approach for the estimation of compositions under phase equilibria as it eliminated the necessity of critical properties. High molecular weight plant materials often decompose before they reach the critical conditions.Consequently, EOS / GE models are uniquely attractive to the extraction of natural products.The excess free energies predicted by these state-of-the-arts algorithms are usually based on the UNIFAC parameters at low pressures, their applications at high pressures, such as extraction by supercritical fluids, have drawn attentions only recently due to its potentially large application in pharmaceutical industries. To selectively extract large quantities of natural products by supercritical fluids, we systematically examined the various EOS / GE models reported in the literature; these include the HVO model (Huron and Vidal, 1979), MHV2 model (Dahl et al., 1991), LCVM model (Boukouvalas et al., 1994; Yakoumis et al., 1996), WS model (Wang and Sandler, 1993, 1995), and HVOS model (Orbey and Sandler, 1998). A large library of PC-based programs has been developed. The dissolutions of naphthalene in supercritical carbon dioxide at various temperatures and pressures were used as the model system. It was found that the interaction parameters in the UNIFAC model reported for low-pressure systems have to be experimentally corrected for highpressure systems. We show that each of mixing rules reviewed here is successful at selected temperatures, but the HVO and WS models that based on infinite pressure give the best results without such corrections. Health Sciences II 40 INFLUENCE OF 'ETCHING' AND INSTRUMENT VARIABLES ON THE BIOADHESION OF HOT-MELT EXTRUDED DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS FOR THE HUMAN NAIL Praveen K. Mididoddi & Michael A. Repka Purpose: To determine the influence of ‘etching’ on the bioadhesion of hot-melt extruded (HME)drug delivery systems for the human nail. Methods: HME hydroxypropylcellulose films containing ketoconazole were prepared using a Killion extruder (Model KLB-100). The extruded films were applied to tip nail pieces of healthy volunteers (University of Mississippi, IRB#03-045). Bioadhesion tests were performed with these HME films using a Texture Analyzer® (TA.XT2i) equipped with Texture ExpertTM Software. The nail samples tested were either non-treated (control) or treated with phosphoric acid gel (PA). The instrument variables such as contact force, contact time and speed of withdrawal of the probe, were studied using these films. The parameters measured were peak adhesion force (PAF) and the area under the curve (AUC). Results: PAF and AUC were determined to be greater for human nail samples treated with PA gel compared to that of the control for each of the instrument variables studied. At all contact forces employed, both the PAF and AUC correspondingly increased with increase in the contact time. For a contact force of 2.0 N and a contact time of 60 sec, the PAF and AUC were 3.5 N and 6.5 N-mm, respectively, for the treated samples compared to that of the control (0.9 N and 4.4 N-mm). In addition, the speed of withdrawal of 0.5 mm/s at a contact time of 180 sec resulted in a PAF of 1.3 N for the control vs. 4.0 N for the PA treated nail. Conclusion: Bioadhesive profiles of the HME films have demonstrated that nail samples treated with surface modifiers increase PAF and AUC values compared to that of the control. Thus, determination of differences in bioadhesion for the control and etched nail coupled with other studies is significant for the formulation, design and production of topical drug delivery systems for onychomycosis. 43 IMPROVING STABILITY OF AMORPHOUS TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL IN POLYMERIC SYSTEMS. Manish Munjal and Michael A. Repka. Department of Pharmaceutics, The University of Mississippi, University, MS The purpose of this study was to investigate the stability of Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in polymeric matrix systems produced by hot-melt fabrication with respect to processing temperature, formulation additives and storage conditions. A hot-melt method was utilized to determine the miscibility of various additives with polyethylene oxide (PEO) and hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC). Of twenty-two additives tested, four were selected to aid the incorporation of THC into the polymeric matrices. The stability of THC was determined based on its degradation to cannabinol (CBN). The film matrices were stored at four different temperatures and analyzed at pre-determined time intervals for the amount of THC and CBN present. Based on the miscibility test results PEG-400, vitamin E succinate, isopropyl myristate and Capmul PG-12 were selected as suitable additives for fabricating hot-melt cast PEO matrices. Only PEG-400, however, was found to be suitable as a processing aid for the HPC film systems. Percent relative degradation of THC to CBN in the PEO films prepared with PEG-400 was 1.6, 1.5, 1.6 and 1.7% after one month of storage at -18, 4, 25 and 40 oC, respectively. THC in the PEO matrix systems containing Capmul PG-12 exhibited similar stability results. However degradation of THC was found to increase in the presence of vitamin E succinate. No significant degradation of THC was observed in HPC systems up to one month. THC was found to be stable in the polymeric matrix systems in presence of PEG-400 at all storage temperatures for at least one month. The studies are relevant to development of a stable bioadhesive transmucosal matrix system for the therapeutic delivery of amorphous THC. This work was partially funded by NIH grants #1R41 GM067304-01 and # P20RR17701. Health Sciences II 60 DESIGN AND SYNTHESIS OF ISOFLAVONES AS ANTIGIARDIAL AGENTS Nakul Telang, Tomoko Mineno, Larry Walker, Mitchell Avery Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS National Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS Pathogenic diseases have been a subject of research interest for a very long time in medicinal chemistry. Giardiasis is one of the major intestinal diseases caused by a pathogenic unicellular protozoan, Giardia lamblia. It has been identified as the major cause of the most frequent waterborne outbreaks infecting 20 – 30% of the population in developing countries and 2 - 5% in United States. At present, Metronidazole and Furazolidone are used as the current first line treatment for giardiasis. Recent reports of Giardia resistant against current therapy have necessitated the need to develop new and effective drugs. Isolation of isoflavones from natural sources has revealed formononetin and pseudobaptigenin has potent antigiardial activity in vitro. In order to conduct further studies towards the discovery of novel antigiardial agents, a library of isoflavone derivatives has been synthesized using parallel solution-phase synthesis. Several compounds of that library have been shown to be promising antigiardial agents. Future prospects would include the implementation of combinatorial synthetic chemistry along with high throughput screening techniques, which would accelerate in understanding the disease and further research towards a suitable antigiardial agent. 61 HOT-MELT EXTRUSION OF THERMALLY STABLE AND UNSTABLE MODEL ANTIFUNGAL DRUGS: PROCESS VARIABLES AND FORMULATION EVALUATION Suneela Prodduturi, Sridhar Thumma, Melissa R. Jacob, Steven P. Stodghill, Michael A. Repka Purpose: To study the effect of process parameters and moisture content on the stability of a heat sensitive drug, Nystatin (NT), and a thermally stable active, Clotrimazole (CT) incorporated into a polymeric matrix prepared by hot-melt extrusion (HME) technology. Methods: Hot-melt extrusion was carried out using a single screw extruder (KillionKLB100) equipped with a 1-inch diameter screw and flex-lip die. The drug-incorporated polymeric films contained hydroxypropylcellulose, polyethylene oxide and polycarbophil. CT in the extruded films was quantitated using a stability-indicating HPLC method. Dissolution studies were performed according to USP XXIII, apparatus 5 paddle-over-disk method. Antifungal assays were performed on the films to test the activity of the drugs, post-extrusion. Results: There was a significant effect of extrusion temperature, screw speed and moisture content on the stability of NT-incorporated in the HME films. Temperature and screw speed did not exhibit a significant effect on the stability of CT at low moisture levels. A maximum of 92.1% (±1.9) of NT and 100.2% (±2.1) of CT remained in the films extruded at optimized conditions. The release of drug from NT-incorporated films was faster (100% release/5 hours) than that from the CT-incorporated films (100% release/8 hours). The mechanism of release from Nystatin-incorporated films was both diffusion and erosion of the matrix, whereas CT-incorporated films released predominantly by matrix erosion. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of CT and NT (for Candida albicans) pre- and post-extrusion were found to be equivalent (0.31 and 1.25mg/mL, respectively) indicating no loss in activity of both drugs in the HME films. Conclusions: Optimization of critical process parameters resulted in successful extrusion of thermolabile and thermally stable drugs. Acknowledgements: The authors wish to thank Aqualon and Dow chemical company for the generous supply of Klucel® and PolyOx®, respectively. Math & Computer Sciences Math & Computer Sciences 23 TRAFFIC PATTERN ANALYSIS AND MODELING IN A UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY A. K. M. Azad Hossain1, Hal Robinson1, Greg Easson1, and Hugh Sloan2. 1Geology and Geological Engineering, 2School of Business, The University of Mississippi The Oxford-University of Mississippi Intelligent Transportation Systems Project has been gathering traffic data in and around Oxford city for more than 2 years. These data provide a unique opportunity for researchers to analyze and understand traffic patterns in the city. The City of Oxford has a population of approximately 12,000 that does not include the University of Mississippi Oxford campus with an enrolled student population of 13,500. This combined population of over 25,000 residents and students share the streets and highways. As the largest employer in the city and a student population near thirteen thousand, traffic related to the University and its daily schedule dominates the overall traffic pattern in Oxford and the surrounding area. Manually operated digital count boards were used to collect traffic data at key intersections in Oxford. The counting device allows the collection of 12 different turning movements for 4-way intersections. Turning movement data consists of the total number of movements by vehicles entering the intersection in a 5 or 15 minute interval during a 12-hour collection period starting at 7:00am. A database of the collected traffic data was created and analyzed in association with regular schedules of university for selected intersections. Models of important intersections were created and simulated using the collected traffic data. Synchro and SimTraffic 6 were used for modeling and simulation. Traffic data and analysis results have been posted online using the OUMITS website. Analysis of traffic data indicates the dominance of patterns associated with the university on the local traffic. Many intersections have peak flows in traffic that correspond to university class schedules. In the afternoon, other intersections have traffic patterns more indicative of weekend traffic where drivers are traveling without a set schedule. These afternoon traffic patterns are dominated by students who are not coming and going to classes. 27 DEVELOPMENT OF A WINDOWS BASED AUTOMATED SYSTEM FOR ANTENNA CHARACTERIZATION Lisa Jordan*, Aik Min Choong, W. Elliott Hutchcraft, and Charles E. Smith, University of Mississippi Because of their widespread use, vector network analyzers(VNA) have become the backbone of microwave and RF measurements. They can be used for the determination of an antenna pattern by rotating a test antenna and looking at the transmission from the test antenna to a known receiving antenna. However, the calibration of the network analyzer in addition to controlling the rotation of the antenna under test can be difficult and quite time consuming. To assist the user in the process, and allow the rapid characterization of an antenna, a Windows-based program with a graphical user interface was developed. This program uses a computer to control both the stepper motor which rotates the antenna and a network analyzer that makes the measurements. With computer control, the setup and calibration of the system can be performed automatically without any user intervention. In addition, the pattern data can be transferred from the VNA to the computer. This will allow the easy manipulation and visualization of the data in MATLAB. Details of the interfacing between the computer, the stepper motor, and network analyzer will be shown and the development of the GUI will be presented. Math & Computer Sciences 36 NEW MODEL AND SOLUTION METHODOLOGY FOR THE MAXIMUM CONTACT MAP OVERLAP PROBLEM IN PROTEIN 3D STRUCTURE COMPARISON Wei Liu, Bahram Alidaee, Dawn Wilkins A protein's three-dimensional (3D) structure determines its biological function and its role in health and disease. It is of fundamental importance that we can compare protein 3D structures in modern molecular biology. The comparisons of protein 3D structures have been applied to evolutionary analysis, evaluating structure prediction methods and prediction of the function of a new protein. However, none of the current protein 3D structure comparison algorithms can achieve satisfying performance under various situations in a reasonable amount of time. In this prospectus we propose a new unconstrained binary quadratic programming (UBQP) model based on contact map overlap (CMO) and a new solution methodology for this problem. A special data structure for the CMO problem is proposed to compress memory as much as possible. We also propose an r-opt algorithm for UBQP and implement in a tabusearch meta-heuristic for solution of the problem. In recent years, there has been a quite number of r-opt algorithms applied to various combinatorial optimization problems. In all such methods the r-opt implementation is highly problem specific. However, our r-opt method is very general and can be applied to a large class of combinatorial optimization problems. 42 WEB-BASED SEARCHING AND DELIVERY OF GEOSPATIAL DATA USING ArcIMS AND MySQL Henrique Momm, Hal Robinson, Dr. Greg Easson, and Dr. Hugh Sloan, Department of Geology and Geological Engineering Most of the data researchers gather and use can be referenced in a spatial coordinate system. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are powerful tools designed to create, analyze, manipulate, and display spatial data. Distributed GIS on the internet provides the means to disseminate and distribute data to the general public as well as other researchers. One of the outcomes of the Oxford-University of Mississippi Intelligent Transportation Systems (OUMITS) project has been the collection of large amounts of spatial data in a variety of digital formats. The data has been made available through the internet for general use by the public including, city planners, developers, builders, and residents. Similarly, the University of Mississippi Geoinformatics Center (UMGC) is developing a large satellite imagery database covering the entire State of Mississippi comprised of hundreds of images. The challenge is to provide data to the public in a manner that enables them to find datasets to meet their needs. Most users of the data provided will have a general understanding of their location of interest. ArcIMS incorporates spatial selection and analysis tools in a highly customizable environment, providing researchers with several options for delivering spatial data content. Java Servlet technology acts as an interface between the web browser (client) and databases and/or applications. Through the integration of ArcIMS, Java Servlets, and a relational database, data can be selected by simple drag and drop boxes over an area of interest or by customizable query functions. Once data is selected, a request is then sent to the web server, which redirects it to the servlet interpreter. The servlet is then responsible for processing the request by retrieving the data from the database and sending a response to the map server (ArcIMS). The ArcIMS software package handles the spatial aspects of the searching and a freely available database package called MySQL is used to manage the database. Through this integration, spatial data can be provided for public use via the internet. Math & Computer Sciences 59 INTERACTIVE COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS FOR SIMULATING LINEAR DYNAMIC RESPONSE AND NONLINEAR QUASI-STATIC DAMAGE IN COMPOSITE STRUCTURES Tezeswi Tadepalli & C.L.Mullen, Dept. of Civil Engineering., University of Mississippi An interactive computational simulation tool for laminated composite structures response analysis has been developed, that can act as an interface between modal vibration analysis testing and finite element damage assessment. A graphical user interface has been developed as a simple template for performing a variety of time domain based dynamic and nonlinear analysis options. Validation and application of the tool are discussed for linear dynamic analysis, using both modal superposition and direct integration and for nonlinear static analysis of frames with rectangular cross sections. An integration scheme which enables tracking of complex flexural damage states including distributed plasticity is implemented in the finite element procedure. The approach is verified for linear dynamic response using a 3DOF lumped mass model, and for nonlinear static response using a cantilever laminate beam loaded to plastic hinge formation. Compatibility of the model with experimental modal analysis is demonstrated using a smallscale, pultruded, portal frame assembly. Social Sciences 7 BURNOUT AND SECONDARY TRAUMATIC STRESS AMONG COUNSELING PROFESSIONALS Darleen Dempster This paper provides a synopsis of the symptomology defining burnout and secondary traumatic stress among counseling professionals as overviewed in the literature. As burnout can lead to ineffective counseling as well as significant suffering by the impaired professional, the subject is important for professionals providing counseling services to consider and study. A review and analysis of causal factors discussed in the literature is presented in terms of job-related factors, variables related to personality and lifestyle of the professional, as well as considerations of the severity of the client or consumer’s presenting issue(s). Measures available to determine both burnout and secondary traumatic stress are discussed. Causal factors are also explored to postulate prevention efforts. Prevention and treatment strategies discussed in recent research are reviewed, including a discussion of overall wellness, employee assistance programs, and the role of the supervisor in assisting counselors under his/her charge in dealing with (or suspected to be dealing with) work-related stress or burnout. The coping resources available to counseling professionals, as well as specialized training in the application of such, are discussed in terms of self-care, as well as client-care. 12 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND PERFORMANCE OF STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES IN CHINA Hongman Gao. Department of MIS/POM, School of Business Administration, University of Mississippi. In 2001, China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). This event meant that Chinese State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) would have to compete in the global economy and face many challenges in competing with foreign companies. Because of these changes, the issue of corporate governance has become an important topic in the debate of how China’s businesses can become more competitive in the global economy. We proposed a model, collected the data, and tested it to get the results of the performance of SOEs. Finally, we provided some suggestions about how to improve the corporate governance of SOEs in China. Social Sciences 29 AN EVALUATION OF SOURCE CREDIBILITY AND INFORMATION RELEVANCE AND RELIABILITY: THEIR INFLUENCE ON BELIEFS ABOUT WEIGHT-LOSS Sean R. King and Noel E. Wilkin, The University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacy Administration, RIPS Objectives: People seek information on weight loss supplements from multiple sources, including physicians, pharmacist, and nutritional store clerks. The credibility of these sources on this topic and how peoples’ perceptions of these sources of information influence beliefs about those products is not well understood. Using the predictions of a model of practical reasoning, this study was conducted to understand the relationship between aspects of the information source and beliefs about weight loss supplements. Methods: This study used a three-factor experimental design in which 130 subjects were randomly assigned to receive information about weight loss supplements from one of three sources, a physician, a pharmacist, or a nutritional store clerk. After measuring beliefs about the products, relevance and reliability of the information, credibility of the source, expert power of the source, and informational power of the source were measured. Then disconfirming information was presented and beliefs, relevance, and reliability were measured again. Results: The magnitude of the beliefs formed and the belief change that resulted after receiving disconfirming information did not differ across information sources. Changes in judgments of relevance and reliability were significantly (P<0.01) correlated with changes in beliefs, R=0.55 and R=0.61 respectively. Nutritional store clerks had significantly more expert power and informational power than physicians (P<0.05), but did not differ from pharmacists. Perceived credibility of the source and judgments of relevance and reliability of the information did not differ across groups, but they were the only significant predictors of beliefs (P<0.001). Conclusions: These findings indicate that the source of information for weight loss supplements will not influence beliefs, while the perceived credibility of the source and relevance and reliability of information will. As predicted by the model of practical reasoning, judgments of relevance and reliability prove to be important predictors of beliefs. 30 PHARMACISTS BELIEFS REGARDING ALCOHOL AND DRUG USE AMONG THEIR PHARMACISTS PEERS Sean R. King, Sarah L. Ishee, & David McCaffrey, The University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacy Administration, PMMRP, RIPS Objectives: Little data exists on the beliefs that pharmacists have regarding alcohol and drug use among their pharmacist peers. The purpose of this study was to explore the attitudes and beliefs concerning alcohol and drug use among licensed pharmacists practicing in Mississippi. More specifically, it investigated relationships between pharmacists’ beliefs and personally knowing someone who has used a recovery program, relationships between their beliefs and attending an alcohol or drug dependence awareness seminar, and their recommendations as to whom they one would first refer a pharmacist colleague who had an alcohol or drug dependence problem. Methods: The sample for this study was all resident pharmacists licensed in Mississippi between 2000 and 2001. The names and addresses of pharmacists were obtained from the Mississippi Board of Pharmacy. Pharmacists were mailed a questionnaire and cover letter explaining the purpose of the investigation and asking for their participation. Results: Questionnaires were mailed to 2,294 pharmacists. 496 useable responses were obtained resulting in a response rate of 21.8%. Significant differences in beliefs were found based on gender, category of employment, pharmacy setting, and type of pharmacy practice. There were also significant differences in beliefs found for those pharmacists who knew someone that had used a recovery program as well as those that had attended an alcohol or drug dependence awareness seminar. Over one-third of the respondents reported that they had no idea to whom they would refer a pharmacist colleague first who had an alcohol or drug dependence problem. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that pharmacist beliefs concerning alcohol and drug related problems among colleagues differ, and that certain attitudes and beliefs differ depending on experience with the matter. These results indicate that more should be done to educate pharmacists on their options of referring a colleague who has an alcohol or drug dependence problem. Social Sciences 49 THE ROLE OF THE SALESPERSON IN ESTABLISHING AND PRESERVING THE PHARMACISTWHOLESALER RELATIONSHIP Amit S. Patel and William Lobb Department of Pharmacy Administration Objective: Research on the pharmacist-wholesaler relationship has been limited. No research has been conducted to examine the role of wholesaler salesperson characteristics on pharmacists’ trust and commitment towards their wholesalers. Based on marketing theory, this study examined the mediating roles of trust and commitment between antecedents (relationship termination costs, wholesaler corporate-level services, wholesaler salesperson-level services, shared values, history of the relationship, and salesperson characteristics) and consequences (propensity to leave and cooperation) of pharmacist-wholesaler relationship marketing. Methods: Independent pharmacists attending the NCPA Annual Meeting answered a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 74 useable responses were obtained. Data analysis was performed using summated scale scores. Initial hypothesis testing was completed using simple correlation coefficients, followed by a recursive path-analysis method. Results: Correlation analysis supported nine out of the 11 hypotheses. The recursive path analysis using OLS regression supported six out of the 11 hypotheses. Path coefficients between shared values and trust (r = 0.23) salesperson characteristics and trust (r = 0.51), trust and commitment (r = 0.80), trust and cooperation (r = 0.61), commitment and propensity to leave (r = 0.61), and commitment and cooperation (r = 0.32) were statistically significant (p< 0.05). Conclusions: Trust and commitment were key mediating variables in the pharmacist-wholesaler relationship. Trust was positively correlated to commitment suggesting that the pharmacists’ trust in their wholesaler was associated with commitment to the wholesaler. Salesperson characteristics like friendliness and competence, led to the development of commitment to the wholesaler via trust. Committed pharmacists were less likely to leave their current wholesalers and more cooperative with their wholesalers in the relationship. Overall, the results have implications for drug wholesalers and their use of salespersons. 52 AN EXAMINATION OF PROFESSIONAL COMMITMENT AMONG PHARMACISTS Ravi Sadasivan, Alicia S. Bouldin, David J. McCaffrey III Department of Pharmacy Administration, and Center for Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management The University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, University, MS 38677 Objectives: The primary objective of this study was to determine the applicability of a professional commitment scale among pharmacists and whether professional commitment varies with gender; length of employment; type of pharmacy practice; management status, and the number of professional pharmacy association’s memberships held. Methods: The professional commitment instrument developed by Aranya, et al. (1981) was included in the 2001 “Mississippi Pharmacy Compensation Survey” and administered to 2,294 licensed pharmacists residing within the state of Mississippi. Only full-time employees were considered in the analysis. Results: The 15-item scale was found to be internally consistent indicating its applicability in a pharmacist sample. After factor analysis 9-items were used for the subsequent analysis. Gender, length of employment, type of pharmacy practice, and management status were not related to professional commitment. Number of pharmacy associations joined was found to be positively related to professional commitment. Implications: The resulting 9-item professional commitment scale is applicable to the pharmacist sample, but further research is needed to examine its utility. Overall, pharmacists indicated a high (greater than the mid-point) commitment towards their profession and the lack of significant differences among gender, length of employment, type of pharmacy practice, and management status indicates that the professional commitment inculcated during the pharmacy curriculum remains constant. Social Sciences 53 COMMUNITY PHARMACY TECHNICIAN INVOLVEMENT IN OTC MEDICATION RECOMMENDATION: A NATIONAL STUDY OF ITS PREVALENCE, INTENSITY, GOVERNANCE AND TRAINING Nekshan N. Jalnawala, Ravi Sadasivan, David J. McCaffrey III This paper presents the results from a national survey of community pharmacy technicians focusing on their involvement in the recommendation of over-the-counter (OTC) medications, the policies that govern this activity, and the training that they receive regarding OTC medications. Data were collected as part of a national survey of community pharmacy technicians (n=3,198). Each member of the sample was mailed a cover letter that described the purpose of the study and directed the respondent to a web-based questionnaire. The one contact yielded 535 complete and usable responses (16.72% response rate). Of those technicians who reported providing some type of assistance to customers in the OTC area, over half reported making recommendations for specific OTC medications. Technicians in independent pharmacies are more likely to make OTC recommendations (66%) versus those in chain pharmacies (45.3%). The median number of recommendations made was 5/week and the perception of recommendation acceptance was high. Community pharmacy technicians reported that OTC recommendation activity was governed by policy. The policies being reported included: making recommendations after consulting the pharmacist (50.0%), only a pharmacist may make a recommendation (35.1), and making recommendations according to guidelines established by the pharmacist (11.8%). More chain pharmacy technicians reported having a policy that addressed OTC recommendations (74.5%) than did independent pharmacy technicians (43.8%). Relatively few pharmacy technicians reported receiving specific training about OTC medications (11.8%). Although no significant difference was found between independent and chain pharmacies, training was reported to be more formal in chain pharmacies (p<0.05). Pharmacists (92.0%), past experience (67.3%), and package labels (64.6%) were the most frequently mentioned sources of OTC medication information. A considerable amount of OTC recommendation activity exists in the community pharmacy setting. Owners and managers should revisit this issue to assure that both customer service and pharmaceutical care are being optimally addressed.