Single-cell proteomics and transcriptomics analysis are crucial to gain insights of

healthy physiology and disease pathogenesis. The comprehensive profiling of biomolecules in individual cells of a heterogeneous system can provide deep insights into many important biological questions, such as the distinct cellular compositions or regulation of inter- and intracellular signaling pathways of healthy and diseased tissues. With multidimensional molecular imaging of many different biomarkers in patient biopsies, diseases can be accurately diagnosed to guide the selection of the ideal treatment.

As an urgent need to advance single-cell analysis, imaging-based technologies have been developed to detect and quantify multiple DNA, RNA and protein molecules in single cell in situ. Novel fluorescent probes have been designed and synthesized, which targets specifically either their nucleic acid counterpart or protein epitopes. These highly multiplexed imaging-based platforms have the potential to detect and quantify 100 different protein molecules and 1000 different nucleic acids in a single cell.

Using novel fluorescent probes, a large number of biomolecules have been detected and quantified in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) brain tissue at single-cell resolution. By studying protein expression levels, neuronal heterogeneity has been revealed in distinct subregions of human hippocampus.

Carboxylic acids are an abundant and reactive species present throughout our solar system. The reactions of carboxylic acids can shape the organic abundances within oil field brines, carbonaceous chondrites, and different ranks of coal.

I have performed hydrothermal experiments with model aromatic carboxylic acids in the presences of different oxide minerals to investigate the reactions available to carboxylic acids in the presence of mineral surfaces. By performing experiments containing one organic compound and one mineral surface, I can begin to unravel the different reactions that can occur in the presence of different minerals.

I performed experiments with phenylacetic acid (PAA), hydrocinnamic acid (HCA) and benzoic acid (BA) in the presence of spinel (MgAl2O4), magnetite (Fe3O4), hematite (Fe2O3), and corundum (Al2O3). The focus of this work was metal oxide minerals, with and without transition metal atoms, and with different crystal structures. I found that all four oxide minerals facilitated ketonic decarboxylation reactions of carboxylic acids to form ketone structures. The two minerals containing transition metals (magnetite and hematite) also opened a reaction path involving electrochemical oxidation of one carboxylic acid, PAA, to the shorter chain version of a second carboxylic acid, BA, in experiments starting with PAA. Fundamental studies like these can help to shape our knowledge of the breadth of organic reactions that are possible in geologic systems and the mechanisms of those reactions.

Since the discovery of graphene, two dimensional materials (2D materials) have become a focus of interest for material research due to their many unique physical properties embedded in their 2D structure. While they host many exciting potential applications, some of these 2D materials are subject to environmental instability issues induced by interaction between material and gas molecules in air, which poses a barrier to further application and manufacture. To overcome this, it is necessary to understand the origin of material instability and interaction with molecules commonly found in air, as well as developing a reproducible and manufacturing compatible method to post-process these materials to extend their lifetime. In this work, the very first investigation on environmental stability on Te containing anisotropic 2D materials such as GaTe and ZrTe3 is reported. Experimental results have demonstrated that freshly exfoliated GaTe quickly deteriorate in air, during which the Raman spectrum, surface morphology, and surface chemistry undergo drastic changes. Environmental Raman spectroscopy and XPS measurements demonstrate that H2O molecules in air interact strongly on the surface while O2, N2, and inert gases don't show any detrimental effects on GaTe surface. Moreover, the anisotropic properties of GaTe slowly disappear during the aging process. To prevent this gas/material interaction based surface transformation, diazonium based surface functionalization is adopted on these Te based 2D materials. Environmental Raman spectroscopy results demonstrate that the stability of functionalized Te based 2D materials exhibit much higher stability both in ambient and extreme conditions. Meanwhile, PL spectroscopy, angle resolved Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy measurements confirm that many attractive physical properties of the material are not affected by surface functionalization. Overall, these findings unveil the degradation mechanism of Te based 2D materials as well as provide a way to significantly enhance their environmental stability through an inexpensive and reproducible surface chemical functionalization route.

Reactions between minerals and organic compounds in hydrothermal systems (high temperature and presence of H2O) are critical in the Earth’s deep carbon cycle and may have implications in the origins of life. Previous work demonstrated that in the absence of a mineral, hydrothermal reaction of cis- and trans-1,2-dimethylcyclohexane is extremely slow and resulted in the formation of many products. However, in the presence of sphalerite (ZnS), the reaction rate is significantly increased and it results in the formation of one main product, the corresponding stereoisomer. Following similar methods, we demonstrated that the sphalerite used in the reaction of cis-1,2-dimethylcyclohexane to the trans- stereoisomer visually changes structure via SEM. Additionally, we ran the experiments in sealed glass tubes, which unlike previously used gold tubes, do not react with the organics and provides more volume for larger amounts of mineral to be used. Finally, we investigated the role of other metal sulfides (FeS and PbS) in organic transformation reactions and analyzed their resulting physical structure. We found the role of FeS catalysis to be ambiguous and that PbS seemed to have no effect in the transformation reactions. We also found the glass tube data using ZnS to track previously published data with the same reactions in gold tubes. Our reactions were run without pressurizing the reaction vessels and at 300°C indicating pressure is not main factor in product formation (compare 1000 bar and 300°C).

The goal of this investigation was to perform a correlational analysis of the intelligence mindsets, motivational background, and significance of gender identity as factors driving student success. 42 students enrolled in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) 110: Principles of Programming with Java completed a modified Scientific Measurement Questionnaire (SMQ), a survey instrument designed to study the previously mentioned factors. This survey was modeled on a similar survey administered by Dr. Ian Gould to students enrolled in his Organic Chemistry course at Arizona State University. Following the development of a scoring system to generate quantifiable data, it was determined that students in this course displayed a greater inclination towards beliefs in malleable intelligence and in an intrinsic locus of control as opposed to a belief in static intelligence and an external locus of control. Students exhibited a multi-faceted approach in responding to the questions in the motivational background section, indicating that there were no distinctively dominating factors driving student motivation. Instead, it was observed that students generally derived motivation from these factors in a synergistic fashion. Responses to questions regarding gender indicated that while students believed that the way they were perceived by others was significantly influenced by their gender, the notion of gender identity played little to no role in their overall personal identity and self-schema. As the study was designed to offer insight into the role of gender identity and the population discrepancies within the course, it is important to note that the findings suggest gender identity is not a primary factor of concern with regard to student performance. While the data acquired suggested potential trends in student mindsets, a notable limitation of the scope of the project was the undersized sample population.

The main objective of this project is to create a hydrogel based material system to capture and release CCRF-CEM Leukemia cancer cells via chemo-mechanical modulation. This system is composed of an aptamer-functionalized hydrogel thin film at the bottom of a microfluidic channel, which changes its film thickness as the temperature of the fluid in the system changes. The functionalized hydrogel film has been created as the primary steps to creating the microfluidic device that could capture and release leukemia cells by turning the temperature of the fluid and length of exposure. Circulating tumor cells have recently become a highly studied area since they have become associated with the likelihood of patient survival. Further, circulating tumor cells can be used to determine changes in the genome of the cancer leading to targeted treatment. First, the aptamers were attached onto the hydrogel through an EDC/NHS reaction. The aptamers were verified to be attached onto the hydrogel through FTIR spectroscopy. The cell capture experiments were completed by exposing the hydrogel to a solution of leukemia cells for 10 minutes at room temperature. The cell release experiments were completed by exposing the hydrogel to a 40°C solution. Several capture and release experiments were completed to measure how many cells could be captured, how quickly, and how many cells captured were released. The aptamers were chemically attached to the hydrogel. 300 cells per square millimeter could be captured at a time in a 10 minute time period and released in a 5 minute period. Of the cells captured, 96% of them were alive once caught. 99% of cells caught were released once exposed to elevated temperature. The project opens the possibility to quickly and efficiently capture and release tumor cells using only changes in temperature. Further, most of the cells that were captured were alive and nearly all of those were released leading to high survival and capture efficiency.

This study seeks to determine whether female and male students in general chemistry courses differ in exam and course-based performance. Using data from previous semesters of CHM 101 (Marks), CHM 101 (Bauer), CHM 114 (Seo, Windman), CHM 113/116 (Cabirac), and CHM 117/118 (Williams) courses taught at Arizona State University, the total exam scores and final course grades for each student were recorded and analyzed. The results of this study differ greatly by course type, as each course corresponded to a different STEM major. While CHM 113/116, the pre-medicinal majors course, saw evidence of stereotype threat via lower female exam performance, the other courses saw no statistical difference between male and female performance on their exam scores or overall course grades. For CHM 101, this was understandable, as the majority of students were nursing majors, who likely did not experience tokenism or feel stereotyped negatively in their science classes. However, CHM 114, the engineering majors course, and CHM 117/118, the research science course, saw parity with respect to male and female student performance. This suggests the possibility that female students face adversity in science and math courses before college that cause only those with high self-efficacy to advance to a career in these fields.

Yellowstone National Park has a vibrant variety of flora, fauna, and hydrothermal systems all collected together in one large and complex system. Studies have been conducted for at least several decades in order to make sense of this system in ways that may be relevant to other similar geologies around the world. The latest update in this ever-ongoing study involves the collection and analysis of water samples from 2016. These samples have been analyzed for conductivity, pH, temperature, dissolved organic carbon, dissolved inorganic carbon, carbon isotopes, dissolved oxygen, ferrous iron, sulfide, silica, and more. While not many trends were found in this data in regards to dissolved organic carbon values, this is a substantial addition to a growing body of information that could yield more impressive information in times to come. In addition, factors that have yet to analyzed for this 2016 data, such as concentrations of metals and metalloids, may provide some insights when put through a chloride vs sulfate framework to separate out different reaction regions.

Due to its difficult nature, organic chemistry is receiving much research attention across the nation to develop more efficient and effective means to teach it. As part of that, Dr. Ian Gould at ASU is developing an online organic chemistry educational website that provides help to students, adapts to their responses, and collects data about their performance. This thesis creative project addresses the design and implementation of an input parser for organic chemistry reagent questions, to appear on his website. After students used the form to submit questions throughout the Spring 2013 semester in Dr. Gould's organic chemistry class, the data gathered from their usage was analyzed, and feedback was collected. The feedback obtained from students was positive, and suggested that the input parser accomplished the educational goals that it sought to meet.

Understanding the relationships between chemistry students' motivation, performance, and gender can help identify and inform ways in which chemistry education might be improved. Students from four CHM 101 classes with two different instructors were surveyed using an adapted Science Motivation Questionnaire II, and motivation data was analyzed with respect to final course performance. Gender data was available for two of these classes, and motivation results analyzed by gender for these classes. Exam scores and gender data was obtained from one of the instructors for CHM 101 courses taught over the past five years and were also analyzed. The motivational study involved small sample sizes, especially in the motivation by gender study. Career motivation, grade motivation, self-efficacy, and total motivation declined over the course of the semester in the four classes combined. Self-efficacy and career motivation were found to predict final course performance only at the end of the semester. Self-efficacy strongly predicted performance, and career motivation was negatively correlated with performance. Female students had higher grade motivation at the end of the semester and lost more self-efficacy over the course of the semester than male students. Gender-performance analysis showed that male students scored slightly higher on exams on average, but that female students received a higher percentage of "A"s and a lower percentage of "D"s, "E"s, and "W"s in the majority of the semesters.