Saturday, December 27, 2008

Interesting concepts about milking that I don't believe

Milk one squeeze from each teat and discard
Dip each teat in teat dip and let air dry
    Teat Dip:
        1 pint of warm water
        1 drop of dawn detergent
        1 tablespoon bleach

The point of this is to prevent E. Coli. The teat dip is to prevent mastitis.
Bleach the wrong approach. Strengthen the immune system and weaken the superbug strain. Also, bleach weakens the immune system and make one more susceptible to bacteria and virus through the digestive track.

The Beginnings of a Scholarship


EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES:
  Grassroots Garden
       Cob Oven, Cooking, Hands-on Experience, Building Interpersonal Skills, Compost Research
  Food for Lane County Food Bank
  OSU Extension - MG, MFP, Pruner, Composter
  Green Chemistry Club - VP, Environmental Quality Testing, Earth Day
  World Touring - China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand
  Cattle Ranching in Solvang, Ca
  Classical and Flamenco Guitar acquired from an internationally acclaimed classical guitarist
  Piano
  Getting Married in June
    planning on Starting a Family in about two years, hopefully when I start PA School.


MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
  National Downhill Champion
  Cisco Engineer
  Equinox Trailers
  PA - not for money, doctors without borders, helping those who are struggling against the odds.
  Bike Mechanic on and off for 16 years - Mechanic, Sales, Manager
  Ski and Boot Fitting shop

PARTICULAR DIFFICULT ADVERSITY I OVERCAME:
    I am a first generation polish gypsy jew. My mother arrived in New York in 1943 at the age of two. My father and mother met in Los Angeles when he was a CNC machinist for Lockheed Martin. Then ended up separating when I was about four years old. Between four and nine my father and I transported our 50-foot airstream trailer all over the contiguous United States and ultimately attended a great number of schools during this time period. At the age of nine, my father purchased a 38-foot trimaran of which we sailed up and down the Pacific Coast from Washington to Mexico. This proved to be a very life enriching experience, however, the continual relocating made getting through lower education challenging. At the age of 15 we moved to Santa Barbara and because of an abusive situation I acquired a new set of parents through unofficial means who have been a very stable influence up and through the present.


A read worth looking into:

[Nock, Arthur Darby. Early Gentile Christianity and Its Hellenistic Background ((1928 / 1964)), pg. 58- 9]

The What and Why (In relation to physics)

Discerning the difference between the What and the Why is a notion brought forth by "The Fear of Physics" by Lawrence M. Krauss. In his book he calls it the difference between the How and the Why, however, as a few people have noted, it is more difficult to extrapolate the difference. The idea is set forth in the realm of physics. It is what has helped great scientists (most notably Galileo) drop the unimportant details of trying to determine why something works as it does (often upholding an emotional based idea) and get straight to the underlying details of what is actually scientifically happening. Once the rote details have been assessed, then the hypotheses of why something is happening can be determined. Another important attribute to this methodology is that a) what one perceives may often be very different to the outcome and b) the outcome can lead to additional unexpected discoveries because of a perspective that might not of otherwise not presented itself as a solution.

Friday, December 26, 2008

The Meaning of Stories

      A story has much significance far beyond the details or underlying philosophies that it works to represent. A story carries with it a piece of history that shows a relative link between a time period of the past and a time period and the present. It is a marker, if you will, of the environmental and social well being of ones livelihood. In today's world, one that relies heavily on data, misses connecting the data through a meaningful and digestible medium. Through the persistent loss of this medium and of the artists that conjure up their craftwork we simultaneously see the eroding of our planets ecosystems, diverse habitat, and social health and well being.

      The story telling practices of the ancients is a dying art, however, due to it's simplicity its powered can be regained.

 

Solventless Reactions – Summary Report

Scott Humason
CH 241 – MWF 8:30-9:50

Solventless Reactions – Summary Report

Brief Summary:
The purpose of this experiment is to learn about chemical reactions via its Melting Point. The initial products used are 3,4-dimethoxybenzaldehyde and 1-indanone. These two covalent compounds are mixed together to form an oil. NaOH is then added to form a solid compound. Following this, HCL is added to dissolve acid in the product, thus increasing pH. There are three very distinct points in regards to Melting Points and this experiment. The first, being the technical research, this gives the basis of what to expect from the experiment. The second, is to verify that our initial products are in fact what we expect them to be. The third, is to verify the results of combining the initial products and to compare them to our initial technical data. With this info, we are then able to draw some conclusions on the success of the experiment, or more specifically, the purity of the final product.

Discussion of Results:
    Melting Points - The results of the experiment, in comparison to the initial technical data gathered, was in fact very similar. By doing this process, this verifies that the initial product that we are working with is in fact, very likely to be what it says it is. 3,4-dimethoxybenzaldehyde had a starting melting point of 42.5C degrees and ended at 44C degrees. Scientific range: 42-45C. 1-indanone had a starting melting point at 38C degrees and ended at 41C degrees. Scientific range: 38-42C.

    Product collected and its melting range - The final product was a bit short of the technical data with a starting melting point of 153C and ending at 175C degrees. The lower melting point and range shows that a small percentage of impurities exist.

    Percent yield from starting materials - The initial products of 3,4-dimethoxybenzaldehyde weighed in at .2534g and 1-indanone weighed in at .2049g. This initial total before mixing is .4583g. At the completion of the experiment, .3712g was left. This means that .0871g of product was lost during the experiment, with a total product being about 81% of the initial products.

Analysis of error and quality of experiment:
I feel that the experiment went well. There is a noticeable shortcoming of converting the initial product into the final product. I feel that this had something to do with how completely the initial reactions happened. By not being extremely exact in weighing out the initial compounds, there is probably an offset of one reactant to another.

Evaluate experiment in terms of greenness:
Atom economy is stated to be excellent, meaning that this is an extremely efficient reaction. All of the atoms used in the reaction find a home in the new compound. Thy bi-products are oxygen and hydrogen that come out as water. This reaction doesn't use a solvent which considerably reduces chemical waste. Sodium hydroxide is used as a catalyst to lower the energy pathway over an activation barrier. This reduces the number of steps needed to complete the reaction, speeds up the reaction process, and is not consumed by the reaction, so this catalyst can be recycled and reused.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Chemical and Engineering News Abstracts

Scott Humason
Chem 241: MWF: 8:30-9:50

Chemical and Engineering News Abstracts

Specialty Chemicals: Environmental Challenges Drive Alternatives
Phthalate Esters are an established and cost effective plasticizer that is used to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC) flexible. Phthalate esters are one of the most scrutinized chemicals permitted on the market today. Environmentalists argue that phthalate causes reproductive problems and damage sexual development in neonatal infants. Industrial groups argue that there is no correlation between adverse health issues and the use of phthalate. Alternative plasticizers do exist, however, none of them meet the broad range of applications as they are for very specific uses and come at in increased cost. Because of this cost increase, it is not expected for alternatives to be heavily sought after until a ban on phthalate is imposed.

Bacterial Conversations
Conversations between bacteria have been documented as a natural phenomenon. These single cell organisms are thought to communicate their needs to other like species of bacteria as a means of getting what they are not locomotivly able to provide on their own. Bacterial conversations are defined as quorum sensing and are made up of chemicals called autoinducers. An example of this behavior is a bacteria's ability to listen to autoinducers which turn on or off the genes of the bacteria to act in solidarity or in a group. When a minimum population size has been met, they will function as a group. The squid has developed an symbiotic relationship with these bacteria as seen by luminescence. In exchange for food and shelter, V.fisheri will produce luminescent proteins when signaled by the squid. The luminescent proteins will in turn allow the light needed for the squid to hunt and thus complete the cycle to feed and house the bacteria.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Steam Distillation and Isolation of Essential Oils

Scott Humason
Chem 241: MWF: 8:30-930

Steam Distillation and Isolation of Essential Oils

Procedure:
Using an internal steam distillation method, collect about 30mL of distillate from 5 grams of ground clove in a 100mL Round Bottom Flask. Of the 30mL, separate the first 10mL from the second 20mL. Smell the difference, if the are different analyze separately.

Transfer water and product to centrifuge tube and spin it down in a centrifuge. This should form one droplet. If you already have one droplet, there is no need to do this step. Collect the droplet using a pipette. If no product is visible and sample has a smell, use 5mL of CH2CL2 (dichloromethane) and let it evaporate.

Once the product has been collected, determine the mass of the product and analyze it with an IR spectroscope.

Brief Summary of Experiment:
The goal of this experiment is to use steam distillation to isolate an essential oil. I chose cloves because of its inherent richness in oil most likely ability to get a sample without using dichloromethane to separate the sample. I was able to get a significant sized drop, mass its weight, and get an IR spectroscopic analysis performed.

Discussion of Results:
Amount of Essential Oil Collected  =  .0258g of Essential Oil Collected


Percent Yield of Essential Oil

grams of oil produced .0258g
------------------------------ = -------- = .0049 X 100 = .49 %
grams of starting material 5.238g


Identification of Essential Oil (IR Analysis):
See Attached Sheets


Analysis of Error and Quality of Experiment:
I believe that the room for error is considerably greater anytime the % of product produced is relatively small. I found that a fair amount of oil was attracted to the plastic of the pipette used to extract the droplet. This will certainly affect the weight measurement. This also affects the ability to cover the IR spectroscope's lens to get an accurate analysis. I feel that the quality of the experiment was largely validated by the IR analysis and matching it up with the online IR Database.

Evaluation of Greenness:
This procedure is relatively green, subtracting the energy to produce the heat and the tooling, except if dichloromethane is used to separate the product. Because I went out of my way to get the product to be produced without this step, I feel the greenness of the final product and the process to be environmentally reasonable.

Kinetic Investigation of Unimolecular Solvolysis

Scott Humason
Chem 241: MWF: 8:30-9:50

Kinetic Investigation of Unimolecular Solvolysis

1.) How many millimoles of tert-butyl choloride and hydroxide ion are present in each flask prior to mixing?

Tert-butyl Chloride
3mL X .10 mol = .3mmol

Hydroxide Ion
.3ml X .10 mol = .03mml
+ 6.7 ml H20


2.) Does the acetone participate directly in the reaction? How about the water? Explain?

The water and acetone help stabilize the carbocation. The acetone also helps slow down the reaction by decreasing molar concentration, making it easier to measure the time.


3.) What is the relationship between rate constant for unimolecular reaction and percent reaction given by the expression?

Rate Constant:

[A]o [.1mol Tert-butyl Chloride]
-Ln -------- = [K(time)] Ln ------------------------------------ = K
[A]t [.09mol Hydroxide Ion]
----------------------------------------------
(time)

[.1mol Tert-butyl Chloride]o
1st reaction -Ln ------------------------------------ = [K(56)] K = -.002
[.09mol Hydroxide Ion]t

[.1mol Tert-butyl Chloride]o
2nd reaction -Ln ------------------------------------ = [K(78)] K = -.0013
[.09mol Hydroxide Ion]t

[.1mol Tert-butyl Chloride]o
3rd reaction -Ln ------------------------------------ = [K(82)] K = -.0012
[.09mol Hydroxide Ion]t


4.) What conclusion can you draw about effect of temp on Sn1 reaction rate constant? Do you think your results would be qualitatively true for other reactions?

I had every expectation that the colder the temp that the reaction would be slower and the warmer the temp the faster the reaction would take place. However, the reaction at room temp was the faster initially to get started but the duration of time from start to end was a little bit longer of a time span, with the warmer being faster between reactions.

Temp Graph:

[Fill in Data Here]

5.) Calculate rate constant for each temp in problem B

[.1mol Tert-butyl Chloride]o
@13 Celsius -Ln ------------------------------------ = [K(224)] K = 4.7 ^4
[.09mol Hydroxide Ion]t

[.1mol Tert-butyl Chloride]o
@11.5 Celsius -Ln ------------------------------------ = [K(278)] K = 3.78 ^4
[.09mol Hydroxide Ion]t

[.1mol Tert-butyl Chloride]o
@33 Celsius -Ln ------------------------------------ = [K(127)] K = 8.29 ^4
[.09mol Hydroxide Ion]t

[.1mol Tert-butyl Chloride]o
@34 Celsius -Ln ------------------------------------ = [K(103)] K = .001
[.09mol Hydroxide Ion]t


6.) Which is a more polar solvent, acetone or water?

Water, having 2 lone electron pairs, and no counter balancing atoms make for an overall electronegative molecule thus is more polar. The lone electron pairs also create a considerable electro negative force.


7.) Note that the rate determining step of this reaction involves the production of a positively charged particle. What effect would you expect a more polar medium to have on solvolysis rate? Explain. How does this expectation compare with results of the experiments?

The positively charged particle is the cation intermediate that is created when the Chlorine is removed. To remove the Cl-, a suitable leaving environment is needed for both the anion of the leaving group and the carbocation. A more polar medium would slow down the leaving group and ultimately have no effect on the carbocation. Since the first step, the leaving group, is the slow step, a more polar medium will slow down the reaction rate considerably.


8.) Summarize the leaving group and alkyl group influence rate constant for unimolecular solvolysis.

Chlorine is not the best leaving group, second to Fluorine in its affinity to be in a bond (due to short bond length). Being a tertiary reaction makes it difficult/impossible to use a nucleophile to push off the leaving group, so a more polar positive and/or hindered base will make for a better leaving environment and the stronger the nucleophile the quicker the cation will be attacked by a nucleophile.

Liquid CO2 Extraction of Limonene from Orange Peel

Scott Humason
Chem 241: MWF: 8:30-9:50

Liquid CO2 Extraction of Limonene from Orange Peel

Brief Summary of Experiment:
The goal of this experiment is to extract D-Limonene from an orange peel using supercritical CO2. Obtain 2.5 grams of ground orange peel from the most orange part of the orange peel. Build an apparatus to suspend the ground orange peel from the bottom of a chamfered tube. Pack the orange peel filled tube with CO2 ice, cap it and submerge in warm water. If the seal hold, then the pressure will turn the evaporating CO2 gas into a liquid. The liquid will descend through the orange peel, removing oil along its path and deliver it to the bottom of the tube. When the "boiling" is done, removing the cap will allow the CO2 to escape as a gas and leave only the oil. With this oil, we will gather data about the percent yield.

Discussion of Results:
Amount of Essential Oil Collected
Actual Grams of Product Collected = .029g
Percent Yield of Essential Oil Collected

grams of product collected .029g
-------------------------------- = ------------ = .01147 x 100 = 1.1417%
grams of starting material 2.2582g

Analysis of Error and Quality of Experiment:
The biggest challenge to this experiment was keeping the CO2 contained during it's transition state from solid to a liquid. If there was a leak in the vessel the solid would easily escape as a gas, however, if is was pressurized enough, cold liquid would form and extract the oil very quickly. I feel that the results are very reliable, considering that the product is very pure. In addition, because the oil didn't get heated, there was no worry about oxidization, a common issue with oil.

Evaluation of Experiment in terms of Greenness:
This experiment highlighted a very low impact process of extracting oils. This process involved no toxic materials - outside of the plastic used as containers. The most detrimental step was the energy used to convert gaseous CO2 into liquid CO2.

In comparison to Steam Distillation:
The steam distillation experiment was a much more labor intensive and time intensive project. It is difficult to say which one was more efficient at producing more or better product, however, working with the resulting product was the clear marker of difference. With the steam distillation method, the oil was suspended in water and was extremely difficult separate and stuck to the separating equipment. However, with the CO2 process, the oil was all by itself, making for a much smoother and cleaner process.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Ingredients Chemical Structure Functional Group Purpose


Calcium Carbonate - Purified Mineral



HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_formula" \o "Chemical formula" CaCO3






Natural Whitening Polisher



Glycerin (vege) - Vegetable



C3H5(OH)3 IUPAC Name: Propane-1,2,3-triol


Glycoproteins contain oligosaccharide (8 different types) chains (glycans) covalently attached to their polypeptide side-chains








Humectant



Aqua (Purified Spring Water) - Natural Spring



H2O or HOH


IUPAC Name: Water






Base



Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate - Mineral





HOOCCH2CH2CH(NHCOR)COONa






SURFACTANT,


Acid Neutralizer, Detergent



Carrageenan - Seaweed



Natural carrageenans are mixtures of different sulfated polysaccharides






Thickener



Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Gel¹ - Tropical Healing Plant



Active Ingredient: Alprogen (glycoprotein)






Gum Soothing



Sodium Bicarbonate - Mineral



NaHCO3


IUPAC Sodium Hydrogencarbonate






Acid Neutralizer



Bambusa Arundinacea (Bamboo) Powder - Bamboo









Natural Whitening Polisher



Stevioside² - Plant



C20H30O3 -- Steviol glycoside


IUPAC Name: Kaur-16-en-18-oic acid, 13-hydroxy-, (4.alpha.)










Flavor



Perilla Frutescens Japanica (Perilla) Seed Extract - Mt. Fuji (Japan) Tree



HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_formula" \o "Chemical formula" C18H30O2


alpha-linolenic acid, ALA; Linolenic acid; cis, cis,cis-9,12,15-Octadecatrienoic acid; (Z,Z,Z)-9,12,15-Octadecatrienoic acid; Industrene 120






Sugar-Acid Blocker



Carum Petroselinum (Parsley) Extract - Plant



?






Breath Freshener, flavor



Silica - Mineral



HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_formula" \o "Chemical formula" SiO2


HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_formula" \o "Chemical formula" Silcon Dioxide






Natural Whitening Polisher



Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Seed Extract - California FruitActive Ingredient: Oligomeric proanthocyanidins


Mentha Piperita (Peppermint)² - Natural Leaf



Carvone: Terpenoid


IUPAC Name: HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Union_of_Pure_and_Applied_Chemistry_nomenclature" \o "International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry nomenclature" 2-methyl-5-(prop-1-en-2-yl) cyclohex-2-enone






Breath Freshening




Thursday, November 13, 2008

Extraction of Caffeine from Coffee or Tea Lab

Scott Humason
CH241 MWF 8:30-9:50

Extraction of Caffeine from Coffee or Tea Lab

Summary:
The goal of this lab is to extract caffeine from tea or coffee. This is a two part lab with the first part being the process of extracting and washing the caffeine into a 2-propenol solution. We are not focused on a consumable product with caffeine being removed from it. Our main goal is to extract the caffeine as the caffeine as the final product. The challenge to this lab is that caffeine will not readily separate into water, we need a more polar solvent. To do this we polarize a 2-propenol and CaOH solution with NaCl, making the solution basic. Caffeine in water is a Lewis Acid (electron acceptor, proton donor), while the water is a Lewis Base.

Discussion of Results:
Theoretical Yield of Caffeine

(Assume max mg of caffeine solution before extraction)
Formula for Liquid

1oz. = 29.57mL 1oz. = 28.349g
98mL / 29.57 = 3.314oz 3.314oz * 28.349g = 10.98

Hypothetical Estimate of amount of Caffeine in Tea
(Averaged amount of tea, between 20-120 as 70mg)

3.314oz X-mg
----------- = -------- = 28.9975mg Caffeine
8oz 70mg

% Recovery of Caffeine

Theoretical Yield 28.9775mg Caffeine

--------------------- = % Recovery ------------------------ = 8.55%

Actual Yield 3.39mg Caffeine

Caffeine concentration extracted from original sample in parts per million (ppm)

(Calculated using mg/kg for solids)

.00339g = 3.39mg of caffeine as final product

mg = amount of caffeine produced = 33.98mg

kg = amount of original product = 12g

mg 3.39mg

ppm = ------ ------------ = 282.5 ppm

kg .012kg


Analysis of Error and Quality of Experiment:
There are a number of steps that involve transfer of solution, extraction percentages, and saturation that can easily vary results and percent yield. Specific to my lab, I could not keep all of the tea leaves from sticking to the paper. So for each separation, a small amount of tea was lost. I also supersaturated my solution by heating my solution while I added the salt, not adding the salt when cold. This means that I had to separate the salt each time I passed the separated solution through separation funnel. This means the residue was left on the equipment for each pass through. Also, it is impossible to completely get a pure separation from the sep funnel right where the two layers meet. You will either keep or loose more than what you want. Also, in the final weighing process, I weighed another paper and subtracted it from the paper that I used. There will inherently be some discrepancy from the two papers. Being that the product is very low, this should have a significant and sizeable affect on the results.

Green Evaluation:
All in all this is a decently green experiment. Not to toxic, and largely working with polarities to induce acidity more than starting with acidic compounds. However, are focus is not on a final product that reflects an enjoyable consumable product. This could be a decent solution for a Pharmaceutical industry.

Friday, October 31, 2008

Scott Humason
MWF 8:30-9:50

Page 317E

3320 – 3380
(Strong)
INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.science-and-fun.de/tools/irwizard/ir8.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET

3000 – 2500 (Very strong representation on chart)
(Strong)
INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.science-and-fun.de/tools/irwizard/ir91.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET

1470 - 1430
(Strong)
(I only have 2 peaks, so I think that I maybe have a CH2, I think that 3 peaks would show up as 3 lines.) (
INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.science-and-fun.de/tools/irwizard/ir1.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET

1460 – 1430
(Strong)
(I think that wiggle at 1390 is the N-N bond and1450 is more prominent bond of N=O)
INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.science-and-fun.de/tools/irwizard/ir54.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET

1150 - 1040
(Strong)
(IR Chart shows three lines relatively close to each other – I think this represents the different bond movements between H’s –C and C-O and O-H)
INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.science-and-fun.de/tools/irwizard/ir66.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET

730 – 675
(Medium in Finger Print Region)
INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.science-and-fun.de/tools/irwizard/ir65.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET


Page 5317

2960 – 2850
(Strong; 2 - 3 bands)

 INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.science-and-fun.de/tools/irwizard/ir1.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET

1705 – 1680
(Strong)
INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.science-and-fun.de/tools/irwizard/ir88.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET

1470 – 1430
(Strong)
INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.science-and-fun.de/tools/irwizard/ir1.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET

1410 – 1260
(Strong)

-OH


770 - 735 and 710 – 685
(Strong)
INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.science-and-fun.de/tools/irwizard/ir109.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET


I believe that this is Benzioc Acid. Based on the IR spectra being relatively close and the frequency of the spectra for the functional groups.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Scott Humason
Ch241: MWF 8:30-9:50

Biosynthesis of Ethanol from Molasses

Summary:
The purpose of this experiment is to distill Ethanol (EtOH) fermented from a black strap molasses solution. From this fermented solution, I will then be comparing the results of a steam or simple distillation to a fractional distillation. The results will be in two stages. First, a density and percentage of Ethanol extracted from the Molasses solution. Second, a density and percentage of Ethanol extracted from the first stage of simple Ethanol distillation. The basic procedure is to take time and temperature of the first drop in temperature or of the consistent rise slow rise in temp. Continue taking the sample where about 1 drop per minute is expected and about 20mL of product is produced. In the fractional distillation, measure first boiling point (drip off thermometer), continue until temp is plus or minus 75 degrees and hopefully at or above 5mL of final product.

Discussion of Results:
Volume and % ethanol for each fraction

Simple Distillation:
18.5mL @ 17.3064g gives 47.40% Ethanol, or 94.8 proof.

Fractional Distillation:
5mL @ 4.1g gives about 92% Ethanol, or 184 proof.


% yield of Ethanol from reactive sugars in molasses
1.2g/mL X 70mL = 84g of Molasses @ 33% Sugar Density = 27.72g of Sucrose
C2H60 = 46.068


                                   (1 mol Sucrose)     (4 mol EtOH)  (46.068g EtOH)
27.72g Sucrose = ----------------------- ------------------ -------------------- = 14.88g EtOH
                               (342.296g Sucrose) (1mol Sucrose) (1mol EtOH)            (Theoretical Yield)


% yield of Ethanol from Molasses
Actual Yield 4.1g EtOH

--------------------- = % Yield ---------------- = 27.55% Actual Yield

Theoretical Yield 14.88g EtOH

Error and Quality Analysis of Experiment:
I feel that there is a lot of room for error in this experiment. First off, the stopping point has no clean finishing point. This means that more or less of the azeotrope could be in the final product, thus changing the density and ultimately the purity. The fractional distillation seems to be much more accurate as it relies less on human error because of the fractioning distillation columns and higher temperature to achieve the separation.

Evaluation of Experiment in Terms of Greenness:
This is a socially applicable experiment, especially for our ever pressing need for alternative fuel sources that are clean and renewable. Black strap molasses, a by product of Sugar Beets, is often a low grade feedstock for livestock. This obviously brings in many points of environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and costs to the whole picture into a larger production model. As an experiment, this is very green, as a large scale production model, there is a lot to consider outside of the science.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Nobel Peace Prize Winner of Medicine in 2008

Scott Humason 10.28.08
CH 241: MWF 8:30-9:50

Harald zur Hausen: Nobel Peace Prize Winner of Medicine in 2008

Harald zur Hausen has been nominated for sharing this years' Nobel Peace Prize in Medicine. The Nobel Committee publicly announced this honorable selection on October 6th, 2008. The following award ceremony will take place in Stockholm, Sweden on December 10th were they will receive a Nobel Prize Medal, Diploma, and a financial promissory note from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Traveling on to Oslo, Norway, they will receive the Nobel Peace Prize from the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

This remarkable display of appreciation comes from years of scientific research and for the discovery of the types of cervical cancer that originate from the human papilloma virus (HPV). The notion that cervical cancer could be a by product of HPV was met with much skepticism from the medical community. Herpes simplex was widely accepted as the most likely candidate for cervical cancer from the early 1970's. It took over a decade for Harald zur Hausen's team to prove that harmless warts can also lead to cervical cancer.

It is largely believed that the papilloma virus has largely unchanged for over 100 million years and that it co-evolves with a specific species and host animal over many years. This is largely in part that it doesn't change host species, nor does it quickly recombine into new forms, and that it can only replicate on the body surface tissues, all of this makes for a slow evolutionary path. The structure of this virus is a double stranded circular DNA molecule with a viral protein know as L2. Papillomaviruses replicate exclusively in the outer most layer of skin and mucosal surfaces – called keratinocytes.

The challenge that Harald zur Hausen and his team had to face is that there are a significant number HPV subtypes. Narrowing down which subtype may be cancer causing or not was a painstaking research process. In the 1980's Hausen's team found novel viruses in genital warts. Later, the finding of two novel HPV subtypes in cervical cancer studies formed a link of HPV to cervical cancer.

Professor Harald zur Hausen has an amazing 10 page summary style resume chalked full of accomplishments that focus on or around infection-induced malignancies.

Notable resume highlights are as follows. Harald received his MD from the University of Bonn, Hamburg. Following his MD, he worked at the University of Microbiology in Düsseldorf as a post doc. From here he worked at a number of specialty viral positions one of which landed him here in the United States as an assistant professor in the virus lab of the Children's Hospital. However, he has spent most of his working and studying career in Germany. To add to his list of accomplishments, he is also the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Cancer. He also holds seven honorary degrees and has received numerous international awards

Harald zur Hausen is obviously an amazingly accomplished man, especially in the field of infection-induced malignancies. His two to three decade long journey of research, and ultimately results specific to the Human Papilloma Virus, I believe has more than earned him a place in Nobel Peace Prize History and perhaps more importantly, his amazing contribution to the sciences and society has been acknowledged.


Citations:

(1) http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2008/index.html

(2) http://www.dkfz.de/en/zurhausen/index.html

(3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papillomavirus

(4) ^ Schiffman MH, Castle P (2003).

"Epidemiologic studies of a necessary causal risk factor: human papillomavirus infection and cervical neoplasia". J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 95 (6): E2. PMID 12644550.

(5) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize

(6) http://nobelprize.org/award_ceremonies/

(7) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harald_zur_Hausen

(8) http://www.wdxcyber.com/nvulva04.htm

Monday, September 1, 2008

Resume

Certifications:
Cisco Certified Network Professional - CCNP
Cisco Certified Design Associate - CCDA
Cisco Certified Network Associate - CCNA
C-Tech Cabling certified for Cat5 and Fiber Optics
A+ - Computer Repair Certification
Teaching English as a Foreign Language – TEFL
Master Gardner, Food Preserver, Pruner, Composter

Technical Working experience:
Cisco series Routers - 800, 1600, 2500, 2600, 3600, 4000 running IOS 10, 11, 12
Cisco series Switches - 1900, 4000, 5000
Cisco PIX Firewalls - 515, 520, 525 running IOS 4.4, 5.0, 5.1
Cisco TACACS+ Software Package
Dial-in, Dial-backup, and modem configuration
Analog based VPN Services
BSD UNIX Administration - Shell scripting, Apache, MySQL
Programming Languages - HTML, PHP, CSS, and C
NetSaint and What's Up Gold Network Monitoring Tools
Extended experience with SNMP based network management tools.

Volunteer Experience:
OSU Extension as a Master Gardner and Master Food Preserver
Food For Lane County
Grassroots Garden
Cob Oven Building and Baking
Animal Husbandry, Goat and Small Livestock Management,
Chickens, Ducks, Geese Management

Bicycle Racing Accomplishments:
1st Junior Expert National Downhill Championship
1st Junior Expert Cactus Cup XC and Overall Series
1st Junior Expert California State Champion
Set long distance time record at the Western Sierra Fall Classic

Professional Experience:

Equinox Trailers Technology Infrastructure
Eugene, OR Web Development
Engineering and Design
Customer Service Applications and Management

Concentric Sky Cisco Network Engineering
Eugene, OR Linux System Administration
Application and Developer Support
CMS Application Development Project

Eugene City Bakery Hand Craft Artisan Baker
Eugene, OR Mixing, Proofing, Baking, Recipe Design
Sourdough, Potato, Corn, and Dessert Breads

Lane Community College Student
Eugene, OR General Sciences and Arts Programs

European Language Institute Teaching English as a Foreign Language
Prague, Czech Republic



RHI Refractories America Telecommunications Engineering
Pittsburgh, PA Cisco PIX, Routing, Switching, L2TP, IPSec Tunneling
Unix Systems Support
Remote Management
Security Auditing and Policy Implementation

TRECA - Tri-Rivers Educational Computer Association
Marion, OH Technical Liaison
Supported two-hundred school districts in the state of Ohio
Microsoft, Macintosh, and Novell server administration
Multiple District Project rollouts

Nome Public Schools Assistant Network Administrator
Nome, AK Commenced System Administrative track
MAC and Windows in a cross campus/multi-campus network
Gained familiarity with Cisco routers, switches, and hubs

Footloose Sports Lead Bicycle Mechanic
Mammoth Lakes, Ca Ski and Snowboard Tuning
Sales

Santa Barbara City College Student
Santa Barbara, Ca Computer Science

Velo Pro Cylery Mechanic and Sales
Santa Barbara, Ca Inventory Management

Open Air Bicycle Bicycle Mechanic
Santa Barbara, Ca Sales


*Note: References, Letters of Recommendation, and Educational Background available upon request