2008 Proceedings - St. Cloud State University

Abstracts
Session I Philosophy North Glacier
No Need for a Name (Frega's Puzzles)
I consider some reasons and arguments offered in contemporary theory of meaning and reference and contrast them with an opposite
view.
Presentation Index: I2
Time: 11:20 a.m.
Department: Philosophy
Project Sponsor(s):
Student Presenter(s): Johnson, Eric
Nuccetelli, Susana
The Evolution of Language and Its Use
The group addresses the question of whether language evolved as a result of natural selection, and disputes some of Chomsky's
assumptions regarding evolution. The group will also focus on the things we implicate by the things we say, or by our use of words.
Presentation Index: I3
Time: 11:40 a.m.
Department: Philosophy
Project Sponsor(s):
Student Presenter(s): Coss, David; Smith, Sarah
Nuccetelli, Susana
A Puzzle About Belief
Philosopher‘s have recently wondered whether the content of our belief and the meaning of our sentences depend completely on brain
processes. Their discussions have generated interesting puzzles that we will explain and discuss in these presentations.
Presentation Index: I4
Time: 12:00 p.m.
Department: Philosophy
Project Sponsor(s):
Student Presenter(s): Lindberg, Eric; Frank, Erick; Busse, William; Shepard, Brandon Nuccetelli, Susana
Session J Science and Engineering I South Glacier
The Design and Synthesis of Novel Goniothalamin Analogues
Every two minutes a woman in the United States is diagnosed with breast cancer. In recent years, one method to identify potential
chemotherapeutic agents has been the mass screening of natural products for cytotoxicity. One compound discovered in this manner was
goniothalamin. Goniothalamin was isolated from the dried stem bark of the plant goniothalamus sesuipedalis and exhibits cell specific
anticancer activity against breast cancer cell lines. Goniothalamin has been extensively studied, and a large number of synthetic
analogues have been prepared in an attempt to determine the structural features necessary for bioactivity. These structure/activity
relationship studies have focused primarily on the manipulation of goniothalamin‘s styryl substituent. The focus of this research is on the
lactone core of goniothalamin. Analogues have been prepared that replace the lactone ring with a lactam. It is anticipated that alteration of
the lactam nitrogen substituent will potentially lead to analogues that have better bioavailability and reactivity than the natural product.
Presentation Index: J1
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Department: Chemistry
Project Sponsor(s):
Student Presenter(s): Dillman, Allissa
Mechelke, Mark
Automation of Liquid Chromatography Instrument
The purpose of this project is to design a digital controller for a Water 501 HPLC Pump used by the Chemistry/ Biology department for
Liquid Chromatography and to build a system that will be interfaced with a computer to collect analog output from a detector and perform
various calculations by digitizing and analyzing the data and then display the results on a GUI system. The device should be accurate,
reliabe and user friendly and it should be capable of delivering exact proportion of liquids as desired in the milliliters/minute range and also
collect data such that it could be easier to understand and worked upon when displayed. This will allow students and faculty of Biology and
Chemistry department to perform liquid chromatography experiments from the luxury of their work station.
Presentation Index: J2
Time: 11:20 a.m.
Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering; Biological Science
Project Sponsor(s):
Student Presenter(s): Rana, Deepak; Ahmed, Sunny; Nasir, Taqi
Hou, Ling; Jacobson, Bruce
St. Cloud State University Student Research Colloquium 43
April 22, 2008