Browsing by Author "Russ, Jennifer Lynn"

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    a garden in the sky
    Russ, Jennifer Lynn (Virginia Tech, 2004-05-13)
    We live in an increasingly urbanized world as people migrate to cities for employment and cultural benefits. Growing and dense urban populations contribute heavily to water pollution and energy waste contributing to global biodiversity extinction. At the same time, contemporary urban areas deliver diminishing returns to residents as cities become cramped, unhealthy, and unattractive. The rooftops of urban buildings offer exciting opportunities for remedying these trends. New rooftop designs highlight the need for more plant life and green space in urban areas, improve energy efficiency, and offer urban residents gardens to enjoy and relax in. Rooftops can enhance buildings in urban areas through landscape design, transforming neglected space into valuable real estate that provides ecological and economic services. Well designed rooftops can enhance property values, assist with primary on-site storm water management, help build energy efficiency, mitigate the urban hear island effect, and filter air and water. A good green roof exists in symbiosis with its neighbors and the city at large. Contemporary rooftop design strives for an ethical stewardship of the earth. I have chosen to design a green roof around the aesthetics and traditions of Japanese horticulture. Japanese landscape design evolved to maximize space and create intricate gardens in small areas and is deep in symbolism and ritual upkeep.
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    Studies of Solution Paramagnetic-Substrate Nuclear and Electron Intermolecular Interactions
    Russ, Jennifer Lynn (Virginia Tech, 2006-04-17)
    Advanced nuclear and electron magnetic resonance techniques (i.e. nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)) were used to study the attitude and dynamics of TEMPO (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyloxy)-substrate systems and the relaxivity properties of water-soluble trimetallic nitride template functionalized endohedral metallofullerenes (TNT-fMF). The attitude and average distance of interaction for each TEMPO-substrate system was determined from comparing density functional theory (DFT) calculation results with experimental hyperfine coupling constants leading to an improved understanding of solution dynamics. The short-lived solvent-solute interactions of the TEMPO-substrate molecules, such as transient complex formation, are governed by weak hydrogen-bonding interactions. The collisions in solution were explained by determining the favored orientations of the two molecules interacting using calculated relative energy minima and reproducibility of the experimental results by the calculated coupling constants. Water-soluble TNT-fMFs are studied as candidates for the next generation MRI contrast agents as diagnostic agents and also as possible therapeutic agents to kill cancer cells and decrease tumors. The TNT-fMFs are being studied as part of a multi-modal platform dependent upon which metal atoms are encapsulated inside: Gd — MRI contrast agent (diagnostic), Lu and Ho — radio labeled for use as a therapeutic agent, Tb – fluorescence, and Lu – x-ray contrast. The current commercial MRI contrast agent, OmniscanTM, contains one gadolinium atom; however, the metal is complexed to, not encapsulated in, the molecule. TNT-fMFs fully encapsulate three metal atoms to ensure the patient does not run the risk of metal poisoning. The r1 and r2 relaxivities of TNT-fMFs containing either Gd, Lu, Ho, or Sc metals were measured at 0.35T. The data for the Gd containing TNT-fMFs indicated the metallofullerene has significantly higher relaxivities than OmniscanTM, and can be the next generation MRI contrast agent. The Ho containing species has a high r2/r1 ratio compared to the other samples showing it is a potential T2 agent, and has therapeutic capabilities.