Reflections of my Deepest Hope

Reflections of my Deepest Hop

Gender Differences in Stress, Alcohol Consumption, and Cigarette Use among College Students at San José State University

Stress, alcohol consumption, and cigarette use represent three considerable threats to the mental and physical health within this country. Learning more about the prevalence and predictors of these threats in young adults may aid the development of programs to reduce the deleterious effects of these threats as young adult\u27s age. A vast amount of research has been done to examine the possible association between stress and substance use in college students, but given the diversity of college students across the US, more research is needed targeting specific college campuses. This study did so with regard to a sample of students from San José State University (SJSU), in San José, California. The data were collected by the SJSU Student Health Center. Participants who reported having below average to no stress were more likely not to have consumed alcohol during the preceding 30 days. Those students who reported having above average to tremendous stress levels were more likely to have used alcohol at least once in the last 30 days. No significant relationship between stress and cigarette use was found. In terms of alcohol and cigarette use, participants who reported using alcohol at least once in the past 30 days were significantly more likely to have smoked at least once in the past 30 days. Women were more likely to report feelings of above-average stress than to men. Women were also significantly more likely to have smoked cigarettes in the last 30 days. Finally, no gender differences were found with regard to drinking habits. These findings provide information that may be helpful in guiding prevention, education, and treatment efforts on the SJSU campus

Synthetic Efforts Towards the Lagunamide and Chalcone Based Natural Products

Ryan RaffertyThe Lagunamides are a series of secondary metabolites produced by marine cyanobacteria that possess almost identical polypeptide and polyketide moieties and display potency against various cancer cell lines. They are differentiated by the side chain on the polyketide moiety. Chalcones are a class of molecules characterized by an α,β-unsaturated ketone moiety and adjacent phenyl groups; some species that fall under this classification have displayed a similar efficacy when tested against various cancer cell lines. Synthetic procedures on a 100 mg scale and their associated mechanisms regarding the construction of Crimmins’ auxiliaries (yield = 72%), diazotization of D-alloisoleucine (yield = 40%/35% for 300 mg scale), and the esterification (yield = 72%), Boc deprotection (yield = 84%), and first peptide coupling (yield = N/A) in the formation of the polyketide moiety of Lagunamides are discussed. Furthermore, the synthetic procedure and mechanism for the acylation (yield = 24%) and subsequent methylation (yield = N/A) of phloroglucinol are provided. For the unsuccessful peptide coupling reaction, the most likely point of failure was the lack of carboxylic acid activation by EDC. For the unsuccessful acylation of phloroglucinol, consideration of the kinetics of aromatic substitutions and the NMR spectrum of the product indicated that diacylation had occurred (the desired product was monoacylated)

Splitting the Baby: Standardizing Issue Class Certification

The Bible depicts King Solomon resolving a dispute between two women who claimed to be the mother of the same child. In the pursuit of justice, King Solomon threatened to do the unthinkable- slice the child in two. Although severing children is not a recommended vehicle for justice, severing lawsuits is. In fact, in the class-action context, the issue class established by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(c)(4) does just what King Solomon threatened-it severs litigation into pieces, allowing aggregate treatment of only certain issues in a given lawsuit. Residual issues are left to be determined in plaintiff-specific, follow-on suits. Although courts have generally accepted this tool despite normative academic debate over its utility, they have not established the tool\u27s boundaries. Instead, courts haphazardly accept and reject attempts to create issue classes, causing uncertainty about when they should be used. Moving beyond the normative discussion of issue class utility and the textual evolution of Rule 23(c)(4), this Note establishes a framework for determining when issue classes are appropriate. Put another way, this Note moves to the next step of King Solomon\u27s decision: Assuming that it is ever appropriate to split the baby, when and how should that be done