Cyclic X-Y mechanical tests: A new method to perform in situ reversed-deformation experiments in the high-voltage electron microscope

There has been, in the past, only limited success with in situ cyclic or reversed plastic deformation tests in the transmission electron microscope (TEM). This is probably partly due to problems associated with buckling of the foil when an applied tensile or shear stress is reversed. Mechanical analysis shows that dislocation movement can be reversed by tensile stressing in alternating perpendicular directions (i.e., 90° rotations of a tensile stress); thus buckling of the foil can be avoided. A design for performing such X-Y in situ TEM tests is presented, with observations that demonstrate its feasibility.     

Improved sooting tendency measurements for aromatic hydrocarbons and their implications for naphthalene formation pathways

Sooting tendencies have been determined for aromatic hydrocarbons using a new definition: the maximum soot volume fraction fv,max measured in a coflow methane/air nonpremixed flame whose fuel is doped with 400 ppm of the test hydrocarbon. These fv,max were converted into apparatus-independent yield sooting indices (YSIs) by the equation YSI=C×fv,max+D, where C and D are apparatus-specific parameters chosen so that YSI-benzene = 30 and YSI-1,2-dihydronaphthalene = 100. The dopants were added to the fuel mixture with a syringe pump and fv,max was measured with laser-induced incandescence. YSI was determined for 6 cycloaliphatics and for 62 aromatics, which included 28 alkylbenzenes, 10 alkenylbenzenes, 10 alkynylbenzenes, 25 multiply substituted benzenes, 6 two-ring aromatics, and 6 substituted benzenes with heteroatoms in the side chains. The YSIs correlate well with literature values of threshold sooting index (TSI), which is a more traditional sooting tendency based on the height of pure-fuelled flames at the smoke point. This agreement indicates that fv,max and smoke height are equivalent measures of sooting tendency and that YSI is largely apparatus-independent. However, the YSIs have a total uncertainty of ±3%, which is substantially better than the TSIs, and the number of aromatic YSIs reported here is more than double the number of aromatic TSIs in the literature. The YSIs depend strongly on molecular structure; thus they provide information about the chemical kinetic reaction mechanisms responsible for fuel decomposition and hydrocarbon growth from a broad cross section of one-ring aromatics. Important naphthalene formation pathways appear to include acetylene addition to ethynylphenyl, propargyl addition to benzyl, and methyl addition to indenyl. This last pathway is particularly significant because it converts indene quantitatively to naphthalene and because the side chains in many alkenylbenzenes and alkynylbenzenes cyclize to form five-membered rings.     

Computer Simulation of Adaptive Drug Infusion

Clinical drug infusion protocols, such as a single bolus followed by a constant drip, do not establish and maintain therapeutic drug levels in an optimal manner. We have investigated a system in which the patient, drug pump, drug assay, and a pump controller are incorporated into an adaptive configuration. The system, which we have simulated on a computer, uses an adaptive approach in which the pump controller operates with a model of the subject response. The model is fit to the specific subject by a regression analysis of the subject's response, obtained by assay of the subject's blood.     

Disinfection of wastewaters: high-energy electron vs gamma irradiation

A study was undertaken to examine the sensitivity of a wastewater population of coliphage, total coliforms and total flora present in raw sewage and secondary effluent after irradiating with similar doses delivered by a high-energy electron beam and y -radiation. The electron beam study was conducted on a large scale at the Virginia Key Wastewater Treatment Plant, Miami, Fla. The facility is equipped with a 1.5 MeV, 50 mA electron accelerator, with a wastewater flow rate of 8 ls⁻¹. Concurrent y-radiation studies were conducted at laboratory scale using a 5000 Ci, ⁶⁰Co y -source. Three logs reduction of all three test organisms were observed at an electron beam dose of 500 krads, while at least four logs reduction were observed at the same dose utilizing the y-source.     

Action of bleomycin on structural mimics of intermediates in DNA double-strand cleavage

Bleomycin-induced cleavage was examined in several nicked, gapped, or intact duplex DNA substrates, including a structure designed to mimic a proposed singly nicked intermediate in double-strand cleavage. This nicked structure appeared to correctly target the second cleavage event in the complementary strand, resulting in a blunt-ended double-strand break, similar to that induced directly by bleomycin alone in an intact duplex of the same sequence. A one-base-gapped structure was markedly less efficient in correctly targeting bleomycin attack in the complementary strand. The results are consistent with a model of bleomycin-induced double-strand cleavage in which the nick formed by the initial bleomycin attack serves to target secondary attack to a specific position in the complementary strand, resulting in a double-strand break with a defined geometry.     

Reversibility of scrapie inactivation is enhanced by copper

The only known difference between the cellular (PrPC) and scrapie-specific (PrPSc) isoforms of the prion protein is conformational. Because disruption of PrPSc structure decreases scrapie infectivity, restoration of the disease-specific conformation should restore infectivity. In this study, disruption of PrPSc (as monitored by the loss of proteinase K resistance) by guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl) resulted in decreased infectivity. Upon dilution of the GdnHCl, protease resistance of PrP was restored and infectivity was regained. The addition of copper facilitated restoration of both infectivity and protease resistance of PrP in a subset of samples that did not renature by the simple dilution of the GdnHCl. These data demonstrate that loss of scrapie infectivity can be a reversible process and that copper can enhance this restoration of proteinase K resistance and infectivity.     

Potent piperazine hydroxyethylamine HIV protease inhibitors containing novel P3 ligands

The 2-isopropyl thiazolyl group is a highly optimized P3 ligand for C2 symmetry-based HIV protease inhibitors, as exemplified in the drug ritonavir. Here we report that incorporation of this P3 ligand into a piperazine hydroxyethylamine series also yielded novel, highly potent inhibitors. In tissue culture assays, the presence of human serum was less deleterious to the activity of these inhibitors than to that of ritonavir. Furthermore, potent activity against ritonavir resistant HIV was observed.     

Networking,Storytelling and Knowledge Production in First-Year Writing

As writing teachers, we seek to validate the knowledge that students bring to the classroom while introducing and cultivating new methods, strategies, techniques and technologies that may serve them now and in the future. In this article we describe an approach we take that integrates curricular and extracurricular co-apprenticeship strategies using public writing models in conjunction with social networking tools. With publication as a final goal, we urge students to move from expressing personal problems to addressing social issues, using a private, non-commercial learning network NoDiff <http://NoDiff.com> as a safe zone for skills development, knowledge production and social inquiry. In taking this approach, we resist dichotomies that place professional skills training in strict opposition to critical pedagogy. We argue that many of the so-called “extracurricular” composing activities that most of today's students engage in lay the groundwork for both professional and civic participation. Acknowledging that we as composition teachers are also beginners in the world of 21^st century communication, we emphasize both (1) the continual transference of skills and knowledge among teachers and learners; and (2) the importance of providing what is often lacking in skills-based ‘new literacy’ training, namely a critical pedagogical approach to learning as social engagement and critical intervention.     

Tributary use and large-scale movements of grass carp in Lake Erie

Infrequent captures of invasive, non-native grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) have occurred in Lake Erie over the last 30+ years, with recent evidence suggesting wild reproduction in the lake’s western basin (WB) is occurring. Information on grass carp movements in the Laurentian Great Lakes is lacking, but an improved understanding of large-scale movements and potential areas of aggregation will help inform control strategies and risk assessment if grass carp spread to other parts of Lake Erie and other Great Lakes. Twenty-three grass carp captured in Lake Erie’s WB were implanted with acoustic transmitters and released. Movements were monitored with acoustic receivers deployed throughout Lake Erie and elsewhere in the Great Lakes. Grass carp dispersed up to 236 km, with approximately 25% of fish dispersing greater than 100 km from their release location. Mean daily movements ranged from <0.01 to 2.49 km/day, with the highest daily averages occurring in the spring and summer. The Sandusky, Detroit, and Maumee Rivers, and Plum Creek were the most heavily used WB tributaries. Seventeen percent of grass carp moved into Lake Erie’s central or eastern basins, although all fish eventually returned to the WB. One fish emigrated from Lake Erie through the Huron-Erie Corridor and into Lake Huron. Based on our results, past assessments may have underestimated the potential for grass carp to spread in the Great Lakes. We recommend focusing grass carp control efforts on Sandusky River and Plum Creek given their high use by tagged fish, and secondarily on Maumee and Detroit Rivers.     

Spatial ecology of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) in Lake Winnipeg and its potential for management actions

Common carp feeding and spawning behaviours negatively impact the functioning of marsh ecosystems. In the Netley-Libau Marsh, situated on the southern end of Lake Winnipeg, water level regulations, nonpoint source nutrient pollution, and the non-native common carp are thought to be the main contributors to the degradation of the marsh habitat. Using acoustic telemetry, we analysed the movement rate, frequency and timing of suspected spawning migrations, spatial ecology, and aggregation of common carp in the Lake Winnipeg drainage over a three year time period. Common carp moved the farthest during the open water period when water temperature was >5 °C. Their annual migration into Netley-Libau Marsh was correlated to ordinal date. Common carp left the marsh in late spring/early summer, presumably feeding in Lake Winnipeg, before moving to overwintering sites situated in Traverse Bay and Lake Winnipeg, where they arrived typically by October and formed aggregations. These findings will inform habitat and fisheries managers in the effort to undertake evidence-based management actions. The predictability of the movements and the tendency for common carp to aggregate indicates that exclusion techniques and commercial fishing may represent viable management solutions.