Innovation or Notoriety?

The purpose of this column is to give some perspective and words of advice to new inventors. When you choose to be an innovator, you will have lots of fun intellectually, but the road can be pretty bumpy when it comes to the politics of receiving proper credit for your ideas, and when it comes to "selling" your ideas and seeing them through to implementation. This column documents some of the possible bumps in the road, including the three stages toward acceptance of a new idea: ridicule, opposition, and obviousness.     

Automated strategies to identify compounds on the basis of GC/EI-MS and calculated properties

The identification of unknown compounds based on GC/EI-MS spectrum and structure generation techniques has been improved by combining a number of strategies into a programmed sequence. The program MOLGEN-MS is used to determine the molecular formula and incorporate substructural information to generate all structures matching the mass spectral information. Mass spectral fragments are then predicted for each structure and compared with the experimental spectrum using a match value. Additional data are then calculated automatically for each candidate to allow exclusion of candidates that did not match other analytical information. The effectiveness of these "exclusion criteria", as well as the programming sequence, was tested using a case study of 29 isomers of formula C(12)H(10)O(2). The default classifier precision resulted in the generation of too many structures in some cases, which was improved by up to several orders of magnitude by including additional classifiers or restrictions. Combining this with the exclusion of candidates based on a Lee retention index/boiling point correlation, octanol-water partitioning coefficients, steric energies, and finally spectral match values limited the number of candidate structures further from over 1 billion without any restrictions down to less than 6 structures in 10 cases and below 35 in all but 3 cases. This method can be used in the absence of matching database spectra and brings unknown identification based on MS interpretation and structure generation techniques a step closer to practical reality.     

Stray light correction for diode-array-based spectrometers using a monochromator

Photodiode-array-based spectrometers are increasingly being used in a wide variety of applications. However, the signal measured by this type of instrument often is not what is anticipated by the user and is often subject to contamination from stray light. This paper describes an efficient and low-cost stray light correction approach based on a relatively simple system using a monochromator-based source. The paper further discusses the limitations of using a monochromator instead of a laser, as used by previous researchers, and its impact on the quality of the stray light correction. The reliability and robustness of the stray light correction matrix generated have been studied and are also reported.     

In Vitro and In Silico Analysis of New n-Butyl and Isobutyl Quinoxaline-7-carboxylate 1,4-di-N-oxide Derivatives against Trypanosoma cruzi as Trypanothione Reductase Inhibitors

American trypanosomiasis is a worldwide health problem that requires attention due to ineffective treatment options. We evaluated n-butyl and isobutyl quinoxaline-7-carboxylate 1,4-di-N-oxide derivatives against trypomastigotes of the Trypanosoma cruzi strains NINOA and INC-5. An in silico analysis of the interactions of 1,4-di-N-oxide on the active site of trypanothione reductase (TR) and an enzyme inhibition study was carried out. The n-butyl series compound identified as T-150 had the best trypanocidal activity against T. cruzi trypomastigotes, with a 13% TR inhibition at 44 μM. The derivative T-147 behaved as a mixed inhibitor with Ki and Ki’ inhibition constants of 11.4 and 60.8 µM, respectively. This finding is comparable to the TR inhibitor mepacrine (Ki = 19 µM).     

Isolation and Characterization of Two Novel Siphoviruses Novomoskovsk and Bolokhovo,Encoding Polysaccharide Depolymerases Active against Bacillus pumilus

This study describes two novel bacteriophages infecting members of the Bacillus pumilus group. Even though members of the group are not recognized as pathogenic, several strains belonging to the group have been reported to cause infectious diseases in plants, animals and humans. Bacillus pumilus group species are highly resistant to ultraviolet radiation and capable of forming biofilms, which complicates their eradication. Bacteriophages Novomoskovsk and Bolokhovo were isolated from soil samples. Genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis revealed that the phages represent two new species of the genus Andromedavirus (class Caudoviricetes). The phages remained stable in a wide range of temperatures and pH values. A host range test showed that the phages specifically infect various strains of B. pumilus. The phages form clear plaques surrounded by halos. Both phages Novomoskovsk and Bolokhovo encode proteins with pectin lyase domains—Putative depolymerases. Obtained in a purified recombinant form, the proteins produced lysis zones on the lawn of a B. pumilus strain. This suggests that Novomoskovsk and Bolokhovo may be effective for the eradication of B. pumilus biofilms.     

An empirical investigation into the difficulties experienced by visually impaired Internet users

In this paper, an empirical based study is described which has been conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by the visually impaired community when accessing the Web. The study, involving 30 blind and partially sighted computer users, has identified navigation strategies, perceptions of page layout and graphics using assistive devices such as screen readers. Analysis of the data has revealed that current assistive technologies impose navigational constraints and provide limited information on web page layout. Conveying additional spatial information could enhance the exploration process for visually impaired Internet users. It could also assist the process of collaboration between blind and sighted users when performing web-based tasks. The findings from the survey have informed the development of a non-visual interface, which uses the benefits of multimodal technologies to present spatial and navigational cues to the user.     

Do Dogs (Canis familiaris) Understand Invisible Displacement?

Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) perform above chance on invisible displacement tasks despite showing few other signs of possessing the necessary representational abilities. Four experiments investigated how dogs find an object that has been hidden in 1 of 3 opaque boxes. Dogs passed the task under a variety of control conditions, but only if the device used to displace the object ended up adjacent to the target box after the displacement. These results suggest that the search behavior of dogs was guided by simple associative rules rather than mental representation of the object's past trajectory. In contrast, Experiment 5 found that on the same task, 18- and 24-month-old children showed no disparity between trials in which the displacement device was adjacent or nonadjacent to the target box. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lake Turkana,major Omo River developments,associated hydrological cycle change and consequent lake physical and ecological change

This study aimed to explore Lake Turkana's ecological reliance on hydrology and to determine the hydrological changes and consequences arising from the major hydropower and irrigation developments in the lake's basin. The major developments on Ethiopia's Omo River are especially significant as this river provides over 80% of the lake's annual freshwater influx and associated nutrients. The cascade of hydropower dams permanently dampens the natural hydrological cycles and lake level variability. The driving force of the flood influx to the lake is curtailed and the pattern of lake currents will adjust. Ultimately 80% of the river inflow to the lake will be regulated. Large volumes of water are required to initially fill the hydropower dam reservoirs. During 2015–16 when the huge Gibe III reservoir was filled, Lake Turkana's water level declined 2?m.The study has shown that large-scale irrigation schemes in the Lower Omo can potentially abstract 50% of the Omo River water, and that this would cause the lake level to shrink permanently to the detriment of the lake ecology. Possible lake level drops of over 15?m are demonstrated. The basin's natural capital is being replaced by large-scale plantation developments. The hydrological changes are drastic and the ecological consequences on Lake Turkana have not been fully understood. Without serious mitigation measures, Lake Turkana is a potential African Aral Sea disaster in the making, emulating what has happened to other great lakes such as Lake Chad.