Low-cost, Transportable Hydrogen Fueling Station for Early FCEV Adoption

Thousands of public hydrogen fueling stations are needed to support the early Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) market in the U.S.; there are currently 12. The California state government has been the largest investor of the hydrogen fueling infrastructure funding 9 permanent stations currently open to the public with 48 more in development costing anywhere from $1.8M-$5.5M each. To attract private investors and decrease dependence on government funding, a low-cost, mobile hydrogen dispensing system must be developed. This paper describes a transportable hydrogen fueling station that has been designed for $423,000 using off-the-shelf components, less than 23$9.62/kg. This paper presents the mechanical design and operation of the fueling station. A complete report including an economic analysis and safety features is available at: http://hydrogencontest.org/pdf/2014/WSU_2014_HEF_CONTEST.pdf

Combatting AMR : photoactivatable ruthenium(ii)-isoniazid complex exhibits rapid selective antimycobacterial activity

The novel photoactive ruthenium(II) complex cis-[Ru(bpy)2(INH)2][PF6]2 (1·2PF6, INH = isoniazid) was designed to incorporate the anti-tuberculosis drug, isoniazid, that could be released from the Ru(II) cage by photoactivation with visible light. In aqueous solution, 1 rapidly released two equivalents of isoniazid and formed the photoproduct cis-[Ru(bpy)2(H2O)2]2+ upon irradiation with 465 nm blue light. We screened for activity against bacteria containing the three major classes of cell envelope: Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis, Gram-negative Escherichia coli, and Mycobacterium smegmatis in vitro using blue and multi-colored LED multi-well arrays. Complex 1 is inactive in the dark, but when photoactivated is 5.5× more potent towards M. smegmatis compared to the clinical drug isoniazid alone. Complementary pump-probe spectroscopy measurements along with density functional theory calculations reveal that the mono-aqua product is formed in <500 ps, likely facilitated by a 3MC state. Importantly, complex 1 is highly selective in killing mycobacteria versus normal human cells, towards which it is relatively non-toxic. This work suggests that photoactivatable prodrugs such as 1 are potentially powerful new agents in combatting the global problem of antibiotic resistance

Aneuploidy Detection in Pigs Using Comparative Genomic Hybridization: From the Oocytes to Blastocysts

Data on the frequency of aneuploidy in farm animals are lacking and there is the need for a reliable technique which is capable of detecting all chromosomes simultaneously in a single cell. With the employment of comparative genomic hybridization coupled with the whole genome amplification technique, this study brings new information regarding the aneuploidy of individual chromosomes in pigs. Focus is directed on in vivo porcine blastocysts and late morulas, 4.7% of which were found to carry chromosomal abnormality. Further, ploidy abnormalities were examined using FISH in a sample of porcine embryos. True polyploidy was relatively rare (1.6%), whilst mixoploidy was presented in 46.8% of embryos, however it was restricted to only a small number of cells per embryo. The combined data indicates that aneuploidy is not a prevalent cause of embryo mortality in pigs

Undergraduate Nursing Students Participating in Admissions Interviews – An Innovation? An Exploratory Study

In our university, Pre-registration Nursing students sit as panel members in undergraduate nursing admission interviews. The literature suggests this practice is not widespread in UK universities or internationally. We aim to evaluate the involvement of current students in admission interviews from student, graduate and NHS staff perspectives. We report findings from a survey of all Year 1 Nursing undergraduates who recently attended an admission interview at our university. A majority reported having a student present at interviews was helpful, particularly in alleviating nervousness. This finding may be useful for undergraduate recruitment and selection in other healthcare programmes in the future

Undergraduate Nursing Students Participating in Admissions Interviews – An Innovation? An Exploratory Study

In our university, Pre-registration Nursing students sit as panel members in undergraduate nursing admission interviews. The literature suggests this practice is not widespread in UK universities or internationally. We aim to evaluate the involvement of current students in admission interviews from student, graduate and NHS staff perspectives. We report findings from a survey of all Year 1 Nursing undergraduates who recently attended an admission interview at our university. A majority reported having a student present at interviews was helpful, particularly in alleviating nervousness. This finding may be useful for undergraduate recruitment and selection in other healthcare programmes in the future