2013 REU Poster: Small Molecule Evolution: A Biomimetic Approach to Small Molecule Lead Generation and Optimization

Poster presentation at REU Summer's End Research Symposium, 2013, by REU participant Tiara Bloodworth, MassBay Community College - Aaron Beeler group, Dr. Kristen Mascall lab mentor.The goal of my project was to determine the standard calibration curves of compounds in the small molecule evolution library. Solutions of several small molecules were prepared at various concentrations and analyzed using the nanoAcquity UPLC instrument. Diode array traces were collected for each solution, in which UV-active compounds showed up as a single peak in the chromatogram. These peaks were extracted at a single wavelength (usually max) to produce new traces, and peak area was determined. Plots of peak area against concentration were obtained for each small molecule, and the results showed a linear relationship between concentration and peak area at a single wavelength. Equations of the line were found and this data will be used to determine unknown concentrations of small molecules in solution after chemical reactions are performed. The information will be vital for the biological assessment of new compounds formed by chemical modification.NSF RE

[Review of] Okah Tubbee. The Life of Okah Tubbee

It is difficult to know what to make of The Life of Okah Tubbee because it is difficult to know what to make of Okah Tubbee. In the 1840s and 1850s he was a performing musician, a ventriloquist, and an Indian doctor. He claimed to be a Choctaw chief’s son who, somehow, had begun life as a slave in Natchez, Mississippi. His autobiography, possibly written by his wife (possibly of Delaware and Mohawk extraction), appeared in several formats and editions in 1848 and 1852

Malthus revisited

Although mineral resources are non-renewable and unevenly distributed, global supply has so far kept up with demand. However, mankind is now moving into an era of unprecedented population growth and environmental change. As demand continues to rise and the need to mitigate and adapt to environmental change becomes more pressing can the abundant mineral supply we have enjoyed be sustained

A once and future extractive history of Britain

Geology, geography and human affairs have combined to give Britain a rich history of mineral extraction which stretches back several thousand years. Changing technological, economic and social factors means that the character and scale of domestic extraction have varied enormously over this time span. These same factors have also influenced our level of trade in minerals and metals with the rest of the world. Cornish tin established Britain as a supplier of metal across the ancient world. Norman masons utilised huge quantities of dimension stone to build cathedrals and castles. Wooden ships sheathed with copper from South West England, Wales and the Lakes secured a global empire for Britain in the 17th and 18th Century. Indigenous coal and iron were the basis of Victorian and Edwardian prosperity. Aggregates for road building literally formed the foundation of the post-war ‘great car economy’. Economic globalisation, technology shift and changes in societal attitudes in the late 20th and early 21st Century caused a precipitous decline in domestic output of some minerals, notably metals and coal. The British seemed content to let the global market provide their material needs and happy to export the impacts of mineral extraction to other countries. However, by 2050 it is likely that human population will be close to 9 billion, economic power will have shifted from the West, environmental change will be accelerating and global competition for resources will be intense. In the face of this enormous challenge, will indigenous minerals make a comeback and increase their contribution to our security and prosperity

Identifying multiple pollutant catchment risks for the selection and targeting of water industry catchment management interventions: Development, implementation and testing of the CaRPoW framework

Water companies are continually adopting catchment management as a way of improving the quality of raw water prior to treatment. The catchments from which raw water is abstracted are often heterogeneous which regularly presents multiple pollutant issues and variability in the spatial distribution of pollutant-contributing areas. For catchment management to be effective, it is crucial that water companies select and target appropriate interventions at multi-pollutant high risk areas. Within this thesis a conceptual framework is developed to disaggregate and compare multiple pollutant risks in drinking water catchments to aid water companies in this decision making process. A review of pollutant processes highlights links between pollutants often mitigated using catchment management and therefore confirms the feasibility for a multi- pollutant framework. Criteria were developed with water industry catchment management professionals to determine framework requirements. No current framework or model fully meets these criteria. ...[cont.

Becky Bloodworth and Kristen La Madrid: In a Senior Clarinet Recital

This is the program for Becky Bloodworth\u27s senior recital

Death on the High Seas: The Demise of TOVALOP and CRISTAL

In this Comment, the author provides an overview of TOVALOP and CRISTAL. The author also discusses other U.S. and international remedies for oil spill damages. An evaluation of the ramifications which are being realized because TOVALOP and CRISTAL are no longer enforced follows. This Comment concludes by suggesting that any future oil pollution compensation scheme must include TOVALOP and CRISTAL because these agreements provided the greatest likelihood of compensation to those damaged by maritime oil pollution

Numerical analysis of the embedded abutments of integral bridges

A numerical case study is presented, which investigates the performance of embedded integral bridge abutments and the maximum magnitude and distribution of earth pressure within the retained soil. The Three Surface Kinematic Hardening model is adopted in the numerical analysis, which successfully reproduced key features of soil behaviour under small strain cyclic loading. The results show that the earth pressures behind the abutment change in a complicated way, while the largest bending moments in the abutment wall increase with cycles at a decreasing rate, with a final value far less than the one derived from current design standards. A number of factors have been investigated and the influences of the wall flexure and soil stiffness are highlighted. The research results will lead to safe and economic design of such structures