Synthesis of a Protein Based Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production System

Anthropogenic climate change is one of the most pressing challenges facing humans today. It is scientifically established that the production of copious amounts of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primarycause of global warming. Many of these greenhouse gases are produced from the combustion of carbon-based fuels and researchers are investigating promising alternative fuel sources such as hydrogen gas. Hydrogen gas is a clean burning fuel that stores a significant amount of chemical potential energy. The goal of this project was to synthesize a protein based photocatalytic hydrogen production system and to characterize the effects of modifications on thesystem. Significant progress has been made in developing/synthesizing all of the components of a three-partphotocatalytic system including the photosensitizer, [Ru(4-CH2Br- 4¢-(2,2¢-bipyridine)(2,2¢-bipyridine)2](PF6)2, the protein rubredoxin, and a newly designed hydrogen evolution catalyst [Cp*Ir(4,4\u27-dimethyl-2,2\u27-bipyridine)Cl]+designed to link to proteins. Preliminary characterization of hydrogen production was determined using a standard curve to detect hydrogen by gas chromatography. Tris(bipyridine)ruthenium(II) in conjunction with a free cobaloxime catalyst was used to analyze the integrity of the analytical method. Future work will allow researchers toattach [Cp*Ir(4,4¢-dimethyl-2,2¢-bipyridine)Cl]+ to a protein linker and test its effectiveness for photochemical hydrogen production which will serve as a standard baseline for future hydrogen production experimentation

The Unappealing Nature of Guilty Plea Agreements: Johnson’s Restrictions on Appeals of Intellectual Disabilities

In 2008, Ronald Johnson was charged with the murder of Luke Meiners, a St. Louis attorney. On the advice of his appointed defense counsel, Johnson pleaded guilty to the charge of first-degree murder to avoid the death penalty. Johnson was ineligible, however, for the death penalty because he was intellectually disabled. After his conviction, Johnson appealed for postconviction relief. Johnson received a mental evaluation, which concluded he was competent to stand trial. Thus, the court upheld his guilty plea. In an appeal to the Supreme Court of Missouri, Johnson argued that his conviction should be set aside because he received ineffective assistance of counsel and was coerced into accepting his plea. The Supreme Court of Missouri avoided the merits of Johnson’s appeal because of its technical deficiencies. The court further confused the established standards for competency to stand trial and intellectual disability in a way that will affect the rights of intellectually disabled individuals

Multi-wavelength Radio Continuum Emission Studies of Dust-free Red Giants

Multi-wavelength centimeter continuum observations of non-dusty, non-pulsating K spectral-type red giants directly sample their chromospheres and wind acceleration zones. Such stars are feeble emitters at these wavelengths however, and previous observations have provided only a small number of modest S/N measurements slowly accumulated over three decades. We present multi-wavelength Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array thermal continuum observations of the wind acceleration zones of two dust-free red giants, Arcturus (Alpha Boo: K2 III) and Aldebaran (Alpha Tau: K5 III). Importantly, most of our observations of each star were carried out over just a few days, so that we obtained a snapshot of the different stellar atmospheric layers sampled at different wavelengths, independent of any long-term variability. We report the first detections at several wavelengths for each star including a detection at 10 cm (3.0 GHz: S band) for both stars and a 20 cm (1.5 GHz: L band) detection for Alpha Boo. This is the first time single luminosity class III red giants have been detected at these continuum wavelengths. Our long-wavelength data sample the outer layers of Alpha Boo's atmosphere where its wind velocity is approaching its terminal value and the ionization balance is becoming frozen-in. For Alpha Tau, however, our long-wavelength data are still sampling its inner atmosphere, where the wind is still accelerating probably due to its lower mass-loss rate. We compare our data with published semi-empirical models based on ultraviolet data, and the marked deviations highlight the need for new atmospheric models to be developed. Spectral indices are used to discuss the possible properties of the stellar atmospheres, and we find evidence for a rapidly cooling wind in the case of Alpha Boo. Finally, we develop a simple analytical wind model for Alpha Boo based on our new long-wavelength flux measurements

Small polygons and toric codes

We describe two different approaches to making systematic classifications of plane lattice polygons, and recover the toric codes they generate, over small fields, where these match or exceed the best known minimum distance. This includes a [36,19,12]-code over F_7 whose minimum distance 12 exceeds that of all previously known codes.Comment: 9 pages, 4 tables, 3 figure

BSM Physics: What the Higgs Can Tell Us

This discovery of the Higgs boson last year has created new possibilities for testing candidate theories for explaining physics beyond the Standard Model. Here we explain the ways in which new physics can leave its marks in the experimental Higgs data, and how we can use the data to constrain and compare different models. In this proceedings paper we use two models, Minimal Universal Extra Dimensions and the 4D Composite Higgs model, as examples to demonstrate the technique.Comment: V2 corrected typo in author name. Submitted to the proceedings of the 41st ITEP Winter School, Mosco

Seven new champion linear codes

We exhibit seven linear codes exceeding the current best known minimum distance d for their dimension k and block length n. Each code is defined over F₈, and their invariants [n,k,d] are given by [49,13,27], [49,14,26], [49,16,24], [49,17,23], [49,19,21], [49,25,16] and [49,26,15]. Our method includes an exhaustive search of all monomial evaluation codes generated by points in the [0,5] x [0,5] lattice square

Nitrogen superfractionation in dense cloud cores

We report new calculations of interstellar 15N fractionation. Previously, we have shown that large enhancements of 15N/14N can occur in cold, dense gas where CO is frozen out, but that the existence of an NH + N channel in the dissociative recombination of N2H+ severely curtails the fractionation. In the light of recent experimental evidence that this channel is in fact negligible, we have reassessed the 15N chemistry in dense cloud cores. We consider the effects of temperatures below 10 K, and of the presence of large amounts of atomic nitrogen. We also show how the temporal evolution of gas-phase isotope ratios is preserved as spatial heterogeneity in ammonia ice mantles, as monolayers deposited at different times have different isotopic compositions. We demonstrate that the upper layers of this ice may have 15N/14N ratios an order of magnitude larger than the underlying elemental value. Converting our ratios to delta-values, we obtain delta(15N) > 3,000 per mil in the uppermost layer, with values as high as 10,000 per mil in some models. We suggest that this material is the precursor to the 15N `hotspots' recently discovered in meteorites and IDPsComment: accepted by MNRA

Temporal Evolution of the Size and Temperature of Betelgeuse's Extended Atmosphere

We use the Very Large Array (VLA) in the A configuration with the Pie Town (PT) Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) antenna to spatially resolve the extended atmosphere of Betelgeuse over multiple epochs at 0.7, 1.3, 2.0, 3.5, and 6.1 cm. The extended atmosphere deviates from circular symmetry at all wavelengths while at some epochs we find possible evidence for small pockets of gas significantly cooler than the mean global temperature. We find no evidence for the recently reported e-MERLIN radio hotspots in any of our multi-epoch VLA/PT data, despite having sufficient spatial resolution and sensitivity at short wavelengths, and conclude that these radio hotspots are most likely interferometric artefacts. The mean gas temperature of the extended atmosphere has a typical value of 3000 K at 2 $R_{\star}$ and decreases to 1800 K at 6 $R_{\star}$, in broad agreement with the findings of the single epoch study from Lim et al. (1998). The overall temperature profile of the extended atmosphere between $2 R_{\star} \lesssim r \lesssim 6 R_{\star}$ can be described by a power law of the form $T_{\mathrm{gas}}(r) \propto r^{-0.6}$, with temporal variability of a few 100 K evident at some epochs. Finally, we present over 12 years of V band photometry, part of which overlaps our multi-epoch radio data. We find a correlation between the fractional flux density variability at V band with most radio wavelengths. This correlation is likely due to shock waves induced by stellar pulsations, which heat the inner atmosphere and ionize the more extended atmosphere through radiative means. Stellar pulsations may play an important role in exciting Betelgeuse's extended atmosphere

Interdisciplinary (retail) research: The business of geography and the geography of business

NoAt the 2005 British Academy of Management conference several well-known economic geographers, including Neil Wrigley, Gordon Clark, and Susan Christopherson, called for management researchers to engage with economic geographers on interrelated geographical and managerial issues in the study of (retail) firms. In this commentary we reflect upon the present geography -management interface.We begin by considering the term `interdisciplinary research' and its relationship to any management - geography interface. This is followed by a context-specific discussion of international retailing and the role of research on the retail transnational corporation (TNC) in developing an interdisciplinary agenda. This commentary represents an initial more business and management focused response to the call from geography academics for more/better interdisciplinary research at the geography - management interface