Particle size dependence on immobilized molecular sensors : assay of nucleic acid probes attached to paramagnetic particles

Nanotechnology is concerned with materials and systems whose structure and components exhibit novel and significantly improved physical, chemical and biological properties, phenomena and processes due to their nano scale size. The transition from micro scale to nano scale leads to a number of changes in physical properties, possibly including new physical principles, some of which may be yet to be discovered. One of the major factors in this is the increase in ratio of surface area to volume. This thesis research uses the increase in ratio of surface area to volume property of going from macro to micro to nano scale to pose the hypothesis that the increase in surface area to volume ratio as particle size gets smaller improves the functionality of immobilized molecular sensors. In this thesis work we have successfully immobilized pseudo molecular beacons to paramagnetic particles of different sizes and shapes. The research has surprisingly concluded that the relationship between specific binding capacity and performance as measured by fluorescence binding capacity or performance labeling did not correlate inversely with particle sizes at fixed particle mass as originally postulated

Automating Pharmacokinetic Predictions in \u3cem\u3eArtemisia\u3c/em\u3e

Pharmacokinetics (PK) is the time course of a compound in the body that is dependent on mechanisms of absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion or ADME. A thorough understanding of PK is essential to predict the consequences of organisms exposed to chemicals. In medicine, predictions of PK of drugs allows us to properly prescribe drug treatments. In toxicology, PK allows us to predict the potential exposure of environmental contaminants and how they may affect organisms at the time of exposure or in the future. Chemical ecology could benefit from computational predictions of PK to better understand which plants are consumed or avoided by wild herbivores. A limitation in computational predictions of PK in chemical ecology is the large quantities of biodiverse natural products involved in complex plant-herbivore-microbial interactions compared to biomedical and environmental toxicology studies that focus on a select number of chemicals. The objective of this research was to automate the process of mining predicted PK of known chemical structures in plants consumed by herbivores and to use predicted PK output to test hypotheses. The first hypothesis is that because monoterpenes are smaller in molecular weight and have relatively high lipophilicity when compared to phenolics and sesquiterpenes, they would have higher absorption, be more likely to be substrates for efflux transporters that regulate absorption, and be more likely to inhibit metabolizing enzymes than phenolics and sesquiterpenes. The second hypothesis is that monoterpenes that are induced or avoided by foraging herbivores would have higher absorption, be less likely to be substates for efflux transporters, and be more likely to inhibit metabolizing enzymes compared to the individual monoterpenes that are not induced or avoided by herbivores. This automated approach used Python packages to obtain chemical notations from the PubChem website and mine predicted PK information for chemical input from the SwissADME website. The PK output from SwissADME was analyzed using ANOVAs to test for differences in molecular weight and lipophilicity among chemical classes (monoterpenes, phenolics, and sesquiterpenes). Chi-squared tests were used to assess if chemical groups had high or low absorption, were substrates of efflux transporters, or inhibited metabolizing enzymes. Mined PK data for chemicals can be used to understand drug-drug interactions in pharmacology, predict exposure to environmental contaminants in toxicology, and identify mechanisms mediating plant-microbe-herbivore interactions. However, the broad benefits of mining predicted PK across disciplines requires a workforce with competency in chemistry, physiology, and computing who can validate the automation process and test hypotheses relative to different disciplines. Course-based and Lab-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs and LUREs) have been proven to not only improve grades but also increase engagement diversity and inclusion. As a graduate teaching assistant, I created and taught a PK LURE module in an undergraduate Animal Physiology and Nutrition course to create a sustainable quality control step to validate input of chemical structures and PK output generated from the automated process. The course simultaneously provided students with an authentic research experience where they integrated chemistry, pharmacology, computing, public databases, and literature searches to propose and test new hypotheses. Students gained indispensable interdisciplinary research skills that can be transferred to jobs in veterinary and human medicine, pharmaceutics, and natural sciences. Moreover, undergraduates used existing and new PK data to generate and test novel hypotheses that go beyond the work of any single graduate student or discipline. Overall, the integration of computing and authentic research experiences has advanced the research capacity of a diverse workforce who can predict exposure and consequences of chemicals in organisms

Erection of a Stainless-Steel Tank for Storing a Phosphoric Acid

A storage tank for 93 % phosphoric acid was built in Luka Koper from 7 mm thick ground hot-rolled plates of 316L stainless steel. The capacity of the storage tank is of the 750 m3, diameter of 11 m and the height of 8,2 m. The shell plates were welded manually using the shielded metal-arc and gas-metal-arc processes. Before the erection, welding procedure tests according to EN 288-3 were carried out. During the construction several non-destructive examination methods were used, such as radiographic testing and visual and liquid penetrant examination. After the entire tank and roof structure were completed, a hydrostatic leak test was carried out. The surfaces of all the welds on the internal surface of the vessel were ground and the roughness was checked on site. The surfaces of the base material and the ground welds were passivated and tested for resistance to corrosion with electrochemical measurements

Pukotine na valjkastom ležaju

Bearings are among the most important components of electromotors, pumps, compressors and other processing equipment. After 30 years of work some non-destructive and metallographic examinations were carried out on a single-row cylindrical roller-bearing. A non-destructive liquid-penetrant testing revealed crack indications on an inner ring groove. When a sample of the roller-bearing outer ring was cut out for metallographic examination, new cracks were discovered that were not detected by the non-destructive testing. However, with the examination of the non-failed bearing it is possible to obtain useful information that can help us to decide how much of the remaining population of bearings with the same geometry and loading should be examined.Ležajevi su veoma značajne komponente elektromotora, crpki, kompresora i ostale procesne opreme. Na jednorednom valjkastom cilindričnom ležaju, koji je bio u pogonu 30 godina bile su izvedene kontrole bez razaranja i metalografska kontrola. Sa metodom tekućih pentranata su se otkrile indikacije pukotina u žlijebu unutrašnjeg prstena. Kada je bio iz vanjskog prstena uzet uzorak za metalografsko ispitivanje otkrivene su bile nove pukotine, koje nisu bile detektirane kontrolom bez razaranja. Sa ispitivanjem ležaja koji nije otkazao tako je moguće dobiti korisne informacije, koje nam mogu pomoći o odluci koliki će biti broj ispitanih ležajeva između ostale populacije s jednakom geometrijom i opterećenjem

Erection of a Stainless-Steel Tank for Storing a Phosphoric Acid

A storage tank for 93 % phosphoric acid was built in Luka Koper from 7 mm thick ground hot-rolled plates of 316L stainless steel. The capacity of the storage tank is of the 750 m3, diameter of 11 m and the height of 8,2 m. The shell plates were welded manually using the shielded metal-arc and gas-metal-arc processes. Before the erection, welding procedure tests according to EN 288-3 were carried out. During the construction several non-destructive examination methods were used, such as radiographic testing and visual and liquid penetrant examination. After the entire tank and roof structure were completed, a hydrostatic leak test was carried out. The surfaces of all the welds on the internal surface of the vessel were ground and the roughness was checked on site. The surfaces of the base material and the ground welds were passivated and tested for resistance to corrosion with electrochemical measurements

Eaglenautics: Sae Aero West Design Competition Team

Eaglenautics is an engineering club affiliated with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Every year, Eaglenautics participates in the SAE Aero West Design Competition. This competition challenges teams to design a competitive R/C scale aircraft from the ground up. Eaglenautics tackles this challenge by using a modified design-build-fly (DBF) process by adding a simulation step after the design step. Simulation software allows for a faster convergence to a design before the build process starts. Eaglenautics utilizes simulation programs like XFLR5 and OpenVSP to aid with the design of the aircraft to save time building multiple aircraft iterations. This process is especially helpful for Eaglenautics because of the size and complexity of the aircrafts. The competition requires teams to design a heavy lift aircraft that must carry steel plates and a minimum of one soccer ball. Due to these competition requirements, this year’s aircraft has a 6.8 ft wingspan and a length of about 6.4 ft. The gross take-off weight of the aircraft will be about 30-32 lbf. The process that Eaglenautics follows to design aircraft more closely mimics a typical design process of companies in the Aerospace industry. This in turn provides students with experience that is applicable to Capstone projects and jobs in the Aerospace industry. In the picture is an example of the aircraft’s finale iteration of the wing and vertical and horizontal stabilizers in XFLR5. An XFLR5 simulation was performed that showed the streamlines of the air leaving the wing and control surfaces

PEMBERDAYAAN KELOMPOK NELAYAN MELALUI PROGRAM SENTRA KELAUTAN DAN PERIKANAN TERPADU DI DESA DALUM KECAMATAN SALIBABU KABUPATEN KEPULAUAN TALAUD

Dalum Village is one of the villages in the Talaud Islands Regency with its residents mostly living as fishermen, however, fishermen in Dalum Village are fishermen who are not fully empowered or have not been developed even though the government through the Fisheries Service of the Talaud Islands Regency has empowered fishermen groups in Dalum Village through the Integrated Marine and Fisheries Center Program.  This study aims to describe and analyze the empowerment of fishermen groups through the Integrated Marine and Fisheries Center Program, inhibiting factors and supporting factors for the implementation of empowerment and efforts made in overcoming inhibiting factors. The design of this study is descriptive qualitative with an inductive approach. Data collection techniques are carried out through interviews, observations and documentation. Data analysis techniques are carried out by data reduction, data presentation and drawing conclusions. The results showed that the Empowerment of Fishermen Groups through the Integrated Marine and Fisheries Center Program in Dalum Village, Salibabu District, Talaud Islands Regency, Fishermen Group Study at the Teluk Lawasan Indah Cooperative conducted by the Fisheries Service of the Talaud Islands Regency was carried out with four indicators, namely human development, business development, environmental development and institutional development. Through these four indicators, the empowerment process has been running, but there are still many shortcomings that are obstacles in the implementation of empowerment such as: the low level of education of fishermen groups related to the technology used, the facilities and infrastructure used by fishermen groups are still simple, the dependence of fishermen groups on assistance provided by the government, and the lack of sufficient availability of electricity in the Island Regency area  Talaud. Keywords: Fishing Group, Empowerment, Integrated Marine and Fisheries Center Program  Desa Dalum adalah salah satu desa di Kabupaten Kepulauan Talaud dengan penduduknya sebagian besar bermata pencaharian sebagai nelayan, namun demikian nelayan di Desa Dalum merupakan nelayan yang belum sepenuhnya berdaya atau belum maju padahal pemerintah melalui Dinas Perikanan Kabupaten Kepulauan Talaud sudah melakukan pemberdayaan bagi kelompok nelayan yang ada di Desa Dalum melalui Program Sentra Kelautan dan Perikanan Terpadu.  Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan dan menganalisis pemberdayaan kelompok nelayan melalui Program Sentra Kelautan dan Perikanan Terpadu, faktor penghambat dan faktor pendukung pelaksanaan pemberdayaan serta upaya yang dilakukan dalam mengatasi faktor penghambat. Desain penelitian ini adalah deskriptif kualitatif dengan pendekatan induktif. Teknik pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui wawancara, observasi dan dokumentasi. Teknik analisis data dilakukan dengan reduksi data, penyajian data dan penarikan kesimpulan. Hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa Pemberdayaan Kelompok Nelayan Melalui Program Sentra Kelautan dan Perikanan Terpadu di Desa Dalum Kecamatan Salibabu Kabupaten Kepulauan Talaud Studi Kelompok Nelayan pada Koperasi Teluk Lawasan Indah yang dilakukan oleh Dinas Perikanan Kabupaten Kepulauan Talaud dilaksanakan dengan empat indikator yaitu bina manusia, bina usaha, bina lingkungan dan bina kelembagaan. Melalui keempat indikator tersebut proses pemberdayaan telah berjalan, akan tetapi masih banyak kekurangan – kekurangan yang menjadi faktor penghambat dalam pelaksanaan pemberdayaan seperti: rendahnya keberadaan tingkat Pendidikan kelompok nelayan terkait teknologi yang digunakan, sarana dan prasarana yang digunakan kelompok nelayan masih sederhana, ketergantungan kelompok nelayan pada bantuan yang diberikan pemerintah, dan belum cukup nya ketersediaan listrik di wilayah Kabupaten Kepulauan Talaud. Kata Kunci: Kelompok Nelayan, Pemberdayaan, Program Sentra Kelautan dan Perikanan Terpad

Kemampuan Pemecahan Masalah Matematis Siswa Dengan Tahapan Polya

Artikel ini membahas tentang analisis kemampuan pemecahan masalah matematis siswa berdasarkan tahapan polya oleh lima mata pelajaran yang diambil dari salah satu SMP di Bekasi. Pada artikel ini akan dilakukan studi deskriptif kualitatif mengenai kemampuan siswa dalam memahami masalah, membuat rencana, memecahkan masalah, dan melakukan review dalam memecahkan masalah. Hasil kemampuan pemecahan masalah berdasarkan tahapan polya pada siswa tidak mengidentifikasi informasi untuk memahami masalah, siswa salah memilih strategi dan bahkan tidak mengetahui rumus yang digunakan dalam menyelesaikan masalah, siswa salah dalam perhitungan dalam proses penyelesaian, dan tidak menarik kesimpulan