Protein crystal growth tray assembly

A protein crystal growth tray assembly includes a tray that has a plurality of individual crystal growth chambers. Each chamber has a movable pedestal which carries a protein crystal growth compartment at an upper end. The several pedestals for each tray assembly are ganged together for concurrent movement so that the solutions in the various pedestal growth compartments can be separated from the solutions in the tray's growth chambers until the experiment is to be activated

Modeling the Behavior of the Surface to Liquid Interfaces in an Electrolytic Liquid

Understanding the mechanism for charge transfer between electrodes within an electrolyte dissolved in water is vital to better understanding the sources of electrical noise in the system. This research compares the electrical properties of liquid top gated graphene devices with the properties of two metal probes to model the system. By measuring the impedance of these systems at different frequencies, it is possible to develop a model of their electrical properties and to consider techniques to improve signal to noise at graphene interfaces

Modeling a Circuit that Represents an Electrolytic Solution at Different Concentrations

Electrodes are often placed within bio samples in order to measure the electrical changes that occur within a system. In order to understand the information provided through the microelectrodes, this paper will describe an experiment to measure the capacitance and the resistance between two micro electrodes as an electrolyte becomes more concentrated. This resulted in a capacitance and a resistance that increased and decreased exponentially, respectively, as an electrolyte concentration increased logarithmically

Finite-frequency wave propagation through outer rise fault zones and seismic measurements of upper mantle hydration

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2016. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geophysical Research Letters 43 (2016): 7982–7990, doi:10.1002/2016GL070083.Effects of serpentine-filled fault zones on seismic wave propagation in the upper mantle at the outer rise of subduction zones are evaluated using acoustic wave propagation models. Modeled wave speeds depend on azimuth, with slowest speeds in the fault-normal direction. Propagation is fastest along faults, but, for fault widths on the order of the seismic wavelength, apparent wave speeds in this direction depend on frequency. For the 5–12 Hz Pn arrivals used in tomographic studies, joint-parallel wavefronts are slowed by joints. This delay can account for the slowing seen in tomographic images of the outer rise upper mantle. At the Middle America Trench, confining serpentine to fault zones, as opposed to a uniform distribution, reduces estimates of bulk upper mantle hydration from ~3.5 wt % to as low as 0.33 wt % H2O.NSF Grant Number: OCE-08410632017-02-1

Emerging Investigators Series: Pyrolysis Removes Common Microconstituents Triclocarban, Triclosan, and Nonylphenol from Biosolids

Reusing biosolids is vital for the sustainability of wastewater management. Pyrolysis is an anoxic thermal degradation process that can be used to convert biosolids into energy rich py-gas and py-oil, and a beneficial soil amendment, biochar. Batch biosolids pyrolysis (60 minutes) revealed that triclocarban and triclosan were removed (to below quantification limit) at 200 °C and 300 °C, respectively. Substantial removal (\u3e90%) of nonylphenol was achieved at 300 °C as well, but 600 °C was required to remove nonylphenol to below the quantification limit. At 500 °C, the pyrolysis reaction time to remove \u3e90% of microconstituents was less than 5 minutes. Fate studies revealed that microconstituents were both volatilized and thermochemically transformed during pyrolysis; microconstituents with higher vapor pressures were more likely to volatilize and leave the pyrolysis reactor before being transformed than compounds with lower vapor pressures. Reductive dehalogenation products of triclocarban and suspected dehalogenation products of triclosan were identified in py-gas. Application of biosolids-derived biochar to soil in place of biosolids has potential to minimize organic microconstituents discharged to the environment provided appropriate management of py-gas and py-oil

Biodiversity, Governance, and the Allocation of International Aid for Conservation

There is little systematic knowledge about the magnitude and allocation of international funding flows to support biodiversity conservation in the developing world. Using the newly released AidData compilation, we present a comprehensive assessment of official donor assistance for biodiversity during 1980–2008. We find that biodiversity aid increased markedly in the early 1990s, but that estimates of current aid are likely overstated and donor commitments at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit have not been met. Aid has been well targeted, however, in that the allocation of biodiversity aid is positively associated with the number of threatened species in recipient countries after controlling for country size, national population, and wealth. Biodiversity aid is also positively associated with indicators of good governance. Our results provide an empirical measure of progress toward international conservation funding targets, a baseline against which future flows can be compared, and information necessary to assess the effectiveness of biodiversity aid.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/96771/1/j.1755-263X.2012.00270.x.pd

High rates of HIV testing despite low perceived HIV risk among African-American sexually transmitted disease patients.

In the current diagnosis-based, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention climate, previous testing among persons at elevated HIV risk has cost and efficacy implications, as it signals continued behavioral risk, limited HIV knowledge or overuse of services. This study sought to determine the proportion of African Americans newly seeking sexually transmitted disease (STD) diagnosis who previously had obtained HIV counseling and testing. This was a clinic-based, cross-sectional survey of African-American adults (N=408) seeking STO diagnosis at a public STD clinic located in a high-HIV and STD prevalence city in the U.S. south. Eighty-four percent of respondents had previously obtained HIV counseling and testing: 68% had previously obtained care at the clinic. Sixty-five percent of respondents perceived themselves as having low or no HIV risk. Seventy-two percent correctly answered > or = 3 of 4 HIV knowledge items. Although diagnosis-based HIV prevention initiatives promote HIV counseling and testing for both primary and secondary HIV prevention, these findings suggest that many African-American STD patients remain at risk following testing. Future research should explore how the counseling portion of standard HIV counseling and testing influences subsequent knowledge, attitudes, risk perceptions and behaviors

Grist: Grid-based Data Mining for Astronomy

The Grist project is developing a grid-technology based system as a research environment for astronomy with massive and complex datasets. This knowledge extraction system will consist of a library of distributed grid services controlled by a work ow system, compliant with standards emerging from the grid computing, web services, and virtual observatory communities. This new technology is being used to find high redshift quasars, study peculiar variable objects, search for transients in real time, and fit SDSS QSO spectra to measure black hole masses. Grist services are also a component of the "hyperatlas" project to serve high-resolution multi-wavelength imagery over the Internet. In support of these science and outreach objectives, the Grist framework will provide the enabling fabric to tie together distributed grid services in the areas of data access, federation, mining, subsetting, source extraction, image mosaicking, statistics, and visualization