A group of subject-verb agreements: finding quantity in group and number

This study characterizes the subject-verb agreement that occurs with group of NP and number of NP. These two complex noun phrases can agree with a verb as a singular or plural noun. These two particular items were selected as number of NP has a relatively firm description of its quantification behavior described in existing literature while group of NP has not been shown to have describable rules governing its quantity. Using data collected from the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA), 1200 concordance lines centered on group of and number of which agree with a verb in a clause were extracted for study of several co-occurring features. Individual features such as determiners and modifiers are examined with respect to their distribution with singular or plural-agreeing verbs to identify patterns of agreement and potentially indicate trends, if not causal relationships. Some features, such as determiners preceding the first noun number, show trends with respect to the verb-demonstrated quantity of the noun phrase. Other features, such as premodifiers on either noun in group of NP do not appear to co-occur in demonstrable patterns. By creating a description of quantification in this way, this study lays the foundation for more targeted future studies of quantification in cognition, grammar, and semantics

Using Educational Board Games Adjunct to Traditional Lectures for Pharmacy Students in Learning Infectious Disease

To determine if the utilization of modified games, such as ID-Candyland and ID-Taboo, are effective methods to reinforce student knowledge gained in traditional infectious diseases (ID) lectures. When confronted with various challenges of learning ID and the associated pharmacotherapy, pharmacy students often have difficulty applying knowledge learned within the traditional lecture setting to clinical practice and real-life situations involving patients. In addition to lectures and reading assignments, the utilization of educational games can extend learning opportunities, reinforce current understanding and promote a fun and competitive environment. Studies have shown that games are a powerful teaching strategy to develop creative learning experiences and lead to an increase in students’ knowledge and performance. Before each exam, second-year pharmacy students enrolled in the ID-1 course were provided opportunities to utilize the educational games for review. After each review session, a survey with ten questions was given to participants to determine the impact of the games on overall knowledge and retention. ID-Candyland followed similar rules to the actual game except, each person must correctly answer an ID-related question before drawing a card to move. The rules of ID-Taboo mimicked the directions of the original game, except clues and words were ID-based. For each Guess Word correctly provided, one point was awarded to the team

Explorations in polyene chemistry

Conjugated polyenes are an important class of organic molecules that have found applications in chemistry, medicine, and materials science. The ability of π-bond rich polyenes to rapidly generate structural complexity through domino pericyclic reactions renders them powerful reagents for synthesis. This thesis, which is submitted in publication format, describes the application of through-conjugated and cross-conjugated polyenes in step-economic natural product synthesis. The first synthesis of a family of all-(Z)-polyene hydrocarbons is also presented. Chapter One details the first synthesis of natural products to feature (Z,Z,Z,Z)-tetraenes in domino 8π-6π electrocyclizations. The ten-step synthesis centred on the unprecedented four-fold cis-selective partial reduction of a conjugated tetrayne. Our studies suggest that the kingianins form in nature through redox-catalyzed formal Diels–Alder dimerizations rather than thermal concerted [4+2]-cycloadditions. Chapter Two presents the first unified strategy for the synthesis of structurally distinct kingianin, endiandric acid, and kingianic acid natural products. Five natural products were prepared from a common tetrayne intermediate. The point of divergence involved the unconventional terminal alkylation of a conjugated tetrayne. Evidence for redox-catalysis in the biosynthesis of kingianic acid E was also obtained. Chapter Three describes an unprecedented synthesis of unsubstituted all-(Z)-polyene hydrocarbons. The synthetic campaign allowed the structure and reactivity of all-(Z)-polyenes higher than octatetraene to be examined for the first time. Finally, Chapter Four outlines the shortest synthesis of a pseudopterosin natural product reported to date. The tricyclic framework was forged using a triple Diels–Alder reaction sequence of an axially chiral cross-conjugated 1,1-divinylallene

Enabling community-based metrology for wood-degrading fungi

Background: Lignocellulosic biomass could support a greatly-expanded bioeconomy. Current strategies for using biomass typically rely on single-cell organisms and extensive ancillary equipment to produce precursors for downstream manufacturing processes. Alternative forms of bioproduction based on solid-state fermentation and wood-degrading fungi could enable more direct means of manufacture. However, basic methods for cultivating wood-degrading fungi are often ad hoc and not readily reproducible. Here, we developed standard reference strains, substrates, measurements, and methods sufficient to begin to enable reliable reuse of mycological materials and products in simple laboratory settings. Results: We show that a widely-available and globally-regularized consumer product (Pringles™) can support the growth of wood-degrading fungi, and that growth on Pringles™-broth can be correlated with growth on media made from a fully-traceable and compositionally characterized substrate (National Institute of Standards and Technology Reference Material 8492 Eastern Cottonwood Whole Biomass Feedstock). We also establish a Relative Extension Unit (REU) framework that is designed to reduce variation in quantification of radial growth measurements. So enabled, we demonstrate that five laboratories were able to compare measurements of wood-fungus performance via a simple radial extension growth rate assay, and that our REU-based approach reduced variation in reported measurements by up to ~ 75%. Conclusions: Reliable reuse of materials, measures, and methods is necessary to enable distributed bioproduction processes that can be adopted at all scales, from local to industrial. Our community-based measurement methods incentivize practitioners to coordinate the reuse of standard materials, methods, strains, and to share information supporting work with wood-degrading fungi

Sources of Airborne Endotoxins in Ambient Air and Exposure of Nearby Communities—A Review

Endotoxin is a bioaerosol component that is known to cause respiratory effects in exposed populations. To date, most research focused on occupational exposure, whilst much less is known about the impact of emissions from industrial operations on downwind endotoxin concentrations. A review of the literature was undertaken, identifying studies that reported endotoxin concentrations in both ambient environments and around sources with high endotoxin emissions. Ambient endotoxin concentrations in both rural and urban areas are generally below 10 endotoxin units (EU) m−3; however, around significant sources such as compost facilities, farms, and wastewater treatment plants, endotoxin concentrations regularly exceeded 100 EU m−3. However, this is affected by a range of factors including sampling approach, equipment, and duration. Reported downwind measurements of endotoxin demonstrate that endotoxin concentrations can remain above upwind concentrations. The evaluation of reported data is complicated due to a wide range of different parameters including sampling approaches, temperature, and site activity, demonstrating the need for a standardised methodology and improved guidance. Thorough characterisation of ambient endotoxin levels and modelling of endotoxin from pollution sources is needed to help inform future policy and support a robust health-based risk assessment process

A Controlled Study on the Characterisation of Bioaerosols Emissions from Compost

Bioaerosol emissions arising from biowaste treatment are an issue of public concern. To better characterise the bioaerosols, and to assess a range of measurement methods, we aerosolised green waste compost under controlled conditions. Viable and non-viable Andersen samplers, cyclone samplers and a real time bioaerosol detection system (Spectral Intensity Bioaerosol Sensor (SIBS)) were deployed simultaneously. The number-weighted fraction of fluorescent particles was in the range 22–26% of all particles for low and high emission scenarios. Overall fluorescence spectral profiles seen by the SIBS exhibited several peaks across the 16 wavelength bands from 298 to 735 nm. The size-fractionated endotoxin profile showed most endotoxin resided in the 2.1–9 μm aerodynamic diameter fraction, though up to 27% was found in a finer size fraction. A range of microorganisms were detected through culture, Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption and Ionisation Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), including Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1. These findings contribute to our knowledge of the physico-chemical and biological characteristics of bioaerosols from composting sites, as well as informing future monitoring approaches and data interpretation for bioaerosol measurement