A learning progression based teaching module on the causes of seasons

In this paper, we report about designing and validating a teaching learning module based on a learning progression and focused on the causes of seasons. An initial learning progression about the Celestial Motion big idea —causes of seasons, lunar and solar eclipse and Moon phases— was developed and validated. Existing curricula, research studies on alternative conceptions about these phenomena, and students’ answers to an open questionnaire were the starting point to develop initial learning progressions; then, a two-tier multiple-choice questionnaire was designed to validate and improve it. The questionnaire was submitted to about 300 secondary-school students whose answers were used to revise the hypothesized learning progressions. This improved version of the learning progression was used to design a module focused on the causes of seasons in which students were engaged in quantitative measurements with a photovoltaic panel to explain changes of the Sun rays’ flow on the Earth’s surface over the year. The efficacy of our module in improving students’ understanding of the phenomenon of the seasons was tested using our questionnaire as pre- and post-test

Describing astronomy identity of upper primary and middle school students through structural equation modeling

We describe how young students situate themselves with respect to astronomy through an identity framework that features four dimensions: interest, utility value, confidence, and conceptual knowledge. Overall, about 900 Italian students, from 5th to 9th grade (9-14 years old), were involved in the study. We tested our model using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Differences between girls and boys and across school levels were also investigated. Results show that interest has both a direct and an indirect effect on astronomy identity. The indirect effect of interest on identity is mediated by utility value. Moreover, confidence mediates the effect of interest on conceptual knowledge. Concerning differences between girls and boys, we found that the effect of interest on identity is greater for girls than for boys and that the utility value mediates the effect of interest on identity for boys but not for girls. Finally, our findings show also that the students' interest in astronomy and confidence in their performance decrease with age, with a potential negative impact on conceptual knowledge and future career choice in astronomy. The astronomy identity framework can be employed to examine the role of affective variables on performance and persistence in astronomy and to improve the design of teaching-learning activities that can potentially stimulate a lasting interest in astronomy

Design, synthesis and structure-activity evaluation of novel 2-pyridone-based inhibitors of a-synuclein aggregation with potentially improved BBB permeability

The treatment of Parkinson''s disease (PD), the second most common neurodegenerative human disorder, continues to be symptomatic. Development of drugs able to stop or at least slowdown PD progression would benefit several million people worldwide. SynuClean-D is a low molecular weight 2-pyridone-based promising drug candidate that inhibits the aggregation of a-synuclein in human cultured cells and prevents degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in a Caenorhabditis elegans model of PD. Improving SynuClean-D pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic properties, performing structure/activity studies and testing its efficacy in mammalian models of PD requires the use of gr-amounts of the compound. However, not enough compound is on sale, and no synthetic route has been reported until now, which hampers the molecule progress towards clinical trials. To circumvent those problems, we describe here an efficient and economical route that enables the synthesis of SynuClean-D with good yields as well as the synthesis of SynuClean-D derivatives. Structure-activity comparison of the new compounds with SynuClean-D reveals the functional groups of the molecule that can be disposed of without activity loss and those that are crucial to interfere with a-synuclein aggregation. Several of the derivatives obtained retain the parent''s compound excellent in vitro anti-aggregative activity, without compromising its low toxicity. Computational predictions and preliminary testing indicate that the blood brain barrier (BBB) permeability of SynuClean-D is low. Importantly, several of the newly designed and obtained active derivatives are predicted to display good BBB permeability. The synthetic route developed here will facilitate their synthesis for BBB permeability determination and for efficacy testing in mammalian models of PD. © 2021 The Author

Strengthening mechanisms in an Al-Fe-Cr-Ti nano-quasicrystalline alloy and composites

We report a study of the structure-processing-property relationships in a high strength AlFeCrTi nano-quasicrystalline alloy and composites containing 10 and 20 vol% ductilising pure Al fibres. The superimposed contributions of several different strengthening mechanisms have been modelled analytically using data obtained from systematic characterisation of the monolithic alloy bar. An observed yield strength of 544 MPa has been substantiated from a combination of solid solution strengthening, work hardening, precipitation hardening and Hall-Petch grain size dependent effects. These materials have been shown by other authors in previous published work to be highly sensitive to the size distribution of particles in the powder from which they are made, and the subsequent thermomechanical processing conditions. The processing condition employed in this study provided micron-sized grains with a strong [111] preferential orientation along the extrusion direction and a bimodal size distribution of the icosahedral nano-quasicrystalline precipitates. Both were deemed to be a significant contributor to the high yield strength observed. The addition of pure Al fibres was found to decrease the yield strength linearly with increasing Al content, and to augment the ductility of the composites.Industrial collaborator ALPOCO Ltd. (and more specifically Steve McArthur) provided the powders. Dr. Karen Kruska and Dr. Alan Xu assisted with sample preparation of FIB lift-out specimens of the atomised powder for TEM analysis. EPSRC Project EP/E040608/1 provided financial support. M. Galano thanks the RAEng for their support by means of a Research Fellowship. F. Audebert and M. Galano thank PICT-Oxford2010/2831. F. Audebert also thanks UBACyT20020130100663 and FONARSEC FS Nano 2010/11 for financial support.Peer Reviewe

Effect of Al addition to Rapidly Solidified Mg-Cu-Rare Earth Alloys

Rapidly solidified Mg based alloys are of interest for industrial applications as a structural material and for hydrogen storage. Mg-Cu-Rare Earth alloys have shown high glass forming ability; full amorphous structure with thickness of mm size can be obtained within these systems. However, their brittle behavior limits their industrial applications. In the present work, the Al effect in substitution of Cu in the Mg65Cu25MM10 (at%, MM: mischmetal) was studied. Samples up to 15at% Al were prepared by splat cooling and their microstructure, stability and mechanical properties were characterised. The crystallization temperature increases with the Al addition; the amorphous phase with different Al content has a Young's modulus of ~55GPa; the microhardness increases with the Al content in the amorphous and crystallized samples and the fracture of the alloy containing 10at% Al showed ductile vein patterns characteristics of ductile metallic glasses. The partial Cu substitution by Al can improve the stability and mechanical properties of the amorphous Mg65Cu25MM10 allo

Oxygen radical-mediated oxidation reactions of an alanine peptide motif - density functional theory and transition state theory study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Oxygen-base (O-base) oxidation in protein backbone is important in the protein backbone fragmentation due to the attack from reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study, an alanine peptide was used model system to investigate this O-base oxidation by employing density functional theory (DFT) calculations combining with continuum solvent model. Detailed reaction steps were analyzed along with their reaction rate constants.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Most of the O-base oxidation reactions for this alanine peptide are exothermic except for the bond-breakage of the C_α-N bond to form hydroperoxy alanine radical. Among the reactions investigated in this study, the activated energy of OH α-H abstraction is the lowest one, while the generation of alkylperoxy peptide radical must overcome the highest energy barrier. The aqueous situation facilitates the oxidation reactions to generate hydroxyl alanine peptide derivatives except for the fragmentations of alkoxyl alanine peptide radical. The C_α-C_βbond of the alkoxyl alanine peptide radical is more labile than the peptide bond.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>the rate-determining step of oxidation in protein backbone is the generation of hydroperoxy peptide radical via the reaction of alkylperoxy peptide radical with HO₂. The stabilities of alkylperoxy peptide radical and complex of alkylperoxy peptide radical with HO₂are crucial in this O-base oxidation reaction.</p

Accurate and efficient constrained molecular dynamics of polymers using Newton's method and special purpose code

In molecular dynamics simulations we can often increase the time step by imposing constraints on bond lengths and bond angles. This allows us to extend the length of the time interval and therefore the range of physical phenomena that we can afford to simulate. We examine the existing algorithms and software for solving nonlinear constraint equations in parallel and we explain why it is necessary to advance the state-of-the-art. We present ILVES-PC, a new algorithm for imposing bond constraints on proteins accurately and efficiently. It solves the same system of differential algebraic equations as the celebrated SHAKE algorithm, but ILVES-PC solves the nonlinear constraint equations using Newton’s method rather than the nonlinear Gauss-Seidel method. Moreover, ILVES-PC solves the necessary linear systems using a specialized linear solver that exploits the structure of the protein. ILVES-PC can rapidly solve constraint equations as accurately as the hardware will allow. The run-time of ILVES-PC is proportional to the number of constraints. We have integrated ILVES-PC into GROMACS and simulated proteins of different sizes. Compared with SHAKE, we have achieved speedups of up to 4.9× in single-threaded executions and up to 76× in shared-memory multi-threaded executions. Moreover, ILVES-PC is more accurate than P-LINCS algorithm. Our work is a proof-of-concept of the utility of software designed specifically for the simulation of polymers

High strain rate behaviour of nano-quasicrystalline Al93Fe3Cr2Ti2 alloy and composites

We demonstrate the outstanding dynamic strength of nano-quasicrystalline Al93Fe3Cr2Ti2 at% alloy and composites. Unlike most crystalline Al alloys, this alloy exhibits substantial strain rate sensitivity and retains ductility at high strain rates. This opens new pathways for use in safety-critical materials requiring impact resistance