Squeezing out the last 1 nanometer of water: A detailed nanomechanical study

In this study, we present a detailed analysis of the squeeze-out dynamics of nanoconfined water confined between two hydrophilic surfaces measured by small-amplitude dynamic atomic force microscopy (AFM). Explicitly considering the instantaneous tip-surface separation during squeezeout, we confirm the existence of an adsorbed molecular water layer on mica and at least two hydration layers. We also confirm the previous observation of a sharp transition in the viscoelastic response of the nanoconfined water as the compression rate is increased beyond a critical value (previously determined to be about 0.8 nm/s). We find that below the critical value, the tip passes smoothly through the molecular layers of the film, while above the critical speed, the tip encounters "pinning" at separations where the film is able to temporarily order. Pre-ordering of the film is accompanied by increased force fluctuations, which lead to increased damping preceding a peak in the film stiffness once ordering is completed. We analyze the data using both Kelvin-Voigt and Maxwell viscoelastic models. This provides a complementary picture of the viscoelastic response of the confined water film

Indiana Geospatial Coordinate System (InGCS)

In this session we will introduce attendees to the Indiana Geospatial Coordinate System (InGCS), compare and contrast it to UTM 16, Indiana State Plane East and West Zones, discuss the advantages of low distortion projections, and provide recommended guidelines for use of the InGCS

Coastal oceanography and sedimentology in New Zealand, 1967-91.

This paper reviews research that has taken place on physical oceanography and sedimentology on New Zealand's estuaries and the inner shelf since c. 1967. It includes estuarine sedimentation, tidal inlets, beach morphodynamics, nearshore and inner shelf sedimentation, tides and coastal currents, numerical modelling, short-period waves, tsunamis, and storm surges. An extensive reference list covering both published and unpublished material is included. Formal teaching and research programmes dealing with coastal landforms and the processes that shape them were only introduced to New Zealand universities in 1964; the history of the New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research parallels and chronicles the development of physical coastal science in New Zealand, most of which has been accomplished in last 25 years

Flexibility in the receptor-binding domain of the enzymatic colicin E9 is required for toxicity against Escherichia coli cells

The events that occur after the binding of the enzymatic E colicins to Escherichia coli BtuB receptors that lead to translocation of the cytotoxic domain into the periplasmic space and, ultimately, cell killing are poorly understood. It has been suggested that unfolding of the coiled-coil Mull receptor binding domain of the E colicins may be an essential step that leads to the loss of immunity protein from the colicin and immunity protein complex and then triggers the events of translocation. We introduced pairs of cysteine mutations into the receptor binding domain of colicin E9 (ColE9) that resulted in the formation of a disulfide bond located near the middle or the top of the R domain. After dithiothreitol reduction, the ColE9 protein with the mutations L359C and F412C (ColE9 L359C-F412C) and the ColE9 protein with the mutations Y324C and L447C (ColE9 Y324C-L447C) were slightly less active than equivalent concentrations of ColE9. On oxidation with diamide, no significant biological activity was seen with the ColE9 L359C-F412C and the ColE9 Y324C-L447C mutant proteins; however diamide had no effect on the activity of ColE9. The presence of a disulfide bond was confirmed in both of the oxidized, mutant proteins by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. The loss of biological activity of the disulfide-containing mutant proteins was not due to an indirect effect on the properties of the translocation or DNase domains of the mutant colicins. The data are consistent with a requirement for the flexibility of the coiled-coil R domain after binding to BtuB

Stochastic Analysis and Regeneration of Rough Surfaces

We investigate Markov property of rough surfaces. Using stochastic analysis we characterize the complexity of the surface roughness by means of a Fokker-Planck or Langevin equation. The obtained Langevin equation enables us to regenerate surfaces with similar statistical properties compared with the observed morphology by atomic force microscopy.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figure

Phase Separation in One-Dimensional Driven Diffusive Systems

A driven diffusive model of three types of particles that exhibits phase separation on a ring is introduced. The dynamics is local and comprises nearest neighbor exchanges that conserve each of the three species. For the case in which the three densities are equal, it is shown that the model obeys detailed balance. The Hamiltonian governing the steady state distribution in this case is given and is found to have long range asymmetric interactions. The partition sum and bounds on some correlation functions are calculated analytically demonstrating phase separation.Comment: 4 Pages, Revtex, 2 Figures included, Submitted to Physical Review Letter

A VLA Search for Water Masers in Six HII Regions: Tracers of Triggered Low-Mass Star Formation

We present a search for water maser emission at 22 GHz associated with young low-mass protostars in six HII regions -- M16, M20, NGC 2264, NGC 6357, S125, and S140. The survey was conducted with the NRAO Very Large Array from 2000 to 2002. For several of these HII regions, ours are the first high-resolution observations of water masers. We detected 16 water masers: eight in M16, four in M20, three in S140, and one in NGC 2264. All but one of these were previously undetected. No maser emission was detected from NGC 6357 or S125. There are two principle results to our study. (1) The distribution of water masers in M16 and M20 does not appear to be random but instead is concentrated in a layer of compressed gas within a few tenths of a parsec of the ionization front. (2) Significantly fewer masers are seen in the observed fields than expected based on other indications of ongoing star formation, indicating that the maser-exciting lifetime of protostars is much shorter in HII regions than in regions of isolated star formation. Both of these results confirm predictions of a scenario in which star formation is first triggered by shocks driven in advance of ionization fronts, and then truncated approximately 10^5 years later when the region is overrun by the ionization front.Comment: 30 pages, 20 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication by ApJ. Full resolution figures and PS and PDF versions with full-res figures available at http://eagle.la.asu.edu/healy/preprints/hhc0