Transformational Skills of Culturally Disadvantaged and Culturally Advantaged Children

No abstract provided by author

Transformational Skills of Culturally Disadvantaged and Culturally Advantaged Children

No abstract provided by author

Rapid microwave-assisted CNBr cleavage of bead-bound peptides

Large libraries of peptides, cyclic peptides, and other molecules are standard tools for the discovery of drugs, molecular probes, and affinity reagents. In particular, one-bead-one-compound (OBOC) libraries,(1) prepared by the split-and-mix method,(2) provide access to a broad chemical space with a minimum of reagents. Once such a library has been screened against the target of interest, the chemical identity of the library elements on the hit beads is identified. For peptide libraries and their variants, mass spectrometry (MS) based peptide sequencing provides the most rapid method for such analysis. OBOC libraries are constructed in a number of ways to facilitate MS analysis,(3-5) but one common feature is that the peptide must be cleaved from the bead prior to being introduced into the mass spectrometer. While a number of chemical(6) and photochemical(7) cleavage strategies have been developed, the most common strategy is to incorporate a CNBr-cleavable methionine-linker group at the C-terminus of the peptide.(8) CNBr cleavage has also been widely used in proteomics to cleave proteins.(9) With such chemistry, up to 100 beads from an OBOC peptide library can be sequenced in a 24 h period.(10) A large fraction of that time, however, is devoted to the CNBr cleavage step. Standard literature protocols describe CNBr cleavage as requiring between 12 and 24 h, using 20−30 μL of 0.25 M CNBr in 70% aqueous formic acid at room temperature.(11) Although the CNBr cleavage time may be reduced to 2−4 h at elevated temperatures (47 °C), significant side-products may be generated.(12) All reports that we have found that describe CNBr cleavage chemistry from single beads have used the same conditions as for proteomics, although the two chemical processes are not necessarily equivalent

Deepening of the winter mixed layer in the Canada Basin, Arctic Ocean over 2006-2017

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2019. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans 124(7), (2019): 4618-4630, doi: 10.1029/2019JC014940.The Arctic Ocean mixed layer interacts with the ice cover above and warmer, nutrient‐rich waters below. Ice‐Tethered Profiler observations in the Canada Basin of the Arctic Ocean over 2006–2017 are used to investigate changes in mixed layer properties. In contrast to decades of shoaling since at least the 1980s, the mixed layer deepened by 9 m from 2006–2012 to 2013–2017. Deepening resulted from an increase in mixed layer salinity that also weakened stratification at the base of the mixed layer. Vertical mixing alone can explain less than half of the observed change in mixed layer salinity, and so the observed increase in salinity is inferred to result from changes in freshwater accumulation via changes to ice‐ocean circulation or ice melt/growth and river runoff. Even though salinity increased, the shallowest density surfaces deepened by 5 m on average suggesting that Ekman pumping over this time period remained downward. A deeper mixed layer with weaker stratification has implications for the accessibility of heat and nutrients stored in the upper halocline. The extent to which the mixed layer will continue to deepen appears to depend primarily on the complex set of processes influencing freshwater accumulation.We gratefully acknowledge J. Toole for helpful conversations. S. Cole was supported by the National Science Foundation under grant PLR‐1602926 and J. Stadler by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Summer Student Fellowship program. Profile data are available via the Ice‐Tethered Profiler program website: http://whoi.edu/itp. SSM/I ice concentration data were downloaded from the National Snow and Ice Data Center.2019-12-2

Automated small-scale plant imaging system

For research laboratories, the use of commercial plant phenotyping systems is costly and often do not meet the requirements of the research project. As such, a small-scale plant imaging systems was developed for a biology research group at Washington University in St. Louis. A previous iteration of the device had been prototyped; however, several design requirements were not met, or were not mechanically efficient. Therefore, this paper proposes a second design consisting of a new bridge, trolley and canopy that can be transported easily by the user, and can be made with commercially available parts

Model evaluation of target product profiles of an infant vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in a developed country setting

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of lower respiratory tract disease in children worldwide and is a significant cause of hospital admissions in young children in England. No RSV vaccine has been licensed but a number are under development. In this work, we present two structurally distinct mathematical models, parameterized using RSV data from the UK, which have been used to explore the effect of introducing an RSV paediatric vaccine to the National programme. We have explored different vaccine properties, and dosing regimens combined with a range of implementation strategies for RSV control. The results suggest that vaccine properties that confer indirect protection have the greatest effect in reducing the burden of disease in children under 5 years. The findings are reinforced by the concurrence of predictions from the two models with very different epidemiological structure. The approach described has general application in evaluating vaccine target product profiles

Capturing The Financial Benefits Of Electronic Medical Record Investments In The Small Medical Practice

This study examines the challenges faced by the small medical practice (1-2 providers) in capturing the financial benefits of investing in Electronic Medical Records (EMR). In particular the paper focuses on three key elements of the process: (A) A theoretical framework that explores the underlying principles that drive the variation in benefit capture and ROI associated with EMR investments; (B) The risk to reward levels that set an appropriate cost of capital for investments of this type; and (C) An understanding (and limit) of financial exposure during EMR projects

The Role of Resilience in the STEM Identities of Post-Secondary Students: A Qualitative Metasynthesis

The purpose of this qualitative metasynthesis is to explore the relationship between science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) identity and resilience in racially and ethnically diverse post-secondary students. This study identifies experiences that impact STEM identity development in diverse undergraduate and graduate students. The results of a constant targeted comparison (an analytical technique not often used in educational studies) between STEM identity and student resilience suggests that STEM identity contributes to resilience in diverse students. Findings suggest that common adverse experiences that may impact racially and ethnically diverse students can be overcome in the presence of a well-developed STEM identity. This resilience in STEM appears to be impacted by factors such as group membership, race, gender, agency, internal and external supports, validation, and access. Diverse students may have access to a range of coping mechanisms including family and peer support systems, as well as a personal cache of innovative approaches to self-define their STEM identities and help them navigate the academic milieu. Additional research is needed to better understand the relationship between a strong STEM identity and resilience in diverse undergraduate and graduate students