Postcard: R. W. Motes Advertisement, Midsummer Comforts!

This color printed postcard features an illustration of a porch with patio furniture. It includes a table and chairs in the room. A calendar month of July 1911 is on the top left of the card. Printed text is on the right side of the card. It is surrounded by a wood border. Handwriting is on the back of the card.https://scholars.fhsu.edu/tj_postcards/1761/thumbnail.jp

Protecting the Faithful from Their Faith: A Proposal for Snake-Handling in West Virginia

In the hills of Appalachia sing the hymns of the faithful, preaching a belief in the handling of snakes to prove loyalty to God. In West Virginia, persons may take up poisonous reptiles and pass them amidst crowds in the name of religion without legal restraints. While other states prohibit snake- handling in the name of safety, West Virginia law remains void on the issue. This Article introduces the practice of snake-handling and examines the risks posed by taking up poisonous animals whose bite may cause serious injury or death. This Article then suggests how the West Virginia law may temper the threat of this vehemently dangerous practice, despite its strong religious underpinnings

A cost-effective fluorescence detection system for pulsed laser analysis

A cost-effective fluorescence detection system has been developed using a National Instruments PCI-6251 data acquisition (DAQ) board that is driven by LabVIEW Signal Express. The signal is collected using a collimator and transported to the DAQ board using a fiber-coupled detector. The same detection system has been incorporated into an inverted microscope fitted with internal dichroic mirrors to provide a cost-effective alternative to commercial fluorescence microscopes. The detection system has been used to measure fluorescence intensity and generate a laser power curve that can be used for pulsed lasers. Different data analysis approaches have been compared and standard deviation and signal-to-noise ratios have been determined

The Interaction of Photoactivators with Proteins during Microfabrication

Micron-scale protein cross-linking or microfabrication has been carried out using an Nd3+–YAG laser as the excitation source. Fabrication is carried out by the excitation of photoactivators (Rose Bengal, methylene blue and 9-fluorenone-2-carboxylic acid) with the ultimate goal of creating stable structures that will serve as models for various applications (drug delivery and tissue engineering). Experimental parameters have been adjusted to minimize photodamage and maximize cross-linking efficiency. The higher than ideal photon flux and peak power necessitates the use of high protein concentrations to minimize photodamage. Rose Bengal and methylene blue are binding to proteins with high association constants (Ka ≈ 106 M−1) and both Rose Bengal and both 9-fluorenone-2-carboxylic acid are showing changes to their excited states in presence of proteins at cross-linking concentrations. Molecular docking studies show that Rose Bengal binds close to the tryptophan with ΔG = −6.15 kcal/mol

Is the collagen primed for mineralization in specific regions of the Turkey tendon?:an investigation of the protein-mineral interface using Raman spectroscopy

The tendons in the turkey leg have specific well-defined areas which become mineralized as the animal ages and they are a thoroughly characterized model system for studying the mineralization process of bone. In this study, nondestructive Raman spectroscopic analysis was used to explore the hypothesis that regions of the turkey tendon that are associated with mineralization exhibit distinct and observable chemical modifications of the collagen prior to the onset of mineralization. The Raman spectroscopy features associated with mineralization were identified by probing (on the micrometer scale) the transition zone between mineralized and nonmineralized regions of turkey leg tendons. These features were then measured in whole tendons and identified in regions of tendon which are destined to become rapidly mineralized around 14 weeks of age. The data show there is a site-specific difference in collagen prior to the deposition of mineral, specifically the amide III band at 1270 cm(-1) increases as the collagen becomes more ordered (increased amide III:amide I ratio) in regions that become mineralized compared to collagen destined to remain nonmineralized. If this mechanism were present in materials of different mineral fraction (and thus material properties), it could provide a target for controlling mineralization in metabolic bone disease

Characterization of Hidden Airframe Corrosion by Time-Resolved Infrared Radiometry (TRIR)

Since hidden corrosion is expected to be the primary factor limiting the service life of military and civilian aircraft, the problem of detection of hidden corrosion needs to be solved to allow for life extension. A quantitative thermographic NDE technique for the characterization of hidden corrosion is under development along with supporting theoretical analysis. In earlier work [1,2] we have shown that the technique of time-resolved infrared radiometry (TRIR) is an effective method for quantitatively detecting coating thickness variations and for characterizing the degree of coating disbonding in terms of equivalent air gaps. In this paper we examine the applicability of TRIR techniques to the characterization of corrosion damage in airframes by investigating plate specimens of 2024-T3 aluminum with both milled defects and corroded regions produced by an accelerated corrosion test.</p

Measurement of abnormal bone composition in vivo using noninvasive Raman spectroscopy

X-ray-based diagnostic techniques, which are by far the most widely used for diagnosing bone disorders and diseases, are largely blind to the protein component of bone. Bone proteins are important because they determine certain mechanical properties of bone and changes in the proteins have been associated with a number of bone diseases. Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy (SORS) is a chemically specific analytical technique that can be used to retrieve information noninvasively from both the mineral and protein phases of the bone material in vivo. Here we demonstrate that SORS can be used to detect a known compositional abnormality in the bones of a patient suffering from the genetic bone disorder, osteogenesis imperfecta, a condition which affects collagen. The confirmation of the principle that bone diseases in living patients can be detected noninvasively using SORS points the way to larger studies that focus on osteoporosis and other chronic debilitating bone diseases with large socioeconomic burdens

Time-Resolved Infrared Radiometry (Trir) for Characterization of Impact Damage in Composite Materials

A quantitative thermographie NDE technique for the characterization of impact damage in composite materials is under development along with supporting theoretical analysis. We have previously shown that the technique of time-resolved infrared radiometry (TRIR) is an effective method for quantitatively detecting coating thickness variations and for characterizing the degree of coating disbonding in terms of equivalent air gaps [1,2]. Here we extend the TRIR technique to the study of composite systems by applying the results of a multilayer analytical model [3]. Experimental results in both simple and hybrid composite systems are discussed. The depth and lateral extent of interlaminar separation in composites subjected to impact loading is presented and the use of lateral heat flow techniques to image defect structures is examined