Theoretical studies of benzoquinone reactivity in acidic and basic environments

Quinones are a class of organic compounds containing a six-membered unsaturated ring with two carbonyl groups. They are biologically relevant mostly due to their ability to participate in redox reactions. Prior experiments in our lab showed that quinones can induce protein modifications that are pH dependent. In an acidic environment the modifications were less significant than in a basic environment. Previous computational studies have also been carried out to model, in neutral solutions, the reaction between various quinones and various amines. Various amine groups are used as a model for the amino group of lysine to represent protein modification. The theoretical study presented here will extend previous work by looking at the reaction between benzoquinone and methylamine in both acidic and basic media. All theoretical calculations were performed using a hybrid density functional theory method, MPW1K, in conjunction with the 6-31+G(d,p) basis set

Field Guide to Berea Sandstone Outcrops in the Black River Valley at Elyria, Ohio: Slumps, Slides, Mud Diapirs, and Associated Fracturing in Mississippian Delta Deposits

Author Institution: Department of Geology, Kent State UniversitySynsedimentary slumps of Berea Sandstone and diapirs of Cleveland and Bedford Shales are seen in complex delta-front facies at Elyria, Lorain County, OH. Analysis of orientations of fractures, bedding, and crossbeds helps interpret the history of deformation. In many instances, initial conjugate shears formed with least stress parallel to paleoflow, down the paleoslope. Some conjugate joints subsequently become normal and strike-slip faults. Some blocks of Berea show tilting and/or sliding to the extent of creating recumbent overturned drag folds in subjacent shales. Deformation of slide bases varies from brittle to plastic (fluidized). These features support the view that irregular thicknesses of Berea Sandstone are the result of deformation and are not fillings of deep valleys eroded in a Red Bedford delta. We suggest that the Berea represents rapid progradation of sands over formerly deep-water shales following rebound at the end of foreland-basin subsidence

Coordinated Effects

This three-day workshop brought together prominent practitioners, academics and enforcement officials to discuss the Horizontal Merger Guidelines. The workshop explored state-of-the-art application of the Guidelines by those with the most experience using them. In preparation for this workshop, the Agencies released data associated with their enforcement efforts

MgB<inf>2</inf> sample tests for possible applications of superconducting fault current limiters

Cheap to make and easy to shape, Magnesium Diboride (MgB2) throws the field of applied superconductivity wide open. Great efforts have been made to develop a super-conducting fault current limiter (SFCL) using MgB 2. With a superconducting transition temperature of 39 K, MgB 2 can be conveniently cooled with commercial cryocoolers. A cryogenic desktop test system, an ac pulse generation system and a real time data acquisition program in LabView/DAQmx were developed to investigate the quench behavior of MgB2 wires under pulse overcurrents at 25 K in self-field conditions. The experimental results on the current limitation behavior show the possibilities for using MgB2 for future SFCL applications. © 2007 IEEE