Transcription Activator Like Effector Nucleases (TALENs): A New, Important, and Versatile Gene Editing Technique with a Growing Literature

Transcription activator like effector nucleases (TALENs) is a new and powerful technique in genetic engineering that can delete deleterious genes or add beneficial genes to organisms. It is being widely studied to improve crops and livestock, and is also being investigated clinically. Comparing the details of how both TALENs and its competitor, CRISPR-Cas9, function, reveals the potential advantages of TALENs. The growing literature, besides covering the scientific and technical aspects of TALENs, also includes pertinent information on regulatory aspects and the public’s perception and acceptance of TALENs

Careers in Chemical Information and Science Librarianship

The ceaseless growth of chemical information has created a need for chemical professionals who can organize and disseminate this vast knowledge. If you like to read, enjoy being in a library, or like to work with information on computers, you may want to consider a career in chemical information. While only a small fraction of chemists choose this nontraditional career, they have found fulfillment in many different roles. Chemical information scientists and librarians using the powerful computerized databases now available either provide chemists and other research scientists the information they need, or teach researchers and students how to use these electronic tools. Abstracters, indexers, and computer specialists make the knowledge and data of chemistry accessible. Publishers employ chemists as editors and as producers and marketers of printed and electronic products. Many chemists who had anticipated careers in the laboratory have instead found gratification in one of these roles

What Should Science Reference Librarians Do with Books Classified as Science That Aren\u27t Science: Revisiting the Well-Known Worlds in Collision by Immanuel Velikovsky as a Case Study.

Students browsing the science sections in their library may naturally assume that all of the books are scientifically valid and accurate. Science collections may also contain books that may not now be accurate, either because they are out-of-date, or never belonged there. While out-of-date knowledge can sometimes be beneficial, invalid books can only mislead. The well-known book Worlds in Collision by Immanuel Velikovsky is a case study on how librarians can handle such books. For these books, an explanatory note can be placed on the book\u27s online catalog entry or even in the book. The book can also be weeded from the collection or reclassified. Each one of these putative treatments has potential advantages and disadvantages

Discontinuous Recycled and Repurposed Carbon Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Organosheet Composites

There is a significant need for low cost, high volume composites in the automotive industry to aid in vehicle lightweighting and safety. The current state-of-the-art severely compromises the mechanical properties of composites to achieve cost and cycle time goals. In this dissertation, a novel composite format, termed discontinuous carbon fiber organosheets, using recycled and repurposed carbon fibers in a thermoplastic matrix is developed and studied. Unlike traditional composites, the long fiber length and rapid processing time yield mechanical properties and cycle times competitive with automotive metals. Several studies were performed to characterize this new material format. First, samples were manufactured from carded recycled carbon fiber and wet deposited virgin carbon fiber preforms infiltrated with a polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) matrix. The orientation-dependent tensile and shear properties of these composites were characterized. It was found that classical laminate theory in combination with statistical methods could accurately describe their mechanical behavior. Next, the effects of varying processing time and atmosphere, as well as post-process annealing, were studied using dynamic mechanical analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, tensile testing, and nano-indentation. Due to the stochastic nature of discontinuous fiber composites, statistical methods were applied to evaluate changes. Then, a model based on the stochastic microstructure of the composites was developed to predict their strength and modulus. Composites with an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and a common structural epoxy matrix were also produced and tested to validate the applicability of the model to a range of composites. An ensuing study of the infiltration behavior of the preforms was used to optimize the processing conditions for rapid production. Here, fluid permeability and preform compression were studied to evaluate an existing model of composite infiltration, which was validated by in-situ compression molding experiments. Finally, the composites were used to produce complex geometry samples for a study on their crashworthiness. Sinusoidal specimens were produced from PPS, ABS, and epoxy composites and tested at a range of temperatures and loading rates relevant to automotive applications. The results showed that discontinuous fiber organosheet composites not only achieve competitive mechanical properties but also exceed the crashworthiness of traditional composite materials

SU(3) Breaking in Hyperon Beta Decays: a Prediction for Xi0 -> Sigma+ e anti-neutrino

SU(3) breaking in hyperon semi-leptonic decays is discussed. The SU(3) parameters $F$ and $D$, relevant to the ``proton-spin puzzle'', are extracted and a prediction is presented for the decay Xi0 -> Sigma+ e anti-neutrino, currently under study by the KTeV collaboration. The values found are g1/f1 = 1.16+/-0.03+/-0.01 and Gamma = (0.80+/-0.03+/-0.01) x 10^6 s^-1.Comment: Presented at the III Int. Conf. on Hyperons, Charm and Beauty Hadrons (Genova, June-July 1998). 3 pages, LaTeX2e, uses fleqn, espcrc2, acromake and axodraw packages (incl.

Funding grant proposals for scientific research: retrospective analysis of scores by members of grant review panel

Objective To quantify randomness and cost when choosing health and medical research projects for funding