BIOL 10: The Living World Textbook Alternatives

Poster summarizing cost saving textbook alternatives for BIOL 10: The Living World.https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/davinci_tap2014/1004/thumbnail.jp

Production of Fermentable Sugars from Agricultural Waste

The environmental and economic strains associated with oil have created the need to explore alternate sources for fuel production and use. One such alternative is ethanol derived from cellulosic material. This report specifies the design of a process used for the conversion of pecan husks into fermentable sugars. The design consists of physical grinding of the raw material, acid pretreatment of the cellulosic powder resulting from grinding, and enzymatic hydrolysis of the remaining polymeric sugars. Enzymes were produced through the culturing of a fungus called T. reesei. Results of testing indicate that optimal conditions for fungus growth are a pH = 5.0, a temperature = 26°C, and a glucose concentration = 30g/L. The optimal conditions determined for acid pretreatment are 1% HCl [w/w], a temperature of 200°C, and a residence time of 5 minutes. For enzymatic hydrolysis, a temperature of 60°C, Enzyme/Pecan Ratio of 5 ml/g, and a pH of 6.0 were chosen as the optimal operating conditions. Finally, an economic analysis of the large-scale ethanol production process was conducted. This analysis was based on the performance of the final design, and results indicate that a plant producing ethanol derived from pecan husks could produce ethanol at a cost of $1.81 per gallon

Understanding the CWUMCE’s Collections using Cultural Biographies: A Study of Edward and Juanita Haines

Just like larger museums, small museums are ethically obligated to reconnect their collections to creator communities—albeit under the constraint of minimal resources. Within the Central Washington University Museum of Culture & Environment (CWUMCE), curatorial neglect, beginning from the museum’s origin in then-Central Washington State College (CWSC), was caused by resource constraint: lack of staffing (particularly in collections management), lack of space for housing collections, and the necessary funding for proper maintenance. Now that this physical curation is being addressed through additional resources and new protocols/policies, the CWUMCE has begun to focus on other aspects of museum curation, such as ethical, spiritual, and intellectual forms of care. Completing cultural biographies on the CWUMCE collection will aid in the implementation of these best-care practices through re-creating the chain of ownership and uses of material culture. While the goal is to ultimately learn more about creator communities (who have cultural ties to objects), museums begin building cultural biographies by researching collectors. The collection this research is focused on was amassed by Edward and Juanita Haines, professors at Central Washington State College now Central Washington University. Both participated in art-centered activities and were avid collectors of material culture from around the world—much of which was acquired by CWU through a purchase in 1970. The purchase of the Haines Collection was a significant step towards establishing what is today the CWUMCE. Archival research was used to develop this cultural biography, which includes a timeline as well as a study of relevant biographical information

My liberation through science

My liberation through science has brought me joy, frustration, excitement, and adventure

Habitat Partitioning by Two Sympatric Species of Chipmunk (Genus: Neotamias) in the Warner Mountains of California

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The effects of molecular crowding on the kinetics and small molecule inhibition of alkaline phosphatase

Enzymes have adapted to function in complex environments crowded with many other solutes. To get a better understanding of in vivo crowding, we used polyethylene glycol (MW 8000) and dextran (MW 6000) as in vitro crowding agents and observed their effects both the kinetics of alkaline phosphatase-catalyzed para-nitrophenyl phosphate hydrolysis and the inhibition of this reaction by competitive and uncompetitive inhibitors. Reaction kinetics were followed using UV-visible spectrometry and the initial rate was analyzed using Michaelis-Menten kinetics to arrive at an apparent Vmax and Km for each reaction condition. We observed that polyethylene glycol increased Vmax while a similar amount of dextran strongly reduced Vmax. Crowding by these agents also significantly altered the effectiveness of small-molecule inhibitors and suggests that the action of drugs can be different going from “bench” research to “bedside” application. *Indicates presenter

NASA Animal Enclosure Module Mouse Odor Containment Study for STS-107 September 15, 1999;SJSU Odor Panel Data

Experiment #153 by Scott Brady is manifested for shuttle flight STS-107. This evaluation of space flight induced stress and its effects on neuronal plasticity will use 18 six month old C57Bl/6 male mice. A 21 day evaluation study was proposed to determine the length of time groups of 6, 9, or 12 mice could be housed in the Animal Enclosure Module (AEM) without odor breakthrough. This study was performed at NASA-Ames Research Center beginning on September 15, 1999. NASA personnel, were responsible for animal care, maintenance, facilities, hardware, etc. San Jose State personnel performed the odor panel evaluations and data reduction. We used similar procedures and methods for earlier tests evaluating female mice