A high-throughput screening method for determining the substrate scope of nitrilases

Nitrile compounds are intermediates in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals such as atorvastatin. We have developed a chromogenic reagent to screen for nitrilase activity as an alternative to Nessler's reagent. It produces a semi-quantifiable blue colour and hydrolysis of 38 nitrile substrates by 23 nitrilases as cell-free extracts has been shown

Adaptation of the Camera Link Interface for Flight-Instrument Applications

COTS (commercial-off-the-shelf) hard ware using an industry-standard Camera Link interface is proposed to accomplish the task of designing, building, assembling, and testing electronics for an airborne spectrometer that would be low-cost, but sustain the required data speed and volume. The focal plane electronics were designed to support that hardware standard. Analysis was done to determine how these COTS electronics could be interfaced with space-qualified camera electronics. Interfaces available for spaceflight application do not support the industry standard Camera Link interface, but with careful design, COTS EGSE (electronics ground support equipment), including camera interfaces and camera simulators, can still be used

Heating the hot atmospheres of galaxy groups and clusters with cavities: the relationship between jet power and low-frequency radio emission

We present scaling relations between jet power and radio power measured using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), Chandra and XMM-Newton, for a sample of 9 galaxy groups combined with the Birzan et al. sample of clusters. Cavity power is used as a proxy for mechanical jet power. Radio power is measured at 235 MHz and 1.4 GHz, and the integrated 10 MHz-10 GHz radio luminosity is estimated from the GMRT 610-235 MHz spectral index. The use of consistently analysed, high resolution low-frequency radio data from a single observatory makes the radio powers for the groups more reliable than those used by previous studies, and the combined sample covers 6-7 decades in radio power and 5 decades in cavity power. We find a relation of the form Pjet proportional to Lradio^~0.7 for integrated radio luminosity, with a total scatter of sigma_Lrad=0.63 and an intrinsic scatter of sigma_i,Lrad=0.59. A similar relation is found for 235 MHz power, but a slightly flatter relation with greater scatter is found for 1.4 GHz power, suggesting that low-frequency or broad band radio measurements are superior jet power indicators. We find our low-frequency relations to be in good agreement with previous observational results. Comparison with jet models shows reasonable agreement, which may be improved if radio sources have a significant low-energy electron population. We consider possible factors which could bias our results or render them more uncertain, and find that correcting for such factors in those groups we are able to study in detail leads to a flattening of the Pjet:Lradio relation.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 7 pages, 3 figure

Using simulation as a learning experience in clinical teams to learn about palliative and end-of-life care: A literature review.

Simulation has been shown to improve the preparedness of practitioners in acute care. In this review, the authors evaluate using simulation to prepare practitioners to deliver palliative care in multidisciplinary teams. The Joanna Briggs Institute approach was used and seventeen studies selected. The thematic analysis of the literature fitted well with Gabby, Le May, Connell, and Klein's ( 2014 ) pyramid approach to health improvement suggesting that simulation can be used in teams to learn technical, soft and learning skills of delivering palliative care. The analysis does not indicate how learning each of these skills interacts nor if simulations in teams should be repeated, or how often

Solving the primitive equations on a spherical geodesic grid: a technical report to a new class of dynamical cores

November 1998.Includes bibliographical references.This report documents the development and testing of a new type of dynamical core. Toe· model uses the invariant form of the primitive equations, solving the vorticity and divergence equations in place of the momentum equation. In the horizontal directions the model is discretized on a geodesic grid which is nearly uniform over the entire globe. In the vertical direction the model can use a variety of coordinate systems, including the generalized sigma coordinate of Suarez et al. (1983) and the Phillips (1957) sigma coordinate. By integrating the vorticity and divergence equations, terms related to gravity wave propagation are isolated and an efficient semi-implicit time stepping scheme is implemented. The model is tested using the idealized forcing proposed by Held and Suarez (1994). Results are presented for a variety of vertical coordinate systems with horizontal resolutions using 2562 polygons (approximately 4.5° x 4.5°) and using 10242 polygons (approximately 2.25° x 2.25° ). The results are compared to standard spectral model simulations truncated at T30 and T63. In terms of averages and variances of state variables, e geodesic grid model results using 2562 polygons are comparable to those of a spectral model truncated at slightly less than TIO, while a simulation with 10242 polygons is comparable to a spectral model simulation truncated at slightly less than T63. In terms of computational efficiency, further development of this geodesic grid model is required. Model timings completed on an SGI Origin 2000 indicate that the geodesic grid model with 10242 polygons is 2.7 times slower than the spectral model truncated at T63. At these resolutions, the MFlop rate of the geodesic grid model is 15% faster than the spectral model, so the differences in model speed are due to differences in the number of floating point operations required per day of simulation. The geodesic grid model is more competitive at higher resolution than at lower resolution, so further optimization and future trends toward higher resolution should benefit the geodesic grid model.Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy DE-FG03-98ER62611 and DE-FG03-94ER61929

The diverse hot gas content and dynamics of optically similar low-mass elliptical galaxies

The presence of hot X-ray emitting gas is ubiquitous in massive early-type galaxies. However, much less is known about the content and physical status of the hot X-ray gas in low-mass ellipticals. In the present paper we study the X-ray gas content of four low-mass elliptical galaxies using archival Chandra X-ray observations. The sample galaxies, NGC821, NGC3379, NGC4278, and NGC4697, have approximately identical K-band luminosities, and hence stellar masses, yet their X-ray appearance is strikingly different. We conclude that the unresolved emission in NGC821 and NGC3379 is built up from a multitude of faint compact objects, such as coronally active binaries and cataclysmic variables. Despite the non-detection of X-ray gas, these galaxies may host low density, and hence low luminosity, X-ray gas components, which undergo a Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) driven outflow. We detect hot X-ray gas with a temperature of kT ~ 0.35 keV in NGC4278, the component of which has a steeper surface brightness distribution than the stellar light. Within the central 50 arcsec (~3.9 kpc) the estimated gas mass is ~3 x 10^7 M_sun, implying a gas mass fraction of ~0.06%. We demonstrate that the X-ray gas exhibits a bipolar morphology in the northeast-southwest direction, indicating that it may be outflowing from the galaxy. The mass and energy budget of the outflow can be maintained by evolved stars and SNe Ia, respectively. The X-ray gas in NGC4697 has an average temperature of kT ~ 0.3 keV, and a significantly broader distribution than the stellar light. The total gas mass within 90 arcsec (~5.1 kpc) is ~2.1 x 10^8 M_sun, hence the gas mass fraction is ~0.4%. Based on the distribution and physical parameters of the X-ray gas, we conclude that it is most likely in hydrostatic equilibrium, although a subsonic outflow may be present.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in Ap

Settlement of larvae from four families of corals in response to a crustose coralline alga and its biochemical morphogens

Healthy benthic substrates that induce coral larvae to settle are necessary for coral recovery. Yet, the biochemical cues required to induce coral settlement have not been identified for many taxa. Here we tested the ability of the crustose coralline alga (CCA) Porolithon onkodes to induce attachment and metamorphosis, collectively termed settlement, of larvae from 15 ecologically important coral species from the families Acroporidae, Merulinidae, Poritidae, and Diploastreidae. Live CCA fragments, ethanol extracts, and hot aqueous extracts of P. onkodes induced settlement (>10%) for 11, 7, and 6 coral species, respectively. Live CCA fragments were the most effective inducer, achieving over 50% settlement for nine species. The strongest settlement responses were observed in Acropora spp.; the only non-acroporid species that settled over 50% were Diploastrea heliopora, Goniastrea retiformis, and Dipsastraea pallida. Larval settlement was reduced in treatments with chemical extracts compared with live CCA, although high settlement (>50%) was reported for six acroporid species in response to ethanol extracts of CCA. All experimental treatments failed (< 10%) to induce settlement in Montipora aequituberculata, Mycedium elephantotus, and Porites cylindrica. Individual species responded heterogeneously to all treatments, suggesting that none of the cues represent a universal settlement inducer. These results challenge the commonly-held notion that CCA ubiquitously induces coral settlement, and emphasize the critical need to assess additional cues to identify natural settlement inducers for a broad range of coral taxa

Brane cosmology with a bulk scalar field

We consider ``cosmologically symmetric'' (i.e. solutions with homogeneity and isotropy along three spatial dimensions) five-dimensional spacetimes with a scalar field and a three-brane representing our universe. We write Einstein's equations in a conformal gauge, using light-cone coordinates. We obtain explicit solutions: a. assuming proportionality between the scalar field and the logarithm of the (bulk) scale factor; b. assuming separable solutions. We then discuss the cosmology in the brane nduced by these solutions.Comment: 24 pages, Latex, no figur

Yield and Production Costs for Three Potential Dedicated Energy Crops in Mississippi and Oklahoma Environments

The objective of this paper is to determine production costs of switchgrass, eastern gammagrass, and giant miscanthus using Mississippi and Oklahoma data. Production costs were computed using a standard enterprise budgeting approach by species and method of harvest. Results indicate cost difference across species and method of harvest.Yield and Cost, biomass species, Crop Production/Industries, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

COMPARISON OF TIBIAL IMPACT ACCELERATIONS: VIDEO VS ACCELEROMETER

This study compared tibial axial accelerations measured by video analysis and accelerometry. Twenty-two recreationally active adults performed three countermovement jumps. The landing tibial axial accelerations were assessed with video and an accelerometer. High reliability was demonstrated for the root mean square error between the assessment methods (ICCave = 0.872). Repeated measures ANOVA results revealed no instrumentation differences in the magnitude of the two acceleration peaks (toe and heel contact) and no difference between trials. However, first and second peaks occurred 9.6 and 4.0 ms earlier, respectively, when assessed by video. Accelerometry is a valid and reliable alternative to video analysis for the assessment of tibial impact accelerations if temporal characteristics are not of interest