Synthesis of Resveratrol Ester Derivatives

The goal of this research project was to synthesize derivatives of transresveratrol. In order for resveratrol to be activated and used by the body it needs to bind to Human Serum Albumin (HSA), a protein in blood plasma. The derivatives were synthesized to improve the ability of resveratrol to enter cells as well as improve their ability to bind to HSA. The three derivatives that were synthesized have converted one of the hydroxyl groups on resveratrol to an ether with a methylene chain terminated by a carboxylic acid. By varying the lengths of the methylene chain we varied the water solubility of the resveratrol derivative. This brought the research closer to the goal of determining how this would affect the binding ability to HSA. Currently three derivatives have been synthesized and purified once by column chromatography

Localized soil compaction and soil doming of the fertilizer injection zone to control nitrate leaching

Chemical movement is fundamental to production agriculture. Crop roots and nutrients must be in contact for optimum crop growth. In the pursuit of this goal, nitrogen that is applied in fertilizers is often leached prior to crop uptake. Means to limit fertilizer leaching to conserve resources are needed;Application method plays a role in the way chemicals move through soil. Structured soil column effluent studies suggest that leaching could be reduced if chemicals are allowed to penetrate soil aggregates prior to saturation by an infiltrating solution. In well structured soil, mixing chemicals with a limited volume of soil and destroying structure in that region further delay chemicals from traveling through the structured soil. These data suggest that isolating chemicals in zones that contain fewer large pores than the bulk soil should reduce chemical leaching from surface soils;In addition to isolating chemicals in soil that has fewer large pores (as a result of mechanical disturbance), chemical application strategies include placing chemicals under a ridge, and using a hydraulic barrier above the applied chemical. A ridge will divert surface water away from the ridge peak, so it will infiltrate the soil at the ridge valley, bypassing the chemicals below the ridge. Hydraulic barriers will serve a similar purpose, to limit water flow through chemically treated soil. A prototype N-fertilizer applicator was designed and constructed (patent pending), to apply N-fertilizer to locally tilled soil, construct a hydraulic barrier (compacted soil) over the fertilizer, and form a surface dome or ridge. This localized compaction and doming (LCD) applicator was compared with conventional knife applicators by investigating nitrate redistribution in an Iowa corn field and measuring tile drain water concentrations to determine leaching rates of surface applied chemicals;Soil nitrate concentrations were closer to the surface and less dilute when fertilizer was applied by the LCD versus the conventional knife. Tile drain water concentrations show that after 10 cm of drainage, 5% of knife injected chemicals were recovered, compared to just 1% of LCD applied chemicals. Modifying surface soils to alter water flow paths is a valuable tool to guard against ground water or tile drain contamination by N-fertilizers

New Nitrogen Application/Placement Techniques to Increase Use-Efficiency and Reduce Nitrate Leaching

Nitrogen (N) fertilizer is used extensively in corn production in Iowa and the north-central region. In 1997, the 12.2 million acres of corn grown in Iowa received an average of 121lb/acre of N fertilizer; corresponding values for the region were 62.2 million acres and 130 lb/acre (USDA-NASS, 1998). Excess water leaving the root zone from this cropland is needed to replenish surface and groundwater supplies; however, the nitrate-nitrogen (N03-N) this water carries can contaminate both of these resources. Baker et al. ( 197 5), Baker and Johnson ( 1981 ), and others in the region (e.g., Gast et al., 1978; Kladivko et al., 1991) have shown that N03-N in subsurface drainage water from row-crop land usually exceeds 10 mg/L, the drinking water standard, with annual leaching losses averaging over 15 lb/acre. This water, if not intercepted by tile drains, can percolate to groundwater and cause contamination there. Drainage water intercepted by tile drains and short-circuited back to surface waters can cause contamination there. Studies (e.g., Johnson and Baker, 1982 and 1984; Hatfield et al., 1995) have shown that streams and rivers in Iowa, whose flow is often dominated by shallow subsurface drainage, can have sustained high levels ofN03-N in the range of 10 mg/L. In addition to concerns for drinking water quality, N03-N contamination of water in drainage to the Mississippi River from Iowa and the north-central region has been implicated as a possible cause of a hypoxic or dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico (Rabalais et al., 1996). Therefore, improved management of N fertilizer is needed to decrease contamination from this source

Localized Soil Management in Fertilizer Injection Zone to Reduce Nitrate Leaching

Nitrogen fertilization of row crops in humid regions can result in leaching of NO3, which represents an inefficient use of resources and may result in environmental degradation. A localized compaction and doming (LCD) fertilizer injector was developed to alter the physical properties of soil surrounding knife-injected N. Injection by LCD includes smearing macropores below the injection slot, formation of a localized compacted soil layer over the injected N, and formation of a surface dome to cover the compacted soil layer and the fertilizer band. The LCD injector was tested, along with a conventional knife injector (without a covering disk), to evaluate its effect on leaching by determining NO3 and Br tracer redistribution after NO3 fertilizer injection. Chemical distributions were determined by intensive soil sampling to 0.8 m below the soil surface. In a second experiment, corn (Zea mays L.) yield response to both N injectors was evaluated. Four fertilization rates (67, 112, 157, and 202 kg N ha−1 of UAN [urea-ammonium nitrate]) were used to define yield response. During seasons when rainfall was below average, neither NO3 redistribution nor crop yield showed a response to fertilizer injection technique. During a growing season with above-average rainfall, 26 kg ha−1 more NO3 and 25 kg ha−1 more Br remained in the top 0.8 m of soil when LCD.injected. LCD injection increased crop yield approximately 0.48 Mg ha−1 over injection by the conventional knife method during an above-average rainfall season, indicating that one-fifth of the conventional knife-applied N was lost prior to crop uptake during the wet year. These findings suggest that the LCD injector may be effective at reducing leaching losses during growing seasons when rainfall is abundant

Method to increase N-use efficiency and reduce leaching

A tool bar for placement of a band of fertilizer in soil has a vertical knife with a horizontal blade thereon to create an inverted T-shaped slot in the soil. A band of fertilizer is placed in the bottom of the slot through a tube on the knife. A first coulter fills the slot with soil and compacts the soil above the band. A second coulter forms a mound of soil over the compacted soil and creates an elongated furrow in the soil above and laterally removed from the band. The method of placement of a band of fertilizer in soil sequentially moves the soil and creates the band as accomplished by the foregoing structure

A Step-by-Step Guide to Implementing a Multidisciplinary Endocarditis Team

Over the last several years multiple studies, primarily from European centers have demonstrated the clinical and outcomes benefits of multidisciplinary endocarditis teams. Despite this literature, adoption of this approach to patient care has been slower in the United States. While there is literature outlining the optimal composition of an endocarditis team, there is little information to guide providers as they attempt to transform practice from a fragmented, disjointed process to an efficient, collaborative care model. In this review, the authors will outline the steps they took to create and implement a successful multidisciplinary endocarditis team at the University of Michigan. In conjunction with existing data, this piece can be used as a resource for clinicians seeking to improve the care of patients with endocarditis at their institutions

The quantum efficiency and diffractive image artifacts of Si:As IBC mid-IR detector arrays at 5 −- 10 μ\mum: Implications for the JWST/MIRI detectors

Arsenic doped back illuminated blocked impurity band (BIBIB) silicon detectors have advanced near and mid-IR astronomy for over thirty years; they have high quantum efficiency (QE), especially at wavelengths longer than 10 $\mu$m, and a large spectral range. Their radiation hardness is also an asset for space based instruments. Three examples of Si:As BIBIB arrays are used in the Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), observing between 5 and 28 $\mu$m. In this paper, we analyze the parameters leading to high quantum efficiency (up to $\sim$ 60\%) for the MIRI devices between 5 and 10 $\mu$m. We also model the cross-shaped artifact that was first noticed in the 5.7 and 7.8 $\mu$m Spitzer/IRAC images and has since also been imaged at shorter wavelength ($\le 10~\mu$m) laboratory tests of the MIRI detectors. The artifact is a result of internal reflective diffraction off the pixel-defining metallic contacts to the readout detector circuit. The low absorption in the arrays at the shorter wavelengths enables photons diffracted to wide angles to cross the detectors and substrates multiple times. This is related to similar behavior in other back illuminated solid-state detectors with poor absorption, such as conventional CCDs operating near 1 $\mu$m. We investigate the properties of the artifact and its dependence on the detector architecture with a quantum-electrodynamic (QED) model of the probabilities of various photon paths. Knowledge of the artifact properties will be especially important for observations with the MIRI LRS and MRS spectroscopic modes.Comment: 17 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in PAS

The potential role of hybridization in diversification and speciation in an insular plant lineage: insights from synthetic interspecific hybrids

Hybridization is recognized as an important process in plant evolution, and this may be particularly true for island plants where several biotic and abiotic factors facilitate interspecific hybridization. Although rarely done, experimental studies could provide insights into the potential of natural hybridization to generate diversity when species come into contact in the dynamic island setting. The potential of hybridization to generate morphological variation was analysed within and among 12 families (inbred lines) of an F4 hybrid generation between two species of Tolpis endemic to the Canary Islands. Combinations of characters not seen in the parents were present in hybrids. Several floral and vegetative characters were transgressive relative to their parents. Morphometric studies of floral, vegetative and fruit characters revealed that several F4 families were phenotypically distinct from other families, and from their parents. The study demonstrates that morphologically distinct pollen-fertile lines, potentially worthy of taxonomic recognition if occurring in nature, can be generated in four generations. The ability of the hybrid lines to set self-seed would reduce gene flow among the lines, and among the hybrids and their parental species. Selfing would also facilitate the fixation of characters within each of the lines. Overall, the results show the considerable potential of hybridization for generating diversity and distinct phenotypes in island lineages

Spitzer Photometry of WISE-Selected Brown Dwarf and Hyper-Luminous Infrared Galaxy Candidates

We present Spitzer 3.6 and 4.5 $\mu$m photometry and positions for a sample of 1510 brown dwarf candidates identified by the WISE all-sky survey. Of these, 166 have been spectroscopically classified as objects with spectral types M(1), L(7), T(146), and Y(12); Sixteen other objects are non-(sub)stellar in nature. The remainder are most likely distant L and T dwarfs lacking spectroscopic verification, other Y dwarf candidates still awaiting follow-up, and assorted other objects whose Spitzer photometry reveals them to be background sources. We present a catalog of Spitzer photometry for all astrophysical sources identified in these fields and use this catalog to identify 7 fainter (4.5 $\mu$m $\sim$ 17.0 mag) brown dwarf candidates, which are possibly wide-field companions to the original WISE sources. To test this hypothesis, we use a sample of 919 Spitzer observations around WISE-selected high-redshift hyper-luminous infrared galaxy (HyLIRG) candidates. For this control sample we find another 6 brown dwarf candidates, suggesting that the 7 companion candidates are not physically associated. In fact, only one of these 7 Spitzer brown dwarf candidates has a photometric distance estimate consistent with being a companion to the WISE brown dwarf candidate. Other than this there is no evidence for any widely separated ($>$ 20 AU) ultra-cool binaries. As an adjunct to this paper, we make available a source catalog of $\sim$ 7.33 $\times 10^5$ objects detected in all of these Spitzer follow-up fields for use by the astronomical community. The complete catalog includes the Spitzer 3.6 and 4.5 $\mu$m photometry, along with positionally matched $B$ and $R$ photometry from USNO-B; $J$, $H$, and $K_s$ photometry from 2MASS; and $W1$, $W2$, $W3$, and $W4$ photometry from the WISE all-sky catalog

Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 36, No. 4

• The Art of Glass Blowing • Portrait Painting • The Ox Roast • Herbal Soap-Making • Fly-Fishing and Fly-Tying • Chalkware • Silversmithing • Festival Focus • Festival Programs • Coopering • Knife Making • Corn Husk Dolls • Salt Glaze Pottery • Blacksmithing and Iron Working • Bird Carving • Soft Pretzelshttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/1116/thumbnail.jp