Thermal emittance enhancement of graphite-copper composites for high temperature space based radiators

Graphite-copper composites are candidate materials for space based radiators. The thermal emittance of this material, however, is a factor of two lower than the desired emittance for these systems of greater than or equal to 0.85. Arc texturing was investigated as a surface modification technique for enhancing the emittance of the composite. Since the outer surface of the composite is copper, and samples of the composite could not be readily obtained for testing, copper was used for optimization testing. Samples were exposed to various frequencies and currents of arcs during texturing. Emittances near the desired goal were achieved at frequencies less than 500 Hz. Arc current did not appear to play a major role under 15 amps. Particulate carbon was observed on the surface, and was easily removed by vibration and handling. In order to determine morphology adherence, ultrasonic cleaning was used to remove the loosely adherent material. This reduced the emittance significantly. Emittance was found to increase with increasing frequency for the cleaned samples up to 500 Hz. The highest emittance achieved on these samples over the temperature range of interest was 0.5 to 0.6, which is approximately a factor of 25 increase over the untextured copper emittance

Adult reading acquisition: a study of error types and related difficulties of adults enrolled in literacy classes

This study involved the close observation of the reading of 59 adults in literacy tuition and 25 twelve-year old children in remedial classes, and the recording of their oral reading errors and ability in comprehension, short term memory, word reading and definitions measures. Fundamental differences were found in the structures of the two samples and their approach to the reading task. Differences between subjects in the adult sample stemmed from the presence or not of semantic acceptability among errors coupled with ability in areas like comprehension, definitions skills and metalanguage. The measures used by which the adults were grouped by the Literacy Scheme were found to be inadequate and alternative adult groupings were discovered in the corpus of the data. Suggestions were made for incorporating meaning related tasks into the teaching of reading to adults

Development of Plasmid Vectors of Neurodevelopmental Proteins

Throughout this semester, work has been done to generate copies of the human genes for protocadherin-19 (PCDH-19), neural cadherin (NCAD), receptor-like tyrosine kinase (RYK), and a recombinant protein of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) with a Protocadherin-19 signal peptide that would create a form of GFP secreted from the cell. These cloned vectors would then be able to be used to study whether disruptions of interactions between these proteins leads to a female-specific form of epilepsy. In order to achieve this, the Platinum Taq DNA Polymerase High Fidelity system was used to generate many copies of the template target DNA. These copies were then identified using gel electrophoresis and isolated using the NucleoSpin Gel and PCR cleanup kit. A restriction digest was done to create ends compatible for insertion into a target vector digested with the same enzymes. Results of the digest were verified using gel electrophoresis. Inserts were then ligated to the plasmids using the T4 DNA ligase system and transformed into DH5 Competent cells. The plasmid contained a kanamycin resistance gene which was used to identify successfully transformed cells. The plasmids were then isolated using the NucleoSpin Plasmid Kit. Data from gel electrophoresis at intermediate steps provides preliminary evidence of successful cloning of each construct for protein expression. This will allow protein interactions to be tested in a mammalian cell culture system

Great Bay Coast Watch: A Citizen Water Monitoring Program Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Manual, 2004

The Great Bay Coast Watch is citizen volunteers, working within the UNH Cooperative Extension/NH Sea Grant Program, protecting the long-term health and natural resources of New Hampshire’s coastal waters and estuarine systems through monitoring and education projects. The purpose of this document is to present step-by-step instructions for conducting water quality testing in support of the Great Bay Coast Watch (GBCW)

Structural Determinants of Adhesion by Protocadherin-19 and Implications for Its Role in Epilepsy

Non-clustered δ-protocadherins are homophilic cell adhesion molecules essential for the development of the vertebrate nervous system, as several are closely linked to neurodevelopmental disorders. Mutations in protocadherin-19 (PCDH19) result in a female-limited, infant-onset form of epilepsy (PCDH19-FE). Over 100 mutations in PCDH19 have been identified in patients with PCDH19-FE, about half of which are missense mutations in the adhesive extracellular domain. Neither the mechanism of homophilic adhesion by PCDH19, nor the biochemical effects of missense mutations are understood. Here we present a crystallographic structure of the minimal adhesive fragment of the zebrafish Pcdh19 extracellular domain. This structure reveals the adhesive interface for Pcdh19, which is broadly relevant to both non-clustered δ and clustered protocadherin subfamilies. In addition, we show that several PCDH19-FE missense mutations localize to the adhesive interface and abolish Pcdh19 adhesion in in vitro assays, thus revealing the biochemical basis of their pathogenic effects during brain development