Field Station Weather Reports

This report includes the annual summary of precipitation from 2021 at the research locations represented in the 2022 field report and further details about the Kansas River Valley locations and the east central Kansas locations

2021 Fertilizer Weather Station Report

This report includes the annual summary of precipitation from 2021 at the research locations represented in the 2022 field report and further details about the Kansas River Valley locations and the east central Kansas locations

Thermodynamic description of Be(II) solubility and hydrolysis in acidic to hyperalkaline NaCl and KCl solutions

The solubility of Be(II) is investigated in carbonate-free dilute to concentrated HCl–NaCl–NaOH, KCl–KOH, NaOH and KOH solutions. Undersaturation experiments were performed under Ar atmosphere at T= (22 ± 2) °C. XRD, XPS, SEM and quantitative chemical analysis confirm that α-Be(OH)$_{2}$(cr) is the solid phase controlling the solubility in all evaluated systems. No transformation of α-Be(OH)$_{2}$(cr) to β-Be(OH)$_{2}$(cr) or ternary solid phases Na/K–Be(II)–OH(s) is observed in the investigated systems within the timeframe of this study (t ≤ 600 days). An amphoteric solubility behaviour of Be(II) is observed with a solubility minimum at pH$_{m}$ ≈ 9.5 (with [Be(II)] ≈ 10$^{-6.8}$M), regardless of the ionic strength. The combination of solubility data determined in acidic pH$_{m}$ conditions and the hydrolysis scheme reported in the literature for cationic hydrolysis species of Be(II) is used for the determination of the solubility constant of α-Be(OH)$_{2}$(cr), log *K°$_{s,0}$ = (6.9 ± 0.4). Slope analysis of the solubility data in alkaline to hyperalkaline conditions and $^{9}$Be NMR support the predominance of the monomeric hydrolysis species Be(OH)$_{2}$(aq), Be(OH)$_{3}$– and Be(OH)$_{4}$$^{2-}$ within the strongly alkaline pH$_{m}$-conditions relevant in cementitious systems. The comprehensive solubility dataset collected within this study in combination with extensive solid and aqueous phase characterization allow the development of a complete chemical, thermodynamic and (SIT) activity model for the system Be$^{2+}$–Na$^{+}$–K$^{+}$–H$^{+}$–Cl$^{-}$–OH$^{-}$–H$_{2}$O(l). This model provides an accurate and robust tool for the evaluation of Be(II) solubility and speciation in a diversity of geochemical conditions, including source term calculations of beryllium in the context of the nuclear waste disposal Safety Case

Carbon dot-based fluorescent antibody nanoprobes as brain tumour glioblastoma diagnostics

The development of efficient and sensitive tools for the detection of brain cancer in patients is of the utmost importance particularly because many of these tumours go undiagnosed until the disease has advanced and when treatment is less effective. Current strategies employ antibodies (Abs) to detect Glial Fibrillary Acid Protein (GFAP) in tissue samples, since GFAP is unique to the brain and not present in normal peripheral blood, and it relies on fluorescent reporters. Herein we describe a low cost, practical and general method for the labelling of proteins and antibodies with fluorescent carbon dots (CD) to generate diagnostic probes that are robust, photostable and applicable to the clinical setting. The two-step protocol relies on the conjugation of a dibenzocyclooctyne (DBCO)-functionalised CD with azide functionalised proteins by combining amide conjugation and strain promoted alkyne–azide cycloaddition (SPAAC) ligation chemistry. The new class of Ab-CD conjugates developed using this strategy was successfully used for the immunohistochemical staining of human brain tissues of patients with glioblastoma (GBM) validating the approach. Overall, these novel fluorescent probes offer a promising and versatile strategy in terms of costs, photostability and applicability which can be extended to other Abs and protein systems

Ammonium Pertechnetate in Mixtures of Trifluoromethanesulfonic Acid and Trifluoromethanesulfonic Anhydride

Ammonium pertechnetate reacts in mixtures of trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride and trifluoromethanesulfonic acid under final formation of ammonium pentakis(trifluoromethanesulfonato)oxidotechnetate(V), (NH4)2[TcO(OTf)5]. The reaction proceeds only at exact concentrations and under the exclusion of air and moisture via pertechnetyl trifluoromethanesulfonate, [TcO3(OTf)], and intermediate TcVI species. 99Tc nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has been used to study the TcVII compound and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), 99Tc NMR and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) experiments indicate the presence of the reduced technetium species. In moist air, (NH4)2[TcO(OTf)5] slowly hydrolyses under formation of the tetrameric oxidotechnetate(V) (NH4)4[{TcO(TcO4)4}4] ⋅10 H2O. Single-crystal X-ray crystallography was used to determine the solid-state structures. Additionally, UV/Vis absorption and IR spectra as well as quantum chemical calculations confirm the identity of the species

Ammonium Pertechnetate in Mixtures of Trifluoromethanesulfonic Acid and Trifluoromethanesulfonic Anhydride

Ammonium pertechnetate reacts in mixtures of trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride and trifluoromethanesulfonic acid under final formation of ammonium pentakis(trifluoromethanesulfonato)oxidotechnetate(V), (NH$_{4}$)$_{2}$ [TcO(OTf) $_{5}$]. The reaction proceeds only at exact concentrations and under the exclusion of air and moisture via pertechnetyl trifluoromethanesulfonate, [TcO$_{3}$(OTf)], and intermediate Tc$^{VI}$ species. $^{99}$Tc nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has been used to study the Tc$^{VII}$ compound and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), $^{99}$Tc NMR and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) experiments indicate the presence of the reduced technetium species. In moist air, (NH$_{4}$)2[TcO(OTf)5] slowly hydrolyses under formation of the tetrameric oxidotechnetate(V) (NH$_{4}$)$_{4}$ [{TcO(TcO$_{4}$)$_{4}$}$_{4}$] ⋅10 H$_{2}$O. Single-crystal X-ray crystallography was used to determine the solid-state structures. Additionally, UV/Vis absorption and IR spectra as well as quantum chemical calculations confirm the identity of the species

Management of peripheral facial nerve palsy

Peripheral facial nerve palsy (FNP) may (secondary FNP) or may not have a detectable cause (Bell’s palsy). Three quarters of peripheral FNP are primary and one quarter secondary. The most prevalent causes of secondary FNP are systemic viral infections, trauma, surgery, diabetes, local infections, tumor, immunological disorders, or drugs. The diagnosis of FNP relies upon the presence of typical symptoms and signs, blood chemical investigations, cerebro-spinal-fluid-investigations, X-ray of the scull and mastoid, cerebral MRI, or nerve conduction studies. Bell’s palsy may be diagnosed after exclusion of all secondary causes, but causes of secondary FNP and Bell’s palsy may coexist. Treatment of secondary FNP is based on the therapy of the underlying disorder. Treatment of Bell’s palsy is controversial due to the lack of large, randomized, controlled, prospective studies. There are indications that steroids or antiviral agents are beneficial but also studies, which show no beneficial effect. Additional measures include eye protection, physiotherapy, acupuncture, botulinum toxin, or possibly surgery. Prognosis of Bell’s palsy is fair with complete recovery in about 80% of the cases, 15% experience some kind of permanent nerve damage and 5% remain with severe sequelae

Modulo scheduling with rational initiation intervals in custom hardware design

In modulo scheduling, the number of clock cycles between successive inputs (theinitiation interval, II) is tradi-tionally aninteger, but in this paper, we explore the benefitsof allowing it to be a rational number. This rational II canbe interpreted as theaveragenumber of clock cycles betweensuccessive inputs. As the minimum rational II can be less thanthe minimum integer II, this translates to higher throughput. We formulate rational-II modulo scheduling as an integer linear programming (ILP) problem that is able to find latency-optimal schedules for a fixed rational II. We have applied our scheduler to a standard benchmark of hardware designs, and our resultsdemonstrate a significant speedup compared to state-of-the-artinteger-II and rational-II formulations