Computational Modeling and Design of Protein and Polymeric Nano-Assemblies

Advances in nanotechnology have the potential to utilize biological and polymeric systems to address fundamental scientific and societal issues, including molecular electronics and sensors, energy-relevant light harvesting, â??greenâ?? catalysis, and environmental cleanup. In many cases, synthesis and fabrication are well within grasp, but designing such systems requires simultaneous consideration of large numbers of degrees of freedom including structure, sequence, and functional properties. In the case of protein design, even simply considering amino acid identity scales exponentially with the protein length. This work utilizes computational techniques to develop a fundamental, molecularly detailed chemical and physical understanding to investigate and design such nano-assemblies. Throughout, we leverage a probabilistic computational design approach to guide the identification of protein sequences that fold to predetermined structures with targeted function. The statistical methodology is encapsulated in a computational design platform, recently reconstructed with improvements in speed and versatility, to estimate site-specific probabilities of residues through the optimization of an effective sequence free energy. This provides an information-rich perspective on the space of possible sequences which is able to harness the incorporation of new constraints that fit design objectives. The approach is applied to the design and modeling of protein systems incorporating non-biological cofactors, namely (i) an aggregation prone peptide assembly to bind uranyl and (ii) a protein construct to encapsulate a zinc porphyrin derivative with unique photo-physical properties. Additionally, molecular dynamics simulations are used to investigate purely synthetic assemblies of (iii) highly charged semiconducting polymers that wrap and disperse carbon nanotubes. Free energy calculations are used to explore the factors that lead to observed polymer-SWNT super-structures, elucidating well-defined helical structures; for chiral derivatives, the simulations corroborate a preference for helical handedness observed in TEM and AFM data. The techniques detailed herein, demonstrate how advances in computational chemistry allot greater control and specificity in the engineering of novel nano-materials and offer the potential to greatly advance applications of these systems

A new reform in teacher education? A historical perspective on recent developments in teacher education in Germany – the case of North Rhine-Westphalia

The relationship between universities, teacher educators and schools, as well as between theory and practical elements, has always been a central concern in teacher training worldwide. In German teacher education the lack of practical classroom experience for students during their studies has been continually criticised. A new reform in North Rhine-Westphalia implemented in 2009 has tried to create a closer link between universities and schools by introducing longer practical elements at university level. These elements are labelled as ‘innovative’ and ‘new’, even though similar reforms were trialled in Lower Saxony 40 years ago. This article discusses the main ideas behind the reforms by taking a historical perspective on teacher education and examining the challenges and opportunities accompanying this development. With the new structure the role of universities, centres for teacher education and schools is profoundly changed, meaning a stronger collaboration and a new range of responsibilities for each of them

Cost Utility of Treatment of Stress Urinary Incontinence [poster abstract]

Objective: There are many possible treatment options for stress urinary incontinence. We sought to investigate the cost-utility of non-surgical versus surgical treatments. Study Design: A decision analysis model was created to compare non-surgical and surgical treatment options for healthy women with stress urinary incontinence. Decision paths included conservative management, pelvic floor physical therapy, pelvic floor physical therapy with electrical stimulation, incontinence pessary and surgical treatment with a midurethral sling. A Markov model cohort analysis was performed with a cycle length of one year starting at age 45 with a lifetime horizon. Probabilities, success rates and utilities for health outcomes were obtained from the literature or, when unavailable, by expert opinion. A cost utility analysis was performed using US recommendations from a societal perspective. This includes cost to the patient and the health plan. Cost data was obtained from Medicare reimbursement in 2012 US dollars. Cost and quality adjusted life years were discounted at 3% per year. Sensitivity analysis was performed to test the validity of our model. Results: Analysis of the model showed that incontinence pessary was the most cost-effective treatment option with a cost of $11,411 for 18.9 quality adjusted life years. At a willingness to pay threshold of$50,000, incontinence pessary remained the most cost-effective treatment option. At a willingness to pay threshold of $60,000, surgery became the most cost-effective treatment option. Pelvic floor physical therapy and pelvic floor physical therapy with electrical stimulation were dominated at any willingness to pay threshold. Conclusion: This model shows that surgical correction is likely the most cost-effective treatment option for young healthy women with stress urinary incontinence. These results are driven by the high success rate of minimally invasive slings compared to other treatment modalities. More studies are needed to define utility values for heath states experienced by women with stress urinary incontinence. This will enhance our ability to develop more accurate cost-utility models and offer the best treatment for women affected by incontinence

Colorado Native Plant Society Newsletter, Vol. 10 No. 4, August 1986

The Colorado Native Plant Society Newsletter will be published on a bimonthly basis. The contents will consist primarily of a calendar of events, notes of interest, editorials, listings of new members and conservation news. Until there is a Society journal, the Newsletter will include short articles also. The deadline for the Newsletter is one month prior to its release.https://epublications.regis.edu/aquilegia/1030/thumbnail.jp

Colorado Native Plant Society Newsletter, Vol. 10 No. 2, March 1986

The Colorado Native Plant Society Newsletter will be published on a bimonthly basis. The contents will consist primarily of a calendar of events, notes of interest, editorials, listings of new members and conservation news. Until there is a Society journal, the Newsletter will include short articles also. The deadline for the Newsletter is one month prior to its release.https://epublications.regis.edu/aquilegia/1028/thumbnail.jp

Colorado Native Plant Society Newsletter, Vol. 9 No. 2, March-April 1985

The Colorado Native Plant Society Newsletter will be published on a bimonthly basis. The contents will consist primarily of a calendar of events, notes of interest, editorials, listings of new members and conservation news. Until there is a Society journal, the Newsletter will include short articles also. The deadline for the Newsletter is one month prior to its release.https://epublications.regis.edu/aquilegia/1024/thumbnail.jp

Colorado Native Plant Society Newsletter, Vol. 9 No. 4, July-September 1985

The Colorado Native Plant Society Newsletter will be published on a bimonthly basis. The contents will consist primarily of a calendar of events, notes of interest, editorials, listings of new members and conservation news. Until there is a Society journal, the Newsletter will include short articles also. The deadline for the Newsletter is one month prior to its release.https://epublications.regis.edu/aquilegia/1026/thumbnail.jp

Controls on soil development and carbon storage on the high-standing island of Taiwan

3rd place at the Denman Undergraduate Research Forum and Sigma Gamma Epsilon’s Austin A. Sartin Award at GSAStudies on weathering rates of high standing islands (HSIs) have shown high observed rates of chemical weathering. However, attempts to correlate these rates to sources have often suffered due to a lack of sufficient soil geochemical data. Furthermore, few studies have attempted to determine a relationship between soil organic carbon content, storage, and seq uestration with uplift and erosion rates. Taiwan sits on top of a highly active convergent plate boundary between the Eurasian and Philippine Sea Plate, which results in intense uplift, creating the orogenic mountains that make up the island. The plate margin has uplift rates >10 mm/yr and contains erosional features dominated by mass-wasting. The island also contains three of the nine rivers in the world which have average sediment concentrations >10 g/l (Milliman and Syvitski, 1992). This study determined organic carbon, inorganic carbon, and a relative amount of weathering in soils between three locations on Taiwan with different lithology and seismicity and with various rates of uplift, runoff, and erosion. Soils exhibited relatively higher concentrations of organic carbon and more developed soil profiles in areas where these erosional factors play a limited role.The Ohio State University School of Earth SciencesThe Ohio State University Byrd Polar Research CenterThe Ohio State University Undergraduate Student GovernmentThe Ohio State University Denman Undergraduate Research ForumFriends of Orton HallMcKenzie ScholarshipSigma Gamma EpsilonA one-year embargo was granted for this item