Bulletin 26 - Education and Utility

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Microwave-assisted synthesis of 3-aminobenzo[b]thiophene scaffolds for the preparation of kinase inhibitors

Microwave irradiation of 2-halobenzonitriles and methyl thioglycolate in the presence of triethylamine in DMSO at 130 °C provides rapid access to 3-aminobenzo[b]thiophenes in 58–96% yield. This transformation has been applied in the synthesis of the thieno[2,3-b]pyridine core motif of LIMK1 inhibitors, the benzo[4,5]thieno[3,2-e][1,4]diazepin-5(2H)-one scaffold of MK2 inhibitors and a benzo[4,5]thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidin-4-one inhibitor of the PIM kinases

Consumptive Use and Water Requirements for Utah

Foreword: Studies on the meteorological determinants of evapotranspiration were initiated at least as long ago as the 1920s and by the late 1940s had produced the Blaney-Criddle method for estimating crop consumptive use. The resulting ability to estimate water requirements by both location and crop added a new scientific dimension to water rights administration that was first introduced into the courts of Utah during adjudication of water rights in the Escalante Valley in 1949. Application of the consumptive use concept to water rights administration and water resources planning, however, required a wirtten reference. Technical Publication No. 8 entitled Consumptive Use of Water and Irrigation Requirements of Crops in Utah was published by the State Engineer in 1952. By 1962, methods had been developed for going beyond agriculture to estimate water requirements for municipal, industrial, and recreational uses. Technical Publication No. 8 was revised and published under the title Consumptive Use and Water Requirements for Utah. Continuing advancements in water requirements estimation have occurred over the last 20 years. The present revision, Technical Publication No. 75, updates estimatino of agricultural, municipal, recreational, and industrial water uses. It presents an isogram of potential consumptive use that permits the determination of crop water requirements at any point within the state

Hand problems among endourologists.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Endourology has evolved rapidly for the management of both benign and malignant disease of the upper urinary tract. Limited data exist, however, on the occupational hazards posed by complex endourologic procedures. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and possible causes of hand problems among endourologists who routinely perform flexible ureteroscopy compared with controls. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An online computer survey targeted members of the Endourological Society and psychiatrists in academic and community settings. A total of 600 endourologists and 578 psychiatrists were contacted by e-mail. Invited physicians were queried regarding their practice settings and symptoms of hand pain, neuropathy, and/or discomfort. RESULTS: Survey responses were obtained from 122 (20.3%) endourologists and 74 (12.8%) psychiatrists. Of endourologists, 61% were in an academic setting and 70% devoted their practice to endourology. Endourologists were in practice for a mean 13 years, performing 4.5 ureteroscopic cases per week with a mean operative time of 50 minutes. Hand/wrist problems were reported by 39 (32%) endourologists compared with 14 (19%) psychiatrists (P=0.0486, relative risk [RR]=1.69). Surgeons who preferred counterintuitive ureteroscope deflection were significantly more likely to have problems (56%) compared with intuitive users (27%) (RR 2.07, P=0.0139) or those with no preference (26%) (RR 2.15, P=0.0451). Overall, most respondents (85%) with hand/wrist problems needed either medical or surgical intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Hand and wrist problems are very common among endourologists. Future studies are needed to develop more ergonomic platforms and thereby reduce the endourologist\u27s exposure to these occupational hazards

Retarding Sub- and Accelerating Super-Diffusion Governed by Distributed Order Fractional Diffusion Equations

We propose diffusion-like equations with time and space fractional derivatives of the distributed order for the kinetic description of anomalous diffusion and relaxation phenomena, whose diffusion exponent varies with time and which, correspondingly, can not be viewed as self-affine random processes possessing a unique Hurst exponent. We prove the positivity of the solutions of the proposed equations and establish the relation to the Continuous Time Random Walk theory. We show that the distributed order time fractional diffusion equation describes the sub-diffusion random process which is subordinated to the Wiener process and whose diffusion exponent diminishes in time (retarding sub-diffusion) leading to superslow diffusion, for which the square displacement grows logarithmically in time. We also demonstrate that the distributed order space fractional diffusion equation describes super-diffusion phenomena when the diffusion exponent grows in time (accelerating super-diffusion).Comment: 11 pages, LaTe

Infrared spectroscopy of phytochrome and model pigments

Fourier-transform infrared difference spectra between the red-absorbing and far-red-absorbing forms of oat phytochrome have been measured in H2O and 2H2O. The difference spectra are compared with infrared spectra of model compounds, i.e. the (5Z,10Z,15Z)- and (5Z,10Z,15E)-isomers of 2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethyl-bilindion (Et8-bilindion), 2,3-dihydro-2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethyl-bilindion (H2Et8-bilindion), and protonated H2Et8-bilindion in various solvents. The spectra of the model compounds show that only for the protonated forms can clear differences between the two isomers be detected. Since considerable differences are present between the spectra of Et8-bilindion and H2Et8-bilindion, it is concluded that only the latter compound can serve as a model system of phytochrome. The 2H2O effect on the difference spectrum of phytochrome supports the view that the chromophore in red-absorbing phytochrome is protonated and suggests, in addition, that it is also protonated in far-red-absorbing phytochrome. The spectra show that protonated carboxyl groups are influenced. The small amplitudes in the difference spectra exclude major changes of protein secondary structure

The origin of large molecules in primordial autocatalytic reaction networks

Large molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids are crucial for life, yet their primordial origin remains a major puzzle. The production of large molecules, as we know it today, requires good catalysts, and the only good catalysts we know that can accomplish this task consist of large molecules. Thus the origin of large molecules is a chicken and egg problem in chemistry. Here we present a mechanism, based on autocatalytic sets (ACSs), that is a possible solution to this problem. We discuss a mathematical model describing the population dynamics of molecules in a stylized but prebiotically plausible chemistry. Large molecules can be produced in this chemistry by the coalescing of smaller ones, with the smallest molecules, the `food set', being buffered. Some of the reactions can be catalyzed by molecules within the chemistry with varying catalytic strengths. Normally the concentrations of large molecules in such a scenario are very small, diminishing exponentially with their size. ACSs, if present in the catalytic network, can focus the resources of the system into a sparse set of molecules. ACSs can produce a bistability in the population dynamics and, in particular, steady states wherein the ACS molecules dominate the population. However to reach these steady states from initial conditions that contain only the food set typically requires very large catalytic strengths, growing exponentially with the size of the catalyst molecule. We present a solution to this problem by studying `nested ACSs', a structure in which a small ACS is connected to a larger one and reinforces it. We show that when the network contains a cascade of nested ACSs with the catalytic strengths of molecules increasing gradually with their size (e.g., as a power law), a sparse subset of molecules including some very large molecules can come to dominate the system.Comment: 49 pages, 17 figures including supporting informatio

Patenting and licensing of university research: promoting innovation or undermining academic values?

Since the 1980s in the US and the 1990s in Europe, patenting and licensing activities by universities have massively increased. This is strongly encouraged by governments throughout the Western world. Many regard academic patenting as essential to achieve 'knowledge transfer' from academia to industry. This trend has far-reaching consequences for access to the fruits of academic research and so the question arises whether the current policies are indeed promoting innovation or whether they are instead a symptom of a pro-intellectual property (IP) culture which is blind to adverse effects. Addressing this question requires both empirical analysis (how real is the link between academic patenting and licensing and 'development' of academic research by industry?) and normative assessment (which justifications are given for the current policies and to what extent do they threaten important academic values?). After illustrating the major rise of academic patenting and licensing in the US and Europe and commenting on the increasing trend of 'upstream' patenting and the focus on exclusive as opposed to non-exclusive licences, this paper will discuss five negative effects of these trends. Subsequently, the question as to why policymakers seem to ignore these adverse effects will be addressed. Finally, a number of proposals for improving university policies will be made

The Right Place at the Right Time: Creative Spaces in Libraries

Purpose This essay explores the recent trend in libraries: that of the establishment of spaces specifically set aside for creative work. The rise of these dedicated creative spaces is owed to a confluence of factors that happen to be finding their expression together in recent years. This essay examines the history of these spaces and explores the factors that gave rise to them and will fuel them moving forward. Design/Methodology/Approach A viewpoint piece, this essay combines historical research and historical/comparative analyses to examine the ways by which libraries have supported creative work in the past and how they may continue to do so into the 21st century. Findings The key threads brought together include a societal recognition of the value of creativity and related skills and attributes; the philosophies, values, and missions of libraries in both their longstanding forms and in recent evolutions; the rise of participatory culture as a result of inexpensive technologies; improved means to build community and share results of efforts; and library experience and historical practice in matters related to creativity. The chapter concludes with advice for those interested in the establishment of such spaces, grounding those reflections in the author’s experiences in developing a new creative space at Virginia Commonwealth University. Originality/value While a number of pieces have been written that discuss the practicalities of developing certain kinds of creative spaces, very little has been written that situates these spaces in larger social and library professional contexts; this essay begins to fill that gap

Electrical properties of a-antimony selenide

This paper reports conduction mechanism in a-\sbse over a wide range of temperature (238K to 338K) and frequency (5Hz to 100kHz). The d.c. conductivity measured as a function of temperature shows semiconducting behaviour with activation energy $\Delta$E= 0.42 eV. Thermally induced changes in the electrical and dielectric properties of a-\sbse have been examined. The a.c. conductivity in the material has been explained using modified CBH model. The band conduction and single polaron hopping is dominant above room temperature. However, in the lower temperature range the bipolaron hopping dominates.Comment: 9 pages (RevTeX, LaTeX2e), 9 psfigures, also at http://pu.chd.nic.in/ftp/pub/san16 e-mail: gautam%[email protected]