Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Teaching Big History, Richard B. Simon, Mojgan Behmand, Thomas Burke, Esther Quaedackers, Seohyung Kim, Kiowa Bower, Neal Wolfe, James B. Cunningham, Cynthia Taylor, Martin Anderson, J. Daniel May, Philip Novak, Debbie Daunt, Jaime Castner, Ethan Annis, Amy E. Gilbert, Anne Reid, Suzanne Roybal, Alan Schut, Cynthia Brown, Harlan Stelmach

Harlan Stelmach

A Better Direction For California's Climate Change Policy, David Gamage, Mark Gergen

Mark P. Gergen

No abstract provided.

Teaching Threshold 6: The Rise Of Homo Sapiens, Richard Simon, Mojgan Behmand, Thomas Burke, Esther Quaedackers, Seohyung Kim, Kiowa Bower, Neal Wolfe, James Cunningham, Cynthia Taylor, Martin Anderson, J. May, Philip Novak, Debbie Daunt, Jaime Castner, Ethan Annis, Amy Gilbert, Anne Reid, Suzanne Roybal, Alan Schut, Cynthia Brown, Harlan Stelmach

Cynthia Taylor

Teaching Big History, Richard B. Simon, Mojgan Behmand, Thomas Burke, Esther Quaedackers, Seohyung Kim, Kiowa Bower, Neal Wolfe, James B. Cunningham, Cynthia Taylor, Martin Anderson, J. Daniel May, Philip Novak, Debbie Daunt, Jaime Castner, Ethan Annis, Amy E. Gilbert, Anne Reid, Suzanne Roybal, Alan Schut, Cynthia Brown, Harlan Stelmach

Mojgan Behmand

Teaching Big History Or Teaching About Big History? Big History And Religion, Harlan Stelmach

Harlan Stelmach

Hiv-1 Tat Membrane Interactions Probed Using X-Ray And Neutron Scattering, Cd Spectroscopy And Md Simulations., Kiyotaka Akabori, Kun Huang, Bradley Treece, Michael Jablin, Brian Maranville, Arthur Woll, John Nagle, Angel Garcia, Stephanie Tristram-Nagle

Prof. Stephanie Tristram-Nagle Ph.D.

We report the effect on lipid bilayers of the Tat peptide Y47GRKKRRQRRR57 from the HIV-1 virus transactivator of translation (Tat) protein. Synergistic use of low-angle X-ray scattering (LAXS) and atomistic molecular dynamic simulations (MD) indicate Tat peptide binding to neutral dioleoylphosphocholine (DOPC) lipid headgroups. This binding induced the local lipid phosphate groups to move 3Å closer to the center of the bilayer. Many of the positively charged guanidinium components of the arginines were as close to the center of the bilayer as the locally thinned lipid phosphate groups. LAXS data for DOPC, DOPC/dioleoylphosphoethanolamine (DOPE), DOPC/dioleoylphosphoserine (DOPS), and a mimic of …

What Are The True Values Of The Bending Modulus Of Simple Lipid Bilayers?, John Nagle, Michael Jablin, Stephanie Tristram-Nagle, Kiyotaka Akabori

Prof. Stephanie Tristram-Nagle Ph.D.

Values of the bending modulus KC are reviewed, and possible causes for the considerable differences are discussed. One possible cause is the use of glucose and sucrose in the classical micromechanical manipulation and shape analysis methods. New data, using the more recent low angle X-ray method, are presented that do not support an effect of glucose or sucrose on KC. Another possible cause is using an incomplete theory to interpret the data. Adding a tilt term to the theory clearly does not affect the value obtained from the shape analysis method. It is shown that a tilt term, using a …

Exorcising The Evil Of Forum-Shopping, Kevin Clermont, Theodore Eisenberg

Kevin M. Clermont

Most of the business of litigation comprises pretrial disputes. A common and important dispute is over where adjudication should take place. Civil litigators deal with nearly as many change-of-venue motions as trials. The battle over venue often constitutes the critical issue in a case. The American way is to provide plaintiffs with a wide choice of venues for suit. But the American way has its drawbacks. To counter these drawbacks, an integral part of our court systems, and in particular the federal court system, is the scheme of transfer of venue "in the interest of justice." However, the leading evaluative …

How Employment-Discrimination Plaintiffs Fare In The Federal Courts Of Appeals, Kevin Clermont, Theodore Eisenberg, Stewart Schwab

Kevin M. Clermont

Employment-discrimination plaintiffs swim against the tide. Compared to the typical plaintiff, they win a lower proportion of cases during pretrial and after trial. Then, many of their successful cases are appealed. On appeal, they have a harder time in upholding their successes, as well in reversing adverse outcome. This tough story does not describe some tiny corner of the litigation world. Employment-discrimination cases constitute an increasing fraction of the federal civil docket, now reigning as the largest single category of cases at nearly 10 percent. In this article, we use official government data to describe the appellate phase of this …

Foreigners' Fate In America's Courts: Empirical Legal Research, Kevin Clermont, Theodore Eisenberg

Kevin M. Clermont

This article revisits the controversy regarding how foreigners fare in U.S. courts. The available data, if taken in a sufficiently big sample from numerous case categories and a range of years, indicate that foreigners have fared better in the federal courts than their domestic counterparts have fared. Thus, the data offer no support for the existence of xenophobic bias in U.S. courts. Nor do they establish xenophilia, of course. What the data do show is that case selection drives the outcomes for foreigners. Foreigners’ aversion to U.S. forums can elevate the foreigners’ success rates, when measured as a percentage of …

Judicial Politics, Death Penalty Appeals, And Case Selection: An Empirical Study, John Blume, Theodore Eisenberg

John H. Blume

Several studies try to explain case outcomes based on the politics of judicial selection methods. Scholars usually hypothesize that judges selected by partisan popular elections are subject to greater political pressure in deciding cases than are other judges. No class of cases seems more amenable to such analysis than death penalty cases. No study, however, accounts both for judicial politics and case selection, the process through which cases are selected for death penalty litigation. Yet, the case selection process cannot be ignored because it yields a set of cases for adjudication that is far from a random selection of cases. …

Geochemistry Of The Great Valley Group: An Integrated Provenance Record, Kathleen Surpless

Kathleen D. Surpless

Sedimentary geochemistry of fine-grained strata of the Great Valley Group (GVG) in California documents a provenance signal that may better represent unstable, mafic minerals and volcanic clasts within sediment source regions than the provenance signal documented in the petrofacies and detrital zircon analysis of coarser sedimentary fractions. Geochemistry of the GVG provides an overall provenance framework within which to interpret sandstone petrofacies and detrital zircon age signatures. The geochemical signature for all Sacramento Valley samples records an overall continental arc source, with significant variation but no clear spatial or temporal trends, indicating that the geochemical provenance signal remained relatively consistent …

Lithofacies Control In Detrital Zircon Provenance Studies: Insights From The Cretaceous Methow Basin, Southern Canadian Cordillera, Kathleen Surpless, J. Mahoney, Joseph Wooden, Michael Mcwilliams

Kathleen D. Surpless

High-frequency sampling for detrital zircon analysis can provide a detailed record of fine-scale basin evolution by revealing the temporal and spatial variability of detrital zircon ages within clastic sedimentary successions. This investigation employed detailed sampling of two sedimentary successions in the Methow/Methow-Tyaughton basin of the southern Canadian Cordillera to characterize the heterogeneity of detrital zircon signatures within single lithofacies and assess the applicability of detrital zircon analysis in distinguishing fine-scale provenance changes not apparent in lithologic analysis of the strata. The Methow/Methow-Tyaughton basin contains two distinct stratigraphic sequences of middle Albian to Santonian clastic sedimentary rocks: submarine-fan deposits of the …

Understanding A Critical Basinal Link In Cretaceous Cordilleran Paleogeography: Detailed Provenance Of The Hornbrook Formation, Oregon And California, Kathleen Surpless, Emily Beverly

Kathleen D. Surpless

The Hornbrook Formation is a Cretaceous overlap assemblage that rests unconformably on accreted terranes and plutons of the Klamath Mountains in southern Oregon and northern California. The combined results of sandstone petrography, detrital zircon U-Pb age and Hf isotopic systematics, and whole-rock Nd analysis document an abrupt change in sediment sources for the Hornbrook Formation during the Late Cretaceous. The lower members of the Hornbrook Formation record provenance in the Klamath Mountains and the Sierran Foothills belt that is characterized by detrital zircon age distributions with large Jurassic and Early Cretaceous peaks (170-130 Ma) and positive zircon Hf and whole-rock …

Evolution And Stratigraphic Architecture Of Marine Slope Gully Complexes: Monterey Formation (Miocene), Gaviota Beach, California, Kathleen Surpless, Richard Ward, Stephan Graham

Kathleen D. Surpless

Three small headlands in the sea cliffs west of Gaviota Beach, California, are the remnant fill of three discrete submarine gullies incised into the late Miocene submarine slope environment. These promontories provide excellent, three-dimensional exposure of the gully fill in outcrop, permitting documentation of their complex internal stratigraphic architecture. Detailed study of these exposures elucidates the sedimentologic processes that occur in the filling of slope gullies, guides interpretation of the acoustic records of otherwise unsampled modern gully systems on continental slopes, and provides insight into the heterogeneity that may characterize slope gully petroleum reservoirs. We develop a comprehensive facies scheme …

East-Derived Strata In The Methow Basin Record Rapid Mid-Cretaceous Uplift Of The Southern Coast Mountains Batholith, Kathleen Surpless, Zachary Sickmann, Trevor Koplitz

Kathleen D. Surpless

The Jurassic–Cretaceous Methow basin of northern Washington State and southern British Columbia forms an overlap sequence linking several small tectonostratigraphic terranes. Sandstone petrography, sandstone and mudrock geochemistry, and detrital zircon U–Pb age and Hf analysis of mid-Cretaceous, east-derived Methow strata together document a remarkably uniform provenance signature that suggests proximal, abundant, and unchanging sediment sources throughout deposition. The eastern belt of the Coast Mountains batholith, intruded into Stikine and related inboard terranes of the Intermontane superterrane, along with Jurassic and Cretaceous plutons of the westernmost Okanogan Range, provide the best match to the provenance signature of east-derived sediment in the …

Inhibitors Of Nα-Acetyl-L-Ornithine Deacetylase: Synthesis, Characterization And Analysis Of Their Inhibitory Potency, J. Hlavacek, J. Picha, V. Vanek, J. Jiracek, J. Slaninova, V. Fucik, M. Budesinsky, Danuta Gillner, Richard Holz

Richard C. Holz

A series of N α-acyl (alkyl)- and N α-alkoxycarbonyl-derivatives of l- and d-ornithine were prepared, characterized, and analyzed for their potency toward the bacterial enzyme N α-acetyl-l-ornithine deacetylase (ArgE). ArgE catalyzes the conversion of N α-acetyl-l-ornithine to l-ornithine in the fifth step of the biosynthetic pathway for arginine, a necessary step for bacterial growth. Most of the compounds tested provided IC50 values in the μM range toward ArgE, indicating that they are moderately strong inhibitors. N α-chloroacetyl-l-ornithine (1g) was the best inhibitor tested toward ArgE providing an IC50 value of 85 μM while N α-trifluoroacetyl-l-ornithine (1f), N α-ethoxycarbonyl-l-ornithine (2b), and …

Immobilization Of The Aminopeptidase From Aeromonas Proteolytica On Mg2+/Al3+ Layered Double Hydroxide Particles, Steven Frey, Stephanie Guilmet, Richard Egan, Alyssa Bennett, Sarah Soltau, Richard Holz

Richard C. Holz

A novel biomaterial formed by the immobilization of the Aminopeptidase from Aeromonas proteolytica (AAP) on synthetic Mg2+ and Al3+ ion-containing layered double hydroxide (LDH) particles was prepared. Immobilization of AAP on the LDH particles in a buffered, aqueous mixture is rapid such that the maximum loading capacity, 1 × 10−9 moles of AAP/mg LDH, is achieved in a few minutes. X-ray powder diffraction of LDH samples before and after treatment with AAP indicates that the enzyme does not intercalate between the layers of LDH, but instead binds to the surface. Treatment of AAP/LDH with various amounts of salt in a …

Analyzing The Binding Of Co(Ii)-Specific Inhibitors To The Methionyl Aminopeptidases From Escherichia Coli And Pyrococcus Furiosus, Sanghamitra Mitra, George Sheppard, Jieyi Wang, Brian Bennett, Richard Holz

Richard C. Holz

Methionine aminopeptidases (MetAPs) represent a unique class of protease that is capable of the hydrolytic removal of an N-terminal methionine residue from nascent polypeptide chains. MetAPs are physiologically important enzymes; hence, there is considerable interest in developing inhibitors that can be used as antiangiogenic and antimicrobial agents. A detailed kinetic and spectroscopic study has been performed to probe the binding of a triazole-based inhibitor and a bestatin-based inhibitor to both Mn(II)- and Co(II)-loaded type-I (Escherichia coli) and type-II (Pyrococcus furiosus) MetAPs. Both inhibitors were found to be moderate competitive inhibitors. The triazole-type inhibitor was found to …

Direct Patterning Of Silanized-Biomolecules On Semiconductor Surfaces, Dorjderem Nyamjav, Richard Holz

Richard C. Holz

A novel approach to pattern silanized-biomolecules directly onto glass (SiO_x) substrates via Dip-Pen nanolithography (DPN) and microcontact printing (μCP) is presented. Subsequent hybridization reactions of DPN patterned silanized-DNA with its complementary strands provide “proof-of-concept” that the patterned oligonucleotides maintain their biological activities. The fabrication strategy does not require premodification of substrates and offers a cheap and robust way to immobilize molecules on electronically important semiconductor surfaces.

Direct Patterning Of A Cyclotriveratrylene Derivative For Directed Self-Assembly Of C60, Zachary Osner, Dorjderem Nyamjav, Richard Holz, Daniel Becker

Richard C. Holz

A novel apex-modified cyclotriveratrylene (CTV) derivative with an attached thiolane-containing lipoic acid linker was directly patterned onto gold substrates via dip-pen nanolithography (DPN). The addition of a dithiolane-containing linker to the apex of CTV provides a molecule that can adhere to a gold surface with its bowl-shaped cavity directed away from the surface, thereby providing a surface-bound CTV host that can be used for the directed assembly of guest molecules. Subsequent exposure of these CTV microarrays to C60 in toluene resulted in the directed assembly of predesigned, spatially controlled, high-density microarrays of C60. The molecular recognition capabilities of this CTV …

Structural Basis For Catalysis By The Mono- And Dimetalated Forms Of The Dape-Encoded N-Succinyl-L,L-Diaminopimelic Acid Desuccinylase, Boguslaw Nocek, Danuta Gillner, Yao Fan, Richard Holz, Andzrej Joachimiak

Richard C. Holz

Biosynthesis of lysine and meso-diaminopimelic acid in bacteria provides essential components for protein synthesis and construction of the bacterial peptidoglycan cell wall. The dapE operon enzymes synthesize both meso-diaminopimelic acid and lysine and, therefore, represent potential targets for novel antibacterials. The dapE-encoded N-succinyl-l,l-diaminopimelic acid desuccinylase functions in a late step of the pathway and converts N-succinyl-l,l-diaminopimelic acid to l,l-diaminopimelic acid and succinate. Deletion of the dapE gene is lethal to Helicobacter pylori and Mycobacterium smegmatis, indicating that DapE's are essential for cell growth and proliferation. Since there are no similar pathways in humans, inhibitors …

Inhibitors Of Bacterial N-Succinyl-L,L-Diaminopimelic Acid Desuccinylase (Dape) And Demonstration Of In Vitro Antimicrobial Activity, Danuta Gillner, Nicola Armoush, Richard Holz, Daniel Becker

Richard C. Holz

The dapE-encoded N-succinyl-L,L-diaminopimelic acid desuccinylase (DapE) is a critical bacterial enzyme for the construction of the bacterial cell wall. A screen biased toward compounds containing zinc-binding groups (ZBG’s) including thiols, carboxylic acids, boronic acids, phosphonates and hydroxamates has delivered a number of micromolar inhibitors of DapE from Haemophilus influenzae, including the low micromolar inhibitor L-captopril (IC₅₀ = 3.3 μM, K_i = 1.8 μM). In vitro antimicrobial activity was demonstrated for l-captopril against Escherichia coli.

The Fe-Type Nitrile Hydratase From Comamonas Testosteroni Ni1 Does Not Require An Activator Accessory Protein For Expression In Escherichia Coli, Misty Kuhn, Salette Martinez, Natalie Gumataotao, Uwe Bornscheuer, Dali Liu, Richard Holz

Richard C. Holz

We report herein the functional expression of an Fe-type nitrile hydratase (NHase) without the co-expression of an activator protein or the Escherichia coli chaperone proteins GroES/EL. Soluble protein was obtained when the α- and β-subunit genes of the Fe-type NHase Comamonas testosteroni Ni1 (CtNHase) were synthesized with optimized E. coli codon usage and co-expressed. As a control, the Fe-type NHase from Rhodococcus equi TG328–2 (ReNHase) was expressed with (ReNHase+Act) and without (ReNHase−Act) its activator protein, establishing that expression of a fully functional, metallated ReNHase enzyme requires the co-expression of its activator protein, similar to all other Fe-type NHase enzymes reported …

Immobilization Of Motile Bacterial Cells Via Dip-Pen Nanolithography, Dorjderem Nyamjav, Sergey Rozhok, Richard Holz

Richard C. Holz

A strategy to bind bacterial cells to surfaces in a directed fashion via dip-pen nanolithography (DPN) is presented. Cellular attachment to pre-designed DPN generated microarrays was found to be dependent on the shape and size of the surface feature. While this observation is likely due in part to a dense, well formed mercaptohexadecanoic acid (MHA) monolayer generated via DPN, it may also simply be due to the physical shape of the surface structure. Motile Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterial cells were observed to bind to DPN generated mercaptohexadecanoic acid/poly-L-lysine (MHA/PLL) line patterns, 'blocks' made up of eight lines with 100 nm spacings, …

Structural Characterization Of Zn(Ii)-, Co(Ii)-, And Mn(Ii)-Loaded Forms Of The Arge-Encoded N-Acetyl-L-Ornithine Deacetylase From Escherichia Coli, Ye Tao, Jacob Shokes, Wade Mcgregor, Robert Scott, Richard Holz

Richard C. Holz

The Zn, Co, and Mn K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra of the N-acetyl-l-ornithine deacetylase (ArgE) from Escherichia coli, loaded with one or two equivalents of divalent metal ions (i.e., [Zn(II)_(ArgE)], [Zn(II)Zn(II)(ArgE)], [Co(II)_(ArgE)], [Co(II)Co(II)(ArgE)], [Mn(II)_(ArgE)], and [Mn(II)Mn(II)(ArgE)]), were recorded. The Fourier transformed data (FT) for [Zn(II)_(ArgE)], [Zn(II)Zn(II)(ArgE)], [Co(II)_(ArgE)] and [Co(II)Co(II)(ArgE)] are dominated by a peak at 2.05 Å, that can be fit assuming five or six light atom (N,O) scatterers. Inclusion of multiple-scattering contributions from the outer-shell atoms of a histidine-imidazole ring resulted in reasonable Debye–Waller factors for these contributions and a slight reduction in the goodness-of-fit value …

Synthesis Of N-Succinyl-L,L-Diaminopimelic Acid Mimetics Via Selective Protection, V. Vanek, J. Picha, M. Budesinsky, M. Sanda, J. Jiracek, Richard Holz, J. Hlavacek

Richard C. Holz

The search for potential inhibitors that target so far unexplored bacterial enzyme mono-N-succinyl-L,Ldiaminopimelic acid desuccinylase (DapE) has stimulated a development of methodology for quick and efficient preparation of mono-N-acylated 2,6-diaminopimelic acid (DAP) derivatives bearing the different carboxyl groups or lipophilic moieties on their amino group.

Amphipathic Co-Oligomers For The Delivery Of Sirna, Christina Cooley, Erika Geihe, Robert Waymouth, Paul Wender

Christina B Cooley

Co-oligomer compounds, complexes of the same with polyanions, such as siRNAs, and methods for using the same are provided. the delivery of polynucleotides, into a cell. The subject co-oligomers include at least a liphopilic monomer and at least a hydrophilic monomer (e.g., a guanidinium containing monomer). In some embodiments, the co-oligomer compounds are capable of complexing a siRNA of interest, thereby increasing the cell permeability of the siRNA, prior to release of the siRNA into the cell. In some embodiments, the subject method is a method of delivery a siRNA into a cell. In some embodiments, the subject method is …

Exact P-Adic Orders For Differences Of Motzkin Numbers, Tamas Lengyel

Tamas Lengyel

For any prime p, we establish congruences modulo pn+1 for the difference of the pn+1th and pnth Motzkin numbers and determine the p-adic order of the difference. The results confirm recent conjectures on the order. The applied techniques involve the use of congruences for the differences of certain Catalan numbers and binomial coefficients, congruential identities for sums of Catalan numbers, central binomial and trinomial coefficients, infinite incongruent disjoint covering systems and the solution of congruential recurrences.

Paul Ion Trap As A Diagnostic For Plasma Focus, S.M. Kiai, .. ., Ahmad Talaei, Et Al.

Ahmad Talaei

The plasma discharge contamination by high and low Z Impurities affect the rate of nuclear fusion reaction products, specially when light particles have to be confined. These impurities should be analyzed and can be fairly controlled. This paper reports on the development of a Paul ion trap with ion sources by impact electron ionization as a diagnostic for the 10 kJ Iranian sunshine plasma focus device. Preliminary results of the residual gas are analyzed and presented.