A field study of manhole cover leakage.

Leaking manhole covers add inflow to sanitary sewer systems. These are the most accessible components of the sewer system, and so potentially the cheapest to repair or modify, to reduce inflow. There is, however, very little data regarding manhole cover leakage available to evaluate the cost-benefit of such an approach, and there is no field data.

Unnatural Amino Acid Crosslinking for Increased Spatiotemporal Resolution of Chromatin Dynamics.

The utilization of an expanded genetic code and in vivo unnatural amino acid crosslinking has grown significantly in the past decade, proving to be a reliable system for the examination of protein-protein interactions. Perhaps the most utilized amino acid crosslinker, -benzoyl-(l)-phenylalanine (pBPA), has delivered a vast compendium of structural and mechanistic data, placing it firmly in the upper echelons of protein analytical techniques. pBPA contains a benzophenone group that is activated with low energy radiation (~365 nm), initiating a diradical state that can lead to hydrogen abstraction and radical recombination in the form of a covalent bond to a neighboring protein.

The scattering functions of ideal tri-functional comb and dendrimer polymers.

The scattering functions of nine generations of ideal tri-functional comb and dendrimer polymers are computed by novel graph techniques. The properties of polymers having from 9 to 3069 branches are explored. The g-ratios and the scattering functions indicate that as the number of branches increases, comb polymers behave more and more like linear polymers with half the number of branches, whereas dendrimers become more like spherical objects.

Using Human Serum Albumin Binding Affinities as a Proactive Strategy to Affect the Pharmacodynamics and Pharmacokinetics of Preclinical Drug Candidates.

We report on a new preclinical drug optimization strategy that measures drug candidates' binding affinity with human serum albumin (HSA) as an assessment of increasing or decreasing serum T. Three common scaffolds were used as drug prototypes. Common polar and nonpolar substituents attached to the scaffolds have been identified as opportunities for increasing or decreasing the HSA binding affinity.

Molecular dynamics study of six-dimensional hard hypersphere crystals.

Six-dimensional hard hypersphere systems in the A, D, and E crystalline phases have been studied using event-driven molecular dynamics simulations in periodic, skew cells that reflect the underlying lattices. In all the simulations, the systems had sufficient numbers of hyperspheres to capture the first coordination shells, and the larger simulations also included the complete second coordination shell. The equations of state, for densities spanning the fluid, metastable fluid, and solid regimes, were determined.

Switching Gears: A Self-Regulatory Approach and Measure of Nonwork Role Re-Engagement Following After-Hours Work Intrusions.

As employees' personal lives are increasingly splintered by work demands, the boundary between work and nonwork domains is becoming ever more blurred. Grounded within a self-regulatory approach and the executive control function of inhibitory control, we operationalize and examine nonwork role re-engagement (NWRR)-the extent to which individuals can redirect attentional resources back to nonwork tasks following work-related intrusions. In phases 1 and 2, we develop and refine a psychometrically sound unidimensional measure for NWRR aligned with the self-regulatory processes of self-control and interference control underlying inhibitory control.

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Combining Medical and Mental Health Services for Older Adults with HIV in New York City.

Older adults with the human immunodeficiency virus or HIV (OAWH), people 50 years and older, are aging with the disease and experience low quality of life. Mental health disorders trigger and worsen health inequalities with larger impacts on the quality of life of OAWH. This paper evaluated two rival health interventions using a standard decision-analytic model and quantified the cost per quality-adjusted life-years (QALY) to understand the differential in cost and effectiveness of an additional unit of perfect health.

Characterizing viscoelastic properties of synthetic and natural fibers and their coatings with a torsional pendulum.

Characterizing and understanding the viscoelastic mechanical properties of natural and synthetic fibers is of great importance in many biological and industrial applications. Microscopic techniques such as micro/nano indentation have been successfully employed in such efforts, yet these tests are often challenging to perform on fibers and come with certain limitations in the interpretation of the obtained results within the context of the macroscopic viscoelasticity in the fiber. Here we instead explore the properties of a series of natural and synthetic fibers, using a freely-oscillating torsional pendulum.

Spanning the gap: unraveling RSC dynamics in vivo.

Multiple reports over the past 2 years have provided the first complete structural analyses for the essential yeast chromatin remodeler, RSC, providing elaborate molecular details for its engagement with the nucleosome. However, there still remain gaps in resolution, particularly within the many RSC subunits that harbor histone binding domains.Solving contacts at these interfaces is crucial because they are regulated by posttranslational modifications that control remodeler binding modes and function.

The Cost Effectiveness of Mental Health Treatment in the Lifetime of Older Adults with HIV in New York City: A Markov Approach.

Background: There are noticeable gaps in knowledge regarding the cost and effectiveness of integrated medical and behavioral services for older adults with HIV. Their lifespan is close to the population's level but their quality of life has sharply declined due to depression and substance use. Mental health disorders are widespread among an aging population with HIV.

Interaction of RSC Chromatin Remodeling Complex with Nucleosomes Is Modulated by H3 K14 Acetylation and H2B SUMOylation In Vivo.

Chromatin remodeling complexes are multi-subunit nucleosome translocases that reorganize chromatin in the context of DNA replication, repair, and transcription. To understand how these complexes find their target sites on chromatin, we use genetically encoded photo-cross-linker amino acids to map the footprint of Sth1, the catalytic subunit of the RSC complex, on nucleosomes in living yeast. We find that H3 K14 acetylation induces the interaction of the Sth1 bromodomain with the H3 tail and mediates the interaction of RSC with neighboring nucleosomes rather than recruiting it to chromatin.

Design of sustainable lip gloss formulation with biosurfactants and silica particles.

Objective: The main objective of this study was to design a sustainable lip gloss from water-in-oil emulsions by understanding the rheology of combining biosurfactants (rhamnolipids and sophorolipids) with silica particles (Aerosil powders). The different parameters consisted of the silica particle diameter size, the concentration of the particles within the formulation, alongside the different types of biosurfactant and oils used. The experimental results could provide information on the formulation design of cosmetic emulsions such as lip products and foundations.

Engineering rheological response in chitosan-sophorolipid systems through controlled interactions.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to understand the impact of the biopolymer chitosan on the rheological behaviour of the biosurfactant sophorolipid as well as the effects of ionization and electrolyte addition on the chitosan-sophorolipid system.

Methods: Rotation mechanical rheometry was used to study the rheological response of the chitosan-SL systems. Frequency sweeps were conducted to analyse the rheological properties of the system at low-frequency ranges, and bulk viscosity of the system was studied at high shear rates for each sample.

Nitrogen removal from water resource recovery facilities using partial nitrification, denitratation-anaerobic ammonia oxidation (PANDA).

Nitrogen removal from wastewater is an energy and chemical intensive process that is becoming increasingly more common around the world. To address the cost and complexity issues associated with biological nitrogen removal from wastewater, an alternative approach for achieving next generation nitrogen removal via partial nitrification, denitratation and anaerobic ammonia oxidation (PANDA) has been developed. The PANDA process relies on converting 50% of influent ammonia load to nitrate via aerobic ammonia (AerAOB) and nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB).

The Antillean manatee produces broadband vocalizations with ultrasonic frequencies.

Antillean manatees produce vocalizations reported to be important for communication, but their vocal behavior throughout their geographic range is poorly understood. A SoundTrap recorder (sample rates: 288/576 kHz) was deployed in Belize to record vocalizations of wild manatees in a seagrass channel and of a young rehabilitated and released manatee in a shallow lagoon. Spectral analysis revealed broadband vocalizations with frequencies up to 150 kHz and a high proportion of calls with ultrasonic components.

Energy recovery and carbon/nitrogen removal from sewage and contaminated groundwater in a coupled hydrolytic-acidogenic sequencing batch reactor and denitrifying biocathode microbial fuel cell.

Developing cost-effective technology for treatment of sewage and nitrogen-containing groundwater is one of the crucial challenges of global water industries. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) oxidize organics from sewage by exoelectrogens on anode to produce electricity while denitrifiers on cathode utilize the generated electricity to reduce nitrogen from contaminated groundwater. As the exoelectrogens are incapable of oxidizing insoluble, polymeric, and complex organics, a novel integration of an anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR) prior to the MFC simultaneously achieve hydrolytic-acidogenic conversion of complex organics, boost power recovery, and remove Carbon/Nitrogen (C/N) from the sewage and groundwater.

Designing high-performance colour cosmetics through optimization of powder flow characteristics.

Objective: Explore the impact of powder flow properties such as flow energy and compressibility on the performance characteristics of foundation powders such as cake strength and pay-off.

Methods: FT4 Powder Rheometer from Freeman Technology was utilized to explore various powder compositions. The three major tests performed were flowability test, compressibility test and shear cell test.

Sol-Gel Synthesis of Ruthenium Oxide Nanowires To Enhance Methanol Oxidation in Supported Platinum Nanoparticle Catalysts.

A template-directed, sol-gel synthesis is utilized to produce crystalline RuO nanowires. Crystalline nanowires with a diameter of 128 ± 15 nm were synthesized after treating the nanowires at 600 °C in air. Analysis of these nanowires by X-ray powder diffraction revealed the major crystalline phase to be tetragonal RuO with a small quantity of metallic ruthenium present.

Application of multi-criteria decision analysis to assess sampling strategies in eutrophic urbanized waterbodies.

Different water quality sampling practices such as location selection or frequency can inform future watershed management strategies. The objective of this work was to compare water quality sampling strategies based on different weighted criteria to determine the optimal sampling frequency and sampling location for an urbanized, eutrophic, freshwater system. Weekly water sampling was conducted over a 2-year period at five locations for six water quality parameters.

The human cost of global warming: Deadly landslides and their triggers (1995-2014).

Worldwide, landslides incur catastrophic and significant economic and human losses. Previous studies have characterized the patterns in landslides' fatalities, from all kinds of triggering causes, at a continental or global scale, but they were based on data from periods of <10 years. The research herein presented hypothesizes that climate change associated with extreme rainfall and population distribution is contributing to a higher number of deadly landslides worldwide.

Fluid-solid demixing in four and five dimensional asymmetric binary hard hypersphere mixtures.

Additive asymmetric binary mixtures of hard hyperspheres in four and five dimensions are investigated by Monte Carlo simulations. These investigations probe systems with diameter ratios of 0.4 and 0.

Emergent Dynamical Properties of the BCM Learning Rule.

The Bienenstock-Cooper-Munro (BCM) learning rule provides a simple setup for synaptic modification that combines a Hebbian product rule with a homeostatic mechanism that keeps the weights bounded. The homeostatic part of the learning rule depends on the time average of the post-synaptic activity and provides a sliding threshold that distinguishes between increasing or decreasing weights. There are, thus, two essential time scales in the BCM rule: a homeostatic time scale, and a synaptic modification time scale.

Five dimensional binary hard hypersphere mixtures: A Monte Carlo study.

Additive binary mixtures of five dimensional hyperspheres were investigated by Monte Carlo simulations. Both equal packing fraction and equal mole fraction systems with diameter ratios of 0.4 and 0.

A new species of Trachytherus (Notoungulata: Mesotheriidae) from the late Oligocene (Deseadan) of Southern Peru and the middle latitude diversification of early diverging mesotheriids.

Herein we describe a new species of early diverging mesotheriid notoungulate from the late Oligocene of Moquegua, Peru. This taxon, Trachytherus ramirezi sp. nov.

Assessment and Molecular Characterization of Human Intestinal Parasites in Bivalves from Orchard Beach, NY, USA.

Bivalves have been shown to be carriers of the human intestinal parasites Cryptosporidium parvum and Toxoplasma gondii. The goal of this study is to determine the prevalence of protozoan parasites in mollusks of New York City using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assay. Four species of mollusks, Mya arenaria, Geukensia demissa, Crassostrea virginica, and Mytilis edulis, were collected from Orchard Beach, NY in the fall of 2014, totaling 159 specimens.