First observation of the sigma(*+)(c) baryon and a new measurement of the sigma(*+)(c) mass

Using data recorded with the CLEO II and CLEO II.V detector configurations at the Cornell Electron Storage Rings, we report the first observation and mass measurement of the Sigma(*+)(c) charmed baryon, and an updated measurement of the mass of the Sigma(+)(c) baryon. We find M(Sigma(*+)(c))-M(Lambda(+)(c)) = (231.0+/-1.1+/-2.0) MeV, and M(Sigma(+)(c))-M(Lambda(+)(c)) = (166.4+/-0.2+/-0.3) MeV, where the errors are statistical and systematic, respectively.     

The development of an integrated platform to identify breast cancer glycoproteome changes in human serum

Protein glycosylation represents one of the major post-translational modifications and can have significant effects on protein function. Moreover, changes in the carbohydrate structure are increasingly being recognized as an important modification associated with cancer etiology. In this report, we describe the development of a proteomics approach to identify breast cancer related changes in either concentration and/or the carbohydrate structures of glycoprotein(s) present in blood samples. Diseased and healthy serum samples were processed by an optimized sample preparation protocol using multiple lectin affinity chromatography (M-LAC) that partitions serum proteins based on glycan characteristics. Subsequently, three separate procedures, 1D SDS-PAGE, isoelectric focusing and an antibody microarray, were applied to identify potential candidate markers for future study. The combination of these three platforms is illustrated in this report with the analysis of control and cancer glycoproteomic fractions. Firstly, a molecular weight based separation of glycoproteins by 1D SDS-PAGE was performed, followed by protein, glycoprotein staining, lectin blotting and LC–MS analysis. To refine or confirm the list of interesting glycoproteins, isoelectric focusing (targeting sialic acid changes) and an antibody microarray (used to detect neutral glycan shifts) were selected as the orthogonal methods. As a result, several glycoproteins including alpha-1B-glycoprotein, complement C3, alpha-1-antitrypsin and transferrin were identified as potential candidates for further study.     

A homotopy theory for stacks

We give a homotopy theoretic characterization of stacks on a site C as the homotopy sheaves of groupoids on C. We use this characterization to construct a model category in which stacks are the fibrant objects. We compare different definitions of stacks and show that they lead to Quillen equivalent model categories. In addition, we show that these model structures are Quillen equivalent to the S ²-nullification of Jardine’s model structure on sheaves of simplicial sets on C.     

The Development of Mathematical Discussions: An Investigation in a Fifth-Grade Classroom

Promoting discussion and argumentation of mathematical ideas among students are aspects of the vision for communication in recent school mathematics reform efforts. Having rich mathematical discussions, however, can present a variety of classroom challenges. Many factors influence classroom discussions and need to be addressed in ways that will assist teachers in creating more inquiry-based mathematics classrooms. The study presented here examined the development of mathematical discussions in a fifth-grade classroom over the course of a school year. Various aspects of the participants' interactions, teacher's pedagogy, and the classroom microculture were investigated. One major result is the evolution of student participation from nonactive listening to active listening and use of others' ideas to develop new conjectures. These changes were paralleled by changes in the teacher's role in the classroom and the nature of her questions, in particular.     

An assessment of the technique of simultaneous cooling in conjunction with microwave heating for organic synthesis

In the light of the controversy in the area and since reports using simultaneous cooling in conjunction with microwave heating are appearing in the literature, we were keen to assess the methodology, looking at temperature measurement issues as well as the use of the technique in three classes of reaction, namely a Heck coupling, a Diels-Alder cycloaddition and a Michael addition. We present our initial findings here.     

High-resolution (19)F MAS NMR spectroscopy: structural disorder and unusual J couplings in a fluorinated hydroxy-silicate

High-resolution (19)F magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectroscopy is used to study disorder and bonding in a crystalline solid. (19)F MAS NMR reveals four distinct F sites in a 50% fluorine-substituted deuterated hydrous magnesium silicate (clinohumite, 4Mg(2)SiO(4)·Mg(OD(1-x)F(x))(2) with x = 0.5), indicating extensive structural disorder. The four (19)F peaks can be assigned using density functional theory (DFT) calculations of NMR parameters for a number of structural models with a range of possible local F environments generated by F(-)/OH(-) substitution. These assignments are supported by two-dimensional (19)F double-quantum MAS NMR experiments that correlate F sites based on either spatial proximity (via dipolar couplings) or through-bond connectivity (via scalar, or J, couplings). The observation of (19)F-(19)F J couplings is unexpected as the fluorines coordinate Mg atoms and the Mg-F interaction is normally considered to be ionic in character (i.e., there is no formal F-Mg-F covalent bonding arrangement). However, DFT calculations predict significant (19)F-(19)F J couplings, and these are in good agreement with the splittings observed in a (19)F J-resolved MAS NMR experiment. The existence of these J couplings is discussed in relation to both the nature of bonding in the solid state and the occurrence of so-called "through-space" (19)F-(19)F J couplings in solution. Finally, we note that we have found similar structural disorder and spin-spin interactions in both synthetic and naturally occurring clinohumite samples.     

Alignment of retention time obtained from multicapillary column gas chromatography used for VOC analysis with ion mobility spectrometry

Multicapillary column (MCC) ion mobility spectrometers (IMS) are increasingly in demand for medical diagnosis, biological applications and process control. In a MCC-IMS, volatile compounds are differentiated by specific retention time and ion mobility when rapid preseparation techniques are applied, e.g. for the analysis of complex and humid samples. Therefore, high accuracy in the determination of both parameters is required for reliable identification of the signals. The retention time in the MCC is the subject of the present investigation because, for such columns, small deviations in temperature and flow velocity may cause significant changes in retention time. Therefore, a universal correction procedure would be a helpful tool to increase the accuracy of the data obtained from a gas-chromatographic preseparation. Although the effect of the carrier gas flow velocity and temperature on retention time is not linear, it could be demonstrated that a linear alignment can compensate for the changes in retention time due to common minor deviations of both the carrier gas flow velocity and the column temperature around the MCC-IMS standard operation conditions. Therefore, an effective linear alignment procedure for the correction of those deviations has been developed from the analyses of defined gas mixtures under various experimental conditions. This procedure was then applied to data sets generated from real breath analyses obtained in clinical studies using different instruments at different measuring sites for validation. The variation in the retention time of known signals, especially for compounds with higher retention times, was significantly improved. The alignment of the retention time—an indispensable procedure to achieve a more precise identification of analytes—using the proposed method reduces the random error caused by small accidental deviations in column temperature and flow velocity significantly.