Synthesis and molecular structure of the optically active organoaluminium dimer (S)-(—)-(S)-(—)- [(C6H5)CH(CH3)NHA1(CH3)2]2

Reaction of the optically active primary amine (S)-(—)--methylbenzylamine with trimethylaluminium in heptane affords the crystalline organoaluminium dimer (S)-(—)-(S)-(—)-[(C₆H₅)CH(CH₃)NHA1(CH₃)₂]₂. Isolated as large, colourless, extremely air-sensitive prismatic crystals, the title compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group P2₁2₁2₁ with unit cell parameters a = 8.406(3), b = 15.505(4), c = 17.547(5) Å, V = 2287 ų and p = 1.03 g cm⁻³ for Z = 4. Least-squares refinement based on 1477 observed reflections converged at R = 0.056, R_w = 0.058. Methane was eliminated during the course of the reaction due to cleavage of A1---C and N---H bonds resulting in an asymmetric A1₂N₂ fragment at the core of the organoaluminium dimer. The mean A1---C bond distance in the dimethylaluminium units is 1.930(8), while the mean A1---N bond distance is 1.950(5) Å. Specific rotation ([]_D²⁵ in CH₂C1₂)of the dimer is determined to be - 20.6°.     

Combined Chemical Modification and Collision Induced Unfolding Using Native Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry Provides Insights into Protein Gas-Phase Structure

Native mass spectrometry is now an important tool in structural biology. Thus, the nature of higher protein structure in the vacuum of the mass spectrometer is an area of significant interest. One of the major goals in the study of gas-phase protein structure is to elucidate the stabilising role of interactions at the level of individual amino acid residues. A strategy combining protein chemical modification together with collision induced unfolding (CIU) was developed and employed to probe the structure of compact protein ions produced by native electrospray ionisation. Tractable chemical modification was used to alter the properties of amino acid residues, and ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS) utilised to monitor the extent of unfolding as a function of modification. From these data the importance of specific intramolecular interactions for the stability of compact gas-phase protein structure can be inferred. Using this approach, and aided by molecular dynamics simulations, an important stabilising interaction between K6 and H68 in the protein ubiquitin was identified, as was a contact between the N-terminus and E22 in a ubiquitin binding protein UBA2.     

Pedagogical challenges in making mathematics relevant for Indigenous Australians

After the invasion and occupation of their land by Europeans, Indigenous Australians were expected to benefit from a Western education system based on that of the dominant Europeans. Gradually educators realized that Aboriginal children learn differently and that Indigenous culture and pedagogy has validity and strength. Of course, educators also need to be acutely aware of the diversity of Indigenous cultures in Australia and that there is not a monolithic sense of Aboriginal identity or Aboriginal pedagogy. Dispossession and alienation, poor health and few employment opportunities must also affect educational interest, attendance, application and performance. In this paper the characteristics of Indigenous learners are examined and pedagogical strategies to assist in both students' learning and teachers' delivery are explored. The message conveyed in this paper has particular relevance for teaching mathematics to Aboriginal learners. It is also of considerable value in teaching mathematics to nonAboriginal students, in Australia and elsewhere.     

Mass emissions and carbon trading: a critical review of available reference methods for industrial stack flow measurement

Accreditation and Quality Assurance - Flow measurements in industrial ducts and stacks are combined with pollutant or greenhouse gas concentrations to deduce mass emissions. These are then used to...     

Mass separator for radioactive isotopes

A new isotope separator has been designed, constructed, and put into routine operation for separation of ¹³³Xe providing a major advancement and significant cost reduction in preparation of this radioactive isotope. The design features and advantages are discussed that expedite high purity separation of relatively small quantities of this isotope. These advantages could be easily used to expedite separation of other shorter-lived radioactive isotopes.     

Application of HPLC-Thermospray Flame AAS: Interaction Between Heavy Metals and Duckweed Chlorophyll

Thermospray nebulizer interfaced HPLC-Flame AAS was used to study the effect of heavy metals (Al, Cd, Cu, Hg and Zn) on the chlorophylls of duckweed. Flame AAS was used as a metal specific detector of HPLC. Study indicated that heavy metals promote the degradation of chlorophylls. No evidence of direct replacement of central magnesium with heavy metals was found.     

Investigating undergraduate mathematics learners’ cognitive engagement with recorded lecture videos

The use of recorded lecture videos (RLVs) in mathematics instruction continues to advance. Prior research at the post-secondary level has indicated a tendency for RLV use in mathematics to be negatively correlated with academic performance, although it is unclear whether this is because regular users are generally weaker mathematics students or because RLV use is somehow depressing student learning. Through the lens of cognitive engagement, a quasi-experimental pre- and post-test design study was conducted to investigate the latter possibility.

Cognitive engagement was operationalized using the Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F), which measures learning approaches on two major scales: surface and deep. In two mathematics courses at two universities, in Australia and the UK, participants were administered the questionnaire near the course start and finish. Overall findings were similar in both contexts: a reduction in live lecture attendance coupled with a dependence on RLVs was associated with an increase in surface approaches to learning.

This study has important implications for future pedagogical development and adds to the sense of urgency regarding research into best practices using RLVs in mathematics.     

Concise complexity analyses for trust region methods

Concise complexity analyses are presented for simple trust region algorithms for solving unconstrained optimization problems. In contrast to a traditional trust region algorithm, the algorithms considered in this paper require certain control over the choice of trust region radius after any successful iteration. The analyses highlight the essential algorithm components required to obtain certain complexity bounds. In addition, a new update strategy for the trust region radius is proposed that offers a second-order complexity bound.