Developing and applying quantitative skills maps for STEM curricula,with a focus on different modes of learning

Mapping quantitative skills across the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) curricula will help educators identify gaps and duplication in the teaching, practice and assessment of the necessary skills. This paper describes the development and implementation of quantitative skills mapping tools for courses in STEM at a regional university that offers both on-campus and distance modes of study. Key elements of the mapping project included the identification of key graduate quantitative skills, the development of curriculum mapping tools to record in which unit(s) and at what level of attainment each quantitative skill is taught, practised and assessed, and identification of differences in the way quantitative skills are developed for on-campus and distance students. Particular attention is given to the differences that are associated with intensive schools, which consist of concentrated periods of face-to-face learning over a three-four day period, and are available to distance education students enrolled in STEM units. The detailed quantitative skills mapping process has had an impact on the review of first-year mathematics units, resulted in crucial changes to the curriculum in a number of courses, and contributed to a more integrated approach, and a collective responsibility, to the development of students' quantitative skills for both face-to-face and online modes of learning.     

Emerging methods in proteomics: top-down protein characterization by multistage tandem mass spectrometry

"Top-down" mass spectrometry methods have emerged as an attractive alternative to conventional "bottom-up" approaches for the comprehensive characterization of co- and post-translational protein modifications. Here we present a brief overview of current strategies employed for top-down protein characterization and discuss the key technical challenges and solutions associated with their implementation on a range of mass spectrometry instrument platforms. For more specific details regarding the individual strategies described herein, interested readers are referred to the references cited at the end of this article.     

Leaving group effects on the selectivity of the gas-phase fragmentation reactions of side chain fixed-charge-containing peptide ions

The effect of trialkylsulfonium versus quaternaryalkylammonium ions on the multistage gas-phase fragmentation reactions of side chain, fixed-charge, cysteine-containing peptides has been examined in a quadrupole linear ion trap. These tandem mass spectrometry experiments reveal that selective loss of dialkylsulfide from fixed-charge sulfonium ion derivatives is the dominant fragmentation pathway regardless of the degree of proton mobility, indicating that it is the most energetically favored fragmentation pathway. In contrast, the loss of trimethylamine from the side chain of fixed-charge ammonium-ion-containing cysteine derivatives appears to be less energetically favored, and as a result extensive charge-remote fragmentation is observed under low proton mobility conditions, while under conditions of high proton mobility, amide bond fragmentation reactions dominate. These findings are supported by molecular orbital calculations at the B3LYP/6-31 + G(d, p) level of theory, which showed that the neutral loss of dimethylsulfide is both thermodynamically and kinetically preferred over the loss of trimethylamine.     

Manipulation and characterization of aqueous sodium dodecyl sulfate/sodium chloride aerosol particles

Aerosol optical tweezers coupled with Raman spectroscopy can allow the detailed investigation of aerosol dynamics. We describe here measurements of the evolving size, composition, and phase of single aqueous aerosol droplets containing the surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate and the inorganic salt sodium chloride. Not only can the evolving wet particle size be probed with nanometer accuracy, but we show that the transition to a metastable microgel particle can be followed, demonstrating that optical tweezers can be used to manipulate both spherical and non-spherical aerosol particles. Further, through the simultaneous manipulation and characterization of two aerosol droplets of different composition in two parallel optical traps, the phase behavior of a surfactant-doped particle and a surfactant-free droplet can be compared directly in situ. We also illustrate that the manipulation of two microgel particles can allow studies of the coagulation and interaction of two solid particles. Finally, we demonstrate that such parallel measurements can permit highly accurate comparative measurements of the evolving wet particle size of a surfactant-doped droplet with a surfactant-free droplet.     

Characterizing multiphase organic/inorganic/aqueous aerosol droplets

The partitioning of an immiscible and volatile organic component between the gas and aqueous condensed phases of an aerosol is investigated using optical tweezers. Specifically, the phase segregation of immiscible decane and aqueous components within a single liquid aerosol droplet is characterized by brightfield microscopy and by spontaneous and stimulated Raman scattering. The internally mixed phases are observed to adopt equilibrium geometries that are consistent with predictions based on surface energies and interfacial tensions and the volume fractions of the two immiscible phases. In the limit of low organic volume fraction, the stimulated Raman scattering signature is consistent with the formation of a thin film or lens of the organic component on the surface of an aqueous droplet. By comparing the nonlinear spectroscopic signature with Mie scattering predictions for a core-shell structure, the thickness of the organic layer can be estimated with nanometer accuracy. Time-dependent measurements allow the evolving partitioning of the volatile organic component between the condensed and vapor phases to be investigated.     

Preparation, characterization, and structural systematics of diphosphane and diarsane complexes of gallium(III) halides

The diphosphane o-C6H4(PMe2)2 reacts with GaX3 (X = Cl, Br, or I) in a 1:1 molar ratio in dry toluene to give trans-[GaX2{o-C6H4(PMe2)2}2][GaX4], the cations of which contain the first examples of six-coordinate gallium in a phosphane complex. The use of a 1:2 ligand/GaCl3 ratio produced [GaCl2{o-C6H4(PMe2)2}][GaCl4], containing a pseudotetrahedral cation, and similar pseudotetrahedral [GaX2{o-C6H4(PPh2)2}][GaX4] complexes are the only products isolated with the bulkier o-C6H4(PPh2)2. On the other hand, Et2P(CH2)2PEt2, which has a flexible aliphatic backbone, formed [(X3Ga)2{mu-Et2P(CH2)2PEt2}], in which the ligand bridges two pseudotetrahedral gallium centers. The diarsane, o-C6H4(AsMe2)2, formed [GaX2{o-C6H4(AsMe2)2}][GaX4], also containing pseudotetrahedral cations, and in marked contrast to the diphosphane analogue, no six-coordinate complexes form; a very rare example where these two much studied ligands behave differently towards a common metal acceptor. The complexes [(I3Ga)2{mu-Ph2As(CH2)2AsPh2}] and [GaX3(AsMe3)] are also described. The X-ray structures of trans-[GaX2{o-C6H4(PMe2)2}2][GaX4] (X = Cl, Br or I), [GaCl2{o-C6H4(PPh2)2}][GaCl4], [GaX2{o-C6H4(AsMe2)2}][GaX4] (X = Cl or I), [(I3Ga)2{mu-Ph2As(CH2)2AsPh2}], and [GaX3(AsMe3)] (X = Cl, Br or I) are reported, and the structural trends are discussed. The solution behavior of the complexes has been explored using a combination of 31P{1H} and 71Ga NMR spectroscopy.     

Differentiation of opium and poppy straw using capillary electrophoresis and pattern recognition techniques

Opium samples from four different locations and poppy straw from different plant varieties have been assayed using micellar capillary electrophoresis incorporating a sweeping technique. Individual alkaloids (morphine, codeine, papaverine, noscapine, thebaine, oripavine, reticuline and narceine) were quantitatively determined in the different samples by a validated capillary electrophoresis method. Unsupervised pattern recognition of the opium samples and the poppy straw samples using hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA), showed distinct clusters. Supervised pattern recognition using soft independent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA) was performed to show individual groupings and allow unknown samples to be classified according to the models built using the CZE assay results.     

Complete determination of the photoionization dynamics of a polyatomic molecule. I. Experimental photoelectron angular distributions from A1Au acetylene

Angle-resolved photoelectron spectra from rotationally selected A1Au state acetylene have been recorded using velocity-map imaging. Several Renner-Teller split vibrational bands have been observed and assigned, showing good agreement with previous zero kinetic energy photoelectron (ZEKE) work [S. T. Pratt, P. M. Dehmer, and J. L. Dehmer, J. Chem. Phys. 99, 6233 (1993); S.-J. Tang, Y.-C. Chou, J. J.-M. Lin, and Y.-C. Hsu, ibid. 125, 133201 (2006).] The extracted photoelectron angular distributions (PADs) corresponding to these bands show a strong dependence on the vibronic angular momentum projection quantum number K+. Subbands with odd K+ show PADs with maximum intensity along the polarization vector of the ionizing laser beam, while those with even K+ show PADs with maximum intensity perpendicular to this direction. Velocity-map images recorded at low photoelectron energies approach rotational resolution of the ion, and the evolution of the PADs with increasing rotational level prepared in the A1Au state indicates the potential of a "complete" determination of the photoionization dynamics of the A1Au state. This is further investigated in the following paper.     

Recent developments in thio‐, seleno‐, and telluro‐ether ligand chemistry

New routes developed recently to overcome the difficulties usually associated with the sequential introduction of Te centers into polytelluro‐ethers and the introduction of tellurium into macrocyclic compounds are described, including the synthesis of the first facultative telluro‐ethers, RTe(CH₂)₃Te(CH₂)₃TeR, R = Me or Ph, and the first tridentate S₂Te‐donor macrocycles and a tetradentate S₃Te‐donor macrocycle. The first systematic investigations into the preparation and characterization of coordination complexes of MX₃ (M = As, Sb, Bi; X = Cl, Br, I) involving polydentate and macrocyclic thio‐ and seleno‐ether ligands are then discussed. The structures of examples of each class of compound are described, including the first examples of seleno‐ether adducts of the group 15 acceptors. A more limited range of telluro‐ether derivatives has been identified and the structure of the first example of this type is included. These species serve to demonstrate the wide structural diversity exhibited by these systems and the factors directing the assembly of these structures are highlighted. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 13:550–560, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/hc.10100     

Reactions of fused dihydro-1,2,4-thiadiazoles with isoselenocyanates giving 6aλ4-thia-1,3,4,6-tetraazapentalene derivatives and 5,10-dihydro-1,2,4-thiaselenazolo[4,5-b][2,4]benzodiazepines

3-Methyl-6,7-dihydro-5H-1,2,4-thiadiazolo[4,5-a]pyrimidine (1) reacted with isoselenocyanates with elimination of acetonitrile and concomitant addition of two molecules of the isoselenocyanate to give 2,3-di-substituted-6,7-dihydro-5H-2aλ⁴-thia-2,3,4a,7a-tetraazacyclopent[cd]indene-1(2H),4(3H)-diselones (6a)–(6j). 3-Methyl-5,10-dihydrobenzo[e]-1,2,4-thiadiazolo[4,5-a][1,3]diazepine (3) likewise reacted with alkyl isoselenocyanates to give the 2,3-dialkyl-5-10-dihydro-2aλ⁴-thia-2,3,4a,10a-tetraazapentaleno[3,3a,4-gh]benzocycloheptene-1,4-diselones (9a)–(9h), but reaction of (3) with aryl isoselenocyanates took place with elimination of acetonitrile and incorporation of one molecule of the aryl isoselenocyanate in the product to give 3-arylimino-5,10-dihydro-1,2,4-thiaselenazolo[4,5-b][2,4]benzodiazepines (10a)–(10h). Structure (10) is a new heterocyclic system. The pyrimidine (1) and the diazepine (3) reacted with aryl isoselenocyanates at room temperature in solvents of low polarity to give zwitterion 1:1 addition compounds (7) and (12), respectively. NMR studies reveal that the thiaselenazoles (10) react in solution with aryl isoselenocyanates to give diaryl diselones (11) in a reversible process involving a Dimroth rearrangement. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.