Using Inquiry to Improve Pedagogy through K‐12/University Partnerships

This article focuses on the impact a collaborative project between university graduate fellows and K‐12 classroom teachers had on improved pedagogy in the classroom and in the future at the university. Nine teams participated in a yearlong professional development project to improve pedagogy and communication skills of the participants. This study shows that the participants, the fellows and the K‐12 teacher partners, made changes in planning, implementation, and even motivation for using inquiry‐based methods in their classroom. External observations of the teams further support the individuals' claims of improved pedagogy using inquiry and impact on student conceptual understanding. The Horizon Classroom Observation instrument was used for these observations. The teams showed an overall increase in scores, as well as overall effective and exemplarily implementation of their planning. The program design, the implementation, and the results of this three‐year study will be elaborated in this article.     

Excess partial molar enthalpies,entropies, Gibbs energies,and volumes in aqueous dimethylsulfoxide

The excess partial molar enthalpies, the vapor pressures, and the densities of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO)–H₂O mixtures were measured and the excess partial molar Gibbs energies and the partial molar volumes were calculated for DMSO and for H₂O. The values of the excess partial molar Gibbs energies for both DMSO and H₂O are negative over the entire composition range. The results for the water-rich region indicated that the presence of DMSO enhances the hydrogen bond network of H₂O. Unlike monohydric alcohols, however, the solute-solute interaction is repulsive in terms of the Gibbs energy. This was a result of the fact that the repulsion among solutes in terms of enthalpy surpassed the attraction in terms of entropy. The data in the DMSO-rich region suggest that DMSO molecules form clusters which protect H₂O molecules from exposure to the nonpolar alkyl groups of DMSO.     

Self-assembled monolayers of dendritic polyglycerol derivatives on gold that resist the adsorption of proteins

Highly protein-resistant, self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of dendritic polyglycerols (PGs) on gold can easily be obtained by simple chemical modification of these readily available polymers with a surface-active disulfide linker group. Several disulfide-functionalized PGs were synthesized by N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide-mediated ester coupling of thioctic acid. Monolayers of the disulfide-functionalized PG derivatives spontaneously form on a semitransparent gold surface and effectively prevent the adsorption of proteins, as demonstrated by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) kinetic measurements. A structure-activity relationship relating the polymer architecture to its ability to effectuate protein resistance has been derived from results of different surface characterization techniques (SPR, attenuated total reflectance infrared (ATR-IR), and contact-angle measurements). Dendritic PGs combine the characteristic structural features of several highly protein-resistant surfaces: a highly flexible aliphatic polyether, hydrophilic surface groups, and a highly branched architecture. PG monolayers are as protein resistant as poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) SAMs and are significantly better than dextran-coated surfaces, which are currently used as the background for SPR spectroscopy. Due to the higher thermal and oxidative stability of the bulk PG as compared to the PEG and the easy accessibility of these materials, dendritic polyglycerols are novel and promising candidates as surface coatings for biomedical applications.     

The Photoenolization of 2-Methylacetophenone and Related Compounds

A reinvestigation of 2-methylacetophenone ( 1 ) by ns flash photolysis has provided detailed evidence for the reaction sequence of photoenolization. The triplet reaction proceeds adiabatically from the lowest excited triplet state of the ketone, ³ K (1) , to the enol excited triplet state, ³ E (1) , which decays both to enol and ketone ground state. The Z- and E-isomers of the photoenol, Z- E (1) and E- E (1) are formed in about equal yield by the triplet pathway, while direct enolization from the lowest excited singlet state of 1 yields (predominantly) the Z-isomer. Intramolecular reketonization from Z- E (1) to 1 proceeds at a rate of ca. 10⁸s^?1 in cyclohexane, but can be retarded to ca. 10⁴s^?1 in hydrogen-bond-acceptor solvents. The proposed mechanism is summarized in Scheme 1 and rationalized on the basis of a state correlation diagram, Scheme 2. 3,3,6,8-Tetramethyl-1-tetralone ( 2 ) was used as a reference compound with fixed conformational position of the carbonyl group, and some results from a brief investigation of 2,4-dimethylbenzophenone ( 3 ) are also reported.     

Stereoselective Synthesis of Isomers of the Naturally Occurring 13-Hydroxy-2,4,9-tetradecatrienoic Acid. Part II [1]

The stereoselective syntheses of four unsaturated hydroxy fatty acids 13S,2E,4E,9E)- 13-hydroxy-2,4,9-tetradecatrienoic acid, (13S,9Z,11E)-13-hydroxy-9,11-tetradecadienoic acid, (13S,9E, 11E)-13-hydroxy-9,11-tetradecadienoic acid, and (13S,2E,4E,9E)-13-hydroxy-2,4,9,11-tetradecatrienoic acid, are described. Wittig reactions, regioselective oxidation of dialcohol 3, and diastereomerization were used.     

Photochemical investigation of Roussin's red salt esters: Fe2(mu-SR)2(NO)4

The photochemistry of various Roussin's red ester compounds of the general formula Fe(2)(SR)(2)(NO)(4), where R = CH(3), CH(2)CH(3), CH(2)C(6)H(5), CH(2)CH(2)OH, and CH(2)CH(2)SO(3)(-), were investigated. Continuous photolyses of these ester compounds in aerated solutions led to the release of NO with moderate quantum yields for the photodecomposition of the ester (Phi(RSE) = 0.02-0.13). Electrochemical studies using an NO electrode demonstrated that 4 mol of NO are generated for each mole of ester undergoing photodecomposition. Nanosecond flash photolysis studies of Fe(2)(SR)(2)(NO)(4) (where R = CH(2)CH(2)OH and CH(2)CH(2)SO(3)(-)) indicate that the initial photoreaction is the reversible dissociation of NO. In the absence of oxygen, the presumed intermediate, Fe(2)(SR)(2)(NO)(3), undergoes second-order reaction with NO to regenerate the parent cluster with a rate constant of k(NO) = 1.1 x 10(9) M(-1) s(-1) for R = CH(2)CH(2)OH. Under aerated conditions the intermediate reacts with oxygen to give permanent photochemistry.     

Determination of the chromophore structures in the photoinduced reaction cycle of phytochrome

The chromophore structures in the parent states Pr and Pfr as well as in the photocycle intermediate Lumi-R of oat phytochrome phyA are determined by comparison of the experimental resonance Raman spectra with calculated Raman spectra that have been obtained by density functional theory calculations (B3LYP) using scaled force fields. The spectra were calculated for various tetrapyrrole geometries including more than twenty different methine bridge isomers. For the parent states Pr and Pfr the best agreement in terms of vibrational frequencies, isotopic shifts, and Raman intensities was achieved with the ZZZasa and ZZEssa geometry, respectively. For the first intermediate Lumi-R, the chromophore geometry is concluded to be the ZZEasa configuration. These finding imply that the primary step of the photoactivation of phytochrome is the Z/E isomerization of the C-D methine bridge double bond, whereas the single bond remains in the anti conformation. The subsequent transition to the physiologically active state Pfr includes a (partial) single bond rotation of the A-B methine bridge.     

Wismutmonojodid BiJ,eine Verbindung mit Bi(O) und Bi(II)

Bismuth Monoiodide, a Compound with Bi(O) and Bi(II) Bismuth monoiodide was synthesized in closed tubes from the elements as well as from Bi and HgI₂ as a black coloured crystalline compound. With increasing temperature BiI passes two transitions. α-BiI is stable below 370 K and changes to β-BiI by a martensitic transition. γ-BiI is the stable modification above 564 K and decomposes at 585 K peritectically to BiI₃ and a lower iodide. All three modification crystallize in the monoclinic space group C2/m. The structures (single crystal studies) of α-BiI and β-BiI are characterized by onedimensional infinite chains [Bi₄I₄] with covalent bonds but only weak interactions in between. The [Bi₄I₄]-chains are built up by two completely different Bi atoms. Bi(A) is only bonded to three Bi whereas Bi(B) has bonds to one Bi and four I. The average bond lengths are Bi? Bi = 304.5 pm and Bi? I = 313.7 pm respectively. The configuration of the Bi(A) atoms is typical for Bi^O and that one of the Bi(B) atoms is characteristic for Bi²⁺ with the electron configuration s²p¹. Therefore, α-BiI and β-BiI are mixed valence compounds [Bi^OBi²⁺I₄]. The structures are variants of the simple cubic polonium type of structure and differ in the stacking of connected units. The structures and their transitions, the possible configurations for monohalides BiX on principle as well as the energy balances of the disproportionation of Bi⁺ are discussed together in detail.