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Abstract: Background: Human rhinoviruses (HRVs) are the most frequent cause of acute upper respiratory tract infection, however, they are also known to replicate in the lower respiratory tract and associate with more severe respiratory illnesses. An outbreak of HRV occurred in a long-term facility in Santa Cruz, California with unusually high morbidity and mortality. Objectives: To identify viral characteristics associated with this unique outbreak, genetic relationships between these clinical isolates (SCRVs) and prototype strains of rhinovirus were investigated. Study design: Sequence homology and phylogenetic analyses of the SCRV VP4/VP2 region were performed in conjunction with all HRV prototypes. Due to the importance of the 5′noncoding region (NCR) and the structural genes to viral replication and host immune responses, respectively, we focused on a segment of the HRV genome which includes these regions. Molecular models of SCRV were also assessed. Results: SCRV showed closest similarity to HRV82 with some divergence from the prototype. Amino acid differences were concentrated within predicted neutralization epitopes within VP2, VP3 and VP1. Conclusion: Sequence analyses and differences in cell culture growth characteristics suggest that this virus is a variant of HRV which has distinctive properties from its respective prototype strain. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Additive manufacturing (3D printing) is a technology with near-unlimited potential for the chemical educator. However, its adoption into higher education has been limited by the dual requirements of expertise in 3D printing and 3D computer-aided design (CAD). Thus, its reported utilization in the chemistry curriculum has been within the creation of 3D models for the macroscopic visualization of molecular models and processes. With the commercialization of inexpensive 3D printers, we seek to provide a series of optical mounts and tools for use in chemical research or education by designing systems which may be mounted on a breadboard and used to construct chemical instrumentation. These designs include mounts for cylindrical lenses or mirrors with 0.5, 1, and 2 in. diameters, 0.5 in. diffraction gratings, an adjustable optical slit, cuvette holders, stepper motor (NEMA 17) adapters, and a modular, 3D printed breadboard. All designs were created using Solidworks CAD, and have been provided in Supporting Information and uploaded to https://github.com/EdavisAPU/Education-Optics in both Solidworks native format (*.SLDPRT) and a standard file exchange format for 3D objects (*.STL) format for use, modification, or collaboration. All files are released under the MIT Open-Source license (modified for Design). In comparison with commercially available products, the prototypes presented herein provide significant cost-savings, with many designs 1-2 orders of magnitude cheaper than commercial equivalents. In addition, these designs have been utilized in an upper division instrumental analysis course as students designed and constructed a visible spectrophotometer using these optical devices. Data from the resultant instrument is presented and compared with a commercially available spectrophotometer.

The article discusses the making of the planetarium feature, "Life: A Cosmic Story," being shown at the California Academy of Science in San Francisco. The planetarium chronicles the origin of life and recreates the molecular scale of redwood trees to demonstrate the common substances present in all living matter. The article reveals processes and technology that were used in creating virtual environments such as the Softimage GATOR and custom rendering software.

Despite growing up amid humble surroundings, I ended up receiving an excellent education at the University of California at Berkeley and postdoctoral training at Harvard. My academic career at Caltech was shaped by serendipity, inspirational colleagues, and a stimulating research environment, as well as smart, motivated students and postdocs who were willing to join my search for molecular understanding of complex biological systems. From chemical physics I allowed my research to evolve, beginning with the application of NMR to investigate the base stacking of nucleic acid bases in solution, the dynamic structure of membranes, and culminating with the use of various forms of spectroscopy to elucidate the structure and function of membrane proteins and the early kinetic events in protein folding. The journey was a biased random walk driven by my own intellectual curiosity and instincts and by the pace at which I learned biochemistry from my students and postdocs, my colleagues, and the literature and through osmosis during seminars and scientific meetings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article features the research conducted by Brian Shuch and colleagues on significance of carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) on the diagnosis, treatment of formulation of vaccines for renal cell carcinoma in Los Angeles, California. Studies reveal that CAIX is the most vital molecular marker in the treatment of kidney cancer because high CAIX expression in other malignancies associated with hypoxia and appears to be a marker of poor prognosis.

Presents a calendar of conferences on adhesion and adhesives. XVIIth European Chemistry at Interfaces Conference in Leicestershire, England; International Science Conference at the University of California in Santa Barbara; Ninth International Conference on The Science and Technology Adhesion and Adhesives at St. Catherine's College, University of Oxford in England.

Spider silks are among the strongest and toughest known materials, but investigation of these remarkable properties has been confined largely to orb-weaving spiders. We investigated the mechanical performance of silk from the cobweb-weaving spider Latrodectus hesperus. Both silk from the scaffolding region of the web and sticky gumfooted capture lines had material properties similar to the major ampullate silk that orb weavers use as the framework for their orb webs. Major ampullate fibers obtained from anaesthetized Latrodectus spiders were similar, but exhibited increased stiffness and reduced extensibility. Novel continuous dynamic analysis of the silks revealed that the loss tangent (tandelta) increased rapidly during the first 2-3% of extension and reached a maximum near the yield point of fibers. The loss tangent then rapidly declined at an ever-decreasing rate until failure. We suggest that these data support molecular models for the mechanics of spider silk. We also demonstrate that the addition of sticky aggregate glue to the ends of the gumfooted lines modulates their mechanical performance--reducing stiffness and increasing extensibility. The storage modulus of viscid regions of the gumfooted lines was much lower than dry regions. This may be explained by disruption of hydrogen bonding within the amorphous regions of the fibers due to hydration from the glue.