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In March 2022, following the annual International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) ratification vote on newly proposed taxa, the phylum Negarnaviricota was amended and emended. The phylum was expanded by two new families (bunyaviral Discoviridae and Tulasviridae), 41 new genera, and 98 new species. Three hundred forty-nine species were renamed and/or moved. The accidentally misspelled names of seven species were corrected. This article presents the updated taxonomy of Negarnaviricota as now accepted by the ICTV.

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 (SCA7) is a retinal-cerebellar degenerative disorder caused by CAG-polyglutamine (polyQ) repeat expansions in the ataxin-7 gene. As many SCA7 clinical phenotypes occur in mitochondrial disorders, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy of patients revealed altered energy metabolism, we considered a role for mitochondrial dysfunction. Studies of SCA7 mice uncovered marked impairments in oxygen consumption and respiratory exchange. When we examined cerebellar Purkinje cells in mice, we observed mitochondrial network abnormalities, with enlarged mitochondria upon ultrastructural analysis. We developed stem cell models from patients and created stem cell knockout rescue systems, documenting mitochondrial morphology defects, impaired oxidative metabolism, and reduced expression of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) production enzymes in SCA7 models. We observed NAD+ reductions in mitochondria of SCA7 patient NPCs using ratiometric fluorescent sensors and documented alterations in tryptophan-kynurenine metabolism in patients. Our results indicate that mitochondrial dysfunction, stemming from decreased NAD+, is a defining feature of SCA7.

Williamson ether experiments are commonly performed by students in undergraduate organic chemistry instructional laboratory courses. In this multioutcome experiment, students were provided 4-bromophenol and one of three alkyl halides: 1-bromopentane, 1-bromobutane, or 1-bromo-3-methylbutane. The alkyl halides served as the unknown component of the experiment, and students were given these three as unknown candidates. After isolating the product from the reaction mixture, students analyzed their products using FT-IR and benchtop [superscript 1]H NMR spectroscopies. The experimental results herein summarize the inclusion of this experiment in the large enrollment second-semester organic chemistry laboratory course over four semesters.

Single-outcome experiments are used in the undergraduate instructional laboratory, particularly for large lectures associated with multiple sections of instructional laboratories, due in large part to efficiencies associated with chemical purchases, experiment preparations, and assessments. Despite the practical advantages, single-outcome experiments are not effective in encouraging students to critically analyze and interpret their acquired individual results. Instead, students are satisfied if their results are the same as or similar to all of their classmates' results, limiting the opportunity for engagement with the laboratory content. In contrast, multioutcome experiments (MOEs) require students to explore the same chemical reaction or transformation but obtain individual results. Individualization of results is accomplished by using a set of starting materials or reagents, one of which is assigned to each student. Students do not know the identity of the assigned component but may be given possible options for its identity. Students elucidate the identity of their individualized products, using modern analytical techniques such as gas chromatography, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and deduce the unknown component of their experiment. An example MOE for the oxidation of alcohols is described herein. A traditional single-outcome experiment that utilized a common household oxidizing agent (hypochlorite bleach), rather than a heavy metal-containing alternative, was modified. For the MOE modification, one unknown secondary alcohol (2-pentanol, 3-pentanol, or 3-methyl-2-butanol) was oxidized using bleach. Each student pair was assigned one of three possible unknown alcohols, all of which were constitutional isomers of secondary alcohols. Students knew the identities of the three possible alcohols. Analysis of their oxidation products was accomplished using FTIR and benchtop 1H NMR spectroscopies. Students interpreted their spectra and deduced the identity of the unknown alcohol they were assigned. This experiment provides a tangible framework to understand the applicability of the oxidation reaction and the utility of FTIR and 1H NMR spectroscopies.

The American Dream Is Not Dead (But Populism Could Kill It) Michael R. Strain West Conshohocken, Penn.: Templeton Press, 2020, 168 pp. Capitalism's populist critics, on both left and right, [...]

[Superscript 1]H NMR analysis is an important analytical technique presented in introductory organic chemistry courses. NMR instrument access is limited for undergraduate organic chemistry students due to the size of the instrument, price of NMR solvents, and the maintenance level required for instrument upkeep. The University of Georgia Chemistry Department recently acquired three picoSpin desktop [Superscript 1]H NMR instruments for the undergraduate organic laboratories. These instruments can sit on a standard lab bench, can analyze samples without NMR solvents, and are easily maintained. In this Fischer esterification experiment, students used unknown starting alcohols to synthesize esters through Fischer esterification. Upon completion of the reaction, students identified the unknown starting alcohol via spectral analyses of the products. Over the course of 4 semesters, 704 out of 940 students (75%) correctly identified the starting alcohol and 71% of students surveyed indicated that [superscript 1]H NMR spectrum was the most helpful identification tool in their analyses. This experiment established for students the utility of NMR spectral analysis and provided them with the opportunity to employ technology commonly used in academic research facilities.

The Enlightened Capitalists: Cautionary Tales of Business Pioneers Who Tried to Do Well by Doing Good James O'Toole New York: HarperBusiness, 2019, 592 pp. James O'Toole, a professor emeritus at [...]

The twin unit EPR construction at Hinkley Point C is the first nuclear new build project to be undertaken in the UK in a generation. Moreover, it is now the country’s only new reactor project still in progress. The station’s two 1650 MWe plants [1] will complement the UK’s decarbonisedm energy mix with addition of approximately 7% of the current national requirement. In 2019, less than three years from the final investment decision, the ‘J0’ milestone was reached. This represents the end of the preparatory works, including all the common raft nuclear island concrete for Unit 1, enabling the upwards erection of the reactor containment and other support buildings. In addition to this, important milestones such as launch of the first tunnel boring machine, to tunnel the Unit 1 sea-water intake pipe have all been achieved. Over the coming years, the project will need to evolve in order to meet the increasing complexity and multi-organisation scope, which will present a challenging delivery environment. In order to support this, a UK-based Design Authority works on review, verification and acceptance of the HPC design including its UK specificities. This allows NNB, as licensee, to own its design and prepare the pre-commissioning safety case and operational strategies, defensible to the relevant UK regulators. As an example, this paper presents the roles and responsibilities in the Reactor Technology Team. This small, flexible team is involved in technical oversight of all aspects of the fuel & core design, through normal operations, anticipated and design-basis faults, severe accidents and radiological consequence estimation.

The authors have developed "sequence response applications" for classroom response systems (CRSs) that allow instructors to engage and actively involve students in the learning process, probe for common misconceptions regarding lecture material, and increase interaction between instructors and students. "Guided inquiry" and "discovery-based learning" are based on the premise that the best learning occurs when students are actively engaged in developing hypotheses and arriving at conclusions for themselves, rather than learning in a passive lecture format. In this regard, we use CRSs to actively engage large lectures of 300+ students, where the traditional interaction between students and instructors is commonly limited to the first several rows of the lecture hall. Moreover, series response applications allow a nearly free response format for questioning students, as opposed to the traditional multiple-choice question format commonly used with CRSs. As such, we have observed that students are more engaged and actively involved in answering questions. This paper provides several examples to illustrate how our stepwise technique can be used to demonstrate the depth of insight into student understanding, even of multistep thought processes, afforded through this stepwise analysis.

Markets without Limits: Moral Virtues and Commercial Interests Jason Brennan and Peter M. Jaworski New York: Routledge, 2016, 239 pp. Are there some things that should be beyond the market, [...]