Vol 31, Part I - forums.sou.edu • Index page - Southern Oregon ...

ABSTRACTS – Contributed Posters
files that have been converted in pymol from pdb’s attained
from www.pdb.org and allows the user to scale, adjust, and
modify to what their intended image needs to look like.
With the co-utilization of pymol I am also able to generate
electron densities that can be imported and overlapped with
their corresponding structure in blender. Blender performs
well in expressing an idea of how molecules interact with
one another not only with still images but with animation as
well. Blender could be used to show nutrient/waste transfer
of molecules in the cardiovascular system, or a time lapse
of cancerous cell proliferation in a tissue. Once an image is
generated, parts of the structures can be moved and saved in
frames. If I wanted to show the creation of a collagen dimer
through NPP interaction, I can save an image, move 30
frames ahead and save again. Blender then fills in the other
28 frames to allow for a smooth animation.
158 Simple Detection of Alkaloids from Veratrum californicum,
MAYRA ESTRADA*, CHRIS CHANDLER, JESSICA
BROOKHOUSE, ASHLEY FISHER, and OWEN
McDOUGAL (Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry,
Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725; mayraestrada@u.
boisestate.edu).
Veratrum californicum is a plant native to the
mountainous regions of the Pacific Northwest. Throughout
the growth cycle of the plant, steroidal alkaloids are
produced, interconverted, and ultimately degraded. Our
efforts focus on evaluating the composition of steroidal
alkaloids present in different parts of the plant (root, stem,
or leaf) during the growth season. This effort is motivated
by the recent emergence of drug studies based on synthetic
derivatives of cyclopamine and veratramine, two steroidal
alkaloids produced by V. californicum. Cyclopamine
inhibits the hedgehog-signaling pathway and has been
shown to diminish the growth of cancer cell lines in vitro.
Here we describe our efforts to isolate steroidal alkaloids
from the roots of V. californicum using ultrasonic treatment
and solvent extraction. Simple separation of the steroidal
alkaloids was accomplished by thin layer chromatography
and the results matched to standards of known steroidal
alkaloids in V. californicum.
ENGINEERING, TECHNOLOGY
and APPLIED SCIENCES
159 Sound-Field Mapping in Liquid-Filled Containers,
AARON DIAZ 1 *, KAYTE DENSLOW 1 , MONDELL
deWAYNE WELLS 2 *, and ANTHONY CINSON 1 ( 1 Pacific
Northwest National Laboratory, P.O. Box 999 Richland, WA
99352, aaron.diaz@pnnl.gov; 2 Department of Mechanical
Engineering, Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer
Science, Portland State University, Post Office Box 751
Portland, Oregon 97207-0751, mondell@cecs.pdx.edu).
94
The purpose of this study was to map the sound field
produced by externally applied transducers in liquid-filled
containers. Trials were conducted using a 500-kHz transducer,
to better understand sound-field propagation in various
containers. Sound-field maps were generated by introducing
the sound field of an ultrasonic pulse through both steel
and high-density-polyethylene (HDPE) 55-gallon drums
containing water. The sound fields were captured in both
horizontal and vertical drum orientations. First, the necessary
amount of pressure required when forming a dry coupling
between the transducers and the drum was quantified. This was
accomplished by comparing the amplitude of the original signal
to the correlating pressures. For the pressure tests a singleelement,
contact, 750 kHz ultrasonic transducer was used.
Then, the water-filled drums were scanned using a computercontrolled
track scanner to receive the ultrasonic pules at the
opposite end of the sound field. These scans produced a visual
cross-section of the sound-energy distribution.
160 Current Transmission Hysteresis in Electron Hop
Funnels, MARCUS PEARLMAN*, TYLER ROWE*,
and JIM BROWNING (Department of Electrical and
Computer Engineering, Boise State University, 1910
University Drive, Boise, ID, 83725; tylerrowe@u.boisestate.
edu, marcuspearlman@u.boisestate.edu).
Electron hop funnels have been constructed out of Low
Temperature Co-fired Ceramic. Electron hop funnels are
dielectric materials formed into a funnel shape. Electrons are
emitted into the wide end of the funnel, current is sustained
along the funnel wall by secondary electron emission, and
electrons “hop” along the wall towards the exit. Hop funnels
can be used to improve the performance of field emitter arrays
(FEAs) by enhancing uniformity and spatial distribution of
the transmitted electron beam. Hop funnels can also allow
for the use of FEAs in microwave electron devices, and are a
promising new method to measure secondary electron yield.
An integral part of the funnel is an electrode (hop
electrode) placed around the exit of the funnel. The electrode
provides the electric field necessary to extract electrons
from the funnel. A comparison of the potential on the hop
electrode versus the current transmitted through the hop
funnel (I-V characteristic) is an important measurement of
hop funnels. This I-V characteristic has been simulated and
measured experimentally.
These funnels have been modeled using the particle
trajectory code Lorentz 2E which has been modified to
describe the electron hopping transport mechanism. Initial
simulations of these hop funnels did not appropriately model
a hysteresis seen in experimental measurements of the I-V
characteristics. The method used to simulate the funnels has
been modified to properly model the observed hysteresis
and help explain the source of hysteresis. The method and
results of these simulations will be presented and compared
to experimental results.