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Continuous-wave electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy at 35 GHz is an essential cornerstone in multi-frequency EPR studies and is crucial for differentiating multiple species in complex systems due to the improved g -tensor resolution compared to lower microwave frequencies. Especially for unstable and highly sensitive paramagnetic centers, the reliability of the measurements can be improved upon through the use of a single sample for EPR experiments at all frequencies. Besides the advantages, the lack of common availability of oversized-sample resonators at 35 GHz often limits scientists to lower frequencies or smaller sample geometries, and the latter may be non-trivial for sensitive materials. In this work, we present the design and performance of an oversized-sample 35 GHz EPR resonator with a high loaded Q value, QL , of up to 2550, well-suited for continuous-wave EPR and pulsed single-microwave-frequency experiments. The design is driven by electromagnetic field simulations, and the microwave characteristics of manufactured prototypes were found to be in agreement with the predictions. The resonator is based on a cylindrical cavity with a TE 011 mode, allowing for 3 mm sample access. The design targets that we met include high sensitivity, robustness, and ease of manufacturing and maintenance. The resonator is compatible with commercial EPR spectrometers and with helium flow, as well as with cryogen-free cryostats, allowing for measurements at temperatures down to 1.8 K. To highlight the general applicability, the resonator was tested on metal centers, as well as on organic radicals featuring extremely narrow lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of fire suppression policies and expansion of exclusionary protected areas in East and Southern African savannas have engendered a wildfire paradox. Outside protected areas, livestock have replaced fire as the dominant fuel consumer. Inside their boundaries, wildfire intensity has increased due to accumulating flammable biomass. Community‐Based Fire Management (CBFiM) is recognized as an alternative fire management strategy to address the wildfire paradox and promote equitable fire governance across conservation landscapes. Yet, there has been little investigation into the implementation and effectiveness of CBFiM across East and Southern Africa's savanna‐protected areas. Here we employ a social‐ecological systems framework to develop a systematic map of the published literature on the framing and features of CBFiM in this context. We characterize the challenges and opportunities for their design and implementation, focusing on the relationship between governance systems and community participation in fire management. We find that CBFiM projects are commonly governed by the state and international non‐governmental organisations who retain decision‐making power and determine access to savanna resources and fire use. Existing CBFiM projects are limited to communal rangelands and are developed within existing Community‐Based Natural Resource Management programs prioritizing fire prevention and suppression. Planned CBFiM projects propose an exclusive early‐dry season patch mosaic burning regime to incorporate indigenous fire knowledge into modern management frameworks, but evidence of indigenous and local peoples' involvement is scarce. To provide equitable fire management, CBFiM projects need to address inequalities embedded in protected area governance and centralized suppression policies, and account for changing state‐society and intra‐society relations across the region. Key Points: Local empowerment and legitimate institutions are missing from community‐based fire management in exclusionary savanna‐protected areasPolicies pursued under indirect and direct colonial regimes have contributed to the breakdown of local fire management systemsColonially derived early‐dry season patch mosaic burns are characteristic of neo‐colonial interventions to reinstate traditional burning [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter reviews the current literature on mental toughness and emotional intelligence to develop an understanding of how they may be interrelated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this review on advanced biomolecular EPR spectroscopy, which addresses both the EPR and NMR communities, considerable emphasis is put on delineating the complementarity of NMR and EPR regarding the measurement of interactions and dynamics of large molecules embedded in fluid-solution or solid-state environments. Our focus is on the characterization of protein structure, dynamics and interactions, using sophisticated EPR spectroscopy methods. New developments in pulsed microwave and sweepable cryomagnet technology as well as ultrafast electronics for signal data handling and processing have pushed the limits of EPR spectroscopy to new horizons reaching millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelengths and 15 T Zeeman fields. Expanding traditional applications to paramagnetic systems, spin-labeling of biomolecules has become a mainstream multifrequency approach in EPR spectroscopy. In the high-frequency/high-field EPR region, sub-micromolar concentrations of nitroxide spin-labeled molecules are now sufficient to characterize reaction intermediates of complex biomolecular processes. This offers promising analytical applications in biochemistry and molecular biology where sample material is often difficult to prepare in sufficient concentration for NMR characterization. For multifrequency EPR experiments on frozen solutions typical sample volumes are of the order of 250 L (S-band), 150 L (X-band), 10 L (Q-band) and 1 L (W-band). These are orders of magnitude smaller than the sample volumes required for modern liquid- or solid-state NMR spectroscopy. An important additional advantage of EPR over NMR is the ability to detect and characterize even short-lived paramagnetic reaction intermediates (down to a lifetime of a few ns). Electron-nuclear and electron-electron double-resonance techniques such as electron-nuclear double resonance (ENDOR), ELDOR-detected NMR, PELDOR (DEER) further improve the spectroscopic selectivity for the various magnetic interactions and their evolution in the frequency and time domains. PELDOR techniques applied to frozen-solution samples of doubly spin-labeled proteins allow for molecular distance measurements ranging up to about 100 Å. For disordered frozen-solution samples high-field EPR spectroscopy allows greatly improved orientational selection of the molecules within the laboratory axes reference system by means of the anisotropic electron Zeeman interaction. Single-crystal resolution is approached at the canonical g-tensor orientations--even for molecules with very small g-anisotropies. Unique structural, functional, and dynamic information about molecular systems is thus revealed that can hardly be obtained by other analytical techniques. On the other hand, the limitation to systems with unpaired electrons means that EPR is less widely used than NMR. However, this limitation also means that EPR offers greater specificity, since ordinary chemical solvents and matrices do not give rise to EPR in contrast to NMR spectra. Thus, multifrequency EPR spectroscopy plays an important role in better understanding paramagnetic species such as organic and inorganic radicals, transition metal complexes as found in many catalysts or metalloenzymes, transient species such as light-generated spin-correlated radical pairs and triplets occurring in protein complexes of photosynthetic reaction centers, electron-transfer relays, etc. Special attention is drawn to high-field EPR experiments on photosynthetic reaction centers embedded in specific sugar matrices that enable organisms to survive extreme dryness and heat stress by adopting an anhydrobiotic state. After a more general overview on methods and applications of advanced multifrequency EPR spectroscopy, a few representative examples are reviewed to some detail in two Case Studies: (I) High-field ELDOR-detected NMR (EDNMR) as a general method for electron-nuclear hyperfine spectroscopy of nitroxide radical and transition metal containing systems; (II) High-field ENDOR and EDNMR studies of the Oxygen Evolving Complex (OEC) in Photosystem II, which performs water oxidation in photosynthesis, i.e., the light-driven splitting of water into its elemental constituents, which is one of the most important chemical reactions on Earth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The effect molecular crowding, defined as the volume exclusion exerted by one soluble inert molecule upon another soluble molecule, has on the structure and self-interaction of lipid-free apoA-I were explored. The influence of molecular crowding on lipid-free apoA-I oligomerization and internal dynamics has been analyzed using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy measurements of nitroxide spin label at selected positions throughout the protein sequence and at varying concentrations of the crowding agent Ficoll-70. The targeted positions include sites previously shown to be sensitive for detecting intermolecular interaction via spin-spin coupling. Circular dichroism was used to study secondary structural changes in lipid-free apoA-I imposed by increasing concentrations of the crowding agent. Crosslinking and SDS-PAGE gel analysis was employed to further characterize the role molecular crowding plays in inducing apoA-I oligomerization. It was concluded that the dynamic apoA-I structure and oligomeric state was altered in the presence of the crowding agent. It was also found that the C-terminal was slightly more sensitive to molecular crowding. Finally, the data described the region around residue 217 in the C-terminal domain of apoA-I as the most sensitive reporter of the crowding-induced self-association of apoA-I. The implications of this behavior to in vivo functionality are discussed. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 105: 683-692, 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review focuses on the concept of mental toughness and the extent to which it may provide a useful framework to study the role of non-cognitive attributes within an educational setting. In doing so, it reviews past research examining mental toughness across different domains (e.g. sport, occupation, education), the extent to which mental toughness aligns with concepts commonly studied within education (i.e. resilience, buoyancy, perseverance, self-efficacy, confidence and motivation), advantages to using a mental toughness framework within education and suggestions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This review, for literature published in 2011, contains information related to membrane processes for municipal and industrial applications. This review is a subsection of the Treatment Systems section of the annual Water Environment Federation literature review and covers the following topics: pretreatment, membrane bioreactor (MBR) configuration, design, nutrient removal, operation, industrial treatment, fixed film and anaerobic membrane systems, reuse, microconstituents removal, membrane technology advances, membrane fouling, and modeling. Other sub-sections of the Treatment Systems section that might relate to this literature review include: Biological Fixed-Film Systems, Activated Sludge and Other Aerobic Suspended Culture Processes, Anaerobic Processes, Water Reclamation and Reuse. The following sections might also have related information on membrane processes: Industrial Wastes, Hazardous Wastes, and Fate and Effects of Pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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