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Dr. Marsha Cole will be presenting a seminar titled Conjugated Linoleic Acid and Nitrite Co-treatment Is Cardioprotective in Myocardial Injury.

Speaker Biosketch / CV

Abstract: Coronary heart disease is the most common type of cardiovascular disease and remains the leading cause of death in the US, costing more than $109 billion each year.  Approximately 720,000 individuals suffer a heart attack or myocardial infarction (MI) annually, a common complication associated with coronary artery disease. Currently there are no FDA-approved drugs for MI, as most therapies focus on preventative measures such as weight loss, exercise and healthy diet. Considering the initiative to replace saturated fats with so-called ‘healthy fats’ to promote overall weight loss and maintenance, the health effects of fatty acids such as conjugated linoleic acid (cLA) require investigation. Recent evidence suggests that cLA is a preferred substrate for nitration reactions, facilitated by mitochondria and macrophage activation in the presence of nitrite.  Further, nitration of unsaturated fatty acids are known to promote anti-inflammatory actions and mediate cardioprotection in models of cardiac injury.  Our work has established that cLA lowers overall survival following MI, however nitrite supplementation leads to increased survival and provides cardioprotection.  These studies explore the hypothesis that co-treatment with cLA and nitrite is cardioprotective via both mitochondrial and nuclear-mediated mechanisms. 

Faculty Host: Dr. Allan Butterfield

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Dr. John Asbury of Penn State will be presenting a seminar titled When Molecules and Materials Clash: Pathways to high efficiency solution processed solar cells. 

Abstract: Molecules figure prominently in the electronic properties of emerging materials ranging from organic photovoltaics (OPVs) to colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) and organo-halide perovskites used in solution processed photovoltaics and photodetectors. The Asbury group has pioneered the development of ultrafast vibrational spectroscopy techniques to examine electronic processes in materials with particular focus on the influence that underlying molecular structures have on those processes. This talk will focus on two applications of vibrational spectroscopy to examine electronic processes in OPV and CQD photovoltaic materials. In the first application, the influence of molecular structure and material morphology on charge delocalization is correlated with the corresponding quantum yield for charge generation and OPV device performance. In the second application, the surface chemistry of ligand-nanocrystal interactions and their corresponding influences on the density and energetic distribution of charge trap states in CQD photovoltaic materials are examined. Direct observation of the vibrational features of ligands attached to surface trap states provide unique insights into the nature of charge traps and helps define pathways for their elimination. In both cases, the ability to link underlying molecular structures with electrical properties provides unique insights that lead to new design rules in support of continued materials development efforts.

Faculty Host: Dr. Kenneth Graham

Title: My preferred proof of the Lefschetz fixed point theorem 

Abstract: There are many different proofs of the Lefschetz fixed point theorem.  The most familiar approach uses simplicial approximation and is often a first example of the power of simplicial homology.  I'll talk about a very different proof that I find much more useful.  This proof requires more input, but it generalizes easily. 

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Dr. Chang-Guo Zhan will be presenting a seminar titled Drug Discovery and Development via Computational Design.  

Faculty Host: Dr. Dong-Sheng Yang