i

Using a Java Based Program to Produce Reduced Amino Acid Alphabet Versions of Query Sequences and Databases  Breeanna Burkinshaw, Alex Hamilton and Sharmin M. Sikich,  Doane University, USA. ABSTRACT  Reduced amino acid alphabets are used to show similarity in sequence between two proteins that may not otherwise be detected. This can occur if slight changes or mutations have occurred over time through evolution and divergence of species. In this case the structure would remain similar, but the sequence would appear to be much different. It is important to explore different methods in which to determine the reduced amino acid alphabet that produces the most accurate results. Here we describe a program we created to convert individual protein sequences and entire databases to a user-defined reduced amino acid alphabet. An optimal reduced alphabet would need to conserve the fold of the original protein while also showing similarities in alignments that were no...

Fabrication of a Simple Bubble Column CO 2  Capture Unit Utilizing Microalgae Farshid Zabihian 1 , Jon Ball 2 , Joel Kouakou 2 , Brendon Rankou 2  and Jerod Taylor 2 ,  California State University, Sacramento, USA and  2 West Virginia University Institute of Technology, USA ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the fabrication of a vertical column CO2 bioreactor and the experimentation of microalgae. On the manufacturing aspect of the project, the base design was modelled on Solidworks and assigned a material. The model was then loaded onto a finite element analysis (FEA) software to determine various engineering stresses and strains to confirm the specimen’s strength. Once the simulation had completed, the model was ready for 3-D printing. The species of microalgae to be used in this study was Chlorella Vulgaris. The medium solution was prepared by mixing many types of salts suitable for this type of algae. Experimental trials of algae growth were conducte...