Alicia Surrao, PhD

Storytelling is critical to innovation success, yet most innovators are not equipped to wield it effectively. In this study, we assessed the impact of storytelling on innovation success. Our study revealed that innovators spend 30 percent of their work week storytelling, yet most don’t do so efficiently or effectively. We present the importance, impact, return on investment, and best practices of innovation storytelling, which companies can leverage to increase strategic alignment, team… Show more

Storytelling is critical to innovation success, yet most innovators are not equipped to wield it effectively. In this study, we assessed the impact of storytelling on innovation success. Our study revealed that innovators spend 30 percent of their work week storytelling, yet most don’t do so efficiently or effectively. We present the importance, impact, return on investment, and best practices of innovation storytelling, which companies can leverage to increase strategic alignment, team collaboration, and market success. Show less

The psychiatric disorder schizophrenia, which causes hallucinations and delusions, has been shown to be associated with mutations in the gene ULK4. Further supporting a functional role for ULK4 in the brain, inhibition of this protein in mice disrupts the development of the cerebral cortex. Although the data strongly suggest an important neurological role for ULK4, very little is known about this protein, but impactful work by researchers who carried out studies at the U.S. Department of… Show more

The psychiatric disorder schizophrenia, which causes hallucinations and delusions, has been shown to be associated with mutations in the gene ULK4. Further supporting a functional role for ULK4 in the brain, inhibition of this protein in mice disrupts the development of the cerebral cortex. Although the data strongly suggest an important neurological role for ULK4, very little is known about this protein, but impactful work by researchers who carried out studies at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source has helped make this protein considerably less enigmatic. Their work provides a high-resolution structure of ULK4 and demonstrates that it can bind to the energy molecule ATP. In addition to these findings, the authors identified small molecules capable of directly binding ULK4. These small molecules will make for invaluable research tools that will help facilitate future research into the biological role of ULK4. Given that schizophrenia is one of the most severe psychiatric disorders, these data are highly significant and create the possibility of developing novel anti-psychotic therapeutics. Show less

(pages 46-47)
We are in the midst of a “Shale Gas Revolution” that has dramatically altered the domestic energy and petrochemical landscape. Petrochemical companies that had situated themselves in the Middle East for decades are flocking to the Gulf Coast and Appalachia to take advantage of the abundance of cheap ethane feed stocks and the advancements in cracking technology to produce ethylene for plastics. With plastics firmly integrated into every aspect of modern life, scientists are… Show more

(pages 46-47)
We are in the midst of a “Shale Gas Revolution” that has dramatically altered the domestic energy and petrochemical landscape. Petrochemical companies that had situated themselves in the Middle East for decades are flocking to the Gulf Coast and Appalachia to take advantage of the abundance of cheap ethane feed stocks and the advancements in cracking technology to produce ethylene for plastics. With plastics firmly integrated into every aspect of modern life, scientists are continuing to push the boundaries of what is possible in the conversion of ethane to ethylene by improving atom economy, reducing hazardous gas emissions, and even utilizing other undesirable byproducts like carbon dioxide. Toward this goal, a team of researchers recently evaluated a new class of multi-functional catalysts capable of reducing carbon dioxide and dehydrogenating ethane in tandem. In order to increase ethane-to-ethylene selectivity, the researchers sought to identify the catalytic active sites. Using in situ characterization experiments, some of which were performed at the APS and the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, combined with density-functional theory calculations, the researchers identified two types of metal-oxide active sites responsible for the CO2-assisted ethane dehydrogenation reaction. These findings present a pathway for tuning the catalytic activity and selectivity, which allows ethane from shale gas to be more efficiently converted to ethylene and, eventually, valuable end-products. Additionally, making use of shale gas byproducts, which would otherwise be emitted, helps to mitigate man-made CO2 emissions. Show less

(pages 60-61)
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), non-communicable diseases like diabetes and dementia make up more than half of the top 10 leading causes of human death and are expected to rise over the next decade. To illustrate the scale of the problem, the WHO estimated in 2014 that 347 million people live with diabetes and predicted that diabetes would be the seventh leading cause of death in the world by 2030. Unfortunately, this happened much sooner, with diabetes… Show more

(pages 60-61)
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), non-communicable diseases like diabetes and dementia make up more than half of the top 10 leading causes of human death and are expected to rise over the next decade. To illustrate the scale of the problem, the WHO estimated in 2014 that 347 million people live with diabetes and predicted that diabetes would be the seventh leading cause of death in the world by 2030. Unfortunately, this happened much sooner, with diabetes reaching number 7 by 2016. Similarly, the prevalence of dementia-related deaths more than doubled between the years 2000 and 2016, making dementia the world’s fifth leading cause of death. Despite the rapidly increasing prevalence of these diseases, we still don’t fully understand how the diseases work. What we do know is that insulin-degrading enzymes (IDE) are responsible for breaking down peptides that are implicated in the pathogenesis of diseases like diabetes and dementia. But how? To answer this question, a multinational, multi-institutional team of scientists set out to reveal structural and mechanistic details about the process by which IDE selectively breaks down these peptides. As part of an advanced, integrative structural analysis, the researchers conducted smallangle x-ray scattering (SAXS) and macromolecular xray crystallography experiments at the APS, and cryogenic electron microscopy (cryoEM) experiments at the National Resource for Automated Macromolecule Microscopy (NRAMM). Through this research, the authors have uncovered the molecular changes IDE goes through as it captures, unfolds, and degrades insulin and peptides. This information will help advance the development of therapeutic agents for IDErelated diseases and limit their impact on human life. Show less

(Pages 86-87, and cont 89)
If you made it through elementary biology, you know that cells are the building blocks of life and the nucleus is the engine driving cell function. Housed inside the nucleus is the organism’s genome, which comprises billions of DNA base pairs coiled around histone proteins to form nucleosomes. As histone proteins undergo changes, gene expression events are triggered. Lysine methylation is a histone modification process associated with functions like learning and… Show more

(Pages 86-87, and cont 89)
If you made it through elementary biology, you know that cells are the building blocks of life and the nucleus is the engine driving cell function. Housed inside the nucleus is the organism’s genome, which comprises billions of DNA base pairs coiled around histone proteins to form nucleosomes. As histone proteins undergo changes, gene expression events are triggered. Lysine methylation is a histone modification process associated with functions like learning and memory. Although the last 20 years have been something of an enlightenment period for those studying lysine methylation, substantial gaps remain. One such gap involves a lack of understanding about lysine methyltransferases (KMTs), the family of enzymes responsible for catalyzing lysine methylation. Recently, a multi-institution team of scientists developed a functional proteomics platform that helps answer key questions about the connection between enzymes and their optimal, preferred substrates. This dynamic tool enables rapid KMT substrate selectivity mapping and can be employed to profile KMTs, identify new KMT substrates, and discover new KMT inhibitor scaffolds. To demonstrate and validate the platform, the researchers used the APS to collect x-ray diffraction (XRD) data and form important conclusions about the molecular basis for substrate selectivity. The debut of this platform shifts the proteomics field closer to fully grasping the biological role of lysine methylation. Show less

(pages 50-51)
An economical and selective process for converting inert hydrocarbons like alkanes and aromatics into alcohols remains a fundamental challenge in the area of catalysis and could bring with it significant economic benefits. In particular, selective production of phenol from benzene remains an elusive target and the traditional Hock process used to make phenol has very poor atom economy, resulting in the production of unwanted byproducts like acetone. With the global phenol… Show more

(pages 50-51)
An economical and selective process for converting inert hydrocarbons like alkanes and aromatics into alcohols remains a fundamental challenge in the area of catalysis and could bring with it significant economic benefits. In particular, selective production of phenol from benzene remains an elusive target and the traditional Hock process used to make phenol has very poor atom economy, resulting in the production of unwanted byproducts like acetone. With the global phenol market expected to reach ~14.5 million tons by 2022, improved catalytic processes are needed to ensure that market demand can be reached, preferably without flooding the market with unwanted byproducts. In comparison to the Hock process, a processing route was discovered that used iron zeolites for the partial oxidation of benzene to phenol. These catalysts achieved outstanding selectivity and impressive conversion rates. However, the mechanism for this reaction and the catalyst deactivation has remained something of a mystery. That is, until a team of researchers working at the APS and the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) employed advanced spectroscopic techniques to successfully define the catalytic mechanism and deactivation pathway for these important industrial catalysts. This research has shifted the field closer to understanding the relationship between active site structure and catalytic activity and selectivity. This knowledge brings with it a more realistic possibility of achieving synthetic control over catalytic function in the selective oxidation of hydrocarbons. Show less

(pages 130-131)
Hemoglobin is one of the most well-known and studied proteins in the human body and is responsible for transporting oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body as part of a process called aerobic respiration. It is also capable of binding and transporting carbon monoxide and nitrous oxide. The mechanism by which hemoglobin binds these target models and the protein’s resulting structural changes has been studied since the mid-1800s and is used as a model for studying other… Show more

(pages 130-131)
Hemoglobin is one of the most well-known and studied proteins in the human body and is responsible for transporting oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body as part of a process called aerobic respiration. It is also capable of binding and transporting carbon monoxide and nitrous oxide. The mechanism by which hemoglobin binds these target models and the protein’s resulting structural changes has been studied since the mid-1800s and is used as a model for studying other proteins that exhibit a similar structure-function relationship. Recently, scientists built new infrastructure that helped reveal the underlying complexities of the hemoglobin-ligand binding model. Using the APS, the researchers were able to observe a change in x-ray scattering following a temperature jump for carbon monoxide-bound hemoglobin vs. non-bound hemoglobin. These results, which give scientists a deeper mechanistic understanding of the hemoglobin model, will help inform future discoveries about how other important allosteric proteins work in the body as well. Show less

(pages 124-125)
How do chemists characterize pesky, reactive intermediates? Pinning down these complexes long enough to study them can be a challenge. In particular, complexes with late transition metal M-L multiply bonds are highly reactive and notoriously difficult to characterize. But what if there was a way to trap these fleeting intermediates long enough to get a good look? Photocrystallography is a rapidly developing crystallographic technique that allows scientists to observe the… Show more

(pages 124-125)
How do chemists characterize pesky, reactive intermediates? Pinning down these complexes long enough to study them can be a challenge. In particular, complexes with late transition metal M-L multiply bonds are highly reactive and notoriously difficult to characterize. But what if there was a way to trap these fleeting intermediates long enough to get a good look? Photocrystallography is a rapidly developing crystallographic technique that allows scientists to observe the three-dimendional structure of short-lived molecules by photogenerating and trapping them in a crystalline matrix. This innovative technique uses synchrotron experiments to irradiate a single crystal and collect x-ray diffraction patterns of reaction species. Recently, researchers working at the APS used photocrystallography to achieve the first-ever direct characterization of a reactive di-ruthenium nitride intermediate. These results position photocrystallography as a feasible and powerful tool for assessing the structures of highly reactive M-L multiply bonded intermediates. Show less

Jarosite, a hydrous sulfate mineral exhibiting unusual magnetic behavior, has intrigued scientists in a range of fields from planetary science to inorganic chemistry. Interactions between iron ions in the material’s lattice structure cause instances of magnetic frustration, which should lead the material to be magnetically disordered. So then, why does jarosite display overall magnetic order under certain conditions? Previous attempts to unravel the mystery of jarosite’s magnetism resulted in… Show more

Jarosite, a hydrous sulfate mineral exhibiting unusual magnetic behavior, has intrigued scientists in a range of fields from planetary science to inorganic chemistry. Interactions between iron ions in the material’s lattice structure cause instances of magnetic frustration, which should lead the material to be magnetically disordered. So then, why does jarosite display overall magnetic order under certain conditions? Previous attempts to unravel the mystery of jarosite’s magnetism resulted in contradictory data. Researchers now understand that past studies lacked the technology necessary to account for the material’s myriad magnetic interactions. In this study, researchers working at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source (APS) subjected samples of jarosite to extreme pressures in order to systematically vary local coordination environments throughout the material, then observed how these changes affected the material’s magnetic ordering behavior. These findings ultimately unveiled the mechanism for jarosite’s three-dimensional (3-D) magnetic ordering and revealed a great deal about the nature of geometric magnetic frustration. Moreover, this study serves as a blueprint for how chemists can use pressure to conduct chemically pure magnetostructural correlation studies. By bringing high-pressure techniques to the attention of the chemical community, even the most perplexing magnetostructural mechanisms can be unraveled.

Also at: https://www.aps.anl.gov/sites/www.aps.anl.gov/files/APS-Uploads/APS-Science/18%20ann%20rep_2%20col_VOL%202.pdf (pages 2-3) Show less

Age dating radioactive 137Cs and 90Sr sources, which are a potential concern in radiation dispersal devices (RDD), can provide evidence for attribution in a nuclear forensic investigation. Precise measurement of the 137Cs-137Ba or 90Sr-90Zr isotope ratio by ICP-MS in tandem with non-linearity and mass-bias data manipulation dramatically increases precision and decreases uncertainty, leaving inadequate chemical separation efficiencies as a major contributor and in some cases the lead contributor… Show more

Age dating radioactive 137Cs and 90Sr sources, which are a potential concern in radiation dispersal devices (RDD), can provide evidence for attribution in a nuclear forensic investigation. Precise measurement of the 137Cs-137Ba or 90Sr-90Zr isotope ratio by ICP-MS in tandem with non-linearity and mass-bias data manipulation dramatically increases precision and decreases uncertainty, leaving inadequate chemical separation efficiencies as a major contributor and in some cases the lead contributor to uncertainty in age determination. To improve the separation of these isobars before ICP-MS analysis, we evaluated eluents containing EDTA and DTPA chelating agents against previously studied eluents for their ability to achieve complete removal of Sr and Ba from Eichrom Technologies’ Sr resin. Barium separation efficiencies using 0.05M EDTA, pH-adjusted 0.05M EDTA, and pH-adjusted 0.05M DTPA were found to be 100.9 ± 2.2%, 99.4 ± 0.8%, and 99.3 ± 1.2%, respectively. Strontium separation efficiences using 0.05M disodium EDTA and 0.05M potassium EDTA were determined to be 100.14 ± 0.53% and 100.19 ± 0.97% respectively. These results demonstrate that eluents containing chelating agents out-perform previously studied eluent solutions at removing barium and strontium from Sr resin. Show less

Four samples of archival Marshall Islands soil were subjected to non-destructive, broad energy (17 keV–2.61 MeV) gamma-ray spectrometry analysis using a series of different high-resolution germanium detectors. These archival samples were collected in 1967 from different locations on Bikini Atoll and were contaminated with a range of fission and activation products, and other nuclear material from multiple weapons tests. Unlike samples collected recently, these samples have been stored in sealed… Show more

Four samples of archival Marshall Islands soil were subjected to non-destructive, broad energy (17 keV–2.61 MeV) gamma-ray spectrometry analysis using a series of different high-resolution germanium detectors. These archival samples were collected in 1967 from different locations on Bikini Atoll and were contaminated with a range of fission and activation products, and other nuclear material from multiple weapons tests. Unlike samples collected recently, these samples have been stored in sealed containers and have been unaffected by approximately 50 years of weathering. Initial results show that the samples contained measurable but proportionally different concentrations of plutonium, 241Am, and 137Cs, and 60Co.
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