Kathleen P. Sokolowsky

TL;DR: The dynamics of dimethyl sulfoxide/water solutions with a wide range of water concentrations are studied using polarization selective infrared pump-probe experiments, two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) vibrational echo spectroscopy, optical heterodyne detected optical Kerr effect (OHD-OKE) experiments, and IR absorption spectra.

TL;DR: The fast dynamics of the nematogen molecules within the domains using two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) vibrational echo experiments are addressed, and the problems of performing ultrafast IR experiments in pure liquids are discussed, and solutions are presented.

TL;DR: The isotropic-nematic phase transition in liquid crystals is described in the context of the slowing of orientational relaxation associated with divergent growth of the orientational correlation length, and the correlation length of the density fluctuations is diverging with the same temperature dependence as the pseudonematic domain correlation length.

TL;DR: The experimental change in heat capacity strongly suggests that the CPD lesion must be flipped out of the intrahelical base stacking prior to binding to the protein; the DNA repair enzyme appears to recognize a solvent-exposed CPD as part of its damage recognition mechanism.

TL;DR: Examination of the low temperature data with lifetime density analysis shows that the change is best described as an additional, distinct relaxation that shows behavior consistent with a slow β-process, indicating dynamic heterogeneity above the critical temperature.