cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Vesicular monoamine transporters: Structure‐function, pharmacology, and medicinal chemistry

Vesicular monoamine transporters (VMAT) are responsible for the uptake of cytosolic monoamines into synaptic vesicles in monoaminergic neurons. Two closely related VMATs with distinct pharmacological properties and tissue distributions have been characterized. VMAT1 is preferentially expressed in neuroendocrine cells and VMAT2 is primarily expressed in the CNS. The neurotoxicity and addictive properties of various psychostimulants have been attributed, at least partly, to their interference with VMAT2 functions. The quantitative assessment of the VMAT2 density by PET scanning has been clinically useful for early diagnosis and monitoring of the progression of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases and drug addiction. The classical VMAT2 inhibitor tetrabenazine has long been used for the treatment of chorea associated with Huntington’s disease in UK, Canada and Australia and recently approved in the US. The VMAT2 imaging may also be useful for exploiting the onset of diabetes mellitus, since VMAT2 is also expressed in the β-cells of the pancreas. VMAT1 gene SLC18A1 is a locus with strong evidence of linkage with schizophrenia and thus, the polymorphic forms of the VMAT1 gene may confer susceptibility to schizophrenia. This review summarizes the current understanding of the structure-function relationships of VMAT2, and the role of VMAT2 on addiction and psychostimulant induced neurotoxicity, and the therapeutic and diagnostic applications of specific VMAT2 ligands. The evidence for the linkage of VMAT1 gene with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder I are also discussed.
Efficient model for HF lasers with rotational nonequilibrium

A method for modeling rotational nonequilibrium in HF(DF) laser systems that significantly reduces the computation time required for such calculations is described. With this formulation, an approximation can be obtained of the nonequilibrium optical gains of the individual v,J transitions without computing the individual populations for each v,J state, which appreciably reduces the number of integration variables. The predictions of a pulsed H(2)-F(2) laser model utilizing this approach are very similar to the predictions of a more complex model. The computational economy gained makes feasible parametric studies to improve understanding of the importance of rotational relaxation in laser calculations.
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic monitor of triglyceride hydrolysis in a skin pore phantom

Bacterial hydrolysis of triglycerides is followed in a sebum probe phantom by microprobe surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy. The phantom consists of a purpose-built syringe pump operating at physiological flow rates connected to a 300 micron i.d. capillary. We employ silicon substrate SERS microprobes to monitor the hydrolysis products. The silicon support allows some tip flexibility that makes these probes ideal for insertion into small structures. Propionibacterium acnes are immobilized on the inner surface of the capillary. These bacteria hydrolyze the triglycerides in a model sebum emulsion flowing through the capillary. The transformation is followed in vitro as changes in the SERS caused by hydrolysis of triglyceride to fatty acid. The breakdown products consists of a mixture of mono- and diglycerides and their parent long chain fatty acids. The fatty acids adsorb as their carboxylates and can be readily identified by their characteristic spectra. The technique can also confirm the presence of bacteria by detection of short chain carboxylic acids released as products of glucose fermentation during the growth cycle of these cells. Co-adsorption of propionate is observed. Spatial localization of the bacteria is obtained by ex-situ line imaging of the probe.
Multigrid solution of the Poisson-Boltzmann equation

A multigrid method is presented for the numerical solution of the linearized Poisson–Boltzmann equation arising in molecular biophysics. The equation is discretized with the finite volume method, and the numerical solution of the discrete equations is accomplished with multiple grid techniques originally developed for twodimensional interface problems occurring in reactor physics. A detailed analysis of the resulting method is presented for several computer architectures, including comparisons to diagonally scaled CG, ICCG, vectorized ICCG and MICCG, and to SOR provided with an optimal relaxation parameter. Our results indicate that the multigrid method is superior to the preconditioned CG methods and SOR and that the advantage of multigrid grows with the problem size. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Iron-line emission as a probe of bardeen-petterson accretion disks

In this work we show that Bardeen-Petterson accretion disks can exhibit unique, detectable features in relativistically broadened emission line profiles. Some of the unique characteristics include inverted line profiles with sharper red horns and softer blue horns and even profiles with more than 2 horns from a single rest-frame line. We demonstrate these points by constructing a series of synthetic line profiles using simple two-component disk models. We find that the resultant profiles are very sensitive to the two key parameters one would like to constrain, namely the Bardeen-Petterson transition radius rBP and the relative tilt β between the two disk components over a range of likely values [10 ≤ rBP /(GM/c 2 ) ≤ 40;15 ◦ ≤ β ≤ 45 ◦ ]. We use our findings to show that some of the “extra” line features observed in the spectrum of the Seyfert-I galaxy MCG–6-30-15 may be attributable to a Bardeen-Petterson disk structure. Similarly, we apply our findings to two likely Bardeen-Petterson candidate Galactic black holes - GRO J1655-40 and XTE J1550-564. We provide synthetic line profiles of these systems using observationally constrained sets of parameters. Although we do not formally fit the data for any of these systems, we confirm that our synthetic spectra are consistent with current observations. Subject headings: accretion, accretion disks — black hole physics — galaxies: active — galaxies: Seyfert — line: profiles — X-rays: stars
Sensitivity of Slug Flow Mechanistic Models on Slug Length

Slug flow is one of the common flow patterns in gas and oil production and transportation. One of the closure relationships required by the multiphase flow mechanistic models is slug length correlation. There are several closure relationships proposed in the literature as function of pipe geometry, pipe diameter and inclination angle, and to a lesser extent to the flow rates and fluid properties. In this paper, we show that most of the frequently used mechanistic models are insensitive to slug length information. The only exception to this is identified as the Zhang et al. Unified model [1]. The unified model shows sensitivity at high gas flow rates, while displaying a negligible sensitivity at low gas flow rates. In conclusion, the slug length closure relationship is not crucial for pressure loss and holdup calculations. It can be speculated that the success of the unit cell slug flow modeling approach could be attributed to insensitivity of the models to slug length considering the highly probabilistic nature of the slug length.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Strange particle production at RHIC

We report STAR measurements of mid-rapidity yields for the Λ , $\bar{\varLambda}$ , K 0 , Ξ −, $\bar{\varXi}^{+}$ , Ω −, $\bar{\varOmega}^{+}$ particles in Cu + Cu and Au + Au $\sqrt {s_{NN}}=200$ GeV collisions. We show that at a given number of participating nucleons, bulk strangeness production is higher in Cu + Cu collisions compared to Au + Au collisions at the same center of mass energy, counter to predictions from the Canonical formalism. We compare both the Cu + Cu and Au + Au yields to AMPT and EPOS predictions, and find they reproduce key qualitative aspects of the data. Finally, we investigate other scaling parameters and find bulk strangeness production for both the measured data and theoretical predictions, scales better with the number participants that undergo more than one collision.
Adjuvant postoperative pelvic radiation for carcinoma of the uterine cervix: Pattern of cancer recurrence in patients undergoing elective radiation following radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy

Thirty-seven patients with invasive cervical cancer have been referred to the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Washington following radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy. Patients at high-risk for tumor recurrence were selected for adjuvant pelvic irradiation because of adverse risk factors identified on pathological study of the hysterectomy specimen. All patients were treated because of possible residual, microscopic carcinoma. Fourteen patients (38%) developed recurrent cancer, of whom 10 (27%) manifested initial failure within the irradiated volume. Possible explanations for this observation are discussed.
F. A. Hayek’s influence on Nobel Prize winners

F.A. Hayek’s broad research program has led some to conclude that his impact on economics has been minimal. This citation study examines the frequency of Nobel laureates cited by other laureates in the official Prize Lectures to understand how elite economists influence other elite economists. It finds that Hayek is the second most frequently mentioned laureate in the Prize Lectures, and he has the second most publication citations of the laureates. Hayek’s influence on the top tier of economists is substantial.
X-Ray Spectra of Z Sources

A physically consistent model has been proposed that seeks to explain in a unified way the X-ray spectra and rapid variability of the Z sources and other weakly magnetic neutron stars in low-mass systems. Here we describe a simple, four-parameter spectral model derived from the unified model that accurately reproduces the X-ray colors, spectra, and count rates of the Z sources. In this model, photons are produced primarily by electron cyclotron emission in the neutron star magnetosphere and are then Comptonized in the magnetosphere, hot central corona, and inward radial flow. In addition to explaining their Z tracks, the model explains several other previously unexplained properties of the Z sources.
On coalitional stability of anonymous interim mechanisms

In a situation where agents have private information, we investigate the stability of mechanisms with respect to coalitional deviations. In the cooperative tradition, we first extend the notion of Core, taking into account the information a coalition may have when it forms and the conjectures of outsiders. This leads us to propose a family of Cores rather than a single one. Secondly, we study the stability of Core mechanisms to secession proposals in simple noncooperative games. The two different stability analyses, normative and strategic, tend to give support to the more natural extension of the Core, called Statistical Core, only in situations where some strong form of increasing returns to coalition is met. Without this property, arguments for a concept of Core that is non empty in a reasonably large class of problems are less compelling. Applications to taxation and insurance are given.
GWAS meets TCGA to illuminate mechanisms of cancer predisposition.

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have unraveled a large number of cancer risk alleles. Understanding how these allelic variants predispose to disease is a major bottleneck confronting translational application. In this issue, Li and colleagues combine GWASs with The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) to disambiguate the contributions of germline and somatic variants to tumorigenic gene expression programs. They find that close to half of the known risk alleles for estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer are expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) acting upon major determinants of gene expression in tumors.
High field magnetization study of ferrimagnetic arrangements in chromite spinels

The observation of a differential susceptibility at high magnetic fields and low temperatures in spinel-type compounds has been shown to be useful for detecting non-collinear ferrimagnetic arrangements. Such an increase in net magnetization with field is not expected for the Neel model of tetrahedral A-site moments antiparallel to octahedral B-site moments. It is, however, expected for the triangular arrangements proposed by Yafet and Kittel in which the moments on one kind of site subdivide into two groups making angles with each other. The latter arrangements have frequently been suggested for chromium-containing spinels, usually on the basis of the observed anomalously low spontaneous magnetizations. Measurements of magnetization curves at 4.2°K in pulsed fields up to 140 kOe reveal high field susceptibilities in MnFe2 − tCrtO4,t > 0; CuCr2O4; FeCr2O4; and NiFe2 − t(CrtO4, t > 1. These are interpreted as triangular ferrimagnetic arrangements and choices are made between alternative triangular models. In some cases the sign of the dominant anisotropy is suggested. Neel antiparallel ferrimagnetic arrays are confirmed for MnFe2O4 and for NiFe2 − tCrtO4, t < 1. The present evidence for these conclusions is of a new and occasionally more direct type.
Governing in the Shadows

Governance is often conceptualised as involving delegation to actors outside the state, but we have long understood that these actors function within a “shadow of hierarchy”. Although powers may be delegated to social actors, they can always be returned to the state. This article discusses three additional shadows – society, the market and the international system – and their effects on governance. These multiple shadows present an opportunity for would-be governors to select patterns of governing.
A Pioneer's Perspective on the Spatial Mismatch Literature

This paper was originally prepared as the keynote address for a 12 April 2003 Research Symposium "Understanding Isolation and Change in Urban Neighborhoods", sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. The conference sponsors provided the paper's title and in that way suggested the central theme. As often happens, however, considerable license was taken in interpreting and implementing the brief. For example, the phrase 'spatial mismatch' is used in two ways. First, the paper examines the origins of the spatial mismatch concept that was the central focus of the author's 1964 and 1968 papers. These papers were concerned with the effects of housing market segregation/discrimination on the employment and earnings of Black Chicago and Detroit residents. The spatial mismatch concept was then broadened to include a number of other, perhaps more important, ways in which serious restrictions on the residential choices of Chicago and Detroit Black residents affected their welfare. These included the effects ...
On Rapidly Rotating Magnetic Core-Collapse Supernovae

We have analyzed the magnetic effects that may occur in rapidly rotating core collapse supernovae. We consider effects from both magnetic turbulence and the formation of magnetic bubbles. For magnetic turbulence we have made a perturbative analysis for our spherically symmetric, core-collapse supernova model that incorporates the buildup of magnetic field energy in the matter accreting onto the proto-neutron star shortly after collapse and bounce. This significantly modifies the pressure profile and increases the heating of the material above the proto-neutron star resulting in an explosion even in rotating stars that would not explode otherwise. Regarding magnetic bubbles, we show that a model with an initial uniform magnetic field ~108 G and uniform angular velocity of ~0.1 rad s-1 can form magnetic bubbles due to the very nonhomologous nature of the collapse. It is estimated that the buoyancy of the bubbles causes matter in the proto-neutron star to rise, carrying neutrino-rich material to the neutron star surface. This increases the neutrino luminosity sufficiently at early times to achieve a successful neutrino-driven explosion. Both magnetic mechanisms thus provide new means for initiating a Type II core-collapse supernova.
Alkenol-alkyne cross metathesis.

Allyl alcohols and their homologues were used in the enyne cross metathesis to prepare hydroxy-functionalized dienes. An isomerization was found to occur under prolonged heating, and a method for conversion to (E)-diene product is also reported.
Hypocitraturia and hyperoxaluria after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery.

Purpose: Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery is associated with an increased risk of nephrolithiasis but obesity itself is a known risk factor for kidney stones. To assess the mechanism(s) predisposing to nephrolithiasis after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass we compared urinary tract stone risk profiles in patients who underwent the procedure and normal obese individuals.Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study urine and serum biochemistry was evaluated in 19 nonstone forming patients after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and in 19 gender, age and body mass index matched obese controls without a history of nephrolithiasis.Results: Compared with obese controls surgical patients had significantly higher mean ± SD urine oxalate (45 ± 21 vs 30 ± 11 mg daily, p = 0.01) and lower urine citrate (358 ± 357 vs 767 ± 307 mg daily, p <0.01). The prevalence of hyperoxaluria (47% vs 10.5%, p = 0.02) and hypocitraturia (63% vs 5%, p <0.01) was significantly higher in surgical patients, who also had significantly lower urine...
Location and acquisition of objects in unpredictable locations

Abstract One advantage of augmenting a teleoperator system with a computer is the ability to combine the capabilities of man and computer to accomplish a task. Such a teleoperator system allows the successful location and acquisition of objects in unpredictable locations. By using a method of characterizing the workspace and man's ability to plan strategy and coarsely locate objects, the computer is provided with enough information to complete the task. Voice control is shown to simplify the man/machine interface.
Hollow Crescents, Helices, and Macrocycles from Enforced Folding and Folding-Assisted Macrocyclization

This Account reviews the progress made by us on creating porous molecular crescents, helices, and macrocycles based on aromatic oligoamides. Inspired by natural pore- or cavity-containing secondary structures, work described in this Account stemmed from the development of foldamers consisting of benzene rings linked by secondary amide groups. Highly stable, three-center intramolecular hydrogen bonds involving the amide linkages are incorporated into these aromatic oligoamides, which, along with meta-linked benzene units that introduce curvatures into the corresponding backbones, leads to tape-like, curved backbones. Depending on their chain lengths, aromatic oligoamides that fold into crescent and helical conformations have been obtained. Combining results from modeling and experimentally measured data indicates that the folding of these oligomers is readily predictable, determined by the localized intramolecular three-center H-bonds and is independent of side-chain substitution. As a result, a variety of...
Open and hidden charm production in pA collisions

We discuss the production of charmed mesons and \(J/\Psi\) in p(d)A collisions at high energies. We argue that when the saturation scale Qs characterizing the parton density in a nucleus exceeds the quark mass m, the naive perturbation theory breaks down. Consequently, we calculate the process of heavy quark production in both open and hidden channels in the framework of the parton saturation model (color glass condensate). We demonstrate that at RHIC such a description is in agreement with experimental data on charm production.
Stable lithium electrodeposition in liquid and nanoporous solid electrolytes

Rechargeable lithium, sodium and aluminium metal-based batteries are among the most versatile platforms for high-energy, cost-effective electrochemical energy storage. Non-uniform metal deposition and dendrite formation on the negative electrode during repeated cycles of charge and discharge are major hurdles to commercialization of energy-storage devices based on each of these chemistries. A long-held view is that unstable electrodeposition is a consequence of inherent characteristics of these metals and their inability to form uniform electrodeposits on surfaces with inevitable defects. We report on electrodeposition of lithium in simple liquid electrolytes and in nanoporous solids infused with liquid electrolytes. We find that simple liquid electrolytes reinforced with halogenated salt blends exhibit stable long-term cycling at room temperature, often with no signs of deposition instabilities over hundreds of cycles of charge and discharge and thousands of operating hours. We rationalize these observations with the help of surface energy data for the electrolyte/lithium interface and impedance analysis of the interface during different stages of cell operation. Our findings provide support for an important recent theoretical prediction that the surface mobility of lithium is significantly enhanced in the presence of lithium halide salts. Our results also show that a high electrolyte modulus is unnecessary for stable electrodeposition of lithium.
Hydroaminoalkylation of Unactivated Olefins with Dialkylamines

The intermolecular addition of the α-C−H bonds of unactivated dialkylamines to unactivated olefins in the presence of the chloro amido complex [TaCl3(NEt2)2]2 (2) is described. This process forms the branched insertion products in high yields (up to 96%) and selectivities, and represents a rare example of an intermolecular amine-olefin coupling reaction that does not require preactivation of either substrate. The reaction is shown to encompass the addition of the primary C−H bonds in linear- and branched-methylamines, as well as secondary C−H bonds in higher dialkylamines. The related chloroanilido complex [TaCl3(NMePh)2]2 (4) is also shown to catalyze the addition of N-alkyl-arylamines to olefins at temperatures as low as 90 °C. 1H NMR spectroscopy, identification of the catalyst structure, and deuterium-labeling experiments all suggest that reactions catalyzed by 2 and 4 occur by turnover-limiting generation of an η2-imine complex. These labeling studies also imply that more favorable partitioning of th...
Mapping mesoscale heterogeneity in the plastic deformation of a copper single crystal

Part of a ‘multiscale characterization’ study of heterogeneous deformation patterns in metals is reported. A copper single crystal was oriented for single slip in the (111)[ ] slip system and tested to ∼10% strain in roughly uniaxial compression. The macroscopic strain field was monitored during the test by optical ‘image correlation’. The strain field was measured on orthogonal surfaces, one of which (the x-face) was oriented perpendicular to [ ] and contained the [ ] direction of the preferred slip system. The macroscopic strain developed in an inhomogeneous pattern of broad, crossed shear bands in the x-face. One, the primary band, lay parallel to (111). The second, the ‘conjugate’ band, was oriented perpendicular to (111) with an overall ( ) habit that contains no common slip plane of the fcc crystal. The mesoscopic deformation pattern was explored with selected area diffraction, using a focused synchrotron radiation polychromatic beam with a resolution of 1–3 µm. Areas within the primary, conjugate a...
Aerobic exercise training-induced reductions in abdominal fat and glucose-stimulated insulin responses in middle-aged and older men.

OBJECTIVE: To test the effects of aerobic exercise training on glucose-stimulated insulin responses in middle-aged and older individuals. DESIGN: A 9-month moderate-intensity aerobic exercise training trial in 17 men. SETTING: An academic medical center. INTERVENTION: Subjects walked, jogged, or cycled at 50 to 60% heart rate reserve (HRR) three times per week for 30 to 45 minutes and progressed over 6 to 9 months until subjects were training at 80 to 85% of HRR for 45 to 60 minutes three to four times per week. Training intensity was stabilized for 2 weeks before retesting. Diets were stabilized on American Heart Association Step I diets before training, and calories increased to prevent weight loss. MEASUREMENTS: At baseline and after training, subjects underwent measurement of body fat (hydrodensitometry), regional fat distribution (waist-to-hip ratio (WHR)), VO2 max (maximal treadmill testing), diet intake (7-day food records), and glucose and insulin responses during 75 g, 2-hour oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) and 2-hour hyperglycemic (+ 7.9 mmol/L) glucose clamps. RESULTS: Aerobic exercise training increased VO2 max by 15% and decreased body fat from 22.8 ± 1.6 to 20.8 ± 1.5% (P < .0001), waist circumference by 2% (P = .038), and WHR by 1% (P = .035). Fasting glucose and insulin levels, and glucose responses during the OGTT did not change, but insulin responses during the OGTT decreased 16% (P = .027) after training. Training reduced early (0–10 minutes) and late (20–120 minutes) phase insulin responses by 14% (P = .017 and .042, respectively), but did not significantly change glucose disposal (+ 8%, P = .398). Multiple regression analyses showed that changes in waist circumference (r2 = 0.68, P < .0001) and percent body fat (r2 = 0.08, P = .049) were independent predictors of the reductions in the late phase insulin responses with exercise training, however, changes in VO2 max were not (P = .199). CONCLUSIONS: The decrease in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion with aerobic exercise training in middle-aged and older men appears to be mediated, at least in part, by reductions in the amount of abdominal fat. Regular physical exercise may prevent or ameliorate conditions associated with hyperinsulinemia including dyslipidemia, hypertension, and atherosclerosis in this group.
Intertemporal Equity and Efficient Allocation of Resources

Abstract Competitive paths which are efficient are shown to satisfy a terminal cost minimization condition, thereby providing a continuous-time counterpart to the discrete-time result due to Malinvaud. Using this result, competitive paths which are equitable and efficient are shown to satisfy Hartwick's investment rule, which states that the value of net investment is zero at each date. Our result indicates that Hartwick's rule can help to signal inefficiency of competitive equitable paths. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: C61, D90, O41.
Contain calculations of debris conditions adjacent to the BWR Mark I drywell shell during the later phases of a severe accident

Abstract Best estimate CONTAIN calculations have recently been performed by the BWR Severe Accident Technology (BWRSAT) Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to predict the primary containment response during the later phases of an unmitigated low-pressure Short Term Station Blackout at the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station. Debris pour conditions leaving the failed reactor vessel are taken from the results of best estimate BWRSAR analyses that are based upon an assumed metallic debris melting temperature of 2750°F (1783 K) and an oxide debris melting temperature of 4350°F (2672 K). COINTAIN analyses were performed for the debris/concrete interaction occurring without consideration of the possible existence of an overlying pool of water. Results indicate failure of the drywell head seals due to the extremely hot atmospheric conditions extant in the drywell. The maximum calculated temperature of the debris adjacent to the drywell shell is less than the melting temperature of the shell, yet the sustained temperatures may be sufficient to induce primary containment pressure boundary failure by the mechanism of creep-rupture. It is also predicted that a significant portion of the reactor pedestal wall is ablated during the period of the calculation. Nevertheless, the calculated results are recognized to be influenced by large modeling uncertainties. Several deficiencies in the application of the CORCON module within the CONTAIN code to BWR severe accident sequences are identified and discussed.
Chiral aryl iodide catalysts for the enantioselective synthesis of para-quinols

Molecular modelling of an iodine(III) phenoxide was used as a starting point in the design of chiral aryl iodide catalysts for stereoselective oxidative dearomatization reactions. Using this approach, catalysts derived from 8-iodotetralone and tartaric acid were constructed and used to synthesize enantioenriched para-quinols from phenols.
Using back scattered laser beams to detect CP violation in the neutral Higgs sector

Abstract We demonstrate that the ability to polarize the photons produced by back-scattering laser beams at a TeV scale linear e + e − collider could make it possible to determine whether or not a neutral Higgs boson produced in photon-photon collisions is a CP eigenstate. The relative utility of different types of polarization is discussed. Asymmetries that are only non-zero if the Higgs boson is a CP mixture are defined, and their magnitudes illustrated for a two-doublet Higgs model with CP -violating neutral sector.
A DISTRIBUTED POPULATION OF LOW-MASS PRE-MAIN-SEQUENCE STARS NEAR THE TAURUS MOLECULAR CLOUDS

We present a drift-scan survey covering a ~5° × 50° region toward the southern portion of the Taurus-Auriga molecular cloud. Data taken in the B,R,I filters with the Quest-2 camera on the Palomar 48 inch (1.2 m) Samuel Oschin Telescope were combined with Two Micron All Sky Survey near-infrared photometry to select candidate young stars. Follow-up optical spectroscopy of 190 candidates led to the identification of 42 new low-mass pre-main-sequence stars with spectral types M4-M8, of which approximately half exhibit surface gravity signatures similar to known Taurus stars, while the other half exhibit surface gravity signatures similar to members of the somewhat older Upper Scorpius, TW Hya, and β Pic associations. The pre-main-sequence stars are spread over ~35°, and many are located well outside of previously explored regions. From assessment of the spatial and proper-motion distributions, we argue that the new pre-main-sequence stars identified far from the clouds cannot have originated from the vicinity of the 1-2 Myr old subclusters that contain the bulk of the identified Taurus members but instead represent a newly identified area of recent star formation near the clouds.
Gas-phase ion–molecule reactions of divalent metal complex ions: Toward coordination structure analysis by mass spectrometry and some intrinsic coordination chemistry along the way

Abstract Gas-phase ion–molecule reactions of divalent metal complex ions are strongly affected by the coordination structure around the metal. This review describes how association reactions between reagent ligands and complex ions proceed to extents that depend upon a metal complex's coordination number, types of coordinating functional groups and coordination geometry. The coordination number of a metal complex affects its reactivity because complexes of divalent metal ions will add reagent molecule(s) to fill vacant coordination sites. The thermodynamics and kinetics of these reactions are very sensitive to both the types of functional groups bound to the metal and the geometry of the groups around the metal ion. Such a strong dependency on the coordination structure of a metal complex suggests that ion–molecule reactions might make mass spectrometry suitable for elucidating a metal's coordination structure. Given mass spectrometry's inherent sensitivity and the ability to carefully control reaction conditions in a mass spectrometer, ion–molecule reactions have the potential, both analytically and fundamentally, to provide greater insight into the chemistry of divalent metal complexes.
Soros's reflexivity concept in a complex world: Cauchy distributions, rational expectations, and rational addiction

George Soros makes an important analytical contribution to understanding the concept of reflexivity in social science by explaining reflexivity in terms of how his cognitive and manipulative causal functions are connected to one another by a pair of feedback loops (Soros, 2013). Fallibility, reflexivity and the human uncertainty principle. Here I put aside the issue of how the natural sciences and social sciences are related, an issue he discusses, and focus on how his thinking applies in economics. I argue that standard economics assumes a ‘classical’ view of the world in which knowledge and action are independent, but that we live in a complex reflexive world in which knowledge and action are interdependent. I argue that Soros's view provides a reflexivity critique of the efficient market hypothesis seen as depending on untenable claims about the nature of random phenomena and the nature of economic agents. Regarding the former, I develop this critique in terms of Cauchy distributions; regarding the lat...
Robust distributed multi-view video compression for wireless camera networks

We propose a novel method of exploiting inter-view correlation among cameras that have overlapping views in order to deliver error-resilient video in a distributed multi-camera system. The main focus in this work is on robustness which is imminently needed in a wireless setting. Our system has low encoding complexity, is robust while satisfying tight latency constraints, and requires no inter-sensor communication. In this work, we build on and generalize PRISM [Puri2002], an earlier proposed single-camera distributed video compression system. Specifically, decoder motion search, a key attribute of single-camera PRISM, is extended to the multi-view setting to include decoder disparity search based on two-view camera geometry. Our proposed system, dubbed PRISM-MC (PRISM multi-camera), achieved PSNR gains of up to 1.7 dB over a PRISM based simulcast solution in experiments over a wireless channel simulator.
Vinculin Phosphorylation at Tyr1065 regulates Vinculin conformation and tension development in Airway smooth muscle tissues

Vinculin localizes to membrane adhesion junctions in smooth muscle tissues, where its head domain binds to talin and its tail domain binds to filamentous actin, thus linking actin filaments to the extracellular matrix. Vinculin can assume a closed conformation, in which the head and tail domains bind to each other and mask the binding sites for actin and talin, and an open activated conformation that exposes the binding sites for talin and actin. Acetylcholine stimulation of tracheal smooth muscle tissues induces the recruitment of vinculin to the cell membrane and its interaction with talin and actin, which is required for active tension development. Vinculin phosphorylation at Tyr1065 on its C terminus increases concurrently with tension development in tracheal smooth muscle tissues. In the present study, the role of vinculin phosphorylation at Tyr1065 in regulating the conformation and function of vinculin during airway smooth muscle contraction was evaluated. Vinculin constructs with point mutations at Tyr1065 (vinculin Y1065F and vinculin Y1065E) and vinculin conformation-sensitive FRET probes were expressed in smooth muscle tissues to determine how Tyr1065 phosphorylation affects smooth muscle contraction and the conformation and cellular functions of vinculin. The results show that vinculin phosphorylation at tyrosine 1065 is required for normal tension generation in airway smooth muscle during contractile stimulation and that Tyr1065 phosphorylation regulates the conformation and scaffolding activity of the vinculin molecule. We conclude that the phosphorylation of vinculin at tyrosine 1065 provides a mechanism for regulating the function of vinculin in airway smooth muscle in response to contractile stimulation.
Integrated management of airport surface and airspace constraints for departures: An operational sequence

Herein we provide an operational sequence indentifying a set of future roles and responsibilities for Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP) and flight operator staff. It also identifies procedures and technologies necessary to support activities proposed withing future operational concepts for an Integrated Arrival/Departure Control Service, Dynamic Departure Routing, and airport surface management, with a focus on near- to mid-term (2015-2018) technical capabities. This operational sequence is then utilized to identify critical human factors considerations at an abstract level. The operational sequence is organized according to a timeline and the assumed context for the scenario. All times are reported in Zulu (Greenwich Mean) Time.
The effects of drinking and sports on popularity of overweight adolescents: implications for public policy

In this paper, we explore the influence of alcohol consumption and sports participation on popularity of overweight adolescent males and females of different races and ethnicities. Using data collected in 1994 and 1996 from a large nationally representative survey of adolescent friendship networks, we estimate models accounting for school-level fixed effects, and a wide range of individual-level controls to ascertain the causal effect of these behaviors on change in popularity. We find that sports participation leads to increase in the number of friends among overweight white males. Additionally, overweight white females and males experience a significant gain in popularity by engaging in alcohol consumption. These results underscore the importance of promoting sports and physical activity not only to objectively reverse the childhood obesity trend but also as a way to achieve popularity that is superior to alcohol consumption.
Stress corrosion cracking of titanium alloys.

The U.S. Bureau of Mines development of the Kroll process1 for the production of titanium metal resulted in the general availability of this material by the early 1950’s. Titanium was immediately hailed as the panacea for all structural applications demanding high strength and low density. Today, perhaps, this view could be regarded as somewhat overoptimistic. However, titanium alloys have been used successfully for a number of years in a wide range of industrial applications.
Bumpy black holes in alternative theories of gravity

We generalize the bumpy black hole framework to allow for alternative theory deformations. We construct two model-independent parametric deviations from the Kerr metric: one built from a generalization of the quasi-Kerr and bumpy metrics and one built directly from perturbations of the Kerr spacetime in Lewis-Papapetrou form. We find the conditions that these ``bumps'' must satisfy for there to exist an approximate second-order Killing tensor so that the perturbed spacetime still possesses three constants of the motion (a deformed energy, angular momentum and Carter constant) and the geodesic equations can be written in first-order form. We map these parametrized metrics to each other via a diffeomorphism and to known analytical black hole solutions in alternative theories of gravity. The parametrized metrics presented here serve as frameworks for the systematic calculation of extreme mass-ratio inspiral waveforms in parametrized non-general relativity theories and the investigation of the accuracy to which space-borne gravitational wave detectors can constrain such deviations.
Femtosecond dynamics of the laser-induced solid-to-liquid phase transition in aluminum

We present femtosecond time-resolved measurements of the reflectivity of aluminum during the laser-induced solid-to-liquid phase transition over the $1.7\char21{}3.5\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV}$ spectral range. Previous optical and electron-diffraction studies have shown discrepancies on the order of picoseconds in the time scale of the solid-to-liquid phase change. As a result, it is not clear if the transition mechanism is thermal or nonthermal. Our experiments conclusively show that this transition is a thermal process mediated through the transfer of heat from the photoexcited electronic population to the lattice. Our findings agree with the results of the electron-diffraction study and rule out the nonthermal mechanism proposed by the optical study.
Binding of an electron by the field of a molecular dipole — LiCl−

Abstract We present direct experimental evidence for the binding of an electron by the dipole moment of a neutral molecule. The photoelectron spectrum of LiCl − was obtained and analyzed to determine that the binding energy of the electron in the LiCl − ion is (0.61 ± 0.02) eV. This result is an order of magnitude smaller than the predictions of the fixed dipole theoretical model, but is consistent with a recent calculation, which allows for distortion of the dipolar core.
A Classification Scheme for Young Stellar Objects Using the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer AllWISE Catalog: Revealing Low-density Star Formation in the Outer Galaxy

We present an assessment of the performance of WISE and the AllWISE data release in a section of the Galactic Plane. We lay out an approach to increasing the reliability of point source photometry extracted from the AllWISE catalog in Galactic Plane regions using parameters provided in the catalog. We use the resulting catalog to construct a new, revised young star detection and classification scheme combining WISE and 2MASS near and mid-infrared colors and magnitudes and test it in a section of the Outer Milky Way. The clustering properties of the candidate Class I and II stars using a nearest neighbor density calculation and the two-point correlation function suggest that the majority of stars do form in massive star forming regions, and any isolated mode of star formation is at most a small fraction of the total star forming output of the Galaxy. We also show that the isolated component may be very small and could represent the tail end of a single mechanism of star formation in line with models of molecular cloud collapse with supersonic turbulence and not a separate mode all to itself.
Synthesis of sultam scaffolds via intramolecular oxa-Michael and diastereoselective Baylis-Hillman reactions.

A divergent synthetic approach to new sultams utilizing intramolecular oxa-Michael and Baylis−Hillman reactions of readily prepared vinyl sulfonamides and suitably protected amino alcohols, is reported. A variety of seven- and eight-membered ring sultam scaffolds were synthesized using oxa-Michael pathways, whereas both five- and six-membered rings were synthesized using Baylis−Hillman methods. Baylis−Hillman reactions proceed with good to excellent levels of diastereoselectivity, and oxa-Michael reactions leading to eight-membered ring sultams provide empirical evidence validating 8-endo-trig cyclization pathways.
Direction-of-motion discrimination is facilitated by visible motion smear

Recent evidence indicates that motion smear can provide useful information for the detection and discrimination of motion. Further, it has been shown that the perception of motion smear depends critically on the density of dots in a random-dot (RD) stimulus. Therefore, in the present experiments, the contribution of perceived motion smear to direction-of-motion discrimination was evaluated using RD targets of different densities. Thresholds for direction-of-motion discrimination and the extent of perceived motion smear were determined for RD stimuli with densities of 1, 2, and 10 dots/deg(2), presented for 200 msec at a velocity of 4, 8, or 12 deg/sec. To evaluate the contribution of information about orientation from motion smear, thresholds for orientation discrimination were measured using parallel lines with the same length as the extent of perceived smear. Despite the opportunity for increased summation as RD density increases, our results indicate that direction-of-motion discrimination worsens. Because perception of motion smear is reduced with an increase in RD density, our results are consistent with a facilitation of direction-of-motion discrimination by visible motion smear.
Surface effect on optical bistability in coupled exciton-phonon systems inside a cavity

Abstract The cavity field intensity is investigated as a function of the driving field intensity, when a laser beam is directed on a coupled exciton-phonon system inside an optical cavity, for various distances between the sample and a metallic surface representing one of the mirrors of the cavity. Optical bistability is found to be induced by the surface when the cavity field is on resonance with the excitonic transition frequency. It is also found that at the threshold, the direction of the switch of the optical bistability can be controlled by adjusting the distance from the surface.
A general, enantioselective synthesis of β- and γ-fluoroamines.

In this Letter, we describe a short, high yielding protocol for the enantioselective (87–96% ee) and general synthesis of β-fluoroamines and previously difficult to access γ-fluoroamines from commercial aldehydes via organocatalysis.
Energy, momentum, and force in classical electrodynamics: Application to negative-index media

Abstract The classical theory of electromagnetism is based on Maxwell's macroscopic equations, an energy postulate, a momentum postulate, and a generalized form of the Lorentz law of force. These seven postulates constitute the foundation of a complete and consistent theory, thus eliminating the need for physical models of polarization P and magnetization M — these being the distinguishing features of Maxwell's macroscopic equations. In the proposed formulation, P ( r , t ) and M ( r , t ) are arbitrary functions of space and time, their physical properties being embedded in the seven postulates of the theory. The postulates are self-consistent, comply with special relativity, and satisfy the laws of conservation of energy, linear momentum, and angular momentum. The Abraham momentum density p EM ( r , t ) = E ( r , t ) × H ( r , t ) / c 2 emerges as the universal electromagnetic momentum that does not depend on whether the field is propagating or evanescent, and whether or not the host media are homogeneous, transparent, isotropic, linear, dispersive, magnetic, hysteretic, negative-index, etc. Any variation with time of the total electromagnetic momentum of a closed system results in a force exerted on the material media within the system in accordance with the generalized Lorentz law.
Theory of thin-screen scintillations for a spherical wave

A thin screen scintillation theory for a spherical wave is presented under the 'quasi-optical' approximation. We calculate the 'scattering angle', the 'observed angle', the intensity correlation function and the temporal pulse broadening for the random wave. It is found that as the wave propagates outward away from the phase screen, the correlation scale of the intensity fluctuation increases linearly while the 'observed angle' decreases linearly. The calculations are carried out for both Gaussian and power-law spectra of the turbulent medium.
A New Technique for Probing Convection in Pulsating White Dwarf Stars

In this paper we demonstrate how pulsating white dwarfs can be used as an astrophysical laboratory for empirically constraining convection in these stars. We do this using a technique for fitting observed nonsinusoidal light curves, which allows us to recover the thermal response timescale of the convection zone (its depth), as well as demonstrating how this timescale changes as a function of effective temperature. We also obtain constraints on mode identifications for the pulsation modes, allowing us to use asteroseismology to study the interior structure of these stars. Aspects of this approach may have relevance for other classes of pulsators, including the Cepheids and RR Lyrae stars.
Eikonal quantum gravity and planckian scattering

Abstract Various approaches to high-energy forward scattering in quantum gravity are compared using the eikonal approximation. The massless limit of the eikonal is shown to be equivalent to other approximations for the same process, specifically the semiclassical calculation due to G. 't Hooft and the topological field theory due to H. and E. Verlinde. This comparison clarifies these previous results, as it is seen that the amplitude arises purely from a linearized gravitational interaction. The interpretation of poles in the scattering amplitude is also clarified.