Applying Optimization to the Conservation Project Selection Process: A Case Study of Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative

This study presents a thorough discussion of the efficiency and effectiveness improvement from optimization models (Binary Linear Programming and Goal Programming), as applied to the Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative. The OM models can yield 21% and 19.1% higher benefit scores respectively, spending $13,013,473 and$31,463,473 less total acquisition costs. To achieve the same level of conservation benefits for the current rank based approach, the REPI would spend additional $20.1 million and approximate 50% of the budget. A counterpart of OM- the cost-effective analysis is observed to be inefficient when the problem becomes complex. In a real world of political environment of the conservation programs, we suggest a hybrid method of current rank based approach and the OM as well as the GP to address incompatible goals of interests groups.Environmental Economics and Policy, C6, Q24,

Concise Synthesis of a Pateamine A Analogue with In Vivo Anticancer Activity Based on an Iron-Catalyzed Pyrone Ring Opening/Cross-Coupling

The marine macrolide pateamine A and its non-natural sibling DMDA-Pat A are potent translation inhibitors targeting the eukaryotic initiation factor 4A (eIF4A), an enzyme with RNA helicase activity. Although essential for every living cell, this protein target seems “drugable” since DMDA-Pat A has previously been shown to exhibit remarkable in vivo activity against two different melanoma mouse models. The novel entry into this promising compound presented herein is shorter and significantly more productive than the literature route. Key to success was the masking of the signature Z,E-configured dienoate subunit of DMDA-Pat A in the form of a 2-pyrone ring, which was best crafted by a gold-catalyzed cyclization. While the robustness of the heterocycle facilitated the entire assembly stage, the highly isomerization-prone seco-Z,E-dienoic acid could be unlocked in due time for macrolactonization by an unconventional iron-catalyzed ring opening/cross coupling. Moreover, the crystal structure analysis of an advanced intermediate gave first insights into the conformation of the macrodilactone framework of the pateamine family, which is thought to be critical for eliciting the desired biological response

Alterations in prefrontal-limbic functional activation and connectivity in chronic stress-induced visceral hyperalgesia.

Repeated water avoidance stress (WAS) induces sustained visceral hyperalgesia (VH) in rats measured as enhanced visceromotor response to colorectal distension (CRD). This model incorporates two characteristic features of human irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), VH and a prominent role of stress in the onset and exacerbation of IBS symptoms. Little is known regarding central mechanisms underlying the stress-induced VH. Here, we applied an autoradiographic perfusion method to map regional and network-level neural correlates of VH. Adult male rats were exposed to WAS or sham treatment for 1 hour/day for 10 days. The visceromotor response was measured before and after the treatment. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) mapping was performed by intravenous injection of radiotracer ([(14)C]-iodoantipyrine) while the rat was receiving a 60-mmHg CRD or no distension. Regional CBF-related tissue radioactivity was quantified in autoradiographic images of brain slices and analyzed in 3-dimensionally reconstructed brains with statistical parametric mapping. Compared to sham rats, stressed rats showed VH in association with greater CRD-evoked activation in the insular cortex, amygdala, and hypothalamus, but reduced activation in the prelimbic area (PrL) of prefrontal cortex. We constrained results of seed correlation analysis by known structural connectivity of the PrL to generate structurally linked functional connectivity (SLFC) of the PrL. Dramatic differences in the SLFC of PrL were noted between stressed and sham rats under distension. In particular, sham rats showed negative correlation between the PrL and amygdala, which was absent in stressed rats. The altered pattern of functional brain activation is in general agreement with that observed in IBS patients in human brain imaging studies, providing further support for the face and construct validity of the WAS model for IBS. The absence of prefrontal cortex-amygdala anticorrelation in stressed rats is consistent with the notion that impaired corticolimbic modulation acts as a central mechanism underlying stress-induced VH

Storage and retrieval of continuous-variable polarization-entangled cluster states in atomic ensembles

We present a proposal for storing and retrieving a continuous-variable quadripartite polarization-entangled cluster state, using macroscopic atomic ensembles in a magnetic field. The Larmor precession of the atomic spins leads to a symmetry between the atomic canonical operators. In this scheme, each of the four spatially separated pulses passes twice through the respective ensemble in order to map the polarization-entangled cluster state onto the long-lived atomic ensembles. The stored state can then be retrieved by another four read-out pulses, each crossing the respective ensemble twice. By calculating the variances, we analyzed the fidelities of the storage and retrieval, and our scheme is feasible under realistic experimental conditions.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure