The Rare Decay B→K∗γB\to K^{\ast}\gamma: A More Precise Calculation

Efforts to predict the rare exclusive decay $B\to K^{\ast}\gamma$ from the well known inclusive decay $b\to s\gamma$ are frustrated by the effect of the large recoil momentum. We show how to reduce the large uncertainty in calculating this decay by relating $B\to K^{\ast}\gamma$ to the semileptonic process $B\to\rho e\bar{\nu}$ using the heavy-quark symmetry in B decays and SU(3) flavor symmetry. A direct measurement of the $q^{2}$-spectrum for the semileptonic decay can provide accurate information for the exclusive rare decay.Comment: 15 pages, UTPT-93-02, in REVTEX with one figure in ep

Customer emotions in service failure and recovery encounters

Emotions play a significant role in the workplace, and considerable attention has been given to the study of employee emotions. Customers also play a central function in organizations, but much less is known about customer emotions. This chapter reviews the growing literature on customer emotions in employee–customer interfaces with a focus on service failure and recovery encounters, where emotions are heightened. It highlights emerging themes and key findings, addresses the measurement, modeling, and management of customer emotions, and identifies future research streams. Attention is given to emotional contagion, relationships between affective and cognitive processes, customer anger, customer rage, and individual differences

Role of the Interaction Motif in Maintaining the Open Gate of an Open Sodium Channel

Voltage-gated sodium channels undergo transitions between open, closed, and inactivated states, enabling regulation of the translocation of sodium ions across membranes. A recently published crystal structure of the full-length prokaryotic NavMs crystal structure in the activated open conformation has revealed the presence of a novel motif consisting of an extensive network of salt bridges involving residues in the voltage sensor, S4-S5 linker, pore, and C-terminal domains. This motif has been proposed to be responsible for maintaining an open conformation that enables ion translocation through the channel. In this study, we have used long-time molecular dynamics calculations without artificial restraints to demonstrate that the interaction network of full-length NavMs indeed prevents a rapid collapse and closure of the gate, in marked difference to earlier studies of the pore-only construct in which the gate had to be restrained to remain open. Interestingly, a frequently discussed “hydrophobic gating” mechanism at nanoscopic level is also observed in our simulations, in which the discontinuous water wire close to the gate region leads to an energetic barrier for ion conduction. In addition, we demonstrate the effects of in silico mutations of several of the key residues in the motif on the open channel’s stability and functioning, correlating them with existing functional studies on this channel and homologous disease-associated mutations in human sodium channels; we also examine the effects of truncating/removing the voltage sensor and C-terminal domains in maintaining an open gate

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

Remediation of fluency: Word specific or generalised training effects?

The present study examines whether reading fluency benefits more from repeated reading of a limited set of words or from practicing reading with many different words. A group of 37 reading delayed Dutch children repeatedly read the same 20 words with limited exposure duration, whereas another group of 37 poor readers received the same reading exercises with 400 different words. Results demonstrated that improvements in accuracy and speed of trained words were larger for the repeated reading group than for the children who had only practiced with these words once. No difference in generalisation of effects to untrained neighbour and control words was found between the two conditions. Furthermore, rapid naming skill was unrelated to improvements in reading fluency and transfer effects in both training conditions. Results demonstrate that the practical value of repeated reading lies in its word specific training effects. © Springer 2006

Diamines as auxiliary ligands for tuning photophysical and electrochemical properties of Ruthenium(II) polypyridyl complexes

The complex with the formula [Ru(bpy)2(2,3-diaminonaphthalene)][PF6] (5) was synthesized and characterized by 1H NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and elemental analysis. A set of previously reported complexes with the formula [Ru(bpy)2(diamine)][PF6]{diamine = 1,2-diaminoethane (2), o-phenylenediamine (3), 1,2-diaminocyclohexane (4) } was synthesized and crystal structures were obtained for complexes 3 and 4. UV–vis absorption spectra of the complexes 2–5 were collected and compared to that of [Ru(bpy)3][PF6]2 (1), showing that the MLCT band is red-shifted upon introducing the diamine ligands in place of bipyridine. Emission spectra, excited-state lifetimes and emission quantum yields were collected at room temperature for the complexes 1–5, showing considerable changes in the photophysical characteristics upon the introductions of the diamine. The emission spectrum of 5 exhibits an intense emission in the far red-NIR region when excited at 510 nm. The cyclic voltammograms of the complexes 1–5 show one oxidation peak between 0.98 V and 1.15 V which is attributed to the Ru(II)/Ru(III) oxidation couple. Calculated HOMO and LUMO energy levels from both electrochemical data and theoretical calculations suggest a lower HOMO energy level for complex 1 than the diamino-containing complexes, presumably due to the stronger ligand field of the bipyridine. © 2018 Elsevier B.V