Current-Density Functional Theory of the Response of Solids

The response of an extended periodic system to a homogeneous field (of wave-vector $q=0$) cannot be obtained from a $q=0$ time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculation, because the Runge-Gross theorem does not apply. Time-dependent {\em current}-density functional theory is needed and demonstrates that one key ingredient missing from TDDFT is the macroscopic current. In the low-frequency limit, in certain cases, density polarization functional theory is recovered and a formally exact expression for the polarization functional is given.Comment: 5 pages, accepted in PR

Molecular Structural Differences between Type-2-Diabetic and Healthy Glycogen

Glycogen is a highly branched glucose polymer functioning as a glucose buffer in animals. Multiple-detector size exclusion chromatography and fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis were used to examine the structure of undegraded native liver glycogen (both whole and enzymatically debranched) as a function of molecular size, isolated from the livers of healthy and db/db mice (the latter a type 2 diabetic model). Both the fully branched and debranched levels of glycogen structure showed fundamental differences between glycogen from healthy and db/db mice. Healthy glycogen had a greater population of large particles, with more α particles (tightly linked assemblages of smaller β particles) than glycogen from db/db mice. These structural differences suggest a new understanding of type 2 diabetes

Salience-based selection: attentional capture by distractors less salient than the target

Current accounts of attentional capture predict the most salient stimulus to be invariably selected first. However, existing salience and visual search models assume noise in the map computation or selection process. Consequently, they predict the first selection to be stochastically dependent on salience, implying that attention could even be captured first by the second most salient (instead of the most salient) stimulus in the field. Yet, capture by less salient distractors has not been reported and salience-based selection accounts claim that the distractor has to be more salient in order to capture attention. We tested this prediction using an empirical and modeling approach of the visual search distractor paradigm. For the empirical part, we manipulated salience of target and distractor parametrically and measured reaction time interference when a distractor was present compared to absent. Reaction time interference was strongly correlated with distractor salience relative to the target. Moreover, even distractors less salient than the target captured attention, as measured by reaction time interference and oculomotor capture. In the modeling part, we simulated first selection in the distractor paradigm using behavioral measures of salience and considering the time course of selection including noise. We were able to replicate the result pattern we obtained in the empirical part. We conclude that each salience value follows a specific selection time distribution and attentional capture occurs when the selection time distributions of target and distractor overlap. Hence, selection is stochastic in nature and attentional capture occurs with a certain probability depending on relative salience

Development of intuitive rules: Evaluating the application of the dual-system framework to understanding children's intuitive reasoning

This is an author-created version of this article. The original source of publication is Psychon Bull Rev. 2006 Dec;13(6):935-53 The final publication is available at www.springerlink.com Published version: http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/BF0321390

OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF THE LHC PROTON BEAMS WITH THE SPS LOW TRANSITION ENERGY OPTICS

Abstract An optics in the SPS with lower integer tunes (20 versus 26) was proposed and introduced in machine studies since 2010, as a measure for increasing transverse and longitudinal instability thresholds, especially at low energy, for the LHC proton beams. After two years of machine studies and careful optimisation, the new Q20 optics became operational in September 2012 and steadily delivered beam to the LHC until the end of the run. This paper reviews the operational performance of the Q20 optics with respect to transverse and longitudinal beam characteristics in the SPS, enabling high brightness beams injected into the LHC. Aspects of longitudinal beam stability, transmission, high-energy orbit control and beam transfer are discussed

OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF THE LHC PROTON BEAMS WITH THE SPS LOW TRANSITION ENERGY OPTICS

Abstract An optics in the SPS with lower integer tunes (20 versus 26) was proposed and introduced in machine studies since 2010, as a measure for increasing transverse and longitudinal instability thresholds, especially at low energy, for the LHC proton beams. After two years of machine studies and careful optimisation, the new Q20 optics became operational in September 2012 and steadily delivered beam to the LHC until the end of the run. This paper reviews the operational performance of the Q20 optics with respect to transverse and longitudinal beam characteristics in the SPS, enabling high brightness beams injected into the LHC. Aspects of longitudinal beam stability, transmission, high-energy orbit control and beam transfer are discussed

A density functional theory based analysis of photoinduced electron transfer in a triazacryptand based K+ sensor

The electronic structure and photoinduced electron transfer processes in a K+ fluorescent sensor that comprises a 4-amino-naphthalimide derived fluorophore with a triazacryptand lig- and is investigated using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) in order to rationalise the function of the sensor. The absorption and emission energies of the intense electronic excitation localised on the fluorophore are accurately described using a ∆SCF Kohn-Sham DFT approach, which gives excitation energies closer to experiment than TDDFT. Analysis of the molecular orbital diagram arising from DFT calculations for the isolated molecule or with implicit solvent cannot account for the function of the sensor and it is necessary to consider the relative energies of the electronic states formed from the local excitation on the fluorophore and the lowest fluorophore→chelator charge transfer state. The inclusion of solvent in these calculations is critical since the strong interaction of the charge transfer state with the solvent lowers it energy below the local fluorophore excited state making a reductive photoinduced electron transfer possible in the absence of K+, while no such process is possible when the sensor is bound to K+. The rate of electron transfer is quantified using Marcus theory, which gives a rate of electron transfer of k_ET=5.98 x 10^6 s−1

The utilisation of health research in policy-making: Concepts, examples and methods of assessment

The importance of health research utilisation in policy-making, and of understanding the mechanisms involved, is increasingly recognised. Recent reports calling for more resources to improve health in developing countries, and global pressures for accountability, draw greater attention to research-informed policy-making. Key utilisation issues have been described for at least twenty years, but the growing focus on health research systems creates additional dimensions. The utilisation of health research in policy-making should contribute to policies that may eventually lead to desired outcomes, including health gains. In this article, exploration of these issues is combined with a review of various forms of policy-making. When this is linked to analysis of different types of health research, it assists in building a comprehensive account of the diverse meanings of research utilisation. Previous studies report methods and conceptual frameworks that have been applied, if with varying degrees of success, to record utilisation in policy-making. These studies reveal various examples of research impact within a general picture of underutilisation. Factors potentially enhancing utilisation can be identified by exploration of: priority setting; activities of the health research system at the interface between research and policy-making; and the role of the recipients, or 'receptors', of health research. An interfaces and receptors model provides a framework for analysis. Recommendations about possible methods for assessing health research utilisation follow identification of the purposes of such assessments. Our conclusion is that research utilisation can be better understood, and enhanced, by developing assessment methods informed by conceptual analysis and review of previous studies

No Weight for “Due Weight”? A Children’s Autonomy Principle in Best Interest Proceedings

Article 12 of the un Convention on the Rights of the Child (crc) stipulates that children should have their views accorded due weight in accordance with age and maturity, including in proceedings affecting them. Yet there is no accepted understanding as to how to weigh children’s views, and it is associated strongly with the indeterminate notion of “competence”. In this article, case law and empirical research is drawn upon to argue that the concept of weighing their views has been an obstacle to children’s rights, preventing influence on outcomes for children in proceedings in which their best interests are determined. Younger children and those whose wishes incline against the prevailing orthodoxy (they may resist contact with a parent, for example) particularly lose out. Children’s views appear only to be given “significant weight” if the judge agrees with them anyway. As it is the notion of autonomy which is prioritised in areas such as medical and disability law and parents’ rights, it is proposed in this article that a children’s autonomy principle is adopted in proceedings – in legal decisions in which the best interest of the child is the primary consideration, children should get to choose, if they wish, how they are involved and the outcome, unless it is likely that significant harm will arise from their wishes. They should also have “autonomy support” to assist them in proceedings. This would likely ensure greater influence for children and require more transparent decision-making by adults.</jats:p