Thermal Symmetry Crossover and Universal Behaviors in Carbon Nanotube Dots

Motivated by recent experiments on electronic transport through a carbon nanotube, we investigate the role of the intra- and inter-orbital Coulomb interactions on the temperature evolution of the conductance. It is shown that small amount (~10%) of asymmetry between these Coulomb repulsions substantially deforms the conductance profile at finite temperature, particularly around half-filling. The nature of such thermal symmetry crossover is elucidated.Comment: published version; 11pages, 4 figure

The transcriptional repressor bs69 is a conserved target of the e1a proteins from several human adenovirus species

Early region 1A (E1A) is the first viral protein produced upon human adenovirus (HAdV) infection. This multifunctional protein transcriptionally activates other HAdV early genes and reprograms gene expression in host cells to support productive infection. E1A functions by interacting with key cellular regulatory proteins through short linear motifs (SLiMs). In this study, the molecular determinants of interaction between E1A and BS69, a cellular repressor that negatively regulates E1A transactivation, were systematically defined by mutagenesis experiments. We found that a minimal sequence comprised of MPNLVPEV, which contains a conserved PXLXP motif and spans residues 112–119 in HAdV-C5 E1A, was necessary and sufficient in binding to the myeloid, Nervy, and DEAF-1 (MYND) domain of BS69. Our study also identified residues P113 and L115 as critical for this interaction. Furthermore, the HAdV-C5 and-A12 E1A proteins from species C and A bound BS69, but those of HAdV-B3,-E4,-D9,-F40, and-G52 from species B, E, D, F, and G, respectively, did not. In addition, BS69 functioned as a repressor of E1A-mediated transactivation, but only for HAdV-C5 and HAdV-A12 E1A. Thus, the PXLXP motif present in a subset of HAdV E1A proteins confers interaction with BS69, which serves as a negative regulator of E1A mediated transcriptional activation

The numerical renormalization group method for quantum impurity systems

In the beginning of the 1970's, Wilson developed the concept of a fully non-perturbative renormalization group transformation. Applied to the Kondo problem, this numerical renormalization group method (NRG) gave for the first time the full crossover from the high-temperature phase of a free spin to the low-temperature phase of a completely screened spin. The NRG has been later generalized to a variety of quantum impurity problems. The purpose of this review is to give a brief introduction to the NRG method including some guidelines of how to calculate physical quantities, and to survey the development of the NRG method and its various applications over the last 30 years. These applications include variants of the original Kondo problem such as the non-Fermi liquid behavior in the two-channel Kondo model, dissipative quantum systems such as the spin-boson model, and lattice systems in the framework of the dynamical mean field theory.Comment: 55 pages, 27 figures, submitted to Rev. Mod. Phy

Three-orbital Kondo effect in single quantum dot system with plural electrons

We study the Kondo effect and related transport properties in orbitally degenerate vertical quantum dot systems with plural electrons. Applying the non-crossing approximation to the three-orbital Anderson impurity model with the finite Coulomb interaction and Hund-coupling, we investigate the magnetic-field dependence of the conductance and thermopower. We also introduce an additional orbital splitting to take account of the realistic many-body effect in the vertical quantum dot system. It is clarified how the three-orbital Kondo effect influences the transport properties via the modulation of the Kondo temperature and unitary limit of transport quantities due to the change of the symmetry in the system.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in J. Phys. Soc. Jp

International money markets: eurocurrencies

Eurocurrencies are international markets for short-term wholesale bank deposits and loans. They emerged in Western Europe in the late 1950s and rapidly reached a global scale. A Eurocurrency is a form of bank money: an unsecured short-term bank debt denominated in a currency (for instance, US dollars) but issued by banks operating offshore, in a geographical location or a legal space situated outside of the jurisdiction of the national authorities presiding over that currency (for instance, the Federal Reserve). In Eurocurrency markets, banks intermediate mainly between foreign residents. They borrow funds by "accepting" foreign currency deposits and lend foreign currency-denominated funds by "placing" deposits with other banks, by granting short-term loans or investing in other liquid assets. Historically, Eurodollars accounted for the largest share of Eurocurrencies, although other international currencies (Deutsche Marks, Japanese yens, and especially Euros since 1999) played an important role. Eurocurrency markets were a manifestation of financial integration and interdependence in a globalizing economy and performed critical functions in the distribution and creation of international liquidity. At the same time, their fast growth was a recurrent source of concerns for central bankers and policymakers due to their implications for macroeconomic policies and financial stability. This chapter analyzes different aspects of the historical development of Eurocurrency markets and their role in the international monetary and financial system. The first part discusses theoretical interpretations, presents estimates of markets' size, describes their structure, and explains the determinants of their growth. The second part analyzes the spread between Eurodollar rates and other US money market rates, the role of arbitrage, the evolution of risk factors, and the causes of historical episodes of stress and contagion in the interbank market. The last part discusses political economy issues, such as the role of governments and market forces in the emergence of Eurodollars in the 1950s and the failed attempts to impose multilateral controls on Eurocurrency markets in the 1970s

Crise de abastecimento de água em São Paulo e falta de planejamento estratégico

Embora a crise no abastecimento de água na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo (RMSP) tenha se manifestado de maneira mais intensa no verão de 2013-2014, ela revela um problema crônico que vem afetando toda a Região nos últimos dez anos. Esse problema foi gerado pela falta de um planejamento estratégico que considere questões climatológicas que podem indicar, com meses de antecedência, problemas de recomposição dos níveis dos mananciais, permitindo que ações sejam empreendidas com razoável antecedência, reduzindo os impactos para a população. Este estudo mostra como é possível utilizar informações climáticas na gestão estratégica do sistema de abastecimento da RMSP.Though the crisis in the water supplying system in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo (RMSP) was more intensively felt in the 2013-2014 summer, it reveals a chronic problem that has been affecting the whole RMSP for the past ten years. This problem is originated from the lack of a strategic planning that takes into consideration climate issues that could, months before, foresee problems to restore the levels of water resources, allowing measures to be implemented within a reasonable anticipation, therefore reducing the impacts on the population. This study shows how it is possible to use climate information in the strategic management of the water supply in the RMSP

“It’s Like Hating Puppies!” Employee Disengagement and Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been linked with numerous organizational advantages, including recruitment, retention, productivity, and morale, which relate specifically to employees. However, despite specific benefits of CSR relating to employees and their importance as a stakeholder group, it is noteworthy that a lack of attention has been paid to the individual level of analysis with CSR primarily being studied at the organizational level. Both research and practice of CSR have largely treated the individual organization as a “black box,” failing to account for individual differences amongst employees and the resulting variations in antecedents to CSR engagement or disengagement. This is further exacerbated by the tendency in stakeholder theory to homogenize priorities within a single stakeholder group. In response, utilizing case study data drawn from three multinational tourism and hospitality organizations, combined with extensive interview data collected from CSR leaders, industry professionals, engaged, and disengaged employees, this exploratory research produces a finer-grained understanding of employees as a stakeholder group, identifying a number of opportunities and barriers for individual employee engagement in CSR interventions. This research proposes that employees are situated along a spectrum of engagement from actively engaged to actively disengaged. While there are some common drivers of engagement across the entire spectrum of employees, differences also exist depending on the degree to which employees, rather than senior management, support corporate responsibility within their organizations. Key antecedents to CSR engagement that vary depending on employees’ existing level of broader engagement include organizational culture, CSR intervention design, employee CSR perceptions, and the observed benefits of participation