Photoelectron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis

Photoelectron spectroscopy started its modern development in the fifties based on techniques for studies of nuclear decay. Since then, photoelectron spectroscopy has undergone a dramatic expansion of application and is now a prime research tool in basic and applied science. This progress has been largely due to the concomitant development of photon sources, sample handling and electron energy analyzers. The present article describes some of the salient features of modern photoelectron spectroscopy and its applications with particular emphasis on energy relevant issues

Captured by Evil: The Idea of Corruption in Law

Corruption is one of the most powerful words in the English language. When it comes to the treatment of corruption by law, however, corruption is a troubled concept. With increasing recognition of the costs of corruption for economic development, democratic governance, international aid programs, and other world goals, attempts to articulate what this destructive force is have led to an avalanche of theoretical writing. In the last fifteen years, corruption has been variously defined as the violation of law, a public servant\u27s breach of public duty, an agent\u27s betrayal of a principal\u27s interests, the pursuit of secrecy, the denial of equality in political influence, and other ways. In the end, however, all of these efforts fall short. Corruption is more than law-breaking: it is more than breaching public duties. To say that A is a thief or that A has breached his duty is not to say that A is corrupt. The latter is far more powerful, far more emotional, far more essential than the others. It is more than secrecy, or the denial of equal opportunity. It is a searing indictment, somehow, not only of A\u27s act but of A\u27s character. It is a statement not only of what A has done, but of what A has become. Corruption is, I argue, a far more powerful idea than these existing legal understandings have articulated: it is the idea of capture by evil, the possession of the individual by evil, in law. Just as we once believed in corruption of the blood in American law, which decreed that offspring of those who had committed crimes were believed to be irrevocably tainted by their parents\u27 depravity, so we still retain - through the idea of corruption - the belief that individual evil extends beyond acts of wrongdoing, or the denial of equal opportunity, or breach of the public trust. It is this idea of corruption, I argue - the idea of capture by evil - that, although unarticulated, drives our understandings of corruption in law. It drives our understanding of corrupt judges, who, once corrupt, we believe will act so in every case. It drives our understanding of campaign finance reform, where we fear deep corruption of the process from the occurrence of corrupt acts. It drives our understanding of corruption as a systemic effect and systemic influence, which presents institutional dangers that are greater than other crimes, and that requires purgation rather than simple law enforcement. This Article explores this deeper understanding of corruption, its impacts in areas such as judicial corruption and campaign finance reform, and its implications for the principle of the rule of law

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Semiempirical calculations of titanium dioxide (rutile) clusters

The densities of states for small (TiO2)x-clusters, x = 1, 3, 6, 9, and 14, were calcd. by means of the INDO method. The shape of the valence bands' d. of states (DOS) are discussed in terms of the distribution of coordination nos. A one-slab cluster with uniform distribution of the coordination nos. was used to compare the calcns. with exptl. spectra. The photoelec. DOS and DOS for a cluster with an oxygen vacancy are in very good agreement with exptl. findings for the TiO2 (001) surface. O 1s core level shifts between a surfacelike and a bulklike O atom were estd. The obsd. surface-bulk shift for the TiO2 (001) surface contains a substantial relaxation contribution