Preface

When classes started in the Fall, 1969, at Southern Methodist University, it was the first time in forty-two years that Mayne Longnecker was not present to greet the new students on campus

Assignment of the vibrations of the S0, S1, and D+0 states of perhydrogenated and perdeuterated isotopologues of chlorobenzene

We report vibrationally resolved spectra of the S1 ← S0 transition of chlorobenzene using resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization spectroscopy. We study chlorobenzene-h5 as well as its perdeuterated isotopologue, chlorobenzene-d5. Changes in the form of the vibrational modes between the isotopologues and also between the S0 and S1 electronic states are discussed for each species. Vibrational bands are assigned utilizing quantum chemical calculations, previous experimental results, and isotopic shifts, including those between the 35Cl and 37Cl isotopologues. Previous work and assignments of the S1 spectra are discussed. Additionally, the vibrations in the ground state cation, D+0, are considered, since these have also been used by previous workers in assigning the excited neutral state spectra

Vibrations of the S1 state of fluorobenzene-h5 and fluorobenzene-d5 via resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) spectroscopy

We report resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization spectra of the isotopologues fluorobenzeneh5 and fluorobenzene-d5. By making use of quantum chemical calculations, the changes in the wavenumber of the vibrational modes upon deuteration are examined. Additionally, the mixing of vibrational modes both between isotopologues and also between the two electronic states is discussed. The isotopic shifts lead to dramatic changes in the appearance of the spectrum as vibrations shift in and out of Fermi resonance. Assignments of the majority of the fluorobenzene-d5 observed bands are provided, aided by previous results on fluorobenzene-h5

Resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) spectroscopy of bromobenzene and its perdeuterated isotopologue: assignment of the vibrations of the S0, S1 and D0+ states of bromobenzene and the S0 and D0+ states of iodobenzene

We report vibrationally-resolved spectra of the S1 S0 transition of bromobenzene using resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) spectroscopy. We study bromobenzene-h5 as well as its perdeuterated isotopologue, bromobenzene-d5. The form of the vibrational modes between the isotopologues and also between the S0 and S1 electronic states are discussed for each species, allowing assignment of the bands to be achieved and the activity between states and isotopologues to be established. Vibrational bands are assigned utilizing quantum chemical calculations, previous experimental results and isotopic shifts. Previous work and assignments of the S1 spectra are discussed. Additionally, the vibrations in the ground state cation, D0+, are considered, since these have also been used by previous workers in assigning the excited neutral state spectra. We also examine the vibrations of iodobenzene in the S0 and D0+ states and comment on previous assignments of these. In summary, we have been able to assign corresponding vibrations across the whole monohalobenzene series of molecules, in the S0, S1 and D0+ states, gaining insight into vibrational activity and vibrational couplings

HM+ and HM+?He (M = Group 2 metal): chemical or physical interactions?

We investigate the HM+–He complexes (M = Group 2 metal) using quantum chemistry. Equilibrium geometries are linear for M = Be and Mg, and bent for M = Ca–Ra; the explanation for this lies in the differing nature of the highest occupied molecular orbitals in the two sets of complexes. The difference primarily occurs as a result of the formation of the H–M+ bond, and so the HM+ diatomics are also studied as part of the present work. The position of the He atom in the complexes is largely determined by the form of the electron density. HM+. . . He binding energies are obtained and are surprisingly high for a helium complex. The HBe+. . . He value is almost 3000 cm−1, which is high enough to suspect contributions from chemical bonding. This is explored by examining the natural orbital density and by population analyses

Prevalence and outcomes of atrial fibrillation in older people living in care homes in Wales:a routine data linkage study 2003-2018

OBJECTIVE: To determine atrial fibrillation (AF) prevalence and temporal trends, and examine associations between AF and risk of adverse health outcomes in older care home residents. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study using anonymised linked data from the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage Databank on CARE home residents in Wales with AF (SAIL CARE-AF) between 2003 and 2018. Fine-Gray competing risk models were used to estimate the risk of health outcomes with mortality as a competing risk. Cox regression analyses were used to estimate the risk of mortality. RESULTS: There were 86,602 older care home residents (median age 86.0 years [interquartile range 80.8–90.6]) who entered a care home between 2003 and 2018. When the pre-care home entry data extraction was standardised, the overall prevalence of AF was 17.4% (95% confidence interval 17.1–17.8) between 2010 and 2018. There was no significant change in the age- and sex-standardised prevalence of AF from 16.8% (15.9–17.9) in 2010 to 17.0% (16.1–18.0) in 2018. Residents with AF had a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.27 [1.17–1.37], P < 0.001), all-cause mortality (adjusted HR 1.14 [1.11–1.17], P < 0.001), ischaemic stroke (adjusted sub-distribution HR 1.55 [1.36–1.76], P < 0.001) and cardiovascular hospitalisation (adjusted sub-distribution HR 1.28 [1.22–1.34], P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Older care home residents with AF have an increased risk of adverse health outcomes, even when higher mortality rates and other confounders are accounted for. This re-iterates the need for appropriate oral anticoagulant prescription and optimal management of cardiovascular co-morbidities, irrespective of frailty status and predicted life expectancy

Association of Accelerometry-Measured Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Events in Mobility-Limited Older Adults: The LIFE (Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders) Study.

BACKGROUND:Data are sparse regarding the value of physical activity (PA) surveillance among older adults-particularly among those with mobility limitations. The objective of this study was to examine longitudinal associations between objectively measured daily PA and the incidence of cardiovascular events among older adults in the LIFE (Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders) study. METHODS AND RESULTS:Cardiovascular events were adjudicated based on medical records review, and cardiovascular risk factors were controlled for in the analysis. Home-based activity data were collected by hip-worn accelerometers at baseline and at 6, 12, and 24&nbsp;months postrandomization to either a physical activity or health education intervention. LIFE study participants (n=1590; age 78.9±5.2 [SD] years; 67.2% women) at baseline had an 11% lower incidence of experiencing a subsequent cardiovascular event per 500&nbsp;steps taken per day based on activity data (hazard ratio, 0.89; 95% confidence interval, 0.84-0.96; P=0.001). At baseline, every 30&nbsp;minutes spent performing activities ≥500&nbsp;counts per minute (hazard ratio, 0.75; confidence interval, 0.65-0.89 [P=0.001]) were also associated with a lower incidence of cardiovascular events. Throughout follow-up (6, 12, and 24&nbsp;months), both the number of steps per day (per 500&nbsp;steps; hazard ratio, 0.90, confidence interval, 0.85-0.96 [P=0.001]) and duration of activity ≥500&nbsp;counts per minute (per 30&nbsp;minutes; hazard ratio, 0.76; confidence interval, 0.63-0.90 [P=0.002]) were significantly associated with lower cardiovascular event rates. CONCLUSIONS:Objective measurements of physical activity via accelerometry were associated with cardiovascular events among older adults with limited mobility (summary score &gt;10 on the Short Physical Performance Battery) both using baseline and longitudinal data. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION:URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01072500

The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey of SDSS-III

The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) is designed to measure the scale of baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) in the clustering of matter over a larger volume than the combined efforts of all previous spectroscopic surveys of large scale structure. BOSS uses 1.5 million luminous galaxies as faint as i=19.9 over 10,000 square degrees to measure BAO to redshifts z<0.7. Observations of neutral hydrogen in the Lyman alpha forest in more than 150,000 quasar spectra (g<22) will constrain BAO over the redshift range 2.15<z<3.5. Early results from BOSS include the first detection of the large-scale three-dimensional clustering of the Lyman alpha forest and a strong detection from the Data Release 9 data set of the BAO in the clustering of massive galaxies at an effective redshift z = 0.57. We project that BOSS will yield measurements of the angular diameter distance D_A to an accuracy of 1.0% at redshifts z=0.3 and z=0.57 and measurements of H(z) to 1.8% and 1.7% at the same redshifts. Forecasts for Lyman alpha forest constraints predict a measurement of an overall dilation factor that scales the highly degenerate D_A(z) and H^{-1}(z) parameters to an accuracy of 1.9% at z~2.5 when the survey is complete. Here, we provide an overview of the selection of spectroscopic targets, planning of observations, and analysis of data and data quality of BOSS.Comment: 49 pages, 16 figures, accepted by A

Parent-of-origin-specific allelic associations among 106 genomic loci for age at menarche.

Age at menarche is a marker of timing of puberty in females. It varies widely between individuals, is a heritable trait and is associated with risks for obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and all-cause mortality. Studies of rare human disorders of puberty and animal models point to a complex hypothalamic-pituitary-hormonal regulation, but the mechanisms that determine pubertal timing and underlie its links to disease risk remain unclear. Here, using genome-wide and custom-genotyping arrays in up to 182,416 women of European descent from 57 studies, we found robust evidence (P < 5 × 10(-8)) for 123 signals at 106 genomic loci associated with age at menarche. Many loci were associated with other pubertal traits in both sexes, and there was substantial overlap with genes implicated in body mass index and various diseases, including rare disorders of puberty. Menarche signals were enriched in imprinted regions, with three loci (DLK1-WDR25, MKRN3-MAGEL2 and KCNK9) demonstrating parent-of-origin-specific associations concordant with known parental expression patterns. Pathway analyses implicated nuclear hormone receptors, particularly retinoic acid and γ-aminobutyric acid-B2 receptor signalling, among novel mechanisms that regulate pubertal timing in humans. Our findings suggest a genetic architecture involving at least hundreds of common variants in the coordinated timing of the pubertal transition

Multiplex RT-PCR Amplification of HIV Genes to Create a Completely Autologous DC-Based Immunotherapy for the Treatment of HIV Infection

BACKGROUND: Effective therapy for HIV-infected individuals remains an unmet medical need. Promising clinical trials with dendritic cell (DC)-based immunotherapy consisting of autologous DC loaded with autologous virus have been reported, however, these approaches depend on large numbers of HIV virions to generate sufficient doses for even limited treatment regimens. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The present study describes a novel approach for RT-PCR amplification of HIV antigens. Previously, RT-PCR amplification of autologous viral sequences has been confounded by the high mutation rate of the virus which results in unreliable primer-template binding. To resolve this problem we developed a multiplex RT-PCR strategy that allows reliable strain-independent amplification of highly polymorphic target antigens from any patient and requires neither viral sequence data nor custom-designed PCR primers for each individual. We demonstrate the application of our RT-PCR process to amplify translationally-competent RNA encoding regions of Gag, Vpr, Rev and Nef. The products amplified using this method represent a complex mixture of autologous antigens encoded by viral quasispecies. We further demonstrate that DCs electroporated with in vitro-transcribed HIV RNAs are capable of stimulating poly-antigen-specific CD8+ T cell responses in vitro. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: This study describes a strategy to overcome patient to patient viral diversity enabling strain-independent RT-PCR amplification of RNAs encoding sequence divergent quasispecies of Gag, Vpr, Rev and Nef from small volumes of infectious plasma. The approach allows creation of a completely autologous therapy that does not require advance knowledge of the HIV genomic sequences, does not have yield limitations and has no intact virus in the final product. The simultaneous use of autologous viral antigens and DCs may provoke broad patient-specific immune responses that could potentially induce effective control of viral loads in the absence of conventional antiretroviral drug therapy