Formation of the simplest amide in molecular clouds: formamide (NH2_{2}CHO) and its derivatives in H2_2O-rich and CO-rich interstellar ice analogs upon VUV irradiation

The astronomical detection of formamide (NH$_2$CHO) toward various star-forming regions and in cometary material implies that the simplest amide might have an early origin in dark molecular clouds at low temperatures. Laboratory studies have proven the efficient NH$_2$CHO formation in interstellar CO:NH$_3$ ice analogs upon energetic processing. However, it is still under debate, whether the proposed radical-radical recombination reactions forming complex organic molecules remain valid in an abundant H$_2$O environment. The aim of this work was to investigate the formation of NH$_2$CHO in H$_2$O- and CO-rich ices under conditions prevailing in molecular clouds. Therefore, different ice mixtures composed of H$_2$O:CO:NH$_3$ (10:5:1), CO:NH$_3$ (4:1), and CO:NH$_3$ (0.6:1) were exposed to vacuum ultraviolet photons in an ultra-high vacuum chamber at 10 K. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy was utilized to monitor in situ the initial and newly formed species as a function of photon fluence. The infrared spectral identifications are complementarily secured by a temperature-programmed desorption experiment combined with a quadrupole mass spectrometer. The energetic processing of CO:NH$_3$ ice mixtures mainly leads to the NH$_2$CHO formation, along with its chemical derivatives such as isocyanic acid (HNCO) and cyanate ion (OCN$^-$). The formation kinetics of NH$_2$CHO shows an explicit dependency on ice ratios and compositions; the highest yield is found in H$_2$O-rich ice. The astronomical relevance of the resulting reaction network is discussed.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, 2 table

Developing markets? Understanding the role of markets and development at the intersection of macromarketing and transformative consumer research (TCR)

Situated at the intersection of markets and development, this commentary aims to promote a cross-fertilization of macromarketing and Transformative Consumer Research (TCR) that directs attention to the sociocultural context and situational embeddedness of consumer experience and well-being, while acknowledging complex, systemic interdependencies between markets, marketing, and society. Based on a critical review of the meaning of development and an interrogation of various developmental discourses, the authors develop a conceptual framework that brings together issues of development, well-being, and social inequalities. We suggest that these issues are better understood and addressed when examined via grounded investigations of the role of markets in shaping the management of resources, consumer agency, power inequalities and ethics. The use of markets as units of analysis may lead to further cross-fertilizations of TCR and macromarketing and to more comprehensive theorizing and transformational impact. Two empirical cases are provided to illustrate our framework

Phi-values in protein folding kinetics have energetic and structural components

Phi-values are experimental measures of how the kinetics of protein folding is changed by single-site mutations. Phi-values measure energetic quantities, but are often interpreted in terms of the structures of the transition state ensemble. Here we describe a simple analytical model of the folding kinetics in terms of the formation of protein substructures. The model shows that Phi-values have both structural and energetic components. In addition, it provides a natural and general interpretation of "nonclassical" Phi-values (i.e., less than zero, or greater than one). The model reproduces the Phi-values for 20 single-residue mutations in the alpha-helix of the protein CI2, including several nonclassical Phi-values, in good agreement with experiments.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

Orthogonalities and functional equations

In this survey we show how various notions of orthogonality appear in the theory of functional equations. After introducing some orthogonality relations, we give examples of functional equations postulated for orthogonal vectors only. We show their solutions as well as some applications. Then we discuss the problem of stability of some of them considering various aspects of the problem. In the sequel, we mention the orthogonality equation and the problem of preserving orthogonality. Last, but not least, in addition to presenting results, we state some open problems concerning these topics. Taking into account the big amount of results concerning functional equations postulated for orthogonal vectors which have appeared in the literature during the last decades, we restrict ourselves to the most classical equations

Features of Muon Arrival Time Distributions of High Energy EAS at Large Distances From the Shower Axis

In view of the current efforts to extend the KASCADE experiment (KASCADE-Grande) for observations of Extensive Air Showers (EAS) of primary energies up to 1 EeV, the features of muon arrival time distributions and their correlations with other observable EAS quantities have been scrutinised on basis of high-energy EAS, simulated with the Monte Carlo code CORSIKA and using in general the QGSJET model as generator. Methodically various correlations of adequately defined arrival time parameters with other EAS parameters have been investigated by invoking non-parametric methods for the analysis of multivariate distributions, studying the classification and misclassification probabilities of various observable sets. It turns out that adding the arrival time information and the multiplicity of muons spanning the observed time distributions has distinct effects improving the mass discrimination. A further outcome of the studies is the feature that for the considered ranges of primary energies and of distances from the shower axis the discrimination power of global arrival time distributions referring to the arrival time of the shower core is only marginally enhanced as compared to local distributions referring to the arrival of the locally first muon.Comment: 24 pages, Journal Physics G accepte

Patient-Reported Outcomes in ATLAS and FLAIR Participants on Long-Acting Regimens of Cabotegravir and Rilpivirine Over 48 Weeks

The phase 3 ATLAS and FLAIR studies demonstrated that maintenance with Long-Acting (LA) intramuscular cabotegravir and rilpivirine is non-inferior in efficacy to current antiretroviral (CAR) oral therapy. Both studies utilized Patient-Reported Outcome instruments to measure treatment satisfaction (HIVTSQ) and acceptance (ACCEPT general domain), health status (SF-12), injection tolerability/acceptance (PIN), and treatment preference. In pooled analyses, LA-treated patients (n = 591) demonstrated greater mean improvements from baseline than the CAR group (n = 591) in treatment satisfaction (Week 44, + 3.9 vs. +0.5 HIVTSQs-points; p /= 97% of LA group participants with recorded data preferred LA treatment compared with prior oral therapy. These results further support the potential of a monthly injectable option for people living with HIV seeking an alternative to daily oral treatment

A very brief description of LOFAR - the Low Frequency Array

LOFAR (Low Frequency Array) is an innovative radio telescope optimized for the frequency range 30-240 MHz. The telescope is realized as a phased aperture array without any moving parts. Digital beam forming allows the telescope to point to any part of the sky within a second. Transient buffering makes retrospective imaging of explosive short-term events possible. The scientific focus of LOFAR will initially be on four key science projects (KSPs): 1) detection of the formation of the very first stars and galaxies in the universe during the so-called epoch of reionization by measuring the power spectrum of the neutral hydrogen 21-cm line (Shaver et al. 1999) on the ~5' scale; 2) low-frequency surveys of the sky with of order $10^8$ expected new sources; 3) all-sky monitoring and detection of transient radio sources such as gamma-ray bursts, x-ray binaries, and exo-planets (Farrell et al. 2004); and 4) radio detection of ultra-high energy cosmic rays and neutrinos (Falcke & Gorham 2003) allowing for the first time access to particles beyond 10^21 eV (Scholten et al. 2006). Apart from the KSPs open access for smaller projects is also planned. Here we give a brief description of the telescope.Comment: 2 pages, IAU GA 2006, Highlights of Astronomy, Volume 14, K.A. van der Hucht, e

Environmental variability in aquatic ecosystems: avenues for future multifactorial experiments

The relevance of considering environmental variability for understanding and predicting biological responses to environmental changes has resulted in a recent surge in variability-focused ecological research. However, integration of findings that emerge across studies and identification of remaining knowledge gaps in aquatic ecosystems remain critical. Here, we address these aspects by: (1) summarizing relevant terms of variability research including the components (characteristics) of variability and key interactions when considering multiple environmental factors; (2) identifying conceptual frameworks for understanding the consequences of environmental variability in single and multi-factorial scenarios; (3) highlighting challenges for bridging theoretical and experimental studies involving transitioning from simple to more complex scenarios; (4) proposing improved approaches to overcome current mismatches between theoretical predictions and experimental observations; and (5) providing a guide for designing integrated experiments across multiple scales, degrees of control, and complexity in light of their specific strengths and limitations