The problem of nitrophily

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Observation of Andreev Reflection Enhanced Shot Noise

We have experimentally investigated the quasiparticle shot noise in NbN/MgO/NbN superconductor - insulator - superconductor tunnel junctions. The observed shot noise is significantly larger than theoretically expected. We attribute this to the occurrence of multiple Andreev reflection processes in pinholes present in the MgO barrier. This mechanism causes the current to flow in large charge quanta (Andreev clusters), with a voltage dependent average value of m = 1+ 2 Delta/eV times the electron charge. Because of this charge enhancement effect, the shot noise is increased by the factor m.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures include

Sphingosine 1-Phosphate Receptor 2 Signals Through Leukemia-Associated RhoGEF (LARG), to Promote Smooth Muscle Cell Differentiation

The goals of this study were to identify the signaling pathway by which S1P activates RhoA in SMC and to evaluate the contribution of this pathway to the regulation of SMC phenotype

Distinctively Dysfunctional: ‘State Capitalism 2.0’ and the Indian Power Sector

State intervention in India has persisted but has proved far from immune to critiques of traditional dirigisme. An examination of the power sector shows that waves of reforms since 1991 have together created a hybrid and regionally differentiated state-market system. Blurring the public-private boundary, this reinvented “state capitalism 2.0” displays both refurbished modes of intervention and new governance arrangements with private players. Nonetheless, as the power sector’s continually dismal condition suggests, this state-capitalist hybrid has not (yet) provided a coherent alternative to older dirigisme or the Anglo-American mode of “deregulatory” liberalization. Instead, between 1991 and 2014 its ad hoc, layered emergence generated distinctive forms of dysfunction. Coupled with competitive politics, its ever-increasing institutional complexity rendered it internally incoherent and vulnerable to rent seeking on multiple fronts. Power sector evidence suggests that state intervention in India has remained simultaneously indispensable and dogged by persistent administrative and financial difficulties. Examining its internal institutional transformations helps to explain the apparently contradictory nature of the contemporary Indian state: at once business-friendly, populist, and often underperforming

Regaining momentum for international climate policy beyond Copenhagen

The 'Copenhagen Accord' fails to deliver the political framework for a fair, ambitious and legally-binding international climate agreement beyond 2012. The current climate policy regime dynamics are insufficient to reflect the realities of topical complexity, actor coalitions, as well as financial, legal and institutional challenges in the light of extreme time constraints to avoid 'dangerous' climate change of more than 2°C. In this paper we analyze these stumbling blocks for international climate policy and discuss alternatives in order to regain momentum for future negotiations

Summary for policymakers

The Working Group III contribution to the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (WGIII AR5) provides a comprehensive assessment of all relevant options for mitigating climate change through limiting or preventing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as activities that remove them from the atmosphere. It draws on scientific literature accepted for publication prior to 4 October 2013. The WGIII Summary for Policymakers was approved at the Twelfth Session of Working Group III, held in Berlin, Germany, from 7 to 11 April, 2014. During the session, the IPCC plenary also accepted the underlying scientific and technical assessment, which stands at 2000 pages, including more than 700 pages of references