Income and happiness: Evidence, explanations and economic implications

There is now a great deal of micro-econometric evidence, both cross-section and panel, showing that income is positively correlated with well-being. Yet the famous Easterlin paradox shows essentially no change in average happiness at the country level, despite spectacular rises in per capita GDP. We argue that survey well-being questions are indeed good proxy measures of utility, and resolve the Easterlin paradox by appealing to income comparisons: these can be to others (social comparisons) or to oneself in the past (habituation). We review a substantial amount of econometric, experimental and neurological literature consistent with comparisons, and then spell out the implications for a wide range of economic issues.income ; happiness ; social comparisons ; habituation ; economic policy

Web-Based Digital Portfolios and Counselor Supervision

Web-based digital portfolios provide a promising tool for counselor supervisors looking for effective ways to evaluate counselor candidates while maximizing the associated learning process. This paper describes a project involving the use of web-based portfolios that were created by counselor candidates. The project illustrates the benefits of the web-based portfolio for both the counselor supervisor and for the counselors in training

Synthesis of a Molecular Charm Bracelet via Click Cyclization and Olefin Metathesis Clipping

We describe the synthesis of a polycatenated cyclic polymer, a structure that resembles a molecular charm bracelet. Ruthenium-catalyzed ring-opening metathesis polymerization of an aminocontaining cyclic olefin monomer in the presence of a chain transfer agent generated an α,ω-diazide functionalized polyamine. Cyclization of the resulting linear polyamine using pseudo-high-dilution coppercatalyzed click cyclization produced a cyclic polymer in 19% yield. The click reaction was then further employed to remove linear contaminants from the cyclic polymer using azide- and alkyne-functionalized scavenging resins, and the purified cyclic polymer product was characterized by gel permeation chromatography, ^1H NMR spectroscopy, and IR spectroscopy. Polymer hydrogenation and conversion to the corresponding polyammonium species enabled coordination and interlocking of diolefin polyether fragments around the cyclic polymer backbone using ruthenium-catalyzed ring-closing olefin metathesis to afford a molecular charm bracelet structure. This charm bracelet complex was characterized by ^1H NMR spectroscopy, and the catenated nature of the small rings was confirmed using two-dimensional diffusion-ordered NMR spectroscopy

On the temperature structure of the Galactic Centre cloud G0.253+0.016

We present a series of smoothed particle hydrodynamical models of G0.253+0.016 (also known as 'The Brick'), a very dense molecular cloud that lies close to the Galactic Centre. We explore how its gas and dust temperatures react as we vary the strength of both the interstellar radiation field (ISRF) and the cosmic ray ionisation rate (CRIR). As the physical extent of G0.253+0.016 along our line-of-sight is unknown, we consider two possibilities: one in which the longest axis is that measured in the plane of the sky (9.4 pc in length), and one in which it is along the line of sight, in which case we take it to be 17 pc. To recover the observed gas and dust temperatures, we find find that the ISRF must be around 1000 times the solar neighbourhood value, and the CRIR must be roughly 1E-14 /s, regardless of the geometries studied. For such high values of the CRIR, we find that cooling in the cloud's interior is dominated by neutral oxygen, in contrast to standard molecular clouds, which at the same densities are mainly cooled via CO. Our results suggest that the conditions near G0.253+0.016 are more extreme than those generally accepted for the inner 500 pc of the galaxy.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Membrane Microviscosity Modulates Μ-Opioid Receptor Conformational Transitions and Agonist Efficacy

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66282/1/j.1471-4159.1999.0730289.x.pd

Fullerene van der waals Oligomers as electron traps

Density functional theory calculations indicate that van der Waals fullerene dimers and larger oligomers can form interstitial electron traps in which the electrons are even more strongly bound than in isolated fullerene radical anions. The fullerenes behave like super atoms , and the interstitial electron traps represent one-electron intermolecular σ-bonds. Spectroelectrochemical measurements on a bis-fullerene-substituted peptide provide experimental support. The proposed deep electron traps are relevant for all organic electronics applications in which non-covalently linked fullerenes in van der Waals contact with one another serve as n-type semiconductors

Dinosaur tracks from the Kilmaluag Formation (Bathonian, Middle Jurassic) of Score Bay, Isle of Skye, Scotland, UK

Tracks of a juvenile theropod dinosaur with footprint lengths of between 2 and 9 cm as well as adults of the same ichnospecies with footprints of about 15–25 cm in length were found in the Bathonian (Middle Jurassic) Kilmaluag Formation of Score Bay, northwestern Trotternish Peninsula, Isle of Skye, Scotland, UK. Two footprint sizes occur together on the same bedding plane in the central portion of Score Bay, both in situ and on loose blocks. Another horizon containing footprints above this was also identified. The footprints from the lowest horizon were produced in a desiccated silty mud that was covered with sand. A close association of both adults and juveniles with similar travel direction indicated by the footprints may suggest post-hatching care in theropod dinosaurs. Other footprints, produced on a rippled sandy substrate, have been found on the slightly higher bedding plane at this locality. Loose blocks found 130 m to the northeast in the central part of Score Bay have not been correlated with any in situ sediments, but were preserved in a similar manner to those from the higher bedding plane. These tracks represent the youngest dinosaur remains yet found in Scotland

Book Reviews

Book reviews by Edmund A. Stephan, Charles E. Clark, Joseph A. McClain, Roger Paul Peters, and Leon H. Wallace

Structural basis for complement factor H-linked age-related macular degeneration

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Nearly 50 million people worldwide suffer from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which causes severe loss of central vision. A single-nucleotide polymorphism in the gene for the complement regulator factor H (FH), which causes a Tyr-to-His substitution at position 402, is linked to approximately 50% of attributable risks for AMD. We present the crystal structure of the region of FH containing the polymorphic amino acid His402 in complex with an analogue of the glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) that localize the complement regulator on the cell surface. The structure demonstrates direct coordination of ligand by the disease-associated polymorphic residue, providing a molecular explanation of the genetic observation. This glycan-binding site occupies the center of an extended interaction groove on the regulator's surface, implying multivalent binding of sulfated GAGs. This finding is confirmed by structure-based site-directed mutagenesis, nuclear magnetic resonance-monitored binding experiments performed for both H402 and Y402 variants with this and another model GAG, and analysis of an extended GAG-FH complex.B. Prosser is funded by the Wellcome Trust Structural Biology Training Program (075415/Z/04/Z). S. Johnson and P. Roversi were funded by grants to S.M. Lea from the Medical Research Council (MRC) of the United Kingdom (grants G0400389 and G0400775). D. Uhrin and P.N. Barlow were funded by the Wellcome Trust (078780/ Z/05/Z). S.J. Clark was funded by an MRC Doctoral Training Account (G78/7925), and R.B. Sim and A.J. Day were funded by MRC core funding to the MRC Immunochemistry Unit