Molecular vibration in cold collision theory

Cold collisions of ground state oxygen molecules with Helium have been investigated in a wide range of cold collision energies (from 1 $\mu$K up to 10 K) treating the oxygen molecule first as a rigid rotor and then introducing the vibrational degree of freedom. The comparison between the two models shows that at low energies the rigid rotor approximation is very accurate and able to describe all the dynamical features of the system. The comparison between the two models has also been extended to cases where the interaction potential He - O$_2$ is made artificially stronger. In this case vibration can perturb rate constants, but fine-tuning the rigid rotor potential can alleviate the discrepancies between the two models.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

Towards coherent optical control of a single hole spin: rabi rotation of a trion conditional on the spin state of the hole

A hole spin is a potential solid-state q-bit, that may be more robust against nuclear spin induced dephasing than an electron spin. Here we propose and demonstrate the sequential preparation, control and detection of a single hole spin trapped on a self-assembled InGaAs/GaAs quantum dot. The dot is embedded in a photodiode structure under an applied electric field. Fast, triggered, initialization of a hole spin is achieved by creating a spin-polarized electron-hole pair with a picosecond laser pulse, and in an applied electric field, waiting for the electron to tunnel leaving a spin-polarized hole. Detection of the hole spin with picoseconds time resolution is achieved using a second picosecond laser pulse to probe the positive trion transition, where a trion is created conditional on the hole spin being detected as a change in photocurrent. Finally, using this setup we observe a Rabi rotation of the hole-trion transition that is conditional on the hole spin, which for a pulse area of 2 pi can be used to impart a phase shift of pi between the hole spin states, a non-general manipulation of the hole spin. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Cognitive Social Psychology

Social psychology is presently dominated by cognitive theories that emphasize the importance of personal beliefs and in tellective processes as the immediate determinants of behavior. The present paper explores two areas of.research within this tra dition : (1) beliefs about the external world, and (2) beliefs about the self. The paper concludes with a brief critique of the cognitive approach to social psychology.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69030/2/10.1177_014616727700300402.pd

Structure, mass and stability of galactic disks

In this review I concentrate on three areas related to structure of disks in spiral galaxies. First I will review the work on structure, kinematics and dynamics of stellar disks. Next I will review the progress in the area of flaring of HI layers. These subjects are relevant for the presence of dark matter and lead to the conclusion that disk are in general not `maximal', have lower M/L ratios than previously suspected and are locally stable w.r.t. Toomre's Q criterion for local stability. I will end with a few words on `truncations' in stellar disks.Comment: Invited review at "Galaxies and their Masks" for Ken Freeman's 70-th birthday, Sossusvlei, Namibia, April 2010. A version with high-res. figures is available at http://www.astro.rug.nl/~vdkruit/jea3/homepage/Namibiachapter.pd

Quantum coherent control of highly multipartite continuous-variable entangled states by tailoring parametric interactions

The generation of continuous-variable multipartite entangled states is important for several protocols of quantum information processing and communication, such as one-way quantum computation or controlled dense coding. In this article we theoretically show that multimode optical parametric oscillators can produce a great variety of such states by an appropriate control of the parametric interaction, what we accomplish by tailoring either the spatio-temporal shape of the pump, or the geometry of the nonlinear medium. Specific examples involving currently available optical parametric oscillators are given, hence showing that our ideas are within reach of present technology.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure

Rotational Surfaces in L3\mathbb{L}^3 and Solutions in the Nonlinear Sigma Model

The Gauss map of non-degenerate surfaces in the three-dimensional Minkowski space are viewed as dynamical fields of the two-dimensional O(2,1) Nonlinear Sigma Model. In this setting, the moduli space of solutions with rotational symmetry is completely determined. Essentially, the solutions are warped products of orbits of the 1-dimensional groups of isometries and elastic curves in either a de Sitter plane, a hyperbolic plane or an anti de Sitter plane. The main tools are the equivalence of the two-dimensional O(2,1) Nonlinear Sigma Model and the Willmore problem, and the description of the surfaces with rotational symmetry. A complete classification of such surfaces is obtained in this paper. Indeed, a huge new family of Lorentzian rotational surfaces with a space-like axis is presented. The description of this new class of surfaces is based on a technique of surgery and a gluing process, which is illustrated by an algorithm.Comment: PACS: 11.10.Lm; 11.10.Ef; 11.15.-q; 11.30.-j; 02.30.-f; 02.40.-k. 45 pages, 11 figure

Dialysis initiation, modality choice, access, and prescription: conclusions from a Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) Controversies Conference

Globally, the number of patients undergoing maintenance dialysis is increasing, yet throughout the world there is significant variability in the practice of initiating dialysis. Factors such as availability of resources, reasons for starting dialysis, timing of dialysis initiation, patient education and preparedness, dialysis modality and access, as well as varied \u201ccountry-specific\u201d factors significantly affect patient experiences and outcomes. As the burden of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) has increased globally, there has also been a growing recognition of the importance of patient involvement in determining the goals of care and decisions regarding treatment. In January 2018, KDIGO (Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes) convened a Controversies Conference focused on dialysis initiation, including modality choice, access, and prescription. Here we present a summary of the conference discussions, including identified knowledge gaps, areas of controversy, and priorities for research. A major novel theme represented during the conference was the need to move away from a \u201cone-size-fits-all\u201d approach to dialysis and provide more individualized care that incorporates patient goals and preferences while still maintaining best practices for quality and safety. Identifying and including patient-centered goals that can be validated as quality indicators in the context of diverse health care systems to achieve equity of outcomes will require alignment of goals and incentives between patients, providers, regulators, and payers that will vary across health care jurisdictions

A selective ATP-binding cassette subfamily G member 2 efflux inhibitor revealed via high-throughput flow cytometry

Chemotherapeutics tumor resistance is a principal reason for treatment failure, and clinical and experimental data indicate that multidrug transporters such as ATP-binding cassette (ABC) B1 and ABCG2 play a leading role by preventing cytotoxic intracellular drug concentrations. Functional efflux inhibition of existing chemotherapeutics by these pumps continues to present a promising approach for treatment. A contributing factor to the failure of existing inhibitors in clinical applications is limited understanding of specific substrate/inhibitor/pump interactions. We have identified selective efflux inhibitors by profiling multiple ABC transporters against a library of small molecules to find molecular probes to further explore such interactions. In our primary screening protocol using JC-1 as a dual-pump fluorescent reporter substrate, we identified a piperazine-substituted pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine substructure with promise for selective efflux inhibition. As a result of a focused structure-activity relationship (SAR)-driven chemistry effort, we describe compound 1 (CID44640177), an efflux inhibitor with selectivity toward ABCG2 over ABCB1. Compound 1 is also shown to potentiate the activity of mitoxantrone in vitro as well as preliminarily in vivo in an ABCG2-overexpressing tumor model. At least two analogues significantly reduce tumor size in combination with the chemotherapeutic topotecan. To our knowledge, low nanomolar chemoreversal activity coupled with direct evidence of efflux inhibition for ABCG2 is unprecedented

Customer emotions in service failure and recovery encounters

Emotions play a significant role in the workplace, and considerable attention has been given to the study of employee emotions. Customers also play a central function in organizations, but much less is known about customer emotions. This chapter reviews the growing literature on customer emotions in employee–customer interfaces with a focus on service failure and recovery encounters, where emotions are heightened. It highlights emerging themes and key findings, addresses the measurement, modeling, and management of customer emotions, and identifies future research streams. Attention is given to emotional contagion, relationships between affective and cognitive processes, customer anger, customer rage, and individual differences

Comprehensive analysis of epigenetic clocks reveals associations between disproportionate biological ageing and hippocampal volume

The concept of age acceleration, the difference between biological age and chronological age, is of growing interest, particularly with respect to age-related disorders, such as Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Whilst studies have reported associations with AD risk and related phenotypes, there remains a lack of consensus on these associations. Here we aimed to comprehensively investigate the relationship between five recognised measures of age acceleration, based on DNA methylation patterns (DNAm age), and cross-sectional and longitudinal cognition and AD-related neuroimaging phenotypes (volumetric MRI and Amyloid-β PET) in the Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle (AIBL) and the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Significant associations were observed between age acceleration using the Hannum epigenetic clock and cross-sectional hippocampal volume in AIBL and replicated in ADNI. In AIBL, several other findings were observed cross-sectionally, including a significant association between hippocampal volume and the Hannum and Phenoage epigenetic clocks. Further, significant associations were also observed between hippocampal volume and the Zhang and Phenoage epigenetic clocks within Amyloid-β positive individuals. However, these were not validated within the ADNI cohort. No associations between age acceleration and other Alzheimer’s disease-related phenotypes, including measures of cognition or brain Amyloid-β burden, were observed, and there was no association with longitudinal change in any phenotype. This study presents a link between age acceleration, as determined using DNA methylation, and hippocampal volume that was statistically significant across two highly characterised cohorts. The results presented in this study contribute to a growing literature that supports the role of epigenetic modifications in ageing and AD-related phenotypes