Helium, Oxygen, Proton, and Electron (HOPE) Mass Spectrometer for the Radiation Belt Storm Probes Mission

The HOPE mass spectrometer of the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) mission (renamed the Van Allen Probes) is designed to measure the in situ plasma ion and electron fluxes over 4π sr at each RBSP spacecraft within the terrestrial radiation belts. The scientific goal is to understand the underlying physical processes that govern the radiation belt structure and dynamics. Spectral measurements for both ions and electrons are acquired over 1 eV to 50 keV in 36 log-spaced steps at an energy resolution ΔE FWHM/E≈15 %. The dominant ion species (H+, He+, and O+) of the magnetosphere are identified using foil-based time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry with channel electron multiplier (CEM) detectors. Angular measurements are derived using five polar pixels coplanar with the spacecraft spin axis, and up to 16 azimuthal bins are acquired for each polar pixel over time as the spacecraft spins. Ion and electron measurements are acquired on alternate spacecraft spins. HOPE incorporates several new methods to minimize and monitor the background induced by penetrating particles in the harsh environment of the radiation belts. The absolute efficiencies of detection are continuously monitored, enabling precise, quantitative measurements of electron and ion fluxes and ion species abundances throughout the mission. We describe the engineering approaches for plasma measurements in the radiation belts and present summaries of HOPE measurement strategy and performance

Denying humanness to victims: How gang members justify violent behavior

The high prevalence of violent offending amongst gang-involved youth has been established in the literature. Yet the underlying psychological mechanisms that enable youth to engage in such acts of violence remain unclear. 189 young people were recruited from areas in London, UK, known for their gang activity. We found that gang members, in comparison to non-gang youth, described the groups they belong to as having recognized leaders, specific rules and codes, initiation rituals, and special clothing. Gang members were also more likely than non-gang youth to engage in violent behavior and endorse moral disengagement strategies (i.e., moral justification, euphemistic language, advantageous comparison, displacement of responsibility, attribution of blame, and dehumanization). Finally, we found that dehumanizing victims partially mediated the relationship between gang membership and violent behavior. These findings highlight the effects of groups at the individual level and an underlying psychological mechanism that explains, in part, how gang members engage in violence

Kinetics and Jamming Coverage in a Random Sequential Adsorption of Polymer Chains

Using a highly efficient Monte Carlo algorithm, we are able to study the growth of coverage in a random sequential adsorption (RSA) of self-avoiding walk (SAW) chains for up to 10^{12} time steps on a square lattice. For the first time, the true jamming coverage (theta_J) is found to decay with the chain length (N) with a power-law theta_J propto N^{-0.1}. The growth of the coverage to its jamming limit can be described by a power-law, theta(t) approx theta_J -c/t^y with an effective exponent y which depends on the chain length, i.e., y = 0.50 for N=4 to y = 0.07 for N=30 with y -> 0 in the asymptotic limit N -> infinity.Comment: RevTeX, 5 pages inclduing figure

Adsorption of Line Segments on a Square Lattice

We study the deposition of line segments on a two-dimensional square lattice. The estimates for the coverage at jamming obtained by Monte-Carlo simulations and by $7^{th}$-order time-series expansion are successfully compared. The non-trivial limit of adsorption of infinitely long segments is studied, and the lattice coverage is consistently obtained using these two approaches.Comment: 19 pages in Latex+5 postscript files sent upon request ; PTB93_

Assessment of changes in quality of life among patients in the SAVE Study - Sirolimus as therapeutic Approach to uVEitis: a randomized study to assess the safety and bioactivity of intravitreal and subconjunctival injections of sirolimus in patients with non-infectious uveitis.

BACKGROUND: The National Eye Institute 39-Question Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI VFQ-39) is an indicator of vision-related quality of life (QoL). The NEI VFQ-39 is used to assess the QoL in patients with non-infectious posterior uveitis, intermediate uveitis, or panuveitis, treated with subconjunctival (SCJ) or intravitreal (IVT) sirolimus as an immunomodulatory therapeutic (IMT) agent, delivered subconjunctivally (SCJ) or intravitreally (IVT) (the SAVE Study). Thirty subjects with non-infectious uveitis were randomized (SCJ:IVT, 1:1) for a prospective clinical trial. The 39-Question Visual Function Questionnaire (VFQ-39) was administered at baseline (BL), month 6 (M6), and month 12 (M12) visits. The survey measures self-reported vision health status for patients with chronic eye disease and assesses the effects of visual impairment on both task-oriented visual function and general health domains. In accordance to the NEI-VFQ Manual, each patient\u27s questionnaire was converted to a scaled score between 0 (worst) and 100 (best), and median scores were calculated for each of the subcategories and overall composite score at BL, M6, and M12. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was performed. RESULTS: Twenty-six patients completed the VFQ-39 at BL and M6, whereas 23 patients completed it at M12. Patients showed a significant improvement in pooled composite scores from BL to M6 and BL to M12. Analysis by treatment groups showed that intravitreal injection of sirolimus is better tolerated. CONCLUSIONS: Sirolimus has demonstrated bioactivity as an IMT and corticosteroid-sparing agent to treat non-infectious uveitis. Patients receiving intravitreal injection of sirolimus showed overall improvement of vision-related health while those receiving subconjunctival injections did not. Larger randomized control trials with sirolimus are indicated to validate these results. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00908466

The regulatory subunit of PKA-I remains partially structured and undergoes β-aggregation upon thermal denaturation

Background: The regulatory subunit (R) of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) is a modular flexible protein that responds with large conformational changes to the binding of the effector cAMP. Considering its highly dynamic nature, the protein is rather stable. We studied the thermal denaturation of full-length RIα and a truncated RIα(92-381) that contains the tandem cyclic nucleotide binding (CNB) domains A and B. Methodology/Principal Findings: As revealed by circular dichroism (CD) and differential scanning calorimetry, both RIα proteins contain significant residual structure in the heat-denatured state. As evidenced by CD, the predominantly α-helical spectrum at 25°C with double negative peaks at 209 and 222 nm changes to a spectrum with a single negative peak at 212-216 nm, characteristic of β-structure. A similar α→β transition occurs at higher temperature in the presence of cAMP. Thioflavin T fluorescence and atomic force microscopy studies support the notion that the structural transition is associated with cross-β-intermolecular aggregation and formation of non-fibrillar oligomers. Conclusions/Significance: Thermal denaturation of RIα leads to partial loss of native packing with exposure of aggregation-prone motifs, such as the B' helices in the phosphate-binding cassettes of both CNB domains. The topology of the β-sandwiches in these domains favors inter-molecular β-aggregation, which is suppressed in the ligand-bound states of RIα under physiological conditions. Moreover, our results reveal that the CNB domains persist as structural cores through heat-denaturation. © 2011 Dao et al

Effect of the harvest date, calcium and other chemicals on the quality and storability of ‘Golden Smoothie’ apples

Apples cultivated in Mexico generally are smaller and softer than those produced in other geographical latitudes considered as optimal for apple production. The aim of this evaluation was determine the effect of applications with calcium, nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, sulfur and naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), as well as the harvest date on the quality of apple fruits. ‘Golden Smoothie’ apple trees were treated foliarly with CaCl2 with and without NAA, and with a mixture of N, K, Mg and S or gypsum applied to soil for two years. Apples were harvested at 141 (regular harvest date), 161 (mid-late harvest) and 171 days (late harvest) after full bloom (DAFB) and evaluated for quality at harvest time and during their storage at 0°C for up to 179 days. Foliar applications of CaCl2 significantly increased the calcium content in fruit and leaves, but fruit quality, including firmness, was not influenced. Fertilization of soil with the mixture of nutrients, including CaSO4, did not influence the fruit quality. Lately harvested fruit was 14.9% heavier but 17.1% softer than fruit picked at the commercial harvest date. Delaying of fruit harvest reduced about 43 d the storability of fruit. Based in these results, the relative softness of apples grown in Mexico is not related with its calcium content, hence unlikely to be overcome with the application of this mineral. Even in the control fruits, both seasons, the stored fruits do not show some physiological disorder as bitter pit.  Objective: Apples cultivated in Mexico generally are smaller and softer than those produced in other geographical latitudes considered as optimal for apple production. The aim of this evaluation was determine the effect of applications with calcium, nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, sulfur and naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), as well as the harvest date on the quality of apple fruits. Methodology ‘Golden Smoothie’ apple trees were treated foliarly with CaCl2 with and without NAA, and with a mixture of N, K, Mg and S or gypsum applied to soil for two years. Apples were harvested at 141 (regular harvest date), 161 (mid-late harvest) and 171 days (late harvest) after full bloom (DAFB) and evaluated for quality at harvest time and during their storage at 0°C for up to 179 days. Results: Foliar applications of CaCl2 significantly increased the calcium content in fruit and leaves, but fruit quality, including firmness, was not influenced. Fertilization of soil with the mixture of nutrients, including CaSO4, did not influence the fruit quality. Lately harvested fruit was 14.9% heavier but 17.1% softer than fruit picked at the commercial harvest date. Delaying of fruit harvest reduced about 43 d the storability of fruit. Based in these results, the relative softness of apples grown in Mexico is not related with its calcium content, hence unlikely to be overcome with the application of this mineral. Conclusions: Even in the control fruits, both seasons, the stored fruits do not show some physiological disorder as bitter pi

X-ray and IR Point Source Identification and Characteristics in the Embedded, Massive Star-Forming Region RCW 108

We report on the results of an approximately 90 ks Chandra observation of a complex region that hosts multiple sites of recent and active star formation in ARA OB1a. The field is centered on the embedded cluster RCW 108-IR and includes and a large portion of the open cluster NGC 6193. We detect over 420 X-ray sources in the field and combined these data with deep near-IR, Spitzer/IRAC and MSX mid-IR data. We find about 360 of the X-ray sources have near--IR counterparts. We divide the region into 5 parts based on the X-ray point source characteristics and extended 8 micron emission. The most clearly defined regions are the central region - identified by embedded sources with high luminosities in the both the near-IR and X-ray as well as high X-ray temperatures (about 3 keV) and the eastern region - identified by low extinction and 1 keV X-ray temperatures. Other regions, identified by their directional relationship to RCW 108-IR are less uniform - representing combinations of the first two regions, independent star formation epochs, or both. Over 18% percent of the cluster members with over 100 counts exhibit flares. Overall about 50% of the stars appear to have optically thick disks when IRAC data are employed. The largest fraction of X-ray sources are best described as possessing some disk material via a more detailed extinction fitting. We estimate that the total number of pre--main sequence stars in the field is about 1600. Approximately 800 are confined to (1.1 pc) central region.Comment: 63 pages including 18 figures, and 15 tables. Tables 1,2,5,7,10,and 11 have been stubbed in the text and included as ancillary files. Accepted by the Astronomical Journa