Precise Numerical Solutions of Potential Problems Using Crank-Nicholson Method

A new numerical treatment in the Crank-Nicholson method with the imaginary time evolution operator is presented in order to solve the Schr\"{o}dinger equation. The original time evolution technique is extended to a new operator that provides a systematic way to calculate not only eigenvalues of ground state but also of excited states. This new method systematically produces eigenvalues with accuracies of eleven digits with the Cornell potential that covers non-perturbative regime. An absolute error estimation technique based on a power counting rule is implemented. This method is examined with exactly solvable problems and produces the numerical accuracy down to 10$^{-11}$.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Up in the Air: A Global Estimate of Non-Violent Drone Use 2009-2015

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, has increased dramatically in recent years. While most attention has gone to military drone use, commercial drones have gained widespread popularity, with uses ranging from leisure activities by hobbyists to humanitarian aid and disaster relief support by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and activist groups. This use has been hard to quantify and regulate. In an effort to better understand the rapid growth of non-weaponized drone, this report analyzes cases of worldwide drone use reported during a six-year period (2009-2015). Utilizing a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, we engage two distinct research questions: (1) what is the nature of civilian drone use over time, and (2) what regulatory responses exist to use at the international, state, and sub-state levels. This six-year window generated more than 15,000 news items for analysis, and resulted in a dataset of 1,145 unique uses. The findings are in line with popular reports: drone usage has grown significantly. New platforms in civilian hands are challenging the status quo response of both regulators and human rights groups. While ethical considerations make direct comparisons nearly useless, non-military use has eclipsed military use. This reality poses fresh challenges to national governments, local municipalities, businesses, and individual actors.https://digital.sandiego.edu/gdl2016report/1000/thumbnail.jp

Hypophosphatasia

Hypophosphatasia is a rare inherited disorder characterized by defective bone and teeth mineralization, and deficiency of serum and bone alkaline phosphatase activity. The prevalence of severe forms of the disease has been estimated at 1/100 000

Evidence of the neuroprotective role of citicoline in glaucoma patients

The glaucomatous disease is currently considered a disease involving ocular and visual brain structures. This new approach to glaucoma introduces the possibility of inducing an improvement by means of a pharmacological approach similar to that used in different degenerative brain disorders. In line with this hypothesis, we studied the effects of oral (1600 mg/die, Cebrolux®, Tubilux Pharma, Pomezia, Rome, Italy) or intramuscular (1000 mg/die, Cebroton®, Tubilux Pharma) cytidine-5′-diphosphocholine (citicoline) treatment on retinal function and neural conduction in the visual pathways of glaucoma patients with moderate visual defects. Improvement of retinal function (objectively evaluated by pattern electroretinogram recordings) and of neural conduction along visual pathways (objectively evaluated by visual evoked potential recordings) were observed in glaucoma patients after two 60-day periods of oral or intramuscular treatment with citicoline. However, partial regression of this improvement was detected after two 120-day periods of washout. This suggests that the beneficial effects observed are in part treatment-dependent. The extension of citicoline treatment up to a period of 8 years lead to the stabilization or improvement of the glaucomatous visual dysfunction. These results suggest potential neuroprotective effects of citicoline in the glaucomatous disease. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Mild forms of hypophosphatasia mostly result from dominant negative effect of severe alleles or from compound heterozygosity for severe and moderate alleles

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mild hypophosphatasia (HPP) phenotype may result from <it>ALPL </it>gene mutations exhibiting residual alkaline phosphatase activity or from severe heterozygous mutations exhibiting a dominant negative effect. In order to determine the cause of our failure to detect a second mutation by sequencing in patients with mild HPP and carrying on a single heterozygous mutation, we tested the possible dominant effect of 35 mutations carried by these patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We tested the mutations by site-directed mutagenesis. We also genotyped 8 exonic and intronic <it>ALPL </it>gene polymorphisms in the patients and in a control group in order to detect the possible existence of a recurrent intronic mild mutation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that most of the tested mutations exhibit a dominant negative effect that may account for the mild HPP phenotype, and that for at least some of the patients, a second mutation in linkage disequilibrium with a particular haplotype could not be ruled out.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Mild HPP results in part from compound heterozygosity for severe and moderate mutations, but also in a large part from heterozygous mutations with a dominant negative effect.</p

Photoreduction of Shewanella oneidensis Extracellular Cytochromes by Organic Chromophores and Dye-Sensitized TiO2.

The transfer of photoenergized electrons from extracellular photosensitizers across a bacterial cell envelope to drive intracellular chemical transformations represents an attractive way to harness nature's catalytic machinery for solar-assisted chemical synthesis. In Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 (MR-1), trans-outer-membrane electron transfer is performed by the extracellular cytochromes MtrC and OmcA acting together with the outer-membrane-spanning porin⋅cytochrome complex (MtrAB). Here we demonstrate photoreduction of solutions of MtrC, OmcA, and the MtrCAB complex by soluble photosensitizers: namely, eosin Y, fluorescein, proflavine, flavin, and adenine dinucleotide, as well as by riboflavin and flavin mononucleotide, two compounds secreted by MR-1. We show photoreduction of MtrC and OmcA adsorbed on RuII -dye-sensitized TiO2 nanoparticles and that these protein-coated particles perform photocatalytic reduction of solutions of MtrC, OmcA, and MtrCAB. These findings provide a framework for informed development of strategies for using the outer-membrane-associated cytochromes of MR-1 for solar-driven microbial synthesis in natural and engineered bacteria.This work was supported by the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (grants BB/K009753/1, BB/K010220/1, BB/K009885/1, and BB/K00929X/1), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/M001989/1, PhD studentship 1307196 to E.V.A.), a Royal Society Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowship to J.N.B., the Christian Doppler Research Association, and OMV group

Solar Signals in CMIP-5 Simulations: The Ozone Response

A multiple linear regression statistical method is applied to model data taken from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, phase 5 (CMIP-5) to estimate the 11-yr solar cycle responses of stratospheric ozone, temperature, and zonal wind during the 1979-2005 period. The analysis is limited to the six CMIP-5 models that resolve the stratosphere (high-top models) and that include interactive ozone chemistry. All simulations assumed a conservative 11-yr solar spectral irradiance (SSI) variation based on the NRL model. These model responses are then compared to corresponding observational estimates derived from two independent satellite ozone profile data sets and from ERA Interim Reanalysis meteorological data. The models exhibit a range of 11-yr responses with three models (CESM1-WACCM, MIROC-ESM-CHEM, and MRI-ESM1) yielding substantial solar-induced ozone changes in the upper stratosphere that compare favorably with available observations. The remaining three models do not, apparently because of differences in the details of their radiation and photolysis rate codes. During winter in both hemispheres, the three models with stronger upper stratospheric ozone responses produce relatively strong latitudinal gradients of ozone and temperature in the upper stratosphere that are associated with accelerations of the polar night jet under solar maximum conditions. This behavior is similar to that found in the satellite ozone and ERA Interim data except that the latitudinal gradients tend to occur at somewhat higher latitudes in the models. The sharp ozone gradients are dynamical in origin and assist in radiatively enhancing the temperature gradients, leading to a stronger zonal wind response. These results suggest that simulation of a realistic solar-induced variation of upper stratospheric ozone, temperature and zonal wind in winter is possible for at least some coupled climate models even if a conservative SSI variation is adopted

Comparative genomics explains the evolutionary success of reef-forming corals

Transcriptome and genome data from twenty stony coral species and a selection of reference bilaterians were studied to elucidate coral evolutionary history. We identified genes that encode the proteins responsible for the precipitation and aggregation of the aragonite skeleton on which the organisms live, and revealed a network of environmental sensors that coordinate responses of the host animals to temperature, light, and pH. Furthermore, we describe a variety of stress-related pathways, including apoptotic pathways that allow the host animals to detoxify reactive oxygen and nitrogen species that are generated by their intracellular photosynthetic symbionts, and determine the fate of corals under environmental stress. Some of these genes arose through horizontal gene transfer and comprise at least 0.2% of the animal gene inventory. Our analysis elucidates the evolutionary strategies that have allowed symbiotic corals to adapt and thrive for hundreds of millions of years.This work was made possible by grants from the National Science Foundation, EF-1041143/RU 432635 and EF-1416785 awarded to PGF, DB, and TM, respectively. RDG, HMP, and AJS were supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, NIMHD P20MD006084, the Hawaii Community Foundation, Leahi Fund 13ADVC-60228 and NSF OCE PRF 1323822 and National Science Foundation Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research Hawaii: EPS- 0903833. CRV and MA acknowledge funding by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)

A Family of Diverse Kunitz Inhibitors from Echinococcus granulosus Potentially Involved in Host-Parasite Cross-Talk

The cestode Echinococcus granulosus, the agent of hydatidosis/echinococcosis, is remarkably well adapted to its definitive host. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the successful establishment of larval worms (protoscoleces) in the dog duodenum are unknown. With the aim of identifying molecules participating in the E. granulosus-dog cross-talk, we surveyed the transcriptomes of protoscoleces and protoscoleces treated with pepsin at pH 2. This analysis identified a multigene family of secreted monodomain Kunitz proteins associated mostly with pepsin/H+-treated worms, suggesting that they play a role at the onset of infection. We present the relevant molecular features of eight members of the E. granulosus Kunitz family (EgKU-1 – EgKU-8). Although diverse, the family includes three pairs of close paralogs (EgKU-1/EgKU-4; EgKU-3/EgKU-8; EgKU-6/EgKU-7), which would be the products of recent gene duplications. In addition, we describe the purification of EgKU-1 and EgKU-8 from larval worms, and provide data indicating that some members of the family (notably, EgKU-3 and EgKU-8) are secreted by protoscoleces. Detailed kinetic studies with native EgKU-1 and EgKU-8 highlighted their functional diversity. Like most monodomain Kunitz proteins, EgKU-8 behaved as a slow, tight-binding inhibitor of serine proteases, with global inhibition constants (KI*) versus trypsins in the picomolar range. In sharp contrast, EgKU-1 did not inhibit any of the assayed peptidases. Interestingly, molecular modeling revealed structural elements associated with activity in Kunitz cation-channel blockers. We propose that this family of inhibitors has the potential to act at the E. granulosus-dog interface and interfere with host physiological processes at the initial stages of infection