Past electron-positron g-2 experiments yielded sharpest bound on CPT violation for point particles

In our past experiments on a single electron and positron we measured the cyclotron and spin-cyclotron difference frequencies omega_c and omega_a and the ratios a = omega_a/ omega_c at omega_c = 141 Ghz for e^- and e^+ and later, only for e^-, also at 164 Ghz. Here, we do extract from these data, as had not done before, a new and very different figure of merit for violation of CPT symmetry, one similar to the widely recognized impressive limit |m_Kaon - m_Antikaon|/m_Kaon < 10^-18 for the K-mesons composed of two quarks. That expression may be seen as comparing experimental relativistic masses of particle states before and after the C, P, T operations had transformed particle into antiparticle. Such a similar figure of merit for a non-composite and quite different lepton, found by us from our Delta a = a^- - a^+ data, was even smaller, h_bar |omega_a^- - omega_a^+|/2m_0 c^2 = |Delta a| h_bar omega_c/2m_0 c^2) < 3(12) 10^-22.Comment: Improved content, Editorially approved for publication in PRL, LATEX file, 5 pages, no figures, 16

Chemical Reaction Dynamics at Surfaces

Contains reports on four research projects.Joint Services Electronics Program Contract DAAL03-92-C-000

Parkinson's disease biomarkers: perspective from the NINDS Parkinson's Disease Biomarkers Program

Biomarkers for Parkinson's disease (PD) diagnosis, prognostication and clinical trial cohort selection are an urgent need. While many promising markers have been discovered through the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Parkinson's Disease Biomarker Program (PDBP) and other mechanisms, no single PD marker or set of markers are ready for clinical use. Here we discuss the current state of biomarker discovery for platforms relevant to PDBP. We discuss the role of the PDBP in PD biomarker identification and present guidelines to facilitate their development. These guidelines include: harmonizing procedures for biofluid acquisition and clinical assessments, replication of the most promising biomarkers, support and encouragement of publications that report negative findings, longitudinal follow-up of current cohorts including the PDBP, testing of wearable technologies to capture readouts between study visits and development of recently diagnosed (de novo) cohorts to foster identification of the earliest markers of disease onset

Spatial Discrimination Threshold Abnormalities are not Detected in a Pilot Study of DYT6 Dystonia Mutation Carriers

Background: Spatial discrimination thresholds (SDTs) assess somatosensory integration, and provide a window into better understanding the pathophysiology of dystonia. They are abnormal in some focal dystonias, but normal in DYT1 dystonia. It is unknown whether SDTs are altered in DYT6 gene mutation carriers (C). Methods: SDTs were assessed in 17 DYT6 C (including eight manifesting carriers), 15 DYT1 C (including seven manifesting carriers) and 34 controls, using a standardized grating orientation task. Subjects were asked to recognize the orientation of Johnson–Van Boven–Philips (JVP) dome gratings on either index fingertip until 40% or more answers were incorrect. SDTs between indexes were calculated and averaged, with a final SDT assigned to each subject, and tertiles for control SDTs were constructed. Results: SDTs of DYT6 C or DYT1 C were comparable to those of controls, and not more likely to be in the worst tertile (p = 0.8 for DYT6 C vs. controls and p = 1.0 for DYT1 C vs. controls). This was independent of gene expression. Discussion: DYT6 carriers do not have impaired SDTs with the JVP dome paradigm. The normal SDT pattern thus suggests shared sensory physiologic patterns with DYT1 dystonia

Chemical Reaction Dynamics at Surfaces

Contains reports on two research projects with publication lists in each section.Joint Services Electronics Program Contract DAAL03-89-C-0001MIT Energy Laboratory Synthetic Fuels CenterNational Science Foundation Grant CHE 85-08734Petroleum Research Fund Contract 19014-AC

Chemical Reaction Dynamics at Surfaces

Contains reports on three research projects.Joint Services Electronics Program Contract DAAL03-92-C-0001National Science Foundation Grant CHE 90-20623U.S. Department of Energy Grant DE-FG02-89-ER1403

The ‘Wicked’ problem of developing critical understanding in Creative Writing students.

The subject benchmarks statements published in 2016 state that ‘Creative Writing (CW) is a diverse and still developing subject […] underpinned by a growing body of research and pedagogical thinking.’ (QAA, 2016) and as such writers who teach, and teachers who write, are actively engaging in reflective practice to try and bridge the gap between what has previously been viewed as a solitary and perhaps ‘mysterious’ practice (Waitman and Plucker, 2009), and what is now demanded in terms of theoretical and critical knowledge of that practice by students. As a writer and teacher of writing, I have become aware of similarities between Problem Based Learning (PBL) and the praxis approach I use. Seeking out literature on this connection however, has revealed that while many other disciplines (English/History/Sociology) are using CW as a PBL tool, it is little discussed within the subject itself. This study is the first tentative stage in a wider consideration of whether openly exploring creative writing acts and actions as a series of problem solving exercises can help students further understand their own creative practice, and develop not only their creative work but their ability to reflect and analyse their practice through academic research

DNA Nucleobase Synthesis at Titan Atmosphere Analog by Soft X-rays

Titan, the largest satellite of Saturn, has an atmosphere chiefly made up of N2 and CH4 and includes traces of many simple organic compounds. This atmosphere also partly consists of haze and aerosol particles which during the last 4.5 gigayears have been processed by electric discharges, ions, and ionizing photons, being slowly deposited over the Titan surface. In this work, we investigate the possible effects produced by soft X-rays (and secondary electrons) on Titan aerosol analogs in an attempt to simulate some prebiotic photochemistry. The experiments have been performed inside a high vacuum chamber coupled to the soft X-ray spectroscopy beamline at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Source, Campinas, Brazil. In-situ sample analyses were performed by a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The infrared spectra have presented several organic molecules, including nitriles and aromatic CN compounds. After the irradiation, the brownish-orange organic residue (tholin) was analyzed ex-situ by gas chromatographic (GC/MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) techniques, revealing the presence of adenine (C5H5N5), one of the constituents of the DNA molecule. This confirms previous results which showed that the organic chemistry on the Titan surface can be very complex and extremely rich in prebiotic compounds. Molecules like these on the early Earth have found a place to allow life (as we know) to flourish.Comment: To appear in Journal of Physical Chemistry A.; Number of pages: 6; Number of Figures: 5; Number of Tables: 1; Number of references:49; Full paper at http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jp902824

Growing Environmental Activists: Developing Environmental Agency and Engagement Through Children’s Fiction.

We explore how story has the potential to encourage environmental engagement and a sense of agency provided that critical discussion takes place. We illuminate this with reference to the philosophies of John Macmurray on personal agency and social relations; of John Dewey on the primacy of experience for philosophy; and of Paul Ricoeur on hermeneutics, dialogue, dialectics and narrative. We view the use of fiction for environmental understanding as hermeneutic, a form of conceptualising place which interprets experience and perception. The four writers for young people discussed are Ernest Thompson Seton, Kenneth Grahame, Michelle Paver and Philip Pullman. We develop the concept of critical dialogue, and link this to Crick's demand for active democratic citizenship. We illustrate the educational potential for environmental discussions based on literature leading to deeper understanding of place and environment, encouraging the belief in young people that they can be and become agents for change. We develop from Zimbardo the key concept of heroic resister to encourage young people to overcome peer pressure. We conclude with a call to develop a greater awareness of the potential of fiction for learning, and for writers to produce more focused stories engaging with environmental responsibility and activism