Investigation of thin films of organic-based magnets grown by physical vapor deposition

Thin films of organic-based magnet, V[TCNE]x (TCNE: tetracyanoethylene), were deposited by physical vapor deposition (PVD) based reactive evaporation. The growth conditions were studied in detail. A saturated composition of V[TCNE]???1.9 was determined by optimizing the growth condition. Two sets of films with different V to TCNE ratios were characterized. Both films were magnetic ordered up to 400 K and held coercive field of 60 Oe at room temperature. With the presence of excess vanadium within the film, the increase of defects created by PVD results in significant change in electronic property.open0

Room-temperature organic-based spin polarizer

We report a magnetic tunnel junction operating at room-temperature with organic magnetic semiconductor V[TCNE](x) (x similar to 2, TCNE: tetracyanoethylene) and Fe as the spin polarizer and analyzer while 10 mu rubrene layer serves as the tunnel barrier between them. At room-temperature, the magnetoresistance (MR) presents 16.7% of its peak value at 100K. We observed sign inversion of MR with increasing temperature, while the sign of the MR is independent of the polarity of the bias voltages. Our results suggest that V[TCNE](x) is a promising material for room-temperature spintronic applications.open5

Effects of Prior Exposure to Brand Name Products on Explicit and Implicit Memory Tests

This study was designed to explore the effects of different kinds of exposure to brand name products on explicit and implicit memory tests. At the time of exposure, participants were given brand name products exposed in a conceptual manner and data driven manner, and this was accomplished by the levels of processing (LOP) manipulation effect. Then at test, participants received a recognition memory test (conceptually driven) and a forced choice purchasing task (data driven). Following each memory test, participants were given a test awareness questionnaire that consisted of a series of questions in order to find out the level of participant’s knowledge on the purpose of the experiment (whether or not they were aware of the fact that items were presented before and repeated through a second task, when they became aware, and how often they were aware). Results showed that LOP manipulation effects were significant in the recognition test, but not significant in the forced choice purchasing task. In addition to LOP manipulation effects, correlations between recognition test awareness and memory performance were positive, while correlations between forced choice purchasing task awareness and priming performance were negative. Even with subtle exposure to brand name products, participants selected products more often when it was studied than when it was not studied. It can be concluded that the manner in which products are exposed has an effect on consumers’ purchasing behavior and, more importantly, so too does the manner in which consumers are tested for their purchasing behavior. Specifically, advertisers should not always be reliant on recognition memory tests in order to test the effectiveness of advertisement techniques on purchasing behavior

Decadal Prediction Skill in the GEOS-5 Forecast System

A suite of decadal predictions has been conducted with the NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office?s GEOS-5 Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Model (AOGCM). The hindcasts are initialized every December from 1959 to 2010 following the CMIP5 experimental protocol for decadal predictions. The initial conditions are from a multi-variate ensemble optimal interpolation ocean and sea-ice reanalysis, and from the atmospheric reanalysis (MERRA, the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications) generated using the GEOS-5 atmospheric model. The forecast skill of a three-member-ensemble mean is compared to that of an experiment without initialization but forced with observed CO2. The results show that initialization acts to increase the forecast skill of Northern Atlantic SST compared to the uninitialized runs, with the increase in skill maintained for almost a decade over the subtropical and mid-latitude Atlantic. The annual-mean Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) index is predictable up to a 5-year lead time, consistent with the predictable signal in upper ocean heat content over the Northern Atlantic. While the skill measured by Mean Squared Skill Score (MSSS) shows 50% improvement up to 10-year lead forecast over the subtropical and mid-latitude Atlantic, however, prediction skill is relatively low in the subpolar gyre, due in part to the fact that the spatial pattern of the dominant simulated decadal mode in upper ocean heat content over this region appears to be unrealistic. An analysis of the large-scale temperature budget shows that this is the result of a model bias, implying that realistic simulation of the climatological fields is crucial for skillful decadal forecasts

Common dysregulation network in the human prefrontal cortex underlies two neurodegenerative diseases.

Using expression profiles from postmortem prefrontal cortex samples of 624 dementia patients and non-demented controls, we investigated global disruptions in the co-regulation of genes in two neurodegenerative diseases, late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Huntington's disease (HD). We identified networks of differentially co-expressed (DC) gene pairs that either gained or lost correlation in disease cases relative to the control group, with the former dominant for both AD and HD and both patterns replicating in independent human cohorts of AD and aging. When aligning networks of DC patterns and physical interactions, we identified a 242-gene subnetwork enriched for independent AD/HD signatures. This subnetwork revealed a surprising dichotomy of gained/lost correlations among two inter-connected processes, chromatin organization and neural differentiation, and included DNA methyltransferases, DNMT1 and DNMT3A, of which we predicted the former but not latter as a key regulator. To validate the inter-connection of these two processes and our key regulator prediction, we generated two brain-specific knockout (KO) mice and show that Dnmt1 KO signature significantly overlaps with the subnetwork (P = 3.1 × 10(-12)), while Dnmt3a KO signature does not (P = 0.017)

Recessive C10orf2 mutations in a family with infantile-onset spinocerebellar ataxia, sensorimotor polyneuropathy, and myopathy

Recessive mutations in chromosome 10 open reading frame 2 (C10orf2) are relevant in infantile-onset spinocerebellar ataxia (IOSCA). In this study, we investigated the causative mutation in a Korean family with combined phenotypes of IOSCA, sensorimotor polyneuropathy, and myopathy. We investigated recessive mutations in a Korean family with two individuals affected by IOSCA. Causative mutations were investigated using whole exome sequencing. Electrophysiological analyses and muscle and nerve biopsies were performed, along with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and lower extremities. Compound heterozygous mutations c.1460C>T and c.1485-1G>A in C10orf2 were identified as causative of IOSCA. Skeletal muscle showed mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletions. Both patients showed a period of normal development until 12–15 months, followed by ataxia, athetosis, hearing loss, and intellectual disability. Electrophysiological findings indicated motor and sensory polyneuropathies. Muscle biopsy revealed variations in the size and shape of myofibers with scattered, small, and angulated degenerating myofibers containing abnormal mitochondria; these observations are consistent with myopathy and may be the result of mtDNA deletions. Sural nerve biopsy revealed an axonal neuropathy. High-signal-intensity lesions in the middle cerebellar peduncles were correlated with clinical severity, and MRI of the lower legs was compatible with the hypothesis of length-dependent axonal degeneration. We identified novel compound heterozygous mutations of the C10orf2 gene as the cause of IOSCA with sensorimotor polyneuropathy and myopathy. Signs of motor neuropathy and myopathy were discovered for the first time in IOSCA patients with C10orf2 mutations. These results suggest that the clinical spectrum of IOSCA caused by C10orf2 mutations may be more variable than previously reported. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10048-014-0405-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

A Structural Model of Taxation and Unemployment Insurance on Search Dynamics

The thesis studies the effects of taxation and Unemployment Insurance program on the labor market search and employment dynamics of high school graduates in the U.S. We develop a dynamic life-cycle model of job search with institutional features of taxes and UI benefits, and examine the interaction between them to derive the effects on the optimization problem of single agents; labor force participation decisions, consumption, asset accumulation, labor status transitions, welfare, and the reservation wage. Knowing the effect of taxation and unemployment benefit is twofold and theoretically ambiguous, we estimate the model using a sub-sample of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 with NLSY Geocode variables, and fit the model to the data by the Simulated Method of Moments. Given the SMM estimates, we conduct several policy experiments involving changes in the benefit rates, maximum duration that the benefits can be paid, deduction amounts, and income tax rates. We find that the disincentive to work dominates the incentive effect under the current Unemployment Insurance and taxation policies. The maximum benefit-paying period extension and increase in the UI replacement rate raise search and unemployment duration, but decrease wage earnings, assets, consumption, and sacrifice individuals\u27 Wealth in turn. Increase in tax rates raises the unemployment duration and the first accepted wages, but lowers reemployment rate, wage earnings, assets, and consumption. Allowing tax exemption at the lowest tax brackets lowers the first unemployment duration, average search duration, and first accepted wage, but raises individual wealth. The income tax effects proposed by our policy experiments more stands out in high income tax area due to the higher unemployment rate. | 105 page

Effects of Prior Exposure to Brand Name Products on Explicit and Implicit Memory Tests

This study was designed to explore the effects of different kinds of exposure to brand name products on explicit and implicit memory tests. At the time of exposure, participants were given brand name products exposed in a conceptual manner and data driven manner, and this was accomplished by the levels of processing (LOP) manipulation effect. Then at test, participants received a recognition memory test (conceptually driven) and a forced choice purchasing task (data driven). Following each memory test, participants were given a test awareness questionnaire that consisted of a series of questions in order to find out the level of participant’s knowledge on the purpose of the experiment (whether or not they were aware of the fact that items were presented before and repeated through a second task, when they became aware, and how often they were aware). Results showed that LOP manipulation effects were significant in the recognition test, but not significant in the forced choice purchasing task. In addition to LOP manipulation effects, correlations between recognition test awareness and memory performance were positive, while correlations between forced choice purchasing task awareness and priming performance were negative. Even with subtle exposure to brand name products, participants selected products more often when it was studied than when it was not studied. It can be concluded that the manner in which products are exposed has an effect on consumers’ purchasing behavior and, more importantly, so too does the manner in which consumers are tested for their purchasing behavior. Specifically, advertisers should not always be reliant on recognition memory tests in order to test the effectiveness of advertisement techniques on purchasing behavior