Splits in the self following immigration: An adaptive defense or a pathological reaction?

This study examines the extent to which splits in the sense of self following immigration can be seen to be an adaptive defense, allowing the self time to adapt and adjust to a new reality or rather a pathological reaction to the trauma of migration. In-depth interviews were conducted with 68 emerging adult immigrants in Israel from the Former Soviet Union around sense of self and the immigration experience. One year following the first interview, levels of functioning were assessed. Results showed that attempts to resolve splits (self/object) early after immigration led to an initially lower level of psychological symptoms, but one year later to an increased level of symptoms, suggesting that attempts of precocious resolution are likely to lead to subsequent adaptation difficulties. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Combinatorial Library of Lipid Nanoparticles for RNA Delivery to Leukocytes

Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are the most advanced nonviral platforms for small interfering RNA (siRNA) delivery that are clinically approved. These LNPs, based on ionizable lipids, are found in the liver and are now gaining much attention in the field of RNA therapeutics. The previous generation of ionizable lipids varies in linker moieties, which greatly influences in vivo gene silencing efficiency. Here novel ionizable amino lipids based on the linker moieties such as hydrazine, hydroxylamine, and ethanolamine are designed and synthesized. These lipids are formulated into LNPs and screened for their efficiency to deliver siRNAs into leukocytes, which are among the hardest to transfect cell types. Two potent lipids based on their in vitro gene silencing efficiencies are also identified. These lipids are further evaluated for their biodistribution profile, efficient gene silencing, liver toxicity, and potential immune activation in mice. A robust gene silencing is also found in primary lymphocytes when one of these lipids is formulated into LNPs with a pan leukocyte selective targeting agent (β₇ integrin). Taken together, these lipids have the potential to open new avenues in delivering RNAs into leukocytes.     

On VLSI interconnect optimization and linear ordering problem

Some well-known VLSI interconnect optimizations problems for timing, power and cross-coupling noise immunity share a property that enables mapping them into a specialized Linear Ordering Problem (LOP). Unlike the general LOP problem which is NP-complete, this paper proves that the specialized one has a closed-form solution. Let f(x,y):?²→? be symmetric, non-negative, defined for x≥0 and y≥0, and let f(x,y) be twice differentiable, satisfying ? ² f(x,y)/?x?y<0. Let π be a permutation of {1,…,n}. The specialized LOP comprises n objects, each associated with a real value parameter r _i , 1≤i≤n, and a cost f(r _i ,r _j ) associated to any two objects if |π(i)?π(j)|=1,1≤i,j≤n, and f(r _i ,r _j )=0 otherwise. We show that the permutation π which minimizes \(\sum_{i= 1}^{n - 1} f( r_{\pi^{ - 1}( i )},r_{\pi^{ - 1}( i + 1 )} )\), called “symmetric hill”, is determined upfront by the relations between the parameter values r _i .     

Boron and Sodium Doping of Polymeric Carbon Nitride Photoanodes for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

Polymeric carbon nitride is a promising photoanode material for water-splitting and organic transformation-based photochemical cells. Despite achieving significant progress in performance, these materials still exhibit low photoactivity compared to inorganic photoanodic materials because of a moderate visible light response, poor charge separation, and slow oxidation kinetics. Here, the synthesis of a sodium- and boron-doped carbon nitride layer with excellent activity as a photoanode in a water-splitting photoelectrochemical cell is reported. The new synthesis consists of the direct growth of carbon nitride (CN) monomers from a hot precursor solution, enabling control over the monomer-to-dopant ratio, thus determining the final CN properties. The introduction of Na and B as dopants results in a dense CN layer with a packed morphology, better charge separation thanks to the in situ formation of an electron density gradient, and an extended visible light response up to 550 nm. The optimized photoanode exhibits state-of-the-art performance: photocurrent densities with and without a hole scavenger of about 1.5 and 0.9 mA cm⁻² at 1.23 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), and maximal external quantum efficiencies of 56% and 24%, respectively, alongside an onset potential of 0.3 V.     

Pulsed Laser Induced Decomposition of Energetic Polymers: Comparison of ultraviolet (355 nm) and infrared (9.3 μm) initiation

Irradiation of the energetic polymer GAP (glycidyl azido polymer) by a high power pulsed UV laser leads to its rapid decomposition. A large amount of solid and gaseous material is released, and in the presence of an inert gas, a shock wave develops. Comparison with an inert polymer indicates that the energy released by the exothermicity of the decomposition reaction contributes significantly to the shock formative energy. The energy released in the micro-explosion can be estimated from the analysis of the shock front propagation velocity. It is found that irradiation of polymers in which GAP is diluted by an inert polymer, may lead to a higher shock intensity than irradiation of neat GAP. Possible causes for this apparent inconsistency (which is not observed upon initiation by a pulsed infrared laser) are discussed.