The two spin states of an end-on copper(II)-superoxide mimic

The reaction of nitrosobenzene with copper(I) complexes of a tetradentate ligand led to two novel species that are best described as copper(II) complexes of an O-bonded nitrosobenzyl radical anion, in either the singlet or the triplet spin-state. Both states were characterized by crystal structures, magnetic measurements and DFT calculations.     

Intra- and intergroup vocal behavior in resident killer whales, Orcinus orca

Vocal communication within and between groups of individuals has been described extensively in birds and terrestrial mammals, however, little is known about how cetaceans utilize their sounds in their natural environment. Resident killer whales, Orcinus orca, live in highly stable matrilines and exhibit group-specific vocal dialects. Single call types cannot exclusively be associated with particular behaviors and calls are thought to function in group identification and intragroup communication. In the present study call usage of three closely related matrilines of the Northern resident community was compared in various intra- and intergroup contexts. In two out of the three matrilines significant changes in vocal behavior depending both on the presence and identity of accompanying whales were found. Most evidently, family-specific call subtypes, as well as aberrant and variable calls, were emitted at higher rates, whereas "low arousal" call types were used less in the presence of matrilines from different pods, subclans, or clans. Ways in which the observed changes may function both in intra- and intergroup communication.     

Covalently closed microemulsions in presence of triblock terpolymers

This paper is focused on the influence of polystyrene (PS)-poly(1,4-butadiene) (PB)-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) triblock terpolymers on the w/o microemulsion of the pseudo-ternary system water/sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS)/xylene-pentanol. Despite the insolubility of the copolymer in water as well as in the xylene-pentanol mixture, it can be incorporated into the w/o microemulsion and interactions between the triblock terpolymer molecules and the anionic surfactant headgroups can be detected by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements. Furthermore, dynamic light scattering measurements were used to determine the aggregate diameter of the modified microemulsions. For lower polymer concentrations large aggregates between 100 and 500 nm can be observed. Surprisingly, at a higher terpolymer concentration of 5 wt%, significant smaller aggregate diameters can be identified by dynamic light scattering and Cryo-SEM. One can conclude that the copolymers are incorporated in the inverse microemulsion droplets, where the PB blocks cover the water droplets. The thermally induced radical cross-linking of the butadiene units in the presence of azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) leads then to covalently closed nanocapsules with an average size of 10 nm.     

Naturalness and Theoretical Constraints on the Higgs Boson Mass

Arbitrary regularization dependent parameters in Quantum Field Theory are usually fixed on symmetry or phenomenology grounds. We verify that the quadratically divergent behavior responsible for the lack of naturalness in the Standard Model (SM) is intrinsically arbitrary and regularization dependent. While quadratic divergences are welcome for instance in effective models of low energy QCD, they pose a problem in the SM treated as an effective theory in the Higgs sector. Being the very existence of quadratic divergences a matter of debate, a plausible scenario is to search for a symmetry requirement that could fix the arbitrary coefficient of the leading quadratic behavior to the Higgs boson mass to zero. We show that this is possible employing consistency of scale symmetry breaking by quantum corrections. Besides eliminating a fine-tuning problem and restoring validity of perturbation theory, this requirement allows to construct bounds for the Higgs boson mass in terms of $\delta m^{2}/m^{2}_{H}$ (where m _H is the renormalized Higgs mass and δm ² is the 1-loop Higgs mass correction). Whereas $\delta m^{2}/m^{2}_{H}<1$ (perturbative regime) in this scenario allows the Higgs boson mass around the current accepted value, the inclusion of the quadratic divergence demands $\delta m^{2}/m^{2}_{H}$ arbitrarily large to reach that experimental value.     

Is-ClusterMPP: clustering algorithm through point processes and influence space towards high-dimensional data

Advances in Data Analysis and Classification - Clustering via marked point processes and influence space, Is-ClusterMPP, is a new unsupervised clustering algorithm through adaptive MCMC sampling of...     

Robust optimization of internal transports at a parcel sorting center operated by Deutsche Post World Net

Competitiveness in global markets requires the ongoing identification and full utilization of improvement potential. To cut costs by means of process optimization, logistics service providers need to focus on efficient planning — not only for external but also for internal transports. This contribution will demonstrate that significant reductions in internal transports at one of the Deutsche Post World Net’s main parcel sorting centers can be achieved by applying the robust solution of a modified three-dimensional linear assignment model.