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MiniCLEAN is a single-phase liquid argon dark matter experiment. During the initial cooling phase, impurities within the cold gas (\\(<\\)140 K) were monitored by measuring the scintillation light triplet lifetime, and ultimately a triplet lifetime of 3.480 \\(\\pm\\) 0.001 (stat.) \\(\\pm\\) 0.064 (sys.) \\(\\mu\\)s was obtained, indicating ultra-pure argon. This is the longest argon triplet time constant ever reported. The effect of quenching of separate components of the scintillation light is also investigated.

Synaptotagmin 9 (SYT9) is a tandem C2-domain Ca2+ sensor for exocytosis in neuroendocrine cells; its function in neurons remains unclear. Here, we show that SYT9 does not trigger rapid synaptic vesicle exocytosis in cultured cortical, hippocampal, or striatal neurons; rather, synaptotagmin 1 (SYT1) fulfills this function. SYT9 can regulate evoked synaptic vesicle exocytosis, but only when massively over-expressed. In striatal neurons, loss of SYT9 reduced the rate of spontaneous miniature neurotransmitter release events (minis). To delve into the underlying mechanism, we localized SYT9 in striatal neurons and found that it was targeted to dense core vesicles, where it regulated the release of substance P (SP), a neuropeptide known to modulate mini frequency. Exogenous SP, but not other striatal peptide hormones, completely rescued the Syt9 KO mini phenotype. Biochemical experiments revealed that Ca2+-binding to the C2A domain of SYT9 serves to regulate membrane fusion in vitro, and mutations that disrupt this activity abolished the ability of SYT9 to regulate minis in striatal neurons. We conclude that SYT9 indirectly regulates synaptic transmission in striatal neurons by controlling SP release. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early Universe, the dynamics of the supernova bursts that produced the heavy elements necessary for life and whether protons eventually decay --- these mysteries at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early evolution of our Universe, its current state and its eventual fate. The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) represents an extensively developed plan for a world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions. LBNE is conceived around three central components: (1) a new, high-intensity neutrino source generated from a megawatt-class proton accelerator at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, (2) a near neutrino detector just downstream of the source, and (3) a massive liquid argon time-projection chamber deployed as a far detector deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility. This facility, located at the site of the former Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota, is approximately 1,300 km from the neutrino source at Fermilab -- a distance (baseline) that delivers optimal sensitivity to neutrino charge-parity symmetry violation and mass ordering effects. This ambitious yet cost-effective design incorporates scalability and flexibility and can accommodate a variety of upgrades and contributions. With its exceptional combination of experimental configuration, technical capabilities, and potential for transformative discoveries, LBNE promises to be a vital facility for the field of particle physics worldwide, providing physicists from around the globe with opportunities to collaborate in a twenty to thirty year program of exciting science. In this document we provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess.

The Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center is one of the largest in the world. Over 600,000 outpatient prescriptions are processed yearly. These prescriptions are being processed, as a part of the drug dispensing system, by means of computer terminals. As a first step in controlling irrational prescribing, three types of undesirable or inappropriate prescriptions were defined and identified by physicians and pharmacists at the Medical Center. These are: 1. excessive drug quantities specified in individual prescriptions, 2. undesirably frequent prescriptions for the same drug, and 3. inappropriate concurrent prescriptions for different drugs. Of 52,733 consecutive prescriptions for the 78 drug products most frequently dispensed to outpatients, representing more than four fifths of all outpatient prescriptions, 13% represented excessive-quantity prescriptions. Most frequently involved were sedatives and tranquilizers. As many as 1,300 tablets of one such agent was dispensed on a single prescription. Only 1.7% of all prescriptions were judged to involve too frequent prescribing of a drug. However, analyses of patient drug records showed that some outpatients were receiving as many as 54 prescriptions over a 112-day period. Numerous examples were found of concurrent prescriptions of two different drug products which could result in serious drug interaction or potentiation.

Prescriptions in an outpatient setting were kept on file for immediate recall by computer terminals. Drugs with abuse potential were found to make up 33.6 percent of all prescriptions, and 12.4 percent of these prescriptions were for excessive quantities. An additional 2.6 percent of these prescriptions represented irrationally large quantities of drugs dispensed by multiple prescriptions. The physician was cooperative and willing to correct this situation when it was brought to his attention by the pharmacist.

We present the preliminary results from implementing a new software tool that enables inspection of time-tagged photon data for the astronomical sources contained within individual GALEX ultraviolet images of the sky. We have inspected the photon data contained within 1802 GALEX images to reveal rapid, short-term (<500 sec) UV source variability in the form of stellar flares. The mean associated change in NUV magnitude due to this flaring activity is 2.7+/-0.3 mag. A list of 49 new UV variable-star candidates is presented, together with their associated Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) photometric magnitudes. From these data we can associate the main source of these UV flare events with magnetic activity on M-dwarf stars. Photometric parallaxes have been determined for 32 of these sources, placing them at distances ranging from approximately 25 to 1000pc. The average UV flare energy for these flare events is 2.5E30 ergs, which is of a similar energy to that of U-band, X-ray and EUV flares observed on many local M-dwarf stars. We have found that stars of classes M0 to M5 flare with energies spanning a far larger range and with an energy approximately 5 times greater than those of later (M6 to M8) spectral type.

We present Version 1.0 of the NASA Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) ultraviolet variability catalog (GUVV) that contains information on 84 time-variable and transient sources gained with simultaneous near and far ultraviolet photometric observations. These time-variable sources were serendipitously revealed in the various 1.2 degree star fields currently being surveyed by the GALEX satellite in two ultraviolet bands (NUV 1750-2750A, FUV 1350-1750A) with limiting AB magnitudes of 23-25. The largest-amplitude variable objects presently detected by GALEX are M-dwarf flare stars, which can brighten by 5-10 mag in both the NUV and FUV bands during short duration (< 500s) outbursts. Other types of large-amplitude ultraviolet variable objects include ab-type RR Lyrae stars, which can vary periodically by 2-5mag in the GALEX FUV band. This first GUVV catalog lists galactic positions and possible source identifications in order to provide the astronomical community with a list of time-variable objects that can now be repeatedly observed at other wavelengths. We expect the total number of time-variable source detections to increase as the GALEX mission progresses, such that later version numbers of the GUVV catalog will contain substantially more variable sources.