EVN+MERLIN observations of microquasar candidates at low galactic latitudes

In an attempt to increase the number of known microquasars, Paredes et al. (2002) have presented a long-term project focused on the search for new objects of this type. They performed a cross-identification between X-ray and radio catalogs under very restrictive selection criteria for sources with |b|<5 degrees, and obtained a sample of 13 radio-emitting X-ray sources. Follow-up observations of 6 of these sources with the VLA provided accurate coordinates, which were used to discover optical counterparts for all of them. We have observed these six sources with the EVN and MERLIN at 5 GHz. Five of the six objects have been detected and imaged, presenting different morphologies: one source has a two-sided jet, three sources have one-sided jets, and one source is compact. With all the presently available information, we conclude that two of the sources are promising microquasar candidates in our Galaxy.

Platform pricing and consumer foresight: The case of airports

Airports have become platforms that derive revenues from both aeronautical and commercial activities. The demand for these services is characterized by a one-way complementarity in that only air travelers can purchase retail goods at the airport terminals. We analyze a model of optimal airport behavior in which this one-way complementarity is subject to consumer foresight, i.e., consumers may not anticipate in full the ex post retail surplus when purchasing a flight ticket. An airport sets landing fees, and, in addition, also chooses the retail market structure by selecting the number of retail concessions to be awarded. We find that, with perfectly myopic consumers, the airport chooses to attract more passengers via low landing fees, and also sets the minimum possible number of retailers in order to increase the concessions’ revenues, from which it obtains the largest share of profits. However, even a very small amount of anticipation of the consumer surplus from retail activities changes significantly the airport’s choices: the optimal airport policy is dependent on the degree of differentiation in the retail market. When consumers instead have perfect foresight, the airport establishes a very competitive retail market, where consumers enjoy a large surplus. This attracts passengers and it is exploited by the airport by charging higher landing fees, which then constitute the largest share of its profits. Overall, the airport’s profits are maximal when consumers have perfect foresight. Keywords: two-sided markets, platform pricing, one-way demand complementarity, consumer foresight. JEL classification: L1, L2, L93.

In Google we trust?

In a micro-founded model, we derive novel incentives for a monopoly search engine to distort its organic and its sponsored results on searches for online content and offline products. Distorting organic results towards content publishers with less effective display advertising and/or distorting sponsored results towards higher margin merchants (by underweighting consumer relevance in search auctions) increase per capita revenues but lower participation. The interplay of these incentives determines search bias and welfare. We also characterize how the welfare consequences of integration into display advertising, as intermediary or publisher, depend on asymmetries, monopolization and targeting.

Synthesis, binding affinity, and molecular docking analysis of new benzofuranone derivative as pontential antipsychotics

The complex etiology of schizophrenia has prompted researchers to develop clozapine-related multitargetstrategies to combat its symptoms. Here we describe a series of new 6-aminomethylbenzofuranones in aneffort to find new chemical structures with balanced affinities for 5-HT2 and dopamine receptors. Throughbiological and computational studies of 5-HT2A and D2 receptors, we identified the receptor serine residuesS3.36 and S5.46 as the molecular keys to explaining the differences in affinity and selectivity betweenthese new compounds for this group of receptors. Specifically, the ability of these compounds to establishone or two H-bonds with these key residues appears to explain their difference in affinity. In addition, wedescribe compound 2 (QF1004B) as a tool to elucidate the role of 5-HT2C receptors in mediating antipsychoticeffects and metabolic adverse events. The compound 16a (QF1018B) showed moderate to high affinitiesfor D2 and 5-HT2A receptors, and a 5-HT2A/D2 ratio was predictive of an atypical antipsychotic profile.

Differential pharmacologic properties of the two C75 enantiomers: (+)-C75 is a strong anorectic drug. (-)-C75 has antitumour activity

C75 is a synthetic compound described as having antitumoral properties. It produces hypophagia and weight loss in rodents, limiting its use in cancer therapy but identify- ing it as a potential anti-obesity drug. C75 is a fatty acid synthase (FAS) inhibitor and, through its coenzyme A (CoA) derivative, it acts as a carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT) 1 inhibitor. Racemic mixtures of C75 have been used in all the previous studies; however, the potential dif- ferent biological activities of C75 enantiomers have not been examined yet. To address this question we synthesized the two C75 enantiomers separately. Our results showed that ( )- C75 inhibits FAS activity in vitro and has a cytotoxic effect on tumor cell lines, without affecting food consumption. (+)-C75 inhibits CPT1 and its administration produces anorexia, suggesting that central inhibition of CPT1 is essential for the anorectic effect of C75. The differential activity of C75 enantiomers may lead to the development of potential new specific drugs for cancer and obesity.

Differential pharmacologic properties of the two C75 enantiomers: (+)-C75 is a strong anorectic drug. (-)-C75 has antitumour activity

C75 is a synthetic compound described as having antitumoral properties. It produces hypophagia and weight loss in rodents, limiting its use in cancer therapy but identify- ing it as a potential anti-obesity drug. C75 is a fatty acid synthase (FAS) inhibitor and, through its coenzyme A (CoA) derivative, it acts as a carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT) 1 inhibitor. Racemic mixtures of C75 have been used in all the previous studies; however, the potential dif- ferent biological activities of C75 enantiomers have not been examined yet. To address this question we synthesized the two C75 enantiomers separately. Our results showed that ( )- C75 inhibits FAS activity in vitro and has a cytotoxic effect on tumor cell lines, without affecting food consumption. (+)-C75 inhibits CPT1 and its administration produces anorexia, suggesting that central inhibition of CPT1 is essential for the anorectic effect of C75. The differential activity of C75 enantiomers may lead to the development of potential new specific drugs for cancer and obesity.