The data from the Nobeyama Radio Observatory 45 m telescope Galactic Center CO survey have been analyzed to generate a compilation of molecular clouds with intense CO emission in this region. Clouds are identiÐed in an automated manner through the main part of the survey data for all CO emission peaks exceeding 10 K The measured parameters of identiÐed clouds are analyzed and (T R *). cross-correlated to compare with those of clouds in the Galactic disk. For the clouds in the Galactic center (GC), we Ðnd the scaling laws of the type and which are similar to88, those of clouds in the Galactic disk. All the GC clouds identiÐed have larger velocity widths and virial theorem masses each above the and lines of the disk clouds. We diagnosed gravitational p V -S L CO -M VT stabilities of identiÐed clouds assuming that the disk clouds are nearly at the onset of gravitational instability. All the clouds and cloud complexes in the GC are gravitationally stable, indicating they are in equilibrium with high pressure in the GC environment. Gravitationally less stable clouds follow the main ridge of intense CO emission, part of which deÐne two rigidly rotating molecular arms. The velocity dispersion of a cloud correlates inversely with the degree of gravitational instability. It is concluded that mechanisms such as orbit crowding at the inner Lindblad resonance may promote gravitational instability and subsequent star formation.

A major goal of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is to make accurate images with resolutions of tens of milliarcseconds, which at submillimeter (submm) wavelengths requires baselines up to ∼15 km. To develop and test this capability, a Long Baseline Campaign (LBC) was carried out from 2014 September to late November, culminating in end-to-end observations, calibrations, and imaging of selected Science Verification (SV) targets. This paper presents an overview of the campaign and its main results, including an investigation of the short-term coherence properties and systematic phase errors over the long baselines at the ALMA site, a summary of the SV targets and observations, and recommendations for science observing strategies at long baselines. Deep ALMA images of the quasar 3C 138 at 97 and 241 GHz are also compared to VLA 43 GHz results, demonstrating an agreement at a level of a few percent. As a result of the extensive program of LBC testing, the highly successful SV imaging at long baselines achieved angular resolutions as fine as 19 mas at ∼350 GHz. Observing with ALMA on baselines of up to 15 km is now possible, and opens up new parameter space for submm astronomy.

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1 Although the principal pharmacological targets of local anaesthetics (LAs) are voltage-gated Na + channels, other targets have also been suggested. Here we examined the eects of LAs on the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, a receptor involved in the process of nociception. 2 LAs (bupivacaine, lidocaine, procaine, and tetracaine) reversibly and concentration-dependently inhibited recombinant e1/z1 and e2/z1 NMDA receptors expressed in Xenopus oocytes (IC 50 s for bupivacaine, lidocaine, procaine, and tetracaine were 1032.0, 1174.1, 642.1 and 653.8 mM at the e1/z1 receptor; and 1090.8, 1821.3, 683.0 and 662.5 mM respectively (at the e2/z1 receptor). Bupivacaine and procaine were non-competitive antagonists; bupivacaine possesses non-competitive and competitive actions when interacting with glycine, whereas procaine has only non-competitive action. 3 Mutation of asparagine residue at position 598 (Asp 598 ) in the z1 subunit, a residue associated with the blockade site for Mg 2+ and ketamine, to glutamine or arginine reduced the sensitivity to procaine but not to bupivacaine. Thus, procaine may interact with sites of action that are closely related to those of Mg 2+ and ketamine blockade. 4 These results suggest that LAs inhibit the NMDA receptor by various mechanisms.