scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question

Showing papers by "Boston College published in 2011"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: VCFtools is a software suite that implements various utilities for processing VCF files, including validation, merging, comparing and also provides a general Perl API.
Abstract: Summary: The variant call format (VCF) is a generic format for storing DNA polymorphism data such as SNPs, insertions, deletions and structural variants, together with rich annotations. VCF is usually stored in a compressed manner and can be indexed for fast data retrieval of variants from a range of positions on the reference genome. The format was developed for the 1000 Genomes Project, and has also been adopted by other projects such as UK10K, dbSNP and the NHLBI Exome Project. VCFtools is a software suite that implements various utilities for processing VCF files, including validation, merging, comparing and also provides a general Perl API. Availability: http://vcftools.sourceforge.net Contact: [email protected]

10,164 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a systematic way of understanding and conceptualizing online social media, as an ecosystem of related elements involving both digital and traditional media, is presented, highlighting a best-practice case study of an organization's successful efforts to leverage social media in reaching an important audience of young consumers.

1,450 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This Letter demonstrates, for the first time, selective thermal emitters based on metamaterial perfect absorbers and finds that emissivity and absorptivity agree very well as predicted by Kirchhoff's law of thermal radiation.
Abstract: In this Letter we demonstrate, for the first time, selective thermal emitters based on metamaterial perfect absorbers. We experimentally realize a narrow band midinfrared (MIR) thermal emitter. Multiple metamaterial sublattices further permit construction of a dual-band MIR emitter. By performing both emissivity and absorptivity measurements, we find that emissivity and absorptivity agree very well as predicted by Kirchhoff's law of thermal radiation. Our results directly demonstrate the great flexibility of metamaterials for tailoring blackbody emission.

1,305 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
Ryan E. Mills1, Klaudia Walter2, Chip Stewart3, Robert E. Handsaker4  +371 moreInstitutions (21)
03 Feb 2011-Nature
TL;DR: A map of unbalanced SVs is constructed based on whole genome DNA sequencing data from 185 human genomes, integrating evidence from complementary SV discovery approaches with extensive experimental validations, and serves as a resource for sequencing-based association studies.
Abstract: Genomic structural variants (SVs) are abundant in humans, differing from other forms of variation in extent, origin and functional impact. Despite progress in SV characterization, the nucleotide resolution architecture of most SVs remains unknown. We constructed a map of unbalanced SVs (that is, copy number variants) based on whole genome DNA sequencing data from 185 human genomes, integrating evidence from complementary SV discovery approaches with extensive experimental validations. Our map encompassed 22,025 deletions and 6,000 additional SVs, including insertions and tandem duplications. Most SVs (53%) were mapped to nucleotide resolution, which facilitated analysing their origin and functional impact. We examined numerous whole and partial gene deletions with a genotyping approach and observed a depletion of gene disruptions amongst high frequency deletions. Furthermore, we observed differences in the size spectra of SVs originating from distinct formation mechanisms, and constructed a map of SV hotspots formed by common mechanisms. Our analytical framework and SV map serves as a resource for sequencing-based association studies.

1,085 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A promising flat-panel solar thermal to electric power conversion technology based on the Seebeck effect and high thermal concentration is demonstrated, thus enabling wider applications and opening up a promising new approach which has the potential to achieve cost-effective conversion of solar energy into electricity.
Abstract: The conversion of sunlight into electricity has been dominated by photovoltaic and solar thermal power generation. A highly efficient solar to electric energy conversion device based on nanostructured thermoelectric materials and high solar concentration is now demonstrated. The results show potential for cost effective solar thermoelectric generation.

1,011 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: BamTools is a software suite for programmers and end users that facilitates research analysis and data management using BAM files and provides both the first C++ API publicly available for BAM file support as well as a command-line toolkit.
Abstract: Motivation: Analysis of genomic sequencing data requires efficient, easy-to-use access to alignment results and flexible data management tools (e.g. filtering, merging, sorting, etc.). However, the enormous amount of data produced by current sequencing technologies is typically stored in compressed, binary formats that are not easily handled by the text-based parsers commonly used in bioinformatics research. Results: We introduce a software suite for programmers and end users that facilitates research analysis and data management using BAM files. BamTools provides both the first C++ API publicly available for BAM file support as well as a command-line toolkit. Availability: BamTools was written in C++, and is supported on Linux, Mac OSX and MS Windows. Source code and documentation are freely available at http://github.org/pezmaster31/bamtools. Contact: ude.cb@edtenrab

739 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Wan et al. as mentioned in this paper discussed two quantum effects of pyrochlore in a magnetic field: a pressure-induced anomalous Hall effect and a magnetic-field-induced charge density wave at the pinned wave vector connecting Weyl nodes with opposite chiralities.
Abstract: There has been much interest in pyrochlore iridates A${}_{2}$Ir${}_{2}$O${}_{7}$ where both strong spin-orbital coupling and strong correlation are present. A recent local density approximation calculation [X. Wan, A. M. Turner, A. Vishwanath, and S. Y. Savrasov, Phys. Rev. B 83, 205101 (2011)] suggests that the system is likely in a three-dimensional topological semimetallic phase: a Weyl semimetal. Such a system has zero carrier density and arrives at the quantum limit even in a weak magnetic field. In this paper, we discuss two quantum effects of this system in a magnetic field: a pressure-induced anomalous Hall effect and a magnetic-field-induced charge density wave at the pinned wave vector connecting Weyl nodes with opposite chiralities. A general formula of the anomalous Hall coefficients in a Weyl semimetal is also given. Both proposed effects can be probed by experiments in the near future and can be used to detect the Weyl semimetal phase.

703 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is found that the majority of human genomic variable sites are rare and exhibit little sharing among diverged populations, emphasizing that replication of disease association for specific rare genetic variants across diverging populations must overcome both reduced statistical power because of rarity and higher population divergence.
Abstract: High-throughput sequencing technology enables population-level surveys of human genomic variation. Here, we examine the joint allele frequency distributions across continental human populations and present an approach for combining complementary aspects of whole-genome, low-coverage data and targeted high-coverage data. We apply this approach to data generated by the pilot phase of the Thousand Genomes Project, including whole-genome 2–4× coverage data for 179 samples from HapMap European, Asian, and African panels as well as high-coverage target sequencing of the exons of 800 genes from 697 individuals in seven populations. We use the site frequency spectra obtained from these data to infer demographic parameters for an Out-of-Africa model for populations of African, European, and Asian descent and to predict, by a jackknife-based approach, the amount of genetic diversity that will be discovered as sample sizes are increased. We predict that the number of discovered nonsynonymous coding variants will reach 100,000 in each population after ∼1,000 sequenced chromosomes per population, whereas ∼2,500 chromosomes will be needed for the same number of synonymous variants. Beyond this point, the number of segregating sites in the European and Asian panel populations is expected to overcome that of the African panel because of faster recent population growth. Overall, we find that the majority of human genomic variable sites are rare and exhibit little sharing among diverged populations. Our results emphasize that replication of disease association for specific rare genetic variants across diverged populations must overcome both reduced statistical power because of rarity and higher population divergence.

670 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper showed that banks that relied more heavily on core deposit and equity capital financing, which are stable sources of financing, continued to lend relative to other banks, and held more illiquid assets on their balance sheets, increased asset liquidity and reduced lending.

662 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A review of recent work demonstrating consistent context effects during emotion perception can be found in this paper, which challenges the still-common assumption that the emotional state of a person is written on and can be read from the face like words on a page.
Abstract: We review recent work demonstrating consistent context effects during emotion perception. Visual scenes, voices, bodies, other faces, cultural orientation, and even words shape how emotion is perceived in a face, calling into question the still-common assumption that the emotional state of a person is written on and can be read from the face like words on a page. Incorporating context during emotion perception appears to be routine, efficient, and, to some degree, automatic. This evidence challenges the standard view of emotion perception represented in psychology texts, in the cognitive neuroscience literature, and in the popular media and points to a necessary change in the basic paradigm used in the scientific study of emotion perception.

660 citations


ReportDOI
James E. Anderson1
TL;DR: Gravity has long been one of the most successful empirical models in economics as discussed by the authors, and incorporating deeper theoretical foundations of gravity into recent practice has led to a richer and more accurate estimation and interpretation of the spatial relations described by gravity.
Abstract: Gravity has long been one of the most successful empirical models in economics. Incorporating deeper theoretical foundations of gravity into recent practice has led to a richer and more accurate estimation and interpretation of the spatial relations described by gravity. Wider acceptance has followed. Recent developments are reviewed here, and suggestions are made for promising future research.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors propose that entrepreneurial identities are judged favorably when they are legitimately distinctive, and that such judgments are influenced by market context and are mediated by identity narratives that provide institutional primes and equivocal cues in investor sensemaking.
Abstract: We theorize about how the entrepreneurial identity, which we define as the constellation of claims around the founder, new venture, and market opportunity as to “who we are” and “what we do,” serves as a touchstone for investor judgments about new venture plausibility. We propose that entrepreneurial identities are judged favorably when they are legitimately distinctive, and that such judgments are influenced by market context and are mediated by identity narratives that provide institutional primes and equivocal cues in investor sensemaking.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors showed that good reproducibility can be achieved by introducing an optimal concentration of 0.01 copper (Cu) per Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 samples without texturing.
Abstract: Combining high energy ball-milling and hot-pressing, significant enhancements of the thermoelectric figure-of-merit (ZT) have been reported for p-type Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 nanocomposites. However, applying the same technique to n-type Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 showed no improvement on ZT values, due to the anisotropic nature of the thermoelectric properties of n-type Bi2Te2.7Se0.3. Even though texturing was effective in improving peak ZT of Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 from 0.85 to 1.04, reproducibility from batch to batch remains unsatisfactory. Here, we show that good reproducibility can be achieved by introducing an optimal concentration of 0.01 copper (Cu) per Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 to make Cu0.01Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 samples. A peak ZT value of 0.99 was achieved in Cu0.01Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 samples without texturing. With texturing by re-pressing, the peak ZT was increased to 1.06. Aging in air for over 5 months did not deteriorate but further improved the peak ZT to 1.10. The mechanism by which copper improves the reproducibility, enhances the carrier mobility, and reduces the lattice thermal conductivity is also discussed.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The concept of modulation doping in three-dimensional nanostructured bulk materials to increase the thermoelectric figure of merit is introduced via experiment using composites made of doped silicon nanograins and intrinsic silicon germanium grains.
Abstract: We introduce the concept of modulation doping in three-dimensional nanostructured bulk materials to increase the thermoelectric figure of merit. Modulation-doped samples are made of two types of nanograins (a two-phase composite), where dopants are incorporated only into one type. By band engineering, charge carriers could be separated from their parent grains and moved into undoped grains, which would result in enhanced mobility of the carriers in comparison to uniform doping due to a reduction of ionized impurity scattering. The electrical conductivity of the two-phase composite can exceed that of the individual components, leading to a higher power factor. We here demonstrate the concept via experiment using composites made of doped silicon nanograins and intrinsic silicon germanium grains.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The design introduces material components to provide a dedicated charge-transport pathway, alleviating the reliance on the materials' intrinsic properties, and therefore has the potential to greatly broaden where and how various existing materials can be used in energy-related applications.
Abstract: We report the highest external quantum efficiency measured on hematite (α-Fe2O3) without intentional doping in a water-splitting environment: 46% at λ = 400 nm. This result was enabled by the introduction of TiSi2 nanonets, which are highly conductive and have suitably high surface areas. The nanonets serve a dual role as a structural support and an efficient charge collector, allowing for maximum photon-to-charge conversion. Without the addition of any oxygen-evolving catalysts, we obtained photocurrents of 1.6 and 2.7 mA/cm2 at 1.23 and 1.53 V vs RHE, respectively. These results highlight the importance of charge transport in semiconductor-based water splitting, particularly for materials whose performance is limited by poor charge diffusion. Our design introduces material components to provide a dedicated charge-transport pathway, alleviating the reliance on the materials’ intrinsic properties, and therefore has the potential to greatly broaden where and how various existing materials can be used in en...

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Aug 2011-Emotion
TL;DR: A 12-Point Affect Circumplex (12-PAC) model of Core Affect was developed that is finer grained than previously available and that integrates major dimensional models of mood and emotion.
Abstract: Core Affect is a state accessible to consciousness as a single simple feeling (feeling good or bad, energized or enervated) that can vary from moment to moment and that is the heart of, but not the whole of, mood and emotion. In four correlational studies (Ns 535, 190, 234, 395), a 12-Point Affect Circumplex (12-PAC) model of Core Affect was developed that is finer grained than previously available and that integrates major dimensional models of mood and emotion. Self-report scales in three response formats were cross-validated for Core Affect felt during current and remembered moments. A technique that places any external variable into the 12-PAC showed that 29 of 38 personality scales and 30 of 30 mood scales are significantly related to Core Affect, but not in a way that revealed its basic dimensions.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This work proposes a theoretical framework about the conditions under which the collective identity of a nascent entrepreneurial group is more likely to be legitimated and posit that legitimacy is morelikely to be achieved when members articulate a clear defining collective identity story that identifies the group's orienting purpose and core practices.
Abstract: The concept of collective identity has gained prominence within organizational theory as researchers have studied how it consequentially shapes organizational behavior. However, much less attention has been paid to the question of how nascent collective identities become legitimated. Although it is conventionally argued that membership expansion leads to collective identity legitimacy, we draw on the notion of cultural entrepreneurship to argue that the relationship is more complex and is culturally mediated by the stories told by group members. We propose a theoretical framework about the conditions under which the collective identity of a nascent entrepreneurial group is more likely to be legitimated. Specifically, we posit that legitimacy is more likely to be achieved when members articulate a clear defining collective identity story that identifies the group's orienting purpose and core practices. Although membership expansion can undermine legitimation by introducing discrepant actors and practices to a collective identity, this potential downside is mitigated by growth stories, which help to coordinate expansion. Finally, we theorize how processes associated with collective identity membership expansion might affect the evolution of defining collective identity stories.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the role of pro-inflammatory monocytes/macrophages in increased atherosclerosis in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)infected patients.
Abstract: Background. Pro-inflammatory monocytes/macrophagesmay contribute to increased atherosclerosis in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)‐infected patients. We investigatedto our knowledge, for the first timedsCD163 and other markers of monocyte activation in relationship to atherosclerotic plaque in HIV-infected patients. Methods. One hundred two HIV-infected and 41 HIV-seronegative men with equivalent cardiovascular risk factors and without history of coronary artery disease were prospectively recruited and underwent computed tomography coronary angiography. Results. sCD163 levels and presence of plaque were significantly higher among antiretroviral-treated subjects with undetectable HIV RNA levels, compared with seronegative controls (1172 6 646 vs. 883 6561 ng/mL[P 5 .02] for sCD163 and 61% vs. 39% [P 5 .03] for presence of plaque). After adjusting for age, race, lipids, blood pressure, glucose, smoking, sCD14, and HIV infection, sCD163 remained independently associated with noncalcified plaque (P 5 .008). Among HIV-infected patients, sCD163 was associated with coronary segments with noncalcified plaque (r 5 0.21; P 5 .04), but not with calcium score. In contrast, markers of generalized inflammation, including C-reactive protein level, and D-dimer were not associated with sCD163 or plaque among HIV-infected patients. Conclusions. sCD163, a monocyte/macrophage activation marker, is increased in association with noncalcified coronary plaque in men with chronic HIVinfectionand low or undetectable viremia. These data suggest a potentially important role of chronic monocyte/macrophage activation in the development of noncalcified vulnerable plaque. Clinical Trial Registration. NCT00455793.

Journal ArticleDOI
David L. Blustein1
TL;DR: The relational theory of working as mentioned in this paper provides a framework for understanding ways in which working is embedded in external and internal relational contexts, and several propositions summarize observations and inferences about the intersection of working and relationships and highlight the inherent relational context of working.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Through a nanocomposite approach using ball milling and hot pressing, a peak ZT of 0.8 at 700 °C is achieved, which is about 60% higher than the best reported 0.5 and might be good enough for consideration for waste heat recovery in car exhaust systems.
Abstract: Half-Heuslers would be important thermoelectric materials due to their high temperature stability and abundance if their dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) could be made high enough. The highest peak ZT of a p-type half-Heusler has been so far reported about 0.5 due to the high thermal conductivity. Through a nanocomposite approach using ball milling and hot pressing, we have achieved a peak ZT of 0.8 at 700 °C, which is about 60% higher than the best reported 0.5 and might be good enough for consideration for waste heat recovery in car exhaust systems. The improvement comes from a simultaneous increase in Seebeck coefficient and a significant decrease in thermal conductivity due to nanostructures. The samples were made by first forming alloyed ingots using arc melting and then creating nanopowders by ball milling the ingots and finally obtaining dense bulk by hot pressing. Further improvement in ZT is expected when average grain sizes are made smaller than 100 nm.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The thermal conductivity of single layers of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) as well as that of bulk h-BN have been calculated utilizing an exact numerical solution of the phonon Boltzmann transport equation as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The thermal conductivity, \ensuremath{\kappa}, of single layers of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), as well as that of bulk h-BN have been calculated utilizing an exact numerical solution of the phonon Boltzmann transport equation. The stronger phonon-phonon scattering in h-BN is revealed as the cause for its lower \ensuremath{\kappa} compared with graphite. A reduction in such scattering in the single layer arising mainly from a symmetry-based selection rule leads to a substantial increase in \ensuremath{\kappa}, with calculated room temperature values of more than 600 Wm${}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$K${}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. Isotopic enrichment further increases \ensuremath{\kappa}, with the calculated enhancement exhibiting a peak with temperature, whose magnitude shows a dramatic sensitivity to crystallite size.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper examined associations between the quality of teacher-child relationships and behavior problems among elementary school students using data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, a study of 1,364 children from birth through adolescence.
Abstract: The present study examined associations between the quality of teacher-child relationships and behavior problems among elementary school students using data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, a study of 1,364 children from birth through adolescence. There were two main findings. First, high-quality teacher-child relationships predicted low levels of externalizing behaviors. Second, high-quality relationships acted as protective factors, helping to prevent children with high levels of internalizing behaviors in early childhood from developing trajectories of long-term internalizing behavior problems. Teacher-child relationships may be proximal phenomena that can be targeted in interventions to help prevent behavior problems in middle childhood.

Posted Content
TL;DR: This paper found that occupational exposure to globalization is associated with larger wage effects than industry exposure and that reallocation of workers across sectors and occupations was associated with a reallocated workforce across different occupations.
Abstract: The authors link industry-level data on trade and offshoring with individual-level worker data from the Current Population Surveys. They find that occupational exposure to globalization is associated with larger wage effects than industry exposure. This effect has been overlooked because it operates between rather than within sectors of the economy. The authors also find that globalization is associated with a reallocation of workers across sectors and occupations. They estimate wage losses of 2 to 4 percent among workers leaving manufacturing and 4 to 11 percent among workers who also switch occupations. These effects are most pronounced for workers who perform routine tasks.

Journal ArticleDOI
04 Feb 2011-Cell
TL;DR: A simple computational model is developed that quantitatively predicts division-axis orientation probability for a wide variety of cell shapes, even in multicellular contexts, and estimates scaling exponents for length-dependent microtubule forces.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This special issue identifies six theoretically distinctive elements of the healthcare context and discusses how these elements increase the motivation for, and the salience of, the research results reported in the nine papers comprising this special issue.
Abstract: Information systems have great potential to reduce healthcare costs and improve outcomes. The purpose of this special issue is to offer a forum for theory-driven research that explores the role of IS in the delivery of healthcare in its diverse organizational and regulatory settings. We identify six theoretically distinctive elements of the healthcare context and discuss how these elements increase the motivation for, and the salience of, the research results reported in the nine papers comprising this special issue. We also provide recommendations for future IS research focusing on the implications of technology-driven advances in three areas: social media, evidence-based medicine, and personalized medicine.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The data indicate that the basal activity of the endogenous brain OT system is sufficient to promote natural occurring social preference in rodents while synthetic OT shows potential to reverse stress-induced social avoidance and might thus be of use for treating social phobia and social dysfunction in humans.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is predicted that LaAuO(3) bilayers have a topologically non-trivial energy gap of about 0.15 eV, which is sufficiently large to realize the quantum spin Hall effect at room temperature.
Abstract: Topological insulators are a class of materials with an unusual band structure that makes them metallic at the surface and insulating in the bulk. Okamoto and co-workers use electronic structure calculations to predict a new family of possible topological insulators based on transition-metal oxides.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A direct comparison of MEI and SNP diversity levels suggests a differential mobile element insertion rate among populations, and a comprehensive map of 7,380 MEI polymorphisms from the 1000 Genomes Project whole-genome sequencing data is presented.
Abstract: As a consequence of the accumulation of insertion events over evolutionary time, mobile elements now comprise nearly half of the human genome. The Alu, L1, and SVA mobile element families are still duplicating, generating variation between individual genomes. Mobile element insertions (MEI) have been identified as causes for genetic diseases, including hemophilia, neurofibromatosis, and various cancers. Here we present a comprehensive map of 7,380 MEI polymorphisms from the 1000 Genomes Project whole-genome sequencing data of 185 samples in three major populations detected with two detection methods. This catalog enables us to systematically study mutation rates, population segregation, genomic distribution, and functional properties of MEI polymorphisms and to compare MEI to SNP variation from the same individuals. Population allele frequencies of MEI and SNPs are described, broadly, by the same neutral ancestral processes despite vastly different mutation mechanisms and rates, except in coding regions where MEI are virtually absent, presumably due to strong negative selection. A direct comparison of MEI and SNP diversity levels suggests a differential mobile element insertion rate among populations.

Journal Article
Peter Gray1
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that the decline in play has contributed to the rise in the psychopathology of young people and argue that play functions as the major means by which children learn how to make decisions, solve problems, exert self-control, and follow rules.
Abstract: Over the past half century, in the United States and other developed nations, children’s free play with other children has declined sharply. Over the same period, anxiety, depression, suicide, feelings of helplessness, and narcissism have increased sharply in children, adolescents, and young adults. This article documents these historical changes and contends that the decline in play has contributed to the rise in the psychopathology of young people. Play functions as the major means by which children (1) develop intrinsic interests and competencies; (2) learn how to make decisions, solve problems, exert self-control, and follow rules; (3) learn to regulate their emotions; (4) make friends and learn to get along with others as equals; and (5) experience joy. Through all of these effects, play promotes mental health.

Journal ArticleDOI
24 Mar 2011-Nature
TL;DR: Use of reduced pressure is introduced as a simple and effective strategy for achieving high stereoselectivity and is demonstrated by its use in syntheses of an anti-oxidant plasmalogen phospholipid, found in electrically active tissues and implicated in Alzheimer's disease, and the potent immunostimulant KRN7000.
Abstract: Alkenes are found in many biologically active molecules, and there are a large number of chemical transformations in which alkenes act as the reactants or products (or both) of the reaction. Many alkenes exist as either the E or the higher-energy Z stereoisomer. Catalytic procedures for the stereoselective formation of alkenes are valuable, yet methods enabling the synthesis of 1,2-disubstituted Z alkenes are scarce. Here we report catalytic Z-selective cross-metathesis reactions of terminal enol ethers, which have not been reported previously, and of allylic amides, used until now only in E-selective processes. The corresponding disubstituted alkenes are formed in up to >98% Z selectivity and 97% yield. These transformations, promoted by catalysts that contain the highly abundant and inexpensive metal molybdenum, are amenable to gram-scale operations. Use of reduced pressure is introduced as a simple and effective strategy for achieving high stereoselectivity. The utility of this method is demonstrated by its use in syntheses of an anti-oxidant plasmalogen phospholipid, found in electrically active tissues and implicated in Alzheimer's disease, and the potent immunostimulant KRN7000.