bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
1996 Hoffman–LaRoche Award Lecture Photochemistry and photobiology of perylenequinones
Authors: Lown James William
Published: May 2006

Photodynamic therapy relies on the selective accumulation of photosensitizers within neoplastic tissue, followed by light activation to generate cytotoxic singlet oxygen. At present, PhotofrinTM, a preparation of hematoporphyrin derivatives (HPD) with the bulk of the porphyrin monomers removed, is the only clinically approved photosensitizer. Intravesical administration of Photofrin or HPD has failed to photosensitize bladder tumors. Bladder cancer is the second most common genitourinary malignancy. In 1994 there were an estimated 51 200 cases of bladder cancer with 10 600 deaths in the United States. The predominant histopathology is transitional cell carcinoma, occurring in 90–95% of these cases. Most patients (85%) have superficial disease at the time of initial diagnosis. Superficial bladder cancer is defined as disease involving the mucosa with carcinoma in situ or papillary lesions and invasion limited to submucosa. To address these limitations we have been conducting preclinical studies with perylenequinones (PQs). The majority of our effort has focused on developing and characterizing derivatives of PQs. Following site-directed modifications, we have identified certain congeners that warrant further preclinical development. These compounds are monomeric and do not effect cutaneous photosensitization beyond 24 h. With clinically relevant drug and light doses we have cured >90% of experimental subcutaneous murine tumors. Keywords: photodynamic therapy, perylenequinones, photobiology, photochemistry.
Enantioselective ring opening of tropinone. A new entry into tropane alkaloids
Authors: Majewski Marek , Lazny Ryszard , Ulaczyk Agnieszka
Published: May 2006

The lithium enolate of tropinone reacts with alkyl chloroformates to give 6-N-carboalkoxy-N-methyl-2-cycloheptenones (4). These compounds can be produced enantioselectively, in up to 95% ee, if chiral lithium amides (derived from optically pure amines 5–7) are used for deprotonation of tropinone in the presence of additives. The effect of additives such as LiCl, LiBr, LiF, LiClO4, CeCl3, ZnCl2, LiOH, TMEDA, HMPA, and DMPU on enantioselectivity of this deprotonation–ring opening sequence varies from slight to very large depending on the chiral amide – additive combination. Especially large increases in enantioselectivity are observed when the chiral, C2 symmetrical, lithium bis-α,α′-methylbenzylamide (Li-5a) is used with one equivalent of LiCl. This reagent is best generated in situ from the corresponding amine hydrochloride and n-BuLi (2 equiv.). The ring-opening reaction combined with transposition of the carbonyl group (via Wharton reaction or allylic oxidation) provides a new method of stereoselective synthesis of tropane alkaloids having a protected hydroxyl at C-6 or C-7 (6β- and 7β-acetoxytropanes 14a, b) and physoperuvine (19). Keywords: enantioselective deprotonation, tropane alkaloids.
A new ent-kaurane from the root extract of Chiococcaalba
Authors: Borges-Argáez Rocío , Medina-Baizabál Leticia , May-Pat Filogonio , Peña-Rodríguez Luis M.
Published: May 2006

A bioassay-guided purification of the methanolic crude extract obtained from the roots of Chiococcaalba (L.) Hitchc. resulted in the isolation of a new, bioactive, metabolite identified as ent-17-hydroxy-16α-kauran-3-one (1). Elucidation of the new structure was based on analyses of the results obtained from various spectroscopic methods (IR, MS, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR) and chemical transformations. The stereochemistry at C16 was assigned by comparing both the proton and carbon chemical shifts of C17 with those reported in the literature. The new kaurane showed weak antimicrobial activity when tested against Staphylococcusaureus. Keywords: medicinal plants, Chiococcaalba, Rubiaceae, kaurane, diterpene, antimicrobial.
Thermolysis and photolysis of two steroidal hydroxamic acid methanesulfonates
Authors: Edwards Oliver E. , Grue-Sørensen Gunnar , Blackwell Barbara A.
Published: May 2006

Thermolysis or photolysis of N-methanesulfonyloxy-4-aza-5α-cholestan-3-one gave derivatives of 4-azacholestan-3-one, 4-aza-A-nor-B-homocholestan-3-one, 3-aza-A-norcholestane, bis(4-aza-3-oxocholest-5-en-6-yl) methane, and bis(3-aza-A-norcholestan-3-yl) urea. The corresponding 5β-methanesulfonate gave the 5β (coprostane) analogues. Evidence for the mechanism of formation of these products, including a Favorski-like ring contraction and amide oxidation by methanesulfonic acid, is presented. Detailed 1H and 13C assignments are made for many of the products, and ultraviolet absorption for seven steroidal enamides is tabled. Long-range homo- and heteronuclear NMR connectivities were used to confirm the structure of three dimeric compounds and to assign the configuration of the methoxy function of 4-aza-5-methoxy-A-nor-β-homocholestan-3-one to be 5α. Keywords: steroidal enamides, 3-aza-A-norcholestanes, 4-aza-A-nor-B-homocholestanes, aza-Favorskii ring contraction.
Preparation and bioactivity of pyrazole derivatives as potential cross-linking agent
Authors: Katayama H. , Oshiyama T.
Published: May 2006

A series of pyrazole derivatives with two and three alkylating sites were prepared and their cytotoxicity against cancer cells as well as antitumor activity against L1210 was investigated. The best result of cytotoxicity was obtained with the trichloride 5 and the best antitumor activity (ILS 33%) with the dibromide 3. These results can provide valuable information for further study of the more effective antitumor agent. Keywords: pyrazole, synthesis, cytotoxicity, antitumor activity, polyalkylator.
Speciation of trimethyltin(IV): hydrolysis, complexation equilibria, and structures of trimethyltin(IV) ion in aqueous solution
Authors: Takahashi Akio , Natsume Takayuki , Koshino Nobuyoshi , Funahashi Shigenobu , Inada Yasuhiro , Takagi Hideo D.
Published: May 2006

The hydrolysis constants of trimethyl- and triethyltin(IV) ions and the stability constants for the complexation of trimethyltin(IV) with trimethylamine, N-substituted glycines (N,N-dimethylglycine and N,N,N-trimethylglycine), and aminopolycarboxylate ions (N-methyliminodiacetate, nitrilotriacetate, and ethylenediamine-N,N′-diacetate) were determined by the potentiometric method at 25 °C and I = 0.l mol dm−3 ((H, Na)ClO4 and (H, Na)NO3). The structural parameters of Me3Sn(OH2)2, Et3Sn(OH2)2, and Me3Sn(OH2)(OH) in solution were determined by the EXAFS method. The coordination structures of trimethyltin(IV) complexes with N-substituted glycines, trimethylamine, and aminopolycarboxylate ions are discussed on the basis of the electronic interaction between the donor atom and Sn(IV). Keywords: organotin(IV), EXAFS, structure, potentiometry.
Characterization of low-barrier hydrogen bonds. 3. Hydrogen maleate. An ab initio and DFT investigation
Authors: McAllister Michael A.
Published: May 2006

High-level ab initio molecular orbital and density functional theory calculations predict the existence of a very short-strong hydrogen bond in the monoanion of maleic acid (hydrogen maleate). At all levels of theory (HF, MP2, BLYP, and B3LYP) except B3PW91 the potential energy surface is predicted to contain two minima, and hence resembles a double well. The barrier to proton transfer via a symmetrical transition state is calculated to be very small at all levels of theory. In all cases the calculated zero point vibrational energy available to the system is larger than the calculated barrier for proton transfer, thus the resulting hydrogen bond formed in hydrogen maleate is predicted to be symmetrical. Using the B3PW91 functional and the 6-31 + G(d,p) basis set results in a single-well potential and a symmetrically positioned hydrogen. All correlated methods predict the gas phase hydrogen bond energy to be approximately 27 kcal/mol. Effects due to solvents were estimated using solvent cavity methods. Approximating the solvent as a dielectric continuum reduces the calculated hydrogen bond energy by roughly 6 kcal/mol at all levels of theory. Keywords: low-barrier hydrogen bonds, short-strong hydrogen bonds, hydrogen maleate, ab initio, density functional theory.
Calculation of barriers to rotation in PEEK and some of its substituted derivatives
Authors: Brownstein S. , Roovers J.
Published: May 2006

Barriers to rotation have been calculated by molecular mechanics, using the force field MM+, for a fragment of PEEK and its methyl, ethyl, isopropyl, tert-butyl and di-tert-butyl, substituted derivatives. The barrier for the nearer C—O bond increases from 2.0 kcal/mol in KEEK to 16 kcal/mol in dibutyl substituted KEEK as the bulkiness of the substituent increases. The rotation barrier of the further C—O bond is not affected by the substituent. Keywords: rotation barriers, PEEK, molecular mechanics.
Preparation of symmetric dibromides of 1,10-phenanthroline
Authors: Saitoh Yutaka , Koizumi Take-aki , Osakada Kohtaro , Yamamoto Takakazu
Published: May 2006

Bromation of 1,10-phenanthroline with Br2 proceeds smoothly in the presence of S2Cl2 and pyridine to give 3,8-dibromo-1,10-phenanthroline in good yield. Bromation of 2,9-dibutoxy-1,10-phenanthroline with Br2, in an aqueous medium gives 5,6-dibromo-2,9-dibutoxy-1,10-phenanthroline selectively. Similar bromination of 4,7-dibutoxy-1,10-phenanthroline with Br2 gives 3,8-dibromo-4,7-dibutoxy-1,10-phenanthroline, which forms a 1:1 adduct with Cu(NO3)2. Molecular structure of the 1:1 adduct has been determined by X-ray crystallography. Keywords: bromination, 1,10-phenanthroline, 3,8-dibromo-1,10-phenanthroline.
Tafel behaviour and competitive adsorption of amino acids and peptides with surface oxide formation at the Pt electrode
Authors: Petrie R. Julia , MacDonald Stephanie M. , Fuller Katherine L. , Roscoe Sharon G.
Published: May 2006

The electrochemical oxidation reactions and competitive adsorption behaviour of glycine, the peptides glycyl-glycine and glycyl-glycyl-glycine, α- and β-alanine, and α-, β-, and γ-aminobutyric acid have been investigated by cyclic voltammetry at a platinum electrode in a pH 7.0 phosphate buffer solution at ambient temperature. Strong adsorption of all species at anodic potentials in neutral solution was accompanied by an efficient ability to block both the initial stages of OH monolayer deposition as well as the second stage involving an irreversible process of continued deposition of OH or O species. Glycine and the peptides blocked the initially and more reversibly deposited OH species in preference to those formed at higher potentials. Surface concentrations determined with the lower anodic end potentials (0.50 V) gave information on the orientation of the adsorbed molecules. Steady-state polarization measurements gave Tafel slopes in the range of 253–498 mV, considerably higher than that normally seen for oxygen evolution from a phosphate buffer solution. These results suggest that, in the pH 7.0 buffer, the negatively charged carboxylate group preferentially adsorbs under these anodic potentials in a mechanism similar to the Kolbe reaction, with the decarboxylation step being rate determining. Keywords: electrochemical oxidation, glycine, alanine, aminobutyric acid, peptides, platinum oxide.
Comprehensive studies of formation and reduction of surface oxides at rhodium electrodes at 298 K
Authors: Villiard Francis , Jerkiewicz Gregory
Published: May 2006

Surface oxides on Rh were formed by anodic polarization at various potentials, Ep, from 0.70 to 1.40 V, RHE, for polarization times, tp, up to 104, at 298 K; their thickness expressed as a charge density, qOX, was evaluated from cyclic voltammetry, CV, profiles. The oxide growth proceeds in two steps whereas its reduction occurs in one. Upon extension of Ep and (or) tp to higher values, qOX increases. Under the above experimental conditions, qOX varied from 110 ± 5 to 985 ± 10 μC cm−2; after conversion, these charge densities correspond to 0.5 monolayer, ML, of RhOH and 1.56 ML of Rh(OH)3, respectively. Augmentation of Ep and tp results in thermodynamically more stable oxides. Plots of qOX versus log tp are linear over the whole range of qOX whereas plots of 1/qOX versus log tp are linear only when qOX > 210 μC cm−2. Thus, the oxide growth is either logarithmic in time over the whole region of qOX or it is logarithmic when qOX < 210 μC cm−2 and inverse-logarithmic when qOX > 210 μC cm−2. It was observed that the oxide growth continues when the positive-going scan is stopped in the oxide-formation potential region. Similarly, the oxide reduction proceeds when the negative-going scan is stopped in the oxide-reduction potential range. Finally, the authors present the first-ever studies of the Rh oxide reduction. The results indicate that the reduction takes place at E ≤ 0.70 V, RHE. The oxide reduction kinetics are not understood but, in general, the lower the reduction potential and the longer the reduction time, the greater the amount of the reduced oxide. Keywords: rhodium oxides, oxide films, growth kinetics, reduction kinetics.
Synthesis of C-aryl-N-(2-hydroxyphenylmethyl)-nitrones and their reaction with diphenylborinic or carboxylic acid derivatives. Crystal and molecular structures of a free nitrone ligand and its diphenyl–boron chelate
Authors: Kliegel Wolfgang , Metge Jörg , Rettig Steven J. , Trotter James
Published: May 2006

The syntheses of a number of aromatic aldonitrones of N-(2-hydroxyphenylmethyl)hydroxylamine and their subsequent reactions with diphenylborinic or carboxylic acid derivatives are reported. Crystals of 8-(4-dimethylaminophenylmethylene)-6,6-diphenyl-5,7-dioxa-8-azonia-6-borata-5H-6,7,8,9-tetrahydrobenzocycloheptene, 2b, are triclinic, a = 10.6802(8), b = 11.1809(4), c =10.1520(3) Å, α = 105.847(3)°, β = 92.567(4)°, γ = 84.610(5)°, Z = 2, space group PĪ, and those of C-(4-dimethylaminophenyl)-N-(2-hydroxyphenylmethyl)nitrone, 6e, are monoclinic, a = 12.2319(8), b = 7.071(1), c = 17.2005(9) Å, β = 107.520(4)°, Z = 4, space group P21/a. The structures were solved by direct methods and refined by full-matrix least-squares procedures to R = 0.035 and 0.032 (Rw = 0.036 and 0.032) for 3379 and 1800 reflections with I ≥ 3σ(I), respectively. Compound 2b is representative of a new type of heterocyclic B,N-betaine. The solid state structure of 6e (the precursor to 2b) shows that only small topological changes, but significant changes in the electron distribution, occur upon the formation of the diphenylboron chelate. Keywords: aromatic aldonitrones, organoboron compounds, crystal structures.
Courbes de solubilité de sels congruents présentant une branche croissante dans la représentation de Jänecke
Authors: Bourguiba Néji , Jouini Tahar , Jemal Mohamed
Published: May 2006

The solubility curves at 75 °C, represented in Jänecke's mode, of the quasi-ternary section K2SO4–KH2PO4–H2O and the limiting ternary system K3PO4–H3PO4–H2O of the reciprocal quaternary system H+, K+, PO43−, SO42−, H2O reveal an unusual increasing shape for the congruent salts KH2PO4 and K2HPO4. This shape is surprising when one considers the similarities that exist between the role of water content and that of temperature in polytherm systems. The effect of the representation mode on the shape of the solubility curves has been studied in order to explain this unusual behaviour. A thermodynamic treatment of this phenomenon is also proposed. Keywords: solubility curve, Jänecke's mode, abnormal shape, thermodynamic treatment, potassium phosphates.
WAVELET-BASED ESTIMATION OF HEMODYNAMIC RESPONSE FUNCTION FROM fMRI DATA
Authors: SRIKANTH R. , RAMAKRISHNAN A. G.
Published: May 2006

We present a new algorithm to estimate hemodynamic response function (HRF) and drift components of fMRI data in wavelet domain. The HRF is modeled by both parametric and nonparametric models. The functional Magnetic resonance Image (fMRI) noise is modeled as a fractional brownian motion (fBm). The HRF parameters are estimated in wavelet domain by exploiting the property that wavelet transforms with a sufficient number of vanishing moments decorrelates a fBm process. Using this property, the noise covariance matrix in wavelet domain can be assumed to be diagonal whose entries are estimated using the sample variance estimator at each scale. We study the influence of the sampling rate of fMRI time series and shape assumption of HRF on the estimation performance. Results are presented by adding synthetic HRFs on simulated and null fMRI data. We also compare these methods with an existing method,1 where correlated fMRI noise is modeled by a second order polynomial functions.
NEUTRINO SPIN RELAXATION IN MEDIUM WITH STOCHASTIC CHARACTERISTICS
Authors: DVORNIKOV MAXIM
Published: May 2006

The helicity evolution of a neutrino propagating in randomly moving and polarized matter is studied. The type of the neutrino interaction with background fermions is arbitrary. We derive the equation for the description of the averaged neutrino helicity evolution. In the particular case of a τ-neutrino interacting with ultrarelativistic electron–positron plasma, we obtain the expression for the neutrino helicity relaxation rate in the explicit form. We study the neutrino spin relaxation in the relativistic primordial plasma. Supposing that the conversion of left-handed neutrinos into right-handed ones is suppressed at the early stages of the Universe evolution, we get the upper limit on the τ-neutrino mass.
CONFORMAL FIELD THEORY IN TWO DIMENSIONS
Authors: NAGI JASBIR
Published: May 2006

Conformal field theory in two dimensions has, over the years, been an extremely useful tool for a variety of physical and mathematical problems. In this paper, perhaps one of the most profound and foundational aspects of the subject is reviewed in detail, namely that of an operator algebra of the theory. This aspect is then demonstrated in some modern applications, first stochastic Loewner evolution and then logarithmic conformal field theory.
Transdermal Glyceryl Trinitrate Lowers Blood Pressure and Maintains Cerebral Blood Flow in Recent Stroke
Authors: Willmot Mark , Ghadami Andrew , Whysall Beverly , Clarke Wim , Wardlaw Joanna , Bath Philip M.W.
Published: May 2006

High blood pressure (BP) is common in acute stroke and is independently associated with a poor outcome. Lowering BP might improve outcome if it did not adversely affect cerebral blood flow (CBF) or cerebral perfusion pressure. We investigated the effect of glyceryl trinitrate ([GTN] an NO donor) on quantitative CBF, BP, and cerebral perfusion pressure in patients with recent stroke. Eighteen patients with recent (<5 days) ischemic (n=16) or hemorrhagic (n=2) stroke were randomly assigned (2:1) to transdermal GTN (5 mg) or control. CBF (global, hemispheric, arterial territory, and lesion, using xenon computed tomography) and BP (peripheral and central) were measured before and 1 hour after treatment with GTN. The effects of GTN on CBF and BP were adjusted for baseline measurements (ANCOVA). GTN lowered peripheral systolic BP by (mean) 23 mm Hg (95% CI, 2 to 45;
P
=0.03) and central systolic BP by 22 mm Hg (95% CI, 0 to 44;
P
=0.048). In contrast, GTN did not alter CBF (mL/min per 100 g): global −1.2 (95% CI, −6.5 to 4.2;
P
=0.66) and ipsilateral hemisphere −1.4 (95% CI, −7.6 to 4.9;
P
=0.65) or area of stroke oligemia, penumbra, or core (as defined by critical CBF limits). Contralateral CBF did not change: hemisphere 0 (95% CI, −7 to 6;
P
=0.96). GTN did not alter cerebral perfusion pressure or zero-filling pressure. Significant reductions in BP after transdermal GTN are not associated with changes in CBF or cerebral perfusion pressure or cerebral steal in patients with recent stroke. Trials need to assess the effect of lowering BP on functional outcome.
Effects of Low Birth Weight in 8- to 13-Year-Old Children
Authors: Franco Maria C.P. , Christofalo Dejaldo M.J. , Sawaya Ana Lydia , Ajzen Sérgio A. , Sesso Ricardo
Published: May 2006

Low birth weight has been associated with an increased incidence of adult cardiovascular disease. Endothelial dysfunction and high levels of serum uric acid are associated with hypertension. In this study, we have determined whether uric acid is related to blood pressure and vascular function in children with low birth weight. We evaluated vascular function using high-resolution ultrasound, blood pressure, and uric acid levels in 78 children (35 girls, 43 boys, aged 8 to 13 years). Increasing levels of uric acid and systolic blood pressure were observed in children with low birth weight. Birth weight was inversely associated with both systolic blood pressure and uric acid; on the other hand, uric acid levels were directly correlated with systolic blood pressure in children of the entire cohort. Low birth weight was associated with reduced flow-mediated dilation (
r
=0.427,
P
<0.001). Because the children with low birth weight had elevated uric acid as well as higher systolic blood pressure levels, we evaluated the correlation between these variables. In the low birth weight group, multiple regression analysis revealed that uric acid (β=−2.886; SE=1.393;
P=
0.040) had a graded inverse relationship with flow-mediated dilation, which was not affected in a model adjusting for race and gender. We conclude that children with a history of low birth weight show impaired endothelial function and increased blood pressure and uric acid levels. These findings may be early expressions of vascular compromise, contributing to susceptibility to disease in adult life.
Mise en abyme and Tragic Signification in the Odyssey: The Three Songs of Demodocus
Authors: Rinon Yoav
Published: May 2006

This essay highlights some aspects of the tragic conception of the Odyssey in assertion of its generic identity, focusing on the three songs of the bard Demodocus recounted in Book 8 of the epic and using mise en abyme as the primary exegetical tool. Mise en abyme, a narratological term denoting a certain part of a literary work of art that represents the work as a whole, functions in Demodocus' first song to mark the Odyssey as an epic in dialogue with the Iliad. The second song functions as a mise en abyme of both the content of the Odyssey and its poetic form. The last of the bard's songs enhances the perception of mise en abyme, viewing the Odyssey as an act of communication between poet and audience where the song and its responding listeners suggest emotional and cognitive reactions to the narratees of the Odyssey. This song also reflects the two earlier ones, and it is this dialogical relationship that leads to the epic's tragic signification.
Shared Legacies of the War: Spirit Mediums and War Veterans in Southern Zimbabwe
Authors: Fontein Joost
Published: May 2006

This paper explores the nature of ongoing relationships between war veterans and spirit mediums in Zimbabwe, as well as the continuing salience of a shared chimurenga legacy of co-operation by these two groups, and how it has been put to use, and acted out by both in the context of Zimbabwe's recent fast track land reform project. In emphasising this continuity, the paper also considers whether a corresponding disparity between the ideology of the ruling political elite and the practices, experiences and performances of guerrillas, spirit mediums and others acting on the ground, which materialised during the liberation struggle, has re-emerged, despite or alongside the recent collaboration of some war veterans with the ruling party's rhetoric of 'patriotic history'. Engaging with Lambek's work on moral subjectivity and Mbembe's 'logic of conviviality' of postcolonial states and their subjects, it argues that war veterans and spirit mediums sometimes share a 'moral conviviality' which appears during bira possession ceremonies, in the shared demands for the return and reburial of the war dead from foreign countries, or for 'national' ceremonies held at Great Zimbabwe and elsewhere to thank the ancestors, as well as in the similar way in which spirit mediums and war veterans subject their agency to that of the ancestors in their narrative performances. It concludes by suggesting that although many war veterans have undeniably been closely complicit in the violent 'authoritarian nationalism' of the state, in this shared war legacy of spirit mediums and war veterans lies the opportunity for radical alternative imaginations of the state.
A Numerical Study of the 1996 Saguenay Flood Cyclone: Effect of Assimilation of Precipitation Data on Quantitative Precipitation Forecasts
Authors: Nagarajan Badrinath , Yau M. K. , Fillion Luc
Published: May 2006

A one-dimensional variational (1DVAR) technique is applied to assimilate rain gauge precipitation data to extend the predictability of the Saguenay flood cyclone associated with a trough-merger event on 19–21 July 1996 in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada.

Two 60-h simulations initialized at 0000 UTC 19 July were performed with the Canadian Mesoscale Compressible Community (MC2) model. The control (CTL) and NCEP simulations were initialized with the enhanced temperature and moisture profiles obtained from the 1DVAR scheme and the NCEP reanalysis data, respectively.

Compared to observations, the CTL simulation reasonably reproduced the observed mass and wind fields and showed a marked improvement in the threat scores for heavy precipitation. The CTL run captured the observed spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation but overpredicted the area of precipitation. Sensitivity experiments showed that the threat (bias) scores are less (somewhat) sensitive to the specification of the observation error of the precipitation data. Of the four precipitation systems present at model initial time, the systems in the vicinity of the southern trough had the biggest impact on the threat score.

Potential vorticity diagnostics of the CTL simulation suggested that the initial temperature and moisture field near the southern trough decreased the condensational heating relative to NCEP. This resulted in a stronger zonal wind component in the upper levels associated with the southern trough in CTL that retarded the eastward propagation of the northern trough, resulting in a correct placement of the surface precipitation and an improvement in the threat scores relative to NCEP.
Petrobusiness and Security Threats in the Niger Delta, Nigeria
Authors: Omeje Kenneth
Published: May 2006

This study derives from a concern with the Nigerian oil conflict. It focuses on the paradigm shift and various methods of conflict management practised in the oil industry, especially among the more dominant transnational oil companies (TNOCs). The article is primarily based on a field study of the three largest TNOCs in Nigeria – Shell, Mobil and Chevron. The study reveals that different oil companies operating in the Niger Delta adopt different conflict management strategies depending on the precise nature and intensity of the threats concerned, which are, in turn, largely related to the locational spread or concentration of the individual firm's oil operations. The upsurge and intensification of violent anti-oil protests in the oil-bearing communities since the 1990s have compelled petrobusiness to explore new paradigms of security communitization, security privatization, security corporatization and securitization of development. The paradigm shift, as the study demonstrates, has considerable implications for both the oil conflict and security in the Nigerian oil region.
Advanced Routing Worm and Its Security Challenges
Authors: Zou Cliff C. , Towsley Don , Gong Weibo , Cai Songlin
Published: May 2006

Most well-known worms, such as Code Red, Slammer, Blaster, and Sasser, infected vulnerable computers by scanning the entire IPv4 address space. In this article, the authors present an advanced worm called the “routing worm,” which implements two new attacking techniques. First, a routing worm uses Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routing tables to only scan the Internet-routable address space, which allows it to propagate three times faster than a traditional worm. Second, and more important, the geographic information of BGP routing prefixes enables a routing worm to conduct pinpoint “selective attacks” by imposing heavy damage to vulnerable computers in a specific country, company, Internet Service Provider, or autonomous system, without collateral damage done to others. Because of the inherent publicity of BGP routing tables, attackers can easily deploy routing worms, which distinguishes the routing worm from other“worst-case” worms. Compared to a traditional worm, a routing worm could possibly cause more severe congestion to the Internet backbone since all scans sent out by it are Internet routable (and can be dropped only at the destination local networks). In addition, it is harder to quickly detect a routing worm-infected computer since we cannot distinguish illegal scans from regular connections sent out from it without waiting for traffic responses. For high-fidelity Internet-scale worm simulations, through this routing worm study, the authors emphasize the importance of simulating failed worm scans and distinguishing nonroutable worm scans from routable scans. In order to defend against routing worms and all scanning worms, an effective way is to upgrade the current Internet from IPv4 to IPv6, although such an upgrade will require a tremendous effort and is still a controversial issue.
High-Performance Simulation of Low-Resolution Network Flows
Authors: Nicol David M. , Yan Guanhua
Published: May 2006

Simulation of large-scale networks demands that we model some flows at coarser time scales than others, simply to keep the execution cost manageable. This article studies a method for periodically computing traffic at a time scale larger than that typically used for detailed packet simulations. Applications of this technique include computation of background flows (against which detailed foreground flows are simulated) and simulation of worm propagation in the Internet. The approach considers aggregated traffic between Internet points of presence (POPs) and computes the throughput of each POP-to-POP flow through each router on its path. This problem formulation leads to a nonlinear system of equations. The authors develop means of reducing this system to a smaller set of equations, which are solved using fixed-point iteration. They study the convergence behavior, as a function of traffic load, on topologies based on Internet backbone networks. They find that the problem reduction method is very effective and that convergence is achieved rapidly. The authors also examine the comparative speedup of the method relative to using pure packet simulation for background flows and observe speedups exceeding 3000 using an ordinary PC. They also simulate foreground flows interacting with background flows and compare the foreground behavior using their solution with that of pure packet flows. They find that these flows behave accurately enough in their approach to justify use of the technique in their motivating application. The authors parallelize the algorithm on a distributed-memory multiprocessor. They exploit the flexibility offered by noncommittal barrier synchronization that permits a processor to handle computation messages even after it invokes a barrier primitive. They also take advantage of application-specific knowledge to minimize synchronization cost, study the performance of their parallel algorithm with both fixed and scaled problem sizes, and observe excellent scalability on a multiprocessor supercomputer.
Sharing Space
Authors: Sheehy Paul
Published: May 2006

Taking ontological realism about social groups as the thesis that groups are composite material objects constituted by their members, this paper considers a challenge to the very possibility that groups be regarded as material entities. Ordinarily we believe that two groups can have synchronic co-extensive memberships—for example, the choir and the rugby team—while preserving their distinctive identity conditions. We also doubt that two objects of the same kind can be in the same place at the same time, which would appear to be the case when groups have identical memberships. I explain that the principle denying the synchronic co-location of objects of the same kind need not apply universally to material objects and that it is a mistake to take resistance to penetrability as a necessary feature of materiality. Therefore, initial appearances notwithstanding, groups can be in the same place at the same time.
Gricean Charity
Authors: Lee Carole J.
Published: May 2006

Psychologists' work on conversational pragmatics and judgment suggests a refreshing approach to charitable interpretation and theorizing. This charitable approach—what I call Gricean charity—recognizes the role of conversational assumptions and norms in subject-experimenter communication. In this paper, I outline the methodological lessons Gricean charity gleans from psychologists' work in conversational pragmatics. In particular, Gricean charity imposes specific evidential standards requiring that researchers collect empirical information about (1) the conditions of successful and unsuccessful communication for specific experimental contexts, and (2) the conversational norms governing communication in experimental contexts. More generally, the Gricean turn in psychological research shifts focus from attributional to reflexive, situational explanations. Gricean charity does not primarily seek to rationalize subject responses. Rather, it imposes evidential requirements on psychological studies for the purpose of gaining a more accurate picture of the surprising and muddled ways in which we weigh evidence and draw.
Negative autonomy and the intuitions of democracy
Authors: Weber Bryce
Published: May 2006

Habermas’ language-theoretic attempt to ground a post-liberal theory of democracy on Kant's intuitions concerning subjective autonomy is flawed because it leaves unexamined the internally contradictory experiential content of the Cartesian subject's experience of self. This case is made through reference to aspects of Habermas’ reconstructions of Kant and Mead; iek's criticisms of Kant, Heidegger and Habermas; and Honneth's idea that autonomy, for the post-Cartesian self, involves the ability of the subject to come to terms with the experience of negativity. The article concludes by arguing that a post-liberal account of democracy needs to leave behind the Kantian notion of autonomous subjectivity and base itself on a fundamentally different, post-individualist understanding of the self.
Stability is not immobility
Authors: Foster Pam , Foster Allan
Published: May 2006

This article surveys the use of business information in UK libraries, based on two questionnaires sent to libraries/information departments in autumn 2005.

Summary of findings: stable and improving budgetary and staffing position; more outsourcing and offshoring; quality of new staff improving; KM increasingly recognized and mainstreamed; e-content improvement, service development and end-user training are top three strategic priorities; and market for pay-as-you-go access bottoming out.
Business information services since 1990
Authors: Reid Will
Published: May 2006

Reviews the development of mediated professional business information provision, from the fee-based business information services of the 1980s to the present and future focus on refining, clarifying and classifying online services that are potentially directly available to end-users. Considers the range of influences that have brought about this shift including: the changing industrial structure; growth in internet use; financial and other pressures in libraries; and changes in government policy. Concludes that the library and information professional’s core skills remain valuable in the present changed economic and learning environment.
A Tele-operated Humanoid Operator
Authors: Yokoi Kazuhito , Nakashima Katsumi , Kobayashi Masami , Mihune Humisato , Hasunuma Hitoshi , Yanagihara Yoshitaka , Ueno Takao , Gokyuu Takuya , Endou Ken
Published: May 2006

This is the first successful trial of remotely controlling a humanoid robot to drive an industrial vehicle in lieu of a human operator. These results were achieved through the development of three technologies: 1) remote-control technology to instruct the humanoid to perform total-body movements under remote control 2) a remote-control system to execute tasks, and protection technology to protect the humanoid against the shock and vibrations of its operating seat and against influences of the natural environment, such as rain and dust, and 3) full-body operation-control technology to autonomously control the humanoid’s total-body movements to prevent the robot from falling over. The humanoid has promising application potential for restoration work in environments impacted by catastrophes and in civil-engineering and construction-project sites where it can work safely and efficiently.
A New Voice
Authors: Lee Yomee
Published: May 2006

This study examines the cultural meanings Korean American women give to participation in sports. Interviews with six Korean American women at a large Midwestern university revealed that their sporting experiences involved a complicated process of identity construction, not only as Asian American women but also as ethnically Korean American women. In addition, the study shows how sport becomes a focal point of negotiations and compromise with regard to gender relations in terms of traditional Korean values and beliefs.
Adult Participation Sports as Cultural Capital
Authors: Stempel Carl
Published: May 2006

This study extends recent tests of Bourdieu’s theory of sports as cultural capital using data from the 1998 US National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) on adult Americans’ frequency and intensity of participation in 15 sports. Most of the previous tests of Bourdieu’s theory have been limited to general measures of sport participation, and have provided general support for the thesis that sports operate as cultural capital. The NHIS data allow inferences about the principles of distinction dividing social classes in the field of participatory sports. More extensive tests of the ‘prole’ and ‘omnivore’ theses are also presented. The analysis shows that many sports are highly class exclusive and that the principles of exclusion fit closely with Bourdieu’s theory of the relational structure of the field of adult participation sports. The dominant classes use strenuous aerobic sports, moderate levels of weight-training, and competitive sports that restrict direct physical domination and/or are aerobically strenuous, in order to draw boundaries between themselves and the middle and lower classes. Competitiveness and demonstrating the ‘will to win’ within ‘civilized’ constraints on physical domination appear to be an important secondary principle of distinction. The evidence also supports a gendered ‘ascetic vs luxury’ divide between the culturally and economically weighted fractions of the dominant class. There is strong support for the cultural omnivore thesis, but the ‘prole’ thesis is not supported. These finding are also congruent with both Lareau’s description of the upper middle class cultural logic of ‘concerted cultivation’ and Lamont’s findings with regard to upper-middle-class boundary-making around ‘self-actualization’ and ‘moral character’.
Accounting at the boundaries of the sacred: the regulation of the Spanish brotherhoods in the eighteenth century
Authors: Espejo Concha Álvarez-Dardet , López Manjón Jesús D. , Sánchez-Matamoros Juan Baños
Published: May 2006

Recently, accounting research on religious organizations has concentrated on the sacred/profane dichotomy. We analyse how dissimilar perceptions of the sacred led to different roles of accounting in sacred organizations and, consequently, to different behaviours in a process of accountability. We study the accountability process imposed after 1769 by Spanish Enlightenment governments upon the brotherhoods, secular institutions within the Catholic Church that were formed to conduct charitable activities and improve worship, and that broadly influenced Spanish society. In their responses to a government census, most of the brotherhoods obscured accounting information. Finally, the government enacted a law that was intended to subjugate the brotherhoods to the civil power but did not actually impose accountability on them. We conclude that all those involved in this process shared a perception that rendering accounts was part of the sacred sphere, yet considered accountability as a profane tool.
A Biblical statement of accountability
Authors: Barlev Benzion
Published: May 2006

The aim of this article is to shed light on a Biblical statement of accountability, which was presented by Moses to the Israelites following the exodus from Egypt. This statement of accountability is at the level of leader towards his people, and as such differs from other forms of accountability in ancient civilizations – in particular Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt – which existed only at the levels of the individual towards the individual, the individual towards the state, and the state towards the individual. Since Moses had a unique status as a leader, this study looks towards this status to try to explain the reasons that compelled him to provide the statement. I suggest that Moses, who led his people from slavery to freedom, also fulfilled the role of educator towards freedom. I posit that he provided the account as part of his capacity as educator as well as from his desire to be above suspicion, and out of his personal humility. The article concludes with some reflections of this account from later Jewish literature, in which they are presented as moral lessons for public servants.
Hallowed treasures: sacred, secular and the Wesleyan Methodists in New Zealand, 1819–1840
Authors: Cordery Carolyn
Published: May 2006

John Wesley, the eighteenth century reformer, preached that regarding money, his Methodist followers should “gain all you can, save all you can and give all you can”. Methodist attitudes required user reflection and careful recording to ensure good use of money. This attitude towards the pecuniary challenges the sacred–secular dichotomy suggested by Laughlin (1988) and Booth (1993). The early Methodist missionaries in New Zealand provide an example where acculturation demands tempted men with a strong sacred focus to eschew secular accounting for their mission. Steeped in Wesley's writings, Methodist culture and the Bible, however, their letters and diaries included regular stocktakes of barter goods and ledger accounts, suggesting economic accountability. When one missionary misappropriated mission money for personal ends, he was ostracised. Wesleyan Methodist missionaries’ dependence on their supporters required commitment to mission and stewardship of the mission's ‘hallowed treasures’, but not a sacred–secular bifurcation which denigrated accounting tasks.
Social Class and Delinquency
Authors: Becker Rolf , Mehlkop Guido
Published: May 2006

The frequently predicted relationship between social class and criminal behavior is theoretically vacillating and empirically exiguous. We present an extended rational choice model which integrates the effects of an individual’s social status on his or her subjective evaluations of (1) costs, (2) utility, (3) the probability of apprehension, (4) the selective incentives, and (5) the internalization of social norms. We test the model against the offences of shop-lifting and tax-evasion. The data source derived from the German General Social Survey empirically supports the theoretical model. There exists no prevalent relationship between an individual’s social status and his or her incentives towards criminal comportment. However, the social status of an individual affects the type of offences committed. The subjectively expected probability of either failing or succeeding in a criminal act takes greater precedence over the fear of retribution or the expected utility. Additionally, internalized norms decrease the probability of committing a crime.
Damage Detection Accommodating Varying Environmental Conditions
Authors: Giraldo Diego F. , Dyke Shirley J. , Caicedo Juan M.
Published: May 2006

Although many algorithms have been developed in the last two decades to detect damage in civil structures using dynamic properties, few studies have considered the challenge imposed by the variability of these properties due to changing environmental conditions. To address this concern, a statistically based analysis is proposed herein to analyze the distribution of identified structural parameters over an unknown number of external conditions and to effectively reduce their influence on the localization of damage. The proposed SHM scheme can be divided into three main steps: (1) identification of modal properties using acceleration responses of the structure to ambient loads under the influence of environmental conditions; (2) characterization of the structure as a function of the detected dynamic properties and an identification model (ID-model) representative of the system; and (3) accommodation of the influence of external conditions by means of a principal component analysis of the identified parameters. An analytical model of a four story, two-bay by two-bay building developed by the IASCM-ASCE Task Group on SHM benchmark problems is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique. The robustness of the technique is tested by considering modeling errors, as well as a considerable amount of sensor noise. Nine structural configurations are investigated with various temperatures and temperature gradients. The results indicate that the method is effective for detecting and locating damage.
Trauma Resolution Using Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing With an Incestuous Sex Offender
Authors: Ricci Ronald J.
Published: May 2006

This case describes the use of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) to reduce reactivity to childhood trauma in an incestuous sex offender. It explores the relationship between desensitization and reprocessing of traumatic memory and how this may promote sex offender treatment progress as an enhancement of, not a replacement for, the cognitive-behavioral or relapse prevention treatment of sexual offenders. Pretreatment and posttreatment self-report and other-report instruments and semistructured interviews are employed to explore the results of this intervention. Implications and suggestions for this treatment protocol are suggested.
Sinus of Valsalva Aneurysm (SVA)
Authors: Al-Makhamreh Hanna , Alexander Patrick B. , Lee Michael , Nona Wassim E.
Published: May 2006

Echocardiography is widely used in the evaluation of patients with chest pain and can provide important information regarding left ventricular function, valvular competency, and structural defects. The authors report a patient in whom transesophageal echocardiography confirmed the presence of a sinus of Valsalva aneurysm (SVA), an uncommon congenital defect of the proximal aorta that may be associated with high morbidity and mortality. Aneurysm of the sinus of Valsalva results from the separation of the aortic media from the aortic annulus. It is often the result of a congenital cardiac defect but can also be acquired in patients with Marfan's syndrome, after cardiac surgery or trauma, and as a result of infection. This is a rare case of an SVA causing coronary artery compression, resulting in chest pain, coronary ischemia, and ventricular tachycardia.