bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Non insulin producing cell line, MIA PaCa‐2 is rendered insulin producing in vitro via mesenchymal epithelial transition
Authors: Bose Bipasha , Shenoy P Sudheer
Published: February 2013

We used non‐insulin producing pancreatic carcinoma cell line, MIA PaCa‐2 and have modulated its culture conditions by using 1% matrigel as extracellular matrix, N2, B27 growth supplements and serum free conditions. Expression of markers was analyzed using qRT‐PCR, immunofluorescence and in vitro functional assay for insulin and C‐peptide release was assessed using insulin and C‐peptide ELISA, respectively. The cells grown under this altered culture conditions have exhibited a transition in the morphology from mesenchymal to epithelial with extensive piling up of cells. A reduction in doubling time from 40 to 18 h, upregulation of beta islet specific markers like pancreatic duodenal homeobox‐1 (Pdx‐1), C‐peptide, insulin, and disappearance of markers like vimentin were observed. On the functional level, the altered morphology bearing cells released high levels of insulin in response to 10 µM tolbutamide (an activator of insulin pathway) and reduced insulin secretion in response to 50 µM nifedipine (inhibitor of the pathway). On the contrary, the original cells (mesenchymal morphology) had failed to release any insulin in response to varying concentrations of glucose and also the activators and inhibitors of the insulin pathway. This investigation thus provides a basis for using this basic developmental biology phenomenon mesenchymal to epithelial transition as a strategy to generate a large number of functional islets from stem cells of mesenchymal origin. J. Cell. Biochem. 9999: XX–XX, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Cell. Biochem. 114: 1642–1652, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Molecular dynamics study of DNA binding by INT‐DBD under a polarized force field
Authors: Yao Xue X. , Ji Chang G. , Xie Dai Q. , Zhang John Z.H.
Published: February 2013

The DNA binding domain of transposon Tn916 integrase (INT‐DBD) binds to DNA target site by positioning the face of a three‐stranded antiparallel β‐sheet within the major groove. As the negatively charged DNA directly interacts with the positively charged residues (such as Arg and Lys) of INT‐DBD, the electrostatic interaction is expected to play an important role in the dynamical stability of the protein–DNA binding complex. In the current work, the combined use of quantum‐based polarized protein‐specific charge (PPC) for protein and polarized nucleic acid‐specific charge (PNC) for DNA were employed in molecular dynamics simulation to study the interaction dynamics between INT‐DBD and DNA. Our study shows that the protein–DNA structure is stabilized by polarization and the calculated protein–DNA binding free energy is in good agreement with the experimental data. Furthermore, our study revealed a positive correlation between the measured binding energy difference in alanine mutation and the occupancy of the corresponding residue's hydrogen bond. This correlation relation directly relates the contribution of a specific residue to protein–DNA binding energy to the strength of the hydrogen bond formed between the specific residue and DNA. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Skeletal indicators of ecological specialization in pika (Mammalia, Ochotonidae)
Authors: Reese Aspen T. , Lanier Hayley C. , Sargis Eric J.
Published: February 2013

Pika species generally fall into two ecotypes, meadow‐dwelling (burrowing) or talus‐dwelling, a classification that distinguishes a suite of different ecological, behavioral, and life history traits. Despite these differences, little morphological variation has previously been documented to distinguish among ecotypes. The aim of this study was to test whether postcranial features related to burrowing are present in meadow‐dwelling species and whether talus‐dwelling species exhibit postcranial modifications related to frequent leaping between rocks. To test this, the scapula, humerus, ulna, radius, innominate, femur, tibia, and calcaneus of 15 species were studied and measured. Twenty‐three measurements were taken on 199 skeletons, and 19 indices were constructed from these measurements. Indices were compared between the two ecotypes using Student's t‐test. Comparisons among ecotypes, species, and subgenera were made using one‐way ANOVA with the Tukey honest significant difference post hoc test. Multivariate results were generated using principal components analyses. Thirteen forelimb and hind limb indices proved significant in distinguishing the meadow‐dwelling, talus‐dwelling, and intermediate forms. A number of these indices are associated with burrowing or leaping in other mammals, providing some support for the hypothesis that postcranial modifications in pika are related to locomotor differences. This evidence of morphological responses to ecological specialization will be useful for reconstructing the paleobiology of extinct taxa, assessing the behavioral variability of extant species, and improving our understanding of the evolutionary history of pikas. J. Morphol., 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Semi‐interpenetrating Networks in Blends of Epoxidized Natural Rubbers
Authors: Imbernon Lucie , Pire Myriam , Oikonomou Evdokia K. , Norvez Sophie
Published: February 2013

Blends of immiscible ENRs are crosslinked by dicarboxylic acids at 180 °C in the presence of 1,2‐dimethylimidazole. Due to the different epoxidation levels, the cure of ENR50 is complete well before that of ENR10. Depending on the ratio ENR10/ENR50, the blend morphology of the resulting materials, switches from diacid‐enriched nodules of ENR50 dispersed in a soft matrix of ENR10 to a continuous texture, giving rise to elastomeric properties. Even in minority, ENR50 is able to create a network by semi‐interpenetrating the non‐crosslinked ENR10. This behavior is associated with the migration of the dicarboxylic acid into the more reactive ENR50. Since ENR10 remains still available for further crosslinking, the system opens the door to elastomeric materials based on interpenetrated networks.

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Development and Validation of a Pharmacy‐Based Comorbidity Measure in a Population‐Based Automated Health Care Database
Authors: Dong Yaa‐Hui , Chang Chia‐Hsuin , Shau Wen‐Yi , Kuo Raymond N. , Lai Mei‐Shu , Chan K. Arnold
Published: February 2013

Study Objective

To develop the Pharmacy‐Based Disease Indicator (PBDI), and to evaluate its performance versus the diagnosis‐based Deyo version of the Charlson Index in predicting subsequent‐year hospitalization in adults.

Design

Retrospective cohort analysis.

Data Source

Longitudinal health insurance database derived from the national health insurance system in Taiwan.

Patients

Two adult populations were identified: 697,823 individuals who were at least 18 years of age on January 1, 2005 (dataset 2005), and 714,072 who were at least 18 years of age on January 1, 2006 (dataset 2006).

Measurements and Main Results

Based on the Chronic Disease Score framework and the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification system, we developed the PBDI, a comorbidity measure that is a function of 37 drug categories that correspond to major diseases in Taiwan. The relationship between individuals’ PBDI score and subsequent‐year hospitalization was evaluated by use of logistic regression models. Covariates in the models included age group, sex, PBDI score, and Deyo score. Using the two overlapping adult populations, we calculated both the PBDI score and the Deyo score for each individual in each year. Using subsequent‐year hospitalization as the outcome and each comorbidity measure as the predictor, we demonstrated that the c statistic of the PBDI versus the Deyo version of the Charlson Index was 0.72 versus 0.69 for both the 2005 and 2006 populations. The Akaike information criterion, Bayesian information criterion, model calibration, and reclassification measures also confirmed the utility of the PBDI.

Conclusion

The PBDI demonstrated acceptable predictive performance for subsequent‐year hospitalization. It can be used as a general comorbidity measure to describe the health status of populations based on data derived from population‐based automated health care databases.
Ezogabine: A Novel Antiepileptic for Adjunctive Treatment of Partial‐Onset Seizures
Authors: Amabile Celene M. , Vasudevan Arvind
Published: February 2013

Epilepsy is defined as a tendency toward recurrent seizures unprovoked by any systemic or acute neurologic insults. It is a disruption of the electrical conductivity or activity in the brain, resulting in a seizure. In the United States, approximately 120 of every 100,000 people seek medical attention due to new seizure activity. Ezogabine, known as retigabine in Europe, is an ethyl N‐(2‐amino‐4‐[{fluorophenyl}methlamino]phenylcarbamate). The drug has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency for adjunctive treatment of partial‐onset seizures in adults. Ezogabine exerts its therapeutic effect by enhancing transmembrane potassium channels (KCNQ ion channels), which is a novel mechanism in comparison with other antiepileptics. There are no specific documented contraindications to ezogabine. Warnings target patients that have benign prostatic hyperplasia or are receiving concomitant anticholinergic drugs due to a risk of urinary retention (2%). The FDA has required that ezogabine be part of a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy program in order to inform health care professionals of the risk of urinary retention. Prescribers should inform patients that ezogabine can cause urinary retention, including urinary hesitation, and instruct them to seek immediate medical attention if these symptoms occur. A medication guide has been developed for distribution to patients.
Changing the Direction of Clinical Pharmacy Outside the United States: Time to Step Up
Authors: Gums John G.
Published: February 2013

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Searching for protein signatures using a multilevel alphabet
Authors: Hod Ronit , Kohen Refael , Mandel‐Gutfreund Yael
Published: February 2013

Short motifs are known to play diverse roles in proteins, such as in mediating the interactions with other molecules, binding to membranes, or conducting a specific biological function. Standard approaches currently employed to detect short motifs in proteins search for enrichment of amino acid motifs considering mostly the sequence information. Here, we presented a new approach to search for common motifs (protein signatures) which share both physicochemical and structural properties, looking simultaneously at different features. Our method takes as an input an amino acid sequence and translates it to a new alphabet that reflects its intrinsic structural and chemical properties. Using the MEME search algorithm, we identified the proteins signatures within subsets of protein which encompass common sequence and structural information. We demonstrated that we can detect enriched structural motifs, such as the amphipathic helix, from large datasets of linear sequences, as well as predicting common structural properties (such as disorder, surface accessibility, or secondary structures) of known functional‐motifs. Finally, we applied the method to the yeast protein interactome and identified novel putative interacting motifs. We propose that our approach can be applied for de novo protein function prediction given either sequence or structural information. Proteins 2013; © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Performance impact of middle managers' adaptive strategy implementation: The role of social capital
Authors: Ahearne Michael , Lam Son K. , Kraus Florian
Published: February 2013

This article reconciles mixed findings about the performance impact of middle managers' strategy involvement. We propose that the relationship between middle managers' adaptive strategy implementation—through upward and downward influence—and objective business performance can be curvilinear and contingent on formal and informal structures. Applying a multilevel perspective to social networks, we empirically show that reputational social capital enhances the performance impact of middle managers' upward influence while informational social capital elevates the performance impact of their downward influence. The size of a business unit or region has differential moderating effects. The curvilinear effects of middle managers' upward influence and reputational and informational social capital on business unit performance reflect paradoxes. We discuss the implications of these findings for strategy implementation research and practice. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Multinationality and downside risk: The roles of option portfolio and organization
Authors: Belderbos René , Tong Tony W. , Wu Shubin
Published: February 2013

Multinational operations confer firms a portfolio of switching options that offer potential operating flexibility in the context of input cost variability, helping firms reduce downside risk. We suggest that two conditions may shape the relationship between multinationality and downside risk. When subadditivity is present in a firm's option portfolio, such as when the firm operates affiliates in host countries with similar labor cost developments, multinationality is less likely to reduce downside risk since less valuable opportunities exist for shifting operations. Multinationality is more likely to reduce downside risk if a firm's organization facilitates the coordination of cross‐border activities, enabling the exploitation of the shifting opportunities. Analysis of a comprehensive panel dataset of Japanese manufacturing firms and their foreign manufacturing affiliates provides support for these conjectures. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The South Tibetan detachment system facilitates ultra rapid cooling of granulite‐facies rocks in Sikkim Himalaya
Authors: Kellett Dawn A. , Grujic Djordje , Coutand Isabelle , Cottle John , Mukul Malay
Published: February 2013

The eastern Himalaya is characterized by a region of granulites and local granulitized eclogites that have been exhumed via isothermal decompression from lower crustal depths during the India‐Asia collision. Spatially, most of these regions are proximal to the South Tibetan detachment system, an orogen‐parallel normal‐sense detachment system that operated during the Miocene, suggesting that it played a role in their exhumation. Here we use geo‐ and thermochronological methods to study the deformation and cooling history of footwall rocks of the South Tibetan detachment system in northern Sikkim, India. These data demonstrate that the South Tibetan detachment system was active in Sikkim between 23.6 and ~13 Ma, and that footwall rocks cooled rapidly from ~700 to ~120 °C between ~15‐13 Ma. While active, the South Tibetan detachment system exhumed rocks from mid‐crustal depths, but an additional heat source such as strain heating, advected melt and/or crustal thinning is required to explain the observed isothermal decompression. Cessation of movement on the South Tibetan detachment system produced rapid cooling of the footwall as isotherms relaxed. A regional comparison of temperature‐time data for the eastern South Tibetan detachment system indicates a lack of synchronicity between the Sa'er‐Sikkim‐Yadong section and the NW Bhutan section. To accommodate this requires either strike‐slip tear faulting or local out‐of‐sequence thrusting in the younger segment of the orogen.
Evaluating bovine tuberculosis risk communication materials in Michigan and Minnesota for severity, susceptibility, and efficacy messages
Authors: Muter Bret A. , Gore Meredith L. , Riley Shawn J. , Lapinski Maria K.
Published: February 2013

Communication programs are a tool available to wildlife managers for managing risks associated with wildlife diseases such as bovine tuberculosis (TB). Evaluating these communication efforts is vital for successful disease management planning; yet, systematic evaluations of wildlife disease‐related communication programs are lacking. To this end, we analyzed the content of 41 print and electronic TB risk communication materials (e.g., brochures, handouts, websites) available to stakeholders in Michigan and Minnesota, USA, during April 2010 to 1) describe and compare the materials; 2) make data‐based recommendations to improve existing messages; and 3) highlight the ability of the extended parallel process model (EPPM), a well‐known health communication theory, to serve as a framework for evaluation of wildlife disease issues. All message components central to the EPPM were identified in our sample of TB risk communication materials. More than 80% of materials promoted ≥1 behaviors believed to reduce the risks of TB transmission among and between wildlife and livestock in Michigan and Minnesota. Messages conveying severity and susceptibility of TB‐related risks were present in 73% and 56% of the materials, respectively; whereas, efficacy messages promoting the ease and effectiveness of recommended behaviors were far less prevalent. Results provide insights for future TB and wildlife disease‐related risk communication efforts (e.g., design messages that enhance stakeholder perceptions of efficacy) and demonstrate the utility of the EPPM as a framework to evaluate risk communication materials and messages for wildlife disease‐related stakeholders. © 2013 The Wildlife Society
Land parcelization and deer population densities in a rural county of Virginia
Authors: Lovely Karen R. , Mcshea William J. , Lafon Nelson W. , Carr David E.
Published: February 2013

The parcelization of exurban landscapes creates a matrix of intermediately sized and privately managed land parcels, presenting a unique challenge to wildlife managers. During 2010–2011, we studied the correlates between land parcelization, deer density, and hunting patterns in exurban northwestern Virginia, USA. We estimated October deer densities (no. deer/km2) and conducted landowner surveys of deer harvest in 13 study blocks of mean size 34.8 km2. The extent of parcelization varied between study blocks; mean parcel size ranged from 2.00 ha to 26.12 ha. We used distance‐sampling techniques to survey pre‐harvest deer densities in each section, with estimated densities ranging from 9.4 deer/km2 to 30.1 deer/km2. We quantified deer harvest through calculations of harvest density and the percentage of land hunted. As parcel size increased, the percentage of land hunted increased. Harvest densities reported by landowners, however, remained constant with the exception of 2.0–4.0‐ha parcels, which had higher harvest densities than 60.8–161.8‐ha parcels. We used linear regression analysis to model the response of deer density (natural log) to landscape metrics, and the best‐fit model predicted deer density from mean parcel size with equivalent models including habitat with mean parcel size. Our results suggest that development processes that subdivide rural lands can significantly increase deer populations. The mechanism for this increase may be restricted hunter access to smaller property parcels and‐or increased probability of deer refuges nearby. © 2013 The Wildlife Society.
Proposal of a New Classification for Stage III Colorectal Cancer Based on the Number and Ratio of Metastatic Lymph Nodes
Authors: Wang Li‐Ping , Wang Hong‐Yan , Cao Rui , Zhu Cong , Wu Xiong‐Zhi
Published: February 2013

Background

The objective of this retrospective study was to determine whether the current staging system for stage III colorectal cancer (CRC) is appropriate and to assess the value of the metastatic lymph node ratio (LNR) in predicting the prognosis of patients with stage III CRC.

Methods

From 2000 to 2006 inclusively, 245 patients with stage III CRC underwent curative resection. The follow‐up was closed in March 2012. Kaplan–Meier survival curves and log‐rank tests were used for the survival analysis.

Results

Survival time of patients with T3N1M0 was significantly better than that for patients in other subgroups of stage IIIB and similar to that of patients with stage IIIA disease. The greatest survival difference was found with 0.30 as the LNR cutoff point for patients with current stage III CRC. Survival time of patients with LNR ≤ 0.30 was significantly better than that of those with LNR > 0.30. rN1 included stage III patients with LNR ≤ 0.30, and rN2 included patients with LNR > 0.30. Survival time of patients with T4aN1(rN2)M0 staging was significantly worse than that for patients with T4aN1(rN1)M0 staging and similar to that of patients with stage IIIC CRC.

Conclusions

We propose an algorithm to incorporate LNR into the current American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system. In it the patients with T3N1M0 are excluded from the current stage IIIB and included in the stage IIIA group. Also, patients with T4aN1(rN2)M0 are excluded from the current stage IIIB group and included in the stage IIIC group.
Lysophosphatidic Acid Produced by Hen Egg White Lysophospholipase D Induces Vascular Development on Extraembryonic Membranes
Authors: Morishige Junichi , Uto Yoshihiro , Hori Hitoshi , Satouchi Kiyoshi , Yoshiomoto Tanihiro , Tokumura Akira
Published: February 2013

Lysophosphatidic acid (lysoPtdOH), a lysophospholipid mediator, exerts diverse physiological effects, including angiogenesis, through its specific G‐protein‐coupled receptors. Previously, we showed that unfertilized hen egg white contains polyunsaturated fatty acid‐rich lysoPtdOH and lysophospholipase D (lysoPLD). Here, we examined whether lysoPtdOH was produced by lysoPLD in the presence and absence of a hen fertilized ovum and what the physiological role of lysoPtdOH in hen egg white is. Mass spectrometry showed that fertilized hen egg white contained about 8 μM lysoPtdOH before incubation with an ovum, mainly comprised of 18:1‐ (12.6 %), 18:2‐ (37.8 %) and 20:4‐molecular species (41.5 %). In an early gestation period, the lysoPtdOH was increased up to 9.6 μM, concomitant with a decrease in the level of polyunsaturated lysophosphatidylcholine (lysoPtdCho). Moreover, lysoPtdOH‐degrading activities were found in egg white and the vitelline membrane, showing that these enzymes control lysoPtdOH levels in egg white. In an egg yolk angiogenesis assay, two lysoPtdOH receptor antagonists, Ki16425 and N‐palmitoyl serine phosphoric acid (NASP), inhibited blood vessel formation induced by exogenously added 18:1‐lysoPtdOH and its precursor lysoPtdCho on the hen yolk sac. Ki16425 and NASP also inhibited blood vessel formation in the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). Furthermore, the relatively higher levels of LPA1, LPA2, LPA4 and LPA6 mRNA were present in the yolk sac and CAM. These results suggest that lysoPtdOH produced from lysoPtdCho by the action of lysoPLD in hen egg white is involved in the formation of blood vessel networks through several lysoPtdOH receptors on various extraembryonic membranes, including the yolk sac membrane and CAM.
Changes in Olive and Olive Oil Characteristics During Maturation
Authors: Yorulmaz Aslı , Erinc Hakan , Tekin Aziz
Published: February 2013

Changes in olive properties and oil quality, oxidative stability, phenolic and chemical composition of two common Turkish varieties (Memecik and Edremit) during maturation were investigated. Olive samples were collected in their own growing region for five different harvest dates and processed to oil with a laboratory scale mill. Metabolic behaviors of these two varieties along with the maturation were different in terms of some compositional parameters. Oleic acid, triolein, β‐sitosterol, oleuropein, hydroxytyrosol, and tyrosol contents of olive or olive oils fluctuated with maturation. However, changes in average weight, flesh/pit ratio, water and oil contents of the olives were observed. Phenolics such as trans cinnamic acid contents of both olive fruits decreased whereas cyanidin 3‐O‐glucoside and cyanidin 3‐O‐rutinoside anthocyanins increased. Free fatty acids of virgin olive oils were found independent of maturity although some slight changes were determined in peroxide value, dien and trien conjugations. Some compositional parameters such as pigment concentration, tocopherols, stearic acid, linolenic acid, palmitodiolein and monounsaturated/polyunsaturated fatty acid ratio decreased while linoleic acid, dioleolinolein, palmitooleolinolein and Δ‐5‐avenasterol percentages increased with the maturation. A clear discrimination was observed with principal component analysis. The data obtained can also be considered useful for providing information to determine the ideal maturity stage.
Mathematics, genetics and evolution
Authors: Ewens Warren J.
Published: February 2013

The importance of mathematics and statistics in genetics is well known. Perhaps less well known is the importance of these subjects in evolution. The main problem that Darwin saw in his theory of evolution by natural selection was solved by some simple mathematics. It is also not a coincidence that the re‐writing of the Darwinian theory in Mendelian terms was carried largely by mathematical methods. In this article I discuss these historical matters and then consider more recent work showing how mathematical and statistical methods have been central to current genetical and evolutionary research.
From Phage lambda to human cancer: endogenous molecular‐cellular network hypothesis
Authors: Wang Gaowei , Zhu Xiaomei , Hood Leroy , Ao Ping
Published: February 2013

Experimental evidences and theoretical analyses have amply suggested that in cancer genesis and progression genetic information is very important but not the whole. Nevertheless, “cancer as a disease of the genome” is still currently the dominant doctrine. With such a background and based on the fundamental properties of biological systems, a new endogenous molecular‐cellular network theory for cancer was recently proposed by us. Similar proposals were also made by others. The new theory attempts to incorporate both genetic and environmental effects into one single framework, with the possibility to give a quantitative and dynamical description. It is asserted that the complex regulatory machinery behind biological processes may be modeled by a nonlinear stochastic dynamical system similar to a noise perturbed Morse‐Smale system. Both qualitative and quantitative descriptions may be obtained. The dynamical variables are specified by a set of endogenous molecular‐cellular agents and the structure of the dynamical system by the interactions among those biological agents. Here we review this theory from a pedagogical angle which emphasizes the role of modularization, hierarchy and autonomous regulation. We discuss how the core set of assumptions is exemplified in detail in one of the simple, important and well studied model organisms, Phage lambda. With this concrete and quantitative example in hand, we show that the application of the hypothesized theory in human cancer, such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is plausible, and that it may provide a set of new insights on understanding cancer genesis and progression, and on strategies for cancer prevention, cure, and care.
Hepatitis B virus X protein protects hepatoma and hepatic cells from complement‐dependent cytotoxicity by up‐regulation of CD46
Authors: Zhang Shuai , Shan Changliang , Cui Wenjing , You Xiaona , Du Yumei , Kong Guangyao , Gao Fabao , Ye Lihong , Zhang Xiaodong
Published: February 2013

The involvement of hepatitis B virus X protein (HBx) in anti‐complement‐dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) activity during hepatocarcinogenesis is poorly understood. Here, we report that HBx is able to up‐regulate membrane‐bound complement regulatory protein CD46 in hepatoma cells and human immortalized liver cells through activating the promoter activity involving cAMP response element‐binding protein (CREB)/cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2)/prostaglandin E2 (PGE2)/signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway. In contrast, the down‐regulation of CD46 abolishes the resistance capability of hepatoma cells to CDC. Thus, we conclude that HBx contributes to the protection of hepatoma and hepatic cells from CDC by up‐regulation of CD46.
Influence of crowded cellular environments on protein folding, binding, and oligomerization: Biological consequences and potentials of atomistic modeling
Authors: Zhou Huan-Xiang
Published: February 2013

Recent experiments inside cells and in cytomimetic conditions have demonstrated that the crowded environments found therein can significantly reshape the energy landscapes of individual protein molecules and their oligomers. The resulting shifts in populations of conformational and oligomeric states have numerous biological consequences, e.g., concerning the efficiency of replication and transcription, the development of aggregation‐related diseases, and the efficacy of small‐molecule drugs. Some of the effects of crowding can be anticipated from hard‐particle theoretical models, but the in vitro and in vivo measurements indicate that these effects are often subtle and complex. These observations, coupled with recent computational studies at the atomistic level, suggest that the latter detailed modeling may be required to yield a quantitative understanding on the influence of crowded cellular environments.
The making of Maoist model in post-Mao era: The myth of Nanjie village
Authors: Feng Shizheng , Su Yang
Published: February 2013

Bucking the general trend of privatization in China, the model village of Nanjie has cultivated the image of a “small zone of communism,” a modern-day commune that practices extreme measures of egalitarianism. Such an image is promoted by some Party leaders at the center as well as local cadres, and bolstered by the spectacular display of the village’s wealth. With the aid of fieldwork data, our research examines the claims of “success,” “egalitarianism,” and the attribution of “success” to “egalitarianism.” We find that the village’s early rise to prosperity took place before the celebrated Maoist practices were introduced, and that its later rapid development was an artifact of politically awarded state loans. We then examine the “actually existing Maoism” by uncovering the capitalist labor relations between the local villagers and the hired laborers, and the political inequality among the village’s own legal residents. We conclude by examining the political processes that gave rise to this star village in the post-Mao era.
Reconstructing the stages of orogeny around the Junggar basin from the lithostratigraphy of Late Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic sediments
Authors: Novikov I.S.
Published: February 2013

The Junggar basin contains an almost continuous section of Late Carboniferous–Quaternary terrigenous sedimentary rocks. The maximum thicknesses of the stratigraphic units constituting the basin cover make up a total of ~23 km, and the basement under the deepest part of the basin is localized at a depth of ~18 km. Both the folded framing and the basin edges have undergone uplifting and erosion during recent activity. These processes have exposed all the structural stages of the basin cover. Considering the completeness and detailed stratigraphic division of the section, we can determine the exact geologic age of intense mountain growth and erosion periods as well as estimate the age of orogenic periods by interpolating the stratigraphic ages. During the Permian orogeny, which included two stages (255–265 and 275–290 Ma), the Junggar, Zaisan, and Turpan–Hami basins made up a whole. During the Triassic orogeny (210–230 Ma), the Junggar and Turpan–Hami basins became completely isolated from each other. During the Jurassic orogeny (135–145 and 160–200 Ma), the sedimentation took place within similar boundaries but over a smaller area. During the Cretaceous orogeny (65–85 and 125–135 Ma), the mountain structures formed mainly at the southern boundaries of the basin and along the Karamaili–Saur line. The Junggar and Zaisan basins were separated at that time. The Early and Middle Paleogene were characterized by relative tectonic quiescence. The fifth orogenic stage began in the Oligocene. The recent activity consists of two main stages: Oligocene (23–33 Ma) and Neogene–Quaternary (1.2–7.6 Ma to the present).
High-magnesium picrite–basalt associations of the Tunka terrane (Baikal–Hövsgöl region) as an indicator of the back-arc basin spreading
Authors: Shkol’nik S.I. , Belichenko V.G. , Reznitskii L.Z.
Published: February 2013

High-Mg metabasalts and metapicrites discovered within the Urtagol Formation in the central zone of the Tunka bald mountains (East Sayan) are studied. In geochemistry the high-Mg metavolcanics are similar to subductional rocks. We have established that the Nb-rich recycled material of oceanic crust (RSC) was a source of elements for high-Ti metabasalts, and subductional fluid rich in LREE and Th relative to Nb was the source of these elements for high-Ti metapicrites. The enrichment of low-Ti metavolcanics, formed, probably, at the early stages of the basin opening, was due to the contamination of melt with continental-crust material. A comparison of the metavolcanics with nonmetamorphosed analogs is made, and some genesis aspects are considered. The results obtained led to the conclusion that the metavolcanics mark the paleospreading of the back-arc basin.
The role of pressure in thermocatalytic processes in the sedimentary complex of the South Caspian basin
Authors: Feyzullayev A.A.
Published: February 2013

The role of overpressures in thermochemical processes in the South Caspian basin is considered. The studies, which take the world experience into account, suggest that the South Caspian basin (mainly its deep-water part), as well as other basins with abnormally high fluid pressures, is characterized by retarded kerogen and oil cracking and reaction of clay-mineral transformation. These processes can be periodically intensified by the development of diapirs and mud volcanoes, which are centers of pulsed hydrocarbon discharge from the system. The conclusion is made that deeply buried deposits in basins with fluid overpressure are promising in terms of hydrocarbon pools.
Obstacles to Ethical Decision-Making
Authors: Werhane Patricia H. , Hartman Laura Pincus , Archer Crina , Englehardt Elaine E. , Pritchard Michael S.
Published: February 2013

In commerce, many moral failures are due to narrow mindsets that preclude taking into account the moral dimensions of a decision or action. In turn, sometimes these mindsets are caused by failing to question managerial decisions from a moral point of view, because of a perceived authority of management. In the 1960s, Stanley Milgram conducted controversial experiments to investigate just how far obedience to an authority figure could subvert his subjects' moral beliefs. In this thought-provoking work, the authors examine the prevalence of narrow mental models and the phenomenon of obedience to an authority to analyse and understand the challenges which business professionals encounter in making ethical decisions. Obstacles to Ethical Decision-Making proposes processes - including collaborative input and critique - by which individuals may reduce or overcome these challenges. It provides decision-makers at all levels in an organisation with the means to place ethical considerations at the heart of managerial decision-making.
Œuvres de Charles Hermite
Authors: Hermite Charles
Published: February 2013

Charles Hermite (1822–1901) was a French mathematician who made significant contributions to pure mathematics, and especially to number theory and algebra. In 1858 he solved the equation of the fifth degree by elliptic functions, and in 1873 he proved that e (the base of natural logarithms) is transcendental. The legacy of his work can be shown in the large number of mathematical terms which bear the adjective 'Hermitian'. As a teacher at the École Polytechnique, the Faculté des Sciences de Paris and the École Normale Supérieure he was influential and inspiring to a new generation of scientists in many disciplines. The four volumes of his collected papers were published between 1905 and 1908.
Kant's Construction of Nature
Authors: Friedman Michael
Published: February 2013

Kant's Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science is one of the most difficult but also most important of Kant's works. Published in 1786 between the first (1781) and second (1787) editions of the Critique of Pure Reason, the Metaphysical Foundations occupies a central place in the development of Kant's philosophy, but has so far attracted relatively little attention compared with other works of Kant's critical period. Michael Friedman's book develops a new and complete reading of this work and reconstructs Kant's main argument clearly and in great detail, explaining its relationship to both Newton's Principia and eighteenth-century scientific thinkers such as Euler and Lambert. By situating Kant's text relative to his pre-critical writings on metaphysics and natural philosophy and, in particular, to the changes Kant made in the second edition of the Critique, Friedman articulates a radically new perspective on the meaning and development of the critical philosophy as a whole.
Foreign Intervention in Africa
Authors: Schmidt Elizabeth
Published: February 2013

Foreign Intervention in Africa chronicles the foreign political and military interventions in Africa from 1956 to 2010, during the periods of decolonisation and the Cold War, as well as during the periods of state collapse and the 'global war on terror'. In the first two periods, the most significant intervention was extra-continental. The USA, the Soviet Union, China, Cuba and the former colonial powers entangled themselves in countless African conflicts. During the period of state collapse, the most consequential interventions were intra-continental. African governments, sometimes assisted by powers outside the continent, supported warlords, dictators and dissident movements in neighbouring countries and fought for control of their neighbours' resources. The global war on terror, like the Cold War, increased foreign military presence on the African continent and generated external support for repressive governments. In each of these cases, external interests altered the dynamics of Africa's internal struggles, escalating local conflicts into larger conflagrations, with devastating effects on African peoples.
The Archaeology of Australia's Deserts
Authors: Smith Mike
Published: February 2013

This is the first book-length study of the archaeology of Australia's deserts, one of the world's major habitats and the largest block of drylands in the southern hemisphere. Over the last few decades, a wealth of new environmental and archaeological data about this fascinating region has become available. Drawing on a wide range of sources, The Archaeology of Australia's Deserts explores the late Pleistocene settlement of Australia's deserts, the formation of distinctive desert societies, and the origins and development of the hunter-gatherer societies documented in the classic nineteenth-century ethnographies of Spencer and Gillen. Written by one of Australia's leading desert archaeologists, the book interweaves a lively history of research with archaeological data in a masterly survey of the field and a profoundly interdisciplinary study that forces archaeology into conversations with history and anthropology, economy and ecology, and geography and Earth sciences.
Essentials of Micro- and Nanofluidics
Authors: Conlisk A. Terrence
Published: February 2013

This textbook introduces students to the basic physical principles to analyse fluid flow in micro- and nano-size devices. This is the first book that unifies the thermal sciences with electrostatics and electrokinetics and colloid science; electrochemistry; and molecular biology. Key concepts and principles are discussed, such as the essentials of viscous flows, introductory electrochemistry, heat and mass transfer phenomena, elements of molecular and cell biology and much more. State-of-the-art analytical and computational approaches to problems in all of these areas are presented, especially electrokinetic flows, and examples are given of the use of these approaches to design devices used for rapid molecular analysis, biochemical sensing, drug delivery, DNA analysis, the design of an artificial kidney and other transport phenomena. There are exercise problems and modern examples of applications, as well as a solutions manual available for qualified instructors.
Ancient Central China
Authors: Flad Rowan K. , Chen Pochan
Published: February 2013

Ancient Central China provides an up-to-date synthesis of archaeological discoveries in the upper and middle Yangzi River region of China, including the Three Gorges Dam reservoir zone. It focuses on the Late Neolithic (late third millennium BC) through the end of the Bronze Age (late first millennium BC) and considers regional and interregional cultural relationships in light of anthropological models of landscape. Rowan K. Flad and Pochan Chen show that centers and peripheries of political, economic and ritual activities were not coincident, and that politically peripheral regions such as the Three Gorges were crucial hubs in interregional economic networks, particularly related to prehistoric salt production. The book provides detailed discussions of recent archaeological discoveries and data from the Chengdu Plain, Three Gorges and Hubei to illustrate how these various components of regional landscape were configured across Central China.
The Phonological Mind
Authors: Berent Iris
Published: February 2013

Humans instinctively form words by weaving patterns of meaningless speech elements. Moreover, we do so in specific, regular ways. We contrast dogs and gods, favour blogs to lbogs. We begin forming sound-patterns at birth and, like songbirds, we do so spontaneously, even in the absence of an adult model. We even impose these phonological patterns on invented cultural technologies such as reading and writing. But why are humans compelled to generate phonological patterns? And why do different phonological systems - signed and spoken - share aspects of their design? Drawing on findings from a broad range of disciplines including linguistics, experimental psychology, neuroscience and comparative animal studies, Iris Berent explores these questions and proposes a new hypothesis about the architecture of the phonological mind.
Insurance and Behavioral Economics
Authors: Kunreuther Howard C. , Pauly Mark V. , McMorrow Stacey
Published: February 2013

This book examines the behavior of individuals at risk and insurance industry decision makers involved in selling, buying and regulation. It compares their actions to those predicted by benchmark models of choice derived from classical economic theory. Where actual choices stray from predictions, the behavior is considered to be anomalous. Howard C. Kunreuther, Mark Pauly and Stacey McMorrow attempt to understand why these anomalies occur, in many cases using insights from behavioral economics. The authors then consider if and how such behavioral anomalies could be modified to improve individual and social welfare. This book describes situations in which both public policy and the insurance industry's collective posture need to change. This may require incentives, rules and institutions to help reduce both inefficient and anomalous behavior, thereby encouraging behavior that will improve individual and social welfare.
Writing and Society
Authors: Coulmas Florian
Published: February 2013

How does writing relate to speech? What impact does it have on social organisation and development? How do unwritten languages differ from those that have a written form and tradition? This book is a general account of the place of writing in society. Drawing on contemporary and historical examples, from clay tablets to touchscreen displays, the book explores the functions of writing and written language, analysing its consequences for language, society, economy and politics. It examines the social causes of illiteracy, demonstrating that institutions of central importance to modern society are built upon writing and written texts, and are characterised by specific forms of communication. It explores the social dimensions of spelling and writing reform, as well as of digital literacy, a new mode of expression and communication posing novel challenges to the student of language in society.
Mind, Brain and Narrative
Authors: Sanford Anthony J. , Emmott Catherine
Published: February 2013

Narratives enable readers to vividly experience fictional and non-fictional contexts. Writers use a variety of language features to control these experiences: they direct readers in how to construct contexts, how to draw inferences and how to identify the key parts of a story. Writers can skilfully convey physical sensations, prompt emotional states, effect moral responses and even alter the readers' attitudes. Mind, Brain and Narrative examines the psychological and neuroscientific evidence for the mechanisms which underlie narrative comprehension. The authors explore the scientific developments which demonstrate the importance of attention, counterfactuals, depth of processing, perspective and embodiment in these processes. In so doing, this timely, interdisciplinary work provides an integrated account of the research which links psychological mechanisms of language comprehension to humanities work on narrative and style.
Symmetry Breaking in Syntax
Authors: Haider Hubert
Published: February 2013

In this illuminating new theory of grammar, Hubert Haider demonstrates that there is a basic asymmetry in the phrase structure of any language, whatever sentence structure it takes. Moreover, he argues that understanding this asymmetry is the key to understanding the grammatical causality underlying a broad range of core syntactic phenomena. Until now, Germanic languages have been seen to fall into two distinct classes: those which take an object-verb sentence structure (OV) or a verb-object one (VO). However, by examining the nature of this universal underlying asymmetry, Hubert Haider reveals a third syntactic type: 'Type III'. In particular, he employs the third type to explore the cognitive evolution of grammar which gave rise to the structural asymmetry and its typological implications. Symmetry Breaking in Syntax will appeal to academic researchers and graduate students involved in comparative and theoretical syntax and the cognitive evolution of grammar.
The Political Writings of Richard Cobden
Authors: Cobden Richard
Published: February 2013

Richard Cobden (1804–65) was the leading liberal thinker of his generation, and it was primarily through his efforts that the Corn Laws were repealed and that classical liberalism became the dominant political theory of the United Kingdom for over half a century. His first pamphlet was published in 1835 and his last in 1862. This collection was published two years after his death, and was regularly reprinted on both sides of the Atlantic well into the twentieth century. Volume 2 contains Cobden's later writings. With a background of war in the Crimea and the United States, his emphasis shifts from advocating free trade to the need to promote international treaties and co-operation. In his final work, The Three Panics, he is able to use the experience gained while negotiating a commercial treaty with France to highlight the folly of the anti-French hysteria that still frequently erupted in Britain.
The Lore of the Whare-wānanga
Authors: Whatahoro H. T.
Published: February 2013

Stephenson Percy Smith (1840–1922) arrived in New Zealand as a boy, and soon became fascinated by Maori culture. After retiring in 1900 from his career as a government surveyor, Smith devoted himself to the study of the Maori and co-founded the Polynesian Society, which published this two-volume study in 1913–15. The book contains the Maori text of an important body of beliefs and traditions which had been committed to writing over fifty years earlier, when the young W. H. Whatahoro had acted as scribe for a group of senior elders concerned to preserve this ancient and sacred knowledge. Only long afterwards was Whatahoro willing to divulge it to Europeans, and he personally assisted Smith with the translation provided here. Although Smith's interpretative notes and 'comparative mythology' agenda are typical of their time, this pioneering work laid foundations for later research. Volume 1 focuses on the gods and creation myths.