bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Spectroscopic and crystallographic studies of the mutant R416W give insight into the nucleotide binding traits of subunit B of the A1Ao ATP synthase
Authors: Kumar Anil , Manimekalai Malathy Sony Subramanian , Balakrishna Asha Manikkoth , Hunke Cornelia , Weigelt Sven , Sewald Norbert , Grüber Gerhard
Published: October 2008

A strategically placed tryptophan in position of Arg416 was used as an optical probe to monitor adenosine triphosphate and adenosine‐diphosphate binding to subunit B of the A1AO adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthase from Methanosarcina mazei Gö1. Tryptophan fluorescence and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy gave binding constants indicating a preferred binding of ATP over ADP to the protein. The X‐ray crystal structure of the R416W mutant protein in the presence of ATP was solved to 2.1 Å resolution, showing the substituted Trp‐residue inside the predicted adenine‐binding pocket. The cocrystallized ATP molecule could be trapped in a so‐called transition nucleotide‐binding state. The high resolution structure shows the phosphate residues of the ATP near the P‐loop region (S150‐E158) and its adenine ring forms π–π interaction with Phe149. This transition binding position of ATP could be confirmed by tryptophan emission spectra using the subunit B mutant F149W. The trapped ATP position, similar to the one of the binding region of the antibiotic efrapeptin in F1FO ATP synthases, is discussed in light of a transition nucleotide‐binding state of ATP while on its way to the final binding pocket. Finally, the inhibitory effect of efrapeptin C in ATPase activity of a reconstituted A3B3‐ and A3B(R416W)3‐subcomplex, composed of subunit A and the B subunit mutant R416W, of the A1AO ATP synthase is shown. Proteins 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Analysis of nasturtium TmNXG1 complexes by crystallography and molecular dynamics provides detailed insight into substrate recognition by family GH16 xyloglucan endo‐transglycosylases and endo‐hydrolases
Authors: Mark Pekka , Baumann Martin J. , Eklöf Jens M. , Gullfot Fredrika , Michel Gurvan , Kallas Åsa M. , Teeri Tuula T. , Brumer Harry , Czjzek Mirjam
Published: October 2008

Reorganization and degradation of the wall crosslinking and seed storage polysaccharide xyloglucan by glycoside hydrolase family 16 (GH16) endo‐transglycosylases and hydrolases are crucial to the growth of the majority of land plants, affecting processes as diverse as germination, morphogenesis, and fruit ripening. A high‐resolution, three‐dimensional structure of a nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) endo‐xyloglucanase loop mutant, TmNXG1‐ΔYNIIG, with an oligosaccharide product bound in the negative active‐site subsites, has been solved by X‐ray crystallography. Comparison of this novel complex to that of the strict xyloglucan endo‐transglycosylase PttXET16‐34 from hybrid aspen (Populus tremula x tremuloides), previously solved with a xylogluco‐oligosaccharide bound in the positive subsites, highlighted key protein structures that affect the disparate catalytic activities displayed by these closely related enzymes. Combination of these “partial” active‐site complexes through molecular dynamics simulations in water allowed modeling of wild‐type TmNXG1, TmNXG1‐ΔYNIIG, and wild‐type PttXET16‐34 in complex with a xyloglucan octadecasaccharide spanning the entire catalytic cleft. A comprehensive analysis of these full‐length complexes underscored the importance of various loops lining the active site. Subtle differences leading to a tighter hydrogen bonding pattern on the negative (glycosyl donor) binding subsites, together with loop flexibility on the positive (glycosyl acceptor) binding subsites appear to favor hydrolysis over transglycosylation in GH16 xyloglucan‐active enzymes. Proteins 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Comparison of dynamic system modeling methods
Authors: Bahill A. Terry , Szidarovszky Ferenc
Published: October 2008

This paper compares state‐equation models to state‐machine models. It compares continuous system models to discrete system models. The examples were designed to be at the same level of abstraction. This paper models these systems with the following methods: the state‐space approach of Linear Systems Theory, set‐theoretic notation, block diagrams, use cases, UML diagrams and SysML diagrams. This is the first paper to use all of these modeling methods on the same examples. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals Inc. Syst Eng
La vertu des images. Analogie, proportion et métaphore dans la genèse des sciences sociales au XVIIe siècle
Authors: Lefebvre Frédéric
Published: October 2008

Le newtonisme moral, à la mode au milieu du XVIIIe siècle, n’est pas seulement une métaphore: en vertu du principe de l’unité de la nature, il postule dans la société une loi semblable à la loi des distances en physique, voire une possibilité de mesure. La même règle d’analogie (A/B = CID) sous-tend le Contrat social de Jean-Jacques Rousseau : en prolongement des métaphores classiques de l’horloge, la définition du gouvernement reproduit l’agencement d’une montre, jusque dans les calculs de proportion qui servent aux horlogers à former le rouage. De même, dans la Théorie des sentiments moraux, Adam Smith se sert de la vieille métaphore de I’ oeil de lesprit et des notions plus modernes de la perspective optique pour agencer en système lensemble des interactions possibles entre deux personnes – hormis l’intérêt – en faisant varier la distance imaginaire entre les protagonistes selon les passions exprimées et leur intensité. Il est important de restituer ces transferts et ces controverses pour comprendre les enjeux fondamentaux de la sociologie au XIXe siècle.
Information, institutions et temporalité. Quelques remarques critiques sur l’usage de la nouvelle économie de l’information en histoire
Authors: Stanziani Alessandro
Published: October 2008

L’article fait Je point sur les thèses néo-institutionnalistes et sur la théorie des jeux telles qu’elles ont été «appliquées» à l’histoire. L’analyse des marchés principaux (travail, terre, crédit) et leur impact sur la théorie du développement sont également présentés. L’auteur prend ensuite en considération la théorie des jeux, il en discute les hypothèses et les présupposés de manière à rendre explicites les usages qui en ont été faits en histoire. La dernière partie introduit des notions plus complexes de rationalité économique, distingue entre information et connaissance et propose un schéma heuristique permettant d’intégrer certains éléments de l’économie de l’information et des jeux dans des démarches qui tiennent compte des notions temporelles propres à l’historiographie.
Federigo enriques, gaston bachelard et ferdinand gonseth
Authors: Castellana Mario
Published: October 2008

Le développement et la complexité, qui ont caractérisé les débats sur la structure conceptuelle des sciences au xxe siècle, ont déterminé la naissance d'une nouvelle discipline, l'histoire de l'épistémologie, avec l'objectif de tracer une histoire critique de notre « patrimoine épistémologique » avec des méthodologies plus appropriées de nature historique et théorique. Une histoire critique de la philosophie des sciences nous montre beaucoup de « Wenden » au-delà de celles plus bien connues, néopositiviste et post-néopositiviste ; en Italie et en France, dans les dix premières années du xxe siècle, a pris naissance une tradition de recherche épistémologique de nature néorationaliste, avec des noyaux théoriques spécifiques pour l'importance accordée à l'historicité de la science. L'épistémologie néorationaliste italo-française a privilégié l'analyse des rapports entre la pensée mathématique et la pensée physique, telle que l'on peut la caractériser comme une véritable épistémologie de la physique mathématique; de plus, cette approche différente, dessinée d'abord par Federigo Enriques et ensuite par Gaston Bachelard, Albert Lautman et Ferdinand Gonseth, a permis de comprendre déjà dès les années trente la « philosophie implicite » dans les travaux de Kurt Godel et d'Hermann Weyl.
Philosophy as a cultural resource and medium of reflection for hermann weyl
Authors: Scholz Erhard
Published: October 2008

Dans un discours prononcé à Zurich vers la fin des années 1940, Hermann Weyl a examiné l'épistémologie dialectique de Ferdinand Gonseth et l'a considérée comme trop strictement limitée aux aspects de changement historique. Son expérience de la philosophie diaclectique post-kantienne, en particulier la dérivation du concept de l'espace et de la matière chez Johann Gottlieb Fichte, avait constitué une base dialectique solide pour ses propres études de 1918 en une géométrie purement infinitésimale et la théorie antérieure d'un champ de matière géométriquement unifié (en prolongement du programme Mie-Hilbert). Bien que Weyl se fût alors éloigné des aspects spéculatifs de la philosophie de sa jeunesse et eût montré, en particulier, moins d'enthousiasme qu'auparavant pour Fichte, il nourrissait encore de nombreux doutes sur la base culturelle de la science mathématique moderne et sur son rôle dans la culture matérielle du modernisme de pointe. Pour Weyl, la « réflexion » philosophique était une nécessité culturelle ; il se tourna alors vers lexistentialisme de Karl Jaspers et de Martin Heidegger pour trouver des raisons plus profondes, dans un mouvement comparable à son orientation vers la philosophie de Fichte après la Première Guerre mondiale. Le débat de la fin des années 1940 peut être compris comme une sorte de supplément postérieur à la Seconde Guerre mondiale par rapport à ses commentaires plus connus sur les mathématiques et les sciences naturelles publiés au milieu des années 1920.
L'« école de l'eth » dans l'œuvre de gaston bachelard
Authors: Alunni Charles
Published: October 2008

Il s'agit de retracer ici la présence spectrale dans l'oeuvre de Gaston Bachelard de ce que nous appelons «École de l'ETH ». Nous en avons choisi trois figures fondamentales: Hermann Weyl, Wolfgang Pauli et Gustave Juvet. Pour le premier, nous traitons de sa place centrale et permanente dans la constitution bachelardienne d'une philosophie qui se veut à hauteur de la nouvelle « géométrie physique » rigoureusement construite dans un esprit riemannien. Quant à Pauli, nous montrons une insoupçonnable affinité qui est étayée par les analyses remarquables qu'en donna le philosophe: de la construction urgente d'une« métaphysique quantique», qui se fonde sur les implications d'un principe de Pauli bien compris, à l'idée de «particule métaphysique», en passant par les enjeux décisifs et si prometteurs du «postulat de non-analyse». Dans le cadre de cette polyconstruction convergente de l'entreprise « surrationaliste », nous traitons de la troisième figure, moins connue mais tout aussi marquante, du mathématicien-philosophe Gustave Juvet.
Actualité de la philosophie de ferdinand gonseth
Authors: cohen-T Annoudji Gilles
Published: October 2008

Les progrès les plus récents de la physique contemporaine, en particulier la convergence de la physique des particules et de la cosmologie en une authentique cosmogonie scientifique, avivent les enjeux philosophiques de l'entreprise scientifique, mais les rapports conflictuels entre physique et philosophie ne s'en trouvent pas apaisés ; un fossé semble même en train de se creuser entre science et philosophie. L' oeuvre du philosophe suisse Ferdinand Gonseth qui s'est attaché à élaborer une philosophie qui soit et qui puisse rester au ni veau de la connaissance scientifique peut fournir une aide particulièrement adéquate à ceux qui voudraient contribuer à combler ce fossé.
Stéphane lupasco et le tiers inclus
Authors: Nicolescu Basarab
Published: October 2008

Nous rappelons tout d'abord les trois étapes majeures dans l'oeuvre de Stéphane .upasco (1900-1988): l'introduction du principe de dualisme antagoniste, l'examen des otions d'actualisation et de potentialisation et la formulation de la logique du tiers inclus. :nsuite, nous étudions les relations entre le tiers inclus et la contradiction et entre logique et ntologie et nous évoquons le rapport entre Gonseth et Lupasco. Enfin, nous introduisons la otion de niveaux de Réalité qui donne une explication simple et claire de l'inclusion du tiers
Comment nommer les éléments? Les catégories anthropologiques en Afrique du Sud
Authors: Kuper Adam
Published: October 2008

L'anthropologie sud-africaine a historiquement été divisée en deux écoles: l'une, associée aux universités de langue afrikaans, appuyait l'apartheid; l'autre, associée aux universités anglophones, s'opposait à la ségrégation et à la discrimination raciale. L'anthropologie afrikaner se focalisait sur la culture, la tradition et l'ethnicité, tandis que l'école rivale voulait étudier l'Afrique du Sud comme une société unique, en transformation rapide. Cette opposition, qui a parfois été exagérée, a été la plus marquée dans la période de renforcement de l'apartheid, dans les années soixante et soixante-dix, mais il y a toujours eu un débat considérable sur les objets mêmes des recherches en anthropologie, en particulier sur la nature des groupes « raciaux » et « tribaux » en Afrique du Sud. Ces problèmes, fondamentaux d'un point de vue politique, ont forcé les anthropologues à se confronter aux grandes questions posées par les politiques gouvernementales. Cet article retrace l'histoire de ces débats sur la classification des populations en Afrique du Sud.
Bordering on anthropology. The dialectics of a national tradition in Mexico
Authors: Lomnitz Claudio
Published: October 2008

Cet article explore la production du savoir dans le cadre d'une « anthropologie nationale». Au Mexique s'est développée de façon précoce une des plus importantes anthropologies « nationales » du monde postcolonial; malgré son « succès », elle a toujours été hantée par l'absorption de ses principaux représentants dans l'appareil d'État et par un sentiment de discontinuité et d'isolement intellectuel. Quatre aspects de l' anthropologie mexicaine sont abordés dans le contexte historique où ils ont émergé: le rôle de l'anthropologie dans la construction d'une image de la nation (1850-1900); les stratégies d'intervention dans la modernisation et l'incorporation des populations indigènes et «attardées» (1880-1930); son rôle dans la régulation de l'orthodoxie du développement (1940-1968), puis dans la reformulation de l'image de la nation face à l'urbanisation massive (depuis 1968).
Sur l'expertise anthropologique Territoires et identités indigènes au Brésil
Authors: de Ouveira Joâo Pacheco
Published: October 2008

Revient-il à l'anthropologue de décider de la qualité «indigène» d'un individu ou d'une collectivité, ou encore des limites du territoire qui lui est attribué (ou reconnu) par l'État? En termes épistémologiques et éthiques, s'agit-il d'une tâche qui lui incombe? L'objectif de ce texte est de discuter la manière dont ces questions se posent aux anthropologues brésiliens, dans le contexte actuel. Partagé entre les discours indianiste et indigéniste, entre romantisme et médiation politique, l'anthropologue cherche à définir une posture appropriée en situation d'expertise (à distinguer de la situation ethnographique), qui puisse sauvegarder la qualité scientifique de son travail, tout en répondant aux attentes et aux demandes propres à ce contexte.
Clinical Significance of P53 Protein Expression in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma
Authors: Morita Naomi , Ikeda Yoshifumi , Takami Hiroshi
Published: October 2008

Background

Although mutations in the p53 suppressor gene in thyroid carcinoma have usually been detected in anaplastic carcinoma, P53 protein expression has been detected immunohistochemically in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). In the present study, we examined the immunohistochemical expression of P53 protein in PTC to investigate the relations between its expression and the clinicopathologic features.

Methods

The study was performed on 68 patients in whom thyroidectomy with lymph node dissection had been performed to treat PTC at Teikyo University Hospital. Expression of P53 protein was evaluated immunohistochemically in sections of paraffin‐embedded tissue in 68 primary tumors and 196 lymph node metastases.

Results

Overexpression of P53 protein in the primary tumor was observed in 29 cases (43%). Statistical analysis revealed significant correlation between P53 protein expression in the primary tumor and large tumor size (unpaired t‐test: p < 0.01), the presence of lymph node metastasis (unpaired t‐test: p < 0.05), and the mean number of lymph node metastases (unpaired t‐test: p < 0.05). Although 29 (43%) of the primary tumors overexpressed P53 protein, 143 (73%) of the metastatic lymph nodes overexpressed P53 protein irrespective of whether there was P53 overexpression by the primary tumor.

Conclusions

The results of this study suggest that immunohistochemistry for P53 in the primary tumor could be useful in the clinical evaluation of patients with PTC. Moreover, P53 protein overexpression in lymph node metastasis may be useful as a treatment guide or target for lymph node recurrences.
Modified Technique of Pancreaticojejunal Anastomosis with Invagination Following Pancreaticoduodenectomy: A Cohort Study
Authors: Chen Huan‐wei , Lai Eric C. H. , Su Shu‐ying , Cai Yun‐feng , Zhen Zuo‐jun , Lau Wan Yee
Published: October 2008

Background

Leakage from pancreatic anastomoses remains the single most important morbidity after pancreaticoduodenectomy and contributes to prolonged hospitalization and mortality. This observational cohort study reported the surgical outcome of a modified invagination technique of pancreaticojejunostomy after pancreaticoduodenectomy.

Methods

Between December 2001 and December 2007, a total of 52 consecutive patients underwent elective pancreaticoduodenectomy for benign or malignant pathologies of the pancreas or the periampullary region in a tertiary referral center. All patients underwent our modified invagination technique of pancreaticojejunostomy regardless of the characteristics of the pancreatic stump. Data were collected prospectively.

Results

The mean hospital stay was 12.6 ± 3.2 days. The incidence of overall surgical complications was 9.6%. No patient developed pancreatic fistula. One patient (1.9%) died of respiratory failure on postoperative day 7.

Conclusions

We reported our pancreaticojejunostomy anastomosis technique with a pancreatic fistula rate of 0% and low intra‐abdominal complication rate. The favorable results of this technique warrant further investigation in large prospective cohort studies and prospective randomized controlled studies.
Laparoscopic‐Assisted Combined Colon and Liver Resection for Primary Colorectal Cancer with Synchronous Liver Metastases: Initial Experience
Authors: Kim Seong Hoon , Lim Seok‐Byung , Ha Yun Hyung , Han Sung‐Sik , Park Sang Jae , Choi Hyo Seong , Jeong Seung‐Yong
Published: October 2008

Background

Laparoscopic approaches have become increasingly used in selected patients with either colorectal or liver cancer. However, the feasibility of laparoscopic‐assisted combined colon and liver resection in primary colorectal cancer with synchronous liver metastases remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to determine the feasibility of laparoscopic‐assisted combined colon and liver resection for primary colorectal cancer with synchronous liver metastases.

Methods

Laparoscopic surgery involving intestinal anastomosis was performed for primary colorectal cancer. The liver was then mobilized with the assistance of a hand inserted through the upper midline incision. For minor resections, the parenchymal transection was performed laparoscopically. For major resection involving a hilar dissection, transection was performed according to the standard open techniques under direct vision through the incision. Resected specimens were retrieved directly through the midline incision.

Results

Ten patients with primary colorectal cancer and synchronous liver metastases underwent the above procedure between September 2006 and April 2007. Surgical procedures for colorectal cancer included 5 low anterior resections, 3 anterior resections, 1 right hemicolectomy, and 1 subtotal colectomy. Combined hepatic surgery included 6 major hepatectomies, 3 segmentectomies, and 1 tumorectomy. All procedures were successful, with no conversions to open surgery required. The median operation time was 439 min (range: 210–690 min), and the median estimated blood loss was 350 ml (range: 300–1,200 ml). There was no surgical mortality or major morbidity, except in one patient in whom postoperative bleeding at the site of para‐aortic node dissection was promptly controlled.

Conclusions

Laparoscopic‐assisted combined colon and liver resection is a feasible and safe procedure for the treatment of primary colorectal cancer with synchronous liver metastases.
Is There a Role for Cholecystectomy in Gallbladder Carcinoma Discovered to be Unresectable for Cure at Laparotomy?
Authors: Tewari Mallika , Kumar Vinay , Mishra Raghvendra R. , Kumar Mohan , Shukla Hari S.
Published: October 2008

Background

Palliative operative resection in patients with locally advanced cancer of the gallbladder (GBC) found not to be amenable to radical resection for cure at exploration has received little attention. This article evaluates the benefits, if any, of cholecystectomy with biliary drainage in such patients.

Methods

Available records of locally advanced but nonmetastatic GBC patients treated in the Department of Surgical Oncology, B.H.U., Varanasi, India, during the last 8 years were retrospectively reviewed. Of these, 30 patients (group I) with GBC (T3–4,N0–1,M0) treated with cholecystectomy ± biliary bypass were selected and compared with equal number of controls matched for age (±5 years), sex, histopathology, stage, residence, and postoperative chemotherapy who underwent biopsy ± biliary bypass only (group II) followed by chemotherapy during the same period. Survival rates were calculated by using Kaplan‐Meier curves. Follow‐up ranged from 1–15 months.

Results

The median survival was 7 and 2 months for groups I and II (P < 0.0001), respectively. The 30‐day postoperative mortality and morbidity was 3% vs. 12% and 13% vs. 16% in groups I and II, respectively.

Conclusions

Results suggest that a better median survival can be achieved after cholecystectomy in locally advanced unresectable GBC compared with only bypass and biopsy procedures. These findings may justify a palliative cholecystectomy in selected patients with locally advanced GBC.
Mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation defects—remaining challenges
Authors: Gregersen Niels , Andresen Brage S. , Pedersen Christina B. , Olsen Rikke K. J. , Corydon Thomas J. , Bross Peter
Published: October 2008

Mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation defects have been recognized since the early 1970s. The discovery rate has been rather constant, with 3–4 ‘new’ disorders identified every decade and with the most recent example, ACAD9 deficiency, reported in 2007. In this presentation we will focus on three of the ‘old’ defects: medium‐chain acyl‐CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency, riboflavin responsive multiple acyl‐CoA dehydrogenation (RR‐MAD) deficiency, and short‐chain acyl‐CoA dehydrogenase (SCAD) deficiency. These disorders have been discussed in many publications and at countless conference presentations, and many questions relating to them have been answered. However, continuing clinical and pathophysiological research has raised many further questions, and new ideas and methodologies may be required to answer these. We will discuss these challenges. For MCAD deficiency the key question is why 80% of symptomatic patients are homozygous for the prevalent ACADM gene variation c.985A > G whereas this is found in only ∼50% of newborns with a positive screen. For RR‐MAD deficiency, the challenge is to find the connection between variations in the ETFDH gene and the observed deficiency of a number of different mitochondrial dehydrogenases as well as deficiency of FAD and coenzyme Q10. With SCAD deficiency, the challenge is to elucidate whether ACADS gene variations are disease‐associated, especially when combined with other genetic/cellular/environmental factors, which may act synergistically.
Chemical individuality: Concept and outlook
Authors: Gahl W. A.
Published: October 2008

Sir Archibald Garrod's concept of chemical individuality introduced a century ago provided the basis for the entire discipline of inborn errors of metabolism. Human disorders are defined by variation in disease‐causing mutations, environmental influences, genetic factors other than the primary genetic defect, and evolution itself. Myriad examples support the prescience of Garrod with respect to these issues, each of which has therapeutic implications. Just as Garrod predicted that the future of biochemical genetics would be intertwined with the concept of chemical variability, we might forecast that variation will influence emotions, dreams, and the human thinking process itself.
Is There a Significant Trend in Prevalence of Consanguineous Marriage in Tehran? A Review of Three Generations
Authors: Akrami Seyed Mohammad , Montazeri Vahideh , Shomali Somaieh Rashid , Heshmat Ramin , Larijani Bagher
Published: October 2008

Consanguineous marriage is a common practice in Iran. The present study surveyed the trend in consanguineous marriage across three generations of Iranians. Index cases, consisting of 400 individuals attending the diabetes and osteoporosis clinic in Shariati Hospital, were interviewed. Data on consanguinity status for 1789 marriages within the index cases’ families were obtained. Generation 1 consisted of marriages contracted before 1948, Generation 2 consisted of marriages contracted between 1949 and 1978, and Generation 3 consisted of marriages contracted after 1979. Prevalence of consanguineous marriage within these three generations was 8.8%, 16.6% and 19%, respectively, and represented a significant trend (p < 0.001). First cousin marriage was the most common type of consanguinity (69%). Socioeconomic level of families was not significantly related to having a consanguineous marriage. These data suggest that premarital genetic counseling and mass media efforts are needed to increase public awareness about genetic risks associated with consanguineous marriage.
Thermodynamic Properties of Supported and Embedded Metallic Nanocrystals: Gold on/in SiO2
Authors: Ruffino F , Grimaldi MG , Giannazzo F , Roccaforte F , Raineri V
Published: October 2008

We report on the calculations of the cohesive energy, melting temperature and vacancy formation energy for Au nanocrystals with different size supported on and embedded in SiO2. The calculations are performed crossing our previous data on the surface free energy of the supported and embedded nanocrystals with the theoretical surface-area-difference model developed by W. H. Qi for the description of the size-dependent thermodynamics properties of low-dimensional solid-state systems. Such calculations are employed as a function of the nanocrystals size and surface energy. For nanocrystals supported on SiO2, as results of the calculations, we obtain, for a fixed nanocrystal size, an almost constant cohesive energy, melting temperature and vacancy formation energy as a function of their surface energy; instead, for those embedded in SiO2, they decreases when the nanocrystal surface free energy increases. Furthermore, the cohesive energy, melting temperature and vacancy formation energy increase when the nanocrystal size increases: for the nanocrystals on SiO2, they tend to the values of the bulk Au; for the nanocrystals in SiO2 in correspondence to sufficiently small values of their surface energy, they are greater than the bulk values. In the case of the melting temperature, this phenomenon corresponds to the experimentally well-known superheating process.
Taking Advantage of an Untapped Pool: Assessing the Success of African American Head Coaches in the National Football League
Authors: Branham David
Published: October 2008

Noting that only five African American coaches had been hired to lead National Football League (NFL) teams from 1989–2002, Madden (J of Sports Econ, 5(1):6–19 2004) found that teams coached by African Americans in the NFL outperformed their counterparts in the regular season but were significantly below average in the playoffs. This analysis, with data that includes nine African American coaches and extends through 2007, reconfirms Madden's finding that African American head coaches outperform their rivals in the regular season, but also finds that African American coaches no longer suffer from poor playoff performance. Using fixed effects pooled cross section time series models, this analysis confirms that teams with African American head coaches can expect more wins in the regular season than their peers, other things equal. However, there is some evidence that as the pool of African American coaching talent diminishes from additional hires their extraordinary performance may be slightly regressing. The playoff analysis shows that that when controlling for seeding, organizational strength and regular season wins, African American coaches perform at the same level as their counterparts.
Diversity of tight junctions (TJs) between gastrointestinal epithelial cells and their function in maintaining the mucosal barrier
Authors: Yu Qing‐Hua , Yang Qian
Published: October 2008

The gastrointestinal epithelium, which is covered by a single layer of epithelial cells, including enterocytes, intraepithelial lymphocytes, goblet cells, microfold cells, and dendritic cells, serves as a protective barrier separating luminal contents from the underlying tissue compartments. The epithelium plays an important role in the first line of host defense against a variety of pathogens, as well as maintaining the homeostasis in gastrointestinal tract. All these epithelial cells express junction complex proteins and form cell junctions such as adherens and TJs, although the TJs have small differences among different epithelial cells. The TJs, located most apically on the lateral membrane, are required for the proper formation of epithelial cell polarity as well as sustaining of the mucosal barrier. Furthermore, TJs are the key cell junctions modulating the paracellular pathway. Understanding the diversity of the TJs between intestinal epithelial cells and their different roles in defending pathogens' invasion and modifying the paracellular pathway are attractive to exploration.
Spectrally silent light induced conformation change in photosynthetic reaction centers
Authors: Nagy László , Maróti Péter , Terazima Masahide
Published: October 2008

Spectrally silent conformation change after photoexcitation of photosynthetic reaction centers isolated from Rhodobacter sphaeroides R‐26 was observed by the optical heterodyne transient grating technique. The signal showed spectrally silent structural change in photosynthetic reaction centers followed by the primary P+BPh− charge separation and this change remains even after the charge recombination. Without bound quinone to the RC, the conformation change relaxes with about 28 μs lifetime. The presence of quinone at the primary quinone (QA) site may suppress this conformation change. However, a weak relaxation with 30–40 μs lifetime is still observed under the presence of QA, which increases up to 40 μs as a function of the occupancy of the secondary quinone (QB) site.
1,2‐α‐l‐Fucosynthase: A glycosynthase derived from an inverting α‐glycosidase with an unusual reaction mechanism
Authors: Wada Jun , Honda Yuji , Nagae Masamichi , Kato Ryuichi , Wakatsuki Soichi , Katayama Takane , Taniguchi Hajime , Kumagai Hidehiko , Kitaoka Motomitsu , Yamamoto Kenji
Published: October 2008

Fucosyloligosaccharides have great therapeutic potential. Here we present a new route for synthesizing a Fucα1,2Gal linkage by introducing glycosynthase technology into 1,2‐α‐l‐fucosidase. The enzyme adopts a unique reaction mechanism, in which asparagine‐423 activated by aspartic acid‐766 acts as a base while asparagine‐421 fixes both a catalytic water and glutamic acid‐566 (an acid) in the proper orientations. Glycosynthase activity of N421G, N423G, and D766G mutants was examined using β‐fucosyl fluoride and lactose, and among them, the D766G mutant most effectively synthesized 2′‐fucosyllactose. 1,2‐α‐l‐Fucosynthase is the first glycosynthase derived from an inverting α‐glycosidase and from a glycosidase with an unusual reaction mechanism.
“Silk Road, Cotton Road or . . . . Indo-Chinese Trade in Pre-European Times”
Authors: DALE STEPHEN F.
Published: October 2008

India and China were the most important producers of textiles in the world prior to the industrial revolution. However, whereas the Western historiography usually discusses Indian cotton and Chinese silk in connection with European imports, or with their sales in the Indian Ocean and the Middle East, cotton and silk were also exchanged between India and China. Indeed, Indian cotton and Chinese silk were probably the principal manufactured goods exchanged between these civilizations. Although Indian records are fragmentary, especially when compared with the voluminous Chinese sources, Indian cotton goods are known to have reached the Indianized states in Xinjiang in the early Common Era (CE), and may have been produced there, in Khotan and the neighbouring states, by the time that indigenous silk production was known to exist in India in the fourth and fifth centuries CE. Yet, while in later centuries large amounts of cotton cloth were produced in China while indigenous centres of silk production developed in India, exchanges of the finest types of cotton and silk cloth continued, usually driven by cultural and social factors in each civilization.
Notes on Political Thought in Medieval and Early Modern South India
Authors: RAO VELCHERU NARAYANA , SUBRAHMANYAM SANJAY
Published: October 2008

This essays deals with a neglected and significant strand of Indian political thought by describing and analysing the corpus known asnītiin the context of medieval and early modern South India (in particular with reference to the Telugu-speaking region). Works ofnītiare presented here within a larger context, as they evolve from the medieval Andhra of the Kakatiyas into the Vijayanagara period, the Nayakas, and beyond. They are also opposed and contrasted to other texts written within the broad category ofdharmashāstra, which seem to deal with a far more conservative project for the management of society and politics within a caste-based framework. Authors and compilers dealt with include Baddena and Madiki Singana, but also the celebrated emperor-poet Krishnadevaraya (r. 1509–29). An argument is made for the continued relevance of these texts for the conduct of politics in South Asia, into and beyond the colonial period.
Global attractor for a nonlinear thermoviscoelastic system in shape
memory alloys
Authors: Qin Yuming , Liu Hailiang , Song Changming
Published: October 2008

This paper is concerned with the existence of a global attractor for a semi-flow
governed by the weak solutions to a nonlinear one-dimensional thermoviscoelastic
system with clamped boundary conditions in shape memory alloys. The constitutive
assumptions for the Helmholtz free energy include the model for the study of
martensitic phase transitions in shape memory alloys. To describe physically
phase transitions between different configurations of crystal lattices, we work
in a framework in which the strain u belongs
to L∞. New approaches
are introduced and more delicate estimates are derived to establish the crucial
L∞ -estimate of
strain u in the course of showing the
compactness of the orbit of the semi-flow and existence of an absorbing set.
Interaction of short pulses in a 3 × 3 hyperbolic system
Authors: Yuan Ming-sheng
Published: October 2008

This paper concerns the asymptotic behaviours of pulse-like solutions for a 3 × 3 semilinear hyperbolic system in the limit of short wavelength ε. When two pulses interact with each other, we construct a pulse-like approximate solution up to Ο(ε), at which order a new pulse appears. The existence of a solution to the 3 × 3 semilinear problem with the initial data being the interaction of two pulses in a domain independent of the wavelength is proved in the space of co-normal distributions. Meanwhile, we obtain that the error between this exact solution and the approximate solution is of Ο(ε2) as ε → 0, which rigorously shows that there are three pulses propagated after the interaction of two pulses for the 3 × 3 semilinear system.
A simple method of calculating eigenvalues and resonances in domains with infinite regular ends
Authors: Levitin Michael , Marletta Marco
Published: October 2008

A new approach is presented for the solution of spectral problems on infinite domains with regular ends, which avoids the need to solve boundary-value problems for many trial values of the spectral parameter. We present numerical results both for eigenvalues and for resonances, comparing with results reported by Aslanyan, Parnovski and Vassiliev.
Non-interpenetration of matter for SBV deformations of hyperelastic brittle materials
Authors: Giacomini Alessandro , Ponsiglione Marcello
Published: October 2008

We prove that the Ciarlet–Nečas non-interpenetration of matter condition can be extended to the case of deformations of hyperelastic brittle materials belonging to the class of special functions of bounded variation (SBV), and can be taken into account for some variational models in fracture mechanics. In order to formulate such a condition, we define the deformed configuration under an SBV map by means of the approximately differentiable representative, and we prove some connected stability results under weak convergence. We provide an application to the case of brittle Ogden materials.
Linear instability of entire solutions for a class of non-autonomous elliptic equations
Authors: Esposito Pierpaolo
Published: October 2008

We study the effect of the potential |y|α on the stability of entire solutions for elliptic equations on ℝN, N ≥ 2, with exponential or smoooth/singular polynomial nonlinearities. Instability properties are crucial in order to establish regularity of the extremal solution to some related Dirichlet nonlinear eigenvalue problem on bounded domains. As a by-product of our results, we will improve the known results about the regularity of such solutions.
Influence of wall roughness on the slip behaviour of viscous fluids
Authors: Bucur Dorin , Feireisl Eduard , Nečasová Šárka
Published: October 2008

We consider the stationary equations of a general viscous fluid in an infinite (periodic) slab supplemented with Navier's boundary condition with a friction term on the upper part of the boundary. In addition, we assume that the upper part of the boundary is described by a graph of a function φε, where φε oscillates in a specific direction with amplitude proportional to ε. We identify the limit problem when ε → 0, in particular, the effective boundary conditions.
Household structure and infectious disease transmission
Authors: HOUSE T. , KEELING M. J.
Published: October 2008

One of the central tenets of modern infectious disease epidemiology is that an understanding of heterogeneities, both in host demography and transmission, allows control to be efficiently optimized. Due to the strong interactions present, households are one of the most important heterogeneities to consider, both in terms of predicting epidemic severity and as a target for intervention. We consider these effects in the context of pandemic influenza in Great Britain, and find that there is significant local (ward-level) variation in the basic reproductive ratio, with some regions predicted to suffer 50% faster growth rate of infection than the mean. Childhood vaccination was shown to be highly effective at controlling an epidemic, generally outperforming random vaccination and substantially reducing the variation between regions; only nine out of over 10 000 wards did not obey this rule and these can be identified as demographically atypical regions. Since these benefits of childhood vaccination are a product of correlations between household size and number of dependent children in the household, our results are qualitatively robust for a variety of disease scenarios.
Intelligenzdiagnostik
Authors: Petermann Franz , Köller Olaf
Published: October 2008

Zusammenfassung. Es erfolgt eine aktuelle Diskussion wichtiger, internationaler Verfahren zur Intelligenzdiagnostik (CFT 20-R, SON 2½-7, WISC-IV), die im deutschen Sprachraum modifiziert und validiert wurden. Weiterhin werden methodische Fragen der Intelligenzdiagnostik diskutiert.
Intelligenzdiagnostik im Kindergartenalter – ein Beitrag zur Validierung des SON-R 2½-7
Authors: Janke Nina , Daseking Monika , Petermann Franz
Published: October 2008

Zusammenfassung. Die Studie analysiert den Zusammenhang zwischen Intelligenztestwerten des Non-verbalen Intelligenztests SON-R 2½-7 mit Werten der Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) an einer Stichprobe von N = 55 Kindergartenkindern (mittleres Alter: 4;9 Jahre) unter Berücksichtigung des Migrationshintergrundes der Kinder. Die Ergebnisse zeigen moderate bis hohe Korrelationen zwischen den Skalen der beiden Verfahren; der höchste Zusammenhang der SON-R 2½-7 Skalen liegt mit der Skala des ganzheitlichen Denkens, der niedrigste mit der Skala einzelheitlichen Denkens vor. Signifikante Mittelwertunterschiede ergeben sich im Vergleich von SON-IQ und SON-R 2½-7 Denkskala jeweils zur Fertigkeitenskala der K-ABC. Auch wenn Kinder mit Migrationshintergrund in beiden Verfahren tendenziell niedrigere Intelligenztestwerte als Kinder ohne Migrationshintergrund erreichen, erweist sich die Differenz zwischen beiden Gruppen nur in Bezug auf die Fertigkeitenskala der K-ABC als statistisch signifikant.
Die verflixten Distraktoren
Authors: Mittring Gert , Rost Detlef H.
Published: October 2008

Zusammenfassung. Zwei Intelligenztests, der „Bochumer Matrizentest-advanced” (BOMAT; Hossiep, Turck & Hasella, 1999 ) und der „Wiener Matrizentest” (WMT; Formann & Piswanger, 1979 ), wollen nicht nur im „Normalbereich” der Intelligenz, sondern – in Anschluss an die „Advanced Progressive Matrices” (APM) von Raven (1976) – auch innerhalb der Gruppe der intellektuell Hochbegabten bzw. Hochintelligenten zuverlässig und valide differenzieren. Beide Tests bestehen aus 40 (BOMAT, Form A) bzw. 24 (WMT) figuralen Mehrfachwahl-Matrizenaufgaben mit jeweils sechs bzw. acht Auswahlantworten. Es wird gezeigt, dass die Distraktoren dieser beiden Tests nicht sonderlich effektiv sind: Bei 35% (BOMAT, Form A) bzw. 75% (WMT) der Aufgaben kann mit einer recht einfachen Strategie (Abzählen von Matrixkomponenten, Teil- und Schnittmengenbildung) die jeweilige Lösung ohne Inspektion des Item-Stamms, also ohne das Finden der der Bezugs-Matrix zugrundeliegende(n) generellen Regel(n), gefunden werden. Es wird argumentiert, dass die mangelnde Effizienz der Distraktoren die Konstruktvalidität dieses Tests für die Gruppe der Hochbegabten vermutlich beeinträchtigt.
Kurzformen des HAWIK-IV: Statistische Bewertung in verschiedenen Anwendungsszenarien
Authors: Waldmann Hans-Christian
Published: October 2008

Zusammenfassung. Der Hamburg-Wechsler-Intelligenztest für Kinder in vierter Auflage (HAWIK-IV) ist eine in Anwendung und Auswertung recht aufwendige Testbatterie, so dass sich für viele Anwender die Frage nach Kurzformen stellt. Unter Verwendung des deutschen Normierungsdatensatzes (N = 1650) werden für alle 1022 möglichen non-trivialen Untertestkombinationen Schätzmodelle für den Gesamt-IQ ermittelt. Anschließend wird in verschiedenen Anwendungsszenarien (zum Beispiel Abbruch der regulären Untertestfolge versus Verkürzung a priori) ein Ausgleich von statistischer, testtheoretischer und testpraktischer Perspektive gesucht, um dem Anwender eine sinnvolle Auswahl an Verkürzungsoptionen in Form praktikabler Schätzgleichungen zur Verfügung zu stellen. Im dritten Schritt werden diese Modelle jeweils durch eine 10-fache Kreuzvalidierung bewertet. Für vierzehn ausgewählte Modelle werden vollständige Parametersätze dargestellt. Der Beitrag erörtert zudem das Für und Wider einer Testverkürzung als primär diagnostische und nicht allein statistische Problemstellung.
Der allgemeine Fähigkeitsindex (AFI) – eine Alternative zum Gesamt-Intelligenzquotienten (G-IQ) des HAWIK-IV?
Authors: Daseking Monika , Petermann Franz , Waldmann Hans-Christian
Published: October 2008

Zusammenfassung. Die Veränderungen in der Struktur der Wechsler-Skalen (Verzicht auf die Einteilung in Verbal- und Handlungsteil, inhaltliche Neuorientierung der Indizes, neue Untertests) ziehen Fragen zur Interpretation des Gesamt-IQ bei hohen Unterschieden auf Indexebene nach sich. Als Alternative kann dabei der Allgemeine Fähigkeitsindex (AFI) angegeben werden, der aus den Leistungen in den sechs Untertests der Indizes Sprachverständnis und Wahrnehmungsgebundenes Logisches Denken gebildet wird. Es werden die Normtabellen zum AFI bereitgestellt. Unter Berücksichtigung der Einflussvariable IQ-Bereich wurden Analysen zu Diskrepanzen zwischen AFI und Gesamt-IQ vorgenommen, wobei gleichzeitig die Richtung der Differenz zwischen den beiden Indexpaaren SV/WLD sowie AGD/VG berücksichtigt wurde. Im oberen Leistungsbereich (IQ > 120) treten deutlich häufiger positive Differenzen in hoher Ausprägung zwischen beiden Indexpaaren (SV/WLD > AGD/WMI) auf, große negative Differenzen dagegen eher in den unteren Bereichen der IQ-Verteilung. Die Wiedergabe des Gesamt-IQ stellt für hochbegabte Kinder daher häufig keine angemessene Lösung dar. Insbesondere sollten Gesamt-IQ-Werte, denen stark diskrepante Index-Werte zugrunde liegen (≥ 23 IQ-Punkte = 1.5 SD), nicht oder nur eingeschränkt interpretiert werden.
Lernen mit Multimedia
Authors: Rummer Ralf , Schweppe Judith , Scheiter Katharina , Gerjets Peter
Published: October 2008

Zusammenfassung. Paradigmatisch für die kognitive Multimediaforschung ist der sog. Modalitätseffekt, der besagt, dass das Lernen mit Bildern und Texten besser gelingt, wenn Texte auditiv und nicht visuell dargeboten werden. In den einschlägigen Multimediatheorien wird dieser Effekt damit erklärt, dass Bilder und visuelle Texte das gleiche Arbeitsgedächtnissystem belasten, während auditive Texte eine zusätzliche Ressource erschließen. Wir diskutieren diese Annahme kritisch anhand einschlägiger Arbeitsgedächtnismodelle und stellen eine alternative Konzeption vor, nach der der oben beschriebene Modalitätseffekt einerseits auf unterschiedliche Restriktionen der Wahrnehmungssysteme und andererseits auf den in der Gedächtnispsychologie bekannten Modalitätseffekt (also auf die Nutzung akustisch-sensorischer Information für die letzten ein bis zwei Items einer Liste) zurückgeführt wird.
Das Verhältnis gesprochener und geschriebener Sprache bei der Konstruktion mentaler Repräsentationen
Authors: Kürschner Christian , Schnotz Wolfgang
Published: October 2008

Zusammenfassung. Bei der Gestaltung von Lehr- und Lernumgebungen können Texte auditiv oder visuell präsentiert werden. Daher stellt sich die Frage, inwieweit Hör- und Leseverstehen zu unterschiedlichen Lernleistungen und somit zur Konstruktion unterschiedlicher mentaler Repräsentationen führen. Wenngleich in jüngster Zeit zahlreiche Untersuchungen zur Frage durchgeführt wurden, welche Rolle die Modalität der Sprachpräsentation beim Lernen mit Text und Bildern spielt, ist bislang nicht hinreichend geklärt, welche grundlegenden Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede zwischen dem Verstehen von gehörtem und gelesenem Text bestehen. Vor dem Hintergrund der Debatte, ob es sich beim Hör- und Leseverstehen eher um einheitliche oder eher um unterschiedliche Prozesse handelt, wird versucht, ein Überblick über den aktuellen Forschungsstand zu geben. Darauf aufbauend wird ein Modell des Hör- und Leseverstehens dargestellt, das versucht, die vorgestellten und teilweise heterogenen Forschungsergebnisse zu integrieren und somit als Rahmen für weitere Forschungsarbeiten genutzt werden kann. Insgesamt zeigte sich, dass Hör- und Leseverstehen unter bestimmten Verarbeitungsbedingungen zu unterschiedlichen Lernleistungen und zur Konstruktion unterschiedlicher mentaler Repräsentationen führen kann. Allerdings wird in dem dargestellten Modell angenommen, dass hierfür vor allem Unterschiede auf eher niedrigen Verarbeitungsebenen verantwortlich sind. Auf höheren Verarbeitungsebenen wird im wesentlichen davon ausgegangen, dass beim Hör- und Leseverstehen vergleichbare Verarbeitungsprozesse stattfinden.