bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Analytic characterization of materials
Authors: Kurshan J.
Published: January 2009

At a recent meeting on crystal growth and defect characterization, there were many researchers who expressed a need for more and better facilities for analytical work. To help fulfill this need, Charles F. Yost, director for materials science, Advanced Research Projects Agency, proposed that a symposium be arranged to present, in a consolidated fashion, the capabilities and limitations of available analytical resources, especially as they relate to materials problems in ARPA-sponsored laboratories. The ensuing symposium, organized and held at RCA Laboratories was conducted in the spirit of a workshop or “clinic” with ample opportunity provided for discussion. There was an informality that resulted in considerable audience participation and interaction. The talks and discussions covered not only technical aspects of particular analytical procedures, but also the over-all problem of effectively coupling analytical service to a materials research program.
The Princeton Pennsylvania Accelerator
Authors: White Milton G.
Published: January 2009

The Princeton-Pennsylvania Accelerator is a 3-billion-electron-volt proton synchrotron which is unique amongst large proton accelerators in that the pulse rate of 19 cycles per second is nearly 100 times higher than that usually used. Though the machine is still being tuned up, an intensity of 6×1010 protons/pulse, or about 1.2×1012 protons/second has already been reached, with considerably higher currents in prospect.
Vladimir P. Lubovich
Authors: Bartlett Albert A.
Published: January 2009

Vladimir P. Lubovich, well known to many generations of University of Colorado students, died of a heart attack on March 30, 1960, while on a shopping trip in Denver.
Molecular structure
Authors: Squire C. F.
Published: January 2009

About forty years ago, the Solvay Conferences were started in Belgium under the guiding influence of Peter Debye and other well-known European scientists. Those conferences have been most valuable throughout the years in stimulating fundamental research in physics and in chemistry. When The Robert A. Welch Foundation was started some six years ago and obtained Prof. Debye as a member of its Scientific Advisory Board, one of the first things which he instigated was the valuable Welch Foundation Conferences. This year was the third such conference and the topic was “Molecular Structure”. There were a total of just seven papers and these were given by the following world-famous scientists: G. P. Thomson (FRS, Nobel Laureate, master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University), H. B. G. Casimir (Royal Academy of Amsterdam, director of research at the Philips Company, Eindhoven), Gerhard Herzberg (director of Physics Division at the National Research Council in Canada), Manfred Eigen (professor at Göttingen University and director of a division of the Max Planck Institut), Henry Eyring (US National Academy and dean of the Graduate School of the University of Utah), E. Bright Wilson (US National Academy and Theodore W. Richards Professor at Harvard University), Charles H. Townes (US National Academy and professor of physics at Columbia University). The Conference lasted for three days, November 16, 17, and 18, 1959, and thus much of the valuable exchange of ideas and information came in the active discussion periods. The discussion leaders were the following: W. O. Baker, Jacob Bigeleisen, Lawrence O. Brockway, Bryce L. Crawford, Jr., Raymond M. Fuoss, Walter Gordy, Joseph O. Hirschfelder, H. A. Levy, F. A. Matsen, Joseph E. Mayer, Robert S. Mulliken, Lars Onsager, J. Th. G. Overbeek, and Charles P. Smyth. There were about 400 scientists who registered for the Conference and listened to the experts speak about the molecule. Let us repeat some of the high points of what was said.
Neutron capture reactions
Authors: Manley John H.
Published: January 2009

A topical conference of the American Physical Society was held at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory on October 1–3, 1959. The Conference on Neutron Capture Reactions was conducted in four nonoverlapping sessions with generally adequate time for discussion. The major Western Europe and Western Hemisphere laboratories with active groups working on slow neutron phenomena were represented. In all, there were some eighty visitors, nine of whom represented foreign laboratories. Thirty-nine technical papers were presented. The arrangements were handled by a local committee: H. T. Motz (chairman), R. E. Carter, B. C. Diven, J. Terrell, and C. W. Zabel.
An international conference on quantum electronics
Authors: Rowe Irving
Published: January 2009

Quantum electronics may be loosely defined as the areas of concern to both electronics and physics which deal with atomic, molecular, or nuclear resonance phenomena. It combines the techniques of electronics and of spectroscopy, and it examines the resonant behavior of individual atoms or molecules by the utilization of coherent electromagnetic radiation. It has resulted in the invention of the maser, with its subsequent development in varied forms and for varied applications, ranging from commercial communications to erudite investigations of cosmological theory.
Physics information at bargain prices
Authors: Maizell R. E.
Published: January 2009

Are the American Institute of Physics and its Member Societies offering their research journals to subscribers at rates comparable to those of the publishers of other journals? This question is often asked not only by physicists but by those responsible at the AIP for the publishing of journals. In order to suggest an answer, a comparison has been made of the cost per word, based on subscription rates, for those journals published by the AIP and Member Societies with major physics journals not published by the AIP or Member Societies. Findings from the present study are given in the accompanying table.
Soviet Physics—JETP
Authors: Furry W. H. , Hamermesh Morton , Brown W. F. , Beyer R. T.
Published: January 2009

Some five years ago, the American Institute of Physics began the translation of the Soviet Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics under the title Soviet Physics—JETP. In the five years since then the circulation of this translation journal has increased to more than 1000, making it about the most successful subscription translation journal to date.
Accurate measurement of time
Authors: Essen Louis
Published: January 2009

Domestic clocks can be set right to within one second by means of the six “pips” broadcast by the British Broadcasting Corporation, and more accurate clocks used for scientific purposes can be set to about one-hundredth of a second by means of special time signals from the Royal Greenwich Observatory.
Women in physics today
Authors: Weeks Dorothy W.
Published: January 2009

Today's occupational pattern of women in physics contrasts significantly with that of yesterday. The causes of these changes are of necessity conjectural—early marriage, the rapid growth of physics with the need for more physicists, the changing attitudes of public opinion, a lessening of prejudices regarding women in physics, and the public awareness that persons trained in science and engineering are a much needed national resource being among the many such causes. Previous uncorrelated studies made by the author, and her awareness of the rather unique problems women must meet if they are to establish themselves as physicists, form the basis for this article. No exhaustive nor comprehensive study of women in physics today is contemplated here. Specific examples are given only to illustrate changes.
The Brookhaven International Conference on High-Energy Accelerators
Authors: Blewett M. Hildred
Published: January 2009

Sponsored by the International Union for Pure and Applied Physics, the United States Atomic Energy Commission, and Associated Universities, Inc., an International Conference on High-Energy Accelerators was held from September 6 to 12, 1961, with the Brookhaven National Laboratory serving as the host organization. The first part of the conference took place at the Barbizon-Plaza Hotel in New York City; then, over the weekend, all the participants were moved out to Long Island to the Brookhaven Laboratory for the remaining sessions. Almost all the delegates remained for the day after the conference was officially over to share in the celebrations connected with the dedication of Brookhaven's 33-Bev Alternating-Gradient Synchrotron.
Nuclear structure
Authors: Grodzins L.
Published: January 2009

The International Conference on Nuclear Structure held at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, began at 8:45 a.m. on August 29th and ended at 12:00 p.m., September 3. The conference was limited in attendance to 400 (the number of seats in the auditorium,) and up to (though, naturally, not including) the last day, the hall was full. The sessions, usually four per day, were consecutive, with four to six rapporteurs giving a summary talk in each session. Judging from the results, the rapporteur system works very well. Each rapporteur culled from the 250 submitted abstracts those relating to his subject—in some cases even discussing them—and presented the present status with a stress on recent work. The conference was overwhelming, alternately confusing and enlightening, and very tiring. (A seldom-considered virtue of simultaneous sessions of consuming interest is their built-in excuse for relaxing outside. Nevertheless, the impression carried away and still retained is that this was the most successful conference this reporter has yet attended. It accomplished its task, giving a fairly clear picture of the status of the present understanding of nuclear structure. That such a dynamic and broad subject could be well summarized is a tribute to the organizers of this conference—all but Weisskopf are members of the Chalk River National Laboratory and Queen's University—as well as to the uniformly high level of the talks.
The IUCr International Congress
Authors: Trueblood K. N.
Published: January 2009

The fifth triennial International Congress of the International Union of Crystallography was held in Cambridge, England, from August IS through 24, 1960. In addition to nearly 450 general papers classified under 19 different headings, there were 5 general lectures on different specialized topics, a panel discussion on the theory of metals, and two symposia. The first symposium had some 36 contributions concerning thermal motion in crystals and molecules; the second consisted of about 100 papers dealing with lattice defects and the mechanical properties of solids. Abstracts of all contributions, including the symposia, will appear soon as an issue of Acta Crystallographica; most of the abstracts indicate where detailed publication is planned. Eight of the Russian contributions appeared in an issue of Kristallografiya (Vol. 5, No. 4, 1960) which was distributed at the congress.
Photonuclear Conference at Karlsruhe
Authors: Laslett L. Jackson , Zaffarano D. J.
Published: January 2009

Although a show of hands at the 1959 Photonuclear Conference held at Meridan, New Hampshire, indicated that most participants preferred a respite until 1961, enthusiasm for a “small” meeting in 1960 was evident, and by early spring the organization of what proved to be the largest meeting yet held was initiated by K. H. Lindenberger and J. H. D. Jensen, of the University of Heidelberg, Germany. The conference met from August 18 to 22, and was sponsored jointly by the Karlsruhe Nuclear Reactor Company and the Heidelberg Academy of Science. The site was the Sportschule Schöneck, a school supported by the athletic clubs of the state of Baden, scenically situated on a hill overlooking Karlsruhe. Lecture halls, meals, and recreational facilities were available here for the attendees, as well as accommodations for about 50 (the remainder obtaining rooms in hotels and “Weinstuben” in the suburb of Durlach).
Fourth anniversary of the IAEA
Authors:   IAEA Secretariat
Published: January 2009

July 29 marks the fourth anniversary of the date the International Atomic Energy Agency officially came into being, the date of ratification of the IAEA Statute by the required number of nations. In September all Member Nations, now numbering 74, will gather for the annual General Conference in Vienna to review policy and chart a course for next year.
Optics and information theory
Authors: McDonald Richard K.
Published: January 2009

Physical processes can sometimes be best described by analogies to apparently unrelated situations. Thus, viscous flow of molasses might be visualized by a mechanical model of springs, dead weights, and dashpots, and the problems of pumping molasses through pipes might be simulated by the flow of electricity through resistors. One resorts to such physical analogies to take advantage of simpler mathematical procedures or more advanced theories in some other domain.
MIT physics graduate alumni: Graduate record vs achievements
Authors: Morse Philip M. , Koster G. F.
Published: January 2009

Since 1930, when Karl T. Compton became president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, about 500 graduate students have been awarded doctoral degrees in physics by MIT. This corresponds to more than a twentieth of the total output of ScD's and PhD's in physics in the United States during these thirty years. In connection with the Institute's Centennial Celebration this year the administration has instituted a number of historical surveys of students and alumni. Because the doctoral alumni in physics since 1930 constitute a large enough sample for statistical validity and because records of these alumni are fairly complete and uniform in quality throughout the period, a detailed study of this group was authorized.
Frequency control
Authors: Ballato A. D. , Andresen H. G.
Published: January 2009

The Sixteenth Annual Frequency Control Symposium, sponsored by the Solid State and Frequency Control Division of the U.S. Army Signal Research and Development Laboratories, was held on April 25, 26, and 27, 1962, in Atlantic City, N.J. Participating in the proceedings were over 500 representatives of industry, government agencies, and universities, from both the U.S. and abroad. Among the foreign nations represented were Germany, England, France, Canada, Sweden, and Japan.
Time scales: speculations about the future of physics
Authors: Dresden M.
Published: January 2009

For the past five years the American Institute of Physics has sponsored a series of visits by various physicists to a number of universities and colleges. One of the purposes of these visits is to acquaint the students and faculty of these institutions with some of the results of current researches. While discussing the present, questions are inevitably raised about the future of physics. Faculty and students, for different reasons and from different vantage points, appear extremely interested in the subject. The following text was written with this subject and this audience in mind. The lecture was never delivered as such, although many of the ideas expressed here were discussed in several of the lectures actually given.
The physics and chemistry of ceramics
Authors: Herzog Leonard F.
Published: January 2009

Modern technology makes exacting and varied demands of materials, and the ancient art of ceramics has not remained immune from the impact of these demands. Traditionally, the development of ceramics has been primarily an empirical process; the complexity of these systems, and of the processing techniques used to fabricate them, has largely precluded the possibility of that rigorous control of experimental conditions necessary to the attainment of unambiguous results. Recently, however, studies of systems compositionally and structurally less complex than the traditional ceramics (for example, single crystals) have revealed additional properties of this class of materials which can be usefully exploited. Many of these studies have been carried out by physicists, and this work has grown into a discipline within what is now known as solid-state physics.
Nuclear reactors and the university
Authors: Snell Arthur H.
Published: January 2009

Perhaps a few of you were present at the 1954 Symposium on University Reactors, sponsored by the present august institutions and by the Subcommittee on University Reactors of the National Research Council. If so, you will remember the spirit of the time—university reactors were the thing; the one at North Carolina had been started with ceremony and success, and several others were planned, funded, and under design. In the new auditorium at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, with the support and blessing of the Atomic Energy Commission, enthusiasm was in full flower. In this atmosphere, there appeared a character named Dr. Diddle. Diddle was a fictitious soul—a physics department head who had been given funds for a nuclear machine, the first in his university, and from his conversation there came the chilling suggestion that perhaps a reactor might not be the best choice. Diddle's doubts may have had the effect of a damp blanket upon that conference for a few minutes; but, if so, the fires of enthusiasm quickly rekindled.
Magnetism and crystallography international conference in Kyoto
Authors: Portis A. M. , Kanamori J.
Published: January 2009

It is no secret that physics research in Japan has grown rapidly in the post-war years and is continuing to grow. Still, with the holding of two international conferences in Japan during the summer and fall of 1961, this development was felt by the participants in a more concrete way than had been possible from a reading of Japan's scientific literature alone. As a valuable by-product of this direct scientific contact, a large number of conference participants were able to view the country of their Japanese colleagues for the first time.
Radiation effects in glass and other materials
Authors: Levy Paul W.
Published: January 2009

If the success of a meeting is judged by the number of times a session chairman is forced to terminate discussions, the “1962 Conference on Radiation Effects in Glass” must be considered exceedingly successful. This conference was held in Rochester, N.Y., on April 12th and 13th at the Dryden Theater of the Eastman House of Photography. It was designed to bring together persons actively working in this field which actually includes many materials in addition to glasses. Glass technologists and especially glass physicists have always had considerable interest in crystals that are basic glass-forming materials, e.g., SiO2, Al2O3, etc. Consequently, a large fraction of the papers presented dealt with these substances. This interest also stems from the fact that the coordination of the atoms in many crystals persists as short-range coordination when they are incorporated in glasses. In fact, at this conference, glass-forming crystals were the subject of almost half of the papers presented. Also, more than half of these papers, i.e., one fourth of the total, were concerned with electron spin resonance in natural or synthetic quartz. An introduction to the subject of ESR was given by O. R. Gilliam of the University of Connecticut, who also presented some recent results on the numerous paramagnetic centers found in irradiated Al2O3. It appears that practically any variation in radiation conditions produces a new center in this substance. However, none of them have been worked out in complete detail.
Employment preferences of physicists
Authors: Gadel J. N. , Peters A.
Published: January 2009

The effort being expended to recruit physicists prompted the authors to look into the preferences of physicists seeking employment. A convenient, although possibly biased, sample of such physicists consists of those utilizing the Placement Service of the American Institute of Physics.
Cosmic ray research facilities in Africa and the Orient
Authors: Korff Serge A.
Published: January 2009

For the benefit of those planning world-wide studies of cosmic-radiation phenomena, some of the research facilities in the Far East and in South and East Africa are described in this note. This listing is not complete, since, for example, it does not include the several installations in India, nor the Australia-New Zealand ones, nor the monitor at Lae, New Guinea, nor one reputed to be in Madagascar
First Symposium on Nonhomogeneity in Elasticity and Plasticity
Authors: Drucker D. C.
Published: January 2009

The first Symposium on Nonhomogeneity in Elasticity and Plasticity was held in Warsaw, Poland, from the 2nd to the 8th of September. It was the first meeting in Poland sponsored by IUTAM (the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics) and our hosts, led by W. Olszak, spared no effort to make the occasion both memorable and pleasant. Social events and sightseeing trips interlaced and surrounded the very full technical program. From the time of personal greeting upon our arrival at the airport to the time of waved goodbyes, help and advice were available instantly if needed. On the other hand, we were completely free to look around on our own and to visit any place we pleased by foot or by taxi.
Internal stresses and fatigue in metals
Authors: Freudenthal A. M.
Published: January 2009

A symposium on Internal Stresses and Fatigue in Metals was held September 3–5, 1958 at the General Motors Research Laboratories. Invited papers were presented by research workers in solid-state physics, metal physics, and engineering from England, France, Germany, and the United States.
The 1958 International Conference on Semiconductors
Authors: Dunlap W. Crawford
Published: January 2009

The first international conference on semiconductors to be held in the United States took place on the University of Rochester campus during the week of August 18–22, 1958. This conference was the fourth in a series sponsored by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics; previous conferences were held at Reading, England, in 1950, at Amsterdam in 1954, and at Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1956.
The mathematics of quantum theory
Authors: Luzzatto G. , Wightman A.
Published: January 2009

From July 21 to August 9, 1958, a summer course on Mathematical Problems of Quantum Theory of Particles and Fields was held in Varenna, Italy. The lectures took place in the Villa Monastero, on the shores of beautiful Lake Como; the place is well known to the readers of Physics Today since in other issues (Dec. 1957, Jan. 1958) there have been reports about conferences held there, and about other courses of the International School of Physics. The school is organized by the Italian Physical Society and is sponsored by the Italian National Science Council, by the Italian Government, by some Italian universities, by various local representatives, and occasionally by other institutions. Each summer it gives a number of courses (recently three or four), on special topics in physics. These courses are neither meetings of experts, nor quick courses at the graduate-school level. The goal is to put the persons with most experience in a field in touch with the younger or less experienced, in order to give the latter an up-to-date picture of recent research and open problems. The courses are organized quite independently and vary in length from a few days to three weeks in the present case.
The recovery of cosmic-ray emulsions from rocket and space probes
Authors: Yagoda Herman
Published: January 2009

The atmosphere presents a barrier between the cosmic-ray physicist and the object of his study. In its absorptive capacity for cosmic radiation the tenuous mantel of air adds up at sea level to 1040 grams per cm2 equivalent to a shielding of about one meter of lead. To identify and to measure the relative proportions of the diverse components present in the primary cosmic-ray beam arriving from space the instrumentation must be sent above the atmosphere. Unlike the astronomer who can wait patiently for a night of “good seeing” in order to resolve planetary detail no such natural opportunity awaits those who are curious about the charge spectrum of the heavy primary component. Owing to the large collision cross sections of these massive charged particles an appreciable alteration of the beam takes place even at elevations readily accessible to high-altitude balloons, particularly for particles which arrive at large zenith angles.
The lowest temperature in the world
Authors: Kurti Nicholas
Published: January 2009

During the last decade there has developed in physics a strange partnership between the two seemingly distant and unrelated disciplines—nuclear physics and low-temperature physics. Nuclear physics is concerned with the structure of the nucleus and with the very large forces that hold its constituents together. The energies involved in nuclear changes, such as radioactive transformations, are vast and correspond to temperatures of tens or hundreds of millions of degrees. How then could such changes be influenced by ordinary temperatures, let alone by temperatures of only a few hundredths of a degree above absolute zero.
AIP documentation research project
Authors: Maizell R. E.
Published: January 2009

One of the major problems facing the physicist today is that of finding enough time and energy to keep up with the technical literature in areas of research in which he is involved. Some measure of his dilemma may be understood simply in terms of the rising abundance of reading matter in physics. In 1950, the American Institute of Physics and the Member Societies published 13 672 journal pages; in 1959 there were published 23 022 pages, not including the Soviet translation journals and Physical Review Letters.
Probing the elastic properties of individual nanostructures by combining in situ atomic force microscopy and micro-x-ray diffraction
Authors: Scheler T. , Rodrigues M. , Cornelius T. W. , Mocuta C. , Malachias A. , Magalhães-Paniago R. , Comin F. , Chevrier J. , Metzger T. H.
Published: January 2009

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and micro-x-ray diffraction are combined to investigate nanostructures during in situ indentation. This technique allows the determination of elastic properties of individual nanoscale objects, particularly here SiGe∕Si(001) self-assembled islands. Using this novel technique it was possible to select a specific island, align it in the microfocused beam, and apply a pressure onto it, using the AFM tip. Simultaneously, the x-ray diffuse scattering map from the island and the surrounding substrate was recorded in order to probe the lattice parameter change during indentation. An elastic reduction of the island lattice parameter of up to 0.6% was achieved.
High-frequency electron spin resonance system using a microcantilever and a pulsed magnetic field
Authors: Ohmichi E. , Mizuno N. , Kimata M. , Ohta H. , Osada T.
Published: January 2009

A novel technique of high-frequency electron spin resonance (ESR) in a pulsed magnetic field is presented. Our technique is based on the magnetic detection of a magnetization change associated with the ESR absorption using a microcantilever. We successfully observed ESR signals of a microcrystal (mass∼1 μg) in the millimeter-wave region up to 130 GHz in pulsed magnetic fields of up to 2.4 T. This result corresponds to the spin sensitivity of ∼1011 spins/G, which is four orders of magnitude better than that of conventional transmission-type ESR techniques.
Enterprise and Public Policy: A Review of Labour Government Intervention in the United Kingdom
Authors: Huggins Robert , Williams Nicholas
Published: January 2009

Despite the rapid growth of the small and medium-sized enterprise sector since the 1970s, rates of entrepreneurial activity in the UK remain moderate by international standards. Since its arrival in 1997 the Labour government in the UK has taken steps to tackle barriers to entrepreneurship by addressing economic, political, legal, and cultural issues. Through a review of key literature and policy documents, we seek to shed light on how the Labour government has shaped its entrepreneurship and enterprise-development policy agenda. It is found that, although there has been limited improvement in closing the enterprise gap, the Labour government does appear to have put in place a number of measures that are aimed at harnessing the long-term drivers of future enterprise, particularly catalysing the required cultural changes through the education system. It is suggested that enterprise policy making is diverse and has shifted away from small-business policy into a broader interpretation of entrepreneurship, although there inevitably continues to be significant overlap across the two areas. Furthermore, it is argued that enterprise initiatives are leading to the government taking quite radical routes in shaping its policies, becoming a bigger risk taker, and operating in a quasiprivate sector role. It is concluded that the increasing sophistication and specificity of policy instruments means that further research is required to understand how policies interact with each other.
Impaired Coronary Microvascular Dilation Correlates with Enhanced Vascular Smooth Muscle MLC Phosphorylation in Diabetes1
Authors: CLEMENTS RICHARD T. , SODHA NEEL R. , FENG JUN , BOODHWANI MUNIR , LIU YUHONG , MIENO SHIGETOSHI , KHABBAZ KAMAL R. , BIANCHI CESARIO , SELLKE FRANK W.
Published: January 2009

Objective: Impaired endothelium‐independent vasodilation is a known consequence of types 1 and 2 diabetes, and the mechanism of impaired vasodilation is not well understood. The following study investigated the effects of types 1 and 2 diabetes in endothelial‐independent vasodilation associated with coronary vascular smooth muscle (VSM) relaxation and contractile signaling mechanisms.

Materials and Methods: Type 1 diabetes was induced in Yucatan miniswine via alloxan injection and treated with or without insulin (DM and IDM). Nondiabetic swine served as controls (ND). Expression and/or phosphorylation of determinants of VSM relaxation and contraction signaling were examined in coronary arteries and microvessels. Coronary microvessel relaxation was assessed by using sodium nitroprusside (SNP). In addition, SNP‐induced vasodilation and myosin light‐chain (MLC) phosphorylation was determined in coronary microvessels isolated from ND and type 2 diabetic human atrial appendage.

Results: Diabetic impairment in SNP‐induced relaxation was completely normalized by insulin. Soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) VSM expression decreased in both DM and IDM groups and did not correlate with vasorelaxation. Phosphorylation of MLC and myosin phosphatase increased in the DM group and MLC phosphorylation strongly correlated with impaired VSM relaxation (r=0.670, P<0.01). Coronary microvessels from type 2 diabetic human patients exhibited similarly impaired vasodilation and enhanced VSM MLC phosphorylation.

Conclusions: Impaired vasodilation in type 1 diabetes correlates with enhanced VSM MLC phosphorylation. In addition, enhanced VSM MLC phosphorylation is associated with impaired vasodilation in type 2 diabetes in humans.
Do rare-earth metals deter spiny dogfish? A feasibility study on the use of electropositive “mischmetal” to reduce the bycatch of Squalus acanthias by hook gear in the Gulf of Maine
Authors: Tallack Shelly M. L. , Mandelman John W.
Published: January 2009

Tallack, S. M. L., and Mandelman, J. W. 2009. Do rare-earth metals deter spiny dogfish? A feasibility study on the use of electropositive “mischmetal” to reduce the bycatch of Squalus acanthias by hook gear in the Gulf of Maine. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 315–322. Catches of spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) are considered by commercial and recreational fishers to be unacceptably high during summer and autumn in the Gulf of Maine off the northeast coast of the USA. Consequently, there is interest in finding a dogfish deterrent for application in various fishing gears. Field studies tested triangular slices of the rare-earth metal cerium/lanthanide alloy (“mischmetal”) incorporated into longlines and rod-and-reel gear to assess its effectiveness in reducing dogfish catches. Treatment catches (mischmetal present) were compared with control (no mischmetal) catches. Laboratory studies provided video-taped, behavioural observations on the effects of alloys under variable levels of food deprivation and dogfish density. No significant reductions in dogfish catch were recorded for either rod and reel or longline, and in situ video footage verified persistent dogfish feeding behaviour, regardless of mischmetal presence. The laboratory trials found some evidence of avoidance behaviour in dogfish approaching treatment baits, but only with dogfish fed to satiation; no aversion to the material was observed after 2 and 4 d of food deprivation. Dogfish density had no effect on feeding behaviour in the laboratory. Overall, there is little evidence to suggest that mischmetal can significantly reduce catches of dogfish in hook gears in the Gulf of Maine.
Macroscopic vs. microscopic identification of the maturity stages of female horse mackerel
Authors: Costa Ana Maria
Published: January 2009

Costa, A. M. 2009. Macroscopic vs. microscopic identification of the maturity stages of female horse mackerel. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 509–516. The consequences to fisheries management of erroneous macroscopic identification of maturity stages are evaluated. The percentage error in macroscopic identification of maturity stages of female horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) from the Portuguese coast was determined and analysed by maturity stage, between the periods January–June and July–December, between research surveys and commercial landings, and between per year and month and by length class, to assess its implications in determination of spawning season, maturity ogives, and spawning-stock biomass. The highest percentage errors in macroscopic identification were between late ripening and partly spent stages, in fish >30 cm, and for all fish collected in 1998 and 2005. Late ripening was generally macroscopically underestimated, and the partly spent stage overestimated. The implications for the information provided to the ICES assessment working group are analysed.
Substrate dependency of Lateglacial forests in north‐east Germany: untangling vegetation patterns, ecological amplitudes and pollen dispersal in the past by downscaling regional pollen
Authors: Theuerkauf Martin , Joosten Hans
Published: January 2009

Aim  Palynology has revealed that during the Lateglacial Allerød period, Pinus and Betula dominated the forests of north‐east Germany. Because of implicit restrictions, however, palynology fails to reconstruct in detail the distributional patterns and whether monospecific or mixed forests prevailed. Here we test the hypothesis that the distributional patterns of Pinus and Betula were largely determined by substrate.

Location  Fifteen sites in north‐east Germany.

Methods  As pollen data reflect the abundance of taxa around a sample site, our hypothesis implies that the abundance of e.g. Pinus pollen should reflect the abundance of substrate types that are favoured by Pinus. (In order to differentiate clearly between taxa and pollen types, the latter are displayed in small capitals.) We analysed the percentage of Pinus and Betula pollen from an interval in the Allerød, and their relationship to the present‐day proportion of the two dominant substrate types (sand and boulder clay). The substrate proportion was determined in rings from 1 to 50 km around all sites, using four distance‐weighting functions.

Results  Pollen percentages of Pinus are linearly related to the proportion of sand, and Betula percentages to the proportion of boulder clay. The highest coefficients of determination (r2 = 0.89 and 0.91, respectively) were observed for radii of c. 30 km, with distance weighting by 1 and 1/d.

Main conclusions  The present‐day distributional pattern of substrate types strongly indicates the distributional pattern of Pinus and Betula in north‐east Germany in the Allerød. Assuming that the pattern of substrates remained broadly constant, Pinus dominated on sand and Betula on boulder clay. Our new method thus enables us to refine significantly the reconstruction of habitat characteristics and distributional patterns of taxa in the Lateglacial and Holocene, independent of their present‐day ecological amplitudes. The good performance of the distance‐weighting functions 1 and 1/d indicates that the pollen source area of a site has rather discrete boundaries determined by convective air movements during daytime. Within these boundaries, pollen is evenly distributed over various distances. This implies that light pollen types are transported further than predicted by Sutton’s equation on particle dispersal.
Legionella pneumophila couples fatty acid flux to microbial differentiation and virulence
Authors: Edwards Rachel L. , Dalebroux Zachary D. , Swanson Michele S.
Published: January 2009

During its life cycle, Legionella pneumophila alternates between at least two phenotypes: a resilient, infectious form equipped for transmission and a replicative cell type that grows in amoebae and macrophages. Considering its versatility, we postulated that multiple cues regulate L. pneumophila differentiation. Beginning with a Biolog Phenotype MicroArray screen, we demonstrate that excess short‐chain fatty acids (SCFAs) trigger replicative cells to cease growth and activate their panel of transmissive traits. To co‐ordinate their response to SCFAs, L. pneumophila utilizes the LetA/LetS two‐component system, but not phosphotransacetylase or acetyl kinase, two enzymes that generate high‐energy phosphate intermediates. Instead, the stringent response enzyme SpoT appears to monitor fatty acid biosynthesis to govern transmission trait expression, as an altered distribution of acylated acyl carrier proteins correlated with the SpoT‐dependent differentiation of cells treated with either excess SCFAs or the fatty acid biosynthesis inhibitors cerulenin and 5‐(tetradecyloxy)‐2‐furoic acid. We postulate that, by exploiting the stringent response pathway to couple cellular differentiation to its metabolic state, L. pneumophila swiftly acclimates to stresses encountered in its host or the environment, thereby enhancing its overall fitness.
Osmoregulation in Streptomyces coelicolor: modulation of SigB activity by OsaC
Authors: Martínez Lorena Fernández , Bishop Amy , Parkes Lindsay , Del Sol Ricardo , Salerno Paola , Sevcikova Beatrica , Mazurakova Vladislava , Kormanec January , Dyson Paul
Published: January 2009

As free‐living non‐motile saprophytes, Streptomyces need to adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions and this is reflected by an enormous diversity of regulatory proteins encoded by, for example, the genome of the model streptomycete Streptomyces coelicolor. In this organism, we have identified a new osmoregulation gene, osaC, encoding a member of a novel family of regulatory proteins. Members of the family have a predicted domain composition consisting of an N‐terminal kinase domain related to anti‐sigma factors, sensory Pas and Gaf domains, and a C‐terminal phosphatase domain. osaC is linked to the response regulator gene osaB; expression analysis of the latter revealed that it is induced after osmotic stress in a σB‐dependent manner. OsaC is required to return osaB and sigB expression back to constitutive levels after osmotic stress. From analysis of the activities of OsaCΔPho, lacking the C‐terminal phosphatase domain, and OsaCN92A, with a substitution of a critical asparagine residue in the kinase domain, we infer that this N‐terminal domain functions as a σB anti‐sigma factor. Indeed, co‐purification experiments indicate association of OsaC and σB. These results support a model for post‐osmotic stress modulation of σB activity by OsaC.
Risk stratification of patients with nodal involvement in upper tract urothelial carcinoma: value of lymph‐node density
Authors: Bolenz Christian , Shariat Shahrokh F. , Fernández Mario I. , Margulis Vitaly , Lotan Yair , Karakiewicz Pierre , Remzi Mesut , Kikuchi Eiji , Zigeuner Richard , Weizer Alon , Montorsi Francesco , Bensalah Karim , Wood Christopher G. , Roscigno Marco , Langner Cord , Koppie Theresa M. , Raman Jay D. , Mikami Shuji , Michel Maurice Stephan , Ströbel Philipp
Published: January 2009

OBJECTIVE

To determine the risk factors associated with clinical outcome in patients with lymph node (LN)‐positive urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract (UTUC) treated with radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) and lymphadenectomy, focusing on the concept of LN density (LND).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients undergoing RNU with regional lymphadenectomy were identified through multi‐institutional databases. All pathology slides were re‐evaluated by genitourinary pathologists unaware of the clinical data. The exposure variable used was LND (continuously coded and that of all possible thresholds) with recurrence‐free and disease‐specific survival (DSS) serving as the outcome measures.

RESULTS

Of 432 patients undergoing RNU with lymphadenectomy, 135 (31%) had LN metastases. Within a median follow‐up of 4.1 years, 90 of the 135 patients with LN metastases (68%) had disease recurrence and 76 (58%) died from UTUC. The mean (sem) 5‐year recurrence‐free and DSS probabilities were 27 (4)% and 33 (5)%, respectively. The median (range) LND was 50 (3–100)%. The most informative threshold for LND in relation to outcome was 30%. In multivariable analyses that adjusted for the effects of tumour stage and grade, patients with a LND of ≥30% were at greater risk of both cancer recurrence, with 5‐year rates of 25 (5)% vs 38 (8)% (hazard ratio 1.8, P = 0.021) and mortality, with 5‐year rates of 30 (6)% vs 48 (9)% (1.7, P = 0.032) compared to those with a LND of <30%. Our results are primarily limited by a lack of standardization in the lymphadenectomy template.

CONCLUSION

We evaluated the concept of LND for the first time in UTUC. LND provides additional prognostic information in patients with node‐positive disease after RNU. The use of LND in clinical trials might provide an additional insight into the value of LN dissection in patients undergoing RNU.
Tumour architecture is an independent predictor of outcomes after nephroureterectomy: a multi‐institutional analysis of 1363 patients
Authors: Remzi Mesut , Haitel Andrea , Margulis Vitaly , Karakiewizc Pierre , Montorsi Francesco , Kikuchi Eiji , Zigeuner Richard , Weizer Alon , Bolenz Christian , Bensalah Karim , Suardi Nazareno , Raman Jay D. , Lotan Yair , Waldert Matthias , Ng Casey K. , Fernández Mario , Koppie Theresa M. , Ströbel Philipp , Kabbani Wareef , Murai Masaru , Langner Cord , Roscigno Marco , Wheat Jeffrey , Guo Charles C. , Wood Christopher G. , Shariat Shahrokh F.
Published: January 2009

OBJECTIVE

To assess whether tumour architecture can help to refine the prognosis of patients treated with nephroureterectomy (NU) for urothelial carcinoma (UC) of the upper urinary tract (UT), as the prognostic value of tumour architecture (papillary vs sessile) in UTUC remains elusive.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The study included 1363 patients with UTUC and treated with radical NU at 12 centres worldwide. All slides were re‐reviewed according to strict criteria by genitourinary pathologists who were unaware of the findings of the original pathology slides and clinical outcomes. Gross tumour architecture was categorized as sessile vs papillary.

RESULTS

Papillary growth was identified in 983 patients (72.2%) and sessile growth in 380 (27.8%). The sessile growth pattern was associated with higher tumour grade, more advanced stage, lymphovascular invasion, and metastasis to lymph nodes (all P < 0.001). In multivariable Cox regression analyses that adjusted for the effects of pathological stage, grade and lymph node status, tumour architecture (sessile or papillary) was an independent predictor of cancer recurrence (hazard ratio 1.5, P = 0.002) and cancer‐specific mortality (1.6, P = 0.001). Adding tumour architecture increased the predictive accuracy of a model that comprised pathological stage, grade and lymph node status for predicting cancer recurrence and cancer‐specific death by a minimal but statistically significant margin (gain in predictive accuracy 1% and 0.5%, both P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The tumour architecture of UTUC is associated with established features of biologically aggressive disease, and more importantly, with prognosis after radical NU. Including tumour architecture in predictive models for disease progression should be considered, aiming to identify patients who might benefit from early systemic therapeutic intervention.
Metabolic flexibility in the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes: effects of lifestyle
Authors: Corpeleijn E. , Saris W. H. M. , Blaak E. E.
Published: January 2009

Lipotoxicity in skeletal muscle plays a critical role in the aetiology of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus by interference of lipid metabolites with insulin signalling and action. The dynamics of lipid oxidation and fine tuning with fatty acid uptake and intramyocellular triacylglycerol turnover may be very important to limit the accumulation of lipid intermediates. The use of metabolic inflexibility, defined as the impaired capacity to increase fat oxidation upon increased fatty acid availability and to switch between fat and glucose as the primary fuel source after a meal, does more justice to the complexity of changes in fuel oxidation during the day. Fatty acid availability, uptake and oxidation all play a role in metabolic flexibility and insulin resistance. During high fatty acid availability, fatty acid transporters may limit cellular and mitochondrial fatty acid uptake and thus limit fat oxidation. After a meal, when the demand for fatty acids as fuel is low, an increased fractional extraction of lipids from plasma may promote intramyocellular lipid accumulation and insulin resistance. Furthermore, defects in fuel switching cluster together with impaired mitochondrial content and/or function. Lifestyle changes in dietary fat intake, physical activity and weight loss may improve metabolic flexibility in skeletal muscle, and thereby contribute to the prevention of type 2 diabetes.
Animating Quadrupeds: Methods and Applications
Authors: Skrba Ljiljana , Reveret Lionel , Hétroy Franck , Cani Marie‐Paule , O'Sullivan Carol
Published: January 2009

Films like Shrek, Madagascar, The Chronicles of Narnia and Charlotte's web all have something in common: realistic quadruped animations. While the animation of animals has been popular for a long time, the technical challenges associated with creating highly realistic, computer generated creatures have been receiving increasing attention recently. The entertainment, education and medical industries have increased the demand for simulation of realistic animals in the computer graphics area. In order to achieve this, several challenges need to be overcome: gathering and processing data that embodies the natural motion of an animal – which is made more difficult by the fact that most animals cannot be easily motion‐captured; building accurate kinematic models for animals, with adapted animation skeletons in particular; and developing either kinematic or physically‐based animation methods, either by embedding some a priori knowledge about the way that quadrupeds locomote and/or adopting examples of real motion. In this paper, we present an overview of the common techniques used to date for realistic quadruped animation. This includes an outline of the various ways that realistic quadruped motion can be achieved, through video‐based acquisition, physics based models, inverse kinematics or some combination of the above.