bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Colombia: Learning the Foreign Policy Process
Authors: Drekonja-Kornat Gerhard
Published: March 2007

Colombian policy makers dedicate little time and effort to international relations.

M. Urrutia (1980)

In view of Latin America's growing bargaining power within the international system, the Chilean Heraldo Muñoz (1981) has assessed the power potential of several Latin American states, basing his calculations on abstract statistics. According to this categorization, Colombia has a power potential comparable to that of Mexico, Argentina, and Venezuela. Colombians would probably be very surprised at such an analysis. As they see it, their country does not figure in international politics. Hence, the idea of a nation with a foreign nonpolicy (Drekonja-Kornat, 1982b) seems justified.

However, countries must adapt to new situations, and growing tensions in the Caribbean Basin are forcing Colombia to examine the apparent contradiction between its potential and its real capacity. This is particularly important when one considers that Colombia's low profile in foreign policy is not a product of abstentionist or neutral doctrines (as in the case of Canada, Switzerland, or Austria) but is the result of historical developments occurring after the secession of Panama.
The Associated States and Independence
Authors: Abbott George C.
Published: March 2007

The British experience with federations is not a happy one. Attempts to combine its smaller and poorer colonies into some form of larger political and economic union as part of its decolonization process are generally reckoned to have failed. Almost without exception, the individual colonies decided to go it alone, to seek independence on their own, that is.

The former West Indian colonies are a case in point. Notwithstanding several attempts to bring them closer together, they have shown a remarkable tenacity to retain their individual existence and identity. The 1958 Federation, the most ambitious attempt to weld them into a nation, ended in failure after only three years and much internal wrangling. The larger islands of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago went on to become independent on their own. A further attempt to amalgamate the remaining units, the so-called "Little Eight" into a Federation of the Eastern Caribbean also failed, after which Barbados sought independence on its own.
U.S.-Mexican Relations: The 1980s and Beyond
Authors: Smith Peter H.
Published: March 2007

That does the future hold for U.S.-Mexican relations? Optimistic assessments usually point to the high degree of interpenetration between the two societies, the recent history of intergovernmental cooperation, and the commonality of basic interests. Developments in one country have significant impact on the other, a process that now works both ways: the 1982 economic crisis in Mexico created serious difficulties for retailers on the U.S. side of the border, Mexico's subsequent cutbacks in imports prompted the loss of 200,000 jobs in the U.S., and Mexico's struggles with its international debt have crucial implications for banks in the U.S. Each country needs the other, and this kind of “interdependence” creates mutuality of purpose. According to this logic, the rational pursuit of national goals will build and fortify harmonious bilateral relations.
The West German Social Democratic Party and The Politics of Internationalism in Central America
Authors: Mujal-Leon Eusebio
Published: March 2007

One of the Most Notable Aspects of the Crisis in Central America has been the opportunity it has offered a number of actors, both within and without the region, to become involved in an area long considered a traditional reserve and zone of influence of the United States. Over the last decade, no European Socialist or Social Democratic party has been more important or influential with respect to Central American issues than the West German Social Democratic Party (SPD or Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands). Despite being in the opposition since 1982, the West German Social Democrats have retained their prominence on international issues—particularly on Central American ones—for a number of reasons, such as: (1) having a solid electoral base (37% of the votes in the 1987 Bundestag elections); (2) having leaders who are internationally prominent; (3) having a well-organized foreign policy apparatus at their disposal (the well-financed Friedrich Ebert Stiftung foundation); (4) having connections to a similarly endowed trade union movement, organized around the Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund(DGB); as well as (5) having persisted in their efforts to coordinate joint initiatives with other Socialist and Social Democratic parties, both within the European Economic Community (EEC) and through the Socialist International (SI).
A Return to Innocence? The Social Construction of the Geopolitical Climate of the Post-Invasion Caribbean
Authors: Levine Barry B.
Published: March 2007

Under what conditions may a social scientist legitimately pass judgment on the geopolitical climate of a region? The question is not easy to answer. First, it presupposes acknowledgement that there are value issues embedded in such judgments. Second, while a value-free attitude may indeed be attempted, such an attitude is difficult to achieve. All too frequently, evaluation of a region's “climate” is based on the values of the evaluator (and often without disclosure of this fact to unsuspecting readers).This is especially likely when the observer adopts a theoretical position, taking insufficient account of the tension between society and actors. Unfortunately, such theories give social scientists the false feeling that they have some sort of preferred cognitive vantage point. Theories which incorporate an “oversocialized conception of man” (Wrong, 196l) or, alternatively, an “overly psychological conception of society,” ignore the fact that people act and make decisions about those actions, both of which are based upon value-judgments, and which do not have a one-to-one correlation with any given social situation.
The Future of the Panama Canal
Authors: Manfredo Fernando
Published: March 2007

Throughout most of its history, the importance of the Panama Canal — to the United States, to Panama, and to the international shipping community — was never questioned. This situation changed when the political confrontation between the United States and the Noriega regime took place in the 1980s, and most of the media began to suggest that the usefulness of the Panama Canal was on the decline and no longer of much importance to world trade. In this regard, the media seriously misrepresented the facts. Let us take a closer look at the Canal in order to gain a better perspective on the actual situation.

Prior to World War I, the volume of trade going through the Panama Canal, though a useful transportation artery, was relatively small. In fact, in 1929, its peak pre-War year, the total volume was just 30 million tons.
The US Military and the War on Drugs in Latin America
Authors: Mabry Donald
Published: March 2007

In The Face Of The Unsuccessful Efforts of law enforcement agencies (including the Coast Guard) to staunch the flow of illegal narcotics into the United States, Congress and the public have been demanding that the military increase its role in the nation's anti-drug campaign. These demands vary in scope. The minimum demand is that the military provide more logistical support and intelligence data. Another, which was approved by Congress in 1988, is also to give military personnel powers of search, seizure, and arrest outside the land area of the United States. Some also advocate giving civilian police powers to the military to patrol the national borders, including ports of entry. In May 1988, the US House of Representatives voted to demand that the military “seal the borders” to drug traffic within 45 days, an effort which would require both naval and border interdiction, and the Senate voted overwhelmingly to expand the role of the military in the anti-drug campaign. The most extreme demand has come from Representative Arthur Ravenel, Jr. (R-SC) who has called for the military shoot-down, on sight, of any aircraft suspected of smuggling drugs.
Japan-Latin America: Taking Advantage of Mutual Space and Opportunities
Authors: Yopo Mladen
Published: March 2007

Japan's Current Role as the world's most dominant economic power has had an impact on its relations with Latin America despite the absence, historically at least, of few long-term ties between the two regions. While there is some evidence that contacts may date as far back as 1609, relations between them only began to acquire a certain relevance as recently as the 1970s and 1980s, when the Japanese domestic model, acquired after World War II, began to seem assured.

Nevertheless, it is impossible to understand either the relations between these two actors, or their future trends, without examining the policies and conditions that have marked Japan's reinsertion into the world — from its situation as a defeated, war-devastated, resource-poor country to one that is not only extremely wealthy but with the potential to become a superpower (Time, 1988: 6-9).
The South American Military and (Re)Democratization: Professional Thought and Self-Perception
Authors: Nunn Frederick M.
Published: March 2007

If a medal were to be struck in commemoration of Latin America's successful survival of the 20th century,la cavamight bear a representation of democracy andel sellothat of authoritarianism. These alternatives have characterized all attempts to arrive at political consensus for the past hundred years and more.

The current version of the region's perpetual dichotomous nature has been called (re)democratization. In South America it has replaced professional militarism, the most recent representation of authoritarianism, and threatens to affect traditional democratic practices in countries spared the military incursions of the 1964-1989 quarter-century. To the north, (re)democratization challenges both traditional authoritarianism and Marxism-Leninism.

(Re)democratization is a transitional process in which the polity shifts from one with minimal partisan and popular participation back to one based on (ever more maximized) pluralistic participation, usually characterized by meaningful elections, separation of state powers, constitutional order, rule of law, respect for human rights, and civilian regulation of armed force.
Neoliberalism, the Global Elite, and the Guatemalan Transition: A Critical Macrosocial Analysis
Authors: Robinson William I.
Published: March 2007

Recent change in Guatemala is part of a complex transition that has continued in Central America since the 1960s. It involves the region’s ongoing, gradual, highly conflictive, and contradictory entrance into the global economy and society. The transnational model of society in the Isthmus is inherently unstable, with contradictions internal to global capitalism. The constraints of the exclusionary socioeconomic system undermine efforts to open up the political system as contemplated in the peace accords. Authentic democratization requires a radical redistribution of wealth and power toward the poor majority; but the accords ratify existing property relations and rule out such a redistribution.
Antonio Gramsci and the Palabra Verdadera: The Political Discourse of Mexico's Guerrilla Forces
Authors: Bruhn Kathleen
Published: March 2007

This article examines the political strategies of the EZLN, or Zapatista army, in Chiapas and the EPR, which operates mostly in Oaxaca and Guerrero, through a content analysis of their communiquiés. It argues that these two guerrilla movements demonstrate, through their cultural production, significantly different priorities and preferences; and that these differences reflect different strategic choices. Whereas the EZLN has chosen to pursue a revolutionary strategy similar in key respects to the “war of position” described by Gramsci, the EPR remains closer to the “war of movement.”
Beyond Sovereignty: International Efforts to Support Latin American Democracy
Authors: Millett Richard L.
Published: March 2007

One of the three basic themes slated for discussion at the 1994 Summit of the Americas (9-10 December) is “Making Democracy Work.” Under this heading are topics related to combatting official corruption, dealing with narcotics trafficking, encouraging and expanding the roles played in civil society by the nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and enhancing the capacity of the Organization of American States (OAS) to strengthen democracy (Summit, 1994: 4-5). The other two major areas of consideration-Hemispheric economic integration and sustainable development - are also related to the need to stimulate and support the movement towards more democratic governments and societies.
The Catholic Church in Brazil
Authors: Raine Philip
Published: March 2007

The church in Brazil suffers many but by no means all of the ills usually ascribed to Catholicism in Spanish American countries. Concern over these problems has grown throughout the Catholic world, as well it might. One-third of the world's Roman Catholics live in the southern part of the Western Hemisphere. According to many churchmen a state of spiritual bankruptcy confronts the church in most of these countries. Basically it is a matter of the irrelevance of a system still rooted in hierarchic and paternalistic spiritual guardianship among people in transitional societies whose goals are modern, affluent egalitarianism. In simpler terms, more and more people in Latin America learn about widespread wealth among others, and fewer and fewer believe that their own disadvantages are preordained and can be changed for the better only in the next world—as the church has long taught.
Peru Before and After the Coup of 1968
Authors: Malloy James M.
Published: March 2007

In October of 1968, in what appeared to be the typical and time-honored fashion of Latin American military establishments, the Peruvian Army unseated the constitutionally elected government of Fernando Belaunde Terry. To many in the United States and elsewhere who saw Belaunde as a dedicated reformer in the best tradition of the Alliance for Progress, the golpe represented yet further evidence of the Peruvian military's determination to remain the “watchdog of the oligarchy.” However, the new government, headed by General Juan Velasco Alvarado, declared from the first that, far from being an attempt to defend the oligarchy, their action represented the firm intention of the Peruvian military to carry out the basic reforms that previous civilian governments had been either too weak or too corrupt to effect. Indeed, the new government Velasco promised would be nothing short of nationalist and revolutionary.
Pain and Prejudice in the Santiago Campaign of 1898
Authors: Wexler Alice
Published: March 2007

What is resented in Caliban is not really his physical appearance, his bestiality, his ‘evil’ instincts-… but that he should claim to be a person in his own right and from time to time to show that he has a will of his own. In other words, we are perfectly happy if we can project the fantasies of our own unconscious on to the outside world, but if we suddenly find that these creatures are not pure projections but real beings with claims to liberty, we consider it outrageous, however modest their claims. Further, it is not the claims themselves which makes us indignant, but the very desire for freedom.

–O. Mannoni(1950)

Although the United States entered the Cuban war against Spain in 1898 with a great burst of pro-Cuban enthusiasm, this friendliness suddenly soured into contempt. A revolution in public opinion during the summer of 1898 abruptly lowered the Cuban heroes to the status of villains in North American eyes, while the Spanish enemy came to be regarded as brave and honorable. A Michigan soldier expressed a characteristic view when he confessed that “while my opinion of the Spanish troops is in the ascendant, that of the Cuban troops is at the other end of the teeter.
Growth Theory and Chile
Authors: Weaver F. Stirton
Published: March 2007

Industrialization was a powerful social force in the historical development of the Anglo-American economies; economic power was diffused throughout a new, individualistic, and independent economic class that successfully broke the political and cultural monopoly of a traditional, landowning elite. Recognizing the importance of industrialization in social change, conventional economic theory, as taught in the United States and Great Britain, implicitly relied on it to give dynamism to static equilibrium models of resource allocation and income distribution, while Marxist analysis placed it in the very center of a dynamic growth theory.
Through Glasses Darkly: An Assessment of Various Theoretical Approaches to Interamerican Relations
Authors: Ferguson Yale H.
Published: March 2007

In the past decade or so the international relations of Latin America—for many years the subject of legalistic, institutional, polemical, or purely descriptive analyses—has been investigated on a much more sophisticated basis. Dependencia has emerged as a major organizing concept in much of the literature, and “bureaucratic politics” has provided a focus for some of the work emanating from North American scholars on U.S. Latin American policies. There are a number of other frameworks as well. Welcome as the wealth of new studies is, they nevertheless present us for the first time with a problem of assessing the utility of various theoretical approaches or at least with the challenge of relating them to one another in a meaningful fashion.
International Air Transport Association: Some Historical Notes
Authors: Leslie John C.
Published: March 2007

A worldwide scheduled air transportation system for passengers, cargo, and mail has been created since World War II. In its global scope it is almost unique; the International Air Transport Association's only prototype is the Universal Postal Union, which for over a century has been the intergovernment vehicle for arranging the expeditious, reliable interchange of foreign mails between nations. Somewhat comparable to IATA in purpose but much more limited geographically, are such arrangements as those which provide for the transfer of electric power across the border between the United States and Canada, the coordination of highway, waterway, and railway traffic respectively in Europe, and the international telephone, cable, and radio services. The general public does not know—and has little need to know—what has gone on behind the scenes to create these facilities which in essence are large international public utility systems. A typical person's impressions would probably reflect his nationality. An American would probably assume that the individual components of such a utility system were privately owned and operated for commercial profit (except for the Postal Service). A European would tend to assume that electric power companies, railroads, airlines, telecommunications companies, and the Postal Service would all be owned by some government. Each would be substantially correct in his own context.
Policy-Making for the Brazilian Amazon
Authors: Rosenbaum H. Jon , Tyler William G.
Published: March 2007

Long a region seemingly immune to modernization and relegated to governmental neglect, the Brazilian Amazon has nonetheless frequently been the theme of political rhetoric. While the area has stagnated, Brazilians have continually referred to it as the “Land of Promise.” Now, however, it appears that Amazonia is finally to become a major government beneficiary.

An area comprising 42 percent of Brazil's territory but only about three percent of its population, a land often inaccurately portrayed as both a “Green Hell” and a “Green Paradise,” the Amazon recently has been selected by President Garrastazu Médici as the site of a major development effort. Its colonization and economic development have been assigned priority status within the president's “Plan for National Integration.”
Confluences in Social Change: Cuban Women and Health Care
Authors: Virginia Olesen
Published: March 2007

A somewhat neglected though thoroughly promising area for the analysis of changing women's roles lies in the matter of health and health care systems within any society. This is nowhere more the case than in the instance of contemporary Cuban health care and the part that women in that society play in the health care systems as deflners of health care problems, recipients of care, and as those who deliver care to others. Both women's roles and health care in contemporary Cuba have dramatically altered over the past decade, thus yielding doubly rich insights, which reciprocally illuminate both issues.
Women, the Vote, and the Party in the Politics of the Colombian National Front
Authors: Harkess Shirley , Pinzon de Lewin Patricia
Published: March 2007

Colombian women have only recently entered the political arena on a formal basis—they first exercised the right to vote in 1957. Their activity as voters, party workers, and public officials is a by-product of the National Front governing agreement to alternate Conservative and Liberal presidents and to maintain party parity in public office. Since the April 1974 election initiated the official demise of the National Front, we propose to examine the role of women in the political life of this period.

Colombia is well suited for such a study. Appealing to women to exercise their voting rights, the principal political parties established internal organizations to mobilize their electoral support. Public discussion of the inferior status of women in Colombian society encouraged two of the three presidential candidates to orient themselves to women voters in the 1974 campaign. One candidate was a woman, while another promised reform of divorce and discriminatory laws.
Positivist Liberalism in Mexico
Authors: Krause Corinne Azen
Published: March 2007

Among the thousands of disillusioned republicans who left Germany after the revolutions of 1848 was a Jew named Isidoro Epstein. He was one of the small number of forty-eighters who chose to migrate to Mexico. There the record of his varied career as statistician, mapmaker, educator, publisher, and journalist illustrates how the skills and talents of a professionally trained foreigner met the needs of Mexico as these needs were perceived and defined by the Mexican elite of the second half of the nineteenth century. His career as outspoken liberal editor of German language newspapers, however, was marred by conflict with a German community that was divided in its interpretation of German nationalism and in its feelings about liberals and Jews. Both aspects of Epstein's life in Mexico, from his immigration in 1851 until his death in 1894, demand attention and prove to be fascinating.
The Demand for International Reserves: A Cross-Sectional Study of a Group of Latin American Countries
Authors: Streeter Lanny E. , Ortiz Ramon Pablo Guerrero
Published: March 2007

In today's international monetary system, a country's stock of international reserves plays a critical role in determining the nature and the extent to which it can successfully pursue policies to promote growth, development, and stability. If its reserves are insufficient, the country will generally have to sacrifice some internal economic goals, instituting policies which tend to deflate the domestic economy and to discourage international trade. Excessive reserves, on the other hand, may impart an inflationary bias on the economy; and at the same time, superfluous reserves may be a costly way of tying up national wealth, especially for poorer nations. Since the “right” amount of reserves will differ from one nation to another, it is important to understand those factors which determine the amount of reserves which a country is willing and able to hold at a particular time.
New Directions for Low‐Dimensional Thermoelectric Materials
Authors: Dresselhaus M. S. , Chen G. , Tang M. Y. , Yang R. G. , Lee H. , Wang D. Z. , Ren Z. F. , Fleurial J.‐P. , Gogna P.
Published: March 2007

Many of the recent advances in enhancing the thermoelectric figure of merit are linked to nanoscale phenomena found both in bulk samples containing nanoscale constituents and in nanoscale samples themselves. Prior theoretical and experimental proof‐of‐principle studies on quantum‐well superlattice and quantum‐wire samples have now evolved into studies on bulk samples containing nanostructured constituents prepared by chemical or physical approaches. In this Review, nanostructural composites are shown to exhibit nanostructures and properties that show promise for thermoelectric applications, thus bringing together low‐dimensional and bulk materials for thermoelectric applications. Particular emphasis is given in this Review to the ability to achieve 1) a simultaneous increase in the power factor and a decrease in the thermal conductivity in the same nanocomposite sample and for transport in the same direction and 2) lower values of the thermal conductivity in these nanocomposites as compared to alloy samples of the same chemical composition. The outlook for future research directions for nanocomposite thermoelectric materials is also discussed.
Meiotic characterization and sex determination system of neotropical primates: bolivian squirrel monkey Saimiri boliviensis (primates: cebidae)
Authors: Steinberg Eliana R. , Nieves Mariela , Mudry Marta D.
Published: March 2007

The chromosomal sex determination system differs among platyrrhine monkeys more than any other group of primates. Although a number of studies have investigated mitotic chromosomes across platyrrhine species, the meiotic chromosomes of many genera have not yet been described. The goal of this study was to characterize the sex determination system of Saimiri boliviensis. We described for the first time the meiotic cycle, confirming the sexual system in germ cells from testicular biopsies of four adult male S. boliviensis. All specimens were weighed and testicular volume was measured. We observed 22 bivalents corresponding to 2N = 44, and a “human‐like” XY bivalent was found in diakinesis/metaphase I. In addition, mitotic studies from blood samples of both sexes were performed and G‐ and C‐banding patterns agreed with previously reported karylogy of S. boliviensis boliviensis. Further meiotic studies should be performed in New World primates based on the great value of those studies for systematic evolutionary biology and conservation programs. Am. J. Primatol. 69:1236–1241, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Acid‐catalyzed steam pretreatment of lodgepole pine and subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation to ethanol
Authors: Ewanick Shannon M. , Bura Renata , Saddler John N.
Published: March 2007

Utilization of ethanol produced from biomass has the potential to offset the use of gasoline and reduce CO2 emissions. This could reduce the effects of global warming, one of which is the current outbreak of epidemic proportions of the mountain pine beetle (MPB) in British Columbia (BC), Canada. The result of this is increasing volumes of dead lodgepole pine with increasingly limited commercial uses. Bioconversion of lodgepole pine to ethanol using SO2‐catalyzed steam explosion was investigated. The optimum pretreatment condition for this feedstock was determined to be 200°C, 5 min, and 4% SO2 (w/w). Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of this material provided an overall ethanol yield of 77% of the theoretical yield from raw material based on starting glucan, mannan, and galactan, which corresponds to 244 g ethanol/kg raw material within 30 h. Three conditions representing low (L), medium (M), and high (H) severity were also applied to healthy lodgepole pine. Although the M severity conditions of 200°C, 5 min, and 4% SO2 were sufficiently robust to pretreat healthy wood, the substrate produced from beetle‐killed (BK) wood provided consistently higher ethanol yields after SSF than the other substrates tested. BK lodgepole pine appears to be an excellent candidate for efficient and productive bioconversion to ethanol. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2007;98: 737–746. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A versatile finite strip model for three‐dimensional tall building analysis
Authors: Kanok‐Nukulchai Worsak , Lee Sek‐Yean , Karasudhi Pisidhi
Published: March 2007

This study endeavors to show the inadequacy of thin beam eigenfunctions commonly used to represent displacement profiles of tall buildings in the finite strip analysis. Particularly, the model fails to reflect the correct building behaviour whenever the storey‐shear distortion may be significant. An attempt is made, therefore, to develop a new set of strip shape functions that is free of the above shortcoming. A polynomial series is specially constructed and shown to be effective for all building types. Several tall building examples are tested and the results clearly exhibit the versatility and surprisingly high accuracy of the proposed finite strip model, in both static and free vibration analyses.
Ground motion amplification due to elastic inclusions in a half‐space
Authors: Dravinski Marijan
Published: March 2007

Scattering of plane harmonic SH, P, SV and Rayleigh waves by several inclusions of arbitrary shape, completely embedded into an elastic half‐space, is considered. Perfect bonding between the half‐space and the inclusions is assumed. The problem is investigated for linear, isotropic and homogeneous elastic materials. The displacement field is evaluated throughout the elastic medium so that the continuity conditions between the half‐space and the inclusions are satisfied in mean‐square sense. Numerical results of the surface displacement field are evaluated for single and two elliptic inclusions. The results show the following: (a) presence of a subsurface inhomogeneity may lead to large amplifications of the surface ground motion; (2) different surface displacement patterns emerge for different incident waves; (3) the presence of an additional inclusion may change significantly the surface displacement response of a single inclusion; (4) the surface motion extremes strongly depend upon (i) angle of incidence; (ii) frequency of incident field; (iii) embedment depth of the inclusions; (iv) separation distance between the inclusions; (v) material properties of the half‐space and the inclusions; and (vi) location of observation point on the surface of the half‐space.
Plasma exchange as treatment for Lawsone (henna) intoxication
Authors: Rund Deborah , Schaap Tova , Da'as Nael , Yehuda Dina Ben , Kalish Joseph
Published: March 2007

Lawsone (2‐hydroxy‐1,4‐naphthoquinone) is the active ingredient of Lawsonia alba, whose crushed leaves are known as henna, used as a hair and skin dye in many parts of the world. Accidental or deliberate ingestion of Lawsone has a high mortality rate (up to 31%) owing to rhabdomyolysis and renal failure. The authors report the first successful use of plasmapheresis as an adjunct to the treatment of these symptoms in a 69‐year‐old man who suffered severe symptoms of Lawsone poisoning due to inadvertent ingestion. Although most cases reported in the literature have been treated using supportive techniques, including hemodialysis, the high mortality despite these measures suggests that prompt plasma exchange may be a lifesaving technique for this syndrome. J. Clin. Apheresis., 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
MAPK‐pathway activity, Lrrk2 G2019S, and Parkinson's disease
Authors: White Linda R. , Toft Mathias , Kvam Sylvia N. , Farrer Matthew J. , Aasly Jan O.
Published: March 2007

The 6055G>A mutation in the leucine‐rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene results in a G2019S substitution in the mixed‐lineage kinase domain of Lrrk2, causing autosomal dominant Parkinson's disease (PD). We hypothesized the mutation alters cellular mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling cascades, and might be detectable in tissues other than in the brain. We therefore compared total levels and activation of the signalling proteins Src, HSP27, p38 MAPK, JNK, and ERK, in extracts of leukocytes isolated from patients with PD carrying the G2019S mutation, healthy mutation carriers, patients with idiopathic PD, and healthy controls. Phosphorylation of Src, HSP27, and JNK was reduced significantly in cell extracts from patients with G2019S‐associated PD compared to healthy controls. Similarly, phosphorylation was reduced significantly in Src and HSP27 in the group of healthy carriers of the mutation, as well as in patients with idiopathic PD. Significant reductions in total Src were also observed in these three groups compared to the controls. The results of this pilot project therefore indicate significant alterations in key signalling proteins in leukocytes from patients with PD, and were most pronounced in G2019S‐associated PD. Changes in MAPK‐signalling may thus be common to PD pathophysiology, regardless of aetiology. Such changes may also be shown in blood samples during the preclinical stage of LRRK2‐associated PD, which could be particularly important for the development of neuroprotective strategies to delay onset, or slow progression of PD. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Modeling particle inflation from poly(amic acid) powdered precursors. II. Morphological development during bubble growth
Authors: Cano Camilo I. , Clark Meaghan L. , Kyu Thein , Pipes R. Byron
Published: March 2007

The morphological development of cellular polyimide microstructures from poly(amic acid) powders has been shown to depend on the processing conditions throughout the inflation process and the morphological characteristics of the precursor particles. In an earlier publication the authors presented a numerical study of the preliminary stages prior to particle inflation when the processing temperature is below the glass transition temperature, Tg. In the present article, a second numerical scheme is presented for behavior above Tg in which bubble growth is modeled to account for the effect of multiple phenomena in the final stages of morphological development. The bubble growth kinematics and subsequent cessation of growth are predicted as a function of process parameters and material properties. Morphological characteristics of the precursor particles have also been shown to influence the kinematics of inflation. These results provide a clearer understanding of the solid‐state foaming processes for polyimide cellular materials. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 47:572–581, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers.
Preparation and coordination with Hg(II) of sulfur‐ and 2‐amino‐pyridine‐containing chelating resin
Authors: Qu Rongjun , Sun Changmei , Chen Jian , Chen Hou , Wang Chunhua , Ji Chunnuan , Xu Lili
Published: March 2007

A novel chelating resin anchoring 2‐amino‐pyridine on macroporous crosslinked polystyrene beads via a sulfur‐containing spacer (PVBS‐AP) has been synthesized and its structures were characterized by FTIR, scanning electron microscopy, porous structure analysis, and elementary analysis. The results of scanning electron microscopy and pores analysis demonstrated that PVBS‐AP resin had meso‐macro porous structure. Its adsorption properties for Hg(II), Pd(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Pb(II), and Cd(II) were investigated. Some factors affecting the adsorption of PVBS‐AP resin for Hg(II), such as temperature, contact time, ion concentration, and pH were also studied. The results showed that the increasing of temperature was beneficial to adsorption and Langmuir model was much better than Freundlich model to describe the isothermal process. PVBS‐AP resin had good adsorption selectivity for Hg(II). It could selective adsorb Hg(II) from such binary ions system as Hg(II)‐Ni(II), Hg(II)‐Zn(II), and Hg(II)‐Pb(II), their selective coefficients are αHg/Ni = ∞, αHg/Zn = 28.1, αHg/Pb = ∞, respectively. Five adsorption–desorption cycles demonstrate that this resin were suitable for reuse without considerable change in adsorption capacity. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 47:721–727, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers.
Crystallisation of high density polyethylene from dilute solution: Heterogeneous nucleation
Authors: Alfonso Gian Carlo , Olivero Luigi , Turturro Antonio , Pedemonte Enrico
Published: March 2007

The self‐seeding crystallisation technique is applied to a dilute solution of polyethylene in xylene containing, in suspension, foreign particles; data concerning some pigments usually employed for colouring the plastics are reported. It is shown that this method allows easy demonstration of the interactions existing between the dissolved polymer and the pigment; at the same time, it is possible to study the morphology which is evolved as a consequence of these interactions under particularly simple conditions as only a small amount of polymer crystallises on the pigment particles. The behaviour of several pigments is consistent with the results obtained by crystallising the bulk polyethylene coloured with the same pigments. Some unusual morphologies are made evident.
Dynamic mechanical, thermal, electrical and tensile properties of 1,4‐diaminopiperazine polymers and their metal chelates
Authors: Chen Chuen F. , Williams H. Leverne
Published: March 2007

The properties and performance of 1,4‐diaminopiperazine polymers and their metal chelates were studied. The polymeric chelates were semiconducting, stronger and more flexible, and had greater thermal stability and lower transition (relaxation) temperatures than the parent polymers.
Nanostructure, interactions, and conductivities of polymer electrolytes comprising silver salt and microphase‐separated graft copolymer
Authors: Lee Do Kyoung , Lee Kyung Ju , Kim Yong Woo , Min Byoung Ryul , Kim Jong Hak
Published: March 2007

Silver polymer electrolytes were prepared by blending silver salt with poly(oxyethylene)9 methacrylate)‐graft‐poly(dimethyl siloxane), POEM‐g‐PDMS, confining silver salts within the continuous ion‐conducting POEM domains of microphase‐separated graft copolymer. AgClO4 polymer electrolytes exhibited their maximum conductivity at high silver concentrations as well as higher ionic conductivities than AgCF3SO3 electrolytes. The difference in conductivities of the two electrolytes was investigated in terms of the differences in the interactions of silver ions with ether oxygen of POEM and, hence, with the anions of salts. Upon the addition of salt in graft copolymer, the increase of Tg in AgClO4 was higher than that in AgCF3SO3 electrolytes. Analysis of an extended configuration entropy model revealed that the interaction of ether oxygen/AgClO4 was stronger than that of ether oxygen/AgCF3SO3 whereas the interaction of Ag+/ClO4− was weaker than that of Ag+/CF3SO3−. These interactions are supported by the anion vibration mode of FT‐Raman spectroscopy. It is thus concluded that the higher ionic conductivity of AgClO4 electrolytes was mostly because of higher concentrations of free ions, resulting from their strong ether oxygen/silver ion and weak silver ion/anion interactions. A small angle X‐ray scattering study also showed that the connectivity of the POEM phase was well developed to form nanophase morphology and the domain periodicities of graft copolymer electrolytes monotonically increased with the increase of silver concentration up to critical concentrations, after which the connectivity was less developed and the domain spacings remained invariant. This is attributed to the fact that silver salts are spatially and selectively incorporated in conducting POEM domains as free ions up to critical concentrations, after which they are distributed in both domains as ion pairs without selectivity. The increase of domain d‐spacing in AgClO4 electrolytes was larger than that in AgCF3SO3, which again results from high concentrations of free ions in the former. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 1018–1025, 2007
Refinement of NMR‐determined protein structures with database derived mean‐force potentials
Authors: Wu Di , Jernigan Robert , Wu Zhijun
Published: March 2007

Due to the limited distance data available from the experiments, the structures determined by NMR Spectroscopy may not always be as accurate as desired. Further refinement of the structures is often required and sometimes critical. With the increase of high quality protein structures determined and deposited in PDB Data Bank, commonly shared protein conformational properties can be extracted based on the statistical distributions of the properties in the structural database and used to improve the outcomes of the NMR‐determined structures. Here we examine the distributions of protein interatomic distances in known protein structures. We show that based on these distributions, a set of mean‐force potentials can be defined for proteins and employed to refine the NMR‐determined structures. We report the test results on 70 NMR‐determined structures and compare the potential energy, the Ramachandran plot, and the ensemble RMSD of the structures refined with and without using the derived mean‐force potentials. Proteins 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Spectrum of Breast Cancer in Asian Women
Authors: Agarwal Gaurav , Pradeep P. V. , Aggarwal Vivek , Yip Cheng‐Har , Cheung Polly S. Y.
Published: March 2007

Introduction

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer‐related deaths in Asia, and in recent years is emerging as the commonest female malignancy in the developing Asian countries, overtaking cancer of the uterine cervix. There have been no studies objectively comparing data and facts relating to breast cancer in the developed, newly developed, and developing Asian countries thus far.

Material and Methods

This multi‐national collaborative study retrospectively compared the demographic, clinical, pathological and outcomes data in breast cancer patients managed at participating breast cancer centers in India, Malaysia and Hong Kong. Data, including those on the availability of breast screening, treatment facilities and outcomes from other major cancer centers and cancer registries of these countries and from other Asian countries were also reviewed.

Results

Despite an increasing trend, the incidence of breast cancer is lower, yet the cause‐specific mortality is significantly higher in developing Asian countries compared with developed countries in Asia and the rest of the world. Patients are about one decade younger in developing countries than their counterparts in developed nations. The proportions of young patients (< 35 years) vary from about 10% in developed to up to 25% in developing Asian countries, which carry a poorer prognosis. In the developing countries, the majority of breast cancer patients continue to be diagnosed at a relatively late stage, and locally advanced cancers constitute over 50% of all patients managed. The stage‐wise distribution of the disease is comparatively favorable in developed Asian countries. Pathology of breast cancers in young Asian women and the clinical picture are different from those of average patients managed elsewhere in the world. Owing to lack of awareness, lack of funding, lack of infrastructure, and low priority in public health schemes, breast cancer screening and early detection have not caught up in these under‐privileged societies.

Conclusions

The inadequacies of health care infrastructures and standards, sociocultural barriers, economic realities, illiteracy, and the differences in the clinical and pathological attributes of this disease in Asian women compared with the rest of the world together result in a different spectrum of the disease. Better socioeconomic conditions, health awareness, and availability of breast cancer screening in developed Asian countries seem to be the major causes of a favorable clinical picture and outcomes in these countries.
Solubilization, Surface Active and Thermodynamic Parameters of Gemini Amphiphiles Bearing Nonionic Hydrophilic Spacers
Authors: Negm Nabel A.
Published: March 2007

A series of novel nine symmetric diquaternary gemini amphiphiles was synthesized having the formula: urn:x-wiley:10973958:media:jsde0071:jsde0071-math-0001where R1 = C11H23COOCH2CH2, C15H31COOCH2CH2 and/or C17H35COOCH2CH2 alkyl chain, R = CH2CH2OH and n = 10, 15 and 25 ethylene oxide units. Surface active properties at air‐aqueous solution were determined using Gibb's adsorption equations including critical micelle concentration (CMC), effectiveness (πCMC), efficiency (pC20) and minimum surface area (Amin). The effects of hydrophobic and hydrophilic chain length on the surface and thermodynamic parameters of the diquaternary surfactants were discussed. Surface tension–concentration profiles of diquaternary amphiphiles display the formation of various aggregative structures, e.g., spherical micelles and lamellar shapes, as well as bearing lower critical micelle concentration than the expected values for the corresponding N+/CH2 ratio of monoquaternary amphiphiles. The calculations of minimum surface area (Amin) appear to have higher values for the molecules at the interface, reinforcing the idea of air–water interface attachment of both positively charged nitrogen atoms. Thermodynamic data including, free energy, entropy and enthalpy changes (ΔG, ΔS, ΔH) for adsorption at the air–water interface and also for micellization in the bulk of surfactant solutions were calculated. The data showed a great tendency of the synthesized molecules for adsorption at the interfaces rather than micellization in the bulk of their solutions. Solubilization behaviors of the prepared amphiphiles were described as a vital application of these compounds. The effect of their structures on the solubilization process towards polar and nonpolar solubilizates was also explained.
Bifurcation and stability of equilibria with asymptotically linear boundary conditions at infinity
Authors: Arrieta José M. , Pardo Rosa , Rodríguez-Bernal Anibal
Published: March 2007

We consider an elliptic equation with a nonlinear boundary condition which is asymptotically linear at infinity and which depends on a parameter. As the parameter crosses some critical values, there appear certain resonances in the equation producing solutions that bifurcate from infinity. We study the bifurcation branches, characterize when they are sub- or supercritical and analyse the stability type of the solutions. Furthermore, we apply these results and techniques to obtain Landesman–Lazer-type conditions guaranteeing the existence of solutions in the resonant case and to obtain an anti-maximum principle.
Chemistry and Light
Authors: Suppan P
Published: March 2007

This text provides a concise introduction to all aspects of light-induced processes in chemistry, physics and biology, as well as in medicine and industry. It is up to date with the latest advances in the field, in particular the probing of the fastest light-induced reactions on picosecond and femtosecond time scales, and is based on the photochemistry and photophysics degree course devised by the author. Chemistry and Light is a must for final year undergraduates, as well as for post-graduate students. It will prove extremely useful for teachers in the preparation of courses and seminars and will provide essential background information for industrial chemists, in one complete source. The book reflects the enthusiasm the author has for his subject, as well as his talent for clear description. Chemistry and Light will be welcomed by students and research workers alike.