bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
How times change: Secondary teachers' job satisfaction and dissatisfaction in 1962 and 2007
Authors: Klassen Robert M. , Anderson Colin J. K.
Published: March 2009

In this article we explore the level of job satisfaction and the sources of job dissatisfaction for 210 secondary school teachers in southwest England and compare our results with the results from a similar study published in 1962. Using anonymous questionnaires, we asked 210 secondary teachers in southwest England (63% female) to rate their level of job satisfaction and to rate 16 sources of job dissatisfaction that we adapted from the 1962 study. Teachers in 2007 rated their job satisfaction significantly lower and ordered the sources of job dissatisfaction significantly differently than did teachers in 1962. Whereas teachers in 1962 were most concerned with external sources of job dissatisfaction (e.g. salary, condition of buildings and equipment and poor human relations), teachers in 2007 expressed the most concern about factors relating to teaching itself (e.g. time demands and pupils' behaviour). The changes in sources of dissatisfaction hold true for male and female teachers, with no difference in rankings according to years of teaching experience.
White British; dual heritage; British Muslim: Young Britons' conceptualisation of identity and citizenship
Authors: Basit Tehmina N.
Published: March 2009

This paper examines young British people's conceptualisation of identity and citizenship. Data were gathered through a questionnaire survey from 442 young male and female citizens of majority and minority ethnic origins, aged 14–24 years and at different stages of education, employment and non‐employment. This was followed up by in‐depth interviews with a stratified sample of 40 participants. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative data, and by closely examining the two key concepts of identity and citizenship, the paper analyses the ways in which young Britons perceive their multiple identities and citizenship status. The research shows that education and career are the major priorities of these young people. They have clear notions of identity and citizenship and most are comfortable with their own identities and feelings of citizenship. However, some of those who are from a minority ethnic background have doubts about being viewed as British citizens because of racial harassment or stereotyping, particularly in the aftermath of terrorist attacks in the West. The research has implications for pedagogy, education policy, community cohesion and social justice.
Evening Experiences versus Drinking Indicators as Predictors of Hangover on a Summer Holiday
Authors: Hesse Morten , Tutenges Sébastien
Published: March 2009

Little is known about predictors of hangover symptoms. The subjective experience of the “night out” may influence the experience of hangover symptoms. We conducted a survey of 325 young men and women at a vacation resort during the daytime, administering subjects the Acute Hangover Scale (AHS) and asking questions about drinking and behaviors the night before. Half of the subjects reported feeling hangover symptoms on a single item relating to hangovers in general, but 73% scored above 1 on the full AHS. Several variables correlated with AHS, but in multivariate analyses, only variables associated with drunkenness the night before (having been more drunk than intended and still feeling intoxicated) and number of days spent in the resort were associated with AHS. Future studies should work on developing standardized definitions of hangover that can be used to study the phenomenon further.
Gender Differences in Associations between Lifetime Alcohol, Depression, Panic Disorder, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Tobacco Withdrawal
Authors: Weinberger Andrea H. , Maciejewski Paul K. , McKee Sherry A. , Reutenauer Erin L. , Mazure Carolyn M.
Published: March 2009

This study examined the interaction of gender and lifetime psychiatric status on the experience of nicotine withdrawal using retrospective data from the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS; N = 816). Multiple regression analyses were performed to examine the main and interactive effects of gender and major depression, alcohol abuse/dependence, panic disorder, and PTSD on indices of withdrawal. Major depression and alcohol abuse/dependence were associated with longer duration of withdrawal symptoms in women. Women also showed stronger associations between major depression and recurrent withdrawal symptoms and PTSD and smoking relapse to alleviate withdrawal. Men showed a stronger association between alcohol abuse/dependence and smoking relapse to alleviate withdrawal. When developing and providing smoking cessation interventions, it is important to consider the gender‐specific effects of lifetime psychiatric status on withdrawal.
Pain and Substance‐Related Pain‐Reduction Behaviors among Opioid Dependent Individuals Seeking Methadone Maintenance Treatment
Authors: Barry Declan T. , Beitel Mark , Joshi Dipa , Schottenfeld Richard S.
Published: March 2009

We surveyed 293 opioid dependent individuals seeking methadone maintenance treatment about their pain experiences and their substance‐related pain reduction behaviors. Among the 213 respondents reporting recent pain of at least moderate typical pain intensity, two‐thirds had a lifetime history of chronic pain. In comparison to those without a lifetime history of chronic pain, those with a lifetime history were older, reported higher pain frequency, were more likely to endorse accident or surgery and less likely to endorse “don't know” as the genesis of their recent pain, and endorsed comparable levels of substance‐related pain reduction behaviors. These findings may have implications for resource and program planning in MMT programs.
Characteristics and Outcomes of Patients Discharged from the Opioid Renewal Clinic at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center
Authors: Becker William C. , Meghani Salimah H. , Barth Kelly S. , Wiedemer Nancy , Gallagher Rollin M.
Published: March 2009

The Opioid Renewal Clinic (ORC) is a pharmacist‐run program that assists primary care providers in the management of chronic pain patients with aberrant behavior or high risk of prescription opioid abuse. In this study, charts of all discharged patients over a 22‐month span (n = 86) were reviewed for outcomes for two years after discharge. The most frequent reason for discharge from the program was recurrent positive urine drug screens for illicit substances (n = 40; 47%). Only 15 (17%) were seen for addiction treatment in the two‐year follow‐up period. Forty‐one percent of patients (n = 35) were prescribed opioids within two years of discharge. There was a positive correlation between length of time in the ORC and receipt of opioids post discharge. These outcomes reveal areas of need in the management of this complex population.
The Influence of Intake Urinalysis, Psychopathology Measures, and Menstrual Cycle Phase on Treatment Compliance
Authors: Ambrose‐Lanci Lisa M. , Sterling Robert C. , Weinstein Stephen P. , Van Bockstaele Elisabeth J.
Published: March 2009

Drug abuse among women is a societal health problem which has received greater attention in recent years. Studies examining sex differences in drug abuse have shown consistent differences between males and females. In the current study, we retrospectively examined 75 treatment‐seeking females to determine the relationships between intake measurements of psychopathology, intake urinalysis, menstrual cycle phase at admission, and treatment compliance. Our results support a relationship among these variables and a potential relationship between menstrual cycle phase and anxiety level is discussed. These results support the need for the development of individually tailored treatment programs.
Tobacco Use by Physicians in a Physician Health Program, Implications for Treatment and Monitoring
Authors: Stuyt Elizabeth B. , Gundersen Doris C. , Shore Jay H. , Brooks Elizabeth , Gendel Michael H.
Published: March 2009

The use of tobacco by physicians with substance abuse histories is drastically understudied. A chart review of 1319 physicians enrolled in a physician health program found tobacco use highest for those referred for substance abuse problems (58.1%). Among a subset of currently monitored substance abusers, all those who relapsed during monitoring were using tobacco and had more difficulty maintaining sobriety following initial treatment (p = 0.0137) than non tobacco users. Because tobacco was a risk factor for relapse, reasons why physician health programs should address its use and treatment facilities should establish tobacco‐free environments to provide optimum learning and recovery are explored.
The South African higher education transformation debate: culture, identity and 'African ways of knowing'
Authors: Horsthemke Kai
Published: March 2009

Following the first democratic election in South Africa in 1994, there has been a strong drive towards democratising education at all levels, primary, secondary and tertiary. The present paper examines some of the key ideas in the debate around transformation in higher education in
South Africa, namely the notions of an African essence, culture and identity, as well as African knowledge systems. It contends that neither the idea of the 'essence of Africa' nor an emphasis on 'African culture and identity' constitutes an appropriate theoretical framework for conceptualising
change in higher educational thought and practice in South Africa, the major problems turning on issues around essentialism and cultural relativism. Similarly, the post-colonialist and anti-discrimination discourse underpinning 'African ways of knowing' is unfortunately riddled with problems,
logical and epistemological. While the present contribution is sympathetic to the basic concerns articulated in the respective debates, especially around the significance of indigenous languages, it offers both conceptual clarification as well as a critical (re-)evaluation of the pertinent
issues. Thus, 'African knowledge' is argued to be a misnomer that raises more problems than it can conceivably solve. What its proponents hope to achieve is arguably better achieved by an emphasis on restorative justice that locates the principle of reconciliation within a basic framework
of human rights.
Global justice or other people's problems? Computer gaming and critical reflection in an international classroom
Authors: Unterhalter Elaine
Published: March 2009

Global social justice is often portrayed as a project of either developing appropriate dispositions or of amending the rules that govern global interaction. Despite policy pronouncements by many university vice chancellors on the significance of higher education in contributing to learning
about global social justice, there is very little documentation of how university students engage with these aspirations. The paper describes and critically analyses doctoral students' responses to a computer game designed to develop insight into contemporary education and global social justice.
Drawing on reflections from teaching the course and student assignments over three years, the paper considers some of the strengths and weaknesses of computer gaming as a learning resource for global justice issues in higher education. It highlights how the format of a game both sets specific
boundaries to learning in higher education institutions and also limits the parameters regarding how the conditions of others are apprehended. The extent to which reflecting on computer gaming opens up space for more participatory debates concerning justice remains an open question.
Strategic knowledge networks for global education
Authors: Peterson J. Fiona
Published: March 2009

The inherent opportunities for communication, collaboration and experiential learning in an online and global network create the impetus for the new network paradigm in higher education. A strategic knowledge network in education was designed and developed to build 'Mode 2' knowledge
capabilities; create new knowledge for innovative application; and help to shape, influence or create professional practice. This paper presents a case study of a masters program at a large university of technology in Australia, in which students undertook industry-based coursework as part
of a strategic knowledge network. Complexity of projects increased throughout the program; and the real-world projects included working with local and international mentors, thus positioning coursework within the industry. In this flexible learning environment, graduates developed 'Mode 2'
knowledge capabilities for the networked world of work.
Short article: Verb aspect and perceptual simulations
Authors: Madden Carol J. , Therriault David J.
Published: March 2009

Two experiments investigate the influence of verb aspect on situation representations. The results demonstrate that comprehenders use verb aspect as a cue to regulate the activation of ongoing simulations of situations over time. Experiment 1 measured word-by-word reading as well as sensibility judgements on sentences in which a target object word had been replaced by a picture. For the past imperfective sentences, participants were faster to process the picture, the two words following the picture, and the sensibility judgements when objects were pictured in use rather than not in use. However, this in-use facilitation was limited to processing of the picture for the past perfect sentences. Experiment 2 served as a control to ensure that the use effect and its interaction with verb aspect were a result of contextual manipulations rather than surface features of the pictures themselves. The results are interpreted within the framework of perceptual simulations during language comprehension.
Short article: Early detection and avoidance of threatening faces during passive viewing
Authors: Becker Mark W. , Detweiler-Bedell Brian
Published: March 2009

To evaluate whether there is an early attentional bias towards negative stimuli, we tracked participants’ eyes while they passively viewed displays composed of four Ekman faces. In Experiment 1 each display consisted of three neutral faces and one face depicting fear or happiness. In half of the trials, all faces were inverted. Although the passive viewing task should have been very sensitive to attentional biases, we found no evidence that overt attention was biased towards fearful faces. Instead, people tended to actively avoid looking at the fearful face. This avoidance was evident very early in scene viewing, suggesting that the threat associated with the faces was evaluated rapidly. Experiment 2 replicated this effect and extended it to angry faces. In sum, our data suggest that negative facial expressions are rapidly analysed and influence visual scanning, but, rather than attract attention, such faces are actively avoided.
How to Test for Multiple Realization
Authors: Shapiro Lawrence A.
Published: March 2009

When conceived as an empirical claim, it is natural to wonder how one might test the hypothesis of multiple realization. I consider general issues of testability, show how they apply specifically to the hypothesis of multiple realization, and propose an auxiliary assumption that, I argue, must be conjoined to the hypothesis of multiple realization to ensure its testability. I argue further that Bechtel and Mundale (1999) go astray because they fail to appreciate the need for this auxiliary assumption.
Autonomy and Multiple Realization
Authors: Richardson Robert C.
Published: March 2009

Multiple realization historically mandated the autonomy of psychology, and its principled irreducibility to neuroscience. Recently, multiple realization and its implications for the reducibility of psychology to neuroscience have been challenged. One challenge concerns the proper understanding of reduction. Another concerns whether multiple realization is as pervasive as is alleged. I focus on the latter question. I illustrate multiple realization with actual, rather than hypothetical, cases of multiple realization from within the biological sciences. Though they do support a degree of autonomy for higher levels of explanation and organization, they do not have the dire consequences critics of multiple realization fear.
Two Confusions Concerning Multiple Realization
Authors: Polger Thomas W.
Published: March 2009

Despite some recent advances, multiple realization remains a largely misunderstood thesis. Consider the dispute between Lawrence Shapiro and Carl Gillett over the application of Shapiro's recipe for deciding when we have genuine cases of multiple realization. I argue that Gillett follows many philosophers in mistakenly supposing that multiple realization is absolute and transitive. Both of these are problematic. They are tempting only when we extract the question of multiple realization from the explanatory context in which it is invoked. Anchoring multiple realizability in its theoretical context provides grounds for arbitrating disagreements. Doing so, I argue, favors the view advanced by Shapiro.
The Role of Causal Processes in the Neutral and Nearly Neutral Theories
Authors: Dietrich Michael R. , Millstein Roberta L.
Published: March 2009

The neutral and nearly neutral theories of molecular evolution are sometimes characterized as theories about drift alone, where drift is described solely as an outcome, rather than a process. We argue, however, that both selection and drift, as causal processes, are integral parts of both theories. However, the nearly neutral theory explicitly recognizes alleles and/or molecular substitutions that, while engaging in weakly selected causal processes, exhibit outcomes thought to be characteristic of random drift. A narrow focus on outcomes obscures the significant role of weakly selected causal processes in the nearly neutral theory.
The Changing Relationship between Theory and Experiment in Economics
Authors: Sugden Robert
Published: March 2009

Until recently, economics was generally understood to be a nonexperimental science with a hypothetico-deductive methodology. This article considers how the methodology of economics has changed with the spread of experimental methods. Initially, most experimental economists saw their work as testing pre-existing theories. However, a method of systematic inductive enquiry in which theory plays a less central role is now evolving. This method is structured around the discovery and progressive refinement of regularities. “Exhibits”—experimental designs that generate significant regularities—are taking over some of the functions formerly performed by theoretical models.
Social Preferences in Experimental Economics
Authors: Woodward James
Published: March 2009

This article explores some issues having to do with the use of experimental results from one-shot games to reach conclusions about the existence of social preferences that are taken to figure in the explanation of cooperation in repeated interactions in real life.
Paradigmatic Experiments: The Ultimatum Game from Testing to Measurement Device
Authors: Guala Francesco
Published: March 2009

The Ultimatum Game is one of the most successful experimental designs in the history of the social sciences. In this article I try to explain this success—what makes it a “paradigmatic experiment”—stressing in particular its versatility. Despite the intentions of its inventors, the Ultimatum Game was never a good design to test economic theory, and it is now mostly used as a heuristic tool for the observation of nonstandard preferences or as a “social thermometer” for the observation of culture-specific norms.
Boltzmann, Gibbs, and the Concept of Equilibrium
Authors: Lavis David A.
Published: March 2009

The Boltzmann and Gibbs approaches to statistical mechanics have very different definitions of equilibrium and entropy. The problems associated with this are discussed, and it is suggested that they can be resolved, to produce a version of statistical mechanics incorporating both approaches, by redefining equilibrium not as a binary property (being/not being in equilibrium) but as a continuous property (degrees of equilibrium) measured by the Boltzmann entropy and by introducing the idea of thermodynamic-like behavior for the Boltzmann entropy. The Kac ring model is used as an example to test the proposals.
Structural Realism and the Social Sciences
Authors: Kincaid Harold
Published: March 2009

After sorting different structuralist claims, I argue that structural realist ideas are instantiated in the social sciences, providing both clarification of social science research and support for some components of structural realism. My main focus is on three distinct ways that the social sciences can be about structural relations—exemplified by claims about social structure, reduced form structures in causal modeling, and equilibrium explanations—and on the implication of structuralist ideas for thinking about issues concerning causal explanation and nonreductive pictures of the unity of the science.
Ontic Structural Realism and Economics
Authors: Ross Don
Published: March 2009

Ontic structural realism (OSR) is crucially motivated by empirical discoveries of fundamental physics. To this extent its potential to furnish a general metaphysics for science may appear limited. However, OSR also provides a good account of the progress that has been achieved over the decades in a formalized special science, economics. Furthermore, this has a basis in the ontology presupposed by economic theory, and is not just an artifact of formalization.
Expanding Philosophy of Science into the Moral Domain: Response to Brown and Kourany
Authors: Koertge Noretta
Published: March 2009

Janet Kourany argues that philosophers of science should place more emphasis on the moral and political aspects of scientific research. As a possible site for philosophical intervention she discusses professional codes of ethics. James Brown describes various systemic problems in pharmaceutical research and proposes that socializing medical research is the best way to remedy the situation. I criticize each of their examples, but concur with many overall aspects of their expanded agenda for philosophy of science.
The Dome: An Unexpectedly Simple Failure of Determinism
Authors: Norton John D.
Published: March 2009

Newton's equations of motion tell us that a mass at rest at the apex of a dome with the shape specified here can spontaneously move. It has been suggested that this indeterminism should be discounted since it draws on an incomplete rendering of Newtonian physics, or it is “unphysical,” or it employs illicit idealizations. I analyze and reject each of these reasons.
NERD and Norms: Framework and Experiments
Authors: Danielson Peter , Mesoudi Alex , Stanev Roger
Published: March 2009

We advocate and share the same theoretical framework for empirical research in ethics as exemplified in Christina Bicchieri's The Grammar of Society. Our research differs from Bicchieri's in our approach to experimentation: where she relies on lab experiments, we have constructed an experimental platform based on an internet survey instrument; where she relies on rational reconstructions, we do not. In this paper we focus on four contrasts in our methods: (1) we provide a space to explore ethical influence and norm transmission between participants, belief and choice revision, and reputation over time; (2) we provide ways for participants to expand the context of their and others’ decisions; (3) we focus on more realistic ethical decisions than is allowed by games; and (4) we explain why Bicchieri's method of rational reconstructions presents challenges to her theory of social norms. Our methods are complementary to Bicchieri's, and together we can work toward developing more comprehensive empirically informed ethics.
Two Conceptions of the Chemical Bond
Authors: Hendry Robin Findlay
Published: March 2009

In this article I sketch G. N. Lewis's views on chemical bonding and Linus Pauling's attempt to preserve Lewis's insights within a quantum-mechanical theory of the bond. I then set out two broad conceptions of the chemical bond, the structural and the energetic views, which differ on the extent in which they preserve anything like the classical chemical bond in the modern quantum-mechanical understanding of molecular structure.
Mechanisms and Their Explanatory Challenges in Organic Chemistry
Authors: Ramsey Jeffry L.
Published: March 2009

Chemists take mechanisms to be an important way of explaining chemical change. I examine the usefulness of the mechanism approach in the recent philosophical literature in explicating the explanatory use of mechanisms by organic chemists. I argue that chemists consider a mechanism to be explanatory because it accounts for the “dynamic process of bringing about” (Tabery 2004, 10) chemical change. For chemists, mechanisms are causal explanations based on interventions that show “how some possibilities depend on others” (Woodward 2003, 375). Only possibilities are achievable because chemists face a number of challenges when they explain by means of a mechanism.
Mechanisms in Cognitive Psychology: What Are the Operations?
Authors: Bechtel William
Published: March 2009

Cognitive psychologists, like biologists, frequently describe mechanisms when explaining phenomena. Unlike biologists, who can often trace material transformations to identify operations, psychologists face a more daunting task in identifying operations that transform information. Behavior provides little guidance as to the nature of the operations involved. While not itself revealing the operations, identification of brain areas involved in psychological mechanisms can help constrain attempts to characterize the operations. In current memory research, evidence that the same brain areas are involved in what are often taken to be different memory phenomena or in other cognitive phenomena is playing such a heuristic function.
Physical Law and Mechanistic Explanation in the Hodgkin and Huxley Model of the Action Potential
Authors: Craver Carl F.
Published: March 2009

Hodgkin and Huxley's model of the action potential is an apparent dream case of covering-law explanation in biology. The model includes laws of physics and chemistry that, coupled with details about antecedent and background conditions, can be used to derive features of the action potential. Hodgkin and Huxley insist that their model is not an explanation. This suggests either that subsuming a phenomenon under physical laws is insufficient to explain it or that Hodgkin and Huxley were wrong. I defend Hodgkin and Huxley against Weber's heteronomy thesis and argue that explanations are descriptions of mechanisms.
Fragmentation of N2 in 410 nm Intense Femtosecond Laser Field
Authors: Guo Wei , Zhu Jing-yi , Wang Yan-qiu , Wang Li
Published: March 2009

Fragmentations of N2 in linearly polarized femtosecond 410 and 820 nm intense laser fields were studied by using the velocity mapping technique. Different behaviors of N2 at 410 and 820 nm were observed. Both the kinetic energy distributions and angular distributions of fragment ions in 410 nm field show weak dependency on laser intensities in the non-saturation regime, in contrast to the case in 820 nm. Different excited electronic states, i.e., non-Coulombic potentials populated via vertical excitation, are suggested to play crucial roles in fragmentations at short wavelength.
Frequency and Correlation of Nearest Neighboring Nucleotides in Human Genome
Authors: Jin Neng-zhi , Liu Zi-xian , Qiu Wen-yuan
Published: March 2009

Zipf's approach in linguistics is utilized to analyze the statistical features of frequency and correlation of 16 nearest neighboring nucleotides (AA, AC, AG, , TT) in 12 human chromosomes (Y, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, and 12). It is found that these statistical features of nearest neighboring nucleotides in human genome: (i) the frequency distribution is a linear function, and (ii) the correlation distribution is an inverse function. The coefficients of the linear function and inverse function depend on the GC content. It proposes the correlation distribution of nearest neighboring nucleotides for the first time and extends the descriptor about nearest neighboring nucleotides.
Influence of Gravity on Structure of Colloidal Crystal Using Simulated Microgravity
Authors: Liu Lei , Wang Jie , Xu Sheng-hua , Sun Zhi-wei , Wang Jing-tong
Published: March 2009

Liquid mixtures of water and deuterium oxide as the liquid phase, were used to match the density of charged colloidal particles. Kossel diffraction method was used to detect the crystal structures. The experiments under the density-matched (g = 0) and unmatched (g = 1) conditions are compared to examine the influence of gravity on the crystal structures formed by self-assembly of 110 nm (in diameter) polystyrene microspheres. The result shows that the gravity tends to make the lattice constants of colloidal crystals smaller at lower positions, which indicates that the effect of gravity should be taken into account in the study of the colloidal crystals.
Non-linear Viscoelastic Rheological Properties of PCC/PEG Suspensions
Authors: Yang Hai-lin , Ruan Jian-ming , Zou Jian-peng , Wu Qiu-mei , Zhou Zhong-cheng , Xie Yuan-yan
Published: March 2009

The shear thinning and shear thickening rheological properties of PCC/PEG suspension were investigated with the increase of oscillatory amplitude stress at different constant frequencies. The results show that the complex viscosity was initially independent of stress amplitude and obvious shear thinning occurred, then dramatic shear thickening took place after reaching the minimum viscosity. Typically, in a constant frequency of 5 rad/s, the elastic modulus, viscous modulus, and tan ( is the out-of-phase angle) vs. the stress amplitude was investigated. It is found that the elastic modulus initially appeared to be independent of stress amplitude and then exhibited a rapid decrease, but the viscous modulus was independent of amplitude stress at lower amplitude stress. After reaching the minimum value the viscous modulus showed a rapid increase. On the other hand, tan increased from 0.6 to 92, which indicates that the transition from elastic to viscous had taken place and tan showed a steep increase when shear thickening occurred. Lissajous plots are shown for the dissipated energy vs. different maximum stress amplitude in the shear thinning and shear thickening regions. The relationship of dissipated energy vs. maximum stress amplitude was determined, which follows a power law. In the shear thinning region the exponent was 1.91, but it steeply increases to 3.97 in the shear thickening region.
Theoretical Study on Dihydrogen Bonds of NH3BH3 with Several Small Molecules
Authors: Li An-yong , Xu Li-fang , Ling Zhou
Published: March 2009

The dihydrogen bonds BH H-X (X = F, Cl, Br, C, O, N) in the dimer (NH3BH3)2 and the complexes of NH3BH3 with HF, HCl, HBr, H2CO, H2O, and CH3OH were theoretically studied. The results show that formation of the dihydrogen bond leads to elongation and stretch frequency red shift of the BH and XH bonds, except that in the H2CO system, the CH bond blue shifts. For (NH3BH3)2 and the complexes of the halogenides, red shifts of the XH bonds are caused by the intermolecular hyperconjugation (BH) * (XH). For the system of H2CO, a blue shift of the CH bond is caused by a decrease of the intramolecular hyperconjugation n(O) *(CH). In the other two systems, the red shift of OH bond is a secondary effect of the stronger traditional red-shifted H-bonds NH O. In all these systems, red shifts of the BH bonds are caused by two factors: negative repolarization and negative rehybridization of the BH bond, and decrease of occupancy on (BH) caused by the intermolecular hyperconjugation (BH)*(XH).
Geometry, Electronic Structure, and Related Properties of Dye Sensitizer: 3,4-bis[1-(carboxymethyl)-3-indolyl]-1H-pyrrole-2,5-dione
Authors: Zhang Cai-rong , Wu You-zhi , Chen Yu-hong , Ding Yu-tian , Zhang Ding-jun , Chen Hong-shan
Published: March 2009

The geometry, electronic structure, polarizability and hyperpolarizability of dye sensitizer 3,4-bis[1-(carboxymethyl)-3-indolyl]-1H-pyrrole-2,5-dione (BIMCOOH) were studied using density functional theory (DFT) with hybrid functional B3LYP, and the electronic absorption spectra were investigated using semi-empirical quantum chemical method ZINDO-1 and time-dependent DFT (TDDFT). The results of natural bond orbital suggest that the natural charges of the dione, indole, and acetic groups are about 0.15e, 0.29e, and 0.44e, respectively. The calculated isotropic polarizability, polarizability anisotropy invariant and hyperpolarizability are 305.4, 188.3, and 1155.4 a.u., respectively. The electronic absorption spectral features in visible and near-UV region were assigned to the * transition due to the qualitative agreement between the experiment and the TDDFT calculations, and the transitions of the excited states 911 related to photoinduced intramolecular charge transfer processes. The analysis of electronic structure and UV-Vis absorption indicates that the indole groups primarily contributed sensitization of photo-to-currency conversion processes, and the interfacial electron transfer between semiconductor TiO2 electrode and dye sensitizer BIMCOOH are electron injection processes from excited states of the dyes to the semiconductor conduction band.
Molecular Dynamics Investigation of Differences in Melting Behaviors of Cu57 and Cu58 Clusters
Authors: Zhang Lin , Sun Hai-xia
Published: March 2009

Within the framework of the embedded-atom method, we performed molecular-dynamics calculations to investigate the structural transformation during melting of two copper clusters containing 57 and 58 atoms. The simulation results reveal how their different structural changes can strongly influence internal energy and radial distribution functions. The local structural patterns of different regions during the temperature increase, determined by atom density profiles, are identified for the melting of each cluster. The simulations show sensitivities of the structural changes for these two small size clusters with different structures.
Theoretical Study on the Stable Structures and Aromaticities for Pnictogen Dianionic Sb42, Bi42, and (SbBi)22 Clusters
Authors: Wang Xing-bao , Chi Xian-xing
Published: March 2009

Through the theoretical calculation of structural optimization, vibrational frequencies and atomization energies with one method of density functional theory (B3LYP) and two post-Hartree-Fock approaches (MP2, CCSD(T)), several stable isomers for new three pnictogen dianionic Sb42, Bi42, and (SbBi)22 species were determined. For two homoatomic Sb42 and Bi42 species, there are three stable isomers: square (D4h), roof-shaped (C2v-1), and C2v-2 structure with the square isomer being the ground state. For the heteroatomic dianionic (SbBi)22 species, there are also three stable isomers: rhombus (D2h), roof-shaped (C1), and C2v structures with the rhombic isomer being the ground state. The calculated NICS values show that nucleus-independent chemical shifts (NICS) values of roof-shaped isomers for Sb42, Bi42, and (SbBi)22 species are all negative, consequently indicating that these roof-shaped isomers possess aromaticities. NICS values for the planar ring isomers are all positive, suggesting that these three planar ring isomers have antiaromatic characters. The aromaticity for the two stable roof-shaped and square isomers are preliminarily explained and discussed with MO analysis.
Fe48Co52 Alloy Nanowire Arrays: Effects of Magnetic Field Annealing
Authors: Su Hai-lin , Tang Shao-long , Wang Rui-long , Chen Yi-qing , Jia Chong , Du You-wei
Published: March 2009

The effects of magnetic field annealing on the properties of Fe48Co52 alloy nanowire arrays with various interwire distances (Di = 3060 nm) and wire diameters (Dw = 2246 nm) were investigated in detail. It was found that the array's best annealing temperature and crystalline structure did not show any apparent dependence on the treatment of applying a 3 kOe magnetic field along the wire during the annealing process. For arrays with small Dw or with large Di, the treatment of magnetic field annealing also had no obvious influence on their magnetic performances. However, such a magnetic field annealing constrained the shift of the easy magnetization direction and improved the coercivity and the squareness obviously for arrays with large Dw or with small Di. The difference in the intensity of the effective anisotropic field within the arrays was believed to be responsible for this different variation of the array's magnetic properties after magnetic field annealing.
Switching regulatory models of cellular stress response
Authors: Sanguinetti Guido , Ruttor Andreas , Opper Manfred , Archambeau Cedric
Published: March 2009

Motivation: Stress response in cells is often mediated by quick activation of transcription factors (TFs). Given the difficulty in experimentally assaying TF activities, several statistical approaches have been proposed to infer them from microarray time courses. However, these approaches often rely on prior assumptions which rule out the rapid responses observed during stress response.

Results: We present a novel statistical model to infer how TFs mediate stress response in cells. The model is based on the assumption that sensory TFs quickly transit between active and inactive states. We therefore model mRNA production using a bistable dynamical systems whose behaviour is described by a system of differential equations driven by a latent stochastic process. We assume the stochastic process to be a two-state continuous time jump process, and devise both an exact solution for the inference problem as well as an efficient approximate algorithm. We evaluate the method on both simulated data and real data describing Escherichia coli's response to sudden oxygen starvation. This highlights both the accuracy of the proposed method and its potential for generating novel hypotheses and testable predictions.

Availability: MATLAB and C++ code used in the article can be downloaded from http://www.dcs.shef.ac.uk/∼guido/.

Contact:  guido@dcs.shef.ac.uk

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Cellular Response of Pea Plants to Cadmium Toxicity: Cross Talk between Reactive Oxygen Species, Nitric Oxide, and Calcium
Authors: Rodríguez-Serrano María , Romero-Puertas María C. , Pazmiño Diana M. , Testillano Pilar S. , Risueño María C. , del Río Luis A. , Sandalio Luisa M.
Published: March 2009

Cadmium (Cd) toxicity has been widely studied in different plant species; however, the mechanism involved in its toxicity as well as the cell response against the metal have not been well established. In this work, using pea (Pisum sativum) plants, we studied the effect of Cd on antioxidants, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and nitric oxide (NO) metabolism of leaves using different cellular, molecular, and biochemical approaches. The growth of pea plants with 50 μ  m CdCl2 affected differentially the expression of superoxide dismutase (SOD) isozymes at both transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels, giving rise to a SOD activity reduction. The copper/zinc-SOD down-regulation was apparently due to the calcium (Ca) deficiency induced by the heavy metal. In these circumstances, the overproduction of the ROS hydrogen peroxide and superoxide could be observed in vivo by confocal laser microscopy, mainly associated with vascular tissue, epidermis, and mesophyll cells, and the production of superoxide radicals was prevented by exogenous Ca. On the other hand, the NO synthase-dependent NO production was strongly depressed by Cd, and treatment with Ca prevented this effect. Under these conditions, the pathogen-related proteins PrP4A and chitinase and the heat shock protein 71.2, were up-regulated, probably to protect cells against damages induced by Cd. The regulation of these proteins could be mediated by jasmonic acid and ethylene, whose contents increased by Cd treatment. A model is proposed for the cellular response to long-term Cd exposure consisting of cross talk between Ca, ROS, and NO.
A 32-Gb/s On-Chip Bus With Driver Pre-Emphasis Signaling
Authors: Zhang Liang , Wilson John M. , Bashirullah Rizwan , Luo Lei , Xu Jian , Franzon Paul D.
Published: March 2009

This paper describes a differential current-mode bus architecture based on driver pre-emphasis for on-chip global interconnects that achieves high-data rates while reducing bus power dissipation and improving signal delay latency. The 16-b bus core fabricated in 0.25-mum complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology attains an aggregate signaling data rate of 32 Gb/s over 5-10-mm-long lossy interconnects. With a supply of 2.5 V, 25.5-48.7-mW power dissipation was measured for signal activity above 0.1, equivalent to 0.80-1.52 pJ/b. This work demonstrates a 15.0%-67.5% power reduction over a conventional single-ended voltage-mode static bus while reducing delay latency by 28.3% and peak current by 70%. The proposed bus architecture is robust against crosstalk noise and occupies comparable routing area to a reference static bus design.
Redistribution of the geographical ranges of the Iberian cyprinid genus Pseudochondrostoma based on a phylogenetic analysis: implications for the historical rearrangements of the north‐western Iberian drainages
Authors: Aboim M. A. , Cunha C. , Coelho M. M.
Published: March 2009

A new distribution range is proposed for Pseudochondrostoma polylepis and Pseudochondrostoma duriense based on the phylogeny of two nuclear and one mitochondrial gene sequences, with implications on the geographic history of the north‐western Iberian drainages.
Characterization of the orf1‐tolQRA operon in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Authors: Wei Yang , Li Zhidong , Chen Bang , Liang Haihua , Duan Kangmin
Published: March 2009

The tol‐pal genes play important roles in maintaining outer membrane integrity, transmembrane transportation, and cell division in Gram‐negative bacteria. In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an important human opportunistic pathogen, the tol‐oprL genes are organized uniquely in three operons, orf1‐tolQRA, tolB and oprL‐orf2, and are regulated by iron availability. Similarity between TolQRA and the iron transport system ExbBD‐TonB also exists in P. aeruginosa and they can replace each other imperfectly. It is of importance to investigate the regulation and functions of this membrane complex. In the present study, we characterized the promoters and expression profiles of the orf1‐tolQRA operon and investigated the function of Orf1. Primer extension was carried out by using both isotope‐labeled and florescence labeled primers and the expression profiles were determined using both lacZ and luxCDABE‐based transcriptional fusions. Our results revealed two distinct promoters at the upstream region of tolQRA; the one located in front of orf1 was constitutive whereas the other within the orf1 coding region was iron regulated. Expression profiles indicate the tol genes were also downregulated by the quorum‐sensing systems during the late stage of growth. Unlike tolQ and tolA, we were able to construct a viable orf1 knockout strain, and the mutant exhibited altered cell and colony morphology, providing first evidence that Orf1 plays a non‐essential role in the Tol‐OprL complex in P. aeruginosa.
Combination therapy of in vitro‐expanded natural killer T cells and α‐galactosylceramide‐pulsed antigen‐presenting cells in patients with recurrent head and neck carcinoma
Authors: Kunii Naoki , Horiguchi Shigetoshi , Motohashi Shinichiro , Yamamoto Heizaburo , Ueno Naoyuki , Yamamoto Seiji , Sakurai Daiju , Taniguchi Masaru , Nakayama Toshinori , Okamoto Yoshitaka
Published: March 2009

The aim of this clinical trial was to investigate the feasibility of intra‐arterial infusion of in vitro‐expanded Vα24 natural killer T (NKT) cells combined with submucosal injection of α‐galactosylceramide (KRN7000; αGalCer)‐pulsed antigen‐presenting cells (APC). A phase I clinical study was carried out in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Patients with locally recurrent HNSCC refractory to standard therapy were eligible. Eight patients received super‐selective transcatheter intra‐arterial infusion of activated Vα24 NKT cells into tumor‐feeding arteries and nasal submucosal injections of αGalCer‐pulsed APC twice with a 1‐week interval. Vα24 NKT cell‐specific immune responses, safety, and antitumor effects were evaluated. The number of Vα24 NKT cells and interferon‐γ‐producing cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells increased in seven out of eight patients enrolled. Grade 3 toxicity with a pharyngocutaneous fistula related to local tumor reduction was observed in one patient and mild adverse events with grade 1–2 symptoms occurred in seven patients. Regarding the clinical responses, three cases exhibited a partial but significant response, four were classified as stable disease, and one patient continued to develop progressive disease. The use of the intra‐arterial infusion of activated Vα24 NKT cells and the submucosal injection of αGalCer‐pulsed APC has been shown to induce significant antitumor immunity and had beneficial clinical effects in the management of advanced HNSCC. The use of such therapeutic modalities may be helpful in the management of tumors and therefore needs to be explored in further detail. The clinical trial registration number was UMIN000000722. (Cancer Sci 2009; 100: 1092–1098)
Prognostic significance of pre B cell leukemia transcription factor 2 (PBX2) expression in non‐small cell lung carcinoma
Authors: Qiu Ying , Morii Eiichi , Tomita Yasuhiko , Zhang Binglin , Matsumura Akihide , Kitaichi Masanori , Okumura Meinoshin , Aozasa Katsuyuki
Published: March 2009

Previous studies on the mammary carcinoma cell line have shown that the pre B cell leukemia transcription factor 1 (PBX1) was a transcription factor for valosin‐containing protein (VCP), which is involved in invasion and metastasis of cancers. The roles of PBX1 and PBX2, a highly homologous transcription factor to PBX1, for expression of VCP were examined in the cell lines from non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The effects of PBX1 and PBX2 on VCP expression were examined with siRNA in A549 and PC14 NSCLC cell lines. Expression levels of PBX2 and VCP were immunohistochemically examined and compared with each other in 206 NSCLC cases. Subsequently, significance of PBX expression in clinical behavior of NSCLC patients was evaluated. Expression levels of VCP mRNA significantly decreased when PBX2 but not PBX1 expression was knocked down in NSCLC cell lines. Immunohistochemically, staining intensity of PBX2 was correlated with that of VCP in clinical samples. Then correlation of PBX2 expression and clinical behavior of NSCLC patients was evaluated. Univariate analysis revealed high expression levels of PBX2 and VCP to be poor prognosticators for overall and disease‐free survival. Multivariate analysis revealed that high expression of VCP but not PBX2 to be an independent prognostic factor. PBX2 is a transcription factor for VCP in NSCLC. Because high levels of PBX2 expression correlated with prognosis of NSCLC, PBX2 could be a target molecule for treatment of NSCLC. (Cancer Sci 2009; 100: 1198–1209)