bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
7SL RNA, but not the 54-kd signal recognition particle protein, is an abundant component of both infectious HIV-1 and minimal virus-like particles
Authors: ONAFUWA-NUGA ADEWUNMI A. , TELESNITSKY ALICE , KING STEVEN R.
Published: February 2006

The virion incorporation of 7SL, the RNA component of the host signal recognition particle (SRP), has been shown for several simple retroviruses. Data here demonstrate that 7SL is also packaged by HIV-1, in sevenfold molar excess of genomic RNA. Viral determinants of HIV-1 genome and primer tRNA packaging were not required for 7SL incorporation, as virus-like particles with only minimal assembly components efficiently packaged 7SL. The majority of 7SL within cells resides in ribonucleoprotein complexes bound by SRP proteins, and most SRP protein exists in signal recognition particles. However, Western blot comparison of virion and cell samples revealed that there is at least 25-fold less SRP p54 protein per 7SL RNA in HIV-1 particles than in cells. Comparing 7SL:actin mRNA ratios in virions and cells revealed that 7SL RNA appears selectively enriched in virions.
Organizational Reference Groups: A Missing Perspective on Social Context
Authors: Lawrence Barbara S.
Published: February 2006

This paper introduces and empirically explores the concept of an organizational reference group: the set of people an individual perceives as belonging to his or her work environment that defines the social world of work in which he or she engages. The concept is proposed to fill a gap in studies of social context. Scholars tend only to infer, not identify, the people an individual is aware of at work. This surmise creates no problem in groups or small organizations where everyone knows everyone else. However, it becomes troublesome in large organizations where the set of people one individual discerns may vary considerably from that of another. Social network studies of large organizations examine people an individual perceives, but focus on interpersonal communication through salient relationships. They tend to neglect the many distant others who populate an individual's social context: those known only through company newsletters or office gossip, those with whom the individual never has contact, and those who carry little immediate salience. Data from a large organization are used to explore whether organizational reference groups provide distinct, useful information about individuals' perceptions of their social context at work. The findings replicate those showing individuals' preferences for similar others, but also note previously unobserved systematic differences in the composition of close associations compared to the broader ones of organizational reference groups. Distant associations are considerably more homogeneous than close ones. Moreover, the results show that organizational reference groups illuminate career referent selection and expected achievement beyond what would be learned from a typical social network analysis.
Turnover Events, Vicarious Information, and the Reduced Likelihood of Outlet-Level Exit Among Small Multiunit Organizations
Authors: Kalnins Arturs , Swaminathan Anand , Mitchell Will
Published: February 2006

A key question for organizational learning research is to identify opportunities and constraints for firms to gain useful information from the activities and performance of other firms. We argue that market-level turnover events generate and release vicarious information that small multiunit organizations can use to enhance their likelihood of survival. We focus on two specific turnover events, ownership transfers and contemporaneous exit-entry pairs (cases in which both outlet entry and outlet exit occur within the same market within the same time period), because these events are likely to generate and release information without altering the total number of outlets in a market. We find that the likelihood of a multiunit owner's outlet exit declines when there are many ownership transfers and exit-entry pairs in other markets where the owner also operates outlets. We conclude that these turnover events, even in just one market where a small multiunit organization is present, generate vicarious information substantial enough to increase the survival likelihood of all outlets of that multiunit organization. Our theory and supporting results show how organizational learning-based arguments can be combined with our knowledge of multiunit organizations to build a theory of relationships between geographically separated turnover events.
Discretization and Validation of the Continuum Approximation Scheme for Terminal System Design
Authors: Ouyang Yanfeng , Daganzo Carlos F.
Published: February 2006

This paper proposes an algorithm that automatically translates the “continuum approximation” (CA) recipes for location problems into discrete designs. It applies to terminal systems, but can also be used for other logistics problems. The study also systematically compares the logistics costs predicted by the CA approach with the actual costs for discrete designs obtained with the automated procedure. The predictions are quite accurate. The paper also gives conditions under which the discrete solution has a small optimality gap.
FTIR investigation of the evolution of the octahedral sheet of kaolinite-smectite with progressive kaolinization
Authors: Cuadros Javier , Dudek Teresa
Published: February 2006

Twenty two samples were studied to investigate the nature and evolution mechanism of mixed-layer kaolinite-smectite (K-S). We examined the <2 µm or <0.2 µm fraction of K-S formed by hydrothermal and hypergenic alteration of volcanic material. The samples are from three localities: 20 specimens from a Tortonian clay deposit in Almería, Spain; one specimen from weathered Eocene volcanic ash from the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico; and one sample from a weathered Jurassic bentonite from Northamptonshire, England. The samples were studied using chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The XRD patterns of the oriented, glycolated mounts were modeled using NEWMOD and the proportion of smectite and kaolinite layers was determined, ranging between 0 and 80% kaolinite. The analysis of the OH-stretching region of the FTIR spectra at different temperatures (180–550°C) showed the progressive dehydroxylation of kaolinite domains and, perhaps, of smectite domains, but no detailed information could be obtained about the sequential OH loss in different cation environments. The abundance and short-range ordering of the octahedral cations were studied using the OH-bending bands. The chemical and FTIR-estimated octahedral cation abundances were broadly similar. Aluminum showed a tendency to mix with Fe and Mg rather than to form AlAl pairs. Al-for-Mg substitution accompanying kaolinization was evident from the increase in AlAl pairs and decrease in AlMg pairs. Iron is retained in the structure. No other octahedral cation rearrangement was observed. The intensity of the 750 cm−1 band, assigned to translational vibrations of external OH groups in a kaolinitic environment, was quantified and modeled in relation to kaolinite layer proportion. The chemical data show that there are residual interlayer cations in kaolinite domains, which, in accordance with the model mentioned above, disturb external OH-translation vibrations. These results indicate the persistence of certain chemical and structural smectite features in kaolinite domains and thus support a smectite kaolinization process via a solid-state transformation. This confirms previous XRD, thermal, chemical and NMR analyses of the same sample set.
Properties of surface-modified colloidal particles
Authors: Breiner Joan M. , Anderson Michael A. , Tom Harry W. K. , Graham Robert C.
Published: February 2006

The reactivity of colloidal particles is regulated by their surface properties. These properties affect the wettability, flocculation-dispersion characteristics, ion exchange, sorption capacities and transport of inorganic colloids. Most studies have focused on hydrophilic, charged-particle surfaces, often ignoring the alterations in surface properties produced by the adsorption of natural organic matter, surfactants and other compounds. Adsorption of these substances can potentially render a surface substantially more hydrophobic. Nevertheless, comparatively little is known about changes in surface properties and reactivity of minerals upon sorption of hydrophobic organic compounds. In this study, the properties of four minerals (kaolinite, pyrophyllite, montmorillonite and Min-U-Sil®) and two inorganic materials (X-ray amorphous Al hydroxide and X-ray amorphous Si oxide) were compared before and after treatment with the common silylating agent, trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS). The samples were characterized by measurements of total carbon, cation exchange capacity (CEC), particle size, specific surface area (SSA), electrophoretic mobility, contact angle, particle aggregation, and by X-ray diffraction and diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy. For the layer silicates, surface coverage was limited to ∼2% trimethyl silane (TMSi). TMSi covered 7.5% of the Min-U-Sil® surface and 33% of the X-ray amorphous Si oxide. Treatment did not affect the structure of the minerals but reduced the CEC, SSA and electrophoretic mobilities. Water contact angles increased to between 18 and 114° with treatment. While the apolar characteristic of the surfaces decreased minimally with treatment, the Lewis acid/base properties were substantially reduced and interfacial free energy shifted from positive to negative values indicating a more hydrophobic surface character. For all the samples except kaolinite, these changes affected the stability of the colloids in suspension depending upon solution pH. Although the grafting of TMSi altered colloidal mineral surface properties and increased their hydrophobicity, these changes were not sufficient to predict colloid aggregation behavior.
Use of atomic force microscopy for examining wet clay
Authors: Selvam Arunkumar , See Chun Hwa , Barkdoll Brian , Prasad Shyam , O’Haver John
Published: February 2006

Clays and their composites have been widely used for secondary containment walls for underground storage tanks and landfills. The pore-size changes occurring in the clay have a profound effect on its permeability. This study presents a new method for evaluating the use of an atomic force microscope (AFM) for studying wet clay in a non-aqueous state in order to determine the pore-size of clay at various water contents, a type of study typically performed by the more expensive environmental scanning electronic microscope. The method consists of mounting a sponge saturated with water under the sample in order to prevent drying by the heat generated by the AFM electronics. The micro-scale AFM image results show that the clay-particle separations reduce linearly as the water content increases. This change in pore-size is postulated to be attributed to the reduction in the size of the diffuse double layer and more extensive hydrogen bonds between clay particles and bipolar water molecules. The AFM was not able to produce nano-scale images due to excessive adhesion between the cantilever arm and the wet clay sample.
Effect of pH on the rheological behavior of pure and interstratified smectite clays
Authors: Laribi Saoussen , Fleureau Jean-Marie , Grossiord Jean-Louis , Kbir-Ariguib Nejia
Published: February 2006

The effects of pH and ionic strength on the rheological behavior of aqueous suspensions of both crude and purified Wyoming bentonite and natural interstratified illite-smectite from Tunisia were investigated. Flow tests were performed on the four clay suspensions at a 10% clay concentration at different pH values. They showed that the rheological properties were highly sensitive to pH and the nature of the clay. The evolution of the yield stress as a function of pH is characterized by the presence of maxima and minima attributed to changes in the mode of association of the particles. The effect of pH on the behavior of clay suspended in NaCl solutions was also studied. The results show that the presence of NaCl has very little effect on the pH and yield stress values of the four materials.
Smectite-catalyzed dehydration of glucose
Authors: Gonzalez Javier M. , Laird David A.
Published: February 2006

The objective of this study was to determine whether smectites abiotically catalyze transformation of glucose under conditions relevant to soil organic matter (SOM) formation. Four smectites saturated with Na, Ca, Fe and Al were incubated under abiotic conditions with glucose solutions for 21 days at 37°C. After the incubations, soluble organic C recoveries ranged from 95 to 109.3%, relative to the amount of C added as glucose; however, glucose recoveries in the solutions ranged from 18.3 to 98.3%. The results indicate that a significant amount of the added glucose was abiotically transformed to soluble organic compounds other than glucose during the incubations. In general, glucose recoveries decreased with the acidic character of smectites: SWa-1 > Panther > Otay. Also, within clays, glucose recoveries decreased as the exchangeable cation became more acidic: Na > Ca > Al. Higher glucose recoveries were obtained for ‘Fe-rich’ smectites relative to ‘Fe-poor’ smectites, suggesting that Fe-oxyhydroxy coatings on smectite surfaces inhibit the transformation of glucose. High-pressure liquid chromatography analysis of the incubation solutions revealed small peaks for 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furaldehyde along with peaks for other unknown compounds. The results suggest that under conditions similar to those found in soils, smectites catalyze glucose dehydration to form furfural compounds. Polymerization of furfural compounds may be a major pathway leading to the formation of new humic materials in soils.
Encapsulation of Co phthalocyanine in alumina-pillared clays and their characterization
Authors: Jagtap Neelam , Ramaswamy Veda
Published: February 2006

Alumina-pillared montmorillonite clays (Al-PILC), prepared under ultrasonic (US) agitation and normal stirring (S) methods, have been used as a host material to encapsulate Co phthalocyanine (CoPc) complex. The amount of Co varies from 0.27 to 1.48 wt.% in the samples, depending on the input concentration of Co. Powder X-ray diffraction and other characterization techniques reveal that the structure of Al-PILC remains intact after the incorporation of the complex into the pores through a pyridine solution of the complex by ultrasonic agitation. A substantial decrease in the BET surface area and total pore volume of Al-PILC points to the occupation of the CoPc moieties within the porous structure of the pillared clay. This is further supported by the observation of a band at 1489 cm−1 in the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra of the encapsulated samples. The FTIR and diffuse reflectance ultraviolet-visible (DRUV-Vis) spectral results indicate that the encapsulated CoPc complex in the clay matrix undergoes distortion in order to accommodate itself within the pores of the Al-PILC. The encapsulated samples prepared by ultrasonification show better dispersion of the complex than the samples prepared under normal stirring conditions. Compared to the ‘neat’ complex, the encapsulated samples (CoPc in Al-PILC) exhibit greater turnover in the test reaction of the oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde with tertbutyl hydroperoxide as the oxidant at 373 K. The method of preparation and consequent site isolation of CoPc in Al-PILC influence the catalytic activity.
Baseline studies of the clay minerals society source clays: Specific surface area by the Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET) method
Authors: Dogan A. Umran , Dogan Meral , Onal Muserref , Sarikaya Yuksel , Aburub Aktham , Wurster Dale Eric
Published: February 2006

Specific surface area measurements of The Clay Minerals Society source clays were made by the Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) method of adsorption of nitrogen gas. Two replicate measurements of specific surface area were performed for each source clay. All pair values were within 3%, which is very good agreement for this type of measurement.
Microbial reduction of Fe(III) in the Fithian and Muloorina illites: Contrasting extents and rates of bioreduction
Authors: Seabaugh Jennifer L. , Dong Hailiang , Kukkadapu Ravi K. , Eberl Dennis D. , Morton John P. , Kim Jinwook
Published: February 2006

Shewanella putrefaciens CN32 reduces Fe(III) within two illites which have different properties: the Fithian bulk fraction and the <0.2 µm fraction of Muloorina. The Fithian illite contained 4.6% (w/w) total Fe, 81% of which was Fe(III). It was dominated by illite with some jarosite (∼32% of the total Fe(III)) and goethite (11% of the total Fe(III)). The Muloorina illite was pure and contained 9.2% Fe, 93% of which was Fe(III). Illite suspensions were buffered at pH 7 and were inoculated with CN32 cells with lactate as the electron donor. Select treatments included anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS) as an electron shuttle. Bioproduction of Fe(II) was determined by ferrozine analysis. The unreduced and bioreduced solids were characterized by Mössbauer spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The extent of Fe(III) reduction in the bulk Fithian illite was enhanced by the presence of AQDS (73%) with complete reduction of jarosite and goethite and partial reduction of illite. Mössbauer spectroscopy and chemical extraction determined that 21–25% of illite-associated Fe(III) was bioreduced. The extent of bioreduction was less in the absence of AQDS (63%) and only jarosite was completely reduced with partial reduction of goethite and illite. The XRD and TEM data revealed no significant illite dissolution or biogenic minerals, suggesting that illite was reduced in the solid state and biogenic Fe(II) from jarosite and goethite was either released to aqueous solution or adsorbed onto residual solid surfaces. In contrast, only 1% of the structural Fe(III) in Muloorina illite was bioreduced. The difference in the extent and rate of bioreduction between the two illites was probably due to the difference in layer charge and the total structural Fe content between the Fithian illite (0.56 per formula) and Muloorina illite (0.87). There may be other factors contributing to the observed differences, such as expandability, surface area and the arrangements of Fe in the octahedral sheets. The results of this study have important implications for predicting microbe-induced physical and chemical changes of clay minerals in soils and sediments.
Hydrothermal synthesis of smectite from dickite
Authors: Ryu Kyoung-Won , Jang Young-Nam , Chae Soo-Chun , Bae In-Kook , Choi Sang-Hoon
Published: February 2006

Dioctahedral smectite was prepared hydrothermally from dickite [Al2Si2O5(OH)4] as a starting material by autoclaving in a closed stainless steel vessel with variable temperature, pressure, time and pH conditions. Highly crystalline smectite can be obtained at 290°C under a pressure of 69 bar for 48 h. The pH of the solution was an important factor and should be maintained at 10 to 11 for the successful formation of smectite. Characterization by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, differential thermal analysis and the Greene-Kelly test showed that the smectite synthesized was Na-beidellite, mostly because of the heat treatment of the starting material and the stoichiometric batch composition.
Weathering sequences of rock-forming minerals in a serpentinite: Influence of microsystems on clay mineralogy
Authors: Caillaud J. , Proust D. , Righi D.
Published: February 2006

Under closed geochemical conditions, the weathering of a serpentinite rock composed of serpentine (70–85%) and magnesian chlorite (10–15%) associated with magnetite and chromite leads to the complete replacement of serpentine and chlorite by 2:1 layer silicates and produces new Fe oxides. The serpentine minerals crystallize under different habits issued from the serpentinization processes: mesh and hourglass pseudomorphic textures were formed from olivine, and thin-bladed pseudomorphic textures from pyroxene and amphibole crystals. Serpentine veins crosscut the whole rock with locally non-pseudomorphic interpenetrating and interlocking serpentines.

Specific weathering microsystem habits with specific clay mineral crystallizations originate from these different habits: a poorly aluminous saponite in thin-bladed textures, two Fe-rich montmorillonites in mesh and hourglass (MH) textures, and in veins (V) which differentiate on Al, Mg and Fe contents. Magnesian chlorites, isolated from serpentine by hand-picking under a stereomicroscope, are found to weather to trioctahedral vermiculite. Magnetite and chromite extracted from the bulk samples are replaced by newly formed Fe oxides, maghemite, goethite and hematite, which give way to specific Fe accumulation habits in the regolith zone of the weathering profile.
Serpentine-nontronite-vermiculite mixed-layer clay from the Weches Formation, Claiborne Group, middle Eocene, northeast Texas
Authors: Huggett J. M. , McCarty D. K. , Calvert C. C. , Gale A. S. , Kirk C.
Published: February 2006

The Weches Formation of the Claiborne Group (Eocene) in northeast Texas consists of clayey sandstones and mudrocks, both with variable proportions of dark green to brown clay peloids deposited in a marginal to open marine setting on the Gulf Coast margin. The composition of the dark green peloids, from two localities, has been investigated using X-ray diffraction, back-scattered electron microscopy with X-ray analysis, electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS), Mössbauer spectroscopy, chemical analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. These peloids were previously described on the basis of their color as glauconite (Yancey and Davidoff, 1994); our results, however, show that the dark green indurated pellets are predominantly composed of mixed-layer clays with a high proportion of Fe-rich 7 Å serpentine layers coexisting with a mixed-layer phase containing glauconite, nontronite and vermiculite layers, in addition to discrete illite and kaolinte. Analyses by EELS of single particles with a chemical composition consistent with them being the Fe-rich clay indicate that the Fe is >95% ferric, while Mössbauer analyses of the bulk magnetically separated fraction for the same samples indicates a ferric iron content of ∼60–70%, despite the variable relative proportions of expandable and 7 Å layers. Taking into account that there is a significant amount of 2:1 layers containing ferric Fe, we interpret these data as indicating that the Fe in the 7 Å layers has a significant amount of Fe2+ even taking into account the high ferric Fe ratio from the EELS analysis when the coexisting 2:1 layers are considered. Thus, these 1:1 layers are closer to berthierine in composition than to odinite. The vermiculite layers in the Texas clay may indicate partial ‘verdinization’ of expandable 2:1 clay. A possible reaction is smectite → vermiculite → berthierine-like phase. We estimate a temperature of 20°C for the seawater in which the Texas clay formed, the lower end of the range for modern occurrences of odinite.
Towards an isotopic modeling of the illitization process based on data of illite-type fundamental particles from mixed-layer illite-smectite
Authors: Clauer Norbert
Published: February 2006

Burial-induced and hydrothermal-related illitization in bentonites and in sandstones can be modeled on the basis of isotopic studies of fundamental particles separated from mixed-layer illitesmectite. The model envisages different reaction rates and durations relative to the varied impacts of temperature, considering that the water:rock ratio also has an influence. The different pathways for illitization are suggested on the basis of the K-Ar, Rb-Sr and δ18O compositions of previously studied materials.

New information is provided on why fundamental particles separated from mixed-layer illite-smectite in shales yield K-Ar age data that are systematically greater than the ages of the fundamental particles from associated bentonites and/or sandstones, and greater than the reported stratigraphic ages. The study of pure authigenic, recent to present-day smectite from Pacific sediments shows that (1) those collected from active hydrothermal vents have 40Ar/36Ar ratios identical to that of the atmosphere, and (2) those of mud sediments have 40Ar/36Ar ratios above the atmospheric value, indicating addition of 40Ar not generated in situ by radioactive decay. A preliminary but detailed analysis of the noble-gas (Ar, Xe, Kr) contents of authigenic smectite-rich size fractions from Pacific deep-sea red clays suggests trapping of these gases by smectite. Therefore, the results point to the fact that fundamental particles can incorporate excess 40Ar into their structure when nucleating in restricted to closed systems, such as shales. This excess 40Ar, which represents radiogenic 40Ar released from nearby altered silicates, might be temporarily adsorbed at the surface of the rock pore spaces and is therefore available for incorporation in nucleating and growing particles.
Another Look at Silver Imports into China, ca. 1635-1644
Authors: Atwell William S
Published: February 2006

In a series of studies from the 1970s and 1980s, the author argued that a decline in silver imports into China during the late 1630s and early 1640s was one of the factors (though not the only one) that contributed to the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644. Several publications of the late 1980s and 1990s challenged this view on the grounds that new research showed silver imports into China rising rather than falling during the last years of the Ming dynasty. Much of the evidence behind this new research, however, is questionable. Because the issue of Chinese silver imports looms so large in studies of international trade and Chinese economic development, it is time to reopen the debate. This essay reviews the new research and argues that its conclusions about the level of silver imports into China are either incorrect or greatly overstated.
The Indian Ocean in Eurasian and African World-Systems before the Sixteenth Century
Authors: Beaujard Philippe
Published: February 2006

The rise of towns and states and the expansion of exchange networks have resulted in the formation of various world-systems in Asia, Africa, and Europe since the fourth millennium B.C. In the first century A.D., exchanges transformed the Indian Ocean into a unified space embedded in a Eurasian and African world-system. This system evolved until the sixteenth century through four cycles that saw growing integration of its parts, demographic increase, general growth of commerce and production, and the simultaneous development of hierarchical relations between cores and peripheries within an international division of labor. This early history sheds light on the period that would follow, which saw the emergence of the modern capitalist world-system, and perhaps also provides some hints as to the possible futures of the system.
Performing the World: Reality and Representation in the Making of World Histor(ies)
Authors: Dirlik Arif
Published: February 2006

This article discusses a dilemma that faces the practice of world history, a dilemma created by a conflict between the public pedagogical and the historiographical obligations of world history. The former demands that world history account for the formations of the modern world, expressed most cogently in the spatialities of nations, cultures, civilizations, and even world-systems. On the other hand, world history must be careful for historiographical reasons to not project upon the past the spatialities of modernity. Further complications are added by the undermining of these spatialities by contemporary forces of globalization. The discussion seeks to demonstrate the historiographical problems presented by issues of space through the examples of China, Asia, and Islam. It suggests that world history is not just a subject, but a method, and the methodological questions it raises may be resolved best through translocal approaches to history that are not confined by the boundaries of the spatial units of modernity. The latter need not be abandoned, only placed in historical perspective.
'Noble, wyse and grete lordes, gentilmen and marchauntes': Caxton's Prologues as Conduct Books for Merchants
Authors: Adams Tracy
Published: February 2006

William Caxton's prologues perform a double duty. In them Caxton constructs a specifically merchant readership for his works and instructs these readers in the art of assimilating the content of the books he offers them for their own purposes. At the same time, he appeals to an aristocratic public. Merchants of the time were especially susceptible to the appeal of his conduct books, in large part because contemporary literature offered them little in the way of a positive group identity of their own. Caxton attempts to fill in this gap, teaching merchants how to make originally aristocratic works their own.
Royalists Write the Death of Lord Hastings: Post-Regicide Funerary Propaganda
Authors: Clarke Susan A
Published: February 2006

Lachrymae Musarum; The Tears of the Muses, a volume of verse issued to commemorate the death of Lord Hastings in June 1649, has long been recognized as a covert attempt to mourn the death of Charles I. It is also susceptible to consideration as one of a number of royalist contributions to the propaganda skirmish fought out through funerary elegiac verse in the months after the regicide. Furthermore, it has not been previously noted that John Denham's and John Hall of Durham's contributions to Lachrymae Musarum borrowed heavily from Casimire Sarbiewski's 'Ode Against Tears.' As such, Denham's and Hall's contributions represent a particular kind of literary borrowing, one identified by Lois Potter as designed to generate and retain a coherent sense of royalist identity in the face of extreme pressure.
Inverse Invasions: Medievalism and Colonialism in Rolf Boldrewood's A Sydney-Side Saxon
Authors: D'Arcens Louise
Published: February 2006

Rolf Boldrewood's forgotten 1894 novel, A Sydney-Side Saxon, merits re-examination as a fascinating nineteenth-century medievalist vision of Australian national identity. The novel's vision of pastoral Australia depends on idiosyncratic notions of Saxon and Norman ethnicity derived from Scott's Ivanhoe. While Scott's portrait of post-conquest England dramatizes the ethnic and political conflict between Norman conquerors and subjected Saxons, Boldrewood consistently presents Norman and Saxons as two complementary sides of an English 'type' that is perfectly fitted to achieve the colonial settlement of Australia. Boldrewood's racialized vision of England's medieval past informs not only his novel's celebration of colonial meritocracy in Australia, but also its apologia for colonial violence and indigenous dispossession. As in Ivanhoe, however, the dispossessed Others of Boldrewood's novel continue to haunt the margins of its narrative.
Petrarch's Antipodes
Authors: Hiatt Alfred
Published: February 2006

An important recent study of humanist geographical culture by Nathalie Bouloux has drawn attention to several references to the antipodes in the works of Petrarch. Extending Bouloux's analysis, I discuss the sources and influences that informed Petrarch's antipodal allusions, and their nature and context in Petrarch's letters, in Africa, and in the Secretum. Petrarch did not simply Christianize pagan material; instead, he maintained the antipodes as a 'third term': a means of negotiating oppositions between pagan and Christian inheritance, between the pursuit and renunciation of glory, and between the human and the divine.
Samson Agonistes and Spiritual Autobiography
Authors: Liebert Elizabeth
Published: February 2006

Spiritual autobiography provides a paradigm for understanding structural tensions in Milton's Samson Agonistes. Its intense internalization of plot is characterized, as is Milton's dramatic poem, by a seeming lack of linear progression. The soul is troubled by repeated lapses into self-absorption as it sees its unworthiness and loses sight of God. It must learn to look beyond overwhelming troubles, interpreting them as the mysterious workings of a gracious God. Comparison with autobiographical works by John Bunyan, Thomas Shepard, and Cotton Mather demonstrates how in Samson Agonistes an internalized plot similarly intersects with questions of the relationship between self and God.
Wondrous Monsters: Representing Conjoined Twins in Early Sixteenth-Century German Broadsheets
Authors: Spinks Jennifer
Published: February 2006

In sixteenth-century Europe widely circulated broadsheets regularly reported the birth of physically monstrous children and animals, often regarded as signs of God's wrath and important heralds of misfortune. A negative understanding of these births has consequently dominated studies of the phenomenon. Yet a number of pre-Reformation publications represent such births, both textually and visually, in positive terms. Three cases of conjoined twins born in the German towns Worms, Ertingen, and Tettnang around 1500 demonstrate how children perceived as monstrous could nonetheless be viewed in a sympathetic light, interpreted as positive political omens, and even represented in the guise of the infant Christ.
Paradox upon Paradox: Using and Abusing Language in The Cloud of Unknowing and Related Texts
Authors: Taylor Cheryl
Published: February 2006

The author of The Cloud of Unknowing warns his disciple of the deceptiveness of 'bodily' language applied to spiritual instruction. Innovation is accordingly to be found in aspects of his writing that constrict language use. These include his choice of English over Latin; strategies that imitate the movement of the mind in contemplation from a 'reality' mediated by words into transcendental freedom; colloquial immediacy; responsiveness to his reader's changing needs; and long negative explanations that expand into brief positive formulations. The interweaving of constrictive language with expansive (rhetorical) passages occurs on three levels of composition: structure, imagery, and style, including paradox.
Reading Hebrew Melodies
Authors: Ben-Merre David
Published: February 2006

Because it is based upon an uncompromising East/West binary, Edward Said's Orientalism falls a bit short when considering the figure of the Jew. Hebrew Melodies, a collaborative effort by the composer Isaac Nathan and the poet Lord Byron, provides an example through which to reconsider the middle ground of Jewish Orientalism. For Nathan, the project was a means to revisit the melodies "performed by the Antient Hebrews before the destruction of the temple." For Byron, although he was initially enthusiastic, it was a passing interest, allowing him to read the East yet again as a fetish object. "They will call me a Jew next," he quipped. The act of transcription marks a further complication to both the Hebrew Melodies and the 'this or the other' mentality of another binary, a metrical one. As "the theme of choral song," much of the Hebrew Melodies itself seems to search for its own space in which words and verse and music can not only coexist but also shape how the others are understood.
Yitzhak Shami: Ethnicity as an Unresolved Conflict
Authors: Hever Hannan , Shapira Yael
Published: February 2006

Yitzhak Shami (1889–1949) wrote fiction in Eretz-Israel, but from an unusual perspective for the times—the Mizrahi perspective. He chooses for himself a complex speaking position—a speaking site located in the space between two cultural options. One is Hebrew Jewish literary writing, the norm of which is perceiving the Arab as an enemy endangering the materialization of the Zionist project. But at one and the same time his stories expose a profound commitment to give voice in Hebrew to Arab culture, and a strong fascination for it. This dual position comes to its solution through the portrayal of the major protagonists. His systematic mode of resisting the West and avoiding its rule over Arab culture, expressed especially in his novella "Fathers' Revenge," is by placing in the center of his stories, instead of an autonomous, independent subject typical to the national literature, characters who turn out to be fragmented and decentered, and who finally fall apart.
A Provocative Blind Spot: Orientalism and Charlotte Tonna's Judah's Lion
Authors: Kaufman Heidi
Published: February 2006

With the publication of Orientalism (1978) Edward W. Said initiated a profound shift in the relations between critical approaches to literary culture and the study of European imperialism. Central to Said's argument and his subsequent analysis is his identification of a clear, precise division between East and West or Orient and Occident. I question the extent to which this geographical paradigm works for the study of representations of Jewish people and history in Charlotte Tonna's Judah's Lion (1843). Drawing from both Zionist and imperial narratives, Tonna's Evangelical novel depicts the journey of an English Jew, Alick Cohen, to the Holy Land where he is so thoroughly moved by the powerful presence of British imperial interests there that he converts to Christianity. In order to understand this novel's depictions of Jewish history and culture imagined in relation to the British imperial arena, I suggest that we must think within and beyond Said's East/West divide, reading the relations between Semitic and Orientalist discourses as another grid through which European identity emerges. Unlike Said's argument in Orientalism, I maintain that Judah's Lion functions as a Western Christian discourse that draws from rather than against an Orientalized Jewish narrative of the return to a land that was wrongly taken. It is a discourse that is relevant to Orientalism, but not wholly explained by it.
The Rebel Queen and Constructions of Jewish Identity in Late Victorian Britain
Authors: Oberter Rachel
Published: February 2006

This essay examines The Rebel Queen, a novel written by Walter Besant and illustrated by Adolph Birkenruth for serialization in The Illustrated London News in 1893. The text and images tell the story of Francesca Elveda, a young woman who does not know that she is Jewish because her mother—estranged from the faith herself—keeps her identity from her. The turning point of the narrative is Francesca's realization that she is in fact Jewish. As her heritage is revealed to her, tensions arise between the visibility and invisibility, the stability and the instability, of Jewish identity. This paper argues that the complexity of The Rebel Queen rests in the way it relies on a racial worldview even as it contests antisemitism. Equally multi-faceted is the novel's representation of patriarchy: although the author is attracted to Jewish culture because he admires its preservation of male dominance, his female characters are more developed and more sympathetic than his male characters. While realist in style, the philosemitic dimension of The Rebel Queen imparts an undercurrent of Orientalism.
"Mosaic Arabs": Jews and Gentlemen in Disraeli's Young England Trilogy
Authors: Schweller Russell
Published: February 2006

Though converted to Christianity at an early age, Benjamin Disraeli, the popular novelist and prime minister under Queen Victoria, was outspokenly philosemitic. Fueled by contemporary ethnology and race theories, Disraeli argued that the Jews were a superior, "aristocratic" race destined to become the spiritual and intellectual guide for modern Europe. Enabling such claims was Disraeli's skillful manipulation of Orientalist discourse, whereby he routinely reversed its stereotypical privileging of West over East. Following the example of Thackeray's "Codlingsby," however, this essay argues that Disraeli's "strategy of reversals" ultimately failed because it did not adequately comprehend traditional Western associations and meanings of "aristocracy," a fundamental misunderstanding that, for Disraeli's political enemies and critics, exposed him yet again as foreigner, Oriental, and Jew.
"Till Spring Comes": Arabic and Hebrew Literary Debates among Iraqi-Jews in Israel (1950-2000)
Authors: Snir R. (Reuven)
Published: February 2006

In modern times Iraqi Jews, writing in Arabic, were producing literary works that quickly became part of the mainstream of modern Arabic literature. Following the establishment of the state of Israel, many Iraqi-Jewish intellectuals, poets, and writers emigrated to the new state. On their arrival in Israel they faced a new linguistic situation in which the language (Hebrew) imposed upon them was limited to a single religion, a single nation, and a single ethnic entity, as opposed to the situation in Iraq, where Arab cultural and national identity encompassed Jews together with Muslims and Christians. Advocates of Western-orientated cultural identity also bewailed the "danger" of the "Arabization" of Israeli society. The immigrants thus faced a fierce clash between their original Iraqi-Arab narrative and the Jewish Zionist Western-oriented dominant master narrative—the natural Iraqi Jewish-Arab identity was split into Arab versus Jew. As a result, the literature 20th-century Iraqi Jews produced in Arabic has been gradually disappearing. The demise of Arabic literature among Jews has precipitated a controversy regarding whether Arab culture can be considered a "correct" source of inspiration for the Israeli Hebrew culture.
Rapid Proteome Analysis of Bronchoalveolar Lavage Samples of Lifelong Smokers and Never-Smokers by Micro-Scale Liquid Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry
Authors: Plymoth Amelie , Yang Ziping , Löfdahl Claes-Göran , Ekberg-Jansson Ann , Dahlbäck Magnus , Fehniger Thomas E , Marko-Varga György , Hancock William S
Published: February 2006

Background: The aim of this study was to determine whether relative qualitative and quantitative differences in protein expression could be related to smoke exposure or smoke-induced airway inflammation. We therefore explored and characterized the protein components found in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid sampled from either lifelong smokers or never-smokers.

Methods: BAL fluid samples obtained by bronchoscopy from 60-year-old healthy never-smokers (n = 18) and asymptomatic smokers (n = 30) were analyzed in either pooled or individual form. Initial global proteomic analysis used shotgun digestion approaches on unfractionated BAL fluid samples (after minimal sample preparation) and separation of peptides by gradient (90-min) liquid chromatography (LC) coupled with on-line linear ion trap quadropole mass spectrometry (LTQ MS) for identification and analysis.

Results: LTQ MS identified 481 high- to low-abundance proteins. Relative differences in patterns of BAL fluid proteins in smokers compared with never-smokers were observed in pooled and individual samples as well as by 2-dimensional gel analysis. Gene ontology categorization of all annotated proteins showed a wide spectrum of molecular functions and biological processes.

Conclusions: The described method provides comprehensive qualitative proteomic analysis of BAL fluid protein expression from never-smokers and from smokers at risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Many of the proteins identified had not been detected in previous studies of BAL fluid; thus, the use of LC-tandem MS with LTQ may provide new information regarding potentially important patterns of protein expression associated with lifelong smoking.
Role of Lateral Acceleration in Curve Driving: Driver Model and Experiments on a Real Vehicle and a Driving Simulator
Authors: Reymond Gilles , Kemeny Andras , Droulez Jacques , Berthoz Alain
Published: February 2006

Experimental studies show that automobile drivers adjust their speed in curves so that maximum vehicle lateral accelerations decrease at high speeds. This pattern of lateral accelerations is described by a new driver model, assuming drivers control a variable safety margin of perceived lateral acceleration according to their anticipated steering deviations. Compared with a minimum time-to-lane-crossing (H. Godthelp, 1986) speed modulation strategy, this model, based on nonvisual cues, predicts that extreme values of lateral acceleration in curves decrease quadratically with speed, in accordance with experimental data obtained in a vehicle driven on a test track and in a motion-based driving simulator. Variations of model parameters can characterize "normal" or "fast" driving styles on the test track. On the simulator, it was found that the upper limits of lateral acceleration decreased less steeply when the motion cuing system was deactivated, although drivers maintained a consistent driving style. This is interpreted per the model as an underestimation of curvilinear speed due to the lack of inertial stimuli. Actual or potential applications of this research include a method to assess driving simulators as well as to identify driving styles for on-board driver aid systems
Distance Perception of Vehicle Rear Lights in Fog
Authors: Cavallo Viola , Colomb Michèle , Doré Jocelyne
Published: February 2006

Perceptual difficulty is one of the main explanations given for the behavioral modifications and high accident rate associated with driving in fog. The present study investigates how fog and the characteristics of vehicle rear lights affect distance perception. Two experiments in a fog chamber (meteorological visibility range of 5-15 m) were run under conditions simulating nighttime fog. The participants gave verbal estimates of the distance (8-28 m) of vehicles simulated by rear-light arrangements. The results revealed an average increase of 60% in the perceived distance of vehicles in fog as compared with normal visibility conditions. Distance overestimation was particularly pronounced when the vehicle had only 1 fog light instead of 2 and when the lights were close together. No effect of light height was observed. These results suggest that the perception of vehicle distance in nighttime fog could be significantly improved by the presence of 2 lights with maximal spacing. Actual or potential applications of this research include vehicle rear light design.
Effect of Flooring on Standing Comfort and Fatigue
Authors: Cham Rakié , Redfern Mark S.
Published: February 2006

This study investigated the influence of flooring on subjective discomfort and fatigue during standing and on potentially related objective measures. Participants stood for 4 h on each of 7 flooring conditions while performing computer tasks. During the 3rd and 4th h, floor type had a significant effect on a number of subjective ratings, including lower-leg and lower-back discomfort/fatigue and 2 of 4 objective variables (center of pressure weight shift and lower-extremity skin temperature). In addition, lower-leg volumetric measurements showed tendencies toward greater lower-extremity swelling on uncomfortable floors. The hard floor and 1 floor mat condition consistently had the worst discomfort/fatigue and objective ratings. Significant relationships were noted between the affected subjective ratings and objective variables. In general, floor mats characterized by increased elasticity, decreased energy absorption, and increased stiffness resulted in less discomfort and fatigue. Thus flooring properties do affect low-back and lower-leg discomfort/fatigue, but the result may be detectable only after 3 h of standing. Potential applications of this research include the reduction of work-related health problems associated with long-term standing.