bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Mexican Secret Service in the United States, 1910-1920
Authors: Smith Michael M.
Published: February 2007

Throughout the era of the Mexican Revolution, the United States provided sanctuary for thousands of political exiles who opposed the regimes of Porfirio Díaz, Francisco Madero, Victoriano Huerta, and Venustiano Carranza. Persecuted enemies of Don Porfirio and losers in the bloody war of factions that followed the ouster of the old regime continued their struggle for power from bases of operation north of the international boundary in such places as San Francisco, Los Angeles, El Paso, San Antonio, New Orleans, and New York. As a consequence, Mexican regimes were compelled not only to combat their enemies on domestic battlefields but also to wage more subtle campaigns against their adversaries north of the Río Bravo. The weapons in this shadowy war included general intelligence gathering, surveillance, espionage, counter-espionage, and propaganda; the agency most responsible for these activities was the Mexican Secret Service.
Freedom Teaching: Anarchism and Education in Early Republican Cuba, 1898-1925
Authors: Shaffer Kirwin R.
Published: February 2007

Many individuals say to me: “those ideas that you profess are very good, but, who straightens men out? Who is capable of convincing an egoist that he ought to give up his egoism?” To this one can answer: in the same way that a religious person has convinced him to sacrifice himself for religious beliefs, and in the same way that the patriot has taught him to die defending his flag. For men to be able to live in a state of anarchy, they must be educated and this is precisely the work that has been done by those generous people who have been educators throughout the ages. To them is owed the existence of synthetization. Without these athletes of thought, progress would be in its infancy.

–Julián Sánchez “¿Qué es la libertad?”

Following independence from Spain in 1898, Cubans hoped to create a new independent, more egalitarian nation built on the dreams of numerous well-known revolutionaries like José Martí and Antonio Maceo as well as lesser known radicals like the anarchists Enrique Creci, Enrique Messonier, and Adrián del Valle. Like so many of their fellow residents on the island, though, the anarchists quickly grew disillusioned with independence. Their disillusionment rested on repeated U.S. military occupations, a business and commercial class that put individual profits over the well-being of all, a government that seemed to repress labor and the popular classes in order to curry favor with international and national investors, and educational systems that anarchists charged taught obedience and subservience instead of freedom.
Building the Great Pyramid: Probable Construction Methods Employed at Giza
Authors: Edwards James Frederick
Published: February 2007

The article challenges the current principle theories proposed by Egyptologists and historians, namely, that the building blocks used in the construction of the Great Pyramid were elevated into position using ramps or levers. Using contemporary and ancient evidence, certain scientific parameters relating to the hauling of stone blocks are deduced, from which a more logical and practical alternative methodology emerged: utilizing the angled faces of the structure itself as a means of transporting the blocks used to construct the pyramid. Estimates relating to construction time were derived together with a much reduced workforce compared with that previously postulated. Previously, it had been proposed that as many as twenty-five thousand workers were involved at the building site during the most intensive period of construction. However, a significant proportion of this workforce would have been involved with building and maintaining massive construction ramps, which, using the methodology put forward in the article, would not have been required.
Researching the History of Technology at the Hagley Museum and Library
Authors: Asner Glen
Published: February 2007

The Hagley Museum and Library has served as a center for research in the history of technology since the 1960s. Yet even scholars who have done extensive research at the library may be unaware of the breadth and diversity of its archival holdings. This essay introduces recent additions to the library's holdings and provides suggestions for further research in older archival collections. Emerging themes in the history of technology, such as the environment, internationalization, safety, users, and gender, frame the discussion.
A Modernization of "Peerless Homogeneity": The Creation of Russian Smokeless Gunpowder
Authors: Gordin Michael D
Published: February 2007

Past studies of technical choice in military modernization have tended to assume both a unitary view of "technological determinism" and a concept of "modernization" in the singular. Using the case of chemist D. I. Mendeleev's development of a Russian variant of smokeless gunpowder in the 1890s, this article argues for a vision of late-imperial Russia as a site where several different modernizations confronted each other, a debate that was framed in Russian military circles in terms of the value of technical change in the first place. The eventual rejection of Mendeleev's pyrocollodion thus serves as an episode in the history of technological determinism as a category.
History, Collective Memory, and Aeschylus' Persians
Authors: Favorini Attilio
Published: February 2007

Aeschylus' The Persians (472 BCE) affords an example of the interplay of history and memory, as these concepts have been articulated by twentieth-century historiographers such as Patrick Hutton and Pierre Nora. The play's diction links it to the oral memorialist tradition of epic exultation, while the spectacle of its defeated Persians offers a historical lesson to Athens and suggests empathy with all who mourn for loss in war. Twentieth-century productions of the play have tended to dissovle its carefully crafted ambiguity.
Oedipus the Queen: Cross-gendering without Drag
Authors: Ormand Kirk
Published: February 2007

All roles on the Athenian stage were played by men. It has been generally overlooked in this context that the sex/gender system of ancient Athens was not the same as our own. I provide a new framework for understanding the tradition of transvestite theatre in Athens by looking at three moments when Sophoclean heroes are made feminine. Each of my texts demonstrates an understanding of cross-gendering that is not linked to homosexuality and establishes a broader semantic range for the practice of cross-gendering than does modern drag performance.
"Eugenic O'Neill" and the Secrets of Strange Interlude
Authors: Wolff Tamsen
Published: February 2007

Playwright Eugene O'Neill, who was interested in developing complex relationships between the past and present on stage, found a ready resource in hereditary theory. This essay traces where popular ideas about heredity and eugenics emerge in O'Neill's 1928 play Strange Interlude in order to see how those ideas contribute to the playwright's creation of new dramatic form.
The Economics of Theatrical Dance in Eighteenth-Century London
Authors: Milhous Judith
Published: February 2007

What did dance cost eighteenth-century London theatre and opera
companies? This survey of account books and other financial records
uses percentages to obtain comparisons among disparate sources. As the
art became increasingly specialized, the amount allotted to dancers
fluctuated, but grew as high as 25 to 55 percent of salaries. Although
outspent by the opera, the theatres continued to compete as best as they
could. The substantial appeal of dance must be reckoned in any account
of this period.
Performance Measures for the South African Police Service: Setting the Benchmarks for Service Delivery
Authors: Leggett Ted
Published: February 2007

Ted Leggett looks at international experience and argues that there is a need to return to a set of performance measures that align with what the police actually do, and makes several suggestions for indicators that do not create perverse incentives.
Land Reform and Transition in South Africa
Authors: Greenberg Stephen
Published: February 2007

Land reform has become integrated into the broader neo-liberal strategies adopted by the post-apartheid government. It is essentially only elites who will benefit, argues Stephen Greenberg, from current policies.
Thinking Through the Audience
Authors: Kosidowski Paul
Published: February 2007

The audience is an obviously essential element of theater, but is often considered with skepticism or disdain by theater theorists and practitioners. This article is a call for theater professionals--dramaturgs and literary managers in particular--to consider and respect the tastes, desires and interests of their particular audiences carefully, so that they remain an active part of the theater experience. This does not mean that box office concerns should drive theater programming, but it does mean that programming decisions can and should be made considering that the primary mission of a theater is to serve its community-the people who will occupy the seats. With this in mind, artistic and institutional goals of theaters need not be forever at odds, but can sychronistically support the goal of creating compelling theater that people in the community will want to see.
Teaching Play Analysis: How a Key Dramaturgical Skill Can Foster Critical Approaches
Authors: Orr Shelley
Published: February 2007

This article describes the genesis and first two years of a new introductory theatre course offered for undergraduates, designed by the author. The course is offered as a model for teaching students to develop their own methods of play analysis based on techniques used by production dramaturgs. Dramaturgy, as a critical practice that interweaves scholarship and theatrical practice, provides basic principles at work in the new course. Students learn to analyze a play's structure using a variety of techniques. The article outlines the syllabus and gives specific examples of class discussion topics, assignments, and activities.
Identity and Agonism: Tim Miller, Cornerstone, and the Politics of Community-Based Theatre
Authors: Fletcher John
Published: February 2007

Drawing on the theories of Antonio Gramsci, Jill Dolan, and Chantal Mouffe, the author argues that certain community-based theatre practices--specifically those exemplified by Tim Miller and Cornerstone Theater Company--are modifying traditional models of political theatre. Miller's work identifies and mobilizes politically active communities based on affective rather than essential commonalities. At the same time, Cornerstone's rehearsal process models a means of staging and valuing disagreements and tensions that inevitably arise between such political/communal identifications.
Politicizing the Nursery: British Children's Literature and the French Revolution
Authors: Grenby M. O. (Matthew Orville)
Published: February 2007

Despite claims that British Children's Literature, under the directives of critics such as Trimmer, avoided Jacobinism in the early eighteenth century primarily to protect the innocence of the child, Grenby demonstrates that this ideology was not so hegemonic. He cites examples found in geographical and historical grammars and in fictional work for children. Those children's authors who purported to entertain and instruct found the Revolution a rich field both for adventure and moral lessons. In particular a book such as Richard Hoare's Young Traveller as well as others gave the child reader access to the "war of ideas" which emerged around the Revolution.
"Like a Star Through Flying Snow": Jewish Characters, Visible and Invisible
Authors: Rahn Suzanne
Published: February 2007

Changing attitudes toward Jews are revealed in the Jewish characters of English-language children's fiction. During the nineteenth century, children encountered Jewish characters mainly in novels written for adults by such authors as William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and Walter Scott. As the
twentieth century began, ambivalent English attitudes toward Jews were reflected in characters created by Rudyard Kipling and E. Nesbit. From 1910 to 1960, however, the few Jewish characters in English-language children's books were
chiefly remarkable for their "invisibility." Most were never unambiguously identified as Jewish, while others were differentiated from non-Jewish
characters only by name. Only in the 1970's did a full range of Jewish themes and characters begin to appear.
Betrayed by Chicken Soup: Judaism, Gender and Performance in Maurice Sendak's Really Rosie
Authors: Tannenbaum Leslie
Published: February 2007

In Maurice Sendak's film/book/play for children, Really Rosie, an extremely imaginative little girl named Rosie gets her playmates to pretend to be staging a show or making a movie on their Brooklyn street. She and her playmates use this performance event to explore their present situation as children growing up within Jewish culture and also to explore what their future lives might be, ultimately criticizing the roles (especially gender roles) that they see and seeking other possibilities through play and performance. Through this critique and transformation of American Jewish culture, Maurice Sendak and Carole King (his musical collaborator) both reflect and go beyond the discourse of contemporary adult Jewish artists and writers, placing this children's book within the context of an ongoing artistic conversation about Jewish-American identity.
Rationality in International Relations: A Game-Theoretic and Empirical Study of the U.S.-China Case
Authors: Langlois Catherine C. , Langlois Jean-Pierre P.
Published: February 2007

This paper develops a model of rational behavior that is found to be compatible with the evolution of China-U.S. relations from the early 1970s to the late 1980s. The authors introduce countervailing strategies that broaden our understanding of what is rational in a game-theoretic context. Countervailing behavior accommodates inertia and delay, as well as reactivity, and is shown to be involved in every equilibrium strategy. The terms of the interaction between the United States and China are identified in light of a countervailing model, and the payoff structure that supports the observed dynamic interaction is inferred. Prior to 1979, which marks the inception of Chinas open-door policy, the payoff structure found conforms to a little-known mixed-motive game, whereas the 1980s are characterized by a Prisoner's Dilemma. In the 1980s rational play involves positive reactivity on the part of each country, while prior to 1979 rational behavior on the part of the U.S. takes the form of an inverse response to Chinese initiatives, a behavior that draws its rationality from its ability to move China to a more cooperative stance despite a Deadlock-type payoff structure.
Revolution from Within: Institutional Analysis, Transitions from Authoritarianism, and the Case of Hungary
Authors: O'Neil Patrick H.
Published: February 2007

The Hungarian transition from socialism stands out from other examples of political change in the region, in that the ruling Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (MSZMP) suffered an erosion of political power generated largely from within the party itself. The study shows how the Communist Party, after its destruction in the revolution of 1956, sought to institutionalize its rule through a course of limited liberalization and the broad co-optation of the populace. This policy helped create a tacit social compact with society, particularly in co-opting younger intellectuals who identified with the goals of reform socialism. However, the party eventually marginalized this group, creating an internal party opposition that supported socialism but opposed the MSZMP. Consequently, when the limits of Hungarian reform socialism became evident in the mid-1980s, rank-and-file intellectuals within the party began to mobilize against the party hierarchy, seeking to transform the MSZMP into a democratic socialist party. These “reform circles,” drawing their strength primarily from the countryside, spread to all parts of the party and helped undermine central party power and expand the political space for opposition groups to organize. Eventually, the reform circles were able to force an early party congress in which the MSZMP was transformed into a Western-style socialist party prior to open elections in 1990.

The case is significant in that it indicates that the forms of transition in Eastern Europe were not simply the specific outcome of elite interaction. Rather, they were shaped in large part by the patterns of socialist institutionalization found in each country. Therefore, studies of political transition can be enriched with an explicit focus on the institutional characteristics of each case, linking the forms of transitions and their posttransition legacies to the institutional matrix from which they emerged. In short, the study argues that the way in which an autocratic order perpetuates itself affects the manner in which that system declines and the shape of the new system that takes its place.
Usurping the Sovereignty of Sovereignty?
Authors: Philpott Daniel
Published: February 2007

Stephen Krasner'sSovereigntyand Michael Ross Fowler and Julie Marie Bunck'sLaw, Power, and the Sovereign Statetogether pose the deepest challenge yet to the assumption of sovereignty in international relations scholarship. Both claim not merely that state sovereignty is now compromised but also that it has always been severely truncated, violated, and curtailed. Both works contribute importantly to the field by amassing and cataloging formidable evidence of compromises of sovereignty. Yet by failing to provide a yardstick by which to compare these compromises with states' comparative respect for sovereignty, both works ultimately fail to sustain their thesis. Both also overlook the constitutive dimension of sovereignty, a dimension whose acknowledgment would render sovereignty far more stable than either admits. By contrast, a third work, Rodney Bruce Hall'sNational Collective Identity, commendably explores the constitutive role of sovereignty and applies it to the development of the nation-state system. The strengths and weaknesses of all three works help set an agenda for future scholarship on sovereignty.
Rethinking Recent Democratization: Lessons from the Postcommunist Experience
Authors: Bunce Valerie
Published: February 2007

This study compares democratization in the postcommunist region (or the twenty-seven countries that emerged from the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe) in order to evaluate some of the assumptions and arguments in the literature on recent democratization in southern Europe and Latin America. Five conclusions are drawn, all of which challenge the received wisdom about democratization in southern Europe and Latin America. First, the uncertainty surrounding the postcommunist transitions to democracy varied significantly. This influenced, in turn, the strategies of transition and their payoffs. This also meant that the most successful transitions in the postcommunist context involved a sharp break with the old order. Second, popular mobilization often functioned to support the democratic project. Third, nationalist mobilization was also helpful, though this depended upon whether it began with the breakdown of authoritarian rule or had a longer history—with the latter compromising the democratic project. Fourth, if the timing of nationalist mobilization was critical for the success of democratization in those cases where such mobilization occurred, then the strength of the opposition was the key factor in the remaining cases. Finally, while democratic consolidation necessarily enhances the prospects for democratic sustainability, the failure to consolidate democracy does not necessarily threaten the continuation of democratic rule. Indeed, as in the Russian case, such a failure may prolong democratic rule. This suggests, in turn, that a key distinction must be made between the optimal conditions for democratization and optimal strategies.
Earnings Inequality and Welfare Spending: A Disaggregated Analysis
Authors: Moene Karl Ove , Wallerstein Michael
Published: February 2007

The welfare state is generally viewed as either providing redistribution from rich to poor or as providing publicly financed insurance. Both views are incomplete. Welfare policies provide both insurance and redistribution in varying amounts, depending on the design of the policy. The authors explore the political consequences of the mix of redistribution and insurance in the context of studying the impact of income inequality on expenditures in different categories of welfare spending in advanced industrial societies from 1980 to 1995. They find that spending on pensions, health care, family benefits, poverty alleviation and housing subsidies is largely uncorre-lated with income inequality, but that spending on income replacement programs such as unemployment insurance, sickness pay, occupational illness and disability are significantly higher i n countries with more egalitarian income distributions. They show that this pattern is exactly what a theory of political support for redistributive social insurance programs would predict.
Wordsworthian Wakefulness
Authors: Guyer Sara Emilie
Published: February 2007

This essay analyzes William Wordsworth's sonnets "To Sleep" in order to rethink lyric subjectivity as a mode of wakefulness. Focusing on apostrophe, the essay demonstrates that Wordsworth's apostrophes to sleep betray the weakness of poetic language: apostrophe produces the incessant, interminable wakefulness it is marshaled to suspend. By reading WordsworthÕs sonnets together with Emmanuel LevinasÕs account of insomnia in Existence and Existants, the essay concludes with the suggestion that apostrophe is a mode of vigilance and commemoration that allows a limit to be witnessed but not overcome.
Thomas Harriot's Translations
Authors: Booth Michael
Published: February 2007

Elizabethan mathematician Thomas Harriot pioneered the systematic solution of higher- into lower-order equations through the device of setting them equal to zero. He performed another kind of dimensional translation in developing techniques of spherical trigonometry and projective geometry for navigation. Harriot was also, at the age of 25, given the task of breaking the language barrier between the English and the Algonquian people of what is now coastal North Carolina. This article considers possible connections between Harriot's linguistic and mathematical work.
Issues Of Translation In the Works Of Nicole Brossard
Authors: Wheeler Anne-Marie
Published: February 2007

Nicole Brossard is at the vanguard of an ambitious upheaval of the notion of authorship, in which translation plays a crucial role. This essay examines how Brossard's writing has inspired a translation aesthetic that reveals the often silenced machinations of the translator, and thus of language. I argue that it is no coincidence this should happen in Qu�bec, which is at a political and linguistic intersection between its own distinct culture, English Canada, France, and America. Both in practice and as a metaphor for women in language, Brossard's work in translation becomes a site for the evolution of language and thought.
A remények tekintete
Authors: Adorjáni Zsolt
Published: February 2007

Az

I.
5. 56-58. egyike Pindaros sokat vitatott helyeinek, bár a nehézség
nem annyira szöveg-kritikai, mint inkább értelmezésbeli. A bizonytalanság
gócpontja az oú]pij e>lpi/dwn kifejezés. Az interpretációs kísérletek
áttekintése után a ritka és különleges oú]pij szó előfordulásait Homérostól
kezdve közelebbről elemzem. A mögötte álló képzet olyan erőteljes látási
metaforának bizonyul, amely Pindarosnál is értelmet nyerhet. Olvasatomat:
nec
labor ingens occaecatus est, nec tot sumptus, qui aciem spei excitaverunt

igyekszem a költemény egészébe és e költészet látásszimbolikájába ágyazni.
Mycobacterial infection of pigs in Croatia
Authors: Cvetnić Ž. , Špičić S. , Benić M. , Katalinić-Janković Vera , Pate Mateja , Krt B. , Ocepek M.
Published: February 2007

During a five-year period (2000 to 2004) 74,342 pigs were tested by the intradermal tuberculin test in Croatia. Of them, 248 (0.33%) pigs were positive and 91 (0.12%) were found to be suspicious in 7 out of the 13 farms included in the study. Gross pathological changes characteristic of tuberculosis were observed in tuberculin-positive and/or suspicious swine. Mycobacterium was isolated from the lymph nodes of 183 out of 234 swine (78.2%). For better epidemiological understanding, isolates were typed by conventional methods, PCR and hybridisation. The results show that most of the isolates belonged to the
Mycobacterium avium
complex (175 isolates, 95.7%). Other isolates belonged to
M. fortuitum
(6 isolates, 3.3%),
M. chelonae
(1 isolate, 0.5%), and
M. peregrinum
(1 isolate, 0.5%). Isolated strains of the
M. avium
complex were identified as
M. a. avium
(37 isolates, 21.1%) and
M. a. hominissuis
(138 isolates, 78.9%).
Human cold exposure, adaptation, and performance in high latitude environments
Authors: Mäkinen Tiina M.
Published: February 2007

Cold exposure is present to significant amounts in the everyday occupational and leisure time activities of circumpolar residents. A cross‐sectional population study demonstrated that Finns reported being exposed to cold on average 4% of their total time. Factors modifying cold exposure are: age, gender, employment, education, health, and amount of physical exercise. Several symptoms and complaints are associated with wintertime cold exposure and start to appear more commonly when temperatures decrease below −10°C. Urban circumpolar people do not evidently demonstrate cold acclimatization responses in terms of changes in thermoregulation, probably due to behavioral factors (adequate protective clothing, short cold exposures, and high housing temperatures). With regard to performance, we observed that moderate cold exposure, which may occur in everyday life, affects cognition negatively through the mechanisms of distraction and both positively and negatively through the mechanism of arousal (increased vigilance). It seems that especially simple cognitive tasks are adversely affected by cold, while in more complex tasks performance may even improve in mild or moderate cold. Repeated, short cold exposures in the laboratory, causing cold habituation responses, do not markedly improve neuromuscular or cognitive performance. The article discusses the functional significance of cold exposure, adaptation, and the specific environmental conditions and physiological mechanisms that affect behavior and performance in high latitude environments. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 19:155–164, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Preparation, thermal and mechanical properties of POSS epoxy hybrid composites
Authors: Xiao Fei , Sun Yangyang , Xiu Yonghao , Wong C. P.
Published: February 2007

Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) epoxy hybrid composites have attracted much research interest because of their unique structure, versatile synthetic approaches, and changeable properties through molecular tailoring. Octakis(dimethylsiloxypropylglycidyl ether)silsesquioxane and octakis(dimethylsiloxyethylcyclohexenyl epoxide)silsesquioxane were synthesized and cured with 4,4′‐methylenebis(cyclohexylamine) and 4‐methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride to prepare the highly crosslinked hybrid materials. The thermochemical data from DSC analysis and FTIR show that the curing reactions of POSS epoxy are more difficult than diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) resin because of steric hindrance. The multifunctional structure of POSS can form highly crosslinked network throughout the composites, therefore the polymer main framework is frozen and cannot move freely. Some POSS composites do not show glass transitions and the observed relaxation for other POSS composites is likely due to the motion of tethers between POSS cores. The moduli of POSS composites, which decrease slowly with temperature increasing, are much higher than that of DGEBA resins at high temperatures. Although the coefficients of thermal expansion of POSS composites are larger than that of DGEBA resins at low temperatures, they are less dependent on temperature and relatively low at high temperatures. The unique thermal and mechanical properties of POSS composites make them potential candidates for applications in high temperature and temperature variable environments. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007
Dynamisch‐thermisches CFD‐Verfahren mit angepaßter Regelungsmethode
Authors: Zitzmann Tobias , Pfrommer Peter , Cook Malcolm
Published: February 2007

Zur Reduktion des Zeitaufwands von dynamisch‐thermischen Langzeitsimulationen mit CFD‐Programmen wurde in kürzlich veröffentlichten Studien eine neuartige Freeze‐Flow Methode vorgestellt. Diese basiert auf der periodischen Umschaltung zwischen der volldynamischen Lösung aller Gleichungen und der ausschließlichen Lösung der Enthalpie‐Gleichungen (eingefrorene Luftströmung). Dieser Artikel beschreibt eine neue, angepaßte Regelung für diese Umschaltung, wodurch eine zusätzliche Reduzierung der Simulationszeit erzielt wird. In Tests an Modellen für die mechanische und freie Lüftung sowie der freien Konvektion im geschlossenen Raum für feste und zeitveränderliche thermische Randbedingungen wurde im Vergleich zur ununterbrochenen volldynamischen Simulation eine Simulationszeiteinsparung von bis zu 93% erreicht.
Plant genomic DNA isolation: An art or a science
Authors: Varma Astha , Padh Harish , Shrivastava Neeta
Published: February 2007

Isolating quality DNA from tissues/cells presents a variety of problems in particular when plants are used as the source material. The specific characteristics of plants like the presence of rigid polysaccharide cell wall, pigments, chemical heterogeneity of secondary metabolites found in diverse species of plants, etc., necessitate special consideration and skill during isolation procedure. Until now, numerous protocols have been published for the purpose, but none is found to be universally applicable. Various factors starting from the selection of source material to the concentration of metabolites present in the plant decide the course of the isolation procedure. The present review is an update of various methods used for plant genomic DNA isolation, and it epitomizes the various problems faced and the solutions made to contend with them during DNA isolation from plant cells.
Process development for the production of prebiotic galacto‐oligosaccharides from lactose using β‐galactosidase fromLactobacillussp.
Authors: Splechtna Barbara , Nguyen Thu‐Ha , Zehetner Romana , Lettner Hans Peter , Lorenz Werner , Haltrich Dietmar
Published: February 2007

Galacto‐oligosaccharides (GOS) are formed from lactose in discontinuous mode of conversion using β‐galactosidase fromLactobacillussp. (β‐gal). The discontinuous process was optimized for technical application with regard to GOS yield, enzyme preparation, reaction temperature and substrate source. It proved to be advantageous to directly apply the crude cell‐free enzyme extract for the conversion, since similar GOS yields and composition were obtained as when using the pure enzyme preparation, but expensive purification could be avoided. Reaction temperature was lowered to 17°C to limit microbial contamination when using technical substrates. Thereby GOS yield decreased from 30% to 28% of total sugars and enzyme demand increased 2.7‐fold. Whey permeate was compared to buffered lactose solution as a substrate source. The initial reaction rate was found to be 1.8 times higher for the whey permeate substrate; however, GOS yield was slightly lower (approximately 25% of total sugar at 17°C) mainly due to smaller amounts of allolactose[β‐D‐Galp‐(1→6)‐D‐Glc] and the trisaccharide β‐D‐Galp‐(1→6)‐D‐Lac formed.
Multiple left ventricular diverticuli in an asymptomatic adult: Case report and review of the literature
Authors: Tandar Anwar , Meredith Kent G. , Anderson Jeffrey L.
Published: February 2007

Left ventricular (LV) diverticulum is a rare congenital abnormality for which the etiology, management, and natural history are very poorly understood. Although most often observed as a single diverticulum, we report a case of multiple LV diverticuli in an asymptomatic adult referred for coronary evaluation due to an abnormal electrocardiogram. LV diverticuli are often associated with other congenital malformations, but can also be found in isolation. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging provides enhanced ability to determine size, location, and morphological characteristics, which may improve lesion assessment and management. A review of the condition and reported complications is discussed. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Si/SnSb Alloy Composite as High Capacity Anode Materials for Li‐Ion Batteries.
Authors: Guo Hong , Zhao Hailei , Yin Chaoli , Qiu Weihua
Published: February 2007

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.
Peroxy‐Radical‐Mediated Chemiluminescence: Mechanistic Diversity and Fundamentals for Antioxidant Assay
Authors: Fedorova Galina F. , Trofimov Alexey V. , Vasil'ev Rostislav F. , Veprintsev Timur L.
Published: February 2007

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.
Semi‐Empirical and DFT Studies on Structures and Spectra for C78(CH2)2
Authors: Wu Shi , Teng Qi‐Wen , Chen Si‐Cong
Published: February 2007

Eighteen possible isomers of C78(CH2)2were investigated by the INDO method. It was indicated that the most stable isomer was 42,43,62,63‐C78(CH2)2, where the –CH2groups were added to the 6/6 bonds located at the same hexagon passed by the longest axis of C78(C2v), to form cyclopropane structures. Based on the most stable four geometries of C78(CH2)2optimized at B3LYP/3‐21G level, the first absorptions in the electronic spectra calculated with the INDO/CIS method and the IR frequencies of the C–C bonds on the carbon cage computed using the AM1 method were blue‐shifted compared with those of C78(C2v) because of the bigger LUMO‐HOMO energy gap and the less conjugated carbon cage after the addition. The chemical shifts of13C NMR for the carbon atoms on the added bonds calculated at B3LYP/3‐21G level were moved upfield thanks to the conversion from sp2‐C to sp3‐C.
Determination of Some Trace Metals in Environmental Samples by Flame AAS Following Solid Phase Extraction with Amberlite XAD‐2000 Resin after Complexing with 8‐Hydroxyquinoline
Authors: Duran Celal , Senturk H. Basri , Gundogdu Ali , Bulut V. Numan , Elci Latif , Soylak Mustafa , Tufekci Mehmet , Uygur Yaprak
Published: February 2007

A procedure for preconcentration of Mn(II), Fe(II), Co(II), Cu(II), Cd(II), Zn(II), Pb(II) and Ni(II) based on retention of their complexes with 8‐hydroxyquinoline (HQ) on Amberlite XAD‐2000 resin in a column was proposed for the analysis of environmental samples by flame AAS. Various parameters such as pH, eluent type, volume, concentration, flow rate and volume of sample solution, and matrix interference effect on the retention of the metal ions were investigated. The optimum pHs for the retention of metal complexes in question were about 6 except for Mn2+ for whose value is 8. The loading capacity of the adsorbent for these metals and their recoveries from the resin under the optimum conditions were in the range 6.82–9.26 mg·g−1 and 95%–101%, respectively. The enrichment factor was calculated as 100 and the limit of detection was in the range 0.3–2.2 µg·L−1 (n=20, blank+3s). The proposed enrichment method was applied to tap water, stream water and vegetable samples. The validation of the procedure was carried out by analysis of certified reference material and standard addition. The analytes were determined with a relative standard deviation lower than 6% in all samples.
A theory for the estimation of SNR degradation caused by clock jitter in MRI systems
Authors: Hartwig Valentina , Giovannetti Giulio , Viti Vittorio , Vanello Nicola , Landini Luigi , Benassi Antonio
Published: February 2007

Recent advances in high‐speed acquisition of MR signals demand higher levels of performance from RF receiver chain. High‐performance ADCs require a highly stable clock in terms of short‐term changes defined by the jitter specification. In this note, we propose a theory for the estimation of clock jitter influence on the final image SNR. In particular, starting from a typical RF receiver chain design specification, which is required to obtain the desired SNR, we analyze the influence of clock noise on the MR signal dynamic. The entire offset frequency range (0–10 MHz OFR) is split into two intervals according to different estimation methods. The obtained results show that, in our specific application, the jitter influence does not affect the final image SNR value. The presented methodology can be easily extended to every MR application thanks to its high flexibility; in fact, the implemented concepts allow choosing, in each case, the optimal oscillator with the desired clock jitter, or quantifying the system performance degradation. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Concepts Magn Reson Part B (Magn Reson Engineering) 31B: 60–64, 2007
Modelling of fluid–structure interactions with the space–time finite elements: Arterial fluid mechanics
Authors: Tezduyar Tayfun E. , Sathe Sunil , Cragin Timothy , Nanna Bryan , Conklin Brian S. , Pausewang Jason , Schwaab Matthew
Published: February 2007

The stabilized space–time fluid–structure interaction (SSTFSI) techniques developed by the Team for Advanced Flow Simulation and Modeling (T★AFSM) are applied to FSI modelling in arterial fluid mechanics. Modelling of flow in arteries with aneurysm is emphasized. The SSTFSI techniques used are based on the deforming‐spatial‐domain/stabilized space–time (DSD/SST) formulation and include the enhancements introduced recently by the T★AFSM to increase the scope, accuracy, robustness and efficiency of these techniques. The arterial structures can be modelled with the membrane or continuum elements, both of which are geometrically nonlinear, and the continuum element can be made of linearly elastic or hyperelastic material. Test computations are presented for cerebral and abdominal aortic aneurysms and carotid‐artery bifurcation, where the arterial geometries used in the computations are close approximations to the patient‐specific image‐based data. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effects of Nutrients at Different Salinities on Growth of the Freshwater Green Alga Scenedesmus bijugatus in Water of Narendra Pond, Puri, Orissa
Authors: Mohapatra Pradipta K. , Dash Rama C. , Panda Sobhana S. , Mishra Rabindra K. , Mohanty Rama C.
Published: February 2007

The growth and biochemical composition of Scenedesmus bijugatus grown in normal and nutrient enriched Narendra Pond water was evaluated at different levels of salinity. In normal pond water (NPW) the growth was enhanced when the initial salinity of the water was doubled (to 7.2 mmol/l) but further salinity increase caused growth retardation. In nutrient enriched pond water (NEW), however, the maximum growth occurred in the culture containing 29 mmol/l of NaCl. At growth retarding salt concentrations the chlorophyll, carbohydrate, protein and lipid contents per cell decreased in both NPW and NEW while the proline content first increased and was then reduced. All nutrients, taken separately or in combination, caused growth enhancement of the alga at the three selected salinity levels. The alga showed a better halotolerance when enriched with nitrogen or phosphorus.
Subsurface Dwelling Crustaceans as Indicators of Hydrological Conditions, Oxygen Concentrations, and Sediment Structure in an Alluvial Aquifer
Authors: Mösslacher Friederike
Published: February 2007

The relation between environmental conditions and the species composition and individual abundance of crustaceans was investigated in a shallow alluvial aquifer, located in the Danube wetlands (Lobau, Austria). Samples, consisting of groundwater, sediment, and fauna, were taken from permanent installed wells by means of a piston pump five times in a year cycle.

The results show that the spatial and temporal distribution, individual abundance, and species richness of crustacean fauna is related to hydrological conditions, oxygen concentrations, and geologic structures in the alluvial aquifer. Therefore, crustaceans, divided in stygoxene, stygophile, and stygobite species, can be used as bioindicators of these environmental conditions in an aquifer. It is suggested that beside physicochemical analyses also the crustacean fauna should be considered to characterise a groundwater ecosystem.
Record of the Tropical Simocephalus mesorostris Orlova‐Bienkowskaja, 1995 (Crustacea, Cladocera) in Central Asia and First Description of Its Male
Authors: Rakhmatullaeva Gulnara , Mirabdullayev Iskandar
Published: February 2007

Simocephalus mesorostris Orlova‐Bienkowskaja, 1995, previously recorded only in tropical regions was found in waterbodies of Uzbekistan. A short description of the female, the first description of the male and data on variability and distribution in Uzbekistan are given.
Salinity, Inorganic Nutrients, and Primary Production in a Shallow Coastal Inlet in the Southern Baltic Sea (Nordrügenschen Bodden) Results from Long‐Term Observations (1960–1989)
Authors: Hübel Helmut , Wolff Christiane , Meyer‐Reil Lutz‐Arend
Published: February 2007

The Nordrügenschen Bodden waters are a shallow coastal inlet of the Southern Baltic Sea consisting of individual basins, some of which are joined only via small connections. The Bodden are characterized by pronounced horizontal gradients in hydrographical, chemical and biological parameters. Whereas concentrations of inorganic nutrients increase, salinity decreases with increasing distance from the connection to the Baltic Sea. Between 1960 and 1989 long‐term variations of salinity, inorganic nutrients (ammonium, nitrate, phosphate), Secchi disk visibility, and planktonic primary production were monitored at 6 locations throughout the Bodden. The gradients were most pronounced during the first period of observation (1960–1963). Between 1960 and 1985 concentrations of inorganic nutrients in the adjacent Arkona Sea increased up to values several times higher than the previous concentrations. This increased nutrient load in the Baltic Sea was reflected by higher nutrient concentrations and higher primary production in the outer and central parts of the Nordrügenschen Bodden. Between 1963 and 1965 the shipping channel between the outer (Libben) and the inner part (Großer Jasmunder Bodden) of the Bodden chain was dredged. This led to an improvement of water exchange between the Baltic Sea and the Bodden, resulting in a significant reduction of the gradients of chemical and biological parameters. Whereas salinity and Secchi disk visibility increased, inorganic nutrients, and primary production decreased. This was most obvious in the inner parts of the Bodden where the water quality was improved. The trophic status of the Kleiner Jasmunder Bodden is still worrying. This Bodden represents the innermost part of the Nordrügenschen Bodden connected with the Großer Jasmunder Bodden only via a small flood gate. Unless the water exchange is drastically improved, the Kleiner Jasmunder Bodden will retain its hypertrophic status in the longer term. The future development of the trophic status of the Bodden is discussed.
Subcellular localization of ankyrin repeats cofactor‐1 regulates its corepressor activity
Authors: Zhang Aihua , Li Chia‐Wei , Tsai Shih‐Chieh , Chen J. Don
Published: February 2007

The ankyrin repeats cofactor‐1 (ANCO‐1) was recently identified as a novel nuclear receptor corepressor that regulates receptor‐mediated transcription through interactions with p160 coactivators and histone deacetylases. Interestingly, exogenously expressed ANCO‐1 is localized at distinct subnuclear domains. The relevance of these subnuclear domains and the mechanisms of nucleocytoplasmic translocation of ANCO‐1 have not been determined. We report here the identification of an N‐terminal signaling motif that is essential for both nuclear/subnuclear localization and transcription corepressor function of ANCO‐1. This N‐terminal motif at residues 80–86 of ANCO‐1 constitutes a classical nuclear localization signal (NLS1). Disruption of NLS1 causes complete cytoplasmic accumulation of the full‐length ANCO‐1, and abolishes its corepressor function on receptor‐mediated transcription. A second NLS (NLS2) is found at the C‐terminal residues 2384–2390; however, its disruption abolishes only nuclear localization of isolated C‐terminal fragments. We also identify a leucine‐rich nuclear export signal (NES) at residues 2415–2424 of ANCO‐1, and show that both the NLSs and NES sequences are capable of mediating nuclear import and export of heterologous protein, respectively. In addition, attachment of the NES sequence to a transcription factor impairs its activation function. These results suggest that ANCO‐1 subnuclear localization is regulated by both nuclear import and export signals, and that proper subcellular localization of ANCO‐1 is essential for its corepressor function. J. Cell. Biochem. 101:1301–1315, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Characteristics of US drought and pluvials from a high‐resolution spatial dataset
Authors: Kangas Ryan S. , Brown Timothy J.
Published: February 2007

Anomalous precipitation can be a devastating natural disaster having significant impacts on economies, society and the environment. This study examines the spatial and temporal characteristics of anomalous precipitation throughout the United States to obtain a greater understanding of drought/pluvial regimes, including intensity, duration and spatial coverage based on a high‐resolution precipitation dataset. With the help of the parameter‐elevation regression on independent slopes model (PRISM), approximately 4 km data for the United States is used to construct the Palmer drought severity index (PDSI) and the standardized precipitation index (SPI) for the period 1895–2003. Increased resolution from the PRISM dataset shows that drought/pluvial areas are not as homogeneous as seen in previous studies based on climate divisions and larger scales. While size, duration and locations of drought/pluvial events are influenced by the index used, the largest annual drought/pluvial events occur more frequently in the central United States, with a higher percentage of extreme values occurring in the western portion of the country. Four large pluvial events have occurred in the United States during the study period, with three of these having occurred during the past 30 years. Copyright © 2007 Royal Meteorological Society
Design and Synthesis of Thermally Curable Polymers with Benzoxazine Functionalities
Authors: Kiskan Baris , Gacal Burcin , Tasdelen M. Atilla , Colak Demet , Yagci Yusuf
Published: February 2007

In this paper, synthetic strategies for the preparation of structurally different polymers, namely polystyrene (PSt), poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL), poly(propyleneoxide) (PPO), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and poly(styrene‐alt‐ maleimide) (PSt‐alt‐MI) with thermally curable benzoxazine groups have been outlined. Specifically, these groups were incorporated into PSt and PCL by using two controlled polymerization methods, namely Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP) and Ring Opening Polymerization (ROP), respectively. Modification of linear and branched poly(propylene amine)s via Mannich reaction yields the corresponding benzoxazine functional PPOs. The photoinitiated polymerization of olefinic monomers such as methyl methacrylate by using benzoxazines as hydrogen donor in conjunction with aromatic carbonyl compounds is another suitable method for the desired functionalization. Moreover, benzoxazine substituted maleimide was copolymerized with styrene to yield perfectly alternating benzoxazine functional copolymers (PSt‐alt‐MI).