bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Automatedab initiosynthesis of complete designs of four patented optical lens systems by means of genetic programming
Authors: Koza John R. , Al-Sakran Sameer H. , Jones Lee W.
Published: June 2008

This paper describes how genetic programming has been used as an invention machine to automatically synthesize complete designs for four optical lens systems that duplicated the functionality of previously patented lens systems. The automatic synthesis of the complete design is doneab initio, that is, without starting from a preexisting good design and without prespecifying the number of lenses, the topological arrangement of the lenses, or the numerical or nonnumerical parameters associated with any lens. One of the genetically evolved lens systems infringed a previously issued patent, whereas the others were noninfringing novel designs that duplicated (or improved upon) the performance specifications contained in the patents. One of the patents was issued in the 21st century. The designs were created in a substantially similar and routine way, suggesting that the approach described in the paper can be readily applied to other similar problems in the field of optical design. The genetically evolved designs are instances of human-competitive results produced by genetic programming in the field of optical design.
Machine invention of quantum computing circuits by means of genetic programming
Authors: Spector Lee , Klein Jon
Published: June 2008

We demonstrate the use of genetic programming in the automatic invention of quantum computing circuits that solve problems of potential theoretical and practical significance. We outline a developmental genetic programming scheme for such applications; in this scheme the evolved programs, when executed, build quantum circuits and the resulting quantum circuits are then tested for “fitness” using a quantum computer simulator. Using the PushGP genetic programming system and the QGAME quantum computer simulator we demonstrate the invention of a new, better than classical quantum circuit for the two-oracle AND/OR problem.
THE (SLAVE) NARRATIVE OFJANE EYRE
Authors: Lee Julia Sun-Joo
Published: June 2008

InImperialism at Home, Susan Meyer explores Charlotte Brontë's metaphorical use of race and empire inJane Eyre. In particular, she is struck by Brontë's repeated allusions to bondage and slavery and wonders, “Why would Brontë write a novel permeated with the imagery of slavery, and suggesting the possibility of a slave uprising, in 1846, after the emancipation of the British slaves had already taken place?” (71). Meyer speculates, “Perhaps the eight years since emancipation provided enough historical distance for Brontë to make a serious and public, although implicit, critique of British slavery and British imperialism in the West Indies” (71). Perhaps. More likely, I would argue, is the possibility that Brontë was thinking not of West Indian slavery, but of American slavery.
THE SARACEN'S HEAD
Authors: Sen Sharmila
Published: June 2008

In 1529, Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur, descendant of the Timurid dynasty and founder of the Mughal empire, wept at the sight of melons. A mere fruit had reminded Babur of the homeland he had left behind in central Asia. In a letter to Khwaja Kalan, the emperor writes of the drudgeries of a ruler in a foreign land, who is forced to do without the tastes of home: “How can one forget the pleasures of that country? . . . Recently a melon was brought, and as I cut it and ate it I was oddly affected. I wept the whole time I was eating it” (423). TheBaburnama, a personal record of the establishment of a new empire in the subcontinent, might seem like an unusual place to begin an essay on Victorian India. But Babur's nostalgia for the home left behind in Samarkand poignantly anticipates some of the hidden longings of the British as Company Raj gave way to Crown Raj in India. While the East India Company attempted to oust the Mughal rulers between the second half of the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth century, after India was incorporated into the Empire, the British would also attempt to don the mantle of the Mughals. On 1 November 1858, when India officially became part of Queen Victoria's Empire, the British inherited the Mughal's melons. Whether it was roast beef or mulligatawny, a pint of pale ale or a chhota peg, the British discovered their own versions of Babur's melons over time – an idea of homeland contained in a mouthful.
EATING THE WORLD: LONDON IN 1851
Authors: Prasch Thomas
Published: June 2008

“London, for some timeprevious to the opening of the Great Exhibition, has been a curious sight even to Londoners,” Henry Mayhew declared in1851, or the Adventures of Mr. and Mrs. Sandboys and Family, Who Came Up to London to “Enjoy Themselves,” and to See the Great Exhibition, his comic instant novel about the transformation of London in the year of the Great Exhibition. Mayhew proceeded to detail what had grown curiouser and curiouser about the London scene in that climactic year: “New amusements were daily springing into existence, or old ones being revived. The Chinese Collection had returned to the Metropolis, with a family from Pekin, and a lady with feet two inches and a half long, as proof of the superiorstandingshe had in society; Mr Calin [sic; he means Caitlin] had re−opened his Indian exhibit; Mr Wyle [sic; he means Wyld; instant novels apparently did not allow much time for proofreading] had bought up the interior of Leicester Square, with a view of cramming into it – ‘yeah, the great globe itself’” (132). Elsewhere in Mayhew's parodic panorama of London's exhibition mania, he offered a view of other globalized London scenes, focusing on celebrated chef Alexis Soyer's new restaurant, “where the universe might dine, from sixpence to a hundred guineas, ofcartesranging from pickled whelks to nightingale's tongues . . . from the ‘long sixes,’au naturalof the Russians, to the ‘stewed Missionary of the Marquesas,’ or the ‘cold roast Bishop’ of New Zealand” (2). Mayhew's imaginary menu, with its cannibalistic extremes, expresses a wider concern about the deluging of London by foreigners come to see the Great Exhibition (some 60000 “extra” foreigners – beyond, that is, standard visiting numbers – were estimated to have actually visited, mostly from the Continent, that year, roughly doubling the existing foreign population of London; see Auerbach 186), which found expression in an amused (when not more genuinely terrified) xenophobia that often focused on foreign foodways.
Nutritional assessment of charitable meal programmes serving homeless people in Toronto
Authors: Tse Carmen , Tarasuk Valerie
Published: June 2008

Objectives

To assess the potential nutritional contribution of meals provided in a sample of community programmes for homeless individuals, to determine the effect of food donations on meal quality and to develop food-based guidance for meals that would meet adults’ total nutrient needs.

Setting

Toronto, Canada.

Design

An analysis of weighed meal records from eighteen programmes. The energy and nutrient contents of meals were compared to requirement estimates to assess contribution to total needs, given that homeless people have limited access to nutritious foods. Mixed linear modelling was applied to determine the relationship between the use of food donations and meal quality. The composition of meals that would meet adults’ nutrient requirements was determined by constructing simulated meals, drawing on the selection of foods available to programmes.

Sample

In all, seventy meals, sampled from eighteen programmes serving homeless individuals.

Results

On average, the meals contained 2·6 servings of grain products, 1·7 servings of meat and alternatives, 4·1 servings of vegetables and fruits and 0·4 servings of milk products. The energy and nutrient contents of most meals were below adults’ average daily requirements. Most meals included both purchased and donated foods; the vitamin C content of meals was positively associated with the percentage of energy from donations. Increasing portion sizes improved the nutrient contribution of meals, but the provision of more milk products and fruits and vegetables was required to meet adults’ nutrient requirements.

Conclusions

The meals assessed were inadequate to meet adults’ nutrient requirements. Improving the nutritional quality of meals requires additional resources.
Validation of an FFQ to assess dietary protein intake in type 2 diabetic subjects attending primary health-care services in Mali
Authors: Coulibaly A , Turgeon O’Brien H , Galibois I
Published: June 2008

Objective

To validate a 53-item quantitative FFQ (QFFQ) for the assessment of dietary protein intake in type 2 diabetic outpatients in Bamako, Mali.

Design

Consumption of protein-containing foods over the week preceding the interview was measured with a 7d QFFQ and compared with intakes measured with 48-h recalls.

Setting

Centre National de Lutte contre le Diabète.

Subjects

Seventeen male and forty female adults with type 2 diabetes.

Results

Correlation between protein intakes estimated using the QFFQ and 48h recalls was 0·63 (P< 0·0001). There was no significant difference between the two methods concerning the total protein daily intakes and intakes per kilogram of body weight. The QFFQ indicated that foods of animal origin were a lesser source of protein. Animal protein intake did not differ between men and women but sources did. In men, the main sources were beef (54 % of total animal protein), fish (15 %) and milk powder (8 %). In women, the principal sources were fish (28 %), beef (20 %) and birds (13 %). In contrast, plant protein intake was significantly higher in men than in women (P= 0·01), but the same plant foods contributed in similar proportions for both genders, rice being by far the greatest source (47 % of plant protein in men, 53 % in women).

Conclusion

The QFFQ developed in this study is a valid tool to evaluate dietary protein intakes in Malian diabetic subjects. While the total protein intakes were low in both men and women, differences in choices and amounts of protein food sources were shown.
Underweight, overweight and obesity among South African adolescents: results of the 2002 National Youth Risk Behaviour Survey
Authors: Reddy SP , Resnicow K , James S , Kambaran N , Omardien R , MBewu AD
Published: June 2008

Objective

The present paper reports the prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity by gender, ethnicity and grade, among participants in a 2002 national survey among South African school-going youth that included height and weight measurements.

Design

A stratified two-stage sample was used. Nationally representative rates of underweight, overweight and obesity were calculated using weighted survey data and compared using χ2 analysis.

Setting

In all, 9224 grade 8 to grade 11 students, present at school in selected classes within selected South African government-funded schools in all nine provinces, participated in this study. Most of the students were between 13 and 19 years of age.

Results

Higher rates of underweight were observed for males than females as well as for black and ‘coloured’ than white students. Within each gender group, black and ‘coloured’ students had significantly higher rates of underweight than their white counterparts. Higher percentages of females than males were overweight and obese, overall and among black students. Furthermore, white male students had significantly higher rates of overweight than their black and ‘coloured’ counterparts. Among females, black and white students had significantly higher rates than ‘coloured’ students. Students in higher grades showed significantly lower rates of underweight and higher rates of overweight.

Discussion

These data confirm that South Africa, a developing nation in socio-economic transition, is experiencing both undernutrition and overnutrition. However, these problems are disproportionately distributed by gender, socio-economics and ethnicity. Continued surveillance of nutritional status may be one important component of a national strategy to prevent and control malnutrition.
Anaemia, its correlation with overweight and growth patterns in children aged 5–10 years living in American Samoa
Authors: Kemmer Teresa M , Novotny Rachel , Gerber A Sam , Ah Ping Ianeta
Published: June 2008

Objectives

To determine the prevalence of anaemia, identify the predictors of anaemia, compare the prevalence of anaemia among children living in American Samoa to those found in children living in the USA, and compare the growth patterns obtained from this study to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data and data obtained earlier in American Samoan children.

Design

Cross-sectional.

Setting

American Samoa, a Pacific Island.

Subjects

In all, 208 children aged 5–10 years.

Results

Anaemia (Hb < 11·5 g/dl) prevalence was 17·3 %. There was a significant difference in mean Hb levels in children within American Samoa as compared to National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III data (P< 0·05). In children with BMIZ-score (BMIZ) (P< 0·05) and weight-for-ageZ-score (WAZ) (P< 0·05) >2·0, females had a significantly higher prevalence of anaemia than males. Females with a WAZ > 2·0 had a significantly higher prevalence of anaemia than females with a WAZ ≤ 2·0 (P< 0·03). Risk factors for anaemia were mother having less than a high school education (P= 0·02), no car (P< 0·01) and no phone (P= 0·02). The BMIZ (P< 0·000), height-for-ageZ-score (P< 0·000) and WAZ (P< 0·000) were significantly different from the distribution of CDC reference data and that found in children previously assessed in American Samoa.

Conclusions

Anaemia is high among children aged 5–10 years living in American Samoa. Growth patternZ-scores reveal that American Samoan children are, on average, taller, heavier and more overweight. Further examination into the causes of anaemia and overweight is warranted.
Editorial: Klinisch-Psychologische Diagnostik
Authors: Baumann Urs , Stieglitz Rolf-Dieter
Published: June 2008

Die Klinische Diagnostik hat nach Jahren der Stagnation einen Aufschwung genommen. Neben der Diskussion grundlegender Fragen zur multimodalen Diagnostik stehen vor allem auch neuere Entwicklungen zu Anwendungsfragen im Vordergrund; so finden wir verstärkt Beiträge zum ambulanten Assessment wie auch Ansätze zur Weiterentwicklung von Modellen zur Erfassung von Veränderungen.
Die Behandlung von Zwangsgedanken mittels Exposition mit Reaktionsverhinderung
Authors: Lang Thomas , Petermann Franz
Published: June 2008

Zwangsstörungen bilden eine heterogene Störungsgruppe. Zur Behandlung von Zwangshandlungen und Zwangsgedanken gilt Exposition mit Reaktionsverhinderung als Methode der Wahl. Die Störung mit vorwiegend Zwangsgedanken ist häufig schwer zu behandeln. Der Fallbericht beschreibt exemplarisch die Behandlung einer Patientin mit vorwiegend Zwangsgedanken mittels Exposition mit Reaktionsverhinderung. Dabei wird der Behandlungsablauf dargestellt. Insbesondere wird gezeigt, wie das mit den Zwangsgedanken einhergehende Sicherheits- und Vermeidungsverhalten der Patientin während der Expositionsübungen unterbunden wurde. Als Hilfe zur Übertragung auf andere Patienten wird ein Ablauf- und Entscheidungsdiagramm mit spezifischen Interventionen für die Behandlung von Zwangsgedanken vorgestellt.
Carbon and water balance of European croplands throughout the 20th century
Authors: Gervois Sébastien , Ciais Philippe , de Noblet‐Ducoudré Nathalie , Brisson Nadine , Vuichard Nicolas , Viovy Nicolas
Published: June 2008

We assessed the effects of rising atmospheric CO2, changing climate, and farmers' practice on the carbon and water balance of European croplands during the past century (1901–2000). The coupled vegetation‐crop model ORCHIDEE‐STICS is applied over western Europe for C3 crops (winter wheat) and for maize, with prescribed historical agricultural practice changes. Not surprisingly, the enormous crop yield increase observed in all European regions, 300–400% between 1950 and 2000, is found to be dominantly explained by improved practice and varieties selection, rather than by rising CO2 (explaining a ∼11% uniform increase in yield) and changing climate (no further change in yield on average, but causing a decrease of ∼19% in the southern Iberian Peninsula). Agricultural soil carbon stocks in Europe are modeled to have decreased between 1950 and 1970, and since then to have increased again. Thus, the current stocks only differ by 1 ± 6 tC ha−1 from their 1900 value. Compensating effects of increasing yields on the one hand (increasing stocks) and of higher harvest index values and ploughing on the other hand (decreasing stocks) occur. Each of these processes taken individually has the potential to strongly alter the croplands soil carbon balance in the model. Consequently, large uncertainties are associated to the estimated change in carbon stocks between 1901 and 2001, roughly ±6 tC ha−1 a−1. In our most realistic simulation, the current cropland carbon balance is a net sink of 0.16 ± 0.15 tC ha−1 a−1. The annual water balance of cropland soils is influenced by increasing crop water use efficiency, one third of which is caused by rising CO2. However, increasing water use efficiency occurred mainly in spring and winter, when water is not limiting for plant growth, whereas no strong savings of soil water are achieved in summer through elevated CO2. Overall, trends in cultivation practices have caused a 3 times larger increase of water use efficiency than rising CO2.
Fundamental magnetic parameters from pure synthetic greigite (Fe3S4)
Authors: Chang Liao , Roberts Andrew P. , Tang Yan , Rainford Brian D. , Muxworthy Adrian R. , Chen Qianwang
Published: June 2008

Pure ferrimagnetic greigite (Fe3S4) has been synthesized by reacting ferric chloride with thiourea and formic acid at 170°C. Sample purity was confirmed by X‐ray diffraction, neutron diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy, coupled with magnetic measurements. Scanning electron microscope observations indicate clear cubo‐octahedral and polyhedral crystal morphologies. The grain sizes are as large as 44 μm. Detailed low‐ and high‐temperature magnetic measurements document the previously poorly known magnetic properties of greigite. The synthetic greigite samples are dominated by pseudo‐single‐domain and multi‐domain behavior. The saturation magnetization (Ms) at room temperature is ∼59 Am2kg−1 (3.13 μB per formula unit), which is higher than any value previously reported for greigite in the literature largely because of the high purity of this sample compared to others. No low‐temperature magnetic transition has been detected; however, a local coercivity minimum is observed at around 130 K, which is probably associated with domain walls present in the studied samples. The high‐temperature magnetic properties of greigite are dominated by chemical decomposition above around 250°C, which precludes determination of the Curie temperature, but our evidence indicates that it must exceed 350°C. On the basis of the Bloch spin wave expansion, the spin wave stiffness of greigite was determined for the first time as ∼193 meV·Å2 from low‐temperature Ms measurements, with the corresponding exchange constant JAB of ∼1.03 meV.
The nature of Martian fluids based on mobile element studies in salt‐assemblages from Martian meteorites
Authors: Rao M. N. , Nyquist L. E. , Wentworth S. J. , Sutton S. R. , Garrison D. H.
Published: June 2008

The S, Cl, and Br abundances determined in salt assemblages in Nakhla and Lafayette olivine fracturefillings and in gas‐rich impact‐melt (GRIM) glasses from Shergotty and EET79001 Lithologies A & B using EMPA/EDS/APS X‐ray Microprobe techniques are compared with the S and Cl abundances determined by Gooding and coworkers in similar samples using quadrupole mass‐spectrometric techniques. All the analytical methods yield relatively high Cl and low SO3 abundances in Nakhla indicating a SO3/Cl ratio of ∼0.2. The same ratio in Lafayette secondary salts seems to be ∼2. In the case of GRIM glasses from Shergotty and EET79001 Lith A & Lith B, the SO3 abundance is found to be high whereas the Cl abundance is low yielding a SO3/Cl ratio of ∼5–300 (large errors are associated with these ratios because of low Cl signals). The salts found in Nakhla fracturefillings are inferred to have formed from Cl‐rich fluids (high pH) near nakhlite source region on Mars, whereas the secondary minerals found in shergottite GRIM glasses seem to be associated with SO3‐rich fluids (low pH) near shergottite source region on Mars. The Cl‐rich fluids seem to have infiltrated into the nakhlite source region ∼600 Ma ago, whereas the SO3‐rich fluids likely percolated into the shergottite source region at ∼180 Ma (or less) suggesting the possible existence of two types of fluid sources on Mars.
Toward Statistical Descriptions of Convective Cloud Dynamics: Workshop on Concepts for Convective Parameterizations in Large‐Scale Models; Hamburg, Germany, 12–14 February 2008
Authors: Yano Jun‐Ichi , Quaas Johannes , Wagner Till M. , Plant Robert S.
Published: June 2008

An accurate representation (parameterization) of deep convective clouds is essential for the successful simulation of precipitation in climate models. However, the question of closure (i.e., how to find a closed system of equations) for convective parameterizations remains unsettled. Because the parameterization is conceptually a description of an ensemble of convective clouds, the development of “statistical cumulus dynamics” (SCD) would be the ultimate way to provide the closure, just as the statistical mechanics of a microphysical system provides the ultimate basis for its macrophysical thermodynamics.

The concept of SCD was introduced by A. Arakawa and W. H. Schubert (J. Atmos. Sci., 31, 674–701, 1974) in their seminal work on mass‐flux convective parameterization. Although progress since then has been slow, some pioneering work has recently been done in Europe. A workshop was organized at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology for intensive discussions of SCD.
Accelerated Arctic land warming and permafrost degradation during rapid sea ice loss
Authors: Lawrence David M. , Slater Andrew G. , Tomas Robert A. , Holland Marika M. , Deser Clara
Published: June 2008

Coupled climate models and recent observational evidence suggest that Arctic sea ice may undergo abrupt periods of loss during the next fifty years. Here, we evaluate how rapid sea ice loss affects terrestrial Arctic climate and ground thermal state in the Community Climate System Model. We find that simulated western Arctic land warming trends during rapid sea ice loss are 3.5 times greater than secular 21st century climate‐change trends. The accelerated warming signal penetrates up to 1500 km inland and is apparent throughout most of the year, peaking in autumn. Idealized experiments using the Community Land Model, with improved permafrost dynamics, indicate that an accelerated warming period substantially increases ground heat accumulation. Enhanced heat accumulation leads to rapid degradation of warm permafrost and may increase the vulnerability of colder permafrost to degradation under continued warming. Taken together, these results imply a link between rapid sea ice loss and permafrost health.
Isolation of Streptomyces sp. PCB7, the first microorganism demonstrating high-affinity uptake of tropospheric H2
Authors: Constant Philippe , Poissant Laurier , Villemur Richard
Published: June 2008

Microbial-mediated soil uptake accounts for ∼80% of the global tropospheric dihydrogen (H2) sinks. Studies conducted over the last three decades provide indirect evidences that H2 soil uptake is mediated by free soil hydrogenases or by unknown microorganisms that have a high affinity for H2. The exact nature of these hypothetical free soil enzymes or of H2-consuming microorganisms remains elusive because the activity has never been observed in pure culture. Here, we present the first aerobic microorganism able to consume tropospheric H2 at ambient levels. A dynamic microcosm chamber was developed to enrich a microbial consortium with a high affinity for H2, from which selected bacterial and fungal strains were isolated and tested for H2 uptake. Strain PCB7 had a H2 consumption activity that followed a Michaelis–Menten kinetics, with an apparent Km of 11 p.p.m.v. and a H2 threshold concentration <0.100 p.p.m.v., corresponding to the high-affinity uptake of tropospheric H2 observed in soil. 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences showed that strain PCB7 is highly related to several Streptomyces species. H2 consumption occurred during the sporulation period of the bacterium. Addition of nickel increased the activity, suggesting that the enzymes involved in H2 consumption belong to the NiFe uptake class of hydrogenases. Because this is the first microorganism showing a high-affinity uptake of tropospheric H2, we anticipate that Streptomyces sp. PCB7 will become a model organism for the understanding of the environmental factors influencing H2 soil uptake.
Leptin Infusion and Obesity in Mouse Cause Alterations in the Hypothalamic Melanocortin System
Authors: Gout Johann , Sarafian Delphine , Tirard Julien , Blondet Antonine , Vigier Michèle , Rajas Fabienne , Mithieux Gilles , Begeot Martine , Naville Danielle
Published: June 2008

The objectives of this study were to identify potential alterations in gene expression of melanocortin‐4 receptor (MC4‐R), proopiomelanocortin (POMC), and Agouti‐related protein (AgRP) in mouse hypothalamus under a chronic peripheral infusion of leptin or at early (8 weeks) and advanced (16 weeks) phases of diet‐induced obesity. Control or diet‐induced obesity mice (8 or 16 weeks of high‐fat diet) were either treated or not treated with leptin. Metabolic features were analyzed and expression of the genes of interest was measured by quantitative reverse transcriptase‐PCR (RT‐qPCR) and western blot. We reported that in control mice, but not in obese mice, leptin infusion induced an increase in POMC mRNA level as well as in MC4‐R mRNA level suggesting that leptin could act directly and/or through α‐melanocyte‐stimulating hormone (α‐MSH). This hypothesis was reinforced after in vitro studies, using the mouse hypothalamic GT1‐7 cell line, since both leptin and Norleucine4, D‐Phenylalanine7‐α‐MSH (NDP‐α‐MSH) treatments increased MC4‐R expression. After 8 weeks of high‐fat diet, nondiabetic obese mice became resistant to the central action of leptin and their hypothalamic content of POMC and AgRP mRNA were decreased without modification of MC4‐R mRNA level. After 16 weeks of high‐fat diet, mice exhibited more severe metabolic disorders with type 2 diabetes. Moreover, hypothalamic expression of MC4‐R was highly increased. In conclusion, several alterations of the melanocortin system were found in obese mice that are probably consecutive to their central resistance to leptin. Moreover, when the metabolic status is highly degraded (with all characteristics of a type 2 diabetes), other regulatory mechanisms (independent of leptin) can also take place.
Hyperbolic Relationship Between Insulin Secretion and Sensitivity on Oral Glucose Tolerance Test
Authors: Retnakaran Ravi , Shen Sandy , Hanley Anthony J. , Vuksan Vladimir , Hamilton Jill K. , Zinman Bernard
Published: June 2008

The utility of the disposition index as a measure of β‐cell compensatory capacity rests on the established hyperbolic relationship between its component insulin secretion and sensitivity measures as derived from the intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT). If one is to derive an analogous measure of β‐cell compensation from the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), it is thus necessary to first establish the existence of this hyperbolic relationship between OGTT‐based measures of insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity. In this context, we tested five OGTT‐based measures of secretion (insulinogenic index, Stumvoll first phase, Stumvoll second phase, ratio of total area‐under‐the‐insulin‐curve to area‐under‐the‐glucose‐curve (AUCins/gluc), and incremental AUCins/gluc) with two measures of sensitivity (Matsuda index and 1/Homeostasis Model of Assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA‐IR)). Using a model of log(secretion measure) = constant + β × log(sensitivity measure), a hyperbolic relationship can be established if β is approximately equal to −1, with 95% confidence interval (CI) excluding 0. In 277 women with normal glucose tolerance (NGT), the pairing of total AUCins/gluc and Matsuda index was the only combination that satisfied these criteria (β = −0.99, 95% CI (−1.66, −0.33)). This pairing also satisfied hyperbolic criteria in 53 women with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) (β = −1.02, (−1.72, −0.32)). In a separate data set, this pairing yielded distinct hyperbolae for NGT (n = 245) (β = −0.99, (−1.67, −0.32)), IGT (n = 116) (β = −1.18, (−1.84, −0.53)), and diabetes (n = 43) (β = −1.37, (−2.46, −0.29)). Moreover, the product of AUCins/gluc and Matsuda index progressively decreased from NGT (212) to IGT (193) to diabetes (104) (P < 0.001), consistent with declining β‐cell function. In summary, a hyperbolic relationship can be demonstrated between OGTT‐derived AUCins/gluc and Matsuda index across a range of glucose tolerance. Based on these findings, the product of these two indices emerges as a potential OGTT‐based measure of β‐cell function.
The CB1 Endocannabinoid System Modulates Adipocyte Insulin Sensitivity
Authors: Motaghedi Roja , McGraw Timothy E.
Published: June 2008

Mounting evidence suggests that the endocannabinoid system regulates energy metabolism through direct effects on peripheral tissues as well as central effects that regulate appetite. Here we examined the effect of cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) signaling on insulin action in fat cells. We examined effects of the natural CB1 agonist, 2‐Arachidonoylglycerol (2‐AG), and the synthetic CB1 antagonist, SR141716, on insulin action in cultured adipocytes. We used translocation of glucose transporter GLUT4 to plasma membrane (PM) as a measure of insulin action. 2‐AG activation of the CB1 receptor promoted insulin sensitivity whereas antagonism by SR141716 reduced insulin sensitivity. Neither drug affected GLUT4 translocation in the absence of insulin or with high doses of insulin. Consistent with these results we found that insulin‐stimulated phosphorylation of the protein kinase Akt was increased by 2‐AG, attenuated by SR141716, and unaffected in the absence of insulin or by addition of high‐dose insulin. These data provide a functional and molecular link between the CB1 receptor and insulin sensitivity, because insulin‐stimulated phosphorylation of Akt is required for GLUT4 translocation to the PM. The sensitizing effects of 2‐AG were abrogated by SR141716 and Pertussis toxin, indicating that the effects are mediated by CB1 receptor. Importantly, neither 2‐AG nor SR141716 alone or in combination with maximal dose of insulin had effects on GLUT4 translocation and Akt phosphorylation. These data are consistent with a model in which the endocannabinoid system sets the sensitivity of the insulin response in adipocytes rather than directly regulating the redistribution of GLUT4 or Akt phosphorylation.
Further Evidence For the Role of ENPP1 in Obesity: Association With Morbid Obesity in Finns
Authors: Valli‐Jaakola Kaisa , Suviolahti Elina , Schalin‐Jäntti Camilla , Ripatti Samuli , Silander Kaisa , Oksanen Laura , Salomaa Veikko , Peltonen Leena , Kontula Kimmo
Published: June 2008

The aim of this study was to investigate a series of single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the genes MC2R, MC3R, MC4R, MC5R, POMC, and ENPP1 for association with obesity. Twenty‐five SNPs (2–7 SNPs/gene) were genotyped in 246 Finns with extreme obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2) and in 481 lean subjects (BMI 20–25 kg/m2). Of the obese subjects, 23% had concomitant type 2 diabetes. SNPs and SNP haplotypes were tested for association with obesity and type 2 diabetes. Allele frequencies differed between obese and lean subjects for two SNPs in the ENPP1 gene, rs1800949 (P = 0.006) and rs943003 (P = 0.0009). These SNPs are part of a haplotype (rs1800949 C‐rs943003 A), which was observed more frequently in lean subjects compared to obese subjects (P = 0.0007). Weaker associations were detected between the SNPs rs1541276 in the MC5R, rs1926065 in the MC3R genes and obesity (P = 0.04 and P = 0.03, respectively), and between SNPs rs2236700 in the MC5R, rs2118404 in the POMC, rs943003 in the ENPP1 genes and type 2 diabetes (P = 0.03, P = 0.02 and P = 0.02, respectively); these associations did not, however, remain significant after correction for multiple testing. In conclusion, a previously unexplored ENPP1 haplotype composed of SNPs rs1800949 and rs943003 showed suggestive evidence for association with adult‐onset morbid obesity in Finns. In this study, we did not find association between the frequently studied ENPP1 K121Q variant, nor SNPs in the MCR or POMC genes and obesity or type 2 diabetes.
Optimal Form of Operationalizing BMI in Relation to All‐cause and Cause‐specific Mortality: The Original Whitehall Study
Authors: Kivimäki Mika , Ferrie Jane E. , Batty G. David , Smith George Davey , Elovainio Marko , Marmot Michael G. , Shipley Martin J.
Published: June 2008

Objective: The shape of the association between BMI (kg/m2) and mortality has important methodological implications as it partially determines the optimal form for operationalizing BMI for use in analyses. We examined various BMI operationalizations in relation to mortality from all causes and specific causes.

Methods and Procedures: A clinical examination with measurements of height and weight was conducted at baseline (1967–1970) for 18,860 working men aged 40–69, in the total cohort and 7,865 men in the healthy subcohort, that is, those who had no unexplained weight loss, no cardiovascular (CVD) or respiratory disease, were nonsmokers and did not die during the first 5 years of follow‐up (the original Whitehall study). A mean follow‐up of 35 years for mortality gave rise to 13,498 deaths of which 4,766 were in the healthy subcohort.

Results: There was a dose‐response relation between BMI and CVD and coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality in the total cohort and healthy subcohort, with an increasingly steep slope at the high end of the BMI distribution. For noncardiovascular, cancer, and respiratory mortality, an excess risk was also associated with a BMI <18.5; in the healthy subcohort, this was true only for respiratory deaths. The association between BMI and all‐cause mortality was J‐shaped in the total cohort and healthy subgroup and even after excluding underweight participants.

Discussion: For associations with all‐cause and cause‐specific mortality, a linear and quadratic term in combination provided a more parsimonious BMI operationalization than the WHO definition, obese‐nonobese dichotomy or BMI treated as a continuous linear variable.
The Making of ‘Undeserving’ Homeless Women: A Gendered Analysis of Homeless Policy in South Korea from 1997 to 2001
Authors: Song Jesook
Published: June 2008

The Asian Debt Crisis of 1997–2001 led to drastically higher levels of unemployment, resulting in enormous social anxiety and shock. For the first time in its history, South Korea's attention was forcibly drawn to homeless people. Both the new government of the first civilian president, Kim Dae Jung, and an emerging civil society began to pay unprecedented attention to homeless issues. In this new context, homelessness was constructed as a product of the economic crisis. However, although certain homeless men who fit the category of employability and rehabilitation were considered ‘deserving’, long-term street living people and homeless women were disregarded and further marginalized through specific gendered processes. In particular, homeless women were rendered invisible and considered ‘undeserving’ because they fell outside of normative gender expectations, including the idea that a woman's place was in the home, regardless of their ability or desire to work. Building upon ‘needs-talk’ analysis created by Nancy Fraser, this paper exposes the important role of gender norms in the making of a neoliberal welfare citizenship in South Korea, by arguing that the narratives of homeless policy administrators and shelter managers designated homeless women as ‘undeserving’ welfare citizens.
Re-Thinking Intersectionality
Authors: Nash Jennifer C.
Published: June 2008

Intersectionality has become the primary analytic tool that feminist and anti-racist scholars deploy for theorizing identity and oppression. This paper exposes and critically interrogates the assumptions underpinning intersectionality by focusing on four tensions within intersectionality scholarship: the lack of a defined intersectional methodology; the use of black women as quintessential intersectional subjects; the vague definition of intersectionality; and the empirical validity of intersectionality. Ultimately, my project does not seek to undermine intersectionality; instead, I encourage both feminist and anti-racist scholars to grapple with intersectionality's theoretical, political, and methodological murkiness to construct a more complex way of theorizing identity and oppression.
Feminism, Policy and Women's Safety during Australia's ‘War on Terror’
Authors: Phillips Ruth
Published: June 2008

The main argument in this article is that the Australian government in power from 1996 to November 2007 failed women's domestic security by denying the central policy role of women's organizations in the struggle against domestic violence and by successfully expunging public debate on gender issues in Australian governance, while participating in the ‘war on terror’ to guard national security. In bringing together a discussion about the war on terror and the importance of feminism for women's security, key issues about feminism, race and gender are considered. This article also explores the prevalence of violence against women and the social implications of the lack of leadership in public debate about the gendered nature of violence against women. Under the Australian government led by Prime Minister John Howard that gained power in 1996 and was defeated in 2007, women's organizations lost financial support and women's policy infrastructure was decimated. Violence against women, however, continued to increase, reaffirming women's place in Australian society as insecure and dangerous. After more than 30 years of struggle to maintain domestic violence and sexual assault as serious social policy problems, provide services, support and advocacy for women who are victims of violence and assault, women's organizations are coming to terms with a society where there is a blindness to the role of gender in violence against women.
Structural and optical properties of porous nanocrystalline Ge
Authors: Kartopu G. , Sapelkin A. V. , Karavanskii V. A. , Serincan U , Turan R
Published: June 2008

Nanocrystalline Ge films were prepared by isotropic chemical etching on single-crystalline Ge substrates with 100 and 111 orientations. The structural and optical properties have been investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron diffraction (ED), Raman photoluminescence (PL), and infrared spectroscopy. The average size of nanocrystals (NCs) was estimated by fitting of the Raman spectra using a phonon-confinement model developed for spherical semiconductor NCs. Considered collectively TEM, ED, and Raman results indicate that all films contain high density of 3–4 nm diameter, diamond-structured Ge NCs with disordered surfaces. There are indications that surface of nanoparticles is mainly hydrogen terminated even for air-stabilized samples. Red PL is observed at room temperature upon excitation by 1.96 eV with peak energy of ∼1.55 eV and correlates well with recent theoretical calculations of the enlarged optical gap in Ge NCs of similar size.
Nonradiative recombination at threading dislocations in n-type GaN: Studied by cathodoluminescence and defect selective etching
Authors: Albrecht M. , Weyher J. L. , Lucznik B. , Grzegory I. , Porowski S.
Published: June 2008

Dislocations in GaN single crystal were studied by means of spectral cathodoluminescence (CL) mapping and defect selective etching. We show that the c-type screw dislocations are not recombination active. The recombination strength of the a- and (a+c)-type dislocations is influenced by impurity gettering. While fresh dislocations exhibit a CL contrast of 0.01–0.05 in accordance with intrinsic dislocation states, grown in dislocations show a contrast of 0.25. From the analysis of spectral CL maps, we find that impurities such as oxygen and silicon are depleted in the surrounding of the dislocations. We explain the increased contrast by a reduced screening of the electrical field of the dislocation.
Planar collapse of a granular column: Experiments and discrete element simulations
Authors: Lacaze Laurent , Phillips Jeremy C. , Kerswell Rich R.
Published: June 2008

The collapse of a granular column is an intriguingly simple table-top experiment which exhibits a host of interesting phenomena. Here, we introduce a planar version in which the collapsing column is only one particle deep perpendicular to the plane of motion to make observations of the internal motion possible. This configuration also particularly lends itself to comparison with discrete element simulations which are performed in tandem. Our experiments confirm that this planar system displays all the same features as collapsing cylinders and rectangular blocks. In particular, the dominant dependence on the initial parameters of the column runout is through a power law of the initial height-to-width aspect ratio. Discrete element simulations, which are found to reproduce the experimental behavior very well, are then used to analyze the velocity field of the collapse process. A predominantly linear velocity profile is found in a moving layer over an evolving static pile. The time-dependent strain rate in this moving layer is in reasonable correspondence with a strain rate prediction for flow down a fixed slope by Rajchenbach [Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 144302 (2003)].
Effective method for the computation of optical spectra of large molecules at finite temperature including the Duschinsky and Herzberg–Teller effect: The Qx band of porphyrin as a case study
Authors: Santoro Fabrizio , Lami Alessandro , Improta Roberto , Bloino Julien , Barone Vincenzo
Published: June 2008

The authors extend their recent method for the computation of vibrationally resolved optical spectra of large molecules, including both the Duschinsky rotation and the effect of finite temperature in the framework of the Franck–Condon (FC) approximation, to deal with the more general case of the Herzberg–Teller (HT) model, where also the linear dependence of the transition dipole moment on the nuclear coordinates is taken into account. This generalization allows us to investigate weak and vibronically allowed transitions by far extending the range of application of the method. The calculation of the spectra of sizable molecules is computationally demanding because of the huge number of final vibrational states that must be taken into account, and the inclusion of HT terms further increases the computational burden. The method presented here automatically selects the relevant vibronic contributions to the spectrum, independent of their frequency, and it is able to provide fully converged spectra with a modest computational requirement. The effectiveness of the method is illustrated by computing the HT absorption and fluorescence Qx spectra of free-base porphyrin both at T=0K and at room temperature, performing for the first time an exact treatment of vibrations in harmonic approximation. Qx spectra are compared to experiments and FC/HT interferences are analyzed in detail.
Directional states of symmetric-top molecules produced by combined static and radiative electric fields
Authors: Härtelt Marko , Friedrich Bretislav
Published: June 2008

We show that combined electrostatic and radiative fields can greatly amplify the directional properties, such as axis orientation and alignment, of symmetric top molecules. In our computational study, we consider all four symmetry combinations of the prolate and oblate inertia and polarizability tensors, as well as the collinear and perpendicular (or tilted) geometries of the two fields. In, respectively, the collinear or perpendicular fields, the oblate or prolate polarizability interaction due to the radiative field forces the permanent dipole into alignment with the static field. Two mechanisms are found to be responsible for the amplification of the molecules’ orientation, which ensues once the static field is turned on: (a) permanent-dipole coupling of the opposite-parity tunneling doublets created by the oblate polarizability interaction in collinear static and radiative fields and (b) hybridization of the opposite parity states via the polarizability interaction and their coupling by the permanent dipole interaction to the collinear or perpendicular static field. In perpendicular fields, the oblate polarizability interaction, along with the loss of cylindrical symmetry, is found to preclude the wrong-way orientation, causing all states to become high-field seeking with respect to the static field. The adiabatic labels of the states in the tilted fields depend on the adiabatic path taken through the parameter space comprised of the permanent and induced-dipole interaction parameters and the tilt angle between the two field vectors.
First-order exchange energy of intermolecular interactions from coupled cluster density matrices and their cumulants
Authors: Korona Tatiana
Published: June 2008

A new method for the calculation of the first-order intermolecular exchange energy is proposed. It is based on the partition of two-particle density matrices of monomers into the antisymmetrized product of one-particle density matrices and the remaining cumulant part. This partition is used to modify the formula for the first-order exchange energy developed by Moszynski et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 100, 5080 (1994)]. The new expression has been applied for the case of monomer density matrices derived from the expectation value expression for the coupled cluster singles and doubles wave function. In this way an accurate method of calculation of the first-order exchange energy for many-electron systems has been obtained, where both monomers are described on the coupled cluster level. Numerical results are presented for several benchmark van der Waals systems to illustrate the performance of the new approach.
Theory and simulation of surface plasmon excitation using resonant metal nanoparticle arrays
Authors: Ghoshal Amitabh , Kik Pieter G.
Published: June 2008

We discuss a plasmonic coupling device consisting of a periodic array of ellipsoidal silver nanoparticles embedded in SiO2 and placed near a silver surface. By tuning the shape of the particles in the array, the nanoparticle plasmon resonance is tuned. The resulting resonantly enhanced fields near the nanoparticles, in turn, excite surface plasmons on the metal film. We have performed finite integration technique simulations of such a plasmon coupler, optimized for operation near a wavelength of 676nm. Analysis of the frequency dependent electric field at different locations in the simulation volume reveals the separate contributions of the particle and surface resonance to the excitation mechanism. A coupled oscillator model describing the nanoparticle and the metal film as individual resonators is introduced and is shown to reproduce the trends observed in the simulations. Implications of our analysis on the resonantly enhanced excitation of surface plasmons are discussed.