Mutual Interactions (mutual + interaction)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Beyond Dialogue: The Role of Science Within Theology

DIALOG, Issue 3 2007
Ernest L. Simmons
Abstract:, The purpose of this article is to provide background overview and contemporary context for the theme of this issue of Dialog, the role of science within theology. Over the last fifty years, this role has primarily involved dialogue and the drive to mutual understanding. That discussion has now reached a new stage seeking to move beyond dialogue toward what some are referring to as hypothetical consonance. One of the most serious constructive proposals moving beyond dialogue is Creative Mutual Interaction (CMI), proposed by Robert John Russell. The first five ways he discusses in CMI specifically address the role of science in theological reflection. It is argued that these five ways will assist the reader in contextualing the discussion found in the articles in this issue. Elaboration of each way is given, concluding with a constructive theological example of the heuristic use of scientific concepts found in quantum field theory. [source]


Interdependent Preferences and Groups of Agents

JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMIC THEORY, Issue 1 2001
Stanley Reiter
An individual's preferences are assumed to be malleable and may be influenced by the preferences of others. Mutual interaction among individuals whose preferences are interdependent powers a dynamic process in which preference profiles evolve over time. Two formulations of the dynamic process are presented. One is an abstract model in which the iteration of a mapping from profiles to profiles defines a discrete time dynamic process; the other is a linear discrete time process specified in more detail. Examples motivate the model and illustrate its application. Conditions are given for the existence of a stable preference profile,a rest point of the dynamic process. A stable profile is naturally associated with a division, not in general unique, of the set of agents into subgroups with the property that preference interdependencies within a subgroup are "stronger" than those across subgroups. The conventional case in which each agent's preference relation is exogenously given is, in this model, the special case where each subgroup consists of just one agent. [source]


Screening of the Interactions Between Mg-PSZ and TRIP-Steel and Its Alloys During Sintering,

ADVANCED ENGINEERING MATERIALS, Issue 6 2010
Christian Weigelt
Ceramic,steel compound materials are used in a wide range of applications up to date. Major advantages are the mechanical properties due to the combination of brittle ceramic with tough steel. This study deals with effects of the sintering process on austenitic TRIP-steel/Mg-PSZ composite materials for mechanical load applications. Both, the FeCrNisteel and partially stabilized zirconia offer their special mechanical behavior only in a metastable state. The ability of phase transformation depends mainly on the chemical composition. Mutual interactions of the alloying metals (Cr, Ni, Mn, and Fe) and the ceramic stabilizer (MgO) during sintering may prevent the martensitic phase transformation. This may cause disadvantageous mechanical behavior on mechanical load in use. [source]


Effects of unidirectional and mutual interactions between microstructures and azo dyes as "kinetic" probe molecules on cis,trans isomerization rate constants in aqueous P85 and F88 triblock copolymer solutions

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL KINETICS, Issue 2 2008
Helmut Knoll
Rate constants of the thermal cis , trans isomerization of azo dyes have been studied in aqueous P85 and F88 triblock copolymer solutions by means of microsecond flash photolysis. Inflection points or maxima of the nonlinear Arrhenius plots indicate microstructure changes around the "kinetic" probe molecules. Unidirectional interactions of micelle formation on reactivity are reflected by discontinuous change of rate constants at temperatures near the critical micellization temperatures (cmT) determined by means of probe-free methods. Mutual interactions have been identified by means of significant differences between cmT and temperatures, where rate constants change discontinuously. The type of interactions depends on the properties of probe molecules and amphiphiles. Systems as studied in this work might be models of more complex biological reaction systems with temperature-dependent microstructure changes. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 40: 59,65, 2007 [source]


Development of the saltation system under controlled environmental conditions

EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 8 2002
Samantha ArnoldArticle first published online: 24 JUN 200
Abstract The transport of sand by the wind occurs predominantly by the process of saltation. Following the entrainment of sand by an above threshold wind, the saltation system is regulated by the mutual interaction of the atmospheric boundary-layer, the sand cloud and the sand bed. Despite existing data on the spatial and temporal development of the sand transport system, very little is known about the development of the saltation system towards equilibrium. Results are presented from wind-tunnel experiments that were designed to address the simultaneous spatial and temporal development of the saltation system, with and without artificial sand feed. The development of the saltation system was monitored over a streamwise length of 8 m during a period of 3600 s. Mass flux data were measured simultaneously at 1 m intervals by the downwind deployment of seven Aarhus sand traps. Wind velocity data were collected throughout the experiments. The downwind spatial development of the saltation system is manifested by an overshoot in mass flux and friction velocity prior to declining towards a quasi-equilibrium. Mass flux overshoots at approximately 4 m downwind, in remarkable agreement with existing data of a comparable scale. Friction velocity overshoots at approximately 6 m downwind, a result not previously witnessed in saltation studies. The overshoot of mass flux prior to the overshoot in friction velocity is a spatial manifestation of the time lag between the entrainment of grains and the deceleration of the wind by the grains in transport. Temporally, the development of the saltation system is controlled by the availability of entrainable grains from the sand bed. Through time the saltation system develops from a transport-limited to a supply-limited system. The depletion of the sand bed through time limits the appropriateness of the assumption of ,equilibrium' for the universal prediction of mass flux. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Primitive complement system of invertebrates

IMMUNOLOGICAL REVIEWS, Issue 1 2004
Masaru Nonaka
Summary:, Most components of the human complement system have unmistakable domain architectures, making evolutionary tracing feasible. In contrast to the major genes of the adaptive immune system, which are present only in jawed vertebrates, complement component genes with unique domain structures are present not only in jawed vertebrates but also in jawless fish and non-vertebrate deuterostomes. Recent progress in genome analysis in several eukaryotes, occupying the phylogenetically critical positions, showed that most individual domains found in the complement components are metazoa specific, being found both in deuterostomes and in protostomes but not in yeast or plant. However, unique domain architecture of complement components is not present in protostomes, suggesting that the complement system has been established in the deuterostome lineage not by invention of new domains but by innovation of unique combination of the pre-existing domains. The recently assembled Ciona intestinalis draft genome contained the most modular complement genes, except for factor I. However, some possible C. intestinalis complement components show critical structural divergence from the mammalian counterparts, casting doubt on their mutual interaction. Thus, another integrative step seems to have been required to establish the modern complement system of higher vertebrates. [source]


Response surface methodology to optimize the nutritional parameters for enhanced production of jasmonic acid by Lasiodiplodia theobromae

JOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 3 2008
P.C. Dhandhukia
Abstract Aims:, To find out the cumulative effect of the nutritional parameters and to enhance the production of jasmonic acid (JA) in static fermentation by Lasiodiplodia theobromae using response surface methodology (RSM). Method and Results:, Malt extract, sucrose, NaNO3 and MgSO4.7H2O were analysed by a 30-trial central composite design using RSM for optimizing their concentrations in the medium and the effect of their mutual interaction on JA production. Sucrose and NaNO3 were found highly significant in influencing the JA production. Malt extract and MgSO4.7H2O showed an effect on the JA production in interaction with other variables. When the optimum values of the parameters obtained through RSM (19·95 g l,1 malt extract, 50 g l,1 sucrose, 7·5 g l,1 NaNO3 and 3·51 g l,1 MgSO4.7H2O) were applied, 32% increase in JA production (299 mg l,1) was observed in comparison with 225 mg l,1 of JA produced with same media components not analysed by RSM and subsequently validated the statistical model. Conclusions:, Increase in JA production was achieved by optimizing the nutritional parameters. Significance and Impact of the Study:, This is the first report of using RSM for optimizing a medium for JA production. It resulted in an increase in JA production without augmentation of costly additives. [source]


Structure, chemistry and electrical properties of extended defects in crystalline silicon for photovoltaics

PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (C) - CURRENT TOPICS IN SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 8 2009
M. Seibt
Abstract The electronic properties of present-day multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) materials for photovoltaic applications are strongly influenced by point defects, their mutual interaction and their interaction with dislocations and grain boundaries. This paper presents results from fundamental investigations of metal impurity interaction with extended defects, namely a small-angle grain boundary and bulk microdefects. It is shown that the distribution of copper silicide precipitates closely follows the density of bulk microdefects indicating the underlying physics of ,good' and ,bad' grains frequently observed in mc-Si. Co-precipitation of copper and nickel in the same samples leads to virtually the same distribution of multimetal silicide precipitates which according to light-beam induced current measurements show the same recombination activity as single-metal silicide particles. Transmission electron microscopy is used to show that for copper-rich and nickel-rich conditions two types of silicides co-exist, i.e. Cu3Si precipitates containing a small amount of nickel and NiSi2 precipitates containing some copper. Finally, phosphorus-diffusion gettering (PDG) is discussed as the main gettering process used in presentday silicon photovoltaics. Special emphasis is put on the effect of extended defects and their interaction with metal impurities on PDG kinetics. It is shown that different limiting processes will be simultaneously operative in mc-Si as a result of inhomogeneous bulk defect distributions (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]


SCG0018-4854: A young and dynamic compact group

ASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 9-10 2009
V. Presotto
Abstract It is widely recognized in the literature that processes taking place within the group environment are among the main drivers of galaxy evolution. SCG0018-4854 is a compact group of galaxies located at a distance of v , 3200 km s,1. It is composed of four galaxy members, very close to each other on the sky: their median projected distance is only ,20 Kpc (H = 70 km s,1Mpc,1). The remarkably high local galaxy density coupled with the low velocity dispersion (,100 km s,1) characterizing this group, makes SCG001 8-4854 a test case to study in detail the interplay between the environment and the galaxy properties. We present here some of the properties of the group members that are related to their mutual interaction, as derived from our kinematical and morphological analysis (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]


Volume fraction based miscible and immiscible fluid animation

COMPUTER ANIMATION AND VIRTUAL WORLDS (PREV: JNL OF VISUALISATION & COMPUTER ANIMATION), Issue 3-4 2010
Kai Bao
Abstract We propose a volume fraction based approach to effectively simulate the miscible and immiscible flows simultaneously. In this method, a volume fraction is introduced for each fluid component and the mutual interactions between different fluids are simulated by tracking the evolution of the volume fractions. Different techniques are employed to handle the miscible and immiscible interactions and special treatments are introduced to handle flows involving multiple fluids and different kinds of interactions at the same time. With this method, second-order accuracy is preserved in both space and time. The experiment results show that the proposed method can well handle both immiscible and miscible interactions between fluids and much richer mixing detail can be generated. Also, the method shows good controllability. Different mixing effects can be obtained by adjusting the dynamic viscosities and diffusion coefficients. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Effects of inoculation with plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria on resident rhizosphere microorganisms

FEMS MICROBIOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 1 2007
Susana Castro-Sowinski
Abstract Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are exogenous bacteria introduced into agricultural ecosystems that act positively upon plant development. However, amendment reproducibility as well as the potential effects of inoculation upon plant root-associated microbial communities can be sources of concern. To address these questions, an understanding of mutual interactions between inoculants and resident rhizosphere microorganisms is required. Mechanisms used by PGPR can be direct or indirect; the former entails the secretion of growth regulators and the latter occurs through the production of antimicrobial compounds that reduce the deleterious effects of phytopathogens. The different modes of action may lead to different relationships between an inoculant and root microbial communities. Rhizobacterial communities are also affected by the plant, engineered genes, environmental stresses and agricultural practices. These factors appear to determine community structure more than an exogenous, active PGPR introduced at high levels. [source]


Changes in the interaction of resting-state neural networks from adolescence to adulthood

HUMAN BRAIN MAPPING, Issue 8 2009
Michael C. Stevens
Abstract This study examined how the mutual interactions of functionally integrated neural networks during resting-state fMRI differed between adolescence and adulthood. Independent component analysis (ICA) was used to identify functionally connected neural networks in 100 healthy participants aged 12,30 years. Hemodynamic timecourses that represented integrated neural network activity were analyzed with tools that quantified system "causal density" estimates, which indexed the proportion of significant Granger causality relationships among system nodes. Mutual influences among networks decreased with age, likely reflecting stronger within-network connectivity and more efficient between-network influences with greater development. Supplemental tests showed that this normative age-related reduction in causal density was accompanied by fewer significant connections to and from each network, regional increases in the strength of functional integration within networks, and age-related reductions in the strength of numerous specific system interactions. The latter included paths between lateral prefrontal-parietal circuits and "default mode" networks. These results contribute to an emerging understanding that activity in widely distributed networks thought to underlie complex cognition influences activity in other networks. Hum Brain Mapp 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Effects of unidirectional and mutual interactions between microstructures and azo dyes as "kinetic" probe molecules on cis,trans isomerization rate constants in aqueous P85 and F88 triblock copolymer solutions

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL KINETICS, Issue 2 2008
Helmut Knoll
Rate constants of the thermal cis , trans isomerization of azo dyes have been studied in aqueous P85 and F88 triblock copolymer solutions by means of microsecond flash photolysis. Inflection points or maxima of the nonlinear Arrhenius plots indicate microstructure changes around the "kinetic" probe molecules. Unidirectional interactions of micelle formation on reactivity are reflected by discontinuous change of rate constants at temperatures near the critical micellization temperatures (cmT) determined by means of probe-free methods. Mutual interactions have been identified by means of significant differences between cmT and temperatures, where rate constants change discontinuously. The type of interactions depends on the properties of probe molecules and amphiphiles. Systems as studied in this work might be models of more complex biological reaction systems with temperature-dependent microstructure changes. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 40: 59,65, 2007 [source]


Climate variability and change in the Greater Alpine Region over the last two centuries based on multi-variable analysis

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 15 2009
Michele Brunetti
Abstract An extensive analysis of the HISTALP database is presented with the aim of giving a comprehensive picture of secular climate variability and change in the Greater Alpine Region (GAR, 4,19 E, 43,49 N). The HISTALP database encompasses 242 sites and concerns temperature, pressure, precipitation, cloudiness, sunshine duration, vapour pressure and relative humidity. The analyses are based on four regional mean records representing different GAR low-level areas and on an additional mean record representing high-level locations. The first goal of the paper is to give an overview of the seasonal and annual records for the different variables, aiming to highlight both variability on decadal time scale and long-term evolution. Then it focuses on trend and correlation analysis. Trends are presented both for the period of common data availability for all regional average series and for moving windows that permit studying the trends over a wide range of timescales. Correlations among the different variables are presented both for the regional average series and for their high-pass-filtered versions. The analyses, beside highlighting a warming that is about twice as large as the global trend, also show that the different variables have responded in different ways to this warming and that the mutual interactions linking the different variables are often present only at specific temporal scales and only in parts of the GAR and in defined seasons. In spite of this complex behaviour, which may also be due to some residual inhomogeneities still affecting the data, the analyses give evidence that the HISTALP database has an excellent internal consistency and show that the availability of a multi-variable database turns out to be very useful in order to evaluate the reliability of the reconstruction of each variable and to better understand the behaviour and the mutual interactions of the different variables. Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society [source]


Epigenetics of prostate cancer: beyond DNA methylation

JOURNAL OF CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR MEDICINE, Issue 1 2006
W. A. Schulz
Abstract Epigenetic mechanisms permit the stable inheritance of cellular properties without changes in DNA sequence or amount. In prostate carcinoma, epigenetic mechanisms are essential for development and progression, complementing, amplifying and diversifying genetic alterations. DNA hypermethylation affects at least 30 individual genes, while repetitive sequences including retrotransposons and selected genes become hypomethylated. Hypermethylation of several genes occurs in a coordinate manner early in carcinogenesis and can be exploited for cancer detection, whereas hypomethylation and further hypermethylation events are associated with progression. DNA methylation alterations interact with changes in chromatin proteins. Prominent alterations at this level include altered patterns of histone modification, increased expression of the EZH2 polycomb histone methyltransferase, and changes in transcriptional corepressors and coactivators. These changes may make prostate carcinoma particularly susceptible to drugs targeting chromatin and DNA modifications. They relate to crucial alterations in a network of transcription factors comprising ETS family proteins, the androgen receptor, NKX3.1, KLF, and HOXB13 homeobox proteins. This network controls differentiation and proliferation of prostate epithelial cells integrating signals from hormones, growth factors and cell adhesion proteins that are likewise distorted in prostate cancer. As a consequence, prostate carcinoma cells appear to be locked into an aberrant state, characterized by continued proliferation of largely differentiated cells. Accordingly, stem cell characteristics of prostate cancer cells appear to be secondarily acquired. The aberrant differentiation state of prostate carcinoma cells also results in distorted mutual interactions between epithelial and stromal cells in the tumor that promote tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. [source]


Transcriptional changes in insulin- and lipid metabolism-related genes in the hippocampus of olfactory bulbectomized mice

JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, Issue 14 2008
Peter Gass
Abstract Affymetrix chips were used to perform a hypothesis-free large-scale screening of transcripts in the hippocampus of olfactory bulbectomized mice, an established animal model of depression. Because only 11 transcripts were significantly changed, the statistically subsequent 25 transcripts below the significance level were additionally included in a first round of qRT-PCR evaluations. Furthermore, all 36 genes were then tested for mutual interactions or interactions with other molecules in a physiological context using PathwayArchitect software. Thirty of them were displayed in a network interacting with at least one partner molecule from the list or with other partner molecules known from the literature. All partner molecules from the most prominent 10 molecules of this network were then identified and put together into a new list. On those grounds, the hypothesis was made that metabolic network components of the insulin signaling pathway are perturbed in the disease. This pathway was subsequently tested by a second round of qRT-PCR, adding also a few additional candidate molecules belonging to this pathway. It turned out that the key target,FABP7,fell into the group of transcripts not significantly regulated within the chip data, and another key target,IRS1,did not show up in the chip experiments at all. In conclusion, our data reveal a problem with adhering to statistical significances in microarray experiments, insofar as molecules important for the disease may fall into the range of statistical noise. This approach may also be useful to find new targets for pharmacotherapy in affective disorders. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Block copolymers by chemoenzymatic cascade polymerization: A comparison of consecutive and simultaneous reactions

JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE (IN TWO SECTIONS), Issue 14 2006
Matthijs de Geus
Abstract The synthetic parameters for the chemoenzymatic cascade synthesis of block copolymers combining enzymatic ring-opening polymerization (EROP) and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) in one pot were investigated. A detailed analysis of the mutual interactions between the single reaction components revealed that the ATRP catalyst system could have a significant inhibiting effect on the enzyme activity. The inhibition of the enzyme was less pronounced in the presence of multivalent ligands such as dinonyl bipyridine, which thus could be used in this reaction as an ATRP catalyst. Moreover, the choice of the ATRP monomer was investigated. Methyl methacrylate interfered with EROP by transesterification, whereas t -butyl methacrylate was inert. Block copolymers were successfully synthesized with this cascade approach by the activation of ATRP after EROP by the addition of the ATRP catalyst and, with lower block copolymer yields, by the mixing of all the components before the copolymerization. Adetailed kinetic analysis of the reactions and the structure of the block copolymers showed that the first procedure proceeded smoothly to high block copolymer yields, whereas in the latter a noteworthy amount of the poly(t -butyl methacrylate) homopolymer was detected. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 4290,4297, 2006 [source]


A network of net-workers: report of the Euresco conference on ,Bacterial Neural Networks' held at San Feliu (Spain) from 8 to 14 May 2004

MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2004
Klaas J. Hellingwerf
Summary In May 2004, over 100 bacteriologists from 19 different countries discussed recent progress in identification and understanding of individual signal transfer mechanisms in bacteria and in the mutual interactions between these systems to form a functional living cell. The meeting was held in San Feliu and supported by ESF and EMBO. In part through the extensive sequencing efforts of the past few years, the bulk of the bacterial signal transfer systems have been resolved and their detailed characterization is revealing such characteristics as signal specificity, signalling rate constants, molecular interaction affinities, subcellular localization, etc., which should provide a solid basis to a computational extension of this field of studies. In parallel, the new genomics techniques are providing tools to characterize the way a collection of such systems interact in an individual cell, to give rise to ,life'. Systems theory provides rational and convenient ways to bring order to the wide range of observables thus obtained. Ultimately, the performance of engineered design will have to prove whether or not we know enough about the processes involved. [source]


Interactions between prostate volume, filling cystometric estimated parameters, and data from pressure-flow studies in 565 men with lower urinary tract symptoms suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia

NEUROUROLOGY AND URODYNAMICS, Issue 5 2001
Mardy D. Eckhardt
Abstract The aim of this study was to establish the characteristics and to investigate the interactions between prostate volume, degree of obstruction, bladder contractility, the prevalence of residual volume, bladder compliance, bladder capacities, and the prevalence of instability in a large, well-defined group of men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The 565 consecutive men included in this study met the criteria of the International Consensus Committee on BPH and voided more than 150 mL during uroflowmetry. Their residual urine volume and prostate size were estimated, and filling cystometry and pressure-flow studies were performed. Fifty-three percent of the men appeared to have obstruction. We found a positive correlation between prostate volume and Schäfer's obstruction grade, except that mean prostate volume decreased at Schäfer's grades 5 and 6. Significant negative correlations existed between Schäfer's grade and cystometric bladder capacity and effective capacity. Bladder outlet obstruction results in incomplete emptying. Of all men, 26% had a significant residual volume (,>,20% of cystometric capacity). Thirty-nine percent did not have residual volume. Of the 565 men, 46% had an unstable bladder. In particular, patients with an unstable bladder in the sitting and lying positions have a significantly higher Schäfer's grade and contractility grade and a significantly lower cystometric and effective bladder capacity compared with patients without instability. Patients with a residual volume or instability were significantly older. We conclude that in men with LUTS suggestive of BPH, abnormalities of bladder and bladder outlet function vary greatly and have complex mutual interactions. Neurourol. Urodynam. 20:579,590, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Telomere dynamics: the means to an end

CELL PROLIFERATION, Issue 4 2007
M. Matuli
Creating the physical ends of linear chromosomes, they play a crucial role in maintaining genome stability, control of cell division, cell growth and senescence. In vertebrates, telomeres consist of G-rich repetitive DNA sequences (TTAGGG)n and specific proteins, creating a specialized structure called the telosome that through mutual interactions with many other factors in the cell give rise to dynamic regulation of chromosome maintenance. In this review, we survey the structural and mechanistic aspects of telomere length regulation and how these processes lead to alterations in normal and immortal cell growth. [source]