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New Possibilities (new + possibility)
Selected AbstractsThe Max-Inf2/Lorentz Center workshop on New algorithms in macromolecular crystallography and electron microscopyACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 7 2009Navraj S. Pannu The resolution gap between macromolecular crystallography and electron microscopy continues to decrease. Recent advances in specimen preparation, instrumentation and computational power have allowed accurate structure determination of larger macromolecular complexes by crystallography and/or by electron microscopy on cryovitrified samples. New possibilities in structural biology have opened up and new challenges are faced to further reduce the resolution gap. A workshop at the Lorentz Center, Leiden, The Netherlands, which took place in May 2008, was organized to push further the limits of both complementary techniques through improved computational methods. [source] CA-125 for diagnosis of acute appendicitis: New possibility for an old tumor markerCOLORECTAL DISEASE, Issue 2 2010A. Basaran No abstract is available for this article. [source] SVG Linearization and AccessibilityCOMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 4 2002Ivan Herman Abstract The usage of SVG (Scaleable Vector Graphics) creates new possibilities as well as new challenges for theaccessibility of Web sites. This paper presents a metadata vocabulary to describe the information content ofan SVG file geared towards accessibility. When used with a suitable tool, this metadata description can helpin generating a textual ("linear") version of the content, which can be used for users with disabilities or withnon-visual devices. Although this paper concentrates on SVG, i.e. on graphics on the Web, the metadata approach and vocabularypresented below can be applied in relation to other technologies, too. Indeed, accessibility issues have a muchwider significance, and have an effect on areas like CAD, cartography, or information visualization. Hence, theexperiences of the work presented below may also be useful for practitioners in other areas. ACM CSS: I.3.4 Graphics Utilities,Graphics Packages, I.3.6 Methodology and Techniques,Graphics datastructures and data types, Standards, K.4.2 Social Issues,Assistive technologies for persons with disabilities [source] About 200 years after Mohs , Nanoscratching LiB3O5CRYSTAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 11 2008P. Paufler Abstract Though simple scratch hardness tests after Mohs are still used today, the development of diamond nanoscratching equipment offers new possibilities to meet demands of modern nanotechnology. Preceding approaches to assign hardness values to materials are briefly reviewed, and scratch hardness is related to indentation hardness. Taking single-crystalline LiB3O5 as an example, the dependence of scratch morphology on the direction of scratching is demonstrated quantitatively. The coefficient of friction depends on normal load and varies between 0.25 and 0.37. Moreover, it is oscillating during scratching thus reflecting processes at nanoscale. Dislocation etch pits were observed due to scratching. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Style of Knowing Regarding UncertaintiesCURRICULUM INQUIRY, Issue 1 2007DEBORAH HELSING This article addresses a key contrast in how teachers may regard the uncertainties of their work, considering how an orientation to uncertainty can be regarded as a decision-making style. Through the use of case studies, the author contrasts two teachers. One is oriented toward uncertainties in her work and describes her herself as being always "on the edge" of her capabilities, constantly seeking out perspectives that differ from and challenge her own and remaining vigilant to the need for improvising to respond to the circumstances of the moment. The other is oriented away from uncertainties and describes herself as prepared and deliberate; committed to achieving outcomes in line with her articulated goals and purposes; and purposeful about which unresolved questions she chooses to pursue. This contrast has implications not only for how these teachers make decisions and view their professional growth, but also for how some teachers may be understood, and misunderstood, by others. In a culture that often seeks to ignore pervasive moral ambiguities and focuses instead on questions for which there are easily identifiable answers (Cuban, 1992), an orientation toward uncertainty is more likely to be devalued or seen as an indication that one is not teaching well. Identifying these different approaches to decision-making styles enables us to appreciate the integrity and strength of each, as well as the limitations of each, suggesting new possibilities for research and for teachers' professional development. [source] Three-dimensional slice cultures from murine fetal gut for investigations of the enteric nervous systemDEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS, Issue 1 2007Marco Metzger Abstract Three-dimensional intestinal cultures offer new possibilities for the examination of growth potential, analysis of time specific gene expression, and spatial cellular arrangement of enteric nervous system in an organotypical environment. We present an easy to produce in vitro model of the enteric nervous system for analysis and manipulation of cellular differentiation processes. Slice cultures of murine fetal colon were cultured on membrane inserts for up to 2 weeks without loss of autonomous contractility. After slice preparation, cultured tissue reorganized within the first days in vitro. Afterward, the culture possessed more than 35 cell layers, including high prismatic epithelial cells, smooth muscle cells, glial cells, and neurons analyzed by immunohistochemistry. The contraction frequency of intestinal slice culture could be modulated by the neurotransmitter serotonin and the sodium channel blocker tetrodotoxin. Coculture experiments with cultured neurospheres isolated from enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) transgenic mice demonstrated that differentiating eGFP-positive neurons were integrated into the intestinal tissue culture. This slice culture model of enteric nervous system proved to be useful for studying cell,cell interactions, cellular signaling, and cell differentiation processes in a three-dimensional cell arrangement. Developmental Dynamics 236:128,133, 2007. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Miniature Biofuel Cells with Improved Stability Under Continuous OperationELECTROANALYSIS, Issue 19-20 2006Michael Abstract We have developed miniature biofuel cells (BFCs) with dimensions as small as 12×12×9,mm by adopting the design of stackable proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The enzymatic anodes were constructed by using stabilized glucose oxidase (GOx) in the form of crosslinked enzyme clusters (CECs) on the surface of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The combination of stabilized GOx and unbuffered fuel solution resulted in stabilized performance of miniature BFCs under continuous operation for more than 16 hours. This unprecedentedly high operational stability of miniature BFCs opens up new possibilities for many BFC applications. [source] Novel Anion Exchangers for Electrodes with Improved Selectivity to Divalent AnionsELECTROANALYSIS, Issue 17 2004Vladimir Egorov Abstract It has been found that replacing of several long-chain alkyl substituents at the nitrogen atom of lipophilic quaternary ammonium salts (QAS) by methyls results in a dramatic increase of the potentiometric selectivity of ion-selective electrodes (ISE) with QAS-based plasticized PVC membranes to some divalent anions against the monovalent ones. The discussed effect of QAS cation nature on the potentiometric selectivity is also partly retained for ISE with neutral carrier-based membranes doped with QAS to provide anion permselectivity. This opens up new possibilities to control the potentiometric selectivity of ISE for divalent anions by the appropriate selection of the anion exchanger. [source] PRECLINICAL STUDY: FULL ARTICLE: The dopamine D3 receptor partial agonist CJB090 and antagonist PG01037 decrease progressive ratio responding for methamphetamine in rats with extended-accessADDICTION BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2010Laura Orio ABSTRACT Previous work suggests a role for dopamine D3-like receptors in psychostimulant reinforcement. The development of new compounds acting selectively at dopamine D3 receptors has opened new possibilities to explore the role of these receptors in animal models of psychostimulant dependence. Here we investigated whether the dopamine D3 partial agonist CJB090 (1,10 mg/kg, i.v) and the D3 antagonist PG01037 (8,32 mg/kg, s.c.) modified methamphetamine (0.05 mg/kg/injection) intravenous self-administration under fixed- (FR) and progressive- (PR) ratio schedules in rats allowed limited (short access, ShA; 1-hour sessions 3 days/week) or extended access (long access, LgA; 6 hour sessions 6 days/week). Under a FR1 schedule, the highest dose of the D3 partial agonist CJB090 selectively reduced methamphetamine self-administration in LgA but not in ShA rats, whereas the full D3 antagonist PG01037 produced no effect in either group. Under a PR schedule of reinforcement, the D3 partial agonist CJB090 reduced the maximum number of responses performed (,breakpoint') for methamphetamine in LgA rats at the doses of 5 and 10 mg/kg, and also it produced a significant reduction in the ShA group at the highest dose. However, the D3 full antagonist PG01037 only reduced PR methamphetamine self-administration in LgA rats at the highest dose of 32 mg/kg with no effect in the ShA group. The results suggest that rats might be more sensitive to pharmacological modulation of dopamine D3 receptors following extended access to methamphetamine self-administration, opening the possibility that D3 receptors play a role in excessive methamphetamine intake. [source] Investigation of Mechanical and Microstructural Characteristics of Al,Mg Compounds,ADVANCED ENGINEERING MATERIALS, Issue 7 2009Reimund Neugebauer The presented approach of generating composites offers new possibilities for the combination of two light metal alloys into one semifinished product of high specific strength and corrosion resistance. A test device based on the forming method of lateral extrusion was designed to manufacture metallic compounds. The created interface layer is characterized by the formation of new phases and affects the mechanical properties of the whole compound. [source] Between Immigration and Policing: Cross RecognitionEUROPEAN LAW JOURNAL, Issue 2 2004Andrew Nicol The Dublin Convention of 1990 addressed some of the problems which this policy created, but left others unresolved. Domestic legislation has progressively reduced the opportunities for challenging safe third-country removals, especially to an EU state. The incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law has generated new possibilities for challenging safe third-country decisions where removal might damage physical or mental health. Articles 3 and 8 have been invoked in particular. The Dublin machinery established ,rules' to decide which member state was responsible for considering the asylum claim and the procedure to be followed. The article examines why the UK courts have said that these provisions are not justiciable in the English courts. Finally the article considers whether the experience with Dublin provides any useful guidance as to the approach that will be taken to European arrest warrants and extradition requests. [source] Fatigue damage analysis in a duplex stainless steel by digital image correlation techniqueFATIGUE & FRACTURE OF ENGINEERING MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES, Issue 2 2008A. EL BARTALI ABSTRACT Strain field measurements by digital image correlation today offer new possibilities for analysing the mechanical behaviour of materials in situ during mechanical tests. The originality of the present study is to use this technique on the micro-structural scale, in order to understand and to obtain quantitative values of the fatigue surface damage in a two-phased alloy. In this paper, low-cycle fatigue damage micromechanisms in an austenitic-ferritic stainless steel are studied. Surface damage is observed in real time, with an in situ microscopic device, during a low-cycle fatigue test performed at room temperature. Surface displacement and strain fields are calculated using digital image correlation from images taken during cycling. A detailed analysis of optical images and strain fields measured enables us to follow precisely the evolution of surface strain fields and the damage micromechanisms. Firstly, strain heterogeneities are observed in austenitic grains. Initially, the austenitic phase accommodates the cyclic plastic strain and is then followed by the ferritic phase. Microcrack initiation takes place at the ferrite/ferrite grain boundaries. Microcracks propagate to the neighbouring austenitic grains following the slip markings. Displacement and strain gradients indicate probable microcrack initiation sites. [source] Regularized Intergovernmentalism: France,Germany and Beyond (1963,2009)FOREIGN POLICY ANALYSIS, Issue 2 2010Ulrich Krotz Regularized intergovernmentalism refers to a distinct kind of foreign policy practice that connects and intertwines foreign policy processes in particular ways. This paper puts forth a concept to properly capture and expose such distinctive foreign policy realities characterizing certain periods and places. With this concept, the article systematically scrutinizes the intergovernmental fabric of bilateral Franco,German relations from 1963 to 2009. The characteristic features of Franco,German regularized intergovernmentalism represent a crucial foreign policy connection, foundational for European affairs of the past half century and a defining feature of Europe's post-war order and regional governance. Exploring key aspects of what it is that links France and Germany in particular ways, this paper offers a historically deeply grounded constitutive analysis. Based on its constitutive inquiries, the papers points at new possibilities of causal theorizing and explores some of regularized intergovernmentalism's hypothesized effects and limitations. Franco,German intergovernmental affairs may be the most developed instance of this practice. But regularized bilateral intergovernmentalism is not a Franco,German idiosyncrasy. Rather, it is an important and apparently growing approach to structuring foreign policy conduct, and seems an increasingly prominent aspect of how the world is organized. [source] Optically-Pumped Lasing in Hybrid Organic,Inorganic Light-Emitting DiodesADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 13 2009Myoung Hoon Song Abstract Here, the use of metal oxide layers both for charge transport and injection into an emissive semiconducting polymer and also for the control of the in-plane waveguided optical modes in light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is reported. The high refractive index of zinc oxide is used to confine these modes away from the absorbing electrodes, and include a nano-imprinted grating in the polymer layer to introduce distributed feedback and enhance optical out-coupling. These structures show a large increase in the luminescence efficiency over conventional devices, with photoluminescence efficiency increased by up to 45%. Furthermore, optically-pumped lasing in hybrid oxide polymer LEDs is demonstrated. A tuneable lasing emission is also obtained in a single device structure by employing a graduated thickness of a zinc oxide inter-layer. This demonstrates the scope for using such architectures to improve the external efficiency of organic semiconductor LEDs, and opens new possibilities for the realization of polymer injection lasers. [source] Hybrid Microstructures: One-Dimensional Microwires Formed by the Co-Assembly of Complementary Aromatic Donors and Acceptors (Adv. Funct.ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 11 2009Mater. A complementary donor-acceptor pair of truxene derivatives, Tr3 and its oxidized counterpart TrO3, are presented by Pei et al. on page 1746, and used to build a foundation for the investigation of aromatic donor,acceptor interaction. Two-component one-dimensional microstructures are realized by a simple solution process reliant on this interaction. Such a hybrid material opens new possibilities in the future design of multicomponent organic nano- and microstructures. [source] Measurements in the Magnetic FieldGERMAN RESEARCH, Issue 2 2005Wolfgang Bauer Prof. Dr. Dr. Doctors are banking on the new possibilities offered by magnetic resonance imaging to give them a better view of the blood circulation in the human cardiac muscle [source] Supported Lipid Bilayer on Nanocrystalline Diamond: Dual Optical and Field-Effect Sensor for Membrane DisruptionADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 1 2009Priscilla Kailian Ang Abstract It is demonstrated that a good biomimetic model lipid membrane with dynamic fluidity can be established on optically transparent nanocrystalline diamond (OTND) with surface roughness below 10,nm. Maigainin II, an antimicrobial peptide, is chosen to investigate the permeation of artificial bacterial membranes constructed on OTND. Due to the unique combination of optical transparency and highly sensitive surface conducting channel, intrinsic OTND affords the possibility of dual-mode sensing based on optical and field effect properties. This opens up new possibilities for making integrated biomolecule,semiconductor microdevices, or sensors where the binding of biomolecules can be tracked using confocal microscopy whilst the associated changes in charge density during membrane perforation can be tracked using the space charge effect in the semiconductor. Such a synergistic approach may provide a powerful methodology for the screening of specific bactericidal activity on biomimetic membrane systems. [source] Involving people with learning disabilities in research: issues and possibilitiesHEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 4 2004Tony Gilbert Abstract Advances in the social position of people with learning disabilities have led to a situation where research and evaluation studies are increasingly required to include the views and opinions of people with learning disabilities. One key outcome of this shift is that some of the major funding bodies now insist on the inclusion of people with learning disabilities as a condition of research funding. This has produced new possibilities and new challenges for researchers, and it has real consequences for people working in health and social care. The present paper sets out to explore some of the developments and challenges in research with people with learning disabilities. The author provides a selective overview of developments with the aim of demonstrating the richness, ingenuity and potential of research involving people with learning disabilities. The paper is divided into three broad sections that focus on: (1) the ethics and philosophy of participatory research; (2) the methodologies employed at particular points in the research process that are designed to ensure the involvement of participants in research; and (3) building capacity in participatory research as a precondition to the further development of this approach. An investment in capacity would enable this approach to move into the mainstream of research activity involving people with learning disabilities. [source] Synthesis of Components for the Generation of Constitutional Dynamic Analogues of Nucleic AcidsHELVETICA CHIMICA ACTA, Issue 1 2008David Abstract The introduction of dynamic covalent polymers, in which the monomer units are linked by reversible covalent bonds and can undergo component exchange, opens up new possibilities for the generation of functional materials. Extending this approach to the generation of dynamic biopolymers in aqueous media, which are able to adapt constitution (sequence, length) to external factors (e.g., environment, medium, template), would provide an alternative approach to the de novo design of functional dynamic bio-macromolecules. As a first step towards this goal, various mono- and bifunctionalised (hetero- and homotopic) nucleic acid-derived building blocks of type I,X have been synthesised for the generation of dynamic main-chain and side-chain reversible nucleic acid analogues. Hydrazide- and/or acetal (protected carbonyl)-functionalised components were selected, which differ in terms of flexibility, length, net formal charge, and hydrazide/acetal substituents, in order to explore how such factors may affect the properties (structure, solubility, molecular recognition features) of the polymer products that may be generated by polycondensation. [source] Synthesis, and Helix or Hairpin-Turn Secondary Structures of ,Mixed' ,/, -Peptides Consisting of Residues with Proteinogenic Side Chains and of 2-Amino-2-methylpropanoic Acid (Aib)HELVETICA CHIMICA ACTA, Issue 9 2006Dieter Seebach Abstract Twelve peptides, 1,12, have been synthesized, which consist of alternating sequences of , - and , -amino acid residues carrying either proteinogenic side chains or geminal dimethyl groups (Aib). Two peptides, 13 and 14, containing 2-methyl-3-aminobutanoic acid residues or a ,random mix' of ,-, ,2 -, and ,3 -amino acid moieties were also prepared. The new compounds were fully characterized by CD (Figs.,1 and 2), and 1H- and 13C-NMR spectroscopy, and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HR-MS). In two cases, 3 and 14, we discovered novel types of turn structures with nine- and ten-membered H-bonded rings forming the actual turns. In two other cases, 8 and 11, we found 14/15 -helices, which had been previously disclosed in mixed ,/, -peptides containing unusual , -amino acids with non-proteinogenic side chains. The helices are formed by peptides containing the amino acid moiety Aib in every other position, and their backbones are primarily not held together by H-bonds, but by the intrinsic conformations of the containing amino acid building blocks. The structures offer new possibilities of mimicking peptide,protein and protein,protein interactions (PPI). [source] History and Story: Unconventional History in Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient and James A. Michener's Tales of the South PacificHISTORY AND THEORY, Issue 4 2002Madhumalati Adhikari "Literary history" is a cross between conventional (scientific) history and pure fiction. The resulting hybrid provides access to history that the more conventional sort does not (in particular, a sense of the experiences of the historical actors, and the human meaning of historical events). This claim is demonstrated by an analysis of two novels about World War II, The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje, and Tales of the South Pacific by James Michener. These two very different novels in English are by writers themselves very different from each other, writers from different times, different social and political backgrounds, and different points of view. Their novels examine the effects of the Second World War and the events of 1942 on the human psyche, and suggest how human beings have always searched for the silver lining despite the devastation and devaluation of values. Both novels resist any kind of preaching, and yet the search for peace, balance, and kindness is constantly highlighted. The facts of scientific history are woven into the loom of their unconventional histories. The sense of infirmity created by the formal barriers of traditional history is eased, and new possibilities for historical understanding are unveiled. [source] Ideology, Semiotics, and Clifford Geertz: Some Russian ReflectionsHISTORY AND THEORY, Issue 1 2001Andrey Zorin This article, written by a Russian cultural historian, analyzes the concept of "ideology" in the work of Clifford Geertz and his role in understanding the figurative nature of ideology as a cultural system. The author compares Geertz's semiotic approach to culture with the semiotics of culture developed by Russian theorists, particularly Yuri Lotman, showing the convergence and divergence of the two different national traditions. This understanding of the nature and functions of ideology opens new possibilities for discussing the tortured relations of ideology and literature, showing the way fiction can affect the formation of ideological systems and influence practical politics. The analysis is illustrated by examples from Russian political life of the 1990s,when revolutionary changes demanded new sets of ideological metaphors that in their turn shaped the direction of events. [source] Anode-Supported Tubular Micro-Solid Oxide Fuel CellINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED CERAMIC TECHNOLOGY, Issue 2 2007Partho Sarkar A tubular anode-supported "micro-solid oxide fuel cell" (,SOFC) has been developed for producing high volumetric power density (VPD) SOFC systems featuring rapid turn on/off capability. An electrophoretic deposition (EPD)-based, facile manufacturing process is being refined to produce the anode support, anode functional and electrolyte layers of a single cell. ,SOFCs (diameter <5 mm) have two main potential advantages, a substantial increase in the electrolyte surface area per unit volume of a stack and also rapid start-up. As fuel cell power is directly proportional to the active electrolyte surface area, a ,SOFC stack can substantially increase the VPD of an SOFC device. A decrease in tube diameter allows for a reduction in wall thickness without any degradation of a cell's mechanical properties. Owing to its thin wall, a ,SOFC has an extremely high thermal shock resistance and low thermal mass. These two characteristics are fundamental in reducing start-up and turn-off time for the SOFC stack. Traditionally, SOFC has not been considered for portable applications due to its high thermal mass and low thermal shock resistance (start-up time in hours), but with ,SOFCs' potential for rapid start-up, new possibilities for portable and transportable applications open up. [source] Logical approaches to deontic reasoning: From basic questions to dynamic solutionsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS, Issue 10 2008Philippe Balbiani The development of deontic logic has opened new possibilities for the mathematical analysis of norms. This article tackles the description of large families of deontic systems that attempt to formalize such-and-such idea of juridical notions like obligation. It also introduces a modal logic based on actions for studying deontic reasoning within the context of a dynamic logic. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Designing ubiquitous computing to enhance children's learning in museumsJOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING, Issue 4 2006T. Hall Abstract In recent years, novel paradigms of computing have emerged, which enable computational power to be embedded in artefacts and in environments in novel ways. These developments may create new possibilities for using computing to enhance learning. This paper presents the results of a design process that set out to explore interactive techniques, which utilized ubiquitous computer technology, to stimulate active participation, involvement and learning by children visiting a museum. Key stakeholders, such as museum curators and docents, were involved throughout the process of creating the exhibition, Re-Tracing the Past, in the Hunt Museum, Limerick, Ireland. The paper describes aspects of the evaluation of the exhibition, which involved 326 schoolchildren (ages 9,12-year-old), and which exemplifies important features of the design and use of the novel technology in the museum. The paper concludes by articulating a series of design guidelines for developing ubiquitous computing to enhance children's learning in museums. These guidelines relate 12 experiential criteria to five supporting design informants and resources. The guidelines encompass important dimensions of children's educational experience in museums, including collaboration, engagement, active interpretation, and materiality. While developed in a museum context, these guidelines could be applied to the development of novel computing to enhance children's learning in other educational environments, both formal and informal. [source] End-stage renal disease , not an equal opportunity disease: the role of genetic polymorphismsJOURNAL OF INTERNAL MEDICINE, Issue 1 2005L. NORDFORS Abstract. Despite several decades of development in renal replacement therapy, end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients continue to have markedly increased morbidity and mortality especially caused by cardiovascular disease (CVD). This shows that current strategies, e.g. the focus on dialysis adequacy, to improve the clinical outcome in ESRD patients have to be complemented by novel approaches. Although traditional risk factors are common in dialysis patients they cannot alone explain the unacceptably high prevalence of CVD in this patient group. Much recent interest has therefore focused on the role of various nontraditional cardiovascular risk factors, such as inflammation, vascular calcification and oxidative stress. Recent studies show that genetic factors, such as DNA single nucleotide polymorphisms, may significantly influence the immune response, the levels of inflammatory markers, as well as the prevalence of atherosclerosis in this patient group. To elucidate the respective roles of DNA polymorphisms in genes that encode inflammatory markers (such as IL-10, IL-6 and TNF- ,) and other factors that may affect the development of atherosclerosis (such as apolipoprotein E, transforming growth factor and fetuin-A), sufficiently powered studies are needed in which genotype, the protein product and the specific phenotype all are analysed in relation to outcome. The recent developments in the field of genetics have opened up entirely new possibilities to understand the impact of genotype on disease development and progress and thus offer new options and strategies for treatment. It seems conceivable that in the near future, prognostic or predictive multigene DNA assays will provide the nephrological community with a more precise approach for the identification of ,high-risk' ESRD patients and the development of accurate individual treatment strategies. For this purpose, integrative studies on genotype,phenotype associations and impact on clinical outcome are needed. [source] At the Interface of School and WorkJOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION, Issue 3 2005Theodore Lewis The current emphasis that organisations are placing upon knowledge and the corresponding attention that workplace epistemological values are receiving within the educational community has resulted in an interesting convergence of discourses,school-based and work-based. Even as workplaces are tending toward abstraction over practice,based knowing, schools are being nudged into doing the reverse. The result of this ferment is that traditional barriers between these kinds of knowledge are being removed. As can be seen from workplace examples, it is possible for liberal learning to be in the service of instrumental ends. So too schools may come to see more clearly the value of situatedness and team-work in the transaction of liberal learning. More generally, we see also new possibilities for retreat from received views about the worth of practical knowledge. [source] Observation of SERS effect in Raman optical activity, a new tool for chiral vibrational spectroscopyJOURNAL OF RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY, Issue 12 2006Salim Abdali Abstract A new tool for chiral vibrational spectroscopy is reported here. A surface enhanced effect was observed using Raman optical activity (ROA). This observation opens new possibilities for ROA as a tool for vibrational spectroscopy. The combination of surface enhanced effect (SE) and ROA into surface enhanced Raman optical activity (SEROA) takes this tool to another level, where a single molecule may be studied with respect to chirality, secondary structure and fold determination. ROA has been able to provide information about important dynamics in molecular understanding. Until recently, however, ROA measurements required a longer exposure and higher concentration of the sample. With SEROA these obstacles can be overcome because both studies on single molecule, i.e. very low concentration, and faster acquisition of the signal can be carried out. In the present, work silver colloids were mixed with solution, in which a pentapeptide, Met-Enkephalin, was dissolved. SEROA signals were recorded and the results are reported here. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Neural Stem Cells and AlcoholALCOHOLISM, Issue 2 2003F. T. Crews This article summarizes the proceedings of a symposium held at the 2002 Research Society on Alcoholism Meeting in San Francisco, California. The aim of this symposium was to review research on the effects of ethanol on neural stems cells and neurogenesis. Ethanol is known to alter neurogenesis during development; however, recent studies indicate that the brain forms new neurons from stem cells throughout life. Furthermore, stem cells can be transplanted into the brain, creating exciting new possibilities to study brain function. The symposium covered these research areas. Dr. Michael W. Miller reviewed knowledge on the effects of ethanol on stem cell proliferation and differentiation during development. Dr. Wu Ma described studies in culture indicating that (1) neural stem cells express functional muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAchR), (2) mAchR-mediated proliferation involves Ca2+ signaling and mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation, and (3) phosphoinositol-3 kinase is a downstream effector for mAchR-mediated cell proliferation via activation of Akt. Drs. Kim Nixon and Fulton T. Crews followed with in vivo studies on ethanol's effects on adult neural stem cell proliferation and differentiation. Dr. W. Michael Zawada described studies directed at dopamine neuron cell transplants into mammalian central nervous system. These studies clearly establish that ethanol has significant effects on stem cells. [source] FIB-Nanotomography of Particulate Systems,Part I: Particle Shape and Topology of InterfacesJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CERAMIC SOCIETY, Issue 8 2006Lorenz Holzer A new 3D-microscopy method, focused ion beam-nanotomography (FIB-nt), has been applied to the statistical particle shape analysis and for topological characterization of granular textures in cement samples. Because of its high resolution (15 nm), FIB-nt reveals precise microstructural information at the submicrometer scale, which cannot be obtained with conventional tomography methods. It is demonstrated that even from complex granular textures with dense agglomerates, it is possible to identify the individual sub-grains. This is the basis for reliable statistical shape analysis. For this purpose, moments of inertia were determined for particles from five different grain size fractions of a given cement, which provides important input data for future modeling of rheology and hydration processes. In addition, FIB-nt was used for topological characterization of the particle,particle interfaces in the dense and fine-grained granular textures. The unique 3D-data obtained with FIB-nt thus open new possibilities for quantitative microstructure analysis and the data can be used as structural input for object-oriented modeling. [source] |