Primary Reference Point Research Articles

A Periodic Table for Genetic Codes

This paper presents a new version of a periodic table for genetic codes using a ‘Leibnitz Number’ as a codon number or anticodon number, which is a natural binary code number and hence outwardly similar to the Gray code binary number. In the obtained periodic table or in the reformed table (a cube-shaped periodic table), the proteinaceous amino acids not only have periodicity, but also occupy mirror-symmetrical positions with respect to the xy-plane. Moreover, the cube-shaped periodic table allows a partial explanation of non-standard genetic codes and some predictions about providing potential candidates for non-standard genetic codons to be discovered in the future. By making a new format of a two-dimensional periodic table for anticodons as the primary reference point, all of the anticodon pairing with multiple codons can be intimately related to a mirror-symmetrical arrangement of amino acids with relation to the yz-plane in the two-dimensional periodic table.

Analysis of a drift tube at ambient pressure: Models and precise measurements in ion mobility spectrometry

Mobility spectra for positive ions, created from a Ni63 foil in purified air at ambient pressure (660 Torr) with 0.15 ppm moisture, were obtained with a drift tube with a discrete drift ring design at 250 °C as electric fields for components were individually and independently varied. Peak area, peak width, baseline intensity, drift times, and reduced mobilities (Ko) were used to measure the function and performance of each component and findings were interpreted using a model for the transport of thermalized ions in weak electric fields at ambient pressure. Transit times and intensities for ions in drift tubes at ambient pressure can be understood through a detailed knowledge of the fields local to a component and derivations from theory of ion transport. Prolonged ion residence in the drift region resulted in ion transformations even for highly purified gases of low moisture at high temperature. These findings suggest that mobility spectra may be obtained with uniformly high quality and reproducibility only under conditions when ion residence time is the primary point of reference in obtaining spectra. Other regions of the drift tube were optimized and newly observed chemistry occurred in the aperture to detector region. The sampling of ions by such an ion shutter was found to inherently bias the ion distributions and alter actual lengths of drift regions. Consequently, drift lengths measured from physical configurations of drift tubes will be inadequate for precise measurements of drift times. These studies establish baseline measurements for evaluating drift tubes that should be generally applicable for optimizing performance in other drift tubes with discrete drift ring designs. Also, these results demonstrate that precise measurements in ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) will require attention to detail not heretofore carefully regarded in modern analytical IMS.

A Perspective on Indexing Slaves' Names

The indexing of slave names poses problems for archivists who seek to create more detailed access to information about slaves that is contained in a wide variety of records. A system of indexing that uses the slaveowner's name as a primary reference point in finding aids is proposed. This methodology reflects the recordkeeping practices of the time and provides an additional element of identity, beyond first name, that allows different records to be connected with each other.

Culture, social structure and the status of visual artists in classical Greece

Recent contributions to the debate on the role, status and autonomy of the artist in classical Greece remain polarised in terms which have remained largely unchanged for more than a century. On one side, we find ‘modernisers’ who hold that the role of the artist, the function of art and the social structure of the Greek art world was more similar to the modern western art world than different. On the other side are ranged the ‘primitivists’ who argue that modern conceptions of artistic autonomy and creativity are an anachronistic imposition on ancient Greek art, which was a largely anonymous craft, performing traditional functions and oriented to the reproduction of traditional artistic forms rather than the individualistic innovation held to be characteristic of western European art since the Renaissance. The modernisers look back to Winckelmann's neo-classical view of the Greek artist as free and autonomous creator, whilst the primitivists ultimately draw their inspiration from Jacob Burckhardt's alternative account of the Greek artist as mechanical craftsman orbanausos. In this century, the primary point of reference for the debate has been Bernard Schweitzer's argument that whilst artists were held in low esteem during the classical period of Greek history, the fifth and fourth centuries, they came to be recognised as ‘creative’ in the Hellenistic period, the third to first centuries B.C. More recent contributions have largely been concerned with adducing, or criticising, new evidence for one or other side of the debate, whilst retaining the assumptions within which the debate was set up in the nineteenth century.

Medical record innovations that can improve physician productivity.

Medical records are the fulcrum of patient care activities. They represent the primary reference point with respect to the patient's medical status and long-term planning. A significant portion of the patient care dollar is invested in the medical record document and its handling. The most critical part of this process takes place in the physician's examination room during the patient encounter. The use of SmartCharts is a way to expedite the chart generation process and improve the quality and consistency of the source information from which all future care and plans are generated. The process removes a substantial portion of the human memory cycle that is needed for chart development and improves the encounter process by exploring the full range of diagnostic signs and symptoms that are associated with a preselected diagnosis or patient problem. The system is designed for stand-alone operation or insertion into an already-functioning electronic medical record system.

Central Politics: Kings, Their Allies and Opponents

For over a decade, early medieval historians have eagerly awaited Ian Wood's detailed synthesis of Merovingian history. Since the death of Michael Wallace-Hadrill in 1985, Wood has been the leading British historian of Francia and has written over two dozen finely tuned articles on late antique and early medieval Gaul. Unlike his compatriot Edward James,' whose point of departure is the archaeological record, Wood has concentrated on the written sources of the period, particularly on narrative, epistolary, and legal texts. Wood's Vorstudien have distinguished him from most North American, British, and Continental historians of the period in two ways. First, unlike the vast majority, who take the seductive histories of Gregory of Tours as their primary point of reference in approaching Merovingian history, Wood cut his teeth on a dissertation focusing on Avitus of Vienne and the Burgundian region.2 As a result he is able to present, particularly for the late fifth and early sixth centuries, an image of the crucial first generation of the Frankish kingdom not primarily derived from the very late and highly constructed versions of Gregory. Second, most of his early studies have been precise, text-critical examinations of the circumstances within which the rare Merovingian narrative texts were composed, relating their contents to the specific contexts of their composition. The result often is to cast into doubt not only the facile conclusions of previous historians but the very possi-

The Idea of Demographic Transition and the Study of Fertility Change: A Critical Intellectual History

The position is argued that progress in the further study of fertility change rests on a reappraisal of the recent intellectual history of demography. Principally recognition needs to be given to the policy influences which were apparent even before the 1950s. The notion of demographic transition as merely a descriptive term is unproductive and impedes a wider range of approaches to the field. The discussion was an examination of the methodological constraints and the reasons for the continuing reliance on descriptive notions of demographic The theory of demographic transition in 1944-45 and the contrasts between Thompsons 1929 notions and the 1945 notions in the United States were discussed as influenced by the changing institutional context important new intellectual developments and the impact of political events. Notesteins ideas were a primary reference point for discussion as reflecting the distinct change in thinking between 1947 and 1949. Democratic stability and long-term prosperity were hinged on the whole process of modernization and widespread economic development; fertility non-regulation was related to lack of motivation. Notestein and Kingsley Davis were thus at the helm of advocating government sponsored policies on family planning for pretransitional countries. Peasants were not stupid they were economically rational and the notion of awkward nonrational institutions and social mores was ignored. The impact of the fall of China and Chiang Kai-sheks nationalist regime and the change in foreign affairs on the Princeton Office and demographic intellectual life was discussed in some detail. The ideological competition of the 1960s and 1970s thwarted self reflection on the inadequacies and flaws in the supply centered activism of the international family planning industry and the overly dogmatic commitment and rigidity to demographic transition. The historical model (Talcott Parsons variations in classifications) was too fluid and general as a causal explanation for change but it became an irrefutable theory. Modernization became the dominant theory in the 1950s and 1970s even though it could not generate unambiguous testable hypotheses about the specific causes of fertility change. Hodgson and Demeny recognized these inadequacies. Demographic transition theory was both a product of a conception in social science and a means for examining predicting and guiding social change. Current schools of thought are the deductivist the contextualist or interpretative and various realist approaches which interact with the aims of control understanding and intervention. There is a need for historical reconstruction in specific contexts of fertility and perceived costs of childrearing.

Property, Justification and Need

It is said that hard cases make bad law. But one of our tasks in jurisprudence is to consider the justification of legal institutions. If this enterprise is to be conducted in a spirit of argument rather than ideology, then hard cases—indeed the hardest cases—must be our primary point of reference. To undertake with any integrity to defend an institution, one must be willing to contemplate the existence of serious moral objections. In many cases, that involves confronting the possibility that the institution under discussion has an unacceptable impact on people’s lives—that it imposes unbearable costs, for example, or unacceptably constrains their freedom or their dignity. To defend an institution in an ideological way is to ignore or conceal such possibilities. Justification, by contrast, involves a willingness to confront the issue of unacceptable hardship. Its success (if indeed the institution is justified) turns on one’s ability to show that the hardship will not in fact occur, or that it is unavoidable or for some other reason not morally unacceptable in the circumstances.

Anatomy of the Prostate: Review of the Different Models

Current understanding of the anatomic subdivision of the adult prostate gland is secondary to two major studies successively published by Gil Vernet in 1953 and by McNeal in 1968. In Gil Vernet's report, glandular tissue consists of a caudal gland, a cranial gland and a intermediate gland. These 3 glandular areas were defined according to the location of their glandular openings into the urethra. In McNeal's report, the urethra is taken as the primary anatomic reference point. The four glandular areas are best visualized by examination of the selected coronal plane of sections along the proximal and distal prostatic urethra. The peripheral zone is located posterolaterally, the central zone is located at the base, and the 2 lobes of the transition zone are located along the proximal urethra. Fibromuscular regions are concentrated anteromedially. Most of the anatomic regions are similar between the two models, however, in McNeal's model, accuracies concerning the boundaries of the central zone and transition zone ultimately make this model superior for the study of both the physiology and pathology of the prostate.

Medical Ethics in the Soviet Union

Medical Ethics in the Soviet Union It is now widely recognized that there are alternative medical ethics, including those of religious traditions, of secular philosophical systems, and those of other cultures. While our knowledge of these varied approaches is increasing, we still know almost nothing about medical ethics in the Soviet Union. We do know that what the Soviets call medical deontology has been discussed in Soviet medical schools for many years and that in 1971 an Oath for Soviet Physicians was adopted by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. To begin increasing communication between Americans and Soviets in medical ethics, I, along with five other American philosophers specializing in medical ethics, recently visited the Soviet Union for nine days.(1) The explicit focus was on ethical problems of death and dying, but many other concerns in medical ethics arose during our stay. The trip was arranged by IREX (International Research and Exchanges Board, a creation of the American Council of Learned Societies and the Social Science Research Council) and the Institute of Philosophy of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. We spent most of our time in Moscow meeting with philosophers, physicians, and others interested in these issues. We also traveled to Tbilisi, the capital of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, where we met with Georgian philosophers, clinicians, and researchers at the Institute of Experimental and Clinical Therapy of the Ministry of Health. All told, we met with some fifty professionals working on issues relevant to our field. Our conversations were extremely cordial, open, frank, and collegial. as expected, discussion often referred to the key figures of dialectical materialism, especially Lenin, but in keeping with the current themes of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring)--themes that were omnipresent in our discussions--other philosophical categories emerged frequently. Even religious and quasi-religious language--references to the soul, spirituality, and immortality--surfaced from time to time without any embarrassment. It would be a serious mistake to attempt a definitive report on Soviet medical ethics on the basis of such a brief visit. However, the developments in the Soviet Union in this area are so important and so little known to those of us in the West that a brief report offering a tentative summary of major themes is in order. We never discussed with our Soviet colleagues the question of reporting impressions, so to respect comments that may have been offered in confidence, I will not attribute any of my observations to specific individuals. Suffice to say that some themes appeared to be so clear--in both Moscow and Tbilisi--that they must represent significant, if not unanimously held positions. Since our focus was on issues of death and dying, those concerns predominate in this report. Some topics, such as informed consent, truthtelling, and resource allocation arose frequently, while others--confidentiality and genetic engineering, for example--were hardly discussed. Ethics and Medical Ethics Medical ethics in the Soviet Union has not developed as an interdisciplinary specialty to the extent it has in the United States. The philosophers with whom we met were specialists in ethics, but not normally in medical ethics. They examined broad cultural themes: the problem of man; history, society, and the individual; scientific and technical progress; and the concept of health. They were much more in conversation with the continental philosophical tradition than Anglo-American analytical philosophy. With one or two exceptions, the Soviet philosophers were not in close communication with medical institutions. Indeed, Soviet clinicians were surprised that American medical ethicists were on the faculty of medical schools, understood medical terms, and could talk the language of physicians. In what might surprise a Western medical ethicist, it was clear that the primary normative reference point for Soviet medical ethics remains the Hippocratic Oath. …

An improved carbon-13 nuclear shielding scale

An improved scale for carbon-13 nuclear shielding is proposed based upon the primary reference point σ(300 K)= 0.6 ± 0.9 ppm for low-density gaseous carbon monoxide. This result is obtained by combining a diamagnetic part obtained from a very recent high quality ab initio calculation with a paramagnetic part deduced from an experimental spin-rotation interaction constant. Careful consideration of vibration-rotation effects is essential as they contribute ca. 2.2 ppm to the shielding.

Democracy and Unions: towards a Critical Appraisal

This essay explores the meaning of democracy in unions and the adequacy of indicators of democracy borrowed from the analysis of political systems. Its primary reference point is Italy, where unions are voluntary organizations and multiple confederations have developed along distinct ideological lines. Systems of union representation, unlike systems of political representation, lack clearly defined boundaries and speak for inherently subordinate interests. Voluntary unions, moreover, are by nature both organizations and movements, and depend on consent as political systems do not. In such a context, assessments of democracy must consider both the selection of representatives within each organization (or internal democracy) and the procedures for decision-making among all organizations (or systemic democracy). The essay helps to account for several features of Italian unionism: avoidance of majority rule, leaders' difficulties in controlling the rank-and-file, and cycles of competition among organizations. The essay also hopes to contribute more broadly to a theory of union democracy.

Developmental Differences in the Comprehension of Simple and Compound Comparative Relations

KALLIO, KENNETH D. Developmental Differences in the Comprehension of Simple and Compound Comparative Relations. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1988, 59, 397-410. Spatial adjectives and comparative relations can be contrasted in terms of the reference points they utilize. Spatial adjectives (e.g., tall) use a primary reference point that provides the nominal sense of the word and a secondary reference point that provides the contrastive sense. Simple comparatives (e.g., John is taller than Bill) mark a tertiary reference point that is the basis of comparison in place of the secondary reference point. Compound comparatives (e.g., John is taller than Bill, but shorter than Harry) use a tertiary and a quaternary reference point. In 3 experiments children ranging in age from 5 to 10 years old were assessed on their comprehension of simple and compound comparatives using a picturequestion answering task. The ability to use the appropriate reference points increases with age on both the simple and compound comparative relations.

The function of asbāb al-nuzūl in Qur'ānic exegesis

In John Wansbrough's work, Quranic studies: sources and methods of scriptural interpretation, several theses are put forth regarding the material known as asbāb al-nuzūl, occasions of revelation; the overall view of Wansbrough is one which is derived (critically) from al-Suyūṭī, which is that the asbāb material has its primary reference point in works devoted to deriving law from the text of the Qur'ān, that is, halakhic works. He suggests that the presence of asbāb material as found in a haggadic or narrative tafsīr such as that of Muqātil is ‘accidental’ because, while the narrative asbāb reports serve as anecdotes, they do not fulfil what Wansbrough sees as the ‘essential function’, that of establishing ‘a chronology of revelation

Cotherapy: A Means of Training with the Family

This article explores cotherapy as a therapeutic and training tool. An exposition of both the advantages and challenges of cotherapy is provided. Ideas regarding cotherapy utilisation in marriage and family therapy training programs are discussed with particular reference to possible difficulties and how they might be addressed. The final section addresses factors relevant to the development of a cotherapy relationship, including an overview of various models that have been previously advanced in the literature. The primary reference point for this article is an experiential orientation, but those from a variety of orientations should discover applicability to their practices. The authors hope this article will serve to provoke readers to consider their own thoughts on this topic and pursue it in more depth.

Exploring the anchor-point hypothesis of spatial cognition

The anchor-point hypothesis of spatial cognition, according to which primary nodes or reference points anchor distinct regions in cognitive space, brings together certain frequently reported apparent properties of mental maps: the regionalization and hierarchical organization of cognitive space, and the active role of salient cues in structuring spatial cognition. After a brief overview of the state of the art in cognitive mapping research, the anchor-point hypothesis is first explored conceptually, and then one particular version of it, the ‘tectonic plates’ hypothesis, is made operational. For that second part of the study, cognitive configurations derived from five subjects selected from a larger sample taken in Goleta, California are analyzed using three different methods, and features transcending any method-specific biases are identified. Although not entirely unambiguous, these first results seem encouraging and warrant further research in this direction.

Natural features in the management of upland conifer forests

SynopsisUpland conifer afforestation has been a major factor in environmental change, and there is every prospect that further afforestation will take place. How can we best develop the existing forests as wildlife habitats? And, if afforestation is to continue, where should further plantations be placed? This paper considers some general aspects of forest habitat design, using the structure and dynamics of natural boreal-temperate conifer forests as its primary reference point.

The Revised Code of Canon Law: Some Theological Issues

promulgating the revised Code of Canon Law, Pope John Paul II consistently highlighted its relationship to the Second Vatican Council. He noted the original inspiration of Pope John XXIII to convoke an ecumenical council and to reform the 1917 Code of Canon Law, as well as the intense interest of the Council fathers in such legal reform. Both the conciliar enterprise and the Code revision process were motivated by a profound concern to renew Christian life in the midand late-twentieth century. Furthermore, John Paul II viewed the revised Code as a noteworthy effort to translate the richness of conciliar doctrine into canonical language—however difficult, if not impossible, such a task is. This is especially true for the Council's image of the Church, to which the revised Code should constantly be referred as a primary point of reference. There should be a profound complementarity between the Code and the Council, especially the dogmatic constitution Lumen gentium and the pastoral constitution Gaudium et spes. The key ecclesiological themes of the Council should be among the fundamental criteria for interpreting and implementing the revised Code in practice. Among the significant elements of conciliar ecclesiology noted in the apostolic constitution were the following: the Church as the people of God and hierarchical authority as service; the Church as a communion, with its implications for the relationship between the universal Church and the particular churches and between collegiality and the primacy; the participation of all believers in the threefold office of Christ, with its implications for their duties and rights, especially those of the laity; and the Church's commitment to ecumenism. The apostolic constitution concluded with the hope that the revised Code would be an effective instrument in aiding the Church to progress

Application of GPS for transportation related engineering surveys

The Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation(SDHPT) has been usingGPS for over two years to establish primary geodetic reference points for engineering projects and mapping control. In accordance with a Five YearGPS Implementation Plant developed in 1982, fourGPS, unmanned, automatic Regional Reference Point(RRP) stations will be installed by September 1, 1986. Five additional stations are planned as justified. EachRRP will consist of a dual frequencyGPS receiver that will ultimately track the satellites continuously. Operation of the receiver, telecommunications and other station keeping chores will be handled by a microcomputer. TheRRP station network will be controlled through another centrally located microcomputer which is also interfaced with a larger mainframe system. EachRRP is designed to service an area bounded by a200 KM radius and will act as the “other” receiver for roving field units operating in aGPS differential measurement mode. In order to meet the installation schedule, early decisions are being made concerning satellite tracking rates, operational scenarios, and telecommunications to facilitate development of the basic hardware and software systems. A period of continual enhancement to hardware, software andRRP operational procedures is expected asGPS technology expands.

The Use, Misuse, and Abuse of the National Election Studies

This paper questions the reliability, significance, and usefulness of much of the data generated by the Canadian National Election Studies, conducted soon after recent federal elections. Using the 1974 Study as its primary reference point, it identifies biases in the survey data on voting behaviour by revealing the gaps between people’s reported behaviour and their actual behaviour. It also raises problems respecting circumscribed sampling procedures and the use of small provincial samples. In addition to methodological criticisms, the paper examines problems of interpretation and conceptualization by referring specifically to analyses of partisanship, regional consciousness and political culture.