Modelling of solvent positions around polar groups in proteins

Previous analysis of the distribution of experimental solventmolecule positions around amino acid side chains showed thatdistinct clustering occurred close to polar or charged atomsin proteins. We have used those data to predict likely solventpositions around proteins not used in our initial analysis.We envisage that this algorithm, AQUARIUS, will be useful forfinding solvent positions in electron density maps generatedby protein crystallography and as useful starting positionsfor solvent molecules in computer simulation studies of macromolecules.     

Der Schau- und Lehrstollen Arzberg/Steiermark: Beispiel für eine intelligente Nachnutzung eines Altbergbaus

Touristic mines are by far not only of public interest. During guided tours the importance of mining and mineral resources for society can be explained in a proper way. Mineral deposits, for long time not accessible and only known from old literature can now be studied in detail by scientists. Old underground mines can be used for different purposes. With respect to Arzberg the different possibilities of utilization of old underground workings are described in detail: A touristic mine serves not only as an attraction, but also as a training centre for underground geological mapping, geochemistry and geophysics research laboratory of universities. For many years the ZAMG (Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics) has been operating a seismic station, and parts of the old mine workings have been used for cheese refinery since 2006. Furthermore, the mine water is utilized for extracting geothermal energy and serves the cooling chambers. The combined use of the old mine workings by different parties permits sharing the substantial maintenance costs.     

Community Development Financial Institutions: Current Issues and Future Prospects

Abstract: Community development financial institutions (CDFIs) help to address the financial needs of under‐served, predominantly low‐income communities. CDFIs include community development banks, credit unions, business and microenterprise loan funds, and venture capital funds. Although CDFIs are a rapidly growing and an increasingly important area of community economic development, they have not received proportionate attention from academic researchers. This article begins to address the gap. It outlines the history of the CDFI industry and details how CDFIs are responding to three specific development needs: basic financial services; affordable credit for home purchase, rehabilitation, and maintenance; and loan and equity capital for business development. The article then considers the strengths and limitations of CDFIs, concentrating especially on the relationship between CDFIs and conventional financial institutions. It concludes by examining the impact that these alternative financial institutions realistically can hope to achieve.     

Cyclic Testing of Concrete-Filled Circular Steel Bridge Piers having Encased Fixed-Based Detail

To investigate their adequacy as energy dissipating elements during earthquakes, this paper reports on cyclic inelastic tests executed to determine the maximum strength and ductility of four concrete-filled circular steel piers joined to a foundation detail proposed to develop the full composite strength at the base of these columns. Column diameters considered were 324 and 406 mm, with D/t ratios ranging from 34 to 64. The ductility of all tested columns was found to be good, all columns being able to reach drifts of 7% before a significant loss in moment capacity occurred as a result of cracks opening on the local buckles, suggesting that concrete-filled steel tubes can be effective as bridge piers in seismic regions of North America.     

Towards Queering Food Studies: Foodways, Heteronormativity, and Hungry Women in Chicana Lesbian Writing

As the nascent field of food studies takes shape, insights from queer studies have the potential to enrich our understandings of the interrelationships among food, gender, and sexuality. The project of queering food studies invites us to consider how food practices and beliefs reinforce and resist heterosexual gender ideologies. In this article, I analyze foodways in recent Chicana lesbian literature, examining writings that illustrate the cultural endurance of heteronormative constructions of gender even as they demonstrate how these beliefs are disrupted, destabilized, and transformed in queer literary kitchens. Poetry and essays by Chicana lesbians challenge dominant models of Chicana culinary roles by emphasizing women's efforts to satisfy their physical and sexual appetites.In particular, Carla Trujillo's 2003 novel, What Night Brings, highlights the figure of the hungry lesbian as a provocative counterpoint to the literary image of the Chicana as cook. Literature by Chicana lesbians not only invites scholars to question heteronormative assumptions about food, gender, and identity, but also demonstrates the potential of queer studies to enrich a variety of topics in food scholarship.