Physics,metaphysics, dispositions,and symmetries – À la French

Recent philosophy has paid increasing attention to the nature of the relationship between the philosophy of science and metaphysics. In The Structure of the World: Metaphysics and Representation, Steven French offers many insights into this relationship (primarily) in the context of fundamental physics, and claims that a specific, structuralist conception of the ontology of the world exemplifies an optimal understanding of it. In this paper I contend that his messages regarding how best to think about the relationship are mixed, and in tension with one another. The tension is resolvable but at a cost: a weakening of the argument for French's structuralist ontology. I elaborate this claim in a specific case: his assertion of the superiority of a structuralist account of de re modality in terms of realism about laws and symmetries (conceived ontologically) over an account in terms of realism about dispositional properties. I suggest that these two accounts stem from different stances regarding how to theorize about scientific ontology, each of which is motivated by important aspects of physics.     

γ-Glutamyltranspeptidases: sequence, structure, biochemical properties, and biotechnological applications

γ-Glutamyltranspeptidases (γ-GTs) are ubiquitous enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of γ-glutamyl bonds in glutathione and glutamine and the transfer of the released γ-glutamyl group to amino acids or short peptides. These enzymes are involved in glutathione metabolism and play critical roles in antioxidant defense, detoxification, and inflammation processes. Moreover, γ-GTs have been recently found to be involved in many physiological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease and diabetes. In this review, the main biochemical and structural properties of γ-GTs isolated from different sources, as well as their conformational stability and mechanism of catalysis, are described and examined with the aim of contributing to the discussion on their structure-function relationships. Possible applications of γ-glutamyltranspeptidases in different fields of biotechnology and medicine are also discussed.     

5′-Nucleotidase activity in liver homogenates of rats treated with CCl4, colchicine,cycloheximide, emetine,ethanol, ethionine and 5-fluorotryptophan

Summary 5-Nucleotidase activity, an enzyme marker of the plasma membranes, increases in female rat liver homogenates following ethionine administration, while homogenates from males show no changes. Treatment with CCl₄, colchicine, cycloheximide, emetine, ethanol and 5-fluorotryptophan does not significantly modify the 5-nucleotidase activity of liver homogenates of either female or male rats.     

Identificazione cromatografica della fosforilcolina,-etanolamina, -serina,dellaα-glicerilfosforil-colina,-etanolamina e della citidindifosfatocolina nell'encefalo di ratti in accrescimento

Summary A method is described whereby the phosphoryl-choline,-ethanolamine, -serine, thel--glycerylphosphoryl-choline,-ethanolamine, the phosphatidyl-choline,-ethanolamine, -serine and also the cytidinediphosphatecholine may be separated in the brain of a rat a few days old (340–610 mg).     

Über eisenhaltige Wachstumsfaktoren,die Sideramine,und ihre Antagonisten,die eisenhaltigen Antibiotika Sideromycine

Summary A new group of iron-containing metabolites, with growth stimulating properties for a number of microorganisms, has been isolated from streptomycetes and namedferrioxamines. It is proposed to include them, together with some known substances, like ferrichrome, coprogen and the terregens factor, which either contain or bind iron, in a new class of growth factors, thesideramines.The biological property of the sideramines is counteracted by iron-containing antibiotics from streptomycetes, thesideromycins. They comprise, besides known products like grisein and albomycin, two new groups of antibiotics, among them the highly potentferrimycins.

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22. Mitteilung, Stoffwechselprodukte von Actinomyceten; 21. Mitteilung: Helv. chim. acta43, im Druck (1960).     

Modification de la vitesse du courant cytoplasmique,induite à distance,par l'irradiation,chezNitella flexilis

Summary Irradiation of an internodal cell ofNitella flexilis induces in the adjacent internodal cell a transitory acceleration of cytoplasmic streaming; during 8 h at least the speed of this streaming is higher than in control internodal cells. It is probable that this phenomenon is due to transfer of certain substances from the irradiated cell.     

Melatonin, hormone of darkness and more – occurrence, control mechanisms, actions and bioactive metabolites

In its role as a pineal hormone, melatonin is a pleiotropic, nocturnally peaking and systemically acting chronobiotic. These effects are largely explained by actions via G protein-coupled membrane receptors found in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, but also in numerous other sites. Nuclear (ROR/RZR), cytoplasmic (quinone reductase-2, calmodulin, calreticulin) and mitochondrial binding sites and radical-scavenging properties contribute to the actions of melatonin. Regulation of pineal melatonin biosynthesis is largely explained by control mechanisms acting on arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase, at the levels of gene expression and/or enzyme stability influenced by phosphorylation and interaction with 14-3-3 proteins. Melatonin is not only a hormone but is also synthesized in numerous extrapineal sites, in which it sometimes attains much higher quantities than in the pineal and the circulation. It is also present in many taxonomically distant groups of organisms, including bacteria, fungi, and plants. Moreover, melatonin is a source of bioactive metabolites, such as 5-methoxytryptamine, N(1)-acetyl-N(2)-formyl-5-methoxykynuramine and N(1)-acetyl-5-methoxykynuramine.     

Transaminasenaktivität nach Methyltestosteron-, Testosteronpropionat-, Chlorpromazin- und Methylthiouracilbehandlung

Summary The treatment of 62 patients with chlorpromazine was followed by a rise of SGO-T in the serum in 20% of them. Six other patients were treated with a daily dose of 200 to 400 mg Methylthiouracil for 14 days. No elevation of serum transaminases was observed. The application of a daily dose of 30 mg methyl testosterone to 40 other patients was followed by a rise of SGO-T and SGP-T in 77% of them. The maximal elevation of SGO-T was 275 U. and of SGP-T 260 U., and this was reached during 10 days of therapy on an average. This effect is bound to the methyl group of methyl testosterone, since in 10 patients, treated with the same dose of testosterone propionate, the serum transaminases activity were not influenced.     

Aln (n = 3, 4, 6, 13, 19)团簇的结构稳定性与形态演化

采用第一原理赝势平面波方法, 计算了不同结构形态Al_n (n = 3, 4, 6, 13, 19)团簇的几何与电子结构, 通过结合能与HOMO-LUMO能隙表征和分析了其结构稳定性, 采用线性同步转变 (LST)方法考察了其不同结构形态间的演化与转 变. 结果表明: Al₃, Al₄, Al₆, Al₁₃和Al₁₉团簇的稳定结构形态分别为三角形、 菱形、八面体、二十面体、双二十面体. Al₃, Al₄与Al₁₃团簇不存在亚稳结构. Al6与Al19团簇存在亚稳结构, 其结构形态分别为平行四边形与八面体. Al₆团簇亚稳结构与稳定结构的能级差大、转变能垒低, 结构转变容易, 亚稳结构稳定性差. 而Al₁₉团簇亚稳结构与稳定结构的能级差小、转变能垒高, 结构演化不易, 因而实验和理论模拟中能观察到其亚稳结构形态——正八面体的存在.     

Sesquiterpenoids minor constituents ofPinus parviflora. On the relationship between (−)-δ-cadinol, (+)-δ-cadinol,sesquigoyol, torreyol,and brown alga cadinol

Zusammenfassung 1-Dokosanol, Sesquigoyol,-Sitosterin und 3,5-Dimethoxystilben wurden ausP. formosana isoliert. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass Sesquigoyol der optische Antipode von (–)--Cadinol ist.

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Sesquiterpenoids II. For the previous paper in this series, seeW. G. Dauben, B. Weinstein, P. Lim, andA. B. Anderson, Tetrahedron15, 217 (1961).

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On leave of absence from the Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.

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The National Council of Science, Republic of China, is thanked for the award of a fellowship for advanced study to one of us (K.-T.W.).