String theory and general methodology: A mutual evaluation

String theory has been the dominating research field in theoretical physics during the last decades. Despite the considerable time elapse, no new testable predictions have been derived by string theorists and it is understandable that doubts have been voiced. Some people have argued that it is time to give up since testability is wanting. But the majority has not been convinced and they continue to believe that string theory is the right way to go. This situation is interesting for philosophy of science since it highlights several of our central issues. In this paper we will discuss string theory from a number of different perspectives in general methodology. We will also relate the realism/antirealism debate to the current status of string theory. Our goal is two-fold; both to take a look at string theory from philosophical perspectives and to use string theory as a test case for some philosophical issues.     

L—2（10）—蒎烯四醋酸铅氧化产生扩环产物的结构

在四醋酸铅氧化L-2(10)-蒎烯的产物中,首次分离得到三种扩环产物2、3、4,经HR-MS、EI-MS、NMR(~1H、~(13)C、H-H COSY、H-C COSY)、IR等波谱方法确定,分别为(1S,6S)-7,7-二甲基双环[4.1.1]-3-辛烷酮及其异构体(1R,6S)-7,7-二甲基双环[4.1.1]-2-辛烷酮和(4S)-4-异丙烯基环庚烷酮,文中还讨论了反应机理。     

Primary sequence of a dimeric bacterial haemoglobin from Vitreoscilla

Vitreoscilla, a filamentous bacterium in the Beggiatoa family, synthesizes a soluble haem-protein which has two identical subunits of relative molecular mass 15,775 and two b haems per molecule. It is synthesized in relatively large quantities when the organism, a strict aerobe, is grown under hypoxic conditions. It forms a relatively stable oxygenated form which is spectrally similar to oxymyoglobin (oxyHb) and oxyhaemoglobin (oxyHb). The amino acid sequence of this protein has been determined and aligned to fit the helical regions of several animal and plant globins. This alignment is consistent with its being a structural homologue of the eucaryotic haemoglobins although it diverged from the others in the N-terminal region and may lack an A-helix. It showed the maximum sequence homology (24%) with lupin leghaemoglobin (Lb). Vitreoscilla Hb is the first bacterial haemoglobin to be sequenced. It may function to enable the organism to survive in oxygen-limited environments by acting as an oxygen storage-trap or to facilitate oxygen diffusion.     

Large scale cDNA sequencing for analysis of quantitative and qualitative aspects of gene expression.

Large scale sequencing of cDNAs provides a complementary approach to structural analysis of the human genome by generating expressed sequence tags (ESTs). We have initiated the large-scale sequencing of a 3'-directed cDNA library from the human liver cell line HepG2, that is a non-biased representation of the mRNA population. 982 random cDNA clones were sequenced yielding more than 270 kilobases. A significant portion of the identified genes encoded secretable proteins and components for protein-synthesis. The abundance of cDNA species varied from 2.2% to less than 0.004%. Fifty two percent of the mRNA were abundant species consisting of 173 genes and the rest were non-abundant, consisting of about 6,600 genes.     

On the presence of sepiapterin reductase different from folate and dihydrofolate reductase in chicken liver

Résumé Nous avons démontré dans le foie de poussin l'existence d'un ferment qui réduit spécifiquement la sépiaptérine. Il est capable de séparer le ferment de réductase d'acide folique et d'acide dihydrofolique après précipitation fractionnaire de sulfate d'ammonium. Le ferment, réductase de sépiaptérine, se trouve largement dans les foies des mammifères, tels que rat, cochon, lapin, cheval et boeuf.     

Intensification of the 5.9-nm actin layer line in contracting muscle

According to the cross-bridge model of muscle contraction, an interaction of myosin heads with interdigitating actin filaments produces tension. Although X-ray equatorial diffraction patterns of active (contracting) muscle show that the heads are in the vicinity of the actin filaments, structural proof of actual attachment of heads to actin during contraction has been elusive. We show here that during contraction of frog skeletal muscle, the 5.9-nm layer line arising from the genetic helix of actin is intensified by as much as 56% of the change which occurs when muscle enters rigor, using a two-dimensional X-ray detector. This provides strong structural evidence that myosin heads do in fact attach during contraction.