Topological asymmetry in the damping-pairing contribution of electron-boson scattering

We make a harmonic analysis of the pairing and damping contribution of a finite $k$ range isotropic electron-phonon (or other boson) scattering in an anisotropic two-dimensional electronic system. We show that the pairing contribution of the anisotropic part of the electronic system can be much larger than its damping contribution enhancing significantly T_c. The higher is the order of the harmonic of the electronic anisotropy, smaller is its damping contribution and higher can be the asymmetry in its damping-pairing contribution. This could explain the puzzle of a much broader quasiparticle peak in the n-doped than in the p-doped cuprates, their smaller T_c's being also attributed to larger damping effects.Comment: LATEX file and 3 Postscript figure

Sequence-specific double-strand cleavage of DNA by penta-N-methylpyrrolecarboxamide-EDTA·Fe(II)

In the presence of O2 and 5 mM dithiothreitol, penta-N-methylpyrrolecarboxamide-EDTA·Fe(II) [P5E·Fe(II)] at 0.5 µ M cleaves pBR322 plasmid DNA (50 µ M in base pairs) on opposite strands to afford discrete DNA fragments as analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis. High-resolution denaturing gel electrophoresis of a 32P-end-labeled 517-base-pair restriction fragment containing a major cleavage site reveals that P5E·Fe(II) cleaves 3-5 base pairs contiguous to a 6-base-pair sequence, 5'-T-T-T-T-T-A-3' (4,323-4,328 base pairs). The major binding orientation of the pentapeptide occurs with the amino terminus at the adenine side of this sequence. In the presence of 5 mM dithiothreitol, 0.01 µ M P5E·Fe(II) converts form I pBR322 DNA at 0.22 µ M plasmid (1.0 mM in base pairs) to 40% form II, indicating the cleavage reaction is catalytic, turning over a minimum of nine times. This synthetic molecule achieves double-strand cleavage of DNA (pH 7.9, 25 degrees C) at the 6-base-pair recognition level and may provide an approach to the design of "artificial restriction enzymes.

Defaming Muhammad: Dignity, Harm, and Incitement to Religious Hatred

The Danish cartoons controversy has generated a torrent of commentary seeking to define and defend competing conceptions of the normative implications of the affair. This Article addresses the question of how liberal democratic states ought to respond to visible manifestations of hatred, especially speech that constitutes incitement to religious hatred. Taking the publication of the Danish cartoons as its point of departure, the Article interrogates the complex historical and normative relationship between free speech and freedom of religion in the liberal democratic order and discusses the two critical questions of whether the cartoons give rise to a genuine conflict of rights and how we should understand the notion of harm. An argument is advanced which intervenes in the extant literature by suggesting two dialectical moves, each premised on the distinction between internal and external reasons in philosophical argument, which have the capacity to unsettle the static secular-religious binary and purportedly incommensurable divide between liberal and Islamic values. The Article concludes by asking what a more robust, reflexive account of toleration might look like premised on notions of mutual justification and peaceful coexistence between rival ways of life and on recognition of the need to pay close attention to how legal restrictions seem from the internal point of view of a religious tradition

Mississippi v. Tennessee: Resolving an Interstate Groundwater Dispute

This commentary explores the legal background and potential ramifications of Mississippi v. Tennessee: an original jurisdiction case involving a dispute over aquifer groundwater. Although the Supreme Court has addressed water disputes between states in the past, Mississippi v. Tennessee is the first such case to center exclusively on groundwater. As a result the Court has the opportunity to resolve a question of great relevance in an era where access to water is a recurring news story; is aquifer groundwater an interstate resource subject to equitable apportionment, or an intrastate resource subject to state sovereign ownership