bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Life in Fire
Authors: Preston Geoffrey
Published: August 2007

Jesus of Nazareth is said to be the sacrament of the saving grace of God and of man’s response to God in that grace. In himself Jesus is the encounter between God and mankind, the Immediator of man and God, the Word of God made world and history, man in his concrete dimensions and the total nexus of his relationships taken up into God. According to the apostolic preaching, in him alone, in his ‘name’ alone, is there the means of passing from a lethal situation into the possibility of survival. If men are going to pass from the world that is doomed to death, that can only be by entering into him, into his name, by in some way becoming him, by living out the biography of the one who, alone, no longer belongs to the dead past. Living it out, amongst other ways, sacramentally. Sacramentally we put on Christ, we are conformed to Christ, we are made one body, one spirit, with him.

An old problem reconsidered

Sacramentally we enter upon the life of Christ by the rites of initiation, or rather by the single but modulated initiation-rite of baptism-confirmation. In those Churches where Christian initiation (rightly or unfortunately) has come to be divided into two rites separated by a more or less lengthy interval of time, there has always been a serious problem about how to speak of confirmation, a problem that has compromised attempts at an effective catechesis of the sacrament and, incidentally, often created something of an embarrassment in speaking of the place of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life. Only a very few theologians have felt able to deny that a baptized, unconfirmed person is a Christian.
East of Eden
Authors: Murray Isobel , Merrilees Jim
Published: August 2007

Steinbeck’s use of Old Testament material in East of Eden (1952) is very different from that in To A God Unknown (1933). As outlined in a previous article, Steinbeck was there qualifying the status of his protagonist, Joseph Wayne, by a number of literary means. But the most powerful qualifier of Joseph Wayne as prophet and saviour of his people is the manner in which Steinbeck contrives to keep the closely parallel story of the Joseph of Genesis ever-present throughout To A God Unknown. In East of Eden Steinbeck again, and indeed more obviously, makes use of Old Testament sources. But the Old Testament Cain and Abel do not loom reproachfully behind mere human characters in the book: when considered at all, they are considered explicitly and rationally in discussion, and in another sense the whole novel is clearly devoted to re-enactments of the episode and discussions of its significance.

Steinbeck sums up the centrality of the story in Journal of a Novel (1970), written during the composition of the first draft of East of Eden:

its framework roots from that powerful, profound and perplexing story in Genesis of Cain and Abel... this story with its implications has made a deeper mark in people than any other save possibly the story of the Tree of Life and original sin (90). It is using the biblical story as a measure of ourselves (105). However, Steinbeck’s adaptation of Genesis 4, 1-16 carefully excludes consideration of God, to whom, in Genesis, Cain and Abel offer their gifts. The blatant Cain-Abel correspondences in the novel are Charles and Adam Trask, and the twin boys Caleb and Aron Trask, ostensibly Adam’s sons, but, it transpires, probably like all of us sons of Cain, that is, of Charles.
Cultural Continuity and a Scottish Tradition
Authors: Kerr Fergus
Published: August 2007

Can the university—even a radically reformed university—really carry the burden of providing our society with ‘memory and mature purpose’, as Dr Leavis keeps hoping? Remembering some of his more recent essays while staying in fairly remote parts of Scotland this summer, I began once again to reflect on how much the schools fail to do and yet could so easily undertake (as a handful of rare teachers have always done)—if only we could unlearn the attitude to language that has prevailed from the beginning of public education a century or so ago. Gaelic steadily declines in the Hebrides, the vital remnant of the Scottish Gaidhealtachd, and the Buchan dialect in the north-east of Scotland is losing its vigour. In both cases the schools are where the native speech dies. If this is a matter of conscious political decision at all, it is only because we submit to the priorities of the commercial system and allow our conception of language and life to be dictated to us by that. Seeing a language die out doesn’t bother the man who regards language as simply a means for exchanging ideas: for him another language can easily be substituted. But if language is, as Dr Leavis says, what creates ‘the human world of values and significances and spiritual graces’, then it is surely clear that ‘exchanging ideas’ is much less than an adequate description of the place of language in human life. Hard Times, which came out in 1854, surely is the moral fable for our time Dr Leavis has so long insisted it is: bland and dulcified as it now is, Mr Gradgrind’s Utilitarianism still shuts out what Sleary’s Horseriding represents. ‘Louisa, never wonder’, Mr Gradgrind said to his daughter. But wonder is the most essential response to reality and a language surely begins as a people’s way of wording their sense of the place in which they dwell. Any given language is the tradition— the living and developing tradition—springing from the original sense a people had of its place on the earth. All significance must derive from the significance a place must have had for a people, whether it meant security and home or seemed eery and alien, or whatever.
The End of Her Latin?
Authors: Quinn Edward
Published: August 2007

When Hans Kiing attacked infallibility as it has been understood in Roman theology until recently, he was accused by no less a theologian than Karl Rahner of being in effect a liberal Protestant. But the majority of friendly critics were more inclined to ask what all the fuss was about. Nobody took this theory of infallibility seriously any longer. There were undoubtedly situations where Church and Pope had to take a stand and, if the promises of the Church’s endurance were to mean anything, this must mean infallibility in teaching: the Holy Spirit would guarantee the Church’s freedom from error on such occasions. But they were rare enough and a ‘sensitive exegesis’ could always take care of out-dated definitions.

Charles Davis, a little earlier, had chosen to leave the Church because he could not accept the current explanation of papal claims, the present ‘structures’ which prevent even the most sympathetic bishops from treating their subjects with charity or even justice. But Gregory Baum and others were at hand to show that this brilliant young theologian was still too much entangled in nineteenth-century apologetics.

The latest critic of Church structures, more particularly of the papacy, is Fritz Leist. Angry as he is and in deadly earnest as the above were in deadly earnest, he is not a young man. He will be sixty in 1973.
The Anthropomorphic Illusion—A Note on Jacques Monod
Authors: Roberts Noel
Published: August 2007

A recent book by a Nobel prize-winner in biology, Jacques Monod, is proving a best-seller in France and Germany and is causing much discussion in Britain. Written as it is by an expert in the field of molecular biology with a flair for philosophical thought, it poses a serious challenge to Christian belief in the uniqueness of man and his need of redemption. Monod’s undisguised aim is to demolish what he calls the ‘anthropomorphic illusion’. Galileo in removing the earth from the centre of the cosmos failed to achieve it, advances in biology at the molecular level, he claims, give every promise of succeeding—in fact have succeeded. ‘We would like’, he says, ‘to think ourselves necessary, inevitable, ordained from all eternity. All religions, nearly all philosophers, and even part of science testify to the unwearying heroic effort of mankind desperately denying its own contingency.’ Armed with the latest advances in molecular biology he sets out with overweening confidence and in places superb skill to lay bare the evolutionary process from the level of simple molecules to the greatest mystery of all, human consciousness. Not content with that achievement he then offers a panacea for the modern spiritual malaise—a formidable undertaking.

Monod stands in the tradition of materialistic philosophers dating back to the Greek philosophers Democritus and Epicurus and the Roman philosopher-poet Lucretius. He has more facts at his command but less poetry. Strangely he ignores this tradition and makes a simple opposition between the objectivity of science and ‘vitalistic’ and ‘animistic’ philosophies. ‘Vitalistic’ theories place the teleonomic principle (that which preserves and reproduces the structural form) in the heart of living matter, i.e. these theories imply a radical distinction between living beings and inanimate matter.
Some Thoughts on the Eucharistic Presence: 1
Authors: Egner G.
Published: August 2007

One of the words we learned at school about the Eucharist was ‘transubstantiation’ : we were given to understand, quite rightly, that the use of this word marked off Roman Catholic belief here from what had traditionally been Protestantism, and that the Council of Trent had declared the word to be used very suitably by the Church. Another thing we learned at school was that a consecrated host looks like bread, tastes like bread, but is not: we are sometimes told, again quite properly, that this phrase puts into popular form what Trent asserted.

I reject what Trent said. I don’t believe in transubstantiation and I think that a consecrated host is still bread, bread in precisely the way that an unconsecrated host is bread. I want to show you why I hold these views. What I have to say is derived from a book I am writing, and I obviously can do no more than give you a brief glimpse of some of its contents. I have not written my book to deny the eucharistic presence: but I have written it to try to persuade people that the ways we talk about it are misleading and empty; and to suggest some better ways. It will be on the negative part of the book that I shall be dwelling for a good part of the paper, expounding and criticizing first the views found in Trent, then the views found in certain authors today, particularly in Holland. As you will know, one of the many bickerings between the Dutch and the Vatican concerns the eucharistic presence: my contention is that both sides are saying basically the same thing and that both sides are wrong.
Women and Episcopal Power
Authors: Morris Joan
Published: August 2007

The quasi-episcopal jurisdiction held by abbesses over the ‘separated’ territories of exempt orders has been presented by some writers of today as an abuse. I am alluding to such authors as Giovanni Mongelli, who has written on the mitred abbesses of San Benedetto, Conversano, Italy, and Jose Maria Escriva, who has written on the abbesses of Las Huelgas de Burgos, Spain. Bath these abbeys, like very many others, received innumerable papal bulls in their favour confirming them in their independence of any bishop and accepting their civil and ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Although many religious orders in Europe lost exemption at the time of the French Revolution, the Abbey of Las Huelgas de Burgos, after a brief lapse of some eight years, continued to be exempt up till 1874. The system was brought to a close by Pius IX in a bull entitled Quae diversa addressed to all religious orders in Spain, both men and women. The reason given was that the system was no longer suitable to the changed social conditions.

Such a reason is plausible; but to consider the jurisdiction held by abbesses as an abuse is pure prejudice. Abbesses, like queens or empresses, had a right to rule when their position was officially accepted. Such a system was in keeping with early Christian custom, throughout the feudal period and up to the fall of the nobility at the time of the French Revolution.

The ecclesiastical and civil jurisdiction of the abbesses of Las Huelgas de Burgos covered a territory extending over some sixty-four towns and villages, and over the clergy and people within these places. It was the duty of the abbesses to issue licences to the clergy for the celebration of Masses in the churches within their territory.
Pharmacogenomics of neuroimmune interactions in human psychiatric disorders
Authors: Licinio Julio , Mastronardi Claudio , Wong Ma‐Li
Published: August 2007

There is bidirectional communication between the brain and the immune system. Overproduction of interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) leads to systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). The crucial role of IL‐1β in inflammation has been highlighted by studies performed in caspase‐1 knockout mice (casp1−/−), transgenic mice that lack mature IL‐1β and survive lethal doses of lypopolysaccharide (LPS). We have previously shown that IL‐1β, its receptor IL‐1 receptor I (IL‐1RI) and caspase‐1 are expressed within the brain. Moreover, we documented that peripherally injected LPS triggers a specific spatiotemporal pattern of expression of IL‐1β mRNA within the brain, suggesting that IL‐1β could be a major regulator of the central inflammatory cascade. Therefore, we studied brain transcriptional patterns that occur during LPS‐induced SIRS in wild‐type and casp1−/− mice. We showed patterns of gene expression in wild‐type and casp1−/− mice that included differential expression of several genes, such as those for cytokines, chemokines, nitric oxide synthase 2 and cyclo‐oygenase 2. A key component of the neuroimmune‐endocrine axis that is increased by IL‐1β is corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH). We found increased response to antidepressants in patients homozygous for the GAG haplotype of CRH receptor‐1. Our results support the hypotheses that the CRH receptor‐1 gene and possibly other genes in stress–inflammatory pathways are involved in the response to antidepressant treatment. Since dysregulation of the neuroimmune–endocrine axis appears to be one of the fundamental biological mechanisms that underlie psychiatric disorders, our findings might contribute to increase the understanding of the molecular pathways that are altered in these diseases.
Protein kinase C activity in the nucleus tractus solitarii is critically involved in the acute hypoxic ventilatory response, but is not required for intermittent hypoxia‐induced phrenic long‐term facilitation in adult rats
Authors: Reeves Stephen R. , Gozal David
Published: August 2007

Protein kinase C (PKC) is a broadly expressed and critically important signalling protein with a wide range of functional roles, including central components of respiratory control. For example, systemic and targeted administration of PKC inhibitors within the nucleus of the solitary tract (nTS) markedly attenuates peak hypoxic ventilatory responses (HVR). Protein kinase C activation in phrenic motor nucleus has also been implicated in some forms of acute respiratory plasticity, such as phrenic long‐term facilitation (pLTF), a persistent enhancement of phrenic motor output following acute intermittent hypoxia. To further examine the role of PKC within the nTS, the selective PKC antagonist bisindolylmaleimide I (BIM I) was microinjected in the area corresponding to the nTS via bilateral osmotic pumps in normoxic adult male Sprague–Dawley rats; control animals received bisindolylmaleimide V (BIM V, inactive analogue). In one series of experiments, hypoxic challenges (fractional inspired
) were conducted in unrestrained animals (n= 8 per group). No differences in baseline ventilation emerged; however, peak HVR was attenuated following BIM I (P < 0.01), primarily owing to reductions in respiratory frequency increases (P < 0.01). In a second series of experiments, integrated phrenic nerve activity was recorded in anaesthetized, vagotomized, paralysed and ventilated rats exposed to three 5 min hypoxic episodes
separated by 5 min hyperoxia
. During baseline conditions, no differences emerged in phrenic nerve output; however, phrenic nerve output measured during the initial hypoxic exposure was significantly attenuated in BIM I‐treated rats (P < 0.01). In contrast, both groups of animals displayed significant pLTF (BIM I versus BIM V; n.s.). Thus, we conclude that PKC activation within the nTS is critically involved in the central response to acute hypoxia, but does not appear to play a role in either eliciting or maintaining pLTF.
Effects of the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor L‐NMMA on cerebrovascular and cardiovascular responses to hypoxia and hypercapnia in humans
Authors: Ide Kojiro , Worthley Matthew , Anderson Todd , Poulin Marc J.
Published: August 2007

Cerebral blood flow is highly sensitive to alterations in the partial pressures of O2 and CO2 (P and P, respectively) in the arterial blood. In humans, the extent to which nitric oxide (NO) is involved in this regulation is unclear. We hypothesized that the NO synthase (NOS) inhibitor NG‐monomethyl‐l‐arginine (l‐NMMA), attenuates the sensitivity of middle cerebral artery blood velocity () to isocapnic hypoxia (end‐tidal P= 50 Torr) and euoxic hypercapnia (end‐tidal P=+9 Torr above resting values) in 10 volunteers (age, 28.7 ± 1.3 years; height, 179.2 ± 2.4 cm; weight, 78.0 ± 3.7 kg; mean ±s.e.m.). The techniques of transcranial Doppler ultrasound and dynamic end‐tidal forcing were used to measure , and control end‐tidal P and end‐tidal P, respectively. At baseline (isocapnic euoxia), following intravenous administration of l‐NMMA, mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) increased (76.3 ± 7.3 to 86.2 ± 9.4 mmHg) and heart rate (HR) decreased (59.5 ± 9.0 to 55.2 ± 9.5 beats min−1) but was unchanged. Hypoxia‐induced increases in MAP, HR and were similar with and without l‐NMMA (5.0 ± 0.7 versus 7.1 ± 1.0 mmHg, 11.5 ± 1.4 versus 12.4 ± 1.5 beats min−1, 6.5 ± 0.8 versus 6.6 ± 0.8 cm s−1 for ΔMAP, ΔHR and Δ, respectively). Hypercapnia‐induced increases in MAP, HR and were similar with and without l‐NMMA (7.4 ± 3.1 versus 8.1 ± 2.2 mmHg, 10.4 ± 4.6 versus 10.0 ± 4.2 beats min−1, 16.5 ± 1.5 versus 17.6 ± 1.5 cm s−1 for ΔMAP, ΔHR and Δ, respectively) but the sensitivity of the response at the removal of hypercapnia was attenuated with l‐NMMA. In young healthy humans, pharmacological blockade of nitric oxide synthesis does not affect the increases in cerebral blood flow with hypoxia and hypercapnia, suggesting that nitric oxide is not required for the cerbrovascular responses to hypoxia and hypercapnia.
Indirect coupling between Cav1.2 channels and ryanodine receptors to generate Ca2+ sparks in murine arterial smooth muscle cells
Authors: Essin Kirill , Welling Andrea , Hofmann Franz , Luft Friedrich C. , Gollasch Maik , Moosmang Sven
Published: August 2007

In arterial vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), Ca2+ sparks stimulate nearby Ca2+‐activated K+ (BK) channels that hyperpolarize the membrane and close L‐type Ca2+ channels. We tested the contribution of L‐type Cav1.2 channels to Ca2+ spark regulation in tibial and cerebral artery VSMCs using VSMC‐specific Cav1.2 channel gene disruption in (SMAKO) mice and an approach based on Poisson statistical analysis of activation frequency and first latency of elementary events. Cav1.2 channel gene inactivation reduced Ca2+ spark frequency and amplitude by ∼50% and ∼80%, respectively. These effects were associated with lower global cytosolic Ca2+ levels and reduced sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ load. Elevating cytosolic Ca2+ levels reversed the effects completely. The activation frequency and first latency of elementary events in both wild‐type and SMAKO VSMCs weakly reflected the voltage dependency of L‐type channels. This study provides evidence that local and tight coupling between the Cav1.2 channels and ryanodine receptors (RyRs) is not required to initiate Ca2+ sparks. Instead, Cav1.2 channels contribute to global cytosolic [Ca2+], which in turn influences luminal SR calcium and thus Ca2+ sparks.
Magnetically‐assisted remote control (MARC) steering of endovascular catheters for interventional MRI: A model for deflection and design implications
Authors: Settecase Fabio , Sussman Marshall S. , Wilson Mark W. , Hetts Steven , Arenson Ronald L. , Malba Vincent , Bernhardt Anthony F. , Kucharczyk Walter , Roberts Timothy P. L.
Published: August 2007

Current applied to wire coils wound at the tip of an endovascular catheter can be used to remotely steer a catheter under magnetic resonance imaging guidance. In this study, we derive and validate an equation that characterizes the relationship between deflection and a number of physical factors: , where is the deflection angle, is the number of solenoidal turns, is the current, is the cross‐sectional area of the catheter tip, is the magnetic resonance (MR) scanner main magnetic field, is the unconstrained catheter length, is Young's Modulus for the catheter material, and is the area moment of inertia, and is the initial angle between the catheter tip and . Solenoids of 50, 100, or 150 turns were wound on and catheters. Varying currents were applied remotely using a DC power supply in the MRI control room. The distal catheter tip was suspended within a phantom at varying lengths. Images were obtained with a or a MR scanner using “real‐time” MR pulse sequences. Deflection angles were measured on acquired images. Catheter bending stiffess was determined using a tensile testing apparatus and a stereomicroscope. Predicted relationships between deflection and various physical factors were observed . The derived equation provides a framework for modeling of the behavior of the specialized catheter tip. Each physical factor studied has implications for catheter design and device implementation.
Dynamic‐MLC leaf control utilizing on‐flight intensity calculations: A robust method for real‐time IMRT delivery over moving rigid targets
Authors: McMahon Ryan , Papiez Lech , Rangaraj Dharanipathy
Published: August 2007

An algorithm is presented that allows for the control of multileaf collimation (MLC) leaves based entirely on real‐time calculations of the intensity delivered over the target. The algorithm is capable of efficiently correcting generalized delivery errors without requiring the interruption of delivery (self‐correcting trajectories), where a generalized delivery error represents anything that causes a discrepancy between the delivered and intended intensity profiles. The intensity actually delivered over the target is continually compared to its intended value. For each pair of leaves, these comparisons are used to guide the control of the following leaf and keep this discrepancy below a user‐specified value. To demonstrate the basic principles of the algorithm, results of corrected delivery are shown for a leading leaf positional error during dynamic‐MLC (DMLC) IMRT delivery over a rigid moving target. It is then shown that, with slight modifications, the algorithm can be used to track moving targets in real time. The primary results of this article indicate that the algorithm is capable of accurately delivering DMLC IMRT over a rigid moving target whose motion is (1) completely unknown prior to delivery and (2) not faster than the maximum MLC leaf velocity over extended periods of time. These capabilities are demonstrated for clinically derived intensity profiles and actual tumor motion data, including situations when the target moves in some instances faster than the maximum admissible MLC leaf velocity. The results show that using the algorithm while calculating the delivered intensity every 50 ms will provide a good level of accuracy when delivering IMRT over a rigid moving target translating along the direction of MLC leaf travel. When the maximum velocities of the MLC leaves and target were 4 and 4.2 cm/s, respectively, the resulting error in the two intensity profiles used was and relative to the maximum of the intensity profiles. For the same target motion, the error was shown to increase rapidly as (1) the maximum MLC leaf velocity was reduced below of the maximum target velocity and (2) the system response time was increased.
Setup verification and in vivo dosimetry during intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) for prostate cancer
Authors: Soriani Antonella , Landoni Valeria , Marzi Simona , Iaccarino Giuseppe , Saracino Biancamaria , Arcangeli Giorgio , Benassi Marcello
Published: August 2007

The purpose of this study was to check the setup and dose delivered to the patients during intraoperative electron beam radiation therapy (IORT) for prostate cancer. Twenty eight patients underwent IORT after radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer by means of a dedicated mobile accelerator, Novac7 (by Hitesys, SpA, Italy). A electron beam at high dose per pulse was used. Eighteen patients received IORT at escalating doses of 16, 18, and at 85% isodose, six patients for each dose level. Further, ten patients received at 85% isodose. The electron applicator position was checked in all cases by means of two orthogonal images obtained with brilliance intensifier. Target and organ at risk doses were measured in vivo by a MOSFETs dosimetry system. MOSFETs and microMOSFET dosimeters were inserted into sterile catheters and directly positioned into the rectal lumen, for ten patients, and into the bladder to urethra anastomosis, in the last 14 cases. Verification at 0° led to very few adjustments of setup while verifications at 90° often suggested to bring the applicator closer to the target. In vivo dosimetry showed an absorbed dose into the rectum wall of the total dose. The average dose value inside the anastomosis, for the 12 patients analyzed, was with a standard deviation of , when the prescription was at 85% isodose. Using a C‐arm mobile image intensifier, it is possible to assess if the positioning is correct and safe. Radio‐opaque clips and liquid were necessary to obtain good visible images. In vivo MOSFETs dosimetry is feasible and reliable. A satisfactory agreement between measured and expected doses was found.
Determination of zero‐field size percent depth doses and tissue maximum ratios for stereotactic radiosurgery and IMRT dosimetry: Comparison between experimental measurements and Monte Carlo simulation
Authors: Cheng Chee‐Wai , Hyun Cho Sang , Taylor Michael , Das Indra J.
Published: August 2007

In this study, zero‐field percent depth dose (PDD) and tissue maximum ratio (TMR) for x rays have been determined by extrapolation from dosimetric measurements over the field size range . The key to small field dosimetry is the selection of a proper dosimeter for the measurements, as well as the alignment of the detector with the central axis (CAX) of beam. The measured PDD results are compared with those obtained from Monte Carlo (MC) simulation to examine the consistency and integrity of the measured data from which the zero‐field PDD is extrapolated. Of the six most commonly used dosimeters in the clinic, the stereotactic diode field detector (SFD), the PTW Pinpoint, and the Exradin A14 are the most consistent and produce results within 2% of each other over the entire field size range . Although the diamond detector has the smallest sensitive volume, it is the least stable and tends to disagree with all other dosimeters by more than 10%. The zero‐field PDD data extrapolated from larger field measurements obtained with the SFD are in good agreement with the MC results. The extrapolated and MC data agree within 2.5% over the clinical depth range , when the MC data for the zero field are derived from a field simulation using a miniphantom . The agreement between the measured PDD and the MC data based on a full phantom simulation is fairly good within 1% at shallow depths to approximately 5% at . Our results seem to indicate that zero‐field TMR can be accurately calculated from PDD measurements with a proper choice of detector and a careful alignment of detector axis with the CAX.
Direct validation of atlas‐based red nucleus identification for functional radiosurgery
Authors: Stancanello Joseph , Romanelli Pantaleo , Sebastiano Fabio , Modugno Nicola , Muacevic Alexander , Cerveri Pietro , Esposito Vincenzo , Ferrigno Giancarlo , Uggeri Fulvio , Cantore Giampaolo
Published: August 2007

Treatment targets in functional neurosurgery usually consist of selected structures within the thalamus and basal ganglia, which can be stimulated in order to affect specific brain pathways. Chronic electrical stimulation of these structures is a widely used approach for selected patients with advanced movement disorders. An alternative therapeutic solution consists of producing a lesion in the target nucleus, for example by means of radiosurgery, a noninvasive procedure, and this prevents the use of intraoperative microelectrode recording as a method for accurate target definition. The need to have accurate noninvasive localization of the target motivated our previous work on atlas‐based identification; the aim of this present work is to provide additional validation of this approach based on the identification of the red nuclei (RN), which are located near the subthalamic nucleus (STN). Coordinates of RN were obtained from the Talairach and Tournoux (TT) atlas and transformed into the coordinates of the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) atlas, creating a mask representation of RN. The MNI atlas volume was nonrigidly registered onto the patient magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This deformation field was then applied to the RN mask, providing its location on the patient MRI. Because RN are easily identifiable on 1.5 T T2‐MRI images, they were manually delineated; the coordinates of the centers of mass of the manually and automatically identified structures were compared. Additionally, volumetric overlapping indices were calculated. Ten patients were examined by this technique. All indices indicated a high level of agreement between manually and automatically identified structures. These results not only confirm the accuracy of the method but also allow fine tuning of the automatic identification method to be performed.
Optimization for fast‐scanning irradiation in particle therapy
Authors: Inaniwa Taku , Furukawa Takuji , Tomitani Takehiro , Sato Shinji , Noda Koji , Kanai Tatsuaki
Published: August 2007

In three‐dimensional irradiation with pencil beam scanning, an extra dose is inevitably delivered to the irradiated site due to the finite reaction times of the beam delivery system, and it causes a severe distortion of the dose distribution in the target region. Since the amount of the extra dose is proportional to the beam intensity, the dose uniformity deteriorates as the beam intensity is increased in order to shorten the treatment time. In order to overcome this problem and shorten the treatment time, we have developed an optimization method in which the extra dose is integrated into the optimization process of the best weighting matrix. The effectiveness and applicability of the optimization method for spot and raster scanning irradiation were confirmed with computer simulations and also confirmed using irradiation experiments for spot scanning irradiation. The treatment time could be shortened to about one sixth of the time needed without taking the extra dose into account while obtaining the same degree of dose homogeneity in the target volume. A typical treatment time with the proposed method is about for the irradiation of a spherical target with an diameter at .
Bilateral analysis based false positive reduction for computer‐aided mass detection
Authors: Wu Yi‐Ta , Wei Jun , Hadjiiski Lubomir M. , Sahiner Berkman , Zhou Chuan , Ge Jun , Shi Jiazheng , Zhang Yiheng , Chan Heang‐Ping
Published: August 2007

We have developed a false positive (FP) reduction method based on analysis of bilateral mammograms for computerized mass detection systems. The mass candidates on each view were first detected by our unilateral computer‐aided detection (CAD) system. For each detected object, a regional registration technique was used to define a region of interest (ROI) that is “symmetrical” to the object location on the contralateral mammogram. Texture features derived from the spatial gray level dependence matrices and morphological features were extracted from the ROI containing the detected object on a mammogram and its corresponding ROI on the contralateral mammogram. Bilateral features were then generated from corresponding pairs of unilateral features for each object. Two linear discriminant analysis (LDA) classifiers were trained from the unilateral and the bilateral feature spaces, respectively. Finally, the scores from the unilateral LDA classifier and the bilateral LDA asymmetry classifier were fused with a third LDA whose output score was used to distinguish true mass from FPs. A data set of 341 cases of bilateral two‐view mammograms was used in this study, of which 276 cases with 552 bilateral pairs contained 110 malignant and 166 benign biopsy‐proven masses and 65 cases with 130 bilateral pairs were normal. The mass data set was divided into two subsets for twofold cross‐validation training and testing. The normal data set was used for estimation of FP rates. It was found that our bilateral CAD system achieved a case‐based sensitivity of , , and at average FP rates of 0.35, 0.75, and 0.95 FPs/image, respectively, on the test data sets with malignant masses. In comparison to the average FP rates for the unilateral CAD system of 0.58, 1.33, and 1.63, respectively, at the corresponding sensitivities, the FP rates were reduced by , , and with the bilateral symmetry information. The improvement was statistically significance as estimated by JAFROC analysis.
Quantitative characterization of metastatic disease in the spine. Part II. Histogram‐based analyses
Authors: Whyne Cari , Hardisty Michael , Wu Florence , Skrinskas Tomas , Clemons Mark , Gordon Lyle , Basran Parminder S.
Published: August 2007

Radiological imaging is essential to the appropriate management of patients with bone metastasis; however, there have been no widely accepted guidelines as to the optimal method for quantifying the potential impact of skeletal lesions or to evaluate response to treatment. The current inability to rapidly quantify the response of bone metastases excludes patients with cancer and bone disease from participating in clinical trials of many new treatments as these studies frequently require patients with so‐called measurable disease. Computed tomography (CT) can provide excellent skeletal detail with a sensitivity for the diagnosis of bone metastases. The purpose of this study was to establish an objective method to quantitatively characterize disease in the bony spine using CT‐based segmentations. It was hypothesized that histogram analysis of CT vertebral density distributions would enable standardized segmentation of tumor tissue and consequently allow quantification of disease in the metastatic spine. Thirty two healthy vertebral CT scans were first studied to establish a baseline characterization. The histograms of the trabecular centrums were found to be Gaussian distributions (average root‐mean‐square difference=30 voxel counts), as expected for a uniform material. Intrapatient vertebral level similarity was also observed as the means were not significantly different . Thus, a patient‐specific healthy vertebral body histogram is able to characterize healthy trabecular bone throughout that individual's thoracolumbar spine. Eleven metastatically involved vertebrae were analyzed to determine the characteristics of the lytic and blastic bone voxels relative to the healthy bone. Lytic and blastic tumors were segmented as connected areas with voxel intensities between specified thresholds. The tested thresholds were , , and , for lytic and , , and for blastic tissue where and were taken from the Gaussian characterization of a healthy level within the same patient. The ideal lytic and blastic segmentation thresholds were determined to be and , respectively. Using the optimized thresholds to segment tumor tissue, a quantitative characterization of disease is possible to calculate tumor volumes, disease severity, and temporal progression or treatment effect. Our proposed histogram‐based method for characterizing spinal metastases shows great potential in extending the quantitative capacity of CT‐based radiographic evaluations.
The dependence of the modulation transfer function on the blocking layer thickness in amorphous selenium x‐ray detectors
Authors: Hunter David M. , Belev Gueorgi , DeCrescenzo Giovanni , Kasap Safa O. , Mainprize James G. , Rowlands J. A. , Smith Charles , Tümer Tümay , Verpakhovski Vladimir , Yin Shi , Yaffe Martin J.
Published: August 2007

Blocking layers are used to reduce leakage current in amorphous selenium detectors. The effect of the thickness of the blocking layer on the presampling modulation transfer function (MTF) and on dark current was experimentally determined in prototype single‐line CCD‐based amorphous selenium x‐ray detectors. The sampling pitch of the detectors evaluated was and the blocking layer thicknesses varied from 1 to . The blocking layers resided on the signal collection electrodes which, in this configuration, were used to collect electrons. The combined thickness of the blocking layer and bulk in each detector was . As expected, the dark current increased monotonically as the thickness of the blocking layer was decreased. It was found that if the blocking layer thickness was small compared to the sampling pitch, it caused a negligible reduction in MTF. However, the MTF was observed to decrease dramatically at spatial frequencies near the Nyquist frequency as the blocking layer thickness approached or exceeded the electrode sampling pitch. This observed reduction in MTF is shown to be consistent with predictions of an electrostatic model wherein the image charge from the is trapped at a characteristic depth within the blocking layer, generally near the interface between the blocking layer and the bulk.
Novel Nickel Resistance Genes from the Rhizosphere Metagenome of Plants Adapted to Acid Mine Drainage
Authors: Mirete Salvador , de Figueras Carolina G. , González-Pastor Jose E.
Published: August 2007

Metal resistance determinants have traditionally been found in cultivated bacteria. To search for genes involved in nickel resistance, we analyzed the bacterial community of the rhizosphere of
Erica andevalensis
, an endemic heather which grows at the banks of the Tinto River, a naturally metal-enriched and extremely acidic environment in southwestern Spain. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis of rhizosphere DNA revealed the presence of members of five phylogenetic groups of
Bacteria
and the two main groups of
Archaea
mostly associated with sites impacted by acid mine drainage (AMD). The diversity observed and the presence of heavy metals in the rhizosphere led us to construct and screen five different metagenomic libraries hosted in
Escherichia coli
for searching novel nickel resistance determinants. A total of 13 positive clones were detected and analyzed. Insights about their possible mechanisms of resistance were obtained from cellular nickel content and sequence similarities. Two clones encoded putative ABC transporter components, and a novel mechanism of metal efflux is suggested. In addition, a nickel hyperaccumulation mechanism is proposed for a clone encoding a serine
O
-acetyltransferase. Five clones encoded proteins similar to well-characterized proteins but not previously reported to be related to nickel resistance, and the remaining six clones encoded hypothetical or conserved hypothetical proteins of uncertain functions. This is the first report documenting nickel resistance genes recovered from the metagenome of an AMD environment.
Directed Evolution ofVibrio fischeriLuxR for Improved Response to Butanoyl-Homoserine Lactone
Authors: Hawkins Andrew C. , Arnold Frances H. , Stuermer Rainer , Hauer Bernhard , Leadbetter Jared R.
Published: August 2007

LuxR is the 3-oxohexanoyl-homoserine lactone (3OC6HSL)-dependent transcriptional activator of the prototypical acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL) quorum-sensing system ofVibrio fischeri. Wild-type LuxR exhibits no response to butanoyl-HSL (C4HSL) in quantitative bioassays at concentrations of up to 1 μM; a previously described LuxR variant (LuxR-G2E) exhibits a broadened response to diverse AHLs, including pentanoyl-HSL (C5HSL), but not to C4HSL. Here, two rounds of directed evolution of LuxR-G2E generated variants of LuxR that responded to C4HSL at concentrations as low as 10 nM. One variant, LuxR-G4E, had only one change, I45F, relative to the parent LuxR-G2E, which itself differs from the wild type at three residues. Dissection of the four mutations within LuxR-G4E demonstrated that at least three of these changes were simultaneously required to achieve any measurable C4HSL response. The four changes improved both sensitivity and specificity towards C4HSL relative to any of the other 14 possible combinations of those residues. These data confirm that LuxR is evolutionarily pliable and suggest that LuxR is not intrinsically asymmetric in its response to quorum-sensing signals with different acyl-side-chain lengths.
Characterization of Protein-Protein Interactions Involved in Iron Reduction by
Shewanella oneidensis
MR-1
Authors: Ross Daniel E. , Ruebush Shane S. , Brantley Susan L. , Hartshorne Robert S. , Clarke Thomas A. , Richardson David J. , Tien Ming
Published: August 2007

The interaction of proteins implicated in dissimilatory metal reduction by
Shewanella oneidensis
MR-1 (outer membrane [OM] proteins OmcA, MtrB, and MtrC; OM-associated protein MtrA; periplasmic protein CctA; and cytoplasmic membrane protein CymA) were characterized by protein purification, analytical ultracentrifugation, and cross-linking methods. Five of these proteins are heme proteins, OmcA (83 kDa), MtrC (75 kDa), MtrA (32 kDa), CctA (19 kDa), and CymA (21 kDa), and can be visualized after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis by heme staining. We show for the first time that MtrC, MtrA, and MtrB form a 198-kDa complex with a 1:1:1 stoichiometry. These proteins copurify through anion-exchange chromatography, and the purified complex has the ability to reduce multiple forms of Fe(III) and Mn(IV). Additionally, MtrA fractionates with the OM through sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation, and MtrA comigrates with MtrB in native gels. Protein cross-linking of whole cells with 1% formaldehyde show new heme bands of 160, 151, 136, and 59 kDa. Using antibodies to detect each protein separately, heme proteins OmcA and MtrC were shown to cross-link, yielding the 160-kDa band. Consistent with copurification results, MtrB cross-links with MtrA, forming high-molecular-mass bands of approximately 151 and 136 kDa.
Outcome of Colonization of
Apis mellifera
by
Nosema ceranae
Authors: Martín-Hernández Raquel , Meana Aránzazu , Prieto Lourdes , Salvador Amparo Martínez , Garrido-Bailón Encarna , Higes Mariano
Published: August 2007

A multiplex PCR-based method, in which two small-subunit rRNA regions are simultaneously amplified in a single reaction, was designed for parallel detection of honeybee microsporidians (
Nosema apis
and
Nosema ceranae
). Each of two pairs of primers exclusively amplified the 16S rRNA targeted gene of a specific microsporidian. The multiplex PCR assay was useful for specific detection of the two species of microsporidians related to bee nosemosis, not only in purified spores but also in honeybee homogenates and in naturally infected bees. The multiplex PCR assay was also able to detect coinfections by the two species. Screening of bee samples from Spain, Switzerland, France, and Germany using the PCR technique revealed a greater presence of
N. ceranae
than of
N. apis
in Europe, although both species are widely distributed. From the year 2000 onward, statistically significant differences have been found in the proportions of
Nosema
spp. spore-positive samples collected between and within years. In the first period examined (1999 to 2002), the smallest number of samples diagnosed as
Nosema
positive was found during the summer months, showing clear seasonality in the diagnosis, which is characteristic of
N. apis
. From 2003 onward a change in the tendency resulted in an increase in
Nosema
-positive samples in all months until 2005, when a total absence of seasonality was detected. A significant causative association between the presence of
N. ceranae
and hive depopulation clearly indicates that the colonization of
Apis mellifera
by
N. ceranae
is related to bee losses.
Use of Cell Culture To Assess
Cryptosporidium parvum
Survival Rates in Natural Groundwaters and Surface Waters
Authors: Ives Rebecca L. , Kamarainen Amy M. , John David E. , Rose Joan B.
Published: August 2007

Bench-scale survival studies with
Cryptosporidium parvum
were conducted with representative aquifer and reservoir waters of Florida.
C. parvum
inactivation rates ranged from 0.0088 log
10
/day at 5°C to −0.20 log
10
/day at 30°C. Temperature, surface water or groundwater type, and the interaction of these factors had statistically significant effects on the survival of
C. parvum
.
agr
System of
Listeria monocytogenes
EGD-e: Role in Adherence and Differential Expression Pattern
Authors: Rieu Aurélie , Weidmann Stéphanie , Garmyn Dominique , Piveteau Pascal , Guzzo Jean
Published: August 2007

In this study, we investigated the
agrBDCA
operon in the pathogenic bacterium
Listeria monocytogenes
EGD-e. In-frame deletion of
agrA
and
agrD
resulted in an altered adherence and biofilm formation on abiotic surfaces, suggesting the involvement of the
agr
system of
L. monocytogenes
during the early stages of biofilm formation. Real-time PCR experiments indicated that the transcript levels of
agrBDCA
depended on the stage of biofilm development, since the levels were lower after the initial attachment period than during biofilm growth, whereas transcription during planktonic growth was not growth phase dependent. The mRNA quantification data also suggested that the
agr
system was autoregulated and pointed to a differential expression of the
agr
genes during sessile and planktonic growth. Although the reverse transcription-PCR experiments revealed that the four genes were transcribed as a single messenger, chemical half-life and 5′ RACE (rapid amplification of cDNA ends) experiments indicated that the full size transcript underwent cleavage followed by degradation of the
agrC
and
agrA
transcripts, which suggests a complex regulation of
agr
transcription.
Cloning and Transfer of the
Salmonella
Pathogenicity Island 2 Type III Secretion System for Studies of a Range of Gram-Negative Genera
Authors: Wilson James W. , Coleman Clint , Nickerson Cheryl A.
Published: August 2007

The engineering of bacterial strains with specific phenotypes frequently requires the use of blocks or “cassettes” of genes that act together to perform a desired function. The potential benefits of utilizing type III secretion systems in this regard are becoming increasingly realized since these systems can be used to direct interactions with host cells for beneficial purposes such as vaccine development, anticancer therapies, and targeted protein delivery. However, convenient methods to clone and transfer type III secretion systems for studies of a range of different types of bacteria are lacking. In addition to functional applications, such methods would also reveal important information about the evolution of a given type III secretion system, such as its ability to be expressed and functional outside of the strain of origin. We describe here the cloning of the
Salmonella enterica
serovar Typhimurium pathogenicity island 2 (SPI-2) type III secretion system onto a vector that can be easily transferred to a range of gram-negative bacterial genera. We found that expression of the cloned SPI-2 system in different
Gammaproteobacteria
and
Alphaproteobacteria
(as monitored by SseB protein levels) is dependent on the bacterial strain and growth medium. We also demonstrate that the cloned system is functional for secretion, can direct interactions with macrophages, and can be used as a novel tool to analyze the predicted interaction of SseB with host cells. This work provides a foundation for future applications where the cloned SPI-2 region (or other cloned type III systems) can provide a desired function to an engineered gram-negative strain.