bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Improving How Scientists Communicate About Climate Change
Authors: Hassol Susan Joy
Published: March 2008

Science meets policy in the most important challenge of our time: global warming. Yet even the most basic facts of this issue (e.g., that the world is warming and that human activity is the dominant cause) are obscure to some decision makers who need to understand them. How can climate scientists be more effective at communicating what they know, how they know it, and how sure they are of it?

The need for scientists to communicate more effectively about climate change is urgent. For people to take climate change seriously and support appropriate responses, they need to feel sure it is happening and is caused primarily by humans. But while the rise in global temperature is a fact (see, e.g., Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) [2007], which calls the warming “unequivocal”), 56% of Americans believe there is a lot of disagreement among scientists about whether global warming is even occurring. And while every authoritative scientific body attributes most of the warming of the past 50 years to human activity [see, e.g., IPCC, 2007; American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2006], only 41% of Americans believe that humanity is the dominant cause (42% believe it is due about equally to natural and human causes), according to an April 2007 poll by ABC News, The Washington Post, and Stanford University.
James F. Luhr (1953–2007)
Authors: Carmichael Ian , MacPherson Glenn J. , Sorensen Sorena S.
Published: March 2008

Volcanologists worldwide were shocked to learn of Jim Luhr's sudden death at age 53 on 1 January 2007, at the zenith of his career. Jim was director of the Global Volcanism Program at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. He lived in University Park, Md., with his wife, Karen, and two daughters.
A Suggestion to Climate Scientists and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Authors: Akasofu Syun‐Ichi
Published: March 2008

Scientists and the general public alike encounter scientific terms such as climate change, global warming, greenhouse effect, and carbon dioxide a few times every day in newspapers, radio broadcasts, and television news, as well as in conversation. This is perhaps the first time in the history of science that a scientific issue has gotten so much attention from the public. As a scientist, I am pleased about the public's interest in science. Unfortunately, I have found that this great interest in climatology is largely the result of a proliferation of confusing stories in the media that are based on misinterpreted information about the greenhouse effect of carbon dioxide. Many people bring up several misunderstood issues when I discuss the present warming trend. Even some policy makers and government officials seem to be confused.
Paleopalynology, 2nd edition Topics in Geobiology Series, Volume 28
Authors: Gajewski Konrad
Published: March 2008

Palynology, the study of pollen and spores, is a field of study pursued by at least three groups of people, who, as the author of this book notes, tend to have little contact among them. The first group consists of botanists interested in topics such as plant biology, evolution, or allergens (palynology in the strict sense). The other two groups include Quaternary paleoecologists interested in paleoecology and climate change, among other topics, and geologists interested in subjects such as stratigraphic correlation and evolution.

Palynology can also be considered in a broader sense of the term, and in this book includes all palynomorphs: “organic microfossils that are found in our maceration preparations of sedimentary rocks” (p. 2). Geologists use the term palynology to include all palynomorphs, and although the book is written primarily for them, there is much of interest to the first and second groups as well.
A rapid upward shift of a forest ecotone during 40 years of warming in the Green Mountains of Vermont
Authors: Beckage Brian , Osborne Ben , Gavin Daniel G. , Pucko Carolyn , Siccama Thomas , Perkins Timothy
Published: March 2008

Detecting latitudinal range shifts of forest trees in response to recent climate change is difficult because of slow demographic rates and limited dispersal but may be facilitated by spatially compressed climatic zones along elevation gradients in montane environments. We resurveyed forest plots established in 1964 along elevation transects in the Green Mountains (Vermont) to examine whether a shift had occurred in the location of the northern hardwood–boreal forest ecotone (NBE) from 1964 to 2004. We found a 19% increase in dominance of northern hardwoods from 70% in 1964 to 89% in 2004 in the lower half of the NBE. This shift was driven by a decrease (up to 76%) in boreal and increase (up to 16%) in northern hardwood basal area within the lower portions of the ecotone. We used aerial photographs and satellite imagery to estimate a 91- to 119-m upslope shift in the upper limits of the NBE from 1962 to 2005. The upward shift is consistent with regional climatic change during the same period; interpolating climate data to the NBE showed a 1.1°C increase in annual temperature, which would predict a 208-m upslope movement of the ecotone, along with a 34% increase in precipitation. The rapid upward movement of the NBE indicates little inertia to climatically induced range shifts in montane forests; the upslope shift may have been accelerated by high turnover in canopy trees that provided opportunities for ingrowth of lower elevation species. Our results indicate that high-elevation forests may be jeopardized by climate change sooner than anticipated.
Crystal structure of the [2Fe-2S] oxidative-stress sensor SoxR bound to DNA
Authors: Watanabe Satoshi , Kita Akiko , Kobayashi Kazuo , Miki Kunio
Published: March 2008

The [2Fe-2S] transcription factor SoxR, a member of the MerR family, functions as a bacterial sensor of oxidative stress such as superoxide and nitric oxide. SoxR is activated by reversible one-electron oxidation of the [2Fe-2S] cluster and then enhances the production of various antioxidant proteins through the
soxRS
regulon. In the active state, SoxR and other MerR family proteins activate transcription from unique promoters, which have a long 19- or 20-bp spacer between the −35 and −10 operator elements, by untwisting the promoter DNA. Here, we show the crystal structures of SoxR and its complex with the target promoter in the oxidized (active) state. The structures reveal that the [2Fe-2S] cluster of SoxR is completely solvent-exposed and surrounded by an asymmetric environment stabilized by interaction with the other subunit. The asymmetrically charged environment of the [2Fe-2S] cluster probably causes redox-dependent conformational changes of SoxR and the target promoter. Compared with the promoter structures with the 19-bp spacer previously studied, the DNA structure is more sharply bent, by ≈1 bp, with the two central base pairs holding Watson–Crick base pairs. Comparison of the target promoter sequences of the MerR family indicates that the present DNA structure represents the activated conformation of the target promoter with a 20-bp spacer in the MerR family.
The dual mode of action of bistramide A entails severing of filamentous actin and covalent protein modification
Authors: Rizvi Syed Alipayam , Courson David S. , Keller Valerie A. , Rock Ronald S. , Kozmin Sergey A.
Published: March 2008

This study provides comprehensive characterization of the mode of action of bistramide A and identifies structural requirements of bistramide-based compounds that are responsible for severing actin filaments and inhibiting growth of cancer cells
in vitro
and
in vivo
. We rationally designed and assembled a series of structural analogs of the natural product, including a fluorescently labeled conjugate. We used TIRF microscopy to directly observe actin filament severing by this series of small molecules, which established that the combination of the spiroketal and the amide subunits was sufficient to enable rapid actin filament disassembly
in vitro
. In addition, we demonstrated that the enone subunit of bistramide A is responsible for covalent modification of the protein
in vitro
and in A549 cells, resulting in further increase in the cytotoxicity of the natural product. Our results demonstrate that bistramide A elicits its potent antiproliferative activity by a dual mechanism of action, which entails both severing of actin filaments and covalent sequestration of monomeric actin in the cell.
Mycobacterial persistence requires the utilization of host cholesterol
Authors: Pandey Amit K. , Sassetti Christopher M.
Published: March 2008

A hallmark of tuberculosis is the ability of the causative agent,Mycobacterium tuberculosis, to persist for decades despite a vigorous host immune response. Previously, we identified a mycobacterial gene cluster,mce4, that was specifically required for bacterial survival during this prolonged infection. We now show thatmce4encodes a cholesterol import system that enablesM. tuberculosisto derive both carbon and energy from this ubiquitous component of host membranes. Cholesterol import is not required for establishing infection in mice or for growth in resting macrophages. However, this function is essential for persistence in the lungs of chronically infected animals and for growth within the IFN-γ-activated macrophages that predominate at this stage of infection. This finding indicates that a major effect of IFN-γ stimulation may be to sequester potential pathogens in a compartment devoid of more commonly used nutrients. The unusual capacity to catabolize sterols allowsM. tuberculosisto circumvent this defense and thereby sustain a persistent infection.
Profound functional and signaling changes in viable inflammatory neutrophils homing to cystic fibrosis airways
Authors: Tirouvanziam Rabindra , Gernez Yael , Conrad Carol K. , Moss Richard B. , Schrijver Iris , Dunn Colleen E. , Davies Zoe A. , Herzenberg Leonore A. , Herzenberg Leonard A.
Published: March 2008

Blood neutrophils recruited to cystic fibrosis (CF) airways are believed to be rapidly killed by resident bacteria and to passively release elastase and other toxic by-products that promote disease progression. By single-cell analysis, we demonstrate that profound functional and signaling changes readily occur within viable neutrophils recruited to CF airways, compared with their blood counterparts. Airway neutrophils have undergone conventional activation, as shown by decreased intracellular glutathione, increased lipid raft assembly, surface mobilization of CD11b+ and CD66b+ granules, and increased levels of the cytoskeleton-associated phospho-Syk kinase. Unexpectedly, they also mobilize to the surface CD63+ elastase-rich granules, usually confined intracellularly, and lose surface expression of CD16 and CD14, both key receptors in phagocytosis. Furthermore, they express CD80, major histocompatibility complex type II, and the prostaglandin D2 receptor CD294, all normally associated with other lineages, which reflects functional reprogramming. This notion is reinforced by their decreased total phosphotyrosine levels, mirroring a postactivated stage, and increased levels of the phospho-S6 ribosomal protein, a key anabolic switch. Thus, we identified a subset of neutrophils within CF airways with a viable but dysfunctional phenotype. This subset provides a possible therapeutic target and indicates a need to revisit current paradigms of CF airway disease.
A new influenza virus virulence determinant: The NS1 protein four C-terminal residues modulate pathogenicity
Authors: Jackson David , Hossain Md. Jaber , Hickman Danielle , Perez Daniel R. , Lamb Robert A.
Published: March 2008

The virulence of influenza virus is a multigenic trait. One determinant of virulence is the multifunctional NS1 protein that functions in several ways to defeat the cellular innate immune response. Recent large-scale genome sequence analysis of avian influenza virus isolates indicated that four C-terminal residues of the NS1 protein is a PDZ ligand domain of the X-S/T-X-V type and it was speculated that it may represent a virulence determinant. To test this hypothesis, by using mice as a model system, the four C-terminal amino acid residues of a number of influenza virus strains were engineered into the A/WSN/33 virus NS1 protein by reverse genetics and the pathogenicity of the viruses determined. Viruses containing NS1 sequences from the 1918 H1N1 and H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses demonstrated increased virulence in infected mice compared with wt A/WSN/33 virus, as characterized by rapid loss of body weight, decreased survival time, and decreased mean lethal dose. Histopathological analysis of infected mouse lung tissues demonstrated severe alveolitis, hemorrhaging, and spread of the virus throughout the entire lung. The increase in pathogenicity was not caused by the overproduction of IFN, suggesting the NS1 protein C terminus may interact with PDZ-binding protein(s) and modulate pathogenicity through alternative mechanisms.
Silent ships do not always encounter more fish: comparison of acoustic backscatter recorded by a noise-reduced and a conventional research vessel
Authors: De Robertis Alex , Hjellvik Vidar , Williamson Neal J. , Wilson Christopher D.
Published: March 2008

De Robertis, A., Hjellvik, V., Williamson, N. J., and Wilson, C. D. 2008. Silent ships do not always encounter more fish: comparison of acoustic backscatter recorded by a noise-reduced and a conventional research vessel. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 623–635. The extent to which fish avoid approaching research vessels is an important source of uncertainty in fisheries surveys. Vessels radiate noise at the frequencies where fish hearing is most sensitive, and noise is thus thought to be the primary stimulus for vessel avoidance. In an effort to minimize vessel avoidance, international standards for noise emission by research vessels have been established. Although vessels meeting these criteria are now in service, the effectiveness of noise quietening on vessel avoidance remains poorly understood. The new, noise-reduced, RV “Oscar Dyson” (OD) will augment the conventionally constructed research vessel, “Miller Freeman” (MF) and serve as the primary platform in conducting acoustic surveys of walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) in Alaska. To investigate whether noise-reduction measures result in differential avoidance, which would bias the pollock abundance time-series, we conducted an inter-vessel comparison of acoustic backscatter recorded by OD and MF during a survey of walleye pollock in 2006 in the eastern Bering Sea. Overall, we found no evidence for differences in vessel avoidance that would impact the echo integration results of adult pollock. Analysis of pollock depth distributions from both vessels suggests that there is a comparatively greater diving response to OD, with the reaction taking place primarily after the vessel has passed and for fish shallower than 90 m. Given that the change in vertical distribution is after the fish have been detected by the echosounder, this reaction should not influence echo-integration measurements. The results indicate that use of the OD rather than the MF is unlikely to bias the Bering Sea survey time-series through changes in vessel avoidance by adult walleye pollock.
In hot water: zooplankton and climate change
Authors: Richardson Anthony J.
Published: March 2008

Richardson, A. J. 2008. In hot water: zooplankton and climate change. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 279–295. An overview is provided of the observed and potential future responses of zooplankton communities to global warming. I begin by describing the importance of zooplankton in ocean ecosystems and the attributes that make them sensitive beacons of climate change. Global warming may have even greater repercussions for marine ecosystems than for terrestrial ecosystems, because temperature influences water column stability, nutrient enrichment, and the degree of new production, and thus the abundance, size composition, diversity, and trophic efficiency of zooplankton. Pertinent descriptions of physical changes in the ocean in response to climate change are given as a prelude to a detailed discussion of observed impacts of global warming on zooplankton. These manifest as changes in the distribution of individual species and assemblages, in the timing of important life-cycle events, and in abundance and community structure. The most illustrative case studies, where climate has had an obvious, tangible impact on zooplankton and substantial ecosystem consequences, are presented. Changes in the distribution and phenology of zooplankton are faster and greater than those observed for terrestrial groups. Relevant projected changes in ocean conditions are then presented, followed by an exploration of potential future changes in zooplankton communities from the perspective of different modelling approaches. Researchers have used a range of modelling approaches on individual species and functional groups forced by output from climate models under future greenhouse gas emission scenarios. I conclude by suggesting some potential future directions in climate change research for zooplankton, viz. the use of richer zooplankton functional groups in ecosystem models; greater research effort in tropical systems; investigating climate change in conjunction with other human impacts; and a global zooplankton observing system.
Automated tracking of fish in trawls using the DIDSON (Dual frequency IDentification SONar)
Authors: Handegard Nils Olav , Williams Kresimir
Published: March 2008

Handegard, N. O., and Williams, K. 2008. Automated tracking of fish in trawls using the DIDSON (Dual frequency IDentification SONar). – ICES Journal of Marine Science. 65: 636–644. An application for the automated tracking of dual-frequency, identification sonar (DIDSON) data was developed and tested on fish observations taken in midwater trawls. The process incorporates target detection, multiple target tracking, and the extraction of behaviour information such as target speed and direction from the track data. The automatic tracker was evaluated using three test datasets with different target sizes, observation ranges, and densities. The targets in the datasets were tracked manually and with the automated tracker, using the manual-tracking results as the standard for estimating the performance of the automated tracking process. In the first and third dataset, where the targets were smaller and less dense, the automated tracking performed well, correctly identifying 74% and 57% of targets, respectively, and associating targets into tracks with <10% error compared with the manually tracked data. In the second dataset, where targets were dense and appeared large owing to the shorter observation range, 45% of targets were correctly identified, and the track error rate was 21%. Target speed and direction, derived from the tracking data, agreed well between the manual and automatic methods for all three test cases. Automated tracking represents a useful technique for processing DIDSON data, and a valuable alternative to time-consuming, manual data-processing, when used in appropriate conditions.
Diffusion-controlled dissolution of a binary solid into a ternary liquid with partially molten zone formation
Authors: Hatton D.C , Woods A.W
Published: March 2008

We build a theoretical model of equilibrium dissolution of a homogeneous, solid mixture of two salts A and B, KCl and NaCl being used as the type example, into an aqueous solution of the two salts, with diffusive transport. We find that there are two sharp dissolution fronts, separating fluid, a partially molten zone containing a single solid and mixed solid. The phase change happens almost entirely at the two sharp fronts. In equilibrium, the leading front exhibits a small amount of precipitation of NaCl, simultaneous with complete dissolution of KCl. There is a unique surface in the space of far-field fluid KCl concentration, far-field fluid NaCl concentration and solid composition, dividing conditions where NaCl is the solid in the partially molten zone, from conditions where KCl is the solid in the partially molten zone. The movement rates of the dissolution fronts decrease as the concentration of either salt in the far-field fluid is increased. The movement rates of the dissolution fronts increase as either far-field temperature is increased, but this effect is smaller than that of concentration. In most circumstances, the dissolution front for a given salt moves more slowly, the more of that salt is present in the original solid, although the mass dissolution rate is not greatly affected by the solid composition.
Bifurcation to a corner-like formation in a slender nonlinearly elastic cylinder: asymptotic solution and mechanism
Authors: Dai Hui-Hui , Wang Fan-Fan
Published: March 2008

In this paper, we study the corner-like formation in a slender nonlinearly elastic cylinder due to compression. Mathematically, this is a very challenging problem: one needs to study the bifurcation of the nonlinear field equations (complicated nonlinear partial differential equations) and show that there is a bifurcation leading to a solution with a corner-like profile. We also aim to obtain the asymptotic expression for this post-bifurcation solution. As far as we know, there is no available analytical method to obtain the post-bifurcation solution of nonlinear partial differential equation(s). Here we use a novel approach to tackle the present problem. Through a method of coupled series–asymptotic expansions, we manage to derive the normal form equation of the original nonlinear field equations, which can be written as a singular ordinary differential equation (ODE) system (the vector field has a singularity at one point). With welding end conditions, the problem is reduced to study the boundary-value problem of a singular ODE system. It seems that such a boundary-value problem of a singular ODE system was not formulated or studied before in the context of the present problem. With the help of phase planes, we manage to solve such a boundary-value problem. It turns out that there is a vertical singular line in phase planes, which causes the bifurcation to a corner-like solution. The expression for this post-bifurcation solution is also obtained. From the analytical results obtained, we reveal that the coupling effect of the material nonlinearity and geometrical size is the physical mechanism that causes the formation of a corner-like profile.
Recent oppositely directed trends in solar climate forcings and the global mean surface air temperature. II. Different reconstructions of the total solar irradiance variation and dependence on response time scale
Authors: Lockwood Mike , Fröhlich Claus
Published: March 2008

We have previously placed the solar contribution to recent global warming in context using observations and without recourse to climate models. It was shown that all solar forcings of climate have declined since 1987. The present paper extends that analysis to include the effects of the various time constants with which the Earth's climate system might react to solar forcing. The solar input waveform over the past 100 years is defined using observed and inferred galactic cosmic ray fluxes, valid for either a direct effect of cosmic rays on climate or an effect via their known correlation with total solar irradiance (TSI), or for a combination of the two. The implications, and the relative merits, of the various TSI composite data series are discussed and independent tests reveal that the PMOD composite used in our previous paper is the most realistic. Use of the ACRIM composite, which shows a rise in TSI over recent decades, is shown to be inconsistent with most published evidence for solar influences on pre-industrial climate. The conclusions of our previous paper, that solar forcing has declined over the past 20 years while surface air temperatures have continued to rise, are shown to apply for the full range of potential time constants for the climate response to the variations in the solar forcings.
Emergence of network structure in models of collective evolution and evolutionary dynamics
Authors: Jensen Henrik Jeldtoft
Published: March 2008

We consider an evolving network of a fixed number of nodes. The allocation of edges is a dynamical stochastic process inspired by biological reproduction dynamics, namely by deleting and duplicating existing nodes and their edges. The properties of the degree distribution in the stationary state is analysed by use of the Fokker–Planck equation. For a broad range of parameters, exponential degree distributions are observed. The mechanism responsible for this behaviour is illuminated by use of a simple mean field equation and reproduced by the Fokker–Planck equation. The latter is treated exactly, except for an approximate treatment of the degree–degree correlations. In the limit of 0 mutations, the degree distribution becomes a power law with exponent 1.
From empirical patterns to theory: a formal metabolic theory of life
Authors: Sousa Tânia , Domingos Tiago , Kooijman S.A.L.M
Published: March 2008

The diversity of life on Earth raises the question of whether it is possible to have a single theoretical description of the quantitative aspects of the organization of metabolism for all organisms. However, similarities between organisms, such as von Bertalanffy's growth curve and Kleiber's law on metabolic rate, suggest that mechanisms that control the uptake and use of metabolites are common to all organisms. These and other widespread empirical patterns in biology should be the ultimate test for any metabolic theory that hopes for generality. The present study (i) collects empirical evidence on growth, stoichiometry, feeding, respiration and energy dissipation and exhibits it as stylized biological facts; (ii) formalizes assumptions and propositions in a metabolic theory that is fully consistent with the Dynamic Energy Budget theory; and (iii) proves that these assumptions and propositions are consistent with the stylized facts.
Further Studies on Clotting and Fibrinolysis in Plasma from the Smooth Dogfish (Mustelis canis)
Authors: Doolittle R. F.
Published: March 2008

It has recently been reported that certain elasmobranch fish have a clotting diathesis which can be overcome in vitro by high concentrations of calcium ion (Doolittle and Surgenor, 1962). Under such conditions, a rapid coagulation occurs which is soon followed by a spontaneous fibrinolysis. The present report deals with the effects of varying certain other conditions of the physico‐chemical environment and also the effectiveness of certain inhibitors known to repress either clotting or lysis in mammalian systems.
Studies on Human Gastric Intrinsic Factor OBSERVATIONS ON ITS POSSIBLE ABSORPTION AND ENTEROHEPATIC CIRCULATION
Authors: Ardeman S. , Chanarin I. , Berry Valerie
Published: March 2008

Under physiological conditions Intrinsic Factor secreted by the cells of the gastric mucosa is required for the uptake of vitamin B12 by the small intestine. Vitamin B12 passes to the blood, reaches the liver as well as other organs, and some is re‐excreted into the bile (Grasbeck, Nyberg and Reizenstein, 1958). Whether vitamin B12 is accompanied by Intrinsic Factor on its passage into the blood and into the bile or whether Intrinsic Factor does not pass beyond the intestinal wall is uncertain.

Miller and Hunter (1957) have demonstrated that not only does Intrinsic Factor enhance the vitamin B12 uptake by gut but it will also promote the attachment of vitamin B12 to serum, liver, kidney and other tissues. It has been suggested that vitamin B12 and Intrinsic Factor, but not vitamin B12 alone, is required to restore normoblastic haemopoiesis in a culture of megaloblastic marrow (Lajtha, 1950; Callender and Lajtha, 1951; Pendl, Franz and Hunkel‐Trees, 1958). Toporek (1961) has shown that Intrinsic Factor perfused through a rat liver is re‐excreted in an active form into the bile and Herbert and Kaplan (1961) have reported evidence suggesting that Intrinsic Factor, like vitamin B12 (Grasbeck et al., 1958) takes part in an entero‐hepatic circulation. Further Gulberg and Kistner (1963) have found that hog bile contains a fraction showing the same immunological behaviour as the main vitamin B12 binding component of hog Intrinsic Factor. It is likely that the haematological relapse of patients with pernicious anaemia treated with oral vitamin B12 and hog Intrinsic Factor preparations is due to the development of antibodies against hog Intrinsic Factor suggesting absorption of at least some of this material (Schwartz, 1962).

On the other hand, Cooper and Castle (1960) found evidence for the release of vitamin B12 from Intrinsic Factor at the gut wall. Taylor and Medenica (1962) found that the uptake of vitamin B12 by rat tissues, particularly the liver, was independent of a source of Intrinsic Factor and others have failed to substantiate an Intrinsic Factor requirement for the maturation of a megaloblastic marrow culture (Reisner and Swan, 1954; Carrara, Taglioretti and Eridani, 1960). The large molecular weight suggested for Intrinsic Factor by some workers (Bromer and Davisson, 1961) does not favour its transport beyond the gut wall, at least in the undegraded form.

The purpose of the present study was, firstly, to obtain evidence for or against transport of Intrinsic Factor into the blood and, secondly, to determine whether Intrinsic Factor, like vitamin B12, takes part in an entero‐hepatic circulation.
Sideroblastic Anaemia: Is This a Malignancy?
Authors: Dameshek W.
Published: March 2008

In participating in this discussion on ‘Sideroblastic Anaemia’, more particularly regarding its possible consideration as a malignancy, I must first point out that this term is but one amongst many. Thus, it is probable that the ‘primary refractory anaemia’ of Bomford and Rhoads (1941), the ‘refractory anaemia with hyperplastic marrow’ of Vilter, Jarrold, Will, Mueller, Friedman and Hawkins (1960), the ‘refractory sex‐linked hypochromic anaemia with high serum iron’ of Rundles and Falls (1946), the ‘chronic refractory anaemia with sideroblastic bone marrow’ of Björkman (1956) and the various disorders described by Heilmeyer, Keiderling, Bilger and Bernauer (1958) including ‘anaemia refractoria sidero‐blastica’, ‘anaemia refractoria sideroblastica hereditaria’ and ‘anaemia sideroachrestica’ are probably identical with what is being called sideroblastic anaemia here. What is more, there is relatively little to distinguish sideroblastic anaemia from what Dacie, Smith, White and Mollin (1959) have called ‘refractory normoblastic anaemia’. In America, the tendency has often been to dismiss all these terms and simply to use the quite vague one of ‘iron‐loading anaemia’, meaning a form of chronic hypochromic anaemia with high serum iron and large amounts of iron in the bone marrow. In our own nomenclature—and it appears that every worker in this field has his own term—we are inclined to group the ‘idiopathic’ non‐hereditary entities under the rubric of the Di Guglielmo syndrome. It should be noted that the term ‘sideroblastic anaemia’sensu stricto, indicates only the presence of sideroblasts in the bone marrow. However, nucleated red cells containing iron granules, at least in small number, are normal for the marrow and are increased under many circumstances, including most forms of haemolytic anaemia. To be sure, sideroblastic anaemia is used with the implication that the concentration of sideroblasts in the bone marrow is increased; thus ‘hypersideroblastic anaemia’ might be a better term. Some workers restrict the use of the term ‘sideroblastic anaemia’ to those cases of anaemia with high serum iron, a hyperplastic bone marrow with erythroblastic preponderance, and increased numbers of ‘ring form’ sideroblasts. In these cells, the iron granules are more or less concentrically situated about the nucleus. Whether the attempt to identify this disorder on the basis of a single morphological feature is a wise one is to be questioned.
Tissue Iron Stores in Sideroblastic Anaemia
Authors: Brain M. C. , Herdan Anita
Published: March 2008

An increase in tissue iron stores (chiefly in liver and bone marrow) has been a constantly reported finding in appropriately investigated cases of sideroblastic anaemia, and in almost 50 per cent of these cases the degree of the hepatic siderosis and the extent of fibrosis have been considered sufficient to warrant the designation haemochromatosis. Seventy per cent of these patients with haemochromatosis had the familial type of sideroblastic anaemia. Bottomley's (1962) analysis of case reports of pyridoxine‐responsive anaemia showed that haemochromatosis, too, had been diagnosed in about half these patients.

In the majority of patients with an acquired form of sideroblastic anaemia, the anaemia apparently preceded the development of the haemosiderosis, which could therefore have resulted from an increase in the absorption of iron associated with a chronic anaemia and erythroid hyperplasia and/or from prolonged iron therapy with or without blood transfusions. However, in a few patients with non‐familial sideroblastic anaemia (Albahary and Boiron, 1959; Crosby and Sheehy, 1960; André, Jacob, Malassenet and Caroli, 1961) and in some with the familial form (Caroli, Bernard, Bessis, Combrisson, Malassenet and Breton, 1957; Lukl, Weidermann and Barbořík, 1958; Byrd and Cooper, 1961), the hepatic siderosis appears to have preceded the anaemia or to have been present to a greater extent than could be accounted for by therapy.

Bishop and Bethell (1959) suggested that the presence of excess erythroblast iron might inhibit haemoglobin synthesis. Harriss, MacGibbon and Mollin (1965) have shown that the administration of iron (either by mouth or injection) increases the severity of the anaemia in experimental pyridoxine deficiency.

These observations pose the following questions: does the increase in tissue iron precede the development of anaemia (if so, what is the underlying abnormality in iron metabolism?) or is it a sequel; in which case is it the result of an increased absorption of dietary iron and/or excessive iron therapy with or without multiple blood transfusion?

This paper presents the results of an assessment of bone‐marrow and liver iron in 37 patients with sideroblastic anaemia, and of the measurement of iron absorption in 11 patients.
Granulocytopoiesis in the Rat Thymus
Authors: Sin Yoke Min , Sainte‐Marie G.
Published: March 2008

It is known that in the process of granulocytopoiesis the myeloblast matures into segmented granulocytes by way of intermediate cell types and that some of the immature cells of the granulocytic series enter into mitosis. Three main aspects of granulocytopoiesis remain to be clarified: first, the number of intermediate cell types formed during this process; second, the morphological changes accounting for the transformation of the oval nucleus of the myeloblast into the segmented nucleus of the mature cells; and third, which cell types of the series undergo mitosis. The present work is an attempt to clarify these aspects of granulocytopoiesis. This process should be most readily studied by analysis of islands of cells representing the progeny of a single myeloblast, each island being in some stage of the process. In bone marrow such islands cannot be distinguished clearly, but in the rat thymus, fairly well outlined islands of granulocytic cells have been described (Weidenreich, 1912; Weill, 1913; Harland, 1940; Sainte‐Marie, 1962). Accordingly, these islands were analysed as to their cell composition. This paper deals with the morphological aspects of granulocytopoiesis. In a second paper, a quantitative analysis of these islands will be reported with a proposal of a pattern for granulocyte formation.
The Incidence of Döhle Bodies in Various Diseases and their Association with Thrombocytopenia
Authors: Easton J. A. , Fessas Ch.
Published: March 2008

round blue‐staining bodies in the cytoplasm of neutrophil leucocytes were reported by Döhle in 1911. He observed these inclusion bodies (now known as Döhle bodies) in scarlet fever, but similar structures have been noted on numerous occasions since, in association with various different diseases including diphtheria (Kolmer, 1912), typhus (MacEwen, 1914), tuberculosis (Bachman and Lucke, 1918) and in patients with burns (Weiner and Topley, 1955).

May (1909) noticed persistent inclusion bodies in the neutrophils of a healthy person, in association with giant platelets. It was not until 1945 that this association was shown in some cases to be familial, when Hegglin (1945) reported a family with Döhle bodies in their neutrophils and chronic thrombocytopenia. More recently, Petz, Smith and Nelson (1960), Wassmuth, De Groote, Hamilton and Sheets (1961), Oski, Naiman, Allen and Diamond (1962) and Buchanan, Pearce and Wetherley‐Mein (1964) have reported families with the May‐Hegglin anomaly. We have been unable to find any report of Döhle bodies associated with transient thrombocytopenia.

Most reports of transient Döhle bodies have referred to their presence in certain specific conditions. Random observations in this department suggested that they occurred more frequently, and were found in a wider range of conditions, than might be supposed from a study of the literature. A moderate thrombocytopenia was also noted on several occasions to be associated with the presence of transient Döhle bodies. The results of a formal investigation into the incidence and nature of these structures, as well as their association with thrombocytopenia, is reported here.
Investigations on a Plasminogen Activator in Two Blood‐Suckers, Rhodnius prolixus Stål and Hirudo medicinalis
Authors: Hawkins Rosemary I. , Hellmann K.
Published: March 2008

In a previous paper (Hellmann and Hawkins, 1964) we described two anticoagulants and a fibrinolytic activity extractable from an insect, the blood‐sucking Hemipteran Rhodnius prolixus. In the present paper we report further experiments to characterize the fibrinolysin and to trace its source. The properties of the two anticoagulants have been described more fully elsewhere (Hellmann and Hawkins, 1965). The fibrinolysin was originally found in the gut of the insect; of four possible sources from which it could reach the gut, the gut wall and the salivary glands have already been shown to be devoid of activity (Hellmann and Hawkins, 1964). The two remaining possibilities, the blood meal and organisms present in the gut, are examined below. The possibility that the fibrinolysin was an exo‐product of the symbiotic organism Nocardia rhodnii, which occurs in the gut of R. prolixus (Baines, 1956) was strengthened by the lack of activity found in insects from which this organism had disappeared. By culturing N. rhodnii on artificial media it was possible to examine this idea directly.

Our original assumption that a fibrinolysin might be involved in dealing with the meal taken in by a blood‐sucking animal proved well founded in the case of R. prolixus (Hellmann and Hawkins, 1964) and we therefore extended out investigation to the leech Hirudo medicinalis since, if the assumption was generally correct, as one of the larger blood‐sucking animals, it might be expected to be a potentially better source of fibrinolysin.
The Chromosomes in Polycythaemia Vera
Authors: Kay H. E. M. , Lawler Sylvia D. , Millard Rosemary E.
Published: March 2008

There have been few previous cytogenetic studies of patients with polycythaemia vera (P.V.). Nowell and Hungerford (1962) and Nowell (1965) investigated the chromosomes of the bone marrow and peripheral blood in five patients with polycythaemia who had been treated with radio‐phosphorus (32P). They found abnormal cell lines in four patients, one of whom had developed leukaemia. Kemp, Stafford and Tanner (1961) examining the bone marrow by the short‐term culture method, found that seven out of nine cases of polycythaemia were normal, one patient had a cell line of 48 chromosomes, and one patient (who subsequently developed frank chronic granulocytic leukaemia) showed Ph1‐positive cells. Both these patients had been treated with 32P. An abnormal clone having a deletion of one of the C group chromosomes was present in the bone marrow of a patient with P.V. (Solari, Sverdlick and Viola, 1962): this patient had received X‐rays and 32P. Levan, Nichols, Hall, Löw, Nilsson and Nordén (1964), using the blood leucocyte culture method, found hyperdiploid cell lines in a male patient with P.V. who had received 32P. He had a few features of chronic granulocytic leukaemia. In all these previous studies, it is not known to what extent the chromosomal abnormalities are due to the disease or are secondary to treatment. It is clearly established that 32P produces typical radiation damage of the chromosomes of blood leucocytes (MacDiarmid, 1965). A few cases of P.V. have been investigated in the terminal stages of the disease, after the development of a leukaemic state (Ford, Jacobs and Lajtha, 1958: one case; Baikie, Jacobs, McBride and Tough, 1961: two cases). In each case, short‐term bone‐marrow culture showed hypodiploid counts.

The primary aim of the present study has been to give a general description of the chromosomal abnormalities in the bone marrow cells of 43 cases of P.V. Secondly we have attempted to relate these abnormalities to the stage and duration of the disease, including the development of leukaemia and bone‐marrow failure, and to the dose schedule and total amount of 32P received. A search was made for phenotypic alterations in certain of the genetically defined characters of the blood cells. We have also made some comparisons between the chromosomal changes attributable to radiation in the bone‐marrow cells and the blood lymphocytes.
Intracellular Location of Thromboplastic Activity in the Cells of Human Chorion
Authors: Clarke N. , O'Meara R. A. Q.
Published: March 2008

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in fibrin and its mechanism of formation. It would appear that fibrin deposition in the body under ‘normal conditions’ is much more common than has hitherto been thought. It is well accepted that tissue extracts may play a part in blood coagulation and many studies have been made of these tissue thromboplastins (extrinsic prothrombin activators, pro‐coagulants) (Thies, 1957).

O'Meara (1958) and O'Meara and Jackson (1958) described deposits of fibrin in human malignant neoplasms. Fibrin has been demonstrated in a number of transplanted tumours in experimental animals by immunological and radioisotopic methods (Spar, Bale and Goodland, 1959; Day, Planisek and Pressman, 1959) and in a variety of human carcinomas and sarcomas using the fluorescent antibody technique (Hiramoto, Bernecky, Jurandowsky and Pressman, 1960).

It is thought that the release of clot‐promoting substances from tumour cells is responsible for the laying down of fibrin in neoplasms and it has been found that there are high levels of thermolabile thromboplastins in extracts of human malignant tumours, normal colon and normal chorion (O'Meara and Thornes, 1961). Preliminary studies on the chemical properties of chorionic membrane and cancer tissue extracts on DEAE‐cellulose chromatography and starch gel electrophoresis have been reported (Boggust, O'Brien, O'Meara and Thornes, 1963).

The purpose of this study was to determine the intracellular location of thermolabile and thermostable coagulant material in chorion cells. It has been stated that paraplacental chorion, which was chosen for the initial studies, does not possess blood vessels (Bourne, 1960; Villee, 1960). If this is correct then it is unlikely that cell components derived from chorionic membrane would be grossly contaminated by plasma coagulative factors or particulate matter in blood.
Thalassaemia Types among Kurdish Jews in Israel
Authors: Horowitz A. , Cohen T. , Goldschmidt E. , Levene C.
Published: March 2008

The existence of thalassaemia among Jews of the Kurdish community is, by now, well established. Among the earlier reports were those of Schieber (1945), Matoth, Shamir and Freundlich (1955) and Dreyfuss (1955).

Several estimates of the thalassaemia gene frequency in this community have been made but none of these took account of the more recent classification of thalassaemia types (Ingram and Stretton, 1959; Huehns and Shooter, 1965). The main distinction is between α‐ and β‐thalassaemias. Although the clinical signs and many haematological deviations are similar in α‐ and β‐trait carriers, the haemoglobin A2 fraction is increased in β‐thalassaemia, but normal or decreased in α‐thalassaemia trait. Moreover, part of the α‐trait carriers have been reported to display inclusion bodies in their red cells after staining with Brilliant Cresyl Blue (Fessas, 1963).

Matoth and Pinhas (1958) gave a gene frequency estimate of 0.066 for Kurdish Jews, which was based on the incidence of thalassaemia major in the community. This estimate applies only to the β‐thalassaemia gene(s) and disregards the possible existence of α‐thalassaemia. Cohen, Goldschmidt, Ada, Matoth, Theodor and Szabo (1959) screened families of Kurdish Jews for iron‐resistant hypochromic and microcytic anaemia. They arrived at an estimate of 0.25 for the frequency of thalassaemia heterozygotes, including probably the majority of α‐ as well as β‐trait carriers without distinction between them. Ramot, Abrahamov, Freier and Gafni (1964) observed a slightly lower heterozygote frequency of 0.20. Their screening method was based on elevated levels of Hb A2 and of foetal haemoglobin and probably detected only a small fraction of α‐thalassaemia trait carriers.

Haemoglobin H disease was reported in several Israeli families from various Oriental countries (Ramot, Sheba, Fisher, Ager and Lehmann, 1959; Klibansky, Djaldetti, Joshua and De Vries, 1960; Zlotnik, Ramot and Hamosh, 1964). Among these, only the kinship described by Zlotnik et al. (1964) has an affinity to the Kurdish community, since some of its members originated from Urfa in Eastern Turkey.

The aim of the present survey was to detect the different thalassaemia types existing in the community of Kurdish Jews, to study any possible interaction between them and to estimate their relative, though not their absolute, frequencies.
The Binding of Vitamin B12 by Serum Proteins in Normal and B12‐Deficient Subjects
Authors: Lawrence Christine
Published: March 2008

Endogenous B12 in normal serum has been shown to be associated with α globulins (Pitney, Beard and Van Loon, 1954; Heinrich and Erdmann‐Oehlecker, 1956; Mendelsohn, Watkin, Horbett and Fahey, 1958). When B12 has been added to normal serum, however, most or all of the added B12 has been associated with the β‐ and α2‐globulins (Miller, 1958). In the present investigation with radioactive 57cobalt cyanocobalamin (B12*) added to serum, it was possible to define at least two B12‐binding proteins (BP), a β‐globulin, and an α1 globulin. B12* added to the serum of normal subjects migrated mainly with the β‐globulins on electrophoresis, but when added to the serum of B12‐deficient subjects, a small fraction of the B12* was also associated with the α2‐globulins.