bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Response of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 to low shear modelled microgravity involves AlgU regulation
Authors: Crabbé Aurélie , Pycke Benny , Van Houdt Rob , Monsieurs Pieter , Nickerson Cheryl , Leys Natalie , Cornelis Pierre
Published: March 2010

As a ubiquitous environmental organism that is occasionally part of the human flora, Pseudomonas aeruginosa could pose a health hazard for the immunocompromised astronauts during long‐term missions. Therefore, insights into the behaviour of P. aeruginosa under spaceflight conditions were gained using two spaceflight‐analogue culture systems: the rotating wall vessel (RWV) and the random position machine (RPM). Microarray analysis of P. aeruginosa PAO1 grown in the low shear modelled microgravity (LSMMG) environment of the RWV, compared with the normal gravity control (NG), revealed an apparent regulatory role for the alternative sigma factor AlgU (RpoE‐like). Accordingly, P. aeruginosa cultured in LSMMG exhibited increased alginate production and upregulation of AlgU‐controlled transcripts, including those encoding stress‐related proteins. The LSMMG increased heat and oxidative stress resistance and caused a decrease in the oxygen transfer rate of the culture. This study also showed the involvement of the RNA‐binding protein Hfq in the LSMMG response, consistent with its previously identified role in the Salmonella LSMMG and spaceflight response. The global transcriptional response of P. aeruginosa grown in the RPM was highly similar to that in NG. Fluid mixing was assessed in both systems and is believed to be a pivotal factor contributing to transcriptional differences between RWV‐ and RPM‐grown P. aeruginosa. This study represents the first step towards the identification of virulence mechanisms of P. aeruginosa activated in response to spaceflight‐analogue conditions, and could direct future research regarding the risk assessment and prevention of Pseudomonas infections during spaceflight and in immunocompromised patients.
Corporate Control of Information: Business and the Freedom of Expression
Authors: BRENKERT GEORGE G.
Published: March 2010

Control over information is essential to business. This has become increasingly true in an era in which technological advances have enabled the rapid globalization of business. This article explores the implications of this control of information for freedom of speech and information. Four different situations are considered: censorship of the Internet by search engines albeit at the direction of a government; restrictions on Internet content by Internet Services Providers acting on their own; decisions by retail businesses not to sell various DVDs, CDs, etc. to their customers; and legal suits brought against individuals and groups by businesses seeking to prevent the further spread of information they deem injurious to their products or activities. The paper seeks to sort out the various rights and values involved in these cases, when a business may be justifiably said to be violating individuals' rights to freedom of information, and when customers and citizens do not have justified complaints against business decisions not to provide them with certain information products.
Financial Edgework and the Persistence of Rogue Traders
Authors: WEXLER MARK N.
Published: March 2010

This work explores financial edgework by professional speculative traders as an explanation for the persistence of rogue trading in financial markets. The article joins in the scholarly application of “edgework,” the social psychological study of voluntary risk, to speculative trading. The discussion focuses on the origins and persistence of that subset of behavior wherein the trader knowingly creates the condition in which he or she endangers the brokerage house that employs them and even, at times, threatens the public's perception of the integrity of the securities industry. Going over the edge between risk taking and unauthorized rogue trading is explained by looking at five inducements to escalate risk taking provided in the securities industry. This examination of financial edgework demonstrates how and, to a lesser degree, why rogue trading is a result of the security industry's pursuit of and desire to capitalize upon yet not publicize an occupational culture stressing a “risk‐and‐win” ethos.
Human Resource Management: Meeting the Ethical Obligations of the Function
Authors: SLOAN KEN , GAVIN JOANNE H.
Published: March 2010

Effective human resources management (HRM) is focused on the only dynamic asset of the organization, its people; and, behind every business issue ultimately lies a human issue. Thus, the ethical adequacy of responses to all business issues rests on judgments made by individuals. HRM has a role to play as organizations address ethical challenges and as many strive to become ethical organizations. This article outlines three key responsibilities of HRM with regard to supporting an organization's efforts to become an ethical organization: (1) to establish ethical HR practices; (2) to facilitate the change process as all functions move to ethical business practices; and (3) to create cultures that build individual ethical capability and commitment to the goal of becoming an ethical organization.
The Effects of “Going Private” Using Private Equity: The Newly Private Corporation and the Dimensions of Corporate Performance
Authors: SCHNEIDER MARGUERITE , VALENTI ALIX
Published: March 2010

The trend toward private ownership of corporations prompts a reexamination of the dimensions of corporate performance under a governance system that includes powerful owners and a reduced public presence. Using insights from corporate social responsibility and stakeholder theories and informed by agency theory, we develop a model regarding the performance implications of public corporations going private through the use of private equity. We put forth that in general going private tends to result in greater emphasis on corporate financial performance and in lesser emphasis on corporate social performance (CSP). Yet several variables, including the firm's capitalization, its post‐going‐private exit strategy, and its managerial discretion, are proposed to moderate the negative relationship between going private and CSP.
Wertende Kunstworte: Oder Heinrich Heines Salonkritik, Die Französischen Maler (1831)
Authors: Vogt Margrit
Published: March 2010

Heinrich Heine's work Französische Maler, a piece of art criticism that he contributed to the Salon of 1831, is conceived as a meta‐reflexive reaction to the July Revolution and to the multiplicity of values that was rife at the time. Instead of employing conventional norms to describe a new kind of art and thereby limiting the reception of that art, Heine considers the principal role of the critic to be to render the artwork in an innovative verbal representation that has a threefold result: to allow the observer to perceive the work of art anew; to make palpable the renewal of art through significant historical changes; and consequently to create a new mode of artistic perception.

Heinrich Heine gestaltet die Französischen Maler, seinen kunstkritischen Beitrag zum Salon von 1831, vor dem Hintergrund der Julirevolution und des modernen Wertepluralismus als metareflexiven Akt. Statt ein überliefertes Normenset über neue Kunstformen zu stülpen und damit den Betrachterblick einzuengen, sieht er in fortwährender Normenreflexion und innovativer sprachlicher Gemäldewiedergabe die zentrale Aufgabe des Kunstkritikers begründet, die allein dem Betrachter einen frischen Blick auf das Kunstwerk gewährleiste, die Erneuerung der Kunst aus dem Geiste historischer Umwälzungen erfahrbar mache und damit eine neue Wahrnehmung von Kunst ermögliche.
Neither Religion nor Philosophy: The Language of Delicacy in Rilke's Poetry
Authors: Castelvedere Antonella
Published: March 2010

This article examines the function of the language of delicacy and the use of the term ‘leise’ in Rainer Maria Rilke's Das Stunden‐Buch and the Duineser Elegien. In particular, I consider the relevance of delicacy to the reassessment of the violence that haunts the discourses of religion and philosophy through which the poet addresses the crisis of modernity in his poetry. Starting from the analysis of the ambiguous treatment of the abstract entities of God and the Angel, I contend that the attempt to reconcile the sensible with the concept inheres in Rilke's persistent preoccupation with ‘Dasein’ as ideal incorporation of death. I proceed to show that, conversely, the texts convey the complex experience of mortality as a precarious and sophisticated way of making sense at the limits of perception. I argue that an exploratory discursivity articulates the experiences of ‘disbelieving’ and ‘unknowing’ whose creative liminality is at variance with the rigidity of the central narratives of revelation and enlightenment advocated by the poet. I conclude by suggesting that a comprehensive reading of Rilke's poetry requires the recognition of the condition of ‘delicate being’ as a mode of resistance to the latent violence of Rilke's compelling conceptualisations.

Dieser Beitrag untersucht die Funktion der Sprache der Zartheit und den Gebrauch des Wortes ‘leise’ in Rainer Maria Rilkes Stunden‐Buch und den Duineser Elegien. Insbesondere untersuche ich die Bedeutung der Zartheit für die Neueinschätzung der Gewaltanwendung, welche dem Diskurs der Religion und der Philosophie innewohnt, durch den der Dichter die Krise der Modernität in seiner Dichtung behandelt. Von der Analyse der vieldeutigen Behandlung der abstrakten Wesen des Gottes und des Engels ausgehend, argumentiere ich, dass der Versuch, das Fühlbare mit dem Begrifflichen zu versöhnen, Rilkes ständigem Interesse für ‘Dasein’ als idealer Einverleibung des Todes zugehört. Ich zeige weiter, dass die Texte andererseits bezeugen, wie die komplexe Erfahrung der Sterblichkeit dazu dient, an den Grenzen des Wahrnehmbaren auf prekäre und komplexe Weise Sinn zu stiften. Ich argumentiere, dass eine forschende Diskursivität die Erfahrungen des ‘Unglaubens’ und des ‘Unwissens’ artikuliert, deren schöpferische Liminalität sich im Gegensatz zu der vom Dichter befürworteten Starrheit der zentralen Begriffe der Offenbarung und der Aufklärung befindet. Zum Schluss schlage ich vor, dass eine inklusivere Auffassung von Rilkes Dichtung die Anerkennung des Zustandes des ‘leisen Seins’ erfordert, als Widerstand zur latenten Gewaltanwendung von Rilkes bezwingenden Begriffsbildungen.
Kafka, Critical Theory, Dialectical Theology: Adorno's Case against Hans‐Joachim Schoeps
Authors: Kohlenbach Margarete
Published: March 2010

Theodor Adorno derived from his reading of Kafka some of the central assumptions that inform the critical theory of the Frankfurt School. He opposed theological Kafka interpretations in general, and in particular rejected Hans‐Joachim Schoeps's reading of Kafka in the context of Karl Barth's dialectical theology. Adorno and Schoeps thus came to exemplify the dichotomy with which we still characterise the early reception of Kafka's work as either secular (sociological or political) or theological and religious.

The disintegration of religion as a comprehensive social system in twentieth‐century Germany means that writers can agree with traditional theology and religion in some regards while opposing them in others. This article argues that any unqualified adoption of the dichotomy between the secular and the religious is detrimental to our understanding of both Kafka's work and its early reception. First, the article outlines some of the major discrepancies in Kafka's heterogeneous engagements with religion. Second, it places Adorno's rejection of Schoeps's interpretation in the political context of National Socialism and the Holocaust. Finally, it compares Adorno's notion of ‘inverse theology’ with Schoeps's inversion of salvation history. Throughout, the article aims to ascertain the differences as well as the underlying commonalities between Adorno's and Schoeps's Kafka reception.

Wesentliche Richtlinien der Kritischen Theorie der Frankfurter Schule verdanken sich der Kafka‐Rezeption Adornos, die theologische Deutungen Kafkas im allgemeinen abweist und insbesondere Hans‐Joachim Schoeps’ Verständnis von Kafkas Werk im Kontext der Dialektischen Theologie Karl Barths verwirft. Adorno und Schoeps repräsentieren die Pole einer Dichotomie, mit der noch heute die Beiträge der frühen Kafka‐Rezeption entweder als soziologisch und politisch oder als theologisch und religiös klassifiziert werden.

Die Desintegration religiösen Lebens in der deutschen Gesellschaft des 20. Jahrhunderts bringt es mit sich, dass Schriftsteller in jeweils bestimmten Hinsichten traditionelle Theologie und Religion verwerfen und übernehmen können. Der vorliegende Beitrag argumentiert, dass jede nicht‐spezifizierte Vorstellung einer Dichotomie von religiösem und weltlichem Leben und Denken aufgegeben werden muss, wenn wir Kafkas Werk und seine frühe Rezeption verstehen wollen. Der Beitrag skizziert zunächst zentrale Diskrepanzen in Kafkas heterogenen Bezugnahmen auf Religiöses. Im Anschluss stellt er Adornos Schoeps‐Kritik in den politischen Kontext von Nationalsozialismus und Holocaust. Wie der Beitrag als ganzer soll der abschließende Vergleich der Begiffe ‘inverse Theologie’ (Adorno) und ‘Unheilsgeschichte’ (Schoeps) ein angemessenes Verständnis der Unterschiede und Gemeinsamkeiten in der Kafka‐Deutung der beiden Autoren ermöglichen.
Gottfried Benn's Statische Gedichte (1948) and the Final ‘Turn’ towards the Poetic in the Work of Martin Heidegger
Authors: Travers Martin
Published: March 2010

In 1949, Martin Heidegger published a collection of essays under the title Holzwege, which effectively represented his second and final ‘turn’ towards the establishment of the poetic as the central term in his philosophy. This paper contends that a major factor in Heidegger's development in this direction was the philosopher's discovery of the poetry of Gottfried Benn, whose Statische Gedichte had appeared just one year earlier. Focusing upon Heidegger's major essay of this period, ‘Das Wesen der Sprache’ (1957), this paper seeks to explicate the convergences, parallels and direct points of contact between Benn's poetry and Heidegger's theory, convergences that were both thematic and tropic. The mutual respect between Benn and Heidegger did not last, and the paper concludes by looking at the radically differing visions of modernity, a source of poetic inspiration for Benn but the site of historical negativity for Heidegger, that brought an end to their affiliation.

Im Jahre 1949 veröffentlichte Martin Heidegger eine Aufsatzsammlung mit dem Titel Holzwege, die tatsächlich seine zweite und endgültige ‘Kehre’ zur Etablierung des Lyrischen als dem zentralen Thema seiner Philosophie bedeutete. Dieser Aufsatz behauptet, dass Heideggers Entwicklung in dieser Richtung maßgeblich dadurch beeinflusst wurde, dass er als Philosoph die Dichtung Gottfried Benns entdeckte. Dessen Statische Gedichte waren gerade ein Jahr zuvor erschienen. Durch die Konzentrierung auf Heideggers umfangreiche Abhandlung über Das Wesen der Sprache (1957) versucht der Verfasser in seinem Aufsatz die Übereinstimmungen, Parallelen und direkten Berührungspunkte zwischen Benns Lyrik und Heideggers Theorie herauszuarbeiten. Dabei ergeben sich sowohl thematische als auch tropische Übereinstimmungen. Der gegenseitige Respekt zwischen Benn und Heidegger war jedoch nicht von Dauer. Der Aufsatz schließt mit dem Hinweis auf die grundsätzlichen Unterschiede in den Anschauungen von der Modernität, die für Benn eine Quelle dichterischer Inspiration und für Heidegger der Ort geschichtlicher Verneinung war. Diese unterschiedlichen Sichtweisen führten schließlich zum Ende ihrer Gemeinsamkeiten.
Günter Grass's Im Krebsgang as a German Memory Contest Without Jews1
Authors: Ó Dochartaigh Pól
Published: March 2010

Günter Grass's novella Im Krebsgang has been widely received as a text that is central to the new literary and political engagement with German victimhood in 1944–5 that emerged at the turn of the century. The inherent danger in failing to address German suffering in mainstream discourse, the text appears to suggest, is that the way is left open to a neo‐Nazi agenda that relativises the Holocaust and thus undermines Germany's attempts to come to terms with the consequences of the Nazi perpetration and German guilt. This paper argues that the text goes further by implicitly criticising not just the failure to address German suffering but also the way in which German guilt has been approached in (West) Germany. Investigating a theme that has been neglected in criticism of the novella, this paper argues that Grass uses the anti‐Semitism and philo‐Semitism of his central young protagonists to illustrate the inadequacy of all German reactions to the Nazi period and the Holocaust. The legacy of the Holocaust, both before and after German unification, is portrayed as an internal German argument about coming to terms with the past, an argument that has always been primarily about the Germans themselves rather than their victims.

Die Novelle Im Krebsgang von Günter Grass ist zu einem zentralen Text in der um die Jahrhundertwende entstandenen neuen literarischen und politischen Beschäftigung mit deutschen Opfern im Zweiten Weltkrieg geworden. Der Text deutet an, so erscheint es, dass Versäumnisse bei der Aufarbeitung deutschen Leidens im vorherrschenden bundespolitischen Diskurs den Weg freimachen könnten für eine neonazistische Agenda, die den Holocaust relativieren und deutsche Versuche, nationalsozialistische Täterschaft und deutsche Schuld zu bewältigen, unterminieren will. In diesem Beitrag wird argumentiert, dass der Text nicht als einseitige Kritik an der mangelnden Auseinandersetzung mit deutschem Leiden gelesen werden soll, sondern auch als implizite Kritik an den Mängeln in der Art und Weise, wie sich die (alte) Bundesrepublik sich dem Thema ‘deutsche Schuld’ angenähert hat (und hatte). Anhand einer Analyse der bisher in der Sekundärliteratur vernachlässigten jüdischen Aspekte des Textes wird argumentiert, dass der Antisemitismus bzw. Philosemitismus der zentralen jungen Protagonisten die Unzulänglichkeit bisheriger deutscher Reaktionen auf die NS‐Vergangenheit bzw. den Holocaust illustrieren soll. Die Bewältigung dieser Vergangenheit, sowohl vor als auch nach der deutschen Vereinigung, wird als ein deutscher Streit über den Umgang mit dem Holocaust dargestellt, in dem schon immer die Rolle der Deutschen selbst wichtiger war als die ihrer Opfer.
Pregabalin in the treatment of post‐traumatic peripheral neuropathic pain: a randomized double‐blind trial
Authors: Van Seventer R. , Bach F. W. , Toth C. C. , Serpell M. , Temple J. , Murphy T. K. , Nimour M.
Published: March 2010

Background:  Pregabalin is effective in the treatment of peripheral and central neuropathic pain. This study evaluated pregabalin in the treatment of post‐traumatic peripheral neuropathic pain (including post‐surgical).

Methods:  Patients with a pain score ≥4 (0–10 scale) were randomized and treated with either flexible‐dose pregabalin 150–600 mg/day (n = 127) or placebo (n = 127) in an 8‐week double‐blind treatment period preceded by a 2‐week placebo run‐in.

Results:  Pregabalin was associated with a significantly greater improvement in the mean end‐point pain score vs. placebo; mean treatment difference was −0.62 (95% CI −1.09 to −0.15) (P = 0.01). The average pregabalin dose at end‐point was ∼326 mg/day. Pregabalin was also associated with significant improvements from baseline in pain‐related sleep interference, and the Medical Outcomes Study sleep scale sleep problems index and sleep disturbance subscale (all P < 0.001). In the all‐patient group (ITT), pregabalin was associated with a statistically significant improvement in the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale anxiety subscale (P < 0.05). In total, 29% of patients had moderate/severe baseline anxiety; treatment with pregabalin in this subset did not significantly improve anxiety. More patients reported global improvement at end‐point with pregabalin than with placebo (68% vs. 43%; overall P < 0.01). Adverse events led to discontinuation of 20% of patients from pregabalin and 7% from placebo. Mild or moderate dizziness and somnolence were the most common adverse events in the pregabalin group.

Conclusion:  Flexible‐dose pregabalin 150–600 mg/day was effective in relieving neuropathic pain, improving disturbed sleep, improving overall patient status, and was generally well tolerated in patients with post‐traumatic peripheral neuropathic pain.
Q‐switched YAG laser vs. punch biopsy excision for iatrogenic radiation tattoo markers – a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Bregnhøj A , Hædersdal M
Published: March 2010

Background  Ink markers are tattooed as landmarks before radiotherapy of breast cancer with the purpose of obtaining a precise radiation field. The black tattoo spots may cause potential psychological distress for the affected women.

Objective  The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and adverse effects in a side‐by‐side comparison of Q‐switched (Q‐sw) YAG laser vs. punch biopsy excision of iatrogenic radiation tattoo markers.

Methods  Ten female volunteers with black tattoo markers after previous radiotherapy for breast cancer were included. Subjects received one punch biopsy excision and a series of three treatments at 6‐week intervals with Q‐sw YAG laser (Q‐YAG 5 system, 1064 nm, Palomar Inc., Burlington, VT, USA); the interventions was randomly assigned to two closely located tattoos (n = 20). Treatment measures were evaluated 12 weeks after final treatment and included clinical efficacy, patient satisfaction, preferred treatment and adverse effects. A blinded observer evaluated the efficacy and adverse effects from photographs.

Results  Ten patients completed the study. Blinded photographic evaluations showed an overall excellent clearance (75–100% reduction in tattoo appearance) from both excision and laser treatments (P = 0.317). Patients were equally satisfied with Q‐sw YAG laser treatment [median 9 (5.75–10, 25–75 percentiles)] and excision therapy [median 10 (5.75–10)] (P = 0.672). However, the majority of the patients preferred YAG laser (n = 8) to excision (n = 2) (P = 0.022) because adverse effects in terms of hypopigmentation (0/10 vs. 8/10 patients) and scarring (1/10 vs. 8/10 patients) occurred more frequently and appeared more pronounced in excision biopsy (hypopigmentation P = 0.014, scarring P = 0.021).

Conclusion  Q‐sw YAG laser and punch biopsy excision are effective to clear iatrogenic radiation tattoo markers, but patients preferred the laser treatment because of less pronounced adverse effects.
Quality of life of patients with scabies
Authors: Jin‐gang A , Sheng‐xiang X , Sheng‐bin X , Jun‐min W , Song‐mei G , Ying‐ying D , Jung‐hong M , Qing‐qiang X , Xiao‐peng W
Published: March 2010

Background Scabies is a highly contagious disease caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei, and the disease is still a major public health problem in many resource‐poor regions. Apart from the skin lesions or substantial morbidity, scabies also leads to social stigma. However, quality of life (QoL) has not been investigated in patients with scabies.

Objectives The aim of this study was to assess the impact of scabies on patients’ QoL using the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) questionnaire, and assess its feasibility and internal consistency.

Methods One hundred consecutive outpatients seeking treatment for scabies in the Department of Dermatology, the Second Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, were assessed for eligibility for this prospective study from 8 August 2008 to 20 December 2008. Sulphur (10%) was selected in the treatment of scabies.

Results A total of 96 patients completed the study. Among them, 78 (81.25%) of patients were considered cured at the end of the study. The mean ± SD DLQI score in our study was 10.09 ± 5.96. QoL of most of (71.9%) our patients has moderately affected. Questions 1 (symptoms), 2 (embarrassment), 7 (work or study) and 9 (sexual difficulties) had the most impact on patients with scabies. Domain 1 (symptoms and feelings) and 5 (personal relationships) scored higher than other domains. There was significant progress of QoL after treatment in our patients. No strong relationship between disease‐related characteristics and QoL could be found.

Conclusion Scabies moderately affected the QoL of the patients. Sulphur could be considered as an effective treatment for patients with scabies.
Aesthetic effects of topical photodynamic therapy
Authors: Kohl E , Torezan LAR , Landthaler M , Szeimies R‐M
Published: March 2010

Topical photodynamic therapy has shown to be effective for the treatment of several aspects of skin ageing. Multiple studies have demonstrated improvement of fine wrinkles, mottled hyperpigmentation, tactile roughness and sallowness. These results are supported by immunohistochemical analysis that revealed both upregulation of collagen production and increased epidermal proliferation. Neocollagenesis as an indirect dermal effect of photodynamic therapy is stimulated through cytokine induction. This article reviews the available literature for photodynamic rejuvenation while discussing cosmetic effects, light sources, adverse effects and the mechanism of action.
The use of topical bleaching agents among women: a cross‐sectional study of knowledge, attitude and practices
Authors: AlGhamdi KM
Published: March 2010

Background  Although the practice of bleaching is common worldwide, there are few studies that discuss knowledge, attitudes and practices towards bleaching.

Objective  The aim of this study was to explore the knowledge, attitudes and practices towards the usage of topical bleaching agents among women.

Methods  A self‐administered questionnaire on the use of bleaching creams was distributed randomly to women attending the outpatient clinics at a university hospital in Saudi Arabia during 2008.

Results  Five hundred and nine of 620 women responded (82% response rate). All the participants had dark skin (skin type 4–5). The mean age was 29.22 ± 9 years. Of the participants, 38.9% (197/506) were current users of bleaching agents. Only 26.7% (106/397) of the respondents used bleaching agents for medical purposes to treat localized abnormal skin hyper‐pigmentation; 20.8% (101/485) were ready to use any bleaching cream that gives fast results, even if the components were unknown. Of the respondents, 30% (152/509) used more than 100 g of bleaching creams monthly. These products were applied to the whole body in 7.3% of the cases. While 10.3% (28/271) continued applying the bleaching products during pregnancy, 20.8% (54/260) did so during lactation. No associations could be found between the various sociodemographic variables and differences in the attitude towards and practice of using bleaching creams.

Conclusion  A major proportion of our sample respondents have overused and/or misused bleaching agents. This was regardless of age, income, education or marital status. There is a need to educate women about the possible risks.
Nutritional and therapeutic value of fermented caprine milk
Authors: SLAČANAC VEDRAN , BOŽANIĆ RAJKA , HARDI JOVICA , REZESSYNÉ SZABÓ JUDIT , LUČAN MIRELA , KRSTANOVIĆ VINKO
Published: March 2010

Caprine milk is a nutritional and therapeutic food. The unique and beneficial characteristics of caprine milk that are superior to bovine milk include: better digestibility; greater buffering capacity; fat globules that are smaller in diameter and better distributed in the milk emulsion; higher content of short‐chain fatty acids in the milk fat; higher content of zinc, iron and magnesium; stronger lactoperoxidase (antimicrobial) system as well as better immunological and antibacterial characteristics. The larger amounts of some minerals, such as calcium, zinc and magnesium, in caprine milk may influence the growth of lactic acid bacteria since they are a normal part of some enzymatic complexes involved in lactose fermentation. The higher whey protein content could also be significant because Lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidobacteria grow better in the presence of higher levels of some amino acids (valine, glycine, hystidine). The use of caprine and ovine milk in cheesemaking is well known, but the production of fermented caprine milk via probiotics has not yet been developed, although many studies have highlighted the requirements for production of that kind of healthy food. During fermentation caprine milk loses its characteristic ‘goaty’ taste, which is unacceptable to many consumers. Moreover, the nutritive value of caprine milk increases during fermentation. The rise in the number of goat farms in Croatia has created the need to find other products that can be produced using caprine milk. According to the present situation in Croatia, there is no real possibility of producing fermented caprine milk for the global market, but many studies of fermented caprine milk have been performed.
The comparative analysis of a prophage remnant Lcazh1 in relation to other Lactobacillus prophages, particularly Lp3
Authors: ZHANG WEN‐YI , YU DONG‐LIANG , SUN ZHI‐HONG , CHEN WEI , HU SONG‐NIAN , MENG HE , ZHANG HE‐PING
Published: March 2010

Lactobacillus casei Zhang has one defective prophage integrated into its chromosome, designated as Lcazh1. The 12.5‐kb long nucleotide sequence contains 20 coding regions, 11 of which can be assigned functions by homologue searching and domain characterisation. With the exception of one uncharacterised protein cluster, genes encoded by Lcazh1 shared extensive similarities and strong synteny with the prophage Lp3 found in the chromosome of Lactobacillus plantarum WCSF1. It is the first time that prophages from different species of Lactobacillus were observed sharing clear similarities, implicating the possibility of lateral DNA transfer.
Conservation biogeography of freshwater fishes: recent progress and future challenges
Authors: Olden Julian D. , Kennard Mark J. , Leprieur Fabien , Tedesco Pablo A. , Winemiller Kirk O. , García‐Berthou Emili
Published: March 2010

Aim To identify key research questions and challenges that will, if addressed in a timely manner, significantly advance the field of freshwater fish biogeography and conservation.

Location Globe.

Methods By drawing on expertise from different regions of the world, we integrate an illustrative conspectus of recent scientific advancements in fish biogeography with a prospectus of needed areas of scientific inquiry to identify information gaps and priority research needs to advance the science.

Results We identified the following core challenges: (1) Testing current and forging new theories in biogeography; (2) Advancing a trait‐based biogeography of freshwater fishes; (3) Quantifying extinction risk and loss of fish species in a changing environment; (4) Evaluating the magnitude and geography of extinction debt for freshwater fishes; (5) Elucidating the patterns and drivers of freshwater fish invasions; (6) Forecasting the future geography of freshwater fishes; (7) Understanding the interactive effects of multiple stressors in freshwater ecosystems; (8) Quantifying new features of the biodiversity crisis: fish faunal homogenization and the emergence of novel assemblages; (9) Promoting scientific rigour in emerging freshwater fish conservation strategies and (10) Improving conservation planning strategies for freshwater fish species.

Main conclusions By reflecting on recent scientific progress in fish conservation biogeography, we have identified a set of core challenges and priorities requiring future research investment.
Pharmacological characterization of cannabinoid receptor activity in the rat‐isolated ileum myenteric plexus‐longitudinal muscle preparation
Authors: Makwana R , Molleman A , Parsons ME
Published: March 2010

Background and purpose: Cannabinoid effects on intestinal transit are commonly evaluated in rats. We characterized the cannabinoid receptors mediating the inhibitory effect of 5‐(1,1‐dimethylheptyl)‐2‐[5‐hydroxy‐2‐(3‐hydroxypropyl)‐cyclohexyl]‐phenol (CP 55,940), (R)‐(+)‐[2,3‐dihydro‐5‐methyl‐3‐(4‐morpholinylmethyl)pyrrolo[1,2,3‐de]‐1,4‐benzoxazin‐6‐yl]‐1‐naphthalenylmethanone mesylate (WIN 55,212‐2), arachidonylethanolamide (AEA) and Δ9‐tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9‐THC) on contractions of the rat ileum myenteric plexus‐longitudinal muscle (MPLM) preparation.

Experimental approach: The interaction of each agonist was examined with the CB1and CB2receptor antagonist rimonabant and SR 144,528 respectively, on contractions elicited by electrical field stimulation (EFS) or exogenous ACh. The interaction of AEA with capsazepine, a TRPV1receptor antagonist, was also investigated.

Key results: EFS with single and trains of pulses evoked neurogenic ACh‐mediated twitch and rebound contractions respectively. The rank order of potency for inhibition was CP 55,940 = WIN 55,212‐2 > AEA > Δ9‐THC and AEA > WIN 55,212‐2 =Δ9‐THC = CP 55,940 respectively. The stereoisomer WIN 55,212‐3 was without effect. Rimonabant antagonized the inhibition of the twitches with pKBvalues of around 8.60, but only antagonized rebound contractions induced by WIN 55,212‐2, AEA and Δ9‐THC, with pA2values of around 6.80. Rimonabant increased the twitches but inhibited the rebound contractions. Contractions to exogenous ACh were not altered. These observations extended to the guinea pig ileum MPLM.

Conclusions and implications: The rat MPLM contains CB1receptors and at least two non‐CB1‐non‐CB2‐non‐TRPV1receptors attenuating EFS‐evoked ACh‐mediated contractions in an EFS frequency‐dependent pre‐synaptic and stereo‐specific manner. Augmentation of the twitches by rimonabant may be through antagonism of an endocannabinoid tone or inverse agonism, whereas inhibition of the rebound contractions involved partial agonism.
Physiological and pathophysiological functions of different angiotensins in the brain
Authors: Albrecht Doris
Published: March 2010

The renin–angiotensin system (RAS) is better known for its role in the control of blood pressure, but evidence obtained from animal experiments and clinical trials suggests that it is involved in complex brain functions. It is now well accepted that neuronal AT1 receptors mediate the stimulatory actions of angiotensin II regarding blood pressure and the intake of water and salt. In contrast, neuronal AT2 receptors have been implicated in the stimulation of apoptosis and as being antagonistic AT1 receptors. Angiotensin‐(1‐7) [Ang‐(1‐7)] mediates its antihypertensive effects by stimulating synthesis and release of vasodilator prostaglandins and nitric oxide. New data concerning the receptor types binding angiotensin IV or Ang‐(1‐7) also support the existence of complex site‐specific interactions between multiple angiotensins and multiple receptors in the mediation of important central functions of the RAS. Different angiotensin receptors (AT1, AT2, AT4, Mas) are also present in memory‐relevant structures. The effects of different angiotensins on cognition initiated the search for their mechanisms of action. Studies looking for a possible link between the RAS and brain disorders (stress, anxiety, depression, alcohol abuse, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease) either inherited or acquired have been reviewed. The therapeutic potential of different angiotensins, as well as the potential use of agents known to influence the RAS, will be considered.
Pharmacology of transient receptor potential melastatin channels in the vasculature
Authors: Zholos Alexander
Published: March 2010

Mammalian transient receptor potential melastatin (TRPM) non‐selective cation channels, the largest TRP subfamily, are widely expressed in excitable and non‐excitable cells where they perform diverse functions ranging from detection of cold, taste, osmolarity, redox state and pH to control of Mg2+ homeostasis and cell proliferation or death. Recently, TRPM gene expression has been identified in vascular smooth muscles with dominance of the TRPM8 channel. There has been in parallel considerable progress in decoding the functional roles of several TRPMs in the vasculature. This research on native cells is aided by the knowledge of the activation mechanisms and pharmacological properties of heterologously expressed TRPM subtypes. This paper summarizes the present state of knowledge of vascular TRPM channels and outlines several anticipated directions of future research in this area.
The quantal secretion of catecholamines is impaired by the accumulation of β‐adrenoceptor antagonists into chromaffin cell vesicles
Authors: Montesinos Mónica S , Camacho Marcial , Machado J David , Viveros O Humberto , Beltrán Beatriz , Borges Ricardo
Published: March 2010

Background and purpose: The delayed onset of certain effects of antagonists of β‐adrenoceptors (β‐blockers), such as lowering arterial blood pressure (several days), cannot be explained solely by their effects on β‐adrenoceptors, an action that occurs within minutes. Although several mechanisms have been proposed, none of them explain this temporal delay. This work aimed at providing a new explanation based on the interference of these drugs with the functional accumulation of catecholamines within neurosecretory vesicles.

Experimental approach: We used the simultaneous on‐line monitoring of catecholamine and labetalol release from bovine isolated chromaffin cells and from rat perfused adrenal glands, as well as single cell amperometry, intracellular electrochemistry, patch amperometry and HPLC.

Key results: Using amperometry, three β‐blockers, labetalol, atenolol and propranolol, reduced the quantal size of secretory events in chromaffin cells, accompanied by a slowing down of exocytosis. By patch amperometry, we found that treatment with β‐blockers also increases the chromaffin vesicle volume, thereby creating a functional dilution of catecholamines. Experiments with intracellular electrochemistry show that vesicles cannot uptake new catecholamines. There was progressive accumulation of labetalol in secretory vesicles of bovine adrenal chromaffin cells, and this β‐blocker was co‐released with catecholamines from rat and bovine chromaffin tissues.

Conclusions and implications: We propose that β‐blockers are progressively concentrated into sympathetic secretory vesicles, and interfere with the storage of catecholamines and are co‐released with the natural transmitters, resulting in a decrease in the sympathetic tone. This could explain the delayed onset of the hypotensive effects of β‐blockers.
Inhibition of angiotensin‐converting enzyme stimulates fracture healing and periosteal callus formation – role of a local renin‐angiotensin system
Authors: Garcia P , Schwenzer S , Slotta JE , Scheuer C , Tami AE , Holstein JH , Histing T , Burkhardt M , Pohlemann T , Menger MD
Published: March 2010

Background and purpose:  The renin‐angiotensin system (RAS) regulates blood pressure and electrolyte homeostasis. In addition, ‘local’ tissue‐specific RAS have been identified, regulating regeneration, cell growth, apoptosis, inflammation and angiogenesis. Although components of the RAS are expressed in osteoblasts and osteoclasts, a local RAS in bone has not yet been described and there is no information on whether the RAS is involved in fracture healing. Therefore, we studied the expression and function of the key RAS component, angiotensin‐converting enzyme (ACE), during fracture healing.

Experimental approach:  In a murine femur fracture model, animals were treated with the ACE inhibitor perindopril or vehicle only. Fracture healing was analysed after 2, 5 and 10 weeks using X‐ray, micro‐CT, histomorphometry, immunohistochemistry, Western blotting and biomechanical testing.

Key results:  ACE was expressed in osteoblasts and hypertrophic chondrocytes in the periosteal callus during fracture healing, accompanied by expression of the angiotensin type‐1 and type‐2 receptors. Perindopril treatment reduced blood pressure and bone mineral density in unfractured femora. However, it improved periosteal callus formation, bone bridging of the fracture gap and torsional stiffness. ACE inhibition did not affect cell proliferation, but reduced apoptotic cell death. After 10 week treatment, a smaller callus diameter and bone volume after perindopril treatment indicated an advanced stage of bone remodelling.

Conclusions:  Our study provides evidence for a local RAS in bone that influenced the process of fracture healing. We show for the first time that inhibition of ACE is capable of accelerating bone healing and remodelling.
Influence of 5‐aminosalicylic acid on 6‐thioguanosine phosphate metabolite levels: a prospective study in patients under steady thiopurine therapy
Authors: de Graaf P , de Boer NKH , Wong DR , Karner S , Jharap B , Hooymans PM , Veldkamp AI , Mulder CJJ , van Bodegraven AA , Schwab M
Published: March 2010

Background and purpose:  5‐aminosalicylate (5‐ASA) raises levels of 6‐thioguanine nucleotides (6‐TGN), the active metabolites of thiopurines such as azathioprine (AZA). Changes in levels of each individual TGN – 6‐thioguanosine mono‐, di‐ and triphosphate (6‐TGMP, 6‐TGDP, 6‐TGTP) – and of 6‐methylmercaptopurine ribonucleotides (6‐MMPR) after 5‐ASA are not known.

Experimental approach:  Effects of increasing 5‐ASA doses on AZA metabolites were investigated prospectively in 22 patients with inflammatory bowel disease in 4‐week study periods. Patients started with 2 g 5‐ASA daily, and then were increased to 4 g daily and followed by a washout period. Thiopurine doses remained unchanged throughout the entire study. Levels of 6‐TGMP, 6‐TGDP, 6‐TGTP and 6‐MMPR as well as of 5‐ASA and N‐acetyl‐5‐aminosalicylic acid (N‐Ac‐5‐ASA) were determined each study period.

Key results:  Median baseline levels in 17 patients of 6‐TGDP, 6‐TGTP and 6‐MMPR were 52, 319 and 1676 pmol per 8 × 108 red blood cells respectively. After co‐administration of 2 g 5‐ASA daily, median 6‐TGDP and 6‐TGTP levels increased but median 6‐MMPR levels were unchanged. Increasing 5‐ASA to 4 g daily did not affect median 6‐TGDP and 6‐TGTP levels, but median 6‐MMPR levels decreased. After discontinuation of 5‐ASA, both 6‐TGDP and 6‐TGTP levels decreased and median 6‐MMPR levels increased. The 6‐TGTP/(6‐TGDP+6‐TGTP)‐ratio did not change during the study, but 6‐MMPR/6‐TGN ratios decreased.

Conclusions and implications:  Individual 6‐TGN metabolites increased after addition of 5‐ASA, but 6‐MMPR‐levels and the 6‐MMPR/6‐TGN ratios decreased. Further studies are needed to decide whether this pharmacokinetic interaction would result in improvement of efficacy and/or increased risk of toxicity of AZA.
Drug‐ and cue‐induced reinstatement of cannabinoid‐seeking behaviour in male and female rats: influence of ovarian hormones
Authors: Fattore L , Spano MS , Altea S , Fadda P , Fratta W
Published: March 2010

Background and purpose: Animal and human studies have shown that sex and hormones are key factors in modulating addiction. Previously, we have demonstrated that self‐administration of the cannabinoid CB1receptor agonist WIN55,212‐2 (WIN; 12.5 µg·kg−1per infusion) is dependent on sex, intact female rats being more sensitive than males to the reinforcing properties of cannabinoids, and on the oestrous cycle, ovariectomized (OVX) females being less responsive than intact females.

Experimental approach: This follow‐up study investigated whether sex and ovarian function also affect reinstatement of cannabinoid‐seeking in rats after exposure to drug or cue priming.

Key results: After priming with 0.15 or 0.3 mg·kg−1WIN, intact female rats exhibited stronger reinstatement than males and OVX females. Responses of intact female rats were higher than those of male and OVX rats even after priming with a drug‐associated visual (Light) or auditory (Tone) cue, or a WIN + Light combination. However, latency to the first response did not differ between intact and OVX female rats, and males showed the longest latency to initiate lever‐pressing activity.

Conclusions and implications: Our study provides compelling evidence for a pivotal role of sex and the oestrous cycle in modulating cannabinoid‐seeking, with ovariectomy diminishing drug and cue‐induced reinstatement. However, it is possible that sex differences during self‐administration training are responsible for sex differences in reinstatement. Finding that not only drug primings but also acute exposure to drug‐associated cues can reinstate responding in rats could have significant implications for the development of pharmacological and behavioural treatments of abstinent female and male marijuana smokers.

This article is part of a themed issue on Cannabinoids. To view the editorial for this themed issue visithttp://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1476‐5381.2010.00831.x
On Currents and Comparisons: Gender and the Atlantic ‘Turn’ in Spanish America
Authors: Premo Bianca
Published: March 2010

This article is part of a History Compass cluster on ‘Rethinking Gender, Family and Sexuality in the Early Modern Atlantic World’.

The cluster is made up of the following articles:

‘On Currents and Comparisons: Gender and the Atlantic ‘Turn’ in Spanish America’, Bianca Premo, History Compass 8.3 (2010): 223–237, doi: 10.1111/j.1478‐0542.2009.00658.x

‘Women and Families in Early (North) America and the Wider (Atlantic) World’, Karin Wulf, History Compass 8.3 (2010): 238–247, doi: 10.1111/j.1478‐0542.2009.00659.x

‘Family Matters: The Early Modern Atlantic from the European Side’, Julie Hardwick, History Compass 8.3 (2010): 248–257, doi: 10.1111/j.1478‐0542.2009.00660.x

The following essay originated as one of these three contributions to a roundtable discussion held at the 14th Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, June 2008. The roundtable, ‘Rethinking Gender, Family, and Sexuality in the Early Modern Atlantic World’, was meant to be as much invitation as inventory and was astonishingly well attended at 08:00 in the morning, with standing room only for a thoughtful, lively audience whose comments, questions, and suggestions are reflected here (although in no way fully represented). As historians of gender and family in the North Atlantic, European, and Iberian worlds, we had hoped to encourage more central and systematic attention to gender within the Atlantic World paradigm by cataloging some recent works in their fields and pointing the way for future studies. Yet, a funny thing happened on the way to the conference. Independently, each of us began to engage with the challenges of simply inserting family and gender into ‘the Atlantic’ as both as conceptual place and a historical practice. The essays that emerged, therefore, departed from conventional historiographies that survey the state of the field. Rather, these are theoretical and methodological reflections on the implications of de‐centering national and colonial narratives about the history of gender. At a time when transnational historical scholarship on early modern women promises to explode, these essays aim to inspire debate about the conceptual utility of the Atlantic as a paradigm for understanding issues of gender, family, and sexuality, as well as its ramifications for feminist scholarship everywhere.