bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Μετοιϰία in the "Supplices" of Aeschylus
Authors: Bakewell Geoffrey W.
Published: September 2012

In Aeschylus' "Supplices" the Danaids flee their cousins and take refuge at Argos. Scholars have noted similarities between the Argos of the play and contemporary Athens. Yet one such correspondence has generally been overlooked: the Danaids are awarded sanctuary in terms reflecting mid fifth-century Athenian μετοιϰία, a process providing for the partial incorporation of non-citizens into polis life. Danaus and his daughters are of Argive ancestry and take up residence within the city, yet do not become citizens. Instead, they receive the right μετοιϰεῖν τῆσδε γῆς (609). As metics they retain control of their person and property, and are not liable to seizure by another. They are not permitted to own immovable property (ἔγϰτησις), but receive rent-free lodgings. Pelasgus and the other Argive citizens serve as their citizen representative (προστάτης). Casting the Danaids as metics highlights the similarities between Pelasgus and his predecessor, Apis. Both leaders were confronted by violent strangers demanding to live among the Argives, and sought to protect the autochthony and territory of Argos. Yet as suppliants the Danaids (unlike the snakes) cannot be forcibly expelled. Pelasgus' solution is a grant of μετοιϰία approved by the Argive assembly. The emergence of μετοιϰία as a formal status at Athens is difficult to date. Most scholars place it between the reforms of Cleisthenes (508/7) and Pericles' citizenship law (451/0). The "Supplices" provides evidence for a date in the 460s, and functions as a charter myth legitimizing μετοιϰία, much the way the Eumenides does for the Areopagus. The "Supplices" also fits well within the context of immigration and urban development leading to Pericles' law. The fact that the Danaid trilogy won first prize may be due to the Athenians' empathy for Argos as a risk-taking polis committed both to defending its identity and to acknowledging divinely sanctioned claims to refuge.
Containing Tragedy: Rhetoric and Self-Representation in Sophocles' "Philoctetes"
Authors: Falkner Thomas M.
Published: September 2012

This essay examines "Philoctetes" as an exercise in self-representation by looking at the self-referential and metatheatrical dimensions of the play. After suggesting an enlarged understanding of metatheater as "a particularly vigorous attempt to engage the audience at the synthetic and thematic levels of reading," I examine "Philoctetes" as a self-conscious discourse on tragedy, tragic production, and tragic experience, one which participates in a larger conversation in the late fifth century about the ethics of tragedy, including the remarks of Gorgias on theatrical deception (ἀπάτη). The play points up its own constructedness in a variety of ways, most strikingly in the theatrical character of the intrigue by which Odysseus deceives Philoctetes, which provides a play within a play and a representation of texts and readers, plays and spectators. In laying bare the kinds of strategies and techniques that undergird this "intratext," "Philoctetes" offers a model of tragedy and of the tragic poet based on power, deceit, and manipulation. Yet by attributing these characteristics to the moral deficiencies of its internal creator and by demonstrating his failure to achieve his ends, "Philoctetes" rejects such a theater of sophistry. At the same time, the play considers issues of textual reception by providing in Philoctetes an audience for this internal text and a protocol of reading that suggest a more positive model of tragic response. "Philoctetes" uses this model to offer the spectator a subject position that affirms the inherent value of reading tragedy, a humanistic model of reading based upon the audience's identification with and sympathy for the tragic protagonist. Sophocles thus finds in this exercise in self-representation a way to frame critical questions on dramatic theory and to define his own dramatic practice.
Rethinking "Damnatio Memoriae": The Case of Cn. Calpurnius Piso Pater in AD 20
Authors: Flower Harriet I.
Published: September 2012

This article offers a detailed analysis of the penalties imposed on Cn. Calpurnius Piso pater in AD 20 after he had been posthumously convicted of maiestas (treason). Piso was accused of leaving his province (Syria) without permission and then returning to try to retake it after the death of Germanicus in AD 19. He was also believed by many to be implicated in the death of Germanicus. The details of his case have been revealed by a new inscription from Spain, the Senatus Consultum de Cn. Pisone patre, which was first published in 1996. Part of this long and well-preserved inscription records the post-mortem sanctions against memory imposed by the senate and Tiberius on Piso after his suicide. The verdicts for his family members and accomplices are also included. The decree was posted on bronze in the major cities of the Empire and in the winter quarters of all the legions. The article argues for the following conclusions. The decree should be taken at face value and its punishments considered harsh for a member of the Roman office-holding élite. It was widely published throughout the Empire after there had been extravagant mourning for Germanicus. Consequently, it seems that post-mortem disgrace did not necessarily involve the family as a whole. Indeed, sanctions against memory appear to be consciously designed to preserve the Roman élite family, its assets, and social position by removing its erring member. Such sanctions reveal both a tension and an accommodation between remembering and forgetting, between the family and the community, between history and memory.
The Origin of Memnon
Authors: Griffith R. Drew
Published: September 2012

This article endorses with substantial modifications M. Bernal's claim that the Greeks based Memnon on Ammenemes II of Egypt. An Egyptian origin for Memnon appears likely from Zeus' weighing of his fate against Achilles' in the Aethiopis, which is similar to an early spell of the Book of the Dead; from his Amazonian ally, who resembles the Nile-god, clad in a girdle with a single breast; and from his apotheosis, which is unlike Homer's usual view that the soul is witless in death, yet is reminiscent of the soteriological Osiris-cult, which was known to the Mycenaeans. Bernal's view that Memnon was specifically Ammenemes, however, rests on one word in Strabo, judged by editors to be a scribal error. Cases for two other proposed models, Khumben-numena I of Elam and Sethos I of Egypt, are too complex and fragile to accept. Since at least the first century, the Greeks themselves linked Memnon to Amenhotep III of Egypt, calling a portrait-colossus of that pharaoh "Memnon." This identification was based, I argue, on the fact that the statue faces sunrise on the winter solstice (obviously an original feature from Amenhotep's own time) and so was linked to the dawn. Amenhotep's name is too unlike Memnon's to have attracted to him a preexisting Greek figure, but, as P. Gilbert proposed, Amenhotep may have been the basis for that figure, for archaeological evidence shows his contact with the Aegean. Like Memnon, Amenhotep formed military pacts with eastern kings, was son of a solar deity, and was exceptionally handsome. Moreover, his father's name was Tuthmosis (cf. Tithonus). In short, Bernal argues well that epic based Memnon on a real person, rightly seeks him in Egypt, but fails to rule out Amenhotep.
Publicity, Popularity and Patronage in the "Commentariolum Petitionis"
Authors: Morstein-Marx Robert
Published: September 2012

The "Commentariolum Petitionis" has long served to demonstrate the validity of the theory that Republican electoral politics were founded on relationships of patronage that permeated the entire society, and that appeals to the voting citizenry were relatively unimportant for election. Yet the attention the author pays to the necessity of cultivating the popularis voluntas strongly implies that a successful canvasser cannot rely on the direct or indirect ties of patronage and amicitia but must win the electoral support of the anonymous mass of voters. A consular campaign emerges as to a great extent a public performance before the populus in which the candidate seeks to demonstrate to those who do not know him personally that he is dignus consulatu. While the exploitation of personal connections is undeniably important, certain features of the treatment of the studia amicorum in the Commentariolum suggest that the traditional, Gelzerian emphasis on noble patronage is misplaced. Noble allies are particularly prized not for networks of clients but for the luster they shed on a candidate; on the other hand, the homines gratiosi whose electioneering activities are most suggestive of patronage tend to be of middle and lower rank. Nor can all the personal political relationships discussed in the Commentariolum be plausibly subsumed under the concept of patronage, which entails asymmetry between the parties and a connection of some duration; rather, the picture presented here is one of a relatively "free market" of political deal-making between candidates and vote-brokers. The "Commentariolum Petitionis" offers no obstacle to a new model of Republican politics that assigns a much greater role to symbolic appeals to a voting citizenry, and a less dominant role to personal patronage, than have until recently been accepted.
Alibis
Authors: Selden Daniel L.
Published: September 2012

This is a general reading of Callimachus' work within the socio-political context of Ptolemaic Alexandria. "Alibis" refers to the constitutionally expatriate nature of the populace and culture established there, which in Callimachus gives rise to a poetics based on the principles of displacement and convergence. Close analysis of a wide variety of passages, drawn principally from the epigrams, Aetia, and Hymns, demonstrates how the "order of the alibi" informs all major aspects of the poet's work, from the lexical make-up of his texts to their larger narrative and thematic structure. Certain poems in the corpus, such as the Lock of Berenice and the Hymn to Apollo, not only require detailed knowledge of Greek literature, history, and religious institutions, but also draw extensively on Egyptian mythography and cultural models, which do not so much replace the Hellenic matter as-characteristically-cohabit with it. In this respect, Callimachus served both as a key architect of the new, multi-ethnic culture that the Ptolemies institutionalized in Egypt and as its most penetrating critic.
Tearing Apart the Zagreus Myth: A Few Disparaging Remarks on Orphism and Original Sin
Authors: Edmonds Radcliffe
Published: September 2012

In this essay, I distinguish between the ancient tales relating to the dismemberment or sparagmos of Dionysos and the modern fabrication which I call the "Zagreus myth." This myth is put together from several elements: 1) the dismemberment of Dionysos; 2) the punishment of the Titans; 3) the creation of mankind from the Titans; and 4) the inheritance humans receive from the first three parts - the burden of guilt from the Titans' crime and the divine spark from the remains of Dionysos. Building upon Linforth's critical review, I first examine the pieces of evidence out of which this Zagreus myth has been assembled, demonstrating that the few pieces of evidence used to construct the myth fail to support the existence of such a story before the modern era. While ancient sources provide testimony to the first three components of the myth, the final component-the resulting original sin-is an addition of modern scholars. I next show that, viewed without the framework of the Zagreus myth, the pieces of evidence provide testimony to a variety of tellings of the dismemberment myth, which was not the exclusive property of the "Orphics" but rather a well-known element in the Greek mythic tradition. I then explore the Christian models of religion within which the myth was mistakenly reconstructed, noting the role this reconstruction of Orphism played in the turn-of-the-century debates surrounding the nature of the early Church. Finally, I conclude that the gold tablets and their religious contexts have been misunderstood because these texts have been interpreted in terms of a modern fabrication dependent on Christian models, the Zagreus myth. The "Orphic" gold tablets themselves have nothing to do with the stories of sparagmos and anthropogony, but instead supply important evidence for the study of Greek eschatological beliefs.
The Rhetoric of Combat: Greek Military Theory and Roman Culture in Julius Caesar's Battle Descriptions
Authors: Lendon J. E.
Published: September 2012

Descriptions of battles in ancient authors are not mirrors of reality, however dim and badly cracked, but are a form of literary production in which the real events depicted are filtered through the literary, intellectual, and cultural assumptions of the author. By comparing the battle descriptions of Julius Caesar to those of Xenophon and Polybius this paper attempts to place those battle descriptions in their intellectual and cultural context. Here Caesar appears as a military intellectual engaged in controversies with experts in the Greek tradition of military theory-rejecting materialist strains of Greek thinking-and also as a Roman soldier whose military experience and cultural conceptions about how battles work could not be fully accommodated by Greek models. Caesar adapts from the Greeks an intellectual model of tactics based on physical metaphors, but adjusts Greek theory to Roman experience: Caesar's tactical physics ramifies from the crash-impetus-of the legionary charge rather than the push of the phalanx. Caesar also adapts from the Greeks a simplifying model of military psychology, adjusting a Greek binary scheme of morale into a three-level model to accommodate a Roman military ethos of steadiness in combat. Greek military thinking downplayed the role in battle of innate differences in courage between armies or nations, concentrating instead on tactics and stratagems; Roman culture encouraged Caesar to reject this dismissive view and elaborate a detailed understanding of the role of courage-virtus-in the mechanics of battle. The prominence of virtus in Caesar's battle descriptions illustrates its survival as an important Roman cultural norm and tempts speculation as to its historical consequences. Attempts to reconstruct ancient battles must take into account the cultural and intellectual traditions which guide ancient battle descriptions.
Changing the Authoritative Voice: Lycurgus' "Against Leocrates"
Authors: Allen Danielle S.
Published: September 2012

Lycurgus' "Against Leocrates" has long been seen as an anomaly in the oratorical corpus by scholars of ancient rhetoric. Its extensive use of quotations from the poets and of personification are two features regularly picked out as especially odd and inexplicable by critics. This paper argues that these and other features of the speech are central to Lycurgus' attempt to persuade his jury to accept his radically un-Athenian political views. In fact, Lycurgus has rejected Athenian approaches to punishment, prosecution, and politics in favor of Platonic views, which bear the taint of the elite philosophical schools. The quotation and the personification are two techniques that Lycurgus uses to craft a "new prosecutorial voice" that will overcome his audience's objections to his elitist and even Platonic political positions. I contend that the whole speech may be read as a study in how to craft a "voice" or form of oratorical self-presentation that will persuade an audience to accept heterodox political views.
From Simonides to Isocrates: The Fifth-Century Origins of Fourth-Century Panhellenism
Authors: Flower Michael A.
Published: September 2012

This article attempts to gather the evidence for panhellenism in the fifth century B.C. and to trace its development both as a political program and as a popular ideology. Panhellenism is here defined as the idea that the various Greek city-states could solve their political disputes and simultaneously enrich themselves by uniting in common cause and conquering all or part of the Persian empire. An attempt is made to trace the evidence for panhellenism throughout the fifth century by combining different kinds of evidence: that is, both poetic and historical texts, as well as the testimonia for monuments which are no longer extant. Any thought of a panhellenic crusade was impossible before the Persian invasions, but such an expedition, under the dual leadership of Athens and Sparta, was espoused by Cimon. After his death it remained an item of popular talk for the rest of the century and this talk intensified during the second half of the Peloponnesian War. The paper has six parts: the first finds hints of panhellenist ideology in the fragments of Simonides' Plataea elegy and in Aeschylus' Persians. The second part attempts to explain several puzzling passages in Herodotus in terms of his reflecting contemporary panhellenist discourse, especially in his account of Aristagoras of Miletus at Sparta. Part three reconstructs Cimon' s belief in dual hegemony and his plans for a joint Athenian-Spartan expedition against the Persian empire. Part four connects an anecdote about Miltiades with the Cimonian monuments and argues that the artistic program of the Stoa Poikile was intended to support Cimon's panhellenist aspirations. Part five discusses panhellenist sentiments in late fifth-century Greek poetry, and dates the Olympic Oration and Funeral Oration of Gorgias to the period 408-405 B.C., Finally, part six relates the panhellenist writings of Isocrates to earlier developments.
The Tragic Mask of Comedy: Metatheatricality in Menander
Authors: Gutzwiller Kathryn
Published: September 2012

The plays of Menander have been largely absent from the recent critical attention given the metatheatrical aspects of ancient comedy because they avoid direct reference to performance and maintain dramatic illusion. But as readings of tragic self-reflexivity have shown, even consistently illusionistic drama can make reference to itself as drama so that the audience is encouraged to view the play in double focus, as both a pretense of reality and as an evident dramatic artifice. Metatheatricality in Menander has its basis in the recurring view of the characters that life is like a tragedy. A number of characters state that the events at hand resemble a tragic situation, comment on events by quoting from a tragedy, or ask other characters to view the current situation through the lens of a particular tragic drama. In other instances, reference is made to aspects of dramatic staging or to the constitutive parts of plays. Such comments are realistic, or probable, because it is likely that Greeks of the fourth century regularly interpreted their own lives through the paradigm of myth, best known in dramatized form, and used theatrical metaphors to refer to everyday events. At the same time, however, audience members may experience a character's comparison of the dramatic situation to tragedy as humorously ironic because they know that the plot is destined to fulfill itself in a comic mode. Tragedy is in fact a mask worn by Menander's comedy, and the audience has a metadramatic experience whenever it focuses on the fact of masking. Analysis of passages from the Dyscolos, Epitrepontes, Perikeiromene, and Samia, as well as fuller discussion of the Aspis, demonstrates that Menader's plays invite metadramatic readings in which the plot develops through the struggles of characters to impose on themselves and others tragic readings of their comic situation.
Exile, Ostracism and the Athenian Democracy
Authors: Forsdyke Sara
Published: September 2012

This paper addresses the question of the role of ostracism in democratic Athens. I argue that the frequent expulsion of aristocrats by rival aristocrats in the predemocratic polis is the key to understanding the function of ostracism in the democratic polis. I show that aristocratic "politics of exile" was a fundamental political problem in the archaic polis and that democratic political power, symbolized by the institution of ostracism, was the polis' solution to the problem. In the archaic polis, the expulsion of aristocrats often led to an endless cycle of exiles and returns and consequent political instability. In 508/7, the Athenian demos usurped the power over decisions of exile by banishing Isagoras and recalling Cleisthenes from exile. By taking control of decisions of exile, the Athenian demos took over political power insofar as power over decisions of exile had become synonymous with political power. The creation of the institution of ostracism, whereby the people decided collectively whether to banish a single citizen for ten years, provided not only a mechanism for the symbolic expression of democratic power, but also a means for the practical and ideological distinction between oligarchic and democratic rule. While aristocrats had banished their opponents without limit in numbers and duration of exile, the Athenian democracy decided each year whether to banish a single individual for a limited time period. In most years, the Athenian demos chose not to exercise the power of exile. Nevertheless, the annual question in the assembly served to remind aristocrats that the demos held the fundamental political power, and hence deterred aristocrats from attempting to overthrow the democracy. The limited nature of ostracism further deterred exiled aristocrats from attempting to return by force. Finally, the infrequent and moderate use of exile as a means of resolving political conflict helps to explain the extraordinary stability of the Athenian democracy.
The Negro in Aerospace Work
Authors: Northrup Herbert R.
Published: September 2012

Few industries are working more assiduously than aircraft and related aerospace companies to expand Negro employment opportunities. Yet it is the unusual aerospace company which has been able to raise its percentage of Negroes to 8 or 10 per cent of a particular facility. The reasons why this is so tell us a great deal about problems of Negro employment, upgrading and intraplant movement, and variations from industry to industry or plant to plant.
Role Analysis Technique in Job Descriptions
Authors: Dayal Ishwar
Published: September 2012

The author suggests that job descriptions generally lack the reality of operating terms and ignore two important characteristics of industrial jobs—interdependence and the definition of discretion in performing the assigned task.

To incorporate the missing essentials in the analysis of roles, the author helped develop a method termed Role Analysis Technique (RAT). A job in its dynamic form is seen as comprising its rationale, its prescribed and discretionary content, and mutual expectations with other roles in the role space. An illustration of the technique is provided.
Repeated anterior chamber fluorophotometric evaluation of the eyes of ophthalmologically normal dogs
Authors: Miller Victoria S. , Allbaugh Rachel A. , Roush James K. , Rankin Amy J.
Published: September 2012

Objective—To perform repeated anterior chamber fluorophotometry on both eyes of ophthalmologically normal dogs to measure fluorescein concentrations over a 5-day period and identify any change in the degree of anterior chamber fluorescence over time or difference between eyes.

Animals—9 healthy adult dogs (18 eyes).

Procedures—Each dog received an IV injection of 10% fluorescein solution, and anterior chamber fluorophotometry was performed 1 hour later on both eyes. This procedure was repeated at the same time each day for 5 consecutive days.

Results—A significant increase in fluorescein concentration was evident in the anterior chamber on day 5 in the right eye and days 2, 3, 4, and 5 in the left eye. There was no significant difference in concentration between the left and the right eyes on any day.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—The increase in ocular fluorescein concentration in the study dogs was unlikely to be of clinical importance and is only pertinent for subsequent research studies. This is a limitation that should be considered when reporting fluorophotometry data as fluorescein concentration or as change in fluorescein concentration from baseline.
Comparison of transcoelomic, contrast transcoelomic, and transesophageal echocardiography in anesthetized red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis)
Authors: Beaufrère Hugues , Pariaut Romain , Rodriguez Daniel , Nevarez Javier G. , Tully Thomas N.
Published: September 2012

Objective—To assess the agreement and reliability of cardiac measurements obtained with 3 echocardiographic techniques in anesthetized red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis).

Animals—10 red-tailed hawks.

Procedures—Transcoelomic, contrast transcoelomic, and transesophageal echocardiographic evaluations of the hawks were performed, and cineloops of imaging planes were recorded. Three observers performed echocardiographic measurements of cardiac variables 3 times on 3 days. The order in which hawks were assessed and echocardiographic techniques were used was randomized. Results were analyzed with linear mixed modeling, agreement was assessed with intraclass correlation coefficients, and variation was estimated with coefficients of variation.

Results—Significant differences were evident among the 3 echocardiographic methods for most measurements, and the agreement among findings was generally low. Interobserver agreement was generally low to medium. Intraobserver agreement was generally medium to high. Overall, better agreement was achieved for the left ventricular measurements and for the transesophageal approach than for other measurements and techniques.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Echocardiographic measurements in hawks were not reliable, except when the left ventricle was measured by the same observer. Furthermore, cardiac morphometric measurements may not be clinically important. When measurements are required, one needs to consider that follow-up measurements should be performed by the same echocardiographer and should show at least a 20% difference from initial measurements to be confident that any difference is genuine.
Ultrasonographic evaluation of preprandial and postprandial gallbladder volume in healthy cats
Authors: Diana Alessia , Guglielmini Carlo , Specchi Swan , Di Tommaso Morena , Pietra Marco , Baron Toaldo Marco , Cipone Mario
Published: September 2012

Objective—To noninvasively assess the influence of ingestion of a standard meal on gallbladder volume (GBV) in healthy cats.

Animals—10 healthy adult domestic shorthair cats (4 neutered females, 5 neutered males, and 1 sexually intact male).

Procedures—Nonsedated cats were positioned in dorsal and left lateral recumbency to obtain ultrasonographic measurements of the gallbladder via the subcostal and right intercostal acoustic windows, respectively. Gallbladder volume was calculated from linear measurements by use of an ellipsoid formula (volume [mL] = length [mm] × height [mm] × width [mm] × 0.52). Measurements were recorded after food was withheld for 12 hours (0 minutes) and at 5, 15, 30, 45, 60, and 120 minutes after cats were fed 50 g of a standard commercial diet (protein, 44.3%; fat, 30.3%; and carbohydrate, 15.6% [dry matter percentage]).

Results—Agreement between gallbladder linear measurements or GBV obtained from the subcostal and right intercostal windows was good. Feeding resulted in linear decreases in gallbladder linear measurements and GBV. Via the subcostal and intercostal windows, mean ± SD GBV was 2.47 ± 1.16 mL and 2.36 ± 0.96 mL, respectively, at 0 minutes and 0.88 ± 0.13 mL and 0.94 ± 0.25 mL, respectively, at 120 minutes. Gallbladder width most closely reflected postprandial modification of GBV.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results indicated that ultrasonographic assessment (via the subcostal or right intercostal acoustic window) of postprandial changes in GBV can be used to evaluate gallbladder contractility in cats. These data may help identify cats with abnormal gallbladder emptying.
Expression of microRNAs in urinary bladder samples obtained from dogs with grossly normal bladders, inflammatory bladder disease, or transitional cell carcinoma
Authors: Vinall Ruth L. , Kent Michael S. , deVere White Ralph W.
Published: September 2012

Objective—To determine expression of microRNA (miRNA) in urinary bladder samples obtained from dogs with grossly normal urinary bladders, inflammatory bladder disease, or transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) and in cells of established canine TCC cell lines.

Sample—Samples of grossly normal bladders (n = 4) and bladders from dogs with inflammatory bladder disease (13) or TCC (18), and cells of 5 established canine TCC cell lines.

Procedures—Expression of 5 miRNAs (miR-34a, let-7c, miR-16, miR-103b, and miR-106b) that target p53, Rb, or Bcl-2 protein pathways was determined for bladder samples and cells via quantitative real-time PCR assay. Effects of cisplatin (5μM) on proliferation and miRNA expression of cells were determined.

Results—Expression of miR-34a and miR-106b was significantly higher in TCC samples than it was in samples of grossly normal bladders. Expression of miR-34a, miR-16, miR-103b, and miR-106b was higher in TCC samples than it was in bladder samples from dogs with inflammatory bladder disease. Cells of established canine TCC cell lines that had the lowest growth after cisplatin treatment had increased miR-34a expression after such treatment.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Findings of this study indicated results of miRNA expression assays can be used to distinguish between samples of grossly normal bladders and bladders of dogs with inflammatory bladder disease or TCC. This finding may have clinical relevance because currently available diagnostic tests cannot be used to differentiate these tissues, and inflammatory bladder disease and TCC are both prevalent in dogs. Validation of miRNA expression assays as diagnostic tests may be warranted.
Pharmacokinetics and tissue elimination of tulathromycin following subcutaneous administration in meat goats
Authors: Romanet Jessica , Smith Geof W. , Leavens Teresa L. , Baynes Ronald E. , Wetzlich Scott E. , Riviere Jim E. , Tell Lisa A.
Published: September 2012

Objective—To determine the tissue depletion profile of tulathromycin and determine an appropriate slaughter withdrawal interval in meat goats after multiple SC injections of the drug.

Animals—16 healthy Boer goats.

Procedures—All goats were administered tulathromycin (2.5 mg/kg, SC) twice, with a 7-day interval between doses. Blood samples were collected throughout the study, and goats were euthanized at 2, 5, 10, and 20 days after the second tulathromycin dose. Lung, liver, kidney, fat, and muscle tissues were collected. Concentrations of tulathromycin in plasma and the hydrolytic tulathromycin fragment CP-60,300 in tissue samples were determined with ultrahigh-pressure liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry.

Results—The plasma profile of tulathromycin was biphasic. Absorption was very rapid, with maximum drug concentrations (1.00 ± 0.42 μg/mL and 2.09 ± 1.77 μg/mL following the first and second doses, respectively) detected within approximately 1 hour after injection. Plasma terminal elimination half-life of tulathromycin was 61.4 ± 14.1 hours after the second dose. Half-lives in tissue ranged from 2.4 days for muscle to 9.0 days for lung tissue; kidney tissue was used to determine the withdrawal interval for tulathromycin in goats because it is considered an edible tissue.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—On the basis of the tissue tolerance limit in cattle of 5 ppm (μg/g), the calculated withdrawal interval for tulathromycin would be 19 days following SC administration in goats. On the basis of the more stringent guidelines recommended by the FDA, the calculated meat withdrawal interval following tulathromycin administration in goats was 34 days.
Urodynamic and morphometric characteristics of the lower urogenital tracts of female Beagle littermates during the sexually immature period and first and second estrous cycles
Authors: Noël Stéphanie M. , Farnir Frédéric , Hamaide Annick J.
Published: September 2012

Objective—To compare values of lower urogenital tract urodynamic and morphometric variables determined during the prepubertal (sexually immature) period and first and second estrous cycles in healthy female Beagle littermates to determine functional and anatomic changes of the lower urogenital tract during those periods.

Animals—5 female Beagle littermates.

Procedures—Urethral pressure profilometry, diuresis cystometry, and vaginourethrography were performed when dogs were 3.5, 4.5, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8.5, and 9 months old and during proestrus; estrus; early, middle, and late diestrus; and early and late anestrus of the first and second estrous cycles.

Results—At the end of the prepubertal period, values of urodynamic and morphometric variables increased significantly, compared with values at earlier times. Maximum bladder capacity developed when dogs were 9 months old. In all dogs, the bladder was intermittently located in an intrapelvic position during the prepubertal period; the bladder was intra-abdominal from the time dogs were 9 months old until the end of the study. Urethral pressure decreased significantly during estrus and early diestrus of the first and second estrous cycles. Bladder capacity increased significantly during diestrus of both estrous cycles. Urethral and vaginal lengths were significantly longer during proestrus and estrus than they were during anestrus.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Values of lower urogenital tract urodynamic and morphometric variables were influenced by age and phases of the estrous cycle of immature and young adult Beagles in this study. Age of dog and phase of estrous cycle should be considered when interpreting urodynamic and vaginourethrography data.
Effects of sterilization with hydrogen peroxide gas plasma, ethylene oxide, and steam on bioadhesive properties of nylon and polyethylene lines used for stabilization of canine stifle joints
Authors: Gatineau Matthieu , El-Warrak Alexander O , Bolliger Christian , Mourez Michael , Berthiaume Frederic
Published: September 2012

Objective—To compare effects of sterilization with hydrogen peroxide gas plasma (HPGP), ethylene oxide, and steam on bioadhesive properties of nylon and polyethylene lines used for stabilization of canine stifle joints.

Sample—Samples of a 36.3-kg test nylon leader line, 57.8-kg test nylon fishing line, and 2-mm ultrahigh–molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) were used.

Procedures—In this in vitro study, samples of nylon leader line, fishing line, and UHMWPE sterilized by use of HPGP, ethylene oxide, and steam or unsterilized samples were used. Bacterial adherence on unsterilized and sterilized samples was tested with Staphylococcus epidermidis and Escherichia coli. Five samples were examined for each line type and sterilization condition, and final colony counts were obtained.

Results—Bacterial adherence was significantly affected by method of sterilization for all 3 line types. For most of the samples, bacterial adherence was similar or lower when HPGP sterilization was used, compared with results for sterilization via ethylene oxide and steam, respectively. Bacterial adherence was significantly higher for UHMWPE, compared with adherence for the nylon line, regardless of the sterilization method used. Bacterial adherence was higher for nylon fishing line than for nylon leader line for S epidermidis after ethylene oxide sterilization and for E coli after HPGP and ethylene oxide sterilization.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Effects of HPGP sterilization on bioadhesive properties of nylon and polyethylene lines compared favorably with those for ethylene oxide and steam sterilization. Also, nylon line may be a more suitable material than UHMWPE for suture prostheses on the basis of bacterial adherence properties.
Better Metrics to Automatically Predict the Quality of a Text Summary
Authors: Rankel Peter A. , Conroy John M. , Schlesinger Judith D.
Published: September 2012

In this paper we demonstrate a family of metrics for estimating the quality of a text summary relative to one or more human-generated summaries. The improved metrics are based on features automatically computed from the summaries to measure content and linguistic quality. The features are combined using one of three methods—robust regression, non-negative least squares, or canonical correlation, an eigenvalue method. The new metrics significantly outperform the previous standard for automatic text summarization evaluation, ROUGE.
Social, Psychological, and Environmental-Structural Factors Associated with Tobacco Experimentation among Adolescents in Shanghai, China
Authors: Cai Yong , Lu Lin , Li Na , Zhu Jingfen , He Yaping , Redmon Pamela , Goyal Abhinav , Huang Cheng , Qiao Yun , Ma Jin
Published: September 2012

Objective: To estimate the prevalence and social, psychological and environmental-structural determinants of tobacco experimentation among adolescents in Shanghai, China. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study based on a two-stage cluster sample design by using the Chinese version of the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) to investigate smoking behavior among 19,117 students from 41 junior and senior high schools in Shanghai, China. The association between potential factors and tobacco experimentation were assessed using complex samples procedure logistic regression. Results: Of the 19,117 respondents, 10.5% (15.3% boys and 6.2% girls) reported the tobacco experimentation. The main social, psychological, and environmental-structural factors associated with tobacco experimentation were having close friends who smoke (AOR = 8.21; 95% CI: 6.49–10.39); one or both parents smoking (AOR 1.57; CI: 1.39–1.77); a poor school tobacco control environment (AOR 1.53; CI: 1.37–1.83); a high acceptance level of tobacco use (AOR 1.44; CI: 1.28–1.82); and a high level of media tobacco exposure (AOR 1.23; CI: 1.10–1.37). Peer smoking might contribute to smoking experimentation among girls (AOR 8.93; CI: 5.84–13.66) more so than among boys (AOR 7.79; CI: 5.97–9.94) and media tobacco exposure had no association with tobacco experimentation among female students. Conclusions: Social, psychological, and environmental factors are closely associated with tobacco experimentation among adolescents. Prevention programs aimed at reducing teen tobacco experimentation should be conducted at home and school with support by parents, peers and teachers. Our findings should prove useful for future development of intervention strategies among adolescents in Shanghai, China.
Mercuric Compounds Induce Pancreatic Islets Dysfunction and Apoptosis in Vivo
Authors: Chen Kuo-Liang , Liu Shing-Hwa , Su Chin-Chuan , Yen Cheng-Chieh , Yang Ching-Yao , Lee Kuan-I , Tang Feng-Cheng , Chen Ya-Wen , Lu Tien-Hui , Su Yi-Chang , Huang Chun-Fa
Published: September 2012

Mercury is a toxic heavy metal that is an environmental and industrial pollutant throughout the world. Mercury exposure leads to many physiopathological injuries in mammals. However, the precise toxicological effects of mercury on pancreatic islets in vivo are still unclear. Here, we investigated whether mercuric compounds can induce dysfunction and damage in the pancreatic islets of mice, as well as the possible mechanisms involved in this process. Mice were treated with methyl mercuric chloride (MeHgCl, 2 mg/kg) and mercuric chloride (HgCl2, 5 mg/kg) for more than 2 consecutive weeks. Our results showed that the blood glucose levels increased and plasma insulin secretions decreased in the mice as a consequence of their exposure. A significant number of TUNEL-positive cells were revealed in the islets of mice that were treated with mercury for 2 consecutive weeks, which was accompanied by changes in the expression of the mRNA of anti-apoptotic (Bcl-2, Mcl-1, and Mdm-2) and apoptotic (p53, caspase-3, and caspase-7) genes. Moreover, plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) levels increased significantly in the mice after treatment with mercuric compounds for 2 consecutive weeks, and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the pancreatic islets also markedly increased. In addition, the mRNA expression of genes related to antioxidation, including Nrf2, GPx, and NQO1, were also significantly reduced in these islets. These results indicate that oxidative stress injuries that are induced by mercuric compounds can cause pancreatic islets dysfunction and apoptosis in vivo.
Proposal of a New Method for Measuring Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) Rapidly, Quantitatively and Non-Destructively
Authors: Helm Paul Johannes
Published: September 2012

The process of radiationless energy transfer from a chromophore in an excited electronic state (the “donor”) to another chromophore (an “acceptor”), in which the energy released by the donor effects an electronic transition, is known as “Förster Resonance Energy Transfer” (FRET). The rate of energy transfer is dependent on the sixth power of the distance between donor and acceptor. Determining FRET efficiencies is tantamount to measuring distances between molecules. A new method is proposed for determining FRET efficiencies rapidly, quantitatively, and non-destructively on ensembles containing donor acceptor pairs: at wavelengths suitable for mutually exclusive excitations of donors and acceptors, two laser beams are intensity-modulated in rectangular patterns at duty cycle ½ and frequencies ƒ1 and ƒ2 by electro-optic modulators. In an ensemble exposed to these laser beams, the donor excitation is modulated at ƒ1, and the acceptor excitation, and therefore the degree of saturation of the excited electronic state of the acceptors, is modulated at ƒ2. Since the ensemble contains donor acceptor pairs engaged in FRET, the released donor fluorescence is modulated not only at ƒ1 but also at the beat frequency Δƒ: = |ƒ1 − ƒ2|. The depth of the latter modulation, detectable via a lock-in amplifier, quantitatively indicates the FRET efficiency.
Pressure Dependence of 15N Chemical Shifts in Model Peptides Ac-Gly-Gly-X-Ala-NH2
Authors: Koehler Joerg , Beck Erlach Markus , Crusca Edson , Kremer Werner , Munte Claudia E. , Kalbitzer Hans Robert
Published: September 2012

High pressure NMR spectroscopy has developed into an important tool for studying conformational equilibria of proteins in solution. We have studied the amide proton and nitrogen chemical shifts of the 20 canonical amino acids X in the random-coil model peptide Ac-Gly-Gly-X-Ala-NH2, in a pressure range from 0.1 to 200 MPa, at a proton resonance frequency of 800 MHz. The obtained data allowed the determination of first and second order pressure coefficients with high accuracy at 283 K and pH 6.7. The mean first and second order pressure coefficients and for nitrogen are 2.91 ppm/GPa and −2.32 ppm/GPa2, respectively. The corresponding values and for the amide protons are 0.52 ppm/GPa and −0.41 ppm/GPa2. Residual dependent 1J1H15N-coupling constants are shown.
Expanding Window Compressed Sensing for Non-Uniform Compressible Signals
Authors: Liu Yu , Zhu Xuqi , Zhang Lin , Cho Sung Ho
Published: September 2012

Many practical compressible signals like image signals or the networked data in wireless sensor networks have non-uniform support distribution in their sparse representation domain. Utilizing this prior information, a novel compressed sensing (CS) scheme with unequal protection capability is proposed in this paper by introducing a windowing strategy called expanding window compressed sensing (EW-CS). According to the importance of different parts of the signal, the signal is divided into several nested subsets, i.e., the expanding windows. Each window generates its own measurements using a random sensing matrix. The more significant elements are contained by more windows, so they are captured by more measurements. This design makes the EW-CS scheme have more convenient implementation and better overall recovery quality for non-uniform compressible signals than ordinary CS schemes. These advantages are theoretically analyzed and experimentally confirmed. Moreover, the EW-CS scheme is applied to the compressed acquisition of image signals and networked data where it also has superior performance than ordinary CS and the existing unequal protection CS schemes.
Electromagnetically-Actuated Reciprocating Pump for High-Flow-Rate Microfluidic Applications
Authors: Ke Ming-Tsun , Zhong Jian-Hao , Lee Chia-Yen
Published: September 2012

This study presents an electromagnetically-actuated reciprocating pump for high-flow-rate microfluidic applications. The pump comprises four major components, namely a lower glass plate containing a copper microcoil, a middle PMMA plate incorporating a PDMS diaphragm with a surface-mounted magnet, upper PMMA channel plates, and a ball-type check valve located at the channel inlet. When an AC current is passed through the microcoil, an alternating electromagnetic force is established between the coil and the magnet. The resulting bi-directional deflection of the PDMS diaphragm causes the check-valve to open and close; thereby creating a pumping effect. The experimental results show that a coil input current of 0.4 A generates an electromagnetic force of 47 mN and a diaphragm deflection of 108 μm. Given an actuating voltage of 3 V and a driving frequency of 15 Hz, the flow rate is found to be 13.2 mL/min under zero head pressure conditions.
Antibody to Heat Shock Protein 70 (HSP70) Inhibits Human T-Cell Lymphoptropic Virus Type I (HTLV-I) Production by Transformed Rabbit T-Cell Lines
Authors: Fallouh Hanan , Mahana Wahib
Published: September 2012

Adult T cell leukemia is a fatal malignant transformation caused by the human T-cell lymphoptropic virus type I (HTLV-I). HTLV-I is only associated with the development of this disease in a small percentage of infected individuals. Using two rabbit transformed T-cell lines; RH/K30 (asymptomatic) and RH/K34 (leukemogenic), we have investigated the expression of heat shock proteins (HSP) 90 and 70 and the role of anti-HSPs antibodies on virus production. HSPs surface expression was higher on RH/K34 than RH/K30 cells. Heat treatment of cells increased the expression of HSPs proteins and virus production; HSPs augmentation was stabilized after 12 h and virus production reached a maximum between 8 h–12 h then returned to normal level after 24 h of culture. Incubation of cells only with rabbit anti-HSP 70 antibodies prevented virus production specifically in the leukemogenic cell line. The results indicate a relationship between HSP 70 and virus production.
Extending the utility of [Pd(NHC)(cinnamyl)Cl] precatalysts: Direct arylation of heterocycles
Authors: Martin Anthony R , Chartoire Anthony , Slawin Alexandra M Z , Nolan Steven P
Published: September 2012

The use of [Pd(NHC)(cinnamyl)Cl] precatalysts in the direct arylation of heterocycles has been investigated. Among four different precatalysts, [Pd(SIPr)(cinnamyl)Cl] proved to be the most efficient promoter of the reaction. The C–H functionalization of sulfur- or nitrogen-containing heterocycles has been achieved at low catalyst loadings. These catalyst charges range from 0.1 to 0.01 mol % palladium.
L'Iran dans son contexte régional
Authors: Djalili Mohammad-Reza , Kellner Thierry
Published: September 2012

Après la guerre contre l’Irak, qui l’a contrainte à nouer des relations de survie dans la région, la République islamique a habilement tiré profit des mutations internationales, des guerres américaines contre Saddam Hussein et de l’après-11 septembre pour accroître son influence régionale et s’insérer dans plusieurs structures multilatérales. La question nucléaire et les incertitudes nées des soulèvements arabes brident cependant le développement de la puissance régionale de l’Iran.
Après le retour à l'Europe : les politiques étrangères des pays d'Europe centrale
Authors: Cadier David
Published: September 2012

Les politiques étrangères des pays d’Europe centrale ne peuvent se résumer à un atlantisme systématique qu’expliquerait la hantise d’une menace russe. Ces politiques, diverses, renvoient à des spécificités nationales et évoluent en fonction des contextes politiques internes et de la situation internationale. Le Partenariat oriental, même diversement considéré, reste pour ces pays un champ d’action privilégié dans les politiques de l’Union européenne.